Two whole weeks had passed since the events at Heartslabyul happened. After Alice saved Riddle from his Overblot episode, Riddle had been trying his best to change his ways.
He tried his best to not react so violently when the Queen of Hearts' rules were broken even by a mere smidge, to keep a cool head when things sprung out from his control. Most of his dorm members were still wary of him after his Overblot episode, but there were gradually starting to relax around his presence.
Much to his credit, he has been doing quite well. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he was able to overlook small rule breaks, and was getting better at approaching some more serious rule breaking offenses with more composure.
Before long, the month of September was coming to an end, and everyone was preparing for the October month. That night, as the moon shone in the dark night sky, everything was silent at the dorm of Savanaclaw. Leona quietly sat on his bed as he played a round of chess with himself.
"How's the plan coming along, Ruggie?" he asked, not turning around to face the person behind him. The hyena-eared boy stood behind him with a wide smile on his face. "Everything's goin' as planned, of course, Leona-san. Shishishi~♪!" he snickered.
Leona placed the black king chess piece onto the black square before he smiled. The first phase of his carefully formulated plan is going efficiently. As long as nothing stands in his way, he will finally achieve what should have been his.
"You'd better be prepared for this, Malleus..." Leona thought determinedly as he clenched his gloved fist. By hook or by crook, he will play his cards right and finally bring the dorm leader of Diasomnia down to his knees. And he will bring acknowledgement and victory to Savanaclaw at long last...
Over at the Ramshackle dorm, everything was just as peaceful. The bright moon illuminated the night sky as all the four girls were asleep in their beds, dreaming sweet dreams. Even Grim had long since passed out on Alice's pillow, snoring away with drool leaking at the corner of his mouth.
But then, the mirror on the wall in Alice and Kira's bedroom suddenly glowed brightly with a soft white light, but the two girls were still sound asleep. A soft golden light suddenly glowed from Kira's chest as she started to dream...
"I can hear the sound of the wind..." Anna thought to herself as her ears picked up the sound of the gentle breeze blowing. Anna curled up into a ball to make herself more comfortable when she felt the sensation of soft grass beneath her and the earth beneath her fingers.
She could feel even feel the wind blowing through her hair and smell the freshness of the land. Anna quickly opened her eyes, seeing a clear blue sky above her. She gasped as she quickly sat up. She saw that she wasn't in her bed anymore.
She was in the middle of a vast savannah, epitomizing the abundance of life that could only exist in Africa. Was she...dreaming? Somehow, it didn't feel like she was. As Anna pondered as to where she could be, her eyes caught sight of a massive rock formation in the middle of a vast, grassy savannah.
"...Whoa!" she exclaimed as she suppressed a shiver. Anna didn't know why, but she could feel an ancient power coming from the rock formation. Anna squinted her eyes as she stood up, deciding to go and investigate the landmark.
However, she immediately stopped when she saw movement at the top of the formation. "Is that a lion?" Anna thought. Walking up the rock formation was a powerful, regal-looking lion. He had amber-gold fur while his muzzle, paws, and underbelly are all beige in color.
His upper eye-patches were darker than his main pelt, the lower halves are lighter, and his eyebrows are thick and black. Majestic by any means, the lion bore a thick mane of dark scarlet that extended down to the middle of his chest, the tip of his tail matching it in color.
The lion had such a powerful presence, it almost made Anna want to bow at his paws. But her eyes were locked onto him. Despite the intimidating aura he was emitting, the lion had a gentle and wise expression on his face.
The lion walked and stopped near the edge of the formation, surveying the area as a red-billed hornbill flew overhead, much like how a king would oversee his kingdom, to see if his subjects were safe and happy, watching out for invaders. Soon a beautiful lioness came into view and stood beside him.
She was a robust tan-colored lioness with soft amber eyes. She had soft, round features despite her robustness. She had a brownish-pink nose that matched the insides of her ears, which have a dark rim around them.
Her muzzle, underside, and paws were all a lighter shade of tan than the rest of her body and the tuft at the end of her tail was dark brown. Both of them were being followed by a mandrill. Cradled in the mandrill's arms was an adorable infant lion cub. He was very small with light spots on his head and body as newborn lions usually have.
The mandrill smiled at the two lions warmly, then he turned to the edge of the rock formation. Anna looked over and let out a small gasp when she saw a cluster of various animals standing below the rock formation, ranging from elephants to giraffes, to zebras and gazelles.
Every different species of African animals gathered below the rock formation, looking up at the lions with great anticipation. "What are they all doing here?" Anna wondered. She then looked up and saw the mandrill lifting the baby cub high into the air towards the sky.
As soon as he did, the sun's bright rays began to break through the clouds, shining down upon them. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. "Behold, the newborn prince of Pride Rock and the future king of the Pride Lands... Simba." Anna heard a soft voice suddenly whisper into her ear. "Huh? Simba...?" she thought.
She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Hiding away in a rock cleft just below the two lions, far from the eyes of everyone, there was another lion, one with brownish-orange fur, a long mane of black hair and a long scar over his left eye.
He glared at the little lion cub, his neon green eyes glowing with antipathy. While the previous lion was muscular and held a sense of authority, this lion was rather scrawny and had this almost resentful look on him. He snarled as he quietly slunk back into the shadows of the rocks. Then the scene faded to black.
The next morning, as the sun rose into the sky, its bright rays shone through the window, illuminating the girls' bedroom. Kira groaned and rolled over to her side, trying to block out the brightness from her eyes. Then suddenly...
"Boooommm!! And crash~~!! Nyanyaaaa~~!!"
Both Alice and Kira were startled awake from their slumber. Alice rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she let out a tired yawn while Kira let out an exhausted groan as she sat up in her bed. "What was with that roar?" she asked groggily as she rubbed the gritty sleep from her eyes.
She then turned towards the sleeping Grim mumbling in his sleep. "Nngonya~. How's that... Do you understand the power of the Great Grim...?" the cat creature bragged with a smile on his face.
Kira rolled her eyes before she turned her attention towards the clock on the nightstand. She gasped when she saw what time the clock read. "6:07?! Oh, crap! School starts at 7:00!" Kira yelled as she quickly got out of bed and went to grab her uniform out of her closet. "Oh, dear!" Alice exclaimed, following suit.
Kira then roughly shook Grim. "Hey, Grim, wake up! We've gotta get to class!" she said, rubbing Grim's stomach. "I showed that tyrant, Riddle, who's boss~!" Grim briefly cheered sleepily before he snapped his eyes open. "...Ffgah?!"
His powerful, great dream had suddenly vanished into thin air when he took in his surroundings. "Huh? The Ramshackle Dorm?" he said before he cast his eyes downward and pouted in utter disappointment. "Morning, tuna breath." Kira said before she started to change into her uniform.
"It was only a dream... I thought I'd knock Riddle out and become the strongest wizard ever... So disappointed." he said unhappily. Kira scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Tch! You wish, tuna breath." she muttered.
"Please, Grim. You know Riddle-san's not as bad as he used to be anymore." Alice said as she took off her nightgown. "Besides, we've all really been through a lot these past few days. All we have to do is train to become stronger."
The blue-eyed cat monster stretched his body and jumped up, throwing a paw into the air. As usual, he was filled with scintillating energy. "Okay! Time to get going... Another day closer to becoming a great wizard, y'know~!" he declared. Alice giggled at him while Kira just scoffed as the girls got themselves ready for the day.
Once the four girls had finished putting on their uniforms, brushing their hair and teeth, they headed downstairs along with Grim, where their three ghostly housemates of the Ramshackle Dorm, Shorty, Fatso and Stretch, greeted them.
"Good morning, ladies! Grim!" Shorty called.
"Did you all sleep well?" Stretch asked.
"Here you go! This should tide you ladies over until lunchtime!" Fatso said as he handed each of the girls a bacon-and-egg sandwich on toasted bread. "Thanks, you guys." Kira said as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
The girls quickly ate their breakfast while Grim helped himself to some canned tuna on the table. Once they cleaned their plates, they quickly hopped out of their chairs, grabbed their schoolbags and packed up their school supplies. "We're off! See you!" the girls chorused as they headed out the door.
"Have a good day in class!" the three Ramshackle ghosts replied as they waved the girls and Grim goodbye. The four girls and Grim headed down the stone stairs towards the iron gates where they saw two familiar boys standing outside them: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade from the Heartslabyul Dorm.
Ace was the mischievous terracotta-haired prankster of the two boys, while Deuce was a rather impulsive navy blue-haired boy with a history of being a delinquent, so it's easy for him to switch into "bad boy mode" whenever he's provoked.
Even so, he strived to become an honor student for the sake of his beloved mother. Despite their differences, the girls had found themselves very attached to the two, and they all seemed to get along... for the most part, at least. "Yo, Prefects!" Ace said. "We came to get you and Grim for class!"
"Are you ladies ready to go?" Deuce asked. "Yep! Let's get a move on!" Kira answered as she, her three dormmates and Grim followed their friends down the path towards the school.
Even after three whole weeks had passed since they first arrived at Night Raven College, the four girls still couldn't believe that they were now official students. Four non-magical girls in a magical school for boys. It felt very weird, to be honest... But they've started to get used to it, little by little.
"So, tell us something, Alice-chan." Ace said as they walked down the path on Main Street. "Yes?" Alice asked, turning toward Ace. "What's with the magic swordplay?" Ace asked. Alice raised an eyebrow to his question.
"Magic swordplay?" she asked. "Yeah, you know, you suddenly gained magical powers and fought Dorm Leader Rosehearts when he went berserk. I still can't believe that actually happened." Ace replied. "Yeah. We've never seen anything like that before. That was incredible." Deuce added.
"Oh, you mean my Crystal Heart?" Alice asked, pointing at her Crystal Heart. "Yeah. How'd you get that?" Kira asked curiously. "Where did it come from?" Jazmin asked. Alice shrugged. "Well, I don't know how else to explain it. It just suddenly happened." she said.
"Huh, that's it? You still don't know?" Grim asked incredulously as he sat on Aria's shoulder. "No, I don't. That's all I know." Alice replied as the seven students headed through the school's gates. "Anyway, let's head to class."
Today was a brand-new day at Night Raven College, and the girls couldn't wait to see what exciting surprises lie in store for them. As expected, the four girls had a lot of fun during classes. Whenever there was a new topic of magic, the girls' fascination of it and this equally enchanting new world grew exponentially.
Each of them even picked up a few pointers from the teachers, especially in learning about the various potions and the plants in Professor Crewel's class. And, as usual, Grim was still the sleepy slacker as he was during his first day here. During Professor Trein's class, he decided to doze off rather than listen.
"Turn your texts to page 80." Trein ordered. As he started his lecture, Grim was snoozing away next to Kira when a crumpled ball of paper suddenly struck the back of his head, startling him awake. "Ffgna~!!" he yelped.
Of course, Grim didn't appreciate anyone disturbing his sleep. He angrily turned around and glared at Ace who was smiling impishly at him. "What's the big idea, Ace?!" he yelled. Ace just snickered. "Doze off like that, and Trein-sensei's cat will come your way." he laughed.
Deuce just shook his head at Ace and Grim's bickering. "Knock it off, guys." he whispered. Of course, Ace couldn't blame Grim for wanting to sleep in class. "Can't say I blame you when class is this boring." he said as he stifled a yawn.
"Man, I'm hungry." he thought. He couldn't wait till lunchtime. "He can hear you, you know." Deuce whispered as he tried to focus on his textbook. He had to focus on class and be an respectable honor student. He couldn't afford to slack off, even when Trein's droning voice was making him feel a little drowsy. Just a little.
Grim let out a yawn before he rested his head in his arms. "Kira, wake me up when class's over..." he muttered before he started to doze off. Kira just scoffed. "Don't count on me. I'm not gonna be your alarm clock." she said firmly.
Unfortunately for Grim, Trein immediately noticed that Grim was dozing off and sent his cat Lucius towards him. Lucius instantly leapt onto Grim's desk. He then raised a paw, unsheathed his claws and firmly placed his paw on Grim's nose, shaking him awake.
"Nng-ha!" Grim yelped, wide awake. Again, he didn't appreciate it. "Cut that out, you!!" he screeched. After Trein's class was over, lunchtime came around and the girls, Grim, Ace and Deuce were walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria.
"Ugh~. Trein-sensei has to be using some sort of spell to put me to sleep. No matter how hard I resist, I lose to drowsiness!" Grim whined as Alice carried him in her arms. "Says you, tuna breath. I can't believe you slept through class!" Kira said. "I'm not going to have Trein-sensei warn us twice."
"She's right. Also...your resistance?" Alice said, thinking back to their history class with a smile. "You fell asleep 5 minutes in. That's not resisting at all." Deuce said, scolding him on his academic performance.
"Ha! Slacker!" Kira said with a smug smirk. "Shut up!" Grim snapped at her. Kira responded by sticking her tongue out at him. "Bleh!" she said. Grim grumbled. "And Lucius looked so cute today." Alice pointed out fondly. "I wonder if Trein-sensei will ever let me watch him one of these days!"
Ace let out a small laugh as a grin spread across his face, not really caring about Grim's participation status. "Lunch time, what should I have today~♪?" he sang to himself as they entered the cafeteria.
However, as soon as they entered, they saw a large crowd of students practically forming a dog pile around the counter and almost all of the tables were occupied. "...Hmm? The cafeteria is extra crowded today..." Ace remarked. A ghost wearing a chef's hat then appeared and smiled at the cluster of students.
"Today is a special day that happens once a month! A super popular bakery in town is here to promote at school!" the Cafeteria Ghost announced loudly. "It sells out fast, so the early bird gets the worm!"
The student all clamored and pushed themselves towards the counter. "Three chocolate croissants for me!" one Heartslabyul student hollered. "Score! I actually got something this month! This egg salad sandwich is the best~!" another Heartslabyul student exclaimed as he grabbed an egg sandwich from the counter.
"The egg salad sandwich is now sold out! There's only one deluxe menchi katsu sandwich left!" the Cafeteria Ghost said. That caught Grim's ears. "Deluxe...?" he thought with wide, eager cobalt-colored eyes.
His mouth began to water uncontrollably as the group headed towards the counter and looked over at the many dishes. It was no wonder everyone was drooling over the food. There were hot sandwiches, pies, tarts, donuts, brownies, and just about all the pastries one could expect a bakery to have.
The girls almost wished their school could have this type of cuisine. However, they all seemed to be pretty pricey...
"Heh~. Everything looks really tasty. I might have to go get something~." Ace said, looking at the choices. "It's really popular. Ladies, Grim, what do you wanna...? Huh?" Deuce asked as he turned to look at them, only to see that a certain someone was missing. The girls looked down, expecting to see their feline friend, but...
"Grim's gone!" Alice cried out. They quickly looked around before they saw the cat creature rushing towards the far side of the counter. "Outta my way, ya buncha punks! All of you!" Grim screeched as he rudely shoved his way through the crowd.
He then jumped up and ran across the heads of the other students before he landed on the counter and snatched that special sandwich. "Nya-ha-ha! How's that for a taste of my power?! That deluxe menchi katsu sandwich is mine!" he exclaimed, holding it above his head triumphantly.
"Hey, jerk! No cutting in line!" the Heartslabyul student shouted angrily, glaring at Grim. "You've got some nerve cutting in front of your seniors, freshman! Get outta here!" the other Heartslabyul student added as he pushed Grim away.
But Grim didn't seem to care about what they were saying or how angry they were getting as he just laughed at their faces and kept trying to break through the crowd. Kira let out an annoyed groan. "Looks like the hungry beast has been unleashed..." she deadpanned.
Once again, as annoying as it was, Grim was getting into another heap of trouble. "He loses himself to food way too easily!" Deuce said. "Ah-ah..." Ace sighed in annoyance. "We have to stop him!" Alice said. "I'm on it! Grim~! Stay~!" Kira shouted as she and Deuce ran towards the feline gremlin.
Of course, there were some other students who badly wanted that deluxe menchi-katsu sandwich, so they began to fight Grim over it. Pretty soon, a big brawl broke out between Grim and the other students.
"Gimme the deluxe menchi katsu sandwich!" one student yelled. "I've got my eyes on it for a whole week! It's mine!" another student shouted as he tried to pull the deluxe sandwich out from Grim's grasp. "Ffgya!! Get your hands off my sandwich! I saw it first!" Grim screeched as he kept his grip tightly on the sandwich.
There was no way he would ever give up his prize! "Grim!!" Kira scolded as she quickly grabbed Grim by his ribbon collar and hoisted him right off the floor. "Hey! Lemme go! That sandwich is mine!!" Grim shouted as he thrashed around.
Kira then pulled Grim towards her face and glared at him venomously. Grim broke out in a cold sweat when he saw her murderous glare. He had to admit, she can be pretty scary when she's mad. "Don't give me that attitude, buster! I'm not gonna let you cause any more trouble for us, you hear?!" Kira snarled at him.
"Oh, come on!! There's only one deluxe menchi katsu sandwich, and it's all mine!!" Grim shouted, trying to put on a brave face. "Who cares?! And how many times do I have to tell you?! NO cutting in line!" Kira shouted as she and Deuce dragged Grim away from the crowd.