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“Stay away!”
She screamed, thrashing against the beast pinned above her. But it was futile. The beast was much bigger and much much more stronger than her.
She closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing she could do but to just lay there and accept her fate.
The beast opened up its huge mouth, ready to sink its teeth into the frail body underneath.
“RIKO-CHAN!”
“And then I woke up. It was so scary!” Pouting as she explain her nightmare the previous night to the two other girls opposite her. Chika and You looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.
“H-Hey! Its not funny alright!”
“I’m sorry Riko-chan but-“
Chika couldn’t finish her sentence before exploding into another wave of laughter. You wiped a single tear that escaped her eye, “Riko-chan. Dogs are not THAT scary!”.
“You don’t know that!” Chika and You looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes. “Okay Riko-chan. Come over to the Gryffindor common room after class today!”
Taking in a deep breath, gathering up all the courage she needed, Riko closes her eyes as she slowly stretches out her right hand towards— “AHHH I CAN’T!” Riko retracted her right arm and kept it close to her chest and moved away from the beast in front of her.
“Come on Riko-chan. Shiitake doesn’t bite. See? I am completely,” You stretches the beast’s face, “fine,” puts her hand into the beast’s mouth, “COMPLETELY FINE!”
“AHH YOU-CHAN!” Riko covered her eyes with her hands, she couldn’t bear to watch her friend get eaten by the beast. “Riko-chan.” A pair of hands pried her hands of her eyes and Riko slowly opened her eyes. You was holding up both her hands, showing Riko that her hands are both completely intact. “See? I’m okay. I still have my hands.” You slowly lean towards Riko, stretching her hands towards Riko’s head.
Kabedon??? Riko started to blush. She backed away until her back hits the sofa edge. YABAI. She was weak to kabedon and You is an incredibly attractive friend of hers. She may not have any feelings for You but she would definitely NOT mind being kabedon-ed by one of the most popular girls in school—
“Ahh Chika must have dropped her hair clip on this sofa. That dolt...What would she do if she lost this forever. Speaking of which, WHERE IS SHE? Jeez. Wasn’t she the one who suggested to come over to the Gryffindor’s common room.”
Blinking, Riko turned around to look at You’s hand. Chika’s mikan hair clip.
Riko couldn’t be more embarrassed right now.
Taking a walk around the school before the sun comes up helps Riko to calm her mind. Once in awhile she would wake up an hour or two earlier than she usually would to take a walk around the school, and maybe catch the sunrise. The fresh morning air greeted Riko as she stepped out of the huge doors of Hogwarts. Looking around, she saw no one and decided to walk towards the fountain in the middle. She sat down and took in a deep breath, trying to clear her head of yesterday’s events.
She had mistaken You’s action but thank god that girl can be a little dense at times. You didn’t notice the colour on Riko’s cheeks and continued to ramble on about Chika who was supposed to be with them but was missing. Chika. Riko chuckled to herself. She should have known that You would never do such things to her because despite what You says, Riko knows that You is in love with Chika. Riko might have only been friends with those two for a month or so, she could tell that the both of them were inseparable. Chika is much more denser than You so Riko knows that Chika probably doesn’t realise how much she affects You. But You was much more easier to read. Riko read enough doujinshi in her spare time to notice the signs. The blushes, the constant mention of the other person, and the longing look whenever the other wasn’t around. Riko can see that You has fallen hard. However, she also know that You might never confess to Chika. “Is that why You isn’t in Gryffindor…” Feeling a little determined to see them together, she decided that she might need to push these two idiots a little. Just a little.
A rustling sound behind Riko startled her. She was pretty sure there wasn’t anyone outside with her. Turning around to look for the source of sound, Riko spotted a black object moving about in a pile of leaves. She patted around her robe to only realise that she left her wand up in her room. She could walk away but curiosity got the better of her. Gathering up what little courage she have, Riko picked up a long wooden stick near her and slowly moved towards the moving black object. Right as Riko was about to poke the object with the stick, it jumped out of the piles of leaves. Terrified of what it is, Riko closed her eyes and swing the stick down on the object with all her might.
“OUCH!”
Opening her eyes, Riko stared at where her stick came in contact with. A person’s back???
“Oh my god! I am so sorry! Are you okay?” Feeling guilty of potentially actually hurting someone, Riko rushed towards the person, trying to examine if there was any injury.
The other person slowly turned around, in her arms was a puppy, the black object.
Before Riko could say anything, the other person held the puppy closer to her body and shouted, “How could you? IT'S JUST A PUPPY.”
“Y-yoshiko?”
Ever since Riko transferred to Hogwarts, she has been randomly bumping into Yoshiko around the school. Yoshiko was younger than her so Riko didn’t really get to know the girl even though she was sure that Chika are friends with her. Apparently the girl was rather famous in school for being different. She heard rumours saying that the girl meddled in dark magic but Chika told her that not to listen to what other people are saying. Riko didn’t bother much with all the rumours people say about this girl in front of her but she definitely would agree that this girl is different.
“IT’S YOHANE! And don’t avoid the question!”
The other girl was angry and Riko could tell. Panicking that Yoshiko would think that she is an animal abuser, Riko quickly tried to explain, “No it is not what you think! I-I-I…I just…”
Seeing that the other girl is struggling with her words, Yoshiko sighed and turned away, “You know what, it’s okay. It doesn’t matter anyways. What’s important is that Laelaps is okay. Thank the heavens that I made it in time before you actually hit him.”
Riko knows that it is not okay. She doesn’t want to let Yoshiko walk away thinking that she is one of the worst kind of human on earth, a scum that abuses animals for fun. She had to say something before Yoshiko walks away. Anything.
“Yohane!”
Shocked that someone actually called her by her actual name, Yoshiko slowly turned around to look at Riko.
“I’m sorry! I… I didn’t know it was a puppy. I wouldn’t have… I just… I am sorry for trying to hurt your pet…”
Yoshiko hugged Laelaps tighter to her body and slowly sat down on the ground. Taking it as a sign that Yoshiko wants to talk, Riko followed suit and sat down on the ground, although a little further away from Yoshiko because she is still afraid of dogs.
“Laelaps isn’t my pet…”
“Ehh?”
“I just… found him here the other day. He probably belongs to someone in school but it has been days and he is still here. I just… come over to check on him every on and then. He’s alone you know? I just couldn’t leave him alone here.”
Not knowing what to really say, Riko just listens on. She haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to Yoshiko like this and to be honest, it is refreshing to see the other girl in another light. Not the fallen angel antic she always does, not the dark magic user in the rumours, just an ordinary girl who is worried about a cute lost puppy and was willing to take a hit for it.
“S-so yeah. I, Yohane, have decided to then make him the hound of hell!”
And she is back to being Yohane.
Riko chuckled to herself and Yoshiko looked at her, “H-hey why are you laughing!”
“It’s nothing, Yohane!”
“It’s YOSHIKO!”
“EHH??”
Riko laughed out louder. This girl is definitely different. A good different. And Riko would like to know her more.