Chapter Text
Yuki found herself laying on her side, resting on something cushy and carried an earthy scent. Despite the strange anomaly, she kept her eyes shut as her curled into a ball to persevere whatever minutes of sleep she had left.
But then the sound of humming and whistling resonated. They weren’t voices she recognized. She slowly lifted her head, blinking her eyes hazily. When her vision cleared, she realized that she wasn’t sleeping on the lumpy, stiff mattress she settled on last night. Although, the patch of grass she was on was cozier than her bed.
“Painting the roses red~ We’re painting the roses red~”
She sat up and saw three actual card people moving around and singing.
She wondered if this was a normal thing in Twisted Wonderland, or if she got transported into a new world all over again.
Yuki then watched as they swung buckets of red paint and splash globs of red all over the white roses. Even though they were singing a happy chiptune, they would quickly move to the next trees with white roses as if they were tight on the schedule. As they rushed between one rose bush after the next, coloring them until they were dripping scarlet, Yuki noticed a head popping through the head maze.
It was a young girl, about the same age as her. Maybe younger. She wore a blue and white dress. She had blond hair with a black bow sitting right on top. With how everything was, she looked like she was an outsider as well.
As if she had the same thought as Yuki, she tapped on the three of clubs card man.
“Pardon me, why are you painting the roses red?”
The card men were surprised by her presence but quickly got over it as they pulled her along while continuing their artsy pursuit.
“Well you see, my dear, we’ve made a mistake of planting the white roses instead of red,” the Ace card explained.
“And our queen despises white roses. She prefers to have her red rose gardens!” the card of two added.
The all resumed their song, “The Queen she likes them red~ If she saw white instead~”
At the next verse they all turned to the young girl as they sung the next verse.
“She’ll raise her foot~”
“And each of us~”
“Will quickly lose his head~~”
Yuki froze stiff as she reached for her own neck out of fear. It didn’t help that one of the card soldiers motioned across his neck with his red paintbrush, oozing and dripping the crimson paint onto the grass.
“Goodness!” the young maiden exclaimed as she moved to protect her neck like Yuki.
The two could see the three card men shaking knowing that their lives were literally at stake if the Queen discovered their mistake.
“Since this is the part we dread~... ”
They slathered more red paint onto the last roses before bending down to grab their red buckets of paint.
“We’re painting the roses red~!”
They then marched off as they quickly headed to the next white rose tree.
“Oh dear...”
The young girl then went down to grab the extra can of red paint and brush as she followed after them.
“Let me help you then.”
She then skipped after them as she began to sing along to their song. But Yuki’s vision started blurring and their singing was starting to fade more and more.
‘Wait... Where am I?... What... happened?...’
But Yuki couldn’t keep her thoughts straight anymore as her entire world turned into shadows.
“Hey! Yuki! Up and at ‘em!”
Yuki turned and felt the lumpy mattress beneath her. Grumbling at the discomfort, she then sat up, blinking the sand out of her eyes at the ghost’s wake up call. When she could see clearly, she saw that she was in the same dusty, decrepit room with it’s gritty mirror and uncomfortable mattress.
Yuki then rested her against her palms, furrowing her brows.
That was weird.
Yuki felt like she woke up from the strangest dream she had, but she can’t recall it.
Something about painting the roses red and losing heads?
“Yuki! Are you up?”
“I’m up! I’m coming!”
She may as well no dwell on it. She pulled the sheets right off her and headed out of her room. Thanks to her clearly oversized, used pajamas, they did well to hide her figure. Not that it really mattered much since the only people living in Ramshackle were the ghosts and Grim.
On top of that, Yuki and the ghosts went the extra mile to thoroughly clean another room just for Grim. Yuki had explained that it was because it was for her ‘oh so great future mage.’ Which Grim happily accepted the prepared gift. After all, who wouldn’t refuse to have a whole giant room to himself.
In reality, it was to make sure Grim doesn’t accidentally discover her actual gender if they shared the same room.
Just as she was about to exit her room, she saw a set of clothes folded neatly and set right on top of the dresser. Curious, she approached these odd set of clothes. That’s when she noticed a card sitting on top of these new set of clothes. She picked it up and proceeded to read it.
‘Here is your school uniform, prepared by our talented staff. Hope everything goes well for you!
From you benevolent headmaster,
Headmage Crowley’
Even in writing, he couldn’t stop bragging about how kind he was.
Whatever, at least she had a new set of clothes.
She pulled out the black blazer and presented it to the mirror. It looked slightly bigger than it actually needed to be for her small stature. But that was likely intentional to hide her figure.
Among the set of clothes was another piece of clothing. It didn’t look to be part of the uniform with how peach colored it was.
She carefully pulled it out and it only took a second to realize what it was.
A chest binder.
...At least she didn’t have to manually bind her chest...
She packed the binder in between her uniform and walked down the halls to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change.
“Hey!”
Yuki nearly jumped, clutching her clothes to her chest. She looked to see it was Grim walking down the halls.
He stood in the middle of the hall to get her complete attention.
“I see you’re finally up, Yuki!” he smirked.
“Y-yeah. Morning Grim,” she replied, trying to sound as casual as possible.
He then crossed his arms still beaming.
“Well?”
“‘Well’ what?”
“Do you notice anything different?”
Yuki raised a brow. Looking at Grim and around the hall.
“Did you... clean the hallways?” she inquired.
The halls didn’t look any different. Grim wasn’t a fan of cleaning, but given that he was magical, he could’ve easily whisk away any dust and cobwebs.
Even though they were still there.
“What no! I’m talking about me!”
She studied her feline roommate, but he didn’t look any different. He was still the small, feline friend he was.
“...Did you brush your fur? I guess your fur looks shiny?” she complimented. She wouldn’t be surprised if he cleaned himself up on his first day.
“Dude! I got my collar on! Look!”
Finally given the obvious answer, she squat down and gazed at Grim’s neck. Sure enough, a purple colored gem was fixed onto his striped ribbon, shining.
Yuki remembered handing her roommate the collar last night. He would not stop cheering and gushing over the fact that he got a mage stone to hone his magic skills. Even if they weren’t students, it was at least a symbol of recognition. Yuki can’t believe she didn’t even realize.
“Oh! Right! Yeah, you look great!”
“Hmph, to think you only noticed now! Guess I better step up if my hench-human is that dense,” Grim snickered before scampering off and yelling over his shoulder, “Yuki! You better hurry up!”
“I’ll be ready in a bit. I just need to change.”
“Then, hurry up! The last thing I want is to be late!” He huffed as he scampered away to eat. As soon as he was out of sight, Yuki let out a sigh of relief. She then quickly made her way to the bathroom.
She shut the door behind her and combed her fingers through her hair. She was now given a moment of peace and most importantly, a moment to change without being discovered. She turned to lock the door. But for some reason, the lock on the knob felt loose. She tried turning it the other way in hopes that maybe locks operate in the opposite direction in this world.
Instead, the lock just popped right off the knob. On closer inspection, she saw that the grooves have been smoothed out and covered all in rust. Even the crevice where the lock rested was filthy looking.
“...Of course...” she muttered under her breath as she pressed her head against the door. Despite Crowley telling her that she needed to conceal her gender at all costs, he couldn’t even go out of his way to provide a working lock.
Well, she’ll just work with what she’s got for now and talk to the Headmage later.
Leaning against the door so no one can push the door open, she pulled off her oversized pajama top and worked on putting on her binder on top of changing into her uniform.
Meanwhile, Grim was shoveling some scrambled eggs into his mouth, constantly eye an old cuckoo clock hanging on the kitchen wall.
“Easy Grimmy. Eat slower,” the skinny ghost chastised.
“How is it, by the way?” the chubby one asked.
Grim pouted, “I mean, it could use some salt. And pepper. Some butter. Even ketchup would be nice...”
“Heh, yeah sorry. We ghosts don’t need to eat like you living folks,” the middle one mentioned.
Apparently, both Yuki and Grim learned that ghosts don’t necessarily need to eat. Although, a lot of ghosts still continue to eat mainly as a luxury. Some do it as a way to still feel alive, others do it as a pass time to bond with other ghosts, and few just enjoy tasting their favorite foods.
It was similar to Grim wanting to eat canned tuna. He didn’t need to eat only tuna to live, but he still wants to eat it because he enjoys it.
“And also, how am I suppose to survive on just scrambled eggs?! I need more sustenance if I want to be a great mage!”
“Geez! Does that endless pit you call a stomach have a bottom?!” the skinny ghost groaned.
“We’ll get some shopping done later! Besides, the food at the cafeteria is pretty great too!” the chubby one mentioned.
“Really?”
“Yep! They have five star chefs come and serve the young lads. There are even special events like Bakery Day where they the best quality pastries! I recommend giving it a go!”
Grim’s eyes were already bugging out and drool was even evident on the corners of his mouth.
“Woohoo! A luxury cuisine for yours truly! This school is the best! They are lucky to have me!”
As Grim cheered, the four of them heard thumping coming from upstairs and rushing down to the kitchen.
“Sorry for making you wait!”
Soon Yuki made her appearance and all eyes were now on her.
She wore a the black blazer just like the other students of this college. It was clear it was slightly bigger with the way her sleeves had to be rolled back, but she still made it work. She had all the buttons all fastened and her tie was properly fitted. Her undershirt was also well pressed and tucked. Luckily, her pants were the one thing that fit well on her as they reached to her ankles.
Unlike the rest of the students though, she didn’t have the weird armband or one of the magical wands to place in her breast pocket. But she did place her small pocket mirror she found when she first came to Ramshackle inside the pocket for safe keeping.
“Wow! You look awesome! I think that outfit is wearing you than the other way around!” the chubby ghost gushed.
“You look like a bone-fide Night Raven College student, Yuki!” the short one complimented.
“Ha! If you had told me you were an unofficial student here, I wouldn’t believe them!” the skinny one told her.
Yuki scratched the back of her head, embarrassed.
Grim shrugged, “Not bad, human. I guess if you’re going to be my hench-human, you gotta look the part. Although, you barely hold a candle to yours truly.”
To make his point, he pressed his paw to his chest and raised his head proudly. Yuki could only shake her head at his ego.
“Thanks, I guess. I’ve never worn a uniform this fancy before. It’s going to take some getting used to...” She replied as she took a seat on the dining chair to eat her scrambled eggs.
She took a bite. They could really use some ketchup. She’ll even take some salt if it meant removing this bland flavor.
“Aw, don’t sweat the details. You’re gonna be fine!” the short ghost reassured.
“Exactly! You got nothing to worry about!” the skinny ghost reassured.
“And if anyone suspects anything, the number one thing to do is to act confident. If you show any signs of anxiousness and paranoia, they’ll exploit it,” the chubby one advised.
“All you gotta do is strut your stuff, show them what you’re made of, and before you know it, you’re a bone-fide official Night Raven College students!” The stout ghost affirmed.
Yuki nodded. What they didn’t know though was that she wasn’t only going to be the first non-magical student to attend. But the first woman as well. No one is supposed to find out about her true identity. This was going to her first time fighting through this unknown labyrinth. But, she was happy to have a support team during this inner crisis she was having.
Speaking of other guys, she did notice that there was one other person she recalled meeting.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, does that other guy live in Ramshackle?”
“Other guy?”
Yuki nodded, “Yeah. I met him yesterday morning. He was standing in the yard of Ramshackle. He was tall, had horns.”
Yuki she began recounting to her encounter with that horned man.
“Who are you?”
She froze on the spot as his attention was now on her. At first, she was afraid that she stumbled upon a student who was brooding in an isolated area in secret, only for her to stumble here and intrude.
But she didn’t see any trace of malice or even ire at her. Instead, he looked at her as if he were genuinely curious about her.
“Oh uh... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you,” Yuki instinctively answered.
Given her previous experiences with the other students, Ace’s first introduction, and Riddle’s authoritative attitude, she decided to choose her words carefully as well as maintain a distance from this man.
He only stayed silent, still studying her.
“Hmph, you needn’t to worry. You haven’t bothered me.”
He crossed his arms, eyes narrowing in curiosity, “But you didn’t answer my question.”
Yuki stiffened, afraid he was about to blow a fuse for saying the incorrect answer. But he remained where he was.
She decided that the best course of action was to be honest with him.
“Well, my name is Yuki. Yuki Hakamori.”
Grim gave a loud snore as he shifted in her arms.
“Minion... bring me ten tuna cans... on the double...”
The man raised his brows, picking up on how this small cat was referring to her as his ‘minion.’
Yuki cleared her throat, “And my sleeping companion here is Grim. We... live here... sort of...”
He paused for a minute before chuckling to himself,“‘Yuki’? Hmm, that is a rather unusual name,” he replied. Yuki puffed her cheeks in response. But he paid no mind, rather, he seemed amused.
The man turned to the dilapidated building.“I don’t ever recall anyone living here since my enrollment. I heard this place has been abandoned for decades...”
“Y-yeah, us living here was... a last minute decision,” she explained briefly.
The man stayed silent, looking between her and the crumbling building.
As far as she recalled, the ghosts and the Headmage told her that she and Grim were the first living beings in decades to take residence in this building. Surely one of them would’ve mentioned a third living resident. She doubted anyone would forget a tall, horned man standing proudly and resolute. He made a strong, first impression on her that’s for sure.
“Um... are you... faculty?”
He raised a brow in curiosity.
“I mean, I ask because no one mentioned another resident here. So, I assumed you were here to... I don’t know... weed the yard of Ramshackle?” she suggested.
...Okay, now that she said that out loud, that sounded more insulting than she intended. Did she really just insinuate that he was possible some janitor who just happened to wander here? She really needs to choose her words carefully before blurting out the first thought that pops in her head. Especially in this new environment with volatile, magical, walking bombs.
Yuki braced herself for the man to snap angrily, scoff in indigence, or even see flying, giant boulders hurtling towards her.
But he only widened his eyes at her.
“You... Do you not know who I am?”
Yuki blinked. She saw that he wasn’t upset about the fact that she didn’t know him. It was more out of shock and curiousity. She had no idea how important of a figure he is, or if he was important at all.
Since he already showed that he was not a fan of roundabout answers, she gave an honest response and shook her head.
“To think that there is someone in the world who doesn’t know me...” he muttered to himself, looking away from her.
Yuki wondered if she said anything insulting to him. He did seem astonished that she had no idea who he was. Maybe he was some renown mage. But then why would he go to school to train to become one? He did imply that he was important though.
She was about to apologize, but then he spoke up, eerily smiling.
“Hmm. Regardless, the fact that there are now people living here means that these ruins can no longer be considered ‘abandoned’ anymore.”
Yuki thought if she was intruding on him. Even if this was her temporary home, this place did seem important to him. And her being here was an intrusion of his peace.
“Pity... I’ve always enjoyed visited abandoned ruins. They’re isolated, quiet, and I don’t have to worry about being disturbed.”
He then turned to her, giving her a pleasant, yet wistful smile, “I shall leave and find some other ruins to explore.”
“Oh, uh-”
“With that, I bid you farewell.”
He then disappeared, leaving behind glittering green lights before they too, disappeared with the orange sunrise.
Yuki was all alone as the fields were painted in the orange and pink morning glow.
The three ghosts exchanged looks with one another, confused.
“Nope, you and Grimmy are the only living residents here,” the stout one answered.
Yuki replied with a simple ‘oh’ before collecting her thoughts. He didn’t live here and he wasn’t a member of the faculty. Come to think of it, he did wear a student uniform.
Who was that man?
“Meh, big deal. You met some horned man and then he up and left. I say good riddance if he decides to leave without even giving us an explanation!” Grim grumbled, even though he was asleep throughout the majority of that interaction.
“Still, he seemed to enjoy coming here before we showed up,” Yuki brought up.
That horned man didn’t seem violent like the previous people she’s met. Nor did he seem as open like Trey or Deuce.
But he did exude that mysterious air. Almost drawing her in. Despite admitting his surprise about how she didn’t know him, he didn’t even drop a name. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to get to know him. Perhaps it was because Yuki was the type of girl who wants to get as much answers as possible when a mystery presents itself.
But moreover, he seemed lonely. She wasn’t sure why she felt that, especially since he left soon after their encounter and especially after he explicitly stated that he prefers abandoned places because he enjoyed the peace and quiet.
She hopes that she’ll get the chance to meet him again.
“Whatever. If he’s gone then that’s one less annoyance to deal with. More importantly...”
Grim then stood up on his chair, “We got bigger fish to fry! Today’s our first day of classes and I don’t want to be late! So, less talking more eating!”
With that, Grim began shoveling the leftover scrambled eggs. Yuki shrugged as she scooped another spoonful of plain eggs in her mouth. Although she was reluctant to start her day as the only magicless, female, audit student, she may as well just get it over with.
Grim quickly finished before bolting out of his seat and racing out of the kitchen and out into the hallway.
“Minion! You better hurry up! The last thing I need is to be late because of his hench-human!” he called over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.
“Grim!” Yuki scolded as she swallowed the last bite of eggs before racing after him.
“Ah!- okay Yuki! Have a good day!” the skinny one quickly called after her.
“Remember, be confident!” the larger one called.
“You got this!” the stout one called out.
Yuki gave a thumbs up from behind before rushing out of the living room to the entrance hall where Grim was. As soon as he saw her down the hall, he jumped to open the door to dash out, leading the way.
She ran out the door but took one look over her shoulder to look at Ramshackle. It was still old and ready to fall and still at the bottom tier on her list of ‘ideal places to live in.’
But from the kitchen window, she saw the three ghosts through the dirty window, giving her waves and thumbs up.
Meanwhile, back at Ramshackle dorm, the ghosts watched as their two friends raced out of the field.
“Hey guys, you don’t think it’s...” the stout one started.
The short ghost scratched his head, “Well, she did say that he had horns and looked tall. We’ve actually seen him a handful of times, bet we’ve never talked to him...”
“C’mon! What are the odds that she ran into him of all people!”
All three of them crossed their arms in thought.
“I mean, he’s not a bad guy... as long as you don’t anger him...” the stout one added.
Admittedly, that was the main reasons why none of the three ever spoke to him.
“If that’s the case, Yuki’s brave for even talking to him...” the chubby one added.
“I don’t think he even knows that guy...” the big one added before falling silent.
The three fell silent once again.
“Well, I don’t think we need to worry anymore, right? Yuki did say that he had no interest in coming back now that he and Grimmy are living here.”
“True...”
“Anyway, let’s just forget about it and move on. As Grimmy said, they have bigger fish to fry.”
All three turned back at the window. The two were already long gone, but they were about to face their biggest challenge yet. The only thing the ghosts could do was root for them from far away and hope that their first day would turn out okay.
“Woohoo! Student life, here I come!” Grim cheered as he rushed on all fours down the road leading to Main Street. Although they were not registered students, Grim was more interested in the fact that he could attend classes like the rest of the students. Yuki shrugged.
She walked behind Grim, passing the Botanical Garden and the Alchemy lab along the way. They walked along the path until they approached the Hall of Mirrors, the place that connected the students to their dorms. Yuki stopped in her tracks and watched as she saw a swarm of boys shuffling out of the building and towards the Main Building for their first day of school.
Despite getting permission to attend these classes, Yuki wasn’t sure how everyone else felt about having someone like her on their premises.
Grim didn’t seem to be perturbed though as he was about to march into the crowd before turning to his roommate.
“Hey, Yuki! What’s the hold up? Are you trying to make you master late on his first day of school!” he called to her.
Yuki blinked before turning to Grim, “No, sorry. Just a little nervous, I guess.” Yuki admitted.
Grim only crossed his paws and smirked, “Oh? Is my minion getting cold feet on his first day of school already?”
He raised his nose to the sky as he pounded his fist onto his chest.
“Don’t worry. With a reliable mage like me around, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Yuki shook her head, “Honestly, hearing you say that puts me more on edge and drives me to watch over you instead...”
“Mrah?! Whaddya say?!” Grim shrieked.
But before Yuki could say anything, she heard someone calling out to her.
“Ah! Yuki! Grim! Morning!”
She looked over and saw Deuce waving his arm to get her attention. She even saw Ace watching his friend waving at them. Relieved to see familiar faces, she walked over, this time taking the lead with Grim chasing after her.
“Yeesh, what are you, five? Who just goes and waves their friend over?” Ace mocked as Yuki ran up to their side.
“C’mon! I’m just greeting him!”
“Dude relax. No need to make a big production. Anyway, morning Yuki,” Ace greeted, quickly changing the subject.
“Morning Ace, Deuce. Are you ready for the first day of school?” Yuki asked.
“You bet!”
“I’m not...” Ace griped, “We had to attend that stupid orientation for living in the Heartslabyul dorm.”
He rubbed his temples, “That was the driest lecture I had to listen to. And we have another one tonight!”
“Oof, sorry you had to go through that...” Yuki admitted.
“Still, if we want to be able to live a normal life in the dorms, it’s important to know the rules and protocols and such,” Deuce added.
But Ace rolled his eyes, “Sure, take their side, teacher’s pet.”
Deuce glowered at Ace but didn’t say anything after that. Yuki quickly decided to break the tension.
“Say, do you guys want to walk together to the Main Building?” she suggested.
Deuce smiled at the offer, “Totally! I’m in.”
Ace sighed, “You guys are such kids. But it beats making such a long trek in awkward silence. Like seriously? Who decided to build the Hall of Mirrors so far away from the Main Building?!”
With that statement, Ace began walking, with Ace, Yuki, and Grim tagging close by.
“You think that’s bad, try walking from Ramshackle. It’s way farther than the Hall of Mirrors,” Grim complained as he hopped on Yuki’s shoulder.
“Says the guy whose getting a literal piggyback ride. Geez...” Ace sighed again.
“By the way, Yuki. What class are you assigned in?” Deuce asked
Yuki did her best to recollect her schedule that Crowley prepared for her.
“Uh, class A, I think.”
“Oh! You’re in the same class as Ace and I,” Deuce replied, his smile now wider.
“So we have Homeroom with Professor Crewel, who teaches Alchemy,” Ace said.
“Alchemy? We get to brew potions?! YES!” Grim cheered.
As the four of them chatted amongst themselves, some of the other male students were spying on them. Or more specifically, a certain magicless teen, happily chatting with her peers.
“What on earth is that kid doing here?” one of the growled.
“Isn’t he the one that broke the mirror?” another said.
“Dude, I had to share my room with one of those Diasomnia freaks because of him!”
“And he’s wearing the school uniform?” another pointed out.
“What the hell is going on?” one of them demanded.
The students kept glaring at the outcast. But instead of approaching him like they normally would, they kept their distance and decided to watch and see where Yuki was going, hoping that this kid wasn’t heading in the same direction they were.
Yuki didn’t even notice the other men suspiciously eyeing her and Grim. She instead engaged in conversation with Ace and Deuce as they walked though the main doors. This time, she and Grim were not entering as janitors or intruders. This time, they were entering as students.
The other students continue to eye the oddballs.
“I don’t like this one bit...”
“I say we should keep an eye on them...” the other guy agreed as the group of them entered the building behind the four freshmen.