Episode 2: Chapter 19~21
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Ace, Deuce, and Grim chased Ruggie through the hallways, throwing fire and pots all over the place. When they made it to the courtyard, Ruggie couldn't help but tease them.
"Shishishi!" he laughed. "Is that all you three can do? You're not much, are ya?"
Riddle, Cater, and Lev quickly caught up to them.
"That guy is so fast," Ace gasped.
"He's not just fast," Deuce said through heavy breaths, "he's freakishly acrobatic."
Ruggie laughed again. "Compared to the backstreets in the slums, this is a cakewalk. Did you all even think this through? Even if you caught me, how're you gonna prove that I'm the culprit? You don't have any evidence."
"Y-you--!" Lev hissed.
"What's wrong, Prefect? Cat got your tongue?" Ruggie sneered. "Anyway, I'm done here. I'm just gonna leave the pens here and leave. See you all next time~!" He dropped the pens and started dashing away.
"WAIT!" Lev screamed. "My necklace! Give it back!"
"Huh? This little thing?" Ruggie asked, lifting up the pendant and spinning it around his finger. "It's pretty. I think I'm gonna keep it. Bye-bye~!" He ran away before Lev could do anything.
"N-no..." Lev gasped. "GET BACK HERE!" She sprinted after Ruggie.
"Lev, wait!" Grim shouted. She didn't stop. She cased Ruggie through the hallways and even up to the room full of mirrors.
Laughing his strange laugh, Ruggie jumped into his dorm mirror. Lev paused for a second before jumping after him. Once the bright light faded and the Savanaclaw Dorm House came into view, Lev quickly scanned the area for Ruggie.
"Bucchi!" she shouted. "Where are you?!" She spotted something dash out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Ruggie sprinting into the dorm house. Lev quickly caught her breath and running after him.
How is he so fast?
She chased Ruggie through the Dorm House (which luckily, was mostly empty), and eventually caught him ducking through a large doorway.
NO! He's not getting away!
She threw open the door and dashed through it. As soon as she entered, she felt someone grab her arm and shove her down into the ground.
"What are you doing in my room, herbivore?" a deep voice hissed in her ear.
Lev flinched. "L-Leona. What are--"
"I asked you a question," Leona snapped. "Now, answer it."
"Fine! But get off of me!"
Leona slowly moved off of her. "Now, talk."
The Ramshackle prefect sat up and glared at him. "I was chasing Ruggie when I saw him run in here. I didn't know this was your room, I swear."
"Why were you chasing Ruggie?"
"He stole something of mine," Lev spat. "I want it back."
"Was it this?" Leona held his hand, showing Lev's necklace dangling from his fingers.
Lev's eyes widened. "Yes! Give it back!" She leaned over to grab it, but Leona used his free hand to hold her away.
"No."
Lev's eyes began to water again. "Please. That's the thing I have from my home. It's important to me."
"Really? Is that so?" Leona studied the small object. "I suppose you'll do anything to get it back, huh?"
"Yes!" Lev shouted, nearly pouncing to grab her prized token. Leona quickly leaned away and grabbed Lev's face with his free hand, pinching her cheeks together.
The lion-man smirked. "How about we make a deal? I'll give you back your dirty little jewelry IF you keep quiet about this whole 'students getting injured' thing and let us continue our plan in peace." Lev's eyes widened in realization. "That's right, it was us. Surprise!"
Lev yanked Leona's hand away from her face. "Why?!" she exclaimed. "Why on earth would you do something so...so cruel?!"
Leona narrowed his eyes at her. "You would never understand."
"Try me."
"Maybe some other time," Leona said with a shrug. "Now, do we have a deal?" He dangled her necklace in front of her face tauntingly.
"No," she said in a defiant tone. "What you're doing is wrong and it has to stop. Now, give me back my--" Leona pounced on her in a similar way that he did the first time they met, trapping her on the ground beneath him. Lev immediately felt her face flush.
"Let me get one thing straight, herbivore," the dorm leader growled, "I'm not going to give you anything unless you vow to not say a word about this. I can take more things away, if that's what you'd prefer. Your friends, for example, would be like sitting ducks to us. Easy prey. You wouldn't want them to get hurt, would you?"
Lev frowned. "No." Leona smirked proudly. "However, they also know about my suspicions. We were going to interrogate Ruggie after we spoke with Jamil, your most recent victim, when he stole my necklace and made a run for it. If even one of them were to get hurt because of me, they would know it was you guys who were behind it. All we need is proof. You blackmailing me seems like pretty decent evidence."
Leona's smile disappeared. "Fine. They won't get hurt, and since you don't seem to care for this little trinket..." He closed his palm around the pendant and started crushing it. Lev heard the snap of metal.
"NO!" she cried out, reaching for his hand. Leona used his free arm and one of his knees to pin her arms down. His triumphant smirk returned. He released the pendant and let it swing from it's chain, showing it had not been harmed.
"Knew it," he sneered. "So? Do we have a deal? Keep your pretty little mouth shut and I'll give you this back once the tournament is over. If you tell them in any way-- notes, whispers, texts--I will destroy it. Got it?"
Lev felt awful. She didn't want to not tell anyone her findings and have more people end up getting hurt, but that necklace was important to her! It was the last this she had from her world. She felt sick.
"F-fine," she finally agreed. "I won't say anything."
Leona's grin grew as he stood up off of her and walked over onto a soft cushion to sit down. Lev quickly sat up and glared at him silently.
"Wonderful. Now, I can't let you run back to your little friends without some kind of assurance that you won't tattle on us." He thought for a moment, spinning her pendant in a way that he knew was going to annoy her. "How about this? I'll let you stay here in Savanaclaw, just for tonight, so that I can make sure you don't rat us out. If you go anywhere, Ruggie, I, or someone else I trust will have to be with you."
Lev's face flushed angrily. "What?! No way! I'm not staying here! I still have classes and Grim and--" Leona held up a hand to stop her.
"I'm sure you'll find a proper excuse," he said in a bored tone. "And I don't think the teachers will mind if you miss one day, especially if it'll be to 'find out who's the culprit behind all the strange injuries'." Not only was he going to stop her from telling anyone the truth, but he'd be making her give them an alibi. He laughed at her shocked expression. "You look like a scared little kitten. In fact, why don't I call you that from now on, Kitten?"
Lev face flushed even further. "N-no! Don't call me that!"
Leona just chuckled. "Whatever. Now, I'll go with you to get your stuff from your dorm while everyone else is in class. Wouldn't want to you 'accidentally' run into anyone and end up talking."
Lev glared at him. "Fine."
"Good," Leona purred. "Now, come along, Kitten. We have work to do."
====Time Skip====
Later than evening, Lev rested on one of the large chairs in the lounge area of Savanaclaw Dorm. She and Leona had gone to Ramshackle to get a few changes of clothes for her and to give the ghosts instructions. Leona had been careful to be within hearing distance of Lev's conversations, and to watch her gather her things and make sure she didn't leave any unnecessary notes or objects behind.
Since then, she had mostly stayed in Leona's room while he slept, keeping quiet and trying to think of a way out. Unfortunately, every time she would stand up to even just move across the room, Leona would wake up and give her a warning glare. She was stuck. Once it started to get dark, Ruggie took her down to the mostly abandoned lounge were she would sleep. A few Savanaclaw students guarded the exit to make sure she didn't leave.
She tried to sleep the best she could, but found it very difficult. Finally, when she did manage to fall asleep, the dorm leader came to check on her.
Leona walked over to the chair she was curled up on and studied her to make sure she as really asleep. He couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked, her face devoid of any stress, anger, or pain.
"Well, I never expected this," someone cooed. Ruggie walked up to the dorm leaders. "When you said you wanted to have a 'chat' with her, I didn't think you wanted to adopt her."
Leona scoffed. "She's only staying until the tournament is over tomorrow. Don't get any ideas."
"Understood, brain is promptly turned off." Ruggie put a finger to the side of his head, stuck out his tongue, and crossed his eyes.
Leona frowned. "Your humor could use some work." Ruggie put down his hand and shrugged. "And from what I've heard, your hunting could use some work as well. You got chased around by this sleeping kitten and the Heartslabyul brats. This is why I told you to never leave evidence behind!"
Ruggie's face paled. "T-that's not it. There were certain circumstances and... Well, just don't worry. They haven't gotten their hands on any evidence and you've got the Ramshackle Prefect--the only one who the Headmaster might believe even without evidence--tied around your little finger! There's nothing to sweat over."
"I'll see to that." Leona pulled a small bottle from his pocket and tossed it to Ruggie. "Here, I paid a high price to that awful octo-punk for this, so keep it safe. If anything goes wrong, you're going to be my next meal. Be prepared."
"I've got it covered," Ruggie promised. "Prep work is already going quite smoothly. Aah, this is going to be so fun to watch!"
"Yeah, yeah, now go to bed," Leona yawned.
Ruggie nodded and dashed away, laughing his strange laugh.
The Savanaclaw dorm leader looked back down at the sleeping prefect, her position unchanged save for a slight furrow between on her brow.
"Fun, indeed," Leona muttered with a small grin before walking back to his room.