Hey, Natsumi-nee You're gonna love this chapter Arlow, don't die on me though
Honestly, you'd lost track of how long you'd all been in the library. The moon was still up in the sky, so you knew it couldn't have been too long, even still, your head hurt from all the words.
Crowley had been busy at the desk, writing down key words or locations Enma said to see if they could locate his homeland. The few books that flew towards the trio had been assigned to you to read through.
You'd let them know whenever something stood out or seemed important, but it wasn't very often it happened.
Closing the book in front of you, you added it to the pile floating beside you. That was the seventh book now and still basically no information. Elbows on the desk, you dropped your face into your hands. Letting out a sigh, you rubbed your temples.
Having fully filled the search scroll, Crowley swept his hand over the parchment, clearing it instantly. He fell back into the plush chair behind him, letting out an unamused hum.
"There really isn't anything." Crowley stated, crossing his arms as he swiveled in the chair to face the younger male. "Not only the world map, but the name of your home isn't written in any history."
Enma's brows furrowed, despite having been helping try and search for any information regarding his place of origin.
"Are you truly from where you say? You aren't lying to me by chance?"
Enma looked down at the uniform he was wearing, namely the chest pocket of his uniform blazer. A crest was embroidered there, with weird figures and shapes around it.
"I'm not lying."
Crowley gave a slow nod at this, letting out a sceptical hum as he proceeded to grasp his own. "Looking at all this," He gestured towards the small pile of floating books beside you that hadn't any key relevance towards Enma's place of origin. "You may have somehow been brought here from another planet."
Your head popped up in interest at that. There'd never been much talk about that kind of 'thing from your mother, although a few of the children you'd met had brought such a thing up before.
Hands moving to his hips, Crowley gave Enma a sceptical glance, not seeming super confident in his words. "...There's also the possibility you're from another world."
Your interest was definitely peaked by now. Is Crowley insinuating Enma came from the land of dreams, or someplace similar? Or is he saying that this place is basically a land of dreams and isn't reality...?
Ok. No. Shut up. Stop overthinking this.
Enma just seems entirely taken aback by all of this.
Unwillingly getting up from the plush seat, Crowley wraps his fingers around your upper arm. The robe sleeves crinkle up under the hold as he hikes you up, before moving you to stand beside Enma.
"What did either of you have on you when you arrived here?" The bird man questioned, folding his arms over his chest as he kept his eyes on the both of you.
Enma simply gestured towards the two bag things he'd been carrying since the beginning, whereas your hand slipped into the robes sash. Your fingers curled around the cold iolite, finding comfort in it, before you took it out.
"This is all I have..." You whispered, holding your hand out to Crowley, the iolite cupped in your palm.
He proceeded to pick it up, holding it up to the light as he examined it. You opened your mouth to protest, hand moving towards him a bit.
"This isn't a magistone...?" He seemed confused, tapping on the crystal's surface with one of his pointed fingertip rings.
Then he shrugged, pocketing your iolite.
"Do either of you have any verification, like a license for a magic car, name on a shoe?" Crowley easily asked, not at all seeming to notice the disheartened curl of your fingers as you brought your hand down to your sides.
He'd just taken the last thing you had left of your mother....
Your eyes remained on the ground, not paying attention to anything that was happening between Crowley and Enma. Which, you probably should've been, considering you would've seen a device alien to you.
Enma had searched through his pockets for a few seconds, before pulling out a small rectangular device.
"Ah" Crowley brought both hands to rest on the bird handle of his cane, "Could you try phoning a friend?"
Enma perked up, smiling as he flipped open the rectangle, its length being doubled. "Of course! Koito and the guys...!"
Crowley's eyes narrowed slightly at the name, unsure of its origins and disliking the strange feeling it left in his ears.
Enma's excitement quickly dissipated as his eyes met the screen, "No signal..."
While Enma put the device back away in his pocket, you remained zoned out of the conversation. Arms moving to hug your body for comfort as you kept your gaze on the ground.
Grabbing onto his wrapped stick, he squeezes it in his fist, keeping himself from clenching his teeth too hard. "Guess I'm not making it to the tournament..." He whispered to himself, disappointment etching its way across his face.
"We worked so hard to build the kendo team." Enma looked to the ground, emotions dancing in his eyes as he spoke. "We were finally ready to start entering tournaments. But now..."
He trailed off, swallowing hard as he began to shake. Crowley wasn't able to pertain what emotion was making Enma tremble like that, but he brought a hand to his chin, adjusting his posture.
"I can see from your demeanour that you are not lying.... But dear, dear, dear." Crowley shook his head lightly, leaning forwards on his cane. "We cannot keep people at the academy if they cannot use magic."
"No. That's okay." Enma stated, grabbing his bags again and beginning to walk out of the library. "I'll just have to take it one step at a time. If I ask around, I might find some clue to help me get home."
Crowley recoiled in surprise at the mild display of defiance, mixed with perseverance and hope. "Wait!" He cried, hoping it'd stop Enma in his tracks, yet it didn't, so he tried another tactic instead of just a simple 'wait' to get the boy to remain in the library.
"It's not safe to wander around aimlessly when you are unfamiliar with the world and its workings!"
Enma continued to leave the library.
"There must be some other way..." Crowley mumbled to himself, hand coming back up to clasp his chin in a panic as he hurried to figure out a way to make him remain.
"Of course!"
You were brought out of your head with the sudden yell, flinching slightly at the volume you were previously blind too.
"There is a vacant building on campus that was once used as a dormitory." He called out, swinging his arms out to the sides as he announced it. "I can allow you to use that building as lodgings for the time being!"
Enma stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at Crowley, whereas you just stared stunned at the birdman. "Are you sure...?"
Enma's question was answered with an over-enthusiastic response from Crowley, one that seemed to be a bit out of character for him from what you'd seen of his personality so far. "It would pain me to simply leave you out in the cold."
He clutched the stick part of his cane as he brought it to his chest, hugging it closed as he closed his eyes in bliss. "Ah, what a kind man I am! A model for all educators!!"
You took a step back from him, put off by the familiarity you got from that self-centred praise he gave himself. Where had you heard something like that before....?
"Now, we must strike while the iron is hot. Let us make our way to the dormitory!" Crowley hurriedly began to leave the library, leaving you stood there beside the pile of floating books you'd looked through.
Well, the pile of floating books that'd previously been beside you. They probably put themselves back away on the shelves while you were distracted.
Enma didn't follow after the headmage immediately, instead looking back to you as you stood in place.
Crowley turned back around soon enough, having realised he wasn't being followed. Noticing you stood there, he let out a small huff, bringing his hand to his head before hurrying back over.
"Ah, I completely forgot about our femininely troublesome companion!" He explained in disbelief, trying to play it off as a simple slip of his mind despite it having happened multiple times already.
Crowley gave you a quick look over, mumbling to himself as he did, "You appear to be empty handed..." Wanting to double-check if it was true, as it was hard to tell if any of the student body was carrying anything on them when they were dressed in their ceremonial robes.
Bending down slightly, Crowley began to hurriedly pat down your body, checking to see if he could feel anything possibly hidden in the robe's folds. You jumped at the sudden touch, before tensing up, unsure of what to do in this situation.
He couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary at first, but soon as he patted over your chest, he stopped.
His eyes narrowed, but you couldn't tell if anything else happened with his expression, other than his lips thinning, due to the bird mask covering most of his face.
Gingerly, he patted your chest once, confirming if his senses had just been tricking him for a moment there or not. Realising that it wasn't a trick of his mind, he pulled his hand off, hurriedly backing away a bit, eyes wide in surprise.
"Were you perhaps birthed with the female's chest but the male genitals...?" He questioned you quietly, keeping his voice down low enough that Enma probably shouldn't be able to hear.
You blink in confusion a couple of times, not understanding what the word 'genitals' means. "What?"
Crowley sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose over the bird mask as he closed his eyes for a second. "Forgive the mild vulgarity of this, but you have testicles, correct?"
You stayed silent, head cocking slightly to the side in confusion at the new words you're learning without knowledge of their meaning.
Starting to panic, Crowley grabs onto your shoulders, staring intensely into your eyes, almost as if he can see into your soul with the glowing yellow orbs inside the dark eye sockets of his mask. "Are you a man or a woman...?!"
He didn't keep his voice down, Enma started to move over due to confusion at the scene unfolding before him.
Completely unaware of why Crowley was panicking, you answered slowly, trying to figure out what he was asking. "Mother always referred to me as her daughter..."
Crowley instantly let go of your shoulders, recoiling back to bury his face in hands with quiet sobs that seemed to be fake. Yet, both you and Enma flinched at the sudden movement, not expecting such a display from an adult.
"Sevens, why did such a day have to come?!" He cried, earning a concerned look from Enma and just pure confusion from you over what's going on.
"The financial loss I'll go through to supply safety to the school store because of this...!" He continued to sob, not seeming to be stopping anytime soon. "And the raise Divus and Sam are going to demand to help keep it hidden from the student body...! Not to mention the requests the other teachers are going to inquire about!"
You looked over at Enma, entirely confused about everything being mentioned. He just gave you a small shrug, entirely unable to figure out why Crowley was acting like a child.
What was so wrong about you being a 'girl' according to Crowley?
Letting out one last overdramatic sob, Crowley wiped at the underside of his eye with a gloved finger, slipping it beneath the mask for a moment to clear his hidden skin of the tears.
"As you have no home and seemingly no guardians along with a lack of identification and items of monetary value, you shall remain in the dorm with the magicless boy." He decided, rolling his cane in his hand once before returning it back to the ground.
"As the Dark Mirror was incapable of dictating the dorm you belong to by reading your soul, you shall remain at the school until it can decide where you belong. I shan't toss a penniless teenager out on the streets with no form of communication as an educator anyway. Isn't my graciousness limitless!" Crowley threw his arms up at the self-praise, his voice turning musical for a moment before he placed both hands back upon his bird cane.
"Let us depart for the dormitory!" He turned away from both you and Enma, making his way out of the library, aware that the both of you were following due to the sound of shoes on the wooden flooring.
"Ah," stopping, Crowley turned back slightly to look at you both from over his shoulder. "The dormitory may be a bit old, but there is a certain charm to it you may prefer."
You blink, not entirely understanding what he meant by that. Yet, Crowley moves once more, leaving the library with a flourish and Enma close behind, while you're left to pace yourself with speed walking to keep up with the two.
⁂
"Honestly! This year's orientation was terrible!" A certain fuming redhead cried out, face tinged red in anger as he moved through the corridor to the hall of mirrors.
"Now, now." Trey patted Riddle on the shoulder slightly, the vice-housewarden walking just behind his lower classman. "We got everything under control, thanks to you, Riddle." He added on, watching as the boy's ahoge flattened back down to its natural heart shape.
Riddle turned slightly to look at Trey over his shoulder, making sure the corridor remained in his vision so he wouldn't crash into anybody.
"Who did that boy think he was?!" Riddle fumed, still not entirely over the mishap from the ceremony.
Trey sighed; Riddle was sometimes quite tiring to look after.
"It was his first day, although I'm not sure if he'll be remaining on school grounds since the Dark Mirror said he can't use magic." He responded, hoping that condoling his housewarden would get him in a better mood so he wouldn't be as strict with the new students in the welcoming party. But he also needed to drag out keeping Riddle away from Heartslabyul while Cater fixed the roses.
"Not that one, the pink and blue haired one who refused to answer me!" Riddle stated, stopping in his tracks to fully turn to face Trey. "And nearly tackling the Headmaster too, why I ought to collar him!"
Trey flinched slightly, a small bead of sweat forming on his brow. He hadn't expected Riddle's fuming to be about that student.
"I'm sure Crowley's sorted it all out by now, they've most likely been sent home by now and the monster removed from campus." He suggested, feeling a little calmer as the redness of Riddle's face dwindled.
"The cat is removed from the campus, as I can sense the collar has been removed from his neck." Riddle responded, turning away from Trey. "I just have a ba-"
"Riddle! Trey!"
Riddle was cut off by Cater as the ginger rounded the corner, waving a hand at the two.
"The new students are all assembled for the welcoming party." He hummed, a grin on his face as he faced the two.
"Thank you for the report, Cater. Has the venue been prepared in accordance with the laws of the Queen of Hearts?" Riddle questioned, a hand coming to rest on his hip as he faced his taller upper classman. "I assume the roses have been painted in an alternating pattern of red and white?"
Cater propped a hand on his hip, his other hand out in front of him as he gestured with his phone while answering. "Of course! It's all set."
"Very good." Riddle nodded in acknowledgement to the response, walking past Cater to resume his trek to the hall of mirrors. "Then let us hurry back to the dorms."
Riddle froze after a few steps, turning to look over his shoulder at his upper classmen.
"If I see anymore trouble, your heads will roll." His voice was stern, eyes narrowing at the two older boys. "Remember that."
"Yes, Housewarden." The two answered in sync, staying still as Riddle turned back away from the both of them and continued to walk.
Cater let out a soft sigh, shoulders slouching as the smile slid off his face. "Good thing we finished repainting the roses in time..." He whispered, reaching up to fiddle with one of the two loose strands of ginger hair that framed his face.
"You're such a tough leader, Trey."
Trey glanced at him from the corner of his eye, giving the ginger a small smile. "Thanks for your hard work, Cater." He responded, keeping his voice low enough that the younger boy wouldn't hear the two conversing.
"What happened to that other freshie?" Cater inquired quietly, having left much earlier than the rest of the student body that'd remained in the opening ceremony before Crowley had sent them all out.
"Crowley should've sent him back home by now, considering what the Dark Mirror said about their soul." Trey's answer was flat, his eyes focusing on the path in front of him but lingering on the back of Riddle's head in concern.
"Aww... I was hoping I could've gotten a pic with him for Magicam..." Cater pouted, shoulders slouching over a bit more in exaggerated disappointment. "We rarely get freshie's who look like girls, especially ones with bi-coloured hair..."
Trey's lips thinned slightly, used to Cater's constant chatter about Magicam and attempts to be more popular on the platform.
"Riddle didn't seem very fond of them," He whispered, a bad feeling settling in his stomach over how quickly Riddle took a dislike to the 'corrupted' boy.
Cater gave the green-haired boy a look, putting an arm around his shoulder for a moment. "Chill out, Trey. Riddle's uptight about everything, it'll be fineeee." The ginger hummed out, glancing over at Riddle to make sure the redhead hadn't heard him.
"Plus, we got a party to get too, so have some fun and relax for once." Cater suggested, giving his dorm's vice-housewarden an easygoing grin.
"Or you could always bake some more photogenic dishes..." He suggested, giving Trey a little shoulder nudge to see if he could pull out a couple more pics for his Magicam.
Cater just received a small grin in response, Trey adjusting his glasses as he responded. "I thought you said all the new Heartslabyul students were gathered and waiting."
Cater flinched slightly in surprise, eyes widening the slightest bit as his eyebrows furrowed, but that expression remained for a mere few seconds.
Trey grinned at his classmate, a rather smug look forming on his face. "I don't think you'll be taking many photos this year, since you're babysitting all the freshmen."
Cater's expression fell to the ground, a guilty look spreading across his face as he fiddled with a strand of hair again.
"I thought you forgot about that..." He complained, earning a small chuckle from Trey.
"You're the one who suggested the guessing game," The smug expression remained on Trey's face as Cater groaned in defeat.
The sound of Riddle's heels against the tiling came to a halt, making both pause their conversation and focus back on their housewarden who'd turned to face them.
They received a hard glare before the redhead turned back around, a warning to keep it down.
The two stayed quiet, following along behind their housewarden, one focused on the redhead while the other was focused on his phone.
A/N: I'm so sorry about this chapter being a week and a half overdue than my decided post every two week schedule said it would be. Just occupied with a lot of stuff and super distracted with ADHD meds starting to stop working.
But I am getting a lot more progress done on this since school started back up again. The holidays hit and I got caught up in being the Mad Hatter for a musical as well as dealing with a Stardew Valley and Lethal Company addiction. I also have to proof read and constantly edit and check a submission for a writing comp I'm gonna enter so BUSY.
Plus, I don't really care that I have exams in 4 weeks (basically 3 now) since I'll be fine in practically all of them (probably not maths cause surds are DIFFICULT). But I'm getting a lot of work done on these chapters by being a pussy and procrastinating everything to the last minute.