CHAPTER 02 : THE REBEL IN THE SAVANNAH PART 05

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NORMAL POV

SCHOOL INFIRMARY

"The guy who hurt his leg is in here somewhere…"

After talking with Crowley, the Akari sisters and Grim began their investigation. They first decided to visit the student who recently got into an accident.

"Ah… Found them!" Grim exclaimed while rushing over to where 2 Heartslabyul students are resting. The feline monster suddenly jumped on the bed surprising both students.

"HEY!" Exclaimed the Heartslabyul student that was injured. He looked rather annoyed, "What's with you?!"

"Hey Grim! Don't just go charging towards someone like that! " Himari scolded Grim, while Hoshiko scooped up Grim off the bed. Tsukiko then looked at the boys apologetically as she said, "We apologize for the sudden intrusion."

The other male student face perked up as he said, "Ah, you're the girls from Ramshackle Dorm that were at the Unbirthday Party."

"Hi there!" Hoshiko greeted cheerfully. Grim's face beamed with pride as he said, "Oooh hoh, look at how famous we are!"

"I'm really sorry to ask this…. But we would like to know how you got injured?" Himari asked.

Both boys looked at each other before the one injured have a heavy sigh and said, "I don't really get it either. He and I were just talking… before I knew it, I'd fallen down the stairs."

"Yeah," His friend added, "It wasn't like he stumbled or slipped or anything."

The injured student nodded and continued, "Almost like my body just kinda leaped forward…." He looked more frustrated as he said, "I- can't really put it into words well..."

Grim nodded as he mumbled, "Hmmm, I see I see."

Himari nodded and gave a small bow as she said, "Thanks for your cooperation. I hope you get better soon."

"Thanks…" The guy said feeling a little better.

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NORMAL POV

CLASSROOM

Afterwards the sisters and Grim headed towards the classroom where they approached another student whose hands were bandaged.

"Hey Hey! You got hurt pretty badly not too long ago right? Tell us about it." Grim said as he got closer to the guy.

Tsukiko quickly picked up Grim again and panickly cried out, "Grim be more considerate."

The injured student looked really angry and he approached the Blue haired sister, he then growled out, "And who are you exactly?"

"Eep…. W-we apologize, we just needed to ask some questions that's all." Tsukiko meekly responded

"Calm yourself, there's no need to be rude to a lady!" His companion told him while trying to pull him back from the nervous Tsukiko, He then looked at girls as he said, "Sorry about him. He's been upset that he can't participate in magift in top condition right now."

Hearing that only seemed to anger the student more as he growled even louder, "How could you be so tactless, throwing salt into someone's wound like that. I challenge you! Pick up your gloves!"

"FGNAHHH!"

"EEP!"

Both Tsukiko and Grim yelped. Himari, who was watching quietly the entire time approached the male pair calmly. She then raised her fist in the air and…

SMASH

All the students present gasped in shock as Himari smashed a nearby table in half. The golden haired girl then straightened up and giving an innocent smile asked, "I'm sorry… you wanted to challenge us hmm?"

The once tough looking student gulped as sweat began to trickle down on his face. He then nervously coughed and muttered out, "Uuuh… n-no I was in the wrong my apologies…."

Himari sighed out and crossed her arms as she looked at the two boys sternly and said, "Look, we just need to ask what happened to you ok. We didn't come here to mock you or anything."

The student looked at Himari before he also sighed and said, "Fine… I'll tell you about that day."

"It happened in the laboratory" His companion began to say, "Out of nowhere he grasped a pot of boiling potion with his bare hands and threw the whole class into an uproar! Then he went and knocked over the pot all over the counter. I was so shocked!"

"Are you going to tell them everything?!" The injured student cried out in embarrassment. His friend looked at him apologetically.

"Mhhmmm mmhmm…. I see." Grim muttered.

"Well thanks for telling us. And get better." Himari said, she then turned to her sisters and Grim and said, "Let's head back to the dorm."

"U-Ummm… Neesan you do realize you just broke a table right." Tsukiko nervously said.

"…" Himari just stayed silent before scratching her head and laughed out nervously, "ehehehe… oops…"

Hoshiko just giggled.

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NORMAL POV

RAMSHACKLE DORM : FOYER

"I can't see anyone we talked to as anything other than clumsy. Do we still think these weren't accidents?" Grim groaned out. The girls and Grim returned to there dorm and the little monster was scratching it's head in ponder.

"No… it most definitely doesn't seem like accidents." Himari concluded. Before they could walk any further they hear a knock on the front door.

"Oh… I wonder who could that be?" Tsukiko said. She then opened the door to reveal Ace.

"Yo! Hey girls! Oh, Grim you look better." Ace greeted them cheerfully as he walked inside.

"Hey" Himari greeted.

"Hi Acey-kun!" Hoshiko chirped happily.

Tsukiko smiled and gave a friendly wave.

"Ugh, it's just you." Grim groaned even louder, "Listen, we're pretty busy right now so we don't have time to hang out with you."

Himari rolled her eyes and scolded Grim saying, "Geez, chill out will you!"

Ace face changed to a look of complete confusion and said, "Busy? You're not gonna finish the homework?" He then looked at the Akari sisters as Hoshiko giggled and said, "Well… actually…"

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NORMAL POV

RAMSHACKLE DORM: LOUNGE

"Hmm…. People getting injured suspiciously, huh."

The group then moved to the lounge as the girls recount to Ace the request of Crowley and the investigation they are doing.

"Yeah, but while we were listening to them. It just sounded like they were being clumsy or getting caught up in the excitement for the tournament." Grim concluded.

Himari gave a light bop on the top of the felines head as she said, "And we keep telling you it doesn't seem to be the case here!"

Grim grumbled and glared at Himari while rubbing his head.

Tsukiko looked at the group and added, "Neesan's right, Grim. Considering so many of them were injured it seems too far off to be just a coincidence."

Before Grim could answer back, Deuce suddenly barges in looking panicked.

"Guys! This is bad!" Deuce exclaimed.

"Huh? What's got your panties in a bunch?" Ace asked

"Clover got hurt falling down the stairs!" Deuce cried out.

"WHAT!?" Everyone cried out in shock.

"FGNA! YOU CAN'T MEAN THAT UNFLAPPABLE, TREY?" Grim exclained.

"There's absolutely no way that Trey-nii can be clumsy!" Hoshiko said.

"You're right, Hoshii." Ace agreed, "Trey isn't the kind of guy to just trip over nothing."

"Anyway we getter go and find out what happened." Himari said.

All the freshmen nodded and hurried off to Heartslabyul dorm.

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NORMAL POV

HEARTSLABYUL DORM : TREY'S ROOM

"Pardon the intrusion."

The Akari sisters, Ace, Deuce, and Grim entered Trey's room where they find the 3rd year student sitting in a chair, his right foot bandaged and resting in a small foot stool. Next to him stood Cater.

"Trey are you ok?" Tsukiko asked looking worried.

"Yo, glasses! We heard you're down in the dumps and came to pay our respects." Grim said.

"Oh, it's the A-Duece combo." Cater grinned while waving at them, "Plus Grim and the lovely Akari Sisters in tow."

"Hi Cay-kun!" Hoshiko chirped while waving back.

"Cater, whats with the A-Deuce thing?" Ace asked.

"Huh? It's cause both of your names end in '-CE' so I put them together." Cater answered.

Both Ace and Duece frowned in annoyance, Deuce saying, "Don't be lazy!"

"Anyway," Himari interrupted as she got closer to Trey, "What happened, Trey? How did you get injured?"

Trey gave a warm big brother smile and laughed softly as he said, "Ah… I misstepped going down the stairs. I did my best to catch myself but my right foot is toast." He sighed and looked at his foot sadly and added, "I'll be on crutches for a while."

"Ah! That's a pretty bad injury!" Deuce exclaimed.

Trey nodded and seriously added, "With this I am probably completely out of this year's magift games."

Himari silently looked at her senior in a serious look she then turned to her sisters who silently nodded in agreement.

Grim got closer to Trey and sighed out, "I wasn't gonna do this if it wasn't a big deal but…." He then pulled out a silver can and held it up for Trey, "Here… a get well can of tuna. Keep you chin up glasses."

"Hahaha…. Thanks a bunch." Trey said as he happily received the gift.

"Aww that is soo nice of you Grim-chan!" Hoshiko chirped happily, she bended down and gave the little monster a hug. Although trying to act and look tough, the little Grim can be seen blushing at the compliments from the youngest Akari sister.

Cater sighed out as he added, "Ugh, cut me some slack. Our star player, Trey is out. Which will make things even harder now. We will have to have tryouts again."

Himari looked at Cater and she looked back at Trey. Her suspicions has gotten even stronger.

"Tryouts?" Both Ace and Deuce asked both looking very interested in something.

"What are you all doing? Taking over an injured persons room…"

The group turned to see Riddle standing by the doorway.

"FGNAH! HOT HEADED RIDDLE!" Grim exclaimed.

"Grim!" Tsukiko cried out looking embarrassed by what it said. Hoshiko just giggled while Himari rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance.

The red-headed dorm leader frowned and calmly replied, "Hot headed, huh. I wont get angry if you all don't break the rules."

"Yeah.. sorry about this little furball," Himari said while calmly giving another bop on Grim's head.

Riddle looked up at Himari and gave a courteous nod before he walked closer to Trey and asked, "Trey, how are you? Is there anything you want to eat or drink?"

Trey smiled as he said, "I'm good thanks. Didn't I tell you not to worry about me so much?"

Riddle's face then turned to sadness and guilt, "But, it's my fault that you got hurt…."

Himari approached them and asked, "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Riddle sighed and said, "I had something to take care of so I went to the 3rd year classrooms during lunch. Then…"

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FLASHBACK

NRC : STAIRWAYS

"I'll be a little late…. So start the magift practice without me." Riddle instructed Trey as the pair are walking down the stairs.

"Sure." Trey nodded happly.

"Well see you later…." Riddle waved. But as he turned to leave, suddenly his legs began to move on its own and he was about to trip over, "WHA!?"

"Riddle! Watch out!"

Trey quickly leaped forward and pulled Riddle in a protective hug before both tumbled down the stairs.

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END OF FLASHBACK

TREY'S ROOM

"Trey went out of his way to keep me from falling down the stairs and got injured…" Riddle ended his tale. Looking down on the floor in shame.

To lighten the mood, Trey chuckled and said, "I'd think you'd be good at falling after flight class." He then looked at Riddle and reassured him, "I sprained my ankle. That's nobody's fault."

"But…" Riddle stammered out.

Ace approached Himari and asked in a hushed tone, "Hima…. Is this…"

Himari nodded, looking even more serious now and whispered back, "Yeah… I don't think this is carelessness…."

Cater then jumped in cheerfully and said, "Now, now Riddle! No getting all gloomy, alright? It sucks what happened to Trey, but you'll just have to fill in his part as well."

Riddle blinked twice before sighing out and calmly replied, "Ah, yes. You're right."

"I think it's about time to let Trey get his rest." He then gestured everyone to move out of Trey's room.

Trey just smiled as he waved at them. Once they left he sighed and looked sadly at his bandaged ankle.

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NORMAL POV

HEARTSLABYUL DORM: LOUNGE

"All right Cater," Riddle asked while crossing his arms, "Is there something you don't want to talk about in front of Trey?"

"Very nice, Riddle." Cater praised Riddle happily, "You catch on quick." His cheery face soon turned serious as he looked at the Akari Sisters. "Hima-chan, Tsuki-chan and Hoshiko-chan… do you girls know anything about how Trey got hurt?"

The sisters looked at each other before Himari spoke up and said, "Well actually… it's like this…"

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FEW MINS LATER

HEARTSLABYUL DORM: LOUNGE

"I see, so that's what the headmaster thinks…." Riddle said.

"Thought so… you guys didn't come to just to wish Trey well." Cater remarked.

"Yeah, based on what we all gathered from the other students. Someone is definitely behind these so- called accidents." Himari said as she scratched the back of her hair.

"Actually, I also though something strange was going on so I had Cater start gathering information." Riddle said.

"So you also came to the same conclusion as us huh?" Hoshiko asked Cater.

"Yup…. It was obvious pretty quick that all the people getting injured were starting candidates for their teams like Riddle and Trey." Cater said.

Riddle nodded as he continued, "At that time… I didn't trip over anything or fee someone push me from behind. But… how should I put this, I felt my body move on it's own."

"Everyone else was saying something like that!" Grim exclaimed.

"That confirms our suspicions… the whoever the culprit is, he is definitely targeting students who are players in the magift competition." Himari said. Riddle nodded in agreement.

"They're targeting their rivals to up their standing in the magical shift tournament?" Ace asked

"How awful!" Tsukiko said.

"The whole world will be watching." Riddle said, "One's performance in their matches can lead to a career in the future. It's not strange that some will do whatever it takes."

"Hmph, just the idea of someone playing dirty leaves a foul taste in my mouth." Himari muttered angrily. One thing she hated more aside from bullies, were people who would stoop so low as to harm others just to get what they wanted.

Cater hummed as he asked Riddle, "Hmm…. Still it's weird. You didn't feel any wind magic coming from behind you, right?"

"Yeah, it didn't feel like an attack." Riddle confirmed.

"There were some who were injured during class." Cater sighed out, "I really wonder what's going on."

"We will just have to have the culprit spill everything when we catch them. To the end, I will assist you in the search." Riddle said looking at the Himari with a determined look.

"Riddle…" Himari said.

"Huh?" Grim interrupted jumping in between the two. "You're gonna help? What's your angle? Especially you, Cater!"

Cater gave an amused laugh before saying, "Wow, rude much. This is what you do when your fellow residents are targeted."

"He's right, Grim." Himari said, "I would probably do the same if someone targeted my sisters or you."

"If that's the case, we'll help out too." Ace chimed in.

Deuce nodded and began to crack his knuckles as he said, "We gotta get payback for Trey!"

"You guys…." Tsukiko whispered feeling rather touched by the boys camaraderie.

"You guys are all fired up." Riddle stated feeling rather impressed.

"Oh hohohoh… I got it." Cater laughed heartily, "You're after those open spots on the team."

"Eh?!" The sisters muttered.

"Hehehe… you caught me." Ace chuckled scratching his head embarrassingly.

"N-no, I'm not!" Deuce sputtered out nervously. "We have to look out for each other!"

"Yeesh… Seriously you two!" Himari groaned in annoyance.

Riddle shook his head slightly before saying, "My goodness. I'll take into consideration depending on your efforts in finding the culprit."

"Yeah!" Both boys shouted in enthusiasm.

Both Himari and Tsukiko sighed out, while Hoshiko just giggled at the boys silliness.

Riddle looked at Himari as he continued, "Back to what we were talking about, if we're going to catch them we need to anticipate their next move."

"Anticipate them? How?" Grim asked.

"For example," Riddle began to explain, "put a bodyguard on students that seem like likely targets. When something happens, we promptly get the student to safety. Then we hunt down the culprit in that immediate area."

"In other words, a stakeout strategy." Himari said. Riddle nodded in agreement.

"Hima-chan, that's exactly it!" Cater said.

"But then who do you think will be targeted next?" Tsukiko asked.

"Actually," Cater said while taking out his magicam, "among the starting candidates there's already a bunch that I've got my eye on that seem likely to targeted next."

"Wow, Cay-kun… way to go in thinking quite ahead." Hoshiko chirped happily. Cater blushed slightly at the compliment. He then started typing on his magicam saying, "I'll make a private group on magicam so we can message each other. Take a look at the group's album, ok."

Everyone took out their own magicam, including the Akari sisters. After the overblot incident in Heartslabyul, Crowley decided to present the girls each a magicam as a reward.

The group began to read the album that Cater send.

"Daimond, this is a huge amount of info." Deuce said looking at all the names.

"They're so many…." Tsukiko said in a worried tone.

"Yeah," Himari agreed, "I think the best solution is to prioritize the select few that would most likely be targeted next."

Cater nodded and said, "Yup good thinking, Hima-chan."

"And we're off!" Grim exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go!"

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So hello everyone. I hoped you have enjoyed the latest chapter. I again would like to thank everyone for their patience in this story, work has been really hectic for me, and it sometimes causes me to feel so burn out. I am thankful that this story has been on of my comfort times.

So on the next chapters, I am more excited as the girls will finally meet Jade and Floyd as well as Jack. But again please be patient with my slow pace.

See you all on the next chapter.

If you want to check out my DA art here is the link:

lady-storykeeper/gallery/77202339/twisted-wonderland-sun-moon-and-star

you can also check out my YT channel for Fanvideos and Original Art videos:
channel/UCclHDYZeojqxdJ5ZqpkauKw

TWISTED WONDERLAND CHARACTERS AND PLOTS BELONG TO DISNEY, ANIPLEX, and YANA TABOSO
Himari, Tsukiko, and Hoshiko Akari belong to me