Darkness

Day Ten, Part Three

         I sat at the desk and began to write a letter to Barbara. It had been a long time since I wrote to her, and I figured that she wanted a few updates. There were plenty that had happened, and as I went through my documents, I realized the exhibition would end in a few days. I wondered if I should attend that exhibition, and then thought the better of it. I was as bad as my sister when it came to things like these. I took out some paper and a fountain pen. The paper was thick, so the ink would not seep into the paper and would not be affected by rain.

Dear Barb,
         How are you? Things have been pretty hectic lately. I know my previous letter was rather short, but we hadn't been able to hammer out the details then and it is a little hard to send an owl when you're in the plane. :) Well, this letter should reach you early afternoon tomorrow (for me at least) . We're now staying at a hotel for the night. We'll be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow and we'll be on the train later, but could you tell Dumbledore that we'll be late? I think the earliest of us will arrive late the day after tommorow. We're all planning to hike to the school, and we're going to split up and take the 'scenic' route. :) And before you say it, I know that it takes two hours to get to Hogwart by carriage. We're planning to take a detour of sorts.
         There's going to be eleven of us, including me. Nearly all of us are Japanese, and most of us, including me, had our education in Japan. The only exceptions are Clapika, Gon, and Kirua. All of their eductional background are unknown, but at least they all know how to read and write. Anything else can be arranged later. :p
         Kurama is the officially the 'head' of the group, although we're too well-mixed a group to listen to just one person. He's cool, calm and collected. He's quite smart and is a master at poisons. I've never seen anyone who's as good at poisons, history and herbalogy as he is. He's a good choice for the DADA position, as he's one of our specialists on Youkais here in the East. Let's see... He's 6ft 4, has gorgeous red hair and beautiful green eyes. Although he's been mistaken for being a girl before, I heard that's he's quite popular among ladies. He has a long fuse, although he does lose his temper, I've never heard of him doing so.
         Hiei Koorime is a mixed bag, I would guess. He's about 5ft plus, has spiky hair and oddly enough, there's a shock of white hair around the front of his head. He's a hot-head, so I think you'd better ask most of the students to step around him carefully. He's likely to decapitate anyone who annoys him. He's rather handy in a fight, and I should think that he makes an excellent Martial Defence teacher. He knows how to fight and he hasn't actually forgotten the basics. He uses a short thin sword, closer to the ones used in Europe rather than Japan, so at least the kids and him will have something in common. Does Dumbledore have all the blunt and soft swords ready yet? As soon as we're in the train, we're taking his sword away from him. Did I mention that unless proven, the both of them (Kurama and Hiei) are rather merciless?
         Peter/Pito is supposed to be 500 years old. To tell you the truth, the reason why he's on this trip with us is because Shiyou Ruyuki, the Goddess in charge of the mountains in Japan* and thus, of Magic-users, said so. He's a half-vampire, and like most vampires, am able to turn himself into fog. However, he does retain his form to a certain extent. He's the only one of us who's from Europe. He's a blond, but he has red eyes, a heritage from his vampire father. He's a hit with the girls. Every Valentine's Day, his locker is filled to the brim with chocolate, and there's always a group of girls after him who wants to give him chocolate, and I suspect, something even more. Nevertheless, he's smart and is rather responsible.
         Yokoshima however, is the exact opposite. He's not attractive and the reason why he's following us is because Shiyou Ruyuki didn't want him there. It's thawing there and a lot of girls are starting to wear shorter clothing. Shiyou decided to send him with us. He has the special ability to form shields with his 'chi.' By the way, chi or qi (depending on whom you're hearing it from), is the lifeforce every person has. It manifests itself in different ways and to some extent, even modifies their appearance. The more chi a person has, the more things he/she is able to do. Yokoshima's type is unique. He raises the tension/danger level in order to form the shields, and he gets the energy from thinking about sex. He never gets any, thank God. Sex I mean.
         Botan has blue hair and a perpetually blur expression. She's skilled in the arts of healing and is the only one in the entire team who doesn't have any fighting skills whatsoever. Sure, she can throw a punch or two, but it's more like hitting someone when you're trying to save your life than real training. However, she is good to have as she's the perfect foil to Yokoshima's pervertness. She has this innocent look on her face that makes him go mad! :)
         Clapika Kuruta... Now there's an enigma. According to some, he's no gender. His tribe doesn't have any. I don't know, but I consider him a guy. He has yellow hair and blue eyes that lend his face an innocent, gentle look. Don't let that fool you though. He's one mean fighter. He's a 'nen'- user, which is taking chi to the highest level and transforming it into something else. His eyes, like the eyes of his tribe, the Kuruta, turns red under immense emotion, and I don't mean the normal watery eyes red. I mean his irises turn red. When that happens, run! He's almost like Kurama, but not that merciless. He's here primarily to help us keep an eye on Gon and Kirua. The last two are inseparable now.
         Kirua Zodiack (by the way, I know I spelled his name differently, but I prefer the spelling Kirua to Killua. Kirua sounds rougher, which seems more fitting for his character rather than Killua) ^_^ is a straightforward character, almost like Hiei, but with sound political and underworld connections. At times, he's not really the most rational of characters, but then again, he's far better than Hiei. His family is a world-wide known family of killers, the Zodiack. He's the second youngest, but he's the heir of the family. The most obvious reason is that he's as fast as his father and grandfather, or even faster. He's also the most skilled, for now, but his sister may one day outstrip him, although I don't know about that. He's the best overall fighter in our group.
         Gon is the overall and unconscious leader of the trio. He knows how to charm any wild animal out of its furs and possibly their food for winter. It's rare to find someone who's as innocent and naïve as he is. He's got black eyes and black hair. He's kind-hearted but when he's determined about something, nothing stops him from getting it unless he's convinced that it'll result in evil. He's really frustrating at times. He's so straight, he'd make light look like the curls on instant noodles!
         Shuura Yomi is the son of Kurama's ex-colleague. Although his father is blind, his fighting skills are rather good, helped even more by his hyper-sensitive senses. This in turn, enabled him to fight even though he had lost sight. His son is almost on par with him, but he does not have enough experience that would make him pass the skills of the others. He's rather sweet at times, although a little overbearing, probably due to his upbringing. His father is a little arrogrant.
         Sukina 'Su' Toriyama is what some would say, my sister in a past life. There is a blue thread connecting us to each other on our wrists, but even without it, I would still call her my sister. She is my opposite in many ways. While I'm rough and as far from a lady as I could be, Su isn't. She's gentle, refined, elegant, but also very fierce and protective. She's a Healer, but not quite the Specialist Botan is. She's still far better than me though. Did I mention that she has sea-blue eyes, long blond hair and a slim figure? Her hair's tied up in a unique way. There are three braids on each side of her head above her ear. These braids are then pulled back and are held together with a blood-red rose. Kind of cool, ain't it?
         Well, that's all from me for now. I'll write you some more when I have the time, or if maybe I'll seen you there. Take care!

Sincerely,
Karen Rump.

PS. Give Dumbledore my regards and tell him that Hagrid's doing a wonderful job. Thanks! ^_^

*Some people believe that if you want to train, particularly to gain a magical skill, you must train on a mountain.