An Academy for the Righteous

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Quest Name: An Academy for the Righteous

Who can participate?: [Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Quest Time Frame (How long it takes): [5 years]

Quest Setting (NDE/DE): [DE]

Quest Synopsis:[/b] [Shawn was once an Academy Student. This is his journey through the Academy and his story of graduating into a Squad]

Maximum Number of Participants: [1]

Overall Goal: [Survive and Graduate the Academy]

Number of missions involved: [5]

BASIC Synopsis of each Quest mission:

Year One [Easy]: Year one features the most basic of classes, Kidou 101, Zanjutsu 101, and History 101.

Year Two [Easy]: Year two features Kidou 201, Zanjutsu 201, and Hoho 101.

Year Three [Medium]: Year three is where students begin to get involved in the cycle of souls. It features classes Kidou 301, Zanjutsu 301, Hoho 201, and Zanpakutou 101

Year Four [Medium]: Year four features Kidou 401, Zanjutsu 401, Zanpakutou 201, and Purification 101.

Year Five [Hard]: Year five has but one class, Purification 201.

Each year comes with Basic training, Advanced training, and End-of-year Exams for each class.

Recommended Class for entry:[8]

Special Conditions: Shawn will begin the thread at 300 Stat Points and will not be able to increase beyond that. He will start with his current Type, Soul Specialist version 1. Techniques can be "temporarily" purchased for QP and either kept at the end of the thread or Shawn will be allowed to "forget" them with no penalties. Techniques that are required for passing classes will be granted for free as rewards for "studying" but can be forgotten at the end of the thread for no penalties as well. This is to allow Shawn to have techniques to be used during the thread, but not necessarily fill his technique pool with all class 8-7 techniques.

After each End-of-year exam, a QP shop will open for Shawn to purchase items and other helpful things to be used during the Quest and kept afterwards if desired. QP will be awarded for defeating other students in Basic or Advanced Training like they were enemies per standard QP rules and will also be awarded based on his grades on his Exams.

Shawn has the first post.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shawn's Marks}
Kidou 101: 5/5 + ?/8
Zanjutsu 101: ?/5 + ?/8
History 101: ?/5 + ?/8

Kidou 201: ?/5 + ?/8
Zanjutsu 201: ?/5 + ?/8
Hoho 101: ?/5 + ?/8

Kidou 301: ?/5 + ?/8
Zanjutsu 301: ?/5 + ?/8
Hoho 201: ?/5 + ?/8
Zanpakutou 101: ?/5 + ?/8

Kidou 401: ?/5 + ?/8
Zanjutsu 401: ?/5 + ?/8
Zanpakutou 201: ?/5 + ?/8
Purification 101: ?/5 + ?/8

Purification 201: ?/5 + ?/8

Total Tally: 5/195

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

This is Shawn’s first year as a student in the academy, through all the struggles and hardships he has finally made it. Looking at his newly donned academy outfit, almost expecting something amazing to happen from just wearing it. “I can’t believe I was accepted”, he mumbled to himself, luckily no one was around at the moment to hear him talk to himself. Walking over to a window he will look out at the academy grounds in front of him. Seeing other students like him walk around the grounds or sit and chat with friends, the feeling of accomplishment sinking in as he watched it all. Then an image of his brother and sister came to mind as he noticed a couple of younger looking souls playing around on the grass below.



Remembering his siblings face only brought back memories as he leaned against the window frame. His brother tried to catch him as his sister sat under a tree laughing at them playing tag, finally deciding to get up herself and join in on the fun. A smile appeared on his face as these went through his mind until he came to the day he lost everything, his siblings and his own life. “This is why I'm in the academy, so that those who prefer evil will fall to my hands after God has given me this power.” Moving away from the window he began to head down to the academy grounds himself. Might as well get some fresh air and calm down before my first class of the day, first I have to figure out where my first class even is, what it even is. He will then after standing outside in the sun for a minute, begin his search.



After searching for some time he found out his first class would be Kidou 101, and searching a bit more he found where it was located and would begin to head there. Kidou 101, huh, sounds interesting, can’t wait to see what that entails. Finding the location he would then find a spot to sit where he wasn’t surrounded by people, once he did he would sit and look around at his fellow students. It wasn’t long before he realized he stuck out, not from his age or scar, but his thin body and very pale complexion. The other’s he noticed were usually at just the right weight where they didn’t seem slim but couldn’t be considered overweight, with a few that were big boned. Sitting back after this realization he would just quietly wait for the instructor, maybe he’s not that noticeable?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}Type: Soul Specialist Version 1

Strength: 50(25)

Speed: 50(25)

Reiatsu Strength: 50

Spiritual Pressure: 50

Senses: 50(25)

Instinct: 50(25)

Energy Sensory: 0

Healing Expertise: 0

Light Aura: 100 

Dark Aura: 0

-----

Skills-

Analyzing: 1

Calm Mind: 1

Learning: 1

Strength of Will: 1

Battle Focus: 1

Martial Arts- Kyusho Jitsu: 1

Weapon- Jian Sword: 1

Battle Analysis: 1

Mental Incantation: 1

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Shawn's Kidou instructor arrived promptly, the bell ringing approximately five or six seconds after he arrived. He was a tall man, well built, and dressed in an unusual outfit for a Shinigami. He was wearing a baseball jersey, of all things. Not the kind of man you would expect to be teaching the spiritual arts, but he was there all the same. Blowing a bubble from some chewing gum, the pink orb popped and just a little bit landed on his wide angled glasses. With a sigh, the instructor removed them and scrubbed them clean with his jersey before placing them back on his face and addressing the class with a thick southern US accent.

"Greetings, y'all. My name's Billy Ray. I'm here to learn ya about the arts of the Kidou. The Hado and the Bakudo, maybe a little Kaido if you swing that way. We'll start with just some minor reiatsu theory." Holding up his hand, Billy Ray let a small orb of energy grow at the tip of an outstretched finger, starting small and growing larger until it was the size of a basketball and increasing larger until it was the size of an exercise ball. "As Souls, reiatsu is in our blood. Quite literally, in fact. You have channels of reiatsu just as you have veins in your body. To manipulate it must come naturally for you in order to survive my Class. Everybody work in pairs. Don't focus on size of reiatsu orbs, focus on their stability. Don't over exert yourself. Let your orb burst uncontrolled and I will deduct a Mark from your grades for the year."

If Shawn was not familiar with the Mark system Billy Ray mentioned, he would find out soon enough that Grades in the Academy were based on 13 levels of Marks, one for each of the Gotei 13 Squads. They were symbolic of your aptitude for the class as well as how much effort you put into the class. End of year exams made up for 8 of the 13 marks, but the other 5 were up to the instructor to give or take away as necessary. Few instructors gave more than 3 for standard results and effort, saving 5 for the students who excelled and stood out the most as exemplary. In the course of the 5 years and 15 classes they would take, a student needed 140 Marks out of the possible 195 to graduate. 175 Marks would let them graduate with honors. If they managed to get all 195 Marks, a feat not met for several hundred years, then they were easily on the fast track to the prestigious Squad 1. Squad 1 only took students who graduated with honors but held open Seated positions for fast tracked individuals in the case that a student did get all 195 marks.

A student with all 195 marks would easily become famous for Generations.

The students would start to pair off and work in groups like instructed. A young appearing boy came up to Shawn and addressed him very formally. "Good morning and Salutations, Sir. Would you be my partner?" The pairs were left to their own devices how they trained each other. Would they simply try to compete and see who could focus their energies better? Or would they build up each other, coaching when they saw weaknesses and guiding where they saw errors? Or would they have their own unique training ideas? However they intended to use their time together, Shawn had a partner lined up for him if he wanted, but wasn't obligated to choose the boy.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

The instructor arrived soon after Shawn got comfortable, it didn’t take him long to lay an assignment on them to do either. Using the reiatsu they possess, they have to make a stable ball of energy in the palm of one of their hands. Everybody is to pair up as are the instructions, which puts Shawn in a pickle. Not the type of person to begin a conversation, he sat there watching as people began to pair up with each other. Clearly some knew each other outside of the academy, while others just weren’t afraid to make new friends. Half the people were already paired up and beginning their task, then finally, a young boy came up to him.

“Y-yeah, I could be your partner, m-my name is Shawn, p-pleased to meet you.” Through sure force, he managed to talk with the boy, if only for a moment, before he would listen to his response. Once the formalities were out of the way, they began working on the task at hand. Shawn would look around to see how everyone was doing, noticing that some were succeeding with flying colors, others couldn't produce a wisp of energy regardless of how hard it looked like they were concentrating. This did not help Shawn with his confidence, he would first attempt to encourage his partner with what words he could manage out.

When his partner finished he would then attempt himself, “W-wish me luck” he would almost whisper as he started focusing on his palm. He could feel it, with the thought of using his reiatsu, he could feel the energy travel from his chest, up his arm, and into his palm. Coming out as a wisp at first, it would begin to form into an orb, being crafted by his mind. Remaining an orb of about fist size for a bit, he would begin to smile, I can’t believe it! I must be better at this reiatsu stuff then I thought I would. Completing the task, him and his partner would wait for the instructor to come up to them.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Shawn successfully made a decently sized Reiatsu Orb and maintained stability. Billy Ray didn't say anything to him about it, but didn't look disapproving as he passed by. However, Shawn's partner seemed to be having trouble that the instructor hadn't noticed yet. Billy Ray was having to watch the class as a whole after all. The boy whispered to Shawn out of ear shot of the teacher. "I knew choosing you as a partner would be a good idea. Can you help me to do that? Try as I might, I just can't get the reiatsu to flow right." While he had been very formal before, he was now being very vulnerable and honest.

The boy held up his hand and the Reiatsu Orb started to flicker into being, but didn't quite form like it should have. It didn't take shape like it was supposed to, lacked depth and fullness. The Orb didn't pop uncontrollably, so Billy Ray probably wouldn't deduct a Mark from his grade automatically, but if he couldn't figure out how to form the most basic of reiatsu shapes he was going to struggle hard in this class. "My name is Maezo. My Father is the Dragon of the Academy, the head Purification 201 instructor. I have to live up to his legacy and become a Shinigami or I'll never be able to face him again. And if I can't master basic reiatsu control... Please, help me Shawn."

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Watching as the instructor passed by without suggesting Shawn was doing something wrong, a smile grew a little on his face. Not long after the instructor moved by, his partner looked at him for advice. Listening to his partner's story helped Shawn deal with his nervousness a little, even if his partner Maezo was the son of someone important in the academy. “Sure, I can help as best I can, I’m not a teacher of any kind though, so forgive me if I don’t help too much.” Shawn actually wanted to help this boy, this boy who’s age of appearance made him think of his younger brother.



Seeing Maezo attempt to form an orb of reiatsu in his palm showed Shawn that he was struggling with allowing the reiatsu to flow from him. “Ok, imagine the reiatsu is your breath, feel that breath and guide it, guide it from your chest into your arms. From there, nudge it gently from your arms into your palms. When it gets to your palms, imagine a ball, then allow the reiatsu to flow from your palm into that ball.” I hope he can make use of what I told him, I hope he can succeed and feel joy in his accomplishment.



Shawn would then sit back and watch his new companion hopefully follow his instructions. Watching the instructor walk around the class, he will turn back to his partner and say something to encourage Maezo. “Just remember, even if you fail at this moment, there is always time to improve and prove to your father how good you are.” With those last words he would sit back and watch as Maezo either succeeded or failed this task, but either way he knew like what he told this boy, if he tries, regardless of how long it takes, he will eventually be strong enough to protect those he cares for.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Maezo tried again to form the reiatsu orb, using Shawn's tutelage. Shawn couldn't sense Energy, so he wouldn't be able to feel what was going on inside the other student, but Maezo was trying very hard to let the reiatsu flow like breath from his chest into his arms then out through his palm into the shape of an orb. The small wisp of energy from before emerged again, but remained in the air and slowly started to take the shape of a sphere. From there, the boy could be seen concentrating intensely as sweat started to drip down his forehead. The orb filled in with energy and then started to shine. It remained for a few seconds, long enough for Billy Ray to see it and make note of the success, then Maezo released the orb and let out his breath he didn't know he had been holding in as well.

Feeling a swell of pride, but also a bit of bittersweet shame from it requiring so much energy to form the most basic of shapes, Maezo resolved to study intensely on his own time to get better at it and thanked Shawn for his help. When class returned to instruction from group work, the son of the Dragon of the Academy stayed close to Shawn. Billy Ray walked to the center of the field and started to teach again. He, unfortunately, walked a bit far out for Shawn's shortsighted vision to allow him to clearly see, but he would be able to be heard just fine as he was projecting his voice quite well. "Now we're going to move onto the next Basic instruction. We'll focus that Reiatsu orb into a Needle." Growing the orb at the tip of his finger again, Billy Ray focused the energy into a needle, but again it was too far away for Shawn to be able to clearly see the instruction. How would he deal with being too far back from the demonstration? Would he just wing it, ask for help from a classmate, or ask for help from the instructor? Would he come up with his own plan?

Maezo appeared to be hyper focused on the needle task, and it wasn't assigned as group work but solo work so he didn't approach Shawn despite being close enough to see. Shawn hadn't been given much verbal instruction, just a physical demonstration that needed his ingenuity to overcome. He needed to somehow produce a Reiatsu Needle or his grade would suffer in this class. And that would probably just be the beginning of a long series of issues if he didn't have a way of overcoming his shortcomings.

+5 QP for helping Maezo

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

It felt good to help Maezo, regardless of the fact he was thanked afterwards, but watching as his advice was followed (or at least he believed was being followed) and that he succeeded, now that felt great. Maezo stayed close to Shawn after that, as the instructor Billy Ray called for their attention while moving towards the center of the class, just outside Shawns horrible vision. He could hear him explain what they were to do next, but all Shawn could see was the blurry form of Mr. Ray and what Shawn could only guess to be his hand being held up and glowing. Sadly what was created was too blurry for Shawn to gauge the size and true shape of, so all he had to go on was that a needle is what needed to be formed next, and by the sounds of it, it had to be formed from the orb they created earlier.



Following the same process he did earlier, Shawn would form on orb, focusing on keeping it as steady as possible. Once this had been done he would begin to visualize the orb as a container, the same way he did when he created the orb in the first place. He would take this ball-like container in his mind and begin to compress it, as if it were hot glass being pressed down to make a smaller shape. He would imagine it becoming thinner and shorter, remembering what his mom’s old knitting needle looked like, willing it to become the same as that image. The concentration would begin to show as beads of sweat began to fall down his face from the pure energy he was putting into this.



Finally finishing what he would turn and ask Maezo if he made the right shape, letting him know his vision isn’t the best and so he was going on only what he heard. If Maezo said it was correct, Shawn would let out a small smile from being able to piece it together. If Maezo said it wasn’t right, Shawn would ask as much information about the shape as he could, was it short, long, wide, thin, did it end in a point, was both sides pointed like a toothpick? He would take whatever information Maezo gave him and try it again, if he still didn’t get it right he would raise his hand shakily, and wait for Billy Ray to come over.


(Total QP: 5)

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

((OOC: From here on, Techniques required by Classes will be gained for free based on the paragraphs required to obtain in a JTT. 1 paragraph for a Class 8 technique, 2 for a 7. And can be improved to Proficient/Mastered by the same number of paragraphs outside of "class" This puts Reiatsu Orb at Learned for Shawn and Reiatsu Needle at 1/2 paragraphs to equal Learned))

Maezo looked very focused on his own task, but looked over to Shawn's needle when he approached. "Oh, that looks really good Shawn. It's almost exactly like the shape of Ray-sensei's, but it needs to be a little straighter, longer, and pointier at both ends." Maezo's own Reiatsu needle was coming along slowly as he was sitting on the ground holding an orb and pulling on it in both directions like a ball of clay. Molding it into the shape he wanted. Would it be helpful to do this in the middle of when you needed a needle? No, but he was just getting the shape of it down before moving into speed. Shawn had done really well with his first attempt, and with Maezo's recommendations he should be able to finish it just in time for Billy Ray to see it perfected.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Taking Maezo’s advice, Shawn would begin to imagine his reiatsu flow into the small needle form he has, while doing so he would think of his needle blowing up, being filled simultaneously by his reiatsu. Once he had it longer thanks to this process, he then would focus on making both ends come to a nice point. Finally finishing that he would insure the needle was as straight as he could possibly manage to make it without any tools to ensure it was perfect. With all that done he would take a moment to look it over before looking to see if Billy Ray was anywhere nearby.



If Billy Ray noticed Shawn finished then Shawn would just simply allow him to look it over before waiting for his instructors word to let go of his creation. If Billy Ray was busy looking over someone else's work then he would wait for an opportunity to get his attention. Regardless of any criticism he may get, Shawn was pretty happy with the job he did, if only because he didn’t actually see what Billy Ray showed the needle to look like. While waiting for the other to finish, Shawn would sit back and relax for a few moment’s, waiting to help Maezo if he wanted any.


(Total QP: 5)

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Billy Ray walked by in time enough to see Shawn's needle and nod approvingly. It was good enough to get affirmation of its success, which was great seeing as though Shawn hadn't seen the earlier demonstration. Most of the students looked tired after the two exercises, but Billy Ray was still going strong, putting them through their paces. "One last Basic Instruction before we break. You have studied Reiatsu theory up until now, but now we're going to learn an actual Kidou spell. Come, gather around and watch me closely." Allowing the students to file in would allow Shawn to see what was going on this time. Billy Ray held his hand up, palm out, and began to incant. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then seize your own throat! Bakudo Number Eight: Seki!"

Billy Ray was careful to enunciate each word to be heard perfectly, and as he finished there was a flow of reiatsu out of his hand and it formed an orange shield around his wrist. There was a crackling of energy that could be seen around it as it hummed with energy. Pointing at Maezo with his other hand, he instructed the boy to come up and punch him. "Are you s-sure?" Not sure why this student was being so timid, Billy Ray just tipped his head back and laughed. "I can take a punch, son. Now, come at me!" Standing up, Maezo rolled up his long sleeves and headed towards the instructor quickly. He moved with average speed, but when he got to the point of no return, he ducked down into a beginner's Hakuda stance and then threw a tremendous right hook with a corkscrew motion.

The force of Maezo's blow struck the Kidou and for a moment it looked like the shield was going to break. Billy Ray slid back a few feet and Maezo's arm was repelled, but that was about the extent of the damage it caused initially. The Bakudo did work as intended though, slightly paralyzing the student until he could shake himself out of the effects. Billy Ray looked incredibly surprised and shocked, but guffawed with mirth. "I should have recognized you, third son of Xelret. I'm surprised you were able to handle my class with the level of proficiency that you managed, given your reputation..." And with that, he shook off his arm and instructed the class to practice their own Seki spells until they could handle the spell at will.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Waiting for Billy Ray to see his needle, he was given a nod of approval as the instructor went by and looked at it. Shawn would slump back a little, letting out a sigh of relief as he had a few moments to rest from all the exertion and focus he put into that. That break was cut short as Billy Ray gathered the students around him, the moment they were all around him he began to speak an incantation. Shawn watched as a small orange shield was created on his wrist, he then proceeded to ask Maezo to help him with this example by punching him. For some reason Maezo was hesitant about this, it wasn’t until Billy Ray assured him he would be fine that Maezo did as told. Shawn was not expecting the instructor to actually be pushed back from the attack, and he definitely wasn’t expecting the shield to nearly break from a physical attack. This is when Shawn finds out that Maezo was apparently really good with some form of fighting called Hakuda, and was also not good with using Kido.



When the example was finished and Maezo shook off the slight paralysis, they were told to practice Seki until they could handle it at will. This was a big thing to ask the class, after all, most were winded from the first two Kido they learned, not to mention the fact that this one was significantly harder. Shawn of course relished the challenge and began to put all his effort into learning Seki. Beginning with the incantation, trying to remember it word for word, “Disintegrate you black hog, no that's not right, Disintegrate, you black dor of ronden, hmmm, that's still not right, ahh, Disintegrate, you black dog of rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then seize your own throat! Bakudo #8: Seki!” Finishing the incantation, Shawn would imagine his reiatsu flowing from his chest going into his arm and then wrist, from there he tried to imagine it flowing out of his wrist and into a shield.



The first attempt proves to be a failure as the shield is halfway created before it shatters, releasing the breath he didn’t realize he was holding up to that point. Repeating the incantation, he tries again, making it one third of the way of the shield forming before it breaks this time. Trying to figure out a way to make the process easier, he gets an idea. Yet again he speaks the incantation, but this time, instead of immediately forming a shield, he instead does what he did with the previous Kido. Forming an orb that is connected to his wrist, he begins to focus intently on the idea of the orb flattening. The new process seemed to be working as the orb did indeed begin to flatten into a disc that was the appropriate size for Seki’s shield. He then begins to imagine the disc being pushed outward slightly from the center of the disc, almost as if an equally sized ball was pushing into it. Completing that image he opens his eyes to find he has succeeded in casting Seki, at least this time anyways.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Billy Ray came over and looked at Shawn's work with Seki. "That's good, boy. Just make sure that you focus on the heart and soul of the Kidou as well as its Form. You've got the shape just perfect, but make sure to get the energy flowing right to get the Bakudo to repel the physical strikes it's supposed to." Then the Instructor just moved on to the other students. Not a heavy criticism, just a helpful recommendation. So far, Shawn may have a hard time guessing what his grade in the Class would be. He'd done well up until now, but had he done well enough to earn a good amount of Marks for the class?

Once Shawn and the rest of the class looked comfortable with Seki, or even if they weren't, Billy Ray would let them take a short break for lunch before the Advanced Instruction would begin. That raised spirits of the class as they hurried off to gather food to raise their energy for whatever Billy Ray had in store for them. Maezo walked up to Shawn with a pair of boxes. "For your help today. I really appreciate it." Shawn was handed one of the boxe which contained a set of rice balls wrapped in nori, some fried shrimp, vegetables, and a small sealed cup of soup. A nutritious, healthy, and fortifying lunch for preparing for what came next.

Shawn would have an opportunity to chat with Maezo for just a short period of time before Billy Ray called the class back to session. He had a skip in his step like he was very excited for what came next. "Alright, students! Listen up! For your Advanced Instruction for this class, we're going to put into practice the three techniques we worked on earlier today. We're going to do this with a game of rock, paper, scissors." He paused and could have heard crickets due to the silence in the class. He sighed and placed his head in his hands. He had forgotten that most regions called the game something else. "Rochambeau? Janken? Schnick, Schnack, Schnuck?" He listed enough names that most of the students understood and the rest could be explained the rules as they went.

Billy Ray held up his hand and generated a Reiatsu Orb, then formed a Reiatsu Needle, then formed a floating disk of Seki and let the three just hang in the air above his hand, swirling loosely as if on a merry go round. "You will create one of these at the same time as your partner classmate while Blindfolded. If you create an orb or a needle, you will throw it towards your partner. If you create Seki, you will raise it in defense. Needle beats Seki beats Orb beats Needle. If you throw the same form, you repeat until one student wins. Understand?" Most of the students nodded in agreement.

One of the students who hadn't been in the spotlight yet raised her hand and asked a question. "It takes too long to form Seki and it is easy to hear the incantation. What if we try a different reiatsu construct?" Billy Ray's shades grew dark as he frowned. "I taught you three constructs, you will practice those three. If you don't want to use Seki, then just know that your opponent will have a higher chance of beating you as they know not to ever throw Needle. I will be removing a Mark from your Grade for defying my instructions, though." Suddenly very scary to most of the class, no one else dared to raise their hand.

"Pair up and Begin. If you lose, you're out and if you win, find a new partner and continue. Winner out of the whole class will automatically gain my full 5 Marks."

The whole class consisted of 8 students, so there would be at most 3 rounds to have to go through.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Don't Read This}
Shawn's first opponent will throw Orb

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Hearing Billy Ray congratulate him brought joy to Shawn, he took the advice to heart as he listened to the instructor tell him to focus a little bit more on the purpose of this Kido and not only the form. Billy Ray would then allow them a break for lunch after some time of practising went by. Tired from all the focus, the last thing he was worried about was food. Maezo walked up to him after some time passed and handed him a bento box, “Oh, you don’t need to-” he would get out before Maezo cut in saying for the help he was given today and that he really appreciated it. “Well, it would be rude for me to decline the gift then.” Opening the bento revealed an array of different foods like rice balls wrapped in nori, fried shrimp, vegetables, a small sealed cup of soup. It really does look delicious though, well time to dig in! Putting his hands together he would bow his head and say “Thank you for the meal!” before he began to dig in.



Finishing lunch everyone huddled around waiting for the instructor who was basically skipping with glee. Billy ray spoke up and the moment he mentioned rock, paper, scissors, Shawn got a big grin crossing his face. Realizing basically nobody else understood what that was, Billy Ray began to explain what that was, finally getting more people to figure out what it was. With more reactions he then described how it was gonna work, needle beats the seki, seki beats the orb, orb beats the needle. Shawn was excited about this, it’s been ages since he last played rock, paper, scissors, in fact, the last time was when he was alive and lived in New York before moving to Japan. Then it happened, someone had to raise their hand and question the rules, clearly upsetting the instructor as he already told them how it would work. Answering the question he restates what he already said, it has to be seki and not some equivalent just to make it easier, but whoever wins all the matches will get full marks, with that Shawn set his eyes on victory.



His first pair up just had to be against Maezo, before they began Shawn would turn around and slap his face, making it look like he’s trying to calm down. While he does this he would whisper the incantation from Seki under his breath. When he finished he would turn around and look at Maezo, focused he would nod letting him know he was good to start. They would both raise their hands and when they dropped them shawn would speak the words “Bakudo #8 Seki!” out loud, looking up to see if he managed to win. No matter if he won or lost, he would walk over to Maezo and reach his hand out for a handshake. If he won he would say that he wished Maezo could have made it further, but in the end he knows Maezo did a good job. If he lost he would wish Maezo luck and hope he made it to the end.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Maezo and Shawn stepped up to the center of the yard where the matches were taking place and were blindfolded. Shawn had whispered the incantation under his breath and been stealthy with his intentions, not revealing to Maezo that he planned to use what could be beaten by Needle. That being said, Maezo was unlikely to have used anything but Orb. Whether or not Shawn had planned it that way remained to be seen, but Maezo had only really learned the one technique enough to perform at will. So when Shawn raised his shield in defense, he'd feel a small touch bounce off the shield and be repelled. When the blindfold had been removed, a small marble-sized orb would be sitting on the ground steadily losing size and energy.

Shawn had won the first round of the single elimination tournament.

He congratulated Maezo, who understood that he wasn't likely to have won anyways only being able to throw Orb. Maezo didn't look too disappointed either, as this wasn't really the class where his strengths lay. He had earned more Marks in this class than he had expected, most likely, and mentioned to Shawn that he'd really hope to get some help studying for the End of Year exams at the end of it all to better raise his chances of succeeding at graduating. More Marks were gained from exams than the rest of the class as a whole, so it was stressed that studying for them would be crucial to graduating. If they aced every exam, they'd get a total of 120 Marks out of the 140 needed to graduate. Getting just 1 Mark from each class and 2s in a few classes would push the student over the required 140 and that was assuming they were unruly or underachieving students during class and received less than standard Marks for every single class they were in.

Shawn's next opponent would be the girl who had raised her hand and complained about Seki before. She stepped up to the field and received her blindfold sheepishly. Now Shawn had a choice to make, and he had to make it quickly despite his difficulty processing information quickly. He had to decide, based on what he knew about her and her previous statements what he should throw for the rock, paper, scissors. Had she learned her lesson by being scolded by the Instructor, or would it benefit him more to remember what Billy Ray had said about her complaint? Too soon enough, he was blindfolded and someone was counting down from 3.

2.

1.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Again, Don't Read This}
The girl will throw Needle