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It was strange, waking but not, it was hard to tell if they ever fell asleep or if they even woke up at all, all they know was that they were on the ground looking up at a dark endless sky, sitting up showed the very same around them, looking at the ground showed the very same, water seemed to coat the ground, though not even a single drop was on them when they laid, every little movement caused ripples to form and spread out from them as they stood. …. …… …….. Waiting didn’t see those same ripples coming back, no matter how long they seemed to stand there. Turning once more, they started to walk, looking around them for any sign of where they were, how they even got here and if there was a way out. ….. …….. ………. They were unsure of how long they had walked; they didn’t feel tired or hungry or even thirsty, not even cold, just… Confused and lost. While walking they had taken the time to look over themself, simple comfy clothes were on them, nothing in their sweaters pockets though, nothing to help them figure anything out. ……. ………. …………… Just how long have they been here? How long were they laying on the ground before they started to walk? How long have they been walking? How long have they been lost? How long have they been trapped here? ………. …………… ……………….. Just when they had worked up the courage to break the silence with their voice instead of their steps, a distant bell sounded, ringing out in the silence before fading, their breath hitched, startled but now frantically turning to try and locate the source of the sound. ‘It… It might be a way out… Please! Please ring again! I don’t know where you came from!’ They wanted to cry, but something was stopping them from speaking, as if speaking now might stop the bell from ever ringing again, and so they waited… And waited… And waited… And like before, just as they had given up on ever hearing that bell again, it rang out, but unlike before it was not alone, for soon after the bell rang the roaring of flames was also heard and with it a flash of green light. They turned quickly at the sounds and light, finding a mirror that was never there before, they were sure it had never been there, but now as they looked at it, at the mirror reflecting green flames, at the two flames, the same shade as the ones in the mirror, flickered on either side of it, they weren’t sure if they were right, they just might have not seen it in the dark, but then… How much other stuff had they walked past? How had they not bumped into anything yet?“Ah… My dear beloved,” said someone unknown, someone unseen, which seemed to be coming out of the mirror but also from all around them, drawing them from their thoughts. His, they were guessing whoever was speaking was a he based on their voice alone, was clear, speaking with purpose, his steps measured, with every step he took metal clinked together, the most sound they had ever heard within this abyss.Wanting to hear more of the voice, see more of the mirror and flames, they walked towards it, water rippling with every step, though theirs were silent unlike the man's own. It didn’t take them long to reach the mirror but… No matter how hard they tried, how closely they looked, they couldn’t see themself or the mysterious speaker.“my noble and beautiful flower of evil,” the speaker continued, sounding closer now that they stood before the mirror but also because he himself was walking closer.The man seemed to not even know they could hear him, it almost made them want to call out to him, to see if he could hear them to, but they didn’t, again it felt like something was stopping them, so they just listened, stepping back to better look at the mirror and the twin flames.Before the man could speak again, another sound rang out in that abyss. They didn’t know what the sound was, but it was there where it hadn’t been, along with it came the water rippling from behind them. Had the ripples created by them before finally hit something? No… The ripples would have petered out long before that, this was something new, some one new, someone else trapped here with them.As much as they wanted to turn, as much as they wanted to see who else was here with them, they didn’t, they simply looked down at the waves created by the other, one’s fair bigger than their own steps had made, fair larger than a human should be able to make…And, they were right, for once they dare to look behind them, it wasn’t another human that greeted them, but a towering being, and as they turned to look up and at the entity fully, so to did it look down at them, it was a great towering beast, feeling as if it was taking up the whole room no matter how endless it seemed, they couldn’t even see all of it, for it seemed like it raised up out of the water and was simply sitting before them. Demon, that’s what it had to be, a demon, nothing else would look like that, it’s body a dark grey as if it had been carved out of a mountain, its eyes blazing yellow or gold like the sun or stars, its wings looked like it could span the entire world and cover it in eternal darkness, its horns looked like they had been taken from a bull, but for the life of them… They didn’t feel scared of this demon, they felt almost comforted by the fact they weren’t alone. ‘I must have been here for a long time to feel like that when looking at this monster of a demon…’ And yet, and yet something in them told them they’d be safe, that the demon would bring them no harm, that he would keep them safe… And so they listened, gazing up at him as he gazed back at them before shifting his gaze to the mirror and they did the same.“ You are the fairest in the land.” The way the man said ‘You’ made it sound like he was talking to them, talking directly at them but also about them, even if he couldn’t see them, didn’t even know they were there.Waiting for the man to continue, a sense of unease overcame them, the feeling of being watched, of being hunted by something much larger than them, something faster and stronger than them, they took a step back toward the demon, wanting to distance themself from whatever lurked behind the mirror.“-Mirror, mirror on the wall,” he continued from within the mirror, unable to feel what they were feeling, unable to know that danger was lurking nearby, “who is the most…” whatever the man was going to say next was lost to them as the sounds of a horse-drawn carriage overpowered him, the cawing of crows or ravens helping to further drown him out.Startled by the cacophony of sounds, they took a step closer to the demon, looking up and seeking… Something… Comfort? An answer? They didn’t know; they didn’t know why they looked to the demon for any of this, the demon offers them something, though his face had remained unchanging up till this point, he gave them a small smile that lasted only a handful of seconds, nodding his head toward the mirror to draw their gaze back to it, a small comfort and an answer, all in one, as if to say they must be patient, for the man in the mirror would have the answers they seek, and so they listened, waiting for the sounds to die off and the man to start speaking again.“-O thee, guided by the Dark Mirror,” he sounded closer now, closer to the mirror, how much had they missed cause of the sounds before? Had they missed anything? Had he not said a word after it all started up?As more and more questions filled their mind, a sudden sound startled them out of it, drawing their attention to behind the mirror, that same feeling of being watched, being hunted, came back, just like when the demon showed up, they didn’t know what sound they heard, just that it hadn’t been there before.“Follow thy heart's desire” the flames in the mirror go out with the man's words, though it reflects nothing but darkness now, just like everything around them.The slightest of ripples was all the warning they got before what sounded like drums pounded from behind the mirror, the sound echoing around them and in their head, whatever it was was finally coming closer, that feeling only grew with each of its steps.Steps that hadn’t drowned out the man unlike the sounds from before, “and take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.” Together with his words, a hand was reflected in the mirror, waiting a moment before reaching through the mirror and out into the void, beckoning them to take their hand as the glass of the mirror rippled like the water under their feet.The beast was closer now, staying just out of reach of the twin flames still lit beside the mirror, watching them, waiting .“Flames that incinerate even the stars,” in time with his words, the flames go out, taking with them what little light they were providing and giving the beast, no, the monster the chance it was waiting for.Looming over the mirror it stares down at them, watching them as they double over themself, hugging their middle, feeling as if their insides are burning, like the flames hadn’t gone out but inside them, like the blue flames that make up the monsters mane was searing them from the inside out, it took all they had to not curl up on the floor, to keep their eyes on the mirror, the hand reaching from it, and the monster behind it all. They’re scared, so very scared , the monster's very presence making them feel like their effort is worthless, like they are worthless, but the knowledge of the demon behind them, that he won’t leave them, that he won’t abandon them, helps them just a bit, just enough to not cower before the monsters knowing gaze.“Ice that imprisons even time,” as their breath leaves them, so to does the searing heat but with it comes a cold so deep they feel it in their very bones, feel as it freezes everything in their very being, watching as their breaths come out in puffs, they hunch in now, no longer burning but freezing , trying in vain to warm themself, almost wishing the fire would come back, if only to spare them from this cold.The monster seems pleased by their suffering, what sounds like a growl starts up, animalistic and human in nature, the monster voice sounded distorted, sounding like two voices mixed into one then layered over itself, it is a grating painful sound to hear, but they can’t bring themself to cover their ears, cause even though it feels like the monster will swallow them whole, there is something… Familiar but it, it feels a bit like how the demon does, but so much smaller than him, but there’s something more, something that makes it feel as if they have known it all their life.“The great tree that engulfs even the skies,” with his next words he takes the ice from their blood and bones, leaving them feeling hollow but grateful for the mercy the man likely didn’t mean to show. Unlike the simple feels of fire and ice within them, there is no feeling, only sound , the snapping of thousands of branches of some great tree rings out all around them, no matter how much they turn their head, no matter how hard they look, they can’t find where it’s coming from, the hand still waits for them, uncaring or unknowing of the monster above it.“Fear not the power of darkness.” he continues, unaware of his… Captive audience, unaware of what his words are doing to them .With his words they turn to look up at the demon, they do not fear him, how could they? He has given them no reason to; they feel safe when they look at him, the safest they’ve ever been! But… That doesn’t make sense… Shouldn’t they have felt safe before? Before they ended up here? While looking up at the demon they notice how his eyes never stray from the monster, how something within them looks at the monster with a great sadness, how his eyes look almost disappointed in it, how he looks… Worried about it, all of these confuse them more than they’d like. Why is he upset or sad when he looks at the monster? What does he have to be disappointed about? Why is he so worried about it? Turning to look back at the monster they realized something, not once had the monster turned its gaze away from them, not once had the monster even looked at the demon. ‘Is it scared of him? No… If it was, it wouldn’t have shown itself before him then, even with me here… Can it not see him? Am I the only one that can?’ With no way to answer any of these questions, not right now at least, they look down at the hand still waiting for them… They step closer to the mirror.“Now-demonstrate thy powers.” It sounds like the man is nearly done with all of this, they can feel something in the air building, as if the abyss itself is waiting with bated breath, waiting for the man's next words. The monster grins, an unsettling thing, taunting them, mocking them, as its growl grows in volume, not trying to overpower the man's voice, but simply at the act of them getting closer… They could almost mistake it for a purr, almost .“For me. For them. For you.” The man pleads, and though it is hard to tell, there is a hint of desperation in his voice, desperation that makes them take another step closer, turning their eyes from the hand to the monster, craning their neck to look at it as it turns its head down to look at them.“We are all running out of time.” He sounds so desperate now that they don’t care about the monster anymore, simply wanting to get closer to the mirror, to the hand reaching out for them. ‘Besides,’ they are only a couple steps away now, ‘it’s not like it’ll attack me…’ “No matter what,” they now stand before it, feeling the monster's breath fan over them as they look at the hand, hesitating as they reach out their own.“never let go of that hand.” with their hand mere inches from the one in the mirror, they turn to look at the demon, unsure if taking the hand is the right choice. The demon takes his eyes off the monster, looking down at them, they stare at each other for a brief moment, so many things being said in that moment, the demon nods, encouraging them that it’s the right thing to do. They look up at the monster before them next, watching it as it watches them, something about its eyes… Something about them begs them to take the hand, begs them to listen to the man and the demon, begs them… For help, to save them, but from what? What could this monster need to be saved from?“... Then don’t let go of my hand and I’ll never let go of yours.” Their voice rings true in the silence, bringing with it a feeling of finality, as if they truly had the final say in all of this. They take the hand from the mirror in theirs, holding it tightly as it holds them, even as it tugs them forward, pulling them into the mirror, they turned, for what might be the last time, to look at the demon, and though their time together was short, it felt that way, as they gazed up at him, they know he will be there, that he will be guiding them, helping them, protecting them , that no matter what, he will never leave them, no matter where they go, he will follow, they smile, watching as the demon, the blue glow from the monster and the abyss fade from their sight.

In the darkness of the abyss, the mirror fades, leaving the demon and monster alone and the monsters body exposed, slowly the monster turns its gaze, that had lingered on the spot the human had stood in, up and toward the demon, grin growing as it does, threatening to split its face in two… Then it cackles, but in such a low tone that it could be mistaken for its growls earlier, keeping its eyes on the demon it backs up, slowly but surely slinking back into the shadows of the abyss. The demon watches, doing nothing as the monster fades from his sight, he sighs, knowing what is to come, wondering if the human… His human will be alright… He doesn’t wonder for long, spreading his wings out, he brings them around himself, melding with the abyss just like the monster had. …. …….. …………. In the silence of the abyss, a single sound is heard… 
Drip…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It wasn’t the pitter patter of small feet that woke them but the rattling of a door that did; it was like someone was trying to break in. ‘Who the fuck…? I swear, no one should be awake at this time…’ Their eyes still closed, they tried to turn over to go back to sleep, only finding that they couldn’t. ‘Wait… What? Huh?? Where am I?’ “Crap. People are coming.” Whoever spoke was right in front of them, in front of whatever they were in. “Gotta get a uniform while…” ‘Hold up, uniform? Why? No, uh… Fuck it, don’t worry about that right now, figure out what the hell we’re in.’ They were laying on something cushioned but hard, like it was only a thin-ish layer in between them and the back, there wasn’t much wiggle room either, two close walls to either side of them and another one in front of them, where the voice was coming from. ‘Ok so… A lid? How the hell do I get it off??’ The same rattling sound that woke them up happened again, “Grrr!!” seems it was the mysterious speaker trying to open up whatever they were in. “The lid is too heavy.” ‘Just how tight is this thing if someone can’t open it? Well… If they’re trying to open it from the outside… Guess I can try and help em from in here…?’ Bracing both hands and one foot against the lid, they pushed against when the other person pulled. ‘God damn is it stuck! I know I’m weak but holy shit, didn’t think I was this weak.’ “Time for…” … Oh they did not like the sound of that. “my secret move!” They really did not like the sound of that at all. “Guwaahuuh~~~~ There!” something slammed into the lid hard, lighting their world up with blue flames.“WHAT THE SHIT!?” Panicked, their hands moved from the lid to the back of whatever they were in, kicking out with the foot still against the lid with everything they had, fuelled by a need to not die to whatever hellspawn thought it was a good idea to throw fire at them.“Ok, ok. Gotta get…” Whatever they were going to say next was cut off as the lid popped off with more force than they were likely expecting, probably cause of the person inside kicking it open and said person falling out. “Whaaaaaaa!!!!” Whether it was the force of the lid opening or them falling out, whoever was dumb enough to throw the fire seemed shocked to even see them. “Why are you up?!” … Or see them awake??“I’d like to know the same fucker! Who in their right mind-...” Once they saw who, or rather what, got them out, they paused, doing a double take while questioning what they were looking at. “A talking… Cat? Demon?? Thing??? Wha??” Seems hellspawn might have been right, looking like a small cat, though standing like a human child, its fur was grey save for a white patch on his chest, its toe beans were a light pink though its nose was black, its eyes were a bright, striking blue, just like the flames in its fires, around its neck was a tattered black-and-white striped ribbon, and to top it all off, its tail ended in a pitchfork, while blinking at the… Whatever it was, they turned to look at what they fell out of. “... Is… Is that a fucking coffin??? I was in a coffin?? Oh… There’s more… And they’re floating, tasty , I love that for me…” looking around the room showed coffins that all looked alike, each one floating, like theirs still was, probably why they fell out of it, and each having a… A lock on it? A lock for a key, yep, they all had one. ‘... Guess that’s why it was so hard to open… Hold up wait, does that mean there are other people in them?? Did they hear any of that?? What the fuck is going on???’ “Who the hell are you calling a cat-demon-thing!?!” seems that might have pissed off said cat demon… Demon cat? Whatever it is. “I am the Great Grim!” ah, at least they know his?? name now. “Well, whatever. Hey, human!”“... So I can’t call you a cat-demon-thing cause I don’t know what you are, but you can call me a human? Fine, I see how it is…” having stood up during the… During Grim getting annoyed with them, they took another look around the room. Not only were there floating coffins, there was also a floating mirror in the center of it all.“Hey! Human! Don’t ignore me when I’m talking to you!” Grim stomped his foot, pouting and kind of acting like a kid that wasn’t getting what they wanted. “Grraa! Nevermind! Just… Just gimme ya clothes already!” Why hadn’t they noticed that their clothes had changed yet? … Probably cause too much was happening all at once to notice something like that. The clothes were quite fancy; they had a robe of sorts on with a hood covering their head; the sleeves were long and flowy, reaching long enough to cover their hands, all of it was in black, at least the outside, with gold trim and designs all along it, the inside was purple, what kind of purple though, they hadn’t a clue, just that it was a very pretty shade of purple, there was also golden designs in the purple, looking like two keys forming an X, the shirt underneath was the same black as the robe, also with golden designs on it near their collar with buttons running down it, it was also one of those shirts that had a little finger ring to hold it in place on the middle finger, what it's actually called though? They haven’t the faintest clue, around their waist and keeping the robe closed was a sash, the same purple as the inside of the robe, with a golden buckle? Something like that, holding it together, the buckle has 3 ‘feather’ coming out of each side, with a crest or emblem in the middle, from what they could see of it, there were words under what looked like some kind of bird, it was also holding something in each talon and something seemed to be around its neck, under the robe was some sort of bustle train skirt or something like that, they couldn’t tell if it was part of the robe or not right now, over it up still under the robe was some sort of golden hip chain that connected to a… Key? Holster? Thing?? Whatever that was, was empty, also gold, under the… Skirt thing, was just some normal black pants that ended somewhere at the middle on their calves, mainly black shoes were on their feet, likely ending further up then where the pants ended, the very tip, over their toes, was gold, with purple bordering the edges and a thin gold line bordering that, all in all? Something way too fancy for them to be wearing. ‘... What the fuck? How the fuck?? And why the fuck???’ Likely having had enough with them zoning out and ignoring him, again, he stomped his foot again, glaring up at them before getting this smug little smirk on his face. “Better stop ignoring me human and do what I say. Otherwise... I'll roast ya!” proving his point with a small burst of flames, just like before.They stared wide eyed at Grim, darting their eyes around to try and figure out what to do. “Uhhh…” this did let them see a door they could likely leave from, but Grim is…n’t a cat, but would still likely be faster than them, not to mention the damned thing had fire . “... What’s that over there!?” yelling and pointing to a far corner, they turned and booked it toward the door.“Huh? Where?!” seems it worked though, having tricked Grim, giving them a few seconds before he realized what they had done. “Why you…!! You think you can trick the Great Grim and get away with it!?!?” yes, yes they did, though now they have a pissed off Grim chasing after them.Turning down a hallway, they didn’t take even a second to think of where they’d go, they just kept running, it was dark and quiet, not dark enough that they couldn’t see but quiet enough they could hear their own steps pounding away on the ground and Grim’s steps chasing after them. ‘Shit shit shit! There ain’t no way this is a fucking dream! It hasn’t changed once and I’m still me!’ They turned into what seemed to be a classroom next, they didn’t try to find somewhere to hide, simply kept going, kept running while trying to quiet their feet. ‘I doubt being quiet will help, but it might give me some more time!’ Finding themself in a courtyard next, they took to jumping over things, going around might slow them down, even if they couldn’t hear Grim anymore. ‘Just how big is this place!?!’ Pushing open some doors, they closed them behind them, leaning against it to catch their breath as they looked around. “Just… Just where the hell am I??” Coughing a bit in their attempt at regaining their breath, they looked around the… Library? At least, that’s what they were going with from all the books they could see… Books that were floating and moving on their own. “... Wha…? I’m… Ok, the fuck? How?? But also… Holy shit that’s cool…” Taking some steps in, they spun to see more of it, watching as books sorted themself, put themselves away and more, it was like something straight out of a fairytale. “... If this is a dream… I’m kind of fine with it continuing… If not, weeeell… I’ll worry about that when it gets to that.”The doors swung open with a burst of flames causing them to jump and make the equivalent of a keyboard smash leave them. “Ha! Did you really think that stupid little trick would work human! The Great Grim is far too smart for that and hiding wouldn’t work either! Nothing can escape from my nose!” Grim stood, hands on his… Hips? Blocking their only way out and looking far too proud for founding them. “Now! Hand over your clothes before I fry ya-” Grim was cut off by a whip crack and some sort of rope wrapping around him. “Bwah?! Ow!” Wincing, they kind of felt bad for Grim, that sounded like it hurt, but they also didn’t, little shits been chasing em and trying to burn them for not giving him their clothes. “What's with the rope?”
‘I’d like to know the same thing… Some sort of security measure so people don’t burn the books??’
“This is no mere rope.” Oh great, someone else. “It is a lash of love!” ‘... L… Lash of love?? How… How is that a lash?? It doesn’t look anything like one, if anything it's more of a whip… But I guess calling something “Whip of love” wouldn’t sound right at a school. … If this is a school, oh wait, “Lash of love” does have a better ring to it now that I think about it… Cause like, it matches…… Hmmmm… Whip of… Uhhhh… Wrath? Wait no, that still sounds wrong and isn’t even close to “Love”... Fuck my ass and getting distracted by that, first of all, whomst the fuck??’  Following the ‘Lash of love’ from Grim to whoever was holding the other end showed a very angry-looking man, who stood a good head taller than them, the man was strange to say the least, other than carrying something around called ‘Lash of love’, what he was wearing was quite… Eccentric? His face was covered by a black half-mask resembling some sort of bird's beak, leaving his eyes completely shrouded in darkness, nothing but twin pinpricks of glowing gold could be seen of them, his ears were slightly pointed, whether cause he’s wearing some sort of prosthetic over his ears or cause that’s just how his ears like, they couldn’t tell, his hair short, black and wavy, not even reaching his shoulders, on his head sat a black top hat with a blue ribbon on it, there was also a… Mirror? On the side of it, with 3 golden keys and a black feather pinned behind it, some kind of coat was draped over his shoulders, from the collar of it black bird feathers curled out from, the bird theme kept up with the tails of the coat, cut to look like even more feathers or wings, the coat itself was deep black on the outside, with the flared collar, sleeve cuffs and inside of the coat all being the same deep shade of blue, the lapel started as a deep maroon at the top before fading into indigo at the bottom, gold acted as trim for it, also with golden designs and buttons, under the coat he wore a suit, all black safe for the shirt, though on his vest was a shimmering blue design of some sort, on both hands he had black gloves on and over those he had golden claw rings too, on his hip were more mirrors, three of them, each with a golden key hanging from them plus one extra, his dress shoes were the same blue as everything else was, with black designs on the toe, heel and along the edges, all in all? He definitely had a bird theme going on, a raven or crow maybe?“Ah, found you at last.” Just how long has he been looking for them and why? “Are you one of the new students?” ‘.... Wait what?’ All they could do was blink up at the man.“That won't do. You mustn't leave the Gate on your own!” ‘Gate?? What “Gate”?? Sir?? Did you mean the coffin I woke up in???? Is that the so-called “Gate”???’ They wanted to speak up, give voice to their thoughts, even if it’d be a heavily edited version of them, but the man simply continued, unaware of their internal panic.“Not only that, taking your untamed familiar with you to school is against the regulations.” Crossing his arms, he tugged on his end of the ‘Lash of love’ looking over at Grim with disapproval.
‘I’m sorry, my what not?’
“Lemme go! I'm not their freakin' familiar!” Grim looked like he’s had enough, struggling to break out of the ‘Lash of love’ while voicing his compliments, neither of which was doing him any good.Shaking his head and talking to Grim like one would a toddler, he turned his attention back to them. “Sure, sure. That's what all the rebellious ones say. Just quiet down for a moment.” Covering Grim’s mouth with his hand, now holding him in his arms, he looked them over, thinking over his words.“Mmmghmmmm!” More of Grim’s compliments, though now muffled, were still quite loud for something so small.“My goodness. It's unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own.” He sighed, shaking his head like a disappointed father, which was kind of weird. ‘Then you’ve never met someone like me before, I’m just special~ .’ Damn, are they glad they know when to keep their mouth shut… Even if they sometimes can’t or don’t.“Uuuggh... How impatient can you be?”
‘Very, but I didn’t do it.’
“The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let's head to the Hall of Mirrors.” Turning, he beckoned them with his free hand, not even waiting to see if they’re following me before he set off. ‘Hall of Mirrors?’ Jogging to catch up to the man's long strides, they looked up at him, speaking in a meek, soft voice. “Uummm… New student? I… I think you might be mistaken, sir..?”“Mistaken? Nonsense, you’re wearing the Ceremonial Robes, just as every student is, like every student who exits a Gate from the room you woke up in with all the doors.” The man explained, calmly, any anger from before seemed to have vanished once he had found them and gotten Grim under control.
‘So that’s what I’m wearing? But…’
Not giving them time to think, he continued. “All students admitted to this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here.” The man seemed to realize or noticed that they were struggling a bit to keep up with him, so he slowed down a touch, just enough that they wouldn’t be out of breath if they wanted to ask him something, but still quick enough that they’d get back to the Hall of Mirrors in a timely manner. “Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key, but…” He waited for them to speak, to tell him how they got out without a key.“So that’s what the coffins are…” Was muttered before they looked up at the man. “Ah but… It’s probably cause the fire blew it open…” They slouched, hunching in on themself, they didn’t mean to but they also weren’t the one who did it.“Those ‘coffins’ bid farewell to the only world they've ever known and are reborn. A symbolic meaning when one thinks about it. But to think… Your familiar was the cause of all of this, you must take better care of it and take responsibility if it is to stay with you.” The man sounded disappointed and scolding at the same time, his steps slowing once more before he picked up the pace again. “... Oh my! Now isn't the time to be long-winded.” They too sped up, doing their best to keep in step with the man. “The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let's get a move on.” He hurried them.“W-Wait please! Who are you and where am I?” They asked, struggling to keep up with the man's fast pace and to get their words out at the same time.Turning his head, he regarded them, looking them over again. “What's this? Are you still dazed?” He seemed concerned almost, keeping an eye on them as they kept walking. “It appears the teleportation magic has left you disoriented… Well, no matter. It happens often enough.” The way he said it calmed them slightly, but only slightly, they still had no clue why they were even there. “I shall give you an explanation as we continue to make our way there. For I am gracious.”They had long since passed the courtyard they had run through some time ago, how long ago exactly, they didn’t know; it was still dark out like before, so it couldn’t have been that long… But long enough that the entrance ceremony was nearing its end. “Now then, this is 'Night Raven College'.” Gesturing with his free hand at the building around them. “Budding mages blessed with unprecedented talent gather from all over the world here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland.” Chest puffing out with pride as he spoke. “And I'm the board chairman-appointed headmaster in charge of looking after this college, Dire Crowley.”Their steps faltered slightly before they were back in step with Crowley. ‘Twisted Wonderland? Like… Like from Alice in Wonderland? Other than Grim, this doesn’t seem like that Wonderland. At least I was right about this being a school…’ Keeping that to themself, they instead questioned. “Did… Did you say ‘mages’?”“Yes, only those mages deemed worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school.”As Crowley continued to speak, they swore they heard horses pulling something… A faint image of a carriage in their head.“An Ebony carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well.” ‘Is that what that is…? But… But why didn’t I remember that before? Well, Crowley did say it's not uncommon for the teleportation magic to leave someone confused… Wait no, the “magic” bit is what’s leaving me confused!’ Shaking their head to clear their thoughts, they focused back on that image of the horse-drawn carriage. “I can kind of remember that… I think I went through some kind of forest too…”“The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Dark Mirror.” How Crowley wasn’t out of breath for talking and walking as fast as he was was a miracle, though that might be because he wasn’t chased by some hellcat like they were. “They are special carriages that carry the Doors to the academy. Carriages are the vehicle of choice for special occasions. Is that not what conventional wisdom has dictated since the days of yore?”“What the what now? Wait wait wait, so you’re saying that a carriage, with only horses pulling it, brought me here… On its own??” If they weren’t surprised before they are now.“Muggmm! Muggghh!!” Looks like Grim was finally done with his pouting, now with the three of them standing for a set of doors, he started to thrash again, trying to speak up.Low voices could be heard beyond the door, looks like their questions would go unanswered for now. “Come. Let's go to the entrance ceremony.” With that, he pushed open the doors, making a grand entrance.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Students chatted with one another, all of them excited to varying degrees, catching up with their friends or getting to know their new dorm mates, each and every one of them wearing the same robes, surrounding them along the walls were floating coffins, each one bobbing to keep itself afloat and out of the way, a mirror stood, or rather floated, in the center, dark and silent, reflecting nothing of the surrounding room, standing on the only elevated area of the room was five individuals and a floating tablet.With a sweeping glance around the room, the smallest among the five spoke. “This ends the dorm assignment for the new students, I presume?” Looking over at the others, he nodded his head once before addressing the room. “Listen up new students. Here in Heartslabyul, I am the rules. Break them and it's off with your head.” Though small, his very presence demanded respect, whether that respect was well was anyone’s guess, his hair was a bright red not unlike wine, mid-length and framing his face, two strands of hair stick out on his head looking like a heart as they rest against the rest, his eyes a deep silver matching the stern look on his face.“...Uuugghh. The stuffy ceremony is finally over.” Yawned the tallest of them, standing roughly the same height as Crowley, under the hood of his robe two somethings twitched, not enjoying the fact they were covered, his hair brown was thick and messy, falling a bit past his shoulders, with a single braid to either side of his face, once his eyes opened a bright and vibrant green stood out, sitting over his left eye was a scar, cutting through his eyebrow and ending on his cheek, flicking under his robes was a tail, a lions tail. “We're going back to the dorm. Savanaclaw, follow me.”Next was the one whose height was in the middle, though still a good couple inches taller than the redhead. “To the new students, congratulations on entering this academy. Enjoy your life here to its fullest.” Unlike the others, he wore glasses, his hair wavy and a silvery-blue color, his hair was parted on the right and a longer lock frames the left of his face, his eyes look nearly the same shade as his hair though darker, to the left and below his lip is a beauty mark. “As the dormitory leader of Octavinelle. I will support you to the best of my ability.”“Which reminds me,” Spoke the second tallest. “where did the headmaster go? He flew out right in the middle of the ceremony…” His hair just reached his shoulders, a blonde color that fades into purple at the tips, his eyes violet similar to an amethyst.“Abandoning his post…” This time it wasn’t a person but the tablet that spoke, or rather someone spoke through the tablet, not even bothering to show up in person, the tablet was blue with a strange logo on its screen, there were also three buttons near the bottom.“Did he get a stomachache or something?” Spoke the last one, he was on the smaller side but not as small as the one who first spoke, only a couple inches shorter than the guy with glasses, his hair was a white-grey, choppy and short as it stood out on his person, his eyes also stood out, being a bright red though a different red than the redheads own hair, he was wearing gold, what looked like, hooped earrings.Pushing up the doors with a flourish if slight urgency, was Crowley, Grim still tied up and in one arm. “Not at all!” Why do they get the feeling he planned this? Or that he at least wanted a dramatic entrance and chose the best time for it?“Ah, he's here.” Although his entrance was abrupt, the redhead didn’t seem the tiniest bit surprised, like this was normal for the headmaster.“I cannot believe you all. We were missing one new student, so I went to find them.” Turning to them, even as they tried in vain to hide behind him, Crowley addressed them. “You are the only one yet to be assigned a dormitory. I shall watch over the raccoon, so step in front of the Dark Mirror.”Looking at the room full of people, they looked back up at Crowley, hesitating to even enter the room. ‘How you think Grim is a raccoon is… No wait, how and why do you think he’s a raccoon?! He looks like a fucking cat!!’ Fiddling with their sleeves, they walked toward the mirror, doing their best to not look at the students around them who were all staring at them, instead they kept their eyes on the mirror. ‘This is fine, this is fine, this is completely fine! …… No it’s not! Stop fucking staring at me! Gods, I hate this, why, why did you have to make a big deal about it?? Why??? I didn’t leave the Gate on purpose! It was an accident!’ “Mghgmh!!!” Whether it was the raccoon comment or the fact they were in front of the mirror, Grim’s struggles for freedom began anew.As they stood in front of the mirror unsure of what to do, flames suddenly blazed to life within it, green flames flickered as a face, a mask, was seen, the mask was white or grey, with a black lace like design around its eyes, or eye holes, as there was nothing seen within its eyes but an endless darkness. “State thy name.”Taking a deep breath, they steadied themself, letting themself stand back to their full height, which wasn’t much, about as tall as the redhead, gazing into the void that was the mirror's eyes, they spoke. “Yuuan.” Their voice rang out in the silence of the room, everyone watching and waiting for what the mirror would say next.“Yuuan…” It repeated, feeling as if it was looking at their very core, their very being, judging how much they were worth. “The shape of thy soul is…” ‘Ah… It was, I… Love this so much.’ And just like the others, Yuuan waited. ………… And waited ……….. And waited Just as it was starting to get unbearable, the mirror finally spoke. “Is unknown.”
‘... Eh?’
“Come again?” Seems Crowley was just as shocked as they were.“It has been far too long since one such as thee has been here.” Looking back at Crowley, it seemed like even he didn’t know what the mirror was saying.“I’m not sure I quite understand what you’re suggesting.” Crowley had started to take slow measured steps toward them and the mirror.“Though lacking a spark for the magic of this… World,” Why did they not like how it said that? “Thy is not utterly hollow.”
‘Come again??’
Murmurs started up in the crowd, everyone whispering to those closest to them about what the mirror could mean.“Although any of the dormitories would fit thee ,” That got an even bigger stir out of the crowd. “The way thee are now would not allow thee to fit them .”They had started to shrink in on themself, wondering what the point of all this was.“As such, only one dormitory will fit thee and thee it.”
‘Wait what?’
Before they could think anymore on it, something strange happened, the flames from the mirror seemed to lunge out and at them, as they did they changed colors, gone was the greens of the flames still in the mirror, what surrounded them was blacks and whites and the deepest of blues that only the night could have, the flames didn’t hurt them as they danced around their form, shielding from the panicked, prying eyes of the onlookers, and as they stood there at the eye of the storm, something drew their gaze, some of the flames were gathering in one spot, coming together as a shape started to form.It was hard to tell at first, but slowly a staff took form from the flames, waiting for them to grab it as it floated before them, once they did the flames around them yet out, not returning to the mirror but simply dispersing around them, leaving them before the mirror now with a staff in hand.Paying no mind to anyone, Yuuan looked the staff over, it towered over them, standing a good head taller, it was as cold as ice and looking like a piece of the very night sky with how dark it was, it was hard to tell if it was made of stone or metal, it was gnarled and twisted with cracks covering every inch, near the top it looked like the staff had exploded from within, leaving a roundish hollow with parts of the staff acting like branches that twist and turned around it, at the top they joined back together looking like jagged mountain peaks, within the hollow itself sat a small monochrome flame, just barely flickering as if the gentlest of breezes would extinguish it forever, they couldn’t tell what was emerging from behind the hollow, it looked like two slabs of rock or two sheets of metal, carved or made to look like… Something, whatever it was one was curled, though drooped like it had no energy to keep itself up, as if to shield or hide the hollow from sight, while the other looked as if it had been yanked and bent out of the way, hanging ‘limply’, to allow someone to look within, pieces of rock or metal stuck out at odd angles along the entirety of it and the whole thing reeked of rust and… Ink? Just holding it darkened their hands like touching soot.“The magic thy holds is one thought long forgotten, with it thy’s soul has something, but thy’s soul is still empty of the magic the world now holds.” The mirror continued, uncaring of the severity of its words. “As such, thy must fill it.”
‘... You can just do that!?!?’
“The magic of this school will allow thee to grow quickly in that regard.” How could a mirror look so damn smug and pleased? “And the dormitory that will help thy grow is… Onboro .”That got the crowd going after, most having gotten over their shock of the flames and staff.Crowley choked on his breath, coughing into his free fist as he replayed the mirror's words in his head. “An Ebony Carriage would absolutely never go to meet someone who can't use magic! Even if you say they hold magic long thought forgotten… In 100 years, there has not once been a mistake in student selection.”
‘Go gee thaaanks, I love being a mistaaaake…’
“So why in the world…”With Crowley’s attention now elsewhere, Grim was able to wiggle free. “Mghmgh... Pah!” Jumping away from Crowley and shaking out his fur, he turned, looking up at Crowley. “Then I'll take their place!”“Stay right there! Raccoon!” ‘Again, how does Grim look anything like a raccoon?’ Moving further away from Crowley, Grim huffed, stomping his foot. “Unlike that dumb human, I can use magic! Let me in the school instead!” The flames in his ears grew brighter, flaring out as he got ready. “If you need proof, I’ll show you right now!”“Everyone, get down!”At the redhead's words, Yuuan and some others hit the ground, ducking right in time.“Nnnaah~!!” Just as before, Grim let loose his flames, shooting them in random directions, lighting damn near everything on fire.Including someone. “Waaaah! Hottttttt! My butt's on fire!” Shouted the white-haired boy, running around and trying to put his butt out.“At this rate the school will be a sea of fire! Somebody, catch that raccoon!”
‘Aren’t you the headmaster here?! If everyone but those five… Six??? People here are starting their first year here, then how are they meant to catch Grim???’
“Che! What a pain.” Lion man looked bored with all of this, even at the threat of the flames.“Hmm? Aren't you good at hunting? Doesn't it look like a nice, plump snack?” Blondey didn’t look like he was gonna do a damn thing either.“Why me? Do it yourself.”“Mr. Crowley, please leave it to me.” Glasses looked like he was trying to suckup to Crowley… At least he was gonna do something. “I'm sure the others couldn't stomach harassing the poor creature, so I will take it upon myself.”
‘Wow, ass.’
“That's Azul for you. Always trying to earn himself points.” Looks like whoever was behind the tablet was thinking the same as them.“Ummm, hey, could someone put out the fire on my butt already!?” ‘How has he not put out his ass already???’ Taking only a second to think, Yuuan ran towards ‘Mister Flaming-ass’ to help him.“Are you all even listening!?”“If it's just catching some stupid raccoon, can't you do it yourself, Teach.” Even lion man is thinking the same as them.“I'm not a raccoon! Even that stupid human didn’t call me a raccoon!” Grim huffed, stomping his foot again as he let out more flames. “The Great Grim - destined to become the greatest mage ever - is me!”“It certainly has moxie. Care to assist me, Riddle?” Glasses turned to the redhead, now named Riddle.“I can't overlook those who break rules. Let's hurry and get this over with.”While those two were dealing with Grim, Yuuan got to the boy whose ass was still on fire.“Hey, hey, stop moving for a second, please? I can help.” Leaning the staff against their body, Yuuan grabbed their sleeves, holding their hands out to help.“Huh!? Oh, sure?!” Turning, ‘Mister Flaming-ass’ let Yuuan put at the fire, burning their sleeves too but at least the fire was out. “Thanks for that! Thought everyone was just gonna let me keep burning.”“Ah, it’s fine, really.” Yuuan glanced over to where Grim was, watching as Riddle and Glasses chased him around.“For you to break a rule in front of me, you are exceedingly brave.”“Well then, let's capture him quickly.” Both Glasses and Riddle drew a… A Pen? From the key holster thingy. “Especially since if we tarry too long, daybreak will soon be upon us.” ‘Shit, this is… Kind of my fault, kind of, but it’s not like I can help much, don’t really want fire being launched at me again’ Staying low and out of the way the best they could, Yuuan went around trying to help the other students, burning their robe more as they put out flames on others, pushing those still out in the open toward the sides to hide behind the Gates, anything to just get them out of the way of the fires. ‘Huh…. Everyone here is a guy… Hold up wait, is this an all boys school? … Well then, might be a bit hard for me then, but it’ll be fine. … Maybe.’ “Hup!” It looked like Glasses was just toying with Grim.“Gyaa---!!”“Azul, don't you think you're toying with him too much?”
‘Ah, so Glasses is called Azul… Cool, got two names now.’
“Fufu, aren't you also tormenting the monster and enjoying yourself, Riddle-san?”“I'm not like you. Stop saying such absurd things and let's go.” ‘Just how long are those two gonna fuck around before they even get Grim??’ They were honestly getting annoyed with Riddle and Azul, shouldn’t they have gotten Grim already?As they chased Grim again, Yuuan followed, looking for a chance to maybe grab Grim.It took awhile, but they finally managed to trap Grim. “Funya!? A dead end!?” Just as Grim turned to try and bolt again, Azul and Riddle stood to either side, ready to stop him if he should.“Did you not even realize you were being steered this way? What a pitiful little animal.” “You should surrender. Otherwise…” Both readied their pens, Riddle taking a step forward.“I don't wanna! I'm gonna join this school!” Grim’s ears started to blaze again.
‘Shit.’
“Azul, step back!”“Funya~~~~~~~!!!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Before Grim could even act, Yuuan took the chance, running out and grabbing him. “Got ya!”“Fnya?!” It was enough to get Grim to stop, which is what they had wanted to happen.Riddle also took that chance to act. “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” A heart-shaped collar attached itself to Grim’s neck, one half black the other red.“What the…?”“Nygah! The heck is this!?”“Laws of the Queen of Hearts: Number 23 ‘One shall never bring a cat into a festival.’ You being a cat means you've broken the rule. I shall have you leave at once.” ‘Finally, someone other than me calling Grim a cat, even if Grim said he wasn’t a cat…’ Looking down at Grim, Yuuan poked at the collar, wondering what it does, other than dimming the flames in Grim’s ears… And putting out the rest of the fires. ‘Wait, wouldn’t that also mean that lion man over there shouldn’t be here too? Cause he’s kind of a cat…’ “I'm not a cat!!” Grim squirmed in their arms, trying to get out even if they held tight. “I'll burn this collar right up and... E-eh? I can't use my fire!”“Wait what…?”“Hmph! You won't be using any magic until I remove the collar. Just like an ordinary cat.”“Wh-What?! I'm not some pet!” ‘You say that, but you are very fluffy Grim… Don’t pet the not cat with fire even if he can’t use it, don’t pet the not cat with fire even if he can’t use it… Mmmm…’ “Don't worry, I'd never keep a pet like you.” Waving his hand like he was brushing Grim off, he continued. “I’ll take it off anyway when you get thrown out.”
‘Rude much?’
“Wow, as wonderful as ever. Any and all magic gets sealed by your Unique Magic, Riddle.” Azul simpered, walking over to the three now that Grim was ‘contained’. “I simply must have it... Err, I mean I wouldn't ever want that cast on me.”Yuuan eyed Azul, holding Grim closer to their body. ‘Fucking sketchy ass bitch.’ Crowley marched over to the four, fuming at the destruction Grim caused. “You must do something about this! It is your familiar, after all!”Before Crowley could get another word in, Yuuan cut him off, speaking up to be heard. “If you had let me speak when you first found me, you’d know that Grim isn’t my familiar!” They glared up at Crowley, staring him dead in the eyes.“Eh? It's not yours?”“No, no, he isn’t.” They stressed out. “I’ll tell you again if I have to, but Grim isn’t mine .”“A-Ah, well…” Clearing his throat, Crowley looked sheepish for a moment before it was gone. “Anyway, let's get it-”“ He .”“... Him out of the school at any rate. We won't turn you into a stew. For I am gracious.” Turning, Crowley looked over the crowd. “Someone help, please.”One brave soul stepped forward, walking toward Yuuan and taking Grim from them. “Gyaaaa! Let me go!” Watching as the person carried Grim closer to the exit. “I'm going to, going to…” Grim squirmed, clawing at the person’s robes, trying to break free. “Become the greatest mage!” The doors closed, cutting Grim’s cry short.“Ok well that… That just makes me feel bad for him…”“We had a bit of trouble along the way, but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close.” Turning to the crowd, Crowley spread out his arms. “Dormitory Heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories.” Before he could turn to face Yuuan again, he paused, doing a quick look over the dorm heads, counting them. “... Hm? Now that I think about it, I don't see the leader for Diasomnia, Mr. Draconia, around at all…”“That's no different from usual, is it?” With his hood pulled farther over his head, lion man leaned against a wall, looking like he had been taking a nap during all of that.“What? Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?” Mister Flaming-ass looked over to the other dorm heads near him, tilting his head back and forth.“If you're going to complain, you should have done it yourself.” Blondey said, stepping closer to one of the ‘doors’.“Hmmm. But I don't really know anything about that guy.”
‘Kind of a lame reason to not tell someone, but ok, you do you I guess.’
The crowd started up again, though unlike before, it felt different, the talking seemed tinged with fear.
“By Draconia... Do they mean ‘that’ Malleus Draconia?”

“So he really is attending this school.”

“Scary…”
While looking around, Yuuan stayed close to Crowley. ‘... Ooook then… Seems no one really likes the guy…’ “Oh, I knew it.” Somehow, without them even noticing, someone new had entered the room, spooking them slightly. “I came here to check if my suspicion was right, and sure enough Malleus isn't around.” He was also an inch smaller than Yuuan, his hair was short and black with hot pink streaks in it, tufts of hair stuck at the sides near the top of his head, his ears were pointed like Crowley’s, and he seemed to have fangs. “It seems the invitation ‘never arrived’ again.” ‘... The way he says that almost feels like it's meant to be an inside joke kind of thing… But also not..?’ “My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn't intend to exclude you.”“His aura makes it hard to approach him.”“It's fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me. ...I hope this doesn't upset him…” As some students walked toward him, he paused, having gotten a look at Yuuan and the staff they held. “Oh? Onboro has a student and a dorm leader? Well then,” He paused, taking in Yuuan. “I look forward to what you’ll get up to, little lordling.” Leaving Yuuan with many more questions, he turned and left, guiding those of Diasomnia out.As if that was their que, the rest of the dorm leaders take their group of students with them, leaving just Yuuan and Crowley behind.“... That was something.”“Indeed, now then, Yuuan, I'm terribly sorry about this but…” Crowley paused, looking down at Yuuan and looking at the staff still in their black stained hands. “We must have you leave the school.” ‘... I’m sorry, what ?’ “Those without any talent for magic cannot be allowed to attend class here. No matter what the Dark Mirror might say. Not to worry. The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came.” Not waiting, Crowley pushed them toward the mirror, speaking all the while. “Stand before the Dark Mirror, and picture your home clearly in your mind…”“Waitwaitwait!” Digging their heels in, Yuuan pushed back, using the staff to help them. “Hold up!”“Hm?”Getting themself out of Crowley’s hold, they spin around to face him, planting the staff and putting a hand to their hip. “The Dark Mirror said I have magic, sure it might be magic this school doesn’t or even can’t teach me to use, but I still have magic , and! And! It said I could fill my soul with magic that you can teach me, that being here would help with that, not to mention the fact it sorted me into a dorm and gave me this !” Shaking the staff, they glare up at Crowley, daring him to say otherwise.“Yes, well…” Collecting his thoughts, Crowley smoothed out his vest. “Be that as it may, I’m afraid that you still can’t stay at this school, not only, as you have pointed out, do we not teach the magic you might possess but we also can’t , as anything about it is likely just as lost as it, then there’s also the fact you don’t have any other magic, we can’t be certain how long it would take you to gain enough magic to be able to actively participate in classes, there’s also the matter of you being singled out for… Well, both having magic and being magic less , any number of the mages here might take advantage of that fact.” ‘...He has a point…’ The more Crowley explained his reasons for sending them home, the more the wind was taken out of their sails. ‘But… But if I go home… I won’t ever be able to use my magic… Magic doesn’t exist there, it only exists in stories, like fairytales…’ “Now then, if you would, Yuuan.” Gesturing toward the mirror, he waited.“Ah… Yeah, ok, that all…. That all makes sense when you say it like that…” Sighing, they turned to face the mirror, moving to stand in front of it as Crowley stood off to the side. ‘Still… This sucks, I find out magic’s real somewhere , that I have magic, and I’m being sent home… Wait… Wait wait wait, where… Where is my home…? I-I know its name but… But why can’t I even picture it beyond that? Why can’t I remember my house?!’ Not noticing Yuuan’s mounting panic, Crowley addressed the mirror. “Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place they belong!” ………… The mirror was silent, watching Yuuan as Yuuan watched it back.Clearing his throat, Crowley tried again. “Once more. Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this-”“It is nowhere…” . . . “Eh?” Came from both of them, looking at each other before back at the mirror.“The place thine belongs is nowhere in this world…” It said gravely. “It does not exist.”“What did you say? That is unbelievable! Hmm, well, the unbelievable has been on parade today.” ‘My home… Doesn’t exist?’ Yuuan could only stare, gripping the staff tighter and tighter as they tried not to panic, tried not to cry.“Thy is also a student here, unless thee truly wished to leave, you can not make them.”“Well… This is the first time it's ever happened since I became Headmaster. What should be…” Collecting his thoughts once more, Crowley noticed Yuuan’s growing panic, saw the tears they refused to shed. “Yuuan, where exactly did you come from? What is the name of your home?”“...C-Canada, my homes in Canada…” Knuckles turning white from how hard they gripped the staff, bits and pieces of it digging into their palms, they looked up at Crowley, tearing their gaze from the mirror.“...I've never heard of that place.” That seemed to break Yuuan just a bit more. “I have a general grasp of where all the students came from, but I've never even heard that name before.” Placing a hand on Yuuan’s shoulder, Crowley knelt down, getting to eye level with them. “Let's go do some research in the library.”They could only nod their head numbly, letting Crowley guide them out the room and back to the library.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Maps upon maps upon maps were spread out before the two on a table in the now lit library, with each one that Crowley had brought out, the more confused they became, the more desperate and scared they were, searching for anything that was familiar, anything at all.

“There really isn't anything.” Yuuan’s head had long since befriended the table from where they sat, staff beside them. “Not only the world map, but the name of your home isn't written in any history.”

‘Fucking great, I’m an isekai victim.’

“Are you truly from where you say? You aren't lying to me by chance?”

Yuuan’s head shot up, glaring daggers into Crowley’s soul. “Does it look like I’m

fucking

lying? Does it fucking

look

like I’m having a grand ol’ laugh right now!?” If they weren’t so drained they might have tried to hit Crowley with their staff, as it was though, they simply placed their head back down, now truly wishing this was all just some fucked up dream.

Crowley, though shocked at the ferocity of their words, was about to scold them for swearing on autopilot, but given all that’s happened to Yuuan, he didn’t. “Looking at all this, you may have somehow been brought here from another planet…” He sighed, running a clawed hand through his hair, having taken off his hat at some point. “Or another world due to some sort of mixup.”

“

Great

, I love this, I’m a fucking alien to boot, what else ya got for me chief?” Sarcasm and slight desperation laced their voice. “Ooooo~ Wait,

lemme guess~

Not

only

do I have magic that’s old as fuck and can act like a fucking sponge for the magic everyone uses now~! But I also got a secret third thing!

It’s a surprise tool that can help us later~!

” They were very clearly done with this all.

Crowley waited for Yuuan to calm down before saying anything else. “What did you have on you when you came here?” Yuuan didn’t even move their head, but started to pat along their person. “Do you happen to have anything that can verify your identity, like a driver's license for a magic car, or a slipper...?” Bringing their fist up, Yuuan held it inches above the table, opening it to show… Nothing. “Ah… You appear to be empty-handed…”

“

No, really?

Who’d have

guessed

.” They groaned, slumping more onto the table, looking like they were gonna slide right out of the chair with how boneless they’d gone.

“This is concerning.” Straightening up, Crowley grabbed his hat, placing it back on. “I can't just let someone who can't use magic stay at school.”

“I have magic.”

“That you

can’t

use.”

“....

Ugghh

.”

“However, as an educator, I can't just toss a penniless teenager who has no means of contacting their guardians out on the street.” With a wave of his hand, the maps rolled themselves up, any books closed, and they all returned to their spots. “For I am gracious.” Looking them over, he thought for a moment, the mirror’s earlier words coming back to him. “Hmmmm... I know!”

“Oh?” Yuuan had watched the casual display of magic with awe in their eyes.

Something in Crowley wanted to keep that awe alive, maybe it was because of how broken down Yuuan looked, how they had tried so hard not to cry when told their home doesn’t exist, or maybe it was something else, whatever it was… He couldn’t show favoritism to any of his students, even if Yuuan wasn’t one, no matter what the Dark Mirror said. “There is an unused building on campus. The very dormitory the Dark Mirror sorted you into, Onboro, hasn't been used in a long time though, but if you can clean it up, you should at least be able to sleep there.” Gesturing for Yuuan to stand, he walked toward the library’s doors, waiting for them. “For the time being, I shall allow you to stay there!” With Yuuan now by his side, he opened the doors, letting them walk through first before he followed. “Then I will look for a way for you to return home.”

‘Even though I really wanna learn magic… It’s still probably best I go home… Just from looking at all those maps and history books proves I know nothing of this place, I’d be so far behind everyone else it wouldn’t even be funny….’

Keeping pace with Crowley was easy this time as neither of them were in much of a hurry. “... Thank you, Mr. Crowley…” Even their voice sounded as drained as they felt.

“My graciousness is limitless! I am a model for all educators.” Yuuan snorted at that, finding the way Crowley, once again, puffed out his chest with pride to be funny, even if that was all they could muster. “We had better be on our way. Let's head to the dormitory. It may be a bit old but there is a certain charm to it.”

There wasn’t much else to say between the two, both had a lot to think about but Crowley also thought this would be the best time to give Yuuan time to think, if they wanted to speak to him they would, even if he himself had many questions to ask them, one of which he found was very important, even if he could find a chance to ask it, but for the life of him he couldn’t tell if Yuuan was a boy, nothing about them gave away their gender, the robes hiding much of their form and they had kept the hood on the whole time, not even their voice gave much away.

The walk out of the school was silent, given how long the two had been in the library it made sense, even though it was already dark out when the entrance ceremony started, but now it was much darker.

‘Huh… The schools a lot bigger than I thought… A helluva lot bigger…’

Looking over the campus grounds from the last steps of the school, they couldn’t help but feel smaller than they already were, so small and so very lost in a world unknown to them, it was Crowley’s gentle nudging that got them to move again, following him down more stairs carved into the very cliff side that the school sat upon.

“If you want to catch any sleep before the sunrises Yuuan, we best not dally to long, you’ll be able to look at it more come morning.” Guiding them down a paved path, past seven stone statues. “Though it might not be for long, as I will do my best to find a quick way home for you.”

Yuuan had stopped once they had gotten to the statues, taking the time to look at each of them. “... Mr. Crowley…?”

“Hm? Yes Yuuan? Ah, taking a look at the statues of the Great Seven, they are quite remarkable aren’t they?”

“... I know them, I know these people… This… This is the first thing I’ve recognized so far…” Yuuan looked at Crowley, shock and recognition in their eyes as they looked at each of the statues.

“You… You do? Well, that’s a start! But why, out of everything, are these the only things you recognized?” He hummed, a clawed hand resting on his chin as he watched Yuuan.

‘Something… Feels off about these statues…’

They couldn’t take their gaze off the statues, turning and darting their eyes to each one over and over again, unable to tell what this feeling was.

‘But… Why do they have statues at a school of all places? Why do these Disney villains have statues

here

? The Queen of Heart, Scar, Ursula, Jafar, The Evil Queen, Hades, Maleficent… Why are they all

here

??’

Placing his hands on their shoulders, Crowley gently pushed Yuuan to keep walking as it looked like they weren’t going to move on their own.
“Strange, I’ve never seen anyone react to the statues of the Great Seven like that… But the fact you are not from here, yet know them… Hmmmm…”

Stuck in their head as they were, they didn’t hear what Crowley had said, only trying to keep their eyes on the statues till they were out of sight, only then did they come back to their senses, shaking their head to clear their thoughts.

‘...Ok then… It’s… It’s just cause they’re the only things I know here, that’s… That’s probably why I reacted like that, j-just me trying to cling to that smallest bit of familiarity here… Yeah, that’s all… I hope.’

After that, the walk was silent once more, neither of them knowing what to say after that, the walk to the Onboro dorm was long and winding, taking them down two more flights of stairs after the statues, over a bridge and even through a small forest before they stood in front of a gate.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Looking from the rusted gate to the rusted and dented fence, their gaze following the stone path up to the dorm, they could only stare. Onboro wasn’t

just

old, it was old and rundown, multiple windows boarded up, multiple tiles and shingles were missing from the roofs as well, it looked more like a haunted house than a dorm. “... It’s something alright…”

“Right, right?” Pushing open the gate, both winced at the sound that came from its hinges. “Please come inside.” Leading Yuuan up the path, Crowley pushed open the door, it looked to be barely hanging.

The inside wasn’t much better than the outside, dust danced in the air, furniture overturned and let in random spots, the wallpaper peeling, picture frames tilted or on the floor, cobwebs anywhere they could be.

“Staying here will at least keep you out of the rain.” Coughing, Crowley waved his hand in front of his face. “I'm going back to do more research as well as get you some food and what not. Make yourself at home.” Heading back toward the door, taking one last glance at Yuuan. “Don't go wandering around the school! Goodbye!” And with that he left, closing the door as he went even though it was more so him propping it up to stay closed, leaving Yuuan alone.

“... Ok, this is fine, at least I have a place to sleep… Even if I might just freeze while doing so…” Walking further in, they looked around, holding tight to their staff like a lifeline. “If this is the main room or whatever… I almost don’t wanna know what the rest of this place looks like… Fuuuck, cleaning up this place is gonna be a pain.”

As they looked around, wondering if it’d even be worth it to look around for a ‘cleaner’ room or just settle with trying to clean the main room and sleep on the couch, they could feel something.

A drafty breeze went past them, bringing with it the cold of the night, they hugged themself, bringing their robes closer to try and keep what little warmth they had with them.

Somewhere within the dorm something creaked and groaned, they held the staff tighter.

Something moved in the hall behind them, whispering something they could not hear.

“Can it be?”

“It has to be, they have it!”

“They’re so small…”

“And? That shouldn’t matter, they might still be growing!”

“Give them time, they’ll grow into it.”

“It’s been so long since anyone has been part of this dorm, let alone having a dorm leader.”

Three voices, three unseen voices spoke around them, spoke about them?

‘Uhhhh… Crowley said this place was abandoned, it clearly fucking isn’t!’

Staff near their body, Yuuan was one bad scary away from hitting someone with it.

It was silent again, no voices, no whispers, nothing… Like what was ever there was nothing more than their mind playing tricks on them.

It didn’t last long. “Dorm leader!” Three voices cried, in front and to both sides of Yuuan, followed by Yuuan’s on scream of fear and surprise, closing their eyes as they swung their staff, making contact with… Nothing?

“W-Wha?” Blinking their eyes open, they looked around, not seeing the owners of the voices.

“Ah, sorry about that, dorm leader, when ya showed up with the Headmaster we thought he had told ya about us.” Said someone to their left, turning showed a… A ghost? … Yep, that was a ghost, the ghost was tall and lanky, a grey-blue cloak around his shoulders and a dark blue top hat on his head, there was a blue ribbon tied around it.

“... H-Huh?”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that, didn’t think you’d take a swing at us either.” Said enough ghost in front of them, this one was much shorter than the first, though he wasn’t skinny like the other, he wore the same cloak and hat as the first.

“We really didn’t mean to scare you like that, dorm leader, while a good fright isn’t bad every once in a while, we didn’t mean to give you one that bad.” This one was to the right and slightly behind Yuuan, his hands held out as if he meant to catch them if they were to fall from getting spooked, this one was far larger than the other two, while he wasn’t as tall as the first, he was certainly bigger than either of them and wearing the same thing as them.

Yuuan took them each in carefully, now knowing what, or whether who, it was that was here; they weren’t as scared, just confused.

“Ah, but we really can’t tell you how happy we are that you’re here, dorm leader!” The shorter one got closer to Yuuan, trying to get a look at their face from under the hood.

“Now, now, Brodie, give the dorm leader some space, they’ve only just gotten here.” Scolded the larger one, watching as the lanky one pulled them back.

“We’ll have all of this year to get to know them, Brodie, give em a bit, ‘ight?”

They had no clue or idea what was going on, they could only watch as the ghosts talked to each other and them, after a bit of listening but not, they finally spoke up. “U-Umm… What? Why… Why are you calling my dorm leader?? Who are you three and…?? Huh???”

The three looked at each other, shocked and confused.

“W-Well that’s caus-... Wait, was this…”

“Was this your entrance ceremony? For your first year?”

Looking between the lanky ghost and the larger ghost, Yuuan nodded their head, bringing their staff closer to their body.

“... A first year dorm leader! Hahaha!” Brodie laughed, floating over Yuuan and the other ghosts.

“Don’t mind him, but as for the reason we’re calling ya ‘dorm leader’ it’s cause of that staff ya holding, it’s the staff of the dorm leader of Onboro.”

“And as members of this dorm, that makes you our dorm leader, as for our names,” Pointing to the lanky ghost. “He’s Bergman,” The now named Bergman tipped his hat, smiling warmly at Yuuan. “You already heard his name, but he’s Brodie.” Now pointing at the shorter ghost who smiled while upside down, waving at Yuuan who gave a small wave back. “And I’m Stanton, or just Stan works too.” Stanton introduced himself last, also giving Yuuan a smile.

“W-Well… It’s nice to meet you three, uh.. I’m Yuuan and umm… Sorry if I forget your names, I can be pretty bad with them at times…” They breathed, relaxing their grip on their staff, tugging their hood down finally.

“And it’s very nice to know ya name dorm leader, though…” Bergman looked them over, from their dark brown, nearly black hair to their strangely golden eyes as he stared at Yuuan’s face, noting some freckles across them. “And I do hope ya don’t mind me asking nor finding this offensive in any way but…” Clearing his throat, he looked to the other two, seeming to have a conversation that Yuuan wasn’t privy to. “But uhh… Oh geez, why is this kinda hard to ask.”

Coming back down from where he had been floating above, Brodie pushed Bergman aside, looking Yuuan dead in the eyes. “What ‘Mister Stutter-bug’ is tryna ask is, you're a girl ain’t cha? At first none of us could really tell with your hood up and all, that and voice didn’t help either, but looking at cha now… You are one, aren’t cha?”

“Brodie!” The other two ghosts didn’t look pleased with him.

“What? Bergman was taking too long, it's easier to just come out and say it instead of tryna beat around the bush!”

“Wait,” Yuuan started cutting off whatever Bergman and Stanton were going to say. “Was it really that hard to tell? I wasn’t even trying to hide it?? … Huh…”

“See! Didn’t need to beat around the bush!”

“Still! Ya didn’t need to be so blunt about it Brodie, ya could’ve asked a bit nicer like.”

Sighing, Stanton watched as Brodie and Bergman argued, hovering closer down to Yuuan. “Does the Headmaster know? Though, given what we saw, I’m guessing he doesn’t.”

“Given you guys didn’t, I don’t think he does, but that also means everyone at the entrance ceremony doesn’t know either.”

“Hmmm… That might be a good thing but also bad… Though, with how you look you might be fine, if you hadn’t said anything or said no we wouldn’t have questioned it any further, you honestly pass as either an androgynous man or a slightly feminine one, so unless someone looked to closely or saw something they shouldn’t, you should be fine.”

Taking a second to process Stanton’s words, Yuuan raised her fist, looking proud as all hell. “Fuck yeah! I’m still a fucking enigma!” Followed by very gremlin-like laughs.

The three watched Yuuan laughing, confused but also happy to see their dorm leader in much better spirits than when she had entered.

“Ehehe~! On that note, call me anything!” They beamed, holding his staff with both hands. “I never really cared for what pronouns people used for me, he, she, they, any of em works, hell, I’ve even told people to call me a creature for all I cared, but if it makes it easier on you guys, you can just default to she, I don’t mind.”

“Are ya sure dorm leader? Ya really don’t mind at all?”

“Nope~!” Giggling, she swayed side to side. “In fact, I’ve always liked it when people use different ones, even in the same sentence~. Sure, that can get confusing, but it always made me happy.”

“If you’re sure then, Yuuan, we’ll try our best to do just that, though if others are here that

don’t

know, we’ll try to stick to he and they, is that still fine?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Ha! You

just

showed up and already you’re a perfect fit for this dorm!”

The four of them were all cut off by the sound of rain hitting the roof, a steady pounding beat that gradually grew louder, this rain also let Yuuan know that the roof had leaks in it.

“Ah, we best be getting some buckets and whatnot, don’t want our freshie dorm leader to step in puddles or anything when he gets up in the morning.”

“Can I help too? I don’t want you guys doing all the work, seeing as you were here before me and all…”

“That’d be more than welcomed Yuuan, Bergman, Brodie, you two work on cleaning up this area so Yuuan has a place to rest, we’ll have to take a better look around to see if any of the rooms are clean or safe enough for you to sleep if,” Nodding their heads, the two got to work, Brodie heading out and to another room to grab something…? “And while those two do that, we can get some buckets from one of the closets.”

“Ight!”

Following Stanton, they two headed in the opposite direction that Brodie went, getting to the closet was easy, trying to bring back all the buckets wasn’t, Stanton had most of them, watching as Yuuan struggled with the rest and their staff, but they managed, looking proud as they did so.

“Gyaaaaaaaa!!!!” Though that was put on pause when a scream rang out from the main room.

Pausing, the two looked at each other, listening as it sounded like the room was being turned upside down and some very pissed off animal sounds, the two hurried back, uncaring if some buckets were being dropped.

What greeted them was a more destroyed room than before, char and claw marks now adding to it, and the table blocking the fireplace, where the pissed off sounds were now coming from.

“... Do I even wanna know what happened?”

“Hehe, nothing we couldn’t deal with, dorm leader!” Brodie was keeping the table in place while Bergman was putting out any fires still lit, fires that were… Blue.

“Musta snuck before ya and the headmaster showed up, the rain spooked it out of hiding.”

“Ok but… Won’t the table just burn? Wait no… Guessing that fireplace hasn’t been cleaned in a good long while if nothing is going up in flames yet.”

“And you’d be correct, if it tried it would smoke itself out.”

With Brodie keeping the table in place and whatever it was in the fireplace, the other three got to work setting out the buckets and some bowls, probably grabbed from the kitchen, all of them doing their best to tidy the place up.

“... Ok, I’m starting to get annoyed with all its screeching, let the damn thing out, won’t you…” She paused, trying to remember his name. “... Fuck, uh… I forgot.”

“Brodie.”

“Brodie, thank you, let the damn thing out, won’t you Brodie?”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure, not gonna get any sleep if it keeps up.”

Shrugging, he did as asked, moving the table and letting a grey blur bolt from the fireplace.

“Y-Y-You stupid ghosts! You think you can keep the Great Grim trapped!?”

‘Hold up, wasn’t he kicked out?’

Grim stood on the other side of the room, as far from the ghost, and Yuuan, as he could. “Ha!” He was trying his best to not show how much the ghosts had scared him. “Guess' cause you let me out means you realized it wouldn’t work anymore!” Chest puffed out in faux pride, paws on his hips, Grim looked like he could take on the world,

if

you ignored the fact his fur was poofed up and that he was shaking.

“Grim, how’d you even get back in?”

Grim jumped, having not noticed them during all of that. “Nyaa!?” His fur seemed to poof up even more. “Oh, it's you… Human! Don’t scare the Great Grim like that, you best be glad I didn’t use my fire or you’d be nothing more than a charred pile now! Gyahaha!” Yuuan just stared blankly at Grim, waiting for him to answer her question. “As for your question human, sneaking back into the school again is easy peasy for me. No sweat.”

“Uhuh, so you broke back into the school you were

just

kicked out of.” Leaning against his staff, they looked down at Grim, watching as he started to relax, probably cause he wasn’t alone with the ghosts anymore. “Why do you even wanna go to

this

school specifically? Seems like a lot of work just for a school.”

“That's simple! I'm a genius who is destined to be a great mage!” Grim seemed genuinely happy as he talked, like he’s been waiting for someone to ask. “I've been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to pick me up. But... but…” And there went all his happiness, taken out just like that and replaced with annoyance. “Hmph! The Dark Mirror just doesn't have an eye for this. So that's why I came here on my own.” For Grim to break in was impressive, but he also broke into a prestigious school at that. “Not letting me in would be a loss for the world. Humans just don't get it.”

“Well… The fact you broke in, not just once, but twice is pretty impressive to me, either means you’re a genius, like you said, and got the stuff for this school,
whatever that is,
or it means the school is seriously lacking in security.”

Yuuan’s words made Grim swell up with pride, happy that someone was acknowledging the genius that he was.

“But, the fact you break in

at all

is bad in and of itself Grim.” And there goes Grim’s happiness again. “I still don’t completely understand why you’re so hellbent on joining the school but… Ah, I’d say I could help you but I really can’t, even though I was sorted Crowley doesn’t see me as a student here, that and no magic…

Kind of

, still need to figure out the magic I

do

have even if I’d get no help with it…”

“Yuuan? You actually

can

help the monster.”

“... The fuck you mean I can???”

“Hehehe~. As the dorm leader of Onboro you hold a lot more power than the other dorm leaders, hell, you hold the most power out of the entire student body!”

“Ya also, technically, have more power than even the headmaster, not that any of them really made use of that fact very often, it’s also a secret of this dorm, so don’t go telling no one.”

Yuuan and Grim stared blankly at the ghost, each taking their time to process what the three had said.

“... Wait so like… I can go

behind

Crowley’s back and make Grim a student here?? Even though he didn’t show up like a student should????”

“It’s not really going behind his back, it’s more so something expected of Onboro’s leader.”

Mouth gaped like a fish, Yuuan turned his gaze to the ground, glaring now. “Is that another reason Crowley didn’t want me here?? Fucker didn’t want a student to have more power than him?? … Bitch…”

“Wait what, dorm leader, what do ya mean that the headmaster didn’t want ya here?”

“Uhh… Well… It kind of goes back to the thing I said about me not having any magic but also

having

magic, I got… Lost magic?? Or something, just…

Really

old magic that no one would be able to teach me at this school, and that I don’t got any magic that people

now

use, but I can act like a sponge and… Absorb the magic here to fill my soul??? With the magic everyone else has, but uh yeah, it’s the ‘not having magic I can use right now’ thing…”

“So the headmaster was going to send you back, the first member of Onboro in

100

years, just cause you don’t have magic you can use

right now

? Is that right Yuuan?” Stanton stressed, him and the others looking around to ‘talk’ to Crowley.

“Uhhh… Yeah, pretty much.”

“I think we be needing to have a ‘chat’ with the headmaster, don’t ya two.”

“Yep!/Likewise.”

All three looked ready to start scheming, though stopped at Yuuan’s words. “Soooo… How can I help Grim? Cause like… I’m ready to be petty about this.”

“Yeah! How can the human help me become a student!”

“Well, it all depends on where… Grim? Was it?” Both Yuuan and Grim nodded. “Where Grim wants to go, if it’s one of the other dorms, normally the dorm leader of that dorm would also be present but given how late it is, that part can be overlooked, it's also not a requirement simply a preference for the other dorms, but either way, it only requires an oath to be said, after that, the magic takes care of it all.”

“... Ok uh… One, what oaths?? And two,

are we sure I can do this??

Cause like, whole ‘no magic can use’ thing?”

“The oaths are unique to each of Onboro’s dorm leaders, as for the second thing… It should be fine.” Bergman and Brodie nodded their heads at Stanton’s words.

“Yeah! Each dorm leader has their own thing, it’s how you know someones the leader of Onboro”

“It’ll be easy for ya, don’t think too hard on it, the words will come to ya, so Grim, where ya wanna go?”

“Ooooor~! If you don’t know which one to pick, could always have our dorm leader here pick for you, they can see which dorm would fit cha best!”

“... I CAN DO THAT???”

“Yes, you’re like… A portable Dark Mirror, but where’s the mirror would simply place someone in a dorm that best suits their soul and magic,

you’d

know which dorm would suit them

best

.”

“... Wait so… The dorm the mirror places you in might

not

be the best match for that person, but would best suit their soul and magic…? Huh… That… That does make sense, not everyone would fit into the dorm the same as others… But wait, does that mean Onboro might not be the best fit for me? The Dark Mirror said it would…”

“Ah, Onboro is different in that sense, most don’t get sorted into this dorm, unlike how ya did, most if not all of Onboro’s members were other dorms students, if ya get sorted into Onboro it’s because you truly

belong

there, only dorm like it.”

“

Other dorms students??

… The oaths play a role in that too I’m guessing.”

“Yep!”

Sighing, Yuuan turned to Grim who had stars in his eyes, probably since hearing that Yuuan could make him a student, that, if he wanted, he could pick any dorm to be in. “Well Grim? Looks like you get to pick, pick out your own dorm or let me… See? Which dorm would fit into best, choice is yours.”

Looking between the four, Grim thought, based on how the dorm leader's he had seen at the entrance ceremony, he didn’t wanna go anywhere

near

the dorms Riddle and Azul were in charge of, maybe the happy-go-lucky guys dorm? Or even the lion guys' dorm, ooooo, what of the dorm who’s leader wasn’t there… He couldn’t pick. “Mmmgmm… I can’t pick, all of them would be blessed to have the Great Grim in them, so… I’ll let you pick human! And you better pick a good one!”

“He, alright, though, I’m not sure how to do this, I’ll try my best, Grim.”

“Don’t worry Yuuan, like with the oath, you’ll know what to do, though it might be hard or seem weird, try to focus on Grim’s magic, on his soul, like how the Dark Mirror does, the magic it uses might be one none can feel, but it’s one that Onboro’s dorm leader is able to use.” Stanton patted Yuuan on the shoulder, which felt very strange to them, as he and the other two backed up, to give Yuuan and Grim space.

“Ight… Ok then, easier said than done… Now to just… Focus… Also easier said than done.” Taking a deep breath, he closed their eyes, staff held in her hand as he tried to focus on Grim, trying to focus on all that he was.

For a while it didn’t seem like it was working, they didn’t know what he was looking for, couldn’t ‘find’ anything, just as Yuuan was ready to give up, she felt it, something that was so inexplicably

Grim

, and with it, he knew some much more, which dorm would help his magic grow, which one he’d never be a part of, and which was his

home

. “

Onboro

.” They said as she opened his eyes. “Your home is in Onboro, Grim.” The ghosts silently cheered behind them. “Yes, there

is

a dorm that would help your magic grow and it’s the dorm the Dark Mirror

would

have sorted you into but,” They walked toward Grim, kneeling on the ground. “Your true home lies here, in Onboro, with us.” She smiled, his hand held out in front of Grim. “I don’t have any students, Grim, so it’d just be us and the ghosts, but if you joined, you’d be my first student, the first student sworn into Onboro in

years

, the first monster one at that, so, whaddya say? Wanna join my dorm and get the recognition you deserve,

and

likely get added to the history books for this school.”

Grim looked close to tears, looking up at Yuuan with so much hope in his eyes it's a wonder how he hadn’t lost it all yet. “Ya sure this is the best place for me human… You’re not just saying that cause ya got no one else…?”

“Of course not, Grim, I don’t know what it is I saw, but… But somehow I

knew

that it was you and… And I knew you’d find your home

here

, that you’d be so much happier here then wherever the Dark Mirror would have placed you, this is your

home

Grim, it’s been your home since you got here.”

Tearing up now, Grim placed both his paws in Yuuan’s hand, looking up at them as he did. “... Then ya better feel blessed human! Cause the Great Grim will be joining your dorm!”

“I already do.” They smiled, standing up to face the ghost. “Sooo… Now just the oath right? To make Grim one of my students?”

“That’s all that’s left, though, as you said, Grim would be the first monster, first Dire beast, to be sworn in, so while it should be fine, we’re not sure what might happen.”

“And if ya’d let us, we’d like to take the oath too, get re-sworn back into the dorm now that we got a leader.”

“Yeah! It’ll be great to be part of the dorm again as a whole and not just from haunting the place!”

“Uh, sure, I don’t mind, just… Well… Guess we’ll see what words I pick, huh?”

All four of them nodded, waiting for the oath special to Yuuan and maybe even to this moment.
 
With staff in front of them, held in both eyes, Yuuan begun.

“So scattered are we of this ancient dorm,

To long alone have we weathered the storm,

Of past and future, of time we deny,

So grand are we like the moonless night sky,

The oldest of hearts, the grandest of lies,

It is long since overdue for this dorm to give them a surprise,

To our founder I call, atop his mountain peak,

To our founder I plead, to let in those who seek,

Who seek to be different, those who are unique,

To be set apart, to join us they are not weak,

So I ask once more to our darkened mountain lord,

Let those four in, let them join us, let them have this reward,

To dance with us now, to live without worry,

To sing and make merry, till light comes at last, only then we must hurry,

To you four I ask now, to you four who stand before me,

Will you take that chance? To dance and sing, to be mine but also free?”

“I do!” Brodie said first.

“I do.” Next was Stanton.

“I do.” Then Bergman.

And finally. “... I do!” Grim.

“I make this vow, in the here and now,

So all will know, Onboro will never bow,

These four are mine, since they first knew my name,

Till the end of all time, they are mine to claim,

Before the Black God, our founder on high,

That from now till forever, we’ll never say goodbye,

With these words, I now close this oath of old,

Forever till now, the memories we make will be worth more than gold.”

Rising their staff up, Yuuan banged the end on the ground, watching and

feeling

as the little flame within the hollow left, circling around each of them, starting with Brodie and ending with Grim, as it yet more flames joined it, the ghosts own flames were all the same, colorless, but Grim’s, Grim’s was a bright blue just like his own flames, once Yuuan’s own flame, for what else could it be, returned to the hollow, flames surrounded each of the four and while nothing seemed to have changed once the flames were gone, Yuuan knew something was different, that and Grim now had a light purple gemstone that hung from his ribbon.

“Welcome to Onboro Grim!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

While they were celebrating, though it was mostly Grim, Crowley had managed to sneak his way in without any of them noticing.

“Good evening. I have graciously brought you supper.” Pausing, the five in the room before looked at Crowley as he stared at them, more specifically Grim. “You're the monster that ran amuck during the entrance ceremony! I threw you out of the school. What are you doing here!?”

“Hehe~! I’m a student here now, this human made it so, I’m a student of Onboro dorm!”

“You’re a what now?!”

“Ah well… I

kind of

made Grim a student, uh,

my

student, the ghosts told me I could, that I could find what dorm would be Grim’s home and well… It was Onboro, Onboro was Grim’s home,

is

his home, it… It always has been.” Yuuan said meekly, tugging at their sleeve.

“Yuuan, that was very irresponsible of you, you’re not even a student here, let alone the dorm leader, and to let a monster join, what were you even-”

“Actually, headmaster.” Stanton cut him off, ‘standing’ in front of Yuuan. “Yuuan had every right to, given that they

are

the dorm leader of Onboro, they even said their oath, an oath which has taken root in each of us, an oath

you

can’t undo.”

“And ya know that each oath is different, each one unique to that person, to that time, and he said his, we felt the magic from it.”

“Yeah, so no take backsies, you know the rules headmaster.”

All three ghosts backed Yuuan up, not letting up on Crowley, slowly trying to corner him.

“I-I… I know that, you three don’t have to gang up on me, but Yuuan has only been here less than a day, they hardly know what it means to be Onboro’s dorm leader, let alone the power of that position, I understand you three are happy that Onboro

has

a dorm leader again, but Yuuan can’t attend this school, they don’t have any magic they can

use

right now.”

“They said I have more power than anyone at school, even more than

you

…”

“Yes, well… Yuuan, you must understand, what you have done I can’t undo it, Grim is now part of this dorm-”

“I know, that’s why I did it.”

“

But

, as you are not a student here, neither is Grim I’m afraid, as such he’ll not be able to attend any of the classes here.”

“What?! Even after all that I’m still not a student!?” Grim huffed, stomping his foot and glaring up at the headmaster, ready to burn Crowley.

“Wait what, no, Grim’s a student now, that… That shouldn’t count! Just cause

you

don’t recognize me as a student doesn’t mean the Dark Mirror doesn’t, hell,

you

even thought I was a student before! So why the hell, after finding out I can’t use the one magic I have, did that change!? Why did that one thing make you change your mind?! I showed up here just like everyone else, I got here the same fucking way, so why, why is it my lack of magic, lack of

useable

magic, that changes everything!?” The flames within the hollow burned brighter, monochrome, colorless and blue dancing together, five different flames all burning as one.

“I told you my reasons, I understand this is unfair-”

“If you understand so much, then fucking act like you do.”

Something in their eyes made Crowley flinch, though it went unnoticed, and take a half step back. “... Let’s… Get off this topic for a bit, or at least change focus, Yuuan, how did you even convince Grim to join Onboro?”

Yuuan closed their eyes, taking slow breaths as to not bash in Crowley’s head with their staff. “I didn’t do anything really… Just… Told him, told him that Onboro is his home, sure I know where the Dark Mirror

would

have placed him but this, this dorm? It’s his home, it has been since he set foot here, nothing else really…”

Placing a clawed hand on his chin, Crowley hummed, thinking as he looked at Yuuan then Grim. “Hmmm… I wonder…”

Yuuan looked to the ghosts first, but they didn’t seem to know what Crowley was thinking, before looking down at Grim, both of them confused.

“Ah, headmaster, before ya say and or do whatever it is ya thinking about, we, or rather Yuuan, have something important to tell ya.” Bergman cut through the silence, gesturing to Yuuan for them to speak.

“I do…?” Thinking took a bit, unsure what Bergman meant till it hit them. “Oh right! Uh, Crowley… Wait fuck, this might just be another reason you’ll not want me to be a student here… Uuugggghhhh… But uh, anyway, I’m a girl, or well… Born one, don’t really care if people call more one or not, fine with being called anything really, but uh, yeah, that was… That was the important thingy.”

“Ah.” That might have broken Crowley. “... That… That saves me from asking as I couldn’t find the right time to… But, you are right, as you have probably guessed, this is an all boys academy, and although you might not care much for your gender identity, others here likely will, though… That uncaring attitude toward your gender might be why the Dark Mirror

could

find you in the first place, or maybe it has nothing to do with that at all. Thank you for telling me Yuuan, I’ll talk with Sam in the morning so that way you’ll be able to get any needed products that Onboro would be

very

clearly lacking.”

“Oh yeah… Uh, thanks… Sorry for yelling, it’s just… Been a lot and too much happening at once…”

“You’re welcome Yuuan and apology accepted.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Once everyone had calmed down and Yuuan, and Grim, had eaten, and the ghosts told Crowley how Yuuan got Grim to agree to join their dorm, he spoke up. “Now that your… Bellies are full, I have… Well… Call it my intuition as an educator, if you will, but I believe that you, Yuuan, might have talent as a trainer or beast tamer since the uproar during the entrance ceremony.”

“... A what?”

“A beast tamer, one who can tame beasts or even monsters, though all known tamers have only been known to tame creatures, beasts, but never monsters, at least, not anymore, not like you have with Grim.”

“Hnn!? The human didn’t tame me! I’m here cause I’m a student!”

“Yeah, I… I didn’t do anything, even with that the ghosts told you, I just.. Talked? And yeah… Not, uh, not much?”

“Still, even that much proves that you are, or might be, a beast tamer, one who is able to tame monsters, or at least one, at that, maybe… Maybe it

is

a good thing the Dark Mirror brought you here when it did… Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there, hmmm…”

“Eh, it looked like… Uhhh… The two guys who were chasing Grim would have had it even if I didn’t step in, but well… You probably wouldn’t have found Grim in the library… He’d have probably still been in the mirror room, so that probably would have started sooner…”

“You’re probably right on that, however, you did help, even if you think it was small, it was still helpful nonetheless.” Crowley patted Yuuan’s shoulder, standing from the couch and grabbing his coat. “Now then, it’s quite late out, and as much as that couch is good for sitting on, you’ll need to find a better place to sleep…”

“Way ahead of ya headmaster.”

“Yeah! There’s a room that’s still pretty put together, still needs some fixing up and stuff, but we cleaned it up the best we could while the dorm leader and Grim were eating.”

“You guys didn’t have to! I could have done that!”

“Nonsense, Yuuan, you’re the dorm leader here, it’s the least we can do.”

“Well, there is only one more thing I’ve to say before I leave.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“As you aren’t officially a student, or dorm leader, which in turn means Grim isn’t,” This getting a grumble out of Grim and a small glare out of Yuuan. “Your stay in this dorm will be free,”

“Better fucking be…”

“But, other necessities you will have to provide for yourself, but given you have nothing to your name… Fufu, here is my proposition.”

Shifting, Yuuan watched Crowley. “... Ook??” Wondering what it was.

“You, and Grim, becoming the handymen of the school, doing maintenance and odd jobs around campus. This way you will receive special permission to remain on school grounds as while as a means to earn Madol.”

“Madol?”

“The currency of Twisted Wonderland.”

“Ah, ok.”

“I shall also allow the usage of the library for you to gather information on how to return to your world and for learning purposes. For I am gracious.” Pride in his voice, he turned to face Yuuan and Grim, putting on a stern voice now. “However! Only after your work is done.”

“Eeeh!? I'm not okay with that!”

“I’m with Grim on this, we really shouldn’t be made to work just to earn our keep.”

“I wanna wear that fancy uniform and be an

actual

student!”

“If you're unsatisfied with that, fine. I'll simply toss you out again.” Was spoken to Grim, earning a glare from Yuuan.

“

Try it and you won’t even make it to the door

.” Yuuan’s voice was like ice, her words cutting deep, freezing Crowley’s very being, and even though his words were directed

only

at him, Grim, and even the ghosts, felt as the room dropped in temperature.

“E-Eh?! H-Human…? You, uh… Y-You don’t have to do that! T-The Great Grim can t-take care of himself! B-But I do a-a-appreciate it.”

“Huh? Ah, you’re welcome Grim, but I’m being serious about that, he can’t and

won’t

kick you out, you are

mine

, you are part of

my

dorm.” Though some of Yuuan’s words were still biting, Grim felt warmed by the knowledge that Yuuan would fight for him, he did his best to keep the purr down that threatened to bubble out.

“... H-Ha… Ahahaha, I-I was merely joking Yuuan, I w-wouldn’t

dream

of doing such a thing, b-but as you can see, Grim will not listen to me, only you, just a bit of… Ah… ‘Tough love’? As it were…” Crowley coughed, clearing his throat.

“Better have been… But fine, we’d really have nothing else to do anyway, so we might as well…”

“Wonderful. Then, you two, devote yourselves to working as janitors at Night Raven College starting tomorrow!” Bowing, Crowley made for the door. “I now wish you a goodnight, when I am able to, I’ll see about fixing up some things for you tomorrow, mainly the water and electricity, to make your stay here a more comfortable one. For I am gracious.”

“Thanks Crowley, goodnight.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Dorm leader, Grim, ya both gotta get up now, ya can’t keep sleeping.”

“Unnn... munyaaa... Five more minutes…” Grim burrowed deeper into the blankets, Yuuan following in kind.

“Don’t wanna…”

“Come on dorm leader! If you don’t get up, we’ll have to make cha!”

“Mmgmmm… Noooo….” At this point Yuuan was doing his best impression of a turtle.

“Yuuan, we know you didn’t get the best sleep, that neither of you did, but it’s either we wake you or the headmaster will.”

It was silent as Yuuan peeked her head out. “...” Whining, Yuuan tried to go back to sleep, but gave up on that quickly, sitting up. “

Fiiine

.” Blankets now around their waist, they nudged Grim. “Griiiiiiimmmm… Get up, we gotta eat and shit before Crowley gets here… Or eat while he’s here… Either way, get up, the faster we work the faster we get to the… Book place…”

“‘Library’? Ya mean?”

“Yea, that… Am too eepy for this.”

Groaning, Grim glared up at Yuuan, also wanting to go back to sleep, instead he followed Yuuan’s lead. “Munyaaa… Don’t see

why

we have to do what that birdbrain says, ain’t cha meant to have more power than him human? Why we gotta listen to him, anyway!”

“Cause Grim, he’s the headmaster and I don’t know shit right now… But I am

soooo

gonna use that fact at

some

point, just gotta wait and all.”

The ghosts left as Yuuan got out of bed, giving her space to change back into the robes from before. He had slept in a large shirt that was left behind in one of the many drawers that hadn’t been ruined in any way… Much; it was missing some buttons and had some holes but it was better than sleeping in the underclothes from the robes, leaving what was now theirs and Grim’s room, the two headed for the kitchen while Yuuan used one hand to brush out her hair, the other holding his staff, Crowley had thankfully brought more than just supper last night, he was even kind enough to place a sleep on the food so it would last longer, meaning the two had

something

to eat at least.

“Hey… How long you think it’ll be before Crowley shows up?”

As if their very words were magic, Crowley walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, you two. Did you sleep well?”

“Speak of the devil…”

“I was sprawled out then I fell out the bottom of the bed!” Grim complained, pausing his eating to get it out. “Just how ramshackle did you let this place get?”

“Given the ghosts said it’s been 100 years since there’s been a student here, I’d say a 100 years worth of neglect. Anyway, as for how I slept… Like shit… I kept waking up to every little sound, and yeah, woke up to Grim falling, sooo… Yeah, it was awful.” Yuuan sighed, picking at her food, not really hungry this early in the morning.

“It's only natural to feel anxious when you find yourself thrown into an unfamiliar environment.”

“Understatement of the fucking century…”

“That said, reality can often be harsh... Accept your situation and move on!”

If Yuuan wasn’t so tired they’d have glare at Crowley, as it was, all he was a deadpan from him.

“I came to speak to you about your work today.”

“Oh yeah, well… Can ya wait till we… Or I guess till Grim is done eating? Cause I’m good.”

“Dorm leader, ya sure? Ya didn’t eat much.”

“Yeah, I’m sure, I don’t normally eat much in the morning or at least when I first wake up, I’ll be fine.”

“If ya sure, I’ll put it back for later though, in case ya get hungry at any point or even for lunch.”

“Thanks… Uhhh…”

“Heeheehee, ya forgot my name, didn’t ya?”

“... Yeeaaahh… Sorry…”

“Ya warned us about that dorm leader, ya fine, Bergman.”

“Yeah, sorry, but uh, thanks Bergman.”

“Ya welcome dorm leader.”

While Grim was finishing his food and Bergman putting Yuuan’s leftovers away, Yuuan and Crowley headed toward the main room, it didn’t take long for Grim to join them, standing beside Yuuan with his paws on his hips.

“Today you are to clean the campus.”

‘... I’m sorry what.’

“...But the campus is quite large. Cleaning every nook and cranny without magic would be impossible.”

‘

Usable

magic, I gots magic fucknugget.’

“So for today, I'd like you to clean the Main Street area from the main gate to the library. Understood?” Getting a nod from Yuuan, Crowley continued. “Please keep a close eye on Grim so he doesn't cause a scene like yesterday.”

“I’ll try but I make no promises, don’t have a way to stop him from using magic nor do I wanna take a body shot from it if I try to stop it.”

“I'm counting on you. You have permission to have lunch in the school cafeteria.”

“Woooooo… Free food…!”

“All right then. Work enthusiastically.” And with that, Crowley left.

“Tsk... No way I'm doing any cleaning.”

“... Grim.”

“I wanna go to class and use a bunch of awesome spells, like, ‘bang! Boom boom boom!’”

“And I’m sorry you can’t, but you at least get to stay here, in a dorm too, and we can head to the library after to study stuff too, so it’s not a complete loss, just means… Self study and working at our own pace with that, I mean hell, I gotta do that too, cause like, I gots magic too, just one that’s old as all fucking hell… Now come on, we gotta find stuff to clean with before we can even start.”

Huffing, Grim followed after Yuuan as they left the dorm, making the long walk back to Main Street.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The two finally made it to Main Street, they had also found supplies to help them clean, Yuuan was also doing their best to not look at the statues again, she wasn’t sure if he’d have a repeat of last night, but they weren’t about to find out, the work was made easier though by the fact they didn’t need to hold her staff; the ghosts had shown him a trick with it, that, if the dorm leader wanted, it would float behind their back, like something out of a video game.“Uwaaaah~ Amazing. So this is Main Street.” Grim, on the other hand, had no such reservations. “I didn't get a good look yesterday, but what's with these statues? All seven of them look pretty scary.” He was standing in front of the Queen of Hearts statue, looking up at her. “This granny looks especially snobby.”Snorting, Yuuan coughed, turning to Grim. “That’s the Queen of Hearts, and if she heard you saying that, then it’d be off with your head.” The strange feeling was still there, but it wasn’t like before, wasn’t as overwhelming, which was good.“Gya! She would?! Just for that?? Wait a second… Henchman!”
‘“Henchman”? Since when was I that?’
“I thought ya said you knew nothing!? So how do you know who she is?!?”“Uh… Well… I know who each of them is, it’s… It’s really the only thing I do know and… And I’m not sure why, but yeah, she would Grim, she was a strict and severe Queen.”“Huh… Well… If you know so much about em… Tell me more! What else do ya know about her?”Neither of them noticed that someone was watching them, that someone had been ready to step forward when Grim first called the Queen of Hearts a ‘granny’, and now said someone just watched, intrigued by what Grim had said, how this person knew nothing but knew who the Queen of Hearts was and from the sounds of it, who the other Great Seven were.“Uh well… The Queen of Hearts ruled over Wonderland from within the Rose Maze, but Wonderland was a world full of madness, a world of madness she tried to bring order to, because of that the rules she made were just as mad as the people who called Wonderland home, even the Queen herself became just as mad as everyone else, or maybe she was mad to being with, whatever it was… Well, that doesn’t matter, but she was someone who ruled out of fear, not respect, everyone in Wonderland feared her and they had a good reason to…”“Why? Why’d they fear her?!”“Cause if they didn’t listen, if they didn’t do as she demanded or they didn’t follow the rules, it was off with their head, hell, even just making her mad was enough for her to take someone’s head.”Grim’s ears pinned down, looking up at the statue with fear. “That's terrifying!”“Though… Not everyone feared her… The King didn’t… He, from what I can remember, was the only person who didn’t, he was her husband after all, he might have been the only person who loved her… He was at least the only person who could calm her anyhow, and while he might have feared her power , he never once feared her .”“Eh? Even with everything she did?”“Yep! As I said, he loved her, he knew she’d never turn her blade towards him, at least not with the intention to behead him.”“Huh… Weird…”“Eh, love is, but it’s also Wonderland. As I said, it’s a world full of madness and the people who live there are just as mad, so it’s not that surprising.”The stranger was impressed, whoever this person was, as they had forgotten their name, but not who those two were.
‘Now that I think about it… That redhead… Didn’t he say something about her rules or the like? And… What he yelled that got a collar on Grim… It’s the exact same thing the Queen of Hearts loved to yell… Huh…’
“Oooo! Hey, hey!” Grim ran over to Scar’s statue next. “Henchman! What about this one? This lion with a scar, what about him?”“Scar? Uhh well… Give me a sec, it’s been a while…”“‘Scar’ huh? Who’d name their kid Scar?”“Oh, that! That’s not his real or uhhh… Birth name, he renamed himself that, cause of well… That scar over his eye I’m pretty sure.” Pausings, Yuuan hummed. ‘Kind of like the one that lion man has… Weird…’ “Woooaaa, how’d he even get it, anyway? And what’s his deal? Is he a King or something?”“Uhh… How he got his scar ummm…. Fuck, give me a sec on that one, as for the ‘King’ thing, uhh… He’s the ‘or something’ part, he was the second born Prince of the Pride Lands and uhh… Ooo! Wait, remembered how he got his scar, it was from a buffalo, that’s how, uh, anyway, he was the second born Prince, a… A spare, if anything, which he grew to resent that fact, as such he grew to hate his older brother, Mufasa, who was in line to be King and eventually made King, even with that Scar was still next in line though, until his nephew was born, Simba, after that, any chance of the throne being his was lost…”“That musta sucked, thinking you’d have a chance only for it to be ripped away…”“Yeah, but it gets worse…”“... How??”“Uh well… In the Pride Lands, all the creatures there were part of a circle, the Circle of Life, all of them were needed in some way, from the biggest of them, to the smallest, all of them were part of it, all of them were needed , however… Even with that, some were… Kicked out? In a way, being the hyenas, hyenas which Scar used to do his dirty work… Said work included helping him kill his brother and nearly killing his nephew.”“Eep!”“And even though he did kill Mufasa, even though he had the chance to kill Simba… He didn’t, he let Simba live.”“E-Eh?! Why’d he do that? Wouldn’t that just get in the way of him being King?”“ If Simba stuck around, but Scar got into his head, chased him off with guilt, told him it was his fault his father was dead, that Mufasa was dead, that he should run and never return… But, in my opinion… It’s cause he couldn’t bring himself to kill the cub, that, even though Scar despised Simba’s existence, he didn’t hate Simba, just what he represented, so while, yes, he did hate Mufasa he didn’t hate Simba, Scar had grown up in Mufasa’s shadow his whole life, probably was constantly compared to him too, something I think happened with Simba too, so why wouldn’t he hate his brother, but his nephew, who was still a cub at the time, would have had to deal with that same shadow, would have understand to some degree what it was like… Uh, whatever it was, Scar let him live, and for a good while Scar was King…”“How’d that work out for him?”“Not well… Kind of over-hunted I think, uh, there wasn’t a lot of food for everyone and everything kind of started to die… So none of the lioness’s that were there were happy, uh, anyway, Simba ended up coming back and the two fought for the right to be King-”“What happened next!”“Let me speak Grim, anyway, the two fought and Simba won. Simba threw Scar from off the Pride Rock, leaving him before the hyenas… But even they were starving, so with Scar cornered and at their mercy… They tore him to bits, leaving nothing behind… And leaving Simba as King.”“Egh… For them to turn their backs on the guy… He must have been horrible!”“Yeah, he kind of was… Uhh, anyway, which one next?”“Hey hey! I think you might be getting some things wrong there.” Seems the stranger was done with hiding, even if he wanted to hear more, no matter how wrong the version they were saying was.“Huh?” Both turned around to see who had spoken up.He was a good head taller than Yuuan, with messy orangey-brown hair and cherry red eyes, covering his left eye was a red heart, he was wearing what, Yuuan guessed, was the school uniform, the blazer was black with golden buttons and gold lining the lapel, the inside of it was red, on his left arm was a ribbon with, again it was a guess, his dorms symbol on it, the ribbon was red and black, on the same side he had a single black glove, he vest was the same red as the inside of his blazer, a white button up was under it with a black-and-white striped tie over the shirt, his pants, held up with a belt, were the same black as his blazer, a single gold stripe on either side of his pants and red and white high tops finished the look off.“Uhh.. I am?”“Yeah! While what you said about the Queen of Hearts was mostly right, everything you said about the King of Beast is just plain wrong.”“... Ook? So… So you gonna tell us the right version?”“If ya want me to, I will.”“Tell me, tell me!”“Alright, alright! Let’s start over, with the Queen of Hearts.” Walking over to her statue, he waited for Grim and Yuuan to come back over. “Now, you got the part about her having lived in the Rose Maze right, some other things you got wrong. She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all, strict in all things from the march of the Card Soldiers to the color of rose bushes.”“So strict that she even took heads from any if the roses were white, even if they painted them red.”He paused, taking a quick glance at Yuuan before he continued. “It was a land of madness where all submitted to her rule. Why, you ask?”“Because or else it was off with your head!” They said at the same time.“I already said that, didn’t I?”“... You did, but, ya know, gotta make sure it sticks.”“Hmm…”“Eugh… Hearing that a second time doesn’t make it any less terrifying!”“She's cool! I like her style.” The stranger hummed, crossing his arms as he looked up at her statue. “Nobody would listen to a queen who's just nice all the time, right?”“But no one would respect a queen who cut off anyone’s head at the slightest inclination, no matter the reason…”“Huh, I suppose. A strong leader is better.”“Not really…”“By the way, who're you?”“I'm Ace. A fresh-faced first year. Nice to meetcha.”Before Yuuan could even speak, Grim beat them. “I am Grim, a genius who'll become the greatest mage.” Gesturing to Yuuan. “The dimwit over here is Yuuan. They're my henchmen.”“You've got an odd sounding name.”“I could say the same about yours, not sure when I became a henchman… But um… Yeah, it’s… It’s nice to meet you, Ace, and uh, thanks? I guess? For uh… Re-telling this for us? Uh… Yeah…”“Hey, Ace. You called the lion here the King of Beast, ya also said my henchman got his story wrong, so what’s his deal?”“Heh, this is the King of Beast who rules the savanna.”
“Ah so… Pre Simba coming back then…”
“However, he was not born to be king, which Yuuan got right, but he took the throne through effort and elaborate planning.”
“Aka killing his brother…”
“After becoming king, he even invited the hyenas, the outcasts of the savannah, to live in his kingdom without discrimination.”“Ooh. He's as cool as rock 'n' roll for seeing past uh, social status, was it? I like your version better.”“Gee thanks Grim, not like I was telling the version I know, which is the right one mind you, but… Eh, nevermind…”“Who's the lady with octopus legs next to him?” Running to the statue in between the Queen of Hearts and the ‘King of Beast’, Scar, Grim stood before Ursula’s statue.“The Sea Witch-”“Ursula.”“-who lives in a cavern in the deep.” At Yuuan’s slight cut off, Ace gave them a sharp look, quickly going back to that easy going smile of his. “She made it her life's work to help all unfortunate merfolk.”
“Not out of the goodness of her heart, mind you…”
“Apparently as long as you pay the price, she will fulfill any request, from changing your appearance to helping you find love-you name it.”“It’s a steep price though, one that not many could even dream of paying in time.”“If it was within her power, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do. And like Yuuan just said, her prices were pretty high. Well, that makes sense since she can grant anything.”“Nyaaa ha! So what you're saying is that I can get rich if I become a great mage!?”“That can be said about any kind of occupation, Grim…”“Then, what about this man in the big hat?” Next, Grim ran to Jafar’s statue on the other side of the street from the first three.“The Sorcerer of the Sands.”“Jafar.”“He was a cunning vizier to a foolish sultan-”“True.”“-and saw through the fake prince who was actually a street rat trying to deceive the princess.”“Eeehhh…”“Then he obtained a magic lamp and rose to become the most powerful sorcerer of all!”“If you can call turning himself into a genie that, then yeah, he did…”“With that power, they say, he became sultan.”
“Well… Not entirely wrong, just, ya know… Becoming a genie after the fact and being trapped within a lamp forever…”
“Ho hoh! So it is important for mages to be an excellent judge of character!”“Ok, that, that I can’t even argue with, that’s just a good thing to have in general.”“Oooh!” Running to the farthest on this side, the statue across from the Queen of Hearts own statue, Grim stopped. “This lady sure is beautiful!”“She is the queen said to be the fairest in the land. The Beautiful Queen or the Fairest Queen.”“The Evil Queen, her name is Queen Grimhilde.”That earned another glare, this one Ace didn’t even try to hide. “Everyday she would check the ‘beauty ranking’ through her magic mirror.”“Wasn’t really a ‘beauty ranking’ or anything…”“And when it looked like she might fall from the number one spot, she never hesitated to do anything to get it back.”
“Anything being murder.”
“I guess she had the strong will to remain the most beautiful in the world? So freaking amazing.”“She was quite skilled with poisons, able to disguise them, making even a harmless apple a deadly weapon.”“Huh, yeah! I was just about to say something like that.”“She's pretty... but.... no thanks…”Yuuan was quick to cover his snort with a cough.“You think? But it's cool that she has something she'll never give up.”“Sometimes it’s good to give up though, yes it's admirable, but to go to such lengths is absurd.”“S-sure, that single-minded drive is pretty cool… Over there,” Running to the other side of the lineup, Grim stopped, this one across from Scar’s and next to Jafer’s. “What's with the guy on fire? His very appearance is terrifying.”“He's the Lord of the Underworld!”“Hades, God of the Dead and yes, Ruler of the Underworld, which is also called Hades, his name is both a person and a place, though, it’s most commonly called the Underworld.”“He rules a land crawling with evil spirits on his own.”“Ah, no, not every soul down there is evil, it’s where all the dead go, each with its own place, but not every soul is evil.”“W-Wait, henchman… D-Did you say God of the ‘D-Dead’?! L-Like… Like he can take our s-souls!?”“Ah, no, only if you're dead , he’s the God of the Dead not God of Death , that’s a completely different god, Hades deals with those who have already died, he doesn’t do the killing, so no, Grim, you’re fine.”“O-Oh… Good… U-Uh, I wasn’t worried about that! But with how casually you talked about him, I just didn’t want you pissing him off is all!”“Trust me Grim, I wouldn’t do something like that.”“Good! You better not.”“... You two done?”“Huh? O-Oh, yeah, sorry, just… Just uh, had to clarify that bit is all…”“Nah, you’re good, anyway… No doubt he is extremely skilled.”“He has to be, ruling over the lands of the dead.”“He may look scary, but he's a man of integrity who accomplished that detestable job forced onto him without ever taking a break.”
“Kind of but also not…”
“Cerberus, the Hydra, and even the Titans, all fought in battle following his orders.”“... Mmmmmm…”“Hmmm, Hmmm. It's important to remain down to earth despite being capable at what you do.”“That I can get behind, letting power go to your head is what will do most people in.”“And the last one, with the horns?” The last statue sat between Jafar and the Evil Queen, cross from Ursula.“That is the Fairy of Thorns from the Briar Valley.”“Maleficent, also bearing the title of The Mistress of All Evil.”Ace didn’t pause, though he was shocked, he didn’t let it show. “Noble and elegant, even within the Seven, she is top class in magic and curses!”“Even making a curse that couldn’t be broken but instead was altered and given a way to break it, but that was all that could be done about the original curse.”“She can create storms by manipulating thunderclouds and cover an entire country in thorns. My point is, her magic is on a whole other level. There was even a time she transformed into a huge dragon!”
“That was cool…”
“Oooh! A dragon! All monsters look up to them!”“Dragons are just cool in general. Who wouldn’t look up to something like that?”Nodding, Ace looked at each of the statues. “They're all so cool~.” He paused, snickering. “... Unlike a certain raccoon.”“... Eh?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“They're all so cool~.” He paused, snickering. “... Unlike a certain raccoon.”

“... Eh?”

“Ffgna!”

“Pfft... Ahaha!” Doubling over, Ace laughed. “I can't bear it anymore! Ahahahaha!” He pointed a finger at each of them. “Aren't you the guys who went crazy at the entrance ceremony?”

‘... Oh, he’s an ass,

got it

.’

Yuuan glared, gripping the broom in his hands.

“You were summoned by the Dark Mirror even though you can't use magic, and you, a monster, weren't called but still trespassed.” He snickered, looking at them both.

‘Keep talking asshat, keep fucking talking.’

“Man, it took everything I had not to lose it at the ceremony.”

“Whaaa!? You're a rude one!”

“If I remember right, everyone was running around like headless chickens, pretty sure you were one of them.”

Ace ignored Yuuan’s comment, but a twitch of his eye proved he wasn’t the best at doing that. “So in the end you weren't allowed to enroll here and now work as janitors? Haha, pathetic.”

“What did you just say?”

“On top of that,

you

don't even know about the Great Seven. How ignorant can you be? I recommend you go back to kindergarten before coming to Night Raven College. Pfftkuku…”

“Grrr…”

“Wow~, and you must be a

model

student here then, to go picking on others on the

first day

, my my, you must feel

sooo~

great about yourself, picking on those who seem below you? You must

really

get off on bullying the ‘weak’, no? I mean, why else would you do this? It’s a pity really… That you have to compensate

this

much.” Yuuan sassed, hand on their hip and everything.

Ace sputtered, face flushing with anger. “T-Tch, I don’t have time for small fry like you. Unlike you two, I actually have

classes

to attend. Keep this school squeaky clean, janitors~.” Waving his hand, Ace started to walk away.

“Yeah that’s right pissboy, fucking walk away cause you know you can’t even

begin

to deal with my ass.”

“This jerk! He's just gonna say that and leave! I'm pissed now!”

“Grim wait-!” But Yuuan wasn’t fast enough to stop Grim.

As he let loose a jet of fire at Ace. “Funnnnaaaaaah!”

Ace was lucky enough to have dodged. “Hey! Watch out! What're you doing!”

“It's what you get for making fun of me! I'm gonna light up that fire-head of yours!”

“Fire-head, huh~? Heeeeee. You've really got guts picking a fight with me.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me… My words didn’t-fucking hell, I see how it is.”

“You too. I'll turn you into a puffy, little toy-poodle!”

Yuuan just watched as Grim fired more fire at Ace. “Ffgnaa!”

“Uh-oh, gotta watch out. Take that!” Before they could even reach him, Ace used his own magic, some kind of wind spell, to block and put out Grim’s flames.

“This guy is using magic to blow wind all over the place! It's making my flames dance around!”

From just that little show alone, a crowd had form, watching the fight unfold.

“What's happening? A fight?”

“Yeah! Get 'em!”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” Yuuan looked between Grim and Ace, watching as they both kept throwing spells at each other.

“A flimsy little fire like that won't hit me.”

“What?! Brace yourself!”

“Damn it, Grim stop!” Yuuan had dropped the broom, grabbing her staff from their back, using it to push people back, trying to keep them out of the way of any stray spells while also trying to find an opening to grab Grim. “Grim, I swear to fuck, stop!”

Grim didn’t stop nor listen, both him and Ace still attacking each other, Grim’s flames against Ace’s wind, and while it was terrifying to watch, it was also beautiful, watching as the winds and flames danced together, turning and twisting with one another, a deadly dance of two elements that complemented each other so perfectly, that if they weren’t being used against each other, they would be a

deadly

combination, able to burn

anything

in their path… And maybe it was cause of this, or maybe it was cause of the magic they could see but as Yuuan watched, stopping to gaze at the deadly display, something in him called out, called to Ace.

‘... He’s not in his true home… His home is with us… His home lies in Onboro… This Card Soldier is

mine

.’

“Eat this!” Without Yuuan noticing, Grim and Ace’s dance was coming to an end, Grim letting out the biggest flames he had yet.

“And I just change the trajectory with wind like... that!”

The wind fueled flames were now heading for the Queen of Hearts statue, without even thinking Yuuan leapt towards it, placing her staff between it and the statue.

It was only now, the flame inches before Yuuan and his staff, that Ace and Grim noticed what was happening, just in time to watch as the flames disappeared the second they touched the staff.

“... W-Wha? Huh??” Yuuan blinked, looking from the staff to Grim and Ace.

“Henchman! Are you alright?!” Grim ran over to them, looking at them and the staff, trying to figure out what happened.

“Maaan, that could’ve been bad, just ‘bout charred the Queen of Hearts statue, huh, guess you’re useful after all, even being a janitor~.”

“Why you-! This happened cause you're blowing the fire around! Just let me fry you!”

“You really think someone is just gonna let you fry them?”

“Enough!!! Just what is going on here!” Crowley had managed to push his way through the crowd, glaring at the three.

“Ack! Headmaster…”

“He's going to tie us up with the 'lash of love'! Get outta here!”

“E-Eh??”

Said ‘Lash of Love’ whipped out, striking both Ace and Grim.

“Owwwww!”

“Ffgyaaa! Two days in a row hurts!”

“This is my Lash of Love! It'll be another hundred years before you can outrun me!” Marching over, he stood before Ace and Grim. “I told you just yesterday to ‘not cause any trouble’, didn't I? Then you go and

nearly

char a statue of the Great Seven! You seem very much eager to be expelled by me.”

“Wait! Anything but that!” Ace shakes his head as fast as he could, looking like he was going to beg with the headmaster. Grim looked like he was ready to cry.

“And

you

,” He rounded on Yuuan next. “This is

not

how you supervise Grim.”

“I-I…” Taking a breath, Yuuan placed the staff beside them, keeping hold of it. “I did my

best

, headmaster, I told Grim to

stop

, he didn’t listen, I kept trying to get him to

stop

, but the second those two started slinging magic like they were in some western shootout was the second I stopped being able to do anything, the best I could do was keep everyone

else

out of the way and away from danger,

in fact

, I

did

stop them from

charring the fucking statue

, but again, the hell was I meant to do when they started throwing magic around like it’s going out of season!?!”

Sighing, Crowley shook his head. “My goodness…” Turning back to Ace. “You, what's your grade and name?”

Hanging his head, Ace didn’t even look up as he spoke. “Ace Trappola, first year.”

“Then, Trappola, Grim, and Yuuan,-”

“Wait what.”

“-as punishment, I order the three of you to wipe 100 windows around campus!”

“Nyaaa!? It's all cause this joker was making fun of us!”

“Eeeh!? Me, too?”

“Most definitely! After school, meet in the cafet-”

“Hold the fuck up!” Cutting Crowley off with his hand raised, Yuuan glared at him. “Why do

I

have to do this? I can understand why Grim is included in this, given he was using magic, but

me

? I

tried

to stop them, but again, the fuck am I meant to do? So why, why in the ever-loving

fucking

hell, do I have to do this to. And

no

, just saying it’s cause I wasn’t watching Grim like I said I would isn’t good enough, cause I even said

‘I make no promises’

, so tell me

headmaster

why

I

should even entertain this, so called, punishment.” Yuuan stood before Crowley, and even though Yuuan was so much smaller than Crowley, it felt like they stood the same or taller than him.

“A-Ah, well… I-It’s more so you're going to, uhh…. To supervise them! Yes, that’s it, I had simply worded it wrong is all, I want

you

to go to keep an eye on them both, make sure they don’t get into another fight and that they do clean all 100 windows!”

“Hmmhm, that better have been it…”

“Y-Yes, that’s it, now then, you all understand?”

“Fiiine…”

“Nothing but misery since yesterday!!”

“Yep, I’ll keep an eye on them,

no promises though

.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

In the, long since empty, Cafeteria, both Grim and Yuuan were flopped at one of the tables, Grim on the table and Yuuan on the bench, they had already been there previously when they had gotten lunch, and had gotten to met the ghosts in charge of the place, all of which were very friendly and nice, all of which who also wanted to take the oath to be part of Onboro, which was a bit surprising but weirdly not unexpected, the food the ghosts made was delicious and the snacks they had been given before the ghosts had left were just as good, so good in fact they had already eaten them while waiting on Ace.

“I'm already beat from cleaning all day... Now we have to wipe a hundred windows, too…”

“

You

only have to do 50 of them, Grim, uh… Whats his fuck has to do the other 50.”

“‘Whats his fuck’? Do ya mean Ace?”

“Yeah him, whats his fuck, I’m bad with names and I don’t care to remember his, so… Whats his fuck or Hearts Bastard.”

“Pfft, nya ha! ‘Hearts Bastard’?! Why, hahaha, why’d ya call him that?” Grim laughed, rolling over to look down at Yuuan.

“Cause he’s got that heart over his eye and he’s a

bastard

, so Hearts Bastard.”

“Hehehe, I’ma use that next time we see him!”

“Go for it, wanna see the look on his face when either of us do.”

“Hey, henchman? Whaddya mean I only ‘have to do 50 of them’? Didn’t the headmaster say I gotta do 100?”

“Crowley said you and Hearts Bastard have to do 100, not 100

each

, therefore you both

only

have to do 50 each, together it’s 100~.”

Gasping in fake shock, Grim smiled. “Oooohoho~ I like how you think henchmen!”

“Thank you, thank you~ I aim to please~.” Yuuan giggled, sitting up, she crossed their arms, placing them and his head on the table. “Though, I do hope you won’t do something like that again, Grim, seriously, that cut into the time we had to study today, sure we got other days, it just means we lost a day.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try… But like you keep saying~, no promises~.”

“Cheeky shit.”

“Hehe~.” Sitting up, Grim looked toward the Cafeteria doors. “Though, speaking of the Hearts Bastard, he sure is taking his sweet time.” Huffing, his arms crossed, ears pinned as a growl rumbled in his chest. “Who does he think he is, making me wait! I'm pissed!”

“He might’ve gotten held up after class, if anything, you can finish your 50 now so you can gloat when he gets here.”

“And watch as he re-does

my

50?! No thanks! I’ll wait till that Hearts Bastard shows up!”

“Wait, so you can race him?”

“Heeey~, that’s not a bad idea, hehe~! Keep up those good ideas, henchman!”

“Aye, aye, captain.” Yuuan fake saluted, also watching the doors with Grim.
 
….
 
“... Ok, I know for a fact he couldn’t have gotten lost,

we

got lost, but that’s cause we didn’t get to follow any students here, and I

know

I saw that fuckers hair in here during lunch…”

“Mmmmmnya, how much longer do we have to wait! This is taking away time from me becoming the greatest mage ever!”

“Even greater than you already are?”

“Hehe~ Yep! Even greater than I already am~!”

“Damn, Hearts Bastard

really

doesn’t know who he’s messing with then, huh?”

“Nope! Not

one

bit! So he should hurry up!”

“That he fucking should…”
 
…….
 
“Hey, henchman?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are the ghost and headmaster trying to hide your gender?”

“Ah well… This is an all guys school, so me, being a girl, is kind of bad, cause like, I’m not meant to be here cause of that, and who knows what any of the guys might try if they

do

find out, I doubt all of them would try something, but there still might be some who do and given where our dorm is, the only ones who’d know would be you and the ghosts if something happened there, so it’s just better to call me a guy for now, alright?”

“... Alright, I still don’t get it, but if it’s to keep you safe, then the Great Grim can play along!”

“Thanks Grim, means a lot, mind you, I’m not really gonna be

trying

to hide the fact I’m a girl, the headmaster and the ghosts couldn’t tell, even with my hood down, but it’ll just complicate things if people find out.”

“Huh… Guess it would, but um… You… You said you didn’t

care

about your gender… Why’s that?”

“Well… I don’t know, I’ve always been fine with being called a girl, but in some games where you can pick the gender of your avatar, or like role-playing games, think… Make believe, when I was called a guy in them, it… It felt nice, and those same games I’d be called a girl in too if I was playing

as

a girl, I liked being called both… Sometimes I’d even think about what it’d be like if I

was

both, if I was born as both genders, as a… Intersex? I think was the right term, person, and I liked that, where my gender was both but also something else, something different, after that… I started not caring anymore, this one friend group I had… They respected each other’s pronouns, the he, she, they kind of thing, and I told them I’m good with anything, that it didn’t matter…”

“And? Did they?”

“Nope, they stuck with she/her, I did say it was fine to default to that… But they didn’t even try, hell, everyone there was called some sort of nickname… But me… I told them what I’d like to be called by them… They didn’t, only

one

person did, which became two, but that was really all they did…”

“Wait so… None of your friends in this group called you

anything

but a girl? And only

one

person called you what you wanted to be called? Before another one started as well?”

“Yep, but the thing is, the second one who did wasn’t from the original group, they were someone new, hell, the only one out of the original group I even talked to anymore ended up being the one person, then it was just those two… Till I started to ramble in this group chat we had about something I was working on, only to be told to stop and talk about something we

all

knew… So I took everything of mine from that server, said sorry and left, glad I did though! Fucker brought someone from the old group in on what was

only

between the three of us, had am harass me in a game,

tried

to be friends again

without

saying sorry, and then stopped, thank fuck they did, as much as I miss em… I’m glad I’m no longer friends with em, though… Still miss the one, the one who called me the name I liked at the time, they just… Don’t like conflict and even though

I

was their friend longer, they sided with the other person cause the two were dating…”

“Mmnya?! All that and they turned their back on

you

?! Rude! Why’d they even do that?!”

“I don’t know Grim, I don’t know, and don’t worry about my name, Yuuan is fine, I stopped liking the other name cause of them, anyway.”

“... If you’re sure… But, back on the gender thing, what’s ‘intersex’?”

“Uhhh… Give me a sec, I don’t know the, like… Real? Definition of it, but em… It’s… Someone who was born as both genders, I think, uh, both male and female, uh… Whether both sets work is up to the body itself, uh… Most times, from what little I know, if someone is born with both sets, the parents pick their kids gender after they are born, but uh, sometimes, or maybe most times? The parents are wrong and the body picked the other gender, leading to uh… Stuff? Happening later in life, uh… I think… There was other things to it… Like, for gender identity and what not, but it wasn’t, um, wasn’t something I looked into, not really sure if I ever was gonna or not, but there was other ways someone could be intersex, like, uh… Like they didn’t

have

to be born with both parts but… But… Uhhhh… Something about their DNA could make them one too…. I think? I uhh… Think I have something that uhh.. Fuck words, think I have something that makes it so… God damn I can’t remember today, but uh, think I’m one of those ‘something in their DNA’ people, which might be why it’s hard to tell I’m a girl and all, or it’s something else… Uh… But yeah… Ok, how the

fuck

has the Hearts Bastard not been here yet, that was a

long

ass ramble.”
 
………..
 
“Mmmmgra! He's taking way too long!!” Standing quickly, Grim glared at the doors. “Wait, don't tell me bailed out on us!”

“Ight, time to track down a Hearts Bastard, hey Grim, whaddya say about making him do all 100? Tell him you already did

your

100 while waiting for him?”

“Hehe~, perfect idea henchman!”

Mock bowing, Yuuan stood, holding their arm out for Grim to sit on his shoulder. “Now then.”

“Let's go henchman! We're gonna catch that Hearts Bastard and make him do all the work!”

“Aye, aye, captain, time to hunt us a bastard.”

Snickering, the two left, going to track down Ace, which proved to be kind of hard, given they didn’t know

where

his class was, thankfully they ran into some more ghosts, ones part of the janitorial staff, who were more than happy to tell the two were to go, and also asked Yuuan if they could take the oath, which Yuuan was fine with, they’d just need to find the time for it along with the Cafeteria ghosts, if they could do both at the same time they’d kill two birds with one stone, still, with the ghosts help the two managed to get to Ace’s last class he would have been in for the day.

Bounding into the room, Grim shouted. “Orraaaa! Where's Ace! You'll pay for hiding!” Looking around, he realized the room was empty. “.....Ah, there's nobody here!?”

“Given the time, it makes sense.”

Sighing, Grim walked back over to Yuuan.

“No, I'm here.”

Both jumped, not seeing anyone in the room till Grim caught movement in the corner of his eye and turned. “Fffgyyyaaaaaaaaa!!!! The picture talked!!”

“What now? Talking portraits are not a rare sight in this school, no?” The portrait was of some man, likely someone who went to the school at some point, or just some important guy. “Everybody here can speak, including the Lady on the wall over there, and the Gentleman on the wall over here.” He nodded to the paintings as he spoke. “Portraits have mouths, so of course we can talk. Isn't that normal?”

“Um, sorry if this is rude but, the paintings

I’m

used to don’t speak.” Standing before the painting, Yuuan looked him over.

‘Huh, …I feel like I should have expected this, but damn, that’s weird.’

“No need to worry about that, but here it is the norm. So long as you respect each other's individualities, it’ll be fine. That aside, who are you looking for?”

“A guy named Ace.”

“CoughHeartsBastardCough.”

Yuuan coughed, covering her mouth.

“He's got a heart mark on his face and hair that sticks up.” Grim spoke up, having jumped on Yuuan’s shoulder to better talk to the painting and trying not to snicker at Yuuan’s words.

“Ah yes, I know him. He's one of the freshmen who started today. He went back to his dormitory not too long ago…”

“Oh, you’ve got to be-.”

“Waaaaahaaaat! So he did try to get away! Which way did he go?” Grim cut Yuuan off, leaning closer to the painting as Yuuan leaned back.

“The entryways leading to the dormitories are in the inner part of the East Wing.”

“Hey! We're going after him.”

“Right, thanks, mister!” With that Yuuan ran out, Grim still on their shoulder.

“You are very welcomed!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Though it had taken them a bit, but Yuuan and Grim could see the Hall of Mirrors now, and the very bastard they were after just before it.

“No way I'm wiping 100 windows. Gonna head on home…” Ace mumbled.

“Heeeeeeeeeeey yoooooouuuuu!!!!” And there goes Grim, jumping off of Yuuan’s shoulder to run at Ace, it at least got Ace to stop.

“Ack!! They found me!”

“Jeeeerk!! Hold up!! I won't let you be the only one to escape!”

‘Well, there goes that plan of making Hearts Bastard do

all

the windows. Good going, Grim.’

“Did you really think I'd stop just because you told me to? I'm outta here!” And Ace took off, Grim hot on his heels and Yuuan suffering behind them.

“It's not fair for only you to get out of it! I want to skip out too!”

Ace managed to stay a good distance ahead of Grim, closing in on the mirror that would take him to his dorm, though all their yelling had drawn someone’s attention.

“...Huh?” He stood an inch taller than Ace, hair a deep navy blue, his eyes teal with a black spade over the right one, he wore the same school uniform as Ace did, though his blazer was buttoned up and he had two gloves instead of one, he also wore black dress shoes of some kind.

“Outta my way! Outta my way!” Ace yelled, running toward him and basically pushing the poor guy aside.

“Eh.. oo-ooh!?”

“Stop him, please! He’s trying to skip out on cleaning!” Yuuan called out, damn near wheezing from all the running.

“What!? Then I have to stop him! To capture somebody…” He muttered, thinking of the best way to stop Ace. “I should freeze their legs, no, how about restraining them? Or I could... Uummm…” Ace was getting closer to getting away.

“Anything works. I don't care how! Just hit him hard! Hurry!”

“Anything!? Any... thing… Eeeiii!” Grabbing his pen, he pointed at Ace. “Anything is fine, so come on! Something heavy!” And summoned a cauldron right above him that fell quickly down, squishing Ace.

‘Oh, holy shit, that works.’

“Gueeeeh! What the heck!? A pot?” Pushing at the cauldron, Ace coughed, trying to get out from under it, thankfully giving Grim, and Yuuan, who felt like dying, a chance to catch up.

“Gyahahaha! Check it out!” Snickering, Grim poked Ace’s face from where he was on the ground. “Ace is as flat as a pancake under that cauldron! Pathetic!”

“I didn't think I'd get a cauldron. Did I overdo it?”

Yuuan finally got their slow ass over to the others, leaning on their staff as they wheezed.

“Man, this hurts…” Ace also chose that time to get out from under the cauldron. “Couldn't you just have left me alone and wiped those 100 windows clean in a flash for me?”

Glaring at him, Yuuan flipped Ace off, still far too out of breath to talk. They took some deep, slow breaths before saying anything. “Fuck you, Hearts Bastard,-”

“Hearts Bastard??”

“-if it wasn’t for your windy ass deciding it was a good idea to pick on Grim, then

none

of this would have happened, and that’s not something you can do ‘in a fucking flash’ asshat.” Panting, Yuuan paused.

‘... Maybe we can still get away with making him do all 100…’

Taking another breath, they stood up. “And despite what Grim said, he

did

wipe down 100 windows in the time we were waiting on your bitchass to get there, so it’s just

your

100 left bitch, Grim’s just unfortunate enough to have to stick around while

you

do

your

100.”

Glaring right back at them, Ace was cut off by the navy-haired boy. “Wiping 100 windows as punishment... What in the world did you all do?”

“

I

! Didn’t do shit! Don’t rope me in with them, fuckass.” Yuuan turned his glare from Ace to the unnamed kid, who wisely put his hands up.

“I got into it a bit with the furball, and we might have

nearly

charred the Queen of Hearts' statue.”

“

If it wasn’t for me, ya would have, bitch.

”

“You nearly damaged one of the Great Seven statues!? Of course you'd get in trouble for that.” Blue-boy gasped. “You get into a prestigious school, then do something like that on the first day…”

Groaning, Ace glared at Blue-boy. “...Shuddup. And who are you?”

“I'm Deuce. Deuce Spade. Would it hurt to remember your classmates' faces, at least? Ummm…”

Yuuan coughed, covering a snort.

“You don't remember me either.”

“Given the fact I don’t remember your name either, I think it’s funny.”

“Shuddup you, no one asked!”

“Tough shit, shitlips.”

Thankfully, Deuce spoke up, stopping whatever verbal spat was about to happen. “M-my point is! If the Headmaster ordered you to do something, then you better take it seriously.”

“He gets it!”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you... Then let's get it done and over with.” Ace groaned out, none too pleased with this.

“Finally, now we-wait a fucking minute.” Looking around, Yuuan noticed a certain cat was missing.

“Hmm?”

“... Grim fucking booked it…”

“Ah! That furball's gone!”

Outside, Grim laughed, running away. “He heh! I leave it to you all! Bye-bye!”

“You motherfucker… GRIM, I FULL FUCKING KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

“Dumb cat! Thinking just cause he’s finished his half, means he can skip out! Hey! Umm, Juice?” Turning to Deuce, Ace snapped his fingers while trying to get his name right, and failing at it.

“I'm not Juice. Deuce! Deu!”

“You're partly responsible, so help us catch that furball!”

“As much as I’d hate to agree with the Hearts Bastard here, we could use your help.”

“Why me?”

“This deadweight can't use magic, so they don't count! Let's go!” Ace took off, pulling Deuce with him.

“... I CAN TO USE MAGIC YOU FUCKING ASS, I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW YET!” Yuuan ran after them, cursing as she placed his staff ‘on’ their back, letting it float after them.

“Hey! Stop there, you furball!”

“No waaay, yanno! You Hearts Bastard!”

“Tch, looks like we have to run after him after all. Follow me, Juice!” Ace didn’t even wait, taking off after Grim.

“I told you, it's ‘Deuce’!” Deuce at least ran after him.

Yuuan was still a good ways away from the three, still winded from the run earlier.

‘Fucking hell, how can Grim keep running like that? How the fuck can Hearts Bastard? Mans probably has a concussion from that fucking cauldron…’

Ace and Deuce were throwing magic at Grim, trying to either slow him or catch him, but the two weren’t working together, their magic clashing more often than not, getting in each other's way, they had even managed to corner Grim, before butting heads that is and letting him get away.

“Can't you stop trying to cover me? Just back off!”

“You need to stay out of my way too!”

“Now's my chance!”

“Ah, wait!”

Yuuan kept to the sides, watching and waiting, trying to see if there was an opening for… For anything really, if they could grab Grim that would help, but as Yuuan watched, watched as the two magics clashed, watched as the two slowly fell into some sort of rhythm, as they worked together just the

tiniest

bit, Yuuan felt it, felt the same thing he had when watching Grim and Ace fight, she felt that now, watching Ace’s and Deuce’s magic.

‘... He… Both of them… Both of those Card Soldiers are

mine

, their home is in Onboro…’

Shaking their head, Yuuan kept up with the three.

“Alright, time your magic hit with mine, Deuce!”

“Eh!?”

“Wha, that's too early!”

“Lucky! I gotta escape while I can, yanno!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Somehow, during all of that, the four of them ended up back in the Cafeteria, Grim still running free.

“Crap! He's darting around everywhere!”

“Heheheh! Catch me if you can, suckers!” Somehow, Grim had gotten himself up on the chandelier.

“Kuh, getting on the chandelier is an underhanded move! We haven't learned the magic to fly yet…”

“... There’s-no, that shouldn’t be surprising..” Yuuan sighed, looking up at Grim as they walked closer to the chandelier from the ground. “Grim, I swear to fuck, get your fuzzy butt

down

, I know where you sleep you shit.”

“No! Why should I, huh?! I’ma just stay up here and watch as the Hearts Bastard cleans 100 windows~!”

“Is there any magic we can use to trap or capture him…” Deuce hadn’t moved from his spot, muttering up a storm as Yuuan and Grim argued back and forth. “Ah, I've got it!”

“I've gotta think of an idea…” And neither had Ace. “Whoa, whoa, wait a sec!” Hands up in surrender, Ace backed up, keeping his eyes on Deuce. “Why are you pointing your magical pen at me!?”

“I'll just throw you!”

“Wait what, do

what

now??” Glancing at Ace and Deuce, Yuuan watched, wide eyed, as Deuce slowly raised Ace up.

“You're joking, right!? Wooaaaahaa! Don't make me float! You're really going to throw me!? Knock it off!”

“U-Uh, h-hey, maybe, uh, maybe you

shouldn’t

? Yeah? Like uh… Put, put him down??”

“Catch him, ya hear.” Turning, Deuce locked his sights on Grim. “Take aim... Fire!” And

launched

Ace at Grim and the chandelier.

“Gyeeuuuhh hhhaaaaaa!!”

“Ffnnghaaaaaaa!???”

“OH SHIT!!” Yuuan couldn’t do anything but move out of the way, feeling the chandelier, Grim and Ace, falling behind them, though they still got hit with some stray shards. “Fucking hell…” Once the dust had settled some, picking his way through the debris as she headed towards Grim and Ace, helping Ace up and grabbing Grim.

Coughing, Ace leaned against Yuuan, not caring that they were looking him over for any wounds. “I can't believe you!”

“Ffnyaaaaa…” Grim was out.

“I-I screwed up! I didn't think about the landing!”

“You clearly fucking

didn’t

.” Yuuan glared, helping Ace to a table, Grim still in their arms as they rounded on Deuce. “I’d ask what you were thinking, but clearly you

weren’t

.” Yuuan’s words were like ice as they stalked towards Deuce, watching as he took shaky steps backwards. “Do you even know how badly this could have gone. How much worse this could have ended. What if you had missed? What do you think would have happened then? Or what if the two of them got caught up in the chandelier when it fell.” Yuuan had backed Deuce up to another table, watching as fear and panic grew in his eyes. “For all you know, they could have

died

and it would have been all your

fault

.” Though Ace was spared these words being used on him, it still didn’t stop him from feeling the same thing Deuce did, just to a lesser extent.

“H-Hey, uh… W-Whatever your name is, you uh… Y-You don’t have to do this, I’m fine, we got the furball anyway, we just need to worry about the headmaster and hope he doesn’t find out we busted the chandelier…”

Sighing, Yuuan let up, walking back over to Ace to take a second look at him, noting the small cuts and bruises on him. “Mmm…”

“If I... find out?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear… And scare the shit out of Yuuan while he does so.

“Ah... Headmaster…”

“Just~ what~ exactly~ ARE YOU ALL DOING~~!?!?” Ah, he was pissed, rightfully so.

“Ffnyaa~ The room is spinning…” Grim murmured from in Yuuan’s arms, still very much out of it.

“You weren't satisfied with nearly damaging the statue so you decided to destroy the chandelier instead!?” Crowley glared at them all, disappointment and anger clear in his voice. “This is the last straw. I will have all of you expelled!”

“Eeeeeeehhhh!!” All three, who were conscious, yelled, looking at the headmaster in shock.

“Please! Anything but that! I have things I have to do at this school!”

“You have nothing to blame but your own idiocy.”

Something in Yuuan coiled, ready to strike out at the headmaster if he dared try, Ace and Deuce were

theirs

, she won’t let them go so easily, he will fight for them,

rip and tear any apart who dares to threaten what is theirs,

no one will lay a hand on what is theirs,

not even the headmaster.
Yuuan quickly shook those thoughts away, confused at where they came from.

“I will pay for all damages if I have to!” Deuce all but begged, he had a reason to be there, a reason

they

would help him see through.

“This is no normal chandelier.” Crowley turned to what remained of the chandelier. “This is a magical chandelier that runs on magic and lights candles that will burn for eternity.” Walking around its remains he continued. “It is a masterpiece we commissioned the legendary Meister of Magical Tools to make.” Kicking shards aside. “It's a treasured legacy that has been around since the school's very foundation…” Sighing, he knelt, picking up a shard and looking it over before letting it drop. “Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion Madol.” Now standing back near the four, he turned to Deuce. “Can you pay for those damages?”

Deuce looked on the verge of a panic attack. “A b-billion Madol!?”

“But teacher, can't you just fix it up with magic…”

“Magic is not all-powerful.” Crowley sighed, shaking his head, he regarded Ace from where the boy sat. “Moreover, the magic crystal, which we call the heart of any magical tool, was shattered.” He had walked some ways from them, turning to regard them all. “No two magic crystals are the same. The chandelier will never be lit again.”

Ace hung his head, holding it in his hands. “How can that…”

“Crap…” Now it looked like Deuce

was

panicking. “What am I doing... What am I going to tell Mom…”

Yuuan held Grim closer, fearing for their Card Soldiers that weren’t theirs yet, fearing for what would happen to her and Grim, even though neither of them

could

be kicked out…

Like he was waiting for this, waiting for them all to despair just a bit, Crowley spoke up. “...I know. There's one way.” All three of their heads shot up, looking to Crowley. “There might be one way to fix the chandelier.”

“What!?”

“The magic crystal for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarf's Mine.”

“Dwarf’s Mine?”

“If we have a magic crystal of the same kind as the original, then repair might be possible.”

Deuce stepped forward, standing before Crowley. “I will go find a magic crystal!” His voice rang out with a desperate need to right his wrong, to fix his mistake. “Please, allow me to go!”

“However,” Crowley raised a hand, causing Deuce. “I have no guarantee that there are any left in the mine.” Deuce’s hope slowly fell. “The mine has been closed for a while and it's very possible it is exhausted of crystals.”

Still desperate, still grasping at straws, Deuce didn’t give up. “I’ll do anything to get our expulsion rescinded!”

‘Wait… He’s doing it for that? Not just to get his own rescinded? But Ace’s too? Crowley can’t kick me out and he can’t kick Grim out…’

Yuuan looked at Deuce, wondering how he could even

want

to help them, to help Ace?

“...Very well. I shall give you one night.” Deuce perked up, grim determination set on his face. “Come to me with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning, or face expulsion.”

“Yes! Thank you very much!”

“Oh boy, fine. Let's go get that magic crystal and be done with it.” Ace pushed himself up, leaning against the table still.

“Use the Dark Mirror in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to Dwarfs' Mine.”

“Yes, sir!” With that, Deuce took off.

“Fucking… Ugggghhhh…” Yuuan went to Ace’s side, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulder, even if he complained, though he didn’t move his arm, leaning against Yuuan as the two

slowly

went after Deuce…

While making their way to the Mirror Chamber, Grim slowly woke, curling into Yuuan’s arms more before blinking his eyes open. “Ha! What now...? What exactly did I…”

“Don’t move around too much Grim, you got banged up pretty badly… I’ll tell ya what's happening on the way though.”

Thankfully, as they got closer to the Mirror Chamber, Ace was able to walk on his own, though with a slight limp, Yuuan still kept a close eye on him, Grim now perched on their shoulder again as they

finally

caught up to Deuce.

“Oh man... Why did it turn into something like this? Today is really not my day…”

“I don’t think it’s

any

of our days, Hearts Bastard.”

“Oi! When you are gonna cut it with the ‘Hearts Bastard’ thing?!”

“When I bother to remember your name.”

“Both of you stop it! Now isn't the time for arguing! Let's go!” Deuce turned toward the Dark Mirror, looking at the floating mask in the glass that was its face. “O Dark Mirror! Light our way to Dwarfs' Mine!”

Before them, the mirror rippled like water, slowly… The faster, the ripples grew and grew, a single spot in the center flickered, it started small, nothing more than a faint spark, but that spark grew, grew much bigger and brighter, till it was blinding, but a path laid before them now and so, through the looking glass they go.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

On the other side of the mirror they now stood, they stood in a dark forest, whether cause of the time or how thick the canopy was, a babbling brook sat under a small bridge and past that bridge was a path that lead to a house, a small rundown house that still stood after all these years of disuse, the path did not end at the house though, it forked, going deeper into the woods, its end unseen past the thicket, and for all its beauty… It felt as if this place, the very woods themself, had been forsaken.“So this is Dwarfs' Mine... It used to be prosperous, thanks to magic crystal mining but…” Deuce walked ahead first, looking around.“Uuuuhh…” Grim stayed close to Yuuan, walking on his own. “Feels like something could jump out…”Leaning down, Yuuan poked Grim. “Boo!”“Fnuya!” Spinning, Grim glared at Yuuan, fur poofed and flames burning. “Henchman! Don’t do that!”“Hehe, sorry Grim, couldn’t help myself.”“Hmph!”“Oh, there's a house back there. Let's go ask them about the mine.” Following Ace’s lead, the four of them walked over the bridge to the house.Deuce knelt down, knocking on the door. “Good evening…” The door opened easily, no one had lived there for some time. “I guess it's abandoned.” Deuce walked in first, the others following him. “It's a mess in here.”“Puwah! I got a spider web in my face... Peh! Peh!”“Aren't the tables and chairs on the small side? Are they for kids?”Yuuan looked around in shock, what had happened to this place. “... No…”“One, two... There's seven! So many!”“This was probably a lively home when Dwarfs' Mine was thriving.”“Staying here is pointless. The coal mine is probably our best shot at finding a magic crystal.” Huffing, Ace made for the door. “For now, let's go check it out.”Grim had made to go after Ace but stopped, turning back to Yuuan. “Henchman? … Henchman what’s wrong?”This caused both the boys to stop, turning back to see what was wrong.“Oi, Tiny, what’s the holdup?”“What… What happened to this place…?”“Hmm? Do you know this place?” Deuce had walked to Yuuan’s side, looking down at them, confused and concerned, even with the small scare they had given him.“I-I….. Yes… I do, I know this place, I know who lived here… Not kids, seven dwarfs , seven of them… All living here… They wouldn’t… They wouldn’t have let their home become like… Like this !” Tracing their hand along the table, Yuuan looked to each chair, looked at the two knocked over, looked toward the pickaxe embedded in the table before one of the knocked over chairs. “What happened to them…”Ace and Deuce looked at each other, neither of them sure of what to do, Grim had returned to Yuuan’s shoulder, patting their cheek.“Henchman, henchman we gotta go! The more time we waste here, the less time we have to find that crystal!”“R-Right… Right, sorry, just… This is the only place I’ve recognized since I’ve gotten here, but seeing it like… This , I just… I wonder what happened to them…” Taking a breath, Yuuan turned, following Ace out the door, Deuce behind them.Once out of the house, they follow the fork in the path, heading deeper into the woods towards the mines, the entrance was overgrown but they could still get inside.Grim’s ears were pinned to his head, pushing himself closer to Yuuan’s body and neck. “W-we're gonna go in that pitch black hole!?”“Ya scared? How lame.” Ace taunted.Puffing up, Grim leapt down from Yuuan’s shoulder, standing in front of everyone. “Naaanh!? I'm not s-scared at all!” He hesitated facing the entrance, taking small steps forward. “I'm taking the lead! You guys, follow me!”“Aye, aye, captain.” Yuuan snorted, trying to hide a growing sense of unease that grew only stronger as they walked into the mines, something was very wrong. The inside of the mines was very dark, but thanks to Grim’s flames and the flames from Yuuan’s own staff, they could at least see it was doing a fair bit better than the outside was, gemstones of all sorts of sizes and colors littered the walls, so while all the magic crystals had likely been mined out, the normal ones hadn’t.“Huh, strange… You’d think they’d still mine here, given all the crystals still here, guess they didn’t really care after they got all the magic ones though, huh?”“Guess not, whadda waste though, leaving this all behind…”“Huh, would you look at that, me and the Hearts Bastard agreeing on something.”“... Tiny, I’ll paint my damn name on you if it makes ya remember it.”“Who the fuck you calling ‘Tiny’, bitch?!”“I’m calling you tiny, Tiny, if you don’t wanna say my name, ain’t no way I’m saying yours.”“It’s cause I fucking forgot it dipshit, you haven’t even said ya name again anyway, so nyh!” Childishly sticking their tongue out at Ace, Yuuan flipped him off too.“I have! I did when Juice here didn’t remember it!”“Deuce! My name is Deuce !”“See look, you’re just as bad as me! You keep forgetting his name, even though you two are classmates! And judging from that… Symbol thingy on your arms, same dorm too! So ha!”“Oi! That doesn’t mean shit!”“Well… He’s kind of right though… Uhh…”“... You forgot my name again, didn’t cha…”“... N-No, umm… Yes…”“Ha! All of us are shit with names! And you two, well, no, Hearts Bastard here has heard my name, Crowley said it, like… Once? Maybe? Fuck if I know, wait no, Grim’s said my name before!”“Well, ya gonna tell us your name or am I gonna stick with Tiny .”“ I’ll stick my foot up your ass if you keep calling me that, as for my name, it’s Yuuan, now, what’s yours asshat, cause I seem to be a helluva lot more creative with nicknames then you .”“It’s Ace …. Tiny~ .”“... You motherfucker-”“... Uh, Grim…? Does this… Keep happening? Since they’ve met?”“Huh? Oh yeah, pretty much, hehehehe~ It’s funny though, watching my henchman beat up the Hearts Bastard~.”“Uh… Well.. I did say it already but I’ll say it again, I’m Deuce.”“Huh? Oh! Um… Nice to meet you Deuce, sorry if I forget your name, I’m pretty bad with em.”“EH!? So you apologize to him but not me?!”“We’re in this mess cause of you bitch , you don’t deserve it!”“Why you-!” While Yuuan and Ace argued, Grim egging them on and Deuce just watching, shaking his head with a faint smile, something had been following them, at first it was gonna try and scare them, chase them even, but at the sight of Yuuan’s staff, the feeling  of something ancient and unknown within their person, it stopped, simply following the four, watching. Yuuan sneezed, putting a pause to their bickering, that feeling of wrong still growing the further in they went, but now… Now it was accompanied by something else… Though it was faint, the scent of ink had slowly grown to, but it wasn’t from their staff, the two smelt different somehow, the one from the mines smelt… Tainted, corrupted, wrong , but it didn’t seem like the others could smell it, let alone feel the unease Yuuan was feeling.Taking this break in the arguing, Deuce spoke up. “Hey, have you guys felt like something’s been… Following us? Or watching us?”“Fnuya! Don’t say things like that, Juice!-”“ Deuce !”“-But no, the Great Grim hasn’t! … W-Why…?”“Have to agree with the flaming ball of fuzz here,-”“Hey!”“-I haven’t felt anything either.”“... Uhh… Would it be bad to say that I have … Cause like… I have, something is very much here…”They all looked at each other, two of them felt something and the other two didn’t, either Grim and Ace were just dense, which they probably were, or Deuce and Yuuan were paranoid, which… They probably also were.“Let’s uh… Let’s just, um… Be on guard or something, yeah? Just in case… Cause like… Uh… Me and Grim are the only lights right now…”“Yeah, yeah, we will.”Grim had moved closer to Yuuan, damn near underfoot with how close he was, his own flame lighting up more than what Yuuan’s staff was, given how most of the hollow was covered save for the one part that was wretched open.Deuce paused, placing a hand on Yuuan’s shoulder to stop them. “Wait…”“Eh? What’s wrong, Juice?”Not even acknowledging the fact Ace had, once again, called him juice, Deuce glanced behind them, his gaze slowly sweeping around the place.
“To long have we waited…”
“Uhhh… Did… Did anyone else hear that?”“Eeek!”“It came from…” Pointing, Deuce’s gaze stopped. “There!”Slowly, a single ghost materialized, they were on the larger side, like Stanton, and wore a hooded cloak with the hood up, it was a pale blue-grey color. “We’ve waited so long…” The ghost didn’t seem bad, in fact, he didn’t look at them with malicious intent, though, when his gaze turned to Yuuan, or more accurately their staff, he looked saddened but… Happy, happy that they, at least Yuuan, were here. “Finally… Our waiting might be over…”“U-Um.. Hello, we’re trying to find a magic crystal… Do you know if there is any still here?” Deuce asked, hoping the ghost would know.“... Yes, there is… One left but…”“But? Look, just tell us where it is and we’ll be gone before ya know it.”That feeling of wrong was growing again, but it wasn’t cause of the ghost before them, but something deeper within the mines, something that Yuuan wanted gone as they looked down one of the tunnels.“I will, but I do ask of you something, little lordling of the blackened god,-” ‘... What?’ Yuuan turned, having gotten closer to the tunnel leading deeper.“-please, help the one who guards the magic crystal you seek, he has been here for so long , he’s part of the reason why this place was abandoned…”Wind began blowing through the mines, seeming to try and push or guide Yuuan deeper, down the tunnel they stood before.“... Hey wait, didn’t some guy call Yuuan ‘little lordling’ before?”“W-Whaddya want with my henchman!”“I hope you’ll forgive us, little lordling, but he has been suffering for much longer than any of us have been here…”“Wh-” The wind blew stronger, cutting Yuuan off as they felt themself fall and be dragged away from the others, more ghosts having appeared, blocking the others from getting to Yuuan, both sides could watch as they grew further apart.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yuuan wasn’t sure how long they were pushed and dragged for, how deep they had gone, they weren’t even sure of the way out anymore, but they couldn’t hear the others at this point, finally, it stopped, leaving them to roll on the ground for a short distance before coming to a stop.

“... Ow…?” Groaning, Yuuan pushed herself up, looking around from where he knelt on the ground, using their staff to stand up fully and to light up their surroundings.

Even with the meager light from their staff, Yuuan couldn’t see much, it was far too dark this deep down, the crystals in the walls reflecting what little light hit them, the walls and ground had a slick shine to them, like water running down to pool on the floor, though it seemed to absorb the light that hit it, looking more like oil than anything.

“Ok… I’m now… Who knows

how

deep in the mines, have

no

idea

where

I am, separated from the others and, in general… Fucked!” Sighing, Yuuan banged their head on their staff, frustrated with everything. “... Fuck it, it might be better to stay here, but I’m not gonna do that, if I can find some rails… Then at least that’ll be something, don’t wanna sit around and wait for… For nothing.”

And though they

wanted

to leave, to find the others, something called out to them, it spoke with no voice, called to them with no words, but that feeling, the

wrong

was so much stronger

here

, the ink was stronger here, that

tainted

,

corrupted

ink was here, was deeper in the mines, and as they turned to look deeper in, they felt something else, something

hidden

within the ink… Some

one

hidden in it, someone… Familiar, in a way, this feeling was the same as the statues of the Great Seven, but oh so different, maybe it was the clogging ink that covered their presents or maybe it was something else, but something in Yuuan wanted to answer them, to call back in turn, even if they didn’t know how, even if another part of them coward away, wanting to hide from what called them, Yuuan stood, unmoving, unsure of what to do.
 
….
 
……
 
They took a step… Walking deeper in, following the unheard voice that called to them, followed its soundless words that would lead them to it.
 
….
 
…….
 
………..
 
Just how far down had they walked? Still following whoever was calling out to them, they didn’t seem to be getting any closer, but they also weren’t getting any further away from it.

‘Maybe… Maybe if I say something? But… I feel like talking is a bad idea… I don’t know how they’re calling me… Is this part of that magic I do have? Fuck… It might be, then maybe… Mmmm… Maybe I just need to focus on the call? So just… Do what I did with Grim? Maybe? But… No… No, wait, I… Holy fucking?? Now that I think about that, I wasn’t even

trying

or even

thinking

about doing that when I saw… Uhhh… Fuck… Hearts Bastards and… Juice’s magic, instead I just

knew

… Shit, is that something I can’t turn off now? Uggghhhhhh… I’ll have to ask the others when we get back if there’s a way to turn it off or if I’m just stuck with it on…. Wait no, back to what I was

trying

to do, call back to whatever the fuck is calling me! … Hope this means I don’t get this stuck on too….’

Sighing, Yuuan stopped, glancing around but still seeing nothing, the call never stopping… And so they focused, focused on how the call felt, how it felt to hear it, how it felt around them, within them, and how it would feel should they answer it, should they call back and for a while… Nothing happened.

‘Damn it…’

……
 
………
 
…………
 
……………

Something changed

, Yuuan wasn’t sure what, but something had

changed

, the call felt clearer now, like they could hear what it was saying, heard how it called out for help, calling out names… Seven other names, calling out for six it had known for so long, calling out for one to come back… Calling out for help… And Yuuan answered, calling back to it, telling it they were here, saying they won’t leave it alone, telling

him

they’d help, they just need to find him.
 
….
 
………
 
…………
 
…………….
 
………………..
 
He called back, telling them to leave,

it wasn’t safe here, not with how I am now,

please

! You have to leave, don’t come any deeper in, I’ll only hurt you!

Please

, just… Just leave me alone…

I won’t… Where are you? I’ll help you… I know you, don’t I? You feel… Familiar… I won’t leave you alone…

…..
 
…….
 
……….

…Thank you….. You… Remind me… Of her…… Of Snow….

Then you know, you know she wouldn’t want you to suffer anymore, to stay down here anymore, isn’t it time to go home? To see the others?

… Yes… I have been gone for so long… I miss them…

Something moved in the darkness, Yuuan waited… Waited for him to come out…

“Ì͡t̨͞'̕͞s҉̕ ̢́m̶̢i̶͝n̡͜e̛͢.́҉.̵̶.̵͡ ̨̛C̀͘r͘̕y͢͠s̢͘t͢͡a̛͟l̢҉ ̢͝i͏͝ś̕ ̕͞ḿ͡į̶n̶̡é̸.̷̵.̧͢.̨͟ ̶̡W̶͘ó̢n̨͡'̷̡t̢̛ ̶̧g͡͝i͢͡v̴͠ę̸.͟͢.̶́.̛́ ̧̢W̷̛o̵͟n̛̕'͡͡t̀͠ ̷̸g̴͟i͟͏v́͘e͜͝ ̕͢i͟͞t̶̨ ̵̀ţ͞o̧͜ ̀͏a͢͏n̵͡y̡͝o͘͡n̷̕é̡.́͜.͘͟.͢͝” He towered over them, wearing a red, ink-stained, tunic, a brown hat on his head, a pickaxe in one hand and a lantern, burning red, in the other… His head was made of glass… An inkwell with a cork at the top, Yuuan could see the ink within it… A crack ran along the front, spilling ink…

I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… If I hurt you,

please

, please know I didn’t mean it…

It’s fine… I trust you.

“Hello… I don’t want it, I promise… I’m just lost… Do you know the way out?”

Thank you…

“I̵̷̧̕ţ̢̕͜'̷̴̸͟s̵̷̛҉ ̴̵̕͟m͝͝͏́í̵̢͟n̷͘͘͝e҉̸͠͠!̡̢̛͞” He yelled, lumbering over to them, shaking as he stood before them. “L̵̨é͘a̧͏v͘͠e̛͟.̶͝.͏̨.̴̕ ́͝L̷͏e͘͝a͘͘v̀͡e̛͡ ҉͟c̸͟r̡͞y̷͢s͏̛t҉̸a̸̧l̨̛ ̢̀a̶̧l͢͢ó̵n͜͝e̸͟.͞͏.̕͘.͠͞ ̸͢M̴̸í̴n̶̕e̸͝.̡̛.̷͠.̴̡ ̛̀W̛͟o͘͝ń̨'̵̶t̷́ ̕͡ǵ͜i̸̡v͢͠e̡̛.̢͞.͡͡.̛͠”

“I will, but I don’t know how… I don’t know where the exit is…”

He stood, shaking, swaying, before them.

To your right… There’s some rails… Follow them, I… Your friends are coming near, you

need

to get them out! I don’t want to hurt anyone else!

I will and I’ll help you, thank you.

“Thank you, I’ll leave now, alright?”

I’ll come back, I’ll come back to help you, I promise.

... Thank you…

Yuuan backed up slowly, glancing to their right, and just as he ‘said’, there were some rails, keeping their eyes on him, they followed them, never speeding up but not going any slower, watching as he went back into the darkness, watching as something reflected the light from his lantern and their staff.

It’s what you’re here for… Be careful when you get it…

I will, thank you.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yuuan started to hurry, they could hear the others getting closer, but they were still too close to him, far too close, that if he heard them he’d come back, they needed to get out

now

.

Something behind them was glowing blue, a blue that got closer along with the pounding of feet and voices yelling for them.

They’re too close! I can hear them, I’m sorry, please, don’t let me hurt them…

I won’t, don’t worry.

Grim saw them first, calling out for them. “HENCHMAN!”

“GRIM, GO BACK, NOW!”

“W-What?! Why?!”

“JUST DO IT!!”

Skating to a halt, Grim paused, Ace and Deuce catching up to him, just in time for the three to watch as something emerged from the darkness with Yuuan booking it towards them.

“FUCKING GO, START RUNNING IDIOTS!!”

“L̵̢̡͟E̷̢̢͟Á̷̸̛V̷̷̵̕Ȩ̀́́!҉̴̀͠ ̷͡͞͠I̡͏̸͞T̢̡̕͠'̵̷̴͡S̴̷̨̕ ̡̛͘͞M͞͡͠͏I͘͢͏̵N҉̡͟͞E̕͠͞͞,̵̷̡̛ ̴̧͘͜M͏̵̨͞Ì̴͠͡N͞͏́͡E҉̀͞͠,̧́͡͏ ҉͏́͝Ẁ̢̛͡O̢̕҉́N҉͏͟͏'̸̴̡͝T͡҉͘҉ ҉̵͢͠G͏͏̶͘I̵͘͘͞V̢͘͡͠É̢͜͡ ̛̀͝͡T҉̕͡҉O̸̕͢͞ ͏̡̕͢A̴̶̧̢N̵̵̕̕Ý̢͢͞O͜͞͠͠N͟҉͘͝E̴͠҉̴!̴̶̨̀!̛͘͢͠”

Shouts of surprise came from all three of them as they turned and ran, Yuuan behind them, and him behind Yuuan, swinging his pickaxe around, trying to hit them, sending chunks of rocks flying that they had to duck or dodge just to not get hit with them.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? TINY, WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

“IT’S YUUAN, HEARTS BASTARD, AND THAT’S GRUMPY!!”

“I THINK WE CAN SEE THAT YUUAN!!”

“NO, HIS NAME IS GRUMPY!! HE’S ONE OF THE DWARFS THAT LIVED IN THAT HOUSE!!”

“MMNYA!? HOW IS HE STILL HERE THEN!?!?”

“FUCK IF I KNOW, JUST KEEP RUNNING!”

“L̡̢̡̀͜͟E̶͟҉҉̵̵Ą̷̸͏̛͘V̸̡̡͡͞҉È̵̀͢͠͝!͏̷̶̢̀́!̵̧́́̕͡!͏̴̢̀͜͠” He roared, slamming his pick down, nearly hitting Yuuan who squeaked.

I’m sorry, please, run faster!

I’m trying!

“Henchman!”

“Agh! Damn it, it’s gonna catch up at this rate!” Stopping and turning, Ace held his pen out at ‘Grumpy’ unleashing wind at him, wind which didn’t stop him.

“Ẁ̶̸́̕͟͞͝u̶̧̨̡͢͢҉̨ų̶͜͞͏̨̡͏ų̴̴̕͢͢͞͞ú̷̶̸̸͘̕͡u͟͏̸̧͘͜͟͝ư̸̷̧̕͘͜͞ờ̕͟͞͝͝͡ó̸̧̢̧̢̕͟o̵̶̕͝͠͏̸̛o̷̶͘͠͝͠҉̶o̧҉̵̛҉̸̧̀o̢҉̶̨̛̛͟͠ơ͘҉̷̢͞͠͠h̴̸̢҉̸̢́͝h̸̴͠͞҉̶͟͟h̸̵̸̡̢̀̀͢!̷̶̶̡̢̡̕͝!̛́͘͜͏̢̛͟!̵̷̵̡̡͟͠͝” Right before ‘Grumpy’ could hit Ace, Yuuan pushed him out of the way, staff held in front of them to try and block the hit, instead Yuuan was knocked back, hitting a wall.

“Ack!”

“Henchman! G-Get away from them!” Running in front of Yuuan, Grim used his fire against ‘Grumpy’, it also didn’t stop him nor do a thing.

Ace helped Yuuan up as Deuce tried his cauldrons next, the only thing that seemed to have worked, if only slightly. “We need to get out of here now!”

“No shit, Deuce!”

“I know where the crystal is.” Yuuan coughed, leaning on Ace as they ran.

“Wait, you do! Then we need to go back for it!” Deuce would have stopped if Yuuan didn’t grab his sleeve, tugging him with them.

“Later! We need to get out of here first!”

“G͝͏̕͞͏͟͟͝Ó́҉͜͏̷̶́O̕͏̶͘͏̵̵̀O̸̸̧̢̡̡͟͠Ǫ̶̢̨̧͘͜͞Ò̶̵̢͢͝͠͞Ǫ̢͘͢͟͟͝͡Ó̷͏̸̴̕͝͝Ơ̸̡͟͝҉̴͞O̷̢͘͟͝҉̵̀O͏̵̶̷͢͝͞͠O͏̛͏̸́̕͟͝O̷͢҉̧́̕͟͞Ǫ̴̵̴̛̀̕͠Ò̵̢̢̢̨́͡Ò̴̡̨̕͜͜͞Ó̸̶̕͢͝͝͝Ò̴̸̢́͘͢͝O̵̷̡͘̕͢͠͞O͞҉̢̡҉̛͢͢H̶̷̶̡̛̕͘͠H̵̸̡̀͟͏̨͝H̷̵̨͘͟͡͠͝!̸̡̛̀̀͝͝͠ ̴̸̴͘͟͠͝͝Ẃ̵̴̶̴̢̢͢Ơ̵̧̧͢͟҉͏N̷͜͞͏̸̧͝͝'̴̷̛̀͘͞͏̀T̵̡̀́̕͢͡͝ ͏̶̡̕͢͡͝͠G̶̸̨̨̨̧͟͡I̵͘͘͜͜͞͡͞V̸́͡͏̵͢͞͞É̸̸̸̸̛͘͟!̧̢̧̧͘͜͜͝!́҉͟͠҉́͠͡!̵̢̀́͘͟͢҉ ̵̵̢̧́̕͝͝Ý̴̶̸̀͜͞͞Ơ̴̵̷̕͢͠͡U̷̶̧͘̕̕͟͠ ̧͏̢̨̧́͞͝W̸̷̵̧͟͠͝҉O̵͘͢͜͡͞͞͡N̵̴̵̛͢͟͏̧'̸͜͡͏̧̛͝͞T͢͏̷̸̨̛͘͢ ̡̨͢͜͟͢͞͝S͝͏̶̕͏̨́͢T̴̡̀͘͜͢͠҉E̶҉̶̛̀͜͞͞Ą̶̵̛͢͝͞҉L͏̶̸̡̧͝͏̨ ̧̨҉̴̶̷̀͝Ì̸̸̸̡͟͜͢T̵̵̴̶̨̧̛͠ ̵̵̧́̀͟͝͏F̴̴̢̛́́͜͝R̶̨̀͘̕͜͠͝Ó̡̡̡́̕͜͟Ḿ̷̨̛͢͟͜͝ ̵̵̡̢̕͘͠͞M̵͘̕͡͝͏̛͜É̶̡̨̀̕̕͟Ȩ̶̛̀́̕͜͏!̵̵̧̨̨̛̛͠!̵̵̴̢̡̀͟͡!͏̵̢̧̧̛̀͜!̨͏̴̴̧͘͞͠” ‘Grumpy’ chased them all the way to the entrance, stopping before it as they left, lumbering back in.
 
Back at the dwarfs’ cottage, all four lay panting on the ground before it.

“Is… Is this far enough??” Grim was flopped beside Yuuan, watching as they winced from where they lay.

“What the hell was that! And

don’t

say its name is ‘Grumpy’, Yuuan,-”

“Oh hey, ya said my name..~!”

“-... No one said

that

would be there, the headmaster didn’t say the mines were haunted by ghosts and.. And… Some… Ink?? Monster??!?”

“Yuuan, you said you knew where the magic crystal is? Where!? We need to go back and get it!”

“As if! I’m not going back in there with that

thing

running around, look at what it did to Tiny! If he hadn’t pushed me out of the way

I’d

have been the one getting hit, which would have been a lot worse given I wouldn’t have anything to block it! Let’s just cut our losses and head back. I’d rather

not

deal with that again.”

“Wha!? Don’t fucking screw with me! I’m not getting expelled just cause

you

want to give up! Yuuan knows where the crystal is, so like hell I’m giving up!”

“Ha, you say that and yet you're worse at magic then I am. You really think I’m gonna give up my life for

this

? Think again, it ain’t worth it.”

“Eh!? Is that right?! Then stay here and keep cowering like the spineless bastard you are! I shouldn’t expect much from you though, given you wanted to abandoned Yuuan!”

“Huuuh?! ‘Coward’?! Who the hell ya talking about?”

“U-Uhh… Henchman? Is it just me or… Did Deuce change?”

“Nope, not just you… He looks ready to fight Ace…”

Hearing this seemed to snap Deuce out of… Whatever that was as he coughed into his fist. “A-Ah… My bad… I shouldn’t have snapped like that…”

Wincing, Yuuan stood, looking between the two. “Doubt either of your fucks will like this, but fighting Grumpy one-on-one won’t do shit, hell, doubt even two on one will help, which means… We all need to work together to even have a

chance

of beating him.”

“Ha! Like I’d work with ‘Mister two face’ here!”

“You think I wanna work with you either? You were ready to throw in the towel!”

Yuuan just watched as Ace and Deuce bickered, neither of them wanting to work with the other and just egging each other on. “Fuck it! Fine, stay here and keep arguing for all I care, I’ll get the damned crystal to save

your

asses, thank me after asshats.” Huffing, they turned, holding their staff as they marched back toward the mines entrance.

“Woooow~, leaving someone else to clean up your mess, lame~ But not as lame as getting expelled on the first day~.” Grim snickered, going after Yuuan.

“... Oi! Tiny! The hell ya think you’re doing! Didn’t you take a hit back there?”

“That and the… Ghosts? Dragged you off before, they might try that again if you go back in.”

“And? Does it look like I fucking care? I don’t give two shits that I’m hurt, I’ll at least know if Grumpy is near and be able to get out before he hits me… I just need to find a way to help him…”

“H-Help it?! Why the hell you tryna do something like that?!”

“... Cause I told him I would, I promised him… That, and he doesn’t mean it… Whatever’s happened to him, he’s been like that for a long time now, the fact he’s still in there… He’s been fighting for so long and I’m

going to

help him, I don’t care what happens, anyway.”

The two caught up to Yuuan, standing in front of them to stop them.

“Fine, seeing as you’re so

hellbent

on this, might as well see what happens…”

“You can’t go in there alone Yuuan! Who knows what could happen given you can’t use magic…”

“... I have Grim, and I can

to

use magic! …Just… What I think is my magic hasn’t been very… Fighty…”

“Whatever Tiny, you wanted us to work together yeah? Ya must have a plan then.”

“I… Don’t…

But!

I can… Maybe think of one…”

“... You’re kidding me… Right? You wanted us to work together, and you didn’t even have a plan?!”

“Well, I knew you wouldn’t wanna, anyway!! I didn’t think just having my injured ass going back in to get the crystal would work??”

“Well, it did, so you might wanna think of a plan Yuuan.”

“Eh… Eh?! Why just me!! You guys help me too!!”
 
Though it took a bit, they had finally worked out a plan, with both Ace and Yuuan were hurt to some degree, they had to plan around it, Yuuan also told them how they’d know when Grumpy was near, even if with what they had planned they wouldn’t need that much, so as much as the two boys hated it, Yuuan would be going in to get the crystal while Ace, Deuce and Grim caused a distraction to lure Grumpy outside and keep him out there till Yuuan could get back out, after that they’d go on the offensive to try and take Grumpy down, and hopefully free or save him. Now the four of them stood back in front of the mines.

“Henchman… Y-You sure this’ll work? I-I’m not scared or anything, but you’re already hurt! Who’s gonna get me more food i-if… If something else happens to ya!”

“It’ll be fine Grim, I’ll be able to sneak past Grumpy while you guys get him outside, just remember the plan, alright?”

“Right. Let’s go!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Ready guys?” Yuuan stood just in the entrance of the mines, Grim standing a little ways away.Getting a nod from all of them, Yuuan headed in, finding a place to hide as they waited.Taking a breath, Grim walked in after Yuuan, launching some flames before yelling. “Oi ink head! I-I-I got your crystal!”Rumbling was heard deep within as ‘Grumpy’ lumbered out, rushing at Grim. “Ţ̶̕҉̸͢͜͞͡͞Ḩ̷̡͘͢͢͞͡͡͠Į̶̸̛̛̀͞͞͞͡E͏҉̡̡̧̀͞͝͞͡F̴̛̕̕͘͢͟͟͏̶!̷̸̶̢̧̡̛̕̕͟!̴̵̷̨̢͘̕͢͡͡ ̷̴̵̧̧̧́͟͢͠Ǵ̢͢͢͜͟͏̵̡͜Į̶̷̵̴̢̧̧͠҉V̴̨̛͢͏̵̴̡̨̛Ȩ̸̧̛̛̀́͟͝͠ ̡̀́͘͜͏̷̕͡͡Į̸̴̡̛͘͢͢͡҉T̵̨̛̀͢͢͠҉̶̴ ̧̀͝͏̷̛̛͟͡͡B̡̡́͟͠҉̶̀͞͝A̶̷̴̧͘͘͟͜͠͞C̨͘͜͟͡҉̸̢́͢Ḱ̨҉̷̨͘͘͜͡҉!̶̷̀͏͏̸̸̛͘͘!̸̢̢͢͏̷͞҉̷̛”“Gah! It’s here! Hurry!” Running out with 'Grumpy' hot on his tail, Grim rushed to where Ace and Deuce were hiding outside the tunnel, giving Yuuan the chance they needed.
We’ll save you Grumpy, just hold out for a bit longer!

... I’ll try, but you best move fast, I don’t know how long your friends will last without you there…

Don’t worry.
 Rushing in, Yuuan quickly ran deeper in, following the same rails that lead them out back in, back in to where the magic crystal was, listening to the faint yelling of the others and 'Grumpy', from the sounds of it, the plan was working, Ace and Grim would combine their magics together, making both stronger, while Deuce kept 'Grumpy' pinned or knocked off balance with his cauldrons, they’d switch out from this to just single shots, to give themselves a break. “Found it.” Crystal in hand, Yuuan hurried back.“... Little lordling…?”“Shi-”“What are you doing…?”“... I’m helping him, but we needed this crystal, the same one he was guarding, with it now, he’ll stay out of the mines. I promised him I’d help me, that I’d save him, I’m not gonna let Grumpy now.”“You… You know his name?”“Of course I do, I know him, him and the others that lived in that house, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dwarf to save.” Not giving the ghost a chance, they took off.

Back with the trio, they were able to keep running circles around ‘Grumpy’, hiding when needed and covering each other's backs.Like with their fight, Ace’s and Grim’s magic danced together, but unlike when they were being used against, they were working together, creating a beautiful but deadly combo, slowly chipping away at ‘Grumpy’, Grim’s flames burning ever higher and brighter when mixed with Ace’s wind, wind that wouldn’t let ‘Grumpy’ free, no matter where he turned, and when those two needed a break, Deuce was right there, ready to pin him down with his cauldrons or even knock ‘Grumpy’ around, tripping him up, there was even times Ace would use his wind to blow around Deuce’s cauldrons, or Grim would use his flames to heat them up, even though, just hours ago, they were all fighting with each other, now, now they worked as one, a rhythm to their dance, something they shouldn’t have from just this one fight, but they did, like they knew what the other was going to do, working as if they have known the other all their life, all because of Yuuan… The magic of all three sung together, its unheard melody, the white noise in their fight, moved them to an unknown beat, and though the song was otherworldly it sounded… Incomplete… Like it was missing something, so while it worked with just the three, it wasn’t finished, and as they moved, as they danced, as their magic danced and sang under their skin, they knew something was missing, something that would help complete this melody… Until then, they’d do their best to make up for the missing pieces, they’d let their magic and soul sing so loudly none could tell the song wasn’t finished.

Nearing the exit, Yuuan could see the others were starting to slow down. “Shit… I GOT IT!!”All of them turned, even ‘Grumpy’, seeing Yuuan with crystal in hand. “.̶̴̨̧̨̀͘͢͡͏̨̕.̢̢̛̀́̕̕͡͏̨̕͢.̶̢͢͢͞҉̡̛͢͝҉̡ ̴̧҉̸̡̡̛̛͢͡҉͢T̸̨̨̧̢̛̛͢͜͟͠͡H̸̵̀̀͜͠҉̷̷͘͟͠A̷̵̴̴̴̢̕̕͜͝͡͡T̵̸̵̸̨̧̨̧̛́́͠!̀҉̵̵̢̛̛͟͜͟͏͡ ̡͘͞͏̵̷̸̷̧͘͘͟Į̷͏̴̸̧̧̡̡̢̛̕S̶̴̸̶̴̸̡̢̢̕͡͝!̸̷̢͜͝҉̛́͘͟͢͝ ̷̵̷̴̵̢̨̡̀̕͞͠Ḿ̵̸̷̨̛͜͡҉̛́̀Ì̶̵̸̧̢̛̕͜͝͝͠I̴̧̢̕͠͞͝҉̴̕͟͠Į̶̵̢̢́͘͢͏͠҉͜I̴̶̛͡͏̷̴̀́̀̕͝I̶̶͜͝҉̷̶͜͏҉͢͡I̸̛͏̵̸̡̡͜͢͜͠͠I̴̷̡̢̡̛͘͘̕͢͜͠I̶͢҉̶͟͏̶̷̨̛͟͟Į̴̕͘͟͜͝͏̡̛͝͡N̡̡̧̡͢͡͞҉̢̨́͝Ę̴̴̸̷̢̛̕̕͠͡͝!̡҉̵̸̡̡̧̛͢͠͠͞ ̷̷̡̢̛͟͜͞͝͝͠҉T̛҉͞҉͠͏̵̷̡̛̛͢H҉̶̴̸̡̢́́́͘͜͡Į̴̵̶̶̧̀̀͘͞͞͏Í̵̸̶̸̵̸̕͟͞͠͞Į̷̸̵͠͞͞͏͘͢͡͝Ì̵̸̢͡͠҉̸̧̡̨̕Ì̵̷̧̡̡̛̀̕͞͝͠Ȩ̷̸̷̴̧̛̀͘̕͡͠E҉̸̶̵̢̛̛̀́͘͜͞Ȩ̷̸̶̨̡̀͘͜͟͢͡É̸̸̶̡̕͘̕͢͟͠͠É̸̶̴̷̸̴̡̕̕͟͡E͏̀͡͞҉́́͠͝҉̧̕F̧͏̸̸̧̧̀́̕͘̕͜!̴̷̧̡̨͘̕͜͜͢͠͞!͢͟͝͝͏̶̵͞͡͏̸͢!̵̴̧̧̧̀́́͘͘͢͠”“OH SHIT!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nearing the exit, Yuuan could see the others were starting to slow down. “Shit… I GOT IT!!”

All of them turned, even ‘Grumpy’, seeing Yuuan with crystal in hand. “.̶̴̨̧̨̀͘͢͡͏̨̕.̢̢̛̀́̕̕͡͏̨̕͢.̶̢͢͢͞҉̡̛͢͝҉̡ ̴̧҉̸̡̡̛̛͢͡҉͢T̸̨̨̧̢̛̛͢͜͟͠͡H̸̵̀̀͜͠҉̷̷͘͟͠A̷̵̴̴̴̢̕̕͜͝͡͡T̵̸̵̸̨̧̨̧̛́́͠!̀҉̵̵̢̛̛͟͜͟͏͡ ̡͘͞͏̵̷̸̷̧͘͘͟Į̷͏̴̸̧̧̡̡̢̛̕S̶̴̸̶̴̸̡̢̢̕͡͝!̸̷̢͜͝҉̛́͘͟͢͝ ̷̵̷̴̵̢̨̡̀̕͞͠Ḿ̵̸̷̨̛͜͡҉̛́̀Ì̶̵̸̧̢̛̕͜͝͝͠I̴̧̢̕͠͞͝҉̴̕͟͠Į̶̵̢̢́͘͢͏͠҉͜I̴̶̛͡͏̷̴̀́̀̕͝I̶̶͜͝҉̷̶͜͏҉͢͡I̸̛͏̵̸̡̡͜͢͜͠͠I̴̷̡̢̡̛͘͘̕͢͜͠I̶͢҉̶͟͏̶̷̨̛͟͟Į̴̕͘͟͜͝͏̡̛͝͡N̡̡̧̡͢͡͞҉̢̨́͝Ę̴̴̸̷̢̛̕̕͠͡͝!̡҉̵̸̡̡̧̛͢͠͠͞ ̷̷̡̢̛͟͜͞͝͝͠҉T̛҉͞҉͠͏̵̷̡̛̛͢H҉̶̴̸̡̢́́́͘͜͡Į̴̵̶̶̧̀̀͘͞͞͏Í̵̸̶̸̵̸̕͟͞͠͞Į̷̸̵͠͞͞͏͘͢͡͝Ì̵̸̢͡͠҉̸̧̡̨̕Ì̵̷̧̡̡̛̀̕͞͝͠Ȩ̷̸̷̴̧̛̀͘̕͡͠E҉̸̶̵̢̛̛̀́͘͜͞Ȩ̷̸̶̨̡̀͘͜͟͢͡É̸̸̶̡̕͘̕͢͟͠͠É̸̶̴̷̸̴̡̕̕͟͡E͏̀͡͞҉́́͠͝҉̧̕F̧͏̸̸̧̧̀́̕͘̕͜!̴̷̧̡̨͘̕͜͜͢͠͞!͢͟͝͝͏̶̵͞͡͏̸͢!̵̴̧̧̧̀́́͘͘͢͠”

“OH SHIT!”

‘Grumpy’ managed to push through the magic, heading straight for Yuuan.

Move! Hurry!

Ducking just-in-time thanks to Grumpy’s warning, Yuuan ran toward the others, zig-zagging to make them harder to hit.

I’m weaker now, you should be able to stop me! Do it, please!

I will, Grumpy! I told you I’d help you and I meant it!

“He’s weaker now, guys! Just a little more!”

“Ight, just like we’ve been doing! No holding back now Deuce, Grim!”

“Like I’d dream of it when we’re this close!”

“Hehe! Time for the biggest flame yet!”

Grumpy! How much can you slow down your ink self?

... I haven’t tried… Not in a while, but no… This close… I’ll give it my best, kid, do your worst!

We will!

“Guys! Grumpy’s gonna try and up us from the inside. He’s gonna try and slow himself down so we can hit him without much worry.”

The three nodded and so began the dance anew, but this time, a new voice joined the song, and even though the song was still missing many pieces, with Yuuan there, no one but the four in it could tell, and though only three used magic, Yuuan’s own magics, hidden so deep within them that only the Dark Mirror could see it, the twin sparks of two magics, so different but so alike, sang with the three, two songs rang out from them, blending seamlessly with others own songs, making a new melody as they fought ‘Grumpy’, fought to save him, to free him, and though Yuuan couldn’t do much other than guide ‘Grumpy’, making sure the others never got in harm's way, their twin sparks sang louder, one spark as old as the very earth itself and the other, so very young, unsure of where it stood alongside the older spark, together the two sang, together they hummed beneath Yuuan’s skin, and though the newer spark so small, just barely a light, it sang louder, backed by the ancient magic within Yuuan, enough that, when the others had gotten ‘Grumpy’ down, when they couldn’t muster up that last bit of magic they needed to free him, something happened, Yuuan with staff in hand, turned it towards ‘Grumpy’.

Thank you, kid, I can finally see the others again… Goodbye.

You’re welcome Grumpy, tell the others I said ‘hi’, alright? And… Goodbye.

Will do kid, will do.

The flames in the hollow burned so brightly it was blinding. A flame, not unlike Grim’s own, formed at the head of the staff, starting small but growing quickly in sizes, ‘Grumpy’ reaching out to stop them. “Goodbye Grumpy… Now you can rest…” The flames hit ‘Grumpy’, hitting him in the head, right on the crack, causing the ink to spill out, coating Yuuan and knocking them over, before what was ‘Grumpy’ went up in flames, the scream of the ink monster dying with it, but a voice could be heard through it.

“Thanks kid, been needing a good rest…”

All of them stood, or in Yuuan’s case sat, there, panting, before Yuuan raised a fist, yelling and laughing in victory. “HAHA! WE DID IT!!”

“W-We… We won!”

“We fucking did it!!”

“Hell yeah!”

The boys all celebrated, even going as far as a victory high five.

“Awww~ Look at you guys~ Getting along~ Hehehehe.” Yuuan giggled from the ground, having flopped onto their back, even if it hurt.

They all paused, looking at each other, then looking away.

“A-Ah… It was just the heat of the moment! N-Nothing like that!”

“Y-Yeah! Geez, don't say something so weird.”

“W-We won cause of

my

magic! N-Nothing else, henchman!”

Ace groaned, shaking his head. “... Damn it… It’s lame to make up excuses… And even though I hate to admit it, Tiny-”

“Bitch.”

“-but we won cause of your plan… And that… And you

using

magic!”

“... Oh, holy shit, I USED MAGIC! FUCK YEAH!”

“You did! But… Ace is right, we got the magic crystal and won because of your plan.” Deuce sat down beside Yuuan, and despite them all having seen him get covered in ink, not a single drop was on him, nor around him. “We won’t get expelled now.”

“Hehe~ Teamwork makes the dreamwork~.”

Snorting, Ace leaned down, flicking Yuuan on the forehead. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Now, we’re all tired and beaten up. Let’s head back.” Ace held out his hand, helping Yuuan up while Deuce stood up on his own.

“... Wonder what all that ink was…?”

“Aaaaah, I’m hungry from using so much magic… Henchman! Shouldn’t there still be some food at the dorm, right?”

“Yeah, should be. We didn’t go back at any point, so I at least still got some leftovers and there’s still the rest of the food Crowley brought us.”

“Hehe!” Something caught Grim’s eye. “Hmmm? What’s this?”

“Something from ‘Grumpy?’”

A black crystal laid on the ground, right where the ink ‘Grumpy’ had been. It was as black as night and seemed to suck the very light out of the surroundings.

“Is it a magic crystal?”

“Maybe, but I didn’t think any could be black as coal…”

Grim picked it up, sniffing it. “Whatever it is, it smells really good…”

“... Grim, don’t.”

“Ooooo, this has to have been a tasty snack ‘Grumpy’ was hiding!”

“Grim! Put it down!”

“Hehe~ Snack time~.” And down the hatch it goes, followed by a strange sound from Grim.

“Grim! Spit it out!”

“WOOAAAAH! DELICIOUS!!”

“Wha?!”

“It's full-bodied, but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth…” Grim hummed, looking far too pleased with himself. “Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!”

“... Grim, don’t ever fucking do that again. I

will

shove my fingers in your mouth if you try this again.”

“Gahahaha! Tasty, tasty!” Grim jumped up onto Yuuan’s shoulder, patting their cheek. “Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours.”

“Uhuh…”

“Let’s head back and give this magic crystal to the headmaster!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Back in NRC, within the Mirror Chamber, the four stood before Crowley, magic crystal in Yuuan’s hand.

Though, Crowley seemed shocked by this. “Eh!? You really went to Dwarfs' Mine to find a magic crystal?”

“Eeh?!”/“... Wot…?”

“I really didn't think... My word, I never actually thought you'd go…” He hummed, hand on chin as he looked at them. “You'd not only go but then come back with a crystal in hand.” Sighing, he stepped back, turning his head away. “I even completed the paperwork for your expulsion in solemn silence…”

“... You did fucking

what

.”

“Nnga! The nerve of this guy! While we were off fighting for our lives!”

“‘Fighting for your lives’? What, what do you mean.”

“There was a monster there! It was this giant ink…

Thing

, it was crazy strong too!”

Pausing, he looked at them all, noting how Yuuan wasn’t standing up fully and wincing slightly. “... Explain it to me in more detail in my office…” Crowley seemed worried.
 
The walk to Crowley’s office was silent and slow, all four of them tried and sore to some extent. Once there, they each took turns tell Crowley what happened, from the ghosts that dragged Yuuan off, to what Yuuan saw while alone, getting chased out of the mines and getting hurt, coming up with a plan to get the crystal and defeat ‘Grumpy’, Yuuan using magic, even Grim eating the black crystal.

“Hoh hoohh. A mysterious monster-”

“Grumpy, his name was Grumpy…”

“-living in the coal mine. The four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?”

“Yep.”

“We didn't really work together…”

“It was more like our goals were aligned…”

“... We worked together you shitheads, suck it up.”

Uncaring of Yuuan’s words, Crowley started to tear up. “Ooh... Ooooh… OOOOOOOOHHH!!!! OOOOOOHHH!!” And then he started… Sobbing?

“Uhhhh…”

“What's with this guy? Why is an adult bursting into tears!?”

“... I’d like to know that to Grim…”

“In all these years that I've been Headmaster…” He sobbed. “For the day to come that students from Night Raven College to go hand in hand to face and defeat their enemy!”

“What!? I did not hold this guy's hand!”

“I would never do that either, gross! Wait, how old are you, Headmaster!?”

“... It’s an expression you fucks, doesn’t mean you

did

.”

“I am overwhelmed with emotion.”

“We can see that…”

“This incident confirms it.”

“... Eh?”

“Yuuan.” Crowley pointed at them, confusing the ever loving fuck out of em. “Without a doubt, you have talent as a beast tamer!”

“Ah… That… Uhhh…”

“Not only that, but you successfully used magic in the fight!” Stepping around his desk, Crowley stood before them. “Students of Night Raven College are budding mages chosen by the Dark Mirror. But due to their excellence, many of them turn out to be prideful, egotistical, and self-centered individualists who never give a thought about cooperating with others.”

“And that’s putting it lightly…”

“You're really not saying anything good…”

“And, although you came here without knowing how to use magic, without knowing you even

had

magic, that precisely is why you're able to give instructions to magic users and get them to cooperate.” Clapping his hands, Crowley looked at Yuuan with glee. “Surely a mediocre, run-of-the-mill human like you is exactly what this school needs right now!”

“He's not saying anything nice is he!?”

“...

Mediocre my fucking ass

.”

“I have no doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this academy.” He hummed, turning away from Yuuan’s glare. “So says my intuition as an educator. Along with rescinding Mr. Trappola and Mr. Spade's expulsion, I shall give you the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!”

“Eeeh!?”/”Bitch.”

“Ah, so, me

and

Grim

finally

get to be students, ya know, like we’re

meant

to be? Just… Just cause we did this

one

thing?” Yuuan spat, glaring at Crowley’s back, watching as he hunched in and slowly turned.

“A-Ah… W-Well…”

“So what, had none of this happened, me and Grim would still be

unofficially

students, so it took

FIGHTING

a monster, an inked version of someone I know, to get into this fucking

school

.” Though the staff was ‘on’ Yuuan’s back, the flames within it burned brighter with their anger. “Is that what it fucking takes? Putting my life on the line? And for what? ‘

Officially

’ being a student, even though, no matter what you say,

I already was one

.”

Ace and Deuce had both taken a step back but Grim, still on Yuuan’s shoulders, growled at Crowley, just as pissed as Yuuan.

“Y-Yuuan, I… H-Have a feeling… That if I said what I wanted to say, it would only make you more upset… So… Let me apologize instead, I’m sorry for what I have put you through, I’m sorry I took the chance to be a student before away from you and in turn away from Grim, but now… Now I am trying to right this wrong and… And there

is

one more thing I can do with that, something I

should

have done before… But now, now I will.” He sighed, taking his staff, he stood in front of Yuuan. “Yuuan, take your staff in hand, if you would.”

Confused, Yuuan did as asked, holding their arm out so Grim could go from their shoulder to Ace’s.

“Now then, what I am about to say is similar to the oaths of Onboro, in that they are never alike.” Pointing the end of his staff at Yuuan’s chest, he spoke.

“To right my wrongs, I say this vow,

Words I should have said, I say them now,

To long has this school been without their guide,

To long has this school been ruled by their pride,

And now stands before me, the one we need,

And now I’ll watch as they take the lead,

From moonrise to moonset, till dawn’s first light,

I say these words, so that they may set things right,

As Headmaster I now crown the dorms true lord,

And now with their title, Onboro will surely be restored.”

Like with the oath Yuuan said for the ghosts and Grim, this too had magic in its very words, magic, that turned into flames dancing around them, flames that welcomed them home, magic that danced around them, hugging them, warming them, never once harming them, and as the flames faded, they all saw what had changed.

The first change Yuuan noticed was their staff, it was still gnarled and twisted, the cracks still there but now they glowed with an inner light, and if Yuuan looked close enough, the glow could be mistaken for flames, of which pulsed to a beat, like a heart, the hollow remained the same, but the flames within it, at least Yuuan’s own flame, were brighter and stronger, beating and flickering in time with the lights from the cracks, what was unidentifiable before was easily identified now, were wings that emerged from behind the hollow, both spreading out to their full length before closing back up, curling around the hollow to protect the flames within, the rust, ink and pieces that had stuck out were all gone too, the staff looked good as new.

“Woah… Yuuan, your clothes…”

Looking down, Yuuan saw that their robes were gone, in its place was something new and different, the shirt they wore was form fitting and as black as ink, just like the last, with black buttons along it instead, some kind of ruffled layered cravat or something of the like was connected to the collar under a gemstone brooch, and though they couldn’t see its color, it was the same light purple that Grim’s own was, over that was a waistband corset with straps that crossed in the back, six golden buttons lined the sides in the front, from under the main body of it, was a black-and-white checkered ruffled layer, on the left hip under the layer, hang some keys, the same gold as the buttons, and under that was what looked like a train skirt, though it didn’t touch in the front or back, the back had a slit in the skirt while the front was left open, as with the checkered layer above, the outside of it was a dark blue, faint glitters on it acting like stars in the night sky, the inside looking like a sunrise, over both of those was a shrug of sorts with a hood, starting from either side of their spine and ending at their wrists was what looked like a pair of bat wings, the ‘wings’, only connected at the top, trailed down their back and sides, ending before it could touch the ground, it was a dark blue-black in color, the outside just like the waistband corset, same with the inside, the pants they wore were black and slight loose, and they had pockets, their shoes were also black over the knee high laced up boots, on the outersides of each boot, blue flames decorated them, swirling up from the bottom, on their hands were chained claw rings connected to a bracelet, the color fades from black at the tips to gold at the wrist, they acted more like gloves though, some sheer fabric under it, letting their hands be seen but giving the illusion that their fingers, like the claw rings, had been dipped in ink, upon their head sat a crown, a black obsidian crown like a laurel wreath, in between the temple and ear, two pieces stuck out, one on either side of their head, acting like horns, not only that but their hair had been styled to, all the hair behind their ears had been gathered and put into a loose braid that started just before their shoulders, being tied off with a ribbon the same as Grim’s, it was quite the change.

“Huh…” Placing the crown back on their head, they looked between Crowley and the boys. “... Ok then.”

“Now, with that done… Ah, Yuuan, as you are still new to magic, I will be counting you and Grim as one student for most things, until you can get a proper handle of your own magic.”

“... Yeah, that’s fine, don’t really know how I did that anyway, so it’s probably for the best.”

“I’m glad you think so!”

“Aha! Look at you. School's just started, but you're already a prefect?”

“‘Prefect’? Uhh… Ok, if that’s the same or

like

a dorm leader then I already was that, I mean, you heard Crowley, I’m Onboro’s dorm leader, even without the fire show I was already the dorm leader since I was given this staff. It’s how Grim became a student too.”

“Wait..? Really? That… That explains why the Dark Mirror gave you the staff…”

“Eh, whatever, not sure what being a dorm leader or perfect means, but guess I’ll try, got nothing better to do.”

“Ahaha. Good luck, Prefect!”

“.... At least it’s better than ‘Tiny’...”

Crowley also handed Yuuan a camera, called a ‘Ghost Camera’, taking a picture of someone with it, would store the memory in that picture, allowing someone to relive that memory or even watch it unfold before them, Crowley wanted them to take pictures of Grim and others, to leave behind many memories of their time at the academy… And to use it to catch someone misbehaving.

“Now then, it’s already quite late. Everyone, return to your dormitories, we can talk more in the morning.”

“Right, then we’ll be going now.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The four walked down the silent, darkened hall, each of them yawning and Yuuan carrying a set of the school's uniform that Crowley had handed to them before they all left his office.

“... Expulsion rescinded... I'm beat.”

“Oh my, oh my…”

Grim hummed and yawned from Yuuan’s shoulder, happy that he was finally a student. “Hehe~ I’m officially a student of Night Raven College! I'm gonna leave you all in the dust and take the top spot!”

“Grim, you’ll also have to fight me for that spot, sure I might not be aiming for it, but I still might get it without even meaning to.”

“You sure talk big for someone who only goes up to my knees… Anyway, it's fine.”

“We're classmates tomorrow, Prefect, Grim.”

“Mmmhmm, guess I can finally say it’s nice to meet you both~!”

“Saying that again is really embarrassing, will you stop?”

“Pff, that's true. Even if we don't want to, we're going to see each other every day. I'm even in Heartslabyul with this jerk.”

“The thought of having to see Mr. Serious' mug everyday makes me sick. Eugh.”

“That's my line, truant Ace.”

“Whatever you say, almost-expelled-crybaby Deuce. Alright, see you tomorrow, Prefect.”
 
The four waved goodbye to each other, Ace and Deuce heading into the Hall of Mirrors to head back to their dorm as Yuuan and Grim started on the long walk back to theirs.
 
“Even though they bickered… They make a pretty good duo, huh? Bet after that they’re gonna have each other's backs.”

“Yep! They're the ‘fight because they're so close’ type. Anyway, we better get back to the dorm!”

Sighing fondly, Yuuan shook their head, making their way out of the school.

“Tomorrow, we aren't the handymen! Finally... Finally! Our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!” Grim said, fist bumping the air.

“Heh, that sounds like something the protagonist or protagonist’s friend would say at the end of the first chapter or episode.”
 
Coming up to the statues of the Great Seven, Yuuan slowed to a stop, something was different about the statues now… Though outwardly they looked the same, it was the feel of them that was different, more… Open…

“Hey Grim… Do… Do the statues feel… Strange to you?”

“Huh? No… Why?”

“Ah, well… It’s just… Since I first saw them… They’ve felt… Off, like… Like they

weren’t

statues or something… I don’t know what it is, but now… Now they feel different…?”

“Hmmmm, maybe it’s cause you used magic today? Or whatever you did with Grumpy to understand him?”

“Maybe… But… Eh… I’m too tired to think about it right now, maybe in the morning I’ll worry about it…”

“Yeah, let’s head home and get some food!”

“Aye, aye, captain!”

As they made it past the statues, Yuuan felt as if each one greeted them, called out to them, though one was heard above the rest.

Sleep well, Primrose, we have a feeling something bad might happen soon.

Yuuan wasn’t sure what to make of it… So they didn’t, they just headed back to their dorm, telling the ghost what happened, how they used magic, if what they did with Grim was something they could turn off, only to find out it was meant to be something they had to focus on to use, not just by looking at someones magic… This, at least with what Yuuan was going with, was likely cause the magic the Dark Mirror used to sort students was some sort of old magic, magic that Yuuan had, meaning that it’s likely something they would have to get used to, after eating Yuuan and Grim made it up to their bedroom, Yuuan slowly getting out of their dorms uniform and into the shirt they used to sleep in last night, and into bed…
 
…..
 
………
 
…………..
 
………………
 
And as Yuuan dreamed… They dreamt of a dark room with no light, no end… And in that abyss, they heard a sound…
 
……
 
………
 
…………
 
………………

Drip…