Author's (quick) note:
AHH HI…
This chapter is looooooooooooooooooooong, just saying. I've also tried formatted certain dialouges a bit differently, so don't be too alarmed when certain sentences are not left-aligned! This chapter is heavy on dialogue, so I've reduced the less important description parts… but I could only shorten it to 10,300+ words, welp…
I know it's just chapter 4, but there's mention of blood already. So for future chapters with such content, I plan to give a CW at the start of the chapter and right before the scene. There will be an indication given when the CW ends. At this stage of planning/writing, I'm pretty certain that I'm gonna post more CW at this rate. Chapter 4 is 'just meh, can handle' for now.
What comes after catching Grim?
[Disclaimer: Disney Twisted Wonderland does not belong to me. All rights belong to Aniplex and Walt Disney Japan. I only own my original character(s): Yulia, Yulian, and their parents throughout this story]
[CW: THIS CHAPTER HAS MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND SEVERE WOUND]
Chapter 4: Today's Jinxed (2) (10387 words)
Previously…
"Gosh… that cat must be itchin' for another taste of my brother's bat. C'mon, Ace, why don't we call a truce? I don't care how many hits I need to deliver, or how loud his screams would be, Grim's washing at least 15 windows!"
"Since we're on the same page, I'm accepting that truce! And, I have questions as well! Like where did you hide that bat? I didn't see it earlier, but you're somehow holding it now!"
"Aiyo, we'll get back to that later! Less talkin', more runnin'!
Now…
The duo started chasing Grim into an unfamiliar room mainly full of mirrors, with different emblems situated at the top of each one.
"You think I WANNA wash windows?" Grim yelled as he jumped in time before Ace could grab him, causing him to tumble onto the floor. On the other hand, Yulia quickly shifted herself to block the entrance of the room, when her elbows hit someone behind her, hearing a 'Hm?' from the person. She turned her head slightly upwards to see a boy with short navy-blue side swept hair bangs, whose cyan-coloured eyes were widened at the absurd sight in the room.
Seeing that Yulia was momentarily distracted, the grey cat swiftly hopped on Ace's head ('Ow! That's exactly where Yuu hit me!'), gaining momentum as it ran out of the room while Ace hurriedly got up. A gasp escaped the raven-haired girl's mouth upon realising she had let Grim bypass her. Yulia sharply turned on her heel, noticing that the boy had a spade-shaped, black marking over his right eye, and ran after Grim in the hallway. Seems like he's in the same dorm as Ace?
—Click! —Clack! —Click! Clack!
Ace then headed for the entrance, shouting, "Outta my way!", using his left hand to push the boy aside, which the boy barely dodged. Both of them started to follow after Yulia, but the boy was faster than Ace in reaching Yulia.
"Hey! What gives?!" The boy loudly asked her, to which she almost instantly replied, "That slacker cat's shirking his cleaning responsibilities!" Knitting his brows together, the boy opened his mouth to reply but was cut off when ginger fluffy hair blocked the janitor 'boy' from his view.
"Hey! First, who are you, anyway?" Ace had managed to catch up to them, running between the boy and Yulia.
"My name is Deuce. Deuce Spade. Don't you remember your own classmate? Uh…"
At once, both Yulia and Ace raised their eyebrow slightly while pointing out, "You don't remember his/my name either, do you?", prompting Yulia to whisper 'Copycat!' to which Ace replied with a shrug, abelit delayed.
"That's not the point! Besides, what do you both need that short cat to clean?" Deuce did not seem to notice the interaction between the two and continued interrogating them. The cat bravely glanced back at them, yelling in a scratchy voice.
"Mmmmmnyah! I'm not cleaning fifty windows!"
"You guys have to wash fifty windows? What the heck did all of you do?!"
Feeling tired of making turns and twists in the hallways, Yulia gruffly answered, "Questions later! Focus on catching Grim now!"
Nodding his head in quick agreement, Ace then turned to Deuce, starting, "Hey…Uh... Juice?"
"My name isn't "Juice". It's Deuce! With a D!"
"This is partially your responsibility, you know! So help me catch that little furball! Got any spells in mind?"
"How is this my responsibility?!" Uh… then why are you running with us?
"Grim's useless janitor friend here, Yuu, can't use magic. That means this is up to you and me!" Yulia gripped her bat, wondering if she should hit Ace's thumb directed at her after hearing him declaring his reason with great confidence.
"Like, freeze its hind legs? Or bind them with a rope? Or maybe we could... Hmm... No…"
"Summon a fireball! Let me try hitting it to make it reach Grim." Yulia yelled, slowing down to get behind Ace and Deuce, gripping her bat tightly as she prepared to hit it.
"Are you su–"
"Just do what sh–HE says, Ace, you dumbass!" Ace adverted his eyes from Yulia's direction, feeling her gaze piercing through his head from behind.
"Well, okay, I didn't manage to hear you fully but… hold on a moment, Yuu!" Pointing his magic pen in front of Yulia's bat, Deuce quickly raised his voice, "May fire come to life, dancing in the wind. Allow it to fly, with precision refined!" As soon as he finished reciting, a white-hot flame ball shimmered through fierce yellow and into bright orange, crackling and snapping away in the air. Both Ace and Deuce hurriedly made space for Yulia to hit it.
—Sizzle
Okay, now I need to amplify it… silently. A faint silvery aura glowed around Yulia's hands as she calmly concentrated, slightly more than how her yesterday self focused during the entrance ceremony. Gripping the metal bat tightly, Yulia swung the bat, making the flame ball just slightly bigger and it whirled through the wind, aiming for its decided target, the fork tip of Grim's tail.
—Siiiiiiiiiizzle —Hisssss —HISSSSSSS —HIIIIIIISSSSS
While Deuce was distracted by seeing the flame flying across the hallway and landing directly on the end of the ash-grey cat's tail, Ace lagged behind him after rubbing his eyes to glance back, looking for a silver glow around the girl, which had disappeared. By this time, Yulia was once again feeling slightly faint and stopped running to lean on her knees, gasping for breath. She did not manage to see a certain ginger head furrowing his eyebrows slightly, hesitant, before gaining speed, following closely behind Deuce.
"Ngggghhh! Yikes, it's burning my tail!", was what Yulia heard, seeing the trio fading out of her sight. Deciding that she should rest at the cafeteria while waiting for them to come back, Yulia began trudging towards there before bumping into someone, letting out an 'Oof!'. Glancing upwards and blinking her eyes to get a clearer image of the figure in front of her, Yulia could make out that he was about as tall as Crowley, yet slightly shorter by a few centimetres, and having hair in black-and-white, parting at one side.
Yikes, it's a teacher… but why he's dressed like a zebra? Wait, why am I thinking it's more toward Dalmatian-style?, Yulia thought, noticing the large black stripes across the white fur coat draped over a black-and-white vest with buttons as red as the small tie around under the vest's collar. Before she could give an apology, Yulia felt a tap on her shoulder, noticing that the teacher had used a teaching pointer with a ruby-like gem attached at its end to do so.
"Aren't you the new janitor? Are you not feeling well, puppy?" Puppy? Is he supposed to be 'Cruella'?
"Uhh, yep, I am!", Quick Yulia, make up something! "Just feelin' too hungry because I didn't check the time, so I was heading to the cafeteria to get food. Was too focused in makin' sure I did a clean job… in cleaning ha..ha.. That wasn't meant to be a pun, Mr…?"
"Crewel. Divus Crewel…well, since you're not a student, you may address me as such, I suppose. If I remember correctly, you're Yuu, correct?" Not exactly, but it seems Headmaster Crowley has informed the teachers regarding about my situation… that's rather unexpectedly responsible of him.
"Yes…? By chance, was I given the wrong uniform? You seem to be staring at it for quite a while…"
"Oh, no, no, it is the correct attire. It's just a minor issue I've thought of. Anyhow, I shouldn't hold a starving young boy back much longer, off you go, pup! I got to go to start a little project." Before Yulia could blink, Divus had already disappeared.
Well… off I go then. Those blockheads had better catch Grim in time…
"Argh! Stop jumping around like that!"
—Click! Clack! —Click! Clack! —Click! Clack!
"Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!"
Yulia groggily turned her head from the table, happening to read off the clock in the cafeteria. Eyes widening, she realised, I fell asleep for… 20 minutes? And, all this while, they haven't caught Grim YET?! She reluctantly lifted her head from the table, still feeling dizzy from using the amplification spell her father had taught her, noticing that the grey cat had cunningly managed to get onto the hanging chandelier, which had white wax lighted candles adorned on its branched-like cedar wood frame.
Deuce stood under the chandelier, stomping his left foot. He could only shoot looks of annoyance at the grinning cat, while desperately wondering aloud, "No fair climbing up onto the chandelier, you coward! I haven't really learned flight magic yet… What could I summon to hold onto him...? Hmmm… Oh! That's it!"
Noticing the glint in Deuce's cyan eyes, Ace nonchalantly asked, "Did you come up with somethi- Oh, hey! Stop! What are you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" Only to be suddenly floating a few inches off the ground. Shocked, he glanced at the blue-haired boy, who had looked directly at him, making a serious face and standing upright.
"Because I'm going to launch you." Deuce confidently stated, although there was no ounce of sound logic in his words. No way does this end well. I got to stop him… argh, I'm still feeling slightly giddy… From where she was seated, Yulia could only watch the ginger head frailing his arms about wildly and shaking his head at 'determined' Deuce, his fluffy hair bouncing about in the air, exclaiming loudly, "Are you kidding me?! Bwaaah! Put me down! Seriously, do not launch me! Abort! ABORT!"
Ignoring Ace's plea, Deuce naively instructed, "Just make sure to grab him tight. I've got him in my sights, and... Go!"
Like an orange meteor falling through the night sky, Ace was flung into the chandelier, screaming 'BWAAAAAAAH!' as he went, successfully hitting Grim off it with his outstretched arms, earning a 'MYAAAAAAAAH?!' from the surprised cat who could not avoid in any way possible.
—CRASH! —THUD, CRACK! —Sizzle…
As they fell, the chandelier crashed onto the ground hard, its wooden frame left broken into smaller pieces, causing Yulia to gasp as she felt colour draining from her face while she jumped out of her seat.
"The chandelier! Now what have you guys DONE?!",she yelled, facing the ginger boy who was coughing, slowly getting into a sitting position, having landed near the entrance of the cafeteria.
"I cannot believe you just did that!" He spat at Deuce, eyes ablazing. Meanwhile, Grim had landed on a table, groggily lifting his small furry body up, head swaying to and fro, whimpering out a 'Myaaah…'. Yet, the most surprising that stood out to Yulia was…
Deuce hitting his palm with a fist, declaring loudly, "Oh, right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him…" This evidently prompted Ace to storm over to the blueberry head, grabbed his uniform collar, harshly whispering in his face, "You COMPLETE and TOTAL MORON! We got Grim, but we BROKE the chandelier! If the headmage FINDS OUT about this-"
"If I find out about... what, dear Ace?"
"Ah! Headmage Crowley...!" Ace yelped in surprise, letting go of the collar and slowing turning his head behind to face the very last person he wanted to see… Headmaster Crowley, however, sucked in a quick breath, before bellowing out in a mix of shock and anger, using his black cane to point at Yulia, Ace then lastly Grim.
"Yuu, Ace, and Grim. YOU. THREE. AGAIN. What have you done this time?! (Myaaah... Everything's spinning…) Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?! ENOUGH. All of you are… expelled."
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!"
"Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!" pleaded Deuce. The headmage coldly gazed into his eyes, giving her verdict in a low voice, "Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior."
"I'll pay for the damages! However much it costs!"
Perking his head up slightly at the words he heard from the boy, the man sighed, asserting in a firm voice, "That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forevermore. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks. And you intend to repay that sum?"
Dumbstruck, Yulia and Deuce repeated his words, "A... A billion marks?!" That's way more than the two million plus Madol I currently have! Wait… how did Dad manage to give me around nineteen thousand, six hundred eighty-seven SGD?!
"B-But I'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!" Ace stuttered, still in denial.
"Even magic has its limits. Furthermore, its magestone - the figurative heart of any magical artifact - is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again."
Relenting, the ginger head mumbled to himself, "This is bad…" On the other hand, Deuce had already sat down, burying his head in his hands, defeated, wondering loud, "What am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother...?"
Magestone, you say? Then, if we could replace it… Could they still…?
As if taking pity on these students, the headmaster held his chin thoughtfully for a moment, before suddenly proclaiming, "Ah...! But there may be on way. One tiny sliver of chance to repair this chandelier."
"There is?!" Raising their heads, both boys stared at the headmaster, eyes twinkling in whatever bit of hope they had left.
"The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it."
"Then I'll go find a magestone! With your permission, sir!" Deuce got back to his energetic self, with determination reflected in his eyes. Yet, Yulia still had her shoulders slumped, thinking, I guessed as much, but recalling from the conversation I had with Inizio and the others… 'There used to be a lot of it at the Dwarfs' Mine, but now most of it has been mined so it's hard to find a magestone…'
"I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined."
"I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!" Right, there could be a small piece of magestone left behind… I–We shouldn't give up just yet!
"Hmmm... Very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled."
"I understand, sir! Thank you very much for this opportunity!" Taking a bow infront of the headmage, Deuce thanked him profusely as Ace sighed, sounding slightly relieved, "Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with."
Giving the trio a short nod, the headmaster continued, "You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber."
"Yes sir!" Everyone, save for Grim, echoed in reply. Yulia picked up Grim, following the boys who had already broke into a run to the Mirror Chamber. This course of action woke Grim up, in an alarmed voice, he exclaimed, "Myah! Wh-? Where am I?!" Shaking her head in exasperation, the raven-haired girl flicked her finger against the ash-grey cat's forehead gently, softly whispering, "Aiyooooo, you may end up wishing you'd remained unconscious."
She then called out to the ginger head who was near her, "By the way, what exactly happened after that stunt I had pulled earlier? Didn't it slow down Grim?"
Ace averted his gaze away from her while recounting…
…
"You better stop right there, furball!" he shouted at Grim, having reached about ten steps behind him.
"Make me explodey hair!"
"Then it is a game of cat and mouse! Hurry up, Juice!"
"How hard is it for you to say my name right?!"
Upon making a turn at the corner, a wall came into their field of sight, bringing delight to the boys, whereas for the cat, doom.
"Ack! I got nowhere to go—!"
Noticing the cat slowing down, Ace zipped out his magic pen, mumbling to himself, "One more push, and we've got this in the bag…"
"If I stop him with my magic!" Deuce suddenly sprinted, declaring as he went past Ace a few steps ahead. By then they had already reached the wall.
"Hey, could you NOT steal my schtick? Step off!" Ace sped up, using his arm to block Deuce
"Or you could just stay out of my way!" Deuce retaliated by pushing Ace's arm, making them stumbled a bit.
Grasping the opportunity, Grim leapt at the wall, using his tail and hind legs to bounce off it, flying above the boys' heads, busking in his victory, "Woo! Now's my chance!"
…
"Are you for real…Oh wait, I forgot that you guys are the definition of bodohs…"
"Hey! Says the girl who–" Before Ace could finish whispering back, Yulia held her bat up in her hand, giving Ace a look similar to his mother's angry expression.
"Hmm? What did you just say, bodoh?"
Upon hearing a foreign-sounding word, Ace blinked, forgetting what he wanted to say earlier and, muttered back, "Nothing, Mdm."
By then, they had reached the Mirror Chamber. Damn, things really escalated from a mere punishment… Hais…
"Maaan... How did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck." Ace whined, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. Shaking his head, Deuce jerked his thumb towards the mirror nearest to them, replying, "We don't have time to complain. Let's go. Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!"
Getting through a mirror was… an out-of-world experience for Yulia. The mirror had glowed a familiar green flame, before showing an image of a cave, nothing unusual about it. So this is the Dwarfs' Mine... Long ago, this mine was flush with magestones, she thought, when suddenly…
A liquid as ebony as her hair colour flowed through her mind, blocking her sight of the mirror for a moment.
Yulia staggered back, thinking, Why did a black liquid appear in my mind? No, to be more precise, it seemed to reassemble… ink? But why? And why's my heart slowly beating faster the more I look at this place in the mirror?
As she did so, Deuce, who was waiting behind her to enter the mirror, asked in a concerned voice, "Hey, Yuu-san. Are you scared to go in? Have you not travel through a mirror portal before?"
"Uh… not really. Just didn't have this sort of transport back home. Only buses, trains, motorcycles, bicycles and cars…you know, the non-magical type, so to speak."
"Huh, right, that reminds me. Where exactly are you from?"
"That's a long story, I'm afraid. But thanks for being conce– Woah!" Putting her leg into the mirror, Yulia lost her balance and tumbled through it instead mid-sentence.
—Thud
"It really is your first time using a mirror portal, huh, Yuu-san." Deuce awkwardly gave Yulia a smile, having entering right after her. He extended his hand towards her, to which Yulia quickly grabbed onto to get up, ears flushing red in embarassment, muttering a 'Thanks' in return, glancing up at him at the same time.
"Urgh... Who knows what lurks in there now?"
"Look, I can see a house. Let's see what the people there have to say."
Once they had heard Grim and Ace a few steps ahead of them, having entered the mirror before them, Yulia and Deuce quickly caught up to them, reaching the front of a small house. Clearing his throat, Deuce walked forward, knocking on the door and peering into the nearest window as he did so.
"Hellooo? Is anybody home...? Must be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned." Opening the door easily, the group headed in, feeling uneasy by the interior of the house.
"Bwah! I got a spider web on my face! Ptchoo! Ptchoo!"
"Look how tiny these desks and chairs are. Did children live here? One, two... Seven! It's like a clown car in here." Seven? Why do I feel I've read this somewhere before… Something about a princess staying with seven dwarves to hide away from her stepmother… who was– Ouch, okay this headache always comes whenever I do this… It's getting weird, way too weird.
"When the mine was flourishing, this house must have been a lively place." Deuce lamented, gazing around in thought. Ace rubbed his hair in slight frustration, jerking his thumb at the cottage's door.
"Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. If we're gonna find a magestone, it'll be inside the mine. Let's head inside and take a look." Picking up a small pickaxe each, everyone proceeded to the mine.
…
"You wanna go inside THERE? It's pitch black!" Grim shrieked, the group having arrived at the entrance of the mine.
And this ominous sense of dread gets stronger the closer we are to the mine… Or is it just me?
"What, are you scared of the dark? Pathetic." In a taunting voice, Ace provoked Grim, who was sitting on Yulia's left shoulder. His taunt triggered the cat to leap off her shoulder, landing in front of the group, bravely declaring, "Myah?! I'm not scared of anything! I'm taking the lead. You all follow me!"
Yulia gave an 'What-did-you-do-that-for' glance at Ace, who just shrugged his shoulders as the trio trudged closely behind Grim.
"Huh? Hold up!" Perking his head up, Deuce suddenly gave a shout, alarmed. The ginger head whisked his head at him, muttering gruffly, "What now?"
"There's something there!"
"Myah?!" Grim yelped in surprise after looking at where Deuce had pointed.
"Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first in 8 years!"
"Do make yourselves at home... You can stay forever!"
Seeing the two ghosts wearing capes approaching them, Ace and Deuce took out their magic pens, and were about to hurl spells against them when… someone stepped forward, with a hand help up to wave at the ghosts.
"Hold on, guys! Lemme ask them something. 8 years? Aren't the mines closed at least 30 years or so? Did someone come before us after that? Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, I'm Yuu."
"Hmm? Yuu, huh? You're most curious about that and you're actually asking us? Most students usually run away or just start attacking us immediately (Like those boys behind you!), yet, you're the only one who did as such. Isn't that right, Bion?"
"Yep, Anastasius! But since you're courteous enough in asking, a senior from your college came here to research about something, I believe. He should be working out of college by now."
"Hey, don't leave out the part where he gave us our cool names! Else, we would still be referring to each other as 'A' and 'B'!" Uhhh… whoever named them Anastasius and Bion muist the same student who named the ghosts Ramshackle Dorm Inizio, Chaim and Selig, because all of their names have 'life' in their meaning in soe way or another… Did this student want these dead souls to live their 'second life' to the fullest?
"Well, hello Anastasius and Bion! Could you tell me mo–"
"Yuu-san, I apologise for interrupting, but if we stop to converse with them, we'll never get anywhere. Let's move on first and come back later."
"Oh, uh, sorry, I did forget why we're here for. Anastasius and Bion, may I ask if there's any magestone remaining here?"
While the ghosts replied, Yulia could not hear them as bickering among the other three redirected her focus.
"Wow, (s)he's smarter than you, 'team leader'."
"The only reason we're here in the first place is because of that stupid stunt you pulled."
"Oh? I'm pretty sure this all started because you tried to shirk your window-cleaning punishment!"
"So, we're bringing up ancient history now? Then if you wanna get down to brass tacks, this all started when–A-Actually, nevermind!"
"Bwahahahha?! Maybe you shouldn'ta made fun of me! You didn't want to admit you were hit by a girl, did you, explodey head!"
"Huh, since when there was a girl in our school? Yuu-san, were you there?"
"Not the best time to interrogate me about it now. Anastasius and Bion, sorry I couldn't hear you, what we–"
"...iiivvv... ...oooouuu…"
—Thud, thud
"Huh?!"
"EEEEEEEeeeekkkk! It's comin', sorry, you guys got to find the last batch of magestones yourselves!"
"Wait, don't ghost us yet, at least tell us what's coming! Huh, I seriously wonder why them ghosts are able to feel fear despite being dead…"
Ba-bump
Yulia clenched her chest, trying to ignore the inital feeling of dread that became stronger with each passing moment, the tingling of her skin, forcing herself to calm down… to no avail. Her blood roared in her ears while her hands were slightly shaking… in fear with a twinge of excitement? This feeling, something clearly is wrong with me…
"Wh-where's that comin' from?"
"...neeevvvaaa... ...iiivvv... ...ooouuu…"
—Thud —Thud
Ba-bump, ba-bump
"Sounds like... it's getting closer…"
"Stooonesss... Stooonesss aaare miiiiine!"
—Clang…
BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP
"BWAH! THERE IT IS!"
Everyone screamed upon seeing a monster towering over them that was made of a glass bottle, ink seeping out, serving as its head adorned with a dwarf hat. It wore a red, tattered trench coat, covering the top half of its dark twilight slimy, ink-sludge like body. In its hands were a large pickaxe and a mine lamp glowing a mencancing pink. Yulia quickly whipped the cobalt-blue metal bat from her pouch, while she adopted a 'fight or flight' stance, observing the people around her.
The cat and the boys gasped together at the same time, "What is that?!"
"Myaaah! No one said there'd be monsters! Let's get outta here!", said Grim as he leapt onto Yulia's shoulder before finally resting on top of her head. Frick! You're heavy!
"That thing's super creepy! But didn't it just say something about "stones"?!" Ace turned to Yulia for confirmation.
Widening his eyes in surprise, Deuce exclaimed, "Wait, what?!"
"Stooonesss... ...nevvva give stooonesss...!"
"That confirms what Anastasius and Bion told me earlier. BUT you guys were too loud for me to hear where the magestones were located."
"Myaaah... Even as a master sorcerer, I... I don't think I can take that thing down!" Grim was now clenching Yulia's hair out of fear.
"But we need a magestone or we'll get expelled! I'm going in!" Don't tell me he's going in… ALONE?!
"Are you outta your mind?!" Before Ace could grab the corner of Deuce's uniform, the boy had already run a few meters away from them.
"Deuce, wait!" ALAMAK (Singlish equivalent of 'Oh my gosh'*), at least wait after we plan something, BODOH OF THE BODOHS! (literal: Idiot of the idiots*)
"I won't be expelled! No matter what!" Annnnnd, he charged at the ink monster with great resolve…
"Begone! Begone! Begooone!"
—CLANK —THUD
"Bwaaah!"
—Swish!
Seeing that the 'determined' boy had fallen in front of the ink monster which had swung its pickaxe up high, Yulia jerked her head towards Ace, while trying to shake Grim off her hair. "Ace, get your wind spell ready! Grim, stop grabbing my hair and get off! I need to see clearly where I'm going to hit!"
—OOOOOOoooooooo
"My spell's ready, get out of the way, Yuu!"
"Got it, thanks!"
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to hit it with th–"
"Yes! DEUCE, DUCK!"
"Huh, alright!" Deuce managed to roll away to the side, barely dodging the sharp pickaxe swung down by the ink monster. The wind spell hit the chest of the ink monster directly, forcing it to stumble, momentarily distracted with its bottle head hanging forward.
Yet, Deuce still stood there, seemingly shaken. Following where Deuce was looking at, Ace yelled, "Behind the monster! There's something sparkling in the mineshaft!"
"Dammit, forget about it first! Ace, grab him and go! I will buy you guys enough time! Grim, out you goooooooo!"
"Wait, crazy hu– MYAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh" Grim had been 'yeeted' away by Yulia towards the mine entrance behind them.
—thud…
"What are you doing, dumbass? GET UP AND RUN!" Ace screamed into Deuce's ear upon pulling his shoulder sleeve hard. Meanwhile, Yulia had already sprinted ahead, gaining momentum while adrenaline rushed into her hands, targeting the ink monster's fragile head.
—Crack —SHATTER
"...!"
An image of 7 dwarves surrounded the house with smiles on their faces as they made their way to the mines, humming together in tune along the way flashed in Yulia's mind. A lady not much older than her was waving at them, before heading inside the small house. W-What's this? Is this from the ink monster? Why d-does it seems like a memo– Wait, Korkor's bat–
"YUU-CHAN, GET OUT OF THE WAAAAAAY!"
Huh, Ace? Why he's back? Oh…
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Initially stuck in the ground earlier, the pickaxe was swinging down on her. All Yulia could remember that she held the remaining bottom half of her brother's in an attempt to block it. Then, something orange flew into her view before she blackened out.
"Hey, is my crazy human alright?
Wake up!"
"Grim, shut it.
She probably fainted from exhaustion…"
"Hold on, why did you suddenly
refer Yuu-san as 'she'?"
"...!"
…
"You must've heard wrongly.
Right, Grim?"
"Yeah, blueberry head!
I heard him say 'he' as clear as day!"
"No, I seriously heard him say–"
"Nghhhh…" Struggling to get up, Yulia coughed while holding onto her head, getting a sense of where she was currently. Glancing around, she realised that they were outside the mine entrance, with Grim's arms stretched over her stomach while the boys were just sitting on either side of her. The three of them turned to face her simultaneously, eyes sparkling with relief.
"Yuu-san! / Crazy human! / Yuu!"
"Are you feeling okay?
Ace managed to drag you away
in time back there…"
"Oh… t-that's rather quick of him."
I think I heard him address me as 'Yuu-chan'...
Nah, I must've heard him wrong.
"I CAN'T believe you said that, dude."
"A 'Thank you' WOULD be nice!"
Yep, that's more like Ace.
"Hahaha, right, right, my mistake."
"Thanks for saving my life, Ace!"
"You did not have to phrase it that way!"
Argh, cringy! Anyways, what was that thing?
No one said there'd be anything like that!"
"That was no normal ghost, that's for sure."
Let's just give up and go home.
I'll happily take the expulsion if it means
never having to fight that thing again."
"What?! Nuh-uh, not happenin'!
I'd rather die than get expelled
from Night Raven! How can you
give up when the stone is
right there?"
"Pfft.
Big talk from someone who's
not even half the mage I am.
You want that stone so bad,
go get it yourself. I'm out."
This Ace guy really loves getting into arguments so much
It's like second nature to him…
"Oh YEAH?!
Fine, go back to your coop,
you big chicken!"
Hmm?
Did Deuce do a 180 degree switch or something?
"Whaaaaat?!
Who're you callin' chicken,
huh?!"
"Whoa, Deuce... Is it just me, or did you, like, turn into a totally different person just now?" Grim spoke up suddenly, echoing Yulia's exact thoughts.
"Huh?!" Deuce blinked in surprise, before clearing his throat, cooly apologising, "Sorry... Lost my cool for a second there."
"Can't you do something with your magic?", asked Yulia, thinking, I mean, I'm considered inexperienced compared to both of you, so Ace and Deuce should be able to do it?
Shaking his head, the ginger replied before Deuce could, "The headmage said it himself... magic has limits. If you can't strongly visualize your magic, it isn't going to happen. Using magic at a greater scale, or using different types of magic - those things require training."
"Yeah, that's why magic academies exist. It takes a lot of training before you can snap your fingers and turn your thoughts into magic. And the more flustered you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes." Deuce added, eyes gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in his thoughts.
"Oh, I'd assumed spellcasting just came naturally." Crap, guess I'm really the odd one out, wait is that why Father forced himself to give me that kind of training almost everyday until I was 13? Just to make sure that I'm in control, and not going wild with it… yikes…
"Nope, although if the element of the spell you're casting is your specialty, you can use it more intuitively." Hmmmm, 'element'... But I've been 'painting' in my mind whenever I cast a spell during my training with Dad, and there doesn't seem to be much difference between each elements… Except that I can't cast Light…
"Anyway, we need to find some way to defeat that creature and get the magestone."
"Yeaaaaah. Just like the time with the chandelier, right? You "found some way," and now here we are. We just fought that thing and it creamed us. So what exactly is your plan here, genius? Because I sure don't trust you to improvise!"
"What?! You're the one who-"
"Aaand they're at it again." Grim muttered to Yulia, sharing her frustration and on the same page for once today.
—Bonk —Bonk
"CUT. IT. OUT! We need to work together to get that magestone!"
"'Work together'... Is that some kinda joke? You always say the cringest things with the straightest face, Yuu."
"Agreed. No way could I work together with him."
"Yeah, but…" Everyone turned to Grim as he started, "Gettin' expelled on the first day... That's pretty lame too. Maybe even lamer."
"W-well…"
" …"
Sensing their hesitation, Yulia sighed, stood up and strided over to the mine entrance, declaring, "I did have one idea… and earlier, I've confirmed that it'll work." Except that I might've to expose the fact that I can use magic…
"Gah... Fine. Let's just get this over with, then. All right, Yuu. What's the plan?" Upon hearing Ace's reluctant reply, Yulia turned around, facing them with a quick, firm nod.
…
"Crazy human... Is this plan of yours really gonna work? I'm sca- I mean, I'm a little... uh, hungry."
Well, I guess I need to bring something out for everyone to snack on, to boost their morale… It's no good if the plan fails just because of little confidence. Reaching into her grey pouch, Yulia brought out a can of tuna, throwing it in the ash-grey cat's direction, "Here, a can of tuna for you then! 9 more are waiting for you back at Ramshackle Dorm if we do survive this."
"Mynah! My tunaaaaaa!" Okay, one down, two more to go…
"Hey, now's isn't the time for a snack!" Ace called out from his spot.
Looking up to face Ace, Yulia just smiled while pitching a granola bar at him, "SHUSH! A granola bar for you…" and turning to face Deuce, she did the same, "...and Deuce, catch!" Deuce managed to catch his share in time, giving Yulia a grateful smile, "I'm amazed that you're pretty calm about this, Yuu-san. Thanks for this snack bar!"
"I mean… Ever since I came to Twisted Wonderland just yesterday, I had to brace myself for the worst in some way or another." Shit, didn't mean to say that aloud… Does that mean, I'm comfortable being around them…?
"Wait Yuu, what did you me–"
"...HEY INKY DWARF! Look over hereeeee!" Sorry, Ace!
"Grrraaawrrr! BEGOOOOONE!"
"He's comin' our way! Crazy human!"
"A bit more forward, Inky Dwarf! Okay, far enough, NOW!"
"You bet. I got this! One extra-large gust of wind, comin' up! / With a side of Grim's blazin'-hot fire! MYAAAH!"
"Grrraaahhh?!"
"How's that taste?! With my winds fanning them, even Grim's feeble flames can become an inferno!"
"Whaddaya mean "feeble"?! Ya really don't know how to shut yer mouth, do ya?"
"DEUCE!"
"Just stay calm, aim carefully... and pull out the biggest, heaviest thing I can think of...
Get 'em, cauldron!"
"Gwaaah?!"
"Nailed it! The plan's workin'! Look, Crazy Human! That monster got smashed flat by a falling cauldron!"
"Quick, Yuu! While it's distracted, we need to get that magestone!
"Guh?! Waaait! Nooooooo!"
—Thump, thump —Thump, thump
After running further in the mine, Deuce managed to spot a large blue, rectangular crystal with patches of red and green in the wall at the end of their path. Shouting in delight, he sprinted for it, "That's it! That's a magestone!"
"Dooon't tooouch thaaaaat!"
"Uh-oh! Looks like it's nearly wriggled free! CRAP! YUU, DEUCE, IT'S COMING FOR YOU GUYS!"
"MYYY STOOOOOOONE!"
"Argh, it's stuck deep into the wall like what you predicted. I'll need to use my pickaxe, but it will take some time… What should we do, Yuu-san?"
I-I really didnt want to do this, because that ink monster used to be… But now, it is a danger to us and to Anastasius and Bion, so I HAVE to destroy it! "You focus on that while I distract the monster on my own!"
"Wait, Yuu-san, don't be reckless! Unlike us, you don't have ma–"
"FOCUS on getting that magestone, DEUCE!"
"Grrurgh? Neeevvva giiive stooones! Neeevvvaaa!"
The ink monster was getting nearer to them. Yulia turned around, running towards it. Gripping her pickaxe tight, she swung at the bottom half body of the ink-monster hard. At the same time, it swung its pickaxe down furiously.
—Clank! —Shing!
Both blades of the pickaxes clashed, but the ink-monster was stronger. Narrowly parrying the heavier blade away, Yulia dodged the giant pickaxe barely, gasping out a 'GRK!' upon feeling a hot, tingly and numb pain in her right side while getting on her left knee, making sure to block the monster's way from getting to Deuce. Heal, please heal, HEAL! I-I can't focus on imagining my usual 'life' mind-painting… I need to boost my adrenaline instead to delay the pain first…
"Crazy human, nooooo, don't cause another earthquake! I don't wanna be trapped in this mineeeeee!"
"What's nonsense this furball is spurting out?"
Forcing herself to get up and leaning towards her left side, taking in shallow breaths, Yulia could hear Grim and Ace running towards them, albeit too far…
"A-Ace! C-Can you use your w-wind spell to give m-me a boost r-right where you are?" Please hurry, I don't have much longer…
"And what, let you hit it with that half-broken bat and that small pickaxe? Not a chance!"
"I'm hitting it with something else, just do it! There's no time!" My fists to be precise, but he doesn't need to know that… C'mon… I'm gonna CMI (cannot make it, not used for inability to be on time*) if you don't hurry up, Ace!
At once, underneath her feet, a gust of air lifted Yulia off a great height from the ground. Thanks… argh, that damned ink bottle dwarf monster got me good… I need to forsake the ongoing adrenaline boost spell… to supply as much mana for my next two combat spells… "Gasp!" A-Aiyoyo… D-Dad would be furious if he is watching this from wherever he is now…
Sailing through the air, the ink glass bottle was soon within her arm's distance. Within seconds, a faint silvery aura glowed around Yulia's hands as she willed her mind, visualising snowflakes melting away into the cold, dense air upon coming into contact with a glacier seated peacefully amidst the mountains, within a raging intense storm of hailstones. Feeling a cold air gathering in her left palm, Yulia flung away her pickaxe, which had part of its handle covered with ice…
("N-No way… I thought that silvery glow around her was a trick of light during the chasin' after that furball, but she can actually wield magic? And with such ease?!")
—PIAK!
[CONTENT WARNING: BLOOD]
…And slammed her left palm onto the glass. It began to freeze in mere seconds. Yet, Grim's fur stood the moment his eyes landed on the ground where the ink monster stood. Slowly, he pulled on Ace's pants, causing Ace to look down at the shaking furball. Alarmed, he asked while looking at what Grim was pointing at, "What is it, furball? Yeah, I know she can use ma– H-How did that happen? Where's the blood from– Dammit, how could we not notice it sooner?! Run faster, Grim!"
Blood was seeping out from the right side of Yulia's janitor uniform, forming a crimson-red puddle underneath the ink monster. Gauging from the tear in the clothes, the cut was deep. Crimson flowed from the wound in a slow, but steady pour. Yet, still focused on her target, Yulia used whatever remaining strength and willpower left of her in raising her right arm, ignoring her dizziness that got heavier with each passing second.
[END OF CW: BLOOD]
Now… t-this time… I need fire…
C'mon Yulia, think… A black flame… so large that… it engulfed a lush forest,... charging through the… dense trees, blazing away… the life in them and leaving behind… an acrid smell of… charred wood… amidst a tall curtain… of smoke… All f-fading into darkness. G-Got i-it! With her right fist surrounded in silver flame with black edges, Yulia swung with tremendous force into the frozen glass.
—Crack —CRACK —CRACK, CRACK —PIANG —Thud
"My… Our stooooone…"
"Grk! Finally, we have a magestone! Hey, Yuu-san– AH! No! Don't fall there! I SUMMON THEE, CHAULDRON!"
"Yuu-chan's gonna fall onto the broken glass! WIND, ANSWER MY CALL!"
Feeling weak, Yulia closed her eyes, thinking…
What… exactly… happened… to… those… dwarves…? And… that… lady?
"NO!"
LET'S WAIT FOR MY HUMAN
TO WAKE UP FIRST!"
"But, we need to bring Yuu-san
to the school infirmary ASAP!
Don't you agree, Ace?"
…
"...Sorry Deuce, we're waiting for Yuu
to wake up first."
"...!
Are you guys serious?!
'He' has lost a lot of blood already!
Yuu-san's can't possibly hold on
for longer?!"
"J-Just wait for a few minutes first…
I did use a water spell to clean it..."
...And made sure to apply pressure
to stop the bleeding a-anyways."
"Grkkk…" Groaning in pain, Yulia opened her eyes, feeling a cloth-bundle like object underneath her head. As she tried to sit up, a hand appeared, blocking her from doing so.
"Dumbass, do you want your wound to open? We barely managed to stop the bleeding using my jacket!" All Yulia could see were crimson eyes ablazing with fury. Blatant rage. Ace sounds concerned… Wait- concerned? Why? I'm certain we're not friends, right?
"Yuu-san, he's right, just continue using my jacket as your pillow for the time being… Are you feeling okay?"
"Urm… thanks. Really. But, I need to sit up. Don't worry about the wound opening, I'll get up slowly…"
A sharp, sudden pain went through the right side under her ribs, causing Yulia to grab onto Ace's hand, leaning on him for support as she took in quick, shallow breaths, getting used to the pain. Realising it was too quiet, Yulia looked around, thinking, I don't hear Grim.
"Grim?"
—Pitter, patter —Pitter, patter —Pitter, patter
"CRAZY HU– MYNAAAAH?!"
—SMACK
"Nope, don't launch yourself at an injured person, furball!" Ace reprimanded Grim after giving it a 'chop' on its head.
"...Deuce, could you pass me my grey pouch?"
"Here you go."
Wincing at the gruesome wound upon untying Ace's jacket sleeves covering it, Yulia proceeded to search for her father's magic pen in her grey pouch using her left hand. Once she felt the metallic touch of the pen, the girl brought it out and quickly pointed at her deep cut.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?! / You shouldn't exhaust yourself further!"
"Shut it, I'm not letting myself suffer because of this!" Yulia began mumbling to herself, "As scars fade with time, may this wound cease. Even if such wound is not benign, revert this body back to one piece…"
A bright silver aura surrounded the magic pen, just as silver sparkles shimmered around the wound, closing it fully. Only leaving a line of reddish, lumpy scar behind in their wake, itching.
("W-Was there such a healing spell?")
"...So uh, Yuu, have you noticed that your eyes glow whenever you use magic? Like there seems to be a glowing silver lining around your black pupils."
"Oh, I didn't know… Is that unusual?"
"Not sure, I think it's rare? But, now's my turn to ask you. Why do you hide the fact that you can use magic? Don't you want to enroll in NCR?"
"I–"
"We got the magestone! And my human has woken up! Now let's get outta here!"
Seeing the cat-like creature, Yulia sighed in relief but sensed the same, yet very faint feeling of dread, emitting from the strange black stone in the cat's paws.
"Grim, what's that in your paws?"
Deuce went nearer to Grim, peering closely at the stone, "Is that a part of the monster we just beat? It looks like... a magestone? But it's black as coal! I've never seen one like that before."
"It smells amazing!"
"Are you insane?" Dumbfounded, Ace questioned in shock.
"Must be some kinda fancy monster candy that it was hidin' from us! If this tastes half as good as it smells…"
—Chomp
...!
"SPIT. IT. OUT. NOW." The instant disappearance of dread lingering in her earlier worried Yulia greatly.
"MYAAAH!"
"Are you okay?!" Asking in a concerned voice, Deuce held Grim up by his short arms.
Meanwhile, Ace just ridiculed at Grim, "That's what you get for eating trash!"
"Oooooogh... Urrrgggh... That... was AMAZING!" Everyone was confounded as they glanced at the cat whose eyes were sparkling with unexpected delight.
"What?!"
"Rich in flavor and full-bodied... Like sweet, fragrant flowers burstin' into bloom on my tongue. A whole field of 'em! Right in my mouth!" So… those dwarves had such a beautiful garden in front of their cottage, huh… Yet, that same garden is full of wilted flowers, as if to remember its owners in memory… I really hope that those dwarves didn't merge into that ink monster and instead, died or ran away while fighting it? But, that memory–
"Gross. Monsters must have real weird tastes." The ginger head blurted out.
Letting Grim back on the ground, Deuce added, "You might be onto something there… Most humans don't take random stuff they find on the ground and just pop it into their mouths."
"..."
"Myah ha ha ha! Man, was that great! Don't worry about me. I don't got a weak stomach like you humans do."
"Hmph. We'll see if you're so smug when you're sick later tonight."
"Okay, let's pull ourselves together. We need to get this magestone to the headmage! Yuu, don't you need to go to the infirmary to check on that wound?"
"Don't worry about it, I just sped up the healing process, it should be fine." I hope…
"YO, HEADMASTER, HERE'S YOUR MAGESTONE! GRRRRRRRRRRR!"
The ash-grey cat announced loudly the moment the group came barging in the Headmaster's Office.
"Pardon?! You're telling me you actually went to the Dwarfs' Mine in search of a magestone?"
"Uh...? Yes?" Everyone answered, confused.
"I didn't expect that you'd seriously do it. And never in my wildest imaginings did I think you would actually return with a magestone! And here I spent all evening preparing your expulsion documents."
Deuce almost dropped the magestone that he was holding.
Ace, on the other hand…
"Are you serious?! While we were fightin' some crazy monster for you, you were expelling us?!"
"'Monster'...?" The headmage raised his eyebrows in utmost surprise.
"Yeah. There was a monster, all right. A big, nasty one. It nearly killed us!" Ace spat in clear disgust. At this, the man got up from his cushioned chair and walked in front of his wooden desk, slightly leaning against its edge. His golden pupils gleamed with curiosity, waving his cane at the group.
"Would you kindly relate this story in full?"
…
"Hmmm. So a mysterious monster was living in the mines. The four of you worked together to get past it, but it soon recovered. And you're telling me that this janitor boy, Yuu, went one-on-one against it? This magicless boy here? Then, all of you brought its magestone back to me?"
"I wouldn't call it working together… and that's what we're telling you, Yuu 'soloed' it on he–HIS own! Can't you see this HUUUUGE tear in 'his' janitor uniform?!"
"It was more like we just happened to share the same goal at the same time. We just followed Yuu-san's plan.
"Yuu-kun, is what they're saying true?"
He doesn't believe that I can wield magic with that kind of control… Well, I suppose I should give everyone here a 'little' demonstration… Perhaps with this, I may be able to enroll in this college… to have a valid reason to access the student records without arousing anyone's suspicion. Yulia took in a deep breath before replying, "Headmaster Crowley."
"What is it, Yuu?"
"Ta-da!" She exclaimed, holding tightly onto the magestone locket with her left hand as while closing her eyes. How would I usually paint it? It is simply black. A colour of voidness. And, the sound of silence can be suffocatingly peaceful as it erases anyone's presence…
—Poof
...!
The Headmaster's Office became bleak, cold and completely dark, even the lit candles at the office desk had their bright tiny, pinkish flames snuff out. Sudden quietness and somberness overtook the room. The headmaster, Ace, Deuce and Grim felt a chill as the darkness engulfed them. It seemed to pierce through their skin (or fur, in Grim's case), forcing them to stay rooted to their spots. They could barely makeout a feeble outline of the seven floating portraits around the wooden desk, the curtains and the carpet in the room. With voidness and silence pressing into their ears, before any of them could draw out a scream in the overwhelming darkness…
…Yet, as long there is a source of light, darkness becomes the most soft of black velvets illuminated by the moon unfailingly with each night. Gazing upon the moon, one can feel its warmth radiated off in the cool moonlight.
Opening her eyes, a sudden silvery glow was emitted from a golden, cresent-shaped glacier, as tall as a book, containing blazing silver flames, floating in Yulia's right palm. The sight was rather ominous for those present. At this moment, the gaze of the 'boy' in the torn janitor uniform would cause one to feel as if they have been struck with a sharp ice shard right through the heart. 'He' proceeded to gently blow upon the floating glacier, with a 'whoo…', making it melt away to nothing.
—Whoosh!
Like a blink, the darkness seemingly was blown away by a light gust of wind. Both Deuce and Ace staggered slightly, letting out the breath they had been unconsciously holding in while Grim fell backward with an 'Omph!'. The headmaster slowly released his grip on the edge of the desk.
When the wind died down, Yulia simply grinned at her astounded audience, nonchalantly letting go of her locket, "Whatever they said is true, I'm not magicless."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Oh, gracious... Ohhh... Ohhhhhhhh!" To everyone's surprise, the man suddenly started bawling loudly like a toddler, with tears trickling down his bird mask, causing Ace to jump slightly, wondering aloud, "What is this guy's deal?! Burstin' into tears in public? At this age?!" Ignoring Ace, the man dabbed away his tears with a tissue from a floating tissue box he had summoned, lamenting, "In all the decades I've worked at this school... How could I've made a baseless assumption?! I've even given you a job unfitting for your talents!"
Feeling guilty for lying to the headmaster, Yulia decided to shift the man's attention to something else. "Shouldn't you be focusing on the fact that these students of yours surprisingly collaborated to defeat a common foe?"
("I see what you did there, Yuu!")
("Shush!")
The headmaster perked his head up, pondering for a moment with his chin in his hand, before breaking into his usual grin, back to his energetic self.
"...! You're absolutely right, Yuu! The day has finally come when the students of Night Raven College have joined hands together to defeat a common foe!"
"Whoa! No! No way would I join hands with that guy!"
"Okay, one, there was no joining of hands. Gross. And two, exactly HOW old are you, headmage?"
"At this moment, I am moved beyond words. This incident has proven my hopes were justified. Yuu, my doubts are allayed! For you... You possess the talents of a beastmaster!"
"A... A beastmaster?" Well… I did come across it when I was briefly reading through the 'Surviving in NCR 101' guide, but… I don't think that applies in this context.
"My students have all been selected by the Dark Mirror for their exceptional talent and potential. But great talent begets great pride and big egos. Most are so self-reliant and self-centered that they never even consider cooperating with others."
"You make it sound like that's a bad thing." Grim deadpanned while he leapt into Yulia's arms.
"But you, Yuu, hid the fact that you're able to use magic. Even fooling me into thinking as such! Yet in spite of that - or perhaps because of it - you were able to convince those who can FREELY use magic to work together for a common goal. The everyday, humdrum acting you possess may be exactly what Night Raven College needs!"
Ace sputtered, "But... none of those words are good things?"
"Yuu… I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school. My educator's intuition tells me so. Trappola, Spade - I hereby revoke your pending expulsions!
Furthermore, Yuu… I am granting you the qualifications necessary to attend Night Raven College!" Good, I managed to convince him…
"WHAT?!"
"If I'm gonna be a student here, Grim better be as well. And, if you want me to continue pretending that I don't have magic to influence your students, allow me to be excused from lessons involving practical magic. Instead, allocate those periods as my independent study time." Which is the time I'll spend on looking through past student records in the last 8 years…
"Crazy human, are you actually helping me?"
"Yes." I mean I'm mainly helping myself, who knows that trouble this little troublemaker will cause when I'm not around…
"Are those your conditions for enrolling? Very well, in consideration of your talent that you've demonstrated earlier, Grim will also be allowed to attend lessons here. As for your second request, given that your circumstances are rather unique, I will talk to Trein and Crewel to assess your abilities first. They will have the final say in this matter. This is extraordinarily kind of me."
"Thank you, Headmage!"
"Myah! I... I'll get to go to this school...? As an actual student? Not a janitor?!"
"Correct. However! There must be no further incidents like the one that occurred today. Are we clear?"
"Myah... Myah... Yuu, I... I finally…" The cat glanced up at Yulia, who in return, gave his furry head a pat, assuring Grim, "Yep, you did it!"
"MYAAAAAH! I FINALLY DID IT!"
"Accordingly, I will now present to Grim the magestone that is issued to every student here."
"Heh! A magestone, eh?!"
"It is typically attached to the 'magic pen' that each student uses. But I suspect your paws cannot handle implements. Therefore, I have a custom solution for you. Is it possible that I am, in fact, too kind?"
With a wave of the headmaster's hand, a lavender gem pendant was hanging on Grim's large black-striped white ribbon, bringing delight in the cat's eyes, "Ah, sweet! I look awesome! A magestone collar, to be worn only by the legendary archmage, Grim!"
"You're not listening to anything I say, are you? As for you, Yuu–"
"I have my own magic pen." Yulia interrupted him, showing him a pen with vanilla-ice gem situated at the top of it.
"Hmmm? How did you get that?!"
"I found it in the abandoned dorm." Yulia lied calmly.
"Hmm... No wonder the colour is odd. Well, as you can plainly see, Grim remains oblivious to the customs of human society. You are to keep a tight rein on Grim, and ensure there are no further incidents!"
"Well, that's gotta be a Night Raven first! A 'magic-less' prefect? But sure, why not? Whatever works!" Ace let out a light chuckle, prompting Yulia to smile slightly as she replied, "I'll do my best."
"Heh heh heh. Good luck to you, 'Magic-less' Prefect!"
"Good luck to you, Prefect. Let's see that same spirit you showed us in the Dwarfs' Mine!"
"Ah, Yes. I suppose that does make you a prefect. I just so happen to have a job for you, and that title will make it all the easier to foist... er, I mean, congratulations! Now, I have something for you. This is called a ghost camera." …And he's back to being unpredictable and irresponsible…
"A Ghost Camera?" Oh, Dad did tell me about it before, but he didn't exactly specify how such a device works…
"Ooh, my grandma told me about those. Those are, like, super old magic items, right?"
"I would hardly consider them 'super old'... ahem. But it may indeed have been invented when your great or great-great grandmother was a child. It's a camera enchanted with a special kind of magic. It enables the user to photograph not just the subject's physical form, but parts of their soul itself."
"Wait, that sounds... sketchy." Agreed.
"They're called Memories. Here's the thing: when the soulbond between photographer and subject deepens… The Memories captured in this magic camera's photos come jumping out!"
"Soulbond?" It sounds like augmented reality technology…
"When the photographer and subject grow closer, their photographs grow animated like videos… And sometimes the photographs take on corporeal form and slip out. Is that not what you youths would call 'wicked keen'?"
"That almost sounds like ghost photography!"
"Very astute. Hence the name "ghost camera". I understand it was developed as a more vivid way to capture moments in time, in an age before video. As Spade observed, in days of yore, when people saw Memories jumping out of photos, they would get spooked and yell, 'Ghost!' I've heard many tales of people who were deathly scared of being photographed by such cameras."
"This tech sounds like way more trouble than it's worth."
Pushing up his mask, the headmaster cleared his throat. "Yuu. I would like you to photograph Grim and the other students with this camera, and make a record of your campus life."
"Myah ha haaa! Sounds like the perfect way to immortalize all my finest moments!" The cat puffed out his chest as he said so.
"Ahem... Make especially certain to capture the mischief caused by certain students who struggle with impulse control. Keeping a photographic journal sounds far less tedious than writing me lengthy reports, wouldn't you agree? As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them. Note how generous I'm being in providing a rare magical item that you can use. Is my kindness not beyond all reckoning?"
"Thank you, Headmage. You are indeed very kind."
"The hour has grown late, so further details shall have to wait till the morrow. You are all dismissed. Return to your dorms."
"Good night, sir!"
…
"Phew... We managed to avoid expulsion.
That was a close one!"
"Yeah, no kidding!"
"La la la la la!"
I'm a student at Night Raven College!
La la la! I'm gonna be the top mage on campus in no time.
Enjoy eating my dust, boys!"
"Big words for a sentient pile of lint
who's literally got in with someone's intervention.
Still... Good for you."
"I guess we're schoolmates now.
Grim, Yuu, welcome to Night Raven."
"Thank you Deuce. I just hope this year goes well…"
"The way you squared off against that monster
even before you used magic showed a whole lot of guts.
With steel nerves like that, you'll be fine.
Even in this school."
"Say, what's the deal with you
sometimes talking like a punk, anyway?"
"Huh?! D-do I? I think I talk pretty normally.
By the way, we're from Heartslabyul House.
What dorm are you guys in?"
Woah, that's too quick a change of topic there, Deuce.
"The dorm we're in has been abandoned for years…
We've taken to callin' it 'Ramshackle Dorm.'
The ol' dump literally has three ghosts
who my crazy human here has managed to befriend.
Tsk."
"THEY'RE NICE!"
"Hey, count your blessings.
I'd rather deal with ghosts than
have to see this guy's smug,
self-important scowl every day."
"Better than your lazy, dopey grin."
"Keep bawling, crybaby.
I haven't forgotten how you almost wept
when he said you were expelled.
Catch ya later, Yuu."
"Wait! Back to your question from earlier,
I didn't want to enroll because…
the Dark Mirror took me from another world."
I'm not ready to talk with them
about my main current objective…
"WHAT?!"
"NO WAY?!"
"Then, it makes sense
that you wield magic…
right?"
"…Maybe. Uhh, you guys should
hurry back to your dorm.
Let's go Grim."
—Click, clack —Click, clack
Quickening her steps, Yulia walked away from the two boys with Grim seated on her left shoulder.
"Yep! Tomorrow when we wake, it won't be as janitors. Finally, finally… My glorious education as a proper Night Raven College student is about to begin!"
"..."
"Uhh, crazy human… Yuu? W-Why're you cryin' about?"
"It's nothing, Grim. Nothing."
…
"Hey, Deuce, what do you think about Yuu's sudden cold shoulder?"
"Call it a gut feeling but judging from that gaze, Yuu-san doesn't want to tell us… yet. We shouldn't spectualate about it behind 'him'. Let's just return to our dorm. It's been a long day, especially for 'him', after all."
"Man, you're right. Do you think our dorm has snacks? I'm pretty hungry…"
Uhh… if you made it here, then yay, thanks for taking the time to read through this chapter :) I hope this chp was interesting to read, more or less? I mean, if you compare it to previous ones haha… I'm kinda scared of how the word count for the future chapters would be at this rate lols. Anyways, here are some lame, boring memes :p
— — —
Round 1 fighting with Inky (Ink bottle monster): Yulia's bat broke
Yulia: Yikes, anyways
Round 2 fighting with Inky: Yulia received injury
Yulia: Used fists to beat the shit out of it without a second thought
Bonus: Behind 'Round 2 fighting with Inky' scene…
Ace and Grim: Yay! She's winn– HOLD UP!
Deuce: Using pickaxe to get magestone out as fast as possible
— — —
Ace and Grim: Knows about Yulia's gender and are trying to keep it a secret for her sake, insists that Yuu should wake up first despite her currently fainted from shock
Deuce: Kept in the dark, yet genuinely concerned about Yuu-san and insists to bring 'him' to the school medic to properly treat 'his' wound
Deuce: DO YOU GUYS NOT CARE ABOUT–
Yulia: Wakes up, does healing spell
Deuce: Kinda tramautised by how quick the healing worked
— — —
No. of people who found out that Yulia has magic: 2 + 1
Yulia, who wanted to keep it a secret: Damn it
Also Yulia: Confirms with the Headmage that she has magic
— — —
Yulia: Doesn't want to enroll in NCR at first
Also Yulia: Gets enrolled in NCR in the end
— — —
Thank you for reading, and do consider leaving a review :) Stay safe and see you on the next chapter release! ~Ribia74
Chapter 5's one-liner plot: Yulia was enjoying her peaceful night until a certain ginger turned up at the doorstep