Hitoshi, Tarou, and Sei were finally on their way towards the beach, getting on the mission that Principal Ayuka had sent them on. Hitoshi had definitely held back progress for quite some time. Three trips to Professor Moriko, and 2 trips, each, to Hiromi, Umi, and Rui. He definitely lived up to his reputation of procrastinating things. If there was anyone who could take so many side-trips with an important mission ahead of him, it was Hitoshi. It wasn't all bad, though. They had managed to procure a few things on their way. They'd gotten quite a bit of food and a Bandana from the people they'd visited, and had gotten a good bit of training done in the Training Course.

The path laid before them was a deep, long forest path. They steadily walked along it, making sure they kept their energy up as much as they could. Even though this path directly connected to the school, there was a reason there was a gate, dividing that area from the school. There were a few types of monsters who managed to inhabit this area. The three of them needed to be on their guard. The monsters were, more than likely, nothing they couldn't handle, but that's no reason to let your guard down and become prey to a surprise attack.

After going through the entire first path, the road splits 3 ways. They stop at a sign by a well in the field that serves as the central point of this branching path area. They took a look at the sign, reminding themselves of just where everything was back here. Hitoshi didn't have the best memory in the world, and they needed to make sure they headed in the right direction. They looked at the map, and read it carefully. It read:

NORTH: Genbu Mountain
WEST: Byakko Beach
EAST: Seiryuu Forest Shrine
SOUTH: Suzaku Academy

They looked around, confirming the locations on the map. They had just come from the south, where Suzaku Academy resided. Directly in front of them was a hilly path that led up to a towering mountain known as Genbu. That place had been known for it's steep cliffs and powerful beasts. Not many people ever wandered up there. There were too many dangers and many professors didn't like the idea of going up there, even for school assignments. Were they training, they would prefer to leave them in Moriko's care, at the Training Course.

To the right and left were two forest paths, much like the one they'd just come from. To the right was the path to Seiryuu Shrine and to the left Byakko Beach. They didn't know too much about the Shrine and the many “Maidens” that inhabited it. No one ever spoke much of them, but the Beach was an often-visited location for students of the academy. Many people spent their personal time up at the beach, having a good, fun time playing around or, in Sei's instance, a fun time talking with all of the babes sporting their sexy swimwear.

The three of them turned left to head towards the beach. Right next to a tree by the sign, however, was a small chest. How it was situated out in the middle of a field was unknown to the three of them, but Hitoshi never passed up the opportunity to procure something new for them to add to their 'collection' of items. He approached the chest, a smile on his face, wanting to get whatever it's contents were before they headed off. Before he could get anything from the box, however four of the plants surrounding the box jumped out of the ground and screeched at him.

He jumped back as he saw two sprouts and two flowers jumping and attacking him. The sprouts had red eyes about them and the leaves of the flowers soon turned into pincers. They were monsters native to this area, known as Killweeds and Mad Sprouts. The three of them prepared for a fight as they drew their weapons and jumped at one of the Killweeds. These monsters didn't look all that tough, but they weren't going to take any chances. They couldn't underestimate even the smallest of monsters, especially on the adventure they were going to have.

Both Hitoshi and Sei struck a single monster to bring it down. Hitoshi, alone, wasn't enough to bring it down, but together, they were able to slice it and dice it. They jumped away from the two Mad Sprouts as a cold wind arrived from behind. Sei's arms began to get goosebumps as Tarou could be seen from behind them, chanting. Small flakes of show were whirling from his staff and encompassed one of the sprouts, until a large chunk of ice formed and skewered it. As the monster fell to the ground, the other two jumped back in and sliced up another Killerweed.

As it's comrades fell, the remaining Mad Sprout whimpered and darted off, jumping into the bushes at the bottom of the trees, disappearing from sight. The three put their weapons away, triumphant and Hitoshi opened up the box. All three of them were very eager to find out what they'd just worked to gain, viewing those monsters as a sort of “Guard Force” for the box. Out of the box came a small ticket that was used for the Journals the secretaries at the school used for keeping records. It was called a Memory Ticket.

Pocketing it, they continued down the forest path, turning a corner and finding two more boxes on the way down the path to the beach. They stopped by the two boxes, picking up a small herb and a packet of Smelling Salts, a substance the nurse used to awaken people who have fainted on campus, for whatever reason. Pocketing both of these, they continued to the end of the path, and in, towards the beach.