Foreword (again)

Lol, hey, its me again! I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while, but hey, managing school and social disasters doesn't leave much time for fic writing --;; Anyways, just reposting chapter one with a few changes, and will soon have edited versions of two and three. I'll try to get four in somewhere, but don't count 100 on it... Anyways, happy reading .

-Iko

Chapter One- Spells, Sirens, and Sloths...?

SWOOSH! KKRASHH!

The sound of a gleaming red fireball crashing against a a plank of wood resonated within the chamber.

"Destruction: 98. Accuracy: 76. Casting Time: 80." The instructor examined the charred dummy, and then stated his evaluation for all to hear.

"Student Takeshi Ganseki:" The fate of a particular male student rested upon the proctor's judgment.

"Pass." The entire testing hall ensued with a spontaneous eruption of cheers, with many running up to the caster of the fireball to plant hugs, headlocks, and even a few kisses on the future Shinigami. Ganseki, overcome with relief, nearly collapsed under the immense weight of friends, acquaintances, and strangers that were piled upon him. However, this mass of happy students was quickly silenced when the next student attempting to graduate from the Shinigami Academy was read off of the proctor's doom list.

"Next hopeful: Kushinada Hinote." The instructor said this name with almost an eerie tone, as to intimidate the upcoming student.

However, as all the students and even some teachers glanced at the teenage girl walking into the testing area, all of them knew this girl's focus wasn't going to be broken. She approached the platform with a dignity of kings, a bravery of a warrior, and the elegance of a woman. Her crimson red hair and equally crimson eyes discouraged any male in the audience that could only stare at her average feminine dimensions. She reached the stand, and began to silently whisper the spell to cast the same spell Ganseki performed. She lifted her arm up, with others noticing her seemingly frail appearance, and said with a confidence no man could dream of:

"Destructive Art 31: Shot of Red Fire."

A red hot sphere of flame, much more intense than the previous, cleanly flew across the room and smashed against the target, with an explosion soon following. The proctor, previously incredibly creepy and death-intending, seemed to be frozen in awe as he stalled in reading the results of Hinote's kidou exam. "D-Destruction: 100. Ac-ccuracy: 100. Casting... t-time: 100. Student Kushinada Hinote: Pass…" The proctor said nothing as absolutely no one approached the flame-haired, ruby-eyed girl with the vigor of the previous student's procession. All except one, who exclaimed:

"Whoo, go Hinote-chan! Way to kick some ass!"

The fiery youth then turned toward the voice with a beaming smile, and only said "I know." Seeing this girl's change in attitude brought the bitter demon back out of the proctor, as he declared:

"Whoever just cheered this student on, bring yourself forward for testing!" He obviously didn't like students congratulating prodigies.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… Don't get pissed at me because she's the best in her class…" Following the rude remark walked yet another youth, this one much less determined than the last. "They really need to look at the bastards they choose for these jobs…"

While the instructor fumed at the insults the teen spouted, the careless student walked up to the testing stand, with one hand scratching his chest under his uniform, and the other scratching the back of his head. With a yawn, he took one of his hands away from scratching and said:

"Destructive Art 31: Shot of Red Fire."

The awe that followed even reached the caster of the fireball. The teacher was utterly dumbstruck. One of the students nearly fainted from the incredible feat.

The fireball missed the target by nearly five meters. A still smoldering hole could be seen in the wall above the designated targets. As Asura seemed unusually happy about his accomplishment, the instructor resumed his insidious demeanor as he read the student's grade.

"Destruction: 0. Accuracy: 0. Casting time:" The instructor paused for a moment. "5. Student Sasano Asura: Fail." The evil man placed a large X next to the student's name on his doom list.

"Aww man, that five messed up my record..." The lazy silver-haired student walked off the stage, ignoring the near-ballistic teacher he received his grade from.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Hinote was infuriated that her friend since childhood performed so miserably at the kidou exam. She continually bickered as the two were walking down the hall to their next exam. "We were supposed to graduate with flying colors! We were supposed to be the best students to leave this hellhole of a school! But noooooooo, mister 'I'm-too-lazy-to-even-shoot-a-damned-wooden-board' has to go and ruin it for us!"

"Aw, pipe down, hot-head." The sloth-like student from before had resumed scratching, and was thoroughly satisfied with his blundering grade. "I sucked too bad at kidou to make a perfect grade, so I decided to graduate as the worst kidou user in the school. I still get all the hype, and I get to be one of a few!" He put a goofy grin on his face as he stated his opinion. "Besides, what's with this 'us' stuff? It's not like you cast that fireball or anything."

The red-headed girl assumed a sarcastic tone. "Oh, I dunno, maybe it's the fact that the entire freaking school knows we hang out with each other." She sighed. "You obviously haven't studied school stereotypes."

"Who has the time for it when a short red-head is jumping their ass about passing with perfect grades?" The silver-haired teen put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "It's not like it makes a difference… We all end up as ordinary shinigami after we graduate."

Hinote was just about to give a speech when something abruptly cut her off. "Hey, you, sloth-for-brains," said a voice that demanded a response. "Was it you that screwed up that kidou test?" A muscular green-haired youth appeared to accommodate the intimidating voice, along with his equally large entourage.

"Sasano Asura, at your service, tomato-head." The silver-haired boy turned around and gave a big, beaming smile at the source of the voice.

"Why you little piece of…" Ganseki, who nearly raised a fist to the disrespectful student, stopped when Hinote made a snide remark.

"Hey, you're right Asura, whenever his face gets all red, the green hair really does make his head look like a tomato!" She gave a smile nearly as big as Asura's.

Ganseki nearly exploded at the prospect of two brats making fun of his hair. "Dammit, it wasn't my decision to have green hair! The damned parents came up with it!" He stopped his whining to give an infuriated look at the cocky goof-off, and said, "Either case, I'm kicking your ass in the fighting exam. Don't think that because you're a clown you can disgrace my class." He and his posse walked away with evil-looking sneers on their faces.

"Hmph, what a jackass," commented Hinote. "Thinks since he's the most muscle-bound kid in the bunch, he owns the class…"

"Eh, don't worry about it, Hinote-chan," he said as the tomboyish female cringed at the sound of that disgraceful title. "I'll knock him down a few notches in the physical exam."

"And how do you plan on doing that, you lazy ass?"

"Oh, I have a way with swords." He rested his head in the palms of his hands as he stared up at the ceiling. "Shouldn't be too difficult."