I posted this at 1 am without a title I—
~
You and Rin were walking down the cram school's hallway together. Up ahead, you two spotted Shiemi, sprawled on the floor and missing her shoes.
"Shiemi?" You called, the two of you stopping. "What're you doing down there?" She quickly got on her shoes and stood up.
"No-nothing!" She quickly replied. You raised a brow at her. Then she turned and began to walk away from you two. You glanced up at Rin and he returned the glance.
"What the hell was that."
Rin shrugged.
"Beats me. She's a weirdo."
You nudged him.
"Be nice," you scolded gently.
~
When you and Rin got into Yukio's class, you took your normal seats next to each other.
"All right, summer vacation is less than a month and a half away, but before the break, you'll take this year's Exwire Authorization Exam," Yukio said.
"Esquire? What's that?" Rin asked, looking at you.
"Exwire, Rin," you corrected gently. "It's a candidate to become an Exorcist."
"Oohh."
"Be aware, once you're promoted to Exwire, you'll be subjected to more specialized training," Yukio continued on, "So the exam won't be easy to pass. Therefore... next week we'll hold a week long boot camp to prepare you for it."
"Boot camp?" Rin repeated. Yukio walked up to your desk and handed you both papers.
"As the camp isn't mandatory, indicate if you'll be participating, as well as the 'meister', or title, that you'd like to acquire, and turn in the form by Monday."
You looked at the paper with a sigh. I'm in too deep now.
"Meister? Title?" Rin said confusingly.
"Meister is a technical qualification needed to be an exorcist," you explained, "It's a title given to those with high skill. Knight, Dragoon, Aria, Tamer, and Doctor. Those are the five titles. If you've acquired one, you can become an exorcist."
"I see... I think I kinda get it," he said, looking at his papers.
"Your combat style will vary depending on which title you get."
"Right... thank you, Y/n," he said, a smile and blush coming up to his face. "What are you gonna go for?"
"Knight," you replied automatically.
"Knight?"
"A Knight is a Meister who fights with a sword."
"Sword?"
You looked at Rin.
"You should go for Knight, too. If you want to know about other titles, you should ask around. Try Suguro and his gang. They might be helpful."
"Oh... okay, thanks Y/n!" He got up and walked over to the others' table. You smiled at him lightly.
~
Your next class was with Igor Neuhaus. A brooding, stoic man you would rather keep your distance from. You all were standing in a circle in a classroom with him at the front. He drew a summoning circle on the floor with chalk.
"All right..." He spoke, "I will now summon a demon." The circle on the floor was extremely complex. You looked at it. Curious, Rin took a step forward.
"Don't step on the drawing!" Igor warned, "If the Magic Circle is broken, it will lose all effect. To summon a demon, you will need a drop of your own blood and a suitable invocation." Raising his hand which was covered in bloody bandages, he clenched his fist before relaxing it, letting a few drops of blood drip to the circle.
"Son of Typhoeus and Echidna, comply with my request and show yourself!"
Smoke slowly began to rise from the circle, a breeze coming through. A black goop began to bubble from the circle before taking on the form of a Naberius.
"Is that a Naberius?" Konekomaru asked. The sulfuric smell wafted up in the room. You tilted your head at it. Impressive. That's not a low level demon. Your eyes moved up to Igor.
"Few have the ability to summon a demon to use as a familiar," he said, "Not only do you need the immense willpower to tame a demon, but a natural aptitude is also indispensable." You could see him glance at Rin. Huh?
"I shall now test to see if any of you have this aptitude."
"A test?" Rin repeated.
Igor reached into his coat and pulled out a small piece of paper.
"Using the rough sketch of the Magic Circle I just passed out, place a drop of blood and chant whatever words come to your mind."
You looked down at your sheets. Hm... Kamiko was the one who acted first.
"I humbly appeal to the goddess of Inari. I entreat you not to leave my prayers unfulfilled!"
Everyone, mainly Rin and Shiemi, gaped at the summonings.
"Not one, but two Byakko, white foxes... splendid, Izumo Kamiki!" Igor said. You looked down at your paper. Aight, here goes nothing... please don't expose me... you bit off some skin from the side of your finger, swiping it across both pages.
"Lord of the Dreams that Terrify, Sword of Cold and Darkness. Free yourself of Heaven's bonds. Let us walk the path of destruction together!" Black smoke rocketed from the sheets, forming large bodies. The others jumped away at the sudden space being taken up. When your familiars appeared, everyone's jaw dropped. You deadpanned. Of course...
"Cerberus and a Shadow." Igor's eyes seemed to have widened. "Sensational work." You looked at your two familiars. Why couldn't have I have summoned an imp...
"Th-those things are huge!" Rin exclaimed, staring at them.
"They're high level demons," you spoke, "Obviously they're not your average house pet size."
"Le-let me try, too!" Shiemi exclaimed out, holding up the papers. She looked at the papers. "Here, boy... here, boy... just kidding!" You blinked at her. Then a pop of green light appeared from the page before taking on the form of a Greenman. It slowly floated back down on the top of her page.
"That looks like an infant Greenman," Igor said, rubbing his chin. "Stupendous, Shiemi Moriyama..." You looked at your familiars and they looked at you. Cerberus let out a low growl.
"Oh don't give me that."
"It seems we have no shortage of Tamer candidates this year," Igor said, "Now then, the ability to manipulate demons during combat is extremely rare among exorcists, so Tamers are highly valued. A demon will never obey a master weaker than itself. So if its master lacks confidence, it will turn on them and attack." Your familiars turned to look at you, growling. You snarled back at them.
"As I mentioned, breaking the circle will release the Familiar, causing it to vanish. So if you ever sense danger, tear up the piece of paper." Igor smudged the chalk and the Naberius disappeared in wisps of smoke. Right after, the bell rang. "That's all. Class is dismissed." You tore up the papers and your Familiars disappeared. Igor was the first to leave. You watched him. He knows.
Ja ne!
{Ruby Red}