Soul Academy RP

Rei smiled. "Or will it?"
She remained calm, relaxed. She didn't move though, her stance loose and adaptable.
"So, Lily-chan. If I win, can I spend the night with you?"

"Maybe," I said flatly, trying to ignore her attempt to break my concentration, "If I win, will you spend half of your free time this week practicing?"

"Deal."
Rei moved to the left, aiming to start circling Lily. It was more for distraction then finding an opening.

I followed Rei as she circled, keeping my front to her at all times, but otherwise staying where I was.
Let her come to you, I told myself as I kept my eyes glued to her face.

Rei wasn't going to make the first move, and Lily was keeping her in sight.
This would take awhile.
Rei began thinking of something that could throw Lily off-balance.

As Rei circled, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, listening to the sounds of the other students training.

Slowly, I opened them again, my breathing slow.

Timing her strike, Rei lunged as Lily's eyes were just beginning to open, aiming to make her flinch and jerk away instinctively.
And open to a strike to the legs.

With Rei's naginata swinging towards me I ducked instinctively, but rather than move away from her, I stepped forwards, underneath the swing.

I was too close to get the blade out, so instead I jabbed out with the hilt of my sword, aiming at Rei's stomach.

Rei didn't expect the jab, and was pushed back. She panted a bit, attempting to gather her breath. She held her naginata out defensively, hoping to block a retaliatory blow.

Using the momentum from my jab, I stepped forwards, drawing the rest of my sword from the saya in a long slash upwards at Rei, trying to keep her on the defensive.

I used the time she took turning her position to my advantage. As her swing started coming to a stop I dashed at her knowing if closed the gap I would gain the upper hand at close range. By the time she turned her head to face me it was too late. The rapier behind her in her right hand, quickly she switch stances to a fencing stance and had the sword pointed towards me. She quickly observed the field and saw me rushing her, she lunged forward trying to pierce me. I threw one of my escrimas into the ground, in an upright manner, right of the intended path of her lunge. Using the escrima I threw in the ground as a stepping stone, in a barrel roll fashion, I jumped over her sword and finished the roll on the grouns.

It worked. Rei had to fall back, blocking the blow. She'd have to play defensive for now.
She released her breath, taking another as she took one last step back.

As I brought my sword around my head, I placed my free hand on the hilt, using both of them to wield the katana, bringing it down in a diagonal strike at Rei.

With what appeared to be practiced ease, Rei slid under the blade and jabbed at Lily's stomach.

Sliding to the side, I whipped the flat of my blade at Rei, almost having the wind knocked out of me as Rei's own attack hit me just below the ribs.

=switches blade to the other hand and resumes the training on the dummy and begins to damage it with the harsh slashes and stabs while thinking to herself=

going good but can do better

It started to get better, dealing with the embarrassment. All I had to do was focus on the dummy, block everyone else out, and I didn't have much trouble holding onto my sword, or standing up straight, or even hitting it. I was still fairly certain that I was going about it all the wrong way, because I could see other people with swords who used them much better than me. It seemed clear that I was going to need a teacher to show me how to fight, but I was so damned shy I couldn't actually bring myself to say anything.

The attack hit Rei and she was thrown to the side, but she rolled with it and came up, doing a reckless charge at Lily...or maybe not so reckless.

I moved away from Rei's attack, stumbling as I did. As I regained my balance, my hand glided up to my ribs, where Rei's attack had brushed me.

My hand came away wet and red.

Grabbing my side, I fell forwards.

"LILY!" She screamed. Dropping Akatsuki, she. Rushed forward to catch Lily, lowered her into her lap. "No no no." Blood. Oh god, the blood.
Rei ripped her shirt off and pressed it against the cut.
"Lilly, please say something. Keep talking. Please Lily." She begged. "SOMEONE HELP!" She screamed.

I heard the scream, and turned to look at the pair of girls. I recognized Rei, and her friend.......what was it? Rose, Daisy, Tulip? Either way, I saw the blood, and on an instinctual level, I rushed to......wait, what was I going to do? I had no idea how to help with wounds, so all I'd be able to do is stand there and gawk at all the blood. I could get the teacher, but if they weren't already descending on the scene in the middle of a freaking weapons training field, then they were probably doing poorly at their jobs.

So back to the dilemma: what exactly, was I going to do? Offer my shirt up as a bandage?

I was starting to panic, my mind was racing and there was pain in my side. I was hyperventilating as the teachers arrived, the woman holding my ribs for me.

My vision went a little blurry as I lost focus on what was going on.

The answer was, sadly, nothing. There was nothing I could do, and frankly, nothing was what I should do. The teachers were already helping her, so if I tried anything I'd be in the way. All I could do was stand there, and see the blood.

As I was about to finish this match until a loud scream stopped us. We both let our guards down and looked toward the origin of the sound.

"Someone got hurt," my opponent said. She turned to me, "Draw?"

I watched as some teachers rushed over to a girl on the ground.

"Rain check." I spoke these words as I walked towards the now forming group of students. I could see some of the teachers talking behind the ones that were helping the injured. I wondered if they would end this class short today.

=heard the scream and rushed over=

what happened?

I lay on the floor, everything seeming to go in slow motion.

I couldn't seem to find my voice and it didn't hurt anymore.

My side seemed to have stopped bleeding too, having been wrapped up tightly by one of the teachers, as the other one carried me off of the field and towards the school.

It looked like practice was over, so I sheathed my weapon and headed for the changing room to get back into my clothes. I hoped that she was okay, whatever flower her name was. Same went for Rei, seeing as she was really troubled by the incident.

=sees everything under control so walks back to the wrecked dummy pulls blade out of the side of it's head and heads to the changing room=

hope lily will be ok

=sighs=

think scared some people was practicing near,hope they don't think i'm some brutal savage

Rei heard no one. She had tuned out everything but Lily and whoever was helping her.

As Lily was taken away, Rei refused to leave her side, clutching Lily's hand.
"Please tell me she'll be ok." Rei begged. "Please tell me she'll be ok."

As I got busy getting out of the training clothes, I heard a few snickers from behind me, though I never bothered turning around. Then I heard someone speak. "Did you see his sword fly? What an amateur; butterfingers couldn't keep a grip on his own soul!" Well it certainly wasn't hard to piece together who they were talking about. Unless someone else lost their grip and sent their own weapon flying, but I did my best not to pay attention as I started getting my shirt on. But I suppose if there really was a god, it seemed clear they weren't going to let me off that easy. I'd be too happy that way.

"Oh shit, there he is!" A new voice said, soon followed by renewed snickers and barely suppressed laughter. "Hey butterfingers, how'd you ever get into this school? Don't you know they only take competent students?" Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I tried to block them out. More than anything I really just wanted to disappear, turn invisible and hide.

=gets done changing and heads outside to wait=

wonder if we can just lounge till next period or what

I looked up at the sky as the teacher carried me, I didn't want to move, even if I could.

"She'll be fine," Said the teacher to Rei, "This happens every now and again, we have to be able to deal with injuries."

I watched as the event unfolded in the locker room. I wanted to see how he would react in this situation. And by he I meant the one who couldn't keep a grip on his soul.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be able to keep a grip on your weapon man!" To be honest, they weren't very good insults. Either they weren't the most clever of bullies, or thinking of insults revolving around accidentally loosing ones weapon were that hard. Either way, once I had my clothes back on and my soul sheathed and strapped over my shoulder, I tried to brush past them. It didn't seem they were ready for me to leave though. "Yo where you going butterfingers?" one of them asked, stepping into my path. "Just heading to my next class," I said. Well, at least I tried to say it. Mumbled it was more appropriate. "What's that? Can't hear you butterfingers. You'll have to speak up."

"Can you please stop calling me butterfingers?" I suddenly said, much louder and clearer than my previous words, though my gaze never left my shoes. "Oh ho ho, he speaks!" another one crowed. "That he does," agreed his friend. "So butterfingers, how does someone like you get into this school? If you can't even keep a grip on your own soul, what kind of angel are you?" I hoped that maybe humor would diffuse this, so I responded with "An angel in training?" They chuckled, though they didn't step out of my path. "Nah, I can't even see that. Look at you, can't even look us in the eyes. Must be a coward."

Well to be fair........I kinda was. But I wasn't about to confirm that to them. And yet I still couldn't meet their gaze, go figure. "And you're an ass," was all I could say as I tried to brush past them. But I said the wrong thing, calling them an ass. No sooner did I try and brush past them, than a firm hand slammed against my shoulder, and I was shoved against the firm metal of the lockers. "You wanna run that by me again butterfingers?"

Rei stilled followed. "Please let me go with her!" She sobbed. "Please."

The girl was pretty upset about hurting Lily, that was for sure.

"You need to go back to the changing rooms," said the teacher, "She'll be fine, but she needs stitches and you need to change." He sighed, "I'll come and get you once I've taken her to the infirmary."

Rei nodded miserably, then walked off to go change.

I couldn't meet his gaze, even as he had me pinned to the wall. And I was afraid, afraid of what they were going to do with no teachers around. Then I wasn't there anymore, in the locker room. I was back in that goddamned alley, that mugger cornering me, knife in hand. The fear came back, surging through me and making me react out of pure instinctual terror. My hand flew to my soul, and I suddenly heard the sound of metal sliding against leather and wood, felt the all too familiar weight of my soul in hand, and saw the gleam of metal reflecting light as the flat side of my sword came to rest on the bullies shoulder. No sooner did I do that though, than his friends pulled out their own weapons; one of them had a sword, the other an axe. "Put the sword away before we cut you up small fry!" one of them shouted at me. "Only when he lets go of me!" I yelled back.

This whole situation was getting worse by the second. Where was a teacher when I needed one, or outside intervention at the very least? It seemed clear neither was coming to my aid, so I did what felt smart: I pulled the sword back, lifting it from the guys shoulder and neck, but keeping it raised, pointed up between him and I, and only then was I able to meet his gaze. I regretted doing so. In his eyes I could see a burning hatred for me, nothing but malice and rage, contempt for this little coward who dared raise a sword against him. And for some weird, insane reason......I liked that. Liked that I managed to rile him up, the way he and his friends tried to rile me up. I cast my defiance in their faces, and it was not without effect. Then he removed his hand, and took a step back, eyes still burning with hate. "I'll get you next time bitch. Come on." He and his friends left, and as soon as they were out of sight, i sagged down to the floor, hands clenching the handle of my sword, knuckles white. That was close.

The events in the locker room were comparable to the life of a regular school student, just that we had access to fatal instruments and they have their fists. I'm glad everything worked out, hopefully he has gained some backbone. All thought this wouldn't be the last time, no this is the first of many if he doesn't get that resolved. What he needed was experience and he better get some soon.

I grabbed my stuff and headed out the locker room as I passed by bullied, without looking at him I said, "Use your private time wisely," and left.

I glanced up at the sound of the phrase, barely seeing the student as they walked by. Use my private time wisely? What did that mean? Practice maybe, which made sense; if those bullies.....no, when those bullies came back, I'd need to know how to better handle myself in a fight. If not to win, then long enough for a teacher to come down and save me.

=stares at one of the people who had mocked the one student by laughing at him during training without blinking giving them the try it again look while talking out loud to herself in a low voice=

don't know why they were laughing they weren't exactly doing any better

Saturday, 12:00

I banged on Rei's door three times, hoping she was in so I could show her what I'd spent the week working on.

"Rei!" I said a bit louder than usual, "Open the door! You need to look at this!"

Nick sat in his chair, looking at his open textbook, but not seeing anything in front of him. The sun was warm as it passed through the window and onto his side. He was leaning back in his chair, his book propped up on his thighs, leaning against the desk. He could hear the teachers voice, but it sounded so far away, as crisp as it was. His eyes wandered the page lazily. His eyes were heavy-lidded, and his chin dipped to his chest.

He then felt like he was falling and jerked his head back up, looking around. Realizing that he wasn't falling, that the sensation was a trick of the mind. He tilted his head to the side slightly, and began to sleepily observe the room. Looking at the people he knew, but didn't speak to, and the people he didn't know, and spoke to. A fly, buzzed ever so quietly in the classroom, occasionally landing on a desk to spit and clean its appendages.

The fly would land on a desk, and the occupant would look down at the fly, and swat at it, lacking the intention of killing it, exuding only enough effort to send off into the air, on it's fruitless journey. The fly landed on Nick's desk, and he stared at it. It lifted it's appendages towards its head, and then started to rub them together. The act looked devious, as if the fly was planning to do some sort of evil deed. Nick could almost imagine a high pitched maniacal laughter accompanying it's cleaning of black sticks that were it's appendages.

At some point during the stupor, the teachers intonation changed, and the kids began to move their books to the side and take out notebooks. cuadernos.

The past five days had been.......interesting, to say the least. Or at least that's what I assumed, I was too busy hiding to notice anything really big. When I wasn't shut up in my room, I was sneaking through hallways and slipping through crowds, doing my best to not be noticed by the "Hunters." That's what I took to calling the group of bullies who had it out for me, mostly because they were usually on the prowl for me. I guess I offended them that badly.

Anyway, let's focus on where I was now. Right now, I was sitting in my room, legs stretched out on the bed while my back was against some piled up pillows, a book in hand. I knew I couldn't stay that long, since at some point I'd need to get out and grab something to eat (I had yet to set up a secret stash of snacks). But I really didn't want to leave and start another game of cat and mouse between me and the Hunters.

=was in her room with the door slightly ajar just staring out the window at a small thing of clouds passing by=

looks like it's been a productive week

Rei opened the door. She wasn't really dressed - panties and a pink T-shirt. Rei beckonned Lily in, but looked uneasy, almost ashamed.
"Hi..." she sighed softly. "Ok..."

"Rei!" I said, again louder than usual, "You won't believe what I've figured out!" I was almost bouncing on the spot in excitement. Reaching into my bag, I continued, pulling out a map.

"Okay. While I was in the infirmary, I heard one of the staff mention that there was a demon attack in Lamorak, but they couldn't figure out where it was hiding."

I took a deep breath, smiling as I looked at the map, "See these circles?" I asked, pointing them out to her.

"...the demon. And you want to hunt it down." Rei sighed. "Lily. I nearly lost you once. Please."

I looked up, locking eyes with Rei.
"You didn't almost lose me, Rei. It was a scratch." I looked down at the map again, "I thought you'd want to go on an adventure."

"I do. But I don't want you hurt Lily." Rei looked at her feet. "I was so scared."