Ryuuji Otogi (bybloodbound) wrote in bornintomagic, @ 2008-03-19 07:21:00 |
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Current music: | Fuck Authority - Pennywise |
Entry tags: | alexander luthor, ryuuji otogi |
you know the time is right to take control we got to take offense against the status quo
Who: Ryuuji Otogi, Professor Luthor
What: Lex stopped talking over the journals. Ryuuji hasn't finished having his say.
Where: Professor Luthor's office.
When: After this conversation.
Rating: PG at the most.
Status: Complete.
Ryuuji stormed out the door, remembered that he was supposed to wear the school uniform while on the grounds and doubled back to grab the robes from the chair that he'd thrown them on. Pulling the cloth over his head hastily, he let it fall over his shoulders as he wriggled into the loose sleeves, the hem of the robes brushing the floor as he swept wrathfully out of the room.
The door to the Detention Room slammed behind him, but the sign saying "Ryuuji Otogi's Residence, DO NOT DISTURB" stayed firmly stuck to the door as it had been charmed to do. The wards shielding the possessions that he had placed inside sprang into effect as soon as he left the room, Ryuuji heading down to Professor Luthor's office with a dangerous scowl on his lips.
Stopping in front of the door, he took a moment to compose himself, smoothing his features out into a blank expression. Fury tended not to go down too well with professors. He lifted a hand, slender fingers curled into a fist, and rapped hard on the door three times, the sounds brief and coming together in close succession.
There was a long thin painting hanging on one side of the door. It was framed like a window looking out into the woods, a snake hung on a low branch over reaching across the window's top. And curled under a tree in the distance, was a griffin. At the knock, the griffin walked out of the frame.
A few moments later, the door unlocked itslef with a clunk, and swung open. Professor Luthor stood in the doorway, official robes off, in deep purple graphorn trews and boots, and a pale white silk shirt, partially unbuttoned. His cravat hung like a scarf over his shoulders.
"Mr. Otogi, well this might be interesting." He stepped away from the door.
A stained glass window dominated the space behind his desk, in multicoloured squared dotted with simple frosted ones. In the coloured semi gloom, shelving on all the walls held various books and parchments. A darker entrance to the side of his desk led to the store-room with it's jars of dried and pickled substances, powders and flowers and delicately simmering brews.
Lex thew himself into his chair, the bright twin lamps on his desk sending his shadow looming. A flick of his wrist sent the papers on the surface floating into a nearby set of shelved drawers. There was a click as they locked themselves shut.
Ryuuji took it as a cue to enter, hands shoved deep within the pockets of the blue and silver robes that were the Beauxbatons uniform. He hadn't bothered to button them up fully, only pull them on, but who cared? This wasn't class, and he certainly wasn't trying to impress Professor Luthor.
He'd been in the room before, mostly so that he could break into the storeroom with its supplies. As Lex sat down in the chair behind the desk, Ryuuji pulled the other chair back, dropping into it with a lithe grace that belied the anger making his stomach muscles tense and his eyes so bright.
"I don't plan on failing your class or having to retake it." Without wasting any time on niceties or formalities, Ryuuji plunged directly into the reason that he had actually decided to visit Professor Luthor's office. Generally speaking, he avoided having to interact with his professors in an official setting outside of class unless asked to stay after class for one reason or another.
Most important topic tackled first, he then added, "And there's no reason to change the tests when they were completely untouched. I didn't even go near wherever you might keep them."
Lex looked immediately bored and disappointed. "We just had this conversation Otogi. Do you have new arguments? New points? If not I have things to do. You know where the door is."
If it'd been any other set of circumstances, Lex would have been more accomadating. He wasn't an easy teacher, and he could admit, he wasn't always fair. But no one he'd ever taught, had failed to leave him with the basics not drilled into their head and a push towards creative thinking and applications.
Privately he thought that might have been part of his irritation. It was rare to find a student that so potions as more than a necessary chore. For all of Otogi's carefully careless demeanor he'd thought innovatively and his tests and homework showed he knew the basics and a little more. So the stealing, the invation of privacy, the current attitude, mixed with the coasting by in the classroom, and here was the opportunity to punish it suddenly in Lex's hands.
Ryuuji didn't care if Lex was bored. It wasn't his job to entertain Lex. Arms crossed over his chest, he leaned forwards in the chair with his intense green eyes fixed on Lex unflinchingly. Unfolding his arms, he ticked off on his fingers, "One, you didn't tell me a number. I need the level of punitive damages that I have to cancel out in order to pass this class. Two, if you think that I tried to steal tests, you should report me to the Headmistress, not punish the entire class. Three, it's office hours and I'm talking to you as a student about classes so you can't just kick me out because you're /bored/. Four, you--"
He paused, biting down on his lower lip hard to stop himself from finishing his sentence. With a laugh that he pulled out of his stomach, he settled back into his chair and shot Lex a half smirk, "Four is more of an insult than a valid argument, so I'm skipping over that since this is actually an academic setting as opposed to journal discussions where I am allowed to speak my mind freely."
A toss of his ponytail to bleed off some of the excess energy and he exhaled, going back to his fingers, "Four, you didn't explain why it should mean anything to me that you know what goes into Rainbow Ink. I have no intention of trying to sell it commercially and if you want to manufacture and patent it, be my guest. Which leads into five, that I'm willing to pay to replace the ingrediants I borrowed if you're throwing such a -- if you're that annoyed by it."
Lex got up and strode to the door, plucking his robes off it as he passed. He pushed the office door open and shrugged into the uniform - frowning not for the first time at the blue.
"Lets go to your room."
"What?!" That wasn't the reaction that Ryuuji was expecting. He stood up as well, twisting around to stare at Professor Luthor's back. He'd kicked himself out of his room! He was living in the Detention Room! How could they go to his room? Unless Professor Luthor had simply failed to hear that, or hadn't read it in Ryuuji's journal...
It wasn't as if the school revolved around Ryuuji, no matter what he pretended to think.
Shrugging it off, he joined Lex at the door, taking the lead, "Fine. But I warn you, it's a mess."
Why did Professor Luthor even /want/ to go to his room? An invasion of Ryuuji's privacy as retaliation for Ryuuji invading his? It wasn't as if Ryuuji had gone into Professor Luthor's bedroom or anything! This was unnecessary.
Stalking back up the stairs, Ryuuji turned a corner and gestured at the room with the sign reading "Ryuuji Otogi's Residence: DO NOT DISTURB". He'd Charmed it to stay over the plaque that usually marked it as the Detention Room.
Taking the wards down easily for long enough to push the door open, Ryuuji waited for Professor Luthor to enter first. Inside, a black leather recliner was pushed down to full length near the center of the room, stacked high with pillows and quilts. The desks had been pushed together to make a big table, books piled on top of it with a corner cleared for scrolls and an ink pot. A lot of the covers of the books were shielded with black paper, hiding what they were about -- usually the technique used by purveyors of pornography but even a teenager boy couldn't have that much porn.
The large windows were closed tightly and the room was warm. The shelves that would normally hold textbooks and writing supplies had folded clothes on them instead, and on the blackboard, Ryuuji had drawn an intricate picture of a dragon in full flight over the sea, sunlight glinting off the scales. It was especially remarkable for having being done solely in chalk.
A semi-circle of chairs near the recliner with cushions on them indicated where Ryuuji's friends sat when he 'entertained'. The table nearest to the chair contained a variety of snacks and a jug of water with a wedge of lemon on the rim; the House Elves liked Ryuuji and were willing enough to supply him with food during his latest crusade.
Sprawled open over the recliner-bed was a Potions journal discussing the latest discoveries of the uses of salamander blood in Riken's trials. Ryuuji's own magical journal was on the floor, firmly clasped shut and warded.
The most noteable feature of the room was probably what was missing; nowhere were any photographs of Ryuuji's family or friends to be seen. Though it had a strong sense of personality, there wasn't anything to indicate ties to other human beings, despite his easy charm and usual flock of followers slash friends.
Lex surveyed the room with a critical eye. It was an interesting tactic to try for a single. He'd read that far in the journals, but he'd thought the move was metaphorical; that is, Ryuuji'd be spending most of his time there.
"Yes, I can see where spending time here would be a torturous, witholding punishment."
Lex peered. He peered at the clothes, pulled something out, held it up, sniffed it, rubbed it with his fingers to test the texture and finally put it back with a slight look of disdain. He moved to peer at the piled black covered books.
"I have a proposal for you. You can replace what you took, while with me as my errand boy on my usual shopping trip for ingredients."
The lack of photos meant nothing to Lex. He'd never had pictures up of his family in his dorm room and there was certainly nothing in his office and suite of rooms now. It wasn't something he noted. Most people would not have guessed the watch on his wrist meant as much to him, and likely more than their most prized family portrait.
"There are two more conditions. Are you interested?"
Now what was Professor Luthor doing to his clothes?! Watching Lex fiddle with his garments, Ryuuji headed over for the table with the snacks and poured out a glass of water for himself, sipping at it to give himself something to do. He remained standing, since Lex was, then let a slight smirk quirk his lips at Lex's statement, "You could always tell everyone to stay away from the room and thus isolate me. Isolation is an excellent tactic."
Seeing Lex move to look at the books, Ryuuji shifted uneasily and deftly flipped one of his pillows over the opened journal. By doing that, he covered it up, hopefully preventing it from attracting Lex's attention.
The proposal was acceptable, so far. A bit of a waste of time, but Ryuuji could always see if he could order ingredients for himself or send something home to his father while out there. However...
"Interested, yes. Both in the conditions /and/ in what the incentive is for me to agree to it." His voice was steady, eyes on Lex as the Professor moved through Ryuuji's bedroom-living room combo. If the Professor was going to remain angry at him and keep the more difficult tests, then there wasn't any reason for Ryuuji to cooperate.
"You have to get at least an 83 in all remaining tests and homework in order to pass my class. If that's too difficult for you, Potions always need bubotuber pus, venemous tentacula seeds, mandrake root and bezoars, you could collect them for me, fresh. A continuation of the errand boy."
Lex flipped open several books at once and perused. "Personally I think it'd be more interesting to see you gutting a goat than pass a test, but that's just me."
He paused a moment, having seen the little cushion flip out of the corner of his eyes. "You invaded my office, Otogi, not my shower. I have no need to read your journal - or force you to tell me anything. I said no to veritserum, remember."
Ryuuji paled at seeing Professor Luthor open up the books, golden skin thankfully hiding the worst of it. The books were mostly advanced textbooks with a few novels thrown in. Not just the sort of textbooks that would be given to students but the kind that professors might write about their field of specialities.
Re'em blood and its many uses. The blackmarket history of Runespoor eggs and current misuses of it. Crossbreeding patterns between wizards and magical creatures, wizards and Muggles, and Muggles and magical creatures. Political bleedover between wizards and Muggles in Italy and how that contributed to the rise of fascism. Ancient Egyptian curses and burial rites, cross-compared to those of the Celts.
He didn't quite fidget, but he picked up his glass of water again, sipping at it once more. Ryuuji couldn't contradict Professor Luthor and explain it wasn't his personal journal without possibly raising questions about what he was hiding. So instead, he shrugged and pointed out, "That's two conditions -- errand boy and 83%. What's your last, and why are you expecting me to agree?"
He wasn't going to comment on the books unless Professor Luthor asked about why a seeming idiot would be reading such advanced material. Best not to make too big a deal out of it.
"You wish not to upset the apple cart for your fawning admirers, I'm taking extended testing for the rest of the class off the table. And I'm willing not to contact the HeadMistress, who would then of course contact your parent or guardian - unecessary dramatics -" Lex paused again, momentarily engrossed in a passage in one of the books splayed out in front of him.
Moments passed.
And passed.
When he looked up again, his eyes were shrewd. "And the last condition is that you owe me a favour. No questions asked. No hesitations. No involvement with the administration of the school. You're claiming to be a boy of your word, so I suppose if you gave me your word on this, I would take it."
No extra testing for the class was good. Ryuuji didn't care if Professor Luthor told the Headmistress or not; his father wouldn't pay any attention to one prank or chastise Ryuuji for it. 83% was easy enough to manage. Ryuuji could fill that condition without a problem. Being Professor Luthor's errand boy for one shopping trip also wasn't something Ryuuji would balk at.
That last request, however...
Ryuuji's eyes were sharp as he studied Professor Luthor. What exactly did he think he could get out of this? Ryuuji was seemingly a feckless schoolboy. Rich, yes, but Professor Luthor was rich as well. It was unlikely he'd call in a monetary favor. And the emphasis on not speaking to the administration made it seem more like a shady sort of deal.
Setting his glass down on a table with a deliberate clink, Ryuuji specified, "Not to be call in /after/ I've left the school. I don't want a schoolboy prank dogging me for the rest of my life."
Lex put down the book in his hands. "Fair enough. My word on that. Your oath?" He extended his hand.
Lex was going to make Ryuuji come to him, wasn't he? With a mental sight, Ryuuji crossed the space and held his hand out to Professor Luthor in return. He curled his thumb over Lex's, pressing it in a firm shake with his long, cool fingers loosely resting against Lex's.
"My word." He clarified, head tilted up so that he could meet the Professor's blue eyes directly. "Since we can't have anyone else here to swear an oath over us, obviously."
Unless Professor Luthor was going to drag someone else into this. Which Ryuuji doubted.
Come to think of it, this meant that the power dynamic had shifted. With Ryuuji having memories of having sworn to do something underhanded for a school Professor -- memories that could be examined via a Pensieve -- Ryuuji now had something on Professor Luthor.
But Lex grinned, almost as if reading Ryuuji's mind. He winked. Luckily Occlumency was not one of his gifts and talents. "I'm going to enjoy creating your tests. They should be a challenge. Also, keep Saturday free. Be ready at five AM. We'll be gone for most of the day."
He dropped Ryuuji's hand, after an extra squeeze and headed for the door.
Well, that had gone somewhat better than Ryuuji had expected. Difficult tests that he'd need to score well on, one Saturday gone--
WAIT. His mind came to a screeching halt and Ryuuji stared at Lex's back, unable to stop himself from blurting out, "Five AM?! Five in the /morning/?!"
Ryuuji hated waking up before noon. He'd do it for his classes but gods, 5AM? He might as well just not go to sleep at all! Though this was meant to be a punishment and sleep-deprivation was a classic form of punishment. With a grimace, he waved his hand at Lex, dismissing his own protest, "Nevermind. 5AM it is. I'll be at your office."
5AM. What was even OPEN at 5AM?
Paused at the door, Lex chuckled at the outburst, then snapped his fingers. "Amost forgot." He tugged a tiny silk satchet from the pocket of his trousers and tossed it at Ryuuji. It contained two of the three snipped hairs.
"These belong to you."
Catching it one-handedly, Ryuuji pulled it open and glanced down at the hairs. He reached up to touch his hair instinctively, pitying the shorn strands, and let a laugh escape his mouth, "What did you mean by saying you'd use the hairs to punish me?"
He couldn't help but grin as he asked, "Planning on pretending to be me and seeing what damage you can do to my reputation?"
The sachet was dropped carelessly onto his bed, Ryuuji wondering if it was a good sign or a bad sign that Lex had taken so much interest in his reading material but not brought it up.
"Practically, I could probably make good money using polyjuice and a camera with a good flash. But there are several invasion of privacy potions I can do with even just one hair. Essence can reveal a lot about a person; Where they are, what they're doing. Other things..."
Lex shrugged. "And then there are love potions and charms. It's not blood, but it is something."
The idea of a camera and Polyjuice Potion made Ryuuji grimace. It sounded like one of those shady brothels that specialized in impersonating other people. Instead of saying that, he shrugged and pointed out practically, "There's no benefit I can see to making anyone fall in love with me. You can't even frame me for it because nobody would believe that I'm capable of brewing something that complex."
He leaned against the recliner, considering the invasion of privacy issue. Ryuuji had strong wards on him whenever he was working as an assassin. It was unlikely that Lex could catch him doing that and anything else didn't seem important.
Lex pulled open the door still chuckling. "Who said the potion would be for -them-" He closed the door behind him.
Tipping his head to a side, Ryuuji considered that. Huh. So in addition to roommate problems and a possible favor being called in over the next two or three years, Ryuuji now had to worry about embarassing himself if he ended up drugged with a Love Potion out of nowhere.
Fantastic.