Nothing was to be heard inside the silent lecture hall, excluding the scratching of pencils and rustling of papers. Hannah, a pale haired girl sporting the female Obelisk Blue uniform, allowed her eyelids to dip shut for a moment. Cool air flowed through her nasal passages and for a moment she lost herself in the noises of the room. A slight squeaking noise snapped her eyes open, and she twitched a bit, startled. Her lively gray eyes locked on her neighbor's squeaky chair as she realized what the sound had been. She closed her eyes for another moment, losing herself in the ebb and flow of the sounds of the room.
A low, stifled giggle emitted from somewhere in the section below her. Her lids flashed open again, displaying her lively blue-gray eyes. Her pupils locked in on Jaden Yuki, a mildly attractive Slifer Red student that had a fantastic dueling reputation. His grades sucked but apparently he was a prodigal duelist, considering he had beaten Professor Crowler on the first day. Her eyes narrowed at the back of his Kuriboh-cut. He pissed her off so much. She HATED arrogant people. And she especially hated arrogant people who had sass and an attitude. And Jaden was all three.
Hannah glanced to her left, past the boy with the squeaky chair, but couldn't see the end of the line. On her right, Alexis, a dark blonde duelist and Hannah's best friend, wasn't paying attention either. Her chin perched comfortably on the heel of her palm, her eyes had drooped to half mast, a small blissful smile touching her lips. Hannah followed her friend's gaze, lifting an eyebrow in disapproval. Alexis had a crush on Jaden, but she covered it very well. He had no idea, and when Alexis had confessed her admirations, Hannah had had a double take. She very much disliked Jaden, but it didn't stop her from staying friends with Alexis. As Hannah dug her elbow into Alexis's ribs, a ringing noise echoed in the hall.
A bustle of activity shook the atmosphere as the students began chatting, packing up, or pushing in their chairs. Chazz Princeton, school rich kid, shoved back his chair with a scowl on his face. He was actually very likable, once you earned his trust past his snobbish exterior. Hannah had been trying to arrange something between Chazz and Alexis, but neither was cooperating. Alexis especially. Hannah smiled cheerily up at Chazz, who grunted in acknowledgement with a tiny smile.
Not a smirk. A smile. She was making progress. A pair of pale hands snaked around the upper half of Hannah's face from behind. A giggle emitted from behind her.
Alexis!" she swatted at her friend's arms. Hannah grinned as she realized that another voice was also emitting a low chuckle. As Alexis's fingers parted, she blinked up in surprise at Chazz, Prince stoneface, laughing. She quirked the corner of her mouth in a smile and lifted a meaningful eyebrow at Alexis, who pretended not to notice.
Hannah rolled her eyes at her friend's oblivion. "Lunchtime, Lexie!" Hannah wrapped her own fingers around her friend's wrist, tugging her upright. Alexis stood a good head taller than Hannah, but neither of the girls seemed to notice. As they turned to the door, they caught sight of Chazz's robe flowing out the door, already. He moved quickly and didn't waste time. A few students were still at their desks finishing up their work as the two girls strolled out the door.
As Hannah turned to Alexis to share a joke, she caught sight of a kid behind her. Her poised mouth snapped shut into a frown and she gave a hard glare before turning back around, sticking her nose in the air and lengthening her stride. Her odd behavior made Alexis blink in confusion, twisting her head back where Hannah had last looked. Syrus Truesdale, Chumley Huffington, Bastion Misawa, and Jaden Yuki had just left the lecture hall. The taller girl's eyebrows knit in confusion as she jogged faster to catch up to her friend.
"Hannah, what is it?" the taller blonde's curiosity was piqued.
"Nothing." The shorter girl gritted her teeth and strode even faster.
"Hey, slow down! What, are you afraid the salad bar will run out?" three of the boys exploded in laughter. Bastion having still been flipping through his papers, had missed it.
Hannah stopped in her tracks, hands curling into deadly-looking fists. She was not exactly skinny, but that was because she was more stocky and muscular. Most students spent all of their time socializing or figuring out new strategies for duels. Hannah, being a workaholic, spent a lot of her time exercising and staying strong, with dueling strategies coming next. Every morning she woke up early and went for a jog before classes. Every week she marathoned the exterior of the island. She even followed an agility and flexibility kata that she practiced most days. Alexis may not do a lot of athletic stuff, but then again she was very slender to start with. And, here was this ignorant little boy calling them fat. A part of her realized that he was just messing, but the competitive part of her would not allow for it.
Alexis tapped her friend's shoulder, recognizing her tenseness, being very aware of Hannah's devotion to activity and competitive nature. She offered her own glare to Jaden, who merely passed by, smirking. As he brushed Hannah's shoulder, a hand shot out and grabbed his collar, lifting him against the wall, despite him being noticeably taller than his pale-haired attacker. His eyes bulged visibly and Syrus smothered a shriek while Bastion's papers fell out of his hands. Alexis giggled nervously.
Jaden's eyes were frightened saucers, gazing down into the depths of Hannah's blazing, angry ones. A brave hand gently touched Hannah's shoulder temporarily distracting her. Alexis's worried eyes nudged Hannah back to reality. Hannah looked away, recognizing what she was doing, but still not letting go of her oppressor. She turned back to Jaden, who was still frightened and pinned to the wall. She looked him straight in the eye, lifting one eyebrow coyly, "NEVER diss a girl by talking about her weight. You know NOTHING about me." Then, ever so slowly, she loosened her grip on his collar, allowing him to fall through her fingers to the floor. Flexing her hand, she mumbled, "I should do more lifting exercises like that..." Alexis grabbed her friend's proffered wrist and took off down the hallway dragging her friend after her.
Jaden leaned forward, pushing off the wall and rubbing the back of his head when it had initially connected with the wall. His face was a mask of a strange twist of emotions, confused by Hannah's furious, then coy reaction to his jibe. He replayed those last moments in his mind, remembering the way she had grabbed and lifted him with such ease and lack of fear for consequences, and how her lively gray eyes had radiated with passion and emotion. Not to mention how she had realized his game and turned the tables on him, flippantly dropping him in a disgraceful heap, her long hair flicking him in the face.
"You all right, Jay?" The little blue-haired boy's concern brought Jaden back to Earth.
"That looked like it hurt." Bastion had reassembled his papers and now gripped them tightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine guys. But... That was really weird, don't you think?" He trailed off, watching the two girls turn the corner.
"Just be glad she only slammed you into the wall and decided you were too interesting to beat half to death." The boys spun around nervously. Atticus Rhodes, Alexis's older brother was leaning against the wall behind them, smirking in amusement.
"Wha-"
"Hannah is a good friend of Alexis's. I've known her a while. You don't want to mess with her." He chuckled a bit, remembering his own experiences with her. He hesitated, uncertain whether or not he should impart more information to the first years. "You know, her cousin is married to Seto Kaiba."
Jaden's eyes widened at the last statement. After a moment he nodded, accepting Atticus's story as fact, and turned away to head to the cafeteria.
"You know, Jaden, you were just BEGGING for that." Jaden spun around, flaring in anger. Atticus pushed off the wall, approaching the other boy, looked down at him. "There are other ways to get girls, especially girls like Hannah, than pissing them off. It just makes you look like a jerk. I know. I used to live with one." He chuckled as he strolled past them, waving a goodbye over his shoulder.
The four boys just stood there, confused, until a rumbling noise echoed from Chumley's stomach, shattering the silence. Another moment passed and the boys howled with fits of laughter as they made their way to the cafeteria, following Hannah and the Rhodes' trail.
As they turned the corner, a low, childish giggle emitted from a doorway. A very lanky, blonde, but feminine man chuckled from his hiding spot. Professor Crowler wiped away tears of merriment. It always made his day when bad luck struck Jaden Yuki, ever since the day the boy had beaten him in a duel, with the professor using his personal deck. The unnaturally long, blonde, ponytailed man stood and stretched. "Ooo-hoo-hoo! Perfect! Now, all I have to do is leave destructive clues for Hannah, pointing to Jaden! It will all take care of itself!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, giggling as he scurried to his office.
Hannah glanced up in surprise as a slip of paper was discreetly passed to her. A yellow cuffed sleeve promptly disappeared from view. A tiny frown wrinkled her forehead as she pushed her physics paper to the side. Alexis, aware of the note by the crinkling of paper, glanced over too, an eyebrow lifted in curiosity.
Dear Hannah,
I do not know what I have done to get on your bad side, but I would like to know why.
Meet me by the West Field for a duel.
Hannah looked down, searching for a specific face. None came forward to reveal themselves, but it didn't matter. She knew who the sender had been.
Hannah's eyes narrowed in anger, dislike, resentment, and irritation. She tossed the note into Alexis's waiting hands. The taller girl scanned the creased paper quickly. Her brow wrinkled in confusion. As the taller blonde digested the message, Hannah caught the flicker of a backward glance from Jaden. Her face unreadable, she balanced the note in one palm, just high enough so he could see it. Snapping her hand shut, curling her fingers in, she crushed it, making him twitch.
The wrinkled ball of paper fell from Hannah's hand to the desk and out of Jaden's line of sight. Her grimace morphed into a smirk as her eyes grilled holes in him. Jaden's eyes shrank to slits of annoyance. Glancing quickly at the teacher, her face morphed into a mien of flippant disgust as she deliberately lowered her pointer, ring, and pinky fingers. His eyes followed her every move, narrowed to mere slits, his teeth gritted in anger. Beside her, Alexis's eyes bulged in horror.
Hannah drew her lips into a pout and lifted her eyebrows into a "What?" expression. Jaden shook his head in disappointment and turned back to his desk, offering her a full view of the back of his sculpted hair. Alexis followed suit, saddened by her friend's reaction.
The soft grass crunched under Alexis's boots, the trees lining the path casting shadows as her fingers ran down the edges of the crumpled sheet of paper. Hannah stared straight ahead sullenly, her arms swinging half-heartedly. Suddenly, Alexis giggled. "Hannah... I think he has a crush on you!
The shorter girl stopped in her tracks, kicking a rock. "Are you kidding? Jaden doesn't like ANYONE! Especially not me. I kicked his ass without even trying, and humiliated him in front of his friends. If anything, he would be pissed off at me!"
"Well, apparently he's not."
"I hate him. He's an asshole! You know that."
Alexis glanced down, brushing the bushes that lined the side of the narrow path with her fingertips. "You shouldn't judge him just because he's a better duelist than you." She sought out Hannah's gaze, smiling hopefully. "You two could probably be good friends."
Hannah snorted. "Oh sure. Next you'll be telling me that Seto Kaiba doesn't really own Duel Academy."
Alexis grinned snarkily. "Well..."
Hannah swatted at her friend. "Naw, I just like teasing him. It's funny to watch him squirm and get furious and he can't do anything about it. Besides, this goes beyond dueling." With that, Hannah pried the top card off her deck with a flourish, staring at the description.
Alexis's interested mien swiftly transformed into a suggestive one. "So... You DO like him!"
Hannah chuckled shortly. "Dream on, girl! I don't need a stuck up asshole of a boyfriend in my life. You like him. You can HAVE him!"
Alexis's eyes widened as her cheeks were dusted with crimson. Then, both girls started cracking up, scaring a flock of birds out of the trees nearby. Hannah breathed deeply, exhilarated by the smell of salt water. They had nearly reached the beach. Alexis paused, hearing the rhythmic ebb and flow of the waves. "I have to go. I should study for that science exam."
Hannah frowned in confusion. "But, you're like, the star of the class! You know everything!"
Alexis sighed, disheartened. "Why don't you go for a jog while I study? Then we can plan for that full-school dinner tomorrow."
Hannah rolled her eyes at the reminder of the event. "Sure, sure. See you in an hour. Or two." With that, she smiled a goodbye, turned on her heels, and fell into a jog that followed her usual route around the island. But she would have to cut it short and veer off her usual trail if she wanted to make it back to the dorm in time for showers. Damn curfew. It made sense, in a way, but it was annoying. The grassy path slowly transitioned into more soily ground, then almost sandy. Hannah paused, leaning against a tree for support; she pulled off one boot, then her sock. Setting the one bare, sock-tanned foot in the sand, she proceeded to strip her left foot of all bindings. Throwing her footwear into her backpack, the short, pale-haired girl tore out into the sand.
The first squall of sea-blown air whipped her long hair like a sail. Her eyes drifted shut as she dug her feet into the loose, tan dunes. After a minute of sprinting across the warm sand, she settled into a brisk jog. Her easy breathing quickly established a cut time rhythm with her footsteps. Bre-eathe, out, out. Bre-eathe, out, out. All too soon, the sand ended and she met grass once more. The path began to incline and soon the muscular girl was pumping up the hill. The grassy pathway gave way to rocks. Hannah paused at the top on the hill.
A large, flat, warm stone was perched at the top. Leaning her shoulder against it, she donned her socks and shoes. The path led through a field near the school. But instead of following the field, she stuck to the edge of the grassy expanse and continued on the outskirts of the island. The fields then gave way to a beautiful ocean view, but Hannah's feet met solid rock. The ridged cliffs consisted of red sandstone and veins of quartz. After about a mile, the cliffs began to tilt downwards, leading into much shorter cliffs, except these cliffs were carpeted in a thick layer of mossy grass. The Slifer Red dorms were somewhere around here. They were the only buildings she would probably pass today.
Off the edge of the cliffs were more stone outcroppings. And perched upon one of them was a familiar red jacket holding a fishing rod. A snarky grin gradually spread across her face as she realized who it was. Scanning the outcroppings, she picked out a broad, flat path which Jaden must have used to get to his prime fishing spot. If she was to get down there, she would have to slide down the cliff to the first outcropping. She lowered herself to the ground and crept stealthily to the edge, her belly brushing the grass. The cliff below her had various hand and footholds. Her eyes lit up as a plan came to mind.
A whoosh of air escaped Jaden's pursed lips. The warm sun beat down on his neck and face. A small, tender smile touched his lips as he gazed down at the bobber in the water. He loved coming out here. It gave him a chance to relax by himself. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of fish lived in the little bay below him since he had never caught one, but just sitting and enjoying the warm rays was enough. The ebb and flow of the tide rushing against the rocks was soothing enough to make him want to doze off. A tumbling noise filtered through his hazy consciousness, but he paid no mind to it, as many animals lived in the cliffs. A bird or something had probably kicked a rock down the cliff. In fact, just the other day he had watched a squirrel leaping across the sheer rock face and loosening a bunch of pebbles that tumbled down the cliff wall. Maybe he should-
Two pinpoints of pain mixed with a tickling sensation erupted in his sides. His eyes flew open and a tiny squeal of alarm flew out his open mouth as he jumped, losing his grip on his perch. His eyes opened even wider in fear as he began to slip down the steep outcropping. His eyelids automatically closed as he anticipated impact with the water. But, he slowly stopped sliding and no soaking came. Carefully he cracked open one eye, then the other. Before he could move, a swell rose up and sucked him off the edge of the wall.
Hannah froze at the top of the subcliff, horrified. She had only meant to scare him, not send him down into the bay, despite the fact she was still mad at him. His fishing rod lay on the rocks next to her. She hurriedly scooped it up and began reeling in the line so he would not hurt himself on the hook. But, the line only tightened. Fearful, she yanked harder, not thinking that it might be stuck on Jaden himself. A mass of glittering iridescent scales flew out of the water. Hannah almost dropped the line in surprise. But instead she took on a determined pose and pulled it up and out of the water, tossing it on the outcropping behind her. Spinning back to the open water, she glanced around one last time, seeing if anyone was nearby. No one.
The muscular girl ripped off her boots and leaped off the edge, landing on the cliff face and riding down it like a surfboard, leaving a trail of dust. She had only ridden a surfboard a few times, but the pose came easily to her. Her rough movement was suddenly halted as her socked feet met a tiny stone edge, the same that had stopped Jaden's descent. Another rough wave washed in, soaking her, almost sucking her off the wall like Jaden had, but she grabbed a branch from the cliff vegetation. A heavy mass bashed into her and she grabbed at it, recognizing the red jacket, even underwater. Suddenly, the stifling wall of liquid was gone, leaving a very soaked Hannah clinging to the branch for dear life and an extremely frightened drowned rat of a duelist clinging to her awkwardly, since he was so much taller than she. Slowly cracking one eye open, he muttered, "Is it safe?" He opened his other eye, realized who his anchor was, narrowed his eyes, and slapped her across the face. "WHAT THE HELL'D YOU DO THAT FOR?" But before Hannah could answer, another wave washed in, taking them by surprise.
Hannah lost her grip on the tree branch, leaving them at the mercy of the water. After a moment of weightlessness in the mildly salty liquid, the water level sank and both duelists stood sputtering in the waist-deep water. Hannah gave him the dirtiest look, but the effect was ruined by him belching water back into the bay. Angrily, she grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him roughly to the waters' edge a little ways down from where he had been fishing moments before.
Not leaving any room for argument, Hannah shoved him out of the water onto the flat rock, a much lower outcropping. By the time the next swell had washed in, the two duelists had made their way to higher ground. Jaden's legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed onto his hands and knees. Hannah turned away to give him privacy as he emptied the watery contents of his stomach. As his retching subsided, Hannah lifted him by the elbow and forced him to find hand and foot holds and scale the wall. "We're almost back to where you were."
"How would you know that? You live at the top of the mountain!"
"That's none of your business. Now move your ass. We're both wet." He snickered, but did as she told him. Moments later the two duelists had sprawled out on the warm rocks, soaking in the warmth as their clothes dried. Hannah sat up abruptly, remembering her feud with the boy next to her. Wringing out the edge of her skirt, and then her socks, she began pulling on her shoes.
"Where you going?" She jumped a bit, kicking herself. She had hoped to get away without him noticing. "I-I have things to take care of before curfew." She spun to face him, one shoe still half on, her eyes blazing. "Oh, by the way, what just happened means NOTHING!" If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he almost... pouted. She stomped her shoe the rest on the way on to hide her confusion.
"'Kay." The brown-haired boy gazed off nonchalantly, as if he didn't care. But Hannah knew better; his attitude towards her had changed. Her curiosity was piqued.