Blue Flames

Chapter 5: A Flock of Plovers (S1 ep7)

"Shiemi? What are you doing down there?" Rin asked. I rolled my eyes at him, he really was stupid, it was clear she had tripped, most likely due to her shoes. Did she still not have a school uniform? I guess she didn't go to high school here, only the exorcist cram school.

I held my hand out to help her up. She quickly grabbed her shoes and put them back on. "N... nothing!" She said before walking away.

This was Rin's fault; he had said they weren't friends so now she was avoiding us. I started walking to class and Rin had to run to catch up with me. I took a seat in my normal spot and waited for Yukio to arrive.

"All right, summer vacation is less than a month and a half away." Yukio said. "But before the break, you'll take this year's ExWire authorization exam."

"Esquire? What's that?" Rin asked. "It's ExWire stupid." I said. "A candidate to become an exorcist," Shiemi said politely.

"Be aware, once you're promoted to ExWire you'll be subjected to more specialized combat training, so the exam won't be easy to pass. Therefore, next week we'll hold a week-long bootcamp to prepare you for it." I groaned internally, that was going to be annoying.

Yukio came around and handed out papers. "As the camp isn't mandatory, indicate if you'll be participating, as well as the title that you'd like to acquire, and turn in the form by Monday." Despite it not being mandatory Rin would want to go, meaning I'd have to go as well.

Rin grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to where Suguro was. Why did we have to ask him of all people for help? "Hey what's a Meister?" Rin asked. Suguro looked at us like we were stupid. Rin stuttered trying to find words to say. "Just tell us what it is." I snapped.

"You don't know that, and you say you want to become an exorcist? Gimmie a break." I glared at him; this wasn't going to get us anywhere. Shima laughed, "Wow you two really are clueless huh?" At this point they were just mocking us.

"A meister is a technical qualification required to become an exorcist, and it's a title given to those proven highly skilled." Konekomaru said.

Konekomaru began to list the different titles, "Knight, Dragoon, Tamer, Aria, and Doctor. As long as you've acquired at least one you can become an exorcist." I glanced towards Rin just to realize he had sat down with them. I crossed my arms and stayed standing. "I see... I think I kinda get it."

"Hey who said you could sit with us?" Suguro said. I leaned against the table knowing it would just piss him off even more.

"Also, your combat style will vary greatly, depending on which meister you get."

Rin smiled, "Right, thanks Konekomaru. So, what are you going for?"

"Shima and I are going to try for Aria." He said excitedly. At Rin's confused look he explained what an Aria was. "Aria are meister that battle demons by reciting the bible and sacred scriptures." That sounded like too much of a hassle, who had time to remember all that? "While Bon here is all gung-ho and is going for Aria and Dragoon." Shima said.

"Wow, that sounds like Bon." Rin said. "Oi don't call me Bon!" Suguro yelled. "Come to think of it Mr. Okumura has two as well, Doctor and Dragoon."

So, a Dragoon must have something to do with firearms, and a Doctor sounded pretty self-explanatory. "Really, that Yukio kicks butt." I sighed at Rin's lack of vocabulary. "What should I go for? Actually, what's a Dragoon?" he asked.

Suguro slammed his hands on the desk, and I jumped. "For crying out loud. You're such a pain! A Dragoon's a meister who fights with firearms." I shook my head, "Seriously Rin, couldn't you have figured that out yourself?" Rin childishly stuck out his tongue at me and I did the same. Suguro continued on his rant ignoring us. "A Knight's a meister who fights with a sword!"