"Father! Father! " Younger Azubah burst through a door. "I found you! That means I win, and you lose!"
Inside the room, there sat a piano in the middle of the room. A huge window lets you view the snow falling from the sky. Keeping the room warm was a large fireplace blazing with beautiful orange flames.
"You're right. I got distracted by the snow before I even got to hide." The male had a gentle smile
A male was sitting in front of the piano he had long white hair bright as snow. With Golden eyes rivaling, a melted pot of the richest, finest gold.
"Since we're here, can you play the song?" Azubah asked him
"Again? You must like it." The male scooted over, making room for her on the seat
Azubah smiled brightly and ran over to her father. Sitting next to him, the male started playing the piano while Azubah watched and listened.
"That was a good dream...I wish I couldn've stayed there longer."
{Third Person}
|Ramshackle Dorm: Azubah's Room|
Azubah smiled in her sleep as the memory played.
Her door creaked open as a figure quietly walked over to her bed.
With the moonlight coming through the window, the figure was identified as Grim.
Grim gently jumped onto the end of the bed and crawled over to her.
"Azubah...Azubah." He gently nudged her
Her eyes blinked open. "Huh? Father...?"
Fully opening her eyes, she saw Grim instead.
"Grim, what are you doing here?"
"Tiny, I warmed up some milk. Do you want some?"
"Huh, sure, I'll have some." She got out of her blanket
Grim led the way downstairs to the kitchen. The two peaceful drank milk in the moonlit kitchen, Azubah didn't notice Yuu wasn't there.
+ The Next Morning +
"Another animal dream?" Yuu questioned, sitting up in his bed
"Oh, Yuu, you're up? Breakfast is gettin' cold! Let's go eat already!" Grim raised one of his paws
|Main Street|
I haven't had a dream about Father in a long time...but I'm happy that I got to see him again.
"By the way, Yuu, did you go somewhere last night?" Grim asked. "I got up to warm up some milk. Was gonna see if you wanted some, but you weren't there."
"The milk put me back to sleep easily." Azubah played with her bag strap
"Oh, that's right. It was the weirdest thing..." Yuu started to explain what happened last night
"Huh! A weird dude with horns? Did this dude have a name?" Grim asked
Why didn't Malleus tell Yuu his real name?
"He told me to call him by a name of by choosing." Yuu said
"Ooh, ooh, let me pick it!" Grim volunteered. "Howsabout..."Tsunotarou"!"
"I don't know that he'll appreciate that one." Yuu sweatdropped
"He said "of your choosing," right? Then he's got no right to complain!" Grim crossed his arms
"If Tsunotarou is a student here, who knows when we might run into him? If we do, introduce me!" Grim said. "I ain't never seen a human with horns before."
"I only see demons with horns never humans." The girl said
"Mornin', Yuu, Azubah." Cater walked up to them
"Hm. Your tie us crooked, you know. A disorderly uniform suggests a disorderly dorm." Riddle walked up to Yuu
"As Prefect, you should set a better example for your dorm members. Even if you only have the two." Riddle started to fix Yuu's tie
"...There. All better." Riddle finished fixing it
"So where's Ace and Deuce?" Grim asked, looking for the two
"So that's why it's quiet." Azubah just noticed the two were not there
"In accordance with rule 249, it's their turn to wear pink clothes and feed the flamingos." Riddle replied. "By the way, it seems there was another incident last night."
"That's a funny rule." Azubah let out a small laugh
"Myah?! Really?!" Grim exclaimed
"According to a portrait who witnessed it, the victim was a sophomore from Scarabia House." Cater put a hand on his waist. "His name is Jamil Viper. It appears the accident happened in the kitchen."
Scarabia is crossed out that means it was Savanaclaw that did it.
"That's the dorm with red- and -gold armbands, right?" Yuu said
"Portraits as security cameras...that's so cool." Azubah thought about solving unsolvable cases with a portrait sidekick
"It's breakfast time, so he may be in the cafeteria. Let's go see." Riddle said
♡Azubah Pov♡
|Cafeteria|
Cater looked around the cafeteria. "Jamil has long, black hair. Let's see..." Then he spotted him. "Ah, there he is!"
We walked up to where Jamil sat with someone else.
"You're the guy who got banged up in the kitchen yesterday, right? Mind if we chat?" Grim looked at Jamil
"What is this? An inquisition?" He asked
The white-haired boy's widen. "Oh, hey! That's the raccoon who almost set my rear on fire at orientation!"
"What do you mean "almost"? He did." I said
He then looked at me with shining eyes. "And you're the little girl from yesterday!"
Riddle started to scold Grim. "Grim. You need to work on your tone. Tact is important for these things."
Looking closer at the boy, I noticed he has white hair and red eyes.
I pointed at my eyes and smiled. "We both have red eyes!"
"You're right, we do!" His smile seemed to get brighter
I-IT'S TOO BRIGHT! The Ramshackle duo and Heartslabyul two covered their eyes
"Forgive us for interrupting your breakfast." Riddle apologized to the two
"Wow, the Heartslabyul Housewarden and the fire-spitting racoon." He chuckled. "What a fun combo!"
"I ain't a racoon! The name's Grim." Grim said, then pointed at me and Yuu. "And that's my minions, Azubah and Yu-."
Yuu stopped Grim. "I'm not his minion, I'm Yuu."
"Well I'm Kalim, Scarabia's Housewarden." Kalim said, then gestures toward the boy next to him. "And that's my vice Housewarden, Jamil."
"Sure. Man, this guy throws me off." Grim mumbled
"So, why are you all asking about my accident?" Jamil asked as he stared at us
"The crowman gave us this job." I explained, with my hands on my hips
The Scarabia duo looked at me in confusion. "....Who?"
"She means the Headmage." Riddle sighed
"The Headmage? Well, alright..." Jamil nodded. "Last night, I was in the kitchen frying up some lamb rolls at Kalim's request."
"Oh, man, you guys have no idea how amazing Jamil's lamb rolls are. You guys definitely gotta try them one day." Kalim said
"I never tried lamb as a roll before." I thought about all the types of food I've had before
"Can we stay focused here, Kalim?" Jamil said
Kalim rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, right, sorry!"
Jamil continues his story. "When I was chopping the ingredients, it was like my knife hand went wild and cut my other hand on its own."
"Yes, I'm pretty sure knife hands don't do that." I hummed
"It makes no sense! Even the dorm's head chef can attest to Jamil's legendary knife skills." Kalim exclaimed then gave Jamil a worried look. "Were you, maybe tired from Magift practice?"
"No. Not so tired I couldn't control my hands but at one point while I was cooking, I did feel kind of light headed." Jamil said
"You...got dizzy?" Yuu questioned
"Most people would think that, but I know the sensation. I think I was feeling the effects of someone's signature spell." Jamil said to Yuu
Cater and Riddle stared at Jamil in shock.
"Oh, right! Because your signature spell is- " Kalim said but Jamil cut him off by putting his hand over his mouth
Jamil took his hand off Kalim's mouth. "Why'd you put your hand over my mouth."
"Because we're not talking about me here." He said with a small glare. "Anyway, me theory is that someone was controlling my movements with magic."
"Interesting...That would be a way to hurt people and have it appear like it was nothing more than the victim's own carelessness." Cater said
"And if it only lasted an instant, even the victim might perceive it as his own mistake." Riddle nodded. "When I nearly fell down the stairs, I never felt though I was being controlled against my will."
"Well, I guess this is kind of a lead? What's our next move, guys?" Cater asked us
"A spell that can control someone..." Grim said with a grin. "If I could learn how to cast that, I could really clean up on bakery day!"
"Such small-mindedness...Truly, Grim? That's as far as your ambitions extend?" Riddle deadpanned
"Well, what else would you use that spell for other than food?" I asked
"Man, imagine eating all the deluxe grilled cheese I wanted- Huh?" Grim cut himself off
My eyes widened. "That seems familiar..."
{Third Person}
+ Flashback +
"Might you be willing to trade your deluxe grilled cheese for this very exciting hot dog bun?" Ruggie asked with a grin
"Have my sandwich!" Azubah offered
"Whaaat?! You must be outta your mind, dude!" Grim exclaimed
"Oh, come on now. Let's not be like that. Here, have the hot dog bun. I insist." He outstretched his hand
Grim copied his movement. "Myah? What in the name of tuna...?!" He exclaimed." My paws are movin' on their own!"
+ End Flashback +
The two let out a yell, which startled everyone.
"Whoa! Why are we screaming?!" Kalim exclaimed
"Hyena Bucchi is the culprit." Azubah pointed at the ceiling
"Ruggie? That lil' dude from Savanaclaw?" Cater's eyes widened
"Let's track him down and see what he has to say." Riddle said
"Hmm..." Cater checked guys phone. "Looks like Ruggie's in class 2B."
"Thank you both for your cooperation!" Riddle said to Jamil and Kalim
Kalim smiled. "I'm still kinda lost here, but good luck!"
The males walked off and Azubah turned to Jamil.
"Since you were hurt with a knife you can have this." She helded out a Hell Cream Cat Tongue Cookie
"Huh?" Jamil looked shocked
He looks concerned.
"Don't worry, there's nothing dangerous in it! I keep that stuff for myself since I know you humans are fragile." Azubah smiled
"Thanks..." Jamil hesitantly took the cookie
Azubah smiled brightly as he took it. "It tastes really good, Jamil!"
"Tiny! Hurry up!" Grim yelled
"Ah, have a fast recovery." Azubah said as she turned around, running to Grim
Jamil took a tiny bite of the cookie.
"It's delicious..."
♡Azubah Pov♡
"We should call ourselves the Night Raven College Detectives, or NRCD for short." I suggested
"We'll think about that." Riddle said
"I say The Grim's Detectives instead." Grim suggested
"I prefer Azubah's team name." Cater laughed
"Yes!"
We arrived at classroom 2B where Ruggie should be.
"Alright, where's Ruggie Bucchi?!" Grim scanned the classroom for the hyena
"Right here." Ruggie said before noticing who called for him. "Ah...It's you guys again."
He sighed then smiled. "I really hope this isn't about that deluxe grilled cheese. We traded fair and square."
"Ruggie Bucchi, we need to ask you some questions about the spate of injuries that have befallen prospective Spelldrive tournament players." Riddle said
"Oh ho. This sounds like some serious business." Ruggie's smile dropped
"How about we move to hall and keep this in the figurative DMs, if you catch my drift?" Cater said with a small smirk
Ruggie's ears turned down. "I'm cooperating. Let's all try to be gentlemen, now." He followed us out into the hallway
-_- -_- -_-
"Very well. While we do not yet know exactly what transpired it is a dangerous one. I will be casting "Off With Your Head" to--" Riddle said, but was cut off
"But Riddle, are you sure you should be casting such a powerful spell without your magical pen?" Ruggie said
"Huh? Wait...what?!" He patted his pockets trying to feel his pen. "What happened to my magical pen?!"
"Hey, Cater! Your pen is gone too!" Grim said looking at Cater
"Whoa! I haven't seen this in long time!" I laughed
Ruggie laughed. "Children of privilege, every one of you." He showed us the pens. "So unprepared. So complacent. Like stealing candy from a baby."
"Myah?! He cast his spell to snatch your pens away without us even noticing?!" Grim exclaimed
"Grim, he doesn't need magic just skill." I patted his head
"The kid is right, as if I'd need magic to do that!" He grinned. "Anyway, having a showdown in the hallway is not on my agenda for today, so I'll be on my way. Bye-bye!" He waved then ran
"Bye-bye! We'll reschedule for a better time for you." I waved back then realized what we're doing. "No! Wait I changed my mind! We can't reschedule!" I chased after him
I heard yelling but I was too far away to hear what exactly they said.
{Third Person}
"Azubah!?" Yuu exclaimed
"Hold it right there! Eh, Tiny?!" Grim exclaimed
"Curse you! You will halt if you value your head! "Off With--" Riddle said but this time Cater stopped him
"Whoa, Riddle, stop! Don't be a hero, man!" He said to him
Two familiar people entered the scene.
"Dude, your flamingo-feeding outfit was insane. Who knew they made leopard print in hot pink?" Ace smirked
Deuce blushed in embarrassment. "L-Look, it's not like I had a choice! It's all I had in pink!"
"I can't believe we still gotta follow weird rules like that. But I guess it's better than it was." Ace shrugged
"Yeah, I guess your right." Deuce agreed
"Hey Ace, Deuce! You boys sure are a sight for sore eyes!" Cater looked at the two
"Huh? What's going on? Why are you all- here?" Ace asked
Riddle's face went red with anger. "The culprit! He's getting away! You need to help Azubah apprehend Ruggie Bucchi immediately! Housewarden's orders!"
"Whaaat?!" Deuce yelled in shock
"Hey, what does this have to do with us anyway!" Ace exclaimed
"Could be your chance to be in the team!" Cater smiled
_-_-_
"I'm surprised you kept up with me!" Ruggie said
"Of course! Grim wants to join so I'll help him!" Azubah yelled
"Even if I need to use magic, for sure I'll catch you!" She smirked
"I'm pretty sure I got your pen!" Ruggie smirked
"Like I need a stupid pen to cast magic!" She stopped running
Purple sparks came out of her hands forming into a snake and lunged at him, wrapping itself around Ruggie.
"W-What is this?!" Ruggie tried getting out of it's grasp.
"Please stop struggling, you'll get hurt..." She walked up to him
Once she touched the snake it slowly turned back into sparks and went in to her hands
"Can you please turn yourself so then Grim can win?" Azubah asked him
"Did you even think this through? Can you even be sure that I did it?" Ruggie deadpanned
"E-Eh? You're right, we don't hav-" Azubah was cut off
"What? Of course you did it!" Deuce yelled as he ran towards Azubah and Ruggie with the others following
"And what about evidence? Do you have a witness who saw me casting spells?" He smirked. "For matter, did anyone snap a picture? You don't have anything like that, do you?"
"Yeah, but...still!" Ace said
"Maybe so, but it's cowardly..." Yuu said
"A coward? I take that as a compliment, honestly." The hyena let out a laugh. "Next time you wanna come after me, do me a favor and gather some proof first. Though that sounds like a tall order given track record."
"I'll improve! So the next time we meet you'll be blown away way with how much evidence I've found!" Azubah pointed her index finger at him, while yelling
"Sure, kid." Ruggie brushed her off
"Grrrrr...This guy..." Grim mumbled
"Well, I'm done playing tag for today." Ruggie said. "I'll leave those pens of yours I stole right here with you! Bye-bye!"
"Argh! That guy really gets on my nerves!" Ace exclaimed
Deuce gave a nod. "Housewarden Riddle is not going to be pleased."
"He did say next time didn't he?" Yuu said
"Yeah! No need to be sad we'll get him." Azubah smiled
♡Azubah Pov♡
"So you guys are still on the hunt, huh?" A voice said, behind me
We all looked and saw Jack.
"Hello, Jack." I slightly waved
"Yea, now here's an idea. Next time, maybe give us a hand, how about it? There's something wrong with that guy." Ace scowled
"Why're you going through all this trouble for the sake of total strangers?" Jack asked
"I'm not sure I follow." Deuce tilted his head
"I mean, I'd understand if you were out for vengeance for an injured friend, or something." Jack said
Ace furrowed his brow. "Buddy, you're totally missing the point here."
"What?" Jack questioned
"We're not doing this for anyone else's sake!" Ace grinned at Jack
"This is just a chance for us to score some kudos by catching the culprit." Deuce added
"Yeah, I'd do anything to get on my dorm's team so I can show my talent to the world!" Ace exclaimed
"Yea me too! I wanna catch the guy so I can get this glorious mug of mine on TV! Just imagine it." Grim excitedly said
"I'm doing this for Grim to play!" I said
"Don't get me wrong. I feel bad about what happened to Trey, but if there's an opening on the roster, then I'll definitely take it." Ace said
"Wow. I was doubting whether I could trust people who suffer like this for strange..." Jack said, looking at the four. "But it turns out you guys are total scum."
"Myah! Scum?!" Grim exclaimed
"So I've been called worse plus it's not like you can talk." I crossed my arms
"If we're scum, then you're less than scum, because you knew all along, didn't you?" Ace frowned. "You knew exactly who was the culprit was."
"Oh! I get it! That's why you were sure he wasn't gonna come for you- you knew the culprit was from your own dorm!" Grim exclaimed
"Your brain is finally working, Grim." I picked up Grim
He refused at first but then I comfy in my arms.
Jack stared at us. "Fight me. The four of you."
"Huh? Why should we?" Ace said, confused
"Eh, do you have some screws loose?" I questioned
"If I'm gonna trust you, I gotta size you up first. Prove to me that you ain't all talk, and I'll tell you everything I know."
"Ugh, do I have to? I hate getting all sweaty." Ace complained
Deuce smirked and punched his fist against his plam. "Now you're talkin' my language. Let's cut the smackb-talk and throw down!"
"Myah?!" Grim exclaimed. "I'll never get used to him flippin' out like that!"
"Well fun punching each other." Grim jumped out of my arms. "I'll sit right here and watch."
"Fine. Let's our fists do the talking." Yuu rolled up his sleeves