Dragon Knights Fan Fiction ❯ My Immortal ❯ Hazing ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: If I owned Dragon Knights... well, hmm... (cackle)

 

AN: Well, I guess this is going to be a pretty short chapter too. But necessary! The first scene was largely inspired by Hot Gimmick, which is about as far from Dragon Knights as you can get, but there you go, heh. Sigh, only two reviews so far - all on ff net of course - but I guess that's not bad for something about Kharl ;)

 

Vaguely Downwards: (waves wildly) Hiiiiiii! Wow, just when I think you can't get any cooler, it turns out you read Dragon Knights too. Such taste! XD Though, truth be told, probably the reason it sounds so different from Mystic is that it was written so long ago, heh...

 

Aobikari: Thanks for reviewing - and for faving! :)

 

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Chapter Two: Hazing

 

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By Tuesday, the snow had turned to a thin, slick layer of disgusting slush. Kharl was fascinated to discover that most of it had been shoveled off not only the mansion's front walk, but the driveway as well. He almost felt ashamed to drive on something so spotless.

 

After driving through a little less than a mile of disintegrating winter wonderland, he reached the house. Along with himself, he removed a bag of books and a box of cookies from the car. What better way to break the ice than with food? After all, he remembered what it was like to be a teenager, though admittedly he never craved cookies...

 

When the butler showed him up to Rath's room, he just had to take a moment to absorb it all. The rest of the house had an elegant look to it, something in between Victorian and European and Modern. This room, however...

 

The walls were painted black. So was the ceiling, though at least the carpet was red. It would have been very dark, except that rock posters covered so much wall space that you could barely see the color. There was a guitar in the corner. It appeared that the servants were never let in here, because there was crap all over the place. There was simply no way to describe it any more elegantly than that. The bed was unmade and covered in... things... and there was a distinct scent of rotten banana peels in the air. 'Gods...' Kharl thought. 'He may not look like a delinquent, but I'm feeling more inclined to believe it by the minute.'

 

Rath was sitting at a desk in the middle of it all, and Kharl was vaguely surprised to find that he had already started studying. He didn't even look up when they came in. The butler cleared his throat, and Rath sighed.

 

"Yeah, yeah. You may go, Johnson." Only after the door had closed again with a quiet 'click' did he set aside his pencil and make eye contact with his new tutor.

 

"Hi," he said curtly. "Go on; sit down."

 

Kharl arched an eyebrow. He'd met his share of sulky, unwilling pupils, but rarely had he been in charge of someone who so immediately came off as... arrogant. Spoiled. He hesitated a moment, and did as he was told. It was what he had been planning to do in the first place, after all. But honestly...

 

He pulled the chair over to Rath's side and looked over his shoulder at the textbook. "Ah, Trigonometry. You're a senior, right? Good. Okay..."

 

Rath sighed again. "Look... Kharl? I think there's something you really ought to know." He opened a drawer, and pulled out an envelope of the large yellow variety. "These are my grades from last year. I have a complete record for all the semesters if you'd like to see them..."

 

Mildly puzzled, Kharl pulled a few pieces of paper out of the envelope. "Let's see... English, A. Geometry, A-plus. Government, A. Chemistry, A. Business Education, A-plus..." He broke off, gaping. "But I thought you... your mother said you missed classes!"

 

Rath shrugged. "I did extra credit work. Would you like to see the year before that?"

 

Kharl shook his head wordlessly, looking over the page again in a vain attempt to find so much as a B plus. Gods... When he looked up again, he was smiling wryly. "Ah, I see. So basically, my job is to come here three days a week to make your parents happy, and then... sit down and shut up?"

 

Rath smiled too, in an equally humorless fashion. "You got it. You're a smart guy; I'm sure we'll get along just fine." He started to turn back to his work.

 

There were times when you really felt that something ought to be said, if only because you really need to hint that you were a bit lost. "I hate to take money from you parents for nothing," he said desperately.

 

Rath snorted, not looking up. "They've got enough to pay you thirty times what they are; I wouldn't worry if I were you."

 

And that seemed to be about it. Kharl settled back in his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable. Vampires weren't used to new experiences, but this certainly qualified. What an arrogant boy! He pitied the parents, he really did. But he also couldn't help but wonder why...

 

He realized with no small amount of irritation that Rath was staring at him. First he wouldn't look at him, and now he was staring...? "Yes?" he asked coolly.

 

"In fact, you don't even really need to be in here," he said, in an off-hand sort of way. "Why don't you go watch TV or something? Have a snack, maybe?"

 

Kharl paused momentarily again, then stood. "Thank you," he said gravely.

 

He shut the door behind him. Then he walked down the hall, noisily. Then he walked back to the door much more quietly, and listened.

 

He could hear the pencil scratch across the paper. At one point Rath erased something. A few minutes later, he ate a cookie. A few minutes after that, he stood up and opened the window.

 

Kharl flung the door open, a vision of vampiric rage. Rath had one leg already out the window. Before he could even get past the deer-in-the-headlights stage, Kharl had strode across the room and pulled him back inside by the collar, shutting the window with a 'bam.'

 

"Actually," he said, grinning toothily as only a vampire could, "I think I am needed. Really."

 

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The next day, there were voices on the other side of the door. Kharl frowned thoughtfully at it. He considered asking the butler to stay, but by the time he turned to him the man was already in the midst of bowing stiffly. He watched him going down the hall and out of sight, glowering lightly now. Oh well, he thought grimly; it might be better if he wasn't here anyway.

 

And then there was the question of knocking. Should he bother...? No. Two could play at this game, and anyway, it might be amusing to see what they were up to.

 

The scent of popcorn wafted over him. The three teens seemed to be trying to watch a movie, listen to music and surf the Internet all at once. He got a brief moment to observe the two newcomers - one was a boy with short, strangely green hair and scars who was scarfing the popcorn like there was no tomorrow, and the other had such pretty, long blond hair that he wasn't quite sure of the person's gender - before Rath stood up.

 

"Oh, hey Kharl!" he said, all smiles. "I didn't remember today was one of your days; sorry." From the uneasy looks of his friends, Kharl gathered that this was something of... an alteration of facts...

 

He beamed. "Oh, it's no trouble; no need to apologize. How about I just give you a few minutes to finish up, and then we can start?" What a little brat...

 

Rath's face remained 100 percent sweet-and-innocent. "Well, I don't know... I mean, we're right in the middle of this movie, and Rune hasn't seen it before... and we were planning to do our homework afterwards, together... You think you could come tomorrow?" He leaned closer, winking. "It'll just be between the four of us, you know? What do you say?"

 

"I really don't think your parents would approve, Rath."

 

He shrugged. "So what? What they don't know won't hurt them, right?"

 

Kharl frowned. 'He's really trying his best, isn't he? Seeing exactly how easy I'll be to get under his thumb... Bull.' "Can I talk to you outside, Rath?"

 

Out in the hallway, Kharl leaned against a wall. 'Why me...?' "I'm afraid that I really don't approve of your behavior," he commented. "I see what you're trying to do here, you know. It's very childish."

 

"Shut up," Rath snapped. "I'm surprised you even came back. You do understand that I don't need a tutor, right? You can go ahead and call the school if you think I faked those grades."

 

"I don't think your parents hired me out of concern for you academic capabilities," Kharl said carefully, experiencing a sudden craving for aspirin.

 

"Fuck them!" Kharl raised an eyebrow. "They don't know what they're talking about. They don't even know who I am! And don't say I don't give them a chance, because-"

 

"Rath! ...Thank you." Kharl sighed. "Rath... Do you hate me?"

 

"W-what? Of course I do!"

 

"No you don't." Rath scowled, but Kharl continued. "You couldn't possibly. What on earth have I ever done to you that could have inspired such vehement hatred? Me, as in me the person, not me the tutor your parents hired. Have I hurt you in some way? Called you names? I certainly can't remember doing anything like that, myself." He pushed himself off the wall. "It seems to me that you're not doing this because you want to, but because somebody else wants you not to... If you're going to be so childish, then I just don't think there's anything I can do here." He started walking down the hall.

 

'This is a big gamble, you know. Too big!' Part of him was informing him quite bluntly and with rude words that he was being an idiot for turning down such a high-paying job, that he should have just put up with the brat for at least a few more sessions. He really shouldn't be putting someone so proud in a position like this; there was no telling how he'd act. 'But then again, I guess I'm too proud too...'

 

Someone grabbed him coat sleeve.

 

"I'm not childish," Rath growled.

 

Kharl chuckled. "So you'll treat me as a person?"

 

"No. You're still just a stupid tutor." Rath looked down. "But if you go, they'll just hire someone else... So, well, you might as well stay, you know?"

 

Kharl smiled. 'Progress...'

 

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A/N: Bwuha. Yeah, I know, it sucked. And it was short. Agg! But don't worry; the next one will be much more fun, and at least a little longer too ;) R&R and I will build a temple in your honor and burn offerings of pocky every day!