Ravenwood School Of Magic (Krys Snape & Tsumi Okasaki)

Riku looked in the direction of the man and glared as he pointed at her, she could here the words 'that's the one' come from his mouth. She was just about to say something really nasty when Hikaru muttered her name. Riku was wondering why Hikaru was telling her to act like she was talking with her but keep looking at the guy behind her. When his clothes vanished Riku laughed at the reaction that came after it. After a few minuted the professor stepped in and replaced his clothing then turned to look at everyone in the class, "Alright we'll be having the new and the experienced pair off against each other today so that the new can learn without getting seriously injured" ,she stated. She ran a slender finger down her class list then looked up, "Riku will you pick your opponent first"? She said. Riku nodded then when turned away from the teacher she smirked, "Andrew"! Riku said loudly, he looked at her and laughed his cockiness quickly coming back.

"Professor I don't feel safe dueling her she couldn't even handle a simple Offensive spells class, she got burnt" ,he stated. Riku's fists balled up and she glared in his direction, "Andrew stop being a little bitch and step the fuck up"! Riku said. The normally quite girl was pissed and it wasn't hard to tell she wanted to embarrass this guy. Andrew shook his head and laughed, "Watch and learn people" ,he stated cockily as he stepped into the center of the room. Riku rolled up her sleeves and placed her wand at her side, it was proper etiquette during a duel after all.

The two were made to bow to each other before raising their wands, just as Andrew was about to mutter something Riku waved her wand and he went flying into a wall and crashing to the floor. A few people looked in shock at Riku because she didn't mutter or say any spells. Andrew finally got to his feet and began to storm towards Riku, she again waved her wand very elegantly and ended up binding the man's feet, when Andrew fell forward the classroom laughed at him. Before Riku could do anything else the professor chimed in, "Alright Riku that's enough, next time please speak out the spells you are using there's no need to show off" ,she said. Riku walked back over and stood next to Hikaru, "I wasn't trying to show off that's just how I was taught to fight, if your opponent doesn't know what's coming at them it's harder to counter" ,Riku whispered to her friend right before putting her head down. She felt embarrassed after the teacher had pretty much called her out in front of the whole class.

She grinned as she watched the woman bash the arrogant ass against the wall. Not once but twice. She glanced over to the professor when she began to call Riku down. Seeing the evident embarrassment on her friends face, she couldn't help but speak up. "Professor?" she called out. The professor turned and looked at her then looked down at her list. "Yes... Hikaru?" she said after she scanned it a moment.

Hikaru drew in a breath, hoping that she could say this tactfully enough not to embarrass her friend further or get them into trouble. "Um its just that we were always taught to never let your opponent know what you were up to." She lied. She had very little skill with using silent spells. She knew the basics of the procedure and how it worked but had only tried it once or twice with limited success. The professor looked at her and said "I was under the assumption that all dueling classes were taught in a similar manner." Hikaru immediately shook her head.

"No ma'am." she said as politely as possible. She struggled with every urge that shouted at her to just cram what she was trying to say down the woman's throat. But she had to be patient and feed it to her a little bit at a time or it would sound arrogant and brash of her. "We were taught in two steps. Proper dueling form, then the actual fighting. In the fighting phase we were constantly told to keep our minds opened and our mouths shut. That way an opponent would have a harder time picking up on the spell we were using and countering them or worse, hitting us with our own spell." The teacher thought for a moment then nodded "You are correct. It is more in one's favor to do such. However, these are just learning sessions. That ability serves no purpose in teaching your opponent."

Hikaru shook her head once more "Ma'am, If you will allow me to say why I disagree?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at the woman but said nothing. Hikaru sucked in another breath and started again. "Well it forces the duelists to watch their opponents. Most don't because they don't have to. They have gotten used to the fact that their opponent will shout out the spell. They watch neither the wand motions or body movement's of their opponent. It would be fatal for them if an opponent shouted the name of a spell aloud but didn't engage that spell. Merely used one silently to which they were unprepared. Furthering the issue is the fact that if your expecting your opponent to speak, your listening more than watching. With a simple flick of their wrist, he or she could snap your neck and you would have been completely unprepared simply because you had been taught to listen more than observe." She stopped there. She could have gone on listing several more reasons, but she felt that if she did she would have pushed the issue too far. Not only would that make her seem like a know-it-all but would cause problems for Riku. What she said had valid merits but if she had presented it wrong then it would backfire or worse.

The teacher paused as if considering. A reflection of inward thought on her face, she suddenly looked over at the class. "Very well. Ms. Hikaru makes an excellent point. You can not defend against something you are unprepared for. Thank you for demonstrating that Ms. Riku." the teacher paused again for a few moments. Hikaru took the time to flash a smile at Riku.

Then things got worse. "Ms. Hikaru. Its your match. Would you please demonstrate your understanding of the technique?" Hikaru tensed. She wasn't skilled enough to do more than three spells without words. She had been hoping to just stick up for her friend but apparently she had made more of a point than she realized. Paled, she looked to Riku unsure of what to do.

When Hikaru began to defend Riku she smiled, no one had ever really stuck up for her in her life. After the teacher told Hikaru to demonstrate the skill of silent spells Riku could tell Hikaru was bluffing when she said she learned how to do them. Riku placed a soft but strong hand onto Hikaru's then looked into her eyes, "Just clear your mind and think the incantation while using the proper wand movement" ,she whispered so that no one could hear her. "You'll do fine I know you will".

Hikaru nodded, but was still unconvinced. "Easy for you to say." she murmured. "You haven't seen the inside of my head lately..." Moving to the designated dueling dais, she stepped up onto it and tried clearing her mind. Several moments passed before she realized she was supposed to be choosing her opponent. Playing the moment off, she looked back to the teacher, paying little attention to the two students that seemed to be whispering feverishly to one another. "Um, can I just get a volunteer?" she asked the professor, who seemed to find the request somewhat amusing. Smirking she nodded to Hikaru and the young woman took that as her cue.

"Well?" she asked politely. She started focusing on clearing her mind once more and closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them, as relaxed as she was going to get. Standing before her was a purple robed girl that looked to be just about Hikaru's age. "Hello." the girl said in a warm tone. Hikaru realized she was one of the two that had been whispering several moments ago.

"Sorry about that." Hikaru said. "No offense but I'm just about dead on my feet here. I was just taking a moment to gather my thouhts." The girl flashed a winning smile and in a perky voice answered "Oh, its no trouble. I know what you mean. First day is always brutal." Hikaru couldn't help but grin. As they rolled up their sleeves and bowed to each other, she raised her wand in preperation and took a step forward.

Or tried to. Her foot was strangely glued in place. Try as she might, she found she couldn't step forward. Opening her mouth to say something, she suddenly found her jaw clamped shut and couldn't even utter the smallest of sounds. It was as if an invisible hand had clamped down tightly over her mouth gagging her. Looking to her opponent, she saw a sinister grin then heard the woman say in that same perky voice "I hope you take it easy on me. I'm not nearly as experienced as you."

Hikaru was livid. Not only was the girl cheating in a way that she couldn't even make obvious, but she was rubbing it in the woman's face! Staring the woman down, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw a young man tucking away his wand and wearing the biggest 'I've got your ass' grin she'd seen. It was the same young man that her oppnent had been talking to.

Hikaru began to panic. In her current state she wouldn't have been able to deflect more than the most basic of spells. Her mind ran in circles trying to find a way out when she saw Riku out of the corner of her eye. Lowering her wand she stood there waiting, her eyes sending a silent challenge to her opponent. The woman seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden change in Hikaru. Slowly stepping closer, the woman raised her wand and Hikaru met the action just as she cried out a stunning spell.

Suddenly very detached from herself, as if all this was happening to another person, Hikaru issued forth a spell of her own. Dozens of birds sprang forth from the tip of her wand, taking the full impact of the stun spell and falling to the ground. Only few seconds passed before they stopped and a few birds managed to get free into the classroom before Hikaru ended the spell. Her opponent flushed a dark shade of red at being stopped by a mere entertainment trick. Raising her wand she leveled it at Hikaru and began several motions that Hikaru knew by heart. The motions for the spell 'Reducio' a set of small circles with the tip wand followed by a straight jab.

As the woman began, Hikaru lazily traced her wand through the air in what looked like an hourglass without the bottom or a breast cancer awareness ribbon. The universal motion for the reflective spell. A spell that almost everyone knew. It was a high stakes bluff, but Hikaru had little other choice. She finished the act just as the woman began to shout "Red--" her voice suddenly dying in her throat. The last thing she wanted was to be blasted apart by her own spell. In a calm detachment Hikaru began to wonder two things. Did the teacher honestly believe Hikaru had enough experience that she didn't feel the need to interfere when her opponent began with such a dangerous spell? And did her opponent honestly believe Hikaru had the mental state to pull of such a spell?

Hikaru certainly wasn't about to risk her life on a spell she had never tried. And even if she did succeed, she wasn't sure it would be enough to stop such pure force. Lazily rolling her wrist, she mimicked the motions for the disarming spell, her opponent suddenly leaping clear of her front view entirely.

Shifting her weight, Hikaru suddenly realized she could move again. Her opponent seemed to busy trying to evade a non existan attack however. Playing along as if she were still helpless, she looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the man standing there with a hard expression on his face and excruciating pain written in his eyes. She didn't have time to figure it out.

An Idea suddenly popped into the woman's head. She just needed to get her opponent closer. She let her eyes drink in the room, keeping them focused on nothing for a split moment and seeing everything. The entire class seemed to be watching in rapt attention. As if a giant dragon might spring forth at any moment from one of the combatants. Hikaru had to struggle not to laugh. trying to imagine what the fight must look like to them. Pushing that aside, Hikaru called on the only spell that she knew of that required no words, just hand motions. Rolling her wrist, first back then forward, she aimed her wand just right of her opponent. A long stream of fire issued forth, stopping just shy of the edge of the ring. The fire was harmless, used for nothing more than writing in the air, but her opponent only saw a stream of flame moving toward her.

Leaping to her left, the young woman moved across the platform and Hikaru followed her with the 'flames' forcing her to get closer to her right side as she sought to dodge them. Suddenly stopping her reach just short of her shoulder, she saw the woman smile and stand up. Hikaru cut off the flames and began slowly reeling the woman in. "Thank you for not burning me." the woman said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Hikaru only stared. The woman took a slight step forward and raised her wand. As she went to utter a spell, Hikaru turned causing the woman to stutter and the spell dying on her lips. With a mental shout, Hikaru cast the binding spell. One of her all time favorites. Several lengths of rope shot out of the tip of her wand and ensnared the woman, her wand falling to the floor as the ropes pinned her arm tightly to her chest. As they continued to entangle the woman, winding their way around her neck and along her body, Hikaru looked over at Riku surprised to see the woman grinning. Looking back to her opponent, she smirked at the fact that one of the ropes had wedged itself between the woman's teeth several times as it wound around the back of her head, gagging her.

Hopping out of the ring and walking to Riku she said "That your doing?", her head tilting to the man struggling to control his composure.

Riku watched as Hikaru stepped into the dueling zone, not even a few seconds in she could tell something was wrong. Unsure of the source of the problem Riku began to look around the classroom at everyone. Her eyes fell on a man dressed in purple that had the tip of his wand pointed at Hikaru while he muttered incantations under his breath. Riku did a simple slash movement with her wand while pointing it at the man. He immediately grabbed his crotch and looked as if he were about to scream while his eyes watered and he let out a low groan that only the people around him could hear.

When Riku seen the girl get tied up at the hands of Hikaru a sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Yeah that was my doing that guy is a fucking cheater and so is that bitch who's tied up over there, they both deserved everything they got" ,Riku said in response to Hikaru's question.

Hikaru grinned and looked back to the blonde and red headed woman left struggling in the arena. Her eyes flicked to Riku and an image of her in that position flashed into her mind. Violently shoving the thought away she focused on what was happening around her. The man that had been helping her had suddenly collapsed to the ground and was curled up on himself. Good, she thought, I hope it burns clean off.

Grinning back at Riku once more she spoke in a low voice "How long's that going to last?" The professor had already stooped next to the man and was having a couple students pick him up and take him down to the nurses office. Standing up she looked over to Hikaru and said "I know things are a little exciting, but aren't you forgetting something?" Hikaru arched her eyebrows and the woman pointed to the bound captive in the ring. "Oh!" said Hikaru in mock surprise. She hadn't had any plans for freeing the woman but she could see that if she didn't it would create an issue.

"I'm sorry!" she said and lept into the ring. Smiling she crouched down next to the woman and picked her head up off the floor. In a low voice she said "Next time you try something like that, I will make sure you spend several nights learning to regret it..." Smiling she released the woman, her wand sucking the ropes back in, before standing up and walking out of the arena.

She had just made an enemy, and didn't even know her name.

Riku watched as Hikaru untied the girl, even though she thought the girl should be left there for at least the rest of the night she said nothing. She waited for Hikaru to finish up so that they could leave together. When Hikaru made her way back Riku looked at her, "That was pretty good for not knowing to much about silent spells, I can teach you a bit if you want" ,she suggested when they were out of hearing distance from the teacher. "Come on classes are over now we can have a break".

She nods silently following Riku into the hallway. Well out of earshot of her teacher and other classmates she finally replies. "That would be great. To bad she made me untie that bitch..." Hikaru couldn't help but imagine Riku helpless, her gaze set on Hikaru. Shoving the image from her head once more, she asked "So when do you want to start? I have nothing else to do. Except exploring the campus."

Walking with Riku she watched the various people passing by wondering just how this year was going to turn out. She just wanted a little peace, but that never seemed to be the case when she was around.

"We can start whenever you want I also have nothing to do right now or for the rest of the night as a matter of fact, you're pretty much my only friend around here" ,Riku said in response. "I'm a bit hungry though so can we eat before we do anything else, classes really took a toll on me today" ,Riku asked. Her stomach growled loudly, the girl was always hungry and whenever she was overly active it made her hunger even worse. "So what did you think of the dueling teacher, she seems like a bitch to me I dunno maybe it was just because she was a bit snotty with how she approached me about how I duel today ,then again maybe I was wrong in not stating the spells". Riku's mind was racing she had never been so offended in her life and Andrew didn't help any but at least she got to take care of him.

"Whoa whoa WHOA!" She said, stopping and holding her hands up at the woman. "I get it, your pissed at her. But please don't go murdering my language by speaking so fast you start creating new words." Laughing she hooked her arm through the woman's right elbow and pulled her along. "Come on! Lets get some grub.... preferably the dead kind." laughing again she heads towards the mess hall with Riku in tow and hunts around for a table. "Oh kaaaay..." she says as she immediately notices two groups of people begin starring them down. At the center of one was the woman and boy who had tried to tag team her in the arena. In the other was Andrew and a few lunkheads whom she didn't know.

"Yeah... I think we have admirers." she said rolling her eyes. Releasing the woman's arm she slips into the nearest table then looks up at Riku. "What're we gonna do about them? I say we hang them from their underwear."

Riku's look of anger turned into a smile and she allowed herself to laugh at Hikaru's joke. As they walked to the mess hall Riku kept a hold of Hikaru's arm, she rather enjoyed it. When they got there she noticed the stares from numerous people. "I guess we do have some admirers, didn't know two people could get so famous in only a few days" ,Riku said in response before sitting down next to Hikaru. When the food came Riku wasted no time in eating it. "Oh man that is so much better, so when did you want to practice? Like I said I've got nothing to do at all"? She asked as she continued to eat her food.

Digging in, she smiled and tried to keep herself from going nuts on her food. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until actually diving in. Finishing her meal, she waited for Riku and eyed the two groups not three tables away. Andrew's group seemed to be whispering and occasionally casting glances their way. But her unnamed foes appeared to just ignore them resoundly, only making the overly boisterous comment about how pathetic 'some blues' where. Hikaru only rolled her eyes and returned her attentions to the first group.

She really wanted to hear what they were saying, but the den of the mess hall was far to loud. She knew they were plotting something. They were acting to shifty for her tastes. Most of them were greens, while a few were purples. She took note of the faces there so that should anything happen, she would at least know who to look for. She wasn't worried about the green's too much. If Riku's recount of their skills were anything, then chances are they would fireball themselves or end up turning themselves into a puddle of green goo. Shrugging she said to Riku "We can start after this, unless you want to get a quick nap in first."

"Hmm a nap does sound nice but I kinda don't want to leave you I haven't had this much fun with anyone in a long time" ,Riku admitted in response. She knew she probably sounded really stupid and she put her head down again, kicking herself for mentioning that she wanted to hang out with the girl more. "Sorry I probably sound like a jack ass and slightly stalkerish" ,Riku began to eat from what was now her second plate. She kept looking over at Hikaru, the thoughts that ran through Riku's head were far from proper and she could feel herself get a little uneasy as they sat there. "It's up to you really I can stay up and help you out a bit or I can take a quick nap and then we can meet up unless you just want to...." ,Riku stopped mid sentence. She was about to suggest taking a nap together not in the same bed but the same room, she knew it would come out wrong so she just took a bite of food and shut her mouth.

Pushing her plate aside to show she was done, she picked up her cup and drained the last of the tea in it. Standing up she flashed a grin at Riku. "We can start now if you want, or we can wait until its a little privater around so that we don't have gawkers watching us." Pausing for a second she tried to remember the school map but couldn't recall all of the details. "I'm thinking," she said slowly as the idea pieced itself together and she tested it, "That after my grandiose speech today, it would be better if we kept this out of sight."

Better for who? The thought rang out in her head and she struggled for a moment to link it to anything. Failing miserably at the task she simply pushed it aside. "Well whenever you're ready." she said as she peeked into her bag to check on Chidori. She was suddenly very curious about the woman's unfinished thought and looked at her quizzically. "Or we could do what?" she prompted.

Damn she had noticed, there was no way that Riku couldn't say what she was going to now, "Well....erm I was thinking....if you were tired as well....we could take a nap together....I mean there is a specific house for people to have sleepovers so to speak in....I mean we wouldn't be sharing a bed or anything, unless you wanted too" ,Riku slapped a hand against her forehead, what the fuck was wrong with her she was hitting on the girl and not even meaning to. "Not that you would that was a stupid comment maybe I do need a rest" ,Riku said trying to cover up what she had just said.

She couldn't help but giggle into her hand, trying her hardest to stop knowing it was probably making the woman uncomfortable. "Come on." She said trying to ignore the images dancing around in her head. "Lets get a quick nap in." As they rose to leave, she noticed a few of the Andrew pack get up as well. Ignoring them she contemplated more pressing matters as they left, Riku leading the way. Why was she having thoughts like a cat in heat? She figured it had more to do with Riku being one of the few female friends she had that hadn't run her off. Plus her being cute didn't help any. Hikaru just planned to keep her likes to herself for now. It was best not to open that door just yet. As she thought on it, several memories flooded through her that she really didn't need.

She left the mess hall with Riku, letting her lead since she seemed to have a better handle on the campus. She must have spent their first days here exploring it. Hikaru had been to busy trying to settle in to do anything of the sort. She had wanted to go to the observatory, but hadn't had the chance. She made a mental note to check it out this weekend.

Riku sighed when she noticed the girl giggling into her hand, she led the way to the multipurpose building and opened the door. No one else was in there except for what sounded like a couple in one of the rooms down the hall. Her eyes widened that was the last thing she needed to hear, two people having sex while she was having some very nasty thoughts about her new friend. Riku grabbed Hikaru's hand and led her to a room and shut the door behind them then cast a spell to make the loud moans of the female down the hall go away. "How hard is it to put a silencing charm on your room, ugh" ,she said under her breath. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes then took a deep breath before sitting down on one of the two beds in the room.

Hikaru was thinking the same thing. A pink tinge colored her cheeks as she struggled to put her own demons to rest. This what NOT what she needed. Walking over to the bed she nearly sat on the woman; not noticing she had sat down already, before leaping up and looking at her "Sorry bout that." she said suddenly finding everything funny. Giggling she shook her head and took a moment to get herself together. "I'm surprised that the Headmaster just allows people to carry on like that. It make you wonder what kind of person he is."

The words 'really smart or really fucking stupid' flashed through her head and she couldn't help but grin at them.

Riku bit her lip when Hikaru nearly sat on her lap, she couldn't help but look the girl over while she was so close and nearly bent over due to nearly sitting down. "Well I suppose he figures we're all adults here so we shouldn't really have any limits when it comes to that stuff, I mean we're here for a year before we get a vacation, some people may need a release" ,Riku said in response to Hikaru's comment. Her heart was racing and her breathing was kind of heavy and she was sweating a bit. The room wasn't the biggest room so no matter how much they tried they would be close to each other. Riku loosened her tie and removed it before taking off her sweater vest and button up shirt leaving her in a tanktop and black slacks, she then kicked off her shoes and laid down. She of course didn't think anything of stripping in front of the woman she was used to sleeping in boxers and a tank top so having her pants still on was something new for Riku.

Looking around the small room, she slipped from her robe and stepped out of her shoes. Peeling off her socks the then fought with the sweater and neck tie. Fumbling with it she growled "Why the hell would I need a neck tie? Are they wanting me to strangle someone?" she asked in her frustration. Finally getting the thing free, she looked at Riku stretched out on the bed.

"Hoss. Scoot over." she said then stepped aside to show that there wasn't another bed in the room. "Looks like we picked the wrong room." Climbing into the bed she lay with her back to the wall with Riku facing her. "Sorry if its too cozy or cramped. I don't want to have to hear them going at it in order to get a new room."

Riku looked around when Hikaru told her to move over, now she really felt stupid for picking a room with only one bed and it wasn't a huge bed at that. She moved over and let Hikaru climb into bed with her, she pulled the blankets over both of them before laying down and closing her eyes still facing her friend. She felt oddly comfortable laying there with Hikaru, the girl put off a good vibe and she made Riku feel like she was actually liked by someone, something Riku had never really experienced.

Hikaru lay there for a long while watching Riku. She had her eyes closed and only a few inches separated them. She felt something white hot spike through her chest as she pondered the situation. A feeling she knew like the back of her hand. Biting her lip she ducked her chin towards her chest slightly while keeping her eyes on the woman. 'If I just moved a little closer.' she thought to herself. That's all she needed was a few inches. She could always pretend it was an accident if the woman took offense or got upset, right? But she couldn't. She could do alot of things but this wasn't one of them. She would go toe to toe with an entire room bent on killing her, but she couldn't do this.

'Its not like its anything bad.' she tried to reason with herself, but that same pain flared up brightly inside of her; keeping her in place. Closing her eyes; having once more lost to the foe, she just lay there. Eventually sleep took her and she was glad Riku hadn't seen her personal struggles.

Riku laid there silently unaware of anything going on around her, she drifted off to sleep rather quickly. She was a pretty calm sleeper and meant no harm when her arm wrapped around Hikaru, she was used to cuddling a pillow while she slept and when she reached out to grab for the pillow she had ended up cuddling up to Hikaru instead. Her body relaxed into the woman and she buried her head into her pillow and continued to sleep, unaware of what she was doing.

Hikaru felt something warm against her. Her dreams suddenly invaded by the feel of a warm body against hers. Instinctively she shrank into it, murmuring softly in her sleep. Sleep was the only time she got to feel such a thing. It was little wonder why she hated waking up. Her left hand rested against the woman's collarbone as her body molded with that of the woman's. Her dreams taking on a sudden tinge, she buried her face into he woman's shoulder and drifted even deeper into the unconscious world.

Riku unknowingly held Hikaru close to her, one arm around the girl's waist and the other underneath her pillow. She had some very nice dreams as she lay sleeping comfortably for the first time in days. Not even the sleeping potion put her into this good of a sleep and right now she didn't want to move from where she was. The feel of someone so close the warm breath on her chest as the girl cuddled into her shoulder. Even if Riku wasn't aware of how close they were consciously in her dreams they were inseparable. Yes the woman definitely had caught Riku's attention so much so that she was dreaming about her, she would never let anyone find out about this and only hoped she didn't talk in her sleep while Hikaru was laying next to her.