"Well, this is difficult to believe." A familiar voice chimed, followed almost immediately by the clacking of shoes on the ground.
You turned around to face Crowley, who finally seemed to have dealt with his ruffled feathers and was only now joining back into the conversations.
"Considering the monster invasion..." The headmaster began, looking down to Grim curled up against your body, his eyes narrowing at the creature. Crowley sighed, continuing his walk back to the centre of the room.
"...And this business with you..." He gestured towards the boy you still didn't know the name of. "Today is a veritable parade of unbelievable absurdities."
"However." Crowley came to a stop in front of the small group in the space between the bench rows, before turning to fully face the boy. "If all of this is true...then we simply cannot enroll you in our academy."
The bird man turned to face you, glaring at the monster sleeping in your arms. "As for you, your soul doesn't align with any dorm, which has never been a case this school has had to face. Therefore, we cannot enroll you either."
You merely shrug, honestly, you don't know if staying would be the better option for you anyway.
"So," Crowley took a step back so he could look at both you and the boy simultaneously. "Let us ask the Dark Mirror to return the both of you to where you came from." The boy sighs in relief as you just look on with a blank face.
Crowley quickly walks to the mirror at the centre of the room, by passing the rest of the room's occupants without sparing them a glance despite all the eyes being on him.
"Magicless boy, you first." Crowley stated, turning around to look at the uniformed boy as he gathered his stuff.
Crowley tapped his cane on the ground beside him a few times as he waited, before beginning to talk again. "We must have you leave the school as soon as possible, those without any talent for magic cannot be allowed to attend classes here."
The boy moved to stand beside Crowley, who dusted off the boy's shoulders muttering stuff under his breath before raising his voice to speak louder.
"There is no need to worry. The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came." He exclaimed, looking back at you before returning his attention back to the boy.
"Enter the Gate, and picture your home clearly in your mind..." Crowley instructed, watching as the boy hiked the duffel bag over one shoulder and the pole thingy over the other before following his order and stepping into an open coffin.
"Oh, Dark Mirror!" Crowley began, arms outstretched to the side as he raised his voice. "Guide this soul to where he belongs!" Crowley demanded, arms raising up above his head.
It looked a little like those odd ritual chants your mother would do with those triplet witches who'd rarely visit. You shivered at the memory of them, they'd always been...overly sweet to you...blegh...
The mirror was silent in response to the order, the mask's eyes narrowing momentarily before returning to normal.
Crowley began to fret, his arms dropping to his side before he turned to the boy again. "O-Once more."
"Oh, Dark Mirror! Guide this-!" He was cut off by the mirror.
"Nowhere..."
"Eh?"
"I searched this world and its vast space, and nowhere do I find his rightful place... I see only emptiness's embrace."
"That can't be right!" The boy demanded, stepping out of the still open coffin and moving to stand before the Dark Mirror.
"I was somewhere a few minutes ago! Just put me back there!" He demanded, swinging an arm out to the side in disbelief. "If that place didn't exist, how could the coach have found me to begin with?!"
Crowley turned his head to look at the boy, peering at him from over his caped shoulder, looking much like a bird. "Might I ask... From what country do you hail?"
"Japan!" The boy answered easily, only for Crowley's head to knock to the side in question.
"Ja...pen?" The headmaster rolled the word around his mouth a few times, seeing how it felt on his tongue, before bringing up a hand to his chin and cupping it in the space between his finger and thumb. "And where might that be?"
His question earned a shocked step back from the boy, his eyes growing wide in surprise as Crowley continued.
"Our students come from all over the world, and I am well acquainted with many of their homelands. But I've never heard of that name before."
He turned to face the boy fully, crossing his arms over the bird handle of the cane in front of him. "Young man, I certainly hope you are not lying to me."
"You've never heard of Japan?" A bead of sweat runs down his forehead as he looked around, turning to look at every other person in the room.
Poor guy, he looks like he just discovered his entire existence was fake and his whole life was a lie.
At a silent response from everyone, with them either looking away or not even responding at all despite looking at him, his lips thinned into a tight line. "Not even one person here has heard of Japan?"
You ever so slightly shook your head, giving him a response nobody else in the room was giving him. He sighed, his shoulders slouching slightly before he straightened his back, adjusting the two things he carried on either shoulder.
"In that case... I'll just have to find a way home myself!" He stated aloud, despite it seeming like he was speaking to himself more than anything.
The boy took a couple of strides away from the mirror, who's mask-face surrounded by green flames, still remained in the reflection, before stopping.
"Ugh! Where's the exit...?!" He looked around the room, surveying all the possible exits before finally spotting it. "There!"
He quickly resumed his strides, intending on leaving through the double doors, but before he could reach them, someone spoke up.
"I recommend waiting before you leave, after all, our feminine fellow is without a dorm assignment, and it'd be best to send them home."
The boy stopped in place, turning around to look back at the room's occupants.
You quickly whirled around to face Crowley, a confused look on your face as you hugged Grim a little closer.
Spinning his cane in his hand a few times, he continued, "This is the first time such a thing has ever happened since I became headmaster, so it would be best for us to venture to the library after our fledgling has been sent home."
The name he used felt off, like he displeased having to use such a thing on me.
"Housewarden's, if it isn't too much, may I request that you gather up your fled dormitory members and return them all to their dorms?" Crowley said, turning towards Riddle before the other robed figures all seated near the Dark Mirror.
A group of different acknowledgements of his request came from the 6 (plus the bodyless voice), yet there was grumbling from one of them and a deeper voice groaned in annoyance.
They all proceeded to leave the chamber one at a time, another robed figure moving to join them as they left through the double doors, walking past the boy with a glance. A small, floating thing that looked like a piece of paper floated away from the bench.
You jumped in surprise, nearly dropping Grim in disbelief from what you were seeing.
What in the world is that....?!
You turned to look at the few remaining occupants of the room, hoping to see some sort of answer in their faces. The boy looked just as confused as you, while Crowley was just spinning his cane around as he waited for everyone else to leave.
That's when you realised Cater wasn't in the room anymore. Trey and Riddle still were, well, they were moving towards the double doors, but Cater was nowhere in sight.
Huh?
Once everyone else had finally left the room, not including the boy who was stuck waiting for Crowley now, Crowley let out a sigh of relief. Stopping the spinning of his cane, Crowley turned to face you once more.
"Come and enter the Gate, the Dark Mirror should send you home." He answered, barely managing to hide the annoyance in his voice at this whole situation.
You began to walk towards the Dark Mirror, who's green flames still crackled in the reflection as the face waited. Grim was still in your arms, the collar digging into your abdomen as he stayed curled against your chest.
"Ah!" Crowley was quick to raise a finger as you moved, signaling you to stop. You froze, stumbling slightly from the step you were about to take. "Without the tanuki."
You clutch Grim closer to your body, frowning slightly. Crowley already knew Grim wasn't your familiar, there wasn't much you could really do. Hesitating, you move over to one of the bench rows, gingerly placing Grim down on the wood. After you managed to unhook his claws from your robes, which took a decent bit of effort.
You gave him a small scratch between his ears, before standing back up, walking over to Crowley.
"Good." Crowley gave a small nod before gesturing towards the open coffin the boy had entered previously. "If you may, enter the Gate now."
Moving towards coffin, your back being to Crowley, who began to take tiny sidesteps towards where Grim lay on the bench. Entering the 'Gate' you turned back around to the headmaster, ready for your next instructions.
Crowley froze in the middle of a step, quickly fixing his stance and posture, attempting to be inconspicuous. Clearing his throat, he continued.
"Picture your home clearly in your mind, eyes closed as you do."
Your vision went dark as they closed. You pictured every little detail of your home, doubt nibbling at the corners of your mind on whether you could even go home or face your mothers' body.
While you were busy picturing all the tiniest details of your home and its suspiciously innocent exterior, the Dark Mirrors flames grew in strength. However, Crowley paid no attention to that, wanting to act on his ideals while he still could.
Hurrying over to Grim, the headmaster picked him up, dangling by the collar once more. Yet, Grim remained fully oblivious to what was happening around him in his state of unconsciousness. Crowley dashed to the double doors, going straight past the boy who watched with a mixture of confuddled expressions, as the headmaster threw the creature outside.
Hoping to avoid having been caught removing the liability from school grounds (since the security ghosts would properly remove Grim), Crowley hurried back to the centre of the room.
"Oh, Dark Mirror!" He began, you could practically see him raising his arms in your mind's eyes. "Guide this soul to where he belongs!"
He?
The Dark Mirror's flames crackled louder, the face frowning as it seemingly looked towards you.
"The place they call home is gone."
"What?" Both you and Crowley's words synced.
You opened your eyes, hurriedly exiting the coffin to look back towards the mirror with a glare. Whereas Crowley's expression was one of confusion, concern etched onto his face. The boy stayed out of the whole thing, keeping back. Which honestly, is probably the smartest idea.
But the mirror had said your home was gone, while it said the boys' didn't existent. You knew your home existed, just like how he knew his did.
"Consumed by a trio of three, all of whom sleep with glee."
You bit down on your bottom lip, stare hardening in anger. Crowley however, seemed exceedingly confused on how a house could've been consumed.
The flames begin to swirl across the mirror's reflection, concealing the mask. It began to darken, before other colours began to peak through the swirl of green. Within moments, the reflection was clear, revealing a sight you wish you'd never witnessed.
Your home was just a pile of cookies, gummies, lollies, and sugar. All the metal items that'd been inside gone, along with your mother's corpse.
You sprinted up to the mirror, pressing a hand against the glass in disbelief. You couldn't have been gone for that long, could you...?
Tears pricked the corners of your eyes, as you squeezed them shut, balling up your fist against the pane of glass. You could hear the other two come up behind you, seemingly to get a better look at the picture shown.
After a moment, a voice that wasn't Crowley's cut through the silence. "Is that a lion cub??"
Opening your eyes, you blinked a couple of times to try and clear your vision. Once you could see again, your brows furrowed, despite the tears that still pricked the corners of your eyes.
A small group of three animals were laying on the ground beside one another. One a warthog, but with a very large stomach. Another, a sandy coloured creature around a similar size to the warthog, also with a large stomach, lay on one side of it. That's probably the 'lion cub.' On the other side of the warthog, was a small creature, thin and a dusty colour, with muddy coloured stripes along its body. It too, had a very large tummy.
"How strange..." Crowley reflected aloud, taking a step back from the mirror as the reflection began to swirl in green flames once more.
No. This isn't fair.
This can't be happening. It can't...
She promised she'd always be there. Now she's dead. Your home was demolished. You'd lost everything. The only person who cared for you.
Tears trickled down your cheeks again, despite the amount you've already cried today. Hell, you didn't even know how much time has passed...
You were lost. No one left. No home to return too.
She'd always said there's consequences for your actions. What had you done to deserve this...? You'd never done anything wrong.... You'd always been a good daughter.... Alone with just your mother and the food she'd hold captive....
Your legs felt like jello as they stopped supporting your weight, letting your body slip down to the ground.
Crowley took another step back in distaste, yet you weren't even paying attention anymore. You just wanted to go home... See your mother's eyes crinkle with a smile.... It was pointless, you'd never see any of that anymore....
"This is unbelievable..." Crowley murmured to himself, looking down at your sobbing form on the ground then back to the magicless boy. "Well, the unbelievable has been on parade today..."
Ignoring your sobbing self, Crowley turned his full attention to the boy. "You said you hail from 'Gipen' correct?"
"Japan," The boy corrects, face blank as he looks at Crowley who waves a hand in dismissal. "Yes, yes. Let's go do some research in the library for such a land."
Crowley began to leave the chamber, not giving even a single glance back at you. Whereas, the boy came over, crouching down beside you to pat you on the shoulder.
"Hey, there's no need to cry, we'll both be home before you know it."
Looking up at him through your blurry vision, you merely shook your head, looking away from him again.
He didn't understand. You didn't have anybody to return to. Nothing to come home to...
He shifted so he was in front of you, a hand on either of your shoulders while he was sat on just one knee.
"That's not the kind of spirit you need. If you believe you can do something, who's to say you can't?"
You looked back up at him, vision still affected by the tears slowly falling down your cheeks. He could have easily left, with Crowley, but he hadn't.
You wiped your eyes and cheeks with your sleeve, trying to rid them both of your tears. Wet trails stained your cheeks though, refusing to rub off like usual.
"C'mon, we can both get through this."
He released your shoulders, holding out a hand to you as he got up a bit more, so he was crouching in front of you now.
Your eyes dropped to his hand, knowing what was intended with it. But you hesitated.
"I'm Yuken Enma," The smallest smile played on his lips as he looked at you, seeing something in you you couldn't see yourself.
You were silent for a moment, just looking up at him, before you finally spoke. "...Y/N"
His eyes widened slightly at your voice, not having expected it to sound like that. Honestly, he didn't know what he thought it'd sound like, but he wasn't expecting it to be so smooth and hypnotising. Perhaps that's why you hadn't spoken earlier on...?
Gingerly, you reached out and took his hand, since it was still held. That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.
Enma pulled you up, yet you stumbled forwards, crashing into him slightly. You let out a small squeak at the impact, however he didn't even seem all that fazed, just mildly surprised you were so light.
Crowley, having noticed he wasn't followed out, walked back in through the doors to witness you two so close together.
"Sevens, why is the student body always so lascivious...?" He mumbled to himself, completely exasperated.
Clearing his throat, he caught both yours and Enma's attention. "Can you both supress your libido for the time being?"
Your head cocked to the side in confusion, whereas Enma hurried a couple steps away from you, seemingly embarrassed about what Crowley had said.
What's libido?
Enma opened his mouth to explain, but Crowley waved his hand in dismissal once more.
You didn't even get to voice your question...
"We must be off to the library, presumably you both desire to return home."
That was all it took for Enma to move towards Crowley, intent on finding a way to return back to his home. You however, hurried over to where you set Grim down, only to see him missing.
Huh? Maybe you're just misremembering what'd happened. He's probably fine.
Crowley was already through the doors again by the time you looked back up, so you took off sprinting to keep up with the two boys. Completely missing the two pearly coloured beings floating away with Grim carried between the two as they headed towards the front gates.