When y/n l/n cannot seem to find a time where her plans do not go astray. Or, when a familiar redheaded ginger starts a fight with the janitorial team.
"Calm and stoic is this soul's mind, but chaos runs deep within their heart."
Act i, prologue, Welcome to the villains world
Chapter 9-10, Meeting a freshman to Mutual aggression
Word count, 3522
.
Bored.
Bored and tired.
You were quite bored and tired after this morning of class.
Leaning slumped over your hand, you stared distastefully at your grilled cheese sandwich. All your hunger had disappeared after this mornings classes as you looked around for your brother.
It was all quite repetitive; the thrill of your secret being balancing on a thin tightrope, threatening to fall apart and the excitement of something new until it got old and uninteresting.
"Hypocrite."
The glowing yellow lanterns hanging over the crowded cafeteria tables as a wide circle of empty seats surround you, lonesome students often flickering over your table before chickening out and going to eat in the courtyard.
Lunchtime was supposed to be a break from the magical classes, from all the spells and wand waving shenanigans.
But ultimately, lunchtime was the worst part of the school day.
You often find yourself throwing away your food in the garbage after you lost your appetite, opting to just finding some snacks in the cupboard after school. In the restless hours of break time, you wandered the school and counted every second where the time will end.
It was the hardest part of your day; not the long hours of sitting through your history lessons or sentenced to 200 push-ups by your gym coach.
It was lunch, something that was supposed to be a fun time to hang out with your friends as you relax yourself or catch up on some homework.
You watched at the laughing students around you, having fun chatting with their classmates and gossiping about the current rumors; red and black straps wrapping around their arms just as the same band wrapped around yours.
Heartslaybyul dorm.
A place of chaos and order.
With rows of painted mazes of blooming white roses, plates of strawberry tarts and sugar cubes littering the checker pattern tablecloths, and students tending to the flamingos in equally pink attire.
Opposing to the chaos, the strict red headed housewarden rules the dorm with an iron fist, maintaining the order of rules upon the heartslabyul students and beheading those who do not keep to their promise of abiding the laws.
The Rose red tyrant, as one might assume.
But all you could see beneath the veiled anger reflecting upon his eyes, was the crying child leaning by the side of his windowsill as he ignored the shouts of concern and the clank of throwing stones against the glass.
As those same grey eyes that bore the sadness of a crying child stared before your own, you saw a flicker of recognition ignite a powerful flame inside his pupils.
That was the real reason why there wasn't a heart shaped collar clamped around your neck.
Your eyes reflected that of his own.
As you stood up from your seat, you carried the plate of untouched grilled cheese sandwich and got ready to throw it into the dump.
By now, most students were looking for places to sit as they carried their food in their hands, some still stubbornly hanging in line.
"Awe man! Leona is gonna kill me! The grilled cheese sandwich is out of stock today." A sandy haired boy with thin arms and a patterned yellowy orange bandana wrapped around his neck, the large hyena ears flattening his hair as his lips curved down into a deadpan.
Blue-grey irises scanned around the cafeteria, in search for the deluxe grilled cheese sandwich that was missing from the lineup.
Of course it had to be sold out today! It was the first week of the semester after all, and the cafeteria food had a tendency of running short on good items after a day or two, making it hard for people to to get a tasty meal. Although, most of the items were still pretty decently delicious.
Skimming over the group of other heartslabyul students behind you, Ruggie's eyes landed on the grilled cheese untouched on your plate, standing lonesome on the wooden cafeteria table.
You just seemed to just vanish into the background; a furrow in your brows and downward tug of your lips making you look mean and unwelcoming.
He had to double check the band around your arm as he first mistaken you for a member of his own dorm.
Yet, no yellow bandanna wrapped itself around your waist. Instead, a black and red strap tied around your arm, identifying you as a heartslabyul student. Who were you?
"So your the kid who got the last grilled cheese?,"
The sandy haired boy slid over to the seat next to yours, eyeing the sandwich in the plate pushed aside.
Curiosity filled his chest as golden flaked irises bore into his own, nagging at the logical side of his brain as they fought in a battle of mind and heart.
Other than the prominent grilled cheese that stood out on the lonesome table, his eyes would have skimmed over you, your figure disappearing into the faceless crowd.
The muscles of your face was curved into a frown, tiredness and boredom being mistaken for distaste and hostility, shoulders slumped foreword as you leaned into your hands.
A black and red armband wrapped around your limb as he could just imagine a patterned bandana over your waist or neck, mistaking you for one of his dorm at first glance.
But no, he had never seen you before.
You leaned back, awkwardness sending angry pangs of panic through your chest, "is that a bad thing?,"
A sickly sweet scent radiated from your body, almost like a lemony sour that was mixed into a sweeter waft, like a candy that possessed too much sugar.
A thicker more masculine smell aired through the other, almost completely masking it as if you were to cover it up with a layer of thick paint to hide the picture of feminism underneath.
He let a cheeky smile curve up his lips, the mask of a friendly face blocking any personal relations that might've gone in the way, his curiosity disaperaing momentarily, "Shyheehee! Not necessarily,"
Startling golden flaked eyes stared back at him, an innocent look of wonder that didn't match the furrow of their brows, or the downward tug of their lips.
Their eyes were veiled with childish curiosity, yet thick layers cut deep inside their irsies, a small glint of determination ignited in their pupils.
It shocked him, almost dropping the friendly face of an innocent classmate as he stared back into your eyes, wonder filled his chest again as questions danced a beat in his heart, just who were you?
Ruggie's eyes steeled back again, the curiosity inflamed in his eyes as his mind went blank as your eyes met with his, "It was just that it's only the first day of school and that grilled cheese that Leona asked me to bring him had already been sold out!,"
He leaned forward, a cheeky grin plastered across his face, "say, you give me that sandwich and trade something with me?,"
The scrunch of your brows furrowed more, sending a flicker of doubt pass through Ruggie's eyes.
Sending a glance to the other animal eared bandana wearing students, you noticed their buff muscled arms like the strong trunks of a tree, strength and power coursing through their limbs.
The sandy haired stranger's arms looked thin and small compared to them, like the small twigs that you old easily snap in half off an old branch.
Pity flashed before the golden flakes of your eyes as you pushed the plate towards him, sorry irises of shared understanding flickering through your pupils as a flame ignited inside, "here, you can have it, I wasn't really hungry anyways."
The cool porcelain plate sent shocks through Ruggie's fingers, staring in wonder as you left through the doors, fading back into the background as you disappeared into the crowd.
Eager excitement filled his chest as he clutched onto the plate of grilled cheese sandwich, walking to the opposite side of the room to bring the food back to the housewarden. A strange feeling welled up inside his heart that he hadn't quite often felt before.
Confusion.
He was confused about you, questions swirling inside his mind like a pot of soup he stirring, making a lovely meal of confusion that he couldn't erase from his brain.
A singular midnight feather fluttered to the ground as it was the only thing that was left behind and the only piece of evidence from this chance meeting.
"Just who are you?,"
You were quite frustrated.
Looking for your brother was harder than expected, having no further connection between you both as you were sentenced to different classes, having that kick you back in the ass when you couldn't talk to Crowley earlier in the ceremony.
Nothing was going in the way that it was supposed to.
The midday sun beat harshly against your bare skin, beads of cold sweat running down your exposed neck. The little bob of a ponytail did well to stay intact, your ruff scratchy hair unable to smoothen out no matter what you tried.
Wandering aimlessly through the courtyard, your steps shortened and almost came to a stop when you heard voices up ahead.
A stone path displaying seven statues of the seven great rulers of the dorms stood grandly by the walking street; the queen of hearts, king of beasts, the sea witch, the sorcerer of the sands, the beautiful queen, king of the underworld and the thorn fairy.
Engraved upon their grand podium, descriptions of their twisted tales emblazoned upon their statues as they stood proudly for any curious eyes to look upon, their memory engraved in stone.
The magicless student summoned by the dark mirror and ginger haired boy who was giggling to himself at the orientation stood together, wild orange hair unkept and no longer suppressed under the golden lined cloak.
Grim, the flaming eared tanuki that had crashed the ceremony had returned, holding up a duster in his furry grey hands while yuu held a broom and bucket in his palms.
A mischievous smile spread across the redhead's lips, "...unlike some piddling weasel!,"
The grey monster threw his head back in offence, the freshman's face twisting into a wicked smile as all kind intention faded from the red of his pupils.
Ace put a hand to his knee, cruel laughter bubbling up from his throat, "Pfft!," he sputtered, "Ahahaha! I can't hold it back anymore, Ahahaha haha!," Crossing his arms, he stared at the two, the flame of grim's ears flickering with dangerous heat.
"Come on, you're the ones who turned orientation into such a fiasco, right?," Wicked humour danced in his irises, "The one summoned by the Dark Mirror who can't even use magic, and the monster no on summoned at all."
He raised a hand to his mouth, almost sputtering into coughs as he tried to contain his mirthful laughter, "It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony!,"
You frowned as he continued to insult and mock the ramshackle pair, joining with the growing crowd as they gathered to see the commotion; a mocking junior being cruel to his peers, a troublesome weasel with a high ego, and the student who couldn't use magic.
"I can't believe it." A boy with a strand of sliver hair falling between his eyes scoffed, crossing his arms angrily. His tan skin was toned with muscles, [considerably/hardly] [taller/shorter] than you with a Savanaclaw bandana wrapped around his waist.
He narrowed his eyes at the fight between the redheaded junior and cocky weasel, throwing insults inbetween throws of flame and wind magic.
Golden-brown irises danced across the battle, disgust and anger curved across his face that was similar to your own, "I came to this school to tear up the spelldrive fields by my own hard work, not to witness some amateur hallway fight between two freshman students."
You watched his expression turn, a flame of determination and passion ignited in the soft golden brown of his eyes, hidden under the disguise of a ruff college delinquent.
The thin line between your lips curved into it's natural frown, the furrow of your brows scrunching up in distaste, the flicker of conversation dancing across your tongue, "I didn't come to night raven for this either, but there are a lot of delinquents here for a supposed prestigious mage academy."
Jack's eyes momentarily flickered to your own before switching back to the fight between wind and fire, "I see no joy in petty insults and picking fights with prey considerably weaker than you. There is no honor in that."
His hands bawled into fists, aggressive passion glinting in the corners of his irises, "I wish to taste the sweet victory of the fruits of my labour payed through the fists of my hands!,"
He punched his open palm with a fist, startling some students in the crowd, "I wish to feel the rewarding success of my work after training hard each day and every night."
Golden brown eyes steeled with new vigour in his pupils, "this is shameful. And cowardly." You followed his gaze to the spectators in the crowd, cheering on the fight like a television show that you were watching last night.
A student raised up his arms in a celebratory stance, "Woo! Go get'em!," A newcomer stared in wonder at the scene stepping in from the stone path of the Main Street, "what's going on over here? A fight?,"
The large silver wolfs ears on his head flattened into a displeasurable frown, the passion fading from his irises and looked down in disappointment to the chipping stone ground, "I cannot bare to look at such a scene when they still proudly wear this school's emblem with pride in their chests."
Conversation died on your tongue as the troublesome weasel decided to shot another wave of blue fire, golden flaked and golden brown eyes parting ways before gazing upon the scene.
A brief moment of understanding passed before the two pairs of golden irises, empathy igniting a new flame of respect in the pupils of the stranger's eyes.
As the flaming tanuki tried to hit the redhead with his blue flames, the freshman countered back with a blast of his wind magic, extinguishing the fire until it was only a wisp of smoke in the distance.
"Can't hit me with your little fireballs?," Ace mocked, amusement dancing in the corners of his eyes as he waved another blast with his jewelled mage pen.
Grim crossed his furry arms, huffing out a breath of frustration, "you better believe that I'm about to!,"
A wave of hot fire seared your face, heat rushing to your face as a bead of cold sweat dripped down the side of your forehead. Blue fire erupted from the grey cat monster as he sent a powerful wave of blue flames in the freshman's direction.
Ace laughed, waving his magic pen again in confidence, "Pfft. All it takes is a little gust to—hah!,"
Sending the flames out of his direction with his wind magic, the fire had a new target now, the queen of hearts statue now seared and covered in charcoal, the delighted curve of her lips now dripping down into a displeasurable frown.
Flinching back in horror, Ace sweatdroped at the sight of the ash covered statue, it's pristine and elegance being reduced to a charcoal statue of failure. "Fuck, the Queen of Hearts's statue looks like it's been flame-broiled!,"
Now, the red and black ribbon of heartslabyul house had never shone so brightly with shame upon the redhead's arm.
Grim shouted, screaming at the nearest person that he could blame, "That's your fault for tryin' to divert it! You shoulda just let it burn you to a crisp!,"
Ace's face twisted into angry irritation, crossing his arms together in displeasure, "Who in their right mind would ever do that?!,"
By now, most of the crowd had already dissipated, only some lingering to watch the drama unfold with imaginary popcorn in hand.
"What's going on here?," the redhead and ramshackle pair froze up, fear crawling up their throats as they recognized the voice of the headmage, "cease this at once!,"
Slapping them each upside the head, Crowley's angry yellow pupils stared directly into the magicless prefect's eyes, freezing up as a cold bead of sweat dripped down his forehead as the headmage crossed his arms angrily.
Furrowing his brows, Crowley's mouth twitched downwards into a disappointed frown, "Did I not just warn you, no more incidents?,"
Putting a hand to his head, he cried in distress, a feigned act of dramatic flare that sent a pang through your chest, "And now you've charred one of my statues?!," he scoffed, "It's almost as though you want to be expelled!,"
Ace clasped his hands together, bowing with regret as he pleaded with desperation lacing the panic in his voice, "No, please! Forgive me!,"
An uncomfortable feeling bloomed in your heart, tugging at your lungs as a tight roped bound your chest until your breathing was almost shallow.
It felt quite, wrong to be seeing this, being one of the lingering people witnessing their embarrassment and public humiliation like this was some thing to take amusement out of, though it was naught but just a hallway fight.
And you've been seeing too many of those to be confident that this, task of yours will succeed.
"Yukken," the magicless stranger flinched, unable to meet the angry hollow sockets of Crowley's glowing yellow eyes, "You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!,"
His soft voice was almost carried off with the wind, a shallow breeze of a whisper that was barely audible through the obnoxious sound of Crowley's voice, "I deeply apologize, I tried to stop him, but..."
The bird man didn't let him finish the thought, now turning to the redheaded freshman who tensed as his yellow pupils dug deep into his eyes, "This will not do. And you!," he pointed threateningly to Ace, "State your name and grade."
The heartslabyul student lower his head, unable to meet his eyes, "Ace Trappola... Freshman."
Crowley's face steeled with angry vigour, "Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Yuuken, Grim," the hollow holes of his eyes never seemed so intimidating, "As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!,"
Grim flinched back, briefly stopping rubbing the red spot on his head as he tried to claw at the hem of Ace's pants sleeve, "That's what you get for makin' fun of me! This is all your fault!,"
The redhead stepped back, nudging the tanuki off his leg with his feet, "Whaaat? I have to do it too?!," he shouted, all the "regret" from before draining away.
Crowley straightened up again, "Of course you do. You will meet in the cafeteria after class. Are we clear?,"
They all bowed miserably, forced to agree with whatever chore Crowley tasked them to complete, "Yes sir."
Through the fleeting crowd, you could just barely catch the innocent golden eyes of your little brother as he wandered cluelessly through the flood of students, probably wondering why they were all leaving the scene.
Your heart dropped down to your stomach in relief, worry lines easing from your face, "Casper, there you are! Mother would never let me hear the end of this if I was to loose sight of you."
The word "mother" left a bitter taste on your tongue, now gently holding onto the grey sleeve of your brother's arm, tugging him softly back through the courtyard to continue through the afternoon classes.
His eyes furrowed just a bit, confusion swirling in the gold of his irises, "[nickname], what was going on over there?,"
The wondrous flame in his eyes died out, replaced by tired concern. Of course, being a 12 year old boy in a prestigious college for talented mages was hard, guilt gnawing at your heart to think how ungrateful you sounded.
Your eyes flickered to the fading figure of the headmage in the distance and back into the curious eyes of your brother, breath hitching in your throat as Crowley disappeared, your chance of finally having a word with him also disappearing into the air.
"It was just a small argument between two students, it will clear up soon," you patted his hair affectionately, "you don't need to be so considerate you know?," laughter bubbled inside your throat as you led him back through the doors inside.
But a bitter taste was left in your mouth as you saw the fleeting tuft of hair join the faceless crowd, smile vanishing and turning back into a frown. I will not let this be an opportunity missed.
Unknowingly, snakelike black eyes followed the shift of your expression, a wicked smile curving up the dark tan of their face. A plan was brewing in the angry pupils of their irises as they observed and planned in eerie foreboding silence.
Of course, that was what they did best.
A whisper, lost to the chatter of the crowd, "We may not be so different as it appears."