Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Darkness.

Complete and utter darkness.

That’s what you think as you open your eyes. You try to stretch out your arms but there doesn’t seem to be much distance before your arms bump against the walls.

You place your palms against them. It’s a smooth, solid surface. You ball up your hands into fists and hit the walls of the enclosure. It’s something that perfectly holds your body in place. Is it a box?

You vaguely recall the voice that you heard before awakening, “ For me. For them. For you. We are all running out of time. No matter what, never let go of that hand. ”

Your head hurts. What hand? Who is ‘ them ’? Who was the ‘ me ’ that was talking to them?

You click your tongue. How annoying. You need to get out of here. You hear the sound of something or someone scuttling around.

And then, you hear a muffled voice. “Crap. People are comin’. Gotta get a uniform from one of these things!”

You hear scratching. Is it in front of you or above you? The being behind it growls, “Grrr… the lid is too heavy. Well, time for my secret move!” They say. All you see is-

-Blue.

Bright blue.

Fire.

Your instincts overtake you, it’s good that they do, otherwise you would’ve been dead a long time ago. You kick the wall- door? -in an attempt to escape and it flies off cleanly. The fire possibly weakened the hinges.

“Wh-WHA! Why are you up?!” The voice yells, you realize it’s directed at you. You quickly find the source, a small feline(?) like creature with a pitchfork tail and blue fire coming out of its ears, standing on its back legs. It’s pointing its paw at you.

You shift your attention to your area. A room full of floating coffins. In the center stands a fountain with glowing green liquid and above it, a black floating mirror. Above everything else is a crystal like chandelier with purple lights, string decorations are connected to the object whilst also connecting to the pillars in the room.

“What the hell…?” you utter. The small beast makes a noise of offense. “You got a lotta nerve to ignore me when I’m standin’ right in front of ya!” The creature yells. “Your fate was sealed the moment I spotted you. Now hurry up and gimme those clothes! Or else… I’ll roast ya!” It continues speaking. Funny, is it threatening you?

The feline grins with its sharp teeth and inches closer to you, possibly to seem intimidating. You narrow your eyes. You need to leave.

It now tries to jump at you, the way your body moves is like a reflex at this point. Your foot collides with the creature’s stomach. Making a disgusting noise, it launches across the room. You take the opportunity to escape.

You run out of the room and into the hallway. You glance into an open door and see what looks to be a classroom. You don’t have the time for sightseeing, you continue to run.

As you turn a corner, you look out into the courtyard. ‘ Where the hell am I? ’ You think, before coming across two big doors.

Sparing them a second glance, you push the doors open and make your way in. You should stop and think of where an exit would be, but before you can close the doors, they open again, revealing the beast you kicked earlier.

“Did you really think you could get away from my nose, you dumb human?!” It growls in anger, “I’ll take those clothes and burn you to ashes for kicking me like that!”

The creature prepares to pounce again-

-until it is caught by a black whip.

“Ow!!! What’s with this rope?!” It howls in pain. A voice answers, “This is no mere rope. This is a lash of love!” You follow the voice to see a figure walking into the room.

A man in a crow’s mask and a tophat. Donning a jacket with feathers on the shoulders and to the tips of the coat. The hand that holds the whip’s other end have golden claw rings on each finger.

His glowing yellow eyes peer at you, and he speaks with a smile. “Ah, I finally found you at last. Are you one of the new students?” He questions you, but continues without waiting for a reply, “That certainly won’t do. You mustn’t leave the Gate on your own! And not only that, taking your untamed familiar with you to school is against the regulations.”

Honestly , what is this oversized feather duster talking about? The creature struggles against its restraints. “Let me go! I’m not their freakin’ familiar!!” But the man waves off the small beast's protests. “Sure sure, that’s what all the rebellious ones say. Do be quiet for a moment.” He says with a snap of his clawed fingers, and somehow, the beast’s mouth is covered by another layer of the whip.

The man pinches the bridge of his mask covering his nose. “My goodness. It’s unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own.” The man then groans, “Uuuggh… how impatient can you be?” He asks rhetorically before continuing, “The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let’s head to the Hall of Mirrors.”

You squint your eyes at him. “...Gate?” He doesn’t stagger as he answers your question, “It’s the room you woke up in with all the doors. All students admitted to this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here.” The masked man explains to you, “Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key, but…” His sentence drifts off to highlight your situation.

"So those coffins were actually doors..." You utter. The man seemed to have heard you, "They bid farewell to the only world they've ever known and are reborn. Those doors were designed with such sentiments." He says as he glances at the clock in the room.

“Oh my!” He says in surprise, his coat feathers puffing up. “Now isn't the time to be long-winded. The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let's get a move on."

He gestures towards the door, allowing you to walk first. It would be best to follow him and his rules for now, you’re at a severe disadvantage due to the unknown location you’re currently in.

Watching him from the corner of your way, you head out the room, a giant bird-man with a tied up creature in tow.

“Let me ask,” You turn your head to the bird-man as you two walk down the hall, “where am I? And who are you?”

The man tilts his head to the side. “Are you still dazed? Perhaps the teleportation magic has left you disoriented.” He shakes his head. ”Well, no matter. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. For I am gracious." He finishes with a clawed hand on his chest. You roll your eyes at the theatrics.

He begins with an ‘ahem’, “This is ‘Night Raven College’. Budding mages blessed with unprecedented talent gather from all over the world here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland." He says with flourish, arms stretched out towards the courtyard and building. "And I'm the board chairman-appointed headmaster in charge of looking after this college, Dire Crowley." Crowley places a hand on his chest, and bows to you.

You scrunch up your nose, “Mage?” To which Crowley nods, “Only those mages deemed worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. An Ebony carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well."

You remember once encountering the black carriage. Two black horses with blood red eyes, pulling a carriage with a coffin sitting pretty inside. You avoided its path but since then it's been tracking you down. Seems like when it finally caught up to you, you ended up here.

You click your tongue in annoyance once more. ‘ Of course that thing had to do something with this. ’

Crowley continues, "The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Dark Mirror. They are special carriages that carry the Doors to the academy-" Crowley rambles on about the importance of the carriages but you quickly tune him out.

It seems your suspicions on the black carriage were correct in the way that it was bad news and you should avoid it at all costs, unfortunately, it had its eyes set on you and now, this is the end result.

You press your fingers against your temple. ‘ By that logic, I should be cautious about everyone at this “academy”. From the students, to the headmaster himself. ’

Crowley then places his hand on your shoulder, taking you out of your thoughts. You shove his hand off. It seems the little grey creature is still struggling against its restraints. “Come. Let’s go to the entrance ceremony.”

Chapter Text

You stand in front of the door, however Crowley seems to be waiting for something as he just stands there with you. You hear voices on the other side.

“This ends the dorm assignment for the new students, I presume?" One voice speaks, proper yet curt. "Listen up new students. Here in Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them and it's off with your head."

You hear another voice. This one huskier than the former, "Uuuggghh. The stuffy ceremony is finally over." Despite the door, you can hear a yawn coming from them. "We're going back to the dorm. Savanaclaw, follow me."

Another voice chimes in, optimistic sounding yet you somehow know it's just a front, "To the new students, congratulations on entering this academy. Enjoy your best life here to its fullest." You can just hear the salesman smile coming from them. "As the dormitory leader of Octavinelle. I will support you to the best of my ability."

"Which reminds me, where did the headmaster go? He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony..." This one you can tell walks with their head high and with confidence.

"Abandoning his post..." You hear another, dismissive and listless.

"Did he get a stomachache or something?" One kind and naive.

At that mention, Crowley finally barges into the room. Perhaps he waited to make a dramatic entrance. You wish he would drop dead right now. "Not at all!"

"Ah, he's here." The proper yet curt voice says, you trace back to it to find it comes from a boy with red hair.

"I cannot believe all of you. We were missing one new student and so, I went to find them." He then looks in your direction. "You are the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory. I shall watch over the raccoon-" The creature struggles against this, probably saying it isn't a raccoon. "-so step in front of the Dark Mirror." Crowley finishes, gesturing to the giant floating mirror in the center of the room.

With cautious steps, you walk towards the Dark Mirror. You look directly into it, but all it reflects is the greenish glow of a mask with various lace like designs on it. It speaks with a deep voice, "State thy name."

You open your mouth, "Yuu".

The Mirror's baritone voice resonates throughout the room. "The shape of thy soul is..." It pauses and you notice its face twists. "Is unknown." It finally says. Crowley squawks at its answer, "Come again?"

"I sense not a spark of magic from this one... The color, the shape, all are nothing. Therefore, they are suited for no dormitory." It's voice booms. The spectators talk amongst themselves. ' No magic? ', ' What is a magicless person doing here? ', ' Is this some kind of joke? '

Your foot taps in annoyance. This is an annoying night and it feels like it won't be ending anytime soon.

"An Ebony Carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can't use magic!" Crowley looks distraught at the news. "In 100 years, there has not once been a mistake in student selection. So why in the world..." He trails off in thought. Taking advantage of Crowley's position, the little beast comes free from the whip. "Then I'll take their place!" It confidently proclaims.

"Stay right there! Raccoon!" Crowley orders, but the creature ignores him. "Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic! Let me in the school instead!" It rambles. "If you need proof, I'll show you right now!"

As if he knows that something horrible is about to happen, the red-haired boy yells, "Everyone, get down!"

And with that, the blue flamed creature lights the venue on fire.

Someone screams, "Waaaah!!! Hotttt!! My butt's on fire!" You hear Crowley's voice over the commotion. "At this rate the school will be a sea of fire! Somebody, catch that raccoon!!"

You pinch the bridge of your nose. The entire area is complete chaos. Some students run out of the room, others cower in a corner, and some hide behind their leaders.

The husky voiced man tisks in annoyance, you realize he has lion ears. "What a pain." At that, a blond man questions him, "Hm? Aren't you good at hunting? Doesn't it look like a nice, plump snack?" He says with a smirk to the other man. You push your way through the crowd. It could've been worse honestly. "Why me? Do it yourself." The man with the lion ears retorts.

A boy with glasses stands in front of Crowley with pride. "Crowley-san, please leave it to me. I'm sure the others couldn't stomach harassing the poor creature, so I will take it upon myself." You continue to shove through the crowd, rolling your eyes at his saccharine tone.

You finally force your way through towards the other end of the room, where Crowley and the other boys are. You realize the beast is relatively close-by.

"Haa... That's Azul for you. Always trying to earn himself points." The listless voice, you realize it comes from a floating device, remarks about 'Azul'.

A white haired boy looks around in a panic, "Ummmmmm, hey, could someone put out the fire on my butt already!?"

Flabbergasted, Crowley yells. "Are you all even listening!?"

The lion eared man puts a hand on his hip and directs his question to Crowley, "If it's just some stupid raccoon, can't you catch it yourself, Teach?"

‘God, they're all useless .’ You think as you walk past them to get closer to the creature. You feel a migraine forming.

Surrounded by the blue flames, the grey creature again argues. "For the last time, I'm not a raccoon!" It places a paw on the white patch on its chest.

Distracted by correcting everyone, it fails to notice that you've come up behind it. "The Great Grim- destined to become the greatest mage- URK!"

You ignore its little introduction to the world or whatever hellscape it created, and grip it by the scruff of its neck. It tries fighting you.

"You stupid human! Let me go!!" It demands. "I'll seriously-!" You grip the creature's muzzle shut. " Shut up. " Its ears flatten at your tone, tail between its legs.

“Yuu-san!” You hear a voice call to you. Turning, you see the headmaster approach you. "Honestly, causing a disturbance like this is unacceptable! You must do something about this! It is your familiar, after all!" He begins on a tirade.

"This piece of shit ain't mine." You bark, stopping Crowley dead in his tracks.

The red haired boy comes towards you, but his gaze is focused on the trouble-making creature. “Sevens, not only did you break regular school rules, you have also broken the Queen of Hearts rule! Laws of the Queen of Hearts: Number 23 "One shall never bring a cat into a festival." This creature being a cat has broken the rules, and so, it must be punished and removed."

Grim tries to argue, but it ultimately fails due to your grip. The red haired boy raises a pen, “Now, Off with Your Head!” Chanting that, a strange heart shaped collar locks around Grim’s neck.

“There, now it won’t be able to spew anymore flames and it’s nothing more than a regular cat.” You remove your hand at the notion that it won’t set fire to the venue again.

It does continue speaking though, “How many times do I hafta say it?! I’m not a freaking cat OR a raccoon!!” The red haired boy simply raises his head to look down at Grim, “I’ll remove it once you’re thrown out.”

The glasses-wearing boy, presumably Azul, approaches the red haired boy. "As wonderful as ever. Any and all magic gets sealed by your Unique Magic, Riddle." Azul sings praises to the boy- Riddle is his name.

Crowley clears his throat to gather everyone's attention. "Anyway, let's get it out of the school at any rate. We won't turn you into a stew, for I am gracious. Someone assist Yuu-kun, please." At that, one of the students cautiously grabbed Grim to put it outside.

"Gyaaa!!! Let me go!!!!! I'm going to become the greatest mage!!!!!!!!" Grim screams are cut short by the slam of the door.

You drag your hands down your face. You're exhausted.

Trying to restore whatever pride he has, Crowley speaks to everyone. "We had a bit of trouble along the way, but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close. Dormitory Heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories." Crowley's gentlemanly smile is wiped from his face as he looks around the room. "Now that I think about it, I don't see the leader for Diasomnia, Draconia-kun, around at all..."

The man with the lion ears laughs unsurprisingly, "That's no different from usual, is it?"

"What? Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?" The white haired boy, whose butt was previously on fire, questions.

The blond man shoots a look to the turban wearing boy, "If you're going to complain, you should have done it yourself." But the boy with the turban just tilts his head, "Hmmm... But I don't really know anything about him."

The students murmur amongst themselves again. ' By Draconia... Do they mean that Malleus Draconia? ', ' So he really is attending this school... ', ' Scary... '

"Oh, I knew it." A boy, whose voice sounds incredibly mature for his young face, makes himself known in the room. "I came here to check if my suspicion was right, and sure enough, Malleus isn't around." He shakes his head with a sigh, "It seems the invitation 'never arrived' again."

Azul shares a sympathetic look to him, "My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn't intend to exclude you."

Riddle puts a hand on his hip. "His aura makes it hard to approach him."

The man with the mature voice and pink highlights wave off the concerns, "It's fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me." He then whispers to himself, "Ah, I hope this doesn't upset him..."

Finally, the students file out the room with their Dorm Leaders and you can hear Crowley sigh. "Then, Yuu-kun, I'm terribly sorry about this but... We must have you leave the school." He says to you, face grim. "Those without any talent for magic cannot be allowed to attend class here."

"But not to worry!" His face brightens again. Could he stop with the dramatics? "The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came. All you must do is to enter the Gate, and picture your home clearly in your mind." Crowley ushers you towards the Mirror. Despite this, you feel like this won't work the way either of you want it to.

Crowley directs his attention towards the Mirror. "Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place they belong!" But the Dark Mirror just stares back at the headmaster with a blank expression. Crowley attempts again, "Once more. Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this-"

"It is nowhere..." The Mirror responds.

"Eh?" Crowley replies, dumbfounded.

"The place they belong is nowhere in this world... It does not exist." You shake your head, "I figured." Crowley looks at you in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The world I come from is completely desolate. There's no way I belong here. Magic doesn't exist nor does anything like Night Raven College exist where I'm from." You explain to him. He holds his chin between his fingers in thought.

"Is there anything you had on you when you came here? Perhaps anything to verify your identity? You seem to be empty handed." He questions and you open out your hands to show you don't have anything. "Absolutely nothin'."

"This is concerning. I can't just let someone who can't use magic to stay at this school. However, as an educator, I can't just toss a penniless teenager who has no means of contacting their guardians out on the street-" "I have no guardians." You interrupt, and Crowley gives you a look of worry. You shrug in response.

"Although," Crowley continues, "I know exactly where you can stay for the time being. For I am gracious." It seems like that's a thing he's going to continue to say. Maybe you should wring out his neck. "It used to be used as a dormitory but if you can clean it up, you should at least be able to sleep there." He proposes. "During that time, I will look for a way to make sure you return home!"

"Ah truly, my graciousness is limitless! I am a model for all educators." He praises himself, you imagine yourself beating him over the head with the Dark Mirror.

"Now then, we must be on our way. Let's head over to the dormitory. It's a tad old but you will see that there's a certain charm to it." He says with a smile that you immediately do not trust. Unfortunately, you have no other options. With a sigh, you follow Crowley out of the Hall of Mirrors.

Chapter Text

You finally approach the dormitory. Taking in the surroundings you see that it gives the vibe of something out of a horror movie. You kinda like it.

"You know, I've seen worse. At least half of the building is still standing." You remark as you stare at the dorm. Crowley laughs nervously at your comment. "W-Well then, please come inside." He says, opening the gate. Its rusted state makes the gate fall off of its hinges. How charming.

Crowley opens the front door, which lets out an ear piercing creak. With the gust of wind caused by the door opening, all of the dust in the foyer flies into the air, making it look like snow.

‘ It was abandoned for a while but it seems like nature hasn’t reclaimed it. That’s good. ’ You smile at the decrepit building. You consider this to be a place of luxury in comparison to your world.

"Staying here will at least keep you out of the rain." Crowley says. "I'll be going back to do some more research. Do make yourself at home and don't go wandering around the school. Goodnight!" He says slamming the door shut, which shakes the entire building.

You make your way into the lounge. It's an old building for sure, but you think you'll be able to work with what you have. Surviving isn't as difficult when you have a solid home base.

You make the effort of trying to clean up a bit. You noticed a few books littered on the floor, maybe it would be nice to read something, especially if it’s something about this world.

You're taken out of your thoughts when you hear thunder rumbling and it starts to rain heavily. You should probably check for buckets or something to hold water in, you're sure the roof would have holes in it.

You hear a shriek coming from somewhere, "Hyiiii!!!! It's really coming down!" From the voice alone you can tell it was Grim. You turn your head to confirm your suspicions.

And yep, he's right there, shaking off the water from his fur.

"Gyahaha!! Bet you thought you saw the last of me, you dumb human! Sneaking back into the school again was suuuuuper easy for me. If you think getting thrown out is gonna make me give up on getting in, you've got another thing comin'!" He says in a childishly confident way. But, you just ignore him and continue cleaning.

It seems your reaction wasn't something he was expecting. "H-Hey!! Look at me when I'm talking to you, I'm the Great Master Grim here!!" He whines and you shoot him a piercing glare. Grim immediately folds and he speaks in a timid tone. “At least listen to what I hafta say…”

Your eyes instinctively roll to the back of your head. You couldn't care less about his woes but it seems he won't shut up otherwise. You stop what you're doing and turn to him with your arms crossed.

That seems to be enough to pump the confidence back into him. ‘ He's no better than a child’ . "I'm a genius who is destined to be a great mage! I've been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to pick me up. But....but...." He drifts off slightly, voice weakening. It isn't long before he bursts in emotion again, though. "Hmph! The Dark Mirror just doesn't have an eye for someone like me! So that's why I came here on my own."

"Honestly, not letting me in would be a loss for the world. You humans just don't get it." Grim says with a shake of his head. Water drips onto his head from the roof. "Nyaa!! So cold! The roof is leaking!!"

Water continuously drops onto Grim's head. "Fgyaa!!! It keeps coming! At this rate, my ear fire is gonna go out!" He cries. You look up at the ceiling to see where the leak is. ‘ It won’t be on the furniture, so I’m not particularly worried, though I should at least get a bucket so it doesn’t rot the wood more. ’

You leave Grim to his water hell and go into the hallway. You wonder if any of these doors lead to a storage closet. You hear something bump in the distance but you don’t pay any attention to it.

Although, the air feels cold. You would guess it’d be a draft but then you would find rain water. Maybe it’s something else entirely?

" Hihihihihi.... Ihihihihiii..... "

Your shoulders tense. The room is freezing.

" We haven't had a guest in such a long time...... "

Was someone hiding here? You quickly glance at the floor and see a lamp. You can use that as a weapon.

" I'm itching for some action. Ihihihihi! " The voice sings out. ' Shit. I was too careless. ' You bite your lip.

You breathe in....

' The front door is close. Putting myself in a corner would be risky, but I would have a better chance to see who's there. '

You breathe out.

You quickly turn to grab the lamp from the floor, and run to the closest corner. Your breath hitches as your back bumps against the wall. You grip the lamp in your hand, preparing to strike at whatever or whoever is there.

" Hihihi.. . My my. A feisty one we got here..." A voice chimes and you whip your head towards its direction. You weren't expecting to see what it was coming from though.

Three floating, legless, wispy-like creatures are looking at you with interest. 'They're ghosts!' At the realization you breathe a sigh of relief. "I thought you guys were actual people..." You say to the specters, who respond with bewilderment.

"You aren't scared of us?" The chubby ghost asks, to which you shake your head. "Not at all, I've always wanted to encounter a ghost, let alone three!" When was the last time you ever got excited like this? Maybe there are benefits to this weird world, after all.

The lanky ghost lets out a laugh, "Well well, you certainly are interesting." The other two ghosts nod with him.

“Oh! I apologize for trespassing.” You say to them with a bow. Normally, you wouldn’t worry with such pleasantries, but they still reside in the building and so, you think it’s fair to give your respects.

The shorter ghost waves his hand. “Don’t worry about it, kiddo. It’s pretty nice to meet someone that isn’t immediately scared of us. What’s your name anyway?”

"A lot of people call me Yuu." You reply with a pleasant smile. The ghosts introduce themselves to you; the tall lanky one is Jasper, the shorter one is Ian, and the chubby ghost is Gabriel, who is lovingly nicknamed 'Boo'.

“We were assuming that you haven’t been assigned to a dorm, and so the headmaster gave you this place to stay in for awhile, right?” Ian asks. You nod your head, “Correct. Although, there is a little freeloader that came in too…”

As if on cue, Grim comes into the hallway, “Hey, human! Who're you talkin' t-" Grim freezes when he sees who you were conversing with. He lets out a shrill scream, "Gyaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!! G-G-G-G-Ghoooooostttts!!!!

The trio start laughing amongst themselves at his reaction, "Now that's what we were hopin' for!" Jasper says with glee. Grim's fur starts puffing up. "Gr-Grim the Great Magician isn't scared of some ghosts!!" The flames in his ears start to flare up more. And with his eyes closed, he tries shooting the ghosts with his flame.

"Hey hey, where exactly are you aiming?" Boo teases. "Over here, over here! Heeheehee!!" Jasper taunts. Grim tries to shoot towards Jasper, but the spirit easily evades it. Nor does it really help that Grim is shooting with his eyes closed.

"You're gonna end up burning the place down at this rate!" You yell at Grim, "Shut up! Don't try to give me orders!" He yells right back at you.

"The headmaster might turn you into stew if you keep messing up." That seems to make him tense up. "Grrr.... Hey, you! Tell me where the ghosts are!!"

You shoot a look towards Ian, "Help him out, it'll be more fun that way!" He encourages. You shrug and direct the little menace, "On your left!"

He shoots in the direction your ordered a bullseye on Boo. "Hoootttt!!" You continue to yell directions for Grim to follow, and he makes sure to hit them accurately. Hopefully, the ghosts won't be too upset by this. You’ll try some way to make it up to them.

"Retreat, boys! We'll be goners otherwise!" Ian calls out. And with that, the ghosts vanish. Grim looks startled from the result. "W-we won?" You nod to confirm, "Seems like it."

"Ha! That was nothing for the Great Grim! How 'bout that, ghosts? You ready for more?" Grim confidently taunts. You hear the piercing noise of the front door opening, and in walks Crowley, bags in hand. "Good evening, I have graciously brought you supp- You! What are you doing here?!" Crowley points a clawed finger at Grim, who puts his paws on his hips.

"I fixed your little ghost problem! Be grateful!"

At that, Crowley looks with confusion. "What do you mean by that?" You cross your arms, "He's talking about the ghosts that reside in this building." That seems to be enough to remind Crowley. "Ah, now that you mention it, there were some prankster ghosts living here so the students stayed away from this dormitory, and that's why it's now empty. I had forgotten that." You give him a glare. ' Of course you forgot something like that. '

"Although, I never expected you two to work together to get rid of them." Grim makes an irritated noise, "I'm not gonna overlook that "together" comment. They were just standing there, while I did all the hard work!"

Crowley ignores him and proposes a request. "I'd like the two of you to show me how you exterminated those ghosts. I shall be the ghost. If you beat me, I'll give you tuna cans. For I am gracious." After saying his irritating catchphrase, Crowley takes out a bottle from his inner coat pocket. "Transformation Potion!" He proclaims before downing it in one gulp.

Grim shakes his head and crosses his arms, "Eeeehhh, I don't wanna. This is a pain and I'd have to team up with them again." He complains. You sigh, putting a hand over your face. "Do it so you won't get kicked out again." He grumbles at that idea but agrees anyway. "Fine, but this is the last time! And you definitely owe me a can of tuna!!!"

Chapter Text

"How 'bout that!" Grim pants after his success. Not like it took very long, the impromptu 'battle' didn't even last a full 5 minutes. Crowley stares at the both of you in awe. "I can't believe.... there is a person who can command monsters..."

"To be honest with you, my intuition as an educator has been telling me that you have  talent as a trainer or beast tamer since the uproar during the entrance ceremony." Crowley says. ' I just grabbed him by the scruff. Have you seriously never dealt with an animal before? ' You look at him in disbelief, but hold your tongue.

Crowley seems to be thinking about some things, as he's muttering to himself, although you can hear what he's saying. "However... Well, no matter how I see it, their frailty is more suited to being eaten by a beast, rather than taming one..." You give him a deadpan expression, ' Oh no, please, make your praises known to the world. '

You shake your head, "Whatever. Hey, can you make sure this guy goes to this school?" You ask Crowley, whose golden eyes (pupils??) widen at your suggestion, "A monster attending this school?" You point at Grim. "He has no issue coming back even if you kick him out, so you might as well let him in."

Crowley considers your words, before shaking his head and sighing. "It can't be helped. Very well, he can stay." At that, Grim's ears perk up. "Hnn!? Really?!" His tail swishes in excitement, but Crowley puts up a clawed finger. "However, I can't simply allow someone, let alone a monster, who wasn't chosen by the Dark Mirror into this school. Furthermore, I can't let you be a freeloader here until you return to your world."

Grim's ears and tail quickly droop at Crowley's words. "Talk about short-lived joy..." The headmaster looks at Grim, "Let me finish. Concerning the fact that your soul was called here, the school has to take responsibility as the ones in possession of the Dark Mirror." He continues, "For the time being, you shall be permitted to stay in this dormitory for free. But, other necessities you will have to provide for yourself."

Crowley then looks in your direction, "Seeing as you have nothing to your name... Fufu, here is my proposition." He says, and you cock an eyebrow at him. "Watch it with the phrasing, bird-brain.

He quickly waves his hand, "No no! I'll just have you do maintenance and odd jobs around campus." Crowley looks around the hallway and into the lounge. "From what I can see, you're pretty decent at cleaning. Would you two like to become the handymen of the school?" He proposes, "This way, you will receive special permission to remain on school grounds."

You hold our chin in your hand as you think about the deal. "I shall also allow usage of the library for you to gather information on how to return to your world and for learning purposes. For I am gracious. However! Only after your work is done." Crowley adds. Ignoring his self praising, you like the idea of having access to the library. Having a good idea about what this school and this world has will benefit you greatly and it raises your chances of survival.

But Grim butts in before you can give a response, "Eeeh?! I'm not okay with that!" He fusses, "I wanna wear that fancy uniform and be a student." You wonder if it's too late to turn him into a rug. Crowley gives him a blank stare, "It's alright if you're unsatisfied with that, I'll simply toss you out again." The sentence causes Grim to flinch before he crosses his arms, "Hmmmrrggghhh! Fine, I get it! I just have to do the stupid work!" You nod at Crowley, "I have no issues with that."

The headmaster beams, "Wonderful! Then you two, please devote yourselves to working as janitors at Night Raven College starting tomorrow!" He hands you the bag he was carrying earlier, "Oh, and before I forget, here's your supper. Make sure you two rest well, as you have a big day ahead of you! Have a goodnight!" Crowley says as he walks out the front door, with another slam that shakes the entire building once again.

Grim continues to pout as you look inside the bag, there seems to be a few sandwiches, drinks, and other various snacks. You look down at Grim, "Worry about the work tomorrow, let's eat and go to bed." At the mention of food, Grim's ears perk up towards you and you both walk back to the lounge.

Sitting on the decrepit couch, you take out the items from the bag and place them on the coffee table. Grim makes himself comfortable as he hurriedly grabs one of the sandwiches and begins devouring it. You manage to snatch one before he eats them all.

When was the last time you had something like a sandwich? You always ate small things or cold food from cans that had yet to expire. Hunting was difficult as many animals were either dead or hidden from any person they saw.

After only three bites you set the sandwich back down on the table. It seems like you can't eat any more without getting sick, you'll have to change that if you're gonna stay here.

Grim looks at you in confusion after he downs one of the drinks. "You're not eating anymore?" He asks, to which you shake your head. "I'm already full." Grim shrugs and takes the remainder of the sandwich, "More for me!"

You make sure to gather whatever snacks are leftover back into the bag, it would be good to keep it as food for tomorrow. "Let's find a room to sleep in." You say to the mini menace. The building itself is quite big, so you decide to stick to the first floor for the time being. You get up from the couch and follow the door on the right from the lounge, Grim following right behind you.

Opening it, you find it to be an abandoned kitchen. You wouldn't take your chances on opening the fridge, god only knows what left is in there. You take the moment of putting the bag on the table, tying it in the process. None of the leftovers seem to be at risk of expiring if you just leave it there for the night.

You notice another entryway towards the end of the room, but it would be better to find somewhere to sleep, lest Grim starts to make a fuss. It'll probably take you a while to clean the entire dorm but you're sure you'll find the time.

After exiting the kitchen and the lounge, you make your way into the main hall. You take another right as you realize the hall doesn't end there and you're quickly met with a series of doors. You open a door to find a room with two beds. Guessing from the room placement, you think they all might be bedrooms.

"Mmmrrruaaaaaghhhh!!" Grim groans, "There are too many frickin' rooms!!" He whines. You decide to cut his tantrum short by going to the room in the middle.

"This one doesn't seem as cluttered as the others." You note as it only has one bed, "We'll pick this one as our main bedroom. It won't take too long to clean either."

Grim quickly runs over to a covered armchair near the corner of the room. "This one would make a perfect throne for me!" You walk over to the bed and grab the sheets to shake the dust off. You'll probably be sneezing like a maniac for a few hours- or days -but, you'll manage.

"Hey, hey! Clean my throne for me!" Grim orders you. You just stare at him blankly. "...please." He adds with a pout.

You sigh and go over to grab the sheet over the chair. "Make sure you stay out of the way of the dust. I don't wanna hear you complain about having a runny nose or whatever." You say before shaking the sheet. The dust flies off the sheet and floats to the ground, like a poor imitation of snow for a student stage play.

Draping the sheet back over the chair, Grim happily jumps onto it, kneading it in the process to make himself comfortable. You walk back over to the bed, plopping down onto it. The mattress feels better than you anticipated, though that's probably because you're so used to sleeping on the ground.

You're exhausted but, unfortunately, you aren't tired enough to sleep. You recall the things that have happened in the few hours you've been here; the black carriage and the demonic looking horses that were hunting you down, the first interaction you had with Grim and the stomach kick you gave him- you're surprised he hadn't held that against you, you guess his attention span is short-, meeting the stupid headmaster and his stupid masked bird face, those other students and that ceremony, the fire, and now you're here.

Interrupting your thoughts, you hear the soft sound of snoring. ‘ Wow, what a gift Grim has. ’. Sighing, you drag a hand down your face. ‘There’s no point in just me laying here. Maybe I can go salvage something from this place.’ .

Getting up from the bed, you make sure to not make any unnecessary noise. Grim is probably super annoying when he’s tired too, and frankly, you don’t have the patience to find out.

"Can't sleep, kiddo?" Jasper asks as you walk out the room. "It's hard for me to get comfortable in an unfamiliar place. Besides, I wanna find something else to wear." You say, gesturing at the fancy robes. "Then follow me!" Boo calls out, he's pointing towards the other doors in the halls.

Following Boo to a door on the left, you open it to see it as another abandoned bedroom. "When the previous dormmates left, they were so focused on escaping that they didn't even bother taking their things with them." He explains. You turn a lamp on to see the room better, there are rapidly stuffed suitcases and other various clothes on the floor and beds.

Jasper and Ian float into the room to look around with you. "The uniforms honestly haven't changed much so whatever's here would still probably work out for you." Boo says, opening one of the wardrobes.

Rummaging through the fabrics you find a black like tracksuit jacket. It has a few accents on the hems of the sleeves in the shade of grey. There’s also a patch near the left-hand of the breast pocket; you can only read the faint letters N R C on it, as the rest of it is unreadable.

"Oh! That's the P.E. uniform. Try it on and see how it fits!" Ian encourages. Removing your robes, you decide to take the suggestion and try it on. You find that the jacket itself is a little baggy, folding over your hands with ease. The pants would probably be the same way but, you’ll try your best to find a size that fits you better.

Zipping up the tracksuit, you see that the collar is meant to be folded out but you just put it up anyway. There was something comforting about your mouth being covered. You think about wearing it while you’re doing janitorial work. Probably would be best to fold up the sleeves so they don’t get in your way.

"Heyy~! It suits ya!" Jasper praises. You feel like a little kid playing dress up in their parents wardrobe, but you won't deny it is pretty comfy. “It isn’t bad at all.” You comment, “I’ll keep this one for sure. Though, I still gotta find pants for them.”

Ian gives you a thumbs up, “We’ll let you know if we find anythin’.”

"Hey hey." Boo calls. You give your thanks to Ian before turning towards the other spirit. "Found a shirt and some sweatpants for you to sleep in. I bet you don't wanna sleep in the same tracksuit." You grab the shirt and pants Boo hands you. The shirt is also a little baggy but you think the original buyer just wanted it to be a bigger size. The sweatpants may fit you, but just in case, it has a drawstring for you to tie it and fit you as you'd like.

"Thank you guys, I really mean it." You say to the trio, who say it's no big deal. But it's a huge deal to you. The interactions you have with the ghosts feel like old friends. You feel melancholic.

Ian seems to notice your emotions and chimes in, "Go lay down, kid. Even if you can't fall asleep, you should keep the rest of your energy for tomorrow." You nod. He's right, with the cleaning of the campus plus having to watch over Grim, you'll have your hands full. That isn't even including the possible interactions some of the students might have with you. You guess you'll cross that bridge when you get there.

You walk towards the door, sleepwear in hand, but Ian calls out to you, "Oh! By the way, do you know what size shoe you wear?" You tilt your head in confusion before lifting your leg to try and look at the bottom of your shoe. "Ummm... about 24cm it seems. Why?" You ask. "I don't know how much the headmaster would appreciate it if you were doing dirty work in those fancy shoes." He laughs and you're inclined to agree, last thing you need is Crowley on your ass about your footwear. Not like he was going to buy you any new ones though.

"We'll see if we can find you some shoes too." Ian says. "Head on to bed, we'll meet you in the morning." You really want to show your gratitude, so the most you can do is give them a smile. "Goodnight guys, I'll see you in the morning." The trio say their goodnights as you leave the room.

You have a lot to do tomorrow.

Chapter Text

"Heeheehee, how do you think we should wake him up?" You open your eyes at the voice. Looking across from you, you see Ian, Boo, and Jasper floating over Grim. Mischievous looks dancing on their faces. You prop yourself up from the bed with your arms and Ian seems to have noticed your awakening.

"Whoops, sorry kid." He apologizes but you just say it's no trouble. "I'm a pretty light sleeper anyway, sooner or later I would've been awake." You yawn before removing the sheet from your person, you make sure to stretch as you're getting up from the bed. As you're stretching, you notice something on the bedside table and on the floor in front of it. You realize it's a pair of pants to complete the tracksuit and a pair of grey athletic boots.

"We said we'd find something for ya." Jasper says, noticing how you're eyeing the clothing. "There's a bathroom across the hall from this room behind the staircase, you should get ready in there. We'll keep an eye on Grimmy boy." He says with an impish smile at the mention of watching over Grim.

Grabbing the pair of pants, you put it with the folded track jacket and a t-shirt to wear underneath it. Leaving the room, you follow the directions Jasper told you. Go towards the staircase across from the room and then look behind it to find a bathroom. Lo and behold, there's a door going to a separate room.

Turning the doorknob, you walk into the bathroom. It's small but not suffocating. A black clawfoot tub is towards the back while a mirror and sink are positioned on the right hand side. A toilet is also next to the sink. There's also a connecting shower head and curtains overhead of the tub.

Across from the sink and toilet is a small end table, a simple brown side chair, and a wood burning stove in the corner.

Over the foot of the bathtub is a cabinet, which you open to find towels and various soaps. Probably from the previous roommates'. ' Wow, no one really came around this place to clean it out at least. '. You think and then shrug, ' Oh well, better for me to not worry about buying anything for the time being. '.

Setting the clothes down on the end table, you look into the tub. It's... surprisingly cleaner than you expected it to be. Did the ghosts clean it for you? They're really too kind to you.

You have to get something to eat also before cleaning the campus, so you'll take a quick shower.

You turn one of the shower knobs to see if the water runs. Surely enough room temperature water starts to flow out.

Removing your clothes, you set them down on the chair next to the end table. Making sure to grab a soap from the cabinet, you make sure to grab the curtains to cover yourself from view.

Letting the water hit your body, you realize it's been a long time since you've done something as ordinary as showering. Most of the time, despite how odd it might seem, the only chances you had to clean yourself were always quick baths in lakes.

Any buildings you had stayed in had no running water, and basic hygiene was essentially a luxury in your world. Something you'd never imagine having as long as you were alive.

This world is uncomfortable. It seems the most people would have to worry about is the mundane and ordinary. Things like money and titles were the most important thing. School and grades were what should be focused on. Survival would be the same as living, you assume.

But that's all you can do. Assume. You never had a “normal” life. Running constantly from dangers, having people you thought you could trust end up betraying you, taking another's life to make sure you would be able to see tomorrow. That's what your normal is. You wonder if anyone here would understand that.

Do you want to go back home? It's the only thing you know. You don't belong here. You cannot stay here. You don't deserve to stay.

The water getting colder is what brings you back to reality. The lukewarm water is limited. You make sure to properly clean yourself before turning the shower off.

Grabbing a towel from the cabinet, you wrap it around yourself as you step out of the tub. You make sure to dry the rest of your body before throwing the towel over the back of the chair to dry.

‘ I’m taking too long.’. You think with a scowl as you hurriedly put your tracksuit on. You don't have anywhere to put the clothes you were previously wearing. So for now, you decide to leave them on the chair.

You quickly head out the bathroom to your room. You find the ghosts laughing at an upset, pouty Grim, sitting on the chair. You go over to grab the boots the ghosts provided to you.

“Grab something to eat, and then we go.” You say to Grim as you tie the laces for the boots. Grim seems more than ready to leave, bolting out of the room to the kitchen.

The entire dorm rumbles as someone knocks on the front door. Dust particles flowing out of the walls and ceiling. You sigh as you watch the dust gently float to the ground. It will definitely take you a while to clean this entire dormitory.

The person keeps being persistent on knocking. You leave the room and head towards the main hallway. You spot Grim also walking over to the front door, face stuffed with snacks. "Who the heck is that?" He asks. You're grateful he managed to swallow some of the food so you can hear him clearly.

Opening the door, the both of you find Crowley on the other side. You have to stop yourself from slamming it in his face. "Good morning, you two. Did you sleep well?" He greets. "I had a spring from the chair digging into my side and no matter how hard I tried to get comfortable I just couldn't!" He whines, could've fooled you, he was snoring the entire night. "Then the ghosts woke me up, this is the worst!!!"

You just simply give Crowley a shrug, not feeling particularly responsive to him today. "I came to speak to you about your work today." He hands you a map of the school. "Today you are to clean the campus. But the campus itself is quite large, cleaning every nook and cranny without magic would be impossible. So for today, I'd like you to clean the Main Street area from the main gate to the library." Crowley explains as you look at the map.

"Please be sure to keep a close eye on Grim so he doesn't cause a scene like yesterday." He says, to which you nod. "I understand." Crowley beams at your response. "I'm counting on you. You have permission to have lunch in the school cafeteria."

As he turns and leaves the front porch of the dorm, he calls out one more thing to you. "Work enthusiastically!"

Grim starts grumbling as you watch the headmaster leave. "No way I'm doing any cleaning. I wanna go to class and use a bunch of awesome spells, like, "bang! Boom boom boom!"” He says making various dramatic action-filled gestures.

"You should've thought of that before you made an ass out of yourself yesterday." You say to him, you walk outside and look at him. "Let's get to the campus already." He grumbles more as he walks outside, you close the door behind him and both of you venture to the Main Street of Night Raven College.

-

"Uwaaaah~ Amazing. So this is Main Street." Grim coos in awe as you two arrive to your location. You notice a push broom propped up against a lamp post. Taking it, Grim continues to look around.

"I didn't get a good look yesterday, but what's with all these statues? All seven of them look pretty scary." He questions as he stares at the stone artwork. ' They don't really seem that scary. ' You think to yourself, you’ve seen a lot worse. The statues have a lot of intricate details and are beautifully made, but you never bothered to appreciate art like that. So you just use the push broom to sweep up the fallen leaves and other small rubble on the pathway.

Grim stands in front of the statue holding a heart shaped scepter, "This granny looks especially snobby." You feel the presence of another person nearby. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a boy with spiky ginger hair with a heart shaped marking over his left eye, standing nearby Grim. "You don't know about the Queen of Hearts?" He proposes. Grim startles at his sudden appearance but his curiosity overtakes his sense of danger, "Queen of Hearts? Is she important?"

It's not safe for you to tune out the conversation happening near you, you don't know what this person is capable of.

The heart marked boy gestures at the statue, "In the past, she was the queen who lived in the Rose Maze. She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all, strict in all things from the march of the Card Soldiers to the color of the rose bushes." He explains and Grim, the simple minded fool, listens with great intent. "It was a land of madness where all submitted to her rule. Why, you ask?" Nobody asked. "Because or else it was off with your head!" He emphasizes the beheading by motioning with his hands.

Grims tail sticks out in shock, "That's terrifying!" But the ginger just looks over at the statue again, "She's cool! I like her style. ‘Sides, nobody would listen to a queen who's just nice all the time, right?" He directs his question to Grim who ponders his question. "I suppose, A strong leader is better."

The little beast looks up to the boy, "By the way, who're you?" The boy puts his hands on his hips and he introduces himself. "I'm Ace. A fresh-faced first year. Nice to meetcha ♪" He says with a friendly smile. One you don't trust.

Grim places his paw on his chest as he makes a confident stance, "I'm Grim, a genius who'll become the greatest mage!" He then makes a gesture towards you. "That chump over here is Yuu, they're my henchman." Grim introduces. You don't look up as you continue to sweep, "Call me your henchman again and I'll turn you into a rug." You hear Grim let out a pathetic sounding 'eep!' at your threat.

"You've got an odd sounding name." Ace comments. "Charmed." You reply bluntly.

Grim redirects his attention to another statue. "Hey, Ace. So is the lion over there with a scar also famous?" The statue stands with a scarred lion proudly on its rock, a skull and ribcage resting next to it. "Of course! This is the King of Beasts who rules the savanna. However, he was not born to be king, but he took the throne through effort and elaborate planning." Ace explains. ' So he staged a coup and overthrew the original king. ' You translate to yourself.

Ace continues to explain to Grim, "After becoming king, he even invited the hyenas, the outcasts of the savanna, to live in his kingdom without discrimination." Grim's tail swishes in excitement. "Ooh~ He's as cool as rock 'n' roll for seeing past uh, social status, was it?" He shakes his head at his wording and points at another statue. "Who's the lady with the octopus legs next to him?"

Ace continues to entertain Grim by sharing information, you half listen to all of it; a Sea Witch who can grant any wish with a price, a Sorcerer of the Sands who got a magic lamp and became the sultan through it, a so-called beautiful woman who was the fairest in the land and maintained to keep the title and also had a knack for poisons, a Lord of the Underworld who is able to order around powerful monsters and rule over evil spirits, and a horned woman known as the Fairy of Thorns who had magic so great she could even transform into a dragon.

You aren't particularly impressed with the statue idols, they sound more like characters from fairy tales than actual people to look up to.

"Woah, a dragon!" Grim says excitedly, "All monsters look up to them!" Ace nods his head in agreement, "They're all so cool~!"

You hear Ace give a light chuckle.

"Unlike a certain racoon." ' And there it is. ' You think to yourself with a roll of your eyes.

Chapter Text

"Ffgna?!" Grim spouts in shock at Ace's comment. The boy doubles over in laughter, "Ahahahaha! I can't bear it anymore! Ahahahaha!!" He wipes an eye with his hand and then points at the two of you. "Aren't you the guys who went crazy at the entrance ceremony?" Ace continues to speak through laughter, pointing at you.

"You were summoned by the Dark Mirror even though you can't use magic, and you," He says pointing at Grim, "a monster, weren't called but still trespassed." His giggles die down as he regains his composure. Shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, a smile is still present on his face, "Man, it took everything I had to not lose it at the ceremony."

You couldn't care less about the boy's remarks. You know he wouldn't be able to hold his own where you come from, they'd eat him alive. Grim, however, has much thinner skin. "What?! You're a rude one!!" Ace continues his badmouthing. "So in the end you weren't allowed to enroll here and now work as janitors? Ha, pathetic." He says with a smirk. Grim's fur starts to puff up in anger. "What did you just say?"

"And on top of that, you don't even know about the Great Seven. Seriously, how ignorant can you be? I recommend you go back to kindergarten before coming to Night Raven College." You know what he's doing is riling Grim up. What a pain in the ass. And Grim falls for his taunts like flies to shit. "Grrrr...." You hear him growl. Grim's fragile ego is what's going to cause you the most problems.

Ace turns towards the college, hands on his hips. "I thought I'd mess with you a bit, but man, you really blew my expectations away." He turns around and starts walking towards it, "Unlike you two, I actually have classes to attend. Keep this school squeaky clean, janitors ♪" And this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"This jerk! He thinks he can just say that and leave!! Ohh I'm pissed now!" With that, Grim shoots out blue flames in Ace's direction, who quickly jumps away from being hit. "Hey! Watch it! What're you doing?!" He yells.

"It's what you get for making fun of me! I'm gonna light up that fire-head of yours!" Grim yells back and Ace seems to take that as a challenge. "Fire-head, huh? Huhhh. You've really got guts if you're pickin' a fight with me." Ace proceeds to reach into his back pocket and pulls out a pen-like object with a red jewel donning the top of the cap. "Then I'll turn you into a puffy, little toy-poodle!"

Grim proceeds to shoot out more flames. Ace exclaims about needing to watch out, and with a flick of his wrist, a gust of wind ends up blowing the flames out of his direction. "This guy is usin' magic to blow wind all over the place! It's making my flames dance around!" Grim shouts in anger, as if relaying information to you for some reason. As the little fight proceeds, more and more students come around to watch it unfold.

"What's happening? A fight?" One student questions. "Yeah!! Get 'em!!" Another encourages. And you just finished sweeping the walkway, too. If this doesn't kill either of them, you'll make sure to finish the job.

"C'mon, flimsy little fire like that won't hit me!" Ace taunts. Grim's ear-fire puffs out more. "You better brace yourself, you jerk!!"

More and more students come to surround the commotion. You sigh as you walk in their direction to stop the stupid fight. Broom gripped into your hand.

You're barely past the Queen of Hearts statue before you hear more yelling. "Eat this!!" Grim yells, shooting more and more flames towards Ace. Ace grips his pen with a smirk, "And I'll just change the trajectory with wind like... that!" The wing blows away the flames from Ace-

-and into your direction.

"Wh-Hey!" Someone calls out. Without much thought, you grip the broom with both hands, and swing it at the flames, extinguishing them. The push broom scorched in the process.

Dead air fills the area as everyone watches in baited breath at your movements. You glare at the two morons who caused it. Dropping the broom and quickening your pace, you go over towards Grim and Ace, who cower at your stare. You grip Grim's ribbon and ball up Ace's shirt as you pull both of them to your face. "I'll hurt you more than any magic could do." You utter to them darkly. Not many people take kindly to being seriously injured or killed and you're no different.

Grim pathetically tries to excuse his way out of it. "It-it's because he's just blowin' the fire around!! He should've just let me fry him!" Ace turns his head to argue at Grim, "You really think someone is just gonna let you fry them?!" You consider slamming each other's heads together, before a voice rings out.

"Enough!!! Just what is going on here?!" Crowley demands, making himself known. Ace shrinks at the presence of the man. "Ack! Headmaster..." Grim's ears flatten in fear. You figured they would've tried running if you didn't have a grip on them. You notice all of the other students are either staying or quietly and quickly leaving the area.

Crowley continues to yell at the two, "I told you just yesterday to "not cause any trouble", didn't I?" He then gestures to you and the burnt broom, "Then you go and almost char a member of the staff and a statue of the Great Seven!! You seem very much eager to be expelled to me." He directs the last comment to Ace, who wrestles out of your grip and shakes his hands at the Headmaster. "Wait! Anything but that!" He pleads.

The Headmaster looks at you. "And you, this is not how you supervise Grim." He speaks like a parent scolding a child. "Shut up, you walking piece of poultry." You hiss, dropping Grim in the process, landing with a rough 'oof!'. You aren't particularly fond of the idea of getting scolded while almost being greatly injured due to a pair of imbeciles. Crowley flinches slightly at your response and quickly turns his head towards Ace. "Y-you, what's your grade and name?" He interrogates.

"Ace Trappola, first year." Ace quickly answers. Curt and Proper.

Crowley straightens his back and looks down at all three of you. "Then, Trappola, Grim, and Yuu-kun, as punishment, I order the three of you to wipe 100 windows around campus!" For a punishment, it doesn't really seem all that bad. The campus itself is pretty big but he only said to wipe 100 windows. Not to mention, it doesn't need to be pristine work.

However, Grim and Ace, the spoiled, stupid brats they are, don't seem to agree. "Nyaaaa!? It's all cause this joker was makin' fun of us!" Grim whines. "Eeh!? Me, too!?" Ace asks incredulously. To which, Crowley nods. "Most definitely! After school, meet in the cafeteria. Understood?"

Ace visibly deflates. "Fiiine..." Grim stomps his feet in frustration. "Nothing but misery since yesterday!!"

Chapter Text

You and Grim arrive at the cafeteria. Grim makes his way over to a bench and plops down on it. "Aaaauuuuggggghhhhh..." He groans. You notice a bucket nearby the door, a note attached onto it.

' Yuu-kun, please use this to wipe down all 100 windows. - Your forever kind Headmaster. ' You ball up your hand into a fist, crumpling the note in the process. You hate his shitty self praising.

Looking into the bucket, you see three small spray bottles and three sponges. You aren't sure how three tiny spray bottles would actually clean any of the windows but since Crowley wasn't specific, you don't really care.

"I'm already beat from cleaning all day... Now we have to wipe a hundred windows, too..." Grim whines. ' Maybe I should use him as a sponge. ' You think to yourself absentmindedly. He is the reason why you're in this situation now, it'll be good for you to blow some steam off. But you decide to refrain yourself from doing so. He'll put up a fight and you might kill him for real, hell knows if that's going to be a major issue.

You grab one of the sponges and the spray bottles and start working on the rows of windows in the cafeteria. "You're the reason we're in this situation. Learn your lesson before I make you regret it." You hear Grim grunt as he looks at the clock. "That Ace guy is sure taking his sweet time. Who does he think he is, making me wait?! I'm pissed!!" Grim pouts more. You've already worked your way through 3 windows.

"He most likely bailed on this." You comment monotonously. Grim looks at you bewildered. "He was surprised when Crowley gave him this punishment. I wouldn't doubt that he would weasel his way out of it." You elaborate as you recall the heart marked boy. "He didn't seem like the type who would enjoy doing physical labor." Now you've made your way through 12 windows.

Grim hops to his feet, still on the bench, his ear flames spewing out. "I'm not gonna let him get away with putting all the punishment on us!" He declares. ' I'm the only one doing most of the work. ' 23 windows. "Hey henc-human! We're gonna catch Ace and make him do all the window wiping!!" Grim remembered your threat of calling you henchman, so you guess you're still 'human' to him. 38 windows.

He stares at you with determination about catching Ace, you give him a blank stare in response. "C'mon c'mon!! Or I'm gonna hunt him without you!!!" He says and you have to restrain yourself from clawing your face off. There's no winning whatever you do, either you'll catch Ace and end up in another fight or ignore Grim and let him cause havoc anyway. "Fine." You grunt with a sigh. You two quickly make your way out of the cafeteria.

You look at the map but realize it's for the entire campus nor is anything on it properly labeled. This singular day has caused more anger within you than you've felt in years and you consider ripping the map, but you know you'll regret it. With a sigh, you gesture towards the halls. "We'll just wander around until we find a classroom." You say to Grim.

He quickly runs in front of you and you decide to take a moment and actually look at your surroundings. You see the grey stone walls decorated by various photographs, placed nicely in golden frames. Substituting the light from the outside, candles and lamps flood the area, green flames burning from them. The lintels above the doorways are bricked with a purple hue, connecting to the crown molding close to the floor. To tie everything together, the carpet dons a darker shade of green with purple diamonds patterned across it.

You look above one of the doors to see if there's any indication of what rooms lay beyond. There's markings etched into the beam above the door frame, stating it's the staff room. Hopefully, these bring you closer to try to find any classrooms.

You remember that you kept the sponge and the spray bottle on you. Taking the sponge out from your back pocket and removing the spray bottle from a loop for a belt, you decide to kill two birds with one stone and wipe down some windows as you pass by. The less you have people hanging stuff over your head, the better.

You hear a bunch of grumbling and look ahead to see Grim jumping up, gripping the door handles, and throwing them open. It's amazing that his little tubby body can go so high. "You're very impatient." You remark, he's definitely the type that falls into stupid traps easily and gets killed in the process. You've dealt with too many of those kinds of people throughout the years.

"I'm frickin' pissed that Ace is trying to ditch out on us! After he was the one who started all that mess!!" Grim huffs as he swings open another door. "So you've said. Multiple times." You shake your head at his complaining and walk past him. 48 windows. Glancing at the doors, you note how it started showing the number one.

Ace mentioned to Crowley that he was a first year student so it's safe to assume that his classroom would be on the ground floor. You started opening the doors that have one’s etched into it.

1-E… 1-D… 1-C… 1-B…

Before being able to open the door to 1-B, Grim bursts through the door of 1-A. “Orraaaa!! Where’s Ace?! You’ll pay for hiding!!” He shouts before looking around dumbly. “...Ah! There’s nobody here!!” You would assume so. Classes are over so it would make sense for many of the students not to be in their classrooms anymore.

A sudden voice speaks out to Grim’s confusion. “No, I’m here.” It says, and both you and Grim quickly whip your heads to the source. "Fffffgyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! The picture talked!!" He yells, getting on the defensive. The portrait however, takes no offense to his screaming, "What now? Talking portraits are not a rare sight in this school, no?"

Truth be told, you aren't surprised. You've adapted pretty quickly to this cesspool world and the idea that magic exists, so a talking portrait doesn't shock you. You also wouldn't be surprised that somewhere in this world, there are talking statues.

The portrait continues, "Everybody here can speak, including the Lady on the wall over there, and the Gentlemen on the wall here. Portraits have mouths, so of course we can talk. Isn't that normal?" It asks and you tilt your head to the side. “Some people have mouths but cannot speak. I’m sure that would go for some of the portraits here, no?” You ask in retaliation.

The portrait chuckles at your question. “My my. That is fair, child.” It looks down at Grim, “That aside, who are you looking for?” As the portrait and Grim speak, you wipe the windows in the classroom. 64.

"This guy Ace, he's got a heart mark on his face and hair that sticks up." Grim explains, overly gesturing to Ace's hairstyle. The portrait nods in understanding. “Ah yes, I know him. He's one of the freshmen who started today. He went back to his dormitory not too long ago..."

The information makes Grim's fur prick up in anger. "Waaahaaaaaat?!?! So he did try to get away!!" He yells. God, how much can his vocal cords take? "Which way did he go?!" Grim asks, tail swishing and flames roaring, enraged.

"The entryways leading to the dormitories are in the inner part of the East Wing." The portrait answers. With that Grim looks at you. "Hey, human! We're going after him!" He declares before bolting out of the room.

"He's quite a rambunctious one, isn't he?" The portrait remarks and you're inclined to agree. Saying your thanks to the talking painting, you follow Grim to finally catch Ace.

Chapter Text

Ace stretches with a slight groan, placing his hands behind his head. "Yeah, no way I'm wiping 100 windows. Gonna head on home..." However, he hears the pitter patter of someone running towards him and looks over his shoulder. His face pales to see a small blue and grey creature coming towards him like a bullet out of a gun.

"Heeeeeeeey yooooooouuuuuu!!!!!!!" Grim calls towards Ace, barrel towards Ace with remarkable speed. You make sure to keep up with him but the run is more of a light jog for you.

Ace flinches at your appearance, "Ack!!! They found me!!" He turns from the both of you, taking off in a sprint. "You jerk! Hold up!! I won't let you be the only one to escape!!" Grim cries. You were right to do the window wiping on your own. You were able to wipe down an additional 35 as you and Grim came here.

"You really think I'm gonna stop just because you told me to? I'm outta here!" Ace yells back at Grim, picking up the pace. Grim growls as he continues to track Ace. "It's not fair for only you to get out of it! I wanna skip out too!!!" Maybe you really should've used him as a sponge instead.

As the two are running and you following behind with a speed walk, a head of blue comes into Ace's field of vision. "Outta my way! Outta my way!" He screams before pushing the student out of his way. "Oi, blue boy!" You call out, "Catch this red idiot, he's making things more annoying than they should be!"

The blue boy in question seems to freeze at your order. "Magic to capture someone!?" He worriedly starts discussing with himself. "I should freeze his legs, er no, how about restraining him? Oh but I could... Uummm..."

Grim refuses to let the boy waste anymore time. "Anything works, I don't care what or how! Just hit him hard!!! Hurry!!!" The blue haired boy flinches again, "Anything!? Aaaaugh! Anything is fine, so come on!"

The boy takes out a similar pen Ace was using during his fight with Grim earlier and holds it above Ace's head, "Something heavy!" He cries out before a round black item appears and drops onto Ace's back.

"GUH-!" Ace grunts as he and the item make contact and his body hits the floor, "What the heck?! A pot!?" He says angrily while underneath the cauldron. Good thing it didn't drop on his head, otherwise you probably would've been tasked to clean up blood and to dispose of the body.

Grim looks over at Ace on the ground. "Gyahahaha!! Check it out!! Ace is as flat as a pancake under that cauldron!!" He laughs out. "Seriously, that's so pathetic!!"

The blue boy runs over to the three of you, "I didn't think I'd get a cauldron. Did I overdo it?" ' Possibly. ' You think. You look down at Ace who winces.

"Sevens, this hurts like hell..." He looks up at you, "Couldn't you just have left me alone and wiped those 100 windows clean in a flash for me?" He asks. "I would've, but this tub of lard was too hung up about you skipping out." You say, pointing to Grim.

Ace groans again. “I’m not gonna run so could you please help me get this off?” Deciding to take pity on him, you move to remove the cauldron from his back.

The blue haired boy looks at all three of you as you lift up the cauldron and push your back against it so Ace can crawl out. You are much stronger than you look. "Wiping 100 windows as punishment... What in the world did you all do?" He questions.

Ace slowly rises from the ground, his back making light cracks in the process. "I got into a tussle with the furball, and we might've charred the Queen of Hearts' statue a bit." He states, still denying to acknowledge full responsibility for his actions.

The blue haired boy lets out a sharp gasp, "You damaged one of the Great Seven statues?!" He yells in disbelief, "Of course you'd get in trouble for that!"

He puts his hand underneath his chin, "You get into a prestigious school then do something like that on the first day..." He recounts it as if Ace was going to be executed. Ace massages his neck with his hand. "Shuddup. Anyway, who're you?"

The boy gives him a stern stare, "I'm Deuce. Deuce Spade. Would it hurt to remember your classmates' faces at least? Um-" Deuce says but fails to recall Ace's name. "You don't remember me either." He says in a 'duh' tone. As the two talk, you quickly notice that the grey little hellspawn is nowhere to be seen. You feel the veins on your forehead thickening.

Deuce coughs into his fist, "M-my point is! If the Headmaster ordered you to do something, then you better take it seriously." Ace sighs, knowing the other boy is right. "Yeah, yeah. I hear you... Let's just get this over and done with." He trails off as he looks around the room. "Wait."

"The little fuckin' bastard ran off." You state with a growl. You hear his annoying little voice awhile away. "Heh heh!! I leave it to you all!! Bye-bye!"

"That stupid cat! He just made me take his place!!" Ace shouts in frustration. He turns to Deuce, "Hey! Uh- Juice?" He stutters, and Deuce's eyebrow twitches. "I'm not Juice! It's Deuce! Deu-ce!" He enunciates.

Ace ignores the correction, "You're partly responsible so help us catch that furball!!" He says but Deuce looks at him in confusion. "Why me?" Ace then points at you. "This deadweight can't use magic so they don't count! Let's go!" Deadweight, huh? You'll make sure this apple haired twat rethinks that notion.

Saying that, the three of you break to catch Grim.

-

You end up following Ace and Deuce into the courtyard. This place has too many exits. "Oi!!! Stop right there, you furball!!" Ace yells at Grim, the creature in question sticks out his tongue. "No way!" He then takes off in a dash.

Ace's eyebrow twitches in annoyance, "Tch, looks like we have to catch him after all." Taking off in a sprint he calls out to Deuce. "Follow me, Juice!" Deuce also takes off in a sprint before yelling, "I told you! It's "Deuce"!"

The pair quickly chase after Grim, you follow the smaller creature's movements to see which direction he tries to run off to. He keeps his pace by running straight down the pathway. If you can get him at an angle and cut him off from there, you'll raise your chances of catching him.

Grim has his attention on Ace and Deuce, probably thinking that you won't be able to catch him. It's nice to use that to your advantage. You run on the outer part of the walkway, away from Ace and Deuce. Picking up your speed, you run at Grim at an angle so that you can fully cut him off.

"Sh-shoot!!" Grim exclaims at your appearance. "Alright! Nice going!!" Ace cheers, he takes out his magic pen but you notice Deuce does the same. "Now just to stop him with magic-!" Attempting to shoot anything causes both Ace and Deuce's magic to cross each other and explode in a big smoke. Damn, there goes that.

The pair of card idiots decide it's a great opportunity to start bickering. "Can you stop trying to cover me? Just back off!" Ace scolds. "You need to stay out of my way too!!" Deuce rebukes.

Grim used the cloud of smoke to his advantage, escaping as the two were bickering. You probably won't be able to attempt that again, seeing that he's swerving as he runs, as well as making slowing stops before sprinting off again. The rare instances where he's actually smart, he's difficult to grab onto.

As the three of you chase after the little menace, he runs into the cafeteria. Following him there, Grim is running and jumping off the tables and the walls. Ace tries to keep his focus on him, "Crap! He's darting around everywhere!!" Grim manages to jump on top of one of the light fixtures, his weight causing it to swing around. "Heheheh! Catch me if you can, suckers!" He taunts.

"Damn! Getting on the chandelier is an underhanded move!" Deuce starts muttering to himself, "We haven't learned the magic to fly yet... Is there any magic we can use to trap or capture him...?" You look up at the chandelier. ' I could probably jump the same way he did and catch him like that... ' If anything got damaged, you would probably hear more shit from Crowley.

"Ah! I got it!" Deuce suddenly exclaims, he points his magic pen towards Ace, who was also trying to think of a plan. "Whoa, whoa, wait a sec!! Why are you pointing your magical pen at me?!" He asks quizzically. "I'll just throw you!" Deuce confidently responds.

"There's no way you should do that." You remark to him. He gives you a puzzled look, "Then how else are we going to catch him?" Without waiting for an answer, Deuce causes Ace to start floating. "Don't make me float! Seriously, knock it off!!"

Deuce ignores Ace's orders. "Just catch him, ya hear." He then positions himself to properly aim Ace at Grim. "Okay and... Fire!" With that, he hurls Ace towards the chandelier. Ace screams as he is launched and Grim screams at a floating Ace coming at him. The redhead makes contact with Grim and the chandelier, causing it to come loose and they are sent crashing towards the ground.

The chandelier hits the floor with a deafening crash. You make sure to keep your arms over your face as shards fly through the air. Hopefully, they weren't gravely injured or that's more trouble you'd be dealing with. As if to answer your question, Ace starts coughing before he lets out a yell. "I can't believe you!!!!" You can see light red markings on his face, he's probably gonna have a lot of bruises for a while. He's gripping Grim by his scruff, who seems to be too dizzy to notice anything that's going on.

Deuce panics at the situation, "I-I screwed up! I didn't think about the landing!!" The admission seems to make Ace angrier. "ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" He roars, "We caught Grim-" he gestures to the fleabag, "-but if the Headmaster finds out we busted the chandelier..."

As if he had been summoned, Crowley speaks right on cue. "If I... find out?" He mimics Ace's comment. The boy in question shrinks at his presence. "Ah! H-Headmaster..!"

"Just what exactly ARE YOU ALL DOING????" He screeches. "You weren't satisfied with just damaging the statue so you decided to destroy the chandelier?!" He angrily assumes. Grim mutters something about the room spinning. "This is the last straw. I will have all of you expelled!!"

The declaration makes the boys panic, "EEEHHH?!?!" You give Crowley a look. "I didn't even do anything." Deuce immediately locks his hands together in a begging motion. "Please! Anything but that! I have things I have to do at this school!"

Crowley shakes his head at Deuce's begging, "You have nothing to blame but your own idiocy.." For once, you agree with him. Deuce, however, doesn't seem to be letting up. "Please! I'll pay for all of the damages if I have to!"

Crowley looks at the chandelier. "This is no ordinary chandelier. This is a magical chandelier that runs on magic and lights candles that will burn for eternity." He looks at Deuce, "It is a masterpiece we commissioned the legendary Meister of Magical Tools to make. It's a treasured legacy that has been around since the school's very foundation..."

Crowley taps his chin with his finger. "Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion Madol." Crowley looks at Deuce again, "Can you pay for those damages?" You aren't sure what 'Madol' is but you assume it's important.

Whatever it is, Deuce startles at the mention of it. "A-a billion Madol?!" Ace rubs the back of his neck, "But Headmaster, can't you just fix it up with magic...?"

Crowley crosses his arms. "Magic is not all-powerful. Moreover, the magic crystal, which we call the heart of any magical tool, was shattered." You wonder what's the point of magic if it can't do the unthinkable. "No two magic crystals are the same." Crowley continues, "This chandelier will never be lit again."

Ace and Deuce look saddened by the information. "How can that..." Ace utters. "Crap... What am I doing... What am I going to tell Mom...?" Deuce says, biting his lip.

The bird brained headmaster suddenly lights up from his thinking. "There's one way. There might be one way to fix the chandelier." Ace and Deuce whip their heads at Crowley, eyes almost popping out of the skulls. "What?!"

He continues talking, "The magic crystal for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarf's Mine. If we have a magic crystal of the same kind as the original, then repair might be possible." Deuce doesn't waste a second to jump on the opportunity. "I will go find a magic crystal! Please, allow me to go!!" He pleads.

Crowley gives Deuce a look of uncertainty. "There is no guarantee that there are any left in the mine. The mine has been closed for a while and it's very possible it is exhausted of crystals." He explains. Deuce, on the other hand, doesn't waiver, "I'll do anything to get our repulsion rescinded!" His eyes burn with determination.

As if sensing that Deuce won't give in, Crowley sighs. "Very well. I shall give you one night. Come to me with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning, or face expulsion." He states. Deuce nods his head, a serious look overtaking his features. "Yes! Thank you very much!"

Ace drops his head in exhaustion, "Augh man, fine. Let's get that magic crystal and be done with it." He says, accepting his fate. "Use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to the Dwarfs' Mine." Crowley advises. Deuce nods in understanding, "Yes, sir!"

Watching Deuce sprint out in resolution, Ace sighs and shakes his head. Grim starts stirring out of his unconsciousness and Ace realizes he's been holding him the entire time. "Ughh... What now..? What exactly did I..?" He slurs and Ace looks down at him. "You really make us go through a lot of trouble." The boy remarks.

Still holding onto Grim, the both of you make your way to follow Deuce.

Chapter Text

As you both arrive at the Mirror Chamber, you notice that Deuce is standing next to the giant floating mirror. Perhaps he was waiting for you.

Ace, who is still holding Grim for some reason, starts grumbling. "Man... Why did it turn into something like this? Today is really not my day.."

"Now isn't the time for mumbling! Let's go!" Deuce reprimands. He turns his attention to the mirror, "O Dark Mirror! Light our way to Dwarfs' Mine!" He chants. The mirror glows an ominous shade of light green before showing a scenery of a forest. Deuce doesn't spare a second as he climbs into the mirror, it's surface rippling.

Ace chucks Grim into the mirror before climbing in himself, continuing to grumble along the way. You cautiously eye the mirror before gripping its frame and slowly climb in.

The sensation you feel as you climb into the mirror feels as if you've been dropped into a body of water. Warm and slightly difficult to move in, but not impossible. It doesn't last more than a minute as you are already on the other side of the mirror. The mirror's surface ripples again as you slowly remove your leg from it. It feels like water, yet you remain completely dry. It's... an odd feeling to say the least.

Looking out ahead of you, you notice the trio of boys looking around the area. You also notice a small cottage on the other side of the bridge.

"So this is Dwarfs' Mine.. It used to be prosperous, thanks to magic crystal mining but..." Deuce trails off, making note of how desolate the place has gotten. Grim shudders, "Uhhh... Feels like something could jump out..."

You point towards the cottage. "There's a building there." Ace faces the direction you're pointing towards, "Oh you're right. Let's see if there's anyone to ask about the mine." He suggests. With no objection, your group crosses over the bridge to the cottage. You make sure to stick around in the back, in case you need to run.

Deuce knocks on the door before opening it. "Excuse us..." He utters but no one in the house is there to respond. "I guess it's abandoned..." Deuce walks into the building and the rest of you follow. "Puwah! I got a spider web in my face..! Peh peh!" Grim spits out, shaking his head and rubbing his face to get the web off.

Looking around, the place is completely covered in dust and cobwebs. Some of the panels on the floor are out of place, you suspect the upstairs and roof aren't faring any better.

Ace has his focus on the table, you notice there's a pickaxe wedged into it. "Aren't the tables and chairs on the small side? Are they for kids?" He begins to count the chairs. "There's seven! That's so many!"

Deuce casts his gaze at the furniture, "This was probably a lively home when Dwarfs' Mine was thriving." It wouldn't be crazy to say the Dwarfs that lived here are probably long gone. You look over at the pickaxe in the table, it's surprisingly bigger than the chairs itself. Giving it an experimental tug, it doesn't budge. It would be more of an issue to try and pry it out, you give up at your attempt. So much for a weapon.

"Staying here is pointless." Ace says, "The coal mine is probably our best shot at finding a magic crystal. For now, let's go check it out." Deuce nods in agreement and your group leaves the cottage. You decide to follow the pathway that goes further down into the forest.

As you follow along the path, you notice little signs pointing the way. ' Mine → ' It reads. Continuing the path, mine cart tracks start showing up and quickly enough, they follow into the mine itself.

The mine is seated underneath a tree, with the entrance being quite small and difficult to see through, it ends up looking like a pit. Grim flinches at the entrance, "W-we're gonna go in that pitch black hole?!" He questions. Ace smirks at Grim "Aw are ya scared? How lame." The boy mocks him.

Grim takes offense to the teasing, "Mmnaaah?! I-I'm not scared at all!" He proclaims with false bravado. Continuing with his arrogance, Grim confidently says: "I'm taking the lead! You guys, follow me!" Before trotting into the mine.

You, Ace, and Deuce crouch slightly to climb into the small passageway. Honestly, it was a good idea to make Grim take the lead. The fires in his ears nicely illuminate the mine, making it easier to see where everything is.

The mine on the inside is the opposite of how it appears on the outside, showing its gigantic size. There are various crystals and gems lodged into the walls and there are mine cart tracks trailing along the ways. You walk along the track before Deuce yells, "Wait!"

Ace stops and turns to look at him, Grim doing the same. "What?" He asks. Deuce points further ahead of your group, "Something is there!" There is something, or rather, someone there. The observation makes Grim jump, "EEK?!" Looking further ahead the figures start appearing clearer and before long you realize they're ghosts.

"Heee hee hee! Our first visitor in ten years!" One ghost gleefully sings. "Make yourselves at home. For eternity!" Another one threatens. Although, due to their cartoonish appearances, they don't particularly frighten you.

"We don't have the time to deal with them! Let's just run!" Deuce decides before taking off. "Don't think you can just order me around! We wouldn't be in the mess in the first place if someone hadn't done something so idiotic!" Ace yells. Ugh, are they really arguing as you're trying to run from ghosts?

"You wanna talk about who started it?! It's 'cause you wouldn't clean!" Deuce fires back.

"Oh, are we pointing fingers now? That furball over there burned the Queen of Hearts' statue first!" Ace directs the blame to Grim.

"Ffgna!! That's on you! That's what you get for making a fool outta me!" Their stupid arguing is making your head hurt. You run ahead of them since they seem so occupied and take a turn into another pathway.

The three of them almost run by you, but you make sure to grab Ace and Deuce's arms and Grim's tail and pull them into the pathway you're in. "Do any of you understand our situation right now?! We're all expelled if we don't get back with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning!" Deuce explains angrily as he's pulled in.

" no....on't.....ive..... " A voice rings out. It's hard to hear over the arguing. ' What the hell? '

"For the last time, stop acting like you're in charge here! It's really ticking me off!" Ace argues. "Can you all shut the hell up?!" You hiss, placing your hands over Ace and Deuce's mouths. " ....on't.....ive.......wo.... " You hear the voice again. Judging by the way the boys freeze, they hear it too.

"Wh-what's... this voice?" Ace whispers. " Cry.....stal....ssss.....mi...ne...... " It drags out again. "I-I think it's.... getting closer..." Deuce says. You peer into the darkness to try and make out whatever is there.

The source of the voice quickly comes into view, revealing a giant blob wearing a red tunic and a hat. Its head looks similar to a broken bottle with black gooey liquid pouring out of it. The monster wields a pickaxe in one hand and a lantern in the other.

Despite having no visible mouth, it screams. "Crystal... IS MIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" The trio freeze as the entity appears. You push them out of the passageway. "What the heck is that thing?!" Deuce screams. "Crowley didn't say anything about that!! We gotta get out of here!!" Grim shrieks.

"It's so creepy! But didn't it mention a 'crystal'?!" Ace recalls. You turn your attention to the monster as it sluggishly moves around, " Cry...stal.....won't....give....! " Deuce looks at the creature with wide eyes. "So there really are magic crystals left!"

Grim frantically shakes his head. "N-n-n-n-n-n-nope!! Nope!!! I'm a genius, but I don't stand a chance against that thing!!" He says. Deuce hesitantly looks back at them, "But we'll be expelled without it..." Shaking his head, Deuce steels himself. "No, I'm going!"

"You've gotta be kidding?!" Ace shouts. It's a stupid decision to make, but it seems like Deuce is too head-strong to give up. "I cannot, under any circumstances, be expelled!!" Deuce roars before taking out his magic pen.

" Leave! Leave! LEEEAAAVEEE! " The monster yells as it grips its pickaxe before swinging it at Deuce, who dodges. He counter attacks with magic but it seems to have little to no effect. It swings its lantern at Deuce as it recovers from its pickaxe swing, knocking him in the face. "Guh!" He grunts in pain. Knocking himself against a wall.

Ace takes out his magic pen and shoots wind magic at it. "Stand back if you have no control, Mr. Serious! I'll stop it!!" However, instead of stopping it, it seems to rile it up more. It roars as it swings its pickaxe at Ace, barely missing him as he jumps out of the way. It screams again.

"Fffgnaaaa!! Stay away!!" Grim yells before breathing fire on it. Again, instead of stopping it, it makes it more irate. "I-it's not working at all!!" Grim states. As you dodge the monster's attacks, you notice something shine in the corner of your eye. "I think I see it!" You say. Your observation makes the monster set its sights on you as it screams again, " OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH WON'T GIIIIIVVVVEEEE!!! "

"L-l-l-let's get out of here! We're done for at this rate!!!" Grim commands fearfully. Jumping out of the way of the beast, you grip Deuce and Ace's arms and pull them as you run.

The monster lets out an unhinged yell.

-

The four of you decide to run all the way back to the cottage, the further away from the mine, the better.

"Is…ahhh...is this far enough?" Grim pants, trying to catch his breath. Ace rests his hands on his knees as he breathes, "What in the world was that? No one said anything about that!!" Deuce wipes his forehead with his sleeve. "It didn't seem like any old ghost."

Ace shakes his head, "This is too risky, let's give up and go home. I'd rather get expelled than fight whatever that thing is." He declares and Deuce quickly glares at him. "What?! Don't fuck with me! I'd rather die than face expulsion!!" He gestures to the pathway of the mine, "There was a magic crystal right in front of us! You think I could just give up and leave?!"

"Ha, you talk big for someone worse at magic than me. Go alone if you want, I'm done." Ace scoffs at Deuce. The comment makes Deuce click his tongue, "Ohh is that right? Then stay there cowering like a spineless coward!" He says with a snarl. His attitude makes Grim flinch.

"Haaah?? Coward? Who exactly are you talking about?" Ace cocks his head towards Deuce. As if egging him on to answer the question. "U-uuuhhh... Deuce. Did you switch up your character?" Grim interrupts.

The realization makes Deuce flustered and he coughs into his fist. "A-ahem! My bad. I lost my composure for a bit." You notice that his cheeks burn a shade of red. Grim shakes his head. "But anyway, can't you guys use any flashy magic that does, "BAM!"?" He illustrates.

"Large-scale or complicated magic requires a lot of training to use." Deuce explains, shooting down that shot. "It's the reason we have schools for magic." Ace says, "You have to practice a lot to use magic just as it comes to mind. Bluntly speaking, you'll screw up if you lose your cool."

"So that's why only some of you focus on one specific attack." You comment to which Ace nods, "Stuff you're good at, you can go off instinct."

"At any rate," Deuce looks in the direction of the mine, "I'm going in there. I'll figure out how to beat that thing and come back with a magic crystal." He states and Ace scoffs again. "Oh please. Judging by the chandelier incident and your actions so far, you're a complete idiot, aren't you? Your magic had no effect earlier, but now you'll "figure it out"? It's going to end the same." He finishes, putting his hand on his hip.

Deuce's eyebrow twitches in anger, "You wanna say that again?!" Grim drags his paws down his face, "Here they go again." Their bickering makes your head pound more.

' That's it. ' You punch the side of the cottage with your fist, "Would you morons shut the fuck up?!" You shout. The impact of the punch and your voice causes the boys to freeze. Grim's ears flatten. "This is exactly why all of you were completely useless back there. We'd have to come up with a plan if we wanna get that crystal."

"A plan?" Ace parrots, "You mean get along and work together?" He then laughs, "Ha! You're not funny. You have no problem saying lame things with a serious face, huh." Deuce nods his head, "Agreed. There's no way I'm working with this loser."

"Then get expelled." You spit. "Get expelled and make your families disappointed in you, go down in infamy as the two jackasses who broke a chandelier and were too pussy to get the crystal. It doesn't matter to me, I'm not a student here."

The harshness of your words cause them to flinch. You cross your arms as you explain, "If we're going back to get the crystal we need a plan, otherwise that mine is going to become your grave and you'll actually join the ghosts."

Ace and Deuce stay silent as they mull over your words. Ace puts his hand in his hair and scratches his scalp in frustration, "Aaaaugh fine!" He then looks at you, "We just have to get it done, right? So, what's your plan?"

You appreciate them finally realizing the situation. You don’t waste a second before speaking. "Grim and I will be bait and call the monster out. We'll get it as far away from the tunnel as we can and then Grim will blow his fire and you, Ace, will use your wind magic to turn his flames into an inferno." The boys nod, hanging on your every word. "While it's caught in the flame tornado, Deuce, you'll drop something heavy onto it so it's pinned to the ground. We can use that time to get the crystal and get out. If at any chance it gets out, we'll use whatever we can to weaken it more."

"Damn, did you just think of this on the fly?" Ace asks with a whistle, you shake your head. "No, I was paying attention to what you can and can't do in terms of your magic."

"Alright, are we good here?" You ask the rest of the group, who nod. "Okay, let's do this."

Chapter Text

"Ah you... really think it'll go as planned? I'm sca... no, just nervous." Grim says, trying to prepare himself. "We'll be fine." You tell him. "Let's get this over with."

Ace and Deuce nod before going in different directions, standing around the far edges of the mine tunnel. You stand separate from Grim, making sure he's the first one to be seen by the creature. Grim breathes in and out, before jumping and yelling wildly, "Hey, beasty!! O-o-o-over here!!" He yells while stuttering.

The beast in question was probably on the lookout for anyone coming back, as it shows up fairly quickly. " LeaAAAAAAAAAVVVEEEE !!" It growls. Grim shrieks, "Gah!! It-it's coming!" You take that as a sign to start yelling for it too, "Oi, blob monster! I'm over here!!" The monster growls at you. " There...thief....too.....Won't give... Mine... MINE!! "

As it growls it swings its pickaxe down at you. You hurriedly jump away from the impact of the weapon. "Pyah! That looks like a knockout if it lands!" Grim states. The pickaxe itself looks pretty dull but you don't doubt it'll cause some major damage if you get hit with it. "Get it as far away from the tunnel as possible!" You yell at Grim.

Grim runs circles around the monster and then runs further away from the tunnel. " Go away! GO AWAY!!! " The creature yells, its voice gurgles more and more, you can barely understand it. "There! It's pretty far from the tunnel now!" Grim calls out. "Alright Ace, go for it!" You give the order and Grim shoots out his flame. "Okay, I got this! Let's go, Extra Large Tempest!"

The combination of the fire and wind causes the two to intertwine and expand in size. It perfectly traps the monster which wails in pain. "Okay Deuce! Go!" You call out to him. Deuce nods and points his magic pen at the beast. He exhales before focusing in on the monster, "Come forth, cauldron!"

Calling upon the item, the cauldron materializes out of thin air and drops onto the monster's back with a heavy thud, its lantern falls out of its hand, while the pickaxe is still in its grip. " GUAAAAAARR!! " Grim looks over at the monster. "Hey we got it! Nice work, everyone! The monster looks flat as a pancake, just like Ace was earlier!" He laughs at the comparison.

"C'mon you don't need to bring that up again! Jeez, today just isn't my day." Ace scolds. "Let's go get the magic crystal while it can't move." Deuce says getting the attention of everyone else. You all run into the tunnel as the monster screams. " WAAAAAAAAAAAIIIITTTTT!!! "

"There! A magic crystal!" Deuce calls as he points further down the tunnel, it glistens in the light. It seems the monster can hear you even though you're in the mine, as its screams echo off the walls. " HANDS OOOOOOOFFFFFFFF!!!!! "

"Crap! That thing is almost free!" Ace yells as he looks back at the monster. "Oi, Deuce! Throw some more stuff on it!!!" Grim orders and Deuce flusters around. "Something heavy?! Ummm! Cauldron! And uhh-! Cauldron! One more, cauldron!" He summons three more cauldrons to drop on the monster.

"Do you have nothing but cauldrons in your repertoire?!" Ace asks incredulously. "Shut up! I'm at my wits' end here!" Deuce defends himself. You and Grim manage to pry the crystal out of the wall. "We got it! Let's skedaddle!" Grim says and Ace nods. "Roger!"

The monster still seems desperate to prevent any of you from taking the crystal. " That. Is.... MIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! " It bellows as it rises from underneath the cauldrons, charging at your group. "You're kidding?! It brushed off all of that stuff and came after us!!" Ace exclaims.

" Aaaauuuurrrgghhhh......uuuugggghhhhh...! Give....it... BACK!! " It commands as it draws closer. "Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!" Deuce says. "You might be able to defeat it now that it's weaker!" You say to the trio.

"Aaaah, fine!! Let's finish it!" Ace yells before preparing himself, "Don't let me down, Mr. Serious!" He directs it at Deuce. "You, too!" Is his reply. "I'll show off my true power!" Grim proclaims.

You hold onto the crystal as you stand behind the guys. Grim shoots out more flames which get picked up by Ace's wind as various things drop onto the monster. It lets out a shrill yell as it gets hit but attempts to swing its pickaxe at them anyway.

They repeat their movements at different times, unfortunately, the monster doesn't seem to be giving up. ' Is this thing running on adrenaline? It's going to keep fighting until it gets its crystal back. '

Grim shoots out a fireball that hits the monster's hand, finally making it drop its pickaxe. You can use it. You can use it to get rid of this thing once and for all. Steeling yourself up, you put the crystal in your pocket, making sure it won't fall out.

You run on the farther side of where the monster is and grab its pickaxe. Ace, Deuce, Grim, and the monster are too occupied in the fight to notice you. You look behind the monster to see a boulder placed up against a tree, buried into the ground.

"Mmmrrrggghhh!! I-I can't blow fire anymore!" Grim cries. "Why the hell-ah!-is this thing still movin'?!" Deuce yells. "Are we just gonna have to make a break for it?!" Ace questions in panic. They’re at their limit, you have to act now.

Gripping the pickaxe, you run towards the rock, stepping onto it with as much force into your leg as you can. 

You jump off the boulder and hit the tree so you can jump at an angle. You bring the pickaxe over your head as you rear closer to the monster and swing down with a sickening-

- CRASH!

You feel shards of glass hit your body. You feel cold, gooey liquid hit your arms and face. You feel the weight of the monster's body give out underneath you. You exhale when you land, realizing you were holding your breath as you were jumping. "Holy shit..." The voice makes you look up and see the boys looking at you with wide eyes.

"Hey, Ace," you breathe out, "do you still think I'm a deadweight now?"

Chapter Text

"That... WAS AWESOME!" Grim cheers out as you wipe your face. Black markings stain your hands. "As expected of my henchman!" You assume this is his way of praising you. "I'm not your henchman." You say to him.

"Man, I- seriously!" Ace stutters in awe. "I didn't think you could do something like that!!" Deuce beams at you, "You completely wiped it out!! You looked so badass!!" The boys continue to fling praises. "Calm down, calm down." You raise your hand at them.

"None of this would've worked out as well as it did if you guys didn't help me." You admit. Not that you're ashamed of it though, collaborative teamwork often leads to favorable results. "We only won thanks to your plan." Ace says, to which Deuce nods. "It's true. We got the magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions and you managed to help us defeat that monster."

You take the crystal out from your pocket and hand it to Deuce, "We can prevent our expulsion this way…" He lets out a comforted sigh. "I'm so relieved."

"Let's head back and give it to Crowley. Knowing him, he's probably expecting we wouldn't come back with anything and is planning on expelling us anyway." You assume. Ace massages the back of his neck, "I'm seriously so worn-out and battered."

"Mmmm I'm starving from using so much magic..." Grim mumbles. As he lifts his paws to walk, they hit something. "Hmm? What's this?" Picking it up, it looks to be a black colored crystal. "A remnant from that monster?" Deuce guesses. "It looks like a magic crystal but I've never seen one that was the same color as coal before."

Grim brings it closer to his face and sniffs it. "This thing smells really good..." His mouth starts watering. "Don't eat that." You tell him but he doesn’t listen to you. "This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Mannn! I can't hold back!"

As he said this, he shoves the black rock into his mouth, taking a few experimental chews. "Uuuhhh!!" Grim's tail stiffens as his pupils dilate. "He-hey! You alright?!" Deuce worriedly asks. "Jeez. That's why you don't eat things off the ground." Ace says in a 'told you so' type of tone.

"D..D-D-D-D-D... DELICIOUS!!!!" Grim cries, chewing the object with glee. The response makes Ace and Deuce lean back in bewilderment. "Wha?!"

Grim continues to chew as he talks, "It's full-bodied, but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth... It's like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!" He gives his opinion on his meal as if he knows what he's talking about, and knowing him, he probably does.

Ace sticks out his tongue in disgust, "Bleeeeeegh. Do monsters really have different tastes than us?" Deuce tilts his head, "I guess so. But more than that… Most people wouldn't even put a mystery object in their mouth without a thought."

"Not unless they have a death wish or are just stupid." You say as you look down at the gluttonous furball. "Gehehe! It's so tasty!!" Grim giggles in glee. "Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours." Ace just looks down at him, hands on his hips. "Don't come crawling to me when you get sick later."

"Alright." Deuce starts, moving the conversation, "Let's switch gears and get this magic crystal to the headmaster!" You, Ace, and Grim nod at Deuce and make your way to the mirror.

As you all arrive at the mirror, Ace speaks up. "Ah hey, Yuu." You tilt your head, quizzically. "Hm?" He points at the pickaxe you have in your hand, "You really bringing that with you?"

You lift it up to get a better look at it. The pick and chisel are dulled but it's still relatively heavy and can do some major damage if you really wanted to cause some. You turn it left and right in your hand to look at it more, noticing like scrapes and scratches along the handle. One could definitely tell it was loved and used often.

"Hmm. Yeah." You finally respond, lowering it back down to your side. "You think the headmaster will let you?" Deuce asks. "Even if he doesn't, I'm gonna keep it anyway. You guys can walk around with your own little magical weapons so I only feel like it's fair." You state. Crowley can try ripping it out of your hands but you think he might end up with some broken wrists before that actually happens.

Ace just shrugs, "Eh. Suit yourself." After settling that, you and the boys climb through the mirror. As you climb out of the mirror and its water-like sensation, you notice that Crowley was sitting nearby, his attention on his pocket watch. His eyes widen when he sees all of you.

"Eh?! You really went to Dwarfs' Mine to find a magic crystal?!" He exclaims in surprise. The reaction is not what any of the boys expected, letting out a shocked "EEH?!" at Crowley's question. The Headmaster puts a hand up to his face.

"I really didn't think... My word, I never actually thought you'd go..." He fumbles with his words for a few moments before speaking coherently, "You'd not only go but then come back with a crystal in hand."

"I completed the paperwork for your expulsion in solemn silence." He says with his eyes closed. "I told you guys he would." You say to them. Grim growls at Crowley, "The nerve of this guy! While we were off fighting some crazy beast!!" The Headmaster tilts his head in confusion, "Beast?" He mimics.

Ace points back at the mirror, "There was a monster there! It was super gross and crazy strong! It was awful!!" He explains. The confusion doesn't leave Crowley's face. "Hm. Come with me to my office, I'd like for you to explain in more detail."

-

You and your group decide to explain to Crowley about the monster and the battle you went through as you walk to his office. By the time you get there, you all recounted the events that happened. "A mysterious monster was living in the coal mine and the four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?" He recaps.

Ace rubs the back of his neck, "We didn't really work together..." Deuce rubs his arm, "It was more like our goals were aligned..." As if breaking a dam, Crowley bursts into tears. Grim flinches in disgust at his reaction. "What's with this guy? Why is an adult bursting into tears!?" Crowley cries as if he heard the greatest story in his entire life.

"In all these years that I've been Headmaster... For the day to come that students from Night Raven College go hand in hand to face and defeat their enemy!" He cries in glee. Deuce gives a look of disgust, "What?! I did not hold this guy's hand!" Ace also gives a look of disgust, "I'd never do that either, gross! Wait, how old are you, Headmaster?!" Ace's question goes ignored.

"I am overwhelmed with emotion. This incident confirms it." He sniffs and turns his attention to you. "Yuu-kun. Without a doubt, you have talent as a beast tamer!"

"Hah?" You reply monotonously. Crowley continues to spew his nonsense, "Students of Night Raven College are budding mages chosen by the Dark Mirror. But due to their excellence, many of them turn out to be prideful, egotistical, and self-centered individualists who never give a thought about cooperating with others." ' Yeah, that sounds about right. ' Grim crosses his arms. "You're really not saying anything good."

"You cannot use magic." He states. "But, maybe, precisely because you cannot use magic means that you could give instructions to magic users and get them to cooperate." He leans into your face, getting too close for your personal space. "Surely a mediocre, run-of-the-mill human like you is exactly what this school needs right now." His voice is starting to annoy you. You grip the pickaxe tighter. As if sensing it, Ace gently puts his hand on your wrist. "You really can't say anything nice, can't you?!"

"I have no doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this academy. So says my intuition as an educator." He leans back from your face and looks over at you. He continues- Does he ever shut up? -"Along with rescinding Trappola-san and Spade-san's expulsion, I shall give you the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!"

Ace, Deuce, and Grim let out a dumbfounded "EH?!" at this information.

"I don't want it." You say. Causing all of them, including Crowley, to let out a louder and even more dumbfounded "EEEHHH?!?!?"

"You're just going to reject my graciousness?!" Crowley cries. "Well for one, I can't use magic." You explain. "Two, I didn't come to this school or even this world, willingly. I'll stay as a member of the staff but I'm not becoming a student."

"Ah but-" Crowley says, "Grim could help you with your studies, since you can't use magic. You two would be considered as one student." He says and you cock an eyebrow at him. "Why can't he be a student by himself?" You ask and Crowley awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "Err...well... I don't know if I would consider taking someone like Grim in as a full student."

"Is it because he's a monster?" You address the elephant in the room. Crowley shakes his head and says in a panic tone, "No! Of course not! Nothing like that at all!! It's just that he's.... he's not accustomed to human society!" He says with confidence once he figured out how to lie his way through. "It would be up to you to take the reins and monitor him to prevent him from causing any more trouble!"

"I'm not his guardian." You bark. You're starting to think that maybe Crowley has ulterior motives by begging you to become a student and you don't like it. Before you and Crowley can continue debating you feel something tug on your tracksuit. Looking down you find Grim staring up at you with big eyes. "Please!!! Please say you'll attend! I can become a great mage if you do!!" He pleads. You stare at him blankly.

"I promise I'll help you out just let me attend here!!" He pleads more. "Grim would set a great example as a student who was rambunctious turned honor student!" Crowley says his sugary words sweetly. It takes everything in you to not start swinging your new pickaxe wildly. ' Agree so that you can go home agree so that you can go home agree so that you can go home. ' You chant a mantra to yourself.

Letting out a heavy and regret filled sigh, you ultimately agree. "Fine, I'll attend Night Raven College with Grim as one student." Grim cheers, jumping up and down and pumping his fist. "Wonderful! I shall give the symbol of your status as a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim." He says.

Crowley walks over to his desk and opens a drawer, taking out a small gem from it. When he returns, Grim is beaming at it. "Whoa! A magic crystal?!" His tail swishes in excitement. "It is the norm for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a "magical pen" but... you wouldn't be able to grip it in your paws, right? So it's a special custom. Aaah... I pay attention to even the smallest details! Aren't I too gracious?"

Ignoring his praising, Grim takes the gem and removes his ribbon from his neck. With surprisingly neat dexterity, he's able to put the ribbon fabric through the loop of the gem and is able to tie it back into a neat bow. Thank god he knows how to do that himself. You only really know how to tie knots.

"I did it~!! I'm so cool!! I got my own special magic crystal collar~!" He sings as he dances around, Ace and Deuce look at him with fond smiles on their faces. "Now, Yuu-kun." Crowley calls over to you, "As I mentioned before, Grim isn't accustomed to human society so it'll be up to you-" "To watch over him and make sure he doesn't get into trouble, I heard you the first time." You cut him off.

Ace pats your back. "Woow! Look at you! School's just started, but you're already a prefect, huh?" Deuce lights up like he just understood something, "Oh I see! There's only two of you in your dorm and you've been entrusted with monitoring Grim, that makes you a prefect."

Ace snickers behind his hand. "Isn't that unheard of? For there to be a prefect who is unable to use magic." He relaxes his face and tries not to laugh. "Nice. It's cool. A supervisor student who is unable to use magic!" You notice the edge of his mouth twitching. You raise up the pickaxe at them. "I didn't need magic to do what I did today, right?" At that, Deuce gives a confident nod.

Crowley holds his chin in his hand as he speaks. "I see a prefect. I do have a work request, and having a title makes it very conve... I mean wonderful!" He quickly changes the wording of what he was saying before. Yeah, he definitely has ulterior motives.

"Prefect." He calls. You guess that's your new name now. "I entrust you with this." He holds an old camera in his hands.

"I don't want it." You say again. "Please let me finish before you reject my offer!" He squawks. You hear Ace let out a snort.

Crowley coughs to regain his composure. "This is nicknamed the "ghost camera."" Ace tilts his head to look at it. "Oh yeah, I think my grandma told me about that. It's a super old magic tool, right?" The Headmaster gives some kind of look of offense at Ace's comment.

He coughs into his fist, before he starts to talk about the ghost camera. You start zoning out on what the ghost camera is and what it exactly does. You never really bothered to take an interest in taking pictures and the like, and you assume it won't do much for you in terms of your survival here. So you decide you'll wait until Crowley speaks to you again to focus your attention on the conversation.

You take a glance around his office. You notice various floating portraits that present the people that you originally saw on Main Street. You wonder if they speak too. Are they listening to this conversation? Maybe one day, you'll sneak in here when Crowley isn't around and find out for yourself.

"Prefect." Ah right on cue, you focus your attention back onto him. "Please take photos of Grim and the other students to leave behind many memories of your lives in this academy." You won't do that but you nod your head like you will anyway. It seems like this entire time, Grim is still bathing in the euphoria of being a student here. "La-lalala♪ Take lots of cool photos of me~♪" He sings happily as he skips around.

Crowley mentions some more things about the importance of taking pictures and whatnot but you decide to flat out ignore them. "It is already late. Let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow. Return to your dormitories, everyone." Crowley says. Somehow, you just realized that while Crowley was talking about the ghost camera, he put it in your only empty hand. ' That's what I get for zoning out. '

As the three of you walk out of his office, you suddenly stop. "Actually there's something I almost forgot to do. Give me a moment." You say to the trio who look at you quizzically. You walk back into Crowley's office and place the ghost camera on his desk. "Yuu-kun? Is something wrong?" Crowley asks.

"Not really." You say, before reaching into your back pocket to grab the sponge you were using much earlier in the day to wipe windows. You wipe the window that's placed directly behind Crowley's desk.

You then turn to Crowley and throw the sponge at him, who squawks while trying to catch it. "100 windows cleaned. Don't say I never did my work."

Walking out of the headmaster's office, it appears you might have forgotten something else. But you decide it wasn't important and you walk back with the trio.

Deuce stretches his arms over his head with a yawn. "With our expulsion rescinded... I'm beat." Ace also yawns. "Same here." Grim, on the other hand, is livelier than all three of you combined. "La lala~♪ I start as a student of Night Raven College tomorrow!" He sings, skipping ahead of the rest of you. He then turns around to look at you. "I'm gonna leave you all in the dust and take the top spot!" He declares, brimming with confidence.

Ace just gives a lopsided smile. "Y'know you talk big for someone who is only half of a full student... Well anyway, it's fine." Deuce gives you a kind smile. "From tomorrow on, we'll be classmates, Prefect, Grim." He says addressing you both. You rotate your head to relieve a crick in your neck. "Hopefully it goes over well and there isn't much trouble."

Deuce pumps his fist. "You can't use magic but not only were you able to steel yourself in front of that monster, but you completely destroyed it too! You've got guts. I think with that spirit of yours, you'll make it in this school without being taken lightly." Deuce says, beaming at you. For some reason, his words make your chest feel light.

"Hey, what's up with that thuggish slang that comes out of your mouth sometimes?" Ace asks, propping his hands behind his head. Deuce sputters at the question. "What?! D-Do I sound thuggish? Isn't that normal??"

Ace purses his lips before turning away from Deuce, "Eh whatever. More importantly, let's head back to our dorms. It'd be pretty lame to be late for class after all the trouble we went through to get our expulsion rescinded." Deuce gives his attention to Grim, "By the way, which dormitory are you guys from? We're from Heartslabyul Dorm." You vaguely remember the boy with the red hair in the entrance ceremony talking about Heartslabyul, maybe they work under him.

"We live in that dorm that's been abandoned for years." Grim explains, "We call it "Ramshackle Dorm" for the time being. But you know, the place is haunted by ghosts... Ugh..." Grim shivers at the thought of your ghostly dormmates. "They're actually pretty nice." You tell the two boys. "To YOU maybe..." Grim mutters.

"Aw man. I wish I was assigned to that dorm, too. The thought of having to see Mr. Serious' mug everyday makes me sick. Eugh." Ace sticks out his tongue in mock disgust. "That's my line, truant Ace." Deuce counters with a smirk. Ace waves his hand at Deuce, "Whatever you say, almost-expelled-crybaby Deuce." You quickly realize you've arrived back to the mirror chamber, you usually don't lose focus on your surroundings like that.

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Prefect." Ace departs with a wave. "Have a good night, Prefect, Grim!" Deuce bids you good night. You watch them sink into the mirror.

"They bicker like brothers." You comment. Grim nods in agreement. "They make a good combo though. They're like the "fight because they're so close" type." He says and you're inclined to agree. Truth be told, you haven't hung around that many people that are around the same age as you. You didn't even realize that you got lost in conversation with them. It felt... unusually pleasant.

"Anyway, we better get back to our dorm!" Grim states. "Tomorrow... we're not longer handymen! Finally our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!" He announces with a small cheer. You're in a good mood so you decide to not snuff out his fire.

You both leave the mirror chamber and head back to your dorm for the night.

Chapter Text

"Hurry and paint the roses red. Hurry before the flowers wither." The Card Soldiers sing, brushing red all over the pure white roses.

"Hurry, hurry! We have to paint them all red!!" The Ace of Clovers cries.

A small young girl appears next to the Card Soldiers, donning a baby blue dress with a small white apron. A black bow rests nicely on her beautiful golden hair. "Why do you have to paint the roses red?" She asks.

The Card Soldiers look at her with confusion.

The Two of Clovers speaks, "Well, the fact is, Miss, we planted the white roses by mistake."

"The Queen, she likes them red, if she saw white instead, each of us would lose our heads." The Ace of Clovers adds.

The young girl looks at them in surprise, "Really?"

"Since this is the part we dread, we're painting the roses red." The Three of Clovers sing.

-

You groan as you rub your eyes. "What kind of dream was that...?" You mumble. You crack one of your eyes open to see the sky though the boards on the windows. "It's still dark out, huh..." You yawn slightly before adjusting yourself to sit at the edge of the bed.

A sudden thumping noise hits against the front door. ' It still seems pretty late. Why is someone knocking at the door? ' You think as you rise from the bed. Grim is snuggled up on his chair, completely asleep.

The knocking continues as you get closer to the door. "Who's there?" You question.

"It's me, Ace." The voice responds. "Let me in." You open the door to let Ace in, however, before you fully open the door- "What the hell are you wearing?" You ask incredulously.

"I'm never going back to Heartslabyul ever again! Starting today, I'm joining your dorm!" He says as if to answer your question. "Hah?" Is what slips out of your mouth.

"I- okay, we'll talk about this in the lounge. Just get in here." You say pulling Ace inside. You direct him in the area of the lounge and where to sit. Ace plops down on the rickety couch with a huff. ' That's the same collar that was put on Grim during the entrance ceremony... ' You note as you realize what's around Ace's neck.

You sit further away from him on the couch. "So," You start, "what happened?"

Ace dons an expressionless face, "I ate a tart." "Huh?" Is all you reply.

"You heard me. Literally just that. I got hungry, so I wandered down to the dorm kitchen and found a whole tart just chillin' in the fridge." He starts to explain. "And then, it turns out that there were three whole tarts! So I just took one." You nod your head, telling him to continue.

"And it was a pretty bomb ass tart, I won't lie. But the next thing I know, I find my Dorm Leader standing right behind me! He mentioned something about the... Queen of Hearts Rule, I think? And then said I was a tart thief. Next thing I know, I'm wearing this frickin' thing!" Ace thoroughly explains, gesturing with his hands all the while.

All that comes out of your mouth is a dumbfounded "Huh."

Ace vents his frustration. You just sit there and stare at him as he continues. "Don't you think it's a little much to seal my magic just because I took a tiny bit of a tart?! I'm a mage! This is basically like having my arms and legs all chained up. And anyway, there were three whole tarts in there! There's no way he could eat them all by himself! How narrow-minded can one guy be?!"

"Sealing your magic is a bit much." You agree. "See-?!" "However," You cut him off, "I understand his notion of being upset." You finish. You remember the countless times someone has stolen from you or someone you know has stolen from another person and you remembered the dire consequences. But you think, in a sense, that those were the times people would be stealing things they needed to survive. You doubt a "tart" is one of those things.

"Ugh..." Ace groans, throwing his hands over his face. "Isn't this the part where you say that you totally think he's being too much of a power freak?" He says as he looks at you through his fingers. You'll admit you have met people that were too obsessed with power.

"Let's go speak with your Dorm Leader tomorrow. Maybe we can figure out how to apologize." You suggest and Ace throws his head back. "Uuuuggggghhhhh fiiiine." He drags out. "I just have to apologize, right?" He then points at you, "This is your idea, Yuu, so you better come with me."

You give him a nod in response. "I don't have a problem with that." Ace sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "So, where should I sleep tonight?" He asks you.

"The rest of the rooms are still pretty dirty, so you can sleep in the bed I'm using." You say to him. You don't plan on going back to sleep, so you'll just let Ace take it. And besides, even if you had to share with him, you don't feel uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping in the same bed with someone.

"Seriously?! You're the best!" Ace says with a grin. You both get up from the couch and you show Ace where the room is. Grim is, unsurprisingly, still asleep, even with Ace's animated talking that happened in the lounge.

Ace sits at the edge of the bed and kicks off his shoes. "Are you gonna be able to sleep with that on?" You ask him, gesturing to the collar. Ace tugs at it before sighing. "Probably not. Unless you have some way of takin' it off." He gives an unamused laugh. "Depends, let me see it." You say.

Ace gives you a look of surprise as you sit next to him. You lift up the lock to inspect it thoroughly. Peering at it, you can see that there's a small keyhole that you missed due to the lack of proper lighting. A simple keyhole that's on any regular lock, you can get through that.

"Ian, Jasper, Boo." You call out to the ghosts, who quickly answer your call. "What's up, kid?" Ian asks. "Could you try finding me a paper clip, a hair pin, or a small screwdriver? I'm gonna try taking this collar off." You request and the trio of ghosts salute before vanishing off to different parts of the building.

You look through the nightstand next to the bed, feeling around for anything that you need. "What exactly are you doing?" Ace asks with a tilt of his head. You give him a look, "I'm gonna take that collar off of you." You state like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Ace cocks an eyebrow. "How exactly are you gonna do that?"

You get up from the bed to check the rest of the room for anything small like the items you mentioned before. "How else would I unlock something without magic or a key?" You continue to search as Ace ponders your question before letting out a soft gasp. "You know how to lockpick?!" He asks, awe dripping from his mouth. "You don't?" You reply.

Boo comes back to the room, Ian and Jasper following right behind him. "Here, kiddo!" The spirit hands you a small screwdriver and a bobby pin. "That's perfect, thank you so much." The ghosts give you a smile before disappearing once again. Looking at the items you received, the screwdriver is a small, slender flathead and the bobby pin seems to be missing the plastic ends of it, but that ultimately works in your favor.

You sit back on the bed with Ace, placing the screwdriver next to you. You take the bobby pin and pull it open so both ends are apart from each other, you then grab the flat side of the pin and use the footrest to bend the tip at a certain angle. You twist the wavy part of the bobby pin, adjusting it to look like a small handle.

Picking up the screwdriver, you face Ace. "I'm going to need you to lift your head up and stay as still as you possibly can." You order and Ace gives you a nod. You insert the screwdriver at the bottom of the keyhole, acting as the tension lever, you then insert the bent part of the bobby pin into the upper half of the keyhole.

You go through the process of adjusting the bobby pin with various small lifts with forward and backward movement, all the while you make small turns with the screwdriver.

Eventually, when you give a small turn with the screwdriver, you hear a light click.

You remove the items from the keyhole and gently move the small bar over the lock out of its socket. "You can take it off now." You say to Ace, who slowly opens the collar and takes it off his neck.

"Holy-! Seriously, Prefect, where did you learn this stuff?!" He asks in excitement. "Someone I knew taught it to me." Is the answer you give. "I don't know if removing the collar will give you back your magic but at least you can sleep without it on." You say as you take the collar and place it on the nightstand.

"You'll need to put it back on when we head for classes, though. I'm not sure if your Dorm Leader would like the idea of his magic-sealing collar being taken off without his knowledge." You inform as Ace climbs comfortably into bed. "Eugh, yeah. I guess that makes sense."

"I won't be able to go back to sleep so you'll have the bed to yourself." You mention as you walk near the door. "Are you sure?" Ace questions, you never really took him to be the type to ask for confirmation. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Suit yourself. G'night, Prefect." You look back at him as you open the door. "Night, Ace."

Closing the door behind you, you’re suddenly faced with the three ghosts.

“Oh. Hi guys. Is something wrong?” You ask and they just give you a grin. “You’re officially a student of Night Raven so we thought we would help you find a uniform.” Jasper says.

"We should check the room where we found your P.E. clothes!" Boo suggests. "You can even customize it to your liking." Ian says as he floats near the other room door. You shrug and decide to follow them.

You open the door to find the room exactly as you left it. Man, you really should start cleaning this place up if you're going to be staying here for the foreseeable future. You used to do that a lot for the previous abandoned places you’ve stayed in.

Turning the lamp on, you look over at the mess of clothes on the floor. You start to pick up the various shirts and separate them from pants and jackets. You end up kicking over a few shoes in the process, too big for you to wear comfortably.

"You have a pretty good idea of what the uniforms are like, yeah?" Jasper asks as he floats absentmindedly. "More or less." You reply as you look at a long sleeved white shirt. ' This one should be fine. ' You think as you set it to the side. "The Dorm vests are all different colors, though." Boo drifts by with the aforementioned vest in his wispy hands. The vest dons a shade of black and Boo offers it to you, which you take.

"There are ties all over the place, so you can easily find one." Ian mentions. After saying that you find a black and white striped tie in the pile of clothes. "There ya go!" Ian says. "I have no idea how to tie a tie, though." You utter to yourself. It seems like Ian heard you, though, "We'll tie it for ya, kid." He gives you a smile.

You express your gratitude. You really didn’t have many encounters with people, or even spirits, that were being so kind to you. It makes your chest feel warm.

You pick up a pair of pants that have a line of gold-ish coloring going down the sides of the pant legs. "Does this also count as the uniform?" You ask the trio of spectors, to which they all say yes. "Now, usually you can wear the blazer to completely match the uniform, wear something different, or wear no overcoat at all!" Ian says, pointing at the various jackets and coats.

You see various outerwear: varsity jackets, bomber jackets, hoodies, cardigans, coats, and the blazer for the default uniform. You guess you don't have anything in particular you'd want to wear. Perhaps you can go for something that'll make it easier for you to keep your pickaxe on hand.

You look over at the jackets again and notice one of the coats has a belt around it. Picking it up, you can see fully that it is a black trench-coat with a tie around belt, you also notice that the pockets are relatively deep. "I think I'll go for this." You decide, picking up the rest of the uniform.

"There you have it. You now have a full uniform for your classes at Night Raven College!" Jasper speaks as if he's an announcer, you shake your head at his antics. With your uniform set up, you wonder what you will do with the rest of your time.

You glance over and gaze at the boarded up windows, slight openings in between. It’ll be awhile before morning comes, you should make use of this time.

Exiting the room, you head towards the front doors.

“Where ya going, kiddo?” Ian asks, looking at you with confusion in his eyes. You vaguely remember Crowley telling you to not walk around the school at night, but you'll be more at ease if you scout the place yourself and get a better layout of the academy.

“Outside to kill time.” Is all you say in response. “I’ll be back before classes start.”

“Are you sure you wanna wander around this place during the dark?” Jasper asks, his tone layered in concern. You huff out a laugh. “I'll be fine guys, don't worry.”

Grabbing the door handle and opening it, you slip out into the night.

-

Deuce knew something was up when he awoke and didn't find Ace to be in their shared dorm room. He only got confirmations from the rest of his roommates.

“Seems like Trappola ate a tart that was meant for the Dorm Leader.” They said.

Similar hushed whispers rang in-between the halls of the Heartslabyul dorm, as he walks in for the morning roll call. They seize once their Dorm Leader and Vice walk in.

He reads out names of the residents out of a decently thick binder, and they respond with a 'present!' once called. Deuce thinks they might’ve used it for previous Dorm Leaders and students before.

He calls out a name. "Present!"

Another.

"Present!"

Another.

...Silence.

He calls the name again.

And still gets no response.

Deuce notices how his eyebrow twitches. A small snarl starting to form.

He moves on to another name. This one also does not respond. His face starts to turn a shade of red. The other dorm members visibly fidgeting. Their Vice trying to calm him down.

Gripping the roll call binder in his hands, he calls out yet another name through gritted teeth.

A beat of silence before-

"Dorm Leader Riddle! I'm here!!" The door slams open and three residents tumble in. Panicked looks on their faces.

However, instead of relief or any kind of satisfaction, the Dorm Leader's face turns red . He slams the binder shut and glares at the tardy members.

"Morning roll call begins at 7:30 and yet you come in 5 minutes late...! Even though the very concept of being late is forbidden in the Queen of Hearts' Rules, it is also proper etiquette!! Do you think I'm a fool?!” He yells. The three boys flinch in response, as does Deuce and the rest of the dorm.

The Vice cautiously places his hand on the Dorm Leader’s shoulder. “Riddle, I’m sure they understand-” He tries to speak.

“They clearly do not!” He shouts back. “I will have to make sure that this won’t happen again!” He raises his scepter and with a chant, he yells. “ Off With Your Head!!”

A synchronized ‘CLAMP!’ is heard as three collars appear on the necks of the punished. They look frightened beyond anything else.

‘ First it was that freshie who ate a tart…’ One says in a hushed whisper, ‘ And now these guys… We will be next too?!’ Another whispers in panic.

The Dorm Leader turns to the rest of the dorm, who swiftly stand straight. “You all do well to not break any more rules. Or else.” He threatens before walking out of the room.

A beat of silence passes. The air feels cold.

Deuce shakes his head, he has something else to focus on! He hurriedly shimmies past the other dorm residents and out of the room. Speed walking (no running in the halls obviously!) his way to the mirror chamber.

In the mirror chamber, he looks at the different mirrors leading to different dorms. He’s not fantastic at thinking, truth be told, but he can take a guess as to where someone might hide out from danger or any other setbacks.

They've only been here for a couple of days, so Deuce doubts he made any companions in other dorms. Heck, they barely even know their upperclassmen! So where exactly would he take refuge?

Deuce tries to think of anyone else he and Ace might know that would guarantee him being away from Heartslabyul.

‘ Right!’ Deuce’s head shoots up in realization. ‘ It would be Yuu!! ’ Following his theory, he makes his way out of the chamber and onto the campus.

Believe it or not, he has a pretty good layout of the general area. An honor student has to know where everything is, after all! And Deuce definitely remembers an abandoned looking building nesting right next to Night Raven College.

Chapter Text

Ace groans as he hears loud pounding against… something and shaking the entire shabby dorm. Grim also seems to be annoyed by the noise.

“Hnnnrrrgggghhh!! Henchman!!” He cries, “Go n’ check who’s at the door!” Grim flattens his ears and curls into himself.

“I'm not your friggin’ henchman.” Ace utters. His voice is unexpected for Grim, who whips his head over to him. “What the heck are you doin’ here?!”

The pounding continues. Ace lifts himself out of the bed in frustration with a heavy groan. “I’ll explain after I check who's making all of this noise!” Running a hand through his bedhead, he sluggishly matches to the front door.

Sevens, this place is so dusty, it's practically falling from the ceiling!!

Opening the front door, a face comes into his view. A face he really does not want to see.

“So you really did come here…” Deuce “greets” with a hand on his hip. Ace doesn't stop the dissatisfaction from showing on his face. “Eugh…. it's you.”

"I heard what happened from the other residents. You got collared because you stole the Dorm Leader's tart..." Deuce shakes his head. "You are a complete idiot."

"Arugh, shut it! I don't wanna hear that from you!" Ace scratches the back of his head. "By the way, was he still mad?"

Deuce folds his arms, slightly tilting his head. "Not really. He looked a little irritated at these three guys who were late for the morning roll call. The most that happened is they met the same fate as you." He explains flippantly.

"That's your definition of "not really"?! He's pissed, no matter how you look at it!" Ace shouts.

Grim trots his little body to the front door. "Why're you makin' all that noise! And why are you still here?!" Ace groans, putting a hand to his face. "I don't wanna explain myself again. Sevens, where did Yuu go?"

"You should probably get ready for classes." Deuce interjects, before pausing. "Wait, where is your collar?"

"Oh Yuu took-" "I took it off for him to sleep." You answer, standing behind Deuce, who flinches at your sudden appearance.

"It should still be on the bedside table." You explain. Grim and Ace give each other and then you a look.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Ace questions. "Splorin'." Is how you decide to answer.

You don't wait for any of them to question you further. "Go get ready, I have to put your collar back on." You turn your attention to Deuce, "You can come inside and wait for us if you'd like."

The blue haired boy accepts your invitation and walks into the rickety dorm. Time for you to have your first 'school' experience. Here's to hoping you don't attack someone today.

-

You shove your hands in the trench-coat's pockets as you walk, your pickaxe resting comfortably on your hip. Grim skips and sings in front of you. "Hey, hey! Outta my way! The great and almighty Grim is passing through on his way to begin life as a student of Night Raven College!"

Ace and Deuce are walking beside you, the redhead slouching along the way. Grim doesn't show any mercy upon him. "Just look at my collar. Unlike that lame thing around your neck, mine is fabulous!"

"On top of that, you can't use your magic right now, yeah?" He barks out a laugh, "You'd make a really good janitor today! Nyahaha!" Ace growls at Grim's taunts.

"Grrrrrnnngh!! Just wait until I get my magic back!" He declares in defense. Deuce shakes his head. "The headmaster literally just told us yesterday to not make another scene..."

He waves his hand, "Anyway, you're going to have problems in class with your magic sealed. Have you thought about apologizing to Dorm Leader Rosehearts and having him remove it?" He suggests.

"I mentioned the same thing to him when he decided to crash over at Ramshackle." You chime in. Ace looks up at the sky. "I hate this. I hate it so much. Why am I the one apologizing?!"

"We've still got some time before class, and I wanna know about the other dorms!" Grim exclaims. "Let's go wander while we watch Ace's apology!" He taunts again before running off towards the mirror chamber.

"Oi, this isn't some kind of show! Arugh, screw this!!!" The heart marked boy cries in frustration. You, Ace, and Deuce, follow Grim to the mirror chamber.

As you and your companions walk along the walkway, you feel a sense of peace wash over you. How... unusual.

Why do you feel so at ease? You barely know any of these people and it hasn't even been a full day! Are you getting soft now? That won't do, they'll kill you on sight once you get dropped back home.

Hell, you don't even know if these guys will put a knife to your back. It wouldn't be the first time, that's for sure. You're an outsider. You can't fit in. You will not fit in. So don't get soft now, don't be easy prey.

You breathe in and out softly, steeling yourself for whatever is about to come your way. Even if it seems calm, something will happen, you can guarantee it.

Your group walks into the mirror chamber. “It’s the one with the heart shaped thingy, right?” Grim asks, pointing at the mirror.

“Yeah that’s right.” Deuce confirms. “Alright! Then let’s go!” Grim announces before jumping through the mirror.

Ace’s shoulder slump before he climbs into the mirror, Deuce following behind him.

You make sure to sneak a glance at the rest of the mirrors and the emblems that adorn them. You climb in shortly after.

Immediately, you’re greeted with the sight of brightly colored grass and bright shades of red.

“Whoa! This is gorgeous! It couldn’t be more different than ours!” Grim observers in excitement. Maybe you’ve gotten too used to everything looking dead and abandoned, because it’s a little overwhelming for you.

You can’t help but scrunch your nose in disgust.

You look over at the hedges shaped like hearts, decorated with roses. You gaze over the courtyard and see a maze.

"Crap. I've gotta hurry and get these roses painted." You tilt your head to the direction of a voice you heard. It seems like Grim heard them as well. "Hey, someone's here."

You see a taller man, with orange hair and green eyes hurriedly putting paint on white roses, a diamond rooted underneath his eye. "Oops, nearly missed that. Leave even a bit of white and my head's totes gone." He speaks to himself

'Where have I seen this before?’ You wonder, placing two fingers to your temple, your head hurts.

The man with the diamond looks up with a hum and notices the four of you. "You guys need something?"

Ace eyes the paint-can the older boy is carrying in his hand, "What're you doing with that?"

"This?" He holds up the bucket, "Can't you see that I'm painting the roses red?" He asks like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Deuce startles at his question, "But why?" But the man doesn't directly answer his question. "Ahh man, it's been awhile since I've got to see such cute reactions like this."

You scrunch up your nose again at the notion of being called 'cute.'

Paintbrush still in hand, he points at you. "Actually, aren't you the new kids that shattered that 10 million Madol chandelier yesterday?"

Ace just groans at the question. "We're gonna hear about that chandelier until the day we graduate..." You shake your head. "I didn't even do anything."

The man then points at Ace, "And you're the one who added on even more punishment by stealing the Dorm Leader's tart that very same night!" He sings with excitement, but the words that he's saying are anything less than positive.

He drops the paintbrush in the bucket and puts it on the ground. "I feel so lucky getting to meet the notorious newcomers first thing in the morning~♪" He expresses joyfully, taking... something out of his pocket.

It's a rectangle shaped object that's oddly decorated with little diamond characters. You have no idea what he is holding in his hand and that makes you cautious.

"Hey, hey~! Let's take a selfie!" He proposes but doesn't wait for a response. He turns his back to you and holds the object above him. "Yaaay!" He cheers and you hear a soft click from the device.

The man brings the object back down to his person, "Can I put this on Magicam? Tell me your names so I can put you in the tags." He beams at the four of you.

'What the hell is a Magicam???' You think to yourself, you're taken out of your thoughts when Deuce speaks.

"I'm Deuce Spade." He introduces with a bow. How formal of him.

Ace crosses his arms, "Ace."

Grim stands proudly, "Mine's Grim!"

You glance at the man to see that he was... tapping(?) the object with his thumbs. You see him look up at you, perhaps waiting for your name.

"Yours first." You order. You want to decide if you should come up with a fake name or not. Not like you would know him from anyone else, but it's a force of habit so it comes out naturally.

The man doesn't seem to take offense to it, though. "Oh right, that would help you guys, huh? My name's Cater Diamond and I'm a third-year." He- Cater -says with a flourish bow. "You can call me Cater. Caycay is fine, too~♡" He finishes with a wink.

Disregarding his nickname, you finally answer. "Yuu." Cater gives you a smile before turning his attention back to the object. "Okie dokie! Boop and up it goes~♪"

Cater puts the object back into his pocket and once again looks at you. "You're the student that became the prefect for Ramshackle Dorm that everyone's been talking about. Surprised you're chill with living there!" He remarks with surprise.

"It's super dark, I can't even imagine any part of it being Magicammable. You have my sympathy." He retorts in a mock prayer. You roll your eyes, the place is a lot nicer than the others will give it credit for.

"Man, this guy really doesn't know when to shut up, does he?" Grim huffs. Cater suddenly jumps back to life. "Ah! What am I doing? I don't have time to just stand around and talk!"

He picks up the paint can with a shake of his head. "The party is tomorrow. I don't wanna lose my head for being late." Cater peers at you and your group.

"Hey, you guys mind helping me paint the roses?" Is the inane question that comes out of his mouth.

Ace seems to think the same thing, "But why are you doing something so weird in the first place?" Cater just shrugs at the question.

"Because red roses at a party are the most photogenic! I guess?" He puts a hand on his hip. "I also gotta color in the flamingos for the croquet match, so my hands are extra full right now."

"It is honestly incredible that you are saying the most absurd things on this planet with a serious face." You comment. Grim gapes at Cater. "You have to color in flamingos, too?! Your chores are so weird!"

Deuce doesn't bother to comment on the rose painting or the flamingo coloring. "So the tart that Ace ate was going to be used for the Dorm Leader's birthday party. No wonder he's so mad..."

Cater eyes Deuce, "Uh, no? That's not it." Ace gawks at him. "It's not?! Then whose birthday is it?"

"It's no one's. Tomorrow is our dorm's traditional "Unbirthday Party." The Dorm Leader chooses a random day that isn't anyone's birthday, and we have a tea party." Cater explains. You could make the argument that technically every day is someone's birthday considering how often babies are born but you just assume they mean a birthday for anyone part of the school. Staff or student.

Ace continues to gape at Cater, "The heck kind of tradition is that?!" Cater just waves his hand.

"Listen, you can worry about that later! Just focus on making the roses red!" He turns his attention to Grim and Deuce, "You two can do it with magic, yeah?"

He then looks over to you and Ace, "Since you two can't use magic, here's some paint." He hands off the bucket he was carrying to Ace.

"When did we ever agree to this." You utter to Ace, who gives you a look of bewilderment.

Deuce stutters, "W-we can change the color with magic?" Grim gives Cater a pout. "I've never done anything like that."

'Why didn't he just change all of the roses red with his own magic?' You think absentmindedly.

Cater hurriedly ushers the four of you towards the white roses. "No worries, it's fine! Just relax! We'll figure it out!! We better hurry if we don't wanna lose our heads, though!"

Chapter Text

You attempt to understand the notion of painting white roses red.

You cannot. The more you think, the more your head hurts.

Grim and Deuce struggle with their magic.

“C’mon red….red!!!” Deuce pleads before the rose changes to a beautiful shade of blue. “Noooo! Not blue!!” He says, defeated.

Grim stands by a rose bush and waves his paws in the air, eyes closed. “Oh, color, change at my command…” He chants. Grim then thrusts his paws towards the bush, which quickly bursts into flames. “GYAAA! NO NOT FIRE!!”

Cater has taken the device out from his pocket and is scanning over Grim and Deuce. “You guys are worse at this than I thought you'd be.” He remarks with a grin.

Cater then scans the object over you. You just stand with your hands in your pockets and a paint bucket by your feet. “Why aren't you painting, Yuu-chan?” He questions.

“I don't remember agreeing to this. And don't call me that.” You reply with a tilt of your head.

Ace gazes at the white rose bush, paintbrush in hand. “Aren't the roses fine left white?” He asks, directing the question to his upperclassman. “They're still pretty like this.”

Cater shrugs, object still in hand. “It's just tradition to do this. Roses must be red for the Unbirthday Party!”

Tradition was always something interesting to you. From the people you've known, they all had their own forms of tradition. Whether it came from family or their friends or even from the Earth itself, they always had some kind of tradition to follow.

You never really understood it, you just knew that it meant a lot to the person.

“For croquet, we use seven different colored flamingos as the bats, and hedgehogs are used as the balls.” Cater explains. Making you understand it even less.

“Oh, but an important thing to remember is that the roses must be white for the spring concert of the flowers.” He adds. Yeah, you got none of that. Perhaps it's for the best.

Grim has no trouble voicing his complaints, “Not one of those are normal!!”

Cater scratches his cheek with a finger, looking off absentmindedly, “They say these rules were all decided by one of the Great Seven, the Queen of Hearts. Honestly, even compared to previous dorm heads, Riddle is particularly passionate about following them.”

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, “I won't deny he goes too far with it sometimes, though…” He finishes with a not-so quiet mutter.

“Oh yeah, I forgot that's what we came here for you.” You speak bluntly. Ace’s eyes widen.

“Wait, I don't have time for this! I need to speak to the Dorm Leader. Is he still here?” Ace inquires.

At his question, Cater looks at the object in his hand. “Hmmm.. Yeah, I still think there's some time before he usually leaves.” The diamond marker boy puts the device back in his pocket and leers at Ace.

“By the way, Mr. Tart Thief, did you bring a tart as an apology?” He asks.

Ace gives him a quizzical look. “What? No? I came here first thing, so I don't really have anything prepared.”

At that, Cater shakes his head. “Ah shoot. That makes sense but you'd be going against the Queen of Hearts' Rule, Number 53: “One must always return what they stole.” So, sadly, I can't let you in.” Cater says, giving an apologetic look.

The rule seems to startle Ace, “The hell?! What's that about?!”

Cater sternly looks at Ace. “If you're part of the dorm, you gotta obey the rules. I’ll be losing my head if I overlook this and just let you in.”

If Ace tries to force his way in, you and the others might be dragged into some kind of altercation. You can't fight against insanity.

“Alright, we get it.” You step up, nudging Ace towards the mirror.

“Wh-?! Prefe-?!” Ace hisses as you shove your elbow into his side. “Quiet.”

You glance at Deuce and Grim, “C’mon, we should go.” The two boys visibly hesitate before rushing over to your side. Cater gives you a faux smile.

“Aw, Yuu-chan, I'm so glad you listen to reason.” You roll your eyes at his tone. “Now, make sure you guys get a tart before coming back here, okay? Bye-bye~!” Cater sings as you and your ragtag group leave through the mirror.

Arriving back into the mirror chamber, Ace shoots you a question. “What the hell was that for?” You give him a tired look.

“He looked like he was going to fight you if you kept refusing to leave. I didn't want to deal with that so I decided it would be best to get out of there. We heard the conditions, now we just have to fulfill them.” You explain. Ace's eyebrows soften as you explain. “Besides, he's your upperclassman, he would've absolutely kicked your ass.” You bluntly add.

Ace grunts out an ‘oi!’ as Deuce and Grim snort. He shakes his head, “I think what pisses me off more is that he should've turned us away from the gate, since we had nothing on us. He just wanted to do his dirty work!”

‘That’s why I was just standing there.’ You think but you imagine if you say that, Ace will just get angrier.

Grim huffs in annoyance. “He seriously has some nerve!!” You realize he's probably only upset because he found out he was being used. Otherwise, he would be painting those same roses right about now.

“We should get a tart before coming back then.” Deuce starts, “We should do that after cla- Oh, shoot!!” He suddenly stops in realization.

Ah, right. This is a school. There are classes to take. These classes start at a certain time.

Whoops.

“Ah.” Is all you manage to say. “This is bad, the warning bell would've rung by now! We're gonna be late!!” Deuce continues after your less than worried response.

Grim startles, “Ffgna?! My radiant school life is going to be tarnished on day one!” He exclaims. It was already tarnished when he ended up causing the destruction of the chandelier, but you decide to keep that to yourself.

He stands ahead the three of you, “Let's get a move on!!”

“You guys are first-years, yeah? What class are you in?” Ace asks.

“I believe the Headmaster said class A-1… whatever that means.” You respond, uttering the last part to yourself. All of this school stuff is still pretty new to you.

Deuce brightens at your answer, “Oh, so we're in the same class then. Our first period is Potions.”

Grim’s tail swishes in excitement, “Ohhh! Sounds fun!! Let's go!!!” He yells in awe before taking off, Deuce following right behind him.

You hear Ace sigh dejectedly, “Guess I couldn't get my magic back before class, after all. Is this gonna be okay…?”

“You won't know until we get there. Besides, it's not like you're the only one out of your element here.” You say, gently pushing Ace forward. “C'mon, let's get going.” The redhead’s shoulders drop as you two follow your companions.

Chapter Text

Despite being a school for magic, the classes start out relatively simple. Though, you suppose that makes sense. It's never really a good idea to rush into something head on with no prior practice.

Another thing you've noticed is that the teachers themselves are interesting characters.

The teacher you first met goes by the name of ‘Divus Crewel’ and he’s in charge of Potions.

Crewel has also mentioned that you are allowed to call him ‘Master Crewel.’ An interesting choice of words, considering the last guy you met that wanted to be called ‘Master’ was overthrown in a bloody revolution led by you.

You also quickly realize that Crewel views the students as dogs. The realization leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

He mentioned something about drilling 100 different types of herbs, medicinal and poisonous, into your heads. Fungi coming at a later date.

Ace and Deuce struggle to focus in the class. Something about the redhead boy having a terrible memory, and the blue haired boy asking what exactly fungi is. Grim gives an unimpressed look, mentioning that the only thing about grass that matters is how good the taste is.

You consider it a blessing that these three don't live in your world. The poor things would've been eaten like snacks.

-

Your next class was Magic History, which was led by a much older man with a feline, his familiar, Lucius, in his arms.

‘Trein’ explains the class as well as his teaching regulations, to which Lucius lets out a guttural meow after Trein finishes speaking.

Ace lets a yawn escape him and Deuce is mumbling Trein’s lesson, and Lucius’ meows, under his breath. Grim rests his head on the desk, boredom showing on his face, wishing the classes were more exciting.

You're quickly able to focus on the lesson and make mental notes about things you deem important. Knowing things about this world lowers the chances of getting killed, after all.

-

Your next, and certainly most interesting class, is Physical Education. The weirdly gross muscle man introduces himself as your teacher, ‘Vargas’.

He rants about something of muscle and stamina and the like, thus giving the class an impossible task if you aren't used to workouts.

20 laps and then 100 pushups. It's alright for you, considering how often you've had to run from things in your world as well as that damned black carriage. The ground is solid enough for steady pushups, it becomes increasingly difficult if the ground is uneven or wet, you're used to those as well.

After 10 laps, Ace breathes out a complaint about not minding exercise, but not entirely in love with a type like Vargas.

Deuce effortlessly does stretches, mentioning that he's confident in his stamina. You figured that he is more of the brawn than the brains type, this really only gives you confirmation.

Grim makes his complaints well known as he runs the track, exclaiming that he can't find the fun in running around in circles, and how he isn't a hamster. He can run whenever he pleases but he hates the thought of doing it once a rating system is involved.

-

Considering Grim's overall lack of enthusiasm through these first few classes, you might speculate that he will try running off. He doesn't want to build up to become the greatest, he just wants to be there with no effort.

Truly, a pain in the ass for everyone, especially for you .

Ace stretches in front of you with a groan, and Deuce is looking at a sheet for classes.

“Y'know, for being a so-called magic school, it's barely different to an old regular school.” Ace recounts, trying to massage a knot out of his shoulder. “It's kinda boring and real plain. Not being able to use magic hasn't really affected me, at all.”

You notice something in your peripheral vision, turning your head to quickly find that, yep. Grim is running through the courtyard.

He yells about something about being too much of a genius to be sitting around in boring classes.

“Making a break for it… He never learns, does he?” Deuce speaks behind you, him and Ace finally noticing the situation.

Ace stifles a laugh, “Wow, your first day of being a prefect and you have to be reported for negligence of your duties.”

You give a simple hum to Ace’s comment. You look out of the window a little further, noticing how the ground isn't that far down. Possibly the 2nd floor, that won't be too much of an issue.

“So, you need any help in catching Grim?” Ace questions with a grin, possibly going to ask for a deal.

You watch Grim in the distance, continuing to run. “No, that won't be necessary.” Is all you say to Ace and Deuce's surprise.

You unlock the window and open it. You make sure to tighten the belt around your waist that's holding your pickax before climbing on the window sill.

“Woah woah woah!! What're you doing?!” Ace yells in surprise.

“H-hey Yuu! I think there's a better way of catching Grim!” Deuce tries to counter your actions.

You dismiss their yelling, “It's fine, it'll be faster like this anyway.” You finish before adjusting yourself on the sill before jumping down.

Making sure to angle your hands and feet, you manage to land with a roll before taking off in a sprint towards Grim.

Despite being a break in-between classes, there aren't that many students in the courtyard, making your pursuit much easier.

Picking up the speed, you quickly come to overtake Grim, who was not expecting your sudden appearance.

“WHA-?!” Is all he's able to exclaim has you swiftly pick him up and grind to a steady halt.

“Put me down!! I don't wanna take those stupid classes!!!” Grim cries and thrashes around in your grasp.

You're so tired of this, you don't have the energy to yell or give threats. You just tighten your grip on Grim.

“Ow!!! Hey! Seriously, you're hurting me, you stupid human-!”  Grim continues to yell before looking at you, his cries quickly seize as he sees your expression.

You look down at him in your hands with a piercing, cold glare. Everything feels cold and yet at the same time, incredibly hot. Any more incidents and you might destroy something… or someone.

“For your own sake, you will not be causing any more trouble for me. Do you understand?” You order with a heavy growl. Grim looks close to tears as he nods rapidly.

“Prefect-! Yuu!!!” Someone calls for you.

You loosen your grip on Grim, closing your eyes and breathing calmly. Ace and Deuce run up next to you.

“What. The. Hell?!” Ace shouts as the duo finally catch up to you. “What kind of normal person jumps out of a window like that?!” He yells incredulously.

“Nothing in this situation is normal, Ace.” You remark bluntly. Deuce's face looks pale. “But seriously Yuu, please don't do anything like that again.” The spade marked boy pleads.

“Yes, I promise to not do anything like that again, Deuce.” You lie.

Making sure the blue haired boy doesn't question whether or not your "promise" is genuine, you speak to him directly. "Deuce, where do we go next?"

Deuce visibly stutters as if he wasn’t expecting you to talk to him directly for answers before relaxing, "It's noon, so it's time for lunch! Let's head to the cafeteria." He finishes with a smile.

You give a nod and turn to walk towards the cafeteria, Ace and Deuce following in tow. Ace begins to mock Grim about his failed escape and all the beast can do is give whimpers.

You wish the day would end already.