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Yuu quietly scribbled in her notebook. A warm breeze with a few sand particles encased blue from the balcony. The sun was setting and gave a beautiful orange hue. A few feet away was the silent breathing of the lion prince, curled up on his bed. She turned a page in her magical history textbook and sighed, placing her chin in her hand. About a week ago, Headmaster Crowley had approached Yuu to ask for her assistance in getting Leona to actually complete his schoolwork—to actually motivate him to pick up his pen and notebook every once in a while. It apparently doesn’t reflect well on Night Raven College to have such an aristocrat doing badly academically. Grim wanted nothing to do with it and opted to either wait at Ramshackle dorm or hang out with Ace and Deuce, who equally wanted nothing to do with it. Yuu glanced over toward Leona, his ear twitching every so often. Perhaps he was dreaming? Though, what would a lion prince dream about? Maybe he dreamed about being the oldest son in his family, where he was praised for his unique powers. A dream where relatives and citizens alike would look up to him, and not compare him to his older brother in line for the throne.
Leona then quietly growled and adjusted his position, mumbling “annoying” as he did. His bangs went in all kinds of directions, and one of his braids was curled up resting by his forehead. Yuu let out a strong exhale from her nose, like a small laughter. Maybe he was dreaming about having to babysit his nephew for an afternoon instead. Yuu faced back towards her stationeries and began putting them away. A few days ago, she just began to come to his room every day after school and sit to do her own work. Maybe he would consider watching her do work as motivation to do his own? Though Yuu knew to doubt that idea from the start, but what could she do otherwise? Leona was against the idea at first—he didn’t want this annoying human just waltzing into his room every day, but eventually he began accustomed to the quiet sounds Yuu made while doing her schoolwork. It did not prevent him from getting in his daily evening naps after all.
Yuu strolled out of his room into the hallway. The hallway was of stone similar to the rest of the dorm, with flattened, worn carpets rolled on the floor. She caught a glimpse of Jack walking the same direction she was. He nodded towards her as a greeting and inquired how mission “Get-Leona-to-actually-do-his-schoolwork” was going. She just solemnly shook her head. Jack too was unsurprised. He accompanied her back to the mirror for her to return to her own respective dorm; luckily, she aims to leave the dorm when the other students are typically at dinner as to not draw attention. Jack had previously made the comment how Yuu shouldn’t be alone with a man in another man’s room, but with Leona’s overwhelming laziness, that threat remained minimal.
Another day went by with little progress…
---
The next day, Yuu had to stay behind to ask her instructor Trein a question from the magical history class. Usually she’d stalk Leona back to his dorm as to keep the other students from approaching her, but today she was able to get Ruggie to accompany there. After classes, Ruggie had to pick up some things for Leona at the store anyway. Yuu waited by the entrance idly for the hyena to come out. He was taking a bit even just for a few items. Most likely he was trying to haggle with Sam on some of said items. Eventually he stepped out wearing a smug grin and holding a paper bag to his chest.
“Get a good deal?” Yuu asked.
“Yep! Got Leona’s drink down to 3 for 700 madol this time!”
Ruggie continued to smirk and hummed a bit to himself as they made their way towards the Savanaclaw dorm mirror. Yuu could overhear the other students commenting to themselves about Yuu’s presence again today, questioning why she came so often. She opted to ignore them as to avoid any conflict.
The two made their way to Leona’s room and surprisingly found he was not sleeping. He saw them at the doorway with a glaring look on his face. Ruggie and Yuu simultaneously flinched at his glare. “Ruggie!” he growled. Yuu sighed and relaxed, happy it wasn’t her this time. Ruggie put on a fake customer-service smile, “Yes Leona? I’ve returned with the items you needed.”
Leona approached him with crossed arms. “Where’s my blankets for the bed?” he asked angrily. Yuu peered over and noticed there were indeed no linens on his bed. That probably explained why he wasn’t enjoying his evening slumber.
“Leona, I have them up to dry at the moment,” Ruggie started, trying to make it sound like a small issue. “I haven’t grabbed them yet because of the shopping you needed me to do.”
Leona sighed and placed his hand at the back of his head. “Also,” the lion looked up, now just looking impatient, “my mane is a mess. Fix my braids as well.”
At this time Yuu opted to approach her normal study area to get set up. She was largely ignored by the other two.
“Uh, Leona, I don’t know how to braid, and I have to get to your bed sheets,” Ruggie set the shopping bag off to the site on a nearby in-table.
“Then figure it out,” Leona retorted.
“Um,” Yuu began to speak. The two’s ears pointed in her direction before facing her. Ruggie had already been facing her, and Leona just looked over his shoulder. “I could brush his mane…and fix his braids…” she volunteered quietly.
“Ohhh that’d be a big help,” Ruggie sneakily backed out of the doorway. “I’ll leave it to you then! The hairbrush is in his bed-side table drawer!” He quickly bolted before Leona could even react.
Yuu stood a bit motionless, not exactly sure if she should grab the hairbrush or not. Leona hadn’t exactly given an actual answer on it. He heavily sighed and walked over to the middle of his room at an open space and plopped down cross-legged on a flattened red rug.
“Get it over with,” Leona grumbled.
Yuu walked towards his bed table. The drawer was left hanging open with the hairbrush in plain sight. It was a wooden one with what appeared to be boar bristles. She strolled back to him and sat behind him, also cross-legged.
“Be careful of the ears,” he commanded. His tail was waving around, probably displaying his grumpiness.
Yuu started at the sides of his neck to gently grab his locks to have the majority of it on his back. Leona’s bare shoulders seemed broad, as did his biceps. For someone who slept a lot, he sure had a lot of muscle. The lion also had a nice masculine scent to him that wasn’t overbearing.
“Can I undo the braids to brush and fix them after?” she asked.
“Do whatever,” he retorted dismissively.
Yuu sighed, setting the brush beside her. She took out the small rubber bands at his braids and carefully unraveled them. Carefully wrapping the elastics on her finger, she grabbed the hairbrush once again, and started brushing at the ends of his mane.
“Hey, why are you starting there? Start at the top. Don’t you know how to brush?”
“Yes,” she answered, but kept addressing the ends, “I do know how to brush hair. It’s better to get the knots at the end where you have more split ends. I also believe you told me to ‘do whatever’.”
Leona clicked his tongue but silenced himself. Once Yuu finished getting knots out at this ends, she smoothly moved the brush towards the top of his head, and smoothly brushed though his mane.
“See? Now it’s a lot easier to brush.”
Leona didn’t answer, but his tail was now just laid on the floor, unmoved. For the last few minutes, until Ruggie finally returned with the bed linens, Yuu softly brushed through his hair. She internally noted how the boar bristles were giving him a nice shine, but also noticed his hair seemed a little too dry. One of her pet peeves admittedly was when other grew out their hair but neglect properly tending to said hair.
“Leona, what type of conditioner do you use?” Yuu asked.
…
He didn’t answer.
“Leona?” Yuu set down the hairbrush and adjusted to lean by him to see his face. It was then Ruggie waltzed in, bed linens in his arms.
“Leona! I’ve got your bedsheets!”
Leona jolted as Ruggie dropped the linens on his bed. Yuu turned to him as he started to take each cloth and lay it out nicely over Leona’s bed. She turned back towards Leona when she noticed him putting his hand on the ground to push him up to his feet. Grabbing the hairbrush to put away, Yuu followed suit.
“Took you long enough,” Leona complained. The girl placed the hairbrush back into the in-table drawer and push it shut.
“Ruggie,” Yuu began, “what type of shampoo and conditioner does Leona use?”
They both look at her quizzically.
“What’s conditioner?” Leona asked.
“Leona just asks me to get shampoo. I got him a new bottle today,” Ruggie gestured his thumb towards the paper bag on the ground. Yuu headed towards the bag to look at the shampoo bottle. “Is it some sort of shampoo/conditioner combination?” She pulled out a bottle that looked to be for shampoo. After reading the label, Yuu put her forehead on her hand and turned towards Ruggie.
“Ruggie, what is this?!” she exclaimed, pointing at the bottle.
“It’s shampoo?!” he exclaimed back.
“You’re letting this aristocratic lion use cheap shampoo?! No wonder his mane is like that!”
“It’s soap for his hair! What’s it matter?!”
Yuu sighed and set the bottle down. “Oh,” she looked up at Leona, “I forgot the braids. Leona, just sit on the bed, I’ll do them.”
“Don’t give me orders,” Leona scowled, but still reluctantly sat on the bed. Yuu sat beside him, gently grabbing a piece of hair to split into three parts.
“Sheesh who cares? I have other things to do,” Ruggie said, stomping out of Leona’s room.
“No wonder you didn’t answer me when I asked about conditioner.”
“You didn’t ask me,” Leona replied.
“Yes, I did. Just before—” Yuu cut off, pausing the braiding. “Leona.”
“Ahh?”
“…Did you fall asleep when I was brushing your hair?”
The lion paused. “No.”
“…Why did you hesitate?” she continued the braid, finishing it and wrapping the rubber band around it. She stood up and sat at this other side to make another braid.
“It’s my evening nap time anyway,” Leona grumbled. Yuu just smiled to his excuse as she braided the other lock of hair.
“You know,” she tied up his last braid and strolled to her usual workspace, “if you did your schoolwork I could brush your hair more often…”
“Heh.” Leona chuckled, lying down at his bed. Yuu presumed it was a faulty suggestion anyway. Yuu opened her notebook and textbook to get back into her study zone.
A few hours had pass and the sun was now setting. Leona remained quiet at his bed as usual. After packing up, she headed for the door—.
“Hey,” Leona’s voice murmured. Yuu turned to him, perplexed. He was laying at his side, the side of his face supported by his hand, his tail waving in the air. After a pause, he turned around, “Never mind,” and returned to his nap.
Yuu tilted her head in confusion but shrugged it off and left. When she returned to Ramshackle dorm, she found Grim fast asleep, mumbling something about canned tuna.
---
Yuu sat beside Ace, Deuce, and Grim at their usual lunch table, eating their food when Ruggie walked over, looking agitated.
“Hey, Yuu!”
Yuu turned to the crossed-arm hyena and swallowed her food.
“Thanks to you, Leona’s asking about getting him a ‘better’ shampoo and conditioner!” he exclaimed.
“Why’s that matter to him?” Yuu asked, grabbing her glass of water to drink from.
Ruggie crossed his arms, “Like he’d tell me. I’m sure you have something to do with it.”
“Why do I have to help?”
“I don’t know anything about those products!” Ruggie vented. “So now you need to help me out.”
The three others at the table quietly ate their food, onlooking curiously. Yuu sighed, and after a pause looked back at Ruggie. “I have an idea. I’ll meet you at the store after class. I may be a few minutes late getting there.”
“You better be. Leona pushes me hard enough as is,” Ruggie warned, walking away. Yuu turned back towards her food and pulled out her phone.
“What do you plan on doing?” Deuce inquired. The other two nodded towards the question.
“Something that will cost me, that’s for sure,” Yuu commented.
---
“Now then,” Vil asked while looking at himself in his hand mirror. He was most likely checking his make-up. “What business did you have with me?”
“I need your help selecting appropriate shampoo and conditioner for Leona,” Yuu stated. The stood by the well at the courtyard area of the school.
Vil slapped his hand mirror shut, turning to Yuu. “Why would I help that mutt?”
“To help him accomplish the best hair texture he can?” Yuu suggested. Vil just laughed her off and crossed his arms. She sighed. “I figured it’d come to this.” The girl opened a pocket of her bag and pulled out a small box. Vil glanced curiously, “What is—” his eyes opened wide as he swiped the package from her hands. “Lornier #202 eyeliner! This compliments my eyes the most—they discontinued this color! Where did you get this?” Vil looked at Yuu suspiciously.
She shrugged, “That’s a question for Azul. I used seven full point cards to get that. I’m not even sure where he got it.” Yuu glanced at him smugly, taking the box from his hand. “It’s too bad you won’t help me out though. I would’ve given you this in exchange. I remember hearing you in the hallway one day venting about its discontinuation.”
Vil grit his teeth. “Fine, I’ll help you out.”
Yuu clapped her hands together, “Oh, you’re so kind! Well let’s make haste to the shop shall we?”
Yuu and Vil met with Ruggie in front of the shop. Ruggie was leaning against the wall waiting impatiently and looked shocked when he saw Vil’s presence. He seemed like he wanted to ask how Yuu managed to get Vil’s help but decided against it.
After about 30 minutes looking at the shampoo and conditioner variety, and Yuu explaining Leona’s mane texture to Vil, they finally settled on a set. Ruggie grumbled at the high price, of which he regretted later. Pomefiore’s dorm leader went into a lecture about the significance of a good shampoo/conditioner combination, of which Ruggie tried to ignore.
Ruggie and Yuu parted ways with Vil after the purchase. Vil was glowing after receiving his precious eyeliner and had a bit of a spring in his step when he walked away. Without exchanging too many words, the hyena and human made their way toward Savanaclaw dorm. Yuu informed Ruggie that she’d take care of the rest of it and told him to handle whatever business he had to attend to. He quickly took the opportunity to take his leave when they neared Leona’s room.
Yuu came into his room, finding Leona sitting up on his bed staring outside. When he heard her footsteps, one of his ears turned to her direction before he turned the rest of his head.
“Leona,” Yuu said while setting down the bag and grabbing the two bottles from it, “when using shampoo, you should put main focus on your roots. Don’t use too much shampoo for the rest of your mane; it’ll get to the rest of it when you rinse.” Leona made a snarling look, but she continued. “The conditioner is for the rest of your hair. Focus on applying it everywhere but your roots.”
She set down the bottles by his bed-side table. “Also,” she continued, “would you be more willing to do some of your schoolwork if I promised to brush your mane afterward?”
“Tch,” Leona clicked his tongue.
Yuu shrugged and went towards the table in his room to set up her study space. Halfway through, Leona came over and plopped himself on a chair next to her, tossing his notebook and textbook on the table. “One hour,” he said.
Yuu smiled, “We’ll start with that.”
---
The next day, Leona had finished his one hour of schoolwork and having Yuu brush out his mane. The brush went through more smoothly than the previous day.
“See? It’s so much easier to brush and so softer now,” Yuu commented, “Vil even complimented your mane today!”
Leona grumbled a sigh but said nothing. They both were sitting upon Leona’s bed as Yuu brush his hair. When she finished, she set the brush down and ran her fingers through. “It really is a big difference; it was so dry before, but now it’s so soft.”
“Who said you were done?”
“I have to review my notes for a test tomorrow.”
After a bit of bickering, Yuu found herself sitting on Leona’s lap with her notebook in one hand, and the other preoccupied with stroking his hair as he laid his head on her lap. She lightly stroked at his mane, at the top of his head, by his cheek, and around his ears. “Such a spoiled prince,” she thought as she looked at the lion sleeping soundly, “but at least his hair is soft now.”
After a few weeks of continuing this pattern, Crowley approached Yuu to thank her for her hard work. Leona has been showing more progress in getting his schoolwork done and was thoroughly impressed.
Following classes for the day, Yuu again accompanied Leona back to his room to have their usual study session. This time, the aristocrat actually go to a point where he finished his homework. On the way to leave for the evening, she brought up how she was thinking of giving him some sort of reward for completing his homework with a proud smile on her face. Yuu strolled to the doorway with Leona strolling behind; she had already brushed his hair for a good 20 minutes before this.
“But to finish your homework, Leona!” Yuu said, “What could I do for you to reward you for that hard work?” She pondered.
Leona took a step closer to her, looking down at her from a few inches away. Yuu couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his facial expression. She could offer to wash his mane for him since he enjoys it being brushed?
“You’ll come over again tomorrow right?” Leona asked, prompting a node from Yuu.
“Persistent,” he commented, cupping the side of her face before leaning down, closing his eyes as he pressed his warm lips against hers. Yuu’s eyes opened wide in shock. A lock of his hair fell from behind his ear and brushed over her collarbone. The lion’s soft bangs also swept softly against her forehead during the kiss. She couldn’t move. Although she did notice his usual musky scent mixed in with the aroma of his shampoo/conditioner combination really complimented each other well. After a moment, Leona’s lips softly moved around hers. Yuu, captivated in the moment, found herself moving with his as well, closing her eyes in the process.
Sometime after, Leona pulled away and looked down at Yuu with a satisfied smile on his face.
“See you tomorrow,” he said before walking away.
Yuu stepped out of the doorway and leaned against the wall. “What just happened?!” she thought, “I thought we were just studying!” She glanced over and saw Ruggie and Jack staring at her, too stunned for words. She felt her face grow hot, and shyly waved at them. Jack, being courteous, made a small wave back. The human strolled down the hallway, staring down as she walked, unable to make any eye contact. She could tell Ruggie and Jack were following her but chose not to say anything. Eventually they made it to the mirror and Ruggie was the first to speak up.
“So uh…” he started.
“Yuu stopped in her tracks, feet behind mirror.
“What was that?” the hyena asked.
“I don’t know!” Yuu admitted.