-3rd POV-
"Seriously? Why even ask for advice if you're gonna immediately reject it?!" Grim exclaimed, "What's your issue with my suggestion, anyway?"
"The Viper family has assisted the Asim family for generations. How could I betray our history like that? It would be beyond the pale. Not to mention the lecture I would get from my parents...I'm sorry, but it just wouldn't be right." Jamil said, shaking his head as he frowned.
(Y/n) nodded to herself, "I guess you make a good point..."
"It is what it is."
"Okay, I get why you can't challenge Kalim to a duel. But if the housewarden keeps actin' like this, he's gonna make life totally miserable for everybody in the dorm. Riddle was bad enough, but this hot and cold thing Kalim's doin' is making it way worse." The feline said.
"Yeah. He's not acting like a housewarden at all!" The golden haired male exclaimed.
"He's not even meeting the job requirements. This goes against our Scarabian spirits!" The purple haired male said.
"Eh? What requirements?" The dual haired girl asked, tilting her head slightly.
The black haired male looked at her, "To be a housewarden of one of Night Raven College's seven dorms, you must be the most befitting of the dorm's spirit. Anything less, and you are unqualified to be housewarden. Dueling is essentially an easy way to determine this. The seven dorms each have their own different spirits, and their own ways of determining who befits it. For example, tradition in Pomefiore states that the housewarden is whoever can make the most potent poison."
"Gah, that's nightmare fuel! So how'd Kalim get picked to be the head honcho of Scarabia?" The tanuki said.
"He was nominated by the previous housewarden. Through his prior work and virtues, he cultivated a reputation as the most befitting in the dorm. I'll never forget how proud I was at his nomination." He smiled.
"But he wouldn't have half that record if you hadn't been helping him! Everybody in the dorm knows it."
"Why didn't the last housewarden choose you instead?!"
"Don't blame him." He scolded them, "For a relative of the Asim family to choose me over the main house's heir would be...Ah!" He said, his eyes widening, realizing what he just revealed.
"Seriously? Again with this Asim family stuff?" Grim said, frowning.
"So that's what was going on. I had no idea. That sounds like blatant nepotism!" The golden haired male said.
"Man, the Asim family plays way too dirty!" The purple haired male said.
"Please, I implore you. Forget what you just heard." Jamil said.
"Night Raven College is known as a big-name university precisely because it's a meritocracy. Getting special privileges because of your parents is something that shouldn't fly here!"
The red haired male nodded, "He's right, Vice Housewarden. We won't stand for this!"
"Social status and wealth aren't supposed to matter here on campus. We're all supposed to be equals!"
"But, ah..." The black haired male said, trailing off.
"Scarabia is a dorm build around the Sorcerers of the Sands' spirit of mindfulness. I've always felt that someone thoughtful like Jamil-senpai deserves the seat of house leader way more than Kalim-senpai." A silver haired male said.
"Slow down. I'm not special or superior to anyone else. My grades are dead average. On a scale of one to ten, mine are fives across the board. I'm not fit to be housewarden."
"Magical talent isn't what decides who befits the dorm's spirit."
"What do you guys think? Who's the most suitable housewarden out of everyone here?" The red haired male said.
"Oh, it's Jamil-senpai, no question!"
"Yeah. Jamil-senpai is way more fit to be Scarabia housewarden than Kalim-senpai!"
"We can't just accept an incompetent housewarden because he was born into a rich family!"
"That's right. Scarabia's got no use for a leader who can't lead!"
"Scarabia won't suffer an incompetent housewarden!" All the students said.
Footsteps came up and it revealed to be Kalim.
"What are all of you doing, gathered together at this hour?" He said, which shocked and startled everyone.
"Gah! Busted!" Grim exclaimed.
"K-Kalim..." Jamil stuttered.
"Morning training clearly wasn't enough for you, if you still have energy to burn." The white haired male said, angrily, "Jamil! Take the students out to the courtyard this instant."
"The courtyard, sir?"
"We'll do magic training until their bodies give out."
"That's ridiculous!" The golden haired male said.
"I dunno about you, but I'm already way past my limit!" The feline cried out.
(Y/n) narrowed her eyes, 'We have to escape and look for another way to stop this...' She thought.
"Do I need to repeat myself? Hurry up!" Kalim said.
Jamil nodded hesitantly, "...Fine. Come on, everyone. Out." He said, looking at the students.
-----
"Uuugh...I'm wiped out. I can't walk another step..." Grim cried.
The girl looked at him, "We need to get out of here."
"I'm at my own limit too, y'know! I don't wanna spend another second in this prison. I'm pooped and ready to pass out, but I've still got my trusty spoon. I'm gonna finish diggin' that hole tonight!" He said, grabbing the spoon and began to dig.
-----
The feline kept digging before stopping, "Woah! (Y/n)! Hey, (Y/n)!" He exclaimed, grabbing the girl's attention, "Look. The hole finally reaches the other side of the door! I couldn't get it too big, but hey. They say as long as you can get your head through a hole, the rest follows easy enough."
The girl deadpanned, "Don't you mean shoulders?"
He ignored her words, "I'll go through first and pull you through second. Now, let's get this show on the road!" He said, before going into the hole and coming out the other side, "Come on!" He whispered yelled to the girl.
The dual haired girl looked at the hole and sighed softly, "All right." She mumbled, before crouching down and went through the hole, she struggled a bit, but got through to the other side, with Grim helping to pull her by her hands as best as he could.
"Phew...We finally made it out of that stupid room." He said.
"Now I know how prisoners feel..." She mumbled.
"Okay, let's get back to Ramshackle Dorm while we can. Just gotta be niiice and quiet..." He said, before a growl came from his stomach, "Mrow?! Ah, crud! I was diggin' so hard there, it made me hungry..." He trailed off.
-----
"What was that earth-shaking noise just now?!"
"It came from the Ramshackle students room!"
The Scarabia students said, before running in the direction of the room.
-----
"Whuh-oh. We're in trouble now!" Grim exclaimed.
"What do you think you're doing there?!" The golden haired male said, as they appeared around the corner.
"Myah, they found us!"
"What are you doing outside?! I know we locked that door tight!" The purple haired male said.
The other male looked at the floor and his eyes widen, pointing at it, "Ah! There's a hold in the floor! You really don't know when to give up, do you?"
"We've got runners! After them!"
Then the male blew the whistle as they ran.
"If they catch us, it's back to the life of prisoner! Cheese it!" The feline exclaimed, running along with the girl.
"After them! After them!" Students yelled out.
-----
"Let's duck into a random room and let 'em pass us!" The tanuki exclaimed, before the two opened a door and went in, closing it.
Soon, footsteps were heard.
"Where'd they go? Split up and find them!"
"Show yourselves, street rats!"
Then the footsteps faded.
Grim sighed in relief, "I think they're gone."
(Y/n) nodded, "It's only a matter of time before they find us." She said.
"Maaan...There's gotta be some way to lose those guys! What room is this, anyway? It's too dark to see anything."
Then something poked him.
"Hm? Why's there somethin' soft and fuzzy nudgin' my face?" Then it began to tickle him, which made him laugh, "That tickles! (Y/n), use that fire or smartphone of yours to give us some light."
The girl nodded and her left sight lit up in flames, and they took note that they were in the storeroom, and in front of them was the carpet.
"Whoa, geez! You scared the daylights outta me! I was about to scream and everything." The tanuki whispered yelled, "This is Kalim's treasury, huh? They don't lock up the treasure?"
The carpet nodded and flew around them.
"Ooh, that's it! If you helped us, we can shake off the patrols and get outside!"
They tilted their head, obviously confused.
"Hey, carpet! I'll let you out if you carry us outta the dorm!"
The carpet happily nodded, wanting to go out.
"Great. All aboard, (Y/n)! And goodbye, Scarabia!" He said, getting on the carpet, who created steps for them to get on.
(Y/n) got on, and soon the carpet flew out the window and out towards the clouds.
"Woo-hoo! We made it! See ya, suckers! Freedoooom!" He exclaimed, seeing the dorm get smaller and smaller.
-----
"Ah! Look over there—they're riding the housewarden's magic carpet!" The golden haired male exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the two.
"First they break out, then they rob us? The housewarden will never let us hear the end of it if he finds out!" The purple haired male said.
"We have to seize them! Hold it right there, thieves!" The red haired male exclaimed, running, with the others following.
-----
Grim laughed, "If you wanna catch us, try learnin' to fly first!" He said, noticing them.
(Y/n) looked at him, "Uhm...not to ruin the mood or anything, but do you know how to steer this carpet?"
"Steer it? Uhhh, I think Kalim took hold of the corner tassels and tugged at 'em like this..." He said, grabbing them and tugging them, "Myah!" Which startled the carpet, and began to twist and turn, "Hey! Less with the 360, more with the fly quickly!" He tugged again making the carpet spin, "Gyaaah! The world is spinning! Someone make it stoooop!"
The girl grew pale, "I think I'm going to be sick..." She mumbled.
-----
"They're going outside the dorm! After them, quick!" Students yelled out, before following them.
-----
The carpet flew through the dorm, before getting closer and closer to the mirror.
"Aaah! We're gonna crash right into the mirror!" Grim exclaimed, as they then went through the mirror, flew around the hall of mirrors and into another mirror, before crashing, "MrooOOOoow..."
"Are we dead...?" The dual haired girl questioned, her eyes spinning.
A click was heard.
"Well, well. What have we here? Patrons in search of a little midnight snack, perhaps?" Jade said.
"Aw, maaan. I was totally ready to squeeze any burglars here to nap our food supplies. It's just the Little Koi-chan and the Seal." Floyd said, before pouting, "Laaame."
"Wha...? What're you guys doin' here?" The feline said.
"Didn't we already go over this? We can't go home over the winter break because of ice floes, remember?"
"Wait, so we're in Octavinelle?!"
Jade nodded, "Yes. Inside the Mostro Lounge, to be precise."
"We...We made it! Finally, we've broken outta that awful prison!" He exclaimed, as the carpet cheered along with him.
(Y/n) got up and hugged the twins, shocking them, "You have no idea what it felt to be like in prison. I will never do crime..." She mumbled, burying her face into Jade's side, which made him blush slightly.
The male's eyes widen, "A prison? Care to elaborate?"
Floyd pointed at the magic carpet, "And what's this rectangular flouder-lookin' guy?" He said, with a smile.
"It looks a lot like Kalim-san's magic carpet, actually..."
Multiple footsteps came running in.
"There's no escape for now, thieves!" The golden haired Scarabia student exclaimed.
"Surrender quietly!" The purple haired male said.
"Mrow?! You chased us all the way here?! You guys are seriously stubborn, you know that?!" Grim exclaimed.
Another set of footsteps came in, seeing that it was Azul.
"What's all the commotion at this late hour?" He said.
"You're Azul Ashengrotto, the housewarden of Octavinelle!"
"Would you care to explain what's going on here?"
"It's none of Octavinalle's business. Just hand over the two of them quietly." The golden haired male said.
The male then looked over to the two, seeing (Y/n) hugging Jade and Floyd, which made him feel a slight sting in his heart, "Now that I'm looking closer, would that be (Y/n) and Grim quivering? They looked so dingy, I thought they were a pair of dustcloths." He smiled.
The said girl let go of the twins and looked at him, "Please help us, Azul-senpai."
"...Hmmm." He hummed.
"If you refuse to hand them over, you'll be party to their wrongdoing as well." The Scarabia student said.
"Hey, are you yankin' my tail here? Who do you think you're talking to?" Floyd said with a threatening tone.
"No fighting of any kind is permitted in the Mostro Lounge. This is a place for gentlemen." The gray haired male said.
"What was that? You're interfering?"
"Fine. We'll just do this the hard way!"
"Hmph. I think it's time we asked these ill-mannered patrons to leave. Jade. Floyd. Show them the door."
"Yes, sir./ On it." The two said, walking up.
-----
"Argh...Retreat for now!" The golden haired male exclaimed.
"You haven't seen the last of us!" The purple haired male said.
"Go on and scatter, you bunch of minnows!" Floyd said, laughing.
"We'll be eagerly awaiting your next visit to our lounge." Jade said, smiling.
Then the Scarabia students ran out of Mostro Lounge.
Grim cheered, "Mya-hah! We did it! You see that?! That's what you get, you buncha jerks!"
(Y/n) sighed, "I never want to be locked up..."
"I do hate to rain on your parade, but..." Azul said, looking at them, "I'm afraid we'll have to bill you for repair fees for the tables and chairs damaged in that fight. Not to mention our labor rates, since we were dragged into this affair."
"What?! You're chargin' us for that?!" The feline exclaimed.
The dual haired girl grabbed her wallet and took out Crowley's black card, giving it to the male, "Here. Take the money from there."
The male's eyes widen, looking at the name that read on the card, "This is...the Headmage's card."
"And? Take his money, that's what we been using. Why do you think our dorm looks like that. It all came from Mr. Crowley's card." She said, smirking slightly.
The three mermen blushed slightly, seeing the girl's smirk.
The tanuki cried, "First we get dragged into a bunch of Scarabian infighting, now this...I swear, there ain't a decent guys in this whole school!"
This seem to caught Azul's attention, "...I'm sorry, come again? What's this about Scarabian infighting?"
The girl blinked, "Well..." She began, as the two began to tell the story, before they ended up crashing through Mostro Lounge.
"The housewarden of Scarabia is acting out of control, you say?"
"Yeah! Kalim's runnin' all his dormmates through the wringer every day, nonstop." Grim said.
The male's eyes widen, "I wouldn't have expected that from Kalim-san, of all people."
The other two eels eyes widen as they heard too.
"I never knew the little Sea Otter had it in him." Floyd said.
"He's never given me that impression, either." Jade said.
"Vice Housewarden Jamil's got his hands full tryin' to deal with it. He's a decent guy, which is pretty rare for this school. I feel kinda bad for him. And we can't even reach the headmage in the middle of all this mess! That Crowley, I swear..."
The grey haired male was lost in thought.
Jade turned to him, "Azul, you're in Jamil-san's class, right?"
"Yes. We also share a number of electives. Our paths are wont to cross often. Grim might be rights when he says that Jamil-san is a rarity in this school. He's...demure and poised, you might say. He's hardly ever ventures opinions of his own."
"Yeah. I'm in the Basketball Club with Sea Snake, and he pretty much plays like a goody-goody. I never pay much attention to other dorms to start with, so I had no idea he was a vice housewarden for Scarabia." Floyd said.
"And now we know he's having trouble dealing with his housewarden's antics. Hrm..." He hummed before smiling, "It sounds like I should come to their aid."
"Wha? Did you hit your head or somethin' when I wasn't lookin'?" The feline said, deadpanning.
"Why, I never. I'll have you know the last incident forced me to reflect on my greed. I came out of it a changed man. Moving forward, I've decided to contribute to the school as a whole, in honor of the Sea Witch's spirit of benevolence. Now that Scarabia is faced with a crisis and my very own classmate is in need of help...I can hardly ignore them in their time of need."
"Oooh?" Floyd said, smirking along with his brother.
"Oh-ho."
"It's just as well—I tire of picking at the same turkey dinner alongside the same faces every year. Why don't we pay Scarabia a visit tomorrow?" Azul said.
"Seriously?! We just broke outta that prison, and you want us to march back in? Count me out." The tanuki said.
"C'mon, Sealie-o, don't be like that." Floyd said, smiling.
"Have some faith on Azul. I'm sure he'll make this a holiday to remember." Jade smiled.
"It would be ruse to visit empty-handed, of course. Jade. Floyd. Don't forget to wrap up our gifts."
"Yes, sir./ Yes, sir!" The two said, before letting out a chuckle.
"I can certainly think of worse ways to spend winter break than in a sweltering desert. I can already tell this is going to be positively delightful." Azul chuckled.
(Y/n) walked up to the aquarium, and saw her octopus buddy swim up happily, "Hello, little buddy." She smiled, putting a hand on the glass, "Hope you haven't been causing trouble for the boys."
The male walked up, "He did do some mischievous things, while you weren't here." He said.
"Really? Like what?" She questioned, as she watched her buddy swim away and hide.
"He would play small pranks on us. At once point he got out the tank and hid in the VIP room."
The girl blinked before letting out a small laugh, which made the male blush, "My little mischievous octopus..." She said, as she saw her small buddy peek out, behind some rocks.
'I want your attention too...'
-----
"I still can't believe the Ramshackle pair fled to Octavinelle."
"And they stole the magic carpet. If the housewarden were to find out about this...Rrgh, what do we do?"
"I think we'd better take this to Vice Housewarden Jamil to start with."
Footsteps came up to them, making them turn and see the five.
"Hello, gentlemen. Mind if we pop by?" Azul said, smiling.
"Good gravy, it's hot here. Feels like the middle of summer." Floyd said, before hugging the girl's right side, "At least Little Koi-chan is cool."
(Y/n) could only blink, but let him hug her.
The two Scarabia students let out a shocked noise.
"You're the Octavinelle guys who gave us a thrashing last night!" The golden haired male said.
"What do you want with Scarabia?" The purple haired male said.
"Permit me to apologize for what transpired last evening. It looked as though you were bullying defenseless animals. I stood up for them on the spot, out of the goodness of my heart." He feigned sadness, "But after I heard their story...It became clear to me that the two Ramshackle residents were thieves who had made off with Scarabia's magic carpet. Once I realized my mistake, I took personal responsibility for the matter. I apprehended the criminals..." He said, which made the girl slightly glare at him, "And I came here to return the magic carpet to its rightful owner."
Grim sighed, "It ain't fair, I tell ya..."
The carpet alongside him nodded.
"W-Well, uh..."
"Thank you for the...help?"
The two said, nodding with a confused look on their faces.
Footsteps came towards them, making them all look and see Jamil.
"Guys. It's about time for morning training. If you're late, Kalim will—Gh?!" He cut himself off, once he noticed who was with them.
Azul smiled, "Why, Jamil-san! Hello there. How are you?"
"Azul Ashengrotto...and the Leech brothers as well? What are you doing here?" He said, as he looked at the three.
"Our home isn't the most hospitable place in the wintertime." Jade said.
"So we spend our holidays in the dorm!" Floyd said, as he let out a chuckle, still hugging the girl.
"Wh...What?" The black haired male said.
"By the way, where might Kalim-senpai be? I'm here to return his magic carpet to him." The gray haired male said, pointing at the carpet.
"Er, ah...If you need to deliver something, I'll take it to him." He smiled.
"Oh, but I insist! This magic carpet is a legendary artifact on par with national treasures. If it were discovered to be damaged later, Octavinelle would be held liable. We can't have that, now, can we?" He shook his head, "I would prefer to hand it to Kalim-san in person and have him assess its condition firsthand."
"Kalim wouldn't care even if it was damaged. Let me take it off your hands, okay?"
"Worry not—I won't even ask for my standard twenty percent finder's fee."
"Consider that our way of apologizing for our uncouth behavior towards Scarabia last night." Jade said.
"We also brought a seafood pizza as a little present. You wouldn't want it to get cold, wouldja?" Floyd said.
"The point is, I would much prefer to deliver it in person. He's awake by now, I trust?" Azul said.
"No, really, he's not feeling up for any—" His eyes widen when he just walked past him, "Hey! You can't just barge in, Azul!" He said, running after him.
Jade looked at the girl, "Shall we, (Y/n)?" He smiled.
"You'd better keep up." Floyd smiled.
The girl deadpanned slightly, "But senpai, you're hugging me."
"But only because you're nice and cool." He pouted.
"Well, it's because of my quirk..." She said, as she walked with the male attached to her side.
"Yeeesh, these Octavinelle guys are so pushy when they wanna be..." Grim said to himself, as he followed after them.