Lenz's Law
by
LicketySplat
Chapter 1: Murphy's Law
Rei was late.
And so were about half of the new student population. The first phenomenon of its kind in all of Juuban Junior College's history.
Since the detention room would never fit all the tardy students for a duration long enough to be called detention – even if they were packed and piled on top of each other like the worst built human Uno Stacko – the discipline mistress dismissed them to their respective first classes, albeit reluctantly. Screeching about how the late-comers possessed an inconceivable shred of luck on an equally providential day, the shriveled up, ancient being promised the departing body of students a threefold punishment should they be late once more – First, for the detention they had scraped by. Second, for being late again. And third, just for the heck of it.
All the more reason for me to catch the earlier train.
A quick glance at the time-table Rei pulled out from her skirt pocket told her that she had half an hour of English Literature left before an hour of free time. Her time-table was scheduled such that Monday was the least taxing day of the week. Other than that, the number of subjects and their relative difficulty of survival were more or less divided proportionately. Nodding her head in approval, Rei entered the classroom along with ten other students.
Rei took out her laptop from its case after slipping into one of the self-explanatory empty seats at the front and made sure her book was nestled safely underneath the desk.
To say that Rei loved reading books would be tantamount to eating only the frosted sugar on the icing of a multiple-layered cake. Books are the compilation of human thought processes and a demonstration of the gift of unbounded imagination, fused together by the seamless blend of language and individual style of writing. Books pass on knowledge, books widen one's perspectives in life, books create an alternate world for one to elude life's oppressions for a while. It doesn't take much to understand how to appreciate a book. It is appreciating the techniques however, in which an author uses to toy with one's emotions through the course of a story and in captivating a reader, which is more challenging and oftentimes taken for granted. There stemmed Rei's passion for books. And that, was also the reason for taking up English Literature.
Fingers poised and hovering expectantly over the keyboard, Rei sat alert and ready to take notes.
--
"How is it that I can't find a single quiet spot in this entire school?" Rei grumbled under her breath and continued wandering about corridors of the sprawling campus. "And you would think they would've given better directions in getting to the library since it is essential for students to do research."
"Just head up the stairs and down the corridor, turn right, left, left, right and left again. Oh wait, or was it left then right? Maybe it's-"
"Hey, if you're not sure I can ask someone else," Rei tried to ease the uptight man.
"No. I know the way! It's left, right, right-"
"It's fine, really."
"-and left again. Oh take another lef- "
"I'll be going now."
The senior student she had amiably asked for directions to the library obviously hadn't been to it in eons. Either that or the poor moron had been deluding himself for the past eighteen years of his life that he knew his right from left. So she had set out up the stairs like he had said, leaving him behind in the middle of the walkway muttering to himself like a demented idiot. "Left then right. No no! Right then left!..."
Rei came to the conclusion that she was no where near the library when she realized that the stairs went up four floors, and at every floor landing, were a choice of three corridors, each one looking as eerily similar to the next. Abandoning all further effort into roving the halls for a seemingly non-existent library, she had stopped by her locker to rid herself of her bulky laptop for the remaining time of her free period.
The school had made it compulsory for students to have a laptop each when attending classes. Assignments and homework reached them by e-mail, and submission was done likewise to the respective teacher's address. Something about Live Earth and the corruption of government officials in the Amazon area, if Rei remembered correctly. Textbooks however, still had to be bought and carried around. Personally, Rei didn't mind. Touchable knowledge.
She hugged her book to her chest and leaned against her locker, mulling over the possible places peaceful enough to do some reading, and where there weren't any mentally defective people who would gawk at her like she was the more hairy version of Chewbacca. She nudged her spectacles to a better grip on her nose bridge and glared at the students who had taken to stare at her, and her book, with a mixture of awe and consternation. They would slow down upon passing, then stop and turn to goggle at spectacle before them.
Rei held back the superhuman urge to throttle every last one of them and then hide their bodies in a derelict mansion ready for demolition the next day. It's only a book! Well, a really big book...
Then remembering the school had a lake north-east of the main building, she turned on her heel and headed towards the congested canteen, stopping only to buy an apple and a bottle of chrysanthemum tea, and strode on towards her destination, book under her arm and mood considerably lighter.
The tennis courts outside were surrounded by a boisterous crowd watching an early tennis match. Rei strolled past the commotion, casting a withering glance at some blockhead jock who whistled at her, and proceeded to make her way towards the shimmering body of water some distance away.
--
Concrete roughened into cobblestone and she took time to admire the variety of flowers and trees that lined the way to the lake.
There wasn't a person in sight when Rei had a good view of it.
Trees of Oak, Birch and Elm dotted the landscape, standing tall like guardians of a halcyon sanctuary. Most of them had started shedding their leaves in preparation for winter, framing the lake in haphazard patches of copper and flaming amber. Speckles of gold completed a fiery scene of autumn hues. It was a tranquil sight. One that whispered promises of uninterrupted reading pleasure. Perfect.
Twigs and dead leaves crunched under the soles of Rei's shoes as she hiked through the sparse undergrowth in search of a cozy hideaway. Finally deciding on the shade of a sturdy Elm, Rei settled down and tucked her legs under her, blissfully watching a leaf begin its descent when a breeze swept through the softwoods. She allowed a contented smile to form. Sunlight that filtered in through the branches above her shone at a satisfactory angle that gave her just the right amount of light for reading. Rei gently opened her book to its bookmarked page and continued where she left off, munching on her apple at the same time.
There were no distractions. Save for the occasional fallen leaf that would land squarely on the paragraph she would be reading. Frequent gusts of wind would mischievously tease her long bangs, sweeping them into her eyes, and she would once again swipe them aside in mild irritation.
"Here, use this," offered a mirthful voice from above her, followed by a shadow that blocked Rei's lighting.
Startled, she squinted up at the figure looming over her. Rays of light partially blinded her and made it difficult to make out the person's face. All she noticed was that the intruder's golden hair rivaled the brilliance of the sunlight streaming past her silhouette into Rei's eyes, and that there was an item on an outstretched palm.
A hairclip, Rei frowned.
"Thank you, but I won't need that," Rei politely declined, slightly bewildered at such a sudden interference.
"Just take it."
"No, really I'm not going to use th-"
"I insist."
"Seriously, it's fine-"
"Oh hogwash!"
With that, a hand darted out and gathered up rebellious bangs, and with a few twirls, her fringe was deftly clipped down on her crown before a word of outrage could even begin to form from Rei's parted lips.
" What…Hey! Don't-" sputtered an incensed Rei, flailing her arms about in a weak attempt to ward of the intruding action.
Having succeeded in relieving the raven-haired girl of her stubborn fringe, Rei's assailant stood with her hands on her hips, a wide grin in place. "There. All better now."
Offended at such a lack of respect for one's personal bubble, Rei readied herself to impart more than a piece of her mind onto the insolent girl before her. That was until she moved out of the sunlight to plump down beside Rei and finally permitted her a good look at the girl's face.
"It's you again," Rei deadpanned.
Delighted that she had made a big enough impression on the intriguing girl such that she remembered her, Minako felt she should introduce herself. "I'm Minako. Aino Minako."
"Hino Rei," came her gruff reply.
"That's a pretty name, for a pretty face. Now if not for that clip, nobody would be able to see that face of yours."
Then recalling that she had a little invader on her head, she reached up to take it off.
That move earned her a light slap on the wrist.
"Uh uh," sang her malapropos companion. "As long as I'm around, you may not take that off."
The nerve! What right had she to waltz into her personal boundary to order her about like that? Deciding that the girl wasn't worth a second more of her reading time, Rei purposed to get rid of her. "Go find someone else to bother, as you can see I'm busy."
Minako looked over her shoulder and around her as if actually heeding Rei's suggestion. Just when Rei thought her curt dismissal had worked, the girl turned back towards her with a wider, perkier smile. "There isn't anyone else here to bug! I'll just stick with you."
Minako eyed the bottle of untouched chrysanthemum tea standing on its lonesome beside an apple core and swiftly picked it up, taking a swig from it. Reaching the end of her tethers, Rei drew in a long, rugged breath and detached herself from her book to face the blonde.
"Is it too much to ask that you let me read in peace?" Rei barely controlled the desire to growl. She didn't like an accompanying presence. Solitude worked just fine. She glanced at the bottle in Minako's hand. "You want that? Take it and leave."
"Oh you can have it back. Please, do continue reading," Minako chirped.
"I read best, alone."
The directed request hurtled past Minako and vanished into the woods, ignored.
"I won't make a sound," she assured.
Better than nothing, Rei reasoned, and resumed her paragraph.
(His words were aimed to get the better of me, but he could not outwit someone of my knowledge. I answered: "My ship was wrecked by Poseidon on the borders of your land. He drove the ship up to a headland and hurled it on the rocks. My friends and I managed to esca- )
"What book are you reading?" inquired the curious blonde.
Rei's mind did the mental equivalent of a car screeching to a halt. Interrupted. Again.
"The Odyssey, by Homer."
Impervious to the hostile note that was evident in Rei's surly response, Minako prodded further. "What is it about? Let me see!"
Hoping that by conceding to let her read a bit, the irksome blonde would be appeased. Shifting her book a smidgen to the right, Rei showed her where she was currently at.
(The cruel brute made no reply. Instead, he leapt up, and reaching out towards my men, seized a couple and dashed their brains against the floor as though they had been mere fish. Their brains flowed out onto the ground and soaked the earth. He ripped them limb by limb to make his meal, which he devoured like a wolf, leaving nothing, neither entrails nor flesh- )
"Ewww! That's so gruesome! How could you read something so vile, and grisly and gross?" Minako exclaimed in abhorrence, scrunching up her face in undiluted disgust.
Rei shrugged. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. It's a work of art really." Then quickly added upon Minako blanching, "The book I mean. Not the descriptions of entrails and gore."
"Now I'm permanently scarred for life! Oh the woe of my broken soul!" Minako moaned in mock lament.
"Stop acting like you're so affected by it."
"But I am! I'll be having nightmares of life-sized intestines slithering after me for weeks straight and I won't be able to eat a proper meal of sashimi ever again!"
To this, Rei had to chuckle. "Oh come off it! It's your fault for wanting to read."
"How was I supposed to know that you have a fetish for all things bloody?"
"I most certainly do not! How shallow an inference is that?" Rei protested, defending her choice in books.
"Yes you do. How would you explain that then?" Minako gestured wildly at Rei's book. "That's enough testimony."
Rei figured that the only way to end this pointless debate on her type of reading material was to cease argument with the inexorable girl.
"Ah ha! I win!" Minako's cry of triumph echoed across the lake.
Maybe not.
Rei couldn't get much reading done. Most of her time spent was diverted towards fending off accusations and ridiculous claims that the opinionated blonde fired at her, and then shot off some of her own comments on how curiosity killed the cat. Or Minako's sleep in this case.
The blonde tossed her hair over a shoulder with a huff. "You're just in denial." Then deciding that a change in topic was much needed, she questioned "Why are you here anyway? It's so lonely."
"I couldn't find the library. It's much quieter here though. The scenery's beautiful as well." Rei surprised herself by answering the pressing blonde.
Minako's face brightened. "I know where the library is! I can show you after school. You up for it?"
Can't hurt I guess. "Yeah, sure."
Then realizing Minako hadn't disclosed her motive for being there, Rei asked "Why are you here?"
"I lost my way," Minako lied. She had caught sight of a flash of raven hair while cheering for both competitors at the tennis match and had been drawn by it, like a moth to...a bonfire. Inconspicuously trailing after her, she had waited for the opportune moment to reveal her presense.
Rei bought the fib and gave her an incredulous stare. "Blondes."
"Hey I resent that! Who's the shallow one now eh?" Minako folded her arms in indignation. "I demand justice!"
"Sure," Rei scoffed.
Dead leaves rustled and crackled as Minako shuffled around to find a more comfortable position against the tree's solid trunk. The momentary silence was broken once more by yet another question. "What subjects do you have after this?"
"Chemistry, Physics and Math"
"Hey we're in the same classes then! Can I sit next to you?"
"…"
"Yay! Are you good at those subjects?"
"…"
"Great! You'll help me when I have difficulties then won't you?
"I suppose so."
"Where is Chemistry being held?"
"In a classroom."
"You know you're supposed to look at the person whom you're talking to."
"Mmhmm."
"I'm big, fat, nincompoop who's picking my nose this instant."
"Mmhmm."
"Rei!"
"Shhh! I'm trying to read."
Minako moved her head to obstruct Rei's view of her book in an effort to redirect her attention. She came face to face with the same pair of violet eyes she had been already been introduced to earlier in the morning. Only this time, the sheer proximity to them rendered her immobile and the words she had wanted to say never found their way out. Her irises were a strong shade of violet, surrounded by rings of deep purple. They were piercing and guarded, as if able to read every thought of Minako's yet betraying none of her own.
There was a slight variation in her speech and Minako had to clear her throat to correct it. "Now that I've got your attention, shall we head off to class? It's five minutes before Chemistry commences."
Rei gave her an odd look, perturbed by the girl's rapid change in mood. She decided to disregard that, and with a slight nod of her head, she rose, brushing off a couple of leaves from her seifuku, and walked off towards the classroom block.
"Help me out here will you?"
She craned her neck and looked over her shoulder, espying the blonde having complications in rising to her feet.
"You can't stand now? Is there anything else you can't do? Besides taking a hint." Rei raised an eyebrow in amusement and moved not a single step to aid her.
Minako cursed the raven-haired girl and continued clutching the bark of the Elm tree for dear life. Finally propping herself up against the tree, she hollered "You just try getting pins and needles next time! See if I'll help!"
She wobbled towards the retreating girl, silently plotting her untimely demise. "Don't you smirk at me!"
Her only reply was Rei's taunting laughter.
Authors Notes: Alright. First off, I've done some minor changes to the first chapter and to this one. Thank you to those who have pointed out my little blunder. Confusion rectified! Hopefully. I've only changed the education system to one I would be going through next year. Nothing beats first-hand experience. I was a tad ambitious in trying to write Japan's education system. But don't worry, I'm not going to do a Macbeth. I've changed Rei and Minako's ages as well.
I've been playing more computer games than writing. I'm guilty! Yes. I'll try to upload another chapter by Monday. Because on Tuesday, I'll be heading...drumroll...to Japan! I highly doubt I would have much time to write after coming back. What with losing the pounds I would've gained. It's easy to put them on but hard to shed yes?
Do let me know if I've left out some loopholes so I can snip them off. Sometimes I get carried away. Some constructive critism would be nice.
Plot wise, Rei and Minako will be having tons more interaction in the next chapter. Something to look forward to eh? Everybody loves Rei and Minako banter. Even more so when Rei has to deal with an evil, scissors-wielding Minako. Will she ever get to finish her book? Your call.
Now...To my dear reviewers:
deymian, 0xnaomix0, Volchise, LunarMiko07, mokit: Here, another chapter for all of you! I'll try to get the next one up by Monday. No promises though.
setyourselfonfire: Thanks. I couln't take the shortage of Rei/Minako fics so I started this. Not enough R/M goodness! I'm sure you'll agree with me.
secretedreamer: Thank you! I pride myself in the bits of humour that I fit in. Makes writing and reading that much more enjoyable. Then again you can't miss out on humour when you put our dear Rei and Minako together. XD
BewitchingAmEtHySt: Truthfully, I can't wait to see where my own fic is going as well. Haha. Sometimes a story writes itself. This one however, is being quite a bitch. Tsktsk. Nevertheless! Inspiration should be bountiful in Japan.
Lokiador: The prologue and epilogue of every story are probably the hardest to write. In my opinion anyway. I'm glad you think it's a good start. XP
Rikku's twin: Can't wait for your update as well. Poor Rei. Subjected to such pain! Relieve her of it soon will you? It pulls at my heartstrings. XD
Krampus: Krampus,Krampus. How shall I start? I have the feeling that you have taken or are taking Literature now. If you don't then I must admire your analytical skills. You have picked out the exact ways I've tried to portray Minako. I'm waiting on bated breath for your update of UFMIO! Been following it closely. One of my favourite fics on Rei and Minako. Love the banter.
Arisela: It's a relief that I didn't lose you in the course of the first chapter. So here you are! The second chapter.
trusuprise: I've been following A Single Voice. Very orginal. You update real quick! I must learn how you do it. Care to share your secret? Haha. Thank you for the praise to my descriptions and imagery!
chatterbox-hikaru13: Ah yes. I just had to make Minako lose her bearings. A little humiliation for our thick-skinned blonde. Nice to see you agree as well. XD
slashmel: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you feel the same way after this chappie!
lovec: Thanks for reviewing sweetie. What dating days? You mean we aren't dating right now? Haha. And thank you for your support and encouragement. I really appreciate it among so many other things about you.