Work Text:
Vil…had concerns. Concerns that involved his best friend, one Rook Hunt, and his boyfriend one Cater Diamond. Ever since Vil had started to date Cater, Cater and Rook had found themselves in close company more often than they ever had before. It was just a matter of course. Vil had found himself in the presence of Trey Clover more often now as well. And while he’d always had a healthy respect for Trey and was able to get along amicably with him. Rook and Cater’s friendship had turned into something of a spectacle.
They first bonded over Vil of all things. It felt odd having the pair of them gush over him. Even if he was in the same space, both were happy to have someone else to talk about such a passionate topic with. If he didn’t know either of them as well as he did, he’d likely have felt a tinge of fear over their seeming obsession.
But then the topic had expanded to other people. Rook it turns out had been one of Cater’s many magicam followers. Vil was surprised (and so was Cater) but he shouldn’t have been after the incident with Neige. Praises for Cater’s ability to capture beautiful moments for eternity. The way he would find beauty in even the mundane. It was a hunt all of Cater’s own, and it had intrigued Rook. And more often than not the pair would head out alone when Vil was busy to people watch. As Rook called it. He’d even revealed to the ginger some of his favorite perches, places Vil didn’t even know.
The candid photos the pair would come back with and analysis seemed to be a treat, and they’d even set up an anonymous magicam account to share them with the world. The campus was abuzz with the photos, students were excited to find themselves in one. It was like a badge of honor, and a secret the two of them shared. (And Vil only seemed to know about it because of his attachment to both of them)
He wasn’t really jealous, it was great that the pair of them got along so well. Cater needed more friends, that was clearly evident. Vil trusted them both, so that wasn’t the issue.
The issue was he knew that the duo had only scratched the surface of the amount of mischief they could get up to. It felt like an ax hanging over his head, about to drop.
Still one Saturday morning as he headed out to a photo shoot, he hadn’t sensed anything was off. He leaned down and kissed Cater who was still curled up in his bed. “I’ll be gone most of the day Love. I’ll try and bring something back nice for dinner.”
“It's ok, I know you have work.” the ginger smiled and stretched. “I made plans with Rook.” he yawned a bit. “So we’ll be good while you’re gone.”
Vil laughed. “Alright just don’t break anything while I’m gone.”
“I don’t plan to.” He grinned before sitting up himself letting the blanket drop and exposing his bare chest. “I’ll tell you how it went when you get back.”
“I look forward to it.” Vil smiled stealing another kiss, before turning and heading out the door. Later on, he’d regret not asking exactly what the pair had in mind.
----------------------------------------------
“So are you ready?” Cater asked as he stretched leaning forward trying to warm himself up. He was wearing his gym uniform.
“Roi de Diamonds” Rook smirked, wearing a similar attire. His nickname for Cater had changed sometime after he started dating Vil and the pair had got to know each other better.“Crowley was kind enough to lend me use of the equipment we use for beans day.”
“Alright, I’ll go over the rules one more time. Forgive me it's a Heartslabyul thing.” the ginger grinned.
“Non, it's best to verify.” Rook brought a hand to his chest, the excitement he felt shown in his eyes.
“Aright, so I’m going to create 4 clones. Your task is to find the real me. Magic is allowed, obviously. But since we know your unique magic doesn’t work right with me and my clones, it will give you a nice challenge.” Cater grinned, bringing his hand up in V pose next to his face. “Every time you find and destroy one of my clones, I get to make a new one.”
“Oui.” Rook nodded a serious look on his face. “And if an hour has passed and I have not found you, I’m allowed to enlist outside help.”
“Yep!” Cater laughed. “Though I don’t know that I’m that good at hiding.” he twirled a bit of his hair between his fingers. “I’ll create my clones, and give me 15 minutes, and then we’ll officially be on.”
“I can hardly wait.” the blonde beamed “Best of luck to you.”
“Same to you.” the ginger replied, raising his magic pen and casting his unique magic. 4 Cater’s appeared all sporting the same Gym uniform. “Scatter, go where ever you want, but hide. And don’t leave campus! That’s cheating.”
“On it” All 4 replied before taking off.
“Start the timer.” Cater saluted Rook before running off.
“Oh, what fun we’ll have today.” The blonde spoke with a wicked smile on his face.
---------------------------------------------
One hour in and Cater had indeed proved good at hiding. Rook had taken out 3 of his clones, but he hadn’t found hide nor hair of the real ginger. This fact had brought him great joy. He had refused to get his hopes up when this little game had been proposed. Especially after the official Beans day when the other had given himself away on Magicam. But it seemed Cater had learned his lesson. While there had been posts made by him with the tag #thegreatcaterhunt all of them had involved his clones and not the original.
It was then he stumbled upon Floyd Leech resting in the courtyard. “Monsieur Joyous Offender” Rook bowed. “It seems you are enjoying this beautiful morning.”
The eel looked up and raised an eyebrow at the hunter. “ Whats Umineko doing with a bean blaster.”
“Observant as ever Monsieur. Tres bien!” Rook smiled down at him. “I am on the hunt for Roi de Diamonds.”
“You’re hunting Snapper with a bean blaster?” Floyd sat up and scratched the back of his head. “Did I miss something? I thought you guys were all buddy-buddy cuz of Betta”
“Oui!” The blonde beamed covering his heart with his empty hand. “The most beautiful of friends indeed.” he laughed. “It's why he’s allowing me to hunt his clones. A game of sorts. Not over until I find the one true Diamond.”
“So he’s letting you beat up his clones with a bean blaster.” Floyd stood, now towering over the other boy, and laughed. “That actually sounds like fun. Maybe he’d let me squeeze one!”
“Vous avez de la chance!” Rook declared holding a hand out to Floyd. “Our agreement noted that after an hour’s passage of time, I’m allowed to involve outsiders in our little game. As long as you do not hurt the real Cater Diamond, you are allowed to partake in the hunt any which way you chose.”
“Really?” Floyd’s eyes went wide as he got a devilish grin on his face. “And just when I was getting bored too.”
-------------------------------------
Vil was having a good day. The photoshoot was going well. Things were coming together nicely. It was time for lunch, and he settled into his dressing room with a bottle of water and a salad, pulling up his phone. His intention was to eat, and then call his boyfriend to see how he and Rook had been getting along with their plans. What he did not expect was to pull up his phone to about a dozen-plus notifications that the ginger had posted. And with some trending hashtag. What had happened this morning?
He scrolled down and found the hashtag #thegreatcaterhunt and his stomach filled with dread. There was picture after picture of Rook and some of the other NRC students attacking Cater’s clones. He brought a hand to his mouth in shock, shaking a bit. There was a video and he didn’t want to watch it but he did anyway, it was of Floyd Leech literally hugging the image of his boyfriend out of existence.
From the tagged posts, it seemed like this was some kind of game? The winner being the one who would find the real Cater. But if they shot or squeezed first, what kept them from harming the ginger for real? “I have to get back to campus and slap some sense into all of them!” he gripped his phone tightly. “I should have never have left you alone together.” the blond groaned.
-----------------------------------------
It was well past lunchtime now, and Rook could count himself impressed. Cater was proving to be an impressive quarry. There were now at least a dozen students he was aware of trying to win their little game. Floyd, Epel, Ace and Deuce, Lilia, Kalim (and Jamil because Kalim made him) were among their number.
So far he’d managed to give everyone the slip. It had been a long time since Rook had felt his blood pumping like this. Truly a worthy hunt indeed!
He was currently making his way through the maze within Heartslabyul. The place was hard to navigate, and Cater was one of the few students who knew their way around it. A perfect place for him to hide. Rook had checked here once already this morning, but he was back again. There was no rule in place that Cater had to stay in one spot, and it would make sense in fact if he moved around a bit.
With a grin, he spotted a bit of ginger hair and raised his blaster. Only to hear a scream. He looked up to see Epel descending from a broom. He’d truly gotten into the spirit! He was sporting his own gym uniform, but his hair was pulled back and covered, and he had applied camouflage himself. Rook wasn’t sure if Vil would be proud or horrified, but his own heart sang as Epel descended on the image of Cater, only to have it poof into non-existence.
“Damnit.” The boy swore.
Rook simply let out a chuckle. As Epel looked up at him.
“I suppose I shouldn’t feel too bad, given you ain’t had no luck either.” the boy crossed his arms before grabbing his broom.
“A fine plan, Monsieur Crabapple. I commend you, using your talents on a broom bravo!” he clapped and Epel just shrugged.
“Wasn’t against the rules you gave us.” He grinned as he hopped back on it.
“Non! Fly away!” Rook smiled as the boy took off. But that gave the hunter an idea, Brooms had not been against their rules, and Cater’s aptitude on them was nearly unparalleled within Night Raven College. Maybe it was time he adjusted his technique as well.
-----------------------------------------------------
“Of all the stupid things,” Vil swore as he rode in the carriage back to NRC. He’d been going over the feed, why was Cater using his magic like this? Keeping up 4 clones at a time all day? It struck him that he’d never asked his boyfriend exactly how his magic worked. For Vil, he only needed to expel it as he cast. Once an item was cursed that was it. But the ginger’s magic….he was maintaining and replacing 4 copies of himself that worked independently…
Surely he wasn’t that stupid. Neither one of them.
But either way, if he wasn’t having to maintain them after they were cast, it seemed like dozens of his copies had been taken out during this little exercise. Surely that was taxing enough?
Not many people knew the trauma Cater carried, the trauma he’d helped his boyfriend work through but Rook did. Gods if something happened he’d never forgive either of those idiots.
-----------------------------------------
It was near one o'clock when Riddle was made aware of #thegreatcaterhunt. He’d heard one of his students mention it in the halls, and was curious as to what Cater had gotten up to that had the other Heartslabyul members excitingly whispering to each other. “What's going on?” he asked casually.
The way the students jumped, showed they didn’t take it that way. “Uh, nothing Dorm Head!”
“I know something is going on with Cater. Out with it.” Riddle demanded, suppressing the urge to collar the pair for lying to him.
“Uh.” One of them turned their phone around. “He’s playing a game with Rook Hunt?” he explained sheepishly.
“The Great Cater Hunt,” Riddle spoke each word in the hashtag, as a picture of Cater being pelted with a bean launcher appeared on the screen. “What in the great seven is he up to!”
The pair of Heartslabyul students looked between each other before one finally answered. “It's this challenge where Cater-Senpai is sending his clones out, and people are trying to find the real him. It's been going on since like 8 this morning! It’s all over magicam!”
“Well then,” Riddle smirked. “It seems it's time I found my wayward student.”
Riddle Rosehearts had officially entered the hunt.
-----------------------------------------
Rook stalked his way through the coliseum. He’d taken out 2 more of Cater’s clones in the last hour. But still, the real one eluded him. He only had until sunset. About 4 more hours to find his prey. It was then that he noticed a certain Bat Fae sitting in a tree.
“Monsieur Curiosity! Happy hunting!” Rook smiled up at Lilia.
“Ah, yes. This has been rather entertaining. I’ve never had such a difficult time locating Cater before.” Lilia laughed with a toothy grin.
“You hunt for him often?” the blond asked his companion.
Lilia nodded jumping down next to Rook, his face beaming. “Things are usually interesting when he’s involved. Today being no exception. I haven’t been able to stretch my wings like this in a while. I must thank you both for organizing this.”
“I feel much the same. It's lovely to find someone else enjoying the beauty of the hunt as much as I. “Rook's smile never faltered as he brought his free hand to his chest.
“I enjoy your youthful exuberance! It's lovely to see.” Lilia replied. “But we should both move on, I’ve not found even one of his clones within these grounds”
“Ah thank you for the tip Monsieur Curiosity. And I wish you a successful hunt.” Rook waved to him before heading back out.
“Now Cater where could you be I wonder….” Lilia crossed his arms deep in thought.
-------------------------------------
Vil walked into his room and threw his things on his bed. He was frustrated because Cater wasn’t answering his phone, even worse it was going straight to voicemail. Apparently, his lessons from beanfest were sticking with him and he wasn’t going to allow his beloved technology to be exploited as a weakness. He was worried, frustrated, and angry as he paced back and forth.
He made his way to his bathroom. Intending to clean himself up a bit before he went hunting for his boyfriend himself, only to be shocked to find the ginger sitting in his bathtub. “Vil!” Cater smiled. “You’re back early.”
“Is this the real you?” the blonde crossed his arms.
“In the flesh.” Cater laughed as he leaned on the side of the tub. “I guess you saw me and Rook’s little game. That then also makes you the winner.”
“Game?” Vil’s eye twitched. “How many clones have you made, how much of your magic have you drained?” he stalked over to the ginger and grabbed his magic pen. Surprised to find it clear.
“I’m fine Vil.” the ginger smiled. “I appreciate the worry, but I’m used to using my clones all the time. Things in Heartslabyul would never get done if I didn’t. They’re lost without me.” Cater sighed dramatically as he shifted down in the tub.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw, not even just that? But Rook might be safe, but you’ve got half of the campus hunting for you, and I doubt some of them would take the time to verify you’re a clone before attacking” Vil knelt down next to the tub. “Did you think about that before starting this nonsense?”
“Before? No, but that's part of the reason I came here after lunch. I noticed some of the posts were getting a little overzealous and I thought the only ones who would dare look for me here would be Rook and maybe Epel.” he smiled. “As for my magic, they’ve taken enough time between wiping out my clones I’ve been able to rebuild my stamina. I had a backpack of food and energy drinks, and have otherwise been lazing about here.”
Vil sighed with relief as he rested his forehead against Cater’s “Don’t do something this stupid again.”
Cater moved and placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. “You can join us next time. Cuz I’m sure Rook will want to do this again. And you can help with the rules. You and Riddle both. Though seems like he’s having fun too. I’ve checked my phone intermittently and it looks like he got in on it too.”
The blonde sighed. His best friend and boyfriend were impossible to deal with sometimes. A promise he could help set the rules for next time was probably the best he was going to get. “I still can’t believe this.”
“Well, we can put an end to it for now.” Cater smiled turning his phone back on.
Vil placed a hand on the phone, “We can worry about that later. I’m just glad you’re safe. I missed you today. Mind if I join you?” he smiled placing a finger under Cater’s chin.
“Well I’m not going to say no to that,” he smirked.
-------------------------------
Later the pair posed together, officially declaring Vil the winner of #thegreatcaterhunt.
Rook could just look at the picture and laugh. Of course, Vil would be the one to find him.