The stranger disappeared for two weeks.
Yuu knew the Horned Guy acted as his mood dictated, but that night he behaved differently from his usual behaviour.
Aside from the normal selfishness, but that was something Yuu had already gotten accustomed to.
Not minding the weird verbal exchanges, the guy didn't seem like someone who would harm Grim and him.
Still, the conversation worked as an ugly reminder to Yuu of his condition as a foreigner. He could understand the language and some cultural aspects, but it didn't erase the fact that the names of some countries didn't match. Same with the calendar.
That there were pop culture facts and trivia info that he ignored.
The majority of the student body already had prior knowledge of the information Yuu and Grim would learn in class.
For them, it was their first time hearing about some historical events.
Things sounded fictional for the boy like taken from a fantasy novel. Wars and places and historical figures he seldom knew of. Yuu had vaguely heard of some, it wasn't the same context. Details and places didn't fully match for him to feel at ease.
That place truly looked like a twisted copy of his world.
And he was alienated.
Yuu hadn't thought of going home for a while. Grim and him were too absorbed into their new school lives and the boy realized it all had happened so slowly he couldn't remember when everything started to change.
Months.
It felt like a dream that inadvertently surrounds and absorbs you. You are not aware of what happened until you feel its trap like soft rain.
Malleus' exchange with the boy helped him realize that.
Weeks that became months. Months that accumulated.
Just a few months, it wasn't even a year.
Yuu didn't want it to become a full year. The headmaster was supposed to help him return home. That situation was temporary. He had to return home.
To the hell with those vague memories of an elegant carriage in the middle of a nightly road. To the vision of that creepy ominous castle in the dark. And the same with those elegant coffins.
There was something strange about those memories. They felt rather familiar, but he couldn't recall why…
A pain appeared on his head and the boy decided it was time to sleep.
The next visit of the stranger happened after twilight. Grim had disappeared
somewhere off with Ace and Deuce and Yuu feared trouble. It was cold, autumn was advancing and winter felt awfully close. The air around him felt chill and cold, the trees' branches were naked and twisted in weird forms. Some looked like fascinating spiderwebs.
Yuu was drinking soup from an old mug. The headmaster had given them a small electrical kettle and both Yuu and Grim were thankful for the possibility of having warm drinks at home, without having to leave for the school store or the cafeteria in the cold.
The boy stared at the window and saw green fireflies floating around the garden of dying colours. No, they were not dying. Those just were the colours of late autumn.
An odd longing for home appeared in Yuu's mind and he tried to ignore it. It was too cold and dark for going out, he'd just stay inside. If the Horned Guy wanted to behave like an edgy vagabond in the middle of his garden during a cold autumn night, then it was up to him.
Suddenly, all Yuu could think about were the pretty fireflies outside.
They were calling for him.
The boy got a warm old coat and went outside with his mug still in his hands.
Yuu thought that at that moment he must have looked like one of those suburban fathers with their tartan coats and slippers and a cup of coffee looking over their gardens. For some reason, he thought the Horned Guy would not mind the way he dressed.
The stranger appeared from nowhere. His expression was serious and indifferent, but Yuu knew better.
He had wanted to meet the boy. If not, then the guy probably would have not let himself be visible.
Yuu had suspected from a long time ago that the Horned Guy probably went to Ramshackle garden even when Yuu wasn't there. And that he probably had gotten inside the building while Grim and Yuu were asleep. The ghosts never commented on anything, so it must have been something dangerous, right?. He tried to not think too much about it, but the certainty was there.
What a maniac for abandoned places.
''How are you, Tsunotaro?''
''Hi, Child of Man''
His reptilian eyes were hard to read.
Yuu was sure.
This guy was fully exploring his edgy teenager phase.
''This will be a nice night, isn't it?''
Tsunaro's question blatantly ignored his own.
''It's cold''
That was all the boy bothered to answer. Next, he took a sip of that cheap soup. He didn't want it to get cold.
The stranger looked amused.
There was a tacit trust between them: it had slowly grown from their small encounters. It was a nice acquaintance, even refreshing in some aspects. Both of them knew where the other would be and how to meet. It was a nice play between them, a sort of tug-of-war to see who could advance more. Tsunotaro was winning most of their exchanges since he was the one who took the initiative with their conversations and guided them according to his mood swings.
Yuu was a patient boy. Even before falling into Twisted Wonderland, he was tolerant and was fond of common sense.
Yuu started to get fond of his mysterious visitor. The Horned Guy was weird, full of himself and it sometimes seemed like he lived in a world of his own. But he wasn't a mean person, and even aided Yuu with some of his problems, albeit playfully and indirectly.
It wasn't bad to have a person like that around. A distant ally in the middle of the weirdness.
Tsunotaro always avoided giving information about himself and he was clever, for the few times Yuu tried to trick him with an indirect question, Tsunotaro would always skip or change the subject. Yuu soon learned to stop asking him things, even if the boy understood that there were other ways to learn about his mysterious visitor.
On the other hand, Tsunotaro inquired a lot of things about Yuu. The questions were small but as the boy grew to trust him, the stranger started to get more curious about him.
The Horned Guy was quite the tease, too.
''Tell me, Child of Man'' He said ''are you having issues with unwanted visitors?''
''Not really. The ghosts are good at keeping them at bay. I heard the headmaster also warned students against coming here''
''That's good. It'd be such a shame to have the peace of this place to be disrupted''
His eyes got an odd glimmer. His eyelids lowered and he put his fingers around his chin.
''If we were close to home, I'd give you a thunderstone*. They make good protection charms when in the hands of a competent wizard''
Yuu didn't understand. His expression showed it because Malleus gave him a short explanation.
''In Ancient times, people would say thunderstones were made by Thunaer's magic. He would fly in the sky on his carriage on stormy nights and thunderstones would appear. The more violent the torment, the better''
Yuu kept his thoughts on that last matter to himself.
''Thunaer was a divinity for protection, so people would also call upon him when attackers tried to invade. The Norsemen associated him with hammers and thunder, too. I suppose that's natural, as he was supposed to represent youth and protection''
For a moment, he looked as if he was in deep thought. Fingers against his chin, reptilian eyes lowered.
Then, the Horned Guy looked at Yuu.
''The ruling classes, on the other hand, would like to associate themselves with Wotan for he carried the weight of the Mysteries and the lore''.
The stranger's voice lowered as if he was reflecting.
Suddenly, he looked at Yuu with a mischievous smile.
''Apparently, we have visitors. Were you expecting somebody?''
''Ace and the others went on with their businesses. I was expecting for Grim to return soon''
The stranger gave him a disappointed look.
''Well, it seems I'm also being looked for''
He gave Yuu an elegant smile and waved his hand to the boy.
And soon, the boy was alone again.
He saw two boys clad in green and black uniforms and immediately returned to the dormitory. There he lit the fireplace. Almost everything in that school was run with magic, so Yuu and Grim depended on the magical stones the headmaster gave them or normal firewood. The truth was that Grim could also make a decent fire, but something was depressing about using blue flames to warm themselves, so both reserved the use of Grim's natural affinity for fire to lit their bedroom's fireplace.
Blue flames were relaxing for sleeping at night.
Grim appeared in the company of Ace and Deuce. They had gotten in trouble with Professor Crewel and had to spend the afternoon in detention, cleaning the laboratory's equipment. Grim also extended a citation note for Yuu. After all, he was the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm. If Grim was in a mess, then Yuu would have to answer for his companion.
Tomorrow was going to be an annoyingly long day.
After that, he didn't see Tsunotaro for months.
The cold outside kept Yuu's interest away from outdoor activities. The few times he did look outside, there were no signs from those hypnotic fireflies.
There was a Halloween event both Grim and he missed because Yuu had caught the flu. The first snowstorms gave him an ugly cold and the boy couldn't help but remember the disease that was spreading in his homeworld. Fluc mucus, a sore throat, weakness and a lot of colds that turned out to be fever. It was his second time in the infirmary after the disastrous results of the Magijift game.
There Yuu had feverish dreams of home. Grim and his friends would visit him almost every day and the boy felt very thankful for their company. Deuce even cooked him a soup his mother used to make when he was sick, but the nurse didn't allow them to give soup for Yuu, as ''it was forbidden to bring food for the sick after a certain incident''.
All Yuu understood was that apparently, the Leech twins of Octavinelle were involved in the mess.
He thought about Fred and George Weasley and couldn't help to wonder what would happen had the boys ended up in Slytherin. It was a feverish idea.
His friends gave him homework and kept the boy on the current with the school's gossip. There was a big Halloween Event** in Night Raven College, but he missed it because of his illness. Visitors, costumes and problems. Students flirting with girls who would take them somewhere outside and ended up scolded by the professors. Fights between visitors and students. Grim was scolded, too, for making a mess and his punishment was to spend his day with Yuu who had no more fever but the nurse decided it would be wise for the boy to remain there another day. Some professors weren't safe from the flu either and Grim and Yuu would spend the afternoon chatting with them.
Ace and Deuce visited them the very next day. Prince Malleus Draconia had made an amazing magical feature that kept most of the student body surprised and in awe. They looked quite terrified, too. Yuu had problems following the trail of the conversation, but the truth was he didn't put much effort into it. There were so many things he didn't quite understand about that world, so a new topic didn't change things much. Grim also didn't have an idea about what Ace and Deuce talked about and the conversation was soon forgotten.
When Yuu got better, he had to spend most of his time updating himself with homework and the upcoming exams. Thank God, the teacher body didn't responsibilize the boy for Grim's mischievous behaviour during his stay at the infirmary.
Yuu was now prepared to face the snow. The place where he was from had a warm climate, so the stereotypical white winter was a strange surprise.
He was unprepared for it.
But Yuu decided that he liked it.
His mind was focused on catching up with the things he missed. Exams were torturous but over. Yuu had to put his mind into controlling Grim's studying schedule but was satisfied with the results… considering his companion's unruly personality. In some classes, they'd have to take their exams separately but for others, the pair would have to work together. Their grades would be added and divided and those would be their final qualifications.
A rather bizarre thing, in Yuu's opinion, but that was how things worked. Grim and he were considered as One, after all.
Soon, the glorious winter holidays came. A recess for school.
Yet, two uncomfortable things happened:
The headmaster washed his hands of the issue of Yuu's return to his real world. It was obvious the man didn't bother to research a way to fix the boy's problem. And Dire Crowley was an intimidating person when he wanted to. Still, the idea of the headmaster going on holiday to some tropical island was too much to bear and both Yuu and Grim expressed their discomfort.
So, the man gave them a cell phone and left the duo on their own.
Irresponsibility at its worst. Negligence. Power abuse.
Dire Crowley even tasked the pair with working on the school's premises!
Yuu was angry. But that wouldn't be their only problem that school break:
Grim and him were kidnapped for days.
* Thunderstones was how in ancient times people would call hand-axes and other prehistoric tools. They had various uses and conceptions across the world.
**I don't remember if by the Halloween event Yuu & co already were aware of Malleus' real identity or not.