Trying Times PV Hana Finished

@Hanako Tone

Cursing another student wasn’t really something Ruka really thought he would ever enjoy, but in this case he couldn’t help but stare in fascination as the first slug made its way out of the other boy’s mouth and onto the filthy tiles of the bathroom floor.

He did that.

The short-lived expression of fear crossing the annoying kid’s voice made a sense of Power surge through him like he had never experienced before; for the first time in forever, Ruka didn’t feel like a victim to the situation. No, he hadn’t sat around and let this kid bully him with his sing-songy words and his fake happiness.

He had taken out his wand and fixed the problem.

For a second, Ruka’s face changed to an expression of pure joy, and he couldn’t help but laugh brightly as he watched the slugs hitting the tiles with a thump, leaving traces of slime anywhere they went.

The other boy tried, mostly in vain, to cover his face with a napkin, but the retching sounds left nothing to the imagination. However, it did sting Ruka with a little disappointment to not be able to see the effects of his spell directly crawling out of his target’s mouth.

“Oh, I do,” he answered the other boy’s question, even though it was very clearly not supposed to be answered to. It was amusing how this kid tried to laugh and save his pride and hit Ruka with words that were probably supposed to make him feel guilty for what he had done, but at the end of the boy’s words, there was nothing left but a certain emotional numbness that felt so good after days of sadness and anger and hate.

Maybe he should curse annoying people more often.

“Every slug out of your mouth feels like a band aid to my heart,” he admitted proudly, a menacing grin plastered on his face as he took a step to the side to avoid one of those slugs crawling across his feet.

Slowly he bent down to pick up his book, then made sure Jack’s fedora was safely perched on his head again.

“Well,” he said with a little shrug as he eyed the boy who had taken on a position now as if sleeping, were it not for the interruptions of ever bigger growing slugs making their way out of his mouth. The stench of the slimy animals mixed with what was probably the boy’s stomach acid travelling upwards actually managed to cover the bathroom’s naturally musky scent. “This was fun, but... You see I’m not wearing any shoes and I’d hate to ruin my socks with all that slime.” He chuckled in amusement.

Maybe he was being cruel and childish and petty all at once, but after all those days of not being able to control what was going on in his life, it just felt good to be in charge.

“And I have classes to get to anyway, so...” He grinned at the slug vomiting boy like they had just shared a friendly conversation before parting ways. “I do so hope to see you around again.”

With another small smile in the boy’s direction, Ruka made sure one last time that he had gathered his few belongings before making his way to the exit door.

“Oh, right,” he said brightly, turning around one more time. “For when you tell this story to your friends... or a teacher, or a prefect, go ahead... You can tell them the little pup’s name was Ruka Tân.” It was clearly a challenge, an invitation almost.

Now you know my name. Rat me out. Get back at me. Give it your best shot.

Maybe it was reckless, stupid, to taunt someone who was already on the floor; Cornered snakes tended to bite as well after all.

However, as this particular snake seemed to be spitting slugs instead of vomit for the moment, Ruka really wasn’t that concerned.

“And the next time we see each other I really expect you to put up a bit more of a fight.”

With that, he opened the door and slid out of the bathroom, a newfound bounce in his step as he made his way to Charms class.

Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all.

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