Question: What is (Name)'s real name?
Author-san's answer: (Name) L.F. Heartfilia (She has two middle names and I might explain to the upcoming chapters related to her own past self, her mother and father's details, and her still unknown Grandfather. She also had another relative that she often visits back in Earthland. Yes, that relative is still alive.)
~ 3rd Person's Perspective ~
"U-Um..." (Name) scratched her cheek. "You see, the injured students have been increasing and If I mean 'increasing', that is not normal like just coincidence. So the Headmaster asked us to investigate this matter."
"I see..." Riddle nodded at (Name)'s explanation. "The Headmaster asked that from you, huh..."
"Mhmm!" Happy gave Riddle a thumbs up.
"See? I knew that Grimmy won't be visiting without a reason." Cater added, chuckling.
"Actually, the Headmaster bribed him..." (Name) admitted, sweatdropping.
Carla placed her paw under her chin, thinking of what she dreamt. Could it be a clairvoyance again or it was just a bad dream?
"Actually, I thought that something was amiss, too, so I asked Cater to gather some information." Riddle acknowledged.
"And then we found out that the only targeted people are the top players like Riddle-kun or Trey-kun." Cater added.
"I also noticed that also." (Name) piped in. "I checked the details of one injured student and they're actually one of the line-up in every dorm."
"(Name), you got some kiwi fruit?" Pantherlily asked, burying his face on (Name)'s lap.
"It is true that I hadn't slipped nor had someone pushed me from behind that day." Riddle confessed, while (Name) gave Pantherlily a kiwi fruit from her Doraemon pocket. "However... I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like my body just moved around on its own."
"The other guys who got hurt said the same thing, too." Grim stated.
"I think it would be a good idea to narrow our list down to the tournament players." Riddle suggested.
"You mean to say that they're injuring strong players so that they'll have fewer rivals for the Magical Shift Tournament?" Ace asked.
"It's a competition that will be viewed worldwide." Riddle explained. "The tournament is connected to a guaranteed way to secure one's future, so it's not unthinkable that people will use any means necessary to win."
"Hm... Still, it's very strange." Cater muttered. "It's not like you were pushed by some kind of wind magic, right?"
"I didn't feel any sort of impact at all." Riddle retorted
"The culprit is very smart, too." (Name) declared. "They know where and how they can injure people out of nowhere."
"Yeah." Cater nodded. "It seems like there were some who got injured during lessons, too. I wonder what's going on..."
"We just have to extract that statement from the culprit themselves." Riddle proclaimed. "We will help you search for him."
"Really, Riddle-senpai?" (Name) asked, hope written in her eyes.
"Oh!? You'll help us?! What're you scheming...?" Grim shouted. "Specially you, Cater!"
Pantherlily rubbed his head, "He has trust issues, I swear..."
"You sure have a bad rep of me, huh~!" Cater chuckled. "Our dorm-mate got hurt, so it's natural to help, right~?"
"He has a point, though..." Carla agreed in Cater's statement.
Ace and Deuce looked at each other, grinning ear to ear. (Name) stared at them, knowing what they're thinking...
"If that's the case, we'll lend a hand, too." Ace raised his hand.
"We'll be avenging Clover-senpai!" Deuce yelled.
"You guys seem weirdly motivated." Riddle uttered, narrowing his gaze to the two.
Happy immediately flew on Ace's head, "Oh~! Really, Ace~?" He teased.
"Shut up, cat!" Ace barked.
"Ah, I get it! You guys are aiming for the open player position, huh~?" Cater asked.
(Name) nodded at Cater with a thumbs up, causing for the exceeds to laugh...
"Hehe~..." Ace scratched the back of his head. "Was it obvious?"
On contrast, "N-no, I wasn't thinking that! We do want revenge!" Deuce stuttered.
"Mhmm..." Pantherlily raised his eyebrow. Then he flew on Deuce's shoulder, "I don't think so, Deuce~!"
(Name) giggled on her boy exceeds. True that they do have same personalities like Ace and Deuce, since Happy and Pantherlily confessed to (Name) that they felt connections to those knuckleheads...
"Good grief. Well, I will take it into consideration if you manage to apprehend the culprit." Riddle announced.
"Alright!" The A-Deuce yelled in unison.
"Wow..." Carla uttered.
Riddle clapped his hands, signaling for the others to listen to him again, "Getting back to the topic, I think that we need to take the initiative if we're ever to catch the culprit."
"What do you have in mind, then?" Grim asked.
"For example, let's try to guess who will be the next victim so we can secretly be their bodyguard." Riddle illuminated. "We'll be able to secure the student's safety should an accident occur. At the same time, we'll be able to scope the vicinity for anyone suspicious."
"In short, its an ambush plan, right?" (Name) raised her hand.
"You're fast in understanding things, (Name)-chan~!" Cater praised.
" A student likely to be targeted? Like who?" Carla asked.
Cater pulled his phone out, "Actually, we already have plenty of ideas as to who can be potential targets among the students~!" He waved. "I already added (Name)-chan in the group chat, so I'll share it."
"Oh... So that's what I got a notification yesterday..." (Name) whispered to herself.
"So go check the group album out, 'kay?" Cater smiled.
A 'ting' sound was heard on Ace, Deuce, and (Name)'s phone. In instinct, they all took their phone out...
"Diamond-senpai... This is some great information..." Deuce commented.
"This is a lot..." (Name) uttered.
"Of course~♪!" Cater grinned, patting (Name)'s head. "Alright, shall we go check up on the potential targets~?"
"OFF WE GO~!!!" The boy cats exclaimed.
[𝐏𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐦 - 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭]
"First up, we've got Pomefiore Dorm." Cater announced. "After checking my info, I think we should pay the most attention to the 3rd year Rook Hunt."
"Golden bobbed hair and a hat are his trademarks." (Name) continued, also looking at the info in her phone.
"Rook-senpai is a very capable player who was vital to the competition in last year's tournament." Riddle commented. "But he is a little bit... Strange, should I say?"
"How strange?" Carla asked.
"You'll get it when you experience chatting with him..." Riddle sweatdropped from his memory.
"Oh... Is he the one sitting over there?" Deuce pointed on a table with 3 people in it. And he's pointing on a fedora hat guy.
Hiding behind a very elegant couch, they all peek at the sides...
"Uwah...! They all look like they're sparkling...!" Ace commented.
(Name) immediately covered his mouth, "Shut up, will you?" She glared at him. Because of Ace being scared of the presence of the angry (Name), he just nodded in approval.
"Hm... They look girlie..." Happy also commented.
"Non, non, Monsieur Cherry Apple." Rook chided lightly. "Holding the tea cup without your pinky sticking out is not elegant at all, dear."
"Ah, yes... I'm so sorry." The 'Monsieur Cherry Apple', who is also the guy that Ace mistaken as a girl, pardoned.
"I'm so very concerned about what to do for our tournament make-up." Vil piped, fixing his makeup. "Aren't you curious about the new foundation from Felicite Cosmetics?"
Rook laughed, "Oh, lovely Vil, our Rois de Poisons!" He praised. "Your brilliance is not determined simply by the quality of cosmetics, is it?"
"I know that, dear." Vil approved. "However, we have to be prepared if we aim to rank higher, don't we?"
"That initiative of yours, I like it! How truly marvelous!" Rook applauded.
"They do like makeup, do they?" (Name) pouted, feeling jealous of how their faces look much girly than hers. "Maybe I could join this dorm someday..."
"Oh my god, (Name)..." Pantherlily facepalmed.
"Hm... He totally doesn't look like he'd be strong though." Grim implied. "If I were the culprit, I won't target that dude."
"You're underestimating people, Grim." Happy pinpointed.
"Then let's go check the others out~!" Cater announced.
With their retreating back, Rook looked at (Name) because of his 'Hunt' instincts. He's been curious about her since she was already rumored to the whole school and because of her mysterious, but innocent and cheerful aura...
[𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐦 - 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡]
"Next up's Octavinelle Dorm." Cater declared. "The ones to pay attention to are those 2nd years, Jade and Floyd Leech." He pointed on the two who's walking to the pathway.
With them, hiding in the bush. (Name) sensed a dangerous glint coming and the reasons are just near them...
"My info says that their strongest point is their coordinated playing." Cater explained. "I've heard that anyone who plays against them are always at a loss."
"Ooh~... Must be hard, huh..." Pantherlily uttered.
"Yep..." Carla and Happy nodded in agreement.
"Uwah...! They both have the same face." Grim shrieked, hiding on (Name)'s crook of her neck.
"Use your commonsense, Grim..." (Name) sighed.
They both have the same face, but different auras: One is quite manly and a gentleman, while the other looks cheerful and mischievous. They also have longer strands, hanging on their hair: The other twin has it on their left, while the other one has it on their right...
"And uh... They're so tall that the students around them look super tiny..." Ace complimented, moving himself at (Name)'s side.
"They look lanky, but those legs are probably no joke." Grim murmured.
"Should we keep an eye out for them, then?" Deuce suggested, also feeling scared out of his life.
(Name) is also shivering from their height difference, muttering 'First is my girl issues... Now my height issues... What's next?' Cater just stifled his laugh from (Name)'s droopy expression...
"Hm... If I were the culprit, I'll go after them last." Riddle confessed. "Those two are, well... I especially would not want to get too close to Floyd."
"Who's Floyd?" The exceeds and Grim asked each other.
"Ah~~~~~~ It's Little Goldfish [Kingyo-chan]~~~!"
With the Heartslabyul students and Ramshackle students all shriek as they saw the other twin, with the cheerful and mischievous aura, saw them hiding in the bushes...
"He saw me!" Riddle yelled.
"Little goldfish [Kingyo-chan], what are you doing here? Playing hide-and-seek? That sounds like fun~!" The guy supposed to be named as 'Floyd' grinned at Riddle.
"F-Floyd, how many times have I told you not to call me by such weird nicknames." Riddle irked a mark.
"I mean, you're small and red, so obviously you're a goldfish~!" Floyd stated, laughing again.
"He seems like a strange guy." Grim stated.
"I don't have any other comments about that..." Pantherlily uttered.
"I want to go home~..." Happy wailed.
"Shut up!" Carla chided.
Floyd seems to noticed the talking cats, "Ah! Talking cats! You all look interesting~!" He kneeled at their level, offering his open arms. "Hey, hey, can I hold all of you and squish you~?" He asked.
"S-strangle us!?" The cats yelled, but Floyd started approaching them.
"Stop it!" Grim yelled. They all hid behind the Heartfilia, who's also quivering in fear.
Floyd tilted his head, then his eyes lightened up, "Ah! It's the Ramshackle 'Pretty' Prefect~! You also look small~!" And that statement made (Name) twitched an eyebrow.
"Oh, my. What is everyone from Heartslabyul doing gathered here?" The other twin, which is now confirmed that it is 'Jade' asked. "Are you perhaps observing the enemy for the coming Magical Shift Tournament?"
Cater blocked (Name) from Floyd's eyesight, "Um, we actually have a lot of reasons, so uh..." He tried reasoning.
"We simply cannot let spies go, can we?" Jade asked Floyd, which he received a nod. "Can we hear in detail the reasons why you were observing us?"
"This guy looks so zen, but his eyes are not laughing at all..." Ace stated, standing up.
"We're so sorry for the intrusion!" Cater bowed, helping (Name) from standing up.
Running and trying to get out of the sight of the twins, Deuce looked behind them...
"Uwah, they're chasing after us!" He yelled.
"Hey, wait up~!" Floyd called, already catching up.
"As if we'd wait just because you said so! Everybody, retreat!" Riddle yelled.
With her exceeds and Grim in her arms, she whispered something and they all nodded in agreement...
𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧! 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚!
"Libra, control their gravity!" (Name) ordered, pointing on the Leech Twins.
"Yes, Young Princess." Libra bowed before doing her magic.
Pantherlily immediately turned into his big cat form and took the 4 Heartslabyul members, Happy took Grim, and Carla took (Name) from the back...
"I-I can't move at all!" Floyd complained.
"Let's go, Carla!" (Name) commanded. When they are already hard to reach, "Libra Gate Closure!"
With their retreating back, Floyd and Jade stood up. Floyd looked up in the sky, watching how (Name) and her exceed vanish in his sight...
"Ah, they ran away~!" Floyd pouted. "Can't believe cats also learn to fly~!"
"Oh, my. Floyd, it is about time we returned to help out with the Lounge. Let us play with them more next time." Jade proclaimed.
"Okay~!" Floyd agreed.
~ 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 ~
"That was scary... What's up with those guys?" Grim touched his chest.
"Don't ask me. Those two have always been so difficult to grasp that I can't really understand them." Riddle refrained.
"Those two seem like they'll target you for revenge if you hurt them." Cater stated.
"Good thing (Name) had an escape plan in mind..." Pantherlily sighed in relief.
"I don't wanna see them again~..." Happy crested his face.
"I probably won't go after them, then..." Ace added.
(Name) looked at the sky, noticing the sun is already setting...
"Alright, the sun's setting so the next one's our last observation for real." Cater clapped his hands, gaining back the attention. "It's Savanaclaw's Jack Howl. He's a 1st year."
"Hm? First year?" Carla wondered.
"He's pretty athletic and there's a rumor that he got a bunch of invitations from various athletic clubs." Cater gave the details.
"He might be back in the dorm around this time, huh." Deuce signified.
Riddle looked on his phone, "Oh, it's already 5 PM. According to Rule #346 of the Queen of Hearts, "One must not stay and play croquet in the gardens past 5 PM." " He declared.
"Another rule..." (Name) whispered.
"I'll return to the dorm for now. If I take my eyes off them, there will surely be people breaking the rules." Riddle bid goodbye.
"I thought you'd gone soft, but you're still the same as always, yanno?" Grim told Riddle, making him scratch the back of his head.
"!!! I-I think I'm being a little bit lenient on the rules lately, though..." Riddle tried objecting Grim's statement.
"Yup, yup~!" Cater agreed. "He's been nicer lately~ But his seriousness is one of his charm points, too~♪!"
"Charm points? For who?" (Name) asked.
"N-No one!" Riddle crossed his arms, blushing.
"Alright, then. Good luck back there, Riddle-kun~!" Cater waved his hand as they parted ways.
"Okay, let's head to Savanaclaw's Dorm."
~ 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐦 - 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ~
[𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐦 - 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐥]
"Whoa... So this is Savanaclaw's Dorm?" Deuce asked.
"I felt like we're in a beach without water." Pantherlily uttered, playing with the sand.
"Their dorm looks like it's made from really scraggy rocks." Happy also complimented.
"Hey, what do you think those bones are from?" Grim asked, touching the elephant-horn bone.
"Hey! Grim, stop touching that!" Carla reprimanded.
Ace scrunched his face, "The atmosphere's completely different from ours."
"Ain't it~?" Cater chuckled. "It feels completely rough, doesn't it? I guess it's got a wild image in general~!"
"So... Jack, was it? What kinda guy is he?" (Name) asked, taking out her phone.
"He's tanned and got silver hair. It seems like wolf ears and a tufty tail are his trademarks." Cater replied.
"A tufty tail...?" Grim murmured. Then he pointed on someone who's jogging from the distance, "Ah, maybe that guy? The one jogging by himself over there."
Cater rubbed Grim's head, "Bingo! Good eye, Grimmy! Right on the mark. That's him, alright~!"
"First the tall twins, and now we've got another dude who's so macho!?" Ace hissed and Pantherlily glared at Ace.
"Lily's macho, too~!" Happy told Ace.
"That's the reason why he's being scouted by so many sports clubs." Cater explained. "Maybe Lily could also join may different sport clubs if he kept that big body of his."
"Someone with his build will probably do well with any martial arts." Deuce signified.
"He looks scary, too..." (Name) hugged herself.
"Are you nervous, (Name)-chan~? It's gonna be okay, just relax~!" Cater soothed. "I'll protect you if he suddenly bares his fangs at us~♪!" He winked, hugging the precious Heartfilia.
"Hey, you. Spiky-head!" Grim called.
"Hah?" Jack turned his head and saw the group approaching him.
"You might get targeted by some bad guys, so we're here to protect ya! That makes you happy, doesn't it?" Grim nagged. The exceeds facepalmed at Grim's cockiness kicking in.
"Who the hell are you? Don't get in the way." Jack harshly proclaimed when Grim blocked his way.
"Ah-ah~!" Ace winked at Jack, also blocking his way with a 'no-no' sign.
"There's definitely a big problem with your communication skills, Grimmy!" Cater said, picking up Grim and covered his mouth.
"Sorry about that!" Happy bowed a bit.
"Can you listen to what we have to say for a bit?" Cater favored with a smile on his face.
But seems Jack doesn't like that, "Who the hell are you guys? You're saying you're going to protect me?"
"Actually, there's been a lot of accidents at school involving the Magical Shift players." Deuce explained the situation.
"And we're searching for the bad guy behind it." Ace added.
"And what's that got to do with me?" Jack asked again.
"To put it simply, we're looking at potential targets in hopes of finding the culprit." Cater summarized. "How 'bout it? Will you cooperate with us for a bit~?"
Jack became silent and shook his head, "I refuse. I can do something about it on my own. I don't need your protection."
"You might be in danger if you're alone~." Happy flew and nudged Jack's shoulder.
"There's safety in numbers, isn't there?" Pantherlily also did the same what Happy did, but on the other side.
".... I said I don't need it. Plus..." Jack brushed the exceeds. "I probably... won't even be targeted. See you." Then he already left.
'Won't be targeted? That's weird...' (Name) thought, writing his statements.
"Ah, he left..." Cater sighed.
"He seems blunt and gives me bad vibes, yanno?" Grim crossed his arms.
"Anyone'll get annoyed with how you talk to them!" Carla remarked, irking a mark.
"Ugh! Humans are so nitpicky about so many things!" Grim complained.
Already leaving the Savanaclaw Dorm, a pack of hybrids block their way...
"Hey, what're you guys doing over here?" The first asked.
"Ah, they're from Heartslabyul, man." The second mumbled.
The third chuckled, "They're followers of that Red Spoiled Brat."
"I sense bad news..." (Name) turned around.
"Don't think you'll get home in one piece after stepping in our territory." The first student cracked his knuckles.
"I know what this is..." Deuce cautioned, preparing his magical pen.
"Ah, we're going back! Sorry for disturbing you~!" Ace bowed.
"Aw, come on. Play with us a bit!" The second student said, pushing Ace back to the circle.
"U-Uh..." Carla flew on (Name)'s head.
The third chuckled, again, "Let's play a hunting game! 'Course, ya guys'll be the prey!"
"Stop it." A gruffy voice announced.
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