-3rd POV-
Ace put a hand to his chest, "I just about had a heart attack!" He exclaimed.
"Who jumps out from behind people like that?!" Deuce exclaimed.
Rook chuckled, "Did I startle you? Pardonne-moi." He said, smiling at them, "I'm simply too accustomed to concealing my presence as I make my approach. I am Rook Hunt, le Chasseur d'Amour. My life's work is to seek out beauty and support it. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Tch. Speak of the weirdo and he shall appear." Leona said, glaring at the male.
The blond waved at him, "Good day, Roi des Lions. But what is this? Monsieur Dent-de-Lion does not appear to be accompanying you for your lunch break."
"He ain't with me twenty-four seven. Now get lost, and take these herbivores with you."
"Who's Monsieur, uhhh...Dandelion?" The blue haired male questioned.
The French male chuckled, "That would of course refer to the Roi der Lions' confidante, Ruggie."
"Why do you call him that? 'Cause he's got a poofy head of yellow hair?" Grim said.
"Non, non. It's for another reason. It happened last spring...Just as the first beautiful signs of the season began blooming around campus."
-Small Flashback-
"Great, there's plenty of 'em here. Now to pick 'em before they turn into seedheads." Ruggie said, picking the dandelions.
"Bonjour, Monsieur!" Rook greeted, startling the male.
"Whoa! What do you want, buddy?!"
"I beg your pardon for the interruption. I am Rook Hunt, of Pomefiore. You were doing something fascinating, and I just had to drop by." He smiled.
"I'm literally just picking dandelions, but okay."
"To what end are you gather so many?" He said, as he looked at the bundle in the male's hand.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna eat 'em."
The male's eyes widen, "What?!"
"You can make them into salads, sauté them, use them for tea...And more to the point, you can find 'em anywhere and pick 'em for free!" The hyena male grinned, "They're perfect for a broke joke like me. Not that you probably have any idea what it's like to be penniless. My food budget's tight this month, so I've gotta subsist on something. On that not, no time to chitchat. Free to move on and get out of my hair now." He slightly glared at him.
-End of Flashback-
"And there you have it. I was struck by his willingness to sustain himself on roadside weeds, and I've respected him more ever since. Thus, I call him Monsieur Dent-de-Lion."
"Dude, Ruggie eats dandelions?! How is that respectable?!" Ace exclaimed.
"He really will eat anything as long as it's not rotten, huh? He better not have fed me those things..." Leona said.
(Y/n) blinked, 'Note to self, buy everything for Ruggie-senpai.' She thought and nodded to herself.
"Non, non. They're not poisonous. And one must never be a picky eater, Roi de Lions." Rook said.
"Okay, but how do they taste? I gotta try me some later!" Grim said.
"How many times do we have to tell you not to eat off the ground?" Deuce said.
"Derp. You almost distracted us from what we came to talk about. Can we get back to the audition now?" The orange haired male said.
"Oh, right! Hunt-senpai, we'd like to apply for the SDC."
"Ah! Forgive me—I have a troublesome penchant for derailing conversations. I believe the two of you belong to Heartslabyul?" The blond said, looking at the two males, "Ace Trappola, #25 in Class 1-A, human, 172 centimeters tall...Deuce Spade, #24 in Class 1-A, human, 173 centimeters tall..." Then looked at the other two, "And here we have Ramshackle Dorm members (Y/n) Todoroki, human, 176 centimeters, and Grim, monster, 70 centimeters tall."
"H-How do you know our class and student numbers?!"
"For that matter, who do you know our exact height down to the flippin' centimeter?!" Ace exclaimed, shocked and disturbed.
Rook chuckled, "As a hunter, I make it a point to memorize the species and height of every student on campus. It wouldn't do to be underprepared, would it?"
"Uhm...Underprepared for what?" (Y/n) said.
"Since you have informed me of your intent, you will not need to fill out any paperwork. The audition will be held in the Pomefiore ballroom after school, three days hence. Do be sure to save the date." He smiled at them.
"Yes, sir." They all said.
"Oi, are you guys done crowdin' around my seat yet? Get outta my hair already." The lion male said.
"Say, Leona! How would you like to put in an appearance at the SDC auditions? You have ample athletic ability, and your physique would add extra flair to your dancing. Not to mention your wonderful, resounding voice. I've never seen a lion sing in the Sunset Savanna, but I've no doubt it would be an incredible sight to behold."
He glared at him, "I wouldn't be caught dead in that kids' show. Besides, isn't that nag Vil gonna be there? You can't count me a hundred and ten percent out."
"But picture this: Vil and his cosmopolitan appeal and Leona with his rugged charisma...If you two danced and sang together, it would be a feast for the senses! Twould be a battle of flavors most disparate! Ahh, how very trés bien!"
"Tch. You don't care one iota what other people have to say, do you?" He said to himself.
The blond turned to the girl and grabbed her hands, which made her blink at him with dotted eyes, "And you! You would look belle! Your scar says much about you, but it very much compliments the belle face you have!" He sighed dreamily, "Oh, I can't wait to see you on stage now, héroïne!"
"Uh...Thank you?" She said, tilting her head a bit, 'I barely understand him...I should've paid attention when Aoyama-kun was explaining French words to me...' She thought.
Leona glared at the male, hearing the endearing name he gave her, "Oi, let go of her."
Rook looked at him and smiled, "Ah, sorry. I guess I got carried away again." He said, letting go of the girl's hands.
-----
Three days later...Song and Dance Championship Campus audition day
"Myaaah! There's a ton of competition here!" Grim said, looking around at everyone.
"There's gotta be like fifty people." Ace said.
"O-Oh no, I'm tensing up already. I-I th-think I'm b-blanking out on the song lyrics!" Deuce stuttered.
(Y/n) nodded, "I think it was better to not try out for it..."
"You'll both be fine if you just chill." The orange haired male said, looking at the two.
Footsteps came towards them, and suddenly hugged the girl, making her look and see Cater.
"Ooh, what's this? Adeuce and the Ramshackle duo? You guys are here for the SDC auditions too, huh?" He said, smiling at them.
"Hello, senpai." The dual haired girl said, making him pat her head.
"Hey, Cater! Yeah, how about you?" The feline said.
"Got it in one. The event's happening at our school, and I hear Vil-kun's gonna be in it this year." He said, and smiled, "What could be cooler than competing on stage against a mega-celeb with five million Magicam followers?"
"Deuce took it way too seriously, but you're being way too shallow it..." Ace said, sighing.
"Pffft. I'm pretty sure most people here are like me, actually. Check out Exhibit A over there." He said, pointing at Ruggie, who was humming to himself.
"I'm not much of a singer, but I'm sure I can make up fro that with my dance moves." He said to himself and grinned, "I'm taking my share of that fifty thousand thaumarks prize!"
"Myah! Of course he wants the money." The tanuki said.
"Ah, hello, Cater, (Y/n). Fancy seeing you here." A voice said above them, shocking the first-year trio.
"Whoa!" They all exclaimed, while the girl waved.
"Hello, Lilia-senpai." She said, which made him smile and land on his feet.
"A perfect reaction. Heartslabyul students are always so full of vim and vigor."
"C'mon, Lilia-chan, you're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!" Cater said.
Grim looked at the girl, "Oh yeah, (Y/n). You said we got a holiday greeting card from an unknown sender, right? Ain't this the guy right here?" He said, pointing at Lilia.
"Ah, but you'll find that the initials on the card differ from my own." The male said and smiled, letting out a chuckle, "You'll find out who sent it soon enough."
"So, Lilia-chan. Are you auditioning for SDC too?" The orange haired upperclassman said.
The said male nodded, "Mhm. I belong to the Pip Music Club, so I would be remiss to sit out on a musical presentation. I invited Malleus to join me, but he declined, claiming he had no desire to be put on display for humans. He's a surprisingly shy boy, you know."
"I'm...not sure of your definition of "shy" is the same as mine...Gotta give you props for bravery, though. It takes guts to prod a bigwig like Malleus into doing an audition."
"Events like these are part of campus life. I thought it would do him some good to give it a whirl, but so it goes. And yourself? I'm surprised you didn't invite your partner, Trey."
"Oh, I did. But alas, I got jilted! Riddle's the chairman of the Culture Fair Management Committee, and Trey's busy assisting him." He said, pouting a bit.
"Ah, of course."
He smiled and took out his phone, "So! How about we take an audition selfie as jilted buddies?"
"Certainly." He nodded, and looked at the rest, "Come, freshmen. Join us."
"Uh, you want us in the picture?" The blue haired male said.
"Nobody rejected us, y'know." The feline said.
"It doesn't matter! One, two...yay!" Cater said, pulling them in.
"Yaaay!" Lilia said, smiling.
The other three posed, and (Y/n) looked at the camera blankly, before the male took the picture.
"#NRC #SDCAuditions #TotallyPassing #JiltedBoiz." He said, typing on his phone, "And, posting...now."
"Y'know, considering Malleus's reputations...I always saw Diasomnia as a cold, unapproachable kinda dorm. But you're always warm and friendly, huh?" Ace said.
"Come on, you know better than that. Our dorm's got polar opposites, too. Just look at Riddle versus me and you!"
"Now that you mention it, it's true. Housewarden Rosehearts is terrify—uh, a real stickler for the rules. But that makes me wonder...When the Dark Mirror talks about the nature of our souls being suited to a certain dorm, what's the deal there?" Deuce said.
Lilia chuckled, "A true learning experience is living among people who think differently than you do. Let me provide an example. Ignihyde has a reputation for being home to introverts who mislike having any sort of attention called to themselves. Yet one of their students is auditioning today." He said, pointing at a boy.
There stood a robot with the appearance of a short young boy. His face was pale, and his eyes are yellow. Around his eyes was a blue coloring that resembles winged eyeliner. He had short, bright blue, fire-like hair that seems to flow upwards. The tips of his hair, which most closely resemble flames, were semi-transparent.
"Ooh! That's Idia's baby bro. It's not every day he flies solo." Cater said.
"You're not kidding about the baby part. Dude looks like a grade schooler. And that getup! It's like he's some kinda superhero." Ace said.
"Oh, I guess you froshes wouldn't know that story. Idia Shroud, housewarden of Ignihyde, brought his brother Ortho with him when he enrolled."
"What?!" The two Heartslabyul boys exclaimed.
The dual haired girl tilted her head, "You can do that?"
"I didn't share any classes with Idia until I started my junior year, so I'm not totally up on all the deets, but...He brings his brother to most of his classes. The teachers never even bat an eye at it." Their upperclassman said.
"I know brothers can be close, but taking a brother with you to school is nuts!" The blue haired male said.
"This Idia guy's got a few screws loose, if you ask me." Grim said.
"Don't talk that way about my nii-san!" A new voice said, making them look and see Ortho with an angered look.
"Whoa!"
"Does everybody in this school have super hearing? This lounge's buzzing with people, and we were over ten meters apart." Ace whispered.
"The directional mic my nii-san installed in me can pick up human whispering fifty meters away." The flame haired boy said.
"Oho! Impressive. Not even the fae and beastmen have many capable of that." Lilia said, which made him giggle.
"I know, right? My nii-san's amazing!" He then cleared his throat, "Anyway, nii-san got permission from the headmage to let me come with him to class. He's not desperately lonely or anything, okay?" He said and angered look on his face.
"O-Oh, gotcha. Sorry about that. My bad!" Cater said, apologizing, "You Shroud bros are this mysterious, almost legendary presence on campus. Guess I got a little carried away talking about you."
"Apology accepted. And I'm sorry for getting all huffy about it. I just don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about nii-san."
(Y/n) smiled a bit, "We're sorry, too." She said, which made the boy's eyes crease since his mouth is covered, so she knew he smiled back at her, 'I'm stealing him from his brother.'
"Ortho-chan, are you here for the SDC audition, too?" The upperclassman said.
"Yes, that's right! See, my nii-san..."
-Small Flashback-
The sound of a keyboard resonated through the room.
"I told Riddle at the housewarden meeting that I'd practice presenting my research...But it doesn't matter how many thousands of simulations I run in my head. Presenting stuff to an audience? That's unplayable difficulty! I still don't wanna get Yearghed at by Riddle, though...So with that in mind, I built a sound library for my own voice. And I've finally finished a program that reads out text smoothly in real time as you type! I never knew I could sound so articulate. It's a level of fluency you'd never expect from synthesized speech! What do you think, Ortho? Is it sick or is it sick? Nobody would never ever guess the voice you're hearing is coming from text-to-speech software, right?" The male's tablet said.
"That's incredible, nii-san! Your voice is so crisp and clear!" Ortho said.
"Right? Man, I never knew I could sound so smooth! With this, I should be able to handle Q&A no prob." It chuckled, "Science always beats brute-force grinding! Yeah, I'm a genius, I know."
"Uh-huh! I'm sure Riddle Rosehearts will be very impressed."
In front of him was a tall young man with pale skin and bright blue, fire-like hair. He had yellow eyes, naturally blue lips, and a dark blue coloring around and under his eyes. When he grins, sharp teeth could be seen. hair is considerably long and reaches down to his knees. While his long bangs fall loosely around his face and between his eyes, the hair on the top of his head seems to flow upwards. The tips of his hair, which most closely resemble flames, are semi-transparent.
His older brother's eyes widen, "U-Uh, don't tell him, okay? I want to keep this a secret from Riddle until the presentation's over. He's gonna give me that smug, know-it-all look and be all like, "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"" He then grinned, showing his sharp rows of teeth, "And I'm gonna go, "Wow, you didn't even notice I was lip-synching? Talk about amateur hour! I'm gonna wipe that smug look right off of his face." He laughed.
"Now, come on, nii-san...It's not nice to pick on underclassmen."
"Oh, it's cool. He's a grade beneath me in school, but he's been housewarden longer than I have, so he's close enough to an upperclassman. I have to say, though—after doing a deep dive into text-to-speech, it's a fascinating field. Virtual idols and stuff are popular nowadays. I was thinking of maybe installing a vocal synthesizer in you."
"Ooh, that sounds like fun! I'd love to try singing."
"Great! I'll get you trilling like a canary in no time, little bro."
-End of Flashback-
"...So my nii-san's been getting big into making vocal synthesizers. Since he went to a whole lot of trouble developing and polishing this, I want to see how far I can go with it. That's why I'm here auditioning." Ortho smiled.
"Wait, he programmed a singing voice? Are you for real?!" Ace exclaimed.
(Y/n) blinked, "That's actually pretty impressive."
Lilia chuckled, "I see the Ignihyde housewarden's reputation as a technomantic engineering savant is well-deserved. He gets some inspired ideas."
"That's pretty legit, actually! Programming voice synthesis software and posting songs you make with it has taken off big time. I'm a fan of electropop stuff, myself." Cater said.
"I got no idea what any of you are talkin' about." Grim said, deadpanning.
"Really, Grimmy? You've never seen a virtual idol before?" He brought out his phone again, "Here, lemme show you a clip. Let's see...Ah, hold up. Gotta sit through a commercial without skipping to watch this for free." He said.
"I'll share a secret with you: this is no ordinary drink. It's a magic wishing drink! One sip, and all your wishes come true."
The screen then showed a beautiful young man with short black hair. He wore a black sailor hat with red lining and bow patterns on top of it. In red text, the quote "Someday My Princess Will Come" is sewn into it. He wore a white coat uniform. Underneath the coat is a sweater with the top part mostly in blue and the lower part in yellow. Patterns of squirrels and snowflakes in white and apple seeds in red can be seen on the sweater.
Underneath the sweater itself was a shirt in a white-blue check patterns, and on the collar of said shirt has a red bow-tie on it. Both collar of the white coat are decorated, the left collar had what seems to be his magic gem brooch while the right collar has 2 pins, each depicting 2 small birds.
"A loving red with a sparkling pop. Red Apple Soda, on sale now."
"Ooh, that's the drink commercial people have been talking about lately. I gotta stay on top of the latest hotness! I'll drop by the school store later and check it out." Cater said.
Lilia peeked at the phone, seeing the male, "Ah, that Neige fellow in the commercial there—he came up at a recent housewarden meeting. He's going to be appearing at this year's SDC, you know."
"What?! This guy's a major celebrity! And he's showing up for this?" The orange haired underclassman said.
"This competition's attracting some serious heavyweights. Now I really have to up my game..." The blue haired male said.
"If I make it in, do you think I could get a selfie with Neige?" The orange haired upperclassman said.
"You're a shameless fanboy sometimes, Cater-senpai." Ace said.
"Look, Neige is the hottest Magicammer out there. If I get my chance, you bet I'm taking that shot. Pun intended. And if I could get Vil-kun and Neige in the shot together with me? I just know I'd go viral."
"Hey, Cater! Can you hold your phone lower? I can't see the screen at all!" The feline exclaimed.
"I could project it on the wall for you, if you like." Ortho said.
Suddenly, the doors slammed open.
"Silence, spuds!" Vil said, as beside him stood Rook and Epel. Sparkles appeared around the three.
"Whoa, that's bright! What's with the sparkles?" Deuce said, squinting his eyes.
"I'm seein' stars over here!" The tanuki exclaimed.
Epel stayed quiet, as his eyes averted to the first years.
"I find it difficult to believe that anyone on this campus would be ignorant of who I am, but courtesy dictates an introduction all the same. I am Vil Schoenheit, housewarden of Pomefiore. This year, the headmage has assigned me a duty...To select entrants to compete in the Song & Dance Championship. We will now begin the ensemble auditions." He then turn his head slightly, "Rook, take it away."
"Oui, Roi du Poison." He said, then looked at the rest with a smile, "I am Rook Hunt, vice housewarden of Pomefiore. A pleasure to make your acquaintances."
"Oh hey, it's the weirdo who was takin' audition applications. That guy's a vice housewarden?" The feline said.
"We will have each of you perform the assigned set piece. You will be evaluated separately for singing and dancing. The audition will be in groups of three. Come inside when your name is called."