Chapter Two: Hellwork
As the group headed inside and took their seats, greeting their classmates along the way, Hellboy walked into the room with a sheaf of papers in his left hand.
"Good morning, class. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend." The demon started walking the rows of desks, handing back papers. "I know I did, because you've all done exceptionally. I'm very pleased to see how far most of you have come since the beginning of the year… except you, Mr. Kurosaki."
Hellboy left his hand on the paper and bent down slightly towards the orange-haired boy. "I would have expected better from you."
"What's so bad about a C+?" Ichigo looked up from his paper.
"Potentially the difference between life and death." Hellboy levelled his gaze at the soul reaper.
Ichigo stared back for a few moments, before breaking his gaze and looking at the windows. "I'll study harder for the next one, sir."
"Please see that you do." Hellboy smiled and straightened, continuing on his way.
Ichigo put his head on the desk, looking over at Jake Long. "…"
"Hey, you were the one that wouldn't put the video games down. Not me." The American Dragon crossed his arms, leaning back into his seat.
Hellboy returned to his desk as he passed out the last of the papers, leaning against it to address the class. "So, I'm assuming that most of you have heard something about a field trip."
The students perked up at this, giving their teacher their full attention.
"So, it's true?" Raimundo started.
"Well, I've been talking with Moriko, and she's willing to let us go if you can prove to her, as a class and as individuals, that you are capable of taking care of yourselves and looking out for each other." Hellboy started. "I've arranged to take over the track field for a couple of days so you kids can show her what you're made of. Think of it as a mid-term."
"Um… don't you think that Moriko will try to keep us from going where there's a possibility for harm coming to her students?" Jay raised his hand.
"That's the purpose of the test." Hellboy shrugged. "You don't pass, you can't go. Simple as that."
"Where exactly are you taking us that we need to be that up to par, sir?" Haruto asked.
"I wanted to keep it a secret, but I was thinking of taking you into Hell." Hellboy shrugged. "We won't go near Tartarus, of course."
Rai's face fell as Danny leaned over, nudging him. "Way to go, loudmouth."
"Shut up." Raimundo mumbled, putting his head down on his desk. "Just shut up."
A/N: There are about 35 kids in Mr. H's class, and they will all get their place in the spotlight. I'm trying to pare down the list to something reasonable where everyone has a purpose, so please don't nag me about having the characters you like in it. They may very well already be there, and I've just not said anything about them.