( hey guys yes i know i keep switching dorms, but this one is for story purposes as the ramshackle dorm is the focus point of upcoming arcs )
"Aaaaaaauuuuggh! Can you believe the headmaster won't let me into the tournament?! Me! The Great Grim! People oughta be swarmin' from all corners of Twisted Wonderland to watch me play, but no! The Great Grim's been sidelined by a technicality!"
Enma rolled his eyes as she dusted off his jeans. "A technicality like the rules of the game?"Ramshackle didn't have its own dorm uniform, so he was able to wear just about anything she wanted once classes let out for the day. Which was mostly just a hoodie and jeans. Enma had managed to unlock some of his magic abilities.
"Exactly!" Grim shouted as he sat up. "The Great Grim is-"
"Well how about the Great Grim gets off his lazy fan-tail and helps clean this place up?" Enma interjected.
"Ugh, what's even matter?!" Grim lamented as he flopped back down. "There's no point in doing anything if I can't play Spelldrive… There is no joy… All I know is sorrow…"
"Yeesh, drama king much?" Enma said.
"What's the matter, Grim-bo?" came a voice from above them. Enma and Grim looked up to see the three Ramshackle ghosts materializing before them. It was the short ghost who had spoken. "What's got your fur in a bunch?"
"He's poutin' 'cause they won't let him play in the Spelldrive tournament. Heeheehee!" the chubby ghost supplied.
"Ya know, if you really wanna play that much, we'd be happy to play against you," the skinny ghost offered. "Not to toot our own horns, but we drove the crowd wild when we tore up the field 90 years ago!"
"But don't we need a team of seven?" Grim asked
"It doesn't matter since this won't be an official game," the short ghost assured them. "Let's go, kiddos!"
As if on cue, Enma's staff warped into his hand, Its signature red glow pulsing excitedly from the orb on the top."C'mon, henchman!" Grim said as he hopped off the couch. "Let's show 'em how it's done!"
"Don't worry too much about the rules for this game," the skinny ghost advised, tossing a heavy-looking disc toward Grim. Thankfully, the monster was able to catch it with his magic before it hit him in the face. "Just take the disc and put it through the goal."
Grim took a moment to adjust to carrying the disc before smirking at the ghosts. "I'm gonna leave you all in the dust! Just you watch!"
"Keep in mind though, Grim-bo, the guy carryin' the disc is always everyone's target. Heeheehee!," the chubby ghost laughed.
"Game: start!" the short ghost called.
Grim took a deep breath before starting to run down their makeshift playing field on the Ramshackle lawn. "Alright, all I gotta do is take the disc and score some goals-"
"BOO!" shouted the short and chubby ghosts as they materialized in front of him.
Grim jumped back and shouted in surprise, nearly losing his hold on the Spelldrive disc.
Grim nodded before taking off down the field again, blowing out fire whenever the ghosts got too close. Enma followed close behind, using his staff to knock away any magic attacks Grim missed. They'd made it about halfway to the ghosts' improvised goal (some sticks they'd found on the ground) when they noticed all three ghosts beginning to converge on Grim to take the disc. Grim's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "What do we do, Dev? I can't use fire on all of them without risking hitting you!"
"Good question…," Enma replied. There wasn't much time to think of a detailed strategy and he was about to suggest that Grim just use his fire and risk getting himself burned before Playing a game of Spelldrive, I see." Called a voice. Grim and Enma turned to see Crowley and Noire.
"Tch, here comes the fun police," Grim grumbled as Enma hopped off his staff.
If Crowley had heard Grim's comment, he didn't acknowledge it. "I see you're getting along with the dorm ghosts as well. Splendid, splendid!"
"Yeah, well, they keep hangin' around, so it's just easier to get along," Grim said. "What d'you want, anyway? Got more dreams to destroy?"
"I have a request to make of you two," Crowley informed them, lowering his voice. "We'd best head inside to discuss this; it's not a matter I'd like to speak about in the open."
Enma and Grim shared a look before Enma gestured for the headmaster to follow them inside, Grim hopping up onto his shoulder as the ghosts disappeared to do…whatever it is ghosts do. Crowley nodded to himself as they entered the lounge. "You've done quite the impressive job cleaning this place. There's still quite a bit of work done, to be sure, but it's much less of an eyesore-" He cleared his throat quickly. "That is, it's much more orderly now!"
"Uh-huh," En,a replied curtly, feeling his eye twitch. He was none too pleased at how their earlier conversation had gone; the overgrown crow didn't seem to have any intension of getting her home. "You said you needed to talk to us about something?"
"Yeah, what's this request about?" Grim asked, glaring at the headmaster as well. "We ain't your janitors anymore, y'know."
"Is that right? I don't recall saying anything about your room and board being free now that you're students," Crowley reminded them. "Very well. I'll cut right to the chase, then. Recently, there have been a string of students injured in suspicious accidents. I'd like to have the two of you investigate them."
"Accidents?" Grim repeated questioningly.
"Yes. Tripping down stairs, scalded by boiling water…," Crowley explained. "The causes vary but the past several days have seen a dramatic influx of patients to the infirmary. If we count the person who fell down the stairs earlier today, that brings the total to ten. Thankfully, none of the injuries have been serious…yet."
"Isn't it possible that everyone who got hurt was just bein' clumsy?" Grim asked.
"It is true that the whole school is giddy with anticipation about the upcoming Spelldrive tournament," Crowley agreed. "Even so, there have been far too many injuries when you compare this situation to previous years." He rested the knuckle of his index finger against his chin. "To top it all off, all the people injured in these accidents were in the running to be starting members for their dorm's Spelldrive teams."
Enma hummed in thought. "So you're saying these accidents might not be accidents."
Crowley nodded. "Very nice deduction, hatchling. Unfortunately, I have no evidence to prove anything that's happened was due to foul play and investigating any further myself will likely draw the culprit's attention. All the victims were injured in places with plenty of witnesses, but all the bystanders could only remark that the injured parties "looked like they weren't paying attention"."
Grim shrugged. "Sounds like they weren't payin' attention, then." He gestured toward the door with his tail. "There ya go. Problem solved. Thanks for comin'."
"Not the most…thorough investigation, Grim," Crowley commented.
"This has nothing to do with me," Grim pointed out, hopping off Enma's shoulder to curl up on the nearest sofa. "Even if we figure out what's been going on, I still can't play in the interdorms. Why should I care what happens to your dumb tournament?"
"Hmm, is that right? I'd thought to give you a great reward in exchange for your help, you know~" Crowley said, clearly trying to bait the little monster.
Grim shook his head. "That's not gonna work this time! You'd need at least 100 tuna cans to buy my help now. At least!"
"Then how does playing in the tournament sound?" Crowley asked.
Grim perked up immediately. "Huh?!"
"If you shed some light on this series of unfortunate events, I shall make an exception to allow your dorm to participate in the interdorm tournament as competitors," Crowley offered with a smile. "How's that sound? Aren't I the most gracious headmaster you've ever had~?"
Grim's eyes widened. "Ffna…ffnaaa?!"
"Ah, I can picture it now!" Crowley continued. "Your gallant figure being broadcast worldwide as the throngs of people packing the coliseum cheer for you. "Whoo, whoo! There goes Grim, Night Raven College's number one rookie!" they'll shout!"
Grim's face broke into a smile, clearly taken in by the headmaster's words. "I can already picture it!"
"Ah, but you said you absolutely refuse to assist with this matter," Crowley said with a dejected sigh. "Truly unfortunate. Please forget I said anything." He began to turn around to leave.
"Hold it!" Grim shouted, bolting up from the sofa and tugging on the headmaster's coattails. "We'll do it! We'll definitely do it!"
Crowley turned back around to face them fully. "What's this~? You've changed your mind, then?"
"As long as we get to be in the tournament, you've got yourself a deal!" Grim assured him.
Enma held up a hand. "Hold on a sec before you get too excited, Grim. Having the Wisps help when we were just playing against the ghosts is one thing, but they aren't students and without them I can't use magic to play. Besides, even if we somehow managed to work out a way for me to play without them, we still need a team of seven, right?"
"Fret not! As the headmaster, I shall perform a magical miracle to get you the other four players you need," Crowley assured them.
" Four?" Enma asked
" Well im sure your vice housewarden Noire will compete with you" Crowley said.
" Hold up" Enma said " Vice housewarden Noire?"
" Yes Malleus agreed and Noire has been transferred to the Ramshackle dorm"
"Then it's a deal!" Grim cheered before turning to Enma. "Let's bag us a culprit, Em!"
"I'll be counting on you two!" Crowley called over his shoulder as he began walking toward the front door. The front door slamming shut as soon as he'd cleared the threshold.
Enma laughed. "I won't lie to you, Noire, We still have a lot of work to do to this dorm." "Hey, hey!" Grim called out as he trotted over. "What are we waitin' for? Let's bag that culprit so we can play in the tournament!"
" Will you help us Noire?" Enma asked
" Sure " Noire answered.
"We will, but first we need to talk to the people that were hurt and see what they can tell us," Noire told him before pulling out her phone. "Lemme text Cater real quick; he knows everything that happens on this campus, so he'll know who the victims are."
The next day saw Grim, Noire and Enma making a trip to the infirmary after classes had dismissed for the day. "The guy that hurt his leg is in here somewhere," Grim announced as they walked in. "Fan out and find 'em!"
"We don't need to fan out, Grim. The room's not that big," Enma replied.
As if on cue, two Heartslabyul students piped up from a nearby bed. "Who's makin' all that racket over there?" the one in the infirmary bed asked.
"Oh, hey! You're those two from Ramshackle that were at the Unbirthday Party! And the one from Diasomnia' You're friends with Ace and Deuce, right?" the second asked from his seat next to the bed.
"Oooh, look how famous we are!" Grim preened, his fluffy chest puffed out with pride.
Enma nodded as he, Noire and Grim walked over to the pair. "That's us." She offered the injured student a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your leg. Would you mind telling us what happened?"
"I'm not really sure either," the injured student told them. He gestured to his friend. "The two of us were just talking and the next thing I knew I was falling down the stairs."
The second student nodded. "It wasn't like he stumbled or slipped or anything."
"I can't really put it into words but…it kinda felt like my body just leapt forward on its own," the injured student tried to explain.
Grim nodded. "Interesting…"
"I wish I could tell you guys more," the injured boy said. "I know this wasn't much help."
Enma reached over to pat his shoulder. "Thank you for answering our questions. We appreciate any information you can give us. Grim and I are gonna see if we can talk to a few more people before everyone heads back to their dorms for the day." She smiled again. "Get well soon, okay? We'll see you both around."
"Hang on a sec before you go, Noire," the uninjured boy called out to her. He waited until she'd turned back to face them before he continued. "We just wanted to say thanks again."
Noire quirked a brow. "For what?"
"For whatever happened with our dorm leader's Overblot," he elaborated. "Ever since he got back from the infirmary, he's been like a new person. He's still strict but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be."
"We were all a little skeptical about whether or not it would last," the injured boy added. "We figured there would at least be a few heads offed at the Unbirthday Party and he did come close to losing his temper during the preparations, but it really does seem like he's trying to do better. I'm not sure what happened when you guys were linked, but whatever it was…we really owe ya one."
"We accept payment in the form of tuna cans!" Grim piped up.
Enma and Noire gave Grim a look before poking his cheek. "Don't listen to him. You don't owe us anything. I'm just happy you guys aren't dreading going back to your dorm anymore. Dorm life is stressful enough on its own."
"Ain't that the truth," the uninjured boy agreed. "Just know that Heartslabyul's got your back if you ever need us."
Noire nodded. "Thanks, guys. I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey, hey, you got hurt pretty bad the other day, right?" Grim asked as he, Noire and Enma approached the next student on the list Cater had sent them. This one was a second-year Pomefiore student. "Tell us about it!"
Enma sighed. "Grim, we've really gotta work on your approach."
"And…who are you two, exactly?" the Pomefiore student sniffed with disdain.
"Can't you see he's distraught about not being able to join in leading Pomefiore to victory?!" the students' companion, another Pomefiore student if the indigo crystal on his pen was anything to go by, exclaimed.
"How can you be so tactless, throwing salt on someone's wound like that!" the first student wailed. He reached into the inside pocket of his blazer. "I challenge you." He pulled out a white glove and tossed in at their feet. "Pick up the glove!"
Enma gave the challenger a flat look. 'What is this, some kind of period drama? Whatever, I'd rather not fight this idiot if I don't have to. Cater says that students in Pomefiore take a lot of pride in their appearance. I wonder if…' Noire gave the Pomefiore boy a smile before holding her hands up in the shape of a T. "Timeout. Before we do this, I just need to know… What sort of skincare products do you use? Because you are absolutely glowing, my friend."
The challenger gaped for a moment before clearing his throat and puffing up his chest proudly. "H-Hmph, so you noticed, did you?"
"I mean, it's hard not to when someone as radiant as you is literally standing right in front of me," Noire replied, taking care not to lay the compliments on too thick and have him suspect she was insincere. She had ulterior motives, of course, but a part of her was genuinely curious. If she was going to be staying in Twisted Wonderland for much longer, she was going to run out of the cleanser she had on her from her world. The challenger rattled of a list of products she'd never heard of, but she made a mental note to check them out once she had a chance. All the aggression from earlier had left his posture by this point and Noire could tell he just needed one more push to convince him to drop the challenge altogether. "I also just wanted to take a second to say that your hair looks absolutely flawless today."
The challenger ran a hand through his hair proudly. "But of course! No Pomefiore student worth their salt would even leave their dorm with a single hair out of place! To do so would be an affront to the spirit of the Fairest Queen herself!"
Enma smirked inwardly. 'And there's her opening.' Noire gave the challenger a concerned look. "Aren't you worried your hair will be ruined if you fight us? Grim's fire magic can be pretty intense and I'd hate to see it ruin all the hard work you put into your haircare." The challenger's expression grew more and more conflicted, so Enma continued. "I apologize for Grim's bluntness, but he really didn't mean any harm. We've heard that there have been a lot of students injured in strange accidents lately and we're trying to get to the bottom of it. We'd really appreciate anything you could tell us about what happened."
The challenger looked from Noire, Enma to Grim and then over to his companion, who shrugged in response. He gave Enma a nod. "I suppose you make a good point. Very well, I'll tell you what happened-"
"It was truly a mysterious happenstance!" interjected the challenger's friend. He pressed his left hand to his chest before stretching his right one of in front of him in a dramatic gesture. "Narration!" He put his hand back down. "It happened in the potions lab. Everything was going smoothly when, out of nowhere, he grasped a cauldron with a boiling potion inside with his bare hands! It threw the entire class into a frenzy! Then he took the cauldron and spilled the contents all over the counter. Never before had I witnessed such a display!"
"Are you telling this story or am I?!" the challenger asked, disgruntled.
"I see, I see," Grim replied. "Definitely strange."
"Thank you both for sharing what you know with us," Noire said. She smiled at them. "Please take care."
"You too," the challenger replied. "And if you find the rapscallions who did this…"
"We'll let you know," Enma assured him.
"Well, we've talked to everybody on Cater's list, but I still can't see this as anything but guys just makin' careless mistakes," Grim said after he, Noire and Enma got back to Ramshackle to plan their next move. "Are we absolutely sure these weren't accidents?"
"I'm tempted to agree with you, but something about this isn't sittin' right with me," Noire said. "Everyone we talked to said it almost felt like they lost control of their bodies for a split second. If it had just been one or two people, I could see writing that off as just a moment of carelessness, but for it to happen to that many people…"
Before Noire could finish her thought, the front doors of Ramshackle flew open as Ace walked in. "Enma, Noire. Always a pleasure," Ace said "Good to see you're not mopin' around about the tournament anymore, Grim."
Grim crossed his arms. "Oh, it's just you. Listen, Em,Noire and I are pretty busy right now so we don't have time to hang out."
Ace quirked a brow. "Busy? What, you haven't finished the homework yet or somethin'?"
Noire gestured toward the lounge. "Come on. It'll be easier if I just explain it." She led Ace to the lounge and explained the situation.
"I think I heard a rumor goin' around about people getting' hurt in mysterious accidents," Ace commented after Noire had finished explaining.
"We went around and talked to all of 'em, but it just sounded like they were bein' clumsy or getting caught in excitement because of the tournament," Grim said.
They heard the front door open again, followed by the sound of running footsteps before a familiar head of dark blue hair appeared in the lounge. "Ace! We've got a situation!"
"Calm down, Loosey-Deucey," Ace said dismissively. "Just take a breath. How'd you even know I was here?"
"Because if we can find Noire, nine times out of ten we'll find you nearby," Deuce replied. "Nevermind that now, though. Trey's been hurt falling down the stairs!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "But…he's always so careful and composed," Grim commented.
"Yeah," Noire and Enma agreed. "I can't really picture Trey being clumsy or getting caught up in a bunch of tournament excitement." Noire said
Ace nodded. "He's not the type to just trip over nothing."
"Let's go ask him what happened," Grim said.
