Monday, August 14th 2017, 8:40AM

It was early enough in the morning in the fall month of August on a Monday. Higa, Aiko was hurrying to class. It was the start of the 10th grade, and well, it didn’t feel much different than the grade before. The only difference were that there were a new group of kids who were slightly below her. Not that they were particularly below her… Ah! She was getting distracted and there was only 5 minutes left to get to class. Once she arrived on the second floor, she scuffled into the classroom where she tripped up on her own feet and fell. “Ouch!” Aiko exclaimed before looking around frantically. Just as quickly as she had come in she stood up and bowed repeatedly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!”

“No need to apologize, you aren’t late. Please just take your seat.” Her teacher, Mr. Kimimura, smiled and rolled his eyes a little. Most of the class watched as she hurried to her seat and sat down, burying her face in her arms in embarrassment.

This was Higa, Aiko, Second year student at Kirigakure Academy. She had lovely short, unnaturally blue hair, (which was actually the hair she was born with), and deep purplish-blue eyes which were always wide and full of life. Aiko was a silly girl who often got hurt due to her clumsiness, though it was mostly due to the way she was raised that she turned out this way, however, at this point it was just an act.

The story was like this, Aiko was confronted her first year at the Academy by a man in a suit. Her first terrified thought was to run. However, when this man explained to her what he was there for, well, her entire life was about to change. He told her that she was the great granddaughter of a priestess who fought demons side by side with her true love. At first she thought the suited man was insane, until he further explained himself. Long story short, he showed her the truth, by “lifting the veil” from her eyes and allowing her to see demons around her. She had already known archery from taking lessons early on in her life and was destined to use her knowledge and strange powers to fight demons.

Whenever there was a large, threat of a demon nearby her, time would stop. She would be the only one able to move. The minor, non-threatening demons meant nothing to her. It was the big ones who sought to destroy her world that concerned her. Through trial and error
she learned the essentials to fighting demons:
1. Protect the innocent above all else
2. Keep yourself from getting injured so you don’t have to explain yourself later
3. Defeat the demon and close the rift that it opened
4. Minimal damage to people’s property, especially homes and the school

These were the most important things she had learned when fighting demons on her own. The young girl learned entirely on her own, the only thing the mysterious man had taught her was the spell to close the rifts. Otherwise she learned different magic techniques on her own, but mostly used her bow.

Now, you may be asking, she fights all on her own, haven’t there been others? There have been. In the past. There were three others in fact, that Aiko knows of.

Daitaro Komatsu, a close friend of hers. Later in the first year they fought side by side, until something unspeakable happened to her friend…

Kitsu Uni, an arrogant older girl who moved away after her father was killed by a demon, but to the outside world it seemed like she had killed him since she was there when it happened.

And lastly, Aiden Konoga, a transfer student who disappeared not long after joining forces with Aiko.

Anyway, the loss of her friend took a huge toll on her. She swore to take down whoever was reawakening the demons. Without much luck though. In the meantime she would continue her act of shy and clumsiness until the time came when she could find the one who took her friend from her.

As Hercules sophmore year came to an end, he was losing some of his close friends. Those close to him had blood running through their veins that fought demons for centuries. How he attracted such a group was probably due to his own family. He wanted to stay away from that life as much a possible, though he found some interest in it, he didn't want to fight. He said his farewells before returning to a boring life at home. His parents often left for their day jobs but would find ways to still fit their traditions in.

One of those many summer nights Hercules found himself in a dream state that was like one he never experienced before, to him it felt almost real. A sight unlike any seen before fell into his gaze. Upon a mountain top that over viewed the world, where each landmark and country was seen crystal clear, almost as if it was fake. The floor around him and the air that circulated was pure, a golden essence about it. It wasn't long till he jab in the shoulder by an elbow from a powerful force. Hercules was sent off balanced and turned around to see a giant among men stand before him, a tale to some but truth to others, Zeus. The god explained to the young man that the world wasn't as it seemed and there was a reason for families of blood to fight against the demons, that reason was not given but the gods could not directly interfere. Hercules was being taught the ways of the light and dark, of good and evil, why a balance must remain. Certain people were a key to that balance and his job was to partake in it. He was warned of a greater evil approaching, and the time to take up arms was now his responsibility, or his family would fail and fall, the end of the blood of gods. That was then by the gods of Zeus and Hercules themselves, granted the young man the power of Godsent. Though not a god himself, he would have the strength and power to rival any man on Earth.

Waking up in a cold sweat Hercules eyes opened rapidly, his sight was slightly impaired from a set of dark lines covering his face. He quickly lifted his hand to wipe his face but ended up punching himself with a loud clang of metal. He was not used to his new strength, nor knew he had it. His thoughts scurried around trying to make sense of his dream all the while his body was moving too fast, destroying the bed and breaking his shelves as he got up. He stood still with his legs parted and his arms stretch out, he slowly moved his head to look down at his body, seeing a golden reflection of the sun bounce off of it. He was wearing an armor unfamiliar to him. He gently lifted his hand to raise the visor and give him clear vision of room again. It was trashed and half of everything was broken. He spotted a sheathed sword and a large shield leaned up against his bed, an unknown attraction to them. Hercules took his movements slow and steady, taking the sword and shield in hand, heading to the kitchen to see his family. They would have answers. As he stepped into the hallway he called for his parents, echoed by the banging of his armor against itself. He reached the stairs and was having a hard time navigating, he went to take a step and slipped, causing his golden glow in all to stumble down the stairs and end up face first into the ground at the bottom of the stairs. His parents greeted him with a smile before explaining what had happened to him.

He had experienced what was only shown in the family records, and none of the current living to witness. They followed the records to teach and educated Hercules in his new title of Godsent. It was explained that his powers were only activated when the armor was on, and the armor could only be summoned in a time of need, of course he would have to learn to shut it off first. The family brought him to their own personal hunting grounds where rifts commonly opened, a highway of a valley for demons. This is where the family that bore the blood of the gods fought and defended Earth. They put the young lad in the front lines. The three of the standing in arms waiting for the attacks to come. Hercules was nervous, never having experience in the field like this. Though his lack of battles, he was still by far the strongest in the family now. As the demons approached Hercules let his body feel itself in the suit and let his own intuition kick in. The suit seemed to move on it's own, or so speak to the user on where to move. Such skills were imprinted from those that wore the Godsent before him. This is how he trained, this is how he learned to fight.

The summer came to an end and Hercules had weeks of training, he learned to summon and return the Godsent suit whenever he needed. Its own history of war now embedded in the boy himself. It was time for him to return to his normal life of a student, but fight when it was necessary.

One of Hercules's classes was an aid at the library, being a junior he was capable of having a couple free relaxed periods. He found the library to be peaceful, a place where he could be himself in silence or seek social interaction as many students frequented it. he's been there for over a month now and has yet to find new companions in school, with many of his friends from last year gone, he found his free time alone and boring. Though it never kept him down as he always had a book to keep his nose buried in. He just hopes that one day he has to fight at school, he won't be alone.

First day of starting school again. Lots to look forward to but especially, a fresh new start all around! Thought Chiyaki Ito. His life hadn't been rough or anything, only that he had stood out like a sore thumb from his other classmates because of his bright blue green eyes. Some thought he was blind, others some kind of ghost or demon, but the teasing had gotten so bad for him that by the time others were starting to note how cool he kinda looked, he couldn't help but feel immensely shy and on the spot. Now was an opportunity to meet new and different people! Who knows, the eyes could work for him in landing a girlfriend! Then again the prospect made him embarrassed that he had such a vain thought!No no, time to shift thoughts. He wondered if anyone saw that new tv series that aired this past summer. The adaptation they made of that vampire hunter video game. What a novel idea, using a whip instead of the traditional sword or whatnot! And the way the hunter used said whip to sling his short sword around like a Chinese rope dart! Chiyaki wished he already made a friend to talk about this with!

Making his way onto campus by bicycle, Chiyaki began to feel excited seeing the sea of new faces around the school. Completely different, and no one started to stare at him yet! That was the nice thing about high school. Everyone's so wrapped in their own little world they don't notice the small things. He had only a few chances to not seem like a weirdo saying hi to others around him. But when he started to think about it more and if they would notice his eyes first, Chiyaki began to feel anxious and had second thoughts. He would wait until they were in homeroom and they all had to introduce themselves. At least that was required. This? This was a panic attack and mess waiting to happen if he tried to be spontaneous. Chiyaki pulled out his headphones and started listening to his 'confidence' playlist the rest of the way to the homeroom to regain his nerves.

He arrived early with a few minutes to spare. He took a seat towards the back, one desk shy away from the window. As much as he wanted to, he was not about to fulfill the trope of "stand out stranger tends to sit by the window to look out when he's bored so he'll look cool". No, he was too shy for that anyway. Then again, he started to see others walking in with dyed and wacky colored hair. Guess he wouldn't have to worry about standing out too much. He changed seats and took the window anyway. He started thinking about things he could do to get more involved. Join a club maybe? Which one though? He didn't have any discernable skill in anything, not even videogames. He would have to look around see what was available. Should he run for student council? No, that would put a spotlight on him too fast too soon. Both lost in thought and still listening to music, he hadn't noticed when everyone came in and was asked to stand up. Nice going moose brain.

"Could you please take off your headphones and stand up!?" nearly yelled a student next to him.

"Huh? Oh crap!" Chiyaki shouted. He quickly put his headphones away and stood up, but in his hurry tripped on the desk legs and fell over. Everyone chuckled and Chiyaki felt embarrassed. His face turned bright red as he stood up apologized and introduced himself.

"I didn't ask you to start introducing yourselves yet" replied Ms. Kobayashi. This is what Chiyaki got for changing seats to be near that window. He wished he could fall out of that window right now.

After Ms. Kobayashi introduced herself and everyone else did, including Chiyaki, he felt some relief that class was finally starting. At least there was some time to let the awkward die down. He resigned himself that he would be stuck with whatever impression everyone in homeroom had of him. He needed to join a club as soon as possible with new faces that didn't know him yet!

The school year was once again starting for the students. For many, this meant a time to form new bonds with fellow students and experience new hobbies through joining clubs. However, for Hasumi, it was to be another yearly struggle to make it through. Hasumi had hardly associated herself with any of the other students, and many were simply afraid to approach the short girl due to the scars that masked her face. Relating to others was difficult for Hasumi, but she never intended to ignorant of her fellow classmates. Her past had always been holding Hasumi back, and any connections she did form seemed alien--odd, unusual, and simply different. Hasumi knew she was different than the others, and she stood out--just like her appearance--like a sore thumb from those studying at the campus.

Being different had its advantages, at least. The city bus rolled to a stop, its breaks screeching as the vehicle slowed to pick up Hasumi and a few other passengers. The route was busy as usual, and the bus was crowded with people riding to work or school. The few seats remaining were unfortunately the seats were one would have to stand, and the safety railing out of reach of Hasumi. Almost instantly, a few girls had noticed her plight, and quickly stood up to allow Hasumi to sit down instead to allow her to ride unsafely. Sitting down on the blue cushioned seat after a quick thank you, Hasumi sunk into the oversized clothing she was wearing and plugged in her headphones, tuning out the conversations that were happening between the various commuters riding the bus.

The ride had taken a moment before Hasumi disembarked the bus. The bus stop was a few lengths from where the school was, but Hasumi was hardly in a rush to class. As far as Hasumi knew, she was still on time, and there was no one waiting on her to arrive. Even at the bus stop, the other students that had noticed Hasumi made effort to try to distance themselves, perhaps intimidated by her scarred and out of place appearance. Hasumi was on her own, just as usual, and she walked alone, as usual. Eventually, Hasumi arrived to the campus, disappearing into the crowd of taller students swarming the grounds to make their way to class.

However, Hasumi was not the only one who stood out like a sore thumb today. He was just another student, one that would either feel intimidated or pity Hasumi, but the boy had an anxious atmosphere around him. Without further thought, the boy put his earphones in, and disappeared into the crowd to wherever he was walking. Thinking not too much about it, Hasumi continued her walk to where her homeroom was supposed to be, squeezing past everyone that didn't happen to see the short girl struggling to fight the crowd. Seeing as the first years were on the bottom floor, it wasn't hard for Hasumi to find her designated homeroom: 1-C. Entering the classroom, Hasumi noticed the boy from before sitting next to window, but he had seemed to be tuned out to his music as she took her seat in the middle of the classroom, next to the window side.

Time had passed for a few minutes before Hasumi put away her headphones, and stood up for Ms. Kobayashi's arrival. Everyone had stood from their chairs except... "Could you please take off your headphones and stand up!?" A student shouted, prompting Hasumi to glance back at whoever was still sitting. The boy from before quickly jolted from his seat, tripping as he apologized and introduced himself, much to the laughter of the classroom. Their teacher pointed out she had not yet asked for introductions, and the boy--now known as Chiyaki Ito--shrunk away in awkwardness. Despite this, Ms. Kobayashi continued class, and each of the students introduced themselves, including Hasumi. A few whispers were had as she introduced herself, but Hasumi didn't mind, and class soon began.

---

Monday, August 14th 2017, 10:29 AM

The hours that had passed went by slow as they possibly could go, or so it seemed to her. Aiko moved from one class to another with haste, trying to make the time go faster, but it wasn’t working. During her second class she could sense something was off, something was different but she tried to ignore it. There couldn't be an attack now, not on the first day of school. Her sixth sense was going crazy in the back of her head, like a tingling down her spine, something was wrong. The girl sighed quietly to herself and hesitantly
raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Higa.” The female teacher asked after finishing her sentence.

“I-I… have to go to the restroom…” Her words were almost a whisper, she felt all eyes on her. She hoped it wasn’t too late, there was no time to waste, she had to get away from all these students so they wouldn’t get hurt in the attack.

“Alright, no need to be shy, here’s the hall pass.” The teacher, Mrs. Durano, held out the paper hall pass to the girl. Aiko stood up slowly, but hurried over to the teacher and politely took the pass, running out the door like she REALLY had to go. Which, in one way, she did. The sophomore girl hurried down the hall, not as clumsily as she had been before, but now filled with purpose. Aiko skidded to a halt when she noticed something strange, something she had seen before. The few people that occupied the hallway were frozen. And not like temperature-wise, they were stuck in place, like statues. She was too late. “Crap!” Aiko moved to the nearest window and looked outside. There was a huge rift open in the front court yard. She saw the rift that opened up and all the minor demons pouring out. “Alright, time for some action.”

Without hesitation, Aiko bolted down the nearest flight of stairs and through the main doors of the school. As she approached, something out of the ordinary happened, her outfit magically changed. Now, instead of her school uniform she wore a complex outfit of a deep blue black. A line like face paint formed across the middle of her face. In her hand a menacing looking bow appeared in her hand along with the quiver at her left hip. She was ready for battle now.

Once the demons noticed her, the fight was on. However, these were small demons, the only thing they had going for them was their numbers, with luck she would be able to take them all down easily. “Gods bless me, let me win this fight for mortals everywhere!” One after another she shot the demons with her endless supply of arrows. She would notch an arrow, pull it back and release till a good chunk of the demons were gone. The girl lept back, notching three arrows at once and firing it. “Mystic Spray shot!!” Her arrows dispersed into 20 more arrows and took out a handful more of the demons. Many more took the place of the ones she had destroyed. “This isn’t working they just keep coming!!” Luckily for the girl, no students or teachers were around to protect, but she was losing the battle, there were too many demons. She really wished she didn’t have to fight alone!

Second class, english, Hercules was not fond of his regular classes, most of them seemed to contain lessons that were less than necessary, but helped in their own way. His teacher was nice at least, of course that was just the first impression, later in the year he could reveal his true nature around his students. Though Herc wasn't worried about it. The class dragged on, reviewing last years lessons and going over the plan for the rest of the year. There were a few books listed that he was interested in and some he already read. His first period taking place in the library would definitely give him a head start for this class.

Hercules scanned through the large pamphlet laid before him for this class, flipping through the pages slowly, his head resting on his hand propped up by his elbow on the desk. He sighed, bored of the teacher and students already. He flipped another page watching fall, it halted in midair, time had stopped. His eyes lit up with excitement, English was not a favorite of his so he was glad something he was used to happened. He stood up slowly trying not to disturb the silence around him. Carefully finding his way out of the classroom and into the hall, he jumped into a dead sprint, following his instincts to the rifts location, running past a freshman class he once had before.

As fast as his body was swinging he activated his armor, his body started to glow brighter and brighter into a golden aura. Before long the sound of his jeans rubbing was replaced with the loud clanking of his armor. With the golden protection came his powers of the Godsent, his speed increased and his sense of direction and instincts sharpened. Within short time he found his way approaching the large set of doors leaving the front of the school, through the door windows he could see the rift in the distance. With a smirk on his face, hidden by the visor on his helmet, he grabbed the large shield off his back and drew his sword from its sheathe. Bashing through the doors with a loud crash and sliding on his boots past a women whilst bringing his sword down on a demon that seemed too close for comfort for the archer.

Hercules turned his head to face the girl, "Demons kinda get on your nerves huh?" he said with a cheerful tone and an excitement for action. He returned his attention to the coming waves, charging ahead to aggro the swarm away from the archer, with him in the front lines he knew she would have his back. His body moved quick and effortless, a single swing sending the pests flying back towards the rift. Though with demons at his back he continued to direct his shield opposite of his sword, countering with both in circular dance among the horde. The numbers continued to climb, like they were never going to stop spawning. Killing one brought back two, but not fighting at all would leave the school in danger. Though easy to kill they had strength in numbers. Hercules was beginning to feel overwhelmed, even with the help of the archer in the back. He took his sword and swung wide in a circle, giving him a second of clearance. During this short time he raised his shield and slammed it into the ground, a golden flash and shockwave was sent around him, throwing the demons back forming a crater beneath him resulting in a small earthquake to the nearby area.

Chiyaki was thankful that no one approached him, nor did he appear to get any lasting looks from the other classmates who saw his little spaz moment in homeroom. Most of the day went by with no problem, classes were introductory but he didn't feel like he was making an impression so far. Then again, being below the radar was better than popping up in a negative way. That said, he really hoped his little spaz out moment in homeroom wouldn't stick. Despite his concern for his eyes, he did notice others who appeared funkier than he did. But among them though he noticed a girl in his class who seemed to have a number of scars on her face. He kinda wished he could've approached her. But what would he have said though? If she was like him in anyway, she too would feel quite apprehensive about her appearance and could be weary of anyone who suddenly approached and talked to her. He would give it a day or two to workshop this. For now history class needed attention. As well as the question of why everything was so quiet all of a sudden.

As Chiyaki looked up from his notes, he saw the teacher standing still with his mouth open as though he were in the middle of talking. In fact, everyone else looked like they were dead still in the middle of what they were doing! It's as if reality hit the pause button and Chiyaki was the only glitch. Upon this realization he heard a loud unnatural noise and looked out the window. He saw what looked like a portal straight out of one of his favorite sci-fi shows and what appeared to be demons coming out. Initially he panicked not knowing what was going on or what to do until he saw two individuals who appeared to be fighting the demons. One appeared to be an archer sniping them left and right. The other was a straight up golden Knight killing his foes with the classic sword and shield. As afraid as he was, Chiyaki felt compelled to go down and watch. He made his way out of the classroom and saw everyone else frozen too. There had to be some kind of magic going on and he had to find out why he was unaffected. Nearing the exit door he felt a strange sensation all around him. He suddenly felt a bit heavier then realized his clothes had changed! He wasn't wearing his school uniform anymore, but what appeared to be a black armored short hooded coat. His left arm sleeve had a pauldron stitched to the shoulder and both sleeves were rolled up. His left forearm was covered by a metal clawed gauntlet, his legs were covered in metal greaves and he wore a fingerless, leather glove with metal knuckles. Also within his right hand he found a whip, like the one from the series he watched! What was happening? Was this some sort of fever dream? Was he asleep in class?

He had no time to ponder further as he arrived outside. The two he saw earlier were in the middle of battle, but a few stray demons noticed him and began to charge. Chiyaki caught off guard went into a fight or flight response, but time seemed to slow down for him. In fact, more than that changed. Suddenly his world turned gray and he could see spots on the demons, highlighted areas of their bodies; shoulders, knee joints, heads, eyeballs. Then by instinct, Chiyaki snapped his right wrist that held the whip and he began to hit these targeted spots almost without effort. A couple of the demons fell over in pain, others burst into ash. When the world seemed to move regularly again and normal color returned it occurred to Chiyaki what he just did. He began to actively focus on his actions, but with more purpose in order to summon this new power. His world slowed down and his perception changed again showing his enemies' weakspots. Chiyaki, in control this time, decided to take them out with a bit more style, lashing at at them and even grabbing one to toss into another. The gauntlet came in handy to pull a complicated maneuver where he had part of the whip swing around his hand for leverage and relinquish more power at the snap. When he dispatched this group Chiyaki felt weaker as he came out of his powered state.

"Oh no, is this what happens when I focus like this?" Whatever this new power was, he observed that it sapped his strength. He had to stop using this power and rely on his tactics. Though he never held a whip before today, somehow the techniques that didn't require too much strength from him came to him naturally and helped him to conserve his energy and keep the demons at bay. Whenever a demon got close Chiyaki lifted his gauntlet hand and the demons were somehow repelled automatically, as if pushed back by some unseen force that emanated from the gauntlet. This emboldened Chiyaki to rush in, grab them with said gauntlet hand and set them up for a flurry of combo attacks with his whip. If this was indeed some sort of fever dream, he was going to enjoy it to its fullest. He took out his headphones which were still on him, activated his mp3 player, and lashed away to the sounds of heavy metal.

Monday, August 14th 2017, 10:29 AM

Where she had only had herself before, now there were three others fighting by her side. Two younger classmates it seemed and one older.

First it was just her and the golden Knight, which was totally okay with her. Maybe this was the knight in shining armor she didn't know she needed. But then, there was another boy, one with a whip and gauntlet. There was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but seeing him, however green he seemed to be, gave her hope. Lastly but not at all least, was a small child like student with knives who was like a tiny Viper with her knives. When the brute and the armor created a small crater, she couldn't help but cringe, how was she going to cover that up??

Aiko, however surprised and in shock she was, was also very relieved. In the back of her mind she prayed nothing would happen to her new teammates on their first encounter, or ever, she couldn't bear the thought of losing another comrade. "Yes, they do get on my nerves, I do not tolerate demons, especially not when they are trying to destroy all that I love and care about!!" Aiko replied with all seriousness, but not aggression.

" now is not quite the time for introductions..." she shouted over the sound of them killing demons. "However, I'm Higs, Aiko! And I will be closing this Rift for us today!" With a dead series expression she lept up high in the ai, flip over the ever-shrinking horde of demons, and landed beside the rift. It was like a Terran reality and whenever One open nearby, time would stop, she wasn't quite sure how far the parameters were for time stopping, or if it's stretched all around the world. Which, logically, she doubted.

The purple and reddish tear before her, continue to let out a flow of minor demons, which she was no longer going to allow. She pulled a small paper Talisman from her thigh pouch on her right side and held it up in front of her between two fingers.

"By the Gods, Purge these demons from this world, close this Rift and unleash Thy fury!!" Like a throwing star, she threw the paper into the rift and at once it began to release a colored smoke. Slowly the rift began to close and the minor demons began to screech in agony. She would have done the sooner but it was hard to get in close with the onslaught of demons from before. Finally, she had her chance, the rift would close and the demons would suffer. "Now, while they're weakened. Now's our chance for an all-out attack!!" She notched an arrow and released, attacking relentlessly at the last few demons that were left.

Hercules was glad to be in fight against the demons, at least with someone other than his family. Now knowing he could perform this responsibility with people from his school, he's driven more to the fight. He continued he dance around a single spot, using this to keep the aggro on him. The fight didn't last long along with the archer, one showed up with a whip and shortly after another with knives.

His helmet wasn't good at observing his peripherals so he pretty much had to face a direction and anticipate what was behind him. As Hercules fought in his round clearance he was able to spot in the distance that the archer had left her post, but the two were performing well dispatching the demons with their own methods. He turned back towards the rift spotting the archer performing her own variation of a closing ceremony. The demons had ceased their summons, all was left was to dispatch the remaining few.

Without the risk of summoning more, and knowing for a fact that all that was left was what remained. He could start to have a little more fun with how he stayed the beasts. Using his shield to bash rather than block whilst stomping his boot on the head of a knocked over demon. His fighting style became a little more gruesome and less clean. Their numbers were dwindling down fast, Hercules slowed his movements and sat back a bit, observing the other three. Even though a couple demons would still attack him he had time to watch. The archer obviously had experience, but the other two seemed to follow their calling and accepted to the fight. If one was hesitant with the calling their skill would lack confidence, unlike these two.

As Chiyaki continued in the fight, he noticed the third fighter dispatching the other demons with her knives. Now his "fever dream" turned into a full rock music video! He even took time to notice the archer's ritual that closed the portal that these demons seemed to continue spawning from. It appeared all that was left were the stragglers. Chiyaki felt he could relax now and go all out with his newfound power. A surge of confidence electrified him and he summoned his ability. Although he would not see it himself, his eyes began to glow brighter and it appeared his eyes were replaced with a brilliant blue flame. His perception changed again to slow time around him and his enemies' weak spots were shown once more. He readied his whip, but this time, small sharp blades began to protrude around it. Spinning with no effort he took out multiple targets with surgeon-like precision. His gauntlet glowed and he released a tremor punch on the ground, the force of which cleared the demons that surrounded him now lacerated into dusted bits swept away by the furious wind.

With the immediate threat around him gone, he removed his headphones. He saw the archer and the knight were finished though the knife wielder was still working on her share. He didn't want to hog any more kills, even if it was a dream to him. But ever still the polite one, he didn't want to get in the way and simply observed her finishing off the demons with finesse. However, when he took a closer look, he thought that she seemed familiar somehow. Yes, even through her cloak he could see the scars on her face. It was his fellow classmate from homeroom! He then wondered if the other two were students that he knew. He would either wake up before it ended or he would find out how deep this dream would go.

Monday, August 14th 2017, 10:29 AM

After the ritual, she took out the final few demons around her and got to kick back for a second as the others took out their share of the nuisances. She was thinking to herself, this was nothing compared to what she had fought in the past. It was rather surprising that one of the major demons didn't show up. Aiko would have to show the newbies a thing or two before their next battle. Maybe she could teach the others how to close Rifts too? Or maybe it was something only her bloodline could do? The last thing that popped into her head was how they only had 5 to 10 minutes to get back to class before time started moving again, but she decided she would get to know the others before they needed to get back.

When the battle had finally ended, Aiko was panting sightly in excitement, an adrenaline rush, and a bit of exhaustion. She nodded to herself acknowledging that it was over. The sophomore looked at the faces of her comrades, none of whom she recognized, especially the tall one covering his face with a helmet. Her eyes rested on the small girl, from what she could tell, there was some fear in her, for reasons unknown, but the way she was looking at the golden Knight was concerning.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Aiko moved to the small girl and knelt in front of her like she was a child, not meaning to demean her. "There's nothing to be afraid of, we are all friends here." The older girl held her hand out for the other to shake, whilst doing so she turned her head to the others to ask, "We are all friends here, RIGHT?" Whether or not they replied she turned back to the girl, "I like your fighting style, maybe a little bit violent, but whatever works for you." Aiko smiled sweetly.

Hercules had a little bounce about his posture as he watched the others fight. He liked this team and he could tell the four of them were about to talk about means of creating a group. The team seemed to fit well to him, two to fight at range and two to fight in close quarters, with three of them being quick to kill and himself to take the brunt of the forces, the squad could dispatch just about any invasion. In fact he liked this team more compared to fighting with his parents, perhaps the four in due time could out perform the Hercules bloodline.

The fighting ended rather quickly, everyone pushing their abilities to see what they could truly do, the two new ones anyhow. The four of them kind of met the middle in a way, obviously wanting to know more about each other. With th clank of his armor and his helmet covering his face scanned everyone. The archer was thin, nimble, but quick with her draw. The hunter of sorts, the other male, short compared to Hercules, but built for his skills, another source of muscle. Then his attention landed on the viper, a petite young girl, probably freshman, wielding knives of all things, but she was fast and hard to catch. Hercules noticed, just as the archer did, that the young girl seemed rather frightened, more so directed at him.

Hercules was quick to think, he often played with the younger kids in the elementary schools as a community service sort of thing. His "friendly to scared kids" instincts kicked in. He noticed her hands were rather gripped tight around her the grips of her knives. He acted fast throwing his sword behind while dropping his shield at his feet. His voice muffled by the metal of his helmet, "No no no no no, please don't be scared," he cursed at himself while glancing down at his armor, "Gold is suppose to be friendly, nice, protective." He grabbed the top of his helmet quickly and threw it behind him towards the sword. Revealing his rather sharp but gentle features with his fiery red hair. He didn't take a step forward knowing that puts them in a deeper state of fear. Being able have the armor as a gift and possession rather than something only used to fight demons he could turn it on or off at will. He quickly put away his golden suit, his metal armor along with his remains behind him vanished in a flash of reflective dust. As the armor dispersed he suddenly dropped to a sitting position crossing his legs. The girl now had the height advantage and could see clearly above him, this was stage one of bringing his threat level and intimadation factor lower. With a tilt of his head and a goofy smile on face he introduced himself, "I don't mean to scare ya, I'm Hercules," finishing off with his eyes closed for a second. This introduced him to the group but it was more directed to the young girl. He turned his attention back to archer that stated the groups status, "Yep, only friendly's here, your knives are cool too!" He said finishing off with a compliment like a cherry on top.

As the battle wrapped up, Chiyaki began to have second thoughts whether what he was experiencing was a dream or not. Usually in the middle of battle the dream would end, there was nothing definitive. This was too neat. "Too tidy with a bow on top" neat. At this point all the demons were destroyed and the portal closed off by the Archer, everyone was making introductions. He noticed the girl from his class looking particularly fearful of the Golden Knight. Strange. You'd think most kids would look at shining knights, especially this literal one here, with ooo and awe. Then again, he was not her brain so he wouldn't know her triggers. Still, he felt sorry that she was feeling such a way and wanted to help, but he didn't want to agitate the situation further.

Thankfully the Archer and Knight were quick to diffuse the situation. The Knight removed his armor and weaponry to reveal himself as a red haired, older looking student, probably a Junior. He seemed to have the friendly older brother thing down as he didn't take further steps but established his friendly face with her. The Archer did the same kneeling a bit to be on equal footing with the knife wielding assassin assuring her that we were all friends. Chiyaki felt like he had to say something at this point. With the reality that this could all be real, happening, he voice started to crack when he spoke up, "y-yeah, we're all friends here" Then three pairs of eyes were on him. He felt like a deer in headlights.

Fear had enveloped Hasumi like a coiling snake. It held her in place, Hasumi's muscles refusing to move from their position. She had heard someone approach her, but the short assassin was unsure who it was--her eyes constantly trained on the tall knight. A black leather glove was soon extended, and a feminine voice had spoke to Hasumi, clearly attempting to calm her down. Hasumi had not known who it was, but she had an inkling that it was the archer who had introduced herself moments ago. Still, regardless of who it was, Hasumi made no move to return the handshake--the knight's intimidating height still holding sway over her thoughts.

The knight had seen the fear struck within Hasumi, and he proceeded to toss his weapons to the ground. However, what he might've said was muffled by his helmet and only served for Hasumi to tighten her grip on the daggers in her hands and shrink even further back from the rest of the group. Tossing his helmet aside upon seeing such a response, the now confirmed redhead sat on the ground, allowing the much shorter Hasumi to have the height advantage over him. With a goofy smile on his face, the knight introduced himself as Hercules, and proceeded to compliment Hasumi as Aiko had done a moment ago. Even the whip user, who had said hardly anything so far, spoke up to calm Hasumi.

In all, their words and actions were working to calm the short girl from her fear of the knight. The knight himself had the most powerful effect on Hasumi, who had loosened her grip on her daggers. Sheathing them within their sheathes, Hasumi returned to her normal self--a young girl who had been through too much. Hasumi looked at the others with the face of innocence, but deep within her eyes was a damaged girl. A moment of silence went by before Hasumi had spoke even a single word. "Hasumi..." Hasumi muttered to those around her, shyly introducing herself to the rest.

---

Monday, August 14th 2017, 10:29 AM

Aiko didn't take it personally that the younger girl didn't take her hand for a handshake. The girl seemed traumatized by something or another. But luckily the redhead was seemingly kind enough and in quick thinker. He tossed his helmet and sword away as well as dispelled his magnificent armor. After which the redhead, now known to be named Hercules, sat cross-legged on the ground with a goofy smile on his face. Aiko wanted to give him an 'are you serious?' expression but wanted to keep up the friendly vibe. Finally the two younger classmates both spoke, both seemingly shy compared to the upperclassmen.

Being a natural leader in her fight form, Aiko spoke up once more. "Like I said, there's no need to be shy or afraid. No one can hurt you when I'm around. I'm sure Hercules over there feels the same." She turned her head to smile at the redhead. A small metaphorical clock in the back of her mind was going off, telling her they need to get back to class, like now.

"Hasumi, Hercules, Aiko and... shoot, I've got to catch your name before we go our separate ways, which we should now because our time to run is almost up. Time will continue moving and we don't want them to catch us out here. I can explain everything after school if you guys would like to meet me here."

Aiko seemingly friendly enough, gave a sweet smile. It had been a real long while since she felt any comradery. Not since all her comrades before disappeared in one way or another... She started to zone out as her mind thought of her late friend Daitaro. The sophomore swore to herself then that she wouldn't allow a single thing to happen to a new friends after all, they were friends now... right?

The young girl had relaxed and calmed down, Hercules couldn't have asked for anything more. He was glad that she no longer feared him, at least for the moment. From here on out he would be wary of his actions or to frighten the girl, who gave her name as Hasumi. Hercules wasn't quick to get on his feet, in fact he stayed on the ground for the most part. Using his hands to lift his body and scoot his way over closer to the group, putting himself within a few feet of the girl and the others standing near.

The archer seemed to take on the role as leader with her words and actions. Hercules didn't mind, even if he could tell he was older and not the only one who was proficient in the slaying business. With th right leader, all he needs to be is muscle, a champion to land the punches and take the big hits. She had previously introduced herself as Aiko and even though his attention was on the girl he took note of the name. The boy with the whip had yet to introduce himself, Hercules was patient to whether he wanted to share that information. As Aiko spoke of time returning he nodded along, familiar with the standard process. She wanted to meet back here after school, Hercules responded, "Here after school, got it."

Hercules hadn't stood up just yet, waiting for the team to nod along in agreement with one another. It seemed already that a small bit of comradery was forming between the four. Time was getting short, he still had a couple more steps to prove he was truly friendly to Hasumi. First he would have to stand. Hercules lifted one his legs, placing his hand on his knee to help prop him up, he made to sure look in Hasumi's direction, but at her feet rather than her eyes, keeping a possible intimidation factor down. He started to stand, making sure he was slow about it and putting an aura around him of vulnerability. As he reached his height, his head stood above everyone else's. He continued looking at Hasumi's feet before slowly rising up, scanning her body in sorts, a real petite and fragile figure. Now was the last part, an invitation, an offering of sorts to win her good side. As his eyes crawled ups met with hers, he stared in awe at her yellow eyes, mouthing 'marvelous' before really opening his mouth to speak to her. "Hasumi, I often spend most of my time at the library, you are more than welcome to come by during lunch," Hercules said with a soft smile. The library was as place of seclusion and safety, a place she could feel comfortable, as long as she didn't despise books. Once his invitation was extended and the group started to move back to the school, he returned to his class, hoping that he made a good impression with Hasumi.

Now that things calmed down, Chiyaki felt glad too that he seemed to find new friends. Were they really his friends or was this all just an odd situation that just so happened to bring them all together? No, no, he was overthinking this. In any case, he needed to meet up with them again to find out more about what just actually happened and if and when it could happen again. He also wanted to find out if he could still use his new power as is when not in battle. Still lost in thought and trying to keep up with what the Archer, who introduced herself as Aiko, said he hadn't noticed that he still did not say a word before they started leaving. Something about leaving now while everything was still froze-OH NO! Chiyaki snapped out of it and realized they needed to get back to class.

Once they got back inside, there was only seconds to spare until they got back in their seats. Everything looked exactly as it was left. Chiyaki breathed a sigh of relief at their good luck making it on time. It also crossed his mind that he did not introduce himself. Rude! He needed to work on that. He kept thinking about the three Hasumi, Hercules and Aiko. Hasumi seemed quite skilled though there seemed to be a darkness of some kind she was hiding.Though it was not his place to pry, he wanted to help more. Hercules seemed like a pretty out there kinda guy, strong, friendly very reliable; he should try to emulate that more to be more socially adept. That Aiko though, she seemed pretty and mysterious, I mean pretty mysterious! He had to do better paying attention and not over thinking so much, otherwise he'd really miss out on meeting other girls! Looks like he found a "club" to join in after all! It had occurred to him as well that he did not feel self conscious about his eyes around them. He may just find a place to fit in after all. It also occurred to him that the teacher repeated his name 4 times by now asking him a question. He missed the time continuing.....woops.