Getting Started (Andrew/Open)

[Jin Johnson]

"Are you sure, son? You know you'll be... further behind than the others."

Jin's father questioned him for the past week. Making sure that the boy knew what he was getting himself into by going through with becoming a meister. When Jin was younger, his parents thought it would be a good idea from how his soul wavelength was developing, but they didn't foresee what happened. Its growth paused and it hadn't grown any further. The thought that their boy would have a hard time at the Shibusen almost made them withdraw him. They would have, if he hadn't been so adamant about continuing. Now it was the time for Jin to head to the Shibusen and see what he could do.

Jin woke up really early that morning, around 5:30. He went for an early jog around the city before returning to his home to shower and get ready to make his 'debut.' The meister was sporting a black t-shirt, denim shorts and black tennis shoes. He walked out of the house swiftly, heading towards the Shibusen with a bit of excitement built up. He looked up at the sky as his dreads swayed from side to side. He grinned at the sight of the sun. It looked like it was dreading getting up that early, barely peeking over the horizon.

As he neared the academy, Jin gathered his hair behind his head and pulled the hair tie from his wrist. He quietly tied his hair back into a pony tail as he walked up the steps of the academy. He had his "Meister" tag pinned to his shirt, wondering what he would be in for.

[Andrew Fischer]

Andrew woke up, and realized that he was on the steps of Shibusen. It felt weird, because he couldn't remember how he got here at all, and he was wondering what he did last night. (Think what you may). The Demon Weapon noticed a boy standing at the steps, with a tag on his shirt, and wondered what he was doing here. Perhaps it was another student...and if that was the case, then it was always good to have new friends. Especially if they could help him understand all of the ridiculous class work...Andrew couldn't wrap his head around what they used Algebra for...and his method for finishing his homework seemed to put him in awkward positions...Such as the one he was in now.

"Hey...I'm Andrew..."

He hadn't realized that he pretty much whispered this, and then went quiet again. The Demon Weapon awkwardly stood there, and looked at him...He had interesting hair, and Andrew wondered if the Meister would be upset if he touched it. Most people are upset about things like that, so it was probably the same for him...Not wanting to wait any longer, he decided to get his attention. Walking closer to him, he tapped his shoulder.

"Are you...New...I'm Andrew...

[Jin Johnson]

Right as Jin finished boosting himself in his mind, he felt a timid touch on his shoulder. He angled his head to see what touched him at first. The sight of a finger prodding him caused him to turn his head a bit more to look at the weapon out of the corner of his eye. Jin turned to his side so that he could see the person fully and he blinked, looking over the boy.

The meister's eyes widened a little as he finished his quick look-see. The boy who tapped him on the shoulder was tall! Jin immediately wondered what it would be like to play the weapon in a game of basketball. There was a good six feet difference between the two, and the other boy's wingspan looked to be outstanding (at least compared to Jin's). He couldn't help but whistle out of amazement and grin. "Man. You're pretty tall," the meister commented, almost forgetting about the posed question. "Oh! Yeah. Today's my first day. The name's Jin Johnson. Or you could call me J.J... or even just J. Whichever floats your boat."

The fresh meister extended his hand towards Andrew, hoping for a hand shake. Jin's eyes traveled back to the top of the weapon's head, noting the fishing lures. Either he's a fisherman... or he's setting one hell of a trend. The meister mused to himself. "So how old are you, Andrew? A personal question. Yes. Jin liked to take barriers down quick, so conversations wouldn't stay awkward long. It didn't work a lot of the time, but he couldn't help it.

[tokoz]

As the pair conversed, footsteps pattered along the rooftop. A sudden Crack was heard, quickly followed by "..... Shi-OOOOOOF". A boy fell from a nearbye roof, having missed a jump he was making when his foot caught on an unseen rope. He plummeted to the ground, managing to roll, and break the fall somewhat.

Bran rolled over, winded, and looked up at the two. He seemed somewhat annoyed that his mishap had been seen. He stands, and looks at the two again, straightening his hat and hair. He seems less weak than his first mission, his clothes hanging slightly less loose on his frame. But he still is quite weak, he thinks, as evidenced by the way he is breathing heavily, despite the short time he was practiceing.

Bran looks at the two fellow students in front of him, noticing the visible nervousness Andrew is exhibiting. He nods at the two of them, recognizing Jin from before. "Jin. Andrew. Sorry to interrupt. What are you two up to?

[Andrew Fischer]

Andrew looked at him for a moment, and seemed quite puzzled. People usually weren't this friendly, and he thought it was weird that this guy was so willing to engage in conversation. However...The biggest thing on his mind had nothing to do with the new student. He was wondering why people thought he was so tall...Was it not normal to be this height? Before the Weapon could even process the first part, the Meister had already changed the subject...Jin Johnson...J.J...J...Andrew honestly couldn't keep up with him.

"Ya talk too fast for mah brain to-"

By the time Andrew got this out, Jin already moved on to a question about his age...Which Andrew hadn't been keeping track of. It wasn't a big deal to him, and it wasn't like he celebrated a birthday or anything. Then Andrew tried to think about what grade he was in...It was a long and complicated process. Then it dawned on him...The salmon run happened once every year, when they migrated north...He had heard of it when it was happening, at first, when he was about six...and the season had passed about eight times since then. That meant that he was at least fourteen...

"Ahm...Fourteen. How old are you?"

Andrew took to hugging himself again, and then stepped a little bit away from the Meister. Hopefully leaving a bit of distance would make it so that they weren't uncomfortable...Andrew knew that he was. However, it was all interrupted, by an incredibly loud noise...Coming from his least favourite person. The Demon Weapon, that had murdered-eradicated-defeated...A lost soul, that Andrew had taken too, was now standing in front of him...and he seemed to know Jin as well.

"Yeah Bran...We're standin' around..."

[Jin Johnson]

The meister blinked, somewhat puzzled. Andrew wrapped his arm around himself again and even took a step back. ..Am I being too forward? J.J. thought to himself. Apparently so. He seemed to be making the weapon uncomfortable and as a result, he put his left hand in his pocket. The feedback he got from the weapon let him know to adjust his conversation a bit. Talking too fast? That was easy to fix. Just limit what he asked, or said, until Andrew could catch on and respond.

Jin nodded his head, almost apologetically. "Sorry about that. I'll slow down a bit. I'm seventeen, by the way." The meister grinned once he replied. He was older than a lot of the students in his class. This was his first year, first day actually, at Shibusen. Most of the people with him will probably be younger and less experienced. He decided to wait this long, however. He enjoyed the activities of regular schools and wanted to enjoy them as long as he could before joining this place for gifted individuals.

Before J.J. could say another word, he noticed a body falling from above them and rolling a bit. The athlete just looked at the person for a moment before he could recognize him. It was the demon spear that he met in the park a few days prior. He didn't seem as mopey as he did then, though. Jin was a little relieved at this observation, but also a bit curious. What changed so much in the few days time? It was something he had to know. "What's up, Bran? I was about to go in for my first day, and Andrew came up and talked to me. But, I've gotta know: What was up with you the other day in the park?

[tokoz]

Bran nodded at Andrew's response, unsuprised that the quiet weapon, if indeed one could call a fishing pole a weapon at all, wasn't glad to see him. Andrew hadn't liked his killing of the Demon Fisher Kishin Egg. Bran had a bad taste in his moutj after that as well. But he had to let that go. He had saved lives by destroying him. Ends and means.

Bran turns at Jin's abrupt question. Short and to the point, hmm? He shrugs. "Just finished a mission, fought a Dark Weapon, watched my best friend that ended up in a coma due to my suprise discovery of my Demon Weapon blood die in his hospital bed when the Dark Lance I was fighting broke the life support machines. Lot to handle." he states this nonchalantly, as if t was nothing. His eyes, however, show his true hurt. It vanishes quickly though, and he thinks reflectivley.

"What is the difference between Demon and Dark weapons? I know Dark weapons are evil, but is it just a label? Or is there actually a specific reason or act that changes them, makes them desperate for souls?"Bran looks genuinely curious about this. Being from a small town, he is a bit behind the curve on Demon weapon info, and he hasn't been able to find time to reasearch the Dark Weapons. He looks curiously at the two near him.

[Andrew Fischer]

Andrew nodded at Jin, and didn't think it was odd that he was so much older than him. Andrew wouldn't be surprised if he was stuck in the same grade for that long...but perhaps he wasn't stupid...but just having a late start. That was probably more likely, and the Weapon chuckled a bit at the fact that he jumped to that first conclusion. He watched the other two closely, as they conversed amongst themselves...and Andrew got chills down his spine when Bran asked about Dark Weapons. Was he not aware of the consequences?

"Bran...Demon Weapons are s'posed to eat souls from corrupted people...Non-pure souls...Dem Dark Weapons go and eat pure souls, and then they go on the path to becoming a Kishin...It's a bad thing."

Andrew looked directly at him now, because he had a hunch that his interest wasn't very innocent. Walking closer to him, the Weapon tugged on his hat for a moment, and thought about what he would have to say. Perhaps Bran wasn't going down a path like that...but he wasn't sure. Then he remembered the moment back on his first mission...Andrew had to say something right now.

"We live in a world where human beings sometimes lose sight of what is truly important...They lose control of themselves, and lust for power...Power that they believe will fix their problems...They give into greed, and desire. What kind of world is that? What kind of world do ya live in, when ya can't even control yourself much...Control your mind? Givin' in is just like givin' up..."

Andrew stepped back, and then tugged on his hat again. The Weapon still wasn't very comfortable around Bran, and it was not fun to be in situations like these. He wrapped his arms around himself, in one of his self hugs, and let out a sigh...This would be the start of a long conversation, wouldn't it?

[Jin Johnson]

Jin's eyes focused on Bran's as the weapon spoke. Jin had a tendency to look into a person's eyes as he talked to them. This time was no different. He was, however, getting mixed signals from the demon spear: his eyes showed a bit of sorrow and grief, though the tone of the weapon's voice communicated nonchalance. How could he talk about his best friend dying in front of him with such a casual tone? Jin let the thought go, deciding that it wasn't any of his business this time.

In an attempt to change the conversation, Bran asked a quick question. Jin figured it was to change the conversation from the touchy death of his friend since they seemed to be two different topics. A dark weapon...? The meister's mind started to work harder than usual. He had heard of such a thing before, but he couldn't recall what it really was. Obviously the name would imply a weapon that is evil, but was that it? It was his first year, so Jin didn't know much about this topic. This is one of the few situations where the meister would opt to stay quiet than to give his two cents.

Luckily for J.J., Andrew spoke up. He seemed to have had some history with the demon lance and the increase of words coming from the shy weapon reaffirmed this for Jin. When they were talking just a second before Bran showed up, Andrew seemed to be so withdrawn and almost seemed like he didn't like to talk. The sudden small lecture surprised, Jin. He didn't think that Andrew could say that much at a time. He did like it though. It was a weird feeling for him to be around people that didn't like to talk. It also filled Jin in on the 'dark weapon' gap of information that he had.

"So... Dark weapons are demon weapons that eat pure souls... and start to become like a kishin, huh?" The meister looked back and forth from the two weapons. He was a little disappointed to see Andrew withdraw again by hugging himself.