Martial Arts Class

[Hei]

With a hearty sigh, Bartimaeus walked into the large open dojo that was his classroom, filled with naught but a few pillows, some mirrors, and various training equipment. There was also a bonsai growing in the corner as well as a rock garden on the left hand side of the dojo. These things were to bring peace to the mind in order to better let the ki flow through the body. He sat on a slightly larger mat that was designated for him and watied.

[Dagomis]

Dagomis walked up to the Martial Arts classroom, and knocked on the door. Geki had finished feeding earlier than expected, so Dagomis had decided to get to the class early. After two knocks, he opened the door and walked in, "Hello, Winter-senpai."

[Lockheart42]

Ran walked into the room with a look of curiosity mixed with nervousness. She wasn't sure what to expect here at a Martial Arts class and she was surprised to see that the classroom itself was designed to look like a dojo. She expected a more traditional looking classroom like others that she had seen. This proved to her that Sentou Gakuin was a school much different from any other. Still walking in, Ran noticed that there weren't many people in the class for whatever reason. There were two people in there, one looking younger, the other looking older. The older one was assumably the teacher and she figured the younger to be a student like herself. With no visible chairs or tables nearby she decided to walk in and present herself to the teacher, or at least the man she figured as such. She walked to the large mat with the man sitting on top of it and gave a slight nod of the head while saying, "My name is Ran Yamamoto and I was told to come here for Martial Arts Class. I would like to train in order to become a stronger warrior. Will you accept me into your class?" Ran spoke with a formality that she learned to be proper when speaking to a superior. She didn't want to ignore the other and be rude to him either, but she knew that being accepted into the class was the first step. Making new friends could come immediately after.

[Vivian]

Medina came in after the Tsubari, seeming somewhat out of place.

[Hei]

He smiled and nodded his head. "Moru-kun." He stood and bowed to his new student, showing her as much respect as she had shown him. "Well met. I would be honored to teach you, Yamamoto." He looked over at Medina with kindness in his eyes. "Come over here, and introduce yourselves so that you two may be aquainted and then we may begin."

[Dagomis]

Dagomis looked toward the girl and bowed, "Hello, I am the Interrogation Tsurabi. Nice to meet you." Dagomis smiled, and then stepped out of the way of Medina. He casually walked to the back of the classroom and took a seat in the traditional Japanese seiza style. Now that a student had arrived the actual class could start, and become truly interesting. Dagomis wanted to know exactly how Bartimaeus taught his students, it was incredibly exciting to learn of such things.

[Vivian]

The girl bounced up and stooped into a low bow. "I'm Medina Grahl. I haven't been formally accepted yet, but I plan to be a student here soon. Pleased to meet you, Ran!" She seems alive and full of energy. She extended her hand to shake.

[Lockheart42]

Ran first smiled and bowed at the Interrogation Tsurabi, showing her respect for a teacher. As the Interrogation Tsurabi took his seat, Ran noticed another girl hop up and bow to her. She introduced herself as Medina Grahl and seemed friendly enough. From what she said, Ran assumed that she wasn't yet a student, but most likely an incoming one. With one of the three being the teacher of the class, the other being another teacher, and the third being an incoming student that wasn't fully registered, it occured to Ran that she would be alone this class. That wasn't so bad to her because the teacher could focus on her more and hopefully teach her better, but on the other hand, it could feel slightly lonesome, her being there be herself. She decided that it was a problem that she would have to deal with. Such was the price for becoming a better warrior. "Pleased to meet you too Medina." Ran noticed an extended hand out, so she bowed to Medina while at the same time, shaking her hand. "I hope we can become good friends." Ran's voice was nearly whisper quiet. She didn't quite have the energy that the other girl had although she had great enthusiasm.

[Vivian]

"I hope we can too!" She tilted her head to look at Barti. "So, I am going to participate today or just watch?"

[Hei]

He smiled. "You can participate also, although you may be rather disappointed if you think there is going to be any real fighting going on." He stood and walked over to his bonsai, a tree about as tall as he. "I don't care about what your predetermined notions about martial arts are, throw everything you think you know about fighting out the window. Regardless of whether or not either of you are competent in the area of martial arts, we will all be starting at step 1." He made a "v" with two fingers and used them as scissors, cleanly chopping off two small branches of the bonsai and handing them to Medina and Ran along with two small pots. "This bonsai is one of a kind; if you cut off a branch and plant it, it will grow into a tree even stronger than the original. I want you two to take care of these. Your first assignment will be to clear your mind through taking care of these sprouts." He cocked his head. "Any questions?"

[Vivian]

"Nope!"

[Hei]

He smiled at her and held out the sprout. "Well then, get to work!" He walked back over and began tending to his own bonsai.

[Dagomis]

Mamoru watched from the back, as Bartimaeus gave the bonsai branches out. In just a few seconds, his colleagues had made a great connection between Magic and Martial Arts. This made the entire subject the more interesting to him, showing him the correlations between all types of warriors and styles. He continued to look onward hoping to hear more, learn more.

[Hei]

Without turning around, Bartimaeus called out to Mamoru. "Hey, Moru-san, why don't you help me tend to this bonsai? It'll clear your mind."

[Dagomis]

Dagomis stood up and looked at the bonsai. He bit his finger and used the blood to draw vertical line along the flute in his tattoo. The flute appeared in his hand, he twirled it in his fingers. The flute was warm in his hands, as it had always been, as if he were hugging his mother when he was young. The metal basked in the light that came into the classroom, and created even more warmth in Dagomis' hand. "Mind if I do it my way?" He had a perfect technique for this kind of thing and it was a perfect time to use it. He didn't want to get rusty with this technique and he was glad that he hadn't up to this time, but now he wanted to incredibly bad.

[Hei]

He nodded and smiled. "Of course." He walked over and opened a window allowing two sparrows and a squirrel into the room. The tranquility attracted much of the wildlife as could be seen by this. One of the sparrows nestled on the top of Bartimaeus' head as he silently watched Mamoru.

[Dagomis]

Upon approval, Dagomis brought the flute up to his mouth and began to play one of his melodies. The song filled the room, adding to the tranquility to the already tranquil scene. The melody wasn't very distinctive, though it was as beautiful as any other Dagomis had written. The song was his Angelic Song, and as he played the bonsai began to grow. He wasn't sure of any other bonsai due to his focus on the one bonsai, but the bonsai he was focused upon was definitely growing at a progressive rate. After a few minutes, Dagomis closed his eyes to reflect and meditate upon the music while he played it. It was one of the first melodies created in the memory of his mother, so that's all he could think of. He wanted the tree to be as beautiful as his mother.

[Hei]

His ear twitched as he heard the haunting melody. He closed his eyes and sat at the base of the tree, his body changing into that of a panther. He didn't mean for this to happen, but his mind was at such peace that both his feral and human sides were at one.

[Vivian]

Medina noticed everything, seeming content by the song. She slipped
off her boots, leaving them where she stood, slipping gracefully and
quietly to the window, not wanting to break the silence. She stood at the window, eyes closed and arms outspread (bonsai still in hand) as she searched for what she needed. She smiled and opened her eyes after a moment, reaching down and scooping up the rich, dark soil that broke the surface of the earth. It was slightly damp to the touch. A flat rock about the size of a keyboard broke the surface as well. She hollowed it quickly with her powers and filled it with the soil. Standing up and turning, she brought the "flower pot" to join the rock garden, carefully planting hers in one half and encouraging Ran to take the other.

[Lockheart42]

Ran was slightly confused, and in her confusion, she made a puzzled look at the bonsai tree. She expected her first day of Martial Arts class to be something more of an exercise in which she would do some type of physical training. She didn't imagine that taking care of a bonsai tree would be her job. She figured that it must be for something, so she held onto it, and even stared at it for a few minutes, spacing out and thinking of what to do with it next. After snapping out of it within a few minutes, she looked over at her teacher to see that he had become a panther like beast. This was actually something that Ran was used to. Most of her life, she was used to people transforming into creatures, and creatures turning into people. She stood in the silence of the few people surrounding her and waited with her bonsai. If this was her test, she hoped that she could pass it.

[Hei]

The panther lifted its head and looked at Ran, eyes shining. "Don't be so nervous. This is not an excercize, you merely need to clear your mind. Ki flow is interrupted by extraneous thoughts."

[Vivian]

Vivian slumped back into a cross legged position, eyes close, sighing contently.

[Lockheart42]

Ran remained silent and continued to hold the tree. She kept her mind fairly clear as she stayed focus on her objective which, at this point, was to tend to the bonsai tree. All she could do now was wait until something happened or until she completed the task.

[Hei]

The panther stood and cracked its neck, hopping up on its hind legs. "Oi, I haven't been this relaxed in ages. Okay, both of you, feel calmness envelop your mind..." His voice grew softer. "Concentrate on the beating of your heart, and focus on that pinpoint of energy that comes with every beat. Focus with all your soul until you can feel other pinpoints throughout your body; your stomach, your brain, and your palms. Once you do this, draw on the energy, imagining electricity was charging in these areas and coming together in your palms. I will feel the change in ki flow, and will continue once you have achieved this state."

[Xexame]

Xexame walked into the classroom, late as usual. He came in to see a total of four people. One was the brother of his former teacher, the second was a panther who he assumed to be a demon of some kind or perhaps the previous person's creature or pet, and the last two that he saw were two hot girls. At first he was going to proceed to the girls, but he quickly thought it over and decided that it wouldn't be good to flirt on the first day in a new class.

I'd probably get in trouble if I wandered over there to the hot girls. That would probably get me kicked out for sure unless the teacher had a very good sense of humor. I wonder if Militis' younger brother is the teacher. Xexame sighed. This class might not end too well if that's the case. He decided to look around for the teacher. He walked to the panther, trying to be funny and then remembered that Militis had an animal that could talk, so talking to the panther and not expecting an answer wouldn't be too likely.

Instead, he used this opportunity to walk to the girl with her eyes closed and legs crossed. Maybe, just maybe, he could start a conversation.

"Would you happen to know where the teacher is or who he or she is?"

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