The Other Side of Darkness

Surprising Promotion

Lev stared at the gems in awe. "Yes, headmaster." She studied Grim, then gave a light tug on the stripped bow around his neck. "I bet I could make a special collar out of this," she muttered.

Grim grinned excitedly. "Yay! I did it! I'm so cool! I'm gonna get my own special magic crystal collar!!!"

Crowley frowned. "He's going to listen at all anymore, isn't he?"

Lev shook her head and laughed lightly. "Nope."

"That does bring up an important subject," the headmaster said. "Grim doesn't seem all that...accustomed to human society. You will supervise him and make sure he doesn't cause anymore trouble."

"Yes, sir," Lev agreed, looking at Grim nervously. 

You better not screw things up again, cat.

Ace grinned. "Look at you! School's just started but you're already a supervisor? Talk about lucky!"

Deuce tugged at his black gloves in thought. "I see. There's only two of you in your dorm, so you've been entrusted with supervising Grim. That's makes you a supervisor, or even a prefect."

Wow, you're all making it sound like I won the lottery or something.

"Not only that, but you're a supervisor who is unable to use magic? That's unheard of," Ace continued, chuckling occasionally. "But...it's cool. A cute, female, supervisor, student who is unable to use magic! Don't think we'll see anything quiet this interesting anytime soon."

Lev looked at them with a confident smile. "I've crossed a lot of barriers. And I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon!" She paused for a second and thought about what Ace had said. "W-w-wait?! Cute?!" 

Ace blushed a little, but laughed it away. "Yup! Good luck, Prefect!" 

He and the other males laughed at Lev's flushed expression, but eventually calmed down enough to let the Headmaster give Lev a relic called the 'Ghost Camera'. He explained it's abilities and told her to keep an eye out for troublemakers. They were going to explain Lev and Grim's new schedule, but Crowley noticed the time.

"My my! It's already so late. Let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow," he told the students. "Please return to your dormitories." 

"Yes, professor!" they agreed, walking out of the Headmaster's office together.

The group walked through the darkened school, staying quiet for the most part. Most small talk was ended quickly. Plus, they were all exhausted. It had been a rough past couple of days.

Grim was the only one not struggling to even function, yelling happily and bouncing off walls and columns.

"How does he have that much energy?" Lev wondered aloud, slouching as she walked. "He's like a five-year-old hyped up on sugar before bed."

"Honestly, I have no idea," Deuce groaned, rubbing his tired eyes.

Grim looked back at the three of them, oblivious to their conversation. "You all better watch out! I'm gonna leave you in the dust tomorrow!"

Ace laughed dryly and shook his head. "Good luck with that. I'm not gonna let you pass me up so easily."

Deuce nodded. "Yeah, starting tomorrow, we're classmates. You both better be ready."

"You bet!" Lev told them. "By the way, it was really nice to meet you both. Thanks so much for your help, and sorry for any trouble we caused. Right, Grim?" Grim didn't hear her. She sighed. 

"You know you can stop saying stuff like that, right?" Ace told her, his face turning pink. "It's kinda embarrassing."

"I think it's fine," Deuce disagreed. "Besides, you're gonna have to get used to us, Leviline. You're going to be seeing us everyday."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Lev said, smiling. "And please, call me Lev. If we're going to see each other so often, might as well refer to me on a more personal basis."

Deuce smiled back at her. "Sure, Lev." 

Ace grinned, seeing an opportune moment for teasing. "Aww, how cute. Are you two gonna kiss and get married and make a bunch of babies?" Ace sneered. Both Deuce and Lev severely blushed. 

"H-hey! No!" Deuce objected. "Shut up!" 

Ace laughed. "Whatever. See you tomorrow, Prefect!" He ran down the hall towards the room which housed the dorm mirrors, Deuce sprinting and shouting after him. Lev and Grim stood watching them, Lev's face still as red as a tomato.

Grim as usual didn't notice. "Those guys make a good combo, don't they?" he laughed. "They're the 'fight because they're too close together' type."

"Y-yeah," Lev agreed, staring after the two. 

"C'mon! Let's get back to our dorm. I'm hungry," Grim complained, jumping onto Lev's shoulder and snapping her out of her daze.

"What? Didn't you eat just a few minutes ago?" Lev asked, walked toward their dorm.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry again. So hurry up!" 

Lev sighed. "What am I ever going to do with you?"

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Can I get a shout out for our birthday boy, Tsunotaro? 

Happy Birthday, Malleus Draconia!