Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Mm…”

Ren opened his eyes as he awoke from his slumber. As his consciousness regained itself, he stared at his surroundings, confusion running through his mind.

“Huh,” he glanced, turning his head around in any direction. “Where am I?”

Everything was dark. He could not see a single thing. His whole body seemed cramped, as if he was stuck inside a small little space. However, it was spacious that he could move his limbs and was wide enough to move himself sideways. The boy reached his palm in front of him as he felt he was touching something. He moved his fingers, a rough sensation tracing on his skin, and his fingernails touched the surface as they made a slight noise. His hand formed the shape of a fist as he tapped on his front.

Wood… Was this a lid?

“What is this? What happened while I was asleep…?” Ren mumbled to himself.

Ren tried to shift his weight and move upwards until he smacked the top of his head against a hard surface. As if he were hitting an object, he shifted downwards for his feet to make a sudden stop.

The boy asked, confused. “What’s going on here? Why am I inside a box?”

“Come on! Open up already, will you!?”

Who said that?

Ren hitched as he looked at his front. “Hey! Is anybody there!?”

“Huh!? Wait, are you awake!?” He could hear a voice yelling from the outside.

The boy banged on the lid using his fist. “Yeah! Get me out of here!”

The person contemplated. “I need to get this open fast… I can sense someone’s coming soon.”

The boy could hear a rattling noise. Were they trying to help him? The raven-haired boy watched as the person struggled while they were trying to get it opened. Ren grew impatient and antsy, wishing it was going to open soon. Before he knew it, he punched the lid. It was then he had a sudden realization.

Ren shifted around till he was on his side before he slammed his shoulders onto the woody surface, as it made a loud thump.

“Come on…!”

The boy slammed himself into it. He saw a hint of light every time he had hit the lid. With one last swing, everything appeared to go white as it flung wide open.

Ren shrieked, falling forward to the ground.

“Ugh…” he picked himself off the floor.

“I figured I sensed something in there! It’s you!”

There was an anthropomorphic animal in front of him as it stared at him with widened pupils. The critter appeared to be some sort of mascot. It had a round head and large blue eyes. The creature also sported black fur, which dominated most of its body except for the white fur from its paws, face, and triangle-shaped ears.

Ren knew the creature very well.

“Morgana…?” The boy looked up in surprise. “How did you find me here?”

“My navigating abilities don’t disappoint, y’know? Finding you was easy.” Morgana said, brimming with confidence.

“Wait a second, why are you in your Metaverse form? You only change your form whenever you’re in there, right? Don’t tell me we’re inside Metaverse?” Ren stared at him as the latter fell silent.

“I… don’t have a clue about why I’m in this form, either.” Morgana squinted.

“Is that so?” Ren raised an eyebrow.

Morgana’s expression turned from proud to a dead serious look. “Listen. When I woke up, I was already in this form, which was odd. That’s when I had sensed something stirring inside this coffin and then I found out it was you when you opened it.”

“Coffin?”

Ren stood up as he turned around from his position. There were several floating black coffins floating in the air, including one that was wide open, which was the coffin that he must’ve been inside of.

He looked at all the coffins, mouth widened in awe. “This is…”

“Freaky?” Morgana finished. “Yeah, it is. But I’m certain that these aren’t shadows. Can’t even call it one.”

“These aren’t Shadows? Then these coffins might have people inside of them like me?” Ren wondered.

“Might be,” Morgana said in response. I don't know if we can get them out. There are too many coffins to open.

“True. If there are people inside, why aren't they trying to escape? “The boy approached a coffin and gave it a slight knock.

“Maybe there’s nothing in them?” Morgana guessed.

“Or maybe they’re asleep.” Ren stated. Why did he wake up if that was the case?

“Guess we’ll never know. How you got that outfit or how we woke up?” The cat-like creature pointed out.

“Outfit?”

Ren looked down at himself, realizing he had been wearing something he did not remember changing into. He was wearing a long, black robe that had a hood covering his black curly hair. It had long, oversized sleeves with gold embellishments printed on it. A similar design was on the hem of his robe. With black formal pants and purple-tipped black shoes that completed the look.

“You look like a witch.” Morgana complimented.

“I look like a cult member,” he stared at his outfit, an uncomfortable look on his face. “What am I even wearing? I don’t remember wearing this at all?”

‘It looks good on you, though,’ Morgana complemented. “All there’s missing is a pointed hat.”

“Who am I? Harry Potter?” Ren said, unamused, before looking at Morgana. “Well, if we’re playing that game, at least I have a black cat that goes well with this outfit.”

“That was uncalled for!” Morgana hissed.

Ren crossed his arms, looking at Morgana in amusement. “You brought this on yourself, Morgana.”

“It was a GENUINE compliment!”

“I know. I know.”

Morgana let out a sigh as he calmed down from Ren’s comments. “Anyway. Do you remember how we got here? I'm not sure if what I'm remembering is correct.

“Straightforward as ever,” he said before he looked up as if he was trying to remember details. I know that I was sleeping and…”

The giant doors creaked open, interrupting Ren from speaking. The two turned their heads toward the entrance.

“Time to grab the goods and… WHAT!?”

There was a creature with eyes like theirs. The creature was a hybrid of many that Ren could think of. It had bluish-gray fur and light blue eyes. It also had light blue ears, almost resembling the shape of a flame.

“Wh--!? Weren’t the students not supposed to be out yet!?” the creature looked in disbelief.

“What is that…? Some sort of tanuki?” Ren looked at the creature with confusion.

“Tanuki!?” the blue creature growled at him. “How dare you call me that! I’m not a damn tanuki!”

“I’m not sure… That thing isn’t a shadow. Morgana whispered to Ren before turning back to the creature. “‘Hey! What’s your deal here, you creature?”

“Speak for yourself!” The creature shot back. “You’re just some student’s familiar and you’re acting all high and mighty?”

“Student…?” Ren pointed a finger at himself. “You mean me?”

“Yes! Yeah! You!” The creature walked forwards to them, making Ren and Morgana step back and formed an attacking stance. “Human! Give me that uniform!”

“Uniform? You mean this?” The boy pointed at his robe.

“Yeah! Give me that, right now!” the creature ordered.

Morgana walked in front of the creature. “You’re about my size! Why would you want a human-sized uniform?”

“Ugh! Annoying AND clueless! I need that uniform to show that I’m a student here!” the creature explained.

“School? This place is a school?” Ren questioned, which made the tanuki annoyed.

“Are you that oblivious!? How are you even a student here? This is a school, Mr. Obvious. Now hand me that uniform!” The creature mocked.

Morgana shouted back at the tanuki. “Were you not listening to what I’d say? You can’t even fit in that unless you can turn into a human!”

The creature growled. “Don’t you dare test the Great Grim! Give me that uniform or else…!”

“Or else what?”

Grim grinned at the two. “Or else you’ll regret it!”

The creature spewed a ball of blue flames that flew towards Morgana and Ren. The two fell back as they hit the ground from where they were once standing, leaving a charcoal black mark. Ren looked in fear as Morgana had realized he made a terrible mistake. As they looked at Grim, a wide and menacing grin formed on his face.

“There’s more where that came from!” Grim was preparing for another attack towards them.

Morgana tugged at Ren’s pant leg, catching his attention as the turned boy turned to him. “We need to go! NOW!”

Ren nodded as they ran to their right side. Almost getting burnt as another ball of flame shot towards them.

“There’s no escape!” Grim ran after them.

“Geez! This guy’s fast!” Morgana yelled as he looked behind to see Grim chasing them at an even pace.

“No good! We’ll have to chase him off our tail somehow!” Ren looked at Morgana, who kept running alongside him.

“You have any ideas, big guy?” Morgana asked.

The boy looked at his surroundings, trying to look for a solution.

Enter the room labeled as a classroom? Nope. Attack the creature? No way.

Ren kept looking around till his eyes met with a gigantic tree, which he assumed was an apple tree. He looked down to see the courtyard.

Wait.

As if a lightbulb went off in his head, he looked back at Morgana. “I think I have one. But you’re not gonna like it.”

Morgana looked at him, skeptical. “What is it?”

“Jump!”

The boy ran as fast as possible before gripping onto the stone banister. He jumped off the railings as Morgana looked at him in shock before following suit, jumping after him.

“Gah…” Ren let out a groan as he hit the ground.

He landed on the grass, but tumbled as he landed. He picked himself up before Morgana landed as well.

“Why would you even do that!?” Morgana glared at him.

“No time to explain. Quick, hide!”

The boy pointed to a random room. The two ran inside before slamming the door shut, making a loud noise.

Ren looked at the room they entered. It was a library, he thought when he saw the shelves of books. The room itself was dark except for the green lanterns so that they could see. There were also several books that were floating around in the air.

“This place is... something.” Ren commented.

Morgana nodded. “Everything about this place feels weird... It’s like all the Palaces we’ve encountered, but it’s not that. Even more.”

Ren walked towards one of the floating books and grabbed it with no hassle. “‘The History of Twisted Wonderland’...?” He said as he examined the book covers.

“Is that the name of this place? A fitting name, if I would say.” Morgana walked to Ren’s direction as he kneeled down so that the both of them could read the book.

The book had way too much information that they could understand, leading them skimming through most of the pages.

“This is... way too much information.” Morgana looked at the book.

“Agreed.”

He skimmed through the book before stopping at a page that caught both his and Morgana’s attention.

There was a section of the history book about beings under the monicker of ‘The Great Seven’.

Ren read a passage of the book. “The Great Seven were beings that once existed in Twisted Wonderland. As ancient as they are, their stories about their time continue to pass on by generation to generation...”

It kept going on about their reign and influence spread throughout the years and how it affected the world of Twisted Wonderland.

“The Great Seven, huh? They sound like a big deal.” Morgana thought.

“Yeah...” Ren turned to Morgana with a worried expression.

“Ren. Is there something wrong?” Morgana asked, noticing the boy’s expression. “What’s the matter?

“Morgana,” he said sternly. “Do you think this is a dream?”

He didn’t want to believe it. But, everything felt off as he sees it. This book, being here, almost felt like Twisted Wonderland existed. Thinking about it, a bit more, there was only one plausible theory. Ren did not like it.

“What makes you say that?” The cat-like creature questioned.

“From this book alone, they labeled Twisted Wonderland as a world of its own.” The boy explained.

“I can see why.” Morgana gave a worried look before nodding in agreement. “I don’t think we’re in your hometown or even Tokyo at all.”

“Yeah. Everything feels unnatural. Like that creature who breathes fire, the floating coffins and book, and your Metaverse form,” Ren could only sigh as he kept speaking. “The name speaks for itself, after all. A twisted wonderland.”

“Maybe you’re right. This place feels like the Metaverse, but isn’t. The fact I have my navigating abilities here is odd on its own.” Morgana thought for a moment. “But is this the case?”

“I just hope this is some dream...” the boy muttered under his breath.

“You’re not the only one here.” Morgana said in response.

*CRASH*

A familiar blue wall of flame shot the doors wide open, causing to Ren and Morgana to fall and slide backwards. As the flames subsided, Grim entered the library as the dim lighting made his appearance much more threatening.

“Found ya.” Grim loomed over the two. “Thought you could get away?”

The two crawled back as the creature continued walking towards them.

“Now, unless you want to get burnt to a crisp, you better do as I say or else I—”

*SLAP* *WOOSH*

“YEOW!” the creature cried out.

Ren and Morgana were sure everything was over for them. Before Grim could even do something to them, a noise cracked throughout the library. They looked at the creature, as he had been wrapped with a smooth, black cable.

“What the-!? That hurts! What gives!?”

“It’s the Whip of Love. Consider what I’m doing, tough love, as you may.”

A tall man walked into the library, as they dragged the so-called Whip of Love, dragging Grim in his direction. The man picked up the creature, looking at him with a disappointed look (as Grim tried to break free from the restraints) as he looked at the boy.

“Ah, at last, I have found you,” the man stepped towards the two, his gaze towards the boy. “I’ve been looking for you. You shouldn’t have left the Gate with no supervision.”

Ren stood up from his sitting position to face the man, who had a serious look on his face.

The man was wearing a mask resembling a crow, which had hid covered his eyes. He was wearing a long black coat with feathers the same color as the coat, as it rested on his shoulders. Underneath his coat, he was wearing a white formal shirt and a black waistcoat with a matching tie. The masked man was tall. He was taller than Ren, whose height was around the man’s shoulders, which he had to look up for. The man looked behind Ren as he met his eyes with Morgana, who was hiding behind the boy. It had caused Morgana to flinch as he glared at him with his golden yellow eyes. (Which he thought was glowing, sort of.)

“My, my,” the man clicked his tongue, making the ‘tsk,’ sound three times. “Not only did you leave the Gate unauthorized, which is not supposed to happen. You also snuck not one, but two familiars with you.”

“Familiar?” Morgana looked at the man.

“This one’s more well behaved, I assume,” he pointed at Morgana, then he grabbed Grim by the ribbon and starred, unamused. “Meanwhile, this one’s been causing a ruckus. A rebellious one, isn’t it? You have broken many rules, young man.”

“Let me go! I’m not their freaking familiar! As if I can serve someone like him- MFGH!”

The man covered Grim’s mouth with his gloved hand as its protest turned into muffles. “That’s what the rebellious ones say. Wouldn’t you mind and keep quiet for once?”

Ren felt a shiver down his spine as the man spoke. “But, that one’s not—”

The man didn’t let Ren finish what he was saying as he continued. “Let us not waste our time any further. The Entrance Ceremony is underway. We must hurry on to the Hall of Mirrors.”

“Hey. You.” Morgana walked out of his hiding spot. “You mentioned something about a gate. What is it?”

“Hm. A pleasant question coming from your familiar,” he turned to Morgana. “The Gate is where you came from. The room with all of those doors. All students must pass through one of those doors if they wish to attend here.”

He followed. “The coffins, as you saw it, can only be opened by using a special key. However, yours was wide open when I got there.”

“Oh, about that...” Ren scratched the back of his head, turning to Morgana, who looked away from them. “Yeah, I don’t know what happened either.”

“Whether foul play happened isn’t something to dwindle on any further. The Entrance Ceremony is coming to a close. Follow me, I’ll walk you there.” The man walked out of the library, with Grim in his possession.

Ren and Morgana looked at each other with blank stares.

“What in the world happened just now? Who was that?” Ren questioned.

“I don’t know. He seems like somebody who knows what’s going on. Let’s follow him just in case. Perhaps he can answer our questions.” Morgana walked to the exit as Ren followed suit. “By the way, thanks for covering for me. Don’t know what’ll happen if we get on that guy’s bad side.”

“It’s no big deal. I would never take a fellow thief down with me.”

The two exited the library.

“So, what is this place?” Ren asked the man as they were walking towards their destination.

The man stopped walking as if he were stunned. As he looked at Ren with surprise. “Oh? I wasn’t expecting that the transportation process to leave you in a daze? I didn’t deem you to be the clueless type.”

“Was that supposed to be an insult?” Morgana grumbled.

“But, don’t worry. For I am grateful, I will answer your question.” the masked man cleared his throat. “This is Night Raven’s College, the most prestigious magic academy in all of Twisted Wonderland. Those students who have the uniqueness of magic attend here to study.”

“I am the Headmaster, appointed to take care of this establishment by the board chairman, Dire Crowley,” he put both his hands on his hips. “If you don’t mind. May I ask for your names? I wouldn’t want to forget such an eccentric student.”

“My name is Ren Amamiya,” he greeted. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Morgana. Let’s just say I’m his caretaker, of sorts.” The cat-like creature had introduced himself as well.

“My. You two seem to have a very unbreakable relationship. You two seem to trust each other very well and are on good terms. Though, I wouldn’t say the same to this one, however.” Crowley shifted at Grim, to which he could only let out a muffled complaint.

“Say. Headmaster, right? Or Sir Crowley, if you mind? You’re saying that this is a school for those with magic. Are you saying that I have magic?” Ren asked.

“Formal, aren’t we?” Crowley mused. “To answer your question, I am not sure, since I have yet to see what you offer. However, those who the Dark Mirror deems as worthy can attend this school. The chosen students use the Gate that I have aforementioned. They come from all around the world.”

“If my memory serves me correct, an Ebony Carriage should have met you, correct?” He asked Ren.

An Ebony Carriage...

The boy couldn’t recall anything.

The taller man noticed the boy’s silence and patted his curly black hair. “There, there. I know you’re still confused, but I’m sure that you’ll figured it out.” He gave the boy a warm smile.

Ren couldn’t help but feel a sense of comfort from it. Sure, he winced in embarrassment, but it had helped him calm down a bit. He couldn’t help but sense a familiar feeling when Crowley had been speaking to him. Sure, Ren had angered the man, yet he has a bit of a soft side.

It seemed… familiar.

“A Hierophant...” He thought to himself.

Crowley took his hand off of Ren’s head before speaking to him. “Come now, we are almost there. I am quite curious myself where your fate lies.”

As they kept walking, Crowley’s words haven’t left his mind.

Fate, huh?

He had stopped thinking as they had reached the door as Crowley turned his back towards him. “Best of luck to you.”

He wasn’t sure if it was fate that brought him here.

All he could do was walk through the doors and hope.

Chapter Text

As Ren and the others entered the Hall of Mirrors, he saw the rows of students all forming a neat line. They were all wearing a similar outfit as he was.

“Ah, all the students are assigned now. Except for you.” Crowley looked at the boy. “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’re going to get given something.”

“Are you sure about that?” Ren asked.

The Headmaster smiled. “Of course! I trust that someone as yourself is capable of a greatness within. Lift your head up high.”

Ren couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime now. I am grateful enough, after all.”

As they were watching from the back of the room, the boy sees multiple people up front, facing the rest of the students. They were all wearing a similar robes to him, yet Ren had no clue about what they were doing.

Morgana had asked for him. “Hey, Crowley. Who are those guys?” He pointed at the five students who were up front. (Six, if he counted the floating tablet, who was speaking)

“Oh!” he turned to Morgana, with a proud look. “They are the Prefects!”

“Prefects?” The boy asked.

“Dorm Heads for simpler terms. Night Raven College is on a remote island, far from their hometowns. That is why they stay at the dormitories throughout their school life, since they are much closer to the campus.”

He followed. “The Dorm Heads are those with a very high knowledge and ability for magic. Their role is to oversee the dormitory and its residents. As well as manage matters relating to their dormitories, like budget.”

“So, they’re a leader of some sorts?” Ren looked in awe.

Crowley nodded as a response. “That is the point of their role. Without them, their underclassmen would wreak havoc,” he then let out a disappointed sigh. “I forgot to mention about one thing about the students that enter this school. Something I’ve been noticing as a continuous pattern.”

“What is it?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Well, as I’ve mentioned before, the students chosen here via the Dark Mirror are those blessed with the ability to use magic. However, most of the students have a full sense of pride and are egotistical.” Crowley crossed his arms.

“So, what you’re saying is that they act all high and mighty, as if they are a cut among the rest?” Morgana looked up at him, a surprised expression on his face.

“That’s the gist of it. It has gotten worse over the years, as some students abuse their magic. There was a wide record of how many fights happened within campus grounds.” Crowley said, before letting out a tired sigh. “If only there were someone to discipline them. I have my hands on much more trivial matters than this.”

Ren and Morgana looked at each other with the same expression of worry. Are these students that bad? They haven’t even seen them, but by how Crowley speaks of them, it must have been an issue going on for quite a while.

“I wish there was,” Ren said as a response. “But I can’t blame them. If I had magic, I would be one to show it off somehow.”

“God no,” Morgana swore. “I don’t want you to turn into that type of person. I can’t imagine it. You’re a leader, after all. You should make a good example.”

“But I am a good leader, aren’t I?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re the greatest example of one. You’re decent.”

Crowley looked at them in shock with a bit of curiosity. “You two... differ from the rest. I haven’t seen somebody like you two in a while.”

He cleared his throat before turning back at the two. “Oh, forgive me. I shouldn’t be talking about these matters to someone as young as you. Let alone someone who has broken the rules.”

“It’s no big deal. We understand you, Headmaster Crowley.” A smile formed on Ren’s face.

This boy. He’s nothing like the others.

“Alright, new freshmen. Listen here,” a redheaded boy spoke out. “I am the dorm head of Heartslabyul. In here, I have rules you must follow, with no hesitations. If you break those rules, it’s Off With Your Head with you.”

The students that he was talking to had a look of fear on their faces.

There was another boy, who was tall and had a muscular build. He yawned as he looked at a line of students.

“Alright, this boring ceremony is finally over. Follow me to Savannaclaw.” The tall boy said with an unamused face.

Ren took a mental note that the line of students looked big and buff. People he didn’t want to mess with. Even worse, they had magic on them.

“They look scrawny.” Morgana muttered under his breath.

“Alright, alright!” A boy with glasses shouted, catching Ren and Morgana’s attention. “I would like to congratulate all of you for entering this school. As the dorm head of Octavinelle, I shall do my best to provide you with the best school year in here.” He gave a warm smile.

“Speaking of which, has anyone seen the Headmaster? He left mid-ceremony and never returned.” A beautiful boy with blonde hair asked his fellow prefects.

“Did he get sick or something?” A small, tanned boy asked.

“Maybe he’s ignoring his duties...” the floating tablet responded.

The boy turned to Crowley. “I think they’re looking for you.”

“Follow me.” He turned to Ren as they walked down the aisle. It was Crowley’s loud voice that caught the whole student body’s attention. “Do not worry, for I am here! I can’t believe that we’ve left out one last student.”

The man grabbed Ren’s shoulder before dragging him forward. “Come, come. Don’t be afraid, now. It’ll be over before you’ll know it.”

Ren felt that there were hundreds, no, thousands of eyes staring at him as they walked down to the stage as a giant floating mirror awaited him.

“This must be the Dark Mirror.” He thought, before Crowley stopped to look at him.

“Just stand on that podium and state your name. I will watch your familiars for you.” Crowley gave him a reassuring smile, before rustling his curly hair with his gloved hand.

“Good luck, buddy.” Morgana said to the boy before walking to Crowley’s side.

Ren took a deep breath, stepping onto the podium as he faced the Dark Mirror. He watched as green flames ignited from behind the glass before revealing its form to him. The Mirror took the form of a white masquerade mask as it stared right back at him.

“State thy name.” The mirror’s deep voice echoed, causing him to flinch.

He took a moment to compose himself before speaking. “Ren... Ren Amamiya.”

There was a moment of silence, as the Mirror observed Ren, staring at him. It took a while before it finally spoke again.

“Ren Amamiya... The shape of your soul is...”

...

...

...

...

...

“I don’t know.”

“Come again?” Crowley asked, taken aback.

“I sense not a single spark of magic from this one,” the Mirror explained. “However, I sensed something within his heart. I am not sure what it is, therefore I cannot elaborate on it.”

“Other than this, I do not see a color or shape within him. Therefore, they do not belong to any dormitory here.”

The Dark Mirror’s announcement had sent the entire student body in a frenzy, as the entire hall echoed with murmurs and loud whispers.

“He’s... spotless? I’ve never seen someone like him winding up here!”

“Poor guy... Getting announced as spotless in front of the entire school must be humiliating.”

“To be honest, it’s kind of funny seeing his hopes and dreams crushed in front of everyone to see.”

“What a waste of time...”

Ren himself didn’t know what was going on, either. Sure, maybe he knew that him having magic was impossible. There was no point in standing there. Yet, hearing the things that they’ve said, that they thought were just whispers, made his blood boil inside but he tried his best to repress most of his anger from the crowd. There was no way that they could think of someone this poorly? He could hear Crowley trying to calm the crowd down.

It was then that he realized that everything had stopped.

He looked around his surroundings to see everything stood still in place. It wasn’t long before he heard a deep voice echo in his mind.

“Trickster! Finally! I’ve gotten in contact with you!”

That voice… It could’ve only been…

“Arséne? Is that you?” Ren asked out loud.

The voice went silent before responding. “That’s right. Our journey isn’t over, yet.”

“What do you mean?” He raised a brow.

“There is something wrong with this place. Something that makes my blood boil by looking at it,” Arsene explained. “Do not say that you cannot feel it as well. I’m sure that you felt it just now. I am you, after all.”

Arséne wasn’t wrong.

There was definitely something wrong about this place.

Ren could hear Arséne let out a sigh. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. However, I will always be there for you, Trickster.”

“There for you? Are you saying that I can summon you here?” The boy asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Arséne answered. “You’ve figured out that this isn’t the world you’ve grown accustomed to. However, you feel the difference between real life and fantasy. You can use my abilities whenever you need to in this place.”

Ren fell silent as Arsene explained. He could summon him without using the Metaverse? It felt odd, just by using it. If he could summon Arsene, then could it be?

“Can I summon the others here?”

“Correct. You can summon everyone else. Though, I’m the only one that can contact you for now… However, the others will answer the call as soon as they can.”

He can summon his other Personas here. Great. But he couldn’t help but bear a bitter look on his face. There was something wrong. He couldn’t even find the right words to explain it.

“…Is there something troubling you?” Arséne asked, comfort in his tone.

“No, it’s fine… I’m just overwhelmed. That’s all.”

Arséne couldn’t help but fall silent. As if he was looking at the boy from afar with a worried expression. “Are you sure about that? You know you are free to tell me your worries?”

Ren shrugged it off. “Everything’s all too sudden, and it’s happening too fast. I just need some rest.”

Arséne could only sigh. “Very well. Just remember, Trickster. If you ever need my help, I’ll be there when you need it.”

The voice died down, as Ren couldn’t help but feel that something light flew onto his face. 

Everything had went back to what it was, almost as if time stopped and then kept going. Yet all of their murmurs still haven’t died down.

However, another voice came into the mix, letting out a loud shout.

“Stay right there! Tanuki!”

Was that the Headmaster?

The boy turned to the source of the sudden shout. Only to see that Grim, who was supposed to be in Crowley’s arms. It was very sudden that Ren had stepped back from where he was standing as the Grim looked at the crowd.

Due to him being stuck in his thoughts, he had missed what the tanuki had said. Yet, he had this weird feeling that something bad was bound to happen.

“Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic!” Grim shouted. “Watch this!”

The boy looked down as a magic circle formed around Grim. This was not going to end well, after all.

He didn’t realize it, but he had raised his voice at the crowd.

“Everybody, take cover!”

As if on-cue, blue flames fired through the surroundings and towards the students. The sudden attack had caused the students to go into a panic, running around looking for a place to seek refuge. It had also hit most of the area, causing it to spark ablaze.

Ren could only watch in horror, as the creature kept firing its blue flames, volume bigger by the minute.

Grim turned its attention to a nearby student, the small and tanned boy from earlier. The creature let out a chuckle as he summoned a ball of flame towards the student.

By the time the student had realized, he could only turn around with a look of horror as the fireball shot in his direction.

“LOOK OUT!”

Ren had run to the boy before pulling his arm in his direction. Just before the flame had hit him. The flame landed on the wall, where it had exploded with a loud ‘BANG’ causing the two to shield themselves from the small flames that flew from the impact.

“Are you alright?”

The tanned boy looked back at Ren. It was visible that he was still stunned. “I’m fine. Just dazed, but no harm.”

Ren stood up, offering a hand to the boy, which he accepted as the boy stood up on his two feet, thanks to his help. “Gee, thanks for that!

“It’s no problem.”

“OH NO, YOU DON’T! GET BACK HERE!”

He looked up as someone had shouted. It was Morgana, who glared at Grim with anger. Before Morgana could attack it, the creature ran out of the room as the feline followed him out.

“Oh crap,” he swore under his breath, before looking back at the tanned boy. “I’ve got to go. Something bad might happen if I left him chasing alone.”

Before the small boy could speak, Ren lifted his feet off the ground and ran after the two creatures playing cat-and-mice.

The tanned boy looked in stunned silence before another boy ran up to him. It was the enthusiastic boy with glasses. “Kalim, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” He answered. “Though, if that guy didn’t save me back there, I would’ve a goner!”

“That mysterious boy, you mean? ‘Amamiya’, was it?” He pushed his glasses up. “An interesting individual... Causing a ruckus on the night of the ceremony. How intriguing.

“Someone assist Amamiya on grabbing that raccoon before the entire school burns down!” Crowley shouted.

The boy with glasses broke his plane of thought before announcing. “Allow me, Mr. Crowley! Since everyone does not wish to harm the poor creature, I shall take it upon myself and catch it.”

“As always, he’s taking credits for himself,” The tablet said sarcastically. “Typical Azul.”

Azul looked at the redhead. The smile he has did not leave his face. “Care to join me, Riddle?”

Riddle sighed as he crossed his arms. “Let’s make this quick. I do not wish to waste my time on those who break the rules.”

Ren kept running and running until he spotted the small and familiar black figure. He stopped his tracks as he approached the small creature.

“Morgana, have you seen Grim? I thought you were chasing him.” Ren raised an eyebrow.

Morgana let out a disappointed sigh. “I lost him. He blindsided me with an attack and ran away as fast as he can.”

Ren and Morgana had stopped talking as another two approached them. It was the prefects that Crowley mentioned.

“Any luck?” Ren looked at the two.

“No. We just got here, and we were hoping you’d find it.” The boy with glassed explained.

“We lost him. My partner got attacked and it must’ve had the chance to escape.”

“The sun is almost rising,” the redhead placed his hands on his hips. “We’re going to be chasing our own tails if we keep up like this.”

Morgana shot back. “Don’t worry! I can find him for us!”

The two students looked at Morgana in confusion, as the feline closed his eyes.

“What is it doing?” The boy with glasses looked at Ren with a confused stare.

“Helping us.” He said with a confident smile on his face.

“Aha! Found him!”

The two students’ faces became a look of disbelief. They were silent from the sudden advancement. It was the boy with glasses that spoke up, clearing his throat to hide his tone.

“That’s great! Where is it then?”

“In a classroom,” Morgana responded. “We might catch him there.”

“Then that settles it. We should waste no time.” The redhead spoke up.

The four ran to where Grim was located, per Morgana’s help, as they reached to the doors of the classroom.

“Is this it?” Ren whispered.

“I’m sure of it,” Morgana answered. “Open the door and find out.”

The redhead approached the door and turned its knob. As the door opened, they could hear a loud shriek coming from the inside.

“How did you find me here!?”

Grim turned white as a feather, as all of them had entered the classroom, with Ren locking the door from behind. The ‘click’ noise was loud enough to hear

The creature desperately tried to attack them until someone had shouted.

“Off With Your Head!”

Chapter Text

“Off With Your Head!”

As the redhead shouted, everything had turned white, which caught both Ren and Morgana off-guard.

“Fugyah!? What the heck is this!?”

As everything cleared up, they saw that Grim was now wearing a heart-shaped collar on his neck.

“Number 23 of the rules by the Queen of Hearts,” the redhead crossed his arms. “One shall never bring a cat into a festival. You being a cat means you’ve broken the rule. I shall have you leave at once.”

Ren could feel the seriousness in the boy’s tone. He could also feel Morgana watching the events unfold behind him.

“I’m not a cat!” the creature yelled. “I’ll just burn this collar right now... Huh? I can’t use my magic!”

“You won’t be able to use your magic until I remove that collar,” the redhead explained as a smirk formed on his face. “You’re nothing more than an ordinary cat at the moment.”

“What!? I’m not some sort of pet!”

“Don’t worry. I would never keep someone like you as a pet.”

The redhead turned to Ren, as a shiver went down his spine as he looked at him with a cold look on his face. “You have made quite a mess. Not only have you broken the rules of this school, you have also broken numerous rules of the Queen of Hearts.”

Rules of the Queen of Hearts? The redhead kept mentioning about them, but Ren didn’t know what it was. However, he felt that the redhead needed an explanation of some sort, so he replied.

“I apologize for the mess. I can fix it if you want. I won’t be staying in this place for long, so you don’t have to see me.”

The redhead gave a slightly sophisticated ‘hmph’ before responding. “I have no time to deal with rule breakers like you. You’re going to be out of my hairs by then.”

The smaller boy pointed at Grim, still facing the boy with curly hair. “Grab him, will you? We need to report to the Headmaster.”

The redhead had walked out of the classroom, leaving the rest of them there.

“Sheesh... That guy managed to block his magic out. That’s incredible.” Morgana said in awe, before stepping out of his hiding place.

“It is,” the boy with glasses approached them. “It’s his Signature Spell. It can seal away a person’s magic and leave collar around their neck.”

“Signature Spell, huh?” Ren thought to himself, not noticing that the boy with glasses was mumbling to himself.

“We should get going now. Riddle is a diligent person who makes no exception to tardiness.” The boy with glasses walked out of the room.

Ren had picked up Grim, who was less than amused to be picked up and started struggling, and locked the creature in his arms.

“I guess it’s over then.” Ren let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go.”

This night had been wild for both Ren and Morgana. It had left them tired from all the running and chasing they had to do.

“Once we get to Crowley, we can ask him a few things,” Morgana looked up at Ren. “Hopefully he knows a way out.”

Ren nodded as a response. “It’s been quite a night and all I want is to go back to bed...”

“Wanna get some sushi after this? I think we need it after what happened.” The feline joked.

“Fine. As you wish.”

Ren felt that the creature he had in his arms was still struggling to break free. He had ignored its pleas for freedom as they kept walking. It wasn’t long before they had reached the doors to the Hall of Mirrors.

Ren pushed the doors open only to see that there was no one left inside except for Crowley, who must have been waiting for him. They must have had everyone evacuate from the area while they were gone.

“There you are!” The Headmaster exclaimed. “Mister Rosehearts and Mister Ashengrotto had already made their reports about the issue. This familiar of yours has done heavy damage to this place! At least discipline it properly. You--"

“It’s not mine.” Ren interrupted with a flat tone.

Crowley was almost dumbfounded by the sudden interruption. “It’s not?”

“Yeah. We’ve never seen him before,” Morgana explained. “He attacked us when he saw us.”

“A-Ah. Is that so?” Crowley cleared out his throat. “Anyway. Let’s get it out of the school grounds. I will not turn him into stew, since I am gracious enough.”

Ren grabbed Grim off of his arms before giving him to Crowley. The creature was unfortunately still unhappy and kept struggling to escape from the man’s grasp.

“Hold still. This will not hurt. I wish for your cooperation since I do not wish to transport you to the ocean.” Crowley looked at Grim, as his eyes had suddenly started to glow an emerald green. The man went silent for a few moments before he had suddenly yelled out. “Transport!”

“Gyaaa!”

The creature shrieked as his body started fading away from the feet to half of its little torso.

“This won’t be the end!” Grim hissed. “I will become the world’s Greatest Magician...!”

Grim had slowly started to fade away, leaving nothing else, not even a speck of fur.

Ren and Morgana looked at the spot where Grim once stood. Their face had a look of horror before they turned their heads back at the Headmaster.

“What happened?” He stared at the man, a loss for words. “You didn’t do something bad to him, didn’t you?”

“Worry not. It was simply a transportation spell,” Crowley answered. “Though if I have to be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve used that spell since I have no actual use for it. I don’t exactly know where it had been sent to.”

“I almost feel bad for the guy...” Morgana mumbled. “I wonder why he wanted to be here so badly.”

“Guess we’ll never know.” Ren answered to Morgana.

The Headmaster crossed both of his arms. “Now, Mister Amamiya. I am terribly sorry but... We must need you to leave the school.”

“I am not one to crush someone’s dreams, however, those who do not possess magic cannot be allowed to attend here.” He followed.

Ren stared back at him. “So... We can go home now?”

“Yes,” the man answered. “The Dark Mirror is able to send you to where you came from.”

“Phew... It’s finally over,” Morgana said in relief. “I feel restless from all that happened here.”

Home. They can finally go back home.

He was dying to go back already.

The boy stepped in front of the Dark Mirror as Crowley came to his aid. “Picture your home clearly in your mind.”

Ren closed his eyes as he tried to imagine his hometown. He pictured in a suburban neighborhood, somewhat quiet and rural, as he suddenly starts to picture and hear the sounds of a police siren and the familiar red and blue lights.

“Damn brat, I’ll sue!”

Something that was supposed to be long forgotten by now. Yet it managed to slip inside of his mind. He shakes his head before imagining something else.

His house. Somewhat old in a modern way. A vintage aesthetic, as a certain artist would say. He stood in front of his house as a cherry petal fell. One single petal turned to several as a cherry blossom tree sprouted in front of him. As well as several serene temples. He could almost feel that he was walking towards a torii gate.

This was ‘Home’.

“Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide him to where he came! To the place where he belongs!” Crowley shouted.

The Dark Mirror showed its form from the reflective glass. However, it doesn’t seem to respond.

“Um... Once more. Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide him-- “

“It is nowhere.” The Dark Mirror voiced.

“Eh?”

“I cannot find where they belong. It is nowhere in this world.”

Ren and Morgana looked at each other in confusion from the Dark Mirror’s sudden announcement.

“Huh...? I thought I imagined it clearly.” Ren shuddered. “There’s no way...”

“This is unbelievable...” Crowley looked at the Dark Mirror

“For the first time, ever since I became the headmaster, an occurrence like this has never happened before.”

Crowley noticed that the boy was in pure disbelief, as if he was stunned. “Where did you come from?” He asked, switching his tone to one with more softness to it.

Ren hesitated. “Kyoto... Kyoto, Japan.”

The Headmaster looked down, before turning back to Ren with a disappointed look. “My apologies. I do not know where that place is located.”

Crowley stood up as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s visit the library. There must be some document on where that place is.”

This night surely wasn’t one he had expected. A rampant animal suddenly attacking the school and a magic-less boy with a feline companion appeared.

There was something about the boy. Something that Crowley had not seen from any other student during his time up until now. There was something special about him.

This boy... It’s almost as if he’s some sort of Phantom.

Chapter Text

“I can't find anything…”

The two stood next to Crowley as he scanned the book on the shelf. He let out a sigh as he returns the book back to its proper place.

“The ‘Kyoto’ that you speak of is not on the world map. Your home is not written in any history book, either.”

“That’s impossible... There’s no way that it’s missing, is it...? Please tell me that this is some mistake.” Ren stared at the headmaster with a sad and baffled look on his face.

“I have checked every reliable source in this library. From the old to even the new. There is no record of your home or even where it is located.” the man turned his head up and down as he looked at the boy with a suspicious look. “Are you sure that you two aren’t lying to me, by any chance?”

“Of course not! Why would we lie about this!?” Morgana answered.

“Hm... You’re indeed right. I doubt that you two will even lie to me about this matter.” the man placed a hand on his chin. “Though there’s a chance you were brought here from another planet... There’s also the possibility that you two are...”

Don’t say it.

“... from another world.”

There it was. The confirmation that Ren needed. It was something that crossed his mind the moment he stepped foot into this place. There was no way that they’re in another world. How did they even get here? How were they able to get transported here while they were sleeping? Many questions popped up in his mind that weren’t getting any answers.

“May I ask, are you carrying something with you? Any form of identification like a license for a magic car, or even a name on your shoe?” Crowley wondered.

“Nope,” Ren responded. “I have nothing in my pockets. Not even a wallet or my phone. I’m empty-handed.”

“This is a very concerning matter...” Crowley thought. “As the rules state, you may not attend the school since you do not possess magic. However, as the headmaster and an educator, I cannot throw a penniless teenager with no form of contact or identification...”

Crowley kept thinking until he found a solution. “Ah! That’s it!” He shouted.

“What is?” Morgana said in confusion.

“There’s an old building located here on campus grounds,” the man explained. “It was used as a dormitory in the past. It should be enough for your needs, like sleeping and bathing. Though it’s quite old, a little dusting should do the trick.”

“That’s great, then.” Ren agreed.

“I’ll let you stay there until I can find you a way back home,” Crowley mused. “My graciousness knows no limits! I am a model for educators!”

“Talk about being prideful about their job...” Morgana mumbled. “But at least we’re able to sleep now. It’s very late, after all.”

“Let us head to the dormitory. As I mentioned, it is old, yet it still has its charm.”

“This is... indeed, a building with charm. Much of it.” Ren stared at the place with a skeptical look.

“What part of this is old? It’s almost run down!” Morgana complained.

The building, which was named Ramshackle Dorm, thanks to Crowley’s introduction, stood on a lonely hill. There were trees surrounding the building, however, they were dead with no leaves or any sign of life. It was also nighttime, which wasn’t making the overall vibe of the place any better. To make matters worse, they had heard thunder from the sky. It was about to rain.

“Dear me, it looks like it’s about to rain... Right, come this way, please.”

Crowley opened the door, as the two head inside with a look of discontent on them. When they stepped in, they could hear their footsteps, as well as the creaky floorboards.

The inside looked far worse. It was like someone had destroyed the place. There were seats that were scattered all over the areas, the paintings on the wall were not in their proper position, and the wallpaper was falling off.

There was also no source of light. Even though they can still see where they were going, it was still very dark. The chances of hitting something in this place were probable.

“This place should keep you safe and away from the rain,” the Headmaster said to the two, before walking towards the door. “I’ll get you two some necessities. Make sure you don’t wander around school! Especially during this hour!”

As Crowley left the place, the two looked at each other as they take in the surroundings.

Morgana made a harsh choking sound before letting out several coughs. “There’s dust everywhere! I can almost inhale it!”

Ren walked around the area, trying to avoid knocking anything over, as he found a light switch. To his relief, the power was still working, and it lit the entire place up.

“That solves one of our problems, at least.” Ren sighed in relief.

“Yeah, but it won’t be much. Look at this place! How did he expect us to live here?” The feline said in disbelief.

“Nothing like a little cleaning could fix,” the boy looked at his companion. “When I came to Tokyo for the first time, the attic at Leblanc was in the similar condition. But I made it a place that I can live in.”

There was a look of sadness on Ren’s face as he was talking. He stared at the dusty ground. Morgana gave a concerned look at the boy before walking up to him.

“Hey, is everything alright, buddy?”

“Oh,” Ren hesitated for a moment before speaking. “It’s fine. I’m just tired... It’s been a long day and with everything that happened tonight, you know…”

Morgana could only sigh. “Alright, then... Just tell me if something’s wrong. Got it?”

Ren didn’t say a word to Morgana. Instead, he started cleaning the living room of the dormitories as he picked up the misaligned chairs.

It was then that a voice inside his head had snapped him out of his silent thinking.

“Trickster,” Arsene’s voice was serious. “I can feel that there’s something troubling you. You know that-“

“I am thou and thou art I, Arsene. I know.” The boy spoke in his mind. “And there’s nothing wrong.”

“Trickster. I know you better than anyone else. I live inside of your inner psyche, so I know how you’re feeling. And it’s not good.” Arsene told.

The boy did not speak still. He kept his head down as he picked up the trash off the floors. He could feel Arsene looming down on him with a look on his face.

“Fine... I shall not progress this matter further,” he sighed in defeat. “But, stay alert, Trickster. There is something lurking in the dark.”

Arsene faded from his mind, leaving him back to complete silence. He looked out the window as the both of them heard a loud grumbling noise from the outside, which led to an eventual downpour.

“It’s raining...” Morgana looked out the window.

“Let’s head to bed. We’ll finish cleaning this place in the morning.” Ren suggested, with Morgana nodding in approval.

Ren took off his robe, leaving him with his formal shirt and bottoms. He folded the garment into a neat square to make it much easier to carry. The two were about to head to the other rooms of the dormitory when they heard the door slam wide open.

It was sudden, almost like a scene from a horror movie. It had caught the two of them off-guard. The roaring storm kept pouring from the outside as a small and dripping form entered inside.

The form itself was familiar by looking at its appearance. It was the voice that confirmed its identity for them.

“Gyii... The rain’s coming down... Huh?” The blue creature shook his damp fur as he looked up to see the shocked faces of Ren and Morgana. “Hehe. Did ya miss me or something?”

“Why are you here!?” Morgana shouted. “I thought Crowley transported you far away from this place!?”

“Well, if your definition of ‘far away’ is in front of the gates, then you’ve got it wrong.” Grim smirked.

“How did you even get back in here?” Ren questioned, at a loss for words.

“It wasn’t much. I just did the same thing I did to get here. Climb up the gates!”

He climbed up the gates...? Ren was somewhat impressed.

The boy glanced at Morgana before letting out a slight chuckle. “I guess that means you have a match when it comes to sneaking inside important buildings, huh?”

Morgana did not like that joke.

“Are you insulting me? As if someone like him can compare to someone like me!” Morgana boasted.

“What did you say!?” Grim looked at Morgana, offended.

“Now, now... There’s no need to fight.” The boy pinched the bridge of his nose before pushing his glasses up. “We’re all tired here at this point.”

Grim had let out a groan. “Ngh... Fine. I’ll stop pestering you for now if you’ll answer my question!”

“What a coincidence.” Ren brushed off the dirt from a dusty chair and took a seat. “I have one for you, too. What’s your question for me?”

“What are you two doing here? Aren’t you magicless?” Grim asked as he crossed both of his paws.

Well, he wasn’t expecting that question. He was expecting a much more subtle question, not a blunt and straightforward question. Either way, he still gave an answer.

“Well, for starters, we can’t go home. Our... world is not here. The both of us staying here were out of circumstance. We have no intention of staying here, anyway.” Ren explained.

“Sheesh, are you guys aliens or something?” Grim joked.

“Maybe we are in this world. Who knows?” The boy scoffed before looking at the tanuki with a straight look. “Alright, now I’ll ask you a question.” “Hit me! There’s nothing that the Great Grim can never answer!” The tanuki boasted with a proud look on his face.

“Alright. Why do you want to attend here, to begin with?”

The sudden question had made Grim stay in place. His pupils had gone almost wide, as he didn’t say a word. Payback for that blunt question from earlier, as he would describe.

“Well?” The boy was expecting an answer.

“I- Uh, well! That’s simple!” Grim stuttered for a bit before switching his demeanor to a much more prideful one. “I’m a genius, after all! A born one! One that is destined to become the world’s greatest magician!

“My only chance to prove myself as a great magician is to attend this school. I’ve been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to come pick me up! But...”

The last part of his sentence was softer than the prideful comments he made. The creature’s expression turned into one of a sad animal.

“It... It never arrived, didn’t it?” Morgana gave Grim with a sympathetic look.

Grim flinched at Morgana’s statement before he expressed a defeated look. “... It never arrived. I’ve waited for so long, yet it never came.”

Ren wasn’t expecting this from the creature that almost killed them and caused a commotion during the ceremony. He felt bad for the poor thing. Even Morgana, the one who kept fighting Grim, shared the same look.

“Gosh, I didn’t expect that from you...” Morgana softly spoke..

“Whatever! I don’t need your sympathy! The Dark Mirror just doesn’t have an eye for talent!” Grim exclaimed. “That’s why I came here. It’ll be a shame if they didn’t let me in. Humans just don’t get it, don’t they?”

The boy giggled as he looked at Grim. “Rebellious, aren’t you? Sneaking into this place to show them your worth is quite like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?” Grim snarled.

“Nothing,” he clarified. “I’m just commending you. To think you’ll go to such lengths to get here is amazing. Especially when you climbed up a gate to just get in here.”

“I agree,” Morgana told. “If you’d gone through all that just to get here, then that’s quite the ambition you have. Who knows, maybe you’ll get it someday.”

Grim looked at them with a surprised look on his face. He was not expecting those types of reaction coming from the two of them. Yet, there was something about what he said that triggered something inside of him. Like a warm feeling was stirring inside of him.

*drip* *drip*

“Nyagh!!” Grim shrieked. “Cold! Cold! The roof is leaking!”

The boy looked up because of Grim’s sudden shriek, as a drop of water fell onto his glasses, causing the lenses to blur up. He took off his glasses and let out a disturbed groan. “There’s a hole in the roof.”

“Gah!” Morgana shook as water kept dripping onto him. “This place is badly run down!”

“My precious ear fire is about to go out if it keeps going... Can’t you just use magic to fix it up!?” Grim glanced at them with an angry look.

“Easy for you to say!” Morgana shot back.

“Oh, I forgot. You don’t have magic, don’t you? How useless!”

“Do you want to get kicked out of here or what!?”

Ren let out a sigh. “Timeout, you two. I’ll just patch the celling when we wake up... For now, we’ll just find something to deal with the leaks, like a bucket. Morgana, check the upstairs. for anything. Grim-”

“No waay! I’m just a regular monster staying here! Unless you have a can of tuna for compensation!” Grim shouted.

Morgana gave him an angry glare as Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired, and he felt he was growing gray hairs by listening to the two bicker.

“At least follow me to check the rooms on this floor. I promise I’ll give you something when we wake up.”

“Sounds like a deal!”

Bribery. The oldest trick in the book.

Before they had gone to check the entire place some more, Morgana had given him a ‘good luck’ warning for his investigation with Grim.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

They were not expecting the place they were exploring to be dark and eery.

Even though the living area had been lit up, the other places of the dormitory weren’t the same. As it kept the dark atmosphere and dimmed lighting.

“Hey! Try not to step on my tail, human!” Grim warned.

“I’m trying not to! I can’t even see a thing!” Ren protested.

It felt like they were walking in complete circles. The thought of finding buckets had almost left their minds. It became a hunt for a proper light source in the annoying darkness.

As Ren kept looking, he felt something phase through him. As if a wind blew right in front of him.

“Must have been the wind...” He thought as he continue looking around.

“Hihihi...”

Ren turned his head up as he looked in his general direction. Still dark, but he could’ve sworn he heard something just now.

“Grim? Did you say something?” The boy wondered.

“Huh?” the creature asked. “What do you mean? I haven’t even said a word to you?”

Okay... That was weird.

Ren scoffed as he kept looking. There was a sudden breeze that flew by as he almost lost his balance. It had almost felt like someone had passed through him.

“Grim? Was that you just now?”

“What are you even talking about? I’m nowhere near you.”

The boy thought he himself was going insane. Maybe he was just tired. He doesn’t even know why they’re still looking around the place. Maybe it was just fatigue that was getting to him. There was no way he was going crazy, right?

If he were going insane, he would have seen things that weren’t normal, in his terms. It was what he wished wasn’t true.

However, it wasn’t long before everything had lit up. Great, he could see! Yet, a light at a moment like this felt off. He turned around to go somewhere, as a ray of blue light suddenly greeted him.

The ray of light became a blur as it manifested itself into a shape. It was then that a floating, cartoonish-looking spirit stood right in front of him. Laughing in a soft-tone as it flew around him.

As if one ghost wasn’t bad enough, Ren loomed over to see two more floating next to the first one.

“Wh- What the hell!?” Ren shrieked upon locking eyes with the entities.

“Hihihi...” The thin looking ghost mused. “We haven’t had guests in the longest time.”

“I’ve been itching for some action for so long.” The round looking ghost looked at Ren with dark intent.

“What are you screaming for? What’s going--” an annoyed Grim said as he walked in Ren’s direction. He looked up to see the boy’s terrified expression before turning his attention to where he was facing.

“Gyagh! It’s a ghost!? It’s a ghost!” Grim shouted.

“The people that lived here got so scared when they saw us.” The ghost in the middle said.

“How about you guys? We’ve been looking for more ghost pals, so how about you join us?” The roundish ghost looked at them.

“I’m not... I will not be killed! The Great Grim isn’t terrified by any ghosts!”

Grim had shot a ball of flame towards the ghost. Because of his shaking, he had missed the ghosts as it flew away from the shot.

“What terrible aim you have~! Were you even looking?” The thin ghost taunted.

“Over here! Heehee~!”

The ghost had flown in circles around the two, as Grim tried to aim at them, but missed due to them moving their places.

“Gah! It’s not working!” Grim panicked as he shot another fireball. “Why won’t it hit!?”

“You want some help back there?”

“Eh?” Grim looked back at the boy.

A blue flame lit on the boy's face, as a white domino mask had appeared on him.

The ghost looked at the boy with a curious look on their faces. “Oho? What’s this~? Some sort of masquerade party?”

“Heh,” the boy grinned. “More than a party. It's your second funeral.”

The boy gripped onto the nose of the mask as the ghost looked at him, ready to pounce and attack him. All he could do was yell out.

“Come out, Arséne!”

Chapter Text

A wave of fire shot through the building, as the ghosts had backed away from the sudden attack.

“What in the-!?” the thin ghost was startled.

The fire disappeared, revealing Ren, whose attire was much more different from his entrance ceremony attire. He was now wearing a long, black tailcoat which reached down his ankles. Underneath the coat was a silver waistcoat the reached his neck. On his hands were bright red gloves that were noticeable from afar. 

There was also a giant figure looming behind him. The figure was wearing a dark mask that had giant horns. It had a bright red suit, similar to the color of the boy’s gloves, and was wearing a thin corset with a ruffled tie. It was also wearing tall, red boots with knives acting as the heel. There was something about the figure that didn’t seem human, as it bore sharp claws and sprouted dark, jet-black wings of one of an angel. 

“What the!? I thought you didn’t have any magic!?” Grim was at a loss for words.

Something had changed in the boy’s personality. His quiet demeanor was gone in a flash, revealing a much more confident one, as his face wore a smirk that was looking for trouble.. He was no longer wearing his trademark glasses. His face revealed to a much sharper and intense.

It was like he’s another person.

“What? Jealous much?” He looked at Grim as if he was taunting him, which caused the latter to become agitated. 

They hadn’t noticed that the ghosts were trailing towards them. Ren turned his head to see the three going closer. He let out a sharp shout.

“Maeiha!”

Arsene had cast a ray of curse magic onto the three ghosts, as it caused the entire building to shake a bit from the impact. Though Ren was still standing, Grim had stumbled back.

“Is... Is it over?” The creature looked around the room.

It wasn’t long before they heard the giggling once again, as the three of them appeared unharmed.

“Hihi... You think you can stop us? Watch.” The middle ghost challenged.

From behind, they saw an exact clone of the middle ghost. To their horror, the clone had multiplied itself, as one entity turned into several, and several became a horde of them.

Ren stepped back, gripping the dagger from his holster. “They’re multiplying... We need to make an attack, quick!”

“Alright, genius? What’s your plan, huh!?” Grim shouted with a panic in his voice.

“I thought you’re the genius?” Ren looked at the creature. “Weren’t you genius enough to hatch out a plan already?”

Grim let out an offended noise, stunned as the boy answered. Yet he couldn’t figure out what to answer.

“Lucky you, I have a plan. Let’s work together. I’ll attack from the back. You’ll take the front.” Ren explained.

“Work with you? No way!” Grim denied.

“So, we’re just gonna get killed then. That’s your plan?” Ren said, stepping back from the forwarding ghosts. “You have a powerful magic. You don’t want it to go to waste, don’t you?”

“I...” The creature hesitated. 

“And how about a bet? If you defeat all these ghosts more than I could, I’ll give you a can of tuna.” The boy bribed.

“I-I’m a genius! There’s no way I could accept some bribe from you!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll make that two cans. Or maybe three?”

The creature hissed before he finally agreed. “Grr... Fine! Watch my back, will ya!?”

“On it!” 

“Take this!”

Grim fired a funnel of flames towards the horde of ghosts, which caused them to evaporate almost instantly.

“Nice shot, Grim!” Ren commended before turning to his left as another horde flew towards him. “Ravage them!”

Arsene summoned another Maeiha towards the ghosts, as it tumbled down a horde of ten ghosts. 

“Trickster, behind you!”

“Huh?”

Arsene had yelled out, making Ren turn his back, only for him to see another horde of ghosts ramming towards him at full speed. Before he could attack them, they had crashed onto him with full force, causing him to get knocked to the ground.

“Gh...!” Ren winced in pain.

“Oi! Get up, human! They’re surrounding you!” Grim yelled as he watched all the ghosts surround the boy with horror in his face.

As Ren looked up to see that ghosts were circling around him as they laughed. The boy tried to stand up, but he wasn’t able to pick himself off the ground. 

“Damn... Those ghosts hit me hard...”

The ghosts kept moving towards him as he gripped his dagger, prepared to make an attack on them.

Until a gust of wind had caused them to get flung away.

“Joker! Over here!”

Joker looked over towards the source of the voice to see Morgana, rushing to their aid, as a blue figure that was floating with winged heels assisted him. 

“Thought something was going on! The entire building was shaking because of you guys!” Morgana exclaimed.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Mona.” he groaned. “Mind helping us? I got attacked pretty hard...”

“Right, hold on.” Mona raised his paw. “Mercurius! Diarama!”

Mercurius had summoned a ray of white light onto Joker. As the light disappeared, the boy could feel that he was no longer in pain.

“Thanks, Mona.” the boy thanked. 

“It was no big deal. You're the leader, after all.” The not-a-cat smiled.

“Hey! A little help over here!?” Grim shouted at the two, as he fired another ray of flame at the opposing ghosts.

“Oh, right! Mona, wanna act as our navigator for a moment?” He looked at Mona.

“Thought you may never ask. Look alive, Joker!”

“Hm~ It’s a good thing that the rain had stopped.”

Crowley walked towards Ramshackle, carrying a bag of items. Inside were the boy’s and his cat’s necessities. A pair of pajamas, bathing supplies, supper for the boy and ten cans of tuna for the cat.

“I am indeed very gracious,” he hummed to himself. “I wonder what the two of them are doing?”

He stopped his train of thought as he saw something glowing from inside the house, via the windows of the building. 

The Headmaster raised a brow, as he quicken up his waking pace a bit. As he reached and opened the door, he expected that they may have agitated something and they might have been in danger, to the man’s worry.

He wasn’t expecting to see a sight like this.

“Joker! Grim! There’s another horde coming your way!” The feline exclaimed.

“Grim! Watch your back!” the boy in the mask called out.

“Don’t boss me around! How about you watch your back?” The creature snarled as he hurled a ball of flame towards the horde, knocking all of them out. “Strike!”

The man was not expecting the creature he thought was lomg gone, to be standing right here. Yet, the boy could keep him in place, even giving him commands.

Ah, the boy. The strange boy. Why was he wearing a different attire? How did he switch from his ceremonial wear? He thought as he looked at the boy. The boy was much more different from the one he met before. It was almost like he changed his personality. Or even a different person. 

“Persona!” 

The boy yelled out, as Arsene appeared from behind as it summoned another wave of curse magic onto the ghosts.

“Let me finish this horde for you guys! Mercurius, Magurula!” 

Mona yelled as Mercurius appeared from behind him, as it let out a gust of wind, knocking the remaining ghost horde onto the ground.

“Grim, Mona! Let’s attack them all at once!” Joker commanded at the two. “Time for an All-Out-Attack!”

“Hehe! Take this!” Grim chuckled.

The three ran forward to the last remaining horde, attacking the remaining ghosts with all of their might. 

Crowley could not believe what he was seeing. The boy, who he thought did not have any magic, had summoned a giant demon of some sorts and attacked the ghosts with ease. And the cat creature alongside him can do the same. Also, the boy could command his members as if he was a trainer of some sorts. 

This boy is far beyond what he had seen from any normal student.

As the three finished attacking, there were only three ghosts left. Joker, Mona and Grim made an attacking stance before one ghost pleaded for mercy.

“Stop! No more! No more!”

“Let’s get out of here!”

All three ghosts flew away, leaving only the victors. A spark of blue flame had appeared on Joker’s face as the familiar white domino mask had manifested once more.

“Phew... It’s over...” Joker sighed in relief.

“I thought I was about to die... I mean, that was too easy!” Grim exclaimed before turning to both Joker and Mona. “Now, you two! You better have some explaining to do! What the heck was that!? Why did your clothes change!?”

“I would like to know as well.”

All three of them turned around to see Crowley, who stood while he held a bag with stuff inside of him. He walked towards them, turning his attention towards the masked boy.

“Hm,” he looked at the boy’s outfit. “I’ve seen your fight with all of the ghosts. Spectacular! Your teamwork is immaculate!”

“Hey! I only did it because he promised me tree cans of tuna! Now I’m demanding to know what just happened!” Grim shouted.

“The tanuki raises a good point. There are other matters to be discussed, such as your attire and your demon- “

“Persona,” Joker interrupted. “It’s called a Persona.”

“A Persona...?” Crowley stared at him with confusion.

Before he could explain, another flame had sparked from the boy’s mask down to his attire. His black gentlemen thief outfit had disappeared as it returned to the ceremonial attire.

Crowley, Grim and Morgana, looked at the boy in shock. Even Ren himself was stunned.

“Woah... I looks like I can summon him in public after all...” Ren mumbled, before dropping his shoulders tiredly. “Can we... explain this somewhere else? My stamina’s pretty drained and I haven’t even eaten when I got here...”

“Well, I was gracious enough to get you some supper. We’ll explain this while you fill yourself.” Crowley told.

“So, you’re telling me that a Persona is your other self, and they are connected to you?”

“Mhm.”

Ren said with his mouth full. He was starving, thanks to all that fighting. Crowley had bought him a few burgers, which wasn’t enough, yes, but it sustained his hunger. Both Grim and Morgana were eating the cans of tuna that the man also brought with him. Grim chowed down on three cans with a happy face, whilst Morgana glared at him.

“My Persona, Arsene, is like another part of me. Connected to me in a way. Both mind and body. Meaning, whenever I use him, it would drain most of my stamina.” Ren explained. “One simple Curse spell can tire me. That is why we need to watch our stamina when it happens.”

“I see.” Crowley was interested in the topic. “Are there any side effects whenever you use your 'Persona'? Any effects on your body or some sorts?”

“Other than the fact that we’ll be tired and sore aftewards, there’s nothing quite bad that happens when we summon our Persona.” Ren replied.

“Interesting... This is the first I’ve seen of this type of magic... Not only summoning a figure to fight alongside you, but keeping yourself healthy while battling with no dire effects to your body.” Crowley thought.

“Wait,” Morgana looked up in surprise. “This is the first time you ever heard of it?”

Crowley nodded. “I have never seen a student being able to have your abilities. I’m saying this with years of being a headmaster at this school. You two are the first that I’ve heard to have this ability.”

“We’re the only Persona-users here, huh? Maybe we are aliens, after all.” The boy joked. “But in all seriousness, to think that we’re the only ones that could do this here is interesting.”

“There’s something I’m not getting,” Grim looked up as he finished his second can of tuna. “What’s with that outfit earlier? You look like some thief.”

“Well, maybe because I am one,” he smirked. “My Persona takes the form of a mask that I wear. I summon Arsene using that mask. As for my clothes, think of it as some form of rebellion.”

“My... From how you’re explaining all of this, you’re quite experienced with this.” Crowley commented.

“Well, if you had someone like Morgana assisting you, then it gets easy to understand.” The boy smiled as he looked at Morgana.

“We’ve gone through a lot together. Of course he’d known by now.” Morgana stated.

Crowley tapped his chin. “You and Morgana’s abilities are remarkable, I must commend. A power like this is what any normal person would wish to have. But...”

“But?” Ren stared at the man.

“... There is no way of telling if you have the potential of being a student,” he explained. “The Dark Mirror assigns you by the color and shape of your soul. If it determines that, you will be assigned with one of the seven dormitories and will be allowed to attend the school.

“However, since the Dark Mirror could not find those within the depths of your soul, despite having these extraordinary abilities, then you can’t be a student here.” He finished with a sigh.

“So, we can’t attend here because we aren’t assigned a dormitory by the Dark Mirror?” Morgana asked.

“That’s the gist of it.” Crowley answered.

“That’s dumb! If I had an ability like his, I would boast it to everyone!” Grim commented.

“Well, he’s not you, for one.” Morgana shot back at the creature. “But we’re only living here because we can’t go back home. We have no correlation to this school.”

“Hm... I wonder...” Crowley thought for a moment.

“What is it, Headmaster?” Ren asked.

“What if I give you a way to access school grounds without being a student?” Crowley stared at the three. “You’ll have access to most of the school.”

“Is this another bribe?” Grim looked at the man with an unamused expression.

“Let me finish,” he said. “I’ll give you some errands. In return, I’ll provide the things you need for your temporary stay. You’ll get to check the other places in this school only after you finish your tasks. Emphasis on after, because I don’t want you to run into a certain minority of students and cause trouble.”

“You want us to become your personal errand boys?” Morgana said with an unhappy tone to him.

“I mean, it’s not bad. If we can access the library, then that would be helpful for us, since we can study more about this place. And Grim could learn some new tricks up his sleeve.” Ren thought.

“But I want to wear a uniform and become a student!” Grim complained as if he were a child.

“Well, there’s no point in denying him… It’s not like we’re staying here for free or anything.” Ren sighed as he pushed his glasses up.

“Then that settles it,” Crowley said with an optimistic tone. “Starting tomorrow, you two will be Night Raven College’s finest handyman!”

Chapter Text

Ren had a good night’s sleep.

The aftermath of last night’s battle had tired him out. Though he slept peacefully and soundly afterwards.

The boy tired yawn escaped the boy’s mouth as the sunlight entered the dusty room that they stayed in.

“It really wasn’t a dream after all...” He thought.

A part of him was expecting to wake up inside his old yet familiar room, thinking it was just some crazy fever dream.

The boy needs to get used to this temporary life until the headmaster finds a way back home.

He stepped out of the bed and slipped on the bedroom slippers that the headmaster provided. He had been wearing the dark blue button-up pajamas that Crowley had also given him to wear for the entire night. 

He looked at his bed to see Morgana and Grim snuggling next to each other, which was quite the sight to see. Despite their bickering yesterday, they looked quite peaceful sleeping together. Sadly, Ren doesn’t have his phone with him, so he could commemorate this moment. Morgana would kill him if he ever found out.

When he made his way down the dormitory halls, the sunlight had erased the pitch-black darkness from yesterday, making the place more visible and (somewhat) lively.

He was hoping for a peaceful day. Until he heard the familiar yet eery giggling of a floating entity right beside him.

“Hihihi… You’re up bright and early.” Ghost A (which the boy would need to ask a name for them) greeted.

“I thought you guys were supposed to be gone...?” a tired Ren questioned.

“We are former residents here. You can’t just evict us from our homes, you know?” Ghost A answered.

“... Good point. Just don’t cause any trouble, alright?” 

“Nu-uh! Since you’re going to be living here, you’re going to endure our pranks! Heehee!” Ghost B appeared next to Ghost A.

“... Please annoy me later... I need to grab a few things.”

This was his life now.

It was pretty bright and early. There were no students to be seen because class hadn't begun. It was great news! He could walk freely around the school.

Crowley had told him he could walk around freely around the school. As long as there were no students.

Ren decided he wanted to visit the library.

The boy made a walk towards the library. He wanted to grab a few books to get a general idea of where they were. As well as some academical books, as the subjects were much more different from those in his world, which he still needed to know about.

Crowley had shown them the path from the dormitory to the library, so he knew where he was going.

He entered the library, which was open, and took a few books of each respective category. Once he placed all the books down on the reading table, he had realized something.

“This might be too many books...” 

There were ten books of different sizes that he picked out. They were mostly history books and even alchemy books. With a heavy breath, he grabbed the books with both hands as he let out a ‘hmph!’ and walked out of the library.

He hoped he would not knock something over on the way back.

Ren was lucky that nobody was there. He didn’t want anyone to see him walking around carrying books while wearing pajamas or see any student at all. 

The boy had a bit of a hard time while carrying the books. The stack was tall enough that he couldn’t see anything from his front, and he had to look left and right while balancing the heavy books. Carrying it with both hands.

“Woah-!” Ren shrieked.

The boy had suddenly bumped into someone while he wasn’t looking. There was a slight ‘thump’ when they collided as a few books from Ren’s book stack had fallen off.

“Ah! Sorry about that!” The other boy looked in horror.

The boy he had bumped into picked up the fallen books off of the ground for him. He placed the books back on the pile of books.

“Are you okay? Are your hurt?” The boy asked with worry in his voice.

Ren looked at the boy for a moment. He was wearing what he assumed was the school’s uniform. The boy was of average height, yet was shorter than Ren by a margin. He had blue hair, which was neatly styled. On the right side of his face, near his sharp and teal-coloured eyes, was a mark in the shape of a black spade.

“I’m alright. Thanks for your concern.” Ren answered.

The boy sighed in relief. “That was close... I was afraid that I might have accidentally hurt someone on the first day here-“

He stopped for a moment before staring at Ren. This time, his face turned to a more serious expression. “Hey! Why are you wearing that attire? It’s the first day of school and you’re wearing that? What if the teachers yell at you!?”

Ren stared at him in confusion. There was no way this guy was serious. “Um... It’s pretty early. I don’t think there are any students or teachers here yet. What are you doing here?”

The boy’s serious look turned into the same confused look that Ren was wearing. “Huh? I thought I got here on time?”

“Do you have a watch with you?” 

“I do. And I swear I am right on time-“

The boy froze up as he gazed at his watch. Ren temporarily placed the books on the ground as he walked to the boy, turning his attention to the boy’s fancy watch.

“Pretty nice watch you have on there. Also, I’m not reading that wrong. It’s 7:30 in the morning.”

The boy looked away from him in embarrassment. “I-I’m just here pretty early. That’s all! The early bird gets the worm!”

“Maybe you’re a bit too early, though... But it’s the thought that counts after all. Maybe you’re excited, that’s all.” Ren reassured. “As for my clothing, I didn’t really have time to change it. Since the Headmaster allowed me to roam around the school when there are no students around, I figured that I’ll visit the library and grab a few books.”

“Headmaster? The headmaster permitted you?” The boy questioned.

Ren nodded in response. “The one and only.”

“By the way, thanks for helping me pick up the books. May I know your name?” He asked. “It’s kinda rude if I refer to you as the ‘guy who helped me’ or something along those lines.”

“Ah, right! My name is Deuce Spade. It’s nice to meet you.” Deuce politely bowed.

“Deuce... Hopefully I can pronounce it right...” Ren said to himself before turning to the boy. “I’m Ren Amamiya. It’s nice meeting you as well, Deuce.”

“Ren Amamiya...” Deuce thought before his eyes shot up in realization. “Wait! It’s you! You’re that guy from the ceremony!”

“Ah, you’ve noticed...” Ren said, in slight embarrassment. “That's never going to leave me, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Deuce explained. “It’s just... Hopefully you don’t take any offence at this, but I wasn’t exactly expecting to see you here in this school since you’re...”

“Magicless?” He finished. “And don’t worry, it did not offend me or anything. My situation is… hard to explain. Do you want me to explain it someplace else?”

Deuce nodded. “Sure. You’re carrying a lot of things and this place is an awkward place to have this type of conversation.”

Ren turned his attention to the stack of books he had placed on the ground. He knelt down before picking them back up.

“Do you need any help?” Deuce asked.

“Ah, sure. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Deuce grabbed a couple of books from the stack as the two walked to where Ren was going.

“... This is the place you currently stay in? It’s... quite something.”

“It gets you the first time.”

The two of them stared at the dormitory from afar. The nighttime scenery had made the building look ominous. However, seeing it in broad daylight made it look old and run down.

Deuce had a visible look of disbelief as Ren assured him that everything was alright. They walked towards the door as they entered inside.

The living room was at a decent condition now, since Ren and Morgana had done some cleaning when they got there for the first time. They had fixed the furniture, putting it in their proper places. However, there were still some things that needed to be fixed, such as the hole in the roof.

“I’m surprised that it looks better on the inside rather than the outside.” Deuce commented as he placed the books that he was carrying onto the coffee table.

“For your information, we almost gave up when we were cleaning... And this is just the furniture that’s clean. You can’t imagine the room we sleep in...” Ren grimaced.

“It’s that bad? Well, I can help you clean the place if you want to.” The other boy suggested.

“You’re my first guest. I refuse to let you do the hard work around here.” Ren answered.

“I’ve had my fair share of experiences with cleaning. I’m practically an expert. Trust me.” Deuce said with a confident look.

While they were talking, there was a sudden grumbling noise that the both of them heard at the same time. Ren looked around the room confusingly, as Deuce had suddenly jumped up before turning away from him.

“What was that noise?” Ren looked at Deuce.

Deuce hesitated for a bit before responding. “I... may have not eaten before leaving...” 

“You haven’t!?” Ren looked at him in surprise before sighing as he stared at his guest. “If you eat breakfast before school, it’ll give you the energy you’ll need for the rest of the day. You can’t just skip it.” He scolded.

“I didn’t want to be late for my first day of school! That would be terrible!” Deuce explained.

He pinched the bridge of his nose before removing his bedroom slippers and changing into the dress shoes he wore during the ceremony.

He turned to Deuce before opening the door. “Stay here for a moment, okay? I’ll go get some ingredients to cook us something to eat.” 

“T-There’s no need for that! I might take up your time!”

“Don’t worry. It’s fine. Consider this my treat for helping me earlier.” Ren gave the boy a smile before leaving the dormitory.

Deuce sighed to himself before looking up at the cracked celling.

“... I hope I’m not troubling him...”

As he was walking towards the dormitory’s entrance gate, he spotted Crowley, who was about to enter the dormitory.

“Oh, Mister Amamiya! Greetings! It’s good to see you.” The headmaster greeted. “What brings you up at this hour? It’s pretty early, after all.”

“I thought I would get a few things done before I do your tasks. I still need to repair the dorms for the three of us.” Ren responded.

“Ah, I see. Well, if you need a few things for repairs, there might be some tools here in this school. Or maybe even in the school store.” Crowley said.

“School store...?” the boy asked in confusion.

“The school store, or Mr. S’s Mystery Shop, is where most students buy the things they need. Anything that they can think of, it’s all in there.” The man explained.

Anything, huh?

“Do they sell cooking ingredients?” The boy questioned.

“His store sells almost anything. Whatever you’re looking for is most likely there.” Crowley answered.

Well, this was certainly perfect timing. 

“Can you take me there?”

“I’m back, Deuce. And I brought someone along with me.”

“You brought the Headmaster with you!?”

The look on Deuce’s face was the look of someone who had seen almost everything. The magicless student living inside school grounds, the ghosts who occasionally roam around the dormitory (they had scared him by making all of Ren’s books float), and the Headmaster giving him a welcoming wave.

“Well, I was supposed to be getting the things I need all on my own, but the Headmaster assisted me in finding things I need.” he pointed at the bags of things that both Ren and Crowley were carrying. “... And he may have paid for all of it, which I am thankful for.”

“I’m truly gracious, aren’t I?” The older man smiled as Ren sheepishly smiled back.

“It’s only the first day, and I already seen everything...” Deuce said as he slumped himself onto the couch.

“You shouldn’t worry about my presence on the most important day of your life. I am simply a houseguest, so do not be afraid of my sudden appearance.” Crowley assured.

“R-Right! Thank you, Headmaster!” The other boy bowed, which Crowley chuckled in enjoyment before patting Deuce’s shoulder.

“I should start cooking now. Don’t mind me.” Ren grabbed both of the bags as he made his way towards the slightly messy kitchen.

“Do you need anything else, Mister Amamiya? I can get it for you.” The Headmaster asked.

Ren thought for a moment until a lightbulb sprung up his head.

The school store proved to be a blessing to Ren. 

Though he was skeptical, since the inside of the store looked nothing like a store and more of a witch’s coven, it was not the case when the shopkeeper, Sam, had given him what he needed.

Sam was a very interesting person. He was very welcoming when he first entered the store and even showed him all the latest deals and discounts he has. The items he recommended were very... questionable for Ren. Before he had shown his stock of eye of newts, Crowley had escorted him out of the store.

The place will be useful for him during his stay here. But next time he visits, he’ll try to not make the headmaster pay for all the things he bought.

After cleaning the kitchen counter, he placed all the items on it. It was rice, some meat, onions, garlic, apples, ginger, honey, yogurt, some spices, and coffee beans.

The boy was missing an ingredient, which Crowley provided it for him, because he was ‘gracious’ and he genuinely wants to see what he was making.

He grabbed the utensils and cooking tools he needed (which needed to be cleaned, thoroughly), and started prepping the ingredients.

It was only a matter of time till Crowley had stepped into the kitchen, carrying something with his gloved hand.

“As an educator, I know I shouldn’t be providing alcohol to a teenager. But please make sure you’ll only use this for cooking and not for other reasons.” The man sighed as he placed a bottle of red wine on the counter. “You may not be a student, but I still need to watch over you somehow.”

“I promise I won’t drink it. It’s only for cooking.” Ren assured.

The cooking process wasn’t all that difficult, as Sojiro had taught him how to make the signature curry on some occasions. He had gotten the hang of it by now. Though brewing the coffee was rather difficult, to which Ren had to resort to other methods of brewing. It wasn’t long before the aromatics of spice and fresh coffee had filled the kitchen.

“Mm... Something smells good in there...” Deuce mumbled. 

Soon, Ren had walked out with two plates of curry next to a hot plate of rice. The two guests looked at their plate. Deuce felt his mouth was starting water while Crowley had a look of amazement. Both of them grabbed their utensil and ate a spoonful of the dish, as the look of satisfaction was visible on their faces.

“This curry is amazing!” Deuce happily commented.

“Not bad! I’m impressed by your skills,” Crowley said. “Where did you learn how to make this?”

“I learned from the best professional out there.” Ren said with a light smirk on his face. Boss’s recipe never disappoints. It was a famous for a reason.

The two of them indulge in their dishes as Ren walked back to the kitchen to grab their drinks, as well as his serving of breakfast. 

As he was making his serving, he saw something bounce onto the counter. Ren looked at the counter as a black cat stared at him with his blue eyes.

“I knew something smelled good in here. You’re making breakfast?”

“Well, good morning to you, Morgana.”

The once anthropomorphic creature turned into a normal cat, as it meowed at the boy.

“You have something in store for me?” Morgana asked, expecting something.

“Don’t tell Grim, but you can have two cans of tuna.” Ren answered, grabbing the cans of tuna from the bag of things he had brought.

“He’s still asleep, thankfully. I had enough hearing his snores while I sleep...” the cat complained.

As Ren opened the cans of tuna, he kept stealing glances towards Morgana. How did he even turn into a cat while he was sleeping? And how did he not notice upon waking up? It was then he had finally spoken up.

“Weren’t you in your Metaverse form? How did you turn into your normal form?” Ren questioned as he slid the can of tuna to the feline’s direction.

“Well, it wasn’t difficult, to be honest,” Morgana explained. “I had a feeling that since we could summon our Personas outside of the Metaverse, and you could control your outfit along with it, I had a feeling that I can switch out my forms. I tested it out while you were asleep and it was successful, obviously.”

“Can you still turn into a bus?” The boy couldn’t help but ask.

“... And you’re asking about that why, exactly?” Morgana looked at him, somewhat annoyed.

“No reason. I was just wondering.” He said with a playful smile.

Morgana let out a noise of disdain as Ren passed him another open can of tuna. He poured coffee in two mugs that he had found inside the cabinets. He wondered how all the plates, mugs, and drinking glasses were all in one piece.

He walked out of the kitchen, both mugs in hand, as he made his way to the living room.

To his surprise, both guests had finished their plates of curry, which Ren couldn’t help but lightly smile at. He placed the cups of coffee on the table near them as he sat down as well.

“Thank you for the food, Ren. It was delicious. But you didn’t have to do it, you know...” Deuce scratched the back of his head.

“You’re my first guest and you helped me carry things for me. I needed to make it up to you somehow,” he said with a warm smile on his face. “I’m pretty sure you’re wondering why I’m still here, aren’t you? To answer that question, I can’t get back home... There’s no way I can return...”

There was a sad look on Ren’s face when he was explaining. Deuce couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“Ah... Is that so?” Deuce had slowly understood what was going on. “Sorry if I said something rude to you earlier. I really didn’t know about your situation.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure you didn’t mean to sound rude. Headmaster Crowley’s been looking for a way to get us back home, which I’m grateful for.” Ren assured.

Crowley took a sip from his coffee mug as he cleared his throat after drinking. “Right. Regarding your home, there have been a couple of roadblocks in finding its location. However, do not worry, for I am still looking for a way to find your home.” 

Ren looked up at the headmaster as a mellow look formed on his face. Maybe there was hope after all?

Deuce looked at his watch as he suddenly stood up, catching both Ren and Crowley’s attention. “Ah, sorry! I gotta go! Thank you for the food, Ren!”

Before Ren could even say a word, Deuce had bolted out of the dormitory. They look at the door in silence before Crowley had spoken up.

“He’s certainly a diligent student.” Crowley mused.

“He’s a little confused. But he’s got the spirit.” Ren commented. 

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Crowley crossed both of his arms. “The reason I came to you was to mention about the tasks you must do.”

“A job on the first day? What is it?” Ren wondered.

“Your first job here is to clean the school. Namely, the Main Street to the Main Gate, as well as the library. The campus is giant. Do not worry, I have left maps all around campus to guide the students.” The headmaster slid a piece of paper onto the table. “This is your personal map. I’m sure it’ll assist you three.”

The boy unfolded the piece of paper. Crowley had mentioned that the place was huge, but the map exaggerates all of that. There were so many buildings and places! How the hell were they going to clean all of this?

“Now, I’ll give you time to fix yourself. The supplies you need to use will be on your doorstep.” 

Crowley stepped out of his seat and made his way toward the door. Before he left, he turned his head towards the boy. “Try not to get into trouble, alright? And also, thank you for the food. It was pleasantly delicious.”

Ren let out a tremendous sigh as he picked up the leftover dishes, making his way towards the kitchen where Morgana was still chilling inside of.

“I overheard your conversation with Crowley. So, it’s time for our job?” Morgana asked.

“This is going to be a long day…” the boy tiredly said. “But first, let me finish my breakfast.”

After a nice and warm shower, Ren came to the bedroom in his ceremonial attire, minus the robe. There was an annoyed look on his face as he saw Grim, who was still sleeping on the bed after everyone had gotten up already.

“Grim, wake up already. It’s time to wake up.” Ren said while he shook Grim around.

Grim made quiet mumbling sounds, yet he didn’t wake up. Ren was even more annoyed by it, which caused him to shake even harder.

Before Ren could get furious, the middle ghost, Ghost B, appeared next to him with a mischievous grin on their face.

“You want any help~?”

Suddenly, a grin had formed on Ren’s face as well.

 “Sure.”

Grim yawned as he arose from his bed. 

“Nya~ I slept well~!”

He turned around to see that both Ren and Morgana were nowhere to be found. 

“Haha! They’ve done all the work for me! Now I can sleep as much as I can!” He laughed. 

The creature went back to his sleeping position he once was in. He closed his eyes, waiting for slumber to take him back in, until he suddenly felt light. Almost as if he was no longer touching the ground.

He opened his eyes to see that he was no longer laying on the bed. He was floating up and away from the bed.

“Huh!? Why am I floating!? Let me down!” Grim shrieked. 

The creature panicked as he kept flailing around. It wasn’t until he heard a laugh from inside the room that he stopped.

“Alright, guys. You can stop now. He’s awake.”

Ren walked into the room and clapped his hands two times. Confused, Grim turned around only to face a pair of dead looking eyes to stare right at him, feeling its gaze all the way to his soul.

“Boo!”

“Gyagh!” Grim cried out. “GHOST! WHY IS THERE A GHOST HERE AGAIN!?”

“Hihihi~! You’re quite funny when you’re scared, cat.” The ghost mused, slowly putting the creature on the ground.

“I am NOT a cat!” He yelled. “And you, human! You’re conspiring with our enemy!”

“Now, Grim. There’s no need to argue with the ghosts or me. We need to get moving.” Ren kneeled down at Grim’s level. “We still need to do our job here.”

“But it’s not fair~! I want to wear a uniform and be a student! I don’t wanna clean!” Grim whined like a toddler.

Ren let out a tired sigh. “If you help us, I’ll let you use the study books that I brought from the library.”

“Hmph! That doesn’t make it any better!” The creature pouted.

“You’ll get the rest of the tuna cans.”

“... Deal.”

If food was enough to make Grim do things, then it was practically easy for Ren. But the creature had a distasteful opinion of being one of the school’s handyman.

As the trio walk towards Main Street, with Ren carrying the cart of supplies, they stopped when they reached their destination.

“Woah,” Morgana looked in amazement. “So this is Main Street?”

“I didn’t get a good look when I got here. All these statues look scary... Especially this snobby looking granny!” Grim pointed out.

Main Street was a pathway to the school. When you enter from the main gate, a stone pathway greets you. As you walk down the path, there were seven stone statues staring at you while you walk forward.

Ren turned his attention to the statue Grim had pointed out. It was a stone statue of an older woman carrying a heart-shaped scepter of sorts. She had a puffy gown that complimented her size and a giant, pop-up collar. As well as a tiny crown that finished her look.

“You don’t know the Queen of Hearts?”

“Huh?” Ren turned his head around.

There was a student with a hand on his hip. He was wearing the Night Raven College uniform, except, unlike the one he saw with Deuce, he wore a bright red waistcoat underneath the blazer. His orange hair was slightly messy, but properly kept. There was also a heart-shaped mark near the left side of his red eyes.

“Eh? The Queen of Hearts? Is she important?” Grim questioned.

There was a cheerful smile on the student’s face as he described the statue. “The Queen of Hearts once lived in the Rose Maze a long time ago. She valued the rules and discipline more than anyone. She’s very strict in all things, from the marching of her card soldiers to the color of her rosebushes.”

“Wow, she really valued the rules, huh?” Ren commented.

“She really did. Her subjects coward in fear from her reign. They feared for their lives. If they break one of her rules, it’s ‘Off with Their Heads’!” The student exclaimed.

There was something that chimed inside Ren’s mind. As if a voice had popped up in his head. It was light and high pitched, however he couldn’t figure out what it was. Yet, it felt like it was calling out to him. 

He shook his head as he turned to Grim, who had a look of fear at the mention of the words ‘off with your head.

“That’s terrifying!” He shrieked.

Morgana hopped onto Ren’s shoulder and meowed. Which only the boy could understand that he was speaking.

“Geez... Executing people just because they broke a single rule. That’s more than strictness and disciplinary measures. That’s full on tyranny...” the feline mumbled.

“No one would listen to a queen who’s nice and has the lightest of heart, right?” The orange hair looked at them.

“I suppose you’re right. No one would take you seriously if that happens.” Grim nodded.

“... Or they might take advantage of you,” Ren chimed in. “By the way, I don’t think we’ve met before. May I know your name?”

“The name's Ace. I’m a freshman here. Nice to meet ya!” the student greeted.

“I am Grim! A genius who’ll become the greatest magician!” He said with a smug look before looking at Ren. “This dimwit over here is my henchman!”

“Before you ask, no, I am not his henchman. He’s practically with me.” The boy sighed.

“My name is Ren Amamiya. And this is Morgana,” he pointed at the cat on his shoulder as it meowed as a response. “Nice to meet you as well, Ace.”

“Hey, Ace! What’s that deal with the guy with the scar on his face?” Grim pointed to the statue of a lion standing on a cliff.

“Ah, the King of Beasts,” Ace said. “He once ruled the Savannah. Though he was never born a king, he took the throne through effort and elaborate planning. Once he became king, he let the loathed hyenas live inside the kingdom without discrimination.”

Hyenas? Aren’t they supposed to be carnivores? Why would a king let them live inside a kingdom as if they wanted to risk the safety of its people? He thought, but shrugged it off as he saw Grim’s eagerness.

“Ooh~!” Grim looked in awe as he pointed at a statue of a lady with eight tentacles as legs, as she held a scroll with a devious look. “What about the lady with octopus legs?”

“She is the Sea Witch who once lived in a dark cavern beneath the deep sea. Her purpose is to help all the unfortunate merman or merwoman. If you pay her the right price, she’ll give you anything you desire. She can transform you, find you love, anything. I heard her prices were very high, though. Guess that was the price for a wish for anything they desire.”

“She can grant your wishes just like that? Sounds sketchy to me...” Morgana said to the boy with a skeptical look on his face.

“Ooh! Ooh! What about the man with the funny hat?” Grim pointed at a statue of a man wearing a turban wielding a long staff.

“That one is the Sorcerer of Sands,” Ace explained. “He was a vizier to a foolish sultan. His personality was very cunning. He once saw through a fake prince, who was trying to deceive the princess. Then, he got a magic lamp and became the most powerful sorcerer of all! I heard he became the sultan with a power like that.”

“Hoohoo~ So being the center of attention is important for a magician? Interesting!” Grim mused.

This time, it was Ren who pointed out a statue.

“What about the woman over there?” He pointed at what seemed to be a statue of a beautiful woman holding an apple.

“Ah, the Beautiful Queen. One of my personal favorites.” Ace answered. “She always checked her magic mirror, asking if she was the fairest woman of them all. If was not the fairest among them, she will do anything to regain the title back to her. I guess she had a strong will if she wanted to be the most beautiful person in the world. She’s freaking amazing! They say she also specializes in deadly poisons.”

Ren had a bitter taste in his mouth. Was he really praising a person like this?

“She’s pretty, but… No thanks. I don’t want to mess with someone like her.” Grim shivered.

“But you gotta say, it’s cool that she had something that she didn’t want to give up.” The boy said before pointing towards the man with flames beneath his feet.

“Over there is the Lord of the Underworld! He ruled the land of the dead all on his own. Even though his job was detestable, he took it seriously without taking a single vacation. Because of his sincerity, he got Cerberus, the hydras, and even the titans to fight by his side.” He hummed to himself. “So having a serious job doesn’t mean you’ll get to be haughty all the time, huh?”

“And the last one, the lady with the horns over there?” Grim pointed towards the last statue, a woman that had demon horns, as she gave a menacing aura as they glanced at her statue.

“That’s the Queen of Thorns from the Magic Mountains. Among the Great Seven, she has the most powerful magic. Noble and elegant, she excels in magic and curses. I heard she transformed into a dragon once. Her magic is on another level.” Ace looked excited when he was showcasing the Queen of Thorns.

“Ooh! A dragon! The creature that all fellow creatures look up to!” Grim said with excitement.

“They’re all so cool, aren’t they?”

Ren turned his attention to Ace, who suddenly had a sinister grin on his look, as the boy looked back at him.

“Unlike a certain boy over there.”

“Huh…?” Ren looked in surprise.

“Oi… What the heck do you mean by that?” Grim’s excitement turned to a somewhat annoyed expression.

Ace bursted into laughter. “Pft… Ahahaha! Sorry, I couldn’t bear it anymore! This is just way too hilarious!”

He turned back to Ren, the smug grin still visible on his face. “You’re that guy from the entrance ceremony, right? Summoned by the Dark Mirror with no magic at all.” He then turned to Grim, who was getting agitated. “And the raccoon, who wasn’t even called, yet still trespassed. What a duo!”

“Man, I had a hard time not to burst out laughing during the ceremony. And now you’re demoted as a janitor? How lame!”

“He’s more than entitled! He’s straight up rude!” Morgana hissed.

“Hey, bastard! If you have a problem with us, don’t rope the dumb human into this! As if they’re worthy of your pointless comments!” Grim yelled at the student.

“Alright, everybody, calm down—” Ren tried to stop the two, however Ace merely laughed at the creature.

“Oh boy, do I have a big problem with the both of you, alright. You don’t even know who the Great Seven are. How ignorant, no, how CLUELESS can you even be?’ Ace crossed his arms. “Word of advice: go back to kindergarten while you still can.”

This guy was getting on his nerves.

Both Morgana and Grim glared angrily at the boy. The tension was rising between the two.

“Unlike the two of you, I actually have class to attend to. Clean the entire school well, you two!”

As Ace was about to leave, Grim had suddenly yelled, catching both Ren and Morgana’s attention.

“Grr…! I’m pissed off now! I’m not just gonna let him go after talking smack about us! Take this!”

“Huh?”

The student turned around to see a wall of flame coming towards him. He flinched before backing away, the flames narrowly hitting him.

“What the-!? What the hell are you doing!?” Ace shouted.

“That’s what you get for making fun of me and Ren over there! I’m going to set your head ablaze!” Grim shot back.

“Grim, this isn’t the time for a fight, you’ll—!” Once again, Ren got cut off from speaking as Ace yelled back.

“Oh? You really got the guts to fight me?” He said before pulling out a pen from his pocket. “I’ll turn you into a stuffed animal!”

“Gaaah!”

Grim shot another ball of flame towards the student. Instead of dodging like before, he chanted a spell as a gust of wind had dispelled all the fire magic the creature had cast.

“No way! He blocked his magic with a wind spell!?” Morgana looked in shock.

“Gotta protect myself somehow!” He confidently said.

“Grr! You’re really getting on my nerves!” Grim scowled.

“Woah… What’s happening over there? Is that a fight?”

“Yeah, get him!”

Ren looked around to see that there were students gathering around, watching them. Some overlooked in confusion, while others cheered the fight on.

“Something tells me this will not end well…” Ren said in worry.

“This will shut you up for sure! Take this!”

“This trajectory seems right… Fire!”

Grim shot a giant fireball at Ace as it flew towards him at an alarming speed. Ace chanted another spell as a powerful gust of wind flew in their direction as it hit their direction. He expected that the flame will bounce back towards them thanks to his wind.

He was not expecting the ball of flame exploding as soon as the two elements combined.

The fireball exploded into multiple bits, causing all of them to take cover as the flames shot towards them.

As the attack had stopped, Ren lifted his head off the ground with a groan escaping his mouth. Both he and Morgana were a bit dazed.

“Oh, shit… Oh shit!”

The boy looked over to see the shocked face of Ace, who looked at one statue. The Queen of Hearts statue was completely burnt to a crisp from the attack.

“Crap! The statue..!” Ace said as all the color on his face faded.

“It’s your fault! You were the one who kept blowing my flames around!” Grim yelled.

“ENOUGH! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL OF THIS!?”

“Eek!”

The boy looked behind to the source of the sudden yell, as he saw Crowley, who was less than amused by what he saw. As soon as the headmaster arrived, all the onlookers of the fight had run away in fear of getting blamed for the older man’s rage.

“We are so screwed…” Morgana mumbled.

“Run! He’s got the Whip of Love with him!” Grim cried out.

As Ace and Grim tried to run away, there was a loud crack that echoed, as a black cord had flown in their direction. The two tried to outrun it, however it had tied the both of them up, making them fall to the ground.

“It’ll take another hundred years before you can outrun the Whip of Love!” The Headmaster crossed his arms. “Didn’t I tell you not to cause any trouble in this school? And what did you do? You somehow burn a statue!”

He turned to Ace, who was shivering in fear. All the confidence he had was gone by now. “Do you wish to make me expel you?”

“No! Not that! Anything but that!” Ace pleaded.

Crowley then turned to Ren. He could feel his breath stop as soon as he locked eyes with the man’s angry eyes. “And you. I thought you were supposed to keep Griｍ in place. Now look what has happened.”

“I’m sorry, sir. A part of this had also been my fault…” Ren said.

Crowley could only sigh. “What happened has happened. You, please state your name and year level.”

“Ace Trappola. First year.” Ace hesitated.

“Well then. Mister Trappola, Mister Amamiya, and Grim. As punishment, I demand you to clean one-hundred windows all throughout campus!”

“HUH!?” The three of them consecutively reacted.

“I’m included as well!?” Ace said in disbelief.

“This is all your fault!” Grim glared angrily at the student. “If you didn’t talk shit about us, all of this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Enough, both of you!” Crowley yelled. “Meet me at the cafeteria after school! Understood?”

The three of them nodded as the headmaster walked away.

He was never going to have a peaceful day after all.

Chapter Text

“Ugh! If it weren’t for that Ace guy, we wouldn’t have been in this mess!” Grim complained.

“Weren’t you the one that started the fight with him!?” Morgana yelled at the creature.

“It was his fault, anyway! That was just my revenge for what he said earlier!” “Revenge!? You two burnt a statue!”

“The guy blocked my flames. What was I supposed to do!?”

“Calm down, you two,” Ren turned to the two, attempting to calm them down and stop their fighting. “Let’s not cause any trouble again.”

The cafeteria was empty. There were no students to be seen. The students had probably gone back to their separate dormitories; he assumed. Morgana and Grim’s banter had echoed in the very wide area. The three of them sat at an empty cafeteria table, as they had mixed opinions on what had happened.

Grim let out a groan. “I’m already tired… We already cleaned the entire school and now we have to clean a hundred windows? This is the worst…!”

He wasn’t wrong.

Ren looked at the cafeteria’s windows. He looked less than amused about the task. The windows were very tall and massive, almost similar to a cathedral’s window. There were too many windows to clean alone. There were probably more windows all around the school. Probably as big and large as the ones in the cafeteria.

The boy sighed. “There is no point in complaining after what you have done.”

“But he started it! Trying to step in and insult me!” Grim said.

Ren took his glasses off of his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let's wait on Ace before we clean the place.”

And wait, they did.

It had been at least five minutes and Ace had not arrived.

The three of them kept waiting in silence.

“… He’s never coming here, isn’t he?” Morgana said, stating the obvious answer they had in mind.

“Now I’m pissed off!” Grim shouted. “He definitely bailed on us!”

“Most likely,” he sighed before standing up from his sitting position. “Let’s go find him before Crowley gets mad again.”

“Yeah, right…” Grim shivered at the thought. “Let’s go, my henchmen! Let’s find him and make him pay!”

“We’re not your henchmen...” Morgana glared at the creature as he walked out of the cafeteria before hopping onto the boy’s shoulder.

“Let’s just find him.”

They walked out of the cafeteria.

“Ace! You can’t hide from us forever, ya know!?” Grim called out.

The three of them walked down the halls, looking around for anyone baring a resemblance to someone they were looking for. But to no avail, they couldn’t find him.

“He couldn't have gotten that far, right? Class only ended recently, after all.” Morgana questioned.

“But where are we even going to find him? He’s probably long gone by now!” The blue creature said.

It wasn’t until Ren had spotted someone walking in their direction. There was a moment of recognition upon getting a better look at the person. He had called out to them.

“Deuce!”

“Hm?” The student looked at the person who called for him before realizing who it was. “Oh, it’s you!”

The trio walked towards the boy and greeted him with a smile. “Nice seeing you again. How was school life for you?”

“It went well, thankfully. We just introduced ourselves to our homeroom class, and they gave us our schedules for the school year. Classes will officially start tomorrow.”

“Well, good to know that it went well for you, Deuce.” Ren said.

Grim looked at the two boys with a look of confusion and slight agitation. “Hey! Who is this guy!? Why are you acting all friendly suddenly?” The creature demanded an answer.

“Ah, I almost forgot. Grim, this is Deuce. Someone I just met recently.” Ren introduced.

Deuce waved before turning back at Ren. This time, he had a serious look on his face. “Now, what was this rumour that kept spreading around school? That someone had burnt the Queen of Hearts statue on Main Street. Please don’t tell me it was you guys, right?”

Ren could only laugh awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. “… Well… It wasn’t my fault entirely,” he shot a glare towards Grim, to which he turned his head away from them with a pout. “Unfortunately, the rumors are true.”

“What were you thinking!?” Deuce shouted. “How did you even damage a statue!? A very important statue!”

“It’s a long story. One you certainly don’t want to hear.” Ren sighed. “But we need your help. Have you seen someone pass by?”

The student tilted his head in confusion.

Grim came to the boy’s aid. “A boy with spiky hair and a heart patch on his face!”

“Hm… Oh!” Deuce shot up as he made a realization. “I think I recall someone pass by me. He’s kind of hard to miss. He was suddenly dashing away.”

“That’s our guy.” Ren said flatly.

“Come on! Let’s get him!” Grim said, preparing to dash away from the group.

Deuce did not have a clue on what they meant. “Alright, now I need the entire context.”

“Well, you see…” Ren began explaining the situation.

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re looking for someone who is trying to escape the Headmaster’s punishment?” Deuce asked, trying to understand the details. “And this guy is also responsible for damaging the statue?”

Ren nodded in response.

“That’s unacceptable!” He shouted. “How could he try to run away from his responsibilities?”

“Listen, we get you’re angry, but we really need to go before that guy escapes from us!” Grim said in impatience.

“Right, we need to go.” Ren said.

“Wait! Let me help you.” Deuce called out.

The boy nodded. “Sure. The more the merrier. Let’s go.”

“There’s no way I’m cleaning a hundred windows! I gotta get back” Ace stopped to catch his breath as he almost reached the Hall of Mirrors.

“Get back here you…!”

“Crap! They found me!”

Ace stopped dead in his tracks as Ren, Grim, Deuce, and Morgana cornered him. The arrogant student turned back and started running once more.

“Hey, stop! It’s not fair if you’re the only one skipping! I wanna skip too!” Grim began running after the boy.

Ren quickly turned to Deuce. “Deuce, do you have anything that can help? Uh… Maybe a spell or something like that?”

“I can try.” Deuce took a pen, similar to the one Ace used to attack them, and aimed towards the running student. “Should I freeze their legs? Or maybe I can restrain them? No… Um… Maybe…”

“Anything will suffice! Catch him if you can!” Ren demanded.

The demand startled Deuce, before regaining back his own composure. “Anything!? Uh... Ugh!” The boy shook his head in frustration before yelling out.

“Anything is fine! Summon something heavy!” The boy yelled out, pointing the pen in the fleeing boy’s direction as its jewel lit up.

*THUNK!*

“OW! WHAT THE HELL!? A POT!?”

There was a giant cauldron that appeared on top of Ace, as it suddenly landed on him with a loud bang upon impact. The troublemaker winced in pain, as it kept him from lying on the ground.

“What the-!? Did he just summon a cauldron!?” Morgana yelled, visibly dumbfounded.

“Hahaha!” Grim cackled. “Check it out! Ace is as flat as a pancake under that cauldron! How lame!”

Deuce looked at the results of his actions with a slightly worried look. “I didn’t think I’d end up summoning a cauldron. Did I go too far?” “The cauldron might have been… too much. But at least we got him.” Ren assured.

The two boys (and feline) walked up to Ace, who was on the ground. They pushed the heavy cauldron off of his back as the boy groaned upon standing up.

“My back… Man, this sucks…” Ace complained before looking at Ren. “Why would you even chase after me? One-hundred windows doesn’t seem like a problem to you. You should be able to clean it in a flash.”

“That’s not something you can do on a whim, you know?” Ren lashed at the boy. “And besides, it’s the Headmaster that ordered us to do it.”

Deuce crossed his arms as he looked at the boy with a disappointed look. “Your first day inside a prestigious school and you damage a statue of the Great Seven! You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Ahh, shut up, will you? Who even are you?” Ace turned to Deuce.

“I’m Deuce. Deuce Spade. Will you at least remember your classmates’ names,” he stopped speaking as he looked at Ace. “Uh…”

“You don’t even know my name.” Ace said as he placed a hand on his hip.

“A-Anyway!” Deuce stuttered. “If the Headmaster ordered you to do it, then you should do it seriously.”

“Fine, fine. I give up.” He sighed. “Let’s just get this over… Eh?”

Ace looked behind Ren in confusion. Ren raised a brow at why the two of them were giving him confused looks before he turned back as well.

“… Where’s Grim?” He turned back to see that Grim was no longer in the spot he stayed on. He was nowhere to be seen.

“The fur-ball’s gone!” Ace shouted in shock.

From afar, someone was laughing at them. They saw a visible speck of blue waving at the three boys.

“Hehe! I’ll leave everything all to you! Bye-bye!” Grim taunted before running off.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Morgana hopped off of Ren’s shoulder and started chasing after the creature.

“Wait up!” Ren had run after the two creatures as well.

“Hey, what are you-!?” Ace yelled at the boy, but he was too far off to even call back. “Hey, uh, um. Juice?”

“I’m not Juice! It’s Deuce! Deu!” He shouted.

“You’re partly responsible for this. Let’s catch up to them before the furball causes trouble!” Ace said.

“Why me, though?

“Unless you have forgotten already, that kid can’t use magic! Now come on!” Ace tugged at Deuce’s sleeve before joining in on the chase.

The chase lasted for quite a while, as Grim had run into many places. It had stopped momentarily as they ended up back inside the Cafeteria.

“Grim, get down here!”

Ren yelled up as he and Morgana witnessed Grim climbing up the walls and dangling in the giant chandelier.

“No way! Try to catch me from up here!” Grim taunted.

Eventually, both Ace and Deuce had caught up and entered the cafeteria. Though it wasn’t long until they looked up to see the creature on the chandelier. A look of horror was visible on their faces.

“On top of the chandelier? What an underhanded move…” Deuce muttered.

“Now’s not the time to comment! We need to get that thing off there somehow!” Ace yelled.

“How though?” Ren asked.

“Um…”

“You don’t have a clue either, don’t you?”

“Shut up! I’m thinking here!”

Morgana hopped back onto Ren’s shoulder, promptly catching the boy’s attention. “What if I try to climb up there and catch him?”

“No, it’s too risky.” He answered. “He might start running again or you might get hurt.”

“Uh, dude? Are you really mumbling at your cat at a moment like this?”

Ren turned to Ace, who caught him speaking to the feline. “Sorry, I’m just thinking of something right now.”

“Wait, I’ve got it!” Deuce exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention.

Before he could explain it to them, he had pointed his magical pen directly at Ace.

“Woah, wait! What do you think you’re doing with that!?” Ace demanded an answer.

“I’m going to throw you! You’ll catch him, alright?” Deuce answered, to which Ace heavily disagreed with.

“I’ve got a real bad feeling about this!” Morgana exclaimed.

“Uh… I don’t think this is a good idea. Maybe we should- “ Before he could finish speaking, Ren got startled by the sounds of Ace’s screams.

“Hey, hey! Don’t make me float, dammit!” Ace shrieked as his feet floated off the ground, with the help of Deuce’s magic pen. “Are you really going to throw me!?”

“Take aim… Fire!”

“AAAAAAAGH!”

Ace screamed as he got flung into the air, directly into the chandelier. The boy had reached and capture the creature.

However, he had also torn the chain that provided the chandelier support, causing it to fall to the ground with a loud crash. With him and the creature falling along with it.

*CRASH!*

Dust had settled in upon impact, which caused Ren, Morgana, and Deuce to look away and cover themselves from any shards that flew towards them. With a few coughs, Ren swatted away any dust clouds that flew around him as the two of them saw the bone-chilling aftermath.

The chandelier broken into smithereens.

Ace coughed as he slowly arose from the rubble, with specs of dust on his black blazer. “Ugh… I can’t believe you actually threw me…!”

Grim rose from the remains with a dizzy expression.

“Oh crap,” Deuce muttered. “I didn’t think this through… I forgot about how you were supposed to land!”

Ace growled, stomping towards Deuce in anger. He gripped onto the boy’s collar and tugged, making him look at his furious expression. “ARE YOU AN IDIOT!? Sure, we may have caught Grim, but if the headmaster finds out about this we’re-!”

“Find out about what?”

Everyone in the room stopped. They turned their heads towards the entrance to see Crowley, who had a look of visible anger, looking at them with his arms crossed.

“We’re screwed…” Morgana said with widened eyes.

“Just… what… in the world… ARE ALL OF YOU DOING!?” Crowley shouted, as if a blood vessel had already popped from his heated anger. The three boys flinched as the Headmaster took another second to look at what had happened. “Were you not satisfied with damaging a statue to where you decided it was a good idea to break a chandelier!?”

“Uh, Headmaster! We can explain-!” Ace tried to reason before Crowley spoke up.

“This is the last straw!” He yelled. “All of you are getting expelled!”

“HUH!?”

Ren clenched his teeth as he turned to the two students. Whose faces were pale as the ghosts that haunted Ramshackle upon hearing the punishment of expulsion.

“Please, sir! Anything but that...! I still have things I need to do here!” Deuce pleaded. “I can pay the damages if I have to…!”

“Blame your idiocy for that.” He sighed. “That was no mere chandelier you just broke. This was a magic chandelier, which has candles meant to burn for all eternity. We were entrusted with this chandelier ever since its foundation and construction. Taking its historical value, this would have to cost at least a billion madol,”

“Are you sure you’re willing to pay that price?” He finished.

“A billion!?” Deuce said in shock.

“But, Headmaster! Are you certain that this isn’t fixable? Can’t you use magic…?” Ace asked, hoping for a solution.

“Magic is not all that powerful,” Crowley began explaining. “The magic crystal, which serves as the core, is absent. Because of your antics, you had broken it to pieces. Not all magic crystals are the same. I’m afraid this chandelier cannot be lit again.”

“Shit…” Ace swore under his breath.

“Crap… What am I going to do now… How am I going to explain this to Mom…?” Deuce mumbled.

It was then that Ren had finally spoken up. “Headmaster. Are you sure there’s no other way to fix this? There’s got to be a way to fix this somehow, right?”

Crowley placed a hand on his chin. “Hmm… Now that you mentioned it. There is one way to fix the chandelier.”

“Eh!?” the two said in unison, as their previously depressed state turned into an attentive one.

“The Magic Crystal that was used for the chandelier came from the Dwarfs’ Mine. If there’s a crystal there, then there’s a most likely chance that it’s the same kind as the original here. Meaning repairs might be possible.” The man explained.

Deuce suddenly shot up. “I’ll go find the Magic Crystal!”

“However,” Crowley began speaking before the boy could do something drastic. “The mine has been closed for quite a while. There is also the possibility that there’s barely any crystal there. Are you sure you’re willing to do this?”

There was a look of determination on Deuce’s face. “I’ll do anything to reverse my expulsion!”

Crowley was not expecting that type of answer. “… Fine. I’ll give you one night. Come to my office with the Magic Crystal in your possession by tomorrow morning or face expulsion.”

“Yes! Thank you very much, Headmaster!” Deuce obediently said.

“Ugh… I suppose there’s nothing else to do about it… Come on, let’s just get it over with already.” Ace tiredly said.

“Use the Gate in the Chamber of Mirrors to get transported directly to the Dwarfs’ Mine.” The Headmaster said to them before they left.

“Yes, sir!”

Deuce quickly left the cafeteria while a tired Ace followed suit.

“Guess we can’t have a normal day after all…” Morgana sighed.

“You can say that. But our day keeps getting interesting by the hour we’re here.” Ren said as Morgana hopped back on his shoulder once more. “Guess we have no choice but to follow them before they do something drastic.”

Morgana nodded as a response as the two of them left the cafeteria.

Crowley could only watch the boy and his familiar leave. There was something about that student that keeps garnering his attention. He sighed as he looked at the broken chandelier, which he needed to call for clean up soon.

“Amamiya… It’s almost like you bring mischief everywhere you go.”

Chapter Text

“Ugh… Why did it have to be this way? Today is really not my day…”

“Now is not the time to mumble! We have to hurry!”

The three boys (and two creatures) rushed towards the Magic Mirror. Ace was already tired, but Deuce still had an ounce of determination in his veins. He was practically dragging all of them there. Meanwhile, Ren was just watching the two of them.

“Mirror, Mirror on the wall! Light our way to the Dwarfs’ Mine!” Deuce chanted.

They looked at the Mirror, as its reflective glass rippled. As they walked closer, they could see a shimmer of light on the glass. The light became even shinier until it became blinding.

They were no longer in the Chamber of Mirrors.

There was a dark ambience upon arriving at the place.

“So, this is Dwarfs’ Mine… It used to be successful thanks to the magic crystals inside of the mines, but…” Deuce explained with a tone of doubt.

“Are you sure about that…? It doesn’t seem like a place that would have any magic crystals…” Ren said as he examined the area.

The place hid in a dark forest where sunlight couldn’t even hit. In the middle of the forest, there was a small house in the distance. They crossed a bridge connected to a river to get there. As they stepped onto the bridge, the creaky boards, as well as the sound of their footsteps, echoed throughout the forest.

Upon looking at the front, the house was not in well condition. The roof was falling off, as vegetation had sprouted from the walls, and also the roof tiles.

“Wah… It feels like something’s gonna jump out at any minute now…” Grim shivered in fear.

“We could check that house over there,” Ace suggested. “There might be somebody there that can help us.”

Deuce nodded before walking towards the door, giving it a couple of knocks.

“Good evening. Is anybody there?”

There was no response.

The boy looked down to see that the door itself was not closed properly. He grabbed the doorknob with his gloved hand and pushed the door slightly, making a loud creaking noise with every step along the way.

“Looks like it’s abandoned,” he said as he entered inside. “It’s a mess in here…”

They entered inside to see that there was no one there, excluding themselves. The place looked like it hadn’t been care of in centuries. There were cobwebs everywhere they looked, as well as dust that was falling like snow.

Morgana coughed upon entering. “Blegh...! I thought we were done with dust…”

“Gah! I ran into a spider web! Shoo, shoo!” Grim said, swatting any remnants of the giant cobwebs that he ran into.

“Hang on. Aren’t these tables and chairs too small? Were kids living in here or something?” Ace commented.

Ren turned to where Ace was looking. There was a small table, almost the same length as their ankles.

“One… Two… Three...” Ren counted. “Seven chairs?”

“That’s way too many! It’s almost enough for a family!” Ace exclaimed.

“This home must have been here when the Crystal Mine had flourished.” Deuce explained.

“They did what they had to do. They found the magic crystals inside of coal, after all.” Ace said.

“That would explain why this house exists then,” Ren thought. “If it’s nearby the mines, then it’s much easier getting there with just a short walking distance from here.”

“Let’s go check it out then,” Ace insisted. “If it’s nearby, then that makes our lives easier than. And besides… I’ve been itching to get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps.”

They all agreed on that. The group eventually walked out of the house and to the mines.

“A-Are you sure we’re entering inside that…?” Grim shivered.

The entrance to the mines was just as menacing as the rest of the forest. They starred at the cave, which was just a black void to their eyes. All three of them having doubts about entering inside the mine.

“Pft. You’re scared by that? How lame.” Ace looked at the creature with a smirk on his face.

The statement had clearly offended Grim. “Wh-!? I’m not scared! Not scared at all!”

“In fact, I’m taking the lead role! Just follow my lead!” The blue creature rushed inside the mine with no second thoughts.

The three of them looked at Grim running off. Ace simply shrugged while Deuce sighed. The two of them were about to enter inside until they looked back at Ren, who had his feline on his shoulder.

“Hey? Aren’t you tagging along?” Ace asked with a slight impatience in his tone.

“Oh,” Ren looked at the two. “Give me one second. I’m just… thinking.”

“By thinking, you mean talking with your cat?” Deuce questioned.

Ren, and even Morgana, completely froze in place.

“… You didn’t think we’d notice, didn’t you? You know we can hear the both of you, right?” Deuce gave Ren a look.

“I didn’t think you’d notice—“ Ren cut himself off before realizing what the boy had said. “Wait. You can hear the both of us?”

“Of course we do!" Ace answered. "You think we’re dumb? You’re not even making any effort on trying to hide your talking cat.”

“Hey!” Morgana shouted, catching their attention. “I am NOT a cat!”

“Oh really? Then what are you? A human?” Ace said with a deadpan look.

“It’s… whatever! Just don’t call me a cat!”

Ren jumped in before the feline scratches someone with his claws. “I think we’re missing the point that they can hear you, Morgana.”

“Morgana? That’s its name?” Deuce questioned. “And, of course, we can hear him. Talking creatures aren’t that special. I’ve had an owl as a mailman back home.”

“And you have Grim wandering around along with you, and you think a talking cat is our concern?” Ace crossed his arms.

“I didn’t think it was common.” Ren scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t even know talking animals were a thing here…”

“Well, there’s only a handful of animals that can speak. Some animals can speak with the use of a spell or potion. So, I get why you’re confused about it.” Deuce said.

“You really haven’t encountered a talking animal besides your cat there? You’re really a kid, aren’t you?” Ace taunted.

Ren scoffed at Ace’s remark before turning to his companion. “… Anyway. This is Morgana. You’ve probably met him before.”

"The pleasure’s mine.” Morgana greeted.

“It’s nice meeting you, Morgana.” Deuce thought for a moment. “Say... Aren’t you that creature that was with him during the Entrance Ceremony? You can transform, huh?”

“Wow. The cat has magic and you don’t?” Ace pointed at Ren.

“This is not the time to make fun of me,” Ren sighed, letting Morgana hop off his shoulder. “Stay here for now, Morgana. Just in case something happens out here.”

The feline nodded before running away from the trio.

“Are you sure he’s going to be fine on his own?” Deuce asked.

“Well, if he can transform, then he’ll be fine.” Ace answered. “Let’s go already. The furball’s probably mad at us for taking too long.”

The three entered inside the mines.

The Dwarfs’ Mine wasn’t as bad as Ren would expect.

Beneath the dark entrance was a cavern with different colored gems embedded in stone. If there was one thing that he did not like about the mines, was the fact that it was only a matter of time till rock falls on them.

There was also the fact that they could see spirits floating around and about. Though the ghosts didn’t attack any of them.

“Geez… There are too many ghosts in here!” Ace exclaimed.

“We don’t have time to deal with all of them. We need to go.” Deuce said.

“Don’t boss me around,” Ace huffed. “If it wasn’t for your bit at the cafeteria, we could’ve avoided all this!”

“You’re one to talk. All this happened because you tried to skip your punishment!” Deuce shouted.

“I wasn’t even doing anything wrong! It all started because furball over there roasted the Queen of Hearts’ statue!”

“Well, it happened because you were trying to make a fool out of me!” Grim hissed at Ace.

“All of you! Do you not understand our situation at the moment?” Deuce yelled. “If we don’t get that magic crystal in time, we’ll no longer be studying here!”

“Stop patronizing me. It’s ticking me off!” Ace spat at Deuce’s face.

Ren could only watch as the three yell at each other’s throats.

Before he could do something about the three, a voice in his mind has suddenly stopped him from doing so.

“Trickster… I sense something from afar…”

He was about to ask Arsene what he had meant. Until he heard something that wasn’t Arsene.

But it came from in front of them.

“Did you guys hear that…?” Ren asked, which made everyone stop what they were doing and turn to him.

“…oN’t…giVe…”

“What was that…?” Ace looked up.

The four of them looked to where the noise had come from.

“tHe…StOnE….”

The noise grew closer and closer by the second.

They took a few steps back as a looming shadow grew bigger and bigger in front of them.

Until it could no longer be called a shadow anymore.

“…thE…sToNE…IS MIIIIINNNNEEE!”

A giant creature appeared itself, as its roars had shaken the entire mines, almost making them lose their balance. Ren couldn’t explain what it was. The creature couldn’t even be human at all. The giant had a glass bottle serving as its head, which was broken, causing vile-looking black liquid to run down on its face. It was wearing a red coat, which was ripped just at the end. It also sported a hat, which looked like a sleeping cap. On one hand, it was carrying a lantern which shined a purple light. It wielded a pickaxe, almost the same size as whatever that thing was.

“WH- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?” Ace yelled out.

“I-I-I-I-I-It’s a monster!” Grim cried out.

The creature dragged itself towards the group, making a gross sound with its slug-like feet. It raised the pickaxe in the air and slammed it onto the ground, as the entire place rumbled and shake. The three fell to the ground as they lost their balance from the sudden earthquake.

“We need to go! NOW!”

Deuce picked himself off the ground. He grabbed the forearms of the two fallen boys before they ran as far away from the entity as possible.

“Gaaaah! Crowley said nothing about a monster! This is the wooooorseeee!” Grim cried while they ran.

“It looks so vile! I feel sick just by looking at it!” Ace gagged.

Ren suddenly realized something. “Hold on! Didn’t it say something about a stone?”

Another strike had slammed on the ground, causing yet another tremor. The four of them shrieked as they all fell to the ground once again. The creature slowly walked towards the group as it muttered.

“…SToNe…NoT GiVE…!”

Deuce grunted as his head went off the ground. “S-So… There really are crystals left…!”

Grim shivered. “Nope! Nu-uh! I may be a genius, but there’s no way we can beat that giant!”

“I-I will not get myself expelled...” With a loud huff, Deuce arose from the ground as he stood up. “I’m going to get it…!”

“What the-!?” Ace looked at the boy in disbelief. “Are you crazy!? You’re going to get yourself killed, you idiot!”

Ren shouted as well. “You can’t just do this alone! This isn’t something you can defeat by yourself!”

“I’ve come so far just to get here… I won’t let myself ruin this for what I’ve done… I promised myself I won’t let them down…” Deuce looked up at the grunting creature with a determined expression. “I won’t let myself get expelled for this…”

“That’s why…”

“I’ll fight this thing…! No matter what happens…!”

“Have you found the solution you’ve sought for?”

“Gh…!” A sharp pain shot through his mind like a bullet.

"Can you even move forward without turning back at what was once there?”

Deuce fell on his knees, gripping on his hair to remedy the pain he was feeling. Yet it wasn’t working. His head felt like it was splitting open.

“Hey…! Are you alright? What’s going on with you?” Ace watched the boy struggle.

Ren starred at the boy. There was a smirk forming on his face.

“The past is the past. Yet it can shape into a future.”

“Are you going to keep blinding yourself and let that flame perish? Or will you finally open your eyes and face yourself?”

“No…” Deuce slowly stood up from the ground. “I’ll… I’ll keep on fighting! Even if it’ll cost me everything!”

“Are you ready to take your first step forward?”

“Yes… I’m finally ready…” He muttered under his breath. From a small flame, a mask had formed on his face.

“I am thou, thou art I… Yes… I can finally see it…! More…! More…!”

“Show me your true strength!”

“AAAAAAAAARGH….!” Deuce gripped onto the mask, pulling it with all of his strength. As the mask came off his face, blood spattered everywhere as it dripped from his face. He let out a cry of anguish as flames had surrounded him.

His cries had died down.

And instead, they could hear the sound of a revving engine.

When the flames died down, the sound of the loud engine became clearer and clearer, as it revealed Deuce, who was sitting on a dark blue motorcycle with long handlebars. Blue flames had escaped the shaped exhaust pipes every time he twisted the handles. The headlights were the shape of a masculine man with a dark red tint to his skin. The eyes were closed, as a streak of light red fell down its eyelids, almost like tears.

“What the hell…?” Ace looked in shock and disbelief. “Is that some sort of Magicwheel…?”

"No,” Ren said flatly. His face still had a smirk on it. “That’s his Persona.”

“Hahaha…” Deuce laughed. “This feels good alright!”

“Now, let’s take em’ down! Let’s go, Oedipus!”

Chapter Text

“You’re looking for a fight, big guy!? Then I’ll gladly show you one! Let’s go, Oedipus!”

“Frei!”

*zoom!*

Making a drift with his Persona, he summoned a ball of energy that landed onto the giant. Making it flinch and move back as it let out a pained wail.

“gAhHHHHH…!”

“Holy shit…” Ace swore under his breath. “I’ve never seen magic like this before…”

The giant gets back up on its feet, gripping on the pickaxe as a dark aura appeared from the weapon. It raised the pickaxe in the air; the energy growing even stronger.

“Hey! That thing’s about to attack!” Grim yelled out.

Before Deuce could act, the monster had finished storing energy. The steel had a darker aura.

“Persona!”

Before the giant could attack, a wave of dark magic shot through like a beam and pummeled at the giant. The dark energy dissipating as it flinched back.

Ace, Deuce, and Grim looked behind them to see the source of the magic attack.

“What the-!? You have one too!?” Ace shouted in disbelief.

The attack came from Ren, who had Arséne floating right behind him. His white dress shirt had changed into his Metaverse outfit. Arsene’s laughter echoed through the cave, disappearing and turning into the mask on Ren’s face.

“Ren…? What the…” Deuce was speechless.

“I’ll explain later. For now, we need to take that thing down!” Ren spat out.

Deuce was silent. Before he nodded as a response. A smirk had formed on his face. “Right. Let’s go!”

“Hey! What’s the commotion in there!? I’m hearing noise from all the way out here!”

Both Persona users could hear a light yet boyish voice in their minds.

“Mona!” Ren said, recognizing the voice. “Thank goodness, we need your help.”

“Mona…? Wait, your cat!?” Deuce said in shock.

“Huh? Was that Deuce?” Mona asked in confusion and slight shock.

“We’ll explain later,” Ren answered. “Right now, we’re in big trouble. Can you help us out?”

“Thought you may never ask! You’re talking to the original navigator, after all! I’ll see what I can do! For now, try to attack it with anything!” Mona yelled out.

“Right!” Ren turned to Deuce. “You ready for this?”

Deuce smirked. “More than ready! I’ve been itching for a fight!”

Ren nodded before turning to the giant. “Arsene! Eigaon!”

Arséne shot another wave of curse magic towards the giant, as it let out a grunt upon being hit.

“Vajra Blast!” Deuce gripped the handle as he drove forward, crashing onto the giant with force.

“…STONE…IS MINEEEE….!!!”

The giant slammed its pickaxe onto the ground, hitting both Deuce and Ren.

“Gh…!” Deuce cried out.

Ren shook his head to ease the dizziness from the attack, as Mona had spoken to them once more. “Are you two all right!?”

“… We’re fine… You’ve got anything?” He asked.

“I’ve encountered nothing like this before! I can’t find a weakness!” Mona shouted. “Just attack with anything and hope for the best!”

“You tried the best that you can, Mona.” Ren assured before taking the knife out of his holster. “Deuce, attack it with anything! There has to be something it’s weak to!”

“On it!” Deuce nodded.

Knife in hand, Ren rushed forward and attempted to slash the giant. However, it didn’t leave a single scar after his attack.

“Crap… Weapons won’t work on it!” Ren pointed out as Deuce prepared for attack.

“Frei!” Deuce drove in a circle as a ball of nuclear energy formed, exploding right in front of the giant.

Yet, the giant was still standing.

“STONE… NOT GIIIVE…!!!!!”

The giant slammed its weapon onto the ground two more times, which caused everything to shake.

“U-Uwagh…! I think I’m gonna be sick!” Grim said, his pupils spiraling after the earthquake ended.

“That thing won’t go down!” Deuce said in fear. “Is there anything else that can take that thing down!?”

A lightbulb went off in Ren’s head. He quickly checked his waist to check if something was missing.

To his relief, there was one last option in his holster.

“Is that a gun!?” Deuce yelled in shock.

“Why are you carrying a gun with you!?” Ace yelled in a similar tone as Deuce.

To everyone’s shock, Ren had pulled out a silver pistol from his holster that was strapped to his waist.

“Deuce, do you have any weapons with you?” Ren asked, ignoring everyone’s concerns.

The biker snapped out of his terrified state before checking if he had anything else. He was carrying a long black club, almost the same size and shape as a baseball bat, which was studded with sharp, metal spikes. He patted himself down until he got to the waist. His eyes widened when he realized what he had been carrying.

“Huh!?” Hanging by a shoulder strap was a shotgun. Upon picking it up, he was at a loss for words.

Ren looked at Deuce’s expression before speaking. “It’s not a real gun. But I only hope that it helps us. We’ll shoot it down together.”

Still hesitant, he answered seriously. “Right… Let’s try!”

The two pointed their guns at the giant, who had screeched upon looking at what they were holding. The giant rushed towards the two.

“Fire!”

As Ren signaled, both of them pulled their respective triggers as bullets fired towards the giant. Which caused it to fall face first onto the ground.

“Is… Is it over?” Ace questioned, still shaken by what he had witnessed.

“It has to be! You defeated it, right?” Grim questioned as well.

Ren stared at the giant. It didn’t move a single bit after falling down.

“It’s down. Hopefully, it stays that way.” Ren crossed his arms.

“Good… But now that it’s over, I have only one question,” Ace walked closer towards Ren. “What the hell did you do just now!? Aren’t you magicless? What did you even do!?”

“So, that Deuce guy has a Persona too now?” Grim asked.

“Persona?” Deuce looked at the blue creature.

“Guess this is the time where I come in.”

The four look behind them to see Morgana, who was now in his Metaverse form. An anthropomorphic creature.

Ace was the first one to react. “Is that another monster!?”

“No, you idiot! I’m definitely not a monster!” Morgana angrily shouted.

“Wait… That body. Is that you, Morgana?” Deuce asked.

“Yep, that’s me.” Morgana answered, looking at Deuce from head to toe. “From the looks like you awakened to your Persona.”

“I still don’t get what that means…” Deuce said.

“To make it simple, a Persona is a part of you. Your other self.” Morgana began explaining. “A Persona is a physical form of your thoughts and feelings. It’s essentially a part of you.”

“Other self…? I… think I get it now.” Deuce said with a bit of doubt.

“Man, what’s happened to your clothes?” Ace held back a laugh. “What’s with the weird get-up? It looks embarrassing!”

“Huh?”

Deuce looked down at himself, finally realizing that he was no longer in his school uniform. He was wearing a dark blue leather jacket, with a turtleneck underneath, which was a much lighter blue than the jacket. The turtleneck had completely covered his entire neck. The jacket’s sleeves had metal chains wrapped around them. He also had red colored gloves on his hands. He was also wearing dark blue pants, which fitted him well. As well as black biker boots. There was a mask on his face, which completely covered his eyes. He could still see everything well, as if it were nothing. He was wearing a grey mask, yet it couldn’t even be called a mask. It looked more like a blindfold. It was almost like the front part of a motorcycle helmet.

“What happened to my clothes?” He then looked up at Ace, mad at his remark. “Shut up, alright!? I don’t know what this is!”

“So, this is what your will of rebellion looks like… Interesting.” Ren said, looking at Deuce’s outfit.

“You look like some sort of thug.” Grim commented.

Deuce looked at Grim with a disgusted look.

“Anyway… Since when did you have that? What kind of magic was it?” Ace demanded.

“Easy now,” Ren said, raising both hands. “I don’t think this is the right place to talk about it. We need to—“

The conversation was suddenly interrupted as they heard a sudden rumble. They turned around to see the giant monster slowly rising, its grunts being much more feral than before.

“Hey! I thought you guys took that giant down!?” Ace yelled in shock and fear.

“No. They only knocked it down! It’s getting back up!” Morgana yelled out.

“Everyone, let’s run while we still can!” Ren shouted.

They ran out of the cave as fast as they can.

“Man…! I am SO exhausted…!” Ace yelled out.

“I’m so tired… I don’t think I can fight anymore...” Deuce said with a weak look.

“It’s because you just summoned your Persona. It takes a lot out of you the first time you awaken,” Morgana said before looking at Ace. “But what are YOU tired for?”

Ace completely ignored Morgana. “Let’s just give up and go home. I would rather get expelled than fight that thing.”

Deuce’s tired look had spun to a look of anger. “Wh-!? What are you even saying!? I’d rather die than face expulsion! The magic crystal is right there! Our only solution to this, and all you want to do is go home!?”

“Hey, hey… Let’s all calm down—“ Ren tried to calm Deuce down, until Ace spoke up.

“Ha. You talk big. Just because you have your newly found powers doesn’t mean you’re better.” Ace crossed his arms before turning away from the group. “Whatever, go alone. I’m done here.”

Ace was about to walk away, but Deuce ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

“What are you—“

“Oh, is this your answer, then!?” Deuce angrily yelled as he grabbed Ace by the collar, pulling him closer to his face. “So what!? You’re just going to cower!? If that’s your answer, then stay right here like the spineless coward you are! I’m going to get that crystal even if it costs me my life!”

Ace gritted his teeth. He could almost see the anger in Deuce’s eyes from behind his mask. His face then formed a smirk of arrogance. “Hah? Coward? Who exactly are you referring to?”

“U-Uhm… Deuce? Did you just switch character…?” Grim said, slightly afraid.

Deuce let out a gasp before slowly letting go of Ace’s collar. “A-Ah… My bad. I think I lost my composure for a second.”

Ace could only laugh as he left Deuce’s grasp. “Sure, you may have that ‘Persona’ of yours. But based on the incident with the chandelier, you’re nothing more than an idiot.”

“What did you just say!?” Deuce scowled.

“You couldn’t even take that thing down. Are you trying to look cool or something? Even if you try to take that crystal, it’ll all end the same.”

“Alright! That’s it!”

Ren stepped in before it gotten violent.

“EVERYONE STOP!” Ren yelled from the top of his lungs. The words came out as growls as it came out.

Ace and Deuce (even Grim and Morgana) froze in their place. They looked at Ren, who was visibly angry at the two.

“Nothing’s going to happen if you two will keep fighting!” Ren shouted. “All of us couldn’t do anything back there!”

“What are you saying—“ Ace was about to say something that annoyed him, but Ren’s shouting cut him off.

“Will you please listen!?” He glared at Ace, causing the boy to flinch. “Instead of actually helping, you ran your mouth like you’re not at fault, when you are definitely at fault here!”

He then turned to Deuce. “Deuce, you may have a newly found power, but you keep moving forward without thinking things through!”

The two looked at the angry Ren in stunned silence. The boy sighed, running his gloved hands through his hair.

“Listen, it’s been a long day for all of us. I’m not even a student, but the last thing I want is for you two to get expelled in this school.” Ren crossed his arms.

“I agree,” Grim said. “It’s already lame if you got expelled on the first day of school like that.”

Morgana nodded. “Do you two really want to be remembered as the two students expelled for the dumbest reason?”

“You’re right… But…” Deuce said with a doubting look. “What should we even do? There’s no way we can defeat that thing.”

“Not unless you have a strategy or plan.” Ren said.

“Strategy?” Ace said with slight disgust. “What, you mean we should work together and get along? In your dreams.”

“Agreed… I wouldn’t want to work with someone like you.” Deuce turned to Ace.

“Listen. I know working together will destroy whatever pride you two have. Just remember that you two share one common goal. You two getting expelled is the last thing you want, right?”

“Eh… That’s…” Ace couldn’t find the right words.

Deuce was silent.

“If it makes you feel better, I have a plan for us.” Ren said.

“… And what is that plan, exactly?” Ace asked.

“Hey, you beast! O-Over here!”

Grim yelled, as he faced the giant inside the cave. His yelling had caught its attention as the creature ran away. Which prompted the giant to chase after him.

“GH… LEAVE….!!!!!!”

“Gah! It’s coming out fast!” Grim yelled in a panic, as he kept running.     

“Hey, hey, hey! Over here, beasty~!” Ren taunted, feeling the giant and Grim approaching closer.

“GrR… AnOtHEr ThIEf…. wOn’T gIve…! MiNe! MINEE!!!”

Ren could spot Grim running out of the cave. As the creature escaped the cave, he shouted.

“Ace, Grim, Mona, now’s your chance!”

“Extra Large Tempest!”

“Garudyne!”

“Take this! Great Grim’s Fire Special!”

The three cast their spells as it shot towards the giant. The gusts of wind had circled around the monster, as Grim’s powerful flamed spiraled around with the wind as its foundation. Making a tornado of flame.

Deuce gripped on his magic pen. His eyes were closed as he concentrated. “Calm down… Properly aim the biggest and heaviest thing you know…”

“Come out, cauldron!”

A heavy cauldron fell on top of the monster, causing it to fall down as it was pinned to the ground. It let out a pained shriek.

After summoning the cauldron, Deuce immediately called for Oedipus. “Quick! Hop on!”

“Are you sure we can fit in that!?” Ace yelled.

“No more questions! We need to find the crystal as fast as we can!” Deuce yelled back.

The five of them squeezed themselves as the four sat on the Persona’s seat.

“Might want to hold on, Ace.”

“What do you mean hold- AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

With no further delay, Deuce went at full speed as they entered back inside the cave, ignoring the pleas of his passengers.

They arrived at where the monster had been blocking.

Ace gripped onto Deuce’s torso, clinging on for dear life. While Ren held onto Grim and Morgana, making sure that they wouldn’t fly out.

“There it is! That’s the magic crystal!”

Deuce pointed at a crystal that had almost all the colors of the rainbow shining off it. The crystal was still stuck in the wall.

Ren hopped off of Oedipus, taking his knife out of the holster. He rushed to the ore and started picking off the stone that surrounded the crystal.

“Come on, come on, come on…!” Ren mumbled, fastening his pace.

They could hear something yelling from behind them.

“Hurry! We’re about to get killed here!” Grim shouted.

Ren was mentally praying that his knife wouldn’t break, as he picked on the stone more aggressively and with much more force.

“I got it…!”

He yelled in relief as the crystal slipped off the hard stone.

“HANDS OFF!!!!”

They looked behind them as they saw the giant walking towards them.

“We got the crystal! Let’s skedaddle!” Grim yelled.

With crystal in hand, Ren hopped back onto the motorcycle.

“Floor it!”

They ran through the woods at full speed. Suddenly, they went into an abrupt stop as they reached the house nearby the caves. Oedipus disappeared as Deuce fell on his knees, panting heavily.

“Hey! Why did you stop!?” Ace shook Deuce’s shoulders.

“Ugh…” Deuce mumbled.

“He used up too much of his stamina!” Morgana shouted.

“Let’s just go while we still can. We have the crystal, so we should—“ Ren was interrupted as they heard the angry cry of the giant.

The giant had followed them.

“gIve… iT… BAAAAACK!!! MINE! MINEEEEE!!!!”

“Gah! I thought thing was supposed to stay down!” Grim shivered.

“Wait,” Morgana said, catching everyone’s attention. “I can sense that it’s much weaker than before. Then that would be—“

“Our chance to finish it?” Ren finished.

“Agh, fine! Let’s take that thing down!” Ace yelled, taking his magic pen out. “Might want to sit this one out, Mr. Serious.”

Deuce slowly got up from his knees. “Hah... I still have some energy left over… I’ll show that thing what I got!”

“Haha! It’s time to show the Great Grim’s true potential!” Grim chuckled.

“Alright! Attack it with anything you have! It’s now or never!” Morgana yelled out to them.

“First move’s on me!” Ace yelled out. “Come forth, Mighty Wind!”

Shouting a incantation, he hurled two rounds of wind balls towards the giant.

“Nice one! My turn!” Deuce called out Oedipus, quickly hopping onto his Persona. “Frei!”

With what remaining energy he had left, he summoned another ball of nuclear energy, shooting it at the giant.

“Eigaon!” Ren yelled out, as curse magic flew towards the monster.

“I’ll take that thing down!” Grim grinned. “Take this!”

Instead of his usual ball of flame, he huffed and puffed until a giant wall of flame came crashing towards the giant. The giant falling down on its behind as the wall slammed towards him.

“Nice shot, Grim!” Morgana commented, to which Grim responded with a proud grin.

“UrGh….!”

“Alright! It’s down! Follow my lead. This is how it’ll end!” Ren turned to the four.

“What are we going to do now?” Deuce asked.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking?” Morgana stepped forward. “An All-Out Attack!”

“All-Out Attack…?” Ace asked confusingly.

“Attack that thing all at once! Follow our lead!” Morgana and Ren started running as the others followed suit.

They attacked the monster with everything they had. Magic, weapons, and more. The sounds of the shrieking monster did not stop them from attacking.

“G-GAHHHHH….”

With one last hit, the monster disintegrated into the ground. As its body melted into a puddle of goo, which sunk into the ground until it left nothing behind.

The group stood in silence for a few moments before the aftermath had finally dawned on them.

“We did it…?” Ace softly said in clear disbelief.

“W-We won…” a shocked Grim said, before cheering. “We actually won!”

Deuce let out a few huffs before pumping his fist in the air. “Hooray!”

“We actually did it!” Ace triumphantly exclaimed.

“Victory high five~!”

Grim raised his paw as he jumped up. Ace and Deuce taking the chance to catch the high five.

“Yeah!” they said in unison.

“Haha.” Ren let out a chuckled. “Looks like somebody’s getting along pretty well, huh?”

They looked at Ren before realizing what had happened, as they promptly took their hand down and looked away from each other.

“A-Ah! No. It’s not like that at all!” Deuce explained.

“Yeah! Don’t just say weird things out of the blue!” Ace complained.

“We won because of my genius skills!” Grim crossed his paws.

“And we’re back to reality…” Morgana sighed.

“Though, I guess making excuses is pretty lame at this point. I hate to admit it but…” Ace walked towards Ren and grinned. “It was all thanks to your plan back there.”

“True.” Deuce nodded. “We got the crystal because you gave us the right instructions.”

“It’s nothing really,” he answered. “I only did what I had to do. And I’m grateful that no one gotten seriously injured.”

“We can finally prevent our expulsion… I’m relieved…” Deuce’s relief was short-lived when he realized something. “Hold on… What about my clothes? Surely I can’t walk around wearing this!”

“Don’t worry,” Ren assured. “It should change just about…”

As if on cue, flames suddenly engulfed both Ren and Deuce. Which shocked both Grim and Ace. Once the flames subsided, the two were now in their normal outfits.

Deuce stayed in complete shock and silence until Ace broke it by clearing his throat.

“Ehem… It’s been a long day… I am so prepared to sleep like a log after this…” Ace sighed.

“I am so hungry,” Grim moaned. “All that magic made me starve…”

“Eh? What’s this?”

Grim pointed, which caught everybody’s attention. The blue creature walked over to where the giant once stood to see something that must have fallen down. It was a pitch black crystal. It was so dark that light could barely even reflect from it.

“Looks like it must’ve come from the monster we fought.” Ren suggested.

“It looks like a magic crystal but… I’ve never seen one as black as coal before.” Deuce commented.

Grim grabbed the crystal and sniffed it twice. “Hey. This thing smells good!”

“Are you serious!?” Ace exclaimed.

“Please don’t tell me you’re gonna…” Morgana stopped speaking as he saw Grim do the unthinkable.

“Time to dig in!” Grim opened his mouth, sliding the black crystal inside as he swallowed it without hassle.

“Did you actually eat it!?” Ren shouted in disbelief.

Grim let out a noise as his eyes went wide.

“Hey! Are you alright!?” Deuce yelled in worry.

“And… This is why you should not pick up weird things off the ground. Let alone eat it for all that matters.” Ace sighed.

The blue creature finally muttered a few words. “It’s…”

“D-D-D-DELICIOUS!”

“HUH!?”

Much to their shock at the unbelievable, Grim was happily savoring whatever he put inside his mouth. “It’s full-bodied, yet it has this richness to it! With an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth… It’s like I’m eating a bed of flowers!”

“Sheesh… Monsters really have a unique taste than us.” Ace said with visible disgust.

“Please don’t get sick… I would rather not want you to throw up on our bed…” Ren sighed.

“Don’t come crawling towards us if you get sick later.” Morgana scolded.

“Anyway… Switching to another topic. We need to get this crystal to the Headmaster!” Deuce exclaimed as all of them nodded as a response.

After a few moments, they were no longer in Dwarfs’ Mine.

Chapter Text

“You… You actually got a magic crystal inside of the mines?”

Crowley stared in disbelief as he saw the tired teenagers (and also the creatures).

He came looking for them, expecting that they had packed their luggage already. But they were nowhere to be seen. He thought they might have given up by now, yet they still went into the abandoned mines.

He was expecting a group of tired kids losing all hope.

What he didn’t expect was one of them holding the magic crystal.

“What’s with the look? Didn’t you tell them about the mines?” Ren questioned.

“Well,” the Headmaster crossed his arms. “I certainly hadn’t expected all of you to go through your way and find the crystal…”

“Sheesh… We’ve fought a giant beast, and he’s still doubtful of us.” Grim sighed.

“A giant beast?” Crowley asked, curiosity sinking in as he looked at Grim.

“There was a giant monster in the mines!” Ace exclaimed. “It was all gross looking and strong! Fighting it was awful!”

“Can you explain it in more detail?”

He wasn’t sure what to think of this.

Crowley listened to the boys’ experiences, while taking occasional glances to the expulsion letters of Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade.

“Hoh hoh…” He hummed to himself. “So, there was a monster living inside of the coal mines and… All five of you worked together and defeated it in order to bring back the magic crystal?”

“We… We didn’t really work together.” Ace denied.

“It was like we shared the same common goal. It wasn’t anything to serious…” Deuce added.

Ren, Morgana, and Grim stared at them. “They did what they had to do, Headmaster. It wasn’t much, really.” He explained.

“What do you mean, there isn’t much to it? You helped them too, y’know?” Morgana, who was now back to his regular cat form, hopped onto Ren’s shoulder and meowed.

Ren scratched the back of his neck with slight embarrassment. “It was your idea that we should pin the monster down, wasn’t it?”

“Well, it was your idea to use Deuce’s abilities to zoom through the caves!” Morgana insisted.

“You flatter me, Morgana. But you added much more to the plan.”

“You had that plan from the start. After all, you are supposed to be the leader.”

The two stopped talking when they heard someone sniffle. They turned their heads to see Crowley, who was trying his best to contain his emotions.

But to no avail.

“Ooh… Oooooh… OOOOOOOH!!” Crowley bursted into tears, overwhelmed by the sheer emotions he was feeling right now. He cried so loud that it shocked the five of them.

“Eh!? What’s with this guy!? Bursting into tears suddenly!?” a shocked Grim exclaimed.

“For a grown man to cry like this… I never would have guessed…” Ren mumbled.

“Talk about being overdramatic…” Morgana commented.

“In all the years of being a headmaster for this school, I would have never imagined students from Night Raven College to go hand-in-hand to face and defeat their enemy!” Crowley explained, with slight sniffles.

“Wh-!? I did not hold this guy’s hand!” Deuce shouted, slightly flustered.

“I would never do that! Gross!” Ace spat in disgust mixed with embarrassment.

Ren laughed awkwardly at the two boys before Crowley called out to him.

“Amamiya,” he wiped his face with his gloved hand before clearing his throat. “I am overwhelmed with pure emotions right now. This incident confirmed my thoughts of you. You have the potential to become a talented beast tamer!”

“Eh…?” Ren’s eyes widened in slight shock. “What do you mean by beast tamer, exactly?”

“Mhm. I did.” He nodded. “As I’ve mentioned to you before, Night Raven College is an institution where growing magicians are called upon by the Dark Mirror to study in this school. However, these magicians are in a superior majority amongst other people. That makes them prideful and egotistical people.”

He followed, standing up from his desk as he walked up to the boys. “These people do not have the will to even work with other people. That is why most of them are also selfish and self-centered.”

Ren could feel the deadpan looks of the three magicians as they stared at Crowley with major offense.

“You really aren’t saying anything good, aren’t you?” Grim muttered.

Crowley put a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “You have potential. Even with your magic, I can tell that you can guide and supervise to wizards. That way, they can cooperate together. Perhaps that mediocrity is exactly this school's direly needs!”

Did he just call him mediocre…?                                       

“He really isn’t saying anything nice, isn’t he!?” Ace yelled in offense

“Without a doubt, your existence is essential to this school’s future.” he turned away from Ren and looked at both Ace and Deuce. “As for the case of Trappola and Spade, I have decided to not expel them from the school.”

“You… You mean it!?” Deuce yelled in disbelief, before a smile formed on his face. He was clearly happy with the news.

Crowley nodded before looking back at Ren. “As for you, Amamiya. For I am exceedingly gracious, I shall give you the qualifications of becoming an official student of this school~!”

“Huh!?” they all said in shock.

“You’re… You’re actually going to make me a student here?” Ren didn’t know what to say.

“Yes,” said Crowley with a proud look. “I have looked at your magic capabilities and I have finally decided to make you a student here. However, there is one condition,”

Crowley began explaining. “Since you are not from this world at all, I doubt that you’ll stay here to become a full-time magician. If that were to be the case…” He turned his head towards Grim, who was standing nearby Ren. “Grim. You have also proven something to me. You have the talent and potential to become a wizard. Therefore, I will allow both you and Amamiya to attend this school as one student.”

“Fghnya!?” Grim shot up, taking to heart the words Crowley said to make sure he was hearing things correctly. “I… I can actually go to this school…? Not as a handyman but a student…?”

“Of course!” the Headmaster happily replied. “Under the condition that an event similar to yesterday’s incident will never happen again. Do we have an agreement?”

Grim didn’t respond (or listen) to the man’s words. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Fgnaa… Fgnaa… We can actually attend here…!”

Ren chuckled a bit. “Looks like somebody’s happy.”

“I did it! I really did it!” Grim raised a fist in the air.

“Congrats, buddy. I think you earned it.” Morgana hopped off of Ren’s shoulder to congratulate the fellow not-feline. “But please don’t go burning statues next time…”

“We’ll try to keep Grim well behaved, Headmaster.” Ren said, following Morgana’s remark.

Crowley looked at them with an amused look on his face. “Well then. To symbolize your status as a student of Night Raven College, I present you two with the magic crystal.”

With a wave of a hand, Crowley cast a spell which made the room glow. The light settled, revealing Grim, who now had a pendant of some sort. The pendant was a light violet crystal that was hanging off Grim’s collar.

It wasn’t for long till Ren had realized he was holding something. In his palms was a pen, similar to the one that both Ace and Deuce had carrying along with them. He looked at it as his face reflected from the red gemstone. It wasn’t similar to the ones the two boys had. The gem was much darker compared to their bright red ones.

“Woah! A magic crystal!?” Grim exclaimed, looking at the gem that was wrapped around his neck. “Hey, you got one too!”

He pointed at a confused Morgana, who had a yellow crystal matching his yellow collar. It was a similar to the size of a pearl.

“It is normal for students to have their magic crystals as a ‘magic pen’,” he looked at Grim. “However, because of your size, I’m afraid you can’t wield a magic pen. Especially with your paws. It would be hard to grip it. Therefore, I had it custom made for you. My, I pay for the smallest of details!”

“I did it!” Grim cheered. “I even got myself my own special collar!”

Ren stared at the man with a confused look. “Hang on. I get a magic pen too?”

“Why yes!” Crowley answered. “Are you not satisfied?”

“I don’t have magic, right? Why would you give me something like this, Headmaster?” Ren asked.

“Dude, not to sound amazed or anything, but you not having magic? Seriously, you summoned a creature like it was nothing!” Ace jumped into the conversation.

“As stated before, this is a school that trains students to become magicians that excels in the many arts of magic. As Trappola said, you have potential. Potential that even the Dark Mirror couldn’t identify. We shall train you to see if you have any skills other than your ‘Persona’.” The man explained.

“Speaking of a Persona…” Deuce spoke up. “Headmaster, what exactly is a Persona?”

“Yeah. These two have been talking about non-stop and I still don’t get what it means.” Ace pointed directly at Ren and Morgana.

“Ah…” Crowley hesitated. “To tell you the truth, I know little about it as well.”

The two of them looked at the man in disbelief.

“Eh!? You’ve got to be kidding!?” Ace yelled in shock.

The Headmaster sighed. “When Ren and Morgana arrived, it was the first time I had witnessed something like it. Upon further research into the topic, I had found little to no documentation of a Persona insisting.”

“That can’t be! It can’t be that rare, right?” Deuce asked.

“I am not sure,” the man answered. “With no proper event of a Persona ever existing or used, then it might as well be a rare type of magic.”

“I know this is a terrible time to ask, but Mr. Spade, you have gotten your Persona recently, right? How did you get it? And what did it feel like?” He followed as he looked at Deuce.

Deuce flinched by the sudden name call, before answering. “Well, it’s… complicated. It was something that happened at the moment. There was a part within me wanted to do something about the thing that was in the mines. And then… Oedipus called out to me.”

“I see…” Crowley nodded. “So, it was in the moment type of scenario.” “So… Can anyone get a Persona then if that were the case?” Ace questioned.

“Not necessarily,” Morgana answered. “There are certain circumstances for someone to awaken to a Persona. Though I doubt anyone can get it easily.” “Don’t get any ideas,” Morgana looked at Ace and then glared at Grim. “Especially you, Grim.”

Grim scoffed.

Crowley cleared his throat. “There is no possibility that you can gain it willingly or forcefully. Maybe that is why it is so rare. Or maybe it’s rare because it is magic from another world.” He said, turning his head towards Ren.

“But that is besides the point,” the man walked towards the boy he had been eyeing at. “Amamiya. Since Grim is still far from able to be adept to human society, it is up to you to guide and supervise him so he won’t cause any trouble. Maybe he’ll be able to learn new things with your guidance.”

“Wow, look at you!” Ace walked up to Ren and gave him a pat on the back. “It’s your first day at school and you already became a supervisor. Quite the job you have there.”

“I see,” Deuce nodded. “There are only three of you in the dormitory you live in. If you have to supervise Grim, then that would make you a Prefect.”

“A Prefect…?” Ren starred.

“Gotta say. The way you lead us in the mines, you’re like a leader of some sorts. I think you’d make a good prefect, Ren.” Ace nudged an elbow at him.

Ren looked at the two before nodding. A small smile forming on his face. “Thanks, you guys. I’ll do what I can.”

“Look at you. He’s right when he said you’d make a fine leader. You technically are one, after all.” Morgana said, hopping on his shoulder once more.

“At least I know who I’m making my second-in-command.” Ren chuckled as Morgana happily meowed, with a proud look on his face.

Crowley looked at the group of boys and their familiars with a proud look on his face. It had been a while since his office was this lively.

Deuce had stopped suddenly, before turning away from them. Ace had noticed him and called up to him.

“Is something wrong?” Ace asked.

“Ah! No, nothing’s wrong.” Deuce responded. “I’m just… feeling kind of tired…”

Suddenly, Deuce felt his body going numb as he fell forward onto Ace. Which, thanks to his quick acting, caught him before he could even fall to the floor,

“Hey!? Are you alright!?” Ace cried out.

Crowley shot up, examining the tired boy. “What’s the matter? Does he need the Nurse’s Office?”

“It might be because of his Persona.” Ren thought. “He must have used way too much of his energy.” “He just awakened to his Persona and yet he still wanted to fight.” Morgana sighed. “Don’t worry, he’ll be alright. He’s just tired. It takes a lot of stamina the first time you do it.”

“I see…” Crowley nodded, still a bit worried. “Then, Mr. Trappola. You two share the same dormitory, correct? How about you assist Mr. Spade?”

“Seriously?” Ace hesitated for a bit. “Ugh, fine!”

Ace slipped one of Deuce’s arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. He then started dragging the tired boy towards the door.

“Aw, you really do care for him, don’t you?” Ren commented.

“Shut up!” Ace shouted. “I’m only doing this because the Headmaster asked me to!”

Ren and Grim held back a laugh. “Kidding, kidding. See you two tomorrow.”

Ace’s annoyed expression softened as he smiled back and gave a wave. “Yeah. See you as well, Prefect.”

The two of them left the Headmaster’s office.

“It certainly has been a long day. You three should rest up while you can. It’s your big day, after all.” Crowley to the three.

“Right, we will.” Ren nodded.

It was really quite the day.

The three of them walked down the empty hallways, the peaceful atmosphere of the night sky overseeing the entire school.

“Those two, Ace and Deuce, they sure are interesting, aren’t they?” Ren asked as they were walking down the hall.

“Those two are really close now. They’re the ‘fighting because they’re both close to each other’ type.” Grim commented.

“With their constant bickering, it’s almost like they remind you of someone. Right, Ren?”

The boy hummed. “Yeah.”

I wonder how they’re doing right now…

“Haha! Tomorrow we aren’t some handymen anymore! Our bright and sunny future in Night Raven College begins!” Grim twirled around in amusement.

Ren couldn’t help but wander in his own thoughts. He was actually going to become a student here. He was going to study magic. It was almost unbelievable. Yet, something felt off to him.

He stopped and stared at the bright full moon.

“Hey, is something bothering you or something?” Grim looked at the boy. “You stopped suddenly and became a statue.”

“Oh, uhm. It’s nothing.” Ren scoffed.

“…Ren. Is this about being a student? It was pretty sudden after all.” Morgana stared at him with concern.

The boy looked down, seeing the empty courtyard. “I don’t know exactly. If I’m ready to become a student here. I really wasn’t expecting to become one, to be honest.”

“Hey,” Grim hopped to the railings to face him. “If that guy said that we both form one student, then it has to be for a reason. Otherwise, he’d assigned it to me only.”

“Are you flattering yourself?”

“Well, maybe.” Grim answered. “But, if he picked you to be a student along with the Great Grim, then be proud of it.”

“Grim’s right, y’know? Crowley said you have potential. If he saw that in you, then he picked you for a reason.” Morgana followed. “I’m sure that there’ll be something good out of this.”

Ren stared at the two, slightly bewildered. Before, a soft smile formed on his face.

He wonders what else this world had in store for him next.

Chapter Text

“…Hurry…”

Huh?

“…Hurry…before…”

The boy saw a garden in the distance. He could hear someone chanting in a sing-song voice from afar. He couldn’t help but walk towards to where it all came from.

“Hurry, hurry!”

He could not stop walking, almost like his bare feet were having a mind of its own. He kept walking until he reached the garden. The garden looked like it was regularly trimmed and taken care of. The hedges, grass, and even the bushes were all green and full of life. While he wasn’t looking, he had knocked over something, making a clanking noise.

He had also stepped on something wet. Something very thick as well.

The boy looked down to see a puddle of bright red, staining his right foot entirely.

He had knocked over a can of red paint.

The boy panicked, realizing he had made a mess and was going to clean it up. But he stopped when he looked up to hear someone chanting right in front of him.

“Hurry! Hurry! Before the roses wither! Paint the roses red! Paint the roses red!”

Circling around a rosebush in the shape of a heart, were… human-sized playing cards? They had a head similar to a middle-aged man and working hands and feet. They all had red paint buckets on their left hands and a paintbrush on the other. Splotching colors of red onto the petals of the white roses, making them similar to red ones.

Paint the roses red…? Why were they painting the roses red?

“We’re painting the roses red! We’re painting the roses red!” They chanted in a sing-song voice.

Do they not notice me?

“Um. Excuse me!”

The boy looked over his shoulder to spot a young girl wearing a puffy bright blue dress with yellow blonde hair. She walked up to the cards, making them stop whatever they were doing and look at the girl.

Why… does she feel familiar…? The boy thought.

“Oh, pardon me! But Mister Three, why must you paint them red?” The little girl asked with curiosity on her face.

There was another card with a paintbrush in his hand. He was also carrying a wooden ladder. He put it down and turned to the young girl, accidentally hitting his paintbrush onto the Ace of Spades’ face when he turned around.

“Why you ask?” The Three of Clubs placed a hand on the girl’s ear and whispered. “Well, miss. The truth is that we had planted a white rose bush by mistake!”

“The Queen likes her roses red.” The Ace of Clubs said, painting another bush of white roses with red paint.

“And if she finds out about it, she’ll have our heads!” The Two of Clubs shivered in fear, making a slit throat movement using the paintbrush as red paint trickled down his neck.

She’ll have your heads…?

“Goodness me!” The young girl said in shock, placing a hand to her mouth.

Before the boy could speak, everything had faded around him. Making his surroundings turn to black. He could hear another sound in the distance that was faint yet distinct. It was not coming from the garden, nor the cards. Not even the young girl.

As everything grew more distant, the noise grew louder.

Until everything faded into complete black.

Ren rose from his bed after hearing a loud banging noise coming from downstairs. A tired groan left his lips.

Grim, who was sleeping next to him, woke up with an annoyed look. “Munyaa… Looks like we got a visitor…”

Morgana, who had been sleeping on Ren’s lap, slowly woke up as well. “Ugh… What time is it…? Who’s making all that noise…?”

“It’s probably the ghosts again… They’re always looking for trouble…” Grim groaned.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

“YEAH, YEAH! M’ gettin’ it!” Ren yelled, which came out as mumbles. He slowly got off from the bed and slipped on his bedroom slippers. He had a tired look on his face. Grim and Morgana also had it too, as they hopped down as well.

“Who would even come here at this hour?” Ren grumbled as he walked to the front door. “Hello? Who is it?”

“…It’s me, Ace. Just let me in.”

“Ace?” Morgana looked up in confusion. “What would he want with us?”

Ren simply shrugged as he opened the door. The sight of an angry Ace immediately greeted him.

He was wearing his pajamas, which comprised a red shirt and grey sweatpants. He was also wearing red bedroom slippers. Looking up, he saw the lack of the signature heart-shaped mark on his face. Yet that did not concern him. What caught his attention was the heart-shaped collar wrapped around Ace’s neck. Which was probably the source of Ace’s anger. Before Ren could even say a word or even do something, the boy stepped inside.

“Huh!? What’s with that collar on your neck!?” Grim yelled.

“Listen. I’m never going back to Heartslabyul. From this day forward, I’ll be a member of your dorm!” Ace exclaimed.

“E-Excuse me… Come again?” Ren starred at him, confusion racing through his mind.

“Here. Have some water. That’s all that I have right now and I don’t feel like making coffee at this hour…”

Ren handed a glass of water to the boy, which Ace had accepted. He chugged the entire contents of the glass with no struggle, as his angry face still did not leave or change.

“Say… Now that I see it up close, it looks exactly like the collar that redheaded upperclassman cast onto me!” Grim said in realization.

“The one that suppressed your magic, right?” Ren asked Grim, to which he nodded in response.

“Geez… How did you even get that?” Morgana questioned.

“Well. You see…”

 “Ugh… I’m starving!”

Ace walked inside Heartslabyul’s kitchen. It was in the middle of the night and no one seemed to even be in there. Meaning he was the only one inside of there. His stomach rumbled as he entered inside.

He had carried a very heavy Deuce all the way here, which was a long walking journey that Ace was unhappy about. Second, he was exhausted. After a long day of fighting, he felt that his body was about to fall. Third, he didn’t even have time to eat dinner before leaving.

Which, in result, was a very grumpy and tired Ace.

“There’s gotta be something to eat here. Maybe I’ll check the fridge.” Ace mumbled as he grabbed the hinge of the freezer’s door,  letting the cool air out as it opened. “Let’s see… What do we have in here… Oh!”

Upon opening the fridge, the sight of bright red immediately greeted him. There were three pieces of strawberry tarts inside of the fridge, which had a generous amount of strawberries spread out on it.

“Wow! These tarts look amazing!” Ace looked at them for a moment in stunned silence before taking a tart out of the fridge. “Hopefully, nobody will notice a tart missing.”

“Thank you for the food!” He said before taking his first bite.

Biting down, his eyes went wide with what he tasted. The silky smooth cream cheese and the sour strawberries brushed with a sweet glazed, all sitting on a crispy and perfectly baked crust. It was a medley of flavors that complimented each other well. It was almost perfect. Too perfect.

“Woah…!” He stopped chewing for a moment, trying to process what he had eaten. It wasn’t long before he took another bite with a happy and satisfied look on his face. “This tart’s amazing! It’s so good!”

“Of course it’s good. There is no way that Trey can make such mediocre tarts. They are always the best.”

“This is seriously the best! Nothing can top this! Not even the tarts sold in…” Ace turned around and suddenly froze in his place. The last bit of the tart almost falling from his hands as he saw who was behind him.

“Eh, Prefect!?” He yelled in shock.

The redhead named Riddle Rosehearts stared at him. Crossing his arms, he looked at the boy with a serious, yet cold, look. “You have some nerve putting your hands on the things that belonged to me.”

“Waitwaitwait! The thing is, I didn’t-“

Riddle immediately cut him off before he could explain himself, taking out the magic pen out of his pocket, which caused Ace’s complexion to go white. “In case you have forgotten, Number #89 in the Laws of the Queen of Hearts. ‘One shall not eat a tart without the Queen’s permission.’”

“Tart theft is an unforgivable crime.” He said as his magic pen began lighting up.

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on-!”                          

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!”

“…That’s basically it.”

The three could only stare at the boy with a similar look. A look of someone questioning if the speaker was serious or not.

“Let me get this straight,” Ren spoke up, breaking the silence. “You got your magic sealed because… you stole a tart?”

“Yeah! Can’t you believe it!?” Ace looked at Ren, who looked confused and unhappy at the same time.

“… I’m not sure if you’re joking or that you’re actually being serious about this.” Morgana glanced at him with a slightly annoyed face.

“Come on, guys! What’s with the lukewarm reaction? At least care! You don’t know how bad it is for a magician to get their magic sealed off! It’s like losing your limbs!” Ace spat at them.

Ren let out an awkward laugh before speaking. “From what I think, both of you are in the wrong in this scenario.”

“I thought you were on my side, Ren!?” Ace looked at him as if he got betrayed.

“I didn’t say I was taking sides.” The boy said with a straight face. “Besides, you stole a tart as well, right?”

“There were three whole tarts! THREE! Nobody would’ve noticed a tart missing from the fridge!”

Grim spoke up. “Maybe those tarts were for an occasion? Like a party or something?”

“Wow, I’m so smart at deducting things!” He followed by flattering himself.

Morgana rolled his eyes. “Grim’s right, you know? Maybe those tarts were for someone. Like a birthday gift?”

“Birthday?” Ace mumbled.

“That would probably be the reason he’s upset. He probably needed the tarts for something.” Ren explained. “Did you apologize or explain yourself?”

Ace stared at him with a bitter look. “Man… I thought you would say something about our prefect being tyrannical.”

Ren took a sip from his own glass of water before saying. “I haven’t met your prefect anywhere besides during the Entrance Ceremony. Though I will have to admit that what he did was too much, you ate something you weren’t supposed to eat, Ace.”

“Mhm,” Morgana nodded. “You’re also in the wrong here, Ace.”

“I would be mad too if someone stole my food too.” Grim added.

Ace muttered under his breath. “Why does it seem like you’re all ganging up on me?”

“Geez… Grudges because of food are the worst,” Grim suddenly shot up. “Wait one second! I just realized! Did someone eat the last of my tuna cans!?”

Morgana and Ren looked away.

Ace sighed. “Fine, fine… I’ll apologize to him tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll tag along with you since it was my idea to begin with.” Ren explained.

“You better,” Ace pouted. “Seriously… Do I really have to apologize to him?”

“It’s for the best. He’ll probably understand your intentions.” Morgana meowed.

There was silence in the air for a moment before Ace let out a tired yawn. “Mm… Where should I sleep for the night?”

“Well, I haven’t gotten the time to clean the other rooms, you see…You might as well settle for the couch here. I’ll bring out some extra blankets and pillows from our room, if that’s fine with you?” Ren suggested.

“Guess that’s fine. Better than cleaning a dirty room when I’m already tired…” Ace groaned.

“You’re seriously staying here?” Grim asked. “Whatever. At least he isn’t sleeping in our room. It’s practically crowded there already.”

“That’s because you kept hogging all the space!” Morgana shouted at him.

Ren looked at them with an awkward smile before he walked upstairs to get something for Ace’s stay. While he was walking, he couldn’t help but stop and think.

“Just what was that dream…?”

But for now, he needed to deal with Ace’s current dilemma.

He’ll sort things out in the morning.

Maybe that dream wasn’t important.

Chapter Text

*Knock* *Knock *Knock*

“Hm?”

Ren turned his head towards the door where he heard someone knocking on the door. He had woken up quite early then he had expected. Early enough that Ace, his guest, was still sleeping on the couch, snoring loudly and heavier than the snores that Grim usually does in his sleep.

He walked up towards the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Deuce.” the outsider replied. “May I come in?”

The boy opened the door, greeted by Deuce, who was carrying a satchel bag on his shoulders.

“Ah, Deuce. It’s good to see you here. Especially after what happened last night. Are you alright?” Ren asked as Deuce entered inside.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just a night’s rest was enough to make me feel better.” He replied. “By the way, is Ace here?”

“He’s still asleep. You might have to wait for him to wake up.” Ren responded as he pointed at the sleeping Ace on the couch.

Deuce shook his head before letting out a huge. “He never learns…”

“Concerned?” Ren said with a playful smile. “You’re quite close with him now, aren’t you?”

“It’s nothing like that!” Deuce denied, a slight pink appearing on his cheek from embarrassment. “Our prefect won’t stop talking about him all morning… He’s most likely still mad.”

“That bad, huh?” Ren said, slightly surprised.

They looked at each other for a moment before they heard a loud yet low grumble cut through the surroundings. The noise had caused Deuce to look away as he placed a hand on his stomach.

“Did you eat your breakfast today?” Ren asked.

“No…” Deuce responded with slight shame in his voice. “I skipped breakfast this morning to stop by.”

“We’ve gone through this already. You shouldn’t skip breakfast.” Ren sighed. “Luckily for you, I was about to prepare something for me and Ace. It’s probably enough for one more person.”

Deuce hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Thanks.”

Ren looked at him with a soft smile before heading towards the kitchen.

“Mm…”

Ace let out a groan. There was a savory yet tempting smell that was running through the air, which made him wake up from his slumber. Moving around, he slowly sat up as he wiped the remaining gunk out of his eyes.

“You’re finally awake.”

“Eh?” Ace’s eyes opened as he saw Deuce sitting right in front of him. He looked less than happy with him. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he responded. “Oh Great Seven, what were you even thinking!? It’s been one day since yesterday’s incident and then I hear from the other residents that someone got collared for stealing the prefect’s tart.”

“You’re a total idiot, Ace.” He ended, and Ace reacted with an offended look.

“How rich to hear that from you.” Ace sighed. “Sheesh… I’m already getting nagged on this early in the morning…”

“Ah, you’re up.”

Ace turned his head to see Ren holding two plates of curry, which he promptly placed down on the table.

“Ooh!” Ace’s eyes shot up in delight. “Is this for me? You know you didn’t have to make me—“

“It’s my plate.” Deuce interrupted.

“Aw! No fair!” Ace pouted before giving a defeated look. 

“You know you can just get your own plate.”

“But I just woke up!”

“Alright, you two. Stop fighting.” Ren intervened before their argument gets worse. “I can get you a plate. It’s fine.”

Before Deuce could stop him, the boy had walked away from them, towards the kitchen’s direction. He looked at the empty spot for one second before turning to Ace with an annoyed look.

“You really had to make him get your breakfast?”

“Well, he offered himself to get it for me, so it’s his loss!”

Deuce could only sigh. “Geez… You really are hopeless.”

“Whatever…” Ace rolled his eyes. “By the way, is the Prefect still mad?”

“I don’t think he’s mad,” Deuce clarified. “Though he was a little irritated this morning. There were three guys that were late during the morning roll call. They suffered the same fate as you.”

“He’s definitely still pissed!” Ace shouted, reacting with a slightly scared expression.

After they all had breakfast, they all got ready. Deuce gave Ace his uniform and necessary cosmetics, which were inside the bag he had been carrying. Though Ace was hesitant, or rather embarrassed, he accepted it anyway.

It was during breakfast that Crowley visited Ramshackle. His sudden appearance heavily startled both Ace and Deuce, but he claims that he’s only there to talk to Ren. He gave the boy his books and uniform. Which were all neatly packed inside a cardboard box. The man specified that the uniform was an old one, though he asked someone by the name of Mr. Crewel, which Ren had no clue who he was, to make a few personal adjustments to the uniform.

He also gave Ren a few rules.

First, do not use Personas in places where students inhabit. This was mainly because since this was unknown by the world, he was preventing the instance of experts kidnapping the two for who knows what.

“This magic can most likely top those found in Diasomnia’s students.” He clarified.

Ace and Deuce were absolutely shocked by it. Ren did not have a clue what they meant, but it probably seemed important.

By the end, Ren and Deuce understood the rule.

“Man. I can’t believe you two will have to hide your abilities from everyone. What a bummer.” Ace commented.

The second rule was to keep Grim in place. After the incident regarding the chandelier, Ren was required to monitor Grim for the whole day. If he doesn’t, there will be consequences, to which he was afraid of what they were.

And then, his last rule.

“Have a great school day. For this is your first day at Night Raven College. It will surely make a lot of new and exciting memories for you, Mister Amamiya.” Crowley said with a smile that was filled with excitement.

Ren nodded before smiling as well. “I will.”

“Very well. Meet me at my office at the end of your school day. I have something to talk to you about.”

After Crowley left, leaving him with a few words of wisdom, Ace and Deuce eventually left as well. The two of them said that they’ll be waiting for them by Main Street.

Ren spent a while getting ready since that included waking up Grim, as well as feeding him. Which took a long time to do.

Eventually, they left on time and arrive at Main Street to find both Ace and Deuce waiting for them.

“Oh, hey! It’s you-“ Ace turned around and suddenly fell silent, observing the three new arrivals. “Woah! I didn’t think you’d fit the uniform!”

The two of them looked at Ren. He was wearing a neatly buttoned black blazer, with a gray waistcoat underneath it. He had a black and white tie, as well as a red and black ribbon tied on his sleeve. The black gloves that he was wearing finished the overall look of the uniform.

“Does it look good?” Ren questioned with uncertainty.

“It looks perfect on you,” Deuce answered. “You look like a model student.”

“Took the words out of my mouth! You look like somebody who’d hang around the library all day.” Ace interjected.

“Alright, enough with the compliments. You’ll all be late for class.” Morgana meowed as he jumped on Ren’s shoulder.

“Outta my way! The Great Grim is arriving at Night Raven College as a full-fledged student!” Grim moved forward, placing his paws on his hips with a proud look on his face. “Look at my collar! Very stylish and comfortable, unlike that one that you have on your neck!”

As Grim kept talking, Ace glared at the creature bitterly.

“You don’t have your magic, right? I think you’d make a fine janitor!” Grim followed with a laugh.

Ace snapped. “Just you wait! When I get my magic back, I won’t let this go!”

“Calm down, you two. Let’s not cause trouble, again…” Ren sighed. “The Headmaster’s orders.”

“By the way. Aren’t most of the classes here required to use magic?” Deuce looked at Ace and took a quick glance at his collar. “You might be in trouble during class all because of that collar.”

“If Ren can be in class, then I can handle myself easily.” Ace clarified.

“In case you’ve forgotten, it’s mostly Grim that’s doing the magic. Not me.” Ren explained.

The collared boy sighed. “Whatever… Just remember our deal. Y’know, with Prefect Rosehearts.”

“Prefect Rosehearts? Are you going to apologize to him in order to get your magic back?” Deuce questioned.

“Don’t word it like that! You’re making me sound hopeless or something.” Ace scolded.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the deal,” Ren assured the boy. “Promise me you’ll make a heartfelt apology, alright? Maybe you can learn something from the experience. I’m kinda curious to see how it’ll go.”

“Not you too!” Ace complained. “You’re trying to make fun of me, aren’t you?”

Ren chuckled as a response.

“We still have a lot of before class starts. How about we pay your dorm a visit?” Grim asked before he smirked. “That way, we can all watch you apologize.”

“You guys are the worst…” He sighed.

“Woah! This place is beautiful!”

As they stepped inside the mirror, their surroundings immediately changed. In front of them was Heartslabyul Dormitory, which was a building that mimicked a royal castle. The walls are painted with red, black, and white and heart shapes whenever they turn their heads. The dormitory entrance, the hedges, and even the fountain were in the shape of hearts.

“This place is much grander than our dorm!” Grim commented.

“Actually, I kind of like the look of our dorm. It’s quite old-fashioned.” Ren said.

“Are you blind or something? Look at all this! Our little dorm is nothing compared to this!” Grim shouted.

“You don’t understand! It’s the style, Grim! The style!” Ren said back.

“…Let’s just go inside already.” Ace walked forward, which prompted everybody to follow.

As they were walking towards the dorm’s entrance, they heard someone rustling next to them. They turned their heads to the many hedges as far as they could see.

“Crap! I gotta get these roses painted in time.”

Curiosity raced through them as they walked inside the hedge maze. Immediately after entering, Ren felt his foot stepping on something liquid and sticky, making a *splosh* sound upon stepping inside. He looked down to see that his black shoe had stepped on a puddle of red. The sound made the rest of the group turn their heads towards the ground.

“Man, that’s gotta be a pain to wash…” Ace looked at the mess with a sorry look.

The stained shoe didn’t seem to be an issue for him at the moment. There was something odd about it. It was like he had seen, no, felt this scenario before.

For now, he was thinking about how to wash his shoe after this.

“Oh, sorry! I must have made a mess out there! Gotta clean that up later before the prefect gets my head!”

The group looked up to see a boy sitting on a ladder, painting dollops of red onto the white roses. As the boy climbed down, they had a better look at him as he approached them. He had long orange hair, which was slicked back and tied at the front. He also had a mark on his face, similar to Ace and Deuce’s marks. It was a red diamond that was underneath his eye.

“Do you guys need something?” He looked at the group, whose faces had visible confusion on them.

“What are you doing exactly?” Deuce questioned.

“Oh, this?” He pointed at the rosebush, which was dripping with red paint. “I’m just painting the roses red.”

“Eh!? Why would you paint them red!?” asked Deuce, who shouted in disbelief.

Instead of explaining, the boy laughed in response.

“Hmm~ Hmm~” He hummed. “Seeing your faces like this is kinda cute!”

He zoomed in to inspect their faces before he suddenly realized. “Ah! Now I know where I heard of you!” He then turned to Deuce. “You’re that freshmen that destroyed that expensive chandelier, right?”

“Am I going to be hearing that the entire school year…” Deuce mumbled to himself.

“And you!” He then pointed at Ace. “You’re that tart thief, aren’t you?”

Ace didn’t even speak. He looked speechless.

He then locked eyes with Ren, to which his eyes suddenly lit up. “And you! You’re that infamous student during the entrance ceremony. Wow, what a shock to see you here, attending school and all! I wasn’t expecting that, to be honest.”

“Well, actually…”

“Hey!” The boy suddenly grabbed him by the arm. He then rummaged through his pocket and grabbed his phone, which was decorated in such a flashy way. “Let’s take a selfie!”

“One, two, three… Say cheese!”

With no further delay, he tapped on the capture button. Giving the group no time to prepare themselves. The boy looked at the photo, which had all of them staring at the camera with confused and shocked faces.

“Hehehe! Perfect!” He said, happily looking at the photo. “Can I get your names so I can put you on the hashtags?”

“Did you really have to do that…?” Morgana asked, not even disguising the fact that he could talk.

“Ooh, nice talking cat you have there. Can’t believe you have two of them.” He said to Morgana and Grim. “And yes! I’m quite lucky to meet the three infamous students, so of course, I have to save the moment.”

He looked at his phone for a bit, tapping the keypad with his thumbs before looking back up. “Hey, I’m posting this on Magicam, if you don’t mind me. Also, I kinda need your names so that I can tag you.” “Magicam?” Ren asked, confusingly.

The boy simply looked at him as if he saw someone get murdered. “Oh dear Seven… There is no way you don’t know what Magicam is!? Have you been living under a rock?” He wasn’t exactly mad. He was very shocked. “Anyone with a phone should know what Magicam is!”

“Well…” He hesitated. “I don’t have my phone at the moment.”

I kind of left it in another world, was what he wanted to say.

“Oh, you poor innocent soul!” The boy said, grabbing Ren by the shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re walking out into the world without a phone!”

“Uhm…” Deuce raised a hand. “We’re still here.”

He turned around, finally realizing that there were still people there. “Oh right, sorry about that.” The boy then loosens his grip on Ren’s shoulders.

“You were asking for our names, right? Then I’ll give you mine. It’s Deuce Spade.” The diligent student introduced himself.

“Mine’s Ace.” Ace followed by introducing himself, as well.

“Grim. And that’s my henchman.” Grim pointed at Ren.

He could only sigh before responding. “I’m Ren. Ren Amamiya. And this is Morgana.”

He directed towards the not-cat on his shoulders as it meowed. “The pleasures are all mine.”

The boy kept typing on his phone. “Hoi! Uploaded!”

“By the way, since you three are first years, that means that I’m your senior. I’m Cater Diamond, but you can also call me Cay-kun if you’d like! Nice to meetcha!” He cheerfully greeted.

“This guy’s overly carefree…” Morgana mumbled to Ren.

“If you have anything else to ask, better hurry! Because I still have a lot of things to do!” He exclaimed as he grabbed the ladder to move to another white rose bush. “I have to paint all the roses red, change the flamingos for the croquet match. I’m practically all over the place!”

“What weird chores…” Grim commented.

“If I may ask, is what you’re doing for an occasion?” Ren asked.

“Yep! I’m doing all this for the party in two days.” Cater answered.

Deuce crossed his arms. “I see… That’s why the prefect was mad at Ace for eating the tarts. It was for a party. Is it a birthday party?”

“Nope! Not a birthday party.”

“What is it then, huh?” Ace questioned.

“Well, you were quite close to the birthday party, guess. It’s actually for the Un-Birthday Party happening in two days!” Cater explained.

“’Un-Birthday Party’…?” Deuce looked at the boy.

“It’s one of our dormitory’s very special tradition!” He answered. “The dormitory’s head honcho, Prefect Rosehearts, chooses any random day that isn’t anyone’s birthday and we have a tea party!”

“The heck!? That’s so weird!” Ace said, shocked.

“You’ll get used to it!” Cater assured. “You’re all first years, after all!”

“Besides learning the traditions, we actually came here to ask about something,” Ren spoke, catching Cater’s attention. “Is your prefect here?”

“Ah! I take it you’re having a prefect-to-prefect discussion?” He asked.

“Well, something like that.” The boy answered. “But it’s more about Ace’s problem.”

“Yeah.” Ace followed in the conversation. “Is Prefect Rosehearts here? I came here to talk about something.”

“Is it about the tart?” Cater assumed. “To answer about the prefect, he isn’t here.” “But Ace, did you bring anything with you?” He followed.

“No? I’m empty-handed. Why?” Ace asked.

“The thing is, I’m not allowed to let you in.” Cater said, as Ace reacted with disbelief. “It’s in Number 53 in the Rule Book. ‘One must replace what they have stolen’.”

“What the hell!? That rule exists too!?” He exclaimed.

“As much as I feel sorry for you, I’ll get punished too if I let you inside.” Cater said, this time much more seriously. “I can’t really do anything for you in this scenario.”

“Anyways, you better get to your classes. You’re almost late! I’d be a pretty bad senior if I don’t look out for my juniors! Now hurry!” Cater then pushed them out of the hedge maze in a hurry.

The group got hurried out with little resistance. With defeated looks, they walked back to the dormitory’s entrance.

“We did what we can, Ace. We’ll think of something soon.” Ren comforted the agitated Ace.

“Ugh, this is the worst!” Ace growled.

“Instead of complaining, we should do as Senior Cater says. Class is about to start soon.” Deuce said.

“You’re not caring about my situation at all!”

As Ren stared at the two, he turned back at Morgana, who looked back at the red dormitory with a serious look. The two locked eyes, with the not-feline’s look staying the same.

There was something troubling him.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing that Ren was not used to in this world, besides everything else, was the school system. It was much more different and active than his current school. Instead of staying in one classroom, they had to move classrooms for different subjects or periods. Was this even the Japanese school system? Or was this the Western system of sorts like Ann would mention to him?

Either way, he had hoped that he would have a decent school life, even if it means having it in another world.

He didn’t have the most peaceful of school life back home. In Shujin, students shunned him into a corner thanks to his leaked criminal record. Everyone, besides the people who actually wanted to talk to him, was spreading rumors everywhere he goes. Though Ren was not one to listen to rumors, it kind of gets tiring being called a ‘criminal’ everywhere you went.

Even when he returned home, after he was free of any criminal record, people would still give him odd looks, even though he wasn’t the one at fault. In his current school, he would always spend time in his library alone, because no one even dared to talk to him. Though he still kept in contact with all of his friends, he didn’t have his phone.

He wonders what was happening back home. Did his parents already file a missing person report? Or maybe something bad had happened to him back outside, and he couldn’t wake up. Or maybe…

“Yo, Ren. You doing alright?”

“Huh?” Ren looked up from the ground (he kept looking down) and looked at Ace, who was the one who called out to him.

“You’ve been staring at the ground for quite a while. Is everything alright?” Deuce asked, concerned.

“No, it’s fine,” said Ren, as he faked a yawn. “I probably didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

“Well, try not to nod off while you’re walking.” Grim looked up at him, a slight annoyance in his tone.

“Right, right. I won’t.” He said as they kept walking.

Maybe this was not the perfect time to worry about these things.

Their first period was their homeroom class, which was held in the Laboratory.

Ace and Deuce were his classmates, to their absolute shock and surprise. The three shared a desk, sitting next to each other, as they patiently waited for the class to start. Their first class was Potions, in which they are required to wear safety gear.

Instead of the blazer, he wore for the first hour of school, Ren was wearing a long white lab coat that was neatly buttoned up. He also had long black latex gloves on his hands. They also had safety goggles, but Ren chose not to wear them for a moment. He still kept his glasses, but the grey goggles were hanging off his neck like a necklace in case he needed them.

“I look like a scientist.” He commented on his attire, slowly twirling around to look at himself. “Are you sure this is a potions class?”

“Well, who knows what you’re going to be touching? So you best be wearing that at all times.” Morgana said, sitting on the wooden desk. “You know, it’s kind of nice being out in the open during class, for once. Much better than staying inside your bag the entire time.”

“Aw… Who’s going to give me my answers now?”

“Please study, Ren.”

“Whatever you say, Morgana.”

They stopped talking as soon as they heard the door open, as well as the sounds of footsteps. They looked towards the front to see their supposed teacher, who was a tall and rather attractive man. His hair was parted to the side, with one side being the color white and the other was black. Underneath his thick, black-and-white striped coat was a dual-colored tuxedo.

“Hm,” the man hummed as he inspected the class. “So, all of you are the fresh faces in my homeroom.”

“There is no way this guy’s your homeroom teacher!” Morgana whispered into Ren’s ear. “He looks nothing like one!”

As much as Morgana was wrong, he was quite right at the same time. The man looked way too flashy than his previous teachers. Was this world unique to teachers?

The man looked at the students, rubbing his chin as he inspected them. “Not bad. Some of you have unique hair colors. Take proper care of it daily.”

“My name is Divus Crewel. I will be your homeroom teacher for the entire school year.” The man introduced himself. “But if you wish, you are free to call me Master Crewel.”

So, this was the Sir Crewel the Headmaster mentioned. That would explain how the uniform he received oddly suited him. Crewel looked like a fashionable person who knows a thing or two about style, enough to where Ren couldn’t really understand the topic.

Though, the teacher was rather… out there.

“Take your seats, students. The class will now begin.” Sir Crewel commanded, to which everyone sat down in their seats.

“Now, for the basics.” A smirk formed on the man’s face, as the sound of something being unsheathed was revealed as the teacher’s pointer. “For our first lesson, I will beat the names and appearances of all the one-hundred types of medicine and poison into your brains, respectively.” He said, pounding the pointer onto his palms twice, making a slapping sound.

“Now, open your textbooks,” he followed. “Everything you’ll need to memorize is written on there. We’ll cover the fungi later. By the end of this, you’ll learn why you shouldn’t eat random things off of the grounds. Dogs will eat anything that lies on the ground.”

“That felt oddly threatening,” Ren muttered under his breath.

“Your training will be nothing but strict. I better not see any red marks on the test, alright?” He ended.

Ren turned to his seatmates, who looked at their textbooks as if they contained the key to graduation.

“I see,” Deuce nodded, before looking at the two with nothing but confusion. “…By the way, does anyone of you know what ‘fungi’ means…?”

“No clue.” Ace groaned, closing the textbook in defeat. “Too much stuff to take note off… I’m no good with memorization.”

“All I know for grass is whether it’ll taste good or not…” Grim mumbled.

“Let’s see if you’ve learned a few things,” Sir Crewel said as he examined the room. “I’ll call up somebody and I will have them answer a simple question. I hope you’ve stayed an obedient dog. Or else there will be punishment.” He said, whilst tapping the pointer onto his desk, causing most of the students to get frightened by it.

“Now, a simple question that anyone can answer. Though this plant looks alluring like a sweet, young maiden, it is highly poisonous. And it is considered to be one of the most poisonous plants in all of Twisted Wonderland. Tell me, Mister Amamiya. Do you know the name of this plant?” He aimed the pointer in the boy’s direction.

“Ah,” Ren looked up, slightly shocked by the sudden name call. “Is it the Belladonna?”

“Hm~ Correct!” Sir Crewel said, satisfied. “From the name itself, which means ‘young maiden, this plant looks similar to a very sweet berry. But do not be tricked or tempted by its appearance, as every part of this plant is poisonous. From the roots to the fruit itself. Every part of the plant is poisonous.”

“Hopefully, it serves as a reminder that even the sweetest of fruit can be the deadliest of poison.” He added.

“Dude…” Ace looked at him in disbelief. “We’ve gone through like, one-hundred plants, and you somehow remembered that plant in particular?”

“It’s nothing much, really,” Ren admitted. “The name just stuck out to me.”

“Belladonna…” Deuce repeated to himself. “I can see why it stuck out.”

“Fugnyah… Why are all the delicious-looking things deadly?” Grim sadly said.

The second period rolled around. This time, their class was about history.

Ren didn’t really know much about the history of this world. Though the only thing they knew about this world was the tidbits that he and Morgana read when they first got there, he wanted to learn more about the current world he was in.

Ren’s head was down on his desk as he took a brief nap. But the nap was soon disturbed after he heard something from a distance.

The sound of a cat meowing.

The boy dismissed it, wondering if Morgana was probably talking to him. But then realized that people can actually understand him now. He looked up to see that their teacher had finally entered the classroom.

His history teacher was an older man, his hair had visible signs of aging on it. Underneath a maroon robe was a formal gray suit. In his arms, he was carrying a black and a rather well-fed black cat.

Luckily, it didn’t seem that the teacher noticed Ren sleeping when he walked inside.

“Greetings, everyone.” The older man introduced. “I am Mozeus Trein. I will be in charge of your history lessons for the school year. This is my familiar, Lucius.”

“You will learn the history of magic that has bought nothing but prosperity throughout our world.” He explained.

Lucius meowed.

“Huh. That little guy actually said something wise.” Morgana commented. “Didn’t seem like the type to me.”

“You… actually understand him?” Ren stared at him.

“Well, obviously.” Morgana glared. “You got a problem with that?”

“I don’t have one. I really don’t.” Ren answered, but Morgana looked unconvinced.

“Participation in this class is a must. It will affect your overall grade for the entire school year.” Sir Trein glared at Ren, causing the boy to freeze up. “I will not forgive those who sleep during my class.”

He looked away from his teacher. Hiding the embarrassment from his face.

Sir Trein only shook his head. “Everyone, open your books on page fifteen. We will start with the history of Dwarfs’ Mine.”

“Magical energy spread throughout the world of Twisted Wonderland. During the century after this discovery, we call it the ‘Early Age of Magic’.”

Lucius loudly meowed.

Ren felt as if this discussion went on for hours. But after a quick glance at the wall clock hanging above the classroom, ten minutes had passed in real-time. Did time even move at all during this discussion?

A noticeable yawn made the boy turn his head. He saw three of his seatmates. Ace, who was on the verge of falling asleep on his desk as he yawned in drowsiness. Deuce, who was trying his absolute best to understand the entire lesson. And finally, Grim, who looked bored the entire time.

“I feel sleepy…” Ace drowsily said, trying to keep his eyes open.

“Um… So that was what happened at Dwarfs’ Mine…” Deuce mumbled, taking down notes on his notebook.

“Ugh… I want to use my magic in class…” Grim groaned.

This was going to be a very long hour.                    

After barely staying awake during History, he hoped that his next class, Physical Education, would wake him up a bit.

As any usual school would do, they were required to wear their P.E uniform. He wore a dark black tracksuit with white running shoes. The jacket was open, revealing a plain black t-shirt.

Unlike a gymnasium, they were taking their classes outside on a grass field. Which was a pleasant change of scenery.

Ren was talking with Ace and Deuce for a moment before a whistle sounded. Making them turn their heads to where the sound was made. The whistle came from their teacher, who was a buff and brawny man with brown hair styled in a pompadour manner. He also had a beard, which was slightly thin, on his face.

“I’m Ashton Vargas. I will be in charge of your Physical Education, bean sprouts.” He introduced. “Becoming a great wizard starts with your muscle! Look at all this muscle I’ve built eating only raw eggs every single day!”

“Is he trying to teach you guys or compliment himself…?” Morgana skeptically asked.

“I don’t know… But he kind of reminds me of… You know…” Ren whispered to Morgana, cringing at the mention of his name.

“You baby wizards have little to no stamina. For that, I will have you start with twenty laps around the field. After that will be one-hundred sets of push-ups! Now go!” Sir Vargas shouted, blowing the whistle twice.

Ren realized he was wrong about Vargas.

For starters, he wasn’t really a rough person. He was rather easy-going than ever. Which was a relief.

What was not okay was that they had to run the entire field, as well as the number of push-ups they had to do after that.

Ace flopped on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to pick himself off of the ground. “Can’t… feel… my arms and legs….”

“Come on, Ace. It’s not that hard.” Ren tried, keyword being tried, to comfort the poor boy.

To which Ace sat up with an annoyed look. “It’s not that hard!? I’m not really one to dislike exercise, but that was too much…!”

“It was just a few laps. How hard can it be?”

“Easy for you to say. How the hell are you two not tired after that?” Ace pointed at Ren and Deuce.

“I have confidence with my stamina,” Deuce smirked.

Ren awkwardly laughed in response before turning his attention someplace else. “Grim, are you doing alright?”

Grim was face-first on the ground.

“What did they think I am… A hamster…?”

“He’s unresponsive,” Morgana said. “We lost him.”

“For a school focusing on magic, it really isn’t different from regular school,” Ren commented as they walked down the hallway.

“Agreed,” Ace sighed. “There was barely any magic used. Not having magic hasn’t been a problem for me at least…”

“Our next classroom should be around here. We still have a lot of time to rest while we wait for it to begin.” Deuce said, looking at the school schedule.

“Say. Hasn’t Grim been awfully silent this whole time?” Ace looked at Ren.

“Hm… You’re right. Grim, are you—Wait, where’s Grim?”

They looked at the empty spot where there should’ve been a blue creature walking beside the boy. 

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Morgana said, fearing for the absolute worst.

“Hey, look over there!” Deuce pointed out, making everyone turn to where he was pointing towards.

They all looked down at the courtyard, where they saw Grim, who running away as he made his way towards the exit.

“I’m not sitting around listening to boring lectures!” He exclaimed. “I’m a natural-born genius! I don’t need any classes for me to use my magic!” He then started picking up his face, running much faster this time.

“Ugh! That guy is nothing but trouble to us!” Morgana hissed. “Get back here!” He yelled out before jumping off of Ren’s shoulder and into the courtyard.

“Wait, Morgana—“ The boy was about to stop his familiar, yet he left before he could say a word. “Ah, geez… This is going to be a long day.”

“That Grim never learns… It’s only been one day, and he’s already making a break for it.” He could hear Ace laugh from behind, prompting Ren to turn around. “You’ve only been Grim’s supervisor for one day and you lost him already? Need some help with catching him, Prefect?”

Ah, that smirk. That devilish smirk. He knows what that could mean.

Ren massaged his temple for a moment before letting out an enormous sigh. “Alright, what do you want from me?”

“Buy me a chocolate croissant at lunchtime, and I’ll catch him.” Ace simply said.

“Then I’ll help too,” Deuce added. “If you buy me an iced latte at the cafeteria later.” He finished with a smirk that could rival Ace’s.

Getting pressured by both of his fellow students was not how he wanted his school day to go. But then again, it’s not like he has no choice either. Instead of giving them what they wanted to hear,  Ren responded to them with a smile. Which confused both of them.

“Alright,” he began speaking. “I’ll give you what you want. Only if you can catch Grim before me, or Morgana does.”

“Wh—“ Ace reacted, nearly dumbfounded. “Why you…!”

“Less reacting, more catching!” Ren said as he waved at them. “See ya!” He then began running away.

“Oh no, you don’t! That croissant is mine!” Ace yelled as he began running after him.

“I’ll be catching him first!” Deuce began running as well.      

“Catch me if you can, suckers!”

Grim taunted as Morgana and Ren tailed after him.

“We’re going to be in so much trouble because of you, Grim!” Morgana angrily yelled.

The creature didn’t listen, and instead kept running and running.

“I won’t attend any more boring classes. I’m—GAH!”

*CLANG!*

A heavy cauldron fell on Grim with a loud crash, pinning him to the ground, which ended the entire chase. The blue monster struggled to break free, letting out struggling groans with every moment. Ren and Morgana looked at Grim before turning to their front, where they saw both Ace and Deuce.

“That should do it,” Deuce said as he put his magic pen inside of his pocket. “Luckily, we caught him before he caused any further trouble.”

“Hmph! Haven’t you listened to what Crowley said? Don’t cause any trouble! And what did you do? Cause us trouble!” Morgana complained, which made Grim moan in annoyance.

Pushing the cauldron off of Grim’s body, he keeps the troublemaker in his arms as he nagged like a child. “But all the classes are boring!”

“Just bear it, Grim. It’s only for a day.” Ren said, pulling the monster closer to him.

Ace walked towards him, nestling a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Uh, uh, uh. Looks like we’ve captured Grim first. You know what that means, right~?” He said, slyly.

Ren shrugged. “Fine. I’ll treat you guys during lunch.”

“Hehe. Jackpot!” Ace pumped his fist with a cheery grin on his face.

The warning bell rang throughout the entire school, signaling that fourth period was about to begin. The group quickly headed back to their respective classroom.

Everything just keeps getting interesting in this place.

Chapter Text

After the bell rang, it was now Lunch Period. This means it was a good time for every student to take a breather. The Lunch Period meant every student has one hour of spare time before another class begins. Students would usually hang out in the Cafeteria for a much-needed snack or lunch. The group, comprising Ren, Morgana, Deuce, Ace, and Grim, decided to go there.

Entering the cafeteria, Ren could immediately see that the place was absolutely busy. Filled to the brim with students as far as they could see. Students were eating, talking with classmates, or doing both at the same time. He could almost feel a sense of familiar air upon entering the place. It somehow reminded him of a crowded school.

Perhaps this world wasn’t as different as it seemed?

Ren lost a bet that he had made. Meaning he had to buy and retrieve Ace and Deuce’s lunch, which he will pay for with his wallet. Looking at the pocket money Crowley gave him, it was enough to pay for his and everybody else’s lunches.

He considered earning his own money and not taking money out of Headmaster Crowley’s pocket because that would seem rude. Considering that the man gave them a place to stay and provided the necessities.

All he had to do now was to wait for his turn in the line of students, grab what everybody wanted, pay for the things and find the table that Ace and Deuce had picked.

However, while waiting, Grim accidentally bumped into a rowdy-looking student, causing an egg to crack on his pasta. This then made the student furious. It was a dumb reason to get mad if he was being completely honest.

Eventually, after a moment of peace talking, Ren stopped the heated argument from turning into a full-blown fight. Which, frankly, no one wanted to see, especially with this crowd of people that were inside the place. 

“Tch… Whatever… My food’s getting cold anyway.” The student gave them a cold side-eye before finally leaving them alone.

Ren breathe a sigh of relief before looking down at Grim, who still looked annoyed by their altercation with the rowdy student. “You know, there isn’t a day where it’s peaceful here. I wonder why?”

Grim rolled his eyes. “He started it, human!”

“Yeah, I can agree with him taking things too far. But please don’t start another fight.”

They eventually got what they came for, their lunch and drinks. With a tray of food and drinks in hand, he walked to the table that Ace and Deuce occupied. Deuce waved at him when he spotted Ren nearby, which helped the boy with finding the table. Placing the tray down onto the table, he gave the boys (and not-felines) their lunches.

“Alright, let’s dig in! Thank you for the food!” Grim announced, before chewing down on his plate of omurice. A shocked yet happy look appeared on his face afterward.

“Delicious!” He exclaimed, mouth still filled with food. “The egg on the rice is so fluffy and light! It’s filled with gooey cheese!”

“Geez… Don’t talk while your mouth’s full!” Morgana complained. “You’re spitting food everywhere!”

“Just leave him be, Morgana. He looks like he’s enjoying it.” Ren said with a small smile. “If you liked omurice so much, I can make that for you, you know?”

“Eh? You could?” Grim asked, looking up and away from his food. “I doubt that your cooking can impress the likes of the Great Grim!”

“You wound me so deeply.” Ren sadly said.

“I think Ren’s cooking is amazing,” Deuce chimed in. “Especially the curry you served to us during breakfast.”

“—Right, Ace?” He looked at Ace, who was calmly eating his chocolate croissant.

He stopped chewing and swallowed the food contents before replying. “Yeah, it was good. I guess?”

“You had three plates of it.”

“Shut your mouth! I was starving, alright!?”

Ren chuckled as he watched the two bicker. “You know, you two remind me of an old married couple.”

“SHUT UP!” they both said simultaneously.

“I kid, I kid,” Ren said while raising both hands near his chest, signaling them to back off. He turned his attention away from the two pink-faced boys; he continued eating the meat sandwich he ordered.

“Oh? Why if it isn’t the infamous group of first years!”

A person exclaimed with a cheerful tone to their voice. They all looked toward whoever called out to them. It was Cater, the boy from earlier, who waved at them when they locked eyes with him. He walked towards their table, whilst dragging another boy alongside him.

“Eh? You’re that guy from earlier!” Ace stared at his senior, genuinely surprised at seeing him.

Cater looked at Ace with a saddened expression. “Aw… You can’t just call your senior as ‘some guy’, y’know?” He whined.

Ren shifted his attention away from Cater and onto the person next to him. He had short, dark green hair and glasses similar to his pair of glasses. As well as a black clover underneath his eye.

“Um,” He spoke up, looking directly at the person. Ren had caught the boy’s attention as the person turned their gaze to him. “I don’t think we met before, haven’t we?”

“Ah, you’re the first year that Cater was talking about,” the boy with the glasses commented. “I’m Trey. Trey Clover. I’m a senior at Heartslabyul, along with Cater here.”

“—Which I hope isn’t bothering you…” He added, eyeing the peppy senior.

“Hehe, sorry!” Cater said while scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. “By the way, you don’t mind if we sit at your table, don’t you?”

“Nope, not at all,” Ren answered.

“Don’t mind if we do, then!”

The two then sat down at the table. Ren scooted a bit to make room for Cater, who was now sitting next to him. Trey sat on the other side of the table, right next to Deuce, who was calmly sipping his iced latte.

“By the way, in case you wanted to ask. I’m Ren,” He introduced himself before pointing at the feline on his shoulder. “And this is Morgana. He’s my partner.”

Morgana meowed in response.

“—It’s nice to meet you, uh, Clover-senpai.” Ren finished. There was unfamiliarity clear in his tone. He wasn’t quite used to everything just yet.

Trey hummed to himself. “Nice meeting you, as well. I hope our underclassmen didn’t cause trouble for you at all.” He said, which garnered some looks from both Ace and Deuce, respectively.

“Not at all,” Ren replied. “They’re like Ramshackle’s honorary members.”

“Ah, speaking of that. I take it you’re the one currently overseeing that dirt… I mean… The unused dormitory.” There was a slight pity at the last few words of Trey’s sentence.

Ren merely scoffed. “Well, it’s in use now, isn’t it? We’ve been doing some cleaning in there. The place is completely clean now.”

“Tell that to the cobwebs that fell on my face while I was sleeping…” Ace shivered as he was recounting things. “I can’t believe you’d let me stay there…”

“…Almost clean.” He rephrased. “But the dorm is doing well as of now.”

“Speaking of dorms,” Grim looked up from his now empty play as he joined in on the conversations. “What are the other dorms like? Since you four are in Heartsla… Whatever…  Then there must be other dorms in this place?”

“A good question from you, Grim.” Morgan commended. “I was also wondering about that, too.”

Cater beamed up, taking the helpful senior position. “Thought you may never ask! To answer your question, including our dormitory, there are seven dormitories in this school! It’s quite easy to note because of the seven statues on Main Street.”

It would seem that Deuce had picked up on something.

“Are the dormitories here in correlation with the Great Seven, perhaps?” He questioned.

“Ding, ding, ding! That’s right!” Cater exclaimed. “You hit it right at the mark, Deucey!”

“D-Deucey!?”

Despite the underclassman’s shock, the peppy senior continued explaining. “There are seven dorms in total. Each dorm emulates the spirit of the Great Seven.”

“Okay, but what does it have to do with all the weird rules our dorm has?” Ace asked; still annoyed by the topic he bought.

Trey was the one that answered him. “I’m sure you’ve all heard about the famous story involving the Queen of Hearts, right?”

Ah. That story. Thankfully, Ace had mentioned a summarized version of the story during their infamous first meeting.

“—She created a Wonderland filled with madness. Imposing rules that her subjects must follow.” He finished.

“Out of respect for the Queen, those in Heartslabyul must follow and uphold all the rules she had made. We also wear the colors red and black on our armbands, which resemble her dress.” Cater finishes saying, pointing at his armband with the Heartslabyul crest.

“Sounds like a stiff place to be living at…” Grim commented, shaking his head at the thought of those many rules.

“Say, Ren.” Ace looked at him, specifically at the ribbon tied on the boy’s arm. “Isn’t your armband similar to ours?”

“Ah, this?” Ren grabbed the ribbon’s ends, eyeing it for a few seconds. “Yeah, it does. But it doesn’t have a crest on it, like yours or everybody else.”

It was true. He had noticed that their armbands have a golden crest on them. On that crest was some sort of logo on it. For Ace, Deuce, Cater, and Trey, they had a logo of a heart with a crown. It bore a resemblance to the logo that was on the banners when he entered their dorm.

“Ah, right,” Trey spoke up as if he had realized something. “You don’t have an official dormitory, don’t you?”

“Well, technically, I have a dorm now, don’t I?” Ren asked.

“And you’re the Prefect.” Ace commented with a sly grin on his face.

“Though I say,” Cater looked at Ren’s armband and the boy. “It oddly suits you. Are you sure you aren’t one of ours? Your magic pen and armband color can mistake you as a Heartslabyul student, y’know?”

It was then Cater realized something.

“—Wait, why do you have a magic pen with you?” Cater questioned. “Aren’t you, like, magicless?”

Oh right. 

Magic Pens were meant for those with magic.

Ren shifted around, trying to come up with a proper around. He took a glance at both Ace and Deuce, who promptly looked away from him as if they didn’t know how to cover for him. He then looked back at Cater, who was expecting an actual answer.

“Well?” Cater asked with persistence.

“Say, what are the other dorms like?” It was Grim who suddenly interrupted them before Ren could answer. “You said there were other dorms here.”

Cater then stopped, looking back and forth between Ren and Grim. Trey must have said something like “lay off” because the boy suddenly let out a sigh and then turned his attention towards the blue fire creature instead of him.

He subconsciously thanked Grim for changing the subject.

“As Cater said before,” Trey began explaining. “There are seven dorms here in Night Raven College. Each dorm emulates the spirits of one of the Great Seven. There is our dorm, Heartslabyul, founded on the strict spirit of the Queen of Hearts.”

“—Savanaclaw, which is the dorm founded on the fortitude of the King of Beasts.”

“—Octavinelle, which was founded on the benevolence of the Sea Witch.”

“—Scarabia, which is the dorm established on the deliberation of the Sorcerer of the Hot Sands.”

“—Pomefiore, which was founded on the strenuous efforts of the Beautiful Queen.”

“—Ignihyde, which is the dorm founded on the diligence of the King of the Underworld.”

“And last but not the least, Diasomnia. The dorm was founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns.” And with that, Trey ended his explanation.

Ren found himself in complete silence. After Trey’s brief lecture ended, he finally spoke up.

“There are… a bit too many dorms for me to remember…” He sheepishly said.

Grim shared the same confusion. “Too many long names! There’s no way I can remember all of them!”

Cater laughed as he looked at their reactions. “Once you get the gist of it, you’ll remember them easily.”

“There’s gotta be a way to at least remember them somehow,” Morgana muttered. “Say. How do you know which dormitory you stay in?”

“Which dorm you enter is based on the Dark Mirror’s judgment,” Trey answered. “You’ll get sorted into a dorm when it looks into your soul during the Entrance Ceremony.”

“—Though to make things for you easier to understand, each dorm has its quirks that make them unique.” He added.

“What do you mean by quirks?” Deuce asked.

“Look over there.” Trey pointed at a table far from their table. Everyone then looked at where Trey had been pointing towards. It was something out of the ordinary. They saw a tall and muscular student with tanned skin and white hair. However, that wasn’t the only thing about him.

He also had animal ears and a fluffy tail that matched his hair. It was extremely hard to miss.

“Are my eyes deceiving me, or does that guy have wolf's ears?” Ren said whilst still staring. Making sure what he was seeing was real.

“The rugged and buff looks are Savanaclaw members.” Trey simply said.

“They’re pretty good with sports and martial arts,” Cater explained. “They have big and gruff vibes radiating off them. The armbands they have are colored yellow and black.”

“Hoo,” Grim then pointed at a different table. “Then what about that guy with grey and lavender on his arm?” He was referring to a boy with glasses. He had hair of light color and an armband to match it.

Ren immediately recognized the boy’s face.

“Oh, it’s that guy during the entrance ceremony.” Ren pointed out.

Trey then looked at where they were pointing. “Ah, that guy? He’s from Octavinelle.” Trey had an odd look on his face when he was talking about the student. When he looked back at the first years, he simply shrugged.

“Ehem,” Trey coughed. “As for the students in front of us, they’re Scarabia students.” Upon hearing the senior say that, Ren then turned his head back to see two students behind him. He could recognize the face of one of them. It was the tanned boy he had saved during the entrance ceremony. He was optimistically talking to another student, who had long hair tied in a ponytail and braids.

“They say that the people living in those two dorms are quite smart,” Cater mentioned. “They’re quite serious about tests.”

“—Though, the Prefect of Scarabia isn’t quite the greatest in studying.” He added, trailing his eyes to the boy with the turban.

“…Back to what we were saying.” Trey quickly switched the topic before it goes someplace else. “Over there, almost sparkling, are the Pomefiore students. They have purple and red armbands.”

They all look far away to see two rather distinct individuals. One with a blonde bob cut and an enormous hat with a feather, and one small student with rather fluffy lavender hair.

“Whoa, there’s a cute girl over there!” Grim pointed out. Deuce almost spat out his drink upon hearing it.

“Eh!? A girl at an all-boys school!?” Deuce exclaimed in shock.

“No, you idiot,” Ace scolded. “There’s no way they’d let a girl in an all-boys school.”

“HUH!?” Both Grim and Deuce yelled.

They were loud enough that the small boy from Pomefiore looked at them in confusion.

“If you wanna see girls here, we have Roselia in the West Building,” Cater stated. “For a portrait, she’s quite a beauty! Want me to set you up on a blind date, Ace?” He joked.

“I-I’m good.” Ace stuttered. “Besides, she’s just a painting. Even if she looks cute.”

“Anything goes when you’re good-looking,” Cater said. “Oh! By the way, in Pomefiore, they don’t disappoint in looks. Their dorm leader is a beauty with over five-million followers on Magicam.” He took out his phone and slid it onto the table for them to see. It showed a social media page of a boy with shoulder-length blonde hair with purple tips at the end. The account user was one ‘Vil Schoenheit’ and his follower count was almost unbelievable. Cater was not exaggerating.

“Other than that, Pomefiore students are quite skilled with potions and curses,” Trey added.

“Next up, would be Ignihyde but,” Cater looked around the entire cafeteria. “They’re not the type to be out in the open. Though, if you see a student from that dorm, they usually wear black and blue armbands.”

“Everyone in that dorm has their guard up, 24/7, all the time,” Cater said. “They’re the exact opposites of us extroverts at Heartslabyul.”

“So, they’re all dull?” Grim flatly said.

“Grim!” Morgana shouted.

“Hey, word choice!” Trey scolded. “Though they have a quiet image of them, many of them are good at building equipment that requires magical or digital things.”

Ren couldn’t help but get reminded of someone from his world.

“By the way,” Ren spoke up. “What about the last dorm?”

“Ah, the Diablahblah dormitory,” Deuce said with a straight face.

“Dia-SOMNIA!” Ace nudged an elbow at Deuce, which made the latter let out an ‘ow!’ reaction. “Geez, at least say it right.”

“I just bit my tongue, okay!?” Deuce defended.

“Diasomnia is… right over there,” There was hesitance visible in Cater’s voice as he pointed towards the far corner of the cafeteria. “Their armbands are green and black. They’re kinda like celebrities here. It’s hard to even interact with them, especially when they got this aura around them.”

“That includes their prefect, which emits major ‘don’t come near me at a five-feet radius’ vibes.” He added.

Ren squinted his eyes. It was kind of hard to see, but he could see a few shapes, thanks to their bright green waistcoat and eccentric hair colors. There were three students prominent at that table. A tall student with spikey green hair, which had been slicked back, a serious-looking student with silver hair, and a child-sized student with jet-black hair, except for dark-purple streaks.

“Isn’t that a kid sitting there?” Ace questioned.

“Well, you can still skip grades and attend here,” Trey looked at Ace and answered, “But he isn’t a kid. He’s a third-year…”

“It’s Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge.”

A deep voice spoke behind him. Ren looked behind to see a figure standing upside-down behind him. It was the child-looking student he saw from the far corner. The moment he turned back was when he suddenly jumped from his seat. Both Grim and Morgana had their furs stand up in shock. Trey, Ace, and Cater shared a similar reaction to him. Deuce spat out the iced coffee that he was drinking, breaking into a coughing fit.

“My, did I give you a fright?” The student named Lilia mused. “Quite the reactions you have there.”

“H-He teleported right over here…” Grim muttered, still as a statue.

“Are you all curious about my age?” Lilia let out a light chuckle. “Kufufu… I may have this baby-faced visage, but as the boy in glasses said, I am not at the age where one can simply call me a child.”

“Baby-faced…” Trey mumbled.

Lilia turned to his left, where he made eye contact with Ren, who jumped once again upon locking eyes. He let out a ‘hm’ as he examined the boy up and down. He took his hand and rubbed his chin while doing so.

“Uh… Hello there?” Ren awkwardly said.

“Hm… You are quite peculiar,” Lilia thought loudly. “How interesting~”

“I… Thank you?”

Lilia simply chuckled once again before turning to everyone at the table. “There is no need to look at us from a far distance. You can just come up to us and speak. Have we forgotten that we are all students from the same academy? We at Diasomnia will always welcome you with open and caring arms.” He smiled.

From a distance, they could feel the distant gaze of the two students at the Diasomnia table.

“I don’t think those two are the most welcoming of Diasomnia…” Deuce said, looking at the two that were watching them.

“Kufufu, I apologize for dropping in during your meal. Until we meet again,” Lilia turned back and started walking. But he paused and then turned back. This time, he looked directly at Ren.

“—I am quite interested to see what you may talk about.” And so he left.

Ren didn’t know how to respond after the event happened. Neither Morgana had something to say when he turned to his partner but only get a stunned look instead.

“Our table was twenty meters away from them,” Ace whispered. “Are you telling me he heard our conversation from there? Freaky…!”

“Well,” Trey shook his head, trying to erase the shocked look on his face. “Let’s just say everyone in Diasomnia is quite… peculiar. Many of their members excel in the arts of magic. Their Prefect, Malleus Draconia, is one of the top five mages in all of Twisted Wonderland.”

“Honestly,” Cater chimed. “Malleus is like super duper levels of crazy.”

Ren couldn’t help but garner interest from the person they were speaking to.

Malleus Draconia, huh.

He wonders what type of person he was.

“Though our prefect is his level of crazy.” Cater commented, which caught Ren’s ear.

“If I may ask, what type of person is your Prefect like?” Ren asked. This was the perfect opportunity to question them.

There was obvious hesitation on both Cater and Trey’s faces. It was Trey who spoke up first. “Well, he is quite strict. Especially with the rules made by the Queen of Hearts. He follows them to the max.”

“Honestly speaking,” Cater jumped in. “Compared to the last dorm leader, Riddle is more than strict. The previous head was a pretty chill guy with the rules.” His eyes then widened. “Ah, but don’t tell him I said that!”

“No, I completely agree with you!” Ace exclaimed. “All I did was eat a single tart, and he collared me! He’s completely insane!”

“Insane, you say?”

“That’s right! He’s completely off the mark in strictness! He’s practically a tyrant!” Ace complained. Blissfully unaware of the fact that everyone suddenly stopped moving.

“U-Uh… Ace?” Ren tapped on Ace’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, confusingly.

“Be-Behind you!” Deuce shouted.

The atmosphere suddenly dropped to the lowest, as they all turned around with the face that saw death itself. Stood in front of them, crossed arm, was the red-haired prefect of Heartslabyul. Who looked a lot less than happy at all of them.

“Eh!? Prefect Rosehearts!?” Ace screamed, realizing the mistake he had made.

“My, my! Riddle, you’re looking extremely cute this day, aren’t you?” Cater complimented in a slightly panicked tone.

Riddle Rosehearts did not buy whatever he said. “Hmph, Cater. If you keep talking that much, it’ll cost you your head.”

“Hey, give me a break here…” He scratched the back of his neck.

“Wait!” Grim’s shocked face turned into an agitated one. “It’s you! You’re the one who put that weird collar on me!”

“My, well, if it isn’t the freshmen who caused the expulsion event,” Riddle clicked his tongue. “Will you please refrain from calling someone’s Signature Spell as some collar?”

Riddle crossed his arms. “My goodness, the Headmaster has grown soft. If you forgive the rule-breakers, the entire system will collapse.”

“—All you have to do is cut off the heads of those who don’t follow the rules.” He said with seriousness.

Ren just stared at him. This person left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Not enough to make his blood boil, but something about him completely irked him. Morgana must have shared the same thought, as he stared at him with a face similar to the redhead.

“The Headmaster may have forgiven you, but if the previous events were to happen again, I will never forgive you,” Riddle said, which was enough to send a shiver down someone’s spine.

“By the way,” Ace said with a fake smile. “Is there any way that you can, y’know, take this collar off my neck?”

“I was going to remove it if you learned your lesson,” Riddle explained. “But by the manner, you were describing me as it would seem that you haven’t learned it yet.”

“It would seem that I would have to keep it on for a while longer.” Riddle finished, which caused Ace’s fake smile to fade. “Don’t worry, as first years, you’ll learn the fundamentals even without magic. You also won’t be able to cause a ruckus similar to yesterday’s incident. Isn’t that great?”

“Now finish your lunch and head to your next class,” He told. “Number 271 in the Rulebook of the Queen of Hearts: one should eat lunch and leave their seat within fifteen minutes. If you break the rules, you understand the consequences, correct?”

“Another weird rule…” Ace mumbled to himself.

“The answer is, ‘Yes, Prefect Rosehearts’!”

“Yes, Prefect Rosehearts!” Both Ace and Deuce recited.

“Now, now,” Trey looked at Riddle. “I’ll be the one looking after them for you.”

“Trey,” Riddle said, looking back at Trey. “As Vice-Prefect, I expect you to not act on such foolish accords. Do you understand?”

The Vice-Prefect nodded in response.

Satisfied by the answer, he then turned to the exit. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will have to take my leave. According to Rule Number 339: one must always drink lemon tea with two sugar cubes after lunch.”

“I must go to buy sugar cubes in the school store,” He added. “Letting their sugar cubes run out is a serious offense.”

And so, Riddle walked out of the cafeteria. Ren looked back at the students sitting at their table. Ace was still angry even after the Prefect was long gone. Deuce and Cater both sighed in relief once Riddle left the area. Meanwhile, Trey’s face remained completely neutral, all-throughout the lecturing.

Ren stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal, but that doesn’t mean that he was quiet the entire time.

Arséne had spoken to him once Riddle left.

“…Observe the boy, Trickster.” Those were Arséne’s only words. Before he could question his Persona further, Grim had spoken up.

“Ugh, that guy was completely obnoxious!” Grim loudly expressed his displeasure.

“Hey, that’s rude!” Deuce refuted the monster.

“Ren,” Morgana nudged the boy’s cheek with his paw, which caught his attention. “Look over there.” He said, pointing toward two students with black and red armbands. They were Heartslabyul students.

“…Did the Prefect leave?” The first student asked the second.

“I hope,” the latter answered. “I broke Rule Number 186.’One must never eat hamburger steak on a Tuesday’. I was terrified of what would happen if he found out I ate one…” He said, trembling.

“Sheesh… At least let us eat whatever we want…”

Ren looked at the two with a frown. First hand, he witnessed how completely brutal their prefect was. He thought maybe Ace was overreacting to corporal punishment. But seeing it firsthand, he realized it was far worse than it seemed.

“Riddle took the role of Prefect during the first week as a freshman,” Trey explained to them. “He may speak harshly, but he’s just trying to make the dorm a great environment. I promise he doesn’t have any ill intentions.”

“I don’t think collaring someone makes them a person with good intentions,” Grim said with a deadpan face. Trey and Cater awkwardly laughed in response.

“Technically, it’s your fault for causing problems during the entrance ceremony,” Morgana commented to Grim. “So, maybe you deserve to be collared.”

Grim groaned at Morgana’s comment. “Grr… But that horrible collar seals off your magic! It sucks!”

“Do you mean Riddle’s Signature Spell?” Cater questioned.

“I’ve been hearing that word a lot recently,” Ren said. It was true since he kept hearing those two words ever since he got into this school. This was probably a good time to bring it up. “What is it, exactly?” He asked back.

“Signature… Does it mean that it’s a spell only for that person alone?” Deuce wondered.

“You’re correct, Deuce. It is magic strictly limited to one person,” Trey answered. “Simply put, it’s a spell that reflects the character of the user that only they can use. It’s unique, hence its other name, ‘Unique Magic’.”

“—You’ll learn about it in class, eventually.” He added.

“Riddle’s Signature Spell lets him seal another person’s magic for a certain amount of time,” Cater explained. “That’s why it’s called…”

Off With Your Head.

“Hie…!” Grim jumped in fear. “Just the name alone is terrifying!”

“As a wizard, having your magic sealed away is just like losing your head. How scary!” Cater expressed. “That’s why you shouldn’t break Riddle’s rules when you’re inside the dorm.”

“That also means you’ll get on his good side,” Trey added.

“…So, what you’re saying is that I have to go buy a tart or else you’ll kick me out again?” Ace asked Cater.

“That’s right,” Cater answered. “It’s Number 53 in the rulebook, after all. Riddle, in particular, wanted to take the first bite of the whole tart. He’ll never forgive you if you don’t give him a whole tart.”

“We’re friends now, right? Can’t you just overlook this?” Ace complained.

Cater shook his head. “That is that, and this is this."

“I heard whole tarts are pretty expensive,” Deuce said to Ace, which didn’t make the boy feel any better.

“Blegh… I don’t have the money for whole tarts…” Ace groaned.

“Why don’t we just bake one?” Ren suggested.

“Ooh, good thinking!” Cater exclaimed. “You can ask Trey for help. He’s pretty good with baking. He’s the one who baked the tarts, after all!”

“Eh!? You were the one who baked the tarts!?” Ace looked at Trey in complete shock. “It tasted as good as any pro-bakers out there!”

Trey chuckled as he lightly smiled. “Haha. I appreciate your compliments. I indeed have the things for us to make them, but,” He crossed his arms as he looked Ace in the eye. “I don’t work for free.”

“D-Do I have to pay you!?” Ace shouted in disbelief.

The senior simply laughed. “Haha! I will not take your money. But I will need your help tomorrow if that’s alright with you?”

“Tomorrow?” Deuce questioned. “Isn’t that the day before the Unbirthday Party?”

“That’s right,” Trey nodded. “That’s the time where I would prepare the food for the occasion. Hopefully, I can have you help me.”

Ace simply sighed. “Fine… If it means that I can get this wretched collar off my neck…”

“Now that we’re all set and done, I have one more thing,” Cater then looked at Ren with his signature smile. “Ren, can you meet me when class is done?”

Ren had to double take on what Cater said. “Eh? Me?”

“Yes, you!” He pointed. “Don’t worry, I won’t bite. I just need to show you something.”

Ren thought about it for a moment. Though Ace and Deuce’s looks tell him he shouldn’t join him, he had already decided.

“Sure. What’s the harm?"

“Great!” Cater exclaimed in joy. “See you after school then!”

The bell suddenly rang, meaning their lunch period was finally over. The seniors waved goodbye and took off as the rest of them cleaned up their messes and made their way to their next class.

Ren had learned a lot of things over the span of one hour.

Chapter Text

The last class had ended, meaning their very first school day was finally over. As the last bell rung, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Their boring lectures were finally over and they could all rest easy. Ren turned to the other three, who slumped onto their desk, letting all the drowsiness consume them.

“It’s finally over…” Ace mumbled, “I can finally take a breather…”

“There’s no time to rest, Ace,” Deuce spoke. “We still have a lot of homework that needs to be done.”

“Geez… Way to ruin the mood…”

“I was only just reminding you!”

They kept on bantering for quite a while. The two of them didn’t even notice that Ren had stood up from his seat and was now heading towards the door. It was Grim that noticed him, which made the two boys stop and look at him.

“Hey, human,” Grim called out. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“The Headmaster wanted to talk to me after class. I was about to go there.” Ren answered.

“This is the second time you’re going there. Are you in trouble or what?” Ace asked.

“He just wanted to talk to me, that’s all,” Ren explained. “Besides, I don’t think I did anything bad that would make me head to the office.”

“I’m surprised,” Morgana said as he hopped onto Ren’s shoulder. “Grim’s always by your side and you somehow stayed out of trouble. I’d be growing gray hairs if he was beside me every day.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Grim angrily shouted at Morgana.

Ren chuckled as he gently nudged Morgana’s face with his finger. “Now you’re just jealous because I have to deal with Grim instead of you, aren’t you now?” He said with a smirk on his face.

“Go to hell.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Morgana. Who’s going to feed you and Grim now?” Ren said with sadness in his voice.

Deuce raised a hand. “I can feed them if you want—AGH!” He shouted as Ace suddenly jabbed an elbow at him.

Ren smiled as a light giggle escaped his mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back shortly,” He turned his eyes towards Morgana. “In the meantime, why don’t you look after Grim for me? He might get into trouble if someone doesn’t keep him in place.”

Grim looked displeased.

“Wait, why not us?” Ace asked.

“If I let you watch over Grim, you’ll cause even more problems,” He said with no hesitation. Both Ace and Deuce had an offended look because of what he said. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“I’ll watch over them alright. I’ll make sure they’re well-behaved.” Morgana said, glaring at Grim with narrowed eyes. The creature stuck out his tongue in response.

“That’s my Vice Prefect,” Ren chuckled.

“No fair! Why is he your Vice Prefect!?” Grim exclaimed, feeling absolutely betrayed.

“It just means that I’m more responsible than you.” Morgana flatly said. To which Grim hissed. Before they could start fighting each other, Ren had to step in and calm both of them down.

After waving their temporary goodbyes, Ren, as mentioned, left Morgana the job of keeping everybody in line. He started walking to the Headmaster’s Office. He hoped he would not be hearing about another incident while he was gone.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

“Come in!” Crowley said from inside the office.

The door creaked open, with Ren entering inside the room, bowing as soon as he saw the Headmaster’s appearance. Crowley had to look away from all the paperwork that he had been doing to look at the boy.

“Ah, it’s you, Mister Amamiya,” the Headmaster said while smiling in delight. “It would seem you stayed true to my word.”

“—Take a seat on the couch over there, make yourself comfortable.” He pointed towards the couch inside of the office.

“You said that you had something important to tell me. That’s why I came here.” Ren walked to the couch that the Headmaster had pointed, slowly taking a seat on it. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Indeed, I did,” the man stood up from his chair. He opened the drawers of his desk, rummaging through them in search of something. “I won’t be taking much of your time, since I just wanted to talk to you for only a short while. But it isn’t exactly just idle chat, per se.”

“—Ah, there it is!” He exclaimed. He must have found what he had been looking for.

He walked towards Ren while carrying something in his hand. “I’ve been meaning to give you this, though I wasn’t sure if it was to work. But do not worry, I tested it the moment I found it and it indeed does work.”

Crowley hands him the item he was holding. It was a camera. However, the camera itself looked old in appearance. It was something that Ren would usually see displayed at a museum.

“This device is called the Ghost Camera,” Crowley explained. The name alone heavily confused Ren. “This camera has a special enchantment. It works like any old camera, but this camera is unique. Not only does it capture the subject’s physical form, but it also captures parts of their soul.”

“Parts of their soul…?” Ren asked in confusion.

“As with any camera or photo-taking device’s sole purpose, it is used to preserve memories. That is why the photos taken in this device are called ‘Memories’,” Crowley stated. “Here’s the special thing about this camera. If the Photographer and the Subject’s bonds grow closer, their photographs come alive like videos.”

Ren stared in awe as he listened to Crowley. “Is that why it’s called the Ghost Camera?”

“Precisely,” Crowley answered. “This camera was made at an age where digital videos did not exist. When people witness the photos jumping out, they would be terrified and deem it as a spirit or entity. Therefore, people were so scared of taking photos with it.”

The boy looked at the camera in his hands as the lens reflected his own face. “But why are you giving me this, exactly?”

“That’s because I want you to document your and Grim’s campus life,” the Headmaster said. “I want you to capture certain events that happen in this institution. For example, a group of troublemakers.”

“—Isn’t this much better than writing lengthy reports?” He asked.

“I see…” Ren nodded in understanding. He isn’t sure if this device was mainly for his enjoyment or being the Headmaster’s personal spy.

“But,” Crowley spoke. He looked at Ren with a warm smile. “Just remember, the importance of having this device with you is that you can keep memories of this world. If ever the time comes and you have to go back to your own world, the memories you made in this world will still be with you.”

“—That is why students are students. Even though they may despise learning, there are memories of school life that can’t seem to go away. No matter the good or bad. But they learn through those experiences, and improve as a person.” Crowley said with a proud look on his face.

Ren silently listened. He has never seen this part of the Headmaster before. This was a completely different side to what he has seen of the man. “You must really care for your students a lot, don’t you, Headmaster?”

Crowley simply chuckled. “As an educator, I want what is best for the students of this academy. To graduate and venture off to the world, with memories that can serve as their guide.”

Ren smiled at the man. He learned a bit more about the Headmaster.

From within his soul, Arséne looked at him with a smile.

Well done, Trickster…

You have grown a bond with someone out of your world.

This new vow shall guide you during your time.

As the Hierophant rebirths,

its presence shall appear to you once more.

Arséne’s voice echoed in his mind.

It would seem that he was also satisfied.

Chapter Text

“Ah! There you are!”

Cater waved as he saw Ren, who was now walking towards him. The senior was standing by the statues while scrolling through his phone. He had been waiting for him for quite a while. His bored expression turned into his usual happy one upon seeing who he was here for.

“I’ve been waiting for quite a while. I thought you’d forgotten our deal.” Cater said in a mopey tone, as his face bore the resemblance of a sad puppy.

“The Headmaster wanted to talk to me,” Ren explained. “It only took a few minutes, though.”

“Ooh~! You were in the Headmaster’s office? Did you get in trouble~?” Cater jokingly said.

Ren scoffed, before letting out a small laugh afterward. “If sleeping in class is trouble for you, then maybe the school system desperately needs improvement,” He dumbly responded. To which Cater laughed in response. “He just talked to me about the school day. Nothing too bad. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting, though?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Cater assured with a smile on his face. “Magicam kept me company while you were gone.”

“By the way, what do you want from me?” Ren asked. “You just said to meet you after class without telling me why.”

Cater stared at him before putting his phone inside his pocket. “Ah. I didn’t quite explain it to you,” He chuckled in embarrassment. “Sorry about that. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“—I just wanted to take you somewhere. That’s all!” He explained.

“Take me somewhere?” Ren repeated with visible confusion on his face.

The grin on Cater’s face grew wider. “Yep! Just follow me! As your senior, I’ll show you around the place. I have a very special place to show you!” He assured the underclassmen.

If he was being completely honest, from how Cater worded his sentences sounded like he was about to hurt him. But he was not going to just turn the boy down, considering that he was adamant about him being there.

And also because of that, the senior grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the school.

But he knew the senior had good intentions and would not hurt him. At least, he hoped. He let himself get dragged along.

It turns out Cater was true to his word and did not take him to a place where he would get harmed in. However, he got taken to yet another unfamiliar environment. The first thing he saw as he exits the gates was the bird's-eye view of an old-looking town. From afar, he could also see a white castle in the distance. As Ren would describe it, it almost looked like something that came out of a fantasy film.

“We’re heading to that town over there. I know a place where I can take you. I’ve visited it during my time as a freshman,” Cater said. “The town is quite interesting once you visit it. I take it this is your first time visiting it, right?” He asked, to which Ren nodded in response.

It was the truth. He never really got to see any other places besides the campus grounds. Though, thanks to his teacher, Sir Trein, as well as a few books from the library, he could know a few things about the world. Night Raven’s College was built on a remote island, as stated that students came from far lands (and sometimes sea, though he will not question why that says) all over Twisted Wonderland. He hasn’t gotten the chance to check outside of campus until now.

“We’re heading down now.” Cater mentioned, as both of them took a sudden stop.

An undeniable feeling flooded Ren’s body. He slowly looked up to stare at the senior; all color had faded from the boy’s face. “D-Diamond-senpai… Are you sure this is the right way?” He stuttered.

“Of course it is. Why?”

“This is a cliff.”

They were both standing at the edge of a giant cliff. It had a very far distance between where they were and where they were supposed to be going. Ren’s biggest mistake was looking down. It was a very large drop. Though he could see that there were hints of green at the very bottom, he would definitely not want to drop from an unknowing height.

While Ren was internally panicking, Cater simply laughed. “Oh? Are you scared of falling down? Don’t worry, I can guarantee you that this is safe!” The underclassmen looked at him in confusion.

As if on cue, something slowly shined in front of them. By now, Ren had seen everything beyond what any normal person sees. But it was a genuine surprise to see specks of glitter and sparkles forming a pathway to the other side of the cliff. It was truly magical.

Ren looked at the pathway with a mouth in the shape of an ‘o’. Meanwhile, Cater remained smiling, as if he knew it was going to happen.

“See? Now let’s go!” Cater exclaimed, grabbing the boy’s hand once more. Dragging him as they both of them walked onto the bridge. The senior had yanked him rather hard, causing him to stumble. The underclassman could regain composure once the senior slowed down.

If Ren were to describe what he was feeling upon stepping onto the pathway, it was like stepping on air. Even though they were stepping on something, every time he looks down, he could see the trees down below. But regardless, they could pass the tremendous gap, and they continued walking to where Cater was taking him.

Walking down the town, it felt oddly relaxing. The town had a mix of modern and old fashion. Though there were people riding cars (and one-wheeled motorcycles?), the town also had horse carriages in some certain streets.

“Though I’ve been to this place countless times, it’s always Magicammable!” Cater commented as they walked down the street. “When it’s night, the streetlights come on and they look amazing. This is totes a Magicam spot.”

“—Ah, we’re here!” He pointed at a building, which had an old look to it, similar to the surrounding buildings. However, it was an open-air area and was rather busy with people chatting and walking around. Stores aligned the area, all selling unique items, either magical or modern. There were also some restaurants where people were eating alone or in the presence of others. It had a rather pleasant atmosphere.

He was not mistaking it. This was a mall.

“This is where you wanted to take me?” Ren looked at the place in awe as Cater happily hummed.

“Hehe~ Like the place already? I have to admit, I find this place quite calming. I frequented this place as a freshman. It’s quite nostalgic.” The senior said with a warm smile on his face. “Though this is the place I wanted to take you, where we’re actually heading is right over there. It’s just a short walk from here.”

The two boys walked down to the busy mall. Many people were walking by them, and Ren had to stay next to Cater so that he couldn’t wander off and get lost. The murmurs of the people walking by were not something new for Ren. It almost reminded him of the busy trains in Tokyo or even Shibuya Crossing.

“And here we are~!” Cater exclaimed. They were now standing in front of a store, with a fair amount of people entering and exiting. Some of them were walking out of the store with small shopping bags with some random brand that Ren couldn’t properly read. Upon further inspection, he could see a bunch of phones that looked like they were excellent models. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go inside?”

“You’ve taken me to a phone store?” Ren asked in absolute confusion.

“Yep!” Cater responded. “You’ve mentioned that you don’t have your phone with you? So, I’ve thought of taking you to a place where the phone models are not only good but they're also cheap!” He explained.

Ren hesitated for a moment. “But, I don’t really have the money to pay for it…” He didn’t have any money in this world.

Cater laughed. “You’re so silly! I wasn’t bringing you here to pay for your own phone. In fact, I had a feeling you don’t carry money with you.”

“—Oh, and, just to be clear, I wasn’t calling you poor or anything!” He clarified. Well, that brushes off the feeling that Ren was having. “Just take your pick and I’ll pay for it.”

Ren had to double-check the senior’s words. “Wait… You’re paying for me, Diamond-senpai?” He asked.

“Of course!” He answered.

“But why?” Ren asked yet again. He couldn’t understand what the boy’s intentions were.

“I don’t know exactly,” Cater honestly said. “It’s kinda hard to explain but, you just seem like an interesting guy. It’s more of a ‘oh, you have very mysterious vibes radiating off you’ kind of thing, y’know what I mean?” He looked at Ren.

“You find me interesting? I feel quite honored to get called that by the influencer himself.” Ren joked.

Cater couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, now! You’re making me seem like I’m some high-end celebrity or something. I’m just regular old Cay-Cay.”

“Well, you know what I think about you, Senior Cater?” Ren said, to which Cater looked at him in odd confusion. “I think you’re also an interesting person.” He ended with a smile.

The senior smiled back. His smile was much warmer and smaller than his big and cheery one. It wasn’t long before the big grin returned to his face. “Haha~! You know, I think we’re going to be good friends, don’t cha think?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah. I think we are.”

In his mind, Arséne looked at him with a smile.

Very well done, Trickster…

Yet another bond has been formed from this unknown world.

Even in the darkest skies, a small bright sun can appear above it.

The Star shines bright once more,

And it shall give light to the darkest of days.

Treat one another well, as even the brightest of stars may burn out.

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Let’s go in!” Cater happily said, entering the store. To which Ren followed, and the two had spent a bit of their time inside of the store.

He had come into the store intending to buy a phone, as it was supposed to be.

He did not expect to return to campus carrying a bunch of shopping bags.

Ren was successful in attaining a new phone, which Cater promised to pay for, and to which he did. His new phone was a simple model since he was not the type to own a phone that was meant for photogenic or hardcore gamers. Though, Cater helped him with recommendations. He also gave him his phone number and showed him a few apps. (Which was mainly a Magicam tutorial.)

Once it was over, Cater thought it was a good idea to buy him new clothes. This was a nice thought, but he did not expect Cater to pick a handful of outfits for him. A part of him felt guilty that the senior had paid for everything, but Cater assured him that it was alright. He really couldn’t properly thank him enough.

With that, their trip ended, and it was time to return to campus. The two parted ways for their separate dormitories. They had spent a long time in the mall and the sun had already set. Walking down his temporary home’s pathway, he saw the ominous-looking house all lit up. He had left Morgana and Grim, so they were probably in the dormitory. Gripping the doorknob in his hand, he hoped Grim didn’t make another commotion.

What he saw when he opened the door wasn’t something he would expect.

“Ugh! This is boring! I’m outta here!”

“Grim, you come back here right now!”

“Hey! You’re going to knock the bucket over!”

“Did someone open the door?”

They all turned to the door to see Ren confusingly staring at them. Ace, Deuce, Morgana, and Grim were there in the dormitory. From what Ren assumed they were doing, they were cleaning, for the lack of a better term. Though they were doing their tasks, it was quite chaotic. With Morgana trying to keep most of them in place, Grim running around in circles, Ace who looked a bit tired, and Deuce, who was the only one taking things seriously.

“Was I interrupting something…?” Ren tilted his head.

“Ah, Ren,” Deuce was the one that spoke up first. “You’re back. I take it you’ve been with Diamond-senpai?”

“Dude, are you seriously not noticing what he’s carrying with him?” Ace pointed at the many shopping bags he was carrying. “What’s with all that? I thought you were only talking to him. I didn’t expect you to go on a shopping spree!”

“Well, we talked, and he bought me a new phone,” Ren explained. “But it kind of escalated from there, and he dragged me around and paid for a lot of stuff.” He ended with an awkward laugh.

“Dude, he bought you all that!? Is that guy freaking loaded or something!?” Ace flinched in shock.

“Stop, you’re making it sound more embarrassing than it already is…” Ren said in slight embarrassment while he was placing all the bags onto the floor. “I seriously can’t believe that he actually paid for all this.”

“If Diamond-senpai bought you all this, then he seems like a nice person. I don’t think he has any ill intentions.” Deuce commented.

“I don’t know about you, but something about that guy makes my mind itch. And he’s also my senior.” Ace crossed his arms.

“You’re probably just overthinking it.” Morgana thought, to which Ace rolled his eyes.

“While he is quite… eccentric,” Ren expressed. “I am sure that he doesn’t mean harm.”

“—Oh, and by the way. You guys need any help with cleaning?” He asked. “I think you might need it?”

“You think?” Ace spat. “We spent like an hour trying to even clean this place since Morgana wanted us to. And we still have gotten nothing clean!”

“Is that so?” Ren looked at them as he took his blazer off and grabbed a mop. “Then how about another hand? It won’t take long till we’re finally done.”

And with that, they started cleaning once again.

In about thirty minutes, they got all the things done. Ren’s arrival was a well-timed one since things could get done on time with no roadblocks. At one point, Grim tried to bail out cleaning again. To which the boy had to carry him the whole time as punishment, much to the creature’s dismay. But once the last speck of dust had been cleaned and unseen, they could finally rest easy.

“Man… I’m tired…” Ace groaned, slumping against the couch. “Today’s been a completely tiring day…”

While Ace tiredly moaned, Deuce came back to the living area carrying three bottles of drinks in his hand, which he offered to give. Ace plucked the bottle out of the other boy’s grasp with no hesitation and immediately drank the soda.

And then he almost choked on the fizzy drink.

“You should really slow down sometimes, Ace,” Deuce complained as he watched Ace with a coughing fit.

“You’re not helping!” Ace yelled.

Ren couldn’t help but laugh while he took the bottle from Deuce. “While I appreciate the effort that you guys did with cleaning the place. But why exactly did you guys clean it?” He asked as he opened his carbonated drink. “Did somebody put you two up to this?”

“It was your cat, Morgana.” Ace flatly said.

Despite Ace’s clear look of being upset, Morgana remained the same. “First, not a cat.” He looked at Ace with narrowed eyes. “Second, Ace had nowhere to go, so he had to stay here temporarily. I had him clean the entire dorm so he could stay here.” He explained, ending with a slightly mischievous smile.

“You should’ve cut me some slack! The school was absolutely tiring, and you made me clean!” Ace complained.

“If you want a clean place to stay in, you’ll have to work for it.”

“You’re so mean. And for what reason?”

“Waking us up at three in the morning.”

“That was last night!”

“Alright, calm down, you two,” Ren raised a hand, signaling them to a halt. “I know Ace’s reason for being here but Deuce, you’re also here?” He asked Deuce, who was sitting down in front of him.

“I wanted to help Ace and Morgana clean, since they kind of needed a bit of help,” Deuce explained. “It looked like they needed a bit of help since Ace might slack off, and Morgana can’t clean because… Well, paws.”

“You said you were helping us clean, but you did none of that.” Ace smirked at him.

“Shut up, Ace.” Deuce scoffed.

“I stand corrected,” Ace shrugged. “But we eventually thought of staying over for the night.”

“So, like a sleepover?” Ren questioned, to which both boys nodded in response. “That’s a great idea. But are you sure it’s alright for Deuce to stay here? Isn’t he going to get in trouble just by staying with you?”

“I won’t get in trouble. Senior Trey actually overheard our idea and gave me permission to stay for the night.” Deuce explained.

“He really is a nice guy, isn’t he?” Ren commented. “I’m happy to have you two here.” He smiled.

“—Though I am unprepared for guests. I hope you don’t mind.” He added.

“Unprepared? You live in a dumpster with no food in the fridge. How’d you even live here? Let alone make cook something for us.” Ace asked.

“The Headmaster helped us a bit for that,” Ren answered.

“Sheesh… I can’t believe you’re able to handle that guy,” Ace was out of his slouched position to look at the boy in disbelief. “I would rather leave school if I were to spend an hour with him. And you somehow got him to be your personal wallet?”

“Ace! Don’t badmouth the Headmaster so casually!” Deuce scolded with a look of absolute horror. “But it is quite interesting that the Headmaster provided for you.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but it’s kinda weird to have him pay for everything…” Ren laughed awkwardly. “But I got a few snacks. Senior Cater suggested some… ‘trendy’ snacks.” He walked towards the pile of shopping bags and grabbed a somewhat huge white bag and walked back to place it on the living room table.

“Ooh! Snacks!” Ace said with excitement. “I’ll eat them later. I need to change out of my uniform.”

“Speaking of uniforms, I need to change mine, too,” Deuce mentioned.

“Mine too. Alright, let’s change clothes for a bit.”

After a few moments, all three boys had completely changed out of their uniforms into something more casual. Ace and Deuce had waited for Ren in the living room. He returned with pillows and blankets in hand since they were sleeping out in the living room. Ace wore the same clothes he had when he came to Ramshackle last night. Deuce wore a dark navy blue t-shirt with black shorts. Ren wore something similar to what he would usually wear to bed, which was a black t-shirt and pajama bottoms.

“I got the pillows. Do you guys need anything else?” Ren asked.

“Nah, that’s it,” Ace answered. He grabbed a bag of chips and opened them, picking one up and eating it. “Now, c’mere. We’re about to play a few card games with my deck.” He said as he grabbed a box of cards out of his pocket.

“Oh, really?” Ren walked over and sat on the floor facing the table. “Are there any specific games you’re playing?

“We’re just playing random games,” Ace answered as he shuffled the deck. “Deuce over here wanted to play Spades.: He said, giving the boy sitting next to him a hard side-eye.

“Knock it off… It was the only card game I actually know how to play.” Deuce answered with a sigh.

“Whatever. We’re going to be playing Spades anyway,” Ace shrugged before looking at Ren. “Do you know any card games, Ren?”

“I know how to play Tycoon if that counts?” Ren answered.

“Tycoon? Ah, do you mean President? I know a bit of the rule of the game.” Ace explained.

“What’s President?” Deuce questioned.

“I’ll teach you the rules. But first, we’ll be playing Spades.” As Ace was about to hand out the cards, Grim hopped onto the table.

“Hey! Let me join! You can’t just play without having the Great Grim around!” Grim said with a proud look and both paws on his hips. The three boys just looked at each other for a moment.

“Ugh… Fine… You can play with us.” Ace reluctantly agreed.

“Yippee!” Grim exclaimed in excitement. “I’m going to win this game and beat all of you!”

All of them went silent for a moment before Grim spoke up. “… Erm. What’s Spades?”

Ace heavily sighed. “… Here. Let me show you.”

“Hehe! A King! I’m going to win this!” Grim exclaimed with a smug look. Ace looked at the blue cat with an annoyed expression before turning his head towards Deuce, who had a very concentrating look on his face.

“Just lay a card down. We already know who gets the trick—“

Deuce then laid an Ace of Clovers.

Both Ace and Grim stared at him in disbelief as Deuce collected the four cards in his direction.

“Round Two?” Deuce said with a smirk.

“Bring it on!” The two shouted in unison.

“Haha! Take this!” Ace laughed as he placed a Two of Spades down, knocking down Grim’s Queen of Clovers.

“Why you…!” Grim snarled.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Ace looked away from the angry monster, averting his gaze towards Deuce. “I already got two tricks, there’s no way there’s going to be—“

Deuce silently laid a Six of Spades.      

Ace stared at him with widened eyes and a mouth widened in disbelief, as Deuce calmly collects the pile of cards.

“This isn’t over!” Ace declared.

Ren chuckled in amusement before laying down the starting card.

“How many spades do you even have!?” Ace angrily shouted at Deuce, who laid a Queen of Spades.

Grim hissed at him. “Grr… I can’t believe you toppled my King!” He shouted before turning his eyes toward Ren. “Hey, human. How does it feel like having no points?” He mocked in a desperate attempt.

“Said the one with no points as well,” Morgana said in a deadpan tone.

“Why you…!”      

“That’s enough, you two. Calm down.” Ren signaled, which led to the heated tension coming to a halt.

“Ugh!” Grim angrily placed his card down. A Queen of Diamonds.

“Aha!” Ace shouted, placing down a Four of Spades.

“NO!” the monster screamed in terror.

Ace happily laughed. “Haha! Finally, a point—“

His short-lived victory ended as Deuce placed a Seven of Spades, making him win the round.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!?”

“Congrats, Deuce. You won the game,” Ren congratulated, smiling at the victor. “Quite the game you had there.”

“It wasn’t much…” Deuce admitted, embarrassed by Ren’s praise. “It was just pure luck.”

“Dude, you had so many spades. What kind of luck do you even have?” Ace asked, still annoyed by the game of Spades. “And what you did was outright brutal.”

“—But… You were a good challenger.” He added. A hint of pink started appearing on his cheek.

Deuce looked him in the eye. He didn’t really have the right words to respond to that sudden praise. Especially when the praise came from someone who he’d least expected.

Ren laughed in amusement. He stood up and walked towards the light switch to turn off the lights. He walked back to the group, where he laid his blanket and pillow on the floor. At first, Ren suggested that they’d all sleep on the ground. But Ace promptly disagreed, which meant that both Deuce and Ren will sleep on the floor for tonight. Meanwhile, Ace will sleep on the couch.

“Geez… I can’t believe you’re taking the couch.” Deuce muttered under his breath. Ace stuck his tongue out as a taunt. The diligent boy sighed, laying his blanket on the ground as well.

“Say, Ren,” Ace looked at Ren, who was still setting his sleeping spot. “You have a bed, right? Why won’t you sleep there?”

“Do you want the honest answer?” Ren asked.

“Just say it.”

“I wanted to sleep with you guys,” He simply said. “And Grim’s already taking the bed, so I’ll give it to him for the night.”

“… Ren, I have to be completely honest. I don’t know how to respond to that.” Ace rolled his eyes before flopping onto the couch with a soft thump. Ren giggled before lying down on the floor, followed by Deuce.

Deuce looked up at the ginger and sighed. He looked back at Ren. “I hope he isn’t being a nuisance to you. He’s quite… a pain to deal with.”

“I’m still awake, you know?” Ace shouted, placing a pillow on his head.

Ren chuckled. “Not at all. He’s quite a person, I’ll admit. But he’s nice, albeit stubborn.” He admitted. He hoped Ace didn’t hear any of what he said.

“Does nothing ever faze you?” Deuce asked, seriously this time.

“I feel like I’ve seen everything already to the point nothing ever surprises me,” Ren stated. “But who knows? This world is full of surprises for me. Me being here is already a surprise.” He answered, which caused Deuce’s head to tilt towards him. Even Ace turned his head towards him.

“What do you mean by ‘you being here?'” Ace asked.

Ren looked at the two of them in confusion. “I thought you two knew?”

Silence.

There was complete silence as the two just stared at Ren, not even saying a single word.

“Uh, guys?” Ren asked, concerned.

“Wait, let me get this straight.” Ace stood up from the couch. “You’re telling me you’re not even from here?” The ginger looked at him as if he was an alien.

“Yes…?” He answered.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?”

“Hey! Would you keep it down!?” Morgana, who was sleeping next to Ren, yelled at Ace. Before returning to his sleeping position.

Morgana’s outburst had calmed Ace down so that he could properly process things. “So, you’re seriously not from here? Like, y’know, ‘out of this world’ from here?” He asked, still shaken.

“I thought the Headmaster told you I wasn’t from here?” Ren asked honestly.

Deuce looked like he had connected a few things together. “So that’s what Headmaster meant when he said that you might not finish your school term…” He said before the realization took in. “You’re really not from here, aren’t you?”

Ren nodded. “Right. I guess it’s time to tell you the truth then, huh?”

He had a long story to tell.

“So, that’s how it happened, huh?” Ace was the first one to speak up after Ren’s brief story.

He had described to them a bit of the entrance ceremony. How he woke up from the coffin thanks to Morgana’s sudden intervention. How they were chased by Grim. How Crowley found them. And eventually, the Entrance Ceremony.

There was an awkward silence after the story has been told to them. Both Ace and Deuce shared the weird look on their faces. Was it sadness? Was it guilt? Ren couldn’t quite figure it out.

“Damn…” Ace muttered under his breath. “That’s why your magic seems weird to me. You’re practically living in another world. Is this type of magic common in your world?”

“No, not really.” Ren shook his head.

“Wait, for real?” Ace stared at him with wide eyes.

“Actually, where I live is much more common than you think,” Ren clarified. “Everybody’s just walking around, always busy. It’s pretty normal than you think.”

“So, your world doesn’t have any magic…?” the surprised Deuce question.

Ren nodded. “Yeah. We don’t really have magic as you guys do.” He admitted. “Besides the fact that I have these weird powers, I’m just a normal old person back in my world.” Rather than simply clearing things up like he would’ve expected, he caused even more confusion.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ace said, still unable to process things. “What do you mean your world doesn’t have any magic!?” He whisper-yelled.

“We really don’t have any magic back in my world. It’s quite unbelievable to see someone doing magic. It’s more uncommon than you might think.” Ren explained. “A magician is something you’d rarely see. It’s like getting struck by lightning. There’s a one and a million chance.”

“But, Ren. You have a… A Persona… Right?” Deuce asked, still stunned by the sudden revelation. “Isn’t that a type of magic?”

“While I have a Persona, and it’s like magic that you guys do. I barely see anybody else have it beside Morgana, a few others.” Ren pointed at Deuce. “And you, Deuce.”

“I still don’t understand that the magic you have isn’t common… You’re practically living in a magicless world!” Ace muttered before jumping to a sudden realization. “Wait, you said others. You know other people with a Persona or whatever it is?”

Ren looked at Ace, before looking down at the sleeping Morgana beside him. A small smile formed on his face. “Yeah. I actually know a group of people with Personas as well.” He said while giving Morgana a few soft pats to the head, making the latter purr in response. “Despite living in a world without magic, we always had each other’s backs.”

“Are they your friends? You seem to talk about them lightly.” Deuce questioned.

“More than friends actually,” Ren admitted. He still kept petting Morgana. “We were almost like family.” He whispered. The smile had faded away from his face. What remained was a sad look on his face.

The mood had dropped. The two boys didn’t know how to respond.

Hesitantly, Deuce spoke up.

“Do you… miss them?”

The question had caught Ren off-guard. He looked up at Deuce, surprised. He looked at Morgana and back at Deuce. To which he did about four times. Looking directly at the boy, he finally gave an answer.

“… Yeah… I do,” He said, almost like a whisper. “I don’t know how I got here, and I still don’t know what’s going on. I’m worried… Worried about what actually happened… Worried about what happened afterward and what’s going on out there… The more I kept asking myself, the more I kept worrying about things...” He gripped the blanket tight.

“Everything’s just happening so fast… I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. I don’t know if this is some weird dream or reality…” He muttered under his shaky breath.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean for you guys to hear that. I hope I didn’t bother you guys or anything.” He looked at Ace and Deuce, who stared at him in complete silence.

“Dude… You’re bothering us? I hate to admit it, but it’s more like we’re the ones bothering you.” Ace admitted. Deuce didn’t even yell at him for that comment. “You know you can just let out what’s on your mind, right? Even if we’re complete strangers to you, you can’t just keep it to yourself, y’know?”

Ren stared at the ginger. He suddenly busted into a laugh. “Haha. You know, it’s quite funny hearing those words from you, Ace.”

“Listen, I was trying to comfort you, okay!?” Ace shouted at him, completely disregarding how loud he was being at the moment.

“What Ace was trying to say was, it’s okay for you to share these things with us,” Deuce joined in. “If you have any problems with our world, then you can just ask us. Though, we can understand if there’s something you don’t want to share though…”

“—Just know that Ace and I are here. You can talk to us if you want to.” He said with a small smile.

“Honestly, I would want to hear about your world. A completely magicless world is quite unbelievable.” Ace said with curiosity. But he too was also smiling.

Ren was completely silent. He didn’t know how to comprehend what they were saying. It was completely overwhelming. He really hadn’t expected the two to say these things. It was weird. Yet it was much needed after everything that had happened so far. Maybe he deserved it.

Arséne had spoken to him once more. Contrary to his normally confident manner of speaking, he sounded much more somber than what he usually hears…

Trickster…

I can feel your undeniable worry.

Some things are not meant to be hidden.

Have you forgotten already?

I am thou, and thou art I.

I am a part of you; therefore, I know what the innermost calls.

With the birth of the Aeon,

I hope you will understand what you’re going through.

After all, I am also worried for you, Trickster...

Arséne’s voice rang loud and clear. He was concerned for him as well…

Ren looked at both Ace and Deuce before finally speaking. “Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate your concerns.” He softly said. A small smile formed on his face. Maybe he really shouldn’t worry about things anymore.

There had been silence once again, but it wasn’t for long till it was broken.

Mainly thanks to Ace’s loud yawn.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling kinda sleepy,” Ace grumbled. Deuce rolled his eyes at what Ace said. “I’m heading off to sleep early. Goodnight.” He said, before lying back down on the couch.

“Can’t he just read the room…” Deuce sighed, before looking back at Ren. “But Ace is right, you know… We really shouldn’t have asked you that if it made you uncomfortable.”

“No, you really didn’t do that,” Ren assured. “Actually, it feels weird telling you guys all that… Considering that we’ve only met for two days.” He giggled.

Deuce couldn’t help but laugh back. “It is kind of weird that we’ve only met for two days and we’ve become close. What a weird friendship…” He said, before flinching in a sudden realization. “Wait! Are we even friends, though? Maybe you didn’t…”

“Pft… Hahaha!” Ren suddenly burst into laughter. “Yeah, maybe it is a weird friendship. I wouldn’t say I hate it, though.”

“So… You’re saying that we’re your friends?” the stunned Deuce said.

“You thought we weren’t friends?” Ren frowned.

“Well, I assumed we were just classmates hanging out…”

“Deuce,” Ren stared at him. “We almost got expelled, fought a giant monster, and you somehow gained a Persona. The last thing I would expect is for us to not be friends or at least even acquaintances.”

“I guess you’re right. It’s odd that we all somehow met at a very weird time,” Deuce admitted. “But, are you sure you’re fine with me being your friend, though?” There was an odd hesitance in Deuce’s voice.

“Of course,” Ren answered with an assuring smile. “I have no problems with you, so I’m sure that I won’t have any problems being your friend. I can even show you a few things, especially fighting with a Persona. You probably don’t understand it yet, right?”

Deuce looked away from him for a bit. He had an odd look on his face, before finally looking back at Ren. “Right.” He answered. “I hope we can get along well.” He bowed his head politely.

Ren chuckled at the boy’s sudden politeness. “No need to get all formal. We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Deuce looked up. A smile had formed on his face as well. “Right. We’re friends now.”

At that moment, Arséne’s voice rang in his mind once again.

Well done, Trickster…

Another bond of importance has been made within this world.

It shall lead you to move forward along your way.

As the Chariot rebirths,

It shall lead you to the path of victory.

A yawn left Deuce’s mouth as the boy blinked continuously. He blinked slowly. His eyes looked like they were about to drop. “Ah, sorry. Guess I’m really sleepy.” He said through a deep yawn.

“It’s alright,” Ren assured. “It’s night, so I understand. I guess it’s time to sleep then?”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Deuce laid himself down, tucking himself into his sleeping ground. “Goodnight, Ren.” He said before closing his eyes, letting slumber consume him.

Ren sat there looking at the sleeping Deuce and occasionally glancing at Ace. He stared into the night sky from the window. Maybe I should calm myself down, He thought to himself. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about stuff. Twisted Wonderland seemed like a weird place. Yet it felt so similar to his own world. Why was he doubtful about this place? Was it the weird things he would see? Was it his sudden appearance in this world that made him uncomfortable? Everything made his head hurt more than he would imagine.

“I’m probably exaggerating…” He muttered out loud. “I probably need some sleep…”

As he was about to lie down, he heard a loud ding noise. It sounded a lot like a notification noise. At first, he thought it was probably from either Ace or Deuce’s phones. But after hearing the noise, the phone that was sitting beside his pillow lit up. It was coming from his phone. Confused, Ren picked up the phone. He had yet to add a password since it was brand new. He could get through it easily. Cater must have sent him a message, he thought. Was he even up at this hour? Though weirdly enough, there were no new notifications. Confused, he tried checking the messenger application to see if maybe the phone didn’t register it. After scrolling through the apps, he paused. A look of horror was completely visible in his eyes.

He stared at a bright red on his phone.

“No way…” He breathed.

He turned to Morgana, who was peacefully sleeping. He didn’t want to wake him up. But he had to do it. He gently shook the sleeping not-cat, causing him to groan. Realizing that he wasn’t waking up, Ren quickly picked up the pace. Which caused an even louder reaction before he finally rose.

“Ugh… What is it…?” Morgana tiredly questioned.

“We need to talk somewhere else now,” Ren said in a serious tone.

After noticing the boy’s serious tone, Morgana immediately recovered from his tiredness. “What’s up with you? What’s going on?”

With no further comment, he shoved his phone in front of Morgana. Who looked absolutely baffled and at a loss for words.

“You're kidding me..."

“What the hell is that doing there!?”

He yelled as the bright red icon greeted him.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Ren… You know staring at your phone screen won’t help us.”

It was Morgana that dragged him out of his own rushing thoughts. The feelings running rampant inside him were mixed feelings of anger, disgust, fear, and sadness that had been combined together in a blender and served to him piping hot. He didn’t know where to look. Whether it be at his companion or at that app on his phone.

That damned app.

The one thing he didn’t expect to see again after dealing with so many things before arriving at Twisted Wonderland. The one thing he wished to be gone after nearly dying for its disappearance. Something, he thought, was the last time he would ever see again in a million years.

But here it was. Back again in all its glory.

Morgana slowly walked towards the boy. He had a worried expression on his face, due to him noticing how hard Ren was gripping onto his phone currently, and how grim and dark his expression was.

“Ren,” Morgana said, gently. “I think you need to calm down…”

“How am I supposed to calm down when this damned thing is back?” Ren spat out bitterly, making all of Morgana’s furs rise up.

He rambled on, paying no attention to how harsh his tone was getting. “I thought we were done with this, Morgana? I thought we were done with risking our lives for the greater good of humanity? I thought this was all over after facing literal hell,” His voice had started to break. The last word drying up in his throat as if he’d swallowed sand. “…I thought that I no longer have to fear the risk of my friends dying. But no! Here we are! Trapped in another world with no clue what’s going on! All in all, with the threat of the Metaverse somehow arising!”

“So, how exactly can I stay calm, Morgana!?”

“REN!”

Morgana’s sudden raise of voice had silenced both of them, putting their conversation into a tense halt. Morgana could see how hard the boy was breathing and how he was trying to calm himself down. After a moment of silence, Ren let out a long, tired sigh.

“I don’t know, Morgana…” The boy said softly. It was almost like a breath because of how small it sounded. It made Morgana feel sad. “I don’t know what to do about this... We defeated Yaldabaoth. Everything was supposed to be done when I put the bullet on that guy’s head. So, why is the MetaNav back? And if it’s really back, how are we going to tell the other thieves? We’re trapped here for who knows how long…”

“Oh, Ren…” Morgana slowly caressed Ren’s arm with his paw. “…Listen. If I’m being honest, I’m scared… I don't know why or how the MetaNav is here or what is going on. I’m just as clueless as you are. But I know that we’ll figure something out here. We already handled this before. We got rid of the Metaverse once and hell, we’ll do it again.”

Ren looked at Morgana as if he had just said something weird. Morgana then hopped onto the boy’s lap, which made the boy lock eyes with his companion’s determined eyes. “That’s why, I don’t want you to get your head wrapped up into all of this hardly. The more you look into these things, the more you’ll work and beat yourself over everything. That’s why I’m here to help you. After all, I was born here to guide you, the Trickster. Even if you don’t have Igor or the Velvet Room, even if you don’t have your allies at the moment, just remember I will always be here for you even if you’re scared.”

“So that’s why I’m asking you to calm down for just a second! And go to bed please, it’s late in the night.” Morgana pouted.

Ren’s eyes grew wide during Morgana’s speech. But his surprise was met with a sudden peal of laughter coming from him. It’s been a while since he had laughed so genuinely ever since he arrived here.

Seeing Ren laugh made Morgana laugh as well.

“Yeah… You’re right,” Ren said in response. “I guess I was thinking about it too much… But, how are we going to deal with this? With the Metaverse returning, are we sure that this won’t pose any danger?” He asked.

“I don’t know for sure about the current state of the Metaverse after Yaldabaoth’s defeat,” Morgana answered. “However, one thing’s for sure, we need to test if whether our theories and thoughts are true or not. Then, we’ll decide on what to do next.”

“If we are in need of more manpower, we can always train Deuce. He has a persona now after all.” Ren added.

“Hm,” Morgana thought to himself. “You’re right. However, Deuce isn’t too familiar with all the things we do. Given how complex our situation was before getting here. I don’t think he even fully knows us.”

“Then, we’ll do what we always do. Just show him the ropes.” Ren suggested.

Morgana looked at him with a dead expression. “…Wow. Even after risking your life two times, you’re still as reckless as ever.”

“Hm, hm~ I am supposed to be the dangerous, elusive, and charming, leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

“Go to bed, Ren.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get back before Ace and Deuce realized we’re missing.” Ren stood up from his sitting position and made his way back to his house.

“And also. Thanks, Morgana. Thank you for being there for me.” Ren said as a soft and small smile formed on his face.

Morgana smiled back. “Anytime, pal.”

They went back inside, greeted by the sight of Ace and Deuce still sleeping in their blankets. Ren quietly walked back to where he was sleeping and tucked himself in his blankets. Morgana softly nuzzled beside him. There were still a dozen worries in the back of his mind. Such as what to do next, and how serious the situation actually was. However, one thing was for sure, he was not going to do this for sure. And he was determined that nothing bad will happen once again.

And so, with this new found determination, he dozed off to sleep.

Rest well, my Trickster…

“Ren-Ren! Over here!”

“Ah,” Ren recognized that voice from anywhere. Class had immediately ended and he was now walking out of his classroom while dragging a drowsy trio of three. He looked to where the source of his name being called was, and as he was expecting, he saw Cater calling up to him with the same old smile on his face. “Hello, Diamond-senpair."

“Well hi there! I take it that your class is finally over?” Cater asked.

Ace yawned. “Yep. Class was boring though. I don’t think I understood a word.”

“That’s because you were caught sleeping in class by the teacher." Deuce crossed his arms and looked at Ace with a disappointed expression.

The red-head rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. You barely understood a word too.”

A sudden tint of pink appeared on Deuce’s face as he shouted at him. “Ace!”

“What? I’m just telling the truth.”

“And this is why you always get into trouble!”

“Now, now… There’s no need to fight out here.” Ren awkwardly laughed as he turned to face Cater. “So, about the tarts.”

“Ah!” Cater’s shoulders jumped in realization. “I almost forgotten. Trey made me send an errand for you guys.”

“Hm? What sort of errand?” Grim asked.

“Well, Trey’s still helping Dorm Leader Riddle with some preparations for the Unbirthday Party, so he won’t be able to pick up a few ingredients. He was wondering if you guys could help pick some chestnuts for the Mont Blanc you guys are making.” Cater informed.

“Ugh, what a pain…” Ace complained. “How many will you be needing, by the way?”

“Let’ see…” Cater got into a thinking position. “He said that you guys would need around 2 to 300.”

Everyone just stared at him.

“That many!? For a single Mont Blanc!?” Morgana screamed in disbelief.

“Is it too late to back out now?” Grim said with a deadpan expression.

“Uh, guys. I think I have something to do actually.” Deuce said, turning his back at the crowd. The agitated Ace turned around as well and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Oh no, you aren’t going anywhere! Traitor.” Ace groaned.

Deuce surrendered.

“Where do we get the chestnuts?” An unfazed Ren asked.

“There’s a ton of chestnuts trees behind the botanical garden at campus. It grows a lot of chestnuts.” Cater answered.

“Ah, I see. Thanks, Cater.” Ren thanked, to which Cater happily nods. He then turns to the group, where Ace was ready to give Deuce a piece of his mind. “Alright, let’s go everyone.”

“Man… Why do I, the Great Grim, have to pick up chestnuts for you humans?” Grim complained.

“If you help us, you’ll get to taste the Mont Blanc.” Ren bribed, which immediately made Grim excited.

“Chestnuts! Chestnuts! Let’s pick them up!” Grim chanted.

“And here he was complaining a while ago…” Morgana sighed.

Ren chuckled as they made their way to the botanical garden.

               The first thing he thought of upon seeing the rows of chestnut trees was, ‘Wow, this is certainly one fancy school.’ This was truly something he didn’t expect seeing and definitely something he never sees at his school and or Shujin. This was more than just a row of trees. This was a literal woods.

         “Woah! Look at all those chestnuts!” Grim stared in awe. “It’s like all you can eat dessert in here!” Just the thought made the monster’s mouth water.

         “Now, let’s get picking—” As Grim placed a paw to grab a chestnut, he suddenly let out a loud ‘yeouch!’ that made all of them look at the monster that was in pain.

         “The thorns pricked my paw!” Grim yelled with a mixture of pain and anger.

         “Serves you right.” Morgana said sarcastically. Grim hissed in response.

         “Looks like we need a basket for these,” Deuce suggested. “And probably some much more durable gloves than the ones we have.”

         Ace nodded in agreement. “Let’s check out the greenhouse. Maybe it has what we’re looking for.”

         “Sounds good,” Ren said. “Let’s go then.”

         Ace whistled. “Wow. This place is bigger than I thought.”

         Upon entering, they are greeted by rows of countless flora. Almost all of the plants were unfamiliar and exotic. Some of them were even hanging off from the ceiling. If the chestnut trees were the woods, then the greenhouse was a rainforest.

         “Haru would totally love this place.” Ren whispering to Morgana.

         Morgana nodded. “Yep. She would definitely enjoy this if she were here.”

         “Hm, were you guys saying something?” Grim looked up at the two talking amongst themselves.

         “Nothing, nothing,” Ren brushed the topic off. “Anyways. This place is too giant. I don’t think we’re going to find what we’re looking for that easily. Maybe we should ask someone for help?”

         “I like that idea,” Deuce said. “There should be someone, like a greenkeeper, in this place. We should split up and search for them.”

         “I’ll go right then.” Ace said before he started walking away from the group, starting his search.

         “I’ll take left then,” Deuce turned to Ren and his two companions. “You, Morgana and Grim will take the back.”

         “Sure,” Ren nodded. “Hope you find them.”

         He waved at Deuce, who was now walking to the left side of the greenhouse.

         “Hey, hey! Look at this!” Grim tugged on Ren’s pant leg, catching his attention. The monster pointed towards the bush in the distance. “There’s a bunch of fruit over there! It looks suuuuper good!”

         Ren let out a small laugh. “Let’s not take anything without permission, alright? Though, I have to admit. There’s a lot of fruit I have never seen. I wonder how they would taste-“

         “Ow!”

         Their conversation stopped when they heard a low and deep noise. It didn’t take a couple of moments before Ren had realized something. “Wait. What am I stepping on—”

         “Oi.”

         The trio jumped, with Ren letting out a small ‘yelp’, Morgana jumping off of Ren’s shoulder, and Grim turning left and right to who or what made that sound. He directed his eyes and found himself looking up at a man who looked just as ready to attack them at any moment in time. As the beast (as Ren would describe) rose up, he was able to get his appearance. A tall, dark-skinned, man with long brown hair and an unkept uniform. He’s a student, Ren thought. The man had animal ears, and what was swinging in a very agitated manner, what Ren had accidentally stepped, was his tail.

         The man surely did not look at all pleased.

         “You’ve got some nerve stepping on someone’s tail without a word.” The beast-man bluntly said.

         Grim, seemingly unable to read the room, started speaking. “Are you the caretaker here? You don’t really have any manners, do ya?”

         “Grim!” Morgana hissed.

         The beast-man then took a few steps towards them. The man was so close that he completely shattered Ren’s personal space.

         “And here I thought I was having a nice nap,” the man let out a deep sigh. “This completely sucks.”
         Ren, noticing how thin the air around him was getting, started to take a few steps back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really notice you were there. I promise, I don’t mean any harm.” He quickly apologized.

         All of the sudden, the beast-man’s annoyed expression turned into a smirk. As if a predator had found its prey. “You,” He looked at Ren directly in the eye, taking note of how nervous he was looking. “You’re that herbivore that can’t use magic, aren’t you?”

         “Uh, no,” Ren quickly lied. “You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

         The man let out a ‘hmph’, and leaned in closer. Ren felt himself sweating daggers, as the beast-man was now nestling next to his ear. He tried his best to keep his composure, as he could almost feel the man’s menacing aura. He was expecting the man to almost bite him.

         However, he was not expecting the man sniffing him for god knows what reason.

         “Uhh… Is there something on my face?” Ren awkwardly said.

         However, the beast-man ignored him, and instead continued on whatever he was doing. The beast-man suddenly drew back from Ren. His eyes were slightly wide as he stared at Ren, who was still confused on what he was doing.

         “Huh?” The beast-man looked at Ren. There was confusion present on his face. “That’s strange… For someone the Dark Mirror stated has no magic, why do I smell a hint of magic coming off of you?”

         Ren shared the same confusion. It was then he realized. He… can sense my Persona…? The thought sent shivers down his spine. He tried to step back from the beast-man’s sudden question. But the beast-man was persistent. He loomed closer, putting his face up to Ren’s, where he could do nothing but stare dumb-fondly at the danger he caught himself in.

         The beast-man grinned. “Seems you don’t look as powerless as you seem, herbivore. Tell me. What exactly are you?”

         “I…” Ren could feel the huge lump in his throat. However, before the beast-man got the answers, they hear a shout coming from the distance.

         “Leona!”

         “Hm?” The beast-man, Leona, looked away from Ren. He shifted his attention towards another boy who seemed familiar with him. Someone that made Leona acquire an annoyed look on his face. “Ruggie… What is it?” He asked.

         The boy, who was much shorter than Leona, was a similar nature of him. Both of them were beast-men. The difference between them was that the shorter boy had much rounder animal ears. It reminded Ren of those animals that he was taught of at school. Hyenas.

         “Ah, there you are,” The boy, Ruggie, said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. It’s time for your remedial lessons. You know you can’t skip ‘em.”

         Leona groaned.

         “At this rate, we’re gonna be classmates again if you fail another year.” Ruggie chuckled.

         “Can it, will you? I don’t want to hear lectures coming from you.”

         “Do you think I enjoy scolding you?” Ruggie narrowed his brows. “We won’t be having these problems if you’d just attended your class. Let’s just go!”

         Leona clicked his tongue in disapproval. Following the persistent Ruggie, he turned his back at Ren before leaving.

         "Watch your back before you enter my turf, herbivore.” And so, they left.

         Ren blinked for a moment, before completely collapsing onto his knees as he let out a sigh of relief. “That was completely close…”

         Morgana walked next to him. “Geez… What was up with that guy? He can smell magic coming off of you?” He said in confusion, before he suddenly shrieked in terror. “Wait… Don’t tell me he can sense your Persona!?”

         Ren shook his head. “I don’t know what he did, but I think we should keep our guards up the next time we see him. If he’s a student here, he doesn’t seem at all friendly,” He looked at Morgana. “If he could possibly sense my Persona… Then he’s probably powerful.”

         Morgana nodded. “Agreed. He’ll definitely be a threat to the both of us.”

         Grim was still shaken. “I don’t think I would ever want to mess with him! I was sweating daggers when he got close to you!”

         “Hey, guys! We got the… Woah. What happened to you?”

         Ren looked back and saw both Ace and Deuce. Ace, in particular, was holding a stack of three baskets. Inside the baskets were stuff like gloves and tongs.

         “Ah,” Ren slowly picked himself up and dusted any soil off of him. “You got the supplies. Good for you guys.”

         “Did something happen while we were gone?” Deuce asked.

         “…Maybe we’ll just tell you what happened while we pick the chestnuts.” Ren suggested, which made Grim jump.

         “Right, right! The chestnuts!” Grim exclaimed. “Our tart would get smaller if we don’t pick up as many as we can!”

         Upon saying this, Grim dashed out of the greenhouse. It shocked Ace, who then proceeded to run after him while yelling. It somehow caused a chain reaction, with Deuce sighing while following them and Ren laughing it off as he followed too.

         “And that’s basically what happened,” Grim ended his story, while he tossed the chestnut he picked up into the basket. “That beast was some grumpy caretaker!”

         Ace looked at him, mortified. “Yeah, I don’t think that guy was the caretaker.”

         “From the looks of it, he must be a student here.” Morgana thought.

         “Hmm, now that I’ve calm down, that reminds me. That guy was wearing a yellow vest. Maybe he’s from that dorm? What’s called… Banana-claw?” Grim concluded.

         “Close. It’s Savannaclaw.” Ren corrected. He stood up from the bush while carrying a full basket of chestnuts. “Also, I think I’m done picking.”

         “Hey! How were you able to fill your basket that fast!?” Ace shouted in disbelief.

         “Trade secret,” Ren said. He then turned around to face Deuce, who looked as though was in deep thought. “Hey, Deuce. How’s it going there?”

         “Is it just me or is there a lot of delinquents in Night Raven’s College…?” Deuce thought loudly.

         “Hm?” Ren looked at him, confused.

         “Ah, nothing. I was just thinking out loud.” Deuce stood up from the bush. “I’m also finished picking up the chestnuts.”

         “Oh, come on! Am I the only one who’s not finish here!?” Ace cried out.

         “That sounds like a you problem.” Grim crossed his paws, which gained a murderous look from Ace.

         “Ah, there you guys are,” Trey greeted as they entered the cafeteria’s kitchen. “Sorry if I wasn’t able to meet you personally. I take it you have the chestnuts?”

         “Yep!” Grim announced. “With this we can make a huge tart!”

         “All you ever think about is food, huh?” Morgana said, bluntly.

         Trey looked at the three baskets and hummed. “Looks like there’s plenty of it. It might take a long time peeling it though.”

         “It’s an endless pile… It’s going to take a long time…” Deuce said, tiredly.

         “Let’s get to work, shall we?” Ren asked to both Ace and Deuce, who looked just as about ready to give everything up.

         “Yeah, yeah… Let’s just get this over with!” Ace shouted.

         “Ren, you’re my friend, even though we had our differences, but how the fuck are you halfway done?” Ace bluntly asked. Ren’s basket was almost half empty. The boy was peeling the chestnuts at an even pace. “Mine’s barely done and my arms already feel like falling off!”

         “Hm?” Ren stopped peeling and looked up at Ace. “I’m actually not sure as well. Probably thanks to all the work-outs I’ve been doing.”

         Deuce momentarily stopped peeling. “Wait, you work out, Ren?”

         “Yeah, I do.” Ren simply responded.

         “Dude, I didn’t peg you as the type. Didn’t even know you work out.” Ace commented.

         “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Ren formed a cheeky smile. “Let’s get back to what we’re doing, alright?”

         Ace sighed in defeat. “Fine…”

Chapter Text

“UGH! We’re finally done…!” Ace announced. He then dramatically slumped onto the stool he was sitting on and let out a big sigh of relief. “I am never peeling another damn chestnut in my entire life ever again…”

“My entire arm feels like falling off…” Deuce mumbled tiredly.

Ren giggled lightly as he looked at the two. “Good job, you two. You worked hard to get all of them peeled. That wasn’t too hard, wasn’t it?”

“Easy for you to say!” Ace responded in offense, rising from the stool. “You were halfway done peeling! We weren’t even done for Seven’s sake!”

Ren sheepishly laughed in response before redirecting his focus to Trey, who was now walking towards them.

“Good job,” Trey mused with a smile. “Your hard work truly paid off in the end. It’s going to make the tart taste much more tastier.”

“I’m full already just by sitting here with the chestnut smell…” Grim remarked.

“It’s not that bad…” Said Morgana as he looked at the monster disappointingly. “You’re just being dramatic as always.

Trey chuckled. He turned to the boys, pointing at the counter filled with ingredients. “Now that you made our chestnut paste, we’ll start creating the batter for our chestnut tart.”

Trey grabbed a whisk from the utensil cabinet. “Next, we mix butter and sugar into the chestnut paste and give it a mix.” He stopped mixing for a moment before grabbing, what appears to be, a small bottle with a dark-colored liquid inside of it. “Afterwards, we’ll mix in oyster sauce as our special ingredients.” The senior explained with an innocent smile.

“OYSTER SAUCE!?” Ace and Deuce both yelled in unison.

Ren stared at him for a few moments wondering if his senior was serious about it. It wasn’t long before he realized what Trey was doing and looked at him with a cat-like grin. “Oh, oyster sauce. It gives it a very special flavor, right?”

Trey looked at him with surprise. But the smile on his face didn’t even falter. “Yep. The savory flavor of the oysters adds depth and richness to the cream,” He said as he further described the bottle of oyster sauce he was holding. “This type of oyster sauce has the walrus seal of approval. Famous bakers use this a lot in their pastries.”

“Oh, how excellent!” Ren expressed excitement.

Ace and Deuce stared at each other with confusion and uncertainty. There was no way in the world they were going to add oyster sauce to sweets, right?

Deuce was the first one to voice out his concern. “Isn’t oyster sauce salty though…?”

“I mean, people put chocolate into curry for the taste to get better…” Ace stated, yet he was still unsure about it. “It might be good. Let’s try it.”

“Pft…”

The duo stopped, diverting their attention toward the two spectacled boys who appear to be snickering. Suddenly, both Ren and Trey busted into laughter.

“I can’t believe you believed that,” Trey uttered in the middle of his laughing fit before calming himself down and clearing his throat. “It’s a joke, of course. The oyster sauce doesn’t work well with sweets.”

“Oh, screw you!” Ace shouted agitatedly. He turned to Ren with an angry look. “And you! You played along with it as well!”

Ren raised both of his hands in a surrender pose. “I admit, it was a bit of a low blow for me to join. But what can I say? It was fun seeing you two confused.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to join along. But it did make the joke more funnier and believable.” Trey said with a grin.

“I had to join in, Clover-senpai. It was hard to miss out.” Ren said, grinning as well.

“These two get along way too well…” Morgana muttered with concern. “Almost like they were cut from the same cloth.”

“Ugh….!!! You two!!!” Ace gritted his teeth and yelled. “I can’t believe you've done this! You said it with such a straight face that I practically believed it!”

“And this is why you shouldn’t believe things so easily,” Trey hummed. “Never accept a fact without having any second thoughts about it.”

“That was oddly wise of you to say considering you made these two a laughing stock just a minute ago,” Morgana commented, to which Trey let out an embarrassed laugh.

“This guy looks nice but he’s extremely good at lying…” Grim mumbled in disappointment.

“Guess this is one of Clover-senpai’s special traits,” Ren mused. “He isn’t a bad liar.”

“I’d say,” Morgana said in agreement. “He’s scaringly good at it too.”

“Anyways,” Trey pushed the oyster sauce away before returning to the chestnut paste. “Returning to the main task, next up we’ll make the whipped cream and… Ah.”

The senior had a sudden look of shock on his face that made the others concerned.

“Is something wrong?” Ren asked.

Trey sighed before responding. “You all gathered so much chestnuts to the point where I made too much paste. Which means we don’t have enough whipped cream to mix into it.”

“I can go out and buy some,” Deuce suggested. “Is it being sold in the school store?”

“You can find anything in that place,” Trey said. “It should be there. While you’re at it, could I ask for you to pick up a few things as well?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Hmm… 2 cartons of milk, a dozen eggs, aluminum cups, and 5 cans of fruit.”

“That’s…. a bit too much for me to carry,” Deuce admitted before looking at Ren. “Sorry if I’m troubling you but can you please help me carry?”

“It’s fine, you aren’t troubling me at all,” Ren assured the boy. “Besides, I would’ve helped you regardless if you were asking me or not.”

“I also met the shopkeeper once and I hope he can give us some sweet discounts,” He smirked at the thought.

“Typical Ren.” Morgana rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I’ll watch over Grim for you if you want?”

“Ah, that would be nice,” Ren answered. “Make sure he stays well-behaved.”

“No need to worry about that.” His companion said with a smile.

“Aw, no fair!” Grim complained. “I’m sick of mixing flour here. I need some fresh air!”

“I promise I’ll get you two something when we get back.” The boy said before going out.

And so, Ren and Deuce went out of the cafeteria’s kitchen and made their way to the school store.

“Pardon us,” Deuce said before entering. 

As they entered, the two looked around the place with amazement and awe. The store barely seemed like a store at all and more so similar to an alchemist’s workshop. There were all sorts of items littered throughout the shop. Masks, ancient artifacts, pianos, books, candy, and anything humanly possible and impossible were all over the place and were either on the store’s counter or plastered on the wall.

“…Woah. This place is amazing. There’s stuff like crystal skulls, grimoires… What sort of place is this?” Deuce muttered as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing was real.

“Trust me,” Ren responded. “As much as how chaotic this place seems, they sell food items here.”

“Hey!” 

They all turned to the counter to find a man popping out of it. From the looks of it, the man was the shopkeeper. He had the appearance similar to the ambiance of the place. The man had tanned skin and a youthful look. He was wearing something similar to a purple suit. However, underneath it was a purple shirt with a skeletal design that looked too realistic for it to become a simple design. He wore a necklace that was made out of either boar teeth or a human ribcage and white gloves. On his skin, he had a skeletal tattoo that was visible from his shirt’s collar to his wrists. To finish the look, he had a top hat that was stitched with two different fabrics as if it were Frankenstein’s monster. It also had a skull design etched onto it.

“Welcome my little lost demons, how goes it?” The man greeted them with a smile. “Welcome to Mr. S’s Mystery Shop. What can I do for you today?”

On cue, he showed pulled up multiple items at lightning speed. 

“Would you like a charm for uncharted lands?” He asked as he pulls up a silver necklace with an octopus on it, its eyes glowed a bright red at the two.

“Or perhaps a mummy of an ancient king?” He asked as he summoned a golden Egyptian coffin and opened it up, revealing a mummy that was encased inside it. All of a sudden, the mummy raised an arm at the group and the two jumped in fear before Mr. S slammed the coffin shut.

“Or maybe cursed tarot cards?: He said as he tossed the coffin aside and picked up a deck of cards and shuffled them. As he shuffled them, two cards flew out of the deck and floated toward Ren’s direction. The cards flipped over revealing The Emperor and Death, which were upside down. The shopkeeper grabbed the two floating cards and returned them to the deck, tossing them to the side.

The two looked at each other in silence, barely uttering a single word.

“He’s quite… eccentric,” Deuce remarked

“He gets you the first time,” Ren said in response.

“Uh…” Deuce shook off the confusion before taking out a piece of paper that contained the list of items they needed to buy. He had written it with what remaining paper he had in his pocket in case he had forgotten what to get. “We’d like the things listed on here.”

“Hmm? A drawing of a ghost?” Mr. S asked confusingly.

“Ah!” Deuce jumped in embarrassment before turning the page around. “N-No! This one!”

“Nice drawing, Deuce.” Ren mused.

“I only drew that because I was bored in class… Please forget what you saw.” Deuce sighed.

Ren chuckled before looking at the shopkeeper. “If you have some tuna cans and sushi, I’ll get that as well,” He turned to Deuce. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for that one myself.”

“Hm-hm?” Mr. S examined the list, reading its contents. “Let’s see. Whip cream, eggs… A nice sweet line-up you have there!”

“Okay! Coming up!” He said before walking to the sides, gathering the items on the list.

“Woah… He does have them.” Deuce muttered.

“Yep. It shocked me the first time when I learned that he sells edible items.” Ren remarked.

“Sorry for the wait, the items were a bit heavy.” Mr. S said as he placed the bag of items on the counter. “You got it, right?”
 
 Deuce nodded as he picked off a heavy bag from the counter and Ren picked off another bag that was just as heavy as the first one

“If you order now, you can get a 1/100-sized floating platter to carry all your purchases for a 30 percent off discount!” Mr. S suggested.

“Ah! N-No, no! We’re fine!” Deuce said before grabbing Ren's arm and started dragging him out the door. “We’ll be going now!”

“Okay, okay!” Mr. S waved. “Make sure to come again, my little demons! Bye now!”

“Man, that store was crazy…” Deuce commented.

“Tell me about it,” Ren said. “I thought we were going to spend more than we bargained for.”

Deuce looked at him for a moment. The bag that Ren was carrying looked heavy “Are you alright carrying all that, Ren?”

The boy nodded. “It’s all good. I can handle it myself.”

Deuce, a bit worried, was satisfied with the answer given to him. “Let me know if it gets too heavy. I’m alright with carrying two heavy bags.”

As they were walking, Ren couldn’t help but think about something regarding Deuce. He turned to the boy and asked him. “You seem to know how these sorts of things work and are used to it.”

Deuce looked at him and nodded. “Yeah. I always went out grocery shopping with my mom. Whenever there are special time sales, my mom will end up buying more items than we need. And I always end up carrying heavy bags by the end of it.” He said with a tired look.

Ren looked at the boy, who was staring down at the bag with deep contempt. Deuce then spoke again. “I’m the only boy in my household. So I have to take care of the heavier things at the house. I’m pretty used to things when it comes to strength…” Deuce's eyes suddenly widened before sighing. “My bad… I suddenly started talking about myself all of the sudden.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Ren assured. “I find it admirable that you help around the house as much as you can. And speaking of how you talk about your mother, it seems like you care about her a lot.”

Deuce had a solemn look on his face, which concerned Ren, and had him think that he had said something that was way too personal. “Hey, are you alright—”

“That’s not true,” Deuce said, cutting off Ren’s question. “I always made my mom…”

“Oof!” 

Both of them came to a sudden stop. Deuce bumped into something hard, causing him to topple backward. Ren stared at the boy’s bag, causing his eyes to widen from what he saw.

“Shit!” Deuce swore, examining the bag in a panicked frenzy. “Half of the eggs are destroyed! There’s egg all over the bag!”

“Hey.” 

They all turned around to see who it was. Ren immediately recognized who they were. Facing them were the students he encountered in the cafeteria. From the looks on their faces, they were annoyed due to the encounter.

“Watch where you’re going will ya—” One of the delinquents stopped when he looked at Ren. “Hey… You’re that fool that wrecked the egg on my carbonara.”

The boy awkwardly smiled. “Haha… Uh… Hello again…?”

“Man, we can’t even last a day without having to look you in the eye!” The second delinquent, Delinquent B, said agitatedly.

“It’s not like we wanted to see you or anything,” Ren voiced out, looking at the two delinquents with a serious look. “You were the ones who bumped into us during lunchtime. It was just an accident yet you still made a big deal out of it. We would rather not see your faces at all.” 

“Now listen here--!”

Deuce intervened by moving in between them before the rowdy student had the chance to make the first move.

“Hey,” Deuce said, looking at the delinquent right in the eye. “You broke almost half of our eggs just now.”

“And? It’s our fault?” The annoyed Delinquent A asked.

Deuce nodded. “Yes. Please pay for them. And apologize to the chickens too.”

“Pft. Look at you getting all worked up over eggs.” Delinquent A taunted.

“They didn’t even hit the ground,” Delinquent B joined in. “We saved you the trouble by breaking them. Let’s not be a baby over broken eggs now. If you want to cry about it, go cry to your mama or something.”

That was the last straw. As the delinquents laughed, they didn’t notice that Deuce had a look that could never be described. But there was one thing clear about him that Ren could visibly see.

Deuce was pissed off.

“Deuce?”

Before Ren could console the boy, Deuce pushed the bag to Ren causing him to falter a bit. He stomped toward the delinquents that were about to walk away and, without a second thought, grabbed one of them by the shoulder and twisted him towards him before delivering a hard punch to the cheek.

The delinquent fell to the ground almost instantly. His companion came up to his aid while he was reeling in the shock from the blow.

“This ain’t somethin’ to laugh about, punk!” Deuce yelled to them at the top of his lungs. “You don’t get to make that decision for us!”

Ren visibly flinched. The energy that Deuce was showing was something of a vicious beast that could kill its prey at any moment.  Is this the real Deuce?  He thought as he silently observed.

“Those eggs you broke… Instead of becoming chicks, they were supposed to become a delicious tart!” He spat in anger as he cracked both of his knuckles. “If you don’t pay for the six eggs you broke, I’m gonna’ breaking your eggs six times.”

“Grit your teeth, assholes!”

“Why you--!” Delinquent A charged at him, but before the ruffian could make the first move, Deuce punched the boy in the jaw which knocked him onto the ground.

The delinquent he first punched tried grabbing him by the foot, but Deuce used his free foot to deliver a hard kick that sent the student flying toward the Queen of Hearts’ statue.

“Deuce, behind you!”

“Huh?” 

Deuce looked behind to see Delinquent B charging at him. Before he could touch Deuce, Ren dropped the bags he was holding and ran in Deuce’s direction, he then punched the ruffian as hard as he can, causing him to drop to the ground.

“Looks like you need a hand.” The boy said with a smirk. Deuce looked at him in shock before smirking as well.

“Alright! Let’s dance!” Ren announced as the two delinquents charged.

“Shit…” Delinquent A swore as he grunted in pain. “These guys are mad! Let’s get out of here!”

“I’m sorry to all the chickens out there!” One of the delinquents shouted as they ran away.

Once the fight was over, Ren immediately ran up to Deuce as his companions followed along. “Deuce? Are you alright?”

Deuce took a few deep breaths, the adrenaline from the fight was still running inside his veins. He nodded in response. “Yeah… I’m fine… Oh shit…!” He suddenly flinched in a panic before dropping onto the ground.

“Deuce!?” Ren yelled, kneeling to Deuce’s level.

“Fuck…! Now I’ve done it…!” He swore under his breath. “I-I screwed up… There’s no way I’ll be a model student with this behavior…!”

Ren looked at him with worry, before giving the panicked boy a few rubs to the back. “Deep breaths, deep breaths,” he repeated, trying to comfort the boy as much as he can. “That should calm you down…”

Deuce listened, taking as many deep breaths as he can before finally calming down. Leaving him in a silent state of contemplation.

“Let’s just sit here for a while. You’re still in a pretty bad state.” Ren said as he sat alongside Deuce for a short while.

“Are you feeling better now?” Ren asked.

Deuce nodded and said in response. “Yeah… I’m feeling better now. Sorry about what you saw just now…”

“It’s fine,” Ren assured. “What matters is you’re okay and everything’s been dealt with. I should be the one apologizing for not helping you out. But it looks like you already handled it pretty well.” He said, looking at Deuce with a smile.

Deuce let out a weak laugh before looking at the ground. He was still upset over what happened a few moments ago.

Ren noticed the boy’s expression and asked with hesitation. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

Deuce was silent, contemplating the thought.

“You don’t have to say it,” He added. “If it’s a tough topic for you, then it’s alright for me to not know.”

“No,” Deuce responded, seeming to have made his decision. “You already saw that side of me. I think you should know the truth.”

With a heavy breath, Deuce began speaking. “When I was in middle school, all I ever did was screw around a bunch… I skipped all of my classes, picked fights around school, disrespected all of my teachers, and bleached my hair to death.” He said with regret and shame as he recounted the events. “I used to be a terrible person who would use magic on those who don’t have it and can’t defend themselves with…”

“Deuce…” Ren could only say as he listened. He didn’t realize that Deuce, who is clumsy yet determined, had a past like this.

Deuce looked back to the ground with a look of shame visible on his face. “One night… I overheard a conversation between my mom and my grandma… She was hiding away her tears as she spoke,” He said trembling as he recalled those memories. “I overheard her saying: ‘Did I raise him the wrong way? Would everything be okay if he grew up with his dad?’” 

“But she was wrong! Mom did nothing bad! It was all my fault!” The boy shouted and eventually calmed down. “So when the carriage came to get me for Night Raven’s College, she was extremely happy. I don’t want to make her cry again.”

“That’s why I vowed to become an honor student. I wanted to become someone that could make my mom proud!” He said in determination as if that vow was the most important in the entire world. “…And then I do this… Fuck…” 

Ren was completely silent. He was trying to think of what to say to him. Whether it was advice or comfort, he needed to say something to the boy that he needs to hear right now.

“Y’know…” The boy looked up and turned to Ren, “I find it quite admirable that you’re doing all this just for your mom. I know for a fact that she’ll never, ever, be disappointed in you at all. I’m pretty sure she won’t see you as a bad person. She’ll see as Deuce. After all, that’s how I see you after all. You’re Deuce, a person capable of making mistakes.”

“I don’t understand…” Deuce admitted. “You’ve already seen that side of me… A side I want to hide… With all the mistakes I made, especially the ones I’ve done in the past, that won’t make me a model student at all!”

“We all make mistakes, Deuce. No matter how you look at it, we make mistakes every single moment in our lives. Some of these mistakes can change your entire life…” Ren explained. He had a somber look on his face as he talked. 

“But that’s natural,” He continued, looking at the faraway sky with a faint smile. “Because how you handle the mistakes you made is solely dependent on you”

Ren looked at him with a firm expression. “From now on, don’t you ever think that you’ll never be a model student. With how you deal with all your problems, I think that makes you an admirable student already. Those students that you talk about, they’re capable of those mistakes as well. They get angry sometimes too. They’re not always perfect as they appear to be. So just keep being you, Deuce. You’ll be a fine model student in your very own way."

Deuce looked back and forth at the ground and back at Ren. “I see… While I don’t understand it, I think I get what you’re trying to say…” He said as he looked at Ren with a smile on his face.

“Thanks, Ren. I appreciate what you said.”

“No problem. Glad I could help you.” Ren smiled back. He could feel something glistering inside of his mind.

After their conversation, the boys stood up and picked up the shopping bags. Deuce sighed before muttering something that Ren could hear. 

“May those chickens rest in peace…” Deuce sadly said.

Ren gave him an odd stare, prompting Deuce to look at the boy in confusion. “What’s the matter?”

“Was that how you think chickens were born?” Ren asked.

“Yeah. Chicks come from eggs,” Deuce innocently answered. “Why, what’s the matter?”

“Deuce… I hate to break it to you,” Ren placed a hand on his shoulder. “Those types of eggs are unfertilized. Meaning there won’t be any chicks hatching in them.”

…

…

…

“YOU’RE LYING, RIGHT!?” 

Chapter Text

“Oh? Welcome back, you two,” Ace greeted Ren and Deuce as they entered the kitchen with the groceries. “You sure took a while.”

“There was a… road block,” Ren lied. He didn’t want to destroy what little ounce of dignity Deuce had left. “But it’s all been handled. Right, Deuce?”

Deuce, however, looked completely unresponsive and gloomy. No matter how Ren pushed, he couldn’t get the boy to talk or utter any words.

“What’s his problem?” Grim questioned, raising an eybrow.

“Uh… Let’s just say he’s just had the most groundbreaking realization he has ever heard in his entire life,” Ren answered calmly. “He’s currently in a state of shock right now, so just leave him be for a while.”

“Geez, I wonder what you told him to make him completely silent?” Morgana thought, tail slowly wagging in curiosity. “It’s almost like you rained on his parade.”

“More like egged on it.”

“Huh?” His companion looked at him, confused.

“Anyways, let’s just continue making the mont blanc”

“Now, we have to dust it with powdered sugar,” Trey said as he carefully dusted the numerous mont blancs that they all made. He let out a sigh of relief before announcing to the group. “And now we’re done.”

“Finished!” Grim and Ace cheered with enthusiasm.

“Finished…” Deuce cheered in monotone and depression.

Ace took notice of Deuce’s lack of energy. He looked at Ren and asked. “Did something bad happen while you were out? Why is this guy all mopey?”

“Chick shock.” Ren deadpanned, staring at the boy with no further explanation. “Just leave him be for a while.”

“For sixteen years… I’ve believed that fact…” Deuce quietly muttered.

“There, there,” Ren gave the boy a few pats to the back. “It’s alright. You didn’t know.”

Ace took this as a sign to shift his attention toward something else. “Making desserts are exhausting,” He sighed. “I’m so tired…”

“Ooh? Are you guys finished with the tarts?”

With absolutely perfect timing, Cater entered the kitchen and greeted everyone inside. He had a look of awe when he saw the numerous mont blancs beautifully laid on the counter for consumption and piped well for the decoration. Cater 0-immediately took out his phone from his pocket to take a picture of the desserts.

“They look so good! It’s totally Magicam material,” Cater beamed. “Lemme take a quick pic.” He tapped on his phone as a quick flash lit up the room. He looked at the photo with satisfaction.

“What are you even doing here?” Ace asked, annoyed with his senior for arriving at such a time.

“I just came to visit my cute underclassmen! You all must have worked so hard, you’re all tired!” Cater giggled.

“Is he making fun of us or something?” Morgana asked Ren with a puzzled look. The boy shrugged as a response.

“If you do things that your body isn’t used to, you’ll be completely tired,” Trey explained. “That’s why whenever you’re tired, you should eat something sweet to energize yourself.”

“Go ahead, everyone. Try the mont blanc we made.” Trey smiled, expecting them to grab a sweet treat.

Everyone cheered in unison.

“Looks like you came here at the right time, Cater-senpai.” Ren mused.

Cater laughed before saying. “Just think of me as a taste tester.”

Everyone grabbed a mont blanc from the counter. Ren and Morgana looked at the dessert that he was holding. He could already smell the sweet taste of chestnuts off of it already before he could even take a bite.

“This looks amazing,” Ren remarked. “I bet it’s going to be delicious too.”

“Hey, let me take a bite out of it too!” Morgana said as he jumped on Ren’s shoulder.

“Are you sure it won’t make you sick?”

“It won’t, I assure you. I had wilder things enter my stomach before.”

Ren stared at his companion with slight horror in his eyes. “I’m not going to ask… Let’s dig in. Thank you for the food!” He said before biting into the mont blanc. His eyes widened as he chewed into it. “Woah…! This is…!”

“Extremely good!” Cater voiced, completely taking the words out of Ren’s mouth  but ultimately explaining what he had been thinking.

The mont blanc was professional level good.

“It’s like something out of a fancy bakery!” Deuce commented. “It’s really good!”

“Wow! This isn’t anything beginner! It’s a pro’s work!” Morgana purred in delight as he bit a piece off of Ren’s mont blanc.

“It’s not overly sweet but it still has a richness to it!” Grim said, giving surprisingly accurate commentary to describe the flavor. “It’s like a garden of chestnuts in my mouth!”

Trey chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

Cater swallowed the contents he was chewing before giving a few taps to Trey’s shoulder, which caught the latter’s attention. “Hey, Trey. Do the thing.”

“The thing?” Trey looked at him as if he had no idea what Cater was suggesting. It was until he had a moment of realization. “Oh! You mean that?”

“That?” Ace looked at them, confused.

“Before I show you, I must ask everyone, what are your favorite foods?” Trey questioned the juniors.

The group looked at each other with no idea what was happening. Ace was the first one to speak out.

“Uh… Mine’s Cherry Pie and Hamburgers.” Ace answered.

Grim, at the mention of food, lit up with his ears wide up. “Well, my number one is canned tuna. As well as cheese omurice, grilled meat and pudding.”

“If I have to pick, I guess it’s also omurice.” Deuce answered.

“Sushi! No doubt about it.” Morgana purred. Ren looked at his companion, giving a small laugh in response.

“And mine is grilled lamb with some diablo sauce.” Cater answered.

Trey nodded before pulling out his magic pen from his pocket. “Alright, then. Now, Paint The Roses!”

With one chant, a small magical light that came from his pen lit up the room. Everyone looked at Trey stunned, meanwhile Cater and the spellcaster himself looked unfazed with what occurred.

“What just happened?” Deuce asked, confused.

Trey simply smiled at them. “Why don’t you take another bite of the mont blanc and see for yourself?”

Perplexed by the answer, Ace decided to take another bite out of the mont blanc. “HMNM!?” He uttered as he took a bite, eyes going wide. “It tastes like a cherry pie!”

Everyone (besides Cater and Trey) looked at Ace in shock.

Grim took a huge bite out of his own tart. “It tastes like canned tuna!” He exclaimed as he kept biting and biting the tart. “Now it tastes like cheese omurice!” He said with crumbs flying out of his mouth as he spoke.

“Try not to speak with your mouth filled with food,” Ren lightly scolded the monster. He stared at his mont blanc for a few seconds before giving it to Morgana. “Why don’t you try it out for yourself?”

“If you say so,” Morgana took a few bites out of the tart. He let out a huge gasp. “Woah! This tart tastes like high-quality sushi now!” He exclaimed before he continued eating Ren’s sushi-flavored mont blanc.

“Is this… a Signature Spell?” Ren wondered as he looked at his seniors.

“Yep! This is Trey’s Signature Spell!” Cater responded. “Pretty cool, right? If you did this with someone during a tea date, they’ll be surely impressed!”

He then looked at Ren and noticed something missing. “Where’s your tart, Ren-Ren?” Cater asked.

“Ahh, I gave it to Morgana. He enjoyed it a lot though,” Ren replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “Don’t worry, I already witnessed it for myself how it works though.”

“That won’t do!” Cater exclaimed. “You won’t get the feeling unless you try it for yourself. Here, have a piece of mine.” He said as he offered his already-bitten mont blanc.

Ren stared at Cater. “Are you sure?” He asked.

“I’m fine with it!” He assured. “I swear it’s not that bad tasting.”

Ren hesitated for a few moments before sighing. Without any warning, he leaned down to Cater’s tart and took a small bite out of it.

“It’s good!” Ren said with surprise. “It tastes savory. You have nice taste for food.”

Cater, without any misstep, replied back. “Right? It’s impressive!” He said. “But next time, can you not suddenly do that? I really wasn’t expecting you to do that all of the sudden.” He admitted, letting out a chuckle. Ren merely smiled as a response.

“What an amazing spell,” Deuce complimented. “Is this how your Signature Spell work, Senior Trey? Changing the flavors of certain things?” He asked.

“Actually, it’s much more complicated than that,” Trey answered. “My magic overwrites the characteristics of certain things. I can change taste, color, smell, or whatever things I put my mind into.”

“But it doesn’t last for long. It’s kind of like covering a doodle on the wall with paint. Hence the name, ‘Paint The Roses’.” He added.

Morgana looked at him with an o-shaped mouth in awe. “Woah. So, that’s how it works. How does it work when it’s in combat?”

Trey hesitated for a moment, before he answered. “I… never tried it before. To be honest, it’s not the best spell out there.”

“Eh? If I had that type of magic, I’ll be eating canned tuna for days!” Grim commented. “It’s much better than Riddle’s collar magic!”

“Compared to my magic, it’s mere child play.”

“I disagree,” Voiced Ren. “Your spell is powerful on its own.”

“You don’t understand. My spells are much more behind compared to Riddle’s,” He answered, crossing his arms. “After all, he’s far more trained than me…”

Ren and Morgana could see that Trey had an odd look when he talked about Riddle’s magic. The two looked at each other, as if they were thinking about the same thing, before turning back to Trey who went back into his usual demeanor.

“Anyways, it’s getting late. Let’s go back to our dorms and give the mont blanc to Riddle tomorrow. After all, it is the Unbirthday Party.” Trey said as he puts the tart inside the kitchen’s fridge. He also left a little note that said ‘For Heartslabyul Unbirthday Party’ in case someone tried to eat it.

“Yeah, yeah, rest sounds good n’ all but I can’t enter the dorm ‘cause rules are rules apparently,” Ace said grumpily, giving Cater a harsh side eye while the senior giggled slightly as he scratches the back of his neck. “Can I stay over Ren’s place for the night again?”

“You’ve been at Ren’s place for two consecutive days now,” Deuce sighed, squinting his eyes at Ace. “I’m pretty sure Ren must be tired of seeing you there. Stop abusing his kindness.”

“It’s alright for me,” Ren explained. “Besides, it’s not in my nature to complain when it comes to helping someone.”

“Geez, you are way too nice that it makes me sick,” Grim groaned. “For me, Ace should pay us some sort of rent! Ooh, I know! Maybe he should compensate by paying us tuna cans!”

“…Do you even know what rent is?” Morgana looked at the blue creature with a deadpan expression and voice to match.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that when you probably like the idea of being paid in tuna cans, right?

“…I plead the fifth.”

Ren chuckled at Grim and Morgana’s banters before looking back at Deuce. “If you’re worried about Ace causing me trouble, how about I also invite you to stay the night over? Perhaps I need a little help in making sure Ace behaves properly.” He flashes Ace a playful smirk, to which the latter looked at him with a sour look on his face.

“I agree with Ren,” Trey said, looking at Deuce with a smile. “Maybe you should stay at his place for a night to watch Ace in case he gets into any trouble. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t mind making another sleepover permit for you.”

“Aw, that’s so cool!” Cater said happily as he looked at Trey as if he was expecting something. “Hey, hey. Can I stay over at RenRen’s place too?”

Without any hint of faltering, Trey looked at Cater and replied. “No.” He said with a smile on his face.

“Brutal…” Cater moped. “When will there be a time where I properly hang out with you, RenRen?”

“Maybe someday,” Ren said in assurance. “You two are already busy with the Unbirtday Party, I’ll invite you over when you aren’t busy.”

“Yay~! How nice of you~!”

“You really are generous, aren’t you Ren?” Trey mused. “Take care of those two. I hope they aren’t causing you too much trouble.”

Ren chuckled at his senior. “You’re making me sound like I’m Headmaster Crowley all of the sudden. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure they won’t burn the entire place down.”

Ace, who was silently plotting his revenge, finally spoke. “This collar is definitely going to come off! Just watch, Prefect!”

It was the middle of the night inside Ramshackle Dormitory. Ren silently stared at the celling with no feelings of drowsiness whatsoever. He looked at the people who were already fast asleep, with Ace and Grim snoring on the couch, Deuce silently snoozing while tucked in his blanket, and Morgana who was softly purring while sleeping next to him and not on top of his chest as per the usual sleeping routine.

“Morgana’s going to kill me for not sleeping,” Ren thought to himself, softly chuckling as a response while looking at his sleepy companion. “I don’t feel tired enough… Maybe I should go out for a walk?”

Ren slowly rose up from his blankets, trying not to wake up his friends in the process of doing so. He slipped on his bed slippers and made his way outside. It didn’t take too long for him to realize that he was grateful that he was wearing long sleeved nightwear, as the cold air bristled his neck causing him to shiver slightly from it.

What month is it in this place? He thought sadly. Considering that this was the first week of school in this place, it was most likely the middle of the year.

He would check on his phone to see what date it was to bury his thoughts.

But he decides not to. He doesn’t want to get reminded of things that he didn’t want to even know.

Ren looked down and frowned to himself, as he decides to sit down at one of the steps of the stairway to the dorm.

When was the last time he properly collected his thoughts about this whole situation? It’s been an eventful first week and from the looks of it, it was going to get even more eventful in the long run.

But how long is the long run?

Everything just seemed way too confusing in this world. From the Personas, new confidants, and the MetaNav returning on his phone like its mere existence and background behind it didn’t even matter in this world, Ren didn’t know what to make of this whole thing.

The worst part of it all, he’s all alone and clueless about everything that’s happening. He had no way of contacting the Velvet Room, where Lavenza or Igor most likely know what was happening and he doesn’t have any contact with his companions. What if they were also in a situation like this? What if they get hurt and Ren couldn’t be there? What if…

“Breathe, Trickster,” Arséne calmly said, which brought a sense of comfort to him. “You’re panicking.”

Ren didn’t even realize how tense he was, how shallow his breathing got, and how cloudy his thoughts were all of the sudden. Upon his Persona’s instruction, he took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. “Thanks, Arséne.” He said slowly inside his mind where only he and his other self could hear.

Arséne hummed softly inside his mind.

Ren sighed once more. Had he really been thinking about this situation too hard? He never properly spoke to Morgana about the full extent of his worries and what was on his mind. He didn’t want to worry Morgana, knowing that he too was feeling the same worries and restlessness that he was having.

And a good leader doesn’t burden his teammates…

He’ll figure everything out, one way or another. If this were truly another big threat, then he has to be prepared at all costs. He needs to train Deuce as well in case something happens.

“It’s alright, Ren…” He said to himself in an attempt to calm down. “You’ve done this once before, what’s one more potentially dangerous trouble going to do to you now? You’ve experienced worser things already…”

Not even Arséne could speak when he said that.

“Ugh… I should probably go to bed,” Ren groaned tiredly while he slowly stood up from his seating. “This hour is making me think of useless things that make me feel sad.”

As Ren was about to start walking up the stairs, Arséne’s voice immediately flared up in his mind, causing him to go on high alert.

“Trickster, stay vigilant. I sense something nearby.”

His eyes suddenly raised as his Persona spoke. He quickly turned his head from left and right where he saw no one in the distance.

However, he hadn’t checked behind him.

He gulped the lump inside his throat as he slowly turned around, only to be greeted by light green coming from a vest. It was then and there he realized that there was indeed a person behind him and the person was most likely taller than him after figuring out that he was only staring at what he assumes was his torso. Ren slowly tilted his head up to come face-to-face with the person in front of him and felt his breath hitch upon locking eyes with the person.

The first defining feature that made Ren froze was how strong and intimidating the person’s aura and stare was when he looked at their eyes, as the emerald green felt like it was radiating some sort of glowing energy and was petrifying him to stone like Medusa’s gaze. The person was pale, looking cold even, and their long hair was as dark as the night sky above.

What caught the boy’s attention was that the mysterious person had horns extruding from his head, which added more to his already tall structure.

Ren didn’t know what it was, but he could tell that he was in the presence of someone completely strong.

The tall person looked at Ren. Instead of immediately attacking or whatever Ren had thought the person was going to do, the horned person tilted his head while looking at him strangely. “How peculiar…” The deep voice that the horned boy let out made Ren jump by how low and deep it was, especially with the short distance they had that it made him shiver more than the cold air. “For the longest time I’ve been visiting this abandoned dorm, I never thought it would gain inhabitants.”

Ren took a few steps backwards, realizing how uncomfortable their space was becoming. He took the time to fully compose himself before answering. “…Well, there’s a first for everything. And besides, I was only forced to live here because there was no other place on the campus that could house me.”

“How interesting,” The horned boy uttered with widened eyes. “Pray tell, Child of Man, why did you end up here in the first place?”

“It’s a long story…” Ren sighed as images of the events that transpired played in his mind. “But the basic gist of it is that I’m not supposed to be here and they had to make me find a place to stay.”

The horned man blinked at him, before turning his head to look at Ramshackle and all its rundown glory. “Well, you certainly have the guts to reside in this place. I usually take leisure walks in this place. This is the only place where you could find a sense of solitude inside this institution.”

Ren looked at the dorm he currently resided in and back at the horned individual. “Well, the place has seen its better days. But it’s not going to be abandoned now when I’m here.”

The latter nodded and sighed. “A pity it is… That would mean I need to find another place to seek refuge in to be alone in my thoughts.”

“You know you don’t have to,” Ren said to the boy which catches the horned individual’s attention as he stared at the taller person’s widened eyes. “You can stay here for as long as you like. I don’t really mind it. And besides, we’re all usually asleep there so just wander around whenever you feel like.”

To his surprise, the individual gave him a small smile despite his momentary shock and disbelief. “A brave soul you are, Child of Man. Do you have any idea who you’re casually idling with?”

“Is that supposed to be important?”

The taller man looked at him once more as if he was an alien. “You… don’t know who I am?”

“Not really, other than the fact that you popped out of nowhere right behind me.”

“…Are you even scared of me?”

Ren shook his head. “Is there something I should be afraid of other than your scary yet devilishly attractive face? To me, you’re just some ordinary person like any other person out there. Despite the, uh, y’know…” Ren made a gesture by pointing the top of his own head. “Horns.”

The horned individual was silent for a moment, contemplating on Ren’s words. He lets out a small laugh. “Haha. You are a peculiar Child of Man.”

A light chuckle left Ren as well. “I get that a lot. By the way, I’m Ren Amamiya. But you can just call me Ren. I’m not really one for formalities.”

“Ren…” The horned individual thought of the foreign word that left his lips. “What an interesting name. As for me, I am…”

He stopped for a moment, which made Ren look at him, completely clueless. “…Actually, it’s best I not tell you. It’s for your own benefit after all.”

Ren didn’t know what to think of him other than one thing. Weird. But knowing how completely vague the person in front of him was being, he can assume why he refuses to disclose his name. “Right, I understand. But what do I even call you? If we were to ever meet again, it’ll be rude of me to not call you by anything.”

The individual placed a hand on his chin, thinking for a moment. “Then you may call me by anything your heart desires.”

He then lets out a light chuckle, giving a playful smirk to Ren. Ah. He has fangs. “Although you may regret it once you know who I am.”

The two stayed silent for a moment before the boy with horns let out a deep sigh. “It seems that I need to look for somewhere else to stay in for the time being. Farewell, Child of Man.”

“Wait—” Before Ren could stop him, there was a flash of sparkled light which caused him to momentarily flinch. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the tall boy was no longer in front of him, as if he drifted like a leaf in the wind. He frowned as he stared at the spot he once stood. “What a weird guy… I was about to ask when I’ll be able to meet him again.”

A yawn left Ren’s lips, realizing he’s starting to get tired and staying up too long was not the best option considering that the Unbirthday Party was tomorrow, or rather in a few hours. He walked back to the dorm and went back to his blankets, lucky that Deuce and Morgana didn’t take his spot while he was away. He stared up to the celling one last time before drifting off to sleep.

That meeting, certainly that wasn’t a dream?

“Clover-senpai! Diamond-senpai! Thank the Seven you’re here!” In the middle of the night, a panicked Heartslabyul student approached the two third years in a panic, prompting the two to approach him and ask what was the matter.

“There’s been ten students that were punished for breaking the 256^th rule of the Queen of Hearts: ‘After 8 PM, one must drink lemonade with honey,” the student explained, shivering when he spoke once more. “A-And all ten of them got their heads chopped off by Prefect’s magic…”

Trey and Cater silently listened to the student, though it was clear to the minds of both of them that what was happening had become more serious than they had initially thought.

“I don’t wanna’ live like this anymore!” The student cried, pleading to the point of tears. “Forced to follow rules that I can’t even understand… I want to move to another dorm already…”

Trey approached the distressed student. He felt awful just by listening to what the student said. It felt like watching his siblings breaking down in front of him and it tugged at his heart strings when he looked at his junior and get reminded of their distressed looks. He slowly gave light pats on the student’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “There, there… Everything’s going to be alright, okay? I’ll talk with the Prefect about it. For now, you should go to your room and rest for the night.”

The student weakly nodded and went back to his room. When the student left, Trey let out a heavy sigh as he casted his gaze onto the floor thinking of the events that transpired only throughout the first week of the school year.

“With ten students collared by Riddle,” Cater began, crossing his arms and letting out a deep sigh as well. Trey assumed that he was also thinking about the same thing. “That’s a total of 100 students collared for this week… Man, when are we ever going to get some sort of peace in this dorm? Feels like everyday we’ve been talking to distressed first years about how to make sense of Riddle’s ways. Not only that, there’s probably more students in different dorms that were unfortunate enough to anger Riddle.”

“Yeah…” Trey slowly nodded. “But they have to listen somehow… The following the rules, general laws or the laws by the Queen of Hearts herself, are a symbol of Heartslabyul’s tradition and it’s Riddle’s task to enforce them and make sense of them.”

But they don’t have to follow the rules that don’t even make sense in the first place. It’s nonsense. Trey thought of saying, but immediately bit down the thought.

Cater shook his head. “Welp, don’t wanna’ bring in some more bad vibes. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen busy making tea to win Riddle’s graces.” He chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh, before you go Cater,” Trey stopped Cater before he could leave to the kitchen. The boy looked at him, tilting his head in confusion before Trey finally answered. “Make sure to prepare herbal tea instead of the usual black tea. Pretty sure it’s based on Rule 153 about evening tea.”

Cater stared at him with a weird look on his face. There was a silence before he replied with his usually pep. “…Will do. Thanks.”

Trey looked down the moment Cater left. “Sorry, Cater… You just have to understand the reason he’s doing this.” He silently said before he left to tackle on the last minute preparations for the Unbirthday Party.

This needed to be perfect.

Because Riddle wants it to be perfect.

There will be no room for unnecessary nonsense.

Ren’s eyes shot wide open as he found himself back at the garden he once stood in a dream. What happened in that dream again?

Right… They were painting white roses red…

As he walked while staring at the white roses painted white, he hears a commotion coming from the distance which prompted him to run to the source of it. There, he saw the three playing cards from before on the ground splattered in paint. In the middle of the trifecta, the girl with the blue dress silently watches as a looming figure grabs the rose bush, ripping it out from the roots, and angrily looks at them as if they had committed a devious crime and a cardinal sin at the same time.

The figure was a woman in a giant dress of red and black colors. Her black hair was tied to an intricate bun with a golden crown to pair with it. She stared at the roses as one look of the artificially polished ‘red’ rose made her face color into a similar red out of anger.

Ren didn’t even need a second thought to realize who it was.

It was the Queen of Hearts in all of her glory.

“You sullied all my roses!” The Queen yelled, pointing at the group consisting of the three cards and the girl. “Prepare yourself for punishment!”

The Three of Clovers pleaded, stammering as he tried to explain his case. “I beg your forgiveness, your Highness! It was their fault!” He said, pointing at both the Ace and Two of Clovers accusingly.

“It wasn’t me!” Cried the Ace. “It was the Two of Clovers!”

“Huh!? It wasn’t me!” Also cried the Two. “It was Three!”

The Queen grew tired of this nonsense. “Enough!” She yelled, ushering to the Soldiers of the Heart Suit to take the Clover Suits away. “Off with all of their heads!”

As the Clovers plead for mercy and scream while they were being taken away, Ren could hear the chatter coming from all of the other card soldiers witnessing the event unfold.

“…Of course they’d lose their heads for planting the wrong color of roses…”

“…I can’t believe someone would actually mix up white and red…”

Ren felt useless for not doing a thing or even protect the card soldiers. Why would the Queen do such a thing? And for what? Just a single mistake of planting white roses? Someone shouldn’t be punished for something as trivial as this and for making such a simple mistake. And to have their heads chopped off because of it? This isn’t the punishment a just ruler would make.

No. In fact, it was the punishment of a cruel tyrant.

As he thought about the matter, he locked eyes with the little girl in blue.

But before he could say a word to her, his vision began to ripple as everything faded into nothingness.

He could’ve sworn that he saw a hint of flame radiating off the girl’s eyes…

“…Ren? It’s morning. We need to get ready…”

Ren groaned in his sleep as his eyes slowly opened. He rose from his makeshift bed, rubbing his eyes to get whatever chunk of crap in his eyes before he was fully functional. He turned to whatever woke him up and it was Deuce who woke up fairly early.

“Deuce…?” He mumbled. “Why’d you wake me up…?”

“Have you forgotten already? It’s the Unbirthday Party,” Deuce reminded. “Had to wake you up early because punctuality is a rule in Heartslabyul, otherwise we’d have our heads chopped off.”

“Would that be a general rule or a Queen of Hearts rule?” Ren mused. Though the mention of the Queen made him think about what happened last night.

Was everything about last night a dream? Even his meeting with a strange boy?

“Ren?” Deuce’s voice managed to take him out of his thoughts. “Are you still sleepy?”

“…Honestly, I may be am,” He joked, looking from behind him to see Ace still sleeping soundly as well as Grim and Morgana who were still asleep right next to him. “But I’m physically awake compared to these two.” He chuckled.

The two heard a knock from the door, which prompted Deuce to answer it instead of Ren since he was still trying to stand up without trying to disturb his two sleepy companions. But the knock was loud enough that it woke the sleeping trio who responded with numerous groans and yawns.

“…Who’s knocking the door so loudly?” Morgana tiredly questioned.

As Deuce opened the door, he was greeted by an energetic Cater. “Oh, hey, Deucey! Mind if I come in? Is the owner still sleeping?”

Deuce, who wasn’t expecting someone to be this lively early in the morning, turned to Ren due to not wanting to deal with his senior first thing of the day. “He’s awake, if you’re wondering.”

Ren approached the door, greeting Cater giving him a small wave. “Morning to you too, Cater.”

“Heya, RenRen!” The senior greeted with a smile. “Accidentally dropping the formalities, I see?”

“Ah, sorry,” He eyes widen in realization but Ren simply laughed it off. “Guess I’m too sleepy that I forgot.”

“That’s alright,” Cater said in assurance. “Cay’s isn’t one for formalities, so just call me with whatever you like.”

“Speaking of which! How about I treat you with some breakfast! Cay’s feeling nice today!”

“Ah, I was thinking about making some actually.”

“Woah! You cook Ren? I totes hafta’ see it for myself!”

“Haha. Maybe I’ll whip something up today?”

Unknowing to them, Deuce was staring at the two boys as if he didn’t know what they were talking about. It wasn’t until Ren noticed his look, which was an in-between of confusion and horror, that Ren decided to mention him. “Sorry, Deuce. Did we scare you?”

“I-I’m fine!” Deuce uttered and coughed to hasten himself. “I didn’t think you two would be that close.”

“I guess we hit it off well?” Ren asked Cater with amusement in his voice.

Cater went silent for a moment, trying to digest what Ren had said before he replied. “Yep! We’re close!”

They were interrupted by a big yawn, which prompted them to look at an annoyed Ace who had abruptly woken up due to their chattering. “…S’um’one’s up n’ lively…” He mumbled.

“Good morning to you, Ace,” Ren chuckled. “Did we wake you up?”

He groaned as he ruffled his ginger hair, fixing the stray strands of bed hair.  “Wasn’t that obvious enough?”

“Sorry, we’ll keep the noise down next time,” Ren said, scratching the back of his head. “Are you hungry or still sleepy? I know Grim is. I’ll be making some breakfast and coffee if you’d like.”

“…Sounds good. Wake me up when you’re ready.” Ace said before laying back down on the couch.

“But aren’t we going to be late?” Deuce asked, to which Cater simply laughs as a response.

“You sure are diligent, Deucey! But the Unbirthday Party is still in the preparatory stage, so to speak. They’re just setting up the venue to make it magicammable basically!” Cater explained. “So, you’ve still got the time to unwind a bit before your first Unbirthday Party ever!”

“That means more time to eat Ren’s cooking!” Cater ended with a toothy grin.

“My cooking skills are average at best,” Ren looked at Cater, impressed that the senior was expecting his cooking. “Don’t expect something… Magicam worthy, as you may.”

“Wow, you speak like a boomer,” Cater joked. “But I won’t judge! Honest!”

Ren was starting to feel confident. He walked to the kitchen, putting an apron on himself and started to get to work. He mentally thank himself that he was able to get stuff he needed.

Perhaps he’ll try something simple, like an egg dish.

“Waaaah! This looks good!” Grim looked at the omurice Ren had prepared with starry eyes. “Can’t believe my henchman is able to cook this well!”

Ren smiled at Grim while he was tying the tie on his uniform. “It’s just a simple recipe, I didn’t do anything too special.”

“Dude, you’re being modest!” Ace commented, feeling his own mouth water while looking at the breakfast Ren prepared. “This looks good and it will certainly taste good!”

Cater nodded. “I agree! Oh, and thanks for offering breakfast by the way!”

“No problem,” Ren responded. “You can start eating, need to chat with Morgana a bit. Have to feed him as well, y’know? Hope he doesn’t mind the last canned tuna in the cabinet!”

Grim looked up from his food and cried out. “Aw! That was the last tuna can and it’s supposed to be mine!”

“I’ll buy you another one,” Ren said, before looking down and sighed. “If I find a way to make income.”

He walked back to the kitchen where he checked one of the cabinets to grab a tuna can, the last tuna can as Grim stated, and opened the can. Morgana entered the kitchen and hopped onto the counter expecting his breakfast.

“Something tells me you have other reasons for coming here other than to feed me,” Morgana states, eyes perking up when he gets handed the tuna. “Nice excuse by the way!”

The boy watched as his companion happily eats his food. He grabs his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it with a serious expression. “Right on the mark, Morgana. It’s time we properly discuss this.” He says, gesturing to the MetaNav on his phone.

Morgana frowned as he looked at the Navigator. “Is it really true? Did Yaldabaoth affect this world too?”

“I don’t know… Might as well check to confirm our suspicions,” Ren said, activating the Navigator how he usually does and speaks a word that he wishes wasn’t the case. “Mementos.”

To the surprise of both of them, the Navigator’s automated voice replied.

“Candidate not found.”

“HUH!?” The two of them said in unison.

“Hey! Is everything okay in there?” Someone yelled from the other room. It was most likely Ace.

“U-Uh, we’re alright!” Ren stuttered a response. “Just the ghosts again!”

“Alright! Your food’s getting cold by the way! Better eat up before Grim gets any ideas!” Ace yelled, which sparked an offended ‘HAH!?’ from what he assumes was Grim.

Ren turned back to face Morgana. Though he attempted to stay calm and collected, there was a hint of panic on his face that seemed paler than usual. “So, Mementos isn’t in this place… At least we know that Yaldabaoth isn’t doing something. Which should be a given already, since we already defeated him,” He thinks, relaying to Morgana of everything. “But then that leaves us with one problem. Why is the MetaNav in my phone? Was it Igor that gave the app to me then?”

Morgana shook his head. “Not sure… Haven’t gotten a word from him or Lady Lavenza about it. With no contact with the Velvet Room, we aren’t getting any explanations or answers most likely…” He said, grimly.

“What’s going on…?” His companion looked at Ren with fear in his eyes.

“I don’t know… There’s got to be a reason this is here. Why we’re here even,” The boy thought, but ultimately he realized that they really aren’t going to get answers any time sooner. “Well, this leaves us no choice. Whether or not something big is being in play is something we aren’t aware of. However, if there’s one thing we do know. We know how to use the MetaNav. And since we’re already well experienced of it, that only leaves us with one option I think we’re supposed to do with this.”

“Ren, you aren’t thinking…?” Morgana questions, though it was clear that he already knows the answers himself.

He smirks, the familiar smirk that the leader of the Phantom Thieves wore. “Morgana, I believe it’s our time to steal hearts in this place for the time being.”

The fellow phantom thief looks at the leader in disbelief. But soon, he too shared the same smile. Morgana chuckled. “You sure have a wild way of thinking. But honestly, I’m going to have to agree. Judging by the nature of this world we’re in, I guess it needs a little visit from the Phantom Thieves.”

“You know me so well, Morgana,” Ren smiled. “But first, let’s lay low for a while. We aren’t too familiar with the world and all its politics, so it’s best we get acquainted with it until it’s our time to shine.”

Morgana nodded. “Right. When we settle with the target, we need to show Deuce the Metaverse. He’s still new to being a Persona user and since using our Personas out in the open is still to dangerous, the Metaverse is a good way to help him train.”

“A phantom thief in the making,” Ren idly mused. “I like the idea.”

“Now, now, Joker,” Morgana reasoned, even going far as to bring up his codename. “He hasn’t agreed to anything yet, don’t get to hasty.”

“Right, right. We need to ask him first if he’s willing to join us,” He lightly giggled. “But from the looks of him and his awakening, I feel like he’ll fit right in as a part of our group.”

“…Just wished that the others had the chance to meet him. I feel like they’ll like Deuce.”

There was a tense silence between the two.

Morgana hopped down and nudged his head on the boy’s head. “We’ll see them again. You don’t have anything to worry about. We’ll find a way to get back home, Ren.”

“…Thanks, Morgana,” Ren said calmly with a hint of warmth in his voice. “I’m sure that we’ll get back home.”

“Hey, Henchman! You still alive back there! I’ll eat your food if you don’t get back out here!”

“Ah, coming!” Ren yelled from the other room. He didn’t realize that their conversation took a while. “Looks like our talk was way longer than I expected. C’mon, let’s go out.”

The two of them walked back to see the three boys and creature still chatting away. They immediately bombarded him with questions about why he took so long and he casually made up an excuse that he had to chase down the ghosts because they had stolen Morgana’s tuna can.

Thankfully they believed it. Ren thought to himself as he sat down on his seat and took his first bite of his breakfast. His thoughts drowned out most of the conversation the others were having and kept thinking about the Metaverse and Twisted Wonderland.

What will this place have to offer for him? Are there really people that need their hearts to be change? Only time will tell.

“I can’t believe I didn’t win at Old Maid! I thought I had it!” Grim complained as Ace and Deuce gave him a harsh side eye.

“Don’t let me begin with the piss poor play you did during that,” Ace groaned at the monster. “You didn’t even know how to play properly.”

“And the fact that you have a poor poker face… You were grinning when you got the Joker.” Deuce chimed in with a double kill.

Grim made an angered noise as he looked at the two appalled. “Henchman! I’m being bullied by these two!”

“There, there. I’ll just teach you next time.” Ren tried to comfort the blue monster.

“You’re going to have the patience of the Buddha to have to teach him.” Morgana said sarcastically, sticking his tongue at Grim when he growled at the not-cat.

“Why am I surprised that you know who that is,” He laughed lightly as he watched the two creatures tease each other. He looked at Cater who was finished eating. “Oh, are you done Cater-senpai?”

“Yep! That was a pretty good breakfast,” Cater cheerfully said while happily rubbing his stomach. “Compliments to the chef for the tasty meal!”

“The chef is complimented,” Ren smiles. “But the chef also thinks that you’re here for a reason, which is not free breakfast.”

“Aww, busted…” Cater laughed before confessing what he really was here for. “The breakfast was just a bonus. I’m just here to say that I need a little help with something.”

“What for, Diamond-senpai?” Deuce asked.

“Well, there was a bit of trouble yesterday. I’ll explain it to you a bit, but the gist is that I need more man power and with the Unbirthday Party today, I’m really in a tough position,” He admitted. “So~ I was wondering if you could help your senior with this?”

“Well…” Ace hesitated.

“Pretty please with a cherry on top~?” Cater pleaded with puppy eyes.

“Fine…” Ace sighed in defeat. “But that’s the last of all the request, you hear?”

“Yay!” Cater cheered. “If you’re done, let’s go to Heartslabyul. I’ll go on ahead. Bye-bye!”

The freshmen watch as the senior walked out of the dorm. They looked at each other, wondering what they have gotten into.

“You know, I feel like there’s been an ongoing theme of us getting roped into weird things,” Grim bluntly commented on the ordeal. “And frankly, I don’t like it!”

“Let’s just deal with it for now,” Ren said in an attempt to reason with him. “But first, let’s grab the tart we made yesterday.”

“Right! The tart!” Ace jumped out of his seat. “Get the tart to the prefect, apologize, and I’ll this collar will be out of my head. Sevens, I’m sick of not being able to use magic…”

“Someone’s being dramatic.” Deuce flatly said as he took a sip of his coffee.

“What did you just say!?” Ace grunted but Deuce only rolled his eyes.

Morgana stared at the two bickering. He looks up at Ren. “These two… Will there ever be a day where they stop bickering?”

“At this point, my opinion on them being an old married couple is still the same.” Ren deadpanned as he watched the two share back-and-forths with one another. “They’re really close. Won’t be surprised if they’re actually together.”

“NO, WE’RE NOT!” “HELL, NO!”

Just another typical day in Twisted Wonderland.