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Chapter Text

The Briar Valley is currently in chaos. Everybody, both faerie and human alike had heard the news. One of her majesty the queen’s unborn grandchild has gone missing.

A grim darkness has settled over the Valley’s royal castle. The queen’s fury was felt throughout the entire country. As one of the original great seven, nobody would be foolish enough to incur her wrath. It was for certain, the person who did such a horrendous crime would pay with more than their life.

The queen of the Briar Valley is one of the strongest mages in history. Nothing can hide from her gaze. And yet, the missing egg has been gone for a whole week. The entire Twisted Wonderland has already been made known of the news, and the consequences of withholding any information related to said crime.

The other countries in Twisted Wonderland had also helped out with search efforts to find the missing child. This was a one in a lifetime chance to earn the favour of the queen thorn after all. The queen herself even sent out her infamous general, the elusive Lilia Vanrouge to search for the lost child.

“My general.” The thorn queen said in a cold booming voice.

A tall pale faerie with black hair and pink highlights was kneeling on the floor of the throne room. “Yes, my queen.”

“Find them. And bring the assailants back alive. I’ll deal with them myself.”

“Of course, my queen. It will be done.”

Centuries has passed since then. Yet no sign of the missing child was ever found, but the country of thorn lies in wait, still waiting for the missing prince’s return.

-A long time afterwards in a distant land-

The sun has long set and the moon was looking down from above. Yuu has just returned home from school and work.

Another tiring day as always. Things has been tough now that grandma passed. Yuu had to manage the shop by himself now after all.

It’s hard to believe it had already been a few months since she passed. Sometimes he could almost see grandma napping on the old creaky chair as he came back from school. He would always call out to her loudly to tell her that he’s home, and grandma would be either napping with the TV on or busying herself in the kitchen.

It’s hard to think that those days will never happen again.

Loss always hits hardest with the little things.

But it’s fine! There’s no use moping around after all. Grandma always told Yuu that. William has already returned back to England after his 3 year stay in this quiet little town Yuu called home. They promised to keep in touch as much as possible despite their clashing time zones. He has a call planed out with him this weekend.

Making his way to the bathroom after setting down his things, he looked into the mirror, and there was Yuu. Looking more dishevelled than usual.

It could just be Yuu but it feels that everything is leaving him again. Life went from being good to almost falling apart. Sometimes he wished he could just run away from all this stress and just be with his family again. It feels like the world was playing another cruel prank on him, or maybe he really is a cursed child…

Aggressively shaking his head, Yuu tried to clear his thoughts. It doesn’t matter what life throws at him! He’ll always push through. Nothing can stop me! He’ll just have to keep at it day by day. Mom said there’s always a silver lining after all. He’ll push through. For them.

Right! Tomorrow’s another day!

Then, the sounds of the clip- clapping of what seems like horses could be heard. Wait… horses?!

A great black carriage pulled by two black horses had appeared in the mirror.

Was Yuu dreaming? Or has the craziness of the past year finally got to him? Then, just as sudden as the carriage appeared, his conscious faded as well.

Yuu was in the haze of consciousness and unconsciousness. Everything felt like a fog has settled over his mind. And in this haze, he could make out what seems to be a black mirror and glowing green flames.

“Ahh… My dear beloved. A lovely and noble flower of evil. Truly, you are the most beautiful of all.”

Huh? A man’s voice?

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the…”

Then a scene that looks like it came straight out of a movie appeared. The distant sound of horse hooves could be heard once again. A dark castle could be seen in the background along with the bright white glow of the moon.

“Those who are guided by the dark mirror. As long as your heart desires, take the hand that appears in the mirror.”

“For me.”

“For them.”

“For you.”

“We are all running out of time. No matter what, never let go of my hand.”

Oh man, that was one heck of a dream. To think that Yuu would dream of the opening scene of a scary movie and some dude talking about how we are running out of time. Now that was ominous.

Wait. Why can’t I see anything but darkness? I’m pretty sure I’m opening my eyes right now… Moving about, it seems like Yuu is currently stuck in a small enclosed area.

Wait a dang minute. Did he get kidnapped? No way. Was Yuu drugged? And did someone kidnap him via horse carriage?

Then, the sound of something fiddling with the box that is containing him could be heard.

Oh good, must be the police or something. Or maybe… the kidnappers?!

“Crap! People are coming. Gotta get a uniform while…”

A person’ voice! The kidnappers?

“Grrr!! The lid is too heavy! Time for my secret move! Funaaaa!!!There!”

Then, a sudden screaming match occurred.

“Wahhh! Fire?!”

“Whaaaa!!!!! Why are you awake!?”

The sudden burst of bright flames made Yuu a bit slightly dazed. He swore he heard a voice coming from outside right? Looking down Yuu saw…

“Wouh! A talking cat?”

“Just who are you calling a cat?! I am the Great Grim!”

Turns out, the person trying to open that box Yuu was trapped in was this talking cat named Grim. Looking around he found out that the box he was in was a coffin. Man, Yuu was talking about how things had been bad recently but not this bad! Was he dead? Is this the afterlife? Is Grim the weird equivalent of his guardian angel or something?

“Well whatever. Hey human! Hurry and gimme those clothes! Otherwise… I’ll roast ya!”

Yikes! I wouldn’t taste good roasted at all! I hope I’m dreaming cause otherwise… This would be way too weird!

“Keep your flames away strange aggressive fire cat!”

“I said I’m not a freaking cat!”

Ok. This is my cue to leave.

“Alright then, goodbye not a cat. Time for me to skedaddle.”

“Wait a minute human! Gimmie your clothes first!”

But by the time Grim said that, Yuu was already long gone.

While trying to escape the vaguely murderous fire not cat, Yuu ended up getting lost in what seems like a big castle. The long stone corridors, what looks to be a lecture hall, a garden with an old well, definitely screams old, rich and or haunted. Finally, Yuu ended up in a strange with what looks to be magical floating books.

Well that’s not the weirdest thing in this dream anyways. Where the heck am I anyways? Hopefully this dream doesn’t take too long, I have to wake up early for meal prep tomorrow. The shop is getting some fresh new ingredients tomorrow and Yuu had to help out with sorting them out.

Yikes! It’s that blue fire again!

“Did you really think you’d get away from my nose? Dumb human!”

It’s that not cat from before!

“Well, if you don’t wanna get roasted, better hand over- Buwah!? Ow! What’s with this rope?”

The not cat, Grim was suddenly strangled in a choke hold by a suspicious black whip. Then, a new voice replied, “This is no mere rope. It is a lash of love!”

The new person is a tall top hat wearing man with a black mask covering his face. He seems to have a whole crow motif going on with his outfit as well. Could this dream get any weirder? At least he’s kinda cool-looking I guess. The yellow glowing eyes are kinda creepy though.

“Ah, found you at last. Are you one of the new students?”

New student? Yuu didn’t sign up for any new schools at all! What is this suspicious bird man talking about?

“You shouldn’t do things like that. Leaving the gate on your own! Not only that you have yet to tame your familiar which has broken a number of school rules.”

“Ok, I think this is all a big misunderstanding I-“

“Let me go! I’m not their freakin’ familiar!” Not cat Grim says as he struggles from the ‘whip of love’.

Took the words right out of his mouth.

The bird man in a deadpan voice replied, “Sure, sure. The rebellious ones always say things like that. Just quiet down for a moment.” Then he proceeded to tighten the whip.

“Hey, I think you go the wrong person I-“

“My goodness. It’s unprecedented for a new student to leave the gate on their own. Sigh… How impatient can you be?” Bird man says in an annoyed tone.

“Pardon me but I’m-“

“The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let’s head to the Hall of Mirrors.”

Geez can you let me finish? Well might as well go with the flow at this point. Doesn’t look like he’s taking any opinions into consideration.

“So, what you mean by gate?”

“It’s the room you woke up in with all the doors. All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here.”

So those coffins where doors? Geez what kind of entrance ceremony is this?

Bird man continued, “Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but…”

“Huh, not cat’s fire must had blown the lid off.”

The golden glowing slits of bird man’s eyes narrowed to a frown. “So, in the end the culprit appears to be this familiar. If you’re going to bring it with you, you have to take responsibility and properly take care of it.”

“Huh? Not cat is definitely not my familiar!” Whatever that is.

Bird man then pulled out a fancy watch and exclaimed, “…Oh my! Now isn’t the time to be long winded.”

Did he just ignore me?

“The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let’s get a move on.” Bird man said as he gestured us to leave.

“Wait just a second, where exactly am I?”

Bringing his fancy gold-clawed fingers to his chin, bird man replied, “What’s this? Are you still dazed? It appears the teleportation magic left you disoriented…”

Hold up did bird man say teleportation magic? Hey! I was brought here against my will after all!

“Well, it is fine. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. For I am gracious.” Bird man’s entire face lit up into a smile as he said the word ‘gracious’.

Not sure how gracious is kidnapping but sure.

As we made our way out of the library, bird man explained. “Ahem. This is Night Raven College. Magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world, here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland. And I am the headmaster, appointed to take care of this academy by the board chairman, Dire Crowley.”

“Wait magicians? And College?”

Bird man, no headmaster Crowley continued, “Only magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. Chosen ones use the Gate and are summoned here from around the world. An Ebony Carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well.”

“I think you got the wrong person Mr Crowley. I can’t even use magic let alone be a mage!”

Yuu was soundly ignored as Mr Crowley continued his plot dumping. Something about markets and the fancy carriage.

 Then Yuu realized something.

“So, does that mean the carriage is the one that kidnapped me?!”

Headmaster Crowley, seemingly offended then starting ranting about how special the carriage is and how important they are to welcome people to the academy.

Sigh, he really does have selective hearing huh?

Not a cat Grim once again started to struggle against the ‘lash of love’.

Crowley just ignored him and gestured to doors that Yuu ran from. “Come. Let’s go to the entrance ceremony.”

He really likes ignoring people huh.

Even before entering the doors to the entrance ceremony, loud whispers could already be heard. The mirror chamber was completely filled to the brim with people in hooded robes.

A voice can be heard talking about offing people’s heads. A yawn can be heard in the background. Another voice can be heard congratulating others.

Then, hooded figure with a smooth voice asked, “By the way, where did the headmaster go? He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony…”

A floating tablet mumbled, “Abandoning his post…”

“Did he get a stomach ache or something?” a cheerful sounding voice asked.

Then suddenly the loud bang of the chamber room’s doors being kicked open echoed through the room, making all the whispers silent.

Headmaster Crowley shouted, “Not at all!” with an exaggerated tone.

“Ah, he’s here.” 

The headmaster was dragging along a cat with blue flames with its ears while a hooded figure followed behind him.

Crowley lectured in exasperation, “I cannot believe you all. We were missing one new student so I went to find them.”

Pushing Yuu forward while still holding Grim, Crowley said, “You are the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory. I shall watch over the raccoon, step in front of the mirror.”

Yuu could feel the eyes in the room stabbing through him. Being so exposed in front of so many people made him nervous. He pulled his hood closer. Thoughts were racing through his head, so many questions to be asked, like are the floating coffins viable as actual coffins? Or is the creepy mirror he was staring at is actually on fire on the inside?

“State thy name.”

An apathetic sliced through Yuu’s thoughts. Geez no pressure or anything. Hyping himself up to prevent the urge of sprinting out of the room, Yuu answered the creepy mirror.

“Yuu Tanaka.”

The creepy mirror paused. Maybe Yuu should had answered with more pizzazz or something.

“The shape of thy soul is…” The mirror squinted its eyes.

Is this one of those Buzzfeed quizzes? Isn’t this a school sorting thing? Maybe this really is a cult.

“I do not know.”

Eh?

“Come again?” Crowley asked with disbelief.

The ominous mirror explained, “I sense a veil covering this one’s soul, obscuring its colour and shape. Therefore, they are suited for no dormitory.”

The hall immediately came alive with whispers. This mirror sure doesn’t hold anything back huh? What did it mean by veil? Maybe my soul is on break or something. Or maybe the judgy mirror needs to get its glass wiped.

“An Ebony Carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can’t use magic! In 100 years, there has not once been a mistake in student selection! So why in the world…” Crawley protested.

Looks like there is someone more judgemental than the mirror.

Not a cat Grimm started struggling again now that Crowley was distracted with re-thinking the secrets to life’s mysteries and finally broke free.

“Then I’ll take his place!” Grimm shouted.

Crowley, now brought back to reality attempted to stop Grimm. “Stay right there racoon!!” With a badly aimed strike with his ‘lash of love’, he seemed to has failed spectacularly.

In a bragging tone, Grim the not cat proudly boasted, “Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic! Let me in the school instead! If you need proof, I’ll show you right now!”

A short person with red hair shouted in warning, “Everyone get down!”

That’s his cue, no need to tell Yuu twice. Immediately after that the arsonist cat lit up the entire hall with blue flames. To give a visual representation, think corn kernels in a microwave but replace the delicious buttery popcorn with screaming cultists.

Two students collided with each other with the force of two moons and some dude in a turban was screaming for help while running with his backside on fire.

“At this rate the school will be a sea of fire! Somebody catch that raccoon!”

Can’t he just catch Grim with his whip again? Or maybe Mr Crowley is shirking his job. Yuu won’t be surprised if he was.

“Che! Suck ups.” A grumpy looking hooded growled while his tail swished back and forth. A different hooded figure then replied him with a goading tone.

Wait a dang minute. A tail? Was Yuu hallucinating? Maybe all this is just some fever dream. It certainly feels like one.

Then, a growl cut through his thoughts. The tail dude stared back at Yuu and glared. Whoops. Looks like he was done talking to that other guy.

“Sorry.” Yuu mumbled and looked away. Yikes that was awkward. Bringing his attention somewhere else, turban guy was still on fire and yelling about it.

Being the decent person Yuu was, he asked in response, “Does anyone have water?”

“Water…Of course!” Turban guy spoke in realisation. “Oasis Maker!” After tuban guy said that, droplets of water started to rain down from above.

Yuu held his hand out to confirm as he felt the raindrops land on his palm. Raining indoors huh. Well that’s magic for you. Or maybe his fever dream.

“Thank you so much for helping me!” Turban guy, now no longer on fire smiled broadly at him.

“Um, yea sure no problem. It was mostly you doing the heavy lifting though…”

 “You’re Yuu right? A shame that you don’t have magic, otherwise I would had invited you to a grand feast back in Scarabia.” Turban guy said with a disappointed tone.

“Nah it’s fine really-“ Yuu was then rudely interrupted again by Grim loudly yelling that he is not a raccoon.

“The great Grimm that will become the greatest magician ever is me!” Grimm said with a smug face.

A business-like sounding dude turns to a red head and said, “It certainly has moxie. Care to help me, Riddle?”

The red head now dubbed Riddle replied with haughtily, “I can’t overlook those who break rules. Let’s hurry and get this over with.”

“Nyeh! You can’t catch me!” Grimm said with confidence, as he spit another bout of blue flames at the duo.

Riddle pulled out his wand. “Time for you to shut your mouth. Off with your head!”

Just as Riddle pointed his wand, a bright beam shot at Grimm. “Nygah! Then heck is this!?” A strange collar shaped like a heart appeared out of thin air locked around Grimm’s neck.

Then in a matter of fact way Riddle chided, “Laws if the Queen of Hearts: Number 23 “One shall never bring a cat into a festival. You being a cat means you’ve broken the rule. I shall have you leave at once.”

“I’m not a cat!” Grimm protested while squirming about the collar. He sucked in another breath and prepared to spout his blue flames. “I’ll burn this collar right up and…” But nothing appeared. “Eeeh? I can’t use my fire!”

“Hmph!” Riddle said in a haughty tone. “You won’t be using any magic until I remove the collar. Just like and ordinary cat.”

Yeesh. This is verging on the edge of animal abuse. Kinda feel bad for the little guy but… he did almost turn me into a spit roast. So…yea.

Meanwhile in the background, Grimm was yelling about being a pet. And the red head Riddle was really rubbing salt into the not cat’s wounds.

“Wow, as wonderful as ever.” A business dude complemented. “Any and all magic get sealed by your Unique Magic, Riddle.” Then, business dude mumbled at the end, “I want it…No. I wouldn’t ever want that cast on me.”

Yikes. Red flag. Business guy now feels more like investment scam guy, or car’s extended warranty guy instead.

“You must do something about this! It is your familiar!” Mr Crowley said as he pointed a claw-tipped finger at Yuu.

“Mr Crowley.” Yuu huffed and pointed at the not cat. “Grimm Is not mine. He’s the one that tried to cook me alive in the coffin! I never even seen him before!”

“Eh? It’s not yours?” Crowley looked slightly taken aback. Then in the quickest recovery in human history, he proceeded to pretend like he didn’t accuse Yuu of sneaking in a demonic not a cat into his goth magic school. “Anyways, let’s get it out of the school. We won’t turn you into a stew for I am gracious.”

Principle Crowley is definitely worse than car extended warranty man. Noted.

“Gyaaa!! Let me go!” Grimm continued to struggle. “I’m going to, going to…”

Then in a burst of energy Grimm yelled, “Become the greatest magician!”

The Mirror Chamber became dead silent. Then, a laugh. Then slowly, the entire room erupted into laughter.

“Pfft! You think a raccoon like you will ever get into Night Raven College? What a joke!”

“Hahaha! Greatest magician? This is the most I laughed this whole week!”

Isn’t this a bit much? I think Grimm learnt his lesson already, no need to bully him. Yuu was considering to stop things but once again got interrupted.

“Nyah? Why you all!! I’ll show you!” Grimm Yelled while two students dragged him away. “Let go nyah!! This dang collar!”

The loud bang of the door silenced whatever Grimm had to say as he was kicked out.

Crowley meanwhile, once again dismissing things, continued. “We had a bit of trouble along the way but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close. Dormitory heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories.”

Dorms huh? This schools seems fancy but so far, the experiences here are not the best in my opinion.

“Hmm. Now that I think about it, I don’t see the leader for Diasomnia, Mr Draconia, around at all…” Crowley realized.

The tension of the room immediately increased ten-fold.

Scary tail guy replied with a hint of salt, “That’s not different from usual, is it?”

“What? Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?” Turban guy asked with a small hint of concern.

“If you’re going to complain you should have done it yourself.” A snobby sounding person criticized.

“Hmmm. But I don’t really know anything about that guy.” Turban guy remarked.

Draconia? Cool name. Doesn’t seem like the most popular dude judging by everyone’s reaction.

“By Draconia…Do they mean ‘that’ Malleus Draconia?”

“Is he seriously attending this school?”

“Scary!”

Ok definitely not the most popular.

A short looking hooded person in the crowd mused,”I was correct. I thought he might come but Malleus really didn’t.”

Short person then sighed, “It seems the invitation ‘never arrived’ again. “

Oof. Not getting invited to this cult gathering is kinda sad. Even I was forced here without my permission. Kinda feel a bit bad for Draconia now. Not to mention with how mean everyone was with Grimm, this really does seem like a school of bullies.

Car’s extended warranty guy responded in an apologetic tone, “My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn’t intend to exclude you.”

“His aura makes it hard to approach him.” Riddle added.

 “It’s fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me.” Short person gestured the students to follow. “I hope this doesn’t upset him…” he mused.

The room slowly emptied out as all the students filtered out of through the doors where Grimm got dragged out.

When the room was fully empty, Crowley turned to address the elephant in the room. “Then, Yuu, I’m terribly sorry about this but we must have you leave the school. Those without magic cannot be allowed to attend class here.”

“No problem Mr Crowley. I don’t think this is the school for me either. Plus, I’m already enrolled in a different school anyways.”

“Well in that case, the Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came.” Crowley gestured towards the mirror.

Sigh it is finally time to wake up from this fever dream. Walking towards the judgemental mirror, Crowley specified, “Enter the Gate, and picture your home clearly in your mind.”

Following his instructions and starring face to face to the mirror, Yuu thought of his home. The warm lights, the savoury smell of cooking in the kitchen, his grandmother and… how his home is so empty now.

Crowley’s voice commanded the mirror in a dramatic fashion. “Oh Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place they belong!”

After a few seconds, the mirror remained silent.

Crowley repeated with extra oomph, “Oh Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place they belong!”

The mirror still remained silent.

Anxiety started to creep up Yuu’s mind. What’s taking so long? Maybe this mirror really is defective or something. Nah no way. Yuu was just overthinking again no big deal.

Crowley cleared his throat. “Once more. Oh Dark mirror! Guide this-”

“They are already home.” The mirror announced firmly.

Huh?

Thy mirror reaffirmed, “They have returned to their rightful world. The place they belong is here.”

Wait what?!

“What did you say? That is unbelievable! Hmm, well, the unbelievable has been on parade today.”

Oh no no no. No way Crowley is just gonna let this silde. You can’t just pull me out from my life and drag me into a fantasy cult!

Crowley fretted,“This is the first time it’s ever happened since I became headmaster, what should be…”

Geez! If you’re stressed than what about me? I just got dragged off into another area code!

“Where exactly did you come from?” Crowley demanded.

Gathering his thoughts, Yuu answered. He talked about the little town he lived in for the past 4 years and what country it was, and when that didn’t work, he tried talking about Earth in general.

Crowley contemplated and finally replied with, “I’ve never heard of that place before. I have a general grasp of where all the students came from but I’ve never even heard of that name before.”

‘Never heard of that place before’. The words Crowley said echoed in Yuu’s mind. How was this possible? Does that mean… he will never be back home again? As the despair sunk in, the lights in the room started to flicker.

“But before we jump into any conclusions, let’s do some research in the library.” Crowley added.

Right. What am I thinking? There’s still hope. If Yuu gave up now, then who will take care of Grandma’s shop? Giving himself a little pep talk, Yuu picked up his laurels and followed Headmaster Crowley out of the room to the library.

Chapter Text

“There really isn’t anything.” Crowley commented. “Not only the world map, but the name of your home isn’t written in any history. Are you truly from where you say? You aren’t lying to me by chance?”

Franticly flipping through more maps, Yuu replied, “No way Mr Crowley. I actually don’t want me to be here as much as you do.”

Magically floating more books down, Crowley pointed out, “Looking at all this, you may have somehow been brought here from another planet…There’s also the possibility you’re from another world.”

A pause. Another… world? How would that even be possible? Yuu was just minding his own business at home before he got dragged here. Of all the people to be dragged off to another world, why him?

Crowley examined Yuu. “What did you have on you when you came here? Do you have any identification, like a license for a magic car, name on a shoe… You appear to be empty handed.”

Looking around his fancy new robes, none of Yuu’s personal belongings where on him at all! Grabbing at the empty expanse around his neck, even his…necklace was gone. The last gift his mother gave him… The world seemed to spiral out of focus as panic clouded his mind. The lights in the library started to flicker and a small breeze was gathering in the room.

“-uu. Yuu!”

A voice…

 “Mr Yuu! Please refrain from damaging the library!” Crowley reprimanded.

Huh? The library?

The warm yellow lights in the library stop flickering and the breeze settled.

Yuu snapped out of it. What am I doing? Deep breath. Calm down. Panicking isn’t going to solve anything. We can fix this.

“Ah, looks like you have calmed down. I understand that you might be worried about the situation at hand but it is no reason to destroy our library! These books are expensive! Most can’t even be found in anywhere else.” Crowley lectured, looking quite miffed.

Wishing the library would open up and devour him whole, Yuu apologized. “Sorry about that. I should have a better grip with myself. And err… sorry for the outburst.”

After receiving Yuu’s apology, Crowley looked like he saw Yuu growing two heads right in front of his eyes.

“I can’t believe my ears.” Crowley murmured. “A Night Raven College student actually apologizing…”

Is this school that bad? If the principle is shocked at an apology then this school is falling off the deep end.

“Ehem.” Crowley snapped out of his shock and began, “I unfortunately cannot let you stay in our school, as the mirror is unable to sort you in any of our dormitories. However, as an educator, I can’t just toss a penniless teenager out on the street with no form of communication. For I am gracious.”

At least even Mr Crowley has a bottom line.

“Hmmmm… That’s right!” Crowley exclaimed. “There is an unused building on campus. It was once a dormitory of the past so if you can clean it up you should at least be able to sleep there. For the time being I shall allow you to stay there! Then I will look for a way for you to return home.”

Woah! Mr Crowley is actually giving me a place to stay and helping me to go back home? Maybe Crowley is actually a nice person? Huh turns out this place is not as bad as I thought it would be.

“My graciousness is limitless! I am a model for all educators!” Crowley crowed. We had better be on our way. Let’s head to the dormitory. It may be a bit old but there is a certain charm to it.”

I could just be Yuu but… what Crowley said feels slightly ominous. Well, how bad could it be?

Bad. This is really bad. I take back what I said about this place. This place really sucks. The old dormitory looks like it’s about to fall apart at any second, and what’s with the graveyard out front?!

“Right, right. Please come inside.” Crowley said with a voice that sounds too enthusiastic, as he leads the way to the abandoned dorm building.

Sigh… Well maybe the inside will be better?

Opening the creaky old doors that looked like they were about to fall off its hinges at any moment, Yuu took in the sights that the old dorm has to offer. Which is… not the best, to put it lightly. Dust and cobwebs cover the insides of the dorms making the air extremely hard to breathe. The walls are falling apart and mouldy, and Yuu was pretty sure there is an entire colony of spiders living in the dorm currently. To say that this ‘dorm’ is a health code violation is an understatement.

“Staying here will at least keep you out of the rain.” Crowley pointed out. “I’m going back to do more research. Make yourselves at home. Don’t go wandering around the school! Goodbye!”

Geez. Crowley sure ran out fast after looking at this place. Make yourselves at home? You’ve got to be kidding me. The roof doesn’t even look like it can hold rain. He better figure out a way back home fast.

Taking a moderate breath to avoid inhaling more dust, Yuu organized his thoughts. Being spirited away into a different magical world…it’s hard to believe that it’s real. Yuu still hopes that it’s all some dream but a part of him knows that all this is… real. Of all the places he gets transported to, of course it has to be a magical school full of bullies. Although, Yuu can’t really defend himself either. After all he did just let them bully a talking cat out of the school. The guilt is still eating at him. What would his mother think…

“Gyahiii! It’s really coming down!” Out of the blue, a loud familiar voice cried out in the creaky old dorm.

“Who’s there!” Yuu spluttered. Looking around the room, there seems to be nothing but more dust.

“Gyhahaha! You’ve got this stupid look on your face like a spider being attacked with a water gun!”

There it is again! Following the location of the sound, Yuu brought his gaze downwards and saw-

A scrappy cocky voice taunted, “I’ll have no trouble sneaking back into this school. Come on, come on! If you think getting thrown out is gonna make me give up on getting in you’ve got another thing coming!”

“You’re that cat from the ceremony Grim!” Yuu blurted out in realization.

“Ehe! That’s right I’m the great lord Grim and don’t you forget it!” Grim declared with pride. “But I’m not a cat!”

“So, you sneaked back into the school? Even after how they evicted you off? You must really want to be in this school huh.”

“Of course! I’m a genius who is destined to be a great magician! I’ve been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to come pick me up.” Grim said with pride. “But…but…” Grim mumbled. “Hmph! The Dark Mirror just doesn’t have an eye for this. So that’s why I came here on my own.” Grim huffed.

Wow. Even while being sad, Grim still sounds prideful. But even so… Yuu can’t help but feel a little sympathy for the furry guy.

Grim continued in a matter of fact tone, “Not letting me in would be a loss for the world, humans just don’t get it.”

Ok, the fuzzy little guy definitely still has his ego at least.

“Nyaa! So cold! The roof is leaking!” Looking up, very conspicuous holes on the roof was most definitely the blame. “Fgyaa! It keeps coming! My adorable eat fire is gonna go out at this rate!”

The leaky roof was dripping water at Yuu as well, making an already cold and stressful situation, even more cold and stressful. “Welp I better get to finding a bucket then.”

“Magic should fix this leak up real quick.”

Magic huh. “Well you’re out of luck. we got to do this the old-fashioned way.” 

“Wha, you can’t use magic? Pfft! You’re useless!” Grim scoffed.

Okay, I take back all sympathy I had for this pyromaniac.

“You sure talk big for someone who sneaked back into a school that kicked you out. You do realise that I can just call the principle and you’ll get removed again?” Yuu deadpanned.

Grim immediately started to panic and started making bad excuses, trying to convince Yuu to not call the principle over.

Looking at Grim panicking makes Yuu feel like he is a bully as well…Sigh, he’ll just focus on finding that bucket.

In many ways, the dusty old hallways of the dorm building are both creepy and dangerous. Well first off, the dust and debris are more than enough to give someone tetanus and ten other types of disease. The non-existent lighting isn’t doing anyone any favours either. So, it’s safe to say finding a bucket here of all places was probably a bad idea. But Yuu already searched the entire bottom floor so where else could this mythical bucket be?

Although, it’s true that Yuu has better eyesight and health than most people… But he really shouldn’t be taking any chances. Especially now that he is effectively stranded in an alien world with magic. The last thing he wants now is the magical equivalent of the flu.

Then suddenly in the darkness, a loud creak echoed through the entire hallway.

Was there another uninvited person in the dorm? “Hello…? Anyone there?” Looking around the halls, there seemed to be nothing but more dust. “Huh. Must have just been the house settling.”

“Heheheheheh! We haven’t had a guest in so long…”

“I’m itching for some action.”

“Gyehehehehehehe!!!”

This is…!!!! Ghosts??!! There, floating at the middle of the hallway, was three squishy looking spectres grinning ominously at Yuu. Ghosts?! There’re ghosts in this world?!

 “Hey human! Did you say someth- Gyaaaaaa!!!! G-g-g-ghooooostss!!!” Grim shrieked.

“Wait, were you guys human before you all became a ghost? Are you’re the previous owners of this dorm or something?”

“Gyaah, this is not the time for questions!”

“But they’re ghosts! Aren’t you just a little but curious?” Yuu protested.

Look, seeing and talking to ghosts is a once in a lifetime opportunity ok? It’s not every day that the dead rise from their graves.

One of the ghosts replied, “The people living here got scared of us and left.”

“We’ve been looking for more ghost pals. How about you guys?” The slightly bigger one asks.

“Well, since you’re asking… Have any of you seen a bucket around here?”

 “Wah! Why are you talking to them! Are you crazy human?”

One of the ghosts teased Grim, “Aw, are your s-s-s-scared?” Another phased through the floor and and jumped out from behind the fire cat to startle him.

“Hey! Knock it off, we’re just passing through. No need to be rude about it!” Yuu defended.

 “Nyaah! Grim the Great Magician isn’t scared of some ghosts! Take this!” Grim growled and started to blindly spit his blue fire everywhere.

“Hey watch where you’re aiming you arsonist!” Yuu yelled as he barely dodged an incoming fireball. The fire instead landed on a loose plank of wood on the ceiling, catching it on fire. Said wood plank then proceeded to fall and spread the embers everywhere.

Yikes! If Grim doesn’t stop burning everything, the entire dorm will catch on fire!

Regardless of this, the skinny ghost continued taunting Grim, “Where were you aiming?”

“Over here. Over here! Heeheehee!” The biggest ghost egged on.

They’re not helping the situation at all!

Grim yelled in frustration, “Shoot! Stop disappearing!”

“Grim! Open your eyes and aim properly! There’s barely anything left of the house as is, don’t burn it all down!”

“Shut up! Don’t try to give me orders!” Grim snapped.

Sigh, then I have no choice.

“You know right, if you do this properly, and drive away all the ghosts, the headmaster might like you enough to let you stay?”

“Wah..?! Really? Errrrr…”

“Who knows maybe you can even get a tuna can from him as a reward…”

“I-I’m a genius mage. I won’t let one-“

The ghosts while laughing manically, crowded around both of you, for very obvious not good intentions.

“They’re a bunch of cowards ganging up on us!” Grim hissed.

“Come on Grim, hurry before it’s too late!”

“Grrrrrr…. Fine! Hey human! Tell me where the ghosts are!” Grim demanded as he turned to face the three ghosts.

“You can count on me! Aim for the left!” Yuu directed.

Grim quickly turned and fired a blue fireball right in the skinny ghost’s face.

“Yahh! Hoooottt!!!” The ghost cried out in apparent pain.

“Nyah! I hit it!” Grim said in surprise. With renewed determination, Grim cheered, “Alright! Let’s chase them all outta here!”

Ignoring the glaring questions such as, can ghosts really feel pain? And where the heck is Crowley when you need him? Yuu bit the bullet and continued his battle with ghosts while commanding Grim, all while feeling suspiciously like a trainer from a specific game franchise.

“Waaah! We finally won!” Grim panted in exhaustion.

Pleasantly surprised, Yuu broke out into a smile. “Yeah we did! That was amazing Grim! You did great against those ghosts.”

“Yeesh, the look on your face is blinding, tone it down will you? And of course we won! It was the Great Grim that did it after all!” Grim said with pride.

A thing that Yuu learnt from this fight is that if you want to kill ghosts, fire is the way to go. Yuu tried punching them but none of the hits connected. But another thing that he learned was, when passing through ghosts, be prepared to feel a chill down your spine. Safe to say that he would rather avoid fist fighting ghosts ever again.

“Haa… Those ghosts where so scary! Wait…no! I wasn’t scared at all! Those ghosts are nothing for the Great Grim you hear me?”

Sigh, Grim is still as stubborn as ever. But as much as Yuu would hate to admit it… Grim is starting to grow on him. Just a little bit.

Brushing off the dust on his fancy robes, you took a breather. Sigh that is too much excitement for one day. He should check on Grim to make sure he’s not hurt or anything. You might never know if there is a scratch underneath all that fur. He might even get a chance to touch the white floof on his neck.

“Good evening. I have graciously brought you supper.”

Startled, both Yuu and Grim cried out in shock from the Crowley jump scare. “Ehhh! Mr Crowley?! Since when did you get here?”

“Ah, you simply did not hear me coming in- Wait a moment! You’re the monster that ran amuck during the entrance ceremony! I threw you out of the school, what are you doing here!?”

Yikes, Crowley looks like he’s about to actually turn Grim into stew.

“Hmph! I exterminated the ghost problem! Be grateful!” Grim retorted.

“Nn? What do you mean by that?”

Yuu explained to Crowley about all the leaks and the quest to find the non-existent bucket, and how the three ghosts popped out of existence and scared the living daylights out of them.

“Grim did most of the heavy lifting by scaring the ghosts away with his fire, sir. So, maybe hold your horses before dishing out your judgement on him?”

Crowley processed the information and replied, “Now that you mention it, there were some prankster ghosts living here so students keep away from this dormitory, and that’s why it’s now empty. I’d forgotten that. However, huummmm…”

How could someone casually forget the fact that this place is haunted by actual ghosts?

“For you two to work together to get rid of them…” Crowley contemplated.

Grim huffed, “I’m not gonna overlook that ‘together’ comment. They were just standing there watching. And I did this for a can of tuna. Ah! I haven’t gotten that tuna yet!”

 Wow, the speed Grim throwing people under the bus is so fast I got whiplash.

Crowley, who still looks like he is discovering the meaning of life and the universe, then said, “I’d like the two of you to show me how you exterminated those ghosts.”

Eh? Does he find teamwork so mystifying that he needs to see it with his own eyes? Man, Yuu doesn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or slightly judge him for managing a school full of people who don’t know the basics of communication.

Grim, bless his hungry little heart, protested, “But we already gotten rid of all the ghosts! But before that: Give. Me. Tuna!”

Crowley reassures Grim, “Not to worry. I shall be the ghost. If you beat me, I’ll give you tuna cans. For I am gracious.”

Wait a dang minute hold up. Be the ghost? That’s a red flag.

“Um Sir? What do you mean by ‘be the ghost’? Aren’t ghosts dead people?”

“Yes, ghosts are the souls of the dead, obviously. As for becoming a ghost, I shall use a transformation potion to do so.”

Does Crowley just casually carry around a transformation potion on him at all times? And also does that mean by drinking a potion to become a ghost, is he technically killing himself? All this sounds kinda dangerous.

Without hesitation, Crowley proceeded to chug the entire potion in one go. Crowley then transforms into a weird ghost with his signature crow mask on its face.

Grim grumbled, “I don’t wanna. This is a pain and I have to team up with them again…”

Sigh, “Look Grim I don’t want to fight anymore ghosts either but don’t you want that tuna can?” Personally, Yuu just wants to get this over with so he can rest.

Growling, Grim begrudgingly agrees. “This is the last time! You absolutely, absolutely have to give me tuna!”

Both Yuu and Grim turns towards ghost Crowley, and prepares to give him the same beat down as they did before.

Fighting ghost Crowley was significantly harder than the regular ghosts from before. For one, Crowley was a lot more faster, dodging most of Grim’s fireballs even with Yuu’s commands. Not to mention for the few that actually landed, Crowley just shook it off like it was nothing, instead he continued appearing and disappearing with ease.

Safe to say by the end of the ‘fight’, both Grim and Yuu are dead tired.

Crowley, who has already turned back to normal, said in disbelief, “I can’t believe it… there is a person who can command monsters.”

Jeez, saying it like that makes Yuu feel like a slave driver. And calling someone who can talk and think a monster, is really putting him off.

“Hmmm… Actually, my teacher-senses were telling me since the uproar during the entrance ceremony that you have talent as an animal or wild beast trainer.”

What? An animal trainer? Well that’s news to him. Throughout Yuu’s childhood, usually most animals would run the other direction when he went near them. So, Crowley’s conclusion makes no sense at all.

Meanwhile, Crowley was frantically muttering to himself.

Yikes, he’s completely lost in the sauce huh. Looking around, Yuu swore he heard another creak coming from somewhere in the building. Please don’t be another ghost, he needs his rest time ok? Yuu should really ask Crowley to help with all the ghosts and repairs but…Sigh, this may be a bit harsh but in Yuu’s honest opinion, Crowley probably won’t do much about his current living situation. But if the ghosts do come back…well it’s not like he could punch through them.

“Mr Crowley?” Yuu began, snapping Crowley out from his stupor. “I know this is out of the blue but could you possibly let Grim stay here at the school as a reward?”

“What now?” Crowley yelled out in surprise. “A monster?”

Grim looked over to Yuu in surprise and whispered. “You…”

Trying his best to sound convincing, Yuu explained, “I afraid that the ghosts from before might come back Mr Crowley, and I can’t really defend myself properly against ghosts so having Grim around might help. So, would you please let him stay?”

Ah… Yuu feels like a 5 year-old begging to keep the rat he found on the streets again.

“…hah…It can’t be helped then. Alright.”

What? It worked?

“Hnn!? Really?” Grim yelled while grinning from ear to ear.

“However, I can’t simply allow someone, let alone a monster, into school who wasn’t selected by the Dark Mirror.” Crowley said as all the joy faded from Grim’s eyes. “Also, I can’t let you be a freeloader here until you return to your world.”

Sighing, Grim grumbled, “Well…talk about short-lived joy.”

Well at least that kinda makes sense. Yuu didn’t want to be a freeloader anyways. But the fact still stands that he didn’t asked to be here in the first place.

Crowley continues, “Concerning the fact that your soul was called here, the school has to take responsibility as the owners of the Dark Mirror. For the time being you’ll be permitted to stay in this dormitory for free. But, the other necessities you wi…”

Crowley’s words started to fade off into the background. Responsibility huh? Ahh, Yuu hates this this feeling. It feels like he’s just another mouth to feed again. This whole situation feels too close to home, like a bad nightmare. Why was he even brought here again? Maybe it would be better if …

Wait. No. The last thing Yuu is going to do is to throw another tantrum about this again. Deep breaths, calm down. He can deal with this later.

Focusing back on Crowley, Yuu listened.

“…Fufu, here is my proposition. I’ll have you do maintenance and odd jobs around campus. From what I can see, you’re pretty decent at cleaning. Would you two like to become the ‘handyman’ of the school?”

“But I haven’t even cleaned anything yet Mr Crowley.”

“This way you will receive special permission to remain on school grounds.” Crowley said, continuing on without a care in the world.

Okay he’s not even hiding on how he is ignoring me. But it is true that Yuu is really good at housekeeping though. When closing up the shop, he’s usually the one sweeping the floor and wiping down the windows.

“You’ll also be able to research going home or study whatever you desire in the library. For I am gracious.” Crowley ended with a closed-eyed smile. “However!” Crowley announced loudly. “You shall only do so after your work is done.”

Nice, he’s letting us use the library! Yuu is tired of running around clueless like a headless chicken. You know what they say, to know thy enemy and all that. It will be comforting to know more about the world he is stranded in. Alright! Let’s make the library the top priority.

“Eeeeh!? I’m not okay with that!” Grim whined. “I wanna wear that fancy uniform and be a student!”

Deadpan, Crowley replied, “It’s fine if you’re unsatisfied. I’ll simply toss you out again.”

“Ffgnnaa!?” Grim choked. “I get it! I just have to do it. Just do it!”

“Understood! Loud and clear sir!” Yuu smiled. Time to make the best out of a bad situation.

“Wonderful. Then. You two starting tomorrow, endeavour to be the best handyman at Bight Raven College!”

It was now around midnight in the old creaky dorm. The moon was high above the sky and the sounds of the surrounding wildlife is loud and clear.

On nights like this, usually Yuu would have trouble falling asleep. But now, stranded in a completely new world with magic, a fire cat and a really dusty pillow, it’s understandable that he was in no mood to sleep.

Sigh, at least Grim is fast asleep. Yuu thought, looking over at the loudly snoring Grim.

Before Crowley left, he was surprisingly thoughtful enough to drop off some used clothes for Yuu to wear tomorrow.

Flopping onto the dusty bed, he sank into his thoughts.

With all the close shaves that happened today, he should be screaming into the night sky in frustration. Instead, Yuu just felt…numb. Basically, too tired to be tired in a way.

He really doesn’t want to be here. In this foreign world, in this suspiciously evil school, in this old dilapidated dorm…

How he wished to be at home, in his comfy bed, with his- nobody. Right. He was all alone now. In this new world, and even in his old one, he was all alone.

With his hand he tried to grip the familiar weight of his necklace but all he touched was empty air. Right. That is gone too.

The view of the musty old ceiling started to be blurry. His throat felt uncomfortably tight as small droplets slowly dripped down from his face. Trying his best to muffle the sounds of his sobs he slowly closed his eyes and tried his best to calm down.

The empty, gapping hole in his chest never felt so painful. Grandma told him before to let go of his pain and grief and to keep his eyes ahead on the future. But now… he doesn’t even know what might happen in the future anymore.

But he swears that he’s trying. Yuu doesn’t think the empty blankness that he feels will go away anytime soon but… he hopes that maybe…maybe one day he’ll be strong enough to move on. But for now, he thinks that a good night’s rest would be a good first step forwards.

It will be brand new day tomorrow after all.

Chapter Text

Hello :0 its been awhile guys :)

Stuff happened and i was unable to work on this story for a long time

life got in the way and will probably still do so cause im going through stuff in my life rn but i still want to write :)

i feel like the character and plot ive made for this story isnt as well fleshed out as i wanted as well so i am planning to rethink and rewrite it all :D

thx for reading this and if you do i hope u have a wonderful day/night/noon :)