(Outdated) The King of Elements

The First Mission

After the door shut behind them, Ichi's usual smug grin crawled its way back onto his face. "You should be glad that my near-perfect intelligence wavered. I was on my way back to my car when I noticed you about to be on the aft end of a mugging."

"What are you doing here?" Dre asked, staring wide-eyed at him.

"Not the kind of 'thank you' I was expecting, but okay. If you were paying attention, Mr. Wolf, you'd know that I'm taking McManus's place as Vice Principal."

"No, I mean, why are you the new V.P? I figured you were a surgeon or something."

"Doctor, yes. I had hoped that your full team would be here, but I can see now that's not going to be the case. Just relay the message to them. I've been called here to check on this school for any activity regarding Aggaron. It's been stated that he tries to strike deals with teenagers, mostly because they don't realize the actual value of their lives, and the fact that he can hide the Hell-sealed Tattoos from us since many of the students here already have tattoos. Seeing as though there was a position available here, I decided that the best way to survey the area without looking suspicious would be to take the job myself and act as the Vice Principal-"

"Wait, why are you telling me this? Isn't this kind of thing above the Apprentice level?"

"I was getting to that. While I may be able to check for things out of the ordinary throughout the school, there's no way I'd be able to check on the students without looking too suspicious. That, and I don't know how most of the students ordinarily act. That's where you and your team comes in. I'll need for you to check for any irregularities and come to me post-haste if you see anything."

"Okay."

"Good. Oh, and one more thing-" his face hardened as he spoke, "be sure that you tell Miss Keiko that my name is not Itchy-Nose. It's Ichinose. Ichi-no-say."

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael found himself nodding to sleep as he, as well as the students, were still listening to Principal McManus gloat about becoming the new principal. His mind was too hazy to even read. "This has been going on for the last thirty minutes," he grumbled to the remainder of the crew still conscious. Keiko was fast asleep beside him and both Kim and Megumi were barely able to keep their eyes open.

"I never thought I'd see the day where I met someone who was so energetic with his speaking and yet remained so boring," Megumi said with her eyes on the verge of staying shut.

"How can someone stay on one subject for this long?" Kim questioned.

No one was conscious enough to answer.

Moments later, Dre had strode back into his spot beside Megumi. "Dudes, you're not gonna believe the news I just got. I just ran into Mr. Ichi outside and..." His voice trailed off as he scanned the almost comatose group. "What party did I just miss?"

Megumi yawned. "It's called 'listening to the most uninteresting speeches in the world,' hosted by Demetrius McManus."

"And now you see why I left while there was still time."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, Mr. Ichi said that he was hired as the VP. He said that he was here to check for Aggaron's presence, but since he couldn't check on the students, he wanted us to be on the lookout of anything too out of the ordinary."

"That sounds like something the Journeymen should be doing. Why would he ask us to do a mission such as this?" Kim asked.

"I guess it would be easier for us to watch rather than Journeymen who have probably already graduated. Oh. Speak of the devil," Dre said, nodding towards the stage. McManus was finally stepping away from the pedestal, allowing Ichi room to make his speech.

"I think you should work on shortening your speeches, McManus," Ichi said as he stepped in front of the pedestal. "I know that McManus bored you all to sleep with his one hundred and fifty-two reasons on why he is more suited to be a heaven sent principal, so I will just get right to the point. I am Dr. Ichinose Kimachi, well esteemed professor and war veteran. I am not here to be your homie, home-slice, nor your 'dawg.' I am here solely to be sure you are prepared to function well in society. I look forward to being either your overseer or your tormentor; whichever one comes first."

He picked up his folder and walked off of the court, leaving the faculty and students speechless, stunned by the fact that his speech seemed much more like a sentence compared to McManus's.