Academy Beta: Meian and Amaya (R, DE)

[Zeich Yajuu]

Amaya's plan worked like a charm; by blocking the venom and then releasing her Kido to send rocks in every direction, she cleared a path upwards for them to escape. Flight via her sheets allowed them to exit the collapsing shrine, leaving the serpentine Hollow behind while it endeavored to struggle free of the rocks that had buried it. Sure, the collapse hadn't harmed the creature in the slightest thanks to its powerful scale armor, and it would probably be free to roam outside of the shrine now, but surely Squad 12 had prepared for such an incident when they programmed the serpent to bring the building down. They wouldn't allow the monster to have free reign in the forest where other souls could wander... right?

Well it was no longer their problem for the moment. They had escaped from the shrine victorious, the bottle and the message within intact. Up in the sky, with no foes in sight, there was plenty of time for them to pull the paper from inside and unroll it. Of course, it wasn't as easy as that; despite being well-guarded, the paper itself was clearly coded, as there were two large segments within that were absolute gibberish. Each was in a block of its own, which was how they determined that there was two separate messages. Fortunately, there was a bit of text to go along with them that made their task a bit more clear.

“To those who have obtained this paper; congratulations on passing the penultimate test. Before you can attain graduation, however, you still have to find your way to the site of graduation! Enclosed is a simple code to find the room itself... but there is more to the test. Once you've found the place, you must also speak the password. The password is hidden in the second sequence, which is far harder than the first. However, the password is also optional... and also required at the same time. Good luck, graduates-to-be.

Location:
ADYO0
CERM4
AMO1A

Password:
QBTTXPSEGPSUXPJTTIJOJHBNJ”

Directly below the message were the two code sequences, each of which were spaced apart for ease of reading. The first one was supposed to be fairly easy according to the message, with an easy pattern to discern. The second one, however... it would take some thinking to figure out what the code was. However, the message suggested that the password was optional... but also directly stated it was required. How did that work? Clearly they needed to figure things out one step at a time; first, they had to figure out the code for the graduation location, and then while they were en route, they would have time to figure out the password. Whether they wanted to take the time to decode the password or not would be up to them.

[Nakazawa Meian]

(OOC: Roleplaying such heavy emotional shifts easily took me out of my comfort zone xD)

At least, things seemed to finally start going in favor of both students as they emerged from the hole mostly unharmed, aside maybe from Meian’s pride, which was now officially a war casualty. Still, their task was now complete, leaving them plenty of time to read the scroll of paper they had worked so hard to acquire. Surely their goal had proven to be challenging, but it wouldn’t be done in vain. As the young man flew away, though, he couldn’t help but have a side-thought for the creature they had just left behind. Being reduced to this for its rival’s well-being, I hope it’ll at least suffer a peaceful death… Maybe they would’ve been better off ending its misery ?

Meian’s attention quickly came back to their situation, though, as he got to read their message along with his friend; the scroll of paper soon revealed itself to rather be a codex, meant to skilfully confuse its readers. As expected of him, the Shinigami-in-training had indeed been confused by their new hindrance, but there was fortunately still one last thing on his side to help him decode this message; his luck. Although the young man sure proved to attract a lot of bad luck in his last few years, luck also sometimes took the gamble of helping him, leading to interesting results. This was one of such times; as both students were trying to find their location, Meian, who wasn’t holding the sheet, was obviously reading their puzzle at an angle, quickly leading him to discern the pattern behind it. As he did, an over-expressive joy showed up on his face as he exclaimed ”It’s in the Academy, room 104-A! The words are written sideways.”

Unfortunately, even though the first riddle had been completed fairly easily, the second one soon proved to be far more trouble. Eventually, seeing as their progress was severely hindered by this impediment, Meian took the burden of resolving the issue by himself. ”Take us to the Academy, Amaya; I’ll deal with this on our way.” Sadly, this was easier said than done; although Meian was a clever man, as he had proved numerous times in his swordsmanship training, he still had limits. Unfortunately, such an intellectual task wasn’t something a lone warrior like himself was accustomed to, which meant he didn’t even know where to start from. Resigning himself after several long minutes of reflection, the past samurai sought the help of someone he knew would have a lot more ease dealing with this kind of puzzle; Kaimamiru.

---

As he closed his eyes, the young man quickly found himself in a location he had seen a few times by now, but wasn’t accustomed yet; his own inner-world. Lying before him was a tall and old-looking shrine, surrounded on his side by several small ponds and rivers. The most astonishing, though, was clearly the person standing beside him. ”Meian, what are you doing here? Aren’t you, ya know… supposed to be taking your exam right now?” That’s right; within a set of black clothes, red hair against the wind and a proud stance amidst this world of nothingness, stood the one which carried the prestigious title of Zanpakutou; Kaimamiru.

Albeit the little time he had gotten so far to learn about her, Meian was already in quite good friendly terms with his Zanpakutou spirit, despite the few personality quirks that she seemed to display rather commonly; he already knew as a fact that mind games were child’s play in her hands, since she often used them to easily win against the poor man, a thing she absolutely loved. ”In fact, Kaimamiru, I’m here for your help; I need to decode a puzzle.” ”…oh?” This wasn’t a good sign; Meian immediately spotted the quirky smile Kaimamiru displayed on her face, something which generally meant she had an idea on her mind. After all, it was rare for a Shinigami to request help from their Zanpakutou in such a way; this feeling of unexpected control surely was enticing. However, the immature spirit probably found the situation a tad bit too delightful for her own good…

”Let me guess; that puffy girl ain’t smart enough to help ya? I, at least, am reliable, although…” Her smile was back again, although with a fiery confidence shown in her gaze this time. ”…All good offers come with a price, but… what should that price be…” ”Surely you already know, right?” The darn girl was clearly teasing with him, but unfortunately Meian didn’t really have much of a choice; he had to play along if he wanted his answer. ”Oh, I know, but killing the surprise will spoil the fun, don’t cha think? Tell you what; we’ll see about that deal afterward, alright?”

In order to get a look at the frustrating password, both of them then approached one of the nearby ponds of water; the stillness of the liquid was so great that it became almost disturbing. Nonetheless, Kaimamiru then placed her finger on the pond’s surface, changing the image it reflected; what was now shown was a part of Meian’s memories, portraying the password he had recently seen. Only a single instant was required before Kaimamiru could decipher the entire secret behind this trickery. ”Hmm… those two pairs of T, here and there, shows that the pattern remained unchanged; only the password itself was coded. Knowing that… the only other letter in the alphabet near the T which can be used as a pair is… the letter S, which is right before it. Your password is therefore… “Password for two is Shinigami”.”

Meian was utterly astonished; not only had she managed to actually find the password, but she even did so at an impressive speed. He couldn’t enjoy the moment for very long, though; Kaimamiru quickly brought him back to what was on her mind. ”So… about your part of the bargain…” A fairly long silence worried Meian; the young samurai didn’t really see that quiet side of his own spirit yet, it was fairly unusual. Kaimamiru was simply standing there, staring at the pond, as if she was vacant from her own body; her eyes seemed full of loneliness. When she finally spoke comprehensible words, all Meian could hear were whispers, said on a wretched tone. ”…I’d want to earn all your attention… I’d want to feel your presence everyday… I’d want to fill this emptiness…”

”O… Okay... I can give you more of my time…”

A shock of surprise went through the girl’s gaze; slowly, she started to understand what she had unwillingly just said. By inadvertence, she had shown to the man her weakened side, something she now absolutely needed to fix; in a single movement, she turned her back to him in a vain effort to hide how much she blushed. ”It-it’s not like I need it or anything! It’s j-just that… It’s just…” Even Kaimamiru wasn’t able to find a good justification behind her words. Seeing as she couldn’t defend her point that way, she fell back on plan B; let off her wrath and blame it all on Meian. Hnf. Why did you feel the need to tick me off anyway, huh? YOU KNEW IT’D END LIKE THIS, DIDN'T YOU? GO AWAY, YOU PERV!” Quickly, a slap on the poor man’s jaw sent him back to the reality he came from…

---

Assuming nothing had interfered with this internal process, Meian would now reopen his eyes, more confused than ever; he had just seen his Zanpakutou spirit go through all the possible changes of emotion, from sadness to anger, and had been forcefully ejected from his inner-world against his own will. Still, the Shinigami now had what he sought. ”Translating the password word for word gives password for two is Shinigami, Amaya. It's decoded by taking the letter before each of those in the code.” Now, both students safely travelled back to the Academy, where they now knew the rest of their task would take place. Surely the most difficult was now behind them… right?

Reiatsu: 775/1500

Shikai: 5/10

Actual QP count: +1460 (of which 880 are used, so 580).

Actual Ryo count: +1200.

[Zeich Yajuu]

((OOC: Skipping the final mission because this thread has been way too long in finishing anyway.))

The time passed, and the two quickly made their way to the Academy for the completion of their final exam. They had survived the serpentine Hollow, and had decoded the message left behind as well, which led them back to the very place in which they had started to finish their exam. Whether they felt relief, excitement, or managed to keep some semblance of inner calm, the ride to the Academy would be filled with silence. Dreams of the future, of the squad they'd choose or the things they'd do as Shinigami, were interspersed with other thoughts, memories of their time through the Academy as well as the concerns they might have had. It was a trip for thinking, for reflecting.

Upon reaching the front doors, they were greeted by a lone Shinigami that neither of them knew, standing watch over the door. A hand was held up as they approached, while the other rested on the man's sword; it seemed as if they were not allowed to simply waltz in past him. But that was okay; they knew what was going on. According to the code sheet, there was a password for two to enter; because of that, if the pair tried to just enter without saying anything, the Shinigami would block them both. Instead of trying to shoulder their way past them, they quickly gave the password, which caused the man to pause before stepping aside, pushing open the front door of the Academy to allow the two in. It seemed they had passed their test, and as a result, were allowed inside to see what lay in wait for them.

The room itself was not far from the entrance, but the area was oddly silent; one would think that enough graduating Academy students in one place would cause a ruckus. Had they been the first ones back? Unlikely, given how Raion had taken them in god knew what direction repeatedly. They couldn't all be dead, either; the Academy test did have a chance of fatality, with about a 30% death rate on a bad year, but even so there should have been some commotion. Puzzled, the two would make their way over to the room they had been directed to by the note, and pulled open the doors.

Inside, they were greeted by a somber crew. No more than a dozen other students stood assembled around the room, some lost in thought, others sitting in mute silence. Their stories were short, and simple; many of them had lost their companions in the forest, or others had come up to the sentry and found that only one could pass, making the painful choice of leaving the other behind. Being a Shinigami wasn't all fun and games, and they had taken their first painful step into the ranks of the Gotei Thirteen. There was no celebration to be had at this graduation, at least among this crowd.

An hour passed, and then a man slipped into the room. A Shinigami of Squad 1, he crossed his arms before him, surveying the students, his eyes hard and cold. “I see this is all that finished today. I was hoping for a larger group but...” He gave a half-hearted shrug before looking around again. “Well whatever. If you were expecting a fancy speech, forget it. I don't do speeches. You're all graduates now, congratulations and whatnot. Go find the squad of your choice and give 'em your report, let 'em know you're graduates and such. I've got a paper for you if you really need some proof of authentication, but I'm sure you won't need it. Most kids don't have the balls to walk up to a Squad and lie about graduating... or if they do, they don't survive long. Dismissed. I'll be at the Squad 1 Barracks if you need that paper.”

Their “speech,” if it could be called that, had been short and simple, and with that the Shinigami left, muttering to himself about having to “give the kids a pat on the back” when someone else could do it. Was that it? It seemed that they were now graduates... though it was quite a lackluster performance. Still, none of the other graduates seemed to be in the mood for festivities anyway, so perhaps it was for the best that it had been short and simple. They could go to the squad of their choice, join up, and then spend the rest of the day reflecting on their test. It was over. It was really over.

(OOC: Congrats, graduates! So this beta test was a failure for a faster Academy system, but at least you survived it! Both participants receive 3300 TP after all is said and done, and you can cash in your QP as well for either CTP or TTP. Thanks for a job well done!))

[Kazura Uzaki]

DM rewards: 3300 TP