Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor... My proud, beautiful flower of evil. 

You are truly the fairest one of all.

O magic mirror, they wisdom I entreat.... Reveal into me the visage I seek...

You, whose image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth... 

If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.

As flame reduces even the stars to ash.

As ice deals away even time itself .

As great trees swallow even the sky.

Fear not the power of darkness. Now- demonstrate your power. 

To me. To them. To yourself the hour grows long, and time is scarce. Keep steady your grip, no matter what may come...

Name] was undoubtedly having the best sleep of her life. She can feel the press marks on her arms from the dream world and it was quite heavenly even if she was getting a weird dream. She flipped to her side, about to lift up her leg to get more comfortable, only to hit a wall. Her brows furrowed in irritation. She tried again and her leg was yet again forced to stop. She peeled her eyes open but couldn't see anything.

Oh no. Has she gone blind? How will she ever see her edits? Blue Lock? TBHK? Leon?! Just then, she heard a muffled voice outside whatever box she was in. 

Chillax. You're over reacting.

"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me..." Whoever it was, they were in dire need of some cough drops. They sounded boyishly high pitched, with some raspe in it too. [Name] could feel something touch the lid of whatever box she was in. She heard it move next onto the box next to hers.

"Urgggh... This kid weighs a ton! Try this on for size! Mya-ha!" It sounded like they were getting constipated towards the end. She heard the familiar crackle of fire and the sound of a male screaming his last days.

"Now to grab the goods..." Did this person not hear her coffin neighbor scream bloody murder? "What?! You ain't supposed to be awake!" The person yelped out in surprise. Another voice, probably Mr. Screams-A-Lot, sputtered out in confusion. 

"Floating coffins?!" Excuse me? Maybe she got high off of staying up too late again. She always did start acting stoned whenever she got too tired. But if this is true, which she doubts, then that would explain the soft feeling of the coffin moving up and down slightly.

"You got a lot of nerve ignoring me, human! The name's Grim. Believe me, you won't forget it!" The person— Grim, spoke out in a tone that reminded [Name] of when one of her little brothers would start throwing a tantrum over not getting Skittles. She wondered about the 'human' name calling. I mean, if floating coffins were a real thing and she wasn't getting the bedtime red-eyes, then it would be logical-ish to assume the person with the squeaky voice isn't human.

"Now gimme your uniform, and be quick about it!" Her ears were starting to hurt from his loud yelling, She gets it. Human = not superior. Geez. She's sick and tired of that trope— let the humans be praised and OP too dammit!

Wait.

Those lines just now. Call me my glorious striker king Goatsagi Slurichi because I think I've got all the puzzle pieces put together.

She's in God fucking Twisted Wonderland. She knows as a totally normal human being who is 100% normal of all the normalist ways that she, as a normal person with totally normal and definitely not any pre-scripted reactions she studied for situations, would start freaking out, but she's read too many isekai fics to not want to take an advantage of it.

Unless it's one of those au's where they either become self-aware and want to become a real person and thinks they'll accomplish that by killing her— or they get attached way too quickly and become the disciples of Ayano Aishi. 

[Name] quietly reached down to find ger phone while the two outside continued talking. She was also in the ceremonial robes and she's gotta say, they are very soft and comfy.

"'Cause if you don't... You're gonna regret it!" Mr. Screams-A-Lot yelped and dipped soon after, not wanting to get scorched by the sound of it 

Thankfully [Name] found her phone.

Lord shield my eyes. This screen is too bright.

She never had her screen that bright unless she was outside which was never. Instead of her usual home screen, a picture of one of her older brothers halfway falling down the stairs, it was a blank white screen.

"Buddy, y'know I love you." She whispered out loud to her phone as if talking to her closest companion she's about to throw off a bridge. Thankfully her phone loves her too and showed something other than a white screen.

A white screen with text on it. 

[Welcome to Twisted Wonderland.]

[View status?]

[YES] 

[NO] 

Interesting, interesting. So it's one of those systems? She's either doomed or less doomed if they think she needs a system as a handicap. She clicked on the [Yes] option. 

︻

[Viewing Status]

Name: [Name] Božena [New]

Health: 62/100

Stamina: 93/100

Magic: 100/100

Unique Magic: [Not Acquired]

[Skills]

[Musical genius]

[First time learner]

[Sight means nothing]

[Miss me, Miss me]

[Yes Chef]

[DIY]

[Oh Toodles] 

『　Close Window　』

︼

[Name] could help but be offended at a jab at her health. She has excellent health! (Liar!) She hasn't gotten hurt in two days straight! (Her knee is already bruising from hitting it earlier from the wall of the coffin.) But being serious for a second, what's that about magic? She knows for a fact she's not from this world so she should be magicless. Unless, hear me out, this system thing has pre-established her existence to become a part of this world. That sounds very convenient, but she has no clue what her possible in-world story could be. Or because of her grandma who was apparently a witch. Both are possibilities.

The screen suddenly changed back to how it's supposed to be. Before she could go Google her symptoms (what? She's not that dumb to accept the situation that easily without at least trying to see if she's really gone mad) she got a notification. 

[Upgraded phone. New additions.]

︻

[Never-ending battery]

[Never-ending storage]

[Multi-world connections]

[Anywhere Wifi]

[Break proof]

[Water proof]

[Theft proof]

[To only you]

︼

That last upgrade doesn't make sense yet but huzzah!

Before [Name] could celebrate any longer, she could feel the coffin begin to move. She clasped her phone and pretended to be asleep. Wherever the something hall where their orientation happened was getting close. So loud already. Her phone vibrates and she couldn't resist the temptation of looking at it again.

[Prologue]

That's it? Light work! Now to test this infinite storage thing...

Crowley chanted a spell to wake up all the new students this year and to unlock the gates after they had arrived. He watched as they all began pushing the lid of their coffins and stepping out one by one. All but one. Great, another trouble maker. He walked over to the coffin and took the lid off, being greeted by the sight of a very pretty boy using his phone. The boy squinted and looked up, giving Crowley a sheepish smile.

His eyes were eerily bright and jeweled, like fae but the lack of pointed ears or slit-like pupils seemed to contradict that. "Uh, hey... Sir." He spoke out awkwardly. He even sounded like a girl. Crowley couldn't help but feel the need to keep those eyes for himself. They were like his except (e/c) and even brighter. Crowley was beginning to think he was feeling some sort of kinship.

"Step out, out. You're holding up orientation." Said the real fae, not giving the student a choice as he put his hand on his shoulder and guided him out to the other first years. Thankfully the student had enough sense to put his phone in his pocket. 

Crowley walked to the front of the mirror, facing the new batch of students to give them the yearly opening speech. Just a bunch of nonsense and yada yada here and there. Crowley wasn't even listening to his own speech but by the looks his staff are giving him, mainly Crewel, he's giving them the right speech.

When the speech came to an end, he moved to the side to allow the first years to get sorted. At first, no one moved until one brave soldier stepped up in front of the mirror.

"State thy name." 

"Rian Medina." Rein stepped up confidently but anyone with a good eye could notice the way his knees trembled.

"The nature of your soul is attempting to mask what others cannot see. You feel for others and desire companionship. The dorm best suited for you is Octavinelle." Rian looked around to find the dorm leader to his house, walking over to a boy who looked like he'll scam you so badly even your descendants have a debt to pay to him. 

Thanks to Rian's bravery, others soon followed his lead. 

"State thy name."

"Saverio Arsanio." Unlike the first student, Saverio had an aura of confidence.

"The nature of the soul is seeking knowledge that is unknown to others and irrelevant today. You work for yourself and hate to have your plans ruined. The dorm best suited for you is Scarabia." Saverio looked back to someone in the crowd with a smirk, probably winning a bet and with an 'I told you so' expression. 

"Man shut up! I ain't say nothin' so it don't count!" A green haired male, his friend probably, expressed loudly. Saverio was waved over enthusiastically by a white haired boy.

As the ceremony continued, it finally occurred to the headmage that he should count the ratio of students to coffins to make sure they're all here. As he counted he noticed an important detail that he somehow missed when the students first arrived. One of the gates was missing a lid and most importantly, there was one less student in this year's batch. He grumbled, not at all keen in having more paper work to do (that he doesn't do anyways) and having to go search for the missing student. That student should be elated by his generosity and willingness to go search for him personally.

So being the generous, kind, and benevolent man he is, he decided to leave halfway through the sortings to find the missing student. He put his favorite s̶l̶a̶ve staff member Crewel in charge to watch over the orientation and make sure the students are safe while he was gone, earning an unforgiving glare from the victim.

Crewel growled as yet another one of the headmage's duties fell onto him. It was never the other staff either and he was convinced it was because the two toned male would always criticize the crow's fashion sense back when he attended this school as a student. That damned crow was so petty.

Crewel watched as the orientation ceremony continued without anymore trouble, except for the various students who were fighting (pushing actually) each other to remain at the back, not wanting to face the embarrassment of going up in front of everyone to get sorted despite brawling for last place is even more embarrassing. There weren't many left except the probably future Ignihyde students.

The boy on his phone earlier was the unfortunate victim to go next. He glared back at the students who pushed him while one of them stared between his hand and the boy in shock. Crewel found it a bit odd, but the students in this school are never normal so he brushed it off as one of their weird quirks. 

The boy walked to the front of the mirror casually, having one hand in the pocket where his phone was at and the other on the hood on his head.

"State thy name." The mirror repeated as it had done with the various newly sorted students before him.

"[Name] Božena." The dual haired professor raised a brow. That name didn't sound masculine at all. Yeah some students here have names that can be used for both genders but outright a female's name? (Sorry to my masc named readers)

Crewel looked towards the student who had been staring at their hand in shock, watching as the students facial expression seemed to realize something. Crewel now also had a sneaking suspicion about this student, [Name]'s gender. This was of course an all boys school so Crewel would never have to worry about mis-gendering a student. Until maybe today.

"The nature of your soul is unique. It flows like liquid, changing, adapting to whatever shape one desires, be it yours or others. The dorm best suited for you is Ramshackle."

Some students gasped and began murmuring amongst each other while the dorm leaders, more composed, looked surprised. Except Leona who wasn't listening at all and was 'resting his eyes' while leaning on a wall. Crewel and the other staff around looked equally surprised. Ramshackle has been abandoned for years. No student has been sorted into it ever since. Not just that but it's become a dump due to the lack of residency, nowhere safe and suited for comfortable living. 

The boy— girl maybe (Crewel will have to ask) nodded and turned to the crowd. "So... Where do I go?" Thankfully (s)he was aware of the lack of a proper dorm that was Ramshackle. 

"Over here, dear." A staff member, Leven Gathus, motioned for the boy-girl-maybe to stand by his side. What are they going to do? They've been sorted into a dorm, an unsafe dorm, and due to protocol and school rules students can't transfer out of their dorm until a week into the school year. He will have Crowley repair that dorm. Today. If one student was sorted in, who's to say others won't this year?

Gathus patted the first year's head. "Since you're the first student in Ramshackle this year, I'm appointing you as dorm leader." The curly haired man was in charge of transfers between dorms as well as the one who received notice when a new dorm leader or vice dorm leader was appointed. And in some situations, assigning a dorm a leader (Ignihyde— who said that?!) himself.

The sorting resumed shortly after when Leona had walked over and tossed a rather small student to the dark mirror.

Now that that was happening again, Crewel had to ask the important question. But how can he go on about this? What if the student really is a boy and is greatly offended? The fashion diva doesn't want to make his students feel insecure. Luckily Gathus broke the question for him, or rather statement to be exact.

"Don't worry about feminine care, Father here will make sure you live comfortably." The man didn't even ask, he just knew. And thankfully he didn't get it wrong because the now confirmed female, Night Raven's first ever female student in fact, nodded. 

"Thanks, mister." Gathus seemed pleased with the response as he looked at his fellow colleague. 

"When that crow gets here, let's berate him first before making him fix up her new dorm." He smiled Innocently while Crewel nodded in agreement. The students come first, and they won't risk a student getting injured or sick because of their dorm's poor condition.

Since they're here now, Crewel needed to know what Ramshackle's uniform would look like. He could design it himself but it would be rude to do so without consulting the warden of the dorm. He had [Name] choose the dorm colors, teal and gold, so he could get working on the default uniforms while she sketched out a custom uniform.

"State thy name."

One of the last ten people was up in front of the mirror. His white hair seemed defiant to stand out in contrast to the dark robes and overall dark room they were in. His eyes were blood red, concerningly so. As if someone had painted them until they couldn't get any brighter. And his ears were pointed, an obvious sign that he was fae. "It's uh- uh... Hold on it's..." He must've gotten the crowd jitters very badly to have forgotten his own name.

"Taras... Yeah Taras uhm, Yevsykov." He sounded unsure but the mirror rolled with it and judged.

"The nature of your soul is dedicated to one person. You strive to get better for this individual but lack the foundation to build your own person. The dorm best suited for you is Ramshackle." This earned another set of murmurs from the students. With [Name] and now Taras, that made two official students of old Ramshackle.

And a new reason to pluck that crow of its feathers and make him fix up the old rustic dorm. 

The albino looked in [Name]'s direction and walked over, not as timidly as he had done with the mirror. The girl was using the wall to hold up the paper and sketch her uniform. Actually she finished her sketch of her uniform awhile ago, she was just drawing her dream Minecraft house now. She didn't bother looking at him when he got too close. It would be awkward and the best thing to do in awkward situations is to ignore it. 

The last couple students got sorted and as predicted, they were Ignihyde. The headmage was yet to make his appearance. A red haired boy took the initiative to call the ceremony to an end.

"All right, new students— let me be clear." [Name] finally stopped seeing that things were getting wrapped up. And that the prologue has starting. She could almost vividly see Riddle become transparent as he spoke.

"At Heartslabyul House, I am the law." This school is mine, I am the king. 

"Break the rules, and it's off with your head!" He'd be a great demon slayer. Isn't his voice actor the same one who plays Tanjiro? 

Gathus turned towards the two new students of Ramshackle. "You guys can explore the school once everyone leaves. The staff and I will ensure Ramshackle is more livable by the end of the day." He patted both their heads.

A loud yawn chorused through the room. "Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever." Said a nonchalant dreadhead. A small student, the one who Leona threw earlier, was standing in the Pomefiore group while glaring heavily at the beastman. 

Leona stretched his arms and back. "I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me." Leona grabbed one of his new students and used him to help crack his back.

Then blue haired Reigen Arataka began talking. "New students!" Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement." He sounds so insincere despite his encouraging words. Azul has some serious talent. 

"As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience." This man will rob you clean and even your bones in your grave will be sold. 

A fine babe put a hand on his hip and looked around. "Hey, does anyone know where the headmage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony..." 

A few students around him looked around to finally notice the lack of the headmage. Some whispered and came up with rumors on the spot. 

"Some headmage he is." Spoke out a tablet. Another freaky fine babe behind the screen, [Name] knows that for sure. 

A boy from Scarabia suggested he got insane diarrhea and his dorm leader heard. The red eyed dorm leader looked worried, holding the shoulder of the student who suggested the idea. "Maybe he had a tummyache?" The student nodded.

Just then the door slammed open. Crewel glared heavily in the direction, knowing exactly who it was. Gathus sighed, knowing he'll have to drink his stress relieving potion earlier than expected. 

In all his glory, Crowley stood proudly and rather scathed at the words that had violated his poor ears.

He looks hotter in real life. 

"I most certainly did not!" 

"You most certainly did too!" A student from Savanaclaw said, warning a few snickers among the first years.

Riddle, having snapped out of his half second moment of rage after seeing it was the headmage, gave the man a peeved expression. "Ah, speak of the devil." The red head crossed his arms and couldn't help but to shake his head in disappointment. 

Crowley puffed out his feathered coat and moved to the side to reveal a boy holding an angry little cat creature. The boy froze. "If you must know, I was searching for the new student who failed to show up for orientation." Crowley put his hands on the boy's shoulders and pushed him forward. He snatched the cute little kitty from his hold and clasped its mouth shut.

"You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel." The scene reminded [Name] of a mom whose child was too shy to order for themselves. The cat let out muffled screams while attempting to scratch Crowley. 

"State your name." [Name] could've sworn the mirror said something different before but couldn't remember. But one thing was for sure, that mirror was tired of assigning dorms.

The boy walked to the mirror, his face now confused as ever as he spoke out his name.

"I'm Yuuta Mito." 

Chapter Text

❛I guess you ain't that bad for a human.❜- 

                                                                     Grim

"I'm Yuuta Mito." The boy spoke out. He still had that look in his eyes that he had no idea what was going on. The mirror hummed and for the last time, judged the student before him to get sorted.

"Yuuta... The nature of your soul is..." The Dark Mirror took longer than anticipated, causing a few chitters in the crowd. With them, the mirror was able to judge immediately. A good ten seconds passed before the mirror spoke again.

"Unclear to me." 

Crowley looked surprised, worried even. It was never a good sign to not be able to tell the conditions or nature of one's own soul. "What did you just say?" He crossed his arms. The little monster in his hold squirmed even more, seeing the hold on him was loosened.

"I sense no magical power from this one. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant." Wow. This mirror sure knew how to flatter a student. "Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate."

The mirror chamber got filled with gasps and whispers amongst the students immediately after. It was unheard of that a magicless person gets enrolled into a school for magic. Yuu, sensing the vibe looked around to see some people looking at him with pity. Others with derisive expressions. The teen felt overwhelmed. What was wrong? Why were they looking at him like that?

Crowley looked baffled, wronged even by the idea. "Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a person who cannot even use magic?" Out of habit, the fae put his hands on his hips. He had readjusted Grim so the cat was squished against his hip. The headmage made sure to keep a hand over Grim's face so the monster wouldn't fuss out loud.

"But that is absurd! The student selection process has not erred once in its history of existence!" Crowley's voice got louder the more he talked. Rightfully so he would say. His pristine image of having a school with no err (known to the public that is) and he can't have it stained just when he's about to pass the 100th year mark.

"How could this have happened?" Crowley put a hand to his chin, involuntarily releasing hold of the grey furred rascal. Grim didn't waste a second to jump to freedom and run towards the mirror.

He was eager to jump like a little frog to make his presence known. "ME! Let ME have this student's seat!" Crowley snapped out of his procrastinating and took a step towards Grim, hands on his hips like a mother who just caught her fourteen year old son trying to sneak out for the first time.

"Not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!" [Name] snickered at the sight, besides her, Taras looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. He was looking between [Name] and the small group in front of the Dark Mirror. Should he laugh along with the girl or should he back away and run like the proud coward he is?

Little Grim stood on his hind legs and sassed back the headmage with a little cross of his arms. "Unlike that human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here!" He's just a little baby!

"Look, I'll show you! My spells're the cat's meow!" Sparks of blue began to ignite around Grim. [Name] takes back what she said. That is totally not demure.

Riddle was the first to react, already commanding students on what to do.  "Everyone, get down!" Get down Mr. President! [Name] felt a weight over her as she was pulled down. She could feel scorching flames about a foot above her head. And a yelp. The other students ducked down behind their seats but some weren't so lucky, including her dorm member.

"My robe!" The albino above her was her hero, and in turn for his heroic deeds, his hood was caught on fire, and was about to burn his hair too. Other students as well but had more than just their hoods on fire. Almost the entirety of the mirror chamber was now set on fire.

"My butt! HELP! I'm on fire over here!" The other white haired male said. His eyes were wide and he was running around frantically. His dorm students were too afraid to get burned and started running away from him. This caused some sort of chain reaction as now, almost all the students were running around in frantic panic away from the ones whose robes were on fire. 

"We're gonna die!" A sorted Octavinelle student yelled.

"I should've updated my game before this!" An Ignihyde student cried out, using his fellow dorm member as a meat shield. The meat shield cried too, trying to move behind his companion and use him as a shield instead. Grim blew more fire from his mouth, making an increase with the students in fire, and just how many things were on fire now as well.

The two teachers, not far from the Ramshackle duo, having a sane send wife responsibility, took action in extinguishing the flames on students and evacuated them. 

"Someone catch that blasted animal before it sets the entire school ablaze!" Crowley yelled out, already moving to hide behind the mirror where Yuu had scurried off to the moment someone yelled get down.

"You blasted crow! Get over here and take responsibility!" Crewel barked out as he and Gathus worked on settling the flames. Unfortunately, Grim the Great worked just as fast and the more they got rid of the flames the more they seemed to appear. 

"Ugh. Can I go now, or...?" Leona scratched the back of his head, looking at the scene in front of him like it was any other Saturday.

"Oh?" The fine beauty crossed his arms, putting one up to cover his growing smirk. "I thought you fancied yourself a hunter. Go and help yourself to that plump little morsel!!" Vil was resisting the urge to laugh his heart out. No, really. It's not everyday this happens, much less on school grounds. And as ugly as some of these students are when they're scared, it makes for quite a comedic scene. 

Leona looked ready to drop fast asleep at any given moment now. "Too much effort. Do it yourself." There's something seriously wrong with the heads of people in this school. Just from an observation of course. What kind of sicko laughs at seeing students get burned? And what kind of sicko just stands there and says, 'tis naught but a problem for I to takest upon my very own hands'? Okay maybe he didn't say that exactly, but that's exactly what he said.

Another sicko stepped out from the crowd and had a hand placed in his chest. "Allow me to handle this, Headmage Crowley." He raised a suspicious brow and glanced around him like the weirdo he is. "If none of you are up to the task of catching a small animal, I will accept the responsibility." [Name] swears she can see that one green screen of Chica rubbing her hands together and licking her lips standing right behind Azul.

"WTG, Azul. Rackin' up those participation points." Spoke out a floating tablet. The girl wondered what exactly was the mechanism of making the tablet float since the blue haired hikikomori wasn't there to use his magic. Like yeah, it's obviously enchanted, but what exactly is it doing to be able to make it float? Y'know what? Whichever class breaks down the equation for magic or just how it exactly works is going to be her favorite class. Have they even started? No. But trust me, she'll love it.

Now that she's thinking about it, why is she just standing around doing nothing? "Hey, guy. Do we just stand here and look pretty until this settles down?" The girl looked at her only dormmate. He had taken his robe off and was stomping in on the ground. He looked shocked that she was actually talking to him.

"No! I mean, we should..." He stammered, looking around as if there would be someone holding a script to help him out. The only thing he got was a look of disappointment from a Savanaclaw student who was speaking their head behind the pew seats.

"Yeah let's just stand here and look pretty..." Their current spot wasn't on fire. Though someone still was. The tanned boy was dragged by Gathus and had a water spell aimed at his behind. Kalim looked like he wanted to gift his professor jewels and a castle right then and there. 

"THANK YOU!" Kalim shouted happily, hugging the man tightly. Gathus chucked and patted Kalim's head. "Now, now, run along to safety with the others." Gathus worked his way out of the white haired boy's clutch and pushed him towards a group of students who were previously on fire but were now gathered safely around the front row.

Crowley complained even more, stepping out from behind the Dark Mirror to sass his students for being unable to catch a flaming weasel. And Yuu, seeing that the surrounding students were now associating him with some crazy lunatic who's apparently the one in charge here, sneaked away from the mirror to join the two students who appeared to be outcasts or at the very least, a nicer dorm he hopes. 

[Name] waved at him as he approached. Taras backed away and offered an awkward smile. "Hey. I'm [Name]." She can already tell he's the brother she wished she had instead of those uncivilized, brazen beasts that she happens to be related to. 

Yuu smiled back, Moe at ease in the presence of someone friendly. He introduced himself as well. "I'm Yuu. Nice to meet you." He lowered his head a little out of habit. [Name] turned to her dorm member. "Guy, introduce yourself." It's not that she forgot his name, it's just that it's weird using people's names. If she can avoid saying their name, she will. And her name as well. 

In the meantime, Crowley and Leona bickered back and forth before Grim intervened at a grave misunderstanding of who he was.

"Oh! I'm-"

"I'm Grim, spell caster extraordinaire! I am NOT a weasel!" He's so loud for such a little guy. [Name] couldn't help but flash a look of irritation and cover her ears. This whole place was super loud and was messing with her head. They're gonna make her migraines return again.

Azul looked at the ever so kind Riddle Rosehearts for some assistance in catching the furry miscreant, as one would say. The two began chasing down Grim as the professors (minus Crowley the Generous) had almost finished extinguishing all the flames. The students weren't freaking out as much anymore— thank the stars. In the meantime while that fiasco happened, she chatted with Yuu who seemed more relaxed and social.

"How has the pandemic been treating you?" If she remembers correctly, Twisted Wonderland came out about half a year-ish after quarantine was set nationwide. If she's lucky, Yuu is from mid 2020 and she won't be embarrassing herself just now. 

Taras who was listening in on their conversation, looked confused. He heard no such thing about a pandemic in Twisted Wonderland, trust me he would know if there was one. Diseases don't typically spread that much anywhere thanks to the advanced medicines and healing spells. Yuu, oblivious to the albino's thoughts, sulked slightly.

"We haven't gotten as many customers in my family's restaurant. But I have been able to learn more recipes, I've even started trying to make foreign foods." The optimistic boy decided to not dwell on the bad side and focus on what good has come out of it. [Name] also focused on the bright side. The part where she didn't fumble and embarrass herself like some crackhead talking about a specific date and saying this and that will happen, but when that day comes by, nothing happens. 

Yuu talked about the kinds of foods he's been cooking up, and when he mentioned wanting to make quesabirria, [Name] perked up. "Really? I can teach you how to make it." She's made it a few times with her mom and once she learns how to make something, she won't ever forget. Yuu smiled and was about to thank her when a loud voice echoed throughout the chamber. 

"Off With Your Head!" Shouted Riddle as he and Azul finally caught up with the cute little kitty. Grim screeched and came to a sudden halt when he felt something collar-like shut around his neck.

"MYAH?! What are you doing?!" Grim wiggled and squirmed, clawing desperately on the collar. 

Riddle put a hand on his hip, lifting his chin up a little and looking quite pompous. "The Queen of Hearts's rule 23: 'One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.' Your presence here is a violation of that order. You will vacate these premises immediately." Go little British boy, go! 

Grim whined. "But I ain't a cat either!" Yeah! He's her son that's what. "Don't you try to collar me! I'll burn it off!" Seeing his flames weren't working, Grim actually passed to think. "Huh...?" He tried again. His cute little paws hit the collar once more, he even started kicking it with his kind legs. "Wh-what gives? My fire ain't workin'!" 

Grim literally looks so cute. She can't help it anymore. [Name] swiftly whipped out her phone and snapped a picture. Taras, who was being her, eyed the phone then his dorm leader in a questioning gaze. 

As long as he doesn't start saying 'Fiyaaa!'  all is well. 

Riddle puffed out his chest proudly, going back to that Kirkland facial expression of his. "Until I deign to remove that collar, you won't be using any magic. You're naught but sort cat now." He speaks so snobby and rich, [Name] thought about speaking using bug words she doesn't understand too. She'll do some intellectual reading later. 

"M-meoWhat?!" Wait how'd he do that? How does one transition between a meow and what? Grim MIGHT actually have some serious speech talent, she'll admit. 

"I ain't nobody's pet-NOTHING!" [Name] snapped another picture of Grim. Riddle, oblivious to her gushing rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking down on Grim. He quite relished the moment since he doesn't usually have the opportunity to look down to speak to someone.

"Oh, you've nothing to worry about there. I certainly have no interest in having you as a pet." [Name] does however. Maybe not as a pet but as her baby? Sign her up. Grim will have to work on his manners though. "The collar will disappear once you're removed from campus."

"C'mon you furry rat." Gathus strolled in and grabbed Grim by the collar before adjusting him to a more comfortable hold. Grim hissed and kicked the whole way as he was restrained. Azul laughed loudly, scaring a few students who were near him, and clapped slowly.

"Good show as always, Riddle." Yo, why'd he say it like that? What's your deal bro? No hate, but he should've kept his mouth shut. "Your signature spell locks down any magic. It's quite handy." One might even say handy dandy like Mandy. 

"I've just GOT to have it— ah, I mean, I've just got to have respect for it." He smiled brightly at Riddle, excusing his slip up as the wind.

Crowley walked over to her small little group and looked directly at Yuu. "Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar?" The chubby boy's brows twitched slightly.

"If you were listening to me earlier, you would've heard me say he's not mine." Yeah! He's mine! You tell em' Yuu!

"Now discipline your—" Yuu's words finally reached Crowley's ears and didn't go out the other ear. He was so stunned in fact his eyes didn't glow as brightly as they usually did for a moment's second. "It isn't yours?" Calling Grim an it is actually crazy. [Name] turned towards Taras who was already looking at her and the two shared a moment of silence. 

"I've never seen that creature before in my life!" Yuu pointed at Grim who was still squirming in Gathus' hold.

Crowley appeared slightly flustered at the information that was definitely never told to him. "I that so?" He couched into his fist and fixed himself up. "Then I shall have it expelled from campus." The masked man walked over to his employee and snatched Grim by the collar. "I shall even be as magnanimous as to not have him be served as stew."

Grim froze. [Name] and Taras also froze. Forget her comment about him being handsome, why would he even consider eating such a cute innocent little creature? 

"Nooooo! Let me gooooo!" Grim tried more than ever to escape his possible killer's hands. If she wants to have Grim, now's her chance to act. Oh but what if she gets rejected? That'd be awkward. And she does NOT want to get rejected in front of so many people. Ugh whatever! Grim's coming back anyway so she'll just prepare tuna for him and make sure he likes her either the most or the second most. 

[Name] didn't even realize Grim had already been escorted away until she was about to speak up. Yuu felt a little sorry for the little rascal. But sorry doesn't cut the fact he was almost burnt to a crisp multiple times.

"Well, that was quite the unexpected fracas." Crowley used his magic to fix everything up. That thing from earlier had gotten soot and ash on so many things here, do you know how expensive they initially were to get? He called the orientation to an end, making plans to drink later to ease his struggles of being the headmage of this school full of delinquents.

"Housewardens, please escort your students back to the dorms." The trio of outcasts looked at the students who started gathering with members of their dorms where their dorm leaders were. All except for the ones sorted in Diasomnia thanks to the lack of an authoritative figure from their house. They were grouped together, yes, but didn't have anyone to lead them. Crowley noticed and looked for the fae that was supposed to show up to orientation. 

"I don't see Housewarden Draconia of House Diasomnia anywhere." This sparked conversation for the other dorm leaders. 

"And that surprises you? Dude's a total recluse." Leona scowled, followed by Kalim who held no malicious intent and was genuinely surprised. 

"Did anyone even invite him?" Kalim looked saddened at having forgotten. He looked at Vil who stood next to him. 

"If you're that worried about him missing out, maybe you should have told him yourself." Vil spoke back, his tone being a little too cold. 

Kalim however was still saddened, maybe even regretful. "Maybe, but I don't know him well either..." He totally would've invited him, but he never sees the fae around and when he does, he's always busy and unfortunately doesn't have enough time to chat. Kalim understands that some people don't have enough time to converse, really. As much as he likes to relax and do fun stuff, he still has a responsibility to do not only as the heir to the Asim family but also as a dorm leader. Sure he's not the best at it, but he tries to be.

At the same time, other students paled and whispered not so quietly. 

"Draconia? Like Malleus Draconia? THAT Draconia?" A sorted Heartslabyul student spoke, shivering at their own sentence. What a wuss, right guys? Let's laugh at him and throw rotten tomatoes at him.

Across the room, another student, this time from Octavinelle. "So it's true? He really goes to school here?" 

"Yikes."

"Yo can I drop out?"

"Tell my mama I love her." 

Even Taras went whiter than he already was. He wobbled slightly and [Name] wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Damn he's heavy.

The doors at the end of the room opened and in walked a short man? Kid? What do I even describe him as? Twink? Whatever. What's important is that a willy haver walked in and didn't see his dorm leader.

"It's just as I'd expected." He shook his head in exasperation. "I'd figured I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony." Does he have a habit of rambling and talking out loud? That must also come with old age.

Azul put on his most apologetic face, not a single one of his words sounding at all genuine. "You have my sincerest apologies. I assure you, this oversight was in no way intended as a snub." 

"I mean, you must admit, he's not exactly the easiest person to strike up a conversation with." Yuu looked at [Name] to share his thoughts. 

"I don't think that's a nice thing to do, even if he might look unapproachable." See, Yuu is actually a nice person unlike these scoundrels who talk shit. No hate though.

"Yeah. Mal has some seriously strong will. If I were him, I would've crashed out and become just like the rumors say I am just out of spite. He's such a Chad for that." If everyone says you are a subject to be feared and hated on, why try to change? She would've proved their point, done worse even. Oh but she's not petty or anything, she just happens to like proving people wrong.

In that moment, Lilia turned in their direction. At first she thought he was maybe looking at Yuu but no. He was looking directly at her and Taras. Their eyes met and Lilia smiled before looking at the group of first years who were assigned to his dorm.

"No matter. All who were assigned to House Diasomnia, follow me." Lilia waved at her, her. She didn't like this one bit. There's a story about herself that she has no clue to, and she doesn't like being left in the dark. Lilia began walking out with students walking behind him in orderly fashion.

The other dorms followed after. Heartslabyul, who once again got death threats. Savanaclaw, who barely noticed their dorm leader was apparently already ahead of Heartslabyul and were running towards his direction. Octavinelle, who was surprisingly very lively and suspiciously welcoming. Pomefiore, who was getting step by step instructions on how to walk the right way. And lastly Ignihyde, who followed the floating tablet with not much of a sound except their shoes against the floor.

The only dorm left was Ramshackle who Crewel had the decency to walk to their dorm. 

"Come along now, pups. You two might not be able to explore, but I and a few other professors will fix Ramshackle as much as we can with the time we have available." The two toned adult would've liked to curse Crowley out, but the fae was doing something important for once and dealing with the magicless student by the name of Yuu. 

Taras seemed to finally get his footing, looking up to see the room almost completely empty save for them. "Is he gone?" He looked down at the girl supporting him, almost forgetting to stand up by himself until she started dragging him to Crewel who was leading them away. 

"Who?" [Name] raised a brow, The Rock style, as she and her buddy started walking.

"Vanrouge." He said nervously. [Name] didn't think much about the question.

"Nah. He's probably in Diasomnia by now." The full albino sighed in relief. 

"I actually passed out for a moment when he was looking at us..." Ah so that's why he got heavier for a few seconds. Makes sense, makes sense. 

I'll think about my backstory later. For now, I'll worry whether or not Ramshackle has good plumbing and working electricity.

Chapter Text

❛There is something really odd about you that I just can't place my feather on.❜-

                                                                     Dire Crowley 

The walk to Ramshackle was very calm The sky was no longer as dark as it was before. The sun was beginning to rise so luckily, nobody tripped on the way. According to Crewel, 2nd-4th years arrive on campus on Saturday to help set up and prepare for the first years, then first years arrive today, Sunday, to get settled in their dorms and explore campus while they can. It's also the day to make any last minute changes to your schedule. Then Monday comes around and classes begin.

Ramshackle was the only dorm located on Campus so thankfully, the walk wasn't that far. When it came into view, the two students grimaced. It's way worse in person, that she can say confidently. 

"Mr. Crewel, how is this... Monstrosity not a violation of public safety?" It looks almost as bad as Chernobyl. The professor sighed and pinched his nose.

"Believe me, the headmage has a talent for allowing dangerous things on campus." Crewel handed the two face masks he summoned with magic before leading them inside. The inside was far worse than they expected. It looked like a vacuum cleaner had an orgasm, threw up everywhere, and then had a massive fight break out. The smell was very bad as well. Her nose was tingling—not a sneeze—more like the cells are dying out at a rapid speed. 

"This is worse than I imagined..." If it were better, Crewel would've liked to have the two in explore campus while the dorm is fixed, but there is absolutely no way that'll be possible. He reached into his coat and pulled out two magic pens to give the two.

"Normally your dorm leader would hand these out. You can get these customized at a later date." They grabbed the pens and examined them. A bright red gemstone sat stylishly on it. They were Heartslabyul pens. They always ended up with many extras. Sharing one brain cell, the two Ramshackle students sniffed the gem and nodded in approval.

To make the process of fixing the old dorm, Crewel taught them a spell to fix minor holes and cracks.

"Could this spell be used to heal small injuries?" [Name] asked while struggling to open the windows to get some fresh air. The open front door wasn't doing much to help. The professor raised a brow.

"Where'd you get that from?" Taras pointed his pen at her, wanting to help answer her question.That's what friends are for after all. And a god friend would gladly help his pal if she's wondering if a spell can heal small injuries, on herself obviously. He'd rather not get hurt if he can help it.

"It fixes stuff, don't it? Is it like regeneration that builds up using, I don't know, the surrounding magic that lingers in the air? Or does it summon more atoms ? Also does it only work on dead cells?" The window she was pushing suddenly slammed open. The sudden motion caused her to fall backwards and hit her head hard on the floor, cracking it and maybe her skull as well. 

Taras snickered and helped her get back on two feet. She grumbled, already getting a bad case of cherry face knowing there was nothing she could do to gain back her dignity.

Crewel stared at her for a few seconds. He'll update her schedule to have Magic Theory with the second years. He walked over and patted her head. "You'll learn soon enough, pup." [Name] turned to her albino friend to shoot him a smug look. The male in return gave her a sneer for half a second before resting his face. Crewel did not answer her question which annoyed her a little

A few minutes of cleaning and fixing things up, Gathus made an appearance at last along with a few other free staff members. A buff guy wearing a bunch of red, the purple man, a fae that looked like an ex gang member but at the same time looks like he used to work at a nursing home, a blond man with coiled hair and a pink fluffy coat and scary blue eyes, and a sheep beastman who looked like any strong gust of wind would send him off his feet. Not the ideal crew but hey, who are they to complain with extra help? Besides, they were apparently one of the few staff with some free time so lucky them.

Work was getting done faster but still not at an ideal rate. They weren't professionals but they were damn doing their best to fix the raggy dorm. The sun was already up and bright, almost fully in the middle of the sky and yet the inside remained gloomy. 

Their stuff was at the parlor since no room was yet to be cleaned. Taras suggested they take a break since they've been cleaning since 0700 and it was 1100 already. 

"I'm starving." She wasn't but normally people get hungry after doing a lot of work and only having eaten last night, yeah? A normal person would, and she is after all very normal. [Name] dug around her bag and the only thing she had that could be eaten was a pack of gum. She opened it and took a piece. She handed the packet to Taras who also took and immediately tried to blow a bubble.

The two sat on the sofas like chain smokers and stared up at the ceiling. The curly haired girl stuck her hand up randomly. A few seconds later, a large spider the size of a newborn kitten jumped on her hand from nowhere. [Name] brought her hand down and eyed the spider. She nudged the fae next her and showed him the spider.

"She's a beauty, ain't she?" A brown furred spider with lines of light brown and chocolate running down vertical to her body. A Wolf spider. The spider jumped from her hand to her face and crawled onto her head. Taras tilted his head in her direction and almost smacked the spider off her head. Though he managed to save himself by holding the back of her head supportively.

"If you squint and look the other way, I would say so." He gave back his honest feedback. As soon as he tried resting his head again, he was smacked at the back of his head and almost fell forward. He yelped and weakly glared her way. He got back on the sofa, grumbling to himself about how no one ever showing him respect.

A few minutes passed when they heard Coach Vargas give a motivational speech to his colleagues for a reason they both forgot. All they heard was that they would have break once the first floor was completely fixed and had electric and good plumbing. It only took around two more hours and soon all the teachers were gathered in the dining room at around 1400.

Gathus, Coach Vargas, and Bellamy, the sheep beastman, had left to go get lunch for the others. "Up, to the dinner table." Crewel said, snapping his fingers and forcing the two students who kept switching between break and couch tim up and on their feet. The spider on [Name]'s head lifted up it's front legs, ready to jump at the fabulously dressed teacher any moment. Crewel stepped back quickly and led them to where the others were. The dining room was quite spacious. Multiple round table around with one long dining table close to the moss covered windows. 

Everyone was seated at the long table so of course so did they. The head seats were fancy for obvious or not reasons. The girl thought about sitting there since she is the warden here afterall, but she quickly dismissed the thought and sat on a chiar facing the window. While they waited for the others to get back, [Name] chatted with the professors and Taras shy'd away and tried hiding inside his ceremonial robes.

Here's what she learned.

Actually professionals will arrive tomorrow to make sure Ramshackle is safe and suitable for living. Crewel will have their uniforms ready by tomorrow morning. The purple man aka Sam has a 30% discount for someone's first purchase. The snake fae man said he'd like to teach her how to defend herself (and then not so subtly hinted at giving her a few weapons). And the blonde man insisted on helping to decorate and add some personality to the desolate dorm which she greatly appreciated.

She also learned a few things about clubs which she should apply for by the end of the second week of school. She was mentally debating whether to join Band or the Everything (Science) club.

"We should join the Science club." Taras rugged on her sleeve. [Name] nodded as if she was going to listen to his suggestion.

"I think I'm gonna choose band. If ion't like it, I'll switch to science." She liked doing a lot of things in the name of science and doing her own research instead of googling the answers. It was fun coming up with theories from absolutely nothing, but she loved music a whole lot too. More than research. She thinks. Well, there was that time she did some research on music and how it affects a person. She conducted a little experiment where she would stop listening to music for a while month but it was impossible due to her brothers and her dad always playing music out loud so she dropped the experiment and never tried it again. 

But really, music was her everything. Her motivation, her muse, like a lover to pursue instead she just has an addiction to listening to music and making scenarios out of it. It helps to keep her calm, forget the things she wants to forget, feel nostalgic when she gets lonely and feel as if just maybe, there is someone out there who's singing them for her, who wrote these songs ind dedication to her. But she can quit anytime she wants though so it's nothing serious.

Taras hummed and his once more into his hood until the smell of food closed his senses. Gathus had decided to sit next the the dorm leader he appointed earlier and set a basket on the table. When he opened it, the smell of food got stronger.

"Eat up, sweeties." He smiled and took out foods and plates from the small basket. There were crab cakes, sauerbraten, potato salad, apple strudel, rote grütze, and beer. Not a specific theme but at the same time she sees a pattern there.

"Oh how did that get in there?" Gathus shoved the beer back into the basket and pulled out a much more appropriate drink, lemonade.

More food was set on the table, a mini feast of you will. In celebration for a new school year and for a the newest addition to the dorms.

The group ate as peacefully as they could between the many unique traits each person had without much trouble. Coach Vargas wouldn't stop talking about the new routines he had planned for the first years, Bellamy silently judged everyone, Sam showed [Name] and Taras his friends on the other side as he insisted they call them, the pretty blond man, Daxin, was sharing his ideas on how they could decorate Ramshackle and was already sketching out ideas he had, and Gathus excused himself to a separate room and his his basket behind him as he made his exit. The other two, Crewel and the fae man, Khaan, were the only ones who ate quietly and minding their own business.

Sam's friends from the other side kept tugging at [Name]'s robe when she got to the rote grüte. She got annoyed and finally looked down. The shadows smiled widely and pointed at her. She tilted her head and they continued pointing, making sure they had caught her attention. They began to change their shape but before they could show her, Taras nudged her and gestured the window. "It's going to rain soon."

She hummed. [Name] always liked the rain. It helped to relax her and she liked observing the different droplets as they fall and hit a surface. Sometimes she wished to go and play while it rained but she didn't want her parents to get mad at her.

After lunch break, the teachers got back to work on fixing the second floor. Taras and [Name] helped as well since they had way too much energy to spare now after the many breaks they had taken. They casted spells left and right, making it a personal competition. So far she was in the lead. Thanks to the moral support on her head and the need to impress whoever saw, she went onward with the spells, grinning dumbly like a kid who won their first trophy.

Vargas joined in their fun as well. He kept track of how many points they had and even completed himself. Unfortunately around an hour in, the teachers exhaustion from using too much magic on solely the first floor finally began to catch up to them and they had to call in quits. Still, they had been a tremendous help. Things may not be too clean, but they are fixed and working (mainly on the first floor) and that's what's important. 

"Thanks a million." [Name] bowed her head to the teachers, her friend following her lead. The teachers nodded in acknowledgement. Crewel patted Taras' head and was about to do the same with [Name] but stopped when he remembered that she had a spider that was still on her head and actively guarding it. He settled with patting her shoulder encouragingly.

"As much as we want to stay and help, we've got a lot of work to do. Ta ta~" Gathus waved goodbye as he headed to the front door. 

Sam tipped his hat and winked. "Visit my shop soon. My friends will be happy to see you again." He strolled along behind Gathus 

Vargas laughed obnoxiously loud and said it was fun didn't the dorm since it gave him an extra workout. Daxin promised he'd return on Saturday to help make the dorm feel more cozy. Bellamy smiled and almost tripped on his feet. Khaan smiled much more menacingly, like he knew something they didn't. All he said was to expect a gift soon and to open it away from authoritative eyes. Crewel was last one left and more hesitant to leave.

"If anything is wrong, don't hesitate to come to the staff quarters immediately." The two nodded and soon, the dorm was vacant save for its two new students. They decided to clean around before they got lazy and went to sleep. They picked up some discarded brooms and dustpans from earlier and got to work. [Name] suddenly stopped. What the hell is she doing? She can't clean without listening to music first. What a silly mistake. She went searching inside her bag for headphones. Her headphones box was dead but she always had backups. Turns out those were dead too but luckily, bless Jesus, she had the raggedy string headphones that only worked at a specific angle. 

She quickly plugged them into her phone and searched for one of her downloads. Ramshackle didn't have any Wi-Fi yet so she couldn't go on Spotify for her songs. She settled on Comrades of Clean. Maybe it really will help her clean faster and more efficiently, who knows. Now that she had some music in her ears, she got back to cleaning.

Some times passed when she happened to stumble upon something that made her eyes widen in greed. She took her earphones off and called out to Taras. He hummed and approached her. She pointed at something hidden under a dusty mattress.

"Think there's more?" Poking from underneath was a barely noticeable thaumark. If there's thaumarks, there's madol. And you always find scattered sorcents in just around anywhere. How does she know this information anyways?

"Maybe... But it wouldn't that be theft?" Taras asked nervously.

The girl waved him off. "Who's gonna know?" As if on cue, she suddenly felt a presence behind her and whipped her head to where she felt the presence. A fat looking ghost was there smiling widely. She flinched, not because she's scared of ghosts. Oh course not. Compared to what she saw in the house she used to live in, this biggie is nothing!

"Stealing isn't such a nice thing to do, is it?" Two other ghosts appeared. A boney looking one and a medium sized ones who looked more mischievous than its companions. Taras shrieked and hid behind her, pushing her forward as if to sacrifice her instead. 

She clicked her tongue and responded to the ghosts who were beginning to circle around them. "What's it to you? You're dead, you don't need this. Living people like my bud and I need this cash way more than you three." The trio of ghosts cackled.

"'What's it to you' she says!" Exclaimed the skinniest king.

[Name] held back the urge to roll her eyes and scoff. Think happy thoughts. You don't wanna be angry all the time again, do you? Course not because you're never angry. You're calm and patient and never let people get to you. (Unless they keep asking why you're angry even though you aren't) You're too nonchalant to get angry.

"C'mon guys, be real champs and letcha new roomies get a couple dimes to rhyme. Housewarden's orders." Since this is Disney afterall, talking weirdly in a way that makes no sense and makes you look lame in the real world should totally work. And it did.

"Well I'll be! We've got a new boss!" They pushed the leech off her back and circled around her like little children playing a game of Sacrifice the Lamb. The teen smiled and nodded proudly. 

"That's what I like to hear. Now, names. What're you guys' names?" The ghosts settled and floated a few feet in front of her. 

"We kinda forgot." The medium sized one scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. 

"Alrighty, new names, new names..." She snapped her finger then pointed at the big one. 

"You's will be Pillsbury Doughboy." Pillsbury nodded, accepting his new name enthusiastically.

"You's gonna be Brittle Bones Nicky." Bones liked his new name. It gave him a sense of coolness when really it shouldn'tve. Lastly came medium.

"And you'll be..." Wow his lashes are pretty long. "Wytee Bowsbarrow." Wonderful and very original names of you ask her. Wytee looked a tad miffed at his name but shrugged it off and started celebrating.

The red eyed boy behind her got up and dusted off the very real dust on him. He grumbled about manners and how they were being mean to him but was left on deaf's ears. While he complained to himself, [Name] had the fortune of gaining the ghost's help in cleaning the dorm as long as they get to scare the next person who comes here which she gladly agreed on.

They all cleaned without much trouble for a while, singing and humming a few tunes here and there as well as pocketing any money they happened to stumble upon. Hours passed until the front door opened loudly and the sound of expensive shoes walked on the floorboards. Taras jumped and immediately went to hide behind her. [Name] was alert as soon as she had heard the sound 

"Huh? What's going on?" It didn't take long to figure out who the intruders were. The headmage and Yuu. The two walked out of the room they were currently cleaning and headed towards the guests. The three ghosts with them gasped and huddled against each other, having a group meeting and poking their heads out the doorframe a few seconds in. They giggled and said they had some serious business to attend to. [Name] thanked them for their help before they disappeared in a blink of an eye.

From the entrance of the dorm, Crowley was admiring the now cleaned and fixed parlor. It could do much more work but this is the nicest it's looked after decades of being abandoned. The masked man let out a chirp (?) when he noticed [Name] walking up the hall to their direction.

"Ah, Ms. Božena, I've been informed about your situation." Crowley pulled out a bag from his coat and handed it to [Name] when she got close enough. She peaked into the bag and saw that it had things for her menstrual cycle. Tampons, pads, pain killers, and some stress toys.

"Thank you." Crowley nodded.

"A gracious man like myself would never allow for our first female student to go without proper care. If you need more, there will be some at the clinic." Crowley put his hands together and looked around.

"I see you and Mr. Yevsykov have cleaned up. Splendid job! Ah, before we get carried away," he nudged Yuu towards the two. The black haired male glared lightly before getting the two with a light bow of his head.

"It's nice to meet you, my name is Yuuta Mito. Please take care of me." Yuu is so nice and polite. She could bite his head off and it'd be just the sweetest little thing.

"Ah yes, Mr. Mito will be staying here at Ramshackle due to his circumstances." Crowley went on to explain to the three I them that all living expenses will be covered since one, [Name] and Taras are official students and two, Yuu is under his care until they figure out a way to send him back home. 

"Don't let me catch any of you wandering the campus!" He suddenly exclaimed before switching at the flip of a coin and smiling Innocently before flocking away. "Ta!"

The headmage left and there were now three living people under the Ramshackle roof. [Name] enthusiastically waved at Yuu despite standing right in front of him.

"Fancy seeing you here." The girl crossed her arms and her new spider friend appeared from nowhere again to settle on her shoulders. Yuu smiled politely but backed away at the sight of the fuzzy arachnid staring at him with all eight of her beady eyes. 

Yuu smiled nervously. "Yes, it's nice to see you again." He turned towards the albino beside her. He hadn't gotten his name earlier due to the commotion. [Name] nudged Taras to introduce himself to Yuu again.

"I'm Taras." He stuck his hand forward which Yuu took hesitantly to shake firmly. Yuu looked around the room. Things looked cleaner than the outside but he supposed he should never judge a book by its cover. He settled on a nearby sofa and patted the cushion lightly as he sat down. He could tell the two had put a lot into cleaning the place as much as they could. 

Yuu really hopes they all get along well in the future.

Chapter Text

❛You didn't hear this from me, but my friends from the other side happened to come across the answer sheet for your test.❜- 

                                                                     Sam

It wasn't long after Yuu came that it started to rain. He was sitting on the couch, taking everything that has happened so far. The strange chariot he crashed into before passing out and waking up in a coffin, a talking tanuki, floating coffins, a cult if he's being a little honest, and the most shocking of all, magic. His mind was getting really foggy. He remembers the mirror saying he was magicless.  Of course he was, people aren't supposed to have magic. He remembers he and a curly haired girl talking but he, for the life of him, cannot remember a single detail of the conversation besides feeling a sense of familiarity. He remembers lots and lots of fire and being taken to a library for a few hours. And he remembers entering a decrepit building, the one he's in now. 

Everything was making him so confused, stressed, scared. What happened? Why was he here? Where is here exactly? Does his dad know he's missing? 

In short, he was really freaking out. But Yuu remembers his dad always telling him something. Always look for the light in a situation, and if there isn't, make one. He wasn't alone. The headmage promised to find a way back home to him and although suspicious looking, Yuu has no choice but to rely on the man. And he has these two as well, Taras and... [N.. Name]? She was very friendly towards him, and made him feel welcomed immediately. Actually she insisted he sit down and relax for as long as he needed too, as if she knew exactly what he was going through. 

Maybe she does. Something about her presence—no, her eyes. It was unexplainable. On one hand, they were really pretty eyes but they were an unnatural (e/c). If this whole 'I'm in a different world' thing was as real as it seemed right now, he would've thought she was wearing eye contacts. There were other people with odd eyes too. Taras for example, are red. But that could just be because he's albino. But then there's headmage whose eyes are a glowy yellow. He remembers seeing pairs of purple, orange, red (and not albino!) and some even had slitted pupils. And of all the eyes who saw him and he saw in return, something about [Name]'s eyes were just different.

Yuu was still in a daze when he heard a loud grunt and the sound of something entering through an opened window. Yuu yelped and jumped up in surprise to see the talking tanuki from earlier. 

"That look on your face is priceless!" Grim snickered, pointing his paw at Yuu. "As if I wouldn't just sneak back onto campus the second I escaped pryin' eyes. You all got no idea what I'm capable of!" He put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin up proudly. "I ain't givin' up on goin' here just 'cause I got kicked out one measly ol' time. And if you think otherwise, you don't know Grim!" 

Yuu calmed himself down and looked down at the little cat monster. He crouched down so they would be more eye to eye. "Why are you so determined to go to this school?" Yuu, from the short time he spent running away from Grim earlier, could tell this school was prestigious, rich, lots of funding put into it. The robes he has on are made out of fine material, soft and comfortable for wear. He could kind of see why someone would want to be in this school, but only from what he's seen. Besides that, he can't really give an opinion of the manner.

"Isn't it obvious? I was born to do this! I'm a magical prodigy who's got the makin's to become one of the greatest mages who ever lived!" The tanuki exclaimed happily, throwing his paws in the hair and doing a little jump.

"So I've been waitin' and waitin' for that black carriage to come for me. And yet..." Grim's ears dropped, his eyes swelled up with tears before he blinked them away and huffed. "That Dark Mirror's got no eye for talent! That's why I took the initiative and came here myself. You humans don't understand what a mistake you're makin'! Not lettin' me is a great loss to the world!"

Yuu nodded at Grim who walked farther into the room and shook some excess water from his fur off. The little guy helped him to take his mind off of everything that has happened so far, he can say that he was grateful for the other's presence. Yuu looked around. The foyer was as clean as the other two could make it, but they could use help in cleaning the rooms and hallway. 

"Hm... The others could use some help. I should go find some cleaning supplies." He mumbled to himself. [Name] had insisted he rest earlier and he figured he's had enough time to get his head baco in the game. This dorm was huge, and from just looking at outside, cleaning was no easy feat.

Grim perked up and looked up at Yuu curiously. "I dunno why ya don't just use magic to clean around. You could have this place squeaky clean in half a jiffy." Grim tapped his chin before giving Yuu a condescending smirk. "Ahhh, right. You can't use magic at all. Pffft. Man, you're useless." Grim struggling to contain his laughter and Yuu struggle to contain his urge to strangle him.

"Then why don't you do it?!" Yuu fired back. Yuu can do plenty of things without having to rely on magic, and he can clean just fine and dandy without it.

"Eh? You want ME to help YOU?" Crazy. "Ha! You got the wrong idea. I'm just a stranger takin' shelter from the rain, you ain't the boss of me." Well now that's just being a bad guest. "If ya had cannot tuna to trade, well, that'd be another story. But I don't work for free." Yuu sighed and decided to walk away from the situation. Cleaning isn't going to be done itself. He walked towards the room Taras and [Name] were cleaning. Grim immediately went to follow after him.

"Hey! Don't leave me here alone! I- you need someone of my strength to protect you!" Grim scurried over besides Yuu. Footsteps were heard behind them, which was weird because the only other two people inside the dorm were a few rooms down the hall.

"I think I just heard something." Yuu found himself whispering and looking over his shoulder. As soon as he turned to look ahead of him again, three ghosts appeared in front of him and Grim, earning a shrieked from the two of them. The ghosts cracked in laughter.

"All the people who used to live here got scared of us and ran away." Said the one who seemed to be their leader, Whytee.

"We just want s new ghost to play with! Hay do you, buddy?" The big one, Pillsbury, floated too close for both Yuu and Grim's liking. 

"They're gonna kill me!" Yuu shrieked, crying along with Grim who stood frozen for a few seconds. Their cries were heard by Taras who walked out into hall.

"Yuu, why is that thing in here and why're you guys screa— eeee!" Fire was yet again sent his way where the bottom of his robe was caught on fire. Again. He retreated back into the safety of the room he was in, leaving Yuu and Grim to fend for themselves.

Bones chuckled, disappearing out of sight and appearing again behind Yuu.

"Over here! Over here!" Pillsbury taunted before disappearing like his friend and avoiding fire blasted his way.

Grim grunted and blew his fire in every direction. "They keep disappearing and reappearing!" 

Yuu looked down to see the reason why there was a lack of direction of Grim's flames was because the little tanuki didn't even have his eyes opened. Yuu's own eyes widened. "You can't aim with your eyes closed!" The hallway was already gaining a smoked wood smell.

"Shaddup! I don't need any lip from you, human!" The ghosts were getting closer and Yuu wasn't ready to join them any time soon.

Beat them, and I've got a can of tuna with your name on it!" Grim tried harder to hit the ghosts only to miss each time. "How come I can't even hit one of these little—" the ghosts laughed harder, already being within arms length of them.

"Did I say one can of tuna? I meant two!" That seemed to be enough motivation for Grim to have Yuu direct him on where to shoot his flames. They teamed up together and with each hit they landed, they got more confident fighting side by side.

Eventually, they made the ghosts flee before they disappeared for good as they said. The two slumped down in relief, catching their breaths. Taras and [Name] went out of the room they were in during the whole fight. 

"Prank gone wrong at 3AM not clickbait." [Name] said, looking around at the wood that thankfully somehow didn't get charred or caught on fire. Must be charmed to be fire proof or something like that. The two newbies in front of them didn't really understand what she meant but brushed it off. Taras helped Yuu back on his feet and looked at Grim distrustfully.

"I was scared outta my— I mean, they didn't faze me one bit!" Grim regained his confidence and fearlessness (so fearless) while Taras continued giving him a nasty look. The beast burned his robes not once, but twice! And it ain't gonna be a pretty penny to get them tailor led and fixed back anew.

"That was hella cool. You guys were like woosh and phwee and then like kwraapow." At least from a safe distance, they looked just like that. Yuu chuckled bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It was mostly Grim. He was incredible! I just told him where to aim." He didn't want to take all the credit for this when Grim was the one who did most of the work. And the not-cat basked in the praise he received.

Crowley appeared out of nowhere, holding two bags that smell very delicious. "Good evening, you three. In a gesture of my immense kindness, I have brought you dinner." Say less. [Name] was in front of Crowley in an instant, grabbing the bags and sniffing in delight. Crowley unconsciously reached his hand to give her head a good scratch. He looked over his students and soon-to-be janitor and noticed a little troublemaker poorly hiding behind their legs.

"That's the creature we," we is a rather inclusive word for someone like Crowley, "—ejected for causing trouble at orientation! What is it doing here?!" Crowley was ready to snatch the not-cat to use for an ingredient.

Grim crossed his arms and huffed angrily at the bird man. "Takin' care of yer ghost problem, that's what. You're welcome, by the way!" Yep. This mighty sorcerer drove away the ghosts in the dorm and very awesomely saved the day.

[Name] took the bags to the dining room to set them up for the others. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Inside the bags were various foods that she forgot the names off. She could hear You explaining to Crowley what had transpired as [Name] neatly began setting the table up for dinner with the plates and forks Gathus had gifted them before he left. She took her time too to make them look extra fancy, like she actually knew how to properly set up a dinner table.

"On the topic of ghosts, I do seem to recall that this dorm had a mischievous ghost problem. Ah, yes... That's why it was abandoned, in fact. The ghosts scared away all the students." Personally, if you asked [Name], that didn't sound like the full story. Some ghosts may be scary but they look too cutesy to instill actually fear. And she's not sure if the headmage is that irresponsible to let a whole dorm get kicked out of their residence by three ghosts. and what she remembers from the lore (which isn't much) one of them used to be captain of the magift team for their dorm meaning they were students before. And one can't become a ghost (permanently) if they don't die first. But then again, she always looked too much into simple things so hey, don't take her word for it.

Crowley looked at Yuu curiously. "And you're saying that you two joined forces to drive them away?" That is quite a feat for a magicless student who has no idea about the world around them and for a stubborn, trouble making beast. 

Grim didn't look too pleased at the way the headmage worded their fantastic battle. "'joined forces' ain't exactly how I'd describe it. More like I drove 'em away and the human watched. And I only did it 'cause I wanted some tuna." Yuu looked slightly offended at being left out. If it weren't for him, Grim would've burned down the whole place! And speaking of tuna, where are they? Grim was promised not one, but two cans to fill his stomach.

"Would you two be so kind as to demonstrate your ghost-eradication methods for me?" The headmage asked. 

Just as he did, [Name] felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She thought it was just a quick notification, but it kept on buzzing and buzzing. She finished the last of the plates and pulled out her phone to see a handful of notifications though the one that stuck out to her the most was the one titled, [Go someplace alone. Now.] Sweet. Not threatening at all. She walked over to the others to tell them where she was going so they wouldn't go looking for her.

"Hey I'm gonna go outside for a suspicious amount of time. Don't follow me." She looked specifically at Taras. He frowned slightly but nodded Crowley and Yuu nodded and went back to their conversation. [Name] rummaged through one of her bags to find an umbrella before waking out.

The rain drummed against the pavement like bullets. She continued to walk until she was a good distance away and underneath a weeping willow. She pulled out her phone again and unlocked it, reading over notifications she missed earlier.

[Anomaly Detection]

Underneath showed a picture of Mr. Daxin (Nook but he prefers his first name). She looked at the words underneath his picture.

[Failure to eliminate the anomaly will result in unknown penalty]

What? When they say 'eliminate,' they don't mean elimination Squid Game or Danganronpa style, do they? Well, luckily or unluckily, her question was answered quickly when a bright green blade manifested into her free hand, replacing her phone. Her eyes widened at the item. The item stopped flowing and tested on a silver color.

[You have exactly 24 hours to eliminate the anomaly]

She heard a clear voice say right behind her. She snapped her head at the source but saw nothing. Her heart dropped and she tried not to freak out too much. How could she not though? It's her first day in Twisted Wonderland and they want her to kill an innocent man. She groaned and looked at the blade again. It was a really cool looking one... She lifted a finger from the umbrella handle and brought the tip of the blade to it. 

Instantly her blood was drawn. And her finger began aching badly as well. She put the finger to her mouth to stop the bleeding but as common sense has it, it did nothing to help. And now she could only taste copper. She took the finger out about and stared as the blood quickly returned to the surface. She switched the umbrella hand as the pain spread from her finger to her whole hand. 

[Name] switched from looking at her finger to down at the blade again before tucking it away in her pocket as safe as she could without it being obvious and without it poking her.

She's not going to kill him. Whatever this penalty is, she'll endure. She breathed in and out, collecting herself before her phone appeared in her hands again. "Where's the cancel button?" On cue, a message appeared on her phone.

︻

『　Cancel Mission　』

[Yes] [No]

︼

[Name] obviously picked yes. She sighed in relief when the weight in her pocket disappeared. She decided to check on the other missed messages that were hopefully not murder requests. 

[Yuu is not from the same earth as you. Disney does not exist. The pandemic did not happen. His world is much more peaceful than yours. It's history is identical to yours, divergence begins in 1812]

Okay... Okay. 1812. She has no clue what happened during that year but okay. Similar histories, not all the same. Good to know.

[Anyone who heard the pandemic conversation earlier will forget about it.]

Okay. Cool. Sweet. Perfect. Not too bad she supposes. But then that means whatever the system is saved her from embarrassment earlier but will make them forget what she said. "Thanks I guess." She said. Then she remembered what it want her to do and her mood soured. She looked at her hand which was turning a slight grey-blue color and had blood drip beside her shoes. That's definitely not normal. Poke your finger on the glowing knife, surely it'll have no consequences. Why is she so stupid? 

[Name] thought quietly with only the rain being there to call her buzzing thoughts before she decided to head back to the dorm with a gloomy look. When she made it to the front door, she almost bumped into the headmage. She quickly stepped back and out of the way.

"Sorry 'bout that." She tried walking past him but had her shoulder grabbed before she could get past him. She turned her head up to see the headmage looked at her hand. He was about to ask her a  question but she interrupted him.

"I picked up some broken glass." The audacity to lie straight to his face when both of them know full well that's the poorest excuse of a lie they have ever heard. Though the headmage didn't seem to mind the lie that much.

"Your hand, Ms. Božena." Crowley reached out his own expectantly. She felt her cheeks get warm and reluctantly showed the fae her injured hand. It was still bleeding, leaving her finger to look like she was doing some sloppy finger painting. Some of the red streaks flowed down to her wrist. 

"An ugly cut. Worry not, for I am kindhearted and will heal you." Crowley took out a magic pen from his coat pocket and swished it around. She could feel the cut get really itchy before it disappeared completely. The crow man preened at his work. It had been a while since he's healed someone. Healing wounds usually takes insane focus. Healing wounds caused from dark magic is on a whole different spectrum. 

He won't ask how she got the wound, I could be personal. As long as he knows she won't do anything to willingly hurt any students or staff, he'll let her off the hook for now because he is a very kind man. 

"Do take care of yourself, Ms. Božena, and have a splendid evening." He patted her shoulder before walking off. [Name] stared at him for a moment and nodded, muttering a small thanks. She closed the door behind her before making her way to the dining room. If she didn't know how dirty the floors here were, she would've taken her shoes off at the front. But alas, they were the only protection from all the grime and dust that was too stubborn to go away without better materials and supplies. 

Yuu and Taras were already seated down and having a small conversation. Grim was sitting on the table and trying to stuff his face but kept getting pulled back by Yuu. The black haired male noticed her and smiled. 

"You're back! We were waiting for you to get back so we could begin eating." If it were her brothers here instead, they would've scarfed everything down in seconds and then eat her share right in front of her with smug looks. Well, maybe not her younger brother but it's always 50-50 with him

They filled her in on what happened while she was gone over some delicious food. Yuu was to become the new janitor along with Grim who was a lot more upset about the notion. He came here to be the best mage, not cleaner! Thankfully the food here helped calm him down. For now. But what's important is that they will not be homeless! 

Oh and some workers will be coming to Ramshackle to fix it while they are out of the door and the headmage said that they should leave their belongings in the parlor so the workers could finish their jobs faster. If things go as planned, then Ramshackle should be fully operational by the end of the week or earlier.

Once they were all done, they decided not to wash the dishes. They don't trust the water supply here, even Crowley said so according to them. They would have to rely on their water bottles for now. [Name] had brought a bunch from back home apparently so she volunteered to share hers with them if they needed some, especially Yuu. He was really grateful and promised to cook her something delicious for breakfast one of these following days once they have food in the refrigerator.

There were enough clean-ish rooms for all of them to settle in for the night. Grim insisted one of them needed his great and mighty protection for the ghosts, and he decided to sleep with Yuu. 

[Name] chose her room for the night and dumped her bags on the trunk at the foot of the bed. She examined the room and nodded for no reason. There was a door that led to a bathroom and another that led to a small walkthrough for two closets. 

New room, her room. Could be better in terms of cleanliness but it'll do for now. She locked the door before changing into her owl patterned pants and a (r/c) T-shirt. She was glad to be out of her robes and into something much more comfortable. Even if the robes were very comfortable, it wouldn't feel right to sleep in them. She brushed her teeth and noticed something that definitely wasn't like that before. Normally her eyes are a very dark, almost black, shade of brown. Now they are a (e/c) color. 

It kinda creeped her out but it could've come with the whole 'it's you but a little different' in game thing so she didn't worry about it too much. She crawled onto the bed and could feel most of the springs in them. There was a dip in the middle too which reminded her of a nest. It wasn't that bad compared to her childhood bed. Her old bed was as hard as stones and even the kitchen floor felt softer than it. 

All the cleaning and magic spending earlier should've exhausted her so she's expecting to be able to sleep earlier without having to put on some white noise. She wouldn't want to fall asleep at 4AM on a school night. 

"..." [Name] was struggling not to grab her phone and test out that 'other world connection' feature whatever it was called. Could she call her parents or any of her siblings? Be up-to-date with what's going on in her world through social media?

"Hey, message person, you there?" She quietly whispered, hoping for a response. Her hopes were denied and returned with silence— without a message I mean. She waited for a few seconds and sighed. She'll stop using it when it's 2300. The decision was made  and she grabbed her phone from above her head and quickly unlocked it. The first thing she did was text her younger brother. Unlike the others, he is chronically online and does respond immediately when someone texts him. The other two would ignore her for a while to seem like they aren't always on their phone before responding and her parents would be asleep at this hour.

My fav monkey 🫶🐵

'Hey'

As she had thought, he responded immediately.

'whr u?'

'm om dad frkn out rn'

'u havtn anwrd anyd ofnout calls or tecys'

'pls dont tlel me u rna aaya'

'yoh dnt even oack yur thngs'

'I'll write properly if you come back'

'please?'

Okay, pause for a moment. Did they think she ran away? First things first, she wouldn't have the balls to do so. And where would she even go?

'What? Dude no.'

'f you mean no? You ddint run away or youre not coming back?'

'Both?'

'Whatever but I have to tell you something'

'arw yiu ogna kys?'

'What?!'

'im srs dotn you fucong do it'

'ill convine mom thats thera nothing wrkng with you'

'Ill tell dad fo sroo drinkg and smotjing and to sto bringing his wridd frimeds over'

'I'm not gonna kms. And if I was I would've left a note or something. Maybe. Or just stab myself in the bathroom'

'thats not the ojng js tell mebtiur youre rlare'

'You're not gonna believe me'

'I will'

'You know that game I've been playing'

'your gooner game orb thebcookie one?'

'The Disney one??'

'gooner'

'well I kinda just ended up there. Idk how but yea'

'proof'

Now that one, how is she gonna prove she's actually in Twisted Wonderland and not in some random shack in the woods with an old crappy bed? She looked around for anything magical that doesn't have any real world explanation.

'Change to face time'

Not long afterwards, she saw his face on her phone. The screen was shaking and from the background, he was in the bathroom. His eyes were bloodshot and he blinked more than normal. She got up from the bed and turned the lights on so he could see her as well. She wanted to comment about his appearance but held back her tongue.

"As you can see," she held the phone up and circled it around so he could look at her surroundings. "I'm in some room and not about to kill myself." She pointed at her stuff and noticed that her going out bag was indeed now there next to the trunk. "That wasn't there before but my stuff is there." He nodded but still didn't look that convinced. Then she remembered her robes from earlier. She took them out of her bags and laid them out on the bed for him to see.

"These are the robes we get when we first start off." She stated. Her brother responded with a slightly shaky voice.

"We're too poor to afford something that good. And there's no good clothing store near either." He sniffed and wiped his nose.

"Exactly. I can't show you anything magical yet, but trust, I'm in the game." Now the consequences are really starting to dawn on her. She felt bad about making him cry even if she didn't mean to. "I'm not sure if I can come back, but I'll give you the rights to all my things while I'm gone." She could see some tears welling up in his eyes again.

"What do I tell the others?" They won't believe him if he says she ended up in another world. They'll think he helped her run away (even if they aren't sure if she did) or that he's lying to make himself feel better. He doesn't even believe it himself, but he'll put his trust in her.

"Nothing? Just— just don't tell them anything." She loves her family but they are such dicks about everything. All of them have attitude problems that need to get fixed. And she doesn't want him to get in trouble for 'knowing of her whereabouts' when they won't be able to reach her anyways. 

He was quiet for a few seconds. "Okay..." She decided to fill him in on what has happened to her so far. He made a few comments here and there, and said how he'll play the rest of the books for her and tell her what she doesn't know since she hasn't gotten to book 4 yet. TWST was just something to pass the time with, she knew the lore, watched edits, and mostly knew what happened in the other books so she wasn't in complete darkness about the future ahead. He also told her about what has happened since she disappeared earlier.

Apparently they didn't notice until around noon (the time her younger brother woke up since they share a room) and when he had looked around the house and asked where she was, it clicked that she was nowhere to be seen. Her father got home from work early, her mom apparently began apologizing for never really being there for her and also called everyone she knew, and her two older brothers kept trying to avoid the subject all together because they didn't want to think that something bad might've happened to her. The cops think she ran away but they all know she doesn't like being outside and when she does, it has to be cold, cloudy, or night time.

"The others are back, I don't think we can talk anymore." She could slightly hear the rev of an engine in the background. No wonder it was suspiciously quiet while they were talking. Usually their family would be too nosy to let someone have a private phone call, and there isn't a place to have a private phone call anyways.

"K. Bye." Her brother was about to say something else before she hung up. Oops. Well, that's that. And they talked for a while, it was almost 2300. She decided to clock in for the night and text her brother in the morning. Oh, almost forgot her alarm. There, now she can rest easily knowing she caused that much panic among her family. 

Tomorrow will be a fine day. 

Chapter Text

❛Nadie te van amar pero yo.❜-

                                                                     ???

A little white haired fae had been watching over a girl for a few days now. She was new in his town, that he knew. He would've known if someone like her had been here before. She stuck out like sore thumb. Curly long hair, beady (e/c) eyes, an odd aura around her that even the adults felt wary around, and most importantly, her status as a human.

No slit pupils, no pointed ears, but certainly has an affinity with nature and magic in a way that felt exactly like a fae. He wanted to know what was up with her.  No regular person moves here, especially not a human. 

She seemed interesting from what he's observed. Sometimes she's super calm and the next she's hitting a tree as if it had personally wronged her and her bloodline. She would sing too, beautiful songs he has never once heard before. He wanted to ask her about them but she always had this sixth sense for leaving just as he gains enough confidence to approach her. If it was a hint that she did not want him around, then he'll gladly ignore it.

.

.

.

.

It's been months and he only managed to get her to tell him her first name. It wasn't enough to get her to do what he wants but enough to make her his friend for a few years before he has to make the command again. She was way tougher to crack than he gave her credit for. 

He has found out a few things about her. First, her family were in the Sunshine Lands and the reason she's here right now is because she was handed over And adopted by this man. Who this man is, he will find out at a later time. 

Second, she has a high pain tolerance. They had been climbing a tree a few days ago and she had fallen weirdly and her ankle made a weird sound. She tried standing up only to fall back down and say she couldn't feel it. He tried helping her go back home but she insisted it was nothing and limped herself back to her house. Two days after that, her foot was in a cast. Not once during the whole thing did she cry or show pain. There was also the time they were, yet again, climbing something. The side of a cliff this time. The winds were too harsh and she fell and scrapped her knee badly. There was a lot of blood but she said it was fine and nothing a little rag of water couldn't solve. Either she was good at hiding pain or it really didn't affect her. He was leaning on the first one.

Third, she hated spirals. They found a spiral shaped rock once and she had avoided looking at it, said it made her sick just thinking about it. He thought it was a very weird fear to have. She kept insisting she wasn't fear. He liked scaring her with shells from his great grandfather's travels.

.

.

.

.

"I come around your house a lot, but I never hear or see anyone around. Why?" He doesn't sense, smell, or hear anyone whenever he decides to come to her house. No, not house. Manor. Such a big place should have at the minimum 100 people living in it yet the only person he could sense was her.

"Because I'm the only one there, most of the time." She crouched down and printed her hand on the pure white snow. Her hand burned terribly in the cold, in a good way. It ached to be taken out and wrapped in something— anything to steal back some warmth but she refused to indulge it. 

"Just you?" He wouldn't trust her to be by herself. He's noted that she was some self-destructive tendencies that. Even after commanding her not to hurt herself, she finds a stupid way to bypass his rule.

The girl took her hand out of the snow and tucked it under her arm. Her cheeks, nose, and ears were red from the coldness. She would've worn a bag, but she didn't want it to get damp, same with gloves. "Mr. Božena is out most of the time and he doesn't like strangers inside."  Her cheeks, nose, and ears were red from the coldness. She would've worn a bag, but she didn't want it to get damp, same with gloves

He remembers hearing about that name. His parents always told him stories about a fae man who everybody knows for being extremely dangerous even to fae kind alike, like the old royal military general. From the stories, the fae man was extremely picky on who and what was around him. He wasn't a big fan of humans either and that was odd, because his friend looked very human in his eyes.

Wait... that would mean that a  dangerous, perilous, fae man lives there. For how long, he wondered. And his human friend is living with such a dangerous person!?

The curly haired girl turned to look at him and was faced with his alarmed expression. She quickly explained. "My parents owed him something and he wanted me." She didn't look as disturbed as he did. Her response told him that she was well aware of what kind of person the fae she was living with with.

Now that he thought about it, if she was supposedly taken by the fae, does that mean that meant for at least a few months, that man has been in his town (confirmed). He felt a shiver go down his spine, not from the cold, from fear but also curiosity. Not just anyone can meet that man, especially humans. What kind of people were her parents to not only know him, but also [assuming] ask a favor of him?

"You said he took you, what do you mean?"

"It means he took me. We're family now." At that his he felt needles begin to prick his skin. He almost fell forward if it weren't for her catching his shoulders and keeping him standing.

"What's your full name?" When they first introduced each other, she had only told him her first name. Enough for him to ensure she will be his friend for a long time, but not enough to actually make her do things for him.

"It's [Name] Božena."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

[Name] woke up feeling something was wrong. She couldn't place her finger on it, she just knew. She's felt like this ever since she woke up at 0540. Classes don't start for at least two hour hours. She was already changed and ready but had nothing to do. Yeah, she could call her brother, but definitely still asleep since he still has to go to school. She was bored out of her mind. She doesn't want to be on her phone, it's too early and dark to be doing anything without the others waking up, and she totally forgot to take her medicine last night which is making her feel so much worse.

How could she forget? She's been taking that medicine since 4th grade diligently every day without fail. Ugh, she forgot to journal too. Bad things keep happening one after another. She's stuck in a game, she knows nothing about herself in this world, the world actually— she knows lickity split about this place and knows life will continue to want to screw her over.

It's fine, it's whatever. It's not that big of a deal. Just close your eyes and take steady breathes. Yes, that's right.

"¡A la mendiga chingada!" She lied. It's not okay. [Name] angrily bit ber arm. Why, you might ask? Well she doesn't want to hit something and end up breaking it, and yelling just a few moments ago was embarrassing. Biting herself gets her mind thinking that anger causes her pain therefore by not getting angry, she avoids pain. It works, up until now she supposes. Stress might be getting to her for once. 

It took a few minutes to feel calm again. Her arm felt numb and she wasn't sure if the bite was really red or actually bleeding. She wiped the salvia off her arm and checked her phone. It was almost 0600. Still too early for school. She is tired of doing nothing and decided that she no longer cared if her loudness woke the others up. 

She slipped her shoes on and walked out of her room. There was a lot of dust in the air and she saw some creepy shadow thing at the end of the hall. It waved (?) before disappearing. 

She muttered under her breath and brushed off the short interaction as a figment of her imagination. If something weird happens, best you ignore it. She would like to explore for a bit, maybe snatch some things for herself before they get thrown out.

She walked through various doors (this place couldn't get enough of them) and hummed to herself. While listening to her surroundings, she realized another thing. Her ankle bracelets were missing. She never took them off and it was embarrassing that she only just realized now. She was used to hearing the soft jingle of the little bells that would hang from it to alert anyone she was near by. Without them, she walked without a sound and would always end up scaring anyone who didn't see her.

While thinking, her walk was interrupted by the three ghosts from yesterday. "Up and at it this early, huh, boss?" Doughboy materialized in front of her. The other two were at her sides floating aimlessly. 

"Early riser, aren't you?" Said Bones. [Name] wasn't always an early riser. She used to get up before or past noon back when she was younger. Then school changed it's hours and she would get up at 0530 to beat her siblings to the bathroom, help get her younger siblings ready for school, prepare lunch for her dad if he hasn't gone to work yet, occasionally for her siblings if they didn't want school lunch, and study with the time she has to herself before her driver comes to pick her up.

She nodded at them asked if they were the only ones in the dorm besides her living group. She thought back to that figure from earlier. It was solid and didn't resemble any of them. There's always the possibility of it simply being a figment of her imagination, but she highly doubts that. 

The trio nodded and asked if there was a reason why she asked. "It's nothing. Just wonderin'." They eventually left and she wondered the halls again. She didn't fully explore the ground floor yesterday, why not do it now? She should've asked for a tour before her dead roommates left.

[Name] walked quietly down the halls and explored the areas unknown to her. Each room seemed to be frozen in time. One specific room, she dubbed as the picture room, was by far her favorite so fad. In the room were dusty boxes filled with black and white pictures. There were some that were framed on the wall as well. She carefully reached into one of the boxes and held one of the photographs. She held her phone light in the other so she would be able to see fine. There were four teens in the image, each not seeming to be aware of a camera pointed at them. They all seemed to be cooing at something the camera couldn't catch. She set the picture down and reached to grab for another.

It was of different boys this time; they were neatly in fashioned suits, blazers, outer coats, and armbands that displayed their dorm but it seemed to have been scratched out. Some had bowler hats, others homburgs, and only one who sat in the middle had a top hat. They were seated around a conference table. The boy in the top hat held a serious expression while the other boys seemed to be holding back smiles. She wondered what they were talking about.

From the corner of her eye, she caught something shiny in her vision. She stocked the picture away and went to the source of her interest. There was a small, dusty and carefully crafted treasure box made from red cherry wood and outlined in gold. She grabbed it without thinking and opened the box. Inside the box were three leather bound journals, three very beautiful and nice looking pens, three bottles of ink, and three keys. Whoever had this box must've liked the number three, she thought. She grabbed one of the journals and opened it to the first page. It was written in a neat variation of cursive.

Before I write anything serious in this, I want to clarify that this is not a diary, thank you. Bernard, I will know if you go through my things. If it's you who found this, I will visit your mother's home and you will be pleased to hear about about your mother and I's new relationship. To any other poor bloke who has found this, I suppose it's alright, just don't tell the other boys, yeah? 

She is so going to read this in her free time, but for now, more exploring. She put the journal back into the box and took it with her. She will be coming back to this room when she can. But until next time, the journey continues. On her way out, she noticed an old light switch and pressed it down. The lightbulb from above flicked to life, though very dimly. [Name] felt stupid for not noticing it when she first walked in here, but hey, at least there wasn't anyone around to see. 

She noticed how the sky seemed brighter and checked her phone. It was already 7 so the others should be waking up soon but knowing Taras, he'll wake up 30 minutes from now, stay in bed for an extra 10, go through her things for any fruits or snacks she may have brought with her.

Knowing Taras... It's clear that in this word, she and him are close friends. Thinking about it seems t bring a string of information; he likes to eat the fruit her family sends her, she used to bully at some point in their friendship, he likes climbing up to her window sill (she has her own room!) at anytime of the day be it morning or night, and talk to her exuberantly about the magic his dad had been teaching him, and that Taras was a nickname she gave him since he doesn't like his real name. She doesn't know much details besides that.

It probably won't be important in the long run. Their best friends or something, right? It's super common for best friends to not know details about each other despite how close they may be. She quietly walked back to her room while humming softly. It's best she double— triple checks she really has everything she needs. 

Upon opening the door to her room, the first thing she noticed was a new item on her bed. On her bed was a teal leather stained messenger bag with gold , intricate embroidery to decorate the front. Besides it laid an envelope in the same colors. The top of the note read, [Name]. A little creepy, but what's life without some creepiness in it? She sat down at the edge of the bed and tore open one side to read what was inside.

Dear [Name],

It was foolish of me to have forgotten your gift. I'm sure you noticed first thing upon arriving at your dorm. Ramshackle I heard. Even that mirror can't remember it's name once upon a time. The news of your enrollment has become a hot topic, do except a public conference soon. We'll be together again so don't you worry, dear. If you're worried about your dorm, I'll make sure Dire makes it as new as it was built. 

With regards,

R.Božena

Yikes. Whoever this guy is, they're important for sure. Whatever their relationship is with the [Name] of this world, it seemed important. She noticed that this person seemed to have the same last name as her, according to the system. It could be a family member or even worse, a fiancé. She shivered at the thought. Whoever it is, they will be meeting soon. Hopefully all goes well. For now, she'll focus on the immediate time.

It didn't take too long for her to settle her school supplies into her new bag. It was much better than her original plan to just have a pencil in her pocket and hope her teachers don't give her anything. A sharp knock interrupted her thoughts and made her jump a little.

"Who?" 

"It's me. Can you help get rid of a spider, please?" Taras' hushed whispers flowed through the cracks of the door. [Name] opened the door to him and the first thing she noticed was how his eyes glowed red. If he were in pitch darkness and was given something to read, his eyes would light up the words for him. They looked artificial almost. Thr second thing she noticed was how bizarre his hair looked. Just what was he doing for it to look like that?

"Come, come." His slippers dragged from the floorboards as he lead her to one of the bathrooms in the hall, a different one from the one she used earlier. 

"I was going to take a shit. A really nice one until that beast appeared on the counter and attacked me." Taras' clenched his fist as he recalled the horrors from the past. She really didn't need to hear that, but okay. As they approached the bathroom, the fae pushed her towards the door and urged her to function as his shield. She rolled her eyes and opened the door. The light had been left on which gave her a clear view of a spider infested bathroom.

She had never seen so many spiders gathered in one common space. Taras' screamed and jumped away while [Name] stood dumbly at the door. They're weren't this many foul creatures when he was there moments ago. The bodies of the spiders ranged from a golden brown to a bright red-orange. They looked freaky for sure, but weren't much of a threat. "They're not venomous. I mean, they are but not harmful to humans— humanoids." She remembered a documentary on spiders she watched a year or two ago. One of the spiders— whose species name she had totally forgotten— looked just like the ones in front of her. They weren't known for being harmful to humanoids. They were chill spiders.

Taras shuddered. "I don't care! They're harmful to my eyes and my sense of comfort." He'll tolerate a spider in most situations, but he will not tolerate one watching him relieve himself. That's an invasion of privacy and it's very gross.

[Name] didn't mind spiders herself. She quite liked them, really. Whenever a spider decided to make home at the corner where she slept at, she would welcome it and even feed it when she would notice it hadn't caught anything in a while. They were cute and helpful most of the time. Though there was this one spider when she moved to her current home that would hide in her shoes and crawl over her face when she tried to sleep. A nuisance that one.

She gave Taras a sidelong glance. "How am I supposed to get rid of em'?" There's far too many to repeatedly scoop and toss elsewhere, and if she kills them, there's a chance some have babies inside of them and there will be even more spiders. 

"Use your spider whisper-y skills or whatever it is." Is he serious? Yeah she likes spiders to any extent, but call her a spider whisperer? That's funny in this hour of day. She shrugged. There's no harm in amusing him. She looked over the powers and pointed a finger to them before curling it in her direction repeatedly. "Shsh. Shsh." It'd be funny if they actually crawled towards her— what the hell?

One by one, the tiny creatures formed 7 lines and walked to her. Taras yelped again and pressed himself as close to the wall without touching it. [Name] was still in shocked of her apparent ability. She heard a ring in her mind followed by the same voice from yesterday.

[New skill acquired]

[World's Interpretor]

That's... What does that even mean? Can she just understand the things around her or what? Whatever this new skill is, she guessed it's connected with her being able to control or talk to spiders. It didn't take long to lead away all the spiders and for her friend to thank her before rushing into the now spider-free bathroom. As she was leading the spiders away, Yuu stepped out of his room and was just about to greet her until he noticed a hoard of small spiders following her. He seemed hesitant to ask anything about what she was doing. His dorm mate can command spiders. It can't be that weird. This world, Twisted Wonderland as Mr. Crowley had told him yesterday, is full of magic. Until they find a way back to his home, this will be his new normal.

The three ghosts from earlier flew past him and through the girl, causing her to shiver as they vanished along with their course of laughter.

"Good morning, [Name." Yuu greeted her with a polite smile. He was still in his clothes from yesterday. Despite how tired and miserable he felt from his bad sleep, Yuu made an effort to act as he normally does. The (e/c) eyed girl returned his pleasantries.

"Mornin'. Do you uh, need a change of clothes?" After sleeping on an old, dingy mattress with a few exposed springs, and having it fall through the bed frame during the night which surely caused a storm of dust, she could imagine how icky Yuu feels at the moment.

The chubby boy held a bashful expression. "If it's not too much to ask." [Name] motioned for him to wait for a bit as she led the army of spiders away. When she came back, she motioned for Yuu to follow her. She led him over to Taras' room and walked in, heading straight to his bags on the bed that seemed to have been used as pillows.

Before Yuu could comment on if it was okay to take the fae's things without asking, she interrupted his thoughts and told him it was fine and that he wouldn't mind. She grabbed a pair of dark green pants, a white shirt, and a dark navy colored flannel. She grabbed her magic pen from her pen and thought about the clothes adjusting for Yuu. The male watched in fascination as the clothes seemed change.

She noticed a hint of dust around him as she banded him the clothing. "Do you need to get clean to? I know a spell that can keep ya clean, 8 hours top." That's a lie, she knows no such spell. Why did she say that? She just felt herself speak without thinking.

"You can do that?!" Yuu asked in wonder. The fatigue in his eyes fading just a little. 

"Sure I can. Lemme just..." She waved her wand and muttered a spell under her breath. Yuu felt a strange sensation wash over him as small dancing lights surrounded him. He felt less grimey, less icky, and more refreshed. "Did this brush my teeth too?" His oral hygiene felt as if he just left the world's best dentist. 

"No need to thank me." Despite saying that, she looked quite smug and haughty. If Yuu ignored that minor detail, he would've looked at her with awe and amazement. He thanked her once more before going to find a bathroom to use. As left, Grim made his appearance.

"Mya... Those stupid ghosts don't know how to shut up. Not even countin' tuna helped." The little fae monster yawned and stretched himself on the floor. She crouched down and placed her hands underneath his shoulders. Grim looked confused for a bit until he was lifted up the ground. His arms stretched high above his head. He let out a little out and allowed himself to stretch. She brushed off some dust from him and adjusted his bow. Grim was so cute.

It took a few minutes for the boys to come down to the parlor, ready to start the day. Yuu was dressed in the clothes she had given him. Taras walked after him. He was dressed in black straight pants, a dark brown sweater with a button color up underneath, and a warm light brown jacket over what he wore. His hair was neatly brushed and tied in a small low pony tail with the front being split in the middle. He breathed out tiredly and sat down next to [Name] and Grim, resting his head on the arm rest.

Just then, Crowley appeared out of nowhere. Not a single feather of his was out of place. His mask seemed to have more shine than yesterday, the mirrors on his hat looked faded in a way that resembled ripples of water on a foggy day. In his hold, the man had two boxes wrapped in standard Night Raven colors and a wooden bento box that emitted a delicious scent.

"Perfect! Just the new staff and students I wanted to see." Grim yelped and nearly tumbled back at Crowley's sudden entrance. [Name] grabbed Grim just in time before he could hit the floor. Crowley examined the now clean parlor room. How hard working his staff and students must've been yesterday. He took the liberty to sit down on a deep green arm chair and set the items in his hold down besides him.

"I trust you all had a good morning?" The dark fae held his hands together on his lap and looked down at the five.

"I've slept better after getting beaten." Taras sunk down onto the cushion and shut his eyes. 

"It was alright." Replied [Name]. The mattress wasn't that bad if she compared it to her bed back at her family home. Her dream did ruin the comfortableness. She had dreamt a memory. One where her mom was yelling at her and comparing her once again to the girl who used to bully her mom. Yesenia was the girl's name. Her mom had found the girl dead at a lake she used to frequent in her home country and she just loved to compare the two. How she acted the same, looked frighteningly similar, etc era. 

Grim stood on his hind legs on her lap and glared at the headmage. "Not at all! When I sprawled out on the bed, the mattress fell right through the frame!" Yuu nodded along with Grim's words. "Exactly how ramshackle IS this dorm? And worse yet, we were woken up by ghosts!" Grim lost his balance and fell to the side, smacking his head against the cushion. 

"I didn't sleep well either." Yuu chipped in. How could he not? He's in an unknown world without a single yen to his name and his gut is telling him his undesirable circumstances will be used as leverage over him. For now, he can count on Taras and [Name] to have his back.

Either the headmage didn't care at all for what they had to say or he wasn't listening in the first place. "That's wonderful to hear. I'm glad you've all adjusted well." Crowley held his hands up and with a flick of his wrists, the two neatly wrapped boxes made their way over to the two students. 

Taras perked up and sat straight. He and [Name] shared a look before looking ay Crowley. "Our uniforms?" They weren't expecting to have them until way later. The headmage nodded and urged then to open them.

The girl stood up from her spot and placed the box on the cushion before opening. The first thing she saw a teal colored armband with a swan emblem out lined in gold. The swan itself had on a crown and had it's wings elegantly spread. Below that was was warm and soft fur cloak with a black interior and a few large pockets sewed inside. 

The actual uniform was just as elegantly composed as the swan. It fabric was the same teal color. It was adorned in yellow patterns. It was a mix of an officer jacket, a frock coat, and a military coat. It's sleeves were cut down to elbow length with patterns decorating its ends. The coat began to separated down at the waist and had a fuzzy collar at the top.

Underneath the coat was a black button up and a pair of two matching in color leather bracers two different symbols embedded in them that were settled off to the side. There was also a red sash which she assumed was to be wrapped around the waist.

The pants were reminiscent of balloon pants and was buttoned up to the waist. They were dark in color and had two large pockets expertly hidden. It came with a pair of dark brown knee high boots. 

The school uniform was far simpler compared to the dorm uniform. It was a simple black blazer with golden linings and a sea green buttoned vest and some thin black gloves. There were three sets of the school uniform and gloves, extras in case one gets soiled or ruined.

[Name] let out a delighted hum once she had viewed all her acquired clothes. Besides her, Taras had snuggly up to her cloak, muttering how it wasn't fair the she got the warmer dressings while all he got was lackey sheets, whatever that meant.

His dorm uniform was similar to hers except olive green in color and a few minor details that makes him far less outstanding. She noted that the symbols on the bracers for his uniform were different than hers.

Wonder if they mean anything.

Crowley ushered them to change into their uniforms now that they had them as he talked to Yuu about what he's expected to do today. When they came back, Crowley was nowhere to be seen and Grim was whining about not wanting to clean and how a mage of his caliber should be casting spells and studying to be even more great.

"You guys look studious." Yuu commented as he looked at them in their school uniforms. A posh outfit if he had anything to say but nevertheless, very out together and pleasing to the eye. 

"Yeah. We look delicious." [Name] adjusted her tie a bit. She decided to wear the dress shoes but opted for her converse instead. As much as she would've liked to... What was the word again... Wait no— English doesn't have such word, the closest would be to 'try out for the first time.' as she was saying, she would've liked to try out the shoes but something told her they would've been ruined if she made that decision. Taras was in the same boat. He decided to wear his spare tennis shoes.

"It's not fair! Why do they get to be students but I can't?" Grim fussed and but his paws up in the air in protest. 

The girl crouched down to his level and scratched the top of his head. "Because, Grim, it takes time for the mirror to notice the brilliance of a mage of your excellence. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be one of us soon." 

Grim preened. "Heh, at least someone here knows what they're talking about."

The Japanese boy chuckled at her description of Grim the Great and began walking to the exit. "We should get going." The two students nodded at him and Grim trailed behind them as they began to make a move.

"Hey, 50 thaumarks we'll see a fight before noon hits." Taras scoffed but smiled a bit. She never made bets unless she was confident in winning them.

"You have enough money as it is, aren't you greedy enough?" She has money? Hell yeah! Good thing her mom isn't around to take it all away. She would always have to hide it in places her mom would never look into to make sure it wasn't taken. Though, can she fault her mom for that? I mean, she does flaunt it sometimes, to her siblings mostly. Her mom always said if you're willing to flaunt it, then you're willing to give it away so does she really have any reason to be upset at her mom?

"My greed knows no bounds, but fine. You can make your own bet." She jumps at an opportunity to make money. Mostly at school when she makes people pay her to cheat off of her during tests and quizzes. Simpletons like them need a little help, and money sure can provide it.

Taras though for a moment before settling on what he knew would most likely happen, knowing [Name]. "100 thaumarks if you don't get hurt today."

It was her turn to scoff. "I never get hurt," lying straight through her teeth. "But I suppose I will indulge you." She put her hands in her pockets as they walked along the gravel path 

He smiled and slipped his hand into her bag to take out a piece of gum. "Thank you, o gracious one. Just get my money ready." she smacked his hand before he could steal any more pieces gave him an annoyed look. The two friends stared at each other before bursting out in quiet fits of laughter at each other's antics.

Today might actually be a fine day.