-3rd POV-
"What kind of investigation we talkin' about?" Grim tilted his head.
"Our group includes a direbeast, otherworlders, a humanoid, various humans, and a beastman. We all possess different attributes. So we all just have to perform the same action, which will allow us to test our hypothesis under different circumstances. It's the perfect way to determine what special conditions let the mirror connect to Mickey!" Ortho smiled.
"It makes sense when you put it like that." Deuce said, as Ace nodded.
""Systematic isolation is absolutely essential to reliably reproduce a phenomenon." Nii-san says that a lot. We can all take turns spending the night at Ramshackle Dorm, which will improve our chances to reproduce a communication. What do you think?"
"This sounds kinda cool, actually." The orange haired male smiled, nodding.
"I'm down!" The blue haired male exclaimed, "We'll work together to find (Y/n), Shoto and Izuku a way back home!"
"Mrah! So far all we've had is the headmage pretendin' to investigate when he's really just on vacation." The feline smiled, "Ortho's way more dependable than that guy."
Epel nodded, "I'd like to help!" He then sighed sadly, "I'm just not sure how I could get my housewarden to sign off on letting me stay outside Pomefiore."
"Just say you're doin' a study group. So, what days are each of us gonna take?" Ace looked at the rest.
"Oi, I never said I'd do it." Jack spoke up.
"Wow, Jack, that's ice cold." He shook his head, "This could be the key to gettin' them three home, and you're just refusing to help?"
"I never said that either..." He muttered, "The thing is, I train real early in the morning, so I go to sleep by 10 p.m. I won't be awake when Mickey shows up."
"That's okay, you can sleep. (Y/n) will just yell and shake you awake." The tanuki mischievously grinned.
Ortho smiled, "That's reassuring to hear! Okay, let's assign Jack a weekend night when it'll be easier for him to stay up."
"Hey, slow down! I don't take days off from training!" The wolf male exclaimed.
Epel chuckled, "I never knew you could be pushy, Ortho."
The said boy hummed, "Hmm. If we're doing all this, it'd be nice to have a fae take part in the investigation as well..." He looked at the three, "(Y/n), Shoto, Izuku, do you three know any fae you could ask?"
The three blinked, before remembering Malleus.
'I wonder if Tsunotarou would do it?' (Y/n) thought.
"We know one guy..." Shoto trailed off, as Midoriya nodded.
"I categorically oppose this!!" A booming voice could be heard across the whole cafeteria.
The freshmen group were startled, before looking.
"What's all that racket over there?" Jack looked over, seeing Sebek angry and yelling.
"Oh, I know that guy from my Magic Analysis elective. He's in Diasomnia." Ace said.
-----
"Calm yourself, Sebek. You're in the cafateria." Malleus said, putting up a hand.
"Malleus is right. And besides, it's already been arranged." Lilia smiled.
Sebek's eyes widen, "But...you can't...I don't believe this...You lost your magic and you're...You're...withdrawing from the school?!"
"Don't make such a production out of it. My magic has been weakened for years. It's been happening since before you boys were born. The time has come. That's all there is to it."
The horned male stayed silent.
"Then when you were running to school this morning without using magic, was that because...?" Silver trailed off.
The pink and black haired male nodded, "Indeed—as much as it shames me to admit, I can no longer even use magic to teleport."
"Oh, no..." He sadly looked down.
"I thought I could make it through four years of schooling here. This all just happened a bit faster than I anticipated."
Malleus was silent, before speaking, "What will you do now?"
"I'll move to the Land of Red Dragons."
"What?!" Sebek and Silver exclaimed, as the other male's eyes widen.
"But...the Land of Red Dragons is on the other side of the planet!" The silver haired male protested.
"Come now, you make it sound like we're in olden times." Lilia pouted, "Sure, when I last visited there, the only transit options were broom or ship...But nowadays you can hop on a plane and be there in no time. Even had I made it to graduation, I wouldn't have gone back to Briar Valley."
"...What?" The horned male muttered.
"But why? Isn't that your home, father?" Silver questioned.
"Your presence there is most essential as well!" The green haired male exclaimed.
"That's exactly why. I'd hoped to spend my golden years in relaxation, perhaps tending to some birds...But I still have so many obligations. When I'm in Briar Valley, anyone and everyone finds some excuse to put me to work. Especially Queen Maleficia. She's as demanding as they come!" Lilia smiled.
"I can speak upon your behalf and ask grandmother not to rely on you so heavily. So please..." Malleus trailed off in thought.
"Oh, it's fine. I was joking." He waved his hand, "I've only visited the Land of Red Dragons once before, and I had a pressing duty at the time. I didn't have time to enjoy the cuisine or the sights, and I've regretted it ever since. That's the only reason. I'm just being a selfish old man, really. There's no need to frown like that."
Sebek and Silver were sadden by the news, not wanting him to leave.
"It's true that it wouldn't be so difficult for Sebek and I to visit you. But it would be for Malleus-sama—" Silver was cut off.
"Don't, Silver." The horned male looked at him with a frown, as he stared with eyes widen, "If this is Lilia's decision, it's not our place to dissuade him."
"...Thank you, Malleus." Lilia nodded.
"When will you depart?"
"I've already informed the headmage of my withdrawal. I'll be packing my things in the dorm and leaving a week from now."
"That soon?!" Sebek exclaimed, as the other two were shocked.
He smiled, "We old geezers can be impatient, you know. After all, we don't have much time left!"
"Not much time left..." Malleus looked off with eyes widen.
"Um..." Silver looked at him, "Father, what should we do with your house in Briar Valley?"
"Oh, that was just an abandoned house in the woods I fixed up. I have all my things here with me. If you don't want to use it, then just let the forest take it again." Lilia smiled.
"All...All right...I suppose I'll decide...by the time I graduate."
"Now then, I'd best start packing for my journey. I'd like to declutter my things and be more minimalistic. Silver, Sebek, would you help me sort through everything?" He looked at the two.
"Yes, sir./ Yes, sir!" The two said, nodding.
"Excellent. Then we can get started during lunch today."
"...Lilia." The horned male called out, making him turn.
"Hm?"
"Allow me to ask just once more. Will you truly not reconsider?"
"I've already made my decision." He softly sighed, "...Or rather, the decision's been made for me, I suppose. Even if I did change my mind, time marches ever on toward our inevitable destiny. So why not face it with grace, smiling and waving?" He smiled as he got up with the other two following.
"Destiny is inevitable..." He muttered, brows furrowed.
"That's right. There are some things not even you can change. For example...Your next class is a joint defensive magic lesson with classes D and E at the coliseum. That's destiny as well. So you'd better not be late!" He said, as he and the two others walked off.
"Yes. I'm aware." He muttered, then frowned, staring in silence.
Soon, thunder and lightning were heard and seen, startling students.
"Whoa, what in the world? It was perfectly clear now, but now it's coming down cats and dogs." Deuce said.
Ace pouted, "Just great. Of course my next class would be in the alchemy lab and not the main building!"
"I've got PE next, so I'll have to head back to my dorm and swap gears." Ortho said, then smiled, "Let's talk more about our investigation after class."
They all walked off, leaving (Y/n), who stared at Malleus, who was frowning in silence.
Thunder and rain roared outside.
Grim looked back, since he was on Midoriya's head, "C'mon, (Y/n)! Get a move on! We're gonna find ourselves at the wrong end of Crewel's riding crop if we're late!" He said.
The said girl blinked, before looking at them, getting up from her seat, "I'm coming." She said, following them. Though, as she ran up to her friends, her eyes dulled, seeing ink spill, 'Another one?'
"You all right?" Midoriya questioned.
She blinked, her eyes having the sparkle one again, "Yeah, something happened." She looked at her brother nodding.
Shoto blinked, 'Another overblot?' He thought, looking at Malleus, before they walked off.
-----
The three Diasomnia males walked into Lilia's room.
"You know, when I first enrolled I was careful to bring only the important things, stuff I'd never throw away..." He sighed, looking around his room, "But my goodness, just look at all the junk I've collected. I wonder how many boxes all this would fit. Time to cut the chaff, boys! I'm gonna be packing light from now on!"
"First, I'll get rid of the clothes I hardly wear. Sebek, would you mind separating my clothes by season and laying them out on the bed?"
"Yes, sir!" Sebek nodded, going to his closet.
"I'll check your drawers." Silver said.
"Please do. And I'll sort through my books and instruments." The pink and black haired male said, then pouted, "I'd love to keep playing all these instruments, but they're just so unwieldy!" He walked off.
"Let's see..." He walked to his dresser, "Guess I'll start with the bottom drawer and work my way up." He crouched down and opened it, but his eyes widen, huffing, "He keeps pocket change and old tests in the same place. Class 1-C, Lilia Van—..." His eyes widen, "Wait, these are tests from two years ago!"
He could see something was sticking out from the pile, "What's this? Something's sticking out in the back..." He took it out, "A keyboard? On closer inspection, several keys are missing. What was he even doing with this?" He looked through more things, "Here's an expired coupon for a coffee shop...And some dried out nail polish that's as hard as a rock..." He sighed.
"I don't think I need to check with father about any of this. It can all just go in the trash. I've always known he wasn't good at keeping things neat and tidy...But I question if it's really safe to let him travel to the Land of Red Dragons alone. Maybe I should accompany him after all..." He shook his head, looking at the drawers.
"Just focus on one thing at a time, Silver. Let's clean out these drawers." He looked at the next one, "What's in the next one..." He opened it and his eyes widen, "A candy tin?" He took it out, inspecting it, "What's inside? Please don't tell me it's candy from his freshman year or something..." He opened it, seeing a ring with a golden chain along with acorns with a string through them.
"It's a ring, and...some acorns? These acorns look really old. They're cracked, and I can see where bugs have wormed out of them." He looked at the ring, "Conversely, both the metal and gems on this ring look pristine and flawless. One of the gems is pretty large. It's probably valuable."
"And he just keeps it in a candy tin? Huh...Have I seen this ring somewhere before? The gems have an auroral hue...Rgh..." His vision started to blur, "Ngh...Getting...sleepy.."
"Silver? What's wrong?" Lilia walked up, startling the said teen from his tiredness.
"...Ah!" He turned to him, "Sorry...When I opened this tin, I got hit with a wave of drowsiness." He said, showing him the tin.
"A tin? Ooh, so that's where I put it."
"It had a ring and some acorns inside. The acorns are in pretty bad shape. I can throw those out, right?"
"No, don't!" He protested, shocking him, "That's a very priceless bracelet."
"A bracelet...?" He looked down at the tin, "Oh, you're right. There's a string going through the acorns."
"It was given to me as a gift long ago. It's my single-most valuable possession. Tossing it away is out of the question. Why, even Malleus envies that treasure!"
"Malleus-sama? Really? Goodness...I'm sorry, I didn't think. I should've guessed. Even I could tell the ring it's with is valuable...Okay, I'll pack the whole tin into your luggage."
Lilia stopped him, "Actually, I think I'll just keep the bracelet. The ring can go back to its original owner."
"Who's that?" He tilted his head.
He looked at him with a smile, "You, Silver."
"...Me?"
"You were wearing that ring on a necklace when I found you as a baby."
Silver's eyes widen, "I was?!"
"I planned on giving it to you when you grew up. You're not quite of age yet, but...I think this is as good an occasion as any to give it back."
"I can't quite wrap my head around all this, but...Um...thank you..."
He smiled and pointed at the jewels, "See these gems, Silver? They're the same clear auroral hue as your eyes. "May my child's eyes remain as clear as these jewels and never cloud with sadness." I've no doubt your parents left you that ring to symbolize their hopes for your future."
"My parents...? Father, I..."
"Silver, you've grown into a fine young man worthy of this ring. Keep living your life in a way that does justice to its brilliance. All right?"
Silver nodded, "...Yes, sir. Thank you."
"Lilia-sama!" Sebek happily called out, "I have sorted all of your clothes by season and laid them upon your bed!" He loudly said.
"You needn't yell in such a small room, you know. I can hear you." Lilia said.
"Ah! Apologies, sir." He said, before bringing out something, "By the way, Lilia-sama, I found this in your closet..."
It was a hatchet that was green and was wrapped with vines that were of metal.
"Oh, that's the magearm I used to use when I was on active duty." The pink and black haired male said.
The green haired male's eyes widen, "It is?!" He smiled, "The very magearm that supported the great Lilia-sama, Royal General of the Right and Briar Valley's greatest warrior through all his exploits?!"
"What?!" Silver said.
"My grandfather has often regaled me with tales of your bravery on the battlefield. He spoke of this beautiful magearm and its incredible magical blasts...And how it left foes prostrated and helpless on the ground. Just look at it..." He looked at the weapon in his hands, "What a work of beauty!"
"The dazzling gleam of the magestone, the exquisite craftsmanship of the silver filigree! Wait, it's not silver, is it? Is this mystium, the rare magical metal? I heard you can shape it with magic."
"Oho. Good eye, Sebek. I'm impressed you caught that." Lilia smiled.
"I knew it! I've never seen a magearm with such a lavish amount of mystium before."
"Back when I was young...There were mines in Briar Valley replete with mystium and magestones, all for the taking. We could be as extravagant with them as we pleased."
"To think I would be able to view a legendary warrior's weapon up close...! I am simply in awe!"
"Wait, hold on, father..." Silver trailed off, "Isn't that the hatchet we kept in the shed for chopping firewood?" He sweatdropped.
Sebek instantly glared at him, "Chopping firewood?! Are you still half asleep, Silver?! This is a legendary magearm we're talking about!"
Lilia smiled, nodding, "That's the hatchet from the shed, all right."
His eyes widen, "What?! You kept it in a shed?!"
"I was so used to swinging it, it was just easier."
"I'd always wondered why it was so much more ornate than our other saws and axes. I had no idea it was such a treasure." The silver haired male said.
"Do you possess any critical thinking skills?! It clearly doesn't look like something you'd use for everyday chores!" The green haired male exclaimed.
The pink and black haired male laughed, "I'm sure that magearm appreciated being used very day rather gathering dust hanging on a wall. I think I'll take it with me to my next abode. After all, the mountains are supposed to be cold and snowy in the Land of Red Dragons."
"So you're still going to use it as a hatchet..." Silver sighed.
Sebek was distraught, "The...The legendary magearm...!"
Soon, the bell rung.
"Well, it's about time for afternoon classes. Let's continue with the packing tonight, shall we?" Lilia smiled.
"Yes, sir!/ Yes, sir." The two said.
-----
"Herbal tea that'll keep us awake: check." Grim smiled.
"Ghost camera and phone with voice recorder app, check!" Deuce said, both things in hand.
"Bring it on, Mickey!" The two exclaimed.
"Come on, he's not gonna pop up on cue. In the months since you've been living here..." Ace said, looking at the girl, "Mickey's only appeared like five or six times, right, (Y/n)?"
(Y/n) tilted her head, "It feels like I'm seeing him more often lately." She said.
"I think you saw him after the culture fair, and after we got back from the Island of Woe, right?" The feline said, walking over to Shoto and laying on his lap.
"So the appearances have happened around once or twice a month." The blue haired male said.
"We may be in this for the long haul, so let's just be chill. We've got plenty of study questions to go over for our finals anyway." The orange haired male said, bringing out giant books.
"What's up with all those giant workbooks?" The tanuki said.
"When we asked Housewarden Riddle if we could stay over, we said it was because we wanted to do a study group here at Ramshackle. And he said..." Deuce trailed off, as the other continued.
""That's a fine mindset to have. Take these with you. I'll be grading them after your study group."...End quote." He then smirked, "By the way, we've got some for you four." He pulled them out and slammed them in front of the four.
"Ugh! I don't want one!" Grim exclaimed.
Deuce smirked, "If you don't do it, it'll be off with your head."
"I ain't even in Heartslabyul!"
"C'mon, don't be shy. And I've got three more for Jack, Epel, and Ortho, too." Ace grinned.
"Eep...They got me cornered..."
(Y/n) looked at the workbook, seeing a small note, '"You don't have to do them if you don't want to, (Y/n). I just want them two to study. Riddle." Ah, so, it's just to make them study...' She thought.
"Remember, the finals before summer vacation are super important. How well you do determines if you can move into the next grade. If you don't put effort into studying, you'll get held back a year. I'm serious." The blue haired male explained.
"Going into the next grade, huh..." She muttered, realizing that's she's been in Twisted Wonderland for almost a year.
Shoto only been for a few months, while Midoriya had just appeared.
"Y'know..." Grim looked down, "Say they do go back home before our sophomore year...Do you think I'd be allowed to stay at school on my own?"
The Adeuce were silent.
"I can't believe the headmage would be that heartless...At least, I hope he wouldn't..." The blue haired male said.
Ace smiled, "You'll be fine! Well, then again, knowin' that guy, maybe you can't be so certain..."
"Plus, if they're gone...I'd be here in Ramshackle all by myself." The feline said, tearing up.
The girl reached over and softly pat his head.
"Well, uh..." Deuce said, as the he and the tanuki went silent.
"C'mon, why do you guys have to get all mopey?" The orange haired male sighed.
"Look, I really do want them to be able to go home as soon as possible...But if that happens, well...We'd never be able to study together like this again, would we?"
'Even so, we still want to go home...' Shoto thought.
"I'm sure we can have Hatsume find a way..." Midoriya smiled.
"Things definitely wouldn't be the same without you guys..." The dual haired girl sadly said.
"C'mon, (Y/n), no need to join the mope patrol. Frankly, I'm still skeptical any of this is gonna help us figure out a way to send them home." Ace said.
Deuce nodded, "...Yeah, that's true. Sorry."
"There, see? I declare Mopefest officially over! And let's be real, Grim—I'm not sure you'll pass finals even with (Y/n) and them here. If you've got time to brood, you've got time to study."
Grim walked up, a determined look in his eyes, "Oh myeah?! I'll show you! The great Grim means business—I'll have this whole workbook done in 30 minutes flat!"
-----
"Mraaah...I'm gettin' all bleary-eyed." The feline said, hid eyes barely open.
"You've barely on page three! Remind me who said they'd be done in half an hour?" Ace said.
"I made it to page five!" Deuce smiled, before looking at the time, "...Oh geez, it's nearly midnight."
"And we've got zippo from the mirror. Not that I expected us to strike gold our first time out."
"Okay, let's text Ortho to fill him in hit the hay."
"Good call."
The tanuki had curled up in (Y/n)'s lap, "G'night, guys..." He mumbled.
(Y/n) looked at them, "Can I talk to you guys?"
Shoto turned to her, "What is it?"
She looked at them, then at her lap, "I...I don't want to leave..."
Their eyes widen.
"Wh-What?! Why not?" Deuce said, shocked, "Don't you miss your family? Your friends?"
"I do...But, being here in Twisted Wonderland has been the best time of my life..." She looked at her brother and Midoriya, "They made me show more emotions than I could ever imagine. It's been fun and thrilling this past year. I've made friends here."
"A-Are you sure? But what about your siblings?" The green haired male questioned.
Shoto was silent, staring at her with widen eyes.
(Y/n) nodded, "I'm sure they would understand." She smiled slightly, "Plus, I've been thinking for a while now..." She looked at them, "I want to give up being a hero and stay here. As you said, Midoriya. Have Hatsume create something so guys can visit." She looked at her brother, "Please, say something..."
They all looked at the girl's brother, seeing how he was just silent.
The dual haired male closed his eyes, before slowly nodding, "All right...Midoriya and I will go home."
She teared up, then hugged him, being careful of the sleeping feline on her lap, "Thank you..." She whispered.
He hugged her back, but tightly, "I'm doing this because I want you happy..." He whispered back, smiling softly.
Adeuce and Midoriya watched the scene.
Ace grinned, "Don't worry guys, we'll take good care of her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble."
The girl softly laughed as she pulled away from the hug, "More like me making sure you don't get in trouble."
Deuce nodded with a grin, "Yeah..."
Shoto softly nodded, "I'm sure you guys will be getting into a lot of trouble." He chuckled.
Midoriya smiled, "You guys will get scolded a lot."
-----
As it went further into the night, everyone started to sleep, minus (Y/n), who was still up.
"I can't sleep..." She muttered, before blinking when she saw familiar lights, "These lights..." She got up and walked out the dorm.
As she walked out, she could see Malleus, who looked deep in thought, but what shocked her was the snow that fell.
"It's snowing?" She said, catching the male's attention.
"...Hm? Is that the child of man I hear?" He said, turning to her, his eyes widen, "Is it snowing...?" He looked around him, "Ah, I hadn't noticed. That might cause the trees in the garden to frost over and wither." He snapped his fingers and the snow was gone, "It's a bad habit of mine."
She looked around, then at him.
"I remember once when I was a child I froze the entire castle. Lilia certainly gave me a stern talking-to then. That was back when I'd finally started walking on two legs. I threw a tantrum over the most trivial thing...I was supposed to have dinner with grandmother, but she had some urgent business come up. Trivial, as I said."
"But on that day, I simply wasn't having it. The next thing I knew, I'd frozen the table, the chairs...even the staff. None of the castle staff could get close to me. They scurried away from me in fear, which only angered me further. I had nearly frozen the entire castle...That was when Lilia, a royal guardsman at the time, came to the castle."
"He slipped by without my noticing and unfroze the retainers...Then he had the retainers fetch a number of cups and some flavored syrup. He crushed up some of the ice and piled it into the cups, drizzling the syrup on top...Then he passed them out to the staff, and they all began eating together. Thinking back, it must've been a nuisance to our staff."
"The castle was already frigid, yet there they were, being made to eat a frozen treat...Heh." He chuckled, "When I saw all those people sitting at out grand table, eating with such relish...I grew terribly envious. That was when I started to calm down and regret what I'd done. I feared a harsh rebuke from Lilia about terrible consequences of letting my emotions get the better of me."
"He can be extremely frightening when he's truly angry. Hard to imagine from the way he usually acts, isn't it?" He chuckled, "When Lilia spotted me looking on from afar, he gave his magearm a mighty swing...And crush all the ice surrounding me! He then scooped up a heaping pile of it into a cup and drizzled lots of syrup on top. He took my hand as I stood there in fright and led me to a seat."
"Then he said to me..."It's good. Have some." That was it. After the wrath I'd imagined, it was a bit anticlimactic. The treat itself was merely ice with syrup on top. Nonetheless...It was rather pleasant eating with that many people around the table. Normally I'd either sit there alone or just with grandmother. As we all ate together, my ire abated..."
"And the castle returned to its rightful state. Once I'd regained my composure, Lilia turned to me and said..."You possess great power. You must not wield it recklessly. You came dangerously close to losing the people around this table today.""
(Y/n) stared at him, then around her, "You must've been so lonely, Tsunotarou."
His eyes widen, looking at her, "Lonely? Me? I don't know if I'd call it that..." He then looked off into the distance, "I'm used to being alone. After all, I was alone even before I broke through my egg's shell. Granted, Lilia's been with me ever since I was born..." He trailed off, "...But I suppose he won't be scolding me anymore." He muttered silently.
He turned to her, "I'm rambling now. Forget I said anything. What of yourself, (Y/n)? It's unusual to see you out in the garden this late. And you look as though you have something to say. By all means, speak."
The said girl looked at him, "I could really use your help with something, Tsunotarou." She said, before explaining everything going on, making his eyes widen.
"You wish to go home...?" He said.
"Well, not me. But my brother and friend. I'll be staying here."
His eyes widen, "I see...And there's a mirror in your room that's connected to another world? Hm. It's not outside the realm of possibility. Everything truly does happen in the blink of an eye." He frowned.
She looked at the ground, "I'm everyone would understand of me staying, but it just feels right...Sure, I'll be lonely once school is done if Grim decided to leave and do whatever..."
"Lonely, hm. What if...there was some way to guarantee you'd never lose your friends, or family, or anything else? Would you wish for that?" Malleus said, looking at her.
She nodded, "Sure. No one likes losing those close to them." She said.
"Then why would he..." He shook his head, "No, I shouldn't belabor the point. Give me some time to think. Perhaps I'll come up with a suitable solution." He looked up at the moon, smiling, "...Ah, look at how high the moon is in the sky. You should go back to your room and rest."
She stared at him, seeing how the moonlight shined brightly down on him, "You're very handsome, Malleus-senpai."
He blinked, feeling his cheeks heat up slighly.
"But thanks, Tsunotarou."
"Good night, (Y/n)." He smiled, watching her walk off, but was confused when she came back to him.
The girl hugged him, "If you ever need someone to talk to, just know that my door is always open for you." She said, before letting go and running back into her dorm.
His eyes were widen, "(Y/n)..." He muttered, before closing his eyes.
"You possess great power. You must not wield it recklessly. You came dangerously close to losing the people around this table today."
"What good is this "great power" of mine? It avails me naught. Absolutely everything slips through my fingers. Everyone walks away from the table, leaving me alone. There's...no one left who will invite me anywhere now. But her..."