<div class="floatleft">(http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj499/MzHyde/Character%20Portraits/Nakaru.jpg)</div>All the students arrived on that forest pathway after stepping through the plain looking wooden door. If they'd look behind them, the door was still there, just hanging there unsupported by walls or a frame, the green of Shizuru's class stretching endlessly on behind it. The demoness herself was standing there, draining the last drops from a bottle of sake. She let the students gather in a group for a moment before stepping forward and quieting their chatter with a simple and commanding "Quiet."<br/><br/>The demoness let silence hang in the air as she tilted her chin down and produced a cigarette out of thin air. She brought it between her lips and then lit it with a flick of her fingers. A little smoke curled up into the air as she lifted her head again, observing the crowd of students from behind her shades. "I'm not one for chit-chat, so listen up, because this is the most I'm going to say to you imps all semester. You are not here to screw around. You're here to improve yourselves physically. I don't care if you think you've got magic powers nobody can best, or you're never going to have to fight. As badass as any of you think you are, you are very much not. There is always someone bigger and someone better who can put a stop to any tricks you have up your sleeves. That's the trick about our long lifespans; the longer you live, the higher the odds that some nutjob cultist, high-ranking demon, or lucky teenage sleuth who's friends you just killed is going to be able to find a way to block or nullify any magic you have. That's the shitty part about being magic; magic is not infallible. In those cases, you need something to fall back on. If you can't fight then you're going to be in serious trouble. I am going to take you runts and make you into something it doesn't make me sick to look at."<br/><br/>Shizuru held up one hand and inside of it appeared a little wooden cup with purple paint in it. She started stirring it a little as she spoke, "Physical Education is three hours. Each day you arrive you will appear here at this point. You may have noticed this is not a classroom." The redhead cocks her head, motioning behind herself, "You see that gold speck back there? That's the classroom. It's about a hundred miles down this path, which leads down the mountain, through the forest, and over a large hill. Every day you will make a run to the classroom. It should take you an hour. After that you will have an hour of whatever torturous exercise I can come up with. Then you run back here and leave so you can be on time for your next class. Please make note that I said RUN. If I catch anyone cheating at anything, you fail the class. No flying, no minions, no possession, no becoming intangible, none of that bullshit. You have human forms; use them if you have to. I don't want any excuses."<br/><br/>The demoness stepped towards her students and lifted the paintbrush. The paint on it was purple, but had a faint odor of blood. She grabbed the first student's hand and applied the paint around his wrist, making something that looked like an infinity symbol wrapped around his arm. As soon as it was applied the young demon cried out and toppled over onto his side. Shizuru held the brush aloft, "This is called the Mark of Chains. It's special paint made out of my blood and a few other ingredients. Each mark is going to add one hundred pounds of weight to each limb it's painted on. You should thank me for making it so light. Every day you arrive you will apply this paint to your arms and legs before begining your run to class. The paint will wear off the moment you leave class, so don't worry about washing it off. If I catch anyone without these 'chains' on in my class, you fail."<br/><br/>As demonstration, she dragged the fallen demon boy back to his feet and painted the symbols on his other wrist and then on his ankles. The young demon looked rather frail to start with, so he was already suffering quite a bit, slouched over with his arms hanging at his sides. Shizuru tossed the paint to whomever was next in line and said, "Get to work. You have one hour to get to the classroom. I recommend staying on the path, as the forest is filled with apparitions liable to devour you. Anyone who doesn't make the run is expelled. I'll be watching." With a snap of her fingers, Shizuru disappeared in a brilliant fireburst, leaving the students to organize things on their own.