This Is Part 14 Of The "What If Yuu Didn't Want To Go Back?" Series!

This is part 14 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

"A nightmare? Both of them? I've heard of familiars having similar dreams, given how common it is, but it's generally accepted that having a familiar is a nightmare deterrent." Vil pauses, his face pensive. "Generally, though, having a familiar means you won't have any nightmare you can't be woken from. And you're sure it was a bad dream?"

"Positive. He kept begging some unknown figure for help; it was something like 'please, make this stop' over and over again, quietly."

"Hmm. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll see what I can do."

"You know, Roi de Poison, I have seen Monseur Smoke go and punch trees quite often, until he bleeds. Every time, his attacks last one half-hour, if uninterrupted."

"That does sound like it could be related." Vil turns his head towards me and Grim rather suddenly, as though he forgot we were there. "Yuu, Grim, go and eat. You need the energy, and you've already done enough here. Make sure to drink some water; you two haven't been drinking enough."

Grim and I follow Vil's instruction and leave. Breakfast is avocado toast, which I'm pretty sure is our housewarden's way of making sure everybody eats a decent amout of something green instead of living on fish like the whole dorm seems to try.

While the ice water is nice, I can't bring myself to enjoy it. What of my friends? What of Ace and Deuce, with their tyrant housewarden? What of Korrak and Mandible, with their unknown nightmares?

"H-Hey, Yuu."

"Hi, Korrak! What's up?" Looking into his smokey grey eyes, I can understand why Rook calls him 'Monseur Smoke.'

"Not much, but I'm p-p-pretty sure we have t-t-t-t-to join a club. What club are you joining?"

"Myeh? We have to join a club?"

"Yeah, by the end of the week," Mandible adds, "have you seen the options?"

"Uhh, nope." Grim and I speak in unison this time.

"Well, w-w-we can all g-go and look at the opt-t-t-tions lat-t-t- Mandible, you know what I was g-g-going t-t-t-"

"Sure do. Anyway, do you two wanna go to the courtyard later today and look at the options?"

"Sure! Sounds fun."

Korrak looks relived. "Thanks, bud. You've always b-b-been there f-for me." Korrak turns to Grim and I. "Th-th-the speech issue is w-w-w-worse when I haven't eat-t-t-en."

Grim and I nod. "Isn't everything?"

"Fair point." Mandible seems to share Grim's sentiment. I hand Korrak a piece of toast, and he starts adding butter and avocado almost immediately.

When Grim and I get to class, we discover a well-rested Ace with no collar on.

"Yeah, housewarden Riddle must've had a change of heart or something. He's stopped enforcing most of the rules, and now Ace's punishment for stealing is helping Trey bake the tarts for the party. We still can't play croquet after 5:00pm, though."

I smile. Grim and I were right. Riddle did just need a hug and some time to himself.

The rest of class goes by without incident. It would be boring if I weren't learning the history of an entirely new world, but, hey, I'm in luck!

Alchemy sees me successfully using magic to catch a glass jar that got knocked off of a shelf. It "certainly would've shattered" on the stone floor if not for my "catlike reflexes-" or so Crewel says, anyway.

To be honest, I didn't even realize I knew a spell that could save that jar. I just panicked and attempted one I've read about. Good for me!

P.E. sucks, as usual. Ace stays conscious, though! Not without a bad sunburn that got him sent to the nurse anyway, but baby steps.

Lunch is tomato soup, which is the first time the main dish of a Pomefiore meal does not and cannot include fish. Even this morning, there were pieces of salmon for the avocado toast.

"So, Epel, w-what club are you in?"

"Spelldrive. Cain't wait fer practice t' start up, lemme tell ya! Hopefully I'll git bigger an' stop lookin' so-"

"Epel, Vil's in the room." Epel, despite having just been interrupted by four people, one of whom is a cat and another of whom is an opossum, does not delay his speaking. That's gotten pretty normal, after all.

"Whoop, sorry. Thanks, y'all. 'Nyway, I'd jus' like t' be a little less girly, y'know?"

"I g-get that. I got mist-t-t-aken for a girl all the t-t-t-"

"Take another bite of your soup, Korrak."

"Thanks, Mandible." He obeys. "Anyway, people u-used t-t-to think I was a girl all the t-t-time. They'd p-pick on me 'cause of that- you should've seen th-the looks on their faces when I beat the shit out of them."

Korrak laughs. I recall what I heard Rook say about Korrak punching trees until he bleeds, and spilling no blood for half an hour every time. Guess that's just what he's like.

Korrak doesn't strike me as a violent person so much as the retalliative sort. Why would he be violent? He doesn't start fights, he doesn't bully people, and he doesn't tolerate bullshit.

"It was always real f-funny, watching them s-s-suff-"

"Korrak." Our housewarden now stands tall behind the Korrak's confident figure.

"Uh, when I beat the bully out o-of them."

"Perfect." With that, Vil walks off. I wonder, why did it take him so long to react? Then again, this room is full of teens. Epel can't be the only potty mouth.

Korrak watches Vil go and shrugs. "That's life, I s-suppose." His stutter has noticeably improved since eating more of his soup, but is still present.

"Do you fight often, Korrak?"

"Only when I g-gotta. Kids back a-at my elementary school called me th-the gas st-t-t-ation, cuz I w-was nice t-t-to have around unt-il there were s-sparks."

Yeah, that makes sense. It's a little hard to imagine people pissing him off at all, but especially recalling the tree-punching thing. After all, Korrak stands tall and confident, with square shoulders and a smirk that suggests anyone who goes looking for trouble with him will find more of it than they bargained for. There's a spark in his eyes, like the sun peaking out from smoke, that makes it obvious: you fuck with Korrak, you've fucked up.

He's not shy, that's my point. He is kinda cute though, what with the hair- ashy purple and super fluffy. Combine that with his beautiful eyes and some teenage jealousy, and you've probably got at least one kid challenging him to make sure he stays away from their lover.

"Myah, we have class!"

Everybody's eyes widen. Evidently, the whole room forgot we aren't eating dinner.

Then, from various voices accross the room: "run!"

Luckily, Grim and I make it to class on time. Biology class is about morays today- specifically, the differences between cold sea morays and warm sea morays.

According to Trein, there's a trench that separates the sea. Morays who lay eggs on the south side lay two connected egg sacks. One side only has babies with magical left eyes, and the other only has babies with magical right eyes. The babies in each side fight until only one is left, and the survivors are twins.

Warm sea morays have nothing of the sort. Eggs can't be carried over the trench because the temperature change kills them, and keeping them on the side they weren't laid on requires keeping them at the temperature of the other side.

Cold sea morays can lay warm sea eggs, and vice versa. It's all location, and it's all very facinating. But, alas, class cannot go on forever.

MacGyvering shows us using drills as motors for fans, boats, and a variety of other things. Not really, though- we're making blueprints. Reasonable enough, if you ask me.

Finally, class is over. I hold Grim and carry him to the courtyard so he can sleep on the way. Korrak and Mandible are already waiting.

They wave. I wave back. Korrak motions to me to stand over by him, and I follow his lead. Beside him is a big list of all the clubs, pinned to the wall.

"I was thinking of joining the track and field club, but I'm not really sure. What do you think?"

"Well... what kind of stuff do you like?"

"The science club sounds fascinating. I've always liked all of it, anyway, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I want to be more physical."

"You don't have to be in a club to use the gymnasium, Korrak."

"Yeah, great point. Science Club it is!" With that, he starts filling out an application that apparently just needed a few more fields to be filled in.

"Myeh?.. what time is... oh, I took a nap." Grim yawns, putting his, frankly, adorable little teeth on display. "What club are we joining?"

"I don't know yet. That's why we're here, Grim."

Grim hops onto the ground, does the iconic kitty stretch, and hops onto the bench. Before I can wonder why, he jumps onto Korrak's shoulder- the one that doesn't have Mandible on it- and onto my shoulder from there.

"You can just ask me to pick you up, Grim."

"Where's the fun in that?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. What clubs are there? Board Games, Mountain Lovers, Gargoyle Studies... out of those, Board Games seem like the best option.

"Where are the applications?" Korrak hands me one.

"Hey, you didn't even tell me what club you picked! We're both going, so we both need to approve!"

"I picked the board games club, Grim."

"Ooh. Sounds fun, I'm in!"

I grin. "We sure are!"

This is part 15 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

"Heeeey, what club are you guppies joinin'?" Korrak and I ignore the voice. We're not guppies, so that can't be us, right?

"So, when do club meetings start?"

"Heeey, you! With the cat and the rat!" Okay, that guy is probably talking to us.

"W-W-What do you want, minnow?"

Immediately, the teal-haired boy's face twists into one of anger, his mismatched eyes flashing with rage. He leans back, placing his left hand over his right shoulder and separating his lips just enough to expose his triangular teeth to curious eyes.

"What was that, guppy?"

"I a-asked you what you w-w-w-wanted, minnow." Even through his stutter, Korrak sounds confident and dangerous, like he's this six-foot-something a warning.

"I'm no minnow... am I gonna have to squeeze some sense into you?" The yellow shade of his right eye is starting to remind me of a road sign used to warn people about some danger up ahead. I don't show my nerves, though, and Korrak looks fearless.

"What, I need more s-s-sense? You're the o-one who called us guppies." As much as I shouldn't be, I'm exited. Seeing Korrak fight would be awesome, and this dude with the dark stripe in his hair is annoying.

"You're on, minnow."

Korrak extends an arm to the bench, and Mandible takes the opportunity to dismount from his shoulder. Mr. Singular Dark Eye moves to punch him, but Korrak dodges, landing a good couple of punches on his opponent's jaw as he does so.

Teal Hair Boy doesn't even flinch. Instead, he swings another big arm, only to be met square in the golden eye with a fist, head-on.

Minnow flinches. Korrak keeps going, aiming mostly for joints and the back of his opponent's head. Despite the obvious pain he's in, minnow doesn't back down, and keeps swinging, kicking, and doing whatever else he can to try and land a hit.

Eventually, Korrak lands an uppercut square under minnow's jaw. Minnow grabs the back of his collar, much to my horror.

The grin minnow gives Korrak would've made me faint. "I've got ya now, little Angler."

"B-better. I'll give you that. S-still, you lose."

Korrak swings himself upwards, landing a solid kick on his foe's neck. Teal Hair drops him, choking on the force of it all and gasping for breath.

"My, my, Floyd. I haven't seen you in such a terrible condition since we were fry." Someone else has appeared, speaking more formally than Teal Hair. I'll call him Pronouns. Pronouns resembles Teal Hair, in the way your reflection resembles you.

Teal Hair has a dark left eye and a yellow right one, whereas Pronouns has a yellow left eye and a dark right. Additionally, the dark stripe in Teal Hair's hair is on the right side of his face, while Pronouns' is on his left.

"Yeah, yeah... some Angler went and called me a minnow."

Pronouns shakes his head. "I didn't think anyone here could fight you and win. Would you like to visit the nurse?"

"Nah, I'll be juuuuust fine." Teal Hair's voice has reverted to the blithesome tone it was before.

"You're bruising."

"Is that right, Angler?"

"Floyd, come here." Pronouns holds his brother's face up to the light and checks. He sighs. "Brother, you have a black eye. Come on, let's go to the nurse."

"Aw, it's not that bad."

"We're morays. We aren't supposed to bruise."

With that, they leave.

"Way to go, bud! I knew you could do it," Mandible cheers. "You always have been great at that."

I am in awe. That was incredible! Korrak just took on a guy with shoulders twice as broad as his- and won. He got caught, and he still won.

Korrak extends an arm to the bench for Mandible, who climbs back onto his familiar. Both of them then take notice of my staring.

"You w-wanna learn how t-t-t-to do that?"

I can only nod. Korrak laughs, genuine joy bubling up for the brief moment it lasts.

"I'll sh-show you aft-t-ter the det-ention."

"Myaah, dinner!"

Immediately, Korrak and I are running, Grim and Mandible on our shoulders. I turn in our club application on the way, and we run the rest of the way- maybe P.E. is paying off.

Vil is waiting for us when we return to the dorm. "I heard from Octanville's vice housewarden that you," he points an accusatory finger at Korrak, "got into a fight with his brother. Explain.

"Well, s-some guy st-t-t-tarted calling us 'guppies' and ch-challenged me t-t-t-to a fight, so I beat him u-up."

Vil looks astonished. However, before he can comment, Rook materializes with one of his own.

"Oui, Roi de Poison! I saw it all- the grace! The skill! The elegance! Truly, it was magnifiqué!"

Vil pauses. "Rook, are you saying that you saw Floyd Leech get beaten up by a Pomefiore student and you didn't tell me?"

Rook does not pause. "Oui! I was hoping to tell you later."

"...A Pomefiore freshman won a fight against Floyd Leech?"

Rook nods. "Oui!"

Vil, clearly baffled, asks, "How?"

"With agility, cunning, and courage! Beuté!"

"Rook, you are a very unusual person."

Rook's smile remains. "Oui!"

"Myeeh, I'm hungry! This is taking forever! We want French toast, not French talking!"

Mandible and Korrak both burst out laughing. Rooks joins them, and, before I know it, so have I.

"Enough! All of you are permitted to go and eat. Rook, you stay with me. Korrak, meet me after dinner." He pauses, thinking. "And, Grim, French toast is a breakfast food." Only the slight, amused smile on Vil's face and subtly joking tone reveal the intentions behind his words.

"Oui! Roi de Poison, I shall follow your lead! Off to dinner, then?"

Vil nods. "Certainly."

Dinner is po boys. Grim and I eat one each, much to the suprise of Epel.

"Y'all eat way more than I realized! What's th' rush fer, really?" I'd answer if I didn't have a mouthful of food. Epel, noticing this, just shakes his head.

"City folk, I guess... so, anythin' interestin' happen?"

Korrak raises a finger to signal that he has something to say, but too much food in his mouth to say it. He does finish, though.

"I got int-to a fight. Against s-some guy named 'Floyd.' He w-was weird."

I, now finished with my own mouthful, toss my contribution into the ring. "Korrak won. It was great."

Epel shakes his head. "Yuu, yer th' only one t' stay outta trouble, considerin' th' lot o' us."

I nod. "Yep."

"Did ya catch 'is last name? This 'Floyd' guy?"

Grim pauses between bites. "Leech. Why?"

A look of shock stuns onto Epel's face. "Floyd Leech? The Floyd Leech? Tell me ev'rythin'! I been lookin' t' git a piece o' 'im myself!"

Somewhere in the distance, I hear Vil sigh.

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."

I mean... as a sibling, yeah. Makes sense. I don't know what happened, but it makes sense.

(The guest room is a work in progress)

This is part 12 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's words echo in my head like laughter echoes in a cave. My brain struggles, trying desperately to wrap itself around this information, and it suddenly succeeds.

Tears resume flowing down my face- tears of joy, because, finally, I am alive. I am real. Finally, after all these years and all this pain, I live. For the first time, I live. I've been alive this whole time- since my arrival- and I didn't even know.

Perhaps Vil and Rook know I'm crying happy tears because they remember my rant, or perhaps it is because of the stupid smile on my face, and my laugh, my most genuine laugh ever, unrestrained.

This whole time, the ripples on the water were mine- and I didn't even know. Maybe I'm too used to bad things- maybe I died before, and this is the universe's mercy. A new world, and my first life.

The pieces are all here, not yet assembled, but here, and I am aware of them all. I have Grim, I have parents, I have friends- given how Rook and Vil seem to care for Korrak and Mandible behind closed doors just as they do for me and Grim, maybe I have a brother or two. Maybe Epel is a cousin. Who knows? This is my first life, and I love my shiny new family.

I love us, all of us, with all of our imperfections and weirdness and disadvantages and problems and quirks- I love this family, and, maybe, that includes me. It certainly includes Grim, and he's my familiar, so...

Oh, well. Who cares? Finally, my breaths sustain life- my life. My heart beats with meaning, with purpose other than obligation. I have a whole life ahead of me, for the first time ever.

Once again, Rook's arms are wrapped around me, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"Your joy is beautiful, Monseur Mystery."

I look. Grim is... crying? So is Vil.

"Are you guys... alright?"

Vil nods. Rook pulls back, revealing his own, tear-stained face to me.

"We are more than alright, little one." Despite his tears, Vil's voice does not break, and his eyeliner does not run.

"Your elation is contagious, Monseur Mystery."

"Rook, Vil, Grim... thank you. All of you." My voice breaks. "I just can't thank you enough. Thank you so much, for everything. For all the little moments when I needed help and you were there, thank you. For every time I needed a hug, or a hairbrush, or a reminder to eat something other than fish, or a reason to live before I realized I was alive, thank you."

We stay there, the four of us, for a long moment, just crying shared tears of shared joy. It only lasts, however, until Vil looks at the clock on the wall.

"It's nearing bedtime, little one. Go to your room and get ready to sleep." He smiles. "You've earned it."

I nod. "Alright."

"Would you like an escort, Monseur Mystery?"

I laugh. Even in these vulnerable, important moments, Rook is still... well, Rook. He's always himself, always open and never vulnerable, somehow, until these little moments. And, somehow, the subtlety of that change just makes it all the more golden.

"I'll take it, Rook."

When we arrive at the dorm room, I take care not to wake our roommates. Rook just leaves, as he probably has some important Vice Housewarden business to attend to. Grim and I wave before the door closes.

I take a look at my magestone. The black only covers 3/4 of it now, so I can probably attempt a spell without overblotting.

I close my eyes and grip the gem tightly in my palm, imagining myself in my pajamas before I wave the pen.

When I open my eyes, I have changed clothes. Admittedly, it takes a lot to avoid squealing out of delight. Alas, excitement is tiring, and I have yet to finish my skincare routine.

Grim and I head to the Backstage Room, finish up, and leave. We don't talk, but there's an air of contentment as I brush him, an acknowledgement of the fact we both know: today, a new chapter in our lives has started.

I can't wait. Even as I lie on my bed and try to sleep, my heart pounds. Why wouldn't it? Today has been filled with so many firsts- first willing cry, first spell, first time realizing I not only exist but live.

Despite that, when my heart calms, I immediately sleep. I do not dream; I am too tired. And yet, my excitement remains.

When I wake, Grim wakes with me, and I am ready. I want to see what the day will bring, I want to live and laugh and love, and not in the midwest-white-lady way.

Korrak, despite not being exited in the morning, at all, ever, is still in some kind of better mood than usual.

I brush Grim like usual, but without the air of "I don't really belong" that used to invade every moment of every day, both before and after I gained life. The absence of that once-constant aura is welcome, and, for once, I feel hope. Real, genuine hope, just for the day.

I spend breakfast trying to get water in a glass to hover midair, and, though I do fail, it's only because the magic didn't break the surface tension.

This is part 20 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

"Okay, I'll go first. I'm the oldest."

Grim and I share a look. A silent, mutually thought idea is agreed upon and placed into action. Grim dismounts from my shoulder and onto the desk with the board.

"Can I go first? Please?"

He sits, loafing, on the wood, giving his best kitten eyes directly to Idia, and mews softly.

"Alright, sure. Why not?"

Ortho turns sharply to stare at his brother. "Idy! I can't believe this! Willingly abandoning better chances for a cat? And no gain? You shouldn't!"

"You know me, Ortho, you know me! He's too cute; I can't help it! I'm a cat person, and I cannot abandon my primary morals!"

I roll the die. We move four spaces, onto a spot where a cliff leads. We might wind up there again later.

"Your turn, Mr. Oldest."

Grim looks at me. Ortho looks at Grim. I look at Ortho. Smugness and anger and amusement, and only one die has rolled. Only one piece has moved. This is going to be so much fun.

Grim looks at Ortho with the same adorable stare, and Ortho falls just as his brother did.

"...Fine. But only because you're cute, okay?"

Grim gets up, saunters back over to me, and gets on my other shoulder. "You heard him, Mr. Oldest. Your turn."

Idia rolls a three. Ortho rolls a five. Azul walks over and sits at the table, between me and Idia. I look at Idia, who refuses the eye contact but stares at the bridge of my nose long enough to say it: "he could still join the game."

"Hey, Azul! Not sure why you're still wearing those. Barbed is more in-style."

Azul sputters and stutters, eventually settling on, "You are a vice housewarden! You should know what glasses are!"

We laugh. "Hey, if we let him join, he might spend the whole time talking instead of playing. Y'know, like he did with the chessboard."

Azul sputters again. "I will not!"

"Myeeh... I don't think so. Prove it."

"Fine! I wi- wait! You're just trying to make me mad!" He inhales deeply. "I am going to go do something else."

Then he gets up and leaves. The other four of us just look at each other, shrug, and continue playing.

The game itself is uneventful, but the interactions are comedy gold. My favorite two are:

"Oh, come on! I could easily fly right back up there!" -Ortho

"Well, Grim, we've fallen... pretty far. You roll the die now; I have two broken legs." -me

All in all, it's a win. Not really- Ortho won the game- but the experience was a net positive.

"Good game, guys!"

Ortho and Idia agree. "Good game."

Ortho sighs. "Everything is so much fun. I'm so glad this happened."

"We're glad we joined."

Ortho laughes a little at that. "Not really what I meant, but I'm glad you joined, too."

"Myeh? What did you mean?"

"Well, I kind of... Died? And Idy managed to make a body for me. I'm technically a robot, but I do have a soul!"

Idia smiles, his sharklike teeth easily visible. "It was a little difficult, but I'm glad I did it. Being an only child sucks."

"Myeh, that's so cool! Azul is giving you a funny look, by the way."

"He is?" Ortho turns around. "Hey Azul, what's it to ya?"

Just like that, club time is over. It's now back to the dorm to rest and eat.

Korrak is awaiting our return. He's pouting a little, but, after Rook explains that new science club members don't get to handle acid on day one, things start making a little more sense.

"Well, I still don' like that Azul feller."

"We g-gotta meet Heartslabyul's v-v-vice housewarden. He made p-pastries, but didn't b-bring any."

"I got t' meet th' housewarden o' Savanahclaw. 'E really ain't all that plesent."

"Azul is annoying. Fun to mess with, though."

"'Ere's a lot o' folks on th' Spelldrive club. Tons o' Savannahclaws."

"All I had to do was look cute at them, and they let us roll first! It was great!"

"At Azul? Or at s-someone else?"

"At Ignihyde's housewarden and vice housewarden! It was hilarious."

" 'at's all it took, eh? Good fer y'all! By th' way, Leona said somethin' 'bout a celebrity- y'all know what 'e meant? 'Cause I don' know no celebrity."

Rook bursts into a laughing fit beside us. I can feel Vil's eyes from across the room, though there is notable confusion in his gaze.

"W-well, I don't know any, s-so I can't really h-help."

"Myeh... maybe he just meant 'moderately popular influencer' and doesn't know what a celebrity is."

"Th-that's probably it. Th-then again, I probably w-wouldn't know one if they b-brushed my hair."

Accross the room, I see Vil sigh and shake his head. He's probably figured out that none of us keep up with pop culture. He might know the celebrity, but I say it's none of my business.

The sun is low on the horizon, our food is eaten, and our dorm uniforms are cozy warm. Rook is still giggling beside us, Korrak is still complaining about the lack of handling acid he got to do, and Epel is calling Leona lazy.

It's been a good day.