A side note: I'm bumping up their ages here, such that first years are 16 year olds, second years are 17, and so on. It is an inevitable course of action if I want any yuri to appear in this story without harming my conscience. I mean, imagine if Natsuki was only eleven and Shizuru, thirteen. It is quite unsettling, to say the least.
"Kuga, Natsuki!"
Natsuki Kuga walked to the front. She picked up the Sorting Hat, sat on the stool before her, and nervously placed the hat on top of her head. She looked at the students sitting at their tables, whispering to their neighbors. What was taking the Sorting Hat so long? She peered behind her and saw that even the professors and the Headmistress, the youthful-looking Professor Mashiro Kazahana, were eyeing her with her interest, as if they have seen her before.
"Oh, a Kuga! I haven't had one in years!" The Sorting Hat finally said. "Your people are Ravenclaw, the lot of you. And you have the mind for it too."
Natsuki looked at the people at Ravenclaw. She knew nobody in that table.
"Hmm.. Calm and calculated, but you have your share of bravery. Fairly ambitious as well, this girl!"
The whispers of the students grew louder. Who was this dark-haired beauty? And the name Kuga felt familiar to them, too…
Emerald eyes searched the hall, and found a flash of crimson. Who or what was that?
"Why not... Gryffindor!"
What did it mean 'why not'? Was it not sure? Well, it did not matter anymore for Natsuki. She went to the Gryffindor table, where she was welcomed rather warmly by her people, who clapped and cheered as she approached them. Ah, well, she didn't want to be remembered because of her family name, although it seems that that wouldn't be much of a problem as it looked like they did not know who the Kuga were. And so finally, she's with her house.
This is where she belongs now.
Natsuki Kuga looked around her, seeing dazed expressions on both Gryffindors and Slytherins, with whom they shared this class, then stared blankly at her book. Herbology is so damn boring.
"What's with that weird face, Kuga? Coolga. Cool gal." It was Nao Yuuki, a girl with hair as red as strawberries and eyes that screamed mischief, and a fellow Gryffindor.
"Stop giving me weird nicknames, Yuuki. Why are you here? Get back to your seat before the professor sees you!"
"Seems like someone's not excited to see me," Nao deadpanned. "I'll be sitting here from now on. I exchanged seats with Ms. Thanks For The Mammaries back there."
Natsuki looked behind Nao and saw Mai three seats away, who was scratching the back of her head and mouthing "sorry". Nothing to be sorry about, really. Not a big deal. Natsuki made a face at Mai, hiding her lips to show her teeth and pulled her chin in to show the very thin layer of skin near her neck. Mai laughed loudly after seeing her face, which earned Mai a glare from Professor Youko. Natsuki and Nao tried to stifle their chortles.
"Never knew you had that in you, Kuga!" Nao wiped the tears in her eyes as she cackled. "You always look so damn serious, like you're ready to pounce on anyone at any given moment."
That's because I am, the long-haired ice princess thought.
"Why did you switch seats with Mai, anyway?"
"Well I heard around that Suzushiro got batshit crazy over that little jacket you used to wear, so you punched her in the tit. And so I thought, hey, I'd be buddies with anyone with that kind of guts. So here I am."
Natsuki covered her face with her hand. "Sorry to disappoint you, Nao-san, but nothing of the sort happened. I never even spoke a word to the girl! And in fact, that prefect Shizuru Fujino interrupted before I lost my temper."
"Ah, Little-Miss-Deathly-Calm? I'd totally hit that. Oh, and you lost some cool points in my cool scale, by the way. Frickin' loser." Nao snickered.
Natsuki made a point to ignore the last comment. "Looks like everyone in this school has a thing for her."
"What? Sexy's sexy." Nao eyed the dark-haired girl from top to bottom, as much as one can while sitting. "Well, you probably count too."
Natsuki turned a shade redder than a tomato, then a white knuckle met a head covered with red hair. "Ow! That fucking hurt, Kuga!"
Five seats away, grey eyes glared at the bickering classmates. Eyes that belonged to someone who wanted nobody else to chase after the crimson-eyed beauty.
Shizuru Fujino sat in a room with the other prefects, blissfully oblivious to an impending war about to be waged all on her behalf. They have been called to this meeting by none other than the strictest professor there is: Maria Graceburt. Shizuru waited patiently and checked her reflection on a nearby window. To say that she was not lacking anything in the looks department was an understatement. She was damn hot, as a certain Nao Yuuki would have described her. Girls certainly liked Shizuru Fujino.
And Shizuru Fujino liked girls.
She liked their sweet scents, their soft giggles, their blushing faces.
More of a lady than a girl herself, she thought of them more as children who look up to her as an idol, a goddess they could never even aspire to be, an entity outside the realm of normality but of the legendary: the consummate witch, one could say. Such was their view of the lady that the same people who always surrounded her ended up isolating her unknowingly.
Not that Shizuru Fujino minded at all.
Despite appearing amicable, she preferred to keep to herself. But she was a model student, a heroine, who had to keep appearances. And so appearances she kept.
With her golden wavy tresses, her ever-polite manner of speaking and her delightful accent, she conjured the image of a pure young lady. Still, there was one thing that managed to unnerve a lot of people: her eccentric eyes. It was not an off-shade of brown as it may sometimes appear. No, it was red. Blood-red. Hers were eyes that could resurface every bad dream that you've ever had, eyes that seemed to threaten at every opportunity. If Shizuru Fujino was not so ever-beaming, she would have scared off students and professors alike.
The lady in question adjusted her green and silver necktie as she listened intently to Professor Maria Graceburt, who arrived moments ago. "As you all know, a Kuga has entered Hogwarts once again." Professor Maria told them in her eternally stern voice.
"Yes ma'am, and she's being troublesome already!" Haruka Suzushiro interrupted.
"Five points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn."
Haruka's jaw dropped at her words, and she could only look at the professor in disbelief.
"Are you finished, Suzushiro-san?" Haruka nodded swiftly, her mouth still open. If there was something or someone that can shut her up, it was Miss Maria. "I thought so. Now, where was I? Ah yes, that Kuga girl. We have to keep an eye on her. Don't let her get into trouble, and see to it that she always wears that blue jacket of hers."
Shizuru Fujino raised her hand. "Yes, Fujino-san?"
"Might I ask why, Professor? And what is it about the Kuga that deserves special mention?"
"It's classified."
Shizuru's eyes glimmered. Natsuki gets more and more interesting.
"Since it seems as if you're so curious, I'll leave this specific task to you, Fujino-san." Shizuru's eyes now danced, a toothless grin forming at her mouth.
The other prefects sniggered, but she paid them no attention. Serves you right, they were probably thinking. They obviously thought this task was but for a lackey, a job for a lowly third year like her. The snotty lot of them thinks they're better than her, because they're older, and therefore much more qualified to be a prefect. Ah, let them think what they want. Better to let them feel threatened, when she is not even trying.
"I accept." This is going to be fun.
After they've all been given assignments, the prefects all exited the room. In the corridors, surprised rubies met equally surprised emeralds.
"A good day to you, Natsuki. How lucky to run into you." She greeted the young lady with her million-galleon smile.
Natsuki's nostrils flared. "A g-good day to you too, Prefect. I was just switching classes after Herbology."
The chestnut-haired girl remained smiling, her face not betraying an ounce of the disappointment she felt at being addressed so formally. What's with her nose? "I see that you're not wearing the jacket today."
"Oh, uhm yes, since you warned me about getting into trouble with professors and stuff." Natsuki scratched her cheek with an index finger, and tried to avoid the absurdly focused red gaze. What am I being so nervous about?
"Ah, but Na-tsu-ki," the older girl muttered every syllable of the other girl's name lazily, as if she liked how it rolled on her tongue. And strangely enough, she did. "That hoodie seemed to suit you better than the cloaks, after all. You can just wear it again."
Natsuki's pale cheeks slowly turned a soft shade of pink. "W-what are you saying, Fujino! And won't Suzushiro scold me again?"
"Natsuki seems to be forgetting who she's talking to." Ah now what will she say to this?
"Ah, s-sorry prefect." Natsuki, in all her embarrassment, managed to say.
"Ah, I was only teasing." Shizuru chuckled as she received a death glare. "You can call me Shizuru."
What a weird girl, Natsuki thought. She's calling me by my first name, and now she's asking me to do the same. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that she wanted to be my friend.
Natsuki Kuga did not actually have any friends to speak of, at least not until Mai or Nao (and she didn't consider them friends yet), so she didn't know that Shizuru Fujino, in fact, wanted to be friends. And perhaps more. In spite of this, she obliged to the girl's—the absolutely stunning girl's—request.
"S-Shizuru."
"Yes, Natsuki?" Shizuru smiled brighter after hearing the husky voice say her name.
"You're drooling."
Shizuru quickly wiped the edges of her mouth to try to remove the drool, of which she found none. She raised her eyebrows at the girl who was obviously trying to contain her mirth.
"You fell for it, Shizuru." Natsuki laughed.
This cheeky little girl! What a dangerous girl you are turning out to be, sweet child. No one should find out how interested I am. No one has ever teased Shizuru back, as everyone here knew that she was the master of the delicate art of teasing. This will be the most amusing year yet.
"Natsuki is a meanie."
"Oi, Kuga! Whatchadoin' back there?" Nao called as she approached Natsuki. "Oh, ah, well, hello, Prefect."
"Hello."
"Yuuki. She's Nao Yuuki." Natsuki told her. Another girl, a bustier one, Shizuru noticed, caught up to them. "And this one with the great personality is Tokiha. Mai Tokiha."
"Good day, prefect." Mai greeted nervously. It was THE Shizuru Fujino, after all.
Fujino eyed the newly-arrived pair with interest. There seems to be quite a few attractive Gryffindor firsties this year.
"Hey Natsuki, you never told me you were in a first-name basis with the most awesome girl in school!" Mai whispered a bit too loudly, eliciting an amused grin from the eavesdropping Shizuru.
"Yeah, Kuga, what gives?" Nao said with a dash of irritation, but mostly laughter. Especially at how red this girl has become.
"Hey, hey, we only started just now! I only started calling her Shizuru right at this moment, right here!"
"Well sorry for interrupting your precious moment with Fujino-san," Mai giggled.
"Ah, l-look at the time guys. Come on. We're gonna be late for potions!" Natsuki shifted rather uncomfortably, wanting to change the topic already. She pushed the two towards the direction of their classroom. "Um, bye Shizuru. See you around!"
"Natsuki?" Shizuru called before Natsuki got any more farther.
"Yep?"
"You shall wear that jacket next time, yes?"
Natsuki smiled. "Yes, prefect."
"Remember, Natsuki. You must do as I say. And always bring this with you." A man in his forties made the girl wear the blue jacket in his hands. The girl complied.
"But Dad…"
"Go, and be a good girl." The old man smiled and patted the young girl's head.
The girl looked back for one last time and pushed her trolley towards the barrier to make her way to platform nine and three-quarters.
The old man's smile faded, a worried look pasted to his face. "I hope I'm doing the right thing, Saeko…"