[center][h2][color=gold]Gil[/color][/h2][/center]

The announcement that he was a failure was irritating. Not frustrating, not aggravating, but irritating. As the prospective students gathered before the staff in varying states of emotion Gil was one of the few that remained calm and collected. Many complained, many blamed themselves, but Gil was thinking. [color=gold][i]The time limit hadn't been reached yet,[/i][/color] he thought, half paying attention to Reiko's speech on their failure. [color=gold][i]Many even had their cards, including myself. What is her game?[/i][/color] The answer to his question became apparent as the option to continue forward or to give up was presented. [color=gold][i]Ah, I see. So this is part of their test as well. First they tested physical capability and resourcefulness. Now they are testing fortitude. Those with weak spirits have been broken and won't continue, regardless of how well they did before. These people are just like my father said they were.[/i][/color]

For Gil there was no thinking involved. He didn't need to contemplate his worth or how strong he was. There was only one thing on his mind: succeeding in his goal. He stepped forward with the other students who were confident enough to join the Akatsuki Academy after the berating speech. He waited silently and patiently, not even flinching at the senior instructor's abuse of one of the students. That was something he wasn't involved in so he didn't care much. It wasn't until the succubus decided to fill everyone in on who will be teamed up with who.

[i]"Team 2: Lloyd, Gil, Marith, Makoto."[/i]

He recognized one of those names. Makoto was the girl with the sword that he ran into during the test. [color=gold][i]She has spirit and willpower. Seems strong enough. That's good news. Can't say I know who the other two are. Hopefully they aren't disappointing.[/i][/color] He glanced down at the map he received from Ellie, quickly figuring out where he would be staying. The idea that the tower the dorms were in placed the teams corresponding to their performance didn't intrigue him much. Others may find a competition in that but Gil didn't care about petty things like that. A room was a room, and a school was a school. He was here to learn. As he began walking towards the dorms he spotted Makoto again. Only this time she had run into someone else, literally. A guy about as tall as Gil but with blonde hair and wearing some kind of suit. It took a second but Gil recognized him as one of the people who were getting rowdy the previous night. But he overheard Makoto ask the guy if he knew were her teammate was.

[color=gold][b]"I'm right here,"[/b][/color] Gil spoke up, approaching the two casually. [color=gold][b]"Can't imagine that I'm too hard to find."[/b][/color] His gaze then went to Lloyd. Makoto was already familiar with his stoic, emotionless expression but he hadn't properly conversed with Lloyd before. He didn't seem like the type to be easily intimidated, especially considering he and Gil were about the same size, but perhaps the stone-faced Gil would be a little off-putting to him. That was something that Gil wasn't trying to do, as his actions often went against that. Such as right now, as Gil held his left hand out to give Lloyd a handshake in greeting. [color=gold][b]"Name's Gil T. Buckle. Weren't you about to start a brawl last night?"[/b][/color]

[@Jay Kalton][@Lmpkio]

[center][h2][color=gray]Erisa[/color][/h2][/center]

She was a failure. Erisa not only didn't make it to the other side of the city before the test could end but she didn't even find a card during that time. She wasn't humiliated or angry with herself but disappointed. Erisa could tell that many of the others who were more emotional had varying ways of coping with their failed test but she honestly couldn't feel anything strong enough to prompt a visible reaction. If it wasn't for the fact that a choice was given for all the students to still join if they believed they were strong enough then Erisa would've accepted the results of the test and left the Akatsuki Academy forever. But since the option to attend was still there then of course she had to take it.

The flower spirit entered the school with the other confident students, though with her stature she was easily lost in the crowd. In fact she was barely able to see Reiko and Ellie when they were explaining the situation for the remaining kids. But she didn't need to see them to hear what they were talking about.

[i]"Team 1: Juniper, Erisa, Kurenai, Shinobu."[/i]

[i][color=gray]Aw, I'm not with Gyuuki,[/color][/i] she lamented to herself with a sigh. The ox-demon girl was the only person that Erisa really knew so far. But perhaps this was a good thing. While Erisa looked like a human it was her personality and behavior that always gave away she was a Youkai. Having more friends would be for the best and meeting new people would broaden her understanding of the human race. If these people were to be her allies then she would need to know them. This made Erisa wonder how people interpreted herself. Her personality was bland and her history was largely devoid of interesting substance. In fact nobody has ever found her interesting enough to ask about it. [i][color=gray]I suppose most people can't really relate to me anyways. They probably sense that...[/color][/i]

She was brought out of her train of thought when the crowd of students began to disperse. The succubus had given her a map and a guide and now seemed like a good time to use it. The Academy had let her stay here for the past few days so she had a basic understanding of where the dorms were and where the cafeteria was. But now she got a proper view of the entire thing. A quick examination confirmed the school was bigger than she originally thought. But now wasn't the time for exploring. The water that Gyuuki had given her did a decent job at healing and vitalizing Erisa but it wasn't enough. She was still sore where she was shot in her side so a trip to the cafeteria was the next course of action.

A number of students had already made that decision before Erisa and she had to wait in a line as all the others got their food on trays from a lady behind a counter. It seemed most, if not all, were human. So when Erisa approached without a tray the food lady was naturally confused. [b][color=gray]"Just a big glass of water, please,"[/color][/b] the flower spirit requested. The woman behind the counter thought about it briefly before eventually obliging, handing the girl a big glass of water just as she asked. She took a sip as she began to walk away from the counter, already feeling her body energize. She held the large cup in both hands as she walked across the cafeteria, taking a seat at the least populated table. It only had one girl seated there, one which actually seemed to be smaller than Erisa. Despite that she sure had a large helping of various foods. [i][color=gray]Do all humans need to eat so much that the tiny ones even fill their trays?[/color][/i] Erisa wondered briefly as she took a gulp of her water. After she set the glass down on the table she simply began to watch Shinobu eat her food awkwardly for a moment. Specifically it took her as long as it took to realize that she should probably strike up a conversation instead of creepily watch the human eat breakfast. [b][color=gray]"You seem very hungry,"[/color][/b] was her attempt. She didn't even see how strange she was behaving. Erisa figured all human interactions were pretty much like this.

[@Ashifili]