The GATE Academy

Pack your bags.

"So, that is why magic was banned in the first half of the Middle Ages." Professor Cloud said, wrapping up his lecture as the bell rang. I watched students flood out of the classroom since it was now lunchtime.

"Shizuo, Opal, Falen, Keita, Riku,Kane, Faith, Mizu, and Iris please stay behind for a few minutes." I heard my name called so I placed my bag back onto my desk, and turned to face Professor Cloud. Opal walked from her desk to stand next to me.

"What do you think this is about?" She asked me, placing a hand on her hip and looking at our professor as well. I shrugged my shoulders, keeping my attention on Professor Cloud as he closed the classroom door and sat on top of his desk.

"You are all probably curious as to why you're here." He said with a small smile. He slid his hand to a scroll sitting on his desk behind him. He unrolled it and held it out in front of us. It was dark and had intricate designs on it, along with a tom of writing. With my phenomenal, inhuman eyesight I could read it from where I was sitting.

"As you can all see this is a request." Professor Cloud said. My friends and I were completely focused on his words.

"This isn't just any request though. The task this scroll offers is far too challenging for most students. Actually, at a recent teacher meeting it was discussed that we would just void the request from being put on the request board and allow us teachers to complete it ourselves. I then mentioned that I knew a group of students who could complete this, and that is where you all come in." The smile on Professor Cloud's face showed that he was truly confident in our skills.

Before anyone could add their input or ask any questions, Professor cloud continued speaking. "What makes this even better is that you all happen to be friends, or acquainted with each other. It just proves that your teamwork will be phenomenal or even flawless.

The first to ask a question was Shizuo. "I'm enthused to hear that you believe in us, but what exactly are we doing if any of us agree to this?" I saw some of my friends nod in agreement before looking at Professor Cloud again for an answer.

Professor Cloud nodded. "Yes, I was getting there." He shifted up onto his desk more as if he was attempting to get more comfortable. My ears pricked up with interest as he resumed his explanation. "Basically you are all going to hunt a small group of demons and eliminate them. The demons who put out the request could of course do it on their own, but not only are they busy but they figured the targets would be expecting them specifically."

"So we're killing a group of demons for another group of demons who happen to be lazy?" Kane questioned from his seat.

Professor Cloud let out an almost inaudible sigh before looking at Kane. "Kane, these demons are nowhere near lazy. They're just smart and know how to handle things well down there." Kane had nothing more to say. Professor Cloud rolled he scroll back up. "Now, this scroll has the location and target information. Falen, Keita, I assume you're both well acquainted with the area and how it works." He said while walking over to Shizuo and handing him the scroll.

I nodded at Professor Cloud and looked over to my friends. "So, are you all interested?" My ears flicked a bit when I spoke. I waited patiently for an answer from everyone. "I'm definitely going. This could be so epic, and we'll all be on a trip together!" Shizuo said with a bright smile. I knew that if he was going, Riku and Keita would tag along. Those three have an inseparable bond.

Shizuo then continued to speak. Although these words were directed to his little sister, Opal.  "I think you're still a little too young for this, Opal." Opal wasn't paying attention to him until those words slipped out. She narrowed her eyebrows at her brother and placed her hands on her hips. "Don't be a baka, Shizuo. I was given the option to go, so I am. Besides, I've never been to hell and I think it could be a fun trip. Isn't that right, Falen?" Opal was looking at me with a smile. 

"It could be." I said with a calm tone. I was going to say more, but Faith interrupted me. "I haven't been to hell in forever so I hardly remember it. I think it would be a fun vacation!"

I raised an eyebrow when Faith described it as being a vacation, but taking this request would offer some more battle experience, and it would excuse me from school. I guess it could be considered one, and I wasn't going to debate considering that Opal and Iris were on board with Faith's idea as well.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and at Professor Cloud, seeing that he had been allowing us to discuss this for the past ten minutes. Over this amount of time I pretty much established that almost everyone was going, but I wasn't sure about Mizu and Kane. I turned to the two of them who were actually in the middle of a conversation with Shizuo. I patiently waited until I had room to speak.

"Hey Mizu, Kane, are you two going?" I got a polite nod topped with a lovely half smile from Mizu. Kane just nodded. He seemed to be more interested in the request scroll.

"Professor Cloud, when do we leave to go do this?" I asked, standing and picking up my bag.

Professor Cloud looked up at me. "Good question, Falen. You guys are excused for the rest of the day to prepare for a lot of traveling. Your plane is taking off tomorrow at one in the afternoon sharp."

I nodded, thanking him and looking at my friends. "Well I guess we should probably start packing." I said with a small laugh.

Shizuo smiled and walked towards the door. "Sounds like a plan. I just hope you girls have time to pack all your important makeup kits and the latest fashions." He jokingly said while looking at Opal, Faith, Iris, and I. I rolled my eyes and left the classroom.

"Oi, Falen. Are you losing your memory? The dorms are this way." Iris said with an eyebrow raised. Standing beside her was Opal and Faith.

"It's lunchtime remember?" I answered with a half smile before continuing to speak. "It doesn't take that long to get ready. I'll be fine."

-----------------------------

I slowly walked through the cafeteria, weaving around fellow students and sliding into the short line. Within a couple of minutes it was my turn to get food. I picked out several pieces of sushi that looked appetizing, grabbed a drink, and then paid for it. Instead of finding a place to sit in the cafeteria I made my way through the mass of hungry students and left the building through the large double doors. My tray of food was in my hands as I made my way to my dorm. I couldn't help myself, so on the way I was eating some of my sushi.

I had actually finished all of my lunch before I reached my dorm. There was a large trash can at the beginning of the hall, so I dropped my empty tray in it before continuing my small journey to my dorm. While walking to my door, I noted Iris's, Faith's, and Opal's scents.

"They must still be packing.." I thought to myself while unlocking my door and entering my dorm room. I pulled my suitcase out from the back of my closet. Which was actually a time consuming task since it was buried behind a mass of clothing and other storage. I let out a sigh when I saw that I now had to put everything back. While doing so, I made sure to keep the things I needed out.

"Fallleeenn." Someone said as the door to my dorm was being pushed open. It was Faith. I turned to face her, my arms being so full of clothing that only the upper half of my face could be seen. "What's up, Faith?" I said from behind the fabric, my ears flicking a bit. She giggled and smiled at me. "I was wondering how long you think we'd be in hell. I just need an estimate so I can pack the appropriate amount of makeup and clothing."

I dropped the clothing and looked at a calendar that's tacked to my wall. After silently staring at it for a couple of minutes I turned to Faith. "At least two weeks."

"Thanks!" She said while waving and leaving. I turned my attention back to packing.

In total It took me one long hour to pack everything I needed. After dragging my black suitcase away from my closet and to a different side of my room, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. There was a new message in the group chat I was in with my friends. It read: I'm excited about tomorrow guys! We finally get to go on a big mission together. Well, I'm off to bed now. Get lots of rest everyone and be ready to kick ass tomorrow! ~Shizuo

I smirked at my screen after reading what Shizuo sent. I typed a simple goodnight guys before plugging my phone up to charge. Shizuo was right about getting rest. I decided to sleep for the rest of the night. I climbed into bed and pulled the soft covers over my body. My eyes slowly closed as I forced myself into sleeping, thinking about the exciting adventure that tomorrow would bring.