In a Land of Confusion, Lost Souls Unite

It was Matsuo's first day at the academy. Nervous and intimidated were only two words that described him at this moment. There was a fifth or sixth year that lead him through the halls, telling him where each room was located. Only half of this was actually getting through to him however, for Matsuo's mind was lost in his own world of thought. He didn't really like being shown things, but rather allowed the opportunity to discover them for himself. He noted the various signs posted next to each room, making mental notes of each of them as the man in front of him continue to ramble on about when lunch was supposed to take place.

All of this felt like he was in college again, or at least what he could still remember of college. Gods, it felt like a century since he'd been alive, or maybe that was just the effect death had on his memory. Most of the friends Matsuo had made in the Rukongai couldn't remember their past lives either...

The sound of splintering wood tore him from his lingering memories, causing him to stop walking and stare in the direction of the noise. He peered into a room and noticed a man, about 5'11" and 180lbs., wearing first years' robes and wielding a bokken. The man stood over another first year student who seemed to be short of breath and sopping in sweat. Bits and pieces of either's bokken were scattered about, apparently having just been shattered by the standing man's strike. "Yusuf, that's enough! I told you twice before this is not a driving range, there is no need for that much power behind a swing. You keep it up and I'll start charging you for these things. That or make you go chop down a few trees to replace them. Lord knows you got the arms of a lumberjack..."

Matsuo could hear the clacking of the bell for the next class. "Right then, off you get. Class is over." "Hai!" "Yusuf, stay behind and clean-"

"There you are, I thought I'd lost you. You need to keep up new guy, this place get pretty confusing until you get the hang of it." Matsuo rolled his eyes and continued following his tour guide.

The tour didn't last much longer, next Matsuo was lead to his homeroom for final class. He entered the room and noticed several students around the room, idly talking to one another. The senior student introduced Matsuo to his homeroom teacher and left. It was all very routine and boring, after he was assigned a seat, the bell clacked and he was free to spend the rest of the day as he pleased. He was just about to do so when he bumped into a familiar face upon exiting the room...

Yusuf woke up to the slightly annoying tone of Juro yelling Good Morning! Time to get up! Groggily, he tossed a pillow at Juro, smacking him full in the face. Ow, you don't have to be so violent, Fox, you have sparring class today! Shaking his head, Yusuf slowly got up and swung his legs off the bed. Yeah yeah, I'm up, I'm up. Getting up, he stretched out all the kinks in his muscles and got dressed.

After escaping the torment that was Juro, he made his way to the sparring room. Upon entering, he was given a bokken and told he was fighting Rikuto today. Sighing, he took his place on the mat and bowed before taking his stance. At first it was very relaxed, each working their way through the various forms and such. Getting faster and faster, Yusuf made the first mistake and got a tap on the ribs for it. What's the matter, Fox? A bit slow today? Even though it was just teasing between comrades, the comment really got under Yusuf's skin.

Returning to his place and stance, he waited for Rikuto to make the first move. Seeing Yusuf wasn't about to move, Rikuto rushed in with an overhead swing. Yusuf easily smacked this aside and instead of backing up, he moved in and shouldered him. Off balance, Rikuto stumbled back before Yusuf came in with a barrage of swings and thrusts, forcing Rikuto to keep on the defensive. Finally, trying to surprise Yusuf, Rikuto threw all his might into a two handed swing just as Yusuf came down with a powerful overhead swing. Yusuf thought he saw a slight glint of light on his bokken just before impact, and completely smashed Rikuto's blade into splintery bits.

Yusuf, that's enough! I told you twice before this is not a driving range, there is no need for that much power behind a swing. You keep it up and I'll start charging you for these things. That or make you go chop down a few trees to replace them. Lord knows you got the arms of a lumberjack... Yusuf just shook his head and extended his hand towards Rikuto. Not too slow now, huh?Rikuto laughed and took the hand. Yeah, not too slow after all. The instructor took Yusuf's bokken and put it on the rack. Right then, off you get. Class is over. Yusuf, stay behind and clean this mess up."

After a bit of sweeping, Yusuf hurried to his next class. He thought about that faint glint he saw just before destroying Rikuto's bokken. It was faintly purple, but he just shook his head. Had to of been the lighting, right? Whatever, he had to get to class quickly.

A minute later, Yusuf almost made it to his next class when the bell sounded. How long had he taken? He was about to check when someone walked right into him. Woah, hey now....

The young first year looked up at the man he'd run into. The unmistakable red-streaked silver hair labeled him as the student he'd seen earlier in the sparring room. "Woah, hey now..." The man blurted as Matsuo shouldered into him. "Oh, uh. Sorry about that, man. I didn't expect anyone to be walking into class after last bell." He stuck out his hand to the man, "I'm Takashi Matsuo, I think I saw your spar earlier... Nice swing."

Yusuf smiled a bit and scratched the back of his head. Heh, yeah, I got a bit carried away. He lowered his hand for a handshake. I'm Yusuf El-Amin. Sorry for walking into you.

Matsuo shook the man's hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you Yusuf. So uh, did you need to do something in here or would you like to walk and talk for a bit? It's my first day and I've seen your face now twice, that makes you familiar ground." The first year chuckled a bit, he wasn't exactly sure if this guy was someone he'd normally associate with. Old habits die hard, and it was easier to associate with one's own racial class which this guy was obviously not a part of. However what he'd said was mostly true and after all, they were both beings of spiritual energy now so not much mattered these days when it came to race.

"I could use some grub if you wanna hit the cafeteria or perhaps stroll about the Rukongai. I think I have a few bucks I could spare for some drinks."

Sure, I missed class anyway. Normally Yusuf wouldn't just up and go get something to eat with a stranger, but he desperately needed someone other than Juro to talk to. After a bit of walking, they both turned a corner to the food court. I'm gonna get some chicken stir fry! He'd been starving due to missing breakfast, and that chicken smelled so good Yusuf nearly ran for the counter.