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Deuce had always felt too much.
While a normal child would cry if their stuffed toy was taken away, Deuce would have a melt down.
He didn't know how to process his emotions properly and he always felt too much.
Not only from him.
But from others too.
One time his mama had been really sad but she looked so happy.
He could still remember the underlying scent of cold rain, wet dirt, and salt.
The young boy hadn't known why at the time, but the scent just made him so sad.
It made him want to bury himself into his mother's arms and cry his heart out.
The air seemed too heavy and he could feel something emanating from the kitchen that made him want to bawl his eyes out.
He had walked into the kitchen confused at the scent and the way his heart twisted.
His mother gave him a bright smile but the scent only grew stronger.
Her eyes had looked glassy but Deuce, as young as he was, didn't comment on it.
But then he learned his father left, and the scent that seeped from his mother felt even heavier in the air.
That was the first time he truly seemed to understand.
That scent…
That feeling…
It came from his mother.
He didn't like it.
It smelled wrong coming from her.
It felt wrong.
He didn't like it on his mama.
If he could take it away, make her feel better, he would without a second thought.
He later learned that feeling had a name.
Sadness.
It kept happening again and again.
The bitter scent that smelled faintly of peppers and lightning made him want to scream and punch something.
He was soon able to connect that scent and feeling to anger.
A sweet scent that smelled vaguely of sugar and cinnamon had made him want to hug his mom tightly.
He was able to figure out it was love, platonic and familial love to be more precise.
Romantic love was similar to the other scent except it smelled more floral and like honey.
He had figured out that the scent that clogged his nose, smelled like smoke mixed with acid, was fear.
Joy smelled like dew kissed grass, like fresh apples, and it made him want to smile and laugh.
There were so many more scents he had discovered and he had tried his best to remember what each one meant.
His mama always chuckled when he gave her little things when she was sad but he always felt the way the ice rain, wet dirt, and salt scent seemed to relax and grow more faded.
She laughed when he always seemed to pinpoint her emotions and she would ruffle his hair, calling him her little emotion detector.
Deuce had only beamed in happiness.
He wouldn't learn what he was for a long time.
He simply thought himself unique.
He was right in a way.
There were others like him, but none quite had his senses, or sensed the emotions of others like he did.
Deuce was only four the first time that ugly feeling welled up within him and never seemed to leave.
He had been in class and it was free time.
The young boy had been doodling on a piece of paper when he heard Avery, one of the rudest boys in class, start complaining.
Avery was a few months older than Deuce and had brown hair, sun kissed skin, and amber eyes.
Then Avery said the words that made him snap.
"What's even more weird is that Deuce's mom even looks like that. I mean she looks so weird," Avery had complained.
Avery was young so he didn't know what he was saying or the consequences that would happen.
Avery also didn't know proper insults, not that it would've mattered because any insult to his mama was terrible.
How dare he…
How dare he!
HOW DARE HE!!
The crayon in Deuce's hand snapped.
Deuce could smell the peppery, bitter, and electrical scent of anger.
He had been trying to ignore all the scents that surrounded him every day but this scent overwhelmed him.
He dropped his crayon and stood up slowly from his position on the floor.
He had distantly realized that the scent came from him instead of someone else.
The four year old's vision seemed to tint red and his mind went blank.
Then he moved.
It felt like he was an outside observer to his own body.
Deuce had move and pushed Avery before grabbing the older boy by the collar of his shirt.
He slammed the boy to the ground and raised a fist.
Deuce smelled smoke mixed with acid and the scent clogged his nose.
Fear.
The scent came off in waves from Avery.
Deuce heard shouts and then he felt his fist connect to skin.
He smelled iron and heard a crack.
A hand clamped down on his arm, preventing him from making another punch.
He was dragged off Avery and he heard the boy crying, looking at him with fear in his eyes, holding his nose, blood seeping through his fingers.
His throat closed up and his heart beat thudded in his ears.
Deuce smelled that peppery, bitter, electrical scent fade away.
Instead, it was replaced by the smell of cold air.
Numbness, he later learned, was what that scent meant.
He hurt someone…
He hurt someone who insulted his mama…
Why doesn't he feel happiness, or regret?
What's happening?!
The next hours were a blur but Deuce could still remember the sound of a broken nose..
He could still smell iron.
His hand had blood on it.
Not his blood.
Avery's.
That night he smelled that cold rain, wet dirt, and salt scent.
Sadness.
Deuce still felt slightly numb but he steeled himself, unwilling to let his mama be sad.
He crept closer to the living room only to heard hiccups and sobs.
He froze behind the wall.
"I don't know what to do!" She cried into a phone.
"He's acting so much like him! And even if he has my looks, he still looks like his father…" Mama had whispered, tears streaming down his face.
"What do I do?" Deuce's mama's voice cracked.
Deuce stood there frozen.
He was acting like his dad?
But… he didn't want to…
Mama deserved the best.
It was all his fault…
Mama is crying because of him.
If he stops being angry…
Does that mean she'll be happy?
Deuce could only stand there and listen to his mama sob, crying into the phone, trying to get advice from her friends.
Mama didn't need to do anything.
Deuce did.
Deuce shoved down the peppery scent underneath the other scents, unwilling to let it boil up again.
If his mama didn't like him angry, then Deuce would simply burry his anger.
Anything for his mama.
Years went by but that peppery, lightning, bitter scent stayed with Deuce.
His anger was always there, lying under the surface, just waiting to explode.
But Deuce had always buried it back down.
He couldn't make his mama cry.
Not again.
So Deuce ignored it.
He ignored the way Avery always flinched back at Deuce.
Ignored the whispers that followed him.
He ignored the name calling, the insults, and the hate thrown his way.
But his fists would clench and his smile would tighten every time.
Then one day, it got to much.
He snapped.
But this time the peppery scent refused to fall back under the other scents.
Instead it rose further and higher.
He became a delinquent.
He learned to fight.
His anger, once buried, now rose every time a insult was thrown his or more importantly, his mama's way.
His grades weren't good no matter how hard he tried.
He never had friends.
The people he associated with weren't good people.
Deuce was…
Deuce didn't know how to stop.
He didn't want to do this.
He didn't like this.
He didn't want his mama to cry.
That peppery scent drowned out everything else.
One night, just a week into summer break, he smelled the cold rain, wet dirt, and salt scent.
It drowned out everything, including Deuce's own peppery scent.
It was like coming back from a trance.
What has he done…
He crept towards where the scent came from before he froze behind a wall.
There was his mama, crying on the phone.
"I don't know what to do!" She cried.
Deuce could only listen.
"He's acting like his father, he looks like him too! I don't know where I went wrong," she choked out.
It wasn't her fault.
She never went wrong.
Deuce was what was wrong.
He inherited his fathers anger.
It's not her fault.
Deuce could only stand there and listen, unable to say anything.
This reminded him far too much of what happened all those years ago when he was four.
He broke his promise.
Tears blurred his vision and the peppery scent finally faded away mostly and was replaced by that salty scent that meant sadness.
He wanted to cry, to bury himself in his mother's arms.
But he wouldn't.
Because he had to be better.
He had gotten a letter from NRC.
He would be an honors student this time.
Deuce would be someone his mama could look at in pride.
Deuce wouldn't become like his father.
He would try harder.
He would be better.
He had to.
Deuce would be someone he himself could be proud of.
Deuce was walking with his friends, Yuu, Grim, Ace, Jack, and Epel.
He still couldn't believe all that's happened.
Five overblots.
Five.
When they're supposedly rare?
It's weird.
But Deuce wouldn't trade those experiences.
Because that's how he met all of them, that's how he's bonded to his friends as much as he did.
"Yo! Juice! What do you want from the cafeteria?" Ace shouted, having run ahead earlier.
"My name's not juice!" Deuce yelled back but he wasn't angry.
Yuu giggled, covering their mouth but Grim had no such preservation.
Jack huffed and looked away and Epel groaned.
Ace rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out.
But Deuce smelled dew kissed grass and fresh apples.
They were all heading to the cafeteria because Grim and Ace had been complaining about their hunger despite having been snacking throughout the day.
He let a broad smile spread across his lips.
Grim rushed ahead and Yuu ran to catch up with the creature.
"Grim!" Yuu yelled, faux annoyance in their voice.
Epel covered their mouth but his shoulders shook with silent laughter.
Then Epel lowered his hand and tugged on Jack's shirt.
"Hey Jack, do you think we could race ahead?" Epel asked, his smile turning diabolical.
Jack thought for a moment.
He huffed but nodded.
"Get on my back," he instructed, crouching.
Epel climbed on and then Jack started sprinting, a grin on both of their faces.
Epel whooped and hollered in joy.
Deuce chuckled, his smile stretching across his face.
He hurried to catch up to them but froze when a whisper drifted to his ear.
"Ugh, I don't even get why they're even at this school," one student, a Pomefiore, whispered to his friends.
"I know right? One doesn't even have magic and another is a literal beast," a Diasomnia student agreed.
"That short one, with the purple hair, are we sure they aren't a girl? Or that the one with wolf ears won't attempt to hunt us?" a Scarabia student hissed.
"And you know that blue haired one? He's so dumb and I heard he used to be a delinquent.
"You know that one with the heart on his face? He was the one who caused the Heartslabyul dorm leader to overblot," gossiped another Pomefiore student.
Deuce smelled the peppery scent within him rise again but it was drowned out by the scent of cold rain, wet dirt, salt, lemon, and burnt garlic.
The scent of guilt and sadness.
They were much deeper than that but those were the first feelings Deuce recognized on surface level.
They came off in waves from his friends.
He felt the need to cry, to scream, to hide away.
But over all of that, the peppery scent of his anger flared up.
It never quite left, only subdued, just like all that time ago.
Deuce's fists clenched and his teeth ground together.
He needed to calm down.
He couldn't act rashly.
"I don't get why they haven't been expelled yet," scoffed the first Pomefiore student.
Just like that, something in Deuce snapped.
That peppery scent of rage filled his nostrils, mixed with the scent of guilt and sadness from his friends.
They could talk bad about him all they wanted.
But how DARE they talk bad about his FRIENDS!!
A red haze fell over his eyes.
Deuce's fists clenched so hard his nails bit into his skin.
He could see from the corner of his eye that his friends looked ashamed, nervous, sad, and so many more complex emotions.
HOWDARETHEYHOWDARETHEY!!!!!
He stalked forward, making his friends startle and the strangers falter.
He grabbed the first Pomefiore student by the collar of their shirt.
The student smelled like fear but all Deuce could feel was RAGE.
Deuce stood in front of the headmage with bruises painting his limbs, multiple scratches, and busted knuckles.
His friends were nearby.
Jack was tense while Epel looked at Deuce with a mix of admiration and worry.
Ace looked at Deuce with hidden affection but also worry.
Yuu and Grim looked nervous but Yuu's eyes kept darting to Deuce every now and then.
He didn't regret defending his friends.
But he did regret losing control.
He could still hear the sound of bones breaking.
Could still recall the smell of fear.
Fear that he caused.
Memories overlapped both similar but at the same time, different.
Avery.
The Pomefiore student.
Both insulted people he cared for, people he loved.
Both paid the price to Deuce losing control of his anger.
The headmaster cleared his throat, causing Deuce to snap out of his thoughts.
Crowley looked at Deuce with annoyance and the boy could smell a scent wafting off Crowley in waves.
It was an uncomfortable scent.
Annoyance smelled like acidic chemicals, like rotten fruit, and too strong perfume.
"Now, Deuce, you must understand what you did," Crowley said, disappointment clear in his voice.
Deuce just stayed silent, shifting on his feet.
"You harmed the child of a very important politician, and other children too. This means punishment and since your friends did not step in, they will be punished with you," Crowley told him.
Deuce's head snapped towards Crowley, his anger simmered under the surface and he bit down on his tongue to prevent from yelling.
His hands clenched tightly, nails digging into his skin.
Deuce was the one who hurt the students, not his friends.
They shouldn't be getting punished.
"But Crowley! Deuce is injured!" Yuu shouted panicked.
"Hush child, unless you wish for your punishment to be doubled," Crowley hissed.
Deuce's wounds ached and his limbs felt too heavy.
There was a pounding in his head but he pushed through it.
He could smell the sharp, peppery scent of anger coming off his friends mixed with annoyance.
Deuce just looked at his friends and shook his head softly, giving them a small, but resigned, smile.
"I understand sir," Deuce said quietly before any of his friends could speak up.
Crowley scowled, crossing his arms.
"Good, now you all will be heading into the forest and finding me a crystal. More specifically, a Gaea's Tear," Crowley instructed.
Deuce froze.
Gaea's Tear is a small crystal that looks like magic itself has crystallized.
It's a sky green that seems to shimmer every color in the world with what seemed like golden cracks running through it.
They were difficult to find, even harder to actually harvest.
"I've heard reports of a few in this clearing," Crowley pointed to a spot on his map.
It was a clearing in the forest surrounded by cliffs.
Deuce bit his tongue but nodded.
"Now, off you go," Crowley shooed them out of the room.
When they left the mans office Jack turned to him.
"You can't just accept that," Jack was frowning.
"It's not right," Epel said, his arms crossed.
Ace nodded but before he could say anything, Deuce spoke.
"It's punishment for losing control. I hate that he's punishing you all too but I don't want you all to suffer for my actions if I refuse," Deuce said quietly.
Ace scowled but nodded.
"Fine, but you can't convince us to sneak away and not go with you," Yuu hissed.
Deuce sighed but the corners of his lips twitched upwards.
Deuce chuckled and nodded.
He ignored his headache and the way his ears rang.
He led them all to the mirror.
"Well, what are you waiting for," Grim snorted.
Deuce pressed his hand to the mirror and then they all went through.
They all walked through the trees that seemed to stretch out it's branches, trying to reach them.
As if warning them to go no further.
Deuce could smell his friends' unease.
It added to his own making him want to grab them and turn around.
"I don't like this," Epel whispered, one hand gripping Jack's sleeve.
"I don't either," Jack said softly, his ears pinned back and his tail still.
Ace didn't say he was scared, but he didn't say a snarky comment either.
Yuu just held onto Grim tightly.
They've already been walking for what's felt like hours despite it only having been about 20 minutes.
"This way… I think," Deuce called softly, holding the map.
"You think?" Ace snorted.
Yuu giggled and Grim yawned.
Deuce couldn't help but grin to himself as their scents of unease seemed to fade, not fully, but just a bit.
His wounds stretched his skin and his muscles ached.
His headache was getting worse, though not by much.
"How are we supposed to get up there?!" Epel clutched his head as he looked at the cliff they had arrived in front of.
The same cliff that held the crystal they needed to get.
"We climb," Jack said gruffly, rolling up his sleeves.
"But how?" Grim whined.
Deuce rolled his eyes but couldn't help but feel happy as their scents of unease dissipated just a bit more.
"What, too scared," Ace teased, a grin on his face.
"N-no!" Grim shouted indignant.
Yuu just sighed.
"Come on, there should be some kind of rope or latter, or hell, even a staircase, around," Yuu told them.
Jack nodded and looked around quickly before his eyes focused on something.
"Hey, would that work?" he asked, pointing to a stairwell seemingly carved into the cliff.
Deuce looked at the crumbling stone and shrugged.
"Probably," Yuu replied.
"As long as you step light," Epel nodded.
Together all five of them climbed up the steps and although they were careful, some steps still crumbled under their weight.
But finally, after what seemed like forever, they got to the top.
Ace flopped onto the grass, breathing heavily.
Yuu sat on the ground as Grim wiggled out of their grasp and laughed at Ace who glared at the creature.
Deuce breathed heavily, gasping in air.
Epel and Jack didn't look as winded.
"How…Are you…Not on the ground," Yuu panted.
Epel and Jack shrugged.
Deuce laughed slightly at Ace's annoyed expression but he couldn't smell annoyance coming from the boy.
He could smell fresh apples and dew kissed grass.
It was subdued but still there.
After a few minutes Ace begrudgingly got up and pulled up Yuu.
"Come on. We should split up to find the stupid thing," Ace grumbled.
Deuce nodded and then they all split up.
Deuce walked in a random direction, pushing past branches and bushes.
He couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.
"Ah ha!!" He heard Ace shout from a ways away.
He jogged to the boy.
"Ace?" he called.
"I found it first!" Ace cheered, holding up the tear shaped crystal.
Jack and Epel arrived quickly after that with Yuu and Grim following close behind.
"Nice one," Epel commented.
"Come on, lets get back to the school," Jack rubbed the back of his head.
Yuu nodded in agreement, picking up Grim despite the creature's protest.
They all headed down the stairs quickly and it was less strenuous than going up.
They managed to reach the bottom quickly but Deuce couldn't help but tense.
Something was wrong.
They walked past the trees when Deuce whipped around, pen out.
The others were confused but Jack also took his pen out, his ears straight up but very still.
Deuce's eyes darted around before they landed on a shadow.
The shadow seemed to move, to spasm.
Then a clawed hand reached out from the shadow.
Some kind of creature pulled itself out of the shadows, as if it had been waiting for them.
Though considering their luck.
It probably was.
It was pitch black, purple veins crawling over it.
The thing was a mass of limbs that looked vaguely like arms, heads, and legs.
Each 'hand' had an eye on it's 'palm'.
It was hard to describe.
Deuce plugged his nose.
It smelled like it had emotions but the emotions were wrong.
He smelled his friends' fear spike.
He heard them take a step back, even Jack did.
"What the…" Epel whispered.
Deuce grit his teeth, his grip on his pen tightening.
Jack stepped in front of the other four.
Deuce stood in front of Jack.
The blue haired boy debated with himself before sighing.
Better him than them.
Deuce only caused trouble for them, for his mama, for everyone.
He's hurt people.
But they haven't.
They still have a chance.
Mama will be happy if he's gone.
He looks like his father, hell, he has his father's anger.
Better him than them.
Deuce had been studying defense spells.
He chanted under his breath and then a barrier surrounded his friends.
It wasn't much and wouldn't hold for long but it would do.
"Deuce!" Yuu shouted.
"Let us out idiot!" Ace yelled.
Deuce drowned out their words with the scents he could smell.
He tried pushing past the monster's scent, the way what it seemed to feel made him repulsed.
He wanted to scrub his skin raw, to forever forget that scent.
That feeling of wanting to kill, to take, to eat.
He shot spell after spell at the creature.
It screeched, an inhuman sound, and rushed towards him.
Deuce flinched back and his stomach churned.
He tasted bile but swallowed it back down.
He smelled the sharp scents of fear come off his friends in waves.
He wanted to hide, to curl into a ball, to cry.
But he couldn't.
Not because he didn't want to die.
But because his friends would die if he didn't fight.
The next few minutes were a blur.
It felt like hours but at the same time only seconds.
He can only remember the feeling of his wounds getting worse, of the thing raking its claws along his side.
He can only remember the scent of his friends' fear, of the thing's screams, of the 'feelings' the thing felt.
But finally, finally, the monster retreated.
Deuce blinked blearily, recognizing that his magestone got much darker.
Not overblot dark thank goodness, but still dark.
Deuce leaned against a tree.
His headache had gotten worse.
He was out of breath and he felt too warm, too sticky.
He smelled the scent of iron, could smell his friends' fear, their worry, their anger.
The barrier finally broke, shattering into purple flickers of light.
They rushed towards him, stopping a few feet away.
His vision was blurry but he could make them out.
"Why did you do that?" Epel whispered, breaking the tense silence.
Epel's eyes were wide, tears pricking the corners, arms crossed, nails digging into his arms.
Jack looked shocked, his hands clenched, ears pinned back further, tail still.
Ace looked furious, hands turned into fists, he looked at the ground, one hand clenched around the crystal tightly.
Yuu held onto Grim tightly and they both wore matching expressions of fear.
Deuce could smell their anguish, that salty scent, and fear, acidic and smokey, mixed with anger, peppery.
It was all so nauseating.
Something warm and sticky trickled from the side of his head and Deuce felt his stomach churn.
"You could've gotten hurt," Deuce whispered, his limbs aching.
His lungs burned and black spots danced across his vision.
His headache had only gotten worse.
Deuce swayed slightly and one of his hands gripped his side tightly, trying to stem his bleeding wound.
His fingers were coated in blood and his side felt too warm, too sticky.
Ace's gaze snapped towards him, tears brimming in his eyes that burned with fury.
"You could've DIED!" Ace screamed.
Deuce knew that.
He knew he might not have made it.
But wasn't it better him than them?
He had only caused trouble.
They were better than him.
Deuce looked away, the black spots dancing across his vision getting worse.
His wounds from his fight with the students had gotten worse and it hurt.
The fight with that monster only gave him new wounds and made his previous ones ache in a way he didn't know possible.
His limbs were painted with bruises that only seemed to weigh his limbs down.
It felt like his limbs were made out of lead.
The air seemed to freeze, as if preparing for his answer.
He looked at them with a sad smile and resigned eyes, "I know."