Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tonight, the children of Gavaldon writhed in their bed, restless with haunted dreams of the School Master. If they were taken, they would never return, never see their families again. Tonight these children dreamt of a red-eyed thief with the body of a beast, come to rip them from their sheets and stifle their screams.

Maki, however, dreamt of nothing at all. She didn’t believe in the tale of the School Master. Why would she? It was a child’s story, a rumour, and she wasn’t a child anymore.

The girl awoke to the sound of arguing and crying, and feeling the chill of the morning seep through the window. “I told you, the window stays closed,” she grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “And that blanket is mine.” She took her blanket back from a child, maybe 6 or 7, as another child jumped on the end of her bed.

Not an irregular morning; she sighed, slipping out of bed and calming the children, brushing a small girl’s hair and promising two boys cereal if they sat still. She laid the table and grabbed breakfast for everyone, poured milk, cut apple slices for a screaming toddler, and washed some dishes briskly. And once breakfast was finally over, she made herself buttered toast and returned to her room, stopping in front of the mirror at her bedside.

Maki Harukawa was 15, grubby, and owner of a near-constant scowl. Her hair was very dark brown, messy and worn in low bunches (NOT pigtails as Tsumugi insisted), which Maki would never admit was only so she could squeeze her hair when she was anxious. Tsumugi thought it was cute (“just like an anime girl”), which did nothing but make Maki more self-conscious. She was pale, scarred, had deep-set red eyes and wore mostly plain, dark clothes, often torn and stained. A witch, everyone in the village agreed. A girl cursed with misfortune, death and darkness. Not that Maki cared what the villagers said about her.

Maki picked up her hairbrush, but before she could begin to fix her web of hair, a loud knock echoed from the front door. Maki recognised the rhythm of the knock and put the brush back down, groaning. Of course she was back again.

“It’s okay, I’ve got it. Sit down while you eat.” She ushered the children away from the door again, and opened it. It was a nice day, the sun was shining, and the rooftops were glistening with light despite the cold. A girl was standing at the doorstep, wearing glasses and a plaid dress. Tsumugi Shirogane, the seamstress’ daughter.

“Good morning Maki!” Tsumugi said, smiling softly, but flinching under Maki’s glare. “Okay, I know you said to stop coming, but I missed you.”

“Tragic,” Maki said stoically, and Tsumugi began protesting desperately. “You’ll try and make me wear a dress again,” Maki added, making a movement to go back inside.

“I won’t! That was a one time thing, okay, I’m sorry!” Maki didn’t respond. “Please? Just for today!” She swallowed hard, thinking. “Today is a very important day, Maki!”

Maki stopped and frowned. “Important?” Tsumugi nodded eagerly. “Is that why you’re wearing… all this?” She gestured at Tsumugi’s unusually braided hair, flower crown and dainty dress: she looked like someone trying too hard to look innocent. But Maki had no idea what important thing she was doing… If she was going to a public event, Maki had no intention of attending, and Tsumugi should know that.

“Oh, only a little bit,” Tsumugi said sheepishly. “I just felt like looking my best, you know?”

“No, I don’t,” Maki said, scuffing her tattered boots against the dirt irritably. “Get to the point already, what’s so important about today?”

“I’ll tell you if you spend time with me,” she pleaded. Maki paused, then finally rolled her eyes and stepped away from the door, closing it behind her. She had no idea why she was agreeing to this, but it was better than being alone. Tsumugi smiled and grabbed Maki’s sleeve, dragging her down the dirt path. “Come on, let’s go!”

Maki followed Tsumugi away from the orphanage, down the hill and away from the forest. The two of them lived in the village of Gavaldon, although a fair distance apart. Maki’s home, for as long as she could remember, had been the orphanage at the far north, right beside the deep, dark forest, concealed in shadows. The children here were mostly forgotten about - they grew up raised by older children, rather than adults, and left the orphanage once they were 12 or 13 to search for a better home in the village’s centre, where it was warmer, brighter and safer. Maki was one of the only children who had chosen to stay, making her much of an outcast.

Tsumugi, however, lived just west of the village centre with her mother, Gavaldon’s seamstress. She was well-liked in the community, popular and charismatic, although a little dreamy. What someone like her wanted to do with one of the shabby orphanage kids, Maki could never quite figure out. Whenever she’d asked, Tsumugi had told her she just looked lonely.

They walked a while, slowly leaving the desolate area towards small collections of houses. On a normal day, the villagers would be outside, hanging up laundry or selling bread, and children would run around playing tag and throwing stones. But not today. Today, the village seemed on edge and full of whispers.

Today, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, four years from the last, the fear hung in a  contagious fog. Those children ordinarily the most handsome, beautiful or kind, now had their hair lobbed off, teeth blackened, clothes torn to shreds and faces muddied. The homely were fighting with their siblings, the generous were stealing and the most refined lurked petrified in the shadows. “Blessed are the ordinary!” they chanted.

It took Maki a moment to remember what the commotion was about. “This… isn’t seriously all because of the School Master, is it?”

“Of course it is,” Tsumugi answered, slightly too passionately. Something about her tone of voice made Maki stop walking and turn to her.

“You- This is the ‘important’ thing you were talking about, isn’t it!?” Maki said angrily, and Tsumugi flinched but stood her ground.

“W-Well yeah! It only happens once every four years, you know?”

“You’re mad,” Maki said incredulously. “Everyone here is mad. How can so many people believe in a stupid fairy tale? I understand the children believing it, but…”

Tsumugi looked hurt. “It’s not just a fairytale, Maki. It’s real. What other explanation could there be? Two children vanish, one good, one evil, the same night every four years.”

“Wolves?” Maki said flatly. She was a hunter; the forest was full of wolves, and with the orphanage so near to the forest with no line of defence, someone had to do it. She’d had plenty of experience with wolves, and several times children had died to them.

“On the same night?”

“Two children hear the story and think it would be funny to prank their parents. Then they get eaten by wolves because children are stupid. The end.”

“Okay, then explain the story books,” Tsumugi said, starting to sound a little angry.

Maki paused. That part was harder to explain. Every four years, two children would vanish. Then, years later, a book would appear on the doorstep of Mr. Deauville’s Storybook Shop, depicting the very same people who had vanished years before. Two hundred years, this stretched back, the cycle repeating the same. Ordinary children becoming the stars of fairy tales, for the whole village to read. It was obviously nonsense, Maki knew that much. But everyone else believed, and all were panicking that their children would be taken next. The perfect were acting cruel, the despicable were acting friendly, and all was in disarray. The School Master, the mysterious figure that kidnapped the children in the dead of night, would take the best and the worst, and no one wanted to be either of those people.

“Simple,” Maki said, “The bookkeeper writes fairy tales of the missing children himself.”

“Never!” Tsumugi declared.

“How do you know that?”

“There’s- there’s just no way! It’s too much of a coincidence! And this isn’t new, Maki, he hasn’t been writing storybooks for two hundred years, has he?”

“Okay, then maybe someone else wrote them before, and he writes them now…” Maki said thoughtfully. “Or maybe…”

“That’s enough, okay!” Tsumugi looked very distressed now, but she took a deep, calming breath and straightened her dress. A thought occurred to Maki.

“If you believe in this nonsense, then… Why are you dressed up more fancy than usual? Most people are doing the exact opposite.

Tsumugi smiled softly. “That’s because they don’t want to be kidnapped.”

“And… you do?”

“Yeah!” She smiled, like falling into a pleasant daydream. “Imagine that! To be taken away to a school for fairytale princesses, to learn magic and become a hero!” Tsumugi’s eyes drifted out of focus. “Just like in all of the storybooks… I could live in a real fairy tale, and meet a handsome prince…”

“Snap out of it, you can’t be serious.” Maki said forcefully. “That sounds like the biggest load of nonsense I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s real , Maki, you’ve got to believe me.”

“It’s fiction . Made up stories for children. Fairytale princesses aren’t real, true love isn’t real, magic isn’t real… whatever other nonsense is in those stories isn’t real either. There’s no School for Good, there’s no School for Evil, and there’s no School Master.” She folded her arms, scowling. Tsumugi focused again, looking directly at Maki.

“...You’re just saying that because you’re scared.” she said slowly.

“What?” Maki replied. “Why would I be scared?”

“Because you know you’re coming with me.”

Maki’s confidence faltered, and her eyes drifted past Tsumugi to the villagers behind them. Everyone was looking at them. Their eyes drifted from Tsumugi, peaceful, beautiful dress and flower crown, to Maki, angry, red eyes and torn dark clothes, like the solution to a mystery. Good and evil. The School Master’s perfect pair.

Tsumugi smiled and adjusted her hair, as if basking in the villagers’ stares, but Maki turned and walked away. “Where are you going?” Tsumugi asked, stumbling to keep up.

“Away,” Maki said. Having so many eyes on her made her feel sick.

As the sun reached its peak in the sky, basking everyone in unlikely heat, two girls, one light, one dark, sat side by side on the shore of a lake. Tsumugi picked flowers and arranged them in patterns across a story book on her lap, humming lightly, while Maki traced lines in the water with a pocket knife. Tsumugi reached the end of her song, and turned the page, showing an illustration of a beautiful princess. She sighed.

“I don’t get why everyone is so scared of being taken... Who would choose this over a fairy tale?” She gestured back towards the village. From the shore at which they sat, they could look down upon almost the entirety of Gavaldon, drenched in a thin, unsettling mist.

“Most people don’t want to leave their family,” Maki replied bitterly.

“Family is overrated anyway,” Tsumugi said. “I don’t want to spend my whole life here, growing wrinkles and sewing pinafores, cooking for children and hoping my lousy husband doesn’t vanish one day and never return.”

“Says the girl who's planning to vanish tonight and never return.”

“Well what about you?” Tsumugi asked, resting the open book on the grass and turning to face Maki. “It’s not like you have anything to miss, right? Aren’t you lonely here?”

Maki didn’t look her in the eye. “I’m not lonely,” she said stiffly. “I just like being alone. I’m perfectly happy by myself.”

“Do you really hate my company that much?” Tsumugi asked. Maki felt a bit bad at how sad she sounded, but still didn’t meet her eye.

“I didn’t ask you to keep showing up.”

“You always let me in.”

“That’s the best way to deal with annoying children, so I thought it would work for you too.”

“A-Annoying children?” Tsumugi said, sounding suddenly angry. “If anyone is an annoying child it’s you! It’s been trying so hard for you!”

“...What do you mean?”

“Everyday I came to speak to you, everyday I walked all the way to the edge of the forest to spend time with you. No one else would do that, would they? Everyone hates you! You’re lucky to have someone who wants to speak to you at all! You’re lucky I’m such a good person !”

Maki twitched, her temper flaring. “I knew it!” She stood up. “I’m your Good Deed! Just a pawn in your stupid fantasy! You’re trying to impress your dumb School Master by befriending the witch girl, aren’t you?”

Tsumugi fell silent, the anger fading from her face and being replaced by guilt. A gust of wind swept between the two girls, lifting the flowers up from Tsumugi’s book and into the lake. Eventually, she stood up too.

“Maybe that was true…” Tsumugi confessed, after a long pause. “But there’s more to it now.”

“Because I found you out,” Maki grumbled, her glare piercing.

“Because I like you.”

Maki’s glare faltered, and Tsumugi pressed on.

“No one understands me here,” she said, looking at the book laying in the grass. “But you do. You see who I am, and understand what it's like to feel out of place. That’s why I kept coming back. You’re not my good deed anymore, Maki.”

Tsumugi looked up, and the two made eye contact at last. “You’re my friend.”

There was a pause, and Maki’s ears turned suddenly red as she looked away, tugging at her hair nervously.

“Is something wrong?” Tsumugi asked.

Maki pulled her hair over her face, looking even redder. “It’s nothing- I just… I don’t really… I’ve never- I’m… not used to friends.”

Tsumugi smiled, and tugged Maki’s sleeve gently to pull her back down to sit in the grass once more. “Well, now we’ll be friends at our new school.”

Maki groaned, pulling her sleeve away from Tsumugi. “Say I sink to your intelligence level and pretend to believe all this. Why am I going to villain school? Why has everyone elected me the Mistress of Evil?”

“They don’t think you’re evil , Maki…” Tsumugi said, choosing her words carefully. “You’re just… different.”

“Different how ?” Maki said, regathering her composure.

“Well, for starters, you only wear black and brown.”

“Because it doesn’t get dirty.”

“You never leave the orphanage.”

“I don’t have anything to do anywhere else.”

“You carry a knife everywhere.”

“You’ll be thankful for that when we’re attacked.”

“For the Create-A-Tale Competition, your story ended with Prince Charming being eaten by wolves and Snow White getting buried alive.”

“It’s more realistic that way.”

“You gave me a dead frog for my birthday!”

“To remind you that we all die and end up rotting underground eaten by maggots so we should enjoy our birthdays while we have them. I found it thoughtful.”

Tsumugi gaped at her.

“Fine, so I’m a little different,” Maki glared. “So what?”

Tsumugi hesitated. “Well, it’s just that in fairy tales, different usually turns out, um… evil .”

“You’re saying I’m gonna turn out a Grand Witch.”

“That’s not a bad thing!” Tsumugi said. “The villain is just as important to the fairy tale as the hero, Maki. I can’t do it without you.”

“...You really believe you’re going to a magic school, don’t you?” Maki said, defeated.

“Yes,” Tsumugi said, with a quiet confidence. “And we’re going together. We can tell our story together.”

Maki fell silent for a while, eventually laying her knife down and touching the back of Tsumugi’s hand hesitantly. “Why is it you want to leave here so badly? That you’d believe in stories you know aren’t true?”

“Because I can’t live here,” Tsumugi whispered, staring at the story book. “I can’t live an ordinary life. Fiction is the only thing that makes me happy anymore. I want to… be part of that. So badly.” She looked up at Maki, her eyes glassy. “You understand, right?”

Maybe somewhere, deep down, she did understand. Maki could still remember being a child, reading the fairy stories, dreaming of princesses and princes and faraway lands. But that wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. How could she keep dreaming when she knew it was all fake? It just hurt. Maki had grown up, and stopped believing in the stories anymore. The real world wasn’t like that. There were no happy endings here. There was nothing for her. If she wanted to survive, she’d just have to accept that harsh truth and get on with it.

But… Tsumugi really, desperately wanted something more. To be part of something bigger. And even if Maki didn’t believe in something bigger, she understood the feeling. Just for today, Maki could let herself pretend to believe, if dreaming was what made Tsumugi happy. It had been such a long time since Maki felt like she had someone who cared about her. As much as she brushed Tsumugi off, she was Maki’s first friend in years. She could humour the nonsense for a bit. 

“Okay, why not. I become some grand fairy tale witch.” Maki almost smiled as Tsumugi’s eyes brightened. “What would our fairy tale be like?”

Maki had hit the jackpot, and Tsumugi grinned widely as she began talking. She lifted her book in the air proudly, rattling off stories of princesses and great wars and witches and love and magic. She’d obviously been thinking about this a lot. Maki listened patiently, trying hard to visualise this ‘ideal future’ Tsumugi was creating for them.

“Wouldn’t it be perfect?” Tsumugi asked.

“Sure, I guess,” Maki replied. Call her pathetic or soft for it, but she didn’t want to let Tsumugi down. She wasn’t lying, she just… it was just…

Maki didn’t really want to be the villain of anything.

She just wanted peace. She just wanted a friend. Sitting here by the lake was enough .

But Maki played along, listening to Tsumugi’s stories well into the evening, watching dragonflies skim the lake and dandelion seeds drift past down the hill toward the darkening village. And as the sun sank beneath the clouds, both Tsumugi and Maki made a wish. That one day from now, they’d still be in the company of the other

Wherever that was.

Chapter Text

Maki didn't sleep. While the orphanage tucked into bed and became shrouded in darkness, Maki took a lantern and headed to the forest border. It was her duty to guard the children of course: it's not like anyone else would. Maki vowed that no one here would be lost to a wolf, not if she could help it. So she sat, tucking her legs in with her worn brown boots, and hunter's knife at hand. It was a normal night, nothing more.

Yet Maki's mind couldn't focus. She kept thinking about what Tsumugi had said. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she would fit into a school for evil. What would they even learn? Curses? Fighting? Maki could probably do that. Seemed right up her alley.

She shook her head. No, she was meant to only be humouring this for Tsumugi's sake. She would never believe in it herself. It was a fairy story , only children believed in it. Nothing would happen tonight. No one would be taken. Tsumugi would stay here, so would Maki, and they would be fine together forever.

This must be the stupidest thing Maki had even been conflicted over. It was kind of embarrassing to be honest. Nothing was-

Maki started, hands clenching. Something moved through the shadows from behind her, hiding behind trees. Something. It wasn't a wolf, Maki had plenty of experience with them. It sounded human.

Heart thumping in her chest, Maki stood up as silently as possible and crept through the forest, following the figure, leaving her lantern behind. The figure soon emerged from the forest, but appeared concealed in shadows in a way that felt unnatural. Maki's stomach turned, as the figure moved swiftly past the orphanage and toward the village. Toward…

"Tsumugi," Maki mumbled, breath hitching. She didn't believe in the supernatural, it was stupid, but… but… something about this gave her a bad feeling. An awful feeling.

Deciding to trust her gut, Maki abandoned her guard post and ran towards the village.

If the School Master was here… Maki was not letting him have Tsumugi.

Maki skidded to a stop at Tsumugi's house, heels digging up the flowers in her front yard. The figure had disappeared, but soon reappeared along with the sound of Tsumugi's cries as she was dragged out of her window.

"Okay, okay, I'll come with you! You don't have to be so rough!"

Maki sunk into the shadows, waiting for the School Master to move a few steps. Once she was fully out of sight, she ran out, jumping at the figure and kicking him hard. He released his grip on Tsumugi, who yelped in surprise.

"Maki!?"

"Are you fucking stupid!? Run!!"

Tsumugi blinked and gave no reaction, so Maki grabbed her hand violently and ran. She caught a brief glimpse of the figure's face as she turned: his hair was wispy and white, and his eyes were cold and full of mist. She'd never seen a person like this before, and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over her.

The two girls sprinted until they reached the forest, and dived into it. Tsumugi collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily, Maki backed up against a tree, looking out defensively to check they weren't followed. She could see no sign of the figure now.

"What was that for!?" Tsumugi said angrily, still out of breath.

"What?"

"That was the School Master! He came to get me to take me to my fairytale and you kicked him!"

"He was kidnapping you!" Maki shouted back incredulously. "You don't even know that's where he was taking you!"

"But-"

Tsumugi cut off mid-sentence as a deafening screech filled both of their ears. It sounded like the cry of a huge bird, and the trees shook as if in a storm. All indignation drained from Tsumugi's face, and the two girls began running deeper into the forest, as leaves and twigs showered down on them. Maki knew running into the forest was unsafe, but there wasn't really any choice. The noise got louder, and the air cracked with the sound of thunder… or perhaps giant flapping wings.

Tsumugi screamed, but before she could look at her, Maki felt something hard and cold grab her around her waist. She struggled, pulling out her knife and slashing at her captor with as much force as she could gather, but it didn't even leave a scratch, and the darkness was too thick to see. Her feet left the floor, and Maki found herself being lifted up alongside a frantic Tsumugi.

"Noooo!!! Let me go!!!"

The trees disappeared beneath them, and Maki stopped struggling. It was too late, they were too high. The moon was shining in the sky, between thick November clouds. They weren't in Gavaldon anymore.

Maki looked down, the moonlight now illuminating her. Her captor was a bird: a giant skeletal bird grasping her with its bony talons. Tsumugi noticed this too, and let out her most blood-curdling scream yet.

"Stay calm!" Maki hissed. "Don't move."

Tsumugi obeyed, wrapping her arms around the bony leg. Maki placed her hands on the top of the talons and carefully pushed herself out of its grip. Once free, balancing precariously, she grabbed the underside of the bird's ribcage and began climbing up.

Her hands were shaking, but she tried to stay calm. This was no different than climbing a tree, which she'd done many times before. In fact, it should be easier: there was more to grab on to. Her only fear was angering the bird; being dropped from this height didn't seem like a healthy idea.

Eventually Maki made it to the bird's back, and pulled herself up. It was flatter than she expected, and easy enough to balance on. She imagined you could ride a bird like this, if you were the kind of person who was into big skeleton bird things.

She looked down. They were so high now that the trees looked like brush strokes. This… this couldn't be real. She must have fallen asleep. Yeah, she was dreaming. This was a really elaborate nightmare.

She heard Tsumugi whimper, and crept across the bird to where Tsumugi was dangled. She knelt, hooking her feet over a bump of bone to keep herself sturdy.

"Reach up," Maki said, trying to sound collected, "and don't struggle, keep your body as stiff as possible."

"I'll fall!" Tsumugi half-whispered, but she obeyed slowly and pulled an arm out of the bird's grip, reaching up. Maki grabbed it with both hands, lent her body backwards and pulled. Tsumugi screamed again, and flailed to grab the ribcage of the bird as she was dragged upwards.

After giving Tsumugi a second to recover, she climbed up the bird too with Maki's help and practically tackled her in a hug. The two girls sat on the bird's back for a minute, breathing heavily.

"This is… so cruel…" Tsumugi choked. "I thought maybe they'd send a carriage, or a magic carpet… but instead I got a scary man and a demon bird that could have killed us!"

"Are you still mad at me for trying to save you now?" Maki asked.

"I'm sorry," Tsumugi said. "Thank you… I thought you didn't believe in it."

"It's nothing, I-" Maki's stomach dropped as she made a sudden realisation. "Why- Why am I here!?"

"What?" Tsumugi asked. "You're coming with me of course! I told you we'd go together."

"No- nononono! I'm not going anywhere," Maki said, letting go of Tsumugi. "This must have been a mistake, I'm not meant to be here."

"Maki, you still don't believe me? You're here now. The School Master needs two people, everyone knows that. And there are two of us. It's no mistake." Tsumugi's voice shook in a mix of fear and excitement. Maki's throat felt dry.

"But the School Master went for you, not me. He went right past me when I was in the forest."

"Well I suppose that's what the bird is for," Tsumugi said thoughtfully. "The School Master would escort the princess while the witch is taken by a skeleton bird. That sounds fitting."

"You call that escorting ?" Maki retorted. "Tsumugi I'm not going to this school, I can't!"

"Why not?"

"What about the orphanage? What will they do if I disappear? I can't do this!"

"I'm sure they'll be okay… and this is so much more important than boring village stuff anyway, we can be in a real life fairytale!!"

"I don't care. We're not staying. We're escaping and going home, both of us."

"But I don't want to, Maki! And you shouldn't want to either! Imagine, our new wonderful life-"

"Look down," Maki interrupted harshly. Tsumugi looked down, and screamed again, grabbing Maki around the waist.

"We're so high up!" she yelped.

"Do you still think this is fun and games!? It's not! This isn't a stupid light-hearted fairy story, we've been kidnapped and we're now miles away from home."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Tsumugi whimpered. "I didn't realise the transport would be so poor."

"If this is meant to be a magical school for fairytale princesses, it's certainly making a bad first impression," Maki grumbled, trying to distract herself from the situation.

Tsumugi peeked up from Maki's shoulder to look down again, and let out a gasp. "Maki! Maki Maki, look!"

Maki pulled away from Tsumugi and turned around to see what she was looking at. She had to pinch herself to believe what she saw.

Downwards, past the bird's head, stood two huge castles. One castle was pink, surrounded by fluffy clouds that looked like cotton candy. The other was dark, with a thick mud moat. Both buildings were joined by a bridge over the river, and between them sat a long tower, residing over the castles.

Maki couldn't mistake it. There wasn't any alternate explanation she could come up with now.

"That's it!! We're here, we're here! I'm going to be a princess!"

Maki felt sick. Tsumugi wasn't wrong. The School for Good, in pink, and the School for Evil, in black, loomed beneath them.

Maki really was a witch.

She studied the castles beneath them carefully, noting the layout. The two schools were connected at the bridge, so it shouldn't be hard to meet Tsumugi there if they get separated. And the front of the schools had what appeared to be a huge iron gate leading into the forest, which would be their exit. She'd just have to convince Tsumugi to leave too.

The bird dipped suddenly, towards the pink building. Tsumugi straightened her dress, then ran a hand through her hair. "I should have packed a brush… Do you think they'll provide one?"

Maki was considering grabbing Tsumugi and refusing to let go, when the bird came to a stop mid-air, hovering over the front of the school.

"Is it not going to land?" Tsumugi asked cautiously, leaning over to look down.

"Maybe it'll just turn around and take us back," Maki commented.

"Stop worrying Maki, you'll love it here," Tsumugi said reassuringly. "You'll be a lovely villain."

"Wow I feel so compli-" Maki was cut off as the bird lifted its leg and grabbed her between its talons. Maki struggled to get free, but to no avail, as she was lifted off of the bird's back.

"Huh!?" she heard Tsumugi say. "Why is it taking you? This isn't- I'm meant to be-"

The talons released. Maki fell. The world became suddenly blurry as she dropped, wind whistling past her as she tumbled downwards through the pink clouds.

In the distance, she heard Tsumugi shout, but she couldn't make out the words. She fell and fell and fell, spinning in the air, until she made contact with the ground and everything went black.

Maki stirred, her body aching. She had landed face-first on something soft, so despite her fall, she was mostly unharmed. She pushed herself up weakly by the palms. The cushion she had landed on was, in reality, a bed of thick flowers, in red and gold. She shifted onto her knees, planning to get a good look at her surroundings before making herself apparent, but upon moving the flowers began to writhe, twisting their stems around her and pulling her to her feet. She wriggled free, and patted herself down urgently to check she was still armed. Her knife was safely in her belt, so she looked up.

Maki couldn't believe what she was seeing. Girls, dozens of them, about her age, seemed to be growing right from the earth. First heads poked through the dirt, then necks, until they stood in their delicate slippers in the blooming grass and flowers. And they were all beautiful .

Their faces, some fair, some dark, were flawless and glowing with health. Their hair was all immaculate, in shades of blue or lilac or blonde, and they wore downy dresses of peach, yellow and white, like a fresh batch of Easter eggs. As the field flourished with new students, a team of what appeared to be tiny, glitter-winged fairies brushed off their dirt and tended to their trunks, emerging from the ground after them.

This was undeniably the school for good that Tsumugi had talked so much about. But… why was Maki here?? Wasn't she meant to be in the other school? And where was Tsumugi?

Maki turned around frantically, and looked out across the river. The school for evil, looming in a cloud of dark shadow, lay across the water, and above it a bird swooped, dropping something towards the school. A girl with blue hair.

"Tsumugi!" Maki shouted. There was obviously a mistake. There was no time to dwell on the reality of this: Maki had to act, and get Tsumugi out of there. A school for witches and villains? Someone like Tsumugi would never last a day.

Maki heard a faint chittering noise, and turned. There were three fairies sitting on a large leaf next to her, laughing and pointing. Maki glared, and the fairies shut up at once, looking frightened. Okay, so she wasn't on the side she'd planned for. So what? She just had to get to the bridge she'd seen before. She had to get inside, find the stairs, and then find the bridge and get to Tsumugi.

Her mind made up, Maki ducked away from the flowers and the fairies, and ran towards the school. The girls were all being guided gently by their fairies, moving along the path towards the giant glass doors at the front of the castle. As Maki ran through, heads turned, everyone whispering and eyeing her with judgement or confusion. She gritted her teeth and ignored it.

The fairies had obviously noticed Maki by now, and a group of them swooped down to grab at her. She dodged, ducking as they whizzed past her head, but more flew out to help and Maki stumbled. They grabbed her hair and she spun, trying to shake them off, but tripped and fell to the floor.

"Umm…" A childlike, high-pitched voice spoke from above Maki. "Are you sure you're in the right place?" 

Maki pushed herself up again, shaking her head to pull it from the grappling fairies. The person who spoke was a short girl in an orange and gold kimono, with large blonde pigtails. She grinned at Maki, in a sort of mocking amusement. She felt horribly self-conscious, the eyes of many people upon her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but didn't have a chance as fairies swooped down again, grabbing her shoulders and forcefully pushing her towards the school. She resisted, and the pigtailed girl laughed.

Maki had enough, and met the girl's eyes, shooting her harshest glare, and unhitched the knife from her belt. The girl screamed and backed away, as a number of girls gasped. The fairies grabbed at Maki again, and this time she spun round and swiped at them with her knife.

Commotion echoed in the background, but it didn't matter. The fairies were too fast to injure, but she had succeeded in spooking them, as they stopped grabbing her and instead fluttering agitatedly nearby. Sensing this as her chance, she sprinted towards the glass doors.

Maki slipped between horrified girls, skidding across the bridge until she slid through the doors into the stair room. She paused to take in her surroundings, and found herself frozen in a mix of amazement and horror.

The room was like something out of Cinderella. The wall opposite Maki had an enormous pink-painted E, with lovingly drawn angels and sylphs painted fluttering around its edges. The other three walls had painted letters too, spelling out the work E-V-E-R in pink and blue. The four spiral staircases were arranged symmetrically at the corners of each wall, lit by high stained glass windows. Several people lined the edges of these staircases, wearing slim, high-necked dresses or suits with colourful ties, all emblazoned with a matching silver swan. From their age Maki could deduce these to be the teachers; yet even they looked at Maki in confusion, trying to hide their nudges and whispers upon seeing her enter the foyer covered in mud and brandishing a weapon. Maki looked away from them, feeling self-conscious again, and continued mapping out the school.

One of the blue flights of stairs had HONOUR tattooed along its side, along with glass etchings of knights and kings, while the other read VALOUR, decorated with blue reliefs of hunters and archers. The two pink staircases had PURITY and CHARITY emblazoned in gold, along with delicate friezes of sculpted maidens, princesses, and kindly animals. In the centre of the room, a circular crystal pillar rose from the ground, reaching from the milky marble floor all the way up to the domed sunroof. Higher up on the obelisk were gold-framed portraits of students in gorgeous dresses, looking like kings and queens, while lower were the silver-framed sidekicks, housewives and wish-givers, and beneath them the bronze-framed footmen or servants. But regardless of whether they were a Snow Queen or a chimney sweep, Maki saw the students shared the same beautiful faces, kind smiles, and soulful eyes. Here in a glass palace in the middle of the woods, the best of life had gathered in service of Good.

And here she was, Miss Miserable, in service of lurking and death threats. All alone.

The fairies caught up to Maki and grabbed her sleeves again, but this time she didn’t struggle. The teachers knew she didn’t belong here, so did the students, and even the fairies. She just had to explain the mix-up and they’d send both her and Tsumugi home. The fairies pulled her towards a pink-haired nymph standing in front of the glass pillar, who smiled up at her.

“Hey, there’s been a mistake,” Maki said quickly, hoping the nymph could understand her. She didn’t know much about magical creatures, but it seemed intelligent enough.”It’s my friend Tsumugi who’s supposed to be here, not me.”

The nymph looked at her, nodding vaguely, and she pressed on hopefully. “I tried to stop her from coming, and I think I confused the… bird.. thing. And now I’m here and she’s in the other tower but she’s pretty and likes dresses and I’m… well, look at me. I know you’ve got a school or whatever but she has a family and we’d both just rather go home now so can you help me find her so we can leave and we won’t bother you anymore.”

Maki paused, catching her breath. The nymph considered her for a few seconds, then handed her a piece of parchment.

Maki Harukawa of Woods Beyond

GOOD, 1st Year

Purity Tower 51

Maki stared at it, stupefied. “But-”

A green-haired nymph thrust her a basket full of books before she could finish her sentence, some peeking out:

Beginners Guidebook to a Happy Ending

Winning Your Prince

The Recipe Book for Good Looks

Princess with a Purpose

Animal Speech 1: Barks, Neighs & Chirps

Then a blue-haired nymph held up her uniform: a short pink pinafore, sleeves poofed with carnations, worn over a white lace blouse with lace socks and delicate pink shoes.

Maki looked back at the other students, chattering excitedly as they examined their uniforms and flicked through their books, teaching them that they can achieve beauty and grace, talk to birds and win a chiselled prince. Then she looked down at her schedule, her name gleaming in golden ink. The teachers seemed to have relaxed, as if this schedule was confirmation that she did belong here after all.

Maki did the only thing she could think of. She wrestled free from the fairies again and shot frantically up the blue Honour staircase.

Fairies jangled furiously behind Maki as she fled, shooting past teachers and students alike. She had no time to take in what she was seeing - floors made of jade, classrooms made of candy, a library made of gold - all she was looking for was a way out. 

She reached a second staircase, her bearing on location completely lost now. A girl with golden-blonde hair was walking down it, looking deep in thought. Maki shoved her out of the way as she ran, making the girl yelp in surprise and stop to watch. Maki didn’t look back, and veered sharply right.

The wind blew her hair across her face and she stopped. She was on the bridge.

Exhaustion was starting to hit her, but she pushed forward anyway. The bridge was shielded with a thick fog, making it impossible to see to the other side. She gripped the handle of her knife tightly as she fled into the mist, hand shielding her face.

A figure moved in the fog toward her. Maki winced, panicking, when the wind cleared her face and she recognised the distinctive blue hair.

“Tsumugi!” she shouted, breaking into a sprint again. Tsumugi’s eyes widened, running towards Maki in return, until they met at the middle of the bridge. Tsumugi’s dress was torn, her glasses foggy and tears dripping down her cheeks.

“Maki, you were right this whole time,” Tsumugi sobbed. “We should never have come here, this place is all wrong. My photo was on the wall- they said I’m going to be evil- I can’t do this-! I want to go home!”

“It’s okay,” Maki mumbled breathlessly, trying to be comforting. “We’ll get out of here now. We’re gonna stay together, okay?”

“Promise?” Tsumugi whimpered, looking up at her. Her eyes were glistening, and Maki’s stomach twisted at the sight of her only friend in such distress. “Promise we’ll stay together?”

“I promise,” Maki replied, holding out her hand and meaning it with all her heart.

Tsumugi smiled weakly, taking Maki’s hand. “I’m never gonna doubt you again.”

As she spoke, more shadows appeared from behind Tsumugi - about half the height of a human, with gleaming teeth. Maki knew that shape well: wolves. Reacting quickly, Maki pulled Tsumugi towards her, backing away across the bridge. She was met by a number of sharp pin pricks in her back and shoulders.

The fairies had caught up with her. They grabbed her hair and arms, dragging her backwards, as the wolves caught Tsumugi and dug their teeth into her clothes. She screamed, struggling, and Maki swung her knife desperately at the fairies, the wolves, anything …

With one more yank, her grip on Tsumugi’s hand gave way, and Maki's friend disappeared across the bridge into the fog. She swung round at the fairies behind her, but they pulled her down, and the knife slipped out of her hand. She yelped and tried to dive towards it, but it was too late: it slid across the bridge, and plummeted over the side, down into the moat.

She heard Tsumugi scream distantly. “Let me go!! Please! It’s a mistake! THIS IS ALL A MISTAKE!!”

A deep voice growled back, echoing across the bridge.

“There are no mistakes.”

Chapter Text

Maki fell ungracefully to the carpeted floor, her discarded schedule, books and uniform flying in after her. The door slammed, and the fairies jingled as they descended Purity tower, leaving her alone.

Maki tucked her legs in, burying her head in her knees. She had no idea what to do now. She’d lost her weapon, and had no idea where to find Tsumugi or how to get there. If she tried to cross the bridge again now she’d surely be caught, and it seemed the teachers weren’t going to help either. She felt hopeless, hopeless and alone.

The room certainly didn’t help Maki’s morale. Massive, jewelled mirrors glared at her from the pink walls, elaborate murals flaunted beautiful princesses kissing dashing princes, and a glorious fresco of clouds blanketed the ceiling tiles, with smiling cupids shooting love arrows from puffy perches. Each of the room’s four beds was arched by a white silk canopy, with fresh pink sheets and mounts of pillows. Maki felt sickened by it all, and backed away across the room, sitting down on the sill of the window nook, looking down toward the School for Evil. She had a striking view, her room being on the fifth (and highest) floor of Purity, and she pushed the window open slightly to peer down at the river below. “Halfway Bay” the girls had called it as she was being dragged here. The sparkling lake around the Good Towers turned into sludgy moat as it passed into Evil territory, in a way that looked quite surreal.

Maki’s eyes followed the river between the two schools, and she leant out further to follow it back behind the castle. She almost lost her grip in surprise. Behind the School for Good and Evil was a massive blue forest. Trees, bushes, flowers bloomed in every shade of blue, from iceberg to indigo. The lush blue grove unfolded for quite a distance, connecting the yards of both schools, before it was fenced on all sides by tall gold gates. Beyond the gates, the forest returned to green and stretched into dark oblivion.

Maki’s eyes drifted back towards the castles, when they came to rest on the tower between the two schools. She’d seen it from the bird earlier, but it was different up close - it was tall, thin, and made of glinting silver bricks that reflected the moonlight. On Good’s side, fairies buzzed around it, and on Evil’s wolves with crossbows lined jutting wooden planks like footmen. But what were they guarding?

Leaning further out of the window again, Maki narrowed her eyes, squinting at the top of the tower. It was shrouded in clouds, but she could just about make out a single window at its very tip.

Then light caught the window, and she saw it. Silhouetted in the starlight.

The crooked shadow that kidnapped them, watching from the window.

There was a gentle knock on Maki’s door, and she lurched precariously out of the window, startled. Maki swung her legs around to face her room again, pulling the window closed, as the door was pushed hesitantly open. Two purple eyes blinked through the gap.

“Hi, uh…” It was the girl Maki had shoved aside on the stairs earlier. She stepped into the room, eyeing Maki like a frightened cat. She had a round face and golden hair, and was pulling a trunk behind her. Maki gripped the windowsill hard, eyeing the girl with the same amount of caution.

“My name’s Kaede,” the girl said, “I’m, um, one of your roommates? Well, probably your only roommate actually… the other two didn’t really… they’ve changed rooms, so…”

Maki tried to recall the label on her door. “ Welcome Kaede, Hiyoko, Maki and Mikan, Purity 5-1 ”. Looked like Hiyoko and Mikan were too scared to share a room with her. Probably for the best, she thought dismissively.

“I, uh, you’re… Maki, right?” Kaede asked, taking a few more steps into the room, albeit more towards the beds than Maki. Maki paused, then nodded silently. “Ah, if you don’t mind me asking, is it true? The rumours?”

“...What rumours?” Maki asked, her voice low.

“Um, people were saying that you had a… uh… knife. And you were threatening people with it.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Maki replied, as nonchalantly as she could manage. Kaede’s eyes widened.

“Do you… um… still have the… knife?”

Maki thought for a second, then nodded. “I’d recommend you don’t try me. That is, if you don’t want to die.” Kaede made a meep sound and nodded urgently.

“Absolutely, whatever you say! I’ll just sit over… here… and sleep. And not bother you. Alright?”

“Mm.” Maki responded, as Kaede laid her luggage next to one of the beds and sat down gingerly, shooting Maki fearful glances every couple of seconds. Even though she was actually unarmed, this random girl didn’t need to know that. If she could get Kaede to move out as well, that would probably be better for both of them.

Maki glanced up at the tower again. The window was empty. If I could speak to the School Master, Maki pondered, would he help us? It may be a stupid plan, given the teachers have no interest and he was the one who kidnapped them to begin with, but she was running out of ideas. Even if her and Tsumugi made it out of the school, without an escort there was no way they’d find their way home through the forest.

Kaede opened her trunk and changed into her pyjamas, as Maki left the window and walked over to the bed with her name on it in golden lettering. She sat down, tucking her feet in small and, with a glance at Kaede to check she was finished, turning out the light. She wasn’t tired, not even slightly, and the room felt unnatural and unsafe. The bed was too big, everything smelt too clean and flowery, and even in the darkness she could see moonlight glinting off of mirrors and silver frames. She didn’t have any clothes to change into, she didn’t have anything to defend herself, and she didn’t even know where she was.

What would the children think when they woke up and Maki wasn’t there? Would they even notice she was gone? Or would they be fine without her, unaware that their guardian had been whisked miles away from home? Would they think she died? Or would they realise she was taken?

She slipped off her boots and lay down, pulling the covers over her head silently. If she fell asleep now, maybe she’d wake up and find out it was all just a nightmare. Maybe…

Yet no matter how long she lay there, like a lost child in a stranger's house, she couldn’t sleep. She worried about the children, all alone without anyone to protect them from the forest. She worried about Tsumugi, stuck by herself in a castle full of villains. And she worried about the morning, when she’d be expected to go to class in a frilly dress with a bunch of fairytale princesses, with no prospect of escape.

Time ticked by, hour by hour, until eventually the first rays of sunlight peaked in through the window, and Maki’s roommate stirred. Maki sat up, staring vaguely outside, as Kaede dressed into her uniform and brushed her hair, humming. She caught Maki’s eye watching her and promptly fell silent.

“Um… you should probably get dressed,” Kaede suggested hesitantly. “The Welcoming is in a few minutes.”

“...The Welcoming?” Maki asked.

“Yeah. Both schools meet in the Theater of Tales to go over rules and everything. I hear we’ll get to meet the princes there too!” Kaede sounded excited at the last part, but upon seeing Maki’s grimace realised she probably wasn’t too interested in potential suitors, and went back to brushing her hair.

Maki’s spirit was, however, slightly lifted. If both schools were meeting there, then she’d get to see Tsumugi. If she'd survived the night, of course . Maki watched as Kaede finished with her hair and stood up. The uniform suited her well, her golden hair flowing down over the lace frills, and she smiled at herself in the mirror before turning to Maki again. “Are you coming?”

Maki shrugged. “I’ll be there later.” Kaede seemed relieved she wouldn’t have to accompany Maki, and, running her fingers through her hair a final time, left the room.

Maki stared at her uniform, her throat dry with dread. She didn’t have a choice if she wanted to go to the Welcoming. Turning to face the wall, away from all the mirrors, she slipped off her grubby shirt and jeans, and stepped into her new dress.

A minute later, Maki looked down at herself uncomfortably. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn short sleeves, and they revealed her pale, scarred arms in a way that made her feel very exposed. The lace collar made her neck itch, the shoes were unsturdy with no straps and barely any sole, and the carnations lining her sleeves smelt unbearably of floral perfume. It didn’t feel like her clothes, they belonged to someone like Tsumugi who loved lace and flowers and sweet smells.

But she had no choice. This was her only chance at seeing Tsumugi and escaping this cursed place. All she had to do was blend in.

Maki took a deep breath and cracked open the door.

Fifty beautiful girls in pink pinafores packed the hallway, giggling, gossiping, trading dresses, shoes, bags, bangles, creams, and anything else they had brought in their gigantic trunks. Through the hubbub, Maki glimpsed stairs at the other end. A confident stroll and she’d be gone before they saw her. But she couldn’t move.

She couldn’t do this. She was Maki Harukawa, grumpy orphan girl who kept to herself and lurked in the shadows. She could never fit in with people like this, who've made friends in minutes as if it were the simplest thing in the world. If this was Good, maybe she did belong in Evil .

Maki slammed the door again in frustration, ripping the petals from her sleeves and throwing her stupid shoes out the window. She sank against the wall and closed her eyes, head reeling.

After a few minutes, Maki lifted her head. She flinched at her reflection in the mirror. She looked so… scared? Vulnerable?

Maki shook her head, closing her eyes again. She was better than this. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t like these people. But she didn’t have to be. She was going home soon. Since when did she care what people thought of her? Besides, she was Maki Harukawa. The one thing Maki could do was protect people, the one thing she’d swore she’d always do for those she cared about.

And right now, Tsumugi needed protecting.

Maki pulled herself up, glaring at her reflection. Nothing else mattered now. Taking a deep breath, Maki slipped her feet back into her trustworthy brown boots and opened the door again. Jaw set, ignoring every urge in her body telling her to back away and hide, Maki stepped out into the pink parade.

The Theater of Tales was huge, with an entrance on each side for the respective school. Maki’s side contained lines of pink and blue pews, crystal friezes, and glittering bouquets of glass flowers. The east doors, from which lines of students in dark clothes and shadowy faces entered, led towards warped wooden benches, stone carvings of murder and torture, and stalactites dangling from the ceiling like daggers. The silver marble aisle dividing the two sides was guarded by a line of fairies and wolves, and Maki immediately strayed toward it, trying to spot Tsumugi on the other side.

She didn’t have to watch for long. From amongst the crowds of tattered clothes and dark glares, Maki spotted the blue hair of her friend as she shuffled in, trying to get a look at the princesses lining the other side. Maki watched as Tsumugi made a dive towards the silver aisle, trying to get the girls’ attention, but Good seemed to have little interest in her side of the theater. Thinking quickly, Maki slipped over and grabbed Tsumugi’s arm, dunking beneath a rotted bench at the very back of the room before the guards could spot them.

Tsumugi struggled for a second, then realised who had grabbed her. “Maki!” she exclaimed in a relieved whisper, and she tackled the girl into a hug. Maki wriggled uncomfortably, gently prying Tsumugi’s arms from her.

“Look, I found the School Master’s tower,” Maki said. “It’s in the moat and surrounded by guards, but it seems like a good place to start with getting-”

“Oh my gosh,” Tsumugi interrupted, and Maki looked up to see Tsumugi gazing at Maki’s uniform. “That’s perfect! The lacework is truly expert, and the skirt is about the right length that-”

“Tsumugi, are you even listening to me?” Maki said, feeling suddenly frustrated along with how self-conscious she felt in a dress.

“Ah, right, the School Master’s tower,” Tsumugi said hurriedly. “I was listening, I promise! It’s just… can’t we find a way to swap schools?”

“What?”

“I mean, maybe the mistake wasn’t only the level of transport or anything. It’s more likely to be on a management level, like someone wrote our names the wrong way round on a list right at the start. We’ve just got to prove that I’m good and you’re evil and-”

“But you said we’re going home!” Maki said.

“I know… and if that doesn’t work we will! But this is my dream, Maki, I can’t just give up.” Tsumugi’s voice was almost pleading, but Maki couldn’t bring herself to feel any sympathy.

“I told you, I’m not staying here Tsumugi! I can’t! I have responsibilities and I don’t want to go to a stupid school-”

“You might like it! The School for Evil is totally your kind of thing, Maki! It’s all dark and-” Tsumugi abruptly fell silent, blinking. Maki glared at her for a second, but dropped it as Tsumugi rolled out from under the bench to the pink pew in front, and peered out at the Good side. Maki followed, confused.

“Tsumugi, what on earth-” Tsumugi shushed her urgently, and Maki fell silent as she noticed what Tsumugi had. What every evergirl had. From the hall, the sound of stomping boots and the clash of steel echoed, and–

The west doors flew open to a crowd of handsome boys, shining swords drawn in battle. Shiny skin peeked through light blue sleeves and stiff collars; tall navy boots matched high-cut waistcoats and knotted slim ties, each embroidered with a single gold initial. Some of the boys fought playfully, crossing blades and pushing eachother against the pews. Other smiled at the evergirls, pulling roses from their shirts and throwing them to the one who caught their eye. Many of the girls clamoured for attention in return, or exchanged whispers with eachother about the selection of boys in front of them.

Maki felt like she was going to throw up. 

She felt Tsumugi brush against her arm and turned to her. She was leaning towards the movement, pupils wide underneath her glasses, her face painted with the same longing she always had when daydreaming.

In the decayed pews to the east, the villains booed the princes, brandishing banners with “NEVERS RULE!” and “EVERS STINK!”. A few princes blew sarcastic kisses to the villains in return, making them jeer even louder. Finally, they prepared to take their seats, when suddenly the west doors slammed open again-

And one more walked in.

Fluffy hair shining purple as it caught the light from the crystal pillars, amethyst eyes sparkling and full of life, cheeks coated in dappled freckles as if the focus of a master's portrait, he glistened with a noble sheen that set him completely apart from the other boys. The stranger glanced at the confused everboys, drew his own sword… and grinned.

Several everboys came at him at once, and he confidently disarmed them, sending their weapons sliding across the marble floor. He seemed to be barely trying, shrugging off every attempt with a lopsided smile that made the girls gape at him. Tsumugi leaned even further out of the pew, mouth open, completely entranced. Maki hoped he’d impale himself.

Eventually the fights grew longer, the stranger no longer being able to shrug them aside. Yet something about the way he fought made it seem no less effortless, like he was still winning by charm alone. Maki saw right through it, but the boys seemed just as stunned. Eventually, the stranger turned to his final opponent, a blue-haired boy who didn’t fight, but rather lowered his sword in respect. The others followed, understanding what it meant. The princes now had a king.

Seeing his impression had been made, the purple-haired boy sheathed his sword and gazed across the sea of girls, pulling a rose from his shirt as the others had. All of the good-manners the princesses had been showing until now was instantly forgotten, and they all jumped up, waving handkerchiefs and jostling like geese, each one wanting to be the one with the prince’s rose. The boy smiled and lofted his rose high into the air-

Maki noticed too late that Tsumugi had sprinted out from under the pew.

Tsumugi dashed into the aisle, leaping over the pink pews, fingers stretched out, as Maki followed desperately, trying to grab her. Tsumugi lunged for the rose, glasses catching the light-

And caught a wolf instead.

Tsumugi was yanked hard sideways, thrown back to the Evil side, and Maki, who had been leaning towards her, fell hard on the floor. Her head hit marble, hand outstretched in front of her.

She was still for a second, suddenly aware how much of a scene she’d made, and also feeling dizzy from her fall. But concern for Tsumugi drew her to lift her head.

Maki recoiled in horror. The rose lay in her open palm.

She backed away quickly, leaving the rose on the floor as she got to her feet. Both sides of the hall were staring at them, and the purple-haired prince stared too, looking first at Tsumugi in her horrid black robes, then at Maki in pink, rose at her feet. Maki slid into the nearest pew, and the girl next to her shifted away worriedly.

In her pew on the opposite side, Maki could see Tsumugi continue to gaze at the prince long after he sat down, despite her attempts to get her attention. She knew how much Tsumugi had wanted this, but Maki couldn’t stay here. She just wanted to go home with her friend, and for everything to be normal again. For it to all be okay.

Yet Tsumugi wasn’t like that. She’d always wanted more. All Maki wanted was a simple life again, but Tsumugi…

Tsumugi wanted a prince.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the School for Good and Evil,” said one of the teachers, smiling warmly.

Mind still on Tsumugi, Maki tried her best to focus on the two women standing on the silver stone stage. On the left stood a grandmotherly looking woman, with dark skin, rosy cheeks and a glittering golden dress, looking over the students with a satisfied warmth. On the right stood a younger woman, with a pointed face, red hair and bloodless skin stretched over her bones like a drum as she glared across the crowd. It was clear at only a glance which school each teacher came from.

“I’m Professor Clarissa Dovey, Dean of the School for Good,” said the smiling woman.

“And I’m Lady Lesso, Dean of the School for Evil, and the one you’ll be answering to before the Doom Room if you don’t shut your mouths while I’m talking.”

A number of whispering students fell quiet. Everyone seemed intimidated by Lady Lesso, even the villains.

“Thank you, Lesso,” said Professor Dovey. “So let me first remind you why it is that you’re here. All children are born with souls that are either Good or Evil. Some souls are purer than others-”

“And some souls are total mess,” Lady Lesso continued harshly.

“But,” Dovey said, “all souls are fundamentally Good or Evil. Those who are Evil cannot make their souls Good, and those who are Good cannot make their souls Evil.”

“So just because Good is winning everything doesn’t mean you can switch sides,” Lesso snapped.

“Every child in the Endless Woods dreams of being picked to attend our school. But the School Master chose you,” said Professor Dovey, scanning both sides. “For he looked into your hearts and saw something very rare. Pure Good and Pure Evil.”

“If we’re so pure, then what’s that?”

A small boy with dark violet hair stood from Evil and pointed at Tsumugi.

An Evergirl with a wavy brown ponytail pointed to Maki. “We have one too!” Maki flinched, as eyes turned to her once more.

“Ours smells like flowers!” yelled a villain.

“Ours fought the fairies!”

“Ours cries like a damsel!”

“Ours tried to stab me!”

Tsumugi glanced at Maki, horrified.

“Every class, we bring two Readers here from the Woods Beyond,” Professor Dovey declared. “They may know our world from pictures and books, but they know our rules just as well as you. They have the same talents and goals, the same potential for glory. And they too have been some of our finest students.”

Doubtful whispers spread through the crowd, and Maki shrunk into herself, staring at her knees.

“They are no different than the rest of you,” Dovey added, trying to settle the commotion.

“They look different than the rest of us,” commented a tall, blonde villain.

Students from both schools murmured in agreement.

“Do not question the School Master’s selections,” said Lady Lesso. “All of you will respect each other, whether you’re Good or Evil, whether you’re from a famous tale family or a failed one, whether you’re a sired prince or a Reader. All of you are chosen to protect the balance between Good and Evil. For once the balance is compromised…” Her face darkened maliciously. “Our world will perish .”

A hush fell over the hall. Maki grimaced. The last thing she needed was this world perishing while they were still in it.

A black-haired never raised her hand. "What," Lady Lesso snapped.

"Why doesn't Evil win anymore?"

Professor Dovey immediately began peace-making again, but it was too late. The villains were rumbling.

"Yeah, if we're so balanced," yelled the violet-haired Never, "who do we always die ?"

"We never get good weapons!" shouted a girl with blonde pigtails.

"Our henchmen betray us!"

"Our Nemesis always had an army!"

The tall blonde boy got to his feet. “Evil hasn’t won in two hundred years .”

Following his lead, a crowd of Nevers leapt up, shouting and hurling food, shoes and anything else they could get their hands on at the Evers, who screamed and cowered from the debris. Maki saw Tsumugi sink into her seat, as if trying to make it clear that she wasn’t any part of the chaos.

Wolves and fairies pounced on the angry mob, but they had little effect. Maki wondered whether she could slip over to Tsumugi again, but decided against it, realising she’d never get away with vanishing, not with the attention she’d drawn to herself earlier. She turned away from Tsumugi, waiting for the crowd to shut up, when she locked eyes with the purple-haired prince from earlier. He was staring at her through the commotion with a bewildered curiosity that irritated Maki, and she shot him her sharpest glare.

“ENOUGH!” Lady Lesso shouted, and the room fell instantly silent. “Are you Nevers or are you pigs?!”

The villains looked up dumbly.

“Now sit down before I send all of you for an introductory visit to the Doom Room.”

They sat without argument, and the guards returned to their places meekly.

Lesso scowled down at the villains. “Maybe if you stopped complaining, you’d produce someone of consequence. But all I hear is excuse after excuse. Have you produced one decent villain since the Great War? One villain capable of defeating their Nemesis? No wonder Readers come here confused! No wonder they want to be Good!”

Maki saw kids from both sides sneak Tsumugi sympathetic glances.

“Students,” Professor Dovey said, her warm voice contrasting Lesso’s, “all of you have only one concern here. Do the best work you can. The finest of you will become princes and warlocks, knights and witches, queens and sorcerers… So please, don’t let us down.”

“Because you won’t want to know what happens if you do.” Lady Lesso added, with a sense of finality to her statement. Students glanced at each other across the aisle, acknowledging the high stakes.

“So if there are no further interruptions,” Professor Dovey said, smiling again, “let’s review the rules.”

“Rule thirteen. Halfway Bridge and tower roofs are forbidden to students,” Lady Lesso lectured on stage. “The gargoyles have orders to kill intruders on sight and have yet to grasp the difference between students and intruders-”

Maki wasn’t exactly paying attention. It was hard to focus over the suffocating smell of perfume, and her mind was still on what Tsumugi had been saying. Surely her attitude would be temporary, right? She was overwhelmed by the magic and wonder of the place at the moment, but she’d realise soon enough that they’d be better off at home. Having their conversation in a place like this certainly wasn’t helping. They’d have to meet somewhere, to discuss a plan without distractions. But where? The bridge she’d seen earlier? Maki assumed that it had to be Halfway Bridge, which meant it was off-limits, but that didn’t really dissuade her much.

Maki fidgeted, trying to think of a way to get Tsumugi’s attention. There was nothing in her pockets, and her dress was running out of lace to rip off. Eventually, she settled on slipping her foot out of her boot, and pulled off her sock. She screwed it into a ball, aimed carefully, then lobbed it across the hall into Tsumugi’s lap.

Tsumugi jumped slightly, and spun around to look at Maki, looking disgusted. The Nevergirl beside Tsumugi turned around too, glancing first at Maki, then at the sock, before bursting out into a fit of obnoxious laughter.

“Is there a problem?” Lesso snapped, and the girl fell silent, still grinning at Maki. Maki ignored her, focusing on Tsumugi.

“What?” Tsumugi mouthed across the hall.

“We need to meet,” Maki mouthed back. Tsumugi opened her mouth to reply, but caught a sharp glare from Lady Lesso and shut it instantly, turning apologetically away from Maki. Maki gave up bitterly.

“Your first year will consist of required courses to prepare you for three major tests: the Trial by Tale, the Circus of Talents, and the Snow Ball,” Lady Lesso said coolly. “After the first year, you will be divided into two tracks: one for villain and hero Leaders, and one for henchmen and helper Followers.”

“For the next two years, Leaders will train to fight their future Nemeses,” Professor Dovey continued, “and Followers will develop skills to defend their future Leaders. Finally, after the third year, Leaders will be paired with Followers, and you will all move into the Endless Woods to begin your journeys…”

Maki tried to pay attention, but it was hard when she could still feel the purple-haired prince staring at her. She hunched over, picking at the glittering silver swan crest on her dress.

“Now as to how we determine your future tracks, we do not give ‘marks’ here at the School for Good and Evil,” said Lady Lesso. “Instead, for every test or challenge, you will be ranked within your classes so you know exactly where you stand. There are 120 students in each school and we have divided you into six groups of 20 for your classes. After each challenge, you will be ranked from 1 to 20. If you are ranked in the top 5 consistently, you will end up on the Leader track. Everyone who falls below that will end up a follower.”

Students on both aisles murmured, placing bets on who would end up at the bottom of their classes.

“I must add that anyone who receives three 20s in a row will immediately be failed,” said Dovey gravely. “As I said, given the exceptional incompetence required to earn three straight last-place ranks, I am confident this rule will not apply to any of you.”

Maki felt most of the Evers look at her.

“Your swan crest will be visible on your heart at all times,” Dovey continued. “Any attempt to conceal or remove it will likely result in injury or embarrassment, so please refrain.”

Confused, Maki watched students on both sides trying to cover the glittering swan on their uniforms. Mimicking them, she placed her palm over her chest. Instantly, the swan vanished from her dress and appeared on her hand. Wincing, she ran her other hand over it, but it was embedded into her skin like a tattoo. She lifted her hand, and the swan reappeared on her uniform again. Maki shivered, uncomfortably reminded how unnatural this whole place felt.

“Furthermore, as the Theater of Tales is in Good this year, Nevers will be escorted here for all joint school functions,” said Professor Dovey. “Otherwise, you must remain in your schools at all times.”

The small violet-haired Never raised his hand, a mischievous grin on his face. Maki hated him already. “Why is the Theater in Good?”

Professor Dovey waved her hand dismissively. “Whoever wins the Circus of Talents gets the Theater in their school.”

“And Good hasn’t lost a Circus or Trial by Tale or, now that I think about it, any competition at this school for the last two hundred years,” Lady Lesso snarled, glaring down at the Nevers. The villains began grumbling again, but more timidly this time, still conscious of their Dean’s threat, whatever it meant.

Professor Dovey attempted to calm the room again, then continued, talking about curfew times and lunch and other boring things. The Evers seemed to be zoning out, and the Nevers were too disgruntled to care.

After a while of discomfort, an Evergirl with long platinum blonde hair raised her hand. “Are Groom Rooms open yet?”

All of a sudden the Evers looked awake.

“I was planning to discuss Groom Rooms next assembly,” Professor Dovey said.

“Is it true that only certain kids can use them?” another Evergirl asked, this one with shorter red hair and freckles.

Dovey sighed. “Groom Rooms in the Good Towers are only available to Evers ranked in the top half of their class on any given day. Rankings will be posted on the Groom Room doors and throughout the castle. Please do not abuse Albemarle if he’s behind on posting them. Now, back to the curfew rules…”

Maki saw Tsumugi whisper to the girl next to her, then put her hand in the air. “Excuse me,” she asked, “but do Nevers have Groom Rooms too?”

Lady Lesso pursed her lips. “No. Nevers have Doom Rooms.”

“Where we get our hair done?”

“Where you’re beaten and tortured,” replied Lady Lesso stonily. Tsumugi visibly gulped and shrunk back down.

“Now, curfew will occur at precisely-”

“How do you become Class Captain?” said the pigtailed girl next to Tsumugi. It was hard to tell whether she was asking from genuine curiosity, or just to avoid another speech about curfew.

“Okay, fine. But if you all flunk curfew inspections, don’t blame me,” Professor Dovey sighed. “After the Trial by Tale, the top-ranked students in each school will be named Class Captain. These two students will have special privileges, including private study with select faculty, field trips into the Endless Woods, and the chance to train with renowned heroes and villains. As you know, our Captains have gone on to be some of the greatest legends in the Endless Woods.”

Maki sank down into her seat, losing interest again.

“This year you will have six required classes in your individual schools,” Dovey went on. “The seventh class, Surviving Fairy Tales, will include both Good and Evil and takes place in the Blue Forest behind the schools. Also please note, both Beautification and Etiquette are for Good girls only, while Good boys will have Grooming and Chivalry instead.”

Maki choked slightly, horrified. If she didn’t have enough reasons to escape, the thought of a Beautification class was the last straw. They had to get out of here now . Maki sat up, and turned to the girl next to her; she had long silky azure hair and doll-like eyes, and was fixing her lipstick in a pocket mirror.

“Mind if I borrow your lipstick?” Maki asked quickly.

The girl took one look at Maki’s ashy, cracked lips and thrust it at her. “Keep it.”

“Breakfast and supper will take place in your school supper halls, but you’ll eat lunch together in the Clearing,” Lady Lesso said, striding across the stage. “That is, if you’re mature enough to handle the privilege.”

Maki waited until the girl turned her attention away, then pulled off her other white sock. It took her a few seconds to figure out how the lipstick worked, then she leant down at the sock on her lap  and carefully began spelling out words in pink.

“The Endless Woods beyond the school gates are barred to first-year students,” said Lesso. “And though that rule may fall on deaf ears for the most adventurous of you, let me remind you of the most important rule of all. One that will cost you your lives if you fail to obey.”

Maki held her hand still for a second, listening.

“ Never go into the Woods after dark ,” said Lady Lesso.

Professor Dovey smiled, putting her hands together. “That is all, you may return to your schools. Breakfast is in fifteen minutes, so please don’t be late.”

Maki hurriedly finished her message and stuffed the lipstick in her pocket, as the Evers around her rose from their seats. She stepped out into the aisle amongst the crowd, keeping her eye on Tsumugi heading down the other side. Upon reaching the doors, Maki aimed between students and threw her sock at Tsumugi, marred by a lopsided lipstick message: “BRIDGE, 9 AM.”

But Tsumugi shook the sock away, barely giving it a glance. Maki realised in horror that her eyes were focused not on Maki, the teachers, or even the doors, but on the purple-haired prince who threw the rose, striding alongside the other Everboys. The sock fell to the floor limply, where a Never kicked it beneath a mouldy pew and out of sight, leaving nothing but a smudge of pink on the stone.

Maki swore under her breath, sickened by the lovestruck look on her friend’s face. Fine , she thought, gritting her teeth.

If Tsumugi wouldn’t meet her halfway, she’d do it herself .

Maki peered out of her room, watching fifty princesses dash around the fifth floor, eagerly getting ready for breakfast. What more they had to do Maki hadn’t a clue, but obviously the prospect of eating alongside the princes for the first time called for a full makeover. They flurried into each other’s rooms, glossing lips, poofing hair, buffing nails and trailing so much makeup that Maki felt like she might faint.

“...Are you leaving then, or…?” Kaede asked from her bed, where she was brushing her hair again. Maki sighed, closing the door.

“Not yet. Too crowded. I think if I have to breathe in any more cherry or lavender or Candy Florale I’ll choke.”

Kaede pushed her own bottle of pink fragrance behind a pillow sheepishly. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” she said, in a tone that Maki supposed was meant to be reassuring.

“I’m not planning on staying long enough to get used to it,” Maki snapped. Kaede looked at her curiously.

“Um, you’re a Reader, right?”

“That’s what the teachers called me,” Maki said coldly. “I don’t think anyone’s planning to tell me what that means.”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Kaede asked. Maki glared at her. “Uh, Readers are like, non-fairytale folk. That’s what I’ve heard anyway. Apparently they don’t use magic or have kingdoms or fairies or anything, but they read about us in books instead. I wasn’t sure if I believed in Readers before now, but I guess if you’re one then anything is possible. Mum always said that Readers are the reason the sun rises every morning.”

Maki stared at Kaede, feeling horribly alien. “Well then I’d better hurry up and get home so I can raise the sun for you,” she grumbled.

“The teachers don’t seem to think you’re in the wrong place,” Kaede said doubtfully. “How exactly are you planning to get out? Rumor says the only one who can get to the Reader world is the School Master.”

“I’ll go see the School Master then,” Maki said, walking back towards the door. Kaede frowned.

“And how are you gonna do that?”

“You’ll see,” Maki said, voice full of a confidence she could only wish she actually felt. She opened the door, and closed her eyes for a second, gathering herself.

“Good luck?” Kaede said from behind her, as Maki stepped out into the corridor and slipped into the crowd, holding her breath and trying to blend in.

Maki walked peacefully down the stairs with the other girls towards breakfast, as they chatted and giggled. However, instead of rushing like she did before the Welcoming, she watched carefully as they descended, trying to recall the brief glimpse of the layout she got before, scanning the shimmering pink and blue walls. At the second floor, Maki slowed, hanging behind while watching the fairies along the bannisters.

Biting her lip, she waited until she was sure no one was watching, then as quietly as possible she vanished down the corridor. Luckily her memory served her well, and as she slipped through a doorway she found herself, once again, standing high on the bridge.

Halfway Bridge looked different in the daytime, and she had a clear view of the School Master’s tower looming across the moat. She couldn’t see a staircase from where she stood, so getting up there seemed like it would be a challenge, but that problem could wait. Finding Tsumugi was number one.

Maki pressed on across the bridge, trying to piece together the next part of her plan. Yet she noticed  quickly that the further she walked, the more obscured the other school became. Previously she'd attributed it to the darkness, but now it was clear that a thick, blinding mist hung in her path.

She held a hand in front of herself for safety, but continued onwards.

Her hand touched something hard.

Maki's heart skipped a beat, blinking through the fog. As she did so, a figure began to appear, glowing unnaturally. Maki was about to back away when she recognised the figure: it was herself.

She seemed to be looking at her own reflection, reflected in the mist from an ethereal, blueish border separating her from the other half of the bridge. It was a near-perfect replica of herself, sporting the same torn pink dress and red scrunchies. But it was staring right at her with a confident smile that Maki could be quite certain didn't belong to her.

"What… are you?" Maki asked slowly to her reflection.

Her reflection smiled back. "Good with Good, Evil with Evil, back to your tower before there's upheaval."

Maki glared at herself. “But I need to get through.”

“Good with Good, Evil with Evil, back to your tower before there's serious upheaval.”

“But I’m not Good!” Maki yelled frustratedly. Her reflection smirked at her patronisingly.

“You aren’t?”

Maki thought quickly. “Was what I– Was what we did last night Good?”

Her reflection frowned. “What did we do?”

Maki folded her arms. “Threatened a princess with a knife.”

Her reflection gasped. " Definitely Evil ," it said, and vanished in a poof of light.

Maki hesitated for a second, then reached a finger out again. The barrier was gone.

By the time the fairy patrol made it onto the Bridge, the fog had erased her tracks.

The moment Maki stepped foot into Evil, she was met by a strong feeling of familiarity. Crouched behind a statue of a bald, bony witch in the dark foyer, she scanned across cracked ceilings, singed walls, serpentine staircases, shadow-masked halls… In contrast to Good, this place was almost refreshing. Maki understood darkness. This was her thing.

With the coast clear of wolves, Maki snuck through the main corridor, soaking in portraits of villainous alumni. This school wasn't built on teetering stilts of romance and beauty and grace; villains sought for revenge, malice and pain. Things Maki, like all villains, had felt the temptation for countless times. How easy it would have been to burn down the church at night, to tell the villagers "maybe you shouldn't have left me to rot".

She suddenly heard chatter and shrank behind a wall. A wolf came into view, leading a group of Nevergirls down a staircase emblazoned with the word VICE. Maki heard them twitter about their first classes, catching the words "Henchmen", "Curses", "Uglification". Maki looked down at herself, prickling with shame. She doubted even Uglification could beat how ridiculous she looked in this stupid dress.

Yet as she watched the Nevergirls pass, she saw what they had in common. Sallow bodies, deep-set eyes, mouthed twisted with bitterness and fists curled in pent-up rage. Maki noticed with a shock that she, too, was holding her hand in a fist. She too had the same eyes, same drained complexion, same glare that flickered with hate.

But these girls were wicked, right? Villainous, evil, conniving. Maki didn't feel like any of that. But then she remembered Tsumugi's words.

Different usually turns out Evil.

Panic gripped her throat. That's why the shadow didn't kidnap a second child. Maki was right where he wanted her to be.

She was meant to be here all along.

Maki screwed her eyes shut. She didn't want to be like these people. She didn't want to be a villain. She wanted to find her friend and go home.

With no clue where to look, Maki hurtled up a staircase marked MALICE, stopping periodically to dive behind a statue or tapestry. Eventually Maki reached the sixth floor, where she found a corridor lined with doors. Trying to avoid celebrating prematurely, she searched quickly for Tsumugi's room.

The sound of footsteps and voices came up the staircase, and Maki blanched, panicked. Then she saw it at the end of the hall. The last door had been graffitied with a caricature of a princess, splashed with painted words: "LOSER, READER, EVER LOVER".

Maki pounded on the door. "Tsumugi, it's me!" she hissed.

Doors started opening at the other end of the hall.

Maki tried the door handle, but it didn't open. " Tsumugi! " she said desperately, starting to doubt she was actually in there.

The Nevergirls down the hall stepped out, talking, one glance away from spotting Maki. Running out of options, she took a running start and shoved her whole body weight against the door. Maki stumbled in as it swung open, then slammed shut behind her.

"You had better listen to me right now because I went through so much to-!" She stopped.

Tsumugi was crouched over a puddle on the floor, eyes distant in daydream, singing as she applied blush in her reflection.

" I'm a pretty princess, sweet as a pea,

Waiting for my prince to marry me… "

There were two other girls in the room, both sitting together on a bed at the far end watching Tsumugi.

One of them, with short black hair, looked up at Maki. "She flooded our floor."

"To do her makeup," the second girl added. Maki recognised her as the blonde-haired girl with the obnoxious laugh who sat next to Tsumugi in the Welcoming. "Whoever heard of anything so evil ?" She contemplated for a second. "The song's fine though. Wish it was about something cooler, but it'll do. Better than making Mukuro sing." She examined her fingernails vainly.

"Is my lipstick even?" Tsumugi said vaguely, squinting into the puddle.

The blonde girl sighed, stood up, then waved at Maki, grinning. "Junko Enoshima, Grand Witch of Despair" she said, then gestured at the other girl. "And this is my sister Mukuro."

Maki glared at them coldly, not knowing what opinion to have of Nevers yet. Mukuro looked much more like the other Nevers, yet Junko had an aura of superiority that made her far more chilling than her sister. Maki turned back to Tsumugi, who finished preening herself and glanced up.

"Maki!?" she exclaimed, startled. Maki glared at her too. As much as she liked Tsumugi right now in comparison to everyone else, she couldn't help being pissed that she could just zone out at a time like this.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Tsumugi said cheerfully, standing up. "You're just in time!"

“I- What?” Maki replied incredulously.

“Hurry now, your Uglification class starts in ten minutes and you don’t want to make a poor first impression!”

Maki stared at her.

“Of course,” Tsumugi said, “we have to switch clothes first. I’ve been simply dying to get out of this manky uniform.”

“And I’m simply dying to get home!” Maki snapped, glowering. “We’re not going to class, we’re going to the School Master’s tower now , before we get stuck here forever.”

“Come on now, Maki,” Tsumugi said softly, tugging at Maki’s dress. “We can’t just break into some tower in broad daylight. There’s no harm in at least going to class until nightfall. What lesson do I have first, Beautification?”

Maki wrenched away from Tsumugi’s grip. “Okay, that’s it ! Now listen to-”

“You’ll blend right in here,” Tsumugi smiled, studying Maki next to her roommates. “It’s perfect!” She clapped her hands together, and Maki’s temper faltered.

“...You really think I’m a villain?” she asked.

“Look at this place, Maki,” Tsumugi said gently. “You like doom and gloom. You like suffering and unhappiness and, um… sharp things. You’ll be happy here.”

“We agree,” said a voice behind Maki, and she turned in surprise. Junko grinned at her. “You come live here…”

“...And she drowns in the lake,” Mukuro scowled at Tsumugi.

“I liked you the moment I saw you,” Junko cooed, cuddling a stuffed bear close to her chest.

“You obviously belong here with us,” Mukuro said. Maki felt a cold shiver echo down her. Did they really want to be her friend? Was Tsumugi right? Could being a villain make her… happy ?

Maki’s stomach churned. She didn’t want to be Evil, not if Tsumugi was Good. They had to get out of this place, before it tore them apart. Yet… she was starting to run out of fight. Tsumugi wasn’t wrong: trying to break into the tower at this time was a fool’s plan. Waiting until nightfall was the most reasonable choice, and if they wanted to survive class they needed to swap schools now.

She didn’t really have a choice.

“There we go,” Tsumugi said soothingly, as Maki gritted her teeth, void of argument. “Now, hurry up and give me your dress!”

Begrudgingly, Maki undressed, slipping into Tsumugi’s tattered, dark uniform. It was so similar to Maki’s unusable attire that she couldn’t help feeling comforted, after being stuck in the awful Good uniform for so long. Tsumugi twirled in the pink dress, which fitted her perfectly too.

“What did you do to this poor dress, Maki?” Tsumugi asked, picking at the torn lace on the sleeves. “And what happened to the shoes?”

“Threw them out the window,” Maki muttered, scuffing her brown boots on the stone floor.

Tsumugi sighed. “I guess I’ll have to fish around for some spares before class.” She suddenly smiled brightly. “But no matter! For once, shoes aren’t the most important thing in my life! I have a prince to catch!”

Maki spluttered. “A what-!? Tsumugi! We’re going home tonight, remember!?”

Tsumugi turned to Maki, face full of whimsy again. “I know, but this is my one chance, Maki! I’ve wanted this my whole life!”

“You haven’t even spoken to anyone yet!” Maki lashed, as Tsumugi walked toward the door.

“You don’t have to speak to someone to know he’s your true love, Maki.”

“If you’re talking about that dumbass purple-haired prince in the Welcoming, you didn’t even catch his rose!”

“He was looking at me, Maki!”

“‘Cause he thinks you’re a lunatic? He looked at me too, but I’m not about to start swooning!”

“Sorry,” Tsumugi said, with a pitying smile,”but you’re not a princess, so you’d never understand. Me and Kaito are meant to be, I can feel it in my heart.”

“Oh, so you’re on first name terms now, are you!?” Maki shouted, seething with anger. “I didn’t agree to swap uniforms so you and Kaito could go on a date!”

“Too late now, I guess,” Tsumugi said, turning away from Maki and opening the door. “Goodbye, evil! Hello, love!”

“Get back here!” Maki yelled, pursuing Tsumugi in pink through the hall’s hordes of black. Shocked by an Ever in their midst, Nevers swarmed around Tsumugi and started to beat her about the head with books, bags, and shoes-

“No! She’s one of us!”

All the Nevers turned to the small violet-haired Never from the Welcoming. He pointed at Maki.

“That’s the Ever!”

The Nevers unleashed a new war cry and mobbed Maki, as Tsumugi disappeared urgently down the stairs. Maki scraped through the mob with a few well-placed kicks and slid down the bannister to cut Tsumugi off. She narrowly missed Tsumugi’s pink collar, grazing her blue hair with her fingertips. Sprinting after her, the two girls careened out onto the Bridge.

Maki slowed, losing hope, as the fog made it near-impossible to grab Tsumugi now. Though hazy, Maki could make out the glint of Tsumugi’s glasses as she looked back at Maki, glowing with joy.

“Maki, he’s King Arthur’s son,” Tsumugi gushed. “A real-life prince ! What should I say to him? How do I show him I’m the one?”

Maki tried to hide her hurt by gritting her teeth savagely. “And if he does love you? You’ll stay with him, and leave me here… alone?”

Tsumugi’s face softened, and Maki realised heavily that Tsumugi had never intended on going home to begin with.

“Please don’t worry, Maki. Everything is perfect now,” she said gently. “We’ll still be best friends. Just in different schools, like we planned. No one can stop us from being friends, can they?”

Maki fell still, wind whistling through her hair. She wanted to believe Tsumugi. That she’d be happy here, and this was right. But she couldn’t. Because she’d lied, back by the river, when she said she’d be a villain like Tsumugi wanted. All she wanted was home. Rough, predictable, lonely home.

But for a day, she could try believing that, right? Just try being Evil. Maybe Tsumugi was right. There was no reason why she wouldn’t be. Maki gazed at her friend’s beautiful smile and closed her eyes, willing herself to believe her.

But when Maki opened her eyes, Tsumugi’s smile had vanished. Because on Tsumugi’s body, the pink dress began suddenly rotting to black, losing its form as it reshaped to her old uniform. Maki felt her waist tighten, and looked down as her own uniform turned pink again, the lace frills on her sleeves appearing anew.

The two girls blinked at each other in shock, then spun round as a shadow suddenly loomed over them. A giant wave swelled up high above them from the moat below, waters curling into a shimmering lasso. Before Maki could run, it swooped and hurled her across the bay into sunlit mist. She heard Tsumugi let out a wail of dismay, then Maki fell, miraculously dry, onto the crystalline floor.

She stood up shakily, rubbing her eyes. The pearly archway of the School for Good loomed above Maki, as the mist separated her from Tsumugi once more. A chiming bell echoed through the hallway, signalling class time.

Maki was back in her own school, and right back on schedule.

Chapter Text

Ten minutes into her first lesson and Maki already wanted to shrivel up and die.

It had taken her a while to even bring herself to go to class. She’d sat at the end of the bridge, staring into the fog as students frenzied past in the corridor. Despite how much she'd hated being in this school, she should probably have felt relieved; after all, had Tsumugi been here, there was no way Maki could ever get her to leave. But now there was still a chance, wasn’t there? If all hope of swapping schools was lost, Tsumugi would have no choice but to go home.

The more Maki thought about it, the more her previous resolve to try being Evil for a day faded away. There was no need for any of that, it was just a waste of time. Give Tsumugi a day of Uglification and Curses, and she’d be begging to go home.

If she survived, that was. Maki still wasn’t sure that Tsumugi could rank in any of the classes. But you had to get bottom of the class three times in a row to be punished, right? Tsumugi might not be a villain, but she couldn’t fail that badly. Maki just had to have faith in her.

It was only once Maki got up and headed to her first lesson that she realised she’d have to survive class too.

Professor Emma Anemone, whistling in a blinding yellow dress and long fox-fur gloves, walked into her pink taffy classroom, took one look at Maki, and stopped whistling. But then she murmured “Rapunzel took some work too,” and launched into her first lesson on “Making Smiles Kinder.”

"Now the key is to communicate with your eyes," chirped, and demonstrated the perfect princess smile. The rest of the class seemed impressed, but with her bulging eyes and wild hair, Maki thought she looked like a manic canary.

"Now, everyone in line! Let's see those smiles!"

Maki stood in line glaring at the floor. She didn't smile, and the teacher would have a pretty tough time making her. This whole class was stupid anyway. A pretty smile wasn't going to save a princess from a dragon. They should be learning combat, or basic survival skills. Maki sighed. No doubt the boys get to learn that.

Professor Anemone walked along, surveying the girls. "Not so much squinting… A little less nose, dear… Oh my, absolutely beautiful! What is your name?"

A girl with long, blonde hair beamed at Professor Anemone in response. "Sonia Nevermind."

"Ah, of course, of course, I can see it now," Anemone said cheerfully. "Obviously the work I did on your mother has passed down in the family." She turned to the rest of the class. "That, my Evers, is a smile that can win the heart of the steelist prince. A smile that can broker peace in the greatest of wars. A smile that can lead a kingdom to hope and prosperity." Maki screwed up her nose. 

"You there! Get that horrid look off your face and give me a smile."

The class was suddenly peering at Maki.  She blinked, preparing to reshoot her glare at the teacher, when she paused. If she placed above last in this class, then she wouldn't have to try in her next two lessons. It wouldn't matter if she flunked them.

It was just smiling, right? It couldn't be that hard. She just had to think of something happy…

Maki tried to smile, searching for a happy thought. But all she could think of was Tsumugi on the Bridge, leaving her for a boy she didn't even know.

Professor Anemone shrieked. "That's positively malevolent!"

Maki turned and saw half the class cowering, as if expecting her to turn them all into bats. She dropped the smile at once, glaring comfortably. So much for trying.

"This class is stupid," Maki said, looking Professor Anemone in directly in the eye.

Anemone looked at her sourly. "When you find yourself captive, or in mortal peril of any kind… who do you expect would want to save you , child?"

The class snickered. "I can save myself, thank you very much," Maki replied stonily, as a rusted '20' rank appeared over her head in a golden cloud.

Princess Etiquette was no better. Maki was shocked to find that Pollux, the teacher for the lesson, wasn't human at all, but instead one head of a huge, two-headed dog. The other head, which looked significantly more vicious than the first, was laying lopsided in sleep.

"Please remain at a reasonable volume level, so as to not disturb Castor," Pollux barked.

Their first lesson was "Princess Posture", which involved the girls descending the four tower staircases with nests of nightingale eggs on their heads. Though most of the girls succeeded without breaking any eggs, Maki had a harder time. It wasn't because she had no balance; she'd never tried balancing anything on her head before, but she would probably have been fine at it in isolation. But her focus was everywhere at once - the chatter of the girls made her feel unsafe, she could hear the pigtailed girl she'd threatened on the first day talking about her, and her mind was still buzzing with Tsumugi's betrayal. In the end, she left twenty eggs blending yolk on marble.

"Twenty beautiful nightingales who will not have life… because of you ," said Pollux.

Maki couldn't see how this was any more her fault than the stupid school for making her take this class. It was one thing to have to go to these awful lessons, but to be expected to be good at everything already… Maki couldn't help but feel she was at an unfair disadvantage.

But as another '20' crashed above her head, Maki didn't have time to complain any more. Two classes, two last-place ranks. One more and she would learn what happened to children who failed. With her plan to get Tsumugi home crumbling by the minute, Maki pulled herself together and hurried to her next class. This time she would prove herself Good. She had to.

Maki hung around at the back of the class on the way to her next lesson, trying to hype herself up. Her next lesson was Animal Communication, which she could only assume was whistling for birds and other princessy nonsense. You can do it, just give it a proper try, she told herself. It'll be okay .

Maki caught sight of her face in a passing mirror and felt sick. What birds would fly to someone who looks so much like a witch?

Realising she was being left behind by her classmates, Maki sped up. She turned around the corner, trying to pull herself together again, when she crashed into something wet and fell to the floor.

Blinking, she sat up and saw a pair of fancy white boots. She shook herself off, mumbling. "Now I'm wet." She looked up, glaring. "You should watch where you're-"

It was the purple-haired prince. He was shirtless, with a towel draped over his shoulders, his hair wet and fluffy. 

Maki flinched away slightly. He was the one who had warped Tsumugi's mind. Who had hijacked Tsumugi's heart. Who had stolen her only friend.

"I'm Kaito," he said, holding out his hand to help her to her feet. "Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars and heir to the throne of Camelot."

Maki didn't take his hand. She pulled herself up and gave him a lethal glare. "Do you introduce yourself to everyone like that? Self-centred prick." Kaito blinked, looking stunned, as Maki shoved past him and stomped down the corridor.

"Nice to meet you!" Kaito called after her. She snorted in disgust and she slammed the door behind her. He even smelled like a prince.

Animal Communication, taught by Princess Uma, took place on the lakeside banks of Halfway Bay. For the third time that day, Maki arrived to find a class was Girls Only. Surely the School for Evil didn't see the need to decide what was a "Boy" skill or "Girl" skill. But here in the Good Towers, the boys went off to fight with swords while girls had to learn dog barks and owl hoots. No wonder princesses were so impotent in fairy tales, she thought. If all they could do was smile, stand straight and speak to squirrels, then what choice did they have but to wait for a boy to rescue them?

Princess Uma looked far too young to be a teacher. Nestled in prim grass, backlit by lake shimmer, she sat very still, hands folded in her pink dress, with black hair to her waist and crimson lips pursed in a tight O. When she did speak, it was in a giggly whisper, but she couldn't make it through a full sentence. Every few words, she'd stop to listen to a distant fox or dove and respond with her own giddy howl or chirp. When she realised she had a whole class staring at her, she cupped her hands over her face.

"Oops!" she tee-heed. "I have too many friends!"

Maki couldn't tell if she was nervous or just an idiot.

"Evil has many weapons on its side," said Princess Uma, finally settling down. "Poisons, plagues, curses, hexes, henchmen, and black, black magic. But you have animals!"

Maki almost snickered despite herself. When faced with an axe-wielding henchman, she would be sure to bring a butterfly. Judging by the others' faces, she wasn't the only one unconvinced. Princess Uma noticed. The teacher unleashed a piercing whistle and a barrage of barks, bays, neighs and roars blasted from the Woods beyond the schools. The girls plugged their ears in shock.

"See!" Uma chuckled. "Every animal can talk to you if you know how to talk to them." She squeaked through her teeth, and on cue, an otter bobbed to shore from the lake, balancing a jeweled storybook on its nose. "They might keep a captive maiden company or lead you to safety," Uma said, holding out her hands. The nervous otter bumped the book with its nose to turn the page.

"Or might help you make a ball gown," Uma continued, eyeing the bumbling creature. "Or they might deliver an urgent message or- ahem !" With a yip, the otter found the right page and slid the book into her hands.

"They might even save your life," said Uma, holding up a brilliant painting of a princess cowering as a stag speared a warlock. The princess looked just like her.

"Once upon a time, an animal saved mine, and in return got the happiest ending of all."

Maki was still unconvinced, but through her narrowed suspicion, she saw all the girls' eyes widen in worship. This wasn't just a teacher. This was a living, breathing fairytale princess.

"So if you want to be like me, you need to do well in today's challenge!" chirped their new idol, summoning the girls to the lake. Maki felt herself shiver, despite the balmy fall sun. If she placed last this time, it was all over. She'd never see Tsumugi or home again. As she followed the girls to the bank, sick to her stomach, Maki noticed Uma's storybook, open in the grass.

"Animals love to help princesses for so many reasons!" said Princess Uma, stopping at the water's edge. "Because we sing pretty songs, because we give them shelter in the scary Woods, because they only wish they could be as beautiful and beloved as-"

"Wait."

Uma and the girls turned. Maki held up the storybook's last page - a painting of the stag ripped to pieces by monsters as the princess escaped.

"How is that a happy ending?"

"Any Good animal would be honoured to die for a princess, of course," Uma smiled, as if she would learn this lesson soon enough. "That's just the way the world works."

Maki looked at the others in disbelief, but while there were some shocked faces in the crowd, the majority were nodding like sheep. It didn't matter if animals had to die on their journey: they would be the princesses, so they deserved to be saved, no matter the consequences. It was for the Greater Good.

"But if animals are going to help us, first we have to tell them what we want!" Uma said, kneeling before the gleaming blue lake. "So today's challenge is…" She swirled her finger in the water and a thousand tiny fish surfaced, white as snow.

"Wish Fish!" Uma beamed. "They dig inside your soul and find your greatest wish! Very helpful if you've lost your tongue or voice and need to tell a prince to kiss you. Now all you do is put your finger in the water and the fish will read your soul. The girl with the strongest, clearest wish wins!"

Maki wondered what these girls' souls would wish for. Depth, perhaps.

A girl with grey braided hair went first, introducing herself to Princess Uma as Peko. She put her finger in the water and closed her eyes, as the girls all watched with intrigue. However, when she opened her eyes again, the fish had turned all different colours and were gaping at her, confused.

"What happened?" the girl asked.

"Foggy mind," Uma sighed. "Your wish wasn't clear enough."

Sonia, the girl who had placed first in Princess Etiquette, went next. This time it seemed much more hopeful, and the fish turned shades of grey, black, purple and peach, assembling some kind of picture.

What do Good souls wish for? Maki wondered, watching the fish jumble into place. Peace for their kingdoms? Health for their families? Destruction of Evil?

The fish drew a boy instead.

"Gundham!" Sonia chimed, recognising the figure. "I caught his rose at the Welcoming."

Maki groaned. She should have known.

Then Sayaka, the girl who had given Maki her lipstick, dipped her finger in and the fish changed colors, gliding into a mosaic of a small, brown haired boy with a dopey smile.

"Makoto," blushed Sayaka. "Honor Tower, Room ten."

And so it continued. Every girl dipped their finger into the water one at a time, to one of two outcomes. Half of the girls saw princes, and the others saw nothing at all. At first Maki found it dumb, but now it was scary. This was the only valid wish they seemed to have? This was what Good souls craved? Boys they didn't even know? Based on what!?

"Love at first sight," Uma gushed. "It's the most beautiful thing in the world!"

Maki gagged. Who could ever love boys? Preening, useless thugs that thought the world belonged to them. She thought of Kaito and her skin burned. Hate at first sight. Now that was believable.

With the fish exhausted from drawing so many chiseled jaws, the last few wishes fizzled out lamely. "Now, for all of you who saw your princes today," Uma said, "you must hunt them! Make them your mission! Your obsession! Because when a true princess wants something enough…" She swirled her fingers in the lake-

"Your friends unite for you…" The fish turned bright pink-

"Fight for you…" The fish clustered tight-

"And make your wish come true…" Uma reached her arm into the water and pulled it right out. The fish transformed into her soul's greatest desire.

"What is it?" Sonia asked, confused.

"A suitcase," whispered Princess Uma, and hugged it to her chest.

She looked up at twenty befuddled girls. "Oh. Should I give you your ranks?"

"But she didn't go yet," someone chimed, pointing at Maki. It was the small, pigtailed girl she had threatened with the knife when she first arrived. Maki would have clobbered her, but there was no menace in this girl's voice. Instead, she seemed genuinely concerned that Maki didn't get her turn. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"So Mikan can have her room when she fails," the girl added, smiling.

Maki took it back.

"Now now Hiyoko, that's not very nice," the red-haired girl next to her said, but not with much conviction. Hiyoko just rolled her eyes.

"Oh dear. One left?" said Uma, staring at Maki. She gazed at the lake, empty of Wish Fish, then at her precious pink suitcase. "It happens every time," she mourned. With a sigh, she dropped it back into the lake, and watched it sink and bob up as a thousand white fish.

Maki leaned over the water to see the fish glaring up at her with droopy eyes. For a moment, they had found heaven in a suitcase. But here they were again, genies stolen from the safety of the lamp. They didn't care that their lives were on the line. They just wanted to be left alone. Maki sympathized.

Mine's easy , she thought. I wish not to fail. That's it. Don't fail .

She stuck her finger in the water.

The fish started trembling like tulips in the wind. Maki could hear wishes wrestle in her head-

Don't fail–Home in bed–Don't fail–Tsumugi safe–Don't fail–Kaito dead–

The fish turned blue, then yellow, then red. Maki's head felt light and her brain was muddled, wishes sweeping through like a cyclone-

Fit in–Be alone–Be Evil–Be Good–More friends–No friends–New shoes–I like my shoes!–

"Not just foggy," murmured Princess Uma. "Completely confused!"

The fish, red as blood, started to quake, as if about to explode. Alarmed, Maki tried to regain focus, her head screaming. She couldn't place last in the lesson; she just couldn't. That was her wish, right? Right ? That's all that mattered.

The fish turned black as night and climbed up Maki's arm in a shivering mass, clamping to her like a fist. Girls backed away in horror; Uma stood anchored in shock. Frantic, Maki closed her eyes and tried again, but now her head was exploding with pain and her thoughts were more disjointed than ever-

Home School Family Friends Love Hate Good Bad Boys Girls Ever Never–

The fish were shaking now, harder and harder, faster and faster, until she couldn't tell one from the other. Eyes popped off like buttons, beating fins shattered to bits, bellies engorged with veins and vessels until the fish let out a thousand tortured screams.

Fail-Win-Truth-Lies-Lost-Found-Strong-Weak-Friend-Foe– 

Maki tried to pull her hand away, but there seemed to be nothing she could do. The screaming of the fish was echoing in her head, and she forced her eyes shut. I'm killing them , Maki thought desperately. These fish are innocent and I'm killing them because I can't even wish right. She could hear the mass of fish yowling in agony. Why does this stupid task even matter? So what if I fail? I want to stop. I want this to stop. I don't want to hurt them. I want them to be safe- I want–I want–I want–

I wish–

The screaming stopped. The writhing ended, and everything was still.

Maki opened her eyes, and fell back in shock.

In her arms was a girl. No more than twelve or thirteen, with brown skin and a tangle of dark curls. She stirred, and smiled up at Maki like she were an old friend.

"A hundred years, and you were the first who wished to free me." Gasping softly, like a fish on land, she pressed her hand to Maki's cheek.

"Thank you."

She closed her eyes and her body went limp in Maki's arms. Inch by inch, the girl started to glow the color of hot gold, and with a burst of white light, she splintered to sunbeams and disappeared.

Maki stared at the lake, empty of fish, and listened to her fraying heartbeat. It felt like her insides had been beaten and wrung out. She held up her finger, her skin clean and dry as if it had never been touched. "Um, was all that…" She took a deep breath and turned.

"Normal?"

The entire class was dispersed behind trees, including Princess Uma, whose expression answered her question.

Maki drew her knees in, staring at the water blankly, as her classmates hesitantly returned into the clearing. It felt like an eternity passed, the sound of songbirds twittering in the background and soft footsteps in the grass. She couldn't wrap her head around it. The fish… were a child? A little girl? But why!?

"I suppose I um… should do the rankings now, yes?" Princess Uma said shakily. Maki's chest felt like lead. No doubt she'd completely failed again. Now she just had to wait to see what-

Maki looked up at the glistening golden "1" above her head, and all thoughts instantly dissolved.

"But- I failed, didn't I?" she asked Uma urgently.

Princess Uma forced a smile sadly. "It is one thing to wish for your own Happy Ending… But it is different to wish for someone else. Only a rare talent from the greatest princess can make a wish come to life. It suggests Goodness beyond measure…" she sighed, looking at the peaceful water. "And therefore a deserved first place rank. Class dismissed."

As everyone else left quickly, Maki stayed on the ground, trying to gather her thoughts as a wave of relief washed over her. She didn't fail. She was okay. Her plan wasn't ruined just yet.

"Hey," a voice said, and Maki looked up to see Kaede kneeling in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Maki said quickly, pulling herself to her feet. Kaede got up alongside her, then clasped her hands together.

"I want to apologise," she said. Maki blinked at her, and Kaede continued. "I should never have made assumptions about you, or seen you as any less of an Ever as the rest of us. Please forgive me."

Maki stared. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You've proven yourself to be a princess, right? No villain would have gotten a first place rank in any class in this school, let alone for the reason you did." Maki opened her mouth to argue, but Kaede cut her off. "Plus! I overheard some of the teachers talking on the way to class, and apparently you don't have a knife anymore. It's at the bottom of Halfway Bay."

There was a pause as Maki failed to find an argument to that. "Look, me ranking first was an accident. I have no idea how I did that."

"You're Good without even trying?" Kaede said, looking impressed.

"That's not what I mean!" Maki said exasperatedly. "And anyway, aren't you cherry picking here? Or did you forget I placed last in every other lesson we've had today?"

"To be quite honest, I don't blame you in Princess Etiquette, Pollux isn't the best teacher." Kaede thought for a second. "And your smile wasn't that bad."

"Pretty sure Good don't lie."

"Okay, it was bad. But still, smiling is irrelevant in contrast to what you did just now. I trust my judgement on this."

"So you're just really stupid."

"You're not changing my mind, Maki! Your name is Maki, right? Of Woods Beyond?"

Maki had to think for a second to remember the title she had been given on her timetable. Maki Harukawa of Woods Beyond. She screwed up her nose instinctively at the thought. It sounded so pretentious.

Maki nodded reluctantly.  "Are you done yet? I need to find Tsumugi as soon as possible so I don't have time for chitchat."

"Tsumugi? Is that the other Reader?" Kaede smiled. "Then it's perfect timing, since we have lunch now. You can introduce me to her." She moved to leave, and Maki hesitated, still staring at the water.

Even though she'd placed first and proven herself to have rare talent, no one had bothered to explain what had just happened. That was a child . Had Uma known the whole time? Had been using this poor, trapped child for a hundred years ?

Maki gritted her teeth, staring at her pallid reflection in the shimmering lake. 

This place was fucked.

How could Good possibly think they're superior to Evil? Because they got make-up? Because they got a prince with biceps and a sexy smile?

Maki shook her head. What place was she in to decide what was Good and what was wrong? It didn’t matter to her anyway. None of this nonsense should matter to her.

The sooner she got out of this wretched place, the better.

Chapter Text

Maki had no idea why lunch was a joint-school activity, because Evers sat with Evers, Nevers sat with Nevers, and both groups pretended the other wasn't there.

Lunch took place in the Clearing, an intimate picnic field outside the Blue Forest gates behind the two schools. To get to the Clearing, students had to journey through twisty tunnels of trees that grew narrower and narrower, until one by one the children spat through a hollowed trunk onto emerald grass. As soon as Maki and Kaede came through the Good tunnel, they joined a line of Evers receiving picnic baskets from nymphs in red hoods. Across the field, the Nevers filed from the Evil tunnel, and received rusty pails from red-suited wolves.

Maki found a table in a shady corner, and the two sat down together as they waited for Tsumugi to arrive. She absentmindedly reached into her willow basket to find a lunch of smoked trout sandwiches, rampion salad, strawberry soufflé, and a vial of sparkling lemon water. Maki hadn't seen food this fancy in her life, and suddenly felt very hungry. If she was going to be stuck here, she could at least enjoy-

Tsumugi swiped the basket from her as she sat down at the table. "You have no idea what I've been through!" she sobbed, taking a bite of Maki's sandwich. "Here's yours." She plunked down a pail of gruel.

Maki stared at her.

"Look, I asked for more food," Tsumugi garbled between bites. "Apparently Nevers need to learn deprivation. Part of your training. I figured it was right up your alley."

Maki glared at her.

"If you're going to be like that, you can have the soufflé," Tsumugi frowned. "Who's this?" she added, turning to Kaede.

Maki sighed. "She's my roommate."

"Kaede Akamatsu of Neverland," Kaede said, giving Tsumugi an uncertain look as if wondering how to feel about her.

"Of Neverland !?" Tsumugi exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Uh, yeah!"

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Tsumugi Shirogane!" She gave Kaede a sweet smile, and she smiled back. Maki rolled her eyes.

"So you survived the lessons then?" She asked. Tsumugi winced.

"Only just. I placed last in the first two lessons, but then…"

"But then?"

"It was an accident, I don't know how I did it!" Tsumugi cried defensively. "But I ranked first in my last class and now all the Nevers think I'm some kind of Grand Witch!"

Maki dropped her cold act toward Tsumugi. "I wouldn't worry about it that much, the ranking system doesn't seem to mean shit. I got a first place rank too."

"You shouldn't swear, Maki," Kaede said. "Princesses don't use language like that."

Maki scoffed. "I'm not a fucking princess."

Kaede opened her mouth to retort, but Tsumugi put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't waste your effort, that's just how Maki is."

"I see," Kaede replies. A moment passes, Kaede and Tsumugi eating their sandwiches while Maki picked at her gruel. As much as she wanted to get out now, she was hungry and still didn't have a plan. She'd eat, then they'd escape.

Once she finished her sandwich, Tsumugi began gazing around. She was looking wistfully at the groups of princesses giggling together and braiding each other's hair. Maki could see how badly she wanted to be in their place, but she couldn't help notice the way the girls looked at them. Some were scared of them, others gave them dark disappointed glances. Some people were pretending they didn't exist at all.

"Kaede," Maki said slowly. "Why are you sitting here with us? Aren't we going to ruin your reputation or something?"

Kaede blinked. "Uh, not really! I don't mind what the others think of me anyway, not when I'm doing the right thing by being kind and open-minded. I don't know how they can consider themselves Good yet behave like that." She opened her bottle of lemon water. "Though, I hope the princes don't mind that I'm sat here."

Maki followed Kaede's gaze to Kaito and his group of boys across the clearing. She grimaced.

"Don't tell me you like this Kaito guy too?" Maki asked.

Kaede looked horrified. "Oh, goodness no! He's way out of my league! Plus he's not really my type." She pointed at the group of boys. "You see the prince next to him, with the dark blue hair? His name is Shuichi, and he's a descendant of Prince Charming's Grand Duke." She blushed slightly.

"I'm sure you'll be perfect together," Tsumugi said kindly.

"How could you possibly know that?" Maki said. "Have you ever spoken to him, Kaede?"

"Uh, not exactly. But we made eye contact during the Welcoming."

"And now you want to marry him?" Maki said incredulously.

Tsumugi sighed patronisingly. "Maki doesn't understand true love, Kaede. She thinks love at first sight is nonsense."

"Of course I do,"  Maki said defensively. "I don't understand why anyone wouldn't."

"It's okay, you'll understand when you find the right person," Kaede said. "You see them and you just feel it in your heart. It feels right."

"I seriously doubt that will ever happen."

"Me too," Tsumugi agreed. "After all, Maki isn't a princess. She's never going to find true love." She looked at Maki. "No offense, of course."

"None taken," Maki said. "I don't want a phony prince anyway. All they seem to do is prance around half naked and feel full of themselves."

"Hey, don't lose hope just yet, I'm sure you'll find someone," Kaede said in a tone that was probably meant to be reassuring. "And who knows? Maybe you're a princesses type of gal instead?"

"I- What?"

"You'd be surprised how many mermaids are lesbians," Kaede said simply. Maki struggled to imagine how a lesbian would survive in this school, given how important finding a prince seemed to be. Would the teachers even allow that?

"You know mermaids ?" Tsumugi asked excitedly.

"My mum is a mermaid!" Kaede replied.

"Is she a lesbian?" Maki asked dully.

"Nope, bi actually!"

"See, that's exactly the sort of life I want to have!" Tsumugi said, obviously not paying attention anymore. "I can feel it, in my heart. I will have a castle, a kingdom, a prince, and friends who are all kinds of magical beings. And I will be part of the most beautiful and beloved fairytale of all!" She ate her last bite of soufflé sadly. "But no one here can see it. I'm never going to survive another day in Evil."

"That's why we're going home," Maki said forcefully.

"If only there was a way to swap schools!" Tsumugi cried. "We tried, Kaede, but when she swapped uniforms they just dissolved back again. And I have no clue what to do!"

"There's got to be a way to prove that you're Good, right?" Kaede said. "If you show everyone, including the teachers, they'll have to let you change schools."

"Or send us home."

"Will you help me Kaede?" Tsumugi asked, face full of innocent fear.

"Uh, of course! I'll help you figure something out."

"Like figure out how to go home," Maki grumbled, only to be drowned out by Tsumugi flying into a monologue about how she could show she was actually a princess. So much for going home.

Maki put her head in her arms on the table, sulking, and stayed that way for the rest of lunch. Eventually Tsumugi would burn herself out, give up and go home with her. But until then, she just had to wait. In this stupid school.

Thankfully, Good Deeds, the fourth lesson of the day, didn't involve ranking at all. Professor Dovey spent the lesson talking about expectations, ranking, and the qualities they will need to show in order to succeed in a fairytale. Not only was Maki exhausted, but she was also hungry: she had eaten so little at lunch that the gingerbread desks were infinitely more interesting than whatever the Dean was saying.

"Every time you do a Good Deed with true intentions, your soul grows purer. Though lately, my Good students have been doing them as if they were chores, preferring to cultivate their egos, arrogance and waist size! Let me assure you, our winning streak can end any time."

Maki obediently took notes, although the corners of her desk mysteriously disappeared over the course of the lesson. I don't have to feel guilty , she thought while munching on a chunk of the desk. Making the furniture out of food is just a poor design choice . Maybe that's why this class is right after lunch, so less people consume school property.

Maki was , however, far more interested in her next lesson, Surviving Fairy Tales. Unlike the other classes, it took place outdoors in the Blue Forest, and was the only lesson that mixed students from Good and Evil. 

She arrived with the other Evers at the gates, where Professor Dovey and Lady Lesso made every villain and prince hand over their weapons before continuing. Once through the gate, a cluster of fairies sorted them into their Forest Groups, eight Evers and eight Nevers in each. As other children found their leaders (an ogre for Group 2, a centaur for Group 8, a lily nymph for 12), Maki and Tsumugi were the first to arrive under the flag stamped with a blood red "3".

Maki couldn't believe her luck at being sorted into the same group as Tsumugi. She took advantage of the opportunity, and immediately struck up conversation.

"Right, so, any ideas on how we're getting home?"

"Why don't you go home and leave me here?" Tsumugi replied. "Then I can have your place in the school. If you want to leave that badly."

"If they won't let us switch now, why would they let you have my place?" Maki said, feeling irritated.

Tsumugi stammered. "Because you… Because we–"

"Need to go home," Maki glared.

Tsumugi smiled. "Sooner or later, they'll see what's right. I've just got to stay strong."

"And you really think you can fluke another pass? The teachers don't care about us. They're not going to help. If they're still deluded enough to think we're in the right schools, then nothing we do is going to change their minds. We need to find our own way out."

Tsumugi's smile cracked. "I- I-" She sighed. "Okay, maybe you're right. But… What am I meant to do if we leave? Go back to a normal life after all of this? Spend my life sewing pinafores while knowing that beyond the woods there are mermaids and nymphs and princes? I can't-" 

Tsumugi stopped suddenly and gaped past Maki.

"What are you-?" Maki started, but Tsumugi held a hand to her mouth to silence her and gestured past her. Maki turned around.

Several other people had gathered by their flag now, to be part of their group. Maki saw amongst them the person Tsumugi was pointing at.

Kaito was in their group.

"Oh great," Maki sighed, turning back to Tsumugi. "Just what I needed."

"Should I introduce myself to him?" Tsumugi whispered, looking nervous.

"He probably knows who you are by now. We didn't exactly blend in at the Welcoming."

"Oh! Then what should I say? I mean, I've rehearsed this a couple of times, but doing it in real life is totally different! What if I get it wrong?"

"I really doubt he's going to care that much," Maki said, feeling fed up.

"You think?" Tsumugi said, looking relieved. "Okay, I'll go for it-"

"You've got to be kidding," said a high-pitched voice behind them.

They turned to see Hiyoko joining their group, along with the violet-haired Neverboy. Maki couldn't miss the dirty look Hiyoko was shooting her, though she couldn't be quite sure exactly what her crime was. She could only assume that Hiyoko was jealous about her placing first in Animal Communication.

"Mmmm," said a voice below.

They looked down to find a four-foot gnome with wrinkly skin, a belted green coat and a pointy orange hat frowning from a hole in the ground.

"Bad group," he murmured, before raising his voice. "Roll call please!"

After introducing himself as Yuba, he crawled out of his burrow and read out the names of everyone in the group. Maki didn't pay much attention to the list of Nevers, aside from the violet-haired boy whose name was Kokichi.

"Stay away from him, he's a nightmare," Tsumugi whispered to Maki when Kokichi's name was read. Maki didn't have to be told twice: she knew troublemakers when she saw them.

The list of Evers was much more interesting. Their group consisted of herself, Kaito Momota, Shuichi Saihara, Hiyoko Saionji, Gundham Tanaka, Mikan Tsumiki, Peko Pekoyama and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Mikan, the other girl who was meant to share a room with Maki, spent the whole time cowering as far away from the Nevers as possible.

"Grow up Mikan, geez," Hiyoko chastised. "Quit being such a coward."

Maki resisted the urge to remind Hiyoko how loudly she screamed when threatened yesterday.

"Follow me," Yuba said finally, pulling the gate open with his stubby white staff and leading the students into the Blue Forest.

For a moment, everyone fell completely silent and marveled at the blue wonderland around them. Every tree, every flower, every blade of grass sparkled a different hue. Slender beams of sun slipped through cerulean canopies, lighting up turquoise trunks and navy blooms. Deer grazed on azure lilacs, crows and hummingbirds jabbered in sapphire nettles, squirrels and rabbits jaunted through cobalt briars to join storks sipping from the ultramarine pond. No animals seemed skittish or the slightest bit bothered by the crisscrossing student tours. Where Maki had always associated forests with danger and darkness, this one beckoned with beauty and life. At least until she saw a flock of the bony birds that had carried her and Tsumugi here last night.

"Um, is anyone going to explain what those are?" Tsumugi asked nervously, edging around them.

"Stymphs," Kiyotaka responded. "No need to fear, they sleep during the day. Perfectly harmless."

"Unless a villain wakes them up," Kokichi added smugly, looking at Tsumugi.

"I'm telling you, I'm not a villain!" Tsumugi cried.

"Whatever you say, Miss Grand Witch Ultimate," Kokichi replied in a singsong voice. Tsumugi gave Maki a look that clearly said 'see what I mean?' .

As his students followed, Yuba rattled off the history of the Blue Forest in his clipped, hoarse voice. Once upon a time, there had been joint classes for School for Good and School for Evil students. Instead, children had graduated straight from their school's training into the Endless Woods. But before they could ever engage in battle, Good and Evil inevitably fell prey to hungry boats, scavenging imps, cranky spiders, and the occasional man-eating tulip.

"We had forsaken the obvious," said Yuba. "You cannot survive your fairy tale if you cannot survive the Woods."

So the school created the Blue Forest as a training ground. The signature blue foliage arose from protective enchantments that kept intruders out, while reminding students it was just an imitation of the more treacherous Woods.

As to just how treacherous the real thing was, the students sensed firsthand as Yuba led them past the North Gates. Though there was still sunlight left in the autumn evening, the dark, dense Woods repelled it like a shield. It was a forest of eternal night, with every inch of green blackened by shadow. As their eyes adjusted to the sooty darkness, the students could see a puny dirt path lilting through trees, like the withering lifeline on an old man's palm. To both sides of the path, vines strangled trees into armoured clumps, so there was barely an undergrowth between them. What was left of the forest floor had been buried beneath mangled thorns, stabbing twigs, and a gauntlet of cobwebs. But none of this scared the students as much as the sounds that came from the darkness beyond the path. Moans and growls echoed from the forest bowels, while low rasps and snarls added ghoulish harmony. Maki instinctly dug into her pocket for a weapon, but came back empty-handed. She had no choice but to trust that Yuba could keep them safe.

Then Maki began to see what was making the sounds. Pairs of eyes watched them through the onyx depths - devilish red and yellow, flickering, vanishing, then reappearing closer than before. The terrible noises grew louder, the fiendish eyes multiplied, the undergrowth crackled with life, and just when the students saw skulking outlines rise from the mist-

"This way," Yuba called back.

The students scampered from the gates and followed the gnome into a blue clearing without looking back.

Surviving Fairy Tales was just like any other class, Yuba explained from a turquoise tree stump, with students ranked from 1 to 16 for each challenge. Only now there was something more at stake: once a year, each of the fifteen groups would send its best Ever and best Never to compete in the school's Trial by Tale. Yuba didn't say any more about the competition, except that the winners received five extra first-place ranks. The other students in the group glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Whoever won the Trial by Tale would surely be Class Captain.

"Now there are five rules that separate Good from Evil," the gnome said, and wrote them in the air with his smoking staff.

1. The Evil attack. The Good defend.
2. The Evil punish. The Good forgive.
3. The Evil hurt. The Good help.
4. The Evil take. The Good give.
5. The Evil hate. The Good love.

"As long as you obey the rules for your side, you have the best possible chance of surviving your fairy tale," Yuba said to the group gathered in the navy grass. "These rules should come with ease, of course. You have been chosen for your school's precisely because you show them at the highest level!"

Most of the Evers looked at Maki doubtfully, and Maki didn't blame them. She certainly felt far more hate for them all than she did love.

"But first you must learn to recognise Good and Evil," said Yuba. "In the Woods, appearances are often deceiving. Snow White nearly perished because she thought an old woman kind. Red Riding Hood found herself in the wolf's stomach because she couldn't tell the difference between family and fiend. Even Beauty struggled to distinguish between hideous beast and noble prince. All unnecessary suffering. For no matter how much Good and Evil are disguised, they can always be told apart. You must look closely. And you must remember the rules."

For the class challenge, Yuba announced, each student had to distinguish between a disguised Ever and Never by observing their behaviour. Whoever correctly identified the Good student and the Evil student in the fastest time word receive first rank.

"I've never done any of those Evil rules" Tsumugi whispered to Maki mournfully. "If only they knew all my Good Deeds!"

Maki sighed, scuffing her boots in the dirt. She couldn't help feeling bad for whoever would have to pick her out as Good.

Hiyoko volunteered to go first. As soon as he tied the ragged blindfold over her eyes, Yuba stabbed his staff at Peko and a black haired Never named Celeste, who magically shriveled in their pink and black clothes, smaller, smaller, until they slithered out of them, identical cobras.

Hiyoko whipped off her blindfold.

"Well?" Yuba said.

"They look the exact same to me," Hiyoko said, squinting.

"Test them!" Yuba scolded. "Use the rules!"

"How on earth do I do that?" Hiyoko whined. "Just nod if you're Good."

Both cobras paused, then bobbed their heads.

"Next," the gnome grouched, turning them back.

For Shuichi's turn, he changed Mikan and Kokichi into unicorns. But then one unicorn started copying the other and vice versa, until they both pranced around like mimicking mimes. Shuichi scratched his head.

"Rule one! The Evil attack ! The Good defend !" barked Yuba. "Which one started it, Shuichi?"

"Uh…" he said. "I didn't really keep track…"

The next few attempts followed the same trend, with very little success. Neither Maki nor Tsumugi were really paying attention anyway.

Yuba squinted at his scroll of names. "Who would like to be disguised for Kaito?"

Hiyoko raised her hand eagerly.

"Someone who hasn't had a turn, please," Yuba said, scanning the Evers. Maki tried to stand behind the others, but it didn't work. "You haven't gone yet," he said, pointing at Maki. "And a Never, please?"

Tsumugi raised her hand.

"Those two?" Hiyoko scoffed. "Even my grandmother could get that right."

"Wait, uh, which one is the Ever again?" Kaito asked, confused.

"Isn't it a bit- uh- unfair..? If he fails for picking the wrong one?" Mikan stammered. "I mean.. sorry!"

"She has a point," Kiyotaka said. "Obviously I have no doubt in the School Master's selections, but-"

"The lesson will be ending soon," Yuba grumbled. "Can you get on with it?"

Maki walked begrudgingly to the clearing, wondering what type of creature they would be. She hoped it would be at least semi-human - she wasn't sure she could handle any more weird things.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Hiyoko chimed. "Shouldn't this be a test?"

"It is a test?" Shuichi said tentatively. "That's the point."

"No, I mean a test of them ." She gestured at Maki and Tsumugi. "We trust Kaito, right? So whichever one he picks as Good, is the one who is actually Good. Even if it's her." She pointed at Tsumugi, whose eyes lit up.

"This is it! I can prove myself!" Tsumugi whispered to Maki.

"Uh, okay!" Kaito said. "But-"

He was cut off by Yuba tying the blindfold over his eyes impatiently. Tsumugi made eye contact with Maki, begging her to cooperate and act the part as Evil. Although she didn't really want to help Tsumugi with this, she certainly wouldn't frolic as Good, either.

Yuba pointed his staff at the two of them. "Ready, Kaito! Go!" He jabbed it, and suddenly Maki felt herself shrink downwards.

Her face hit the floor, and she lifted it up to find herself staring at two paws. She looked up at the crowd above her, and then at Tsumugi to her right, who was shaking her furry head in bewilderment.

"Ah, they're cats!" Peko exclaimed, eyes wide.

Kaito took off the blindfold and stepped forward, examining them. Maki hated the fact he was towering above her now. Tsumugi had already accepted her role, and had started purring, rubbing her ear with her paw daintily. Maki growled, glaring at Kaito.

"It seems too obvious," Kaito said eventually, eyeing Tsumugi.

Tsumugi paused her washing, confused.

"And the witch is craftier than you can imagine," Kaito said, glancing between the two cats.

Maki rolled her eyes. This boy had a brain like a peanut.

"Feel with the heart, not the mind!" Yuba shouted at the prince.

Grimacing, Kaito closed his eyes. For a moment the prince hesitated. But then, he stepped toward one of them, his expression slowly settling into confidence.

Tsumugi stopped purring abruptly. It wasn't her.

Kaito opened his eyes and pointed at Maki, who was still glaring up at him. "This one's the princess."

Maki stared at Kaito, then at Tsumugi, dumbstruck.

"Wait. I think…?" Kaito said, losing confidence. "I think I'm right?"

For a moment, everything was quiet.

Tsumugi pounced on Maki. "YOU RUINED IT!"

To everyone else, this sounded like "MEOOOWOWWW!", but Maki understood it just fine.

"How is this my fault!? He's the stupid one! He can't even tell us apart!" Maki yelled.

"You tricked him!" Tsumugi shrieked. "You had to! There's no way he would get it wrong by accident!"

"And what the fuck makes you think that!?"

"You did it to the bird, too! And the wave, and the rose, and-"

Kaito kicked Tsumugi aside.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted.

Tsumugi gaped, looking hurt. Maki backed away.

"Use the rules!" Yuba bellowed atop a log.

Tsumugi's ears pricked up again, and she got to her feet, trying to look cute. "My dear prince, I forgive you for not knowing any better and won't defend myself even though you attacked me," she mewled. "I only want to help you, and-"

Kaito ignored her entirely, and ran towards Maki again. "This is the princess! That's my final answer!" he announced confidently. He reached a hand down to pet her.

Maki bit his hand as hard as she could.

"Ah-!" Kaito yelped, jumping away. "Now I'm confused?"

"That's my prince!" Tsumugi yelled, jumping on Maki and shoving her into a blueberry bush. "How dare you hurt him!"

"Serves- him- right-" Maki said, headbutting her away.

"You're just sabotaging me so that I'll go home with you!"

"Well maybe you should try glaring at him next, he seems to be into that!"

"Only a witch would say something like that about a prince !" Tsumugi shrieked.

"Only an idiot would choose a prince that's as shallow as a kiddie pool!"

"You can't choose true love, Maki!"

"It's not true-" 

Maki stopped, as she felt her body contort; the next thing she knew, she was human again, and so was Tsumugi. Maki suddenly remembered the crowd of people, and felt her face burn.

"When Evil acts like Good and Good acts like Evil," Yuba said darkly, "Left becomes right and the whole world turns upside down. God only knows what would happen if this was a fairytale. Utter confusion, at the very least."

Maki glanced at Tsumugi out of the corner of her eye, who looked extremely guilty. Then she caught sight of Kaito, still nursing his hand with Shuichi's help. Now she felt guilty too.

"Class dismissed," Yuba sighed. "This group obviously needs some more work."

The group trailed back inside. Tsumugi hung behind, walking over to Maki.

"Hey, I want to apologise," she said stiffly. "It was wrong of me to fight you like that. I'm just stressed."

Maki looked at her for a minute. "It's fine," she said eventually. "But I didn't trick him, I swear. At least not intentionally."

"Yeah, I believe you," Tsumugi said, smiling slightly. "Maybe he is a little stupid… but that can be endearing in a man, you know?"

Maki snorted. " Endearing ?"

"I can be the brains of our future Kingdom perfectly fine, thank you very much," Tsumugi said, holding back laughter herself.

"If you say so."

The two girls wandered back into the castle, talking idly for the first time since they had arrived here.

Yet, something about it felt different. Like a rift was growing between them. Grow up , Maki thought to herself. How could you ruin a friendship over something like this? Because after all, Tsumugi was right, and Maki knew it.

Maki was the villain. She was the one tearing Tsumugi away from her lifelong dream. And she was lucky to have someone like Tsumugi by her side, despite all of this.

Maki sank into her seat in the final lesson of the day, History of Heroism, staring at her desk hollowly. "It's okay, Maki!" Tsumugi had said before they parted ways again."We'll still be best friends forever."

Maybe she didn't belong here, but Tsumugi did. Maki couldn't deny that, even if she hated it. There was nothing she could do anymore.

And she was so fucking tired.

Chapter Text

By the time the day drew to a close, Maki was already half asleep. She hadn't slept a wink the night before, and even though she normally didn't need much sleep to function, the stress of this place had drained her completely. As Kaede changed into the school nightdress, Maki put her old t-shirt and jeans back on. Sure, sleeping in jeans wasn't ideal, but she needed something familiar. Her clothes still smelled like Gavaldon.

She curled up in the bed, and it struck her how warm and soft it was when compared to the one in the orphanage.

Maki's stomach twisted at the thought of the orphanage. Would they be okay without her? She'd been okay growing up without someone older to protect her, but… she'd lost a friend to the forest before, when she was really young. And she'd promised herself that would never happen again.

But here, in the School for Good, she had to learn how to smile and look pretty in order to help people. How would that protect her village? Maybe out here, in this fairytale world, they didn't have to worry about such mundane things as wolves.

Despite herself, Maki still drifted to sleep. She awoke to the sound of fairies jingling past and sun shining in through the window, and for a second she couldn't remember where she was.

She ate breakfast with Kaede hungrily, and they chatted about their lessons. Maki felt awful when faced with another day of trying not to fail, but thankfully the rankings seemed to have been put aside by most teachers in favour of handing out large amounts of homework. Kaede suggested they go to the library at lunch to do some homework, but Maki declined: lunch was the only time she got to chat with Tsumugi too. She'd figure the homework thing out somewhen else.

When lunch finally came, Tsumugi swapped food with Maki again and sat beside her. Maki was far less bothered this time, since she knew she could eat the classroom again if she was still hungry.

"Today was horrid!" Tsumugi sobbed. "Everyone in Evil is completely mad!"

"Tell me about it," Maki grumbled. "Most of the Evergirls ran out of Princess Etiquette early to ogle at the boys leaving the Groom Room."

"And," Tsumugi said dramatically, "They gave me homework! I can't do homework! I have a skincare routine!"

"Is that really important right now?"

"You don't understand, the classrooms in Evil are way too humid. I can feel my pores getting clogged every second I'm in there!"

Maki frowned. "I didn't know humidity made a difference. Just stick some water on it every day or two, that does the trick."

"You're so gross!" Tsumugi yelped, dropping her sandwich. Maki laughed.

"Hey guys!" Kaede said, heading over to their table.

"I thought you were going to the library?" Maki asked.

"I did go to the library," Kaede replied cheerfully, placing a stack of books on the table. "And I got all the books we'll need. We can do it at supper instead!"

Tsumugi's eyes went wide. "Can I see those books?"

Kaede nodded, and slid the pile toward Tsumugi as she sat down. Tsumugi flicked through them, with an expression of childish whimsy. Maki peered over, but all she could see was a bunch of pretty pictures.

"Um, so, how are you two doing?" Kaede asked. Maki scoffed.

"How do you think?"

"Okay, yeah, bad question," Kaede said sheepishly. "But cheer up, it's not all bad. You haven't failed yet."

"By some miracle," Maki said. "I don't know how they think this is normal. I stick out like a sore thumb! Everyone else in this damn school are all the same type of pretty shallow princess or dumbass prince, and then there's me." She looked up at Kaede. "No offense," she added.

"None taken?" Kaede replied hesitantly. "But, I don't think that's exactly true."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not the only one in Good who doesn't fit in. They've got one in the boys' lessons too. He's in my forest group."

"Eh? Who?"

"You see over there?" Kaede pointed across the clearing at a prince sitting by himself. "That's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, descendent of the Kuzuryuu Clan." She said the last part in a hushed tone.

"The what?"

"They're a notorious group of Nevers. Criminals, basically, been around for generations. Everyone's heard of them."

"Oh," Maki said, looking at Fuyuhiko. "But he's an Ever?"

"Yep, that's why no one will talk to him. No idea how he got into the school." Kaede shrugged. "But the point is, you're not the only misfit."

Maki stared at him for a little longer. He was short, with blonde hair and a childish face. He didn't look that Evil, but with his angry expression she could see how he didn't fit in.

"Just shows how bad the school's selection process is," Maki concluded, looking away.

"Hm? What were we talking about?" Tsumugi said, looking up from the book she was reading.

Maki gruelled through the rest of her lessons, brainstorming ways out. She probably didn't have a choice but to leave Tsumugi if she escaped, but she couldn't bring herself to. They were meant to go back together. She didn't want to leave Tsumugi to suffer here alone, only for her to change her mind and be trapped forever.

At the start of supper, Professor Dovey called an assembly in the Theatre of Tales for all of Good.

"I have unfortunately received reports that someone has been eating the classrooms," she said sternly. The girls all turned to look at Maki.

"Might I remind you that the candy classrooms are there to train discipline and responsibility. As future fairytale heroes, you will need to be able to control your urges and not succumb to short-term desire. I suggest that whoever is responsible for this reconsiders their role in Good. That is all."

Maki couldn't help smirking on the way out. Reconsider my role in Good? It's almost like I'm not Good. Shock, horror! I never would have guessed!

Before going to sleep that night, Maki made a list of all the things you need to be Good.

• A nice smile
• A nice face
• A pretty dress
• To balance books on your head
• To not eat when you're hungry
• To want a prince
• To always be nice to princes
• To not bite people
• To not threaten people with knives

Running out of ideas, she stowed the list under her bed and fell asleep again.

As Maki dragged herself to class the next day, she walked through the entrance hall and spotted a group of Evers gathered around a wall. She stepped closer, and saw a leaderboard. At the top of the leaderboard was Sonia, followed by Kaito, Hiyoko, Shuichi, etc. Each of their names were written in gold, along with their ranking.

Maki searched for her name, but didn't see it until the Evers stepped aside. It was at the very bottom, the old metal plate falling off the wall at one side. Maki sighed. Yeah, what did she expect.

After class (and getting reminded that her homework was due tomorrow), Maki rushed to lunch again. Tsumugi was already there this time, and when Maki sat down she slid a bunch of books at her.

"What are these?" Maki asked.

"My homework," Tsumugi said. "I can't do it, it's nightmarish. And I figured it was way more your sort of thing, so…" She batted her eyelashes at Maki.

"You want me to do your homework for you."

"Pretty please? I don't want to fail, but I can't stand it. It's all about murder and curses and stuff, it's awful."

Maki stared at it for a second. "Fine," she said eventually, scooping the books into her bag.

"Thank you! You're the best friend ever!" Tsumugi exclaimed.

"Are you thinking of leaving yet?" Maki asked, moving aside so Kaede could sit down.

"Well, waiting and hoping someone would let me swap schools hasn't worked… so I've decided I just need to assert myself more!" Tsumugi declared.

"And what the fuck does that mean."

"No need to be so sour about it, Maki," Tsumugi said. "Well, to start with, my prince won't approach me because he doesn't realise I'm actually Good. So I just need to approach him instead."

"Now?" Kaede asked, looking interested.

"Uh-" Tsumugi hesitated. "If he's not too busy right now…" She peered round at Kaito, who was in passionate discussion with Shuichi across the clearing.

"I'll come with you," Kaede offered. "I want to speak to Shuichi anyway. And Maki should come too."

"No way," Maki replied.

"This is your chance to fix your reputation! If you make Kaito think you're okay, the school should agree with him, right?"

"I don't want to fix my reputation. I want to go home."

"You should come," Tsumugi said. "You'll make me look good in comparison."

"That's kinda harsh…" Kaede mumbled.

"Fine!" Maki said, standing up quickly. "But I'm not talking to him."

“Probably for the best,” Tsumugi said, getting to her feet. “Does my hair look okay?”

The three of them left their table and headed across the clearing, Kaede in the lead. Kaito and Shuichi were sat on a picnic blanket under a tree, but they both stood as Kaede said hello. The two of them waved at Kaede, then hesitated as they noticed Maki and Tsumugi behind her. Maki glared at the floor.

“Kaito, Tsumugi wants to talk to you,” Kaede said, stepping aside and gesturing at her. Tsumugi looked suddenly shy.

“Ah, sorry, I’m not bothering you am I?”

“Uh, no?” Kaito said.

“Oh, good! Um, I just wanted to say hi. I know I didn’t make the uh, best first impression, but…”

Maki was suffering so much second-hand embarrassment that she tried to tune Tsumugi’s conversation out. She watched Kaede, who was now talking to Shuichi, wondering why she was even here. She didn’t want to talk to any of these people.

“Did you get loads of homework too?” Kaede asked. Shuichi shook his head.

“Not the same as you have. I could do written stuff, but at the moment it’s sword-fighting techniques… I’m not great at that.” Maki wasn’t surprised - Shuichi looked lanky enough that a gust of wind might blow him over. He had dark blue hair that hung over his eyes slightly, and his posture seemed pretty much the inverse of Kaito’s wide, confident stance. Maki wasn’t sure what Kaede saw in him, but she’d been weird enough to talk to Maki, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

“But it’s okay, because I’m helping him!” Kaito interjected. Tsumugi looked defeated - obviously her attempts to interest him in conversation had failed.

“Helping him?” Kaede asked.

“Mhm! Training! In the courtyard during supper. You can watch if you’d like, a lot of girls do.”

“Please don’t…” Shuichi said nervously.

“Sorry, no can do. I have homework to get done for tomorrow. Maybe later though?” Kaede said sweetly. “And I’m sure you’re not that bad, Shuichi.”

“And even if you are, if Kaito’s training you it won’t last long,” Tsumugi added, trying to get back into the conversation again. Shuichi looked alarmed that Tsumugi was talking to him, and stepped away.

“Um, Kaito,” Shuichi said, and Maki felt him glancing at her again. “Are you sure we should be talking to these people? I mean, Kaede’s fine, but…”

Maki had it, and looked him directly in the eye. “Yeah, because you’re one to talk, emo wannabe.”

“ Maki! ” Kaede and Tsumugi both exclaimed, looking mortified. Shuichi winced like someone had slapped him.

"I am so sorry about her Shuichi, she doesn't mean it-"

"I do."

"She's having a bad day, she's not a bad person I swear!" Kaede said. Maki opened her mouth to argue again, when she noticed Kaito's expression. He looked almost… impressed?

"I've never met a princess like you before," Kaito said, looking at Maki, and both Kaede and Tsumugi fell silent. "You're… sassy."

Maki blinked. "I'm… what?"

"Sassy," Kaito said, this time with more confidence.

"What's that meant to mean?" Maki glared, taking a step away from him.

"Y'know, snarky. Witty." Kaito grinned. "Brazen."

"That's not what I- Nevermind," Maki turned on her heel and walked away. "This isn't worth my time."

She heard Kaito turn to Shuichi as she walked away. "Wait, what did she want me to say?"

"Uh, I think she meant 'why do you think that?' not 'what does that word mean?'," Shuichi clarified.

"Oh! Oops."

Kaede and Tsumugi both apologised, then ran after Maki. She didn't stop walking or acknowledge them until she was safely back at their table.

"You could have at least tried to be nice, Maki," Kaede suggested. "He didn't mean it in a bad way." Maki couldn't tell whether she was referring to Shuichi or Kaito, but either way it meant nothing to her.

Tsumugi, however, had already moved on from Maki's insolence. "Why does he like you more than me!?" she whined. "He barely listened when I was talking to him, but he looked at you like you were a kitten! Maybe he's into the bad girl type?"

"Please shut up," Maki groaned, putting her head in her arms. "And never call me a bad girl again or I'll stop doing your homework."

"Sorry, I'm sorry!!" Tsumugi yelped, alarmed.

"Huh, well. We can try again next lunch?" Kaede said, trying to sound optimistic. Maki sighed, and peeked out from her arms to look across the clearing. Kaito was looking at her. She ducked back down again.

Despite the fact she would never admit it, Maki did feel kind of bad. Not for her comment at Shuichi, it wasn't even that rude, but the way she'd been treating Kaito. She had to remind herself that he hadn't actually done anything. He wasn't stealing Tsumugi from her, in fact he didn't seem interested in her at all. And he hadn't been rude or judgemental towards her like most of the other Evers. He was just some guy that didn't seem to pick up on social cues. She couldn't actually fault that.

As lunch ended, she wondered if she should apologise to Kaito, but decided against it. It would be way too awkward to be worth it, and she didn't need him getting any ideas. It would be better for both of them if they just stayed away from each other.

Maki spent all of supper doing Tsumugi’s homework. She’d never been able to focus on the Good textbooks, but the Evil ones were totally different. Maki found herself imagining casting the hexes in Spells for Suffering, Year 1 on everyone who was causing her problems (especially Hiyoko), and the stories from Best Villainous Monologues were so much more compelling than Winning Your Prince . The villains in these stories had drive, they had something to fight for, even if it was wrong. They didn’t just sit around smiling and waiting for a handsome prince. Although, Maki did find herself wondering how the stories ended - every anecdote always finished far before the story’s conclusion, so abruptly that it seemed almost deliberate. Maybe it really was true that Evil never won anymore. Maki couldn’t understand how that could be, given how strong Evil seemed and how weak Good was. Maybe their year would finally be the last straw that breaks the curse on Evil, with how useless they all were.

Eventually, once she’d finished, her and Kaede returned to their room. Maki wondered when she could give the homework to Tsumugi: would she see her in the morning? She could always cross the bridge again, but she might miss breakfast. Maki sighed, taking out her scrunchies. Necessary sacrifice, I suppose .

“Hey, Maki, did you do all your homework then?” Kaede asked, yawning.

Maki’s stomach dropped. “Shit.”

“I thought you were doing it during supper?”

“I totally forgot,” she said, hurriedly pulling her books out. “I was too distracted with Tsumugi’s homework.”

“It’s nice of you to help her, Maki,” Kaede said. “But you shouldn’t be helping with her lessons if it means failing yours.”

“It doesn’t mean that,” Maki said harshly. “I’m just an idiot. I can do it now.”

“If you’re sure? Don’t stay up too late.”

“It’s fine, I’ll sit in the window and use the moonlight. You can sleep.” “I wasn’t worrying about myself, I was worrying about you,” Kaede said. “You’ve got to look after yourself.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Maki replied dismissively. “Which book did we need for History of Heroism?”

“ Wishing Upon A Star: Famous Dreams that Came True. I have it here I think…” Kaede rummaged through her bag. “Ah, but I returned A Guide to Gracefulness to the library already, you need that for Princess Posture.”

“It’s fine, I’ll make it up,” Maki said, taking the book from Kaede and climbing on the windowsill with her bag. Pulling the curtains closed behind her, she gazed at the view for a few minutes until Kaede turned off the light. The night was cold and clear, and Maki could see stars in the sky over the shadowy figure of the School for Evil. Then, reluctantly, she opened the first book.

Maki wrote for what felt like an hour, though it was hard to tell. Her brain was tired, and she didn’t have the slightest clue what she was meant to write. History of Heroism wasn’t too bad, it was just a lot of reading and regurgitating, but Good Deeds was an ‘opinionated essay’. Maki had to fake some opinions, because she knew well how Professor Dovey would react to her real ones.

Eventually, she reached Princess Posture, which was a series of questions. Maki stared at them, but they didn’t make any sense at all. “ Q1: What are the four common non-ideal postural patterns? ” She couldn’t tell anymore if it was because she didn’t have the textbook, or because she was too tired. When she’d stayed up late before, back in Gavaldon, she’d kept herself awake by walking around. But cooped up in a windowsill, it was so much harder to keep it together.

As she buried her face in her knees, wondering whether to just give up, Maki suddenly had a brainwave. She could solve two problems with one stone; if she sneaked to the library, she could find the textbook and wake herself up.

Quietly, Maki slid out from under the curtains, leaving her books behind. Kaede was thankfully fast asleep. She glanced at her boots, at the foot of her bed, but crept past them -  they would be too loud for sneaking around. She opened the door slowly, and stepped out into the hallway.

The mood outside was very different than it had been the night she was brought here. The lights had all been on before, and even though it was late, it had been buzzing with students and fairies. Now, it was silent, and dark.

Maki made it down the stairs without interruption. She could see the faint light of fairies at the end of the hall, near the classrooms, but it was dark enough that they couldn’t see her if she stuck to the shadows. By the time they turned, Maki had already stepped into the library and out of sight.

Maki had never actually visited the library before. It was huge; not just books, but statues and glass cases, just like a museum. Along one wall were a line of marble pillars, with a display between each one, featuring a relic of past heroism. There was a magic carpet in one case, a shining sword in the next, a glass slipper in a third, continuing down the wall until reaching a huge painting of a village on fire. Something about the painting, with its vivid colors and golden frame, caught Maki’s attention, and she found herself walking towards it. It seemed almost… familiar, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. She took another step closer, almost enough to touch it, when she heard a noise and whipped around.

“Ah-! What the fuck are you doing here!?” a voice hissed. As Maki’s eyes adjusted to the dark aisles of the library, she made out the shape of a boy. It was Fuyuhiko, the prince Kaede had pointed out to her yesterday.

“I could say the same for you,” Maki replied quickly. Just like herself, he wasn’t wearing his uniform or pyjamas, but instead a black hoodie and sweatpants, and he was clutching a book under his arm.

“Getting a book,” he said, breaking eye contact. “Got a problem with that?”

“No. I’m getting a book too.”

“Doesn’t look much like it,” Fuyuhiko commented, glancing at the painting.

“If you want to pick a fight, make it quick. I have homework to do.”

To her surprise, Fuyuhiko suddenly grinned. “Which homework?”

“ Princess Posture ,” Maki said, rolling her eyes. “I doubt you could help.”

“Then allow me to surprise you,” he said. “ A Guide to Gracefulness by Anita Dewshine?”

“I… think so? How do you know that?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the library. Follow me.” He gestured down the aisle with his elbow, then turned and walked away. Maki cautiously followed.

“Should be up here somewhere,” Fuyuhiko said after half a minute, stopping. “Ah, there. But-” He reached for the book, but it was just higher than he could reach. He was only a couple of inches shorter than Maki, but she couldn’t help snickering.

“Oi, you shut up. I’ve got it.” He jumped, trying to reach it, but his fingers only grazed the cover. He stepped back for a second, then walked back over, hoisting his feet onto the bottom shelf.

“I could have grabbed it myself…” Maki commented, but Fuyuhiko just swore at her in response. Definitely not very princely .

Eventually he got hold of the book, and triumphantly jumped backwards off the shelf onto the floor. “Told you I could do it,” he said, handing it to her.

“Did you seriously memorise the location of all the books in here?” Maki asked, smoothing the creased book cover.

“What? No, I just know my alphabet. Books are in alphabetical order.”

“Oh,” Maki said, feeling kind of dumb. “I’ve never been in a library before.”

“Really? My place has a library.” Fuyuhiko glanced around. “But I like this one better. My one is full of cobwebs. Dad tried to get my bodyguard to clean it, but I didn’t let her because she was 12 and that’s ridiculous.”

“You have a bodyguard?” Maki asked. Fuyuhiko came from a family of Nevers, and Maki couldn’t help being intrigued. She’d heard bits and pieces of Ever life, mostly from Kaede, but nothing about Nevers.

“Uh.. Not anymore,” Fuyuhiko said, looking uncomfortable. “You’re the Reader, right? What kinda place do you come from?”

Maki decided there was no point pursuing the subject if he didn’t want to talk about it. “A village,” she said blandly. “There was a bookshop, but it wasn’t really a library, and I barely went there.”

“I’ve never seen a village before. Do you have a wishing well? Or one of those golden bells in the centre?”

“There’s a well, but I think they use the fountain for wishing,” Maki said, baffled at how interested he seemed in something so mundane. “And there used to be a bell, but a kid hit their head on it so they moved it to the back of the church. I wouldn’t know if they still use it or not, I’m not exactly a churchgoer.”

“I never would have guessed,” Fuyuhiko said.

“Why do you spend so much time in the library, then?” Maki asked, changing the subject.

Fuyuhiko looked away. “None of your business.”

“You’re hiding, aren’t you? From the other Evers?”

Fuyuhiko’s ears went red. “I’m not hiding , I’m just choosing to stay away from them.”

“I don’t blame you.”

He looked at her again. “You’re not scared of me then?” he asked, his tone almost challenging.

“If you’re not scared of me, I’m not scared of you.”

“Why would I be scared of you?”

“Apparently I almost killed Hiyoko.”

“Yeah right, like that’s fucking true. She seems like a wimp, you probably just looked at her the wrong way.”

Maki paused. “I had a knife, but pretty much.”

“So it’s a truce then?” Fuyuhiko said, holding out his hand.

“I… guess?” Maki wasn’t sure what he meant, but she shook his hand regardless.

“Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, Prince of the Dragon Clan. Or something, I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“Maki Harukawa.” She stepped back, then remembered where she was. “I should probably get going.”

“Oh, yeah. Between you and me, I’m hoping I can sleep in here. My room smells of hamster.”

“What?”

“I share a room with Gundham. He’s got a bunch of them, he lets them sleep right by his bed and everything. It would probably be fine in the summer, but during winter it’s a nightmare because I can’t open the window."

“Well, good luck with that?” Maki said.

“Good luck with your homework,” Fuyuhiko replied, turning away.

“God knows I need it.” Maki looked down at her book begrudgingly, then glanced at Fuyuhiko as he walked away. Before she turned, she caught a glimpse of the book he was carrying.

Good vs Evil: Is your Soul Impure, or are you just Confused?

She almost asked if she could borrow it.

When Maki awoke the next morning, her back hurt and she had pins and needles up to her shoulder. She was still in the windowsill, library book open on her lap, legs tucked at weird angles. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes, Kaede walked over and pulled the curtains back to look at her.

“When I told you to sleep, I meant in your bed,” she said.

“Shut up,” Maki groaned, stretching and climbing down, and knocking the book to the floor. Kaede picked it up.

“When did you get this?”

“Last night. I went to the library.”

“Maki,” Kaede responded reproachfully, “you know you’re not meant to leave your room at night.”

Maki rolled her eyes. “No one caught me… although I did run into Fuyuhiko.”

“You did?” Kaede asked.

“He was in the library. He didn’t seem too bad.”

Maki told Kaede the story of her nighttime escapade as they both changed into their uniform.

“So you ended up just chatting?” Kaede asked, watching Maki put her hair up. “You should let me brush your hair.”

“No, I shouldn’t,” Maki replied sternly. “And yeah, not for very long, but he doesn’t seem Evil or anything. He just swears a bit.”

“Awwww, that’s nice.” Kaede smiled warmly. “You two sound like a good match.”

“I- what?”

“I just think you two would be good together. I haven’t really heard you just banter with anyone yet.”

“What do you mean, ‘good together’!?” Maki said angrily. “Just because I talk to a guy for five minutes doesn’t mean I like him.”

“Well, you know what they say about love at first sight,” Kaede mused. “Although, from my understanding, usually you don’t know it’s love at first sight, but looking back feels like it was destined from the moment you met. You know?”

“No, I don’t. And I’ve already told you that’s bullshit.”

“Okay okay, sorry,” Kaede said. “But hey, even if you don’t like him, it’s still good to have a potential partner. For the ball and everything.”

Maki almost choked. “What ball?”

“The Snow Ball? It was mentioned during the Welcoming.” Kaede put down her brush. “Ah, but don’t look so panicked about it! It’s not for ages yet. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Maki paused for a second to collect herself. “Well, I’m not going to a ball , that’s for certain. All the more reason I need to leave.”

“But you don’t have a plan. At all.”

“Okay, and?” Maki snapped. “I’ll figure it out! I’ll just climb the School Master’s tower.”

“I think you need more sleep, Maki,” Kaede said softly.

“Don’t tell me what I need. You don’t know me.” Maki tied the laces on her boots, grabbed her bag, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

She didn’t have time for silly relationships with silly people. Right now, she needed to give homework to Tsumugi, then get to the School Master. Friendships, romance, ‘self-care’... they were all meaningless. Someone like her didn’t need any of them. She just had to–

Maki turned a corner at the bottom of the Purity and ran into someone. She didn’t fall this time, but her homework slid across the floor. She could already tell who it was from the smell.

“Ah, sorry!” said Kaito. “We really need to stop doing that.”

“Get lost,” Maki hissed, kneeling down to pick up her homework.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it as an insult. Earlier. When I called you sassy.”

“I don’t care.”

“I meant it as a compliment!”

“I don’t care!” Maki raised her voice without meaning to, and Kaito blinked, stunned. Maki felt a wave of guilt again. Now she was taking her frustration out on him. Maybe she did need more sleep.

“Right. Well, uh, see you,” Kaito said. He moved awkwardly to walk past her.

Maki turned to watch him walk past. “Uh!” she said suddenly, causing him to pause next to the door. “I, uh… I’m… sorry.”

“Huh?” Kaito looked at her, and she focused hard on the floor. “Oh, it’s okay! I don’t know which bit you’re apologising for, but you’re forgiven nonetheless!”

Maki glanced up and caught him grinning. “Don’t get any ideas! I’m only apologising for biting you during Surviving Fairy Tales. I still think you’re an obnoxious idiot.”

“Oh, so you’re the one who bit me?” Kaito said. “I wasn’t sure which of you I picked, actually. I can tell Hiyoko that.”

“As long as you leave me alone, I don’t care,” Maki said, turning away. She knew that Hiyoko wouldn’t take that as evidence of her belonging in Good anyway, since she injured the prince in the process, so it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Hard to leave you alone when you keep running into me,” Kaito said cheerfully, before leaving. Maki stopped to watch him go, noticing his purple jacket had stars on the inside she’d never noticed before. In case he wasn’t fancy enough , she thought, he needed to show off by not even wearing the uniform right .

She turned back around, only to be met by a number of girls descending the staircase, Hiyoko in the lead. When she saw Maki, she immediately backed behind another girl, taller with short red hair and freckles, and pinched her nose.

“Mahiru, did you know that those boots are the same ones they use when scooping horse dung?” she said loudly. Some of the girls behind her gasped dramatically.

Maki stepped to the side begrudgingly to let them past. As Hiyoko walked past her, she pulled a palette of glittery eyeshadow from her satchel and dropped it at Maki’s feet. A cloud of glitter billowed out across the floor and up to Maki’s ankles.

“Oh dear! Oops! I dropped it!” Hiyoko giggled, picking the palette up again. “Aw, sorry about that Maki. But I do think your shoes look much better now.”

Hiyoko grinned devilishly at Maki, but immediately lost the smile when Maki shot her a death glare. “You know what’s good about these shoes?” she whispered. “I could crush one of your feet so quickly, you’ll hear the crunch before you can scream.”

Hiyoko shrieked, backing away. “Stay away from me sicko!” she yelped, before sprinting away. The other girls followed, leaving Maki alone in the hall.

She took a deep breath. None of these people matter. Their opinions don’t matter. You have nothing to worry about, Maki.

You just need Tsumugi. Don’t let anyone else distract you from what is important.

Maki headed up Honor staircase, towards Halfway Bridge. She had homework to deliver.

Chapter Text

"Good with Good, Evil with Evil, back to your tower before there's upheaval,” said Maki’s reflection.

“Haven’t we been over this already? I’m Evil, remember?”

“Are you sure?” Her reflection smiled tauntingly. There was no way Maki would ever get used to this, but she tried to keep her cool.

“I just told a girl I’d crush her feet for dropping glitter on me,” she said bluntly.

“Yes, but we apologised to Kaito, didn’t we? That’s Good.”

“And immediately called him an obnoxious idiot.”

Her reflection sighed, dropping the grin. “Definitely Evil,” it said, before dissolving.

Maki continued across the bridge without hesitating, then slipped quietly through the doors into Evil. It wasn't the first time she'd entered Evil in the morning, so she was relatively confident she would get away with it. She headed up Malice staircase, pausing in the shadows to let some girls pass, until she made it to Tsumugi's door. She could hear voices from behind it.

"And once we've done that, that's when we invest in mind control technology," Mukuro said.

"Damn right we will! Too bad you won't be alive to see it, Mugi dear!"

Maki knocked, and scanned the room quickly when Junko opened it. On one side, Mukuro sat reading what seemed to be a script on a piece of paper. On the bed around her lay a multitude of weapons - Maki could identify crossbows, blades, even a mace. On the other side, Tsumugi was crouched in the corner, looking terrified.

When Tsumugi spotted Maki in the doorway, she jumped up and dove towards her. "Maki my roommates want to kill me!!"

Maki closed the door behind her and looked at Junko again, who stared back at her with unconvincing puppy-dog eyes. "It's not my fault she's such a coward," Junko whimpered. "I was just tryna have some fun. We're not allowed to kill any of our classmates yet."

"Yet?" Maki asked, but didn't wait for a response. "Tsumugi, I brought your homework."

Tsumugi's eyes lit up. "Oh my goodness, thank you! You're a lifesaver!"

"Whatever," Maki said, trying to hide how satisfied the praise made her. "Look, I can't stay here, I'll get caught." She turned to Junko and Mukuro with a serious glare. "So I suggest you stop causing Tsumugi problems, or I'll cause you worse ones."

Junko giggled. "I said I like you, didn't I? You'd be sooooo good with us," she cooed. "We could rule the world."

"No thanks. Bye."

Maki left, slamming the door behind her. She didn't want to abandon her friend with those girls, but what choice did she have? And if they were really scaring Tsumugi, maybe she'd consider returning to Gavaldon.

Maki cursed herself for thinking that. She shouldn't be hoping her friend suffers just so they could go home together. She walked down the stairs. If she was a good person, she wouldn't care how she felt, how lonely she was, how much it hurt. She would prioritise her friend being happy. Yet she still kept having these thoughts, evidence of the truth that maybe she was E -

A bucket of slimy water dropped on Maki's head.

She lost her train of thought completely, coughing and spluttering. What the fuck just happened? She opened her eyes to see the tripwire line on the floor, and then followed it up to the empty bucket dangling over her head. That hadn't been there before, had it?

"Nishishishi!" Someone behind her laughed, and she spun around to see Kokichi emerging from the shadows behind the staircase. "I thought I'd get one of those stinky Nevergirls on their way to breakfast, but look what we have here."

Maki felt a twinge of panic, but tried to stay calm. "I was just leaving," she said through gritted teeth, wiping her face.

" Well , not anymore," Kokichi said, moving to block the exit. "What are you doing sneaking around then, princess?"

"None of your business. And I'm not a princess."

"So what are you then?" Kokichi asked, stepping closer to her.

"I'm leaving," Maki repeated. She was not in the mood for games, and this kid was irritating her more and more every second she was here.

"Hmph," Kokichi pouted, puffing up his cheeks. "You're no fun. I could help you on your secret mission, you know."

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself then!" He stepped towards her again, causing her to move backwards in reflex, away from the exit. "Guess you won't mind if I do this then!"

"Wh-?" Maki started, but before she could even finish a word, Kokichi shouted at the top of his voice.

"THERE'S AN EVER IN THE SCHOOL!! I REPEAT, AN EVER HAS BROKEN INTO THE SCHOOL!"

Shit .

Kokichi grinned smugly. "Now look what you did, Maki. Your name's Maki, riiiight?"

Maki heard the sound of thundering footsteps coming down both of the staircases. She could probably push past Kokichi to the exit, but she'd hesitated for too long. She'd be in full view of everyone from the staircase.

"Ignoring me, Maki?" Kokichi said playfully. "I guess you're too preoccupied with finding a hiding place, right? Like hide and seek! If you find a good hiding place, I won't tell them where you hid, deal?"

Maki resisted the urge to grab him by the throat, and reluctantly listened to him, looking around for somewhere she could hide. She spotted a window draped with thick black curtains, and ran over, pulling them back. Like the window in her room, it was wide enough to sit in.

Feeling ridiculous, she slipped behind the curtain as the footsteps of Nevers descended down the stairs. Now she just had to hope Kokichi was telling the truth.

The view from the window was at an angle she'd never seen before. It looked back diagonally, past the shimmering School for Good and toward the blue forest, sprawling out behind the school. She could also see some of Evil's towers and rooftops, spreading out backwards, adorned with spikes and statues. And in the centre of it all, the School Master's tower: the one she'd gazed at so many times now. The light was on, but there was no figure in the window.

"If you were telling another lie, Ouma, I'll crush you with my heel," a calm voice said from beyond the curtain. She heard Kokichi hum in reply.

"Well, she was right here, but then she hid."

"And where did she hide!?" Another voice exclaimed angrily 

"I told her I wouldn't tell you," Kokichi said proudly. "Although, on second thoughts, I am a liar. So maybe it wouldn't hurt."

Maki cursed silently. So he wasn't telling the truth. Now all she'd managed was to corner herself. If they approached her now, she'd be stuck.

Or would she…?

Maki tried the handle and the window opened with a soft creak. She looked out at the drop below, then at the sprawling rooftop above. It seemed stupid, but it might just work.

"Okay then my lovely people, gather round!" Kokichi said, his footsteps getting closer. "The one who broke into our tower is… drumroll please… right here !"

Kokichi pulled back the curtains with a dramatic flourish. Maki was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, that's odd," Kokichi giggled. "Guess I must have been mistaken. False alarm!"

Maki heard the Nevers groan and swear, as she crouched unsteadily on the roof above the window. It was damp and so was she, but the cold and discomfort was worth winning against that brat. She looked around, wondering whether to just climb back down and choke him into letting her pass.

From up here, the School Master's tower seemed almost within reach. If she crossed the rooftop, she could at least get close enough to see inside. It wasn't much, but it would feel like progress, wouldn't it? She could climb over, take a quick look, then slip in through a different window far away from Kokichi.

Perhaps too tired to evaluate her decision, Maki began balancing across the rooftop. She started to regret it almost immediately, as her fingers felt numb from the cold. She had forgotten, with all the warmth and light inside Good, that it was now mid-November.

But she was on a mission now, so she stubbornly refused to change her mind. She clambered precariously along ridges on her hands and knees, standing up once or twice to lean against a turret and collect her whereabouts. It wasn't just cold, all the way at the top, but also windy, and chunks of moss made it hard to get a foothold.

Maki turned back towards the School Master's tower, closer than ever, and almost lost her grip at the sight; he was standing there, staring at her through the window. He looked the same as she remembered the night they were kidnapped, with thin white hair that drifted almost unnaturally around his face, and eyes that were the colour of misty mountain sky.

She moved towards him breathlessly, and shouted "Hey!" She couldn't tell if he heard her or not. "I need to speak to you!"

She moved forward again, placing a hand on a statue of a gargoyle for stability. He glanced at the gargoyle, then at her, before turning and disappearing into the tower.

"Oi! Don't just ignore me!" she yelled. "This is im-"

The gargoyle moved beneath her hand. Maki flinched, stumbling and losing her balance, and her feet went sideways. She slid down the side of the roof, but managed to grab the ledge as she fell with a few fingers. It was enough to pull herself up, as she found leverage with her boots and hauled herself back to stability. As she did so, she glanced up.

Turns out the gargoyle wasn't just a statue.

It stretched out its wings, looking down at Maki. She froze in place, still crouching uncomfortably beneath it. What did gargoyles do? She was sure they had been mentioned before, but she wasn't certain when. 

Then Maki remembered Lady Lesso's words during the Welcoming. 

" The gargoyles have orders to kill intruders on sight and have yet to grasp the difference between students and intruders ."

The gargoyle opened its mouth and breathed flames at Maki, who let out a yelp and narrowly dodged. She couldn't have found a worse situation if she tried. It was cold, wet, windy, unstable and far from the open window she'd climbed out from, and she had no clue how to fight a fucking gargoyle. She didn't even have a weapon. If she'd been a boy, she would have been given a sword ages ago, and taught how to use it too. But as a girl, all she'd been taught was to call for a boy to help her. Bullshit.

It launched flames again, and Maki felt the heat as she tried to clamber past. It hissed, baring its teeth and claws and hovering slightly above the roof, preparing to dive. At its first plunge, Maki kicked it hard, sending it sideways, but it didn't last long as a deterrent. She tried to grab the turret, but her fingers slipped and the gargoyle dived again. The smell of smoke was suffocating, and the heat was crawling up her back.

She looked back, and the gargoyle prepared for a third (and likely final) blow. She had no way to dodge now without falling. Then she looked down, across at the School Master's tower, then at the moat below. It was risky, but… if she jumped into the water, she may yet stand a chance .

As the gargoyle plunged, Maki let go with both hands and slid across the rooftop towards the water. She tried to straighten her legs to jump in, hoping to adopt a diving position, but her dress caught on a spike and she spun around, flailing.

The sky above her was a blur of colours as Maki tipped over the side, falling backwards into the murky water below. It was dark and cloudy and foggy, as was everything in Evil, but rays of sun peeked through the darkness, and birds swooped across. She had very little time to take the sights in, before she was plunged into darkness.

Maki could swim. She'd never been taught how to swim, but she knew how to keep herself afloat enough to survive any of the rivers in Gavaldon, and she could drag children out of the water too.

But the waters on Evil's side of Halfway Bay were different. It was putrid, full of dirt and algae and animal bones, and too dark to see through. She struggled to bring herself to the surface, but she couldn't even see her own hand, and she had no idea which direction was up.

In her panic, Maki inhaled a mouthful of water, kicking her legs wildly. If she drowned here, no one would even see her. Her bones would just wash up on the shore like all the others, no one any the wiser. They'd never know what happened.

The children would never know what happened.

As Maki's thoughts became hazy, she felt a sudden force tug her upwards, and light hit her eyes again. She was half-conscious and half-submerged in water, but something was dragging her towards the School for Good; she didn't have the energy to look, and she didn't care. She just coughed and wretched until her lungs were clear, her eyes screwed shut in fear.

When she opened her eyes, Maki was lying on her back, on solid ground. The School Master stood over her, water dripping from his hair, which had now fallen limp.

"Really now," he scolded in a soft voice. Maki wasn't sure what she was expecting him to sound like, but he sounded oddly… relaxed. "You need to be more careful than that, Maki." He twisted his hair, wringing out water. Then he spoke again.

"You can't die now, not when your story is only just beginning."

Maki took a few deep breaths, trying to pull herself up to look at him properly, with little success. "How do I… leave this school…?" she croaked hazily.

The School Master smiled at her, then turned away. She tried to shout after him, but her voice was too quiet, and she lost it completely at the sight of him casually floating into the air.

So he can fly , she thought weakly. That explains the lack of stairs to his tower. Even if there were stairs, he wouldn't need them.

She tried to lean her head back to watch him, but her eyes felt far too heavy to focus. She was still alive, so she ought to be grateful. She could try again later, with a better plan.

So, Maki closed her eyes instead.

"It's okay, she's breathing," a voice said. "And her injury seems to be minor."

"If it's only a surface wound, should we tell Mikan or Professor Dovey?" another, softer voice asked.

"Well if she's unconscious we're meant to tell a teacher regardless."

A third voice leaned closer to Maki. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

Maki's eyes opened slowly, and she groaned. Blonde-haired Sonia Nevermind moved away to allow her room to sit up.

It took her a moment to piece together what had happened, but once she did, Maki shot upright, surprising all three girls. She looked around.

She was still at the riverbank where she'd been dragged to Good, amongst the bed of red and gold flowers she'd previously been dropped into. Sonia, who Maki knew well as the most popular Evergirl in their year, was sat in front of her, while to her left knelt Peko, whom Maki recognised from her Forest Group. The third girl, hovering in the background, Maki couldn't name from memory, but she had strawberry-brown hair and doe-like pink eyes. All three had expressions etched in hesitant concern.

"Are you alright?" Sonia asked.

"Uh-" Maki had never had to speak directly to Sonia before. "I, uh, yeah. I'm fine, I think." She moved to rub her head, but recoiled when she realised how soaked she was. She probably looked an absolute mess, drenched in muddy-water and slime. I'm sure this'll do wonders for my reputation , she thought cynically.

"What happened?" Peko asked. "We walked outside and you were just lying on the ground. Do you need medical attention?"

"No!" Maki said, louder than she meant to. "I said I'm fine." She couldn't fathom why they even wanted to help her, but she guessed it was for Evergirl brownie points or something. 

"Fine people don't sleep on the ground outside…" the third girl said. "At least, usually. I think…"

"Plus you appear to be injured," Sonia said. Maki followed her line of sight to her thigh, where her dress had been ripped by a spike. There was a shallow wound down her leg, surrounded by a puddle of watery blood. Nothing she hadn't dealt with before, of course, and she knew the water mixing made it seem far worse than it actually was. It wasn't really anything more than a new scar to match her old ones.

"Eh, it's just a cut," she mumbled.

"Still, you should probably equip a bandage or something, for healing," the girl with pink eyes said thoughtfully.

"Equip?"

"Ah, Chiaki likes to speak using video game lingo!" Sonia explained. She stretched the word 'lingo' out weirdly, like she'd never pronounced it before. "Do not let it alarm you."

“Ah, right.” Maki looked around, wondering how long she’d been unconscious. “I can deal with it myself though.” She felt shaky, but she should be able to walk. But she’d need to hurry if she wanted to clean up in time for class.

“Do you need to borrow a new uniform?” Peko asked.

That hadn’t occurred to Maki, but now that she thought about it, the fairies seemed to leave her a clean dress every morning. She couldn’t remember if she had any spares. “Uh, maybe?”

“I’m not sure your uniform would fit her, Peko,” Chiaki said. “But you can borrow mine.”

“Thank you?”

“Ah, I believe I have not personally introduced myself,” said Sonia. “I am Sonia Nevermind, Princess of the Novoselic Kingdom. Although I am also in line for inheritance in Corona and Arendelle.” She surveyed Maki awkwardly. “Normally I would shake hands when introducing myself, to be courteous, but I see now is not a good time.”

Maki shrugged, unable to fault that. Chiaki stepped forward. “I’m Chiaki Nanami of Pixie Hollow. Nice to meet you.”

They both turned to look at Peko. “Peko Pekoyama,” she said, volunteering no further information

She’d gotten sick of introducing herself, something she rarely had to do in Gavaldon, but Maki decided it was worthwhile since they had been polite. “Maki Harukawa.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Chiaki said. “Uh, not very positive things though.”

“Yes, please forgive me if I am not entirely decided on my views of you, Harukawa,” Sonia added.

Maki scuffed her boots in the flowers self-consciously. “If you don’t like me, why are you helping me?” She was sure she already knew the answer, but she wanted to confirm regardless.

“Hm? Because we are good, and that is what good people do.” Sonia said, smiling. “Being kind to people is totally hip right now!”

“No one says ‘hip’ anymore, Sonia,” Chiaki said warmly.

“Why not!?”

“Uh, it’s almost time for class,” Peko interrupted. “If you want to clean up, we should hurry.”

Yeah, right . Maki actually wasn’t sure where to find the baths, given she hadn’t really thought about that yet. Sure, she would have bathed eventually, but she hoped that would be somewhen less urgent. Or even better, back in the orphanage.

“Come up to our room, Maki,” Chiaki said, and Maki nodded. She wasn’t one to be picky about help, not now she was lucky she was even alive.

“So, did you fall into Halfway Bay?” Sonia asked as they walked inside.

“It’s complicated,” Maki mumbled. She was trying to hold back on the biting insults until after she’d been leant new uniform, so she wouldn’t scare Chiaki off.

Chiaki thought for a second. “Did someone push you in?”

“It’s complicated,” Maki repeated.

“Not even a hint?” Sonia asked.

“...I encountered a gargoyle.”

“I thought those were only on the roof?” Peko said.

“They are.”

Sonia stopped walking, looking at her. “Why were you on the roof!?”

“It’s complicated.”

They continued walking in silence for a minute. As they passed the archway into the courtyard, Maki glanced instinctively to see if she could spot Kaede. Kaito was looking at her.

She rushed out of sight, hiding her face. Why did it have to be him ? She looked awful right now. Of course she had to humiliate herself in front of her nemesis. What would he even be thinking? He saw her only earlier, after all, perfectly normal. Now she looked like death washed up, literally.

Maki followed the girls all the way up Purity staircase, to the top floor, and past her and Kaede’s room. Chiaki opened the door, and Maki peered inside. It wasn’t really how she expected. Neither her nor Kaede had decorated at all, but the same could not be said for this room. The middle bed of the three had a large numbers of posters scattered around it, of rock bands and punk fashion, though she had no clue who the bed belonged to. In the right corner, the bed was littered with snacks and games consoles, with a pair of pink headphones hanging from a pin in the wall. The remaining bed was the only one that appeared mostly untouched.

“I’ll grab my uniform, give me a moment,” Chiaki said, open the wardrobe. Sonia sank down onto the middle bed.

“What’s with all the posters?” Maki asked Sonia, trying to make small-talk to break the silence.

“Ah!” Sonia gasped. “I forgot! Please, do not tell anyone about the posters!”

“I… won’t?” Maki promised, confused.

“Sonia is worried that she might end up less popular if the others knew she likes, uh, classically darker media,” Peko explained. Maki raised an eyebrow.

“Is that considered ‘dark’?”

“Do you like it?” Sonia asked, excited. “I have an entire collection, but I chose the most presentable ones for the sake of my decorum.”

“Here you go,” Chiaki said, passing Maki a pink bundle. “Hopefully it fits okay.”

“Can’t be any worse than this one,” Maki replied, picking at her torn dress. “How did you get more than one uniform? Did you ask?”

“I’m pretty good with fairies,” Chiaki said, sitting down on her bed and putting on her headphones. “I’m part pixie, so they usually listen to me, even if I don’t understand what they’re saying.”

Maki ignored the absurdity of it all, but hesitated before leaving. “Um, I don’t know the bathrooms are,” she said under her breath, not sure whether or not she wanted them to hear it. Chiaki, who was now engrossed in a console, did not, and neither did Sonia. But Peko looked at her.

“I can show you,” she offered. Maki was surprised that Peko didn’t seem to care about the implications of that, given how much Evers seemed to value grooming, but it was pleasant, so she didn’t comment any further. She nodded, and the two left the room again.

“You never told me where you’re from,” Maki said, as they walked. “Or your title.”

Peko made a noise, looking uncomfortable.

“Everyone else here has. Neverland, Camelot, Novoselic, Pixie Hollow…”

“I don’t really have a title,” Peko said stiffly.

“How come?”

“I never knew my family,” she said. “So I don’t know my lineage. They could be anyone. And as for the people who raised me…” Peko thought for a moment, brow furrowed. “My friend requested that it wasn’t put on my title when I joined the school. Because he didn’t want people’s first impressions to be based on a history that wasn’t mine.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced by this decision.

“I see,” Maki said, as Peko stopped walking.

“Here,” she said, gesturing at a pink door with an intricate golden frame. “It’s not as good as the Groom Rooms, but it’ll be more private at this time of day.”

“I wouldn’t be allowed in the Groom Rooms,” Maki grumbled, remembering her low class rank. “And I won’t want to anyway, sounds dumb.”

For the first time during their interaction, Peko smiled slightly. “I’ll leave you be now. But hurry if you don’t want to be late.”

“Okay, thanks,” Maki replied. Peko walked away, as she pushed the door open. The smell was as overwhelming as her uniform the first time she wore it, only this time mixed with the scent of warm water and soap. Without the luxury of hanging around, Maki found an empty room and locked the door behind her, slipping off her soggy clothes.

When she carefully put a foot into the tugb, Maki realised she’d never had a warm bath before. At least, not since she was too young to remember. Hot water was a privilege in the village, one the orphanage could barely afford, so it was saved for special circumstances. Difficult cleaning, bathing very young children, the sick or injured… Maki never considered her injuries bad enough to warrant the waste, so she always washed cold. She didn’t even bother running a bath for herself more often than not, just tipped a bucket of water over her head, and then washed her hair.

It was nice. She wouldn’t mind coming back here, when she wasn’t on a time limit. Being able to relax was something she hadn’t done in days now, and it was starting to take a toll.

And she had so many things to think about. The School Master could fly. He had seen her from the window and saved her life. She dunked her head under the water to clean her face. What was it that he said to her…? “You can't die now, not when your story is only just beginning." She had no idea what that was meant to mean.

She kicked her legs, splashing in frustration. She’d been so close to getting answers, as well! But he just ignored her. If she could just get into his tower, she could talk to him properly, make him listen. However, with the knowledge there may not even be a staircase now solidified, it brought her back to the drawing board. He could fly, and she couldn’t. That just seemed completely unfair.

She stared at the ceiling. Kaito wouldn’t stop watching her everywhere she went, Kokichi was a fucking nightmare that she hoped she’d never run into again, Hiyoko wasn’t much better, Sonia was secretly into punk rock??, Chiaki was a half-pixie that liked video games, and the School Master was just some weird dude who talked in riddles and stalked her from a window.

Maki climbed out of the bath, dried her hair and cleaned up the wound on her leg. It did look a bit nasty when visible like this, but it didn’t seem bad enough to cause any complications. It just hurt, more than she’d like to admit.

Once she was dry, she put on the borrowed uniform (it seemed to fit her okay, at least by uniform standards) and glanced at herself in the mirror. She hated how pathetic she looked. Even the people who were nice to her, were surely just pitying her now.

The bell chimed for lessons, and Maki laughed hollowly. Time for Beautification. Maybe today’s lesson would be “how to not look like shit 24/7”. She could take notes.

Pulling herself together, Maki dashed to her room to grab her bag. Surely everything today should be a source of motivation, right? To speak to the School Master and get out of here. To leave this stupid school in the dust.

But as she sat down at her desk, it occurred to her that, perhaps, this morning had done just the opposite. Not everyone here was that bad, after all…

And Maki had always wanted a warm bath.

Chapter Text

"I met the School Master."

"You what!?" Kaede exclaimed. "How?"

"Miss Akamatsu, can I have silence, please?" Professor Anemone hissed. Kaede looked at her desk politely, waiting until the teacher turned away to resume her conversation.

"He saved me from drowning," Maki whispered, doodling in her new pink notebook.

"Why were you drowning? I thought you were bringing Tsumugi homework?"

"I was. Then I fell off the roof."

Kaede looked more bewildered with every sentence. "Why were you on the roof??" Maki smirked: she was doing it intentionally. Kaede's reaction was much more amusing than 'feminine charm'.

"Kokichi dumped water on my head."

"Can you please just tell me the story from the beginning, Maki," Kaede sighed, realising what Maki was doing.

"Kokichi is the beginning," Maki started. "He spotted me and called all the Nevers over, so I hid in the window and-"

"I said," Professor Anemone interrupted, "silence, the two of you!" She hit her palms dramatically on their desks, making the rest of the class turn to look at them. "How you girls think you can learn without-" She paused, her eyes going wide. "Goodness me child, what is that?"

Professor Anemone picked up Maki's book, where she'd been drawing. She held it up with two fingers like it was a used diaper, and several people started muttering or giggling.

Maki felt the back of her neck prickle uncomfortably, but she wouldn't let it show. "It's a wolf, professor. But it's got a child's arm in its mouth. You can see other bits it ate around the page, but the head was discarded because wolves aren't very interested in the skull. Too hard to chew, not enough meat."

Anemone's hand shook as she gestured at the image. "And…this?"

"That's Kokichi Ouma from Evil with a metal spike through his neck. You can see the blood, look." She pointed at the drawing helpfully.

Anemone flung the book back onto the desk, expression painted in horror. "I have never, not in any of my years of teaching, met a child quite so disturbed!"

"Suit yourself then," Maki mumbled, spinning the book back around to face her. Professor Anemone paced for a while, trying to regain some composure, before resuming her lesson.

"Maybe you should tell me after class," Kaede whispered. "And start a new page for your notes, please?"

"Yeah, yeah," Maki said, tearing out the page she'd been drawing on.

"Y'know, Maki, you wouldn't be so bad at lessons if you actually tried, and didn't argue with the teachers," Kaede said as they sat down for lunch. "Your homework was really good."

"They're the ones who argue with me, not the other way around," Maki grumbled. "Although, I would like to start an argument with Professor Dovey. Do we have her next?"

Kaede took a bite of her sandwich, so Maki waited until she finished chewing. She wasn't touching her own sandwiches, since she knew Tsumugi would want them when she arrived. "Why Professor Dovey?"

"I want to ask about the School Master."

"Ah, right, finish your story! You said you climbed into a window?"

"When Tsumugi shows up, sure."

As if on cue, Tsumugi filed into the clearing from the Nevers side. She grabbed a sandwich from Maki, then stepped away. "Sorry, gotta run, I want to talk to Kaito again," Tsumugi said, her shiny blue hair swishing as she turned. How she'd found the time or resources to wash it, Maki hadn't a clue, but it was definitely clean.

"Hey, I need to tell you something!" Maki said, but Tsumugi brushed her off.

"Later, I'm busy."

Maki and Kaede watched her cross the clearing to sit next to Kaito and Shuichi. Maki sighed. "Do you reckon the rest of this lunch is mine?" she asked Kaede, looking down at the remaining food.

"It's yours anyway," Kaede said. "You need to stop giving her stuff and getting nothing in return."

"She's stressed, give her a break. Her roommates were plotting to kill her this morning."

"They're not allowed to do that, right?" Kaede asked nervously.

"Who knows. From what I saw, I wouldn't put it past them. They had quite the collection of weapons." Maki took a bite of the remaining sandwich. "Do you want me to finish my story then, or would you rather ogle at Shuichi?"

"I don't ogle!" Kaede complained, though she seemed cheerful. "Tell me the story, I've been waiting ages."

Maki recounted everything that happened to her that morning while they ate. The more she tried to explain it, the more irrational her thought process seemed to be. She couldn't fathom why she thought climbing on the rooftops of this place was a good idea.

"'Your story is only just beginning?' What does that mean?" Kaede asked once she finished. Maki shrugged.

"Haven't a clue. But I guess I should be grateful he rescued me, whatever the nonsense reason."

"Maybe he has a crush on you?" Kaede suggested jokingly.

Maki fake gagged. "God, I hope not. How old is he?"

"Uhhh, five hundred? Give or take a decade?"

"Ew. What is he, though? He can't be human, if he's lived that long, and can fly and everything."

"No one really knows much about the School Master," Kaede said. "But I imagine he's probably just a very powerful human. Him and his friend founded the school, so they must have been good with magic."

"Normal humans can use magic?" Maki asked, curiosity peaked. She'd seen small amounts of magic from the teachers, so perhaps she should have known that, but she'd never paid attention to it.

"Of course?" Kaede said, like this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Have you not read any of your school books?" She caught Maki's expression and hurriedly corrected herself. "I mean, of course you haven't. Sorry, I forgot you don't know these things."

"Whatever," Maki said, sipping her lemon water.

"We learn magic soon, I think," Kaede said. "They unlock our fingers so it's easier to control, but I don't know if that's before or after December."

"Unlock our fingers?"

"Yeah. During learning, the teachers unlock our fingers so that they glow when we use magic. It makes it easier, like training wheels. They lock it again at the end of school, once we don't need it anymore."

Maki looked at her finger. "Weird." She had the horrible feeling that she would struggle with doing magic, but she pushed it down. Being a Reader just meant she didn't know as much, didn't mean she couldn't do it. Right?

Maki and Kaede both blinked in surprise as Tsumugi sank down next to them. "It's no use!" she cried. "It's probably the wretched uniform. Or maybe I'm too plain. Or just unlikeable!"

"Did he reject you?" Kaede asked sympathetically.

"No…" Tsumugi sniffed. "But he just doesn't seem to care. I don't know how to make him interested. Do I need to be more sexy?"

"I don't even want to know what that would entail…" Maki mumbled.

"Hey, you ate all the food!" Tsumugi said, looking at the empty basket.

"I didn't realise you were coming back, otherwise I would have left something for you. And Evil's food isn't that bad," Maki lied.

"That's because you're weird and gross," Tsumugi complained, looking at the wolves dishing up slop in disgust. "What did you eat back at home anyway, gruel?"

"I have a leftover banana if you want it?" Kaede offered, but Tsumugi didn't seem interested.

"I made sandwiches, actually," Maki said. "And cereal, toast, porridge, crackers, salad… occasionally pasta too, if I had time to cook it."

"That reminds me," Kaede said. "I never asked about what your house is like, Maki."

Maki paused uncomfortably. "I don't have a house. Can we talk about something else?" She looked around for a distraction, or perhaps just to avoid eye contact with Kaede, when she spotted something odd across the clearing.

Fuyuhiko and Peko were standing together, in front of the entrance tunnel, Fuyuhiko backed against a wall. Peko was talking with her back to Maki, such that she couldn't make out the words, and Fuyuhiko looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. His eyes were darting around, seeking an escape route much like Maki always did, and she heard him snap at Peko loudly.

"Leave me alone, okay!? Go back to your friends!"

Was he getting harassed? Maki remembered their discussion about hiding in the library. Peko hadn't seemed bad, but it was obvious she was making him uncomfortable. And Fuyuhiko had helped Maki out before.

"Hey, earth to Maki?" Kaede said. "You're starting to act like Tsumugi now, spacing out like that."

"Give me that," Maki replied, grabbing Kaede's banana. Both girls watched her, bewildered.

Maki stood up from her seat, peeling the banana and chucking the skin aside. Holding it lightly in her hand like a dart, she put her foot forward, her arm back, narrowed her eyes, and threw the banana across the clearing.

It hit Peko squarely in the back of the head, turning to mush on impact.

There was an immediate uproar. Maki froze, tensing up - she hadn't realised so many people were watching. Tsumugi had stood up and was backing away from the table, as if to remove any association with what just happened. Peko turned in Maki's direction, completely bewildered. Fuyuhiko glanced, stunned, between Maki, Peko, Maki, Peko, before bursting into a fit of laughter. He doubled over, trying to regain his composure, which caused Peko to look even more confused at the reaction.

Maki sat back down in her seat, tugging on her hair. She couldn't decide whether her decision had been funny or humiliating. She needed to stop drawing attention to herself, she would become the laughing stock of the year at this rate.

Then Maki heard giggling in front of her, and looked up. Kaede was stifling laughter. "I shouldn't find that funny, but…" She covered her mouth and tried to stop, before involuntarily snorting, completely unlike the sweet girly persona she usually had. Something about the sight of Kaede losing it made Maki laugh as well.

"Don't laugh, it's not funny! You're sabotaging my reputation, Maki!" Tsumugi whined.

"What the fuck was that about?" Maki turned to see Fuyuhiko had approached the table, and despite his words he was grinning too.

"You looked like you needed a diversion," she replied, speaking quietly to avoid her accidental audience hearing.

Fuyuhiko shrugged. "I appreciate the effort." Then he looked at Kaede, who was still struggling to hide her laughter.

Kaede took a deep breath, subduing her laughter into a pleasant smile. "I'm Kaede, it's nice to meet you," she said to Fuyuhiko. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"As if you couldn't make it any worse…" Tsumugi complained, but Fuyuhiko grabbed a chair and joined them. Peko had returned to Sonia and Chiaki, who were helping her clean up.

"Can I ask what that was about?" Maki said, ignoring Tsumugi's protests. "Was she harassing you?"

"Oh, no!" Fuyuhiko said quickly. "It's… complicated."

"Complicated?" Kaede asked.

"Mm." Fuyuhiko paused, fidgeting with his collar. "I can trust you with a secret, right Maki?"

"Sure."

He looked at Kaede, who nodded. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I promise not to tell."

"Would you make a blood oath?"

"B-Blood oath?" Kaede repeated, looking alarmed.

Fuyuhiko grinned. "Yeah. Both cut our palms, then press the wounds together to exchange blood."

"Isn't that what witches do? Or uh, pirates?"

"Do I look like a pirate to you?" Fuyuhiko asked.

Kaede raised her hand nervously. "I can pinky promise..?"

"Okay, deal." He linked fingers with her. "If you break the promise, I get to chop off your pinky."

Kaede flinched away, and Fuyuhiko laughed. "Only messing with you. Don't worry, I trust you. Just don't betray that trust, 'kay?"

All three turned to Tsumugi, who wasn't paying attention anymore. She was watching Peko's table.

"Hey, Tsumugi," Maki snapped.

"Hm?" She turned, but didn't give time for Maki to speak before she continued. "If you don't mind, I'm going to see whether Peko is alright."

"Works for me," Fuyuhiko said casually as Tsumugi left. Maki, however, couldn't take it as lightly. Had she really upset Tsumugi that much? It's not like she hurt Peko, Tsumugi was just overreacting. She resisted the urge to chase after her friend, and stayed seated.

"So, what's the deal with you and Peko?" Kaede asked.

"She's actually my henchman. Well, henchwoman, but no one calls it that."

"Henchman?" Maki asked.

"The people who work under villains," Kaede explained, looking alarmed. "Like how we have sidekicks, they have henchmen."

"I never liked the word anyway," Fuyuhiko said, kicking his feet up on the table. "I always called her my bodyguard."

“But you’re both in Good?”

“Somehow. I mean, Peko’s a good person, I’m not surprised about her. Not sure what I’m doing here.” Fuyuhiko looked up at the sky. “The thing is, her title doesn’t mention the clan at all. I made sure it was that way. So I told her, while we’re in school, she should pretend not to know me. So she wouldn’t be dragged down by my reputation. She deserved to be in this school, after all. I want her to make friends.”

Maki remembered the conversation she had with Peko that morning. It suddenly made a lot of sense.

“Seems like she’s done that,” Kaede said. “She’s roommates with Sonia and Chiaki, right?”

“Yep. And she’s doing well in lessons. She’s got everything she could want.” Fuyuhiko sighed. “But for some damned reason I can’t fathom, she still wants to talk to me.”

“Is that what you were arguing about?” Maki asked.

“She said she doesn’t care about her reputation, she just wants me to stop isolating myself and talk to her again. But I’m not dragging her down when she’s done nothing wrong. I don’t care what she says.” He folded his arms.

Maki stared at him for a while. He wasn’t as Evil as she’d percieved him as. As much as he swore and teased and everything, it seemed like maybe he was an Ever after all.

“I think you belong in Good,” Maki said finally.

“Huh? The fuck you get that idea from?” Fuyuhiko asked, sitting up straight.

“You care about Peko, right? You’re doing whatever you can to make her happy, even if it hurts you. That’s Good. Or at least, my understanding of Good. Kaede might argue you need to smile more or something-"

“I don’t!” Kaede said quickly. “I agree with Maki!”

“What…?” Fuyuhiko screwed up his freckled nose. “Look, if I belonged here I’d be handsome and polite and charming, and I’m not sure if you noticed but I’m none of those things.”

“I’m not sure that’s what being Good is about.” Maki thought back to her childhood. “Sure, most of the heroes in fairytales were conventionally attractive and decently courteous, but those things didn’t make them the hero. It was their actions. Not sure if that’s the case anymore, perhaps it got more shallow nowadays…”

“...But that’s what Good should be,” Kaede finished.

Maki hadn’t expected Kaede to agree with her, but it was a pleasant surprise. Fuyuhiko looked a bit shaken, and shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“You should talk to Peko. If she doesn’t care what others think of her, you don’t have to worry about that. Don’t try and fix what isn’t broken.”

Fuyuhiko swallowed audibly. “Right.” He stood up from his seat, when the bell chimed across the clearing.

“Oh, lunch is over,” Kaede said. “Come on Maki, we’ve got Good Deeds. Bet you’re an expert on that now!”

“For the record, I only read fairytales because everyone did,” Maki said defensively. “I thought they were stupid.”

Kaede hummed cheerfully in response. “You realise everything you said to Fuyuhiko just now applies to you too, right?”

Maki stopped walking. “...No it doesn’t.”

“You didn’t even consider it!”

“I don’t need to. Our situations are nothing alike.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Kaede grumbled. “But hey, at least you’re funny.”

Kaede saying that reminded Maki of something, and she took the opportunity to move the conversation away from herself. “All the other Evergirls were appalled when I threw the banana. You just laughed.” Maki didn’t intend to sound accusatory, but Kaede still recoiled.

“I didn’t mean to! But it was just… silly, y’know?” Kaede said guiltily. “You’re silly.”

“I am not silly.”

“Yes you are! Because…” Kaede put a hand to her mouth to hide a smile. “Your name is Harukawa, and you threw a banana… that makes you a… Harunana!”

Maki choked. “WHAT.”

“Get it? Haru-nana! Like banana. But you.” Kaede giggled.

“Never call me that again,” Maki snapped, storming off ahead.

“I’m sorry! It’s a joke!” Kaede called after her, running to catch up.

Maki made a dismissive noise. She had no interest in this conversation anyway, her mind was already drifting back to Tsumugi. She hadn’t even checked how her best friend’s interaction with Peko went, she was so distracted with Fuyuhiko. Some friend Maki was. She would have to apologise the next time she saw her. She’d obviously fucked up somewhere.

Maki’s plan to question Professor Dovey fell through next lesson, as Pollux taught their lesson instead. “There was an incident with one of the gargoyles, so she unfortunately couldn’t make it to today’s lesson.” Maki wondered whether it had anything to do with her rooftop escapade, but had too little evidence to reach a conclusion. She’d know if she was in trouble when she got sent to Dovey’s office, but until then she’d just have to cross her fingers.

With her first goal in the mud, Maki moved on to phase two: speaking to Tsumugi.

It went about as well as her first plan. When she approached her friend during Surviving Fairy Tales, Tsumugi just brushed her off.

“I need to talk Kaito, okay? We can chat later.”

Their conversation obviously didn’t last long, because a minute later Kaito walked over to Maki, who was pulling leaves off a tree in frustation. “Whatcha doing?”

Maki twitched in surprise, but managed to hide it. “Practicing for when I rip the hair off your head,” she snapped, dropping a leaf to the ground. As she looked back up, she noticed Tsumugi watching from across the forest, her expression hard to read. She'd have to make it clear how uninterested she was in Kaito, so Tsumugi would get the message.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to rip out my goatee?” Kaito asked. “Since it’s more your height and everything?”

Maki glared up at him. “Do you wanna die?”

“Okay okay, I’m just saying hi!” he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

“Ah, but I wanted to ask you something! Well, two things.”

Maki folded her arms. “You’d better make it quick.”

“Right!” Kaito straightened his posture to his usual confident stance. “Question 1! Why were you all soggy this morning?”

She’d forgotten that he saw her on the way to Sonia’s room. “Uh…” Maki couldn’t think of a clever response, so she looked away. “None of your business, next question.”

“Aw. Okay. Question 2! Why did you throw a banana during lunch?”

“Is there a reason for these questions, or are you just being annoying?”

“I’m just curious! There are a bunch of rumours, see, but I figured the noble thing to do is find the truth from the source! So I’m asking.” He posed proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Okay, answer: none of your business."

"Do you make a habit of throwing food at people?"

"That's three questions."

"It's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed! Nothing to be ashamed of."

Maki stared at him, then ripped a twig from the tree. "You see this?" She held it up, then snapped it in half. "That'll be your spine in a second."

"You'll turn my spine into a twig?"

"No, I'll snap it in half."

"You can't do that, right?" Kaito said, looking worried.

Maki broke the twig again, into even smaller pieces. "I'm a witch, who knows what I'm capable of?"

"Alright everyone, settle down!" Yuba said, thumping his staff on the ground. Kaito took the opportunity to head back to Shuichi. Maki looked around for Tsumugi, set on talking to her again, but saw her glaring darkly in Maki's direction. Seemed Maki's negative attitude towards Kaito didn't work to reassure her.

"It's not my fault he likes me, okay!?" she said in frustration, walking towards her friend.

Tsumugi turned away.

"Look, Tsumugi. Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry."

There was a pause, then Tsumugi turned back around. "It's not your fault, Maki, you can't help it. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Can't help what?"

Tsumugi shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Before Maki could argue, Yuba began his explanation of the lesson, and she was forced into silence.

"Each week, we'll repeat the challenge to discern Good from Evil, since it is the most crucial skill you will take into the Woods," Yuba announced. "Today we'll test the Evers. Can all of the girls from both schools step forward please?"

Maki reluctantly followed the other girls. Yuba led them all to a row of eight open glass coffins on the dirt, and instructed them to lay in them. He then waved his staff. Maki felt her body morphing again, though this time the change was thankfully less drastic. She peered out to see each of the girls was now identical, with golden hair, blue eyes and thin waists. She touched her own face and recoiled - she too had soft skin and delicate features. Gross.

Yuba slammed the glass lids and called to the boys, who came into view. "Now, study the maidens carefully and search for signs of Good," he told the Everboys. "Once you're sure you've found an Ever, kiss her hand and her true nature will be revealed!"

Maki stared at the sky through the glass, completely distracted, as the Everboys warily ventured towards the coffins. Hopefully Kaito would pick Tsumugi this time, then maybe she'd cheer up and actually talk to Maki-

"I want to play too!"

Yuba turned to Kokichi, who had his hand in the air cheerfully.

"Mmm, I suppose it'll give our girls incentive to behave," said the gnome.

Inside the coffins, each of the princesses stiffened as Kokichi joined the Everboys, wandering around them. She kept her expression as neutral as possible. She'd gotten used to playing along with the stupid lessons, so as to not fail, but if Kokichi picked her she wouldn't be able to restrain herself from punching him.

Ideally she wouldn't be picked at all, and Tsumugi would have Kaito. Although… if they fell in love, Tsumugi would never want to go home. So maybe…

Maki bit her rosy lip. She couldn't think like that. That's what made her a villain. And if she was a villain, then she'd be put in Evil and Tsumugi in Good and they would never go home.

"Time's up!" Yuba said. "Everyone open your chosen coffin and kiss the maiden's hand."

Maki didn't have a chance to check if anyone chose her, before she heard a bloodcurdling shriek. She spun to see Tsumugi, no longer blonde-haired, whose hand was pressed to Kokichi's lips.

"Hey there!" he said cheerfully to Tsumugi, who kicked him hard and leapt up.

Before Maki could laugh, she heard her own coffin open. The urge to laugh dissipated in an instant.

It was Kaito. Again.

He gently took her hand, and lifted it towards his face confidently. Stunned, Maki kneed him in the chest before he could kiss her. Kaito fell back, bashed his head on the coffin top, and slumped to the ground.

There was uproar for the second time that day. Everboys crowded around him and princess clones jumped from their coffins to help, while Yuba conjured a block of ice for the prince's head. In the chaos, Maki slipped out of her coffin and hid amongst the girls.

Kaito pulled himself to his feet shakily, turning back to the coffin and finding it empty.

Yuba grimaced. “Maybe we should end the activity here…” He waved his staff, and everyone melted back into themselves. Maki squeezed her hair gratefully.

“Now. Which one of you was responsible for this?” Yuba gestured angrily at Kaito, still holding the ice to his head. The girls all looked at each other, but no one moved, Maki included.

“It was Maki.”

Maki turned in surprise to see Tsumugi pointing at her, shaking from head to toe in silent rage.

“Maki of Woods Beyond?” Yuba said, looking at her in disapproval. “This isn’t the first time you’ve caused problems in one of my lessons. Perhaps I should send you to Professor Dovey…”

“No!” Kaito shouted suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, Maki included. “She did warn me to stay away from her. I mean, I didn’t know it was her, but… still, don’t punish her! At least my spine’s still intact.”

Maki couldn’t help gaping. What was wrong with him? He caught her looking and tried to give her a thumbs up, but dropped the ice on the ground in the process.

Yuba stared at the two of them, then sighed. “Fine. But you’re on your final chance. Don’t make me regret letting you off.” He turned back to Kaito. “You, come inside with me. The rest of you, wait for me by the gates to dismiss you. Anyone who leaves before I get back will be penalised for lacking patience, an important virtue of Good.”

“I swear, I’m fine!” Kaito tried to protest, but he followed Yuba back the castle anyway. Not wanting to stay alone in the forest, the rest of the class returned to the gates as instructed. Maki was silent the whole way, trying to make sense of what happened.

She needed to talk to Tsumugi.

When they arrived at the gates, Kaede’s forest group were already there with their teacher, a rosy-mained centaur. Group 8 consisted of Kaede, Fuyuhiko, Sonia, Chiaki, Sayaka and Mukuro, along with a few others Maki couldn’t name. As the two groups mingled to discuss the lesson, Maki hid from Kaede’s view and looked for Tsumugi in the crowd. It didn't take long to spot her blue hair.

“Tsumugi, look, I-”

Maki stopped dead. She’d expected Tsumugi to still be angry, or ignore her, or even to be nice again and apologise. But this was a situation Maki hadn’t planned for at all.

Tsumugi was crying.

Chapter Text

"You're ruining everything!" Tsumugi shouted through her sobs. "I thought it would be okay, a-and we could still be friends. But all you do is sabotage me!"

"Look, I- I'm not trying to-!" Maki said.

"I know you're not. I'm sorry…" Tsumugi sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'm being so horrible to you when it's not even your fault. You can't help it. Evil is destined to ruin the happy endings of Good. It's just in your nature."

Maki wanted to argue that she wasn't Evil, that she could fix it, that everyone else was stupid. But she couldn't find the conviction. All Tsumugi wanted was happiness, but she couldn't get it, and that had to be someone's fault. If it wasn't her own, whose was it? Kaito's? After what just happened, Maki would feel awful continuing to blame him for everything that went wrong. He was nice . Maki wasn't.

"You understand, right?" Tsumugi said. "We're still friends, but… I just need some time alone, okay?"

Maki didn't reply.

Yuba returned without Kaito shortly after, and everyone headed inside. Kaede spotted Maki hanging at the back, and ran over.

"Heya Harunana! How was-" Kaede stopped mid-sentence, taking in Maki's expression. "...Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Maki ignored her too. She trudged into History of Heroism without a sound, and spent the lesson tearing holes in her notepad with the lid of her pen. She did her homework while she ate that evening, then climbed into bed without so much as a word to her roommate. She could tell Kaede was worried about her, but it didn't really matter. Kaede only spent time with her because they shared a room.

Maki wore her old t-shirt and jeans again that night. They were starting to get smelly, but she was too desperate for their familiarity to care, and she didn't want to risk letting the fairies clean them in case they never came back. Tsumugi would have been appalled if she found out.

Tsumugi. Maki stared at the dark ceiling, feeling nothing. If she didn't have Tsumugi anymore, she was alone. Completely alone. Maybe if she just behaved, stayed away from her, tried to distance herself from everyone, Tsumugi would want her back. If she stopped causing problems every time she was there. If she told Kaito to give Tsumugi a chance.

Maki drifted off to sleep, dreaming of dark corridors and shapes watching her, and a wispy-haired shadow in a window.

As Maki sat down for lunch after an uneventful day, she was taken by surprise as Tsumugi came over to her table. Had she already changed her mind?

Tsumugi swapped their lunches, then dumped some books on Maki's table. "Be a dear and do my homework again? I can't make heads or tails of it, and you did so well last time. I'll collect it next lunch."

Maki blinked at the pile of work, but didn't say anything, so Tsumugi continued.

"Anyway, can't stay and chat sorry. Don't need you killing my new reputation. I'm hanging out with Sonia and her friends now! Can you believe it? Apparently she's Rapunzel's daughter!" Tsumugi skipped off, smiling, leaving Maki watching numbly. Right .

"She's using you, Maki," Kaede said softly, sitting down next to her. "You need to stand up for yourself."

"If I do her homework, maybe she'll talk to me again…" Maki mumbled, opening the book.

"She won't talk to you?"

"Because I'm Evil," Maki said bluntly. "I'm ruining her fairytale by stealing the attention of her prince and dragging her reputation through the mud. Not that I blame her."

"That's not true!" Kaede said. "You've only ever tried to help her!"

"Evil is destined to ruin the happy endings of Good. Doesn't matter what I'm trying to do."

"But you're not Evil. You're Good, remember? The School Master put you in this school."

Maki slammed her book shut. "I totally forgot. I need to talk to Professor Dovey."

Before Kaede could argue, Maki stuffed the books in her bag and went inside. She wasn't entirely certain where Dovey's office was, but it couldn't be hard to find. Sure enough, after only a few minutes of searching, she found the door just down the hall from their Good Deeds classroom, complete with a golden nameplate and engraving of a pumpkin.

She knocked. “Come in,” the pleasant voice of Professor Dovey said from inside.

Maki walked in and closed the door behind her. Dovey looked up from her desk, and frowned as she saw who it was, sliding some paper under a pumpkin paperweight. “What brings you to see me, Maki?”

“I want to talk about something,” she replied stoically.

Dovey gestured at the velvet-cushioned chair in front of the desk. “Please, take a seat.”

She walked over, looking around the room. It wasn’t as fancy as Maki had expected from the Dean of Good. She sat, maintaining eye contact with the teacher. “I want to go home.”

“Mm, yes, I thought that’s what this might be about,” Dovey said, her frown deepening. “We have sent students home before, because of illnesses or other unavoidable circumstances. But unfortunately, you are in a rather unique situation.”

“Meaning?”

“You and the Never you were brought with are considered Readers, dear. Meaning you come from beyond the woods. The only one who can pass through the protective barrier separating the woods and the village is the School Master himself. There is nothing I, nor any other teacher, can do.”

“Then just ask the School Master to take me back.”

“Maki, the School Master hasn’t left his tower in decades,” Dovey said softly, “except to bring Readers. All of his control over the school is done without interaction with any of the school’s teachers.”

“That’s not true. I saw him yesterday.”

Dovey narrowed her eyes. “I know you are desperate, but I don’t appreciate lies-”

“It’s the truth.” Maki glared at her. “I fell off the roof and he caught me and brought me to safety.”

Dovey pursed her lip, contemplating this for a moment. “I suppose that means you were the one who broke a chunk off of one of our gargoyles yesterday?”

“It attacked me first.”

“Maki, you know full well that the rooftops are off-limits. Whatever were you trying to do?”

“See the School Master. And it worked, just not how I expected it to. What are you gonna do, kick me out?”

Professor Dovey sighed. “Of course not. But you cannot keep showing such blatant disregard for our school rules! They are there for a reason!”

“So do you believe me now?”

“Can you explain what exactly happened in more detail?”

Maki looked away in thought, wondering how much detail she dared include. “I was on the roof of Evil. I was trying to see into the School Master’s tower. The gargoyle attacked me, I kicked it, but I fell off the roof in the process. I landed in the moat, then the School Master grabbed me and dragged me to the shore outside Good. He had white hair, sort of wispy…” Maki gestured vaguely. “Light greenish-blue eyes, he was wearing a trenchcoat I think, with a red rose pinned to the front. He said something about my story only just beginning. I tried to ask him about going home, but he ignored me then kinda just flew away. That’s it.”

She looked back to Professor Dovey, who looked distinctly alarmed now. “Does that mean anything to you?” Maki asked.

Dovey paused to collect herself, then shook her head. “I believe you, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, Maki. I hope you’re not considering jumping off another roof just to try and talk to him?”

“No, that would be stupid. And you didn’t answer my question,” Maki pointed out.

“Maki, what makes you want to leave so badly?” Dovey asked, ignoring the question again. Maki gave up, realising she wouldn’t get an answer.

“Why do you think?” Maki asked, irritated. “It’s obvious that I don’t fit in. I don’t like pink or frills or smiles or dancing or romance. The School Master clearly made a mistake putting me here, but he’s too stuck-up to admit it. Same as everyone else here.”

“What makes you so confident it was a mistake?” Dovey asked, with the sickly sympathetic tone Maki imagined a therapist might use.

“All the things I just listed.”

“Those things don’t make someone Good or Evil, Maki. And you know that already. I know you’ve read the fairytales.”

Maki looked away uncomfortably. “You have no proof of that.”

She saw Dovey smile out of the corner of her eye. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. You’re called Readers for a reason.”

“So what?”

“You know that Good isn’t about looks or superficial things. Sure, looks can help, but what matters most is what’s on the inside. Appearance is nothing a trip to the Groom Room can’t fix, but the heart can’t be reshaped so easily.”

“I very much doubt a Groom Room can fix me, but whatever,” Maki grumbled. “It doesn’t matter, because I’m not Good on the inside either.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Maki. Hundreds of years, and the School Master is yet to make a single mistake. He has seen Good in you, and despite what you may think, you haven’t proven that wrong. Am I correct to say you managed to set free the soul of some Wish Fish on your first day?”

“That was a fluke!” Maki argued. “Besides, what’s up with the Wish Fish anyway? Uma won’t tell me what it meant.”

“You are changing the subject, Maki,” Dovey said gently. Maki scoffed.

“Says you.”

“It takes great power to grant wishes. Great Good. Granting a wish means being entirely, 100% selfless, something even most of the girls in this school would struggle to achieve.”

“I’m ranking bottom in all my lessons,” Maki listed, finding it hard to believe she even had to argue this. “I’ve thrown numerous threats at one of the most popular girls in the class. I injured the most popular boy in the class twice. My own best friend hates me, I threw food during lunch yesterday, I broke into Evil multiple times, and I was on the roof despite being told it’s strictly against the rules. But sure , on my first day I did some wonderful magic thing that’s so cool. I’m such a princess .”

Dovey sighed again. “I see I’m not going to get through to you on this. But it seems to me that your main issue is you feel lonely.”

“Lonely?” This teacher was getting more and more frustrating by the second. “I’m not lonely.”

“Do you have any friends here?”

“No. And I don’t need any. Tsumugi was all I had, and now she wants nothing to do with me because you put me in her school.”

“Perhaps if you tried, Maki, just for a day... To stop pushing people away and dismissing all of your lessons as ‘stupid’... This place would seem more like home for you. Lots of people your age take a while to settle in, especially Readers. It’s normal to feel out of your depth.”

Maki swung her legs under her chair. Of course adults think everything is easy. Of course the teacher would tell her she’s just adjusting, and needs to try harder. Of course no one in this fucking place would understand her opinion.

“I understand you probably don’t like hearing that,” Dovey added, catching the tone of Maki’s silence. “But I’m sure there’s something here that you’ll shine at, if you just gave everything a try. Maybe it’s not makeup or dancing, but there are more avenues to Good than you might think. And if the other girls are causing you problems, be sure to let me know, perhaps I can do something about it.”

“I doubt it,” Maki mumbled. “And I don’t need a reputation as a tattletale.”

“One week, okay?” Professor Dovey gave her a kind smile, that Maki glanced at for no more than a second. “Give this school one more week. And not just one more week of doing the bare minimum, Maki. You just need to find where you fit in.”

“Yeah. At home.” Maki got up from her chair, turning away without even looking at the teacher. “Thanks for nothing.”

Dovey didn’t speak as Maki trudged from the room, slamming the door behind her. As much as she’d wanted to stand up and shout at Dovey, have a real argument, she’d somehow lost all the motivation. There was no point. She didn’t have anything to fight for now. Maybe she was doomed to this school, being laughed at by everyone and failing all her lessons and being alone forever. Maybe that’s how it was just meant to be. Maybe some cruel power had decided her fate.

“Maki!”

Maki jumped out of her depressive trance at the figure walking towards her. “...Kaede? What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you,” Kaede said worriedly. “You stormed off so suddenly, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You… did?” Maki asked disbelievingly.

“Of course I did!” Kaede spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Look, what Tsumugi said isn’t true. You’re not ruining her happy ending, don’t let her convince you that. I mean, you hate Kaito, don’t you?” Maki nodded. “So how could you possibly be stealing him? Geez, that’s some tiny brain logic there. She can’t blame all her problems on you just because things aren’t going her way. Some kind of friend.”

“I thought you liked Tsumugi?”

“A bit,” Kaede said thoughtfully. “She was nice at first, and I empathised with her. But she’s sort of… shallow. I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but what has she ever done for you?”

“...” Maki was sure there was meant to be a simple answer to that question, but she struggled to find the words. “...She’s been my friend. She came to visit me back in the village when no one else would. She told me that being weird didn’t mean I was unlikeable.”

“That doesn’t sound like an extra-special best friend,” Kaede said decisively. “That sounds like the bare minimum.”

“Okay, well I don’t care!” Maki snapped defensively. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Neither have you.”

“I-”

“You’re continuing to do her homework for nothing in return, aren’t you? You even prioritised it over your own. You swap lunches with her despite the fact I can tell you’re hungry. Even with how cold you are to her sometimes, you still defend her to me every time she’s rude or dismissive. The fact you can do all of that for her and she still blames you for her fantasy going wrong shows she doesn’t even acknowledge the effort you’re putting in. She’s just taking you for granted, Maki.”

Maki stayed silent, staring at Kaede.

“I’m sorry, am I making you feel worse?” Kaede said suddenly, changing tone completely. “I get kinda carried away when I’m passionate, especially about my friends, so I’m sorry! I was meant to be comforting but I just insulted Tsumugi instead. Things will be okay, I’m sure of it! She’ll probably realise that you weren’t the problem after all, and then she’ll be your friend again. And in the meantime, you don’t have to rely only on her, you know? You’ve got other people too.”

Maki stared even more. “...I’m your friend?” she asked eventually.

Kaede tilted her head. “Uh, yeah? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“But… why?”

“Does there need to be a reason why?” Kaede smiled. “I just like you, that’s all.”

“...?” All of Maki’s frustration and defeat seemed to have melted away, just like that. She hadn’t realised Kaede thought they were friends . She hadn’t really acknowledged Kaede at all, she’d been so caught up with Tsumugi this and Tsumugi that. But now that she thought about it, Kaede had been there the whole time. Kaede hadn’t been embarrassed to be seen with her, and although she often suggested that Maki made more of an effort, she didn’t seem to mind that she failed at almost every lesson. Damn, Maki hadn’t even properly spoken to Kaede since Surviving Fairy Tales in an attempt to push her away again, yet she was still here, trying to ‘comfort’ her.

For a moment, Maki’s mind drifted back to Gavaldon, when Tsumugi had told her the same thing, by the river. “Because I like you.” , she’d said. “You’re my friend.” Really, that’s why Maki was doing all of this. Why she’d been trying so hard to escape with Tsumugi. Because they were friends, something Maki had never believed she’d have again.

“It seems to me that your main issue is you feel lonely.”, Professor Dovey had said. Was she… right? Was Maki actually lonely? Is that why she suddenly felt so much better, knowing that Kaede cared about her? That someone still cared about her?

What a deluded thing to want. How could she be so pathetic?

“Oh,” Kaede said softly, finally understanding Maki’s silence and ending her spiral of thoughts. “Are you not used to having friends?”

Maki still didn’t respond.

Kaede smiled. “Have you ever played Pan’s Island?”

“Huh?”

“It’s a board game.”

The change of subject was enough to break Maki’s silence. “No?”

“We’ve got some time left until lessons start. I’ll teach you! Though warning, I’m very good at it, so you probably won’t win. Unless I go easy on you. I’ll let you win once if you say please.” Kaede turned away, gesturing for Maki to follow her upstairs.

Even though she had no clue what just happened, Maki bit back an irrational smile as she followed. It wasn’t replacing Tsumugi if she spent time with Kaede, just a bit. Normal people had lots of friends. Two, for her, was a reasonable number.

And Kaede wasn’t that bad, upon reflection. Not that bad at all.

One thing that Maki and Kaede shared in common, it turned out, was they were both intensely competitive.

Maki didn’t win when they played during lunch - they didn’t have enough time to go through the rules properly, so she had to basically guess. But that just made her determined to learn the rules and win next time, to wipe the confident smile off Kaede’s face. She took the instructions with her to class, and memorized them during Professor Dovey’s lesson.

Things were tense during Surviving Fairy Tales. Tsumugi stayed one side of the group, and Maki the other. She just had to give Tsumugi some space. Respect her, don’t talk to her, and it would be okay. Maki was so focused on this, she burst out coughing when Kaito arrived. She forgot he was in the class. She’d spent the morning so depressed that Kaito had barely mattered, but now she had cheered up a little, guilt from yesterday swept over her. She owed him another apology, but talking to him would upset Tsumugi. There had to be a compromise.

The opportunity came during their task for the day. They were each given a piece of paper and split into groups of three, then sent off into the Blue Forest. Their task was to identify as many different types of foliage as possible. Maki’s group consisted of herself, Mikan and Kiyotaka, which meant she had very little to contribute. Every time she spoke Mikan looked like she was about to cry, and Kiyotaka seemed to have the activity covered all by himself, with a bulky leather book called Beautiful Plants and Fungi of the Enchanted Woods . Maki slipped away behind a bush when they weren’t looking, and tore her paper in half, scrawling a quick note on one piece.

Sorry about yesterday.

I shouldn’t have kicked you.

Hope you don’t have brain damage.

- Maki

She scrunched it up into a ball, then crept off to find Kaito’s group. Once she found him, she carefully threw it at his bare ankle, then disappeared as fast as she could. She had no idea if he actually noticed it, let alone read it, but she’d tried. And Tsumugi wouldn’t have to know.

Maki returned to her group, where she got scolded by Kiyotaka for her abandonment and for damaging her paper. But thankfully, due to the luck of who she was placed with, she got a good rank for once. As she left for her last lesson, she saw Kaito heading towards her. She ducked away through the crowd, and hid behind a statue until he was gone. How annoying.

As soon as History of Heroism finished, Maki ran to Kaede.

“Rematch,” she said simply. Kaede took a moment to process what she meant, then laughed.

“Okay, it’s on! You’d better not be a sore loser. Ah, but lets grab food first.”

They collected their baskets of food, then took them upstairs to their room. Maki’s revision paid off, because she beat Kaede by a wide margin.

“No way!” Kaede said. “I mean, well done, but rematch again? Best of three.”

“Okay, but don’t be a sore loser,” Maki teased. Kaede pouted exaggeratedly, then both started laughing. Maki’s laughter was quiet and mostly stifled in comparison to Kaede’s giggling, but it felt nice nonetheless. For some reason, she actually felt relaxed. It felt like she could be back at the orphanage, when she was younger, playing games with her friend.

And she was, wasn’t she? Playing games with a friend. Tsumugi didn’t play games, she preferred talking or reading or something else make-believe. She was too easily distracted for games, and could never remember the rules.

For a second, Maki’s relaxation waned. Here she was, comparing Kaede to Tsumugi again. No matter what she did, Tsumugi was still on her mind. Was she really that attached? She’d always perceived herself as the sort of person who didn’t need anybody. But if that was the case, why did other people’s thoughts affect her so much? Why did Tsumugi make her feel so depressed, Kaede make her feel cheered up, and even Kaito make her feel guilty?

But then their game restarted, and Maki pushed it all aside. Kaede won.

“Best of three includes our first round too, so I win!” Kaede announced.

“That was a practice round. Doesn’t count. Round three is next.”

“But-”

“If you’re so good at the game, it shouldn’t be that hard to win another round.”

“Hmph,” Kaede pouted again. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Kaede lost this time. Maki folded her arms. “Nice try.”

“Noooooo!” Kaede whined dramatically. “I’ll never accept defeat! Tomorrow, I shall come back, seeking my revenge!” She dropped the acting suddenly. “Unless you have any more escape plans for tomorrow?”

Maki sighed. “Nope. I’m out of ideas.”

“What did Professor Dovey say when you spoke to her?”

“A bunch of stuff. I told her about what happened with the School Master, and she believes me, but she changed the subject very quickly. She looked alarmed though.” Maki paused. “What else… She can’t send me home because I’m a Reader, so only the School Master can do that… and she thinks I belong in Good because I’m ‘Good on the inside’ or something… And she said I just need to find something I shine at .”

“So nothing helpful?”

“I didn’t expect much, but it’s still frustrating.”

“Maybe she’s right? Maybe there’s something you’ll, uh, shine at .”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Kaede scrunched up her nose. “Like… writing, perhaps? I’m not sure, most of the stuff you’re good at aren’t the most classically Good activities.”

“Mm. Like sneaking around. And scaring people. I shine at those.”

“Attacking Kaito Momota?”

“If that’s all I had to do to fit in, I’d be set.”

“Hmm, I’ll think about it for you. If I have any actual ideas, I’ll let you know.” Kaede stood up. “Anyway, let’s go bring our baskets back downstairs.”

They walked down the stairs together, still joking about Maki’s potential area of expertise. “Maybe you’re great at singing? I’ve never heard you sing before.”

“That’s for your own good,” Maki replied darkly. “Your ears would start bleeding the moment I-”

She lost her train of thought abruptly. There was a poster stuck to one of the crystal pillars in the Entrance Hall.

Think you have what it takes to save the world?

Do you want to fight dragons one day? Galantly protect your princess from danger, defeat the villain and win her love and adoration? Show the other princes that you can represent Good itself in your own Fairy Tale one day?

This year’s Prince’s Duel is the perfect opportunity for you. Organised by the Everboys themselves, and overseen by Professor Espada, Swordplay teacher, it will consist of a number of swordfighting duels (following proper etiquette) during evening meal times. Duels start on December 16th, and will continue until a final winner has been chosen. All Evers are free to watch in the Swordplay field.

If you wish to participate, please sign your name below by November 20th:

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Gonta Gokuhara

Rantaro Amami

Kaito Momota!! ★

Shuichi Saihara

Nekomaru Nidai

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

Mondo Owada

Maki stared at the poster, an idea forming in her head.

“I think I know what I could shine at.”

Chapter Text

“You’ve literally never used a sword in your life, Maki.”

Maki rolled her eyes. “It can’t be that difficult.”

“How would you know? You’ve never used one!” Kaede stopped brushing her hair.

“I thought you were gonna be all supportive of me.”

“I am supportive, but… I’m just being realistic, Maki. Some of the princes have spent their whole life learning to wield a sword, and they have lessons in school. There’s no way you could win. Where would you even get a sword in the first place? How are you gonna practice?”

“I’ll figure it out,” Maki shrugged. “It’s a month until the competition. I’ve got plenty of time.”

“A month,” Kaede repeated faintly. “A month to learn an entirely new skill. That you have no way of learning.”

“They’ve got to have spare swords, right? Somewhere.” It was Kaede’s turn to shrug. “I just have to sneak into the Swordplay field.” She glared at Kaede’s disbelieving expression. “You’re the one who chose to be my friend. Now you’ve got to put up with me.”

“I know, I’m sorry! I mean, at least you’ve got the spirit!” Kaede lay down in bed, as Maki turned the lights off. “Uh… not to be a downer, but we have no reason to believe they’ll even let you take part. Because you’re a girl. And sword-fighting’s for boys.”

“I’d like to see them try and stop me,” Maki said, turning over in bed.

Maki woke up early to do Tsumugi’s homework. The lessons of the morning passed uneventfully, which normally Maki wouldn’t have even acknowledged. But it occurred to her today. A couple of days ago, a lesson passing without anything awful happening would have been a miracle. But now, the lessons just felt… normal. Maybe she was actually adjusting. It didn’t mean she was good at most of the stuff, but she was passable. Low ranking, but passable.

That lunchtime, it was Maki’s turn to approach Tsumugi and leave quickly. “Homework,” she said, passing Tsumugi’s books back to her. “Bye.”

Tsumugi didn’t even get out a word of thanks before Maki was gone. She was on a mission.

The Swordplay field was a courtyard, with marble columns surrounding it on all sides. The grass was trimmed neatly, with dividing lines splitting it into separate areas. Maki wasn’t sure she was allowed here, so she didn’t plan to stick around. Right now, she just needed to find a sword.

After glancing around the open area with no luck, Maki spotted a shed made of smooth stone, with a polished wood door. That seemed like just the place. She tried the door, and it opened easily - but no swords, just sports equipment like tennis rackets. Running out of ideas, she stepped inside and rummaged around anyway, though she knew it was futile. Probably the Swordplay teacher kept them somewhere more secure. Somewhere locked. She sighed, preparing to leave, when she heard the west doors to the courtyard open.

Without even thinking, Maki swung the door shut, concealing herself in darkness. She heard footsteps walking past, then, to her horror, stopping in the middle of the field.

“So! Training!”

Maki had to stop herself from swearing. The voice, one she could recognise anywhere by now, was none other than Kaito.

“At least we don’t seem to have an audience this time…” Shuichi replied.

“That’s ‘cause we got here early!”

“I think it’s because Taka is training for the competition in the Clearing. All the girls are watching him.”

“In the Clearing!?” Kaito exclaimed. “No way! Are we allowed to do that?”

“I’d rather not do that anyway…”

“Anyway! I’ve got an exciting idea! You’re gonna love this one, sidekick!” Maki heard Kaito hit his fists together.

“Uh… Don’t exert yourself, Kaito. You’re still injured,” Shuichi pointed out.

“Nonsense, I’m fine! Now, listen up for my idea!” Shuichi obediently fell silent. “You need to work on your precision, if we’re gonna get you second place. So I’m gonna get the training dummies from the shed, and then I’m gonna blindfold you, then I spin you around three times, and then you have to slice the dummy with the sword.”

There was a very loud silence. “So, pin the tail on the donkey?”

“Exactly! But cool .”

“That… How does that even help?”

“Precision. Like I said! You grab the dummies, I’ll take my tie off, we can use it as a blindfold.

Maki swallowed hard as Shuichi walked towards the shed. Shit. There was theoretically enough time to hide, but she’d have to be fast and quiet. She’d be better off getting caught and trying to play it off. But what was her excuse? Part of Maki wanted to slap Kaito, and part of her wanted to slap herself for ending up here to begin with. She didn’t want to talk to Kaito at the best of times, and this certainly wasn't the best.

Shuichi opened the door and yelped in surprise. Maki glared back at him.

“No need to act like a baby. I’m just leaving.” She walked past him neutrally. Somehow, Kaito was directly in her way.

“Maki?” Kaito said, confused. “What are you doing here?”

Maki flicked him a glare, hoping he’d move out of the way, but it didn’t work. “I was looking for something.”

"Oh, maybe I can help?" he suggested, grinning. "Also, I got your note yesterday, apology accepted! You have nice handwriting."

She wasn't sure which part to respond to, so she chose the easiest. "I don't need your help."

"Are you sure? It's no biggie, really. What are you looking for?"

Maki bit back the urge to snap at him. Asking him for help was the logical response, after all.

“I want a sword.”

Kaito frowned. “How come?”

“I want to learn to use a sword.”

“Why?”

Maki glared at him. “Why do you always ask so many questions?”

“Because you’re interesting!” he responded. Maki sighed heavily.

“I’ll take that as an insult,” she said. Then, reluctantly, added “I want to join the Prince’s Duel.”

Kaito stared at her. “But you’re a girl.”

“I noticed.”

“Girls don’t really… do sword-fighting.”

“This once does. Or I will, once I have a sword.” Maki crossed her arms. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No!” Kaito replied quickly. “I think that’s really cool! But uh, Professor Espada keeps all the spares in this room, so you won’t find any here. You’ll have to ask him.”

“Oh.” Maki bit her lip grumpily - there was no way that would work. She’d have to break in. But she didn’t know where the Swordplay teacher’s room even was. She’d only seen him once or twice. Maybe she was being ridiculous with this plan. “I’ll do that then.”

She moved to walk past Kaito again, but he suddenly stopped her. “Hold on, I can get a sword for you!”

“What?” Maki and Shuichi both said in unison.

“I’ll just tell him I’m training for the duel and want to keep Excalibur safe, so I need a spare!” he announced proudly. “Then you can have it.”

Maki frowned at him. “...What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch. I think it’s cool you want to join in. So I’m helping you.” He gave her a dramatic thumbs up. “Just wait here with Shuichi, I’ll be right back!” With that, he turned and ran back into the building.

“No, Kaito, don’t just leave me-” Shuichi started, but gave up when he realised it was too late.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Maki stood for a second, hands slightly raised, processing what just happened. Every interaction with him always left her a little shell-shocked. He was so… much. He said so many things, fast, and in such a confusing way. She wasn’t sure what his deal was, but… if she got a sword from it, what did she have to complain about? She wasn’t going to walk out of an opportunity like this just because she was too prideful to accept his help.

Taking a resigned breath, she sat down on the raised stone paving around the courtyard perimeter. Shuichi busied himself with dragging a training dummy from the shed, avoiding meeting Maki’s eye.

Thankfully, Kaito returned quickly, brandishing a cloudy sword with a black hilt. “I got one! Sorry it’s not the best, but it should do the trick.” He held it out to her, and she hesitated, unsure how she was meant to hold it. Was it like using a dagger?

Kaito noticed, and put his hand on top of hers. She flinched. How did this guy have the balls to just grab her like that? He placed the sword into her hand, guiding her fingers into the right position. “Like this,” he said, letting go with a flourish. “You’ve never used a sword before, then?”

Maki shook her head. “I’m good with knives though. I figured it would be similar.” She felt stupid now.

“Uhh, I wouldn’t know. Knives are shorter than swords.”

“I know that.”

“And sword-fighting isn’t just… stabbing things. It’s got all kinds of rules to it. As Espada would say, Swordplay is an art .”

“Hm.” Maki looked at the sword in her hand, doubting her prior confidence. Kaede was right, she was being unreasonable. She had no idea what she was doing. She should just give it back to Kaito, and move on to something else.

“Oh, I know!” Kaito said suddenly. “How about you join us? I can teach you!”

“What!?” Maki and Shuichi said, in unison again.

“It would be fun! Me and Shuichi already do training every day, and now the duel is coming, we’ve gotta train extra hard. Teaching you would be a good way of getting better ourselves. Like they say, being a teacher is the best teacher!”

“No one says that Kaito!” Shuichi exclaimed, looking horrified. Maki was just as alarmed.

“I’m not training with you.”

“How else are you gonna learn if you don’t train?”

“Sorry, my mistake. I’m not training with you.”

“What’s wrong with me!?” Kaito argued, looking offended. “Okay, I know you told me to leave you alone. But I’m trying to help!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re interesting!”

“What do you mean, I’m interesting ?”

“I mean…” He paused, trying to figure out what he meant. “I mean, you’re different. I told you before, right? You’re not like anyone else I’ve ever spoken to.”

“Because I don’t gawk at you and treat you like a saint?”

“Pretty much, yeah!”

“...And you like that?”

“I guess so?” Kaito shrugged. “Is there something wrong with that?”

Maki opened and closed her mouth like an idiot. “So… you want to help me because I don’t like you.”

“It’s not just that!” he said defensively. “I just also like helping people. And like I said, I think it’s cool that you want to join in. And I always liked the idea of being part of a trio!”

She glanced at Shuichi, who still looked horrified.

“Not sure your ‘sidekick’ agrees with that one.”

“Come on Shuichi!” Kaito said, turning to him. “It’ll be fun.”

Shuichi didn’t reply, just glanced pointedly at Maki.

“Oh, I get it! You’re still offended over that comment she made before.” He turned back to her. “Maki, say sorry to Shuichi.”

“What.”

“Say sorry! Then we can do the training.”

“I never said I wanted to do the training in the first place,” Maki said harshly. “And I’m not apologising for something that was factual and deserved.”

Kaito frowned at her. “Please?”

She couldn’t believe him. He was giving her puppy-dog eyes. She couldn’t fathom why he thought that would work. It was so stupid, naively stupid, that she felt slightly bad for him. There wasn’t any harm in humouring him. She might as well see where it went.

“Fine.” Kaito perked right back up again. Maki turned to Shuichi. “I’m sorry that you’re an emo wannabe.”

“Properly,” Kaito said. Maki rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry for calling you an emo wannabe.”

“Much better! Well done!” He looked at Shuichi expectantly. “So, all better now?” Shuichi grimaced.

“Hey,” Maki said. “I still haven’t agreed.”

“Oh.” Kaito turned back to her, a little less optimistic. “So, what do you think, Maki?”

She stared at him, weighing up her options. On one hand, she had been avoiding Kaito like the plague, so agreeing to do something like this was against every one of her morals. And he was annoying. But on the other hand… it was agreeing to this, or giving up on learning altogether. This was her chance. If she wanted to prove herself capable of wielding a sword, she’d have to accept the opportunity to learn it first.

Maki spoke slowly. “...I’m not training with you if other people will be watching.”

“Ah, no worries! I can tell everyone to leave us alone for a while.” Shuichi looked suddenly a lot less reluctant.

“...” There was still the chance that Tsumugi would find out. Especially if she was still trying to win Kaito over. But… Kaede had told her she needed to stop relying on Tsumugi so much. And it’s not like she was seducing him. She was just learning sword-fighting. That was all.

Maki exhaled. “Fine. I’ll take you up on your offer. But on a few conditions.” She bit her fingernail. “Firstly, I am only agreeing for the Prince’s Duel. Once it’s over, don’t expect me to be part of your little group.” She gestured at Shuichi, who nodded in agreement. “Secondly, I will talk to you during lunch and supper only . We are not friends.”

Kaito opened his mouth, about to protest, but Maki continued forcefully. “I don’t care if you agree to that or not. I will be ignoring you anyway. It’s just a warning.” Kaito was now smiling again; she wasn’t quite sure what he’d taken that to mean. “Deal?”

“Deal!” he said, holding out his hand. Maki made a point of ignoring it. “So, Shuichi, you in?”

Shuichi fidgeted with his hair. “I guess.”

"Awesome!" Kaito grinned widely, as both Maki and Shuichi watched doubtfully. "So! Sword-fighting!" He drew his sword, then paused, seemingly unsure where to start. His sword was starkly more silver than the one Maki had been handed, with an intricate golden hilt. She remembered what he'd said earlier - was that sword really Excalibur ? She didn't know much about the legend of King Arthur, but she'd heard enough to know that the sword was pretty important. Why someone could just hand that thing to Kaito to carry around, she wasn't sure.

"Uhhh! So!" Kaito said after a second, clearing his throat again. "I'll start by talking you through a basic fight…"

Kaito did as he said, beginning his explanation of sword-fighting etiquette. Maki had worried that the rules would be stupidly strict, but from the way Kaito told it, the rules were "start and end the fight politely", "avoid hitting people with the blunt end", and "don't aim for someone's face". Beyond that, it was fair game.

That being said, Kaito seemed confident that he knew all the best techniques. His descriptions were unexpectedly informal, but he gave some decent demonstrations (bar one time when he dropped his sword on accident). "But if you then slide your blade on top of your opponent's blade, sorta pushing it down, you force your opponent to defend themselves, opening up a weak spot! And that's called a… uh… a…"

"Glissade?" Shuichi suggested.

"Glissade! Thank you, sidekick."

Maki didn't get to do much, since lunch ended pretty soon, but there was something entertaining about watching this guy sword-fight the air as a demonstration. He tried asking Shuichi to help, but the latter refused. It was only at the end of the session that Kaito remembered the training dummy, which Shuichi had dragged out ages ago. But despite the hilarity of the situation, Maki put far more effort into learning now that she had in any of her real lessons. She just had to memorise everything, and she'd be good to go. It couldn't be that hard.

“You did great, Maki!” he said, after he hid her sword in the shed for next time.

“I literally did nothing.”

“Yeah, but you listened really well! That’s the right attitude!” He moved to pat her on the back, but she dodged.

“What did I say about touching me?”

“Ah, sorry!” He looked genuinely apologetic, so Maki relaxed a little.

“It’s fine.” There was silence. “Thank you. For the help.”

“No problem,” he smiled. “Same time tomorrow?”

Maki sighed, then nodded. She could have chosen anything else to be talented at, but she just had to chose the one where she’d be stuck with Kaito the whole time. But he was funny, at least. She’d give him credit for that.

“No way!” Kaede exclaimed. “How did you get him to agree to that?”

“I didn’t get him to agree to anything. It was his idea. If anything, the weird thing is why I agreed to it.” Maki sighed. “He’s so… weird.”

“So he just… asked to teach you?”

“Yes.” Maki took in Kaede’s expression of disbelief. “Look, I don’t know either!”

“Geez. I mean, I knew he was nice, but…”

“Apparently he likes girls who are mean to him.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Basically.”

Kaede giggled. “You should tell Tsumugi that.”

“It’s not funny,” she grumbled, though smiled slightly too. “Plus your future boyfriend isn’t too happy about it.”

Kaede when pink. “Don’t call him that! We’re just friends!”

“Yeah, future boyfriend. That’s what you see him as, right?”

“I…” Kaede stammered. “Not… exactly? I mean, that’s just- all the girls pick someone. In preparation for the ball. Everyone picks a prince, and spends the year winning them over. But, uh, I don’t know about boyfriend. That’s different.”

“What happened to true love?”

“I mean… in a fairytale sense…” Kaede seemed to be struggling more and more to explain her point of view. “...Going to a ball with a prince means he’s your true love. Sort of, automatically.”

“So,” Maki said, digesting this new information. “True love isn’t about love at first sight. It’s about picking someone who looks decent at first sight, getting them to ask you to a ball, and then you potentially fall in love?”

“I… guess?” Kaede shook her head exasperatedly. “I don’t know! That’s just how it works! When you grow up knowing you’re gonna be Good and hopefully marry a prince, you just understand it. I’ve already understood it.”

Maki didn’t know where to start with picking that idea apart. “How do you choose who your true love is going to be?”

“Hmm… it’s sort of a hierarchy thing? You think, ‘what’s my type?’ and ‘who’s in my league?’ and ‘has anyone else chosen them?’. And if you find someone who meets those criteria, then… that’s the guy.”

“And Shuichi’s in your league?”

“Mhm. We’ve both got interesting lineage, but nothing extreme, we don’t own a kingdom or anything. And we’re both on track to be high-ranking followers.”

“And he’s your type?”

“I guess? He’s cute. And nice.”

Maki remembered the image of the pasty, doubtful boy with dark hair. Cute? Cute was meant to be like kittens or something, right? Maki scrunched up her face. Maybe he looked a little like a kitten if she thought hard enough. A nervous kitten with a stupid hat.

“And who’s in my league?” Maki asked.

“Uhhh…” Kaede smiled awkwardly. “Fuyuhiko?”

“Bottom of the barrel?”

“Yeah… But you could probably land someone like Hajime? Or Kazuichi.”

“I have no idea who those people are, but no thanks.”

“Well, with the way things are going for you, you may end up with Kaito yet,” she suggested playfully. “Though that would cause quite the stir.”

“I can imagine. Good thing we’ll never know what that’s like in real life.”

“From what I can tell though, Kaito is one of those people who still seems to be up for debate. Naturally Sonia would be the perfect match for him, but she’s not interested from what I’ve heard.”

“She wished for uh… Tanaka, I think. During the Wish Fish lesson.”

“It’s unorthodox, but I’ve spoken to Gundham, and he’s not all that bad. He’s good with animals, which is odd for a prince, but I see the appeal.”

“I bet you would. Dark clothes, brooding…”

“Okay look, that’s not why I like Shuichi!”

“Whatever you say,” Maki said teasingly. “So you think Tsumugi might have a chance?”

“Possibly?” Kaede replied. “I think maybe Hiyoko has her eyes on him now though.”

“Yeah, she seems stupid like that.”

“Though, personally, I see Kaito and Sayaka happening. They’d be a perfect match. Or maybe Kirumi?”

Maki turned over in bed. “Lights out. I’m not listening to any more love talk.”

Before sleeping, Maki made an addition to her list:

• To pick a prince who is ‘in your league’ and make it obvious you’ve chosen him so all the other girls leave him alone. (Unclear if the boy needs to consent to this. Probably, since he has to ask her out, not the other way around. I’ll assume it’s considered a failure on the girl’s part if he doesn’t pick her, which is unfortunate. Lesbians don’t exist. Neither do aromantic people. I’ll ask Prof. Dovey about that.)

Depsite her reservations, Maki went to the Swordplay courtyard during lunch the next day. Kaito and Shuichi showed up five minutes later, lunch baskets in hand.

“Hm?” Kaito looked at Maki. “Did you not bring lunch?”

“As future fairytale heroes, you will need to be able to control your urges and not succumb to short-term desire,” she said flatly, quoting Professor Dovey.

“That’s nonsense,” Kaito said, handing her his basket. “Like Merlin always said, skipping a meal never did anyone good, and never made anyone Good. Plus, can’t fight on an empty stomach! First day out on the field!”

“This is yours,” Maki pointed out, handing it back. Kaito didn’t take it.

“It's fine, I'll go grab myself another. You two be good while I'm gone! Get it? Good?" He chuckled to himself as he left.

Maki sighed, and sat down in her spot on the stone paving. Shuichi awkwardly did the same, a significant distance from her, and opened his basket. The food today was sushi. She'd never eaten sushi before - it was too inconvenient to keep in an orphanage, it didn't stay free for long enough. In fact, the only time she ate fish was on the odd occasion one of the kids swiped one from the fisherman. Maki picked at it untrustingly.

"Uh," Shuichi said, breaking the silence. Maki paused. "Maki. Can I ask… why you want to learn sword-fighting?"

Ah. He was probably checking if she had any plans to stab him. She went back to picking at her food. "Professor Dovey told me I needed to find something I'm good at. So I could fit in more. I chose sword-fighting, because I'm rubbish at smiling and prancing and talking to birds. That's all."

"Oh." Shuichi sounded a lot less apprehensive, almost pleasantly surprised. Maki felt the urge to glare at him for the reaction, but restrained herself. She shouldn't make an enemy out of Shuichi, or else Kaito would make her apologise again.

Shuichi turned towards her a little. "You're a Reader, right?"

"Mm."

"That's… rough. Being dragged here with no warning. And expected to be good at everything."

It was Maki's turn to be pleasantly surprised by his response. It was the first time since she'd come here that anyone had actually acknowledged her problem. Was he just saying that to try and win her favor? He seemed clever enough that it was a possibility. Despite all of her assumptions about him, he was still largely a wild card.

“Especially since I’m clearly in the wrong school,” Maki mumbled.

“The teachers won’t let you leave?”

“Apparently they can’t. The only one who can send me back is the School Master.”

“I see.” Shuichi thought for a few seconds. “Statistically speaking, the majority of students in either school that fail at some point during their first year, fail within their first two months. So you should know whether you belong here or not by the end of January. Theoretically.”

“And what happens if you fail?” Maki asked.

Shuichi frowned. “I’m… not sure. I’ve been warned it’s bad, but that could just be my uncle exaggerating to make me work harder. I haven’t heard any stories of students who failed returning home - students who got cursed or sick, yes, but not failed.”

“Great. So death, basically.”

Shuichi shook his head quickly. “I doubt it’s anything that extreme…” he said, but he didn’t sound totally confident in that. Maki made a mental note to continue doing Tsumugi’s homework at all costs. If that’s what it took to stop her from suffering some unknown fate, then it was a worthwhile price.

“I’m back!” Kaito announced, making them both jump. “Oh, were you guys chatting? See, I told you we could all get along!”

He stuffed a few sushi rolls into him mouth, then grabbed his sword. “So, Maki, you ready to put your knowledge into practice?”

“She hasn’t even touched her food yet,” Shuichi pointed out. Maki folded her arms.

“I touched it, I just haven’t eaten it yet.”

“How come?” Kaito asked.

Maki looked away, feeling oddly humiliated. “I’ve never eaten sushi before.”

“Oooh!” Kaito gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s not bad, promise.”

“You should try the kappamaki first,” Shuichi suggested, pointing. “It’s just got cucumber in it.”

Maki picked it up. “I thought sushi was a fish thing?”

“It’s more of a rice thing… though it does often contain seafood too.”

She took a bite. It was weird.

“Congratulations!” Kaito said. “What do you think?”

She finished the sushi roll. “It’s fine.” She closed her basket and stood up, grabbing her sword. “But I’m not here for a picnic.”

“That’s the spirit!” Kaito said, bumping his fists together.

Sword-fighting was… a lot to think about. Firstly, she had to remember the basics, like rules and how to hold the sword. The length of it was still new to her, so her perception of depth made things confusing. Then there was footwork, which was a problem she hadn’t considered at all. Fighting a human was completely different to wolves, so keeping the right distance from your opponent meant a lot. If Kaito stepped forward, she could either stand her ground, making it harder to manoeuvre, or step backwards, which required an awareness of her surroundings.

Then there was the fighting itself. She had been given a number of attacks and parries to use, but they meant nothing if she didn’t use them at the right time, in response to Kaito. She had to learn his way of fighting. His strengths and weaknesses. At least, that seemed a good place to start. All the focus on watching him and learning his movements meant she didn’t really stand a chance in her first few matches. But she hoped it would pay off.

“Your grip is getting better!” Kaito said after her sword went flying for the third time. She didn’t know why he was being so encouraging, given how unreceptive she was. But it was actually pretty nice.

It didn’t take much longer until Maki had figured out how to block or dodge most of his movements. Kaito seemed to be a fan of dramatic flourishes, and he usually chose thrusts over slashes when given the choice. It was probably a nobility thing. Maki found herself to favor slashes significantly, because they relied far less on her distance from him. That, and they were safer. A stab wound would be more dangerous than a cut, and she didn’t trust herself not to accidentally injure Kaito.

When their training drew to a close, Maki had ended up with a grand total of one win against Kaito. It was the last round of the session, and he made a quick move towards her. Without any time to think, she forgot everything she’d been taught and completely improvised. The result was Kaito being caught off-guard enough that she brought her sword to his arm.

“Damn, congrats!” Kaito said, leaning again the shed as Shuichi clapped politely. “Tomorrow I might have to stop going easy on you.”

“You’re going easy on me?” Maki asked. “You look pretty exhausted.”

“Nonsense!” he argued, wiping his brow. “I’ve fought many a battle, you know. There was one time, when I was out for a walk, that I stumbled upon a group of pirates. They stuck a bag over my head, and tied me up, then dragged me onto their ship so that they could sacrifice me to the great sea monster. But I bravely pulled out my sword, sliced all of the ropes to free myself, then fought the captain until he fell into the sea!”

“...How old were you when this happened?” Shuichi asked.

“Mmmm, about six!”

“Six!?”

“Yeah! I was a cool six-year-old. But there’s more!” Maki sat back down to finish her sushi, finding herself oddly amused by this story. “After I defeated the captain, all his men said that it was pirate code for me to become the new captain of their ship. So I got to have the parrot on my shoulder and everything, and then I sailed the ship safely through a huge storm.”

“Wait, you were six but you sailed a pirate ship?” Shuichi said.

“Okay, maybe I was more like seven. But there’s still more! Because then, at the other side of the storm, we found a desert island with buried treasure! But the treasure was being guarded by a dragon, who wanted to eat me. So I got into my spaceship and…”

The bell rang for the end of lunch. Kaito didn’t notice.

“...whizzed up into space, where I went to a planet where everything was made out of mice. And as you know, dragons are scared of mice, so I took a mouse gun…”

“Kaito, it’s time for class,” Shuichi said, to no reply. Kaito held his sword up like a rifle.

“...and I went pew pew pew and the dragon was so scared it gave me the treasure! But when I took the treasure, there was actually a curse on it that summoned a ghost . I fired my mouse gun at the ghost, but it was a ghost so all the mice went straight through it. But luckily, I had Excalibur…”

“Kaito.”

“...so I challenged the ghost to a duel and with the power of Excalibur I dissolved her spirit and sent her back to the afterlife where she…”

Maki sighed and stood up. He was exactly like Tsumugi, getting so absorbed in telling a stupid story that they completely zoned out. But at least Tsumugi had the sense to admit her stories were fiction. Well, Maki knew exactly how to deal with this. One of the things she did best.

She gave Shuichi a brief look, then grabbed a sushi roll and threw it directly at Kaito’s face.

He stopped completely, turning to look at Maki.

“I guess I will make a habit of throwing food at people, if that’s what shuts you up,” she said.

Kaito blinked, confused. “Time for class, Kaito,” Shuichi added.

“Oh!” he said. “Right, gotcha! Oops!”

Maki rolled her eyes, smiling. He was so… goofy.

As she returned to the Clearing to find Kaede before class, Maki spotted Tsumugi talking to Sonia and Chiaki. She seemed to have copied Sonia’s hairstyle. Maki glanced at the remaining food in her basket, then walked over.

“Here,” she said, holding it out to Tsumugi. “The rest is yours.”

“Ah, thank you!” Tsumugi said sweetly.

“Where were you today, Maki?” Sonia asked. “You missed Taka vs. Hajime. Not that Hajime stood a chance, but it was nevertheless very entertaining.”

“Library,” she lied.

“For homework?” Chiaki asked. “You can sit with us during supper if you need help. Peko normally shows me the answers.”

“No, it’s okay,” Maki said, noticing Tsumugi start to look upset. “Where is Peko?”

“With Fuyuhiko,” Sonia giggled. “I have no idea when they hit it off, but despite his reputation he seems remarkably dope.”

Maki blinked. “I have no idea what that means, but good for her.”

Sonia tried to continue conversation, but Maki excused herself and chased after Kaede. She could feel the look Tsumugi was giving her through the back of her neck. She probably shouldn’t have made casual conversation with Tsumugi’s new Maki-less friend group, but it wasn’t her fault. Or maybe it was.

She sighed. People were so complicated. She needed a break.

Chapter Text

Slowly but surely, the days started to pass. At first, Maki awoke (the nights she’d actually slept), begrudgingly counting the hours. She’d been here a week. Then a week and one day. A week and three days. Two weeks. Three weeks.

She wore the school nightgown for the first time one night. It was out of necessity, since her home clothes needed a wash so desperately. It felt wrong the first night. The second night, she decided it wasn’t so bad. It was definitely more comfortable than sleeping in jeans.

She hadn’t improved in her lessons at all, but she got by just on written work. She wasn’t really taking in anything she read in her books, but she didn’t need to in order to pass. All she needed was to rephrase it all slightly.

She had, however, improved at sword-fighting. Spurred by her impromptu win on her previous session, Maki spent the next few fights against Kaito completely ignoring everything he’d taught her, and instead making it all up as she went. And it worked a charm. Kaito was predictable, now that she’d learnt all his tactics. And Maki did best at being unpredictable. Quick-thinking, improvising. Kicking him in the shin.

She had a new reason now to do the latter.

“Hey!” Kaito said, making her jump as she stepped out of Good Deeds. Several girls around her stopped to see what’s going on.

She glared at him, attempting to remind him that he wasn’t to speak to her outside of training. He didn’t get the memo.

“Hey, so, I had a thought and I really wanted to share it with you…”

“Can this wait a second?” Maki asked pointedly, jabbing her elbow towards the other girls.

“Oh, right!” He bowed to the crowd. “Don’t mind me, ladies. Be on your way.”

Several girls tried to protest, but fled at the sight of Maki’s death stare. Once the corridor was clear, she turned back to Kaito.

“What.”

“Okay, so!” He clapped his hands together. “I thought. You know how you threw sushi at me, before?”

“...You want me to do that again?”

“No, no, I just. I was thinking about it! And I came up with a good nickname for you!”

“???”

“Maki-roll!”

Maki stared at him.

“Y’know. Because your name is Maki, and the sushi we were eating is called a maki roll. I thought it was cute?”

Maki kept staring at him.

“Maki-roll.” he said definitively.

“...” Maki felt herself going red. What the hell?

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“Of course there is! I don’t want a nickname,” she snapped. “And I told you not to talk to me.”

“No, you said if I talked to you, you would ignore me. And you didn’t.”

“I- Because-” She couldn’t figure out why this had made her so... stressed? “Ugh. Nevermind.” She stormed past him. “I have class and so do you.”

“Oh yeah, we have Surviving Fairy Tales together, Maki-roll!”

“Don’t call me that!” Maki shouted, imagining Tsumugi’s reaction to hearing he’d given her a cute nickname .

Thankfully, he didn’t use it once during class. Or in the corridor.

It came back full force during training.

“Okay Maki-roll, eat up! We have no time to waste!”

Maki had to stop chewing for a second to avoid choking. “I told you not to call me that.”

“Hm? I thought that was because I wasn’t meant to talk to you? Surely during training it’s fair game?”

“No.”

“Shuichi, back me up. Maki-roll is a clever nickname for her!”

Shuichi looked from Kaito to Maki, then choked up laughing. Maki squeezed her hair in indignation.

That’s why she kicked him in the shin during training. It was petty, but it made her feel better.

Within a week, she was already better at sword-fighting than Kaito. He wouldn't admit it, of course; he claimed he was still going easy on her. But she'd got him all figured out. She could read most of his movements before he acted, by watching the direction of his eyes. And when he had a plan, his eyebrows were relaxed, as opposed to creased when he was off-guard.

Shuichi joined them for training every day, but while Kaito fought them both, the bridge between Shuichi and herself hadn't really been crossed. But they would exchange words, somewhat pleasantly, and he didn't seem so untrusting of her anymore.

At the start of her second week of training, Maki was approached by Kiyotaka during breakfast. "Excuse me, Harukawa, but I've noticed that your name has made it onto the list of Prince's Duel participants, presumably by mistake?"

"It's not a mistake. I'm taking part."

He looked shaken. "Unfortunately, only princes can participate. Hence the name."

"Stop me then." She looked him in the eye, full of challenge.

"There's no instance in recorded history that a princess has taken part. The School Master may not permit it."

"Then he can talk to me himself."

Kiyotaka took a while to respond. "I suppose there's no harm in letting you try. I could pair you with Hajime for your first duel, perhaps?"

"You'd do well to not underestimate me. But sure, Hajime is fine."

Kiyotaka left, still shaken. Maki turned to Kaede. "Which one's Hajime?"

Hajime, it turned out, was Fuyuhiko's brown-haired roommate. She tried to study him, but she didn't learn much. She just had to hope he would be a simple opponent.

Fuyuhiko, who had apparently gotten bored of the library, had started sitting at their table during breakfast. He refused to give comment on how things with Peko were going, other than "fine", but he apparently talked to her during lunch a lot, then sat with his roommates and Kazuichi during supper. Maki was glad he was settling in, but she didn't dare tell him that.

And then there was Tsumugi. Every day, she seemed to get more and more stubborn about avoiding Maki. She passed Maki homework to do on the odd occasion they were in private, and she always said sorry, saying it wasn't personal, she just needed a reputation. Maki couldn't tell if she meant it or not. It didn't matter anyway, since Maki didn't need apologies. She knew she was a stain on Tsumugi's path to her fairytale dreams. She hadn't overcome the dark looks some of the girls gave her in the halls, or the way Hiyoko giggled about her behind her back. She wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to avoid that.

But despite this, Maki wasn't sure that Tsumugi's attempts to befriend Good were really working. Sonia and Chiaki would talk to her, and so would Tenko and Himiko, who slept in the room next door to Maki and Kaede. But Tsumugi still flitted from group to group, not really fitting in anywhere. Maki wanted to help her, but knew she wasn't one to talk when it came to forming friendships.

As the weather grew colder into December, Maki was feeling the pressure building. Not just because her first fight would be in about a week, but also because she knew she couldn't hide her interactions with Kaito from Tsumugi for much longer. He was rubbish at not talking to her during the day, and it was just a matter of time until he did it during Surviving Fairy Tales, when she would actually see. It didn’t help that the homesickness still hadn’t worn off, and without Tsumugi to ground her, she was starting to forget what the orphanage smelled like.

With so much to worry about, it came as a surprise when Professor Dovey called for a meeting in the Theater of Tales for both schools.

As students filed in from both sides, Maki taking a seat beside Kaede, Professor Dovey and Lady Lesso, who Maki had barely seen since the Welcoming, took to the stage on their respective sides.

"A lot of you may have guessed why we are gathered here today…" Dovey began. "I have been asked many questions on the subject, and although fingerglows are usually not unlocked until January,  due to widespread demand we have decided to unlock them today."

"However, do not get the idea that disrespectful pestering will be getting you anything good in the future," Lesso added, looking coldly at the Nevers. "Unless you consider the Doom Room good ."

"So," Dovey said, coughing politely. "I would like all Evers to line up single-file in the western aisle, and Nevers to do the same on the east."

Everyone got up, chattering excitedly. Maki turned to Kaede. "What does unlocking our fingerglow entail?" she whispered urgently.

"Not sure," Kaede chirped, "but I guess we'll find out. I'm so excited, I've always wanted to learn magic!"

Maki and Kaede joined towards the back of the line, both peering around to watch the people in front. Dovey and Lesso, at the front of their lines, each pulled out a tiny silver key.

"Hold out your hand, please, Sonia," Dovey instructed the girl in front. "It won't hurt."

"I cannot make the same promise for you, Enoshima," Lesso snarled at Junko at the front of her line. Junko grinned widely, and held out her hand, palm up.

Maki couldn't see Sonia from where she stood, but she could see Junko. Lesso pointed the key down at Junko's index finger, then with a swift movement, stabbed it right into her flesh. Maki and Kaede both winced, but Junko seemed unbothered.

Once stabbed into her finger, Lesso twisted the key, as if opening a lock. After a full rotation, she yanked the key back out, and from what Maki could see, it left no mark.

Kaede gulped. "It's okay, Dovey said it wouldn't hurt," she reassured herself. "It'll be fine."

Maki nodded, as they watched Mukuro go next. Slowly, the lines of Evers and Nevers went down, those who had already been unlocked sitting back in their pews. As Maki's turn approached, she peered round the few people in front of her to watch Dovey unlocking Kirumi.

Unlike Lesso, Dovey pushed the key into her finger gently, like it was a real lock. Upon seeing it was a lot less violent than for the Nevers, Kaede relaxed.

Maki reached the front of the line soon, and held out her hand as shown. Dovey gave her a reassuring smile, which she looked away from, unwilling to appear in need of reassurance.

The sensation in her finger was weird. It didn't hurt, but she could feel the movement as it twisted under her skin. Where there would have been blood around the key, she could instead see a very faint silver glow, like a moon. And once it was removed, there was no mark at all, leaving only a tingling feeling behind.

Everyone was back in their seats shortly after. Dovey collected both of the keys and placed them in a velvet-lined box. Then she clasped her hands together.

"Unlocking your magic is not the act of giving you magic. It is merely a training wheel to make it easier to learn. Once your schooling has ended, your fingers will be locked again, but the process to use the magic will remain the same."

"Besides, it would be ridiculous if a real fairytale hero or villain was to have their finger glow every time they cast a spell," Lesso said.

"Magic follows feeling. Without a deep need and want, a spell will never take effect. But with enough practice…" Dovey spun on her heel and turned into a white dove. Seconds later, she stood normally on the stage, brushing down her dress as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone's fingerglow is a unique color," Lesso said, "but is triggered the same way. When your finger glows, it means you have summoned enough emotion, enough purpose, to perform a spell. As such, if you all focus now on a strong emotion, positive or negative, you may notice your finger glow as a result."

Everyone in the room stared at their fingers, thinking hard. Gradually, some fingertips started to light up, each glowing with a unique color. Kaede screwed up her mouth, her finger unchanged. "I don't have any strong emotions!" she complained.

Maki looked at her own finger and tried to focus on an emotion. The commotion was too distracting, so she didn't get far. She would have plenty of time to experiment anyway.

"Now, there are some rules in regard to magic that you all should remember," Dovey said. "Firstly, you are not permitted to use magic to injure your fellow students. For Evil, this rule only extends to injuries that affect their capacity to learn, whereas for Good this applies to all injuries."

Maki saw the Nevers chitter amongst themselves.

"Secondly, there are several forbidden spells. This includes, but is not limited to, summoning of anything not permitted on school grounds, banishment of school property or students, love spells, or any mind-altering spells - including memory spells. The full list of banned spells is on display in the Entrance Hall of both schools. You are also not permitted to use magic on any of the teachers or guards."

"As for the subject of learning spells, Ever first years won't be taught many spells in their lessons, since we will be focusing on Swordplay for Everboys and Animal Communication for Evergirls. Any magic you do learn will be taught during my lessons or Surviving Fairy Tales. For Nevers, you will learn spells during Curses and Death Traps. We will focus mostly on mogrification, weather manipulation, and water control."

"Students are welcome to do extra reading outside of their lessons to learn magic that isn't covered, as long as it abides by school rules. However, the consequences of failed spells will be your responsibility to take care of."

No matter how hard Maki tried, she couldn't get her finger to glow. She didn't know if that was because she had nothing to cast, so her focus was reduced, or whether it was because she was a Reader. The idea that she could always do magic, she just hadn't been taught it, seemed ludicrous anyway. She tried to avoid focusing on the idea for the time being, knuckling down on the training.

"Welp, Maki-roll, I have nothing left to teach you!" Kaito announced one day, brushing his hands together. "You're a master now!"

"No, I'm a master at winning against you," Maki mumbled. She'd given up arguing with the nickname during training. "Not everyone in the competition is going to fight the same way you do."

"Hmmm…" Kaito said. "I could pretend to be someone else?"

"I don't think that'll work."

"Uh," Shuichi said. "You can fight me."

Maki and Kaito were both equally surprised by the suggestion, but Kaito recovered quickly. "Awesome idea!"

Maki raised an eyebrow at Shuichi. "I thought you were scared of me?"

Shuichi picked at his collar. "I'm not scared of you… Besides, we've been training together for weeks now. It makes sense for us to fight at least once."

"Okay. Sure." Maki picked up her sword.

"I'm not the best at Swordplay though! I mostly know from reading books. So don't expect much."

Maki didn't expect much. She was pleasantly surprised. Shuichi was a lot tougher of an opponent than she'd assumed. He didn't have much confidence, or as much strength as Kaito, but he reacted a lot faster, and wasn't as easy to read. They kept it up for a while, Kaito cheering them both on (he didn't want to pick a side). In comparison to Kaito, it didn't take Maki long to adapt to Shuichi's movements. He kept his distance much of the time, which was helpful for Maki, since one of her difficulties with Kaito was the lack of personal space. He also knew when to accept defeat.

Once they were both exhausted, Kaito thumped Shuichi on the back, and mimed doing the same to Maki. She'd already told him many times to not touch her, so she appreciated the consideration. "You two are gonna do great! I just know it!"

As he cheered them on, Maki noticed a golden glow from his finger. It was the first time she'd seen a finger glow up close. She wondered what the strong emotion he was feeling was.

Kaito noticed her looking and held his finger up, intrigued. "It keeps doing that. I was hyping Shuichi up yesterday and it did the same thing. Not complaining though! Look, it's gold, like a star!"

"Most stars aren't gold though," Shuichi said.

"Yeah, but it's the thought that counts. Luminary of the Stars, it has to be star-colored."

"Why do you call yourself that?" Maki asked. "You said it when you introduced yourself too."

"Oh, I never told you?" Kaito said, eyes lighting up. "Shuichi helped me with it on our first day. Explain it, sidekick!"

Shuichi blinked. "Oh, uh. Luminary means "a person who inspires or influences others", but it can also mean "a natural light-giving body". Like the word luminous. So it's sort of a play-on-words. Because in the second context, it's typically used to refer to the sun or moon. So space, basically."

"So I'm guessing you like space?" Maki asked Kaito.

"Yep! When I was a kid, Merlin would show me the stars under his cloak. He said that no one really knows what it's like all the way up in the sky, whether the stars are just lights, or actual objects. Maybe even other worlds! So I decided, when I'm king, I'll make a spaceship and go up into the stars."

"He wants to make Camelot invest in space travel," Shuichi said.

"Well, yeah! Worthy investment." He brandished Excalibur proudly.

"I… see." Maki hadn't expected him to have that much depth. She herself had spent a lot of time staring at the sky. After all, she spent such a long time outside during the night, guarding the orphanage. No fairytale had really answered questions about the universe as great as the stars. So… for Kaito to want something like that… It was honestly pretty cool.

"Merlin is the one who enchanted my jacket, too," Kaito said, lifting his arm and pulling his jacket out so the inside was visible. She'd glimpsed the stars before, but she'd never gotten a proper look - it wasn't just a pattern, but moving, twinkling stars, like a real night sky, and swirling galaxies in all shades of blue, purple and turquoise. "Cool, isn't it?"

"...Yeah."

"Oh, Maki-roll actually likes it!" he exclaimed, shocked. "I guess that means it's extra good!"

"I- I didn't mean anything by it-!" she snapped. "It's just objectively… nice. Looks realistic."

"Still, I'll take it as a compliment," he said. "Do you like space?"

"It's… fine?" She didn't want to outright say yes, since he was excited enough as it was.

"Maybe we could go stargazing together some time. That would be nice."

Maki didn't know how to respond to that. Shuichi coughed awkwardly. "Lunch ends in a second. We should go."

"Yeah, right!" Kaito said. "But consider it, Maki."

Maki didn't consider it for long. What would that even entail? Just lying on the ground next to Kaito for who knows how long? It would be unbearably awkward. And did he forget that they had a very strict curfew?

As she went to leave, a minute after Shuichi and Kaito, someone emerged from behind a pillar near the entrance.

"You're spending time with him. In secret."

It was Tsumugi.

Maki tensed up. "I can explain."

"Please do," Tsumugi said, her voice shaking.

"The Evers are holding a duel. It starts in two days. I wanted to join in, so he was training me in sword-fighting. I swear, I don't have any interest in him! I'll even help you win him over if you want."

She stared at Maki, her blue eyes piercing through her clouded glasses, brimming with tears. "I don't need your help. I don't need you at all. I can do it myself. I'm good enough… he just has to see… I just have to- to p-prove it!" She turned, running away, her tears dripping down onto the paving.

"No, wait!" Maki shouted, but she'd already disappeared. The bell rang for class.

Maki dragged herself to Good Deeds. She felt so bad for Tsumugi, but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't make things better for her. She couldn't force Kaito to love her. She couldn't force the Evers to be her friend. She couldn't even force the School Master to let them go.

She respected Tsumugi's wishes and left her alone. She had to focus on the duel anyway. She echoed the situation to Kaede that night, who offered to speak to Tsumugi on Maki's behalf. Maki declined. It was her problem to deal with. Dragging Kaede into it wasn't fair.

In Beautification the next morning, their topic was Inner Radiance. "I'm sure everyone - or almost everyone - in this class understands beauty with makeup and dresses," Professor Anemone said. "But not so many of you understand how to show natural beauty. How to present yourself as pretty and attractive to a prince, even on the days where you can't wear a ballgown. When Briar Rose's prince kissed her awake, she didn't have a chance to do her lipstick before he saw her."

She turned, writing on her chalkboard. "Step number 1: a good diet. Eating a range of healthy foods leads to healthier, glowing skin. Now, I would like you all to get into pairs, and sort the following food items into lists of "unhealthy" and "healthy"."

Maki and Kaede did as asked. "Is sushi healthy, do you think?" Kaede said, looking at the list.

"Don't mention sushi to me," Maki grumbled.

"How come?"

"Kaito won't stop calling me Maki-roll now."

Kaede gasped. "Oh my goodness, that's so cute!"

"Shut up."

"I wish someone would give me a cute nickname like that."

"I said shut up."

"Okay okay, sorry. Harunana is still better anyway."

Maki glared at her. She smiled sheepishly.

After that, the next item on the board was "Get some beauty sleep", for which they had to make a list of items that might help someone sleep (Maki didn't have a clue, so Kaede did that for her). Then it was "Have a good skincare routine", which Maki wasn't much better at.

"Number 4: Smile more," Professor Anemone said. "Smiling makes someone instantly more attractive. A prince does not want a princess who is always gloomy. He does not want a princess who is always grumpy. It will do nothing but ruin his own mood." She gave them a beautiful smile. "So, let me see your smiles again. Hopefully those who struggled before have improved."

Everyone smiled. Maki didn't.

"Harukawa," Anemone said. "If you will not even try to participate, I will have to send you out of my class."

Maki looked at her for a second, then deliberately made a show of packing away all her things. Fine. If she wanted her to leave, she'd leave. See what Professor Dovey had to say.

"Professor," Kaede said. "That's not fair."

Anemone blinked, surprised to see Kaede frowning. Maki stopped packing.

"You can't force someone to smile if they're not happy," Kaede continued. "Maki doesn't want to be in this school, but she's still been trying her best. She did all the other tasks."

"Miss Akamatsu, don't allow her to be a bad influence on you," Professor Anemone scoffed. "It's not as if I have asked her to burst into song. A simple smile shouldn't be difficult for any princess. Everyone smiles."

"I've seen Maki smile. Maybe she won't smile at you because she doesn't like you."

"Excuse me? This is my classroom. As your teacher, I am owed some respect!"

Kaede stood up. "If you want to send her out, you'll have to send me out too. Forcing yourself to smile all the time won't make you beautiful. If I won my prince with fake smiles and fancy dresses, who did he really fall in love with? Why should I want a prince who only sees me as something so shallow?"

There were whispers among the girls. For once, a lot of them seemed doubtful of the teacher.

Professor Anemone spluttered. "That's it! Akamatsu, go to Professor Dovey's office! Harukawa, stay seated."

Maki couldn't believe how unfair this teacher was being. Kaede had said everything she had been thinking, which was surprising to Maki, given Kaede was usually pretty receptive to their lessons. And she'd been defending her. Yet she was getting punished for it. She stood up from her seat, injustice fueling her pent up anger about everything.

"No. Like Kaede said, if you send her out, I'm going too. Fuck you, and fuck your stupid class."

Everyone gasped, including Professor Anemone. "How dare you use such profanity with me? And do not glow your finger at me, young lady!"

Maki paused and looked down. Her finger had lit up. It was glowing silver, like the moon on a clear night. As she focused on it, however, it began to fade again.

"Out! Both of you, out!" Professor Anemone shrieked.

Maki and Kaede both obliged silently, grabbing their stuff and leaving the classroom. Once they were in the corridor, Maki dumped her bag on the floor heavily. Kaede looked nervous.

"I've never gotten in trouble before. We're not gonna be failed, are we?"

"If that happens, I'll take the blame for it. It was my fault anyway."

Kaede bit her lip. "No, it wasn't. She shouldn't have treated you so badly."

Maki looked up at her, seeing Kaede in a new light again. "Why did you stick up for me?"

"Huh?" Kaede looked a little embarrassed. "Uh, well, when she said you're a bad influence on me… that's probably pretty close to the truth. Not a bad one though, but- I guess I've heard enough of you questioning everything that I kinda understand now? I've started to see all the ways this place is…y'know, not the greatest."

"Huh," Maki said, wondering if that's a good thing or not. "Well, thank you."

"It's okay. Uh, do we need to go to Professor Dovey? She didn't specify in the end, she just told us to leave."

"If we need to see Professor Dovey, the fairies will get us sooner or later. I say we wait for Princess Posture."

"We can go to my room and play another board game?" Kaede suggested.

Maki nodded. "Sounds good."

The two of them went upstairs, chatting on the way up. As they walked, they caught a glimpse of the boys outside in their Swordplay lesson. Kaito spotted Maki, and gave her a goofy thumbs up. She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly.

But as she walked upstairs, she remembered something. The Prince's Duel was starting tomorrow. If she was going to prove herself capable, she had to succeed. Not just because she was competitive, but because that would be the only way to get her message across.

Plus, after all the work Kaito put in to help her, she didn’t want to let him down. Even if he always called her stupid nicknames.

Chapter Text

The sword-fights took place during lunch and supper over the course of a week. For the lunchtime battles, the Swordplay courtyard was open to all Evers, to allow them to escape jeers of the Nevers. During supper, however, the Clearing became the arena. Maki was fourth, so she had some time to watch the others first, and slip in some final practice.

Kaito spent the first three matches (two during lunch, one during supper) cheering loudly and thumping people on the back. Maki gulped. She hoped he wouldn't make too much of a scene with her. With that crowd of people, it would certainly cause nothing but fights, and not the kind she intended.

Inevitably, her turn came. "Okay, princes and princesses," Kiyotaka said. "That concludes round three. The fourth round is… not exactly typical." He gave an unsure glance at Professor Espada, who was overseeing the first matches, and Maki felt a little bad for him. Sure, she wanted to cause a stir, but not one aimed at anyone but her. Hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble for letting her join.

There was some murmuring, most of the Evers completely in the dark on what was going on.

"Round four will be…" Kiyotaka read from some paper, clearing his throat. "Hajime Hinata, Valor Room 46, versus… Maki Harukawa, Purity Room 51."

Maki felt everyone turn to look at her. She stood up, Kaede patting her back as she did. "You'll do great," she whispered. Maki didn't reply.

"I'm sorry, Ishimaru, I'm sure you're aware that Evergirls are forbidden to wield swords?" Professor Espada said. Kiyotaka opened his mouth to reply, but Maki cut him off.

"Why?" she asked. "Because we're not capable?"

"Because it is against school rules."

"Then maybe the rules should change."

There was a moment's silence. Maki could hear people whispering, and some laughter too, and it made her face burn. She had to win. If she lost this fight, she'd never be taken seriously. She had to prove she could do it.

But stood in front of a crowd, lonely orphan Maki was starting to take over. Why had she ever thought this was a good idea? She was nothing, a nobody, a stain to be wiped away. She hated attention. It made her feel sick. Why would she bother trying to prove a point, a stupid point that she made up? Wasn't she trying to go home? So she could go back to hiding and meaning nothing again?

She could just sit back down now. Stand down and quit. They'd all be far too happy to write her off and move on.

Maki caught sight of someone in the crowd. Kaito was grinning widely, both thumbs up, mouthing something encouraging she couldn't make out.

That's right. She wasn't doing this for herself. This was to fix things. If this school was going to fuck her over, she sure as well would teach it a lesson.

She drew her sword.

Professor Espada made no move to stop her, and neither did any of the other Evers. The noise around her grew, but it had all become blurry. The countdown to her fight barely even registered. Her eyes narrowed. Focus on your target.

Hajime swung at her hesitantly, clearly unsure whether it was safe to fight her. She parried, and pushed back against his blade with enough force to slide him across the grass. He fought to push his blade back up, and made another slash at her. The clash of metal was certainly scary, but it also made Maki feel powerful.

Maki focused on keeping her distance, and circled him carefully, blocking his movements but making no move to retaliate. Once he was suitably confident, Maki parried his attack like normal, then pushed his blade down towards the floor, preventing it from moving. Just as Kaito had taught her. He struggled to push back up, but Maki had the upper hand. Instead, he chose to advance toward her. She gritted her teeth, hoping her impromptu plan would work, then kicked his blade as hard as she could with her brown boot. The force made him stumble backwards.

When he looked back up, the point of Maki's sword was touched to his chest.

"Halt!" Taka shouted. She lowered her blade. "Harukawa is the winner!"

Maki heard Kaito cheer as she let out a small breath, and shook Hajime's hand. One down.

It didn't take long for Maki's demonstration to form a huge rift throughout Good. The debate on whether or not girls could, or should, learn sword-fighting, followed her wherever she went. 

On one side of the debate, there were those who completely opposed her. Hiyoko was probably the most vocal voice on the matter, and spoke up the next day during breakfast.

"I don't know how anyone can even consider siding with Maki on this," she said to her friend group, speaking loud enough that everyone could hear. "I mean, if we wanted to prove that Evergirls can fight, you'd need to pick an actual Evergirl. Which Maki clearly isn't." She laughed. "The only reason she's joining in is because Nevers love any chance they get to beat people up."

Maki sank down in her seat, just far enough that she was unnoticed to the crowd, who were mumbling and nodding in agreement.

"You're wrong!"

Hiyoko's group gasped and Maki peered up in surprise as Kaito stood up. "She's 100% an Evergirl."

Maki shot Kaede an alarmed look. Hiyoko went pale. "Eh!? Kaito?"

There were whispers amongst the Evergirls. Kaito ignored it. "Do you guys seriously doubt the School Master that much? You think the teachers wouldn't have done something if it was a mistake? Plus, if she was a Never, she would've failed weeks ago."

"Um," Sayaka said. "The teachers don't like her. Professor Anemone sent her out of class two days ago. I'm pretty sure they don't have any control over whether she stays or not."

"The School Master isn't even that trustworthy, is he?" Mahiru added. "We've never even seen him before."

Kaito only hesitated for a second. "Geez, what kinda morale is this for a bunch of future heroes? Haven't you guys learnt anything in our lessons? You can't tell whether someone is Good or Evil just by looking at them."

Hiyoko opened her mouth to politely disagree, but was cut off by someone else.

"I agree!"

It was Sonia. Maki blinked.

"In the fairytale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, she was tricked because she believed the witch to be a good person," Sonia explained. "I do not see a reason that couldn't apply vice versa."

"I wasn't saying that she's duchess of Evil or anything!" Hiyoko said defensively, backing down in the face of two of Good's most popular students siding against her. "But she still clearly doesn't belong here. This school's for the best of the best, pure Good, highest potential. And she's bottom of the leaderboard."

"Perhaps she would rank higher if girls were allowed to learn Swordplay," Sonia suggested. "I for one would love to learn! It would be so badass!"

"Melee combat is pretty satisfying," Chiaki added quietly.

"I don't get it though," Mahiru said. "I thought the point of Swordplay was so princes could protect princesses? What would a girl need to learn it for?"

"She probably wants to learn to protect herself because she knows no prince would ever save her," Hiyoko giggled.

"Hey! That's not true!" Kaito argued. "I'd save her in a heartbeat! And any decent guy here should do the same!"

There was a pause. Slowly, guys started nodding.

"Of course!" Kiyotaka said, standing up. "No matter her peculiarities, Harukawa is a member of our school, and therefore worthy of our respect and loyalties."

Several of the boys nodded. The girls, however, mostly exchanged uncertain looks.

“Clearly she deserves to be treated with decency,” Sayaka said, “but she’s not Good. She’s just some girl. She hasn’t made it on the Groom Room list once.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realise having spa day privileges was a measure of how Good someone is,” Fuyuhiko said.

“Don’t you talk!” an Evergirl with purple braids hissed. “We all know what you are. You and that Maki girl are one in the same.”

“Please stop,” Peko interjected, standing up to block the girl’s accusatory finger.

“Yes, please do. In fact, I implore it!” Sonia said. Finally, everyone fell quiet. “Let us all agree that Maki is neither Good nor Evil, but simply a normal human being. For those who do well here, your future will be dedicated to serving and protecting normal people such as her. Shame on you for wishing any harm upon her.”

Upon Sonia’s speech, the argument dissolved. Clearly, deeming Maki nothing but mediocre could be a compromise for everyone. Maki knew she should be relieved that she hadn’t been met by overwhelming hate, but… she couldn’t help feeling irritated. Sure, she wanted to be a normal person. That’s all she’d wanted this whole time. But being treated like that was all she was capable of was unfair. She could do well in her lessons if she wanted to. She just didn’t see the point.

Maki’s next fight soon rolled around. Despite everyone’s doubts, the Clearing was even more crowded than before, everyone wanting to see what would come of the “rogue princess”. When she sent her opponent’s sword sliding across the grass, Sonia burst into fervent applause.

Sonia wasn’t the only one to be openly supportive aside from Kaito. Fuyuhiko approached her soon after her second duel. “Hey, no pressure or anything, but you’d better win this damned tournament.”

Maki raised an eyebrow. “You realise you’d have to lose for that to happen?”

“Sure, whatever. I’d lay down my sword.” He laughed at Maki’s doubtful expression. “My loyalties are far more important than winning a stupid fight.”

“So you want me to prove people wrong?”

“Kinda.” He shrugged. “Plus Peko is actually pretty talented with a sword. I think it would be cool if they allowed girls to learn it in school.”

“You like tough women. Got it.”

“Hey!” Fuyuhiko raised a fist angrily, but it wasn’t particularly intimidating. Maki rolled her eyes. The reason didn’t matter much anyway. She didn’t feel so lonely in her goal anymore.

Maki’s next fight passed with more difficulty than the last. Gundham, her opponent, had the upper-hand in being far taller than her, and obviously having more experience. But his habit of punctuating every movement with deep laughter or a line about “facing the wrath of causality” meant he had many vulnerable moments for her to exploit. Sonia, facing a conflict of interest, chose not to clap for Maki when she won, but instead comment on how they “both showed wonderful swordsmanship”.

Because of her need for constant training, Maki had stopped attending lunch entirely, instead taking her food to the courtyard. As such, she hadn’t seen much of Tsumugi. Every time she thought of her, Maki got the aching urge to try and rekindle their friendship. But every time, she remembered the horrorstruck look on Tsumugi’s face when she saw her with Kaito, and realised it was nothing but a lost cause. Tsumugi would have to talk to her.

The end of the competition drew near, and even the teachers were talking about it now. Kaito, Shuichi and Fuyuhiko all fell out of the running before the finals, leaving the deciding duel down to Maki vs. Kiyotaka. Kaito showed nothing but faith in Maki, loudly proclaiming during training that there was no way she could lose now, after making it this far. But Maki felt nothing but dread. She had a growing suspicion that Taka had been pitying her, and intentionally placing her against the weakest of the remaining opponents. That, or she got absurdly lucky. All this was to say, she knew she didn’t stand a chance against Taka. He was the one who organised the competition, after all. Everyone knew he was an expert. And, despite all the show she’d put on, Maki was just a novice.

By lunchtime the day before, Maki had given up on training entirely. “Why bother when it won’t make a difference?” she grumbled to Kaede.

“You don’t have to win, Maki. You’ve made a point already, by being in second place-”

“They won’t see it like that.”

“You’re being way too hard on yourself. It’s not on your shoulders to change the entire system. Even if all you end up doing is inspiring people like Sonia to take their own stand, that’s an amazing accomplishment.”

“Spare me your encouraging words, I’m being grumpy,” Maki said grumpily.

“Maki.”

She blinked and looked up in response to a familiar voice saying her name. Tsumugi?

“Huh?”

“I need to borrow a book from your library.” Tsumugi was speaking somewhat robotically, not meeting Maki’s eye. Maki leapt at the opportunity to get back in Tsumugi’s good graces.

“What book? I might have it already.”

“Basic Spells for the Beginner Princess.”

Maki frowned. A spell book.

“Oh, I have that one.” Kaede pulled the pink book from her bag, but hesitated. “What are you going to use it for? Nevers shouldn’t use Ever spells, you might get hurt.”

Tsumugi’s expression fell from poker-faced to upset. “Even you think I’m a Never?”

“I- No, that’s not-” Kaede paused, but eventually handed Tsumugi the book, looking guilty. “Just bring it back when you’re done, okay?”

Tsumugi didn’t manage more than a rushed “thank you” before she disappeared across the Clearing.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Kaede said, wringing her hands. “You don’t think she’d try something stupid, do you?”

Maki was silent. There was only one way to find out now.

The next morning passed in a fearful stupor. Maki spent her lessons counting the hours until lunch, when she’d inevitably lose in front of everyone. Kaede was right, surely she’d done enough… but that didn’t make it any easier. Maki wondered bleakly if she should just forfeit before the duel even began.

Of course, lunch came with unprecedented speed. The Evergirls and Everboys flitted to the Clearing to get their food, then disappeared just as fast as they arrived, every one desperate to see the final duel in the courtyard. Every time Maki made eye contact with Kaito he gave her a dramatic thumbs up, to the point that his jacket almost fell off from the movement. Why he was only wearing one sleeve Maki couldn't fathom, but if it was to show off his manly muscles it was working, because the Evergirls kept sneaking glances at him.

While they ate, Taka pulled Maki aside.

“I thought you ought to know, Professor Espada will be watching this match. He says he’s judging whether girls should be allowed access to the Swordplay courtyard. He should be here in a few minutes.”

Maki swallowed hard. “Right.” There goes her option to back down.

“I just wanted to say,” he continued. “That I admire your confidence and-”

“AHHHHH!!”

Hiyoko let out a shrill scream, which was echoed by a few other Evergirls. Maki and Taka both whipped around. “What is she doing here!?” Taka exclaimed.

Tsumugi had appeared in the courtyard. She was standing in the entrance archway, silent.

“Someone get a teacher! There’s a Never in the school!”

“Please!” Tsumugi said loudly. “Please hear me out a second! I’m not a Never, and I can prove it!”

“It’s against school rules-” Taka started.

“I say we should listen to her!” Sonia said. “You can prove it?”

Tsumugi nodded, looking relieved. “Everyone knows that a true princess can call birds just by whistling, right?” The girls exchanged looks, then nodded unanimously. “Allow me to demonstrate just that!”

Despite her previously visible nerves, Tsumugi pulled herself together, running her fingers through her long blue hair and flicking it daintily. Despite her dark Never uniform, every other element of her still looked like a princess, from her lips to her hair to her clear turquoise eyes behind her glasses. Maki held her breath as the courtyard fell silent.

Tsumugi let out a quiet whistle, slowly growing in volume. She whistled a tune that Maki had heard her whistle many times before, while wandering the countryside of Gavaldon. The wave of nostalgia, paired with Tsumugi’s immaculate performance, made everything slow down for Maki. For a moment, she forgot about the duel entirely. All that mattered was her and Tsumugi, and their little village. Their perfectly imperfect home. A terrible homesickness struck her like a blade. The orphanage had never felt like a home to her, neither had the village - but the riverside, standing by her only friend… that had. Tsumugi made her feel normal, just for a second. She didn’t want to lose that. Maki couldn’t bear it.

Maki crossed her fingers in faith. The Evers watched with bated breath, waiting for the birds to come flying down, declaring Tsumugi a princess once and for all.

Kaede nudged Maki. “Look.” Maki followed Kaede's gaze to Tsumugi’s hand. Her finger was glowing the same turquoise as her eyes, but unlike when triggered only by emotion, it was pointed unnaturally. She was using a spell?

Tsumugi’s tune drew to a close. No birds appeared. Everyone waited.

Then, the sound of movement came from above the castle roof. Tsumugi smiled.

“See, I told you-”

A second, far louder scream echoed across the courtyard, as a swarm of giant wasps descended from the sky. Huge, yellow creatures with black eyes and shiny stingers, what had to be a hundred. Panic ensued, Evergirls tripping over each other as they fled, Everboys brandishing swords before realising them to be ineffective, and themselves running for cover. Kaede got swept away in the chaos, as panicked as the rest of them. Maki wasn’t easily scared, but she didn't have to think twice before grabbing Taka and dragging him into the shed with her.

Tsumugi screamed. “NO!! NO, NO I WANTED BIRDS!!!!” Despite Tsumugi’s screams, the wasps seemed to pay her no heed - slowly the swarm dispersed across the courtyard, diving at those unlucky enough to be exposed. Kaito, like an absolute lunatic, was still waving his sword at them. Maki grimaced as they reacted to the movement, diving at his arm and face, causing him to let out a scream almost as high as the girls.

Maki looked around quickly, and spotted a shield leant against the inside of the shed. It would have to do. She grabbed it, held it over her face, before bracing herself and stepping out of the shed.

Ignoring Taka’s protests, she ran to Kaito. She took care to keep her movements fluid and non-threatening, and grabbed his arm. She knew how to deal with insects like these from the forest, though she’d never been stupid enough to anger them before. “Stop struggling, you’re aggravating them more,” Maki hissed at him, beginning to drag him back to shelter. She felt a sting of pain on the back of her neck, and winced. “Tsumugi can’t you do something!?” She felt the movement of more insects land on her shoulders, her arms, her back. She cursed her stupid uniform for showing so much skin, as spikes of pain began to travel down her arms.

“I-I don’t know! This wasn’t meant to happen!” Maki felt another sting of pain beneath her ear, and flailing for what to do, Tsumugi raised her hand desperately. “STOP!” she shouted.

The wasps stopped.

Maki let out a gasp of relief, and lowered her shield. Tsumugi was shaking, staring in horror at the swarm she’d summoned, which hovered above her like her personal plague.

“What in Merlin’s name is all of this!?”

A voice thundered across the courtyard as Professor Espada appeared, tailed by a worried Professor Dovey. They both looked around at the mess of cowering students, and Maki accidentally met Dovey’s questioning eye. Of course, since she was in the middle of the courtyard now, it must look to the teachers like Maki had something do with everything. She didn’t really care if they thought that. Her priorities were elsewhere.

“Get rid of these pests at once, Tsumugi,” Dovey said gently, though her voice shook. Tsumugi looked up at the swarm timidly.

“Uh… go away?” she ordered.

The swarm dispersed, flying up into the sky and disappearing out of sight. The whole courtyard let out a repressed breath.

“A Never… in my courtyard of all places…” Professor Espada said. “You realise the blatant disregard for school rules you have shown?”

Tsumugi opened her mouth to defend herself, but Dovey hushed her. “Now now, we don’t have the authority to handle punishments for her. I shall have to call Lesso…”

“No need.”

Several Evers squeaked as Lady Lesso, the Dean of Evil, appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Tsumugi went somehow paler.

“I can explain!” she pleaded. “I was just trying to-”

“I don’t care what you were trying to do,” Lesso snapped. Maki had never seen her up close, but something about her fiery red hair and tall black boots made her both intimidating and also kind of cool. She seemed like a far more functional (and tolerable) teacher than wishy-washy Uma or uptight Anemone, but in as situation like this, that probably wasn’t ideal.

“School rule number one: students must remain in their assigned schools at all times.”

“But I-”

“Additionally, this little… stunt you just pulled off was the result of poorly used magic. Where is the spellbook you used?”

“I didn’t-”

“Do I need to fetch the Beast to torture this information out of you?”

“I…” Tsumugi gave in, and pulled a book from her bag. It was the spell book Kaede had given her earlier. Maki cursed herself. So this was her fault.

Lesso took the book, and read a passage.

“Struggling to whistle for birds? We’ve all been there - while it may come naturally for some princesses, for others it may take a little more work. With this spell, enchant your voice to bring out your inner princess, and bring your own personal flock to your peck and call. ” She looked up at Tsumugi. “Don’t tell me you’re desperate enough to be Good that you tried to cheat your way to it?”

“It wasn’t-” The Evers whispered around her judgementally. Whatever sympathy they’d felt for Tsumugi had diminished.

“Rule violation number two: possession of Ever property,” Lady Lesso hissed. “Rule violation number three: let me remind you that you’re not permitted to use magic to injure other students, and that the consequences of failed spells will be your responsibility to take care of.”

Tsumugi fell silent, her finger glowing with something between fear and anger.

“So. I think, with this violation, that there’s no doubt what your punishment should be.” Maki held her breath. “I think a session in the Doom Room will do you some good.”

“No!” Maki yelled without thinking. Dovey and Lesso both turned their eyes to her. “It was an accident, Tsumugi didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It’s your damn fault she felt forced to prove herself in the first place. You’re the ones who kept us in this school.”

“Maki, I’ve told you, only the School Master…” Professor Dovey began, but she trailed off as Lesso spoke.

“So you’re the other Reader I’ve heard so much about,” she said, examining Maki. She stood her ground. “It’s regrettable you didn’t end up in my school, I’m sure you would fit right in. But unfortunately, I am the teacher and you are the student, so I get to decide the punishment I see fit.”

“It’s not her fault!” Maki argued. “I’m the one who gave her that book.” Even though this was partially a lie, there was no way Maki would drag Kaede under the bus for this.

“I see. In that case, I’m sure Clarissa has a fitting punishment for you too.”

“Maki is my student, Lesso, not yours,” Dovey said smoothly. “I’ll decide whether or not she’ll be punished.”

“And Shirogane is mine,” Lesso replied, giving Dovey a pointed look. “Come.”

She gestured for Tsumugi to follow, but she stayed rooted to the spot. “But-”

“NOW.”

Reluctantly, Tsumugi followed her Dean out of the courtyard. Maki wanted to shout again, but she knew it would be no use. Nothing she said would make a difference.

“Is everyone alright?” Professor Dovey asked, looking around at the collection of Evers. Now that Tsumugi and Lesso were gone, life came back to them fast, and they began groups together to tend to wounds and comfort each other. Princes were helping girls to their feet, and Kiyotaka emerged from the shed, shaken but unharmed.

Trying her best to ignore Dovey and push aside her concerns for Tsumugi, Maki turned to Kaito. “Are you okay?” she asked, grimacing at the waves of red welts spreading across his face and right arm.

Despite his earlier panic, Kaito grinned at her. “Yep, I’m fine! A couple of bugs are nothing on the Luminary of the Stars!”

Maki stared at him, dumbfounded. “You don’t look fine.”

“What do you mean?"

She scowled at him, then ran over to her bag, pulling out a hand mirror. As much as she hated mirrors, she needed it for Beautification. Maki held it up to Kaito, who yelped.

“Damn-! I, uh-” He stared at himself for a second before forcing the grin back to his face, somewhat sheepishly. “Okay, so maybe it hurts a little…”

“What did you think you were doing!?” Maki snapped. “Engaging a bunch of insects in armed combat?”

“I was protecting you!” he argued.

“Clearly it was the other way around. And you shouldn’t do stupid stuff like that, no wonder you get hurt so often.”

“I’m not stupid!” Maki raised an eyebrow, but before she could respond, Professor Dovey spoke.

“Maki.” She turned, bracing for the worst. Dovey smiled. “I won’t punish you this time. I look forward to seeing your duel.”

It was a relief to hear, but also just as confusing. After all of that, Dovey smiled at her? Perhaps she saw through Maki's lie earlier, or maybe she could see Maki had been stung, and saw that as punishment enough.

Professor Espada found his voice again, and spoke up.

“The duel will be postponed until this time tomorrow. Everyone is dismissed while they recover."

Maki decided it was best not to stay around. Even if Dovey didn't blame her, there was no doubt the other students would after she took some of the blame. She grabbed the sleeve of Kaito's good arm and dragged him from the courtyard.

"Woah woah, hey, where are we going?"

"To get you cleaned up."

Maki pulled Kaito into Valor tower - she'd entered the lower floors several times, but the upper floors of Valor were still a mystery to her, given it was the Everboys tower. They arrived at the nearest toilets.

"Hey, Maki-roll, you can't go in there! That's the boys' toilets."

Maki considered for a moment, then ignored him and continued inside. Thankfully, no one was in there.

"Hey!" Kaito protested.

"What? I'm not sending you in alone, I don't trust you to do what I tell you."

"What are you-?"

Maki turned on the sink, then rummaged through her bag for a flannel and some soap. For the first time, Maki was grateful for her Beautification kit.

"Wasp stings are best treated with soap and cold water. Cleans out the venom and reduces swelling." She dipped the flannel under the tap. "Now hold still."

"Wait, isn't that gonna hurt!?" Kaito said, alarmed.

"Maybe a bit."

"Then I don't-"

"I thought a couple of bugs were nothing on the Luminary of the Stars? Is your limit a bit of water?"

"I-" Kaito spluttered. "Fine!"

Kaito fell still and closed his eyes as Maki gently dabbed his face. Now that it was silent, Maki could feel the burning pain on her own skin, reminding her that he wasn't the only injured one. She'd chastised him for standing in the middle of everything to 'protect' people, but she'd ran right into the swarm on her own whim. She wasn't that much better.

After she'd cleaned his face, Maki moved onto his arm. "If you wore your jacket properly, this wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't be able to see the stars on the inside. What's the point?" He shrugged. "Plus, it's cooler that way."

"Stay still."

Satisfied with her work, Maki finally stepped away from Kaito. "There, done."

"What about you? You don't look so good."

"I'll take care of that in my own toilets, thank you very much," Maki mumbled, packing her stuff away. "Now, if it still hurts, use a cold compress like a wet flannel or ice pack."

"Okay!" He responded enthusiastically, but then paused. "Oh, uh, Maki-roll?"

Maki closed her bag. "Mm?"

"Thanks." Maki froze. "For helping and protecting me and all that. I know it should be the other way around, but I guess just this once it's alright for the hero to be saved. Can't do it without my sidekicks after all."

She picked up her bag awkwardly. "Ah, um. You're welcome." She slung it over her shoulder and fled to the corridor before he could speak again.

Rather than simply washing her face like with Kaito, Maki made the trek upstairs to the bathrooms. As she cleaned her wounds, she caught sight of her own reflection. Geez. Maki had been so sure of what kind of person she was, but now she didn't understand herself at all. She kept making stupid decisions and changing loyalties and talking to people. No wonder no one could decide where she belonged.

She leaned back. She wasn't sure why she'd chosen to help Kaito like that. There wasn't really any thought behind it. Perhaps she was just bothered by how pathetic he looked. Her child-caring instincts from back at the orphanage reared their head. She remembered sitting kids down to clean off their stings and scold them for being reckless. Tsumugi always said she was being too harsh, but Maki knew there was a balance. The children needed to learn their lesson and know how to behave next time, otherwise they wouldn't survive in that kind of environment. Learn that the sticks and stones would break their bones, and next time they might not be so lucky. Tsumugi never learned that concept - she lived in a world of fiction and fantasy where dreams come true and good people always get happy endings.

Tsumugi. Was she being tortured right now? Maki wanted to do something, but what? She didn't even know where the Doom Room was. Perhaps Kaede would know. Then she could burst in and- uh… somehow overpower whatever beast lives there and save her?

It was useless. Even if she came up with a plan, it was probably already too late. At the end of the day, Maki was powerless to this school. She was a nobody with no influence, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself she could change things. Perhaps she was being too hard on herself, like Kaede had said. Suddenly, the swordfight she'd trained so hard for seemed pointless. She knew she couldn't win, and she didn't care. This whole drama was so meaningless. What happened to going home with Tsumugi? Why did the orphanage feel like a dream to her now?

If she really wanted to go home, why did she care so much about this place, the people here? Why did it matter?

She'd been looking at it all wrong. She just needed to go home alone. She didn't need Tsumugi with her. She was strong, she didn't need other people. No matter how happy the nostalgia of the two of them together made her, that was in the past. Maki knew it would never be the same. But first, she needed to prove they were in the wrong schools, just like Tsumugi had tried to. Without that, she'd never be sent home by the School Master, and Tsumugi would never be happy in her dream school.

Even if Maki didn't want to be Evil… there had to be a way to prove Tsumugi was Good, more Good than her. Then Tsumugi could have her happy ending, and Maki could have peace.

And she could sever all the connections she made here.

It was that simple, wasn't it? So, so… simple.

Chapter Text

Maki rushed to Lunch after Animal Communication the next day, desperate to find Tsumugi. She would have broken into her school, but if she got caught, Tsumugi might also get in trouble. Instead, she headed right past the fairies handing out food baskets, and looked around the Nevers side.

“If you’re looking for the crybaby,” a voice said, and Maki turned to see Junko. “She’s over there.”

Maki followed Junko’s finger to a barely visible shape behind a tree. She turned back to Junko, glaring daggers.

“If you call her names again, I’ll gut you. Non-vital organs first.”

Junko just laughed obnoxiously. “Did I say I liked you? You’d be so much better off with us."

Maki ignored her. She ran over to where Tsumugi was hiding. “Hey.”

Tsumugi looked up. Maki had been entirely prepared to be shouted at for speaking to her, or otherwise ignored, but instead an expression of relief flooded Tsumugi’s face.

“Maki!” She stood up, and before Maki could react, pulled her into a tight hug. Maki stood completely still, not knowing what to do in this situation. She wasn’t exactly used to hugs.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Tsumugi shook her head. “He didn’t touch me, but- but-” Her voice wavered. “Maki, I’m so sorry! I was so horrible to you, when all you wanted was to help me. But n-now I’m all alone… and I realise you were so special to me, and I gave you up for my own selfish reasons. Please have me back! I don’t want to stay in this school any longer! I know you want to go home with me, and-”

“It’s alright.” Maki said, pushing Tsumugi off of her gently. “I understand. I’ve thought about it, and… if you want my help switching schools, I’ll help you. If we can prove the School Master made a mistake, then you can switch schools and I can go home. Then we both get what we want.” Maki swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth as she spoke. Tsumugi’s eyes lit up behind her glasses.

“Really!?”

Maki nodded.

"I'm so sorry for ever doubting you!" Tsumugi cried. Maki sighed, and pulled Tsumugi down to sit beside her under the tree.

"What happened in the Doom Room?" Maki asked. "You weren't tortured?"

"Not physically…" Tsumugi replied "But…" she shuddered. "The Beast… he was like the wolves in Evil, but twice the size… and said the most terrible things. About how I'd never be Good, and I'd never have a prince... He said he'd never dealt with someone with such an obvious weak spot."

"It's okay, that's not true," Maki said. "We'll get you into Good. There's got to be a way."

"I thought if I could whistle for birds, that would prove I'm a princess. But it all went wrong! Instead they think I'm even more of a monster. I didn't mean to cheat, I just-"

"I think you had the right idea," Maki said. "When you said that only a true princess could call birds with a whistle, so therefore you'd be a princess if you did. There's got to be something else similar, that only a princess can do. Something that's not skill-based."

"Um…" Tsumugi thought. "You've been learning about how to be a princess, haven't you? You must have some ideas."

"You think I've been paying attention to the lessons? The best I've got is balancing books on your head."

"What about you? Can't you prove you're a Never?"

"If I did that, there's no guarantee you'd be able to swap schools. If you want to be in Good, we need to convince the School Master. Apparently he's the only one who can send me home, or swap your school."

"But how!?" Tsumugi complained. "No one even sees him! I've asked, but no luck, he's plainly nothing but a hermit who hides in his tower."

"I've seen him," Maki said. Tsumugi blinked at her. "You were too busy flirting with Kaito for me to tell you, but he saved my life when I fell from the roof of your school."

"Why-?" Tsumugi started, but changed her mind. "Nevermind that, did you ask him how to leave?"

"I tried. He ignored me," Maki said darkly. "But he seems to watch from his tower an awful lot, so I think he knows more than he lets on. And he can fly."

"Really!?"

"I think." Maki remembered how dazed she'd been, but at the same time, there was no other logical way he could have grabbed her from the centre of the bay.

"So you think that if we convince the teachers, the School Master will see and let us go?"

"I don't know. But at the very least, if we convince the teachers, we can get their help going to the School Master's tower and seeing him ourselves."

"Amazing! You're so logical about these things, Maki!" Tsumugi praised, clasping Maki's hands in her. "We'll make the perfect duo. We'll figure it out together, and prove them all wrong, right?"

Maki remembered what Kaede had said when she and Tsumugi argued. She’s just taking you for granted, Maki. But when Maki looked at Tsumugi's doe-like, pleading eyes, she just couldn't see that at all. Tsumugi was stressed, but trying her best. None of this was her fault. She deserved her happy ending. Maki had been the selfish one all along, trying to convince her otherwise.

"Yeah," Maki said. "I won't let this place tear us apart."

And with that, the torn friendship was stitched back together, and Maki headed to Good Deeds with a new vigour. She'd go home. Everything would be okay.

Maki had intended to spend Surviving Fairy Tales discussing plans with Tsumugi. She still didn't have any ideas, which wasn't helped by the fact that her duel that day was still on her mind. She wouldn't have minded it being called off after the incident the day before, but everyone was far too invested.

However, the subject matter of the class turned out to be far more interesting than expected.

"Today," Yuba said, "we will begin the first spell of this year's curriculum…Mogrification."

Evers and Nevers alike whispered to each other excitedly. Maki and Tsumugi met eyes and shrugged.

"Mogrification is the magic of turning one into a plant or animal. This can be temporary or permanent, but obviously for our purposes we will be learning the temporary kind, effective only on oneself."

Lesson one of Mogrification would start simply, as everyone in the class was tasked with turning themselves into a tulip. Maki didn't have the slightest clue what that would feel like, but she wasn't excited by the idea of being made of leaves and petals, so she didn't try very hard.

"To cast any spell, you must remember the following:" Yuba croaked. "Magic follows feeling. Without true emotion and intention, you can jab your fingers all you want, but nothing will happen. If you don't want to succeed, you won't succeed."

Maki wasn't the only one who achieved nothing the whole lesson. Even while she sat beside Tsumugi on the grass, she found herself watching Kaito across the forest, loudly declaring that he'd "actually do it this time!" while not ever actually doing it. The first Ever to successfully mogrify was Hiyoko, who suddenly shot down into a tiny, orange tulip, complete with her uniform's swan crest. She was followed soon by Kiyotaka, then Gundham, then Shuichi.

Tsumugi sighed. "Plainly, my heart's not in it."

"At least you've been able to do magic," Maki said. "I've achieved nothing yet."

"Has your finger glowed?" Tsumugi asked.

"Once. When I was arguing with a teacher."

"I'm glad."

"Huh?" Maki turned to Tsumugi. "Why?"

"I was scared you'd changed, and you'd be totally different now. But turns out you're the same old Maki after all. I'm glad."

Maki ran a finger through her hair. "I suppose that's good. I-"

She was cut off by the sound of Yuba's voice. The two girls looked up.

"I'll repeat again: everyone pack up and head back into the school premises," Yuba said, hitting his staff on the floor and sounding fed up. Tsumugi looked at Maki.

"But it's not the end of the lesson yet, is it?"

Maki shrugged, hoping they wouldn't be dismissed early. She didn't want to have to think about her duel yet.

Maki and the rest of her forest group all followed Yuba back through the gate. On the other side, the majority of groups were already gathered.

"Is that everyone?" a voice snapped. It was Lady Lesso. Tsumugi shrunk back behind Maki.

"Should think so," Yuba replied, before disappearing back into the Blue Forest. Lesso glared around at them all, causing everyone to fall silent.

"This morning," Lady Lesso started. "It was reported to me that the Beast has gone missing." She spoke gravely, like this was terrible news, but Evers and Nevers alike were exchanging surreptitious looks of glee.

"We are still searching for him as we speak. However, if anyone here knows anything about what may have happened, now's your time to speak. If I find out a student is to blame, the matter will not be taken lightly."

No one spoke.

"Fine. That is all. You're dismissed to Supper early."

Maki turned to Tsumugi. "That's odd. You said he was a huge wolf? How does something like that go missing?"

Tsumugi shrugged, smiling. "No idea. But I personally hope he's gone for good. Disgusting creature, someone clearly did the school a favour."

The unusual coldness in Tsumugi's voice chilled Maki, especially paired with her sweet smile. That Beast must have really hurt her, to make her hate him so much. Tsumugi normally never wished harm on anyone.

It felt like Maki had barely got a chance to blink before she was back in the Swordplay courtyard once more. She could see people giving her suspicious looks, wondering how she’d sabotage it this time, like she was responsible for Tsumugi’s actions the day before. In a way, that was true. And Maki certainly hoped someone would sabotage it, so she could move on and avoid the consequences of her actions.

“I don’t get it,” Kaede said. “You were so invested! What happened?”

“I realised I’m doomed, that’s what happened,” Maki grumbled, staring at her reflection in the murky metal of her sword. “The only thing keeping me so calm about how badly I’ll fail is the knowledge that I don’t plan to stick around much longer. Me and Tsumugi will find a way out.”

“I saw you talking to her at the end of Surviving Fairy Tales. Are you two friends again?”

“Seems like it. She apologised, so everything’s fine now.”

It was then that Professor Espada arrived, tailed by Professor Dovey. Maki gulped.

“Glad to see that we’re all in one piece today!” he said jovially, quite the opposite of the day before. “Now! Can the two finalists take their positions!”

As Maki walked to her doom, she noticed that Kiyotaka looked oddly nervous. There was no way he was scared of her… was there?

Maki got into position, wondering what her plan would be. Probably best to just defend for a while, so she didn’t immediately fail. Make it look like she stood a chance.

“Ready?” Professor Espada commanded. Maki’s body tensed. “Then… FIGHT!”

Espada’s voice boomed across the courtyard. Maki braced herself to defend against the first blow.

It didn’t come.

Taka hadn’t yet moved. Maki paused, thrown off. Was he trying to confuse her to gain the upper hand? Or perhaps he wanted her to make the first attack, out of pity or something?

Before Maki could decide what to do, Taka’s sword finally moved…

And fell to his feet.

“I surrender!” he announced.

“EHHHHH!?” There was an uproar of confusion from the crowd. Maki stared, nonplussed. What the fuck was he doing ? There was no doubt he could win. There was no doubt he would win. So why…?

“It’s taken a lot of consideration on my part, but I consider Harukawa the rightful victor,” Taka said.

“What is the meaning of this?” Espada asked. “Where is your fight, boy?”

“There’s no need to fight!” Taka declared. “Perhaps I would have one in terms of strength or talent or practice, but we’re not on equal footing to begin with. Had she been learning the art of Swordplay for as long as even the least practiced prince, then I have no doubt she’d win. But in this case, she has not. So I declare her victor on willpower and strength of character. Or at the least, let it be a draw.”

“You can’t do that!” Hiyoko shouted.

“Can he do that?” Sonia asked, turning to the teachers for backup.

“I don’t understand,” Maki said, staring at him. “Why would you want me to win? You were reluctant to even let me join.”

Taka sighed. “I admit that. But yesterday, you changed my mind.”

“Yesterday?”

“When that blue-haired… friend of yours summoned that swarm,” Taka explained. “You reacted by not only dragging me to safety, but rushing out to protect Kaito too. It would be misguided of me to say that wasn’t a demonstration of courage and valor. Isn’t that what this competition is all about?” He looked around the others for support.

“I can vouch for that!” Kaito declared.

“Hey! But wasn’t it her fault that all happened to begin with?” Hiyoko said. “They were clearly conspiring. She wanted to sabotage the competition because she knew she’d lose.”

“That is all speculation, Hiyoko,” Sonia said. “There is no evidence of that.”

“She gave her the book!”

“This is all beyond the point!” Taka interrupted. He turned back to Maki. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Maki looked at him. That kind of justification… he was treating her like a hero? It felt completely wrong. Maki hadn’t done those things to be heroic, she’d just… done them. On some kind of instinct. She didn’t deserve any kind of reward or praise for that.

Slowly, Maki laid down her own sword. “I’ll take second place. I’m not self-centred enough to overthrow an entire competition.”

Taka tried to argue, but she shot him a glare that made him fall silent.

“I see..” he said. “I’ll accept. But I…” Taka spun to face Professor Espada. “I implore you to consider allowing the girls access to Swordplay equipment!”

The crowd hushed. Everyone turned to Professor Espada. In the moment, Maki completely forgot that she’d decided not to care about the outcome. She held her breath.

“Fine.”

Everyone exchanged looks of varying emotion.

“Very well. The Swordplay courtyard and equipment in my room will be accessible to students of both genders from this day onwards.” Maki let out her breath. “But any Evergirls who wish to learn will need to be taught by a fellow student, since curriculum changes need far more consideration than a spontaneous decision.”

“So we’re allowed to teach ourselves?!” Sonia exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes,” Professor Espada sighed, then turned away. “Don’t abuse the privilege.”

Maki felt like she was floating as she watched both teachers leave. The silence was torn by a wave of reactions that she could barely focus on. She’d done it. She’d actually changed something. She couldn’t identify what emotion she was feeling. It was strange… Maki had spent her whole life never really achieving anything. She didn’t have any ambitions, no dreams or hopes. She was content with that, of course. She’d decided long ago that any ambition she might have had wasn’t worth the strife, and the people it’d leave behind. Some people were better off staying put. That’s what she’d thought about herself, but…

“You did it!!” Kaede shouted, running to her. “And to think I didn’t believe in you at first. You really are something, Harunana.”

As Maki turned to her, she saw a number of faces grinning at her. She felt herself go red.

“That absolutely slayed girl!” Sonia said.

“Winning with the power of friendship…” Chiaki added. “A wholesome conclusion, even if it’s a little tropey.”

“Fair play.” Fuyuhiko gave her a lopsided smile, crossing his arms.

Maki heard loud footsteps behind her, and turned around to see Kaito dragging Shuichi over. “I knew you could do it!” he said, punching his fists together. “I wouldn’t expect any less of my newest sidekick!”

Maki’s face burnt at the attention. “I didn’t even fight…”

“But you got what you wanted, right?” Shuichi said. “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time the rules have changed in… well, ages.”

“Mhm, you ought to be proud of yourself!” Kaede agreed.

Maki considered it. Yeah. She did it. For once, she had something to be proud of. Maybe that was the strange emotion she was feeling now. Pride. Maki knew she wasn’t anything special, and it was stupid to think otherwise, but… she had other people on her side. People who believed in her. People who thought she did something cool. So maybe that was her excuse to enjoy it. Just for a moment.

“I suppose,” Maki mumbled, trying to hide the smile she could feel forming on her lips. It escaped the notice of everyone but Kaede, who matched it with her own sweet smile.

“Y’know, your smile is really pretty when you’re actually happy. I’d like to see it more.”

Maki turned deliberately away from Kaede. “I’m not talking to you anymore,” she said half-heartedly, which earned her a giggle. Instead, she slipped out of the crowd over to Kiyotaka, who was talking to a friend.

“Hey,” she said. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all,” he replied cheerfully. “If you want to repay me, perhaps cut out the rulebreaking.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“This whole thing feels so wrong to me!” A high-pitched voice caught Maki’s attention: Hiyoko. Obviously. “You agree, right Mahiru?”

“Mmm,” Mahiru responded. “Maybe?”

“I think so. Why are Sonia and Kaito praising her for her determination and willpower? If you ask me, Good’s willpower can be easily confused with Evil’s ambition. She’s just targeting the most popular people in order to fake a social standing. There’s no real reason for them to even like her.”

“Maki-roll!” Her attention was snapped back by Kaito’s voice. “High five?”

She considered him for a moment, still cautious about getting close to him. Hiyoko wasn’t wrong. There was no reason for Kaito to like her. She ought to be keeping her distance. But… It was just a high five. No harm in that.

Rolling her eyes, Maki returned the high five lightly. “I told you not to call me that.”

“The next time Professor Anemone wants you to smile, you should just close your eyes and remember that moment,” Kaede suggested.

“Or I should bite her.”

“Maki!” she yelped, horrified.

“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Maki said, folding up her uniform neatly. “But I’d rather not risk it, what with my last smile being ‘positively malevolent’ . Besides, no point improving my ranking when I’ll be leaving soon.”

Kaede sighed, placing down her hairbrush. “Do the two of you have a new plan then?”

“Not really.” Maki lay down in bed, staring up at the sea of clouds decorating the ceiling of her room. “We want to prove that Tsumugi is an Ever, but we’re not sure how to do it.” She rolled over to face her roommate. “Any ideas? What’s something that only someone Good can do?”

“Hmmm…” Kaede scrunched up her nose in thought. “I’d say… the main difference between Good and Evil in fairytales is their endings.”

“Endings?”

“We’ve learnt about it in History of Heroism. In a fairytale where Evil wins, they gain power, revenge, control, self-satisfaction… in other words, their ending is for themselves and themselves alone. Whereas for Good…” Maki’s eyes fell on a painting of a golden-haired princess adoring their wall. “...their happy ending’s for many people. They either save others from a terrible fate, or they find true love… or both. Most commonly both.”

Maki pushed herself up in bed. “What does this mean in our context?”

“I’d say,” Kaede said, “something a villain can never have, but a princess almost never lives without… is a True Love’s Kiss.”

“...” Maki stared at her. “...A kiss.”

“Not just any kiss,” Kaede said. “A kiss from your true love. Anyone can just kiss someone, but kiss between two people who are meant to be… who love each other deeply and truly… there’s nothing I can think of more Good than that.”

“I thought the idea of true love was bullshit. You just choose the easiest boy and be done with it.”

“That’s because I’m not in a fairytale,” Kaede explained. “Most people will never be chosen to feature in a fairytale, so we’ve got to take things into our own hands. You’ve got to make connections early on, so that when you leave school, you have a prince to fall back on if your true love never comes.” She raised her finger passionately. “But! Some people find their true love in school. You’ll know it when you feel it. And if you don’t, then you just choose someone and learn to feel it.”

“I-” Maki was too tired to tear that apart. “So… you think Tsumugi should just kiss one of the princes?” As stupid as that was, if that was all it took, it was definitely achievable. If it came to it, she could just ask Hajime or something for a favor.

“Not exactly. You’re missing the point.” Kaede fell back into her bed. “It has to be her true love. The one she feels a connection to like no one else. You know who that is, right?”

Maki’s stomach sank. She’d had a feeling this would happen.

“Kaito.”

“Yeah…” Kaede reached over and turned out the light. “I won’t comment though. The last time I told you something was completely implausible you smashed it regardless, so I won’t make that mistake again.”

“I think that was a fluke…” Maki said bitterly, lying back down. What had she signed herself up to?

Maki spent the morning mulling her problem over. She wished she could come up with a less stupid idea, but… she couldn’t think of anything else. Her knowledge of fairytales was enough that she knew Kaede was probably right. If Tsumugi and Kaito were to be together, then regardless of this “true love’s kiss”, it would definitely convince the other Evers that Tsumugi belonged with them. After all, this was Kaito they were talking about. And if the entirety of Good believed Tsumugi to be an Ever, that was certainly a step closer to persuading the School Master too.

But… the problem was, Maki didn’t have the slightest clue how to tackle this task. She could do studying, fighting, arguing, whatever, but romance? That was so far out of her depth that she’d be basically useless. After all, romance was dumb. From what she’d seen in the real world, it was shallow and usually ended badly. True love never existed. She'd given up on it a long time ago, when she realised that the closest thing to a handsome prince in Gavaldon was someone who threw mud instead of stones when she passed.

Maki sighed, picking at her breakfast. None of that mattered now. She didn’t have a choice but to suggest the idea to Tsumugi during lunch. She wanted to go home, no matter what hoops she had to jump through to get there. But did it have to be Kaito?

“Maki-roll!”

Maki jumped out of her skin, choking on her food. Kaede stifled a giggle as Kaito approached their table cheerfully, Shuichi hovering a few feet away.

“I told you not to-!” Maki started, embarrassed by her dramatic reaction.

“I know, I know,” Kaito said, cutting her off, “but that deal’s off now, remember? Because you’ve finished training? So now I can talk to you whenever I like again.”

Maki fell silent. Oh. She hadn’t even realised it, but now that she’d finished the duels, she had no reason to train with him anymore. She knew she should feel relieved - the training had been a mess, and Kaito was impossible to deal with sometimes - but instead, she felt… 

“What do you want then?” Maki asked, her anger fading.

“Ah! Well, you see, about that…” Kaito shot a look at Shuichi, who seemed to deliberately avoid his gaze. “Me and Shuichi were thinking, training’ll probably be pretty quiet without you around.”

He swallowed, regaining his vigour. “So! I’d like to give you an official invitation to join our team!”

Maki fidgeted with the ribbon on her dress. “I don’t think it’s a team if there’s only two members.”

“Then let’s make it three!”

For some reason, she couldn’t meet his eye. “What’s in it for me?”

“Huh?” Kaito paused, then shrugged. “I dunno. Friendship and stuff. You can keep getting strong while doing super cool activities with a super cool leader!” Maki scoffed. “Besides!” Kaito added. “It would be a waste of the new rule to not use the courtyard.”

“...” Everything Maki knew about herself told her she should just say no. She had no reason to keep hanging out with him, no excuse for it anymore. So why… didn’t she want to?

“Psst,” Kaede whispered, leaning towards Maki. “Go for it.”

Maki opened her mouth to argue in indignation, but then a thought occurred to her. If she wanted to set Kaito and Tsumugi up, it’d be better if she was closer to him, right? To learn more about Kaito, and talk her up and all that. Yeah. That was a valid reason.

“...Fine. But I'm only free during supper.”

“Really?” Kaito asked, looking genuinely surprised.

“Don’t get confident,” she snapped. “I could quit whenever I like.”

“Got it!” Kaito gave her his usual grin, slamming his fists together. Maki turned to Shuichi, still hovering somewhere behind him.

“Are you okay with me staying though?” she asked.

“Ah-” Shuichi looked startled about being addressed by her. “Uh, yeah. It’s fine.”

“I told you, me and Shuichi were thinking!” Kaito said. “Do you even listen to me?”

“Unfortunately I don’t speak idiot language.”

“Hey! I'm not an idiot! Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Why do you keep calling me Maki-roll?"

Kaito looked like he was about to retaliate, but changed his mind, his smile coming back. "Wait. Is 'idiot' your endearing nickname for me?"

"What-?" Kaito's abruptness splashed water on Maki's cool attitude. "Of course not! It's an insult!"

"It's alright, I get it!" he said cheerfully, turning away. "I don't mind you calling me that if you actually mean it in a nice way."

"No, I-" Kaito grabbed Shuichi's arm and disappeared back across the Clearing. "Kaito!"

Maki considered getting up and following him, but didn't want to risk drawing attention to herself, so instead settled for glaring daggers at his back.

"You two work well together," Kaede chirped. "I didn't realise you'd become so close."

"Don't you start."

"Sorry, I'm only teasing," she said guiltily. "Ah, but I have a question. Are you and Shuichi friends now?"

Maki finally turned back to the table. "Uhh.. I don't know. It's hard to tell with him. But we're not enemies or anything."

"I see. And is he nice?"

"He's alright. I suppose." Maki wasn't sure what she was meant to think. She'd always seen their training as just a relationship of convenience, to help her learn. But Kaito had promised "friendship and stuff", so… did that make Kaito and Shuichi her friends? That would mean she had four friends now. A ridiculous number. No one needed that many friends, and that wasn't even counting people like Fuyuhiko or Sonia or Taka. Were they her friends? What did it even mean to be friends with someone?

It all made Maki's head hurt. It didn't help that part of her knew she didn't choose to keep training just to be a matchmaker. She'd already concluded she'd be useless at the whole romance thing, and positioning herself somewhere strategic wouldn't fix that. But she couldn't begin to fathom what her actual reason was.

Realising the task ahead, Maki spent Beautification reading her schoolbooks for any hints on how to get your true love to like you. 'Wear makeup', 'smile lots', 'keep up with fashion trends'… perhaps stuff like that would work on regular princes, but she couldn't see Kaito being convinced by it. If looks were enough to win him over, he'd have a girlfriend already.

"Harukawa," Professor Anemone said. "Name three cosmetic benefits of vitamin C."

Maki looked up from her book. "Reduces wrinkles, fades scars and protects against sun damage."

Anemone blinked at her. It was only after Maki finished talking that she realised she'd actually been able to answer the question. She was sure Anemone only picked on her in class as an excuse to lecture everyone on paying attention. But Maki had been doing her homework, so it wasn't like she knew nothing.

Maki gave Anemone a smug look as she breezed onwards. Maki left the lesson with a comfortable 5th rank.

Once the lessons ended, Maki dared a glance at the rankings in the entrance hall. She wasn't last place anymore. She wasn't particularly high either, but her name was definitely there, amongst the others. There was something satisfying about doing well when no one thought you were capable.

"Ah, Maki! Any ideas?" Tsumugi asked, rushing over to her as soon as she entered the Clearing for lunch.

Maki cleared her throat.

 "We're gonna get you a prince."

Chapter Text

"But I've tried everything!" Tsumugi declared. Maki, Tsumugi and Kaede sat around a table eating sandwiches to discuss their plans. "He just doesn't notice me. I must have the wrong personality."

"Then we need to figure out what personality he likes, right?" Maki said, trying to approach it logically.

"Well, if you consider the people he hangs out with…" Kaede said. "That's Shuichi and…"

Both girls looked at Maki. "What?" she said, not a fan of where this was going.

"How did you get him to train you?" Tsumugi asked.

"I didn't get him to. He's the one who suggested it."

"That's even worse!" Tsumugi whined. Maki glared at her.

"It's not like that. I have no idea why he wants to talk to me so much."

"But he clearly likes you. So if we can figure out why, that could be useful."

"It's because he's an idiot, that's why."

"You said he thought you were 'interesting', right?" Kaede said, realising Maki wouldn't cooperate without a nudge in the right direction.

Maki obliged. "Yeah. He said… hold on…" She tried to recall his exact wording. "He said I was different, and he'd never spoken to someone like me before. I think he just liked my attitude."

"So I need a bad attitude?" Tsumugi asked, horrified.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kaede said. "We need true love for this to work. If Tsumugi fakes a persona, there's no way it's true love, because he won't love her for who she is."

"So I'm doomed!?" Tsumugi exclaimed, even more horrified.

"Then what was the point of this discussion?" Maki asked, exasperated.

"No, no, you're thinking about it wrong," Kaede said. "I don't think what Kaito meant was that he likes people who are rude to him. Because he gets annoyed when you call him an idiot, right?"

Maki frowned as she remembered their exchange that morning. "I guess."

"So… I'm not an expert, but I think the thing Kaito likes about you is that you're not afraid to be yourself. You don't change your personality to please him."

"Huh?" Maki and Tsumugi said.

"For most Evergirls, one of the most important things is winning a prince. So we act the way we've been taught to act in order to be loved. You've seen how Hiyoko softens up when Kaito disagrees with her, right? But Maki doesn't do that, because she doesn't care what he thinks of her."

"I…" Maki couldn't really find an argument for that. Kaede's theory made sense. So Kaito didn't like fake people? That was odd, but a lot less so than him liking people who hated him.

"So I have to be myself?" Tsumugi asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Forget everything you learnt from fairytales, and just try being Tsumugi for a bit." Kaede gave her an encouraging smile, despite her grievances.

"But- But how do I show him who I am?" Tsumugi cried. "I'm completely and totally boring. Without being able to be a princess, I'm as plain as can be."

"That's not true," Maki said. "If you were completely boring, I wouldn't have been your friend. Just tell him about something you care about."

"Something I… care about?"

"Or are good at! Anything like that," Kaede added. "And if you can, try and prove yourself Good in the process. It'd kill two birds with one stone."

"Hmm…" Tsumugi said. "I'll think about it."

That supper, Maki found herself in the Swordplay courtyard once more. To say it was as if nothing had changed wasn't entirely true - because they no longer had a goal to train for, Kaito's instruction became far more relaxed and disjointed.

"Set aside our swords for a moment," he said, "I think we should do some strength training! A proper workout, like push-ups or sit-ups or jumping-jacks!"

"You wouldn't catch me dead doing jumping-jacks," Maki replied coldly.

"That's good, isn't it? I mean, if a dead body started jumping I'd be a little freaked out."

"I- Nevermind."

"I'm not sure I'm quite cut out for strength training, Kaito," Shuichi said.

"Sure you are! Okay, it's decided!" Kaito slammed his fists together. "One hundred sit-ups, starting now!"

"One hundred!?" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Come on, sidekick! You can do it!" Kaito sat down on the ground around the edge of the courtyard. Maki sighed. Well, at least she was confident she could get this over with pretty quickly. She wouldn't say she was the pinnacle of fitness, but at least sit-ups were something she had practice with.

Quickly, the three of them started. Maki was the first to complete all her sit-ups. A hundred was a bit out of her comfort zone, so she slowed down towards the end and finished breathless, but the others were suitably impressed.

"Wow, Maki-roll, you're epic!"

Maki rolled her eyes. "You don't get to stop to talk to me, Kaito. Finish your sit-ups."

"What!? No, I'm still doing them! See?" He did one sit-up, then turned to her again.

Shuichi paused, looking grateful for the excuse to take a break. "Kaito, which number are you on?"

"Uhhhh…" Kaito hesitated, put on the spot. "I dunno, I think I lost count. I was pretty close to a hundred though, so I can just round it up-"

"Thirty-six."

"Huh?"

"You were at thirty-six," Maki repeated. She'd been listening to him counting.

"Oh, really?"

"Is that close to a hundred?" Shuichi asked.

"I mean, if you round up to forty, that's pretty close to fifty, and if you round that fifty to…"

Maki watched him, confused. She'd had in her head that he was totally lame and incompetent, and he just acted like he was muscular and tough. But he was muscular. And pretty tough, from when she'd fought him. He was an easy win once you learnt him, but he was strong. She'd been sure he was doing his sit-ups fine until she stopped, and he didn't seem to have broken a sweat like Shuichi had. So why was he acting so childish about it now?

Maybe she didn't know Kaito as well as she thought. He'd seemed so simple, Maki had thought she was the expert on him now. But all of that stuff was surface level. He was a prince from Camelot . Could she really expect to understand someone like that?

That was the case with everyone here. Maybe she had shallow friendships, but she didn't fit in. They were all different to her, from a different world. Tsumugi was the only one she could actually understand. Tsumugi, who she was planning to let go. Who she would be leaving behind.

"What about you, Maki-roll?"

Maki blinked, realising she'd stopped paying attention. "Huh? What are we talking about?"

 "Hey, don't zone out on me!" Kaito said. "I'm the Luminary of the Stars!"

"We were talking about Mogrification," Shuichi clarified. "We're discussing which animal we want to turn into first."

"I said dog and Shuichi said cat!" Kaito added.

It seemed their training had completely disbanded now. "Uh… Probably something small, like a mouse."

"Because you're small?" Kaito asked.

Maki glared at him. "Because then I can sneak around. Seems like the most useful thing to do as an animal."

"I guess, but you shouldn't need to sneak around that much," Shuichi said. "Besides, there are other uses of being an animal. Like flying or breathing underwater."

"Oh! In that case, I'd be a colorful bird, like a parrot!"

"A sparrow would fit in very well," Maki mumbled, thinking. "Or any other small bird people wouldn't notice."

"A bat would blend in if it was dark," Shuichi suggested.

"Would you be able to fly between the schools?" Maki asked.

Shuichi shook his head. "There's a magic barrier between the two schools, which stretches the whole way across. The only way through is the places designed for it, like the passage to the Clearing. I suppose you could fly around through the dark forest, but that sounds like a death wish, especially for a small animal."

"Magic barrier? Is that the thing in the middle of Halfway Bridge?" Maki remembered the invisible wall, where she spoke to her reflection to cross. She knew it was there, but she'd just assumed it was solely for the bridge.

"Oh, yeah, I think so. I haven't seen it myself, but apparently only the teachers know how to pass through via the bridge."

"I've done it twice."

Both boys stared at her. "How?"

"The barrier had a reflection of me in it," Maki recounted. "She said "Good with Good, Evil with Evil". But because I don't belong here, I proved to her I wasn't Good, by telling her something Evil I'd done. Then she let me through."

"Oh, wow! That's awesome!" 

"I'm not sure you should be so supportive of rule-breaking, Kaito," Maki said.

He shrugged. "I mean, if you actually don't belong here, it's not rule-breaking is it? And if you do belong here, that means you're Good despite the rule-breaking, so it doesn't matter! Win-win!"

"Does Shuichi agree with that?" Maki turned to him, expecting him to have his usual cautious attitude. Instead, he just blinked.

"I mean, I'm not bothered by it? I'm not a stickler about the rules, as long as it's not stupidly dangerous. Kaito does his fair share of rule-breaking too."

"Hey! No I don't!" Kaito hurriedly cut Shuichi off before he could divulge any secrets.

“What rules do you break?” Maki asked, frowning. “I thought you were Mr. Perfect?”

“You think I’m perfect?” Kaito said, though it was clear he only said this to avoid answering the question.

“Well, whatever. Is training over then?”

“Oh, no!” Kaito smiled. “Yeah, we’re not exercising anymore, but strength isn’t the only thing that needs training.”

Shuichi sighed like he knew where this was going.

“What we’re doing right now is team-building!”

“Team-building?” Maki asked monotonically.

“That’s what he says whenever he just wants to chat,” Shuichi contributed. “Communication is key to a strong support network and problem-solving.”

“Shuichi’s got it!” Kaito agreed.

“If we’re just chatting, why is it so exclusive? I could’ve invited Kaede along, rather than ditching her during Supper,” Maki said.

“No no, these meetings are for training ,” Kaito argued. “Kaede doesn’t seem like she needs training.”

“And you need training?”

“I’m training you two! I’m the teacher!”

“I don’t know that Kaede would want to be part of this anyway,” Shuichi added.

“Hm. No, this seems like totally her thing,” Maki mused. Really, any excuse to spend time with Shuichi would probably be enough for her. Maki wondered if she ought to put in a nice word about Kaede to Shuichi.

“I’d be happy to hang out with you two outside of training though!” Kaito grinned. “You and Kaede are roommates right?”

Maki wasn’t sure she liked that idea, but Kaito didn’t seem to notice. He did, however, notice Shuichi looking alarmed.

“Eh? What’s up bro? That’s your chance to get close to Kaede.” Kaito nudged Shuichi with his elbow, who yelped, going kind of red. Maki blinked.

“You like Kaede?” she asked.

“Uh-! No!” Shuichi replied, but his voice was an octave higher than usual.

“You can’t tell Kaede this,” Kaito said, leaning towards Maki and stage whispering, “but he’s totally into her.” Shuichi opened his mouth to interrupt, but realised it was pointless. “But he’s got it into his head that she’s out of his league. Which is totally wrong, right!? I said, he just needs a bit more confidence, and boom!”

“Boom?”

“Boom!”

“Please don’t repeat that to her,” Shuichi asked resignedly.

Maki considered for a second. Hearing something like that would make Kaede’s day, but her malicious streak towards Shuichi had fizzled out enough that she was reluctant to break his trust. “I won’t,” she said finally, “and I don’t think she’s out of your league. She’s just some normal girl who talks a bit too much, I’m sure she’d love to hang out with you.” Maki cringed at her own sappy words. Since when had she talked like that to these people?

“See?” Kaito said. “What did I tell you?”

“Uh, still,” Shuichi said. “If we spent time with you and Kaede, would that also include your Never friend?”

Now was her chance to wingman Tsumugi. “Yes. And she’s not a Never. She’s in the wrong school.” She glanced at Kaito. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No!” he said. “I mean, she doesn’t seem that bad. But she’s in Evil, so it’s hard to be totally sure.”

“Whatever doubts you have about her also apply to me,” Maki deadpanned.

“I’m sure she’s great if you think so!”

“Why is my opinion so special to you?”

“Hm? ‘Cause you’re one of my sidekicks, duh!” He shrugged casually, before pausing and frowning. “Although, I guess it’s not really appropriate to call a girl my sidekick.” He stared thoughtfully at Maki, who looked away. “I guess it’ll do for now, since I don’t have anything else to call you.”

Maki wanted to argue about whether a girl could be a sidekick or not, but she didn’t want it to seem like she liked being called that. But it was good that he liked her that much, right? It would let her manipulate him easier.

That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

As promised, Maki didn’t mention their discussion to Kaede that night. She felt she maybe ought to tell Kaede something , just in case Shuichi approached her later, but she needed a solid enough story to avoid too many questions. The effort was enough that she decided to leave it til’ the morning.

Apparently that was the wrong decision.

Only a minute into breakfast, Maki’s meal was abruptly interrupted by Kaito appearing, tailed by Shuichi as always.

“Hey! Mind if me and Shuichi sit with you?”

“Eh?” What happened to not talking in public? Maki glanced around quickly to check no one was watching.

“Why?” Kaede and Maki both asked in unison. Kaito ignored Maki and turned to Kaede.

“Maki-roll was telling me yesterday about how cool you are and how we should hang out more! So here we are!”

Kaede looked surprised. Maki looked horrified. Of all the things he could say… This fucking dumbass… And with that stupid nickname too…

Kaede’s expression slowly faded from shock to a smile. “Oh, that’s so nice of you Maki!” Although her tone was sweet, Maki could make out the teasing glint in her eyes. Maki flushed.

“That’s not what I said!” she lashed, glaring at Kaito. “And I didn’t mean now! Or with me involved!”

“Huh? Wait, but why would I leave you out?” Kaito asked, missing the point again. “Oh! I get it!” He leaned closer to Maki and whispered “You think we should leave them alone together?”

Maki hit him on the head with her basket. “That’s not what I meant either!”

“Kaito, I think maybe we’re stepping out of line a little…” Shuichi suggested, trying to gently pull Kaito away from Maki.

“Oh, no!” Kaede chirped. “Not at all! You’re welcome to join us!”

“No you’re-” Maki tried to argue, but Kaito had already sat down.

“Come on Shuichi, no need to be shy!” he said, dragging Shuichi down with him.

Maki spent the rest of breakfast glowering at everyone but Shuichi. That included Hiyoko’s group, who she caught watching out of the corner of her eye. Once Kaito was absorbed in conversation with Shuichi, Maki leaned towards Kaede.

“Tell him to go away,” she hissed.

“I wouldn’t even if I wanted to,” she whispered back. “He’s out of our league, it’s only polite to do what he says.”

“I couldn’t care less about being polite.”

Kaede smiled. “And yet you were telling him all about how cool and amazing I am?”

“I was not! He completely made that up!”

“Hmm,” Kaede said, still smiling playfully.

“I mean it!” Maki scowled, folding her arms. “I told him that you’re a normal girl who talks too much.  That’s not even slightly a compliment.”

“It’s a compliment coming from you,” Kaede teased. “Whatever it is you said though, thank you!”

Maki ignored her, and spent the rest of breakfast with her back to Kaede.

By halfway through their first lesson, Maki had already given up on the silent treatment. By the start of their next, Maki and Kaede were talking like usual again.

“Why were you guys talking about me in the first place?” Kaede asked, as Pollux called their names.

“Kaito gave up on training within five seconds. I said it was unfair to leave you alone if all we were doing was chatting about random shit.”

“So you do care about me!” Kaede said. Maki gave her a look.

“Don’t make me stop talking to you again.”

“Alright class,” Pollux barked. “Since we’ve perfected walking, today we’ll be focusing on skipping. Of course, skipping isn’t appropriate for every fairytale, but if you’re lucky enough to get it young, the art of skipping through the forest is not to be sneezed at. So, everyone grab a basket, and skip single file from here to the Blue Forest gates.”

“Think we should ask him for a demonstration?” Maki whispered to Kaede.

Kaede giggled. “A dog skipping? Now that’s something I’d like to see.”

Everyone gathered into a line. Yet another completely pointless and humiliating activity. Still, with the threat of failing ranks still looming over Maki’s head, she reluctantly obliged. At least skipping wasn’t difficult.

Maki was only a few paces from the gates when her foot hit something hard. She tripped, her hands narrowly stopping her inches from the stone pavement. She quickly glanced around, catching a glimpse of a shoe beside her head.

“Sir!” She heard Hiyoko call shrilly from above her. “Maki just fell!”

Maki pulled herself up, gritting her teeth. “Just when I thought you were improving, Harukawa!” Pollux scolded. “At least try to do it properly.”

“She tripped me!” Maki argued, pointing at Hiyoko.

“Me?” Hiyoko gave an innocent, childlike smile. “I’d never do something like that!”

It didn’t take Pollux much consideration to choose who to believe. “Another 20 rank,” he said to Maki. “Class dismissed.”

Maki sighed. She was bad enough at the lessons as it was, without making enemies. Then again, it wasn’t like there was any hope befriending Hiyoko, so she had nothing to lose. If she could think of a creative way to get revenge…

“Hey, that’s odd.”

Kaede was looking up at the rusted rank floating above Maki’s head. Maki followed her eyes. 19.

“I thought I had bottom rank?” Maki said, staring. “Who could’ve possibly done worse than me?”

Kaede and Maki looked around the class quickly, before the ranks faded. As the last ones were beginning to disappear, Maki spotted it. Not a 20, but another 19.

“Two people with the same rank!?” Kaede exclaimed. “That’s not possible! There must have been a mistake or something!” Kaede turned back to Maki. “If it was anyone else, I’d report it to the teachers, but it’s only fair you don’t fail. That’s some crazy luck!”

“I guess…” Maki mumbled, watching the number fracture into sparks of silver light and disappear. She knew it didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t just a simple mistake.

Someone didn’t want her to fail.

Maki failed Animal Communication too. Apparently squirrels didn’t like her very much.

“You need a more soothing presence,” Princess Uma explained, while trying to coax her animal friends back down from their hiding place. “They could tell you weren’t feeding them to be nice.”

“Well I wasn’t,” Maki replied. “They’ve taken about thirty nuts just in this lesson, and you tell us to eat less.”

But despite her snide remarks, once again the number above her head read ‘19’. Maki ducked behind a tree until it faded to make sure no one noticed.

“This feels a bit like cheating,” Kaede mumbled as they headed to the Clearing.

“You’d rather I failed then?”

“No!” Kaede said, horrified. “Geez, that came out totally wrong.”

“It’s fine, I’m only teasing,” Maki said. “The teachers will notice soon enough and fix it anyway.”

“Hmmm… That is, if they can fix it.”

Maki looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, this sort of ancient school magic stuff is usually done by the School Master, not the teachers. I’d have to confirm that first, but it’s a safe enough guess.”

“I see.” That just confirmed Maki’s suspicions. But why was the School Master stopping her from failing? She remembered what he’d said when he saved her: ‘your story is only just beginning’. Yet, for all the interest he seemed to have in her, for the number of times she’d caught him staring at her from his window, she still hadn’t actually spoken to him. Maybe she ought to focus on finding a way up the tower before the whole Tsumugi wooing Kaito thing. If she learnt to Mogrify, could she reach the tower by flying? Shuichi had said there was a barrier between the two schools, but he didn’t say anything about the tower. Maybe it-

Maki’s thoughts were interrupted by a strange sight in the Clearing. Rather than the usual spatterings of Evers on one side and Nevers the other, the center of the Clearing was now flocked with a crowd of excited Nevergirls.

“What’s going on there?” Kaede asked, trying to peer into the crowd without getting too close. Maki was curious, but not enough to get involved. But as she tried to edge around the crowd to the tree they’d sat by last time, a hand touched her shoulder.

“She said it was your idea!” Junko said, grinning at Maki. “I always knew you were the brainy one!”

Maki stared at her, as Kaede backed several steps away. “What are you talking about?”

“Take a look for yourself,” Mukuro said, gesturing.

Confused, Maki turned to the gathering. A familiar voice rang from its center-

“Fabulous, darlings! But just a little less cream!”

Maki’s chest tightened. Tsumugi? Without hesitating, she forced her way through the swarm of Nevers until she stumbled into the center and froze in shock.

Tsumugi sat on a tree stump, a painted wooden sign hanging from a branch above her:

Lunchtime with Tsumugi

“Where Beauty Meets Charity”

Today’s Topic:

Beetroot for Blemish Banishment

Maki’s eyes flicked from the sign to Tsumugi herself. Gone was the tired look on her face, the dumpy black dress she hated so much. While the swan was still visible on her chest, her uniform had been entirely remodelled, fashioned into a mini dress with puffed sleeves and an asymmetric black lace skirt. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun revealing silver star earrings, and her lips were babydoll pink paired with dark eyeshadow.

“Now remember, girls, beauty doesn’t just rely on buying expensive dresses and a thousand types of face cream. Beauty can be made from all sorts of things, you just need the confidence to do it. After a few of these sessions, even the plainest of Janes will make jaws drop wherever they go.”

The Nevergirls nodded, seemingly eating every one of her words up. Maki couldn’t believe it. What was she doing?

As Tsumugi finished handing out beetroots, she finally spotted Maki. “Ah, Maki! What do you think? I’m not very experienced in the gothic look, but I think I pulled it off okay. I didn’t have any black lipstick though, none of my ideas came out pigmented enough…”

“What. Is. All this?” Maki asked.

“Hm? Oh! I’m doing beauty sessions! It says on the sign,” Tsumugi smiled cheerfully. “Thanks for the idea!”

“What idea??” Maki said, bewildered.

“You told me I needed to show Kaito something I’m good at and care about. Well, this is it.”

“This isn’t really what I had in mind… How is makeup lessons for a bunch of Nevers going to make Kaito like you?”

“It’s kindness, isn’t it?” Tsumugi said. “I’m proving I’m Good, showing compassion even for people like them, and in my own, personal way. Although, I will admit, it doesn’t help that the crowd’s so thick he can’t even see me. I’ll have to provide seats next time so I can organise it better.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“I thought you were being supportive of me, Maki?”

“I-” She had a point. Even if this was unlikely to work, she was trying. It was more than anyone else had done.

“That’s what I thought,” Tsumugi smiled. “Now be a dear and clear out a gap in the crowd on the Ever side for me.”

Maki resignedly obliged, telling a few Nevergirls she’d throw glitter on them if they didn’t budge. Once the crowd had parted, she slipped out, and looked around for Kaito.

He was staring right past her, at Tsumugi, his eyes wide.

There was no way this would work… right? Maki grabbed her basket of food, her mind a blur. But if it did… if Kaito really fell for her… Then it would be over, just like that.

No more School for Good. No more chatting with Kaede, no more training with Kaito. Her life could be simple and monotonous again.

Maki gulped her lemon water, trying to wash away the bitterness in her throat.

Chapter Text

The next day, Tsumugi’s outfit was even more extravagant. “They keep trying to give me new uniforms. I’m not complaining though, I mean, who would wear the same outfit twice in a row?”

“Someone wearing a school uniform,” Maki replied, not able to understand Tsumugi at all.

“Nevermind that,” Tsumugi said dismissively, passing out handmade leaflets to the Nevers. “Is it working?”

“How would I know?”

“Ask him!”

“Ask him yourself.”

“I can’t do that,” Tsumugi said, her tone almost patronising. “My behaviour needs to seem natural and uninfluenced by people-pleasing. I can’t give him the idea that I want him to notice me.”

“If you play hard to get, he won’t want to get you.”

“Hm? But you’ve been playing hard to get this whole time, and he likes you.”

Maki crossed her arms. “I was not.”

Still, Maki wasn’t really in a place to argue. She’d agreed to help. For a chance to speak to the School Master.

She decided there was no point beating around the bush, so she brought up the subject during training. “So, what do you think of Tsumugi now?”

Kaito paused. “Why?”

“You didn’t seem too sure about her a few days ago, but now you spend half of lunch ogling at her,” Maki said, exaggerating a bit. “Are you into goth girls or what?”

For some reason, Shuichi seemed to find that comment amusing. Kaito just seemed confused. “Oh, I was just wondering what she’s doing. Some kind of make-up stall?”

“More like an advice column I think,” Maki said. “Most of the Nevers have never been taught any of that fashion stuff, so she’s giving them an opportunity to try it. Her mother made dresses back in Gavaldon, so she’s always been passionate about it.”

“She made those dresses herself!?” Kaito replied. “Wow, that’s pretty cool! You think she’d sew stars into my uniform if I asked her?”

“I'm sure she’d be happy to.”

Maki reported the conversation back to Tsumugi the next day, after swapping lunches with her. She’d barely finished when commotion burst out amongst the Nevergirls at the back.

“Why is Prince Prettyface here?”

“Yeah, back to your side, Everboy!”

Maki and Tsumugi both peered around through a gap in the crowd to see that they were heckling Kaito, who’d approached the group. He started to back away, but Tsumugi stood up from her stump.

“We welcome everyone,” she admonished, giving Kaito a kind smile. The Nevergirls grumbled and backed away from him again. It really was working. Maki slipped out of the crowd and returned to Kaede, wondering if this issue would be over sooner than she expected.

She caught a glimpse of Hiyoko’s face as she stared at Tsumugi and Kaito, more horrified than she’d ever looked at Maki.

Given Maki was running out of ways to help Tsumugi, she turned her focus to something else while she waited. Mogrification.

They were meant to be learning to mogrify into a flower in Surviving Fairy Tales, but Maki had quickly learnt that she wasn’t particularly good at magic. Not because she was untalented, or at least, she hadn’t gotten far enough to test that yet. No, she couldn’t get her finger to glow in the first place.

It had glowed before. She knew she was capable of it. But no matter how hard she focused, nothing happened. Without a finger glow, her chances of mogrifying were next to none.

Since lessons weren’t helping, Maki resorted to her own research. She stayed up late that night to read as much as she could about Mogrification, and about magic in general, but still didn’t get anywhere. Granted, it didn’t take her long to give up and do her homework instead.

By the third night, Maki wasn’t even trying to mogrify anymore. She just wanted her finger to glow, even a little.

“Magic follows emotion, Maki,” Kaede said. “You just need more passion!”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever felt passion.”

“Okay, then how about anger? Your finger glowed when you were arguing with Professor Anemone before.”

“How do I make myself feel angry?”

Kaede put down her hairbrush and turned to Maki. “You’re ugly and stupid and no one will ever love you!”

Maki considered the insult for a second. “...Yeah, that means nothing coming from you.”

“Because you like me too much?” Kaede asked.

“Because I don’t value your opinion.”

“Hey!” She threw a pillow at Maki, who ducked.

Still, Maki took Kaede’s advice to heart, and spent the next day wondering what would make her feel a strong emotion. Perhaps if she got into a fight with Anemone again she’d be able to mogrify. But that wasn’t exactly a convenient way to do magic, and she had no real desire to cause any more problems in class. It defeated the point of doing her homework if she got a bottom rank anyway for bad manners.

“You’ve just got to do it once or twice,” Kaede said, after turning into a daisy and back again. “Once you’ve used magic a bit, it gets easier to control your finger glow. It’s just the first few times that are tough.”

“That’s assuming I can do magic.”

“Of course you can! Your finger glowed before, so that’s proof you’re no different to the rest of us. Anyway, you’re not the only one who hasn’t mogrified yet.”

Maki thought back to Surviving Fairy Tales, but the only person who came to mind was Tsumugi, who spent the whole lesson designing outfits in a sketchbook.

Eventually, Yuba gave up on Mogrification lessons. “If anyone hasn’t managed it yet, you’ll just have to work on it in your spare time. After all, we have more pressing matters to get to.”

Evers and Nevers alike exchanged looks. Yuba cleared his throat.

“The Trial by Tale is coming up. Once a year, we send our best Evers and Nevers into the Blue Forest for a night to see who lasts until morning. To win, a student must survive both the School Master’s death traps and the other school’s attacks. The last Ever or Never standing at dawn is declared the winner and given five additional first-place ranks.” The forest group burst into whispers, but Yuba ignored them. “The ten top-ranking students from each school will be chosen, so for those of you who want to become future leaders, it’s imperative you keep your rank high.”

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about that,” Maki commented to Tsumugi, who responded with a vague mm sound, clearly not paying attention.

“All of this is to say, Surviving Fairy Tales will undoubtedly become the most important lesson in your curriculum, in order to survive in the forest. Your task today is to forage and bring back something edible, be it plant, berry or mushroom. Best find gets the highest rank.”

“Foraging?” Hiyoko said, scrunching her nose up. The group dispersed, and Maki joined them, smiling. This was something she could do. Not only did she have basic common sense, and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, but she’d done enough reading at this point she’d picked up some survival tips. It took her no time at all to collect a hamper full of nuts and berries. Not exactly the most filling meal, but there weren’t any animals to hunt in the Blue Forest, unless she was able to somehow catch a bird. Besides, chances were she’d be slaughtering another of Uma’s friends.

Maki was above to head back, deciding she’d probably achieved a passable rank from that, when she spotted Hiyoko pulling a mushroom from the soil and holding it as far from her as possible. Before she could really think it through, Maki approached her.

“Don’t take that.”

“Huh!?” Hiyoko jumped and turned to face Maki. “What, scared I’m gonna win?”

“No. It’s poisonous.”

Hiyoko gave the mushroom a doubtful glance, then looked back at Maki. “And why would I believe you?”

“Believe me or not, that’s your call. But most mushrooms with white gills like that aren’t worth risking. Just pick some berries or something, there’s a bush over there.”

“Leave me alone! I bet you’re just making stuff up!” Hiyoko said. “Mushrooms don’t have gills anyway, that’s fish. Dumbo.”

Maki sighed, continuing back to Yuba. She didn’t know why she bothered. As she turned, she saw Hiyoko drop the mushroom on the floor, and wipe her hands on her dress, looking upset. It reminded Maki a bit of when she’d scold children at the orphanage.

“Okay everyone, time’s up!” Yuba called, hitting his staff on the floor.

One at a time, everyone presented their gatherings. Sure enough, Hiyoko emerged from the trees with a handful of berries, which Yuba examined carefully.

“Good. Could do with a few more, but a perfectly fine forage.”

After Yuba deemed Maki’s gatherings ‘beyond expectations’, Hiyoko approached her again. As opposed to her usual smirk, Hiyoko looked kind of sheepish.

“...Thank you.”

Her voice was almost inaudible, and she vanished off to laugh at Mikan a second later, but it was enough to take Maki by surprise. So Hiyoko had at least a sliver of Good in her.

“Nothing?” Yuba asked, annoyed. Tsumugi shrugged.

“I painted my nails this morning, so I can’t go touching dirt and stuff.”

Maki watched as a ‘19’ rank appeared above her friend’s head. So she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get 20s anymore. Maki was so distracted by the thought she didn’t even glance at the glowing ‘1’ above her own head.

After a week of trying, Maki was completely and totally fed up with Mogrification.

“On the plus side,” Kaede suggested, “the more frustrated you get, the more emotional you’ll be, right? So it’s got to work eventually.”

“If anything, I’m getting less emotional about it,” Maki sighed. “I think I’ll just give up. What’s the point?”

“What are you giving up?” a voice asked from behind her. Maki turned to see Sonia, Chiaki behind her.

“Magic. I can’t get my finger to glow.”

“Oh! Need some advice?” Maki stayed silent, letting Sonia continue. “You ought to get someone to scare you! Fear is a great motivator for magic.”

“...I’m not very easily scared,” Maki replied.

“Neither am I. But my finger glowed like hellfire the other day, because Chiaki got me to play this video game. It was called Five Nights At Freddy’s, and it’s all about this scary bear man who’s trying to kill you.” Normally Maki would have assumed this was some joke that went over her head, but Sonia's tone was completely serious.

“Um, I’m not sure that finger glow would last long enough to do any magic with,” Chiaki said.

“Yeah, and also I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Maki added.

“How did you get your finger to glow, Chiaki?” Kaede asked.

“Hm? I just imagine something I care about.” She smiled. “Try to visualise something special to you.”

“Special to me?” Maki thought, but the only things she could think of were Tsumugi and the orphanage, neither of which were overwhelmingly happy things.

“Or perhaps a happy memory?” Sonia suggested. “Such as when girls were allowed to use swords. Oh, I forgot to tell you! I can now demolish Kazuichi in armed combat! Isn’t that fab!?”

“I… guess,” Maki replied vaguely. “Thanks for the tips. I’ll try them out.”

Maki didn’t bother to try them out. She got caught up reading about squirrel mannerisms. She probably wasn’t cut out for magic. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t feel happy, or sad, or angry, or anything. Just muddled and confused and tired. Just like with the Wish Fish she thought, remembering her first Animal Communication lesson.

The next few days slid by before she knew it. The only eventful part of her day was training, since everything else was pretty predictable. That and breakfast. It had begun with the two of them joining the table every now and then, but over time, it became pretty much daily. By now, it was normal for her and Kaede to head downstairs and find Kaito and Shuichi waiting there to greet them. Maki wondered how she’d let this happen, but couldn’t find it in herself to get annoyed by it. Most of the school had kinda just accepted that Kaito hung out exclusively with weirdos and outcasts, and stopped feeling so threatened by it. After all, the horror of Kaito starting to talk to a Nevergirl pretty frequently far outshadowed his interactions with Maki.

But even as time had passed, ‘starting to talk’ was about the best Tsumugi had achieved. Eventually, Maki stepped into the Clearing for lunch, only to be approached by Tsumugi immediately. She looked exhausted. “I don’t get it!” she said. “It was working! He started noticing me! But noticing isn’t enough. I need him to fall in love with me.”

“I’m not sure love is meant to be rushed,” Maki replied.

“And what would you know about that?” Tsumugi snapped. Maki frowned, alarmed, and Tsumugi immediately apologised. “I’m sorry! I’m just so tired, I’ve barely slept a wink, since I’ve got to tailor my new outfits and everything.”

“Maybe you need a new plan,” Maki suggested. “There’s only so far looking good can get you, and as vapid as Kaito seems, I don’t think he cares all that much about appearances. He seemed more interested in the fact you seem to care so much about it.”

“So do I need to find something less taxing to care about?” Tsumugi asked.

“Perhaps?” Before Maki could think of any other ideas, Hiyoko pushed past them, speaking loudly.

“I don’t get why Kaito gives that Nevergirl so much attention. Sure, she might look nice, but she’s a complete moron otherwise. Apparently she’s got the worst ranks in the school.”

Maki ignored her like usual, aware that she was just trying to provoke them. Tsumugi, however, burst abruptly into tears.

“It’s true!” she sobbed, taking off her glasses to dry her eyes. “I’ve been so busy with all of this, I haven’t had a chance to do any of my homework, and I can’t stomach the lessons. The only reason I haven’t failed is no matter what, I never get a 20 anymore.”

Kaede tried to calm her, but Tsumugi wouldn’t be consoled. “How is anyone meant to love me when I’m the worst in the school!?”

“I don’t think Kaito cares about that either,” Maki commented.

“But he surely cares about his reputation, right?” Tsumugi put her glasses back on, sniffing. “Perhaps he can get away with you, since you’re technically an Evergirl. But me? If he fell for a useless nobody… he’d be laughed out of Camelot.”

“Hmm… How about you keep the Lunchtime thing, but stop with the custom uniforms?” Kaede suggested. “Then you can study in the evenings.”

“I can’t study! How am I meant to study!?”

“Don’t ask me,” Maki said. “I’m in the same position.”

Kaede tilted her head. “Are you sure about that?”

“Huh?”

“Have you seen the ranking board recently, Harunana?”

Maki stared at her blankly. “No?” Now that she thought about it, aside from the occasional bad lesson, she didn’t really fail any more. And she did her homework every night. But she’d just assumed she’d be stuck at the bottom regardless of what she did.

“Maybe you should go and check.”

“Fine. I’ll be back in a sec.” Maki turned and headed back inside, to the Entrance Hall. She stood in front of the leaderboard, scanning the names. She wasn’t at the very bottom, which wasn’t a huge surprise. But as she scanned upwards, she couldn’t find her name anywhere . Until eventually, she saw it.

10. Maki Harukawa of Woods Beyond

She was in tenth place!?

She stared at it for a while, not entirely believing it. Wasn’t she awful at these lessons? Didn’t she decide she didn’t care about ranks? So how?

Maki trudged back outside, feeling more ashamed than anything. She’d have to start flunking again.

“So, what was your rank?” Tsumugi asked.

“...Tenth.”

“Tenth!?” Tsumugi stared at her, dumbstruck. “You’re the tenth best at dancing and talking to animals and being kind!?”

“No. It’s mostly just because I do my homework and answer questions.”

“So homework can get you a good rank?” Tsumugi asked.

“...Where is this going?”

Tsumugi pulled a homework book from her bag, and held it out. “Do my homework? Please? Just until my rank is high enough that Kaito will love me.”

“That could be never.”

“Don’t say that!”

“What’s your homework about, Tsumugi?” Kaede asked. “Maybe we can give you some tips on how to do it-”

Before Kaede could finish reasoning, Maki had already accepted the book from Tsumugi. “Alright, I’ll do it. You focus on keeping up the beauty stuff.”

“You’re the best!” Tsumugi said, grabbing Maki’s hand. “I’d never be able to do this without you.”

“You’re welcome.” It wasn’t that big of a deal, after all. Maki had already been beginning to feel useless, just passing the time while Tsumugi put in all the work. It was the least she could do.

That night, Maki did Tsumugi's homework studiously, before rushing a few lines of her own. She only got an hour of sleep before she was up again, sneaking into Evil.

"Good with Good-" her reflection started, but Maki cut it off.

"I'm trying to manipulate a guy into falling in love with my friend so I can get what I want."

"Definitely Evil."

It took five knocks on the door before Tsumugi answered sleepily. "Do you have to come this early?"

"If I come any later, I'm too likely to be caught. Best to do it before anyone wakes up."

"Isn't there an easier way to get the homework to me? With magic or something?"

Maki sighed. "Even if there was, I can't do magic."

Still, Tsumugi was right. Sneaking into Evil every morning seemed like a waste of time. If she could just mogrify…

Maki did the same thing again the next night. She didn't even have a chance to do her own homework this time. Luckily, she didn't care if her ranking dropped. She wasn't sure why she'd been doing it in the first place, maybe she just got too used to the school.

"Look, if I leave the door unlocked, can't you just quietly place the homework in here and not wake me up?" Tsumugi whined.

"Leave it unlocked overnight?" Mukuro asked, sitting up in her bed. Her sister was still fast asleep, snoring loudly. "That's how you get yourself killed."

"I'm in enough danger stuck in a room with the two of you," Tsumugi replied sourly.

The third day, Tsumugi approached her during Lunch with a miserable frown. "The teachers are getting suspicious. My knowledge in lessons doesn't match my homework, so they think I'm cheating."

"Urgh." Maki knew it wouldn't be that easy, but she thought it would work for at least a little longer than this. "Have you tried just reading through the homework before class?"

"Yeah, but I don't get it at all," Tsumugi replied. "And my focus is all over the place."

"Sounds like you need me to tutor you."

Tsumugi cringed. "No way! I don't have time for something like that, I still have to do my lunchtime sessions."

"...I'll think of something," Maki promised, despite having no idea what to do. If she could just mogrify…

That night, Maki sat in her window, staring at the other school. There was no point doing Tsumugi's homework if it'd just make things worse. If she could just mogrify, she could sneak into the school at night and tutor Tsumugi then.

It wasn't fair. Why couldn't she do it? She was Maki. She might be a trash person, but she was strong. She was capable. She knew she was. It was this school, this damn school…

A shadow moved in her vision, catching her attention. The School Master had appeared in his window. Of course. He was enjoying this, wasn't he? That's why he wouldn't let her fail. That's why he wouldn't let her go home. He liked watching her suffer, liked watching them suffer. All those stupid rules, all these stupid challenges, they're all the fault of some mystery magic-man who wouldn't even talk to her! He was probably laughing, thinking she was so pathetic for not being able to do such a simple thing.

Even if she was pathetic, Maki wasn't gonna let herself be someone else's entertainment. She'd prove him wrong, just like she'd done with the Prince's Duel. And, more importantly, she wasn't going to let Tsumugi's dreams keep getting crushed. It wasn't fair.

A gust of wind blew across Maki's face, snapping her back to her senses. The School Master had disappeared.

And her finger was glowing.

Maki tried to stifle her shock from the fear it'd fade. What had she been thinking? She was angry, right? Just remember that anger. Hold it in her head. She could do this.

Maki took a deep breath, and not allowing her determination to falter, closed her eyes. Simple mogrification is easy , she remembered from her book. Just visualise yourself morphing to the animal you wish to become. Hold the intention in your head. Focus hard. Very hard.

She could do it. She had to do it.

Maki's eyes opened. The school had grown around her, the window frame stretching beyond her view. Equal parts of excitement and fear gripped her chest, as she turned to her reflection in the open window.

She was a bird.

A dozen thoughts rippled through her head. Did she know how to turn back? What if she couldn't? Would she be able to fly? How do you fly? If she just jumped out of the window, would she drown?

She shook her feathered head, pulling herself together. There was no point just sitting around and worrying. She'd gotten this far, she couldn't just turn back.

If the School Master really didn't want her dead, he'd help her if something went wrong. Right?

A cloud moved across Maki's window. By the time it had cleared, she was gone.

Tsumugi let out a piercing scream.

"Shut up!" Maki hissed, as her roommates stirred.

"But- But you're a bird!"

"Yeah, I've noticed. Just let me in."

Tsumugi fumbled with the window, and Maki stepped in, jumping down from the windowsill to the floor. Once there, using her racing heart as the driver for her magic, she turned back into a human.

"Mediocre," Junko grumbled, before going back to sleep. Tsumugi was still staring at her, gobsmacked.

"You said you couldn't do magic!"

"I couldn't. But I did. Finally."

"You could've warned me," she said, clutching her chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack when you started talking."

"We've been learning about Mogrification for weeks, it shouldn't be a surprise to hear an animal talk."

"But you were a magpie, Maki! Seeing just one magpie is bad luck!"

"Sorry, I'll bring a friend next time," she said sarcastically.

"Did you fly all the way here?"

"Not all the way. Shuichi said there's a Mogrif Shield halfway, so I landed on the bridge and crossed the barrier before flying again. Still, it's much easier than sneaking through the school. And my reflection didn't seem to mind having the conversation as birds."

Tsumugi sat down on her bed. "So what are you doing now?"

Maki smiled slightly. "Tutoring you."

"Eh!?"

"You need to get better ranks. So I'm going to teach you. Get out your homework, we're doing it now."

"But-"

"Got any better ideas?"

"No, but-"

"It's for Kaito."

Tsumugi paused, still doubtful.

"For your happy ending?"

That seemed to work. "...Okay. I'll try my best. For my happy ending."

“Good. Sit. Better get started.”

Maki tutored Tsumugi for a few hours, until the latter’s eyelids drooped and she refused to do any more. It only took Maki a few minutes before she was able to mogrify again. She’d been fully prepared to sneak out of Evil the normal way, but after Tsumugi fell asleep the moment she hit her pillow, Maki flew back to the bridge. 

She wasn’t entirely sure what emotion she’d managed to force. Was it spite? Determination? Whatever it was, there was something driving her just enough to propel her forwards, like the protagonist in a novel. The thought was honestly humorous - she knew full well she wasn’t the protagonist in any story. No reasonable person would root for her, someone who felt nothing but selfish desire to go home and live a boring life forever. Someone like Tsumugi, someone with a kind heart but big dreams… that was someone you could root for. She was the hero.

The School Master smiled from his window as she landed on the bridge, before disappearing from sight behind the layers of fog. 

He knew better than to interfere with her story.

Chapter Text

“It’s working!” Tsumugi enthused to Maki in half-whispers. “I’m already up to thirty-two on the leaderboard! Obviously I wish I didn’t have to stay up extra time for boring work, but if it means I get my True Love’s Kiss, it’ll be totally worth it.”

Maki waved a hand in front of her face as she began to zone out. “Earth to Tsumugi, now isn’t daydreaming time. Focus.”

She heard a slight movement behind her, and turned around in time to duck as a knife flew past her head. Junko groaned. “Missed again.”

Tsumugi saw the knife land on the bed and paled. “Stop trying to kill me!”

“Then shut up and let me sleep.”

Maki caught sight of her reflection in Tsumugi’s window. She looked tired. Not that she wasn’t used to functioning on low sleep, but a combination of that and stress was starting to drain her. Given she spent nighttime tutoring Tsumugi nowadays, she dedicated most of her free time to learning the Evil work itself in order to teach it properly. At this point, training with Kaito and Shuichi was the only break she got.

She turned back to Tsumugi and flicked open the book. No matter how irritating it was, there was no point regretting it. She’d feel so much worse if she wasn’t doing anything to help. Besides, she’d always been durable. When had she ever gotten time off in the orphanage? When she spent time with Tsumugi, probably. Those were the moments she got to relax back then. But remembering that was pointless now, since their relationship had changed so much. What used to be a casual friendship that Maki wouldn’t admit she really cared about, had now become something more akin to work partners, with how goal-oriented they both were. Between tutoring and Tsumugi’s lunchtime sessions, any light-hearted chat only turned out forced.

At least she had something to achieve. The numbers on the wall, showing Tsumugi’s rank, were getting steadily higher every day. Get her on the leader path, and Kaito will surely be able to fall for her.

Or something like that. Maki was starting to forget what the whole point of this even was. But at least she was keeping busy.

Even if Maki had reached a point of tired acceptance, Kaede seemed to be getting increasingly agitated. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Maki?” she asked one morning, as Maki sleepily recounted how her night had gone.

“Sure, it probably won’t work as well as Tsumugi hopes, but there’s no harm to it. I’ve managed to get the hang of Mogrification now, as long as I still have something to be fed up about..”

“Not that.” Maki stopped and looked up at her. “I mean, are you sure this is good for you? ”

“What do you mean?”

“When was the last time you had a full night’s sleep?” Kaede asked worriedly.

Maki paused for slightly too long. “I don’t know.”

“Look, I get you care a lot, and you want to help Tsumugi and you want to go home. But you’re gonna end up hurting yourself if you keep pushing too hard.”

“I won’t,” Maki replied, a little annoyed. “A bit of lost sleep never hurt me.”

“That’s just an example. Your rank has dropped all the way down again, even though you were doing so well before. You’re sacrificing your own wellbeing for Tsumugi’s prince dreams, which isn’t fair.”

“Who cares if it’s fair,” Maki said bluntly. “The world isn’t fair. Just leave me be.”

Kaede tried to breach the subject again several times, but Maki shot down those attempts even faster. She wasn’t a child, she could make her own decisions. Just because Kaede’s life was perfect enough that she expected everything to be easy, didn’t mean that’s how it was for someone like Maki.

After a while, even Kaito and Shuichi seemed to notice something was up. “You alright at the moment, Maki-roll? You’ve seemed kinda… washed out.”

“I’m fine.”

“You look tired to me,” Shuichi said. “If you need some extra sleep, I’m sure Professor Sader wouldn’t mind if you left History of Heroism early.”

“I said I’m fine.”

They both looked at her doubtfully, but she held her poker-face. “If you say so,” Kaito said eventually. “But still, there’s no shame in being stressed or whatever. If you’re carrying a burden, I’d be happy to share it with you! Otherwise I’ll just end up worried about you.”

“That sounds like your problem, not mine,” Maki replied coldly, getting up and leaving before they could respond. His words echoed in her head as she left. Worried about her? Kaito? Since when did he have any right to say something like that?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She was overthinking it, that’s just what Kaito was like. He’d say the same thing for anyone.

Besides, she wasn’t lying. She was actually fine, and she didn’t need anyone’s worry. 

“Oh, I also need to cover lucky and unlucky objects for Curse and Death Traps,” Tsumugi added late the next night, pulling another book from her bag.

Maki stared at it. “I haven’t looked at that bit yet, so it’ll probably take longer to teach,” she said.

“You haven’t even looked at it?” Tsumugi asked. “Come on, you’ve got to pull your weight too, Maki. I’m putting in all the effort to learn these things.”

Normally Maki would have defended herself, explained that she was working as hard as she could. But for some reason, she didn’t really care anymore. “Sorry.” She made a note to read further ahead in everything next time, just in case.

Maki wasn’t sure anymore how much time had passed. It felt like it had stretched on forever, yet disappeared so fast. Had she made any progress at all? It was hard to tell.

“Maki, watch this,” Tsumugi said during Lunch, slipping out from her crowd. Now that the novelty of her beauty sessions had worn out, the group was a lot smaller, although often Evers stopped by to watch and take their own notes. That was enough of an achievement in itself to make up for the numbers.

Tsumugi shushed Maki, then watched as Kaito and Shuichi entered the Clearing. “Good afternoon Kaito,” she greeted, smiling cheerfully.

“Ah, hi Tsumugi!” he responded, returning the grin. “What’s the lesson today?”

“How to keep your hair soft and fluffy. So nothing you need today, I’m afraid.” Her eyes flicked up to his purple hair. 

“Just because I’m already cool and popular, doesn’t mean I can skip out on being hot too, eh?” Kaito ran a hand through his hair as he spoke, making Maki cringe. God, she forgot how self-centered he was sometimes.

“Perhaps you’re the one who should be teaching my lessons then.”

“No way! Your hair is great too! I’m not sure I’ve seen one girl pull off so many different hairstyles before.”

Maki slowly edged her away from the conversation, feeling gradually more uncomfortable. That was a good feeling though, right? If she felt like the third-wheel, that was proof there was something between them now. And that’s what she’d been after.

She yawned. The sooner this was all over, the sooner she could get a full night’s sleep.

Tsumugi approached her again during Surviving Fairy Tales, beaming. “You saw that, right? He talked to me. Lots. And not you. He talked to me and not you. I’m officially his number one suitress!” She paused as she caught Maki’s stony expression. “Aren’t you happy for me?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m happy,” Maki said, trying to make her face more friendly.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Tsumugi continued, satisfied with that response. “That it would be good if you stopped talking to him now.”

“Huh. Why?”

“Well, it’ll be easier for him to focus on falling for me when he doesn’t have any, um… distractions. It’s no good for a prince to be spending time with a girl who’s not his true love, after all, it’ll just cloud his judgement.”

“He doesn’t like me like that.”

“It’s just to be safe.”

“Safe from what?” Maki asked defensively. “There’s nothing about me to fall for. I’m far from trying.”

Tsumugi narrowed her eyes. “Is there a problem with you leaving him alone?”

“It’s not like that!”

“You seem awfully reluctant.”

“No, it’s fine. But we’re in the same school and he always talks to me , not the other way around-”

“Hopefully he won’t want to talk to you anymore, with me around. Just stop voluntarily hanging out with him. That’s fine, isn't it?”

“...Yeah.”

“Good.” Tsumugi gave her a glittery smile. Maki was too frustrated to even attempt to return it.

That meant no more training, or sitting with him at breakfast. It wasn’t that she really liked spending time with him or anything, but it just felt unfair. She was sick of being treated like a romantic rival for just talking to the guy. And what was she meant to do with her free time now? More homework for Tsumugi? It wasn’t like she had anything better to do.

“I’m skipping today’s activity, just give me bottom rank,” Maki told Yuba when he tried to call her up. Kaito gave her a concerned look, but she didn’t meet his eye. She hoped he wouldn’t think he did something wrong when she stopped talking to him. Then again, she’d made it clear to him already she wasn’t a good person.

“Tsumugi!” Yuba called, choosing not to argue with Maki today. Tsumugi confidently walked over. “Mogrify into a bird, and collect the golden necklace from that tree branch. Or at the very least, mogrify into something .” He gave Tsumugi a look, but her confidence didn’t falter.

“No need to worry, Yuba dear. I’ve been practising.” Tsumugi spun on her heel, and with a dramatic flourish, she shrank into a grey-blue cuckoo, spreading her feathered wings, just as Maki had taught her during their many night-time meetings. She flew to the tree, grabbed the necklace, then returned, mogrifying back before her feet hit the floor and dropping the necklace into her palm.

Hiyoko gaped at her as she shot Kaito another smile. Even Yuba looked impressed.

“You don’t mind if I sit the rest of the lesson out, do you? I’m pretty sure I have the subject matter, shall I say, under my wing.”

“I suppose so. Don’t go far.”

While Tsumugi disappeared into the Blue Forest, pulling out her sketchbook, Yuba continued calling people. Hiyoko successfully mogrified into an orange hummingbird, though she was barely strong enough to carry the necklace, and dropped it half way down. Mikan was even smaller, a tiny bird Maki couldn’t identify that looked like a cotton ball. Kokichi was a shrike, Taka was an osprey, and after a few attempts, Kaito transformed into a striking purple starling that defeated the point of mogrifying for the sake of being unrecognisable.

“Shuichi!”

Just like with the others, Shuichi completed the task, his bird a chickadee. As she landed and transformed back, Kokichi laughed loudly.

“Hey Shuichi! Did you know chickadee brains grow bigger during breeding season? Maybe we ought to hook you up with someone, you clearly need it.”

“Huh?” Shuichi blinked at Kokichi, clearly unsure whether to be insulted.

“Hey! What are you picking on Shuichi for?” Kaito snapped.

“Hm? I was joking. Do they not have jokes in Camelot, or are you just stupid?”

Kaito took an angry step towards Kokichi, reaching for his sword, and Yuba cleared his throat. “No fighting, Kaito, or I’ll have to fail you. Next, Celestia!”

Kaito opened and closed his mouth, his hand twitching on the hilt of Excalibur. Kokichi grinned smugly. “Wow, Kaito, is that a sword in your belt or are you just happy to see me?” He turned back to Shuichi. “Another fact, did you know they piss on themselves to cool down?”

“That doesn’t sound true,” Shuichi said.

“Yeah, well, what would you know? If your bird knowledge is anywhere close to your fashion sense, I say it’s poor at the least. Why would you wear a cap with a suit? You look like Alvin the chipmunk’s emo cousin.”

Shuichi tugged on his hat self-consciously. “Yuba!” Kaito said. “Kokichi’s the one picking fights!”

Yuba rolled his eyes, still focusing on Celeste’s attempt. “He’s a Never, they’re allowed to do that.”

Kaito gritted his teeth in defeat. “Shuichi, Shuichi, bird fact!” Kokichi chirped, enjoying himself. “Did you know that birds don’t wear stupid hats? That makes them better than you.” Neither Shuichi nor Kaito responded. “Hey Shuichi, hey Shuichi, bird fact! Did you-”

“If you say one more bird fact I’ll take Kaito’s sword and shove it up your ass myself.”

All three turned to Maki in surprise as she spoke, glaring daggers at Kokichi, completely losing her patience. Yuba turned too.

“Maki!” he scolded loudly. “I won’t have language like that in my class.”

“And I care why? You’re already gonna fail me, nothing to lose.” She turned to Kokichi. “Actually, while I’m at it, fuck you Kokichi. No one loves you and you’re going to be alone forever, and if you pull any shit again I won’t hesitate to snap off your fingers one by one and stuff them down your throat until you choke.”

There was silence. Maki said that louder than she’d meant to. After a second, her words caught up with her, and she started to regret it. Kokichi hadn’t done enough to warrant that, she was just in a terrible mood and he happened to be nearest. Well, at least she wouldn’t have to avoid Kaito herself, since there was no way he’d talk to her after that.

“Are you quite done?” Yuba grumbled. “I will not waste my breath on another lecture about language and self-control, as I know it has no effect on you. But if you won’t take my lesson seriously, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson on how important surviving in the woods will be. You’ll spend two hours tonight guarding the school gates as punishment.”

“Guarding the school gates?” she repeated. “Tonight?”

“In the Endless Woods, ten till twelve. We’ll discuss this further at the end of the lesson. Next-”

“Wait, you can’t do that!” Kaito interrupted, looking horrified.

“I can do what I like,” Yuba replied, not turning to look at him. “Next-”

“But-”

“If you keep protesting I’ll have no choice but to send you there too.”

Kaito paused, staring at Yuba. Maki sighed. Now she’d done it. Two hours stuck awake in the forest was the last thing she needed right now. She’d probably have to cancel on Tsumugi, and…

Kaito turned to Kokichi. “Hey Kokichi!” he said, his voice louder than usual. “Fuck you!”

Several people gasped. Yuba turned, slamming his staff on the ground. “You’ll join her then. Next is Peko, any more interruptions and I’m speaking to Professor Dovey.”

It was Maki’s turn to stare horrified. Punishment… with Kaito? What the hell did he do that for!? As if it couldn’t be any worse. And after she’d just agreed not to talk to him.

Both her and Kaito stayed obediently silent until everyone else was dismissed. Yuba turned to the two of them. “Evers these days…” he complained. “If this is the gold standard, I’d hate to see what the people who weren’t chosen are like. Your father would be very disappointed in you, Kaito.”

“Sorry,” he replied, hanging his head. Yuba turned to Maki.

“Sorry,” she said reluctantly.

“I’ll see both of you in the Entrance Hall at 10 o’clock sharp. You’ll be positioned on guard outside the front gates. It should be safe enough next to the school as long as you’re sensible. You’re dismissed.”

They were silent until they were out of earshot, then Maki turned to Kaito. “What the fuck was that about? You knew you’d get in trouble, how could you possibly be that stupid-”

Maki stopped, as instead of looking insulted, a grin spread across Kaito’s face.

“...You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Kaito scratched the back of his head. “Well, y’know. Couldn’t leave a girl alone in the woods at night. Something might happen.”

“Oh, you think you’re so galant , don’t you?” Maki lashed. “I don’t need protecting. I grew up in the woods, no doubt you grew up in a shiny palace.”

“Look, I was worried, okay!” Kaito said. “Besides, that’s not the only reason I got myself in trouble.”

“And what’s the other reason?”

“Firstly, I did want to say that to Kokichi. But secondly, isn’t this the perfect opportunity?” His defensive tone slipped back into a smile again.

“For what?”

“Stargazing!”

Maki stopped walking and stared at him.

“I said before we should stargaze together, but I never got to plan anything ‘cause Lunch ended. But two hours together, outside, at night? That’s too good to waste.”

The feeling of dread in Maki’s chest doubled. He had to be joking.

“Prime sky tonight too! Should be pretty clear, and…”

Maki zoned out before the end of his sentence. No way. She just agreed to stop spending time with him, but now they were stuck together stargazing? Was there a way to get out of it? If she went begging to Professor Dovey could she get a different punishment? She could do cleaning, or writing lines, or anything else.

She caught sight of Kaito’s grin in the corner of her vision, as shiny as ever. She’d just have to tolerate it. How bad could two hours be?

"You are lucky your punishment is so short," Yuba said, leading Maki and Kaito past the fields of flowers towards the entrance gates. "Were it not for your lessons in the morning, it would last all night. Instead, you can head back inside at midnight. Understood?"

"Yep!" Kaito said cheerfully. Yuba stopped and turned to him.

"Do not take this punishment lightly," he said. "Or the Endless Woods will take your life before you can even scream."

Kaito frowned. "Yeah, but we're just sitting by the gates."

"And if you stay like that, you should be fine," Yuba grumbled, continuing to walk. The other two followed, Maki dragging her feet. "But it's about time you learnt some responsibility. Make too much noise and you won't like what comes after you."

Yuba hit his staff on the ground by the gates, and they creaked open. Without the Blue Forest to shield them, the Endless Woods taunted them threateningly, and even Kaito looked nervous.

"We're here," Yuba said. "Don't stray too far. I won't lock the gate, so make sure to lock it behind you when you leave."

With that, Yuba turned and headed back toward the castle. There was silence. Maki hoped in vain that it would stay that way.

"So, uh, hi!" Kaito said. He still looked worried, but was smiling anyway. "Nothing to fear, I'll protect you if anything happens!" He drew Excalibur, lashing the air.

"Put that thing away," Maki said, brushing dirt from a fallen tree and sitting down. "If anyone will need protecting, it's you."

"Not true!" he shouted. In response, a group of shrieking birds flew from a tree above them, making him yelp.

"Yuba did warn you to be quiet," Maki chastised, unfazed.

"Yeah, yeah, okay!" He took a deep breath, returning to normal volume. "No need to shout when stargazing at least."

"I haven't agreed to that."

Kaito ignored her. He began kicking aside twigs to clear a space in the grass.

"There. That's big enough for the two of us," he said, satisfied.

"I said-" Maki started, but Kaito cut her off.

"Please?"

"...Is the 'Luminary of the Stars' begging?" she asked, somewhere between mocking and genuinely surprised. She assumed he'd have too much pride for that.

"I'm not begging ," Kaito argued. "I just really want you to."

She stared at him. It wasn't like she really had a choice anyway. What was she meant to do for two hours otherwise, just fight with him? Besides, when she used to guard the orphanage, she'd watch the stars a lot to pass the time. So it wasn't like she was doing it for Kaito.

"...Fine. What do you want me to do, sit on the ground?"

"Lie down!" he said cheerfully, volume rising again. "Like this, next to me."

Kaito collapsed on the ground in the open space, lying on his back.

Maki stepped tentatively towards him, making sure there was a fair distance between them before lying down herself. The ground was slightly damp, but the earthy smell was soothing in its nostalgia.

The sky was beautifully clear, speckled with stars like sprinkled glitter. It was just like home. Even though she was so far away, the stars were the same.

"So, do you know any constellations?" Kaito asked, his voice softer now.

"Not by name."

"See, there?" Kaito's hand appeared at the corner of her vision, pointing upwards. "If you look at Honor toward and follow it up. There's a big constellation there called Draco. Once upon a time, there was a guy called Hercules, and he needed to get some golden apple things. So he fought a huge dragon, which is the constellation Draco! There's another constellation for Hercules next to it, but it's kinda hard to make out tonight."

Maki had no idea what she was meant to be looking at, but she didn't really care that much. Now that she was lying down, the exhaustion that had been building over the last few days was starting to wash over her.

"Those ones there, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, they're bears, a big one and a little one. The big one was a lady called… uh.. Callisto, and she had a child with someone she wasn't meant to so got turned into a bear. And the little one was her son, I'm not sure of his name."

"Sounds like you don't remember these stories very well," Maki yawned.

"Well, I haven't heard them since I was a kid, when Merlin taught me them," he said. "Since they're old old fairytales now, you don't see them in books or anything anymore."

Maki blinked. "These stories are fairytales?" she asked. "I thought they were just mythology. Made up."

"Huh? Of course they're fairytales. Back in the olden days, the greatest of Good and Evil used to become constellations when they died. Not sure if it happens anymore, perhaps the sky's too full. Or maybe they only get one star each nowadays."

"I see." So even the stars she knew so well were part of this fairytale world. "I guess I'm still getting used to that. Everything being magic, I mean."

"What's it like where you lived, then?" Kaito asked, rolling on his side to look at her.

"Nothing special. But I guess that's what I miss about it." She let her eyes glaze over, the stars still twinkling in her vision. "I didn't fit in there, either. I used to get called a witch or a curse, because I didn't fit in. Still, when I was at the orphanage, the children saw me as normal. And so did Tsumugi. That was enough for me."

"You never dreamed of doing anything else?" Kaito said.

"..." Maki wasn't sure how to answer that. Sure, she'd dreamed, at one point. But she'd never really believed in those dreams, not since she was a kid. "I guess a bit. But I realised that real life isn't as simple as the fairytales make it look. You read about a princess who finds love and friends and happiness, and it sounds so easy, and so perfect. But that's not what my life is like. Because I'm none of the things those princesses are, so what's the point?" She closed her eyes. Why was she telling Kaito this? They were worlds apart.

"I get that," he said. "Obviously I'm fine now, but when I was younger, I was kinda overwhelmed by expectations. People said I'd have the coolest fairytale and a happy ending, but the idea of being that perfect stressed me out so bad it didn't seem worth it at all. Fairytales seemed like too much hard work and I wasn't sure I could compare to the people around me, who'd all done such awesome things."

Maki rolled over to face him, and saw him start to grin. "But you know what I realised? You've just gotta find something to believe in. Once you believe in something, so much that you'll go through anything to reach that goal and protect the things you love, it's not so hard anymore. It starts to feel worth it. So what if the world tells you your dreams are impossible? The impossible is possible, all you've got to do is make it so!"

His words echoed in Maki's head. "I… don't know what to believe in," she mumbled. Home, school, Good, Evil, Tsumugi, Kaito… Even if she made a choice, it would probably be the wrong one.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough. And even if you make the wrong choice or change your mind, you can always try again. One of the things I believe in is space! That's why I want to visit the stars one day. It could just be something like that, if you want."

Maki looked across at Kaito, at the leaf sticking out of his fluffy purple hair, at his slightly wonky front teeth as he grinned, at the stars reflected in his eyes. Maybe he wasn't that different from her after all. He worried about expectations. He had silly human dreams and passions. Even if he looked perfect from a distance, up close, he was just some guy. No matter what kind of kingdom he came from, when they looked in the sky, whether from Gavaldon or from Camelot, they saw the same stars.

Yeah.

Beneath the stars, she was just a girl, and he was just a boy.

For some reason, Maki found herself smiling. She hadn't noticed how tense she'd been feeling, but now, for once, she felt… relaxed. At peace. Strange that peace had come in such a perilous location, and such an unexpected situation. Strange that Kaito was the one who made her feel like this.

She choked. No no, this wasn't because of Kaito . It was just the stars. It was because she was tired. It wasn't him .

"Oh, damn, I was meant to be talking about constellations," he said. "I got totally distracted. Just don't tell anyone I said all that sappy stuff, okay?"

"Okay."

"You've been a lot less argumentative too. I'm glad."

"Don't push your luck."

"Gotcha!" Through her eyelids, Maki saw Kaito point at the sky again. "So, over there is Canes Venatici. It's got two bright stars which represent…

Maki felt herself zoning out from his voice. The stars in the sky were so beautiful, though they were nothing more than shiny smudges through her tired eyes. Why was stargazing with someone else soothing? It should have been uncomfortable… distracting… especially with… Kaito… but instead… it... ..

..

...

....

"Maki-roll..? Hey, Maki-roll."

Maki could hear a soft voice close to her head. Oh, right, it was Kaito. She was outside with Kaito. She opened her eyes.

The sky was even darker. Clouds had started to drift across the stars. She sat up, her body aching.

"Ah, you're awake!"

Maki blinked at Kaito. She… fell asleep? 

A wave of horror shot through her chest. She fell asleep!? No way. With Kaito there!? How? She was a light-sleeper, wasn't she? How long had she been asleep for!?

"What time is it?" she snapped. Kaito squinted at his watch.

"Uh, quarter past one."

"Kaito!" Maki couldn't believe him. "We were meant to go inside at midnight!"

"Sorry! I got carried away, okay!"

"Carried away!? " Maki tried to glare at him, but she wasn't sure he could see it in the dark. At least, until they were both illuminated by the silver glow of Maki's finger.

Kaito glanced at it. "I said I'm sorry!" Then he looked up at her illuminated face. "...Are you blushing?"

Maki shot up from the ground and stormed through the gates. "Idiot!"

"Hey- Come back-!"

Maki ignored him, not stopping until she made it back to her school, face burning. She hoped no one else saw her with Kaito like that. What if Kaede was still awake? She'd never hear the end of it. She glanced up at Purity tower, but all the windows were dark. At least she probably dodged that bullet.

What Maki didn't notice, as she stepped into the castle, was the light shining from Evil. She didn't notice the lone figure in the window, brushing her blue hair in the candlelight.

The lone figure who'd seen everything.

Chapter Text

Maki refused to speak to Kaito during breakfast. She wasn’t mad at him, not really. But… Well, actually, she wasn’t quite sure why. She’d started to feel a bit nervous when speaking to him, but she was probably still embarrassed about last night. But more importantly, she still had a deal to uphold for Tsumugi. She needed to stay away from him now, no more excuses, no more procrastinating.

“Something happened last night, didn’t it?” Kaede asked on the way to Beautification, as soon as they were out of earshot with Kaito. “Did you fight?”

“No.”

Kaede waited for Maki to elaborate, but she didn’t offer anything else. Not even when Kaede said “‘pretty please”.

During Lunch, Maki found Tsumugi quickly. “Hey, I’m really sorry about last night, I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about it. It’s my fault I got guard duty and I’ll try harder not to pick fights in the future so we can keep doing your tutoring. So…”

“Shush, Maki darling.” She paused as Tsumugi smiled at her. “Nothing to get so worked up about. It was a ridiculous punishment in the first place, hardly your fault.”

Maki stared at her. She should’ve been happy that Tsumugi was so forgiving, but… There was something slightly too sickly-sweet about her tone of voice today. Maki sighed. Well, even if Tsumugi was only forgiving her for the sake of keeping up her Good schtick, it didn’t really matter.

“So, you’re staying away from Kaito for me now?” Tsumugi continued. Maki nodded.

“He’s all yours.”

Tsumugi narrowed her eyes at Maki, as for a second it looked like she didn’t believe her at all. But then she smiled again. “Perfect! Talk to you later!” Then she flitted off as usual, taking a seat beside Kaito and Shuichi without a second’s hesitation.

Maki didn’t show up to training during Supper, either.

The next morning, Maki went and sat at Fuyuhiko’s table instead. Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow at her. “Why aren’t you sat with your usual lot? Peko tells me you’ve gotten all buddy-buddy with Kaito.”

“And Sonia tells me you’ve gotten all buddy-buddy with Peko,” Maki replied, earning a slightly embarrassed scowl.

“Something like that. We’re talking again, at least…” He looked away. “Thanks. For telling me to talk to her. Turns out I needed a kick up the arse.”

“My pleasure.”

Breakfast passed, and Maki successfully avoided even looking in Kaito’s direction. However, when she stood up to leave, a voice stopped her.

“Maki, can we have a word?”

It was Shuichi, without Kaito. Maki didn’t think he was even capable of such a thing. “What is it?”

“Did Kaito do something to upset you?”

Ah. So it was about Kaito. Maki, not sure how to respond, stayed quiet.

“It’s just, he seemed really bothered by it. The fact you’re avoiding him. He’s been acting down, and…” He paused, before taking a deep breath and continuing. “Well, to be quite honest, I think you’re being really childish. Avoiding him and not telling him why.”

“I- It’s not-” Maki hadn’t expected something like that to come from Shuichi’s mouth. “Look, he hasn’t done anything wrong, you can tell him that. I just- I can’t talk to him anymore.”

“Why?”

Maki couldn’t answer that question. She couldn’t just tell him that it was because Tsumugi told her not to, she was meant to be building Tsumugi’s reputation, not destroying it. “It’s… It’s complicated…”

“If you can’t tell me, go tell Kaito.”

“I- I can’t… Just tell him I’m not mad at him, we just can’t talk anymore.”

Shuichi frowned at her. “I’m not telling Kaito anything on your behalf. You need to go talk to him.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snapped, giving him a threatening glare. This time, however, he didn’t back down. He just stared at her silently. Maki couldn’t believe him. He didn’t understand what was going on, so why did he have any right to involve himself?

There was silence. They both stared at each other. Finally, Maki gave in. “Fine! I’ll talk to him during Lunch.”

Shuichi let out a relieved breath. “Thank you.”

“Whatever.” Maki headed to class, her anger slowly fading. Shuichi was right, after all. It wasn’t fair on Kaito for her to not even explain herself. But she didn’t have any explanation for him. What was she meant to say?

Lunchtime came around, and Maki still hadn’t figured out what to tell Kaito. Rather than coming up with an idea, she steeled herself to just approach him and figure it out as she went. However, already that plan fell apart as she arrived in the Clearing to see Kaito enraptured in conversation with Tsumugi.

Maki stared at them for a while. Really, she concluded eventually, there should be nothing wrong with talking to Kaito in front of Tsumugi, as long as it’s to tell him I won’t talk to him anymore. If anything, that would be even better, because it would prove to Tsumugi’s she was loyal to her.

As she approached their table, Kaito paused mid-sentence to greet her.

“Oh, Maki! Hey, does this mean you’re talking to me again?”

“I haven’t said anything yet,” she replied, feeling Tsumugi staring at her.

“Whatever you need to talk about, can’t you do it later?” Tsumugi prompted. “It’s just, we’re in the middle of something.”

To Maki’s surprise, Kaito didn’t argue with that. “Tsumugi was just telling me she used to do ballet! Isn’t that cool? I tried to do ballet once but I’ve never been good at dancing generally, so it didn’t really work out. But Tsumugi could do loads of it when she was as young as six! Like me with my adventures I went on, but obviously a bit different than that.” He paused, grinned. “I can talk to you in a sec, though. Got to let the girl finish her story.”

Tsumugi gave Maki a satisfied smile. “Right,” Maki said quietly, choosing not to admit that she didn’t know any of that.. “Don’t let me interrupt you.”

Maki wondered, as she walked away, why she felt so… weird. Wrong. It didn’t make any sense, because if anything this was right. This was the way things were meant to be. Tsumugi, the beautiful princess with a kind heart, ends up with the handsome prince. She, the disagreeable outcast, stayed at the sideline, where she could be content with her own company. Exactly the way Tsumugi had told their story so long ago, when they sat side by side in Gavaldon.

Maki frowned at herself. No way she just called Kaito a handsome prince in her own head. Clearly Tsumugi’s fluffy language was starting to wear off on her.

Maki tried again during Supper. This time, she could be sure that Tsumugi wouldn’t be there. She headed to the Swordplay courtyard for what would likely be the last time.

“Maki-roll! See, Shuichi, I told you she’d come.”

She avoided meeting Kaito or Shuichi’s eyes. “I’m not staying today. I’m just here to talk to you.”

Kaito’s smile dropped. “Oh, uhh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Are you still mad at me about last night? ‘Cause I’m really sorry, y’know.”

Maki saw Shuichi give her a questioning look. It was reassuring to see Kaito clearly hadn’t told him anything, but that didn’t make it any less awkward.

“No,” she said firmly. “No, that’s not it, I just…” She sighed. “I’m quitting training.”

“Eh!?” Kaito gave her a horrified look. “But-! But you said you’d stay!”

“That was before. This is now.”

“But why!?”

“I just…” Maki gave her best attempt at a nonchalant shrug. “Don’t want to anymore. It was… fun. And you helped a lot. But I have other things to do, and…”

“Like what?”

“Like escaping this damned school. I’ve never exactly kept that a secret.”

Kaito stared at her, looking like he’d been slapped in the face. “You… You still want to leave? But what about… all the stuff you’ve done here?” His expression changed a bit, as if he just realised something. “Is Tsumugi going with you?”

Maki couldn’t help being a bit thrown off by Kaito bringing her up. She still hadn’t really processed the fact that the two of them were pretty much friends at this point. “Uh… probably not.”

“At least there’s that,” Kaito said, sounding a little relieved. Maki narrowed her eyes at him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Obviously I don’t want you to go, ‘cause you’re my friend! But I’d rather lose one of you than both, y’know?” Kaito perked up a little. “Actually, I just remembered, I was meant to ask you something! We can go back to this discussion in a sec, if you don’t mind me changing the subject?”

It was Maki’s turn to give Shuichi a questioning look, but he didn’t seem to know what this was about any more than her. “Okay, but be quick about it.”

“I wanted to ask, Tsumugi doesn’t have a boyfriend or anything, does she?” Maki blinked at him. “Actually, stupid question now that I think about it. Doesn’t really have any good options in Evil, they’re all awful. And I can’t imagine her with someone like Kokichi… Didn’t she punch him before?” He laughs at the idea.

“You… what?” Maki was so taken aback, she completely forgot why she was talking to him. “Don’t tell me… you like Tsumugi?”

“Huh!?” Kaito’s voice went up a pitch. “I never said that! I was just curious…”

“But Kaito, she’s Evil ,” Shuichi said, his expression mimicking how Maki felt. “And you’re a prince .”

“Yeah, but that’s exactly the point, Shuichi,” Kaito said. “She might be in Evil, but she clearly doesn’t belong there. It’s exactly like what Maki-roll’s been saying this whole time! If anything, I feel kinda bad for not listening.”

“What made you decide that?”

“I just started talking to her, y’know? And it was like…” Kaito opened his hands dramatically. “Wow! She’s really pretty, with her fashion stuff, right? But like, she’s not vapid, she’s interesting, she’s got all these cool hobbies and…” Kaito registered the look Shuichi was giving him. “I get why you’re worried, sidekick, but I’ve got to follow my heart and believe in my own instincts. And if she manages to swap schools, which she said she’s trying to do, then there’ll be no issues at all.”

Maki felt sick. Not like the other times, where it had just been a bitter sensation… Properly sick.

“I need to go,” she said quickly, turning away.

“Huh-? Wait, weren’t we gonna finish talking about-?”

Maki didn’t wait for the end of his sentence. She couldn’t stand to be in the conversation any longer.

Maki knew she should be happy, but she wasn’t. She attempted to act like she was happy about it when talking to Kaede, but couldn’t deceive her for very long. After that, she had to argue for why she wasn’t happy, which was something she didn’t understand herself.

“Well, it’s just so sudden, you know? And all the time they’re together, Tsumugi doesn’t want to talk to me.”

Kaede nodded. “So you’re feeling left out?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Maki said hurriedly. “I don’t want to be involved in their thing. You know I hate romance. Actually, that’s the other reason I’m not over the moon about this. It’s gross.” The more that Maki thought about it, the more that explanation definitely made sense. Yeah. She hated romance, and now two people she talked to a lot are getting together so of course it makes her feel sick. Duh.

“Well, don’t look at them when they start making out, look on the bright side.” Kaede gave her an encouraging smile. “Your plan is working, and you’re a step closer to going home, right?”

Maki took a deep breath. “Yeah,” she said, pulling herself together. “Yeah, I am. That’s good. I just have to put this whole thing out of my mind.”

Of course, something like that was never as easy as it sounds. Especially since whenever Kaito wasn’t around, including during their tutoring sessions every night, Tsumugi would talk endlessly about Kaito. The whole thing made Maki feel more and more guilty each day - she knew she should be happy for Tsumugi. She knew she was being a terrible friend. But she couldn’t shake it. It didn’t help that she sometimes got the feeling Tsumugi was being passive-aggressive. She’d make comments about how Kaito liked her more than Maki now, or that he liked qualities about her that Maki didn’t have. Or “I think Kaito’s just glad to have a girl to talk to who actually likes him and appreciates him. You get that, right? I mean, no offence, but you’re plainly not the kind of girl who could ever win a man. Not that you’re bothered by that, but it’s just not in your nature.”

But it wasn’t like she was wrong. And she spoke in such a sweet voice, and chatted to Maki so happily, that she decided she was probably overthinking things. Tsumugi didn’t even have a reason to be mad at Maki now, she’d gotten what she wanted. Maki felt even more guilty for even considering the thought. First she couldn't be happy about her best friend getting her dream prince, and now she was mentally turning her best friend into some kind of passive-aggressive bitch.

“In order to survive the Trial by Tale,” Yuba said in their next Surviving Fairy Tales lesson, “you must be able to do more than fight or defend yourself. You’ll have to survive until morning, after all. Today, we will be practising the use of Mogrification for camouflage.” He tapped his staff on the ground. “You’ll all get into pairs. One of you from each pair will close your eyes, while the other hides somewhere in the area. You may mogrify into any living thing, including plants or insects, but bear in mind that your school crest will still be present on you to distinguish you upon examination. The other person then has to find them.”

Before Maki could even move, Tsumugi was already next to Kaito. “Be my partner?”

“Sure!” he replied, leaving a gobsmacked Hiyoko to stare at the two of them.

“Yuba, is that allowed?” she snapped, pointing at the pair. “Evers and Nevers shouldn’t pair up together!”

The gnome didn’t seem bothered. “I’ll admit, it’s not typical, but there’s no harm in it. Although, that will leave an odd number in each school, so there’ll have to be another Ever-Never pair.”

Hiyoko immediately grabbed Mikan. “You’ll be my partner!” she declared, clearly afraid of being the one stuck with a Never.

“Ooooh,” a voice said. “Well, I don’t mind pairing up with Maki.” Kokichi grinned at her. “Looks like you don’t have anyone to pair with anyway so…”

Shuichi cleared his throat. “Um, actually, I’d like to pair up with Maki. Thanks.”

“Really?” Maki turned to Shuichi, then glanced past him at Tsumugi and Kaito, laughing together. Seemed like he was in the same position as her. “Sure.”

“Everyone in pairs?” Yuba asked. “Right, decide who’s hiding and close your eyes.”

Maki and Shuichi looked at each other awkwardly. She wasn’t used to working with him without Kaito. “I… I’ll hide,” Maki said finally, given she’d had enough practice at mogrifying while tutoring Tsumugi that she was decently confident in it.

Shuichi nodded, but leaned towards her, whispering. “Hide near the cave at the back of the forest. I need to speak to you about something.”

Not again. “And what if I don’t want to speak to you?”

Shuichi didn’t have time to reply, as Yuba thumped his staff on the floor again to hurry them. Instead, he gave Maki a look, somewhere between pleading and annoyed.

“Everyone got their eyes closed?” Yuba grumbled. “Now, you’ve got thirty seconds to hide. Go!”

Maki slipped away between the trees. If Shuichi was going to give her another lecture, she wanted no part of it. But then again… it didn’t seem like that this time. And she couldn’t think of anything she’d done wrong, at least, not that Shuichi would know about.

Despite herself, Maki ended up by the cave as he’d instructed. As Yuba’s countdown reached zero, Maki mogrified into a very obvious squirrel, and sat in wait on a tree stump.

“Uh.. I didn’t say you couldn’t hide…” Shuichi said when he showed up, staring down at Maki. “You know you’ll get a bad rank for that?”

Maki mogrified back, folding her arms. “And when did I ever care about rank? So, what did you want to talk about?”

Shuichi sat down on a rock next to her. “Uh, I’m not sure where to start…” He thought for a second, before talking. “This whole thing with Kaito and Tsumugi… doesn’t it strike you as… odd?”

“...Odd?”

“Unnatural. I mean… I haven’t known Kaito for very long, in the grand scheme of things, but long enough that I was pretty sure that I knew how his brain worked, at least a bit. Then all of a sudden, he won’t stop talking about Tsumugi. It’s… weird. And as much as I… dislike Tsumugi… she's your friend, right? So I wanted to know if you noticed anything.”

“Noticed… anything?” Maki was starting to feel uneasy. “I’m not sure what kind of things you’re talking about. Tsumugi’s always been like this.”

“No. She hasn’t.” Shuichi’s bluntness surprised Maki. “One day, she was a fragile girl who couldn’t get a word in edgeways with Kaito, and cried when she failed to prove she was Good. Then, all of a sudden, she’s got a makeover stand in the Clearing, and she’s ranking top in all her lessons. And Kaito’s head-over-heels for her.” Maki’s guilt must have shown on her face. “I’m not accusing you of anything, except maybe for not noticing those things. Unless you have done something…?”

Maki sighed. “Look. If I answer your question, will you parrot all of this back to Kaito like a good little sidekick?”

“Only if I think telling him would help somehow. I’m just concerned.”

She closed her eyes. “Tsumugi’s had a crush on Kaito since the moment she first saw him. Called it love at first sight. She wants to swap schools, and I want to go home, but in order to do that, we’ll need to convince the School Master we don’t belong here. And we decided that if Tsumugi could get a True Love, that would prove she’s not Evil.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. “So she planned all this?”

“It’s not like she could force him to like her or anything. But she was trying to win him over the whole time. That’s why she started that stupid beauty thing. She said that if she could just get him to notice her, he’d realise it was True Love and then she could swap schools. I didn’t expect it to work, but…”

“I don’t understand.” Shuichi stood up from the rock and began pacing. “Sure, Kaito thought it was cool, but other than that Kaito had no interest in her beauty lessons. And what about her ranking suddenly shooting up?”

Maki swallowed. “I’ve been tutoring her.”

“Tutoring her?”

“At night time. I’ve been sneaking into her school and helping her with her school work. She wanted to rank higher, so… it just made sense.”

“So… all of this… has normal explanations?” Shuichi asked, looking thoughtful. Maki nodded. “Does this have anything to do with why you suddenly quit training and wouldn’t talk to Kaito?”

“Uh… sort of.” At this point, Maki had said enough that there wasn’t much to lose. “Tsumugi wanted me to distance myself from him because I’m distracting him from her.”

Shuichi looked at her disbelievingly. “And you agreed to that? Why?”

“I know you think she’s evil and everything,” Maki replied evenly. “But she’s not a bad person, she’s just stressed and desperate. And she’s my friend. If she wants me to stop talking to Kaito, that’s no problem for me, no matter the reason. I’ll admit, I do think it’s sudden, but I wouldn’t know how romance works, so perhaps True Love is just fickle like that.” She looked away. “In other words, I think your suspicions are unfounded and I can’t help you.”

“Is she your friend because she’s not a bad person?” Shuichi asked slowly. “Or is she ‘not a bad person’ because she’s your friend?”

Maki raised an eyebrow, not really understanding what he was trying to say. “I’m even less likely to help you if you start patronising me.”

Shuichi shook his head in response. “No, you’ve already helped me plenty. Thank you.” Despite how faintly hostile the conversation had been, he still smiled at her.

A floating number exploded over each of their heads, marking the end of the lesson. Just like that, the conversation was over, but the ghost of Shuichi’s words still lingered in Maki’s mind.

It was still lingering when she saw Kaito and Tsumugi sharing sushi together at Lunch the next day, sat uncomfortably close to each other, And the day after, when Kaito insisted that the nymph give him two serving of Good’s food so that Tsumugi could have her own.

Maybe Maki was the fickle one. But for as much as she argued with whatever Shuichi said, she’d never agreed with him more.

“Welcome, Evers and Nevers,” Professor Dovey said, clasping her hands together. Maki took a seat in a pew with Kaede. Both schools had been called into the Theater of Tales that morning, and based on the waves of excited chatter on both sides of the room, Maki was pretty sure she knew what it was about.

“As you all know,” Lady Lesso said, her voice silencing the bubbling crowd. “The Trial by Tale will commence in two weeks time. And as the more astute of you have undoubtedly figured out, today we will be announcing the ten students from each school who will be participating in the Trial by Tale.”

More whispers. “These places will be based on your current ranking in school.” Dovey explained. “Those who rank the top ten in their lessons will be expected to compete. The two tenth place students, one from each school, will enter the forest first, followed by ninth, eighth, until first place will enter last, meaning they will need to spend the least time in the forest.”

Maki leant back in her pew. At least this was one event she wouldn’t have to worry about. Her rankings had dropped so low with the effort she’d put into Tsumugi’s work, that there was no chance of her getting picked. Perhaps an event like the Trial by Tale could even be fun to watch.

“Now, for the Ever students that have been chosen…” Professor Dovey pulled out a scroll, and began reading.

Kaede nudged Maki and whispered to her. “I think I’m eleventh or twelfth… dodged a bullet there, huh? I wouldn't want to be part of something like this. But I’ll see if I can get my rankings up for the Circus of Talents...”

As Dovey called out Hiyoko’s name for fourth, Maki couldn’t decide whether to be amused or concerned. She was pretty and could dance, but Maki knew Surviving Fairy Tales was her weakness.

“In third ranking, Kiyotaka Ishimaru,” Dovey read. “In second ranking, Kaito Momota.” Maki saw Kaito looking proud of himself across the room. “And finally, with first place ranking, Sonia Nevermind.”

“Now, on to the Nevers…” Lady Lesso said, summoning her own scroll to read from.

Maki wondered whether Kaito would be alright. He’d been raised as a prince, so he probably knew enough self-defense to get by. She could always prompt Tsumugi to tell him to be careful.

“Seventh ranking, Kokichi Ouma…” Lesso continued. “Sixth ranking, Tsumugi Shirogane…”

Maki’s stomach dropped. Tsumugi?  Shit. She knew Tsumugi was doing better in lessons now, but she had no idea she was in the top ten in the school.

She searched for Tsumugi in the crowd, and it didn’t take long to spot her. She caught Maki’s eye, and immediately began making panicked gestures at her. So Tsumugi hadn’t expected it either.

“And in first place, Junko Enoshima,” Lesso finished, folding up the scroll.

“Any questions?” Professor Dovey added.

Maki considered asking whether you could choose not to participate, but before she could, Kaito stood up.

“It’s not really a question, but can I make a… proposal?”

Lesso gave Kaito a judgemental glare. Dovey nodded. “Go on.”

He spoke loudly, with a princely authority Maki didn’t often hear from him. “I want to prove that Tsumugi doesn’t belong in the School for Evil. And I think this is a good opportunity to prove it.”

Tsumugi and Maki both stared at him, nonplussed.

“At the end of the Trial by Tale, the last person left is the winner, representing their entire school. Only one school can win, because Good and Evil will fight until the end,” Kaito explained. “So, if by the end of the Trial by Tale, me and Tsumugi win together, as the only people left… That’s proof that not only is she not Evil, but that as a pair we are both Good enough to win the entire competition. Which means it’s True Love, and therefore she is definitely in the wrong school.”

The Theater was silent. There were so many things in that speech for Maki to process that she failed to process any of them at all.

“So…” Professor Dovey said slowly. “You’re suggesting that if you and Tsumugi are the last people left in the forest when the sun rises… we should allow her to swap schools?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Lovely idea,” Lady Lesso said dryly. “But we don’t have the authority to make a change like that. The School Master controls the castles and the students within them, so only he can-”

The lights went out.

Several people screamed at the sudden darkness, although the light from the windows meant the room was only dim at best. Both teachers stared up at the lights, which began to flicker, on and off, one after the other.

“Well,” Professor Dovey concluded. “Seems the School Master is in agreement.”

The lights turned back on. The room chattered with excitement at the new development.

“Silence!” Lesso snapped. “If the School Master has agreed to uphold it, then there is no reason not to accept your deal.”

Kaito’s face lit up in a grin as he sat back down. Evers and Nevers chatted amongst themselves, trying to decide whether or not there was any chance of this working. It would have been impossible, but if the School Master was giving it a chance… then surely that meant even he admits he may have been wrong?

But Maki and Tsumugi were both silent, horrified looks reflected in each other’s faces, for once in perfect unison.

Chapter Text

“I’m doomed! Absolutely doomed!” Tsumugi wailed at Maki during Lunch. For the first time in over a week, Tsumugi wasn’t sitting with Kaito.

“You complete moron!” Maki snapped back at her. “You didn't tell me you were sixth on the ranking board!”

“I didn’t check!” Tsumugi collapsed dramatically onto the table, her arms spread out.

“What happened to our original plan?” Kaede asked. “I thought the goal was to get you to kiss Kaito? Can’t you try that first in case it works? If it does, there’s no need for any of this.”

Tsumugi didn’t look up. “I… can’t do that…”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She sat up again. “I’m… not ready yet! It needs to be perfect, for a True Love’s kiss, you can’t rush that sort of thing…”

Given how passionate Tsumugi had been about winning Kaito’s heart, it didn’t make any sense to Maki how she’d be avoiding the kiss. But there wasn’t any point trying to pressure her into it. Besides, Maki was starting to doubt that plan would work anyway. If the School Master agreed to the Trial by Tale test Kaito proposed, it was unlikely he’d compromise with anything else before then.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Maki asked. “Have you talked to Kaito? He’s the one who decided on this stupid idea.”

“I have,” Tsumugi said, “but I can’t follow his plan! There’s a fifteen minute gap between each set of students being let in, and I’m fifth and he’s ninth which means there’s a whole hour between us! I’m stuck in the forest, by myself, for a whole hour!”

Maki and Kaede exchanged a look. “And did you tell Kaito that?”

“Yes, but he thinks that because I rank so high in my lessons, I’m clearly capable of surviving without him for a bit. But that’s ignoring the fact that everyone wants me dead.”

“Surely that’s a bit dramatic..?” Kaede tried to suggest, but Tsumugi shook her head frantically.

“I’ve heard them talking about it. The Evers want me dead because I’m stealing Kaito from them, and the Nevers want me dead because I’m betraying Evil by working with a prince. I’m beautiful and good and kind and everyone hates me for it!”

“So…” Maki said slowly, as Tsumugi collapsed on the table again. “You’re target number one, everyone is gonna try to eliminate you first, you’re by yourself for the first hour, you know almost nothing about self-defence, and you don’t have a choice about participating because if you don’t you won’t be able to switch schools?”

Tsumugi made a whimpering sound in response.

“Oof…” Kaede mumbled.

“We’ve got two weeks,” Maki said. “We can practise some spells that might help. And come up with some kind of plan for the first hour.”

“So you’ll help me?” Tsumugi asked.

“I always do.”

For the next week, Maki doubled down hard on her tutoring sessions with Tsumugi. What was at stake here wasn’t just a silly ranking anymore, but possibly Tsumugi’s life. Maki had thought she was surely exaggerating when she said they wanted her dead, but that was before she heard it herself. There were rules against killing each other, but Nevers were not ones to abide by the rules.

It helped Maki’s efforts that she suddenly had a lot less to do in lessons. They were heavily focused on helping those ten students prepare for the Trial by Tale, and the rest of the class were given meagre tasks to pass the time. Tsumugi, on the other hand, had no fewer work to do in class, and was clearly starting to lose energy, going to sleep earlier and earlier each night.

Maki suggested that they start skipping some nights, since Tsumugi was learning in class too, but she wouldn’t have it. “You’re a better teacher than anyone in Evil! And I can ask questions without getting heckled. If you leave me I’ll have to start planning my funeral.”

Despite all of this, Kaito seemed to have unwavering, blinded faith in Tsumugi. He didn’t seem to be able to see any way this could go wrong.

“He loves me too much,” Tsumugi sighed one time, looking almost guilty.

One night, when Maki flew into Tsumugi’s room for their tutoring, she found her already asleep, along with her roommates. She was drooping half off her bed, one of the drawers of her end table still open, a peaceful expression on her face. Maki hesitated. Normally she’d just wake her up, but…

Is she your friend because she’s not a bad person? Or is she ‘not a bad person’ because she’s your friend?

Maki had managed to briefly drown Shuichi’s words out of her mind, with the Trial by Tale now looming over her head, but they resurfaced again now, in the quiet of Tsumugi’s room.

She found herself drawn to the open drawer. She wasn’t sure why she was snooping, or what she was looking for. Maybe just reassurance that she was right and Shuichi was wrong. After all, there was nothing in there but Tsumugi’s doodles, of dresses and shoes and tiaras and her holding hands with Kaito. Still, Maki flicked through anyway, despite knowing that Tsumugi would never keep anything personal here, not where Junko and Mukuro could easily find it.

Maki stopped. There was a page at the bottom of the drawer that looked as if it had been ripped out of a library book. Maki pulled it out, reading.

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

• 3 Spirick scales
• 5 fresh rose petals
• A lock of the targets hair (not necessary, but a good precaution to prevent the potion from working on the wrong person in the case of a mix-up)
• A teaspoon of honey
• 10ml of spring water (Pixie Hollow or Neverland water is preferable, but any Ever kingdom will suffice)
• A drop of the casters saliva (take caution, if the concentration is too high the effects will be undesirably potent)

Mix all ingredients in a vial using your casting finger. As with all spells, intent is vital for this step. The resulting potion is enough for ten doses, each dose lasting for approximately 48 hours (although the effects may start to weaken earlier than this). Mix into any drink, although sweeter drinks are preferable to disguise the taste. Take caution using this spell for long

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

The page ended there. Maki stared at it. It looks like the instructions for some spell, but it wasn’t one Maki recognised, so she definitely wasn’t teaching it to Tsumugi. Maybe it was something from her lessons…? But then why would it need water from an Ever kingdom?

Tsumugi stirred, and Maki hurriedly tucked the paper into her bag.

“Rise and shine,” she said, as Tsumugi groaned at her sleepily.

The next day, during breakfast, Maki walked over to Shuichi. She saw Kaede staring at her from the corner of her eye.

“Hey, Shuichi,” she said. “Can I have a word?”

She gave a sideways look at Kaito, and Shuichi seemed to get the idea, standing up.

“I’ll be back in a second, Kaito.”

“Huh? Wait, are you guys gossiping without me? What gives?”

Maki and Shuichi walked away towards a tree in the corner. Shuichi turned to Maki. “This is new,” he commented.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she said. “I know I said I wouldn’t help you or anything, but…” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the piece of paper. “I found this is Tsumugi’s drawer. It’s instructions for something, but I don’t know what. I was wondering if you knew.”

Shuichi took it from her, examining it. “No idea…” He turned it over. “Both the top and the bottom of the page are missing, so there’s no title or page numbers to go from either.”

“If you don’t know, don’t worry about it.”

“No, no, I’ll have a look into it. You’re alright with me keeping it?”

Maki shrugged. Since it was at the bottom of Tsumugi’s drawer, she probably wouldn’t look for it any time soon. “Sure, I guess.”

“Thanks.” Shuichi gave her a grateful smile. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out, but it might not be for a while. I’m busy preparing for the Trial by Tale.”

“You’re in it too?”

“Yeah, fifth ranking. Weren’t you listening when Professor Dovey was reading names?”

Maki frowned. “Not really. I think Kaede was talking to me.”

Shuichi seemed to automatically turn to glance across the courtyard at Kaede, and blinked. “Ah! I think she’s watching us.”

Maki looked back at her table, where Kaede was busying herself with her breakfast, looking embarrassed. She smiled to herself. “Don’t worry about it. She’s just curious.”

She turned back to Shuichi, who was studying her thoughtfully. “As coarse and laconic as you are, you’re quick to defend your friends, aren’t you?”

Maki scowled at him. “The day you stop making unnecessary observations is the day I stop being ‘coarse’ with you.”

The days flew past with an increasing urgency, until the day before the Trial by Tale. Maki had done her best to train Tsumugi, but there was only so much she could do. She’s tried to suggest Tsumugi learn to use a sword, but her attempts to teach her within the small space of her dorm weren’t successful. In the end, they decided to follow Yuba’s advice and prioritise avoiding trouble. If Tsumugi could mogrify into something discreet, like an insect or flower, she could wait out the first hour hopefully without incident.

At least, that’s what Maki told herself in the day’s lessons.

Kaede must have picked up on Maki’s stressed expression, because she spent the whole day reassuring Maki at every chance she got.

“Just get past this hurdle, and you’ll have got what you want,” Kaede said during Good Deeds. Maki made an unidentifiable noise in reply.

Kaede stared at her silently for a while. “Are you… really leaving? If this works out? You still want to go home?”

“Of course,” Maki replied. “It’s all I’ve wanted this whole time.”

Her friend smiled sadly in response. “I see.”

Maki felt a bit bad, but really, it wasn’t her fault if Kaede was upset she’d been leaving. She was the one who chose to befriend her, despite knowing she wasn’t planning on staying. She’d already warned her time and time again. Though perhaps she’d never expected any of their plans to actually work.

In a way, Maki had stopped believing in them either. She wasn’t sure when, but at some point, she went from desperately trying to go home, to just trying because she didn’t know what else to do. Just trying for the sake of it. Or because Tsumugi wanted to.

But she did want to go home, didn’t she? After all, she couldn’t stand to spend any longer stuck in a school where Tsumugi and Kaito were gonna walk around holding hands and acting lovey-dovey. She’d had quite enough of all this stress. If she went back to the orphanage, she could go back to a normal routine, not having to worry about complicated feelings about confusing things. Just regular, normal Maki again.

There was a brisk knock on the door, and Professor Dovey stopped speaking. Lady Lesso walked in.

“Clarissa, I need a word with you.”

The class broke out into whispers. Lady Lesso rarely entered the School for Good, so when she did, it meant something was going down. Majorly.

Dovey so no more the wiser as to what it was about, but stood up from her seat. “Of course. Class, please continue reading pages 176 - 179 on Replanting the Woods.” She waved her hand, and her words appeared on the blackboard behind her.

“What do you think that’s about?” Kaede whispered to Maki as Dovey left. Maki didn’t respond. As soon as the teachers were out of sight, she stood up from her chair.

“Be back in a minute.”

“Huh, where are you-?” Maki didn’t hear the end of Kaede’s sentence, as she left the classroom quietly. Maki wasn’t usually so nosy, but she’d noticed something the others hadn’t.

Lady Lesso had given her a look. One that gave her a very bad feeling.

Maki trailed the two teachers, using all of the practice she’d gained at sneaking around to stay quiet. Unlike during their free time, there were no fairies patrolling the corridor now, since all students should be in class. She followed the teachers out onto the bridge, and watched as they passed through the magical barrier unphased.

She waited until they were out of earshot before approaching the barrier herself.

“Good with Go-”

“I’m eavesdropping, let me through,” Maki told her reflection briskly.

“Only because you’re concerned it’s about you,” her reflection replied.

“And? That doesn’t make it Good, that just makes me selfish.” She crossed her arms. “Besides, my main motivator for getting out of this school at the moment is that I can’t bear seeing my friend happy with a prince.”

Her reflection sighed. “Definitely Evil.”

Maki darted the rest of the way across the bridge. She was worried she’d have lost the teachers by now, but as she opened the door, she saw them walking up the Vice staircase. Astutely aware that running around Evil was a terrible idea in her pink uniform, Maki mogrified into an animal she hoped would camouflage well in a place like this: a rat.

Rat-Maki followed the two teachers up the staircase, and slipped between Lesso’s legs as they entered a room with a huge wooden door. From the look of things inside, Maki guessed it was Lady Lesso’s office - it was similar in layout to Dovey’s, but certainly not in decor.

“So, what did you want to discuss with me?” Dovey asked. Lesso swept over to her desk and picked up a piece of paper.

“This letter appeared on my desk during Lunch,” she said tersely. She cleared her throat and read from it.

_________________________________________________

To Leonora Lesso,

I wish to speak to both Deans in your office at 2 o’clock. It’s concerning the two Readers.

The School Master

_________________________________________________

So Maki was right. It was about her.

Professor Dovey stared at Lesso, eyes wide. “Are you sure this isn’t a prank?”

“That’s what I would generally assume of most things that show up on my desk,” Lesso replied gravely. “But no student in either school knows my first name. The only people who know that are yourself and the School Master. So assuming you have nothing to do with it…”

“Of course not.”

“...Then that only leaves one option.”

Professor Dovey frowned. “But the School Master hasn’t spoken to either of us in person for years.”

The door opened.

“Ah, thank you for gathering for me.” Maki peaked out from behind a chair leg, recognising the voice. The School Master smiled at the two teachers. It occurred to Maki this was the first time she’d seen him in somewhat normal circumstances - as in, when she wasn’t actively dying or being kidnapped. He looked a lot more… human, like this. He had pale, off-white hair that looked both messy and tidy at the same time, in a wavy sort of way, and was wearing a black tailcoat with a red rose pinned to the front. “I can assure you, it wasn’t a prank, although I realise there were probably less suspicious ways to communicate with you.”

Professor Dovey curtsied and Lady Lesso bowed as he walked in. “Of course, sir, I was only upholding reasonable doubt,” Lesso said, her voice starkly less harsh.

“As a good teacher should,” he replied. “Or should I say, an Evil teacher?”

While Lesso offered him a seat and Dovey asked if he wanted anything to drink, the School Master scanned the room. Maki tried to back out of sight, but wasn’t quick enough - his grey eyes landed on her, as if he already knew where to look.

“Seems you have a bit of a rodent problem,” he commented, walking towards her. Maki tried to dart away, but there wasn’t really anywhere to run, and he easily grabbed hold of her tail and lifted her into the air. Maki cursed at herself. Even in mogrif form, she still had the school crest on her, so they’d easily tell she was a student.

Lesso only gave her a second glance. “Apologies, allow me to kill it for you. They like entering through cracks in the walls, I have been trying to deal with them…”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it,” he dropped Maki, and she immediately darted out of sight of the teachers. She couldn’t escape the room, even if she wanted to, since the door was closed. “She’s my friend now.”

Dovey cleared her throat. “So, what did you want to speak to us about?”

Maki found a comfortable spot under a set of drawers, and crouched down to watch. There was no way the School Master hadn’t seen the swan on her, meaning he was intentionally letting her watch. Just another time he seemed to know everything about her.

“Ah, yes, to the point.” He turns away from Maki, to face the two teachers. “I’m here to inform you that a fairytale has been opened. Well, it has been ongoing for some time now, but given something as dangerous as the Trial by Tale, I decided it was important to inform you.”

Lady Lesso frowned at him. “Fairytales are opened all the time. What is…” She processed the rest of his sentence and her eyes widened. “You mean, concerning students in this school?”

The School Master nodded, and Dovey followed Lesso’s lead, mimicking her reaction. “You don’t mean… the two Readers?”

“I do. For whatever reason, one which is outside of even my understanding, the Storian chose to write their fairytale.”

“But that’s impossible,” Lesso said quickly. “They’re first years . Even our most talented students have had to wait until at least their fourth year…”

“And yet, I’m here now,” the School Master said. “You know what happens during a fairy tale. The stakes will only continue to pile up until the ending. In other words, something is very likely to occur during the Trial by Tale, and if not, soon after.”

Dovey relaxed a little. “Maki isn’t in the Trial by Tale. She should be perfectly safe.”

Lesso, on the other hand, didn’t have that same sentiment. “I understand your concern, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Shirogane may have managed to rank highly through pure luck, but she is a terrible Never and has no chance of making it more than an hour into the Trial by Tale. We can only hope she has the common sense to surrender before she’s seriously hurt. But…” She thought for a second. “Does this mean… they really are in the wrong schools?”

The School Master shrugged. “I can’t answer that question.”

“Why not?” Dovey asked. “With all due respect, if you’ve been reading the fairytale, you’ll know which is the hero and which is the villain…”

“And I cannot tell you that now. It would influence their stories too much, and I, as the overseer of the Storian, have no right to meddle with a story that isn’t mine. The most I can do is warn you, and help them stay on track from the sidelines. When the time comes, the answer to that question is theirs to figure out.”

“So the Trial by Tale is a real test?” Lesso asked.

“Indeed. Even I don’t know the outcome yet. And what you do with this information is entirely up to you.”

Both teachers looked at each other. Maki felt faint, though it may have been because she was so absorbed she’d forgotten to breathe.

Dovey took a deep breath. “Well, I think it’s wise not to tell any of my students about this, especially Maki. They’d only panic, and goodness knows that girl has enough on her plate.”

Lady Lesso scoffed. “I for one have no plan to keep Shirogane in the dark. Whichever side she’s on, a fairytale is on her to survive. She’d be better off facing reality and learning how to cope with it, than living in a fantasy.”

The School Master simply smiled. “Everything will be made clear during the Trial by Tale, I’m sure.”

Satisfied with the conversation, he opened the door to leave. Maki immediately darted towards it, and he spotted her, holding it open for a second to let her out. She kept running, down the stairs, across the bridge, up to Dovey’s classroom. There, finally, she stopped, mogrifying back into herself again and collapsing on the floor.

What… just… happened?

Maki thought urgently back to her studying. Both her and Tsumugi had to learn at length about the Storian: a magical pen that saw the lives of everyone across the Endless Woods, and chose one story to write about. Once it did, the people involved were part of a fairytale until they found an ending -  Ever After or Never After. It was the whole reason this school existed. To train future heroes and villains for their own fairytale. It was the one thing Tsumugi dreamed of back in Gavaldon, as they read stories about children kidnapped long ago, on fantastical adventures.

And here she was… living it? Right now?

That wasn’t real. No way. It was some weird joke. There wasn’t even anything vaguely fairytale-like about what was happening. All she wanted was to go home? What fairytale character wanted that?

Unless she was the villain, of course. In which case, maybe she was just accidentally sabotaging Tsumugi. Because it was in her nature. 

God, she couldn’t seriously be considering it? Maki shook her head. She was going crazy. This school was driving her crazy.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and quickly darted into the classroom.

“Maki! What happened? Did you-”

Kaede saw the look on Maki’s face and frowned, but went silent as Dovey entered the classroom.

“Sorry for the delay, where did we leave off…” She took her seat back at the front of the room. “Did all of you read the assigned pages?”

As the lesson resumed, Maki felt Dovey looking at her. She stared stubbornly at her book, ignoring the dread clawing at the back of her throat.

That night, Maki didn’t bother tutoring Tsumugi. Not only because she needed a good night’s sleep before the big day, but because she needed to tell Kaede what happened.

As Maki repeated everything she’d seen and heard, Kaede stared at her in disbelief.

“No,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “No way. No. That’s not only rare, that’s unheard of! A fairytale in your first year ? Some people wait their whole life for a fairytale and never get one! At the very earliest you get them during Quest Year, and even then, only for the best students. There’s no way.”

“I don’t believe it either,” Maki said. “I’m just telling you what I heard. I can’t prove it, you have to trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Kaede said hurriedly, “it’s just… wow. Wow. That’s incredibly lucky. Amazing. I know people who’d die to be in your position. If that’s real, you’ll be like… revolutionary. A record holder. That’s amazing…”

Maki’s frustration bubbled to the surface. “I don’t want to be revolutionary, I want to go home!”

“But Maki, fairytales are the most important thing in the whole world, pretty much. They’re what keep our world alive. It’s really special to be part of-”

“I don’t want to be part of anything!” Maki threw her pillow across the room. “I want to be normal! I just want to be normal. Why is that so hard? Why is all of this happening to me?” Her energy had already fizzled out, and she collapsed face first onto her bed.

“Hey, look, it’ll be okay,” Kaede said softly, walking over to sit next to Maki. “If going home is your happy ending, then maybe that’ll happen?”

“Or maybe it won’t and I’ll die a tragic death like a real villain,” Maki grumbled.

Kaede didn’t seem to have a response to that, so she sat in silence for a moment. Eventually, Maki sat up again.

“Promise not to tell anyone? I really don’t need the school finding out about any of this.”

Kaede smiled. “I promise.” Then, after a moment’s thought, “Besides, Professor Dovey’s right. You’re not in the Trial by Tale. So nothing bad can happen to you then, at least.”

“And what about Tsumugi?” she replied.

Once again, Kaede couldn’t answer.

Chapter Text

There were no lessons the day of the Trial by Tale. Participants were receiving last minute tutoring from their teachers, while the rest of the school were free for the entire day. Normally this would be a good thing, but it meant Maki had no way of talking to Tsumugi before the Trial by Tale began. She was confident that Tsumugi would remember their plan, but as of yesterday, she had far more to discuss with her.

Maki wondered, as the hours ticked by, if Lady Lesso had already told her. She'd undoubtedly be ecstatic; as always, Maki's worst nightmare was Tsumugi's dream come true. Tsumugi's mind would paint her a beautiful story of a princess trapped in an Evil school, fighting to win her prince and prove she deserved better. And Maki had to admit, that would make a good fairytale.

As the sun began to set, students from both schools filed outside to the Blue Forest. It looked starkly different to how it did during lessons - dark, withering and dangerous, surrounded by a faint red shimmer.

"A mogrif shield," Kaede whispered. "To prevent anyone from mogrifying and flying in. They can guard the perimeter, see, but not the sky. The mogrif shield will burn any mogrif that tries to enter or exit."

Maki narrowed her eyes. If she squinted a bit, she could just about see the dome encasing the forest.

"Welcome, Evers and Nevers alike, to the Trial by Tale!" Professor Dovey announced, her voice magically amplified. "To your left, we've displayed the basic rules for the Trial by Tale, and to your right, a list of all competitors. As each one surrenders, their name will be crossed out, allowing you to keep track of who is remaining. There will unfortunately be very little to watch aside from the scores, but refreshments will be provided, and students are permitted to return to their rooms whenever they feel tired, or work on any homework in the stands provided."

Maki looked up at the rules.

1. The top ten Evers and top ten Nevers are required to compete in the Trial by Tale. The competitors will be determined by the school rankings no more than two weeks before the Trial is to begin.
2. Entrances into the Trial by Tale will be staggered. At sundown, the Ever and Never with the lowest pre-Trial rankings will enter the Blue Forest. Every fifteen minutes, the next-lowest pair will enter until the highest-ranking Ever and Never enter the competition last.
3. Inside the Forest, Nevers can attack Evers with their special talents and any spell learned in class. Evers can defend themselves with approved weapons and counterspells. Both sides will be subject to obstacles laid throughout the arena by the faculty.
4. Each challenger will be given an enchanted handkerchief of surrender. It is the challenger's duty to recognise mortal danger and drop his or her enchanted handkerchief when the time comes. The moment this handkerchief touches the ground, the student will be safely removed from the Trial.
5. Upon the first glint of sunrise, the Deans will call an end to the Trial and the surviving student(s) will be named the winner(s).
6. The winner will receive five extra first-place ranks in the race for Class Captain. In the case of multiple winners, each student will receive two extra first-place ranks.

Maki looked across at Tsumugi. As much as she wanted to tell her to just drop her handkerchief the moment she entered the forest, she knew that wouldn't happen. After all, Tsumugi may be scared and helpless, but her Happily Ever After was on the line.

She spotted Tsumugi, amongst the group of students in front of the gates, deep in frantic conversation with Kaito. She seemed both desperate and frustrated, but if they were arguing it was one-sided, because Kaito seemed unfazed.

"First pair ready!" Lady Lesso called.

Maki watched, feeling sick, as a pair of wolves grabbed Rantaro from Good and Kokichi from Evil, dragging them to the gates. A blast of silver sparks shot over the forest in a blurring haze, the gates swung open, and both challengers were shoved in, out of sight.

For a split second, Tsumugi caught Maki's eye across the field, as reality seemed to set in for both of them.

The minutes crawled by. The next students entered. Then the next. Then the next. Maki slipped out of the stands, intent on talking to Tsumugi, but Evil were now grouped together, watched by the sharp-eyed Lady Lesso. About to give up, Maki turned away, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Maki, I need to talk to you, quick," Shuichi said. Maki nodded, but before he could speak again, he paused, looking past Maki.

Tsumugi had slipped out of her group, and was darting towards Maki.

"Maybe later," Shuichi said hurriedly, backing away. Maki frowned at him. She knew he didn't like Tsumugi, but that was a step too far.

Tsumugi made it to Maki. "Kaito says I should meet up with him at Tulip Garden but I don't even know where that is and Junko says she's gonna come find me the moment she gets in because apparently this whole thing is ridiculous and she wants me dead so that I don't mess up Good's reputation and I'm entering at the same time as some girl named Sayaka who I think is scared of me so I can't even stick with her and Lady Lesso said that I'm in a fairytale !"

She doubled over, catching her breath. Maki really only understood the end of that sentence.

"Yeah, I've heard that too. But we can discuss that later when you're not at immediate threat of dying. Listen to me, I know you want to swap schools or whatever, but if you're gonna die you need to drop your handkerchief and-"

Tsumugi was seized by wolves.

"Your turn, Shirogane," Lesso hissed from across the field, as Tsumugi was dragged back towards the gates.

Maki saw Tsumugi cast one last, desperate look towards her, but it was too late. The gates swung open.

"Fifth pair ready!"

Tsumugi disappeared into the dark of the Forest.

Maki tried to look for Shuichi, but he'd vanished, presumably back to his group ready to enter next. Instead, she trudged back to the stands, and sat, watching the list of competitors. If they surrendered, their name would be crossed off, but what if they were dead ? Maki wasn't sure they had a precaution for that.

She stood up again. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Maki, where are you going?" Kaede asked.

"Don't tell a soul," she replied, climbing down and, making sure no teachers were looking in her direction, sprinting out of sight.

She dove behind a bush, pausing to think. She couldn't leave Tsumugi in there alone. But she couldn't get in because of the guards and mogrif shield. But… could you use magic through the shield? Could you use magic while mogrified?

Maki pulled some paper from her bag and jotted down a quick message. Then, leaving her stuff in the bush, she turned into a magpie and shot straight up into the air, note in her mouth. Even if she couldn't get in, she could at least watch from outside, instead of sitting around twiddling her thumbs.

Magpie-Maki flew over the mogrif barrier, scanning the forest below. She was pretty sure, somewhen in Tsumugi's flurry of words, she'd said she was meeting Kaito at Tulip Garden. Maki didn't know exactly where that was, but she knew it was past the brook, so that was a good place to start. But did Tsumugi know that? If she didn't know where to find it, she could be anywhere. That was why Maki had written a note. It may or may not be able to pass through the barrier, but it was worth a try.

There was a scream from below. White sparks sprayed into the sky. Maki turned to the list of names, alarmed. Sayaka had surrendered.

Maki hastened her search. If Sayaka had run into trouble that quickly, Tsumugi could too.

She glided over Turquoise Thicket, her eyes peeled, Sayaka’s scream thundering in her head. Until, as her eyes were starting to get tired from squinting through the dark, she spotted a blur of blue hair. There was only one blue-haired girl in the Forest now.

Maki dived down towards Tsumugi. She could now just about make out the shine of her glasses, and the red handkerchief she was massaging in her palms like a safety blanket. She dropped a little lower, trying to judge where the mogrif shield started. It was even harder to distinguish further from any light. She flew a little lower. Lower still…

CRACK! A barrier of flames exploded across the sky, only inches away from Maki’s wing. She flinched away, grateful for how much practice she’d gotten flying up to Tsumugi’s window. She remembered what Kaede had said: The mogrif shield will burn any mogrif that tries to enter. So that’s what that looked like.

Tsumugi must have heard the noise, because she instinctively covered her head. When no deadly attack reigned down on her from the sky, she cautiously peered up.

Maki considered the paper in her beak, then the space in the air the flames had been. She just had to hope the mogrif shield only ignited mogrifs. Hovering carefully over Tsumugi’s head, she let go of the note.

It passed through the barrier unsinged, and floated downwards into Tsumugi’s hand. She unfurled it and read.

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

Go to the Tulip Garden. Once your finger glows, put a tulip bud under your tongue and mogrify. You’ll turn into a baby tulip. I’ll lead you, just watch me. Hurry.

Maki

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

Maki watched Tsumugi’s shoulders slump with relief as she tucked the handkerchief away in her pocket. Checking Tsumugi had sight of her, Maki led the way towards the brook, keeping clear of the mogrif shield beneath her. 

It was a task that seemed easy in her head, but in reality was nigh impossible. For one, Maki couldn’t see a reasonable trail in the direction they needed to go, so led Tsumugi into the overgrowth. This meant traversal was slow, Tsumugi tripping over shrubs and stumps, ducking under stabbing boughs, and sprinting through tentacles of blue leaves until she found a few more seconds of clear ground. The trees below also meant that Tsumugi disappeared easily, camouflaging with the dark blue of the forest at night.

Just as the dense trees started to thin, they ran into their first obstacle.

From where Maki was hovering, it looked as if Tsumugi had run into a little red riding hood. “Excuse me?” Tsumugi called, as the stranger blocked her path. “I need to pass.”

The red-headed figure looked up. It wasn’t a child at all. She had wrinkled, spotted cheeks, and grey hair pulled into two bunches. Maki squinted, trying to identify her. The rules had warned that the faculty had left their own obstacles… Was this one of them?

Tsumugi stepped towards the old woman. “I said, I need to pass.”

The stranger dropped her red cloak and revealed a feathered, humanoid body with huge hawk wings. Tsumugi shrank back, them swivelled as two more bird-women emerged from the trees either side of her.

Now Maki recognised them. Harpies.

She watched, at a loss for what to do, as all three harpies drew gnarled talons, sharp as blades. As Tsumugi continued to stumble back, Maki tried to replay the lesson in her head, but all she could remember was being warned to stay away from harpies, which didn’t help at all now. Come on, she had to have learnt how to fight the damned things. 

Harpies are human vultures, said to be the spirits of winds during a storm. They flock to the lost and frail in the forest, especially children too weak to defend themselves, and carry them back to their nests to eat. They were strongest when it was dark and cold, so surely…

They pounced on Tsumugi with terrible screams, and she narrowly ducked under their wing, running straight into another, all swarming her like flies to a rotting carcass. They snapped at her neck, her dress catching on a rock and knocking her into the mulch. Claws sank into her back, lifting her from the ground as she flailed for her handkerchief–

The thicket lit up with a flash of light.

There was a cry of pain from one of the harpies, and the others shrieked in confusion, dropping Tsumugi into the dirt. Maki’s wingtip glowed purposefully as she shot another ball of light at them, dispersing the herd enough that Tsumugi could spring up and dive for cover in the bushes. It wasn’t anything impressive - she still hadn’t learned how to make proper fire yet - but the warmth of her light flashes did the trick to distract them.

By now, the confused harpies' eyes had all landed on Maki. She sensed danger a little too late. Two of the creatures took flight again, shooting upwards towards her.

“Fly!” she heard Tsumugi scream at her from below, but she’d been so distracted with protecting Tsumugi, she’d suddenly forgotten how. Where was she even meant to fly to ? The harpies barreled upwards, five times Maki’s size, gnashing towards her with pointed teeth and clicking claws, until almost close enough to grab her-

Flames exploded across the barrier with a cruel crack and they fell, charred feathers and flesh.

The last harpy gawked at their smoking bodies. Slowly it looked up. Maki hovered above the mogrif shield, hardly believing her luck. Whatever magic the mogrif barrier was made from, it was enough to stop harpies too. She raised her wing, ready to shoot another beam of light.

Tsumugi smashed its head with a rock.

In the forest’s silence, she panted for a second, shaking in her now torn dress. Then she looked up, glaring into the sky.

“I want to switch places!”

Maki couldn’t respond to that even if she wanted to. Instead, trying to pull herself back together, she continued on towards the Pumpkin Patch, Tsumugi following miserably.

Tsumugi crossed the brook with much deliberation, clearly unwilling to get her socks wet. Once she was on the other side, they found a trail leading into the patch. Pumpkins fluoresced a thousand shades of blue around Tsumugi, lighting her up among the glowing orbs. At least it was quiet now. The only company as far as Maki could see were the fields of scarecrows, as harmless as those in the farms of Gavaldon.

Tsumugi didn’t seem to agree with that sentiment.

As the dirt trail led between the scarecrows, Tsumugi had stopped, her eyes wide, tiptoeing towards a scarecrow with her hand outstretched. “...Mother…?”

Maki didn’t have the slightest idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was worrying. She squawked loudly, trying to snap Tsumugi out of it, but she’d entered a kind of trance. Maki squawked again. She shot a beam of light at Tsumugi. Nothing. She continued to walk forward, reaching out, mumbling, until she tripped on a pumpkin and fell to the floor.

“Mother, please!” she cried, cowering, covering her head as if she was being surrounded by invisible attackers. Maki’s mind stumbled over all the spells she knew, trying to find one that might help…

Weather manipulation.

Tsumugi’s pupils focused again, as torrential rain poured down on her, the scarecrows dropping and crumbling to the ground. She looked around her, confused, then up, as Maki waved her wing again and the storm ceased.

There was silence. Tsumugi stayed crumbled on the flooded path for a few moments.

“I can’t… I can’t survive this…”

Howls in the distance. The next pair had entered the Forest.

Maki flapped her wings urgently, as Tsumugi stumbled back to her feet. They couldn’t afford to hang around. The worst thing that could happen now was Tsumugi running into any students.

The minutes ticked on, as they continued to travel. Maki had never flown for this long before, and was starting to feel exhausted. She wasn’t sure whether the ache in her wings would transfer to her arms when she was human again, but whatever the case, having to constantly move just to stay in the air was a huge pain. It made sense why birds were always sitting on things. But as much as she wanted to rest, all the trees stopped beneath the mogrif shield, so she had no choice.

If only there was a way to get closer… she’d be able to tell what was going on, instead of just flinging spells around until something worked.

Tsumugi made it out of the Pumpkin Patch without further incident, though she kept pausing to brush the dirt off her uniform. Maki flew up a bit higher to get a view over the forest, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that Tulip Garden was now in sight. Not much further and Tsumugi could rest, and she could find somewhere to land and get her energy back. They just had to travel through the Sleeping Willows first.

The long, thin trail through the Sleeping Willows sloped downhill, Maki’s eyes darting around for the next threat as Tsumugi climbed down. But the sapphire trees stood sentinel along the trail, long dangling branches glittering like chains. It seemed perfectly at peace.

Don’t be fooled , Maki reminded herself. She’d thought the Pumpkin Patch was safe too, but clearly whatever threat lurked there was invisible to her. Just because she couldn’t see a beast, didn’t mean nothing could hurt her.

Wolves howled at the gates again. Two more entered the forest. Maki tried to remember the order, but wasn’t sure. Was it Shuichi now? No, he was in the last group, right? So maybe it was Hiyoko? And who?

Tsumugi sped up a little, and as she did so, starry willow leaves fell down around her in comets of light. Then, she started to slow. And slow more.

Maki squinted down as Tsumugi slowed to a stumbling limp. What was happening now? She managed barely a few more steps, before collapsing to the floor.

It took Maki a second to catch up. Sleeping Willows. Duh. She was so stupid.

Instinctively remembering the last spell she used, Maki waved her wing and cast down a shower of rain. Tsumugi didn’t stir. Okay, next plan. Maki tried snow. No response. She’d never done thunder before, but she tried that too. The willows were clearly too powerful for Tsumugi to wake up by normal means.

She watched leaves still drifting down on Tsumugi. Compared to the rest of the forest, they shed more specifically around her, like a swarm of flies around rotting fruit. So maybe…

Maki tried another weather spell. Wind.

Tsumugi’s eyes peeked open as the leaves were swept away from her. Sensing her escape, the willows seemed to try harder, but Maki matched their effort, as Tsumugi dug her fingernails into the ground and pushed herself up a few inches.

But just as Maki was sure she’d found the solution to this problem too, she spotted something. Something that made her heart stop for a second.

She stopped her spell, letting out a screech to get Tsumugi’s attention, who was crawling across the ground to get out of the willows’ range. Before Tsumugi could figure out what Maki was trying to tell her, an arrow whizzed past her ear.

Tsumugi looked up to see Mukuro, crossbow in hand, aimed at her from the bushes.

“Hey! Wait, don’t shoot at me!” she yelped. “We’re on the same side, remember?”

“Don’t scream at me,” Mukuro replied coldly. “Junko sent me to take care of you. She’s fine with you swapping schools, but you’re starting a whole reform now.”

“It’s not my fault I’m so beautiful and cool!” Tsumugi retorted. Mukuro closed one eye, aiming her crossbow, and Tsumugi inched away. “You’re not allowed to kill me!”

“Surrender then.”

Before Mukuro could fire another arrow, Maki cast her rain spell, hoping to distract her. It worked, causing Mukuro to look up for the source of the magic. Tsumugi took her chance and tried to run, but the willows were still assaulting her, causing her to stumble. She tripped on the slope, losing her balance and tumbling down the hill. Maki stopped her spell again to dive after her.

At the bottom of the Sleeping Willows trail, Tsumugi finally came to a stop. She pushed herself back up, far enough from the trees to get her energy back. They were so close to the Tulip Garden now. Maki whizzed on, encouraging her to run, and she tried, but made it no more than a few steps before her path was blocked.

“And now, foolish mortal, you meet your downfall.”

Gundham Tanaka drew his sword. Tsumugi instantly changed tact. “I’m Good! I’m on your side!”

“You’re a nuisance, is what you are!” Hiyoko said, appearing from the left. “What the heck do you think you’re doing, manipulating a prince into loving you? Hurry up and surrender and we can be done with all this.”

“As much as I hate to agree with an Ever, you’d be doing us all a favor,” a blond Never with glasses said, appearing from the right.

Tsumugi tried to back away, but Mukuro appeared from behind her, catching up. Maki considered her options - any weather spells she cast were just as likely to distract Tsumugi as they were her attackers. There had to be something useful she could do, but she couldn’t think of anything. Stupid her with her stupid Ever spells. All they were good for was wishy-washy things like casting sunshine and turning into a dove.

Mukuro lunged at her, and Tsumugi, letting out a terrified squeak, shrank into a blue fox and darted out of the way. Gundham, following her lead, mogrfied into a leopard, making chase as Tsumugi’s uncoordinated paws slipped on the tulips leading into the gardens.

Another flash of light, and she mogrified again, this time a blue gazelle. A ball of fire shot across the forest, igniting the flowers and blocking her path. Maki reacted immediately - another downpour of rain extinguished the ground again, as Tsumugi mogrified a third time, disappearing into the grass as a blue rattlesnake. Gundham returned to human and whistled - two large dogs ran from the trees to his side. As he pointed, they pounced into the grass where Tsumugi disappeared, pulling her from the ground triumphantly–

A flash of light, and Tsumugi the elephant careened through the field, trumpeting in terror. Mukuro fired another arrow, which hit her leg, and she stumbled and lost her balance. She turned, helplessly cornered, the weather sporadically changing from rain, to snow, to thunder, to wind, to rain again in the hopes that something would help.

One last mogrification, and Tsumugi was a cuckoo, making one last bid for freedom. She spread her wings, up, up, up, and…

Mukuro grabbed her from the sky.

Maki watched in horror as Tsumugi flailed in her hand, clearly trying and failing to mogrify again. Mukuro’s hand tightened around her neck. “I gave you a chance, you know? To surrender. Too bad.”

Her eyes flicked from Tsumugi, struggling for breath, clasped in Mukuro’s hands, to the faint outline of the mogrif shield separating her from them. Maki had seen what it did when she got close… and yet… there was no choice. She wasn’t going to let Tsumugi just die.

She took a deep breath. If Tsumugi was gonna die here, she’d die here too.

Maki plunged through the barrier, flames igniting the sky. She felt burning pain crash through her body, heat filling her small lungs, but she continued to dive, tucking in her flaming wings and shooting through the sky like a missile. Just as Mukuro watched Tsumugi lose the energy to struggle, Maki the magpie, body aflame, thieved Tsumugi from her hand and tore up through the frigid sky.

Tearing between trees, Maki flew on for as long as she could manage, dropping closer to the ground with every flap of her wings as the weight of Tsumugi dragged her down, and the searing pain overcame the power of her adrenaline. When her wings finally gave out, she plunged into a dark pine glen, birds smashing to the ground, tumbling over each other, snuffing out the flames.

Tsumugi now free from her grasp, and neither with the energy to continue, they both morphed back to human. Maki knew she had to mogrify again - they were probably still being pursued, though she had no way to check, and if she was spotted in the forest…

But, groaning in pain, she couldn’t manage to make her finger do more than flicker.

Footsteps thundered in their direction, and both girls shrunk back into the bushes, pine needles prickling Maki’s burnt skin. Mukuro appeared in the glen, followed by the others.

“Told you she landed in the pumpkins,” Hiyoko complained.

“I saw them go this way,” Mukuro replied, looking around.

Gundham raised an eyebrow, cradling an injured dog in his arms. “Your intel means nothing when it comes from your kind. Once my minions have recovered, I shall send them to search.”

“This is pointless,” the other Never commented.

“If we don’t know where they went, I’d be better off eliminating you too,” Mukuro added, raising her crossbow at Hiyoko. Her eyes went wide, and she made a run for it, Gundham reluctantly following. With a final glance around the glen yielding no result, the two Nevers disappeared as well, leaving Maki and Tsumugi in complete silence once again.

Maki tried to push herself up, but she was paralysed with pain. Instead, she curled over, glimpsing her bare arms, blistered with burns. She heard Tsumugi gasp.

“You look awful! ” Tsumugi said. “This tournament is a nightmare. A terrible, awful nightmare. What are you going to do now? You can’t exactly get out again.”

“We’re right by Tulip Garden,” Maki mumbled. “If we can get back to the flowers, we can mogrify again and wait out the rest of the night until Kaito shows up.”

“You mean you’ll stay with me?” Tsumugi asked, sounding relieved.

Maki managed to look up at her. “Better together than alone.”

The wolves howled again. New people entered the forest. 

Outside the Forest gates, the unchosen Evers and Nevers waited for Tsumugi’s name to vanish off the scoreboard like Sayaka’s had. But as the hours passed and more names vanished - Rantaro, Byakuya, Kyoko, Gundham, Mukuro, Hiyoko, Celestia, Kirumi, Kokichi - Tsumugi’s stubbornly remained.

Had Tsumugi and Kaito united? What would their victory mean? A prince and witch… together?

Well, there were only two things. Either Tsumugi was Good… or Good and Evil could really love each other.

As the hours passed, Good and Evil shared looks across the Clearing - first threatened…then curious… then hopeful… and before they knew it, they were drifting into each other’s sides, sharing blankets, crepes, and cherry grenadine. After all, if someone like Tsumugi, who ranked high enough in Evil lessons to get into the Trial by Tale in the first place, could really love a prince…. Perhaps the divide between the two sides didn’t really matter.

Inside the cold pine glen, two shrubs waited.

Maki had intended to mogrify as a tulip with Tsumugi, but as the minutes ticked past and she still couldn’t find the energy to walk, she decided they didn’t have enough time to waste it like this.

“Go mogrify over there, I’ll wait here,” she told Tsumugi. But Tsumugi wouldn’t budge.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. I’ll die .”

That’s how they ended up here, mogrified into shrubs, waiting just out of sight. It could’ve been worse, Maki supposed. They made it this far. When Kaito arrived, Tsumugi could just climb out to see him.

So they waited through the silence, split open by screams. They waited through sounds of classmates fighting enemies and betraying friends. They waited as red and white sparks painted the sky, until only four competitors remained.

Then the Blue Forest went quiet for a very long time.

Hunger tore at Maki’s stomach. Cold glazed her leaves with frost. Her body still burned with a vague agony, even though she no longer had the body parts to feel it. But the two plants stayed rooted until the sky bruised blue. Not long now until the sun broke through…

Kaito limped into the glen.

His jacket was torn, his shield brutally dented and his chest streaked with welts and blood, his sword hanging loosely in his hand. Maki’s leaves recoiled. She’d assumed he was with Shuichi… the idea of him being alone this whole time was almost horrifying.

“Tsumugi,” she whispered. “Go to him!”

“When the sun comes up,” Tsumugi whispered back.

Maki bristled in confusion. “He needs to at least know you’re okay.”

“He’ll know in a few more minutes. I’m not stepping out until we’ve won.”

Kaito turned towards them. “Who’s there?”

A shadow loomed from behind Maki, and she watched a heeled boot step over her. “Where’s your witch?” Junko asked as she stepped into view.

Maki watched Kaito’s eyes flick to the scoreboard, then back to Junko, raising his sword defensively. “Safe.”

“Ah, I see. So much for your little team, huh?” Junko laughed.

Kaito tensed. “She knows I’m safe too. Otherwise she’d be here to fight with me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“That’s what makes us Good, Junko,” Kaito said confidently, his usual grin distorted across his pained face. “We trust. We protect. We love. What do you have?”

Junko smiled. “ Bait .”

She thrust out her glowing fingertip, and something under her shoulders, behind her clothes, started to move. Kaito backed up in shock as she tipped her head forwards, the base of her neck swelling in a mound like a creature was growing from under her skin. It grew tighter, tighter, stretching out like it was trying to escape, until the skin finally burst.

A bear climbed out from under Junko’s skin. If Maki hadn’t just watched where it came from, she would’ve assumed it was a teddy bear, with a strange monochrome pattern. Junko straightened back out, the bear climbing into her arms.

“I’d like to introduce you to Monokuma,” Junko said.

Sharp metal talons extended from the bear’s paws. Its mouth opened to show teeth glinting, sharper than knives.

The color drained from Kaito’s skin.

The bear jumped from Junko’s arms towards him, instantly doubling in size. Kaito stabbed his sword at its head, but the bear didn’t seem fazed, reaching up and grabbing Excalibur between its claws and pulling it, dragging Kaito closer. With a cry, Kaito tried to fling the bear away, but it raised an arm and one of the claws shot from its paw, piercing directly into Kaito’s thigh.

Maki cringed, as Kaito screamed and launched the bear backwards. The metal spike still dug into his thigh, he grabbed the branch of a nearby tree, trying to climb up to safety.

Junko burst into hysterical laughter, the bear copying her in a distorted mimic. “What happened to the future heir of Camelot? Now he’s climbing in a tree like a monkey!”

Maki’s shrub whipped to Tsumugi. “Help him!”

“And end up in five pieces?” Tsumugi shot back.

“He needs you!”

“He needs me to be safe!”

The bear hurled another claw at Kaito, and he jumped just in time to reach a higher branch, hooking his sword over it like a handlebar. The bear grabbed onto the trunk of the tree, climbing up the side with ease. Trapped, Kaito glanced down at Junko, who was swaying slightly with the effort of controlling the bear. His eyes widened, noticing something, and Maki followed his gaze.

A red handkerchief. In her boot.

Collapsing onto the branch below Kaito, the bear rolled over, firing a claw from all four of its paws, aiming at his organs. He straightened up, and with unreasonable confidence given what he was trying to pull off, he leapt from the tree and rolled onto the ground with a sickening crack.

Junko backed away as Kaito crawled towards her, and clicked her fingers. The bear jumped down, new claws extending from its paws with a shing . Eyes focused on Junko’s feet, Kaito stabbed Excalibur into the dirt, and used it as leverage to pull himself forward, groaning.

The bear didn’t just fire claws this time. Approaching Kaito, its arms began to detach, each brandishing three claws aimed at the back of his neck. This time there would be no mistake. Junko smiled as she clicked her fingers again, the limbs firing like missiles straight at him. Maki held her breath, eyes on Kaito’s outstretched hand…

Junko’s mouth opened in horror as Kaito pinned her surrender handkerchief to the ground. The arms clinked limply to the ground, and the bear’s body vanished in a trail of red sparks. Then Junko vanished too, eyes shocked wide.

Kaito collapsed on his back. Heaving for breath, he squinted into the pink sky, his sword lying by his side. The sun was coming.

“Tsumugi,” he croaked.

He took a deep breath.

“TSUMUGI!”

Maki’s leaves drooped with relief. He might be injured, but he still had enough spirit left to call out. Now, the two of them could win together, just as was planned…

Then she saw Tsumugi pruning her leaves.

“What are yo- Go , you idiot!”

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere until the sun rises. He’s a prince, I’m a princess. He’s the one saving me.”

“At least call to him so he know-” Maki stopped before she could finish her sentence.

On the ground, one of the bear arms hadn’t vanished. It flickered, willing itself to stay, inching along the grass with its claws. Towards Kaito.

“Tsumugi- Tsumugi, go-” Maki hissed desperately.

“Sun will be up any minute-”

“Tsumugi, go! ”

The arm lunged for Kaito, and Tsumugi gasped. It landed on his chest, sending his sword sliding across the grass out of reach. He struggled, pushing it away from him, but it was clearly stronger than he was.

Kaito wrestled. Claw inches from his heart. Tsumugi shifted her leaves so she didn’t have to watch-

Maki leapt from the shrubs, human again, barreling towards Kaito’s sword. Her legs gave out as she reached it, but she caught the handle with her fingertips, forcing herself close enough she could grab it. She could do this. One last bit of energy.

“Kaito!” she shouted, and both prince and bear arm paused in shock as she launched the sword towards them. It arched through the air, spinning around just right that the handle fell into Kaito’s outstretched hand.

He swung the sword across his chest, and the paw split in half, before fragmenting into red dust.

The forest fell silent once again.

Kaito pulled himself to his feet, looking down at Maki on the ground in front of him. “Huh!?” She lifted her face from the dirt, not even caring how badly she’d fucked up now. “But… you’re not even in… what are you…?”

Then he noticed the shivering shrub behind her. Tsumugi, realising she had no way to hide now, stepped from the bushes. “Oh, Kaito, I’m so glad you’re okay! You had me so worried!”

He looked back and forth, from Tsumugi to Maki to Tsumugi. “You… You cheated?”

“I didn’t have a choice, I would’ve died otherwise,” Tsumugi said quickly. “But it’s alright now! We’ve won, haven’t we?”

“You said you’d fight with me!” he shouted, eyes locked on Tsumugi. “You said you’d have my back!”

“I knew you’d be fine, you’re the future King of Camelot for heaven’s sake…” She turned to Maki. “Maki, help me out here!”

“Now really isn’t the time…” Maki mumbled, managing somehow to get to her feet too. “You were injured, right Kaito?”

Kaito ignored her completely. “You lied to me!” he said, his voice breaking. “I thought I could trust you and you just sat there…”

“You can trust me!” Tsumugi had gone from unbothered to confused. “But Kaito, no princess would risk her own life. I mean, you can’t have True Love if I’m dead! Even your truest love wouldn’t do something so stupid-”

“Then why did she? ”

Tsumugi’s eyes followed Kaito’s finger to Maki.

“Can we just stop this already?” Maki snapped. “Kaito, you’ve got a spike in your leg! ”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Tsumugi said, her voice shaking. “I was scared. You have no idea how hard it's been… I just didn’t want to get hurt any more…” She stepped towards Kaito. “But it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

Kaito frowned at her. “I guess…” he said, but he sounded far from sure.

“Kaito you need first aid and-” Maki tried to say, taking a few steps towards Kaito, but Tsumugi cut her off.

“He’s my prince. I’ll take care of him.”

Kaito shook his head. “Actually, I’d far rather Maki took care of me right now.”

Tsumugi looked like someone had stabbed her through the heart with a knife. “But you love me, don’t you?”

There was a rustling sound in the bushes. All three whipped their heads around, prepared for another fight.

It was Shuichi.

He wasn’t as injured as Kaito looked when he first arrived here, but was still battered and tired. He took in the scene, pausing on Maki for slightly longer than the other two.

Tsumugi looked more exasperated now than scared or relieved. “You’re still here?” she asked, glancing up at the scoreboard. “I know this might seem mean to ask, but do you mind surrendering? It’s just, me and Kaito have a point to prove and…”

“Kaito, step away from her,” Shuichi said, glaring at Tsumugi.

“Huh?” Kaito gave his sidekick a confused look, and Tsumugi reflected it. Maki wasn’t sure what was happening any more.

Shuichi reached a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper, leaving his handkerchief hanging out in the process. He unfolded it and held it up.

“Maki found this in your room,” he said evenly, not looking away from Tsumugi. “It’s the ingredients for a love potion. ”

A… A what…? Maki wasn’t sure she’d heard that right. The textbook page she’d found… was for a love potion? But that meant…

“No!” Tsumugi said, her voice a higher pitch than usual. “No, no no no, you’ve got me all wrong! This is a huge misunderstanding!”

“You gave Kaito… a love potion?” Maki asked, raising her eyes to Tsumugi.

“She… what… what… ?” Kaito said, thrown off completely, also turning to Tsumugi now.

“It’s not what it looks like, okay!” Tsumugi squeaked, panicking now. “I know it looks bad but hear me out, please!” When no one spoke, she continued. “Okay, so maybe I gave him a teensy bit of encouragement! But it’s just because I knew we were meant to be and he didn’t even notice me, so if he just gave me a chance he’d fall for me for real and we could be together forever! There’s nothing bad about that! I haven’t done anything with him! We haven’t even kissed, I made sure of that, because that’d be Evil and I’m not Evil, I just wanted a chance and I got a chance and it all worked out, see?”

Kaito looked shell shocked. Maki felt sick. She should have known. She knew something was wrong, she felt it, and she spent the whole time ignoring it because it didn’t make any sense to her. She was so stupid. But how could Tsumugi do something like that? Tsumugi, who was a good person with a few flaws. A good person who made mistakes.

Giving someone a love potion was more than a mistake. Maki knew that.

“A-Anyway!” Tsumugi continued. “I didn’t give him any potion yesterday, so that it wore off during the Trial by Tale! He’s not even under the influence of it anymore. And he still loves me, right? Don’t you?” She whipped around to Kaito, desperate. “You still love me! You have to! You called my name when you collapsed on the floor, you came here to find me, you have to…” She stepped towards him, and Shuichi raised his finger, glowing.

“Don’t go anywhere near him, witch.”

Tsumugi turned to face Shuichi. For a second, it looked like she was going to start reasoning with Shuichi too, pleading with him for why it wasn’t that bad and it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t do anything wrong. But then, something flashed through her eyes. An expression that chilled Maki right to the bone.

She lunged at Shuichi, ripping his handkerchief from his pocket and flinging it to the ground. “Mind your own damned business for once!”

In a flash of white light, Shuichi was gone.

There was silence in the clearing, three heads lit by the pink glow of early sunrise. Tsumugi stared at the spot where Shuichi had stood, her shoulders rising and falling. Then, her face returning to normal Tsumugi again, she looked back at Kaito.

“You still love me, right…?” she asked, hopefully.

Kaito glared at her. Even if he still didn’t understand what was going on, everything that had happened told him enough. “How dare you use me like that!” he shouted. Tsumugi shrank back. “You- You can’t just- just control me however you see fit! That’s not True Love or a Happy Ending, that’s- that’s terrible!” His voice was shaking now, in a way Maki had never heard from him before. “I should’ve known you were in the right school all along.”

“But-” Tsumugi’s wide eyes flicked Maki, begging her to side with her, like she always did. Loyal Maki, who cared for no one but Tsumugi, who had no need for stupid fights and drama and morals. Maki who had been there the whole time, protecting her and getting her out of mess after mess.

Maki backed away from Tsumugi, towards Kaito. She felt disgusted . After everything she did… Tsumugi was lying to her too. Hiding things from her. Using her. Using everyone.

“No… No, Maki, you don’t understand…” she begged. But before Tsumugi could attempt to defend herself again, sunlight exploded into the glen and washed her body in gold.

Wolves howled at the gates. Sounds of children and footsteps thundering through the Forest.

“They did it!”

“They won!”

“Tsumugi and Kaito won!”

Bodies burst into the glen. Panicked, Maki lit up her finger and her magpie flew away just as the students flooded into view…

“The School Master was proven wro-”

The Forest went quiet.

From a tree, Maki looked down at the unchosen Evers and Nevers surge in, then the fallen competitors, healed and cleaned by magic… all frozen as they took in the scene.

Tsumugi, staring at Kaito as if she’d just been slapped. Kaito, glaring back at her, eyes filled with anger and hurt.

And they knew the real conclusion to Kaito’s agreement with the School Master. For there was no evidence of True Love here. No happy conclusion of Tsumugi’s princesshood.

Ever and Nevers shifted apart, enemies eternal.

Neither side could hear the scratching of a pen, illustrating the scene in fresh ink. Nor could they see the School Master, watching the story unfold, smiling in the light of a new day.

Chapter Text

Maki stared out of her window, across the bay drenched with late January fog. The Blue Forest had already returned to normal, no longer adorned with the decoration of the Trial. It was almost as if it had never happened… but Maki knew better.

"Tell her you got into a fight with a gargoyle again!" Kaede suggested, a hint of desperation in her voice. Maki shook her head.

"I'm fine."

Whilst all the competitors of the Trial by Tale got healed, some good as new and others on track for a fast recovery, Maki had skulked away to her dorm. She couldn't tell the teachers she'd been there. She wouldn't tell the teachers she'd been there. So in lue of a magical recovery, Maki instead lied about having Pixie Pox, and stayed in her room. All day. She didn’t even have company anymore, because the fairies moved Kaede to Sonia’s room until Maki was better, meaning she couldn’t make more than brief visits to check on her.

She knew it was stupid of her to be so stubborn about not getting help. Kaede was right, she could make up any number of reasons she got hurt. Maybe she was just wallowing in misery too much to care. If anything, the blisters were an excuse to hurt. A physical expression of the pain in a way she could understand.

She felt like she was stuck in a mental loop. Cooped up alone, Maki's head went round in circles, on the same thought process again and again. How could Tsumugi do this? Maybe it's not real? But she admitted it! But she said she was only trying to prompt him to talk to her more. And she intentionally didn't take advantage of him. But she did! Even if she didn't lay a finger on him, she still messed with Kaito's free will and that's gross! But maybe she didn't realise that? And therefore it wasn't a malicious Evil thing to do, it was just a really stupid one. But what about that look she'd had in her eyes when she'd grabbed Shuichi's handkerchief? But that's not like Tsumugi at all! Or was it?

But all of that was ignoring the biggest thing of all. She was so close to going home. If things had only gone a little different, then maybe she would be going home. If Tsumugi had just been a little more heroic at the last minute, maybe Kaito would've kissed her for real.

Maki shook her head. God, she was no better than Tsumugi if she thought like that. Kaito was a person , not a thing for Tsumugi to win. Maybe if she did this he'd love her, maybe if she did that he'd kiss her… where was the bit where she considered how he felt? He clearly didn't love Tsumugi. Maki still remembered the look on his face as the sun rose.

Now, out of the window, the sun was setting again. And she was still here.

If this was all a fairytale… what, logically, happens next? What's the next plot beat? If the ending wasn't Maki going home and Tsumugi swapping schools, what was it? And who was the bad guy in their story? It didn't make any sense.

There was an urgent knock on the door. Kaede glanced at the clock, and then at Maki. They rarely ever had visitors, especially at this hour. It was past curfew, after all.

"Hello?" Kaede said, opening the door, before freezing. "K-Kaito!?"

Maki shot up and hit her head on the curtain rail.

"You're not meant to be here!" Kaede exclaimed. "This is the girls' tower! And we're meant to be in our rooms-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kaito said hurriedly. "Can I just come in though? Before someone sees me?"

"I- But-" Kaede spluttered. "You're not allowed in the girls' rooms!"

"I need to speak to Maki. Please?"

Kaede paused, turning to look at Maki again. She was a total mess, in her pyjamas and covered in half-healed scabs, but she knew she probably ought to talk to Kaito. And unlike before, she now had no moral obligation to avoid him. She nodded, sighing.

"Fine," Kaede said, pulling back the door to let Kaito in. "But don't touch anything."

Kaito entered, looking around the room until he spotted Maki, dangling off the windowsill. "Uh, hi," he said with an awkward grin.

Maki looked at the floor. "What do you want?"

"Well, firstly, I brought you something," he said, walking towards her. For a second, Maki was alarmed - what the hell would he be giving her? But then he held out a round bottle, and she read the label.

Maid Marian’s Signature Sherwood Forest Healing Cream

"You didn't show up to lessons, so I figured you were holed up in here. And you looked like you'd been through hell before, so… I nabbed some from the nurse's tent a few minutes ago."

Maki looked up to him, and he smiled, looking satisfied with himself. "You didn't… have to do that," she mumbled.

"You didn't have to jump out and save me from Junko's bear thing, but you still did," Kaito replied light-heartedly. Maki frowned.

"Of course I had to. You were gonna die. Besides, I didn't do much saving. I just chucked you your sword. You saved yourself."

Kaito thought about it. "Well, yeah, that's true. I'm really great at fighting and totally pulled off defeating her. But that was a surprise attack! That's what a hero needs sidekicks and stuff for. And why a king needs his knights."

"Well, call me when you're recruiting for the round table," she said sarcastically.

Maki spotted Kaede smiling out of the corner of her eye. She turned to her and gave her a very pointed glare.

"Oh, do you guys want some privacy?" Kaede peeped, jumping up. "Probably time I get back to my own bed anyway. See you!"

"Wait, no, Kaede-" Maki tried to say, but it was too late. The door closed behind her, leaving just Maki and Kaito.

There was an awkward silence. Maki opened and closed the tub of healing cream agitatedly.

"So, uh!" Kaito said, breaking the silence. "Shuichi told me some stuff. Y'know, explained what happened and everything… But he didn't know why you were in the Trial by Tale, so is there a story behind that or..?"

"It's not very exciting," Maki replied heavily. "I…" She fully planned on telling him everything, but there was something more important weighing on her first. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Kaito blinked at her. "For what?"

"For helping Tsumugi." Maki picked at the bottle lid. "For ignoring all the red flags. For not noticing what she was doing. For trying to get you together and not considering your feelings. For avoiding you and not telling you why. For letting all this happen. And for still being torn about whether or not she's my friend."

“Oh,” Kaito said. “In that case, I forgive you. Besides, I’m fine now, see?”

Maki couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or just acting cool. But there was nothing she could really do about that. For the next few minutes, Maki tried her best to explain everything that had happened, right from the beginning. How she and Tsumugi had ended up in the school. How Tsumugi wanted to swap schools and Maki wanted to go home. How Tsumugi tried and failed to prove she was Good and befriend the Evers. How she’d claimed Kaito was her True Love and seemed jealous of Maki whenever she talked to him. How she’d been giving Tsumugi her food and doing her homework and tutoring her so she could get decent ranks in class. How she’d told Maki to stay away from Kaito.

But when she got to the Trial by Tale, she hesitated. She wasn’t sure she wanted him to know about what the School Master had said. 

“I, uh… I couldn’t stand to sit outside and do nothing while she was in danger, so I tried to fly over the mogrif barrier and guide her. But she was attacked by some students, which is why I dived in and ended up involved,” she finished, carefully dodging the subject of fairytales.

“What, so you just like, swooped in?” Kaito asked, gesturing with his hand. Maki nodded. “That’s kinda badass! I mean, not a good idea, but badass.”

Maki scrunched up her nose. “Are princes meant to say stuff like that?”

“As long as you don’t report it to the press, I think I’ll be okay,” Kaito replied, laughing.

“What am I meant to do now?” Maki asked. She couldn’t believe she was asking Kaito for advice, but since it involved him the most, it made sense. “With that whole plan torn apart, I’m back to square one on going home.”

Kaito thought for a second, then shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea.”

“Should I try talking to her?”

“If you do, I wanna come,” Kaito replied quickly. Maki looked up at him.

“Why? If I was you, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near her.”

Kaito grimaced. “Well, yeah, but… I just want to.”

Maki stared at him for a bit, and Kaito stared unwaveringly back. It seemed he didn’t plan on explaining himself. “Okay.” Then she narrowed her eyes at him a bit. This whole exchange… was weird, for a reason Maki couldn’t pinpoint until now. Then she realised, it was because they were having… a normal, complex discussion. Not an argument or a lighthearted joke or Kaito shouting a bunch of stuff while she and Shuichi exchanged looks. Just like when they’d been stargazing. That was when it had occurred to her before that he was just a guy. Some dude.

So given that was true…

“Kaito, are you… sure you’re okay?”

He gave her a puzzled look. “Uh, yeah?”

She stared at him for a bit longer. He smiled, as if reaffirming his point. Well, she couldn't make him talk if he didn't want to. "What's happened since then?" She asked, changing the subject again. "I mean, since the Trial by Tale ended."

Kaito looked a little relieved. "Oh, well I got two first place ranks for winning, but none of the other Evers are treating it like much of a win. They don't know what actually happened, of course, but for once the gossip is actually pretty spot on."

"And what's the gossip?"

"Basically that Tsumugi manipulated me and used dark powers to trick me into protecting her, then backstabbed me at the last second." His smile dropped a bit. "I'm mostly just getting pitied, so… could've been worse."

"That's the worst feeling," Maki mumbled, remembering how uncomfortable she felt whenever she was pitied.

Perhaps saying that encouraged Kaito, but he leaned suddenly forward. "It's not fair! Everyone's acting like it's a failure on my part that all this happened, because I'm too incompetent to notice and- I mean- am I? Obviously I know it was stupid now, but… I'm meant to…"

"Of course it's not your fault!" Maki said, appalled.

"When I was a kid, my mum cheated on my dad with his knight, and ran away. I never saw her since. Dad always told me the importance of falling for the right person." Kaito shook his head, looking stressed. "To make sure I don't make the wrong choice, for myself and also for my kingdom. And yet I let something like this happen…"

"You didn't let it happen, you were given a love potion!"

Kaito stared at her, and Maki stared forcefully back, her eyes meeting his. They were a brilliant shade of purple, like a compact galaxy.

His smile returned. "Hey, y'know, you're right! What's the point in beating yourself up about stuff anyway? All I've gotta do is try extra hard to earn back my honour!" He patted Maki on the head, who ducked slightly too late. "Sorry for getting all mopey for a second. You make a good companion, Maki-roll."

Maki bit her lip, unsure whether to make her usual snide comment or not. "So, when do you want to speak to Tsumugi?"

"When do you think makes sense?"

"Probably night-time," she replied. "That'll be most private, and it's when I usually speak to her anyway."

"In that case, how about now? If you're up for it?"

"Now?" Maki looked down at her ragged uniform, blistered skin, and the healing cream in her hand. "Depends how well this stuff works. But it should be okay."

"Okay! Stick some of that on and we can go!"

There was an awkward pause. Maki looked at him.

"Oh, right. I'll give you some privacy," Kaito said. He turned to leave, but Maki stopped him.

"Uh, I usually get to the School for Evil across Halfway Bridge. But I'm not sure that'll work for you."

Kaito thought for a second. "That's alright, I have an idea. Tell you what, once you've finished here, meet me outside the school gates."

"Outside the school gates? Why?"

"You'll see!" Kaito grinned, eyes twinkling.

Maki scaled the fence around the school with minimal difficulty, although her skirt caught and tore on the way down. If she was anything like Tsumugi, tearing her clean new dress would've sent her into tears. But for Maki, it was kind of funny.

Once at the other side, she looked around. Through the dark, dense trees, she spotted a pair of glowing eyes. Maki tensed up. A wolf?

Then she recognised the colour of them.

"Kaito, you're not fooling me."

Four paws padded out from the shadows, revealing a golden retriever with purple blotches. He mogrified back. "But I was hiding! How did you just spot me like that?"

"I forgot that the Endless Woods are full of glowing purple eyes," she replied. "Now, what's your genius plan?"

He grinned. "We follow the fence until we reach the Never side of the school, then climb back over!"

"Through the woods? That we've been specially warned to stay away from at night?"

"Normally that would be no issue for the Luminary of the Stars," Kaito said. "But I can't mogrify with Excalibur, so I had to leave it behind. So my new best plan is we both mogrify and make a run for it!"

Maki looked across at the fence, extending into the darkness. Then back at Kaito. "How good are you as a bird?" she asked.

"I've mogrified into a bird once?" Kaito suggested hopefully.

A minute later, Magpie-Maki was twittering instructions to a very wobbly purple starling, as they skimmed the forest floor. 

"You'd have an easier time flying higher up, you know?"

"I know!" Kaito replied, somehow both in his own voice and in an indignant chirp. "But I'm, uh, perfectly happy down here!"

"I'll catch you if you fall."

"Why would I fall? I'm Kaito Momota!"

"We'll have to fly higher to get to Tsumugi's dorm."

"Stop pestering me! I said I can do it!"

It wasn't long until the gates of Evil were in sight. The two birds tumbled over it, and hopped to the slimy edge of the bay. 

"We've got to fly up there," Maki said, gesturing with her wing up at the windows lining Malice tower. She saw Kaito gulp.

"Couldn't we just go, uh, through? The school?"

"And get caught in one of Kokichi's booby traps?"

"I'll fight him!" Kaito declared. "Actually, let's make it a challenge! I'll go through the school, you go over the moat, see who makes it there first!"

"Huh?" Maki watched Kaito hop away. "Okay, but if you get in trouble that's not my fault!"

Kaito didn't respond. He disappeared inside in a little purple blur. Maki sighed. She couldn't just leave him, he'd get trampled or eaten by something.

The magpie swept through the doors after him.

Somehow, the two birds made it up to Tsumugi’s dorm without being spotted. “Okay, so what’s the plan now?” Maki chastised, as they both landed in front of the closed door.

“Uhh..” Kaito hadn’t thought this far ahead, clearly.

Maki looked around. Luckily, there was an open window in the dorm corridor. “I’m going to fly round outside and tap on her window, like I usually do. Are you coming?”

Despite the inexpressiveness of his bird face, somehow Kaito managed to give her a forlorn look. “Right. Yeah. Uh, do you think it’s better if I join you, or should I stay outside and just listen?”

“You’re bright purple.”

“I can hide! I was just thinking, things might get a little heated if I joined in, y’know?”

Maki sighed. She had to admit, he had a point. Maki had no idea how Tsumugi would react now if Kaito showed up at her window. “Fine. But hide properly.”

“You sound like my old stewardess,” Kaito replied.

“How many times did she tell you to hide properly?”

“No, I mean, your tone of voice!”

Maki resisted the urge to make a comment about how her current tone of voice was bird. Instead, she slipped out the window into the night air, conscious that every second now was time Kaito could potentially be spotted outside. It wasn’t the students she was so concerned about anymore - it was the wolves.

She tapped her beak on the glass of Tsumugi’s window. It swung open almost immediately.

Tsumugi didn’t speak. Her glasses were fogged over, hair matted, a strange, empty gaze in her eyes that didn’t quite focus on Maki. Seemed like she hadn’t slept properly.

Maki turned back human quickly. “Look, Tsumugi, we need to talk.”

“You again?” Junko groaned, stirring. “Tell your boyfriend to jump off a bridge into a pit of vipers.”

Maki didn’t bother responding, simply shooting a half-second glare in her direction. As of the Trial by Tale, she knew exactly how she felt about Junko. Tsumugi stayed silent, looking at Maki as if waiting for something from her. As if she was the great betrayer who owed an apology.

“What was I supposed to do?” Maki said. “I was trying to help you. But if you hide things from me, I can’t. I can’t even trust you.”

“So you think you’re a martyr now, do you?”

Maki was surprised by Tsumugi’s even voice. She’d expected her to be emotional again, like the last time they spoke, but she sounded almost too calm.

“I already apologised, what more do you want? And where’s your apology to me?”

“My apology? For what?” Maki replied, confused. For not siding with her? Because that was ridiculous…

“For being a huge hypocrite!” Tsumugi shouted. Maki took a step back. “I’m a terrible person because I went behind your back, am I? But you’ve been doing that this whole time! With Kaito!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw you together outside. Stargazing! ” Tsumugi’s tone wasn’t even anymore.

Maki took another step back. She had? “I told you, that’s because we both had detention from Surviving-”

“Y’know, I was confused,” Tsumugi continued, ignoring her. “Because I know you, Maki. And you couldn’t care less about other people. So what made you so morally opposed to a love potion? Then I realised. Oh, it’s because you wanted Kaito to yourself the whole time, didn’t you? You’re just jealous of me!”

Maki’s expression was becoming increasingly more horrified. “What? No! That’s not-”

“So what do you want? You say you think one thing, then do something that completely contradicts it. Of course I couldn’t trust you. You’re the one who forced me to do something like that! So why should I grovel for your forgiveness if you don’t take accountability for anything?”

“What are you talking about?”

Tsumugi sneered at her. “Oh, and now you’re playing innocent.” Then she hesitated. “Or maybe you really don’t notice you’re doing it? I suppose since it’s just in your nature…”

Maki didn’t understand anything of anything this girl was saying. She came here to talk things out, not get even more confused. “Tsumugi let me speak-”

“Okay.” Tsumugi seemed to have calmed down a bit now, and she sat down on her bed. “In that case, I’ll spell it out for you. We’re in a fairytale, Maki.”

“Yeah I… I know that,” she said slowly, acutely conscious that Kaito was still listening to this.

“And in a fairytale, there is a hero, prince or princess, and there is a villain, or a witch.”

Maki nodded.

“A princess had a goal for Good, like finding love, happiness and peace. That’s why she has her own fairytale. Readers want to see the story of someone overcoming struggles to find happiness. But a witch never has her own fairytale. A witch has to ruin one to be happy.”

Maki stared at her. “You’re calling me a witch?”

Tsumugi smiled hollowly. “Maki, dear, get out of your own head and think about it for a second. What do I want? Love. Happiness. Peace. What do you want?”

“Nothing. I want to go home.”

“Then why do you constantly sabotage my relationship with my prince? If it wasn’t for you, my fairytale would already have a happy ending, don’t you see?” Tsumugi’s eyes were wide now, leaning towards Maki. “But because you’re here, I keep getting outshone, again and again, while you act all quirky like ‘haha I have no idea why he likes me so much, all I do is insult him and I think he stinks’. You promise me you’ll stay by my side and help me, then sneak away to ‘practice sword-fighting’ or ‘we just had detention together and everyone stargazes romantically during detention that’s just obvious’!”

Tsumugi’s shrill impersonation of Maki echoed around the room and out the open window. Junko and Mukuro were both sitting up watching.

“I tried so hard to be your friend,” Tsumugi continued. “So hard. And yet somehow my life was falling apart. It was so obvious this whole time. A princess can’t be friends with a witch. Whenever we’re together, I’ll never be happy.”

Maki opened her mouth to try and argue again, but no words came out. She was desperately frustrated that Tsumugi was using her fairytale nonsense to psychoanalyse her, but at the same time… it wasn’t like back in Gavaldon. It wasn’t even like before the Trial by Tale. Because this time, Maki had heard it herself - they really were in a fairytale. So using fairytale logic, for once, was a reasonable argument. And it felt like she’d been stabbed in the chest.

“So if you’re really not a witch, Maki, then you’ll leave me alone. Let me have my prince.” Tsumugi’s voice was gentle now, coaxing.

“I’m not your prince.”

All four occupants of the room turned to Kaito, standing by the window.

There was silence. Tsumugi stared at him. Then, slowly, she turned back to Maki.

“And now you’re doing it again. You brought him with you. To sabotage me.”

“I came because I wanted to!” Kaito argued. “As a human being? With free will? At least, most of the time!”

“It’s alright.” Tsumugi’s voice was as cold as ice, still fixed on Maki. “Every good story has a moment where all is lost. But the protagonist fights on regardless, managing to triumph despite everything.” She got slowly to her feet.

Maki, alarmed, spluttered to explain herself again. “Tsumugi, look, this is all just a big misunderstanding. I’m not some fairytale witch plotting against you, I just-”

“THEN GET YOUR OWN LIFE!” Tsumugi screamed.

The room was cold and silent.

Junko whistled. “Maybe you’re not so much of a wuss after all. Bet you woke the tower with that.”

Maki and Kaito exchanged looks. Attracting attention was a bad idea. “I think we should go…”

Tsumugi didn’t respond. She crawled under her sheets and curled up, the last glimpse of her face carrying that same haunted expression from when Maki had entered.

Maki’s head felt fuzzy as she and Kaito flew out the window, across the foggy bay. Her ears were ringing. She didn’t think about the fact that Kaito had seemingly gotten over his fear of flying, or that they were in plain view of anyone who looked outside. It didn’t seem to matter.

Buried under lace pillows, all Maki could hear was the echo of four words.

GET YOUR OWN LIFE!

What life? Before Tsumugi, her life had been a mundane, repetitive blur. Tsumugi was the person who made her feel normal. Without her, Maki didn’t know what she was.

Maki knew she was right. She was inconsistent, even she knew it. What do you want? Maki didn’t know. She didn’t know at all anymore. Tsumugi had been her drive. Her main motivator. 

Was this really all her fault?

If she was a villain, now was about when she’d plot for revenge. Or at least feel some malice towards Tsumugi. But instead, she just felt depressed. What had she thought would happen? What had she even wanted? Had some part of her deluded herself into thinking maybe she could be a hero too? It was stupid. People like Tsumugi were the princesses. She never stood a chance. She really had stolen Tsumugi’s spotlight. If she reclaimed it now, at least, maybe this fairytale would end.

She rolled over, eyes glinting in the sunshine. Maki hadn’t talked to Kaito at all when they returned, despite his many questions for her. She said a courteous goodbye and locked herself back in her room for the night. She hadn’t seen Kaede yet either. The healing cream had worked a charm, but she couldn’t see the point returning to lessons, so she stayed.

Get your own life.

What did Maki do without Tsumugi? She’d already accepted she’d probably go home without her. They’d already had a disagreement once before. Surely she had a life outside of Tsumugi, right? But what did she have that Tsumugi didn’t? Everything she stole from her?

Maki sat up. She wasn’t stealing. Her life wasn’t a commodity. Her friends weren’t objects. Kaito wasn’t a trophy.

So Tsumugi wasn’t part of her life anymore. Tsumugi wasn’t the only thing Maki had anymore. Tsumugi wasn’t the lone person who’d reached out a hand to Maki, who’d been there when no one else had. Because other people had been there. Other people were there.

She got out of bed, pulling on her new clean uniform, tying back her hair, and heading for the door. She wanted her roommate back.

As Maki reached for the door handle, fairies jingled past outside, and a note slid under the door. She hesitated. Was she finally caught for faking her illness? She picked it up gingerly, unfolding it.

Dear Students,

With the Snow Ball thirteen days away, this fortnight’s challenges will see if you are prepared. Despite recent interruptions, there will be no further cancellations. Our traditions are what separate Good from Evil. Even in the darkest of times, a Ball may be your best chance to find a happy ending.

Professor Dovey

Maki groaned. Just when she was starting to pull herself together. A ball .

Throwing the letter on the floor, Maki ran down the corridor and knocked on Sonia’s door. 

“Come in!” a voice chirped.

She swung the door open, eyes sliding past the three girls, to the fourth bed in the corner, and the blonde girl brushing her hair. Kaede. The person who didn't keep turning on her. Whose life she wasn't ruining. Who seemed to genuinely care. Of course. There was more to life than Tsumugi. She couldn't wallow in self-pity and self-hatred forever.

“Oh, Maki! I was just about to come find you, how did last night go? What did-”

Maki crossed the room towards her, her focus coming across as threatening and startling Kaede into silence.

“You’re my new best friend.”

“Huh?” Kaede blinked at her. “Ah, you’re my best friend too! Does that mean no more Tsumugi?”

Maki nodded. Her own views on Tsumugi or Good or Evil or fairytale logic or whatever didn’t matter. One thing was undeniably clear.

“No more Tsumugi.”

Chapter Text

Professor Anemone was alarmed to find Maki back in lessons. “You’re not… contagious, are you?” she asked in a hiss, after prancing in ten minutes late wearing a white swan-feather dress. Maki shook her head.

“Completely fine, Professor. Wouldn’t want to miss out on Snow Ball preparations.”

Anemone thankfully missed the sarcasm in Maki’s voice, though she stared at her through narrowed eyes as she began talking.

“Now, my dear students, the time of year we have all been awaiting!” She ran a hand through her hair. “Behold, true Ball elegance. A good thing boys cannot ask me to the Ball, or many of you would lose your princes!”

She basked in her students’ stares. “Yes, isn’t it divine. I was told by Empress Vaisilla this is all the rage in Putsi.”

Maki and Kaede exchanged looks, then both choked back laughter. Seemed they weren’t the only ones, because Anemone’s expression soured.

“Because it is traditional for your suitors to wait until the Circus to propose, I caution you to take this week’s challenges seriously,” she huffed. “An exceptionally good or poor performance could very well change a boy’s mind!”

“The Circus?” Maki whispered to Kaede.

“The Circus of Talents. I’m sure Yuba will explain it later. No way he’ll be doing Ball preparation.” Both girls snorted again.

“Of course, not all of you will be asked to the Snow Ball,” warned Professor Anemone. “Every year, one woeful girl is failed, because boys would rather take half ranks than take her. And such a girl who can’t find a boy, even under the most propitious circumstances… well, she must be a witch, mustn't she?”

Maki put her hand up.

“Yeah, Harukawa, you will be failed if you don’t find a Ball date,” Anemone said quickly, knowing exactly what she was about to ask.

“But if a boy doesn’t find a date, he only gets half ranks?” she asked.

“Indeed. This was explained earlier in the year if you’d grace us with your attention for once.”

Several girls snickered. Maki ignored it. “What’s the justification for that? It’s okay for a boy to be alone, but not a girl?”

“You’re a student,” Professor Anemone said bluntly. “I don’t need to ask for your approval to make rules. So you will follow them, or you will be failed. Understand?”

Maki sighed. She wasn’t sure she could reform this one the way she did with Swordplay. “Yes, Professor.” Failed if a boy didn’t ask her? Maki wondered bleakly if it was worth just finding out what happened to students who failed, because there didn’t seem any point in trying.

“For today’s challenge, you must try to see who your date for the Ball will be!” Anemone declared, addressing the class at large again. “Only when you see a boy’s face clearly in your head will you know he wants you too. Now, join the person beside you and take turns proposing. When it is your turn to accept, close your eyes and see whose face appears…”

Maki turned to Kaede across her desk, as the class dissolved into chatter.

“Uh, who wants to go first?” Kaede asked.

“I’ll ask you first. You’re more likely to actually see someone.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Kaede smiled. “Maybe there’s someone for you yet.”

“And who would that be?” Maki asked, raising an eyebrow. Kaede didn’t respond, just smiled a little more. Maki crossed her arms.

“Look,” Kaede said. “Get this over with quick, and you can tell me about your conversation last night with Kaito.”

“Fine.” Maki cleared her throat. “Kaede, will you be my princess for the Ball?”

Kaede giggled. “This is so weird.”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

“Uh, yes! Then I just close my eyes, right?”

“And think of who you want to go to the Ball with, I guess?”

“Got it.” Kaede scrunched her eyes closed. “Hmmmm….”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then, suddenly, Kaede gasped and her eyes flew open.

“I saw him!” she said excitedly. “For a second I saw Shuichi! Does that mean he’s gonna ask me??”

Maki shrugged. “Or you just have a good imagination. What’s the point of this exercise anyway? I don’t see anything magic about it.”

“You’re such a downer. Let me have this!”

“I can’t help being a downer. My old best friend thinks I’m Evil, I have to find a date in two weeks or I suffer an unknown fate, and now I have to explain the stupid fairytale thing to Kaito because he overheard it last night.” She shook her head. “But, I think Shuichi will ask you. He doesn’t really talk to any other girls, so I can’t imagine him choosing anyone else.”

Kaede was staring at her. “What do you mean, Kaito overheard the fairytale thing?”

In the end, Maki never had her turn. She spent the rest of the lesson explaining last night to Kaede.

The following lessons were no more encouraging. Princess Posture had turned into full-blown dance lessons, to Maki’s disgust. Kaede enjoyed herself, and Maki came out with a good ranking based on her coordination skills, but she hated every minute of it. And Animal Communication was barely even a proper lesson, because Princess Uma spent most of it reminiscing about her own Snow Ball however many years ago.

By Lunch, Maki was so glad to have a break from Ball preparation that she almost forgot that she shared Lunch with Kaito. And Tsumugi.

“Maki-roll!” She hadn’t made it more than a few steps into the Clearing before Kaito ran over to her. “You were in lessons today?”

“No point moping in my room forever,” she said. “I’m, uh, sorry for ditching you last night. I was in a bad mood.”

He shook his head. “Totally forgiven! As long as you tell me now what Tsumugi meant when she was talking about a fairytale.”

“Shhh!” Maki hissed, as Kaede lifted a finger to her own lips in support. “I don’t need someone like Hiyoko catching wind of this and stirring up a fuss.”

“Oh, sorry!” Kaito glanced across the Clearing, back at his spot under a tree, where Shuichi was waiting for him. “What about someone like Shuichi?”

Maki considered for a moment. “It’s not like Shuichi would blab or anything, he’s reliable,” Kaede said, but her advice was biased enough Maki was inclined to disregard it. Then again, if Kaito had to know, it wasn’t fair (or realistic) to leave Shuichi out of it. He’d been helpful and right about the entire Tsumugi thing, so he’d definitely earned her trust.

“Okay. But if we sit over there, you have to use your indoor voice, Kaito.”

“You act like I’m always shouting or something!” Kaito shouted, but the three of them headed back to his spot anyway.

“Oh, Maki,” Shuichi said as she sat down. “How are you doing?”

She shrugged awkwardly. “Not great, but not dead.” Then, catching Kaito’s look, lowered her voice and followed, “The School Master told Dovey and Lesso that me and Tsumugi are in a fairytale.”

Shuichi fell silent, caught off-guard by the abrupt change of subject. Kaito’s eyes went wide. “The School Master said?? As in, the actual School Master? And a real fairytale? Written by the Storian. Like, an actual-”

“Volume, Kaito,” Maki interrupted, as he was getting gradually louder the more he spoke. “I’m only repeating what I heard. He met with them the day before the Trial by Tale, and said that ‘the two Readers’ were in a fairytale, but wouldn’t elaborate. He said it would influence the plot too much, probably because he knew I was listening.” She sighed. “I didn’t tell you because I really don’t want anyone jumping to conclusions. Besides, I don’t really believe it or understand what it means. Kaede and Tsumugi think it’s important, so I’m just following that.”

Kaito and Shuichi exchanged looks. “Of course it’s important! Everyone in the Woods wants to be in a fairytale!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that bit already,” Maki snapped. “But I don’t understand how it actually works . What does it mean for me? Is there some magic pen writing about everything I do? Or is it actively influencing me? The School Master warned the Deans because he said being in a fairytale made the Trial by Tale riskier. Is it riskier because this fairytale thing made it that way, or is it riskier because the magic pen could see the future and knew it would be risky so therefore chose to write about it? I don’t get it.”

They all paused. “I’ve… never thought about that before,” Kaede confessed eventually. “It’s just something that is. Like the sky being blue. No one asks why or how, it just is .”

"The sky's blue because blue light has a shorter wavelength," Kaito volunteered, missing the point.

“I just assumed the Storian could… see the future… kind of?” Shuichi suggested. “I mean, if it has the power to see everyone’s lives across the whole Woods and write about them… Then having the power to see the future too isn’t far-fetched. Or maybe it just senses fairytale potential in someone, so starts writing their story because of that? I don’t read enough first-edition fairytales to analyse that properly, I always got fourth or fifth editions, which are pretty different to how the Storian writes them.”

“And what does that mean for me?” Maki asked.

“Depends what the fairytale is about,” Shuichi replied. “And who the protagonist is.”

Maki thought. Given the way the School Master phrased it, it was between her and Tsumugi… And who was she kidding? There was no way she was the hero here. Not after she’d messed so much up.

Kaito seemed to follow Maki’s thought process, remembering what Tsumugi had said that night. “No! Maki-roll, no way you’re the bad guy here!”

“I know you hate Tsumugi, and you have the right to… but she said a lot of stuff that made sense. She really does have the typical hero arc. And what pen would choose to write about me, anyway?”

“If I was a pen I’d write about you!” Kaito declared.

Maki accidentally made eye contact with him. For such a ridiculous comment, he seemed very genuine. For some reason, her chest felt a little tight. Was it guilt? For making him believe in her when she knew she couldn’t be the person he saw her as?

“I might be biased, but I agree with Kaito,” Shuichi said. “I don’t think I could root for a protagonist like Tsumugi, at least from what I know of her.” Kaede nodded enthusiastically.

Maki stared at the floor. “This is ridiculous… I don’t know who you people think I am, but I’m not a fairytale hero. Maybe it’s someone else, and me or Tsumugi or both are just… involved.”

“Then why would the School Master only mention you two?” Kaede asked.

“I don’t know! Why are we trusting the School Master anyway?” Maki crossed her arms. “I can’t stand him. If he would just talk to me, and let me see that damned fairytale for myself, then I’d have answers to all these stupid questions.”

“We’re not entirely clueless,” Shuichi said. “We can do some research on fairytales. And there are some general rules they tend to follow, such as abilities that fairytale princesses or witches tend to gain, or arcs you can predict.”

“My life isn’t a storybook,” Maki grumbled, though not really in argument with Shuichi, just as an expression of frustration.

“But if you’re in a fairytale,” Kaito said, pointing at Maki. “Then surely we are too?” He gestured around at himself and the other two.

“Huh?” For a second, all three of them fell silent, processing the idea. Kaede looked a little excited. Shuichi looked intimidated.

“So I’m in a fairytale!” Kaito declared. Then, abruptly, his smile dropped, like he’d realised something terrible. “Oh shit. I’m in a fairytale.”

“Aren’t you happy about that?” Kaede asked.

Shuichi frowned at him. “Yeah, I thought you were hoping to be part of an 'epic' fairytale someday?”

Kaito sweated nervously. “Ah, uh, yeah! Of course I’m happy!”

While the others looked confused, Maki knew far too many reasons Kaito wouldn’t be thrilled. He wasn’t a nobody like Maki who had barely a reputation to destroy - there were expectations on Kaito, ways he was expected to act and ideals he had to meet. And with everything that had happened, chances were his portrayal in a fairytale, from whichever perspective, wouldn’t be perfect. Was he ashamed his most recent role was being a victim to a love potion? Did he still think that was his fault? Or did he really believe Maki would be the protagonist, and was afraid of how he’d look from her perspective (which would undoubtedly spare no punches). Maybe all of the above.

Maki stared at the floor. If she’d just done things differently, been a more boring person, maybe she could’ve stayed out of this whole fairytale thing. Instead she’d dragged everyone she cared about into it too. And so far, only for the worse.

“Hey, uh, Maki?” Kaede said, breaking her out of her thoughts. She glanced discreetly across the Clearing, and Maki followed her gaze.

Tsumugi was here. Not the Tsumugi of a week ago, with her beautiful dresses and confidence and popularity. No, this Tsumugi was bedraggled, in her old dumpy uniform, dark circles under her eyes. But that wasn’t the most uncanny thing - what struck Maki the most was that she was sitting with Junko and Mukuro. Chatting.

“What the hell?” she mumbled. “I thought she hated them? And they hated her?”

“Probably her last resort,” Shuichi suggested, “now that she’s lost everyone else.”

Maki felt an unwelcome pang of guilt. “My fault then.”

“Maki.” Kaito spoke firmly, catching her attention with the distinct lack of his usual nickname. “You know the stuff Tsumugi said last night isn’t true, right?”

Her eyes settled somewhere just below Kaito’s face. Maki was acutely aware of the sort of things Tsumugi had said, the majority of which boiled down to ‘I love Kaito and you, Maki, are stealing him from me, making you my romantic rival’. Though she supposed if Kaito said “I don’t even like you that way, so you’re not stealing me”, it would settle that for good.

“Even if you weren’t here and I never met you,” he continued. “I still wouldn’t love her. So you haven’t done anything. She’s ruined her relationships for herself.”

Maki finally looked up at him. “I know. But… Even despite that… She was a good person before we came here, I know she was. And all I did was hurt her, even if I was trying to help. She said it herself, I’m the one who drove her to her decisions. I guess I’m just that kind of terrible person.”

“No you’re not!” Kaito leaned towards her, slamming his hands on the grass inches from her knees. “And that’s a promise from the Luminary of the Stars, so you best not forget it!”

Despite her head telling her to move away, Maki’s muscles seemed to have clenched in place. “How can you say that? For all you know, this conversation is being written in a book. Are you really stupid enough to risk rooting for the bad guy?”

He shook his head. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. I told you, I’m always going to follow my heart. Find something to believe in and stick with it. And if my heart leads to you, then I'll believe in that too. If it means I fuck up again, so be it! I’ll deal with the consequences for making the wrong choice!”

This was weird. This was really weird. Her chest was fluttering like crazy, like she felt anxious but also not quite like that at all. What did he mean, he followed his heart? To her? That’s what his heart was telling him? No, no, what kind of dumb things was she coming up with in her head now? He only said that because he was choosing between her and Tsumugi. Obviously his heart would say no Tsumugi. Duh. What was she even thinking?

“Hey, um, volume went up again, Kaito,” Shuichi pointed out. Maki jumped. She’d forgotten the other two were here.

“Oh, sorry!” Kaito replied, moving away again. As the conversation resumed itself without her, Maki sat in place, shellshocked. What… just happened to her?

In the end, she ended up not recalling much more of the conversation. Her mind was whirring away elsewhere, through Lunch and through Good Deeds too, which was just more Ball preparation anyway. The others hadn't done anything to convince her that she's a hero or a princess, because duh, and instead left her with more questions. What had she done to earn so much trust from them? From Kaito? They all had so much faith in her, but she was just Maki.

Were they all just scared their words would be written in some storybook? That their hearts would be bared for the world, so they'd do best to be kind and noble and everything else Good is. But that still meant they were being kind and noble to her , so they had to have decided she wasn't a villain. Because they hated Tsumugi? Process of elimination? How was she even meant to believe anything they said if they were now speaking for an audience?

No. She couldn't start thinking like that. Being distrustful wasn't going to make her feel any better. Besides, it was like Kaito said. Find something to believe in and stick with it. If Kaito wanted to believe in her, she'd believe in him. And Kaede. And Shuichi, too.

Yuba seemed a lot less stressed during Surviving Fairy Tales, with the Trial by Tale in the past. “Now, for the Evers among us, you may consider the Circus of Talents insignificant when compared to the Snow Ball. However, I suggest everyone aiming for the Leader track takes it seriously.”

Maki glanced instinctively towards Tsumugi, and regretted it. She was staring directly at her, a look of deep envy in her eyes. Maki fidgeted nervously. Was it because she got to go to a Ball and Tsumugi didn’t, or because she was standing next to Kaito and Shuichi? Probably both.

“The Circus of Talents will take place the day before the Snow Ball, in just under two weeks time. The ten top ranking Evers and top ranking Nevers will be chosen to participate, just as with the Trial by Tale. However, do not assume that the participants will be the same. The rankings will be taken in a week's time, so there is plenty of time to climb the ranks, or fall below if you’re slacking off.”

Maki couldn’t remember what her rank was anymore, but guessed it was about average. Probably wasn’t something she’d have to worry about then. The real question was whether Tsumugi’s ranking would stay high for long enough to make it in.

“The Circus of Talents will take place in the Theater of Tales. It will consist of ten duels between an Ever and Never, each taking it in turn to perform their talent. Talent duels will be in order of ranks, with the tenth-ranked Ever and Never going first, followed by ninth, until the first-rank pair concludes the Circus. After both Ever and Never have performed their talent, the theater will select the best talent, anointing a winner and publicly punishing the loser. At the end of all ten duels, the Circus Crown will magically lower onto the head of the student with the most impressive talent overall.” Yuba paused. “Any questions?”

Maki did have a few, but she didn’t feel like asking Yuba, since he was still sour with her after her and Kaito’s detention. She turned to Kaito and Shuichi instead.

“What does he mean, talent?”

“Any kind of cool ability, basically!” Kaito replied. “Nevers tend to come with magic talents… think like, Junko’s bear thing for the Trial by Tale.”

She frowned, recalling it. “It grew out of her neck, didn’t it?”

Kaito shrugged, looking just as uncomfortable. “Something like that. Anyway, some Evers have natural talents too, like if you’ve got pixie blood and can float a bit, or something like that! And some people’s talents are just normal skills and stuff that they’re really good at.”

“So it’s literally just a talent show?”

“Yeah! You got it!”

“Maki, Kaito, do you mind saving your discussion until after I’ve finished talking?” Yuba grumbled, and Maki flushed as the Forest Group turned to look at them.

“Winning the Circus of Talents isn’t only a source of pride to yourself and a great thing to write on future job applications, but it also decides which school will host the Theater of Tales next year. This year, the Theater of Tales is in the School for Good, because the last Circus of Talents was won by Good. So for all of the Nevers grumbling about having to walk through the perfumed corridor, consider that an incentive. As for Evergirl students…” Yuba turned to the Ever side of the group. “Princes will be making their Ball proposals at the end of the Circus of Talents. So if that’s important to you, it’s an opportunity to make an impression, for better or for worse.”

From the tone of his voice, it didn’t sound like Yuba particularly understood the importance of the Ball, which was one thing Maki could agree on. Hiyoko, however, looked very stressed by this idea.

“Now, to the lesson. Consider this lesson free time to work on your talents, even if you don’t expect to take part in the Circus. I’ll be here to provide any help or advice to people working on talent ideas, although if you’re a high-ranking student and don’t have a talent in mind, I suggest you figure it out fast . At the end of the week, I’ll rank you based on your talents as they currently stand.”

Maki kicked her feet in the dirt. She didn’t have a talent. Kaito and Shuichi looked just as lost.

“Kaito, what’s your talent?” Maki asked, turning to him. “You’re second or something on the ranking board, you’re bound to be part of it.”

Kaito grinned. “You’ll have to see that at the Circus!”

Maki got the suspicion that he hadn’t figured it out yet. She looked at Shuichi. “What about you?”

“Well, I…” He looked sheepish. “I was intending to let my rankings drop a bit this week… I don’t really want to be a leader anyway, and performing on stage isn’t my kind of thing…”

“So none of us have a talent?” she confirmed.

“I do have one!” Kaito argued. “I just can’t do it here. It’s gotta wait until the Circus.”

“That doesn’t help this lesson, does it?” Shuichi said.

“Hmm…” Kaito stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe we can do some kind of group talent?”

“Like what?”

“Some kind of cool sword trick?”

“With three people?” Shuichi asked.

“Just forget it,” Maki sighed. “Come up with something for yourselves and leave me out of it. I don’t care if I fail.” On instinct, she glanced back across the group. Tsumugi was still watching her, unblinking. “And uh, not to alarm you two, but we’re being watched.” She moved her shoulder slightly in Tsumugi’s direction. “And by we I mean mostly I.”

Kaito’s hands tightened. “I can go tell her to leave you alone.”

“No.” Maki raised her hands in the air to halt Kaito. “She’s not even doing anything, she’s just looking. I’m not starting things up again.”

"If it's making you uncomfortable-"

"I said no."

Kaito hesitated, but reluctantly relaxed again. "Fine. But don't go too far, I wanna be there if she tries to talk to you."

Maki, who was about to say the same thing to Kaito, hesitated before nodding. She didn't particularly like the idea of Kaito and Tsumugi being alone together, given what Tsumugi was like towards him.

As Maki hovered aimlessly in the area, wondering idly what kind of talent she could come up with, she caught sight of Hiyoko in the corner, halfway behind a tree. She looked unusually distressed and lonely. Despite her better judgement, Maki's childcare instincts kicked in and she walked over.

"Are you okay?"

Hiyoko jumped, whipping around with a sound somewhat resembling a cat's hiss. “Wh-What do you want? Have you come to laugh at me? Cause’ you can beat it!”

“I haven’t come to laugh at you. You look upset, so I’m asking if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, so go away!” she said, her voice shaking. “Why would I talk to you anyway? You’ll just tell everyone.”

Maki shook her head. “I wouldn’t. I don’t like you, sure, but I’m not looking for a fight or to sabotage you or anything.”

Hiyoko looked at Maki, her nose scrunched up in disgust, but her eyes gave away that she was considering it. Maki got the feeling she was remembering when Maki had helped her in Surviving Fairy Tales before, with the foraging task.

“Fine. I’ll tell you. But just so you know, if this gets repeated to anyone, or if you laugh at me, I’ll ruin your life.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Maki replied, amused. “But I promise.”

“...” Hiyoko continued looking at her, not saying anything.

“Are you worried because you don’t have a talent?” Maki guessed, trying to prompt her.

“No! I have a talent,” Hiyoko argued, offended. “I’m a dancer.”

“A dancer?”

“A traditional dancer. B-But that’s the problem,” she wavered, cracking a bit. “For my dancing, I need to wear a kimono, but I can’t… I can’t…” Her voice went very quiet. “I can’t tie the sash by myself.”

“Oh.” Maki was surprised to find she’d unlocked a new, softer side to Hiyoko. “Who normally ties it for you?”

“Mahiru,” Hiyoko replied. “But she’s not in our Forest Group, and… and during the Circus of Talents she’s taking photos… so she doesn’t have time to look after me. So I lied and told her I could do it by myself but I can’t and- and-” She paused for a second, then suddenly burst into tears. “No one’s gonna ask me to the Ball and I don’t want to go to the Ball anyway because I’d have to go with a stupid boy and I want to go with Maaaahiru!”

Maki took a while to process all of that. Hiyoko had spent this whole time sucking up to Kaito and acting like all the other girls, so Maki had assumed she was as boy-crazy as the rest of them. “I thought you liked Kaito.”

Hiyoko shook her head, still crying. “I-I don’t. I have to find a prince because of- of my lineage… my grandmother will be mad at me… I-I don’t want to fail. I need to become a good princess too, just like my mother and her mother and her mother before me. But I can’t do it. I can’t.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Maki said gently. “I can help you tie your obi if you need, and I think the same about the Ball. The rules are stupid and unfair. But if we can find a boy who would ask you, you can pretend to go with him and ditch him at the Ball. Go dance with Mahiru if you want. I’m sure there are plenty of guys who would agree to that.”

Hiyoko sniffled, calming down a little. “It’s not fair. You get to do whatever you want because you’re ugly and have no friends, so no one expects you to be good. But if I’m good, that’s just normal, and if I mess up I’m letting my whole family down.”

Ignoring the rude comment halfway through, Maki felt really bad for Hiyoko. Had she just been jealous of Maki the whole time? Not because of Kaito, but just because Hiyoko wanted more freedom?

“Then your whole family can grow a pair and fuck right off.”

Hiyoko snorted with watery laughter.

“Besides,” Maki continued. “I still want to speak to the School Master, and if I get the chance, I’ll be letting him know exactly what I think of his Ball rules. So at the very least, perhaps you’ll be able to go with Mahiru. I can’t promise anything though.”

There was another second of silence. "I guess… maybe you aren't that stinky," Hiyoko concluded finally. "But your shoes are still ugly."

"I'd be concerned if you thought otherwise. They are, objectively, ugly. Most practical things are."

There were footsteps behind them, and the two girls turned around to see Yuba hobbling towards them.

"Excellent application of the five rules, Maki," he said. "Though I should remind you that the other teachers would penalise you for the swearing."

"You were eavesdropping!?" Hiyoko shrieked, her voice back to normal.

"I'm the teacher and this is my lesson. Obviously I'm observing everyone. Not just to judge your talents, but also so I can rank you at the end of the lesson."

"Wrinkly creep!" Hiyoko snapped.

At the end of the lesson, when a first place rank exploded over Maki's head, she mulled it over. Caring for children (or generally vulnerable people) was the closest thing she had to a talent. But it was pretty useless for a talent show. What did Yuba expect her to do, pull some random child onto a stage? Not particularly showbizzy, and also highly questionable.

During Supper, Maki leapt at the opportunity to complain about the lessons. "It's all stupid Ball stuff or stupid talent stuff. I didn't think it was possible for the lessons to get more pointless, but they managed it."

"I think some of them are nice," Kaede argued. "Princess Posture is so much more interesting with dance lessons, even if Beautification is a bit… excessive at the moment."

"A bit?" Maki scoffed. "What does 'close your eyes and imagine your prince ' have to do with beauty anyway? Not that I want it to go back to beauty stuff. I have no need nor care for 'no-makeup' makeup tips or the best way to curl my hair without frizz."

"I'd quite like to have Beautification lessons, actually," Shuichi said quietly.

Maki and Kaede both paused, looking at him. He quickly realized how it sounded and rushed to clarify. "Not specifically for the beauty stuff! I was thinking more like skincare, healthy lifestyle tips, that sort of thing. Even boys need that, but we're pretty much only taught how to build muscle."

"Oh, yeah!" Kaede agreed. "That makes sense. But even if it was for the beauty stuff, I still think boys can do that too. Guys look good with some eyeliner. Well, girls too, but yeah."

"Someone has a type," Maki coughed, earning a friendly elbow jab.

"I don't get it," Kaito contributed. "I just wash my face with soap and water and I'm good."

"Not everyone has a naturally perfect complexion like you, Kaito," Shuichi said.

Kaito grinned. "Thank you, thank you," he said, fluffing his hair. Maki rolled her eyes. "Although, that's not what my stewardess used to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Neither my mum or dad had freckles like I do," he explained, his tone still light-hearted but a little more shallowly so, as if he was trying not to think too hard about a bad memory. "Came from my grandma on my mum's side. Lady Gremlaine, my stewardess, said she hoped I'd grow out of it because it ruined my face." He shrugged. "Well, if anything I got more freckled as I got older."

Maki scrunched up her nose. "That's stupid. Freckles don't ruin someone's face. I actually think they look nice. Reminds me of stars, kind of."

Kaito stared at her. Maki realized a little too late what she'd just said.

She winced, fully expecting Kaito to start grinning and tell her how nice she was being and he was flattered or something, but it didn't come.

Instead, Kaito just looked at her with huge, starry eyes, his face going red.

Maki turned away. "That wasn't meant to be a compliment for you," she said hurriedly, "it was a general statement."

Kaito didn't respond. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him fidgeting, running a hand over his face. Maki was overcome with the urge to do the same, but controlled herself.

Shuichi cleared his throat. "Uh, so, we were saying…"

"Oh!" Kaito snapped back into action again. "Yeah, yeah, I was saying, uh, yeah, y'know, skincare. Faces. Cool. Uh. If Shuichi thinks it would be good for guys, then I agree with him. Right, Maki-roll?"

"Yeah." Even while she nodded, her eyes stayed fixed on the trees behind them.

Rather than actually, y’know, teaching, Professor Anemone had chosen to assign endless amounts of homework, and spend the lessons organising stupid activities for ‘visualising your prince’ and ‘manifesting your happy ending’. Maki couldn’t decide if this was better or worse than makeup and skincare and seasonal undertones.

“You’d probably get more value out of these activities if you tried at least a little,” Kaede suggested. “I mean, I’m not asking you to manifest a prince or anything, but there’s got to be something the crystal ball can tell you.”

Maki stared at the murky contents of the glass in front of her. “I don’t know. I think my head’s too muddled.”

“Now that I think about it, you didn’t do the Ball proposal activity before. You should have your turn.”

“And imagine my own beautiful Ball proposal?” Maki scoffed. “My imagination can only go so far.”

“Come on,” Kaede encouraged. “Just try closing your eyes. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually see someone?”

Maki raised an eyebrow, but didn’t object. Kaede bowed her head and held out a hand dramatically. “Maki, will you be my princess for the Ball?” she asked.

Reluctantly, Maki closed her eyes. She could use this time to think of a witty comment to make when she opened them. How do you try to visualise someone when you don’t know who they are yet, anyway? What was she meant to do? Think about fluffy feelings like love and see what happened? When Maki tried to recall those feelings, she just got muddled with confused thoughts. Love was a good people thing, anyway.

A princess can’t be friends with a witch.

If she couldn’t imagine anyone she loved, did that make her Evil? A witch? Heartless? Just like Tsumugi had told her?

A witch never has her own fairytale. A witch has to ruin one to be happy.

Maki scrunched her eyes shut tighter. There had to be something, right? She’d long since forgotten she wasn’t supposed to be genuinely trying at this, clawing in the darkness of her own mind through waves of self-doubt in Tsumugi’s voice crashing around in her head. Kaede had suggested that maybe she’d see something, because she still believed she was a good person. That’s why Maki knew she wouldn’t. A Ball date? Who would ask someone like her to a Ball?

No

Maki-roll, no way you’re the bad guy here

Maki’s thoughts slowed. Tsumugi’s voice softened.

If I was a pen I’d write about you

There was another voice in her head now, though it was faint enough that Maki couldn’t really identify it.

If you’re carrying a burden, I’d be happy to share it with you

Otherwise I’ll just end up worried about you

The sounds of the classroom around Maki became fuzzy. She let her face relax a little.

Even your truest love wouldn’t do something so stupid-

Then why did she?

Everything was dark behind Maki’s eyes. Even now, there was nothing to be seen. Without Tsumugi screaming at her, she had nothing to believe in.

I told you, I’m always going to follow my heart

No. No… There was… something.

A milky, faceless silhouette appeared in Maki’s head. She couldn’t identify him, but there was something… so familiar…

And if my heart leads to you, then I'll believe in that too

He kneeled down on one knee, and pulled out a rose. A rose. It reminded Maki of the Welcoming so long ago. She reached out to it without thinking. It just felt right. Was this… right? Was this okay? Tsumugi was nowhere to be seen, so it was… okay… surely… he was holding it for her, after all. No one else. This one bit of happiness…

“Are you feeling alright?”

She opened her eyes. Professor Anemone was staring at her. So was the rest of the class.

“Um. I think so?”

“But you… you… smiled! A real smile!”

Maki blinked. “I did?”

“Have you been bewitched?” her teacher asked, examining her. “Has someone been casting hexes?”

“No-” Maki spluttered, horrified. “I mean- it was an accident-”

“But, my dear! It was beautiful! ”

Maki felt her face grow warm as she sank into her seat, trying to settle back into her usual scowl while ducking out of sight of the rest of the class.

Anemone sighed. “If only you were like that the rest of the time.”

As the class whirred back into motion again, Kaede leaned over to Maki. “Soooo. Let me guess, a handsome prince wandered his way into your mind?”

“Shut your mouth and never mention this again,” Maki snapped. “That was horrifying.”

“She’s right though, you do have a pretty smile…”

“I said shut up!”

“Okay, okay.” Kaede seemed to sense the hard limit from Maki here, and didn’t bother her for the rest of the lesson. She sat in her seat, legs tucked into her chest. Aside from the embarrassment from... well, whatever that was… she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. She’d been interrupted before she could see the person’s face, after all. Now, of course, it seemed like complete lunacy and imagination, but at the moment, for a second, it had felt so real… Did that mean someone actually wanted to ask her?? But who?? Was she losing her mind? And what in god’s name made her actually happy about the idea??

The thought was disarming enough that it carried her through her next two lessons and into Lunchtime. Maki was so sure she didn’t want a prince, or really any romance at all. Because it was deeply un-Maki and went against everything she knew about herself. So maybe there was some symbolic reason she wanted to be asked to the Ball? Like validation or selfishness or proving everyone wrong?

Probably just not wanting to suffer whatever fate met the girls who didn’t get asked.

“If someone asks you to the Ball, do you actually have to stay with them during it? Or can you leave them and do your own thing once you get there?”

Kaede frowned. “I have no idea. There won’t be any teachers there or anything, so I suppose there’s nothing to stop you.”

“Great,” Maki said, avoiding mentioning that she'd already suggested the idea to Hiyoko too. “In that case, as long as you guys all have confirmed dates, I can bribe some guy into asking me and ditch him when we get there.”

“Do you think my date counts as confirmed?” Kaede asked excitedly.

“Let’s find out,” Maki replied, turning as Kaito and Shuichi joined their table for lunch. “Hey, Shuichi, have you chosen your date for the Ball yet?”

“Maki!” Kaede squeaked, shocked. Maki did her best imitation of the cheeky smile Kaede did whenever she embarrassed Maki.

“Uh.” Shuichi stared at both of them. “...Why are you asking?”

“Curious.”

“...” Shuichi eyed them both cautiously, but answered regardless. “...I think so.”

“I think most of the guys have decided already!” Kaito added cheerfully. “I’m not sure why all the teachers are treating the Circus of Talents like a make or break, I mean, if we’re proposing during it there’s not much time to change plans anyway.”

Maki was going to pick at Shuichi for more detail, but Kaito’s response made a thought occur to her. What about Kaito? She knew he didn’t have any lack of options, far from it, but had he actually chosen who he was gonna ask? It wouldn’t be Hiyoko, would it? And Sonia was probably out of the question since she liked Gundham, and she’d never even seen him talk to Sayaka, who was the most popular vote at the start of the year. If anything, Kaito had been too caught up in Tsumugi’s mess to have a chance to talk to girls.

“Kaito, have you chosen your date yet?” she asked.

He blinked at her, then looked away, smiling. “You’ll have to wait ‘til the Ball to find out!”

“So you haven’t?”

He still wasn’t meeting her eye. “Stop picking at me, I’m not telling you!”

“So you have?”

“Okay, look, fine! Yeah, I’ve chosen.”

“Who?”

“I said, I’m not telling.”

Maki narrowed her eyes at him. Why was he acting so furtive with her? She sighed. “Okay, okay, keep it a secret then.”

She spent the rest of Lunch flicking through every option in her head. It was no use, she had no idea. And if she had no idea, probably Kaito didn’t either, and he was just bluffing. And that’s why he was acting weird about it. He was so frustrating sometimes. Even as she thought that, Maki felt a bit guilty about it. If he was hiding things from her, it was probably because of that stupid fairytale thing. He wanted to make a good impression if it showed up in a book.

Still, that couldn’t stop it from bothering her. “I don’t get it,” she complained to Kaede as soon as they parted ways with Kaito and Shuichi. “Who the hell is he asking? He’s polite to all the girls, sure, but he’s not particularly close to any of them. I’d know. Has he just got a safe choice?”

Kaede didn’t reply. Notably. Maki looked up at her.

“What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Like what?” Kaede replied, still smiling like that.

“You…” Maki scrunched up her nose. “You know who he’s asking, don’t you?”

Kaede’s smile widened a little. “I have my suspicions.”

“Who?”

“Figure it out yourself~”

“Kaede.”

“I’m not telling!”

Despite Maki’s warning tone, Kaede wouldn’t budge. Alright, then be like that. Maki decided angrily she just wouldn’t care. 

On the way back to their room that night, Maki and Kaede ran into Sonia, Chiaki and Peko in the corridor.

“Kaede! Urgent help needed!” Chiaki said.

“How do you do question five on the homework?” Sonia asked.

Kaede blinked. “What, for Good Deeds? I haven’t even started yet.”

“It’s like, something about dance etiquette in various scenarios, but I don’t even think we’ve learnt it. Have we?”

Maki began to edge away from the conversation. “See you in a bit,” she tried to whisper to Kaede, but Sonia stopped her.

“What about you? Any idea?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Sonia tilted her head. “You’re pretty good at homework, aren’t you?”

“I…” Maki thought for a second. “I don’t remember what I answered, but I can get it out and check if you want.”

“You did it already!?” Kaede asked, horrified. Maki shrugged, rummaging through her bag.

“I’m doomed at all of the Ball stuff, so homework’s all I’ve got.”

Sonia looked sympathetic. “Don’t allow it to upset you, it’s certainly not true.”

“What’s not true?”

“The two boys thing.”

“What ‘two boys’ thing?”

“You know, that they all made a pact for two boys to go together rather than ask you.”

Maki stared at her.

“I’m guessing she didn’t know,” Chiaki said quietly.

“Oh!” Sonia looked guilty now. “Sorry!”

“Well,” Maki said bitterly. “If I’m unattractive enough that I turn men gay, I suppose that’s an achievement in itself.”

"No, no, please don't get upset by it!" Sonia said, waving her hands. "Like I said, it's just a nasty rumour!"

"Besides, Fuyuhiko reckons it was started by a Never," Peko added. Maki considered all the Nevers she knew, not sure which was more likely to have started something like this. Probably not Mukuro, but that was the most she could narrow it down.

"I'm not upset," Maki said. "I don't care about boys or a stupid Ball. Now, do you want help or not?" She unfolded her homework and skimmed it. "I answered question five, but I skipped number three."

"You should join our study group," Chiaki said. Sonia nodded enthusiastically. "Both of you. We just kinda sit together and share notes, and your room is just down the corridor so no hassle for you to join us."

"I'd love to!" Kaede agreed. She looked at Maki.

"...Sure, I guess." Maki wasn't sure a study group was really her kind of thing, but the three of them had been nothing but nice to her, so there wasn't any harm in it. Besides, Maki got the suspicion it was less of a formal group, and more of a casual sesh when they felt like it. A friend group thing.

"Hooray!" Sonia said, clasping her hands together. "It will be like a slumber party!"

So that's how Maki found herself cozied in a pile of Chiaki's pillows, listening to Sonia and Kaede discuss how hot men with dark hair are.

"No, see, Peko, it's not literally about the dark hair," Kaede explained. "It's the personality type. Dark-haired guys are a type, like funny guys and flirty guys."

Peko shook her head. "No, I don't get it. Is Fuyuhiko a dark-haired guy?"

"Not really," Chiaki said, eyes not moving from her games console. "The dark-haired archetype is brooding. Mysterious. Usually tall. Like vampires"

Sonia nodded enthusiastically. "Like vampires. But in a good way. Not evil vampires."

"I assume you're going to the Ball with Gundham?" Maki asked.

"Of course," Sonia replied. "I know the proposals are meant to be at the Circus of Talents, but since you girls can keep a secret, he actually already asked me."

"Awww, that's sweet," Kaede said. "What about you, Chiaki?"

"One second." There were a few seconds of furious tapping from Chiaki before she put her console down. "I'm not sure. I'll probably make a deal with Hajime."

 "Hajime?"

"They play video games together," Peko elaborated.

"I'll tell him that if he asks me, I'll teach him how to Fortnite dance," Chiaki replied. "Uh. To clarify, that was a joke."

Once again, Maki was completely lost by their conversations. "And Peko?"

Peko blinked. "Uh. I don't know."

"I assumed you'd be going with Fuyuhiko," Kaede said.

"I'm sure there are lots of other people he'd rather ask," Peko fidgeted, "so it's not good to assume…"

"Like who?" Maki said, raising an eyebrow. Peko seemed awfully dense to her, given Fuyuhiko didn't seem to talk to any other girls, aside from Peko's friends.

"Like… like…" Peko thought for a second. "I don't know, like… you?"

"Me?" Maki almost laughed. "No way. I'd reject him and he knows it."

"So who are you going with, Maki?" Chiaki asked.

It was Maki's turn to hesitate awkwardly. "No one yet. The only role I have at the Ball is apparently a gay man's excuse to ask a guy."

"I assumed Kaito would ask you," Sonia said, unaffected by Maki's dark humour.

"Kaito?" The idea was even more far-fetched than her going with Fuyuhiko. "Are we thinking of the same Kaito here? Future heir of Camelot? Why would he ask me ?"

There was a quiet cough from Kaede. "I can think of a few reasons," she mumbled.

Silence. It took a second to click, and then Maki felt like her brain had been thwacked by a pachinko hammer. Suddenly Kaede's behaviour made complete sense.

"When you said you 'had a suspicion' about who Kaito was going to ask…" she said, rounding on Kaede, "you meant me?"

"Not telling," Kaede repeated, but her smile did nothing but confirm it.

"No. You're losing your mind. What the fuck made you think that?"

"He does have that nickname for you…" Chiaki whispered, back behind her console again.

"You heard that?" Maki asked, increasingly more horrified by this conversation. Now that she thought about it, she'd long since stopped telling Kaito off for using it, so probably the whole school had heard by now. "That's just because he's weird, it means nothing."

"He cheered you on an awful lot for the Prince's Duel," Sonia added, finger on her lip thoughtfully.

"You sit together at Lunch and whisper to each other in Surviving Fairy Tales," Peko contributed.

"That doesn't-" Maki fumbled.

"You two have some crazy romantic tension at the moment," Kaede said, clearly forgetting she said she wouldn't tell Maki. "And you said you couldn't figure out what girl he possibly talks to enough to ask."

"Romantic-? That wasn't romantic tension- I mean-" Maki stumbled over her words, trying to argue with all of their points at the same time. "I don't know what you're talking about. He's just weird and I'm not good at talking and- it's not- why on earth would he pick me over all the other people he has to choose from? He could have anyone he wants."

"And who do you think he wants?" Kaede replied.

Maki opened and closed her mouth like a dying fish. She'd been teased by Kaede for Kaito liking her before, but this was different. She really meant it this time. And for once, Maki couldn't figure out how to argue.

He had been acting weird when she asked him who he was taking to the Ball. And he had repeated over and over to her that he cared about her and wanted to protect her. But those things all had alternate explanations. And anyway, even if he did want to ask her to the Ball, it wasn't necessarily romantic. No. It was a mandated school event. Perhaps he just thought she was his only choice. Or he believed she was a fairytale heroine and chose her for his pride as a prince. Or whatever.

And yet. 

He'd chosen her, hadn't he? Again, and again, and again. Like at the end of the Trial by Tale, when Tsumugi was defending herself. Like back in Surviving Fairy Tales, as a cat, as a maiden in a coffin, as a friend, as a 'sidekick'. He'd always chosen her.

But above all, there was one thing Kaito said.

One thing that Maki couldn't get out of her mind.

I told you, I’m always going to follow my heart. And if my heart leads to you, then I'll believe in that too.

Chapter Text

Maki, after a while of consideration, concluded that she was losing her mind.

She knew, now that she'd been in this place for three months, that she was the sort of person who couldn't make up her mind on anything. Even Tsumugi had pointed it out.

So what do you want? You say you think one thing, then do something that completely contradicts it. Of course I couldn’t trust you.

But this situation really took the cake for the most conflicted Maki had ever been.

There was an infinitely long list of reasons why Kaito asking her to the Ball would make no sense at all. For one, he was the future heir of Camelot. That hadn't ever been something that mattered to Maki, nor had it affected her perception of him much aside from their first few interactions, but it was true. And she was just… her.

He'd told Maki before that choosing the right girl was important to him. That his father told him again and again to never make the wrong choice. But asking Maki to the Ball… well, that was so clearly the wrong choice in every conceivable way that either Maki was wrong about him planning to ask her, or he was even more stupid than she'd thought.

And what about this fairytale mess? If she saw things from Tsumugi's point of view, which was the most compelling despite how little she liked it, then Tsumugi was the princess and she was the witch. So she couldn't possibly go to the Ball with the prince Tsumugi wanted so badly. That didn't make any narrative sense at all. Unless Tsumugi snuck into the Ball Cinderella style and Kaito fell instantly in love with her.

Maki groaned. If Kaito fell instantly in love with anyone that was a red flag. She wouldn't let the same thing happen again. And with how he was acting, she couldn't really imagine him suddenly falling for Tsumugi now. But what other ending was there? Was this a fairytale about how Tsumugi doesn't need a prince to be happy? And Maki wasn't a villain at all, just a side character? But what did that mean for her and Kaito??

With everything on her mind (both this and Tsumugi and how she was going to get home), lessons were the least of Maki's priorities. But nevertheless, she hadn't seen a 20 or 19 rank over her head in a long time. In fact, it was far more common for her to see a 1 or a 2.

Even though Maki had previously hated Animal Communication (not because she was particularly worse at it than any other subject, just because she found it pointless and wishy-washy), with both the Snow Ball and Circus of Talents dominating her other lessons, it became her one break. Princess Uma didn’t miss any chance to discuss the Ball, sure, but even she had to admit that animals wouldn’t help much with getting a date.

Instead, she found ways to make completely unrelated activities seem like that had something to do with the Ball.

“Getting ready for the Ball is always chaotic,” Uma said. “If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself struggling to tighten your corset, while your hair comes undone and your shoes have gone missing. That’s where your animal friends come in!”

Uma whistled, and a flock of birds flew down and landed on her head and shoulders. “The best princesses can always call upon animals to help, be it classic bird friends, or more unique critters like Cinderella’s mice and Snow White’s woodland creatures. But you can whistle for birds without the perfect whistle. Today, we’re going to practice our most beautiful, tuneful whistling!”

Maki was pretty satisfied with that. There were far worse things she could’ve been made to do, and anyway, she’d never learnt to whistle, so it was a good opportunity to try.

While Kaede easily whistled some pretty song, Maki sat on a tree stump, blowing air to little success.

“Try licking your lips first,” Kaede suggested. “I find it harder to whistle with dry lips.”

“How are you so good at whistling? Is that just something everyone here practices?”

Kaede laughed. “I have no idea. I just do it because I’m a music girlie.”

“Music girlie?” Maki asked.

Her eyes went wide. “Oh! I never mentioned it to you! I play the piano. It’s the main thing I’m good at, actually.”

“Really?” It hadn’t occurred to Maki how little she knew about Kaede’s life.

“Yeah. Guess I never brought it up because I usually practice while you’re training with Kaito and Shuichi.”

“You should let me listen somewhen.”

“Huh?”

Kaede looked a mixture of shocked, embarrassed and flattered. Maki looked away, feeling guilty. “I’m a terrible friend, I never even really asked about your hobbies or anything. But I’d like to hear sometime. If you’d let me.”

A huge smile spread across Kaede’s face. “Awww, thank you! I’d be happy to let you listen. Although, if I make it into the Circus of Talents, you’ll hear my music then.”

“It’s your talent, then?”

“Yeah. It’s probably not a particularly impressive one, but… it’s what I’m best at. And since I’m currently ranked about ninth, I ought to be preparing something anyway.”

“I think it’s a good talent. You’ve only got to beat whichever Never you’re pitted against anyway. Chances are they’ll have some stupid talent and you’ll completely destroy them.”

“You don’t know that,” Kaede said, flustered, but she was still smiling.

Kaede stayed in high spirits for the rest of the lesson, whistling away to herself. Maki, however, managed barely a peep until the last ten minutes.

Eventually, with all her efforts, she managed a long, loud noise, less like a tuneful whistle and more like some kind of high-pitched alarm. Still, she was pretty proud of herself for technically whistling, and held it for as long as she could.

“Well done, that’s a good-”

Kaede was cut off by a sudden squeak of surprise from Uma. Her bird friends, which she was in the middle of feeding on her lap, had abruptly taken flight. For a second, Maki thought the sound she made was so horrific it had scared them away. But as they flew directly towards her, she realized it was quite the opposite.

Maki yelped and ducked as she was divebombed by songbirds. When there was no brutal impact or violet pecking, she peeked her eyes open.

“Hey, um, what the fuck just happened?” Maki asked, her head and shoulders smothered in very satisfied-looking birds.

“Y-You-” Uma stammered. “H-How did you just summon them like that?”

Maki stared back, still cringing. “I don’t know! How do I get them off?”

Uma whistled. The birds whistled back, but didn’t budge.

Fed up, Maki shook herself hard, waving her hands over her head until all the birds were forced to fly. She then backed away. “Get. Off!”

Dejected, the birds flew back to Uma again, who was still staring at Maki nonplussed.

“I don’t… I don’t understand. How did you do that?”

“I. Don’t. Know,” Maki replied emphatically. “I’ve never whistled before, and I don’t think I could do it again. I don’t even really like birds.”

Uma continued to stare at her for a few silent seconds. Finally, she said, “well, whether or not it was a fluke, I think we’ve found our first place rank for the lesson.”

Maki recounted this story to Kaito and Shuichi at Lunch, with Kaede to back her up. Shuichi and Kaito exchanged looks with each other.

“Do you remember what happened the day you were meant to fight Taka? With the wasps?” Shuichi started, but Maki decided she didn’t like where he was going, and dismissed him immediately.

“If your point is that it proves I’m a princess or something, then you can knock it off. A bunch of birds harassing me over my terrible whistling proves nothing.”

"I'm just saying," he pressed on, "I did mention to you that the hero and villain in a fairytale tend to gain certain abilities."

"It's not an ability! It's a fluke!" Maki snapped. "Besides, magical wonderful fairy princess powers don't really mean much when I have none of the other qualities of a princess." Kaito opened his mouth to argue with her, so she added "I don't even have a date to the Ball."

"You've still got plenty of time, Maki," Shuichi said. "There's a week until the Circus."

"You say that, but you said that most of the guys have already chosen who they're going to ask." Her eyes darted towards Kaito accidentally, and realizing it was too late to pretend she wasn't addressing him, so she chose to glare at him instead. "Y'know, some guys have even confirmed who they're going with already. It's not some big secret or anything."

"Hey! Are you still annoyed that I won't tell you who I'm asking?"

"I just don't see the purpose of keeping secrets, is all," Maki replied.

"It's tradition!"

"Oh, and you're so traditional ."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because-"

Maki paused. Because what? Well, because Chiaki and Sonia and Peko and Kaede all seemed to think he'd ask her. But it didn't bother her at all when Peko said the same thing about her and Fuyuhiko… it was actually amusing. So why was it different when it was Kaito? Why did she care so much?

"Uh, Maki?" Kaito asked.

"Because it's annoying that you won't answer," she finished quickly, looking away. "God."

What was she turning into? What was this guy doing to her?

At the end of History of Heroism, Ever students rushed to the Entrance Hall to see the list of Circus participants on the notice board. It was there that Maki saw her name, emblazoned in gold leaf.

1. Sonia Nevermind, Purity 53
2. Kaito Momota, Valor 45
3. Maki Harukawa, Purity 51
4. Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Valor 48
5. Hiyoko Saionji, Purity 47
6. Sayaka Maizono, Purity 46
7. Kaede Akamatsu, Purity 51
8. Kirumi Tojo, Purity 46
9. Gundham Tanaka, Valor 46
10. Aoi Asahina, Purity 43

"Did I get in?" Kaede asked excitedly, peering past Maki.

Maki didn't move, staring aghast at the board. "I'm doomed."

"We're… we're both in the Circus of Talents!?"

"I'm so doomed," Maki repeated under her breath. "I'm so doomed, I'm so doomed, I'm so doomed."

She continued this mantra all the way up the stairs and into her dorm room. How could she accidentally get third? Third. How could she let that happen?? Hadn't she learnt her lesson from what happened with Tsumugi in the Trial by Tale. She was so stupid. She was so stupid.

Maki hit her head on the wall.

"Hey, now, I'm sure there's something you can do as a talent," Kaede said soothingly, putting a hand on Maki's head and steering her away from the wall. "We'll do some research together."

"I just want things to stop happening," Maki mumbled in reply. "I just want to go home. I want things to be normal. Why can't it just stop for a second? One second?"

"You need something to take your mind off of it," Kaede suggested. She lifted her hand from Maki's head, and it immediately hit the wall again. "Maki stop it."

"I'm not cut out for this," she said. "The magic fairytale pen clearly chose the wrong person. My head hurts."

"Probably because you hit it on the wall twice! Come sit down. Please?"

Maki sighed, but reluctantly obliged. "Do you think if I killed myself in the middle of the stage that would count as a talent?"

" Maki ."

She sank down onto her bed. "I'm joking. Probably."

"You're in a fairytale, Maki. You must have a talent! What about whistling for birds like you did before?"

"I still haven't learnt how to whistle properly."

"We've got a week. That's plenty of time to learn."

"And what if it doesn't work again?" Maki snapped. "What if I stand on stage and whistle and nothing happens and everyone laughs at me and Kaito goes 'wow I'm so glad I'm not asking Maki to the ball, she's such a loser'."

Kaede gave her a baffled look.

"Not that I care if he asks me to the ball, I don't even want to go," Maki added quickly. "The world is dumb and stupid and I hate everything."

"It will work. We'll make it work." Kaede tried to reassure her with a smile.

"I just need to go home before the Circus of Talents," Maki replied, ignoring Kaede's attempts at encouragement and already brainstorming her own solution. "I need a way to speak to the School Master properly."

Kaede frowned again, but didn't speak.

Maki had no idea how to get home anymore. She didn't even have proof 'speaking to the School Master' would actually help. He was just as likely to say "sorry, it's a fairytale, I can't interfere" and leave her to it. And she no longer had Tsumugi to fight for, meaning she was just trying to leave for her own self-preservation, something she simply didn't care so much about. All the time she was the one unhappy, she could just procrastinate and knuckle down for one more day, then another day, then another, stumbling her way through it. It was only when she had someone else to worry about that she found urgency.

Hard pressed for plans, Maki reluctantly followed Kaede's whistling idea and started practicing in her spare time. It just felt so stupid, and she hadn't managed to get anything special or magical to happen since that lesson. Maybe it was pointless. Maybe it was all pointless.

She was still practicing during Lunch, and thankfully neither Kaito nor Shuichi seemed to mind much.

“What’s that awful noise?”

Maki turned to see Kokichi hovering behind their table.

“Hey! Scram, you!” Kaito shouted immediately, getting up. Kokichi blinked innocently.

“Did I do something wrong? Sorry, it just sounded like a mouse was dying over here so I came to save it.”

“I said go away!”

Kokichi sighed dramatically. “Why must you hate me so? I haven’t even done anything.” He sniffed loudly, and wiped an imaginary tear. “I’m already soooo lonely now that Miss Grand Witch Ultimate is too busy angsting to even leave her room.”

Kaito opened his mouth to shout at Kokichi again, but Maki held up a hand to quiet him. “You’re talking about Tsumugi?”

“Yup.” He’d already stopped acting sad again. “Ever since the Trial by Tale she’s been more emo than Shuichi. Although, between you and me, I think I know why.”

Maki gave Kaito a sideways look to stop him from lunging at Kokichi. “...Why then?”

“Apparently she’s been having nightmares.” He bounced on his feet mischievously. “I was just minding my own business and I overheard Lady Lesso talking to her about nemesis dreams . Which is just silly, because that would mean she’s a fairytale villain, and who ever heard of something like that?”

He whispered those last words dramatically, and Shuichi frowned at him. “Nemesis dreams? Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“What are nemesis dreams?” Maki asked.

“Hmmm…” Kokichi put a finger to his lips. “Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t be telling you this. You’re the enemy, after all. Silly me! But if you want me to be your permanent informant, I’ll tell you anything for the right price. I know all the dark secrets of the teachers.”

“How are we meant to believe anything you tell us?” Kaito said.

“You don’t trust me? But I thought princes were meant to be nice. You’re crushing my dreams, y’know? You’ll be my villain origin story.”

“You’re already a villain you little brat!” Kaito moved to punch Kokichi, but before his fist could make contact, Kokichi yelped. A banana skin hit the back of his head with a squelch.

Maki looked across the courtyard to see Fuyuhiko walking over smugly.

“Heyyyyy!” Kokichi whined, running away. “Not fair! Not fair!”

“Consider that my debt repaid,” Fuyuhiko said. Kaito blinked at him.

“What debt?”

“Nevermind that,” Maki said, not in the mood for storytime. “What did Kokichi mean by ‘nemesis dreams’?”

Shuichi spoke up first. “Well, I’m not super well informed on the subject, but–”

“I am,” Fuyuhiko interrupted. “Nemesis dreams are a Never thing. During a fairytale, every villain has a nemesis. The person they need to kill in order to end the fairytale, basically. Nemesis dreams are nightmares about your nemesis. They get more intense the closer it gets to the end of the fairytale.”

Maki stared at him. She could see the other three exchanging looks with each other.

“No, I don’t get it,” she said finally. “What’s the difference between normal nightmares and nemesis dreams anyway?”

Fuyuhiko shrugged. “Guess probably just that they keep coming back?”

“So it’s stupid.”

“Why was Kokichi talking about nemesis dreams with you anyway?” Fuyuhiko asked.

“Making up shit for fun, I think,” Maki said dismissively.

It was only after Fuyuhiko had left that she was able to express her actual thoughts. “He… was definitely lying, right?”

“There’s… not really any way to tell,” Shuichi replied quietly.

“No. He must be lying. Because Tsumugi isn’t a villain. She’s having nightmares because I ruined her life. That’s all there is to it.”

“ She ruined her life,” both Kaede and Kaito tried to correct, but Maki ignored them.

“If I just talked to her… maybe we could still go home together…” she mumbled, mostly to herself. “Maybe it’s not too late to fix everything.”

Two days until the Circus of Talents, and Maki was a hair’s width away from crawling back to Tsumugi. Not because she missed her as a person, she wasn’t even close to forgiving her for the love potion incident, but because she missed the role Tsumugi had in her life. The old Tsumugi. But even if she wanted to, Maki barely had a chance to talk to her. Tsumugi was almost nowhere to be seen, and when she was, she kept away from Maki, in a quiet, lonely corner.

It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.

In Good Deeds, Professor Dovey gave them a written test about the Ball. Maki felt so low she didn’t even try to get the answers right.

1. If you attend the Ball with someone other than your first choice, but your first choice, who you’re madly in love with, asks you to dance, do you:

A) Kindly inform them that if they wanted to dance with you they should have asked you to the Ball

B) Dance with them, but only to fast-paced music

C) Ditch your date for your first choice

D) Ask your date what they would feel comfortable with

Maki answered D. Underneath it, she wrote:

“ Unless no one would ever ask you to the dance because you’re stupid and unlovable. Then this question doesn’t apply. ”

2. Upon arriving at the Ball, you notice your friend’s breath smells unbearably of garlic and trout. However, your friend is going with the person you hoped would ask you to the Ball. Do you:

A) Inform your friend at once of their foul odor

B) Say nothing since it is your friend’s fault they smell

C) Say nothing because you will enjoy watching them be embarrassed

D) Offer them a piece of sweet licorice without mentioning their breath

Maki answered A. She added, “Because at least bad breath is temporary. A terrible personality is forever.”

3. A baby dove with a broken wing slips into the Good Hall, crashes to the dance floor during the last waltz, and is in severe danger of being crushed. Do you:

A) Scream and stop the dance

B) Finish the dance and then attend to the dove

C) Kick the dove off the floor while dancing so it’s safe, then attend to it after

D) Abandon the dance and rescue the dove, even if it means embarrassing your partner

Maki answered D. “My partner is imaginary. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

She answered the next 27 questions in the same spirit. Once finished, Professor Dovey scored the test and shoved them under a gleaming pumpkin weight, face growing grimmer and grimmer.

“Just what I’ve been afraid of,” she said, flinging the tests back to the student. “Some of your answers are vain, vacuous, and at times downright villainous! Do you really prioritize a dance over values like kindness and heroism?”

Many of the students hung their heads shamefully. Dovey sighed. “I understand you’re all stressed about the Ball. But, despite what the school may sometimes have you believe, there are more important things in life than a prince. To be Good you must prove yourself Good, Evers. Defend. Forgive. Help. Give. Love. Those are our rules. But it is your choice to follow them.”

As she went over the tests, elaborating on every wrong answer, Maki shoved hers away, not even bothering to look. But then she noticed the corner.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

100%

See me after class

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When the fairies chimed the end of the lesson, Professor Dovey ushered all the Evers out, closed the pumpkin candy door, and locked it. She turned and found Maki beside her gingerbread desk, nibbling a chunk from the edges.

“I don’t know what you expect of them,” she said. “They’ll face some unknown punishment if they don’t find a prince. Of course they’ll focus on the shallow things to get people to notice them. It’s your fault.”

Dovey frowned, eyeing the new hole in her desk. “Those are ancient rules enacted by the school itself. We teachers don’t have control over that.”

“Have you ever tried complaining to the School Master? How much of a School Master is he anyway if you don’t even talk to him?”

“Maki, I haven’t met with you to discuss your issues with the School Master. I wanted to talk about your answers on the test.”

She looked away. “If you’re going to give me some motivational speech about how I don’t need beauty or elegance to be loved, I don’t want it, thanks.”

Dovey sat down in her chair opposite Maki. “Not quite. I have something important I need to tell you. Do you understand the concept of a fairytale, Maki?”

Maki blinked at her for a second, before realizing where this was going. “Oh. I already know I’m in a fairytale.”

“You… do?”

“I heard your conversation with the School Master about it. You said you weren’t going to tell me because I have ‘enough on my plate’.”

Professor Dovey sucked in a breath through her teeth. “You were eavesdropping?”

“Yes.” She crossed her arms defiantly. “Lady Lesso gave me a weird look so I got curious. What are you going to do about it?”

Pause. Dovey sighed again. “Well, I suppose that makes this easier. You understand the connotations of that, right?”

“I’m an evil fairytale villain who’s ruining Tsumugi’s life.”

Dovey’s eyes flicked to the 100% on Maki’s paper. “What makes you so convinced you’re the villain?”

“I’m ugly, I’m rude, I’m stubborn, I’m a huge pessimist, a smartass, reckless, and most importantly unlovable. The fact I have friends is only testament to the fact they’re so Good they can tolerate me.” She fidgeted with the piece of gingerbread between her fingers. “Even if you try to tell us that beauty isn’t important, you don’t see princesses that look like me, or act like me. You see princesses like Kaede or Sonia. You see villains like me.”

For a long moment, Professor Dovey just gazed at Maki. “Suppose you did look like them. Like the girls in storybooks. Would that fix things? Because if looks are all that’s holding you back, there are ways to work on that. It worked for Ella of Maidenvale. She was a lot like you, actually.”

“Well, three cheers for Ella of Maidenvale,” Maki sulked.

“I gave her a visit when I found out she wished to go to a Ball and then couldn’t go through with it. All she needed was a dress and a nice pair of shoes.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with anyth–” Maki stopped. “Ella… Cinder ella?”

“Not even my best work, however notorious,” said the teacher, caressing her pumpkin paperweight. “You know, they sell these in Maidenvale. Doesn’t match Ella’s coach at all, really.”

“But- but that means you’re-”

“The most wished-for fairy godmother in the Endless Woods. At your service, dear.”

Maki stared at her. No… no way. She certainly looked like a fairy godmother, almost exactly like Maki had imagined when she read that book back in the orphanage, but… but… she was a storybook character. A piece of fiction. Seeing her, as a real person… and she’d been Maki’s teacher the whole time?

“Well,” Dovey prompted gently. “Answer my question. Would looking different fix things?”

Maki thought for a second. “...No,” she concluded slowly. “Because I don’t want to look like that. I just know that I’m meant to look like that. If you think I’m a princess, I should look like that. But I don’t. That means I can't be a princess. And I wouldn’t want to be one. I don’t want to be shallow and vapid and wear poofy dresses and rely on a man for everything.”

“Is that how you see your friends? Do you think Kaede is shallow and vapid?”

“No!” Maki answered quickly. “I just- uh-”

“Even though she likes dresses? She wears flowery perfume? She brushes her long blonde hair and dreams about her future prince?”

Maki wasn’t sure how to argue with that.

“Do you think Ella was vapid for fighting for her freedom against her stepmother? Do you think Snow was shallow for fleeing the huntsman hired to kill her?”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Maki snapped. “You win.”

“You don’t hate those people, and you don’t believe those things about them,” Professor Dovey said. “You think you’re not good enough, and the only way you can make yourself feel better about that is by judging the girls around you.”

“I don’t think I’m not good enough, I know I’m not good enough!” Maki crushed the gingerbread in her hand. “My own best friend told me herself that I ruined her life. And if I have to become some kind of hero, you’ll be expecting me to find some True Love’s kiss or whatever. I know something like that doesn’t exist for me . I’m just stupid Maki from my stupid home by myself. I can’t do this. Any of this.”

“Maki.” Dovey put down the paperweight on her desk and broke off a piece of gingerbread, making Maki look up. “You are good enough. The Storian wouldn’t have chosen to write about you if you weren’t. But more importantly, I think you’ve got the idea of True Love a bit backwards.”

“What do you mean?”

“True Love isn’t a thing that you find. True Love isn’t one prince. True Love isn’t even one person .” She smiled. “True Love is a feeling .”

“A… feeling?”

“You’ve been learning magic for a while now. How do you get your finger to glow?”

Maki glanced down at her hand. “A strong emotion. Like anger or determination.”

“Exactly. Magic follows emotion. And across the lands, one of the strongest powers someone can have is the power to grant wishes. Most people, with a few exceptions such as myself, can only grant wishes using the magic of a fairytale. Every fairytale begins with a wish. Your friend wished for a fairytale. And I’m sure, somewhere deep inside, you made a wish too.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with True Love.”

“Just as a fairytale begins with a wish, it ends with one too. A wish that is granted. But only the most powerful magic can grant a wish, and magic follows emotion. So what is the most powerful emotion, Maki? An emotion so deep and true and Good that it can grant a wish?”

Maki stared at her teacher’s golden eyes.

“...Love.”

Dovey smiled. “Exactly. True Love.”

“So True Love is a feeling? Powerful enough to grant a wish and end a fairytale?”

She nodded. “Over the years, the meaning of True Love has been lost in the stories. Young girls read a fairytale of True Love being a magical kiss between a prince and a princess, and therefore see that image as True Love. But really, it can be anything. A prince, sure. But also a friend. A family member. A pet. A people. The kiss part is entirely optional. It’s common because it causes a spike in emotion that helps a lot with the magic, but there are plenty of ways around it.”

“I… think I understand.” Maki said. “But… I still don’t have anyone like that. Not like Tsumugi does with Kaito. So I still seem like more of a villain.”

“Perhaps. I can’t tell you who you are.”

“But you must think I’m Good, or you wouldn’t be helping me like this.”

“I think you can be Good. As I said earlier: Defend. Forgive. Help. Give. Love. It is your choice to follow them. And you always have that choice. Don’t give up on it because you think you need to look a certain way, or be a certain type of person, or even because you think it makes you weak to love. There is nothing weak about love. It’s the strongest thing of all.”

“That sounds stupid,” Maki replied quietly, her voice void of its earlier spite.

Dovey held out her hand. “Gingerbread?” she offered.

“You’re not mad about me eating your desk?” Maki asked, accepting the piece.

“I can think of far worse crimes.”

That night, Maki managed to whistle.

No birds came to her window or anything, but to be fair, it was night time. She'd have to try again in the morning.

"That and it's super cold out at the moment," Kaede added. "I can't believe it's February already."

"It's February?" Maki asked, surprised. She hadn't exactly been keeping track of the time.

"Yeah, it's the 1st today. Honestly, I've got to get you a calendar or something."

"Hm. That means it's my birthday tomorrow." It was even harder to believe she'd be 16 now.

Kaede shot up in bed and stared at her. "It's your birthday? And you're only telling me this now?"

"You don't need to do anything for it!" Maki said hurriedly. "I don't celebrate birthdays, I was just thinking out loud."

"Geez. 'Don't celebrate birthdays'?" Kaede lay back down, mumbling to herself. "Geez."

Maki spent the entire next morning suspicious of Kaede, mostly out of worry she'd mention it to Kaito and he'd make a big deal out of it. But the morning came and went without incident, and it quickly slipped her mind.

During Animal Communication, Maki successfully called several birds to herself. Somehow. She wasn't really sure how she was doing it, but she'd instantly become Princess Uma's star student.

“Here you can see, class, that it’s not about the musical quality of the whistle itself, but the integrity and heart you put behind it. Birds are intelligent creatures, and can feel which princess truly longs for their help.”

Maki wasn’t certain her actual reason for doing this counted as longing for help, and she couldn’t vouch for her integrity and heart either. As far as she could tell, the birds also saw in her whatever Professor Dovey did. Something about fairytales, most likely.

She told Kaede snippets of her conversation with Dovey, but didn’t recount it from start to finish like she usually did. It felt a little too private, somehow. A stupid thought, really, given it was mostly about the meaning of love and other fluffy things like that, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling. So she kept a lot of it to herself.

However, she did tell Kaede about Dovey being Cinderella’s fairy godmother. “ And she offered to help you!?” she enthused. “That’s an opportunity some girls would die for!”

“I’m sure she’d give you a magic makeover if you asked,” she replied, trying to be helpful.

“You think? Maybe I should speak to her before the ball…”

When the lesson finally ended, however, Kaede was unusually distant all of a sudden. “Go on ahead, Maki, I’ll catch up in a sec!” she said, before vanishing out of sight. Maki walked to Lunch alone, her mind still fresh on Dovey’s advice. If everything that was happening was because of a fairytale… she just needed to end it, somehow. And Dovey said a fairytale ended with a wish, and a wish was granted by love or whatever. But that was all so fuzzy and nondescript that Maki had no idea what she was actually meant to do . She certainly wasn’t about to love so hard it wished them home.

She sat down at their usual table, staring across the Clearing. Kaito and Shuichi weren’t here yet either. She contemplated telling one of them about what Dovey said, but decided it was a bad idea. Shuichi always tended to be too honest for Maki’s liking, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Kaito had to say on the subject of True Love.

Someone caught her eye across the Clearing. Tsumugi was here again.

Maki urged herself to break eye contact, but she couldn’t. If they needed love to go home… Tsumugi was more likely to do that than Maki. So if they could just be friends again… if they could just team up… Tsumugi could wish them home. Somehow. Maybe.

Was she just coming up with excuses to talk to her again? Tsumugi told her to get her own life. She probably didn’t want to be friends. It didn’t matter what Maki thought.

But… she wouldn’t know that until she tried.

Maki stood up from her seat. She walked towards Tsumugi. Tsumugi stared at her.

“Hey, Maki.”

A voice interrupted her and Maki stopped halfway across the Clearing. It was Chiaki.

“I was told to fetch you. Kaede set up some game in the Swordplay courtyard.”

“Some game?”

“I dunno. Something with a ball in it. She hasn’t said.”

Maki sighed. Well, no harm in finding out.

As Maki followed Chiaki out of the Clearing, she glanced back at Tsumugi. She wasn’t looking at Maki anymore. She was instead glaring daggers at the back of Chiaki’s head.

 Maybe she had wanted to be friends with Maki again.

Still, she was snapped out of her trance now. Tsumugi gave Kaito a love potion , Maki reminded herself. I’m not talking to her.

When she arrived at the Swordplay courtyard with Chiaki, she was met by a whole group of people. Not just Kaede, Sonia and Peko as she’d expected from what Chiaki said, but also Kaito, Shuichi and Fuyuhiko.

“Hey Maki-roll!” Kaito greeted cheerfully.

“Ah, Maki, you’re here!” Kaede ran over to her. “We’re playing dodgeball. Figured it we should make the most of your hard work letting girls into the courtyard, after all.”

“And you invited everyone else before me?” Maki asked Kaede sourly. She wasn’t really annoyed, moreso confused, but it came out of her mouth sounding harsh.

Kaede flinched. “It’s not like that! There’s a reason for it!”

“What’s the reason?” Kaito asked.

Kaede didn’t respond, but instead started rummaging through her bag. She eventually pulled out something small, which she placed in the palm of her hand and held out to Maki.

“Happy birthday!” she said. “Since you gave me so little warning, I didn’t have time to organize anything, but I found an old hairclip of mine I thought you might like! And I thought you’d probably prefer something light-hearted like dodgeball over a party. Besides, it’d be a pretty sad party with no prep. So, uh. Surprise!”

“Hold on. It’s Maki’s birthday!?” Sonia exclaimed.

“You didn’t mention it was your birthday!”

“Umm, would you like some fairy dust? Or an old video game?”

Maki backed away, alarmed by the sudden flurry of attention. “I said I don’t celebrate birthdays!” she hissed.

“Well, you do today.” Kaede was still holding out her hand, and Maki reluctantly took the hair clip. But honestly, guys, don’t hound her,” she added, addressing the others.

Maki looked around at the group of people, all smiling at her. Then she looked down at her hand. It was a silver hair clip, much like the ones Kaede always wore to part her bangs, and shaped like the infinity symbol. She didn’t normally like ‘girly’ things, but it was subtle enough.

“You don’t have to join in if you don’t want to,” Kaede said nervously. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything.”

Maki carefully slid the clip into her hair. “It’s okay. I’ll join in.” It was weird that someone would want to do things for her, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel nice. “...Thank you.”

Maki had no idea that playing a game with a group could be so fun.

For one, she found herself very invested very fast. She’d never played dodgeball before, but it wasn’t exactly the most complicated game, and was definitely in her skillset. And she wasn’t the only competitive one - Kaede, Kaito, Sonia and Fuyuhiko all took it a lot more seriously than was probably warranted. The other three, not so much. Shuichi seemed mostly confused by Kaito shouting instructions at him, Chiaki was the first one out each round, and Peko cared more about helping Fuyuhiko than herself, which would have been fine if it wasn’t for the fact they were on opposite teams. Maki found this amusing, until Kaede pointed out that ever since Sonia threw the ball in Kaito’s face, Maki sure had been targeting her a lot. Following that, Maki sure was targeting Kaede a lot.

Maybe birthdays were fun to celebrate. Tsumugi had never asked when Maki’s birthday was, though, to be fair, if Maki had thought it was worth knowing she would have brought it up herself. She couldn’t believe herself now. These people, who she’d once thought were all pretentious weirdos, were now laughing with her, cracking jokes, and (in Fuyuhiko and surprisingly Sonia’s case) loudly swearing.

It was nice, actually. Really nice.

Once they were eventually tired out, they all collapsed on the floor to eat lunch. Kaito gave them some sort of motivational speech for the Circus of Talents, which only Sonia seemed to be listening to. Chiaki was the first to get up.

“Should I take the ball back up to our dorm?” she asked Peko, who nodded.

“I can come with you, if you want.”

Chiaki shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You already tired yourselves out, after all.”

Not long after, Maki and Kaede headed upstairs themselves so Kaede could fix her hair.

“Was that okay?” she asked, as they walked up the stairs.

“Yeah.” Maki, for once, gave her a genuine smile. “Yeah, it was. I had fun. Thank you.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.” Kaede laughed. “You had me so scared I’d messed up at first. But I remembered, the first time I’d seen you smile properly was after the Prince’s Duel ended. And you liked card games, so… I figured something kinda competitive was a safe bet.”

“Why put so much thought into a birthday? You could’ve just given me the hair clip, you know.”

She shook her head. “It’s not just about a birthday. You’ve been so stressed recently… I was worried. I wanted to do something to cheer you up, or at least distract you a bit.”

Maki recalled hitting her head on the wall in frustration, shouting at Kaede, sulking through entire lunchtimes, and making relentless dark comments, and felt suddenly very guilty. “...Sorry.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for.” Kaede paused outside the door to their dorm to turn and look at her. “Friends help share the burden.”

“But isn’t it frustrating? I mean… supporting me… even though I plan to leave the first chance I get? You’re not going to get anything in return.”

“It’s not frustrating. I’ll admit, it’s a little sad - I’ll miss you, of course. But if home is where you’ll be happiest, then I can’t fight you over it. After all, I want you to be happy. Duh.”

Maki looked at her. “Where I’m… happiest?”

Before she could finish that thought, the door next to them swung open. Sonia ran over to them.

“Hey, have you seen Chiaki?”

“No?” they both replied.

“I can’t find her anywhere,” she said, looking worried. “She was meant to bring the ball to our room but it’s nowhere to be seen and neither is she.”

“You mean, she didn’t make it back?” Kaede asked. “Maybe she went to Good Deeds early?”

Sonia brushed past them quickly. “I’m gonna go check!”

They watched her disappear down the stairs, frowning. “Isn’t she overreacting a bit?” Maki said, as she entered their dorm and sat down on her bed. As she did so, the mattress dipped and something fell onto her lap. A piece of paper.

“Hm. Well, wherever she is, she’ll have to go to class, won’t she? Speaking of which, we should start walking down in a sec.”

Maki only half listened to Kaede as she unfolded the note.

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

Yellow mushroom, midnight, beyond the front gate

Come save her, witch, before it’s too late

Tsumugi ♡

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀