Peck (Jos!)

[YORI OSHIRO]

She knew Jos was coming. No matter where she tried to hide herself, Yori knew it was only a matter of time before her fellow hufflepuff would find her and just give her a piece of her mind. Sure, it wasn't her most thought of plan, but as she continued to let the thought settle on her, the more she knew that deep down, the Asian wanted this. The Japanese girl had promised to herself that she would work to be a hero if she was chosen, and now that it was most certainly so, she had to take responsibility for the fact. The hufflepuff just knew it was going to be a difficult few days once her friends talked to her about it.

At the very least, Yori had received quite a pleasant surprise once Ichigo found her... sorta. She remembered waking up from a small nap with her hair significantly shorter-- to her chin shorter. After chasing the boy for about an hour for the act, he had simply explained that if she was going to fight, her hair was going to get in the way. Sure, things were a little awkward after that, she knew that Ichigo accepted the fact that the younger Okinawan was doing this. He would still continue to worry of course; it was against his nature not to. However, he was definitely treating the fact much better than the hufflepuff expected. She really appreciated that.

Unfortunately, she couldn't see Josceline changing her mind about it. Yori cared about the girl quite a bit, but she knew that this was going to ruffle Jos' feathers. No doubt the girl was looking for her at that very moment. It wouldn't be forever, but the Japanese girl needed to buy time on what she was going to say to convince the fellow hufflepuff that this was the right decision-- especially considering she still wasn't so sure about it herself. It was still so very easy to sink into that blinding fear that she had just signed her own death warrant participating in this tournament. Quite simply, the hufflepuff was going to need help. Including Josceline.

It was why she had stopped hiding from the hufflepuff a few minutes ago, instead just perched on one of the benches at the Quidditch Pitch. It was going to be a long conversation. She ran a hand through her dark hair, trying to calm herself down. It was just as much convincing Jos as much as it is herself.

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

It was supposed to be a nice relaxing ceremony where she cheered on her house champion. As a seventh year, this was not the first time that she had attended such an event. However, all thoughts of cheeriness evaporated when she heard Professor Shacklebolt call out Yori's name. In fact, not only did the happiness for her fellow housemate disappear, she was also furious. Well, more worried out of her mind than furious, but it was certainly enough to fuel her anger. Ever since the ceremony had finished, Josceline had been looking for her young friend of whom she was highly protective of. Yori had always been so naïve and easily manipulated. Coming from a family of manipulators, Josceline knew when one was being played and that type of thing that always happened to Yori. What would ever cause her to do something like this? Did she know that people got killed in these things? In fact, one of the most famous and rather recent deaths was a Hufflepuff. What was she thinking?

Yori must have known that Josceline would go looking for her because the younger Hufflepuff disappeared soon after the ceremony was over. Ever since then, sightings of the girl was far and few in-between. Josceline had purposely looked for her in all of her friend's usual hiding spots. Throughout the years, Josceline and Yori had become rather good friends, which entitled her to knowledge of Yori's favourite hiding spots. However, none of these spots yielded a hiding Yori. It wasn't until she started looking outside of these spots that Josceline found her friend... at the Quidditch pitch. Bizarre... But that was not the primary thought in her mind. At the back of her mind, she noted that there was something different about her friend, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But no matter, there were more pressing matters to attend to, such as her friend's decision to attempt suicide via the tournament.

"There you are! You can't hide from me." she said as soon as she came within earshot regardless of the fact that Yori was no longer attempting to hide. As if to prevent the younger girl from escaping from her wrath once more (she escaped the first time in the Great Hall), Josceline jogged to the benches where Yori was waiting rather patiently."Are you out of your mind?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Do you know how many people die in these tournaments? Do you remember Cedric Diggory? He was a Hufflepuff too! And he died!" she said as if the younger girl hadn't already realized all these things.

She paused for a moment from her hysterical rant to catch her breath. In this moment, she really looking at her friend instead of seeing what her friend had done. Josceline had been so busy being angry and worried for her friend that she hadn't noticed a slight... change in Yori's hairstyle."And what did you do to your hair?" she asked, looking extremely confused and at least a bit deflated.

[YORI OSHIRO]

When she spotted Josceline's approach, she breathed deeply, knowing the storm that was to come. If Yori hoped to convince her friend, she needed to present a calm that seemed natural. If Jos had any sort of clue on the girl's inner turmoil, she wouldn't hear the end of it. She would deem this as practice for when the tasks begin. If she could simply throw this calm into her, maybe it would actually work. The hufflepuff needed a clear head. If Josceline didn't kill her, maybe she could go look up some meditation techniques in the library. Wait, would the magic school even have something like that? The Okinawan bit her lip in concentration. Mmm... she supposed she could ask Yuki about it or something. She seemed like the type. Maybe Akito?

She heard Jos call out to her. Ah, here came the storm now. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her heartbeat. She always had trouble with yelling. More often than not, it startled her and she could tell already her good friend was quite miffed at her. Not like the hufflepuff could blame her. Still, it aggravated her a little that no one had faith in her except for an acquaintance. It was precisely the reason why she was joining the tournament. Wait, deep breath. No sense getting angry as well. ”Jos... it's okay,” she tried to reason with the older girl, ”I've thought about it for a long time before I had placed my name in the goblet. I've been thinking about it for the past few days too.” She tried to meet Jos in the eye. She needed to seem confident; she know she didn't manage that the night of the ceremony. ”Including what happened to Cedric. I want to do this, Jos. I'm going to.”

Yori was honestly surprised when the girl had asked her about the shortened hair, breaking out into a laugh at that. She fingered the shortened locks with a silly smile. ”Ichigo thought it might help me in the tournament if my hair doesn't fall over my eyes or anything, so he had cut it,” she explained, ”Do you like it?” She hoped it would be enough to curb the tension in the conversation. She honestly could understand her friend's worry. It must seem like she had completely lost her mind, signing up for this thing. Every now and then, she was beginning to wonder if that was the truth.

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

Whatever Josceline had been expecting from her younger friend upon confrontation, she was certainly not expecting this cool, confident girl. Perhaps she was expecting some sort of version of Yori that was comparable to the one in the Great Hall when her name was called. But what was clear was that her friend was not that person now. This level of seriousness was a rather foreign demeanor for her friend. In fact, she could hardly remember a time when Yori had ever seemed quite this serious. But even so... Josceline did not like the probability that her young friend would be hurt in this tournament. But had it been anybody else, anybody else who had once proven themselves to be capable and able to handle the physical and mental intensity that the tournament demanded, Josceline would have been far less worried. In fact, she would have congratulated said person. And therein lies the problem: Yori would never be able to prove herself if Josceline had her way. Although Josceline wanted her young, naïve friend to be always safe, she would also be preventing her own friend's growth, which would be a terrible thing. Thus, it meant that she had to let Yori do this, not that Josceline had much influence at this point as Yori's name had been already been drawn from the Goblet of Fire. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't at least put up a good effort.

Yori seemed quite intent to maintain eye contact, which meant one of two things: she was trying to show just how sincere and honest she was being, or she was trying to fool her into believing her. Even people who have briefly met Yori would know that she was not capable of such trickery. So that only left option one. Even in her current state of anger, Josceline could recognize that. It was a sobering thought.

“But you can get killed...” she added weakly, torn between her protective nature of Yori rearing its head and her desire to allow Yori's growth. “I know that this must all seem so fantastic what with possibly bringing glory to Hufflepuff, but have you really thought about all the things that you're putting your mind and body through? Couldn't you have just left it to someone else?” she asked, the desperate worry creeping back into her voice again.

“And besides you don't know that you can't pull out of the tournament until you try, and I'm willing to bet you haven't tried yet.” Even the tone of her voice gave away her skeptism at the possibility. Never has a champion pulled out from the tournament before. Not to mention the shame involved with it. Now she knew that Yori was a relatively carefree sort of girl, but that didn't mean that she would want to have all of Hufflepuff angry at her since if Yori took that particular action, Hufflepuffs would only be further perceived as incapable.

Looking at Yori's chopped locks, Josceline's internal sense of fashion couldn't help but cringe. Clearly her brother was no hairdresser. In her opinion, Ichigo should never touch another strand of hair with the intention to cut again. It looked like he took a knife and sliced off the longer locks. “It's very...” Josceline paused, trying to find a nice way to describe it. “...unique.”
She was just itching to get away from it or fix it. Considering how long it took to find her AWOL friend, leaving was not an option.

(( Sorry, made some assumptions >.> Hope it's ok...))

[YORI OSHIRO]

She saw her housemate wilt, and felt her confidence increase at the thought. At the very least, she could fool Josceline. It was likely then she would be able to fool most anyone. After all, there were few people that knew her better than Jos did (that was as protective of her safety anyway), and just with that slight falter, the hufflepuff knew she could still hide. While it wasn't quite the point of why she was doing this, it did satisfy her to some extent. The idea of someone knowing everything that crossed the Okinawan's features was an unnerving thought-- one she didn't want to delve into much further than that.

There was still this conversation she needed to deal with as well. Yori knew she was far from being out of the woods yet. If she didn't stay consistent, she could forget getting Josceline from worrying. The hufflepuff knew the responsibility she had taken upon herself, but certainly didn't want her friend to be sharing that same sort of burden. Sure, she could use the help, but not at the expense of Jos' emotional health. The fifth year just needed to get past this conversation (maintain eye contact, keep a small smile when needed), and hopefully, it would go a bit easier from there--- at least until the first task. She still had a little bit of time before that though.

”Jos, you know I couldn't care less for glory,” Yori spoke as calmly as she could, however keeping something of a quiet tone. It wasn't as difficult as the hufflepuff was expecting, easily so prone to screaming and flailing. ”Dunstable can have that if he wants it. I just want to show that I'm not some weak kid anymore.” She felt a little silly admitting that aloud, but the Japanese girl found it hard not to believe the truth in those words. Still, it would take more convincing than this for the older girl, she was sure. ”I know about the trials,” she fidgeted for just a second, before resuming her calm facade. ”I'm not about to claim skills I don't have, but I know what I do have. I know how to think ahead, and I've some good friends to help me along.” It was then that she offered a smile to the prefect. ”I could use your help, you know. I think things will be a lot easier with it.”

Yori almost laughed at Jos' next words. Of course she hadn't. Even for the friendly house that Hufflepuffs typically were, they would still butcher her alive if they knew she dropped out of the tournament. Not only that, she would be letting Dunstable down. Quite simply, it wasn't an option at all, and she had a feeling that both of them knew it. ”Now I know I wouldn't get out alive with that option,” the hufflepuff tried to joke lightly, ”and I mean, what would that prove? I'll only look to be a coward that way... not that I haven't done that already when my name was announced for the tournament...” Of course, she was ashamed to admit that. Yori hadn't known what to do when her name was announced in the great hall. She was sure she would die then, but the fifth year had time to think about it. It just needed to take logic, resources, and a bit of physical training on her part. With Dunstable at her side, the young Asian had confidence for once on it.

Now, Yori did laugh at Jos' words. It probably did look a little rough, but she couldn't really blame her brother for that. She knew she was dead weight asleep, and it would take quite a bit of maneuvering just to make sure she didn't wake up as he cut her hair. ”You want to fix it?” the hufflepuff asked with a silly grin, ”Ichi had done this when I was asleep, so I imagine he had his work cut out for him.”

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

More than anything else, the calm facade that Yori presented to Josceline surprised her. As someone who is fairly familiarly with the young Hufflepuff, Josceline had liked to think that she had a good grasp of who her friend was. And this calm facade brought forth another version of Yori that Josceline was simply not familiar with. She couldn't decide whether or not it was a good thing or not. On one hand, Yori was growing up and grasping life by the fingertips literally. But on the other hand, Yori's sweet innocence was something that Josceline almost wanted to preserve.

Listening to her friend's appeal, she couldn't help but find it reasonable. When Yori insisted that she wasn't in it for the glory, Josceline believed her, and only because she knew Yori. She was not the sort to shoot for glory as she was saying. The only real thing that held her back from congratulating her young friend was the knowledge that this was Yori. Yori who was so young, sweet and naïve. Surely, she would not be able to take on the challenge that the tournament presented. With the younger Hufflepuff's perfectly reasonable argument of not being treated as a 'weak kid', she couldn't help but insist with a hint of desperation in her plea, “That is something you could've done without risking a danger to yourself. You could have done it any other way. ” Although continuing to listen to Yori's arguments for her to accept what had happened, Josceline couldn't feel like wanting to interject every so often; however, the good breeding and poise instilled in her since childhood prevented her from being quite so rude. However, Yori's last appeal and her request for her help silenced all those terrified thoughts. “Of course, I'll help you,” she replied emphatically, “In any way I possibly can. Just say the word and I'm there to help.”

Josceline looked away. “I suppose not...” she murmured under her breath when Yori had brought up just how ridiculous her inane idea was. However as soon as the other Hufflepuff brought up her reaction at the ceremony, Josceline looked back as if she remembered something very important and crucial. “Oh! That reminds me, you swore in the ceremony,” she said accusingly. Now that she was a little bit more calm, Josceline had turned her attention to another pressing matter at hand. “That was unnecessary no matter how surprised you were,” she continued, looking at her young friend reproachfully.

At Yori's laugh in response to her words, Josceline looked more than a bit sheepish. “I suppose I wasn't very good at hiding that...” Josceline reached towards Yori's mutilated locks of hair, but stopped abruptly. “May I?” she asked in regards to touching her hair. Hearing the other Hufflepuff's offer, Josceline immediately perked up. “Please. I would love to.” Despite hearing her friend's excuses for her brother, Josceline shook her head in disappointment and tsking under her breath. “Regardless, he should have taken more care in cutting your hair. Perhaps, waited until you woke up?” She looked entirely disapproving of the entire event. To Josceline, hair care and hair style was quite important and to have careless cuts determine Yori's current hairstyle was utter blasphemy. Not while Josceline knew Yori. “I suppose I should be happy that he didn't hurt you while he was doing this?” she said resignedly, attempting to look at the situation in a mildly optimistic manner.

[YORI OSHIRO]

She could feel the argument winding down, much to Yori's hidden relief. The transition from candidate to a surprise Hufflepuff champion had been a long one, mostly because it was such a surprise. At the time, she wasn't really expecting to be chosen, and had felt so ridiculous in signing up that she hadn't told a soul except for Aubrey. Yori liked to think that if she had any inkling that she would be in the position she was in at the moment, she would've at least informed her brother of what she had done. Suffice to say, it was more than a little surreal going through everything, but the Japanese girl knew, if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right.

Yori smiled at hearing Josceline's words, knowing that she had thought something similar the night that she had placed her name in the goblet. She had almost turned away with those thoughts; likely would've if Aubrey hadn't came into the Great Hall then. The hufflepuff wasn't entirely sure how she managed to go through with it. How'd she convince Jos otherwise? ”I don't know,” she responded a bit more honestly, ”I just think I can do it. That night, I started planning, and once I did, I put my name in.” She had doubts it would convince her friend to send her off on good word, but Yori knew that she couldn't really say anything to prevent Josceline from worrying. She had come to accept that earlier though. ”With Dunstable there, I know it even more now than I did back then. I really think I have a chance, Jos.” Yori was more than a little thrilled to hear Josceline offer her help. This was something she really needed to hear, more than anything right now. ”Now I really know I can do this,” the younger girl muttered happily, little on the joking side, ”I've got you on my side to make sure I'm cautious every step of the way.”

Yori bursted out laughing at the mention of her outburst back in the goblet of fire ceremony, nearly forgetting about it considering everything that had happened. She had brought it up herself though, so she should've expected the reprimand. ”Yeah, sorry about that,” she muttered apologetically, ”I guess I just wasn't thinking about it. I'll be more careful next time.” She needed to remember Josceline was a prefect. Otherwise, she may have just not bothered to mention it. Its not like she could blame herself for it though. It was just a very, very strange evening-- to say the least.

The hufflepuff champion nodded to Josceline's “may I?”. She was happy to have the girl mess with the hair if it was bad. Honestly, she could care less how it worked so long as it didn't get in her way. ”I didn't know it was that bad...” Yori spoke freely, relaxed in this turn of the conversation. ”And I wouldn't have allowed him too near me if I was awake. I've seen what he can do with food. … We're much better cooks than we are hairdressers.” Much to her eldest brother's dismay, she imagined. Her drag costume was pretty good though. ”It was his way of saying that he's supporting my decision of doing this, I guess.”

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

In the face of Yori's optimism and perseverance, Josceline couldn't help but break under the pressure of it. She was so bright eyed and enthusiastic; not to mention that there was nothing that she could possibly do to prevent this whole thing from happening. Yori's name had already been picked out of the goblet. If she wasn't up to the challenge, the goblet certainly wouldn't have picked her, right? Even so, a thread of unease still whipped through her at the very idea that her small, fragile friend would have to endure through such hardships just for a silly school contest. Her young Asian friend's pursuit was the very epitome of what it means to be a Hufflepuff. ...maybe she was right for the job... to show just how great and underrated Hufflepuffs were because that's what they were.

Jos shook her head, disbelievingly. “I can't believe you did it. How did you manage to finally put your name in?” The latter part was asked almost as if she were talking aloud to herself. Knowing Yori as she did, Jos could hardly believe that her young friend had so easily put her name in upon arriving at the goblet to submit her name. Sweet and generous her friend may be, but she was also quite scatterbrained and skittish. She knew that deciding to take a step outside one's comfort zone was often required more determination and courage one was capable of, at least, not without help.

“What happens if the tasks are individual? Then you don't have Dunstable right there. I just want you to be safe...” she pointed out, sounding worried. “Of course, but there's really only so much I can do. All I can really do is scold you about it afterwards, but that's not going to be much help after the fact.” 'Especially if you're dead.' The afterthought was eerie and sounded strangely like jinxing her friend, but the gist hung thickly in the air.

It wasn't so much of the fact that Yori swore that bothered the prefect part of her. It bothered her on a deeper and more personal level. Vulgarity of all kinds bothered Josceline a great deal. Her upbringing as a lady discouraged such bourgeois and low-brow behaviour. “Please do,” she said primly, sounding astoundingly similar to a first year version of herself back when she was fresh from the manor and her spoiled mannerisms reign supreme.

Hearing Yori's statement that she did think it was 'that bad', Josceline couldn't help but send her a disbelieving look. Her childhood and upbringing prevented her from saying just what she wanted about this particular 'hairstyle', if it could even be referred to as a style. But her look should have been sufficient to convey her opinion on the matter.

Josceline nodded smartly. “I'm glad you've got that sense to make sure he doesn't have shears near you while you're asleep,” she said as if that was necessarily a choice. “For the sake of humanity, I hope that is the case,” she remarked dryly at Yori's statement concerning Oshiro's being better cooks than hairdressers. Jos continued to sifted through her friend's hair. In her very honest opinion, it was a travesty. Before, Yori's hair was something beautiful, gorgeous and something to behold in all its shiny, black glory. Now? Now, it was more uneven. So sad and depressing. Something must be done about this sham of a 'haircut'!

“Well, that's sweet, I suppose,” she commented slowly. “But did he have to do it in such a...” she waved her hands around, trying to find the appropriate words for the situation. “...enthusiastic manner?”

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[YORI OSHIRO]

She could feel the argument winding down, much to her relief. She almost found it unbelievable that she managed to at least get Jos to accept the circumstances. However, no matter how Jos felt about it, it wasn't really possible for either of them to change it now. It was said before; they hadn't an idea if there even was a way to retract your name from the competition, and truthfully, Yori hadn't made plans to try once she finally buckled down and decided she would go through with it. It just made her life much easier with Josceline accepting is.

The hufflepuff wasn't sure what to say at first when Jos asked about what finally convinced her to go through with it. She still remembered the promise she had made to Aubrey, and she made no plans on breaking that, especially considering the two prefects probably knew each other. While she trusted Jos-- enough, Yori didn't want to risk the chance of upsetting the gryffindor. ”I got down to the great hall, and sat there for a good long while thinking about it,” she began with the intent to merely fib it, ”And I dunno, looking at the goblet-- studying it, I thought about what I wanted. I guess... I just realized I wanted to grow up.” It was partly the truth, really. It just left out the extra push from Aubrey, which was for the best.

Hm. That was a good question. Yori had merely assumed it would be a team effort upon announcement that there would be two champions in each house. If they wanted to be really creative though, it would be a combination of the two. If the hufflepuff wanted to be prepared, she should probably strategize with the expectation of both. ”Well... I guess that's what the preparation is for. If I'm alone, I need to be able to handle myself,” Yori replied carefully, ”I mean, I didn't know that we would be paired up when I put my name in. I was kinda expecting it. I want to be ready for both, and I think I can do it.”

Yori smiled at the idea of being scolded to after a task. In a way, it comforted her. Jos hadn't made much plans to change, but she was accepting the circumstances. ”The scolding will help,” the hufflepuff assured, ”It'll help me learn from my mistakes. That's greatly helpful, Jos. Thanks!” She stuck out her tongue playfully afterward, though she was mostly serious about her words. More than anything, the Japanese girl didn't want to be a burden to Dunstable, and if she didn't improve, it was likely she would be. That would frustrate her more than anything. Being a burden would defeat the entire purpose of being there.

Yori couldn't help snickering a little as Jos' words, knowing that she didn't enjoy the new hairstyle in the slightest. She knew it was probably rough, but Yori wasn't really looking to impress anyone with her appearance so it hadn't really crossed her mind. ”I might have scissors in my knapsack. It's under the bench above me,” the hufflepuff muttered thoughtfully. Really, she wasn't entirely sure. Sometimes her bag would surprise her with the amount of random stuff that was inside it. So long as it didn't ruin the bag or the supplies inside, Yori didn't think about it too often. At the question on Ichigo's manner, Yori smiled. ”He's a gryffindor,” she joked, ”Everything he does is with enthusiasm.”

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

While Jos was absolutely terrified for her friend, she also admired Yori for taking such a step. It was a truly courageous thing to do. She knew that she herself would not have been able to bring herself to put her name into the cup. For one, Jos was far too squeamish. Having seen the tournament in previous years, she had discovered that the champions were put through quite a lot, a lot more than a skinny, spoilt girl like her could possibly handle. Jos had always been fairly adept at assessing what she could and couldn't do, and entering the tournament was something that she had long ago decided that she could not do. So while the idea behind it was quite beautiful, the actual journey was more than she could possibly bear.

Josceline listened intently as her friend spoke about her mental process prior to putting her name into the goblet. Not that she would have gotten even as close as sitting in the Great Hall contemplating the act, Josceline knew that she would have left the Great Hall almost as soon as she entered it. She never did have the stomach for these types of things. “That's very mature of you,” she said with a smile. “I suppose it's best that I wasn't there to 'help' you... I know I wouldn't have been able to do it if it were me.”

Even after hearing an answer from Yori, Jos was not entirely reassured, most likely as a result from the slight hesitation from her friend's part. The Hufflepuff's worry for her friend could be seen in her face. “I suppose that's true...” Jos seemed very hesitant to even admit this much. Yori did have no idea that she would have the support of a fellow Hufflepuff at the time of putting her name into the Goblet of Fire. So her expectations would have been that she would have to get through all the tasks herself. But even so, Jos had some worries about her much younger friend undertaking such dangerous tasks, particularly alone.

Sarcasm from Yori was not what Jos was looking for at all. The look on her face clearly portrayed just how amused she was with Yori's attitude to her scolding. “Well, you're not learning the other way either. If I get to choose, I prefer that you are aware that it's not seemly. And keep your tongue in your mouth,” she frowned disapprovingly. Jos wasn't sure why many of the students would encourage such behaviours. Although Jos could admit that it was cute, under some duress, the fact still remained that it was not very ladylike.

“May I?” she asked, gesturing to Yori's bag when her friend informed her that scissors may or may not be in her bag. Despite the fact that Yori may have implicitly invited her to look through her bag for scissors, Jos still felt the need to ask to ensure that it was alright with her friend as a result of her upbringing. One did not simply rifle through another's belongings without express permission. Jos couldn't help but chuckle at Yori's comment on her brother's behaviour. “That may be the case, but couldn't he contain that at least a bit?”

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