A month had passed since Kiara had eaten lunch with Bon's group, and since then she gradually became a part of their group and hung out with them from time to time. Having a group like them was nice, she's never actually had friends that she could hang out with before.

Speaking of the group, she spotted them just up ahead, heading to the cram classroom. Picking up speed, she ran towards them, "Hey guys!" She called.

"Oh, Kiara, hey." Konekomaru said, tuning around and looking at her with a small smile.

"You ready to get our test scores back?" Shima asked. "I know I failed mine."

Kiara flicked Shima on the forehead. "Don't doubt yourself, moron."

"Hey! I think you're becoming too much like Bon." Shima said, rubbing his forehead.

"We'd stop it if you would stop being an idiot." Bon said.

"Well I can't help that now can I?" Shima pouted.

Kiara let out a small laugh, "So I guess that we won't stop, then."

"Koneko, please back me up here."

"Sorry Shima, but you're on your own here." Konekomaru said with amusement.

Shima slumped over, "You guys are so mean."

Kiara patted him on the shoulder, a grin on her face, "And you're an idiot, now let's get to class."

***

"Listen up. Summer Vacation is less than a month and a half away." Yukio started once he got to the front of the classroom. "But before break, you're going to be taking this years Exwire authorization exams." He held up a stack of papers, "I want everyone to keep in mind that once you're promoted to Exwire, you'll be subjected to a more specialized combat training. The exam won't be easy to pass, therefore, starting Monday, we're offering a week long bootcamp to prepare for the exam."

"A bootcamp? Sounds like fun." Kiara muttered as she watched Yukio hand out the papers he had

"Since attending this camp isn't mandatory, indicate whether or not you'll be participating on the form. If you are, please indicate the Meister, or title that you'd like to acquire. You must turn the form in by Monday."

Kiara looked down at the paper that Yukio had handed her, reading over it. If she was being honest with herself she had no clue what Meister she wanted to go into. If she somehow got a gun, maybe she could go for Dragoon. Then again being a Knight would be easiest to become, they just fought with swords and melee weapons.

"Hey," Rin's voice broke Kiara out of her thoughts and she looked up to see that he was standing next to Bon's table. "Could you tell me what a Miester is?"

"Huh?" Bon grunted.

"Eh, come on, help me out here. Please."

"Give me a break, you want to be an exorcist but you don't know what that is? Seriously what's with you?"

Shima chuckled, "You really are totally clueless, aren't you Okumura?"

"Someone should of stayed awake during class." Kiara teased, moving so that she was sitting on top of her table instead of in her seat.

Rin flinched slightly at what Kiara said, but recovered quickly, "Fine, I don't have a clue, so are you gonna tell me or not?"

"I'll tell you." Konekoaru said, getting the attention on him. "It's a technical qualification that's required to become an exorcist. It's a title given to those who prove they've got great skills. There are five Meisters in all. Knight, Dragoon, Tamer, Aria, and Doctor. As long as you've acquired at least one of those, you can become an exorcist."

"Oh, okay. I think I get it now." Rin said, pulling up an empty chair and sitting within the group.

"No one could say you could sit with us!" Bon complained.

"Wow, how inclusive of you Bon." Kiara teased.

"Shut it!"

"The other thing is, your style of combat will differ depending on which Meister you are." Konekomaru continued.

"Sweet. Thanks for explaining Konekomaru. Which one are you going for?" Rin said with a wide grin, showing off sharpened canines that looked suspiciously similar to Kiara's. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Well, Shima and I are going to try for Aria."

"Aria?"

"Aria is a Meister that battles demons by reciting passages from the Bible and other sacred scripture."

"Bon here is gonna go for both Aria and Dragoon." Shima said, motioning towards Bon. "Cause he's all hardcore and everything."

"Wow, that's our Bon." Rin said.

"Do not call me Bon!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the desk in anger.

"Wow, such a tough guy." Kiara said, "Shame you complain too much. If you didn't I might fall for you. Your loss." She grinned at him as he glared at her in complete and utter anger.

"Actually, our instructor Mr. Okumura has two Meisters. Doctor and Dragoon."

"Woah, Yukio kicks butt." Rin said, then he looked at Kiara. "Oh, before I forget, what Meister are you going to try for?"

"Me? Well I actually haven't decided yet." She scratched the back of her head, "If anything I might try for Dragoon or Knight. It's a shame there isn't a Meister for just punching demons in the face, or, whatever you would punch demons in. Might go for Knight— it's the closest to punching them."

"Wow, badass." Rin said before looking back at his paper. "Hm. I wonder which one I should go for. This Dragoon, what is it?"

Bon slammed his hand down on the desk again, though before he could say anything, Kiara interrupted him.

"Dragoons use guns and firearms to fight demons. And before you ask, a Knight is someone who uses weapons, like mainly swords to fight demons." She looked over at Bon, "Sorry to interrupt, but it looked like you were getting a little angry there Bonny boy."

"Bonny boy?" Bon asked, looking taken aback.

"Back up, you say sword?" Rin asked.

Kiara nodded. "Yeah, that's what most knight Meisters use." She motioned to the thing on Rin's back. "That's a sword, right? Maybe you should try for Knight."

"I think I will." Rin said with an excited grin, "So cool, I'm gonna be a knight!"

"Yeah, you know, I always see you carrying that sword around." Konekomaru said.

"Yup, it's sorta like a keepsake from my dad."

"Your dad gave you a sword? Man, he seems like a pretty cool dude." I wish my actual dad gave me a sword. All he ever really gave me was abandonment. And Mephisto is just... Mephisto.

"Yeah, he was." Rin said with a soft expression on his face.

Was? Kiara thought, watching as Rin wrote down on the sheet of paper. Before she could ask anything, the bell rang and it was time for their next class. Rin was apparently saved by the bell.

"Let's head to the next class." Bon said, standing up and starting to walk out of the classroom, the others following him, even Rin— which made Bon grumble to who way to their next class.

***

Once the next class started, Kiara found herself standing around a chalk drawn summoning circle.

"All right, we will now summon a demon." The teacher, Mr. Neuhaus, started. "Watch your step, if the magic circle is broken, it will loose it's effect. Now, to summon a demon, you'll need a drop of your blood and a suitable invocation." Lifting his hand above the circle, Mr. Neuhaus let his blood drip from a fresh cut on his finger onto the circle. "Son of Typhoeus and Echidna, hear my call and show yourself."

Kiara watched as smoke rose up from a circle, and a thick bubbling substance rose up, forming itself into one sort of small rotting dog-like creature.

"Is that a Niberius?" Konekomaru asked.

"I've never seen one." Bon stated in awe.

"Ew, sulfer." Shima complained, holding his nose and covering his mouth.

"Summoning a demon to use as your familiar is a rare trait. Not everyone is capable. Now, to tame a demon, you must have a strong will and unshakeable nerve. Having a natural talent for it is also valuable. Today, I'm going to test you to see if anyone here has this talent." He took a small sheet of paper from the pocket of his coat, the same piece of paper that everyone had been handed at the start of class. She listened as Mr. Neuhaus told each of them to place a drop of blood on the magic circle on the paper and chant whatever words come to mind.

Across from her, Kiara watched as Izumo pricked her finger and started a short chant. "I humbly appeal to thee, o' goddess Inari. Grant my request, leave not my prayers to the unfulfilled."

From the two cards in Izumo's hands white smoke arose and two wolves formed and stood calmly at her feet.

"Impressive." Kiara muttered.

"A pair of white foxes. Nicely done Miss Kamaki." Mr. Neuhaus said.

"Izumo, that's amazing!" Paku excalimed, "I tried but didn't get anything."

"That figures. I come from a long line of Shrine Madens." Izumo bragged.

Kiara narrowed her eyes, the way Izumo acted like she was above everybody here bothered her to no end. She even acted that way towards Paku, her friend.

"This ain't working. I can't do it." Bon grumbled from beside Kiara, distracting her from her current thoughts on Izumo.

"Me neither." Konekomaru said, and the three of them looked at Shima who just shrugged and shook his head.

"Um, I'd like to try next." Sheimi piped up, getting the class's attention on her. She looked down at the paper with a soft smile on her face. "Come on boy, come on boy... or something." She said softly. For a second, nothing happened, but then there was a small green light that rose up from the card and a grassy creature appeared and floated down into Sheimi's hands.

"If I'm not mistaken, that looks like a baby Greenman. Excellent Miss Moriyama, excellent."

"Good going, Sheimi." Kiara said,giving the girl a thumbs up.

"Thank you!" Sheimi said, then looked towards Izumo. "Hey Miss Kamaki, I summoned my familiar too!"

"Adorable." Izumo said condescendingly, "It's like so unbelievably tiny and ridiculously cute. Like a peanut."

"Huh, really? You think he's cute? Aw, thank you!"

Kiara clenched her teeth and glared at Izumo. Sure, she didn't consider Sheimi a friend, but she did know the timid girl since she was a little girl herself, and seeing her be treated this way struck a nerve with her.

"All right, Kiara. You're the only one who hasn't gone." Mr. Neuhaus said, getting Kiara's attention.

"Oh. Right." Kiara said. She had already smeared a drop of her blood on the circle, taking a breath, she extended the card out in front of her, reciting the first words that came to mind. "You who rise in smoke and feed off of fear, I call upon you." She said, her eyes glinting slightly.

After a second, a dark black smoke erupted from the card and whizzed around the room before crashing into the ground and taking the form of crane, it's feather's made of a dark smoke and it's eyes glinting like lanterns as it looked around the classroom, finally stopping and staring at Kiara.

"Woah! That's one awesome demon!" Rin shouted, starry eyed. "Such a badass entrance!"

"An Onmoraki if I' not mistaken. Those are quite difficult to summon and keep in control Miss Pheles. You'll have to be cautious. Onmorakis tend to be very vengeful and dangerous spirits. Be very careful once you've summoned one. The moment it senses fear it will attack and kill the master."

"Understood." Kiara said, looking down at the demon. A demon that attacks if fear is sensed and a girl who can't feel fear. It's like a match made in heaven... or hell in this case I guess.

"Good. Now it looks as though we have our Tamer candidates for this class. Now then, Tamers are very valuable in combat, the ability to control demons is very rare among exorcists. A demon will not obey if it perceives it's master to be weak. If it's master lacks willpower, the demon will attack them. As I mentioned earlier, once you break the circle you release the familiar from your control and it vanishes. So, if you ever feel like you're in danger, simply tear up the paper." He smudged the chalk circle and Kiara watched as the rotting dog faded away into dust. "That's all for today, class dismissed."

"That's one pretty cool demon you've summoned." Shima said, walking up to stand beside Kiara. "I'm jealous."

"Well, you can never go wrong with a demon made of smoke and vengeance." She mused, patting the Onmoraki's head. It was surprisingly soft.

"Does this mean you'll be trying for the tamer Meister?" Konekomaru asked.

"That does make the most sense." Kiara said thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think I will. But I still want to fight myself, so probably Tamer and Knight— if I can get my hands on a sword somehow." She straightened up and ripped the paper— she knew she could make more— and watched as the bird was dissolved into smoke. "Now, let's head out." The group walked out of the classroom, Rin joining them once again despite Bon's grumbles.

"Huh, what's with that? Sheimi's carrying Polka-Brow's stuff like she's her maid or something." Rin stated and Kiara looked up, once again filled with rage at the sight of Izumo using Sheimi.

"Polka-brow?" Konekomaru asked.

"Heh. He means it's Kamaki." Shima clarified for him.

"Eh, they're just messing around." Bon said, now let's get outta here."

As the group walked out of the cram school, Kiara glanced back at the three girls, if this continued, Kiara would be having some choice words with Izumo about how she treated Sheimi. She just hoped it didn't get that far.