This Is Part 5 Of The "What If Yuu Didn't Want To Go Back?" Series!

This is part 5 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Class starts in 15 minutes. First period is History of Magic- should be easy to find, right? After all, Vil made sure to give all of Pomefiore easy access to a map of the school. First floor, somewhere on the left...is this it? The room numbers match up.

The room is about half full. The paper says we have assigned seats, but it doesn't say where those seats are, so... where the hell do I sit?

"Grim... where's our seat?"

"Says we're in seat 34... so, third row, fourth seat?"

Counting the seats, we take our spot and hope for the best. Soon after we remove our notebook, textbook, pencil case, and folder, a boy with dark blue hair and an upside-down black heart on his face bursts into the room, panting heavily. The red color of his vest indicates that he's a Heartslabyul, but I can't tell if he's in the right room or not.

"Myaah? Hey, are you in class A?"

"Yes," the boy pants out, "seat 24... I'm not late, am I?"

"Nope! You're right in front of us."

The boy looks up, seemingly suprised at the sound of my voice. Our eyes meet- his are a beautiful, bright cyan. He'd fit right in at Pomefiore, at least visually.

"Wh...what?"

"We're in seat 34. Your seat is right in front of ours."

"Oh, okay." He looks grateful now, jogging to his seat and turning around to reach us.

"Ah, Deuce Spade- it's a pleasure to meet you!"

He sticks out his hand. I shake it.

"I'm Yuu- Y-u-u, not y-o-u."

Grim follows suit and sticks out his paw. Deuce takes a moment to catch on, but he does.

"And I'm Grim! Pleasure to make your acquaintance. "

Deuce looks relived, but that look soon turns to panic when he hears someone much older behind him.

"We are still missing someone."

A panicking #24 sits down quickly and puts his stuff down. The man- who is probably Professor Trein- lets the door shut behind him, but someone catches it. Another Heartslabyul, by the looks of it.

"Hey, teach! I'm on time, right?"

"Hey, Yuu! That's Trappola, from the entrance ceremony," Grim whispers. "He's claustrophobic. "

I laugh quietly. "That he is, Grim. That he is."

To Spade's horror, Trappola plops down right next to him, in seat 25.

"Heya! Nice to meet'cha. I'm Ace."

Deuce is visibly horrified. "I'm Deuce Spade. Please try not to be late in the future. "

Entrance Ceremony Claustrophobe scoffs. "What's up your ass this morning?"

Grim raises his paw. Trein calls on him. "Yes, Grim?"

"Trappola just asked Spade what's- and pardon my language- 'up his ass this morning.' It's distracting."

Now it's Trappola's turn to look horrified. Deuce, taking the opportunity, raises his hand. "I can confirm that. I can also add that he said that in response to me asking him to try to be on time more."

Trein looks pissed. Trappola looks terrified. I raise my hand, ready to put the final nail in the claustrophobe's coffin-box. Trein calls on me.

"I can confirm that both Spade and Grim are telling the truth." Trappola is very pale. He should get more sun. And more time management skills, but that's been pretty obvious for a few minutes at this point.

Trein's cat meows, and Claustrophobe's fate is sealed.

"Trappola, see me after class."

Deuce, Grim and I smile. Time to learn.

The rest of class goes by without a hitch. Ace's detention is that he has to wash all of the chairs in the classroom after school. Fitting, I think.

Deuce walks with me and Grim to alchemy. Crewel seems strict, but kind, so long as you stay in line. We don't brew anything just yet- big whoop, first day- but we do get a lot of notes. Deuce is turning out to be e great friend, too! He's an honor student, recovering delinquent, and generally great guy- Vil would approve. He doesn't look like he has much of a skincare routine, though.

The big thing happens during Phys Ed. Grim and I faint during the laps- Vil is going to be pissed when he hears about the lack of water- and Deuce is the one to single-handedly carry us both to safety, and then the nurse's office. Apparently, we already lacked energy. Oh, well. Nothing eventful occurs until lunch.

Back at Pomefiore dorm, where lunch is free, Rook stops to talk to us.

"Monseur Mystery, Monseur Chat! I heard you fainted today?" The concern in his voice sounds real.

"Yeah... the nurse says we already lacked energy."

"And we weren't drinking enough water. There's that too, Grim. "

"Why weren't you?" Vil sounds rather intimidating right now.

"Myaah, no water bottle."

Vil just sighs.

This is part 13 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

My good mood shatters when I hear about Ace.

"You slept where?" My voice, when combined with Grim's and Deuce's, is apparently too overwhelming for the visibly exhausted ginger.

"Outside of Scarabia's dorm building, okay? What do you guys care, anyway?"

"I'm sorry, Ace, is it unusual to be concerned for a friend when you hear he slept outside? And has sand in his hair, and is visibly exhausted?"

Ace just stares at me, wide-eyed and shocked.

"That... is the first time I have ever heard you say we are friends. Or call me by my first name. And... all in the same sentence..."

Hm. Evidently, he needs some time to proceed that. Although... he is right.

Given my recent mental breakdown, though, that's not much of a suprise.

"Is that why you have sand in your hair?"

Ace sighs. "Yes, Grim, that is why I have sand in my hair."

"Myeh. Deuce, do you know why he didn't just sleep in his bed?"

"Yeah..." Deuce pauses, momentarily searching for the right words. "Housewarden Riddle kicked him out of the dorm. It was in the middle of the night, but Ace is very loud, so I heard it anyway."

"Yeah, I stole a tart."

"You got kicked into Scarabia's sand dunes over a tart?"

"Yep. It was only a slice, too."

Wow. Only a slice of a tart, and he dons, not only a collar, but a sandy scalp. Talk about strict. Dare I say, Rosehearts has some serious, unresolved trauma- and it's causing problems for others. Something has to be done.

Thinking about it, though, he probably just needs a hug, some support, someone to show him they care. That's what I needed, and I've been feeling so much better since.

My mind is made up. When I see him, I'm going to let Riddle know he's not alone.

"Alright, class, I hope you all have your textbooks. Open to page 56 and read to page 57. You have twenty minutes."

Ace looks nervous. Deuce notices.

"We can share."

Guess the ginger left all his stuff at his dorm.

After class, Grim and I make the trip to alchemy without talking. Ace and Deuce do not follow suit.

"One slice! I get it, they're probably for the unbirthday party, but still!"

"I'd help you more if I could, Ace."

I spend alchemy trying to cast a spell. I do succeed, but not without narrowly dodging a detention.

It's just a little thing, but it's something, and that's enough- just for now.

P.E. is just pain. While Grim and I stay conscious, Ace does not, and Deuce carries him to the nurse in what I assume to be the same way he carried me and Grim on the first day of classes.

I'd almost forgotten about that. What a throwback. Still, lunch does come.

"Yer tellin' me 'e slept where?"

"Outside of Scarabia's dorm building. He had sand in his hair, none of his stuff... and he passed out during P.E.- Hey, Yuu, hand me another sardine bite."

I comply. "He said it was over a slice of a tart. He got kicked out over a slice of a tart."

"I'm glad w-we're in Pomefiore and not H-H-Heartslabyul, Mandible."

"Same. Gimme another grape, I'm hungry."

"Well, I ain't ever been more glad t' be under Vil's," he pauses, "supervision, I guess."

I nod. We all share a moment of relative silence, our familiars eating quietly as we all stew in our luck and Ace's lack thereof. How close was that mirror to grouping us in with Ace and Deuce and Riddle?

How close were we to being in Ace's place?

Before I realize it, it's bio time. We don't take notes. It's a video about wolfmen.

Then, it's art class. Grim and I sketch a tart, with a single slice missing. Our teacher praises it.

MacGyvering consists of a lecture that is three parts relevant to the subject and one part "no dogfighting." It doesn't take a genius to guess what brought that on.

After class, we sit in the courtyard. Normally, we'd head to Pomefiore immediately so I'd have time to change, and then spend that time talking to our friends before dinner.

Next to us, on our hidden little bench, a boy with red hair, a Heartslabyul class uniform, and a book sits down to read. It takes no genius to guess: this is Riddle Rosehearts, the Heartslabyul housewarden.

"Hello, Rosehearts."

He jumps. My voice apparently caught him off guard.

"My apologies. I am usually the only one here at this time. What brings you here?"

I look at him until he opens his mouth to ask what I'm looking at, and then I hug him, doing my best to imitate the strong, comforting hugs of Rook and Vil. Riddle was apparently not expecting this.

"Why are you-"

"Shh. We know, we know, you think you don't have anyone. You think you're alone in however you feel, but you're not. And you're going to be okay."

I've never heard such wise words from the mouth of a cat. Riddle, however, does not seem to appreciate them.

"It is against the rules to touch another student unprovoked! And, according to rule #665, nobody may touch the queen without express permission!"

"How many rules are there, Riddle?"

"810."

"And you follow every one, every day?.. myeh..."

"Riddle, are you happy, following all those rules?"

"Of course!"

"Liar. Nobody follows 810 rules to the letter every day and still lives a happy life."

"You..."

"Yes, that is my name."

Riddle quiets. I consider my job done, hug him one last time, and leave. Riddle does not ask why I hug him, and he does not fight.

Dinner is cod filets. Nobody talks; we're all too busy stuffing our faces with fish and the daily vegetable.

Grim and I both silently agree: Ace is not the only one with a serious problem. Korrak tosses and turns in his sleep, occasionally begging some unknown figure for help.

We try to wake him. We try to wake Mandible, who acts the same in rest. We fail, both times.

In the morning, we'll tell Rook and Vil and hope they can help. For now, we sleep.

This is part 10 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"Are you sure I can't use the power drill?"

"I ain't known ya fer all that long, ginger, but I wouldn't trust ya wit' a feather if I didn't think th' clinic had 'n open spot."

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"Trappola," I start, doing my very best to embody Vil's aura of a strong mother giving a warning, "say that again, without swearing."

"The fuck?"

"We both know what a swear is. Do not play with me, Trappola."

"Okay, fine. Hey, lavender breeze, what is your problem?"

"Lavender breeze? Well, I ain't no hussy city folk- you wanna fight me, ya better say it outright, ya concrete coward!"

"Oh, I'm a coward? You're on!"

"Say it, ya toilet-fire-fer-hair! Say ya wanna fight! 'R are ya too much'f a ketchup addict t' talk?"

"Korrak, right? Where is he getting those insults?"

"B-beats me, Deuce."

"Uh... hey! Ace! Epel! Not the time!"

Epel momentarily freezes, recalling the stories of Crewel's punishments he's heard from other. Trappola, not so much.

"Deuce, shut up!"

Something in Deuce snaps. There's a wild look I'm his eyes, and he's, evidently, just as sick of Trappola as he should be. "You wanna fight, just say it!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"Not 'ntil ya say it is, ya pigeon poop patootie!"

"Okay, fine! I'll fight you both!" With that, Trappola punches Deuce exactly once, in the shoulder, before getting his shit wrecked on the lab floor. Korrak even summoned popcorn, which would've pissed off the "pigeon poop patootie" if he weren't so busy getting his ass handed to him.

"You got it, Sir!" By the time I look up to see who said that, a tall, buff wolf dude is heroically lifting our damsel in distress from the linoleum and carrying him to Crewel. They briefly discuss something, and then Trappola's knight in shining armor is leaving him in a chair and walking over to us.

Crewel, having started sooner, arrives first. "Well, I can't have my pups dogfighting. Who was involved?"

Wolf boy, who has now finished walking over and is standing next to Crewel, speaks up. "The other Heartslabyul and the Pomefiore with no familiar, sir. Those are the ones who were fighting him. The others were eating popcorn."

Crewel smiles. "You and you, not Yuu," he begins, pointing at Epel, Deuce, and me in turn, "detention. You are to clean all of the stations in this room, top and sides, after class. I will let you have dinner first. Do not open the cabinets or drawers when you clean them, but do wash the cabinet doors and handles."

Epel and Deuce nod. "Yes, sir."

Crewel seems to approve. "Howl, you will be joining them in place of Trappola. Make sure they don't fight again."

"Yes, sir!" Howl practically salutes Crewel. Well, he doesn't, but I'm pretty sure Crewel had to tell him not to do that at some point, because that poor wolf boy looks like he has to physically stop himself from doing some kind of salute.

Once Crewel walks off, Wolfie starts glaring at us- mostly at Deuce and Epel, but everyone gets a taste of yellow eyes boring into their soul.

I glance to my left. Korrak is frozen in place, seemingly out of fear. Wolfie takes notice quite quick.

"Hey, are you alright?"

No answer. Wolfie tries again.

"Hey, you. With the deep purple eyes that have hints of pale blue in them. I'm talking to you. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse? I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?"

Looks like I misread Korrak's sudden lack of movement. Ever since he and Howl locked gazes and the wolf boy told him his eye color, my roommate has been blushing.

"Myaah, we have an assignment! Come on, I want a good grade!"

Epel just shakes his head and mutters something about "jus' don't know how t' be direct."

"Uh, name's Jack. Jack Howl. Nice to meet you, Mr...."

"K-Korrak. Korrak Dinik. It's, um, nice to meet you, Jack."

"C'mon, guys, we do have an assignment. And, Jack, I'll try not to get into another fight."

"Good. Deuce, right?"

"That's correct! How'd you know?"

"Heard the whole thing. Speaking of which, Epel, never insult people again. You're too good at it. Now, we need to find a way to use the drill that nobody would really expect."

Hey, I know this! "Flashlight."

"Drills have flashlights?"

"Yeah, so you can see where you're drilling. Just turn it on and you have a flashlight."

Korrak looks at Deuce, who nods and begins furiously writing on the provided paper.

"Now we can just screw around!"

"Question: why does the opossum talk more than the human?"

"Don't worry about that, Jack. But, hey, we get to slack off now! Mya-ha!"

Nothing significant happens for the rest of the class, but I did notice that, out of the three-sevenths of us who have fur, Jack's is the worst-kept. His fur looks very soft, to be honest, just... dusty. And like he doesn't put some fur oils on his brush before he uses it in the morning, which is what I expected, given that Pomefiore is the only dorm that makes a point of ensuring everyone and everyone's familiars are top-teir in skin and fur care.

Back at the dorm, however, Vil is waiting.

"Epel. I have been told you got into a fight today and that you are to return to Crewel's room after dinner. Explain."

"I didn't throw the first punch, he did. And he called me 'lavender breeze!' That ain't sumthin' 'e can git away with!"

"Who?"

"Trappola," I fill in.

"Oh, the claustrophobe from the entrance ceremony?"

I grin. "Yeah, him."

"And, Epel, are you hurt?"

Epel just grins. "Not at all!"

Vil nods. "Rook, make sure Epel returns to Crewel's room after dinner.

Rook appears out of nowhere with the typical "Oui!"

Dinner is salmon patties! Rook stops the mosh pit by the tartar sauce from becoming an all-out brawl, but someone still ends up with a black eye. Nobody gets in trouble because the kid tripped, and not a single punch was thrown.

As per usual, Vil makes everyone take something that isn't fish or tartar sauce, and we are not exempt. The cucumbers are good, though, as are the rest of the assorted veggies we wind up with. As some of the first people to get there, we get a load of carrots, which Grim devours the moment he's done with his patties.

The instant Epel finishes his food, he sighs. "Is he behind me?"

I don't have to answer. Once again, Rook just goes "Oui!" Epel puts his plate away, waves goodbye, and leaves. I toss in a "May the odds be ever in your favor!" That gets Rook to spend what I assume is the rest of the walk prateing about beauty. Because, hey, that's Rook. What else would he do?

Korrak goes to our bedroom and does whatever. I go to the bathroom, and, when I return, Rook intercepts me.

"Monseur Mystery, go get your phone and come with me." When I return, phone in hand, Rook says nothing more. Instead, he leads me wordlessly down the halls, and I recognize the route as the way to Vil's room.

When we reach the rather large door, Rook knocks only once upon it.

"Come in."

We do.

Vil's face softens when he sees me. "Yuu, I assume you may have trouble with setting up the phone?"

"I can't even figure out how to open the box."

"Alright. Let me show you."

This is part 3 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"Myaah, keep going!"

"Non, chat. You no longer need to be brushed. Vil, how is Yuu's hair coming along?"

Vil sighs. I've noticed he does that a lot. "Not as well as I thought, Rook. Even though the top layer was absurdly thick, the lower layers don't look much better. This is going to take longer than I expected."

I look up and into the mirror in front of me. Vil has cut my hair short, but the process of detangling the remaining mat of hair has caused the detangled hair to be noticeably longer than what's still a total mess. I'd say the hair he's worked through is about 4 inches, just long enough to cover my ears.

"Say, Monseur Mystery, how did you guess Monseur Chat's name?"

"Well..." I hesitate. Even now, the thoughts of his death still hurt. "When I was living in my world, I found a cat. He was my only friend. He was an alley cat, but chubby- not in a concerning or limiting way, just in a cute way- and he was grey with a large patch of white fur on his front, and his tail faded into black at the end, and... he had polydactly. I think that's what it's called, at least. Do you guys know what that is?"

"Nope!" Grim's reply is cheerful, like an island of comfort in a sea of mourning.

"Well, it's a condition where your limbs split off into multiple limbs. So, a two-tipped finger or extra toe or something. Well, my cat had it on the end of his tail. It looked, " I pause, reaching my hand toward Grim and trying, failing, to hold back tears. "Into three. A trident tail, just like this." I'm holding his tail in my hand now, careful, like he might break just as my voice is doing now. I can hardly speak through the lump in my throat, but I can speak.

"A-and that cat's name was Grim. And he was hit by a car when he was eight, and I've never been the same." I'm crying now, my eyes reduced to floodgates and my voice to a wreck. Vil is hugging me, his arms bringing some sense of safe to me, but that sense of safe pales in comparison to the comfort of holding Grim in my arms. His fur is soft, much softer now that he's been brushed, and Rook has joined the hug.

We stay there, just like that, for what feels like forever. Vil's arms are strong around me, as are Rook's, and I'm holding Grim again, and I don't want to lose him again. I can't. I barely survived the first time; I can't survive a second. The guilt would kill me.

"I guessed his name, too. I didn't know how. It just felt right. But... Yuu, you kind of remind me of someone. Another human. He fed me in my dreams, and his name was Yuu, and we were great friends, but one day he just stopped showing up. I never saw him again." Grim's previously sad face brightens a little, like a tea candle with just enough air to burn. "You look a lot like him, but older. Maybe... maybe he was you."

The tears come back. I let them. This time, they're happy tears, and Grim is crying them, too. Vil allows a few more minutes to pass, just like that, before he lets go and resumes his task of unmatting the other half of my hair. Rook pulls away, too, and waves his magic pen.

A tape measure, like you see tailors using in movies, appears in the air in front of him for him to wrap around my waist with skillful hands. Soon, he's removed the tape measure from my waist in favor of wraping it around my chest, and then my arms, and then Vil tells him off for doing something unnecessary.

I laugh. "Say, Monseur Mystery, have you tried to use magic since you arrived?"

I ponder. "Not really."

Rook chuckles. "Facinating."

"Are you okay with others being let into the room, Yuu?" Vil's voice is soft and soothing. I'm a little jealous, but who cares?

"Go right ahead." The lump in my throat is gone now that Grim is purring happily in my arms, just enjoying the sensation of being pet. Rook leaves the room- still holding his tape measure, I notice- and the door shuts behind him. Surprisingly, I don't hear his footsteps as he walks away, even before the door is closed and blocking my view.

Less than a minute later, the door opens again, revealing Rook, Korrak, and Korrak's familiar, whose name I do not yet know. Rook waves his pen, cleaning the cat brush with magic, and starts brushing the strange oppossum as he brushed Grim.

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Grim!"

"Call me Mandible."

Well, I guess I have a name to go with both of my roommates now. Unlike Grim, Mandible needs only a few minutes of brushing before his fur is even and soft, at which point Rook measures him, waves his pen, and voilá: five small stacks of clothing appear on the counter.

"What are those?" Mandible is already poking at the piles by the time he thinks to ask. I wasn't expecting Mandible to be more talkative than Korrak, but I guess Grim and I are no better.

"Uniforms! The white one is a lab coat for alchemy, the violet one is a dorm uniform, the one next to the lab coat is a PE uniform, the one next to the dorm uniform is a school uniform, and the one in between the dorm clothes and lab coat are some ceremonial robes. All are sized exactly for Monseur Opossum, of course." Rook looks quite proud of himself.

"Myaah, neato! Do I get some?"

"But of course, Monseur Chat! If you'll allow me a moment..." Rook starts measuring Grim just like he did with Mandible, and Vil lets out a triumphant "Hah!"

"Finally conquered my hair?"

"Not entirely, but I'm done with the hard part." With this, Vil pulls out a brush- not a cat brush, just a regular human brush- and starts running it through my hair in a soothing rhythm. Tired from the short day's events, I allow it to lull me to sleep.

This is part 4 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

My bed is soft. Very soft. I don't want to leave, but I have to.

"C'mon, Yuu! We're gonna be late! Myaah, wake up! We have class!" Okay, he has a point. Being late to class on the first day would be horrible, both for our reputation and Vil's.

Mustering all my willpower, I drag myself out of the warmth and onto the cold floor. Oh, slippers! That's much better.

...Hold on.

"Grim, when did I change into my pajamas?"

"You didn't. Vil used magic to swap what you were wearing with those. He said he didn't want to wake you up." Grim beams. "I managed that trick, too! Look at me, mya-ha!"

Sure enough, Grim is wearing a white, collared button-down, a black-and-white striped tie, a purple vest that matches his magestone, and a dark grey jacket to top it all off. Worn below the collar of the button-down is the collar with his magestone, and there's a violet string-looking thing with a red stripe down the middle tied around his left front leg, held in place with a golden emblem that's carved to look like Pomefiore's crest. He has no pants, but that's pretty much what I expected.

"Your uniform's in the dresser, Grim's familiar."

"Come on, Mandible. You know his name."

...Korrak sounds exhausted! Is he not used to this kind of sleep schedule? I wouldn't be surprised. Mandible did mention that he has pilot parents, after all.

Oh, right. My uniform. Sure enough, it's in the top drawer of my nightstand, neatly folded. Looks like it has all the same parts as Grim's, plus pants, shoes, and socks. There's boxers in there, too. Better go change. Didn't I hear a sophomore mention walk-in closets at the entrance ceremony?

Yep, there's a door over by the foot of my bed. That must be the closet, which is soon revealed to be walk-in. Hey, there's a light! And a full-length mirror!

...This is probably a changing room. Oh, well. Figuring out where and how everything goes on is a walk in the park, and there's a shoe rack on my left. The only pair that seems appropriate for a regular school day are the loafers, so that's what I put on.

"Myaah, you look awesome!"

"Thanks, Grim! You wear it better, though."

"No way! We're familiars, so we both look equally awesome!"

Aww. "I'll let you have this one, Grim."

"Hey, Yuu and Grim. I've got your schedules over here. Says you're in class B. We aren't, unfortunately." Korrak frowns once he's done speaking, but I don't realize why until he pokes Mandible. "Hey, wake up. We have class too, you know."

Grim goes and gets the schedule from Korrak, and carries it back to me. Upon examination, I learn class does not start for another hour.

"Korrak, do you know why we're up this early?"

He sighs, unsuccessful thus far in his attempts to wake the exhausted opossum on his bed. "Breakfast and skincare routine. Both are mandatory in Pomefiore, and this wake-up time is recommended by our housewarden." Yeah, that explains it.

Mandible wakes at the mention of food. "Breakfast? Where?"

Korrak's face is what you'd expect from a sitcom mom. "The dorm dining room. Today it's fruit, I think."

Mandible's tiredness vanishes from his face instantaneously when Korrak says the word "fruit." Mine does the same.

I grab Grim. "C'mon, breakfast!" He does not complain.

Soon after stuffing our faces with way too much watermelon, Vil stops us in the hall.

"You fell asleep before I could give you this. All yours. Use it now. And Grim should be brushed every morning before you dress him." Vil hands me a small cardboard box that feels magically reinforced. He does not let go until I'm firmly holding it, probably because it's far heavier than it looks once he does.

"He dressed himself. Is there a cat brush in here?"

Vil nods. "There most certainly is." With that, he's gone. I set off to the room I fell asleep in last night.

There's a lot of people in here, but it still isn't hard to find an empty seat. I remove Grim's little uniform (as much as I don't want to) and begin brushing him. The process only takes a few minutes, and I use the opportunity to chat with Korrak, who's in the seat to my right.

"So, what class are you in? Grim and I are in class A."

"Me and Mandible are in class B. I hope it goes well."

The kid on my left speaks up. He has beautiful, fluffy, lavender hair and the second-prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, in my biased-toward-Grim opinion.

"Hey, me too! What're you named?"

"Uh, Korrak. And this is Mandible. What's your name?"

I sit and return the cat brush to its spot in the box before reading the instructions for the skincare products. A few of them are for Grim, so I pull those out first- while continuing to eavesdrop, of course.

" 'S Epel! I like that there 'possum- 'Mandible', eh?"

I smile. The instructions are easier to follow than I thought they'd be, and the blooming friendship makes excellent background noise.

This is part 8 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Vil stares for a moment, just a moment, and then smiles. Grim is still looking at me weird, but says nothing.

We leave to eat. Grim's strange looks halt when he sees breakfast: poppyseed bagels with cream cheese and lox. We eat instead of talking, and I take the time to admire just how clean this place is.

Everything is so shiny. There aren't any paintings or pictures, noticeably, but there is a mirror hanging over there. It was probably put there to allow people to look at the oven without having to turn around, given the location and angle.

Looking in the mirror... Hey, it's Korrak and Mandible! And...Rook? Looks like he's intercepting them, too. At least he's giving them food first. Korrak walks toward the stairs with half a poppyseed bagel in hand.

Oh, well. That's none of my business. I'm done with my bagel, though, so it's off to the Backstage Room!

Grim finishes his breakfast on the way, and I brush him until his coat is soft and even. He doesn't complain about me stopping this time, but he does set off on a quest of magically dressing himself.

When I finish my routine, we head off to put my new phone up, and then it's off to History of Magic.

Trappola isn't here yet, surprisingly. I figured he'd've learned his lesson after yesterday, but I guess not. Oh, well. His problem! We'll snitch again if he starts today with a repeat of yesterday.

By the time we sit down and start talking to Deuce, Trappola walks into the room- with a collar on?

"I see your stares. Don't ask."

With that, he sits. Deuce stares right at him for a solid 20 seconds before speaking.

"We don't even have oolong."

"Not what happened."

I sit there, contemplating why this kid is wearing a heart-shaped collar with a lock on it to class. Very much a "Heartslabyul" look, though. Half is black, half is red, and the outlines are gold.

The bells rings, and Trein starts the lesson. I take notes and help Grim do the same with his levitation magic. He picks up on it pretty fast, and his writing is easily legible within 5 minutes.

Crewel gives Trappola a funny look when he walks in, but says nothing and the way he teaches seems normal. This is only the second time I've had him, though.

More note-taking commences. I'm rather tempted to question Trappola where he got that and why he's wearing it, but class is ongoing, so I refrain from asking and make sure Grim does the same. He shoots me dirty looks whenever I close his mouth for him, but he stays quiet.

Grim and I actually manage to stay conscious all through P.E.! That's a win for us.

"What, you think you're special just 'cause you didn't take a nap when you fell?"

"Nope! We think we're special cause we aren't the ones wearing a collar, and one of us is a cat."

Trappola turns bright red. "What the hell?!"

"Mya-ha, that's what you get!"

"He has a point, Ace. How did you get that, anyway?"

"Shut up, Deuce."

"Hey, Trappola, remember that one time you were snarky with Deuce and wound up cleaning all the chairs in Trein's room? I do."

Trappola shuts his mouth, forgets his lesson, and speaks again. "Hey, you can call me 'Ace.' I don't mind. Why do you only ever call me by my last name?"

"That's what the headmage called you during the entrance ceremony. Besides, we also call you 'entrance ceremony claustrophobe.'"

"Behind my back?"

"To your face, entrance ceremony claustrophobe."

"Okay, guys, that's enough."

"Shut it, Deuce."

"Dude, what is your problem?" Evidently, Deuce has finally had enough.

"It probably has something to do with the collar." Okay, being a dick here won't help, but I'm bored and hungry, so I'll care after lunch.

"Yeah, it does!"

"Myeh... I'd just take it off."

"I. Can't."

"Why not?"

"You say that like you don't know."

"They're first years from a different dorm, Ace. Of course they don't know. You have to tell them."

Trappola says nothing. Apparently, that thought didn't occur to him. I'm guessing most of them don't, though.

Trappola sighs, but still doesn't say anything. Deuce, clearly fed up, turns to us. "Our housewarden's signature spell is called 'Off With Your Head,' and he uses it on Heartslabyuls who break the rules. The spell places a collar around the target's neck," Deuce motions to Trappola, "and seals away their magic. I'm not sure what Ace did to get collared, but only Riddle can remove it."

I remember one of the Pomefiore sophomores explained all of the housewardens and dorms to the freshmen, me and Grim included. That's how I know Riddle Rosehearts is the Heartslabyul housewarden, a sophomore in the dorm based on strictness. No wonder, huh?

"Myaah... hey, Redhead, did you complain about yesterday in front of Rosehearts?"

Trappola looks stunned. "Yeah... How'd you know?"

"You swear when you're mad. That's probably banned."

"...You're right."

Grim appears prideful of his accomplishment, chest out and everything. Trappola looks lost. Deuce looks hungry.

"Let's go to lunch. Come on, Ace."

Grim and I wave. "Bye, Deuce! Bye, Trappola!"

The walk back to the dorm is tiring, but it's nice knowing we're just a little step closer to whatever it is we're reaching for.