Class Time ... The Countdown Begins

[Dagomis]

It had been some time since the battle that had done so much without much effort. In this time, a student had been kidnapped, a Tsurabi had departed from the school and Yuko was now in charge of two classes, though she could easily rebuke her class duties having never held a class before. This didn't help her when it came to holding Dagomis' class, she was inexperienced. But, she would as asked...

Yuko opened the door to the classroom, it was as dark and empty as everything else she had entered since she had been abandoned, behind her was a . The silence was suffocating to her, even though she had been living in it for some time. He flicked on the light, bringing light to the room and illuminating the room. The desk was the first thing her eyes went to, it was at the front of the class so this was understandable as the norm but that wasn't necessarily her reason. She gracefully walked over to the desk as if she was back to her old self, which she might have been. Yuko took her seat at the desk and brought within her line of sight a book. It was the book that she had found in her master's study. The book that detailed his techniques and his class schedule. But, just as she opened the doors the prisoner she was accompanying came through the door. She removed the chains and sat him in a chair, right next to the desk as she began to read again. The way Dagomis had written the book, it was almost as if he had meant to write a novel. If you read through and knew Dagomis, you could find the techniques, but it was almost flawless as a code. It seemed to be story of a young hero, and her cold-hearted partner. The female was the protagonist and omni-powerful starting a story, that both drove attention away from the true meaning and hid. Yuko could not admit that she had begun reading because it was the help of Dagomis, but now it was that she couldn't put it down because she was engulfed in the story. A true hero's novel...almost.

[Hitomi]

Hitomi walked through the doors with an upset look on her face. The mission had just ended in failure and she was unable to locate her old teacher Dagomis. She walked in and sat down, not realizing that anyone else was in the room at first. She looked up after a few moments to see the others in the room. "Oh, I didn't notice you there." The person seemed familiar. "Hey, don't I know you? Weren't you around Dagomis in the past?" Hitomi wondered what class would be like with a new teacher. She also looked through the crack in the door. Xexame had been behind her but she didn't know where he went to. She assumed that he would be there in a moment to join class.

[Dagomis]

Yuko placed her finger in between the two pages that she was reading as she closed the covers of the book. It was still open, she seemed to be unable to close it, but this didn't matter as someone had walked in while she was reading. The person had spoken, though Yuko didn't catch all of it. She only heard the last two questions, which she promptly answered as to not seem rude. "You may know me, but I definitely know you, Hitomi. Yes, I have been moving along with Master for sometime." A smile came about as her next few words came out. "But, regardless, how have you been in the time since our last meeting?" She said so cheerfully as to avoid the thought of what happened at that time, but wasn't sure about the mindset of Hitomi and therefore was not adept at definite aversion ability.

[Xexame]

Xexame walked in several minutes late. He had some interesting news that he would be unable to forget about for a while. With his hands in his pockets he walked in and waved a hand to the teacher. He didn't say much else. He took a seat next to Hitomi and whispered something in her ear. He seemed extremely serious.

Some of the kids in the class were facing forward while others looked around at Xexame. At this point he was the center of attraction since he walked into class completely late with no excuse at all. One person behind Xexame was leaning over in an effort to hear what he was trying to say.

"Hitomi, I have something to tell you. From the different rumors going on around the campus and dorms, I've heard that Suzaku is on the move. Apparently they are going after these monsters called Eterna Beasts or something like that. From what I hear, there are 7 of these beasts but it only takes one to destroy the school. I think now is my chance to get my revenge on Suzaku and their leader. I'm going to find those Eterna Beasts and when I see Suzaku, I'm going to kill them with this hand. Will you help me?"

There was an intensity in Xexame's eyes. It seemed as though he was vert serious about getting revenge on Suzaku. This was his new goal in life.

[Hitomi]

Hitomi was shocked at what she had just heard. So Suzaku really was going active and they had their own goal. That doesn't really explain why they kidnapped Xexame but that doesn't matter. The school is in danger right now."I don't know Xexame. Fighting Suzaku at our level might be really dangerous. From the battle in Akamori, its obvious that they are really high level warriors. I do want to help you though so I'll dedicate my time to training as much as possible until I'm much stronger. I can't allow Suzaku to destroy the school." Hitomi was willing to help her friend. It was true that she wanted to help because she didn't want Suzaku to grow stronger, but she also wanted to prove herself to Xexame and stay close to him.

As Hitomi and Xexame was having their conversation the others in the classroom were listening to them. Once this class was over, the entire school would know about the Suzaku threat.

[Dagomis]

Yuko turned toward the two in class who were speaking. One had been late into class, and was now disturbing it and the other had followed along into the disrespect. Yuko was not angered, but the thought of what Dagomis might do in this situation did make her think to be forward with the interruption of the interruption. Now that the great majority of the class was there, Yuko marked the page and placed her book down upon the desk. In the most polite yet commanding voice that she could muster she spoke, "I ask that you be quiet, now that we are in class." It might not have been the action of Dagomis, but he would have approved. In her mind, a smile came about while on the outside she showed displeasure for the interruption. She had important news and did not want that interrupted for something that could be talked about outside of the classroom. She remained in her seat, as she spoke again. "Ok, now that that is settled I will introduce myself. I am Yuko Amaya, the Tsurabi of Strategy and the interim Tsurabi of Interrogation. I will be briefly in this position in the absence of Master Dagomis, and will be spending this time training his successor under his command. Now before I move on are there any questions?" The class had quieted now at her speech, giving a feeling of accomplishment that she had become somewhat of a Tsurabi. Her hands were folded as she awaited any questions.

[Hitomi]

Hitomi quickly raised her hand. Ever since that battle with Dagomis, Hinata, and Xexame, Dagomis was nowhere to be found. As his students, Hitomi and everyone else from the team was worried. He never even sent them a message. No one could find him. "Actually Ms. Yuko, I have a question. Where exactly has Dagomis gone? And why didn't he let us know he was leaving?" Her question was straight to the point and brief. She wanted only the facts of the situation and nothing else. Somehow though, she felt like she wouldn't get a good response. SHe felt like she would never really get a good response.

[Xexame]

Xexame sat back and watched as did the other students. Unlike the others though, they didn't know of the situation that had occurred before the departure of Dagomis. In their minds, they assumed that he was away on some kind of trip or maybe even a mission as some teachers do. That wasn't the case at all. Xexame had been wondering about where Dagomis had gone as well. He assumed that Yuko would be able to give a good enough answer so that they wouldn't be left in the dark so much.

How will you reply Yuko? I want to know where Dagomis went. Do you actually have an answer or has he just fled on his own accord for some unexplainable reason.

[Dagomis]

Yuko showed an upset face, when the question was first posed and held it when she became the center of attention. But, she swallowed it and faced those in front of her. She had expected to be speaking about Dagomis and his whereabouts and what would come after she spoke, but she was ready for it this early. She hoped that she would be able to bring this up in front of the Hitomi and Yuko, the only students other than Hinata that would notice Dagomis' disappearance, after class. "Umm ... As for Master Dagomis, he is with his brother. That is all that I can say about that, Master Dagomis would prefer that no one start a futile attempt to reach him."

Yuko looked down at the floor for a moment. She reflected upon the words, somewhat saddened that she couldn't say more but torn between allegiance to Dagomis and the right for his team to know where he was. But, realizing that they were in the middle of a lesson, she brought her head back up and spoke. "Now we begin the lesson. Today will be on the subject of a technique that Master Dagomis created. It will involve pain, so I ask that anyone that objects leave class." As she said this, some of the student stood up and walked out the door. Now only a handful of students were left.

[Hitomi]

Hitomi took a breath of relief. She was quite happy to hear that nothing was wrong with Dagomis. Although the description was brief and not very informative, Hitomi accepted it. She was fine with what was said and decided not to push it any further. She folded closed her eye with the scar and looked at Yuko, ready for the next phase of the class.

[Xexame]

Xexame had an annoyed look on his face. He didn't buy the excuse that Yuko gave him at all. In fact, he believed now more than ever that something was wrong. He couldn't shake the idea that someone was trying to hide something important. He raised his hand high but didn't wait to be called on. Instead, he called out before Yuko could even acknowledge his hand.

"Sorry but I have to ask another question. I'm not really satisfied by the answer. Why would Dagomis just leave without telling us especially after the events in the Akamori? It doesn't make any sense to me. Are you hiding something from us? I think that something just doesn't connect. And why is he trying so hard not to be found? What's his plan? You've been with him every time I've seen him. You must know something about his exact whereabouts and his reasons for choosing to leave."

[Dagomis]

Yuko ignored the words of the person before. She had left the subject and was not going forward with it at this point in time. There were no longer any people in the class unwilling to learn what she was to teach, so she began to move forward. "Okay, so now I am to teach you a technique that is used for the more extreme side of interrogation. It is a very specific and demanding technique that forces one to have focus, and a control of energy is its near purest form. But, those are for another day. We will begin this technique now."

She walked into the door behind her, and retrieved a robotic dummy from it. When she returned, she placed it on the desk and moved to face the class and the dummy. Her back to the board with her eyes closed Yuko brought her palm out to face the ceiling. She focused and released energy from her palm which took the form of a ball. Once completely formed, she placed the ball in the chest of the dummy. It went through the rubbery flesh and rested on the inside. Yuko opened her eyes and took a seat at here desk. "As you will see it is assimilated into the body of the affected person and rests inside. This technique, though, relies on a constant connection between the ball and its creator. However you so choose to use this connection is solely your decision. I just remind you the larger the ball the more energy required." When she finished speaking she looked at the doll and the chest began to expand slowly. The effect became quite visible as the chest bulged. The ball instantly disappeared and Yuko once more looked toward the class. "This particular variation places pressure upon the internal organs to create much pain, but has a very short lifespan as to not create too much pain for a person or too much strain on the creator. But there can be different variations to this, it is optimal that you find your own way of doing things. Are there any questions?"

[Xexame]

"I had a question but based on the lack of an answer, its obvious that my assumption was correct. I'm outta here." Xexame stood up with an angry look on his face. It was obvious that someone was hiding something at this point. The substitute teacher made that clear enough for him. He put his hands in his pocket and walked out the door, following close behind the other students. He closed the door behind him but didn't slam it. He walked down the hallways of the school to find some place to go. He decided that training his new arm would be better than going to a class and not getting any answers.

Where am I going to go now? I guess I can head down to obstacle course or the training field to get in some training before this whole battle starts against Suzaku. I'm not prepared anyway. Hopefully, I can meet up with Hitomi later on and do some training. If we are going to be a team, we should be coordinated.

Xexame walked past a boy who had spiked red hair like the leader of Suzaku. Although he knew that it wasn't the leader, the sight of him made him furious. His pace quickened a bit. He wanted to take his mind off of the whole Suzaku situation.

[Dagomis]

With the exit of Xexame, Yuko realized that half of the class was already gone. The other half sat idly by, doing nothing particularly interesting. The class was near its end, Yuko had shown the technique and now there was nothing more that needed to be done. She heaved a small sigh and spoke, "Okay. There is the technique, so homework is to practice this technique. There very well night be a test on it next class day." After the words were spoken, there was nothing left for her to do; nothing to tear her away from the book that she had so intensily reading even to the very beginning of class. She brought the book before her face and began to read again. Before a minute could pass, she was zoned in on the pages back among the characters.

[Sponsored content]