[System]
Gender: male
Age: 24
Appearance:
 Height: 6'3
 Build: average size but muscular
 Hair: dark brown hair that goes just past his shoulders; wears it in a short ponytail usually with his bangs hanging in his face because they are too short to stay in hairband.
 Eyes: dark blue
 Clothes: when working, wears a stained long-sleeved shirt that used to be white but after wearing it so long it has turned tan. A leather vest over the shirt (wears old pins on the jacket) with leather forearm covers and leather shoulder protectors. Dark brown, almost black pants with leather kneepads and shin protectors. Brown combat boots.
 Other Traits: Fairly dark tan, surprisingly even considering he is usually only seen weaing long-sleeved shirts in his older age (because he tries hiding scars on his arms and torso) as a smattering of freckles on shoulders and back from sun exposure. Has a scar about two inches long under left eye where he was hit with a bat in a brawl.
 Skillset: Good at using an array of weapons and using his fists. Knows quite a bit about survival skills, from water purification, navigation, hunting, shelter building, etc.
 Weapons: trail carbine (no scope), baseball bat (the same one that gave him his scar)
 Personality: Well, he definitely isnt the brains of the operation. He is a fighter and loves to brawl any chance he gets. Very protective of the ones he cares about and will do anything foe them, even kill. Frightening to most who don't know him and even when they do know him, some are afraid of him still. Rarely serious unless they are going into a dangerous situation. Has a good sense of humor, sometimes morbid.

 Name: Kaye Delarosa
 Gender: Female
 Age: 20
 Appearance:
 Height: 5'2
 Build: Slender and quite weak
 Hair: Pixie cut with fiery red hair.
 Eyes: Bright green
 Clothing: Wears a merchant outfit that has a bandolier with pouches sewed to it draped on a shoulder. For col weather wears a long, grey wool coat that is worn and shows its use.
 Skillset: Has impeccable agility, great at bartering,
 Weapons(s): 10mm pistol, combat knife, Leith
 Personality: She is typically a nice person...when she Isn't on the chems. Always looking for a good adventure and has an almost childish attitude towards it. Despises boredom and monotony and wants nothing more than to spice things up; this is why she takes chems.
 Bio: Kaye's life growing up was quite simple...and boring. All her life she had stayed in Barrington, a large settlement just outside what used to be called Mobile, Alabama. Though it was large and had a lot of people, life there grew to become an endless routine for her. In order to spike her attention and do something new, she begun stealing things from her neighbors, trying to not get caught. She learned this from her favorite book, the book her father used to read to her every night as it reminded her of their life, "Oliver Twist." When she turned fifteen, that held no excitement anymore nor did anything in Barrington, so she did the most daring thing she could think of...she jumped on a brahmin of one of the travelling merchants, hid under a blanket, and went outside the walls for the first time in her life. This was the start of her new-found career.
 She was found out in first few hours and with plenty of begging, the merchant allowed her to travel with him. When they got to the settlement where the merchant was from, she met with Butch and joined his caravan, receiving her own caravan at seventeen uears-old. And 5his was the story of her life now...until meeting Basil and Jace.

[User]
Raider finished taking the armor off before chucking it at a nearby trashcan. He was actually thankful to get rid of the heavy piece of metal, but he'd gotten so used to wearing it, it was almost like a part of him now and he felt too light. He wore a shirt underneath that was so severely stained with dirt, sweat, and blood that you couldn't even tell it used to be white.
 "Remind me to get it on the way out if I can. I need some sort of protection out there and that hunk of metal has probably saved my life more times than I can count." And he didn't have any money to buy any leather armor of metal armor for that matter. He might try to steal some before they left, if an opportunity presented itself.

 After Kaye took a seat, she quickly took the beer and almost drank from it, but hesitated. She stared down into the contents of the glass as if it was acid. Leith had planted the seed of doubt and now she was worried that he was indeed a psychopath.
 "It's beer," Jace said, eyeing her intently. "You know, alcohol." He took a drink of his own beer before something clicked in his mind. "Do you think I poisoned it?"
 She blushed severely and shook her head a little too quickly. "No! I just...usually drink whiskey."
 He could tell she was lying through her teeth and sat his own drink down with a loud thud. Without hesitating, he grabbed hold of the two beers and took a drink from each glass before setting them down in front of them once more, eyebrow raised. "Good now?"
 She looked down at the table and slowly took a drink of the beer feeling a bit ashamed.

[Assistant]
"Okay. Just don't let me forget to not let you forget," Basil replied, heading off again towards the clinic. They should be close now.

 "What about germs?" Leith inquired. He pushed the beer bottle back with his pinky. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to deliberately get on Jace's nerves, but eh. He'd done worse with his life.

[User]
Raider stared at him oddly, not seeing how that made any logical sense, but didn't comment on it. He tensed when he saw the doctor's sign looming in the distance and almost turned to walk the other way. The doctor was almost as unpleasant as his time in the raiding group had been, because in the group their doctoring methods had been near torturous. They got immense pleasure out of ripping bullets and cutting off limbs of those unfortunate to get injured in battle.
 He remembered an incident he had a little over a year ago. During battle, he had been shoved against the wall and had his side ripped open by a rusty nail protruding through one of the boards. With no painkillers to alleviate the pain and no stimpaks to heal it, they cleaned out the deep wound using a bottle of whiskey and a dirty cloth to dig into the wound and 'clean' it. After that, they used a needle that had been used in one of the syringes used for psycho and wire used from an old piano. The stitches had hurt worse being put in than it was nearly ripping his intestines out.
 His entire body froze just outside the doc's door and he hadn't even realized he was shaking his head. "You know, I'm actually good. I think I'll stay out here and wait for you."

 Kaye shot a glare in Leith's direction and wanted to berate him for egging him on. Her look screamed 'what the hell happened to not taunting the psychopath?'
 Jace glared at him in rising annoyance. "You're a ghoul. Your entire face is a germ." He tipped back the rest of his bottle and slammed it on the table before reaching over for Leith's own. "If you don't want it, then it just means more for me."

[Assistant]
Basil paused, hand nearly on the door's handle, and said, "But you need to get that wound looked over. If you're really concerned about money, then I have enough." He then noticed the boy's expression; he looked panicked, almost. Well, he supposed that was normal. No one really liked having to see the doctor. "He's not going to hurt you, you know. That'd defeat the purpose of being a doctor, after all. If he looks like he's going to harvest your kidney or something, we'll come right back out, okay?"

 "Ouch, that one-liner was almost clever," Leith said, rolling his eyes. He shrugged at Kaye, draping one arm over the back of the chair.

[User]
"You haven't been to the doctors that I have..." Raider mumbled, mostly to himself. With much difficulty, he forced himself to walk towards the door. His legs felt heavier than lead with each step, but managed to walk through the threshold. As soon as they were inside, he took one look around and almost darted out the door once more, but ran directly in Basil, startling him even more.

 Jace scowled angrily at Leith and took a drink of his beer. "You know what? You broke our contract, so if you're not careful I'll kick your ass and say to hell with what I said earlier. A deal is a deal and you cheated me. Even turned down a free drink that was given to you, you ugly bastard."
 "He does have a point, you know. Those are fight words, turning down someone's offer of a drink." Kaye smirked, taking a drink of her own beer. "If you were going to offer second rounds, can I have Leith's?"
 He chuckled despite himself. Thankfully his sole mission right now was to get roaring drunk to forget what had happened earlier and at this rate, he was definitely going to succeed. "I like your style, I'll give you that." He then grew somber and narrowed his eyes in Leith's direction, all humor gone. "So what is your angle? I've never seen no ghoul who didn't drink before, so you must have a hidden agenda on agreeing to come with me."

[Assistant]
Basil winced when he ran directly into him, but grabbed him gently by the shoulders and urged, "Look, you have to see him. I mean, you let me actually remove the bullet and I'm not even licensed! All that he's going to do is give it a look-over and give you some more medication to dull the pain. It won't be that bad, I swear."

 Leith sighed, and replied, "Look, the only thing that has an effect on me is a sickeningly sweet combination of Jet and, for whatever reason, Sugar Bombs. After you come to realize that, you find little reason to waste your time with alcohol." He passed the drink over to Kaye. "But other than that, I've just never been much of a drinking man. Someone would have been damn ashamed of me if I resorted to that to forget about my problems, rather than confront and resolve them." He looked pointedly at Jace.

[User]
"Yeah, and if I hadn't allowed you to take it out then I would be dead," Raider protested. "As long as he doesn't perform anything else on me, then...I guess." He sighed as his shoulders sagged in defeat. With a deep breath, he turned back around and started walking further into the building.

 Jace made a tight fist in a poor attempt to suppress his rising anger. "Are you insulting me? Because I'm pretty sure you just insulted me." He held up a couple of fingers to signal to the bartender. Once he noticed them, he gave a slight no of his head and set to work to popping off the caps of the beers. When he brought them over, Jace didn't even look in his direction as he grabbed his beer and took a sip of it. "You can deal with your problems anyway you like and I will do the same. I'm confronting my problems right now and quite frankly, this is a good resolution for them as well. If you don't like it, then you can get out and leave us be in peace. I didn't invite you to tag along, anyways."

[Assistant]
Basil smiled, relieved, and the two of them entered the clinic; it was small, with two cots in the far back of the main room. On one, there was an old man who leaned against the headrest, a book in his hands and an IV hooked up to one arm, but the other was empty. At a desk, there was a middle-aged man in a white coat that was lightly stained with blood, who was so focused on writing on his clipboard that he didn't even notice them arrive.
 Clearing his throat nervously, Basil said, "Excuse me, sir?"
 Head shooting up in surprise, the doctor made a little sound from somewhere deep in his throat, dropping his pen in the process. It clattered noisily onto the floor. But then he smiled and said, "Ah, yes, hello. I hope that there is nothing too dire, but how can I help you two boys today?"

 Leith lifted a hand to his chest, dramatically feigning offense. "And here I thought we were just becoming friends. Obviously, I was mistaken." He then smirked. "But no, you're not dealing with your problems, kid. Besides, who even drinks beer when they want to forget? There's barely any alcohol in the damn things. It's mostly just yeast. Yeast that is over two centuries old, at that." If he'd had a nose, he'd be wrinkling it in disgust. "Nasty and harmful beverages aside, how about you at least try talking about whatever happened with us? Maybe we could help you out."

[User]
The very moment Raider zeroed in on the doctor, his eyes went straight to the lab coat and he stared at the blood intensely. As the doctor spoke, he barely even registered he'd spoken at all and once he finally made it up to look at his eyes, there was an expectant look in them. Had he asked him something? "Umm...I was shot and my...my friend here," could he call him friend? "he took the bullet out for me, but thinks it might infect. I think I'm okay, though, so there's really no need..." before he finished his sentence, he tried backing away.

 And there it was. The hidden intent of their reasons behind coming. Was it so much to ask for to have someone who just wanted to spend time with him instead of wanting something from him all the time?! "And here I stupidly thought someone might actually want to spend some quality time with me," he said angrily. "Why don't you keep your non-nose out of other people's business and leave me the hell alone." He then stood up, preparing to leave. "You're all the same! Pretending like you give a shit when all you want is to take advantage of a situation. I have enough problems on my hands and you're not one of them." He paused to rethink that last statement, knowing it made no sense.
 "Jace-"
 "I know!" He rubbed at his head furiously. "Don't try correcting me."
 Kaye sighed. "Look, maybe it isn't any of our business, alright? But you were about to shoot the guy who claimed to love not even twenty-four hours ago!"
 "Would you keep your voice down?" Jace scowled.
 "My point is, if you don't get your head out of your ass then you're going to lose him, you idiot."
 He laughed with no humor and shook his head in disbelief as he picked up the beer. With a few large gulps, he polished of the bottle and gently sat it the table. "I've already lost him, so don't worry about it, sweetheart."


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Nationality/Birthplace: Fire Nation, Khimori Village

Current Residence: Republic City, Panther Lily Residential District

Appearance:

Occupation: Thief, Avatar

Elemental Affinity: Fire

Theme: Thief - Imagine Dragons

History:
 Katsu's birth presented a bit of a conundrum for the Order of the White Lotus; an Avatar born in an era of peace wasn't needed quite as much as before. What should they do then? Take him from his home? Or leave him be and let him grow up in a normal life. It was a hard decision, but a choice needed to be made and ultimately a compromise was reached. Katsu would indeed be trained, but in the comfort of his own home village rather than being whisked away. His parents liked the idea, and initially Katsu had no problems with the arrangement. As he got older however he began to have quite a different opinion on the matter.

 How was he supposed to keep his identity as the Avatar a secret when these strange men followed him everywhere? His family wasn't well off and yet he had escorts, was waited on like nobility and provided for whatever he needed. Any other child may have been enamored with the treatment and yet Katsu came to resent it immensely. He had no autonomy like this, and it was near impossible to get away to have some time on his own. Pretty quickly being in the comfort of his own village meant little, it was every bit a prison as moving away would have been. The only solution in his mind then was to leave, abandon the Lotus' training and his parents in favor of a freer lifestyle, a lifestyle he would find in Republic City.

 It was an ideal plan on paper, but upon arriving in Republic City it became quickly apparent he hadn't thought things through entirely. Here he was, hundreds of miles from home, with hardly a coin to his name and nowhere to stay. What little money he'd saved up over the years had near all been spent on the boat ticket, so now Katsu found himself in a dilemma. He unsuccessfully tried getting jobs here and there but was turned down constantly, and returning home was not an option. At the age of 13 he settled on doing the only thing he could in order to survive: theft. Republic City certainly had its fair share of criminals, so he would only be one amongst the crowd. Or he might have been if he didn't have something of a superiority complex. He was going to be a thief, but he wanted to be the thief. He would join whatever group he could find and work his way up, and from there he'd be somebody. He'd live life how he wanted, do what he wanted, and get what he wanted without the meddling of the Order of the White Lotus.

 Much as he might have resented the White Lotus he had to be grateful for all the training they had given him. With both bending and martial training of the highest caliber he was an exceptional fighter, a fact that helped him climb the ranks of the gang he eventually joined. Nimble, strong and a capable bender he ascended to the second hand of the gang within two years, and not long thereafter he succeeded the previous leader. Granted… The gang had all of twenty members, many around his own age, but he still managed to succeed them all. Renaming the gang the Khimori Bandits after his hometown, Katsu began a life of "luxury". The Khimori Bandits amassed a fair fortune in a matter of a year, and yet Katsu kept very little of the coin for himself. It was never the money he was after, he'd argue, but the thrill and delight that came along with the act of theft. Even now he remains one of the poorer members of his gang in spite of being the leader, and he tends to carry out as many jobs as his best associates.

[User]
Hiresh laughed and shook his head, looking to Asha, "No, Asha, they mean I'm a cop." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, adding, "And they'd be right." Of course, Katsu had to belittle him... otherwise what kind of Avatar would he be? The metal bender shrugged and rolled his eyes, deciding it best to keep his proud mouth shut for now.

Siku shook her head, putting up her hands, "Oh, no no, it's... Uh, it's great! Really, I just... Didn't expect it is all. I'm not one to judge people for where they call home - you like it after all," She said hastily, worried that she actually sounded condescending. "Plus I'm not really used to a place that's anything like it." She flushed, clenching her fists, "I'm not a princess, ugh...! Papa's far from next in line for chief anyway... I hate the North Pole's hierarchy sometimes." The girl crossed her arms and found focus on the ground in front of her as they entered the building. How much would Katsu really need to grab, anyway?

Hiresh instantly entered a battle-ready stance as a yelping sounded from nearby. Siku, on the other hand, grinned and started to look around. It didn't take long to find the source, making Hiresh sigh in slight annoyance. Meanwhile, the water bender jumped excitedly, "Oh. My. Gosh. Is that a Sabre Fox? How did you even find one? Let alone with such a nice white coat... You can't find these little guys anywhere!" She didn't even care that Katsu was showing a little vulnerability because she was absolutely gushing at the adorable animal. "Papa never let me get a pet... The North Pole doesn't have many friendly animals and once we got here he wanted me to focus on other things; if I had time for a pet, I had time to do something better with my time. But look at this little guy! I would spend hours staring into windows of shelters and stores when I was little... I never ever ever saw anything like him!"

She ogled the small fox brightly, reaching out to pet its head. Katsu's comment about getting out quickly for her was completely ignored as she finally pulled back and calmed down for a moment. Hiresh stared at her, dumbfounded. "Seriously? All this time and I get 'Hiresh is just a private, completely forget about him and his cop-ness' but the moment this kid pulls out a fluffy animal, you go all sweet and excitable? What's that about?!" He wasn't really offended, just a little jealous.

Siku blushed slightly, clearly debating her next question. It was the most important question she'd ever had or ever would have for Katsu: "C-can I... Uh... Hold him?" She tried not to make eye contact, feeling humiliated that she had to ask him for something that she wanted. Suddenly, he actually had something that gave him a position of control with her. Something he'd not had since the beginning of the night.

[Assistant]
Asha blushed in embarrassment when she realized it was slang for 'cop.' She scratched the back of her head and continued walking with the group, getting to an apartment building. They followed Katsu up some steps and when they entered the complex they heard a squeak and excited running. Next thing they saw was a fox who was obviously excited to see Katsu. The brunette smiled brightly when she seen the boy show such affection for his pet and giggled when Siku was entranced by the small animal, and Hiresh? Well, Hiresh seemed a bit put off by how much attention the fox was getting from Siku.

She wanted to pet the fox too, but figured all of the attention it was receiving would make it either irritable or anxious and she didn't want to do that; she would instead wait for her turn. They walked up more stairs and into the apartment that Katsu called his home. She looked around, taking in everything that there was. It was a modest home and Asha decided that she liked it; necessities was all anyone really needed in a home. Even in her place at the Island, she didn't have all that much, just anything that was needed for living. She did have a few books...if one considered those anything with value.

Asha put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggle when Siku had asked if she could hold the fox, her face showing her embarrassment. It was fun to see how affected people became by animals they found cute. Of course she was distracted by the animal as well, but not as bad as the others...she just hoped she would get some time to give the fox a little pet.

"So what all do you need, Katsu?" She asked as they wandered through the apartment as he searched for the items he was going to grab. Asha felt bad that Katsu had to temporarily leave his home while those people were after him; it just wasn't safe to stay in the same place when someone was after you.

[User]
Katsu wasn't going to waste much more of his time arguing with Siku, hardly in the mood for it right now. That aside, getting to see Koinu had managed as always to brighten his spirits, a wide smile spreading across the thief's face as he caught his pet and lifted it up. No one could stay upset or angry when holding this little creature, it was just too darn adorable and friendly for that. Chuckling as his nose was licked he hugged the Sabre Fox to his chest, scratching behind one of his pet's ears as they ascended the staircase. Koinu would of course be one of the few things he'd be taking along with them, he would never dream of leaving behind his furry companion. They had traveled all the way from the Fire Nation together, and Katsu would be damned if this mess was what separated them. The others here could just as well go back to their homes, if he only had Koinu at his side then he'd be perfectly content.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise hearing Siku gushing over his pet, Katsu looked back at the trio with him and smiled slightly, surprised to find the Water Bender actually had a soul. "I would guess you never did see anything like him, he's from the Fire Nation," the Avatar pointed out, looking back at his pet and rubbing his nose to Koinu's, "I brought him from home with me, he's one of the few things I have from there. He's a good boy, always waiting for me to come back home whenever I go out." In a way, Koinu was his absolute closest friend in this world, closer than any of his fellow thieves or any of the three here with him.

"You... Want to hold him?" Katsu asked, furrowing his brow as he looked at Siku confused. Where the heck had this side of her come from then? Looking at Siku as she began to blush he looked down at Koinu, his own cheeks heating up a bit as he debated the request. Well, he couldn't see any harm in allowing it, and goodness knows it was just easier to give her what she wanted rather than deny her and listen to her later. Closing his eyes and letting out a silent sigh he nodded his head, offering over his pet with a small smile. "Sure... Just be gentle? And don't tug on his ears or tail, he doesn't like that." Feeling slightly nervous having handed over his companion, Katsu turned to Asha when she asked about grabbing things, not having really thought about it too much.

"Well... I want to bring one of Koinu's toys for him to play with, and probably a change of clothes or two. Plus there's a few personal things I want to grab, which means I've gotta find my bag." There was a worn backpack that Katsu had stored his smaller items in when he'd initially left home, and with luck it was still holding up well enough to be used again. Smiling to himself he went down the hallway to the final room on the left, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a key on a small string before using it to unlock his room, pushing the door open for the others. It wasn't a very flashy room, with just a bed, dresser, bookshelf with various items strewn across it and a closet with a sealed door.

Koinu squirmed a little bit as he was handed away to a stranger, making a soft whimpering noise as he tried to remain in Katsu's arms. When it became obvious he was being handed off, the young Sabre Fox turned to the new person holding him, a little wary considering he'd never met them before. Glancing up he got onto his hind legs, placing his front paws on Siku's chest to stabilize himself before sniffing at her curiously. Her scent was a bit... Noxious, almost like a toilet, yet there were parts of her that were nice too. What an odd clash of scents, had she not washed in a while? Tilting his head to the side curiously, Koinu looked up into Siku's eyes before giving a playful help, beginning to lick at her cheek to try and help wash her off. If she was going to be around his master then she had to smell nice, not like a potty!


[System]
<Agent Profile - CLASSIFIED>
Code Name: Lineman
Age: 21
Gender: Male

Appearance:

Jacob does not look like someone who should be holding a gun, with black hair draping down to his brown eyes. A fair face with only a minor tan, and no facial hair in sight. His baby face stands in stark contrast to his body. Thin and athletic, covered in lean muscles, Murphy is obviously well built.

Psychological Profile: Jacob was never meant to be a Butei, he always fancied himself a soldier. As such, he's got a strong sense of honor, and a sense of what is and isn't right in combat. On the flipside, however, he is absolutely ruthless once battle is joined, gunning for his foe until the issue is solved. Out of combat, he's a generally easy going guy who likes to play video games and hang out with comrades. Jacob tries to be chivalrous, to women especially, as his mother always taught him to be nice to the ladies

Specialty: Assault - Medium Range Combat

Skill Appraisal: (A list of your character's most proficient skills. All Butei are trained in basic techniques from other faculties.)
Follow this format - <Skill Name> <Rank S/A/B/C>
Handguns - S
Assault Weapons - A
Leadership Ability - A
Acrobatics - B
Tactics - A

Bloodline: Audie Murphy - Absolute Fire - In the hands of a Murphy, any firearm is a lethal weapon. While it won't make him a sniper by default, it certainly makes it easier. It is, essentially, a skill multiplier for whatever gun he is using. For example, say he was ranked at 3 on a 10 point scale with a particular automatic pistol by "default". Then, his actual proficiency would be a six. This would be incredibly powerful, if it weren't for the fact that it functions based on his true knowledge of the weapon. He isn't much of a sniper because he never learned it, and the same can be said of heavy AT and other weapons he has no experience with.

Personal History: Jacob Daniel Murphy did not grow up in a town that breeds heroes. He grew up in a small town in Kentucky, a "good ol' boy" as it were. He ran on his school's Cross Country team, played video games and just enjoyed his life. Unlike so many people, he had a good, if lonely, childhood. Sure, he never had any real friends until middle school, but he was fine with that. He had the Military Channel and video games, and what more could a boy need? In Middle School, however, he blossomed into a social boy, functioning almost as the magnetic protagonist, as if his life were some form of roleplay.

Then, however, came the dramatic reveal of what would eventually make him a Butei. He had spent some time training with firearms, nothing too serious as his mother hated the idea of him shooting a gun or becoming a soldier. However, whenever he visited one of his friends, he'd shoot his friend's 30-30, just to get a feel for it. Eventually, he thought that he was good enough to maybe try a shooting competition with his friend. It took weeks to convince his mother to okay it, but she did in the end, so he and his friend set out for the Kentucky State Shoot-off. He didn't know it, but he'd finally reached the point where his "skill" had activated, and that was about to show.

He out-shot practically everyone who thought themselves his better, performing much better than he should with so little practice. This drew the attention of the ones in charge of the competition, the Kentucky State Government. Upon researching his background, however, they found something very interesting in his past. Awhile back, during WWII, a man called Audie Murphy had proven his martial skill repeatedly on the battlefield, eventually garnering a Medal of Honor for gallant actions in battle, including manning a heavy machine gun for an hour in a burning M10 Tank destroyer. The discovery of this is what lead to him being recommended, and sent to, the Butei Academy.

In the school, at least among those with a Bloodline, he was something of a joke. He was, in all honesty, not all far down the generational line. It was likely he was the first Murphy to even manifest this ability, and most thought of the reason his family even HAD one a joke. After all, hadn't others done a whole lot more to get something? Plenty of war heroes had come and gone and not gotten one, so what was so special about this Murphy kid? Jacob didn't have an answer, he didn't pretend to have an answer, but he did prove time and time again he had every intention of being the Butei they didn't think he could. He became one of the top shots in the academy and, with his penchant for military tactics, quickly established himself as an incredibly effective, if somewhat boring, warrior. At least, he was quite boring when compared to the over-the-top stunts those with Bloodlines were famous for.

When he graduated, it was these skills that got him recruited to Division Six. He had charisma, tactics, and was a wizard with guns, a seemingly obvious pick to round out the combat arm. He, however, was still less than happy, and initially resisted an assignment to Division Six. After he'd been endless compared to the other students with longer, much more illustrious, Bloodlines, he had no interest in serving somewhere he could continue to be compared to them. It took the encouragement of several of the faculty, including his assault instructors, to get him to agree to the posting. Though he isn't bitter, he remains wary of being exposed to the teasing once more, and as such strives to do his best in the field at all times.

Weaponry: M4A1 Carbine, Beretta 92FS Sidearm, Recon One Knife

Other relevant information: N/A

[User]
The following introductions from Victor, Nadia, Deuce, and Aimee pleased her. All different people with their own unique qualities and personalities. It was also nice to see that everyone was being polite at some degree. Nellie only hoped that the peace would last until they finished their critical first mission. Mistrust and miscommunication could destroy the team. Since everyone was done introducing themselves, Nellie leaned back on her chair, her eyes closing as she half-listened to Robin's and Suzumi's conversation.

She heard Robin formulating a plan where all of them would pair up and surround the enemy. It was a good one, and since Nellie had no objections, she kept her mouth shut. However, that cool silence she was trying to maintain almost shattered when Robin called Suzumi his fair lady. He was certainly a charming man. Then a few knocks were heard and Robin got up to answer the door.

Nellie looked over to observe the newcomer, noting his rather slobby appearance and the cigarette in his hand. Her lips trembled into a frown. Smoking was not healthy. Anyways, his name was Ellis Williams and honestly, his introduction confused Nellie. What in the world was Left 4 Dead 2? It wasn't good being left behind by your comrades… Huh. She was almost embarrassed to ask what he meant. Other then that, Ellis seemed just as skilled as the others were.

She never had the privilege of doing 'normal things'. What little free-time she had was spent training, studying, or cleaning her weapon. The assault program was brutal. Sniper school was also brutal, if not worse. There were many students who dropped out or died because they failed to complete their target missions in time. Nellie thought about the many 'practice' runs she had to go through. There was one time were they were left stranded with just ammo and their sniper rifle. If she recalled correctly, two people were killed. Yet she survived, all of those practice missions shaping Nellie into what she is today.

Well it was time for her to get to know people. Actually, it was time for her to lecture a certain someone about the dangers of smoking. The tall woman got up from her chair and made her way towards the rugged guy who was now drinking coffee. She stopped just mere inches away from him, her eyebrows furrowed together in thought.

"Smoking will surely kill you," she quietly murmured before snapping out of her lecture-mode. Bad Nellie. You have to get to know this person first before trying to stop their bad habits. She quickly changed the subject, color rising to her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself. She took a step back, averting her gaze. "Uhm, so what's this Left 4 Dead 2? Is that some sort of American mythology?"

[Assistant]
His ears twitched as he heard Nellie coming, and, instead of turning to look at her, he replied, "Just as surely as this city will. Might die young, might as well get some enjoyment out of life." He smiled and turned to face her, then gave a nervous laugh and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry, that was a bit morbid. But, you're right, I shouldn't smoke as much as I do. I'll try to tone it down a bit for you, if it'll make you feel better." He took another long drink of his coffee, then set the empty mug on the counter.

"Never heard of it, huh? It's kind of an older game, early 2000's, was about these four people who were trying to survive the apocalypse. One of the character's names was Ellis, was a real country hick. I expect Murphy over there to get it, so it was a word of warning to him, mostly." He was honestly surprised she hadn't heard of it, however that was beside the point. "Er, sorry, didn't mean to bore you with some dumb game reference."

Wow, Ellis, smooth, he thought, letting out a sigh. He wasn't good talking to people he didn't know well, and tended to either ramble about something stupid or not talk at all. It was hard to find a good middle ground, but he didn't want it to fall into an awkward silence. To fill that void, he'd just ask a simple question. Get her to do all the work and talk. "So, I missed a bit there. Care to fill me in on what the other's are like? Or, if you don't feel like gossiping, just something about you. I totally understand if you don't want to talk to a stranger about yourself, though," he added hastily, beginning to get flustered again.

[User]
Her lips pulled up into a bright smile when Ellis said he would tone down his smoking. It was a start. While his response before that was morbid, it was true. Arkhan was a filthy city with crime and corruption festering in every corner. That was why Cerberus formed a team of highly skilled individuals - they were supposed to cleanse Arkhan. Ellis then began to explain what Left 4 Dead 2 was with Nellie hanging on to every word.

When he finished talking, Nellie could almost touch the nervousness that the man was giving off. In some odd way, Nellie was relieved. She had trouble socializing as well so it was good that they were practicing now. "Not at all, I think that the game's concept is interesting. Perhaps I'll play it once we finish our first mission," she said. "Ah." She glanced down at the ground in thought as she tried to come up with a couple of phrases that described the others. Nothing came in mind - Nellie didn't know them that well. "Can't really say much. All I know is that they're skilled...I'm sure they're all good people though," she optimistically added.

A light chuckle escaped her lips as she looked at him. "I guess we better start breaking the 'stranger' relationship stage, right? Hmm, something about me? Well, uh, I enjoy baking?" She suddenly sighed, bringing up a hand to her forehead. "Goodness, I'm terrible at this. Uhm... I don't really have any hobbies besides shooting and baking. I've spent most of my life training," she said with a slight frown. Maybe she should have went out more. How about you?"

[Assistant]
Murphy watched as more introductions ticked out, one by one, all more or less lining up with what was expected of an intro. When the other American walked in and introduced himself, Murphy had already been formulating a few Left 4 Dead jokes, as that game had been a decent part of his teenage years. Sadly for him, the other man cut him off at the pass by indicating he was in no way okay with those jokes. He sighed and allowed his eyes to cast about, looking at the various discussions beginning to unfold around him as the various members of the team began to talk to one another and get to know each-other. Suzumi and the TL, Ellis and Nellie the sniper, everyone seemed to be pairing off pretty quickly, so it would behoove him to do so as well. However, of them, who had piqued his interest enough to warrant a talk?

Maybe the driver, Aimee she'd said her name was, or "Lady Ascension". She was a real wizard with vehicles, though he did recall her being rather quirky back during the academy. However, he also recalled her incredible skill with anything that moved, from planes to choppers to armored vehicles. He remembered once their chopper had begun to malfunction in mid-air, and he'd prepped to jump out with a fast-rope and hope for the best, along with the others moving with him. However, despite what should've been a game-ending malfunction, not only did she get them to their target, but she stayed on station long enough to get them out too. Based on that memory alone, he'd happily entrust his life to the girl, and that was good as, if ever WAS caught out of her vehicle, she'd have to do the same with him.

He approached her then, an easy smile on his face, and pulled up a seat next to her. Grabbing his jacket over and setting it on the table next to him, he gave a slight smile. Not that they'd know it, but this was actually a pretty substantial show of trust for Jacob, when given that he barely knew her. Sure, he wasn't some paranoid shell-shocked vet, but he did like to be safe in his line of work. So, it was a big deal that he had set his jacket, and thus his gun, further out of reach than if it were just around the chair. With that easy smile persisting, he asked her "So, Lady Ascension, or would you prefer me to call you Aimee? I remember ridin with you a few times back in Academy, glad to see you're here too. So, whaddya think about all this then?" With that, he gestured to the others before continuing "Seem like a good enough lot to me, so far at least. We'll all be trusting you, but I don't have a problem with it. You're the best damn wheel-woman, pilot, whatever I've ever had the pleasure of experiencin."


[System]
Masked Name: Dite (DY-tee)

Age: 24

Appearance: Weak

Masked Appearance: Strong

Mask: See the face of the strong picture

Mask Abilities: Turns the user into goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Has a voice capable of enchanting others to do her bidding even if they wouldn't do it normally no matter the circumstances. Is able to provoke desire, desire for the wearer or anyone the wearer chooses, very few are capable of resisting the urges provoked by the wearer. If the wearer chooses to could turn an infertile person fertile.

Gender: Male

Masked Gender: Female

Personality: John is the quintessential pathetic loser and doormat.

Masked Personality: Dite has many sides to some she is the bringer of joy and happiness. To others she is a shallow, vain, michevious, bitch who destroys lives. In truth, she is a mixture of both. A select few have seen her dark side, where she willingly destroys their lives.

Biography: John has always been a pathetic loser. He has never had any friends, he has always allowed people to use him and to walk all over him. Right after highschool he got a job at a grocery store, if he wasn't such a pathetic loser, he could do better within the company, he made it a dead end job.

He routinely shops flea markets, shops that sell used goods, and garage/yard sales because he makes so little that is the only way he can afford things. One day while shopping at a flea market he found someone selling the possessions of a dead person. One item was a fleshlight inside of a female mask. John could have haggled the price down but he paid the asking price which the seller set high to try and get the most out of it.

John kept the mask and fleshlight as they were for over a year. He would talk to the mask. After a very bad day at work in which he was blamed for something he didn't do that resulted in his termination he wanted to be someone different, he took the mask off the fleshlight and put it on. After he changed into a beautiful woman he was shocked and ripped the mask off. After five days of job hunting without any prospects he put the mask on again and went out to a bar. After the night in the bar he never took the mask off again. He became Dite that night and forever more. Six weeks after becoming Dite, she was singing karaoke when a talent scout down on his luck heard her, the talent scout talked Dite into becoming a star. When asked what her stage name would be she immediate answered Dite The Sacred Prostitute. Song writers were hired to write exclusively for Dite. She released The Sacred Prostitute her first album six months later. Over the next two years she would release four more albums, two of which were live albums.

After the finish of her two year world tour, she decided to take a break from singing and making public appearances. She has felt drawn to somewhere, and wanted to follow the feeling.

[User]
What were they doing out here? "Out here? What are we doing in America?" Koharu asked. It was a fair question. Since their first encounter involving the whole mask they hadn't left Japan. Both their lives had been flipped head over heels ever since that moment. Though it could be debated if they had individual lives anymore. All the events leading up to this point were hard to believe.

---

Whatever happened that night six months ago scared the crap out of both participants. Going back to their respective homes they didn't talk to a soul. What would one even say to explain it? Either way the event was exhausting and sleep quickly overtook them. Bizarre dreams awaited them until they woke the next morning. Robert's part was done, he had crossed an ocean to meet his other half. There was no turning back for him. The mask had more work to do with Koharu though. Waking with a start she looked around slightly panicked. Somehow she had the sense that she had been somewhere else. Noticing the mask she grabbed it and went to throw it away but couldn't bring herself to go through with it. Shoving it in a drawer she quickly got ready and left. No way did she want near the thing. It was possessed or something.

Being at home was still too close. Calling a friend she arranged to spend the day with her. Good, this should be fine. Imagine her dismay when their destination was the area that she had run into the foreigner. After attempting to dissuade her friend with poor excuses failed she gave up and went for the ride. It was a big place. How likely would it be that she would see him again. He was probably just some tourist passing through. It could have even have been a bad dream or something. Thinking how ridiculous she sounded to herself she glanced outside the car and nearly had a heart attack when they passed by Robert. That was not the last time either. Throughout the day she somehow kept nearly running into him. What he stalking her? He appeared rather oblivious to her presence each time. Being slightly superstitious she tried to think of anything else that might have been a sign or something. This went on most of the day and when it finally came time to go home she wasn't as afraid of the mask as she was of that boy.

Even so she didn't touch the mask for several days. Further trips into town were uneventful and she didn't see Robert again. By now she was feeling rather silly for having worried about such things. Feeling a little more confident that she'd let her imagination run away she retrieved the mask again. Looking it over it just looked like a regular mask. Putting it up to her face a sense of dread filled her. She had missed her chance to get to know who that was. All those opportunities were signs. All at once she needed to find him.

Having both under control made leading them to each other easy. Without even really thinking about it the two united the mask and became one again. Even though it could not keep them fused together forever the mask made sure that they were as often as it could. Unable to resist the mask's will initially they would shapeshift into animals or other people and cause mischief and confusion in the town. This obviously meant that Robert stayed in Japan, much to his parents dismay and despite their objections. On Koharu's end her father saw the two together and gave her a long lecture about fraternizing with foreigners. Even though the mask had control of them for the most part when they were fused they could still converse. It took time for each to learn the other's language but when you have a near telepathic link it made short work of that barrier. As they grew closer they also grew stronger. Eventually the found they could gain some control back when they worked together. Finally losing out they regained control but the damage had been done. Use of the mask's power felt more natural to them both and even when split they wouldn't part from each other's company unless necessary.

From that point shapeshifting became a normal occurrence and even when the effects lingered it was not much of a bother. That was until they put the mask on and felt a new draw. The mask had brought them together, perhaps where it led them now would prove to be just as good. Leaving everything but the basics behind they set off to find where it led them.

---

And that is how they found themselves in front of this old looking shack and the questions began. "What is this? Is anyone inside? Are we supposed to live here?" By now it was sometimes hard for them to make out their individual thoughts. If they ran together that was alright. It wasn't often they disagreed. If anything they were more alike than ever. Even subtle things would occasionally make an appearance like when Koharu would lift her hand to adjust the glasses she didn't have. Speaking of Koharu, they were currently using her form.

Entering the shack didn't quell the confusion. They made their way down into the unknown. Anxiously awaiting what new thing the mask had in store for them.

[Assistant]
As people gathered around the shack above the Facility, Penn was notified through a device of his own design meant for monitoring the underground building. It was pretty much a phone in all aspects, but one of his own design, and one of a kind. It rang and vibrated as the sensors outside picked up activity, and the scientist walked back to his lab to grab his mask.

As he walked through the halls, he passed by the room of one Nina Simone. She had come to the Facility in her masked form not too long ago, and as always, he introduced himself to her and allowed the mask wearer in. Deciding to stop at her room, he knocked on the door and waited a moment before opening it with a "Hello?" He didn't walk in, but instead peaked his head inside and looked around briefly.

"You came here with your mask on, and it's usually fifty fifty if the wearers remember what happens." He told her, still unsure if she was listening. "Well anyways, My name is Pendleton Howl, and I'm the one running this place. It's good to have another addition here, so I'll be going now." Pendleton shut the door and began to walk again, hoping that he didn't interrupt anything by suddenly coming in. If he had the time, he would have just waited until she invited him in, if she did at all, but he needed to make sure those people over ground weren't drying from the lack of life.

He made his way back to his lab and put his mask on, black flames encasing his body as if it were a cocoon. A moment later, the flames dispersed, and a tall figure in black emerge from where Penn once was. The only reason his room was taller than most was because the Reaper's form was easily larger than six feet in height. In an instant, the cloaked figure disappeared into the shadows.

In another moment, the Reaper appeared overground through a small shadow in the shack. He could feel a presence making its way down, but whoever was down there would be surprised to find that it would simply be a dead-end without Penn's authorization. Instead of going down, the Reaper walked out into the open, awaiting the others nearby to get closer to the shack. He stood tall, scythe in hand, and waited patiently.

[User]
Kimiko waited patiently for Dite to find the location for the drop. There was nothing else to do so she began to meditate. The pilot on the other hand was getting frustrated no jump had ever taken this long and he can't for the life of him figure out why he let it go so long. Eventually Dite announced it was time. Kimiko grabbed her bag. Dite was the first to jump out of the plane, Dite being a risk taker waited until it was almost to late to pull the ripcord. Kimiko jumped and screamed in fear until she pulled the ripcord at the earliest possible moment.

Dite and Kimiko landed behind the shack. Kimiko really wanted to question Dite's choice of landing spots, but her mistress was always right. Kimiko only had one question. "How are we supposed to get back to civilization? We have no water, no transpo, and it's goddess knows how many days travel to the nearest neighbor." Dite always the optimistic one. "We'll figure it out. Later." Dite walked around the corner looking for an entrance. "Look Charon is here. Char baby long time no see. You finally get tired of ferrying the dead on the River Styx?" Kimiko saw the tall robed creature and freaked out. Kimiko passed out. Dite turned to introduce Kimiki to Charon. "Poor thing. She did the same thing when I told her who Dite truly is." Dite picked Kimiko up and put her over her shoulder. "So Char baby, got any place where this poor girl can rest?"

[Assistant]
Having being spoken to by the extraordinarily beautiful woman, The Reaper looked at her and took note of the mask that she wore. She knew they there were several types of masks out there, in all sorts of different pieces of headgear, but he enjoyed seeing just a mask every once and a while. If his face could have been seen, Dite would have taken notice of the raised eyebrow that Penn had on his face. He knew of Charon, the ferryman of the dead, and he supposed that it's what he could be, as a reaper in a black cloak is rather synonymous and well known.

Normally, he was opposed to letting non-mask users into the Facility, but he was sure that the wreathed woman would find some way to get her in. The Reaper nodded and motioned for them to continue onward. "There are others making their way into the waiting room." His voice resonated with power. He then moved his free hand over to his face to remove the mask. Once again, he was cloaked in black flames before returning to his normal form, the mask in his hands as he stood there.

"Penn Howl." He introduced himself. "There seem to be some others on their way here, so just head on down into the waiting room and wait until the doors open. I'll explain more when we get past that."

[User]
"I am Dite, Char baby you may know me as Aphrodite. This is my personal assisstant Kimiko." Dite motioned for Kimiko to step forward. "Since when do the masks that ruled the ancient world as gods allowed themselves to be removed?" Dite waved her hand as if wiping away the subject. "Let's go check the inside of this facility Kimiko. Let's hope the inside looks better than the outside, if not I am going to be extremely dissappointed." Kimiko recognized the tone in Dite's voice. It was extremely subtle, one would have to spend quite a lot of time with Dite to recognize the difference. Dite issued a threat.

Like always Kimiko went in first. When it was determined to be safe she called for Dite. Dite inspected the inside. "Much better than the outside, that isn't saying much." She looked for this waiting room. "Char baby where is this waiting room?"


[System]
【Vaciti vex Contiere】

【Theme I/|\Theme II】
~
"In the Light, there is Dark. In the Abyss, there is the Sane. I walk the line between it all."~
Nicknames
V, Vash
Gender
Female
Sexuality
Bisexual
Alias
N/A
Age
264
Apparent Age
32
Race
Prae
Specialty
Mirage / Warrior / Healer / Exeo-to-be

Appearance:
6'2", 145lbs, Crystal center of forehead, vibrant blue markings visible from front view along her neck and arms.

Personality:
If you had to sum Vaciti up in one word, knowing who she really was, you'd choose "fickle" without a doubt.

Vaciti seems to wear her emotions under a thin sleeve, but everything she does she does for a reason, to reach an end goal. Her reactions are designed around her audience.

What she really feels is truly hidden except to those she feels are close enough to deserve to see her real self.

History:
Looking back, Vaciti could remember one large, important event during her early adventure into this unique circumstances she had found herself in.

"Blah blah blah. Sign here and here. Blah blah blah, we'll arrange for your ascension at this time. Blah blah blah congratulations. Etc etc."

All in all, it really was quite.... Political. Boring. Lacking enthusiasm.

Not at all what she had expected, really. Growing up the Exeos and God-Queen were... Amazing. Marvelous. She hardly expected the process to be so bland.

Hell, she didn't even expect someone like her to really get picked for something so important. A commoner. Sure she'd pushed herself. Higher. Further. She pushed at the sky until it broke before her.

But she hadn't really expected to be noticed by Aismael herself. To be brought into this bright future.

To have the chance to be the hero for her people she wanted to be. Needed to be. Desired to be.

Training. Prepping. Pruning. Her strides were great, but the road was even longer. Not like that mattered to Vaciti, however. Not when her destiny lay at the end.

Belongings/Equipment:
The Heaven Breaker
A Hand-and-a-half sword, engraved with a prayer to the God-Queen and similar markings as to her own. It is enchanted for durability and sharpness.

Black Death and White Symphony
Her gloves. Her left is enchanted with Elemental magic meant to cause harm, while the right is enchanted with Elemental healing magic. These are meant to increase the ease and speed of casting such magic.

 Far Reach
Boots enchanted to increase hey movement speed on foot.

Capabilities
Mental
Vaciti has trained her focus to a razor edge, able to focus on a task indefinitely without loss of focus when desired.

However, this is a narrow focus. Things outside of the chosen task are often missed.

Beyond that, Vaciti has a personal goal of obtaining as much knowledge as she can, giving her a beginner's understanding of a wide variety of topics.

Physical
Vaciti has trained her body in the art of war, honing her reflexes and stamina to their peak.

Magical/Technological
Adept in manipulating air, but mostly in a healing and defensive measure at this stage. Creative application of her relatively minor abilities can lead to offensive uses, such as proper timing to trip someone up.

[User]
TimeArc 2, Day 1-NightLocationOne Night in Hell (Nightclub section), Entertainment District in Ominar

---

After Afua departed, her path wove itself back to her residence. When her hand reached out and twisted the knob, it was shoved open on her way inside. The hinge gave a loud screech as the rust resisted the movement. Her mind flinched at the sound penetrating her ears. She ignored the painful throbbing, then snapped it shut behind her. Her heavy sounds betrayed her causing seven eyes to jerk into her direction instantly, followed by needy meows and scrambling paws.

Seven felines, all in various stages of autolysis stages, pressed themselves near her ankles. Each one had traces of taxidermy along their sides where internal organs had been removed in order to prolong their 'life'. It was a new method Afua had been trying to develop, shifting from the softer and more moist variety to drier ones using a variation of freeze drying more commonly used. It still required tweaks because the creatures' flexibly suffered. She couldn't help but noted a few of the cats' tails hung to one side, often bent at odd and unnatural angles. Afua's affection remained strong.

She bent down at her knees as she tenderly stroked their rough fur. Her fingers ruffled along the hard, bony spines drawing a dry rattle from their throats. When a few moment passed, she rose upright then proceeded to closet. She needed to pick something lovely out for Masha's official opening later tonight.

Through it was an important night, she wanted to blend in. It was best if there was less eyes on her.

Her fingers brushed by a pair of jeans laced along the side, the gaps suited to expose her dark skin through its gothic butterfly design. The imagery caused her lips to turn up into a smirk as she gently pulled it off the rack, then tossed it upon the bed behind her. Next she located the perfect v neck tank top with broad straps. Finishing up her ensemble with a small cat choker, she applied her black lipstick and examined herself in the mirror.

Afua leaned over for one last good-bye to her pets before she walked out of the door.

~| One Night in Hell|~

The night air was chillier than normal causing Afua to regret not being a jacket. Her figure walked through the neon sea of lights, their colors altering her skin and enhancing her allure. Each step made her tight curls bounce across her face as she pulled them across her eyes. A long line stretched across the pavement to the street. The club entrance seemed backed up by the eager patrons waiting to satisfy their curiosity about floating rumors. Afua found herself faintly surprised by the fact due to the club's reputation as she skirted past the line's end, heading to the front.

One of the bouncers were about to stop her until she jerked up her VIP badge. Flashing it caused both men to come to an abrupt halt then waved her by, one of their arms even pushed the door open. She gave a distinct nod then strolled right in. Maybe a bit too much like she owned the place, but she had other things on her mind besides appearances.

Afua narrowed her vision across the scene. Patrons wiggled like insects partying in a corpse, their movements carefree and sometimes sexual, as they became lost in the music. She fought against the siren's influence while she panned for Masha's location. The necromancer found her target currently busy with another of her 'co-workers', Damian.

"Shit," Afua muttered under her breath.

She couldn't approach him without the little hybrid blabbing to Darius. Deciding to wait until Masha was alone before approaching her, she sought someone else that could give her the answers she needed: Nabriales. Resigning to her second option, she made a beeline right for him.

7

[Assistant]
【Katarina】

【It's just a threat. I'd never actually use it.】
~Lackadaisy Park~

Water cheerily burbled from the prim little fountain, nice and contained, and Katarina sat and listened with a slight smile as she sketched the idea of the means to commit genocide. The fountain was a touch of the wild constrained for human enjoyment, without any fear of getting wet or treks to where a waterfall may naturally occur. And the concept dreamed up by Katarina was still similarly bottled up. No danger of it getting out of the safely contained realm of imagination, at least for now. Somewhere there was probably someone with the power to make dreams, or perhaps nightmares, reality.

~Mmmm... Now lets just brainstorm the general idea without worrying about whether I can make it happen yet, or if it's a good idea.~ Katarina's hand pulled the pencil to the top of her notebook and produced forth a bundle of lightning bolts, drawn in the Assyrian style, three pronged bolts. It was an iconography that had just stuck in her head from long ago. One little high school book report had forced her to look outside of Wikipedia, and she had by chance grabbed a book of Mesopotamian Poetry. She felt it looked a little odd without Adad's hand holding it, but the novelty of something different charmed her. Or perhaps it was simple straightforward pretentiousness and latching onto something old and not frequently was what she desired.

~It will need to be far more advanced than any human virus. Than even our conceived diseases. The Prae have far superior technology and magic to our societies, which in turn exceeds my own. So my disease needs to be BETTER than I can make it.~ Katarina drew a simple figure. Not quite stick figure, but similar, still flat and two dimensional. Katarina took a moment to draw forth a red pencil, and add a flash of both hair and scarf that bled together. That hint of color felt right, that it made that image unequivocally represent her, despite the fact that she was stooped over an anvil with hammer in hand, not in a lab with beakers and vials. She felt a bit of a mythological theme to the drawing, and the anvil, the forge, the blacksmith, these felt associated in her mind to the idea of the creation of making a divine weapon in an ancient myth. Even though her weapon in mind was no sword.

~That means it needs to be able to grow. A disease that learns. Accelerated evolution? Or perhaps.. What if I made a learning disease, that could edit itself? Grow?~ From the anvil and hammer blows flowed smoke, getting bigger and bigger with each successive cloud drifting away until at last it gained eyes. The creation was the kind of spoooooky smog blob that is not all that scary. Angry eyes on a formless cloud just don't really do it. But in its own way, its blobiness reminded her of bacteria. Which was related somewhat to the idea of disease.

~Maybe if I gave the disease my communication ability that doesn't care a bout distance. Make it a.. self-replicating distributed computing network? Hmm... That sounds like a bio-magical grey goo scenario. Might have potential. But that link could be used to strike at the entire disease at once, there needs to be some distribution to prevent it from being targeted like that. Multiple strains competing over food to drive its evolution faster? Hmm, given I'd likely only have one shot at this before I get ganked by some super Prae, unleashing a whole bunch at once might be a good idea anyway.~ The smoke monster separated into many streams of color now, like dragons winding over each other in impossible streams, all nipping and biting at the same target while they jockeyed for position with each other.

~How should it transmit? Teleportation might work, creating wormholes even might be efficient for microscopic organisms. But they'd have to know where to go. Some sort of vis sight ability? I should look into that. Even if I never execute this plan, that might be fun to try and learn, even if I don't really have any more room in my head.~ Now Katarina gave the previously indistinct being that the smoke dragons had been biting at eyes. Large eyes, greater than the rest of the being. With a smirk, she chose heart pupils to represent life, which in turn represented Vis, at least in Katarina's chain of thought. A little touch of humorous whimsy, she assured herself. ~Because, of course, I'd never actually use it.~

[User]
Vaciti
The Spire

Arc 2, Day 1 - Evening

---

Vaciti walked through the entry doors, her head held high, and paused to take in her surroundings momentarily. Blue, white, and gold colors stood out against black line, borders, and accessories. Exactly what she expected from a HQ building. Her Exeo was here, having summoned Vaciti to this world and her side.

A smile lifted her lips at the thought.

Taking her time, Vaciti stepped towards the counter, running a gloved hand along the smooth surface.

"I'm here to see her excellence. Vaciti vex Contierre," she stated confidently to the receptionist, a young human female. Pointed towards the elevator, she entered.

Up and up and up she went. As the door opened, Vaciti smoothed her jacket and adjusted her hat.

Entering the room, she courtesied and announced herself clearly. "I am ready to serve, my Exeo."


[System]
Her dragon form
Nicknames
Dags, Dag, Daggy

Gender
Female

Age
About 100, and appears to be in her late teens

Year
4th

Birthday
April 11

Astrological Sign
Aries

Species
Dragon: dragons of Earth are as rare as other magical species, but far stronger. They take it upon themselves to defend other beings from hunters and humans who would exploit them. Overtime, they have "evolved" to take human shape, allowing them to blend in with society as necessary. They're strong and durable creatures, and (on earth) only another dragon's fangs or claws can penetrate their scales. However, the magic on Lucis is far more advanced, so there might be some weaknesses found there. They tend to live to be ten times as old as humans, so the early hundreds tend to be considered young.

Class
Fighter / Tank

Weapon
Claws, typically. Fire. Teeth. She herself is a weapon, basically.

World
Earth

Biography
Dagny was one of five hatched to a family of dragons in Sweden and probably the slowest to mature in every sense of the word. Granted, she was also the most willing to learn and optimistic about the world. The mystic community was small and she was essentially home schooled, however, and this was frustrating for the curious little dragon who wanted to explore all corners of the world. Time went by and she remained mostly isolated from the big, big world of humans. Eventually, her thirst for knowledge faded away into apathy and she grew shy in her questions and interest in the world.

Much of her personality and spunk was revived when she finally left Sweden to explore the world. Easy enough for a beast with wings sized to rival a plane. It was during this time that she really learned about the world--both the magic and technology driven--around her. She learned that creatures like her--creatures born of magic--were such a minority on Earth and they needed to be protected. Very few could contend with modern technology, but dragons like herself remained strong competitors against the evolution of human technology. Her run-ins with humans left a lot to be desired, however, and she found herself mistrusting their greed and power lust.

Then, the Black Gale appeared.

An incredible moment for both worlds, for sure, but Dagny and other dragons were hesitant to have anything to do with the phenomenon. But, time went on and the Black Gate proved dangerous not only for humans, but for other mystical creatures as well. And the second world, Lucis, proved to be swelling with magic, which spawned interest for the mystic beings of earth. Already identified as a guardian of sorts for the magical community, Dagny's personal interest grew in the Black Gate and the academies dedicated to maintaining it.

Needless to say, when she received the letter four years ago, she decided to take the school up on its offer.

Personality
Dagny's motivated and ambitious, and doesn't really do anything half-assed. Like, if you're walking, she's POWER WALKING. If you're eating dinner, she's DEVOURING DINNER. While this can make her come of as intimidating or intense, she's generally in a good, loud mood. She used to get embarrassed and quiet down, but now she's rather confrontational when she gets odd looks or whispers--though she doesn't usually mean harm.

Partner
To be decided

Fear(s)/Weakness(es)/Limit(s)
Dragons are far sighted so up close, they can't see as well. Because of her natural size and weight, Dagny is physically slower than most fighters. While it's nearly impossible to penetrate or bruise her skin, any damage to her mouth or eyes will hurt like a bitch. Magic can do harm to her, too. She's not as strong as a full fledged dragon either.

Skills/Abilities/Traits
Fire breathing, super strength, and super tanky. Her true form is compacted into her human body, making her ridiculously dense and massive despite her being average size for a person. This weight makes her extremely hard to knock of her feet. On that note, she can turn into a dragon (or rather she can turn into a human because her default form is a dragon) and change her features to match that of one (for example, growing her nails into dragon claws or scales over her skin).

Theme Song
Remember the Name by Fort Minor

Other
She tends to speak English, but her Swedish accent gets thicker the more emotional or passionate she is. She's also gay, preferring women to men ten times out of ten. Joseph Conrad is a little bitch, pass it on.

[User]
Jett Croswell
The cold winds struck at Jett and if not for his glasses, he'd have lost both his eyes. Off in the distance was a rowdy noise, screams, laughter and yelling... Jett looked closer at the dot and soon realized that the one big dot was a swarm of little dots, almost a hundred. Jett smiled and looked down towards the griffin. Jett got down to the griffins ears and with the wind going down his throat he managed to say, ""I want to be there before that group of Orcs," Jett said while pointing in the direction of the noise. The griffin let out a grunt and almost instantly picked up speed, barely hanging on Jett laughed at the enjoyment of this flight. "Come on, I know you can faster!" Jett said, challenging the beautiful creature. Jetts glasses almost flew off and he himself struggled to even keep breathing. The noise of the Orcs quickly faded and bursting through a cloud revealed The Academy.

The Academy
The Academy was so white and elegant, the simplicity and the complex mixed well and created a beautiful scene and place to stay. Jett looked for a place to land but decided to ask the griffin. "Remember the Orcs we beat here, can you land me where they would be? I need to see the leader, if its not to much trouble." The griffin turned towards a landing pad and Jett jumped off before the griffin landed, "This is good enough, thank you for the ride and you need to work on you're speed, still too slow," Jett smirked at his comment. The griffin seemed to almost smile, he turned, flapped its wings and knocked Jett completely off his feet. He got up in time to see the griffin fly away. The big dot was now visible. Jett got up, wiped himself off, ignored the rude and random announcement and stood up straight, arms crossed behind his back and waited for the Orcs to arrive.

[Assistant]
The trip through the Black Gale had been an uneventful affair, a tense atmosphere surronding the ride from being aware that she was sitting atop a predator much larger than herself, no matter how pretty it may have been. The griffin they had sent was a rather aged creature, the lions fur having been edged with grey, a few scars visible to the trained eye, but his eyes showed a languid confidence that hinted at having had years of practice honing is strength.

 'Ah,' Amon thought to herself as she saw the creature, ' I suppose it was a bit much to hope they'd leave me with no guards on the trip.'

 Despite the fact she had found it a rather comfortable trip, having already been prepared from her last trip for the transition from leaving one world for another. She spent the time during the trip merely taking in the view, having little else to do on the trip. It wasn't long into the trip before they had joined a mass of griffins, each carrying their own load, but Amon was quick to note that for each of a diffrent race that appeared, and the multitude of humans to be seen, she had yet to see another of her own. It mattered little, as she'd probably have little to talk of with those of her own race. The last and only other time she had ran into another kumiho, it had been in a dispute over hunting rights in the village, and she had left fairly battered for the meeting. She felt little need to have another "family reunion."

 Turning her attention back to the rest, she noted with some satisfaction that most of the others seemed to be hunkering down and holding on for dear life to the birds, the image leaving a smirk on her lips. She had little trouble balancing on the creature, her many tails more than enough to handle any problems with balance she might have. The wind, however, was a bit more bothersome. Her ears were positively plastered against her head to ward of the offending gale, and the oncoming sight of the academy was a welcome one indeed.

 The two of them landed with little fanfare, her escort giving a small snort as she got off directed at a rather young looking griffin fall at what seemed like a meteoric rate toward the ground, wings flaring and tail whipping as it landed, the poor student on it's back looking rather shaken from the experience. The scene was mildly amusing for a second, before a gust of wind promptly reminded her of the cold weather currently in effect, her tails reflexively wrapping themselves around her as she glared at nothing in particular, annoyed at the current weather. The brochure had said the weather was controlled, and while she had never minded the winter before, it seemed a waste to keep it so cold when it wasn't mandatory. She had to fight off the urge to immediately shift to her apparently furred Fox form. She'd simply stick it out for the moment. Amon would rather avoid attention for the moment if she could help it. Instead, she threw on the cloak over her uniform and quickly wrapped her tails around herself again, resembling to be clad in a somewhat luxurious fur scratched briefly at the choker on her neck again before catching herself, grimacing at the reminder.

 She gazed at the structures ahead of her, admitting that they were quiet impressive. It was certainly a far cry from the schools she had seen during her time on earth, seeming more like a small town than a school, with hundreds up on hundreds of students gathering together. Amon held her orb as she began to feel a twinge of anxiety, the dark violet, melon sized orb emitting a pulse as she considered her next step.

 That decision was taken care of for her as a sharp noise caused Amon to wince as the speakers came to life, with a rather interesting message played over the sound system, causing a confused expression to appear on her face. It was a rather presented in a rather unorthodox attitude, but the point had come across easily enough. She was at a loss as to where this main hall may be, but quickly concluded that following the crowd that was already on the move seemed best. She worked her way into one such group, folding her ears back to drown out the noise, trying her best to ignore all the painfully unguarded students, many of whom she could smell rich reserves of mana, the scent incessantly reminding her that it had been some days she had last fed, but she had been assured that they would be able to cater to her specific tastes, and she didn't fancy trying for a daring escape so early. After all, she was here to learn was she not.

[User]
Penelope nodded to the griffin, which flew off towards the stables. She glanced around the grounds. Elegant buildings, immaculate grounds, and... was that a lake? Tide come in, it was! That was perfect. She would be able to feel open water on her scales. No siren should have to transform in a bathtub, after all.

Walking up to the school entrance, Penelope took the measure of her fellow students. There were so many species represented, from orcs to elves, and the humans. She'd never had the pleasure of meeting a human, but she'd heard many interesting stories and rumors. None of them were true, probably, but it would certainly be something worth writing her mother about.

[Assistant]
Zarbaha
The Academy appeared before her, and happiness swelled in Zar's heart. Her golden eyes fixated on the modern buildings covered with snow as they descended before flickering about at the incoming students. Sure enough, there were familiar faces from the years previous, but there were also an influx of first years. It was difficult to imprint the faces to her memory as everyone quickly fell from the sky, but she knew she would have the year ahead to learn more about her classmates.

The speed of the descent came to a slow halt and her griffon fluttered once to drop her luggage into the snow and once again for a soft landing beside the bags. "Thank you for the ride, sweetie," Zar said, pulling a piece of beef jerky from her pocket as she stepped off the beast. He happily accepted his treat and cuddled into the young woman before taking to the skies again.

On solid ground again, Zar took a moment to gather her bearings. Sure enough, her headdress needed adjusting after the breakneck flight. She fixed it so it sat straight on her head and tucked a dark curl back under the cloth. She took another few moments to straight out the rest of her clothes and wipe her eyes free of the wetness that had spawned against the cold air. Finally happy with her appearance, she adjusted the strap across her chest that kept her weapon at her back, and picked up her bags.

She was already heading for the main hall when a woman's voice greeted the students and then-- And then headmaster interrupted with his own flavor of greetings. She rolled her eyes as she walked, her smile fading as she closed out the noise about her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dagny
Time flew by and Dagny was more than comfortable in the air. When they were finally in school airspace, the young woman leaped off the griffon, who scolded her with a screech. Nonetheless, she hit the ground with a heavy impact, snow flying up from where she hit. "Woo!" she exclaimed, greeting the school grounds quite noisily as she stood at her full height, throwing her hands in the air. A drop from that height would break human bones at least, but she stood fine. In fact, the ground is what took damage from her drop: she stood in a small crater, lending evidence to her massive true form.

The griffon landed beside her with a caw of disapproval, but Dagny only shrugged in response. "It's year four—I had to do something to spice it up," she stated matter-of-factly, her eyes flickering about at the not so fresh and fresh meat alike—mostly looking for a reaction to her fall. She did love to show off. As she looked, she gave the large griffon a scratch on the head in appreciation for its ride before it flew away.

Dagny chuckled and easily gathered her bags in her arms and looked around at the other students. The griffons were about as brutish as usual to the newer students. They were getting flung off the large birds, their luggage carelessly discarded at their feet. She laughed loud appreciative at the sight--it never got old. It was just another reason to tackle the landing on her own.

She stood watching students crash and burn--or gracefully descend--from their rides of the sky for a while. Then, her bird watching was interrupted by the speakers coming to life. Dagny barely listened until the familiar and crude voice of the Headmaster took over, directing the uninformed buffoons to the main hall. The woman took over again, apologizing for the asshole, and Dagny chuckled as she turned to oblige.


[System]
Gender
Male

Age
15

Year Level
First Year

Faction/Club
Student Council

Wards of the Emperor
"Inside of him lies the incredible power of an emperor. Too bad he's just some stupid little kid though" – Matsumoto Taiki, Souta's Uncle

At any time, Souta is able to call upon two heavily armed samurai to either defend him or attack for him. These samurai can never die. They are not mortal men, but instead, are spirits sent from the heavens to serve under their master.

That doesn't mean they can't be defeated.

These samurais can be defeated in one way and one way only – in combat. If these samurais do find themselves defeated, they will kneel down and commit the art of seppuku before dissipating into the world of the spirits to rest and recover from their wounds.

This means that if these samurais are defeated, Souta is simply left undefended.

Be warned though, these samurais have served a long line of people before them, and thus have experience under their belt.
Once ago, the emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun had a need for a bodyguard. Someone who would stay by his side twenty-four/seven and watch over him, ensuring he would be always be safe as he slept soundly.

The emperor watched as his guards trained, watching carefully as they walked down the halls of his grand castle, watching for many nights until finally selecting one guard who he had determined to be the hardest working.

With this guard, the emperor granted part of his power to, giving some of the divine strength which the emperor had to this lowly guard so he could do his new job of protecting the emperor well.

And that he did.

Over the span of five years, this new bodyguard thwarted over ten foolish attempts to kill the emperor and had even saved the emperor's son – a job that he was not required to do – from being held hostage by a clan who opposed the emperor and his ways.

The emperor, impressed by this, ensured that the guard's family would stay by the emperor's sons and his sons forever by proclaiming the guard's family as nobles, having them stay close by the royal castle.

For the next seven hundred or so years, the Matsumoto family did a fine job as bodyguards for the emperor, each one of them inheriting a small portion of the power they were granted from the emperor before. It wasn't until the founding of the Imperial Guard that they were dismissed, but by then, the Matsumoto family had found a secure place in the society as nobles who had managed to start a rather successful company that is still here to this day.

However, their beginnings as mere bodyguards to the emperor would stay with them until the end, for with every single member in the family having access to the same power their ancestors before them had once had – the power of an emperor.

It is here where Matsumoto Souta's story begins.

Souta was born to two somewhat loving parents, being the youngest child out of his older three brothers and sister, his siblings had proclaimed him to be the "luckiest" simply because he had gotten the "youngest child" treatment, where the parents are often a bit too lenient on the boy.

Of course, this did not mean Souta was exempt from everything that his parents had forced his siblings to do at a young age. Souta's parents had to more or less force the young boy to take a martial arts class throughout his childhood as a way to keep the boy entertained while his two parents went off on business trips, and when he had reached high school age, had even sent him off to a high school his siblings had once go to before. More of a private academy than a high school, Souta had no idea what he was in for – or the incredible power inside of him – until his sister had to pull him aside.

Souta's sister took Souta to the academy herself, giving the boy a tour of the facilities while telling stories of the staff members, the teachers, and the students themselves as they walked around. At the end of the tour, she had finally told Souta of the incredible power that was inside of him, and began to teach the young boy about it – albeit brutally and harshly just like the martial arts training he had received years ago.

As the end of her school year approached, Souta's sister, knowing that no one would be there for the boy when he would enter high school (since she had to go off to some dreadful new place known as college) made sure that her brother would be well off when he entered by ensuring a spot on the student council for him by giving him her own seat when she would leave.

Souta, still just a measly young boy who has yet to realize the true potential of his power, is now entering a high school full of people he doesn't know all vying for power – and he's just been given a seat on the student council.

This can only go so well for him.
Score
1000

[User]
Kingsley sat and waited for class to be over so that he could get to his cooking. Under his massive body, the desk and chair set that was provided him seemed like a doll's furnishings. His knees were more than half a foot above the seat, and his desk sat on his lap rather than the floor. Well, when one was as big and buff as Kingsley, some concessions had to be made. The giant crossed his arms and closed his eyes, hoping that he could concentrate better on the words being said if he wasn't looking around.

"It's no good," thought Kingsley, "I don't understand a single word that's been said the whole class period. What do letters have to do with math? This crap was tough enough when it was just numbers, but now they've thrown every other damn subject in there. Parenthesis, shapes, letters... none of this looks like math any more. Why are there triangles? Where the hell do TRIANGLES fit in to all this?"

Kingsley already gave off a fearsome aura. That's why any other desk was at least five feet away from him. But now the man was gritting his teeth and growling in anger under his breath. Almost as if they had lives of their own to fear for, the desks moved even farther away.

"When am I gonna need this? How is this relevant to me? It's almost as if this subject was specifically catered to piss me off. Dammit, it's only the first week and already I don't get anything! Dammit!"

Suddenly, Kingsley stomped his foot down on the floor and the whole classroom seemed to shake. His menacing presence magnified by 10,000, and the entire class went silent and began to cower.

"Oh, oh no! No, there's really no need to be afraid! I'm really not gonna hurt anyone! Why does this always happen? No, I'm just frustrated at myself! You're all fine! Please, go back to learning."

Kingsley slowly opened his eyes, and saw the teacher kneeling in front of him and holding his wallet out in offering.

"No! Is this really the example you want to set? Go back to teaching, and I'll try to catch up! Put the wallet away! I don't want your money! Damn, this really sucks! How do I tell them all these things? Whenever I try to say anything, it ends up going like this anyways! No, it's fine. I'll just push his arm down a little to show I'm declining the-"

Kingsley's elbow hit his oddly-tilted desk as he reached out, and accidentally smacked the wallet out of the teacher's hand. That's when the whole class began screaming and ran out the door as fast as they could saying:
'It's not enough for him! The Shadow King can no longer be appeased!'
'Good Lord he'll kill us all!'
'Women and children first! Dear God you're trampling each other!'
'Every man for himself! Leave the dregs for the Shadow King's dark feast!'
'There is no God!'

Soon, Kingsley was alone in his little doll chair. He massaged his temple.

"Not again," he muttered as he stood up and stretched, "Damn. Well, I guess class is over now. Maybe cooking will get my mind off things."

Kingsley left the classroom and walked out into a deserted hallway. Not too strange considering that every hallway was a deserted hallway when Kingsley was around, but he'd gotten somewhat used to it. Passing by one of the arenas, he overheard something about kids fighting over pudding of all things. This made him feel strangely good. It was the sort of thing one could look in on and say 'I may be a moron, but at least I'm not that stupid'.

Smiling slightly, Kingsley made his way to the Home Economics classroom where he ran the cooking club. He wasn't expecting anyone to drop by today either, but at least he could do some baking in peace.

"Heh. Dumb kids. If they had even a taste of my own pudding, THEN maybe they'd have something to fight about. School food, even the highest quality of it, simply can't stand up to my cooking!"

Kingsley tied on an apron, and got to work on a delicious pot pie. Today, he vowed, it would be perfect.

[Assistant]
The Boxing Club

Roy Bivvens gave Al a concerned look.
"Al, baby... heroes don't use swords! If you wanna be the face of the KBC, you're gonna have to play it straight and fair! No foreign objects, no dirty tricks, just good old fighting, know what I mean? When we get to the No-DQ matches, we're gonna let you use whatever you damn well please. For the regular shit, you gotta play fair."

Roy jabbed Al in the ribs conspiratorially. A foxy grin crossed his face, and he whispered in Al's ear.
"But that doesn't mean you can't get a cheap hit in every once in a while, yeah? Look sharp, kid-- you and the Bayou Baron are up first!"

Roy adjusted his tie in a way he thought was professional, and stepped into the ring. Though the ring didn't have a microphone, it did have Roy Bivvens, who was an exceptional shouter. Roy shouted to the boxers present, his tone filled with the essence of hype.

"Good evening, ladies and gents! We've got ourselves a lllovely day for blood and boxing, and we've got a room fulla miracles, all waiting for their time to shine! First up for today--"

"Alphonse "Al" Valkanos and Jubei "Bayou Baron" Ichigo!"

Roy pointed to Al and the Bayou Baron, and a bright spotlight appeared under both of them.
"C'mon up here, boys!"

[User]
The Cafeteria

El Ruidoso was met with laughter. Just like the first two hundred and ninety nine times he had attempted to recruit in the cafeteria. But it would not deter him! For today, his FIERY PASSION would surely summon converts to the lucha way, even if it had failed two hundred and ninety nine times before!

"JOIN ME!" he boomed, sending students scattering and fleeing from the cafeteria. El Ruidoso was shouting again! Could they not see the glory that El Ruidoso could bequeath upon them? Clearly not! For El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler, was left alone in the cafeteria, standing on a table and addressing an empty room! This would not do!

"They do not wish to embrace the FIERY PASSION of lucha! It is but a shame!" the lucha declared, forlorn. Where would he go now? Perhaps the boxing ring? There was always entertainment at the boxing ring! And it was for that reason that El Ruidoso LEAPED from the table and LANDED on the floor with a powerful thud! The room shook, for El Ruidoso is a strong boy despite his size! And with that profound declaration of power, he made his way to the ring, to witness glorious, honourable combat!

The Boxing Ring

El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler arrived at the ring to catch the tail end of the fancy man with the rainbow light powers announce the fantastic bout of bloodsport to befall the boxing ring! It was truly a wondrous display of manliness, and El Ruidoso shed a single tear for the warriors! He was proud of the men who were soon to show their FIERY PASSION within the ring!

"FIGHT, MY BROTHERS!" El Ruidoso declared, cupping his hands to his mouth and promptly deafening everyone in the room. "FIGHT FOR HONOUR! FIGHT FOR GLORY! EMBRACE YOUR FIERY PASSION AND BATTLE AS THE HEROES YOU ARE!"

[Assistant]
"Big sister is a big meanie..." Matsuomoto Souta mumbled under his breath as he walked down the hallway towards the student council room with his arms crossed. He was slightly nervous as his eyes darted around the hallway, being more scared than ever in his life. Even though he had been... somewhat comfortably introduced to every one in the student council by his sister before she left, and could probably recite everyone's names in the student council -- a incredible feat until you realize that the student council wasn't very big -- he was afraid.

He didn't ask for this. He never wanted this. He didn't have any choice. Without any warning whatsoever, right before Souta's sister took off for college, she had dropped a bombshell on the boy. Souta can remember her words clearly without any sort of difficulty.

"You're going to be taking over my spot as treasurer, by the way,"

And with those words uttered, she ran off, leaving Souta behind to stare at her as she quickly jumped into the cab, leaving the young boy to himself in the land of the unknown -- in the land where there existed only predators and prey.

Souta was afraid.

He didn't exactly know it, but he had a feeling that being on the student council -- whether it be a measly spot such as treasurer or a highly prestigious spot such as vice president -- was a spot that everyone wanted, and if they wanted it, they would have to fight one of the current members for it. So here he was, a young boy who had no experience in fighting and was only a mere first year, ripe for the taking.

Needless to say, Souta was scared.

Of course, his power... well, quote-on-quote power gave him hope. His power, which his sister had both told him about and trained him to use, could keep him safe. Having two spirits on hand, watching over him from the spirit world, ready to intervene whether they be called on or do so on their own accord allowed him to sit in the chair with a sense of security -- even though that sense of security was overwhelmed by the urge to get out of this school and run home.

As Souta was right by the door of the student council room, his eyes widened as he heard Alphonse speak.

"We have a problem."

And with that, Souta opened the door, rushing in to take his seat.