NEPHILIM

Proverbs 31:26

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26

          As soon as Ryuji entered the corridor, he heard music blaring from the direction of the classroom. It was a familiar, boppy tune but he wasn't sure where he'd heard it or what it was called. Standing in the doorway, he peered at Takame, leaning back in her chair with her feet up on her table in the back row.     
          "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh, oh, oh," she sang, bobbing her head with the beat while scribbling in her notebook. He was fascinated and it was refreshing to see her like this when she was normally so withdrawn. When the song ended, she glanced up and shrieked before falling out of her chair. Scrambling back over to the table on her hands and knees, she reached a hand up to hit pause on the next song while muttering, "Cállate, teléfono." Then she peeked back up at him. "Um, h-how long have you been there?"
          "Long enough," he said, taking a seat at his table and preparing for class. 
          For the next few minutes, all that could be heard was the shuffling of papers. "Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?"
          "Do you want to?"
          "Not really." Then why did you ask? Another few uncomfortable minutes. "Where are your friends? Don't you normally come in together?"
          "I woke up early for a run. They should be here shortly." 
          "Oh, you run. Cool."
          "Do you?"
          "Used to, back home. I've been too swamped with homework to keep up with my routine." 
          "Your routine?"
          "I'd run every morning, do yoga and meditation every night, and archery and weights twice a week."
          "Wow." 
          Then Shima and Konekomaru walked in, followed by Kamiki and Paku. And Takame reverted back to the quiet observer as everyone else filed in. 

          "Soon, you'll break for one and a half months of summer holidays, but before that, there is this year's Exwire Authorization Exam," Okumura-sensei announced from the podium. "Since its purpose is to provide combat training rather than just to make you exwires, the exam won't be that easy. Therefore, I will be holding a one-week training camp for the examinations, starting next week." He began handing out papers. "If you wish to participate in the training camp, please fill in this form with acquisition hope 'meister' and submit it to me by Monday."
          Rin walked over to Ryuji and his friends, holding up the form. "So what's a meister? Tell me … please." While Konekomaru explained the five classes to Rin, Ryuji glanced over to Takame, staring at the page like it was the bane of her existence. He knew she had that obsidian dagger that bursts into flames and she'd briefly mentioned archery. So maybe a Knight or a Dragoon? He'd never really noticed her scores in Pharmacology or Scripture Recitation so he wasn't sure about her other capabilities. I guess we'll find out soon.

          "Okay, I'll be summoning my familiar now," Neuhaus-sensei said as he finished drawing the chalk circle. "Don't step on the drawing. If you do, the magic circle is broken and it loses its effect. Your blood and an appropriate appeal is also necessary for a successful summoning." He pulled the sleeve away from his bleeding hand, wrapped in already soaked bandages, and raised it over the circle. As blood dripped into the circle, he recited, "The son of Typhoeus and Echidna, answer my request and come out!" A breeze swirled around the circle as a black hand reached out from the floor towards his and pulled itself up, revealing its grotesque form. "There is an incredibly small amount of humans who can summon demons and make them work as a familiar. Sheer spiritual fortitude is needed to tame the demons, but natural talent is also essential."
          "Is that a naberius?" Ryuji asked, more to himself. "It's … the first time ... I've … seen one …" He was both amazed and disgusted by its fetid odor. 
          Meanwhile, Neuhaus-sensei continued, "I'll be testing you now to see if you have the talent. On the paper I gave you awhile ago, drop your own blood where the magic circle has been roughly sketched. Then try to recite any words that come to mind."
          Kamiki was the first. "I ask the grace of Inari, the god of harvest, to fulfill my prayers!" Two misty fox spirits materialized from the summoning papers.
          "Two byakkos. Splendid, Izumo Kamiki," Neuhaus-sensei praised.
          "That was great, Izumo-chan," Paku said. "I'm really useless at this stuff …"
          "Dammit, I've got no talent," Ryuji and Shima grumbled.
          "Me neither," Konekomaru added.
          "Wow! I-I'll do it too!" Moriyama chirped. With a giggle, she looked at her paper and said, "Come out, come out wherever you are …" A little green man spirit sprouted from the circle and climbed onto her head. While she eagerly showed off her summon to Kamiki, Ryuji glanced at Takame as she hesitantly poked her finger with the pin and a droplet of blood splattered onto the paper. 
          Almost immediately, the air stirred behind him and he spun around to see four peculiar beings, two of them animals and the others seemed human but clearly weren't. 
          Takame swayed, her eyes listless, and Ryuji quickly stepped in to catch her as she collapsed.
          "She passed out," he said, looking between Neuhaus-sensei, who was just as surprised as everyone else, and Takame's strange familiars for what to do. He'd never seen anything like them and they made his hair stand on end. 
          One of them, a man cloaked in jaguar furs, glared at his companions and said something to them in some unknown language. Then they disappeared and he bent down to whisper in his master's ear. His inky black fingers touched the center of her forehead and her eyes fluttered open, eyes that, for a moment, seemed stormy gray rather than their usual amber hue. 
          "Sabes, desde este ángulo, te ves muy guapo," she muttered before settling back onto her feet. Ryuji wasn't quite sure what she had said nor if it had been meant for him. But he was certain he wanted to hear that voice again. It was soft, each breath a feather gently brushing against his cheek. How had he not noticed it before? Now that I think about, maybe this is why I get so sleepy in Scripture Recitation. With flushed cheeks, she turned to Neuhaus-sensei. "S-sorry for the inconvenience. I'm fine now." She then whispered something to her familiar and he vanished.
          Neuhaus-sensei spoke up. "There seems to be a bumper crop of tamer prospects this year. There are only a few tamers among the exorcists who can control demons and fight. They're pretty valuable." Then he gave a warning, eyeing Kachina the whole time. "Demons never follow humans that are weaker than themselves. And they are especially keen on attacking those that lack confidence. But like I said before, if the magic circle is broken, the familiar is relieved of its post and disappears. If you feel like you're in danger and you summoned a familiar with paper, just tear the paper up."

          After class, Moriyama called after Kamiki like a lost puppy and begged her to be her friend while the latter tried to ignore her. 
          "Sure, we'll be friends from now on," she finally answered after some pondering.
          "Really?!" Moriyama asked in disbelief. She was on cloud nine.
          "Well then, hurry up and carry this!" Kamiki thrust her bag into Moriyama's arms. "I don't have a lot of physical strength so I get tired pretty quickly. Besides, aren't friends supposed to help each other out? You'll hold it for me, won't you?"
          "Uh-huh!" And she walked behind Kamiki and Paku with a pep in her step. 
          "What the …? Shiemi's turned into Thin Brow's servant," Rin said.
          "They're just playin'." Ryuji shrugged. He didn't really care whatever it was they were doing. It wasn't any of his business.
          "Hey Takame-san?" Konekomaru asked. "Why don't you be Moriyama-san's friend? You'd treat her better than Kamiki-san."
          Takame sipped from a bottle of water and took a bite from her candy bar. "I don't know. I'm just trying to get through the rest of the day without keeling over again," she said quietly before stumbling away.
          "She doesn't look too good," Shima said, watching her retreating form with concern.
          "I'll make sure she gets back to her dorm safely," Ryuji suggested, following after her.
          "Such a gentleman," Konekomaru said.
          "Your mom would be so proud," Shima called out. 
          Ryuji blushed and yelled, "Shaddup!" His friends howled with laughter as he caught up with Takame. 
          When their voices faded away, she spoke, "Thanks for earlier."
          "Oh, uh, no problem. I guess you could consider it a 'thank you' for the leaper incident." She shrugged and opened a door to the outside world.
          "For the record, that had to be one of the stupidest arguments I've ever witnessed and my brother once had a week-long spat with his friend over who's hotter: Jennifer Lopez or Shakira?"
          "Who won?"
          "Sofia Vergara." He looked at her in confusion. "I was the tie breaker." The corners of his lips curled up in a smirk. "The point is, both of you have the same aspiration and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's a good thing. Satan is the most powerful demon in all of Gehenna and there's no way you alone could defeat him. You stand a better chance of success if you put aside your differences and work together." 
          Ryuji pondered her words and then asked, "Why did you want to become an exorcist?" 
          "It's the family business and I enjoy helping others."
          "You have exorcists in your family?"
          She nodded. 
          "Why did you transfer here for training? Don't you have a school at your local branch?" 
          "Sort of. It's complicated." Her gaze lowered to the ground.
          For a few minutes, they walked silently down the sidewalk. 
          "So, what meister are you going for?" She asked curiously.
          "Aria and Dragoon. You?"
          "Well, we've seen my 'talent' as a Tamer," she said, that one word dripping with sarcasm.
          "What are they, anyway? I've never seen anything like them before." 
          "One is an Aztec deity and the other three-ish are kachina spirits."
          "Three-ish?"
          "Uh, Masaw and Tawa kinda … merged together."
          "... ok." 
          "Oh, um, this is my place." She stopped in front of the female dormitory's door. "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?"
         "Yeah, have a good night."
         "You too." She smiled and gave a wave before going inside and his heart tugged in a way he didn't quite understand just yet.
          Ryuji reflected on their conversations earlier that day and thought, That's the most I've ever heard her talk. 

Song: Dance Monkey- Tones and I