(Untitled)

[kazuki_takurai]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'She's Bad News' / Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 / 5:03 PM
Location: The Great Hall
Open to: Leesh
Currently Involving: What? A distressed Kazu?

Kazu heaved a sigh, resting his head on top of his arms, which in turn were crossed on the table. For one time in a long time, Kazu Takurai wasn’t hungry. Well, at least not with his

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[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu was fairly stupid when it came to girls, but he wasn't that stupid. He turned to Aleesha worriedly when she replied so curtly. Only then did he realize that his words might have sounded dumb to someone who didn't understand the entire situation.

"Oh, I didn't mean..." Kazu began. Then he just stopped. He stared at the mashed potatoes that sat on his plate, and he chose to ignore them. The little appetite he had from before was now completely gone, so instead he fiddled with the napkin that sat to the side. He couldn't do anything right, could he?

But when Leesh continued, his spirits rose a little bit. Especially after she smiled. He couldn't help but return it, however cautious of a smile it was.

"Fine," he laughed. "Quidditch is fine, like always. But, er..."

Kazu sighed, running a hand through his hair angrily. What was this? He was acting like a freaking girl. He just needed to get straight to the point, instead of beating around the bush, as some would say.

"You don't think I'm just some idiot, right? I mean... I'm worth having around, right?" he asked Aleesha, almost desperately.

[almonty]

Monty frowned as she watched him ignore the food on his plate. Geez, his problem must be serious if he wasn't going to eat. She had heard tons of stories from Chen about his brother's famous appetite and she had seen it first hand on many an occasion.

When he finally spat out his issue, she couldn't deny she was a little shocked. This was Kazuki, for Merlin's sake, it always seemed like a personality crisis would never bother him. He was usually so chill.

"Your looks alone are worth keeping you around," she said before taking another unlady-like size bite out of the piece of chicken. "But that's probably not what you want to hear, so," she added with her mouth full, "I will add you are marvolously fun company. Right now excluded of course." She nudged him with her elbow and winked, hoping that he'd understand she wasn't trying to be mean. "Decent sort'a bloke too."

She watched his face, trying to determine if her words were having any effect. "Not to sound like a bitch but, oh who am I kidding, you know I am, but...what was I saying? Oh yeah, I wouldn't be friends with you if weren't a good guy. Plus, if you weren't special I wouldn't have stolen this," she pulled a chocolate frog from her back pocket, "from one of my roommates." She pushed the candy into his hand and patted him on the shoulder before continuing on with her drumstick massacre.

[kazuki_takurai]

That's what was freaking Kazu out the most as well! Usually he would never feel down over something as petty as this, but the last few days had been on the melancholy side. He did smile a little at Leesh's comment on his good looks. She always knew the best things to say, honestly.

And then she brought out CHOCOLATE! Chocolate from her back pocket! What was that, the magical back pocket of... MAGIC? Kazu couldn't help but chuckle as Aleesha put the treat into his hands.

"Hey, awesome!" he laughed. He was about to pry open the box and shove the whole thing in his mouth, but he remembered that he still had something to clear up.

"So..." he began, staring at the chocolate frog box in his hands. "Even though I'm a little dumb... And I eat a lot... I'm still a cool guy, right? I'm not dispensable?"

Only then did Kazu turn his gaze to look at Aleesha, almost like a beaten puppy, or something. She was the perfect person to have around for this. Kazu knew that she would tell the truth, unlike some of the other girls he knew around the school.

That, and she was damn cute.

[almonty]

She scoffed and threw the almost clean chicken piece down on her plate. "Dispensable? Not even close, lad." Leesh wiggled her fingers above the food, as if trying to decide what to have next, but nothing greatly appealed to her so she folded her arms on the table and turned her stare to Kazu.

"Where are you getting all this from then? Somebody being mean to you? Want me to beat 'em up?" Of course, she wouldn't actually beat anyone up, Leesh preferred verbal spurs to physical ones, but if Kazuki named someone, she'd damn well make sure they had a stern talking-to. "There's always gonna be people in life that put you down but a good soul like you shouldn't pay attention to them, alright? I mean, you have my stamp of approval, what other validation can you need?" She grinned wickedly before grabbing her spoon and stealing some of his mashed potato.

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu laughed softly. For some reason, he could see Aleesha taking on someone in a fierce brawl. Whether she preferred verbal bouts or not, he wouldn't deny the fact that she had a damn good chance of winning.

"Nah, just me being a bit paranoid, I think," Kazu decided, finally feeling the color return to his face. "I'm glad you think the way you do, Monty."

He gave her a silly grin in return before she moved in to steal his mashed potatoes.

Those were his, didn't she know?! HOW RUDE!

"Hey now, hey now!" Kazu laughed, reaching for his spoon like it was a weapon. "Don't you go stealin' my taters! Now I'm not in a lousy mood, so I'll fight for my food!"

He managed to swipe about half of the potatoes off of Aleesha's spoon and into his, but his victory didn't last long, seeing as his newly pilfered contents fell onto her plate. Damn potatoes! Why did they have to be so... heavy?

[almonty]

Yay, mission accomplished! Kazu was fighting for his food, that could only be good news. "Hey now, don't steal my stolen potatoes!" She made a shocked face as he spooned half her loot away. They ended up dropping onto her plate though and she gave a triumphant 'hmph'. "There, you see," she added, pointing to the lumpy white goo, "it wants to stay with me." She put her spoon down and dipped her finger into the mush, swirling it round. "There there, my precious mash, you're safe with me now. The bad man can't hurt you any more."

She stuck her finger in her mouth and sucked off the potato, grinning widely at Kazu. "Mmmm, tastes like victory. Mashed, creamy, wet victory. The best kind of victory there is, I've always said."

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu smiled as Leesh swirled her finger around in HIS mashed potatoes. When she put it into her mouth, he had to roll his eyes playfully, giving her the alright-you've-won sort of look.

"Huh," Kazu began, reaching for some chicken to put on his own plate. "Well that's a useful piece of info to know, yeah?"

Then he grinned evilly.

"You like it creamy and wet, do ya?" he teased, using the tone of his voice to insinuate something disgusting. "I'm not gonna lie, that's how I like my victories too."

He licked some chicken grease off of his thumb.

[almonty]

Aleesha snorted in laughter then proceeded to laugh harder when she heard herself snort. "That's obscene," she said though the giggles, "I can't believe you just said that." She few people stared around at Aleesha, her laughter was rather loud, but she took little notice.

"I thought you were a gentleman," she jokingly complained, watching his tongue dart out of his mouth for the briefest of seconds. "I can't be seen 'round town with a corrupting sort of fellow like you! What will people say? With a snoopy reporter hanging around, you know this'll make front page news!"

Ahhh, exaggerating her own importance was fun.

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu grinned proudly. "Oh, I know it's obscene. That's why it had to be said, of course!"

He didn't mind that people were staring. In fact, when Leesh started laughing after she snorted, Kazu couldn't help but give a hearty laugh as well. She was such a goofball!

"Sorry to disappoint you," he snickered. "I can be a gentleman sometimes... If I feel like it, that is. Bah, and who cares what people say. It'd be great if this stuff made front page news, y'know?"

Kazu pondered for a moment before continuing.

"Aleesha Montgomery: Naughty or Nice?" Kazu continued, coming up with his spontaneous headline. "Has she finally been corrupted by the ways of the vigilante, Kazuki Takurai?"

... He might read that paper, actually.

"And besides, I'd rather read that then the stuff that Skeeter woman's gonna put out. I went in for an interview, or whatever, and she seemed really weird. And phony."

Then he wrinkled his nose as he remembered her face. "And she had scary hair."

[almonty]

Aleesha laughed at Kazuki's headline. "Hey, I would definitely read that paper. Although it's wrong, you know? If anybody is going to be corrupted here, it's you." She had that look on her face that made it extremely hard for people to tell whether she was being serious or not. If Kazuki was a smart lad, he might consider becoming more on guard. Then again, he mightn't even need to worry.

"You went for an interview, no way! I wanted to go but my father and my friends and come to think of it, a couple of the Professors, suggested it would be against my best interest. I have no idea why though, I'd give her a what-for, you know I would." She thought about this for a second and then sighed. "Aaaaaand now I just figured out why they didn't want me to go. Honestly. I can be courteous! I can bite my tongue!"

Al looked at Kazuki and then shook her head and laughed. "Ok, so perhaps not. What'd she ask you anyway?"

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking at the mystical ceiling as he tried to remember the interview. He ignored all of the stupid things he did like drinking his tea when it was hot, and eating all of the cookies that Skeeter offered him... Leesh definitely didn't need to know that stuff.

"Weird stuff, y'know?" Kazu went on, scratching the back of his neck. "I could tell she was trying to get me to say that I actually like Lucius Malfoy as Headmaster."

He scowled as he tried to remember further.

"I told her that it was hard to feel safe here," he said in a low voice. "Like... anyone could be a Death Eater, even your favorite professor, or your best friend."

After a moment, the grin returned to Kazu's face. "But I think we're safe. We're the smart ones, I think. Right, Monty?"

He gave Aleesha a playful rabbit punch on her arm, laughing a little bit. Might as well stay light-hearted, right?

[almonty]

But, but, but! Leesh would have loved to know all that stuff. She craved details! They were her one true love, those details.

"Like Lucius Malfoy?" Aleesha scowled along with Kazuki and to an onlooker the pair would have looked quite cute pulling similar faces. She nodded along to what he was saying, about how hard it was to feel safe. Louvika Hawkins didn't even sleep in her own dorm anymore. No one really walked the halls alone at night. Just about everyone had seen the victims who had been killed in this very room just a few short months ago. It was such a drastic change to what Hogwarts had been like in her first year.

Leesh felt like she should offer Kazu a warning or something, as if he didn't already know to be careful. But this was supposed to be a happy night, she didn't want to bring the mood down. She grinned at grin. "You can't be that smart if you just punched me in the shoulder," she said, flexing her fingers as if in preparation. "Because now I'm afraid you're going to have to take me on in an arm wrestle, just so I can prove I'm not to be trifled with."

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu was almost lost in more of his thoughts when something sparked his hearing.

What was this? A CHALLENGE!?

"...You," Kazu said firmly, clarifying that Leesh was indeed talking about herself. "Against me? Monty, I don't want to break your arm. I'd end up killing you in an arm wrestle!"

Kazu was very much against the idea of battling with girls. Not because they were weak, but because he could never go 'all out' against them. Kazu never had to worry when he was practicing Quidditch with Bacchus, because they were... manly men! They were tough! But Kazu would feel like a cheater if he put himself against Leesh.

... He could always go easy on her.

[almonty]

Leesh scoffed and reached over to pinch his shoulder. "The only thing about to break is your fragile ego," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. She put on her best American from the south accent and shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear, "git yer elbow on the table boy, we about to have ourselves a' arm wrassle. Yeeee-haw!"

A big smile broke over her face. Unlike Kazu, Aleesha was all about battling boys. They were suckers tricked into thinking that because they looked more physically imposing, they had some sort of advantage over her. They fought their desire to win so they could shelter the female type.

Al felt a rage towards all man-kind then but she let it pass. Channel it towards winning, she told herself and she high fived her internal self for such a good thought.

"Want me to use my left hand so you've got at least a chance of winning?" she asked ever so sweetly.

[kazuki_takurai]

Kazu had to laugh heartily as Aleesha got ready to arm wrestle. What was with the accent, anyway? He was going to attempt it, but he was afraid of looking like an idiot compared to Leesh. Instead, he proceeded to roll up his sleeves, a look of victory already on his face.

"Very funny, Monty," Kazu scoffed, tossing his hair out of his face. "Just get your elbow on the table, will ya?"

Hopefully this would turn into some event where everyone in the Great Hall would watch them. With Leesh's southern accent outburst, Kazu wouldn't be surprised if they did get a crowd. The two of them probably looked like a couple of old-school hicks, ready to settle a spat over a good game of arm wrestling. Which wasn't a bad thing at all! Kazu loved attention.

"I'll try to go easy on you," he said with a grin. "I don't wanna mess up your pretty little arm, yeah?"

[almonty]

But didn't he understand? The whole point of funny accents was that you deliberately made yourself look like an idiot. It was fun. It attracted attention. Like the crowd that was beginning to form around them. Good, thought Leesh, he'll be beaten in front of plenty of witnesses. She let out an evil cackle and placed her elbow on the table, flexing her fingers.

Leesh could just hear that weirdo, Sunny Charles, in the background calling the odds (Al was 2-1 apparently) and taking bets. "This pretty little arm is going to beat you into submission," she said, maintaining her sickly sweet tone. "Which is a shame because you're not going to want to date a girl who can beat you, are you?" This made her sad, but then she supposed there were always other guys.

Leesh looked into Kazu's pretty eyes and with a sly smile she added, "at least tell me you'll settle for a handjob behind the Quidditch shed later?" Oh no, Aleesha Montgomery was not afraid to play dirty and if that psyched him out so she got initial advantage, all the better.

"Ready, go," she said without warning.