Fragile Snow Butterfly lost in a Twisted Wonderland - Youji_Akuma (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue: Come, little butterfly, and we'll show you a real happy ending

Chapter Text

Prologue: Come, little butterfly, and we’ll show you a real happy ending

Ah...my beloved and beautiful flower of evil.

A light groan escaped Yuki’s lips as she squeezed her eyes shut more as a voice slowly started to invade her subconsciousness.

You are the most beautiful in the world.

She slowly turned onto her side, pulling the blanket up over her more, and snuggled into her pillow. She then took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled; letting her body relax more into her bed and fell even deeper into sleep.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the best-

As Yuki slept on, the one mirror that she kept in her room started to glow an eerie white light. At first, it started out quite faint, but grew more intense as the seconds ticked by.

Guided by the Mirror of Darkness, if you ever so desire…

As the mirror continued to let out a steady stream of light into the room, Yuki’s eyes slowly opened on their own, revealing unfocused eyes, before her body moved to sit up.

Take thy hand that lies within the mirror.

Almost robotically, Yuki’s body moved to first pull the blanket off of her before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and stood to her feet. She then slowly walked toward her mirror as it began to glow more brightly.

Flames that can turn even the stars to ashes.

Ice that can freeze time.

Earth that can swallow even the sky.

As her body moved closer and closer to the mirror, her hand slowly started to stretch out toward it. However, just as the tips of her fingers were mere centimeters away from touching the glass, her body stopped moving forward and slowly started to pull her hand back. That is, until the voice spoke again.

Show no fear to the power of darkness.

Upon hearing the words, Yuki’s body continued to move forward again, stretching her hand out once more. The moment her fingers touched the glass, it began to ripple like water before letting her hand go through first, followed by the rest of her body as she stepped through.

Come now, show me your power.

Once the last bit of Yuki’s body was pulled through the mirror, the glass released one final ripple before becoming still again. The light that once came from it faded as quickly and quietly as it had come. Yuki-Daicho Walker was no longer part of the human world…

We only have a little bit of time left.

She was now part…

At all costs, do not let go of that hand.

Of the villains’ world.

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Villains' World, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter I: Welcome to the Villains’ World, little butterfly

The sound of someone, or something, trying their best to open a locked door was the first thing that Yuki heard as she slowly came into consciousness.

“ Could have sworn I left it unlocked for him. ” she thought as she let out a small yawn.

She was about to move her hand to rub her eye, but stopped when a voice spoke.

“Crap. People are already coming.” the voice said. “Gotta get this uniform on while…”

“ That’s...not Allen’s voice. ” Yuki thought, lowering her hand back down.

That was when she finally noticed that she wasn’t in her bed anymore, let alone her room. No, she was in a small and tight space with no light coming in, and the walls felt like they were made out of wood. She couldn’t help but take a gulp when she realized what it was that she might be in.

“Grr! This lid is too heavy.” she heard the voice from outside her “prison” say.

A small breath of relief left her lips as she remember that, whoever it was on the outside was trying to open this...thing. She didn’t want to think about, let alone call it, what it might actually be. She took in a small breath to help her get her bearings before opening her mouth to speak. However, the person on the other side spoke again before giving her the chance to do so.

“Time for...my secret move!” they said, followed by a groaning sound. This made Yuki very confused on what they were doing before hearing them exclaim, “There!”

A loud boom erupted in her eardrums before she saw the silhouette of the door being lit up by a blue flame. It stayed there for a good second or so before disappearing.

“What the hell?!” she exclaimed, jumping back a bit more into her “prison” before rubbing her eyes.

“Alright, okay! Now I just gotta-” the voice said before screaming when the lid on Yuki’s coffin was finally lifted. “Why are you up?!”

Yuki blinked her eyes, letting them adjust to the light first before looking for the owner of the voice. She, unfortunately for her, took note of the room she was currently in before her eyes fell on a bewildered looking...cat creature? She wasn’t too sure if it was supposed to be a cat or some sort of tanuki. She just knew that it was standing on its hindlegs, wearing a ribbon around its neck, and had blue flames coming out of its ears.

“What sort of tanuki are you supposed to be?” she asked as she carefully stepped out of the coffin.

“Just who are you calling a tanuki?!” the tanuki yelled, hopping out of her way. “I am the great Grim!”

“Uh-huh,” Yuki said, “Sure you are.”

The tanuki, Grim, let out a small growl as Yuki rolled her eyes at it. She let out a small breath before getting a better look around the room.

“Well, whatever.” Grim huffed, putting his paws on his hips, “Hey, human!”

“Yuki. And yes?” Yuki said as she looked down at Grim again, putting her own hand on her hip.

Grim smirked up at her as he spoke, “Hurry up and gimme those clothes!”

“Excuse you?!” Yuki exclaimed, glaring at the creature, her hand moving on instinct toward her other hip.

“You heard me! Gimme your clothes!” Grim said, showing no fear. “Otherwise...I’ll roast ya!”

Yuki jumped back a bit as the blue flames appeared again once Grim raised his paws into the air.

“Hey, watch it, tanuki!” she yelled, “There could be other people in those things!”

She pointed to the other coffins that were somehow floating in the room, but it fell on deaf ears as Grim became angered.

“I said I’m not a freaking tanuki!” he yelled.

“ Shoot!” Yuki thought as she watched Grim move to raise his arms again. “ He’s going to blow. ” She took another look around the room, looking at the coffins specifically. “ If there really are other people in those things, I rather not have them get hurt by him...or worse. ”

Yuki slowly inched herself a bit away from Grim, before turning on her heel and booking it for the door. She heard Grim exclaim behind her before hearing him chase after her once she slammed the door open and continued running.

Everything became a blur to her as she kept on running, looking back every so often to see if Grim was still after her. Unfortunately, he was a few steps behind her, only managing to lose her for a bit if she cut a corner at the right time. Neither of them stopped till Yuki reached a dead end within what she believed to be a library.

“Where the heck am I?” Yuki muttered to herself as she tried to catch her breath.

She used one of the tables to lean on, moving to sit on it, before jumping when seeing blue fire burst in front of her. She quickly stomped it out with her foot before seeing Grim stand in front of her.

“Crap,” she muttered under her breath.

“Did you really think you’d get away from me? Dumb human!” Grim said with a smirk.

Yuki clicked her tongue as she stared down at him. Her hand moving on its own again to her hip as she stood up.

“If you don’t wanna get roasted, than you better hand ov-” Grim began before letting out a yelp as a cord wrapped itself tightly around his neck. “Ow! What’s with this cord?!”

“This is no mere “cord”. It is the lash of love!” a man wearing a mask over his face said as he walked closer to the two.

Yuki had jumped back against the table, catching herself, when the “lash of love” was wrapped around Grim’s neck. She felt a little sorry for him when seeing that it was just a whip that was now holding him, bringing up a few memories of her past, before her attention moved to the strange man as he approached her more.

“Ah, found you at last.” he said, a bit exasperated. “Now, you are a new student here, yes?”

“Uh…what?” was all Yuki could say to that as she looked up at the man, confusion clear on her face.

However, it fell on deaf ears as the man looked at her sternly before speaking again. “You shouldn’t do things like that. Leaving the Gate on your own! And not only that, you even brought in an untamed familiar with you and a sword! All of which is against school rules!”

“Sword?” Yuki said, blinking before looking down at her hip.

Sure enough, sitting nicely against her hip was her beloved black sword. And that wasn’t the only thing that made a lump form in her throat. She also noticed that she wasn’t wearing her pajamas that she wore to bed before waking up in this strange place. She was wearing something completely different. Black robes with gold embroidery at some of the edges with a deep purple fabric on the inside with even more gold embroidery. A shaky breath slowly left her lips as the reality sank in. However, before it could sink any further, Grim spoke up, snapping Yuki away from her troubling thoughts and back toward him.

“Let me go!” he said as he struggled to get out of the whip’s hold. “I’m not this human’s familiar!”

“Yes, yes, the rebellious ones always say that. Now, just quiet down for a moment, yes?” the man said as he went over to Grim, bending down and scooping him up into his arm.

He put a hand over his mouth which made Yuki slightly cringed when seeing the golden metal fingertips on the man’s hand. Grim tried to speak through it but all anyone could hear was muffled sounds. Once he had Grim in a secure hold, the man turned his attention to Yuki.

“My goodness. It’s unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own.” the man said with a sigh. “How impatient can you be?”

“Depends on the situation, sir.” Yuki said as she hugged herself a little to keep what little senses she had left intact. She opened her mouth to continue but the man cut her off.

“Well, well, the entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let’s head to the Hall of Mirrors now.” he said as he moved to Yuki’s side and gently put a hand on her back.

“Wait a minute. Entrance ceremony?” Yuki asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, it’s in the room you woke up in with all of those doors.” the man said as he gently lead Yuki out of the library.

“ Does he mean the coffins? ” Yuki thought as she raised an eyebrow to his words.

“All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here.” the man explained. “Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but…”

“But a certain tanuki blew mine pretty much off its hinges with fire.” Yuki said as she leaned over to give a glare to Grim.

He only looked away as the man spoke, “So in the end, the culprit appears to be the familiar. If you’re going to bring it with you, than you have to take responsibility for its actions.”

“But he’s not my famili-” Yuki began to protest but the man cut her off once more.

“Oh my! Now really isn’t the time to be chatting away like this. The entrance ceremony will be over soon. Let’s get a move on now.” he said as he picked up his pace, pushing Yuki more so she would keep up with him.

“W-wait, damn it!” Yuki said, “This doesn’t make any sense! What’s going on?! Where am I?”

“Hm? Are you still not fully awake?” the man asked as he looked down at Yuki. “It appears the teleportation magic has left you a bit disoriented...well, this is fine. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. After all, I am quite kind.”

He gave Yuki a smile that didn’t put her nerves at ease at all as they made their way out of the library. She let out a small sigh before allowing herself to have a look at their surroundings as they walked on.

Once they had made it to the courtyard, the man leading her back to the room full of coffins cleared his throat, grabbing her attention away from the apple tree that they had just walked past.

“This is Night Raven College.” he began. “Magicians that have been blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world to train here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland. And I am the headmaster, appointed to take care of this academy by the board chairman, Dire Crowley.”

Yuki’s eyes were about as wide as saucers as she listened to the man, Headmaster Crowley. Almost none of what he said made any sense to her. Sure, she knew a thing or two about magicians from one of her uncles. But she didn’t think she had the knack for it. And since when has there been a place called “Twisted Wonderland”? Where was it anyway? Many questions were swimming through her head as she tried to speak.

“Ma...magician?”

“The only ones who can enroll in this school are those with excellent qualifications to be a magician. The ones who have been approved by the Mirror of Darkness.” Headmaster Crowley explained. “The chosen ones are called into the academy through the door and are summoned here from all over the world.” Yuki slowly nodded her in understanding before the headmaster continued. “An ebony carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well.”

“A what now?” Yuki said, taking a step away from the headmaster.

“An ebony carriage, child.” Headmaster Crowley said. “That carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Mirror of Darkness. It is a special carriage that carries a door to the academy. Since time immemorial, it has been decided by conventional wisdom that carriages should be used to welcome people on special days.”

If Yuki had thought herself confused before, she was more so now than ever before Headmaster Crowley told her about the ebony carriage. She didn’t remember seeing anything like that before she went to bed. As far as she could remember, nothing out of the ordinary happened while she and her younger brother were getting ready for bed. Nor does she remember hearing either of her uncles mentioning anything strange happening outside the house. She was sure Neah would have said something about a black carriage being outside if he saw it. She put a hand to her head, rubbing her temple as the information swirled in her mind. She swayed a little and the headmaster caught her before helping her along, Grim trying to speak again from under his hand.

“Come, let’s go to the entrance ceremony now.” the headmaster said as Yuki slowly nodded her head, following along with him.

Chapter 3: It seems the little butterfly has fangs...how interesting

Chapter Text

Chapter II: It seems the little butterfly has fangs...how interesting

“Now, is that the last of the dorm sorting?” Riddle asked as he looked toward some of his fellow dorm leaders. They all nodded in agreement before turning their attention to the group of new students. Riddle nodded as well before doing the same. “Listen up, new students.” he continued. “Within Heartslabyul, I am the law. Disobey them and it will be off with your heads.”

Leona let out a long yawn, putting his hands on his hips, before speaking. “This boring ceremony is finally over. Let’s go back to the dorms. Savanaclaw, follow me.”

He turned to leave but before he could even take a step toward the door, Azul put his hand out in front of him. Leona just huffed in slight annoyance to this, going back to his spot and crossing his arms as the dorm leader of Octavinelle spoke out to the new students.

“To all of the new students, I would like to congratulate you on your enrollment here into this fine academy!” he said with a smile. “I hope each and every single one of you is able to live a fulfilling school life here. As the dormitory leader of Octavinelle, I will support you to the best of my ability.”

“By the way,” Vil said as he looked around the room a little, “where did the headmaster go? He slipped out right in the middle of the ceremony.”

“He abandoned his duties…” Idia said through a tablet.

“Did he get a stomache or something?” Kalim suggested.

Just as he said that, the doors to the mirror chamber flew opened as Headmaster Crowley walked in.

“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed, still carrying Grim with one arm as he made his way to the front of the assembly.

“Ah, he’s here…” Riddle said, trailing off a little as the room became quiet once seeing another person jogging in after the headmaster.

“ Damn, he can be fast when he actually wants to be! ” Yuki thought as she made her way to the front as well, not minding the stares that she was getting either. She was used to them by now anyway.

“Honestly.” Headmaster Crowley started as Yuki stood behind him, catching her breath, “We were short by one student, so I left to go find them.” He let out a sigh before turning his attention to Yuki. “Now, you are the only one left who has yet to be sorted into a dormitory, young man. I will watch over your little tanuki for you, so hurry up and step in front of the Mirror of Darkness.”

Yuki couldn’t help but blink a bit to the headmaster’s words as Grim tried once again to speak, but to no avail thanks to the headmaster’s hand. She first looked up at him before looking toward the reflectionless mirror.

“How...is a mirror supposed to sort me into a dorm, exactly?” she asked as she looked over to the headmaster once more.

“It is quite simple.” Headmaster Crowley said. “You simply step up to the Mirror of Darkness and state your name once it tells you to.”

“Right…” Yuki said, nodding her head slowly while still not quite getting how a mirror could do such a thing.

“Now that you know, please hurry and do so. You’re keeping everyone waiting, young man.” Headmaster Crowley said, starting to sound a bit annoyed with Yuki’s hesitation.

“...woman,” Leona said quietly.

“Hm? Did you say something, Kingscholar-kun?” Headmaster Crowley asked, looking toward said dorm leader as he didn’t quite hear what he had said.

Leona stayed quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh, shaking his head. “I said “woman”. That new student is a woman, headmaster.”

“Ah, I see.” Headmaster Crowley said with a smile, “My apologies, young la- Eh?! Y-y-young lady?!”

“You really didn’t know?” Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “I mean, I know I can be a tomboy most of the time but it’s pretty hard to miss that I am a girl.”

“She is right, headmaster.” Vil said as he crossed his arms. “And I think it’s safe to assume that everyone in this room could tell that right away as well.”

A few of the other students nodded their heads while some voiced their agreements to Vil’s statement. Yuki just let out a sigh as she crossed her arms, watching the headmaster start to look a little sheepish in front of his students and a little worried as well.

“Is there some sort of problem with me being here, sir?” she asked.

“Ah, uh, well…” the headmaster started, shifting a little under her gaze before clearing his throat. “You see, since the establishment of this school, Night Raven College has always been an all boys’ school. Every student that has been chosen by the Mirror of Darkness has always been male.”

“Uh-huh,” Yuki said, narrowing her eyes a little. “So, you’re saying that this “great and powerful” mirror made a mistake somehow?”

“No, not exactly at any rate.” Headmaster Crowley said, still a little unsure of himself. “Perhaps your magical abilities were to the mirror’s liking? We won’t know for certain till you have been sorted into a dorm, young lady.”

“So, are you really going to allow her to attend here, headmaster?” Leona asked. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“I agree with Leona-san, headmaster.” Azul chimed in. “This place isn’t exactly fit to accommodate a female student. Even more so when you consider how some of the dorms act. No offense, Leona-san.”

“None taken, but I think the young lady here could handle herself quite nicely within Savanaclaw though. Judging by the looks of her.” Leona said.

“Like I would allow such a thing to happen!” Vil interjected. “I will not stand idly by while a flower such as her were to be put into a dorm like yours! Granted, I would like to see her face first to properly judge her beauty. But still.”

“I think we’re missing the point here, everyone.” Riddle said as he crossed his arms, “Headmaster, are you really going to allow a female into the school? It goes against all of the rules!”

“Not all of them, Rosehearts-kun.” the headmaster said. “But, it would go against some of them at least.”

Yuki just let out a sigh as a few more of the dorm leaders voiced their concerns over whether she should be allowed to attend the school or not, despite being called upon by the Mirror of Darkness. In all honesty, she just wanted some answers to all of her questions. But it didn’t seem like she would be getting them at this rate. So, after letting out one more sigh, she took in a deep breath and marched herself up to the so called “great” Mirror of Darkness.

“Look!” she exclaimed, “We’re getting no where with this! Let’s just let the mirror speak for itself on whether I should be here or not? Okay?!”

The room fell silent as she looked at all of the dorm leaders and the headmaster. Once seeing that none of them was going to object to her plan, she turned her attention fully to the mirror, jumping a little when seeing that it had a face. One that oddly reminded her of a movie that she used to watch plenty of times while growing up.

“Reveal thy name.” it said.

Yuki took in another deep breath to calm her nerves, regaining her composure some before speaking. “Yuki-Daicho Walker.”

“Yuki-Daicho Walker.” the mirror repeated as it looked deep in thought. “The shape of thy soul……...I do not know.”

Almost the entire room, save for Yuki, exploded into loud cries of shock and disbelief to the mirror’s words.

“What did you say?!” the headmaster exclaimed as he walked up beside Yuki, looking at the mirror in shocked horror.

“While magic does run freely through her veins, the knowledge of its exact shape and color I cannot claim.” the mirror said. “Therefore, thou art ineligible for any dormitory.”

And with that, the face disappeared from the mirror as the rest of the students began to talk amongst one another.

“This cannot be!” the headmaster said, looking down in disbelief. “Not only has an ebony carriage brought to us a female student, she cannot even be sorted into any of the dorms! Just how did this manage to happe-”

Just as the headmaster was busy being lost in his thoughts, Grim used this opportunity to finally break free of his grip and jumped out of his hands and whip both.

“Pwah! Well, if that’s going to be the case, why not hand that seat over to me!” Grim exclaimed as he landed on his feet.

“Ah! Now wait just a moment, you tanuki!” Headmaster Crowley said once snapping out of his thoughts, looking toward Grim.

“Sure, sure, that human has some magic in them but I’m so much more better at it than she is!” Grim said with a smug expression. “Let me into the school in her place instead! If you need proof, I’ll be happy to show you all right now!”

“Everyone, get down!” Riddle ordered.

Just as Grim raised his paws into the air, everyone in the room prepared themselves for the worst. He let out a shout and blue flames suddenly appeared and began to spread throughout the entire room. Yuki tried her best to stomp out a few that were near her before everyone heard Kalim scream.

“Hot, hot, hot! My butt caught fire!” he screamed as he began to run around in place, trying to put out the fire that was literally on his butt.

“Haven’t you ever heard of “stop, drop, and roll” before?!” Yuki yelled as she ran over to help him out. “Here, hold still!” She took off her robe and used it to help smother the flames that were on the poor Scarabia dorm leader’s butt.

“If this doesn’t stop soon, the school will be engulfed in a sea of flames!” the headmaster said. “Somebody catch that tanuki!”

Leona clicked his tongue as he closed his eyes. “How troublesome.”

“Oh? But isn’t hunting your specialty?” Vil said, looking over at Leona. “This should be a perfectly round and plump snack for you.”

“Why me? You can do it.” Leona retorted.

“Headmaster Crowley, please leave this to me.” Azul said as he turned to the headmaster. “It seems no one else wants to take on this task of capturing this poor and innocent creature. So, I shall take it upon myself.”

“That’s Azul for you. Always trying to earn a few extra points for himself.” Idia said with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

As all of this was going on, Yuki had finally managed to put out the flames that were on Kalim’s butt. He let out a sigh of relief as he carefully sat down on the ground.

“Thank you so much, miss.” he said.

“Yuki, and don’t mention it.” Yuki said as she shook her robe out a bit before putting it back on. “Besides, you shouldn’t be sitting down when there’s still plenty of fires going on.”

Kalim quickly jumped to his feet when she pointed that out to him, looking to make sure his butt didn’t catch fire again. To his luck and fortune, it wasn’t.

When seeing that no one was paying much attention to him, the headmaster grew more infuriated.

“Everyone, will you all listen to me?!” he exclaimed, hands on his hips.

A sigh just escaped Leona’s lips as he looked over at the headmaster. “If it’s just catching some stupid tanuki, why can’t you do it yourself, headmaster?”

“How many times do I have to say that I’m not a tanuki?!” Grim exclaimed angrily. “I am the great Grim and I will become one of the greatest magicians in the world!”

“It certainly has some spirit, doesn’t it?” Azul said before turning to Riddle. “Riddle-san, would you care to help me?”

“I can’t very well overlook rule-breakers.” Riddle said, “Let us hurry and finish this quickly.”

Azul nodded in agreement before running over to Grim with Riddle following shortly behind. Once seeing the two dorm leaders approaching him, Grim let out a short scream before running away from the two, giving chase. Yuki let out a very long sigh as she listened to the chaos that was going on around her. Students were trying to put out the flames with either magic or by other means. Meanwhile, the headmaster and the other faculty members were trying their hardest to help out as well while everyone was trying to stay out of Azul and Riddle’s way as they chased Grim around the room.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and let this continue on for a few more minutes before finally having enough. She clicked her tongue and snapped her head toward the little tanuki, taking in a very deep breath before letting out a scream.

“YA-ME-TE!”

Her voice echoed a bit throughout the chamber as Grim suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, freezing a bit in place as a small gasp of surprise escaped from him. But he wasn’t the only one that froze to the command. Many of the other students that had animal ears and tails froze as well. Even a few of the Octavinelle students did too, Azul included. The students that were not affected by this were the first to take notice as Yuki made her way over to Grim, who was trying desperately to regain the use of his body but was failing miserably. It was as if some sort of spell had taken complete and utter control over him, as well as some of the other students too. When upon seeing this, the headmaster became very intrigued as he watched Yuki stand in front of Grim, seeming to either pay no mind to the other students nor notice that they had also been caught under her control.

“Attention!” she ordered. Grim, as well as everyone else under her strange spell, immediately stood at attention against their will.

“W-wh-what are...you-” Grim tried to say but was cut off by Yuki.

“Urusee!” she ordered again and he quickly shut his mouth, along with the others. Once that was done, she took in a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking. “Now, be a good boy and apologize to the headmaster for all of the trouble you have caused.”

Grim didn’t move an inch as he continued to struggle against whatever magic that had a hold on him and at least half of the student body. Yuki watched him, narrowing her eyes when seeing that he wasn’t going to do what she had asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Apologize.” she said. This time, Grim’s body moved to at least turn around to face the headmaster but Grim fought even harder as the “spell” tried to make him bow too. Yuki’s eyes narrowed even further before she took in another deep breath, this time to yell. “Apologize! Now!”

“I’m sorry for all of the trouble I have caused, headmaster!” Grim and the other students under the “spell” said as they all bowed to the headmaster.

This made Yuki, as well as most of the others that weren’t affected, jump in both surprise and shock. The headmaster, on the other hand, watched with a small look of amusem*nt on his face as Yuki looked around in confusion and worry at what she had done. She knew that she had a strange talent for making animals obey her without much problem. Heck, she even knew that she could make wild animals like tigers and bears obey her from working in the circus with her family when she was younger. But...she never would have imagined that it would have such an effect like this. She could see that some of the affected students had animal ears and tails of some sort.

“Walker-kun,” the headmaster said, grabbing her attention. “If you would be so kind, please release the students and the tanuki from your magic. Rosehearts-kun, be ready to catch the tanuki when she does.”

“Huh? Oh! Yes, of course, headmaster.” Riddle said as he snapped his attention back to the task at hand, readying his magic pen.

“Anou…” Yuki said with a bit of a whimper in her voice as she lightly scratched her cheek. “Not sure how this happened anyway but all right.” She let out a small sigh before waving her hand. “Anshin sh*te.”

The moment the words left her mouth, everyone that was affected by her so called “magic” let out a collective sigh of relief as they regained the usage of their bodies. Some had fallen to the ground from how low they had bowed while others had managed to catch themselves in time. Grim was among the ones that had fallen and was about to get back up when…

“Off with your head!” Riddle said, pointing his pen at Grim.

Grim let out a surprised shout as a heart shaped collar magically appeared around his neck.

“W-what is this?!” he exclaimed, looking down at the collar.

“Rule #23 of the Queen of Hearts: “You must not bring cats into areas of festivities.”. As you are a cat, trespassing here is a serious rule violation. We will have you leave immediately.” Riddle said, putting his pen away.

“I’m not a cat either!” Grim exclaimed angrily, turning around and glaring up at Riddle. “I’ll just burn this collar off right here and-” he said as he raised his arms into the air again but stopped once seeing that nothing was happening. “H-huh? My fire isn’t working?!”

Riddle chuckled a little as he looked down at Grim with a smirk. “Until I remove that collar, you won’t be able to use your magic. Now you’re just like an ordinary cat.”

“Wh-what?! I am not some “pet”!” Grim argued.

“You sure that’s what’s bugging you the most, tanuki?” Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow at Grim, crossing her arms.

“I am not a tanuki either!” Grim said. “How many times do I have to say that ?!”

“Well, regardless of what you are, you can be rest assured that I’d never keep a pet like you.” Riddle said, moving to get in between Yuki and Grim. “Besides, I’ll take the collar off once you’ve been removed from the school’s grounds.”

“My, my~! Such wonderful displays as ever. As to be expected from Riddle-san, of course!” Azul said as he finished dusting himself off before joining the small circle around Grim. “Any and all magic gets sealed away thanks to his unique magic.” he continued, first looking at Riddle before moving his gaze over to Yuki. “And it seems that any and all beasts obey this young lady’s command with just a simple word. How intriguing.”

“It’s really not all that special.” Yuki said, eyeing Azul warily. “I’ve always been able to do that, even back home. The only difference between here and there is that it only worked on animals, never on humans. I never would have thought it would work on people with actual animal ears and tails before…”

“And that makes it all the more intriguing, my dear.” Azul said happily, smiling at Yuki before looking at both her and Riddle. “Oh, how I want them...Err, well, I mean I don’t want them used against me...again.”

“Again?” Yuki said, looking between Riddle and Azul with a raised eyebrow as the headmaster finally made his way over to them.

“Well, now that it won’t be causing anymore problems.” he said before turning toward Yuki fully. “Please do something about it that won’t affect the other students too! It is your familiar, is it not?!”

“Like I’ve been trying to tell you, he isn’t my familiar! I don’t have one anyway!” Yuki yelled with a growl as she glared up at the headmaster. “Not unless you can call Innocence a familiar...but that would be a stretch.” She muttered under her breath the last part as Headmaster Crowley continued.

“Well, train it pro...O-oh? It’s not yours?” he said.

“How are you a headmaster if you don’t give your “students” a moment to speak for themselves?” Yuki asked, putting her hands on her hips.

A few of the students nearby snickered to Yuki’s comment before shutting up as the headmaster cleared his throat.

“Now then, let’s get it out of the school now. I’m not even going to turn you into stew. For I am very kind!” Headmaster Crowley said as he turned his attention to Grim. “Who would like to do the honors?”

Grim let out a shriek as a faculty member came over, picked him up and made their way toward the door with him.

“Let me go!” he said as he tried to struggle out of the person’s grasp. “I’m...definitely, definitely…! Going to become the greatest magician…!”

And with that, the door to the Mirror Chamber closed behind Grim and the faculty member, letting the room grow silent at last.

“ Why is he so desperate to become a magician anyway? ” Yuki thought, letting out a sigh for the umpteenth time and rubbing her temple. “ If he was so serious about it, you’d think he would have acted a bit differently. Idiot. ”

“We may have had a bit of trouble there just now, but the entrance ceremony will now come to a close.” the headmaster said, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “Dormitory leaders, please escort the new students back to your respected dormitories.” He looked around the room at all of the dorm leaders…before doing a quick double take as he finally noticed something else. “Hm? Now that I think about it, I don’t see Diasomnia’s dorm leader, Draconia-kun, here.”

“Isn’t it normal for that guy to not be around?” Leona said.

“What?! So did nobody tell him about the ceremony?” Kalim asked as he looked at the other dorm leaders and the headmaster.

“You could have easily done it yourself if it bothers you so.” Vil said, looking at Kalim.

“Hmm, but...I don’t really know him all that well.” Kalim said.

Yuki looked at all of the dorm leaders and the headmaster with a dumbfounded look as the other students began to whisper to one another about the missing dorm leader. She could feel her eye twitching a bit at how...incompetent they were with simply forgetting to invite one person, let alone one that held a position such as “dormitory leader”.

“Are you freaking kidding me right now?” Yuki said, holding up a finger at the headmaster as she noticed he was going to get onto her for her use of language out of the corner of her eye. “You hold important events like this...where every dorm leader should be in attendance for...and you “simply” forget to invite one of them?! There’s a thing called double checking in advance! Triple checking even! Did those thoughts ever occur to any of you?!”

The room fell silent to Yuki’s words. A few of the dorm leaders looked away from her while the others shifted uncomfortably in their spots, not wanting to either admit their guilt or swallow their pride. It wasn’t until everyone heard laughter that the silence was broken.

“I have never quite seen someone get on to them for that. Let alone, get so upset for someone that they have never met before.” Lilia said as he walked over to the group, going over to Yuki’s side. “Then again, I did expect that this was the case.” he continued with a small sigh. “I came all this way to see if he would come but it appears that he hasn’t. His invitation “never arrived” again, it seems.”

“My deepest apologies.” Azul said, keeping his attention solely on Lilia as Yuki glared daggers at all of them. “I promise, we didn’t mean to leave him out.”

“His aura just makes it hard for anyone to approach him.” Riddle said in his defense.

“That’s just an excuse.” Yuki said, clicking her tongue. She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped herself when Lilia put his hand in front of her face.

“Well, it’s fine, regardless.” he said. “The members of Diasomnia can simply follow me...I just hope he isn’t sulking about this…” He muttered as the headmaster nodded to his suggestion. As the dorms started to leave one by one, Lilia turned and looked up at Yuki, giving her a soft smile. “Thank you for your concern over him, though. I’ll be sure to let him know that at least one person was upset over this common occurrence.”

“Don’t mention it-this is a common occurrence?!” Yuki said, wide eyed. “Seriously?! Ugh...well...look, it’s no big deal. I just get like that when I hear people are being ignored or mistreated, is all. Nothing special.”

“Trust me, dear. This will mean a lot to him.” Lilia said with a chuckle. “You have a kind and strong heart. I just hope you don’t get intimidated when you actually meet Malleus like the others do.”

“That would be a very cold day in hell if I got intimidated by someone.” Yuki said with a straight face. “An undertaker friend of my dad’s babysat me a few times when I was a kid. Even got to go to his workshop a few times too. So it’d be really hard to scare me.”

“My, my, you really are an interesting human.” Lilia said, looking at Yuki with huge eyes of amazement and intrigue. “I hope you can stick around for a while. I would like to get to know you more myself. Well, until then.”

And with that, he gave her a simple wave before heading towards the door, signaling for the new Diasomnia students to follow after him. Yuki waved back, having given him a small smile before dropping it into a frown as she watched the remaining students leave one dorm at a time.

Chapter 4: Ah, little butterfly. You can't go home quite yet, I'm afraid.

Chapter Text

Chapter III: Ah, little butterfly. You can’t go home quite yet, I’m afraid.

As the door to the Mirror Chamber finally closed behind the very last student, Yuki turned her gaze away from it and over toward the headmaster.

“So, what’s the plan for me, headmaster?” she asked him, crossing her arms. “You never did say whether you were going to allow me to enter this academy or not. Though I seriously doubt that you are…”

“And what makes you say that, my dear?” the headmaster asked as he turned to face her. “It is true that this is an all boys school, but, if I recall correctly, the Mirror of Darkness did say that you had some magic coursing through your veins. And I do believe I did tell you that it only chooses students who have excellent qualifications to become a proper magician. Furthermore, you have proven to not only me but to the other faculty members and the students that you do possess incredible power with that little stunt of yours earlier.”

“But that’s the thing, I wouldn’t call that “magic” per se.” Yuki said, scratching her cheek lightly before looking to the side. “Like what I told that guy with the glasses earlier, I’ve always had that ability to get animals to do pretty much anything I wanted so long as they were capable of doing it. Even wild ones like tigers and bears back when I worked in the circus with my family. Elephants too. But, just like I told him, I never imagined that it could have that much of an effect on someone with animal ears and a tail before.”

“I see,” the headmaster said, nodding his head slowly as he listened to her.

“I mean, I do know a few people who are able to use magic to a certain degree. Hell, a few of those people are in my actual family...somewhat regrettably. But they have never said a word about my ability being “magical” to me at all! Even my old babysitter never said anything and he was the first to see that ability in action!” Yuki said. “For all I know, it could have mistaken my Innocence for magic! Cause I ain’t heard a word about dad being able to use magic like how you and your mirror are implying! He only did simple tricks like making a coin appear from behind your ear and “is this your card?” trick! And I definitely never heard Neah or Uncle Al say anything about him having more magic than that! Never heard anything from that drunk bastard about it either!” Yuki huffed, putting her hands on her hips. She took in a few deep breaths before a thought crossed her mind. “Though...I do know pretty much nothing about my birth mom...but I seriously doubt that she had any magic to speak of. Let alone, pass any of it down to me.”

The headmaster merely let out a hum as he walked over to Yuki and gently put a hand on her shoulder. Yuki let out a sigh before slowly looking up at him as she wrapped her arms around herself.

“Look...can I just go home already?” she asked before looking down a little. “It’s nice that I was supposedly chosen to attend this school but...I really would just like to go home. I have my little brother to look after. And we...we just got…” She let out a sigh before finishing her sentence. “We just got our bearings again.”

“I understand completely, my dear.” Headmaster Crowley said in a gentle tone. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. The Mirror of Darkness can send you straight back home. All you have to do is step back into the Gate and picture your home clearly in your mind’s eye.”

Yuki slowly nodded her head in understanding before walking with him to a coffin. He opened the lid for her and helped her inside before closing it. Once the lid was securely shut, Yuki took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She closed her eyes and tired her best to picture her home in her mind.

She thought of Allen’s smiling face when eating mitarashi dango. She thought of the grimace on Neah’s face when he tries to be patient with her, especially when she purposely writes his name with the “h” at the end. She thought of how Uncle Al always tries to keep Neah calm during those times, despite trying to suppress his laugh when it came to the writing of his name. She even thought of her long time friend, Chomesuke’s smiling face when she finally agrees to go shopping with her. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite picture her home clearly. It was all a blur despite being able to see the faces of her friends and family clear as day.

“Now, Mirror of Darkness!” she heard the headmaster say from the other side of the lid. “Guide this child back to where they belong!”

Yuki held her breath and waited for something, anything to happen. But...nothing seemed to be happening on either end as indicated by the headmaster clearing his throat.

“One more time.” she heard him say under his breath before speaking a bit more louder than before. “Mirror of Darkness! Guide this-”

“Nowhere…” the mirror said at last, cutting the headmaster off.

“What?” the headmaster said.

“What?!” Yuki exclaimed as she pushed the lid open, making the headmaster jump back a bit. She looked toward the mirror in both shock and disbelief.

“The place this one belongs to is nowhere in this world…” the mirror said as Yuki’s eyes widened. “It does not exist.”

“How can this be? This is unbelievable!” the headmaster said, looking at the mirror in disbelief as well. “Ah...well...the unbelievable has been on a parade today.”

The mirror remained silent to the headmaster’s words as Yuki tried her best to remain calm. She put a hand on her sword and gripped it tightly.

“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened since I became headmaster, what should be…” the headmaster muttered to himself before looking toward Yuki. “Where exactly did you come from, Walker-san?”

Yuki had to take a moment to gather herself again before slowly telling the headmaster everything about her home. He listened to her carefully as she told him how she was living in the U.K. with two of her uncles and younger brother.

“Hmm...I have to admit that I’ve never heard of that place.” he said once Yuki finished. “I have a general grasp of where all of my students hail from but I’ve never even heard of that name before.” Yuki’s heart sank a bit to his words before perking as he continued on. “Let’s go do some research in the library then, shall we?”

She nodded her head vigorously before quickly following after him back to the library where some of this craziness really began.

Page after page. Book after book. Scroll of parchment after scroll of parchment even. And not a single, recognizable image of her home town, let alone her home world , could Yuki find as she searched the library with the headmaster. She had to put the book she was reading down before putting her hands on the table in front of her. Her legs were shaking, her vision was spinning as the realization of her situation finally hit her like a ton of bricks.

“There really is nothing.” the headmaster said as he closed the book he was looking through. “Not only on the world map, but even in our history, the name of your home isn’t written anywhere.” He then turned to Yuki, giving her a stern look. “Are you really sure that’s where you came from? You’re not lying to me, are yo-Walker-san!”

The headmaster quickly rushed over to Yuki’s side, managing to catch her as she collapsed to the ground. Her arms and legs had lost all of their strength to the headmaster’s words about her home. She breathed in heavily as the knowledge that, not only was this not a dream, she was also in a completely different world than her own sunk in deeper. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes before falling down her cheeks as the thought of never being able to see her younger brother again crossed her mind. She then began to wail loudly before burying her face in her hands, her body shaking uncontrollably. All the headmaster could do was pull her into a hug and gently stroke her back as she cried.

A few minutes passed before Yuki’s sobbing died down into small sniffles and whimpers. She slowly lifted her head from her hands as the headmaster pulled himself away a bit. He gave her a kind smile as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Here, dry your tears, my dear.” he said softly as she took the handkerchief from him.

Yuki slowly nodded her head as she used the handkerchief to wipe her remaining tears away before blowing her nose with it. The headmaster just continued to gently stroke her back, taking note of the odd, white scar over her right eye. It was barely noticeably before thanks to her naturally pale skin. But now that he was closer to her, her face being a bit red from both her sobbing and covering it with her hands, he could now see it clearly. There appeared to be a pentagram on her forehead with a line going straight down, through her eyebrow and eyelid, before hooking at her cheekbone and curving along her cheek, stopping a bit before reaching her chin. He could also see that there was another scar line that was running parallel to her lower eyelid.

“I rather not talk about it right now.” Yuki said, snapping the headmaster’s attention away from her scar.

“Ah, my apologies, young lady. I didn’t mean to stare.” Headmaster Crowley said.

Yuki shook her head before letting out a small sigh. “So, what are you going to do with me now since I can’t get back home?”

“Well, first, I’ll have to think on where you can stay for the time being.” the headmaster said. “We may not be able to take you home now but there could be another way or two with some research. But it could be a very long process. So I will need to provide you a temporary home till then. After all, I am so very kind.” Yuki rolled her eyes to the last part as the headmaster hummed in thought. “That’s right! There’s an unused building on campus still!”

“How “unused”?” Yuki asked.

“It was once used as a dormitory in the past.” he said. “So, with a little cleaning it should be livable again.”

“I see,” Yuki said before sighing. “Well...I have lived and slept in worse places before.”

“That’s the spirit! I shall allow you to stay there for the time being!” the headmaster said with a smile. “Meanwhile, I will look for a way to return you home. Aah~ how very kind I am! I’m a model for all educators, no?”

“ You would be if you listened to your students a bit more… ” Yuki thought as she carefully got to her feet.

“Now, before we go, there is one thing I wish to bring with us. Please wait right here, Walker-san.” Headmaster Crowley said, helping Yuki get up and into a chair before walking further into the library.

Yuki watched him leave, tilting her head a bit before relaxing in her chair. It didn’t take long before the headmaster came back with a book tucked safely under his arm.

“Now then, we had better be on our way.” he said as he held out his hand to Yuki. “Let’s head to the dormitory. It may be a bit old but there is a certain charm to it. Shall we, Walker-san?”

“Sure,” Yuki said as she took his hand and got up. “And you can just call me “Walker-kun”, ya know?”

“I see,” the headmaster said. “I will keep that in mind then, Walker-kun.”

Yuki let out a small hum as she nodded before following the headmaster out of the library once more.

Chapter 5: Never stop, keep walking, my little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter IV: Never stop, keep walking, my little butterfly

The two walked in silence as they made their way over to the Ramshackle dorm. Along the way, Yuki made it a point to at least memorize some of the landmarks in case she ever got lost when coming or going from her new home. She was expecting the campus to be big but even this far exceeded her expectations for it. She was just wondering how big this place really was when she accidentally walked right into the back of the headmaster.

“Are you all right, Walker-kun?” the headmaster asked as he turned to look at her, having stopped a few seconds before the collision.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” Yuki said, waving her hand a bit while lightly rubbing her nose with the other as she took a step back from him. “Why’d you stopped anyway?” she asked as she looked up at him.

“Oh! That’s because we’re here, my dear.” the headmaster said with a smile, taking a step to the side. He gave her a small bow as he gestured for her to look forward.

Yuki blinked a little to this, watching him before turning her gaze toward where he was gesturing to. Sure enough, in front of the two was a somewhat unkempt yard with various bushes and trees, both dead and alive looking. The grass looked like it was dying too but she wasn’t for sure on that part. Surrounding the yard, as far as she could tell at least, was a wrought iron and stone fence that looked a little banged up in certain areas with some dead looking vines on it here and there too. She could even spy two little headstone shaped rocks near one side of the fence with a shovel leaning near the gate on the other. And speaking of the gate, just beyond it was a stone stairway leading all the way up to the front of the dorm.

The dorm itself, despite the condition the yard was in, looked pretty much intact, kind of like a haunted house. Most of the windows were boarded up shut and a few of the shingles and siding looked like they had either fallen out or were on the verge of it. All in all, it was one of the better looking abandoned places she had slept in, at least from the outside it was.

“Not bad, not bad at all.” she said, crossing her arms. “Reminds me a bit of my old babysitter...please tell me that I’m not going to find anything pink in there.”

“Hmm...I can’t rightly say that you won’t.” the headmaster said, lightly tapping his chin in thought. “But, if you so happen to find something pink in there, it will most likely be in a lighter shade than what you are imagining, my dear.”

“Oh thank God,” Yuki said with a sigh of relief. “I can live with that...thought I somehow managed to summon him by mentioning him a few times by now.” She mumbled the last part out loud to herself as the headmaster went up to the gate.

“Well then, please come inside.” he said as he opened the gate for her, giving her a warm smile.

Yuki gave him a small smile and a nod before making her way up the stone steps. The headmaster followed shortly after her before taking the lead again to open the door for her. She gave him another nod as thanks before stepping through. Clouds of dust were the first things that greeted her as she stepped across the threshold.

“Still not the worst place that I’ve lived in for a time, but probably one of the dustiest that I have!” Yuki said, coughing a bit from the dust before covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve.

She carefully stepped over a broken coat rack that was lying near the door as the headmaster walked in after her, closing the door behind him. He then lead her over to the lounge area of the dorm.

“Well, at least staying here will keep you out of the rain, my dear.” he said with a smile. “Please, make yourself at home here.”

“Thanks, I will.” Yuki said as she lowered her arm some to smile up at him.

“Now then, I will be going back to the library to do a bit more research so don’t go wandering around the school! Understand?” the headmaster said sternly. Yuki nodded her head, bringing a smile to his face again before he pulled out the book he had brought with him from under his arm. “In the meantime, I would like you to read and study this book till I return. I will even give you something to help you for I am so very kind.”

Yuki raised an eyebrow to this as she slowly nodded her head again, taking the book from him when he handed it to her. She looked it over as the headmaster flicked his wrist and made a magic pen appear in his hand before giving it to her as well. This made Yuki raise her eyebrow more as she looked the pen over carefully. It had a beautiful crystal on it, appearing white till the light hit it just right, showing off the iridescent sheen it actually had.

“Okay...first of all, thank you for the gifts…” Yuki said slowly, looking between the pen and the book. “Second, why are you giving me these? I thought I said I wasn’t really magical.”

“You did say that, my dear, but I would like to believe otherwise.” the headmaster said. “That is why I’m having you start off small with this book of spells that is perfect for beginners.” He gestured to the book before turning on his heel and started making his way to the door. “Well then, goodbye~.”

“Hey! Wait!” Yuki exclaimed as she looked up from the book and quickly went after him.

She tried to make a grab for him, hoping to at least grab the end of his coat, but he somehow managed to move just a little bit faster than her. Her fingertips barely ghosted the fabric of the coat before he was out door. Once seeing the door close behind him, she let out a long sigh and put her arms down beside her. She stared down at the floorboard for a moment before turning her attention to her new “home”, pulling the book and pen to her chest.

“Home, sweet home, huh?” she said with a half hearted chuckle and a smile.

But the smile didn’t last long as she slowly made her way back into the lounge. She stood in the doorway, taking a moment to look around the room before making her way over to the sofa. She used her hand to dust it off a bit before carefully sitting down on it, placing the book and pen beside her. She let out another sigh as she leaned back in her seat, letting her mind wander back to her family again. She wondered if anyone had told Allen yet about her sudden disappearance. Or even if anyone was trying to keep Chomesuke from tearing up the house, let alone the neighborhood, looking for her. She even wondered how her uncles were taking this, she did pretty much leave in the middle of the night without a single word to anyone.

Tears began to prick the corner of her eyes again as she kept thinking about her family and how worried they must be by now. A few rolled down her cheeks and she moved to wipe them with her sleeve before stopping when a memory came to her. It was one that always comforted her time and again, even back when her father was alive to say it to her and her brother: Never stop, keep walking .

“Never stop...keep walking.” she repeated to herself, sniffling a little. “Right, dad?” She sniffled a bit more before wiping the tears from her eyes. She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it before standing to her feet. “Alright,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “that’s quite enough of feeling sorry for myself! First things first, let’s see if I can find a decent enough room to sleep in tonight. Then, I can get to cleaning this place up!”

She gave herself a small nod of approval before making her way to the staircase, humming lightly.

As the evening marched on and the sky began to darken even more, Grim had made his way back onto the school’s grounds. He was just passing by the Ramshackle dorm building when it began to rain quite heavily on him. A loud shriek of surprise escaped from him before he made a dash for the door of the old building. To his luck, the door was left slightly ajar, just big enough for him to slip through unnoticed. Once inside, he shook the water off of him and brushed out his fur before sitting down.

“It’s really coming down, huh?!” he said to himself, looking back outside through the still slightly opened door before pushing it closed.

As soon as it was safely closed, his ears perked up when he began to hear a soft humming sound come from the lounge area of the dorm. Curious, he quickly made his way over to the lounge, only to stop dead when seeing that it was none other than Yuki being the source of the humming. He quickly darted backwards and hid behind the door frame just as Yuki turned to look when she heard the scampering of feet behind her. She was busy sweeping the floor with a broom she had managed to find when Grim came in.

She stared at the doorway for a good minute or so before returning to her work, muttering to herself about how it must have been a rat or a mouse that made the noise, maybe even a cat or a tanuki. Grim did his damnedest not to scream about how he was not a tanuki when hearing that as he slowly moved to peek up at her. He was counting his lucky stars that she didn’t come over to investigate when he heard her start to hum again, this time in a different tune. He poked his head out more when seeing her start to swish her hips a bit to the melody before doing a small twirl with the broom and dipped it. She continued to dance with the broom as she opened her mouth and began to sing.

“ Suwagu suna no umi nemuru sore no kajitsu. Yoru ni kieta shinkirou kinu no wadachi o yuku. Soko ni arawareta, shiroi ikoku no bijo. “Nigeru nara kocchi da yo.” Arufu raira wa raira~. Kimi ni deaeta yoru no koto wa, maru de mahou mitai koi ni ochita sore dake de mou boku wa, donna jumon sae kikanai. ”

Grim slowly came out of his hiding spot and sat on the floor in the doorway, watching Yuki in awe as she swished her hips a bit more and did another twirl before raising her free arm into the air.

“ Senya ni ichiya no yume o mitai to, kanojo wa hitori nigedash*ta. Jaa, shiranai sekai o mi ni ikou ka? “Boku o shinjite.”~ ”

She did one more twirl, this time facing Grim when she stopped, with her eyes closed and stretched her hand out to him as she sung that last part. However, when she opened her eyes and saw him sitting there, listening and watching her, the words and melody died in her throat. The two sat there in silence for a good bit with Yuki staring wide eyed at him and Grim staring back, a bit confused on why she stopped singing. He tilted his head to the side a bit as an ear twitched before voicing his concern.

“Hey, why’d you stop? I was starting to really like that song.”

“What the hell are you doing here, tanuki?!” Yuki exclaimed as she raised the broom over her head and charged at him.

Grim gave out a shriek as he jumped to his feet and managed to dodge the broom as she slammed it down before running further into the lounge. Once he was at a safe distance from her, he turned to face her and glared.

“I am not a tanuki!” he exclaimed. “That is the last time I’m going to say it!”

Yuki just let out a growl as she turned to face him, raising the broom and pointing it at him. “So...how and why did you come back to the school?! You know they are going to throw you out again once they find you.”

Grim let out a huff before smirking, putting his paws on his hips. “It was easy as pie getting back in for the great Grim! If they think getting thrown out is gonna make me give up on getting in, then they’ve got another thing coming!”

“ You have another thing coming if you so much as breathe one flame in here, mister!” Yuki said, narrowing her eyes as she readied the broom for another strike. Grim flinched a bit to that and took a step back, raising his paws into the air in surrender. When seeing that, Yuki let out a sigh and lowered the broom down, making Grim relax a bit as she spoke in a softer tone. “So, why do you want to attend this school so badly in the first place? What’s the point of it?”

“What’s the point?!” Grim exclaimed. “This school is known for producing some of the greatest magicians in the world! And I’m a genius born to become a great magician himself! So it makes sense that I attend a school such as this one!”

“About as much sense as me suddenly being here, it does.” Yuki muttered under her breath, putting the broom down and leaned on it.

“I’ve been waiting for the Ebony Carriage to come and pick me up for a very long time.” Grim continued, not seeming to have heard Yuki’s muttering. “Even so...even so…”

“Even so, it never came for ya, huh?” Yuki said.

Grim nodded his head sadly before letting out another huff. “Hmph! The Mirror of Darkness just doesn’t have an eye for this kind of thing, you know?”

“Tell me about it,” Yuki said with a sigh, shaking her head a little.

“So, that’s why I came here on my own!” Grim said, crossing his arms. “Not letting me in would be a loss to the world! Those humans just don’t understand.”

“Oh no, what ever will they do~?” Yuki said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she put a hand to her forehead for dramatic effect.

“Hey! Are you making fun of m-nyaa!” Grim started, glaring at Yuki before jumping when feeling a drop of water land on him. “So cold!! The roof is leaking!”

“Great...one more thing to add to this crazy day...wonder where it’s coming from anyway?” Yuki muttered to herself, looking up at the ceiling as another drop landed on Grim.

“Fgyaa!” he exclaimed before darting over to Yuki and hid behind her. “It just keeps coming! My adorable flaming ears are gonna go out at this rate!”

“Then quit your whining and help me find a bucket.” Yuki said, looking down at Grim with a stern look.

Grim just pouted up at her and huffed, snuggling closer to her to hide from the leaks. She let out a sigh and rubbed her temple before perking when remembering the book the headmaster gave to her. She set the broom down and quickly walked over to the sofa where she left it earlier, along with the pen. To her relief, neither had been touched by the leaks yet.

“Maybe this will have something useful for the leaks,” Yuki muttered to herself as she picked up both the pen and the book.

“Oh, good idea!” Grim said as he ran over to her, jumping up on the sofa and looked up at her as she flipped through the book. “We can use magic to fix the leaks real quick!”

“Would be nice...if I knew how to use magic in the first place!” Yuki said as she made sure not to get the book wet. “Despite whatever that talking mirror said, I don’t know much about magic. Plus, I think fixing the leaks is a little out of my league right now anyway.”

“So…” Grim said before snorting a little. “You’re pretty much useless~?”

“If you think you can do the job, then do it!” Yuki said, closing the book and putting it under her arm before looking down at Grim. “Otherwise, help me look for a bucket!”

“Eh~? No way!” Grim said, smirking a bit. “I’m just a regular monster taking shelter from the rain! Besides, you don’t even have any canned tuna and there’s no way I’m working for free!”

“You mean besides allowing you to take shelter here? I could have thrown you out by now!” Yuki growled as she glared at him.

Grim shrunk a bit away from her before shaking his head. “Nuh-uh, no food, no helping.”

A long sigh escaped Yuki’s lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Right...if you want something done right, do it yourself.” She rolled her eyes as she spoke before making her way toward the staircase again. “Time for a bucket hunt.”

Chapter 6: Who you gonna call, little butterfly?

Chapter Text

Chapter V: Who you gonna call, little butterfly?

Just as Yuki set a foot down on the second floor landing, she heard the dorm, or at least she assumed it was the dorm, give out a loud groan followed by a little pop. She let out another sigh before slowly making her way down the hall. She was only a few steps away from the stairs when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The air had grown colder and she had a feeling that it wasn’t from the breeze coming in through the cracks of the windows. Quickly, she moved to hold the spellbook and magic pen in one hand before drawing out her sword with the other. She carefully scanned the area as she tightened her grip on her sword and held it at the ready.

“Where are you…” she muttered under her breath.

She was just about to look behind her when three ghosts slowly appeared one by one in front of her. Her eyes widened for a moment to this before narrowing into a glare as she growled, barring her teeth a little.

“You have got to be freaking kidding me right now!!” she exclaimed, stomping her foot on the floor as she sheathed her sword.

She let out a groan of annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose while one of the ghosts began to chuckle. She could faintly hear Grim make his way up the stairs behind her as she looked toward the ghosts again.

“We haven’t had a guest in such a long time~.” one of the ghosts said.

“I’m just itching for some action,” the second ghost said before laughing a little.

“I’m really wishing this is all a dream now,” Yuki muttered to herself, sighing a little as she rubbed her temple. That was when Grim finally made it to the top of the stairs.

“What’s going on up he-Gyaaa!!” he started, turning toward Yuki, before screaming when noticing the ghosts as well. “G-g-g-gh-ghosts!!”

“The people who were living here got scared of us and left.” the third ghost said.

“We’ve been looking for some more ghost pals. How about you guys join us?” the second ghost said.

“How about “no”?” Yuki said, glaring at the ghosts. “I really don’t feel like dying so far away from my family. Or dying in general. What about you, Grim?” She looked down at Grim, who was whimpering in fright.

Grim snapped out of his fear when Yuki addressed him and shook his head. “No way! I still have yet to get into this school!” he said as he put a determined face on, glaring at the ghosts as well. “Plus, the Great Grim isn’t afraid of some ghosts!”

“ Uh-huh, sure he isn’t, ” Yuki thought, rolling her eyes a little.

She raised an eyebrow when seeing Grim close his eyes and take in a deep breath. She was about to open her mouth to ask what he was doing before shutting it as her eyes grew wide when seeing him breathe out fire from his mouth. However, despite his best efforts, the flames hit nothing but air as the ghosts had disappeared way before he started shooting.

“Where were you even aiming for?” the first ghost said as they reappeared in a different spot.

“Over here, over here!” the second ghost said with a laugh as they reappeared in another spot.

“Shoot! Stop disappearing like that!” Grim exclaimed, glaring at the ghosts again before doing another fire breath.

Yuki watched this fail miserably again before speaking, “Do you want me to tell you where they’re going to be at? It looks like you’re getting no where with just closing your eyes every time you fire. You’re giving them a huge window of opportunity ‘cause of that, you know?”

“Shut up! Don’t try to give me orders again!” Grim said as he turned to glare at Yuki. “If you think you can do a better job, then why don’t you do it! Afterall, fire should be a pretty basic spell for a baby like you! Stupid human!”

“Excuse you?” Yuki said, narrowing her eyes into a glare as her face contorted with anger. “Did you just call me a baby ?! Ooh, ho, ho~! You are so asking for it!” She gritted her teeth and clicked her tongue before taking the book in her free hand. “Fine! We’ll see if I’m better at this than you despite being a complete novice!”

“ And despite there being a high chance of not having any magic to speak of in the first place… ” Yuki thought, sweating a little as she opened the book.

She quickly flipped through its pages till she found one talking about how to cast a fire ball. She skimmed through the page as the ghosts kept disappearing and reappearing in different spots of the hall. Grim tried his best to attack them still while she was studying but with little to no progress on that front. Once having a vague enough idea of what she needed to do, Yuki held out her magic pen and took aim at a ghost just as they were reappearing.

She took in a small, deep breath before shouting, “Fire shot!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her crystal glowed a yellowish orange color before a ball of fire flew out of it, hitting the ghost dead on.

“Ouch! Hot, hot, hot!” they exclaimed as they patted down the area the fire hit them at.

Both Grim and Yuki stared wide eyed at the ghost, not quite comprehending, or even believing, that what they saw happened.

“That...was...a pretty good shot…” Grim said dumbfoundedly.

“Thanks...I guess…?” Yuki said slowly, lowering her arms down after she closed the book.

“Well,” Grim started, crossing his arms as a smirk slowly came to his mouth, “since you can do something as simple as that, I’ll just leave the rest to you.”

“Oh, no you don’t! Nuh-huh!” Yuki said as she snapped out of her shock and looked down at him. “If you want to stay here from the rain tonight, then you’ve got to help out with this too!” She smirked a bit herself as an idea came to her mind. “Or you get no canned tuna tonight.”

A small gasp came from Grim as he looked up at Yuki in shock.

“...B-b-but you don’t have any canned tuna anyway!” he said after a brief moment of silence between the two.

“True, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t go out and get some for you~.” Yuki said with an all too sweet smile on her face. “But that’s only if you’ll help me out~.”

Grim let out a groan to this as he thought it over, muttering to himself. “I-I-I’m a genius, you know. I could finish these guys off by myself or-” He was cut short when two of the ghosts reappeared beside him and laughed to his reaction. “B-bunch of cowards ganging up on us like this!” he exclaimed.

“Act now and I’ll double the canned tuna for tonight~.” Yuki said in a sing-song way, not seeming at all bothered by how the ghosts were reappearing near them and laughing.

Grim groaned a bit more as he thought it over again before letting out a huff and nodded. “Fine! I’ll help! But you gotta tell me where they are!”

Yuki smiled a bit more to this before she pointed to his left. “On your left.”

Grim quickly turned to his left and let out another fire breath. This time around it managed to hit a ghost just as they were reappearing in that spot.

“Hot, hot, hot!” they exclaimed.

“Whoa...I hit it!” Grim said, all wide eyed before he smirked and jumped into the air, raising a paw as well. “Alright! Let’s chase them all outta here, human! I’ll race ya!”

“The name’s Yuki and sure, why not?” Yuki said, holding her pen at the ready. “Just don’t get too co*cky now! On your right this time!”

Grim turned and shot out another breath of fire, hitting another ghost as they reappeared on his right, just like she said. Yuki aimed for another ghost herself and fired, hitting them as well. This kept up for a good while, with Yuki shouting out directions for Grim to aim at while shooting fire balls of her own at the ghosts. Eventually, after being shot at by fire so many times, the ghosts let out a scream as they raised their hands up into the air in surrender, backing away from the two.

“We’re gonna be goners at this rate!” one of the ghosts said.

“Run away~!!” another ghost said before they quickly flew off one by one, disappearing from sight.

“H-huh? We...won?” Grim said, a little shocked by the ghosts’ retreat.

“Looks like it…” Yuki said, panting lightly as she lowered her arm. She turned and smiled down at Grim. “We did a pretty good job there!”

Grim slowly nodded his head as he relaxed, panting a little himself before quietly muttering, “Th-that was sca-” He cut himself off when seeing a smirk begin to grown on Yuki’s face as he looked up at her, quickly changing his tune. “Uh, no! I wasn’t scared at all! This is nothing for the Great Grim! How about that, ghosts!? You’ve given up?!”

Yuki just shook her head and leaned down, gently petting the top of Grim’s head.

“Hai, hai,” she said.

Grim’s eyes widen a little to the pets before closing them and nuzzles her hand. She couldn’t help but giggle a little to his reaction, reminding her of her own cat back home a little. As she pulled her hand away and stood up, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Grim also heard the footsteps and turned to look before jumping a bit when seeing the headmaster step onto the landing.

“Good evening, Walker-kun.” he said as he walked over to the two, smiling. “As promised, I have returned and have graciously brought you supper.” Yuki quickly perked up a bit to that as the headmaster looked down and noticed Grim finally. His smile turned into a frown as he glared at the small creature. “You’re the monster that ran amuck during the entrance ceremony! I thought we threw you out of the school! Why are you here?!”

Grim let out a huff as he crossed his arms and looked up at the headmaster, giving him a smug expression. “I helped exterminate your ghost problem! Be grateful!”

“Plus, can we discuss this during dinner? I did hear you brought me food, right?!” Yuki asked as she looked up at the headmaster with sparkling, pale red eyes to the mention of food.

“Hm? Ah, yes, I did bring you supper but...I would like to know more about this “ghost problem” you two, if I’m understanding it correctly, got rid of?” the headmaster said.

Something akin to a whine escaped from Yuki’s mouth as she tilted her head back a little before pouting, crossing her arms. She and Grim began to tell their tale on what happened while the headmaster was gone. He listened to them carefully, nodding every so often before looking like he just remembered something as they finished.

“Now that you two mention it,” he began, “there were some mischievous ghosts that settled down here and started going after the students, making them keep their distance from here till it was abandoned completely. I’d forgotten about that. However, hmm…” He put his hand to his chin as he pondered on something. “For the two of you to work together to drive out the ghosts…”

“Are we just gonna skip over the fact that you forgot a dorm of yours was haunted?” Yuki asked. “Which brings another question to mind, do you have a secretary or someone who can help you remember important stuff? Like ghosts being the reason why a dorm got abandoned in the first place?!”

“I’m with Yuki on that,” Grim said, crossing his arms. “Though, I really wouldn’t say we were “working together”. I just did it for two cans of tuna...speaking of which...it’s time to pay up!”

“Hai, hai, just as soon as he tells me where I can get some.” Yuki said as she leaned down and patted Grim on the head.

“Which will be only after you two show me how you exterminated the ghosts here.” the headmaster said, crossing his arms.

“Eh?” Yuki said, blinking a bit.

“But we already got rid of all of the ghosts here! And I’m not doing anymore work till I get my cans. Of. Tuna.” Grim said sternly, putting his paws on his hips before glaring at the two.

“I will be the ghosts.” the headmaster said.

Both Yuki and Grim raised an eyebrow at him before looking at each other with puzzled looks.

“How?” Yuki asked as she looked back at the headmaster. “Last I checked, there’s really only one way to become a ghost and I rather not give Neah a heart attack when I do go home about having actually killed someone.” She winced a little as a memory quickly flashed in her mind. “And I rather avoid seeing that fat bastard’s face again if I can help it.”

“With a transformation potion, I can temporarily become one.” the headmaster said before smiling. “If you can beat me, I’ll give you an extra can of tuna and an extra helping of food, for I am so very kind~!”

“I am so hating my Innocence on being a parasitic type right now…” Yuki muttered under her breath before sighing, not seeming to notice that Grim heard her loud and clear.

He was about to open his mouth and ask what she meant by that when the headmaster grabbed their attention by speaking first.

“Now then,” he said as he pulled out a bottle from his coat and opened it. He gave the two another smile before putting the bottle to his lips and took a shot from it. Just as he closed the bottle and put it back in his coat, a bright light enveloped him for a short moment before disappearing to show that he, had in fact, turned into a ghost.

“Holy crap…” Yuki said with wide eyes.

“Eeh~, I really don’t wanna.” Grim said as he pouted. “It’s too bothersome and I have to work with this weirdo again…”

““Weirdo” has a name and why are you complaining for? You’re getting an extra can of tuna after this.” Yuki said with a pout of her own.

Grim grumbled under his breath for a bit before huffing. “Fine, fine! But this is the last time! And I better get my cans of tuna after this!”

“Hai, hai,” Yuki said as she readied her magic pen once more. “Let’s just get this over and done with. My stomach is starting to growl.”

Once the two finished the challenge issued by the headmaster, both took a moment to catch their breaths. Yuki had to put her hand on the wall to keep herself steady after getting dizzy when the headmaster started to move faster near the end of the challenge. Grim followed suit in a similar way by leaning against her leg before looking up at the headmaster, who had returned to his original form.

“How...how was that?!” he asked.

“Impressive.” the headmaster said, “To think that a human and a monster could work together like this.” He hummed a little in thought as he put a hand to his chin. “Well, actually, my educator’s intuition has been tingling ever since the uproar during the entrance ceremony. Who would have thought that you were an excellent beast tamer even without the use of your magic, Walker-kun! However…” he continued before muttering incoherently to himself.

Yuki just rolled her eyes to the “beast tamer” comment and sighed. “Could have sworn I made a vague mention of being an animal tamer back in the circus earlier. But, enough about that, for now…” She pushed herself off of the wall a bit, only to slam her fist against it as she glared up at the headmaster. “Can we please have our food now?! I’m freaking starving and you better keep your word about the extra helping!” she exclaimed, pointing a finger at the headmaster.

“Yeah, especially with my cans of tuna!” Grim exclaimed as he glared up at the headmaster too.

“Yes, yes, I shall keep my word, for I am so very kind after all.” the headmaster said with a smile.

Yuki just nodded her head, glaring at him for a second longer before bending down to scoop Grim up into her arms. He blinked a bit to this as he held onto her while the headmaster walked over to them. He gently put a hand on Yuki’s back and helped her make her way down the stairs.

Chapter 7: The little butterfly...seems to know the Reaper quite well

Chapter Text

Chapter VI: The little butterfly...seems to know the Reaper quite well

“Hey, how much longer do you think he’s going to take with bringing us our food?” Grim asked as he was laying down on the couch, resting his head on Yuki’s lap as she sat beside him.

“Don’t know,” Yuki said with a sigh, reading the spellbook as she and Grim waited for the headmaster to return with their promised rewards and a change of clothes for her. “Hopefully not too much longer.”

Grim just let out a small groan to that as he turned onto his side and curled up into a ball. A soft chuckle escaped from Yuki’s lips as a small smile graced them. She closed the book and set it down on her lap before moving her hand to gently stroke Grim’s back. A small purr came from him to this and scooted himself a little closer to her, nuzzling her side a little. Another chuckle escaped her lips as her smile grew.

“You really do remind me of my cat back home,” she muttered, mainly to herself but it was still loud enough for Grim to hear.

“Hey, how many times do I have to tell ya that I’m not a pet of any kind?” he asked with a bit of a growl as he looked up at her.

“I wasn’t calling you a pet,” Yuki said. “I was just comparing you to my pet.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Grim asked, raising a brow.

Yuki just let out a little hum as she gently stroked the bridge of his nose before lightly tapping the tip of it. Grim watched as she did this before closing his eyes and shook his head as he pulled it away, blinking a few times. A soft chuckle came from Yuki when watching him do this as she leaned back in her seat. Grim gave her a pout before moving to sit on his hindlegs. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it when hearing the front door being opened, along with a pair of footsteps.

“I have returned, Walker-kun, Grim-kun~!” the headmaster said in a singsong way as he called from the foyer. “And I have brought all that I promised.”

“Finally~! About bloody time too.” Yuki said as she got to her feet, placing the book on the couch before making her way to the foyer. “Time to eat, Grim.”

“Yahoo~! Canned tuna time~!” Grim exclaimed happily as he jumped to his feet as well.

Yuki couldn’t help but to chuckle at him again as she stopped and waited for the little creature to catch up. Grim used this opportunity to run up to her and climb his way to sit on her shoulder, smiling big at the prospect of finally getting some canned tuna. Yuki chuckled a bit more when seeing his smiling face before continuing on to the foyer.

“All right, headmaster,” she said as she rounded the corner, “let’s see what you got-”

She froze mid-step while the words died in her mouth as her gaze met with an all too familiar pair of chartreuse phosphorescent eyes.

“Ah, yes,” the headmaster said as he turned and gestured toward the man that stood by him; the owner of the eyes. “I should have mentioned that I had some help with carrying the items here. My apologies, Walker-Kun, Grim-kun.”

The man just let out a small laugh as he watched Yuki take a step closer to them, looking as if she was seeing a ghost from her past and not quite believing it. Grim, on the other hand, looked between Yuki and the man with a look of both confusion and concern for his new found “friend”.

“Ah, it’s so good to see you again, my little swallowtail.” the man said with a smile, taking a few steps toward her. “I was on my way out of the school’s shop when I happened to run into the headmaster there. Upon exchanging pleasantries, he told me all about you and what had happened at the entrance ceremony as well. Imagine my surprise when hearing that you , of all people, was called upon by the Mirror of Darkness. And even more so when hearing how you helped clear out the ghosts that were living here. With your own magic, none the less.”

Yuki’s face started to turn from shock to annoyance as the man began to burst out laughing as he recalled the tale. She let out a huff as she crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the ground.

“Well, rest assured that I was just as “surprised” as you were on the magic part as well, Uncle.” she said. “And since you’ve been “paid” at my expense, mind telling me what the bloody hell you’re doing here?!”

“Funa! Wait, Yuki, you know this crazy guy?” Grim asked as he looked at her first before looking over at the man out of the corner of his eye.

“Sadly, yes.” Yuki said with a sigh as the man began to calm down from his laughing fit. “This is my old babysitter. Everyone back home simply knows him as “Undertaker” as he was an undertaker back home. I tend to call him “Uncle” or “Uncle Undertaker” from time to time.”

“What?!” both Grim and the headmaster exclaimed as they looked between the two.

“It’s true,” Undertaker said, “I’ve known my little swallowtail butterfly ever since she was a wee babe. Taught her almost everything I know too.”

“Yup,” Yuki said with a nod before glaring at Undertaker, putting her hands on her hips. “Now, answer my damn question.”

Grim and the headmaster slowly looked over at Undertaker as he laughed a little to Yuki’s demand.

Both the headmaster and Grim watched in silence as Yuki happily devoured her food, paying them little to no mind as she stuffed her mouth with another pork bun. Undertaker, on the other hand, quietly sat next to her as he watched the duo with an amused look on his face.

“H-h-how are you eating so much?” Grim finally asked as Yuki finished the last pork bun before moving right along to a sweet bun.

“Parasitic type Innocence,” Yuki said with a bit of food in her mouth before going in for another bite.

“And what do you mean by that?!” Grim asked. “You’ve been saying something like that all day!”

“Think of it like this, little tanuki.” Undertaker said, ignoring the glare he received from Grim. “Innocence is something akin to familiars for you. Though they are a great deal picker about their owners than normal familiars, if truth be told. As such, there are very few that can properly wield them. Parasitic types, like the one Yuki wields, tend to physically attach themselves to their owners in one form or another. Because of this, they require a great deal of energy to maintain and thus, some parasitic type Innocence users eat a bit more than the average human to keep up with the demand. This, of course, makes users like my swallowtail quite rare for they also have short lifespans because of that. Does this satisfy your curiosity, little tanuki?”

“Don’t call me a tanuki again, old man!” Grim screamed as he glared even harder at Undertaker.

“Now, now,” Yuki said as Undertaker busted up laughing at Grim. She reached her free hand over and began to pet him on the head to calm him down some. “Just calm down and breath a little, okay?”

Grim just grumbled a bit under his breath as he crossed his paws over his chest, huffing a little still. Yuki just let out a small giggle to this as she continued to pet him before looking over at the headmaster as he cleared his throat to get their attention. He waited a few seconds for Undertaker to get his laughter under control before finally speaking.

“Now then,” he started, “since it appears that the meal is about finished, I believe it’s time to take the little monster back out of the school.”

Grim jumped a bit to this before looking heartbroken, scooting a little closer to Yuki subconsciously.

“Oh, come on!” Yuki said, “Can’t he stay here with me at least?”

“What?!” the headmaster exclaimed, “Let a monster live here ?!”

“Yuki…” Grim said, a bit bewildered at her request.

“Well, yeah. It’s not going to kill you or anything if you let him.” Yuki said with a huff, finishing her last sweet bun before putting her hands on her hips. “Besides, he’s more experienced in magic than I am at the moment. Could always use the back up in case the ghosts or something even worse comes along.”

“What about Undertaker-san?” the headmaster asked, looking toward the man.

“Depending on the situation, he would probably be laughing his head off more than trying to help me, sir.” Yuki said with a deadpan look on her face. “And would you really deny a poor girl’s request like that?” She added in a teary voice, lowering her head and sniffled a little.

The headmaster stayed silent for a moment or two before letting out a sigh. “No, I cannot. I am very kind after all. So, I will allow it.”

“Funa?! Really?!” Grim exclaimed, looking up at the headmaster hopefully.

“However,” the headmaster started, looking at Grim sternly, “I simply cannot allow someone, let alone a monster, into the school who wasn’t chosen by the Mirror of Darkness.” He then turned to look at Yuki. “As for you, however, I will hold a meeting with the other faculty members tomorrow afternoon to discuss on letting you in. You were chosen by the Mirror, after all. And have proven it right in its selection of you. I will let you know the final verdict tomorrow evening afterwards.”

“Well, you very well know my answer to that.” Undertaker chimed in. “As well as my answer to her financial situation here.”

“Very well, I will make sure to let the other members know at the beginning of the meeting your stance on this.” the headmaster said, crossing his arms.

Undertaker chuckled to that as Yuki rolled her eyes a bit.

“Hai, hai,” she said. “Then maybe you could also discuss with them about enrolling Grim too?”

“What?!” both the headmaster and Grim exclaimed, looking at her with shock.

Undertaker just laughed at their reactions as Yuki continued speaking. “He may know magic but he’s far too reckless with it.” she said. “He needs to be properly trained and he’s very set on bettering himself despite what he is. Yeah, sure, he didn’t have the greatest first impression ever. But he still wants to come to this school and learn all he can and more. Plus, wouldn’t it be better to have a monster training to control their magic while staying here? Instead of it just staying here and being absolutely reckless with it?”

The headmaster hummed as he thought over Yuki’s proposal. “I suppose you do have a point, Walker-kun.” he said before sighing. “Very well, I will discuss the possibility of Grim-kun’s enrollment with the other faculty members as well.”

“R-r-really?” Grim asked, getting a little teary eyed at the possibility of his dream coming true.

“However,” the headmaster said, sternly. “I am not making any promises that it will go over very well. Understood?”

“That’s all I’m asking, sir.” Yuki said before smiling at him. “Thank you.”

Chapter 8: The Reaper returns a precious treasure to the little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter VII: The Reaper returns a precious treasure to the little butterfly

“Woohoo! I so can’t wait for tomorrow night, ya know?!” Grim exclaimed happily as he jumped around on the bed of Yuki’s “new” room.

Yuki let out a sigh as she shook her head at him, having a small smile on her face as she did, while carefully putting away the ceremonial clothes in a drawer. A little after dinner had concluded, the headmaster presented Yuki the change of clothes he had gotten for her before leaving with Undertaker in tow for the night. She was currently wearing a simple, plain T-shirt with a pair of pajama bottoms.

“Yes, yes, I know.” she said as she closed the drawer. “You’ve told me so for what about feels like a thousand times now.” she teased.

Grim stopped his jumping and turned his head toward her, pouting. Yuki giggled a little as she made her way over to the bed.

“I can’t help but be excited for this.” Grim grumbled as he sat down. “If it wasn’t for you sticking up for me, I would probably have been kicked out again.”

“You would have been kicked out again, you mean.” Yuki said as she sat down on the bed with him. “Multiple times, I might add, if you coming back after the first attempt is anything to go by.”

“Hey!” Grim said, crossing his paws and glaring up at Yuki.

“Oh, come on,” Yuki said with a giggle, “even you have to admit that it was going to happen.”

Grim just huffed in response before moving to the corner of the bed. “Let’s just go to sleep already. I’m tired.”

“Hai, hai, even a great magician needs his beauty rest.” Yuki said, giggling a bit more as she moved to lie down.

“Are you still making fun of me?” Grim asked as he looked over at her.

“Maybe, maybe not~,” Yuki said as she pulled the covers up and over her. “Either way, you do have a point about getting some shut eye. We have a pretty big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“You are so weird, ya know?” Grim said as he made himself comfortable. “Well, anyway, good night, Yuki.”

“Good night, Grim.” Yuki said.

She smiled at him as he quickly dozed off before reaching over to the nightstand and turned the small lamp on it off. She then pulled the covers more over her before closing her eyes and falling asleep as well.

The very first thing that greeted Yuki in the morning was a slap to her face as she slowly regained consciousness. The second thing that greeted her was the all too familiar giggle of Undertaker as she slowly blinked her eyes open. Seeing a panicked looking Grim with the three ghosts from yesterday floating behind him was just the icing on the cake for this glorious morning.

“Three seconds,” she growled out as she glared at the four currently in front of her. “Explain.”

“The ghosts came back!” Grim exclaimed, ignoring Yuki’s glare as he hopped to the side. “Come on, come on! Let’s get rid of them again!”

A groan escaped from Yuki’s throat as she leaned her head back before turning onto her side, grabbing the pillow and putting it over her head.

“You do it!” she said, “You have way more energy than I do right now!”

“What?! But...they’ll make fun of me again.” Grim said in a slightly defeated tone.

Another groan escaped from her throat as she heard Undertaker, wherever he was within the room, giggling again.

“Then ask uncle for help.” she said, turning herself more away from Grim and the ghosts.

““Uncle”? You mean that weird guy from the night before?” Grim asked.

“Yes, I do.” Yuki hissed out a little in annoyance.

“No way!” Grim exclaimed, “He just stood there the entire time as the ghosts were trying to wake us up! I even heard him laughing his head off when I woke up screaming! Surprised that that didn’t wake you up!”

“That might be because I gave Yuki-kun some warm milk last night with a secret ingredient of mine to help her sleep well before we had left.” Undertaker said, amusem*nt clear in his voice.

At his words, Yuki began to recall the scene clearly in her mind. It was a little after their chat with the headmaster, right before they left, that Undertaker had pulled out a thermos from a bag and began to unscrew the cap. She remembered him telling everyone in the room that it was just warm milk that he had prepared for her with an added ingredient that he knew worked well on her to help her get to sleep faster. He then poured it into an empty cup and handed it to her. Now that she thought about it more, it was an all too familiar scene from when she was younger.

“How much of that “secret ingredient” did you put into my milk this time?” she asked as she took the pillow off of her head and turned to look at him.

“Just a wee smidge as usual,” Undertaker said as he showed her with his fingers.

Yuki clicked her tongue in response before pulling the covers off of her and sitting up. “Could have sworn my immunity to that was getting stronger.”

“Perhaps for now it hasn’t as you haven’t had it in a long while,” Undertaker said as he walked over to her. “But, mayhap it will once you start taking it on a regular basis.”

“Maybe,” Yuki said with a pout, resting her chin on her hand before looking over at him. “By the way, what are you doing here so early in the morning? Don’t you have to prepare for your classes today?”

“I did most of that the day before, little swallowtail.” Undertaker said, petting her head. “And it’s very easy for me to squeeze you in as my assistant for the day. Better than lounging around here all day and having the ghosts prank you, hm?”

“Yeah, that’s tr-what do you mean by “assistant”?” Yuki said as she eyed Undertaker warily.

“Oh, you’ll see.” Undertaker said with a smile. “Ruin the surprise if I told you now, wouldn’t it?”

Yuki groaned and pouted a bit more at him as he laughed to her response.

“Ah~, don’t be like that, my little butterfly.” he continued after calming down from his laughter. “I did bring you a big breakfast, after all. And a nice welcoming gift, too.”

“You brought me a gift?” Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Of course,” Undertaker said. “Though it isn’t anything “fancy”, if that’s what you’re thinking of. No. This is actually just something of yours that you gave to me for safe keeping a long time ago, dear butterfly. I’ve kept it nice and safe for you, just like I promised when you first gave it to me. And that includes all of the additions you’ve sent to me for it as well.” He chuckled a little as he reached into a pocket and carefully pulled out a chain with lockets attached to it.

Yuki, at first, raised her eyebrow more to his words before something clicked in her mind, widening her eyes. And when he fully pulled out the chain of lockets, her eyes began to water as she carefully took it from him. Grim watched as he tilted his head to the side before jumping when hearing the ghosts awe to this; forgetting that they were still in the room with them.

“I even took the liberty of adding another one on for you as well, little butterfly.” Undertaker said softly, gently putting a hand on her head. “I even made one for Allen as well for when you go home.”

Yuki remained silent as she looked over the lockets carefully. Each bared the name of someone she had lost over the years. It wasn’t until she reached the latest addition, a locket bearing the name “Mana Walker”, that her eyes began to well up and overflow with tears. She gripped it firmly in her hand before pulling it close to her chest, bowing her head a little as she muttered a simple phrase to Undertaker: “Arigatou.”

Chapter 9: You seem to be quite knowledgable in handling a trump card, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter VIII: You seem to be quite knowledgeable in handling a trump card, little butterfly

“Make way! Make way! Future top student and his loyal minion walking through here!” Grim exclaimed as he sat on Yuki’s shoulders, looking at all of the students that passed them by while they made their way to Main Street.

“Could you, maybe, not yell that out while being so close to my ear, Grim?” Yuki asked, putting a hand to her ear as she kept looking at the makeshift map Undertaker had left for them before making his own way to the school. “It’s kind of hard for me to concentrate on Uncle’s map otherwise.”

“Hmph,” Grim started with a pout, “I still don’t see why he couldn’t have waited to show us the way instead.” He then leaned over a little to get a better look at the map before huffing again as Yuki started climbing her way up a flight of stairs. “Let alone, gave us a map to follow. It seems pretty straight forward with written directions alone. Don’t see why he had to draw a map too.”

“You are greatly underestimating my ability to get lost.” Yuki muttered to herself, rolling her eyes before stopping when reaching the top of the stairs. “Okay,” she said, rereading the map again before turning to her right. “So, according to this, I need to turn to our right and it should be a straight shot from there.”

“Hmph, I told you it seemed pretty straight forward.” Grim said as he looked at Yuki with a pout.

Yuki returned it by giving him a small glare before switching her gaze toward the road ahead of them. Grim soon followed suit before his eyes widen in amazement to the statues that were lined up on either side of the street. Yuki’s eyes widen as well but for a different reason as the statues all looked very familiar to her.

“Whoa~! Amazing! So this is Main Street, huh?!” Grim exclaimed as he looked around at the statues, pressing his paws into Yuki’s shoulder to make her move closer to them.

“G-guess so,” Yuki said a little shakily, folding the map up and putting it in her pocket before slowly making her way toward the statues. “That’s what Uncle’s map says, anyway.”

“I wouldn’t have known for sure otherwise.” Grim said, “I didn’t get a good look at it yesterday, but...what’s with these statues? There are seven of them...and they all look pretty scary.”

Yuki scoffed and rolled her eyes to that. “Please! The only ones that are “scary” looking are those guys only.” she said as she pointed to the statues of Hades and Maleficent. “The Witch of Thorns especially. Second to them would be those three for different reasons.” She then pointed to the statues of Jafar, Ursala, and Scar. “The last two can’t even count into the “scary” category at all.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head as she stopped in front of the Queen of Hearts statue.

“Hmm...you do have a point, Yuki.” Grim said, letting her words sink in a little as he looked at the statues carefully. “They really aren’t all that scary looking.” He then let out a chuckle and pointed to the Queen of Hearts statue. “Especially this auntie here! She looks really snobbish, ya know!”

Yuki let out a giggle to that and nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, you could say that again.”

“You mean to tell me you two don’t know the Queen of Hearts?” a voice said from behind them, causing the two to jump out of their skins.

Yuki quickly spun around on her heel and put a hand to her sword. Standing before her was an auburn hair boy with a heart shaped mark over his left eye. His smile was friendly looking enough, but his eyes held a different story that Yuki knew all too well.

“Queen of Hearts?” Grim asked as he first looked at the stranger before looking back at the statue. “Is she someone important?”

Yuki remained silent as she watched the boy move toward the statue. She turned back toward it as well to give Grim a better view of it as she took her hand off of her sword and crossed her arms.

“In the past, she was the queen who lived inside the Rose Labyrinth.” the boy started. “She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all else. Strict in all things from the march of the Card Soldiers to the color of the rose bushes. And even though it was a country full of insane people, they were all in complete obedience to her. Why, you may ask? It’s because disobedience to the law would have you instantly beheaded!”

“Th-that’s scary!” Grim said with a whimper, shrinking a little behind Yuki.

Yuki looked over at him before giving him a soft smile and petted him on the head to calm him down some. “Then it’s a good thing she is no longer around, huh?” she whispered to Grim who nodded in agreement.

“It’s cool! I like it.” the boy said with a small laugh to Grim’s reaction. “‘Cause, like, nobody will obey a queen who’s just nice all of the time, right?”

“Nor would anyone obey a ruler that is mean and strict like that all of the time.” Yuki retorted as she looked over at the boy. “It’s all fine and dandy to be strict some of the time. But a good leader needs to know when to be lenient with their followers as well.”

The boy flinched a little to the sharp look she was giving him as Grim mulled over her words.

“I guess you’re right,” Grim said after a moment’s pause. “There needs to be a good balance between nice and mean when being a leader.”

“Exactly, Grim. Gold star for you!” Yuki said, looking at Grim with a warm smile. Grim perked up and let a huge grin spread across his face to her praise before she looked at the boy again. “So, who might you be?”

“I’m Ace,” the boy said with a smile as he put a hand on his hip, rubbing the back of his neck with the other. “A fresh-faced first year. Nice to meet ‘cha~!”

“I am the great Grim! A genius who’ll become the greatest magician ever!” Grim said as he puffed out his chest a little. “And this one here is-”

“Yuki-Daicho Walker. A possible “fresh-faced” first year. You can call me “Yuki”.” Yuki said as she cut off Grim before he could call her his minion again.

“Possible “fresh-faced” first year?” Ace repeated as he looked at Yuki with a bit of confusion.

“Don’t worry about it.” she said, waving her hand before gesturing to the other statues. “So, Mister Ace, since you seem pretty knowledgeable about the Queen of Hearts, mind giving us a full course on the others?” she continued with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah!” Grim exclaimed, perking up even more before pointing to the one of Scar. “Like, is that lion over there with the scar a famous person too?”

“Of course!” Ace said as he moved to get a better look at the statue, Yuki following after. “That is the King of Beasts who ruled over the savannah. However, he was not born to be king. He was a hard worker who took over the throne with an elaborate plan he concocted himself. After he became king, he even allowed the loathed hyenas to live in his kingdom without discrimination.”

Yuki scoffed a little to that while Grim, on the other hand, stared up at the statue in complete awe.

“Ooh~, a person who didn’t get swayed by his social status. That rocks!” Grim exclaimed before looking toward the statue of Ursala. “So, who’s the auntie with the octopus legs over there?” he asked as he pointed toward her.

“That’s the Witch of the Sea who lived in a cavern in the depths of the ocean.” Ace said. “Her raison d’etre was to help all unfortunate merfolk. As long as you could pay the price, she would help you find the solution to any of your worries; from desires to change oneself to love troubles even! If it was within her power, then there wasn’t anything that she couldn’t do. But, I have heard the cost was a bit expensive, though. But if it’s to grant any wish, then it’s only natural, right?”

“...Depends upon the wish you make...and the consequences that follow.” Yuki said solemnly as she closed her right eye for a moment.

Grim blinked a little to her words before looking at her with concern. Yuki noticed him staring at her when she opened her eye again and smiled at him; giving him another pet on the head before speaking again.

“Alright, Mister Ace,” she began, turning to face the other statues, “what can you tell us about the ones over here?”

“Ooh! Yeah, yeah! Like that uncle with the big hat?!” Grim asked as he pointed to the statue of Jafar.

“That’s the Sorcerer of the Sand.” Ace began as he turned around as well, “He was a cunning vizier who worked under a foolish sultan and saw through the fake prince that was actually a street rat trying to deceive the princess! After that, he got ahold of a magic lamp and rose to become the most powerful sorcerer of all! Furthermore, it’s said that, with that power, he became sultan.”

“Ho-ho! So, it’s just as I thought.” Grim said with a small smirk. “It’s important for a magician to have a discerning eye as well.”

“It’s important for anyone to have a discerning eye, Grim.” Yuki corrected him, “Even a great magician like yourself can be easily tricked from time to time.” She slowly moved her gaze toward Ace as Grim nodded to her words before pointing to the statue of the Evil Queen.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Hey~! That person sure is beautiful!” he exclaimed.

“This person’s said to be the world’s number one most beautiful queen!” Ace said. “Everyday, she checked the world’s most beautiful person ranking in her magic mirror. And, when it looked like she might fall from the number one spot, she never hesitated to do anything to get it back. I guess she had the guts to remain the most beautiful in the world, huh? So freaking amazing. They say she was even adept at making poisons, too.”

“S-she’s pretty, sure...but no thanks…” Grim said as he shrink a little behind Yuki.

“I’m just perfectly fine with only having one person “poisoning” me on a daily basis.” Yuki said, making quotation marks around “poisoning” with her fingers. “And that would be my Uncle.”

“What?” Grim asked as he looked at Yuki with a mixture of both confusion and deep concern for her wellbeing.

“Huh?” Ace said as he looked at her as well.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yuki said, waving her hand dismissively at them before pointing to the statue of Hades. “Just tell us about this joker now.”

Ace and Grim both continued to look at her a little warily before turning their attention to Hades as well.

Ace cleared his throat a little before beginning in a low and somewhat eerie tone. “The Lord of the Underworld. He ruled over a land crawling with evil spirits all by himself, so that already makes him a super powerful person.”

He smirked a little when seeing Grim’s fur stand straight up to his little introduction of the Lord of the Underworld. However, the smirk was short lived when he looked to see Yuki’s reaction, only to be met with a glare.

“The Underworld wasn’t just a place for “evil spirits” to go to!” she snapped at him. “It also had your average Joe’s and even your “wonder boys”.”

“O-oh? And who’s the one telling the story here about the Great Seven, missy?!” Ace asked, putting his hands on his hips.

“A poor trump card that doesn’t seem to know a thing about the Underworld apparently.” Yuki retorted, crossing her arms.

“Trump card?! Why, you-” Ace exclaimed, glaring at Yuki before being cut off by Grim.

“Hey, hey! Enough with the arguing! Let’s finish this little tour up so we can get moving to that crazy guy’s class! I want to know about these last two guys before then!”

“Crazy guy’s class?” Ace asked, blinking a little.

“My uncle’s class. He’s a professor here...surprisingly.” Yuki said, taking in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “We’re his assistants for the day.”

“Oh, I see!” Ace said with a nod, putting a hand to his chin before smirking. “So you’re in charge of bringing him a practice dummy for the seniors, right?”

“Excuse you?” Yuki said with a bit of a snarl.

“Eh?!” Grim exclaimed, looking at Ace with a bewildered look.

“Oh, come on! Isn’t it obvious? Why would the school allow a little tanuki like you to stick around if not for target practice?” Ace said with a laugh, pointing at Grim before pointing to Yuki. “And you being an errand girl for your uncle seems pretty appropriate. After all, if you don’t know who the Great Seven are, you might as well enroll into kindergarten instead of here!”

“This guy…” Grim muttered under his breath as Ace laughed even more. Yuki just gritted her teeth as she glared at Ace.

“Well, I better be off to class now.” Ace said, calming down from his laughing fit before turning on his heel and giving the two a slight wave. “Don’t want to be late on my first day, you know. Have fun today and try not to ware yourselves out too much~! It’s not everyday you get a perfect practice dummy to waltz right on in here!”

“That...jerk!” Grim growled as Ace walked away from them. “He’s just going to say that and leave?!” He opened his mouth to speak more but closed it when feeling Yuki pick him up from her shoulders and set him down at the feet of one of the statues. “Huh?”

He blinked a few times before watching Yuki quickly walk after Ace, taking note of how tightly she was clenching her first.

“Oi!” she exclaimed, clenching her fist more before raising it once she was close enough.

Ace paused and turned around to look at her, barely taking note of the fist as he opened his mouth, “What-”

Wham!

Undertaker quietly stared out of the classroom window as the students were slowly making their way in. He glanced over to the clock to check the time before turning to look at the doorway. The students that were just making their way in flinched and hurried over into their seats, avoiding eye contact with him as they did. He watched them go before letting out a sigh and turned to look out the window again.

“She got lost again, didn’t she?” he muttered to himself.

“Hm? Oh, Professor Undertaker, good morning.” a student said as they entered the room.

Undertaker couldn’t help but smirk as the rest of the class fell silent to the mere presence of this student. A small chuckle escaped his lips before an idea came to mind, making him smirk more.

“Ah, and a good morning to you, Mr. Draconia.” he said as he turned to look at the student fully. “Before you sit down and make yourself comfortable, I have a small request to make of you.”

Chapter 10: The little butterfly meets the dragon fae of thorns...

Chapter Text

Chapter IX: The little butterfly meets the dragon fae of thorns…

“I need you to go about the school and locate a little lost butterfly for me. She is supposed to be here by now but seems to have lost her way at some point. Start your search at Main Street and go from there. That is the most likeliest place where she began to lose her way. Oh, and before I forget, do be mindful when approaching her from behind. She tends to strike first and ask questions later when being in an unfamiliar place. Hehehe, good luck, Mr. Draconia~.”

Professor Undertaker’s words echoed in Malleus’s mind for a time as he made his way down to Main Street. Just how important was this “lost butterfly” that Professor Undertaker would entrust him with the task of finding them? He had to admit, he was very curious and a little bit eager to meet the person his professor was so worried about. It was a well known fact that the professor was eccentric to a fault and barely anyone knew what was really going on in that mind of his. It was an even bigger well known fact that the professor had no one he truly cared for, that was living at least...until today.

Malleus hummed a little in thought as he allowed himself to imagine what sort of person this “little butterfly” could be. However, before he could go any further with that train of thought, his attention was quickly drawn toward a growing group of students near the statues of the Great Seven.

“Oh my, what’s gotten them so riled up this morning?” he muttered to himself, watching a few more students join the group before he stepped a bit closer himself.

“Yeah! Get him, sis! Show that Heartslabyul student what you’re made of!” he heard a student cry once he was close enough.

“Come on, come on! Is that the best you can do?!” a disgruntled Heartslabyul student said.

“I don’t care if she’s a girl, man up and beat her already!” another Heartslabyul student yelled before the crowd let out a synchronized “ooh” when he heard something hit the stone pathway hard.

Malleus slightly raised an eyebrow to this before daring to take another step closer to get a better look at what everyone was going on about. His eyes widen just a tiny smidge when seeing that it was nothing more than a fight between a first year student and a young woman...with the obvious victor being the young woman.

“Nyahahaha! Way to go, Yuki! Show that stupid trump card what you’re made of!” a small cat like creature exclaimed as it bounced up and down on one of the Great Seven’s pedestals.

“Quit calling me a “trump card”, you stupid tanuki-urk!” the first year student retorted, glaring at the cat like creature as he got to his feet before being cut off when the young woman ran up to him and punched him in the gut.

This earned another synchronized “ooh” from the crowd as the first year stumbled back a bit before some of the students erupted into cheers for the young woman. Malleus let out a small hum as he kept his eyes on her. He couldn’t quite make out her face as she had the hood up from the sweater she was wearing, but he did take note of the sword that was securely strapped to her right hip as well as a holster for her magic pen strapped to her left leg. He also took note of a similar looking chain of mourning lockets; worn in the same fashion as Professor Undertaker as well.

“Had enough yet?!” the young woman roared as she carefully watched her opponent, bouncing from one foot to the other.

“Not even close,” the first year student groaned out, clutching his stomach before coughing a bit.

The young woman scoffed a bit as she kept watching him, reminding Malleus a little of how a predatory animal would stare down their prey...as well as bringing up a very old memory of someone he once knew. However, his mind was snapped back to the present when he heard the first year speak again.

“But I’ll admit, this is getting kind of boring. Time to step it up a notch.” he said as he stood up, pulling his magic pen out from his breast pocket and pointing it toward the young woman.

“Sis! Look out!” a Savanaclaw student exclaimed as the first year’s pen began to glow.

The young woman’s eyes widen a bit when seeing this before quickly rolling out of the way as the first year shot a powerful gust of wind toward her. Malleus let out a small breath he didn’t realize he was holding in when seeing that the young woman looked relatively unscathed.

“Oi! That was a cheap shot!” a Savanaclaw student exclaimed as the young woman quickly got to her feet, her hood falling down as she did.

Once the light hit on the young woman’s face, Malleus’s eyes widen once more. He could swear he felt his heart stop for a moment as he continued to stare at her. This young woman...looked so much like the one he once knew all those decades ago.

“Oi! That was a cheap shot!” a Savanaclaw student exclaimed as Yuki quickly got to her feet, her hood falling down as she did.

“So what?! At least he’s going to actually win now!” a Heartslabyul student exclaimed a bit smugly.

Yuki clicked her tongue and cursed a bit under her breath as she got ready to dodge again in case, pulling out her own magic pen as well.

“Oi! Yuki! Give that stupid trump card a taste of your own magic!” Grim exclaimed from the sidelines. “Fireball his stupid orange hair!”

“Like hell I’m going to throw a fireball at him when he’s going to use wind against me!” Yuki exclaimed as she looked back at Grim.

“Then you better think of something to do or else you’re going to have to keep dodging from him!” Grim yelled back. “And who knows how long you can keep that up!”

“I know!” Yuki yelled, looking back toward Ace before jolting and barely managing to jump out of the way of another gust of wind aimed at her.

“Yuki!” Grim exclaimed as he looked over at her with worry. “You okay?!”

“Yeah, I’ll live.” Yuki said, panting a little. “Just got caught a little off guard is all.”

“Then use your magic against him!” Grim yelled. “Seriously! Do something against him!”

“Like what?!” Yuki screeched as she turned to Grim. “I can’t just “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” him, now can I?!”

She twirled her pen a bit in the air as she uttered those words before pointing toward Ace, unaware that her gem was pointing at him as well. A bright white light soon shot itself out of her gem and toward Ace, hitting him dead on. Ace let out a surprised yelp as the rest of the crowd went dead silent. Yuki and Grim, on the other hand, widen their eyes in surprise but for very different reasons.

“That’s an actual spell here?!” Yuki whispered yelled to herself as she and Grim slowly turned to look at the result of her little “spell”.

What awaited them was a very bewildered looking Ace...in an elegant looking, flowing red dress with a matching pair of long gloves going halfway up his upper arms. He was even wearing a black choker with a black and red heart pendant in the center of it. It reminded Yuki so much of the one that Cinderella wore to the ball.

“What…” one student began as everyone else stared at Ace, just as bewildered as him.

“Just happened…?” another student finished.

There was a long moment of silence over the group as Ace slowly began to look himself over, having a disgusted look on his face. It wasn’t until he picked the skirt of the dress up a bit, when Yuki saw that he was even sporting a nice pair of ruby red glass slippers to complete the outfit, that the silence was finally broken with her and Grim’s laughter.

“Hey! What are you two laughing about?!” Ace exclaimed as he glared at them.

“I can’t believe it actually worked like that!” Yuki managed to say through her laughter. “Oh my god! I need to tell Uncle about this when I can!”

“Tell your uncle what exactly, Walker-kun?” a familiar sounding voice asked as Yuki noticed a figure coming up to them from the corner of her eye.

“Ah...crap.”

Chapter 11: The little butterfly is saved from the stupid crow

Chapter Text

Chapter X: The little butterfly is saved from the stupid crow

The moment that Headmaster Crowley stepped onto the scene, the crowd that had gathered for the young woman and the first year’s fight quickly began to disperse. Malleus watched as a few of the Savanaclaw students walked close to the young woman and gave her a pat on the shoulder; most likely in congratulations for her victory by the look on their faces. The young woman gave them all a small, half-hearted smile before returning her attention to the headmaster, her smile dropping as she did. Malleus let a small chuckle escape his throat to that as he remained where he stood and continued to watch till the right moment to intervene presented itself.

“Well,” Headmaster Crowley began once it was down to him, Ace, Yuki and Grim amongst the statues, “now that it is just the four of us, tell me exactly what happened here.”

The three remained silent as they looked at each other before returning their attention to the headmaster once more. Yuki and Grim then pointed their fingers toward Ace and said, “He started it.”

“What?!” Ace exclaimed as he glared at the two before pointing at Yuki. “You were the one that threw the punch first!”

“And you were the one that insulted my friend here when I was within earshot.” Yuki said, gesturing to Grim before returning the glare at Ace.

“Enough! Both of you!” Headmaster Crowley exclaimed, looking at the two sternly as he put his hands on his hips. Ace was the only one that flinched a bit to that before quieting down a bit. Yuki, on the other hand, let out a huff and looked the other way, crossing her arms over her chest. Crowley let the silence linger over them all for a bit longer before turning his attention to Ace. “Young man, what is your year and name?”

Ace flinched a little again before speaking in a somewhat quiet voice, “Ace Trappola...I’m a first year...sir.”

“I see,” Crowley said, crossing his arms and looking down in thought for a moment or two before looking back at the group of “troublemakers”. “Well then, as punishment for starting a fight in the middle of Main Street, I order you three to clean the windows of the cafeteria after school today.”

“What?!” the trio exclaimed.

“Why do I have to be punished too?! I didn’t do anything!” Grim exclaimed.

“Yeah! He literally didn’t do anything to the stupid trump card!” Yuki exclaimed, glaring at the headmaster.

“Quit calling me that!” Ace said, glaring at Yuki for the nickname.

“Enough!” the headmaster yelled, glaring at all of them before looking solely at Yuki and Grim. “The reason why is more of him helping you out with your punishment as you keep an eye on him. I feel much better knowing that Grim-kun was under your supervision than leaving him all alone at Ramshackle.”

“ Well, technically we still have the ghosts but I do see the point. ” Yuki thought as she let out another huff, clicking her tongue a little as well.

“Now, since that is out of the way, Walker-kun,” Headmaster Crowley started, looking toward Yuki more now, “would you do us the kindness of lifting the spell from Trappola-kun?”

Yuki stiffened a bit as her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “Um...about that…” she began, avoiding eye contact with them all as she started to sweat a little, “I don’t think I can…”

“Huh?!” Ace exclaimed, staring at her with disbelief.

“And why is that, Walker-kun?” the headmaster asked, seeming to be unfazed by the confession.

Yuki remained silent for a few minutes as she stared down at the ground before finally speaking again. “I can’t...because the spell will wear off at the stroke of midnight and can not be broken before then.” She then looked up at Crowley and Ace, breathing in a little bit deeply as she silently prayed that they would believe her lie and not see through it. It didn’t help her in the slightest that she had Undertaker’s voice in her head, teasing her for her “terrible lying”.

The headmaster hummed a little in thought as he pondered over her words before letting out a soft sigh. “I see. If that is the case, then there is nothing else we can do about that.”

“You serious?!” Ace screamed as he looked at the headmaster in disbelief. Yuki took this opportunity to let out a breath of relief while relaxing her body a bit. “You mean I have to wear this stupid thing till midnight?!”

“I am afraid so, Trappola-kun.” Headmaster Crowley said. “But do not worry, I will escort you to your class and explain to your professor about your situation myself. For I am so very kind like that.”

“ Sure you are, ” Yuki thought as she rolled her eyes a little at him. It was at that moment that she spied someone off to the side, watching them. She couldn’t make out too many details, save that they were dressed as a student here and had a pair of horns sprouting from their head.

“Aw, man. This sucks.” Ace said under his breath, sounding a little defeated by the news that he would still have to attend classes despite his current situation.

Yuki had to quickly cover her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing at him again. Grim, on the other hand, quickly snickered at him from behind his paws.

“Serves you right for picking on us, trump card.” Grim whispered loud enough for Yuki to hear him.

“Now, as for you two, Walker-kun, Grim-kun,” the headmaster said as he looked back over at the two, “I shall escort you two and put you under Professor Undertaker’s supervision till the end of the day.”

“Aw, man. Just what we needed.” Grim muttered with a pout.

Yuki opened her mouth to deny the offer but stopped herself when seeing the horned student make his way over to them.

“That actually won’t be necessary, Headmaster.” the student said once he was close enough. “Professor Undertaker has already given me the task of escorting his niece here back to his classroom.”

Everyone but Yuki turned their attention to the newcomer when he spoke, staring at him in both awe and surprise. Yuki just took the opportunity to scoop Grim up into her arms and hold him before taking a closer look at their “savior”. She had a strange sense of nostalgia when seeing him despite the fact that this was their first meeting...of sorts.

“Ah, Drac-” Headmaster Crowley began before being cut off by the young man.

“So, if you don’t mind, Headmaster, I would like to escort her there now as I’ve already kept the professor waiting long enough.” the young man said a bit urgently. “Rest assured, I shall be sure to properly explain what has transpired here to him.” He then turned his attention to Yuki and gave her a soft smile. “Shall we be off then, child of man?”

Yuki quickly snapped out of her slight daze and nodded her head before going over to him. The young man looked toward the headmaster once more, giving him a slight bow before guiding Yuki and Grim toward the school. Grim took the opportunity once they were far enough away from Ace and Crowley to peek over Yuki’s shoulder and stick his tongue out at the poor first year, angering him once more.

Chapter 12: Seems like the dragon fae of thorns is quickly warming up to you, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XI: Seems like the dragon fae of thorns is quickly warming up to you, little butterfly

“Hah~, arigatou gozaimasu, Tsuno.” Yuki said with a sigh of pure relief as she allowed Grim to move back to her shoulders. She then turned her head to look up at their apparent savior. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had to let the headmaster explain to Uncle about what happened back there first. Always had been pretty terrible at explaining my side of the story after somebody else.” She muttered the last part mainly to herself as they rounded a corner.

“Well, please think nothing of it, child of man.” the young man said, looking a bit puzzled by his newly given nickname. “I was merely doing as I was told by the professor. Although with some manner of improvisation on my part. ...Also, “Tsuno”?”

“Horns,” Yuki said, gesturing to the horns on his head. “I can also call you Tsunotaro if you like. And thanks still for the rescue back there. I’m Yuki-Daicho Walker, by the way. Yuki for short. And this little furball on my shoulder is Grim.”

“That’s the great Grim to you, minion!” Grim said as he glared at Yuki. “And I am not a furball, ya know!”

“Hai, hai, so very sorry for the insult, O mighty one.” Yuki said as she gently petted Grim on his head. She then carefully leaned a little closer to Tsuno and covered her mouth from Grim’s view to whisper, “I’m actually not his minion, by the way. Nor am I actually too sorry for the “furball” comment.”

Grim just let out a huff as he crossed his paws, his glare turning more into a pout as he spoke, “You’re making fun of me again, aren’t you?”

“What~? Me? No~, not at all~.” Yuki said in a sing song way, waving her hand dismissively.

Grim pouted at her even more to that while Tsuno put a hand to his mouth to cover the small laugh that wanted to come out. Yuki couldn’t help but smile bigger at him as she noticed what he was attempting to do.

“It’s always nice to make someone else laugh,” she said with a small sigh of satisfaction. “It does get tiring to only make my uncle laugh.”

“Oh? So even you find it difficult to make him laugh at times?” Tsuno asked as he looked at her curiously. “I had assume that it would be quite easy for you to do that as you are his niece.”

“If I needed something from him, then it’s hard for me to pay that fee with laughter.” Yuki said. “But if I don’t need anything from him, then it’s like tickling a ticklish person with just a feather.”

“Oh, I see.” Tsunotaro said, nodding his head a little in understanding.

“So I try my best to remember all of the times I’ve made him laugh when I didn’t need anything from him when I really do need something.” Yuki continued as she crossed her arms. “Like hard to get information about you, for example. But that’s more of a last resort type of option when all of my other ways of getting information fail. Know what I mean?” She then looked up at Tsunotaro.

“I believe I do, child of man.” Tsunotaro said, “I believe Lilia made mention of that when we first met your uncle.”

“Well, I don’t know what you mean by that, Yuki.” Grim said with a huff. “All I know is that he is a creepy guy!”

“A “creepy guy” that taught me almost everything I know.” Yuki said as she looked at Grim. “The rest I either learned from my step mom or my dad.”

“Hmph, save for magic, apparently.” Grim quietly said to himself, smirking a little.

“And this coming from the guy that was shooting fireballs at ghosts with his eyes closed?” Yuki said, having heard his little comment.

“H-hey!” Grim said with a pout.

“Well, I personally thought that the spell she did on that first year student was beautifully done, actually.” Tsuno said, chuckling a bit as he watched the two bicker with each other.

“That was more luck than skill on my part.” Yuki said, “Plus...I really didn’t expect that to be a spell here.”

“Oh? So you made it up on the spot?” Tsuno said, “You must be incredibly powerful then to have done that.”

“...More like just said a random spell from my childhood that just so happened to have popped into my head at the right moment.” Yuki said as she looked the other way.

“Oh?” both Tsunotaro and Grim said as they looked at her.

“Uh, a-anyway! We’re getting way off topic here!” Yuki said with a nervous laugh, turning her head back to look up at Tsuno.

“What topic?” Grim asked, looking at her confused. “I thought we were just saying whatever came to mind as we make our way to that crazy guy’s class?”

“I mean, you’re not wrong there but we never did have Tsunotaro properly introduce himself to us.” Yuki said after a small moment to ponder. “Nor did he give me any feedback on the nicknames I came up with, “Tsuno” and “Tsunotaro”.”

“Ah, you are quite right, child of man.” Tsuno said, “Please, forgive my rudeness on that.”

“Aw, don’t worry about it. It’s kind of my fault for getting too sidetracked with teasing Grim and everything.” Yuki said, waving her hand dismissively at him. “And you don’t have to call me “child of man” all of the time. You can just call me either “Yuki” or “Walker”. Hell, I’ll even allow you to call me by my old stage name, “Snow Butterfly”. “Butterfly” works just as well if you don’t want to say the full name. Everyone back home and in the circus did anyway.”

““Snow Butterfly”?” Tsuno said, tilting his head a little to the side.

“Yup! My friends Joker and Beast came up with it for me back when we first joined. I usually hold off on telling people that till I feel like I can trust them enough. But...I think you, me, and Grim are pretty good friends already. So you two are the first ones here to know and be able to use it at will.” Yuki said, grinning at the two as they stared at her a bit dumbfoundedly.

Tsunotaro’s eyes had widen to her words, especially when she so boldly proclaimed him to be her “friend” despite the lack of knowledge she had on him. It brought back another memory of the girl he once knew saying something similar to him.

“Uh...you okay, Tsuno?” Yuki asked, looking up at him with concern when noticing his eyes were beginning to water a little.

She reached her hand out and gently touched him on his arm. That seemed to snap him out of his small walk down memory lane and back into reality.

“Ah, my apologies, child of man.” he said as he looked down toward her. “I don’t know what came over me just then.”

“Eh, no worries.” she said with a small smile. “Just as long as you’re okay.”

Tsunotaro returned the smile as Grim looked between the two. “...So...are you going to tell us your name now or what?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Grim!” Yuki said as she looked at him sternly. “But...he does have a point. At the very least, you can just tell us if it’s fine calling you “Tsuno” and “Tsunotaro”.”

Tsuno took a moment to stare at the two as he mulled over whether he should allow them to address him by his real name or not. However, the image of his dear old friend appeared in his mind once more and a smile soon made its way onto his face again.

“The nicknames are quite fine by me, little butterfly.” Tsuno said as he looked toward Yuki more. “But...I do suppose you two may call me by my given name as well.” He smiled a bit more before moving to bow to his newly made friends. “Malleus Draconia. A pleasure to make your acquaintances, Yuki and Grim.”

“Well, we are a little later than I would have liked. But, at least we’ve finally arrived.” Malleus said once he, Yuki, and Grim stopped in front of his classroom's door.

“Thank God,” Yuki said a bit exasperatedly, letting out a sigh of relief. “...Sorry for forcing you to take hold of my hand to guide us the rest of the way, Tsuno.”

“Please, do not mention it, little butterfly.” Malleus said, looking at her as he let go of her hand. “Though I must admit, I have never met anyone with such a poor sense of direction as you before.”

“You’re telling me!” Grim chimed in. “She even gave me fair warning to not underestimate her ability to get lost earlier. But that was still something else!”

“Alright, alright, we get it.” Yuki said with a groan as she crossed her arms. “We have now established that my sense of direction within a new place is terrible. Can we just go in already and get the guaranteed humiliation from my uncle over and done with?”

“Yes, as you wish, little butterfly.” Malleus said as he gave her a small apologetic smile.

“Thank you,” she said, letting out another sigh before taking a few steps forward.

“Yuki,” Malleus said as he quickly moved to grab ahold of her wrist. “We are literally in front of the classroom door.”

Yuki, who had stopped mid step when Malleus grabbed her wrist, stood there for a minute or so before quickly back tracking to his side. “...No one tell my uncle about this. Not. One. Word.” she said.

“Got it,” Grim said with a nod.

“I unfortunately cannot make any promises on that, butterfly.” Malleus said.

“Then just try at the very least for my sake, Tsuno.” Yuki said as she looked up at him pleadingly.

Malleus stared down at her for a moment or two before letting out a sigh of his own and nods. “Very well, child of man. I will try for your sake.”

“Thank you,” Yuki said with a smile. “Now, let’s go in for real this time, shall we?”

Malleus and Grim both nodded to that before Malleus reached his hand out to the door. However, before his fingers could so much as graze the doorknob, it turned on its own and slowly opened a crack.

“So,” Undertaker started as he carefully poked his head through the crack with a smile, “how many times did my little swallowtail get lost this time?”

“Funyaa!” Grim exclaimed with a jolt, accidentally digging his claws into Yuki’s shoulders. “You’re worse than the ghosts, ya know!”

“Ouch! Grim! Claws!” Yuki said through gritted teeth as she hissed in pain.

Malleus could only stare dumbfoundedly as he looked between his now laughing professor and his newly made friends as Yuki tried to get Grim to retract his claws.

“If you think him doing that with a normal door freaked you out, then you should see him with a coffin’s lid.” Yuki muttered as Grim finally retracted his claws.

“He what?!” Grim exclaimed as Yuki quickly pulled him off of her shoulders and held him in her arms.

She let out a sigh before making her way into the classroom, carefully moving around Undertaker as he calmed down from his latest laughing fit. Malleus quickly followed in after her. Meanwhile, the rest of the class just stared at them with both looks of shock and curiosity. Yuki soon noticed the stares and almost immediately sent them all a sharp look back. She saw that a few students had jumped back in their seats to her look before they all quickly went back to their books.

“Aw, that’s my little swallowtail.” Undertaker said as he made his way over to her. “Always on her guard and very perceptive.”

“...Save for finding her way in a paper bag, maybe.” Grim muttered to himself.

“Grim!” Yuki said sternly as she looked down at him.

“Speaking of finding her way,” Undertaker said, “how many times did you lose it, swallowtail?”

Yuki froze to the question before clearing her throat, “O-oh, just once or twice, Uncle.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Undertaker said as he looked straight at Yuki.

“Yup! Honest!” she said, avoiding direct eye contact with him the entire time.

Undertaker let out a small hum as he carefully studied her. Yuki, on the other hand, let out a nervous sounding chuckle as she began to sweat a little under his gaze. She then pulled Grim a bit closer to her as she started to turn paler. Malleus began to grow worried for her as he watched her grow paler by the second. He tried to take a step toward her but quickly stopped when Undertaker turned to him.

“Mr. Draconia,” he started, “would you be so kind as to tell me how many times my dear niece lost her way?”

Malleus looked between his professor, who stared calmly up at him, and Yuki, who looked at him pleadingly as she started to turn a bit green. Shooting her an apologetic look, he let out a heavy sigh and turned fully toward Undertaker.

“Including her nearly walking right passed the door earlier,” he started, “she managed to get lost a total of fifteen times, professor.”

“Fifteen times, you say?” Undertaker said, his grin growing bigger when hearing Yuki groan from behind him.

“Yes, sir.” Malleus said, “It was after the thirteenth time she got lost that I had no choice but to take her hand and lead her for most of the way. The fourteenth time was an oversight on my part, for I had let go of her hand for a short time before taking it back. I had assume she would be fine by herself as we walked down the hall...but she took the wrong turn.”

He shot Yuki another apologetic look as Undertaker let out a small laugh to Malleus’s story. Yuki waved her hand at him to signal that it was fine with her despite the look of dread and humiliation on her face at how the truth came out none the less. A few students snickered a bit to the story as well before quickly shutting up when seeing Yuki glaring at them again.

“Aww, my poor little butterfly,” Undertaker said as he turned to look at Yuki. “At least you were close to beating your personal record.”

“You mean she got lost more times than that?” Grim said in disbelief.

“And you’ll never hear about those times unless you pay the price of making Uncle laugh by yourself.” Yuki said, giving Grim a glare and making Undertaker laugh once more.

“I truly am sorry for telling him, butterfly.” Malleus said, still feeling bad after telling Undertaker the truth.

“Don’t worry too much about it, Tsuno.” Yuki said with a sigh. “You did say you would try after all. Plus, Uncle has his own ways of getting me to squeal.”

“That I do,” Undertaker said once he finished laughing. “But rest assured, Mr. Draconia, the methods are non-lethal and barely cause her any physical harm. She’s just really bad at lying to her loved ones.”

“I think he can do without that information for now, Uncle.” Yuki said with a pout. “And shouldn’t you be resuming class now?”

“Ah, yes, I suppose so.” Undertaker said with a nod before turning to look at Malleus. “Go and take you seat, Mr. Draconia. There should be a review sheet in front of your seat that you can fill in as we go.” Malleus nodded his head and quickly walked over to his seat. Undertaker then turned to Yuki as his smile grew even bigger. “And you, my little butterfly, can put Grim down on the desk before standing in the middle of the room. It’s time to put you to work as well.”

“...Great,” Yuki said sarcastically, groaning a little as she went and gently put Grim down on the desk.

Malleus looked up at her in slight worry as she made her way to the center of the room and stood there. She looked over to him when feeling his gaze upon her and simply mouthed to him, “I’m used to this”, as Undertaker walked over to her.

Chapter 13: Casually talking to the Ruler of Hearts, little butterfly? How bold of you.

Chapter Text

Chapter XII: Casually talking to the Ruler of Hearts, little butterfly? How bold of you.

As the bell for the next class to begin rang, the students of class 2-E either verbally groaned or looked at their schedules with dread. Their next class was Advanced Anatomy and Weapons History with the one and only Professor Undertaker. On one hand, they were sort of glad as they got it earlier in the day and could be done with it sooner. But on the other, it was going to be their last class before lunch…and the nightmares the professor gave them the year before still haunted a good few students to this day.

Riddle Rosehearts was one of the few students that didn’t dare show his displeasure on his face. He remembered very well the few times that he did last year were the same times that the professor particularly enjoyed tormenting him the most. He didn’t know why the professor loved to pick on him the most…he just knew that he didn’t want to know.

After taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, he moved to pull his textbooks and notebook out. Despite it being the first official day of the new school year and everyone was taking it easy, it didn’t mean that Professor Undertaker was going to do the same. In fact, it had quickly become common knowledge to everyone that the professor loved to surprise students with mock tests…even if they were just brand new first years with little to no knowledge on anatomy; let alone weapons history.

Riddle couldn’t help but wince a little to the memory of the amount of red marks he had gotten from the weapons history portion of the “test” last year. He was thankful that none of it was for an actual grade but it still caused him a great deal of stress afterwards when he knew a real test was coming up for the class. He had to make a mental note to not get too mad with this year’s first years for failing Professor Undertaker’s mock test.

And speaking of the professor, Riddle took notice that it was taking the man much longer than usual to arrive. He looked around the room to make sure he didn’t just happen to miss him, and to his slight surprise, the professor was no where to be seen.

“Um…is this one of the professor’s rumored pranks?” a student asked, signaling to Riddle that the other students had taken notice of the professor’s absence as well.

“No, I don’t believe so.” Jade said, looking as calm as usual. “If memory serves, there would have been a coffin of some style placed somewhere within the room.”

“And as far as I can see,” another student said, looking around the room himself, “there doesn’t seem to be any sort of coffin anywhere in here.”

A few of the other students muttered or nodded their agreements as they too looked around the room. Riddle just let out a hum as he pondered on the possible causes for their professor’s absence. However, before he could even voice some of his theories, the classroom door suddenly slammed opened. Well, to put it more accurately, it was kicked opened, causing everyone in the room to jump in their seats.

“Made it!” Yuki exclaimed as she panted heavily.

“While being a few minutes late, ya know!” Grim said with a pout as he helped Yuki keep the stack of papers in her arms from falling.

“Details, details,” Yuki said, letting out a small sigh as she carefully adjusted the stack of papers in her arms and walked further into the classroom.

“Excuse me, miss? But would you care to have some help with those?” Jade said after he raised his hand and stood from his seat.

“I’ll be fine,” Yuki said as she made her way over to the teacher’s desk. “You lot can just keep an eye on which way it leans.”

“Then, while I have some of your attention, would you mind telling us why you are here and what relation do you have with the professor of this class?” Jade asked, “I think I can safely presume that the rest of the class is just as curious as I am in that regard.”

A few of the students nodded their heads while others muttered their affirmations to Jade’s presumption. Riddle, on the other hand, was more concerned with Grim being back on school grounds than what Yuki was doing in their class. He watched as she managed to make it to the teacher’s desk before dropping the pile of papers onto it. A few papers did flutter down from it but they were quickly picked up by Yuki and Grim.

“...You sure you don’t need help with that, miss?” a student asked as they all watched the two struggle a bit.

“I’m sure!” Yuki said as she picked up the last piece and returned it to the pile. “Now, to answer your earlier questions.” She let out a small breath before setting Grim down onto the desk as well. “Hello, everyone. My name is Yuki-Daicho Walker. Just call me Yuki for short. And this here is Grim. We’re working as my Uncle Undertaker’s teacher assistants today. And before anyone asks about that, no, we’re not related by blood of any kind. He was just my old babysitter when I was growing up.”

“WHAT?!”

Almost the entire class had exclaimed, causing Riddle to cover his ears at how loud they were being. Yuki, on the other hand, seemed barely fazed by their reaction and merely leaned against the desk, crossing her arms.

“Anyway, as for the next question that is on the minds of the ones that didn’t outwardly react to that, Uncle’s not here for the first half of the period. He’s down at the cafeteria talking with the chefs about what I want for lunch. And Grim too.” Yuki said, gesturing to Grim before pointing to the stack of papers. “In the meantime, he wants everyone to try doing this review sheet on their own for about fifteen minutes or so. Of course, if you happen to get absolutely stuck on a question, you’re more than welcome to come to me and ask for help. He’s been teaching me this stuff since I could remember.”

“Holy crap,” a student quietly muttered to themselves.

“You mean he’s been teaching this kind of stuff to a kid, let alone one that’s a girl.” another student said.

“He was an undertaker back home and he didn’t exactly like to pause his work on my behalf.” Yuki said, having heard the students’ comments. “So he decided to teach me the ins and outs of his work to keep me entertained instead. Dad and mum weren’t too pleased when they first found out about that, of course. But it was already too late for me. Best they could do was make sure he didn’t corrupt my younger brother the same way.”

“No way…” a student said in both shock and amazement.

“No wonder the mirror wanted to bring her here.” another student said.

Riddle couldn’t help but scoff a little to that. While it was true that the Mirror of Darkness was what ultimately chose who can come to Night Raven and who could not, it was also known that it went with the students that had the highest potential to be an outstanding magician later on in their life. He had yet to see that kind of potential from the young woman, let alone the tanuki standing beside her.

“Now then, please come up in a single file line and receive your review sheets.” Yuki said as she grabbed a paper from the top of the stack. “...You don’t want to know how many times I went around in circles till I got here. So I rather not use my legs right now.”

“Hmph, wouldn’t have to do all that running if you had just went ahead and asked for the damn map.” Grim said, crossing his paws over his chest with a pout as the students slowly came up to her.

“I told you, I’m saving all of my “payments” for when I really need them.” Yuki said as she handed a review sheet to each student that came up. “Plus, the map he showed us wouldn’t have helped at all with the interior of this building.”

“Hmm…true.” Grim said with a defeated tone in his voice. “But it still would have been handy to have around.”

“Then the next time we see Uncle, you pay him for the map.” Yuki said.

“Eh?! But the last time I tried to make him laugh, he barely even cracked open a bigger smile!” Grim said.

“That would be because all of your material was either what he had already witnessed for himself or was already told by another.” Yuki said. “Plus you made it more about yourself than anyone else.”

Grim just let out a huff to her words and plopped himself down on the desk as she continued to pass out the review sheets to the students. Riddle, who was already in line by this time, simply shook his head at the two as he waited for his turn.

“Honestly, what is the headmaster thinking? Allowing that tanuki back onto school grounds.” Riddle quietly muttered to himself as he crossed his arms. “And just what is he planning on doing with that young woman?”

“Hai~, tsugi,” Yuki said, having moved to be sitting on top of the desk as well as she handed out the sheets. Grim now stood somewhat behind the stack of papers and got the next one ready for her as they went about their work. When it was Riddle’s turn to receive his sheet, Yuki happened to look him in the face and paused, blinking a little. “Allen?”

“Hm? Pardon?” Riddle said, blinking a little himself as he was slightly taken aback by the name.

It took a minute or two for Yuki to process what she had said before laughing a little nervously. “Ah, gomen, gomen. Sorry, it’s just that you look similar to my little brother when he was younger.” She gave him a soft smile before proceeding to ask, “What’s your name anyway? As I said, I’m Yuki.”

“...Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts, dorm leader of Heartslabyul.” Riddle said after a brief pause.

“Well then, it’s very nice to meet you, Riddle.” Yuki said as she smiled bigger at him, “Let me know if you need any help on the review sheet, okay?”

Riddle was vaguely aware of the whispers of the other students commenting on Yuki’s “cute” smile. But instead of scolding them for getting so easily distracted during a mock test, all he could manage to do was simply nod his head as he took his sheet and quickly returned to his seat.

Once the fifteen minutes to work on their own was over, almost all of the students jumped up for a chance to have Yuki help them with their review sheets. Some were even going the extra mile of calling her “Miss Walker”, which they got a good earful of just calling her “Yuki” instead. Only a good handful of students were still trying to figure out the sheet for themselves without her help; Riddle included.

He had managed to do all of the anatomy portion of the mock test with flying colors, but he was now down to the weapon history portion. He only had about a little under half of the questions answered and was working on the next one when a few locks of black hair came into his view.

“Answer to 15 is B.” Yuki said as she looked down at Riddle’s review sheet, having come over to check on him; leaving Grim with an answer sheet to help out the other students.

Riddle first looked up at her, receiving a smile when their eyes met, before looking back down at his sheet and filling in the answer. “I seem to recall not asking for your help.”

“No, you didn’t ask for it.” Yuki said, “But it was becoming quite obvious at how much you were struggling. At least to me it was.” She smiled sweetly at him again as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Shall I continue helping you? Or would you like to continue trying it out on your own till Uncle returns?”

Riddle, at first, was going to say he preferred to do the rest himself, but somehow decided against it and just nodded his head to her offer. He couldn’t help but notice the small glimmer in Yuki’s eyes when seeing him accept her help before she moved on to showing him which answer was best for the next question; along with letting him in on how Undertaker likes to word his questions and why.

As the time for class to end and lunch to begin drew near, almost the entire class was practically swarming Yuki and Grim, begging them for the answers to the questions they couldn’t figure out at all. Riddle, who was now finished with his sheet thanks to Yuki’s help, was just about to stand and yell at them when the door to the classroom opened.

“Now, now, boys,” Undertaker started as he calmly walked into the room, making everyone freeze in their spots, “that is simply no way to treat a lady when asking for her help. Especially when she knows how to dispose of you quite easily.”

He let out a small chuckle to his own words as he watched all of the students quickly return to their seats. Yuki and Grim both let out a breath of relief once they were free from the crowd before shooting crossed looks toward Undertaker.

“About time you came back, ya know!” Grim said as he crossed his paws over his chest.

“And I thought I was the one that got lost, Uncle.” Yuki said, putting her hands on her hips. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, I just had a little run in with a favored student of mine,” Undertaker said, having an amused smile as he first looked toward Jade and then toward Riddle; causing the poor dorm head to stiffen a little.

Yuki noticed the glint of amusem*nt in her Uncle’s eyes and stood up a bit more as another person soon walked into the room. Riddle let out a barely audible groan as the newcomer leisurely walked over to him. Jade, on the other hand, merely chuckled as he silently watched from his seat.

“Goldfishy~, good morning~,” Floyd said in a sing song way, shining a big and toothy grin at Riddle.

“It’s almost noon, Floyd.” Riddle said, crossing his arms.

“But it’s still morning though,” Floyd said with a giggle.

“Shouldn’t you be in your own classroom, Floyd?” Riddle asked, focusing a little more on his breathing so as to not lose his temper.

“I got bored,” Floyd said matter of factly. “So I decided to leave when I heard Professor’s voice in the hall.”

“We had a nice little chat before coming back here.” Undertaker chimed in, chuckling a little himself. But he wasn’t looking at Riddle and Floyd. He was looking at Yuki who was watching the two like a hawk, mainly Floyd.

“Yup~,” Floyd said with a smile. “That’s when Professor told me that you and Jade were in his class now. So, I decided to come and play with you for a bit before lunch.”

“Of course you did,” Riddle said, rolling his eyes at the almost predictable answer of Floyd’s. “You do understand that we were in the middle of review, yes?”

“Yeah, Professor mentioned something like that, but he said it was fine if I didn’t feel like participating.” Floyd said. “He also said it was fine if I wanted to play with you or Jade. Isn’t that great, goldfishy?”

“Stop calling me that,” Riddle said, taking a deep breath to keep from losing his temper.

“Eh~? But it suits you perfectly since you get as red as a goldfish.” Floyd said.

Riddle took in another deep breath before moving to grab his review sheet. “Why don’t you go and play with Jade instead? I want to go over the mock test with everyone else.”

“Aww, but I don’t feel like playing with Jade right now. I want to play with you, goldfishy~,” Floyd said, first with a pout before smirking as he quickly snatched Riddle’s review sheet from him.

“Hey!” Riddle said, glaring up at Floyd as he turned red.

“You want it back, you have to take it from me~.” Floyd said with a laugh.

“Floyd! Give that back to me at once or it will be off with your head!” Riddle said as he stood and tried to reach for his sheet.

“But that wouldn’t be quite as fun, goldfishy~,” Floyd said, keeping the review sheet just out of Riddle’s reach.

“Floyd!” Riddle screamed, turning even redder.

Floyd just continued to laugh at Riddle as he struggled to retrieve his paper. Undertaker, on the other hand, just silently watched from the front of the room as Yuki finally got up and walked over to the two. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he watched his dear niece get in between the two students and leveled a glare up at Floyd. This caused the taller boy to momentarily pause as he returned the glare at her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, the playful tone in his voice gone.

“Give him back his review sheet.” Yuki said, seeming to not be fazed by the sudden change in Floyd’s voice. The other students, however, were fazed by it and carefully scooted away from the group.

“And what if I don’t want to?” Floyd asked.

“Then I’ll take it back by force.” Yuki said. “Uncle can tell you, I’ve taken down guys bigger than you.”

“Oh~?” Floyd said, carefully looking Yuki up and down while still keeping the review sheet out of reach. There was a long moment of silence and a sense of fear and dread hung in the air over the other students as they all watched Yuki and Floyd. Jade was just about to get up from his seat to step in when he heard a giggle come from his dear twin, causing him to look up to see a smirk return to his brother’s face. “You’re pretty bold for a newcomer, eh, little barracuda-chan?”

“What did you expect from someone who grew up under Undertaker’s guidance for part of their childhood?” Yuki said, again, not seeming to be fazed by the new nickname as she simply held out her hand. “The review sheet, please.”

“Fine~,” Floyd said as he gave the sheet to her. “I’m pretty bored with this game now anyway.”

Yuki gave him a simple nod before the bell for lunch rang. This seemed to perk Floyd right up as he spun around on his heel and walked over to his twin.

“Jade~! Let’s walk to the cafeteria together!” he said.

“Very well, Floyd.” Jade said with a smile as he stood up. “Shall we also go and pick up Azul as well.”

“Yeah, guess we can.” Floyd said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Yuki carefully watched the two leave as Undertaker dismissed the rest of the class for lunch. Once the two were out of her sight, she quickly turned around and handed Riddle his review sheet.

“Here you go, Riddle-kun.” she said with a smile. “Sorry that it got a little crinkley.”

Riddle shook his head as he took his paper back and put it in his notebook. “Don’t worry about it. Thank you for helping me get it back.”

“Eh, don’t mention it.” Yuki said with a smile, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s what big sisters do.”

Riddle blinked a little to her words as he crossed his arms. “Big sister? Are you implying that you think yourself as my “big sister”?”

“Hm? Oh, no? At least, I don’t think so.” Yuki said, being a bit puzzled herself. “I mean, I don’t mind if you want to call me that from time to time. But I meant it as more of my natural instinct to protect those that are younger than me. And it especially goes to you as, like I said, you look similar to my younger brother.”

“So, you are assuming you’re older than me as well?” Riddle asked, giving her a stern look.

“...Yeah, that’s probably my bad there.” Yuki said, lightly scratching her cheek sheepishly. “How old are you anyway?”

“I’m seventeen,” Riddle said.

“...I’ll be older by the end of next month.” Yuki said in a loud whisper as she looked away.

Riddle’s face began to turn as red as his hair in embarrassment, especially when hearing Undertaker laugh from the front of the room. Yuki gave him an apologetic smile before gently patting him on the head.

“Don’t worry about it. If I do start school here, you’ll still be my senpai.” she said.

Riddle just gave her a simple nod as he looked away from her. He then moved to quickly put his books away before having his attention be drawn back to Undertaker.

“Oh, Mr. Rosehearts,” the man started, “before you run off to the cafeteria yourself, would you mind showing Yuki and Grim there? They’re still trying to find their way around here.”

“Hmph, more like Yuki’s still trying to find her way.” Grim said under his breath.

“I’ll only give you one can of tuna tonight if you keep making fun of me.” Yuki said as she walked over to him and picked him up.

Grim let out a small shriek to the threat as Yuki moved to place him on her shoulder. “I’ll be good! I promise!”

“Uh-huh,” Yuki said, doubting his words.

“So, do you mind showing my dear niece and her companion to the cafeteria, Mr. Rosehearts?” Undertaker asked again, paying little mind to his assistants.

“If I must,” Riddle said with a sigh, “It’s the least I can do for her helping me out earlier.”

“Like I said, don’t mention it.” Yuki said as she walked back over to him and patted his head again. “But I would greatly appreciate it.”

Riddle let out a small huff to being patted on the head but gave her a curt nod. “Then please follow me and don’t get too distracted.”

“I make no promises on that part,” Yuki said, sweating a little as she moved to the side slightly for him.

“Hmph, we’d have more luck accomplishing that if you’d just hold on to her hand.” Grim muttered under his breath again as Yuki followed Riddle out of the classroom.

“That’s it. No extra tuna for you tonight.” Yuki said, having heard him just fine.

“Funyaa!! No!! I’m sorry!! Anything but that!”

Chapter 14: It appears that your circle of friends is growing quite rapidly, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XIII: It appears that your circle of friends is growing quite rapidly, little butterfly

“We’re almost to the cafeteria now.” Riddle said as he looked back over his shoulder at Yuki and Grim. “Just a little bit further.”

“Hai,” Yuki said, giving him a nod as she followed closely behind him.

Grim, on the other hand, kept his gaze solely on Yuki as they walked. “How the hell have you been able to stay with him this entire time?”

“What do you mean?” Yuki asked as she looked toward Grim.

“I mean, ever since we stepped foot outside the classroom, you’ve been right on his tail the whole time!” Grim said, crossing his paws. “While with Tsunotarou, you kept wandering off at different times to the point he had to literally hold your hand!”

“Ah, that,” Yuki said as she crossed her own arms. “Yeah, I don’t know how to explain that. There are times where I’ll follow someone to a new destination all the way with no problems. And then there are times where I’ll wander off with no warning to my guide whatsoever. Even if the guide is someone I trust, there’s no guarantee that I’ll not wander off on them too.”

“Seriously?!” Grim exclaimed.

“Yup,” Yuki said with a sigh. “I’d always end up giving my dad and step mum heart attacks whenever it happened with them. Even worse when I was the one in charge of Allen after he learned how to walk. Though it always gave Uncle a good laugh whenever I managed to end up in his funeral parlor, either by myself or with Allen in tow.”

“You did that even with your own parents?!” both Riddle, who had overheard the entire conversation, and Grim exclaimed as they both stopped and turned to look at her in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Yuki said solemnly as she stopped as well, “I’d always feel guilty whenever they managed to find me afterward. Especially if my step mum was the only one leading us that day. She was pretty frail health wise and got even worse after she had Allen.”

“I see,” Riddle said, pausing for a moment before continuing on, “Is she…still with you?”

“No, she’s sadly not.” Yuki said with a bittersweet smile before gently holding the first locket on her chain in her hand. “She passed away from an illness when Allen was still pretty young.”

“Ah, is that so?” Riddle said, “I’m sorry for your family’s loss.”

“Thanks but it’s alright now.” Yuki said, “I still have the memories of her and the lessons she taught me while she was around.” She then gestured toward the locket she was holding. “Plus, I have her mourning locket with me again, thanks to Uncle.”

Riddle gave a nod in response as he looked down at the locket. In it was a beautiful design made out of red hair with the name “Raphaela X. W.” on the bottom.

“Her full name was Raphaela Xalin Walker,” Yuki said with a smile as she gently patted Grim on the head, who was trying to get a look at the locket as well. “If you’re ever curious about what she looked like, I can simply draw you a picture. I have a pretty good memory when it comes to faces.”

“I’ll think about it,” Riddle said as he looked up at her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Yuki said with a smile, gently patting Riddle on the head as well.

Riddle stiffened a little to the pats before relaxing as he looked down in slight embarrassment. Yuki let out a small chuckle when seeing the growing pout on his face before stopping when something caught her eye.

“Hey, Riddle,” Yuki began as she pulled her hand away and pointed toward a group of students walking in the opposite direction of them, “what’s up with those guys?”

“Hm? Oh, they’re from Pomefiore.” Riddle said, snapping out of his thoughts and looked towards the group Yuki mentioned. “Students from that dorm tend to come from well-off families and strive to embody the same values on beauty as the Fairest Queen did.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Yuki said, seeming to zero in on one particular student within the group. “Riddle, do Nee-san a favor and keep an eye on Grim for a bit.” As she said that, she picked Grim up by the scruff of his neck before gently plopping him down on Riddle’s shoulders. “I’ll be right back.”

“Huh? Hey!” Riddle exclaimed, glaring a little at Yuki as she walked away.

“Funyaa! Oi! Yuki, where are you going?!” Grim exclaimed as well as he and Riddle watched her make her way toward the group of Pomefiore students.

Yuki simply ignored their questions and stares as she kept walking. As she drew closer to the group, she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before putting on the most innocent looking face she could.

“Pardon me, good sirs?” she said once she stood in front of the group of Pomefiore students. “But may I have a moment of your time? I would like to confirm something really quick.”

The small group, who had stopped when seeing her approach them, looked at one another for a moment before nodding to her request. Yuki gave them all a small smile of gratitude for complying with her before looking down at the smallest boy of the group. She had to bite the inside of her cheek when seeing the look in the young boy’s eyes, confirming her suspicions that he wasn’t all too thrilled with his lot on dorm placement.

“Um,” the boy began as he fidgeted just a little under her gaze, “May I help you?”

Yuki had to bite the inside of her cheek more to keep up her little act before gasping in surprise and delight. “I knew it. It really is you!” she exclaimed as she knelt down to be at eye level with him. “My, my, look at how much you’ve grown. Big sister is so proud.”

“P-pardon?” the boy said, looking quite confused to her words.

Yuki gave him a quick wink before continuing on with her act, “Hmm, it seems that you have forgotten about little ol’ me. Well, that is alright. It has been quite some time since last we saw each other. Surely you remember my younger brother, Allen, right? You two were pretty much inseparable back when we were living next door to you.” She then gave him a smile along with a quick glance down to her step mother’s mourning locket, lightly bouncing it on her finger as she held it in her hand again. “I would love for the chance to sit down with you and catch up on all that has happened since we moved. Do you think it possible that we can do that now? Over lunch?”

When upon hearing that, Yuki could see that her little “plan” finally dawned on him as he immediately perked up and nodded his head, clasping his hands together. She also noticed him take a quick glance to the locket as well before doing his part of the act.

“Yes, I would like that very much.” he said with a smile before frowning. “Sorry it took me so long to remember you, big sister. I had almost completely forgotten about you and Allen. I think the last time we saw each other was a little after the funeral, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Yuki said with a bittersweet smile. She then stood to her feet and looked toward the rest of the group. “Would it be alright if I were to steal him away for awhile? He is practically like family to me and I have missed him dearly.” She then looked down, bringing her hands to her chest as she let out a small sniffle or two.

“Oh, course it’s alright, miss.” a student said as he gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Please, take as long as you need to get reacquainted again.” another student said.

“We’ll just see you back at the dorm then, Epel-kun.” a third said as he looked down at Epel.

“Yes, I’ll see you then.” Epel said as he smiled at the three, “Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Yuki said, shining a sweet smile to them as well before giving them a small bow.

The boys let a small blush creep to their cheeks when seeing Yuki’s sweet smile before quickly excusing themselves and walking passed the two. Yuki and Epel watched them round a corner, seeming to take no notice to Grim and Riddle as they did, before they both let out sighs of relief.

“I hate having to act like that,” Yuki said with a small groan. “Feels way too “cutesy” for me.”

“I know what ya mean,” Epel said with a nod. “I sadly have to do that on a regular basis in my dorm now.”

“Then thank God that Mirror didn’t sort me into your dorm,” Yuki said as she put a hand on her hip. “I would have burned the place down within a matter of minutes if they tried to force me to act like that.”

Epel first snorted to the mental image before busting up laughing. Yuki couldn’t help but smile to this before she signaled Riddle to come over to them.

“Anyway, I hope you don’t mind actually having lunch with me as we’ve only just met.” Yuki said as she looked toward Epel. “I’m Yuki, by the way. Yuki-Daicho Walker.”

“Epel Felmier,” Epel said as he looked up at her with a smile. “And no, I don’t mind having lunch with you. You’ve proven to be quite a hoot to be around.”

“Aww, thanks,” Yuki said with a giggle, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Glad to see you two are having fun,” Grim said with a pout as he and Riddle joined them. “Now would you mind telling us what that was all about?!”

“Hm? Oh, nothing to worry about.” Yuki said as she looked at Grim. “I just figured Epel here could do with a little break from his dormmates for a while. So I invited him to have lunch with us.” She then looked toward Riddle and smiled warmly. “You’re also more than welcome to join us too, Riddle. I would actually like it if you did.”

Riddle’s eyes widen a little to the invitation as Yuki carefully took Grim off of his shoulders and put him back on hers. Epel blinked a little when seeing Riddle’s reaction before taking a small step closer.

“Are you alright?” he asked, snapping Riddle out of his thoughts.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Riddle said as he crossed his arms, “Was just a little caught off guard, is all.”

“Oh, okay,” Epel said with a smile of relief. “Then shall we get going? I’m starving.”

“Tell me about it,” Yuki said with a small whine, “I can feel my stomach about to growl.”

“Mine too now that you mention it.” Grim said as he looked down at his own stomach.

“Then, let’s not waste anymore time and get to the cafeteria quickly.” Riddle said as he took the lead once more. “Everyone, follow me.”

“Waah~! Is this really our lunch for today?” Grim asked as he and the others stared up at a huge pile of food occupying one of the many lunch tables. “It’s huge~!”

“But, are we quite sure we can finish this in time?” Riddle asked as he carefully examined the food pile. “We’ve already wasted a good amount of time getting here.”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about that.” Yuki said. “I can eat this much in about twenty minutes or so by myself. What’s really getting me concerned,” she then let her eyes trail down to the three students that were sitting at the table already, “is what these guys are doing here and who they are.”

Riddle, Epel and Grim then looked down to the three students as well while Yuki crossed her arms. The youngest looking one of the group let out a chuckle when feeling all of theirs eyes on him and his companions.

“Forgive us, but I thought it would be wise if there was at least a few people here to guard such a large amount of food. Seemed pretty foolish otherwise.” he said as he looked toward Yuki and Grim mainly.

Yuki furrowed her brows together when seeing the boy’s face before it seemed to click on where she had seen him before. “Oh! You were the student I was talking to last night after the ceremony, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct, dear.” Lilia said with a light laugh, “Good to see that you’re still around. Though it doesn’t seem like you’re a student quite yet.”

“Yeah, Headmaster Crowley said that he’ll discuss that topic with the other faculty members after school today.” Yuki said with a sigh as she made her way to sit across from him. “I even managed to convince him to talk to them about letting Grim in too as he’s staying with me over at Ramshackle.”

“Oh? You’re living over there for now?” Lilia said.

“Yup,” Yuki said, nodding her head before signaling Riddle and Epel to come sit with her. “It’s not the worst place I’ve lived in but it could always be better.”

“I’m still a little surprised that we managed to have a pretty pleasant sleep last night…despite the rude awakening from the ghosts.” Grim said with a pout when remembering his scare from this morning.

“ You were awakened by the ghosts. I was rudely awakened with a slap to the face.” Yuki said as she gave Grim a stern glare.

Grim sweated a little and drooped his ears when feeling Riddle and Epel’s gaze on him as well. Lilia, on the other hand, simply laughed a little to the story while one of the other boys with him merely huffed disapprovingly at Grim.

“Anyway,” Yuki said, waving her hand dismissively before looking at Lilia and his companions. “Since you three stayed here to guard our food, you’re free to stay and have some as well. I don’t mind sharing but I would like to know your names first if you don’t mind.” She gave them all a warm smile before continuing, “I’m Yuki-Daicho Walker. Yuki for short. And this is Grim, Riddle, and Epel.” She pointed to each person in order before looking toward the three. “Your turn.”

“Very well, it would be rude to turn down a young lady’s offer, especially when offered in gratitude.” Lilia said with a bit of mirth in his voice. “My name is Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge. It’s very nice to exchange pleasantries like this.”

“I suppose I should go next.” the boy sitting next to Lilia said, “My name is Silver, a second year in Diasomnia.”

“My name is Sebek Zigvolt, a first year of Diasomnia.” the third boy, Sebek said as he stood from his seat and at attention. Grim and Yuki looked at him a bit bewildered as he gave their group a quick bow before taking his seat again.

“Oh, don’t mind Sebek too much now,” Lilia said, drawing the two’s attention to him again. “He’s a very energetic young lad but he means well.”

“He can be a bit much at times though,” Silver said with a sigh before looking at Yuki. “If you wouldn’t mind, may I have some risotto if you have any in that pile.”

“Ooh, that does sound good right now, I’ll have some as well.” Lilia said with a smile.

“Sure, let me see what I got.” Yuki said with a nod before digging into the pile. “Riddle, Epel, Sebek, Grim, what do you all want?”

“I’ll be fine with anything so long as it’s not too fatty.” Sebek said.

“I’m also fine with anything as well.” Riddle said.

“Um, I’ll have any dish that has a good portion of meat in it.” Epel said as he smiled at Yuki.

“Ooh, there’s too many choices for me to pick just one.” Grim said as he looked at the huge pile. “Can’t I just have a bit of everything?”

“Last I checked you didn’t have a parasitic type Innocence living in your body, so no.” Yuki said as she handed everyone else their desired meal.

“Drat,” Grim said with a pout, crossing his paws. “You’re starting to make me want one as well with how often you keep mentioning it.”

“It’s actually not as glamorous as you think it is,” Lilia said with a smile on his face. However, there was quite a serious look in his eyes as he looked toward Grim. “You are aware of the nature of that type of Innocence, correct?”

Everyone but Yuki and Grim paused to Lilia’s words and looked toward the two as Yuki handed Grim a dish. Grim let out a small huff as he picked up a fork and looked toward Lilia.

“Of course I know,” Grim said, “That weird guy explained it to me last night.”

“Oh? What “weird guy”?” Lilia asked.

“Uncle Undertaker,” Yuki said before finally digging into the pile herself.

““Uncle Undertaker”?!” Lilia repeated, blinking a little. “Surely you don’t mean Professor Undertaker.”

“She does,” Riddle said, “Apparently, he was an old babysitter of hers when she was much younger.”

Lilia remained silent for just a moment before he began to laugh as something seemed to click in his head. “Ah, I see~! Yes, that does make sense on why you wouldn’t be easily intimidated. He is quite a character himself, that lad.”

“Can he even be considered a “lad”?” Grim muttered to himself as he dug into his own food.

“In some circles, I think so.” Yuki said between bites.

“So, what exactly is this “Innocence” thing you keep talking about?” Epel asked, “I’m kind of curious about it myself now.”

“As am I,” Sebek said before looking toward Lilia. “Lilia-sama, what is it?”

“I think you and Lord Malleus mentioned it once before but only in passing,” Silver added in as he also looked toward the older fae.

“Well, I guess I should explain what Innocence is to you all. Just so you can be on the same page.” Lilia said with a chuckle. “Think of it as a type of familiar, though it has complete say in who its master is. Much like a familiar, it can take on many different forms depending on what’s best suited for their current master. However, it usually falls into one of two categories; parasitic and equipment. The more…harmful, to put into perspective…of the two is parasitic as they tend to physically attach themselves to their chosen master. As such, they feed directly off of the energy and life force of their master, making them tend to have very short life spans. It also gives that person a huge appetite in order to meet the demand of their Innocence. Much like our dear lass Yuki here.”

Riddle and Epel were the only ones to drop their utensils mid bite when hearing the explanation before snapping their heads toward Yuki. Yuki, who was now half way through with eating the pile of food, looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” she asked.

“I think they’ve just became a bit more concerned with your wellbeing, dear.” Lilia said with a glint of amusem*nt in his eye.

“Ah, well, don’t worry about that. I said I didn’t mind sharing and I meant it.” Yuki said, “If I get hungry again later, I can just ask Undertaker for some biscuits. Speaking of him,” She then turned her attention toward Lilia, “was he the one that told you about Innocence? From the looks of it, I’m the only Innocence user here.”

“Oh, no, he wasn’t the one that told me about that.” Lilia said, “It was an old friend who is no longer with us.”

“Oh,” Yuki said solemnly, “Sorry about your loss then.”

“Thank you but it’s quite alright,” Lilia said with a bittersweet smile. “She would actually be cursing her head off at how soft I’d gotten if I let it affect me to this day.”

“She sounds like she was quite the character.” Yuki said, a little surprised to how Lilia described his friend.

“Oh, yes, she was quite fun to be around.” Lilia said, “Cursed worse than a sailor, as the saying goes, and had quite a temper on her too. Made it a bit hard to believe she was actually much younger than she looked and acted.”

He let out a wistful sigh before taking another bite of his food. Silver and Sebek looked at him a bit worriedly, making Yuki look at the three worriedly as well.

“Um,” she started before perking to an idea to lighten the mood, “why don’t you guys tell me and Grim a bit about the dorms here? We’ve only just learned about the seven this morning but we have no idea how their respective dorms work.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah!” Grim said, perking to this idea despite not seeing the reason behind it. “What are your guys’ dorms like?”

“Ah, what an excellent question.” Lilia said with a chuckle. “I’ll be happy to tell you all about the other dorms. Which one would you like to hear about first?”

“Order doesn’t really matter to me,” Yuki said. “Whichever one you wish to start out with is fine with me.”

“Then I shall start with our dorm, Diasomnia.” Lilia said, “It was founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns. Students sorted into Diasomnia tend to have excellent magical capabilities. I think it’s because of this reputation that makes it hard for the other students to interact with us normally.”

“Not to mention the reputation Lord Malleus has as well that makes it difficult to approach.” Silver added in.

“How can you say that about our lord, Silver?!” Sebek exclaimed, “As far as I’m concerned, the other humans just have a healthy respect and fear for our young master’s powers.”

“...So what’s the big deal about Mal other than his aura makes him unapproachable to the other students?” Yuki asked, sharing one of the many pudding cups with Grim and Epel.

“Wh-wh-what did you just call the young lord, human?!” Sebek yelled as he glared at Yuki.

“Inside voice, you twat!” Yuki yelled as she glared back. “I ain’t halfway across the bloody cafeteria from you!”

Silver had to put a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing as Sebek was rendered speechless, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. Lilia, on the other hand, just had an amused smile as he stared at Yuki.

“So you’ve already met Malleus then, have you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yuki said with a sigh, “He was the one that Uncle sent to find and lead me back to the classroom when I was running a bit late. He also managed to save me from having the headmaster explain what happened this morning to Uncle first before I got the chance.”

“Oh? And what exactly happened this morning to you?” Lilia asked.

Yuki remained quiet for a minute when feeling all of their gazes on her before speaking, “Beat up a first year and then somehow ended up putting him into a ball gown with a spell…that I had no clue was real here.” She quietly whispered the last part to herself but it seemed like Lilia heard it just fine as he burst up laughing.

“Wait, so you were the one that was fighting this morning?” Silver said, “I heard from some of the Savanaclaw students in class that you were wiping the floor with that first year. Seeing you now, I’m actually impressed.”

“You can thank my Uncle for teaching me how to fight.” Yuki said, “He literally taught me almost everything he knows.”

“...You were taught how to fight, and got trained by, Professor Undertaker?” Silver said a bit wide eyed.

“Yup,” Yuki said.

“Whoa~,” Epel said, admiration clear in his voice. “...Do you think you can teach me how to fight too, Sis?”

““Sis”?” Yuki said, blinking a bit at him.

“Oh, sorry!” Epel said, “I didn’t mean for that to come out.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry about that,” Yuki said, smiling warmly at him. “I was just caught a little off guard is all. I don’t mind if you call me “sister”.”

“Oh, good,” Epel said with a smile of relief, “Then, can you teach me how to fight, big sister?”

“Sure,” Yuki said, “I can teach you any time you want.”

“Do you mind if I joined these training sessions as well?” Silver asked. “I’ve been trying to get some lessons from the professor since last year when he corrected my form one time but he seemed to not be interested to do so.”

“Ah,” was all Yuki said to that before nodding, “Sure, you can join. It’d be good for Epel to get a second opinion with his training too.”

Silver gave a simple nod with a hint of a smile to that while Epel grinned from ear to ear at having a chance to get stronger. Riddle and Lilia just watched this unfold as they finished their desserts. Sebek, on the other hand, was still a bit flabbergasted at Yuki telling him off.

“You know, you really didn’t have to lead us to the next class, Riddle.” Yuki said as she and Grim followed after Riddle down the hall again. After they had finished the last of the food pile, Riddle insisted that the three of them leave right then and there so he could show them to their next class. “We could have asked Lilia or one of the others to do it instead.”

“No, I don’t mind leading the way again.” Riddle said, “Besides, this will give me a piece of mind that you made it there on time.”

“If you say so,” Yuki said, still a little unsure on the whole situation. “Just as long as it’s not going to make you late either.”

“I’ll be fine,” Riddle said, “Besides, there’s still time before the next bell rings.”

“I suppose so,” Yuki said with a sigh of defeat. “Well, if you don’t mind, could you tell me and Grim about the other dorms? We never really got a chance to go back on topic with that.” She let out a nervous laugh as she scratched the back of her head.

“And who’s fault is that?” Grim said with a pout as he looked toward Yuki.

“Oh like you don’t help with that.” she said as she pouted back at him.

“I suppose I wouldn’t mind explaining the other dorms to you.” Riddle said, seeming to choose to ignore the two’s bickering. “I’ll start with Heartslabyul, as that is my dorm. It was founded on the strict and just spirit of the Queen of Hearts. All students sorted into the dorm are to follow the rules she set in place long ago to the letter. Any rule breakers will be behead by yours truly.”

Grim let out a small yelp to the memory of being “beheaded” by Riddle the night before. Yuki gently petted him on the head as he shrank a little behind her head for protection.

“Next would be Savanclaw, founded on the fortitude of the King of Beasts.” Riddle continued, “Students in that dorm tend to excel in athletics and martial arts, but they can be quite hot headed at times.” He let out a small huff as he crossed his arms, relaxing a little when feeling Yuki give him a small pat on the head. “After them would be Octavinelle. They were founded on the benevolent and compassionate spirit of the Sea Witch. Most of the students there are highly intelligent and often have a heated rivalry with Scarabia over test scores. Scarabia was founded on the deliberation of the Sorcerer of Sands.”

Yuki had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from either bursting into song with “poor unfortunate soul” or busting up laughing to the image of Ursala and Jafar having a heated battle over who had the highest test scores. Grim and Riddle seemed to notice her struggle as they looked at her with concern.

“I’m fine,” she managed to say. “Continue on.”

Riddle stared at her for a moment longer before nodding his head, “After Scarabia is Pomefiore. I mentioned them briefly earlier but I didn’t tell you that they were founded on the earnest efforts of the Fairest Queen. They also tend to excel in making poisons.”

“Great…” Yuki said with a groan, “another person to poison me.”

“Pardon?” Riddle said as he looked at her with concern.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said quickly, “So, what’s the last dorm to know about?”

Riddle narrowed his eyes a little at her before deciding to let the subject of poisoning drop for the moment. “The last dorm to talk about is Ignihyde, founded on the diligence of the Lord of the Underworld. Students of that dorm are always researching the integration of magic with the latest technology. They’re also the one dorm you’ll rarely see outside of class as they tend to avoid contact with the other dorms.”

“So, basically a dorm full of introverts?” Yuki said.

Riddle paused mid step as he was slightly taken aback by that observation. “...I suppose you could put it that way.” he said slowly as he resumed his walk. “And…slightly speaking of dorm interactions,” he stopped and turned to face Yuki fully. “Even though you’re not officially students yet, I still would like to invite you two to Heartslabyul’s Unbirthday Party this weekend. I’ll send along the official invites to you later but I…would like to hear your answer now so I can let Trey, my vice dorm leader, know ahead of time.”

Riddle couldn’t help but feel a little nervous under Yuki’s gaze as she carefully mulled over his invite. She looked over at Grim for a quick minute before looking back at Riddle, making the boy stiffen a little before relaxing when seeing that now familiar warm smile of hers.

“Sure, we would love to go to your dorm’s unbirthday party.” she said as Grim nodded along with her answer.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t mind going since you’re not as bad as you seem,” Grim said a bit smugly.

“I should have your head for that comment, tanuki.” Riddle said, glaring a little at him.

“Funyaa! Hey! I ain’t a tanuki!” Grim said, first being scared of being collared again before it turned into anger at being called a tanuki once more.

“Now, now,” Yuki said as she put a hand on both of their heads. “That is quite enough. Let’s get a move on before we’re late…again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Grim quietly said.

“...Yes, let’s,” Riddle said, biting back the urge to call her sister before he resumed leading them again.

“I’m really starting to hate this stupid curse,” Ace muttered to himself as he made his way back to his classroom, holding the skirt of the gown up a bit to make it easier for him to walk.

“I thought it was just a spell of some kind,” a classmate of his said as he walked along with him. “That’s how the headmaster explained it to us this morning.”

“You wouldn’t think it was just some spell if you were the one in the dress-um…” Ace snapped as he glared at the student before pausing when he blanked on the poor boy’s name.

“Deuce,” the boy, Deuce said.

“Right! Deuce!” Ace said.

“I’m starting to regret my decision on volunteering to help you out today.” Deuce said with a sigh.

“Hey! It’s your fault for opening your mouth and reminding me to pick up my skirt.” Ace said before cringing a little when hearing his own words. “That’s not getting any better on the ears.”

Deuce merely let out a huff as he walked a bit faster before stopping at the classroom door. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned his head toward Ace. “Anyway, you ready to get the next class over with? I overheard some of the senpais telling a few other freshmen about the next professor.”

“Yeah, I overheard the same thing too.” Ace said, not looking too pleased to being made the laughing stock of his class again. This time with the sole audience being his professor. “Let’s get the show on the road.”

Deuce simply nodded his head before opening the door for Ace. Ace took in a deep breath before closing his eyes and walked through the threshold. Sure enough, the first thing he heard was the voice of the professor busting up laughing. He could have dealt with just that. But what really made him freeze on the spot and shoot his eyes open was hearing two new, yet very familiar, sets of laughter following after the professor’s.

“I can’t believe it’s really till midnight!” Yuki said in between her laughs. “I thought it was going to make a liar out of me and be over at twelve noon!”

“Hear ye! Hear ye! Princess Trump Card coming in!” Grim added in. “All hail the princess of playing cards!”

“Ooh~! Nice one~!” Yuki said as she gave Grim a high five.

“Shut up, you two!” Ace said, glaring at the two as he made his way over to his seat.

“Careful with how you’re stomping there, hime-sama~,” Yuki said in a singsong tone. “Wouldn’t want you losing a slipper and finding out your true love is among the student body now, would we~?”

“Eww! Don’t say such gross and uncool things!” Ace exclaimed, looking at Yuki in disgust while ignoring how the whole interaction was making Undertaker literally roll around on the ground, laughing.

Chapter 15: A hint of snow and a dash of laughter is always best, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XIV: A hint of snow and a dash of laughter is always best, little butterfly

Once the final bell had rung and the professors dismissed their classes for the day, everyone quickly made their way to either their dorms or to meet up with friends to chat and gossip. Silver, on the other hand, was making his way to the third year’s classrooms to meet up with Lilia and, hopefully, Malleus. But he was a bit more concerned about his foster father than his prince for the moment; especially when he recalled a certain topic being brought up briefly by the older fae himself during lunch.

He knew well the stories about his father’s old friend. Some of them were even used as bedtime stories when he was a child. However, no matter how happy Lilia looked when retelling the tales, he could always see a flash of sadness within the fae’s eyes. He could even see the same sadness in Malleus’s eyes whenever the young woman was brought up around him. And he also knew that the sadness only deepened whenever Lilia and or Malleus brought out the one shared item that they both had to remember her by. The very last memento of her; a silver mourning locket with a lock of pure white hair inside and the name she went by in life at the bottom of it: Snow Red.

“Ah, Mr. Silver, fancy seeing you here.” the familiar voice of Professor Undertaker said as he made his way down the hall, stopping Silver mid-step.

“Oh! Professor, good afternoon.” Silver said with a nod before looking behind the man to see Yuki and Grim not too far behind him. “Sorry to cut this conversation short but have any one of you seen Lilia-san?”

“Mr. Vanrouge, you say?” Undertaker said, an amused tone in his voice. “Hmm, I do believe I last spotted him still in his classroom when we passed by.”

“I think he was looking at something that was in his hand?” Yuki said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes in thought. “Some sort of jewelry, I think? All I can recall seeing was a silver chain.”

“ So, he is looking at that locket again. ” Silver thought as he let out a small sigh.

“Thank you for the information,” he said. “I’ll be taking my leave now. Excuse me.”

He gave them each a bow before making his way down to Lilia’s classroom. True to Undertaker and Yuki’s word, Lilia was still in his seat, staring down at something hidden within his hand. Silver only needed to look at his father’s face to know exactly what it was he was looking at.

“Old-I mean, Lilia-san,” he said as he walked toward his father.

Lilia immediately perked up when hearing his son call out to him, looking up at the boy. A small smile quickly graced his lips as he lowered his hand a little.

“My, my, what a pleasant surprise. Did you come to collect little ol’ me, Silver?” he asked with an amused tone in his voice.

“I did,” Silver said as he stood in front of his seat, “I wanted to see how you were faring.”

“Oh?” Lilia said, at first looking genuinely surprised before smirking. “Is it because I mentioned Snow earlier?”

Silver hesitated at first before slowly nodding his head and pointing toward the silver mourning locket within Lilia’s hand. “You’re looking at her locket after all, Lilia-san.”

“But isn’t that the point of a locket? To look upon it and remember the past?” Lilia said with a chuckle as he showed the locket in question to Silver.

Silver let out a sigh as he shook his head at his old man. “I just worry about you sometimes, father.” he said quietly under his breath.

“That just means I raised you right,” Lilia said with a laugh, having heard Silver just fine. He then carefully tucked the locket away before getting to his feet. “Now, why don’t we go and find Malleus then? I’m quite eager to hear about his little “adventure” with our new friend, Yuki~.”

“Did you really have to walk us back to the cafeteria for our punishment, Uncle?” Yuki asked with a sigh as she, Grim, and Undertaker entered the cafeteria together. “We could have walked back here ourselves.”

“And leave you to wander till nightfall?” Undertaker said as he looked over his shoulder at her. “As appealing as that sounds for a good laugh, I’m afraid I had no choice but to guide you two back here myself. The headmaster would get on my case as well if you weren’t here on time. He can be quite bothersome when he decides to be.”

“... when he decides to be?!” Yuki repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, when he decides to be.” Undertaker said matter of factly as he guided the two to a table already set up with cleaning supplies. “Now, be a good girl and companion and do your punishment as instructed. Once you are done, however, you may find your way to the library and wait for me there. I have a few surprises in store for you that I would be very disappointed if they were spoiled before tonight.”

“...Are they actually good surprises or do I need to tell Grim about the bad ones first?” Yuki asked, sounding a bit worried.

“I’ll leave that up to you to decide.” Undertaker said with a chuckle, patting her on the head as he passed by her. “But I will tell you that it won’t put any of your lives in peril.”

“Great…” Yuki said with a groan before letting out a small sigh.

“What does he mean by that?” Grim whispered to Yuki as he watched Undertaker leave.

“I’ll tell you as we clean.” she said, gently scratching him behind his ears. “For now, let’s get a head start on cleaning as we wait for trump card to get here.”

“Alright,” Grim said with a purr to the scratches, “but I ain’t helping, ya hear?”

“If you help wring the sponge out at least, I’ll rescind my order of “no extra tuna for tonight”.” Yuki said, smirking a little when feeling Grim stiffen a little to the offer.

“...Throw in two extra cans of tuna and you got yourself a deal.” he said after a moment to ponder.

“Very well, it’s a deal.” she said as she shook one of his paws before moving closer to the cleaning supplies.

“Okay, I know for a fact that there’s no way in hell that it’s taking him this long to get here.” Yuki said as she finished drying one window; a hint of a growl in her voice.

“Did he seriously just bail on us to do all of the cleaning ourselves?!” Grim exclaimed as he finished wringing out a rag. “That jerk!”

“Come on,” Yuki said, putting the squeegee down on the table before picking up Grim. “Let’s go find him. He couldn’t have gotten far in those heels.”

“Right!” Grim said with a nod as he moved to sit on her shoulders. “And when we find him, we’re gonna make him clean the rest of the windows himself!”

“Or maybe just the bottom half of the windows.” Yuki said as she walked out of the cafeteria. “I wouldn’t want to trust him on a ladder in those heels yet.”

“...Fine,” Grim said with a huff.

“Hey, trump card! You still in he-” Yuki exclaimed as she opened the door to class 1-A before cutting herself off when seeing that the room was completely empty. “Oh, bloody hell.”

“There’s no one here.” Grim said as he looked around the room himself.

“No, I’m here.” a voice said from somewhere in the room. Yuki and Grim both perked up to this and quickly looked around once more, trying to find the owner of the voice. “Over here,” it said again.

This time, Yuki and Grim managed to catch a glimpse of a hanging portrait moving its mouth when it spoke, making both of their eyes go wide. Yuki quickly covered her ears as Grim let out a scream when seeing it happen.

“The picture talked!!” he exclaimed as he pointed toward the portrait.

“What now?” the portrait said, “It’s not uncommon for paintings to talk at this school. Everyone can speak here, including the Lady on the wall over there. Or the Gentleman on the wall over here.” He moved his eyes to “point” out the portraits in question before looking back at Yuki and Grim. “Portraits can speak because they have a mouth. That’s just normal, you know?”

“I guess that does make sense,” Yuki said, uncovering her ears before looking up at the portrait. “But, we are in a bit of a hurry to get back to a task. So, do you happen to know where a student named Ace Trappola went to? He should be the only one wearing a ball gown today.”

“Ah, yes, that young lad.” the portrait said. “Gave me and the Lady over there a nice laugh when we heard what had befallen him. He and his escort went back to their dormitory not too long ago.”

“Eh?” Yuki said, blinking a little.

“So he did try to get away!” Grim said with a growl.

“...You wouldn’t happen to know how to get to the other dormitories, would you, good sir?” Yuki asked, smiling up at the portrait while her hand slowly moved toward her sword.

“The entryways leading to the dormitories are in the East Building.” the portrait said.

“Thank you very much, sir.” Yuki said, smiling a bit more as she gave it a bow before walking out of the room.

“So, how exactly are we going to get there from here?” Grim asked as he looked at Yuki. “We’ll lose him completely if we just wing it with your sense of direction. And I don’t think you want to go back in there and ask for directions.”

“Just have a little faith in me, my friend.” Yuki said as she unsheathed her sword, revealing that the blade was almost completely black save for the edge which was a deep blood red color. “For it so happens that I have a way of finding people in these types of situations.”

“Oh?” Grim said, perking up to this news as he watched her closely. “Is it some sort of tracking spell or something?”

“Not quite,” Yuki said as she got down on one knee. She slowly started to lean forward, keeping an eye on how long her shadow got before stabbing the ground under it. Grim jumped a little to this as Yuki moved her hand down to the blade and gripped it tightly, letting it dig into her hand some. “Innocence, activate. Prey Tracker: Trickster.”

As soon as she uttered those words, the sword quickly liquefied and seeped into her shadow, turning it even darker. Grim watched in awe as her shadow morphed its shape to look similar to a beastman’s shadow before zooming off down the hall.

Just as the mirrors to the dorms were in sight, Ace suddenly stopped mid-step as a sudden chill ran down his spine, causing Deuce to stop as well to look back at him.

“Is everything alright?” he asked as he watched Ace look around nervously. “...Both of your shoes are still on if that’s what you’re worried about.

“I’m not worried about that right now!” Ace exclaimed, shooting a glare at Deuce before walking a little closer to him. “But…I do feel a bit uneasy.”

“How so?” Deuce asked, looking at him with genuine concern now.

“Like…we’re being watched or something.” Ace said, taking another look around. “But I don’t see anyone else in here.”

Deuce let out a hum as he listened, carefully scanning the hall behind them before looking down at the floor. His eyes widen to what he found there and quickly moved Ace to be behind him.

“Ace!” he exclaimed as he pointed at the ground, “Look! Over there!”

Ace blinked a little in confusion at the boy, raising an eyebrow, before looking toward the spot he was pointing at. There, being mere inches away from their own shadows, was a strange shadow that looked like it belonged to a beastman. However, the supposed owner of the shadow was no where in sight. Instead, the shadow seemed to have extended away from its owner, going all the way down the hall and around the corner even.

“Wh-wh-what the heck is that thing?!” Ace exclaimed as he moved a bit more behind Deuce, staring at the strange shadow in fright.

“H-how the hell should I know?!” Deuce replied as he carefully guided Ace to take a few steps back with him, keeping a close eye on the shadow. “I don’t think we’ve even heard anything about something like this before.”

“Th-then what should we do-AAHH!!” Ace started before screaming when seeing the shadow move closer to them. “Is it seriously following us?!”

“Looks like it,” Deuce said, jumping back a little when seeing the cut out of a smile form in the face of the shadow.

Ace whimpered quietly in fear when seeing the shadow do that, taking a step closer to Deuce and holding onto him. The two continued to just stare at the shadow before perking up when hearing the sound of running footsteps coming towards them.

“I think someone’s coming!” Deuce said as he shot his gaze toward the end of the hall.

“We’re saved,” Ace said with a sigh of relief, thanking his lucky stars that something good was finally happening to him today.

However, that feeling of hope was quickly shattered when he saw Yuki skid to a halt as she rounded the corner, Grim in tow.

“There he is!” Grim exclaimed as he pointed toward Ace. “Let’s get him, Yuki!”

She quickly snapped her head up and shot daggers at him before taking off towards the two, roaring out, “TRUMP CARD!!”

“Oh, crap.” Ace said, paling a bit before shoving poor Deuce in her direction.

“Wha-hey!” Deuce said, managing to catch himself from falling as Ace quickly booked it for the mirror.

“He’s getting away!” Grim exclaimed.

“I can see that!” Yuki said as she quickly glanced down to her shadow, “Trickster! Grab him!”

The shadow gave her a quick salute before zooming off after Ace. Deuce watched in horror as it extended a hand out toward its target, literally rising from the ground and forming into an actual hand, before grabbing Ace by the ankle. He let out a small scream as he fell forward before the shadow slowly started to pull him back toward Yuki and Grim.

“Alright~! We caught him!” Grim exclaimed happily as Yuki slowed down to a stop, taking the moment to catch her breath.

“That’s what you think,” Ace groaned out as he pulled out his magic pen. He then turned to look at the shadow hand and pointed his pen at it. “Come forth, wind!”

A gust of wind quickly shot out of his pen and toward the shadow hand, cutting it off and making the shadow reel back in pain while the hand turned into liquid. He then pointed his pen toward Yuki and Grim before shooting a gust of wind at them. Yuki quickly pulled Grim down into her arms before jumping out of the way, barely making it in time. She felt a bit of blood trickle down her cheek as she slowly got to her feet.

“You alright, Yuki?!” Grim asked as he looked up at her.

“I’ll live,” she said, looking down at him first to see if he was alright before looking back up toward Ace. She then spotted Deuce out of the corner of her eye, completely stunned by the scene that was unfolding before him. “Hey! Tweedle Dum!”

Deuce jolted back to his senses before turning his head to look at her, pointing to himself. “Uh, me?”

“Who else is in here besides Princess Trump Card who’s running away!?” Yuki said, pointing toward Ace. “Help stop him already!”

“Eh? Stop him?” Deuce said, still a bit bewildered by everything that was going on around him.

“Yes, stop him!” Yuki yelled, glaring at him. “Do you have peanut butter in your ears or something?! Just do something to slow him down. Anything really!”

“Uh, right!” Deuce said as he pulled his own magic pen out and turned toward Ace. “Anything…any…thing…” He then pointed his pen at Ace, desperately thinking of what to do to stop him, before an idea finally came to mind. “Alright!! Anything is fine, so come on out! Something heavy!”

With a wave of his arm, he shot a ball of red energy out toward Ace. Yuki and Grim watched it as it zoomed right over Ace’s head before manifesting itself into a giant cauldron. It then proceeded to fall right on top of the poor boy, causing him to scream as he quickly found himself pinned under it.

“What the heck?! A pot!?” Ace yelled from underneath the cauldron, groaning a little more when hearing Yuki and Grim burst out laughing at him for the third time that day.

“He’s as flat as a pancake underneath that cauldron!” Grim exclaimed through his laughter. “Pathetic~!”

Yuki wanted to say what she thought Ace looked like underneath the cauldron but couldn’t seem to stop herself from laughing long enough to get the words out. Meanwhile, poor Deuce looked at his work in shock and concern for the wellbeing of his fellow classmate.

“I didn’t think I’d get a cauldron.” he muttered to himself as he quickly walked over to the fallen “princess”. “Did I overdo it?”

Yuki was still laughing her head off as she and Grim made their way over as well. Grim quickly moved out of Yuki’s arms and back onto her shoulders as Deuce carefully removed the cauldron off of Ace. Once it was safely off of him, he then proceeded to slowly roll over onto his back and carefully sat up; Deuce helping him along the way.

“Man, this hurts…” Ace groaned out before paling when remembering the glass slippers. He quickly pulled his skirt up a bit to see that, to his great surprise and relief, they were still in one piece. “Oh, thank God,” he muttered with a sigh of relief before having Deuce help him to his feet.

“Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Uncle about this!” Yuki said as she finally calmed down from her laughing fit, holding her sides a bit.

“Like hell you are!” Ace said as he glared at Yuki, “And why did you two come after me anyway? Couldn’t the two of you have just washed the windows yourselves? You’ve already put me through enough today!”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think so.” Yuki said as she looked at Ace sternly. “To either of those. Plus, it was a direct punishment from the headmaster himself. So there’s really no room for you to ditch it all on us.”

“Ah, right, I forgot about that.” Deuce said, “The headmaster did tell me when he appointed me as your escort for the day that you had detention.” He let out a sigh and shook his head at Ace. “Can’t believe you didn’t remind me on purpose just so you can avoid doing it.”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t do the same if you were in my situation!” Ace said as he turned his glare on Deuce. “Do you think you could clean anything in this dress?!”

“Well, not that dress in particular, I’ll give you that.” Deuce said, “But you could have at least shown up to the task instead of trying to skip it.”

“Fine, fine, I hear you.” Ace said with a defeated sigh, “Let’s go and get this over with then.”

“Yes, let’s.” Yuki said with a nod before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s get going, Gri-” She continued before cutting herself off when she turned to look at him; only to see that he had slipped away unnoticed during the conversation. “That…little…”

She could feel her eye twitch slightly as the three of them heard Grim exclaim from outside the entrance to the Hall of Mirrors. “Heh heh~! I’ll leave the cleaning all to you~! Bye bye~!”

“That little furball made me take his place!” Ace said in disbelief.

He opened his mouth to continue speaking before jumping back with Deuce when they both heard a growl come from Yuki’s throat. She then spun around on her heel and roared out, “GRIM!!”

“S-scary…” Deuce muttered under his breath as he watched Yuki spin back around and quickly dropped to one knee. “Are we sure she’s human?” he asked as he leaned closer to Ace.

“I have no clue, man.” Ace said as Yuki wiped the blood on her cheek away with her fingers before placing them on her shadow. “But I’m leaning towards not wanting to find out.”

“If you two are done discussing whether I’m actually human or not, which I am, I suggest you get ready to run.” Yuki said as she shot them both a glare before looking back down at her shadow. “Prey Tracker: Shinigami!”

Ace and Deuce watched in both awe and shock as they saw the shadow change its appearance slightly before it zoomed off again, this time going after Grim. As it rounded the corner again, Yuki quickly got to her feet and dashed after it.

“Let’s go!” she said from over her shoulder. “I’ll lead. You two follow!”

“Uh, r-right! Juice!” Ace said as he snapped back into reality and quickly picked up his dress.

“It’s not “Juice”! It’s Deuce! Deu-” Deuce began to say before being cut off by Yuki.

“No time for that! You two tweedles coming or not?!” she yelled as she stopped at the corner, looking back at them.

“Oh! R-right! Coming!” Deuce said, nodding before grabbing ahold of Ace’s arm and dashing after her with him in tow.

“H-huh?! Whoa! Hey! Not so fast now!” Ace exclaimed as he tried his best not to trip, “It’s hard to take off suddenly like this in these heels!”

Chapter 16: You can fly, you can fly, you can fly, little butterfly!

Chapter Text

Chapter XV: You can fly, you can fly, you can fly, little butterfly!

The sound of Grim’s screaming alerted any and all remaining students on campus to stay as far away from him as possible. Those that were either brave or stupid enough to go see the chaos soon regretted their decision once seeing the bloodlust within Yuki’s eyes. Very few of them remained in her wake to see Ace and Deuce holding up the rear.

Eventually, the three of them managed to chase Grim all the way to the cafeteria again. Deuce quickly closed the doors behind them while Ace slowly hobbled over to a seat and sat down, panting heavily. Yuki, on the other hand, continued to chase after Grim with her Innocence.

“How…how do…how do you…girls…run around…in these damn things?!” Ace asked in between pants as he carefully put his feet up on the seat next to him. “My feet are killing me here!”

“First off, you’re not supposed to normally.” Yuki said as she watched Grim and her Innocence run about the room. “Secondly, you’re in glass slippers. Thirdly, you’re a beginner when it comes to wearing any type of heel. Shall I go on?”

“Nah, I think I got the gist of it.” Ace said with a bit of a disgusted look on his face before looking toward Grim. “Crap! He’s really darting around everywhere, huh?”

“You can say that again-oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Yuki exclaimed, eyes widening a little when seeing Grim make his way onto a chandelier. “Really, Grim?!”

“Heh heh~! Catch me if you can now, suckers~!” Grim said in a sing song way as he did a little jig on the chandelier.

“Getting onto the chandelier is a pretty underhanded move.” Deuce said with a click of his tongue as he glared up at Grim while making his way over to his companions. “We haven’t even learned flying magic yet. And it looks like your shadow can barely even find a way to get to him.” He then pointed toward Yuki’s shadow that was going back and forth around the chandelier, seeming to be looking for a way to get closer to Grim but was greatly struggling with the task.

“Yeah, it is.” Yuki said with a sigh as she rubbed her temple a bit. “Looks like I’ll have to call it back.”

Deuce hummed a bit in thought as he put a hand to his chin, pondering on the spells he knew at hand that could possibly help. “Is there any magic that we can use to trap or capture him?”

“I’d say he’s pretty well trapped for the moment. We just need to figure out how to capture him now.” Yuki said as she held a hand over her shadow, “Anshin sh*te, Shadow Kingdom of Beasts.”

In response to the command, the shadow stopped its movements before slowly making its way back to her. Once it had done that, the shadow began to grow lighter and revert to its original shape as a dark colored liquid began to rise from it. As soon as a good portion had risen out from the shadow, it quickly shot itself toward her hand and began to reform back into her sword. Ace watched this with wide eyes while Deuce quietly muttered to himself on how to go about getting Grim back down.

“How the hell are you able to do that ?!” Ace exclaimed as he pointed toward Yuki’s now fully formed sword before she grabbed and sheathed it.

“Innocence,” Yuki said with a sigh as she crossed her arms and shook her head. “And you can ask Uncle all about it tomorrow. I’m not in the mood to repeat his explanation again today.” She looked up toward Grim and the chandelier before slowly looking around the area. “For now, let’s just focus on getting Grim off of that thing.”

“...Right,” Ace said after a moment, sighing and looked around the room as well.

As they were each busy thinking up a plan of action, Deuce, on the other hand, was busy muttering to himself under his breath as he looked between the two.

“I don’t like it,” he started, looking between his companions once more before slowly taking out his magic pen and pointing it at Yuki, “but I’ve got no other choice.”

“So, I think I’ve got an idea-” Ace started before cutting himself off when turning to look at the others and widening his eyes at the scene before him, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m going to throw her!” Deuce said as his gem started to glow.

“You’re what?!” both Ace and Yuki exclaimed as she spun around and stared at him in disbelief.

“Y-y-you’ve got to be joking, right?!” Ace said as he quickly got to his feet and started to walk over to Deuce. “That’s Professor Undertaker’s niece , remember?! The one teacher that practically everyone in this school fears!”

“Listen to him, Deuce.” Yuki said as she kept an eye on Deuce’s magic pen, carefully inching a bit away from him. “You really don’t want to see Uncle mad. On any level.”

“Right? Right?!” Ace said, nodding as he pointed at Yuki. “You heard her, let’s just all take a deep breath and think of another solution, okay?”

Deuce clicked his tongue, tightening his grip on his pen a bit before loosening it as he slowly lowered his arm. Both Yuki and Ace let out a sigh of relief when seeing this before turning their attention back on Grim.

“Okay, now that we have avoided that disaster,” Yuki said, putting a hand on her hip, “let’s get to brainstorming a way to get Grim down from there-h-huh?” She blinked a little when seeing a few sparkles appear in her vision before feeling herself begin to float a little. “Don’t tell me…”

“Don’t tell you what-Deuce!?!” Ace exclaimed as he turned to look at Yuki before jumping back a little when seeing that Deuce was making her float. “Do you have a secret death wish or something?!”

“Yeah, do you?!” Yuki exclaimed as she carefully turned herself around to the best of her ability to glare at Deuce.

“Sorry, but this seemed to be the fastest way possible.” Deuce said, carefully taking aim while he kept Yuki floating in the air. “Just be sure to catch him, ya hear?!”

“I think that’ll be the least of my worries, you idio-AAAHHH!!!” Yuki started before screaming when Deuce flung her toward the chandelier.

“We are so dead.” Ace said, wincing a little before covering his eyes, “I can’t even watch.”

He turned his head away as Deuce continued to watch Yuki hurtle towards Grim and the chandelier. Both of them were screaming as Yuki came closer and closer. Just as she was about to make contact with the chandelier, she quickly shot out her hands and grabbed onto one of the arms of the chandelier.

Both Grim and Deuce let out a sigh of relief as Yuki swung back and forth a little before slowing down to a stop. None of them paid any attention to how the chandelier moved along with her till they heard a loud groan come from it.

“What was that?” Grim asked slowly as he looked around a bit.

“The beginning of the end,” Yuki said slowly as she heard another groan before everyone heard a loud snap.

“Crap!” Deuce exclaimed as he watched Yuki, Grim, and the chandelier fall to the ground. “I didn’t think about the landing.”

“You just realized that now?!” Ace exclaimed as he looked up from his hands to glare at Deuce.

Yuki and Grim, on the other hand, were screaming even louder as they fell to the ground before crashing. Ace and Deuce both winced when hearing the crash before slowly looking toward the wreckage.

“Allow me to state this once again,” Ace said slowly as he carefully took one step back. “We are dead. We are so dead. And it’ll be the professor that’ll be the one to put us in our graves.”

“...I think his niece will beat him to it first,” Deuce whispered to Ace as they both soon heard Yuki groan as the dust began to settle.

“You…” Yuki started as she and Grim slowly crawled their way out from underneath the wreckage. She then shot a glare up at Deuce before screeching out, “BLOODY IDJIT! JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU UP AND WENT THROUGH WITH THAT?! ARE YOU MENTAL OR SOMETHING!? I KNOW MY FAIR SHARE OF CRAZIES BUT YOU CERTAINLY TAKE THE CAKE!”

Ace and Deuce were both rendered speechless by the tongue lashing she was giving Deuce. None of them noticed a certain headmaster walking into the room as Yuki carefully got to her feet; trying not to put too much pressure on her right arm if she could help it. Grim, on the other hand, was having great difficulty with that on account that he seemed to be in a complete daze.

“You’re so lucky we have a bigger problem to deal with now,” Yuki said with a hiss as she put a hand over the wound on her arm. “Or else, I would have kicked yer ar-”

“That is quite enough, Walker-kun.” the headmaster said as he crossed his arms and looked down at them sternly.

“...And now we’re officially dead.” Ace muttered under his breath as he, Deuce, and Yuki turned to look up at the headmaster.

“The room’s…spinning…” Grim managed to say as he decided to give up on trying to stand, opting instead to just lay down on the ground.

“Just. What. Exactly. Are you all doing?!” Crowley exclaimed as he glared at them all. “It seems that you weren’t satisfied with your punishment, so you went and destroyed the chandelier?! I should have all of you expelled!”

“Eehh?!” all but Grim exclaimed as they looked at the headmaster in shock.

“Please! Anything but that! I have things that I have to do at this school!” Deuce said as he looked up at the headmaster pleadingly.

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

“I will pay for all of the damages if I have to!” Deuce said desperately.

“This is no normal chandelier. This is a magical chandelier that runs on magic and has candles that will burn for eternity.” Crowley explained. “It is a masterpiece made by a legendary Meister of Magical Tools. So it is a treasured legacy that has been around since the school’s very foundation. Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion madol. Can you honestly pay for those damages?”

“A b-billion madol?!” Deuce exclaimed in disbelief.

“Give me five of those and directions to the nearest poker table and I can make that in a few hours easy.” Yuki said, first holding out her blood covered hand. Everyone stared at her wide eyed, making her raise an eyebrow before looking down at her hand. “Ah, right.” She then lifted her other hand, only being less bloody, and held it out. “If you want that money a bit quicker, then give me ten but that’s as high as I’ll wager.”

“There will be no gambling!” the headmaster exclaimed, looking at Yuki sternly. “Besides, the magic crystal, which we call the heart of any magical tool, has been shattered as well. No two magic crystals are the same. So the chandelier will never be lit again.”

“Then what else do you want us to do?” Yuki asked, putting her arm down as she heard Ace and Deuce quietly bemoan their situation. “Like I said, I can easily raise the money by winning it at a poker table. But if it’s a magic crystal that we need, isn’t there any place that we can go to to find a suitable replacement? I’ve heard plenty of mythos to know that much about magic.”

“I said no gambling!” the headmaster said before perking to an idea. “But now that you mention it, there is one way to get a new magic crystal.”

“What?!” Ace and Deuce said in unison, looking at the headmaster with hope.

“The original magic crystal for the chandelier was mined from the Dwarf’s Mine.” Crowley explained. “If we were to have a magic crystal of the same kind as the original, then repairs should be possible.”

“I will go find a magic crystal!” Deuce said as he took a step closer to the headmaster. “Please allow me to go!”

“However, I have no guarantee that there are any left in the mine. The mine has been closed for a while and it’s very possible it is exhausted of crystals.” Crowley warned.

“I’ll do anything to get the expulsion rescinded.” Deuce said earnestly.

“Plus, the chances of finding a crystal are about fifty-fifty at best.” Yuki said, “So it’s worth a look.”

The headmaster remained silent for a moment as he mulled over their proposition before finally speaking. “Very well. I shall give you one night. Come to me with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning or face expulsion.”

“Yes! Thank you very much!” Deuce said as he bowed to the headmaster.

“I guess it’s fine.” Ace said with a sigh, “Let’s go get that magic crystal and be done with it.”

“As much as I hate to say this,” Yuki started with a sigh as she looked at Ace, “just leave the heavy lifting to Deuce and I, princess.”

“Don’t call me that either!” Ace said, glaring at her.

The headmaster cleared his throat to grab their attention before speaking once more, “Use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to Dwarf’s Mine.”

“Yes, sir!” Deuce said before dashing out of the cafeteria.

“O-oi! I would like to go to the infirmary to be bandaged up first, baka!” Yuki called out after him, snapping Grim out of his daze finally as he perked up and looked around.

“What now…? What exactly did I…?” he muttered a little to himself before looking up at Yuki confused.

“I’ll explain on the way. Just climb on if you don’t want blood on your fur.” she said, letting out an exhausted sigh. “You might’ve been better off staying dazed.”

“Oh man…why did it turn into something like this?” Ace groaned as he, Yuki, Grim, and Deuce stood in front of the Mirror of Darkness. “Today is really not my day.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m already chopping this up to be one of my bad weeks of the year.” Yuki said as she carefully crossed her arms. “I’m just hopping to not pay the nurse another visit today with your guys’ track record so far.”

“Now isn’t the time for whining! Let’s go!” Deuce said as he looked at the two sternly.

“Did we suddenly forget who really put us in this situation in the first place?” Yuki said as she looked back at Deuce, holding up her now bandaged arm.

He flinched a little to the memory before shaking his head and turning toward the mirror fully. “O Mirror of Darkness! Light our way to the Dwarf’s Mine!” As soon as he said those words, the mirror quickly began to glow before engulfing the four of them into a white light.

Chapter 17: Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work you go, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XVI: Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to work you go, little butterfly

Yuki had quickly raised her arms over her eyes when the white light engulfed them all before slowly lowering them when feeling a cool and gentle breeze wash over her. She blinked a few times to adjust her eyesight before widening her eyes when seeing a very familiar looking cottage standing a few feet from them. Though it greatly saddened her when seeing the terrible state of disrepair it was in now.

“So, this is the Dwarf’s Mine,” Deuce said as he slowly looked around the area. “It used to be prosperous thanks to magic crystal mining but now…”

“Feels like something could jump out at us,” Grim whimpered as he hid behind Yuki’s head a bit.

“It feels more sad to me,” Yuki said solemnly, gently grabbing ahold of one of her mourning lockets. “Like we’re stepping into a graveyard of sorts.”

“Wah! Hey! Don’t say such creepy things all calmly like that!” Ace said as he took a step back from Yuki.

“Seriously! Where did you even come up with a comparison like that?!” Deuce asked as he too took a step away from her.

“You two do know who my uncle is, right?” Yuki said before letting out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head slightly at them.

“A-a-anyway,” Ace started, giving the area a quick glance around before pointing toward the cottage. “Look, there’s a house back there. Let’s go and ask them about the mine.”

Deuce nodded in agreement and walked over to the cottage with Ace, helping him along the way. Yuki, however, remained behind as she carefully surveyed the area once more. Grim took notice of this and looked at her with concern.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, “Just…have a bad feeling about all of this.”

“Hey! You two coming or what?!” Ace called out to them as Deuce knocked on the door a few times.

“We’re coming! We’re coming!” Yuki called back before walking over to them.

Once she and Grim rejoined them, Deuce knocked again before slowly opening the door. Due to how small it was, he had to duck down a little before entering.

“Good evening,” he called out, looking around the place. He was greeted with nothing but silence as he took note on how dusty the place was. “I guess it’s abandoned. It’s a mess in here.”

He walked in a bit further so Yuki could come in herself, ducking down low enough so Grim wouldn’t have to hit his head on the door frame. However, he decided to poke his head out at the wrong time to get a spider’s web caught on his face.

“Puwah! I got a spider web in my face!” he said as he wiped it off his face, spitting a little for good measure so that it didn’t end up in his mouth.

“Well, that’s what you get for sticking your head out at the wrong time.” Yuki said with a smirk as she looked at Grim.

She giggled a little at him as he finished cleaning his face before he turned and pouted at her.

“Aren’t the tables and chairs on the small side?” Ace asked as he chose to remain outside, only looking in from the doorway. “Are they for kids? One…two…” He carefully counted the chairs that were sitting around a dining table before widening his eyes in surprise. “There’s seven! So many!”

“You don’t know how tall dwarfs are, do you?” Yuki asked, rolling her eyes at Ace before moving to look in the upstairs bedroom.

“Oi!” Ace exclaimed as he glared at her.

She simply ignored him as she took a peek into the dark and dusty bedroom; taking the time to activate her cursed eye to see if they were completely alone. Grim watched in slight awe when seeing her eye turn completely black with two white rings inside. She let out a small sigh of relief when seeing that they were truly alone in the house. She quickly deactivated her eye and closed the door before going back down the stairs.

“This was probably a lively home when Dwarf’s Mine was thriving.” Deuce said as he looked around the room once more.

“Yeah,” Yuki said as she too looked around the room again. “Makes me kind of wonder what really happened here to let this place go to ruins like this.”

“Well, you can wonder about that later.” Ace said from his place at the door, putting his hands on his hips. “Staying here any longer is pointless. The coal mine itself is our best shot since magic crystals come from coal. For now, let’s go and check it out.”

Yuki, Deuce, and Grim nodded in agreement before making their way out of the house. Ace carefully moved out of their way before Yuki took the lead this time with Grim’s help.

“W-w-we’re gonna go in that pitch black hole?!” Grim asked as he hid behind Yuki’s head once more as the group stood in front of the entrance to the mine.

“Ya scared?” Ace said, smirking at Grim’s fright. “How lame~.”

“Oh~? So our precious hime-sama would like to go in first~?” Yuki said, smirking a little herself as she crossed her arms. “How very brave of him.”

“Eh?! No way!” Ace said with a huff. “Not in this outfit!”

“So glad to see you’re embracing your feminine side,” Deuce said a bit sarcastically.

“Wait, what?!” Ace exclaimed as he looked at Deuce in horror. “Eww! Don’t say such things!”

“Well, let’s get a move on before we spend the rest of the night picking on Ace.” Yuki said with a sigh.

“Hey!” Ace said as he glared at her.

“Agreed,” Deuce said, “The sooner we find that magic crystal, the sooner we can head back.”

“Right,” Yuki said, petting Grim a bit to help calm him down. “I’ll continue taking the lead since no one else wants too.”

She looked toward the other two, who simply nodded to her suggestion, before walking into the mine first. As soon as they were a few feet in, Deuce stopped and put a hand out in front of Ace before calling out to Yuki.

“Wait!”

“Huh?” Ace said, blinking a little at him as he stopped.

Yuki stopped as well before turning to look back at Deuce. “What’s up?”

“Something is…there!” Deuce said as he pointed toward an area behind Yuki.

Both Yuki and Grim turned to look, each raising an eyebrow before widening their eyes a bit when seeing a pair of ghosts floating just a few feet in front of them. Grim was the only one of the two who let out a small shriek when seeing the ghosts. Yuki, on the other hand, merely clicked her tongue in annoyance as she leveled a glare at them instead.

“Heeee hee hee! Our first visitors in ten years!” one of the ghosts said with a laugh, seeming to fail seeing Yuki pull out her magic pen.

“Make yourselves at home.” the other ghost said, “For eternity!”

“Fugyaa!! G-g-ghosts!!” Grim screamed as Yuki put a hand to her ear.

“First, it was getting in trouble with Trump Card this morning.” Yuki said with a hint of a growl in her voice as she lowered her hand. “Then, it was, at first, hunting him down for our punishment and then Grim.” She then twirled her pen in her other hand for a bit as she took a step toward the ghosts. “And then I was thrown, with magic, at a chandelier to get said tanuki back! And you want to know what happened after that?” She waited till the ghosts slowly nodded their heads, seeming to become more frightened of her as she intensified her glare at them, before continuing on. “The damn thing went and broke on us so now we have to go and find a new magic crystal for it or face expulsion! But it seems that we can’t do that for the moment as we now have to deal with you two!!”

“Uh, Y-y-yuki…chan?” Ace said slowly as he and Deuce slowly took a step back from her.

“If you two don’t want your arses to be set on fire, then I suggest you get out of our way now.” Yuki said with a growl as she held her pen at the ready toward the ghosts. “Otherwise, I can just show ya exactly what I did to the group of ghosts that were living in my dorm right now!”

The ghosts, at first, continued to stare at her in fear before slowly moving their gaze down to her magic pen, noticing how it was beginning to glow an intense orange. They each took a small gulp when seeing that she wasn’t kidding with her threat before looking back at her and quickly nodded their heads to her terms. Grim watched from his hiding place behind her head as the ghosts disappeared, choosing to let the “tanuki” comment go this time in fear of incurring her wrath on him …again. Once the ghosts had fully disappeared from sight, Yuki let out a huff before putting her pen away and turned to look at the other two.

“Alright, let’s go.” she said before leading the way again.

“Did you seriously just scare off a pair of ghosts?” Deuce asked as he stared at Yuki in disbelief. “Just like that?”

“And I thought you were scary before.” Ace said as he moved to hide behind Deuce.

“It really does pay to have been partially raised by an undertaker.” Yuki muttered to herself as she continued walking down the tunnel. “You two coming or not?!”

“Urk! We’re coming, ma’am!” Deuce said before running after her, dragging Ace along.

“H-h-hey! Quit pulling me!” Ace said, glaring at Deuce before yanking his arm away from him. “It’s bad enough I have to walk around in these glass heels. I don’t need you yanking me along every time we need to go somewhere in a hurry! Besides, we wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you going and doing something so idiotic!”

“Oh~? You wanna talk about who started all of this?” Deuce started as he turned and glared at Ace, crossing his arms. “That would be you ‘cause you didn’t want to clean!”

“Do you honestly think I could in this freaking thing?!” Ace exclaimed as he gestured to his gown. “And if we’re going to point fingers, then this is all Yuki’s fault for punching me in the first place!”

“Oh, boo hoo! You got your butt beat by a girl. Man up and move on from it already!” Deuce said, rolling his eyes a little at Ace.

“Oh?! Like you could if it was you ?!” Ace said, putting his hands on his hips. “I seriously doubt that, man. You seem like the type that would cry about it worse than me! Crybaby Deuce~!”

“I-I-I would not!!” Deuce exclaimed.

“Enough!!” Yuki roared out as she turned to glare at the two. Ace and Deuce quickly shut their mouths and looked at her in fear. Grim, on the other hand, simply put his paws over his mouth to keep himself from digging his own grave any further today. “Do you two seriously want to be kicked out or no-”

Before she could finish her sentence, a sharp and intense pain shot through her right eye, making her gasp and quickly put a hand over it. Grim and the others let out a gasp to this as they watched her hunch over in pain.

“Yuki! What’s wrong?!” Grim exclaimed as he moved to get a better view of her eye, gently putting a paw over her hand.

“What happened?! Are you okay?!” Deuce asked as he quickly rushed over to her side, Ace following shortly after.

They all looked at her with concern before Grim gave out a shriek when noticing a trail of blood going down her cheek. However, their concern for that was short lived when they all heard a voice call out to them from further down the tunnel.

“...on’t…ive…wo…”

“Wh-wh-what’s…this voice…?” Ace asked slowly as he turned to look down the tunnel.

Deuce and Grim soon looked down the tunnel themselves as the voice spoke again.

“Cry…stal…sss…mine…”

“Crystal…mine?” Yuki said, blinking a little as she too turned to look down the tunnel.

She slowly uncovered her eye, revealing that it was activated again, as they all heard a strange shuffling sound start to get closer to them.

“I think it’s…getting closer…” Deuce said as he listened more closely to the shuffling to make sure that it was coming closer.

They each held their breaths as the shuffling grew closer and closer, soon becoming more reminiscent of something dragging along than shuffling. Yuki was the first one to see what it was that was coming toward them, or at the very least, a hint at what it was. And it made her blood run cold. Through her cursed eye, she saw what appeared to be the soul of a dwarf walking toward them, holding a pickaxe in one hand while a lantern was in the other. Strips of cloth were wound tightly around the dwarf’s neck, legs and arms, making it difficult for them to move.

A chill ran down Yuki’s spine as she slowly followed the strips of cloth with her eyes. The further back it went, the darker in color the strips of cloth became before it started to resemble ink to her.

“What the…” she quietly muttered under her breath as the dwarf walked a bit closer to them, revealing a giant creature connected to them by the cloth.

It appeared to be made entirely out of the same ink like substance that covered a majority of the cloth strips. It also had a strong resemblance to the soul of the dwarf in front of it with the exception that instead of a normal head; there was a cracked bottle that seemed to be the main source for the “ink”.

“Crystal…” it began, “is…MIIIIINNEEE!!”

“It’s here!!!” all the boys screamed as they all looked at the creature in pure terror before taking off running; Deuce grabbing Yuki’s arm and pulling her along.

Once they were a safe enough distance, they all slowed down to a stop before catching their breaths. Deuce let go of Yuki’s arm before holding himself up against the wall of the mine. Once she had recovered enough, Yuki gently took Grim off of her shoulders and held him within her arms. He wasted no time in snuggling deep into them while holding onto her for dear life, even when she gave him pets to help soothe him from his fright.

“What the heck is that thing?!” Deuce said once he had recovered himself.

“Whatever it was, it sure wasn’t an actual Akuma thankfully.” Yuki muttered to herself, looking down at Grim before looking toward the others. “But that’s besides the point for now. Since Crowley didn’t mention a single word about that thing, I think it’s safe to assume that no one else does either.”

“Then let’s get outta here while we still can!” Grim cried as he clung even tighter onto Yuki, looking up at them all with tears in his eyes.

“It was so nasty!” Ace said before perking when remembering something about the monster. “But, didn’t it mention a “crystal”?!”

“Eh!?” both Grim and Yuki said as they looked at him, blinking a little.

Yuki even raised an eyebrow at him before jolting when feeling the sharp pain of her cursed eye activating again. Grim quickly looked up at her with concern as she moved to cover it before they all froze when hearing the monster call out to them once more.

“Cry…stal…won’t…give!” it said, having caught up to the group rather quickly.

“So, there really are magic crystals left!” Deuce said with a smile of relief as they all turned to look at the creature drawing closer toward them.

“Yeah, that’s great and all. But, I think we should focus on staying away from that monster first!” Yuki said as she gave a sharp warning glare to Deuce.

“Yeah, no! I may be a genius, but I don’t stand a chance against that thing!” Grim said as he shook his head, trying to hide himself further into Yuki’s arms if possible.

“I honestly don’t think any of you can.” Yuki said flatly. “The best that I can do for the moment is keep it distracted enough for you three to make a break for it.”

“Way ahead of you on that!” Ace said as he was already picking up his dress.

“But we’ll be expelled without it!” Deuce said as he glared at them all.

“And we’ll be dead if we fight it head on, baka!” Yuki said, returning the glare as she put Grim on Ace’s shoulders.

“I’m still going!” Deuce said, turning fully toward the creature.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!?” Ace exclaimed as he and Grim stared at him in disbelief.

“Do you seriously have a death wish or something?!” Yuki exclaimed as well.

“I cannot,” Deuce began as he pulled out his magic pen and held it at the ready, “under any circ*mstance, be expelled!”

“You bloody idiot!” Yuki called out after him as he charged toward the creature. She clicked her tongue and looked toward Ace while drawing her sword. “Keep an eye on Grim while I go and save his arse.”

Ace gave her a simple nod before carefully taking a few steps back as she went after Deuce.

“Leave! Leave!!” the creature screamed as it began to raise its pickaxe over its head. “Leeeaavvee!!!”

It then swung its pickaxe toward Deuce. He tried to throw a spell at it to divert its direction but it seemed to have done nothing to the pickaxe. Just as it was about to make contact, Yuki quickly tackled Deuce to the ground and rolled away from the weapon as it hit the ground, sending dirt and rocks into the air.

“You alright?” she asked as she carefully got off of him, hissing a little as she had reopened her wound from earlier.

Deuce was rendered a bit speechless as he stared up at her, a light pink dusting on his cheeks. Yuki rolled her eyes and sighed before getting to her feet. She was about to help Deuce to his when a strange glint caught all of their eyes.

“Behind that thing!” Ace said as he pointed down the tunnel behind the creature. “At the end of the tunnel, something’s…”

“Is that light,” Deuce began slowly as he turned his head to look, seeming to have quickly recovered from his stupor, “from a magic crystal?!”

Before any of them could even think of getting a closer look, the creature let out a roar, pulling its pickaxe out of the ground and made another swing toward Yuki and Deuce. “WON’T!! GIVE!!!”

“Kuso!” Yuki cursed under her breath as she quickly slid her hand along the edge of her blade, making sure it cut deep into it. “Innocence, activate! Animal’s Defense, Captain of the Guard!”

Once she had finished saying those words, her sword quickly began to change form, now taking on the appearance of a broadsword. With what strength she could quickly muster, she grabbed hold of the hilt with both hands and took a swing towards the pickaxe just as it was about to hit them. She succeeded in parrying it off but it did make her have to stumble back a bit.

“L-l-let’s get out of here already!” Grim cried as he hid behind Ace’s head. “We’re going to be done for at this rate!”

“Grim’s right,” Yuki said as she panted a little. She kept a close eye on the creature as she quickly placed the tip of the broadsword on her shadow before moving both of her hands to grip the blade tightly. “Human Disguise, Trickster!”

The broadsword, at once, melted into the ground and formed a black puddle before quickly reforming itself into a young man with cat ears and tail. Deuce was so startled by this that he didn’t even notice Yuki grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to his feet.

“Chesha! Grab Ace and Grim and let’s bounce!” she said as she dragged Deuce along to the entrance.

The cat boy simply nodded his head before taking off toward Ace and Grim. They both screamed when seeing the boy run up to them. Ace quickly pulled Grim off of his shoulders and held him tightly in his arms, bracing himself for the worst, before letting out a gasp when feeling the cat boy scoop him up into his arms bridal style. Once he made sure both Grim and Ace were secured in his arms, he quickly took off after his master who was now way ahead of them. As they fled, the creature let out one final scream at them before they disappeared completely from its sight.

Chapter 18: Show them what you can do with the hand you've been dealt with, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XVII: Show them what you can do with the hand you’ve been dealt with, little butterfly

Yuki, Deuce, and the cat boy, Chesha, didn’t dare to stop running till they reached the safety of the abandoned cottage. Once they were, Yuki let go of Deuce’s arm and tired calling her Innocence back to her but failed as her vision began to blur. She clicked her tongue and put a hand to her head as she started to lose her balance before collapsing to the ground.

“Master!!” Chesha exclaimed as he finished putting Ace down when seeing her collapse.

He quickly grabbed Grim by the scruff of his neck and carried him over as he dashed over to Yuki.

“Hey! You alright?!” Ace asked as he looked over at her with concern as well.

“I’ll be fine,” Yuki said slowly as she carefully sat up and closed her eyes. “Just give me a few minutes to breathe.”

“You shouldn’t have pushed yourself like this, Master.” Chesha said as he gently placed Grim in front of her. “Calling upon two entirely different shades in such a short amount of time is too much for you. Especially when they are for two different techniques! You should have just stuck with Rion the entire time. …Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

Yuki just let out a small hum to show that she was listening before holding her hand out toward him. “Anshin sh*te, Chesha.”

Chesha pouted at her first, ears falling flat against his head, before giving her a small nod and closed his eyes. Grim watched as he turned back into Yuki’s sword, reforming back in her hand, before going up to her and gently placing a paw on her knee.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked as he looked up at her, eyes filled with concern.

She slowly opened an eye and looked down at him before smiling softly. “Yeah,” she said as she put her sword down beside her before gently petting him, “I’ll be okay after I rest some more.”

“That’s good.” Ace said as he walked over to them. “We don’t want you pushing yourself too hard now. You’re pretty much the only one with any actual fighting experience here. We’d be done for if you were down for the count.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Deuce asked as he glared at Ace, crossing his arms.

“Oh, nothing much,” Ace said, acting all innocent like at first before turning toward Deuce and returned the glare. “Other than that she seems to be the only reason any of us are still alive right now!”

“Are you saying that this is all my fault again?!” Deuce asked as he took a step closer to Ace.

“You were the one that had the bright idea to go charging at that thing!” Ace said, putting his hands on his hips. “If you hadn’t went and done that, Yuki would have been in a lot better shape than she is now!”

“Enough! Both of you!” Grim exclaimed as he stood on his hind legs and glared at the two. They both stopped their bickering and turned to look at him in slight shock. Even Yuki looked down at him in shock. “Can’t you see that your fighting is making her more upset? If you two won’t stop fighting, I’ll just roast ya myself!”

He blew out a little wisp of fire at the two as he put his paws on his hips. The boys did take a step back from him while continuing to stare at him in shock to his earlier outburst. Yuki, on the other hand, chuckled a little to his attempt at reigning in the “tweedles” before petting his head again.

“Alright, Grim, settle down now.” she said with a soft smile. “I think they got the point.”

“They better have,” Grim muttered under his breath as he let out a huff before looking down the path they had just come from. “It doesn’t seem like it followed us here.”

“Yeah, doesn’t really look like it did.” Yuki said, looking down the path as well.

She then turned and tried to grab her sword but stopped when Grim, once seeing what she was doing, quickly moved it away from her.

“No way! You’re not allowed to use your Innocence thing till you’ve rested a bit more!” he said as he looked at her sternly.

Yuki blinked a little to this before letting out a small laugh and nodded. “Okay, okay. I won’t touch my sword till you think I’ve rested enough.”

“Good!” Grim said, crossing his paws and sitting down in front of her sword.

“Speaking about that monster,” Ace said as he carefully moved to sit down himself, “do we have any ideas on what it could be? No one said a word about anything like that!”

“It didn’t seem like any old ghost.” Deuce said as he moved to sit down himself.

“And I don’t think anyone alive knows about it either.” Yuki said as she crossed her arms. “But…it seems to be on the same level as an Akuma.” She grimaced a little to her own words as she gently put a hand over her eye.

“Akuma…” Grim repeated, looking down at the ground in thought first before looking back up at her. “Didn’t you mention something like that back in the mine? What did you mean by that?”

Yuki remained silent for a moment or two, taking the time to look at them all, before taking in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “It’s a weapon,” she began, “created by a…being named The Millenium Earl. They’re mainly created from a material known as Dark Matter but are only operational once a human soul is placed into it.”

“What the…?!” Ace said as he looked at Yuki, completely mortified to the idea of someone doing something like that.

“How is that even possible?” Deuce asked, looking disgusted by the concept.

“...There are people out there that would do absolutely anything in this world to bring back the ones they love.” Yuki said slowly as she gently held onto her father’s mourning locket. “The Earl takes advantage of that desire in a person’s darkest moment of grief to…well…sign a contract with them to make that happen. He just so happens to not mention the specifics till it’s far too late to turn back.”

“And what are the specifics of this…“contract”?” Deuce asked. “Surely someone must have asked this Earl guy before?”

Yuki fell silent, choosing instead to just close her eyes and tighten her grip on her father’s locket a little more. Ace and Deuce didn’t seem to take any notice of this as they continued to stare at her. Grim, on the other hand, did take notice of her silence and seemed to quickly put two and two together.

“Ya know,” he began as he turned to look at the other two, “I think this may be a question for that weird guy for when we get back. Yuki sometimes makes it sound like he knows everything that there is to know about! Maybe he knows a thing or two about this Earl guy too?”

“That may be possible,” Deuce said as he put a hand to his chin in thought. “I think I heard some of the seniors mention something similar when talking about the professor earlier.”

“Well, it’s whatever now,” Ace said with a sigh. “Let’s just forget about getting that magic crystal and go home.” He then carefully moved to stand before turning toward the mirror. “Whatever that thing in the mine is, I’d rather get expelled than fight it head on.”

“Wha?!” Deuce said, looking at Ace in disbelief before scrambling to his feet and moved to block his path. “Don’t screw with me!” he said as he glared at Ace. “I’d rather die than face expulsion! There’s a magic crystal right in front of us and you wanna just go home!”

“Ha! You talk big for someone worse at magic than me.” Ace said, first smirking at Deuce before dropping it. “Go alone if you want. I’m done.”

“Ooh, that right?!” Deuce said, punching his fist into his hand as he glared down at Ace while taking a step closer to him. “Then stay right there, cowering like a spineless coward!”

“Huh~? Coward~?” Ace said in a sing song way, seeming to not be fazed with the sudden switch in Deuce’s character. “Who exactly are you talking about~?”

“Enough! Both of you!!” Yuki roared out as loud as she could with her current condition, glaring at the two. This seemed to snap Deuce back to his normal self as he slowly took a step back from Ace. She let the silence that settled over them all linger for a bit before speaking in a calmer, but still serious tone. “We need a plan. Otherwise, we’ll either run out of steam or be down a member or two. I can’t keep using my Innocence all willy nilly without the risk of passing out.”

“Huh?! W-w-why’s that?!” Grim asked, looking at Yuki with even more worry than before.

“Remember how Lilia and Uncle said that my Innocence is a part of me physically?” she said, waiting till he nodded before continuing on. “Well, the way that it’s a part of me is mainly through my blood. I’m still getting used to controlling it so I don’t have it down pat yet. However, I do know that if I use the various forms it can take on within a short period of time of each other, I will start to act like I’m anemic. And, sadly, with the way you three seem to be, I’ll definitely have to be doing that again if we don’t go in with a plan.”

“Your blood?” Deuce asked, blinking a little before looking down at her shadow.

“But…didn’t you use your shadow to track me and Grim down?” Ace asked, looking down at her shadow as well. “And make that one guy appear? Chesha, was it?”

“It’s true that my shadow did all of that, yes.” Yuki said as she crossed her arms. “However, it still requires a certain amount of my blood each time. And the more techniques and forms, or shades as I like to call them, I preform within a short period of time, the bigger the amount of blood required to execute them becomes. Take what Chesha said before I deactivated my Innocence for example. If I had just gone with sticking with Rion the entire time, I wouldn’t be in the sorry state that I’m in now. Do you understand?”

“I…think I’m starting to see what you’re getting at.” Deuce said as he pondered over her words.

“Good, cause I don’t think I can explain it any better than that.” Yuki said with a sigh. “But, anyway, now that you all have some knowledge on one of my little trump cards and how it works, we can start strategizing-”

“Strategizing?” Ace asked, interrupting Yuki as he raised an eyebrow. “You mean get along and work together? Ha! That’s cold. You have no problems saying lame things with a serious face, huh?”

“Agreed,” Deuce said as he gave Ace a side glare, “There’s no way I’m working with this loser.”

Yuki could feel her eye twitch at how stupidly stubborn the “tweedles” were being at the simple idea of cooperating with each other. She had half a mind to yell at them again but stopped herself when Grim spoke up first.

“But,” he began as he looked down at the ground in thought, “I feel like it’s way lamer to get expelled on the first day of school.”

That seemed to strike a nerve within both boys as they looked toward Grim.

“That’s…” Ace tried to counter but failed as he couldn’t quite come up with a good defense toward Grim’s comment.

Deuce, on the other hand, remained silent as he simply looked the other way. This made a cheshire cat like smile creep its way onto Yuki’s face.

“Yes, that is quite lame, Grim.” she said as she looked directly at the two boys. “Especially with the reputations you’ve already given yourselves. Like a certain trump card becoming a princess for the day. And a certain tweedle breaking a historical chandelier with his dumb idea.”

Ace gritted his teeth a little before shooting a glare at Yuki. “Alright! We get it! You don’t have to rub salt into the wound anymore!” He took a moment to calm himself down before speaking again, “So, what’s your plan then?”

“You…really think it’ll go as planned?” Grim asked as he and the rest of the group stood in front of the mine entrance once more. “I’m sca-no!...Just nervous.”

She looked toward him as he tried to put on a brave face before petting him behind his ears. “If it doesn’t go quite as planned, then we’ll just have to improvise.” she said before looking back at the other two. “Everyone ready?”

They both nodded at her before heading off to their positions. Yuki gave them a nod as well before looking back at the entrance with Grim. She could feel him tremble a little in fright before he shook his head and puffed out his chest. A small smile crept onto her lips as she petted him again before walking back into the mine with him.

Once they were a good ways in, Yuki took in a deep breath, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, “Hey~! Mr. Scary Monster~! We’re back~~!!”

“Hey, beasty! O-o-over here!” Grim called out as well from the safety of Yuki’s shoulders.

A few seconds passed before they heard the monster making its way toward them, screaming out, “Leave!!”

“Gah! It’s coming!” Grim exclaimed, ducking behind Yuki’s head as he saw the monster start to emerge from the shadows.

“Over here! Over here~!” Yuki called out to it, waving the monster over to them despite the pain her cursed eye was causing her.

She waited till the monster drew closer to them before turning on her heel and booked it for the entrance. The creature let out a roar as it followed after them. It quickly lifted its pickaxe above its head and took aim.

“There…thief…too.” it said. “Won’t give…Mine…Mine!!”

It then stopped to swing its pickaxe down toward Yuki and Grim. Yuki, however, saw it out of the corner of her eye and managed to jump out of the way before it could hit them. Grim let out a shriek when seeing the pickaxe hit the ground instead, taking note of all the debris it kicked up upon impact.

“That hit looks like an instant knockout if it lands.” Grim muttered as he moved to hide in Yuki’s neck more.

“Stay focused, Grim!” Yuki said as she kept running from the monster, looking back to make sure it was still after them even as they neared the entrance. “We need to keep luring it away from the crystal.”

Grim let out a small whimper before nodding and moved to keep a better eye on the monster. It kept muttering “go away” over and over at them as it continued following them, even out of the mine.

“It’s pretty far from the tunnel now!” Grim exclaimed once the monster was a few feet from the entrance.

Yuki gave a curt nod before sliding to a halt. She then turned toward the monster and yelled, “Now!”

“Okay! I got this!” Ace said as he carefully stood from his hiding spot, holding his magic pen at the ready. “Let’s go! Extra Large Tempest!”

A large gust of wind shot out from his pen and went hurtling towards the monster. As it did, Yuki quickly stuck out her arm as she pulled out her own magic pen with her left hand. Grim quickly moved to stand on her arm while being mindful of her wound.

“And the Great Grim and Lady Yuki’s Fire Special!” he exclaimed before taking in a deep breath and shooting his flame out toward the monster.

Yuki quickly followed it up with a fire spell of her own, making the two combine before it met up with Ace’s whirlwind. The monster screamed out when it became engulfed in the newly made fire tornado.

“How’s that?!” Ace exclaimed with a smirk. “I can even fan Grim and Yuki’s shoddy flames into an inferno!”

“They’re not shoddy!” Grim retorted as he glared at Ace. “Ugh, every word out of your mouth pisses me off.” He let out a huff and crossed his paws.

“Deuce, now!” Yuki shouted, choosing to ignore the two as she looked toward where Deuce was hiding.

Upon her signal, Deuce came out from his own hiding spot and took a deep breath as he took aim with his magic pen. “Calm down…” he quietly muttered to himself, “take aim…the biggest, heaviest…thing I know…” He then took in another deep breath before slowly letting it out as he glared at the creature. “Come forth, cauldron!”

A spark of magic quickly flew out from his pen and over toward the creature before transforming into a cauldron and falling right on top of the creature. The creature let out a groan as the cauldron, upon impact, put out the flame tornado as well.

“Got it! Nice work everyone!” Grim exclaimed as he hopped a little on Yuki’s arm. He quickly stopped when hearing her hiss in pain before moving back to her shoulder. “Ooh, hey, look!” he said, pointing toward the creature in an attempt to distract Yuki from the pain. “The monster’s as flat as a pancake just like Ace was earlier!”

“No, no, Grim.” Yuki said with a chuckle while carefully lowering her arm. “Ace looked more like a squashed cupcake with that dress on.”

“You don’t need to bring that up again!” Ace exclaimed as he glared at the two, groaning to the memory. “Jeez, today really isn’t my day, huh?”

“Let’s just go get the magic crystal while that thing can’t move.” Deuce said.

All of them nodded before making a run for the mine. This quickly grabbed the monster’s attention as it watched them pass by.

“Wait~!!!” it cried out as it began to struggle out from underneath the cauldron.

The group didn’t dare to stop as they ran all the way into the mine and down the tunnel where they saw the magic crystal earlier. Once they reached the area, they all quickly looked around before spotting a multi-colored stone peaking out from a coal deposit.

“There!” Deuce exclaimed as he pointed toward it. “A magic crystal!”

From outside the mine, they all heard the monster cry out, “HANDS OFF!!!”

“Crap! That thing’s almost free!” Ace exclaimed as he looked toward the entrance.

“Oi, Deuce! Throw some more stuff on it!” Grim said as he looked toward Deuce.

“Eeh, something heavy?!” Deuce asked as he took aim toward the creature again.

“Yes!” Yuki said, glaring at him while setting Grim down on the ground.

Deuce flinched a little to the glare before nodding his head. “C-c-come forth! Cauldron!” Another cauldron quickly appeared and fell on top of the previous one he summoned before summoning a third. “And, um, um, cauldron?!” And a fourth. “One more, cauldron!”

Everyone could hear the creature let out another groan to the weight of the extra cauldrons on top of it.

“Do you have nothing but cauldrons in your repertoire?!” Ace asked as he looked toward Deuce.

“Shut up! I’m at my wits end here!” Deuce retorted as he glared at Ace.

“Yes, yes, which is completely fine for our current situation!” Yuki said as she helped Grim get the magic crystal out of the coal deposit fully.

The two of them together shot fire at it as fast as they could before it popped out. Grim quickly jumped into Yuki’s arms as she held them out to him. She then ran toward where the crystal was heading as fast as she could while holding Grim out to catch it.

“We got the magic crystal!” he said as he successfully grabbed the crystal within his paws before he was placed back onto Yuki’s shoulders. “Let’s skedaddle!”

“Rodger!” Ace said before they all made a run for it.

Just as they were passing by the creature, they could hear it begin to struggle even more when seeing that they had its precious “treasure”.

“That. Is. MINE!” it screamed, shaking off the extra cauldrons before getting to its feet and followed after them.

They had all made it safely back to the cottage with the crystal in hand. But before they could even get the chance to make it to the mirror, they all heard the creature fast approaching them from behind.

“You’re kidding?!” Ace exclaimed as he looked back at it in horror. “It brushed off all that stuff and came after us!?”

“Give…it ba…ck!” the creature said through pants as it drew closer to them.

“Shoot! It’s gonna catch up to us!!” Deuce said with a click of his tongue.

“Then it looks like we have no choice but to put it out of its misery.” Yuki said as she handed Grim off to Ace before unsheathing her sword once more.

“Fine!” Ace said as he held his magic pen at the ready. “Let’s finish it! Don’t let me down, Mr. Serious!”

“You too!” Deuce said as he also held his pen at the ready.

“I’ll show you all my true power!” Grim said as he got ready to fight as well.

Yuki took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, offering a silent prayer to the soul that she could see, before standing at the ready as well.

With one final strike from all four of them, the creature finally went down for good. It let out one final roar before collapsing to the ground, deteriorating quite rapidly. As it did, Yuki saw the cloth strips on the soul disappear before watching it take in a breath. It then slowly turned to watch the last of the creature it was linked to disappear, leaving behind only a small mound covered in ink, before looking back at her and smiled.

“Thank ya kindly, missy.” the soul said with a smile, taking off its hat and bowing to her as it slowly disappeared as well.

Yuki let out a satisfied hum as she returned the smile before the soul vanished fully from her sight. She quietly mouthed a small “you’re welcome” before sheathing her sword.

“We…did it?” Ace asked as he looked toward the spot where the small mound now laid.

“W-w-we won…” Grim said in slight disbelief before a huge smile spread itself across his face. “We actually won!”

“Hooray!” Deuce exclaimed as he raised a fist into the air.

“We did it!!” Ace exclaimed as well while doing a little twirl with his dress.

“Victory high five~!” Grim said as he held his paws up at the two.

All three of them cheered happily as they gave one another a high five. Yuki, on the other hand, merely watched them from the side lines with a soft smile on her lips.

“Glad to see you three finally getting along now,” she said with an exasperated but affectionate sigh.

“Ah!” Deuce said as he, Grim, and Ace stopped their celebrating and looked toward her in shock. “N-n-no! This is nothing like that!”

“Huh?” Yuki said, blinking a little at them.

“Y-y-yeah, yeah!” Ace said, “Could you stop saying such weird things like that?”

“W-w-we won thanks to yours and mine geniusness!” Grim said with a pout as he hopped down to the ground. “It’s not because we pooled our strengths with these two guys!”

Yuki stared at them for a time before turning her back on them, raising her hands in defeat. “You’re all tsunderes, I swear!” she muttered to herself, “No wonder Uncle finds you all amusing half of the time.”

“But,” Ace started, grabbing Yuki’s attention again as he lightly scratched the back of his head, “I guess making excuses is pretty lame. I hate to admit it, but we won thanks to your plan.”

“Oh?” Yuki said, blinking a bit more as she turned to look at him before smirking, “Oh~? The Ace Trappola thanking little ol’ me~?”

“Shut it,” Ace said with a pout while glaring at her. “I still hate you for putting me in a dress.”

“But it is true,” Deuce said. “We got the magic crystal because you gave us such level headed instructions.”

“Well, you can thank me step mum for that.” Yuki said, “She was a brilliant strategist when she was alive. Taught Allen and I almost everything she knew. ‘Course, neither of us can quite hold a candle to her. But we try in our own way.”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Deuce said with a soft smile. “We can prevent our expulsion thanks to the two of you.” He took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “I’m so relieved.”

“And I’m relieved that we made it out of that battle none the worse for wear.” Yuki said with another sigh. “Let’s go home already. Come here, Grim.”

She then knelt down and held out her arms for Grim to jump back into as Ace and Deuce nodded in agreement. Grim nodded as well before making his way over to her.

“I’m starving from using so much magic…” he groaned, walking past the mound left behind by the creature before stopping when noticing something gleaming in the moonlight. “Hmm? What’s this?”

He walked over to it and picked up what looked like a pure black stone before showing it off to everyone else.

“A remnant from that monster?” Deuce said as he looked at it. “A magic crystal even? But…I’ve never seen one pitch black like coal before.”

“It could very well be dangerous.” Yuki said, looking at it warily, “Best to put it back, Grim. …Grim?” She blinked a little as she saw him bring it closer to his nose and sniffed it.

“This thing smells really good…” he said as he looked over the stone carefully.

“No way!” Ace said as he looked at Grim in disgust.

“This has to be candy that the monster was hiding!” Grim said, seeming to ignore Ace as he grinned from ear to ear. “Ooh~, I can’t hold back! Time to dig in!” And with that, he popped the stone into his mouth and began to chew on it.

Yuki’s eyes widen to this before she quickly scrambled over to him. She then grabbed him by his legs and hoisted him up upside in the air.

“Spit it out! Spit! It! Out!!” she screamed as she began to shake him in order to make him spit the stone back out.

Ace and Deuce just watched from the side lines, completely horrified, as she shook Grim up and down. She only stopped when hearing him make a choking sound, panic quickly setting in that she may have ended up choking him instead.

“Hey! You alright?!” Deuce asked as Yuki turned Grim around to where he was upside right.

“And that’s the second reason why you don’t eat things off the ground.” Ace said as he shook his head at Grim. “The first is having someone shake you silly.”

“Hey!” Yuki said as she glared at Ace before quickly looking back at Grim in worry.

“D…d…delicious~!!” Grim exclaimed happily, raising his paws into the air before yelping as Yuki dropped him in utter disbelief.

“Wha?!” both Ace and Deuce said in unison, looking at the creature in disbelief as well.

Grim took a moment to get to his feet and dusted himself off before speaking, “It’s full-bodied but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth. Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!”

Ace made a gagging sound while Yuki continued to stare at Grim in stunned silence.

“Monsters really do have different tastes than us.” he said.

“I guess so,” Deuce said. “But more than that…most people wouldn’t even put a mysterious object in their mouth without a second thought.”

Yuki nodded her head in agreement as Grim laughed a little to himself.

“Tasty~, tasty~!” he sang before turning toward everyone and smirked, “Don’t worry. My stomach isn’t weak like yours.”

“I grew up poor for most of my life,” Yuki said, looking sternly at Grim. “You wanna talk about strong stomachs?”

“Well, looks like you know who to crawl to when you get sick later.” Ace said with a sigh.

“Let’s just switch gears and get this magic crystal back to the headmaster.” Deuce said as he began to lead the way back.

“Yes, please!” Yuki said with a sigh as she picked up Grim and carried him in her arms.

Once they made it back to the Mirror Chamber, they were fortunate enough to find the headmaster there.

“Yo, Crowley!” Yuki called out with a relieved sigh, “We’re back~! And we managed to get the magic crystal you wanted!”

“Eh?” the headmaster said, looking a bit bewildered as Deuce showed him the crystal. “You really went to the Dwarf’s Mine to find a magic crystal?”

“Huh?” Ace, Deuce, and Grim said in unison as they looked at him with shock.

Yuki, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “ You said that that was the only way to not be expelled. So, we went and got one.”

“...I really didn’t think you’d go…” Crowley muttered to himself, “You’d not only went but then came back with a crystal in hand.”

“And the problem is?” Yuki asked, taking a step closer to the headmaster.

“...I quietly completed the paperwork for your expulsion.” the headmaster said, looking at all four of them.

There was a long moment of silence as the boys looked toward Yuki. She stared at the headmaster in pure shock before quickly walking up to him. Her face shifting from shock to anger as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, headbutting him a little in the process.

“YOU DID WHAT?!!!!”

Chapter 19: Your tale is just beginning, little butterfly...but it seems you've caught another reaper's eye

Chapter Text

Chapter XVIII: Your tale is just beginning, little butterfly…but it seems you’ve caught another reaper’s eye

Strips of film flew in front of a young man as he stood in front of what remained of the creature within the woods of the Dwarf’s Mine. His chartreuse phosphorescent and blue eyes watched as the last moments of the creature played out in front of him. He saw two young men, one of which was in a ball gown while the other was wearing a school uniform, fighting the creature along with another, smaller creature and a young woman.

He let out a small hum as the record came to an end before his white rabbit ears stood up when hearing his phone ring. He quickly reached into his pocket and hit the answer button without even looking at the screen to see who it was calling.

“Parker here. I’ve just finished viewing the cinematic record, Barbie.” the young man, Parker, said with a sigh as he put the phone to his ear after putting them back down.

“Would you stop calling me that, Oleander.” the person on the other end, Barbatos, said in an annoyed tone before letting out a small huff. “Now, tell me your report on our soul there.”

Parker hesitated for a moment or two, mentally bracing himself for the eventual tongue lashing from Barbatos when he revealed a certain little detail to him. “B.T. Case No. SWD7211237 has been completely neutralized. As I’ve said before, I have just finished reviewing what was missing from their initial cinematic record. However…”

“However?” Barbatos said, his voice becoming dangerously low.

Parker took in a small gulp as he tried not to tremble too much in fear of what was to come after he spoke again. “However, I have been unable to find or see what happened to their blot stone. I’ve even searched the entire area around their overblot’s “remains” but have found nothing.”

He took in a sharp breath and moved to hold onto one of his ears as he waited for the other’s response. There was a long moment of silence before he heard Barbatos take in a deep breath himself. This made him widen his eyes and quickly hold his phone as far away from his ear as possible while Barbatos let out a scream akin to an animal’s roar.

“What do you mean you can’t find it?!” Barbatos screeched after his cry of frustration.

“I-I-I can’t find it, sir.” Parker said, shaking like a poor leaf as he brought the phone closer to at least be able to pick up his voice. “B-b-but I do h-h-have…a l-l-lead though.”

“What kind of lead?” Barbatos said with a growl, which Parker could guess was through clenched teeth.

“A-a-a small group of teenagers a-a-and a cat like c-c-creature.” Parker said quickly, whimpering a little at how mad his superior sounded. “They w-w-were the last ones that C-c-case No. SWD7 s-s-saw before their b-b-borrowed time ended. A-a-and were the o-o-ones to end them.”

“...What?” Barbatos said, sounding more intrigued than angered now. “What did they look like?”

“W-w-well, one was wearing the N-n-night Raven College uniform.” Parker started, “A-a-and another was wearing a b-b-ball gown. Both were male. The l-l-last teenager was a young w-w-woman. I did s-s-see her have a magic p-p-pen as well but she m-m-mainly used a sword against Case No. SWD7. A-a-as for the c-c-cat-”

“That’s enough.” Barbatos said, cutting poor Parker off and making him jump. “I have all the information I need to make a request to the higher ups. Come back and start packing asap.”

“P-p-pardon, Mr. Barbatos, s-s-sir?” Parker asked timidly, shaking even more to the thought of possibly getting fired for something he had no control of.

“Come back and start packing, Oleander.” Barbatos repeated. “You’re going to be my “lovely” assistant for this job.”

“J-j-job, sir?” Parker said, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“I forgot you lose the ability to think clearly when under stress.” Barbatos said, mainly to himself before letting out a sigh. “The group that you just told me about has piqued my interest and warrants further investigation. Mainly for my own interests but I assume the higher ups would want to know about them as well.”

“O-oh…” Parker said, relaxing a little before raising an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really, Oleander.” Barbatos said with an exasperated sigh. “How many mortals are there in Twisted Wonderland that are brave enough to deal with a creature of pent up negative emotions and magic? I’ll tell you: None.”

“Hoh hoohh. A mysterious monster was living in the coal mine. And the four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal?” the headmaster said as they all sat within the infirmary, along with Undertaker who was called upon to keep Yuki from killing Crowley.

“Well, we didn’t really work together…” Ace said as he lightly scratched his cheek while keeping one hand on the skirt of his gown.

“It was more like our goals were aligned…” Deuce said as he crossed his arms and refused to look at anyone.

“News flash, idiots, that’s what “working together” means.” Yuki said as she glared at the two while munching on some biscuits Undertaker had given her.

“Now, now, butterfly, let them have their fun.” Undertaker said as he gently patted her on the head.

“And keep doing me the favor of staying as still as possible,” the nurse, a woman with long auburn hair tied back into a ponytail, said as she retreated the wound on her arm. “How’s your eye doing, by the way?”

“A lot better now, thanks.” Yuki said, still glaring at the duo while earning a small chuckle from Undertaker.

The nurse let out a small hum as she kept her eyes on her work before flinching when hearing the headmaster burst into tears, along with everyone else in the room.

“What’s with this guy?” Grim whispered to Yuki as he sat on her lap, holding the tin of biscuits Undertaker gave for her. “Why is an adult bursting into tears?”

Yuki just gave him a small shrug as she munched down on another biscuit, looking at the headmaster with concern.

“In all these years that I’ve been headmaster…” Crowley said through his crying. “For the day to come that students from Night Raven College go hand in hand to face and defeat their enemy!”

“What?!” Deuce exclaimed as he jumped back in his seat. “I did not hold this guy’s hand!”

“I would never do that! Gross!” Ace said as he looked at the headmaster in disgust. “But, headmaster, how old are you?!”

“And should you really be encouraging teenage boys to beat up their “enemies”?” the nurse asked as she raised an eyebrow at Crowley. “They need little motivation to do just that with each other.”

“I am just overwhelmed with emotion, Nurse Spirling.” Crowley said, choosing to ignore Ace’s question as he turned his full attention toward Yuki. “This incident has driven a thought home for me. Walker-kun, it seems that the Mirror of Darkness has chosen to bring you here specifically for your beast taming skills!”

“...What?” both Yuki and Nurse Spirling said as they looked at the headmaster weirdly, each raising an eyebrow at him.

“He means to say that even the Mirror of Darkness knew our beloved students were starting to get a bit out of hand. So it decided to bring you in for help.” Undertaker said as he gently put a hand on Yuki’s shoulder. “Take it as a compliment. After all, it’s so rare for anyone to wrangle in the students of Night Raven.” A smirk graced his lips as he looked over toward Ace and Deuce. “Due to the high honor and esteem that being chosen by the Mirror of Darkness gives them, they become somewhat narcissistic and unbearably prideful. Thus making it hard to get the idea of cooperating with their fellow man all the more a trial than a task.”

“He just went below the belt, didn’t he?” Ace whispered to Deuce as they looked back at Undertaker.

“And since you are the only female the Mirror of Darkness has chosen since the founding of this school, it just further proves how needed your talent and skills are to this school.” the headmaster said. “I no longer have any more doubts that you being here is essential to the future of this academy. So says my intuition as an educator.”

“...Huh?” Yuki said, blinking a little as the nurse finished redressing her wound.

“What he means to say is that you are now an official student of Night Raven College, swallowtail.” Undertaker said as he petted Yuki’s hair.

“Couldn’t you have just said that instead?” Yuki said as she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I could have, yes.” the headmaster said, “But it wouldn’t have held any weight on how serious you being here means to our school. So, along with rescinding Trappola-kun and Spade-kun’s expulsion, I shall also rescind Grim-kun’s expulsion.”

“Wait, what?!” all four of them exclaimed as they stared wide eyed at Crowley.

“Ah, yes,” Crowley said as it appeared that something had dawn on him. “It seems that I forgot to mention that it was approved by the faculty that both Walker-kun and Grim-kun shall be enrolled as students here. I was just on my way to tell you two the news when the chandelier incident occurred.”

Yuki just stared at the headmaster with wide eyes before taking the now empty tin away from Grim. Everyone jumped when seeing how fast Undertaker took the biscuit tin away from Yuki just as she was about to throw it at the headmaster.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” she screamed while Undertaker chuckled a little as he gently patted her on the head.

Ace and Deuce carefully scooted themselves away from her while Nurse Spirling merely went back to putting away her tools.

“So…” Grim started, slowly looking toward the headmaster, “I get to attend this academy too?”

“Yes. However!” Crowley began as he looked at Grim sternly. “You don’t ever let an incident like yesterday occur again! Do we have an agreement?”

Grim started to tear up as he nodded before looking back at Yuki. “W-w-we…we can…”

Yuki looked down at him and smiled before gently petting him. “We did it!” she said as she gave him a big smile.

“I did it!! We did it!!” Grim exclaimed happily as he carefully jumped up and down on her lap, throwing his paws into the air.

“Well then,” Crowley began, grabbing everyone’s attention again, “I shall give the symbol of being a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim.” With a wave of his hand, a pendant with an identical magic crystal to Yuki’s own appeared on Grim’s ribbon.

“Whoa~! A magic crystal~?!” Grim exclaimed as he looked down at it in awe.

“It is the norm for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a “magical pen” but you wouldn’t be able to grip it properly in your paws, correct?” Crowley said, “It’s a special custom. Aaahh~, I pay attention to even the smallest of details! Aren’t I too gracious?!”

“Bull-”

“Language, swallowtail.” Undertaker said, cutting Yuki off as he patted her head once more.

“Besides, it’s best to leave him to his delusions most of the time.” Nurse Spirling said as she sat back at her desk, earning a small laugh from Undertaker to that.

“I did it~! I’m so cool~! I got my own special magic crystal collar~!” Grim said as he jumped up and down on Yuki’s lap once more.

“He isn’t listening at all.” the headmaster said, crossing his arms and sighing before turning his attention toward Yuki. “Since Grim isn’t accustomed to human society, you will be the leader of your dorm by default. Be sure to keep a good eye on him, Walker-kun.”

“Aha, look at you!” Ace said with a laugh as he looked toward Yuki himself. “School’s just started and you’re already a dorm head.”

“Well, it is just the two of you at your dorm.” Deuce pointed out. “So if you’ve been appointed to watch over Grim, that does make you a dorm head.”

“Great…” Yuki said with a sigh, carefully leaning back in her chair before whispering to Undertaker. “Can you slip me a bottle of that stuff? I think I’m going to knock myself out tonight as well.”

“Of course, butterfly.” Undertaker whispered back with a small smile, petting her hair again. “And speaking of sleep,” He then looked toward the headmaster, “I believe now would be a good time to release these four back to their respective dorms?”

“Ah, yes.” Crowley said as he looked at the time, “It is getting late. You are all dismissed. Oh, and Undertaker-san, would you come back to my office with me? I need to discuss a few more things with you.”

“As you wish, headmaster.” Undertaker said, putting the tin away into his robe before looking toward Yuki. “Swallowtail, why don’t you follow the boys back to their dorm and make your way to the school store from there? Tell Sam, the shopkeeper, that anything you get food related will be paid by me later.”

“Are you sure about that, Uncle?” Yuki asked, looking at him with some concern. “After all, I’ll have Grim with me as well.”

“I’m quite sure, swallowtail.” Undertaker said with a chuckle. “I’ll lead you back to your dorm myself once I finish my business here.”

“Hai~,” Yuki said as she picked up Grim, helping him onto her shoulders, before getting to her feet and walked out of the infirmary with Ace and Deuce in tow.

Once they were a good distance away from the infirmary, Ace and Deuce both let out long sighs of relief as they relaxed.

“Expulsion rescinded.” Deuce muttered mainly to himself as he lead the way back to the dorms. “I’m beat.”

Both Ace and Yuki nodded in agreement as they followed him. Grim, on the other hand, was too busy playing with his new magic pendant as he was still over the moon with his dream finally becoming a reality.

“Starting tomorrow, we’re going to be students of Night Raven College!” he said in a sing song way, looking at Yuki happily before looking toward the tweedles with a smirk. “I’m gonna leave you two in the dust and take the top spot!”

“You talk big for someone who has to sit on someone’s shoulder just to be seen.” Ace said in a teasing manner before looking back at him with a genuine smile. “But, it’s fine.”

“We’re classmates starting tomorrow, Yuki, Grim.” Deuce said as he looked back at them.

“Yeah…” Yuki said with a sigh before giving the two a sharp look. “Just do me a favor and don’t give me another headache like you did today. You could end up in a dress. Especially you, Ace~.”

“Don’t. Remind. Me.” Ace said with a groan. “It’s bad enough I’ll have to walk back into Heartslabyul like this. But it’s even worse knowing that I’ll have no break with seeing Mr. Serious’s face as we’re in the same dorm. Makes me sick.”

“That’s my line, truant Ace.” Deuce said as he pouted at him.

“Whatever you say, almost-expelled-crybaby Deuce.” Ace said with a smirk at Deuce.

Yuki and Grim just remained silent as they followed after the two, watching them as they bickered with one another.

“Alright, see you tomorrow, guys~!” Ace said with a small wave as him, Deuce, Yuki and Grim stood in front of the school store.

Yuki and Grim returned the wave as they watched the two boys head off for their own dorm before Yuki let out a sigh.

“Those two will either end up being the friends that kill each other, or the lovers that bicker constantly.” Yuki said as she put a hand on her hip.

“They do seem to be the “fight because they’re so close” type.” Grim said.

Yuki nodded in agreement before perking up when hearing her stomach growl. “Let’s head inside the store and get some food before my stomach growls any louder.” she said before heading for the door.

Chapter 20: I wonder how our dear little pierrot is doing, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XIX: I wonder how our dear little pierrot is doing, little butterfly

Two days. It has been two days since it was discovered that Yuki had disappeared without a trace sometime in the night. He can still clearly recall how his blood ran cold when hearing Doll and Chomesuke scream when walking into his sister’s room that morning. He can even remember how numb he felt when being told the news by his Uncle Nea that they couldn’t find any trace of Yuki on the estate later that day.

He wished that this was just some long and sick nightmare he was having as he closed his eyes and sighed. He wished with all his heart that when he opened his eyes again, his beloved sister would be sitting across from him, looking at him with worry whenever she saw that he was having a nightmare. However, he knew more than anyone how cruel the world could be to him. For when he did open his eyes again, all he saw sitting across from him was a still empty chair.

“ Where are you, Nee-san? ” Allen thought as he let out a sigh and looked out the window at the night sky.

He was too lost in thought to notice that someone was walking up to him. It wasn’t until they gave him a gentle poke on the cheek that he noticed them.

“Now don’t you start going all gloom and doom on me too, lad.” Joker said as Allen turned his head toward him. “Bad enough we can barely get Doll to sit still long enough. Not to mention Chomesuke.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Allen said with a pout. “I’ve caught you pacing the halls a few times since, looking about half mad with worry.”

“Ah, but that was a few times, not all of the time like you and the others have been doing.” Joker said as he went and sat across from him. “Though, I ain’t exactly blaming ya.”

“So, what have you been doing when not pacing around in a circle?” Allen said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Doing what Yuki would’ve wanted.” he said as he looked Allen in the eye. “Do you honestly think she’ll appreciate us going about like chickens with our heads cut off? ‘Cause I don’t think she will.”

Allen was a bit taken aback by the older boy’s words, staring at him wide eyed.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think she’ll appreciate us trying to find her and all. But I honestly don’t think the way we’re going about this, thinking and worrying about the worst already, is the way to go.” Joker said, holding up his hand in defense. “As far as I’ve personally known her, she was never the one to show that she was thinking those things. She always kept on a hopeful look till the ugly truth revealed itself to her. Know what I’m saying, lad?”

He did. He did know what Joker was getting at. He had witnessed that side of his sister time and again. When the situation looked bleak and everyone else was starting to lose hope, Yuki was always the one that insisted that things could always change for the better. Even after all of the people they lost and the tragedy that had befallen them up to now, that side of Yuki never really diminished. Especially when he went through his “shut down” period after the death and akumatizing of their father, Mana. The only time that he could think of when she wasn’t like that was when she thought she was completely alone. But even then, she never dwelled on the worst case scenario for long.

He closed his eyes once more, giving Joker a small nod to show that he understood where he was getting at, before opening them again and smiled at him.

“Yeah,” he said softly, “I get what you’re saying. Thanks, Joker.”

“Don’t mention it, Red.” Joker said with a smile of his own. He then stood up and leaned over, patting Allen on the head before ruffling his hair some. “That’s what family’s for, after all!”

“Do you really have to walk me back to my room, Joker?” Allen asked as he and Joker walked down the hall toward Allen’s room.

“Not really. No. But I felt like it.” Joker said as he had his hand on his hip. “Besides, what’s wrong with wanting to keep company a little while longer?”

He then pouted a bit at Allen, who just smiled at him while chuckling a little. However, his smile soon began to falter a bit as they were approaching Yuki’s room. Joker took notice of this but decided to keep quiet. After all, even he found it hard to keep a smile on when passing by the room.

It wasn’t until they were walking in front of the door did they stop and look at it when hearing the doorknob rattle.

“What the hell?” Joker said as he moved to be between Allen and the door. “I thought no one was in there.”

“There shouldn’t be anyone in there.” Allen said, “Doll and Chomesuke were heading to bed when I las-Oliver!”

“Oliver? Ya mean her golem?” Joker said as he looked back at Allen.

“Yes! They must have left him there by accident earlier.” Allen said as he approached the door and opened it.

Once the door was cracked open enough, Yuki’s golem, a black floating ball with cat ears, tail, and a painted white smile, flew out as quick as it could before scanning its surroundings. Once it had spotted Allen and Joker, it quickly perked up and flew around Allen’s head a few times before going to his ribbon and gently tugged on it with its tail toward Yuki’s room.

“Is there something you want us to see in there, Oliver?” Allen asked as he stared down at the golem.

The golem quickly nodded its head before tugging even more on Allen’s ribbon.

“Seems like it’s something pretty important, whatever it is.” Joker said, looking at the golem as well. “Better head inside quick like then, lad.”

Allen gave him a curt nod before heading inside with him, the golem leading the way. Once they were inside Yuki’s bedroom, the first thing that they noticed was the strange glow coming from her full length mirror.

“Well, that’s odd.” Joker said, raising an eyebrow before walking over to it.

Allen followed closely behind him as Oliver went and sat on top of the mirror. Joker looked the mirror over a bit before looking back at Allen.

“Did you know anything about this?” he asked.

“No,” Allen said as he shook his head, “And I doubt Yuki knew anything about this either. She barely used the thin-”

He cut himself off when noticing a ripple being made on the glass of the mirror before an image began to appear in it. It was fuzzy at first but quickly became clearer by the second. Allen could start to make out a pair of people with some sort of creature sitting at a counter within what looked like a voodoo shop to him. It wasn’t until the image became crystal clear did he and Joker widen their eyes in shock.

“Nee-san!”

“Blimey! It really is her!”

“Oh, man~! This homemade gumbo is to die for!” Grim exclaimed as he, Yuki, and Sam were sitting at the counter of his shop. Grim and Sam each had a bowl of their own while Yuki was given the entire pot. “Makes me kind of regret passing up that extra helping.”

“I told you you would.” Sam said with a chuckle. “Maybe next time you’ll take me up on that offer.”

“Or maybe we can help you make two pots of it instead?” Yuki suggested with a mouth full of food. “It’s good enough that I want seconds.”

“Glad you like it that much, little demon.” Sam said as he flashed a smile at Yuki. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time.”

Yuki gave him a small nod before turning her focus back to her pot of gumbo.

Allen and Joker continued to watch the mirror as the image slowly began to fade away. The last thing they saw before the mirror went back to normal was Yuki turning around to see a tall, silver haired man walk into the shop. Allen immediately recognized the man the moment he saw him, even though the image was too blurry by then to see properly.

“We need to go tell Uncle Nea and Uncle Al about this.” he said. “Now.”

Chapter 21: The Little Butterfly and the Crimson Tyrant - First Meeting

Chapter Text

Chapter XX: The Little Butterfly and the Crimson Tyrant - First Meeting

“ Bum, bum, bum, bum~! Painting the roses red~. We’re painting the roses red~. We dare not stop or waste a drop so let the paint be spread~! We’re painting the roses red~~!! We’re painting the roses red~! ”

Yuki hummed softly along to the song as the melody slowly drifted over to where she laid. Her eyes were still closed as a young, red headed boy slowly walked up to her and gently started to shake her awake.

“N-N-Nee-san? Nee-san! Wake up, please.” he said as he shook her a bit more.

A small groan escaped her lips as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked them a few times to adjust them to the light before blinking them more in confusion as she took in her surroundings. It looked like she was in a hedge maze of some sort with various rose bushes scattered about. Some of the roses looked like they were naturally red while others still looked like they were freshly painted. A few of them even had a trail of paint leading away from them along with a set of footprints or two.

Carefully, she moved to sit up and look around a bit more before her eyes fell on the young boy that woke her. He looked to be no more than seven years old and was simply wearing a long sleeve dress shirt and a pair of shorts. He even had a light blue vest on over the shirt which reminded her a little of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

“Hello there,” she said softly, giving the young boy a warm smile as she took note of the hint of fear within his eyes. “Were you the one that woke Nee-san up?”

The young boy nodded and tugged a little on the end of his vest as he spoke, “I was. My name is Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts. S-s-someone told me to wake you up after the card soldiers repeated a line twice. And they did.” He then looked down at the ground while fidgeting with the end of his vest before looking back up at her. “They were talking about painting the roses red.”

“I see,” Yuki said, slowly nodding her head before looking at him with concern. “Do you know who the person was that gave you those instructions?”

“A very pretty lady with long red hair.” Riddle said, smiling a little to the memory. “She was really sweet and nice too! She said that she had some business with the Queen and couldn’t bring me along despite being worried for my wellbeing. But, she said that Nee-san would protect me once she woke up! And she even gave me a cookie that I can share with you later!”

“Is that so? I see,” Yuki said, nodding her head once more while digging her fingers into her clothes to keep herself from hunting down this strange woman.

She didn’t know why but a part of her felt like she could trust the woman. However, the older sister side of her was screaming the opposite. And it seemed to be showing on her face what she was thinking as young Riddle looked at her with concern.

“Is…is Nee-san mad at me?” he asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh! No, no, no! You did nothing wrong!” Yuki said quickly shaking her head before gently putting her hands on his shoulders. “Nee-san was just thinking about something unpleasant is all. Don’t worry about it.”

“O-o-okay,” Riddle said with a nod as Yuki smiled sweetly at him.

“Now, why don’t we go and see if we can get out of this place, shall we?” Yuki said, smiling a little more as she gently brushed some of Riddle’s hair out of his face. “Do you want Nee-san to carry you or just hold your hand?”

“You want to carry me?” Riddle asked, eyes sparkling a little to the thought. The sparkling got even worse as he saw Yuki give him a nod to his question. “Yes, please!”

He then held out his arms, causing Yuki to giggle a little before she got to her feet and picked him up. As she was making sure that she had a secure hold on him, she couldn’t help but notice that her clothes were different yet again from what she was wearing to bed that night. She was wearing a black, three-quarter sleeve dress with a white bodice and a pair of flats. She let out a small sigh of relief when seeing that she didn’t have her sword with her this time though.

“ Good, just a normal dream then. ” she thought, humming a little to herself as she began to walk further into the hedge maze with Riddle in tow.

“Hurry! Hurry!” a card soldier, an ace with auburn hair, said as he quickly painted another white rose red. “We have to paint them all red!”

He and the other card soldiers were so engrossed with their work that they didn’t notice Yuki and Riddle walking up to them. Riddle watched them in awe as he continued to cling onto Yuki. Yuki, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes a little to the very familiar scene before her.

“ I don’t know whether to stay with the “script” or be myself. ” she thought as she adjusted her hold on Riddle.

Fortunately for her, Riddle seemed to have made the decision for her as he spoke, “Pardon me, good sirs, but why are you painting them red?”

All three card soldiers suddenly stopped mid-brush stroke to turn and look at the two as if they had just asked them something completely strange. Riddle let out a small gasp as he shrank back a little into Yuki, fearing he had done something wrong. He even let out a small whimper as he did, causing Yuki to shoot a glare at all three of them which made them jump back in fear.

“W-w-well,” another card soldier, a two with navy colored hair, began after he cleared his throat a little, “the fact is, Sir and Madam, we planted the white roses by mistake.”

He then gestured toward the rose bush that they were currently working on while the Ace carefully crossed his arms, pouting.

“And the damn Queen likes them red.” the Ace said with a click of his tongue. “So if she saw them be white instead, it’s off with all of our heads.”

He and the Two both gulped to that while the other card soldier, a three of clubs with ivy green hair, took his hat off in a moment of silence for their possible fate. Yuki nodded in understanding to their predicament while Riddle squeaked at the mention of beheading.

“Oh my,” he said as he clung onto Yuki even more, shivering a little as well.

Yuki, upon feeling him shiver, immediately adjusted her hold to hold him more protectively against her.

“Since that is the part we really dread, we’re painting the roses red.” the Three of Clubs said as he gave a small and comforting smile to Riddle, tipping his hat at him after putting it back on. “So, if you’ll like to help us out with the task, there’s an extra brush and can of paint over there to use.”

Riddle perked up a little to this before he looked up at Yuki with pleading eyes. “May we help them out, Nee-san?” he asked.

Yuki looked down at him for a moment, worried that he might end up on the chopping block as well if they got caught, before slowly nodding her head with a sigh.

“Alright, we may.” she said, making Riddle smile before giving him a stern look. “But I’ll be the one to do all the painting, okay?” She waited till he nodded his head in understanding before giving him a warm smile. “But you can still help by being our rose checker. There’s bound to be a rose or two that gets missed.” She then leaned in close to him and gestured to the Ace and Two while whispering, “Especially with those two on the job. They look like they bicker with each other just like another pair I know of.”

Riddle couldn’t help but let out a small giggle to that as she moved to put him down on the ground. He then walked over to the bush they were working on and carefully walked around it to see if they did miss any roses. Yuki couldn’t help but smile when seeing this before walking over to the extra supplies the Three of Clubs pointed out earlier and grabbed them. A small hum escaped her lips as she walked back over to the rose bush.

The sound of someone banging their fist on the front door is what woke Grim from his peaceful slumber. He had just found the perfect spot on their brand new bed to lay in but now he couldn’t peacefully enjoy it as someone decided that they wanted to visit them at this hour. He let out a groan as he slowly sat up and looked toward Yuki, who was still sound asleep despite the constant banging on their door.

“Oi, Yuki.” he said as he leaned over and tried to shake her awake. “Sounds like we’ve got a late night visitor.” He shook her a bit more before stopping when remembering a crucial detail. “Oh, right…You took some of that stuff the weird guy gave you earlier in your tea tonight. Welp, you ain’t getting up then.”

He let out a sigh before moving to tuck Yuki in a bit more. He then gently patted her on the head before hopping off their shared bed.

“Honestly, besides the ghosts, who could be making such a racket at this hour?” he said, stretching a bit as he made his way over to the door. “And speaking of the ghosts,” Grim muttered under his breath as he looked up at the doorknob, “I do wish they were around. Just so they could help me turn the knob.”

He let out another sigh before attempting to jump up to the doorknob, failing miserably. As he was struggling with opening the door, he didn’t notice Yuki turning onto her side, still sound asleep, and moving her hand to grab her sword, which was leaning against their nightstand. She carefully slid the sword out of its sheath for a bit of the blade to be shown, just enough for her to press her thumb against it. Wordlessly, she mouthed the activation phrase before letting go as the sword turned into a black puddle.

As she let her hand drop over the edge of the bed, the puddle quickly moved to be behind Grim before reforming into a humanoid shape again. When upon noticing the shadow looming over him, Grim stopped and turned around to see what was causing the shadow before letting out a high pitch scream.

“What are you doing back out?!”

Chapter 22: A midnight chat between the kingdom's precious thief and a trump card leads to an interesting morning for the little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XXI: A midnight chat between the kingdom’s precious thief and a trump card leads to an interesting morning for the little butterfly

Ace knocked on the door once more before carefully pulling his uniform blazer around him more as a cool breeze blew passed him. He was somewhat glad that he had the foresight to grab his spare blazer before storming out of Heartslabyul as the spell still had minutes to go before it finally wore off. He just wished that he was more aware of Yuki’s “warning” when making his way to her dorm. It wasn’t until he was at the gate that he noticed he had lost one of his slippers; sending a shot of absolute dread and horror down his spine.

However, he really didn’t feel like back tracking for it since there was the small chance that it may have slipped off back at Heartslabyul. And he would rather stay as far away from that dorm as much as possible. So, he opted to take off the other slipper and hold it in his hand as he made his way to the door. He was just glad that the dorm looked a lot better than what was previously told to him by some of his seniors. It looked about the same as they had described it to him, but it definitely looked like someone went to the effort of fixing it up. He just hoped that the inside looked just as nice as the outside did.

“Who goes there?” a strange yet somewhat familiar voice asked from the other side of the door, snapping Ace out of his thoughts. “Eww, I sounded like Rion just then.”

“It’s me, Ace.” Ace said as he carefully took a small step forward. “Is that you…uh…Cheshire?”

“It’s Chesha, trump card!” the voice, Chesha, exclaimed with a hiss.

“Whatever, just let me in already. It’s freezing out here!” Ace said with a huff.

“What in the world are you doing here at this hour, Ace?” he heard Grim say groggily from the other side of the door as it slowly began to open.

He mentally prepared himself for the new onslaught of laughter that would most likely come from one of his two new friends once the door was fully opened. However, what he received instead was a scream from Grim and a look of surprise from the being accompanying him. A part of him was a little glad that Yuki wasn’t with them but another was also concerned about her whereabouts.

“And what’s with that collar?!” Grim exclaimed as he pointed toward the all too familiar collar that was now adorned around Ace’s neck.

“What’s with the collar?” Ace repeated as he looked toward Grim first before looking back at Chesha, pointing a finger at him. “What’s with mister cat boy here?! And where’s Yuki?!”

“Oh? Him?” Grim asked, blinking a little as he turned his attention toward Chesha as well. “He just appeared again all of a sudden when I was trying to open our bedroom door. As for Yuki, she’s asleep still.”

“Huh?” Ace said, blinking a little himself. “She’s…still asleep?”

“Yup,” Grim said as he crossed his paws over his chest.

“While her Innocence thing is activated or whatever?” Ace said.

“Yup~!” Chesha said with an amused smirk as he watched Ace try to wrap his brain around this new fact. “Though, it’s only for a short window of time, sadly.” His black cat ears drooped down a bit as he said that before perking up and stepping to the side so Ace could come in. “Anyway, enough about Master~! What brings you to our neck of the woods this late at night, princess trump card~?”

“Don’t call me that,” Ace said, shooting a small glare at Chesha as he picked up his dress and carefully walked in. “And to answer your question, starting today I’m officially joining your guys’ dorm.”

“Huh?” both Grim and Chesha said in unison as Chesha closed the door behind Ace.

“There’s no way I’m ever going back to Heartslabyul after what happened there!” Ace exclaimed, stomping a foot on the ground while holding up his lone slipper.

“What did happen back there?” Grim asked as he looked at the collar again. “And how come you’re wearing Riddle’s collar around your neck?”

Ace remained silent for a moment before quietly speaking, “I ate a tart.”

“Huh?” Grim said, looking at Ace a bit dumbfounded.

“You…” Chesha started but trailed off as he also looked at Ace dumbfoundedly. “All you did…was eat a tart?”

“Yes! All I did was eat a tart!” Ace said as he put his hands on his hips. “Got a bit peckish so I went down to the dorm kitchen and found a whole tart just chilling in the fridge. And then I saw that there were three whole tarts in there! So…”

Chesha and Grim both just stared blankly at Ace as he explained how he was caught red handed eating one of the many tarts that were in his dorm’s fridge by the dorm leader himself. Once he had finished retelling his tale, Grim simply gave him a pout while crossing his paws once more as Chesha pinched the bridge of his nose to the stupidity of the story.

“What?” Ace asked, seeming to not see that he was in the wrong as well in this scenario.

“You both were in the wrong here, ya know.” Grim said matter-of-factly.

“I think I feel Master Chester rolling in his grave at both the terrible execution of your theft and how little of a fight you put up when being caught.” Chesha quietly muttered to himself before looking at Ace sharply with his pure red eyes. “Did you even stop to question on why there were so many tarts in the first place, trump card?”

“Hey! Why are you ganging up on me ?!” Ace said, looking at the two in shock. “I mean, sure it was a bad idea to eat the tart right then and there. But don’t you think it’s still a bit much for him to go and seal up my magic like he did?! This is basically like having my arms and legs all chained up!”

“You’ll live.” Chesha said with a sigh as he crossed his arms. “But you are right on the fact that your punishment is a bit much for the crime committed.”

“See?!” Ace said.

“Wait a minute,” Grim said with a small gasp as he seemed to remember something. “Could it be that those tarts were for the unbirthday party that’s happening this weekend?”

“Huh?” Ace said, blinking a little at Grim.

“Oh, yeah.” Chesha said as he looked up in thought, “Now that you mention it, I think you could be right. You and Master were invited by the dorm leader himself earlier today, right?” He then looked back at Ace and smirked. “That would understandably explain why he became so furious with you, trump card~.”

“Are you two seriously taking his side right now?!” Ace said as he looked at the two in shock and betrayal.

“Never underestimate the fury caused by food grudges, Ace.” Grim said, shaking his head slowly as Chesha nodded in agreement with him.

“You should ask Master in the morning on how to best apologize to Young Master Riddle,” Chesha said as he put a hand on his hip. “In the meantime,” he then pointed the way to the dorm’s lounge before continuing on, “you can sleep on the couch for the night. If you need blankets or the like, just ask the ghosts on where everything is. Master’s dead asleep after all and Young Master Grim can barely reach the doorknob as it is.”

“Hey!” Grim said as he glared at Chesha.

“What~? Can’t I just sleep in a spare bedroom?” Ace said before looking a little concerned. “Also, what ghosts?”

“You’ll meet them soon enough,” Chesha said before turning to head up the stairs. “And, no, you can’t. Master hasn’t given us any sort of permission on whether to allow that or not.”

“Plus, we really didn’t explore the dorm much after coming back.” Grim said, “So we don’t know what the other rooms look like after Undertaker remodeled the place.”

“Oh, so that’s why it looks different from what I’ve been told.” Ace said, nodding a bit in understanding before sighing in defeat. “Alright then, I’ll just be on the couch if you need me.”

“Night, Ace!” Grim said happily as he waved at him.

“May you have pleasant dreams of your true love, princess trump card~!” Chesha said with a smirk, chuckling before he and Grim disappeared from sight.

Ace turned bright red to the comment before turning around to try and retaliate with a comeback. However, he was rendered silent once he heard Yuki and Grim’s bedroom door close.

“After that, he spent some time fuming over that Chesha fellow’s comment before we decided to show ourselves to him.” one of the ghosts said as he and his friends hovered around Yuki and Grim as they sat by the window within the lounge, watching Ace as he continued to sleep. “I’m still a bit surprised that his screaming didn’t wake you up either, Yuki.”

“Uncle’s sleep aid does that to me,” Yuki said, carefully taking a sip of her tea while brushing Grim’s fur for him. “Even slept through my entire family screaming bloody murder when finding me napping in one of his coffin’s after taking it as a kid.”

“Impressive,” one of the other ghosts said, “Makes me kind of wonder what’s in that sleep aid of yours.”

“Something that is common to find but dangerous if not careful with the dosage.” Yuki said as she put her cup on the end table before glancing up at Ace. “So, when did he change back into his school uniform exactly?”

“Once the clock struck midnight,” the first ghost said as he floated over to Ace. “Lad did a whole song and dance once it happened before settling himself down for the night.”

“Though, I don’t think he noticed how his shoe didn’t revert back to its original form.” the last ghost of the trio said with a laugh as he went over and held up the lone glass slipper for Yuki to see.

Yuki put a hand to her mouth as she struggled to keep from laughing out loud and waking Ace up.

“ So it really does work like that! ” she thought to herself, shaking a little more with laughter before perking when hearing someone knock on the door.

“Who is it now?!” Grim whined as he looked toward the foyer. “And why so early in the morning too?”

“Could you get the door for us, Boris?” Yuki asked as she looked toward the first ghost.

“Sure thing, Yuki.” the first ghost, Boris, said, nodding at her before making his way over to the door.

“I think I’ll go and start on breakfast for everyone.” the third ghost said as he started making his own way to the kitchen.

“I want pancakes!” Grim called out after him as Yuki continued to brush him.

Yuki couldn’t help but chuckle a little at him before turning her attention toward the doorway as she heard running footsteps coming toward them.

“Mornin’, big sis!” Epel exclaimed happily as he entered the lounge, jogging over to the two and sitting right down next to them.

“Oh, morning, Epel.” Yuki said as she smiled at him. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”

“ We came here to discuss a training regimen for the three of us,” Silver said as he entered the lounge next, followed by Deuce and another student that oddly reminded her of one of the card soldiers from her dream last night. “Epel and I came up with a few ideas after you left the cafeteria with Riddle yesterday. We were hoping to run them by you this morning, but that might have to wait till later…” He then turned to look at Deuce and the other student as he trailed off.

“I’m only here to collect Ace,” Deuce said as he gestured to the still sleeping Ace.

“And I’m only here to drop off their official invitations,” the student said, holding up two thick envelopes before making his way over to Yuki and Grim. He gave the two a warm smile as he handed them their invitations. “Pleased to make your acquaintances. My name is Trey Clover, the vice dorm leader for Heartslabyul.”

“Oh! So you’re Trey,” Yuki said as she put Grim’s brush down before taking the invitations from him. “Nice to meet you. I’m Yuki-Daicho Walker, Yuki for short. And this is Grim.”

“Nice to meet ‘cha!” Grim said as he sat up and held out a paw to Trey.

Trey let out a chuckle as he took Grim’s paw and shook it. “Nice to meet you too,” he said, pulling his hand away before looking solely at Yuki with a small mischievous smirk. “I know I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Riddle was very adamant that I made sure to give you those first thing in the morning.” He let out a small chuckle as he adjusted his glasses some. “Don’t exactly know what kind of impression you left on him yesterday but I’m glad that he sees you as important enough to fret over you getting your invitations on time.”

Yuki let out a small giggle to that before awing to the mental image of Riddle fretting and worrying over her and Grim not getting their invitations on time. Grim looked up at her with a raised brow before perking as another group entered the lounge; sending a feeling of dread down Yuki’s back as she too looked over at them.

“Good morning, Walker-kun, Grim-kun!” the headmaster said merrily as he entered the room with three other boys trailing behind him. “How are you this fine morning?”

“Just dandy, Headmaster.” Yuki said flatly as she narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you want now?”

“How rude. Not even sparing your generous headmaster a “good morning” back,” Crowley said under his breath before clearing his throat. “I’ve come to introduce you to your new dorm mates!”

Yuki and Grim both stared at him with wide eyes before speaking in unison, “Our what?”

“Your new dorm mates,” Crowley repeated with a smile before pushing two of the boys in front of him. “These two fine gentlemen will be living alongside you and Grim-kun from now on. So, why don’t you all go ahead and introduce yourselves to one another, hm?”

“Do we have to?” Grim asked as he looked up at Yuki with a pout, ears drooping against his head.

“Yes, we have to.” Yuki said with a sigh, petting Grim a bit before looking toward their new dorm members. “Nice to meet you both,” she said as she flashed them both a smile. “My name is Yuki-Daicho Walker, the supposed dorm leader. You can just call me “Yuki” for short.”

“And I’m the great Grim!” Grim said as he smirked at the two, crossing his paws over his chest. “The default vice dorm leader!”

“Which will be up for discussion later on to see if you’ll actually keep that title or not.” Yuki said as she looked down at Grim sternly, earning a small chuckle from Trey.

“It certainly isn’t easy being the vice dorm leader, Grim-kun.” he said, “You’ll have to do your own share of paperwork alongside the dorm leader.”

“What? Really?” Grim asked, looking at Trey before pouting once seeing him nod. “Aw, man.”

“Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand,” Yuki said, petting Grim more before returning her attention toward the two boys. “What’s your guys’ names?”

The taller of the two boys, a white rabbit beastman with long, feathered hair, looked toward his companion to see if he wanted to speak first before looking back at Yuki with his chartreuse phosphorescent and blue eyes.

“Um,” he started as he adjusted his silver half rimmed glasses. “N-nice to meet you both too. My name is Parker O’Neill. I hope we can get along with one another.”

He nervously looked toward the smaller of the two, a young man with short, black hair that was spiked up in the back with side bangs reaching down to his chin, framing his face perfectly. The young man let out a small sigh before taking a step forward.

“Barbatos Hunter,” he said simply as he crossed his arms, staring down at Grim first before looking up at Yuki. “Just like Cyanide said, we’re going to be dorm mates from now on. Hope you don’t have a problem with that, Dorm Leader Ashwagandha.”

He then narrowed his eyes at her as she carefully looked him up and down. She let out a small hum as she made mental note that his own glasses were hanging around his neck despite having the telltale chartreuse phosphorescent eyes of what he and her uncle really were.

“No, we shouldn’t have a problem with that,” Yuki said after a brief moment of silence before smiling at him. “Just hope you don’t mind the ghosts living here too.”

“So long as they don’t make Oleander scream every hour, I’ll be fine.” Barbatos said before looking back at Crowley. “So, Cyanide, you want to tell her the rest of the news involving us or should I?”

“What other news?” Yuki said, shooting a glare toward Crowley who coughed a bit to clear his throat.

“Well, even though they are going to be living with you and Grim-kun starting today, they won’t actually be starting school until the beginning of next week.” Crowley said as he cautiously took a step back while the last student moved out of his way. “However, since I don’t want them to be too far behind, I have decided that they would accompany both you and Grim-kun to your classes today! Isn’t that so kind of me?”

“In other words, you’re babysitting us today.” Barbatos said with a click of his tongue. “His idea. I would have just settled with spending the day setting up shop here instead.”

“...Great,” Yuki said with a groan as she leaned back in her seat.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Headmaster Crowley said as he took another step back. “Since your dorm now has a total of four members, I have decided to reinstate Ramshackle as an official dorm once more. However, there is quite a number of files to go through in order to make this possible. The most concerning is that there are very little records of how the dorm was prior to its abandonment.”

“Meaning…?” Yuki said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Meaning that we’ll have to start from scratch with Ramshackle, Walker-kun.” Crowley said, “As such, I have thought it best to leave deciding how the dorm itself should be run to you and your dorm mates. You should know that it was your beloved Uncle to make this suggestion to me in the first place!” He then turned around and proceeded to walk out of the dorm, calling out from over his shoulder. “I’ll deliver the proper paperwork later today to the ghosts so you can get started on them. I expect them to be done by the end of the month, Walker-kun~!”

“And that is now a dead bird walking,” Barbatos said as he watched Crowley leave. “Dibs on collecting his soul if it does happen.”

“I’ll let you know the time and place once it’s decided,” Yuki said, letting out a long sigh before looking toward the last visitor of the morning. “So, who are you and what brings you to our lovely dorm, sir?”

“Ah, yes, please forgive my rudeness of not speaking up earlier, Mademoiselle Faucheuse.” the man, Rook said as he took his hat off and bowed to Yuki. “My name is Rook Hunt, the vice dorm leader of Pomefiore and Epel’s senior.” He then stood up and put his hat back on his head before reaching into his pocket, “I originally came here to see what our dear Epel was up to with Monsieur Sleepyhead. But that quickly changed once stumbling upon this exquisite glass slipper and learning from Monsieur Spade that the owner of it could be found here. Is that true, Mademoiselle?”

He then held out the identical twin slipper to the one Ace still had for Yuki and everyone else to see. Trey had to look away in order to not break out into laughter while Deuce had to close his eyes and hug himself to keep his laughter in. Yuki, on the other hand, stared at the slipper for a good minute or two before slowly looking toward Ace, nodding to Rook’s question as a Cheshire cat like grin spread across her face.

“‘Course it’s true,” Grim said, looking toward Ace as well before pointing toward him. “He’s right there.”

“Marvelous,” Rook said, looking toward Ace himself. “Then shall I wake him?”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a need for that, Rook-san.” Epel said, watching Yuki as she carefully moved Grim onto his lap before standing to her feet.

She then quietly walked over to Ace and gently shook him awake. “Ace~! Time to wake up now~!” she said in a gentle tone.

“Ngh…five more minutes…” Ace groaned out as he turned onto his side, pulling the blanket more over him.

“But your prince charming is here to see you~!” Yuki said with a sinister giggle, “It’d be rude to keep him waiting any longer, princess trump card~.”

Upon hearing her words, Ace immediately sat straight up and frantically looked around the room to see if Yuki was telling the truth. The moment his eyes landed on Rook holding his missing slipper, he let out a scream.

“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?!”

Chapter 23: The day's barely begun and already your hands are full, little butterfly

Chapter Text

Chapter XXII: The day’s barely begun and already your hands are full, little butterfly

“Rookie and Acey sitting in a tree~!” Grim began to sing with a laugh as he and the others slowly made their way to the main school building. “K-I-S-S-I-N-”

“ Enough already, you stupid tanuki!” Ace yelled as he looked back toward Grim, glaring at him. “It was bad enough hearing about it during breakfast from both Yuki and Rook-senpai! I don’t need to hear it from you too! And don’t start calling me by that nickname too!”

“So, does that mean only Parker can call you “Acey” then?” Deuce asked, looking toward Ace with a smirk as he walked beside him. “You didn’t seem that upset over it every time he called you that during breakfast.”

“Hey, you stay out of this.” Ace said as he turned his glare onto Deuce. “And don’t make it sound like I like him or something already. Or pretend that I didn’t tell him to stop calling me that all throughout breakfast either.”

“But each time that you did tell him to stop, you increasingly became less fervent in persuading him to do so, Angel’s Trumpet.” Barbatos said as he and Parker walked a bit behind the duo, scribbling something within a notebook as he did. “Eventually, you had simmered down to just mere grumbles of protest to Oleander’s nickname for you. Which to him and everyone else is a sign that you do not mind it as much as you make it seem like you do.”

“No one asked for your opinion, pipsqueak!” Ace said as he stopped and turned to glare down at Barbatos.

“...What did you call me?” Barbatos said, stopping as well as he closed his notebook and glared up at Ace. “I think I somehow misheard you, Angel’s Trumpet.”

“I said-” Ace began, putting his hands on his hips and took in a deep breath before Parker cut him off by quickly getting in between the two.

“Okay~! I think that’s enough idle chatter for the morning!” he said as he looked between Ace and Barbatos, sweating a little as the two continued to glare daggers at one another. “Acey! How’s about we go and stop by your dorm real quick to see if Riddy will be willing to take off your collar, huh? After you apologize to him, o-of course!”

Ace glared at Barbatos for a moment more before clicking his tongue in annoyance. “Fine~,” he said before looking toward Yuki as she, Epel, Silver and Grim held up the rear. “But a certain new dorm leader and her dorm mates are coming with me as her apology to me for ruining my new school life even further!”

“I was not the one who made you decide to go ahead and eat a tart that was reserved for a party, Trump Card.” Yuki said as she munched on a biscuit Silver had given to her earlier. “That was all on you.”

“I’m not talking about my stupid collar, lil’ Miss Undertaker,” Ace said with a huff. “I’m talking about that damn glass slipper curse!”

“In my defense, I honestly had no clue it was going to work like that.” Yuki said, smirking a little. “But at least now I know that it does. Perhaps I can see what else that spell can do the next time you two manage to piss me off, Ace-kun, Deuce-kun~!”

“Why you, little…” Ace said before trailing off as he glared even harder at Yuki.

“Anyway, Parker does have a solid point about you apologizing to Dorm Leader Rosehearts.” Deuce said, sweating a little to Yuki’s subtle threat. “It might be better for you to go and have him take it off before classes starts. It could cause you some problems if your magic is sealed up like this.”

“Though, if I remember correctly, the first year will focus more on the fundamentals of magic more so than practice it.” Silver said as he put a hand on his hip. “So, there shouldn’t be too much pressure on getting Riddle to remove his collar today. But, it is often said the sooner something gets done, the better.”

“Don’t remind me of that saying,” Yuki said with a groan. “I rather not think about the amount of paperwork the headmaster’s going to put on me.”

“Oops, sorry, Yuki.” Silver said as he looked toward her apologetically.

“Do you want me to come over after school to help you come up with ideas for your new dorm?” Epel asked as he looked up at her, looking a bit apologetic himself. “I don’t think I can do much other than that for ya, sis.”

“That’s okay, Epel.” Yuki said as she smiled down at him. “Let me see what I actually have to do first before I start gathering ideas, okay?”

“Okay!” Epel said as he smiled back, relieved to see her happy again. “Then, let me come with you all to Heartslabyul instead! I’m kind of curious to see what it looks like for myself.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Yuki said before looking toward the others in the group. “Anyone else wanting to come along?”

“Hey, now! This isn’t some field trip or show, you know!” Ace exclaimed as he pouted at Yuki.

Trey just let out a laugh as he adjusted his glass a little. “As much as I would like to help you all out, I actually have to make a quick stop at the library before heading off to class.” he said.

“And I sadly have some pressing matters of my own to attend to as well.” Rook said before letting out a heartfelt sigh. “Oh, how I would have loved to get to know my destined partner in life a little more~.”

“Please don’t make the slipper incident any worse by still playing along, Rook-senpai.” Ace said in a somewhat defeated tone. “I’m sure Yuki’s got more than enough material to torture me with without you joining in further.”

“Aww, there, there, mon coeur.” Rook said as he walked over and gently patted Ace on the shoulder. “Your valiant prince charming will be sure to come running to your rescue if her teasing proves to be too much to bear.”

“What the hell did I just say?!” Ace exclaimed as he quickly backed away from Rook before hiding behind Parker, causing the poor boy to squeak in surprise.

“Alright, that’s enough teasing the poor freshman, Rook.” Trey said, “Let’s leave them to their task and head off to do our own tasks.”

“Very well, Trey-kun.” Rook said as he walked back over to him. He then turned and waved goodbye to everyone. “Au revoir, everyone. Until we meet again.”

Yuki nodded and gave him a simple wave back as he and Trey continued down the path. Ace let out a sigh of relief once the two were a safe enough distance from them before walking out from behind Parker.

“Now it’s just down to Miss Undertaker and her annoying companion.” Ace muttered under his breath.

“Hey! I heard that, ya know!” Grim said as he glared at Ace.

“I’d best be going myself.” Silver said as he took a step forward. “I have something to do back at my own dorm before I head off to class myself.”

“Oh, okay.” Yuki said as she looked toward him. “But if that’s the case, then it should be fine if we still walk together till we get to the mirrors, right? If I recall correctly, all of the mirrors leading to the other dorms are there too.”

“Yes, that’s correct.” Silver said with a nod.

“Then we can still be together till then!” Grim said happily before sighing, “Lord only knows how much trouble we would have if we didn’t have an extra person around to help keep Yuki from getting lost.”

“I am not that bad, you little tanuki!” Yuki said as she pouted at Grim. “But, now that I think about it, could you do me a favor and deliver a message to Mal for me?”

“Mal?” Deuce said, blinking a little to the name.

“Who’s Mal?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow to the unfamiliar name.

“He’s a friend of ours,” Grim said as he looked at the two. “We’ll introduce you two to him later if we get the chance.”

“Sure, I can deliver a message to him for you.” Silver said, “What’s the message?”

“Just tell him to meet me and Grim either at the cafeteria during lunch or in front of our classroom, 1-A, after school.” Yuki said. “I mainly want to ask if he’d be willing to help me out with fleshing out my new dorm if I need it. But I also don’t mind just hanging out with him.”

“Oh, yeah!” Grim said as an idea came to mind. “Oh! And tell him to not worry about the rumors regarding Ace and Rook if there happen to be any. We’ll tell him ourselves!”

“Right, got it.” Silver said as he nodded. “I’ll make sure to pass on your message to him.”

“Thanks, Silver.” Yuki said with a smile. “I’ll be sure to save you an extra desert for this.”

“You don’t really have too.” Silver said.

“Great,” Ace muttered with a sigh, “Haven’t even met their supposed friend and already I’m going to be utterly humiliated in front of him.”

“Could be worse,” Deuce said. “She could be running to tell the whole story to Professor Undertaker.”

“That’s a thought no one wants, Deuce.” Ace said, paling a little to the thought.

Chapter 24: Painting the roses red~. You're going to paint the roses red, little butterfly?

Chapter Text

Chapter XXIII: Painting the roses red~. You’re going to paint the roses red, little butterfly?

“Whoa~!” was the first thing Grim exclaimed once he, Yuki, and the others stepped through Heartslabyul’s mirror after officially parting ways with Silver. “This place is gorgeous~!” He stood up on Yuki’s shoulder to get a better view of everything before smirking a little. “Way better than our dorm, that’s for sure.”

“Careful now, Grim.” Yuki said as she looked around the place herself, getting a very strong feeling of deja vu. “If Uncle catches wind of what you just said, he may leave the dorm’s remodel unfinished.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle a little when hearing Grim let out a small shriek before sitting back down on her shoulder again.

“Nevermind, forget I said anything.” he said in a small whimper before looking determined. “Our dorm is going to be twice as pretty as this place!”

“Maybe,” Yuki said, sounding not at all too hopeful on that part.

“So, it really was Professor Undertaker that’s remodeling the dorm for you, big sis?” Epel said as he looked up at Yuki. “Silver-san and I were discussing that with Rook-senpai when coming over this morning.”

“Yeah, it’s him that’s putting the money and effort into fixing the place up for us.” Yuki said with a bit of a sigh. “I’m still wrapping my head around the whole thing about it being “free of charge for my darling niece”....Must of done something to make him laugh as payment yesterday.”

“Who cares about that now?!” Grim exclaimed angrily before perking back up. “‘Cause of that new bed he got us, I had the best sleep I’ve had in ages! It was so soft and warm~!”

He let out a purr of content to the memory, as well as to the thought of laying down in it again. Yuki merely giggled while shaking her head lightly at him, raising a hand and petting him a little behind his ear before following after the others as they went further into the rose maze.

“Crap, crap. I’ve gotta hurry and get these roses painted.” a slightly worried sounding student said as the group rounded a corner.

Yuki’s eyes widened when seeing the various rose bushes; some fully red, others fully white while a small few were left half painted. She even took notice how there were various red paint cans, brushes, and ladders of various sizes scattered about the area as well as a trail or two of red paint leading from one bush to another. Her eyes widened even more when seeing the orange haired student turning some of the white roses on the bush he was working on red with his magic pen.

“Hey, someone’s here.” Grim said as he pointed out the student, watching him curiously.

“Really, Doll’s Eyes?” Barbatos said in a sarcastic tone, putting a hand on his hip. “I couldn’t tell.”

“Barbatos-san, please be nice to him.” Parker said as he looked at him sternly. “He’s just letting everyone else know. Not everyone can be as observant as you are, sir.”

Barbatos merely let out a small huff in response as the student continued with his work, taking no notice of the group that was watching him curiously and intensely.

“Whoops,” the student said when spying a stray white rose in the rose bush he was working on. “Nearly missed that one.” He quickly flicked his magic pen toward it; turning it red instantly once the little ball of red light hit it. “Leave even a bit of white and my head is as good as gone.”

“Why am I not surprised by that sentence?” Yuki mumbled to herself as she let out a sigh, shaking her head lightly. She then looked toward the student while cupping a hand around her mouth, “Hey! You got a minute?”

“Hm?” the student said as he stopped and turned toward the group finally. “Whoa~! Where did all of you come from? You guys need something from me?”

“Something like that,” Yuki said, crossing her arms.

“But first,” Ace started as he pointed toward the half painted rose bush behind the student, “what are you doing with that exactly?”

“Oh, this?” the student said, gesturing toward the rose bush himself. “Can’t you see that I’m painting the roses red?”

Yuki let out a small groan to the student’s answer as Ace and Deuce were the ones to stare at him wide eyed this time.

“But why?!” Deuce asked, clearly confused to the student’s response.

“Ahh~, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to see such cute and fresh reactions like this.” the student said with a smile of content before taking a closer look at the group. “But, actually,” he continued as he looked toward Deuce first, “aren’t you that first year that not only helped break that billion madol chandelier, but did it by throwing the Professor Undertaker’s niece yesterday?”

“I was…kind of hoping nobody would be talking about that last part.” Deuce said, sounding a bit defeated.

“And it proved to have been in vain,” Yuki said, putting her hands on her hips as she glared a little at him.

“And that would make you said niece of the one professor that terrifies almost everyone at this school.” the student said as he looked toward Yuki. “Gotta say, did not expect that when seeing you during the entrance ceremony.”

“Yeah…I get that a lot,” Yuki said, sounding a bit exasperated.

“And last, but certainly not least in terms of big names from yesterday,” the student said, turning his attention fully onto Ace, who shrank back a little under the gaze, “the one and only student that first got cursed to wear a ball gown with a snazzy pair of glass slippers. But, added even more punishment afterwards by stealing the dorm leader’s tart that very same night!”

“I am never going to hear the end of that stupid dress, am I?” Ace said, sounding quite defeated by the thought alone.

“Nope, doesn’t look like it,” Yuki said with a small Cheshire cat grin.

“Ooh~, I feel so lucky getting to meet the notorious newcomers first thing in the morning~!” the student said in a sing song way as he pulled out his phone. “Hey, hey, hey~! Let’s take a selfie~!”

Upon hearing those words, both Yuki and Barbatos quickly walked away as the student walked right up to Ace and Deuce; Yuki pulling Epel and Grim along with her while Barbatos left Parker to fend for himself. Before the poor rabbit beastman could register what they were doing, the student had already taken the photo.

“Yay~!” the student cheered when the photo was taken. However, his cheerful demeanor faltered a little when seeing the final result. “Boo, I didn’t manage to get everyone.” he said with a pout before shrugging, “Oh, well.” He then started to tap a bit on his phone before glancing toward the three he did managed to get in the shot. “Can I put this on Magicam? Tell me your names so I can put you in the tags.”

“I’m Deuce Spade.” Deuce said as he watched the student type away on his phone.

“Ace…” Ace said, crossing his arms.

“Acey! That’s no way to properly introduce yourself!” Parker said, looking at Ace sternly before looking toward the student. “I’m Parker O’Neill.”

The student nodded his head as he typed some more before hitting what Yuki guessed was the Post button.

“Boop! And up it goes~!” he said in a sing song way as he put his phone away. “Oh, right. The name’s Cater Diamond. I’m a third year.” He smiled toward the group as he gave them a wink, “You can just call me Cater. Cay-kun is fine, too~. Nice to meet ‘cha.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Yuki said with a smile of her own. “I’m Yuki-Daicho Walker. Yuki for short. The cat looking gremlin on my shoulder here is named Grim.” She gestured toward Grim before pointing toward Epel. “And this is Epel Felmier.”

“Cat looking gremlin?!” Grim exclaimed, looking at Yuki a little heartbroken. “I’m not that either!”

“H-hello,” Epel said as he also smiled at Cater, ignoring Grim.

“And allow me to introduce the last member of our small group,” Parker said as he pointed toward Barbatos, who was busying himself with inspecting the painted roses. “This is Barbatos Hunter. He and I just transferred here and will be officially starting classes next week.”

“Transfer students, huh?” Cater said as he looked between the two. “Do you two already know which dorm you’re going to be in at least?”

“Yui’s/Ashwagandha’s,” both Parker and Barbatos said as Parker pointed toward Yuki.

“Wait, seriously?!” Cater exclaimed, looking at them in disbelief. “You’re all cool living in a place like that?!”

“Well, actually,” Epel started, “according to big sis, Professor Undertaker is currently in the middle of having it be remodeled for them all.”

“Oh, really?” Cater said, humming a bit in thought. “Maybe I should stop by and check it out again sometime.”

“Man, this guy really doesn’t know when to shut up, does he?” Grim whispered to Yuki as she nodded in agreement.

“Oh! What am I doing?!” Cater said with a jolt as he seemed to have realized something. “I don’t have time to just stand around and talk!” He then quickly turned on his heel and hurriedly walked toward an unpainted rose bush. “The party is tomorrow. I don’t wanna lose my head for being late.” he muttered to himself before looking back at the group. “Hey, you guys mind helping me paint the roses?”

“Sure,” Yuki said with a small shrug, “I don’t mind doing this real quick.”

“Whoa, hold on, wait a minute.” Ace said as he held his arm out to stop Yuki as she was about to take a step forward. “Why are you doing something so weird in the first place?”

“Because red roses at a party are the most photogenic!...I guess?” Cater said, sounding a little unsure himself before changing the subject slightly. “Plus, I’ve also gotta color in the flamingos for the croquet match after this. So, my hands are extra full right now.”

“You have to color in flamingos, too?!” Grim exclaimed in disbelief. “Your chores are so weird.”

“Well, we can worry about that particular task later,” Parker said as he looked at the time on his own phone. “For now, we should focus on helping Cay-kun with his current one.”

“Aw, crap!” Cater said when looking at the time himself. “You’re right, Parker-chan. Enough chitchatting.” He looked around the area for a bit before picking up a paint can and brush. “Ace, since you’re the only one here who can’t use magic right now, here’s some paint.” he said as he handed Ace the paint can and brush before looking toward the others as they began to scatter about the area. “The rest of you can use magic just like I did earlier.”

“W-we can change the color with magic?” Deuce said as he slowly pulled his magic pen out.

“I’ve never done anything like that before.” Grim said, looking at a still white rose bush warily.

“No worries! It’s fine!” Cater said as he waved his hand dismissively. “Just relax! We’ll figure it out! But we better hurry if we don’t wanna lose our heads, though.” He muttered the last part to himself as he twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers.

“Well, that’s not very encouraging…” Epel muttered, pulling out his own magic pen.

Yuki also pulled her magic pen out as Grim carefully made his way down to the ground in order to better help out without hitting her with his magic. Parker, on the other hand, looked toward Barbatos a bit nervously before calming down when seeing the older boy already turning a few roses red.

“So,” Yuki started as she looked over the rose bush she, Epel, and Grim were standing in front of, “all we gotta do is make the roses turn red, right?”

She lightly tapped her pen against her chin in thought as a scene from one of her favorite animated movies popped into her head. It was the scene where two fairies were arguing about what color to make their present, a dress, be. With that scene in mind, she took in a small breath to help her relax before imagining the roses turning red like the dress turned blue as the secret princess came home to the cottage. Her gem began to glow a lovely red in response to the image in her head before she pointed it toward the roses.

“Make it red,” she said as a small red ball of light flew out of the gemstone and toward the rose bush, turning all of the roses red upon impact.

Yuki’s eyes widen in shock when seeing this while Epel and Grim stared at her in awe.

“Holy crap, big sis!” Epel exclaimed happily, “You turned that rose bush red in just one shot!”

“That’s my partner in crime for ya!” Grim exclaimed happily himself. “Now teach me how ya did that! I wanna try one upping you by getting two done with just one shot!”

“I don’t think that’s going to work at all, Grim-kun.” Epel said, shaking his head to Grim’s idea. “But, I do want to know how ya did it too, big sis.”

“Uh, sure,” Yuki said slowly, still unsure how she managed to do it in one go in the first place, “I’ll teach ya.”

Both Epel and Grim cheered in happiness before Epel took her hand and lead her over to a still unpainted rose bush.

After some time, and with what little instruction Yuki could give them, Epel and Grim were turning roses red left and right. Meanwhile, Deuce was having great difficulty turning them red on the first try. Cater watched over him with worry as Ace struggled in his own way with painting the roses by hand.

“You guys are worse at this than I thought you’d be.” Cater muttered to himself as he watched Deuce turn another rose blue by mistake.

“Aren’t the roses fine if left white?” Ace asked as he put his paint can and brush down. “They’re pretty as is.”

“It’s just tradition to do this.” Cater explained, “Roses must be red for the Unbirthday Party! For croquet, we use seven different colored flamingos as the mallets, and hedgehogs are used as the balls. Oh, but an important thing to remember is that the roses must be white for the spring concert of the flowers.”

“The flowers have a spring concert?” Yuki said, blinking a little in surprise as the melody to All in the Golden Afternoon played a bit in her head.

“ That’s the thing that you’re weirded out by?!” Grim asked as he looked up at Yuki.

“They say these rules were all decided by one of the Great Seven, the Queen of Hearts.” Cater said, “Even compared to previous dorm leaders, Riddle is particularly passionate about following them.” He lightly twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers as he muttered a little under his breath, “Though, I won’t deny that he goes too far sometimes…”

“And speaking of Riddle and rules,” Yuki said, looking toward Ace.

“Ah, right,” Ace said with a click of his tongue before putting on his most innocent yet pleading looking face. “Speaking of our dorm leader, I need to speak with him. Is he still here?”

“Hm? Yeah,” Cater said, pulling out his phone again to check the time, prompting Parker to do the same, “I think there’s still time before his usual leave time.” He put his phone back in his pocket before looking at Ace directly. “By the way, Mr. Tart Thief, did you bring a tart as an apology?”

“What?” Ace said, blinking a little in confusion. “No, I came here first thing. So, I don’t really have anything prepared…”

Yuki let out a sigh when seeing the look on Cater’s face as he spoke again, “Oh, no. Yeah, that makes sense, but…that means you’re going against the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 53: “One must always return what they steal.” So…I can’t let you in, I’m afraid.”

“The hell?!” Ace exclaimed as Yuki noticed Barbatos making his way toward the Mirror. “What’s that about?!”

“If you’re part of the dorm, you gotta obey the rules.” Cater said with a semi apologetic look as Parker quietly followed after Barbatos with Yuki not too far behind him with Grim and Epel in tow. “I’ll be losing my own head if I overlook this and just let you in. Sorry, but I’ve gotta ask that you leave before Riddle notices.”

“Oh, crap, he’s serious!” Ace said as he watched Cater raise his magic pen toward him. “Guys, help me ou-” He had turned his head around as he spoke before cutting himself off when seeing that Deuce was the only one still there with him. “Where the hell did the others go?!”

“Huh?” Deuce said, blinking a bit before looking around himself. His eyes widened as well when seeing that he was indeed alone within the rose maze with Ace and Cater. “Hey! Where did they go?!”

“That’s what I’m asking you, idiot!” Ace said as he quickly walked around to hide behind Deuce. “Of all the times to ditch me, they chose this one?!”

“Hey! Why are you hiding behind me again for?!” Deuce yelled as he looked back at Ace.

“‘Cause I can’t use magic right now!” Ace exclaimed, “Please, I’m begging you-Wahh!! Here he comes!”