Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 2: In Polite Company

[Teal Mage]

Amaranth Campus: 3:58 PM - The Field of Honor.

Bright red high heeled shoes clicked on smooth grey stone, as Rebecca Landry ascended the final stair to the Field of Honor's peak. Nearly twice the size of most gymnasiums, the vegetation dotted platform stretched before her. Winding paths of cleared ground flowed from her position, weaving themselves like rivers of stone between patches of carefully manicured grass and brightly colored flowers. At the far corners of the Field, cube shaped boxes of marble stone rose to waist level. From each of them, oaks towered, each easily adding another two stories to the Field itself. Ferns grew wildly around the trees' bases, spilling over the edges of each of the planters to hang limply in the weak afternoon breeze.

Sitting on the edge of one of those boxes was one Adeline Fletcher. A blue summer dress clad to her athletically slim frame, the wispy skirt stopping just short of her knees. A black leather belt was cinched tight around the girl's waist, studded with leather loops. From one loop, a wooden practice sword hung low - the blade at least as long as the girl's forearm - while the other leather rings hugged - what appeared to be - carved wooden arrow heads. The girl's hazel eyes tracked Professor Landry as the woman followed one of the stone paths toward the cleared ring in the Field's center.

Waiting for her was Professor Shuyin.

Still dressed in his customary white suit, the effeminate man's long azure hair had been left free flowing; the weak afternoon wind played its ends. Like Adeline, the man's gleaming golden eyes were fixed on Professor Landry, but unlike the girl's, his expression was grim. Held between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand was a closed folding fan.

Standing a few paces away, on one of the patches of grass bordering the cleared circle, was the lithe form of Hannah Iruimi - with a slight difference. Gone were the girl's designer clothes and high heels, instead, she stood barefoot on the grass. White bandages were wrapped tightly around her chest, waist, ankles, wrists and fists, and her blond hair was tied back into a severe bun. Despite being thin enough that it appeared a strong gust of wind could blow her away, the net effect made her seem more...substantial. A plain leather satchel hung off her waist, bulging with what happened to be wooden pegs. A long, slim, wooden pole rested loosely in one of the girl's hand. If not for the green vine-like necklace she wore, it would have been hard to recognize the girl.

Flanking her were the imposing, and dusty skinned, forms of her bodyguards. Each of the young men were bare-chested, revealing muscles and abs that seemed to have been chiselled from rock - their physics put even Kohana's to shame. Unlike their apparent employer, both youths had elected to wear sweat pants, though they too were barefoot. Like last night, both boys wore their sunglasses. They did not seem pleased.

To the ring's right, near the edge of the platform itself, a grey stone pedestal had been placed in the middle of another patch of grass. A brown haired woman, likely in her early thirties, sat on its edge; chin in her hand and arm resting on her thigh. She too watched Professor Landry's slow approach. Letting out a sigh, the woman stood, climbing to the top of the pedestal in a fluid motion.

Who was she?

On the Field's far side, near the stair case opposite the one Professor Landry had ascended, a large box-like construct of metal glinted. Like the brown haired woman's pedestal, it seemed to have been installed recently. A large keyboard extended from the device's side, and another woman - perhaps a few years younger than the mysterious brunette - stood before it. Sharp clicks rose, as her slim fingers furiously fell on the keys. A pale purple beret rested atop her short wheat-blond hair and a look of intense concentration decorated her face.

Standing nearby were two other students, though only Astrate would recognize them. It seemed Vanilla Strauss, wearing little more than a short skirt and a tube top to show off her fantastic body, and Gorgeous Bonholm, dressed far more tastefully than his companion in plain blue jeans and a white tee-shirt, would be party to this duel as well.

Strangely, there were no other students from Professor Shuyin's class.


3:59 PM


"As the Representative of Headmistress Sophia Amaranth!" Standing atop the cube-shaped pedestal, the brown haired woman's voice carried with surprising clarity and strength throughout the Field of Honor. "I, Selena Brooks, Club Directress of both the Gardening and Veterinary Club, do hereby sanction both the duel of Professor Rebecca Landry and Professor Alphonse Shuyin, and the duel of Jay Miles and Hannah Iriumi! Combatants, please approach your foes!"

"Shuyin, this will be our last duel!" Professor Landry pronounced, now standing in the ring on the opposite side of her bluenette rival. She swept an arm through the air before herself decisively. "With the support and love of my students, I can not lose!"

"Professor Landry." Shuyin's fan snapped open, the golden paper unfolding to its full length and obscuring the lower half of his face. "I assure you, I will not be defeated by you, or your delinquent students."

"My beloved students are not delinquents!" Landry fired back, black aura flaring around herself, "And I will prove it by using their unconditional love to beat the tar out of you!" With a flourish, Professor Landry withdrew a long silver pole from her labcoat's sleeve. She slammed the staff's tip onto the smooth cement of the field's floor - it was almost as tall as her. Her free hand snapped out. "Name your blatantly slanted competition!"

The fan snapped shut. "We shall duel," Like a cat, Shuyin's golden eye narrowed to slits, voice dropping to a sinister hiss. "through formal dance."

"That's your idea of a blatantly slanted competition!?" Professor Landry fell back a pace, expression incredulous. She dropped her bostaff to the pavement; the silvery pole releasing a high pitched ringing sound as it met the floor's surface. A low chuckle escaped her lips as she raised a delicate hand to her glasses. "Prepare yourself Shuyin," Her fingers tightly closed on the frames housing her corrective lenses, "for my true form!"

She flung her glasses away!

Adeline Fletcher let out a grunt of surprise, as the frames slammed into her chest. "Hey-" Her words of protest died in her mouth, as her eyes fell on Professor Landry.

Her jaw dropped.

Auburn hair streaming in a sudden wind, Rebecca Landry stood before Shuyin in a slim, sleeveless and strapless black dress. Slits ran up the sides, allowing the Professor full range of movement. Sharp black high heels now hugged her feet, glinting in the afternoon sunlight as she took a step forward, extending a pale hand to Shuyin in greeting. "I am Rebecca Landry," she offered, a coy smile on her lips, "Professor of Love and Fightiology."

Expression grim, Shuyin took the auburn haired woman's hand.

"And," the Professor continued, flowing closer to her rival, "I will beat your pretty face in."

Shuyin did not reply.


4:02 PM


"Jay!" Hannah shouted, storming forward along the ring of grass that surrounded the pair of Teachers. Neither had moved from their starting position; they seemed to be waiting for a signal of some sort to begin.

"You better be here!" Taking up a position at the end of the stone path Professor Landry had followed to reach the Field's center, Hannah slammed the butt of her wooden staff into the pavement - a move reminiscent of Professor Landry's own.

At her sides, Al and Zet took up defensive positions. They seemed to be trying to watch all the bystanders at once - as if they expected some kind of foul play.

"Get out here and name your two partners!" Hannah shouted again, shifting her staff so it was held in both hands, before herself. "We're going to do this the old fashioned way - this'll be a straight up fight! Our duel ends when both sides are defeated!"

That was strange.


4:03 PM


At the far side of the Field, a machine had been set up. Silver and box-like, the strange device nearly obscured the stairs behind it. A pale blue aura, visible only to those with knowledge of the supernatural, hung around the devices' edges. It seemed to grow with every keystroke of the short-haired blond operating it, though very slowly.

Whatever could it be?

Gorgeous and Vanilla stood nearby; they'd arrived before Astarte, but now seemed to be looking for her.

Or perhaps guarding the machine.

[Astral Harmony]

Astarte was just outside the field, Miam looked towards the field with disappointment that she could not enter, and Linda to thank Astarte for some assistance Astarte provided earlier that morning. The two were almost late for class because Linda had lost her left index finger.

"Good luck in there," Linda said encouragingly.
"I don't think it's a good idea for anyone not involved to pick sides," Astarte observed.
"Ah, it shouldn't matter. By the way, are you okay? You're looking pretty nervous."
"Actually, I'm very calm, surprisingly. I wonder if it's because of the way I am."
Four o'clock was fast approaching. "I don't think you and Miam can get inside."
"That's fine," Miam said, strolling up to her and Linda. "We've got classes, anyways."

After bidding farewell to her two friends, Astarte hurried onto the Field of Honour proper, just in time to hear-

"We shall duel," Like a cat, Shuyin's golden eyes narrowed to slits, voice dropping to a sinister hiss. "through formal dance."

Astarte stopped suddenly and looked at her own body. She was wearing a plain white tank top, black sweat pants, soft-soled shoes, fingerless gloves and her mummy wrappings. Her beautiful orange hair was left to blow as free as the wind. "I am so not in the right attire for this kind of battle," she said to no one in particular.

Well, too late to go back and pray that the Student Store somehow sold prom dresses. Astarte proceeded dutifully onto the field, acutely aware of the presense of Vanilla and Gorgeous, two of her friends. Astarte paused at the sidelines, suddenly having a problem. Where'm I s'posed to stand, exactly? Astarte thought, feeling a little embarrassed. She was standing relatively close to Adeline, but not close enough for the two to strike up any kind of conversation without yelling.

[Overcast]

Jay walked onto the scene with a baseball bag in one hand. His hair stuffed under a baseball cap as always, eye black gleaming in two lines beneath his passionate stare in Hannah's direction. His jersey flapped in the breeze, the big black letters reading "all star" across the front, the back stating only "Miles" and the number 1. His white pants moved freely, loose like his jersey terminating at his ankles long black socks running under them and covered by a pair of almost malicious black cleats.

He dropped his bag onto the ground and unzipped it grabbing one black wooden bat that shone like the ebony lines that rested on his face, his hands gloved in black, wrapping tightly around the tape that lined the bottom of his weapon of choice. He swung the thing just once in practice then looked her way with a devious grin,

"I'm here Hannah."

His eyes moved to examine his classmates like a sandlot team captain looking for his star players. In his time away his mind had begun to falter in who he wanted by his side for the duel. Dal had been an initial choice, but he had a plan and if he could see the way his charm affected Al the same way that Jay had seen it then maybe it was better to bench him. Jackson had wanted to be in this, but as he threw the idea in his head in the hours approaching he had taken him out thinking there were better people to fill the position.

In the end he needed some monsters to occupy the brutes so he could go for Hannah herself, so his choices were narrowed by size discrimination and brutish personalities. After that his choices were obvious.

"I choose as my partners, Shinobu Meguro and Dean Hunter."

The two of them had a history of starting trouble from what he gathered. So back home he could almost be sure they had garnered some fight experience. Even better their clubs had shown that it wasn't just that they were big and muscular and fought people a lot, but that they had a degree of skill, Shinobu in wrestling and Dean in fencing, both martial forms that Bruce Lee himself had incorporated into his own fighting after encountering them. They would do just fine, and if Dal was as evil as he could assume they may just have an unfair advantage.

He then stopped for a second and started looking around in a panic as if something had just crossed his mind, that he hadn't thought of before,

"DIANA! You better be here! I want this shit recorded!"

It would be an absolute TRAGEDY if it weren't! In fact, they needed multiple cameras! All kinds of angles and shit so that nobody missed any part of this momentous ass whipping, and formal dance competition. This was the scoop of the month at the very least, and she would be terrible if she wasn't here to catch it.

[Dracorion]

Last night

Jackson arrived at his dorm at some point past ten, tired as hell from his workout. After a shower he collapsed into his bed. He rolled over so that his back was to his dormmate's bed and pulled the locket he always wore from around his neck, holding it in his hands.

"Hey Mom." He whispered to the locket, his voice as low as possible. "It was an interesting first day. My homeroom teacher is crazy. Also, I landed myself into a fight with another student, sorry. But I think I might've made a friend, so there's that."

"Good night, Mom. I'll talk to you again tomorrow." He finished, placing the locket on his bedside table and closed his eyes.

---------------------
Field of Honour

Jackson had arrived at the Field early, taking a seat on one of the marble boxes and waiting for people to arrive.

Eventually the Field filled with people. Landry arrived, and Shuyin declared their duel would be a formal dance competition. He'd expected it be something crazy. He looked for a moment at the device that was emitting a pale blue aura. The woman operating it tapped furiously at the keyboard. What the hell was it?

Hannah called Jay out, declaring their duel would be a straight-up fight. That was simple, at least. The moment Jay arrived, Jackson stepped forward as he was, dressed in a black t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. That was his expendable clothing?

Well the t-shirt was a little faded.

"I choose as my partners, Shinobu Meguro and Dean Hunter."

Wait, what? Jay kicked him off the team? That was- he- dammit! "... Fair enough." Jack told him. "It's your team. Good luck." He shook Jay's hand and walked back to his seat on the marble box. Damn. He'd really wanted to teach Hannah a lesson.

[Riin Whitewind]

A large, black bag rested in the dirt, shaded by the heavy oak branches above. Emblazoned with a prominent red cross, it appeared to be some sort of medical satchel. Next to it sat Sao, her back against the trunk of the tree. Lower face covered with a green-and-white patterned bandanna, with her long legs covered in jeans instead of her trademark skirt, she was almost unrecognizable.


Her aura shone faintly against her skin, though she hadn't done anything magical since early this morning. Having some time left before the duel, the swimmer had started mixing together the stock burn cream with her own salve, focusing completely on the task. Even if it wasn't immediately needed, the improved formula could be given back to the Veterinary Club.


The height of the planterbox allowed her to keep an eye on both duels, though her attention would focus on the three vs three melee, once it began. The swimmer was pleased to note that Shinobu had been chosen as one of the duelists - she had a feeling it would bring the girl no end of fun.


Sealing up her second jar of burn cream, the Undine watched Jack shuffle back to the side of the arena. There was a disappointed air about him, as if he had been expecting something else. A third jar, half-full of salve, plunked itself into the soil in front of her, awaiting treatment. Once the duel began, she had a feeling there would be no time left to prepare.

[IHateMakingNames]

Michael's morning had been much better than the last one. No cougar showed up for breakfast, which was mildly disappointing, but after it showed up inside was clearly for the better. In homeroom there were no axes or tentacles or whatever Michael saw last time. Just an hour of mixing colors, than two hours of Professor Landry complaining about clothing stores. It seemed like the teacher must have had some bad jobs at Hollister back in her days. There was an usual amount of flair in her demeanor which was off putting, but at least it was relatively normal.

After class Michael decided to check out the campus in more detail till their presentation, or whatever was happening later. After a few hours, the future engineer decided he would need to really research this place. With just walking around and eyeballing it, which some sketches, Michael couldn't figure out how this place was put together. None of the architecture made sense and he kept getting lost, which is unusual for the boy with a keen sight and memory for these kinds of things.

When it was time to go to the Field of Honor, Michael happened to stumble upon it. He stood near a grey stone pedestal as the events unfolded. Once again, the normal student was confused and dumbfounded. They were having a... dance off? And were some students going to fight off to the side?

"What the hell?" Michael couldn't help but ask out loud.

[krogothwolf]

Dean was lounging beside the marble seat Jackson was sitting on, sitting on a fairly large box wearing a t-shirt and jeans and a pair of sneakers. He was looking around disinterested really, a hand resting on Filia's head as she sat beside him. This whole thing seemed rather pointless, back home people would just fight one on one if they cared to much about things, but no one really held a grudge for long. It was far more fun to spend time with the dragon then trying to beat the tar out of each other. Then the teachers started their speeches. The other professor seemed to be as drama loving as Landry is, probably why they didn’t get along, he was only absently paying attention to the speech.

"My beloved students are not delinquents!" Dean heard Landry fire back at Shuyin, that got his attention.

“Ye didn’t really defend me why Jay called me a delinquent.” Dean mumbled under his breath chuckling, “so that means ye got at least one.”

Filia gave him a quizzical look and made a murming type sound.

"Eh, ye didn't think I'd actually behave here?" Dean said to her.

"We shall duel," Like a cat, Shuyin's golden eyes narrowed to slits, voice dropping to a sinister hiss. "through formal dance."

Dance? Dean didn’t know the first thing about Dancing. He hoped as hell he didn’t have to get involved in this competition, otherwise he’d blow it. He had thought this was going to be a real fight, not some crazy formal dance off. Otherwise he wouldn’t have brought the box along.

Then a girl stepped forward and challenged Jay. He wondered what Jay had done to piss of a girl so badly. He chuckled at the thought of Jay being a delinquent himself, getting into fights with girls and all. This was certainly going to be an entertaining event.

"I'm here Hannah." He heard Jay stay forward to answer the girls challenge,

"I choose as my partners, Shinobu Meguro and Dean Hunter." He heard Jay say, and Dean nearly fell off his box in surprise.

Wait..WHAT? What the hell? Why was he being dragged into this? What the hell was he being dragged into? And why for that matter> He picked up the box and walked towards Jay before stopping a few paces behind him and putting the box on the ground, Filia following along beside him. He grinned at Filia before bending down and opening up the box, pulling out a wooden 2 handed claymore, while leaving the real one still inside it, and then shutting the box up.

"Ye get back to the marble stones Filia." Dean said quietly to her, "I dinna think ye can get involved in this fight."

Filia gave him a cold look and made a strange noise at him.

"Ye cannae be serious, I'll be fine lassie, ye got nothing to worry about," Dean shrugged, "If I need ye I'll call dinnae ye worry."

Filia made another noise at him before turning and heading back to the marble stones. She looked back one more time and gave him a hard look before curling up and laying beside Jackson, Dean shrugged and stood up and stepped up besides Jay.

"So, what are ye getting me into?" Dean asked with a grin, hefting the sword over his shoulder, "not that I mind fighting, but why are we and which one do ye want me to take out?"

[Girasol of Chaos]

Shin had been waiting on the sidelines, eagerly searching for a window to jump in and join either of the duels. Her face did contort, however, to something of a grimace upon seeing that Landry's duel was....dancing. Her right hand settled on the handle of her metal kanabo, which was currently leaning against the matching leg. Between looking at clubs with Jo and now, she changed into more form-fitting black shorts and a matching tanktop. An open red jacket was the only 'armor' she really wore, but she didn't feel threatened enough to sacrifice movement. The ogre had summoned her mace upon changing and was ready to rumble.

Iron spikes glimmered dully at best in the light. Worn from previous demonstrations, the spikes were not sharp enough to slice, but still would easily do damage any faster than mock-blow speed. It was hoisted over its owner's shoulder in excitement, resting there as she heeded the call of battle.

Red irises flared to match a predatory grin. A deep growl surfaced, melting into an almost undecipherable phrase, "So, who's dinner?" Shin stepped on the other side of Jay, assuming she would keep the matching bodyguard busy. As much as she wanted to smash Hannah's face in, it would have to wait.

There's no real indication that she was joking.

[SinrXIII]

"Shit shit shit shit shit!"

Kohana dodged between students and faculty alike as he sped through the building, duster flapping behind him as he ran. After class, which had mostly been a chance for him to get to know his new (and very interesting) classmates, the youth had ducked into one of the many rooms arranged for physical activities.

Today, Kohana had chosen to give his kickboxing club a shot. He'd managed to work into a decent rhythm of kick-step-kick with a free swinging heavy bag, and was just starting to sweat when a passing glance at a clock on the wall told him it was nearly time to be present at the Landry/Shuyin duel.

Meaning he should've left ten minutes ago.

"Damnit, why couldn't they have slated this thing during class time?! If I miss this, I'm never gonna live it down! The name of the great Kohana Akecheta is on the line here!"

His aura flared as he threw the doors to the building open and dashed into the sunlight. The pathway was, fortunately, fairly clear of bodies as Kohana sprinted down it. His bare feet made almost no sound as he ran - he'd left his sandals in the room he'd left after realizing just how fast he was going to have to book it.

"Damnit damnit damni- There!" The entrance to the the Field of Honor was in sight. It was drawing closer, just not fast enough. Kohana just grinned as his aura flared wider. The world around him seemed to slow to a crawl as he ran, the Field of Honor growing closer and closer by the second. He could see the guards now, blocking entrance to the Field from the non-Landry or Shuyin students.

Surely they'd be surprised to see a black flash surrounded by a green aura stop just short of smashing into them!

----

Kohana made his way up the steps at a slower pace than he'd been running at, catching his breath as he did. His duster was thrown over his shoulder, and his bandana was freshly tied around his head. One of his ears twitched under the cloth, but he continued on his path.

His head broke out of the stairwell just in time to hear Jay proclaim his partners, and to watch Dean and Shinobu step into place. Kohana also noticed Sue holding a pair of glasses, and chuckled. He tossed his duster to the side and shook his head; his long, black hair rustled as his eyes moved to Landry and Shuyin.

"So. What'd I miss?" he shot to no one in particular.

[Steel Shadow]

It had been a somewhat subdued Diana that had attended homeroom class today. It seemed she had trouble concentrating and mustering up energy. Maybe it had something to do with the bags under her eyes, or the way she kept trying to 'rest her head' on her arms? Tch, wasn't this girl supposed to be an early riser?

Class had been interesting enough to keep her attention though (Fireworks! Yay!) even if she was going to be counting on her camera to actually remember any of it, and her drowsiness had cleared up around lunch time, at which point she'd attacked her club schedule with a passion. Film club was going to be fun, she'd decided, mostly just from meeting her fellow club members, since films were usually shown on Thursdays. She wasted a few hours there, discussing (and telling people why they were wrong about) recent blockbusters and the like. And then the time of the duel arrived.

---

"Of course I'm here, Jay!" Di's voice came from above. "But you didn't tell me you were having a duel too! I've only got the one camera!"

High above the gathering, lurking amongst the branches of the very oak tree Adeline had chosen to sit beneath, Diana watched, her camera ever ready in one hand, her other hand holding on for balance. Her clothes were looking a lot worse for wear than they had earlier that morning, her white jacket covered in bits of bark and green chlorophyll stains, while her jeans showed the marks of a dozen climbing scrapes. Her hat was nowhere to be seen (not that she was all that visible from the ground anyways...) and it had apparently been replaced by a set of black headphones.

Di stood tall, however. Today she wasn't going to miss a thing! No camera faults would get in her way! Even if she had to get top notch footage of three simultaneous duels, this was too good an opportunity to miss! Plus, there was a chance, and something told her it was a big one, that she'd see another mystery here. Mysteries had been very popular lately!

Slowly, her camera drifted over the field. She panned it over the gathering students, pausing for a moment to get what she felts was a good shot of Adeline, and then took a roundabout tour, making sure she got shots of everyone and everything, even that boring, if unexplained, machine off to the side. What was that for? Who cares.

Professor Shuyin, Boring shot of Professor Landry (but since she none of her footage had survived from yesterday, shots of Landry were worth gold, dammit!) The referee, A very nice sweep of the opposing girl (Hannah, wasn't it?), and a slightly less nice one of Jay (But still good). A less experienced girl wouldn't have been able to tell the difference in quality, she knew. A warm feeling of pride tingled in her chest. It was fun to know she was just that good.

Di hummed under her breath, making sure she wasn't going to disrupt her camera's sound detection. So many interesting people...

The back of her neck prickled. She froze, turning her neck slightly to look behind her. Was that person still...?

Yep. Not far from the field of honour, stood a grand looking building. And in that grand looking building, there was a grand looking window. And behind that grand looking window, a shadow watched. Diana frowned. Who was that? Why were they always watching the field? Whoever it was had been there yesterday during her interviews, and at other times, as well. Watching, always watching... It was so... so... Interesting!!!

Her camera was out and focused on the silhouette before Di had even managed to have the thought to do so. That shadow... So mysterious. So shady. So fascinating. The girl nearly swooned, which would have been a bad idea, so high up. She had to meet this person! Face to face! And interview them! From now on that was a priority goal!

Well... after the duels, anyways. Grudgingly, Di turned away from her view of the window, and the Mysteries behind it, then shook her head. She had to focus! She was The Magnificent Director! She would not lose out on such a glorious opportunity just because there was such a fascinating thing over in the next building. That could wait for another day.

Still, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder every once in a while. So interesting!