Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Senpai? Where are you going?” Mash’s voice is soothing, a balm on a weary soul. It is a voice she cannot hear, outside of this dream. Ritsuka wants this dream to last forever – she needs this dream to end, to live out her life without Mash.

Ritsuka cannot muster up a smile, or anything close to one.

Mash looks at her. “You’re going somewhere I can’t follow, right?” Her words are soft, understanding.

Ritsuka slowly nods. It feels more painful than anything she has ever experienced.

Mash smiles. It is a bright, cheerful thing. Within this dream, it is the most beautiful thing Ritsuka has ever seen. “Then!” She says, her voice upbeat. “Take care of yourself senpai! It was an honour to have served as your Servant and your knight!”

…Ah. It hurts. Her heart is ripping apart. She forces a smile she can’t quite feel. She knows the end, that Mash will disappear. But she can’t let down the memory of the girl who she died together with that very first day they met, who held her hand and defended her against every threat.

“Yes.” Ritsuka says. “Thank you Mash. I will.”

Mash disappears.

Or rather, it is Ritsuka who wakes up.

Again in the bleached white world.

Alaya rejects those not part of the Human Order.

In slaying gods, in summoning those not meant to be, Ritsuka lost her ability to be called a human. Now, she wanders the boundary of the world she saved.

“Take my hand…” A voice calls out, barely a whisper.

There is nothing around her. The voice comes from nowhere. The voice comes from everywhere.

When Ritsuka leapt off the Storm Border to allow the miniscule fragments of Chaldea to return to their world, they had made a promise.

We will come back for you.

And so Ritsuka waits.

“We are running out of time!” The voice calls out again, louder, more urgent. “Take my hand.”

It sounds like a trap.

But the voice calls for help nonetheless.

The sins on her back never get lighter. Ritsuka finds that she still wants to help.

So in the world of endless white, she stretches out her hand.

The world grows dark.

A girl wakes in a coffin.

The coffin smells of wood. Smooth to the touch, just like the metal of the Rayshift devices. And yet, it feels more yielding.

A voice from outside speaks, muffled.

It had been so long since the girl had spoken to anyone but herself.

Warmth blooms against her front.

It takes the girl far too long to realize that the coffin is on fire.

The girl kicks out, a spark of lightning signalling the enhancement of her limb, and the lid of the coffin flies free.

There is a cat.

Cath Palug? No, no. The cat is nothing like Fou.

Blue fire burns on its ears in a haunting memory of her stalwart guardians.

“State thy name.”

Her name. What is the girl’s name? The girl thinks, furiously. Her memory of Chaldea, of Mash, of the adventures she had.

But in every single one, she cannot recall her name.

Master. Stargazer. Saviour of Humanity.

All these lofty titles. How then, could she not even remember her name?

Who are you?

A syllable escapes her lips. But one that is taken as answer nonetheless.

“Yuu… thy soul is darkened. Twisted beyond repair. I cannot judge this soul.”

Her soul… her soul? Sunken in that black light. Used as a weapon to slay gods.

Right. It made sense. This wasn’t a new journey at all. Merely a reprieve to that world of endless white. She would carry her scars with her forever.

Whispers broke out within the chamber. The girl – newly dubbed Yuu does not speak, does not react.

Instead, it is the cat who does it for her.

“Then!” It cries out, “let me take his place!”

Yuu finds that she does not need to move. She is not needed to save the day. Finally, someone else will do it for her. She no longer has to fight.

The cat is caught and the fire put out. Yuu does not have to lift a single finger. It feels like freedom.

But when Headmaster Crowley speaks of throwing it out, the cat has such a pitiful look that Yuu… does not speak up.

“I’m sorry, Headmaster.” She says instead, taking the cat in her arms. “I don’t think either of us expected the journey to be this rough. He’s just antsy.”

“The Great Grim isn’t mphhh—” Yuu covers Grim’s mouth with a hand. The magic-sealing collar is a good thing in that her hand isn’t immediately set on fire.

Headmaster Crowley levels a stare at her, the golden lights he has for eyes unblinking. After a moment, he turns away. “In all my years,” Headmaster Crowley says, “I have never heard of a darkened soul.”

Yuu has nothing to say so she shrugs.

“Oh dear, oh dear. You have been enrolled as a student but the mirror cannot sort you.” Headmaster Crowley paces around. “It’s quite a pickle… Ah! How about this? You can pick which dorm you like! My, aren’t I so gracious?”

There are many problems here. First, who was the one who called for her help? Second, Yuu has no idea where she is. Third, what even is a dorm?

“Well,” Crowley preens, “I shall explain, for I am gracious!”

The moment she hears a familiar name, Yuu takes it. “Ignihyde.” She says immediately. Hades was a great help during the Olympus Lostbelt, so a dorm fashioned after him had to be good too, right?

“Right… so this is the kitchen, this is the communal gaming area, and these are your rooms. All the guides are posted online. Any questions? No? Then Ortho will handle your room assignments. Peace out.” The tablet crackles and turns silent.

Yuu presumes Ortho to be the child with flaming blue hair.

Grim has long since stopped his yowling, the slump he previously had from being treated like a rowdy pet replaced by open curiosity as he looks around.

Yuu listens, somewhat distracted as Ortho rattles off pair after pair of names, assigning them to a room. There are about fourteen students, and with her included, that made fifteen.

It does not escape her that she is left for last, without a roommate.

“And since Miss Yuu is female, she can get Room 2D to herself.” Ortho finishes.

There is a beat. Then someone cries out, “It’s a girl!”

Yuu crosses her arms as the students around her stumble away from her.

“Wow. What are these idiots doing?” Grim asks.

Same Grim, same.

“A girl, a girl. It’s a girl. I can’t believe there’s a girl…” someone sobs.

Yuu looks to Ortho. “Is this normal?” She asks.

“Night Raven College is considered an all-boys school, though there is no rule stating that a female cannot attend.” Ortho dutifully informs her. “And this dorm in particular is considered by many to be filled with gamers or technology enthusiasts.”

Which meant…?

“Which means that most of them have never had a productive conversation with someone of the opposite sex!” Ortho finishes cheerfully, cementing his place as the most brutal person Yuu has ever met in this world.

“What a bunch of losers.” Grim says. Yuu pats his head. Grim is definitely a close second.

Chapter Text

The room assigned to Yuu has two beds. Understandable, given how the rooms were originally meant to be shared between two people. Grim immediately claims one as his own.

“I couldn’t find any of your luggage.” Ortho tells her sadly. “It might have gotten lost after what happened with the Dark Mirror.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t bring much with me anyways.” Yuu says.

She wasn’t expecting Ortho to pout at her. “No! I can’t possibly leave you without clothes, Miss Yuu!”

Yuu had to admit that hadn’t exactly crossed her mind. Underneath the fancy robes, she still wore her self-cleaning Mystic Code. And a quick look at her wardrobe had shown multiple sets of uniforms tailored to her size.

“Well,” she says, “if you really want to help, could you help me find a source of income? Like part-time campus work or something like that.”

Ortho practically lights up. “Yes! Running search results… There’s an opening for an assistant at Mr S’s Mystery Shop, a waitstaff at Monstro Lounge, and an assistant for the school library. I could help you send out an application for these if you like!”

“Thanks so much Ortho, I’d really appreciate that.”

Yuu stares at the map of club booths pinned in the Ignihyde common area. There really are a lot of clubs…

How long had it been since she last gone to school again?

“Henchman! Henchman! Let’s join a food club!” Grim says, ever the animal led by his stomach.

“We’ll see. They might not let monsters in.” Yuu says. It is very much a real possibility, especially with how Grim has gotten himself labelled as a troublemaker before school has even started.

Grim sulks and grumbles, “they’d be lucky to have the Great Grim!”

Yuu can only laugh and scratch his ears.

The rich scent of food originates from the communal kitchen. Yuu pokes her head in and sees a boy making breakfast.

“Can I use the eggs?” She asks, gesturing at the carton. The boy tenses slightly when she approaches but slowly relaxes his shoulders when she doesn’t get any closer.

“Feel free.” He mutters.

Yuu glances at a drooling Grim and cracks six eggs into a bowl. She rifles around for some ingredients. “Any cheese, onions or mushrooms?”

“Omelette?” The boy asks.

Yuu nods.

He opens one of the three fridges and takes out the ingredients she requested.

“Just use anything you want. Ortho keeps the kitchen fully stocked but not many people cook anyway.” He says.

“Then what do they eat?” Yuu asks, horrified.

“Take-aways, snack bars or instant food.”

That… doesn’t sound healthy. If she had tried that in Chaldea, Emiya, Boudica or Tamamo Cat would give her a disapproving look.

Yuu looks at the fifteen eggs left in the carton, then at the fully stocked fridges.

She sighs and gets to work.

“Are you seriously cooking for those lay-abouts?” The boy – Ben – asks.

“Might as well.” Yuu shrugs as she plates the fifth omelette. “But do people even come down to the kitchen?”

“Just tell the group that there’s free food. Those guys will come running down.” Ben tells her as he finishes up his own breakfast – bacon and fried eggs.

“I don’t have a phone.” Yuu admits, pushing one of the plates over to Grim.

“You don’t have a—” Ben starts, then stops, staring at her disbelievingly.

Yuu shrugs, flipping the omelette. “Ortho said my luggage got lost.”

“Who puts their phone in their luggage?” Ben shakes his head. “Know what? Just tell the Housewarden about this and he’ll give you one of his old phones.”

Huh, good to know.

Ben pulls out his own phone. He types something and there is the noticeable sound of a message being sent.

A minute later, someone runs into the kitchen.

By the time Yuu is done using up the carton of eggs, there are six boys sitting in the kitchen.

“You’re that girl right? I thought you were like one of those Pomefiore students at first!” One of them tells her. The boy next to him stutters when Yuu looks over. The first boy rolls his eyes and jabs him in the side. “She’s a girl, not a monster, Felix.”

“Shut it! Easy for you to say, Ralph!” Felix hisses lowly.

There is a startled sound from the entry-way.

Yuu looks over to see a boy with blue fire for hair being manhandled into the kitchen by Ortho.

“Hello Miss Yuu!” Ortho says cheerfully. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought big brother over to eat with the rest of his dorm for once!”

“Of course not!” Yuu tells him. She steps away from the stove and greets Ortho with a hug, one that he returns enthusiastically.

Her attention turns to his older brother, who is likely Idia Shroud, the Housewarden of Ignihyde.

He holds up a tablet to shield his face from her attention.

“Hey Henchman!” Grim yowls. “I’m going to eat your food if you don’t hurry up!”

Yuu regretfully breaks away from the hug to join Grim for breakfast.

“Kitty…” She hears a strangled whisper from behind her.

Yuu decides to ignore it. She sits down next to Grim and gives him head-scritches for being such a good boss and defending his henchman’s food.

Ortho plops down on the chair opposite hers, two plates of omelettes set down on the table. Yuu is very aware that in doing so, he has placed his brother at the edge of the table, opposite Grim.

“Housewarden, the new freshie says she doesn’t have a phone.” Ben calls out from another table.

Yuu doesn’t think that Idia even hears him with how intently he is staring at Grim.

Grim’s fur stands on end and he scoots closer to Yuu.

“I’ll give you one of my old phones if you let me hold Grim.” Idia says with absolutely none of the previous anxiety he has shown.

“Give me a phone and I’ll tell you how to get Grim to agree to being held.” Yuu says instead.

They shake on it.

The moment the contact is over, Idia immediately retreats into himself, poking at the omelette. Yuu talks to Ortho instead, deciding not to pressure Idia into too much social interaction on their first meeting.

It was unbelievable how many of the excuses Yuu made for Grim boiled down to: he’s just being a cat.

Because that was the excuse she used when Crowley squawked to her about keeping her familiar in line.

For all his eagerness to attend school, Grim clearly hadn’t thought of what it entailed.

“I don’t wanna go to class anymore!” He wails.

“I thought you wanted to be a Great Magician, Grim?” Yuu asks.

Today’s schedule is planned out for her. First period is Potions, second is History of Magic. Attend an interview at Monstro Lounge during lunch, go for a third class of Flying, and then check out some of the clubs after classes. Ortho had eagerly offered to escort her and Yuu is too new to the layout of the school to refuse.

Her schedule does not take into account Grim causing trouble and earning her a punishment of cleaning a hundred windows.

Yuu finds herself staring down Grim with her arms crossed. The troublemaker is sitting down, forked tail coiled around his paws and his ears pressed against his skull.

“I’m not upset.” Yuu begins.

“He started it…” Grim grumbles.

“I know.” Yuu says. “That’s why I’m not upset. I’m just disappointed that you resorted to flinging fireballs around. We talked about this, Grim.” Specifically, just this morning. It hasn’t even been three hours.

Grim lowers his head. Yuu sighs and picks him up in her arms. “C’mere.” She presses a kiss to his furry head. “At least it’s just a hundred windows. Between the three of us, we’ll be done before the sun sets.”

“Okaaaaay.” Grim says, dragging out the word like a child caught misbehaving.

Ortho had helped her arrange an interview with a Azul Ashengrotto during lunch.

This time, to prevent another punishment, Yuu keeps Grim hugged tightly to her chest.

“Miss Yuu!” Ortho calls out, waving an arm about.

“Ortho!” Yuu waves back. She accepts the boy’s hug with an arm. The hug lasts longer than is normal, but Yuu doesn’t mind and it seems Ortho doesn’t either.

“You know you can just call me Yuu, right?” Yuu says.

“All right then, Yuu!” Ortho agrees easily. “Have you eaten?” He asks and when Yuu shows him the wrappers of the snack bars she had filched from the dorm kitchen, he nods and says, “I’ll take you to Monstro Lounge now!”

“Jade look! It’s a little shrimpy!”

In Yuu’s defense, she is acting entirely on instinct when she sweeps the tall boy’s legs out from under him.

“Oh shit,” she curses, squatting down to check on him.

“It’s okay, Yuu. Floyd Leech is still alive.” Ortho informs her.

The other boy, likely his twin, smiles down at her. “It’s not often someone manages to overpower Floyd. No need to worry about him,” he pushes her lightly towards a room, “Floyd has had much worse.”

Moriarty had taught Yuu many things. One of which was to be on the lookout for deals that seemed too good to be true, or coincidences that happened too perfectly. The second was that when in a negotiation, whoever appeared more desperate was at a disadvantage.

Yuu stares at the employment contract before her. She knows very little of contract law. She glances at Ortho who has accompanied her all this way.

“Ortho, could you please explain all this to me?” She slips the contract his way.

“Of course, Yuu!” Ortho says with his ever-present cheer. He scans through the employment contract. “To summarize, you will work four hours a day on school days and eight hours on Saturday. Any leave, whether for sickness or otherwise is taken out of your pay, which is five hundred thaumarks a month. One meal will be provided every work day. And of course there is a stipulation that the recipes of any menu items belonging to Monstro Lounge cannot be shared or sold outside of its premises.”

Hm. That sounds fair.

But— “what’s your opinion on this, Ortho?”

“I believe that you should attempt negotiating for higher pay and a week of paid leave per term.” Ortho says.

Yuu nods. She turns to Azul. “I would like a week of paid leave and higher pay.”

Azul clasps his hands together. “That is a standard contract.”

Yuu meets Ortho’s eyes. “I believe Sam’s shop offers better terms.” He says.

What a good partner. Yuu stands up. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Ashengrotto.” She says.

Azul’s smile cracks slightly.

“I suppose a week of paid leave wouldn’t be too hard to negotiate.” He adds hurriedly.

“Azul Ashengrotto has trouble retaining employees due to Floyd Leech’s behavior.” Ortho tells her.

Yuu takes that in and gives Azul a raised brow.

“Seven hundred thaumarks a month and a week of paid leave.” He finally offers.

Yuu smiles at him and takes his hand. “I accept these terms, Mr. Ashengrotto.”

“Shrimpy!”

Yuu’s elbow meets Floyd’s ribs. He wheezes and doubles over.

“Stop springing on me like that!” Yuu scolds. She rubs his abdomen. “Are you alright?”

“Aww, Shrimpy’s worried!” Floyd cackles. Yuu lets herself be picked up and swung around. “Shrimpy, are you gonna be working with us?”

Yuu turns and meets Azul’s eyes. She mouths, ‘I want a pay raise.’

Azul smiles and lifts up the signed employment contract.

Grim hisses and scratches Floyd’s ankles. “Let go of my Henchman!”

“Oh? Look, a baby seal! I wanna squeeze it!” Floyd cackles and reaches for Grim.

Yuu grabs his arm. “Don’t bully my cat.” She tells him, voice going flat.

Floyd scowls at her. “Tch. You’re no fun, shrimpy.” He drops her. Yuu lands with a roll, landing neatly on her feet.

She snatches up Grim with a hand, takes Ortho’s hand with her other and gets the hell out of this toxic workplace.

“Myah, when’s that jerk coming?” Grim grumbles. He sits by the wall, paws crossed, washcloth abandoned by the side.

Yuu hums out an answer, wiping another window. That made twenty. And with Grim’s singular window cleaned, twenty-one.

“Argh! You know what, Henchman? I’m gonna find him and make him clean the rest of the windows!” Grim declares.

“Okay, don’t cause any trouble Grim!” Yuu calls out over her shoulder.

In retrospect, she should have gone with him.

“I left you alone for ten minutes.” Yuu says.

Grim flattens his ears against his head. “He started it!” He jabs a paw at the red-haired guy who had gotten them the window-cleaning punishment.

“Wha-? Hey wait a minute, you overgrown weasel!” The boy protests.

Yuu ignores them to examine the carnage — a chandelier that had been broken Phantom of the Opera style. Yeah, she wasn’t looking forward to paying all this off.

And of course, the chandelier turns out to be a priceless artifact and they are sent to retrieve a magic stone from a mine to avoid being expelled.

“I don’t even know you guys.” Yuu bemoans.

Chapter Text

Yuu peers into the dark cave. She examines it for a second, then bends down to pick up Grim, using his flaming ears as a light.

“Don’t suppose you guys have a plan?” She asks the two boys.

“Hah? Who needs one? Just get your stupid familiar to stay out of my way!” The red-haired boy shoves past her.

Yuu really needs to get their names.

“I’m not a familiar!” Grim shouts at his back.

Yuu glances at the blue-haired boy who resolutely follows after him. Leaving Yuu and Grim standing at the entrance of the mine.

“Well,” Yuu says after a moment, “do we go in?”

Grim nods his head fiercely. “Yeah! I’m gonna get a magestone and have those idiots beg at my feet!”

“I can’t see shit in here.” A voice mutters.

“That’s why you need a light.” Yuu points out, hoisting Grim higher in the air.

“Don’t treat me like a torch, henchman!” Grim hisses.

“Grim, you’re the most useful person… monster? In this group right now.” Yuu says and he immediately puffs up in satisfaction.

She can barely make out the outline of the cave with the flickering blue fire.

“This place gives me the creeps.” The blue-haired boy says.

“If the caves here are the same as the ones at home, there’s probably a bunch of monsters inside.” Yuu says. “So get ready to fight.”

A beat.

“Bwah?” Grim squeaks.

“What kind of caves did you go to!?”

“What monsters!?”

“The ones back home. Usually there’s ghosts, evil spirits, demonic beasts and one time I had to fight a dragon.”

“Haha, very funny.” The red-haired boy scoffs.

““GHOSTS!!!””

Yeah, sounds about right.

The constant arguing does wonders for their stealth, or lack of it.

On the bright side, Yuu finally learned their names!

“Henchman, let’s ditch them and get the magestone ourselves.” Grim punches a paw into the air.

Very cute, but Yuu thinks that if she leaves Ace and Deuce alone in here, they’re going to die. “The more hands the better.” She says instead.

More hands doesn’t do jack shit when Deuce decides to throw himself at the giant pickaxe-wielding horror movie monster.

“Hey! Get back here you idiot!” Ace shouts at him.

Yuu wants to summon her Servants. Even one of them would be enough to give her a sense of security.

But the knowledge of the summoning spell is as blank as her name.

The command spells on her right hand remain inert.

She forces her thoughts to the present. The monster is slow and clunky. His large size is hampered by the smaller size of the cave, but that brings about a whole list of problems.

The pickaxe is large, sharp, deadly.

The monster swings it down on Deuce.

Yuu starts to run forwards, but she already knows she will be too late.

A figure blurs in front of her face. Ace pushing Deuce away. They both fall, and the pickaxe slams against the wall. It still catches against Ace’s side.

This isn’t going to work.

“Retreat!” She yells. “Grim, fire!”

Grim hops out of her arms and breathes out a stream of fire at the monster. Yuu grabs Deuce by the collar and hauls up Ace by the arm. He winces at the motion. Definitely a bruised rib at the very least.

They manage to make it out of the mine without any further injuries.

The monster does not chase after them. Instead, it lingers where the glow of the magestone can still be seen.

“We need a plan.” Yuu tells the two boys once they have caught their breaths.

Ace still winces with every breath he takes. Deuce fares much better, but the scapes on his hands need a good cleaning.

“Are you kidding? You want to fight that monster? I’d rather get expelled!” Ace snaps.

“Well I’d rather die than get expelled!” Deuce shouts back. “The magestone was right there!”

Yuu looks down at Grim. She wonders if she looks as unimpressed with the petty squabbling as he does.

“Guys.” She tries to interject, but neither of the two seem to hear her.

“Grim,” Yuu tells Grim with great solemnity, “set them on fire.”

Grim cackles and puffs out embers at the both of them. Their arguing quickly turns to yelps as they brush the cinders off their clothes.

“Guys,” Yuu says with a calm she does not feel, “let’s make a plan.”

“Is that a joke?” Ace scoffs. “Like I could work together with Juice.”

“It’s Deuce! And I’m not working with him either!”

Grim crosses his paws. “You guys can be the lame idiots who got expelled in the first week of school then.”

Grim uses sharp tongue. It is super effective!

Ace and Deuce fall silent.

“I have a plan.” Yuu says in the silence that follows.

“Fine… let’s hear it.” Ace grumbles.

“Here’s the plan.” Yuu says. “I’ll be bait and lure the monster away from the magestone. You three will go dig out the magestone while the monster’s attention is on me.”

“When you get the stone, we’ll team up and trap the monster with a cave-in.”

“Hey, you sure you can distract that thing alone?” Ace asks.

“Not for too long, but I should be able to hold out for maybe ten minutes, fifteen tops. So you three better hurry, alright?” Yuu smiles at them.

Deuce nods firmly. “Got it!”

Luring the monster away was easy. The hard part was keeping it occupied.

Yuu runs towards another fork in the cave. “Hey monster! I’m over here! I’m taking your stone!” She shouts.

The monster lumbers towards her.

She stands still, waiting and watching… the monster takes a step closer. Now!

Yuu pulls back her arm. Lightning sparks through the limb as she throws it forwards in a punch.

Her fist shatters stone.

A shadow falls in on her and she throws herself to the side. The falling rock lands on the monster’s head.

A few cracks appear on the glassy surface.

The monster roars out in pain.

Yuu winces a little as stray chunks of rock graze her skin. She really should’ve worn her Mystic Code. Too little, too late.

Yuu manages to divest the monster of its weapon when she hears a shout, “we got the stone!”

Great. Awesome. Unfortunately, the monster is blocking her way to the entrance of the cave.

“Run!” She shouts at them.

She enhances her legs and kicks at the monster. It wails and tumbles. Yuu hops over it and runs, aware that this isn’t going to be the end of it.

The trio wait at the entrance of the cave, a shining stone in hand.

“Grim! See that support beam there? Fire at it! Ace, back up his fire!”

Grim’s fire turns to a whirling inferno. The beam catches fire, but its not enough. She can still hear the approaching footsteps.

“Deuce! Hit the beam! With everything you got!”

“R-Right! Cauldron!” A cauldron hits the beam and lands on the floor with a clang. “Cauldron! Another cauldron!”

The beam breaks. The cave does not fall in on itself. Much steadier than Yuu had presumed.

The monster emerges from the shadow of the cave.

“Ace, Grim, again!” Yuu commands. She runs up to the monster in the shadow of the raging fire. Yuu pulls her hand back and slams a fist into the wall.

That, apparently, is what does it.

The cave comes crashing down.

Yuu runs for it. One, two, three steps. Her foot is caught.

Shit.

She glances at the monster who has one hand gripped around her ankle.

“Cauldron!” Deuce drops a cauldron on the monster and it screeches in pain, letting go of her ankle to clutch at its glassy head.

Ace grabs her arm and pulls her away from the cave-in.

The last she sees of the monster is a boulder crashing down, shattering the ink pot. The monster lets out one final scream. Then all is silent.

Yuu collapses onto the ground.

That was way too close.

A furry paw pats her cheek. “Henchman?” Grim asks. “Are you alive?”

Yuu grabs Grim and buries her face in his fur, ignoring his protests. “Yes… I’m alive. I’m alive.”

A hand messes with her hair. “You are insane.” Ace tells her.

“That was awesome!” Deuce cheers.

“We did it!” Yuu lets go of Grim to laugh. Her smile is wide, just like theirs are.

“We did it!” The boys cheer and give each other hi-fives.

Yuu pushes herself to her feet and hugs them all.

Yuu groans as she trudges back to Headmaster Crowley’s office with her bruised and battered body in tow. She doubts Ace and Deuce are feeling any better. At least Grim is saved from having to walk, given how he’s sprawled out on her head.

“Headmaster.” She knocks on the door.

Ace brushes past her and slams the door open. “Headmaster!” He shouts. “We got the magestone!”

There is no one in the office.

Yuu slides down to the floor and groans.

Before any of their already frayed tempers can go off, a familiar cloak flares as Crowley bursts into the office. He stops short at the sight of them.

“Oh! You three are here! With a magestone no less! Well, I hadn’t expected this. And to think I just got the expulsion papers printed!”

Yuu does not rise to the bait. Think happy thoughts. Like Mini Cu ripping through a demonic boar. One with Crowley’s face.

“Are you kidding me? After we went and fought a monster for this too!?” Grim snarls.

That catches Crowley’s attention. “Oh?” He asks, “what’s this about a monster?”

At his request, they retell the evening’s happenings.

Yuu is too tired to care when the Headmaster bursts into tears. “My students… working together!” He sobs.

Really?

She tenses when his hands grasp her shoulder. “Yuu! I should have noticed! You possess the talents of a beast tamer! To think that one would finally appear in my school as a student!”

As Crowley continues to insult all his students, Yuu looks down at Grim. That’s right… hadn’t he wanted…?

“Headmaster Crowley?” She asks. “I have a request.”

“Henchman! Look! Look!” Grim presents the magestone collar to her again.

“It looks great on you!” Yuu praises him and he laughs and dances around her.

They part ways with Ace and Deuce, both of them headed back to Heartslabyul while Yuu and Grim return to Ignihyde.

The hour is late but as Yuu is beginning to learn, there is always at least one Ignihyde student awake and gaming.

“Oh. It’s Yuu…” Yuu peers at the boy who is gaming in the kitchen. She recognizes him as one of the boys from breakfast.

“I don’t think I got your name.” She says.

“Call me George.” The boy shrugs. “Heard you went and destroyed a chandelier.”

Does everyone know that?

“Hey! Hey!” Grim shouts. The boy looks down. Grim puffs out his chest, showing off his new collar.

“Huh. Cute.” George says and returns back to his game.

Grim’s ears flatten at the dismissal but he bounces back just as quickly.

Yuu feels too tired to cook. She hunts out some fresh fruits instead.

Grim tugs at her pants. He shows her his collar again.

Yuu gives him an apple and pats his head. “You’re going to be a great mage, Grim!”

And just like that, he cheers up.

“Yuu!” A voice calls out.

Yuu turns and sees Ortho and Idia entering the kitchen.

“Yuu! I heard you broke a chandelier!” Ortho says.

Yuu is starting to think that everyone knows that by now.

“Look at me!” Grim cries out again.

“Is that a magestone?” Idia mutters. He bends down to pat his head and Grim is in good enough of a mood to allow it.

“Yeah! I get to attend Night Raven College too!” Grim says proudly. “I’m going to be a great mage!”

“Aww…” Idia coos.

“Scanning… Yuu, you have several cuts and scrapes. Would you like me to clean and bandage them for you?” Ortho asks.

Yuu shrugs. The prospect of having someone tend to her wounds sounds appealing. “Sure thing.”

Ortho helps her roll up the legs of her pants. From his body, he extracts some kind of spray. Yuu winces at the cold sting. Definitely disinfectant.

Ortho pastes band-aids over the cuts on her legs. Looked like more scars would be joining the collection. He rolls her pants back down and attends to her hands.

“Hey! Stop pulling!” Grim snaps.

Yuu’s attention turns to him. Idia has his hands closed around Grim’s paws, but his gaze is fixed on her now covered leg. He squeaks when he notices her eyes on him. His hair flares out with his agitation.

“And done!” Ortho says.

“Thanks so much, Ortho.” Yuu waves her hand through his fiery hair. He giggles at the motion. “C’mon Grim, I need a shower.”

Grim groans but follows after her.

Chapter Text

Tee-hee. A fairytale world just for you and me. Says a child who calls herself Alice. A child who was meant to be a friend to all children.

Nursery Rhyme, Ritsuka tries to call out. Alice, what do you mean?

It’s okay. You can rest now. Mother Goose will tell a tale today… of Alice in Wonderland.

Yuu wakes to a ringing by her ear.

There is a weight on her chest. Yuu peers at the black blob with swaying blue flames. Grim migrated over again, huh?

“Turn it off, Henchman…” Grim mumbles and then proceeds to fight an imaginary monster.

Yuu absently paws at the nightstand.

Ace’s name is what flashes across her phone.

“Yuu! Let me stay at your dorm!” Ace shouts through the phone.

Which, ow.

Yuu debates hanging up on him for a hot second.

Then, she glances at the space around her. There are two beds per dorm and Grim sleeps with her anyways. “Fine.” She agrees tiredly.

Yuu drags her feet as she trudges out of her room.

“Oh… hey Yuu.” Yuu recognizes Ralph as he waves at her.

She mumbles out a hello.

“I heard about the chandelier incident. Can’t believe you went and did that on the first day of school.” Ralph continues, tagging at her heels. He is far too cheerful at two in the morning.

Yuu hums and nods as he speaks. She reaches the common area and slams her hand on a button. The gates raise. Outside, Ace waits, a heavy-looking collar around his neck.

“Is that one of the Heartslabyul guys?” Ralph peers over her shoulder. “What’s he doing here?”

“Ace,” Yuu says, “I’m going to kill you.”

Ace squawks.

Yuu does not kill Ace.

Instead, she brings him back to her room and waves off Ralph’s concerned and increasingly pointed questions about why she was letting a boy sleep in the same room as her.

Honestly, everyone in Chaldea treated her room like a communal bedroom anyways.

She points at the unused bed and buries her face in her pillow.

Grim’s furry mass is warm against her side. It doesn’t make up for the absence of Mash, of her Servants. But she pretends it does.

(She can be a better person in the morning.)

Waking is hard. Slow.

The furry blob clutched to her chest is a godsend. Grim is so warm. His steady, sleeping breaths are there for her to mimic. To quell the ache in her chest.

Yuu clambers out of bed. Her aches flare with each step she takes.

She lets the heavy Ignihyde jacket she was wearing drop onto the floor. She pulls the oversized shirt she was sleeping in over her head and reaches out for the Ignihyde uniform.

There is the sound of someone choking from behind her.

Yuu stiffens.

“I didn’t see anything!” Ace yelps. When she turns around to look, he has the duvet tossed over his head.

Yuu lets out a snort and quickly changes.

Ace does not speak of the scars he would have doubtlessly seen, and Yuu is all the more glad for it.

Breakfast is an awkward affair. The Ignihyde students who deigned to show up for breakfast look oddly at Ace.

Yuu smiles as bright as she can to make up for it.

Her heart still feels oddly empty.

But when Yuu looks at the stunned faces of Grim, Ace and Deuce after they get thrown out of Heartslabyul, she throws her head back and laughs and laughs. Ace and Deuce look at her like she is insane, but it isn’t long before they join in the laughter.

Yuu pushes herself up to her feet and extends both hands to her friends.

As warm palms grasp her own, Yuu feels her heart begin to fill. She’s not alone.

So… everything will be alright.

Grim takes to classes the second day just as he did the first day: not at all.

Yuu turns a blind eye when he hops out during the changing of classrooms.

“Um… Yuu? Aren’t you going to go after him?” Deuce asks.

Why would she do that? It’s not like Grim’s a… student. Shit.

The memories of yesterday hit her like a falling manticore.

Damnit, Grim’s a student now!

“Grim!” Yuu shouts. “Stop right there!”

She jumps out the window and tackles the feline to the ground.

She grapples for Grim and holds him up into the air. “I got him!”

“Myahhhh! Lemme gooooo!” Grim wails.

Yuu tucks Grim under her arm and looks up at the stupefied faces of Ace and Deuce. “Hey! Mind throwing my stuff down?”

Deuce vanishes from the parapet for a few seconds. He reappears with her bag.

“Wait wait wait!” Ace yelps before he can toss it down. “How about we just bring it down to Yuu instead of braining her with it!”

Grim’s reluctance quickly vanishes the moment they step foot in the cafeteria. He darts underfoot, grabbing whatever food he can.

This of course upsets a number of students.

“I’m really sorry about him.” Yuu drags Grim back to her side.

“Like a sorry’s gonna cut it!” The upperclassman he had offended looms over her. Two more seniors begin to crowd in on her.

Grim’s fur is puffed up. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Ace and Deuce stand up from the table they had just secured.

Yuu keeps one hand tightly gripped on the scruff on his neck and ensures that all the food Grim has picked out is secure in her other hand.

She sweeps one of them off balance with a foot, following up with a knee to the groin. The senior lets out a strangled squeak, covering his private area with his hands.

Before the other two can react, Yuu jumps and kicks one in the face, using the momentum to twist mid-air. Her foot catches the other in the neck. Both of them go down.

Grim’s mouth hangs agape. He quickly enough recovers. “That was awesome, henchman!” He cheers.

Yuu beams. “Of course!” She says, “the Great Grim is my boss after all!”

The food in her hands looks jostled but at least none of it spilled.

Yuu heads over to her friends and spots them sitting opposite the senior who tricked them into painting the roses.

“Oh hey! It’s Yuu!” Cater smiles and waves at her. “That whole flip you did was amazing!”

He shows her his phone and sure enough, there’s a video of her dispatching the three upperclassmen.

“Hi Cater!” She says, setting the plates of food on the table.

Grim hops onto the bench, then climbs onto the table. As he begins to dig into his food, the person sitting beside Cater introduces himself.

“Hey there. I’m Trey Clover.” Trey says. “It’s rare to see someone from Ignihyde.”

“That reminds me, what’s with the dorms anyways?” Deuce asks.

“Each dorm has their own rules and values.” Trey explains.

“Yeah, yeah. The red dorm is all rules and stuff, and the blue dorm Yuu’s in are all a buncha losers.” Grim comments.

Trey laughs. It sounds slightly terse. “Well, I wouldn’t say that… Heartslabyul does value the strictness of the Queen of Hearts, but how strictly it’s enforced is dependent on the Housewarden.”

Queen of Hearts…?

Yuu closes her eyes, hoping that the sudden pain striking from within her head would go away. Sure enough, it fades after a second.

“And Ignihyde’s totally known for their recluses!” Cater adds. “No offense, Yuuie!”

“None taken.” Yuu says. She resists the urge to rub her temples.

The two seniors proceed to introduce every dorm to them.

“And that’s Pomefiore. Gotta say, Yuuie, you’ve got a face that would totes fit in!” Cater says.

“Thanks!” Yuu smiles back at him.

Cater’s smile fades for a split second but comes back full force. Oh, Yuu realizes, finally understanding what bothered her about him. His smile does not meet his eyes.

“And then there’s Diasomnia.” Trey redirects the conversation and gestures them to look towards a table in the alcove.

“I didn’t know they accepted little kids too.” Ace comments, narrowing his eyes at the table.

Yuu makes to chime in, but her instincts blare out to her.

A presence. Sudden. Large. Deadly.

Yuu cannot defeat it, but she can defend herself, buy herself time.

Her hand closes around a fork and swings.

The presence jumps back.

Slitted red eyes meet hers.

“Kehehe, it seems I’ve startled you, little one.” The not-child says.

Pointed ears, slitted eyes, sharp teeth. “Faerie.” The word slips from her tongue like a soft echo of a tale long since passed.

It sounds sad and bitter, even to her ears. Like a world where not a single soul could be saved.

The faerie quirks a smile at her. It is sincere, yet hiding deceit. “Yes, I am fae.” The admission is nothing new, but the way he looks at her, back no longer facing her, is.

Her own smile is hard to keep, but she forces it back on. Yuu cannot remember what it would be like not to smile, to pretend that everything will be alright. So she will keep smiling and pretending, ignoring the scars that litter every single inch of her skin.

She lowers the fork, forces her fingers to unclench from the utensil. “It’s nice to meet you…?”

“You may call me Lilia Vanrouge.” The faerie tells her.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Yuu repeats. And it is. A new face, a new friend. Another story, another companion. “I’m Yuu.”

Lilia grins at her, showing hints of fangs. “What an interesting name.”

When she turns back to her companions, Ace is looking at her, something akin to realization in his gaze. The memory of her scars laid bare before him is pulled back to the surface. Yuu shoves it back down.

Before lunch ends, Ace manages to wrangle a promise to help him with tart-making after school.

Yuu glances beside her at her Alchemy partner who had been present in all her other classes thus far.

Yesterday, Professor Crewel mostly went through the syllabus and drilled proper lab safety into them.

Today, they would be making their first potion.

Yuu can’t wait!

“Human!” Her lab partner says in his too-loud voice. “Pass me the daffodil!”

“Yuu.” Yuu says.

“What? I asked you to pass it to me first!”

“My name.” Yuu says. “Call me Yuu.” She waves the daffodil in front of his face.

From there, she learns that his name is Sebek, he admires someone called Malleus Draconia greatly and that he’s from a place called the Briar Valley.

Sebek is fun to tease and rile up. What makes him even more endearing is how he whole-heartedly praises her for her skill in handling ingredients.

When he fails to have anything positive to add about Grim, Grim throws a tantrum. Yuu bottles the potion while they shout at each other.

The shouting match ends when the end of a crop smacks against their table. “Be silent. Disobedient puppies will be punished.” Professor Crewel glares at them.

Yuu places the finished potion on the table and smiles up at him.

Professor Crewel peers at the potion and nods once. “Acceptable. Refrain from barking next time.”

Yuu covers Sebek’s mouth before he can shout out an agreement.

“Hey Housewarden.” Yuu says when she passes by the Board Games Club. At Grim’s insistence, the both of them decide to check out some of the clubs before going to help Ace with the baking.

The booth is located in one of the more secluded locations. Which might explain why Idia is perfectly fine with sitting there.

Idia lets out a strangled sound and holds his tablet out in front of him, only lowering it to give Grim a pet on the head.

Grim snaps at his fingers. “I told you, it’s a can of tuna for one minute of head scratches!” He hisses.

“But I want to squish the toe beans…” Idia mutters, forlorn.

“I’m sure Grim will warm up to you,” Yuu reassures.

“Why, if it isn’t Yuu! Care to join the Board Games Club?” Azul slings an arm around Yuu’s shoulder.

Yuu slowly looks down at the location of his hand. Azul is frozen, smile growing stiff.

“Please don’t grope me.” She says.

 The hand resting on her breast is immediately snatched away. Azul’s face is the reddest she’s ever seen.

“Wow Azul, didn’t take you for a pervert.” Idia says with a shit-eating grin.

Grim hops off the table and puffs embers in Azul’s direction. “You’ve got some nerve picking on my henchman!”

“I assure you that was not my intention!” Azul raises both his hands in surrender.

Yuu huffs out a laugh. “Yeah,” she says after a split second, “I know that.”

She glances at Idia who apparently had not informed anyone of her gender. “It’s funny to watch people freak out when they find out.” He admits.

Yuu is starting to think that everyone in this school has a terrible personality.

Her path takes her across a boy sitting alone at a club booth.

Yuu’s steps slow and she eventually comes to a halt before him.

Grim barrels straight ahead, screeches to a halt and scampers back to sit beside her. “Hey henchman! What’s the holdup?”

The corridor is empty. The boy raises his head to look at her. He has horns on his head.

Neither of them speak.

Yuu breaks eye contact to read the name on the booth. “Gargoyle Appreciation Club?”

She had never paid much attention to architecture beyond what she had experienced for herself.

“Are you perhaps interested in gargoyles?” The boy perks up. Yuu barely manages a nod before he is extolling the virtues of the statues.

Yuu only extracts herself from the conversation when she receives an annoyed text message from Ace.

Somehow, the boy – she hadn’t managed to get a name and he hadn’t offered either – reminds her of Elizabeth. The thought sends a pang of longing through her.

There is no need to check out any other clubs. Yuu fills up the form while walking to Heartslabyul’s kitchen.

Grim protests her decision, but the reminder that there will soon be freshly baked tarts changes his tune.

When she finally reaches the kitchens, the group is mixing the cream for the tarts.

“What took you so long?” Ace scowls at her.

“Henchman was talking to this really tall guy about statues.” Grim crosses his arms.

Huh, Yuu didn’t know that Grim was listening, what with her having to pick him up after he fell asleep at her feet.

Ortho is cooking dinner when Yuu returns to the dorm. Apparently, this is for a weekly video game tournament.

Yuu’s offering of marron tarts are very well received.

Ortho confides to her that the tournament is held to feed the dorm some homecooked food and to encourage socialization.

Yuu has no idea how the dorm has survived without him.

Chapter Text

Endless white.

The only sound Ritsuka hears are her own footsteps.

She walks. She does not get hungry or thirsty.

She is alone, abandoned even by her shadow.

Ritsuka keeps walking.

A voice calls to her, sweet and cherubic.

Master of Chaldea, won’t you let me accompany you?

“Yes.” Ritsuka says because she – because she wants to.

The white world changes into a beautiful flower plain. There is a book in Ritsuka’s hands. Alice in Wonderland. Ritsuka flips the book open.

Morning brings about its whole host of problems.

Waking up is hard.

The warmth around her makes it better.

…Wait, warmth?

Yuu opens her eyes, tangled between Ace and Deuce. Deuce has one arm resting on her stomach and her own head is resting on Ace’s shoulder. Grim is sprawled out on Deuce’s face. Somehow, the furry mass pressing against his face doesn’t wake him up in the slightest.

Right… yesterday, after heading back to Ignihyde, she had gotten a call from Ace inquiring cheekily about a sleepover with him and Deuce, hopefully in her room.

Ortho had definitely given her an inquisitive look when she brought the both of them in, but fed them anyways.

And then… they had gone to her room where they pushed the mattresses onto the floor and played cards until they fell asleep.

Yuu does not make a move to get up. The uncomfortable position makes her body scream, but Yuu has never felt more content.

When she walks out of her room with Grim in her arms and Ace and Deuce flanking her, Yuu is pulled aside by Ben.

“Stop bringing outsiders into our dorm.” He hisses at her.

“They’re my friends.” Yuu defends.

“I get that, really. But… look. Most of us don’t even like talking to people inside our dorm, much less those assholes from the other dorms.”

A fair enough point.

Deuce is sweet and all, but Ace is undeniably one of the assholes Ben is mentioning.

 The Unbirthday party is a mess.

Yuu herself certainly did not expect there to be a rule about tarts of all things.

Then they had gotten thrown out, with collars around their necks.

“That damn tyrant!” Ace spits out, pacing around the mirror chamber.

“What a waste of food…” Grim grumbles. “And after we worked so hard to make it too!”

“Baby chicks were murdered for that tart!” Deuce punches a wall.

Everyone turns to look at him.

Ace glances at her. Yuu shakes her head. Ace grins.

“Deuce, buddy.” Ace slings an arm around his shoulder. “The eggs we used yesterday? They were never gonna hatch.”

Deuce’s mouth falls open. “Wha-?”

“Did you seriously think you were eating baby chicks all this time? Talk about lame.” Ace sniggers.

“Shut up!” Deuce shouts at him, cheeks flaming red.

Yuu pats his arm. “It’s okay. We all learn something new every day.”

The collar is uncomfortable. Everyone stares at her. Grim’s complaining does not make the experience any better.

Sebek gives her a questioning look during class but does not ask any further.

Just for that, Yuu decides that she should get to know him better.

After History of Magic, she all but corrals him into walking to the cafeteria with her.

It is easy to spot her two collared idiots sulking at a side. Surprisingly, Trey and Cater are sitting with them.

“Guys! This is Sebek and he’ll be sitting with us for lunch!” Yuu gestures towards Sebek with her right arm, her left locked around his neck and half-dragging him along.

“I have agreed to no such thing!” Sebek shouts.

“Eh? But Sebek, aren’t we friends?” Yuu asks.

“WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT!”

Yuu pouts and lets her lashes tremble. “Oh…” she says morosely. “And here I thought we were getting along so well.” She sniffles once for good measure.

“T-That’s… I suppose we could be considered as acquaintances…” Sebek mutters.

Yuu brightens and pulls him down to sit beside her.

“You sure played him like a fiddle.” Trey observes.

“Don’t be silly Trey, what’s a little ribbing between friends?” Yuu beams. “So what were you guys talking about?”

“We’re challenging Riddle for the seat of Housewarden.” Ace immediately says.

Yuu blinks. “You’re going to lose.” She tells him sincerely.

“You got collared what, two times?” Grim scoffs at him.

Ace’s brow twitches. “Says the tanuki who got collared at the entrance ceremony!”

“Why you-!”

Yuu plucks Grim off the table before he can go flying at Ace with his claws out.

“Your ambition is notable, but you tarnish the name of this prestigious college by—" Sebek starts.

“Hey, who invited this straight-laced guy over here?” Ace leans in while Sebek continues on his rant.

“I did.” Yuu smiles at him. “Sebek’s cool!”

“—which Lord Malleus did the first day he arrived, and the previous Diasomnia Housewarden got down on his knees and begged for my Master’s mercy!”

“This Malleus guy sounds cool. You should introduce us sometime!” Yuu says. She turns a blind eye to her friends’ panicked expressions.

Sebek immediately puffs up. “Cool? Lord Malleus is not merely ‘cool’, he is the definition of princely elegance!”

“Awesome.” Yuu nods. “But Ace, seriously. You are going to lose.”

“You never know till you try!” Deuce interjects.

Yuu tilts her head, looking between him and Ace. Then she nods. “Try to dodge this.” She says and throws a punch towards his face.

She stops right before she can hit him. Ace falls back a second too late. “Hey, what the hell?” He yelps.

“You sure talk with your fists a lot huh, Yuuie?” Cater asks, resting his chin on a hand.

“I wouldn’t really have hit him.” Yuu says. “Riddle’s Unique Magic is just four words. ‘Off With Your Head’. That’s one of the fastest incantations I’ve ever heard of. You got anything to counter that when you can’t even dodge a punch?”

“Argh! I don’t need to sit here listening to your nagging!” Ace slams his hands on the table. “You know what, I’m challenging Riddle to a duel right now!”

Deuce looks between her and Ace like a lost child in a divorce. “R-Right! A real man never backs down from a fight!” He chooses Ace.

The both of them stand up.

Trey and Cater exchange a look. “We’d better go after them.” Trey says apologetically.

Yuu stares at her untouched meal. She makes her decision.

Yuu turns to Sebek. “Sorry ‘bout leaving so soon when I was the one who dragged you here. You can have my food.”

“No matter!” Sebek proclaims. “If you ever wish to hear more of Lord Malleus’ exploits, I would be happy to indulge!”

Yuu pats him on the head and goes after her idiots.

“Hey! Henchman! I’m still eating! Wait for me!” Grim yowls at her back.

Today is turning out to be a horrible day.

Yuu refuses to let that get her down.

She glances at her reflection in a passing window. Dark bags hang under her eyes. A heavy collar hangs around her neck. It is uncomfortable, and the metal reminds her of that sharp edge pressed to her neck.

“Henchmaaaaaan!” Grrim calls out, paws scampering towards her.

Yuu’s smile is weak, faltering. She shakes her head and claps her palms over her cheeks. Her smile returns in full force by the time Grim reaches her.

With him by her side, she runs to the mirror chamber and towards Heartslabyul.

Yuu’s heart thrums in her chest.

An Overblot… How terrifying.

The monster towering behind Riddle like a puppeteer manipulating a puppet. Riddle lashing out with all his bottled emotions, blurting out all his insecurities for anyone who would deign to listen.

How terrible. This Blot. It feels violating in a way that disgusts Yuu to the core.

“Headmaster!” Yuu turns to the responsible adult amongst them.

“Everyone! Please evacuate!” Headmaster Crowley shouts.

…Nevermind.

Trey uses his Unique Magic to counter Riddle’s.

That still leaves the monster to be dealt with.

“Hey Cater? Do your clones feel pain by any chance?” Yuu asks Cater quietly.

“Eh? Well, no. It’s not exactly the best feeling if one of my clones pop, but it’s not unbearable either.”

Yuu nods, quietly looking over Riddle’s movements.

Riddle does not know how to fight and it is obvious. The rose bushes held by the monster are swung about with simply brute strength.

But just that is enough to crush someone to death.

Yuu takes a deep breath. “Ace! Deuce! To me!” She shouts. “Cater, your clones are the sacrificial pieces. Don’t let anyone get hurt.”

“Eh? Hey, that’s… Oh fine! Don’t say that Cay-Cay never does anything for you!”

 Yuu drops Grim. “Time to fight a monster again.” She says. “You up for it, Grim?”

He lands on his feet and grins at her. “You got it, Henchman! The Great Mage Grim’s gonna wipe that monster out!”

Yuu glances at the back of her right hand. The markings where her command spells once were are still inert, looking to the world like a simple scar.

No luck there, huh.

No matter.

If nothing else, Yuu has gotten very good at fighting over the years.

Her goal is simple: Smash that ink pot and save Riddle.

This time, she will save someone.

Ace and Grim are tasked with burning down the thorny whips that swing around.

Yuu and Deuce are the main hitters.

“Cauldron!” Deuce’s repertoire hasn’t changed much. The cauldron is tossed atop the monster’s head. Not even a crack.

“Can you make a spear?” Yuu asks. Fighting with her fists here is a little too dangerous, even for her.

“I don’t even know what a spear looks like!” Is Deuce’s panicked admission.

Nevermind then.

Yuu picks up a branch and reinforces it. This will have to do.

The monster slams its rose bush towards them. Hands push them away. Cater’s clones pop as they are killed.

Yuu makes a mental reminder to get something for him in return. Even if his clones can’t feel pain, seeing himself suffer like this can’t be healthy.

Yuu jumps onto the bush. The thorns that reach for her are burnt to ashes before they can harm her.

She runs up the monster’s arm and throws the makeshift spear. The branch hits the ink pot and—fails to break through. All it leaves is a small chink.

A hand falls down on her. Yuu jumps down, landing on the grass with a wince.

“Gahhh!” Deuce screams. A jet of water is shot at the chink in the glass.

An idea occurs to Yuu.

“Ace! Grim! Aim at that crack!” She shouts.

Fire washes harmlessly against the glassy surface.

“Deuce! Water spell! At the same place!”

“Huh? Ah, got it!” A stream of water hisses when it comes into contact with the heated surface.

The monster screams. The crack grows bigger. Drops of ink begin to leak out.

“Again!” Yuu scrabbles for another fallen branch.

She reinforces it and throws.

This time, it pierces through.

Ritsuka walks in a dream.

A child wearing a familiar face is crying.

Nursery Rhyme stands beside her, watching.

Well? Nursery Rhyme asks her. Go on. Save him.

Her little hand pushes Ritsuka forwards. She sits down beside the child.

“I wanted to eat the tart.” Riddle admits. “All my life, I was told to follow the rules.” His voice is a soft, broken thing.

Ritsuka doesn’t know what to say to make him stop hurting. She doesn’t even know if she can fix this. What good is the ability to fight and slay world-ending catastrophes when she doesn’t even know how to comfort a hurting child?

“I wanted to play outside with Trey and Chen’ya. Mother… what rule do I have to follow to make this pain go away?”

Ritsuka closes her eyes and hugs Riddle close to her chest.

Riddle’s breath hitches.

“It’s alright.” She murmurs, stroking his head. “Let it all out.”

Riddle trembles. Tears flow down his face, staining his cheeks a splotchy red.

Ritsuka does not know how to fix him, or if he can even be fixed. But what she can do is stay and offer him a shoulder to cry on.

Chapter Text

Yuu feels too shaky on her feet, like a newborn fawn. She takes one step after the other, stumbling towards the inky monster.

Its head is shattered and it is melting like a wax figure made of ink.

Riddle stands below it. The ink patterns staining his skin are gone and the eerie flame in his eye is gone.

The ink monster melts completely. Riddle begins to sway.

Trey is faster than her. He runs towards Riddle and embraces the boy before he can fall over.

Yuu’s desperate pace slows to an exhausted crawl. She feels like she is intruding on a private moment.

“…alright. You’re alright… Thank the Sevens.” Trey is whispering.

Riddle stares up at him like a child seeing their parent cry for the first time. “Trey?” Riddle murmurs. His eyes are unfocused. “I had… a strange dream.”

Riddle shakes his head as though to clear the fog from his mind. “What just happened?”

“Don’t worry, Riddle. Just try to rest.” Trey says.

Behind her, Ace makes a sound of disgust. An arm weighs down on Yuu’s shoulder. She stumbles and finds herself supported against Ace’s side. “That’s the sort of coddling that led to this mess in the first place!” He complains.

Yuu feels someone touch her elbow. Deuce flanks her other side.

Grim stands in front of Yuu, tail curled around her ankle.

Yuu’s heart feels warm. She loves her friends, so so much.

(Surely this isn’t a Lostbelt? Surely this isn’t another transient dream that would have to be shattered by her hands? The world has been saved, surely that must count for something?)

 Ace bullies Riddle into holding an Unbirthday party tomorrow – and to make a tart as apology.

Trey takes Riddle to the infirmary, along with Crowley who Yuu realizes had done nothing but stand there and watch.

Yuu watches the ‘responsible adult’ go with pursed lips.

She almost misses Grim’s nose twitch as he looks around. “I smell something.” He mumbles. Then, he lights up and picks up a black crystal. Drool begins to flow from his mouth.

Under her incredulous gaze, he opens his mouth wide, preparing to take a bite out of it.

Yuu yanks him up by the scruff of his neck. The black crystal falls onto the ground. Grim yelps. “Hey! What’s that for?”

“Grim.” Yuu says. “Do not eat suspicious-looking stones. From my experience, these things are cursed.”

Grim’s ears flatten and he looks at the stone with suspicion. “But it smells so good…”

Yuu rifles around her pockets and finds a few folded paper napkins. She picks the stone up with one napkin and wraps it securely. “If it’s safe, I’ll give it to you to eat.” She tells him.

“Fine! But you owe me tuna, Henchman! I’m starving!”

Yuu visits the infirmary with Ace and Deuce. Trey sits at his side, unmoving while Professor Crewel busies around in the background.

“How’s Riddle doing?” Yuu asks.

“I’m fine.” Riddle says.

There is an awkward tension in the air.

“You. Pup. The four of you were involved in this debacle, I hear?” Professor Crewel asks, gesturing at their group.

“Yes.” Yuu nods.

The man looks them over with a sharp gaze. Then, he picks out Yuu. “You’ve been bumbling your way here. Did you incur any injuries?”

Yuu doesn’t feel anything so she shakes her head. “No.” She reports. “Just—disoriented.”

Crewel nods once. “I will be excusing the four of you from class for the rest of the week. Get some rest.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Yuu says. Her friends echo her words with varying levels of excitement.

Crewel strides past them and Yuu takes that as an indication that the conversation is over. Yuu sits down beside Trey.

“Hey Riddle? How’re you holding up?” Yuu asks.

“I am recovering.” Riddle says. He winces a little at how curt his words seem and hurries to add, “Professor Crewel intends to discharge me after a few more hours of observation. I will be able to plan and bake a tart at night.”

Yuu takes his hand. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Riddle starts. He looks at his hand, like a realization had just come over him.

“You…” He begins, then stops. “Trey, could I speak to Yuu alone for a moment?”

Trey smiles. “Of course. Don’t strain yourself, alright?” He gets up and considerately herds Ace, Deuce and Grim away from Riddle’s bedside.

Yuu watches them go.

“I had a vision of a little girl.” Riddle’s words are a rush. Yuu turns back to him in surprise. “During my Overblot. She appeared and said that she would help me. There was someone else with her. A woman. You remind me of her.”

Yuu hesitates, then says, “it probably was me. I was… walking in a dream. I saw your memories.” Quieter, she adds, “I’m sorry.”

Riddle’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh. You don’t have…” He lifts his hand from Yuu’s grasp and traces a finger along her neck. Along the scar from her near-decapitation. If anyone asks, Yuu will tell them that she can’t remember how she got it.

(She remembers. Sigurd-Surtr’s sword at her neck. She barely survived.)

Riddle falters. “You’re female.” He notes.

“I am.” Yuu says slowly.

 “…No, that wasn’t what I intended to say.” Riddle averts his eyes.

“Take your time.” Yuu tells him.

Finally, he says, “thank you. You had no reason to save me, or to comfort me. Not after my disgraceful actions towards you.”

Yuu laughs and shakes her head. “No,” she says, “thank you for letting me save you.”

The boys insist on escorting her to Ignihyde.

“Remember to come to the Unbirthday party tomorrow!” Deuce reminds her.

Yuu hugs him, then Ace. “Rest well guys! Don’t stay up too late playing cards!”

“No kidding, I’m exhausted.” Ace groans.

Yuu wants to ask them to stay, but remembers Ben’s request just this morning. She holds her tongue and watches them go.

She enters the building and almost collides into Ortho.

“Hello Yuu!” Ortho says.

“Hey Ortho.” Yuu says.

“I am detecting high levels of blot from you. Are you perhaps overly-stressed?”

The innocent inquiry is what reminds Yuu of the black crystal in her pocket.

She retrieves it and shows it to Ortho. “Do you know what this is?”

“That is Crystallized Blot. Please refrain from handling it with your bare hands or keeping it on your person.” Ortho chides her. He takes it from her and Yuu lets him.

“My snack…” Grim wails.

Yuu picks him up and heads back to her room. “I’ll give you tuna tomorrow, Grim.” She promises.

The Overblot served as a wake-up call.

Yuu had let herself slack off.

The day after Riddle’s Overblot, Yuu gently removes a sleeping Grim from her stomach and goes on a morning run.

She isn’t exactly alone, judging by the white-haired boy with wolf ears who joins her.

“I’m Yuu.” Yuu introduces herself after they are both done with their run.

“Jack.” The boy gives her a nod.

Yuu approaches Lilia during lunchtime.

“Lilia,” she says, “please spar with me.”

The fae looks surprised. His expression melts into amusement, but there is something colder, more calculating in his eyes.

“Oh my, little old me? Don’t Silver and Sebek look more dashing?”

Both of the boys are well-trained. Yuu can tell just as much by the way they move. But what Yuu needs isn’t practice against an equal.

“Please spar with me.” Yuu repeats.

The feeling of helplessness, unable to call upon her Servants. The only allies she has are those she makes. There is no common ideal, no shared goal.

“Stubborn one, aren’t you.” Lilia says. His amusement galls her.

“No.” Her fingers dig into the meat of her palm. Yuu refuses to look away. “I just… I won’t let someone die in front of me again.”

“Very well.” Lilia finally says. The hard edge in his eyes fades to give way to something approaching pity. “Silver and Sebek often spar at the sports field in the morning. We shall join them tomorrow if it would please you. Goodness me, picking on a cute little boy such as myself…”

Yuu attends the Unbirthday party. Grim goes all out, devouring everything in sight.

Riddle has gotten better about the rules, though he is still uncompromising in some aspects.

This isn’t a stagnant Lostbelt, Yuu reminds herself, watching him.

The people here can change.

Yuu laughs at a joke Cater says and switches out the tart in front of him with a quiche. He gives her a quick grateful smile in return.

The tart has a salty, fishy taste. Not the worst thing Yuu has ever eaten, but definitely not what she was expecting. She frowns down at it and takes another bite.

“Hey! Don’t start eating the tart without me!” Ace grabs a piece and bites down.

His face changes. “What the?”

Deuce takes a bite too. He makes a face. “It’s salty?”

For some reason, Ace and Deuce turn to Trey who looks a little embarrassed. “Hey Riddle, did you happen to put in oyster sauce?”

Oyster sauce??

“Trey told me that oyster sauce was a secret ingredient!” Riddle flushes slightly. “And the recipe didn’t say how much I should put in so I poured the whole bottle in.”

Yuu looks down at the two slices of tart in front of her, then shrugs and keeps on eating.

“Yuu! Why’re you eating that!?” Deuce blurts out.

“It’s still edible! And isn’t this Riddle’s first time baking? We should support him!” Yuu protests.

“Then take the whole thing!” Ace shoves the rest of the tart at her.

“What made you join a club with Malleus Draconia?” Idia hisses after she finally remembers to hand in the club registration form to him. Ah, so that’s the boy’s name.

Yuu likes to think that they are friends. But more likely it’s just that Idia likes Grim more than he’s terrified of interactions with her.

Case in point: Grim lies lazily in his lap after having been fed two cans of tuna.

He yawns and raises his head to look at the time, then shrugs off Idia’s touch to snuggle back into Yuu’s side. “Your ten minutes are up.” Yuu appreciates the loyalty.

“He looked lonely.” She says.

Idia gives her a disbelieving look. “You joined the club with a final boss just because that stupidly OP guy looked lonely?”

“Everyone deserves a friend.” Yuu says. “That includes you too.”

Idia practically cringes at that. “No.” He leans back. “Nope. You’re not pulling that with me.”

“I let you pet my cat.” Yuu points out.

“You mean I let him pet me.” Grim protests.

Chapter Text

Yuu goes on her morning run.

Halfway through her third lap around the school, she is joined by Jack.

Yuu bows out after her fifth lap and waves goodbye to Jack. He nods to her as she leaves for the sports field.

Already, she can see two boys clashing blades. The steel edges are dulled but still collide harshly with each other.

Yuu can recognize Sebek even from a distance, which means that the silver-haired boy must be Silver. Whoever named him sure had some imagination.

The shadow suddenly cast over her is her only warning before Lilia pops in front of her.

Yuu steels herself. She does not flinch, but the hitch of her breath still makes him smirk.

“You come well prepared.” Lilia notes. “Shall we begin?”

At her nod, he darts towards her.

Lilia is fast and nimble. His hits are deceptively strong for his small body.

Yuu can only see flashes of him and can only dodge or block maybe half of his jabs.

The thick padding of her dorm jacket softens the blows, but she knows from experience that there will be bruises left on her body.

Yuu is kept on the defensive, but she quickly enough recognizes a pattern. (Lilia is fast, but his speed still pales in comparison to Melusine.)

She kicks out and to her surprise, it actually connects. Lilia falls and lands with a roll a distance away.

“Impressive.” Lilia comments once he is back on his feet. A smile almost cruel curls on his lips.

Yuu braces herself when he speeds up. A kick lashes out at her ribs. Yuu throws herself to a side and it sails past her. She makes use of the momentum to grab Lilia’s arm. She catches a glimpse of widened eyes as he is dragged down.

Whatever Lilia once was, it is clear that he is no longer in his prime.

But faeries are naturally stronger than humans. Yuu had learnt this the hard way. A faerie past his prime is still hard to be matched by a human.

A strike to her wrist, gentle in execution, forces her to release him.

Lilia makes no move to attack her again. “You were trained well.” He praises.

Yuu forces herself to her feet. “Thanks.” She says. “My teacher used to beat me half to death until I learned to dodge.” Better feeling half-dead than actually dead, as Scathach would say.

“Oh ho. What an interesting teacher.” Lilia smiles. His smile fades slightly as he looks her over. “Are you perhaps used to fighting alongside someone?”

Yuu swallows down the bile that threatens to rise up her throat. She smiles instead. “Yes! She’s the strongest and most dependable person I know!”

She doesn’t know what Lilia sees from her face. The faerie steps closer to her, and places a hand on her shoulder. “Poor child.” He croons. “Your eyes… they tell quite the story.”

There it is again. The pity in his eyes. Yuu doesn’t hate it; no, she simply dislikes it. After all, she’s completely fine! She is alive! Isn’t that the greatest blessing she could ask for?

But somehow, she doesn’t fight it when Lilia pulls her down into a hug. Yuu doesn’t move for a long moment. Then, she sinks into the embrace.

She is fine.

She must be.

When Mash comes back… Yuu has to meet her with a smile. Mash deserves nothing less.

So… all she has to do is keep smiling.

“Yuu!” Sebek shouts. “What are you doing with Master Lilia!?”

Yuu pulls herself away from the hug and watches Sebek stomp up to her.

“Are the both of you acquainted?” Lilia asks, covering his mouth with his hand in mock surprise.

“We’re friends.” Yuu says.

“WE ARE NOT FRIENDS!” Sebek shouts.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Silver says over Sebek’s shoulder. “Thank you for being his friend. Sebek can be pretty boisterous but he means well.”

“SILVER! WERE YOU NOT LISTENING? THAT HUMAN IS NOT MY FRIEND!”

“I know!” Yuu beams at him. Silver smiles back at her.

Yuu and Grim are excused from classes for the day so they decide to explore more of the campus.

Or rather Yuu explores the campus while Grim sprawls out on her head and complains.

To her surprise, there is an abandoned house right next to the main castle where classes are held.

It looks decrepit, with broken windows and loose roof tiles lying around the overgrown lawn.

The shadows cast by the looming trees only serve to highlight the floating green lights.

Wait a minute.

Green lights?

Yuu follows the wisping trail and comes face to face with the horned boy she had met a few days ago.

He looks just as surprised to see her.

“Club president.” Yuu greets.

“Hey! You’re that guy!” Grim jabs a paw at Malleus. “You’re uh—Hornton! Right!”

Yuu has zero idea where he pulled the nickname out from.

“We meet again, child of man.” Malleus says. He angles his head slightly. “What did you just call me?”

“Club president,” Yuu repeats, then cheekily adds, “or I could call you Hornton too.”

Malleus’ expression brightens like a child given candy. “You may call me whatever you wish. More importantly, you bear an interest in gargoyles then?”

Yuu shrugs, rocking on the balls of her feet. “You made them sound interesting.” She says. “And a friend of mine was a sculptor. She made all sorts of statues, gargoyles included.”

Galatea’s sculptures had a habit of coming to life as well.

Yuu talks to Malleus about what she knows about sculptures, then an idea strikes her.

The building is uninhabited. It would require quite a bit of work to turn it into a habitable space, but its distance to the school makes it an ideal location.

“Do you mind if I make use of this place?” Yuu asks.

Malleus hums. It is a polite sound that conveys his disinterest. “I do not own this area. It is simply a place I visit when I desire some silence.”

Alright!

Yuu bids Malleus farewell – he does not have a phone number, but somehow has Lilia’s memorized. Yuu is reminded of a child entering a number into a payphone asking for their parents to come and fetch them.

Yuu stores that new contact anyways.

Then, with great purpose, she heads for Headmaster Crowley’s office.

“Headmaster Crowley, I want ownership of the Ramshackle dorm!” Yuu immediately tells Crowley. Before he has a chance to speak, she lays out all the benefits. “It’ll be for the four years I’m in Night Raven College, and I’ll clean it up and refurbish it on my own dime! Then after I’m gone, you can do whatever you want with the extra building space!”

“That is quite the initiative, Mister Yuu. However, you must understand why I have my reservations about handing a part of school property over to a student.” Crowley begins.

“Like how you had reservations lifting a finger to handle the Overblot?” Yuu asks a tad bit bitterly.

Silence.

The golden lights that make up Crowley’s eyes bore into her.

Yuu deflates. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Finally, he sighs. “Try not to make a mess of it.” He rummages through his desk and presses a key into her hand.

“Thank you, Headmaster Crowley.” Yuu says.

“Truly, how gracious I am, offering my students the chance to better themselves.” Crowley says, more to himself than to Yuu.

“This place sucks!” Ace complains.

Deuce turns away and sneezes when Grim collides into a shelf and knocks a layer of dust over them both.

“This is a waste of my time. I should be off guarding Lord Malleus!” Sebek grumbles.

Grim shakes his body vigorously until he is satisfied. Yuu helps him out by dusting him off. She gives Sebek a glance. “I met Malleus yesterday,” she says, “he likes admiring the gargoyles here.”

“I will ensure there is not even a single speck of dust left to taint Lord Malleus’ clothes!” Sebek proclaims.

“He completely changed his tune.” Deuce mutters.

“Ooooo…”

“Sebek’s pretty funny, right?” Yuu says with a laugh.

“You’re the only one who thinks that, Yuu.” Ace says. He points his magic pen at the floor carpeted with dust. A tiny patch is cleared.

“Hey, you guys hear that?” Grim asks, ears flicking.

“Oh, it’s probably ghosts.” Yuu says. “Don’t worry about them too much—”

“BOOOO!”

The boys scream.

“Visitors! We haven’t had visitors in a loooooong time! Why don’t you join us?” “Hehehe… In DEATH!”

In an incredible feat of athleticism, Grim yowls and jumps into Yuu’s arms, fur puffed up like a scared animal.

Yuu brings her arms up to her chest to cradle him.

With his eyes squeezed shut, Grim turns around and puffs out a fireball.

It hits Sebek in the back. He screams and waves his magic pen. A blast of water slams into Deuce. Deuce yelps, and a cauldron lands right next to Ace. Who immediately blasts the cauldron through a wall with a strong gust of wind.

Yuu turns to look at the new hole in the wall.

“Do you mind?” Yuu asks a little irritably.

The ghosts settle, looking cowed. “Sorry…” one of them says. “My bad…” “We just wanted to have some fun…”

Between the five of them, they manage to clear out all the dust from the first floor and catalogue all the areas where the floorboards need to be replaced. Mostly from stepping on a rotten-through floorboard and falling through the floor.

Yuu glances out a broken glass window. The sun is high in the sky.

“Let’s get some lunch and then check out the other floors.” She decides.

The cafeteria on campus is open for lunch even on weekends, though the normally crowded area is now empty.

To Yuu’s surprise, Ortho is standing at the entrance.

“Yuu!” Ortho waves to her.

“Ortho! Come join us!” Yuu calls out.

“Woah, a little kid?” Deuce asks.

“I’m not a little kid. I’m a technomantic humanoid, Deuce Spade.” Ortho says.

“Urk. How’d you know my name?” Deuce takes a step back.

“I matched your face to the school record database.” Ortho informs him.

“We’re going to get lunch. Do you want to come along?” Yuu asks, deciding to ignore what sounds like an illegal hack.

“I don’t need to eat, Yuu.” Ortho tells her.

“But do you want to accompany us?” Yuu asks, softer.

Ortho nods. “Yes! I would be glad to!”

It turns out that Ortho was walking around school after helping Idia send in documents to the staff office.

“Hey if you have nothing to do, wanna help us clear out Ramshackle?” Ace asks.

Ortho nods. “Yes! Just let me send a text to Idia… and done.”

With Ortho joining them, they manage to do a rough cleaning of the entire dorm before nighttime, this time with no falling through the floorboards that would be much more dangerous. Ortho can scan and identify rotting floorboards in a second. Yuu is in awe.

“Thanks for the help, guys.” Yuu tells her friends. “I’ll make something nice for you guys tomorrow.”

She heads back to Ignihyde with Ortho.

A thought occurs to her. “Hey Ortho, what did you do with the… crystallized blot?”

“I sent it back to my parents for research! They specialize in researching blot.” Ortho tells her.

“What causes blot anyways? Headmaster Crowley said that it’s a side-effect of using magic, but how does it happen?”

“We’re still not quite sure.” Ortho admits. “The accumulation of blot is also heavily linked to a mage’s state of mind.”

Huh. Yuu takes out her magic pen and twirls it around her finger. Her magecraft is considered as magic in this world, but it doesn’t produce blot the same way Grim or Ace and Deuce do.

“Overblots are rare. Most mages don’t have a reason to overuse their magic.” Ortho adds.

Well then. Here’s hoping that Riddle’s Overblot was a one-time case.

Chapter Text

The start of a new week marks the beginning of Yuu’s new job at the Monstro Lounge. Ortho had promised to help look after Grim during this time. Yuu has a suspicion that Idia would be bribing Grim with more tuna for touching rights.

“Shrimpy!” Floyd picks her up and hugs her tight.

This time, Yuu sees him coming.

Floyd is good at hugs — they are a bit too tight, but Yuu likes it that way. She hugs him back.

Somehow, that delights Floyd even more and he spins her around.

Yuu can’t help but laugh.

The fun is interrupted by Jade who hands her a uniform.

Yuu unfolds it the uniform. Unlike the long-sleeved shirt and pants the other staff are wearing, she was given a short-sleeved blouse and a skirt. She raises her head to look at Jade.

“I was under the impression that I would be wearing pants.” Yuu says.

The skirt is admittedly not as short as some of the ones Da Vinci had incorporated in her mystic codes. But it was still the principle of the matter.

“Changes in uniform must be discussed with Azul, I’m afraid.” He replies with that same unflappable smile.

“The contract has been signed.” Azul says when she presents her case.

“Then I want to claim damages if someone flips my skirt.”

From the way Azul chokes, he hadn’t considered that.

Yuu gives him a flat look. “I’m the only girl in a school full of rowdy teenage boys.”

“Oh my, Azul, you haven’t considered the honour of Miss Yuu?” Jade asks, covering his mouth in mock surprise.

Yuu sees a chance to fool around and she takes it. She leans towards Jade and cups a hand in front of her mouth like she is about to impart upon him a great secret. Jade’s smile widens just the slightest as he obligingly leans down to listen. “Did you know that Azul groped me the second time we met?” She stage-whispers.

“That was an accident!” Azul shouts, cheeks growing red.

Yuu laughs. Her smile fades when she considers the uniform again. “All jokes aside, don’t you think that something like this would be off-putting?”

Azul frowns slightly. “I don’t see the problem.”

Yuu considers him, Jade, then the closed door. She shrugs and unzips her jacket, taking it off.

She hears a sharp intake of breath. Yuu runs her left hand over her right arm. Everywhere she touches, there are ridges of scars. Cuts, stitches, bite marks, burn scars.

Even with the medical team in Chaldea, there was only so much they could do. When she came back from a mission bleeding all over, they chose to prioritize her life, and after that, her face before anything else. (Yuu appreciates that she still has something familiar to look at whenever she gazes into a mirror.)

“I’m not exactly a pretty sight, you know.” Yuu says cheerfully.

It takes Azul a few minutes to speak again. “…I will arrange another uniform for you.”

Yuu slips her jacket back on.

“I must ask,” Jade murmurs with false demureness, “however did you get so many injuries?”

Yuu blinks. “Oh, I fought a dragon.” She tells him. “Did you know that where there’s a flock of wyverns, there’s usually a dragon?”

Neither of them knew that, apparently.

Yuu is put on shadowing duty to learn the ropes.

Her mentor of the day is a boy called Ruggie Bucchi, one of the few non-Octavinelle students working at Monstro Lounge.

He is here on a part-time basis, because most of his time goes towards working as a servant for one Leona Kingscholar.

“Azul pays pretty well, but not as well as Leona.” Ruggie snickers.

“He offered me five hundred a month.” Yuu tells him.

“Nah, see, the trick to dealing with Azul is you gotta bargain.” Ruggie says. “This place is pretty popular and there’s only so many employees who know what they’re doing. He’ll pay up to a thousand thaumarks for a good waiter or cook. The standard contract he offers is on a monthly basis, most people renegotiate the pay after working here for a few months.”

Huh, good to know.

“I got Ortho to help me look over the contract. I didn’t really understand much of it.” Yuu admits.

“Huh? Oh yeah Idia’s kid brother, right? Good choice, he’s crazy smart.” Ruggie says. He hands a stack of plates to Yuu to place on the counter.

“…someone got to it before me?” Yuu’s conversation with Ruggie is halted when she hears Azul walk past the kitchen, grumbling.

Ruggie’s brows raise. “Huh. Azul’s pretty upset. Wonder what happened.” Then he shrugs. “None of my business.”

He turns back to Yuu, still polishing the glasses. “I’ve eaten weeds but never tree roots before. That’s gotta be an interesting taste.”

Yuu shrugs. “I was stuck in a wasteland, there wasn’t much of an option. I had a new appreciation for food after that.”

“No kidding,” Ruggie says, lowering his gaze.

Yuu glances aside at Ruggie’s scrawny frame. His wrists are thin, cheeks sunken in.

“At least we get free meals.” Yuu says, deciding to change the topic to a cheerier one.

“Hah. Get the one with clams.” Ruggie advises.

Yuu nods. Time to test if Grim likes tuna or all sorts of seafood.

Grim greedily devours the clam pasta.

“Leave some for me.” Yuu complains. She pokes his tummy and he swipes at her hand, claws sheathed. “You’re getting fat.”

“No, I’m not!” Grim yowls.

“Ortho, how much tuna did Idia feed Grim?” Yuu asks.

“Five cans.” Ortho cheerfully reports.

“I told him to limit it to two!” Yuu scowls.

Yuu knocks on Idia’s door.

“Allow me!” Ortho says. There is a beep and the door swings open, revealing Idia sitting in his gaming chair, staring at his computer.

“Idia!” Yuu snaps. “We agreed no more than two cans of tuna!”

Idia yelps, rolling his chair back. “Wait, wait, pause pause pause!” He removes his headset and swivels his chair to look at her. “I uh, I can explain.”

“Don’t overfeed Grim! It’s not healthy for him!”

“B-But, he was looking at me with those cute widdle eyes!”

In other words, Idia was a pushover and Grim took advantage.

Yuu sighs. Ortho tugs on her shirt. “Um… Yuu? Please don’t get mad at my brother. I’ll make sure he doesn’t overfeed Grim again.”

Something about this nags at her, but she cannot tell what it is. “Fine.” She says, then softer, “I’m not mad. Just… Grim’s still a child. Please keep an eye on him.”

Idia looks shamefaced. “Yeah,” he says, “yeah, I got it.”

Yuu takes a few steps into the room and places a hand on Idia’s shoulder, careful to keep the contact light. Idia’s eyes go wide.

“Really,” Yuu says, “I’m not mad. Grim can be a handful for me too. I appreciate you looking after him.”

Idia swallows. “Right… right. Um… could you…?”

Yuu lets her hand fall to her side and steps back. “I’ll leave you to your gaming. Night, Idia. Bye, Ortho.”

“Bye bye!” Ortho beams.

Yuu wakes up early in the morning for her daily workouts.

Part of the motivation is getting to meet Jack and talk to him.

They talk about random happenings throughout their day. She nods as Jack talks about his cacti, and he listens when she gushes over Grim and his antics.

It takes her by surprise when someone joins them.

The man who does is beautiful. He reminds her of Scandinavia Peperoncino, but he is softer around the edges. This is a man who is not a murderer.

His name is Vil and his first words to her are: “Why are you dressed like that?”

Vil attempts to force her out of her jacket, only to stop the moment he catches sight of the scars that litter her skin.

He purses his lips and releases her jacket, allowing her to smooth it back down. He does not offer her an apology, but tells her to come by Pomefiore after class.

Pomefiore is beautiful. Yuu walks through the halls, Grim at her side.

A blond man wearing a hat greets her. “Bonjour Madame Trickster! Roi de Poison awaits you. I am Rook Hunt. Allow me the honour of escorting you!” He takes off his hat, pressing it to his chest and bows, extending a hand to her.

Yuu exchanges a look with Grim. “This guy is creepy.” Grim mutters, clinging to her leg.

“Be nice, Grim.” Yuu chides lightly. She places her hand in Rook’s and lets him lead her through the winding corridors and into a room.

Vil is applying make-up on a Pomefiore student inside. He looks up at their entrance.

“Come. Sit.” He gestures at one of the chairs.

Yuu sits down and watches. When Vil is done, he stands up and approaches her. “Take off your jacket. Let me see.”

Yuu blinks and does as told.

Vil looks over her scars with a furrowed brow. “I will assume that you do not like others seeing these?” His hands are gentle when he takes her arm and taps one of her scars.

“I don’t really mind,” Yuu says.

“If you didn’t mind, you wouldn’t be going on jogs in this.” Vil gives her jacket a pointed look.

Yuu falls silent.

Grim bristles. “Hey, don’t bully my Henchman!”

“It’s fine, Grim.” Yuu says quietly, smoothing down his fur. “Vil’s just telling the truth.”

She pauses and rubs her arms. “I… I don’t like it when people stare.” She admits.

It was fine around Chaldea because the Chaldean staff and Heroic Spirits respected her and the battles she fought. Da Vinci’s Mystic Codes usually had a cloaking function when she had to Rayshift, allowing her to blend in with the populace.

Yuu hadn’t been worn anything else when going out for a very long time.

She is reminded of her combat uniform hanging in her closet, but something like that would be a little too eye-catching.

Something cool brushes against her skin. Yuu watches as Vil rubs a line of concealer along her arm. He frowns. Some scars can be hidden, but not all of them.

“Um…” The Pomefiore boy that Vil had been working on starts. “I think your scars are cool.”

Yuu looks at him. His dainty face is flushed, but he looks entirely earnest.

Yuu feels her lips curl up in a smile. “Thanks!” She says brightly. “I think they’re pretty cool too!”

She hears Vil sigh. “You contradict yourself with every word.”

He finishes applying the concealer. Yuu looks at herself in a mirror. There are still some marks that cannot be covered, but she looks more normal than before.

“Come by again next week.” Vil tells her. He hands her a set of cosmetics. “I will have something ready for you then.”

Yuu exits Pomefiore, her jacket tied around her waist. Several people give her double-takes but refrain from approaching her.

Yuu glances beside her at Rook. “Take care, Madam Trickster.” He says, tipping his hat at her.

“Merci, Monsieur Rook.” She curtsies.

Before she can go back to her dorm, she receives a notification on her phone. It is from Lilia.

“…so now I get to wear pants too!” Yuu tells Malleus proudly.

Grim dozes lightly in her lap. She strokes down the fur of his back.

“A fairly skilled negotiation.” Malleus praises her.

They sit by the steps of Ramshackle.

“Anyways, that’s what happened this week. What about you? How’s your day been?”

“Between attending classes, I fed Roaring Drago.”

Who?

Malleus shows her a little egg-shaped device. Is this— is this a Tamagotchi?

Yuu snickers. “That’s so cute!” She says. “What else have you been doing?”

Malleus’ smile wavers slightly. “I have been admiring the gargoyles around campus as well.”

Yuu looks at him and what he leaves unsaid. “Well,” she says, “if you ever want company, you can hit me up anytime.”

“Why would I hit you?” Malleus frowns a little.

“…It’s a figure of speech. I meant you could call me.” Yuu remembers that he does not have a phone and adds, “Through Lilia. I go to him to get beaten up every week.”

“Pardon?”

“We spar.” Yuu rubs her shoulder. “Lilia’s really skilled.”

“Yes, he is.” Malleus sounds proud. “He was once a feared General.”

Huh. Yuu wants to ask how old Lilia is but decides to hold her tongue. “Do you wanna check out Ramshackle?” Yuu asks instead, jabbing her thumb behind her shoulder. “My friends and I spent the weekend cleaning it up.”

“Are you extending an invitation to me?” Malleus murmurs.

…Yuu really needs to ask Sebek about fae customs sometime.

“Yes.” Yuu says firmly.

“Then I shall accept.” Malleus smoothly rises to his feet. Yuu gathers up Grim and holds him to her chest. Grim mumbles something about a talking fish and nuzzles against her neck.

It takes Yuu a while to rummage around her pockets for the key to Ramshackle. The lock clicks and the door swings open. She flicks the light switch. The lights flicker on after a minute.

“I got Ramshackle so that I can hang out with my friends.” Yuu says. She hesitates for a few seconds, then decides to go all in. “That means you’re always welcome here too.”

Malleus’ eyes widen. Then he laughs. “How bold of you. Do you not know who I am?” The smile he wears is uncertain around the edges.

“I do.” Yuu tells him. “But does that really matter here? This isn’t Briar Valley. I’m not one of your subjects. Here, I’m a student just as you are.”

“Your view of the world is refreshing.” Malleus says.

Yuu shrugs. “Well, if it gets you to come by and help clean up.” She grins. “Wait, no! That was a joke!” She yelps when Malleus looks like he is genuinely considering it.

Chapter Text

Flowers.

For the first time, Ritsuka dreams not of an endless white plain or Nursery Rhyme’s Reality Marble. She dreams of flowers.

“Pardon me.” A hauntingly familiar voice says.

Ritsuka does not turn around, she does not know what she will do if the person behind her is not her guardian accomplice dream-demon Avenger.

But for a single hopeful moment, she desperately wants to.

The next words she hears completely dashes that hope. “You are… Yuu?”

Ritsuka turns around and sees a vaguely-familiar silver-haired boy.

“Hello,” Ritsuka says, “Silver.” The name feels like an echo on her tongue.

Silver takes a step towards her. Ritsuka does not move away, instead gazing around at her surroundings. This is a familiar place. She has been here before. Once in a dream, once in a lost history, once in an illusion.

“What is this place? It’s beautiful.” Silver murmurs.

“…Yeah. It is, isn’t it?” Ritsuka murmurs. A smile crosses her lips. “This is Avalon. Some call it Paradise. A place where only those without sin can pass.”

She steps through the field. Flowers are crushed beneath her feet but just as easily spring back up.

Silver follows her after a beat of hesitation.

A tower floats in the distance. Merlin’s tower. Is he there? Or is this dream just another illusion?

Why now? Why not before? What changed?

Is it the presence of the silver-haired boy?

Ritsuka stands beneath the tower. She can see no way up. No doors, no stairs. It is simply a tower, a prison made just for Merlin. Somehow, she feels like the one who is trapped is instead her.

And then—Yuu wakes up. She lies there for a long moment, then she hugs Grim tight.

There is an announcement to be made.

Ace and Deuce pull Yuu along to sit with them in the large hall. It is huge, meant to fit— “Hey Ortho, how many students are in this school?” Yuu asks.

“There is an estimated two hundred students per year. There are four grades, but the fourth-year students are out on internships. So there are approximately six hundred students in attendance.” Ortho says. Pause. Then he adds, “six hundred and twenty-two, to be exact.”

“Be quiet!” Sebek hisses. “The headmage is about to make an announcement!”

“Quiet down please! The assembly is about to begin!” Crowley announces. “As you all may know, the Starsending will be happening next week! Therefore, it’s time we announce the Stargazers!”

Stargazers…

Yuu feels her heart skip a beat. She had once been known as the Stargazer of Chaldea.

“Hey, what’s this Starsending thing?” Grim asks.

“It’s an old tradition based on ‘Wish Upon the Star’.” Ace says.

“It’s basically an old tale. About an old toymaker who made a wooden puppet and wished for it to become a real boy. His wish came true and the puppet came to life.” Deuce continues. “So now people wish upon the star every year on this day hoping for their wish to come true.”

“That’s a weird tradition.” Grim says.

“No kidding. I just want this to be over already…” Idia mutters.

“Idia…” Ortho chides.

“Our Stargazers are… Trey Clover! Idia Shroud! And finally, Deuce Spade!”

Yuu turns a blind ear to Idia’s screaming. “Hard nope! I’m not doing it!”

“Don’t worry Idia, I’ll help you!” Ortho says.

Yuu pats Ortho on the shoulder. “Tell me if you need my help dragging Idia out of his room.”

“Thanks Yuu!” Ortho says.

“Bwah? What’s with this betrayal?” Idia screeches.

Yuu turns to Deuce. “Hey, you don’t know Idia, right?” She plucks the tablet off the table and brings it to face Deuce. “This guy is the Housewarden of Ignihyde.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Housewarden Idia!” Deuce says, straightening. “It’s an honour to work with you!”

“Ugh…” Idia groans. “I hate this already.”

Grim’s wish is simple. “I wish for more tuna!” He declares.

How simple he is. Yuu wishes her life was just like that.

“What are you going to wish for, Yuu?” Deuce asks.

Yuu looks down at the Wishing Star cupped in her palms.

“I don’t know.” She admits.

Yuu is cleaning up Ramshackle again when someone knocks on the door.

“I’ll get it!” Grim says and jumps off the lopsided couch. He runs to the door and pulls down the handle. The door slowly swings open.

Yuu blinks. “Riddle?”

“Yuu, I hope I’m not intruding.” Riddle says.

“Ah… no, not at all! Come on in! There isn’t really a place to sit here, though.” Yuu adds, looking around the lounge.

“That is fine. I was the one who came unannounced.” Riddle steps inside.

Yuu sets down the rag she had been using to scrub the few intact surfaces.

“I realize we haven’t had the chance to talk after…” Riddle trails off.

“We were both busy.” Yuu supplies. “I’m happy to talk with you now.”

“…Yes. Thank you.” Riddle says. “The healers have declared me completely recovered. I have been seeing a counsellor as well.”

Yuu smiles. “That’s great! I’m glad you’re doing better.” She makes to reach for Riddle’s hands, but stops short when she remembers her own are still dusty. Riddle clasps her hands in his own before she can let them fall back to her side.

“It may be silly, but I wanted to tell you that.” Riddle admits.

“It’s not silly at all.” Yuu says. “I really am glad to hear you’re doing well.”

Riddle swallows and releases her hands.

The silence is beginning to verge on awkward. Yuu decides to throw him a bone. “Sebek tells me you’re in the equestrian club?”

“Yes, I am.” Riddle says after a moment. “Horses were one of the few things I could enjoy with… with my mother’s approval.”

“Will you tell me about them?” Yuu presses on.

“I would be happy to.” Riddle’s smile is small but soft.

Yuu spends the next few days cleaning Ramshackle or helping Deuce out with the Starsending in her free time.

With Riddle’s new entrance into her life, so too comes Trey and Cater.

“Woah, you cleaned up nice!” Cater raises his phone to take a picture.

Click.

“Thanks. Wanna help? I cleaned and moved some of the furniture down, I just need to reorganize them and the lounge will be done.”

“Since we’re here, might as well lend a hand.” Trey says.

Cater gives him a side-eye, but agrees to helping as well.

“How’s Starsending going?” Yuu asks.

“I’ve collected fifty-two stars so far.” Trey says. “Although, the main problem is…”

“I got all the steps of the dance down! But Housewarden Idia still won’t show up!” Deuce huffs.

“Idia won’t even try on the robes.” Ortho sounds like he’s pouting.

Okay, Yuu can see where this is going.

“Could you please help to persuade your Housewarden?”

“Hey, you see Housewarden Idia often, right Yuu? Drag him out to practice!”

“Could you help me convince Idia to come out?”

Yuu knocks on Idia’s door. Without waiting for a response, she hotwires the door. It slides open.

“I’m not doing it, Ortho!” Idia says immediately. He is gaming on his computer, eyes not leaving the screen.

“I’m not Ortho.” Yuu says.

Idia jerks upright. His finger slams on the pause button and he spins around in his chair to give her a wide-eyed look.

“Who let you in?” He screeches.

Yuu crosses her arms. “I hear that you’ve been slacking in your duties as a Stargazer.”

“What-What does that even have to do w-with you?” Idia stutters.

“Not much, unless you count how all my friends, including Ortho, somehow think I can convince you.”

Idia slides his chair back, putting more distance between them. “This is sexual harassment!”

“I haven’t even done anything yet.” Yuu says.

“Then explain why you’re holding my Starsending robes!” She watches in fascination as his hair goes bright pink.

“Ortho gave them to me.” Yuu smiles at Idia. “He told me that if he was the one who did it, he would probably back out the moment you protested. Me, on the other hand, I’m not quite as nice.”

“I’ll put them on! I’ll put them on! Just-! Just go away!”

Yuu tosses the robes to Idia. “I’ll come back in ten minutes.” She tells him kindly.

Ten minutes later, she finds Idia changed into his Starsending robes, hyperventilating in his room.

All amusement is gone when she kneels on the floor beside him. “Hey, you okay?”

“Nooooo, leave me alone.” Idia mumbles into his arms.

Yuu shifts her position so that she is seating down. She doesn’t say anything, waiting for him to calm down.

“Everyone’s gonna laugh at me.” Idia says after a moment.

“No, they won’t.” Yuu says. She inches closer to him, careful not to make any contact. “If anyone does, I’ll kick their ass.”

That draws a startled ‘Ha!’ from Idia.

“Must be nice,” he grouses, “to have your confidence maxed out.”

Confidence? Is that what it seems like? Yuu has learnt that sometimes, it was best to go all out in everything. For Valentines’, for summer vacation, for the little festivals. Despite everything – her journey had been fun.

Yuu splays out her hand, resting it on the floor between them. Idia’s eyes flick over towards her, then away. “I’m not holding your hand.”

“Come on,” she says, “it’s just one last practice session before the festival. You already changed into the robes, right?”

“Yeah, because you forced me to.” Idia mumbles.

Yuu’s phone pings. She ignores it and continues to look at Idia.

“It’s going to rain on the day anyways, so what’s the point of doing this?” Idia provides another excuse.

“Because Ortho wants you to?” Yuu asks. “He’s been so excited about this.”

Idia looks almost convinced. Yuu decides to provide one more push. “I’ll go together with you, okay?” Misery loves company, after all.

“Ugh.” Idia says. But he still stands up nonetheless, so Yuu counts that as a win.

The Stargazers of Chaldea were termed so as they were the witnesses to history.

The Stargazers in Twisted Wonderland were different, yet so similar. They bore witness to the wishes of people.

Yuu clutches at her Wishing Star, sitting beside Deuce in Ramshackle – the lounge has been fully repaired and furnished.

“I wish…” she looks at the little crystal, “I wish for good days ahead.”

The Wishing Star glows.

“I don’t get it.” Deuce says as he takes the Wishing Star from her.

Yuu tilts her head at him. “Don’t get what?”

“Your wish.” Deuce says. “It sounds a lot like Kalim’s. He wished for everyone to be happy.”

“Hm, I don’t think it’s quite the same.” Yuu leans back into the couch. “Those good days I wished for? I want to spend time with my friends, doing stupid, fun things.”

Fighting the ink monster in the mines. Painting the roses, only to get chased out. Baking a tart together. Laughing and playing cards until they fell asleep.

“In the future, even if we can no longer see each other… I want to remember those moments and think: Yeah, it was fun!”

Ritsuka walks through finely decorated halls. The silver-haired boy is wandering about, gazing at the strange architecture.

“What is this place?” He asks her quietly.

“The temple of a god.” Ritsuka says.

The walls begin to rumble.

“Time to run for your life.” She advises.

“Huh? What do you mean-?” Silver’s eyes widen.

Ritsuka snags the silver-haired boy by the arm and pulls him along as she runs.

A three-headed mechanical beast bounds along the halls.

“What is that?” Silver asks.

“That’s a Cerberus.” Ritsuka answers with a grin.

“Isn’t… isn’t that a myth?”

This time, Ritsuka laughs. “Welcome to Atlantis! The Ancient Ocean of the Gods!”

Chapter Text

The group is gathered in Ramshackle.

“What does the weather report say?” Deuce asks.

“The clouds are still headed our way.” Trey says with a shake of his head. “I know how excited you were to perform, but we can’t fight nature, Deuce.”

A thought occurs to Yuu. “Hey, can’t Malleus change the weather?” She asks.

Deuce blanches.

“Let’s not bother him, Yuu.” Trey laughs. It sounds a little strained to her ears.

“You don’t need to worry about it, Yuu! My brother has a plan for it!” Ortho says.

Huh, did it have something to do with how Idia had been stuck in his room the past few days?

“When I get stronger, I’ll change the weather too!” Grim says.

Yuu laughs and picks him up. “I’ll be waiting for that.” She tells him. “So you gotta study hard, okay?”

Grim’s ears flatten at that but he grumbles out an affirmative.

“You’re like his mom, Yuu.” Ace comments – he had tagged along with Yuu and Deuce.

Grim hisses at Ace, but settles under Yuu’s touch.

“It’s been a while since I had a model like this to work with.” Vil muses. “You’ve been taking care of your face. Good.”

Yuu closes her eyes as he applies eyeshadow to her lids.

“Monsieur Hirsute, do stop trying to eat the skin cream. I’m afraid they’re not suitable for human or feline consumption.”

“Who’re you calling a cat?” Is Grim’s response.

“Open your eyes.” Vil says. He angles the mirror towards her. Yuu decides that she likes the way the makeup makes her look.

“The concealer I gave you is meant to be gentle on the skin as well as scars. Have you experienced any irritation of the sorts?”

“Nope, not at all!” Yuu says. “But it does kinda stain when I work out.”

Vil hums. “I’ll keep that in mind. Regular exercise is good. Your muscles are clearly toned. What regime do you follow?”

“Three hundred pushups and situps, ten laps around the school and then I go through stances for an hour.” Yuu recites.

Vil raises a brow. “That is rather intensive.”

Yuu laughs instead of saying anything else.

Vil doesn’t push the issue either. He picks out a lipstick, then another. “Rook,” he calls, “I would like your opinion on which shade fits best.”

“Oui,” Rook responds. He strides over with Grim in hand. There is a new ribbon tied around Grim’s neck. Yuu coos over him, which is apparently enough to bring Grim out of his funk.

“Henchman, I don’t wanna be bathed again!” Grim cries.

“Aww, but you look so cute.” Yuu says. “And that ribbon looks so pretty on you!”

Grim tries very hard not to preen but does not succeed.

Yuu scratches him behind the ears.

“Notice anything different?” Yuu prompts Sebek.

Sebek gives her an odd look. “No?”

Yuu does not pout.

She refrains from pouting all the way until lunch.

“Nice eyeshadow.” Ace comments.

“Thank you!” Yuu cries. “Someone finally noticed!” She gives Sebek a mock-glower.

Sebek just looks confused.

“My ex-girlfriend used to get pissy if I didn’t compliment her makeup too.” Ace sighs.

“Ace, you shouldn’t compare Yuu to a girl.” Deuce says.

Eh?

Yuu raises her brows and exchanges a look with Ace.

“Yuu’s super strong and manly!” Deuce continues.

“…Here Yuu, you can have my tuna sandwich.” Grim says, giving her a look of pity.

“Dude.” Ace starts. “Dude.” He stops, like he cannot believe his own ears. “Deuce, are you even listening to yourself?”

“Yuu has a really pretty face but that doesn’t mean he’s anything like a girl!”

Yuu fights the urge to cover her face with her hands – she doesn’t want to ruin her makeup.

And then to her horror, Sebek joins in. “Yes! Yuu is a talented young man!”

Ace nudges her side with his shoulder. “Can I tell them?” He mouths.

“Guys…” Yuu begins. She starts, then stops. “Guys, please stop.” She begs.

“It’s okay that you like makeup, Yuu!” Deuce tells her earnestly. “Lots of manly men like makeup too!”

It really would be sweet under any other circumstance. Right now, Yuu just feels mortified.

“Deuce.” Yuu says slowly. “I’m a girl.”

“It’s a great hobby—eh?”

“I’m a girl.” Yuu repeats. To make her point, she crosses her arms under her chest, pushing up her breasts.

She watches as Deuce’s face turns red. A quick glance to her side shows that Sebek’s mouth has fallen open.

“Dude.” Ace says. “We shared the same bed for like three days. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice at all?”

Deuce makes a sound like a dying walrus.

“I have besmirched your honour.” Sebek is muttering.

“Sebek has informed me that he is somehow unworthy of being my knight.” Malleus tells her. There is a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“He thought I was a guy.” Yuu pouts. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but – I’m just so confused. I wasn’t even trying to present myself as a guy.”

She gestures at her chest and her hips.

“Hate to be the third wheel, but we had a mission, remember?” Idia says from the tablet Yuu is holding. Whatever he has been working on requires Ortho’s presence so Yuu is filling in for him. Yuu decides to ignore the sound of tinkering in the background.

“Right. We need your wish for the Starsending.” Yuu tells Malleus.

Malleus holds up his Wishing Star in a hand. “Here is my wish,” he says after a thoughtful pause, “I wish for Roaring Drago to make a friend.”

The Star begins to glow.

“Woah that brings back memories.” Idia says. There is a loud ‘clang’ followed by a ‘bzzt’ from the tablet. “It was the fad back when I was a kid. Can’t believe there’s someone still playing it.”

“I recently learned that one can use wireless communication to let Drago befriend others. But it requires another Drago to be present.” Mallues says.

“Yeah, sounds about right.” There is a particularly loud ‘clang’, then much cursing. The mute button comes on, then disappears after a few seconds. “They don’t even make those things anymore.”

Yuu sees the moment Malleus’ expression falls. “But in my world, things like these can be found in second-hand shops. It’s the same here, right?” She asks.

“Huh? In your world…? I mean, yeah, everyone had one of these so it’s not like it’s an epic drop or anything.” Yuu hears a few clicking sounds from Idia’s end. “Yeah, check this out, hundreds of Roaring Dragos in full working order.”

Malleus perks up again. “Truly? I'm not familiar with how payments online work, but...I'll pay. Could you put in an order for me?”

“Uh, sure, I guess…? Yeah, done.” There is an explosion. More cursing from Idia, then the tablet goes dead.

Yuu looks down at the tablet. “I should probably check in on him.” Yuu tells Malleus apologetically, taking the Wishing Star from him. “You’ll probably get your order in a week or two.”

“Is that so? Give Shroud my regards.” Malleus says.

“It’s done!” Idia shouts, throwing his hands in the air right as Yuu opens his door.

She watches him dance around and quietly retreats, closing the door. Yuu counts to ten, then knocks.

She hears a yelp, a few seconds of silence, then the door opens. “You’re back!” Ortho beams. He has been fitted with a new gear.

“They look like Starsending robes!” Yuu marvels.

“Isn’t Idia great? I can even go to outer space like this!”

Huh?

“Ortho’s taking the Wishing Stars and flying them to space.”

It seemed like a lot of effort when one could just walk up to Malleus and ask him to change the weather, but still.

“That’s amazing!” Yuu claps.

“Yeaa, time to recharge.” Idia trudges to his bed, falls down on it and does not move.

Yuu takes that as her cue to leave. To her surprise, Ortho follows her. “I’m going for a test run!” He tells her.

The Starsending is a grand affair.

Yuu stands with her dorm mates, most of them shifting about, looking like they’d rather be back in their own rooms.

The sky is dark with rain clouds.

“Yuu, can we go? I don’t wanna get wet.” Grim’s ears are flattened against his skull.

“I won’t let you get wet.” Yuu says.

She spots Ace weaving through the crowd, pushing aside a few of her dorm mates to stand beside her. “Are they really going through with this?” He asks her, ignoring the dirty looks sent his way.

Yuu shrugs. She had watched Ortho on his test run yesterday. But with how bad the weather looks to be getting right now, he might not be able to make it.

Yuu scans the crowd for a familiar face – there!

She weaves through the crowd until she is an arm’s reach away from Malleus.

“Young Master! Allow me to—Hey! Don’t you touch Lord Malleus!” Sebek shouts.

Yuu ignores him and tugs on Malleus’ sleeve.

“Hey Hornton,” she starts, ignoring the other students’ chokes and shocked looks, “can I ask—” Her words die on her lips when Ortho takes all the Wishing Stars from the tree. Then, he bursts straight through the storm clouds, dispersing them, and into the atmosphere.

Yuu lets her arm fall back to her side. Nevermind.

The Wishing Stars begin to fall, like a meteor shower.

“Henchman!” Grim yowls, scampering after her. “I can’t see anything from here!”

Yuu picks him up and in a fit of childish pique, places him on Sebek’s head. Sebek splutters.

“Hah! I’m the tallest now!” Grim crows.

“Get off me!” Sebek’s attempts to grab Grim are deterred by Grim’s sharp claws.

“What did you wish to ask me, Child of Man?” Malleus asks.

“Hm? I was going to ask if you could change the weather but that doesn’t look like it’s necessary anymore.”

Malleus hums. “Yes, I suppose so. It has been a while since I last saw the stars fall in such a way.”

Yuu turns her gaze to Deuce. He looks delighted.

That alone makes all the hassle this past week worth it.

Yuu knocks on Idia’s door.

“What?” He asks. It isn’t snappish as usual, but instead contains a rare excitement. He had been in a good mood since the sequel to Star Rouge was announced.

“Idia, can you make a mecha?”

“Wut.” He says.

“It needs to be huge. And have a cockpit! Like Gundam— oh wait you don’t have that here, never mind. It needs hidden weapons, and a second form, and—"

“Stop, stop, stop!” Idia all but screeches. “Why do you even want something like that?”

“Because it’s cool.” Is Yuu’s immediate response.

“The Inter-dorm Spelldrive Tournament is coming next month.” Jack tells her.

Huh. Yuu hadn’t known that.

The whole of Ignihyde had somehow become even more secluded. Then again, very few of her dormmates were sporty people.

“Maybe I should try out.” Yuu comments. She knows for one that Grim would like the attention.

They go through another lap together, then Yuu bows out to train with Lilia.

Idia practically thrusts the sign-up sheet at her. “Go do your worst.” He tells her. “You can be captain, just fill the team and get Crowley off my back!”

A spelldrive team requires seven people. Yuu thinks for a moment, then finds Ortho, who agrees to join. With her, Grim and Ortho, that makes three.

The other four spots remain unfilled even when Yuu goes around the dorm asking.

“No one wants to join the team.” She grumbles to Ruggie, who is filling in for a waiter who had somehow gotten injured.

Ruggie snickers, “good luck with that.”

Chapter Text

“I can help!” Ortho tells Yuu when she approaches him with her problem.

Yuu watches as Ortho enters the common room. “Yuu is looking for people to join Ignihyde’s interdorm spelldrive team. We have four more places to fill.”

When no one reacts, Ortho charges up a technomantic beam. “We have four spots to fill.” He repeats. “Failure to respond and resolve this issue within the next ten minutes will result in annihilation.”

Immediately, the Ignihyde dorm members rush up to Yuu.

Yuu… isn’t sure what to feel about that. She pats Ortho’s head. “Thanks.” She says lamely. Looks like even in this world, murderous cyborgs are still the norm.

“Wow, Ortho’s pretty scary.” Grim mutters. “N-Not that the Great Grim was scared!”

Malleus’ club activities tend to occur at night. Yuu can’t help a yawn that escapes her. Grim is already dozing off in her arms.

She listens to him speak, a lecture on the history of gargoyles that had been going on for an hour or so, drowsily making her way back from campus to Ramshackle – Yuu finds it too much effort to trek all the way back to Ignihyde. Somehow, Malleus isn’t tired at all, or if he is, he doesn’t show it.

“Yuu! You’re back!” One of the ghosts pops its head out of the main door. Yuu waves at it. “Your friends are in the kitchen!”

Huh? This late at night?

Yuu glances at Malleus, then enters the dorm. Immediately, she hears shouting.

“What are ya doin’? Put the darn stove down Sebek!”

“CLEARLY IT IS BROKEN AND MUST BE REPLACED!”

“Ugh… Shut it, your voice is hurting my ears. The stove just needs coal.”

“WHY WOULD YOU NEED COAL FOR A STOVE WHEN YOU CAN USE MAGIC?”

“Not everythin’s a magic tool, ya crocodile face!”

“WHY YOU!”

There is a war cry, then the sound of something crashing to the floor.

Yuu peeks into the kitchen.

An ancient-looking stove lies lopsided on the ground. Jack holds Epel around the waist, practically dragging the shorter boy away while he attempts to claw Sebek’s face off.

“Well. This is peculiar.” Malleus says.

Everyone goes still. Then Sebek prostrates himself on the ground. “Lord Malleus! I allowed you to witness a shameful sight!”

Epel freezes for a split second, then gears himself back up. “I ain’t afraid of ya!” He screams.

Yuu looks at Jack. Who has his ears flat against his skull and tail between his legs as he stares back at her with wide eyes.

Her gaze slowly travels to the bottles of apple cider on the table.

“You had a drinking party and you didn’t invite me?” Yuu asks, offended. She wouldn’t have drunk any, but it was the principle of the matter.

“It wasn’t a drinking party!” Jack defends. “We were just going to clean the kitchen and Epel brought over cider from home so we tried a little.”

A little being five bottles.

“Gram’s cider is the best!” Epel says, anger fading. “Ya should try some!” He makes a motion as though grabbing a bottle of cider and hands the imaginary bottle to Malleus.

Malleus looks to Yuu for guidance, then mimes taking said bottle.

Yuu refrains from bursting into laughter. She walks past Jack and picks up one of the remaining cider bottles.

She hands it to Malleus, who looks even more flummoxed at being offered an actual bottle.

Then, she pulls Sebek off the dusty floor. “At least clean the floor if you’re going to end up on it.” She tells him.

“We did.” Jack says just as Epel adds, “but then he went and got coal dust on the ground!”

Between the five of them, they manage to clean the floor and replace the coal stove. Or more accurately, Malleus does it with a wave of his hand.

Yuu sits at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of water. She pretends that it’s cider.

Epel is dead to the world, snoring away while his head is pillowed on Jack’s shoulder.

Jack himself has a cup of cider. His ears are still flat against his skull as he pretends that he isn’t looking at her.

Sebek stands at Malleus’ back, acting like a high-end waiter. The effect is ruined by how he is swaying on his feet.

Yuu pulls out her phone and gamely texts Ortho. At this time of the night, Idia would be gaming and ignoring all messages, so Ortho acts as his proxy.

She receives a reply a scant few seconds later. A single thumbs up.

After some thought, she decides to text Vil and Ruggie too.

On reflex, she almost texts Lilia as well, then remembers that Malleus is sitting right next to her.

“Alright, let’s have a sleepover.” Yuu decides for them.

“Wait, now?” Jack blurts out. His ears perk up.

“Are you sure you want to go back smelling like alcohol?” Yuu asks him in return. “I got the okay from your dorm leaders for you.” Then, with a grin, she pats Malleus’ arm. “You’re staying over too, right?”

“Is that an invitation?” Malleus murmurs with a slight tilt of his head. The smile on his face is uncertain. Yuu finds that she hates that.

“Yes.” Yuu says firmly. “And Sebek’s staying over too, of course.”

Sebek jolts upright, regaining clarity in his eyes. “I HAVE AGREED TO NO SUCH—urk.” Yuu pulls him down by the collar. “Sleepover.” Yuu says.

“But-!”

“No buts.” Yuu says. “Your housewarden’s already agreed to it.”

As always, Sebek’s loyalty wins out over any common sense.

Yuu finds Grim sleeping in one of the two clean bedrooms, smack dab in the center of the mattress.

She turns around and tells the group. “We’re sharing a room.”

Before Sebek can protest, she fixes him with a bland smile. “Do not wake up my cat.” His mouth falls shut with a ‘click’.

It takes a bit of shuffling, way too much shouting and squishing of limbs to fit five people into one bed, three of whom are way too big.

They manage to get it done anyways.

Yuu wakes up in the middle of the night to find Grim settling in on her side. The things she does for this damn cat.

She falls back asleep, head pillowed on Jack’s arm.

And wakes up again to a screaming alarm.

She jolts upright, as does another of the bed’s occupants. Their heads collide. Yuu curses, hand flying to her skull. Grim yowls at her as he tumbles down from where he had been using her chest as a pillow.

Sebek lets out a pained yell and trips over Jack’s tail, which is tangled around his ankle. Yuu watches as he falls off the bed, dragging Jack down with him. Given how Epel is hugging Jack’s arm, this causes a chain reaction where Epel is yanked down with them too.

Yuu peers over the edge of the bed at the tangled mess of limbs.

There is a hum from behind her. Yuu barely manages to catch a glimpse of bright green eyes and a mischievous smile before she is sent hurtling into the pile.

Then, she hears from Riddle that Trey had fallen down the stairs and broken his leg.

The cheery mood Yuu is in from the sleepover is immediately sent crashing down.

With the number of injuries that had been happening these past few weeks… this reeks of sabotage.

One tale has ended, and another will begin. Nursery Rhyme's voice rings out. Now, today’s story is… the Lion King.

Yuu visits Trey.

Grim surprises her by giving Trey a can of tuna as a get-well present. Coming from a cat monster that thinks only with his stomach, it is a very thoughtful present.

Cater ambushes them when they exit Trey’s room.

“Sooo, I hear you have friends everywhere, Yuuie.” Cater begins, slinging an arm around Yuu’s shoulder.

“Hey! You shouldn’t touch Yuu so casually!” Deuce protests. He grabs Yuu’s arm to pull her away, then immediately lets go of her like she is a hot potato.

“Geez, Yuu doesn’t mind so why do you?” Ace shakes his head.

Yuu decides not to acknowledge whatever it is going on with Deuce for the moment.

“See, Riddle asked me to look into all these accidents that’s been happening lately. Whoever’s causing this is smart. The accidents happen almost randomly. But Cay-Cay found a link. One out of three victims happen to be talented Spelldrive players.” Cater continues smoothly. “From there, I identified a few possible targets.” He shows her a few pictures of students – all of whom Yuu recognizes.

“Yeah, I know all of them.” Yuu confirms. “You think one of them will be the next target?” She thinks for a moment, then nods. “We should warn them.”

“I knew you would catch my drift!” Cater grins at her.

“I heard that there’s a junior called Rook Hunt who’s pretty talented.” Cater begins.

Yuu enters the dorm and in one of the rooms, spots Rook extolling Vil’s beauty. Yuu swears that Rook does it every single day.

On the other hand, Epel looks sullen while Vil corrects his etiquette.

“Vil!” Yuu calls out.

Vil glances towards her and frowns. “What’s with that attire?” He demands.

“I had a sleepover.” Yuu shrugs. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”

“So that’s why Epel came back with his clothes all rumpled?” Vil frowns.

“I texted you!” Yuu defends. “And I wasn’t going to strip when it was five of us in one bed!”

Vil begins to scowl. “And what of your skincare routines?” He begins.

When Yuu is finally set free of the reaming Vil gives her, Ace and Deuce are staring at her. Ace has his arms crossed over his chest while Deuce looks hurt.

“You had a sleepover without me?”

“That— I was doing club activities with Hornton and then Epel and the guys were cleaning the kitchen at the Ramshackle Dorm and things just ended up that way!” Yuu says, flailing.

That apparently doesn’t make things any better.

Yuu is only forgiven when she promises a sleepover for just the three – four, counting Grim – of them.

“Seeing how the both of you are contributing to this investigation, I will allow it.” Riddle says. “However, I expect all of you to adhere to the rules.”

“Yes, Housewarden!” Ace and Deuce straighten and say at the same time.

“You really are popular huh, Yuuie?” Cater laughs. “Not everyone’s on speaking terms with a star celeb like Vil. Hashtag jealous. Anyways, I had a talk with Rook Hunt and yeaaah, I really don’t think anyone’s about to target him.”

Next on the list is Floyd and Jade Leech.

“No.” Riddle says the moment Cater brings up Floyd. “Next.”

Coming from Riddle, this is a surprise.

Yuu exchanges confused looks with Ace and Deuce.

“That guy keeps trying to pull my tail.” Grim complains.

“Grim,” Yuu says slowly, “I have never left you alone in the same room as Floyd.” Not since the first time they met.

Grim’s ears flatten. He scampers over to Cater and tugs on his pant leg. “Hey who’s next on the list?” He asks in a hurry.

“Grimmy’s been misbehaving I see.” Cater laughs.

Yuu purses her lips. She would have to talk to Jade before her shift. Someone had clearly been messing with her charge.

Third on the list is Jack Howl.

Riddle bows out before they can make the trek to Savanaclaw, citing a rule he had to oversee.

“Let’s hang out sometime.” Yuu tells him.

Riddle gives her a small smile in return. “I would like that.”

“That’s Jack? He looks real strong.” Deuce mutters. Oh!

“Jack!” Yuu waves.

Jack’s ears perk up at the sight of her. “Yuu? What’re you doing here?”

“Do you seriously know everyone in this school?” Ace hisses at her.

“Henchman never rests.” Grim grumbles.

“He’s one of the sleepover buddies!” Yuu beams. She jogs up to him and grasps his arm. “Jack! I heard there’s been a lot of accidents happening lately. We’re here to check in on you!”

Jack’s ears flatten in a manner very similar to Grim when he is feeling guilty. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can.” Yuu tells him, gentling her tone. “This is mostly for my piece of mind. A friend of mine already had an accident, I don’t want another friend to get hurt. I’ve seen three Savanaclaw students get sent to the infirmary already.”

Jack growls under his breath. “I’ll be fine.” He states. “Don’t get yourself involved in this, Yuu.”

It sounds like a threat. Ace and Deuce begin to bristle, but Yuu has known Jack for a while now. It is a warning. Jack knows something.

“Hey, what’re you lot doing here?” An unfamiliar voice says. “Friends of yours, Howl?”

Yuu watches three Savanaclaw students approach them.

“No.” Jack says flatly. Yuu can feel his muscles tense beneath her fingers.

“Maybe not the Heartslabyul lackeys, but that cute girl holding your hand? That your girlfriend?” The second student gives Yuu a smarmy smile. He strides up to Yuu. His friends begin to shift about, starting to look uncomfortable.

Deuce is the first to react. “Stay away from Yuu.” He says, stepping in front of her.

“Hah? You think you can tell me what to do?” The student scoffs. “Run back to Mr. Red Baby while I’m feeling generous.”

Deuce punches him in the face.

“Hey!” That is what gets the other two students moving. “You think you can challenge us on our turf?” They pull out their magic pens.

Yuu lets go of Jack’s arm. She reaches out to pat Deuce’s shoulder. “Let me defend my own honour, Deuce.”

Ruggie had admitted to her that the Sunset Savanna held a respect for women. Sure enough, the two students lowered their pens the moment she stepped out.

But for the one who had insulted Riddle in her earshot – Yuu extends a hand to him, noting the forming bruise on his cheek.

“Keep your mutt in check.” The student says with a bared snarl as she pulls him up, ignoring Deuce’s protest.

“Please don’t talk about Deuce like that.” Yuu says mildly. She waits until he is up on his feet, then grabs his collar, pulling him down. She slaps him. “That’s for insulting Riddle.” She says. With the back of her hand, she slaps his other cheek. “That’s for insulting Deuce.”

She knees him in the groin and drops him to the floor. “This is solely for my satisfaction.” She tells him. Yuu turns her attention to the other two.

“We’re really sorry ma’am!” One of them bows to her while the other grabs their fallen companion and hurries away.

Cater whistles. “I caught that all on video, Yuuie. Wowsies. That sure was something.”

“Shihihi, sure is.”

Grim immediately bristles. “Hey! You’re the one who stole my sandwich!”

Yuu spins around. “Ruggie!”

Ruggie takes a step back, hands in the air. “Woah there.” His smile takes on a panicked edge. “I had a fair exchange with the furball!”

There is a story there that Yuu has not been made privy to.

“Yuu, you know this guy too?” Grim whines.

“We’re friends.” Yuu says.

“With everyone.” Ace mutters.

Yuu waves a hand to shush him. “Anyways, Ruggie, do you know anything about all the accidents lately?”

The nervous panic is replaced by alarm. It is a flash, disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. “Accidents? First time hearing of 'em. Leona’s been keeping me busy, you know.”

Huh.

Yuu peers at him.

“Alright then,” she says, “be careful, okay?”

Chapter Text

“That was totally sus.” Cater says after they had left.

Yuu glances back at him and does a double-take at the screen of his phone. It is paused on a video. The angle is odd, but the alarm on Ruggie’s frozen face can still be seen. Yuu hadn’t even realized that Cater had been filming.

“He totally knows something.”

“Then let’s go back and—” “That’s not evidence, idiot.” Ace cuts Deuce off.

Yuu purses her lips. “Who’s next on the list?” She asks Cater.

“Huh? Well, I’ve got Diasomnia on here, but those guys are pretty unapproachable, y’know?” Cater laughs. “Oh, but you got a friend in there too, right Yuuie?”

“We don’t really need to check on Diasomnia right?” Ace mutters uneasily. “I mean, their dorm leader is that guy after all…”

“You shouldn’t exclude someone based on an excuse as flimsy as that.” Yuu tells Ace.

She strides past him into the mirror.

Yuu lights up when she catches sight of Malleus.

“Hornton!” She shouts.

Malleus glances at her. “What brings you to my abode, Child of Man?”

“There’s someone causing accidents around campus.” Yuu tells him. “We’re worried you might be next.”

“Is that so?” He declares. “Your worry is unnecessary. I will not be so easily harmed.”

That reminds her… “Hey Hornton, can you bend over a bit?”

Malleus raises a brow but does as told.

Yuu vengefully grabs his horns and pulls. “That’s for this morning!”

Malleus stumbles, taken by surprise.

Ace makes a strangled sound.

“Are we going to fight him?” Deuce whispers.

Yuu pretends not to notice Ace slapping a hand over his mouth, hissing at him to ‘shut the fuck up I don’t want to die!’

Her little act of vengeance is unfortunately witnessed by one Lilia Vanrouge.

“Oh my, what’s this about? Were you having a dalliance, Malleus?”

Yuu decides to take that as her sign to leave.

She sticks her tongue out at Malleus, then grabs her idiots and runs.

“Seeya, Lils!” She hears Cater call out behind her.

“Savanaclaw.” Is the unanimous agreement.

“No evidence, you say.” Riddle frowns. “In that case, we simply have to catch them red-handed.”

Unfortunately, Yuu fails to see Ruggie in any of his usual haunts.

“Henchman! He stole my sandwich! You can’t be his friend!” Grim whines, paws hugged around her leg.

Yuu scratches him behind the ears.

“There you are, Miss Yuu.”

Grim’s ears flatten and he hides behind her leg and hisses at the interloper.

“Jade?” Yuu blinks.

“Are you perhaps free now? Azul would like to speak to you.” His eyes crinkle with his smile.

“…Sure.” Yuu stands up and follows him. “Say, has Grim been coming along when I’m not around?”

Grim yelps.

“We always welcome valued customers.” Jade says. That does not actually answer her question. Which means it is a yes.

Azul sits behind his desk, hands clasped together in front of him.

“There you are, Miss Yuu.” Azul begins. “I believe we have something to discuss.”

Yuu tilts her head, not yet saying anything. Grim lies in her lap, caged by her arms.

“Your little familiar has racked up quite a tab.” Azul says, unaffected by her silence. He slides a book over to her. Yuu flips it open. “Unfortunately, this is a business. So I must ask you to pay back your debt.”

Yuu looks at the numbers at the bottom. Two thousand thaumarks. She scans the food items, catalogues their prices. It should amount to eight hundred at most. The interest, however, is ludicrous. All of this is confirmed by Grim’s paw print followed by an ugly scribble of his name.

“Of course, I understand if you are unable to foot this bill. Out of the kindness of my heart, I am willing to take the Ramshackle dorm off you for a generous price—what are you doing.” Azul says flatly.

Yuu takes out her purse and places two thousand thaumarks in front of Azul. “Paying off my tab.” Yuu replies.

In exchange for the crystallized blot, Ortho somehow managed to set up a bank account for someone without an identity in this world and straight up gave her a huge sum of money.

The number wasn’t as big as her bank statement back home, but Yuu still has no idea what to do with the money.

Azul looks down at the money on the table, then back at her. He recovers with a cough. “How fortunate that all debts have been repaid.”

Yuu walks back to Ignihyde with Grim in her arms.

“I’m sorry…” Grim mewls. “It was their fault! They said that they’d lend me money but I didn’t know it would grow so big!”

“I know, Grim.” Yuu says, petting his head. “Next time you want something, you can ask me. Just be careful when someone tries to get you to sign something that looks too good to be true.”

There is a book in front of Ritsuka.

She cannot read its cover, but it gives her a soothing, childish delight.

Her hand reaches out to flip it open. The book vanishes.

The fairytale world flickers, replaced by howling winds and a dark sky.

Ritsuka’s hand remains outstretched and she slowly lowers it.

It is cold.

“Silver.” She calls out. This has happened enough times for her to recognize the pattern. Ritsuka dives into the storm.

She spots a figure curled up upon itself, shivering from the harsh cold.

Ritsuka grasps Silver’s arm and pulls him along as she walks.

She doesn’t know how long she walks until she sights a cave.

There is a ritual circle drawn on the floor and a shield serving as its base.

A fire burns merrily. All cold fades away, replaced by warmth.

“What is this place?” Silver asks quietly, huddled next to her by the fire. “Not even Briar Valley is this cold.”

A part of Ritsuka wants to be spiteful, to regale him with the tales of those who never had a chance to live. She swallows it down. Silver has nothing to do with this. He doesn’t even belong to the same world as her. There is no need for someone else to bear her burdens.

“This is a place that no longer exists.” Is all Ritsuka can say.

Silver does not ask further, looking instead at the ritual circle and Mash’s shield.

Ritsuka stands up. She walks towards the circle. The aria is on the tip of her tongue.

She chants and—

Yuu wakes up.

“We need to practice as a team.” Yuu tells the Ignihyde spelldrive team.

She receives groans in response.

“It’s not like we’re even going to win.” Felix grumbles. “Ignihyde’s always tied for last place with Octavinelle.”

“Let’s change that then!” Yuu says cheerily.

Yuu takes back her words.

“Chances of Ignihyde winning against other dorms: one percent.” Ortho says.

“Myah… I’m pooped.” Grim flops onto the ground.

Yuu collapses right next to him.

Grim has more magic than her, but his small size and lack of opposable thumbs is to his detriment.

Meanwhile Yuu cannot fly for shit – she had been running the entire time. And the other four Ignihyde dorm members had collapsed barely five minutes into the game.

Ortho was the one carrying for the team.

“Can’t we just take it easy?” Ralph begs her.

“If we do something, it’s best to give it our all!” Yuu declares. “C’mon, one more round and then we take a break.”

Yuu takes note of their strengths and weaknesses.

Felix had a sharp eye, but barely had any stamina. He was better suited to loitering around the goalpost, defending against any potential scorers.

Ralph reminded her more of an ambusher. He had the ability to send the disc hurling with great force, but could only do it two or three times.

Hayden, a sophomore that Yuu had never met before today, was terrified of holding onto the disc for extended periods of time. But on the bright side, his passes were great.

George was pretty good compared to everyone else. More of an all-rounder.

Grim could be fast on his four paws, but he also had the habit of hogging the disc.

Yuu herself lacked the ability to fly and thus the manoeuvrability advantage that came with flight.

Ortho, with his high-speed computation and jet propulsors was definitely the MVP.

It wasn’t too bad, all things considered.

Yuu shuffles the team roles a little. She could try this…

Playing spelldrive in a simulation was good and all, but her team needed to experience it on the actual field.

“I do not mind offering you my aid. However, what would I get out of this?” Malleus asks when she approaches him.

“I’ll make ice cream for you.” Yuu offers.

Malleus raises a brow. “I was unaware you possessed such a skill.”

Ignihyde was so technologically advanced that even the kitchen had an ice-cream making machine. Not that anyone used it.

“There’s a machine for it.” Yuu says.

“Is that so… Technology truly develops rather quickly. Very well, I shall accept.”

“If you wanted us dead, you could have just said so.” Ralph cries upon seeing Malleus.

Malleus frowns. “I do not intend to harm anyone.”

“It’s a figure of speech.” Yuu pats his arm. She raises her voice. “And if I wanted anyone dead, there’s a very deep and convenient pit right outside the dorm!”

Hayden squeaks.

“Yuu, there’s a spell on the path to prevent anyone from falling in.” Ortho informs her.

Yuu gives him a pat on the head. “I know.”

She claps her hands. “Come on guys! I got us an actual practice opponent! Let’s do this!”

No one moves.

Yuu thinks for a moment. She looks at Ortho.

“Charging up technomantic beam…”

“Yeah!” “Let’s do this!” “We’ll try not to lose too badly!”

Yuu can’t believe she has to resort to threatening teenage boys with a trigger-happy cyborg child.

They lose very badly.

“Impressive.” Malleus says, hand rising to his chin as he looks at the scoreboard. “You managed to score a point against me.”

Twenty-three to one.

“Gahh! You don’t gotta rub it in!” Grim shouts at him.

“No,” George says from where he’s sprawled out in the grass, “he’s got a point, we managed to score a point against the Malleus Draconia. Woo.” He raises a fist into the air, then drops it into the ground.

Yuu glances at Malleus. “Was the earth spike really necessary?”

“I don’t see the problem.” Malleus huffs. “Seeing how that failed to slow you down.”

Yuu had jumped right over it.

“What about the fireballs?” Grim adds, his ears flat against his head. “You used my fire against me!”

“It’s because your fire is way hotter than normal fire.” Yuu says before Malleus can say something inadvertently condescending.

She gives Malleus a warning glare. Her intent is clear: do not upset her child. He closes his mouth and nods once.

“I need to recharge.” Ortho tells her.

Yuu watches as her teammates leave the field.

“Might I claim my reward now, Child of Man?” Malleus murmurs.

“Gimme a few minutes.” Yuu says. She lies on the ground for a while longer, then grudgingly gets up. She picks up Grim. “I’ll make the ice cream now. We can meet back at Ramshackle in two hours.”

Ritsuka sits alone by a beach. That she’s here means one thing.

“What are you doing?”

“Just thinking, Silver.”

“…Silver?”

That is what makes Ritsuka look up. Her eyes widen at the sight of the familiar face. “Avenger!” She cries out.

She scrambles to stand up, her run a stumbling, tottering thing.

Avenger takes one step forth, letting her embrace him.

“I have come in accordance to your call, my accomplice.” He says. “What a strange and troubling world you have found yourself in.”

Yuu wakes up, feeling lighter than she has in a while.

It takes her a while to remember where she is.

She had fallen asleep while indulging in ice cream with Malleus.

Yuu sits up, finding herself on the couch, a blanket draped over her. Grim is dozing, an ever-comforting weight on her stomach.

Yuu still has to confront Ruggie and prepare her team for the Spelldrive tournament, but for now, she feels at peace.

Chapter Text

With how busy she has been lately, Yuu hadn’t gone on any of her morning runs for the past two days.

The moment she does, she sees Jack again, ever a creature of habit. On his own end, Jack freezes the moment he sees Yuu.

“I’ve decided!” He declares. “I’m going to help you Yuu!”

Huh?

“I’ve been training hard for this tournament, but these cowardly schemes are making me sick! I wanted to win based on my own strength and skill!”

That is sudden.

As it turns out, Deuce got into a fistfight with Jack and shouted their grievances at each other. Somehow, that convinced Jack to fight for his own desires.

This was good and all but— “how trashed is Ramshackle?” Yuu asks, especially since Jack’s first reaction to seeing her was guilt.

From the way Jack winces: extremely.

Yuu decides to clean up Ramshackle before classes start.

She sends Lilia a text to let him know that she will not be joining him in sparring today.

He responds almost immediately, and mentions offhand that he has to take care of Silver who has somehow developed a cold.

…Huh, interesting timing.

Hope he gets well soon, she texts back.

The days count down to the Interdorm Spelldrive tournament.

Riddle visits her in Ramshackle with a plan.

On the day of the tournament, he intends to create a dummy team.

“HOW DARE SOMEONE MAKE USE OF SUCH LOWLY TRICKS!” Sebek shouts.

“Shut it!” Grim snaps, paws over his ears.

“Inside voice, Sebek.” Yuu reminds him.

“I would have asked Silver, but it appears that he’s fallen sick.” Riddle admits.

“I will be more than enough to make up for Silver’s absence!” Sebek declares. Apparently, he had been conscripted as an emergency member of the Spelldrive team.

The next time Yuu sees signs of Ruggie, he is causing a stampede. She cannot see him from the video, but she has talked to enough victims to know well the effects of his Unique Magic by now.

This sheer disregard of people’s lives…

“Henchman? You’re making a scary face.” Grim whispers.

“Whew, glad that’s not us.” George says, watching the video feed from the huge screen set up in the lounge.

Yuu stands up. “I’m going ahead first, don’t wait for me.” She picks up Grim and runs to the mirror portal, ignoring her dormmates’ startled calls.

Savanaclaw is in a cheerful mood.

Somehow, that makes Yuu even angrier.

Ruggie’s grin fades the moment he lays his eyes on her. “Geez, you really just gotta poke your nose into everything, Yuu?” He complains.

“That stunt you pulled could have killed someone.” Yuu says.

Ruggie flinches. It is a slight thing, quickly enough covered up by a cruel twist of his lips. “No one died.”

“Friend of yours, Ruggie?” The man standing beside him asks. From the way he stands at the head of the crowd, this must be Leona Kingscholar, Housewarden of Savanaclaw.

“Hah, no way.” Ruggie scoffs.

Yuu clenches her fists.

“I believe we’ve heard enough.” Riddle says, coming up from behind her. “How deplorable, for a fellow Housewarden to tarnish a proud tradition.”

The plan proposed by Riddle is a surprisingly simple yet plausible thing.

Cater’s clones are once again the sacrificial pieces, freely glamoured by Lilia to look like the Diasomnia players.

And once the culprits’ guards are down, they would catch them in the act.

Seeing the realization on their faces that their grand plan had failed was satisfying.

The panic and raw confusion on Ruggie’s face? Less so.

“I don’t care anymore.” Leona says. “We’ve lost, there’s no point in trying.”

…What?

Leona’s worldview was cynical and depressing. Yuu could ignore that – she didn’t even know him and he had been nothing but a jerk since she met him.

What she couldn’t ignore was how he dismissed Ruggie so easily.

How he grabbed Ruggie’s too-thin arm and began to hurt her friend.

Ruggie screams.

His arm starts to dissolve into sand.

no, not again, not again

Yuu rushes up and grabs him by the collar. The sandstorm chafes at her but she forcefully pulls Ruggie away.

His arm, slicked with blood, slips out from Leona’s grasp.

Flesh and muscle are exposed to the air, between patches of skin. Sand is caught in open wound, and Yuu knows from experience how painful it is.

Riddle before his Overblot hadn’t been kind, not in the slightest. He was demanding, lashed out at everyone, his words cutting and cruel.

But he had never so coldly and deliberately harmed another.

If this was a war or a battle, Yuu wouldn’t have cared so much – wrong, she would have, but did it even matter? there is a time and place for everything. But this is a school. This is a time of peace.

This is not her world, but it is close enough to hers that she cannot help but think: This is not what she fought for.

Leona Overblots.

Somehow, Yuu cannot find it in herself to be surprised.

“I've been loathed since the day I was born! None of my hard work is ever rewarded!”

Oh. Oh.

They hated me because I was different. I was sent from Paradise to forgive their sins. They will destroy every chance they have to live on. They will tear down everything I do to save them. Do any of them truly deserve to live? The echoes that Yuu had once heard in a dream.

And yet.

It takes Yuu a while to realize what this feeling crawling beneath her skin is.

Anger.

Her command spells are still dull, mere scars on the back of her hand.

And yet— She feels far from helpless.

Yuu takes a deep breath and calms herself, even as the sandstorm rages on.

“Get everyone to safety!” She shouts.

Riddle’s Unique Magic has proven to be able to restrict Leona’s magic for three seconds. Three seconds might be a tiny frame of time, but it is enough to turn the tides in a battle.

“Ace. Deuce. Grim. Will you fight with me?” Yuu asks.

They are not trained warriors, simply teenagers caught in something too big for them. In truth, Yuu does not want them to fight. She wants to give them the choice to run away instead of saving the day.

“Heh, are you an idiot? Like we’d run away like cowards after getting to this point.” Ace scoffs.

“Yes! A man doesn’t back down from a fight!” Deuce declares.

“I’m not abandoning my henchman!” Grim yowls.

Hah, how loyal. Yuu doesn’t deserve them.

“Riddle, will you help me?” Yuu asks again.

“Don’t bother asking.” Riddle says. “As Housewarden of Heartslabyul, it is my duty to ensure the safety of my fellow students.”

One more ally secured.

“Ruggie, go to the infirmary.” Yuu says.

“You kidding me?” Ruggie laughs. His smile is all teeth and the look in his eyes reminds Yuu of a starving beast. “After what Leona did to me? I’m gonna get some revenge of my own.”

Ugh. Fine. It's not like Yuu has much leg to stand on when it came to fighting even with injuries.

The greatest threat to them right now is the sandstorm.

With Ruggie and Riddle’s Unique Magic, it could be quelled for a few seconds, enough for Ace, Deuce and Grim to get a few spells in.

The issue is that it’s not enough to break the ink pot and defeat the monster. They have fired off at least five rounds of spells by now, and there is barely a chip in the glassy surface. Their magic pool isn't large enough for this to drag on.

Yuu needs more firepower.

She spots a few brooms lying around the bleachers. That’s right. This is a practice area for spelldrive.

Yuu rushes over and picks up a broom.

She pushes her magic into it. It barely lifts. Damnit!

“Need some help?” Cater calls out to her, running over.

“Help me fly up.” Yuu tells him. “Above the monster, as high as you can.”

Cater gives her a look. “Yuuie, you’re not planning to jump down, are you?”

“I’ve fallen from way greater heights.” Yuu tells him. “Please. Trust me.”

Cater lets out a sigh. “Fineeee. Don’t die, or Riddle will have my head.”

Yuu gives him a smile. “You know it.”

It’s high. The ink monster is the size of her fist from here. It’s still far from the highest point where Yuu has ever fallen.

The distance to hit the ground… five, maybe six seconds?

The issue is the sandstorm again. Riddle is starting to slow. She has to time this well.

Riddle’s Unique Magic takes one second to chant and activate. He prefaces it with jabbing his wand at Leona.

However, right now, he is glaring and shouting at her direction. “What are you doing, Yuu?! Cater! Get down from there right now!”

“Eek, Housewarden’s pissed!” Cater says.

“Riddle! Use your Unique Magic!” Yuu shouts. She jumps off the broom.

Riddle’s scream is not what she wants to hear. His following chant of ‘Off With Your Head!’ is.

The sandstorm grazes Yuu’s outstretched arms before it is sealed away.

Yuu ignores the pain and Reinforces her body.

She lands and smashes through the ink pot of the monster.

Chapter Text

Nursery Rhyme stands before her again.

She is pouting at Ritsuka. “Was that necessary?”

No, it wasn’t, but it was the fastest way Ritsuka had to end the fight.

Nursery Rhyme huffs once, then takes Ritsuka’s hand in her own. She leads Ritsuka into a room.

There is a boy, hiding behind a door. The door is open but only darkness can be seen beyond it. Whispers echo through the door.

“The second prince.” “So different from his brother.” “Always so moody.” “What a terrifying power.”

“If I was born first, they wouldn’t be saying all these about me.” Leona mutters. His gaze is hard and angry. Ritsuka can still see the swelling of his eyes.

“What will you do about it?” Ritsuka asks. Slowly, she settles down next to him.

“I worked hard, I studied everything Falena did, and I made sure to beat his scores in everything! In academics, in magic, in athletics! But I will always be treated second to my brother. I will never be king. Nothing I did changed anything… so what’s the point of trying?”

“Are you going to give up then? Let the order of your birth decide your fate?” Ritsuka presses on.

Leona does not answer. He turns his back to her.

Ritsuka stands up. Leona as he is now is shorter than her, likely still in his early teens, before his growth spurt.

She picks him up. Leona yelps. “What’re you doing? Put me down!”

“This is a dream.” Ritsuka says. “Here, you can do things that you can’t do in reality. What is it that you want? To be king? Then take the throne! You want to be better than your brother? Then challenge him! Right here, right now!”

She starts stomping out the door.

Nursery Rhyme giggles and skips after her.

The first turn she makes leads to a throne room. The throne is grand, but the room is empty.

Ritsuka drops Leona who immediately takes a wary step back from her. He bares his teeth at her and when she doesn’t rise to the bait, he takes a few more steps back and turns fully to the throne.

He pauses, then gives the throne a derisive glare. “I don’t want it.” He says. “What’s the point? They’ll never accept me. The moment I sit there, they’ll say, ‘if only it was Falena.’”

Ritsuka does not know Leona. She does not know what drove him to carry out such an elaborate ploy that had almost succeeded. She does not know what happened to him for him to carry such a defeatist attitude.

But she knows well the sight of someone who does not know how to stand up again after having the knowledge that he would never win be inscribed into his very being.

“Why aren’t you even trying?” Ritsuka asks.

“…I don’t want to fail again.” Leona admits.

Ritsuka holds out a hand. “Then, how about we try to succeed together?”

Yuu is falling.

She… hadn’t planned the landing.

Oops.

A white blur shoots towards her, deftly avoiding the scattered ink drops.

Yuu lands on soft fur and her momentum causes her to roll off it and onto the ground. She tumbles for a few rounds before coming to a dizzy stop.

“You idiot!” Grim yowls at her. His tail smacks her face a few times before he curls up to her chest. “You can’t die on me Henchman!”

Yuu pats his back as soothingly as she can.

“Yuu!” And here comes the rest of the peanut gallery. Ace and Deuce rush up to her and hug her tight. Grim yelps when this causes him to be squeezed as well.

“Are you kidding me? I thought Deuce was bad, how are you even worse!” Ace complains.

“I thought you were gonna die!” Deuce squeezes harder.

In the distance, Leona groans as he comes to.

“Mister Kingscholar. You had an Overblot episode. Do you remember?” Since when did Crowley get here?

Yuu doesn’t have much time to think about it when a huge wolf comes up and roughly nudges her cheek.

Yuu stares hard at the colour of the fur and the vaguely familiar eyes. “…Jack?” Come to think, she had heard him call out his Unique Magic.

The wolf sits back on his haunches. He shrinks back into the Jack she knows. Jack proceeds to cuff her upside the head. “Idiot. What were you thinking jumping off the broom like that?”

Yuu thinks she can hear Riddle lecturing Cater about the same thing.

“I’ve done it before from greater heights?” She tries.

That is apparently not the right thing to say.

Deuce strangles her even harder. Yuu thinks she hears a sniffle.

Grim wriggles out of the hug and smacks her leg with his tail. “You’re not supposed to be this stupid, Henchman!”

Yuu raises her head and meets Ace’s eyes. He has a particularly pinched look on his face. “We really gotta talk about your past sometime.” He says genially in a tone that makes her cringe.

“Haha… sure.” Yuu gives him a weak smile in return.

A hand pats her head. Yuu looks at it, then at Jack who is wearing a put-upon expression. “You’re worse than my siblings.” He complains gruffly.

Yuu hears the sound of heels against sand. “Yuu.” Riddle begins and Yuu braces herself for another lecture.

She does not expect Riddle to grip her hand painfully tight. “Please,” he says quietly, “don’t do that again.”

Yuu gapes at him, then recovers. “Ah… yes. Okay.” Is all she can say.

“Headmaster Crowley?” Yuu asks.

The headmaster turns to her. “Is there something you needed, Miss Yuu? And might I add, I would have appreciated it if you had at any point informed me of your gender. It felt terribly awkward to be the only member of the faculty not in the know.”

Yuu… hadn’t even been trying to hide it?

But anyways, “Headmaster Crowley, I have a request. Would it be possible to hold an exhibition match before the official tournament?”

The golden pinpricks of light seem to blink. “Well, yes. But whyever would I—”

Yuu takes his hands, curling her fingers around his talons. “Please. There’s something I want to prove.”

Crowley pauses. “Far be it for me to deny my students a chance to improve themselves. My, I truly am gracious.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Headmaster! You really are the best!” Yuu beams at him.

That seems to catch Crowley off guard. “Eh? Ah… Yes. Ahem, but who exactly will be participating in this exhibition match?”

“Me, Grim, Ace, Deuce, Jack,” Yuu points out, then shifts her finger over to Leona. “Leona and…”

She pauses, looking between Riddle, Cater and Ruggie.

Yuu does not want Ruggie to take part, not with that still healing arm. Cater is still looking somewhat worn out from the previous fight and Riddle’s ensuing lecture. Which leaves…

“Heartslabyul is set for the third match. An exhibition match would not affect my performance.” Riddle declares. “There is no rule forbidding such an occurrence, after all.”

Yuu gives him a grateful smile. “And Riddle!” She finishes. “Our opponents will be Diasomnia!” She holds up her phone, with Lilia’s agreement to her little plan.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask us before deciding this for us?” Ace complains.

Yuu blinks. “But you and Deuce wanted to play on the team, right? Jack’s tough so he can handle it too!” Her words cut off Jack’s impending argument. His tail wags at the praise.

“Myah, what about me?” Grim asks.

“You’d never leave your henchman hanging, right boss?” Yuu scratches his chin. “Besides, now you get to be the first one shown on television!”

As she expects, that immediately gets him on board.

“We’re playing against Malleus, that’s what you wanted, right?” Yuu sidles up to Leona.

“Hang on, we’re doing this for that jerk?! No way!” Grim yowls.

“People who’ve fought together tend to work better together,” Yuu continues, “so now what’s the plan?”

The look Leona gives her is slow and deliberate. “You’re actually serious about this?” He asks her.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Yuu smiles. “We’re gonna win this.”

The biggest threat of the opposing team is Malleus.

Yuu had played against him in a practice match before, and had barely been able to score a goal against him.

While preparing her own team for this competition, she had gone through the recordings of the past three years.

Malleus is strong, yes, but even he is a creature of habit.

His other team members may be strong, but none of them had ever gotten the chance to take the stage. Yuu does not know how much they train, if at all, and the records are blank on that.

“He’ll start off by snagging the disc and throwing it straight at the goal. All the while standing in that same spot.” Yuu says. “Deuce, you’re going to disrupt his magic, and Jack can then get the disc.”

“That won’t work, that lizard bastard has too much magic.” Leona interjects.

“Let me clarify,” Yuu coughs once into her fist, “Deuce is going to disrupt the disc by throwing a cauldron in its path. Even if that doesn’t disrupt his control entirely, it’ll still weaken it. If one cauldron doesn’t work, try twenty.”

Silence.

“…That’s not against the rules, but… I’ve never heard of anyone doing so.” Riddle says.

“I-I’ll try!” Deuce pumps his fist into the air.

“Awesome. Riddle, you back up Deuce with your Unique Magic and other spells. It won’t work on Malleus, but he’ll have to spare the focus to block them. The moment Jack gets the disc, the both of you will be support to make sure that he gets to the goal. Ace, Grim. The both of you will flank Jack, make sure that the other Diasomnia students don’t intercept him with your fire tornado. Leona and I are going to fend off Malleus.”

“Hah. And you have a plan for that too?” Leona scoffs.

“Nope!” Yuu says cheerfully. “We’re gonna wing it!”

Leona gives her a disbelieving look.

“Hey, I’ve got a resume for fighting dragons, y’know.” Yuu pulls back her sleeve and flexes her arm. “I can tank some pretty serious hits!”

She does not expect him to break down into laughter bordering hysterical.

“Great, so you’ve fought dragons too. Of course.” Ace mutters.

The exhibition match is simply a prelude. The first team to get three goals in, wins.

That’s why the first goal is important.

“You will be joining forces with Kingscholar, against me?” Malleus asks. “How bold of you, Child of Man.” Yuu thinks that he looks almost like he’s pouting.

Yuu smiles. “It’s nothing personal, Hornton. But you’re going down.”

Malleus laughs, sharp and very much draconic. “Very well, I shall accept your challenge.”

The first part of the plan goes smoothly.

Riddle pelts Malleus with spells while Ace and Grim deflect those who try to rush to his aid.

Deuce throws cauldron after cauldron at the disc until the green glow of magic surrounding it wavers, then Jack jumps and snags it, breaking the magic’s hold over the disc.

Success.

The hard part begins here – to stop Malleus from regaining control over the disc.

He begins to stretch out his hand. A green glow surrounds the disc again.

Yuu will admit she made a mistake in thinking that her proximity to him could stop him from casting his spells.

That’s fine, she has a backup plan.

Yuu takes a deep breath. She feels the blessings cast over her. “The gods that have granted me your blessings. Let them coalesce here, grant me your strength.” Malleus’ eyes widen. Leona follows up on her bluff with a huge wind spell. The glow over the disc fades as Malleus instinctively casts a shield over himself.

Yuu grins. “Just kidding!”

Malleus’ face takes on the most offended look she has ever seen from him.

Jack throws the disc through the goal.

“First point to Team… er—” The announcer stutters.

“Ramshackle!” Yuu shouts.

“To Team Ramshackle!”

Jack holds the disc in the starting point in the opponents’ court. Yuu knows how this should go. Get the disc across the halfway point, then swivel and toss it back into the opponent’s goal.

The strange thing is that no one even attempts to snatch the disc from them. All the Diasomnia players simply watch as Jack runs to the halfway point.

The moment he crosses the line, a green glow surrounds the disc. The disc is wrenched out of Jack’s hands and zooms towards their own goal.

Yuu runs. “Deuce!” She shouts. She jumps and lands on the broom. Deuce’s broom shakes a little but he manages to stabilize himself. “You said you do stunts, right? Throw me at the disc!”

“Yes!” Deuce immediately says. He speeds up and bucks the broom.

This is what Yuu likes about him. If this was anyone else, they would have protested and missed the optimal timing.

Yuu is sent flying. Her fingertips brush the disc and she clings on tight.

She definitely does not expect the disc to keep flying on, even with her hanging onto it.

Oh shit.

An arm grabs her around the waist and spins her around. “Have you tried thinking before flinging yourself off from heights?” Leona asks her.

“I don’t think much.” Yuu tells him.

The disc is still lurching in her hands, but with Leona to act as a counterweight, all it does is strain her wrists.

“Clearly.” Leona grunts. His broom speeds up. A hill appears in their path but Leona flies above it.

Yuu breathes in. “Let go.” Leona drops her on the hill. Her feet touch the peak of the hill and she hugs the disc tight to her chest and rolls down.

She can see Leona and Riddle firing spells to corral off a waiting Malleus.

Yuu tumbles beneath him. She can see him start in surprise when she gets to her feet and dashes towards the goal.

That’s when a few Diasomnia players ambush her. Yuu throws the disc past a rapidly closing gap.

Ace grabs it and tosses it to Deuce. Deuce fumbles with the disc when Lilia swoops in on him. He drops the disc, which is picked up by Grim. Sebek swoops down and Grim bats the disc at Jack, who catches it and with one smooth move, throws the disc into the goal.

“And it’s two to zero for Ramshackle!”

Jack holds the disc again. He pants, but steadies his breath.

His gaze finds Yuu’s.

Yuu glances around. Everyone looks ready. Her own wrists are aching, but she rolls them around for a few turns until they feel better. She gives Jack a nod.

He runs.

This time, Malleus immediately controls the disc.

It flies over the halfway point. His figure vanishes as he teleports and takes the disc into his hands.

With a flick of his wrist, the disc is sent flying unobstructed into the goal.

…Okay, Yuu can see why everyone calls him overpowered now.

“One to two for Diasomnia!”

“Two to two! The last match will determine the winner!”

Malleus scores the win again.

And honestly? Yuu is starting to get a little pissed.

“Call for a time-out.” Yuu says.

“I can keep going. We don’t need a time-out,” Jack begins, but Yuu overrides him, gesturing to the announcer. “Team Ramshackle has announced a time-out! For the—first time in decades!”

Seriously? What was with teenagers and trying to act cool all the time?

“We need a new plan.” Yuu says. “Any ideas? I could always show some cleavage and see if anyone takes the bait.” She jokes.

Riddle splutters. “Do not-! Do not do that!”

“Why.” Jack says, looking increasingly like a harried mother.

“I’ve got one.” Leona says. The group turns to him.

Leona’s idea sounds stupid at first, but Yuu can’t believe it’s actually working. She holds a disc in her hand. It is made from earth, different from the actual disc, but it looks close enough.

Kotarou’s ninja training class finally comes in handy.

They make use of the first round’s strategy to slow the disc. Then Yuu snags the disc, swaps it with the fake and throws the fake out while concealing the real one. She continues running towards the goal while Riddle catches the fake disc and flies over a few waiting Diasomnia players.

Leona floats by her side. Yuu jumps on his broom.

He flies over to the goalpost, not too close for anyone to suspect anything, but not too far either. Riddle throws the disc to Ace, who throws it to Leona. Before it touches Leona’s hand, the fake disc glows green and flies over to the other side.

Yuu presses the real disc into Leona’s hand. He grins and tosses it lightly. It enters the goal.

The fake disc crumbles back into earth.

“…Three to two! Ramshackle wins!”

“We did it! We actually won!” Deuce cheers.

Yuu jumps and slaps her palm against his. “Alright!” She whoops. She does the same with Ace, Grim and Jack. Riddle is slower to react, but carefully taps his hand against her palm.

She turns to Leona with a victorious grin. “You’re funding the after party!” She tells him gleefully.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Leona mutters, but there is a faint smirk playing on his lips.

He claps her palm with his own and Yuu considers that a victory.

First up is Octavinelle against Savanaclaw.

Actually, the entire tournament bracket follows in such a manner:

Octavinelle vs Savanaclaw

Ignihyde vs Savanaclaw

Heartslabyul vs Savanaclaw

Scarabia vs Savanaclaw

Pomefiore vs Savanaclaw

Diasomnia vs Savanaclaw

Then, the usual match-ups follow.

Yuu makes her way back to her dormmates and collapses next to them.

“What in the Seven’s name was that?” Ralph blurts out. “You just—wham! Whoosh! Against Malleus Draconia!” The hand gestures he makes are indecipherable to her.

“I wanted to prove a point.” Yuu says.

Ortho hands her a bottle of water.

“Thanks Ortho.” Yuu accepts it and guzzles it down.

Ignihyde loses against Savanaclaw, but manages to beat Octavinelle and Scarabia. By the time they reach the semi-finals, Yuu is too drained to keep on running. The same goes for her dormmates.

Grim is strangely energetic, come to think.

Yuu picks him up and examines him. “Did you eat something strange?” She asks.

“…No.” Grim lies. To her face, no less.

This would be concerning, but Yuu has other matters to take care of. She still schedules an examination for Grim with Ortho, just in case.

After the tournament is over and the crowd begins to dissipate, Yuu manages to wrestle the loudspeaker from the announcer who turns out to be Professor Vargas.

“Hey! Spelldrive guys! I’m hosting an afterparty in Ramshackle tonight! Everyone’s invited! Food and drinks are on Leona’s tab!” She shouts.

She hears a cheer from the crowd.

Leona splutters. “What!? Oi, herbivore! I didn’t agree to that!”

“You agreed to fund the after party.” Yuu reminds him.

Chapter Text

Yuu gets herself dragged to the infirmary after the tournament is over.

She feels slightly gratified that the entirety of Savanaclaw’s spelldrive team joins her, with everyone sporting their own scrapes and bruises.

Yuu is vaguely aware of Ace and Deuce corralling her into a bed before she falls asleep.

She wakes up when she hears a childish voice shout, “Unca Leona!”

Cheka Kingscholar absolutely adores his uncle.

It is adorable.

For all that Leona grumbles, he doesn’t exactly rebuff his nephew for his actions either.

And—there it is. Yuu sees it, the light that you cannot help but reach for, the star that never once stopped shining on you.

Yuu gets some bandages for her scrapes, though Crewel does give her a long look when the antiseptic rubs off her concealer.

He says nothing about it in the end, and Yuu is grateful for the tact.

With the medical treatment out of the way, Yuu slides off the bed and heads to Ramshackle.

Already, she can see the two people there, helping to prepare for the party.

Sebek is moving chairs down from the unused rooms to the lounge. Epel has somehow brought along a crate of apples, carving into them and setting them down on the table.

Yuu can hear sizzling sounds from the kitchen.

“Who’s cooking?” Ace asks, brushing past her to enter the kitchen.

“Welcome back!” Yuu hears Ortho say. “I started cooking for the party!”

“Thanks Ortho.” Yuu tells him.

“It’s thanks to you that Ignihyde managed to not get disqualified in the first match!” Ortho says. “You’re amazing, Yuu!”

Yuu laughs, feeling a little self-conscious. “Thanks!”

Jack sits down on the couch next to Epel, and conks out.

There is a knock on the door. Ruggie pokes his head in, tossing a wallet up and down in his hand. “Hey Yuu! I bought some stuff with Leona’s money!” He raises a bag of ingredients with the logo of Mr S’s Mystery Shop printed on the bag.

Yuu hurries to take the bag from him. “How’s your arm?”

“Shihihi, all better now. Healing spells sure are something else.” Ruggie shows her the unbroken skin of his arm.

“That’s good.” Yuu tells him. She passes the bag over to Deuce who brings it to Ortho in the kitchen.

Ruggie hovers in the doorway, like he has something more to say.

When he fails to say anything, Yuu asks him, “you’re coming to the party, right?”

“I don’t turn down free food.” Ruggie flashes her a grin. “But I bet those other guys might not like me there.”

“No one’s going to pick a fight with you.” Yuu says. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Ruggie shivers a little. “Right, right. You’re the boss lady.” He tosses Leona’s wallet at Yuu. Yuu opens it up and sees a stack of bills – in the hundreds.

“Henchman! How many cans of tuna can we buy with that?” Grim asks, hugging her leg and looking up at her with wide, adorable eyes.

“…Five. As a treat for how hard you worked today.” Yuu scratches Grim behind the ears and he closes his eyes and rubs his cheek against her leg.

“HUMAN! CONGRATULATIONS FOR WINNING AGAINST LORD MALLEUS!”

“Volume!” Epel hisses.

Sebek coughs. “However! You will never get the chance to win against Lord Malleus again now that he is aware of your wily tricks! Though much of the blame lies on the rest of the Diasomnia team for failing to live up to Lord Malleus’ expectations… Take pride in your one and only win!”

That was a convoluted way of saying ‘good job’.

Yuu pats him on the shoulder. “You did great too.” She tells him.

He does not puff up and say ‘of course!’ as she half-expects him to.

“If I was better… Lord Malleus would not have this loss staining his flawless reputation.” Sebek mutters.

Damnit.

“Hey, you trying to pick a fight?” Jack cuts in before Yuu gets the chance to figure out a way to comfort him. “We worked hard for that win! You think you can just come up here and say that we won against Malleus Draconia just ‘cause his teammates were weak?”

From what Yuu had seen, everyone was too reliant on Malleus’ abilities. He was strong, yes, but because of that everyone used him as a crutch. None of them had even moved in the first few seconds of the match, confident that Malleus would just handle it.

Sebek remains wordless for a few moments, before he recovers. “…No,” he shakes his head, “simply being able to defeat my lord at something is no easy feat. Regardless of the strength of myself or my teammates, your strategy was well-planned.” He nods once. “Congratulations.”

Jack huffs but does not push the argument any further.

Epel silently offers the both of them a carved apple each.

Huh. Yuu had expected it to turn into a fight… but that was a lot more mature than she had thought her boys were capable of being.

Ortho is beginning to set out food by the time Yuu and Deuce comes back from their shopping trip with bags of ingredients, snacks and drinks in tow. Leona’s wallet is looking emptier and Grim is cheering while hugging the little bag filled with his five cans of premium tuna.

What surprises her is that Malleus is already present, sitting in an armchair and holding a carved apple in his hands, looking over it curiously.

“Child of Man,” he greets her, “you have returned.”

“Hey Hornton. You’re early.” Yuu says.

She can hear Sebek screeching from the kitchen for referring to ‘Lord Malleus with a simple nickname!’

Deuce takes the bags from her hands, goes into the kitchen and shuts the door, muffling the shouts.

“It felt as though you were targeting me during the exhibition match.” Malleus murmurs.

“You’re the strongest player, of course we were targeting you.” Yuu says.

“But with Kingscholar?” That is definitely a pout on his lips.

Yuu takes a few seconds to realize something. “Were you jealous?” She asks incredulously.

Epel jerks, his carving knife slicing off a chunk of apple. Epel glares at the chunk that has fallen onto the floor. Grim proves his similarities to a gluttonous cat by eating the apple off the floor anyways.

“Of course not.” Malleus says. It is the most unconvincing lie Yuu has ever heard. Even Jack gives him a side-eye.

Yuu bursts into laughter and his pout grows more pronounced. “Don’t we already hang out every week?” She asks once her laughter dies down.

“I certainly have not aided Kingscholar in defeating you.” Malleus says. It is so petty that Yuu has to struggle not to laugh again.

“Fine, fine, how do you want me to make this up to you?”

Malleus eyes her contemplatively. “Might I request your assistance for Halloween?”

Yuu chokes. Her face pales. “What?” She asks faintly.

Malleus frowns at her. “You agreed to recompense me, did you not?”

“No, wait a minute. Run that by me again. Did you just say Halloween?” Yuu asks.

“You know, the holiday that happens at the end of October?” Ace interjects. “That’s Halloween.”

Halloween exists in this world…?

“Are you well?” Malleus asks, beginning to stand up.

Yuu blinks and shakes off her fugue state. “Ah… yes. I’m… fine. It’s not like there will be a teenaged dragon pop idol or a pyramid dropped onto a castle or a castle dropped onto a pyramid dropped onto a castle or cursed gold or an evil god that will steal my soul and turn me into some weird demon monster!” She laughs. It sounds hysterical, even to her own ears.

Everyone stares at her.

“Detecting high levels of stress.” Ortho says. “Yuu, please calm down.”

“You don’t look like a demon monster.” Grim says hesitantly.

“I got better.” Yuu replies. She takes a deep breath. “Alright! Halloween! Let’s do it!”

“Ya sure ya okay?” Epel peers at her.

Yuu beams at him. “It’s fine. At least it’s not Gudaguda.” She gives Malleus a bright smile. “I’m not expected to commit war crimes or anything, right?”

Malleus looks incredibly confused and increasingly concerned. “No, not at all.” He says slowly.

“What’s a Gudaguda?” Jack mutters.

Yuu takes another deep breath. “It’s an event that started when an ancient deceased warlord reanimated as a spirit tampered with a powerful magical wish-granting artifact and created miniature chaotic clones of herself.”

The stares directed at her do not get any lighter.

 Yuu nods gravely. “Imagine how I felt.”

Malleus takes his leave the moment the first visitors arrive.

He vanishes in a shower of green lights just as Riddle, Trey and Cater enter the lounge.

Trey is holding a box in his hands. “I made some puff pastries. With how short notice the announcement was, I didn’t have the time to make anything fancier.”

“No! It’s fine! You didn’t have to bring anything! I appreciate it though!” Yuu takes the box and heads to the kitchen to put it in the fridge.

Jack and Epel are squabbling over which fruit dessert tastes better – pear or apple pudding, and Ortho is stewing some soup. Yuu’s own pot of curry is boiling happily away on the stove.

 Yuu checks on the pot. A few minutes left to go.

She leaves the kitchen and sees that the three of them have already settled down. Yuu doesn’t have the chance to talk to them before a group of Scarabia students enter.

“Thanks for inviting us! Next time, you should come to one of our parties!” A white-haired boy says. He looks vaguely familiar.

“Ey! Kalim!” Cater calls out, waving a hand.

“Cater!” The boy bounces over and sits next to Cater.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve made the liberty of bringing some of my own dishes.” Another boy says. He is carrying a pot.

“You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.” Yuu says.

She gestures at the table where there are already a few dishes spread out.

It doesn’t escape her notice that Kalim only eats from what his own dormmate has brought. Dietary restrictions or…?

Yuu doesn’t get the chance to think more about it before more people start streaming in.

The party is loud. Yuu’s own dormmates are led to a separate room where they set up a video game console and are determined to play through the night.

There is a lull in the festivities when the Savanaclaw members show up.

“Leona!” Yuu shouts before the silence can turn into anything angry or accusatory. She waves his empty wallet around. “Thanks for this!”

She gives her friends a look.

Only Ace seems to be savvy enough to get her memo. He sighs, then calls out, “thanks for the treat, Housewarden Leona!”

The tension breaks.

“Leona! You’re a great guy!” Kalim says.

Yuu flings the wallet at Leona who catches it and scowls at her. She ignores him and gives Ace a discrete thumbs-up.

Chapter Text

‘I got a design for your mecha.’

The moment Idia sends her that text, Yuu abandons her attempts to sleep, rushing down the hallway to knock on his door.

“Lemme see! Lemme see!” She urges Idia, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Between helping Diasomnia and her own dorm for Halloween, studying for the encroaching exams, training, working and cleaning up Ramshackle, Yuu hasn’t had the time for anything else.

What would she even do if she had the time?

“Chill, would you?” Idia grumbles. He pulls up a blueprint.

Yuu has very little knowledge of engineering, but the mecha is glorious.

“I’ve never built a giant robot before, but the math checks out.”

“That’s amazing! Idia, you’re the best!” Yuu cheers.

“Whee hee hee, of course I am!” Idia perks up. “I didn’t have enough mats lying around for something of this scale so I placed an order at Sam’s. They should’ve arrived already.”

“Do you want me to go get them?” Yuu offers. It is the least she could do.

Idia looks her over. Yuu can tell that he is about to say ‘yes’, but then he grumbles something under his breath.

“I’ll come with. Even with your strength buff, you won’t be able carry them all.” Idia says.

Yuu sees what he means when Sam presents the huge packages.

She tries to pick one up. It is a lot heavier than she expects. “What’s inside? Rocks?”

“Try solid steel.” Idia says. He waves his wand at the rest of the packages and they start floating. “Aight, time to leave before the normies come around.”

Yuu trails alongside Idia when a chill runs down her spine. “Hey,” she says, “do you feel that?”

“Huh? Feel what?” Idia asks seconds before a ghost appears in front of him.

“I found you! My groom!” The ghost declares.

“Bwah?” Is the only sound that leaves Idia’s mouth. “Wait!” The packages floating around him drop to the ground loudly as he frantically waves. “Wait, wait! I-I’m—already married!” With a hand, he grabs Yuu’s arm. “Yeah! T-to her!”

Yuu hopes that her expression accurately displays just how unimpressed she is with him.

The air grows even chillier.

The ghost turns to Yuu. “I see… to think that someone else has long since seen the true beauty of my darling prince…” She pauses, looking over Yuu. “You look rather plain… but somehow, I quite enjoy your presence.”

Yuu can’t even bother to be surprised anymore – the gods of the underworld had always liked her, why not extend that to ghosts too?

“I’ve decided.” The ghost declares. “I will marry the both of you!”

“What?!” Idia yelps.

Yuu drops the block of solid steel in her hands and gets to work.

“And that’s what happened.” Yuu tells her friends.

She sits within a runic circle, huddled back-to-back with Idia. They have been sitting here for hours until her friends finally deigned to answer her SOS, breaking apart the hordes of ghosts fruitlessly throwing themselves at an invisible barrier.

“I haven’t seen such elaborate spellwork in decades.” Lilia praises, looking at the circle.

“Thanks. My teacher used to summon evil spirits and throw them at me until I could draw this in seconds.” Yuu says.

“You need better teachers.” Ace tells her.

“You don’t get it Ace, she was the best.” Yuu retorts.

“Can we go now? There’s too many people here.” Idia whispers.

Yuu gestures for him to go ahead. He takes a step out of the circle, is immediately bombarded by ghosts, and hurriedly steps back inside.

“Well, it looks like we’re staying until we can find a solution. Right, husband?” Yuu smiles brightly at him and he whimpers, curling into a ball.

“Idia! Are you alright?” Ortho says, hovering around them. “I brought the headmaster! He can help!”

The involvement of Crowley brings in the other housewardens.

“The ghost wants to marry Idia.” Yuu tells them.

“I don’t wanna die.” Idia sobs into her shoulder. Yuu pats his back.

“Henchman, just leave that guy there.” Grim says.

“Eek, that’s so cold.” Idia mumbles.

“Grim has a point, Yuu.” Riddle says. “This has nothing to do with us, and there is no rule forbidding a student’s matrimony to a ghost.”

“Not my problem.” Leona says. “’Sides, not like you’re going to die as long as you stay inside that circle.”

“I have no reason to indulge Idia’s behaviour by offering him help when all he has done is snub the company of others.” Vil adds.

“I would be delighted to help,” Azul begins, “for a price, of course.”

“Denied.” Idia immediately says.

 “Please help my brother.” Ortho says, wilting slightly.

“I already tried fighting the ghosts.” Deuce tells him sadly. “They came back.”

“Come on guys.” Yuu looks around. “Be nice.”

“Uh hello? You’re in the same doomed route as me. That ghost wants to marry you too!” Idia points out with a frantic energy.

“…You run into trouble a lot, henchman.” Grim tells Yuu.

Yuu refrains from pointing out that over half of her troubles are caused by him.

“We can’t have that.” Riddle says. “After all, Yuu has agreed to attend an Unbirthday party next week, and to forsake a guest would be poor manners.”

“…It would be a terrible shame.” Vil sighs. “After the lengths I went to in order to get your costume made.”

Yuu perks up at that. “You actually managed that?”

“Do not doubt my abilities.” Vil sniffs.

“Talk about a total 180.” Idia grumbles.

Yuu pats his head. “Benefits of a high social link.” She tells him.

“Ugh… this is why I hate normies.”

Yuu looks at the ring in her hands. Proposing to a ghost who only yearned for love even after death… somehow Yuu feels terrible.

 To live after death is a second chance at life. Even if nothing would change, even if all of it would never matter once the deed was done—it still felt too much like playing with someone’s feelings.

“Just because she’s dead doesn’t mean you should lead someone on like that.” Yuu says.

“Ugh, can you not play the lawful good character right now? That ghost wants me dead!” Idia grumbles. He fiddles with his own ring.

“She doesn’t want you dead, she just wants to be loved.”

“And I’ll give her that, blah blah, love as long as we live. She goes away, and I get my peaceful shut-in life back. Bad ending averted.”

At Yuu’s doubtful look, Idia sighs. “Look, I’ll take one for the team. I’ll give her the ring; you can just stay there and get carried.”

The ghostly wedding is a grand affair. Yuu hadn’t even known they had moved into Ramshackle and decorated the whole place. It was a good thing Diasomnia hadn’t put up their own decorations yet.

Just to be assholes, her friends manage to argue themselves into the wedding as guests.

“I’m filming since this might be Idia’s only chance to ever be a groom!” Now that the threat of his brother dying is no longer a concern, Ortho is back to his unintentional roasting.

Idia grimaces. Whether from his own brother’s betrayal or from all the attention on him, Yuu isn’t sure.

…His hands are shaking, she realizes.

Yuu forgets, sometimes, that life-and-death situations aren’t meant to be so common. She curls her hand around his until they steady. When they do, Idia snatches his hand away and distances himself. His hair is bright pink from embarrassment.

“Princess Eliza has arrived!” A ghost announces.

“Wait!” Yuu shouts when Idia begins to slide the ring onto Eliza’s finger.

She grabs Idia’s wrist, ignoring his hiss of ‘what are you doing?’

“My lady,” Yuu says. She gently takes Eliza’s hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. She peers up at Eliza through her lashes. The princess blushes a glowing blue.

“Allow me this selfishness just once… before the wedding, before the vows, won’t you dance with me, lovely princess?” Yuu asks.

“Yes! Of course!” Eliza declares. She gingerly places her free hand on Yuu’s shoulder.

Yuu would be taking the role of the man then? That’s fine, she has danced with plenty of her Servants before, in both roles. With many of them hailing from nobility, they had made it a point to teach Yuu ballroom dancing and etiquette.

Her hand rests lightly around Eliza’s waist and she begins to lead Eliza in the steps of a waltz.

“Will you tell me more about yourself, dear Eliza?” Yuu asks. “Your dreams, your wishes?”

“I have always wished to dance with my prince.” Eliza admits, a soft whisper. Their proximity means Yuu hears it clearly. “To marry someone I love… I held this dream in life.”

“I see.” Yuu says quietly.

“I knew, of course, that it would not be so. I am a princess, it is my duty to marry a prince to secure an alliance to my kingdom. I had hoped, that even so, the one I married would be someone like the prince of my dreams, a man I could love, who would love me.”

“Yes… you deserve that much.” Yuu says. She dips Eliza, then pulls her back to her side.

“My kingdom fell and my subjects died along with me.” Eliza continues. “I died without my prince. My kingdom is gone. But I no longer have to marry a noble. All I wish now… is for love.”

Yuu sees herself reflected in Eliza’s bright blue eyes. “If you would give me time, I could love you.” Yuu says honestly. “You are a wonderful woman.”

Their dance slows to a crawl.

Eliza smiles, bright and beautiful. “Then… would you let me kiss you?”

In her eyes, Yuu sees the reflection of herself shift, just the slightest, to one of the guards behind her.

…Oh?

“Yes,” Yuu says after a beat, “of course.”

Eliza leans in.

“NO!” Yuu can hear her friends shout, but she pays them no mind, leaning in and completing the motion.

Eliza’s kiss is cold. It feels like the chill of winter air.

When they part, Eliza looks upon Yuu sadly. “As I thought… you do not belong with me.” She says. Her fingers brush against Yuu’s cheek, fond and gentle.

“Eliza…” Yuu breathes. “I’m sorry. You deserved better.”

She grasps Eliza’s arm and slowly leads her back into the steps of the dance. “I cannot be what you want.” Yuu begins. She lifts her arm and twirls Eliza around. “But… you have always wanted someone else.” Yuu lets go and Eliza flies into the arms of the guard she keeps stealing glances at.

“Princess?” The guard startles.

“Puffy…” Eliza begins.

“Eliza.” Yuu says. “You are dead, no longer bound to the rules of the living. You do not have to hide your feelings any longer. I ask of you… to please choose the one you love, the one who loves you.”

Tears glimmer at the corners of Eliza’s eyes. “Puffy… the one I loved all along… was you!”

“Princess…?” Puffy looks startled. He recovers quickly. “Eliza. You have always been the only one in my heart, ever since we were alive.” Puffy says.

“Oh Puffy… I never knew.” Eliza embraces her guard. She sniffles once, twice, then composes herself.

Eliza spins around to look at Yuu. “Yuu, my dear, I’m so sorry—”

“It’s okay.” Yuu says. She takes Eliza’s hands and grasps them tight. “I’m glad you found your love. Please treasure this second chance, alright?”

Eliza dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Yes… Of course. You have my gratitude, for everything that you’ve done for me today.”

She then turns to Idia. “Idia, darling, I'm afraid I cannot return your affection for me.”

What follows is the most hilarious ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech.

“It’s too bad you got dumped, Idia.” Ortho tells his brother once the wedding is over and the ghosts have left.

“Y-Yeah… Hang on. I didn’t even want to get married anyway!” Idia scowls.

Meanwhile, Yuu is surrounded by her friends.

“What was that?” Jack asks. His cheeks are slightly flushed.

“I didn’t know you could dance, Yuu.” Deuce says.

“That was seriously smooth.” Ace whistles.

“Mreow!” An angry hiss is Yuu’s only warning before Grim leaps at her face. “Henchman!” He claws at her cheek. Which, ow. “I told you to stop doing stupid things!”

Yuu plucks the furry mass off her face. “Come on Grim, everything turned out well.” Yuu laughs.

Grim’s ears are flat and his fur is puffed up in anger. His arms are crossed and he gives her an upset look. Yuu’s laughter falls short.

Before she can do anything to pacify him, Sebek gives Yuu a pat on the shoulder. He looks oddly pitying. “It is a shame your bride left you for another.”

“Dude, Yuu didn’t even like the ghost.” Ace says.

“Eh? But she kissed the ghost herself?” Deuce asks.

“That… didn’t the headmage say that whoever is kissed by a ghost will become a ghost?” Epel says slowly.

“Ordinarily that ought to be the case.” Lilia chimes in. Their little group startles.

“Master Lilia!” Sebek straightens.

“But the blessings around you…” a hand pats Yuu’s cheek lightly, “they truly are powerful. Tell me child, have you perhaps pleased a god of some sorts?”

“Plenty.” Yuu says cheerily.

Lilia laughs like she has just said a particularly funny joke.

Chapter Text

Yuu munches on some popcorn. Grim is dozing on her lap.

“Wait for it…” Idia mutters. The pumpkin knight bursts into view. The actors in the movie scream. Idia screams.

Yuu takes another handful of popcorn. Grim mumbles under his breath and flips onto his back, exposing his soft belly. Yuu takes the chance to ruffle the soft fur there.

Pumpkin Hollow is similar to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

It’s just hard to watch given that Yuu has fought off actual Pumpkin Knights and interacted enough times with Hessian after he came to Chaldea.

“You want the theme to be Pumpkin Knights then?” Yuu asks. Yuu’s own costume had been decided early on while the rest of Ignihyde were still struggling to settle on a theme – perks of being the sole female in an all-boys’ school.

“Get this. A knight with a pumpkin head appears, and then when I take off the pumpkin, there’s no head!”

Yuu raises a brow. “With illusions?”

“Exactly! I can make some projectors, easy!”

Huh, that would be interesting to see.

“You should carry a scythe around too! Say something like, I’ll harvest your head!” Yuu says.

Idia nods, distracted. He pulls up a screen on another monitor and begins typing.

“So, I’ll be the investigator?” Yuu asks. Her role for Halloween is different from the others. She gets to be the guide who turns out to be one of the monsters in the end!

“You’re the only extrovert around here. You get to lead the crowd.” Idia tells her.

“Got it!”

The costume Vil shows Yuu is beautiful.

“A little on point, don’t you think?” Vil says with a faint frown.

Yuu can see where he is coming from.

The bridal dress is similar to the one she had worn to Eliza’s wedding, but with artful rips around the edges and blood stains that manage to blend in artfully with the bluish-white material.

“Magnifique!” Is what Rook declares when Yuu tries on the dress. For this occasion, Yuu has left her scars uncovered. They are faintly visible under the translucent fabric of her sleeves. “Madame Trickster, you look wonderful! Your weathered eyes paired with your youthful beauty! The marks of your battles contrasting the chaste innocence of a bride!”

“And of course, we cannot have an undead bride without her loyal knight!” Rook lifts up a Grim. Grim is— “so cute!” Yuu squeals. She rushes over and plucks Grim out of his hands.

He is wearing a suit of armour, something that Idia had made with great enthusiasm. He even provided a Grim-sized helmet!

Yuu cuddles with Grim, despite his half-hearted protests.

The encroaching Halloween festivities also mean that exam week is approaching.

In her downtime between the hectic running-about, Yuu sits down at Ramshackle and studies with her friends.

Contrary to their appearances, Jack and Sebek are incredibly studious and have consistently scored well on their tests.

They are also willing to help tutor Yuu for some handmade snacks during their study sessions.

It is a great help considering that Yuu is flunking History of Magic, Magical Theory and Potions.

Yuu knows the basics of Potionology, but considering that this is a different world, the ingredients and techniques that she is expected to use are completely foreign to her. The different world debuff applies for the other two subjects as well.

The only class where she does remotely well is in Physical Education, though that is very much hampered by her inability to make the broom hover more than an inch off the ground.

Though Coach Vargas did offer her an opportunity to bring up her grades through a training camp of some sorts that would take place after the exam period. Yuu still remembers the tears of joy he had shed after she approached him for weights to use during her runs.

Epel joins their study sessions, as do Ace and Deuce.

Grim is inducted into the group by proxy, although he spends most of his time sleeping instead of revising. Yuu worries for him – he is barely passing his classes, and the last test Professor Trien had returned to them was a solid F. There is only so much that bribery and encouragement can do.

Ace and Epel are average students, though Yuu suspects that if Ace is willing to put in more effort into his studies, he would do much better.

Deuce is on the same boat as Yuu and Grim – his admission that he hadn’t paid much attention in middle school has him lacking the foundations that are required now.

Sebek shows them his neatly written timeline for History and Jack lays out his own hand-drawn map of plants for Potions.

One point gives Yuu pause. “There was a war in Briar Valley five hundred years ago…?” She peers at the timeline of events. It isn’t even covered in the syllabus, but Sebek is nothing but detailed.

A war between faeries and humans five hundred years ago… That sounds like an awfully short time for fairies. And explains a lot about Sebek’s… everything.

Sebek is half-faerie and half-human by his own admission. He loves his father, but disdains him in the same breath. He hails from a family of faeries close to the crown, pretty much making them nobles.

Yuu wants to ask. About his careless comments disparaging humans, yet the respect he holds for the actual humans he knows.

Yuu bites her tongue. Not now.

Malleus has the habit of knocking at her door and info-dumping to her about his latest interest. Usually, it’s gargoyles or other forms of architectural genius.

This time, it’s about Eastern dragons.

“Oh yeah I knew one.” Yuu tells him. “She was pretty cute and wanted to marry me.”

Malleus gives her a curious look. “Did you accept the proposal?”

Yuu debates telling him about Berserkers, about Kiyohime’s whole deal with Anshin and her hatred of lies. “Nah.” Yuu says instead of going down that rabbit hole. “I already had someone else I liked.”

Grim jolts up so fast his fiery ears brush against Yuu’s chin. “You like someone, Henchman? Who is it?” He all but demands.

Yuu blinks. She laughs, not quite sure what else to do with the emotions roiling within her. “You don’t know her.” Yuu says.

Grim narrows his eyes at her, “I wanna see ‘em.”

Yuu doesn’t even know if she’ll ever be able to do so again.

“Child of Man?” Malleus asks. His voice is gentler than usual.

Yuu stands up and catches Grim before he can fall. “I should get going. It’s getting late.”

Malleus gives her a look too long and knowing. It makes Yuu feel like something is crawling down her back. “Very well, we shall reconvene here once more tomorrow.”

Yuu lies in bed, Grim sprawled out on her stomach.

“Hey Henchman?” Grim mutters sleepily.

Yuu absently scratches his ears. She makes a questioning sound.

“If you’re sad… you should cry. I’ll torch anyone who laughs at you.”

Yuu stills. Grim starts to snore.

Ah… When was the last time she had cried? Loss and grief are all too familiar to her. Yuu looks at her too-insightful cat. She closes her eyes and forces herself to sleep.

Halloween is actually going well for once.

“Uh, why are you so surprised about that?” Idia asks her.

“No one’s dying!” Yuu tells him with growing delight. “And nothing’s blown up yet!”

“…Know what? I don’t have enough sanity to deal with this.”

The first sign that Halloween is not going to be a walk in the park is when one of the visitors snaps a picture of Yuu without asking.

It is so incredibly discourteous that Yuu can’t quite react for a moment.

“Woah it’s a cute girl!” “Aww, there’s a little kitty…” “Look! A little kid!”

The chattering disrupts the movie screening.

What makes it even worse is that they bring food and drinks into the library, scattering crumbs and liquid over the books.

Yuu knows how to handle murderers and tyrants. She has never needed to deal with… this. Mostly because any slights to a Heroic Spirit is often handled by a brutal beatdown.

Yuu sees Ortho begin to frown.

“Excuse me.” Yuu says to the closest visitor. “Please refrain from eating and drinking in the library.”

The visitor mutters a platitude and proceeds to ignore her.

“Cool costume!” A woman touches her arm. “Woah, look at all these freaky scars!”

Yuu stiffens. Grim blows a stream of fire at the offender. The woman yelps and stumbles back. “H-Hey! What was that for?”

Yuu picks up Grim and forces a smile onto her face. “Please respect our boundaries.” Yuu says. Unauthorized usage of magic carries a hefty fine. “I believe that unsolicited touching of a minor may lead to severe punishment by law.”

The woman hurriedly backs off and exits the library.

Ortho shuffles up to her. “I don’t believe there is such a law.” He says quietly.

Yuu has no idea what the laws of this world are beyond do not steal or harm others. It apparently does not extend to such selfish inconsideration.

“Ortho, could you scrub Magicam of photos?” Yuu whispers.

“Scanning… Five photos of Yuu recently posted to Magicam. Deletion in progress… Done.” Ortho says.

“Thanks Ortho.” Yuu takes his hand and squeezes it once.

Yuu has to consistently remind herself that she is not allowed to react with physical violence.

Ortho is not under the same rules. He begins to charge up a technomantic beam.

Yuu feels petty enough to get him to hack and delete the Magicam Monsters’ Magicam accounts, but letting it result in certain death is taking things a step too far.

She sends one of the Ignihyde students to look for Idia and begins herding out the crowd.

Under unanimous decision, the movie screening closes for the day.

Most of the students are too worn out by dealing with the Magicam Monsters that they cannot handle any more social interaction.

“You guys should rest. I’ll bring back some food and drinks.” Yuu tells them.

“You’re an angel.” One of the students sobs, holding her shoulders.

Yuu gently pats his hand and slides away from his loose grip.

She has some snacks and drinks prepared in Ramshackle.

There are people in Ramshackle.

Yuu can feel her patience start to thin. “This is a private residence.” Yuu says flatly.

“What, you actually live in this shack?” The man asks.

He is wearing shoes inside of the room she had just cleaned a few days ago, trekking mud over her clean floors! Even her idiot boys knew to change out their outside shoes to slippers.

Yuu manages to wrangle the asshole out of her house. She looks for the ghosts and tells them in no uncertain terms – “next time, scare any intruders to death.”

“Erk, Yuuie, lass, you have a pretty scary look on your face.” A ghost says.

“To death.” Yuu repeats.

“Yes ma’am!” The ghosts yelp.

When Yuu exits the kitchen with a basket of snacks and drinks in hand, she finds to great satisfaction that her orders work perfectly.

The ghosts lift and drop some of the sturdier chairs, and throw cutlery around the room at the home invaders.

“Jooooin us!” “Stay foreveeeeer!” “IN DEATH!”

Grim cackles when the intruders run off screaming.

Yuu meets Malleus outside of Ramshackle.

“It seems that a few fools refused to heed the ‘No Entry’ sign.” He grumbles.

He appears to be in a bad mood.

“Did something happen?” Yuu asks.

A ghost drifts out beside her. “I can answer that!”

There is a ‘Malleus Draconia Challenge’ trending on Magicam.

Yuu closes her eyes and sighs.

Honestly, some people were so rude!

No one in Chaldea would ever be caught dead doing things like that!

Some Heroic Spirits might, but then again, brutal violence.

Yuu rifles through her basket and retrieves a lunchbox filled with candied yams. She offers one to Malleus. “Don’t let it get to you,” she says, “thanks for trying to keep them out.”

The suggestion to spook the Magicam Monsters is a simple idea. It had worked well enough with the Ramshackle ghosts as examples.

Yuu still feels a little peeved. Most of the Magicam Monsters who had come by for the clout aren’t likely to return, surely something could be done to punish them? Something not quite harmful but bearing a significant enough impact?

Something like… deleting their accounts and banning their IP addresses from the app.

“Some visitors did ask before taking photos, it’s a little hard to tell which ones belong to Magicam Monsters.” Trey points out when Yuu brings it up.

“Yuuie, you’re pretty brutal.” Cater guards his phone as though that would protect his Magicam account.

There was one exhibit with a clear ‘No photography’ sign. “Delete all the Magicam accounts with the Dark Mirror.” Yuu says with a calm smile.

“Understood!” Ortho says.

“Wait wait wait!” Idia interjects. “You know that’s illegal, right? We’d get sued for hacking!”

Yuu blinks. Ortho does the same.

“It’s just a thought experiment.” Yuu says, still in zen mode. “No Magicam accounts were actually deleted.”

Ortho beams. “You won’t find any trace leading back to Night Raven College!”

Chapter Text

With the Halloween festivities over, examination week hangs around the corner.

Yuu has taken to staying over at Ramshackle with her friends to cram for her studies.

“Four main elements… how does Cosmic differentiate into Light or Dark magic again…?” Yuu mutters. Her head feels heavy.

“It’s based off your soul.” Epel says, flipping through his notes. “The exact determinations for that ain’t in the syllabus.”

Yuu looks up and rolls her shoulders. Contrary to what Yuu would expect, neither of her idiot trio look remotely stressed. Ace is gaming leisurely while Deuce is squirreled away in a corner, looking through a notebook that doesn’t look like it was written by him.

Actually, that handwriting looks familiar to Yuu …

Deuce jerks and hides it the moment he notices Yuu’s approach. “Hey Yuu!”

Yuu tries not to feel hurt by his furtive movements.

“Aren’t you going to join us?” She gestures at the table where Jack, Sebek and Epel are gathered around.

“Oh! Um, no, it’s fine. I’m confident about this one.” Deuce says.

When Yuu approaches Grim, she is given a similar answer.

“Heh! The Great Grim’s gonna ace this exam!” Grim declares with a confidence that feels entirely out of place.

…Strange.

Nursery Rhyme sits at a table. On the chairs are various plushies of fish and mermaid dolls. Mister Andersen once wrote a story. Would you like me to read it to you?

On the table, laid out before her is a familiar book. It is one that Ritsuka has often seen Mash reread time and again. The Little Mermaid.

Far out in the sea…

Yuu wakes up with movement from the cuddle pile.

She feels something fluffy brush against her arm. Yuu instinctively grabs hold of it and is met with a muttered curse from Jack.

“Morning run?” Yuu yawns, letting go of Jack’s tail.

Jack hugs it protectively in his arms. “Yeah.” He grunts after a beat. He carefully disentangles himself and manages to get out of bed without waking anyone. The quiet ‘yeah!’ he makes is adorable.

Yuu possesses a smaller body and has significantly less problems in getting out from the cuddle pile. She walks to the wardrobe decorated with blue fire, dedicated to both her and Grim.

With how often her friends have begun to stay over, Yuu gave each of them their own rooms to store their belongings in.

Though for some reason, they usually fall asleep in her room. Yuu isn’t complaining – she enjoys the company, and her bed (consisting of three beds pushed together) is big enough for six people and one cat.

“Yuu? Could I join your sleepovers?” Ortho asks.

Yuu hadn’t even known that Ortho could sleep. “Of course!” She says.

Ortho brightens.

The very next day, Idia shows up at Ramshackle.

“What’re you doing here?” Grim jabs a paw in his direction. “You never leave your den!”

Idia pulls the hood of his jacket up over his head. “Ugh… IKR? I gotta install a charging point for Ortho. It’d be bad if he runs out of battery.”

“You’re a great older brother.” Yuu tells him.

She can see the hue of his hair change from blue to pink. “You’re so cringe.” Idia mutters and brushes past her.

Yuu leads him to the rooms. There are already signs on the doors indicating which room belongs to who.

Idia enters an empty room and gets to work.

A few minutes later, she hears him shout, “what is wrong with the electricity here!?”

Idia gives her a look of pure affront. “Your wires are chewed through.” He holds up a bundle of cords. One of them looks like it has been bitten by a mouse. Another looks corroded, and the third is sparking dangerously.

“If it works, it works.” Yuu shrugs. “The lights and the kitchen appliances work well enough.”

Idia opens his mouth, closes it, then says, “I’ll have to rewire this entire building to get a steady power source for Ortho.”

“Can that wait until after the exams?” Yuu asks.

“You live in a fire hazard.” Idia tells her.

Yuu has not taken an exam in what feels like a decade.

The air is tense from nerves. The students around her hurriedly flip through their notes before the exam starts.

“The Queen of Gold attempted to take over the territory of the Winter Queen, but was overthrown by the rebels led by the Huntsman.” Yuu recites. “And then… and then…”

“Then what was left of the kingdom worked together with the other kingdoms to become Shaftlands!” Grim adds.

Yuu looks down at him in surprise.

“You actually studied!” Yuu hugs him. “I’m so proud of you!”

Grim bats at her cheek. “Hey! Cut that out!” Despite his protests, Yuu can spot the smug little grin he sports.

After the exams are over, their little group gathers in Ramshackle.

“I’ll definitely pass.” Is all Yuu can offer in regards to her own exams.

“Vil’s gonna chew me out if ah don’t hit top hundred…” Epel sighs.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sebek seem convinced that they’ll be in the top fifty.

“Ha! Well, the Great Grim’s gonna get in the top ten!” Grim crows.

“No way, that’s my spot!” Deuce proclaims.

“Eh?” Ace glances at them both, a look of concern growing on his face. “Don’t tell me…”

Yuu has no idea what is going on; Ace doesn’t elaborate on whatever realization he has achieved.

She sets the bottle of apple juice (courtesy of Epel) on the table. The Ramshackle ghosts pass out the cups.

“We’ll miss having you around kiddos!” The ghosts say.

“Here’s to the end of exam week!” Yuu cheers, lifting the cup of apple juice in the air.

Water. Ritsuka can taste the salt on her tongue. She is in the ocean.

She cannot breathe.

“Yuu?” The call is distant, sounding like bubbles popping against her ears.

Ritsuka cannot breathe. Neither can Silver. She turns, wading to keep herself afloat, and sees Silver struggling to hold his breath.

There is movement from beneath them, a faint shadow swimming past.

A melodic voice croons, “the little mermaid dreamed of love. When her love was unreciprocated, she threw herself into the ocean and returned to sea foam.”

From the sea bed, a mermaid appears. She looks at Ritsuka.

The mermaid is huge. There are bloodstains around her mouth. Her teeth are just the slightest bit sharp.

A large hand reaches towards Ritsuka.

“Yuu!” A force pushes her away.

Ritsuka turns. Silver lets out a pained grunt when the hand closes around him instead.

“Stop.” Ritsuka says, raising her right hand high. Precious air escapes her mouth through bubbles as she speaks. The command seals on her hand glow. “Kiara. You who swore an oath to me upon answering my summons. I command you to stop.”

“I could have offered you salvation.” The mermaid says.

“That’s not what I want.” Ritsuka says. “And that’s not what you want either. You who once dreamed of fairy tales, I give you this order: Return to the sea.”

The mermaid lets out a soft, bubbling sigh. Her body dissolves into foam.

Ritsuka looks at Silver, struggling to breathe, wincing through his injuries.

She forces herself to wake.

Yuu shoots out of bed, ignoring Grim’s yelp as he falls off his usual perch on her tummy.

“Yuu…?” Epel mumbles sleepily.

Yuu ignores him and searches the bed. She grabs Sebek and hauls him out of bed.

“Wha-? UNHAND ME AT ONCE!” Sebek shouts.

“I don’t have time for this.” Yuu grabs her phone off the nightstand. She jabs the call button for Lilia’s number. “We need to get to Diasomnia, ASAP.”

Lilia doesn’t pick up. Yuu spams the call button.

Sebek resists her tugs, and Yuu says, “I need to check on Silver.”

“…What?” Sebek asks.

“Ugh… What’re you making a fuss for at… three in the morning?” Ace mutters.

All the other boys begin to stir.

Yuu glances at them. She shakes Jack. “Jack, I need a ride. Now.”

Something in her voice must clue him in on the severity of the situation. He straightens. “What’s happening?”

Sebek and Yuu haul ass to Diasomnia, Jack in his wolf form speeding through campus.

When they reach Diasomnia, Lilia finally picks up. “Well now, what happens to be the matter? Isn’t it a little too early for you to be awake? I’m aware that humans aren’t nocturnal like us fae.”

“Silver.” Yuu says with growing desperation. “I need to check on Silver.”

There is a pause. The gates to Diasomnia open.

Lilia greets them with a sombre look. “What’s this now? Silver should still be sleeping at this time of the night.”

Silver is in fact, not sleeping.

He is choking, trying to cough out water that is not present. Jack hangs awkwardly around the doorway as Sebek rushes in alongside Lilia.

A bruise in the shape of large fingers curl around Silver’s ribs.

Lilia’s expression turns to alarm.

Sebek futilely attempts to pat Silver’s back.

Lilia grabs Silver’s shoulder, magic gathering in his hands.

Yuu looks at pale, unseeing eyes. Is he still dreaming? Drowning in that dream ocean?

Yuu takes a deep breath. She is awake, but Silver is still stuck in that dream.

She closes her eyes and dreams.

Avenger waits at the boundary of dreams. Without speaking, he holds out a hand.

Ritsuka takes it and dives in.

The dreams are taking too deep a toll on Silver.

Before, he had been influenced by the bitter cold.

Now, he is trapped within the ocean.

Ritsuka dives, deeper, deeper, until she sees Silver, awake and struggling despite everything.

His body in the waking is still breathing, but his consciousness cannot comprehend it.

His eyes flick towards her and he blindly reaches out for her. Ritsuka grabs his hand. Avenger pulls and they land in Nursery Rhyme’s reality marble.

Nursery Rhyme walks up to Silver and clasps her little hands over his cheek. “The adventure is over,” Nursery Rhyme declares, “now wake, for this is all just a dream.”

Yuu wakes up, as does Silver.

She finds herself leaning against Jack. He stiffens when he realizes her waking and immediately lets go of her.

Yuu begins to topple over and Jack rushes to catch her again before she can fall.

Sebek looks close to tears as he hovers over Silver.

Lilia looks upset. Yuu does not know if his displeasure is directed at Silver or at her. “I believe,” he begins, “that explanations are in order.”

Yuu takes a deep breath. “It was my fault. I dream of spirits. They’re not always benign.”

“I was the one who entered your dream uninvited.” Silver says.

There is a beat of silence.

“You should stop visiting my dreams.” Yuu says.

“No.” Silver’s blank expression is betrayed by the determination in his eyes. “If I didn’t come this time, this would have happened to you.”

Silly. Silly boy.

“I’m used to it.” Yuu says quietly. “This is my burden to bear. It has nothing to do with you.”

When Silver doesn’t appear to be dissuaded, Yuu continues, “didn’t you fall sick a while back? Compared to you, I’m completely fine.”

“As a knight, I should be more than capable of facing unknown enemies.” Silver says.

“Everything I dream of; I’ve already overcome.” Yuu retorts.

“Children.” Lilia interrupts the back-and-forth. His red eyes linger on Yuu with an expression close to wariness.

“Is that your Unique Magic?” Jack asks her quietly.

Yuu pauses, then shakes her head. “It’s a side effect.” She looks down at her right hand and traces the command seals. “I can summon spirits… but it’s not working right now.”

Green lights float around the room, announcing Malleus’ arrival.

“Silver? Are you alright? I sensed a disturbance.” Malleus pauses, eyes widening as he realizes that there are five people squeezed into Silver’s room.

Silver sips from the cup of warm honey water to soothe his throat.

Their group had migrated to Diasomnia’s kitchen.

“I felt drawn to Yuu’s dreams.” Silver explains.

“I will not place you into a danger you cannot overcome.” Malleus declares. He is serious, more than Yuu has ever seen. Sparks linger around him, like an angry thunderstorm in a fae-shaped form.

Yuu nurses her own cup of honey water – it is only fair that she gets to drink some too considering that she was the one who made it. The Diasomnia group had stopped Lilia when he tried to commandeer the kitchen.

“I have guardians in my dream.” Yuu says quietly. “If Silver falls into my dreams again, I won’t let him get hurt. Not again.”

Malleus breathes out, a soft sigh. “I shall place my trust in you, Yuu.” It feels heavy, this regard. Another burden added to Atlas doesn’t change much – Yuu won’t collapse under its weight, not yet.

Chapter Text

Yuu and Jack’s return from Diasomnia sans Sebek who opts to remain behind out of worry – ‘I AM NOT WORRIED!’ – is met with a table full of breakfast.

“I thought you’d be hungry…” Deuce mutters, grimacing a little at the slightly overcooked omelette.

“It’d be lame to let Deucey make everything.” Ace says, still too much of a teenage boy to let himself show some vulnerability.

Epel gestures at the pot of porridge wordlessly.

“Thanks guys.” Yuu says.

Grim peers up at her. “I didn’t even eat anything during food prep this time!”

“That’s what expected of you to begin with.” Jack mutters.

Yuu leans down to scratch Grim’s chin. “Good job, Grim.”

Ritsuka’s dreams are empty. Silver has been made to keep a slightly different sleeping schedule to prevent a repeat of the past incident while he is still recovering.

For a single moment then, Lilia had seemed so terribly dangerous.

But he hadn’t done anything. Ritsuka knows that he can sense her blessings, but could he have sensed the thousands of curses laid upon her as well?

As she walks upon the bleached world, the faint awareness of ‘Yuu’ drifts away.

Ritsuka’s thoughts turn elsewhere. Did the Storm Border make it back safely? Is Novum Chaldea up and running? Were they able to launch a rescue mission, or was their operation halted by bureaucracy?

Ritsuka does not think for a second that Chaldea would abandon her – their adventures and stories had been bound too tightly together. She trusts them with her life. She has trusted them with her life.

All she has to do is wait. Wait and hope.

Something dark flickers. Yuu looks down at her shadow that has returned to her.

“You know,” Ritsuka says whimsically, “I want them to come and get me… but maybe after three more years, until I finish magic school.”

Ritsuka has always wanted to finish her schooling, but she doesn’t think for a second that a normal Japanese school would be able to handle her.

For all its faults, Night Raven’s College is perfect for her.

The right amount of danger and unpredictability to remind her of Chaldea, but not so dangerous that she is unable to overcome anything without her Servants.

Avenger does not say a thing, but Ritsuka still feels reassured by his presence.

The end of exam week marks a two weeks’ holiday.

Yuu and her friends decide to go out and explore Sage Island. Idia had kicked them out of Ramshackle to work on the power lines, and Yuu wanted functioning electricity (and Ortho’s companionship) enough to corral her friends into a field trip. Not that they needed much convincing.

“The quickest way to Crane Port is by bus,” Jack explains, “it only runs once in the morning and once at night.”

His tail is wagging.

Grim grumpily bats at it. “It’s way too early…” He whines.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t even need to walk!” Ace scoffs.

Deuce yawns.

“Waking up early in the morning is key to keeping a healthy schedule!” Sebek announces.

“Ugh…” Is all Epel offers. Yuu had borne witness to Vil’s aggressive mother-henning with sunscreen and other associated products in hand.

“Where did you get that hat, Yuu? My data indicates that it’s similar to some of the hats Rook Hunt wears.” Ortho asks.

“I borrowed one of his hats and never returned it.” Yuu admits.

“You stole from an upperclassman?” Deuce asks, scandalized.

“He’s got loads of them!” Yuu protests. “And he never asked for it back!”

This feels a lot like a field trip, with the eight of them. Yuu is abruptly reminded of summer, but a swirl of wind that carries reddish-brown leaves across the road brushes those memories away.

“What’s at Crane Port?” Yuu asks, squeezing under Jack’s arm to take a closer look at the guidebook that he’s holding.

Grim wriggles out of her hold and clambers onto her shoulder.

Jack grumbles a little but obligingly lowers the book so they can read it.

“Searching… Crane Port is famous for their festival, held to commemorate the establishment of the harbour. In the past, imports came from this harbour and were distributed to the arcane academies as well as the rest of Sage Island. Few ships now enter this harbour in favour of the newer port that was built ten years ago, and the economy within Crane Port has suffered as a result.” Ortho rattles off.

“So in a few years it’s gonna be abandoned, huh.” Ace says. “Good thing we’re visiting it before it closes down entirely.”

The rumbling of the approaching bus halts any further conversation. They get on the bus – showing off their mage stone pen nets them a discount on the ride.

Sage Island doesn’t have a large population, and Crane Port is said to be a shade of the bustling port it once was. This, coupled with the early morning, means that they are the only people on the bus.

The bus ride is an hour long. Yuu dozes off midway and wakes up with Deuce’s head on her shoulder.

Grim lies on Jack’s tail, snoring away. The last she had seen, Jack had been rambling to Grim about the sightseeing spots at Crane Port.

Ace, Epel, Sebek and Ortho cluster at the back of the bus, playing cards.

Yuu keeps her shoulder still and uses her free hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

Crane Port feels… abandoned isn’t quite the right word – there are still a few boats anchored to the pier, sailors hauling cargo to and fro. Stores are still open, the locals clearly knowing their usual clientele well, speaking to them with animated casualness.

Crane Port is alive, in the way that old streets are. Past their time, growing older with each year, always the same old, same old. It is an aging town with little new blood.

“’S same as Harveston.” Epel said. The wistfulness in his voice isn’t missed, not by Yuu and not by the other boys close enough to him to hear.

“What’s your hometown like, Epel?” Deuce asks.

“Harveston’s… full of old folks. We’ve got plenty a apple trees back home, an’ mountains to climb. The air there’s fresh, way more than here.” Epel sounds fond when he speaks of home.

Yuu can’t help but feel a little jealous. She tries to remember home, the time before Chaldea, but draws a blank.

They spend a few hours gallivanting around the crosswalks, entering every shop and making a general nuisance out of themselves. Surprisingly, the shopkeeps welcome them enthusiastically despite all the noise they make.

“It’s nice to see young ones round here again.” A shopkeeper tells Yuu. “Especially magic school kids. Did you know that Crane Port predates the magic academies?”

Yuu hadn’t known that.

“A century ago, it was a tiny port town, smaller than it is now. My great-grandfather was a sailor, he used to ferry supplies from the other kingdoms to Sage Island for the locals. When Crowley and Ambrose set up their schools, all of a sudden, Sage Island became the next big town. And Crane Port grew to the city it is now.” The shopkeeper pauses for a moment. “It’s past its time now. The new port town’s settled at a better location, newer facilities and all.”

“Are you planning on moving there?” Yuu asks.

“…Me? Nah. I was born and raised in this district here. My kids might think differently, but here’s where I’ll stay till I’m old and grey.” He finishes packing the bag of candies and hands it to Yuu. “Have a nice day.”

She takes it with a quiet thanks.

Grim swipes at the bag of candies the moment Yuu exits the shop, but she lifts it out of his reach. “Not before lunch.”

Their group stops by a restaurant for lunch. It is a small diner, run by a tired-looking man.

The food is great – they used potatoes in every dish. Potato casserole, potato pasta, even potato donuts.

“Ruggie would like this.” Jack says absently. That proves to be a mistake.

The boys hone in on that slip of tongue. “Didn’t know you were getting so buddy-buddy with a senior.” Ace says with a mean little smile.

“Didn’t you not like that guy?” Deuce asks.

“It is completely normal to constantly think about someone you respect! I am always thinking of Lord Malleus!” Sebek proclaims, to the surprise of no one.

“Hey! Ruggie is amazing!” Jack protests. “He handles Leona’s affairs and the running of Savannaclaw!”

“He’s doin’ it fer the money.” Epel mutters.

“That doesn’t make him any less amazing!”

Grim yawns and takes the chance to swipe the last donut. He is, however, foiled by Ortho.

“Sorry Grim, you were too slow!” Ortho giggles, lifting the donut out of reach.

“Gimme that! You can’t even eat!” Grim yowls. He stands upright on his hind paws, swiping at the donut.

Meanwhile, Yuu strikes up a conversation with the manager about the upcoming Port Fest. “Too many businesses are closing down. There’s just not enough foot traffic.”

“What about including the magic academies?” Yuu asks. “They’re one of the main draws to Sage Island, right?”

The man pauses. “Well, that’s a thought. Ambrose and Crowley do a lot for the island, but I wouldn’t want to disturb the education of the students…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re on a two-week exam leave right now.” Yuu says. “I’m sure it’s the same for RSA. If you like, I can talk to Crowley about it?”

“We absolutely cannot allow Ambrose to show us up yet again!” Predictably, the mention of RSA stirs up Crowley’s sense of rivalry. “I will speak to the Housewardens at once!”

“Thanks for giving me another job.” Idia tells Yuu at the meeting.

“You’re welcome.” Yuu says sweetly. Though she was the one to first bring up the event, Yuu isn’t quite sure why she is here – or why Idia had requested her presence.

“One more thing,” Idia says before Crowley can call an end to the meeting. “I’m nominating Yuu for Vice Housewarden.”

Yuu blinks. This is the first time she is hearing of it. “I don’t get a say in this?” She checks.

“LOL. Heck no.”

“It is a natural step to take, seeing how Yuu is the most personable of you lot.” Vil comments. “I presume that you have already gotten the opinion of all of Ignihyde?”

Idia pulls up a poll on his tablet.

[Yuu for Vice Housewarden]

[Yes: 98%]

[No: 2%]

Which… huh.

Chapter Text

Here is how the day starts:

Yuu travels to Crane Port with her class.

She starts making cotton candy. And as per usual, Grim tries to get his paws into the food.

Yuu ends up excused, none of her classmates keen on having cat monster hair in their festival food.

She walks around the port, Grim in her arms.

The festival stretches across the port, but there is a clear schism. One side belongs to Night Raven College while the other belongs to Royal Sword Academy.

NRC is competitive, even amongst their own dorms. But against RSA? That rivalry is brought to a whole other level.

Yuu goes back to a huge crowd gathered around the booths.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Grim asks, then lights up. “Are they giving away food?”

Grim leaps from her shoulder, pushing into the crowd to see what is going on.

Yuu follows after, unwilling to let him out of her sight.

No one is giving away food.

Instead, the crowd (mostly composed of young adults and teenagers) is gathered around a young man that Yuu does not recognize.

He is talking to Vil, who has a bright smile on his face.

It looks wrong on him, too wide and bright. Vil looks better with a mean little smirk or those moments of softness with a faint smile not-quite-there.

Ah, that’s right, Vil is an actor.

“Vil!” Yuu calls out, bending down to scoop Grim up in one arm. “I need to talk to you about the stall!”

Vil and Yuu are not working on the same stall. A few NRC students look perplexed at her words, but still open up the way for her to herd Vil away from the other boy in the RSA uniform.

“Let me be clear on one thing, Yuu.” Vil tells her imperiously once they are away from prying eyes. “I did not require your help.”

“Of course not.” Yuu nods.

“So who was that guy anyway?” Grim chimes in.

Neige LaBlanche is a popular actor, one on par with Vil.

Yuu doesn’t know why Vil dislikes him, apart from the popularity contest the both of them are constantly forced into – it seems the glamour of fame bears its fair share of darkness even here.

And it’s fine, people dislike others all the time, for no discernible reason.

Yuu watches Vil leave. She absently squeezes through the crowd again, scanning each face and trying to come up with a familiar name.

All this reminds her of something she cannot grasp.

“Hey Henchman!” Grim’s tail thwaps against her thigh. “Let’s go get some snacks!”

Yuu blinks, the words snapping her out of her fugue state. “Alright Grim.” She smiles and heads to another stall.

With Portfest over, comes a day which brings about much anticipation and dread.

The release of the examination results.

Yuu herself has another problem.

“Man, it’s a real shame Azul’s letting us go.” Ruggie gripes.

Yuu no longer lacks money now, but the loss of a previously-steady income still throws her off. “I know, right?” She nods.

The horde of students around them turns the topic around back to the results.

“How did you do for mid-terms, Ruggie?” Yuu asks.

“Ehh, not too bad.” He makes a rough gesture. “No way I flunked, but never been the best at it, ya get it?”

Yuu nods. “I get it.”

“How’d you do?” Ruggie asks, more out of mutual courtesy than any actual interest.

“I think I did fine. I studied with the gang. Oh, did you know? Grim did really well. He could answer all the questions!” Yuu claps her hands, feeling like a proud parent.

Ruggie pauses. “Hey, uh.” He starts, then stops, looking around with shifty eyes. He sidles up closer to her and begins to whisper. “Boss lady, I know you’re the type that keeps your gang in order. You didn’t hear this from me, but Azul’s had a lot of consultations lately. Lots of people been getting help with the exam, ya know?”

Yuu’s mind goes blank. She whispers back, “cheating?”

“Nah, nothing like that. That guy’s too smart fer that. But Grim hasn’t been studying, right?” Ruggie’s laugh is a little strained. He pats her back and meanders off – the second years are in a different part of the castle.

Yuu purses her lips. She shakes her head. No matter. She’ll find out what that was about sooner or later.

Yuu spots Jack’s ears amongst the crowd of students. His height makes him a perfect landmark.

Standing next to him are Ace and Deuce, Grim perched on Jack’s shoulder and peering at the noticeboard.

From this angle, Yuu can’t quite see the results on the noticeboard, but the despair of the students is particularly noticeable.

All of a sudden, the student in front of her sprouts an anemone out of his head.

What…?

Is it some kind of curse? Yuu tenses as she watches the curse spread amongst the students. Ace, Deuce and Grim are all hit. Interestingly, Jack seems to be exempt from the curse.

Dozens of students have been cursed, but it fails to reach Yuu.

What is the common point between them all?

Yuu pushes through the crowd and grabs the collars of Ace and Deuce.

“Hey guys,” she begins with a smile.

“Ack! Yuu!” Ace yelps.

“H-Henchman! You’re here!” Grim’s tone is the exact same ‘hand-caught-in-cookie-jar’ as Ace’s.

“H-Hey Yuu…” Deuce greets her with a wince.

Yuu gives her three idiots a bright smile. “Explain.”

The three of them stumble through a rough explanation.

“Everyone was doing it so I—”

“It was a good deal—”

Grim’s ears flatten against his skull. “…wanted…” He mutters something under his breath.

“Grim?” Yuu repeats.

“I wanted you to be proud of meeeee!” Grim cries with tears in his eyes.

Oh Grim.

“So you cheated.” Jack concludes flatly in the tone of a no-nonsense elder brother who is sick of his younger siblings making trouble.

“We didn’t cheat!” Ace protests.

Yuu finds herself at a loss for words. Before she can find her tongue, the boys yelp and start walking off on her.

The path they take is so familiar that Yuu has to stop and groan.

Ruggie’s warning echoes in her mind. Yuu has a feeling – this is Azul’s doing.

“Ah, Miss Yuu.” Jade sidles up to her. “Azul would like to speak to you.”

Yuu feels a headache building up. She passes Grim to Jack, the only responsible person from their group present, and follows after Jade.

Azul is sitting in his office looking incredibly proud of himself.

“Miss Yuu!” Azul presses a hand to his chest. “You’re here! How delightful. You see, I had something to discuss with you… something relating to a contract signed by your familiar.”

“Why?” Yuu blurts out. “Azul, we literally talk to each other almost every day! If you needed something from me, you could’ve just asked instead of picking on my cat!”

Azul waves her words away. “I’m rather afraid this pertains to something beyond casual matters. No, I would like to speak to you of something of a larger scale. For instance, the ownership of the Ramshackle Dorm?”

What. This again?

Yuu feels a headache build up. “The keys are with Malleus. If you like, I could help you arrange a meeting with him.” If there’s one thing Yuu has learnt, it’s that Hornton somehow has the majority of the student body in fear of him.

There is a chink in Azul’s businessman smile before it comes back in full force. “I was made aware that you were the one with ownership over the dorm.”

Well darn, she was found out. Yuu shrugs, pasting on a wry smile. “I made a promise to Headmaster Crowley. You can’t expect me to put my personal matters before that.”

“What of your responsibilities as a Vice Housewarden?” Azul challenges her. “Surely you would be willing to part with Ramshackle if I were to release your friends as well as your dormmates from their contract, which I must add, was made on fair and legal grounds.”

Azul is a smooth-talker, a ruthless businessman in the making.

“Fine.” Yuu says after a moment’s pause. “Only if you can convince Malleus to part with his own keys.”

She meets Azul’s eyes evenly. There is an annoyed tick of his brow – he’s still too young to know how to hide his feelings.

“As the current owner, surely it would be your duty—” Azul begins.

Yuu smiles, pleasant and pretty, and says, “no.”

“Vice Housewarden Yuu, am I not doing you a service-?” ‘Vice Housewarden’, to remind her of her responsibilities.

“I see we’re done here.” Yuu rises from the chair.

First rule when doing business. Never let the other party know how much you want something. Azul had made this mistake months ago.

Yuu’s heart is beating rapidly in her chest. She pretends that there is no urge to hold her breath, to let anxious sweat bead up on her neck. She’s great at pretending that everything is fine. This is no different.

Her bet pays off.

“Let’s discuss this, Miss Yuu.” Azul says before she takes her third step towards the door.

Yuu turns, raising a brow. “Go on.”

“I am, of course, amenable should you not wish for this deal to go through, but surely your familiar would not feel the same?” His smile is professional, but his words carry a hint of a threat.

Yuu closes her eyes and lets out a long, slow breath. “As I said, I’m willing to part with Ramshackle in exchange for releasing my friends and my dormmates from the contract you have them under.”

“And Malleus?” Azul presses, leadingly.

“Get his copy of the keys back from him yourself. I won’t have any part in that.” Malleus is reasonable; at most, he would huff and sulk about losing Ramshackle for a few days.

Azul’s inexperience in dealing with people who can kill him with just a thought shows all too well. He does not want to deal with an upset Malleus.

“I am under the impression that you enjoy games.” Azul says, a total non-sequitur.

Yuu gives him a suspicious look. “What of it?”

“Shall we make a bet?”

Chapter Text

Azul’s proposal is simple, or as Idia puts it, ‘a fetch quest for a fetch quest, seriously, let those idiots get rekt’.

“You’re going to his home base, no way he’s playing fair.” Idia scoffs. Yuu knows that. The payoff of the bet was too tempting, given its contents and that in itself is suspicious.

If she could obtain what Azul wanted, he would release everyone from their contract. But if she couldn’t, he would obtain Ramshackle including the spare keys from Malleus.

Ramshackle is quickly becoming her second home. Yuu does not want to lose it, but even if she did, there is little at stake for her, barring perhaps the headmaster’s disappointed gaze.

All she has to do is go underwater and steal a picture from a museum within three days.

Yuu has stolen a holy grail before, this much is familiar territory.

The difference is – Azul knows what resources she has at her disposal. And she no longer has the support of Chaldea or her servants.

“Big sister, you always look really happy and lonely whenever someone mentions ‘romantic’.”

Idia snaps his fingers in front of her face.

Yuu does not jolt, does not flinch. She blinks slowly. The chair she is seated backwards on rolls away, then back to him. “Ah… sorry, where were we?”

Idia gives her an inscrutable look. “You wanted me to check the camera footage of the Atlantica Memorial Museum.” He pushes himself away from the table with one hand. His gamer chair moves over, letting Yuu have full view of the computer.

Yuu looks down at the blueprint of the museum and the map of Atlantica lying in her lap. She had already jotted down the location the magic mirror would take them and the flow of the sea currents. She picks up the blueprint and notes down the locations of the cameras. The target is in a section of the museum with only one camera – leaving an obvious blind spot when the camera turns.

“Can you screenshot that, yes, that. Zoom it in?” Yuu peers at the photo that Azul had wanted for some reason. It’s blurry after being enlarged, but that is very much a picture of some school kids on an outing. Something catches her eyes. Silver hair.

“Zoom it in. There. That kid.”

It’s Azul. A tiny, chubby Azul.

“Woah, Azul was a cute kid.” Idia comments, exactly what Yuu was thinking. He hits the save button, like Yuu has seen him do whenever he comes across any cute cat pictures.

 Yuu frowns. Why would Azul want this picture?

She blinks and shakes her head. She’ll think more about that once she has the picture in her hands.

The doors to the museum are under a traditional lock and key, though she would have to go in person to verify that.

Yuu picks up the potion she left on Idia’s desk. Ortho had verified that it was a perfect water-breathing potion, without side effects. Considering how Azul’s contracts work, Yuu is surprised that he hadn’t mixed in some kind of poison that would leave her out of it for the three-day duration. He’s surprisingly honourable in his own way.

“Yuu.” Idia says when she voices her thoughts out loud. “Yuu. Poisoning someone is illegal.”

“So’s stealing.” Yuu nods at the computer. “I’m immune to poison but I’m not immune to being jailed.”

Idia opens his mouth, thinks for a moment, then speaks anyways, “your tragic backstory sure is something.”

Yuu laughs.

Yuu does not like the ocean.

She cannot remember why. The ocean brings up memories of hopes and beautiful dreams. It also brings with it a creeping anxiety.

She has to remind herself that she can breathe. That there aren’t hands on her sides, around her throat, holding her down and drowning her.

“What’s with the holdup?” Ace asks her. He is already paddling ahead, as are Deuce and Jack. Idiot boys who jumped straight into the pot with her without a second thought. Sebek glares at them like they have offended him greatly – Yuu doesn’t know why he came either, but the more the merrier. Epel couldn’t make it, stuck with Vil on practicing for some sort of performance. Ortho doesn’t yet possess seafaring capabilities, and cannot dive into the water with them, though he did send his regards.

Yuu forces a smile onto her face. “It’s nothing.” She slowly swims forwards.

They have one goal today, and it is to run reconnaissance. The museum is open today and closes for the holidays in two days. They have until tomorrow to waltz in and steal the photo.

It comes as a surprise when Jade and Floyd meet them halfway in their eel forms. Yuu had considered this, but failed to account for how large they would be.

Kiara is bigger. Somehow, that thought makes a smile twitch at her lips.

Still, the twins have manoeuvrability and strength on their side. Half of her party is missing their strongest magic. There is no way they are winning this fight.

“Scatter!” Yuu shouts. She darts away. Only one of them needs to reach the museum – she had told them what she wanted, and outfitted them with waterproof cameras to boot. Yuu places her bet on Sebek, the only one of them actually combat-trained. But then again, the other boys have fought the Overblot monsters with her – they may surprise her yet.

A shadow chases after her. Unsurprising, Yuu already knows that she is the biggest target.

Unlike Floyd and Jade, she is not made for the water. Her movements are slow, fighting against water resistance. Yuu moves in bursts; her speed comes from powerful kicks, but recovery is slow and her mana pool shallow. She cannot outswim the both of them.

Floyd comes darting in. Yuu kicks at the water and uses herself as a cannonball, colliding against his side.

He reels back, then weaves away. A shadow flickers in the corner of her eye. Yuu barely has a second to brace herself before Jade swims by, the currents he leaves in his wake sending her reeling.

A tail bumps against her. She tumbles across the water. Yuu can’t see her boys anymore; she hopes that they’ve made it far enough to safety.

The heavy weight of the Ignihyde dorm jacket weighs her down. She tosses it to the side. Her current Mystic Code may not be the best at an underwater fight, but it is still a combat outfit.

The twins circle around her. Yuu makes a mental note of how far she has been lured away from the city. How far she’s lured them away.

“Aww, aren’t we gonna keep playing, shrimpy?” Floyd asks her with a smile that has too much teeth.

Yuu smiles back, baring her own teeth.

“My, my, is that a challenge I see, Miss Yuu?” Jade asks genially.

Order Change

She switches positions with Jade and headbutts Floyd.

Floyd yelps. “Hey!” He scowls, playfulness fleeing him.

“Come on,” Yuu grins, “I’ve got all day.”

Yuu trudges back to Ignihyde, leaving a trail of water where she steps.

“Oh Yuu!” Ortho greets her. “Ace came by with the footage you wanted!” He pauses, tilting his head. “Detecting a number of bruises. Are you alright, Yuu?”

“I’m fine.” Yuu waves him off. “Tell Idia I’ll pop by after I get a shower in.”

Grim is already curled up in bed when she enters her room. Yuu changes out of her Mystic Code, thoroughly exhausted. She spends a few minutes standing in the shower staring blankly at nothing, then shakes herself back to awareness.

She gathers what’s left of her spent energy and shrugs on a loose shirt and shorts, a towel hung around her neck.

Yuu knocks on Idia’s door. “I’m coming in.” She calls out.

“Yeah, yeah. I downloaded the footage, see here—what are you wearing?” Idia’s voice rises in pitch, cut off by a strangled sound as he chokes on nothing.

Yuu yawns. “Sleepwear.” She mutters, absently rubbing her hand over a bare arm. She can feel the bumps and dips of her scars with each motion. She sits down in the chair next to Idia and looks at the computer.

The main door of the museum has a lock, connected to an alarm – she’d have to find a way to disable or get around it. And further in the exhibitions, the picture that Ace has filmed in clear sight. For how annoying and the occasional idiocy he tends to exhibit, Ace is also frighteningly competent when he puts his mind to it.

There are no laser alarms or terrifying bodyguards lurking in wait. Yuu takes a few minutes to remember that this is just a normal museum, and her target is a supposedly inconsequential picture.

Idia’s hair is still pink when she looks away from the screen. His hands are over his face. “Cover up you pervert!” He squeals like an embarrassed maiden straight out from the romance novels she has seen him read before.

Yuu gives him her most unimpressed stare. “There’s literally nothing to see, Idia.” She says flatly.

Honestly. Teenage boys.

Yuu drafts up a plan. Getting past Floyd and Jade is the main problem she faces. She would rather not leave any of her boys to be the ones to play bait, and she doesn’t want any of them performing the heist when none of them are capable of pickpocketing – her train of thought stutters to a halt.

She fishes out her phone and calls Ruggie.

Chapter Text

Showing up with royalty on a not-date to an overrated tourist destination just to steal a picture that holds more sentimental value than anything is perhaps overkill.

Leona’s status grants them a certain protection in public, but it also means more eyes on them.

Yuu has prepared a badly-rendered picture – it wouldn’t do for anyone to look too closely at the exhibits and find one of them missing.

Leona’s hands are stuffed in his pockets, a scowl on his face as he stalks beside her, having been strong-armed into this excursion.

Yuu stops by every exhibit, oohing and ahhing over every little thing. Ruggie trails behind them, a wide, innocent grin on his face. He bumps into the curator who had rushed to show them around. A weight settles into Yuu’s pocket. She slides her hand into her pocket and feels the cool metal of keys.

Yuu waits for the tour to finish. They are on the way out of the museum and Yuu nudges Leona’s arm. It is a signal for him and Ruggie both to cause a distraction for her.

Someone stumbles into the curator, courtesy of Ruggie, and Leona steps out of the way, tail flicking in agitation.

Yuu hangs back and when no one is watching, she slips into the blind spots of the security cameras, making her way to the staff room, unlocking it with the curator’s keys.

There is no one inside, all hands having been pulled out for Leona’s visit. She takes a wig from her bag and puts it on, changing her clothes into a dark coat jacket that resembles that of the staff members. She pulls on a pair of white gloves and makes sure to wipe the fingerprints off where she had touched.

Finally, the last thing needed to blend in. Yuu pulls out a potion vial that she had gotten Trey’s help in brewing. She downs it and feels her legs meld together into a tail.

It takes her a few minutes to get the hang of swimming with it.

Yuu grabs an empty picture frame, taking out the picture she had prepared and slotting it in.

From there, it is a simple matter of switching out the pictures. Surprisingly, no one comments on this at all, merely making way for her as she moves through the hallway. Yuu pulls out the picture, carefully slotting it out of the frame. She replaces the empty frame where she found it and changes back into her old clothes, stuffing her wig into her bag as she does so. Another potion brings back her legs.

Yuu slips out from the staff room, elbowing the door shut. She watches for the turn of the camera and carefully walks back to the entrance.

The curator is busy apologizing to Leona, who has a flat look on his face and water stains on his shirt. He growls when he spots her and turns around. “Whatever.” He dismisses. “It’ll be washed anyways.” His tail flicks in agitation. Yuu glides to stand beside him and offers the curator a bright smile, bidding him goodbye.

There is no Floyd or Jade running interference – stranger if they had, what with half of Savannaclaw, Ortho and Cater tasked to be distractions.

The walk, or well, swim back to Night Raven is quick.

Yuu walks into Monstro Longue and right into an Overblot.

What has to be Azul, an octo-mer as large as the entire room, swings his tentacles around, sending tables and chairs crashing.

What happened here…?

She grabs one badly bruised Savannaclaw student and pulls him out of the path of a tentacle that sends cracks into the tiles.

“What happened?” She snaps.

“I- I don’t know!” He wails. “We destroyed the contract like Leona wanted, and that guy freaked!”

Destroyed a contract? Yuu gives Leona a glare. He averts his gaze, but doesn’t even have the decency to look guilty about it.

Yuu scans the room, spots Floyd clinging to Azul’s back, biting and clawing ineffectively where he can. Jade has his back to a wall, hand cradling his side. Jack, in his wolf form, leaps lithely around Azul, trying fruitlessly to unbalance him, tackling him again and again in the side.

Ace, Deuce and Grim are attempting their cauldron-wind-fire combination, only for a tentacle to send the cauldron sweeping back at them. Ace yelps and falls back on his ass, narrowly missing the cauldron sailing over his head, but unfortunately lands on Grim’s tail in the process.

Grim yowls, and Deuce tackles them to the side, sending them rolling out of the way of a blast of lightning.

Cater, or rather, a clone, darts past Yuu, dragging a Savannaclaw student into the staff room which has luckily been spared most of the damage.

“Ortho!” Yuu calls out, trying to spot her friends in the mess of the café.

“Yuu!” Ortho flies over to her, deftly avoiding a tentacle.

“Anyone dead or dying?”

“Nope! Cater evacuated most of the room when the Overblot started.” Ortho reports. “There are a few injured, but nothing life-threatening.” He charges up something on an arm and shoots a blast straight at the Phantom. The glassy surface cracks, but that draws Azul’s attention.

Good.

“Yuu! Your strengthening magic! Give it to me!” Yuu jumps over the tentacle that attempts to grab her. His words and what little context she has of his Unique Magic doesn’t bode well.

Azul is bulky and has eight more limbs and a wide variety of magic besides to defend the shadowy creature with. Little wonder her boys had been having trouble.

“Tell me what caused this later.” Yuu orders. “Leona, Ruggie, with me. Ruggie, how well does your Unique Magic work on someone with multiple limbs?”

“Not very.” Ruggie admits with a strained smile. “I can control his hands and that’s ‘bout it.”

“Keep his arms occupied. Stop him from using anymore magic.”

“Gotcha, boss lady. Laugh With Me!”

“Leona, can you use your Unique Magic on that glass jar?” Yuu asks.

When she doesn’t receive a response, Yuu glares over her shoulder.

Leona’s tail swishes behind him with agitation. “I can try,” he says after a moment through gritted teeth.

“Do that.”

King’s Roar chips away at the ink pot, but any further damage is blocked by a barrier.

Yuu had thought that her lineup this time was pretty good, but things are never so easy for her.

A tentacle slams against the glass walls. A crack appears. Yuu recalls abruptly that Monstro Lounge, and most of Octavinelle besides, is located underwater.

“Keep him from destroying the walls!” Yuu shouts. She leaps onto a tentacle and runs her way up to Azul’s midriff. She Reinforces her arms, jumps, avoiding the fireball sent her way and punches through the barrier.

She overestimates the force of her punch and her arm goes straight through the already cracked ink pot.

Nursery Rhyme greets her, as she always does.

“Shall we greet the little mermaid?” She asks whimsically.

Ritsuka follows her to the entrance of a big pot, something not unlike the vases she had seen on display back in the museum.

Sniffles drift out from within the pot.

Voices echo from behind her, but she knows well that there is nothing there.

“Little crybaby Azul!” “Watch out, he’ll ink you!” “What a snail, he’s so big he can’t even swim right!”

Ritsuka bends down and peers inside. A tiny Azul, in his octopus form.

“I’ll show them,” this small Azul mutters darkly, wiping away tears from his eyes, “I’ll make them regret it!”

He looks up, spots Ritsuka and freezes, drawing back defensively.

“Go away!” He shouts. “This is my octopus pot!”

Ritsuka can’t help but think of Abby, hurt and lashing out.

She reaches out a hand, fully anticipating to be slapped away.

She doesn’t expect Azul to throw himself at her and wail.

She strokes his back gently. “It’s been hard, hasn’t it?” She murmurs.

There is nothing to fight here. Memories cannot be changed and their impact may never fade.

Nursery Rhyme hums a soft, gentle lullaby.

“You got your revenge, rose above them all, but you don’t believe it changes anything.” Ritsuka rocks lightly from side to side.

Azul’s sobs die to soft gasps of breath, then even that fades into bubbles. Like sea foam.

In the edges of this not-memory, Ritsuka thinks she sees a face staring back at her.

It hurts. There is ink splattered all over her arm, burning into her like a particularly nasty curse.

A wind spell slows her descent, lets her land on her feet, then she stumbles, bracing one knee on the ground, supported by her untainted arm.

“Henchman!” Grim yowls, scampering up to her.

“Yuu!” Deuce rushes over, offering her a hand.

“I’m fine.” Yuu grabs his hand and pulls herself to her feet, swaying lightly. Jack pads over to her side, serving as a support. The burning sensation on her arm is quickly fading.

She is glowing, she realizes when she raises her arm to look at it, the ink turning into clear water that drips harmlessly onto the ground. Divine blessings indeed. Something catches her eye.

“Yuu… Blot purified.” Ortho reports after a few stunned seconds.

“Does this qualify as poison resistance EX or curse resistance EX?” She asks, half-joking, bending to pick up a picture from the ground.

“Blot falls under neither of those classifications.” Ortho tells her. “Please refrain from touching blot again, Yuu.”

Yuu looks at the picture, at the tiny pouting Azul, magnified and made the focus. She has a vague idea of what started the Overblot now.

She glances over at Azul, flattened by Floyd who had fallen on top of him when his transformation reverted.

“Ace.” Yuu says.

Ace flinches. “I had nothing to do with this!” He yelps.

“I know you didn’t,” Yuu says, “you just shared a photo with the others as revenge against Azul for taking your wind magic and working you to the bone. Especially since it’s something he felt strongly about enough to involve me in it.”

From his wince, she had hit the nail completely on the head.

She stalks over to the staff room and opens the door. She looks over the ten-or-so injured students and the ripped paper on the floor.

Time to settle this.

“First of all,” Yuu crosses her arms, carefully avoiding touching the dark stains on her arm left by the blot, and looks over at everyone gathered in the lounge. “Azul, I believe an apology is in order.” She raises one finger. “For endangering everyone in your blot-induced rampage,” a second finger, “and for your little scam.”

Azul scowls slightly. “I did everything according to the letter of the contract!” He snaps.

Yuu raises a brow. Azul deflates and averts his gaze. “I… apologize for the injuries and discomfort you may have sustained.” He mutters dourly.

Good enough. Yuu turns to the other students. “I believe you lot have things to apologize for as well.”

“Wha-? Hey, he was the one who tricked us!” “Yeah! He attacked us!”

Yuu answers their protests with pointed silence. The students shift uneasily. Honestly, even the kid Servants were somehow more mature than everyone in this room.

“Yuu? I believe you should get treatment for your arm.” Ortho whispers.

“I know. In a bit.” Yuu answers absently. This was something that had to be done.

She gives Ace a look. He grumbles but finally acquiesces. “Hey, uh, I’m sorry for sharing your picture with the others.” He says in a rush, face burning red.

Yuu nods in satisfaction. She looks at the others. “I shouldn’t have ripped up all the contracts. Even if the one you made with me was seriously unfair.” “Yeah, same… but Leona was the one who—” “Shh!”

“Leona!” Yuu calls out without turning around. “No one leaves this room until everything has been settled.”

She hears a cut-off curse from behind her. “Don’t order me around-!”

Yuu turns her head and smiles at him. “Don’t be immature.” She tells the oldest person in the room. “Set a good example for your juniors here.”

Leona’s tail lashes about behind him. “Ugh… fine. I shouldn’t have gotten your stuff dusted. Not like you really needed those contracts anyway, you octopus bastard—ow!”

Yuu lifts her foot from where she had stomped on his feet.

“Now that all that’s over and done with, we should all get going to the infirmary.”

Yuu’s arm is fine. No lingering pain, just the stain of ink that slowly fades with time. Professor Crewel can find nothing wrong with her, and Yuu pretends not to notice his thinly-veiled demand for her to stay in the infirmary for observation. Ortho insists on giving her a detailed check-up when she returns to the dorm. But that is for later.

Right now, she sits by Azul’s bedside and watches him sulk. “Here. Your picture.” She hands over the photograph she had taken from the museum.

“Thank you for finally handing it over to me after half of NRC has already seen it.” Azul huffs, snatching it from her hands. “I should have edited myself out of it sooner.”

Oh.

“Are your parents the good sort?” Yuu asks.

“What kind of question is that? Of course they are!” Azul bristles defensively.

“Then I think they would be sad if they had nothing left of you as a child.” Yuu touches the edge of the photograph.

“That’s—nothing to do with you.”

“I would give up everything to see my family again.” Yuu says, and hates herself for how true it is.

The days spent hiding in a little storage room back in Chaldea desperately calling for parents who would never pick up the phone. The time spent looking at the few family photographs in her phone and cursing herself for not taking more when she had the chance to.

Azul looks at her with wide eyes. He is so young still.

“That aside,” Yuu continues, trying to lighten the mood, “thank you for managing to get Grim’s grades up.” Top fifty in the cohort was nothing to scoff at, especially for someone who had consistently scored amongst the lowest. “I heard that you wrote the study guide yourself. That’s very impressive.”

“It wasn’t particularly difficult.” Azul mutters, a flush forming on his cheeks.

He considers the photograph in his hands, thumb brushing against the little octopus hiding in the crowd.

“Jack would like me to inform you that you ought to be a law-abiding citizen and return it.” Yuu adds.

“At least let me edit it out first.” Azul says, half-heartedly. “Not that there would be a point in that anymore.”

“You were a cute kid.” Yuu considers him. “Still are.”

Azul drops the photo and fumbles, trying to snatch it up before it touches the ground. The flush on his cheeks has spread all the way to his ears and neck. “You- don’t say things like that!”

“You are.” Yuu insists. “It’s good to be driven and ambitious. But don’t grow up too fast and forget to live in the moment.” She pats his head.

Azul bears with the indignity for a few seconds, then brushes her hand away. “Don’t treat me like a child.” He huffs. “I’ll return this tomorrow.” He stares at the photo in shame, regret and anger.

If Yuu had spent most of her childhood being bullied and left out of activities like Azul had, maybe she would have turned out the same, seeking vengeance against the ones who spurned her. But she had been lucky. She had her friends – she cannot remember their faces anymore.

That realization makes her go still; her breath caught in her throat.

Azul gives her a guarded look. “What?”

“Would you like me to go with you to the museum?” Yuu asks, faking a cough to mask her brief loss of control.

“Field trip!” Yuu spins to the side, avoiding Floyd’s enthusiastic tackle. “Aww, shrimpy!” Floyd grins at her brightly, despite the numerous band-aids that cover his hands and face.

Yuu can spot Professor Crewel pinch the bridge of his nose, clearly having just finished patching Floyd up.

“Yeah, a field trip sounds nice.” Yuu muses, a small smile crossing her lips. “What do you say, Azul?”

“…fine.” Azul mutters, then louder, “now go away!”

Yuu musses up his hair one more time then takes her leave.

Chapter Text

The Winter holidays have come.

Yuu doesn’t belong to this world and has no home to return to.

All of a sudden, she finds herself with too much time on her hands. Jack is returning home so she has no one to go on her morning runs with. Lilia also intends to return to his own land, which means no more sparring.

With the holidays come a lull in classes, and the absence of students means that Yuu does not need to man the Monstro Lounge.

Ignihyde is nearly empty, most of everyone having gone back home for the holidays. Cooking for the few dormmates that remain doesn’t take much time either.

Yuu does not know what to do with this time she has. There is only so much time she can spend on Ramshackle before the ghosts chase her away. Even the work she asks for from Headmaster Crowley barely takes up an hour of her mornings.

Grim shares none of her concerns. “More time to sleep!”

Yuu cannot sleep eighteen hours a day like he can. Even eight hours feels too long for her sometimes.

Yuu spends her free time training. Running through her stances, revising the magecraft her teachers had drilled into her, brushing up her knowledge on the magic of this world.

Three days into the holiday and Yuu feels like she is about to go stir-crazy.

That is, until she finds Jade poking around Ramshackle’s backyard.

“Didn’t you go home for the holidays?” Yuu asks.

That is how she finds out that not all the students have gone back for the holidays.

Yuu visits Octavinelle every day to cook for them, despite Grim’s protests.

Despite Azul’s protests as well.

Jade and Floyd both seem delighted by her presence.

Yuu takes over cooking duty, filling in some of the gaps in her too-empty schedule.

“Miss Yuu, what is it that you expect in return for this little favour?” Jade asks her after two days.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yuu tells him.

“Come now. Surely you have something in mind? After all, every favour has a price.” His mismatched eyes meet hers.

Yuu feels her heart skip a beat.

Before she knows what she’s doing, she says, “I just wanted a task to do because I don’t know what to do with my time now that I don’t have to fight for my life.”

Yuu’s eyes widen. Her mouth keeps moving of its own accord. “I can’t remember what my hobbies are anymore or how to relax or what it’s like to spend a day without some world-ending threat on the horizon. For so long I wanted to return to school and cooking for a dorm makes me feel like I’m normal again. I just want a normal life, even if I don’t deserve that after everything I’ve done.”

Yuu’s voice breaks. Her throat hurts and she finally manages to fight off the spell and clamp her mouth shut.

Jade looks stunned.

Yuu feels her eyes grow warm. She blinks hard in an attempt to make the feeling go away.

She forces on a smile. “Sorry,” she says, “I shouldn’t have dumped all that on you.”

When Jade fails to reply, still looking at her with that stunned gaze, Yuu soldiers on, “I really should go fix up Ramshackle now, the ghosts wanted to show me something. See you tomorrow, Jade!”

When she returns to Ramshackle, Grim takes one look at her, pulls her onto the couch and curls up on her lap with a muttered, “I’ll fry those stupid fish for making my Henchman cry.”

Yuu sees droplets of water drip onto Grim’s fur. One falls too close to the flames on his ears. It sizzles and Grim shifts uncomfortably but doesn’t move from his spot.

“Yuu? Why’re you crying?” A ghost asks and only then does Yuu realize what she’s doing.

“What? Yuu’s crying? Who made her cry?” Another ghost pops out from the ceiling.

“Did someone bully you? We’ll haunt them good!” A third ghost drifts in from the walls.

“Ah… No, I’m fine.” Yuu says. Her voice sounds a little too high and piteous, even to her own ears.

Her throat hurts. Her eyes sting. Her nose feels clogged.

In a battle, this would kill her.

This is not a battle. The world has been saved, Grim’s weight is comfortably warm on her lap and Yuu can’t even remember her own name.

“Henchman.” Grim says, flat and demanding.

With Mash, Yuu had to be strong. Mash who called her senpai, who looked at her with such adoration, who turned to her for support. Mash, who lost her father figure, her mother figure, the place where she lived for all her life. Mash who had lost everything, walked through all the Singularities and Lostbelts by Yuu’s side and yet could still smile so brightly.

Grim doesn’t need her to be strong. He hasn’t spent a lifetime by Yuu’s side fending off horrors. In this world, he is still Yuu’s closest partner.

Yuu’s fingers stroke his ears, carefully avoiding the flames.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Yuu admits. Her tears won’t stop flowing. “I—I should’ve been better.”

“Oh Yuu,” one of the ghosts sighs, “you’re plenty good.”

“People died because of me.” Yuu says. She doesn’t know why she’s saying this. “I just wanted—all I wanted was to live.”

Grim raises a paw and pats her hand. His paw pad squishes against her inert command seals. “I don’t care about any of that.” He tells her. “You’re my Henchman now.”

As if that is enough to make it all better. To Grim, perhaps it is.

Yuu allows herself a few days to mope around the school.

 She is poking around the main castle, familiarizing herself with the layout of the castle, when she bumps into someone familiar.

“Hey! It’s Yuu!” Kalim grins brightly at her.

“Kalim?” Yuu remembers him, the bright-eyed boy with dietary restrictions.

As it turns out, the entirety of Scarabia has remained in school.

Kalim invites her to a party, which Yuu happily accepts. Anything to occupy her mind.

He mentions something interesting.

“There’s a bootcamp?” Yuu lights up at the perfect distraction. “Can I join?”

“Sure! Why not?” Kalim grins.

“Wait, Kalim! Yuu isn’t part of Scarabia!” Vice Housewarden Jamil hisses at him.

“Don’t worry about it, Jamil! It’ll be fine!”

“Food’s provided, right? Then I’ll make sure to bring Grim along!”

Kalim beams. “Yeah! The more the merrier!”

“No, wait.” Jamil hisses. His expression grows pinched. “Vice Housewarden Yuu, might I have a word with you?”

Yuu obligingly trots after him into another room.

Jamil spins around and stares at her in the eye. “Snake Whisper.” She hears him whisper.

Huh?

“Stay out of this, Yuu. Don’t take part in the boot camp.” Jamil hisses.

Yuu blinks slowly. Something… was odd.

“Um, what were we talking about?” She asks, blinking slowly.

“Nothing. I’ll let Kalim know you won’t be going to the boot camp.” Jamil’s smile is forced.

Yuu tries to think. That’s strange… was there a reason why she wouldn’t want to go?

She nods slowly and murmurs a goodbye as she walks back to the dorm.

Her footsteps take her to the mirror of Ignihyde. But Grim is at Ramshackle.

She stops abruptly.

…ink. Do you remember what you have forgotten?

A voice that belongs to no one in this world whispers.

Yuu listens to it, but nothing comes to mind. She doubles back to get Grim.

Her head hurts. Yuu absently rubs at her temples. It feels like she has forgotten something.

It isn’t until it gets dark that she remembers. The bootcamp. She had wanted to go, hadn’t she? Why did she refuse Kalim then?

She had a vague recollection of speaking to Jamil. He hadn’t wanted her to join in, but for some reason, Yuu couldn’t recall his reasoning.

Something was terribly odd here. Yuu frowns and grasps for her phone. She was sure Idia had sent her a list of contacts…

Ah ha.

She selects Kalim’s contact and shoots him a text.

There is a sandpit that Nursery Rhyme plays in.

Ritsuka’s bare feet touch fine-grained sand.

Miss Scheherazade once told a thousand and one tales. Nursery Rhyme tells her. Later storytellers continued on her legacy. Today’s story goes by the name of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. Would you like me to recount it to you? Hehe, I shall.

Chapter Text

Grim is overjoyed by the feast, citing “Mrow! It’s way better than your food, Henchman!”

Yuu concedes the point. She’s hardly like Boudica, Emiya or Tamamo Cat. All she’s learnt are the basics of cooking. There’s only so many ways to cook eggs and omelettes before you get sick of it.

Jamil is really incredible in that sense. Jamil who also glares at her when she’s not looking. Yuu doesn’t blame him – she had pretty much invited herself into the boot camp after all.

At least he hasn’t poisoned her yet.

Yuu takes a bite out of the curry served to them. The spices are sharp on her tongue, an explosion of flavour. The rice is different too.

It’s delicious. It really is. But it’s so different from the curry she’s used to that Yuu can’t help but feel a little homesick.

She tries to remember the taste of her mother’s cooking, but all that comes to mind is Emiya’s version of curry – tastier than even her mother’s but not at all the same.

She pauses after a few bites. The food, once delicious, now tastes like ashes.

Yuu rubs her face. She’s been getting more sentimental than usual. After… after the incident with Jade.

Grim hops onto her lap, disrupting her train of thoughts. He offers no explanation even at the quizzical look Yuu shoots him.

Scarabia’s hospitality is amazing. Yuu looks around at the opulence Kalim leaves carelessly lying around like a king with Golden Rule.

“Woah! This place is fancy! Nothing like Ignihyde or Ramshackle!” Grim says.

“Is it really that impressive?” Kalim, serving as their guide, asks. Jamil trails behind him, looking like he wants to scowl but doesn’t quite do so.

Yuu cannot say it is the fanciest place she has ever seen, but it’s definitely one of the top contenders.

“When I enrolled, Dad said that he donated a bit to give the school a fresh coat of paint.”

Ah.

Yuu carefully keeps her thoughts to herself and focuses instead on the pinched look on Jamil’s face.

“Man, are you some kind of prince?” Grim reaches out a paw to poke at Kalim, but Jamil neatly slides between them, forcing some distance between the both of them.

“Nope! The Asims are merchants! I do have relatives in the royal family though.” Kalim’s smile never once loses its shine.

Yuu half-listens as Grim keeps prodding for more information, her eyes flicking around and cataloguing the doors they pass through, the windows and the scenery outside, the decorations. Anything that can be used as a landmark or potential hiding spot.

The dorm of Scarabia is huge and sprawling, much more than the modern design of the Ignihyde dorm.

Then Kalim says something that catches her attention. “Jamil’s mom and dad are among our servants. So Jamil's always around and looked after me ever since he was a young boy.”

A servant? Yuu glances at Jamil. She had thought him protective of Kalim, but a servant… That introduces something else to their dynamic. For all that Kalim seems to treat Jamil as a friend, Jamil treats him like a mix between a child he has to babysit and a younger brother.

“Kalim, you’re younger than Jamil then?” Yuu asks.

“Huh? Oh, no! I’m actually a few months older! Jamil’s mom got pregnant a few months after mine did! Our parents wanted us to be friends!” Kalim’s laugh is bright.

Yuu stares at him. She glances at Jamil and notes the carefully blank look on his face.

“I… see.” She finally says.

Yuu sits down on the soft bed of the guest room assigned to her. She stares at the embroidered tapestries. Something about the conversation just now sits wrong with her.

Grim pays little mind to her roiling thoughts, jumping up and down on the bed. “Henchman! Look! It’s so bouncy!” He cackles as he sends feathers flying everywhere.

Slavery is not something she’s thought too deeply about during her time at Chaldea, but it’s not something she’s completely unaware of either.

The Roman Empire was built on the backs of slaves, after all. Boudica had gone into an impassioned rant about it when the embodiment of Rome had been summoned. Not to mention how slavery had only been abolished less than two hundred years ago in the modern world.

Servitude bears less connotations, but it is rare, too, for a servant to be able to rise above their station.

Kalim hadn’t seemed the type to force his servants to stay beneath him, but the same cannot be said of his family.

A wealthy merchant family, paired with connections to the royal family.

…Yuu shakes her head and gets ready for bed.

The next day is filled with running under the hot sun while Kalim rides on an elephant.

Something about the way he speaks sounds off, like he had woken up in a bad mood and decided to take it out on everyone.

“Has Kalim always been like this?” Yuu asks a Scarabia student.

He shakes his head. “Nah. Housewarden Kalim has been having really bad mood swings lately. Vice-Housewarden’s been trying to get him to back off of us, but… It’s a little strange. He’s usually really nice, but maybe it’s all the stress. You know how it is with powerful people.”

A few words exchanged with other Scarabia students give her similar results.

Grim gets sick of walking and hops onto Yuu. His dark fur traps heat and gets very hot in the sun. Yuu winces a little when she touches his fur.

…Yuu jogs up to the palanquin. “Kalim!” She shouts, attempting to get Grim under some shade.

Kalim’s rebuffal comes as a complete surprise. Yuu had thought him careless, but hadn’t pegged him as cruel.

With little other choice, Yuu turns to the only other person with enough authority to override Kalim. Jamil’s expression is soft and pitying. He says all the right words to convince Kalim and get Grim under some much-needed shade. To comfort Yuu and Grim.

Something about this feels off.

“I don’t wanna stay here anymore henchman.” Grim tells her the moment he recovers enough to move around again.

Yuu’s worries about the situation in Scarabia is overridden by her worry of him. “Not even for the food?”

Grim’s ears flatten against his skull. He hisses.

Yuu gets the point. “I’ll talk to Kalim about it.”

Kalim’s attitude is a total 180 from what it’d been in the morning.

“Aww, you guys are leaving already?” Kalim asks like Grim hadn’t almost gotten heatstroke a few hours ago.

Yuu stares at him. Jamil is nowhere to be seen, presumably working in the kitchens. The other Scarabia students around make faces, but act like this is completely normal.

Yuu steps closer to Kalim and presses the back of her hand to his forehead.

No fever. She then takes him by the shoulders and squints in his face.

Kalim just laughs and accepts whatever she’s trying to do, which. Yuu has no excuse or even any idea for what she’s doing. So. That’s good.

“Henchman? What’re you doing?” Grim pats the back of her head with a paw from his spot on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Yuu demands, shaking Kalim. “Do you even remember what happened in the morning?”

“Haha, you don’t have to worry, Yuu! We marched all the way to the oasis! Now that I think about it, maybe I was a bit harsh? I know! We should let everyone return home early and rest!”

According to one Scarabia student, Kalim had been saying the same thing over and over, only to change his mind the next morning.

“Kalim, did you hit your head?” Yuu asks very calmly.

Kalim gives her a startled smile. “Huh? No? Why’re you asking, Yuu?”

Yuu nods to herself. She picks Kalim up in a bridal carry. He yelps, then laughs.

“I’m taking your housewarden to the infirmary!” She calls out to the startled students around her.

She is stopped by Jamil at the door. “Yuu! What are you doing!” He snaps through panting breaths, looking like he had sprinted all the way here from the kitchens.

No ‘Vice-Housewarden Yuu’ huh?

“You don’t have to worry Jamil!” Kalim says cheerfully. “Yuu’s just taking me to the infirmary for uh… Why are we going there again?”

…And here Yuu thought she was good at going along with the flow. Kalim was on another level entirely.

“To check your health.” Yuu says with a cheer that matches his. Kalim’s grin widens even more.

“You heard her, Jamil! I’ll be fine!”

“Kalim. It’s Winter Break. The nurse isn’t in!” Jamil snaps.

Yuu blinks. She turns her head to exchange a look with Grim.

Grim spits out a fireball at Jamil. Yuu darts past him and books it.

Chapter Text

“GET BACK HERE!”

Yuu runs.

Kalim’s arms inevitably find their way around her neck as she dashes through the hallways. She turns around a corner, spots a half-open door, recalls that it leads to another hallway and nudges it open with a foot and ducks inside.

Yuu doesn’t stop, running to yet another open door and rushing in. This one leads to an unused guest room.

Kalim opens his mouth. Grim scurries up from her shoulder to Kalim’s chest and presses a paw against the boy’s mouth, stopping him from saying anything.

Footsteps pass by them. “Where’d they go?” Soft muttering. Yuu hunkers down and waits for them to go.

Then, “Achoo!” Kalim sneezes, the fur on Grim’s paw tickling his nose.

“That was Housewarden Kalim!”

“Haha, sorry Yuu. I gave our hiding spot away.” Kalim says.

Yuu looks around. She jumps onto the bed, then leaps onto the edges of the doorframe, pressing herself flat against the wall above the door — thank you ninja training!

The door opens. “Where’d they go?” Yuu leaps down, landing on the unfortunate student. “Gah!”

“Sorry!” She calls out as she runs away.

“AFTER THEM!”

Yuu turns into another corner, sliding underneath a long drapery. Footsteps rush past her. She counts for a few seconds, then runs out, back where she had come from.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THEY’RE OVER THERE!”

“This is fun!” Kalim laughs. “Hey Yuu, you’re not getting tired are you?”

“I’m fine!” Yuu returns, an almost maniacal smile tugging on her own lips. Kalim’s right, this is fun! Yuu had almost forgotten how exciting it felt to have the rush of adrenaline pounding through her veins without any associated danger.

She adjusts her hold on Kalim and slides past two groups of students. They slam into each other and fall down like dominoes.

Yuu darts into another corner. “Oh! Yuu! Over there!” Kalim points at a door.

Yuu yanks the handle open and finds herself face-to-face with—

“Treasure!” Grim yowls, delighted.

“Magic carpet!” Kalim calls out. An elaborately weaved rug yanks itself out from a corner and swirls around them.

Yuu wonders if this is her cue to set Kalim down, but his arms remain wrapped around her neck.

“C’mon Yuu! Let’s go for a ride!” The carpet lays itself flat and hovers before them. Yuu shrugs and steps on.

It’s a little awkward shuffling into a seating position with Kalim still hugging her.

But hey, if he doesn’t mind, she’s not going to say anything either.

The door slams open.

“Kalim! Get back here right now!” Jamil screams.

“Bye Jamil!” Yuu beams at him.

“Bye Jamil!” Kalim echoes and waves.

“Why are you helping her kidnap you!?” Are Jamil’s last words as the magic carpet bursts through the windows.

“Jamil looked really angry.” Kalim says, looking a little uneasy now that the thrill of the chase had faded. “You don’t think he’s upset, do you?”

The magic carpet they are on flies smoothly from Scarabia to the oasis they had been marching to just this morning.

“Oh no, he definitely is.” Yuu tells him.

Kalim’s expression immediately falls. “We should go back.” He finally lets go of Yuu.

Too bad Yuu hasn’t let go of him yet.

The magic carpet changes direction regardless.

“Kalim, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“You said your household employs servants. Can you tell me more about that?”

Kalim’s knowledge is sparse, but what he knows as part of his culture is this:

There is a hierarchy amongst people within the Scalding Sands.

The ones at the top are the royal family.

The Asims may be merchants, but the sheer scale of their wealth and their close relation to the royal family gives them a certain prestige.

And those who work for them as servants get to experience some of that prestige and wealth as well.

“But they’re still of a lower rank than you?” Yuu asks.

Kalim’s smile falls off his face entirely. He is oddly silent for a moment before he says, “Yeah. Some of my cousins from the branch houses don’t like how close I am to Jamil. They call him— names. I don’t like it when they do that. Jamil’s my best friend.”

“And you let them do it?” Yuu asks.

Kalim shakes his head. “Usually they don’t do that again after I tell them that’s not right.” Yuu heavily suspects that the disapproval of the Asim heir is worth far more than Kalim is aware of.

Yuu tilts her head back and looks at the sky. It’s starting to get dark.

“If someone doesn’t want to be a servant anymore, what happens?”

“They can just change jobs. I don’t really know a lot of people who do that though.”

Because everything is apparently provided for by the Asims.

Fine food and clothes, while a far cry from the ones given to the Asims, are given to servants – because no one in the estate should be dressed poorly or look like starving street rats. But other things, such as specialised tutors or schooling fees are sponsored for by the Asims too. Like a modern-day scholarship of sorts — a company pays for your schooling, gives you an allowance, and you spend the next ten years working for them to pay them back; or you pay back the frankly ludicrous amount owed.

“That’s… generous.” Is all Yuu can say.

“Yeah! My dad was one of the first to make use of this system!” Kalim says. “Oh hey! There’s Jamil!”

The magic carpet starts to lower them to the ground, where Jamil glares at them, with almost the entire dorm at his back. “Kalim. Don’t do that to me again.” Jamil snarls and storms over.

“Hey Jamil! We’re back—” “See ya!” Yuu beams and runs to the magic mirror a few feet away.

“Wha-? Uh, Yuu? Why are we-!?” Kalim asks as Yuu leaps into the mirror.

Yuu dashes through the hallways of the campus, fully aware of the crowd chasing after her.

“KALIM!” “WAIT!” “Not again…!” “Oh come on! Aren’t Ignihydes the indoor ones?”

“Mya-ha-ha! Look at their faces, henchman!”

She slides to a stop when she finds someone blocking her path.

“Ehh? Shrimpy’s here. Sea Otter and the Baby Seal too.” Floyd looms over them.

Yuu wonders if it’d be worth it to sacrifice him to the mob.

“Yuu? Can you let me down?” Kalim’s unease is growing more visible by the second.

Yuu decides that sacrifice is necessary.

She dodges past Floyd and turns into the stairwell.

“Gah! It’s Leech!” “Ack!” “Wait, don’t come any closer-!”

“Aww, are we playing, Shrimpy?”

“Yuu. I want to be let down.” Kalim’s tone takes on a more panicked edge.

“Kalim. Tell me something. The mood swings you’ve been having. They’re not actually mood swings, are they?” Yuu asks.

Kalim falls silent. “I… I’ve been having blanks in my memory but… I’ve just been tired!”

“Really?” Yuu murmurs. “Are you sure?”

“…Yes. I’m sure.” Kalim’s hesitation fades away for certainty.

“I had a blank in my memory lately.” Yuu says. “When you invited me here, Vice-Housewarden Viper told me not to come. I nearly didn’t, and I couldn’t remember why.”

Kalim falls silent. Conflict stirs in his eyes.

“You know something.” Yuu notes.

“I don’t.” Kalim says firmly.

“You do.”

“I don’t.”

“…”

“…”

“There you are, Yuu!” Yuu immediately runs to another stairwell to avoid Azul.

“Did you know that Idia has cameras everywhere?” Yuu asks. “Even when he’s on winter break, he still has access to the feeds.”

“…I don’t know anything.”

Kalim is nothing if not loyal and Yuu admires him for it.

Unfortunately, loyalty that leads to someone overlooking the obvious is nothing short of tragic.

“Snake Whisper.” Yuu says and Kalim flinches.

She swerves into another corridor when she spots another figure. “Oh? Is that our missing cook, I wonder?” Jade muses out loud.

Yuu’s lips press together and she forces herself to relax and keep running despite her own feelings. Everything else can be processed but shoved aside for the moment.

“It’s some form of mind control, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Jamil has been using it on you.”

“Yuu. I said that I don’t know anything.” Kalim’s expression is almost a glare. It looks more like a child holding back tears.

“Why are you letting him?”

Kalim bites his lip.

Yuu turns into an empty classroom and slams the door shut. She finally lets Kalim down. Her arms are sore. She ignores the feeling to drag a chair in front of Kalim to sit.

Kalim paces around a bit, nervous energy vibrating in place. “Jamil wouldn’t…”

“Kalim!” “Jamil wouldn’t do that to me!” Kalim shouts right as Jamil slams the door open.

Kalim spins around, the clouds surrounding his downcast expression flying away. “Jamil! You’re here!”

“Vice-Housewarden Yuu, you better have a good explanation for all of this.” Jamil hisses, looking completely frazzled. And is also followed by three Octavinelle students.

Jade gives Yuu a close-lipped smile as he sidles up to her. “Miss Yuu, I have been informed that I ought to… ah, discuss certain things with you?” He murmurs. Yuu cannot focus on this conversation right now. She waves him off.

“See, Yuu? I told you Jamil wouldn’t do anything to hurt me! Right, Jamil?” The pleading look that Kalim shoots Jamil despite his sunny smile sends spikes hurtling into Yuu’s heart.

“Shock the Heart.”

“No, you idiot! I’m trying to get you expelled and become housewarden myself!” Jamil, who happens to be facing Jade, blurts out.

The room falls silent.

Yuu slowly turns to stare at a completely unapologetic Jade.

“…Haha, that’s a funny joke, right Jamil? You’re… you wouldn’t do that to me, right? B-Because we’re best friends!” Kalim’s desperation hurts.

Yuu doesn’t even know why she’s taking this so personally.

Azul’s eyes flick between Kalim and Jamil. He opens his mouth. Yuu slides a finger across her throat and he shuts it.

“Kalim. You know what? I’ve been chasing you across the entire dorm and half the school for the whole day. I’m done.”

Grim pats the back of her head with a paw. “Henchman? I have a bad feeling.” She has a bad feeling too, Grim.

“You’ve always been this way. Ignorant, gullible, foolish. And I hated it! That innocent smile of yours disgusts me!”

Ouch, way to kick a puppy, Jamil.

“You have no idea how long I’ve spent wishing that you’d just go away! I’ve had enough! I don’t care anymore!”

Yuu feels a sudden dread sink in her guts as she spots the first of many Scarabia students gather outside the classroom.

“Snake Whisper!”

Chapter Text

Yuu’s mind goes blank.

“Yeah, nope.” She can hear Floyd say. It feels distant, a film covering her ears.

A loud smack. “…Why, Floyd, it’s almost as if you were trying to kill me.”

“Snapped you outta it, didn’t I, Jade?”

Yuu can’t move. She has to—

Accomplice.

She has to—

The song. It’s in her ears. Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

Accomplice.

“You’re strong, right, Yuu? Get rid of those annoying three.”

“Yes Master.” Her mouth moves.

“Henchman! What’re you doing!? You’re my henchman! Not his!” Grim’s yowl is easy to ignore, as are the claws that scour her skin.

Yuu can move now. Her hand sparks with lightning.

A whisper in her ears, hissing like a snake. Stheno’s croon, the most beautiful of them all. She wants to listen. It is a relief from having to think, having to live.

You will have your regrets.

The punch aimed at Jade is dodged and goes through the wall.

“Jamil! What are you doing!?”

“Shut up, Kalim! Hold him down!”

Hands wrap around Yuu’s torso and squeeze. “C’mon shrimpy, you’re no fun like this.”

Yuu’s kick breaks something. Floyd goes down.

Accomplice. Wake up.

Wake up, F_______ ____uka.

Oh, deary me! What trouble you’ve found yourself in! Another voice, high and cherubic calls out.

“Yuu! Stop! Snap out of it! Jamil! Please! Stop this! This isn’t you!”

“You don’t know anything about me, Kalim!”

Hands pin her down. Ice crawls up her legs. It’s cold. It’s nothing. The ice cracks.

“Jade! Block the doors!”

The windows shatter.

“A-Azul! The windows! They’re coming through! Hey! Get… get off me! Jamil! Help me!”

“I said… SHUT UP! I’m going to be free of you if it’s the last thing I do!”

Her hands move to grab Kalim. Fire dances at her fingers. Instinct has her jerk back. Her fingers curl into a fist.

Lightning sparks. Her overused magic circuits burn.

The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

The fangs in her mind are yanked away.

Yuu jolts back to awareness. She jerks her fist, once aimed at Azul, and redirects it to one of the students.

They are sent flying back.

“Henchman! You’re back!” Grim wails and hugs the back of her head. Yuu absently scratches him behind the ears.

“Shrimpy! You broke my leg!” Floyd whines, leaning heavily on a table.

“Anything done under the influence of mind control cannot be judged in court.” Yuu instinctively retorts, then adds, “sorry.”

“No! How did you break out of my spell!?” She glances at an Overblotted Jamil and then at the horde of zombies mind-controlled students outside, battering down the doors and clambering through the broken windows.

…this looks pretty bad.

A few students claw at Kalim’s arms, fended off by blasts of Azul’s magic.

Jade picks up one student and tosses them back out the window.

“Would be nice if we can wash them out.” Yuu mutters, Nursery Rhyme’s sing-song voice still echoing in her mind.

“I can do that!” Kalim says from behind Azul, bringing out his magic pen. The brave face he puts on does little to hide the hurt in his eyes.

Clouds start to gather in the low ceiling of the classroom. Rain falls. A few students slip, then are washed away as the water begins to rise and rise and rise, spilling out of the classroom and into the hallway.

 “Jamil. Face me in combat.” Kalim says. “Just you and me.”

That is a phenomenally bad idea.

Jamil holds up a hand. The students retreat outside the classroom. “Fine by me. I’ll finally show the world that you’re beneath me!” His smile is sharp and cruel.

“Yuu. Azul. Jade. Floyd. Please stay out of this.” Kalim’s magic pen elongates into a staff.

“How can I refuse a fellow Housewarden?” Azul asks, giving him a little bow. They retreat to the side of the classroom.

Yuu assesses them both. It is undeniable that Jamil is strong – the Overblot has given a lot more power. But his physical body is also clearly tired, remaining standing by sheer force of spite and will.

“Kalim. The ink pot. Aim for it.” Yuu murmurs before she retreats as well. The only indication that Kalim has heard her is the incline of his head.

“This isn’t going to end well.” Azul says lowly. A golden contract forms in his hands. “Yuu, shall we make a deal?”

“What do you need?” Yuu asks softly. “Henchman! You can’t trust him!” Grim yowls. Yuu shakes her head and motions for Grim to lower his voice. He does, with great unwillingness.

A blast of magic hits Kalim. The shield he pulls up lasts barely a second before it breaks. Kalim throws himself to the side, scarily close to the glass shards on the ground. He shoots a ray of cosmic magic at Jamil that is carelessly deflected.

“Floyd and Jade will hit Jamil once his guard is down. Give me your resistance to pain. I’ll transfer it to Floyd.”

Yuu thinks it over. Her mana is low, she’s barely in a state to fight. As a merman, Floyd is much stronger than her.

“Take my blessings too.” She tells Azul. “They’ll help.”

“Blessings?” Azul asks, even as he scribbles that down.

A crash as Kalim is slammed against a table. He scrambles back to his feet, water magic gushing towards Jamil.

“Give me everything back after the fight is over.” Azul notes that down too.

Flora magic devours the water and eats at Kalim before he manages to shake it off.

This contract is full of loopholes, enough for even Grim to notice. He gives Yuu a look of outrage. “Henchman!”

Yuu decides to take a leap of faith regardless. “I’m placing my life in your hands, Azul.” She whispers and signs the contract.

“You’ll take care of me right, Grim?” Yuu pats Grim’s head. Her hand is batted away. “Of course I will!”

The magic takes effect and—pain.

Curse you. Curse you. CURSE YOU!

It hurts.

YOU KILLED ME! WHY WERE WE NOT ALLOWED TO LIVE?

Claws reach for her soul. A blue flame surrounds her, incinerating everything that comes close.

WHY DO YOU GET TO BE THE ONE THAT SURVIVES!?

It hurts it hurts it hurts. She can’t bear the weight of seven worlds.

Close your eyes. Let me handle this.

Her eyes close and peaceful, painless darkness welcomes her.

Something emerges from the darkness.

Nursery Rhyme stands before her, holding a candlestick.

There is a cave, blocked by rocks. When the candle’s light touches it, the rocks vanish, one by one.

They step into a hallway, beautiful and elegant. It is dark. Two young boys run along it.

“Hey, Jamil! Let's play! I'm gonna beat you!” A voice that is undeniably Kalim’s rings out.

“Again? I’m just going to win anyway!” Jamil grumbles.

A shadowy figure appears and cuffs one of the boys upside the head. “Jamil! Don't you take that tone with Master Kalim!”

Another figure appears and both shadows kneel before the other boy, thanking him for his generosity.

The figures fade along with the flickering candlelight, leaving the two boys standing there. One of them runs off, along the hallway while the other walks.

“I have to let Kalim win. Just because his parents are more important than mine.”

The boy that represents Kalim keeps running, further ahead.

“I have to put him first, no matter what.” Jamil’s walk slows to a halt.

The other boy runs out of sight, but his voice rings out clearly all the same. “You’re my best friend, Jamil!”

“No.”

“We’ll always be together!”

“Stop.”

“I know you’d never betray me!”

“Just… stop! Shut up! I… I’m sick of cleaning up after you, Kalim! Just let me live my life without you!”

Jamil collapses to the ground, crying.

Nursery Rhyme hands her the candlestick. Ritsuka takes it and slowly approaches him. She kneels before him.

“Have you told Kalim this?” Ritsuka murmurs, holding out a hand to him. Jamil does not take it.

“How can I?” Jamil asks. A bitter smile forms on his lips. “A word slipped to the wrong person and my family will get in trouble.”

Ritsuka silently passes the candlestick to him.

This one, Jamil takes. The candle fire flickers. He stares at the wick until the fire burns itself out.

Yuu wakes to hands on her shoulders shaking her awake.

“Henchman!” Grim wails, hugging her face. His fur is always so soft and nice. Yuu pats him until he finally remembers that hugs are too mushy for him and releases her.

“You’re alive.” Azul breathes, looking immensely relieved.

“Is it over?” Yuu pushes herself up.

“Yes. Floyd and Jade are moving everyone to the infirmary.”

Yuu blinks slowly. “But there’s no nurse?”

Azul’s smile is incredibly smug. “They’ll owe me for my services, of course.”

Yuu stares at him. She shakes her head and clambers to her feet. Jamil sits on the floor, muttering something angrily to Kalim.

“…as equals.” She can hear Kalim say as she draws nearer.

“Not on your fucking life!” Jamil snaps back. “Why would I want to be your friend!? There’s nothing in it for me! I want nothing to do with you!”

…Well. At least he’s no longer repressing everything.

“Yeesh.” Grim mutters, ears flicking.

Kalim draws back, looking hurt. “But Jamil…”

Jamil pushes himself to his feet and storms off. Kalim follows at his heels like a kicked puppy.

Yuu watches them go, wondering if she should go after them.

“Ah. A shame. I had hoped to speak to Jamil. I quite liked his new authentic personality.” Azul sighs.

“Man, this place is a wreck.” Grim says.

Yuu and Azul look at each other, then stare at the remains of the classroom. It drips with water, holes smashed into the walls and tiles and the windows shattered. A few tables and chairs stand unaffected, the rest toppled over or broken.

The hallway outside doesn’t fare much better.

Azul places a hand on Yuu’s shoulder. “Yuu. I am so glad I fired you.” He says fervently.

“Excuse me?” Yuu gapes at him.

Azul gives her a shake of the head and ambles off, presumably towards the infirmary.

There will be a party at Scarabia.

Yuu stares at Kalim. “Is… that really wise?” She asks.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Kalim tilts his head.

“Half your dorm is injured. Who’s cooking?”

“Jamil!”

“…Seriously?” Grim asks flatly. “I don’t trust that snake after what he did to my Henchman!”

“Who’s helping him?” Yuu asks, almost afraid of the answer.

“He’s doing it himself!” Kalim says with a bright smile.

“You’re not helping him?”

Kalim immediately wilts. “I wanted to, but Jamil kicked me out.”

A distant part of Yuu thinks that the both of them desperately need couple therapy.

Yuu sighs. “I’ll go help. Kalim, can you look after Grim?” She plucks Grim off his perch on her shoulder.

“Sure!” Kalim beams, taking Grim in his arms. Grim immediately hisses and claws at him, leaping down to stand on his own two feet.

“So—” “No.”

“Can we-?” “I’m not talking to you.”

“Yes, but—” “Shut. It.”

Every attempt Yuu makes at talking to Jamil is rebuffed.

They chop the vegetables in silence.

The party is an easy way to ease tensions after Jamil mind-controlled the whole dorm. It is hard to disregard the person that makes your food, after all.

Yuu doesn’t know Jamil well, only that he seems the quick-witted and cunning type. If he doesn’t want her help, she won’t force it on him.

(She knows all too well the outcome of trying to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.)

Jade sidles up to her during the party. “Miss Yuu, I believe we have a long-overdue conversation.”

Yuu tears her eyes away from where Grim is stuffing his face – how can someone with such a tiny body eat so much? “Hmm?”

“Regarding the conversation we had a few days ago… I believe you mentioned something about ‘saving the world’?” Jade probes.

Yuu stares at her plate of food. She defaults to Idia’s usual response. “I don’t think we have a high enough social link to talk about this.”

“Are you sure? If you are in need of protection, my family will be able to provide it. For a price.”

A bark of laughter escapes Yuu, startling even herself. “I’m good, thanks.”

Days after the Scarabia party, Yuu hears a knock on Ramshackle’s door.

She opens it and is met with Kalim.

“Hey Yuu! Can we talk for a second?” His voice is upbeat and there is a smile on his face. But the look in his eyes is another matter.

Yuu invites him in. Kalim sits on a couch and Yuu plops down next to him.

“Haha, I didn’t really think about what to say, but—”

“Do you want a hug?” Yuu asks before Kalim can finish.

He gives her a wide-eyed look, then nods, expression beginning to crumble.

Yuu draws him into a hug. “It sucks, doesn’t it?” She murmurs, stroking his back as he begins to sob.

“Yeah… I really… really trusted Jamil.” Kalim hiccups.

Chapter Text

With the boot camp ended, the whole of Scarabia has returned home.

Kalim’s smile is back in full force. “Don’t worry! I’ll take care of the repairs!”

Yuu watches him and Jamil go and wonders if they’ll really be alright. Kalim acts like everything’s fine, but there is a visible distance between him and Jamil.

“I don’t get them.” Grim says.

“Mutual understanding isn’t always necessary.” Yuu murmurs, petting his head. “Only acceptance is.”

“I don’t get you either.” Grim tells her with a huff.

 

Idia: srsly? 4th ob in less than a year?

Yuu: is that normal?

Idia: WTF NO!!!

 

Yuu calls Idia. The phone rings once, twice, thrice, then Idia finally picks up.

“You can’t just call people like that! I wasn’t ready!” Idia hisses at her.

“Idia, am I cursed?” Yuu asks him.

“Like I know?” Idia scoffs. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were.”

“Ortho said that overblots are supposed to be really rare, right?” Yuu clicks on Idia’s computer. He had given her permission to access the feeds (and made her swear on everything she held dear that she would not touch any other files).

“They’re even rarer than three SSRs showing up on a ten pull. That’s why this is so weird.” Idia grumbles.

Yuu watches the feeds again, staring at the moment of Jamil’s overblot. She replays it. Again. And again.

“Is this my fault?” She asks.

She hears Idia sigh. It is loud and dramatic. The sort of thing Yuu would expect to hear from Ace. “Okay. Quick rundown. An Overblot happens when negative emotions gather for too long and you get pushed over the edge with some big show of magic. Think spamming an ult without giving your mana time to regen.”

“Uh huh.”

“Seriously, Yuu. I know you live in some backwards corner of the world infested with monsters but did you really not know this?”

“Is this a bad time to say that I’m actually from another dimension?”

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Idia snorts. “It’s usually the mage’s fault for not keeping track of their blot. Sometimes the fault of the people around them too for pushing them to that point. It’s a shared responsibility.” The way he explains is more like a recital, like someone had repeated it enough times for him to memorise the explanation.

“So it’s only partially my fault.” Yuu nods.

“It’s not your fault at all you noob. But if you wanna go with that then go off.”

Yuu closes the video feed and leans back in Idia’s chair. “Thanks Idia.”

A long pause.

“So uh, can I hang up now?” Idia asks.

Yuu’s phone beeps. “One second.”

She puts Idia on hold and answers the call.

“Yuu. I need yer help. Come to Harveston.” Epel says. His background is loud and filled with chatter.

“Did something happen?” Yuu asks.

“I need people for a sled race in two days.” Epel says. His voice grows muffled. “Yeah! I’m callin’ my friends, meemaw! Gimme a second!” He coughs and his voice grows clearer. “I need four people to make a team. I’m countin’ on ya here, Yuu.”

Four people, huh? “Alright, I got it.” Yuu says.

“Thanks Yuu!”

The phone beeps and Yuu finds herself back in conversation with Idia.

“Sorry about that, Epel called. He wanted me to join him in Harveston for a sled race.”

“…did you say Harveston?” Idia asks. There in an inhale of breath like he has just been informed of a new season of his favourite show.

“Yeah, he told me he needed four people.”

“Oh… Well. I hear that Harveston is really nice this time of the year, and you’ll get to see Mount Moln too. OMG, I’m jealous. You’re really lucky, Yuu.” Yuu nods slowly despite knowing that Idia can’t see her. “Meanwhile I’m stuck at home, with no plans at all. And no one invited me anywhere either. Must be nice to be you, Yuu.” Someone was sure laying it on thick.

“Wanna come with?” Yuu asks.

“YES!” Idia shouts. He clears his throat. “Ahem. I mean, sure, since you’re begging me and all.”

“Right. I’ll tell Epel then.”

A problem makes itself known. The Dark Mirror is silent. Yuu stands before it, staring at her own reflection.

“Mirror mirror on the wall?” She tries.

No reaction.

That’s weird, Scarabia had used it just fine a few days ago.

“I want apples.” Grim grumbles, smacking the surface of the mirror with a paw. It does nothing but leave the faint imprint of a cute little paw pad.

“Shrimpy! There you are!” Yuu carefully does not flinch when hands grab her by the waist and swing her around.

“Hey Floyd.” Yuu pats his arm.

“Floyd, put Yuu down.” Azul’s brow twitches.

“Shrimpy, let’s do that exchange again! It was reallly cool!” Floyd’s grin is all teeth.

“Can’t. I promised to limit my near-death events to life-threatening situations.” Yuu says.

“Ugh, you’re no fun, shrimpy.” Floyd drops her.

“What brings you here today, Miss Yuu?” Jade asks.

“I told Epel I’d join him for some event in Harveston, but the mirror isn’t working.”

Jade suddenly appears in her face. “Harveston? You don’t mean the village near Mount Moln, do you?” His eyes gleam.

“You know of it?”

Jade begins to wax poetic about the mountain. Yuu nods in all the right places.

“Shrimpy, I wanna go too!” Floyd says. “It beats being stuck here all day!”

“The mirror isn’t working.” Yuu points out.

“You didn’t know? During winter break, the mirror stops functioning. Kalim, or rather, Jamil must have asked the headmage for special permission for Scarabia.” Azul says.

“So we’re stuck here?”

Azul’s smile is all teeth. “Not quite. A ferry comes by once every three days. A shame it must have departed by now.”

“How lucky you are then, that we happen to be merfolk very good at swimming.” Jade adds.

“I don’t wanna go anymore Henchman.” Grim tells Yuu.

Yuu had told Epel that he could count on her, and she brought Idia into this too.

“Let me ask Epel.” She sighs.

“…Ya know my house ain’t big enough fer so many people, right?” Epel asks her once she’s done explaining.

“They’re my only way out of here. Idia says his mum can pick us up at the train station, but he can’t call on a ferry on demand.”

Epel is silent for a moment. “Deuce and Sebek are here. I’ll see if I can squeeze in more people.” He sighs.

“I’m really sorry about this Epel.” Yuu says apologetically. She is after all, being very rude here.

“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it. I figured sumthin’ like this would happen.” Epel says. “There’s always someone who can sleep on the floor.”

He hangs up. Yuu gives Idia a call, then gives the Octatrio a thumbs up.

“So who am I riding?”

Floyd still walks with a slight limp. Yuu tries not to feel too guilty about it – it’ll take him a while to return back to normal even with healing potions and spells. She lets him lean on her all he likes, much to Grim’s disgruntlement.

“Come on Grim, be nice. He let us hitch a ride.” Yuu says.

Grim hisses and scampers to Yuu’s other shoulder.

Ortho stands beside a van in the parking lot next to the train station. He waves the moment Yuu glances in his direction.

“As expected of the Shroud family. Even the terrestrial vehicles they use are the latest technology.” Azul mutters.

Was Idia from some kind of rich family? Yuu thought of all their interactions and decided that she wasn’t surprised.

“You’re here, Yuu!” Ortho says brightly. “We got worried when we realized you weren’t on the ferry!”

Yuu winces and decides not to tell them that she had thought she would be going through the Dark Mirror.

They enter the van. Someone wearing a pink helmet sits at the steering wheel, Idia stubbornly slouching beside her in the shotgun seat.

“Ughhh.” Idia shrinks back on himself when he notices who’s accompanying her. “Why’re you bringing those mid game bosses with you?”

“It just sorta happened.” Yuu shrugs. “It’s nice to see you again Idia. Nice to meet you, Mrs…? Shroud. I’m Yuu.”

“It’s nice to meet you! Thank you for inviting Idy along! He’s usually such a shy boy.” What has to be Idia’s mother laughs.

“Thanks for driving us! Idia’s a great friend!” Yuu beams.

“Idy talks about you a lot, Yuu.”

“You do?” Yuu leans forward to look at Idia.

Idia, with great determination, pulls out his tablet and logs into a game. “Yeah. Like how you’re a total normie.”

“I saw the data Ortie has on you! You’re such an interesting case study, Yuu! It’s too bad Idia won’t let me experi—ahem, I mean, he thinks of you as a great friend!”

Was she about to say ‘experiment’ just now? Yuu glances at Azul. He looks just as flabbergasted as her. He clears his throat.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Shroud. I’m Azul Ashengrotto, Idia’s clubmate.” “And I am Jade Leech. This is my brother, Floyd Leech.”

“It’s nice to meet you boys too! I’m so happy Idy has friends!”

Idia pointedly turns up the music on his game.

“Mrs Shroud, how are we getting to Harveston?” Yuu asks.

“Oh, I’ll be driving you over to a transportation hub. We got permission to use a commercial teleporter to Shaftlands, and train tickets for a ride to Harveston. You should reach by tomorrow morning.” Mrs Shroud’s voice is cheery.

She is not what Yuu had expected of Idia’s mother.

Between her and Ortho, they manage to pass the time with chatter. Although Yuu has a feeling that she is being interrogated whenever Mrs Shroud speaks.

She is asked things about her family. “Do you come from a line of mages?” “Nope. As far as I know, I’m the first in my family.”

Her homeland. “Are there a lot of monsters where you come from?” “Not really.”

Her hobbies. “Do you have an interest in research?” “I like watching anime.”

Her religion. “Do you worship any gods, Yuu?” “…that’s a very complicated subject. I pray to whatever god that I happen to think of at the moment.”

And even something odd. “Have you ever had a medical examination? We’d be happy to give you a detailed check-up.” “Seriously, mum?” Idia groans and saves Yuu from having to answer. “I had to try, Idy!”

There is no help from any of the mermen. They watch her suffer with sharp grins.

A thought occurs to Yuu. “By the way, Mrs Shroud. Ortho said that your family studies—ack!” Yuu catches the tablet that Idia chucks at her head.

She pouts a little but takes the unspoken cue to change topics. “I didn’t know you were interested in Harveston, Idia.”

“Are you kidding me!? That’s the setting of Sled Over Heels!” Idia turns his head over to look at her and squeaks when he realizes that everyone else is looking at him too.

Yuu kindly passes him his tablet back.

Idia opens up the voice to text function and begins to ramble on about the cartoon.

Mrs Shroud waves them off at the transportation hub.

Azul looks a little put out. He had attempted to pay Mrs Shroud back for the transportation fees but she had laughed them off, saying something about “please keep being Idy’s friends!”

No doubt the perceived debt was something that hung over him.

“Your mum’s cute.” Yuu says.

“Not. Another. Word.” Idia hisses under his breath.

The first thing that comes to mind when they walk closer is that there are a lot of people. Trucks towing goods pull wagons over to a raised platform. A flash and the wagons disappear. On the other side, there are people queuing up in line to pass through gates.

“Is that teleportation?” Yuu asks, staring as people vanish after a few seconds of stepping on the raised dais.

“Yeah.” Idia grunts and passes her something. Yuu looks down at the train ticket and a strange metal coin.

“What’s this?” Yuu holds up the coin.

“It’s a token to use the teleporter, Yuu. One side of the token represents the Kingdom of Dawning, where we currently are. The other side represents Shaftlands, our destination. Someone will check the coin before and after we use the teleporter, so don’t lose it.” Ortho informs her.

Yuu turns the token over in her hands, stroking the engravings on both sides.

“Where’s my token!?” Grim demands.

“As you are officially registered as Yuu’s familiar, you don’t require one, Grim.” Ortho tells him.

Grim puffs up his fur. Before he can cause a commotion, Yuu plucks him off her shoulder and rocks him in her arms. “Stop that, Henchman!” He yowls, batting at her with his paws. No claws are out though, so Yuu takes that as a win.

Yuu sits in the train cabin, staring out the window, a napping Grim in her lap.

Floyd and Jade had left to walk around the train with Ortho, leaving her, Azul and Idia sitting inside.

Yuu fidgets in place, then gives up.

“Help me look after Grim?” She asks Idia softly. There is an immediate agreement as Idia pauses his game to accept Grim on his lap. He strokes Grim’s paw then squeezes his paw pad, dissolving into coos of ‘aww, such a cute kitty’.

“Going somewhere, Yuu?”

“I’m going for a quick walk.” Yuu stretches, then opens the cabin door.

The train isn’t all that different from the trains in Japan.

The scenery outside is something though. Yuu watches as the mountain range grows closer.

She takes out her phone and snaps a picture.

It’s beautiful. It’s real, unlike the fantastical sights she has seen before. But it’s beautiful all the same.

“Pretty sight, isn’t it?” A woman says.

“It is.” Yuu nods.

“First time in Shaftlands, girl?” The woman asks.

Yuu makes a sound of assent. “A friend invited me to Harveston.”

“Ah Harveston. Next to Mount Moln? It’s a beautiful place. I hope your friend has prepared lodging for you. At this time of the year, it’s bound to be full of tourists.”

“At worst I can sleep on the floor.” Yuu says with a grin.

The woman tsks. “No proper gentleman should let a lady sleep on the floor. Remind those boys you’re with of that.” She sniffs.

“I’m used to roughing it out.” Yuu says. She thinks of the likes of Azul or Idia on the floor and the resulting complaints and winces.

“Hmph.” The woman shakes her head. She looks out the window, at the mountains. “Girl, what do you know about the history of Shaftlands?”

“Not much.” Yuu admits. All she knows is what is taught in class.

“Shaftlands is a place of beauty. As the exterior is beautiful, so is what is concealed within. The mountain range is a wondrous sights, and within, you have extensive mines of precious metals and gemstones. Forests that hold grand bounties. Little villages with their own unique, beautiful cultures.” The woman murmurs.

The train grinds to a stop.

“Next stop, Fleur City…” The announcement rings out.

“Ah. That’s my stop. Have fun on your trip, girl.”

“Yes! Have a nice day, Miss…?”

The woman smiles, wrinkles crinkling at her eyes and mouth. “I’m far too old to be a miss. And… you may call me Rose.”

“It was nice talking to you, Madam Rose!”

Chapter Text

The world is ending.

The world is ending.

Nothing she did had been enough. Everything, all the sacrifices, all her efforts — wasted.

The world is ending.

The world has ended.

She will not be given the mercy of an end.

She will have to keep moving, carrying on the legacy of those who fell before her.

She has to.

Will you allow us to walk with you?

Yes. Of course. As long as you are willing to.

Yuu is shaken awake.

“Henchman! We’re here!” Grim shouts, hopping up and down on her lap.

The train station is old and made of wood. Fire crackles cheerfully in a hearth at the center, providing some much-needed warmth.

“Oh! That snow-capped mountain in the distance…!” Jade’s eyes are almost sparkling as he peers out a window.

“Woah, isn’t that-?” Idia shoves his face to the same window.

“Mount Moln!” Both Idia and Jade chorus as one.

Beside Yuu, Ortho makes a distinctive camera-shutter sound. “Mum asked me to take pictures! And it’s nice to see brother so worked up over something that’s not his games.” He says cheerfully.

Yuu shoots Epel a text.

“Epel says he’ll come pick us up in ten.” Yuu informs the group.

The shock of white that greets Yuu when she opens the door of the train station almost drowns her breath.

The cold wind that slaps her in the face brings her back to her senses.

There is a splash of colour beyond the snow. Trees, dark brown branches sway along with the chilly breeze. The buildings beyond are painted in homely shades of blues and yellows and other warm hues.

Yuu looks down and sees her shadow mimic the action.

“Henchman!” Grim yowls. “Hurry up! I wanna eat some apples!” He leaps through the door and into the snow, then screeches and darts back to hop into Yuu’s arms, shivering. “Cold!”

Yuu steps back into the shelter of the train station.

“Huh? What’re you talking about, baby seal? This isn’t thaaat cold.” Floyd scoffs.

“The bottom of the sea can be much colder than this.” Azul says, looking around with interest.

“Howdy there!” Epel shouts, coming into view. Deuce is with him. Both of them are dressed for the weather and carrying boxes.

It isn’t until they come closer that Yuu realizes the boxes contain winter clothing.

“I didn’t know your sizes, so I grabbed a bit of everythin’.” Epel says.

“Thanks Epel.” Yuu says. She grabs a jumper that looks to be her size and pulls it on. It fits her snugly. She digs through the boxes while the boys try on their clothes and pulls out a tiny woollen coat that looks like it was made for a toddler.

It fits Grim perfectly.

“I do not require additional insulation.” Ortho reports.

Deuce takes Yuu by the elbow and pulls her to a side. “Hey Yuu, why’re those guys here?” He points at the Octavinelle trio.

“They helped me get out of Sage’s Island. I missed the ferry.” Yuu says.

“Oh.” Deuce’s head droops a little. His curled fists loosen. “I thought they were blackmailing you or something.”

Yuu blinks. “Why would they blackmail me?”

Deuce pats her shoulder. “You’re too nice, Yuu.” He tells her. “If any of them pick on you, just tell me. I’ll give ‘em a good—ahem. I mean, I’ll talk to them for you. Like an honour student would!”

The whole party arrives at the assembly hall with various apple products in hand.

“Howdy boys!” An old woman who has definitely aged well greets them. “And girl!” She adds upon noticing Yuu.

“This is Granny Marja!” Epel introduces them. “Meemaw, this ‘ere is Yuu!” He pats Yuu’s back. “And that’s Ortho.” He gestures over at Ortho.

“Thank you for having us!” Yuu says.

“Such a polite one.” Marja laughs and pinches her cheek. “Thank ya all kindly for coming over!”

“Ehh? Guppy, you didn’t introduce us!” Floyd complains.

Epel’s face scrunches up as he eyes Floyd up and down. “I dunno who ya are, doofus. Any of ya. Only other guy I know’s Idia.” He jabs a finger at Idia who squeaks at the attention.

“Ah, where are my manners. I’m Azul, Madam Marja.” Azul plasters on a businessman smile. “And these are my cohorts, Jade and Floyd.”

“I'd like to thank you for your generous invitation to partake in Harveston's festival.” Jade adds.

Grim hops onto the wooden floor. “And I’m the Great Grim!”

“Well there. Nice to meetcha young’uns.” Marja pats Grim’s head. “We’re making the plushies for the sled race. Sebek kindly offered his help!”

Yuu’s eyes land on the stuffed animals.

“Of course! Needlework is an important part of Briar Valley’s culture! As Malleus’ retainer, knowing the basics of sewing is a requirement!” Sebek says proudly.

“Cute!” She squeals, bending down to pick one up. The stitches are slightly messy.

She looks at Sebek. He blushes. “I am better at cutting fabric rather than sewing.” He admits, quieter.

“Now, are y’all competing in the race?” Marja asks. “There’s nine of you so we’ll have enough people for two teams.”

“I won’t be taking part in the race.” Ortho says. “I will assist Madam Marja and cheer all of you on!”

“That makes four per team!” Deuce points out. “I know! Let’s have all four of us first years in a team! Then Housewarden Idia can team up with the Octavinelle guys!”

“No! Way!” Idia shouts. He grabs Yuu by the shoulders. “You can’t leave me alone with all three of them!” He all but begs Yuu.

“…Is that meant to be an insult, Idia?” Jade asks.

“Eek! No!” Idia promptly hides behind Yuu.

“Let’s draw lots.” Yuu suggests.

Team 1: Epel, Idia, Jade, Deuce

Team 2: Yuu, Floyd, Azul, Sebek

“LET’S DO THIS THING!” Epel shouts.

“YEAH!” Deuce shouts back, punching the air.

“This is certainly an interesting lineup.” Jade says, looking entertained while Epel and Deuce hype each other up.

Idia just looks like he is suffering.

“WE WILL NOT LOSE!” Sebek shouts.

“Let’s blast them all out of the water!” Yuu agrees.

“Aww yeah!” Floyd cackles.

Azul stares at all of them, a crack appearing in his smile.

Ortho snaps another picture while Grim chomps on another apple.

They aren’t the only ones practicing.

“Hey there! We’ve met before, haven’t we?” A familiar-looking dwarf asks.

“At… Portfest!” Yuu snaps her fingers. “You guys are from RSA!”

“Yeah! That’s us! We live on the other side of Mount Moln!” The dwarf says.

“Hmph! What are you lot doing all the way out here?” Sebek asks, a crease forming on his brow.

“We’re here for the sledathon!” One of the other dwarves pipes up.

“We heard you get lucky if you win!”

“And we wanna share it with the whole world and make everyone happy!”

“We wanna make Neige happy too!”

“Yeah! I’m sure that if people see him smile, it'll lift their spirits!”

Aww.

Yuu turns around to her group with a smile forming on her lips. Her smile falters when she registers the looks on everyone’s faces.

“Hahaha… What benevolence.” Azul says with a strained smile.

“So cringe.” Idia sneers.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“LIKE WE’RE LOSING TO RSA!”

Wow. That’s some passion.

Yuu cheers. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

“What… kind of… insane stamina… do you guys have…?” Idia pants.

Azul wobbles as he walks, then gives up and sits down, out of breath. Unlike everyone else, most of his exhaustion comes from having to stand up and climb back into the sled every time he faceplants into the snow.

“Come on boys, up and at ‘em!” Yuu claps her hands.

She receives two twin glares for her efforts.

“Hey! Ya can’t rest now! We ain’t halfway ‘cross the track yet! Ya gonna give up and let those teeny-ass RSA kids win against ya!?” Epel shouts.

“I will not bring shame to Malleus by losing!” Sebek shouts.

“Yeah!! We’re gonna kick their asses into the ground!” Deuce shouts.

“Why are the firsties so scary…?” Idia whimpers.

“This is to repay hospitality. Repaying hospitality…” Azul mutters to himself.

“C’mon Azul, get up already! It’d be so lame to lose to a buncha guppies!” Floyd says.

“I certainly don’t intend to lose against them.” Jade adds.

Floyd, Epel and Deuce are the best sledders of them all.

Yuu’s own magic continues to falter too often, her magical circuits too poor to provide anymore to the plushies. It’s a good thing that she and Grim count as one participant – Grim supplants her in controlling the plushies even if his control leaves much to be desired.

There’s nothing quite like a hearty meal after a workout. All the boys gorge themselves like the hungry teenage boys they are.

Well, almost all.

Idia is hiding in the corner, comforted by Ortho.

And Azul is hesitating over the food, his fork hovering almost anxiously over the different plates. Yuu offers him a barbecue rib. “You need to eat your fill to get your energy back up after a full day of workout or you’ll faint on competition day.”

Azul stares at the rib on his plate, a variety of expressions flickering over his face. “…yes. You’re right.” He clears his throat. “Seeing as we’re on the same team, it makes sense to have your team members be at their best.” His stomach rumbles and his face colours.

“Eat up!” Yuu tells him and stands up from her seat to give Ortho a hand.

The impromptu party brings a smile to Yuu’s face. It is a type of liveliness she finds she has missed.

“Yuu! Do you know how to play any instruments?”

“I know how to play the piano.” Salieri had taught her that, even if his lessons had been rather harsh.

“We don’t got that here. Flute?” Epel holds out a flute to her.

“I know how to play the trumpet.” Yuu says. “I had to learn it when I was a ringmaster for a circus.”

“Why were you in a circus?” Deuce asks her.

“Stuff happened.” Yuu shrugs. “I had to save a little girl.”

“Don’t got that either.” Epel says.

“That’s okay, I’ll dance!” Yuu heads to the centre of the hall and starts mingling with the other villagers.

She is immediately drawn into a conversation with an elderly man who regales her with Epel’s childhood stories while they dance.

For the first time in a long while, Yuu falls asleep the moment her head touches the pillow.

Rest well, stargazer. You have earned it.

Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder how you are…

The voices fade away.

Fujimaru Ritsuka stands in the world of endless white. She reaches out a hand.

Wondrously, impossibly, someone’s hand clasps hers back.

“You missed the strategy meeting, Yuu.” Deuce tells her the next morning.

“We’re gonna crash into people, shrimpy.” Floyd gleefully informs her.

“WE ARE NOT!” Sebek shouts. “I refuse to bring shame to my liege!”

“We’re not doing that Floyd, have some decency.” Azul tells Floyd, then quieter, “do have some discretion, Floyd.”

…Well.

“No! Cheating!” Epel snaps.

“We are certainly following the rules.” Jade says.

“A true man meets their enemies head-on!” Deuce shouts.

“Nope. Not getting myself involved in this…” Idia mutters.

“Here’s a map of the course, Yuu!” Ortho projects a map onto the wall. “We went through this last night while you were asleep!”

“Faster! Faster!” Floyd chants.

“What? No! Slow down!” Azul shrieks.

“Woo!” Yuu cheers them on. “Go faster! I can still feel my cheeks!”

“We will not lose!” Sebek shouts.

“Waitwaitwait! Rock! There’s a rock! Stooooop!”

Floyd swerves out of the way of a protruding rock. Azul’s sled skids as he does the same, the rock clipping the side of his sled and sending him spinning.

Sebek’s own plushie is too slow to move aside. His sled crashes into the rock, sending it splintering into pieces. Yuu leaps off her sled right before it meets the same fate.

Grim yowls as he clings to her shoulder.

Yuu grabs Grim and hugs him to her chest as she lands in the snow and tumbles on for a few feet.

“You okay there, Grim?” She asks, standing up.

Sebek is also picking himself up.

“Our sleds…” Sebek says morosely. “At least the squirshie is still intact.” He bends down and scoops up his squirrel plushie.

Yuu jogs over to the rock and digs her wolf plushie out from the wreckage.

“My sled is hardly in good condition either.” Azul notes, looking at the broken plank at the side of his sled, half-digging into the snow.

“Maaan, you guys suck.” Floyd tells them.

Sebek looks sullen for a while longer before he perks back up. “I will repair my sled!” He declares.

“We could all squeeze on Floyd’s.” Yuu suggests.

“It’s not big enough for that.” Azul says. “And I doubt four plushies pulling the sled in different directions will work out well for us.”

“Hey shrimpy, why dontcha run?” Floyd asks her.

Yuu could, but— “I don’t have enough magical energy to spare.” They still have over half of the track to go. Yuu might have better stamina than average, but without the bolster of Reinforcement, she can’t keep it up for long.

“Mrow… can’t we take a shortcut then?” Grim asks grumpily.

Yuu recalls the map Ortho had shown them. They could cut through the mountain forest, but as unfamiliar as they are with the area, they had a high chance of getting lost.

Yuu looks up at the peak of the mountain.

The race track winds around Mount Moln, starting from one side and ending at the other.

In theory, if they could climb up to the mountain peak and sled down towards the finish line…

“Absolutely not!” Azul says the moment she brings up that idea. “That is incredibly dangerous!”

“That sounds fun! Let’s do it!” Floyd says.

“I will not let down the name of my liege!” Sebek nods in agreement.

Azul stares at them, as if only just realizing that he is the only one here with some sense of self-preservation.

“I’m not moving from this spot.” He crosses his arms and digs in his heels.

“That’s okay. Shrimpy can carry you.” Floyd says.

Yuu blinks. She looks at Floyd, then at Azul.

“Oh Sevens. Do not. Yuu, do not do that!” Azul starts to back away from her.

The choice is stolen from them anyway when Sebek picks Azul up and slings him over a shoulder, his plushie tucked securely under his other arm. Azul screams. “Zigvolt! Put me down!”

“We are wasting time!” Sebek huffs and starts the trek up the mountain.

Yuu scurries over to grab Azul’s plushie and follows him up.

Floyd cackles. He hops off the sled, picking up his plushie and tossing it carelessly onto the sled, then pulls it along with him as he joins them on the impromptu mountain hike.

All of them pile into the single sled. It takes a lot of shuffling (and protesting, courtesy of Azul). Yuu ends up sitting on Sebek’s lap while Azul is squeezed onto Floyd’s.

“This is a terrible idea.” Azul mutters, staring down the edge of the peak with a terrified expression.

Yuu tucks Grim into her jumper. He squirms and pokes his head out from the collar.

“Hold on tight!” Yuu shouts. Everyone hugs their plushie tightly, Azul in particular grabbing onto his with a death grip.

Sebek digs a sturdy wooden stick into the snow and pushes off.

Azul is screaming.

He hasn’t stopped screaming ever since their sled-turned-toboggan started hurtling down the mountain at breakneck speed.  

They speed past other sledders.

“Hi guys! Bye guys!” Yuu shouts as their group passes by Epel’s group. All of them look stunned.

They skid past the trees, get sent bumping up and down on rocks and—

“There’s the finish line!” Sebek shouts.

“Yuu!” Azul shouts, barely audible over the wind in their ears.

“Yeah?” Yuu shouts back.

“How are we going to stop?!”

…Oh shit. She knew she was forgetting something.

Whatever Azul sees from her expression gives him a look of bone-deep dread.

They hurtle past the finish line, to raucous cheers —and they don’t stop.

CRASH!

The sled hits a tree and all of them are sent tumbling.

“I didn’t think this one through.” Yuu admits much later when the emergency first-aid team has patched them up. She has a broken arm, Floyd rebroke his leg and Sebek has a bruised rib.

Grim is perfectly fine, since Yuu broke her arm to shield him from the crash.

Azul is the only other to end up unscathed (save for a few scratches) and he lies in the snow, muttering his gratitude for the land.

“I have honoured my liege.” Sebek says solemnly, then passes out.

“You’re real fun, shrimpy.” Floyd tells her.

Azul makes another incomprehensible sound of existential dread.

Grim is the one who takes the trophy for the team, puffing out his chest as the local newspaper takes a picture of him.

Chapter Text

Ortho caught the race on video.

Yuu watches Epel’s team go neck-to-neck with the team from RSA—and then her team comes speeding out of nowhere, hurtling towards the finish line and leaving everyone else in the lurch.

He even caught the moment they crashed, all four of them tumbling out of the sled.

Azul stares at the video with dead eyes.

Floyd laughs from Epel’s couch, his leg in a brace as he reclines it against the armrest.

Yuu has her own arm in a sling.

Sebek has been put on very strict orders for bedrest – especially after he tried to do his usual daily training.

As a small village, Harveston doesn’t have any magical healers, only a local doctor. Azul had done what he could for them, but he was still only a student.

“Was this perhaps your idea, Yuu?” Jade asks her.

“Maybe. Everyone agreed to it.” Yuu laughs.

“I did not. I did not agree to it.” Azul immediately says.

Meanwhile Idia is geeking out over Marja. “Can I have your autograph?”

Yuu has no idea what that’s about but as long as he’s happy.

“Henchman! Look! I’m in the newspaper!” Grim shouts, waving the page at her.

Yuu grabs it from him and reads it.

It is today’s issue of Harveston Times, the local paper.

Grim is on the front page, proudly holding a trophy into the air. Yuu can see two sleds in the background.

On one of them is Epel, charging in. The other is one of the dwarves from RSA.

“Hey Epel! Can I cut this out?” Yuu asks. “I’m gonna frame it!”

“Allow me, Yuu!” Ortho chimes in. “I can scan it digitally and print it out for you when we’re back at the dorms!”

“Thanks Ortho!” Yuu gives him the paper.

“Hehehe… I’m famous!” Grim cheers.

“Laugh it up. Next year I’m gonna be the one on the front page.” Epel huffs.

“Nyah ha ha! Sore loser!” Grim sneers.

“You did squat, ya little furball!” Epel glares at Grim.

“Um…” Deuce said. “How about we have a rematch? We can go blastcycle racing in my hometown!”

Yuu perks up. “Let’s go!”

“I’ll win this time!” Epel nods firmly.

“Can I join you?” Ortho asks.

“Of course!” Deuce immediately says. He looks at everyone else in the room, much more hesitantly.

“Count me out. I’ve hit my social interaction limit for the year.” Idia says.

“I have to plan the next menu for Monstro Lounge. I’ve had enough of excursions for the near future.” Azul grumbles.

“The Queendom of Roses doesn’t have many mountains… or any at all. I’m afraid I’ll be busy for a while until Floyd recovers.”

“Ehhh? What’re you talking about, Jade? I can still walk!” Floyd complains. Jade immediately gives his broken leg a squeeze. Floyd yelps then punches him in the face.

Sebek looks torn. “My parents are coming to pick me up.” He says, pouting a little. “I would join you otherwise.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on bedrest?” Deuce asks him.

“A SMALL INJURY LIKE THIS WILL NOT KEEP ME DOWN!”

Grim bats him in the side with a paw and he wheezes.

“You should rest Sebek.” Yuu suggests. “If you keep putting stress on an injury like that it won’t heal well. How’re you supposed to protect Malleus if you’re not in top form?”

Sebek grumbles some more but goes back to lying down.

There’s more than just Sebek’s parents at Harveston’s train station.

“Hey there Lilia, Silver.” Yuu greets them. “Hornton.”

Sebek makes a sound that is more akin to a screech. “MY LIEGE!” He cries, completely ignoring his own parents.

His parents look too used to it, actually. The man who has to be his dad shakes his head in exasperation. His mum just straight up facepalms.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sebek’s mum. Sebek’s dad.” Yuu continues cheerfully. Deuce, Epel and Ortho make similar greetings.

“Thank you for being friends with Sebek.” His dad tells them. “I know that he can be a little… brash.”

Brash is certainly one word for it.

“Sebek called me a weak human once.” Deuce recalls. “I duked it out with him after that.”

…Huh?

“He said I was skilled for a human.” Epel nods. “I told ‘im he could stuff his half-arsed compliment where the sun don’t shine.”

…Eh?

Sebek splutters.

“Sebek Zigvolt has…” Ortho pauses and cocks his head, “never insulted me.”

“He never insulted me either.” Yuu says. She thinks some more. “Well, there was that time he thought I was a guy…”

“DO NOT BRING UP MY EMBARASSING HISTORY IN FRONT OF MY LIEGE!” Sebek shouts, going red in the face.

“I see all of you had your fun.” Lilia says to Yuu.

Yuu looks down at her arm, still in a sling, a little sheepishly. “…I forget how easily bodies can break sometimes.” She admits.

Lilia’s amusement fades in favour of a raised brow. “Is that so?” He murmurs.

“I heard you were injured, Sebek. Are you well?” Malleus asks.

“I AM! I WILL BE PERFECTLY FINE TO CONTINUE MY TRAINING AT ONCE—urk!” Sebek doubles over when Epel prods at his bruised rib.

“No ya ain’t. Doctor said ta rest.” Epel says flatly.

“Sebek, you shouldn’t overdo it.” Silver sighs softly.

“I SAID I AM FINE!” Sebek snaps, then yelps when Deuce pokes him in the side. “STOP TOUCHING MY INJURY!”

“I’ll take him off your hands.” His mother says and starts leading Sebek towards the seating area.

“…You actually came here by train?” Deuce asks Malleus. “I thought you can teleport.”

“Lilia thought it would be a good experience. I have already completed the duties expected of me and had time to spare.” Malleus says, then asks, “however did Sebek come by this injury?”

Deuce and Epel immediately look at Yuu.

Meanwhile, Grim holds up a newspaper. “Hornton! Look! I’m on the front page!”

“It was kinda my fault.” Yuu admits as Malleus takes the newspaper from Grim.

“Winner of the annual Harveston Sledathon: Team Super-cool Awesome Fishies From Monstro Lounge.” Malleus reads out. “Three of the four members suffered injuries after their sled crashed. The last member was unavailable for comment. A talking direbeast familiar was interviewed in their place. A never-before seen maneuverer after the team sled all the way down from the peak of Mount Moln.”

A long pause.

Several eyes turn to look out the window towards the snow-capped mountain peak of Mount Moln.

“At least we won!” Yuu says cheerfully.

“Yeah, how’s that broken arm working out for ya?” Epel asks her.

“When you do something, you’ve got to do it to the best of your ability.” Yuu tells him.

“An admirable attitude.” Malleus nods.

“Malleus Draconia, are you aware that sledding down a mountain peak as they did can easily result in severe injuries?” Ortho asks him.

It feels very pointed.

“I’m sorry.” Yuu immediately ducks her head and apologizes.

“Everyone was super on board with the idea though.” Grim grumbles. “Only Azul wasn’t and Sebek carried him up anyways.”

Lilia bursts into laughter. “Some recklessness is to be expected of youths.” He says fondly.

A train slides into the station.

“Is that our ride?” Yuu asks, pulling out a ticket.

“Looks it.” Epel says, peering at the number on the train then at the ticket.

There’s still an hour before it is slated to leave the station.

“Are the four of you going somewhere?” Silver asks.

“We’re heading to my hometown, Clock Town!” Deuce tells him. “We’re going to race at the blastcycle track there!”

“…Clock Town?” Silver repeats. “Could I trouble you to purchase an alarm clock for me then? I will pay you back.”

Deuce blinks. “An alarm clock?”

“Clock Town is famous for their timepieces. Were you not aware of that, Deuce Spade?” Ortho asks.

“Uh…” Deuce says, blushing a little.

“You should have more hometown pride.” Epel tells him.

Deuce wilts a little, then turns to Silver. “If you have the time, why not join us and pick out a clock yourself?”

“Is that alright?” Silver asks, surprised at the sudden invitation.

“Why not? The more the merrier.” Deuce shrugs.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask your mum first?” Yuu prompts him.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? She knows my friends are staying over. You’re taking the bed and the rest of us are all going to sleep on the floor anyways.” Deuce says. “Ace is gonna join us too.”

“Father, may I go?” Silver asks Lilia.

…Father?

“Father?” Deuce repeats incredulously.

“Of course, go spend time with your schoolmates. Growing boys should have their fun.” Lilia says.

“Wait a dang second! Whaddya mean he’s yer father?” Epel blurts out, jabbing a finger at Lilia.

“Perhaps I may be a teensy bit older than I look.” Lilia says graciously.

Malleus looks pensive.

Yuu pats Deuce’s shoulder. He glances at her in confusion. She discreetly gestures at Malleus.

Deuce’s face remains blank and confused. “Hey Malleus.” He says, boldly walking up to Malleus regardless.

“Is something the matter, Spade?” Malleus asks.

“…Uh. I don’t know, actually.” Deuce admits sheepishly. “Yuu wanted me to talk to you?”

“…Is that so.”

The both of them fall silent, then look at Yuu.

“What an idiot.” Grim sighs. Yuu can’t tell if he’s insulting Deuce or Malleus.

Deuce seems to think of something. “Hey, do you wanna come with us too?”

Malleus pauses. “Are you extending an invitation to me, Spade?”

“Huh…? I mean, that makes it sound really formal, but yeah?”

“If it is of no trouble, then I shall accept.” Malleus says with a faint smile.

“…IT’S NOT FAIR!” Sebek cries. “Yuu! I demand we trade injuries!”

“You should’ve said that before Azul left then.” Yuu says with a laugh.

“You’d rather let Yuu suffer?” Epel asks a little meanly.

Sebek splutters.

“I don’t mind. I’m used to getting hurt.” Yuu says.

Sebek falls silent, staring at her with wide eyes. Epel gives her a side-eye.

Sebek clears his throat. “If this is a test of my will, then I will overcome it! THIS LITTLE INJURY IS NOTHING TO ME! I will come with you and accompany Lord Malleus!”

“No.” Sebek’s mother says firmly. “I’m taking you to the healers back home for a proper check-up.”

Sebek is very much sulking. “But-!”

“We’ll be going now.” She says.

“If it wasn’t for this blasted injury…” Sebek grumbles.

Yuu feels a little bad for him. Sure, he had thrown his whole weight behind the ‘sled down the mountain’ idea, but it had been her idea in the first place. “We’ll bring back pictures and souvenirs, Sebek.”

“Send me pictures of Malleus.” He immediately says.

Yuu gives him a thumbs up with her one good hand.

Yuu dozes off on the train, then wakes up to Deuce asking Malleus, “are you an old man too?”

Malleus’ stunned face is captured on camera by Ortho. Click.

“I am older than all of you,” he says slowly, “but I can hardly be considered an ‘old man’.” He then turns to Ortho and asks, “must you take a photo of me every few minutes, young Shroud?”

“Sebek Zigvolt has requested it.” Ortho says dutifully.

Yuu thinks that Ortho just finds it funny to irritate Malleus.

She yawns and stretches. “You’re a dragon fae, right?” She asks Malleus. “You’re what, a thousand?”

Silver yawns too. “No… Malleus is a hundred and seventy-eight.”

Yuu blinks. All the dragons she knew were adults. Except Elizabeth, but she was fourteen and dragon-kin instead of a full dragon. And compared to Melusine’s age of ten thousand… “You’re basically a baby.”

Epel laughs so hard he chokes on his spit. Deuce pats his back.

“I am not.” Malleus scowls. It looks more like a pout.

Click.

He gives Ortho a look of irritation. “And I am older than you regardless.”

“You don’t know that,” Yuu says carelessly, “time doesn’t work right for me.”

“What does that mean, Yuu?” Ortho asks her.

“Sometimes you get stuck in a time loop for a bit, then other days you get dropped into a place where time just doesn’t work.” Yuu says. “You know how it is.”

“I don’t get it.” Deuce says honestly.

“Time loops aren’t possible.” Silver says slowly. “The amount of magic required for such a thing is more than any mage can support.”

“I have never heard of places where time does not flow. Such an occurrence can only be done deliberately.” Malleus frowns slightly.

“…Was that a joke?” Epel gives her a suspicious look.

Yuu shrugs instead of elaborating. She doesn’t really understand it herself.

Ace is waiting for them at the train station, amusing himself with some card tricks. He looks up when they draw closer, then pauses. He stares at Malleus, then at Silver, then at Yuu’s arm in a sling.

“Why.” He asks.

“Why what?” Deuce asks him.

Ace looks at Malleus again, then at Yuu and points at her arm.

“I sled off a mountain peak. We crashed.” Yuu says.

“We won!” Grim adds smugly. “I’m on the front page!”

“…Seriously?” Ace asks flatly.

Deuce’s mom – Dylla, is upbeat and lively.

She compliments Silver and Epel, only to pause when she lays eyes on Malleus.

“A-Are you Malleus Draconia?” She asks, stunned.

“I am. Spade has graciously extended his invitation to me for a visit.” Malleus says.

“Uh… I don’t have any spare beds…” She says, still sounding shocked.

“It’s fine mom, Yuu’s taking the bed. All of us can squeeze on the floor.” Deuce says.

“I have never slept on the floor before.” Malleus adds. “It takes a particularly daring person to make me do so.”

“What he means is that he’s super excited for the sleepover.” Yuu cuts in. “Hi Deuce’s mom. I’m Yuu.”

“And I’m Grim!” Grim shouts. “I’m always looking out for Deuce!”

Deuce splutters at that. “You’re the one making problems most of the time!”

“And I’m Ace. Deucy’s alllllways getting himself into loads of trouble.” Ace grins, slinging an arm around Deuce’s shoulders.

“No, I’m not!” He scowls and punches Ace in the shoulder. Ace yelps.

“Aha! So you’re the famous Ace and Yuu! Deuce talks about you two a lot!” Dylla says with a laugh.

Deuce blushes. “No I don’t.”

“Don’t be embarrassed now. Deuce always tells me about his day, and how the three of you are always together.”

“Myah? What about me?” Grim blurts out.

“Aww, you talk about us?” Ace asks with a teasing grin.

“Mom!” Deuce protests.

“Deuce is a great friend!” Yuu says.

Ortho takes the chance to chime in with a particularly robotic voice. “Hello Dylla Spade. I am Ortho Shroud.”

Dylla’s eyes widen. “Are you a robot?”

“No, I’m a humanoid.” Ortho says with a giggle, losing the machinelike echo. “Were you surprised?”

“He’s just playing it up, mom.” Deuce says with a sigh. “Is it okay for you to be away from your stall for so long?”

“Don’t worry, my shift’s already over. Anyways, let’s get you home. It must be tiring carrying all that luggage. Especially for you, Yuu.”

Yuu looks down at her backpack. She lifts it with her good arm and slings it over her shoulder. “It’s fine, I’m stronger than I look.”

“I can carry it for you.” Deuce offers, looking a little flustered. He shifts, slinging his haversack around one shoulder and reaches out to take hers.

“Allow me.” Silver hurries to say, taking her bag from her before she can say another word.

“…Thanks.”

All of them pile into the minivan.

Malleus has to duck his head to enter, then his horns immediately collide against the top of the van the moment he straightens.

Everyone turns to look at the two dents in the metal ceiling.

“…I will offer compensation for the damage.” Malleus says after a moment of embarrassed silence.

Deuce’s room is a little small.

Even if Yuu and Grim take the bed, and Ortho doesn’t need to sleep, asking five boys to take the floor is still a bit of a squeeze.

“Epel, you can sleep with me.” Yuu decides.

Epel starts to agree, then gives her broken arm a cautious look. “Ya sure about that?” He shakes his head. “I’ll take the floor.”

“…Can’t some of us take the couch outside?” Ace asks flatly.

Deuce blinks. “Oh yeah.”

“Dibs.” Ace immediately adds. He then slings an arm around Deuce’s neck. “Rest of you can sleep on the floor.”

Yuu can hear Ace, Deuce and Ortho talking outside. The contents of their conversation is lost to her.

Inside Deuce’s room, everyone is silent.

Yuu shifts a little on the bed.

The boys have been given a mix-match of cushions and blankets for the floor.

Grim and Silver are already asleep.

“Who’s this guy anyway?” Epel finally speaks, breaking the silence.

“That’s Malleus.” Yuu says.

Epel gives her a derisive look. “I know who Malleus is. I’m talking about this guy!” He points at Silver, who has his head rested on Malleus’ shoulder instead of the pillow.

“This is Silver.” Malleus says fondly. He pats Silver awkwardly with his free arm. "One of my retainers."

“Uh huh.” Epel turns onto his other shoulder to face them. “You dating him?”

Malleus stares at him.

Yuu shuffles a little closer to the edge of the bed, making her interest in the gossip clear.

“I have no romantic inclinations for young Silver.” Malleus eventually says.

“You’ve known Lilia for a long time, haven’t you?” Yuu recalls. “Did you know Silver when he was just adopted?”

“…Yes. He was an ugly infant.” Malleus says, drawing snickers from Yuu and Epel.

“So you’re like his big brother!” She grins.

A distant thought, of another dragon fae she once knew, along with her adoptive brother who faded away far too soon.

Her grin fades away.

“I would not consider us such.” Malleus shakes his head. He has yet to move a muscle on the arm Silver fell asleep on.

“…You should value the bonds you have.” Yuu says softly, faintly. “Don’t leave room for regrets. Life is… a lot longer… and shorter than you think.”

Epel cranes his neck to look at her. “That’s the sorta thing meemaw would say. You’re getting old, Yuu.”

How old is she, really?

“Maybe I am.” Yuu says with good humour.

Malleus is silent. He looks down at Silver. His bangs fall over his eyes, shrouding his expression from Yuu. “…brother.” He utters consideringly.

Epel shifts again. “I can’t sleep. Hey Yuu, can you tell us a story? You’ve got a lotta good ones, don’t ya?”

“Sure. What do you want to hear about?”

“The one about the pirates. Ya never finished that story.” Epel says.

“Okay. Lemme give a recap. In a world that was all ocean with fragments of land, pirates reigned supreme…”

There is an ocean that stretches across the horizon and beyond.

“…It’s beautiful.” Silver says.

“Hello Silver.” Fujimaru Ritsuka turns to look at him. She rests her forearms on the railing. “It is, isn’t it?”

The pirate ship she recalls was busy with bustling and shouting.

This one is still as a dead body.

It feels like one, hollowed out of its life and crew.

The ship rocks along with the waves.

Ritsuka finds herself humming a sea shanty, one she had heard the crew sing. The words escape her, having been swallowed up by the howling storms of then.

It doesn’t bring the ship back to life, but at least it isn’t as eerily quiet.

When they wake, Silver hums a familiar tune.

Chapter Text

“This here’s the local blastcycle track!” Deuce proudly introduces.

“Fascinating.”

“I never thought that a place like this would have such a function…”

“Dude, this is just a junkyard.” Ace says.

“You ride around here?” Epel asks, looking around with great interest.

“I thought we were going to an official track or something.” Yuu says.

“Deuce Spade, underage blastcycle driving on non-authorized premises is a misdemeanour and can result in a thousand-thaumark fine.” Ortho reports.

“It’s not if we don’t get caught!” Is Deuce’s confident response.

“Is that how it works?” Silver asks.

“Spade does seem oddly confident in this matter…” Malleus murmurs.

Yuu wonders if she should say something about that, then she recalls the litany of crimes she has committed herself. A misdemeanour is nothing.

…maybe.

 “I’m sitting this one out.” Yuu says.

“How’re we supposed to have our rematch then?” Deuce blurts out, then flushes when Yuu pointedly taps her sling.

“No way I’m doing this either.” Ace says.

“Too scared?” Deuce asks.

“I don’t do stupid things.” Ace scoffs.

“Fine. You can just stand there with Yuu then. Hey Epel, you know how to ride a blastcycle?”

Ace scowls at the dismissal.

“When did those two get so close?” He complains to Yuu.

“Are you jealous, Ace Trappola?” Ortho asks, drawing a splutter from him.

“Wha-? No! Why’d I be jealous?”

“Because Deuce Spade has a high relationship score with you, colloquially known as your ‘best friend’.”

“Please. Everyone knows that Yuu’s my best friend.” Ace says and rests his arm on Yuu’s shoulder.

Yuu beams at him. “Aww, I’m your best friend? You’re—” Before she can say anything else, Malleus appears in front of her, all but shoving Ace off her.

Ace yelps as he stumbles. “Hey, what gives-?”

“Child of man.” Malleus says. His eyes are focused on Ace, narrowed slightly. “Might I ask you for your aid in this… blastcycle riding?”

Click. “Based on the changes in facial features and temperament, Malleus Draconia might be jealous too, Yuu.” Ortho says cheerfully.

Malleus gives Ortho a glare and places a hand on Yuu’s shoulder, right where Ace had rested his shoulder. “Do not presume my thoughts.”

Yuu looks up at him, then at Ace. “You guys know you can have more than one best friend, right?” She asks, bemused.

The revving engine of a blastcycle interrupts any further conversation.

Epel cheers as he zooms around the junkyard on the blastcycle, Silver sitting behind him, and Deuce standing on the foot rests, standing steady by holding onto Silver’s shoulders.

“A police patrol will be passing by in three minutes.” Ortho reports.

“…Ortho?” Yuu asks.

“Yes, Yuu?”

“How many traffic violations are they committing?”

“Driving without a license, speeding, driving outside the road, reckless driving and riding a blastcycle with more than two people.”

Well shit.

“Hide the evidence!” Yuu shouts.

Epel jerks and the blastcycle crashes into a junk pile.

Three people fall. Four bodies hit the ground.

Deuce goes pale as a limp hand lands on his leg.

“Is that-?”

“Oh dear.”

“GAHHHH!”

“MROW!!”

“Ack! W-What the…?”

“Huh. That looks like a dead body.” Yuu says, carefully prying Grim’s claws off her shoulder.

“NO SHIT?”

And of course that’s the moment the cops pull in.

“This is certainly troubling.” Malleus says.

Malleus’ presence clearly makes the policeman nervous. Even as just a witness, the fact that a prince of another land is present probably has some sort of implications that Yuu is trying very hard not to think about.

On the bright side, at least no one’s focusing on the clearly illegal blastcycle driving!

“…so you crashed into the junk heap and a dead body fell on you.” The policeman repeats.

Or maybe not.

“Yes.” Silver nods.

“Do any of you even have a license—” the policeman glances at Malleus, then very visibly decides against pursuing that line of enquiry, “nevermind.”

“…it touched me…” Deuce mutters, still looking shaken.

“Don’t worry Deuce, you’ll see a lot more dead bodies as you grow older.” Yuu pats him on the back.

That only makes him even more distressed. Silver gives her a disapproving look.

“Uh… At least it’s only half-rotted instead of full rotted?” Yuu says.

“Is that supposed to make anyone feel better?” Epel asks her incredulously.

“…It’s a pretty tame death? There’s plenty worse ways to go!”

“Shut up, Yuu.” Ace tells her.

“Do you want a hug, Deuce?” Yuu asks.

“No! I want a shower!” Deuce cries.

Deuce finally calms down after Malleus summons a small raincloud for him to stand under.

“Identified the corpse as belonging to one Phineas Herran, declared missing one week ago.” Ortho says, tilting his head to the side in a very robotic manner. “Judging by how the body was hidden and the strangulation marks on his neck, this has a high probability of being a murder.”

Ortho peers at the corpse some more. Yuu joins him in solidarity. “From the state of decomposition and the weather outside, it is very likely that Phineas Herran died two weeks ago.”

“Didn’t you say that he went missing a week ago?” Epel asks.

“Yes.” Ortho says. “People are only entered into the missing people database when someone makes the report. Phineas Herran was only reported as missing when his colleagues were unable to contact him after they realized that he had access to an important document they needed for a client.”

That sounds a little cold. “No one cared about him, huh.” Yuu mutters.

Malleus looks a little discomfited at that. Yuu steps closer to him, nudging his side with her shoulder. He unconsciously leans into her.

“Phineas Herran has a younger half-brother and no other kin. He has several social media accounts, some containing unsavoury comments that I am not allowed to repeat due to the child locks brother has placed on me. He also lives in an upper-class district, though his neighbours have been known to make complaints about his rude behaviour and the number of escorts that frequent his house.”

“So he’s an asshole.” Ace says.

“A rich asshole.” Epel wrinkles his nose.

“Don’t stalk a dead person.” The policeman tells them.

Ortho turns his head ninety-degrees to look at the policeman. “Of course, Jules March.” He says pleasantly.

The policeman, Jules March, does not allow Ortho to touch the victim’s phone.

“It’s important evidence.” He says, sounding increasingly stressed. “Shouldn’t you lot be doing… whatever you’re supposed to be doing?”

“If there’s a murder mystery, we’re gonna solve it!” Yuu declares.

“Yes! Brother has outfitted me with several state-of-the-art scanning systems! I will be able to assist you in finding the murderer!” Ortho states.

“At this point, I’m kinda invested.” Ace says, unable to stop himself from glancing at the corpse now and then.

“Same ‘ere.” Epel adds.

Deuce makes a sound of affirmation, partially muffled from where he is pressed against Yuu’s shoulder. After the impromptu shower, he had taken her up on the hug.

“It will certainly be interesting to see how crime-solving in the Queendom of Roses compares to Briar Valley.” Malleus says.

“As Malleus’ retainer, it is my duty to see things through to the end.”

Jules stares at all of them. “This—this isn’t a game or a movie. Look, why don’t I inform your guardians…?”

“No way. I don’t want to worry my mum.” Deuce says.

“My parents would make me go home.” Ace adds.

“Don’t got reception up in the mountains.” Epel straight up lies.

“You do not have the clearance to contact my parents.” Ortho says cheerfully.

The policeman looks like he regrets asking.

“I would rather not worry Father.”

“Grandmother has much more important things to do than attend to such a minor inconvenience.”

“My henchman’s here.” Grim declares.

“I don’t have guardians.” Yuu says.

That is what gives her friends pause.

“You’re an orphan?” Epel hisses lowly.

“I’m not.” Yuu says.

“You just said—”

“I just can’t contact them for… reasons.” Yuu says.

“Were you abandoned?” Ace places his hands on her shoulders.

“Nope.” Yuu shakes her head.

“Then why-?”

“Sometimes things just turn out that way.” Yuu laughs sheepishly.

“Is this a Riddle situation?” Deuce asks her quietly.

“Nope. I’ve got good parents, you know.”

“Yuu.” Malleus says. “If you are in any danger, you only need to inform me. I will take care of any threats to you and yours.”

Yuu blinks. She stares at him for a beat too long. Her smile falters slightly. “Ah… Thanks Hornton. That’s… really not necessary though. No threats here. Just… things you can’t control.”

A man wearing a detective badge turns up. He looks at their group, then asks Jules with a calm that does not fool anyone, “what are five kids, a prince, a monster and a robot doing here?”

“They didn’t want to leave.” Jules says in the exact same tone Yuu remembers Goredolf using whenever a minor Singularity happened.

“We wanted to see how a real-life detective solves crime!” Yuu says brightly.

Everyone nods in agreement.

Yuu can see the slow-creeping horror cross the detective’s features – that seven random kids and a direbeast were going to stay to witness the whole proceedings and he could do nothing about it.

“How are things like this handled in Briar Valley?” Yuu asks Malleus.

“All suspects would be gathered and a truth spell would be cast on them.” Malleus tells her. “I doubt the Queendom of Roses has ready access to sorcerers capable of such.”

“The last time I witnessed a murder, I was on an island. A detective swam all the way from the mainland to help solve the crime.” Yuu says.

“An admirable dedication to their duty.” Malleus nods solemnly.

“Hey kids, did you have fun today?” Dylla asks them when they make their way back to Deuce’s home for the night.

“We’re helping to solve a murder.” Yuu tells her. “We’re going back to the police station tomorrow to look into the suspects.”

“Oh. Uh. That’s—As in a real murder-murder?” Dylla asks faintly.

Deuce slowly shuffles up to his mother and hugs her. “The dead body touched me.” He whines.

Dylla pats his head and stares at all of them, clearly asking for an explanation.

Ortho plays back a recounting of the day’s events.

Dylla sits down heavily on the couch. “Wow. That’s… certainly a dramatic turn of events.” She says after a long moment.

“Are vacations often like this?” Malleus asks.

Deuce has elected to sleep with his mother for some much-needed comfort. Ace and Epel only make minimal fun of him for that.

The rest of the boys played a game of rock-paper-scissors. Silver and Epel got the couch this time, leaving Malleus and Ace sleeping on the floor. Ortho joins them today, hunkering down in a corner of the room.

“No. They’re not.” Ace tells him. “Nothing that involves Yuu is normal.” For some reason, his face is a little flushed as he says this.

“Hey.” Yuu protests half-heartedly. “I’ll have you know I’m just a normal everyday school girl.”

“Really?” Grim asks, tilting his head.

“You are very far from the standard of an ‘everyday school girl’, Yuu.” Ortho says.

“Why are you back?” Is the detective’s despairing cry when all eight of them turn up at the police station after breakfast.

“It is our obligation to see things through to the end.” Silver says.

“What obligation? You’re students! Just go back and do whatever young mages do!”

“I’d like to see what happens next!” Ortho says.

“This isn’t a movie.”

“I need to know the murderer so I can stop thinking about the dead body touching me.”

“…have you seen a therapist for that?”

“I’ve never seen a murder case on a vacation before.” Epel says.

“Most people don’t. Just go and shop or look at the archives or something.”

“I’m here because these idiots are here.” Ace shakes his head in a too-casual manner.

“Stop getting peer-pressured, kid.”

“Is this not a common past-time that teenagers partake in?”

“…No, Prince Malleus. It isn’t.”

“I wanna see my henchman beat up a murderer.” Grim says.

“No one’s getting beaten up. Please be law-abiding citizens here.”

“I just think it’s fun.” Yuu says.

“Go to a therapist. Please.”

Chapter Text

There are three suspects who contacted and presumably met with the victim on his estimated day of death.

Alex Herran, brother of the victim, Phineas Herran.

Sherran Tout, Phineas Herran’s lover.

Melody Leaf, Phineas Herran’s second lover.

Alex Herran does not seem particularly broken up about learning that his brother is dead, instead furiously denying any involvement.

Melody breaks down into tears upon learning of Phineas’ death, only to be comforted by Sherran who viciously insults Phineas and all but sweeps Melody off her feet.

All of them watch this from behind a glass screen.

Yuu thinks they just watched a new romance bloom.

“I presumed that it is a common practice for humans to take only one lover. Was I informed incorrectly?” Malleus says.

“You’re right.” Epel tells him. “This Phineas guy’s just a cheating bastard.”

Alex Herran contacted his brother abruptly after months of mutual silence, asking to meet. When his brother failed to reply, he poked by in the evening and left after ringing the doorbell got him no response.

Sherran Tout has been dating Phineas Herran for months. From the sound of it, he was a rather fickle lover, contacting her one day and showering her with expensive gifts, and ignoring her the next. He had sent her a message asking to meet at a high-end café. She presumably waited there for close to an hour but never saw him and left in a huff.

Melody Leaf met Phineas Herran two weeks ago, when they met at a restaurant near his workplace. They got to talking, exchanged numbers, and started to text everyday until the murder. The last message he sent was one asking her to come over at night. But he didn’t answer even after she rang the doorbell, and she left after some time.

Melody mentions that she saw Alex when she left Phineas Herran’s house.

Alex says the same, that he saw her loitering around the entrance of his brother’s house before she left.

All three of them have ample motives and no clear alibi.

For Melody and Sherran, a crime of passion upon finding out that their lover cheated on them. Though with how quickly they moved on, the motive is looking flimsier by the second.

Alex Herran, however, has a strong motive.

“Phineas Herran is the sole heir of his parents’ inheritance. As his next-of-kin, all that he has will go to Alex Herran when Phineas Herran dies.”

“Why would anyone kill their family for money?” Silver asks with a faint crease on his brow.

“Greed makes people stupid sometimes.” Yuu says.

“How much are we talking here?” Ace asks.

Ortho rattles off an obscenely large number that—Yuu abruptly recalls that her bank account back in her world had a few more zeroes than that.

Ace’s eyes widen and he whistles.

“Is that… a lot?” Malleus asks.

“I think so?” Yuu answers uncertainly.

Silver looks just as confused as them.

“It is enough for an average human to live comfortably for a lifetime.” Ortho informs them.

“It’s a pretty clear-cut case.” The detective says with no small amount of relief. “We found the belt used for the murder hidden in Alex’s house. It has a close enough match with the strangulation marks and there’s traces of skin tissue and blood on the edges.”

“Who does the belt belong to?” Silver asks.

“It belongs to Alex Herran. He recognizes it as his belt, but claims that he lost it the day he visited his brother.”

“A ‘close enough match’? Is it not exact?” Malleus repeats.

“With the state of the body’s decomposition, an exact match between the belt and the strangulation marks is impossible.”

That’s great and all, but…

“This feels too easy, you know.” Yuu mutters. “Why hide the murder weapon instead of getting rid of it? He had two weeks to do it, right?”

“It is not unusual for people to panic after an act of murder.” Ortho tells her.

“How’d the body get into the junkyard then?” Epel asks. “Sure, maybe this Alex guy killed him, but his place ain’t anywhere near the junkyard.”

“Maybe he asked Phineas to go with him somewhere, then led him to the junkyard and used his belt to strangle him? That place doesn’t have security cameras, so it’s pretty famous for people who want somewhere to go mess around in.” Deuce points out, then adds, “I saw a scene like that in a movie before!”

Like how he had brought them there for some illegal blastcycle riding?

“I dunno. If I was on bad terms with my bro and he suddenly asked me to go somewhere shady, I’d think he was up to something.” Ace shakes his head.

“We’re going to question Herran about it tomorrow.” The detective says.

Tomorrow?

“This is gonna take forever!” Epel complains.

“This isn’t a movie, kids. Murders don’t get solved in one day. This is just how these things go.” The detective says.

From the looks on everyone’s faces, that is not an acceptable answer.

All of them collectively decide to investigate on their own.

But first—

“We need a disguise for you.” Yuu tells Malleus.

“Why would I require a disguise?” Malleus asks.

“Oh yeah. I’d freak if I was just chilling then Malleus Draconia appeared in front of me and asked me if I saw a murder.” Ace says.

Malleus gives him a narrow-eyed look.

“Uh… I was thinking more along the lines of ‘prince of a different country’.” Yuu says slowly.

“I suppose that is reasonable.” Silver nods. “However, Malleus might be a little too…” he trails off, staring at his liege.

“Horny?” Epel asks with a snigger.

“Scary?” Deuce adds his own two cents.

“Distinctive.” Silver says firmly and gives the both of them a sleepy, almost annoyed look.

“Am I perhaps being made fun of?” Malleus asks Yuu petulantly.

“It’s all in good fun.” Yuu pats his arm. “That’s the price of having annoying friends.”

Malleus blinks. “Friends.” He repeats, quiet and a little startled.

They decide to split into two groups.

Ortho, Epel, Ace and Silver would go around looking for witnesses.

Yuu, Grim, Deuce and Malleus would return to the junkyard to check if they missed out on any evidence.

They encounter a problem almost immediately.

The junkyard is cordoned off.

They see Officer Jules March hanging around the entrance of the junkyard while a bunch of police officers poke around and retreat a fair distance away.

“Do we barge in or do we search somewhere else?” Yuu asks Deuce and Malleus.

“Isn’t that where the murder happened? There’s definitely a buncha clues and stuff like that, right?” Deuce asks.

Something about his words… “Is it really?” Yuu asks. “Did he die there, or was that just the dumping place for his corpse?”

“I would imagine carrying a body would be difficult for ordinary humans.” Malleus notes. “Unless magic was involved, or other alternate forms of transportation were leveraged.”

“We should take a step back.” Yuu says.

Both boys step backwards.

Grim stares at them both, then up at her. “Figuratively.” Yuu clarifies.

The body was buried under a pile of yet-to-be-processed electronics. The cold winter weather had slowed the decomposition of the corpse.

“The corpse didn’t look squished.” Yuu says.

Deuce cringes. “Do you have to say it like that?”

“That’s icky, henchman.” Grim makes a face.

“Did it look squished to you, Malleus?” Yuu asks.

Malleus shakes his head.

“It was probably stored inside something hard and sturdy. Maybe inside a car or a trunk or something.”

“Hey, wait! If the body was inside a car, then-!” Deuce’s eyes widen. “The junkyard smashes all the stuff at the end of every month!”

It was a few days to the end of December.

“If we didn’t find the corpse, then maybe no one would have realized it was even there until it got crushed.” Yuu comes to the same realization as Deuce. “Phineas Herran would have remained missing instead of declared dead.”

“Deuce, what’s the law regarding missing people and inheritance?”

Deuce shakes his head, face pale. “I don’t know.” He admits.

“Malleus?”

“In Briar Valley, if no sign of magical signature is observed of a fae for more than a thousand years, they are considered to have returned to nature.” Malleus says. “I do not know of the laws pertaining to such in other lands.”

Yuu fishes out her phone and starts typing a message to someone who definitely would know.

“Riddle says that a missing person in the Queendom of Roses can only be considered deceased after a period of twenty years with no observed sightings. Their assets will not be distributed before then.” Yuu says. “He also wants to know why I’m asking.”

“Don’t tell him.” Is Deuce’s knee-jerk response.

“Tell you later.” Yuu recites as she types back. Then she turns to look at them. “Alex Herran isn’t the murderer. Whoever killed Phineas Herran didn’t want the body to be found. Someone who wants an inheritance wouldn’t hide the body like that.”

“The aggressor would be one of the other two suspects, I presume.” Malleus says.

“But didn’t the murder weapon belong to Alex Herran?” Deuce asks.

“A good enough plotter can turn the truth on its head without anyone the wiser.” Yuu recites. She has a vague recollection of someone telling her that.

“Was that guy framed?” Grim asks, crossing his paws.

“Maybe.” Yuu says.

She gets a text.

“The other group found a witness. Phineas Herran’s neighbours last saw him driving away with a woman around ten days ago.” Yuu read out.

Both boys peer over her shoulder at the message.

Yuu: What’s his car plate number?

Ortho responds with three series of letters, with an added ‘Phineas Herran has three cars’ for clarification.

“We’re breaking into the junkyard.”

They don’t break into the junkyard exactly.

The moment Officer Jules March sees them, he gives them a look of deep foreboding.

“If I let you all in, do you promise not to tamper with anything?” He asks them.

“Can you do that?” Grim asks back.

“Yes. With an escort.” Jules says.

They stare up at the pile of junk the body had fallen from. There are definitely a few cars in the pile.

“Do you remember where the corpse came from?” Yuu asks Deuce.

Deuce shakes his head. “I’ve been trying to forget.”

“I’ll need a closer look.” Yuu says. She eyes the junk pile.

“Don’t climb up, or I’ll have to kick you out.” Jules tells her.

“Allow me.” Malleus says. Yuu tenses as arms wrap around her abdomen and lift her into the air. Slowly, she forces herself to relax.

They circle around the pile. Yuu spots a car door hanging open. “There!”

Malleus floats closer.

“A little bit to the leeeeft—stop.” Yuu looks at the car plate number and compares it to the text Ortho had sent her. It’s a match.

“The police say they’ll need a day to get the car down and get the fingerprinting and whatnot done.” Yuu says when their group reconvenes for the night.

“My offer to remove the car for them was rejected.” There is an almost offended twist on Malleus’ lips.

“They probably want to preserve evidence or whatever.” Ace crosses his arms behind his head. “Man, I’m pooped.”

“Ya ain’t the one who had his cheeks pinched.” Epel scowls at him, rubbing furiously at his reddened cheeks.

“I apologize. I wasn’t of much help.”

“Many of the people we interviewed had a spike in heart rate after they saw your face and were much more amenable to speaking.” Ortho informs Silver.

Silver looks at him incomprehensibly.

“The power of a good-looking face…”

Dylla looks apprehensive when she sees them at dinner.

“No more murders happening, I hope?” She asks lightly.

“Nope, just boring ol’ investigation.” Epel answers.

“I didn’t know these things took so long.” Deuce complains, sagging against the couch. “It’s way different from the movies.”

“Just a few months ago, you were telling me how you wanted to be a police officer, Deuce.” Dylla says with a fond smile. “Are you changing your mind now?”

Hang on a second.

“Hey Deuce?” Yuu prods Deuce in the arm.

“Yeah?”

“You know that media doesn’t always provide an accurate representation of real life, right?” Yuu asks.

Deuce starts to go red in the face. “I knew that!”

“He definitely didn’t.” Ace says.

At Yuu’s request, Ortho displays a hologram.

“Woah!” Dylla exclaims, eyes going wide.

“This is so cool!” Deuce’s eyes are sparkling.

“Illusion magic?” Malleus murmurs, cocking his head slightly.

“Man, you guys are lame. This is old news.” Grim scoffs like he hadn’t been startled the first time Ortho did it.

“Around ten days ago, Phineas Herran was seen getting into a car with an unidentified woman. What time did this happen?”

“Witness records state it happened around 10PM!” Ortho chimes in.

That was long after the suspects Alex Herran and Melody Leaf had left Phineas Warren’s house.

“What did the woman look like?”

“According to one neighbour, she was wearing a pretty dress and a scarf that covered her face.”

“They drove off somewhere. Ortho, can you get footage from the traffic cameras?”

“Give me a few minutes to access and download the feeds, Yuu!” Ortho says.

A few minutes later, Ortho displays a grainy video.

The car moves out of frame. Another video is pulled up, from a different time frame.

“Not every road has traffic cameras.” Ortho reports. “Footage of the identified car cannot be found for a while after 10.45PM. The car was later seen being driven towards the direction of the junkyard at 11.23PM. This is the last footage I have of the car.”

The angle of the traffic camera doesn’t show much of the passengers.

Ortho attempts to zoom in the footage, but all that can be seen are a few blurry pixels.

“This is hard…” Deuce mutters.

“Ortho, can you pull up a map of the roads and where you got the footage from?” Yuu asks.

A map is projected onto the wall. A few red circles mark the map. Ortho even added the timing to it.

They have an approximate route, though the last stretch of the car is completely unknown.

“Oh!” Dylla exclaims all of a sudden. “From this spot to this spot,” she taps at two of the red circles, then traces a line along a particular route to connect them, “there aren’t any traffic cameras!”

Ortho pauses, presumably scanning through the cameras. “You are correct, Dylla Spade.”

“How’d you know that, mom?” Deuce asks his mother.

“I’m a delivery driver, you know. Every good driver knows where the traffic cameras are!” Dylla laughs.

The route looks pretty short.

“It took over thirty minutes to get there?” Epel mutters, frowning.

“This is usually a ten-minute drive.” Dylla says.

“The murder must have happened then.” Silver nods slowly.

“Is there a place where you can stop a car?” Yuu asks Dylla.

Dylla thinks for a moment, then points at a particular spot. “That place is under a bridge. There’s a road shoulder there. Not many people use that road either.”

“Why would they stop there?” Malleus asks.

“That’s easy.” Yuu snaps her fingers. “When you’re out on a date with someone you like and they tell you to stop in a place where there’s no one around…”

“OH.” Ace says, blushing a little.

“Phineas Herran’s corpse fell out from the side of the passenger seat. I’m thinking that mystery woman used Alex Herran’s belt to strangle Phineas Herran to death, then moved him into the passenger seat and took over driving.”

But there were a few problems with that theory.

“Where’d the belt come from?” Epel asks.

“Did she… you know, seduce the other guy too?” Ace asks.

Yuu shrugs.

“What about from this spot to the junkyard? Which route has no cameras?” Yuu asks Dylla, tapping the last red circle.

“That’s a little trickier.” Dylla says. “There’s quite a few routes.” She traces a road, then another and another.

Yuu frowns.

“What does knowing which road they took matter?” Epel asks. “S’not like it’d help. And no one’s gonna remember a random car from more ’n a week ago.”

That’s true.

“We should go check out the bridge.” Yuu suggests.

Dylla claps her hands. “Alright then! I’ll drive you all there!”

“But isn’t it getting late?” Deuce asks his mom.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have work tomorrow! Let’s just try to get back before it gets too late!”

“Your mom is so cool.” Epel tells Deuce.

The minivan still has a noticeable dent from the first day.

Ace sniggers the moment he sees it.

Malleus gives him an annoyed look.

“This place feels like a murder happened here.” Deuce crosses his arms and frowns.

“There is no discernible environmental change except that it is dark and damp.” Ortho informs them.

“…Hang on, the murder took place in the car anyway, didn’t it?” Ace asks. “There obviously wouldn’t be anything here!”

“Myah? So we came all the way here for nothing?” Grim complains.

Since they were already here, “there’s something I wanna try.”

“Ortho, do you still have pictures of the corpse?” Yuu asks.

“Yes!” Ortho projects the photo onto the wall.

“Phineas Herran was strangled from the back.” Yuu points at the marks. “If the murder happened in the car, how did it happen?”

After some shuffling about, the boys decide to play-act out the scene.

Silver would play Phineas Herran and Epel the mystery killer.

Epel sits in the passenger seat, then gets out and circles around the car to where Silver sat in the driver’s seat.

Epel tries to wrangle a string around Silver’s neck, only for his hand to be immediately caught.

“No, wouldn’t work.” Yuu shakes her head.

They try it the other way around. Silver gets out of the driver’s seat and opens the door to where Epel is.

“I can’t get it around his neck like this.” Epel says.

“What if there was a third person?” Deuce suggests.

A third person…?

Their little play works out much better with a third person, whether by ambushing Silver from the back of the car, or from jumping out from the shadows of the bridge.

“This third person could be anyone!” Ace grumbles.

Dylla drives them to the police station the next morning.

When they return back to the police station the next morning, the detective doesn’t even try to kick them out anymore.

“We found a witness.” He tells them instead.

The witness is one Warren Felt, who claims he saw Alex Herran killing his brother by strangling from behind with his belt.

That… does not sound right.

Everyone exchanges looks.

“How are you certain that this man is telling the truth?” Malleus asks.

“Warren Felt doesn’t have any relationship with the victim,” the detective says, baffled, “he has no reason to lie.”

Something twinges at the back of Yuu’s mind.

“I think our senses are fooling us.” Yuu says. She points a finger at Warren Felt. “I bet he’s actually the victim’s brother.”

Everyone stares at her.

“Henchman, are you secretly stupid?” Grim asks her with a pitying look.

“I’m not falling for the same trick again.” Yuu shakes her head. “Alex Herran might look similar to the victim, but that doesn’t mean they’re brothers!”

“Yuu, their family relation is registered in the government databases.” Ortho tells her.

“…I demand a DNA test to be done!” Yuu slams the table like the lawyers do on television. “Warren Felt definitely has some relation to the victim!”

“We uh… don’t do that here.” The detective says awkwardly.

Malleus slowly raises a hand to his chin. “Is there a reason why you are so certain of your claims?” He asks her.

“Instinct!” Yuu says proudly.

“I thought you were supposed to be smart.” Ace mumbles into his hands. “How did I miss that Yuu’s an idiot?”

“You’re not the only one.” Epel tells him, patting his back.

“There’s a clear motive, clear evidence and a witness!” The detective exclaims.

“D! N! A! Test!” Yuu repeats firmly.

There’s apparently magic that can check if two people are related.

Warren Felt turns out to be the secret son of the victim.

“…huh, I wasn’t expecting that.” Yuu admits.

“You were the one who pushed for it!” Ace snaps at her.

“What were you even expecting!?” Deuce asks her incredulously.

“I don’t actually know.” Yuu says.

Silver stares at her. “You have some very strong instincts, Yuu.” He says slowly.

“It seems that the witness has a reason to be biased now.” Malleus points out to the detective, who looks like he is regretting everything all over again.

“Warren Felt grew up in an orphanage and was later adopted by an elderly couple. His adoptive mother fell sick years after his adoption, and whatever money they had was used for her treatment until it was unable to sustain her through her illness and she died. His adoptive father died of grief shortly after.” Ortho tells them.

“How are you even getting all this information?” The detective asks Ortho with a twitching brow.

Ortho looks at the detective, then says cheerfully, “you do not have the clearance to know.”

The detective splutters.

“Did he do it then?” Ace asks.

“If I can get closer to him, I can scan his vitals and determine if he is lying.” Ortho says.

Oh right. All-purpose android here.

They barge into the questioning room, ignoring the detective’s attempt to stop them. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

“I can detect lies.” Ortho informs him.

The detective slowly buries his head in his hands.

Ortho’s head turns to face a startled Warren Felt. “Did you kill Phineas Herran?”

“What? No!”

“Were you lying about witnessing Alex Herran committing the murder?”

“No!”

“You are lying.” Ortho says. He stares unblinking at Warren Felt who starts sweating.

“I-I’ll tell the truth! Just get that thing away from me!” Warren cries.

“Ortho isn’t a thing.” Yuu scowls. She curls the fingers of her good arm into a fist.

Silver places a sturdy hand on her shoulder. “We should refrain from violence in the station, Yuu.” He tells her gently.

“I know a good spot where we can beat people up.” Deuce tells her quietly.

“That is an odd thing to know.” Malleus says in a normal volume.

“Shaddup.” Epel tells him.

Malleus draws back, looking mildly insulted.

“Can we not do this in a police station?” Ace asks them.

Yuu glares at Warren Felt and walks out.

“Functionally, I do not count as a person, Yuu. I am a self-learning artificial intelligence.” Ortho says.

“You are.” Yuu shakes her head. “You have your own thoughts. You have feelings. You’re definitely a person.”

Ortho cocks his head. “I do not have a soul.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“It does, Yuu.” Ortho tells her. “Putting aside the fact that I do not meet the requirements of being a ‘living being’, it is legally defined that a soul is a requirement to be considered a sapient being.”

“But that’s-!”

Malleus coughs delicately. Yuu turns to look at him.

“I intended to say that young Shroud does indeed have an artificial soul.” He points at the blue fire burning in Ortho’s chest.

Yuu deflates and draws Ortho into a one-armed hug. “You’re a person, Ortho. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.”

“…okay, Yuu.” Ortho says after a long moment.

Everyone shuffles around them for a bit, then Deuce tells her, “there’s an alley outside the station where there’s no cameras if you wanna jump the guy and beat him up.”

“Don’t be stupid. We’d be the first suspects if he gets injured.” Ace scoffs.

“Vil says that physical violence’s inelegant.” Epel says, then in a lower tone, “poison’s better.”

“I find your enthusiasm about assaulting a civilian a little concerning.” Silver tells them.

“Ya gonna snitch?” Epel asks him warily.

Silver looks at Malleus.

“Far be it from us to ruin their fun.” Malleus says loftily.

“If it doesn’t bring dishonour to Malleus’ name.” Silver says.

“Or we could, you know, just tell Idia and let him handle it.” Ace says. “We won’t even have to lift a finger.”

Everyone considers that.

“Let’s do it.” Yuu nods and fishes out her phone.

Idia: u kno doxxings illegal rgt,,,

Yuu: stand up for your brother coward

Idia: y r u angrier abt this than me???

Yuu: ortho deserves better

Idia stops replying after that.

Warren Felt admits to the murder.

“What about the mystery lady?” Deuce asks.

The detective pauses and stares at them. “What mystery lady?”

Yuu realizes abruptly that no one else knows about the results of their investigations yesterday.

The detective physically grows more tired when they tell him what they found. “Warren Felt claims he did it all on his own. He does not have an accomplice.”

“I believe that would be due to the memory spell on him.” Malleus says. “I sensed something of the sort lingering on him.”

The detective stops. “A… what now?”

“Hornton! That’s the sorta thing you tell people!” Grim yelps.

When magic is involved in a case, the magical division has to be called in.

All the suspects are called back to the police station.

Melody Leaf is nowhere to be found.

When asked about it, Sherran Tout shakes her head. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anyone called Melody.”

“That’s not a lie.” Ortho says.

Everyone exchanges a look.

“Searching the local database for Melody Leaf… four matches found. None of them resemble the woman we saw yesterday. Checking the police database… Information on Melody Leaf has no corresponding evidence. She likely got away with submitting false documentation with aid of a memory spell. Expanding search to include image recognition.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ace yelps. “Is this a murder or-?”

“It appears to be an assassination.” Malleus says, raising a hand to his chin.

Silver straightens, eyes growing sharp and alert. “Malleus, should we alert Briar Valley?”

“No need. I’m hardly their target. Besides, it’d take much more than a mere human to harm me.” Malleus says with a flicker of a smirk.

“Someone with a similar resemblance has been sighted boarding a train heading to the outer islands of the Queendom of Roses.” Ortho reports. “The train will leave the station in twenty-eight minutes.”

“No.” The detective says firmly. “I let you lot into the investigation because you’re mages and have nothing to do with any of the suspects or the victim. I’m not letting any of you chase down a potential assassin. Especially one with magic! Just sit there and wait for the magic division to respond!”

“You do not have the authority to give me orders.” Ortho informs the detective.

“Neither do you me.” Malleus adds.

“I will follow the command of my liege.” Silver says.

Yuu turns on her heel and runs out. Dylla is waiting for them by the parking lot.

“Ms Dylla!” Yuu shouts. “We needed to get to the train station yesterday!”

Deuce definitely gets his decision-making skills from his mom. She gives them a thumbs up and hops into the driver’s seat no questions asked.

Everyone piles into the minivan.

The door slams shut and they are off.

“Why’s there a police motorcycle following behind us?” Dylla asks, speeding through the roads, but still just within the speed limit.

“We’re chasing down an assassin.” Yuu says, shoving Ace’s elbow off her gut. Grim scrabbles over Ortho’s shoulder, hops onto Silver’s lap, then clambers onto Yuu’s head.

“WHAT?” Dylla jerks her head to look at them.

“Mom! Road! Eyes on the road!” Deuce shouts.

Dylla forces her head back to the front and rounds a curve.

The minivan screeches to a halt before the train station.

Epel yanks the door open and rushes out. “Ortho! Where’s the train?”

Yuu trips over Ortho’s leg as he darts out, caught by Silver’s steady hand. “Be careful.” He murmurs.

“Follow me!” Ortho says, thrusters fired up.

A motorcycle swerves to a stop in front of them.

The detective shoves his helmet onto the handles.

“Oh for-! Kids! Stop right there!”

No one listens to him. Yuu has the vague awareness of the detective running after them.

Ortho flies through the station. He pauses before a set of stairs, then flies down.

Yuu doesn’t bother trying to climb down. She steps on the railing and leaps down, landing with a tumble.

Grim yowls, claws digging against her chest.

Yuu’s arm twinges slightly, the impact jostling the site of injury.

Malleus floats down, followed by Silver who does the same as her, leaping off the railing and landing easily.

Deuce tries to mimic them, but Ace grabs his collar and forces him to stumble to a halt.

Ace, Deuce and Epel swerve and take the actual stairs.

Yuu doesn’t wait for them, running after Ortho. “Here!” He points at a train.

The train is—long.

“Wait for us!” Epel shouts, panting as they catch up.

“Let’s split up.  Some of you guys board the train from this end.” Yuu tells them. “I’ll go from the other end and look for our assassin.”

The train lets out a whistle.

“Stop the train!” Yuu can hear the detective shout from behind them. “One of the passengers is suspected of being a criminal!”

Malleus grabs hold of Yuu’s shoulder, then reaches out another arm to grab Deuce.

They teleport to the other end of the train.

Yuu stumbles, disoriented from the sudden shift. It reminds her vaguely of some of the worse Rayshifts.

Deuce very audibly tries not to gag.

Malleus does not break stride, shoving open the train door.

Yuu hauls Deuce to his feet and follows after him.

“I must confess,” Malleus says, pausing at the door of the train compartment, “I was hardly expecting so many people.”

Yuu pokes her head beneath his arm and peers at the sight.

“It’s holiday season.” Deuce mutters. “And it’s a different sort of train than the one at Shaftlands.”

Yuu opens the compartment, shuffling under Malleus’ arm and walking in. She walks along the aisle, both boys following behind her.

Conversation slowly peters out, devolving into a sort of awed hush.

Yuu looks around and finds no one resembling ‘Melody Leaf’. She reaches the end of the compartment and opens up the next door.

Three compartments and nothing.

“Do you sense any magic?” Yuu asks Malleus in a hush whisper.

Malleus shakes his head.

They move onto the fourth compartment. There are much fewer people here. Then again, given the ‘Reserved’ sign on the door, maybe that’s not such a strange thing.

Their group pauses when they catch sight of someone.

“Professor Crewel?” Deuce yelps.

Professor Crewel’s head snaps up from his magazine to look at them. “Spade. Draconia. Yuu.” He says after a startled beat. “I wasn’t expecting a combination like this.”

Grim hops off Yuu’s shoulder. “Myah? What’re you doing here, Professor?” Grim asks.

“I was on a vacation.” Professor Crewel clicks his tongue.

Yuu’s gaze drifts past him towards the door of the next compartment. Something catches her eye.

She runs down the aisle and into the next compartment. In the compartment with only three other people, ‘Melody Leaf’ is easy to spot, sitting there as she looks at her phone with an air of boredom.

Yuu slams her hand beside her chair. “You! You’re Melody Leaf!”

‘Melody Leaf’ tenses slightly. It is a too-tame reaction. “Pardon? I think you have the wrong person.” She places a hand on Yuu’s arm and slowly weaves out of the chair.

“No, I…” Something off settles in Yuu’s mind. Yuu blinks. Why was she cornering a random woman…?

“Excuse me.” The woman says with a faint smile.

“Uh… right. Sorry, miss.” She mumbles, letting the woman pass her.

Where is she? Is this a train? Yuu looks around, her attention caught when a compartment door opens.

“Henchman!” Grim yowls from Deuce’s shoulder. “Don’t just run off like that!”

“What are you lot up to now?” An unexpectedly familiar voice complains. Yuu startles at the sight of Professor Crewel. “Professor? What are you doing here?”

Malleus follows at the rear. He stares at her intently, then his placid expression shifts. The genuine spark of rage is not something Yuu has ever seen from him.

“Yuu,” he says, voice close to a snarl, “what is the last thing you remember?”

She recalls heading to the police station this morning, finding a new witness, then —nothing. “What were we doing…?” Yuu asks, scouring her memory but coming up blank.

Wind begins to howl, battering at the windows.

“You don’t remember? We were looking for this Melody Leaf woman.” Deuce tells her.

Melody Leaf?

Melody Leaf…

Wait!

“That woman!” Yuu shouts, eyes going wide. “I saw her!” She points towards the other compartment.

Deuce’s eyes widen, then firm. He rushes down the aisle and slams the compartment door open. He looks around, then runs down the other compartment too.

Yuu follows after him. From the window, she sees a figure walking down the train and across the platform, a speed too fast to be casual.

“There!” Yuu shouts, pointing out the window.

“Stop!” Deuce shouts, leaping out the train door and chasing after the woman.

The woman glances over her shoulder, then starts to run.

Yuu slams the train door open with her shoulder and runs after them.

The weather outside is windy, dark clouds gathering overhead.

“Detective!” Deuce shouts to the detective who is talking furiously to the train conductor.

The detective looks over, then breaks into a run and tackles the woman to the ground. “You’re under arrest!” He shouts, panting heavily.

“What in the world is happening here!?” Professor Crewel asks them.

Everyone gathers at the platform of the train.

“Ack! Why’s Professor Crewel here?” Ace yelps, backing away, all but hiding behind Silver.

Epel winces.

“Hello Professor.” Ortho says.

“What have my students done now?” Professor Crewel asks the detective, raising a hand to pinch his brow.

“A memory spell has been cast on Yuu.” Malleus says, eyes fixed on the woman. She looks up at him and goes pale. A bolt of lightning crashes to the ground.

“Control yourself, Draconia.” Professor Crewel tells him.

“Huh.” Yuu says. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’ll fade.” She pats Malleus’ arm.

Malleus gives Yuu an irritable look. “Memory spells are highly fickle. They do not fade.”

“And they’re illegal when used without the right authorization! When improperly applied, they can result in long-term amnesia!” Ortho chimes in.

Yuu opens her mouth to tell them that this isn’t the first time her memory has been manipulated, then thinks twice and closes her mouth.

A soft hum resounds in her mind.

The magic police come and take the woman away.

Yuu still has no idea what that’s about.

Meanwhile, Professor Crewel is slowly nodding as the detective talks to him.

Yuu has a feeling that they’re about to get in trouble.

“Are you okay, Yuu?” Ortho asks her. “Do you remember what we’ve been doing for the past few days?”

“I remember everything up to this morning.” She says quietly.

“A few hours of memory loss. Most people tend to be a lot more disoriented after being hit with a memory spell.” Ortho observes.

“I’m pretty good at rolling with the punches, you know.” Yuu says with a laugh.

“You’re alright?” Deuce checks.

“Yup! Completely fine!” Yuu pats herself on the chest.

Deuce fidgets, then he blurts out. “The memory thing aside, this was really fun, wasn’t it?”

Yuu bursts into laughter. “Yeah! It was!”

“I’ve decided! I’m definitely gonna be a detective when I graduate!”

“Yeah! You’ll have to learn hand-to-hand to be a detective!” Yuu nods.

“No.” The detective says, turning to look at them, “you don’t.”

“How else are you supposed to catch hardened criminals and have an epic showdown with your rival nemesis?”

“I don’t think that’s what normal detectives do…” Ace mutters.

“Don’t confuse real life with movies.” The detective says, sounding exhausted.

“I apologize for the unruly pups.” Professor Crewel sighs.

“No… it must be hard being a professor.” The detective says.

Both adults share a look of commiseration.

Chapter Text

All of them got a lecture to ‘stop being reckless, don’t run into danger, some of you should know better’ and a muttered ‘ugh I missed my train’.

They find Dylla pacing around outside the train station.

“Mom!” Deuce calls out.

“Deuce!” Dylla rushes over. “I saw a woman being led away. What was that about an assassin? Are any of you kids hurt?”

“Nope! We’re all perfectly fine!” Yuu says brightly.

Professor Crewel fixes her with a narrow stare.

Dylla pauses when she sees Professor Crewel.

“Are you Mrs Spade, by any chance?” Professor Crewel asks.

“Yes! Is something the matter?”

“I am Divus Crewel, professor of Night Raven College. I’d like to speak to you.”

Professor Crewel glares at them until they shuffle out of earshot.

“What’s Professor Crewel saying to mom?” Deuce asks Ortho.

“I am not outfitted with the right gear to listen in on conversations.” Ortho tells him.

“Mom! What did Professor Crewel talk to you about?” Deuce asks once both adults have returned.

Dylla doesn’t answer, instead pulling him into a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Deuce.” She tells him.

“H-Huh? That’s so sudden…” Deuce says, going glassy-eyed.

“Woah he’s actually crying.” Ace whispers to Yuu.

“Don’t be an ass.” Epel tells him.

Professor Crewel leaves after another lecture, this time on the dangers of memory spells and possible consequences.

This particular one feels incredibly pointed.

“I strongly advise you to get a proper medical checkup and pay a visit to the school counsellor once the school term resumes.” He adds.

Yuu considers that.

The prospect of being in a hospital…

A body—no, not even that. A collection of nerves laid on the floor.

A touch, a bare modicum of a hug; and it crumbles into dust.

She couldn’t save anyone.

“…I’ll think about it.”

Yuu’s phone buzzes, a sign of an incoming call. It’s Riddle. She looks at the dozens of unread messages he had sent her and answers the call.

“Yuu!” Riddle shouts into her ear. “Murder is against the law!”

Ow.

“No murders were committed.” Yuu reassures him, then thinks twice and amends her statement, “one kinda was? But it turned out to be an assassination.”

“Assassination’s still murder.” Ace tells her.

She hears a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the call.

“Hey Yuu.” Trey’s voice says as the distinctive sound of Riddle losing his shit happens in the background. “What’s this about a murder?”

“Ask her if she broke any rules!” Riddle demands.

Did they break any rules?

Yuu looks to her friends for help.

“Apart from the illegal blast cycling— nope, we didn’t!” Ortho tells her.

“Didn’t we do some breaking and entering? Oh wait, that was with a police escort.” Yuu mutters. “Huh. I guess we didn’t break any rules!”

“Did you say ‘we’? Who are you with?” Riddle asks.

Yuu gestures for the group to huddle up, then takes a group photo. She sends it to Riddle.

“Calming breaths, Riddle.” She can hear Trey say.

She can hear Riddle inhale, deliberate and loud. When he speaks again, it is calmer but no less frustrated, “I expect a proper explanation once Winter Break is over.”

Then he hangs up.

“Oh hey! They’re setting up something!” Yuu points at the park and the huge maze within.

“That’s the maze for the White Rabbit Festival in spring.” Dylla tells her. “The people setting it up are volunteers.”

“That sounds so cool! Can we help?” Yuu asks eagerly.

“We just helped catch an assassin, you lost a few hours of memory and you think that volunteering for an event is more exciting?” Ace asks her incredulously.

“Assassins are old news. I’ve never helped set up a maze before!” Yuu says.

“Ah!” Silver says abruptly right before they head back to school.

Everyone looks at him.

“I forgot to buy my alarm clock…” He mutters.

“Oh right. We got way too distracted by the maze.” Yuu says.

“Don’t you mean the murder?” Ace asks her incredulously.

“We never got our race…” Deuce wilts.

“I rather enjoyed this vacation.” Malleus declares. “Spade. You and your mother have my gratitude for hosting us.”

“Huh? Uh… you’re welcome?” Deuce scratches the back of his head.

The start of the school term also brings along another Housewarden meeting.

Yuu stands behind Idia, listening as Crowley informs them about the upcoming cultural fair, along with the Vocal and Dance Competition.

“Before we move on, I have a few pieces of good news!” Crowley announces.

“First of all, I received a letter of commendation from a police station thanking my students for their help in cracking a strangely-convoluted murder case.”

Riddle’s head swivels to stare at Yuu. Trey glances at her, much more discreetly, but his gaze just as intent.

Malleus offers Yuu a smug, secret smile.

“Wouldn’t happen to involve the picture of the corpse Ortho uploaded into my cloud, would it?” Idia mutters, a little too loudly. The tips of his hair go pink when he realizes that all eyes are on him and he holds up his tablet to hide his face from the scrutiny.

“It also begged me to send my students to therapy.” Crowley continues like no one had said a thing. “As the leaders of your dorms, do keep in mind to look out for the mental well-being of your fellow dormmates!”

“Do you need therapy?” Idia asks Yuu in a whisper that everyone in the room can hear anyway.

“Oh, definitely.” She says breezily and does not elaborate.

Kalim looks at her and opens his mouth.

“Ahem!” Crowley coughs loudly. “Furthermore! I have received even more delightful news! My students have finally defeated RSA!” Crowley takes out a handkerchief and dabs at his completely dry cheeks. “Grim showed me a particular article!”

The front-page clipping makes another appearance.

Azul’s face twists into a grimace before he manages to school it back into something resembling a cordial, if strained, politeness.

“This will mark the end of our losing streak against RSA!” The lights that make up Crowley’s eyes fixate on Yuu. “Miss Yuu. You have all the makings of a beast tamer! I would like you to assist with Mister Schoenheit as the manager of NRC’s upcoming VDC team!”

“One moment, Headmaster.” Malleus says, the first words he has said since the meeting started. “Yuu will be assisting me with the Gargoyle Appreciation Club.”

“I did not ask for any assistance.” Vil sniffs. “I will not accept anything less than the best of any of my members, performing or not. And since we’re on the matter, I’d like to request for the use of Ramshackle.”

Malleus doesn’t scowl but it is a very close thing. “A shame that I must refuse you, Schoenheit.”

“The last I checked, it was Yuu who has the official ownership of Ramshackle, not you, Malleus.” Vil says with an arched brow.

“Now, now. Why don’t we ask Yuu for her opinion instead of squabbling over it yourselves?” Lilia interjects.

Two pairs of eyes turn to Yuu. Everyone else makes a poor showing of not anticipating the encroaching train-wreck.

“This feels like a damned if I do, damned if I don’t sort of thing.” Yuu whispers to Idia.

“You picked all the choices for the bad ending yourself.” Idia mutters. “Time to choose who you wanna lose relationship points with.”

“Why can’t Yuu do both?” Kalim blurts out. Behind him, Jamil cranes his head to look up at the ceiling.

Thank you, Kalim.

Malleus’s gaze shifts from Yuu to Kalim. “Both, you say.”

“Being involved in two projects at once while keeping up with academics and administrative duties will be taxing for anyone.” Vil gives Yuu a considering look. “Though Yuu certainly has an impressive track-record…”

“I can do it.” Yuu nods firmly. “What do you want Ramshackle for though?”

“A place close to campus to practice and rest without distractions.” Vil tells her.

“Sounds like it won’t affect our club activities.” Yuu says.

Malleus nods. “Very well.”

“You’re a real people pleaser, aren’t you?” Idia sneers when they are safely back at Ignihyde.

Yuu glances at him.

He scowls and splays over his desk. “You know you still have to attend classes and help out with organizing the next birthday party.”

“I can make it happen.” Yuu says.

“Ugh… Look.” Idia spins his chair around to look at her. “You can’t keep it going at a hundred percent all the time. Even the best computer will burn itself out.”

“But…” Yuu starts.

“Let someone else play the hero.” Idia says. “You can handle being the side character for a few seasons.”

Let someone else take the lead…?

“…Can I really do that?” Yuu asks quietly. “If the world is ending…”

“If the world’s ending you’ve got a lot more problems than trying to be a main character.” Idia scoffs. He looks away and adds, “if the world’s ending, then—I’ll help you out.”

Yuu smiles a little at that. “I’ll hold you to that.” She looks down at her organizer. “I’ll outsource the birthday preparations.”

Nursery Rhyme holds up a rounded mirror the size of Ritsuka’s head.

It is comically big in her small hands.

Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?

If you claim to be fairer than a goddess, watch out for their jealousy and retribution!

Chapter Text

Yuu looks around. All the cultural club members are present.

“Hey Hornton! What’s going on here?” Grim asks.

“I am uncertain of that myself.” Malleus admits.

Yuu recalls something Coach Vargas had told her a while back. “I think I know what it’s about.”

“We’re going camping!” Coach Vargas announces.

Immediately, almost everyone groans.

“That sounds fun.” Yuu says.

“For you!” Idia cries. “You’re you and you’re teaming up with Malleus! That’s an all-star team right there!”

“I’m me?” Yuu repeats, laughing a little. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Almost everyone in Ignihyde gets drafted for the camp.

“Don’t worry! You guys can have fun! I’ll take care of the dorm!” Ortho chirps.

“Maybe if I pretend to be sick…”

“No way, you know what Vargas is like. You gotta commit to it. Get sick for real.”

“What if I jump down the stairs and break my leg?”

“With Yuu going around with that broken arm?”

“A broken leg’s different!”

“Come on guys, it’s not going to be that bad.” Yuu says.

A shared groan resounds in the common room.

“Housewarden! Tell her she’s the only extrovert here!” One of them cries to Idia.

“Ugh… I could be maxing out the event pool right now.” Idia groans.

“You guys got your bags packed?” Yuu calls out. “Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, spare clothes, socks, underwear—”

“Could you not?” Felix yelps, going red in the face.

“Sunblock, insect repellent, a hat or sunglasses for anyone sensitive to light.” Yuu continues on gamely.

“I brought tuna!” Grim tugs at her pants and shows her the contents of the little bag he has slung over a shoulder – Marja had made that for him back at Harveston. Yuu bends down to pat his head, then continues addressing her dormmates.

“A water bottle, candy, midnight snacks, medicine, remember to bring a bag along for the trash. And take out those energy drinks Idia, you don’t need it.”

Idia yelps. “I need it! It’s my lifeblood!”

“Are you going to grind your event through the night?” Yuu asks him. “Really? When you’re going to do some physical activity for once in your life?”

Idia splutters. “Leave me alone!”

“Brother…” Ortho says.

Idia grumbles and takes the box of energy drinks out of his bag. “There. Happy?”

“Theo, don’t bring your laptop. I don’t care about phones or consoles but that’s just going too far.”

A groan as aforementioned boy pulls out his laptop. “Vice Housewarden’s such a tryhard.”

Yuu thinks for another moment. “Remember your portable chargers if you’re bringing electronics. And a waterproof bag too, in case it rains.”

Some boys immediately scramble off to their rooms.

“Did I forget anything, Ortho?” Yuu asks.

“Nope! That’s everything on the list!” Ortho chimes.

Yuu claps. “Alright guys! Move out!”

The trek from the hall of mirrors to the mirror chamber draws many eyes and even more snickers tinged with schadenfreude.

“Ignihyde here…” Idia mumbles, curling in on himself.

They’re not the only dorm with a near-full attendance. Octavinelle also boasts a full house.

“Seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight. And that’s everyone from the arts and cultural clubs!” Vargas checks off something on a clipboard, then nods to himself. “Alright students! I know that lessons will start soon and in three months you’ll have the cultural festival. But before that, we have a very important task ahead of us! And that is… training our muscles!” Vargas strikes a pose.

“Woo! Muscles!” Yuu cheers.

Several of her dormmates step away from her and pretend not to know her. A few others give her tired, peeved glares. Idia cringes and shuffles away.

“Thank you, Yuu.” Vargas clears his throat. “Now, before we head through the Dark Mirror, I’d like everyone to split into your clubs.”

A hand finds Yuu’s shoulder. “Vice Housewarden,” one of her dormmates leans in and hisses lowly, “I’m begging you, please hold back.”

Yuu laughs and pats his back. “Don’t worry about it, Alex! If you guys need help, you can find me anytime!”

“Not the point.”

“A casual will look like a noob when next to a pro…”

“I tried.”

Everyone shuffles away into their groups. Malleus is easy to spot, lingering as he is at the head of where Diasomnia had gathered.

Yuu skips up to him. “Heeeey there, Hornton!” She greets him cheerfully.

“Yo Hornton!” Grim says, clambering up onto Yuu’s shoulder.

“Good morning, Yuu. Grim.” Malleus says, much more reserved.

NRC boasts a good many clubs. Science Club, Film Appreciation Club, Board Games Club, Culinary Club, Journalism Club and so on.

Most clubs have an average of five to ten students, though there are certainly exceptions.

Jade looks remarkably unruffled about standing alone by himself. Yuu still feels a little bad for him.

“Hey Jade!” She calls out to him, “over here!”

The scenery looks… a little familiar.

“Henchman?” Grim prods her cheek.

“What’s wrong Grim?”

“Doesn’t this place look familiar?” He asks, looking around.

“You too?” Yuu crosses her arms. Her gaze falls on a familiar cottage. “Huh.”

“Mrow?” Grim makes a very cute sound of confusion.

“We came here the first week of school, didn’t we?” Yuu recalls.

“Oya? You’ve been here before, Yuu?” Jade asks with a slight smile.

“Oh yeah. We had to fight a monster in the mines.” Yuu says.

Malleus glances at her. “A monster?”

“Yeah! It had an ink pot head and this real big pickaxe!” Grim stretches out his paws, waving in the air like it would begin to describe the sheer size of the monster. “It almost killed us! Henchman ended up causing a cave-in to beat it.”

“That sounds like…” Malleus begins, only to be interrupted by Coach Vargas. “Mountain Lovers’ Club! Gargoyle Appreciation Club! I’d like to have a word with you!”

Due to only having two and one people – “Hey! What about me!”

“Ahem! Two-and-a-half and one person,” Coach Vargas corrects himself, to Grim’s outrage. “Whaddya mean I’m a half?” “I’d like you to form a group for this camp.”

“Very well.” Malleus nods.

“I’ll be in your care, Yuu. Malleus.” Jade says with a smile.

“Right back at you!” Yuu beams.

First things first, they have to set up their tents.

“Wanna see something cool?” Yuu sets down her tent and turns to ask Malleus and Jade.

“Oh?” Malleus hums.

“Of course.” Jade says mildly.

“Time me.” She tells them.

Then she gets to work.

With one arm in a sling, she’s slower than usual. Still, in under a minute, her tent is completely set up. “Ninja training lesson number twenty-five!” Yuu proclaims, fingers outstretched in a victory sign.

Malleus looks at her, a little confused, but obligingly claps for her.

“Impressive.” Jade nods.

“You’re so lame, henchman.” Grim sighs and crawls inside the tent to curl up and nap.

Jade sets up a tent with little issue, though Malleus requires much more help, having underestimated his strength and ending up with a few broken pegs.

“Be gentler.” Yuu knocks one peg of his tent into the ground. “The ground’s hard but not that hard.”

“I understand.” Malleus immediately breaks another peg and stares at it in frustrated betrayal.

“Vice Housewarden! We need an assist!” Someone cries.

That sounds like someone from Ignihyde.

“Coming!” Yuu calls out. She looks at Malleus. “If you can’t control your strength with the mallet, you can just shove it into the ground with your bare hands.”

Malleus manages to do just that.

Yuu gets up and jogs over to the Ignihyde student.

When she gets back to her tent, she finds another three set up around them.

“Heya Yuu! Hope you don’t mind us joining you!” Cater waves at her with a crooked smile.

“Yuu!” Kalim greets her with a hug.

Yuu laughs and hugs him back.

“We have decided to form an alliance with the Pop Music Club.” Jade says.

Malleus pauses from his conversation with Lilia to nod in agreement.

Oh. Cool.

Lilia and Jade go off to fish.

Malleus is intent on heading to the mines.

“It’s dangerous out there, you should take Cater with you.” Yuu jokes.

“Should there be a danger that I cannot handle, I doubt Diamond would be able to assist me.” Malleus tells her.

“It’s a video game reference.” Yuu tells him. “But really, you can be kind of air-headed sometimes. I’d feel better knowing Cater’s there to watch out for you.”

“…Air-headed?” Malleus repeats quietly.

“Aww, I wanted to chill by the campfire though.” Cater says.

“I can go with him. Do you know how to start a fire?” Yuu asks him.

Cater raises a finger, thinks about it, then lowers his finger. “Point taken. And if we send Kalim off with Malleus I don’t think we’ll be seeing either of them anytime soon.”

“Ack! Fairies! They’re trying to put out the fire!” Kalim yelps. “Hey! No! Shoo!”

“Wait!” Yuu shouts when he starts to chase them off. “We should talk to them!”

The fairies’ fear of having their home be burnt down again is a reasonable one. Yuu can’t ignore that for her own convenience. Besides, they’re not hurting anyone.

“Hey there.” Yuu cups one of the little fairies in her hand. “Please don’t put out our fire.”

The fairy glares at her and stomps her little foot.

“I know you’re upset. But we’ll keep the fire small. See? Just a little campfire. Enough to give us some light and keep us warm.” Yuu soothes her.

The surrounding fairies quieten down, watching them.

“If that’s not enough…” Yuu looks around and builds a circle of rocks around the campfire. “There, now the fire won’t spread so easily. And we’ll make sure to put it out before we leave. Promise.”

Tinkles and bell-rings chime out.  The fairy on Yuu’s palm says something, then she flits up and kisses the tip of her nose.

The fairies fly away.

“Oh… I didn’t know that they were scared.” Kalim says guiltily.

“It’s okay, we know that now.” Yuu tells him gently.

The both of them sit by the fire.

“Um… Yuu?” Kalim asks. He looks around and shuffles closer to the edge of the clearing, away from the main camping site.

Yuu huddles closer to him. “Yeah?”

“About… about Jam—” Kalim pauses then shakes his head. “How did you break your arm?”

“Sled off a mountain and landed wrong.” Yuu says. “Are you feeling okay?”

“…Yeah.” Kalim says after a moment. A smile is pulled onto his face. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

Yuu sees the mirror image of herself.

“You don’t have to keep smiling.” She finds herself saying. “It’s heavy, isn’t it?”

Kalim stares at her with wide eyes.

Yuu’s own smile fades.

“Why? I don’t have a reason not to be happy. I’m really—” “Lucky.” Yuu finishes for him. “I’m so lucky to be alive. I have a great family. I have great friends. Everything in my life is amazing. What reason is there not to smile?”

The smile on Kalim’s lips grows smaller until it’s a bare curve of his lips.

“Just for a while.” Yuu whispers. “Just for a little while. Let go of the weight.”

She pulls her knees to her chest and rests her injured arm atop them.

“I always thought… I’d be okay. If Jamil was there with me.” Kalim says quietly. “I want to be his friend again. I don’t know how.”

As long as Mash was with her—

As long as there was someone…

“I don’t know either.” Yuu breathes out, angling her hand to look at the faded command spells.

Mash’s smile, so beautiful against the light.

Her eyes prick with tears.

Voices drift closer to them. Yuu blinks away the tears before they can fully form.

“Maybe… try to cook his favourite dish?” She suggests.

Kalim perks up. “Yeah! I can do that! Jamil loves curry! How hard can it be?”

A thought occurs to Yuu. “Do you know how to cook?”

“Nope!” Kalim says cheerfully.

“I can teach you. I know how to make a mean pot of curry.”

“Alright!” Kalim beams at her. Yuu finds herself returning the smile.

Yuu wakes up to the sound of something shifting around. She clambers out of her tent, careful not to wake Grim, and sees Malleus pacing around the campfire.

“Can’t sleep, Hornton?” Yuu asks Malleus.

“Hm? I intended to go on a stroll. Would you care to join me, Child of Man?”

Yuu nods.

They walk along the forest road. The sound of forest nightlife is abundant.

“There is a pleasant view here of the stars.” Malleus tells her. “Of course, it can hardly be compared to some of the areas in Briar Valley.”

Yuu cranes her head to look at where the forest canopy parts to reveal open skies.

The stars are beautiful.

“It really is pretty.” Yuu says.

Malleus glances at her. “So you say, but is that a lament I hear?”

“Someone once told me this.” Yuu says slowly. “The stars we see are light years away. Some of them die long before their light fades from sight. But when someone sees that light… and when we offer it a meaning, then it is proof that they have existed.”

To be forgotten is to die.

As long as someone remembers—as long as someone knows their story… A Heroic Spirit can live on.

She has spent a timeless eternity in that world of white. How long has it been?

Is Chaldea still looking for her? Or did they fail, their efforts lost to time and history?

Does F____ R______ still exist?

Malleus is silent for a moment. “Proof that they exist…” he murmurs, looking up at the stars again. “Yes… for humans who live such fleeting lives… being forgotten must be a terrifying prospect indeed.”

She cannot forget the people who died so that she could live. She will not.

Yuu feels a tightness in her chest. “Should we go back?” She asks, the words ash in her mouth.

“Go on ahead.” Malleus says. “I will continue on my stroll for a while longer.”

Malleus hasn’t returned yet.

“Oh, don’t mind that boy,” Lilia says, “he tends to lose track of time.”

“…Is that healthy?” Yuu asks.

“Keeheehee. Are you worried for Malleus? What a darling thing you are.” Lilia pats her head. “Worry not, it’s a common problem faced by those long-lived.”

A blink of an eye and you’ll be nothing but dust. What right did you humans have to take my one love from me?!

Yuu nods slowly.

Today, Lilia would go off fishing, Yuu, Grim and Cater would go to the mines to find another magestone fragment, and Kalim and Jade would collect firewood and feed the fire.

“This place totally hashes my vibes.” Cater sighs.

“You came out pretty quick yesterday.” Yuu says.

“Yeah that’s cause Malleus straight up punched through the wall, no mining needed.” Cater looks at Yuu. “Can you do that too?”

Yuu considers the wall, then looks at her fist. “Not as easily as Malleus, but yeah. I can do it.”

“I can do it too!” Grim says. He slams a paw into the rocky wall, then yowls, shaking his paw.

“Pfft.” Cater snickers.

Grim scowls at him and puffs out a fireball.

“Not in an enclosed space, Grim.” Yuu reminds him absently.

People are going missing.

“Lilia vanished, leaving our group to a pitiful four. Ah, five. Pardon me, Grim.” Jade says, not at all repentant. “Would be a shame if another one of us disappeared, wouldn’t it?”

“Don’t worry guys! I’ll protect you!” Yuu tells them.

Kalim and Cater look at her.

“That’s really reassuring!” Kalim says earnestly.

Cater starts to speak. “That’s not…” he pauses, clearly thinking something over, then says, “actually, know what? Yeah. That’s real reassuring.”

“I will gladly accept your protection, Yuu.” Jade murmurs coyly.

Everyone still at the camp gathers at their fire.

“What’s happening?” Someone asks, sounding scared. “Is there a serial killer or a monster?”

That kicks off some unsettled mutters.

“I’m certain this is just some elaborate prank.” Vil huffs.

“…Malleus has been missing since the second day, hasn’t he?” Rook asks. “Roi des Dragons does not strike me as the type to pull such a prank.”

Yuu considers it. “Hornton would, come to think. But if it was him, there’d also be some grand spell or something. He’s the threatening jokes and go-over-board-with-his-spells sort of guy. I don’t think it’s him playing a prank.”

“What if whatever’s out there managed to get Malleus Draconia too?” A boy whimpers.

“Nah, we’d hear the fight.” Yuu says. “Hornton probably walked into the mines and lost track of time.”

She stands up and claps her hands. “Let’s do it this way. We separate into teams and take shifts to be on lookout.”

A few hands go shooting up. “Vice Housewarden! I wanna be in the same team as you!” “Me too!” “Same here!”

“This is ridiculous.” Vil scoffs. “The whole of Ignihyde cannot be in the same team as Yuu.”

“Wow Yuu, you sure are popular.” Cater whispers to her.

Yuu looks at Azul. “Are we drawing lots again?”

“I want to be on any team except hers.” He says fervently.

Yuu ends up grouped together with Vil, Cater, Trey and Azul.

“I want to switch teams.” Azul says.

“Yuu! I’ll switch with that ungrateful bastard!” One of her dormmates shouts.

“Absolutely not.” Vil snaps.

“But—”

“You heard him.” Yuu says cheerfully. “Besides, if people keep switching teams we’ll never get anywhere.”

Her dormmate quietens with a grumble.

“There’s no animal tracks.” Yuu murmurs as she circles around the encampment. “Except for Grim’s.”

“That makes sense. The students that went missing are those that wandered away.” Trey says.

“I’m missing out on my beauty sleep right now.” Vil grumbles. “If I find out that this is just a prank…” He trails off menacingly.

“I certainly didn’t expect so many to trust in your abilities, Yuu.” Azul says. “Though considering the feats of physical strength you’re capable of, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

“Weren’t you just saying that you didn’t want to be on Yuu’s team?” Cater laughs.

“I was on the sled ride that gave her that broken arm.” Azul says flatly. “I do not want a repeat.” He eyes Yuu. “That reminds me… Floyd’s leg has long since healed. Why hasn’t your arm?”

“I rebroke it chasing after an assassin.” Yuu says.

“Say what?” Trey asks faintly.

Vil glances at her. “I want to hear the full story behind that.” He says firmly. “After this situation is over.”

“Same here!” Cater whistles. “That sounds real interesting.”

Someone screams from the distance.

Everyone goes still. Yuu can feel Grim tremble from his spot on her shoulder.

She runs towards the scream.

“Wha-? Yuu! Get back here!” Vil shouts.

Yuu pushes magic through her circuits.

Grim’s claws sink into her shoulder. “Henchman…” He whimpers, clinging onto her for dear life.

Yuu sees a figure with deer-like horns dart away, leaving behind someone slumped against a tree.

Yuu skids to a halt, checking on them.

It’s a student. They’re out cold, but otherwise look fine.

“Yuu!” Vil snaps, jogging up to her. “Don’t just run off like that!”

Cater and Trey catch up, Azul panting behind them.

“I saw something.” Yuu says, bending down to check on the student. “A figure with deer horns.”

“There’s something in the woods hunting us.” Is the general consensus.

“What if it’s the ink monster again?” Grim whimpers.

“We beat it, remember?” Yuu says. “If it comes back, we can beat it again.”

“None of us can use magic without a magestone.” Vil reminds them.

Several eyes fall on Grim’s collar and the sparkling magestone dangling there. It’s the only magestone that wasn’t confiscated.

“Although…” Vil continues slowly, stepping closer to Grim.

“No! This is mine!” Grim clings to Yuu.

“If it’s a life-or-death situation, should you really be holding onto our last hope like that, Grim?” Jade asks pleasantly.

A buzz starts to build amongst the other students.

“Hey.” Yuu says flatly. “If it comes down to it, I’ll let you guys have the magestone. Until then, don’t you bully Grim.”

“Yeah!” “You heard the boss lady!” “If you wanna get to Grim, you gotta get through Ignihyde first!”

Grim sniffles. “Guys…”

“’Sides, the fight with Yuu wouldn’t be worth it. She’s scary strong.” Someone adds.

A murmur of agreement.

Yuu feels a little offended.

Vil looks at Grim. “Give me the magestone and I will treat you to an all-you-can-eat buffet.” He gives Yuu a thin smile, as if to say ‘this isn’t bullying, now is it?’

Grim’s head turns to stare at him. “With fish?” He asks, starting to drool.

“A seafood buffet.”

Grim hesitates, paws coming up to his magestone. He looks at Yuu, uncertainly.

Yuu shrugs. It’s his magestone.

Finally, Grim detaches the magestone and gives it to Vil. “You better take care of that!”

Vil nods, holding the magestone in his hand.

It takes some planning and trap-laying, but they manage to catch the ‘monster’. It turns out to be Coach Vargas.

“Oof, that was a mean kick, Yuu.” He laughs, wincing a little and rubbing at his side. “Ahem. Anyway, since the five of you managed to pass this challenge, I’ll just go ahead and give you the Vargas badges.” He rummages through his pocket, grimacing all the while.

“I knew it was a prank.” Vil scowls. “Of all the—”

Someone from their camp screams.

“Again?” Cater grumbles. Trey looks tired as well.

Vil looks at the clouded magestone in his hands and tosses it to Yuu. “Just give us the badges so we can go back to sleep.”

“How cold, Vil.” Azul says with a smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. “I would think that you’d be more worried about your clubmates.”

“It’s just the professors.” Vil says flatly.

“Hey henchman?”

“What is it, Grim?”

“The scream came from the mines, right?”

Yuu freezes. “There’s a monster in the mines.” She whispers.

“…Pardon?” Vil stares at her, arching a brow.

“There’s a monster in the mines.” Yuu repeats.

“Are you tired, Yuu?” Trey asks her. “All of us have been to the mines. There’s nothing there.”

Yuu shakes her head. “There’s a monster. I buried it under a rockfall. That’s why one entrance of the mine is blocked off.”

“Uh… Yuu? I don’t think…” Coach Vargas starts to say.

“I thought I killed it, but if it managed to dig free of the rocks, people might actually be in danger.”

“Yuu! There are no monsters!” Coach Vargas stands shakily and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Adeuce said something about a monster in their training camp.” Cater says slowly. “They wouldn’t tell me the details though.”

“Kids, there are no monsters. It’s just Divus.” Coach Vargas says in the manner of a man who knows too well of the overactive imaginations of teenagers.

Yuu looks at Grim. She starts to pull him off her shoulder, only for him to dig his claws in. “We didn’t see it die. It might still be alive.”

The other boys exchange looks between themselves.

“Yuu. There are no monsters.” Coach Vargas repeats.

“I’m heading to the mines.” Yuu turns to the mines and starts running.

“Yuu! Wait! Ugh… Ow…” Vargas groans, clutching his side where Yuu had kicked.

Yuu darts through the trees, channelling magic through her legs to give her a boost in speed.

There are a few shouts and cries from the camp, but that worry is quickly assuaged when the distinctive voice of Professor Crewel rings out.

The mines are completely silent.

Yuu runs in.

“Grim, can you give me a light?” Yuu asks.

The fires on Grim’s ears burn brighter, casting an eerie blue glow over her surroundings.

“Is anyone there?” Yuu shouts.

No one answers.

Then another scream echoes through the tunnels.

Yuu runs towards the source. There’s no one.

“Boo!” Lilia appears out of nowhere.

Yuu yelps and throws herself back, tumbling to the ground.

“Lilia!”

“Keeheehee, you always have such interesting reactions, Yuu.” Lilia grins, floating down from the ceiling.

“You were the one screaming?” Grim demands.

“Why of course. The professors asked for my aid to make this little play much more interesting.” Lilia laughs.

Yuu feels her thumping heartbeat start to settle. She impulsively grabs Lilia in a hug. “Thank goodness.”

Lilia goes still. Then hands raise to pat her back. “There, there. Did I perhaps scare you?”

Yuu nods, not trusting herself to speak.

All the students that had gone missing are there when they return to camp.

Malleus is there. So is Professor Crewel who is wearing an odd costume – and looks disgusted to even be wearing it.

Coach Vargas draws their attention. “Yuu! There you are!” He shouts, then winces and clutches his side.

“Are you okay?” Yuu asks.

“This is nothing!” Coach Vargas proclaims.

“I’ll make sure he gets to the infirmary when we return.” Professor Crewel informs her. “That aside, did you happen to find that monster of yours?” The curl of his lips makes his opinion on the ‘monster’ clear.

Yuu shakes her head. “Nope, it was just Lilia!”

“Ah.” Malleus says abruptly. “By monster, are you perhaps referring to an Overblot Phantom? I encountered one while strolling through the mines. Rest assured, it is no longer an issue.”

Everyone goes silent.

“You found what.” Idia raises his head from the crumpled heap that makes up his body.

Both professors exchange a loaded glance.

“…I will have Crowley look into it.” Professor Crewel says with a strained smile. “It’s time for you lot to return to school.”

Chapter Text

A particular section of the school is barred as off limits while a construction crew works on repairs.

Some of their classes have been moved to other classrooms. No explanation whatsoever was given other than ‘an accident happened during winter break’.

Yuu looks at the holes in the walls and the shattered tiles. Water damage has not made it any better.

“Huh. Wonder what happened here.” Deuce comments.

Yuu silently starts to walk away.

“Henchman did that.” Grim tattles. “That snake guy mind controlled her and she started breaking stuff.”

“WHAT?!”

“We will be holding an audition to select members for the VDC soon.” Vil tells Yuu. “This is your last chance to back out. Managing a team is different from taking care of your dorm. I will not accept a last-minute resignation.”

“Don’t worry, I was the manager of an idol group before!” Yuu curls her hand into a fist and thumps it against her chest.

“Which idol group?” Vil asks.

“The Chaldea Production. Our star is the cute and glamorous Mysterious Idol X!” Yuu strikes a pose.

Vil stares at her for a moment, then continues like she hadn’t said anything. “I expect you to help keep the members in line. I have already arranged catering from the school cafeteria, and I will need you to help pick it up so that we can eat it immediately after practice.”

Yuu pouts a little. “Fineeeee.”

The auditions will last for a week, and the members of the VDC team will have a little over two months to get familiarized with their routine.

Ace, always trying to get ahead as usual, tries to get her help to bribe the judges.

“C’mon, what do they like?” He badgers her.

“Cut it out.” Jack tells him gruffly. “If you’re good, you’ll get in.”

Ace turns to Jack with a gleam in his eye. “Hey, you’re childhood friends with Vil aren’tcha?”

Jack’s ears twitch. He glares at Ace, drawing back his shoulders and snarling lowly.

“Geez, fine. I get the idea!” Ace throws up his hands.

“Ugh, I dunno why you’d wanna get in. Vil’s a slave driver.” Epel grumbles.

“You’re the lucky one. You don’t even need to audition.” Deuce says.

“Brother’s making a voice synthesizer for me!” Ortho chirps.

“How’d that even work?” Deuce asks.

Sebek hasn’t uttered a single word, going through the photos Ortho had taken of their entire vacation with single-minded fervour. Every time he sees one with even the barest hints of Malleus, he saves it.

“Why are weird things always happening around you?” Jack asks Yuu, tail drooping slightly. He looks a little sulky at having missed the whole vacation.

“I have the weirdest luck.” Yuu shrugs.

“You should’ve ditched your family.” Ace sniggers.

A look clearly contemplating violence crosses Jack’s face.

Yuu clambers onto the couch to pat his head. Jack scowls. “Hey! Cut that out!”

Like his wagging tail doesn’t expose his feelings.

“Campus has certainly gotten busy as of late.” Malleus says. “Even in Diasomnia, there are many who have taken to song and dance in the common room.”

Yuu nods in agreement. She works on her homework while Malleus carves his gargoyle in Ramshackle’s backyard.

“It’s cause anyone who gets into the VDC team gets fame, recognition and money.” Yuu checks her answers, decides it’s good enough and shoves it aside to work on her essay.

Grim lets out a particularly loud snore.

Yuu pokes him in the side with her magepen. When he fails to respond, she places her hand on his tummy and ruffles the soft fur there vigorously.

Grim whines and bats at her hand. “Henchman! Lemme sleep!”

“You still have homework, Grim.” Yuu says.

“Mroww… I don’t wanna.” Comes the petulant response.

“Okay. You can get scolded by the professors then.”

Grim’s ears flatten, then he very reluctantly gets up.

“Your work ethic certainly has much room for improvement.” Malleus says to Grim.

Grim glowers at him and sticks his head into Yuu’s bag, rifling through the folders until he finds the one with his name.

He pulls out his homework and starts to work on it.

A few minutes in, “Henchman, can I copy your homework?”

“You won’t learn anything if you do that, Grim.”

“Henchmaaaan.” Grim whines.

Malleus sets down his carving tools. “Do you require my assistance, Grim?” He asks mildly.

Grim freezes. “Uhh. Nope! You keep doin’ yer carving, Hornton!”

Yuu isn’t surprised – Malleus is the type to school someone at something until they get it to his standards of perfection. Grim had experienced that suffering himself.

“Hey guys! Nice to meet you! Welcome to Ramshackle! I’m Yuu and I’ll be your host for the next two months!” Yuu recites the speech she had ripped straight off a television show as she throws the doors open.

“Merci beaucoup! What a warm welcome!” Rook swoons.

“…Dude.” Ace says. Epel and Deuce look just as unimpressed.

“Hey Yuu!” Kalim grins and waves at her.

“Everyone already knows you.” Jamil says flatly.

“We’ll be getting straight to work. Stop fooling around and show us to our rooms.” Vil sniffs.

Vil immediately lays down several ground rules the moment everyone has unpacked.

First of all being, “I’m confiscating all this food. Yuu, throw them out.” Vil says.

Yuu stares at him, horrified. “You’re going to waste food?”

Vil gives her a pointed look. “Give them away, eat them yourself, I don’t care. Go fetch dinner while you’re at it.”

Yuu looks at the boxes of curry, then at the beautiful tarts. She makes the mistake of looking at her friends’ wide, pleading eyes.

“Can’t you make an exception for today?” Yuu asks.

“No.” Vil says firmly. “If you won’t get rid of them, I will.”

“Henchman, lemme eat them!” Grim pats her calf with a paw, already drooling.

“You get one tart.” Yuu decides.

She places one tart into the fridge, then while Vil isn’t looking, silently hides another tart behind a block of butter.

The curry won’t keep – it’s too much for just her and Grim, but too little for Ignihyde to share. Yuu pulls out her phone and sends Ruggie a message.

“’Course the first thing Vil would do is get rid of food.” Ruggie says derisively as he takes the boxes from her. “Rich folks, am I right?”

Yuu nods along, then abruptly remembers that she’s now rich too.

“Thanks for these. You want the boxes back?” Ruggie asks.

“Yeah. They’re Jamil’s. Can you drop them by Ramshackle when you’re done?”

“Sure thing, boss lady.” Ruggie says with an easy grin.

Side quest done, Yuu jogs to the cafeteria to get the catered food. The ghost chef drops nine steaming hot boxes into her arms. Did Vil order a portion for her and Grim too? That’s nice of him.

On the way back to Ramshackle, Yuu comes across Jade, clearly just back from a mountain hike. There is a basket of mushrooms on his arm. He offers her one with a smile and a gracious ‘do tell me what effects it has if you choose to consume it’.

Ace, Deuce and Epel are laid out on the floor when Yuu gets back.

“Are you guys okay?” Kalim asks, crouching over them. Jamil looks deeply unimpressed.

Vil taps his foot impatiently. “Well, spudlings? Get up.”

Grim is cackling, rolling around on the ground.

“Food’s here.” Yuu says, out of a lack of anything else to say.

“Thank you, Yuu.” Vil says to her, then sharper, “All of you, time to eat. The real training starts tomorrow.”

Kalim prods at his food.

Jamil makes a face and jabs a fork into the side of Kalim’s chicken, slicing off the corner and taking a pointed bite. He chews and swallows.

Kalim visibly relaxes and starts eating.

Huh.

“Do you get poisoned often?” Yuu asks.

Kalim blinks, then nods. “Yeah.”

“I ate poisoned cake once. It almost killed me.” Yuu recalls.

Kalim doesn’t exactly light up, but it’s a close thing. “You too?” He asks her cheerily. “Someone poisoned my curry back when I was a kid. Jamil ate it before me and threw up blood.”

“Did he get better?” Yuu asks.

“I’m sitting right here.” Jamil says testily. “Of course I got better.”

“I used to get kidnapped a lot as a kid too.” Kalim continues.

“That must’ve been really scary.” Yuu pats his back. “I got kidnapped a bunch of times… there was one time a dragon kidnapped me because he wanted me to help him out. He was so nice about it that I ended up agreeing.”

“That sounds really cool!” Kalim says brightly. “What did you help him with?”

“I just had to fight in a war.”

Vil stares at the both of them, his perfect, poised mask slipping into a sort of distant, horrified disgust.

“Why does it feel like we made a mistake?” Deuce says quietly.

“There are two of 'em now.” Epel bemoans.

“Language!” Vil snaps, holding on to something familiar with the manner of a man grasping at straws.

Epel rolls his eyes. “Them. Whatever.”

“But I can do this! Check this out!” Yuu pulls out the mushroom Jade had given her. “EX rank poison resistance!”

She takes a bite out of it.

Rook immediately smacks her in the back so hard she spits out the mushroom. “Madam Trickster!” He cries, “that is poisonous!”

“I’m resistant to poison!” Yuu protests, coughing weakly.

Grim claws at her arm. Ow.

“Idiot henchman!” He shouts at her.

“You literally eat cursed rocks, Grim.” Yuu tells him. “You hypocrite.”

Grim immediately looks away. “Wha-? No I don’t!” He is betrayed by his own nervously flicking tail.

Kalim’s smile falters as he looks down at the bright red mushroom on the floor. “Uh… I’m sure that’s a nice trick, but maybe we shouldn’t do that again?” He suggests.

Ace turns to Jamil. “I think you might be my favourite person in this room.”

“Clearly.” Jamil deadpans.

“Food’s cursed.” Ace tells her the next morning, bags under his eyes.

“Huh?” Yuu asks him. She’s more surprised that both of them are up so early in the morning.

He doesn’t elaborate, grumbling to himself as he shoves past her to get to the bathroom.

Deuce doesn’t look any better. “We tried to eat the tart you sneaked away for us last night. Vil found it and cursed it.” His face grows sour. “We didn’t even get to eat a bite.”

Vil gives her a talking-to after she returns from her morning run, lecturing her about responsibilities and enabling bad habits.

Vil has high standards, but compared to the hundreds of Heroic Spirits summoned to Chaldea?

It’s still manageable.

Yuu likes how chaotic it is with more people in Ramshackle. It’s much louder. More alive.

Heading to the cafeteria, my liege?

We’re starting a new game soon, come join us!

The musicians will be putting on a concert at the theatre. Would you like to go together, my lady?

It’s time for your lessons—Hey, pupil! Do you think you can run from this?!

Today we will lift a hundred-kilogram weight a thousand times!

Do you want to go for a flight on my back?

Growl…

If it’s too much, let’s go somewhere quiet. Together.

Will you accompany me to the simulator, my lord? I wish to train myself.

I made some stew for you. Remember to keep warm… the Singularity’s cold.

Master! I made a new outfit for you! Try it on!

Won’t you

              Give me

                             Some of

                                           Your time

                                                          Master?

“Are they already resting? I would have thought Schoenheit to be a better taskmaster.” It would be just like a normal conversation… if not for the fact that he’s floating outside her bedroom window.

Yuu slowly looks at Malleus. Having been witness to Vil drilling everyone until they drop from exhaustion, that is an almost callous statement. “Not everyone has the stamina of a dragonkin, you know.”

Malleus flushes slightly. “I am unused to being around such fragile mortals.” He deliberates for a while. Yuu remains silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I have a question for you, Yuu.” Malleus says.

“Yeah?” Yuu yawns into her hand.

“Are dragons… dragonkin common from where you hail?”

Yuu thinks for a moment. “They’re not super common,” she says slowly, “but not exactly uncommon either.” If only because of all the Artoria variants. “Why do you ask?”

“…it is of little consequence.” Malleus says.

Yuu struggles between her own fatigue and asking about the obvious elephant.

Concern wins out.

“Do you want to meet another dragon?” She asks.

“The only other dragon I know of is my Grandmother.” Malleus admits. “I find myself curious of others.”

“Dragon kin as a whole… most of them hate mornings.” Yuu rests her arms against the windowsill, looking at Malleus, then past him at the castle that makes up the main campus. “They’re naturally strong, some of them are selfish, some of them can be cruel. They tend to have a single-minded obsession… Singing, fighting, drinking, geez, come to think, those guys just really go and do whatever they want without regard for others.”

Yuu thinks of Elizabeth, Kiyohime, Shuten, Vritra. Dozens of other names and faces flash across her mind.

Her hand drifts down to her abdomen.

The hand inside her, stirring around, as if moulding something out of her flesh and organs. Shuten’s gleefully smiling face.

“But… it’s really reassuring when they have your back.”

“You are familiar with many dragons then?” There is a hint of uncertainty in Malleus’ tone.

“Mhm!” Yuu nods.

Vil works the NRC tribe hard, but leaves a downtime after dinner and right before bed for them to wind down.

The three-hour period usually ends up with all of them gathered in the common room, working on their homework and chatting.

“I used to help advertise for this teenage dragon pop idol. She was a really cute kid.” Yuu says.

“You speak of her fondly. Her shows must be wonderful indeed!” Rook exclaims.

Yuu winces. “Ah… wonderful is a word for it.” She rubs her ear. “Her first concert ruptured my eardrums. I started bringing earplugs after that.”

“Is she dragon themed or an actual dragon?” Jamil asks.

“She’s dragonkin so… an actual dragon.”

“Hang on. This girl blew out your eardrums and you kept going?” Ace interrupts.

“She tries so hard that you can’t help but want to support her, you know?” Yuu says. “Also, as Eli’s number one super fan, I’m obligated to kick people’s asses if anyone tells her to her face that her singing is bad civilisation.” She nods firmly.

“…bad civilisation?” Deuce echoes.

“No.” Yuu pats Deuce’s shoulder. “If you ever see her and she asks, you better say it’s good civilisation.” She gives him a smile. “Got it?”

For some reason, Deuce pales and starts nodding frantically.

Chapter Text

While the boys are busy practicing, Yuu has been assigned another duty.

Advertising!

Strictly speaking, it isn’t so much a duty for her as it is volunteering. But she’s been so busy she’s taking any chance to hang out with her other friends.

“It’s been a while since we last saw each other.” Trey says, plastering a flyer on the streets of Sage’s Island.

Riddle is supervising his dorm between speaking to the residents of the VDC event. Every dorm has been assigned to separate areas of the island, Ignihyde excluded — they were asked to spread the word online instead.

“You never told us about the assassin thing.” Cater complains. His clones are busy at work, sticking the flyers on walls and lamp posts. “Did another assassin come after you like Kalim’s?”

Huh.

“Nothing like that. A bunch of us went to Deuce’s hometown for a vacation. We found a dead body in a junkyard, found out that it was a murder, got involved in the investigation, realised that it was an assassination instead of murder, I got hit with a memory spell and we caught the assassin.” Yuu summarizes.

The boys stare at her.

“Anyways, did you know that Clock Town has an annual race? We helped set up the maze! It’s so fun! There’s space-altering magic too!”

“Your priorities sure need work, Yuu.” Cater says with a too-practiced sigh.

“How did things go with your mother, Riddle?” Yuu asks.

Riddle’s lips twist. His expression darkens slightly. “She was not happy with my… disobedience. I ended up staying over at Trey’s house for most of Winter Break.”

“Oh.” Yuu says.

“Mother came by to make a fuss. I ended up in an argument with her.” Riddle looks away. “She threatened to disown me.” A flicker of a smile crosses his face, small and grim. “Unfortunately for her, under the laws of the Queendom of Roses, she legally cannot do so until I have reached an age of majority.”

Yuu places a hand on Riddle’s shoulder and squeezes. “It must have been hard for you.”

Riddle tenses at the touch, but leans in. “It was something that had to be done eventually. I do not believe she will truly do so, but… I still have time.”

“If you need help, you just have to ask.” Yuu tells him.

“Trey said the same. I owe him and his family a lot for the trouble I’ve caused them.” Riddle says, with a much more genuine smile.

The smile drops into a more contemplative look. “My father has offered to fund my education should I wish to pursue further studies in an area that is not medicine.”

Further studies?

Yuu had never thought of that.

“I will still be aiming to obtain an internship as a magical doctor in my fourth year.” Riddle continues. “My dormmates have suggested that I would be a good lawyer as well. I intend to study further on the topic before I add that as a possibility to explore.”

“That’s really cool.” Yuu says earnestly. Riddle has his dreams all planned out.

What does she want? To reunite with Chaldea. To hold Mash’s hand again. To go on nightly baking expeditions with Goredolf and run away from the irritated cooks. Fool around with Da Vinci. Hang out with all the Heroic Spirits that came for her.

To return to Antarctica and finally, finally, finish her journey.

And after that? What does she want after that?

“I think… I want to open a bakery with the people I love.”

“What. Are. You. Doing?” Vil asks, arms crossed as he looks at the bowls of cocoa powder, milk and sugar.

“Making chocolate. It’ll be Valentine’s Day soon.” Yuu replies.

Come to think, they don’t celebrate Christmas here either, though Malleus had mentioned something about a festival back home which had something to do with holly trees.

Vil frowns slightly. “What in Twisted Wonderland is Valentines?”

Yuu blinks. Huh.

Guess it was one of those holidays that didn’t exist here too.

“It’s a custom back home, where we make chocolate and give them to people to show our appreciation.”

Vil watches her for a while longer, then says, “do refrain from adding too much sugar.”

Yuu laughs. “Alright, I got it.”

Yuu looks at the chocolate mixture and the moulds.

She bought enough ingredients to make chocolate for the whole of Chaldea – recited the whole list to Sam out of pure habit.

Now she has enough for half of the whole school.

Hmm…

Maybe if she rations it…

“What’s with that huge basket!?” Epel blurts out.

Grim sniffs the air. “Henchman, what’s that smell?”

Deuce sniffs too. “Is that… chocolate?”

Yuu picks up another stack of chocolates, wrapped differently from the ones in the plastic packaging. “Here guys! This is a token of my appreciation!”

The boys immediately look at Vil.

Vil waves a hand. “I’ll make an exception just this once.”

“Sweet!” Ace cheers and immediately rips the wrapping open, revealing a small box of chocolates. He picks one up and tosses it into his mouth. “Huh, cherry. Nice.”

“Henchman!” Grim tugs at her pants. “Where’s mine?”

“You eat everything, Grim. And seafood doesn’t mix well with chocolate, so I made yours with a special mould.” Yuu looks through the chocolates and picks out the one with Grim’s name on it.

He cheers and opens it. “Eh?”

“It’s shaped like seafood!”

Grim cocks his head, then picks up one and chows down. “It’s great!” His eyes sparkle. He picks up the whole box and pours it into his mouth.

“…What a waste.” Vil sighs. “No appreciation for Yuu’s hard work whatsoever.”

“It’s fine. As long as he likes it!” Yuu laughs.

Everyone stares when she lugs the basket with her to class.

They stare even more when she starts handing them out to everyone.

Some of them take it, stunned. Some of them thank her carelessly and open the packaging to pop a piece of chocolate into their mouths. Others ask her what she wants in return for it, only to fall into silence when she laughs it off with, ‘it’s just a token of my appreciation!’

Today, Professor Trein’s class covers the history of the Kingdom of Heroes.

Or more specifically, the land known as the birthplace of gods.

“Just as the Queendom of Roses attributes the creation of the world to Mother Goose, it is a popular belief that the gods who took residence within the Kingdom of Heroes are the ones who brought about intelligent life. Worship of them died down approximately two thousand years ago. During this time…”

After class, Yuu trots up to Professor Trein and gives him chocolate.

“What might this be for?” He asks her.

“It’s a custom in my hometown! We give chocolate to people to show our appreciation!” Yuu smiles.

“…I see.” Professor Trein glances over at her classmates who all have their own chocolates and accepts it. “Thank you for your consideration.”

After class, Yuu heads to the dormitories.

She first heads to Ignihyde, batting away Grim’s greedy paws with an assured ‘you can have anything that’s left over’.

Her dormmates receive the chocolates with varying enthusiasm.

“I’m not ready for a romance cutscene!” Idia screeches when she hands him a friendship chocolate.

Yuu silently places the chocolate on his desk and leaves him to his self-inflicted suffering.

“Thanks, Yuu! But I can’t eat!” Ortho tells her. He snaps a picture of the chocolate though.

“That’s okay, you can give it to someone else!”

“I’ll add it to brother’s stash of snacks.” Ortho starts floating to Idia’s door. He knocks politely. “Brother! Open up!”

When nothing happens, Ortho charges up a technomatic beam and blasts the door open. Idia screeches.

“I’m coming in!” Ortho says cheerfully.

Yuu decides to leave them to it. She still has six other dormitories to visit.

To her surprise, Rook is waiting at the front door of Pomefiore.

“I have come to assist you in your noble quest of bestowing tokens of your affection, Mademoiselle Trickster.” He proclaims.

When she had given him the friendship chocolate in the morning, he had all but swooned, reciting poetry about her ‘vast love’ and ‘overwhelming generosity’.

Vil had just looked the chocolate over, broke off a piece and nodded in satisfaction, “good, it’s dark chocolate.”

Rook shows her to the door of every single Pomefiore student and even helps her hunt down the ones not present in their dormitory.

Yuu doesn’t know if he’s somehow memorized everyone’s schedule or he’s just that good at tracking people.

She only knows where most of Ignihyde is because none of them leave their rooms if they can help it.

By the time she’s done with Pomefiore, the sky is getting dark.

“Thanks Rook!” Yuu waves at him and heads towards Heartslabyul. At this time of the day, everyone should be in their dorm.

Something, something, Queen of Hearts Rule number something, everyone must be present at a game of croquet. Sorry Riddle, there’s just way too many rules.

“Hey Riddle! Is there a rule against being given chocolates?” Yuu asks the moment she sees him.

Riddle raises a brow. “Pardon? No, there isn’t. Why—”

Yuu gives him a box of friendship chocolates.

Riddle blinks. Slowly, he takes it.

“It’s a token of my appreciation!” She repeats the same line she’s been saying to the past hundred-odd people.

“…Ah. Thank you.” He says, staring at it like it is something dangerous. After some hesitation, he opens it, revealing an array of strawberry chocolates.

“Here, you too, Trey!” Yuu hands a chocolate to Trey.

“Mind if I open it?” Trey asks.

“Go ahead!”

Trey rips the wrapping and takes a bite. “Huh.” He says after a moment. “Is this handmade?”

“Yup!” Yuu nods.

“Not bad. You’ve got the makings of a patisserie in you. Thanks for the chocolate.” Trey makes to pat her head, then awkwardly shifts his hand to her shoulder.

Cater snaps a picture of the chocolate and uploads it to Magicam in front of Yuu. He offers her a word of thanks and a wink, but makes no move to eat it.

“It’s a bit different from the usual chocolate.” Yuu says. “Try a bite.”

Cater grudgingly bites into it. He looks down at it, eyes widening slightly.

“You don’t like sweet stuff, right? Everyone else gets the standard mix, but I personalized them for my friends. I added chilli to yours.”

 “…Huh.” Cater says consideringly, then the smile comes back in full force. “Thanks Yuu!”

With Heartslabyul hosting the largest dormitory population in Night Raven, by the time Yuu makes it back to the Hall of Mirrors, the sky is dark and her basket is significantly lighter.

Yuu next heads to the dorm of early sleepers: Savannaclaw.

Ruggie pops out of nowhere. “Hey there boss lady, hear you’re giving out sweets.” He says leadingly and shamelessly holds out his hands.

Yuu laughs and places a box of chocolate in his hands. “I made an extra-large portion for you!”

“Shihihi, you sure know me well!” Ruggie grins and slinks off, prize in hand.

It’s fascinating seeing the way ears flick and tails sway when Yuu hands out the chocolate.

Jack’s tail wags when he receives his – Yuu was worried that he wouldn’t be able to consume chocolate, but a quick search luckily proved otherwise.

Leona’s nose wrinkles when she hands him his. “Don’t go expecting anything in return for this.” He grumbles, ripping the packaging open and tossing a chocolate into his mouth.

The people of Octavinelle are much more wary of accepting her gifts, but an assured ‘it’s just a gesture of goodwill’ seems to alleviate some of their worries.

“As if I would allow myself to be placed in debt!” Azul scoffs. “Nothing comes free in the world!”

It’s a bit of a whiplash given Floyd and Jade had accepted their Russian-roulette styled chocolate with cheery ‘thanks’ and a light bow respectively.

“I’m giving them out to everyone.” Yuu tells him.

Azul doesn’t exactly sneer at her, but his expression comes very close to doing so. “Take your charity elsewhere.”

“Oya? But Azul, after Yuu spent such effort preparing the chocolate for you…” Jade murmurs, lifting a hand to cover his mouth. “Isn’t rejecting a customized gift even worse?”

Azul’s expression pinches even more.

“Look, if you want to return the favour, you can always give me chocolate on White Day.” Yuu says.

“…White Day?” Azul asks.

“It’s pretty much a ‘response day’ that happens a month from now. People give reciprocal gifts to show that their feelings are conveyed and reciprocated. You don’t have to give anything, though.” She wasn’t expecting anything in return, after all. This was just a little custom from her world meant to show her gratitude to everyone.

A calculating expression flashes across Azul’s face. “And this gift is… chocolate?”

“Usually, yeah. It doesn’t have to be strictly chocolate though. Someone gave me a ride in return. It was really fun.” Yuu recalls. “Another guy gave me this real cute plushie.”

Azul nods slowly. Yuu recognizes a scheming face when she sees it.

“I will accept this chocolate of yours. You have my gratitude, Yuu.” Azul says with a growing grin. “You’re giving the whole school chocolate, aren’t you?”

Before she can answer, Yuu is shooed away.

…She feels like she made a mistake.

Scarabia accepts her chocolate with similar reactions to those of Octavinelle. Unlike Kalim who accepted his with a smile and then forced himself to bite down on it in front of her, as if trying to prove something. Jamil had given him an alarmed look, as if out of instinct, calming down when nothing happened. He had been so distracted that he accepted his chocolate without much fanfare.

When she finally visits Diasomnia, the moon is high up in the sky.

The fae within the dorm will be awake, but most of the humans would be getting ready for bed.

Yuu makes her way into the castle.

“Yuu? Is something the matter?” Malleus asks. It’s rare for Yuu to actually see him in his own dorm instead of hanging out around Ramshackle that she’s more surprised by his presence than she has any right to be.

“Here! Chocolate for you!” With the basket as empty as it is, it’s easy for her to find Malleus’ chocolate.

“You have my gratitude.” Malleus says slowly. “Is this a custom of some sorts?”

“Yeah! It’s Valentines’ back home! We give chocolate to the people close to us!”

“Ah.” Malleus looks at the chocolate. “Unfortunately, I have not prepared a gift in return for you.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Yuu pats his shoulder. “I gotta get going! I still have chocolate to give out!”

Most of the Diasomnia students treat her chocolate-giving with bemusement or ambivalence. Some of them thank her and offer her knick-knacks in return. One or two fae offer to give her a blessing, then immediately change their minds the moment they touch her. Yuu has no idea what to do with dandelion wine and partially-woven faerie cloth, but it’s the thought that counts!

Sebek accepts his chocolate but spends a good deal of time following her around lecturing her about ‘giving sweets to others so close to bedtime!’

Lilia is busy gaming when Yuu finds him. He looks up at her arrival. “Hello there, Yuu.”

“For you! As a token of my appreciation for helping to train me!” Yuu hands him his chocolate.

“Ah, you truly are a sweet child.” Lilia pats her head.

Silver is asleep, so Yuu just places the chocolate on his desk along with a hastily scribbled note, paper courteously offered to her by his roommate.

By the time Yuu makes it back to Ramshackle from the teacher’s lounge, there are a few chocolates left in the basket.

One beautifully-wrapped chocolate lies at the bottom.

The best of the batch — she had wrapped and addressed to Mash.

Yuu picks up the chocolate and traces the name with her eyes.

Why did she do that?

She grasps the edges of the wrapping, intending to tear off the paper with Mash’s name scribbled over it. Her fingers freeze and pull away.

The little box of chocolate feels too much, all of a sudden.

Yuu places it on the counter.

Grim or one of the boys would see it and eat it. Vil had given them this rare exception, after all.

Just this time… She wouldn’t be exchanging chocolates with Mash.

When she next wakes, the box of chocolates is gone.

Chapter Text

“Henchman?” Grim mumbles sleepily.

“What is it, Grim?”

“You’ll only ever be my henchman, right?” He asks.

Yuu falls silent. Has anyone called her their henchman before?

She has been someone’s bride, someone’s wife, someone’s lover, ‘Anshin’, ‘Christine’, ‘Deerlet’, ‘Praetor’, ‘my lord’.

The last hope of humanity.

Stargazer.

Master.

…

(Doctor Roman’s student)

“You’re the only one that calls me henchman.” She says carefully.

“Yuu! Go out with me!” A Savannaclaw student Yuu has seen around but barely talked to shouts, his cheeks red. The ears atop his head twitch, his tail swishing about anxiously.

It’s the first time Yuu’s been asked out in this world.

Sure, her heart would always belong to someone else, but…

There’s no harm in going along with it, is there?

“Sure.” Yuu says easily.

“I know I can’t be compared to guys like Leona but—” the boy pauses, “o-oh. Wait, really?”

“Yup! It’s a date!” Yuu beams.

“I won’t be around this Sunday.” Yuu says at Ramshackle’s dining table.

Grim makes a sound of disinterest while scarfing down his food.

“What, you finally skiving off of work?” Ace asks her with a smarmy smile.

“Nah, I’ve got a date.” Yuu says.

“Ah yes! With the rugged Emil Neumann of Savannaclaw!” Rook claps his hands together.

Vil frowns slightly. “We barely have a month more to the competition. As the manager of the team, do you have the luxury of fooling around like this?”

Yuu shifts a little, feeling guilty. “I can always reschedule…”

“Geez, Yuu’s been working her ass off. Chill out, wouldya?” Epel grumbles.

Vil levels a terrifying glare his way. “I see you still haven’t fixed your speech. If you do not practice elegance in your daily life, you will never reach the epitome of beauty.”

Epel scowls, clearly contemplating a retort.

“And for that matter,” Vil continues, “we are still far from putting on a performance good enough for the VDC! Your vocals are lacking, the footwork and synergy are a mess, and some of you,” Vil shoots a pointed look at Deuce and Kalim, “somehow manage to forget the lyrics even after all this time!”

“I thought we were pretty good when we practiced.” Kalim pouts. Deuce just looks ashamed of himself.

“Good?” Vil snaps. “I don’t settle for just good. I want perfect. Only perfect is enough to defeat RSA and that Neige LeBlanche!”

“Hey come on, we’ve been practicing every day. Can’t we catch a break?” Ace grumbles.

“A break? I entertained Yuu’s chocolate-making. I give all of you three hours at night to rest and waste your time with trivial matters when that time could be better off used to practice. Was that not enough of a break?” Vil asks sharply.

…Is it just her, or has Vil been particularly tense lately?

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Vil.” Yuu says.

“Yeah! The VDC’s a popularity contest anyway!” Ace nods.

Vil glares at him. He picks up his phone. “Mira, Mira. Tell me something. Who, at this moment, is the most beautiful of all?”

The automatic voice response of the phone goes, “Displaying results for ‘account with the most comments using the word beautiful’: Neige LeBlanche.”

“I believe that is answer enough.” Vil says in the ensuing silence. “Unless we deliver a perfect performance that can sway the audience, we will not win. I refuse to let my name be associated with another loss to Neige.”

…Neige again. This doesn’t feel like an ordinary dislike – more like a rivalry or even a grudge.

Vil is compromised, burning himself out from within. It would be hypocritical of Yuu to point it out. “Even the best machines will break down without a cooling period and maintenance.” She finds herself saying anyways, a close echo of Idia’s own words to her.

Vil is silent for a moment.

“Having high morale is important.” Jamil adds. He must have been suffering under Vil’s iron fist too if he’s actually saying something.

Vil purses his lips. He looks at Rook. “Rook. Do you agree with them as well?”

Rook nods. “Oui. Your beauty will always shine brillant when you are striving to do your best, Beautiful Vil, but there too, is beauté found in gentle rest.”

It’s the final nail in the coffin.

Vil sighs. “Fine. We will take a day off practicing on Sunday. But if I find that any of you have regressed, I will work all of you through the night.”

“Yes!” The boys chorus.

“Yuu! I heard that you’re going on a date!” Ortho chirps when Yuu returns to Ignihyde to handle her administrative duties. Grim immediately scampers off to the kitchen to indulge in snacks.

“Yeah!” Yuu nods.

“Do you want me to track down every single instance of his social media usage? I can do a background check too!” Ortho offers.

Yuu stares at him for a second, then hurriedly says, “no need for that.”

“Are you sure? I can find all his deepest darkest secrets! Nothing is safe on the web!”

Thanks for reminding her to never post anything incriminating online, Ortho.

“What’s so special about this guy anyway?” Idia mumbles.

“He asked me out.” Yuu says.

When she does not continue, Idia looks at her. “Srsly? That’s it?”

“It’s enough, isn’t it?” Yuu shrugs.

When Sunday comes around, Yuu does not peer out the window every few minutes to check for her date’s arrival.

No, Deuce does that for her. “He’s here!”

Yuu rubs the towel more vigorously over her hair, still damp from the after-workout shower.

Rook waves his magepen. A blast of hot air hits her from behind, drying her hair.

“Thanks Rook.” Yuu says.

“Hey,” Jack tells her gruffly, “if that guy tries to do anything you don’t want to, tell him to cut it out.” He has a towel over his neck.

Vil is still in the bathroom, applying his skincare and makeup.

“How very chivalrous of you, Monsieur Tough Guy.” Rook smiles. “You must trust that our Madam Trickster knows how to handle herself.”

Jack gives Rook a wary look.

“You’re going to stalk us, aren’t you?” Yuu deadpans.

“Oui!” Rook says brightly along with a gleaming smile.

 “Just stay out of sight.”

Rook gives her a dramatic bow. “I will be as invisible as the wind that whispers across your ears in a romantic springtime bloom.”

“Are you seriously giving him permission to crash your date?” Ace makes a face.

“He’s going to do it anyway.” Yuu shrugs. She ties her hair in a side ponytail and laces her boots. The weather outside is still cold enough that her long sleeves aren’t an odd sight. “I’m heading out! See you guys later!”

Emil waits outside Ramshackle’s gates, a bouquet of daisies in hand. He shifts from foot to foot, tail flicking anxiously. He perks up when he sees Yuu step out of Ramshackle.

“Yuu!” He grins, clearly trying for suave, but landing squarely on awkward. “Here!” He hands her the flowers.

“Thanks! You didn’t have to.” Yuu looks down at the bouquet and pulls out a single flower, tucking it behind her ear.

Emil’s face is red when she looks back at him.

“Come on, let’s go!”

They head out of NRC and into Sage’s Island, chatting all the while. Yuu walks close to him, but refrains from holding his hand. She gets the feeling that he won’t survive if she does that.

Emil is in the spelldrive club and looks up to Leona. “Housewarden Leona’s just so cool, ya know.”

Yuu nods obligingly like she hasn’t heard Ruggie complain about having to sneak vegetables into Leona’s food like he’s a five-year-old.

He lives in Shaftlands and has a younger sister.

“Where’re you from?” He asks her.

“…Somewhere very far away.” Yuu says softly.

“…any siblings?”

Yuu nods. “Sometimes it feels like I picked up a bunch of adoptive siblings when I was – at my summer job back home.”

A rumble of thunder echoes through the air. Both of them look up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

“Ugh, the weather turned bad real quick.” Emil mutters. He pulls out his phone to check the weather. He blanches. “It’ll rain soon.”

“It’s fine. The movie theatre is indoors anyways.” Yuu reassures him, starting to quicken her pace. “We can wait out the storm inside.”

They make it to the movie theatre. Just barely a minute later, raindrops start to fall outside.

Yuu browses the titles. Recognizes none of them.

Idia prefers the oldies and her other friends like to rewatch the ‘classics’ when it became known that she recognized none of their references.

“What kind of movie do you like?” Emil asks her.

“I like action!” Yuu offers. “Nothing gory though.”

Emil scans through the options. “What about this one? Muscle Man Goes Bodybuilding?”

“Let’s give it a shot!”

The movie is pretty bad.

That’s still alright. The whispered critiques between them are entertaining enough.

Though…

It’s very hard trying to ignore that Kalim is sitting behind her, whispering loudly, “Jamil why did he do that? That’s so mean!”

“People are mean sometimes, deal with it.” Jamil hisses, much more quietly.

“Man, this movie sucks.” Ace grumbles. “Can’t believe we actually paid to watch this.”

“BE QUIET!” Sebek shouts.

Several heads turn around to glare in his direction.

Yuu munches on her popcorn and forces her eyes to remain on the screen.

The rain is pouring when the movie ends.

“Hang on, let me try a spell…” Emil pulls out his magepen and starts to cast something.

A bubble appears above them, shielding them from the rain.

“Come on, let’s go.” Emil holds out his arm to her, flushing a little.

Yuu slips her hand into the crook of his arm.

They walk to the new cafe Cater talked about. Halfway through, the bubble pops and they start running towards the cafe.

By the time they reach, both of them are soaked through.

Emil’s ears are flat, the fur of his ears and tail clumped together and dripping.

Luckily for them, the cafe worker offers them a towel each.

Yuu roughly wipes herself down, then helps Emil dry his tail.

They end up sitting in a corner of the café. It gives Yuu a clear view of the door.

She focuses on the slice of cake before her instead of acknowledging her friends who are doing a very poor job of subtly spying on them.

At least Rook has the decency of watching them from the opposite rooftop instead of being in full view.

…Or maybe that’s worse?

The rain stops by the time they start heading back to school.

Emil walks her back to Ramshackle. He lingers by the gate, shifting from foot to foot.

“So…” he starts.

In truth, this feels less like a date and more like hanging out with a friend. Yuu enjoyed herself but there is none of the bubbly feeling or admiration she felt when walking alongside Mash or even Musashi.

“I had a really good time, but I don’t think a relationship between us would work out.” Yuu says gently.

“Ah… yeah. It was worth a shot.” Emil looks crestfallen.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today!” Yuu says.

Emil blushes. “Right! I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely!” Yuu beams.

Yuu’s phone pings.

Idia: hows ur date lol

Yuu: it was great!

Idia: better not take him to igni lmao

Yuu: i’m not dating him idia, it’s a one time thing

Yuu watches the screen linger on the typing animation for a minute, then closes the chat.

She opens the door to Ramshackle.

“Hey guys! Did you have fun stalking me on my date today?” She asks brightly.

It isn’t just the NRC tribe inside. All her first-year friends are there, as are the Heartslabyul seniors, Ortho and Lilia.

Deuce and Sebek freeze.

Kalim pouts. “Aww, we were found out.”

Jamil rolls his eyes. “Of course we got found out. None of you were subtle at all.”

“You weren’t subtle either.” Epel mutters, furiously towelling himself.

Vil arches a brow and casts a drying spell on him. “None of you had better catch a cold,” he says imperiously, “I’ll be working everyone twice as hard tomorrow.”

“I tried to stop them.” Riddle says in his own defence, looking frustrated.

“We wanted to see how it’d go!” Cater says.

“Someone had to keep an eye on ADeuce.” Trey laughs sheepishly.

“Sure didn’t look like it to me!” Ace scoffs.

“I adore all forms of romance!” Rook proclaims.

“I tried to stop them too…” Jack says with a grumble.

“The exact words you used were: ‘the guy’s from my dorm, someone’s gotta be responsible and make sure he treats Yuu right’!” Ortho chirps.

Jack flushes. “Shut it! What’s your excuse?”

“I wanted to test out the new technomatic cannon brother installed for me if Emil Neumann upset Yuu!” Ortho says cheerfully.

“Young love is such an entertaining thing to watch.” Lilia says with a laugh.

Grim appears from the stairway, yawning. “What’s with all the noise?” He looks around the common area. “We having a party or something? Where’s the food?” He demands.

With only a month left to the VDC, Vil gets even more high-strung.

He aims for a level of perfectionism that is near impossible to reach.

Yuu doesn’t like to overstep Vil’s rules, but enough is enough. “Okay guys. Time for a break.”

“We do not have time for a break!” Vil snaps. “Epel’s heart is clearly not in it, Deuce can’t remember all the steps of the dance and everyone else can’t even move in harmony!”

“I think we could all use a break, Vil.” Kalim backs her up.

Vil lets out a sound of frustration. “Fine.”

Yuu catches Rook’s eye. He gives her a reassuring nod and heads over to Deuce.

“Epel, can we talk for a bit?” Yuu calls out to Epel and pulls him away from the practice room.

They end up in Ramshackle’s backyard.

Epel glares sullenly at the half-carved gargoyle sitting on the pedestal.

“You know,” Yuu says, “if you don’t want to take part in the competition, I’m sure I can convince Vil to drop you.”

Epel kicks at the ground. “I hate this. There’s no damn point to singing and dancing! It’s all girly stuff! I don’t wanna do these things! I ain’t want ta be in Pomefiore! I wanted to go to Savannaclaw and be all manly and strong!”

Yuu looks at him, not saying a word.

Epel flushes, as if only just remembering that she’s a girl. “Yer different! Yer so strong! I don’t care about Vil and his ‘beautiful’ horseshit. There’s no point to it!”

“…no, Epel.” Yuu says quietly. “Beauty is its own form of power. It can determine the rise and fall of kingdoms.”

Cleopatra who used her beauty and wits to charm Caesar and claim her throne.

Yang Guifei whose beauty and coquettishness made an emperor fall for her, showering favour on her and her family to the point it caused a rebellion.

Medb who once charmed an army to her side.

Even Gao Changgong whose beauty motivated his troops and turned the tide of battle.

“That’s a little extreme, ain’t it?” Epel asks her dubiously.

“Maybe, but it’s happened before.” Yuu looks down at her hands. Squeezes them together, feeling the bumps and ridges of scars. “Also, plenty of the girls I know are strong. Stronger than me. Much, much stronger. If you told them that you thought they were weak just because they like to ‘do girly things’ or that their strength doesn’t make them beautiful, you’d be dead.”

Epel blanches. “I didn’t mean—”

“Everyone has their own pride, Epel.” Yuu says. “I’d like to think I’m still pretty, you know.” Despite everything.

…Or maybe she’s been ruined after all.

Epel averts his gaze. “You are pretty.” He mutters.

Yuu smiles slightly. “You never answered the question. If you’re not able to put your best effort in, you can always drop out. We still have a month left, the choreography can still be adjusted.”

Epel kicks at the ground again. “My ma ain’t raised no quitter.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Vil keeps telling me I gotta be more charming. I don’t get that what that means.”

Yuu thinks for a moment. “I have an idea. You won’t like it.”

“Try me.” Epel scoffs.

“Welcome to my four-hour crash course on how to be charming!” Yuu pumps her fist into the air.

“I wanna go back to my room…” Idia whimpers.

“Is there a reason why you have called Shroud here?” Malleus asks her.

Epel looks between them both, then at Yuu. “I don’t get how this is supposed to help.” He says flatly.

“Idia’s going to summon ghosts and Malleus’ here because it’s time for club activities but he’s agreed to help out. The name of the course is: if you can’t charm the ghosts, you get possessed and Malleus blasts you with magic until you get un-possessed!”

“Are ya tryin’ ta kill me?” Epel shrieks.

“Don’t worry, there’s no risk of death or injury!” Yuu claps her hands and points at Idia. “Now start summoning!”

“Ugh… you’re so cringe and pushy… why do I even like you.” Idia grumbles under his breath. He grabs a stick of chalk lying by the gargoyle and draws a summoning circle.

“Don’t worry, we’ll start slow!” Yuu calls out.

“Wink! Brighten your smile! Strike a pose! You’re the cutest apple in the whole school! Own it!”

“Is this helping?” Malleus asks Yuu after Epel gets possessed for the eighth time.

“I thought that smile just now was pretty cute.” Yuu says.

“Whee-hee-hee, if you think you can get a high score just ‘cause you look like my best girl, you’ve got another thing coming.” Idia sniggers. “I’m only expecting the best from Ai-chan!”

Epel curses at him.

Epel ditches two hours in to run off with Deuce.

“Sorry Vil, my crash course didn’t work.” Yuu says.

“What exactly do you mean by crash course?” Vil raises a brow.

Yuu tells him exactly what they did.

Vil is left speechless.

“…Were you trying to torture him?” Jamil asks her, aghast.

“Hey, my teacher taught me just like that! There isn’t even a risk of dying this time!” Yuu protests.

“Lilia employs similar training methods.” Malleus nods.

Vil looks towards the ceiling. “I clearly have to be the one to demonstrate what ‘charm’ means.” He holds out a hand. “Yuu. Bring me a bottle of apple juice.”

“Woah, you’re doing a free promo just like that?” Idia asks as Yuu hands over a bottle of Harveston-brand apple juice.

“I know when an incentive is needed, Idia.” Vil sneers. He hands his phone over to Yuu. “Take a video for me.”

Vil’s face softens before the camera, hard lines of his frown falling away into a gentler smile. He tilts the bottle of apple juice at the camera, just barely showing the label, then twists the cap and takes an elegant swig. “Ahh…” He sighs, as if refreshed.

“And cut.” Yuu stops the video and hands the phone back to Vil.

Vil edits the video and uploads it to Magicam.

He pointedly shows them the video. “This is how you do ‘charming’. Not whatever brute force strategy the three of you were going for.”

“Hey! It was Yuu’s idea!” Idia immediately throws her under the bus.

“I thought it was a rather viable method.” Malleus says. “Though you have opened my eyes to another perspective. I will consider this, Schoenheit.”

“Huh. People only really use charm when they’re trying to kill or manipulate me. I didn’t realize it could be used like that.”

Idia sucks in a breath. “Can you. Not.”

“Huh?” Yuu blinks at him.

Chapter Text

Yuu opens her mouth.

“Shut.” Vil hisses.

Yuu shuts her mouth.

“LMAOOOO!” Idia’s voice wheezes from his tablet the moment the camera feed transmits over the image of Epel and Deuce in the holding cell of Sage’s Island police station.

Riddle crosses his arms. Vil was contacted as Epel’s housewarden and official NRC contact. Riddle is Deuce’s.

Yuu tagged along partly out of concern and partly out of curiosity.

“What happened? Are they in trouble?” Kalim asks, sounding genuinely worried.

“What rules did they break, sir?” Riddle asks the policeman, tone flat and a precursor of his growing impatience.

“They got into a fight.” The policeman informs them.

It’s been ruled as self-defence since the thugs they got into a fight with were known troublemakers.

Usually, someone using magic against a non-mage would still get marked with a minor criminal offense, but seeing as both of them are minors, part of a prestigious arcane academy with a long history in Sage’s Island and have received a commendation from another police station, the police officers were willing to let them off with a slap on the wrist and turn the students over to NRC to deal with as they see fit.

“Thank you for your lenience.” Riddle says. “I will ensure that the troublemakers are dealt with.”

Deuce flinches, but forces himself to straighten.

“Riddle. Deuce is under my care for this duration. I will be taking care of his punishment.” Vil says.

Riddle narrows his eyes at Vil. To everyone’s surprise, he gives in. “Very well. If anyone else is to give them a fitting punishment, I suppose it would be you, Vil. I trust you will not disappoint.”

Vil smiles thinly. “Of course not. Who do you think I am?”

The stage has been set up. Before the actual competition, there will be one last rehearsal to make sure that everything is going well.

While the boys are busy putting on their costumes and make-up, Yuu pops by the designated booth for the Gargoyle Appreciation Club to tidy up loose ends.

“Good work.” Malleus informs her as she sets down the sign in front of the gargoyle.

“Now that our booth is done…” Yuu stands up. “Come on! Let’s go see what the other clubs have done!”

The culinary club has a live-cooking station that fuses a variety of cuisines into a single dish. Grim absolutely goes wild on the food before Yuu manages to drag him away.

“I underestimated how much of a glutton you are, Grim.” Malleus says, looking at the stacks of plates.

“Oh! Yuu! Malleus! Shouldn’t the both of you be manning your club booth?” Trey calls out to them.

“Is that a necessity?” Malleus asks, cocking his head slightly to the side.

“You don’t know who might be up to some mischief.” Riddle says. He looks Malleus over, then at Yuu. “Then again… it’s not as though anyone would mess with you.” He adds, more quietly.

“What are you doing, Riddle?” Yuu asks, looking at the clipboard in Riddle’s hands.

“I’m making sure that the booths have all been successfully set up in their respective areas. We’re heading to the board games club next.”

Board games club…

“Mind if we tag along? I want to check on Idia.” Yuu glances over her shoulder at Malleus who gives her a single nod of acquiescence.

“Idia!” Yuu scurries up to him. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for your research presentation?”

Idia looks like a wreck, wringing his hands anxiously. “I’m not ready!” He whimpers.

“Oh? It is bad form to be so unprepared, Shroud.” Malleus says.

The ends of Idia’s hair flares red for a brief second. “No one asked you!”

“Take a deep breath.” Yuu suggests. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I trip up on stage and make a fool of myself and everyone laughs at me and I freak out and everyone will know and I can never go out in public ever again.” Idia says glumly.

Yuu stares at him. Considers what he just said.

“I dunno. I don’t think I’d bother remembering something as lame as that.” Grim crosses his arms.

“No one’s going to laugh at you.” Yuu assures him.

“You can’t pull the ‘I’ll beat everyone up’ card again. You’re going to be at the VDC rehearsal.” Idia mutters, sinking further into his corner.

“I find that scenario unlikely.” Malleus states.

“Tsk. Not like anyone’s ever going to laugh at a guy like you.” Idia mutters sourly. “You don’t know anything about what introverts like me have to go through.”

“Hmph. Is that the excuse you intend to use for your personal failings?” Malleus narrows his eyes.

“Just fuck off, okay? You being here is not helping me at all!” Idia’s hair flares fully red.

Malleus huffs and stalks out of the classroom.

“That was kind of mean.” Yuu says.

“Do I look like I care?” Idia retorts.

“Here.” Yuu presses a can of energy drink to Idia’s neck. He shrieks. “What was that for!?”

“Calm down.” Yuu says. “You’ll do just fine. You worked real hard on my mecha, didn’t you? The results speak for themselves—and I’ll get to pilot it too once it’s out of testing phase?” Her eyes start sparkling at the thought.

“…Maybe.” Idia grumbles, popping the can open to take a swig. “Only Ortho can pilot it right now with enough precision. I’d need to improve the existing AI to make it more intuitive for human pilots.”

“I thought you made it for me.” Yuu pouts.

“My dad said that I probably shouldn’t be letting a civilian handle something like that.” Idia says. He pointedly avoids looking at her. “Once I get it done, I’ll make you a miniature model.”

Boooo.

Malleus is sulking outside the classroom when Yuu walks out.

“Idia didn’t mean it, he’s just nervous.” Yuu assures him. “And maybe… next time, leave the accusations for after the event’s done?”

Malleus scowls slightly.

“Come on, it’s almost time for the VDC rehearsal.” Yuu pats his back, gently pushing him along. “Let’s get a sneak peek at all the shows.”

The rehearsals have yet to start. Headmaster Crowley is standing by the stage, talking to an old man.

The moment Crowley notices them, he beckons them over.

“Ambrose, you know Mister Draconia, of course.” He says with an air of smugness. “This is Miss Yuu, the Vice-Housewarden of Ignihyde and one of my prized students. She is a beast tamer!”

“Is that so? You must be proud of having such accomplished students.” The old man says warmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you. I am Ambrose, the Headmaster of Royal Sword Academy.”

Yuu stares at him. He reminds her, inexplicably, of— “Merlin?”

Ambrose pauses. “Have you met my ancestor before, Miss Yuu?”

Ancestor???

“Merlin actually procreated?” Yuu asks, jaw dropping. “You’re his descendant? But you’re so… normal!”

Ambrose chuckles faintly. “He is rather well known for being an eccentric mage.”

Eccentric… is certainly a word for it.

“Who’s this Merlin guy?” Grim bats at her calf with a paw.

“Merlin Ambrosius is the founder of Royal Sword Academy. He is rumoured to be immortal, but none have seen him in ages.” Crowley explains. “Wherever did you meet him?”

Huh? Merlin… actually intervening with human matters? And isn’t this a different world? Is this the same Merlin she’s thinking of?

Yuu shoves aside her doubts for the moment. “You don’t want to know.” She tells Crowley dryly.

“He’s a super strong mage, huh.” Grim crosses his paws and nods to himself. “Did he teach you any cool spells, henchman?”

“When I asked him how to do magic, he gave me a sword and told me you’ll win as long as you can swing a sword faster than the opponent can cast.” Yuu recalls.

Ambrose’s laugh is a shade more awkward. “Yes… that does indeed sound like him.”

Are all Merlins the same in every world?

“Whatever did you do with the sword?” Malleus asks her.

Yuu takes a moment to think about it. “I think I lost it somewhere in a forest. It was a pretty chaotic time.”

An announcement resounds throughout the school, putting a halt to the small talk.

Yuu heads backstage to meet with the NRC tribe while Malleus vanishes to attend to his booth.

“The rehearsals are ‘teasers’. Parts of the performances will be live-streamed to audiences around the world.” Vil says. “Keep that in mind. Even though this is a rehearsal, I expect all of you to put in your best effort.”

Epel and Deuce look nervous.

Yuu wordlessly offers them some sweets.

Vil frowns at her but does not say a word.

“Can I have some too?” Ace asks, looking confident for all that his smile is a little too-forced.

“I’m sure we’ll do fine! All of us practiced really hard! I can dance and sing in my sleep now!” Kalim laughs.

“I’ll take a sweet too.” Jamil says. He grabs two and pops one in his mouth, then tosses the other sweet to Kalim.

Yuu still has no idea what’s going on between them. For all that Jamil’s been starting to leave Kalim to his own devices to pursue his own goals, whenever Kalim’s in sight or even gone from his sight for too long, he starts acting like an overprotective brother all over again.

After Neige’s performance, Vil has been oddly quiet.

Yuu didn’t miss the initial spark of loathing when Neige first approached him. So why is he bothering to visit someone he hates?

He holds a bottle of apple juice in his hand and raises his other hand to knock against the door of the dressing room.

Something about Vil’s smile—

Before she even understands what she’s doing, Yuu knocks the bottle of juice out of Vil’s hand. It shatters against the ground. The juice seeping to the ground turns a poisonous purple and starts to bubble.

Vil turns to stare at her. Yuu has never seen his face so unguarded – and desperate.

The door opens. “Did something happen? I heard a sound… Ah. Vi?” Neige says.

The juice – and the shattered bits of glass are still there.

Yuu barely has the thought of hiding the evidence when Rook is suddenly there, standing in front of the poisonous concoction and blocking it from view.

“Pardon me, Roi des Neiges... Ah, Neige. I believe the staff was looking for you outside.” Rook says. It is undoubtedly a lie.

Yuu slowly slides to a side to further obscure the toxic substance from view as Rook all but chases Neige away.

Everyone watches Neige go in silence.

“That’s one nasty apple juice. Think Epel’s family sent us a bad batch?” Yuu asks, looking at the still-bubbling juice on the ground.

“…ha.” Vil says, utterly devoid of humour. “Ah… Ha! Are you truly that dense, or are you just playing dumb? What do you think I was trying to do?”

Taking out the competition, clearly.

Yuu has the feeling that’s the wrong thing to say here.

“Roi du Poison,” Rook begins to say.

“No. No! Don’t say a word! Don’t look at me with those eyes!” Vil screams. “I already know! I’m so… so… ugly! I can never be the fairest of them all!”

“Roi du Poison, you are far from ugly!” Rook cries out, slowly approaching Vil.

Yuu can feel Grim sink his claws into her shoulder, his fur standing at end. “Henchman, I have a bad feeling about this.”

Thanks for stating the obvious, Grim.

Vil takes a step back. He shakes his head. “No… No. I can’t accept this. I won’t accept this! If I’m ugly, then… I just have to make everyone else hideous!” The wide smile on his face, the way his pupils constrict – he clearly isn’t in his right mind anymore.

Then the ink starts flowing.

Seeing someone Overblot never fails to make a sense of dread crawl down Yuu’s spine.

The way they’re controlled like a puppet, hollowed-out shells of themselves.

“I will be the most beautiful of them all!” Vil shrieks.

His voice is neither calm nor even. A caricature of his usual smooth tones.

Yuu takes in a breath. It burns her lungs.

“Rook.” She says, ripping a strip of cloth off part of her shirt and wrapping it around her nose and mouth. “Get out of here.”

“Non. If you must fight, allow me to fight with you!” Rook declares.

“With what poison resistance?” Yuu asks him incredulously.

Rook gives her a thin smile. He holds his magepen in an obvious combat stance.

…

Fine.

Fine!

Yuu’s head feels fuzzy. Her once movements slow and her stomach begins to churn.

…Is her poison resistance fading?

Mash. No. No, not the time.

Rook is faring much, much worse.

“Oasis Maker!”

A shower of rain washes away the poisonous mist.

“Kalim!” Yuu lets out a relieved sigh.

“Be careful! Vil’s Unique Magic curses whatever he touches!” Jamil shouts out a warning, then adds, “I’ve already evacuated everyone!”

Curse. So it’s not poison then?

…Thank goodness.

Yuu slides back into a combat stance. With the poison-curse neutralized, it’s almost laughably easy to shatter the ink pot.

So why does something still feel wrong?

“Nursery Rhyme.” Ritsuka says. “Is Mash alright? My contract with her—is she okay?”

Nursery Rhyme looks at her. There is a stack of paper in her hands. “Yes. Mash is alive and well.”

“…that’s good. That’s… good.” Ritsuka slumps down.

Nursery Rhyme looks in the distance where a young Vil stands. He looks upset, though he clearly hides it well enough that if someone isn’t paying attention, they wouldn’t notice. Nursery Rhyme does not say a word, clearly waiting for Ritsuka to collect herself. “It’s good to know that you still have someone you hold dear above everyone else.” She says softly, sadly.

It’s not a rebuke but Ritsuka feels like it is one nonetheless. Before shame can start to sink in, Nursery Rhyme gives her the stack of papers. It is a script.

“Shall we put on a play?” Nursery Rhyme smiles.

Ritsuka slaps her hands against her cheeks. Focus. Someone needs her help. It’s time to help them.

Chaldea Productions presents:

The Beautiful Queen’s Journey

Scene 1

The Beautiful Queen stands alone in a castle. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” He asks the Magic Mirror.

“Who can say? Certainly not I. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The Magic Mirror replies.

“What kind of a cop-out answer is that?” Of course, the Beautiful Queen was not satisfied with this answer.

And so he set out on a journey to find out the truth — and to be the fairest of them all.

Scene 2

The Beautiful Queen leaves his castle and enters a nearby village.

All the villagers bow and praise him for his beauty.

All except for one - a poor girl in rags who is too focused on singing to herself.

Intrigued by the singing, the Beautiful Queen approaches the girl and asks, “what in the world is that noise?”

“EX-cuse you? I’m singing!” The girl replies. “Oh. I see now. My singing has enthralled you, hasn’t it?”

“Your beat is off, your tone is three pitches too high, and I can’t tell what the melody even is. Don’t ever sing in front of me again.”

“You…! You big meanie!” The girl cries. “You might look beautiful but you’re absolutely black-hearted! Cinderella won’t accept you as her prince!”

With that declaration, the poor insulted maiden reveals her true nature as a dragon-kin and attacks!

Taken aback by the sudden attack, the Beautiful Queen is too slow to react.

He is saved by a passing Miss Witch who grabs Cinderella with a tentacle and throws her into the forest.

Scene 3

Cinderella’s sudden attack took with her the Beautiful Queen’s crown.

To get it back, the Beautiful Queen ventures into the forest with Miss Witch.

“I do not require your help.” The Beautiful Queen says. “In fact, it was your fault that my crown was lost to begin with!”

Miss Witch does not react to the accusation.

“…Thank you for your earlier assistance regardless.”

“I̸͍͋̈́͘s̴̭̳͠ ̶̧̭͗t̵̹͙͇͊h̴̦̟̗͂̃͝ą̸͖̔͝t̵͙̞̦͌̾͊ ̷͖͖̒w̴̛̰̑̏h̷̹̖͠a̶̼̅͊̾t̵̺͖͊ͅ ̶̜̣͌̀͘y̴̧̯͎͒o̸̩̿̈́ū̶̡̪̋ ̸̞͝r̷̘̀͜e̵̹̔̋̃ấ̶̡̮͓l̴̦̾ḷ̷̇y̶̙̰̘̓ ̴͉̱̉̏̀ṯ̸͔͛̿h̴̢̘̆ͅi̵̞͎͂̈n̶̺̹̲̑̍̕k̸͕̓,̷̱̩̂ ̵̫͜͝ͅỏ̷̯͋͠r̸̼̊̆̅ ̸͍̥̫̿ǐ̸̦̬s̷̮̖̀̀͘ ̴̤̆̎̒t̸͕̪͑̑ẖ̷͋̇͜a̶̗̮̭͆̈́ẗ̴̖́ ̴̹̙̪͋̈́̎j̴̱̖̣͂u̶͎̣͋s̸͖̎̓̀t̴̙̄ ̴̭̞͆̓̍h̶̥̹̱̆͌͘o̸̝͗ẅ̸͇̇ ̸͇͊͜t̷̪̱̓̓̒ḫ̴͙̱̒e̸͇̐ ̸̛̙͚̄̈́s̸͍̩̋ć̵̺̆ȑ̴̬͑i̶͍͎͊͑p̸͎͕̌̇͝t̸̢͙͗ ̵̬̾g̴̮͆͐͠o̶͈̙̥͋̓͝e̵̗̾͝s̴̤̭͐̅?̴͕̬̙̔͒̏” Miss Witch says. “You’re welcome. Your crown seems to have fallen in that pond over there. This is where we part ways.”

Scene 4

The Beautiful Queen approaches the pond. It is still and serene. A little mermaid lies in the shallows, smiling as the Beautiful Queen nears.

“I have lost my crown.” The Beautiful Queen says.

“Is that so?” The Little Mermaid plunges into the water and emerges with two crowns.

One of them is beautiful, gilded gold and embedded with jewels, resplendent and excessive. The other is plain and silver, free of jewels and adornments.

“Which one of these is yours? The golden crown that will make its wearer the most beautiful being in all the lands, or the silver crown that will leave its owner as ordinary as it looks?”

The Beautiful Queen is silent for a long moment. Then he reaches out a hand and takes the silver crown.

“I have no need for shortcuts. I will earn everything I have with my own hands!” The Beautiful Queen declares as he puts on his rightful crown.

There is no flash of light. There is no declaration that his choice was good and true. The crown stays on his head, plain and unadorned.

“You have certainly made a choice. It is no one’s place to decide if it is wrong or right.” The Little Mermaid says. “I will praise you for your integrity nonetheless.”

“You remind me of someone. She is extraordinarily tenacious, preserving long after she should have been laid to rest. It is… a foolish and admirable choice.”

“May you never stray from your path.”

The End

Note from the scriptwriter: What is this story? I hate it. The plot you asked for doesn’t work with the given characters at all. And even after I wrote it none of the actors followed the script! Are you trying to kill an author’s motivation entirely? Never ask me to write on such a short deadline ever again.

Cast

The Beautiful Queen – Vil Schoenheit

Magic Mirror – Fujimaru Ritsuka You

Cinderella – Elizabeth Bathory

Little Mermaid – Sessyoin Kiara

Miss Witch – Ȧ̴̫͖͉̉̅̎̄b̸̦͖̠̯̟̌ ???

Scriptwriter – Hans Christian Andersen

Director – Nursery Rhyme

Vil is silent. His shoulders shake.

“Ha. Ahahahaha! What kind of ridiculous play was that?”

“How does it feel to stand on the stage till the end?”

“Ridiculous. It was absolutely ridiculous! I’m never playing a role like this ever again.” Despite his words, Vil’s smile is bright and wide.

Chapter Text

Yuu feels sick. It’s been a while since she’s felt this way.

She shoves aside the feeling in favour of pulling Vil into a hug.

Everything will be fine.

Everything has to be fine.

Mash is alright, Nursery Rhyme said so herself.

Mash is alright…

So why can’t her hands stop shaking?

She’s not in that endless world of white anymore. She got out. She’s not there anymore. But if she’s not there… can Chaldea even find her?

The Heroic Spirits have visited her in her dreams even though her command spells remain inert.

Have they told Chaldea where she is?

Is it even possible for her to return?

…No. They will come back for her. As long as they are able, Chaldea will definitely come back for her.

“I’m sorry.” Vil says into her shoulder. “I showed all of you something shameful.”

“Don’t worry about it! I’m just glad everyone’s okay!” Kalim says.

“Rook, are you alright?” Jamil asks.

Rook looks vaguely ill. He throws them a thumbs up, but clearly lacks enough energy to say anything more.

“We should hurry and take Rook to the infirmary.” Yuu pulls away from the hug to pick Rook up in a bridal carry. Rook swoons. Yuu has no idea if he’s legitimately feeling faint or if he’s just playing it up for the theatrics.

“Why are you in the infirmary again?” Idia asks her.

“I threw up a bit so the doctor told me to stay and rest. How’d your presentation go?” Yuu asks in return.

“Fine. Not as bad as I thought it’d be. I got offered a spot for an internship.” Idia says.

“That’s great!” Yuu smiles.

“…you kinda look like you stayed up for 72 hours trying to grind for an event only to fail at the last step.”

That’s an oddly specific example, Idia.

“It’s little wonder you look like that. Sleep is important for your complexion.” Vil scoffs.

“Eek! Why’d you just butt into our convo?” Idia squeaks. He tries to hide behind Yuu but fails, seeing how Yuu is lying on the infirmary bed, and ends up cowering at the head of the bed.

“Why’s the star of the performing team in the infirmary anyway? Isn’t the show on in an hour?” Idia points an accusatory finger at Vil. “And what happened to him?” His finger shifts to Rook.

“I will gladly suffer for a taste of beauty.” Rook says solemnly.

Idia makes an incomprehensible sound with his mouth. “Where’s Grim? I need to pet him right now.” He whispers to Yuu.

Where’s Grim?

…come to think, where is Grim?

He had run off to safety, away from the cursed mist sometime during the fight.

“He might still be backstage. Can you help to find him?” Yuu asks.

Idia comes back a few minutes later with Malleus in tow. He looks like a hunted man.

“Help.” He whispers.

Vil looks up at the ceiling. “Now you know that Idia is useless.” He informs Yuu.

“H-Hey! It’s not my fault! The stage was completely wrecked! How was I supposed to look for Grim like that?”

“I saw Shroud lingering by the wreckage and was informed that you were in the infirmary.” Malleus says. “Did a fight perhaps happen?”

“That…” Vil grimaces. He tries to continue, but it is clear that there is something holding him back. Pride? Or shame?

“Yeah. Something like that. I got into a huge fight with Vil and wrecked the stage.” Yuu says. “I feel kinda bad now that the VDC has to be cancelled.”

“Is that why you are in the infirmary now?” Malleus asks.

“Uh… that’s clearly an excuse. Why would a fight between Yuu and Vil cause so much structural damage? Yuu has mana worse than a level 1 mage class it’s a miracle she even got into NRC. Not to mention the blot-”

“Idia.” Yuu interrupts him. “Not to brag, but I’ve got a really mean punch, you know?”

Idia looks halfway to grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her.

“By the way, I don’t suppose you can fix the stage in less than an hour? You’re a genius at making things right?”

“I’m not a miracle worker!” Idia screeches.

“I am capable of doing so.” Malleus announces. A smirk crosses his lips. “You will owe me, Yuu.”

“Sure.” Yuu agrees easily.

“Now wait a second,” Vil starts to sit up.

Malleus vanishes.

Vil stares at where Malleus had been standing. “Yuu!” Vil scowls. “I don’t need your pity or your protection! If it was my fault—”

“Ignore whatever Vil says. I hit him too hard in the head.” Yuu says to Idia.

“I’m not getting involved in this drama.” Idia raises both his hands and slowly sidles towards the door.

“Ah, but such warm compassion and firm protectiveness is a sight to behold.” Rook sighs dreamily.

The door slams open. The entirety of the NRC tribe streams in.

Idia shrieks and presses himself flat against the wall.

“Kalim told us you guys got sent to the infirmary!” Deuce shouts.

“You told us to relax and behave ourselves and then this happens?” Epel scoffs at Vil.

“You guys alive and everything?” Ace asks. Yuu nods. He turns to Vil. “If you’re out of commission, what’s going to happen to our prize money?”

…seriously Ace? Is this the time?

“I talked to Crowley.” Jamil says as he walks in. “He agreed to shift us to the end of the programme so that some of us can recuperate from the ‘unfortunate accident’.”

“I brought you guys food!” Kalim holds up a basket of fruits.

Idia looks like he’s stopped breathing entirely.

“Have any of you seen Grim?” Yuu asks.

None of them have. A genuine seed of worry roots itself inside of Yuu. Did Grim get caught up in the Overblot after all? What if he got trapped under some stray rubble?

“I’ll… uh. Check the cameras.” Idia says quietly and squeaks when eyes turn to him. He immediately makes his exit.

Yuu starts to rise, only to get shoved back down by Deuce. “You should rest, Yuu. I’ll find Grim for you.”

The show must go on.

Even with his body bruised and battered, Vil strides on nonetheless with grace and poise. And Rook, though affected with the lingering curse, holds himself high with an unmistakable confidence.

Unfortunately, Yuu can’t bring herself to focus on the show, too busy scanning the crowd for any sign of Grim.

Idia returns to her with a shake of his head.

“You don’t think he got kidnapped, do you?” Yuu asks Idia anxiously. With so many people around, it’ll be easy for anyone to just grab Grim and leave.

“I’ve got Ortho tracking his magic signature.” Idia assures her.

The both of them fall silent, glancing at the big screen as the NRC tribe finishes their performance. It’ll be time for voting soon. Yuu can’t bring herself to care about that right now.

“I’ll check backstage again.”  

“…Shouldn’t you still be resting?” Idia gives her a side-long look.

“I can handle a few curses. Grim can’t.” Yuu brushes past him.

She should have been more careful, looked for him sooner. She’d trusted Grim’s self-preservation instincts too much.

Yuu doesn’t know how she gets back to Ignihyde. Or why she even goes back to rest. She could have kept going, searching through the night. She should have.

All she remembers is the cold metal of Ortho’s hands on hers, pulling her away from the stadium.

Everything will be fine. Rest, and tomorrow, you can fight again.

But how much longer can she keep fighting?

Her body barely feels like her own sometimes.

Her skin covered in scars, flesh riddled with the memory of injuries that no longer show. Every single breath carries the echo of an imaginary branch that has ceased to exist.

Yuu curls up in a room where no poison woman or dragon girl lurks. There’s no one under the bed, inside the closet or on the ceiling. Her shadow is wholly her own. Even the catlike monster she’s taken in isn’t here – she failed the one being that trusted her to look after him.

Hush-a-bye, baby, in the treetop

A soft voice starts to sing.

When the bough bends, the cradle will rock

Yuu closes her eyes and lets the thoughts fade away.

When the wind ceases, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, bough, cradle and all

There is someone else in the dream, a muted divinity – a twisted aspect of a god. He has hair of blue fire, bearing an eerie resemblance to someone she knows.

Whoops. Hope you don’t mind me hijacking this one, Mother Goose

…as long as you’re nice. Nursery Rhyme declares.

Heh heh heh, how kind of you. The god turns to Ritsuka. Godslayer, let me tell you a story

A story of gods who happened to be brothers, and the jealousy of the eldest… the god of the underworld

Chapter Text

Yuu wakes early the next day.

There is no Grim splayed out and drooling on her chest.

Little wonder it feels colder than usual.

She looks through her contacts. No one has gotten back to her with a positive answer.

When she walks through the halls of Ignihyde, none of her dormmates awake at this time have seen Grim either.

Yuu pops down to Ramshackle. Maybe he went to sleep at Ramshackle instead of Ignihyde?

She is met with shaking heads.

“That furball probably found all the food stalls and ate himself to sleep.” Ace tries to comfort her. “He’ll probably come find you when he wakes up.” It doesn’t make her feel any better but Yuu appreciates the attempt nonetheless.

“Have you eaten breakfast at all?” Vil demands when he sees her.

Yuu shakes her head.

Before she knows it, she’s seated at the dining table with a bowl of oatmeal set before her.

Yuu goes through the motions of eating. Chews, barely registers the taste and texture of the oats, swallows.

“As all of you know, RSA and NRC tied at the VDC.” Vil says. “It’s been decided that we will be splitting the prize money.”

“What happened to you two anyways? Why’d the both of you get stuck in the infirmary? And why was the whole stage wrecked?” Ace asks.

“It was pretty cool how Malleus just went ‘whoosh’ and turned the stage back to normal.” Epel adds.

“Oh! That’s cause—”

“No reason.” Jamil slaps a hand over Kalim’s mouth.

“…It’s hardly a secret. And if anyone deserves an explanation, it would be all of you.” Vil closes his eyes briefly. “I experienced a… severe lapse in control. And Overblotted.”

“Again?” Deuce glances at Yuu.

“It’s all good.” Yuu says, forcing a smile to her lips. “It’s nowhere near my tolerance to poison, but I have a bit of a resistance to curses. Rook was the one who took the brunt of it.”

“I was shamefully unprepared for the occasion.” Rook admits.

Yuu’s phone pings. She glances at it.

Ortho: I found Grim

Relief blooms within her.

“I take it Grim has been found?” Vil asks, watching her intently.

“Yeah.” Yuu shows them the message.

“Ortho just deleted the text.” Kalim points out.

Yuu looks down at her phone. The message is gone.

Odd.

“I’ll go find Ortho.” Yuu says, hopping to her feet.

“Aren’t you going to finish your breakfast?” Jamil calls out to her.

Yuu backtracks, gulps down the rest of the oatmeal, then runs out the door.

Yuu finds Ortho near the stadium, holding Grim in his arms.

Grim is struggling, his eyes glazed over and drool dribbling from the corner of his mouth. His claws scratch uselessly at Ortho’s metal shell.

Did he get rabies?

Her relief sharpens into alarm. Yuu jogs up to Ortho. “Ortho, what’s wrong with Grim?”

Ortho does not immediately reply. He doesn’t even offer her a greeting as is usual.

Yuu holds out her hands to take Grim, but Ortho doesn’t move.

“…Ortho?” Something cold starts to sink in her gut.

“Don’t worry Yuu, we’ll return Grim to you in a few days.” Ortho says cheerfully.

What?

Yuu hears the whir of an engine. A robot drops down from the skies. Ortho turns and hands Grim over to the robot.

“Subject F secured.” The robot drones.

Yuu has always known betrayal well, but it still feels like a slap in the face.

Subject F

I begged them to stop! Why didn’t they stop!?

Yuu curls a hand into a fist. Shoves magic through her bones, muscles and flesh.

She punches the robot.

The metal dents.

“Warning. Attack detected. Any further obstruction will result in retaliation.”

“Yuu! Stop!” Ortho grabs hold of Yuu’s arms.

Yuu hesitates. She could break out of his grip. But… she still can’t bring herself to hurt him.

“I apologize in advance for this, Yuu.” Ortho says. He doesn’t sound particularly apologetic.

Before Yuu understands what’s happening, she’s out like a light.

Yuu wakes up in the infirmary. Her head feels hazy and numb.

Ortho had…

She does not dwell on the thought, looking at the other beds instead. The infirmary is crowded with injured students.

She spots Ace and Deuce lying in the beds next to hers. They are unconscious.

Epel looks incredibly banged up, fading bruises on his skin and scrapes on his knuckles.

“What happened?” She asks Epel.

Robots took Vil and Jamil.

Rook and Kalim went somewhere for a meeting.

Yuu looks at her phone. There’s a message from Kalim asking her to meet at the Headmaster’s office.

Yuu stands. Her legs feel leaden. What had Ortho even done to her? She staggers to the door. Epel grabs her arm. “Where’re ya going?” He demands.

“Headmaster’s office.” Yuu says.

Epel looks pensive for a moment, then offers her his shoulder. “I’ll help you.”

With his help, she manages to stumble towards the Headmaster’s office.

“Styx is an organization that operates independently of any nation or government. It is an arcane institute that conducts research on blot.” Yuu can hear Professor Trein speak.

Styx… Now isn’t that a familiar name?

She leans against the doorframe to catch her breath.

“Ortho told me that his family studies blot.” Yuu says, announcing her presence.

“Yuu!” Kalim shouts, red-rimmed eyes lightning up.

“You were supposed to rest in the infirmary, Yuu.” Trey says, a note of chastisement in his voice.

“Miss Yuu. You are in no state to walk around.” Professor Trein frowns. “You were dosed with enough sedatives to put down a bear.”

“I’ve been through worse.” Yuu dismisses. “I need to know what happened to Grim.”

“Child of man.” Malleus starts. Yuu raises her head to look him in the eye.

Go on, she thinks, try to stop me.

Malleus waves a hand and conjures up a chair. “If you insist on such obstinance, you ought to sit down.”

Yuu collapses into the chair heavily. She pats his arm. “Thanks, Hornton.”

“Ortho’s family studies blot.” Jade repeats. “Are you suggesting that Idia…?”

“Yes. Idia Shroud is the Watchman of the Island of Woe.” Lilia nods.

Yuu watches as everyone reacts with surprise, shock or fear. She raises her hand. “Can someone explain to me what that means?”

The Island of Woe is said to be a dark and dreadful isle, spoken of only in olden history and urban legend. Many have hypothesized that on the island is a gate that leads to the underworld. The Watchman is the Island’s guardian and overseer.

“Older history books claim that the Island of Woe and its Watchman dates back to the Age of Gods.” Malleus adds.

“No, that part is definitely right. Idia’s a descendant of a god after all.” Yuu says.

“Huh?” Several eyes look at her.

“Seriously? Idia’s always looked like a pretty average guy though.” Ruggie says dubiously. “Shouldn’t a guy with divinity be real strong and earthshaking? Like Malleus over there?”

“It depends on who they’re descended from.” Yuu elaborates. “Blue fire is a symbol of the underworld. If I had to guess, Idia probably has a strong resistance against conceptual death, spirits and ghosts.”

“…Is that why you were so chill when the ghost bride wanted to give Idia the kiss of death?” Cater asks her.

“If Eliza couldn’t kill me, she definitely couldn’t kill Idia.” Yuu confirms.

“All of this information is completely new to me.” Professor Trein says with a faint frown.

“It is not entirely unsurprising.” Lilia says kindly. “There is much information that is never passed down amongst different species and cultures.”

Yuu thinks about the mages of her world and their insistence on keeping magecraft to themselves. She nods in agreement.

“…Regardless, we are unable locate or do anything about our missing students at the moment. For now, I want all of you to return to your dorms and conduct a roll call. Check for any injured students and report back to me.” Professor Trein tells them.

Rook darts off the moment they are dismissed.

Yuu and Epel exchange a look.

Yuu starts running after him, ignoring how her legs tremble and she collides into the walls every turn of a corner.

She pauses at the Hall of Mirrors, watching Rook head to Pomefiore. “Epel, help me keep an eye out for Rook. I’m going to get ready.”

Before he can respond, she enters the mirror to Ignihyde.

For months, Yuu had just been Yuu.

A school girl, a little different from everyone else, but wholly capable of a normal-ish life.

Yet, slipping into the role of the Master of Chaldea, Last Master of Humanity – is so easy that she wonders if she had ever really stepped out of it.

Yuu puts on her Mystic Code for the first time in a long while. The spells woven into the fabric are still active. She shoves a few necessities into a bag and slings it over her shoulder.

Yuu steps out of her room, adjusting the gloves of her combat outfit.

“Ralph.” She addresses the teenager lurking around.

“Cool fit, boss lady.” He says.

Yuu pats the small pouch of gems she has hidden in a pocket. Good, still there. “I’m heading somewhere for a bit. I’m leaving you in charge.”

“Woah, what? First Housewarden Idia and now you? What’s even happening?” Ralph asks, alarmed.

Yuu sends him a message. “Help me do a roll call of Ignihyde and report to Professor Trein once you’re done.”

“Hey! Wait!” Ralph calls out after her.

Yuu walks out of the dorm and steps into the mirror.

“Sorry for making you wait, Epel.” Yuu says.

“Just hurry it up!” Epel says urgently, holding a broom in hand.

Yuu pauses. “Epel? You…”

“Rook’s already on his way, Yuu!” Epel snaps. “If we wanna catch up, we gotta go now!”

“No, Epel.” Yuu starts to say.

“Ya suck at flying, Yuu.” Epel glares at her. “You need me.”

It’s an undeniable truth.

Yuu sits behind Epel on the broom, grabbing his waist.

He zooms off after Rook.

Chapter Text

The sky over the sea is cold. Yuu is fine due to the thermoregulating spells embedded into her Mystic Code, but Epel’s hands are turning blue.

It takes a bit of wrangling with her backpack to get her dorm jacket out and drape it over Epel’s shoulders.

“T-Thanks Yuu.” Epel’s teeth chatters.

“Slow down for a bit.” Yuu frowns.

“We’re losin’ Rook!” Epel snaps.

“Just a second.” Yuu says. Epel slows down enough for her to help him get his arms through the sleeves.

“Phew, alright, yeah that’s better.” Epel says. He leans down and the broom rockets forwards.

“Rook!” Epel shouts. “We finally caught up to ya! Now git back here!”

Rook looks taken aback to see them. “Epel? Yuu?”

Rook leads them to one of his family villas.

It’s situated unassuming in the middle of a quiet patch of forest. But what’s inside is anything but.

A network of teleporters that connect to everywhere in the world.

From what she’s learnt, teleporters are available only in specific areas. Just teleporting from one area to another requires permission and even then, there were regulations to follow. To install one, let alone a whole network, is something incredible.

“Just what does your family do, Rook?” Epel asks, just as surprised.

Rook chuckles and offers them an enigmatic smile.

“It’d better not be human trafficking.” Yuu looks around the villa. Despite being uninhabited, it’s remarkably clean. The floor sparkles, the only dust within being what they’ve trekked in.

“Non, of course not, Mademoiselle Trickster.” He does not elaborate.

…Everyone’s entitled to their secrets. That doesn’t mean Yuu still doesn’t feel curious.

“We still dunno where the Island of Woe is.” Epel says.

“Ah. I have the solution for that.” Rook says. His Unique Magic is capable of tracking anyone he’s tagged. It’s much like a low-level version of Clairvoyance – and incredibly useful, for all that he calls it weak.

Epel looks at Yuu with an expression of dread. “I’m never escaping Pomefiore ain’t I.”

Yuu gives him a pat on the shoulder.

Beneath them is a wide expanse of ocean.

“Are ya sure this is where the island is?” Epel shouts at Rook through the howling sea winds.

“Oui!” Rook shouts back, barely audible. He starts to descend.

Epel makes a sound of frustration but follows suit.

Yuu has a premonition. Hasn’t she seen this before, some time back?

Beneath the ocean entrance lies a grand city. Olympus, the city of the gods.

The underwater city bears a resemblance so strong to the city she once saw that Yuu directs her gaze to the people around her instead.

“Why are you here?” Idia screeches the moment he sees her.

“Grim got kidnapped and Ortho dosed me with enough sedatives to kill a normal human.” Yuu crosses her arms. “You expected me not to come?”

“The second thing you said right there! That’s enough of a reason!”

“Grim was taken from me.” Yuu says quietly. “I don’t give up on my partners. Ever.”

Idia grimaces. He looks her over, then away.

“Hi Yuu.” Ortho chirps.

“Hi Ortho.” Yuu says without any of the same cheer.

“Your tone of voice indicates that you are mad at me.” Ortho tilts his head.

“Gee, I wonder why. S’not like you tried to kill her.” Epel mutters.

“I did not attempt to kill Yuu.” Ortho agrees. “Through multiple examinations and observations, it has been determined that Yuu has an abnormally high tolerance to certain drugs and compounds. The sedative formulated for her was carefully calculated to knock her out for a short period of time.”

Yuu turns her eyes back to her surroundings instead of processing that. She finally takes in the city. It is a beautiful place. The more she looks, the easier it is to categorize the slight differences from Olympus.

When Yuu feels collected enough for her voice to not waver, she asks, “what happened to Grim?”

At some point, Idia had shuffled away, putting himself closer to Rook and further away from her. “He’s fine! Everyone’s fine! They’re just undergoing tests right now! We were going to return them in a few days anyways!”

“That’s not what I asked, Idia.” Yuu’s voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. “He vanished all of a sudden, and when I last saw him, he wasn’t even lucid.”

Idia looks away. “It’s classified.”

“Are you being for real right now?” Epel snaps. “I thought you and Yuu were-!”

“It’s okay, Epel. I get it.” Yuu grasps his elbow. She knows how a shady organization works – she’s from Chaldea. “Just… is Grim alright?”

“…Yeah. He is. He was sleeping soundly last I checked on him.” Idia says. He meets her eyes briefly, then averts his gaze.

That’s a relief.

For a few moments, no one speaks.

“From the profile I have gathered from previous prolonged interactions with Yuu and Epel, I have a preliminary understanding of their reasons for coming. But what is your reason, Rook Hunt?” Ortho asks.

“Why, to make a life-saving delivery, of course!” Rook proclaims and pulls open his cloak to unveil an entire array of skincare products.

They’re taken to a well-furbished room.

“…We just wait?” Epel asks. He sits on a couch, fidgeting about and looking ill at ease.

Rook is already browsing through the movies on the television screen.

“Oui. Ah, Mademoiselle Trickster, might I have your attention for a moment?” Rook pulls up a movie. “Am I correct in assuming that you have not watched this?”

Yuu obligingly shakes her head.

“It is vaunted as a classic amongst films, paving the way for others in the genre. Might I suggest we watch this while we wait?”

The opening scene of the movie starts to play. Yuu sits next to Epel. He passes her a cushion to hug. Rook settles on her other side. It feels like a deliberate choice. One that settles her fraying nerves some.

Epel keeps glancing at her, but doesn’t say a word. Rook, for his part, keeps his eyes carefully trained on the screen.

Yuu squeezes the cushion harder. Her mind flits from one thought to another.

The terms she had overheard. Styx. Tartarus.

The underworld. What is its connection to Blot?

The similarities of this place to Olympus…

A gentle hand on her arm brings her out of her thoughts. Yuu looks down at where her nails had dug into the cushion, piercing through the cloth. Foam stuffing leaks out.

“…You okay?” Epel asks her.

Yuu nods.

“Mademoiselle Trickster. Someone is at the door.” Rook says.

Yuu raises her head. Someone knocks on the door.

“Excuse me, I’m coming in.” A feminine voice calls out.

A woman wearing a dull grey uniform steps in. “I’m sorry to interrupt your movie. I have a request for you, Miss Yuu.”

…A request?

“Ortho has collected multiple reports on everyone he meets. Yours is by far the most detailed as well as the most perplexing. There is a record of you performing what appears to be a ‘purification’ of blot. Our team would like to ask for your permission in conducting some tests on you.”

“Permission?” Epel makes a face.

“Yes. It would be easier for all of us if you agree to this voluntarily.” The woman says. “And we have no wish to cause someone enough distress to result in an Overblot. It would go against our very purpose.”

Yuu squeezes the cushion. More stuffing escapes.

“Pardon me. May she refuse?” Rook interjects.

The woman pauses. “Of course. This is purely optional. However, if we are able to replicate what you did, it might lead to a breakthrough in blot research and help to cut down on overblot fatalities.”

“What a load of hogwash.” Epel scoffs. “You’re just trying to make her feel guilty so she’ll agree!”

“It’s okay, Epel.” Yuu murmurs, then to the woman, “I don’t mind. But I want the both of them to be present.”

The woman smiles. “Of course!”

The first test done is with some sort of magic scanner.

Yuu stands in front of a metal device.

“Hmm…” The man sitting in front of the computer says. It is not a reassuring sound. Rook, peering over his shoulder, meets her eyes and shakes his head.

“Sorry, looks like there’s a problem with the output. Let me run this through again…”

Yuu closes her eyes as the device flashes again.

“Hmm.” The man says again.

“What’s that supposed ta mean?” Epel demands from where he’s standing a little ways behind Yuu.

“Uh… Well. This is a machine to detect blot. Usually, everyone has trace amounts of blot in their system. Mages have a little more. But uh… Miss Yuu has absolutely no blot at all.” The man looks at the computer screen. “Mister Felmier, can I ask you to take Miss Yuu’s place? Purely as a control.”

Epel makes a face, but walks over to the device. Yuu steps away.

There’s another flash.

“Now these results are normal. Right. I guess an anomaly like this is to be expected…” The man mutters. He clicks a mouse button and prints out a sheaf of paper. He hands it to Yuu. “Here, your blot results.”

Yuu stares at the bright red zero on the paper.

They are led to another room.

There is a man sitting in front of a desk. Several magestones and a blotstone trapped under a glass apparatus are laid out on it.

“Hi there.” The man says genially. “I’ll be testing your blot buildup.”

Yuu is asked to cast a few spells, holding a different magestone each time.

The man stares at the pitifully weak flame she conjures up. There is no blot on the magestone, but Yuu can’t pull out anything else.

“Ah.” He says after a brief pause. “I suppose that the report detailing your low magic reserves is accurate.”

He coughs awkwardly. “Maybe we should try a reaction test to pure blot instead.”

The man lifts the glass apparatus and shaves off a little of the blot stone. The shaving is thin as paper and smaller than the size of her smallest fingernail. He picks up the shaving with some tweezers. “I’ll be placing this into contact with your forearm. If you feel any pain or adverse reaction, tell me immediately and I will remove it.”

“Okay.” Yuu nods.

The man glances at the clock, then presses the shaving against her forearm.

The shaving feels cold against her skin. The coolness turns sharp, like a needle piercing into her arm. It’s still tolerable.

The pain starts to build. Yuu tenses. “It hurts.” She reports.

The man immediately pulls the tweezer away.

“Twenty-two seconds.” He says to himself. “No strong reaction or injury noted.”

“Is that normal?” Yuu asks.

“Most people can only tolerate exposure to blot for around ten seconds. And prolonged contact with blot often leads to skin irritation or even necrosis.”

The man pulls on a set of gloves and pokes the area where he had placed the blot shaving against. “Any pain or irritation?” He asks Yuu.

Yuu shakes her head. “It felt a bit like an insect bite.”

The third room they’re led to looks a lot like a doctor’s room.

“Hello. I’m Doctor Serena.” The woman sitting inside says. “I will be taking a blood draw. May I have your permission to proceed?”

Rook holds her hand while Doctor Serena sticks a needle into her vein. Yuu doesn’t know why he offered – its not like she’s afraid of needles, but she accepts the gesture for the kindness it is.

“Next is a physical health examination. I would like you to take off your dress.” The doctor says. “Elias, could you leave?” She asks the guard that had so far been their guide.

The guard hesitates for a moment, then nods and says, “I’ll be right outside.” He leaves.

The doctor gives Rook and Epel a pointed look. Neither of the two boys move.

“I will be asking Miss Yuu to undress.” She repeats.

“The both of you can turn around.” Yuu suggests.

Doctor Serena looks somewhat exasperated but says nothing to contest that. She stalks over to the door, pressing a button and locking it.

Yuu takes off her Mystic Code, leaving her in her sports bra and shorts.

Every scar of hers is categorized and examined for any odd aches or pains. Most of them don’t hurt anymore, but there are a few areas where Yuu cannot register touch or sensation.

“I won’t ask what you were doing, but is there any odd incident that has left a lasting impact on your body?”

Yuu has no idea how to answer that.

In the first place, what’s even considered an odd incident?

Before she can ask, the door slides open. “WAIT! We don’t have the authority to conduct experiments on civilians without special circumstances—GAH!” Idia shrieks.

Yuu hastily grabs her dress and covers herself with it. When she turns to look at him. Idia’s hair is completely pink, and his hands are raised to cover his eyes.

Epel grabs the cup sitting on the doctor’s table and flings it at him. “OW!” Yuu’s sure that it’s a breach of protocol or something, but the way the guard outside doesn’t react says a lot.

“Acting Director,” Doctor Serena says disapprovingly, “the door was locked for a reason.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Idia yelps, wiping water away from his face with a hand. “You’re supposed to give a warning for stuff like these! This is like one of those cliché anime plots right there!”

“The door was locked.” She repeats flatly.

Epel scoffs. “Sure yer ain’t making excuses for the massive crush ya have on Yuu?”

Really, Epel? There’s no way—

Idia splutters. His hair somehow flares an even brighter pink. “Wha-? No! I don’t-! I don’t have a crush on Yuu!”

A look crosses Serena’s face. Yuu has seen that same look directed at her in a ‘right, the Master of Chaldea is still a kid’ sort of way – usually after she’s done something particularly impulsive or stupid.

“Miss Yuu, you can get dressed now. That’s all for the examinations for now. Why don’t you go with Idia to the recreation room?” She suggests. “I don’t think he’s ever had friends over.”

“Hang on a sec! I’m supposed to be the party leader here! These guys aren’t my friends! And don’t tell me to go alone with the OP berserker! She’s going to KO me!” Idia screeches.

“Ah, how lovely denial is.” Rook sighs. “With the full force of amour too much to bear, all you can do is attempt to distance yourself from your feelings.”

Idia splutters some more. “That is NOT what’s happening here!”

Idia pulls out his phone and logs into a game the moment he sits down. Yuu supposes that he’s taking the chance to slack off of work while he still can.

Epel glares at him while Rook, unruffled as always, restarts the movie.

Yuu hugs the now-deflated cushion to her chest and settles back down in the same spot.

A few minutes later, a soft ‘ping’ chimes out, interrupting the sound of fighting coming from Idia’s phone.

“Ugh… I’ve got to get back to work.” Idia glares down at the notification on his phone.

“That’s too bad. You wanted to grind for that new event character, right? You were really looking forward to it since two weeks back.” Yuu tears her eyes away from the movie screen to look at him.

Idia raises his head to stare at her. No words escape him for a few seconds. “Y-Yeah.” He mutters, shrinking in on himself. He stands up and walks to the door. Before he leaves, he turns to her. “Look, we’ll be bringing Grim back tomorrow, so just sit there and don’t do anything.”

He takes a step out, then turns back again. “Seriously! Don’t pull anything! I know you’ve got a chosen one complex, but don’t do it!”

His piece said, Idia finally leaves.

Rook looks inexplicably delighted. Epel turns to Yuu and says, “he definitely likes you.”

The guard that had been previously standing silently by the door coughs, drawing their attention to him.

He glances at the door. When it is finally closed, he speaks. “Many of us have been staff here for years. We’ve watched Idia grow up. He’s never had a friend before. There might not be a point in saying this… but please take care of him.”

Yuu is silent for a moment, then she smiles and nods. “Some words always matter. For as long as he’s in reach, I’ll look after him.”

Chapter Text

Their current guard is swapped out for another one who stands by the door for a few minutes, then gives up all pretense to drag a chair over and join them in movie-watching.

They’re halfway through the second movie when the lights short out.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Epel asks the guard.

“Delta-Three calling Command. Delta-Three calling Command. Do you copy?” The guard asks.

If there is an answer, Yuu can’t hear it.

“Come in, Command. Do you copy?” The guard repeats.

Yuu stands up. Something is amiss.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, an alarm starts to blare. “Blot alert. Blot alert.”

If this was Chaldea, she would be running to the Command Room. But this isn’t – and she has no idea where the Command Room is anyways.

Rook is on his feet in a second. Epel follows after, tension evident in his frame.

“What’s happening?” Yuu asks the guard.

“…Don’t worry about it. It’s most likely a false alarm.” The guard assures them. It sounds more like he’s trying to reassure himself.

The alarm stops blaring after a few tense minutes.

“There, see?” The guard says, sounding incredibly relieved. “Delta-Three calling Command. Do you copy?”

“Delta-Three,” Ortho’s voice says from the suit itself, “initiating remote takeover.”

“Huh?” The guard asks. His movements lock up. “H-Hey! What’s happening? Disable remote command! Disable remote! Emergency shutdown!”

Yuu watches with wide eyes as the armour starts moving, completely ignoring the person within.

The paddle-wand left lying by the wall looks incredibly threatening now. “Override!” The man trapped in the armour shouts fruitlessly. “Watch out!” The armour grabs the wand and sends out a technomatic blast their way.

Yuu rolls away, dodging the attack. Rook jerks back in the other direction, grabbing Epel by the collar and dragging him behind the couch.

“Surrender now or face the consequences.” A robotic voice drones out. It is immediately replaced by Ortho’s childlike giggles. “Hee-hee I always wanted to say that!”

“Ortho!” The guard yelps. “Have you malfunctioned!?”

“Nope! Not at all!” The armour raises the wand again.

Their magepens had been confiscated the moment they arrived. Magic is not an option for Rook and Epel.

“Get away! I can’t control Charon!” The guard shouts.

Yuu ducks past the next blast and grabs for the wand, trying to wrestle it from the suit of armour. “How’s the suit controlled?”

“The chest plate! The AI chip’s in the chest plate!” The guard shouts.

Yuu flips over and digs her fingers into a gap between the suit. “Brace yourself!” She pries the front of the suit apart. Wires are yanked out. Sparks of electricity form at the edges of the suit, sparking dangerously.

Yuu stretches out a hand to the man within. She feels a hand grip hers and pulls him out of the suit.

Barely a few seconds later, the suit whirs to a halt. “Severe damage detected. Severe damage detected.” A shower of sparks surrounds the suit.

The man immediately runs to hide behind the couch with Epel and Rook.

Yuu backs away, keeping her eyes on the armour. She clambers up onto the couch, then swings herself over to the back of it, ducking as something inside the suit explodes.

All of them peer over the back of the couch.

A charred pile of scrap metal is all that remains.

“Was that supposed to happen?” Yuu asks.

The man looks at the piece of metal still in her hands. “No,” he says faintly, “that was not supposed to happen.”

All four of them sit down on the couch.

“Ortho went rogue like in the movies?” Epel asks after an extended period of silence.

“It appears so.” The man says blankly, elbows braced on his knees. Yuu supposes that being trapped inside a power-suit and nearly dying does that to a person.

Rook hasn’t stopped staring at the door.

Outside, loud and heavy footsteps stomp past.

The footsteps stop at their door. “Heeelloooooooo?” A voice, slow like molasses, drags out.

Everyone freezes.

“Heeeelloooooo…” The voice fades. Footsteps stomp away.

“The Phantoms have escaped.” The man’s face is pale and his voice faint.

“How sturdy is the door, monsieur?” Rook asks.

“Everything in the facility is anti-magic. It can withstand anything from a Class-C phantom and below.” The man says.

They’re lucky to be inside, then.

But… what about the other personnel?

Halls encrusted in ice. Bodies frozen, shattered to pieces.

Yuu stands up.

She reaches for the pouch of gemstones hidden in her pocket. She grabs one gemstone and lets it sit in her palm.

“Did you have that with you the entire time?” Epel asks her.

Yuu channels mana into the gem instead of replying. The magic stored within comes to life, the rune etched on its surface glowing bright.

“You guys stay here.” Yuu says. She waits for a few moments, until she can no longer hear footsteps, then opens the door.

Thankfully, the door slides open.

“I will accompany you.” Rook says briskly, following her.

“Same ‘ere.” Epel nods.

“Wait! It’s dangerous!” The man hisses.

Yuu looks at him and his expression hardens. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”

There is a trail of ink on the floor.

She takes one step towards the direction of the Phantom, then thinks twice and heads to the other direction. “One of the rooms had magestones, didn’t they?” She recalls. One of the tests had involved magestones.

“Oui. I remember the path.” Rook nods.

Rook takes the lead. His steps are silent, eyes flickering about, looking at something Yuu can’t see.

“There’s no one outside.” Epel whispers.

“When the emergency alarm goes off, it’s protocol to evacuate into the nearest room and stay there until an all clear is given.” The man says quietly.

The sound of skittering comes from a corner of the hallway.

The man’s eyes widen. He presses a pass against a card reader to one of the doors. “In here!”

They duck inside the room. The door closes.

“Ehe he he he he he.” Soft laughter drifts past.

The skittering stops. Something claws at the door.

The room they’re in is some sort of storage room. Tables and chairs are stacked up in a corner. A box of spare parts sits at the bottom of a shelf, a toolbox a step higher. Cleaning products and toiletries are placed at the top of the shelf.

Yuu grabs a heavy metal pole, about the length of her arm. “What’s this for?”

“These are spare parts to repair any machinery that might break down. The magestones and magic reactors are stored in another wing. Some researchers might apply to take possession of them for some time.” The man says. He digs through another box and comes up with what looks like a rifle. “This is barely charged, but should have enough for one shot.”

Epel picks up another metal pole and swings it around like a bat.

Rook, on the other hand, is examining the cleaning products. He uncaps one bottle and pours it into another, then immediately caps it. He shakes it around vigorously.

At their looks, he smiles. “I have some expertise in chemistry.”

Uh… alright then.

They take up positions around the door.

“Ready?” At their nods, Epel opens the door. Yuu immediately swings the pole the moment the door opens wide enough to let the small Phantom through. The Phantom collides against the opposite wall. Rook throws his concoction. It splatters against the Phantom – and starts melting it.

The Phantom lets out a loud shriek, then falls limp and silent. The ink pot of its head quietly shatters.

Yuu and Epel give Rook a side-long look. The man just looks mildly disturbed.

“Let’s keep going. That sound might have attracted more Phantoms.” The man says.

“Aaaaah… Aaaaah…” A Phantom slams against a door.

“That’s the room.” Rook says quietly, peering over the corner of the hallway.

This Phantom is much larger than the previous one.

“It looks like a Class-E phantom.” The guard informs them. “Mostly instinct and not much intelligence. It might still be dangerous—”

“Gandr!” Yuu tosses the gemstone in her hand at the Phantom. The gem explodes and blasts the Phantom to pieces.

“…Nevermind.” The guard says. “We should hurry inside before more Phantoms come.”

“You’ve gotta teach me that.” Epel whispers to her.

They encounter a problem. Whether from the explosion or the Phantom, the door is clearly-dented. When the guard tries to access it, the door slides open halfway but gets jammed there.

Yuu knocks on the door. “Hey! Anyone in there?”

She hears a soft wheeze from within.

“If anyone’s near the door, move away!” She shouts.

She waits for a few seconds, then backs up. She takes a breath and channels magic through her Mystic Code. The spells on it flare to life. A surge of energy courses through her body. Yuu runs forwards and kicks the door in.

“…Woah.” Epel says.

Someone shrieks.

Yuu looks around the room and finds the same researcher from before hiding under the table.

“Nik!” The guard says.

“Alekos?” The researcher raises his head. “Why are you out of the Charon armour?”

While Alekos explains things, Yuu looks around the room.

She spots a few magestones and a blotstone stored inside a glass cabinet.

Did the Phantom from before sense the blotstone?

Yuu collects the magestones and carefully keeps the blotstone untouched. “We’re taking these.” She tells the researcher and hands them over to Rook and Epel.

“My thanks, mademoiselle. Are you not going to keep any for your own use?”

Yuu shakes her head. “You guys can make better use of them.”

With magestones in hand, they manage to clear out two more Phantoms on their way to the control room.

“This shouldn’t have happened.” Nik shakes his head, looking pale. “The Cerberus system was designed by Idia to never go down!”

“What’s that?” Yuu asks.

“After…” Nik trails off for a bit, then barges on, “after Ortho died due to a technical fault in the security system, Idia revamped the whole architecture within STYX. Now even if one processor goes down there should still be two others to share the load and keep the security system up and running.”

Ortho died?

But Ortho is…

Yuu doesn’t have time to think it over before a Charon armour crosses their path.

Yuu freezes. Is there anyone still inside the armour?

“Hello? Is anyone in there?” She calls out hesitantly and is met with a technomatic blast. She ducks the shot. It hits the wall behind her.

Rook immediately fires off a fire spell. Yuu follows that up with a Gandr.

The armour goes down.

Another blast flies towards them from another direction. Three more Charons approach. Yuu rolls away from the blast, but there is a beam headed to Rook, Epel, Alekos and Nik. Rook deploys a barrier to block it, but the other two Charons are already charging up.

“MASH!” She shouts, then immediately realizes her mistake.

Mash isn’t here.

She’s too far away to get them away. She doesn’t have any defensive measures, and her Order Change can only work on one person.

She reaches out a hand and reaches for someone anyway. Epel stumbles as he is displaced. His eyes widen.

“NO! Crimson Slumber!”

Rook and the two staffers are enclosed in glass coffins. The beam hits them harmlessly.

A few spells hit the Charons from another direction.

“So that’s where all that noise was coming from.” A familiar voice says. “Hmm. What an elegant Unique Magic. Good work, Epel.”

Epel pants. His magic releases its hold over the three people. “Vil?”

It isn’t just Vil. Riddle, Leona, Azul and Jamil are there too. There’s no sign of Grim.

“Why are you lot here?” Leona asks, kicking the downed suit of armour. “I can get the little miss, but no reason for them to be here.” He jabs a finger at Epel and Rook.

“They came for me.” Vil says. There is an undercurrent of gratitude and smugness in his voice.

Rook opens his eyes. “Ah… what a wondrous dream. To be greeted by my dear Roi du Poison the moment I wake!”

Vil laughs slightly. “Honestly, Rook. You should set your juniors a better example.”

“Yuu! Why are you here?” Riddle asks her. “If Idia’s here and you’re here, who’s in charge of your dorm? Do you know how many rules you’re breaking?”

“Don’t worry, I put someone else in charge for the time being.” Yuu gives him a grin.

Riddle does not look mollified at all by that.

The sound of more clanking draws near. Yuu shoves herself to the front of the group and pulls out another gemstone. She shoves all that she can afford from her circuits to the gemstone. “Gandr!”

The explosion takes out the armour.

“Since when were you capable of a spell of that calibre?” Azul asks her with wide eyes.

“I’m not.” Yuu says. “Have any of you seen Grim?”

From the way all of them reacts with surprise, the answer is ‘no’.

She temps down on her disappointment and turns back to the staff. “Where’s the control room?”

“Turn left. It’s just straight ahead!” Alekos tells her.

With more people, it’s easier than before to make their way to the control room.

The people inside are running about like demonic monkeys, clearly unused to emergencies.

Chaldea’s emergency alarm went off at least once a month.

…Or maybe they were the strange ones?

The technicians inside the control room give them a run-down of what happened.

Ortho hacked everything and now the Phantoms held inside Tartarus are thawing out. The ones on the upper floors had already thawed, but most of those were weak enough that the anti-magic doors could stop them.

The main issue is the Phantoms stored at the lowest levels. Some of them reportedly go back to the Age of Gods. If those manage to escape, it would lead to a disaster. Idia went down to check on the gate but has yet to return.

And… Grim was last detected venturing down into Tartarus.

Well. That’s that then.

“I’m heading down.” Yuu declares.

“What? You can’t! You’re just a student!” One of the researchers protests.

“Don’t worry, I’m trained for combat.” Yuu reassures her.

Riddle makes a frustrated sound. “What she means is that our school has trained us to be first responders in the event of an emergency.”

They gather supplies. Rations, water, first aid kits, maps and communicators that were fixed up on the fly with their own signal.

“Do any of you know how runes work?” Yuu asks.

The boys look amongst each other. “I do.” Leona says.

“Good. Take these.” Yuu grabs a handful of gems and hands them to Leona. Leona’s brows raise. He takes the gems and holds one up, running his thumb over the engraved rune.

“The rune inscribed on this is ‘Gandr’. There’s magic stored inside this. When you want to use it, activate it by charging it with some of your own magic and invoke the rune. It usually just stuns someone, but these gems are charged with enough magic to explode.”

Leona frowns slightly as he looks the gems over. Then he nods. “Got it. Once this is over, I’ve got plenty of questions for you.”