Chapter Text
As all of them rested up from doing their respective chores, Yuujin was dreaming of something strange indeed
He looked around his surroundings to see bushy walls and a pathway, as he moved forward, he saw three card soldiers painting the roses on a bush, "What the heck is going on here?" He questioned, nearing the cards
"Pardon me. What are you doing?" Alice asked, making the card soldiers aware of her presense, "We planted the white roses by mistake" A two of hearts soldier said, "And the Queen likes her roses red" A four of diamonds continued, "If they're white, we're sure to lose our heads!" A three of clubs exclaimed, all of them were worried of losing their heads
"And where is this supposed to be?" She tried to ask again but the dream was cut off and Yuujin was woken up by a knock on his bedroom door, he blinked at the darkness and stood up from the bed, waking Grim too in the process, "Did I just dream of Alice in Wonderland?" He thought before opening the door
Solar was the one who was behind it, "Hey Yuu, there's someone knocking on the door, should I go get it? Sorry for waking you up" He asked, "No no, it's fine, I'll check who it is" Yuujin told him, Grim climbing up onto his shoulder, rubbing away his sleepiness
"It's the middle of the night. Who is that? The ghosts messing around?" Grim guessed as both Solar and Yuujin approached the door, "Not sure if they're doing this to mess us up" The blonde said to the cat, "Uh, hello? Who is it?" Yuujin asked the person behind the door, just to make sure
"It's me, Ace. Let me in already!" The person, now turned out to be Ace, replied, Yuujin wondered why he was visiting so late in the night, "Oh, sure. What are you doing here so late?" The magicless boy questioned as they opened the door to see him, only that he was collared with the same heart-shaped collar from the entrance ceremony
"No way! Shut up! You got collared?" Grim pointed out with a shocked expression, Solar and Yuujin were taken aback by the scene, "As of this moment, I am never, ever going back to Heartslabyul! So starting today, I'm going to live in this dorm!" He loudly proclaimed to the three of them
"WHAT!?" The Ramshackle Trio exclaimed together in shock and surprise
After they all recovered, they invited Ace in and sat together in the lounge, "So like, what even happened that you turned out like this?" The blonde asked him "Do you wanna talk about it though?" Yuujin said
"I, ate a piece of tart.." Ace answered shamefully, looking down at the floor, "What? That's it?" Grim asked, the spiky red-hair began explaining what had happened earlier in Heartslabyul
[~~Flashback~~]
"I need a nap. I'm exhausted. We got anything worth snacking on?" Ace replied to himself as he went into the kitchen, "Huh, what's in the fridge?" He asked to no one in particular, as he opened it, he saw three strawberry tarts in total and a couple of savory dishes, looking very delicious to eat
"Oh! Yes! These look amazing, especially the egg sandwich! Haha!" He exclaimed quietly, Ace then proceeded to nab a tart slice, "I mean, there are so many. I can help myself to a slice, who's gonna care? Down the hatch, baby!" The boy said before biting down on the slice
Yeah he ate it, tasting the rich flavor of the strawberries, "Holy crap! This is amazing!" He complimented the taste, enjoying and savoring the taste of the tart, he then proceeded to get a piece of the egg sandwich and ate it too, "Wow! Even this is great!" He complimented yet again
"Of course it is. Trey and Suzie are quite the accomplished chefs. His tarts and her dishes are always exceptional" A voice answered out to him, "Seriously, this is, like, wicked good. Way better than the ones they-.." Ace cut himself off when he turned around to see Riddle, standing menacingly a few distances away in his housewarden uniform
"H-housewarden?" "Brave of you indeed to touch something of mine uninvited" Riddle told him, "Queen of Hearts rule number 89: "Never eat a tart or a dish without the Queen's express permission." Theft of a tart and a dish is an unforgivable crime!" He stated sternly, stomping his long cane on the ground
"For which you must be punished. Off With Your Head!" He then shouted, aiming at Ace, the poor boy was magically collared and rendered magicless by then
[~~Flashback End~~]
"Now I can't use magic 'cause of this stupid collar" He finished, fiddling with its lock before sighing deeply, "I know. It's annoying, isn't it?" Grim reciprocated with him, Ace then groaned from that event alone
"Housewarden my foot. I think he just enjoys being mean. How does he even remember all those rules? Almost makes me sick just thinking about it!" The spiky red-haired complained, both Yuujin and Solar side-eyed to eachother and hummed in confirmation that they were thinking the same thing
"But you did eat the food without asking, right?" Yuujin said, "Kind of a justified punishment if you ask me" Solar told him, not caring about his complaints at all, Ace was surprised at the team-up on him
"Yeah, 'cause if there were three tarts and a couple of dishes, they were probably saving them for something. Like a birthday shindig, you know" Grim guessed from beside him, also reciprocating with the other two, "Or a party, with that much food, it's probably a party" Solar said
" "Shindig? What?" Ace repeated from him, "Then it would make perfect sense why he would be upset. You should go find him tomorrow and apologize" Yuujin straight-up told him, placing his hands onto his hips
"Huh? Come on, bro. You're making it sound like I'm the one who messed up" Ace said to them both, "Because you did mess up, apologize to him tomorrow" Solar repeated yet again, looking stern with their solution
"U-uh yeah, but…" Ace stammered, the two boys in front of him just looked at him like a parent looking strict in front of their kid, he groaned in defeat, "Okay, dude, just stop looking at me like that, but this is both your stupid idea, so you're coming with me"
"Okay, if it'll make you feel better" Yuujin agreed with the inclusion, "Oh, cool. So, uh, where should I crash?" Ace asked, "Oh, for the love of… I didn't think you were serious at first!" Grim said, jumping off the couch to be beside the two, "You? Sleep here? Including me and Yuujin's rooms, we haven't even started on fixing the arrangements of each furniture yet!" Solar told him in a matter-of-fact tone, "You can sleep here in the lounge" Yuujin pointed out at the place he was sitting on
"Here? No way, man. It's like 70% dust!" Ace told them, "Yeah, well, you're 100% annoying" Grim said back in an annoyed tone, "Haha, you're funny Grim" Solar commented, after some arrangements, the Ramshackle trio went to bed and rested up for the day
Well except Ace because he was getting bothered by the ghosts but we can ignore him for now :)
--timeskip (morning)--
Knocking sounds came from the door and woke Ace up, he rubbed his tiredness away and stood up from his couch, "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, stop knocking already!" He said as he approached the entrance
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya! I'm coming! Relax… You're gonna break down the do-" Ace cut himself off as he opened the door to see Deuce behind it, "Now, how did I know I was gonna find you here?" He said, sighing at his prediction
"Deuce.." "Heard what happened" The blue haired boy simply explained, "Huh?" The other said in confusion, "You're a real idiot, aren't you?" Deuce told him, looking unimpressed by what he did
"Shut your face! I don't need to take that from you!" Ace argued at him before stammering, "So, like, is Housewarden still upset?" He proceeded to ask, Deuce didn't know how to explain it, "Um, not really.." He answered, unsure of what to say
"He 'Off With Your Head-ed', like, three other guys 'cause they didn't wake up on time, so maybe he's a little annoyed, but other than that, he seems fine" The blue haired boy explained further while remembered the events of that morning, "What do you mean fine? He sounds super pissed!" Ace worried
"Well, you're not gonna get much out of class today with your magic sealed. Maybe he'll take that off if you ask nicely" Deuce said to him, "Are you insane? I'm not gonna try to approach him now! No way! I think I'd better wait around till he cools off a little, you know what I mean?" Ace told him, sweating at the thought of facing an angry Riddle
"Trying to avoid him is only gonna make it worse, y'know" Yuujin's voice said from behind him, the two boys were dressed in their specially made uniforms with Grim hopping off Yuujin's shoulder, "Besides we still got 2 more hours left before class starts, how about we visit Heartslabyul first so you're gonna be able to use magic in class" Solar informed them, checking the time on his phone
"Come on, man! Don't-" "Nope, we're going right now, let's go" Deuce side-stepped out of the way for Yuujin and Solar dragging Ace out the door, leading the way toward the Hall of Mirrors "Hey! You're gonna dislocate my shoulder! Hey! No, no, no, no!" Ace yelled in the distance, trying to fight back against the two but failing
"Hey, Deuce. Where's your dorm? What's it like?" Grim asked from beside him, "Wanna come and see it?" Deuce said, Ace said ow in the distance as Yuujin and Solar overpowered him one on one but nonetheless the 5 of them did go to the Hall of Mirrors
"This place is amazing!" The cat awed at the sight, there stood 7 mirrors for each dorm; Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde and Diasomnia respectively, "Are these all magic mirrors? It lives up to its name" Yuujin said, "Well, sort of. These are transportation gates" Deuce told him
"You, Solar and Grim are in the only dorm that's actually on campus. The others are super far away, so we have to use a portal, they're all themed. As I'm sure you can tell this one's ours" He said, pointing at the Heartslabyul mirror
Yuujin stared at the mirror before Deuce asked him, "Good to go?" "Oh uh, yeah I guess" The magicless boy answered nervously, "What's wrong?" Ace probed, "It's my first time, I've never done this" Grim said nervously, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it pretty quick" Solar reassured him
"Let's go" Deuce said before entering the mirror, Ace hesitated before Solar pushed him in, yelping in surprise, the blonde looked back at the two and winked at them before going in as well, Yuujin approached the mirror first, testing it with only his hand but was pulled in the process, Grim stared in surprise before jumping in as well
The magicless boy appeared into the dorm and stumbled before regaining his composure, Grim came in next but Yuujin happened to catch him in time before letting him go, he looked to see the dorm to see a red-heart shaped theme building in front of him, "Woah, I'm guessing that's their dorm building, kind of impressive though" He said in his mind
He looked around to see bush walls and rose bushes, probably a reference to Alice in Wonderland too, "Me-wow! Their dorm is like an actual palace!" Grim exclaimed, "So this… is Heartslabyul? Huh" Yuujin commented, impressed with the design
Solar kept quiet for some reason, knowing that this was also his first time, "And it's amazing! I don't know what I expected, but dang!" Grim looked around excitingly, Ace and Deuce standing right behind the two
All of them heard humming to their left, looking to see a ginger-haired man pointing his magic wand toward a.. rose bush? "What's that guy doing to the flowers?" The cat asked toward the two Heartslabyul boys
"Oh, no. Oh, no. Gotta hurry and paint these roses red! Oops, almost missed one. Paint them all, or lose your head!" He hummed to himself, painting another white rose into red, "Why do I feel like…" Yuujin said to himself in his thoughts as he remembered the dream he had, "..I've seen this before!" He continued as he made a realising expression, Solar looked confusingly at him before snapping his attention back to the upperclassman
"Oh, him?" Deuce said, "One of the upperclassmen from yesterday" Ace pointed out, "Hey, you. You in the bushes, what are you doin' over there?" Grim questioned as they all approached him while Solar stayed behind them, "Huh? Who, me? What's it look like? I'm painting the white roses red, obviously" The man pointed out, "And whatever would you be doing that for?" Grim asked
"Hmm. That clueless little look is totally 'cammable" He told the cat, he then saw both Deuce and Ace with them, "Oh! Hey, you're the trouble making first-years!" Both of them flinched at the comment, "Yeah, and you're the one that stole the housewarden's tart, ain't ya, collar-boy?"
"H-Hey. How'd you know that?" Ace asked him, "Wow, that's very vague Ace, good job" Solar sarcastically said, making Yuujin chuckle, "It's literally the only thing anyone is talking about this morning. Lucky me, running into our infamous newcomer twice in two days" The ginger-haired person said, he then spotted Solar from behind them
"Hey you there! I can see you hiding, aren't you a chaos demon? I heard everything about you from Suzie! Wanna take a selfie with me?" He called out to the blonde who flinched when his name was called, "Uhh, do Deuce's and Ace's first actually.." He excused himself, both mentioned boys were horrified at the suggestion
"You know, I'm not really feelin' it…" Ace tried to say but was huddled in together with Deuce, "Come on! It'll be cute!" The upperclassman said as he pictured with the two and moved over to the blonde next, taking a selfie with him too, Solar didn't expect for there to be flash so he furiously blinked his eyes to remove it quickly
"Yes! I am for sure posting this on Magicam, you gotta tell me your names though so I can tag you guys!" The ginger-haired man said as he quickly typed onto his phone, "Uh, he's Ace Trappola" Deuce introduced, "He's Deuce Spade" Ace pointed toward the other
"Plus the illustrious Grim and my henchhuman and henchdemon!" Grim introduced himself along with the two others, "So uh, what exactly is Magicam?" Yuujin curiously asked Solar who was beside him, "It's an app where users can upload and share photos with each other" The other simply explained
"So it's a copy of Instagram huh? Cool" Yuujin commented in his mind, "Okay, all posted! You may now share it! And if you haven't picked up on it by now, I'm a third-year senior! The name's Diamond. Cater Diamond" The ginger-haired, now introducing himself as Cater, "But my friends call me Cay-Cay" He continued
"Oh, uh, it's nice to meet you, my full name's Yuujin by the way" Yuujin reintroduced himself, "And mine's Solar Brytesky" with Solar sharing the same idea as well, "But you guys can call me Yuu if it's hard to pronounce properly" The magicless boy informed him
"Oh! You must be the fabled prefect of Ramshackle Headmage Crowley told us about! And Solar is your vice-prefect right?" Cater exclaimed, "We are" Yuujin confirmed and Solar nodding with him, "I can't believe you live in that dump! All dark and dingy, nothing Magicamable about that place at all. I legit feel sorry for both of you" He said to them both
"The more he runs his mouth, the less I like him" Grim deadpanned at him, "Well we're trying to fix it at this point so it's going to look new again" Yuujin told the older person, Cater then realised something that he reminded himself with
"This is no time to stand around chitchatting! You wouldn't mind helping a card out to get the rest of these roses painted, would ya? I've got so much other stuff I have to take care of before this afternoon" Cater explained to all of them, "Why do you have to paint them in the first place? They look fine" Ace asked him
"Hm, because red roses are more aesthetically pleasing for the backdrop of our party?" Cater told him "Party? I knew it. My instincts are always 100% correct!" The cat looked proud of himself for predicting it, "Don't get too ahead of yourself Grim" Solar reminded him
"Now, why does it not surprise me to learn that he stole someone's birthday gift?" Deuce said, disappointed at him, Ace stammered for an answer, "Oh. No, he didn't" Cater reassured them
"Huh?" The freshmen said in confusion, "As luck would have it, tomorrow happens to be one of our House's traditional unbirthday parties! It's a tea party we hold on a day where no one has a birthday!" The ginger explained, clasping his hands together
"Huh? That's made-up.." Ace stumbled a little when a paint bucket was shoved right in front of him, "Anyways, all I need you guys to do is finish redding up these roses, okay? Come on! It's off with our heads otherwise" Cater said as he gave Yuujin another paintbucket to work with
"I trust that you three can get it done with magic, especially Solar here" He pointed out, "But you two are functionally useless, so you kids get to finger paint" He said toward the magicless and collared boys, Yuujin looked at him unamused at the comment but listened anyways
"Okay! Let's get to work and get this done!" Cater told all of them, as they worked on each seperate rose bush
"All right. Third time's the charm…" Deuce muttered to himself as he casted another spell, although it only caused the roses to become multi-patterned, "Not again!" He said in misery, Cater laughed at his mistake
Grim shouted in panic that he had accidentally set the rose bush on fire, "Oh, dear!" He said, trying to put the flame out, "Oh, no. Oh, crap! It's on fire!" "Whoa! Someone got a little carried away, here!" Cater set out a spell to put the fire out, finally making the roses turn red
"There, all better, now let's take a breath and try again" Cater guided them, "Okay. Relax. No fire.." Grim muttered to himself, "Shake it off. Shake it off.." Deuce said to himself
Ace yawned at having to do this while Yuujin was focused on covering the white spots on a rose before looking around his surroundings, "Hang on where's Solar?" The magicless boy asked Cater, "Oh he said he wanted to paint other rose bushes that weren't in this area so I let him go" The ginger answered to him, speaking of which, we should check up on the demon just to make sure he isn't doing anything else
---
Solar was, to say the least, glad that he got out of that situation, he wasn't ready to encounter more of that energy when he ever comes into contact with another of his childhood friends
He was busy painting white roses into red before someone called out to him, "Solar? What are you doing here?" The blonde looked up from his work to see Suzie approaching him, "Oh we dragged one of your troublemaker first year here so he can apologise to your housewarden properly, since it was his fault" Solar told her, painting another rose into red, Suzie knew who he was talking about
"Well he's not gonna be able to do that, considering Rule 53 states that "any stolen item must be replaced" so he needs to bring another tart for Riddle" Suzie informed him, Solar shook his head with the information, "Geez, you guys have an unholy amount of rules here, if I got assigned here, I'd be known as a troublemaker" He commented
"That you are, but how are you here even though you're 18?" The other girl asked him, "Eh, apparently my letter was stuck up a tree for 2 years until I found it this year, so simply said, I could've been a third year by now" He said simply, painting another rose into red again
"Of course.." Suzie facepalmed at the thought, "You do know that your housewarden is a total ungrateful bastard right?" The blonde told her, walking toward another rose bush to paint, "I know that, I tried to explain you to him but he wouldn't listen" She answered, following the boy to the rose bush
"So what do you guys usually do in unbirthday parties?" He asked, changing the topic to another one so Suzie can talk her mouth off him while he painted the roses, she got the memo so she started talking about it, unaware of the events happening back with the others
As she finished, both of them heard some struggling and dragging outside the maze, they went to check it out and see the two Heartslabyul freshmen and the two Ramshackle-dwellers sat on the ground, "Cater probably realised what you guys were planning to do and kicked them out before breaking another rule" Suzie guessed
"I guess this is where we part ways, goodbye Suzie" "Bye Solar, see you at school"
---
Continuing on what happened earlier to further detail on it, "How come we're not allowed to just leave these ones white? They're fine" Ace asked curiously, unaware of Heartslabyul's traditions and events occuring here
"It's a holdover from the original traditions. Pure red roses are considered mandatory for an unbirthday, we play croquet in the garden using all different colors of flamingos as our mallets, and hedgehogs for balls. Oh! But the red roses should be white for when the flowers put on their spring concert. It's just one of those things you gotta memorize" Cater explained to him, "All your rules are super weird. You know that, right?" Grim told him, well yeah, to an outsider's view, it did sound super weird
"Well… They were established long ago by our Great Seven namesake, the Queen of Hearts. And of all the housewardens in the history of Heartslabyul, Riddle is the most fanatical about keeping the old ways alive. Though it's hard to deny that he can go a little overboard" Cater informed him, chuckling a little from the comment he made, "Talk about a fan.. Ooh boy" Yuujin thought in his mind
"Oh, yeah. I don't have time to be standing around here doing this. Hey, Cater, I need to talk with the house warden. So, is he here?" Ace reminded himself and asked the upperclassman, Cater then turned toward him with a serious expression, "Oh… Yeah, I don't think he'll have left for class yet. But, riddle me this… Did you bring a replacement to make it all better? Ace, you infamous food thief" He asked him, Yuujin was confused by that statement alone
"Huh? No. I came straight here as soon as I woke up today" Ace replied back, confused on what he was trying to say, "Ooh, but if I let you in, then you'd be breaking rule number 53, which clearly states that "any stolen item, must be replaced." So no tart and sandwich, no entry. Sorry, fam" Cater informed them, putting a hand onto his head with an apologetic look
"Huh!? You're joking, right?" Ace exclaimed, "Oh, no! All Heartslabyul residents are bound by the rules" Cater told him, Yuujin looked back and forth between the two, he also looked toward Deuce for anything but he was just as confused as he was
"Uh… Cater… Come on. I stayed to help you with the flowers, didn't I? You can't cut me a break?" Ace tried to calm the situation down, "I'd love to help, but then it would be off with my head too, you have my sympathy" The ginger said as he pulled out his magic pen
"Unfortunately, we can't let Riddle find you here, so I'll have to ask you to leave. 'I am he, and they are me. Split Card' " He said, letting out multiple copies of himself, posing in different poses
"He multiplied himself!?" Yuujin exclaimed in his mind, "Now, Cater copies, do see them out" He ordered to all of them, "Aye, aye, sir!" They all said in unison and started capturing the 4 of them and bringing them out of the maze
All of them groaned at the struggle and sat back up from the ground, "Now run along and try again once you have a tart and sandwich, okay? 'Kay, bye!" He said as he magicked away the clones as he left the four of them sitting there in disbelief in what happened
Solar came out from another exit of the maze and saw all 4 of them on the ground, "Let me guess, Cater kicked you guys out cuz you didn't have any replacement?" He said, placing his hands into his pockets
"And where have you been, mister?" Grim demanded an answer from him, "I met up with an old friend here, she explained how everything worked here so I got the gist of everything" He explained simply, helping up the 3 fallen boys to stand up
"This sucks! "Can't get in without a replacement." He watched us walk up empty-handed Could have said something to us then, but no! Has us do all his dirty work and then kicks us to the curb. Unbelievable!" Ace complained stubbornly, "He's so sly.." Grim commented before hopping onto Solar's shoulder
"We probably need to head to class anyway" Deuce said from beside them, "Oh, right. Yuu, Grim, you guys are first-years too, aren't you? What class are you in?" He asked the two of them
"Yeah, the headmage said we're supposed to be in class 1-A" Yuujin told him, "No kidding! How lucky. That's our class too!" Ace exclaimed, happy to be with classmates with people he's already familiar with
"First period is Potionology" Deuce reminded them, "Ooh, something interesting, I'm anticipating that now" Solar commented, "Now that sounds like it'll be a blast!" Grim anticipated as they all returned back to school
"Ugh, I still can't use magic. Am I gonna be able to do anything?" Ace said, "Don't forget who's the actual magicless here dude" Yuujin reminded him as he flicked his head somewhat
---
As they all settled in the classroom, a professor with white and black hair wearing a dalmation furcoat was holding a whip-wand? "My, aren't you all looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for so early in the morning" He said as he walked around the room, Yuujin looked at him in familiarity, "Woah, he looks so similar to Cruella" He told himself
"We shall begin with rote memorization. Over the next few weeks, I shall whip the names and attributes of over a hundred herbs and poisons into your tiny, supple brains" He told them, the chattering increased in volume, "Down! You will touch nothing prior to instruction" He scolded
"Listen carefully, pups. As long as you are enrolled in my class, failing grades are not an option. For the punishment is one I would rather not inflict" The teacher told all of them
"Touchy.. Well, there go my hopes and dreams of an easy homeroom" Ace said, deflating at the thought, "He seems okay. Maybe he's just passionate about teaching?" Deuce guessed, "Whatever, I want to learn about this" Solar ignored the attitude as long as he learnt something new, "I'm not itchin' to get on his bad side either way" Grim worried, as soon as Professor Crewel's class finished, all of them moved to History of Magic next
---
"You all have the syllabus? Your grades will reflect not only your reports, but the way you conduct yourselves in this classroom" The next teacher said a calm manner, he had gray hair and wore a red coat, whilst holding a cat in his arms, Yuujin thought that he looked like Lady Tremaine from Cinderella
Grim quickly fell asleep due to his calm voice, to which, the other cat, named Lucius, jumped off from his arms and pulled his head high, causing him to wake up, Yuujin chuckled at the sight, "Hey, what's your deal!?" Grim said to the other
"Cat naps will not be tolerated in my class. You may consider yourselves forewarned" The professor warned him, with Lucius hissing at him to further solidify it, as they were finished with the class, all of them moved to the next one which was PE
---
The next teacher looked similar to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, "Why is he flexing his muscles like that" Yuujin said in his thoughts with confusion and was weirded out by the teacher's actions, "All right, sprouts! Listen close! Great sorcery begins with great stamina and a strong physique! You see this right here? This is what a little strength training and a few dozen eggs will do for you!" He told them all
"Would you look at the beef on this guy!" Grim commented on, Solar looked at the cat weirdly, "Maybe keep that thought to yourself" He told him, Prof. Vargas then blew his whistle to catch all of their attention
"We'll start with 20 laps!" He said as all of the class ran in their running speed, Solar was the fastest with Yuujin catching up on him, "Now give me 100 push-ups" That really wasn't a problem for Solar and Yuujin too, but the others struggled to lift themself up, "I want 100 squats!" All of them followed his instructions although ended up tired and defeated
The only ones not affected were Solar and Yuujin, who were stretching their legs and arms instead, "It's torture.." Someone complained, "Surely you lads aren't worn out already! Another set!" He told all of them, blowing his whistle again
"WHAT!?" All the students exclaimed except for the blonde and magicless boy
---
After PE, they all went to the cafeteria to get lunch, which was filled with all sorts of food, "Oh, yeah! Ah! Everything in here looks so yummy!" Grim said as he looked over the food display
"I'm starving after doin' all that brain work. And what better remedy is there than a hunk of grilled chicken? But I also want an omelet. And get me some of those jelly-bun-lookin' things. Seriously, go crazy. I want like, 12 of 'em!" He said as Yuujin collected what the cat wanted to eat before getting what he wanted too
Solar just grabbed 3 big plates of a different dish so he was also fine with his lunch, soon the five of them looked for a table to eat in, "Okay. Is there an empty table or…" Deuce muttered as they all looked around
"Hey! Over here! We've got seats!" A voice called out to them, it was Cater, sitting in a table with the same green-haired man and orange-haired girl from before, the four of them dreaded the morning they had so they quickly excuse themselves, "That guy again.." Grim murmured dreadfully
"Cater! Yeah, hey! Um, it's all good. We'll look for another table somewhere else" Deuce told him as they all turned their heel to avoid them, unfortunately Cater came up to them and started guiding them towards the table, "Oh. Boo! It's okay, you don't have to be afraid of big bad me! Because Cay-Cay feels like being nice to his underclassmen for a while! It's all good, right, Deucey?" Cater said to them
"Oh. Thank you, nobody calls me that" Deuce told him, "I'm getting whiplash from this guy" Ace said, "Is four-eyes and girlie over here Cater's little lackies?" Grim asked as they all sat down on the table, Ace and Deuce sitting beside Cater and Yuujin and Grim beside the green-haired man and Solar sat on the other side of the orange-haired girl
(basically arrangement is like this:
Yuu, Grim, Trey, Suzie, Solar
(Table)
Deuce, Ace, Cater)
"Hmm? Me? I'm Trey Clover. But, like Cater, I'm a Heartslabyul third-year" The green-haired person, now named Trey, introduced himself, "And I'm Suzie Furendorzi, just like Riddle, I'm a second-year too" The orange-haired girl, named Suzie now, said about herself
"Sorry to hear our housemate's been making trouble for you. Has your dorm been treating you all right?" Trey asked to the Ramshackle Trio, "Oh you mean Ramshackle? It's alright, we're planning to fix it up" Yuujin answered him, while Grim and Solar just ate their food
"We just hope you're comfortable enough" Suzie told him, "And don't hesitate to ask if you need help with anything! Your big bros will teach you everything we know" Cater offered to them, "Thank you. We'll definitely have to take you up on that" Solar said to them once he finished his plate clean
"Hey, so you know how your guys' dorm looks like a castle? What are the other ones like? Are they just as cool?" Grim asked them, "I think that might depend on your individual style, but I think so" Suzie answered to him, eating another piece of her lunch
"Each House exemplifies certain attributes, so students of similar character and taste tend to be grouped together. You've seen those statues of the Great Seven on Main Street? The seven Houses here are directly inspired by them!" Cater told them, "Really?" Yuujin asked curiously, getting interested in the topic
"Yeah, take Heartslabyul, for example. We were founded on the Queen of Hearts' commitment to strict discipline. Then you've got those sporty guys in Savanaclaw" Suzie said as she pointed toward students who had a yellow and grey armband, "They represent the indomitable spirit of the King of Beasts" Trey told them, "They have a lot of students who are great at athletics and martial arts, so they basically rule the school every time we have to compete in any inter-House sporting events" Cater explained further
"Then you have Octavinelle House, modeled after the Sea Witch's benevolent heart" Trey explained for the dorm, "Those kind of people like to talk business but it's always with a price" Suzie warned them in advance, handing Solar a tissue to wipe his face
"They got all the brainiacs. Super high achievers who ace all our written tests. Real organized, kinda businessy. They actually have a student-run café in their House!" The ginger told them as he pointed towards people with lavender and pale purple armbands, "Scarabia House is modeled after the mindfulness of the Sorcerer of the Sands" The green-haired person informed, "Usually they're very disciplined and respectful, you should see their Housewarden too" Suzie said to them
"Most of their students are really skilled in the fortune-telling arts, like astrology and numerology. You know, smarties. They rank up there with Octavinelle in terms of test scores" Cater said as he pointed toward those with maroon and yellow armbands
"The oldest dorm, Pomefiore, was founded on the tenacity of the Fairest Queen" Trey said to them, "If you ever come across one of them, you better make sure you have a good appearance" Suzie mentioned, "Those students usually excel in stuff like Potionology and curses. And, like the Queen herself, they're pretty serious about appearances, both in terms of fashion and etiquette" Cater explained as he pointed towards those with purple and red armbands, "That sounds like a nightmare" Yuujin commented in his mind
"Then there's Ignihyde, founded on the King of the Underworld's spirit of diligence" Trey told them next, "You won't see some of them usually around here, since they rather choose to stay inside their dorm" Suzie said in advance, "That's where all the magic-energy engineering and tech students wind up, but they're pretty antisocial in general. Lot of shut-in NEET types" Cater informed them as he pointed to those with blue and gray armbands
"And finally, there's Diasomnia House, modeled after the Thorn Fairy's spirit of nobility" Trey finished, "Their housewarden is pretty famous around here, but in a way similar to Solar" Suzie said to them, Yuujin and Grim looking confused by what she was trying to say
"Diasomnia has a lot of really talented mages who are skilled in all aspects of magic. Ah. Look, there they are now" Cater pointed out as four people with green and gray armbands sat on the highest table in the cafeteria, "Hold up. Is that a little kid?" Ace questioned, seeing a shorter person, "Don't assume things just by their appearance" Solar scolded him, "So there's the disciplined, jocks, black market, nerds, beauty queens, introverts and popular kids, huh" Yuujin said in his mind, looks like there was no difference in the classifications of each students though
"Yeah, no. He's not a kid. He's in the same class as me" Trey told them, "What? Meaning he's…" "Your senior, yes" The same person they were talking about sitting beside Ace and Deuce in the blink of an eye, Yuujin, Grim and Solar was surprised by how fast he got there
"Aw. Hey, Lilia" Cater greeted, guess the shorter person was named Lilia now, both Deuce and Ace choked on their food due to the surprise, "Lilia, aren't you worried you might hurt someone these days?" Suzie asked, but no one seemed to hear her question
"They teach you how to teleport in this place?" Grim asked, Lilia chuckled at the question, "So my age is of interest to you? Though it is true that I look like a sprightly and beautiful young man" Lilia said, "The bespectacled one is correct. I am not of an age to be referred to as a child. But you could have simply asked. You needn't only admire me from a distance. We of Diasomnia will always welcome your conversation"
"It doesn't look like those three want to welcome anything" Deuce said as he glanced toward two boys and a girl glaring at them, "As a token of our friendship, I will leave you with these. Some licorice candy! I trust you'll love it once you try it" Lilia told them as he handed licorice candy toward the two Heartslabyul freshmen
He then noticed the chaos demon sitting beside them, "Oh, your Solar right? I want to invite you sometime in Diasomnia, I heard what Tristan said all about you" He said, Solar agreeing at the invitation wordlessly
"That's cute and all, but we're not kids either" Ace said, but Lilia had already returned to his table with the three other Diasomnia members, all of them exclaiming in surprise, "Did you see him do that?" Yuujin said dumbfounded, the blonde shook his head
"Did he use a spell to hear us talking about him from this far away or is that just something he can do?" Deuce tried to guess why, Ace just said, "Creepy.." Lilia continued waving at them from his table while the three accompanying him still glared
"Yeah. Diasomnia is full of odd ones" Trey said "And their house warden, Malleus, is worse, if you can believe that" Cater commented, "They say you can count on one hand the number of mages in the world who can top him. Our house warden is no Malleus, but he's very strong in his own right" Trey said, "So is Solar included in there?" The magicless boy asked out of nowhere
The mentioned person just chuckled and shook his head, "Haha! No not really, since I'm a demon and come from a celestial family, my power is natural while you guys have a spark of magic that's stored within your bodies" Solar explained for him, "He's right, he isn't included in those top 5, so technically he's not a mage" Suzie further explained
"He's that good, huh?" Ace grumbled, remembering the collar on him, "Oh, yeah. Take that collar around your neck, for example. That's what we in the biz call a signature spell" Cater explained, "And what does that mean?" Yuujin asked, still figuring out the mechanics of this world
"It's a unique spell based on a mage's personality and specialties. You develop it yourself" Trey told him "Based on the mage's personality and specialties…" Yuujin repeated from him, "What about Solar then? I'm gonna have a hard time guessing his signature spell" He thought in his mind
"So, Cater's alter egos from this morning?" The magicless boy guessed, "Yep. That's my signature spell, Split Card" Cater confirmed, "You've already seen the effects of Riddle's spell. If he deems you a nuisance, he can seal your magic for a time. In true Heartslabyul fashion, he calls it Off With Your Head" Trey said
"It's already happened to me and it's still scary!" Grim whimpered in fear, clutching at his neck, "Not being able to use your magic at a magic academy sounds pretty tough in practice. Well, as long as you're following the rules, there's nothing to worry about" Suzie reassured them
"So, if I ever expect to ditch this collar, I have to buy the prissy little princess a replacement pie and sandwich?" Ace said, unaware of who heard his statement was approaching their table, "I believe that is what Queen of Hearts rule 53 says. So, yes, you do" Trey comfirmed, the others then noticed Riddle coming
"Take away all my magic for eating one stupid slice of one stupid tart and one stupid sandwich," He continued to say, "Ace, shut up please" Yuujin tried to warn him but he ignored it, "Like, the pettiness of it all is just psychotic" He finished
"Is that so? Would you care to elaborate?" A familiar voice rung out from behind him, the red-haired boy yelped in surprise to see Riddle
"Housewarden..!"
--------------End--------------
Bonus Scene
--some time ago--
"Oof, I'm exhausted" Lilia said as he placed down all his bags, "Whoa. Where did all those bags come from?" A silver-haired man and a curly-haired woman glanced on his stuff
"Fufu, I went shopping~ I went to every store that looked like it might have clothes that would suit my unique adorability" Lilia told them, as he rummaged through his bags, "Excessive.." The silver-haired guy said, "Is that for your club, sir?" The curly-haired girl guessed
"Well, I obviously need a stage outfit for the Pop Music Club's next concert, don't I? I wanted some things to choose from!" Lilia told both of the kids, "That's still kind of a lot though.." The girl commented
"Now, let us begin!" Lilia cheered, as he pulled out some outfits, "Begin what?" The silver-haired guy muttered, "Choosing the ultimate outfit, of course. I refuse to settle for less" Lilia told him, the girl clapped her hands
"Ooh, can I be the judge?" She asked, the older person nodded at the idea, "Okay. You two have fun with that, I'm gonna visit Idia" The silver-haired guy stood up from where he sat to leave, trying to avoid getting included in this, "Where do you think you're going, Silver? I want your input too along with Tristan's" Lilia asked him
"I don't know anything about fashion, so I'll..." The silver-haired man said, but was dragged back by the fae, "Then you shall learn!" The other exclaimed as he dragged him back
"Outfit one: "Bunny" " Lilia said as he showed off his bunny suit, "Uh huh.." The silver-haired boy muttered, "So? What do you think? Don't these big ears make me look even more adorably cute?" Lilia asked, "Hmm I think it suits you well!" The curly-haired person said
"Uh, it's not my thing" The silver haired man said to him, Lilia then thought of something and sneakily put the bunny's head onto his head, the woman with them chuckling at the sight, "Oh, no, no, no. Please don't do this" The boy said while he tried to remove the head from himself
"Oh, those ears really bring out your eyes! You should keep that, Silver!" Lilia suggested, he then changed into his next outift, "Outfit two: the humble "Squirrel." My favorite food is walnuts!" He said as he pretended to eat the giant fake walnut he held, both the boy and the girl suddenly wore bunny suits
"How's this one?" The shorter man asked them, "It looks very good on you!" The curly-haired girl commented, "I still don't understand what you're asking me.." The silver-haired boy muttered, "Just not getting it? Then why don't you join me?" Lilia offered to him, the other boy then quickly changed into a squirrel suit and joined the fae
"Nibble, nibble. Nibble, nibble" "Nibble, nibble" Both of them said, the girl was amused at the sight, "Vibing now?" Lilia asked him, "No. I cannot say that we are.." the silver-haired boy murmured
"That just means we haven't found the right look yet.. Let's see what else I have in here… Ah! How could I forget? This one's my real favorite!" Lilia said as he rummaged through his shopping bags and found what he was looking for, both the younger boy and girl glanced at eachother in curiosity
"Ready? Number three: "Owl." Hoo, hoo. Hoo, hoo. Killer, right?" He questioned the boy, who was now drowned in accessories plus with a mix of his bunny and squirrel suit, along with the girl, "I think it's cool" the woman said, "You're wasting time asking me.." the silver-haired boy said to him
"Yes. This is the one! The wise old owl perfectly emphasizes my cuteness" He finally decided, now dancing with the silver-haired boy happily, "I can't wait to wear this to our next Pop Music Club show!"
"I'm glad you're happy" the silver-haired person told him, "Me too! Isn't it wonderful?" Lilia replied back, still dancing with him
"Pretty sure Silver forgot that he was supposed to visit his friend, but whatever he'll remember later, hehe" The curly-haired girl reminded herself, but just watched at the two's familial moment