Sun Breathing: Bright Red Blade

Chapter 24

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried. Y/N noticed that the other teachers' smiles had now become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, and a long golden streamer flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself into words. 

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," Dumbledore exclaimed, "one, two, and off we go!"

The school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."

Everyone finished the song at different times. The only people left singing were twins with flaming red hair, who were singing to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they finally finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said as he wiped his eyes, "a magic beyond all we do here! Now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

A prefect led the first-years through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up a marble staircase. As they walked, Y/N noticed that the subjects in the paintings could move and talk, and was intrigued. She had heard of such paintings, but had never seen them before. She wondered if they were whispering about them.

The other first-years looked tired as they trudged up staircases and turned around corridors. They were yawning and dragging their feet. Only Y/N and Kyojuro were full of energy. Finally, they stopped in front of a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," the prefect answered, and the portrait swung inwards to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it, and found themselves in the Gryffindor Common room, a round, cozy room with red squashy armchairs and a blazing fire in the fireplace.

The prefect--who introduced himself as Percy--directed the girls to their dormitories and the boys to theirs. 

"Come down later, okay? After everyone's asleep," Kyojuro whispered. Y/N nodded and went up to the girls' dormitories.

 There were five four-posters with deep red curtains hung around them. Y/N saw Storm and quickly made her way over, pretending to be too tired to change into her pajamas and crawling under the warm covers. She felt the temptation to sleep, but her excitement kept her going.

After a while, Y/N heard everyone's light, calm breathing and decided that everyone was pretty much asleep. Stealthily, she opened the door and snuck down the stairs, careful to not make any noise.

"Y/N! Hurry! Mitsuri's probably waiting for us already. We said that we would meet at 10!" Kyojuro said. He was holding his katana. Y/N checked her watch. It was nine thirty.

"We should be able to make it. Do you know the way?"

"I think so. Mitsuri described it to me. She said that her parents had told her about it."

"Let's go."

Kyojuro tried to recall the route down to the courtyard. Y/N hoped that he would remember it correctly. They raced down stairs and ran along corridors. Y/N thought the sneaking around was actually kind of exciting.

At last, they reached the courtyard, where Mitsuri was waiting. Muichiro was there too. He had already started training. Y/N watched in envy.

Oddly, she could recognize what techniques Muichiro was using.

Mist Breathing

Third form

Scattering Mist Splash!

He unleashed a circular slash in front of himself. Y/N could see the mist around him. He seemed to be shrouded in it.

"Wow..." she could not help but marvel at how skilled he was.

"Well, staring at people won't help. Let's start training!" Kyojuro exclaimed, unwrapping his sword.