Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 5: Amid the Ghost Blossoms

[Teal Mage]

Ripples marred the glass-like surface of Lake Athos as Sao's steps slowed to a stop. A mere two spear-lengths now separated the pale water spirit from the white-robed interloper. Fangs bared in a low growl, Kohana's wolf familiar stood before the undine, dark eyes fixed on the unnatural white of the specter's robes. Cautious and uneasy, Diana followed a few paces behind Sao – while Hermes waited back on the lake's shore behind them. The clearing was nearly silent, as the moon approached its zenith. Five minutes and forty seconds remained before the appointed time – and still, the figure before them had not spoken.

Yet, this close, certain details were now clear. Where the being the from the night before had been androgynous in build, now it had taken on an decidedly more feminine shape - with broad hips and a full chest. So too were its robes different - the material looked lighter and bore a black black checkered trim. There was even a fold in the middle of its body, perhaps held shut by a hidden clasp, where the robes could likely be opened. Finally, Sao thought she could detect the a pair lips parted in a faint smile – though the shadows were too see much else.

It did not appear that any greeting would be forthcoming.

* * *

With a wistful smile, Cassie offered the rifle to Nate. "Do you want to try now?"

"Uh," Nate hesitated for a moment, before putting on an eager smile and reaching out for the weapon, "sure! I'll let you pick the prize, ka –"

"Hold on!" In a glittering arc, the bright silver point of a black-hafted spear slashed down to interpose itself between Nate's reaching hand and the weapon Cassie held. With a deft and precise movement, the weapon slammed into the brown haired boy's chest, electing a grunt of pain as it forced him to stumble aside. A moment later, a dark haired girl in a ridiculous helm adorned with a pair of long red feathers that, after rising a foot above her head, arced gracefully down and fell to her ankles, muscled her way in between them. She turned a baleful gaze on Nate.

"That's no way for a prince to act!" Claire declared, thrusting her free hand accusingly at Nate. She spun toward Cassie in a flurry of feathers as the golden light from inside the vendor's booth glinted off the gold and red lacquered panels of her breastplate and shoulder pads. Her eyes appraised the scarlet robed girl critically, then, with a satisfied nod, she turned back to Nate. "Hold my spear!"

It was not a request.

Now unencumbered, Claire planted her hands on her armoured hips and gave Cassie a flat look, before jabbing her chest with an accusatory finger, "You're giving up too easily blind girl!" Without further preamble, she snatched the firearm from the blond's hand and, in a smooth motion, raised it to her shoulder. Her eyes flickered between the three stacks of bottles. "Just gotta know where to aim." She added.

And closed her eyes.

Crack, crack, crack!

As three stacks of bottles toppled, taken down in a lightning quick series of three precise shots, Claire spun toward Cassie again, this time offering her the gun. "You can do it too! Come on, take the gun and shoot like a girl!" The dark haired girl snapped a glare at the vendor, "You! Stop reaching for prizes and get those bottles set up! That was a tutorial, jeeze!"

"…of course." Nate muttered, wincing and still curled in on his spear-abused stomach. "No one ever expects Lu Bu..."

* * *

"If you're gonna be a killjoy about it," Naomi stated, breezing away from Ayumi with an easy-going over-the-shoulder wave, "then I'll challenge her by myself." Hurriedly, she stuffed the remnants of her supper into her mouth and chewed meaningfully. Though small, the food alleviated the tinges of a building headache quickly - not to mention raised the green WP bar on her tournament bangle by a few points.

Across the courtyard, the girl's aura flashed suddenly. Silver hair flashing in the bronze-light cast by the booth at her back, her head snapped up from her sketchpad - and fell directly on Naomi. The girl's wide eyes blinked once, before straying toward her bangle. A soft yelp of alarm escaped her, as she scrambled to her feet, sketchbook clutched to her chest.

By then, of course, Naomi was already half-way to her.

"Naomi!" From behind her, Ayumi had unfolded her arms and cupped a hand by her mouth. "Don't underestimate her too much!" The dark haired girl called, before breathing a chuckle and relaxing her stance. With a smile on her lips, she grasped Karen by the sleeve and began to drag her of toward another booth. Though she remained silent, Karen frowned in Naomi's direction the whole way. Perhaps she was worried?

Her own silver locks reflecting the faint blue light from the hanging lanterns within the court at her back, Naomi drew to a stop before the white robed girl. The girl's expression seemed pained, as her purple eyes regarded her blue garbed opponent with obvious trepidation. Around her body, a quickly fluctuating and thin band of deep black-crimson made her nerves - and preparation for battle - obvious.

Something about her seemed...familiar.

"You really want to spend your time drawing during the festival?" Naomi asked, offering the girl a warm smile as her blue eyes flickered to the sketchbook. Her smile widened - though a hint of coldness slipped through, as she nodded toward the revealed edge of the girl's bangle. "How about a duel so that your tournament bangle doesn't go to waste?" Idly, she noted that a web of vivid and bright purple lace bordered the screen of the silver haired girl's bangle.

Strange.

"I'd..." The girl seemed to flinch back at Naomi's words. "...rather not." She breathed softly, purple eyes watching the ground at Naomi's feet. Her white robes - which bore elaborate dark purple embroidery over the hems and seams, Naomi could now see - rustled faintly, as the girl backed off a step. The girl's eyes shifted right, toward a lane of booths that lead away from the food court, and deeper into the Festival.

It looked like she was about to run.

* * *

The smile on Emme's face widened marginally as her green eyes regarded the girl in front of her. Verna's soft laughter ended a few moments later, as she met Emme's gaze with a shy look of her own. The redhead's hand was still raised before her mouth and not-quite hiding her own smile, which only grew wider as Emme broke eye contact to speak with her companion.

"Sorry, Nasir, if you don't mind...?" When objections did not seem forthcoming, Emme offered a nod of understanding. "I will be with you shortly and we can complete a tour of the carnival." The darkly garbed girl pushed herself to her feet, box of Chinese food held in one hand still. Verna slid back a pace, giving maid room as she navigated out from behind the picnic table and collected her broom.

Green eyes met red ones.

"Verna Lehy," Emme stated clearly, sliding back a pace as she took up a position opposite her white robed roomie. "I accept your challenge."

Bright red letters flashed the glowing screens on each girl's yellow tournament bangle. The electronically synthesized voice of a woman chimed out the words, "Duel Accepted! Establishing Barrier Field." Lines, writ in the blue light of magic, expanded suddenly from the space between the girls – as Emme launched her Chinese food box at Verna. The spell array, a complex mandala of straight lines within a series of circles, was completed moments later in a flash of brilliant light.

"Battle start!"

Verna ducked the thrown box, yellow aura flaring bright. Emme had already kicked off the packed dirt below and was closing rapidly, broom poised to strike. Twisting and jumping back, Verna hurled a sphere of orange and gold flames from her dominant hand toward Emme. Yellow light flashed from the black robed maiden's body in the next instance, as the flame bolt slammed into her midsection.

White hot pain seared into the girl, as Verna landed – and stumbled – to a stop three paces back. Perhaps with a gasp of pain – had this been a true battle, the bolt would have left her stomach a mass of horribly burned flesh – Emme stumbled to her knees. Amid the waves of burning psychic pain that rolled from her midsection, the yellow light of her modeshift faltered and gutted – it hurt.

A smile split Verna's face, caste blue by the ghostly light filling the air. Her yellow aura rose again, twisting and writhing around her body as she backed off slowly. A faint chuckle escaped her throat, as her eyes, turned a red-purple in the lantern light, moved to rest on the maid. "What?" Her smile was tight, "Little too real for ya?"

Her crackling aura flared. "Too bad!" Another bolt of flames snapped from Verna's hand, flashing toward the recovering girl's position.

* * *

A frown appearing on her light ashen skinned face, Nikola accepted the letter. "An…event?" She asked, pushing the creased paper open one handed. The pale girl leaned her head to the side so the light of the lantern hanging in the narrow aisle behind her could illuminate the page properly. Behind her spectacles, her dark grey eyes scanned the purple inked letter – and her frown deepened.

"…how can I hel -?"

The rasp of edged metal grinding against itself cut her off. In a blur of white motion, the cloth shrouded being sprang to its feet – and pointed a thick bladed and wicked tipped kitchen knife at Nikola's ash coloured throat. Time seemed to still for a moment, with the two pale figures locked in their tableau.

"…what?" Nikola breathed.

It was only then that Jo's eyes noticed the bright yellow bangle on Nikola's wrist, hidden before by the long sleeves of her kimono. Black lace, shaped in the likeness of waves, lapped gently around the screen in the object's center – which proclaimed, in lines of red and green, the total will and health of its barer. In the bottom corner of the bangle, a black number designated clearly the number of points Nikola had garnered – zero.

"Ahahahahahah!" Nikola's Landry Bangle crowed, in an electronically synthesized laugh that sounded unnervingly like Professor Landry's own. "Duel accepted!" Dark light flashed out from the white ninja and pale ghost in a complex network of straight lines within a series of circles – a black mirror of the fields generated by true tournament bangles.

The ninja leapt at Nikola, knife lashing out. In the next instant, the girl's inhuman flesh seemed to part around the steely blade and her aura flashed with demonic power. Her features eroded and lost clarity, as she splashed to the dirt below, reduced to a mass of pale fluid. The ninja pasted through and over her, slipping like a ghost into the cloth covered side of the vendor's booth beyond.

A moment later, her ice cream hit the ground with a splat.

From the puddle, demonic light flared again. Whole, untouched and dry as she had been a mere moment ago, Nikola rose from its depths. Her hand shook as she laid her finger against the button on her bangle. Darkness splashed inside of her yellow aura, as a silver revolver formed within her grasp. Panting softly, the Rusalka backed off slowly from the booth – the ninja had yet to remerge from it.

* * *

Yellow radiance blossomed into the night air. In a breath, the immaterial mass of demonic light, still so far down the path, lit up like a sun in the night. A sharp crack pierced the night, as motes of darkness danced within Sean's otherwise yellow aura. The radiance seemed to falter, dimming for an instant, as another ghost-slaying bullet slammed into its immaterial body. As if curling in around the wound, the light began to pull inward –

Crack!

Light sprayed out, like liquid scattered by a powerful blow. Further up the path, Kohana's ears flicked, in response to a sound only he could hear. The being's aura flared with renewed intensity, as thick glittering streams of yellow energy power flowed out from its center, only to come together an instant later, as if wrapping around something that wasn't there.

"Okay it seems I'm shooting at jello here." Sean muttered, obviously frustrated. He held himself back from another shot.

In the next breath, the light from the approaching spirit flared near blindly bright.

Crack!

The light gutted. Darkness rushed into the path with a vengeance at the sudden contrast, leaving Dal and Sean blinking rapidly in the nearly renewed gloom. The loss of the sun-like globe of shadowless-light left afterimages burned into both of their magically sensitive eyes. For several precious moments, they were both near blind.

And then, when their vision cleared, a dark outline became visible in the faint light of the scattered ghost-blossoms.

It was coming closer.

* * *

Wordlessly, the hand atop the neatly piled stack of cards tightened. The fortune teller withdrew the deck from the tabletop and out of the collective site of Jo and Jack. In the moments that followed, the quiet sounds of lacquered paper sliding against itself mingled with the music filling the tent. A narrow band of darkness seeped from robed being – the smoothness of the aura betrayed as little emotion as the figure's shadow swathed face.

Then, the deck was back on the table. As the teller's youthful hand came to rest atop it, the dark aura around its body expanded – a deep, dark red-orange colour spreading through it. With faint snaps, three cards were drawn from the deck and set face-down on the purple table-cloth. Dark red-orange light surrounded each in a faint band.

The teller's hand moved over the first and second without hesitation. "The future…" The voice was decidedly female and suddenly no longer touched by age – yet almost obscured by the pulsing electronic music filling the room, "…is what we seek." At the whispered words, the coronas of light around the first two cards were scattered into glittering motes. A pair of fingers touched down on the third card. There was a faint snap, as she flipped over the flower and vine backed card, and laid it on the table.

Dark red-orange light scattered.

A field of purple mingled blue met their eyes. Twin goblets of wrought gold dominated the card, each filled to the brim with dark purple fluid. A band of stark blood red cloth was looped around each of their stems, slopping gently down to a knot that connected the cups. Just below that knot, a single drop of deep red fluid hung suspended in the air.

"The card of commitment." She whispered softly, bowing her cowled head. "Reversed." The woman's hand moved up, then gently drew back the cowl of her hood – revealing the smooth face of a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties. Her long hair was matted and grey-blue in the light of the tent – though both Jo and Jack knew it should be a white-silver – and the traces of a swollen bruise were still visible over her right eye – a parting gift from her last encounter with Professor Landry.

The bruise, at least, explained the hood.

"I am sorry." Professor Leanne Silverstein, Professor of Q-10 and alias Madame Lala, stated, expression sorrowed. "It does not look good."

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sean cringed as the light faded, and blinked several times as his eyes adjusted. He took in a deep breath and steadied himself before squinting down the path.

‘Still there.’

His breathing was starting to heavy, and his head was starting to ache, but he had to keep up the attack if he wanted to stop it. He set the rifle down and pointed his arm down the path, lining the specter with his view.

The air around Sean grew frigid as a yellow mist floated around him. His eyes narrowed under his glasses as bits of snow and ice circulated.

“C’mon, just one more strike...”

[Zoological Uncertainty]

"Are you alright Nate?" Cassie asked worriedly, inferring from the grunt that the loud newcomer had treated him a little roughly.

The same newcomer jabbed her chest with an accusatory finger, "You're giving up too easily blind girl!" Without further preamble, she snatched the firearm from the blond's hand. "Just gotta know where to aim." She added.

Crack, crack, crack!

Cassie heard the bottles topple and felt the rifle being slightly pushed against her as Claire offered it. "You can do it too! Come on, take the gun and shoot like a girl!" Then, "You! Stop reaching for prizes and get those bottles set up! That was a tutorial, jeeze!"

"You... do realize being blind means I can't see the bottles, right?" Cassie asked the girl curiously, completely oblivious to the fact that Claire had her eyes closed when she fired. "You're obviously a very good shot, but I can't pull that off."

"…of course." Nate muttered. "No one ever expects Lu Bu..."

Cassie's head turned sideways quizzically. "I don't get the reference."

[Dracorion]

"I am sorry." Professor Leanne Silverstein, Professor of Q-10 and alias Madame Lala, stated, expression sorrowed. "It does not look good."

Jack let the pause go on, allowing Silverstein's announcement to sink in. Then... "Oh, okay then." He said deadpan, then moved forward to stand next to Jo. "I'm sorry about what Professor Landry did, Professor Silverstein." The Wizard said softly to the bruised fortune teller.

"My turn then." He said. Yet, Jack hesitated before speaking. After a moment, he just gulped and opened his mouth. "Alright." But then he stopped again. It seemed the boy was conflicted about whether or not he really wanted to ask. Still, he did manage to blurt it out.

"Can you tell me why I was abandoned in front of an orphanage when I was a baby?" That had to have been terribly unoriginal even back then.

[Girasol of Chaos]

The silence made Shin a little self-conscious about her eating, especially after the rather pathetic attempt at changing the topic. She finished the food and stacked the leftover debris- a bowl, spoon, skewer sticks, a napkin- in a neat pile to the side of her table.

"You know Jo, you ain't half bad." Expression distant, crimson eyes fell on the Jotuun, "You can put up a fight, make good food and you've got clones runnin around to do crap for ya." A small smile cracked on her face as something solidified in her mind.

"There's some fucked up shit goin on here, and I dunno what it is yet." The ogress nodded, processing the information that was catching up to her. "If you're ever in trouble, I mean really in deep shit, call me."

"I'll come runnin." The oni glanced at the bandages covering her stump, then tried to focus on something, anything else, "At least, I'll try."

After a pause she offered a wave with her hand, as if it would dispel the dark thoughts, "But enough of that shit. What channels do we get in here?" She gestured to the rather large television, which was currently off.

[Krylo]

Dal held his left arm out from his side at, roughly, a forty-five degree angle, and closed his hand about nothing that became something, as his aura began to flare around him. In a moment he was holding his silver rapier at his side, his body still relaxed and a cocky grin on his face.

"Don't over exert yourself too much, Sean," he said flicking his eyes to the boy for just a moment before locking them on the approaching ghost. "You don't want to get all worn down before the ritual even starts."

[Aldurin]

Naomi took a moment to piece together what didn't seem right, and then it hit her.
"Sieglind? Wow, I didn't realize you were this good with costuming."
She took a step closer to get a better look at the costume and the bangle that he was wearing. Something about how it the bangle was colored seemed off, but many things were off in this school so she didn't give it too much thought.

"You aren't nervous about dueling are you? Well you should at least try challenging someone, here I'll show you how to do it. Then I want you to challenge at least one person before you're done tonight." She thought this would be a good experience for Sieglind to try something new as a growing opportunity, and possibly make new friends aside from the few quiet people he hung out with.

Naomi took a step back, "Just walk up to someone and challenge them like so," she pointed at him and said with intent and power in her voice, "Sieglind! I challenge you to a duel!"

[Arhra]

"You know Jo, you ain't half bad." Shin said, "You can put up a fight, make good food and you've got clones runnin around to do crap for ya." The ogress made up her mind on something. "There's some fucked up shit goin on here, and I dunno what it is yet. "If you're ever in trouble, I mean really in deep shit, call me."

"I'll come runnin'. At least, I'll try."

Jo didn't know what to say. Shin still had such generosity, even in the midst of such terrible things.

"But enough of that shit. What channels do we get in here?" Shin said, waving at the TV.

Jo shook her head, to clear her thoughts. She ran one hand from her loose hair in a nervous gesture. "Sorry, I'm all over the place tonight." she said, trying to change the conversation. "I've just found out that I'm destined for boy trouble and one of my friends could be going away."

She stood, intent on decisive action. "Anyway, let's see about those clothes."

Feeling the need to assert some control over even just a little bit of the world, Jo glided over to the television and switched it own - some inconsiderate person had turned the television off at the screen instead of with the remote - and marched over to a cupboard.

Sliding it open, she started flicking through the hospital gowns hanging within. Pulling out one or two to assess their size against her own kimono-clad body, she finally selected one of the pale blue garments and flourished it with triumph.

"Haha!" Jo declared, hading back to the bed's side. "This should fit." Fashion Club's grueling lessons in estimating someone's measurements at a glance had paid off. "Now we'll just have to convince people you're a hospital patient."

Even with Shin down one arm, Jo still found it hard to believe.

[Riin Whitewind]

For the second time in as many nights, Sao found herself standing in front of the spectre in white. Skin crawling, she tilted her head to the side in an image of concern. "No hello for me tonight, Spectre?" Her tone was light, genial. Something felt different about tonight's visitation – the hatred that Sao had previously felt from the curse-being was… lessened. Threads of confusion wound their way around her terror and anger – This thing had taken Shin's arm! – staying her hand. She didn't strike – yet.

Sao's free hand was clasped loosely around Diana's, but the other gripped the wire hilt of the ritual dagger tightly enough to leave indentations in her palm. Her pulse raced, but damned if she was going to let Diana see how afraid she was. The ritual had to be done, and Sao couldn't manage it if Di didn't trust her. She continued, "Did I cause some offense to you?"

Within its hood, the being's hidden face rose - drowning its visage completely in shadow once again. Yellow light flickered around its body for an instant. A rasping sound filled the air, and the women's form trembled. It took a moment for Sao to realize what was happening – she was chuckling.

"Yes." It finally crooked. Once more, the head lowered – and the light of the ghost blossoms illuminated its strange blued lips - parted in a toothless smile, which lead only to blackness.

For a bleak moment, Sao's fear was overridden with a perverse joy. Good, you son of a bitch. Her voice was falsely sweet, unable to make it sound genuine. "I'm so sorry to hear it."

"Any other night, I would have been more than happy to hear what misdeed I could have possibly caused you." A wide smile graced the healer's face, but closer to a showing of teeth than any gesture of kindness. Her composure was slipping alarmingly fast.

She gestured at the lake with her dagger, feet planted firmly in the sand. "But as you can see, I'm a little busy tonight, so if you could kindly leave me to it."

"..." Strange smile still in place, a faint sigh seemed to issue from the robed woman. Her shoulders seemed to sag, as its hooded gaze lowered. A tendril of hair, turned blue-green by the light of the ghost blossoms, tumbled from its cowl, as its shadowed eyes slid over the stone spur below it. A faint grunt seemed to croak from the being, as its head stilled.

The hood rose.

Blue light struck its face, revealing an unnaturally smooth expanse of mirror-like flesh. High cheekbones gleamed on either side of an inhumanly perfect nose, below which the woman's blued lips hung open still in their perpetual, painted, smile. Above, beside the strand of blued-blond hair, a pair of holes marred the perfection of the woman's face. Embedded within them, a pair of very human eyes shone in the light of ghost-blossoms, fixed accusingly on Sao's own.

She surged.

Yellow light flashed like the crack of a whip, as a gleaming coil of deep greened-blue tumbled from her sleeve. Her hood feel away from her head, throwing her thick blond hair into a frenzy around her face - her mask - as she twisted and snapped her arm up. Hissing, cord rose, slimming and paling to an blued-ivory hafted spear, as it drove through the air, straight-toward Sao's heart.

Lips pressed tight in determination, Sao brought her own arm up, ritual dagger glinting in the moonlight. Settling into a defensive stance, the young woman reflected - in the scant time available - on the idea that she might die, right here. It was a sobering thought.

Her tasks incomplete, her affections secret, and worst of all - not one person to mourn her passing. If she died now, tonight, her existence would have meant nothing. The healer balanced the knife in her hand, drew back, and threw in a single smooth motion - aiming for that hateful, disgusting mask, hoping to knock it aside.

[Arhra]

Adjusting her spectacles and tilting her head to let more light fall on the page, Nikola read the threatening letter the odd bandage wrapped automaton had brought for Jo. Her eyes darkened to a stormy grey as she read it and her frown deepened. Glancing up at Jo, she began to speak. "How can I hel-?"

The message carrier suddenly moved, rising out of its subservient bow with a kitchen knife in its hand.

"...what?" Nikola breathed, the knife pointed at her throat.

"Ahahahahahah!" the bangle on her wrist crowed in Professor Landry's voice. "Duel accepted!"

Jo's eyes widened with shock as the mechanical ninja flowed forward, a wedge of motion concentrated behind the point of the kitchen knife. Still gaping, she barely registered the patterns of black lines that marked the duel field activating. Nikola diffused, melting like wax as the knife entered what had been her chest. The pale fluid mass that Nikola had become lost all cohesion and collapsed into a puddle.

Light of a deep yellow flared and Nikola rose back out of the bottomless depths of a thin sheen of water on the pavement. The ninja hadn't tried to pull back form the unexpected lack of resistance, letting its momentum carrying it into one of the stalls.

Jo hunched over, shoulders shaking with tension. Shocked by the vehemence of her own reaction to this attempt to take her schoolmates out of the picture - again a little voice in the back of her head said - Jo straightened. "No!" she said, teeth clicking together as her mouth closed into a snarl. "How dare you! I'm right here! If you're going to pick a fight with her, go through me first!"

Crossing her hands so they were hidden by her billowing sleeves, Jo drew her weapons. A dagger in her left hand and a seemingly empty sling in her right, Jo swung around, back up towards Nikola. Her friend now was holding a revolver in shaking hands, focused on the tent the ninja had vanished into.

Struggling with a bloodthirsty urge to rush in and smash this new menace until it was nothing but scrap metal, Jo tried to focus. She stared at the stall the ninja had vanished into, eyes peeled for any flares of magic. Where could it get to from that stall and where was it going to come out? Make sure Nikola was covered, then attack.

"Whatever you are, I challenge you to a duel!" Jo shouted.