Watching the others make their attempts, Amy was a little amazed by her sensei and her classmates. They were definitely pretty strong, though the first one to attempt appeared to have messed up, and the most recent one had probably hurt himself. She made her way over and knelt down, gently touching his arm and allowing her aura to briefly manifest as she made use of her power to heal, hopefully alleviating any bruises. After that, she said gingerly "Be careful, make sure not to get hurt. It's no good training if you're too banged up to learn from it."This was definitely odd, and that first girl bothered her a little more than this guy, at least he'd gone for it and messed up big while she'd 'shorted out'. However, that was alright, sensei had told her what she did wrong and they were all students for a reason, and it wasn't because they were masters. Then, however, Hanzo made his big schpiel, about how he didn't care about anyone and how he was "the student of the establishment", and this made Amy frown in disappointment. The guy was just a student like the rest of them, not an invincible island. Did he understand that this way he wanted it, to be alone, wasn't the way to real strength? Real strength lay in belief in one's purpose, and belief in one's comrades in arms. That was what her father had always taught, that was what her mentor had always taught, and that was what she believed with all her heart. She wanted to gain the strength to match her convictions, so she could always protect the ones she cared about, so she'd never lose anyone.

That said, she decided it was her turn to step up, and slowly made her way to the wall. She shut her eyes for a moment and focused on the energy that flowed through her, the very energy of her own strength, and gently beckoned it outwards. Just like when she used her power to heal, or her power to aid an ally, she could feel it manifesting. Her powers to heal, her power to make others stronger, they were based in her own energy, not the energy of the light around her, and it was that same energy that now bolstered her. Unlike Yaozu's, her aura was gentle and controlled, and unlike sensei's it was not bright and filling the room. As her eyes opened, a soft glow back-lit them as a gentle blue glow began emitting from her body, slowly growing brighter as Amy focused her energy. Amy gingerly stepped onto the wall, though her balance wasn't ideal at first she was, at the very least, completely confident in herself. She stepped further up the wall, her balance growing with her own self-assurance as she walked. When she stepped onto the ceiling, she dared to move at a fast walk for but a moment before slowing back to the easy gait she'd held.

After she'd taken a lap or two about the ceiling, she gingerly descended the wall and gave a dry smile, saying "Not so bad if you think vertically." Her bad joke aside, she quietly made her way back to her seat and sat down. She didn't quite relax, but she at least gave off a far different aura than before. While before it had been a literal aura of light, now it was far more figurative. Just looking at her, one could tell she felt re-assured, that her confidence had been bolstered. Amy now knew, for certain, she could at least keep the pace with her classmates, and for now that was enough. Though, she hoped to one day be the best martial artist around, so that she could protect everybody and never lose, but for now, she was content to match the others in her class in ability and dedication.

“Hai, hai,” he replied carefreely as he walked up to the front of the classroom at the Headmaster’s instruction. Yori couldn’t help but smile at the task at hand and he nodded in understanding. “Oh, impressive,” Yori murmured as he watched the latest student attempt the given task, purple tendrils bursting into flames that wrapped the boy’s body. He might have continued to watch the student’s performance if something hadn’t caught his attention instead.

Namely a student demanded the teacher’s attention. His eyebrows climbed at the boy’s words and he didn’t even bother to try to contain his laughter when the other student addressed the class as a whole. “Oh this is rich. What privileged family did you crawl out of?” It was completely laughable that this kid thought anyone would look to him automatically, much less after such arrogant words had been said. Well his chirping aside, it seemed like the Headmaster didn’t care for such an attitude either.

His attention returned just to see the successful student drop from the ceiling and he offered a light clap. Yori felt it was always nice to see others succeed and he watched as the next student prepared to take the task. He would admit he was a bit surprised by how the other male went about the task, even if it did garner him success for a moment. Of course, it was short lived and Yori scratched at the back of his head as the crash echoed through the classroom for a moment. He seemed a bit bruised and battered, but one of their classmates was already taking care of him so it couldn’t be all that bad. Having arrived the latest, he naturally waited and let her go before him after she was done the treatment.

Like the first student he had seen, she seemed to have little trouble with the task given by the headmaster. Similarly, he offered a light clap when she finished getting a feel for the technique and dropped back down. Given there weren’t any other takers at the moment, Yori figured it was now his turn. He tapped his foot for a few moments in quiet deliberation, but shrugged in the end. He wouldn’t play all his cards at the moment, but it never hurt to show off a bit. Energy control? He lived and breathed it.

Subtle, he was not. With a sharp breath, a misty shroud flared into existence around Yori in an instant, tinged light blue but only barely. It swirled violently for a moment, before it calmed down and simply wrapped around his figure, obscuring him slightly. A smile graced his lips at the energizing sensation before he jumped, tapped the ceiling with a palm, and stayed there. He swung his legs up, planted them against the ceiling, released his hand, and fell down until he hung upside down and faced the other students. “Sorry I was late, but Shinya, Yori. Just call me Yori.” With a slight, “Hup,” he hopped, flipped about, and landed back on the floor as his aura disappeared almost immediately.

Hanzõ opened his eyes slowly when the Headmaster addressed him. Then he stood up and looked right back into his eyes, without a blink or hesitation. His lips begun forming wider smile and he let's out a small laugh then."Good Headmaster, do not get me wrong." He then begun to talk calmly."I meant no such disrespect towards you. I am indeed here to study. What I study, now that is a different matter. What you can teach me, is another." He shakes his head slightly, never breaking the eye contact with the Headmaster."You do not tolerate incompetence you say. That is respectable feature in a person such as you. You will see, Sensei, that it is not I you need to watch over while here." He breaks the eye contact for split second to glance over at the rest of his classmates and then focuses them back into his eyes."Yes, instead of worrying about me, Headmaster...there are others that will need your guidance right now. Granted that you are able to provide them with such..luxury." He chuckles slightly and licks his dry lips slowly."After all, a student with a broken neck is not much of a student, aren't I correct, Sensei?"

He walks past the man and joins the rest of the class with light, quiet steps. He turns to see the Headmaster then and flashes a small smile, his eyes closing. His aura becomes visible, dark, nearly black one it was, then he leaps up, flips in the air and lands against the ceiling on his feet, his back now turned to the Headmaster once more, he bends his back and tilts his head backwards, looks at the male in the eyes, for a split second they seemed black as the darkest night, but only for such a short time. Hanzõ smiles at the man, and jumps down, landing gracefully and straightening his Gi then."But, after all, Sensei." He starts speaking and let's out a single cough."It would be foolish to show confidence with no proof for the right for it." He bows yet again flawlessly and his aura turns dark purple.

[Day 1 - Monday - 10:30 am]

While the other students were practicing their technique, it was almost as if the exchanges he and Hanzo had reduced the sound in the rest of the room. For a quick second he saw Akihiko flash behind the boy with the both of them staring directly at him. He shook his head while Hanzo continued talking to him, his every word seemed to hit home with Hajime. There was something inside this kid that was much stronger and much different than the other students. After he demonstrated his energy…even his power felt different. Who was this kid? For some reason Hajime wanted to kill him but to him, he was just a kid with remarkable power. The entire time Hanzo stood on the ceiling, Hajime narrowed his eyes at Hanzo’s desk. The boy has gotten under his skin. Finally, he sighed and perhaps thought that he was thinking of it too hard. But the visions of being a vanguard will sometimes create fake illusions…therefore; he decided to brush any thoughts he had of Hanzo off, somewhat.

Turning back around to everyone who succeeded and failed he watched the clock above the chalk board.

“Class dismissed.” He said.

Sin’chi walked to his own desk and started fiddling around with some papers.

It was clear the rest of the students had finally arrived. Or so Yoshito thought. I suppose you could never know who would come in at the last minute, but he doubted that. He continued listening to the headmasters instructions, clear, although very brief in explanation as he demonstrated the technique without giving too many details. An aura flashed around the attire of Sin'Chi in a beautiful light blue color. It was definitely a sight to see, truly a masters art, though, it was to be expected at his level. Using his centered energy, the headmaster began walking on the walls of the classroom, to the ceiling, and eventually floated gracefully back down on top of the desk at the front of the class. It was clear the headmaster believed in actions speaking louder than words. He must have assumed the rest of the group could manage it on their own. By then one stray girl from the class was already up front attempting the same maneuver the headmaster had instructed. Yoshito was in no way eager to see what ability his fellow classmates had, though he did show a keen interest now as he was no longer totally zoned out. It seemed Yoshito was disappointed at a failed attempt, just as more students started to get up from their desks. No one appeared to be standing one-by-one as the headmaster asked, not like minor differences like that mattered. It was at this time the personalities of everyone else started showing. One girl even offered to treat the wounds of another fallen student. He was aware of the desk being knocked over, but has seen too many fumbles in his time at the temple to find it abnormal.

Before getting up, he paused, taking note of the student that was speaking to the headmaster. He caught a few words and thought he misheard them originally, but directed his attention to the student in front of the class, the one speaking to, or rather down at everyone else. His tone came off as cocky, a very pompous person indeed. Yoshito couldn't help but snicker, things like these could rile him up (with joy), but he managed to stifle his enjoyment and proceed watching the others.

About a minute passed and most, if not everyone from the class had went. Yoshito sighed and muttered something inaudible under his breath before continuing to the front of the class. As he stood in front of the blackboard, Yoshito began to focus his mind and count down. This has always brought his body to a steady beat in which he could concentrate on his strength. From there he began to channel energy through his body and relax all tension within his joints. A power grew within his body, and a light blue aura was seen rising from Yoshito's figure to full length as it extended to his legs and molded itself at the bottom of his feet. Like this, Yoshito could equivocate things in his favor was both feet brought themselves to the blackboard, one after another without a second of hesitation. For a moment he felt as if something had popped, he was overwhelmed in his thought process for just a second that gravity began to pull backwards on his body and Yoshito slipped up. Before falling he was able to act quick enough, and plant both sandals down against the chalky platform again.

"Whoops." escaped his mouth as solemnly as could be. That was close.. he thought as he re-positioned himself and started again. It was evident there was a small struggle, and his aura reflected on this, but slowly his energy built back up, and Yoshito brought himself to the ceiling of the classroom to where he hung upside down with his eyes closed. For a moment, he opened them without a word said, took a deep breath and dangled as to build momentum before unlocking his feet from the rooftop and drop back to the ground. The small body of the boy was seen landing on the floor with a roll off his impact.

Yoshito took a moment and dusted off his baggy pants "Fun.." his voiced dragged on again in a very unenthusiastic tone. Regardless, he did appreciate the introduction the headmaster had given. He supposed it was needed in order to ease your way into the bigger things. As his aura dissipated, the boy took his satchel, and headed out the door of the classroom once everyone was dismissed.

After her apparent "failure," Kaori stood a few feet away from the rest, leaning up against a wall. Her arms were crossed, eyes narrowly watching the rest. The gaze was not one of envy, or even displeasure. No, it was that of a hawk, narrowly watching its prey. One by one the classmates went by, succeeding or failing. One of the latecomers doing it quite spectacularly at that. It was quite hilarious, but it'd be odd if she laughed at him after he own performance. So, she stifled it, kept her frown on, and went on to the next student. A light eyebrow arched upwards as the Hanzo boy addressed the Headmaster with an arrogance that she had never seen before. If she had not wanted to hide her power, in all honesty, she would have done something. Kaori was not one to stand idly by while others assumed that they were better than everyone else in the room. Clearly he came from some sort of noble upbringing, to give himself such a pompous and self-entitled attitude towards the others. It brought a smile to her face once the Headmaster rebuked him.

The next few came and went, including one who did it slowly and shakily, and then decided to demonstrate her healing powers on the one who fell down harder than she had. Another late comer then decided to smart off at Hanzo, gaining him Kaori's attention long enough for her to watch him demonstrate his powers, causing her to mutter, "What the hell is that aura?" before quieting down again. That... was not purely Hikari, to be sure. Not only that, but it was a violent demonstration of what looked to be almost light energy, something that generally did not happen, if her former teachings were to be believed. Before she had time to consider it further, Hanzo once again opened his sorry hole, and only caused more ire towards him. Even his demonstration only made him look like more of an ass, including that awfully sinister looking aura.

Immediately after, the Headmaster called class dismissed. A blessing. Kaori was the first to slip out, giving a brief "Goodbye" and a wave towards the Headmaster before going out the door to find her dorm room. Once she found it, she went off to find her pack, left elsewhere, and began to settle in. The first order of business was changing clothing, getting dressed in a baggy orange gi with a tan, long sleeved, loose shirt underneath, along with a rope belt underneath. Where she came from, rope belts were the status of someone who was meant to repent or one who was damned. She slipped on some sandles over her socks, thick wooden blocks not meant to be particularly comfortable, and began to channel her energy about.

A light purple aura, nearer to lavender in color, appeared around her as she went through some exercise movements, taking deep breaths. Black electricity sparked across her hands as she went through the motions. That ended, then small circular barriers began to rotate around her forearms and forelegs, but once again soon dissipated. Finally, she stopped her little exercise, listened for others coming down the hall, before continuing on to the next part, which was, quite simply, walking up the wall, which took her a grand total of ten seconds to scale the wall and then get on the ceiling, with only a few more to get to the center of it, with her shirt falling down over her face. She huffed, then flipped down off to land on her feet.

With that done, she knelt on her mat, placed her hands on her knees, shut her eyes, and began to meditate. Hopefully, whoever her roommate ended up being wouldn't just be a complete ass and bust in making all kinds of noise.

Soft breathing, no sound, presence hidden, lurking in the shadows. She had already found the right place in the classroom for her to properly hide. Victorique had made herself barely noticable to her new classmates in the back of the class. A dark spot in the back corner of the classroom on top of one of the clossets that was neatly place there. Every other place in here would give her position away if anyone bared an eye. Of course she had more tricks up her sleeve to hide from her fellow classmates but this was easy and needed no effort. Also the position of this spot was just right, she could immediatly notice if anything remarkable happened in the classroom. Victorica had slipped in when the teacher was busy writing his name on the board and had remained this way without being noticed. As for now she was simply taking note of everyone who was attending this homeroom raise her knowledge about each and everyone of them. Amy Lirith, average heighted black haired girl. Confindent about own ability, sweethearted and socially approachable. Hanzõ Okihika, tall brown haired boy. Over confident in own abilities, arrogant and not shy in the least. Next up was the tall grey haired girl, name still unknown, mysterious, clumsy, sleephead and quiet. Hitomi Matsumoto, average heighted black haired girl. Overconfident in walking without sight or blind, calm and polite. Small blond haired boy, name still unknown. Knows own power and confident. Yaozu Al-Yeung, average heighted black haired boy. Potential, slacker and friendly. Tall black haired boy, name still unknown. Slacker, self assured and friendly. Last but not the least Yori shinya, tall black haired boy. Slacker self assured but still polite.

Victorica had made bare assumptions of everyone atleast give her a slight hint how to handle and interact with everyone. Once she was done taking mental notes she continued to watch the class show off how strong they all were. Most of the people had already moved themselves onto the ceiling and the teacher seemed happy to see most of them succeeding, the class came soon to an end as already some of the people left. Victorica appeared before the headmaster upside down onto the ceiling with no aura surrounding her. She was wearing a normal high school uniform modified with her own style. She smirked slightly at how easy it was done. Of course there was no use of abilities of any kind but just mere tricks that were at play. Still Victorica had to prove herself so she concentrated and the aura appeared. Victorique let go of the tricks she used at first and trusted her own abilitie not to break her neck. Victorique landed down in front of the headmaster as the aura arpund her disipated and immediatly she kneeled down with one knee in front of him with one of her fist onto the ground and her head bowed towards him "Goodmorning sensei, Victorica Winterfield, it's a pleasure to meet you in person headmaster." Victorique stood up and looked up at him "I only came here to say that I have been attending this class up till the moment your honor had arrived. I just came to merely verify if my presence was noted yet." Victorique bowed again but this time standing"Thank you for your time" and walked out of the classroom. Once she entered the hallway no trace was left of her.

Victorica slipped behind Kaori into the dorm room and quietly watched the girl do some training while being hiden by the art of the ninja. The girl had tried to walk onto the ceiling once more and it looked quite cute how she succeeded. It was at least a sign that the girl had the potential to do this neat trick. After a while the girl went to meditate and this was the only time for Victorica to tease her a little. Victorica reapeared from her cover and quietly sat down in the same pose as the girl in front of the girl, but with her eyes opened. She waited for the girl to notice before doing anything further.

[Day 1 - Monday - 12:00 pm)

After class ended Sin’chi was sitting in his office with both hands under his chin thinking. The performance by some of the students was good while there were many who were late and some who failed. One person in particular who stuck in his mind was Okihika. Out of all of the students who showed up to class, Okihika was the only one who has ever gotten to him. There something about him that sparked a bit of fear in him. Who was he anyway? His aura was powerful and exceeded beyond normal level for someone his age. His attitude seemed…peculiar as if he came from a distant place. Then he thought about the flash he had when Akihiko stood behind Okihika…and come to think of it…they both had similar names. But this was mere illusions and Akihiko was locked inside a different dimension along with his ancestor Junichi; strangely, his ancestor and he had similar names as well. Was this fate? Could it be possible that Sin’chi and Okihika was the new Akihiko and Junichi of their time? Hajime sighed.

The same monk who escorted him to homeroom class that morning entered his room again. He did a slight bow out of respect but Sin’chi seemed too focused on his thoughts that he did not acknowledge the monk’s presence.

“Hajime-sensei, all classes have dismissed and the students seem to be enjoying their time at the school.” The monk said, and then realized the look on Hajime’s face. “Are you alright, sensei?” he finished.

Sin’chi turned to the monk slightly and nodded his head.

“Everything is fine. Thank you for the notice.” He replied.

The monk turned and walked away. Afterwards, Sin’chi rose up from his chair and gathered his belongings, exiting his office and locked the door behind him.

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Moments later he arrived at his dorm room…which was strange because even the instructors roomed in with other students if they didn’t have any outside residence. Unfortunately for Sin’chi his family no longer lives in Ashville. He was the only one there and has no other place to reside. A shame he wasn’t even provided a presidential room. In front of the door he noticed a sign on the wall that gave the names of those he would be roommates with: Amy Lirith and Hitomi Matsumoto. Well how about that he would be rooming with two of students from homeroom. This was a co-ed building so males rooming with females were not uncommon. In some rooms it was common that even three people would shack up together. In Ashville, it was not looked down upon for older males rooming with younger females and vice versa. In other countries however this would be probably be frowned upon. But then, Hitomi was 18 years old so perhaps it wasn't that strange.

He entered and realized that he was the first to arrive. Everything seemed to be in order. The three person rooms were built like an apartment. There was your living room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. Each bedroom had their own bathroom which was a relief. It seemed he was in room one. As he entered he saw a bed, dresser, closet, and a bathroom. Ever since he arrived at the school as the new headmaster this was the first time he came to his room.

Hmm…this seems comfortable enough. He thought.

He put his belongings down on the bed and walked to the window in his room. He looked out and from his point of view was a clear sighting of the monument with the secret dark portal. Well…at least he can keep an eye out from his window. Hajime decided to slip into something more comfortable than his regular purple and grey gi. He wore a white sleeveless t-shirt with gray pants. He did not wear shoes or socks because where he was from wearing shoes in the home was disrespectful. His hair was still tied in a ponytail. Walking into the kitchen he looked in the refrigerator and saw a cup of ramen noodles. It must have been placed here by default. There were other foods as well but he loved ramen so he decided to eat. He thought about when Amy and Hitomi would arrive.

Hanzõ leaves the homeroom and heads for his assigned dorm. He had a smile on his lips and his eyes close slowly. The face on the Headmaster had been priceless. For some reason, seeing him like that felt fulfilling, as strange as it sounds. After a while he steps into the room and looks around, it was suitable and would do just fine for it's purpose. He glances at one of the two beds, shaking his head and claiming one of them. He sets down the small bag he had been carrying along and lays down on the bedding. he assumed that the other bed was not there for show, someone would more than likely sleep on it. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a rugged journal and flips it open.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then begun writing on the page. Names of his classmates appeared on it, as well as the Headmaster's name. He closes the journal once the page is done and slides it into his bag. Then he sits up, moves on the floor and lowers himself on his knees, his eyes close and darkness surrounds him, he begins to listen and sits in wait as if meditating, but there woul be right time for that later. As for now, he'd wait and see who is the soul that he would share the room with. Maybe it was one of the females from the class.

Hitomi grimaced when she heard papers being placed on everyone’s desk. Surely, the headmaster of an esteemed school such as this would know that she wouldn’t be able to-

What’s this? She let out a soft laugh at her own stupidity. The letters on her sheet were raised; she needed only to run her fingers across them to read it. Very clever, Headmaster, she thought as she read through the packet. I should not have underestimated you…

She remained facing forward as a few students accepted the headmaster’s challenge and demonstrate their potential. While a strange thumping could be heard from the desk behind her. Sounded like someone’s head making contact with wood.

Before long, the headmaster demonstrated an ability where he used his energy to cling to surfaces, such as the wall and ceiling. Hitomi had used a similar technique to map out rooms with her shadows, but she wasn’t quite confident that she would be able to pull it off with her own body. However, like the others, she stepped to the front of the classroom. Unfortunately, so were the others. The front sections of the room was, to her, suddenly a din of flowing energy and voices and footsteps on the walls. It was exceptionally hard for her to concentrate, but she tried her hardest to relax and focus her energy. And focus, she did…just not the way she had intended. It was probably the ruckus that boy was making about not wanting to make friends and to be considered THE student. She found his attitude obnoxious and wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. She angrily opened her eyes, which took on a purplish glow as she seemed to sink into the wall, leaving only a black silhouette of herself. From there, the silhouette glided up the surface of the wall, onto the ceiling, back down the rear wall, and returned to the front of the room via the floor. When she returned to her physical self, she was breathing heavily, and bowing on the floor.

Her voice was very soft as she muttered, “My apologies, sensei… I’ll have to try again...”

But it was then that the headmaster decided that class was dismissed. Perhaps the boy had gotten under his skin, too?

Hitomi slowly stood up, trying to remain as unobtrusive as possible as the other students left the classroom. After she thought everyone had gone, she retrieved her packet of papers and sword and left the classroom as well. For quite a while, she stood in the hallway, planning her next move. It sounded to her as if everyone was leaving this area. Were they headed to their rooms? Hitomi nodded to herself; she would head there as well. She flipped through the pages of her packet until she found a map, the text of which was raised like the other pages in her packet. From this, she discovered that her assigned dorm room was ‘2-C’. She heaved a sigh. Was that some sort of joke at her expense? Then her lips curled into a soft smile as she recalled something her father used to always tell her whenever someone brought up her lack of vision:

“Looking is easy, Hitomi, it can be done in an instant. Seeing can take a lifetime.”

She easily found the stairway to her room and ascended. When she arrived, she noticed that the door handle wasn't where it should be; the door was ajar. Her roommate must've already arrived. She stepped inside and slipped her shows off when she picked up the sound of a refrigerator door closing. Curious, she stepped toward the sound. She had just begun saying a salutation when she turned the corner and sensed a powerful aura.

Headmaster?! Surely it couldn't be him! What would he be doing in a room that was likely supposed to have girls in it? She simply stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, and listened to the sloshing of what was probably ramen noodles. Apparently, he'd helped himself to some food...

Again, her voice was soft when she finally spoke: "Headmaster? I wasn't expecting you."

With class over, Amy released a gentle sigh of relief and grabbed her things, heading out of the room with a casual "See you guys later! Have a good day!" Her pleasant remark delivered, she twirled both knifes into their sheathes and stretched out, yawning softly as she did so. Just because she was good at waking up early didn't mean she enjoyed it, and she was looking forward to taking a nap after her training. On that note, she left the classroom and hauled ass to a secluded area she'd noticed earlier, a wooded grove not too far from the main area of the academy. Here, she unsheathed her blades to begin training, and approached a tree. Its bark appeared sturdy, it had certainly grown well. Setting her hand on the tree, she ran her fingers along the rough surface for a moment until she found a spot she liked. Drawing one of her knives, she cut a thin trail down the bark to represent a vein, and did the same on several other spots to represent the vital arteries of the human body. She then stepped back, her knives sheathed, and drew a deep breath. Once more, her aura flared into being and she infused her muscles with energy once more and, in a flash, her blades were drawn. In the span of a few breaths, each "vein" had 3 slices along them, clean cuts, and if this tree were a human being it would have very little time to heal before dying, a few minutes at the most.

With that done, she sighed and now sheathed her knives, moving to the center of the wooded grove so she could practice her preferred art. Squaring off against an imaginary "opponent", she slipped into a Kenpo stance. Fast blows were weaving in and around the foe's "guard", never daring to try and break through, complete with a few fast kicks to keep the opponent off balance. Since kicks translated speed into strength better than punches, they tended to be a good way for her to add stopping power to her style, and if nothing else tended to take the foe off guard. This "sparring" lasted awhile before she finally decided it was time to head back, covered in a light sweat. She gave a grin and walked back to school, glancing down at the packet she'd received in class, now covered in grass stains, and saw she was in room 2-C.

It didn't take her long to arrive at 2-C, and she casually pushed her way in, just in time to hear someone speaking. Looking over, she saw it was a girl from class and Amy called out "Oh! Hitomi, right? I guess you'll be my room-mate. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better." She gave a smile and approached the girl, who was in their kitchen, but Amy heard the sounds of slurping as she approached. Was a third girl rooming with them, she wondered? However, when she walked into the room, she discovered she couldn't have been more wrong. Sitting down, eating some instant ramen, was none other than Sin'chi, their headmaster "E-e-ehhh?!?! Kouchou?! What are you doin-....Kouchou, are you our third roommate...well, I'll look forward to getting to know you better, along with Hitomi!" Amy said all of this in one breath, in rapid succession, and was forced to stop and take a deep breath afterwards. It seemed her shock had her rambling on for a bit...that was embarassing.

(After a few more posts, we will enter a time skip that will take us to 11:00 pm. During that time we will get our first taste of our "dilemma")

While eating his ramen and watching Hitomi and Amy as they seem very shocked that he was there, his cheeks turned red. Sin’chi was serious about training and he was the type to hide his emotions and never smiled but he was a bit embarrassed to be there in all honesty. But when they asked if he was their third roommate he simply nodded his head.

“Yes…It is not uncommon for the co-ed building to house both male and female in the same room…even for headmasters and instructors as well. In class I am headmaster…but here, I am Sin’chi.” He said returning to his ramen.

Afterwards he continued, “I hope my presence here does not make you feel uncomfortable. Usually, if an instructor or headmaster has no other place of residence then he or she can stay in the dorms. Unfortunately, I cannot assign dorm situations. Those at the front desk are the ones who pair people up together. I suppose we are roommates…and it is a coincidence.” He finished.

Before the Headmaster could explain himself, Hitomi suddenly heard a loud voice near her. Amy? Was it? Hitomi smiled and turned toward her roommate, nodding her head. Then, the Headmaster explained himself. She thought it was a bit odd that the Headmaster didn't have his own suite, or house, or something, but she wasn't in any position to object. Rules were rules. She simply smiled at him, just as she had with Amy.

She thought for a moment before finally responding. "Well, then. It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sin' chi. And you as well, Amy." She clasped her hands and bowed. "I'm not uncomfortable with you being here, Head...um, Sempai." She quickly nodded to herself. Smepai was probably the best honorific in this situation. "I'm sure that you are a man of honor and decency." She smirked and continued, "Also, I can turn myself into a shadow if things get..." she glanced toward Amy, "Awkward."

Sin’chi sighed with Hitomi spoke. Man of honor? Decency? He almost choked on his ramen when he heard those words in pure laughter but luckily that didn’t happen. True he was respected by many, but in hindsight, Sin’chi was just a talented and neat slacker. He could’ve been their big brother who always picked on them…deep down without his headmaster title that was who the true Sin’chi was.

“Oh please.” He said as he got up and threw away his stuff. “I am the youngest headmaster that this school has ever had. I'm broke, homeless, and my family moved away from here. To be honest the only reason I took this position was to make yen and keep a close eye on the monu-“ he paused and cut himself off, realizing that he was about to say monument.

No…they don’t know about that…he thought to himself.

“I mean…ugh, nevermind. You wouldn’t understand.” He walked over to the living room area and sat down, picking up a school article that was on the table.

Hikaru stretched and cracked his back. He never got a chance to say thanks to that girl who helped him up. She left to try the wall thing again, after giving him some advice. It wwasn't as if he was going to use it, but it was nice knowing that at least there were a few better students that still had some heart.

The class went about as well as he expected it to have gone. There were plenty of gifted and outright determined students in his class, all of which managed to pull off the exercise with ease, even if they went off with a rocky start. Of course, there was also that arrogant, yet completely honest guy that seemed to have no problems with mocking the teacher. Just goes to show that the better students can be unpredictable.

Hikaru sighed. He was never really good with focusing energy on or in his body. Don't get him wrong, he had his moments, but the practice of it wasn't exactly simple to him. It didn't help that he never tried as hard as others did. Still, he enjoyed trying, and even laughed at some of his past failures.

Hikaru looked down the hall. Almost all the students were heading to their rooms. He looked up where his was, and found...that he had completely disregarded trying to talk to any of his classmates, and has no idea who his two roommates were. He knew where the room was, though.

Looking back up, Hikaru looked around. There were only a few students in the halls now...

Eh, why not?, thought Hikaru as he squatted down, resting his forearms on his knees.

He might as well, have a nice run on the way to his room. In an instant, just like before, Hikaru dashed forward from his squatting position. He sped past his fellow students without a care in the world. He closed his eyes, and began his own little practice.

As he ran, he felt the wind shift as he came up to an obstacle. Whther it was an object or a student, he felt them around him, and more importantly in his path. He dodged swiftly, taking the movement's shifts into consideration.

When he had run off all the stress he had from his failures today, he slowed to a halt, and opened his eyes. Hikaru found himself just a few rooms past his assigned one. He walked back, caught his breath, and prepared to make his first impression on his new roommates, if they were inside already.

After taking a dep breath, Hikaru slid the door open and yelled his greeting, with a big smile on his face.

"HELLO, ROOMMATES!"

Kaori's mind wandered. The monks had taught her more than just combat. Meditation calmed the nerves and brought peace to the mind and soul, if done properly. It also allowed one to become more in tune with the world around them. The young monk's breathing was low and deep, almost as if she were asleep. Her aura didn't show, but it was clear that her energy was flowing in a much calmer manner than before, moving slowly through her. It was this state of serenity and mastery of her own body that she was able to notice something different in the room after several minutes. Her ear twitched, the first sign of movement since she'd knelt down, and focused. Yep, someone else was in the room. Rather close, considering she could hear the breathing. Her brows furrowed and her eyes slowly opened when--

"HELLO, ROOMMATES!"

Hikaru's loud entrance caused a squeal to come from Karoi as she recoiled, fast, and fell backwards, legs still pinned beneath her. She laid on the ground for a moment, glaring at the ceiling for a good long while, wriggling her legs until they finally popped out from underneath her, the wooden sandles barely sticking on her feet. With that done, she began to push herself up off the ground, sighing, taking in her two roommates. A girl she hadn't ever seen before, and the boy who had nearly broken his neck trying to walk up the wall. Perfect. Wait, wait, hold on... Guys were going to room with girls here? Not even the monks allowed that, and most on both sides usually swore celibacy vows. But this was a school full of teenagers. She finally realized she was looking rather weirdly at the boy, then coughed and blushed.

Standing up, she brushed off the orange gi she was wearing, smoothing out the wrinkles. Glancing between the girl and the boy, she replaced her flustered look with one that more resembled the tired, apathetic mask she'd been wearing during class. Clearing her throat, she said, "This is a bit awkward, rooming with someone of the opposite gender and someone I haven't even met up until now. But, I'd rather try to make the best of it, so we all might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Hamano Kaori, formerly of a temple, if the clothes didn't give me away. I can't say I'm looking forward to sharing a room, but I can say that I'm willing to work with it and try to get used to the idea and get to know you both better." She forced a smile, hoping it didn't look too terrible, fighting back her rising panic / terror. Social situations were not her forte.

The once sunny skies that hung over the school this morning was beginning to hide underneath pillows of light grey clouds. Within moments it started to rain heavily. Outside the gates of the school entrance was a mysterious black limo that pulled up and stopped alongside the curb. The driver wore an all-black kimono with a dark hood over his head that covered his eyes. Walking around the limo to the back near the passenger side, he opened the door and stood in a stationary position. Suddenly a black umbrella poked its nose out of the backseat of the limo and opened up. A woman with the same attire stepped out of the limo. She also wore a black kimono but hers had gold and white decorations along the torso and lower dress. Her face was painted all white like a geisha and her black hair was tied in a bun. She looked at Mikado Daigaku as a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“I see it hasn’t changed one bit. So this is where Akihiko lost his stature. Typical of the fool…always diving his nose into something so dull when it was much needed elsewhere.” She said.

The driver closed the door as other men also left the limo and stood beside her.

“Take me to meet his protégé immediately.” She demanded.

“Yes…Lady Kazumi.” One of the guards replied.

There was a monk who stood on top of one of the towers who spotted the limo. Instantly recognizing who they were the monk turned to the other who helped him guard the tower and nodded his head. In moments, the monk leaped from the tower and started sprinting down the wall. Using the strength in his feet he pushed off far enough to land on top of the roof of the school. Yet again he was dashing quickly across the roof leaping over any obstacles in his way with incredible speed.

Meanwhile, the lady entered the co-ed building and was greeted by the front desk but she did not stop to pay her respects to the receptionist, instead, she kept walking but stopped when the receptionist called out to her.

“Um…excuse me miss! But no one is allowed in the dorms without a proper pass. Are you here to visit someone?” the female receptionist asked.

Lady Kazumi turned her head slightly over her shoulder as her eyes began to glow purple. The receptionist soon fell into a state of mind control and allowed Lady Kazumi to enter without a pass. The lady moved up to one of the rooms. On the wall next to the door read the name…Okihika Hanzo and Yoshito Nambu. She did not know who Yoshito was but Okihika was the one she sought after. Who was she?

Hitomi was greatly embarrassed that she made such a gross misjudgment of the headmaster's character. She has always assumed that people in positions of authority had to possess some modicum of...authoritative traits. Virtues. But as it turns out, the man who would be rooming with her and Amy wasn't so much a headmaster as he seemed to be a pretender. She thought it too strong to call him a fraud, for didn't he demonstrate his abilities to become headmaster in the first place? Surely there was something more going on... He seemed to almost confirm this when he replied to her that he only wanted to keep an eye on...what? A 'monu'-something-or-other. Hitomi could only assume that he meant 'monument', but what monument could he be talking about? As she was blind, and her shadow powers had their limits, she didn't quite know the lay of the land. Was there some sort of monument that she had not heard of? He had told the girls that they wouldn't understand, then immediately dropped the subject. Just as well, Hitomi supposed. She wasn't really in the mood to speak to him any further, anyway. Not after the way he had just shrugged off...no, the way he flippantly dismissed her comments regarding his integrity. Outside, she remained cool, calm, serene...but inside, she was seething. She sighed and retired to her room without a word.

---

During her time in her room, she'd leaned her sword against the wall and changed into a hakama and kimono, and was presently seated on her bed. She'd been meditating, mostly about her first day in class, her failures, and the headmaster. After some time, Hitomi couldn't be sure how long, she heard the sound of rain hitting her window. The sound calmed her a bit and her mind was again at ease. She stood up from the bed and exited her room. She strode into what she assumed was the common area of her shared dorm room and sat down on a couch. She clasped her hands and rested them on her knees.

"Sin' chi. Amy? Are you still here?"

Sin’chi was standing on the balcony when Hitomi re-entered the living room area under the heavy rain that fell on him. He was shirtless showing off his ripped physique. His dark brown hair hung loosely over his shoulders. It seems he was meditating because a little ago he had visions of Akihiko’s return and Junichi’s final death. Once again the curse of being the new vanguard of the world has left him with a troubled mind. Sin’chi needed to clear it which was how he ended up outside. Intense concentration was the key to having a clear mind and the best way to meditate was when it rained. Hajime learned this a while back when his father would sit down with him and focus with him. The rain drops would trickle down his face to his shoulders, his chest and his back. A few drops of rain fell from the tips of his bangs that hung loosely in front of his face.

Sooner or later everyone will need to know the truth. No one was aware that this first year was the year of the Nisshoku (Japanese for eclipse) Remembering lines from the secret scroll that was kept in his family for generations, the Nisshoku was the time when evil would become its strongest. No one can remember the Nisshoku because at the end of every cycle the darkness would automatically be erased from the world leaving no trace of its existence. Overtime the world would forget about it and peace would reign once more. The last time the Nisshoku was seen…was when Akihiko and Junichi fought in battle. However, this year the cycle will rise once again. He did not hear Hitomi in the background because he was too focused on his thoughts.

Suddenly, a monk had landed on the balcony with him but it did not startle him for he could detect his energy when he came closer and knew it was not a threat. The monk whispered something in his ear.

Lord Hajime! It’s Lady Kazumi! She has returned! I lost track of her! He whispered.

This immediately troubled Sin’chi because although he has never seen Lady Kazumi he has heard stories of her tyranny from her father and the ancient scrolls. She was the queen of Terene at the time when Akihiko ruled Mikado Daigaku and the two were lovers. Hikari students invaded her castle but failed in capturing her. She went into hiding and has not been seen in generations. Was this a coincidence? The Nisshoku it had to be!

“Prepare to seal all exits of the school now!” Sin’chi ordered the monk.

“Yes sensei!” he replied and went to do just that, leaping away from the balcony.

Sin’chi entered the room again and saw Hitomi sitting there.

“Hitomi, stay here!” he said as he quickly walked past her heading into his room to get equipped. He grabbed his gi and his two swords then tied his hair in a ponytail again. Before heading out the door he turned slightly over his shoulder.

“I want you two to stay here.” He demanded then left the room.

Victorica had been sitting in front of the girl for quite a while now but she just didn't notice. Of course it was not that rare for others not to notice her presence that quickly. She had been training on hiding techniques for quite some time now and it worked flawlessly. Her breathing was light and her body was not moving at all so that there wouldn't be any unnecessary sounds like a creaking floorboard or her clothes that would rustle. Breathing was a part of her training. If you breathed to deeply during a mission people around you could notice someone is close by or hiding and holding your breath for a long time wasn't ideal either. So soft and light breathing was the way to go for most occasions. Don't excite yourself or try to hold your own breath for to long otherwise it could extremely wrong, that was the trick. And of course on top of that she was facing the girl right on so it was difficult to hide her breathing the whole time in this quiet room. Even if she did try to hide it, it would've taken to long for the girl to notice Victorica in front of her if she kept on meditating.

Victorica sharpened her ears when a loud stomping noise sounded through the door from the hallway. Emergency bells rang, it was trouble. Something dangerous was close to them she could definitely feel it. Victorica slowly reached out for her upper leg and placed her hand on one of the kunai that was still in her leg holster. Her face was still faced at the girl who clearly reacted and seemed to notice something too. Either Victorica's presence or the danger itself. She remained calm and kept gently smiling at the girl as she could feel the dangerous presence pass by the room. Before the girl could even open her eyes and see what was happening the door was janked open and the presence itself entered the room with a loud yell. Not a split second after the door was opened Victorica was already in progress of throwing the kunai. While the boy was yelling a sharp flying kunai flew barely past his head and landed into the wall behind him. Victorica didn't bat an eye and slowly lowered her arm again to continue watching the girl.

It appeared the girl ended up in a rather weird pose after the boy had entered in surprise. Victorica remained watching the girl who was struggling to get herself up again. Victorica thought it was quite cute how the girl could be so clumsy and found it cute mainly the way she acted to be honest. The girl got herself up and looked at both Victorica and the boy timidly. Victorica refrained from talking before the girl had said something herself and patiently waited. The girl stood up as Victorica her eyes followed her face with the same smile on it for the whole time. The girl seemed to be trained by the monks at the temple up until now. That would mean her fighting style would probably be something like kung fu or any other sport without a weapon, judging from the lack of a weapon of course. That also would have explained the meditating she did just now. All part of being a munk.

Victorica also stood up in front of the girl and could immediately see the difference in height, well that was to be suspected. Victorica placed her right hand on her waist replied to the girl "Nice to meet you Kaori-chan. I hope you don't mind the informalities but that would make us get used to each other a little quicker." She closed her eyes and smirked a little "Victorica Winterfield, both your roommate and classmate." She opened her eyes again and looked up at the girl "I don't think I'll be much of a bother to you during our time together, as for this guy. I don't think he'll be much of a bother either." She turned around and cheekily smiled at him "I hope we get along with each other."