For now, I'm only going to be updating one book (Which I decided on this one), since my anime books could wait and because new seasons don't come till like next year. So, we got time.
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-3rd POV-
As (Y/n) slept, she had another dream, 'Another dream...?' She thought.
"For painting my roses red, someone will lose his head!" The Queen of Hearts exclaimed, having a tree in her hand.
"Y-Your majesty, if anyone's to blame, it's him." The Three of Clubs, pointing at the other card.
"Have mercy, Your Grace. It was the Ace!" The Two of Clubs said.
The Queen walked closer, "So it was you." She said, putting emphasis on the last word.
"Gah, no, it was the Two!" The Ace of Clubs said, paint all over them.
"Then he will pay."
The Two of Clubs jumped up, "It was the Three, I say!"
"Enough of this. Off with all their heads!" The Queen of Hearts yelled, as red cards came and started to drag the other cards.
"Ooooooh! Yaaaaaay!"
The Queen could only laugh.
"A fitting end. Color, you can't mend." The Two of Diamonds said.
"Everyone knows the roses should be red." The Three of Spades said.
Then everything went black.
'But they're just roses...' The dual haired girl thought, before she was gently shaken awake, which made her open her eyes, and see Deuce.
"(Y/n), wake up." He said, softly smiling at the girl, thinking that she looked cute, "The unbirthday party is today. If we're late, well, you know..." He said, trailing off to look at the sleeping Ace, "He hasn't gotten up yet...?"
The girl rubbed her eye, while yawning softly, "That's right...The party's today." She mumbled.
Soon a knock was heard, making the two look towards the door.
"Hmm? It sounds like you have a visitor." The male said.
(Y/n) nodded and got up, going up to the door and opening it, "Oh, Cater-senpai. Good morning." She said, stepping aside to let the male in.
"Good mooorning!" He said, happily walking in, "Did you enjoy your sleepover? Did you bond-" He cut himself off when he noticed the inside of the Ramshackle dorm did not look anything like it did outside, "How did this happen?"
The girl looked at him, "I worked hard."
"But in a matter of a few days?! This is amazing!" He exclaimed, before grabbing the girl's hands, "(N/n)! Please help me redecorate my room!" He said, with eyes sparkling.
"Maybe another time, senpai."
"All right!" He cheered, before hearing the yawn of the collared male.
"Oh, good morning, Cater-senpai." He said, tiredly, before smiling, "(Y/n) can really decorate, huh? Pretty cool!"
Grim nodded, "My henchman can really put in the work."
Deuce looked at the girl, "How did you even get the supplies?" He asked.
The girl only blinked at him and turned her head, 'I stole Mr. Crowley's card...He got annoying for saying how gracious he was...Karma, I guess...' She thought.
"Well, you should get one of the tarts we made yesterday and go apologize to Riddle." Cater said, looking at Ace, "And you should probably hurry, because after the trouble yesterday, we're a little short-handed."
"What does that mean?" The male said.
The male shook his head, "Don't worry. I've totes got it under control. Anyway, off to the party we go!"
-----
"All right, so I'll hand over the tart and say I'm sorry, then-"
"Hey, it's about time I got back! Good to see me!" Cater said, waving, but he was wearing the gym uniform.
"And me! Looking good as always, me!" The Cater walking with the first-years said, waving back.
"Bwuh?!" The three exclaimed, while the girl's eyes widen.
"Th-There are two Caters?!" Deuce said.
"Are you guys identical twins?!"
"Nope. I only have older sisters." The Cater with the uniform said, "What I do have is my signature spell, Split Card. It lets me make magic duplicates of myself."
"This must be how Cater kept coming after we beat him over and over again yesterday..." The blue haired male said.
"Welcome home, daaarlings." Cater, but wearing the lab uniform, said.
"Good to see you, (Y/n)!" Another Cater wearing ceremonial robes said, appearing behind the girl and wrapping his arms around her, making her tense but calm down soon after.
"You're late! I was worried sick!" Another Cater said.
"Bwah! There're more of them?" Ace said, shocked.
"JSYK, I'm actually the real Cater." The one in the gym uniform said, "Making duplicated is suuuper exhausting, so I can't maintain them for long. Anyways, if we're late, heads will roll. And since we're several people short, we'll need your help. But when this is over, I promise I'll take you straight to Riddle."
"What, more roses?" Grim said, deadpanning.
"And here we go again!" The collared male said, crossing his arms with a pout.
"Get the lead out, peeps! We need to get started!" Cater said.
-----
Deuce panted, "...Well, this is going better than before." He said.
"Looking good!" Cater said, bringing out his phone, "Ooh, it's almost time! Okay, all you sexy doubles, that's a wrap!"
"Aye-aye, sir!" They all said, before disappearing.
'That's pretty impressive...' (Y/n) thought.
-----
"All hail our leader, the red sovereign himself...Housewarden Riddle!" A student from the dorm said.
"We salute you, Housewarden Riddle!" Everyone said.
"Hm. The garden roses are red, the tablecloth are white...This seems a proper unbirthday indeed." Riddle said, as he walked and looked around at the decorations, "Is there a dormouse asleep in the teapot, as there should be?"
"Of course. And should it become necessary, we've also prepared the jap to spread on his nose." Trey said.
"Very good."
"Myah! Those are some fancy duds!" Grim said, seeing everyone in their dorm uniforms.
"These are Heartslabyul dorm clothes. Aren't they fierce?" Cater said, smiling, "At the forefront of fashion, and they look great on Magicam." He then used his magic to change into his uniform, "One of the Queen's rules mandates formal dress on party days. As a show of kindness from a beloved mentor, I'll help coordinate your outfits."
Then a bright light surrounded the four, wearing the coordinated colors of the dorm.
"Whoa!" Deuce said, looking at his uniform.
"Lookin' sharp!" Ace said.
"Myah! So cool!"
"You all look good." (Y/n) said, making them look and their eyes widen.
(Credits go to @forestn_k)
"You look very pretty, (N/n)!" The upperclassman said, smiling.
"Thank you, Cater-senpai." She said, nodding.
From afar Riddle looked at the girl and could feel his face grow slightly warm, but shook it off.
"Now, let's tear this party up! And don't forget to give Riddle the tart." He said.
"Before we begin the croquet tournament, let us make a toast. Does everyone have their teacup?" Riddle said, raising his cup, "On this most significantly unauspicious of days, I bid all in attendance...a very merry unbirthday!"
"To a very merry unbirthday!" Everyone said.
Cater looked at Ace, "Ace, this is your chance!"
"Right..." He said, before getting grabbing the tart and going up to the red haired male, "Uh, housewarden, sir..."
The male looked up at him, "Ah, it's you. The tart thief."
"Yeah, so, I wanted to apologize for eating that tart. We made you a new tart to replace it." He said, showing the male the tart.
"Hmm? And what kind of tart is it?" Riddle asked curiously, looking at the pastry.
"I'm so glad you asked! It's chestnut tart, and I swear, we weren't stingy with the chestnuts."
"A chestnut tart?!" He exclaimed, shocked.
"What?!"
"The Queen of Heart's rule 562: "One must never bring a chestnut tart to an unbirthday party." This is an utterly flagrant rule violation! Do you understand what you've done?! You've ruined an otherwise perfect unbirthday!" He said, angrily.
"Rule 562...?!" Deuce said.
"How many rules are there?" (Y/n) said.
"There are 810 rules in all, and housewarden, I can of course recite each and every on of them." The red haired male said, looking at the girl.
"Wow, TIL...This could be bad." Cater whispered, before looking at the green haired male next to him, "Trey, were you aware of this?"
"I was only able to memorize the first 350 or so." Trey said, whispering back, "Well, we really botched this one. Big-time."
"As housewarden of a dorm established to honor the Queen of Heart's rigor, I cannot ignore this. Destroy the offending tart immediately! Then throw these rulebreakers out of the dorm!" Riddle exclaimed.
"Whoa, hold up! Is that one of your rules too?!" Ace yelled out.
"Yeah! If you want the tart gone, let me eat it!" Grim said, angrily.
The green haired upperclassman walked up, "Housewarden, allow me to apologize. I was the one who suggested making a chestnut tart."
"I was a part of that too. We had no idea there was a rule about it!" Cater said, cutting in.
"The making of the tart is not the issue. The issue is bringing it here. Today. That is the transgression!" Riddle said.
(Y/n)'s brows furrowed, "Hey...He worked really hard to make it." She said.
The collared male nodded, "Yeah! All you do is cite one stupid rule after another! You sound totally foolish!"
"What did you just call me? "Foolish"?!" The red haired male said.
"Everyone, stop! Don't dig this hole any deeper!" Cater said, before looking at the shorter male, "And Riddle, please try to remember that these are new students who've only been here a few days!"
"Nah, bro. I've got a shovel and I am digging. Throwing away a tart to obey some insane rule is about as foolish as it gets." Ace said.
Deuce nodded, "I agree with Ace. Of course, I understand that rules do need to be followed, but...This is going much too far."
The dual haired girl looked at him, "Can't you let it go? It's just a small rule." She said.
"Are you attempting to debate me? Bold move. But I'll bite. By breaking even the smallest rule, you are throwing wide the gate to anarchy." The housewarden said.
The collared male looked at the others, "Everyone, I know you're afraid of getting your magic sealed away, but you know this is insane, right?"
"N-No, we, uh..." A student said.
"Well? Isn't it?" Riddle said, looking at them.
"Far from it, Housewarden Riddle, sir!"
"We trust in your judgement, sir!" Another student said.
"You little..." The feline said, trailing off.
"You spineless, fair-weather cowards..." Ace said.
"In the year since I became housewarden, not a single student from Heartslabyul House has dropped out or been held back a year. We are the only house that can boast such a feat. Furthermore, of everyone in this dorm, I have the best academic standing. Hence, I am the most correct! If you would simply obey me without question, we wouldn't need to contend so."
"Listen, we-!" Deuce said.
"It's not off with their heads because I want to do that. I do it because rules must never be broken." Riddle whispered but was heard, as Trey watched him, "If you will not obey me, then I will have all of your heads!"
"Okay, let's all say "Yes, Housewarden Riddle."" Cater said.
The blue haired male shook his head and crossed his arms, "...I can't."
The girl shook her head, "I'm not saying it."
"I don't bow to self-important tyrants!" Ace said.
The red haired male glared at him, "What did you just call me?"
"He called you a tyrant for wantin' to destroy good food just 'cause you're throwin' a tantrum!" Grim said.
"Guys, I don't think we need to escalate this-" The blue haired male said, looking at the two.
"Off! With! Your! Heads!"
Suddenly, Grim, Deuce and (Y/n) were collared.
"Bwaaaaaah!" The other two said, as the girl's eyes widen.
"No! Not the collar again!" The feline said, trying to get it off.
The blue haired male tried too, "Gah! I can't get it off!"
(Y/n) tried to use her quirk, and was glad it still worked, 'Guess it's because I don't have magic.' She thought.
"Trey! Cater! Eject them from the premises!"
The two could only follow orders, "...Yes sir, Housewarden."
"Y-You're supposed be our "mentors"!" Deuce said.
"Sorry, but we can't disobey our housewarden!" Cater said.
"Sorry, man..." Trey apologized.
"Oh, that's how it's gonna be? Then bring it on!" Ace exclaimed, which made the male shake his head.
-----
The two pushed their underclassmen out the dorm.
"We'll TTYL, folks." Cater said, waving at them.
"We'll try to calm Riddle down, so maybe he'll let you back in the dorm after you apologize." The green haired male said, as they walked back.
Ace glared at them, "I will never apologize! Not to that numbskull!" He yelled, angrily.
-----
Riddle let out a small sigh, "Hmph. Now, let's get this party back on track. After all, we still need to have the croquet tournament." He said, before looking at the time, making his brows furrow, "And now we're fifteen minutes behind schedule! This is outrageous!"
"Yes sir, Housewarden Riddle." Trey said.
Cater looked at him, "Are you really okay with this, Trey?" He mumbled.
"What do you expect me to do about it?"
-----
As the four walked, the girl suddenly paused, making the rest confused and look at her.
(Y/n)'s eyes dulled, seeing more drops of ink drip down, 'Is something going to happen to Riddle?' She thought, as her eyes came back to life, before looking up and seeing the three looking at her with worry, "Oh, something wrong?"
Deuce shook his head, "We're fine. But you suddenly paused. You all right?" He said, worriedly.
"I'm fine. Just got distracted by something, don't worry about it." She said, before looking at Ace, who let out an angry noise.
"I hate that little ginger megalomaniac! Does he think he's the Queen of Hearts?"
"Banished by the housewarden from my own dorm...My dream of becoming an honor student is slipping further and further away..." The blue haired male said, sighing softly.
Grim pouted, "Stupid collar! It's so tight! Grrr..."
"You're really racking up those collars. Quite the impressive collection." A new voice said above the girl's.
"Bwah?!" The three said, as the girl jumped slightly, turning her head to look at the male.
'A person without a body...?!' She thought.
"Myah! A ghost head!" The feline yelled out.
"Oh, dear. It seems I'm not all here." He said, before the male's body then appeared, wrapping his arms around the girl, making her tense,
The male had short, choppy purple hair with his bangs cut in a curve, as well as three bobby pins pinned to the bang on the left side of his face. He had a pair of purple cat ears with a piercing of a speech bubble containing the word "up" in his left ear as well as three arrow piercings in his right ear. He had yellow eyes with slitted cat pupils. He wore a baggy white shirt over a striped purple t-shirt, and blue pants with a purple belt that had the sentence "Do you stand on your head?" printed on it. He had purple painted nails and wears a ring shaped like the Cheshire Cat's smile on his right hand.
"What? Er, so you do have a body, then? Who are you?" The blue haired male said.
"The name's Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker. Am I a cat? Am I a purrrson? A mimsy borogove, perhaps? A mome rath with a knack for magic?" The male introduced himself.
"Uh, look, Ar...Arte...Run the name by me again?" Ace said.
"Could you please let me go?" The girl said.
The purple haired male giggled, "People usually just call me Chenya." He said, before letting go of the girl, but put his head near hers, "Let's say I'm not from the other side of the looking glass." He grinned.
"If you don't mind me asking, what dorm are you from?" She said.
"Why don't you try to guess?"
"Oh, I know! He's got animal ears, so he's gotta be from...uh...Bananaclaw, was it?" The tanuki said.
"Bzzzt! Incorrect. Bananas grow on trees, do they not? I, on the other hand, am a cat."
"And besides, other dorms have students with animal ears, too." Deuce said.
"After the insanity that teapot tyrant put me through, I'm not in the mood for whatever this is. Just leave me alone. And step away from (Y/n)! It's obviously making her uncomfortable!"
Chenya ignored the last sentence, "Riddle the teapot tyrant..." He giggled, "Well, I can't dismiss that perspective as wrong. He's always been quite strict."
"Do you know something about him?" The girl questioned.
"Perhaps there are things that I know, and perhaps there are things that I don't." He said, poking her nose gently, making her blink at him.
"That's not an answer! And step away from my henchman!" Grim said.
"Is there something you wish to know about Riddle?" He asked them.
"Yeah, what created such a control freak?" The orange haired male said.
"I believe his four-eyes friend may have the answer."
"Four-eyes friend? You mean Trey-senpai?" The blue haired male said.
"He's known Riddle since we were all little boys. If you want to know more about Riddle, I would begin my quest there."
"They're childhood friends? I didn't really get that impression."
"If you're so perceptive, then what are you asking me for? Buh-bye!" He said grinning, as his body disappeared.
"H-Hey!"
His head floated on top of the girl's purring softly as he hummed, then fully disappeared.
"I tell ya, no one makes any sense around here." Grim said.
"Well, we're not going to be able to do much in the way of schoolwork with these collars on. So let's go see what Trey-senpai has to say, and then..." Deuce said, trailing off looking at Ace.
"If you're gonna say "apologize to Riddle," you can forget it!"
(Y/n) sighed softly, "He is definitely a tough one...Not even Bakugo-kun is this tough..." She said, before remembering the times he would try to fight her brother, "Nevermind..." She mumbled, before bringing up her left hand to the collar, grabbing it and tried to melt it off.
"Eh? You can still use your powers?"
"Yeah...I guess it's because it isn't considered magic." She said, before feeling the collar come off, and fall to the ground with a thud.
The rest eyes widen, before grinning.
"(Y/n)! Do mine next!" Deuce said, stepping up.
The said girl looked at him, "Sorry, but I don't think I can, I'm worried that I might hurt you guys. But I can give it a try, if you would like." She said.
The male nodded, "I'll go first. If it gets too hot, then I'll tell you to stop."
"All right." She said, getting close to the blue haired male, which made him blush slightly, but the girl thought it was from her fire quirk, "Is it too hot? I can stop."
"N-No! It's fine!" He stuttered.
Ace glared at him, 'Lucky...'
Grim noticed the two expression, 'They like my henchman?! Not happening! They have to get through me first!'
After a bit, Deuce winced, "Can you stop? The heat is getting to me." He said, as sweat dripped down, but sighed in relief when the girl put her right hand to his forehead.
"Let's just wait for everything to pass so Riddle-senpai can get these off." She said, before removing her hand, feeling his temperature is back to normal.
-----
"The Queen of Hearts's rule 249: "Flamingo caretakers are to don pink attire." It was supposed to be your turn to feed the flamingos today. Why aren't you wearing pink?" Riddle said, looking at the male in front of him.
"I'm sorry, Housewarden. My pink clothes were in the laundry...Please, sir, not the collar!" He said.
"This is your second rule violation. I cannot forgive a repeated offense." He said, getting his pen and pointing it at the male, "Off With Your Head!"
Soon, a collar appeared around the male, making him yell out.
"Write me a 5,000-word apology and weed the garden for one week, and I'll remove it."
The student cried, "...But..."
"Do you think I enjoy having to do this?! You're the one who broke the rules! As much as I would like to, I cannot ignore these infractions. It's for your own sake. Understood?" The red haired male said, then looked at the two upperclassmen, "Trey? Cater? Remove him from the premises."
"...Yes, Housewarden." The two said.
-----
As the four walked in to the library, the girl paused again in her walk, making the other three look back, seeing her eyes dull, which made them worried.
(Y/n) on the other hand could only see ink drip down, but this time it was more, 'Better keep my guard up...' She thought, before her vision came back. Blinking, she looked at the three, who were waving their hands and paws in front of her.
"Are you sure you're okay? This is the second time you have stopped. Plus, your eyes were dull." Deuce said, worriedly.
The dual haired girl nodded, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just feel like something is going to happen, so please keep your guard up."
Ace pouted, "How can we when we can't use our magic." He said.
"Oh, right...I'll protect you all then." She said, before turning her head, hearing footsteps and seeing a familiar male, "Trey-senpai."
The male turned to them "You four!" He said.
"We figured that if we waited at the library, you'd show up to return your tart cookbook eventually." The blue haired male said.
"We still got a problem with the way Housewarden Riddle is handling all of this." The orange haired male said, still angry.
"Yeah, I thought you might say that." The older male said, sighing.
"Come clean with us. What's your take on Riddle? Is it true you've been pandering to him since the two of you were kids?"
He looked at him, his brows furrowing, "What?! Who told you that?"
"A guy who called himself Chenya." Deuce said.
(Y/n) nodded, "He seems to be a hugger."
"Chenya...Huh. That explains it." Trey said.
"What I don't get is, aren't you older than Riddle? Why haven't ya told him off already?" Grim said.
"I do when I need to. I don't think the situation calls for it."
"Why not?" Ace said.
"These sorts of strict rules...They're what created Riddle."
"Huh?" The blue haired male said.
"His parents were famous magical healers. Everyone where we're from knew their names. His mom was especially talented, and she really wanted Riddle to live up to her legacy. So, from the moment Riddle woke up to when his head hit the pillow at the end of the night...Every aspect of his life was planned, down to the minute, by the education program she made for him." The upperclassman said.
"Sounds pretty lame." The feline said.
(Y/n)'s eyes widen, 'He's like me...'
"What he ate, what he wore, what soap he used, who his friends were-every last detail had been predetermined for him. And to please his parents, Riddle obediently completed every task they'd laid out for him. He mastered his signature spell by age ten. He's been the top student in all of his classes. I can't even imagine how hard he must have had it."
"He's like me..." She mumbled as she stared at the floor, making them all look at her.
"What was that (Y/n)?" The green haired male asked.
She looked at him, "He's like me. I grew up in a household where I had to train day and night in order to become the perfect hero and surpass our father...Sho-nii and I were trained to the point we would pass out and vomit. We couldn't even spend time with our own siblings..." She looked at the floor, feeling tears welling up, "He's the reason our mother is in the hospital..." She trailed off, before she was pulled in to a hug, making her eyes widen as a tear slipped down.
"It's fine...You're here with us now..." He said, rubbing her back gently, 'Now, I see why these three created a protection squad for her...' He thought, then looked at the other three, who were worried over the girl, but continued the conversation, "Riddle sees the enforcement of strict rules as a service to his dorm members. In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines-by fear-is a fast-track to personal growth. Because that's how it worked for him. And on the flip side, he sees the violation of those rules as an inexcusable offense."
"I guess that makes sense, since rules made him who he is." The orange haired male said.
"Look, I totally get why you see Riddle as a tyrant, and why you disapprove of his methods. But for me...I can't hold that against him, you know?" Trey said, as he looked at the girl, who wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug.
"Myah..." Grim said.
"So that's why he's like that." Deuce said.
Ace stayed quiet for a bit before speaking, "All right, now I get it. It's your fault Riddle's like this."
"What?!" The three said, minus the girl, who at this point just wanted to go back to the dorm.
"Riddle didn't get to choose his parents. Neither you, (Y/n). But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right?"
"I mean, yeah..." The green haired male said.
"Well, now Riddle's making the exact same mistake that his parents did. You're going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don't you see where that's leading? You're letting him make a pariah out of himself!" He said, which made the male look at him with his brows furrowed.
"Ace, man, come on..." Deuce said.
"So why don't you say something? Are you just afraid you'll "lose your head" too? That's pathetic!" He grinned, then put his hands on his hips, "You guys are supposed to be childhood friends?! Then act like it."
"You there! Be quiet! You are in a library!" A new voice cut in yelling at them.
The girl pulled back and looked at him with a blank look, "But you're yelling too."
"Oh!" Crowley said, before clearing his throat, "Yes, my apologizes. But let us strive to maintain the library as a quiet place for reading." He whispered.
She tilted her head, "What are you doing here, Mr. Crowley?"
"I'm researching methods to send you back home. Precisely as I promised I would. Oh, but I am gracious! And the library is, of course, an ideal place for serious research." He smiled, "It's not as if I came here just to secure the newest book in that popular series of novels. No, certainly not."
Grim and (Y/n) deadpanned, 'He totally was.' They thought.
He cleared his throat, "Incidentally, what are you all discussing with such grim faces?"
"Well, since you asked..." Deuce said, trailing off.