Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ah… My dear beloved…

My noble and beautiful flower of evil…

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most…

… This wasn’t the average day for Yuu. I mean, if hearing weird voices that you couldn’t understand due to being an inkling and hearing one of the many human languages suddenly in your head was normal, then Yuu wouldn’t be panicking as much. Unfortunately for Yuu, they happened to have no experience with such things. So they were trying to kick and scream. But nothing happened. Only met with the strange voice continuing to speak.

O thee, guided by the Dark Mirror,

Follow thy heart's desire

And take the hand of the one reflected in the Dark Mirror.

Flames that incinerate even the stars,

Ice that imprisons even time,

The Great Tree that engulfs even the skies.

Fear not the power of darkness

Now— Demonstrate thy powers.

Yuu just sat in darkness. Waiting. Waiting for this to be over

For me. For them. For you.

We are all running out of time.

No matter what,

never let go of that hand.

____________________________________________________________________________

Yuu awoke.

Where were they?

They felt around the small area they were within. Trying to figure out what held them captive. It was smooth and cool.

“Crap.. People are coming..”

Yuu blinked, confused by that same weird language… It definitely wasn’t squid language.

“Gotta get a uniform while… Grrr…”

… uh oh. Whatever that voice was saying, “grrr” couldn’t be good.

“The lid is too heavy…”

Yuu gently leaned their pointed ear against the– Wall? Could it be called a wall?

“Time for… my secret move!”

Suddenly the– wall or whatever it was, started to heat up significantly, Yuu could see flames start to build up around the cracks of the box they were in. Causing them to flinch back, stunned. The lid was suddenly pried open by a small creature– wait.

“Judd?”

Yuu blurted out, though the cat-like creature didn’t seem to understand squid language

“Ok ok just gotta.. WHAAA!!!! Why are you up?!”

Yuu immediately felt their outfit for their Splattershot Jr, which was thankfully there(Though they preferred any of the rollers). They just aimed it right at the critter. Who promptly screamed upon sight of the weapon

“BWAH! PUT THAT THING DOWN!”

Yuu narrowed their eyes and started shouting

“Where am I?! What are you-?!”

Unfortunately, again the creature didn’t seem to understand and in retaliation to them aiming a weapon at them, was about to blast fire at them. Yuu quickly realized this and rolled out of the way. Gasping as they narrowly avoided DEATH. They then realized that maybe they should run. So that’s exactly what they did. Shooting ink and swimming away as fast as possible in said ink. Whilst the cat chased after, screaming in– whatever language it spoke.

“Why you– STOP RIGHT THERE!!”

“IF THIS IS A DREAM I WANT TO WAKE UP NOW!!!” Yuu shouted back in squid language

“WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!??!?! GET BACK HERE YOU OVERSIZED CALAMARI!!!!!” It screamed back, Yuu only shot ink and swam faster in response to the creature’s screaming. Yuu soon found themselves in a corner. The end of the hallway.

“Did you really think you could get away from my nose? Dumb Squid!”

The creature shouted. Yuu sank into the ink. Refilling their tank. They were going to have to fight this flame-cat-Judd-looking-thingy

“If you don’t wanna get roasted, better hand over–” A loud snap was heard, and Yuu froze. Splatterspot Jr raised.

“BWAH!? OW! What’s with this rope?” The creature screeched. A loud voice boomed from close by

“This is no mere rope. It is a lash of love!”

The man walked into view, he had an-........ Extravagant outfit to say the least. The beaked mask he wore stood out the most to Yuu, as it covered a part of his face. Though the sight of his pointed ears slightly calmed Yuu. He would be rather tall for an inkling…. Yuu squinted, before noticing his hair. That wasn’t normal. Inkling and octoling hair were tentacles… They then put two and two together and–

“WHAT.” They shouted. Not realizing they just interrupted the masked man lecturing them. He blinked slowly. Clearly a bit irritated, but more confused. What language did they just speak?

“........ Pardon??” He asked Yuu, a brow raised. Yuu only stared back in confusion. Completely lost. What did he say???

“.. E-Excuse me???” Yuu sputtered out. The man put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

“Perhaps the teleportation magic has left you disoriented and unable to form proper sentences….” Yuu raised an eyebrow. What. What was this man saying?! WHAT LANGUAGE IS HE SPEAKING.

“Ahem. This is Night Raven College,” He spoke in a louder voice, spooking Yuu a bit. He gestured dramatically to the area around them. Ok. He was telling them where they were. That’s progress but IT’S IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE.

“I am Dire Crowley, You are a student attending this prestigious school, selected by the Dark Mirror, to be taught how to use your magic. Understand? Hm?” Yuu did not understand. And only tilted their head to the side slightly in confusion. Crowley groaned and said,

“Then just follow me to the Dark Mirror to get selected for your dorm.” He gestured for them to follow and started walking. Currently holding the Judd-like critter under his arm, hand on the creature’s mouth.

“MUGGGGGMMMMM!!!” Its screams were muffled due to Crowley’s hand. Yuu only followed quietly. Looking around the dark halls as they walked. Splatterspot Jr in hand. Surprisingly, only now did Crowley notice the weapon.

“... where did you get that? Give me that–” He reached for the gun, Yuu huffed loudly and pulled it away from him. No way are they gonna give him their only weapon. He reached for it again and they aimed it at him. He flinched slightly before realizing it was basically a water gun, a small tube connecting to a tank on the inkling’s back. He only narrowed his yellow eyes.

“Fine. Come, let’s go to the entrance ceremony.” Yuu continued to follow, still holding the Splattershot Jr away from him. Eyeing him suspiciously as they walked through the halls.

____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Text

In the Mirror Chamber, stood all the students. All wearing the ceremonial robes. For the mirror had sorted the new students into their dorms. A short, red haired boy spoke up,

“That ends the dorm assignment for the new students, I presume? Listen up new students. Here in Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them and it’s off with your head.”

A man, with lion ears and tail, yawned loudly.

“Uuugghh… The stuffy ceremony stuff finally is over. We’re going back to the dorm. If you’re in Savanaclaw, follow me.”

Another boy, with glasses and silver hair, smiled and spoke loudly to his students

“To the new students, congratulations on entering this academy. Enjoy your life here to its fullest. As the dormitory leader of Octavinelle, I will support you to the best of my ability.”

A beautiful man seemed to realize the absence of their headmaster. He was tall, with blonde hair, though it was dyed purple at the tips

“Which reminds me, where did the headmaster go? He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony…”

A floating tablet seemed to grumble

“Abandoning his post…”

A boy wearing a turban seemed a bit worried

“Maybe he got a stomach ache?”

Suddenly Crowley barged in. The inkling, Yuu, behind him. Splattershot Jr in hand. Yuu didn’t like all the stares that they got.

“Not at all!” Crowley practically announced, causing Yuu to flinch back slightly. The red haired boy sighed

“Ah, he’s here.”

“I cannot believe you all. We were missing one student so I went to find them.” He turned to Yuu, who seemed dreadfully lost and confused.

“You were the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory. I shall watch over the raccoon, so step in front of the Dark Mirror.” He gestured to the mirror, Yuu took that as a sign to approach it. They cautiously walked towards it. Ignoring the muffled screams of the cat-like creature. Eyes narrowed skeptically. Before the Mirror spoke. But this time they could understand the words it spoke.

“State thy name.” Yuu stared in awe. Squid language. Before they replied

“Yuu.”

“The shape of thy soul is…”

“........”

“...........”

“Unknown.” Yuu was still able to understand the mirror, but so did the rest of the students as murmurs came from the crowd. Crowley seemed baffled.

“Come again?”

“I sense not a spark of magic from them. The shape, the color are all nothing. Therefore they are suited for no dormitory.” More murmurs erupted from the crowd. Leaving a bad taste in Yuu’s mouth. The gloomy atmosphere wasn’t helping either. It, in fact, stressed Yuu out much more than necessary. They felt their palms get sweaty and they gripped at the splattershot jr for reassurance. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Was it?

“An ebony carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can’t use magic!” Crowley shouted out, clearly flabbergasted.

“In 100 years, there has not been a single mistake in student selection!” Yuu was still staring at the dark mirror. Waving their hand in front of it

“So why in the world…” Crowley was cut off from the Judd-like creature escaping his grip.

“Mghmgh… PAH!” He practically spat Crowley’s hand out of his mouth as he squirmed away

“Then I’ll take their place!” He puffed out his fluffy little chest, which Yuu almost found endearing as he was so small and furry.

“Stay right there Raccoon!” Crowley barked

“Unlike that dumb calamari, I can use magic! Let me into this school instead!” Yuu felt like it was talking about them.

“If you need proof, I’ll show you right now!” Yuu noticed the expressions of the others, which were mainly ones of concern and shock from the little creature. This prompted them to shoot some ink onto the ground and lurk in said ink.

“Everyone, get down!” The red haired boy shouted as the little critter shot out fire

“Nnnaaah~!!” The creature spewed out fire. Yuu watched the chaos start as it spat out the fire as though it were nothing.

“Waaaahhhh!!! HOT! My butts on fire!” The boy in the turban shouted in agony, and Yuu felt a twinge of pity. Enough to leave the ink and try to shoot the fire out. Which eventually worked, and the red eyed boy smiled happily at the inkling

“Thanks!-” Yuu didn’t give the happy go lucky boy the time to finish his sentence as they replied with a cheerful

“Booyah!” Before shooting ink and swimming away.

“At this rate the school will be a sea of fire! Somebody catch that raccoon!!” Crowley squawked, what a funny sound to come out of a man, even with the dire situation at hand, Yuu snickered from the ink where they skulked.

“Che! What a pain.” The man with lion ears scoffed.

“Hmm? Aren’t you good at hunting? Doesn’t it look like a nice, plump snack?” The beautiful man spat.

“Why me? Do it yourself.” The lion snapped back. The boy with silvery hair looked at the panicking crow man and spoke with a rather false generosity

“Mr Crowley, please leave it to me. I’m sure the others couldn’t stomach harassing the poor creature, so I will take it upon myself.” That guy reminded Yuu of an octoling. That’s weird. Were there even any inklings or octolings here? The tablet then started talking, which alarmed Yuu a bit

“That’s Azul for you. Always try to earn himself points.”

“Are you all even listening?!?!” Crowley cried. Yuu sat in the ink. Completely silent among all the chaos.

“If it’s catching some stupid raccoon, can’t you do it yourself Teach?” The lion man growled

“For the last time, I’m not a raccoon! The Great Grim— destined to become the greatest mage ever— Is me!!” The little cat shouted, stucking it’s fluffy chest out with a sense of pride, which was adorable to Yuu but considering all the fire, perhaps there could be some other time they could admire the cat’s fluffiness. The boy with glasses only chuckled.

“It certainly had a moxie. Care to assist me Riddle?” The red haired boy only grabbed his pen, what a weird thing to grab, Yuu thought to themselves, as he spoke with a sharp tone

“I can’t overlook those who break rules. Let’s hurry and get this over with.”

And the chase of the furry Judd like creature began. Though it kept spewing flames, making it so the two boys would have issues. Yuu watched. All the way until they almost had him cornered. Still lurking in the ink. At least they wouldn't have to watch the little thing get hurt- Surely they would capture it and put it outside–

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!” … That loud shout wasn’t promising.

Chapter Text

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!” The red haired boy practically roared despite his size.

“Nyagh! The heck is this?!” The cat screeched as a heart shaped collar clamped around his neck, almost painfully. The boy only narrowed his stone grey eyes at the little critter.

“Laws of the Queen of Hearts! Number 23. One shall not bring a cat to a festival. You being a cat means you’ve broken the rule. I shall have you leave at once.” He scowled at the little thing, making it shrink below him on the floor. Yuu felt bad for it, until they saw it huff, a sign that it might start shooting flames again.

But the fire never came.

“I’m not a cat!!! I’ll burn this collar right up and—! E-eh?! I can’t use my fire!” The poor thing seemed so distressed, Yuu almost felt bad.

“Hmph! You won't be using any magic until I remove this collar. Just like any ordinary cat.” Yuu did not like the red haired boy, he looked like he was being quite rude to the fire cat.

“Wh-What?! I’m not some pet!” The cat snapped, clearly agitated.

“Don’t worry, I’d never keep a pet like you.” Yeah. Yuu didn’t like the red haired boy. He was definitely being mean to the cat. Poor cat. But it really wasn’t their place to intervene. Still. Poor cat.

“I’ll take it off anyway when you get thrown out.” The boy’s gaze was cold and cruel. Yuu really did not like that.

“Wow… Wonderful as ever. Any and all magic gets sealed by your Unique Magic Riddle. I simply must have it—.. Err… I mean I would never want that cast on me.” The boy with glasses had a predatory look in his eyes. Scary. Crowley snapped his head around, looking for someone. Yuu was… confused, and stood up out of the ink to see who he was looking for, until he spotted them and started berating them. Did… Did he think this was their fault?!

“You MUST do something about this! It is YOUR familiar, after all! Properly discip–” Yuu only interrupted with a string of angry curses and insults in squid language.

“I have never seen that thing in my life, you stupid bird thing.” They snapped, already fed up with the masked crow man, who only stared as if they grew a second head.

“... What?” The headmaster looked around to see if anyone could understand them. Before glancing at the dark mirror. It seemed to understand them…Before it did speak up.
“It isn’t theirs.” And said nothing else, not translating the insults (For the sake of Crowley’s ego.) Leaving the room in silence. Yuu stared at Crowley as he cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.

“Ahem.. Ah.. Then we’ll throw it out.” He had grabbed Grim, holding him like he was a piece of filthy trash, the little thing was wriggling around in frustration

“We won’t turn you into stew, for I am gracious. Somebody help please.” Moments after, Grim was taken away, angrily squirming around

“GYAAAA!! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I’m going to-! I’m going to-!... Become the greatest mage!-” His screams were cut off by the poor thing getting shut out. Poor cat.

“We had a bit of trouble along the way, but this brings this ceremony to a close. Dormitory Heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories.” The crow man then put a hand to his chin thoughtfully

“... Hm.. now that I think about it, I don’t see the leader for Diasomnia, Mr. Draconia, around at all..”

“That’s no different than usual, is it?” The lion man scoffed

“What? Did no one tell him about the ceremony?” The boy in the turban asked, frowning

“If you’re going to complain, you should have done it yourself.” The beautiful man crossed his arms, scoffing

“Hmmmm… But I don’t really know the guy..” The boy wearing the turban sighed. And murmurs erupted around the room. What,, was happening. Yuu was so lost and looked to the mirror for an explanation. Nothing from the mirror. Yuu looked around before noticing a short man standing next to them, causing them to yelp. He had a very deep voice as he spoke

“Oh I knew it.. I came here to see if my suspicion was right. And sure enough, Malleus isn’t around. It seems the invitation “never arrived” again.” Yuu stared at him. He was…. Intimidating to say the least despite the fact he was barely taller than they were.

“My deepest apologies, I promise we did not intend to exclude you.” The silver haired boy said, with that fake smile. Yuu had mixed feelings about that.

“His aura makes it hard to approach him..” The red haired boy murmured

“It’s fine. Members of the Diasomnia dormitory can come with me. … I hope this doesn’t upset him..” The students left. Yuu took a deep breath, this was not ideal. Crowley turned to the inkling, who stared at him

“Well then.. Erm.. Whatever you are, I’m terribly sorry about this but you must leave this school. Those without any talent for magic cannot attend class here. Not to worry. The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came.” As he gestured to a coffin, Yuu stopped paying attention to whatever the hell he was saying and scurried into the coffin. Hopefully he was telling them how to get home.

“... My you’re eager to get home..” Crowley murmured upon noticing how quickly Yuu entered the casket, leaning against the back of it, as though it might speed up the process.

“Oh, Dark Mirror, Guide this one back to the place where they belong!”

Silence. A bead of sweat dripped down Crowley’s face, Yuu noticed. Mentally took note of that.

“Once more… Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this–” The mirror cut him off,

“It is nowhere.” and once more, Yuu could understand it, and so did Crowley. Dead silence for a solid minute.

“... Eh?” Crowley squawked. Still a funny noise despite the severity of the situation. Yuu bit their bottom lip to prevent them from snickering

“The place they belong is nowhere in this world… It does not exist.”

“What did you say? That is unbelievable! Hmm, well, the unbelievable has been on a parade today…” He murmured the last sentence, making Yuu tilt their head to the side slightly

“This is the first time this has happened since I became headmaster… Which was..” He paused, counting on his fingers before stopping. Clearly in too much shock to think straight.

“Where did you say you were from?” Yuu looked to the mirror for an answer, before hearing it repeat his question in squid language,

“Inkopolis.” They said, hoping the mirror would translate, and indeed it did. Crowley put a hand to his chin

“I’ve never heard of that place. I have a general grasp of where all students come from, But I’ve never heard that name before…” From his confusion, Yuu got the idea that he had no idea where they were from.

“Let’s go do some research in the library, hm?” He gestured for them to follow.

Well one thing was for sure.

This isn’t Inkopolis.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Text

Within the library, books floating around, Yuu looked around the room. Wide eyed. This certainly wasn’t normal

“There really isn’t anything..” Crowley murmured, sliding a floating book to the side, Yuu was too busy trying to figure out the magic of the books. Moving their hand back and forth under the books, to even listen to half of what he was saying.

“Not only the world map, but the name of your home isn’t even written in history… Are you truly where you say you are from? You’re not lying to me by any chance?” He blinked owlishly at Yuu, who still wasn’t paying attention to him at all. They were trying to read a book-... Upside down. He fought everything within him to not guffaw loudly at their efforts. He only used a metal tipped finger to gently tilt the book down, making the inkling drop the book, as it slipped from their hands and floated off. They blinked at him, clearly pouting as Crowley barely cracked a smile at their expression.

“I believe you’re from another planet. Or another world.”

Yuu had no idea what he was saying.

“What”

“You’re from another plane of existence.”

“What are you saying?”

“YOU’RE IN A FAR PLACE FROM HOME.”

“WHAT??”

This conversation was getting nowhere. Crowley groaned loudly. Before snapping his fingers, a pen and paper appeared out of thin air. He proceeded to draw a sloppy image of– however he interpreted Inkopolis, which was just a messy circle. Then an arrow pointing to another circle, where he made a sloppy drawing of him and Yuu. Yuu tilted their head to the side, trying to process the drawing. Unfortunately, they still didn’t understand. Crowley then proceeded to pick up Yuu. And walk all the way back to the Dark Mirror.

“Translate.” Crowley’s voice was firm and filled with annoyance.

The mirror was silent.

“Translate!” The masked man snapped as he held Yuu up to the mirror.

Silence.

Yuu was so lost right now.

“TRANSLATE OR SO HELP ME I’LL–”

“Yuu, you are in another world.” The mirror’s voice said plainly. Now Yuu wasn’t as lost but now just froze.

“... Oh!” Was all they could say. There really was nothing else they could say. Crowley sighed loudly, placing the inkling down. They only stood there. Stunned. Seems like they weren’t getting home anytime soon. Crowley stood in front of them, just finally noticing their hair–? Tentacles? He didn’t know what to call them, they looked squishy. And he couldn’t contain his curiosity as he just poked one with a metal tipped finger, which Yuu quickly swatted away. Clearly offended.

“Perhaps we should have Crewel take a look at you…” He murmured, Yuu stared, they still had their splattershot jr… Their grip was tight on the weapon as they stared at the crow man. Before they promptly stuck their tongue out. Crowley narrowed his yellow eyes at the squid. They were becoming a bit.. Bothersome.

“Come now, we’ll have to find a place for you to stay later, in the meantime let’s get you to Crewel.” He gestured to the inkling to follow them, they followed, still clearly frustrated about the poke.

After the two had walked through a couple hallways, they reached a large door, with the words, “Professor Crewel '' embedded in the center in cursive. Which Yuu thought was just scribbles on the door. Crowley opened the door and within the room, was a tall man. He had a long, black and white fur coat, as well as black and white hair that seemed to match it. Yuu stared up at him. He was pretty.

“Ah, Crowley. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Crewel’s tone was rather,,, aggressive? Frustrated? Anyone would be if they had Crowley as headmaster..

“Could you examine this one? I’m having trouble.. Figuring out what they are.” Crewel raised an eyebrow at this

“What do you mean? How could you not know what this pup– is…” He noticed Yuu’s hair. And leaned forward to get a better look at them. Yuu blinked a few times as he reached to touch their hair, however, unlike Crowley, he softly asked

“Pup, may I?” Yuu assumed he was asking at least and slowly nodded. Hand still on their splattershot jr. He gently examined the tentacle.

“Have you tried contacting Ashengrotto about them? He’s a cephalopod as well, isn’t he?” Crewel asked, Crowley shook his head

“I went to you directly, Divus.”

“Figures.” Crewel sighed

“I recommend that you see if he knows anything about what they might be. All I can figure out is that they are partial to some kind of squid. Do you have a place in mind for them to stay? Since I’m assuming that, since they’re still here, you haven’t been able to contact their guardians?” 

“..... Let’s focus on one matter at a time, yes?” Crowley would have to sort that out later… Crewel leaned away from Yuu and sat down on a chair

“No Crowley. This is a teenager that has no identification or way to get home. You must take responsibility!–”

“Why don’t we room them with another dorm like–” Crewel quickly cut Crowley off

“With the other pups?! They’d be eaten within moments.”

“What about the Ramshackle dorm!” Crowley squawked, which Yuu snickered at despite not knowing the context. Crowley shot a frustrated glance at them. They quickly stopped.

“Hmm.. Perhaps if you did some renovating…” The man in the fur coat put a hand to his chin. Thinking.

“Fine. It’d be a good place to put them, IF you don’t make it more habitable though, I will hunt you down and–!”

“Understood Divus.” Crewel narrowed his eyes. A bead of sweat dripped down Crowley’s masked face. The man with the fur coat was… intimidating to say the least.

“Now run along Dire.” Crewel waved his hand to gesture for them to leave. Crowley swiftly opened the door and gestured for Yuu to walk through first. Which they did, and he followed after.

The crow and the squid had walked all the way to Ramshackle.

“In the morning, we will set up a meeting with Ashengrotto to see if he can understand anything you’re saying… Oh why do I bother explaining anything to you.. Just, you live here now.” The last sentence, Crowley said in a very loud and frustrated voice, as though Yuu couldn’t understand (they can’t), and with that, Crowley left Yuu in the dark and scary run-down dormitory. They sat down on the couch. Trying to think of something to do in the meantime. They noticed it was raining outside. Quickly looking up to the ceiling for any leaks. Water and inklings didn’t mix. There were a few leaks, which caused Yuu to scurry around for buckets. Anything that would catch water. They were pretty occupied with this now, nothing could interrupt them trying to not DIE. especially since there was no respawn point in sight.

But then, they heard a familiar voice.

“HYIII!! It’s really coming down!

Chapter Text

Yuu flinched from the sudden shout. Their head snapping around to see the familiar judd-like creature. Aiming their splattershot jr right at the critter.

“Gyahaha! You’ve got this stupid- HYIIIII?!?!?!? PUT THAT DOWN!!!” This then resulted in Yuu chasing Grim around, firing ink as the little creature dodged and shrieked.

“STOP SHOOTING AT ME!!!!” He screamed. Yuu did not stop. In fact they proceeded to shoot and swim in the ink. Scaring the daylights out of Grim.

“BWAHHHHH!!!! STOP IT!!!”

Water dripped onto the ink. Causing Yuu to stop in their tracks. And immediately leap out of the ink. Still a squid as they flopped on the ground. Grim stared at them from across the room. Hackles raised at the ink based squid. Who went back into their more humanoid form. Grim took in a deep breath, a sign that he was going to blast fire. Then–

Drip.

“Nyaa! So cold! The roof is leaking!” It squealed. Yuu took note of that.. Ok, they both don’t like water… to put it simply, since water literally kills inklings. Yuu motioned to grab a bucket, but then the water dripped onto the little thing’s head again.

“Fgyaa! It keeps coming! My adorable ear fire is gonna go out at this rate!” The cat whined, moving out of the way of the water leak.

“How many leaks are there..?” Yuu grumbled, perhaps a little bit worried for their life. The cat licked his paw and rubbed it against the top of his head, fixing his fur.

“Magic should fix this leak up real quick… Oh right. You can’t use magic? Pfft-! You’re useless.” Yuu was under the impression that he was mocking them, so they did the only reasonable thing and raised their splattershot jr at his face–

“Why you–!” They snapped, the cat then squeaked, and hid elsewhere. They groaned and lowered their weapon. Before deciding to continue their hunt for buckets. Yuu slowly walked up the stairs, water dripped down right next to them, causing the squid to jump back. Close. Too close for comfort.

“Gotta find that bucket..” They muttered, before feeling an eerie sense of dread once they reached the top of the stairs.

“... Don’t like this feeling in this scary hallway with water dripping from the ceiling–” Yuu grumbled before suddenly getting greeted by three, marshmallow shaped ghosts.

This then prompted Yuu to shriek in confusion and terror.

“Hihihihi… ihihihi… We haven’t had a guest in a long time..” One of the ghosts chuckled, clearly enjoying Yuu’s raw fear. Ghosts were not supposed to be real so why were three of them here—

“I’m itching for some action…” The ghost's strange voice interrupted Yuu’s thoughts. They flinched and met the blue eyes of the ghost. The ghosts cackled, causing Yuu to scramble for their Splattershot Jr. They were about to start firing when the small cat thing walked up the stairs at the sound of Yuu’s scream.

“What are you freaking out—” He noticed the ghosts.

“Gyaaaaaaaa!! G-G-Ghooooosssssttttttss!!” He screeched, Yuu immediately shrunk back behind him. Still gripping their Splattershot tightly.

“The people living here got scared of us and left..”
“We’ve been looking for some new ghost pals, how about you guys?”

Yuu had not a clue what they were saying.

They didn’t want to find out and wasted no time shooting at the ghosts and just screaming as they did. Grim promptly jumped back, out of range as the ghosts cackled and faded away. Yuu stopped shooting and looked around. Where were they?

“Ihihihihi…” The ghosts laughter echoed through the broken halls. This situation was less than ideal for the poor inkling. The cat behind them shuddered.

“The Great G-Grim, master sorcerer is not afraid of some.. G-Ghosts!” He squeaked. Before blasting fire out of his mouth.

He missed.

Yuu cursed him internally.

“Nuh-uh. Not even close. The lanky ghost taunted.

“Over here over here! Ah ha ha!” The plump one chortled.

“Argh! They keep disappearing and reappearing!” Grim snorted. Yuu scowled.

“You’re going to keep missing if you keep firing with your eyes closed!” Yuu shouted. Grim only hissed back

“I don’t understand what you’re saying but I don’t need any lip from you squid! So shaddup!”

All Yuu understood was that he wasn’t willing to work together.

This was starting to become worse than going in a turf war with a team that wouldn’t cooperate. They noticed movement to the left of them, and shouted, pointing in the direction of the ghost that had just reappeared,

“THERE!” Grim had turned on heel and blasted fire at the ghost, directly hitting the short one. Yuu gave him a thumbs up.

And so the ghost busting commenced. Yuu had to keep shouting and pointing to ensure that Grim knew exactly where the ghosts were.

So this was how their life at Ramshackle would be like. How fun.

Chapter Text

After a long battle of fire and screaming at a cat to shoot left not right, the ghosts seemed to be frightened off for good. Hopefully. As they faded away, screeching

“Hwaah! We gotta get out of here! Before we get disappeared for good!” The plump one shouted as they all disappeared. Yuu took a deep quiet breath.

“Did we… win?” Grim asked, eyes wide and fur standing up. He looked at the squid kid who only seemed to relax.

“Aw geez I was scared out of my– I mean-!” He puffed his little chest out.

“They didn’t faze me one bit! Just a walk in the park for a mage of my caliber! Whaddaya got to say now, ghosties? That's right!” Yuu smiled at his proud little grin. At least they have a cute cat to look at. Maybe the weird guy with feathers would let them keep it. They ruffled his fur, prompting Grim to complain and squirm

“Hey! The Great Grim is not a house cat!” Though it didn’t take long for Yuu to find out that he liked being scratched behind his flaming ears. They were warm to the touch and didn’t burn as they looked. The moment was quiet and peaceful.

Before this moment was interrupted by a familiar voice behind them

“Good evening, in an act of my immense kindness, I have brought you dinner–” He cut himself off as he noticed Yuu petting Grim.

“.. Wait. Why, that’s the creature we ejected at the ceremony! What is it doing here!?” He squawked, Yuu only blinked in confusion as the little furry creature puffed it’s chest out again and proudly declared

“Taking care of your ghost problem! You’re welcome!”

“What is the meaning of this?...”  Crowley trailed off as he put more thought into what the fire cat said

“But you know, on that topic, I do seem to recall that this dorm had a mischievous ghost problem. Ah, yes... That's why it was abandoned, in fact. The ghosts scared away all the students.” Yuu had zoned out and was just looking around the broken down hallways.

… Damn this place was trashed. The wood was rotting and they wouldn’t be surprised if they took too hard of a step that the floor would crack from the impact. They glanced at the moth-eaten curtains. Maybe they should renovate…

… And they just missed half of the conversation and now there’s a ghost with the strange bird man’s mask on it.

Great.

Were they supposed to Ghostbust again?

____________________________________________________________________________

Yuu was starting to dislike the bird guy more and more. Grim was panting after defeating the ghosts once more, trying to catch his breath.
“Well?” He huffed, clearly tired after using his fire so much.

“Incredible... I've never seen anyone bend a monster to their will quite the way you have.

I must confess, my educator's intuition did sense something about you after the brouhaha at orientation.. I could tell you had a certain animal trainer-y, beast master-ish quality to you. Oh, yes. That said, I…” He trailed off, mumbling incoherent words that either way.. Yuu couldn’t understand. They wonder if he forgot if they couldn’t speak the same language. They just put their splattershot on their hip. And promptly picked up the exhausted fire cat. Who didn’t fuss. Only leaned against their hand as they started to pet him, gently scratching behind his flamed ears again. Perhaps they just had a soft spot for him, as he did remind them of Judd and Lil Judd. Crowley stopped murmuring once he noticed Yuu hold Grim.

“... Don’t tell me you want to keep him.” Yuu held Grim closely.

“... You can’t be—” Yuu took a step away. Causing Crowley to groan loudly.

“A monster? Stay here?” He deadpanned, Yuu had no idea what he was saying. But they took another step back. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his.. Beak? Yuu wouldn’t be surprised if that was a part of his face.

“I suppose I cannot deny your plea… Very well.” Grim perked up.

“Myah?! Really?” He grinned, forked tail swaying around happily.

… Another reason why he reminded them of Judd, weird tail.

“Let me be clear! Under no circumstances would I admit anyone to Night Raven College who has not been selected by the Dark Mirror - especially not a monster!” Yuu continued to pet Grim as the Crow man spoke.

“Hrmph. Never shoulda got my hopes up…” Grim pouted a bit. Crowley glanced at Yuu(Who wasn’t paying attention)

“Now, allow me to explain. It was the Dark Mirror that transported you here. Therefore this school does bear some responsibility for your well-being. Also tomorrow, you have a meeting scheduled with Mr Ashengrotto to see if there’s a chance you two cephalopods can communicate with each other.” Yuu blinked once. Then twice. And Crowley sighed.

“... Right, you can’t understand me.” He sighed before snapping his fingers, a floating platter of food appeared. It floated in front of Yuu. At least food was familiar in this world. It was a simple sandwich, with chicken and a few other vegetables on it. They looked at Grim. Then placed him down, split the sandwich into two, and gave him the other half.

Crowley seemed to take this as his cue to leave.

Yuu and Grim ate quietly together. After finishing their meal, Yuu grabbed the floating plate and placed it on the antiquated table. Not too long after that, they scouted out the least broken down room, Grim following by their feet. They soon found a.. Habitable room. The bed frame was still in contact(Although it looked like it might crumble at any moment), though there was so much dust that the two immediately started sneezing the second they touched the bed.

Yuu dusted off the bed, or more, they had to beat it to get all the dust off. Yuu placed their splattershot jr next to the bed. They sighed and laid down on the bed. It was far from comfortable. Grim curled up at the foot of the bed. Snoring within moments.

This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Yuu woke up in that god awful bed. The first thing they noticed was the three familiar marshmallow ghosts floating above them.

“Hee hee hee… Aren’t you two supposed to be getting ready for your meeting~?” The lanky ghost snickered at the groggy inkling.

“Mmm… Five more minutes Ma…” Grim grumbled, forked tail twitching lazily

“Go ahead, sleep the day away. And you might not eeever hafta wake up again” The short ghost giggled

“Just like us! Ah ha ha ha..” The plump ghost said.

Note to self. Get rid of ghosts. Yuu thought to themselves. Grim suddenly shot up

“Myah?! The ghosts are back! Hey, Calamari, up and at 'em!” He shouted, practically ordering Yuu. Yuu only grabbed their splattershot jr. Shot all the ink in their tank at the ghosts. And then proceeded to try to sleep again.

Grim did not appreciate this.

“Calamari!! Get up!” He squealed. Pressing his paw pads into their cheek. Yuu only grumbled in squid language.

“Henchsquid!!!” The cat shouted in their pointed ears. Yuu only sat up. Staring down at the cat with groggy eyes.

“I hate you fluffy guy.” They deadpanned. They felt a bit guilty for saying that once Grims head tilted to the side, clearly confused and unaware of their verbal annoyance. They only ruffled the fur on his head before getting up, ignoring the fire cat’s whines as they hopped out of bed and noticed a uniform on the nightstand, with a note they couldn’t understand. But they assumed the clothes were for them. So they grabbed the uniform and put it on. It was a bit loose but they didn’t mind, as they rolled up their sleeves and the hem of their pants. They gestured for the cat to follow them, which he did as they felt their ink tank slowly fill as they walked down the stairs.

They were greeted by the masked crow man. Who had a plate of food for them on the broken down table. Eggs and bacon. Yuu had absolutely no idea what the hell bacon was. But as the flame cat devoured the red strips of meat, they cautiously poked at the eggs with the fork. Crowley was watching expectantly.. And it would be rude… Also they hadn’t eaten since the night before.

Damn it they were just going to eat it.

They ravenously devoured the eggs, Grim eating the bacon with glee. Crowley just watched.

Creepy. They disliked his beady yellow eyes. Birds were ok but he was not. He also reeked of irresponsibility.

Once they finished eating, the crow man put a map on the table. A folded note accompanying it. He looked at the fire cat before speaking

“Now you make sure they get to the circled location on the map. And give Mr. Ashengrotto the note as well, it explains their situation. If you can complete this simple task, you will be rewarded.” The cat’s eyes lit up, as Yuu kicked their feet in their chair. As per usual, zoning out as the two conversed.

They didn’t even notice Crowley leaving the dorm, until their cheek was met with two, surprisingly soft, paw pads. Trying to get their attention.

“Calamariiiii!!” Grim whined, making Yuu glance at him

“Henchsquid, we gotta go!” He jumped down and gestured with a paw for them to follow.

Which took them a moment to understand but they got it.

Eventually.

__________________________________________________________________________

The squid and the cat were walking down mainstreet, both squinting at the map. Before Grim glanced over at 7 stone statues. Yuu was still squinting at the map as he excitedly trotted to one of a large woman.

“I didn't get to see it much yesterday. What's the deal with these seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary. Like, this lady here looks like she's got some reeeal anger management issues.” He laughed a bit, only barely causing Yuu to look up from the map. Until a voice behind them caused the poor inkling to snap their head around in surprise.

“You don’t know the Queen of Hearts?” The voice’s source was from a boy. Ginger hair, red eyes and a big red heart on his cheek. Grim turned his head towards the sound, his head tilted to the side in confusion.

“Queen of Hearts? She some kinda big deal?” The cat asked, forked tail twitching

“She was a queen who lived in a mazelike garden of roses long, long ago. She was a strict woman who prized order above all. She wouldn't tolerate a rose being off-color, or her playing-card soldiers being out of step. She basically ruled over a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her.” He explained

Of course Yuu went back to figuring out the map. Completely tuning out their conversation over the Famous Great Seven.

They only started to walk again down main street.

Maybe if they had payed attention, they would have noticed the large fireball that flew past them.

Though they did hear the futile screams that the two let out, that didn’t stop them from inspecting the map. They were filled with determination.

Though a familiar squawk broke their focus.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!”

Chapter Text

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!”
Yuu probably shouldn’t have thrown an ink bomb because they got scared. Because that only aggravated the already pissed crow man.
...
At least they learned they could throw bombs in this universe now?
...
Maybe it wasn’t worth it due to the soaked headmaster, covered entirely in pink ink. As he stood there, flabbergasted, Ace and Grim had taken this opportunity to run.

Unfortunately that was a horrible idea, as the enraged headmaster had decided to give them some lashes of love. Yuu was not spared due to the ink bomb.
“As if the likes of you could ever escape me,” He snapped at the three of them, “Was last night's squabble not ENOUGH?! This will not do. And you!” He turned to Ace,
“State your name and grade.”
Ace hesitated, clearly guilty
“Ace Trappola... Freshman.” He muttered, staring at the floor.
Crowley shot a glare at Yuu, who felt a grim shiver down their spine. He let out a shaky,
very clearly infuriated, sigh.
“You three will be washing 100 windows each as punishment.” Crowley said firmly
“I will be informing Mr. Ashengrotto if he can understand Yuu.”
“Myah?! This is what you get for makin’ fun of me! This is all your fault!” Grim yapped at
Ace, who seemed dumbfounded.
“What?! I have to do it too?!” He squawked
“Of course you will. You three will meet after class in the cafeteria.” Then the headmaster
stomped off, his feathers ruffled. ...
What a great start to the day. ________________________________________________________________________
Grim and Yuu had found their way to the Octavinelle dorm. They stared at the mirror, seemingly the entrance. Yuu only slowly went to touch the mirror, when–
“Haha, is that the little squid Azul was talking about~?” a lazy voice nattered from behind them, causing the inkling and the fire cat to jolt and whip their heads around. And behind them was a tall boy with dark teal hair and.. A fedora?? Yuu hadn’t seen one of those in a while.
“M-Myah?! Who are you?!” Grim squeaked out, his fur standing up.
“Woah, a talking cat? That’s not something you see everyday. Can I squeeze you until you pop?” The tall boy giggled, causing the cat to try to climb up Yuu’s leg to escape his reach. The inkling only held him protectively, sensing his unease and holding him like a mother might hold her baby. The skyscraper of a person seemed to notice this
“Aw~! Squidy, I’m not gonna kill baby seal~.” He cooed, crossing his arms. Before he casually grabbed them by the arm, and swaggered through–
The mirror???
It was a strange sensation.
It was like walking into a cold puddle of ink. Before there were surrounded by– Water.
Wait.
WATER?
Yuu’s jaw dropped as they looked around.
Well they weren’t melting instantly so that was good. They guessed.

Though their thoughts were interrupted by the tall boy dragging them into a lounge.
It reminded them of someplace the famous idol Shiver would visit. It looked more like an expensive cafe, the room's colors filled with cooler shades. Everything was fish themed, so it felt... a bit familiar. Almost comforting. But this place was unfamiliar. It wasn’t their world.
They were abruptly shoved into a room, nearly dropping Grim as they yelped from shock.
“Bye baby seal! Bye squidy~!”
They were met with.. Oh. That boy with silver hair and glasses. The one that chased the cat. Yuu only held Grim closer. Perhaps a bit too close. He squirmed in their arms in discomfort, which caused Yuu to loosen their grip. The boy gestured for Yuu to sit in a chair in front of him, which the inkling hesitantly did.
“So you’re the student that Crowley sent over to me.” The boy spoke first. Yuu only cocked their head to the side slightly, in obvious confusion. Before he sighed, and tried again.
“You’re the student that the headmaster sent over to me, yes? I am Azul Ashengrotto, Housewarden of Octavinelle.” Yuu’s eyes widened. They could actually understand what he was saying. Was he an inkling too?
“Woah. I can actually understand what you’re saying! That’s great! So are you an inkling too? Where am I? What’s the language everyone’s speaking here?” Yuu spoke a mile a minute. But the boy in front of them only hummed, as if listening to something amusing. Before commenting
“So you don’t speak common.” Azul hummed. Yuu only stared blankly, considering he just dismissed all the questions they had.
“... what are you–” Though before Yuu could continue their sentence, Grim took it upon himself to interrupt.
“What are you guys even sayinggg?” He whined loudly, forked tail twitching in annoyance. But Yuu only started scratching him under the chin, momentarily making him forget his annoyance.
“Anyways, you’ll be learning common with me, everyday. For now I’ll see if a friend can make a translator for you.” Azul smiled, but something wasn’t right about it. It left Yuu on edge. But they only nodded quietly.
“Oh and you’re to be washing 100 windows as punishment for bathing the headmaster in ink.” He grinned after speaking.
Ah god damnit.
“Let’s let this lesson begin, hm?