One… Two… Eight Yuus?

by Littlemsbull

Summary:

“ᴀʜ, ᴍʏ ᴅᴇᴀʀ, ᴇꜱᴛᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ʙᴇɴᴇꜰᴀᴄᴛᴏʀ.
ᴍʏ ᴘʀᴏᴜᴅ, ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ ꜰʟᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴇᴠɪʟ.
ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀɪʀᴇꜱᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴀʟʟ.

ᴏ’ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ᴍɪʀʀᴏʀ, ᴛʜʏ ᴡɪꜱᴅᴏᴍ ɪ ᴇɴᴛʀᴇᴀᴛ.
ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟ ᴜɴᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪꜱᴀɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ꜱᴇᴇᴋ…”

♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡

Yuusuki Shinu truly wished she could just pass through life as a side character. She wanted to just allow everyone else to deal with the problems while she sat to the side. It was selfish—she knew that—but the idea of being on top where everyone looked up at her and trusted her made her extremely sick.

However, after a devastating incident with kushikatsu and horses, she suddenly finds herself transported into a school filled with magical traumatized boys. Problem is? Oh yeah, she’s a girl AND magicless. How is she supposed to avoid being in the spotlight this time? Easy! Just force the other magicless teenagers who came with her to take her spot.

…

Wait, she can’t do that?

Well, darn it.

Alternatively: Eight Yuus get teleported into a world called Twisted Wonderland. Seven Yuus accept their situation, one Yuu says “nuh uh.”

 

By Sweetpea <3

Notes:

Hey, I’m Sweetpea!

I’ve had this fic idea for a while now and I finally decided to write it. Yes, this is my first fic but I hope you still enjoy it!

And if you only clicked on this because of the Yuuka tag, I know who you are (and honestly, real)

Listening to: Anthems for a Seventeen Girl (From “I Saw the TV Glow”) by yeule

Chapter 1: Killed For Kushikatsu

Black smoke rose out of the pile of rubble. It billowed out towards the sky, blanketing it like a storm cloud. The horrid smell that emitted from it quickly started to fill the area, causing the air to feel heavy and intoxicating.

 

Everything that was once a beautiful building was now brought to ruins, covered in scorching blue fire. She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now that it was gone, everything felt empty. She tried to convince herself that the place was always like this—a ruin—but she couldn’t. She still remembered what it looked like before, from the moment she first saw it to the moment before it all fell. And now it was gone. Just like that.

 

The wind was extremely strong, constantly making her lose her footing before she would catch herself once more. She attempted to keep her eyes open in order to stay vigilant, but the ash and smoke would fill her eyes, causing her to have to shut them only after a couple seconds. Her eyes burned, tears started to trickle from them—whether from despair or physical pain, she didn’t know.

 

The moment the wind died down, her eyes snapped open, frantically searching for something—someone— familiar.

 

She wish she would’ve kept them closed and just accepted her demise.

 

The first thing she saw were big, blue eyes staring at her. They were happy, but not the warm kind of happy. No. They were manic and cruel, so much so that it hurt her to look into them. But she didn’t look away. She couldn’t look away.

 

She suddenly felt something grab her arm. In her line of sight, she saw that it was a hand shrouded in a black and gold robe. The presence felt familiar, but she couldn’t place her finger on who it was. Whoever they were had pressed her against them, as if protecting her in some way. She tried to look up to see their face, but her vision kept glued onto the horrid beast in front of her.

 

“UNNNNGRAHHHHH!” The beast boomed, shaking the ground like an ancient god. It was angry now. Very, very angry.

 

In the corner of her eye, she saw things move. Figures. The figures were covered in the same cloaks that the one holding her was wearing. They were shouting desperately, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. The beast roared a horrible sound, one loud enough that it could burst a window or two.

 

Then…

 

♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡

 

“I’m planning on dying my hair green.”

 

“Excuse me?” Yuusuki Shinu’s attention suddenly snapped up to her friend, Mieko, only to be met with a face of disappointment.

 

School had been released for the day and the two girls were now on their way back home. Like always, they had taken the subway and chatted together the whole time. At least… that’s what Yuusuki assumed happened. For some odd reason, she couldn’t remember anything about the train ride, including getting on and off of it. Had she really zoned out for that long?

 

Now the two girls were walking on a sidewalk in the busy streets of Osaka. The sidewalk they always took to get home, Yuusuki recognized. But that would mean…

 

“I’ve been talking to you this whole time and you weren’t even paying attention?” Mieko grumbled, pouting as she crossed her arms. “We’re almost back to the apartments now so I can’t even repeat everything I said,” she added. She wasn’t mad, Yuusuki knew that. Mieko never got mad over stuff like that. She hated being ignored—there was no denying that—but she held a grudge like a person trying to hold a bar of soap in the shower.

 

“I’m sorry,” Yuusuki said, her voice quiet as she fumbled around with the sleeves of her dull yellow cardigan. She looked at Mieko, meeting her upset gaze with a sheepish smile.

 

Mieko groaned, crossing her arms. “It’s fine,” she pouted, but after a bit, Mieko’s lips twitched upwards.

 

Finally, she broke out into a full smile. “Hey, we should have a sleepover this weekend!”

 

Yuusuki blinked at Mieko, her dark eyes widening. Despite being neighbors, the girls hadn’t had a sleepover in a long while. And honestly? Yuusuki really missed those moments where she would go over to Mieko’s apartment. She remembered very vividly how she would bring over clothes that she had worked on so that Mieko could try them on. Mieko would always glow as she modeled the outfits that Yuusuki worked so hard on and it made her extremely proud. “Really?” Yuusuki asked, her eyes shining and her face flushed with excitement.

 

“Totally!” Mieko exclaimed. She looked over to Yuusuki, her smile becoming a smirk. “We should have it at your house so I can see your bro-“

 

“No.”

 

Mieko laughed loudly at Yuusuki’s quick answer, her hand raising up to cover her mouth. “Come on, Suki!” Mieko said through her laughter. “Issey’s a ten!”

 

“He’s also almost ten years older than you,” Yuusuki argued.

 

Mieko opened her mouth to say something—probably something to defend her weird crush—but she was interrupted by the sound of an old woman’s voice.

 

“Have a good day!”

 

Yuusuki knew that voice.

 

Yuusuki looked over to where the voice came from. She saw a very familiar antique store, the one that was only a couple minutes away from the apartments. Someone had just left the store, holding a bag full of dusty and old stuff. A wide smile was spread across their slim face. Behind them was an older lady. Mrs. Hamasaki.

 

Yuusuki’s memories with the lady were… unpleasant to say the least.

 

Yuusuki’s parents constantly liked going out and Mrs. Hamasaki was the first person they trusted to watch their kids. To say that Yuusuki hated the woman was wrong. She didn’t hate anyone, especially not a (nowhere near) frail old lady. However, Mrs. Hamasaki wasn’t the type of grandma that baked cookies and gave them out to little kids. No. No, not at all.

 

Mrs. Hamasaki was a business woman. She provided no warmth, especially not towards Yuusuki and her brother. Instead, she would practically blackmail and manipulate them into doing her deeds.

 

Yuusuki had a clear memory of when she had came over to Mrs. Hamasaki’s store for her twelfth birthday. She had her eyes on a cute maneki neko for months and she finally had enough money to buy it.

 

Yuusuki had walked over to the store all by herself, happy to finally buy the cat. That’s when Mrs. Hamasaki had told her that the maneki neko had already been sold. Yuusuki’s spirits had crashed. Mrs. Hamasaki knew that she wanted that cat, Yuusuki had told her so many times.

 

Then Mrs. Hamasaki offered to save the next maneki neko that came into the store… as long as Yuusuki helped clean the attic. She happily agreed, eager to finally get the cat she wanted.

 

It took Yuusuki forever to clean the attic. She had to go through many spider webs and dust bunnies. Plus, she could’ve sworn that the cowboy doll in the corner was watching her (why did it keep saying “I’ve got a snake in my boot”?). But Yuusuki pushed through, spending her whole birthday just cleaning.

 

And guess what? She never got that maneki neko. She tried to confront Mrs. Hamasaki about it a couple years later, but the lady denied that anything ever happened.

 

That’s what Yuusuki got for being acquaintances with a shady old woman.

 

“Hey, Mrs. Hamasaki!” Mieko called out from beside Yuusuki, waving her hand.

 

Yuusuki froze as the lady looked over to them. There was a slight glint in her eyes that Yuusuki couldn’t quite read. Yet, she knew exactly what was going to happen.

 

Mieko…

 

You suck…

 

“Ah, hello girls!” Mrs. Hamasaki said, waving back. “Yuusuki, dear,-“

 

Here it comes.

 

“-could you do me a favor?”

 

No! No I cannot!

 

As if reading her mind, Mrs. Hamasaki quickly added with a smirk, “I have some extra kushikatsu that I’ve made and I can’t eat all of it by myself. If you do this for me, I’ll gladly repay you with some.”

 

Crap. This woman is good.

 

Mieko looked over to Yuusuki, giving her a sorry smile. Her blue eyes practically screamed apologies at Yuusuki, who could only meet them with a tired look.

 

“Yes… ma’am,” Yuusuki grumbled. She leaned over to Mieko and whispered, “Save yourself before you fall into her trap too.”

 

At that, Mieko dashed off, waving Yuusuki goodbye.

 

“Oh, Yuusuki, sweetie, you’re so kind!” Mrs. Hamasaki clapped her hands joyfully, almost as if she didn’t just bribe a teen into doing work for her.

 

Yuusuki walked towards the old lady, slightly dragging her feet. The brown shoulder bag she was carrying suddenly felt much heavier and her cardigan felt too constraining. She just wanted to go home and suffocate in her bed.

 

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Hama-“

 

“Granny Hamasaki.”

 

Yuusuki coughed into her sleeve.

 

“Granny Hamasaki.”

 

Mrs. Hamasaki’s face lit up, the smile she wore adding more wrinkles. “Ah, what a good little child!” she exclaimed. “Wait here for a moment please. I’ll go get the thing I wanted you to help with.” With that, Mrs. Hamasaki disappeared back into her antique store.

 

While Yuusuki was waiting, a tempting thought passed her mind. What if I just run home? Better yet, she could run away and live her life as a raccoon. Hmmm.

 

Then Mrs. Hamasaki’s face appeared in Yuusuki’s mind. Yeah , no way. That lady would track her down and make her do even more work if she ever tried something like that. She would just have to endure whatever task the lady gave her.

 

Finally, Mrs. Hamasaki came back, holding a cardboard box that looks like it’s seen much better days. Mrs. Hamasaki dropped the box into Yuusuki’s hands.

 

The first thing Yuusuki noticed was how heavy it was. It almost felt like Mrs. Hamasaki had picked up a boulder and placed it into a box just to mess with Yuusuki. But if that was the case, Mrs. Hamasaki would’ve been laughing her butt off at the sight of the girl’s face.

 

“One of my oldest customers had just ordered a bunch of items that he was going to pick up today,” Mrs. Hamasaki explained, her hand reaching into her pocket. She grabbed a paper out of it and placed it on top of the box. For some reason, that made the box feel ten times heavier. Darn it. “Unfortunately, he fell ill recently and isn’t able to come over. I was going to just keep it so he could get them later but since you kindly offered to help-“ Don’t make it sound like you gave me an option . “-you should be able to deliver them to him.”

 

Yuusuki gave Mrs. Hamasaki a strained smile. “It’s… no… problem…” Yuusuki said, breathless already. She really needed to work out more if a granny could carry a box easier than she could. It was honestly sad how she couldn’t even handle a box full of old antiques.

 

♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡

 

Yuusuki had to stop and put down the box twenty times.

 

Finally, by the twenty-first time, she had decided to sit down for a little bit. Her bag followed and flopped down beside her. How long have I been walking for?

 

Yuusuki reached out to her bag so she could grab her phone. Her arms felt sore and hurt whenever she moved them, but she kept searching her bag for her phone. Finally, she had found it and powered it on.

 

42:56

 

What?

 

Yuusuki smacked the side of her phone—like how a person would smack a vending machine that wouldn’t give them their bag of chips—as if that would fix her phone’s time. It didn’t.

 

Did she somehow manage to break her phone? She hadn’t done anything to it recently and it was working before she had gone to school. Maybe someone messed with it while she was at school? Unlikely, her bag was left where she could always see it. So then…?

 

Yuusuki groaned, throwing her head backwards. This sucked. She stood up, placing her phone in her pocket, deciding that she should continue her way to the customer’s house.

 

As the girl bent down to grab the box, her eyes caught onto what the note Mrs. Hamasaki had given her. Yuusuki’s heart paused for a moment.

 

42-56.

 

42-56 was all it said.

 

She stood there in that bent position for a long moment. What did this mean? The note definitely hadn’t said that before. No, before it was an actual address. This was… a curse…? It’s not like Yuusuki believed in curses or anything. However, in this moment, she couldn’t help but feel like she had been doomed.

 

She stared at the box for a moment, and a troubling thought came across her mind. What if she opened it? It was stupid, yes, but she really wanted to know what was in the box. If she looked into the box, she might’ve been able to see which item (or items, but she didn’t want to think about that) were cursed. What would she do with it? She didn’t know.

 

Yuusuki reached out for the box, her hands shaking slightly. She let her hands rest on the box for a little bit before she began tearing away the tape holding it closed.

 

There was only one thing in the box . An old mirror. Its frame was a beautiful gold color that shone under the sun light. At the top was a crown looking symbol and along the sides were patterns that look sort of like snakes. It was a breathtaking item.

 

In the reflection, Yuusuki saw a girl with shoulder-length black hair and eyes as dark as the night sky. She looked tired and had noticeable bags under her eyes. There was no makeup nor jewelry on her. She was entirely bland.

 

It was Yuusuki in the reflection.

 

Yuusuki sighed. She honestly expected for there to be some sort of demon or something in the mirror’s reflection, but thank goodness it was just her in it.

 

Her eyes went back onto the paper, which was now on the ground. The numbers that had been on it were gone and it said the correct address once more. She quickly reached for the phone in her pocket. 4:13 was what it said.

 

Yuusuki stood there, her focus switching from her phone to the note over and over again. She rubbed her eyes, expecting them to return to their cursed form. Nothing.

 

She slumped over, unsure whether she should be feeling relieved or humiliated. Was she really so tired that she hallucinated? She didn’t feel tired, but she definitely looked like it.

 

Clip-clop.

 

Was that… a horse?

 

Yuusuki looked around, but she hadn’t spotted a single horse. In fact, there was almost no life in the city. No cars, no people, even no animals. It was eerily silent.

 

CLIP-clop.

 

Did the noises just get louder? But…

 

CLIP-CLOP!

 

Yuusuki spun towards the noise. Big mistake.

 

There were two shadowy horses carrying a black carriage behind them. They were running full speed towards Yuusuki, not showing any signs of slowing. She wanted to jump out of their path or at least attempt to run away, but her legs refused to listen.

 

She was going to die.

 

She was going to die by horses with scary, distorted faces.

 

NEIGH!

 

Then they collided with her, and it all went black.

 

…

 

..

 

.

 

Does this mean that she won’t get her kushikatsu?

Chapter 2: Weasels and fire and coffins, oh my!

Summary:

After getting ran over by some horses with scary faces, Yuusuki finds herself awake in a whole new place.

She has so many questions and not enough answers. However, she must wait until she can understand anything, for orientation has already begun.

Notes:

Listening to: “my boy” by Billie Eilish

 

The other Yuus should appear in the next chapter!

Names (in order):

- Yuuken Enma
- Yuuka Hirasaka
- Yuuta Mito
- Yuuna Oujou
- Yuuma Yomi
- Yuukiko Izanami
- Yuume Yama

“Myah haha!”

 

What‘s that noise? Yuusuki felt like something was seriously wrong.

 

“Mwah ha, I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me.” Uniform? The voice was slightly muffled, yet Yuusuki could still hear the excitement in it. It was high pitched and slightly stupid sounding. It was sort of like how a children’s anime character would talk, except it didn’t seem to be faked.

 

The person kept humming in their cartoony voice. It was squeaky and cracked every time they attempted a higher note. It almost made Yuusuki want to tear out her eardrums so she wouldn’t had to listen to it anymore.

 

At least she didn’t feel dreadful anymore.

 

Wait, why did she feel dreadful earlier anyways?

 

…

 

Ah, that’s right. She got ran over by some horses.

 

…

 

Wait-

 

Suddenly, Yuusuki’s world shook aggressively. She completely expected herself to fall over, but she was kept straight by her surroundings. That’s when it hit her. She was in a tight spot.

 

She attempted to move her arms. She couldn’t. Then her head. It only went forward a bit until she banged it against a wall. Her legs were completely out of the question.

 

Panic filled Yuusuki and she could suddenly feel everything. Her legs were too close together, it made her uncomfortable. Her arms were crossed over her chest, making her feel trapped. The fabric of the wall rubbed against her head, making her itchy.

 

She was encased in a tight… room, perhaps?

 

The world shook again and the voice spoke up once more. “Ah yes, this sucker!”

 

Yuusuki couldn’t even tell if her eyes were opened. If they were, the pitch darkness of her restraint did not allow them to adjust, and she couldn’t see a single thing.

 

“Urgggh…” the cartoony voice said. “This weighs a ton! Perhaps I can…”

 

BANG BANG!

 

Yuusuki felt herself rock more violently this time. Did they just hit the cage with something?! She instinctively tried raising up her arms to keep herself steady, or at least break the potential fall she could face, but her arms couldn’t move. Right…

 

Another hit and Yuusuki’s head lunged forwards, banging onto the wall. Ouch. Then it went backwards, and her head was hit once more. Double ouch.

 

“Fine,” the voice grumbled, sounding slightly deterred. Good, Yuusuki had no idea how she could take any more blows to the head and live to see the next day. “But I ain’t giving up that easily!”

 

You’ve got to be kid-

 

The dark room suddenly got extremely hot. Like fire hot. Like, “Yuusuki was going to die if she stayed any longer” hot. She had to get out.

 

Yuusuki slammed against the wall as hard as she could. However, instead of just dying there and then because of the harsh collision, the wall fell and Yuusuki went down with it. “EEK!” Yuusuki screeched as she collapsed to the floor.

 

Yuusuki’s vision was blurry and her eyes slowly adjusted to the little light that was in the room. She attempted to push herself up onto her feet, her legs shaking as she did so.

 

“Where…?” Yuusuki mumbled. Her head pulsed slightly and she reached up to rub the pain away. Her eyes widened. She could definitely move once more, and the distress she felt earlier about that had disappeared. But now, she had bigger problems.

 

The first thing that Yuusuki had noticed was how gloomy and gothic her surroundings were. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Which was bad. Really bad.

 

Where in the world was she?

 

The room was filled with… were those floating coffins?

 

The coffins bobbed slightly in the air, breaking literally all physics. They each looked identical to the next and, upon further inspection, it seemed as if Yuusuki had just broken out of one. But why would she be in a coffin if she never died in the first place?

 

Yuusuki tried looking up and saw bright dots. Stars, she had originally thought, but she quickly realized they were candles. It was a chandelier, swinging wildly as if it was about to fall. She instinctively stepped out from under it. Being smashed under a chandelier was not on her Bingo card. Then again, neither was being crushed by horses.

 

Speaking of that-

 

“You!” a voice called out from somewhere.

 

It was the same voice that Yuusuki had heard before she had escaped the coffin. She scanned the area, trying to find the person, but there was no one.

 

“Down here, you dunce!” Okay, rude.

 

Yuusuki looked down, spotting a creature sitting at her feet. It mainly had gray fur, but its chest had a white patch and its ears seemed to have some sort of glowing blue in them. Yuusuki had no idea what kind of animal it was, but it was sort of… cute?

 

She bent down to inspect the creature better. The more she looked at it, the more confused she got. Whatever it was, Yuusuki had already taken a liking to it.

 

“Aw,” she said, smiling down at it. “You’re adorable.” Was it a cat? Or a tanuki? Or maybe…

 

“A weasel?”

 

The creature’s face scrunched up, its blue eyes narrowing. Suddenly, it got onto two paws, standing up like a human (just significantly smaller). “How… How DARE you! The Great Grim ain’t no WEASEL!”

 

Yuusuki jumped backwards. She recognized that voice. It was the very one she had heard earlier! “You can talk?”

 

“Of course I can!” The Great Grim said, putting his paws onto his hips. An evil looking grin crossed his face, making him look almost predatory. “Human! Gimme your uniform, but be quick about it.”

 

There he went again about uniforms. But Yuusuki wasn’t wearing any…

 

Yuusuki gasped as she looked down upon herself. She was wearing a purple and black robe, which was detailed by gold. It was elegant, but it wasn’t hers.

 

Where the heck did her clothes go?

 

And who changed her…?

 

“Did’ja hear me?” The Great Grim asked, but it was more of a harsh question than a genuine one. It was almost as if he thought Yuusuki was a lowly being he could bully. “If you don’t hurry, you’re gonna regret it!”

 

Suddenly, blue fire appeared behind the not-weasel creature. The ominous blue glow casted shadows onto The Great Grim’s face, causing his grin to become more dastardly looking.

 

Yuusuki’s first reaction was to freeze and accept her fate. For a split moment, that’s what she did, but then a sudden urge to run had taken over her. She had to get out. She couldn’t die like this.

 

Yuusuki swallowed her fear and began running towards a door. On her way out, she had knocked into a coffin, causing it to tumble. She didn’t look back, but she could hear that coffin—along with some others—falling down to the floor. Sorry to whoever was in there.

 

Yuusuki dashed out of the room. “Somebody help!” she called as she ran through the hallways of whatever building she was in. There had to be someone around, right? Behind her, she heard the not-weasel skittering towards her.

 

She had no idea where she was, nor where she was heading. She just had to get away.

 

As Yuusuki ran, many voices yelled at her. Yet, none of them belonged to humans.

 

Paintings.

 

“Hey kid, aren’t you supposed to be at the ceremony?” one asked.

 

“Boy, it’s to your right!” the other said.

 

“No, Millicent, he has to go left.”

 

The paintings started to bicker back and forth, but Yuusuki didn’t stay to hear the rest. She ended up just going to her left, where she hoped this “ceremony” was. If there was a ceremony, there had to be people, right?

 

Turns out the painting that told her to turn right was, in fact, right. Her left had just led her into a giant place with bookshelves covering every wall. It was a library. A beautiful one, but Yuusuki didn’t have time to admire it.

 

“Foolish human!” a voice from behind Yuusuki said. She turned abruptly, seeing The Great Grim standing with his paws on his hips and a devilish smile. “Did you really think you could escape from ME?”

 

Yuusuki took a step back, her heart racing. Was this the end? Was she going to die by a flame breathing weasel? The Great Grim opened his mouth, presumably to spit out more flames. However, before he could do so, black fabric wrapped around his legs. He stumbled, falling down to the floor as more black fabric swirled around his body, tightening around it.

 

“Me-YEOW! What’s that for?”

 

“Consider it ‘tough love’.”

 

A figure stepped into Yuusuki’s vision. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified to see him. On one hand, this guy just saved her using his “tough love.” On the other hand, this guy was dressed like a cultist.

 

Or a masked murderer.

 

Maybe a masked murdering cultist?

 

Whatever he was, Yuusuki kept a reasonable distance from him.

 

The cultist-murderer focused his attention on Yuusuki. His masked made it difficult to see his face and therefore his expression, but Yuusuki could see two little yellow dots where his eyes would be. This guy was weird….

 

“I finally found you,” he said, crossing his arms. “Never in my years have I seen a student so eager to make his debut.”

 

Student? His?

 

Yuusuki insistently shook her head. “I think you’re mis-“

 

“And bringing a poorly trained familiar?” the guy interrupted, pointing an accusing finger at The Great Grim. “This is a heavy violation of the school’s rules!”

 

“I ain’t no servant of a lowly human like that!” The Great Grim countered. A small growl came from him, only causing the “tough love” to tighten around his body even more.

 

“Quiet, you,” the masked guy commanded. At his words, more “tough love” circled The Great Grim, now covering his mouth.

 

None of this made sense to Yuusuki. A familiar? Like the cats in those stories about witches? “I’m sorry, but-“

 

“With all the students I’ve ever dealt with, not ONE had enough temerity to open their own gate.” The yellow orbs in the man’s mask narrowed. “And never once had someone opened another student’s gates!”

 

The guy kept going on with everything Yuusuki had done that he “had never seen before in all his years.” Yuusuki just stood there, trying her hardest to process what was happening.

 

Finally, the masked man sighed. “No matter now,” he said. Well, it clearly mattered if you were going off like that, Yuusuki thought yet didn’t voice. “Your orientation has already begun. Follow me to the Mirrow Chamber.”

 

He picked up the not-weasel and had started to walk away, probably assuming that Yuusuki would follow.

 

She didn’t budge.

 

“Wait!” she called after the bird guy. He swiveled around on his feet, gaining a grunt from The Great Grim. “Student? Student of what?”

 

“You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?” he asked. The way his question was voiced made it seem like he was asking Yuusuki the most obvious thing. However, Yuusuki couldn’t understand anything. Gates?

 

The man continued, “All the students here on campus arrived through the gates.” Once again, this didn’t help Yuusuki at ALL. “Typically, the students have enough restraint to wait until I open the gates before they start waking up.”

 

He slightly held his arms out. “But hey, it takes a lot of effort to open them. This means you’re either very skilled or a huge problem child!”

 

He said that way too cheerfully.

 

“So… the coffins are gateways?” Yuusuki asked, trying to figure out what was going on. Every time this dude opened his mouth, it just confused her even more.

 

“Precisely,” he said, putting his arms back to his sides. “They’re designed that way to represent a parting from your old world, and the start of your journey into a new one!” But aren’t coffins for the dead?

 

The man turned around once more and started to walk off. “Follow now,” he demanded, gesturing for Yuusuki to walk with him. “You’ve got an orientation to attend.”

 

Yuusuki hesitated for a moment. This stranger… everything was way too stressful. However, she knew that she had to get answers somehow, even if that meant trusting a guy who looked too much like a raven.

 

After a couple moments, she begun to follow behind him. “Excuse me,” Yuusuki called, speed walking towards the bird man. “Where exactly am I?”

 

The man didn’t turn around to look at her, The Great Grim squirming in his arms. “Hm, I suppose that you haven’t completely regained consciousness yet. Ahem.

 

“This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for young men who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic. In all of Twisted Wonderland, it is the most prestigious of its sorts.” Finally, he glanced over his shoulder to look at Yuusuki. “I have been accepted as the gracious Headmage of this school. Yes, it’s me, Dire Crowley!”

 

Yuusuki didn’t know if he expected her to clap or not. Whatever the case was, Yuusuki just stood there. Her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed.

 

This is a cult.

 

“I’m not a witch… nor a boy.”

 

The Headmage must’ve not heard her—or plain out ignored her—because he kept going on. “Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as excellent mages are admitted into this college. Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those “gates” you saw earlier.

 

“A black carriage bearing one of such gates must’ve visited you, did it not?”

 

Ah, yes.

 

Yes it did.

 

It ran her over too.

 

“I remember being ran over by one of those carriages,” Yuusuki mentioned, hoping to gain at least a tad bit of sympathy from Crowley.

 

He just smiled at her. “Don’t be so overdramatic!”

 

Okay.

 

“Anyways, that carriage serves to receive the students chosen by the Dark Mirror.” He winked (at least, she thinks he did-). “As you know, sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a honored tradition!”

 

Honored tradition where?!

 

“Now, let us attend to your orientation.”

 

This is going to be a long night…

Chapter 3: All About Yuu

Summary:

Orientation does not go as planned. There’s talking mirrors, cultists, and more fire.

…

Wait, who are these other people also from Nihon?

Notes:

Listening to: Breezeblocks by alt-J

“We’re done with orientation and dorm assignments? All right then, new students—let me be extremely clear. At Heartslabyul House, I am the law. Break the rules and it’s off with your head!”

 

A loud yawn filled the room. “Well, that ceremony was as boring as the last ones. I’m going back to the dorm. If you’re in Savanaclaw, follow me.”

 

Someone clapped their hands together with seemingly too much energy. “New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement. As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling experience.”

 

“Hey, does anyone know where the Headmage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony…”

 

“Some Headmage he is,” a voice grumbled.

 

“Maybe he had a tummyache?”

 

The Headmage had led Yuusuki all through the school, walking with a confident stride as he held The Great Grim. He had abruptly stopped at an opened door, causing Yuusuki to almost crash into him. He stared into the room like he was waiting for something to happen.

 

Yuusuki looked into the room from behind Crowley. There were many voices, excited ones, and from her spot, she could see a few cloaked figures.

 

What.

 

The.

 

Heck.

 

When he heard a few of the cultists talking about him, Crowley stepped into the room, the yellow dots in his mask narrowing.

 

“I most certainly did not!” the Headmage exclaimed, his voice booming through the room. The many voices and sounds automatically disappeared at the sight of Crowley. Dang, this guy really is the head man of this place.

 

Finally, the silence was broken. “Ah, speak of the devil.” Yuusuki looked over to whoever had talked, peeking her head out from behind Crowley. She unexpectedly met the gaze of a red headed boy. His gray eyes were intense and stern, yet he held a sort of… innocence? It was hard to explain and even Yuusuki didn’t know how that worked. Based on his sort of child-like looks, she assumed that he had to be younger than her by a couple of years.

 

The red head narrowed his eyes at Yuusuki, causing her to hide back behind the Headmage. “If you must know,” the Headmage said. “I was searching for the new student who’d failed to show up for orientation.”

 

Yuusuki heard the whispers of the cloaked figures once more.

 

“That’s the one who opened his own gate?”

 

“He’s so fragile looking though.”

 

“Bah, can’t wait to challenge him to a battle!”

 

Crowley coughed to get everyone’s attention once more “Have the other coffin escapees been checked up upon by Mr. Crewel?” the Headmage asked the red head.

 

Other coffin escapees…?

 

Before the boy could answer, a new voice sounded through the room. “They’re fine.”

 

Yuusuki turned her head towards the voice that came from the entrance. A man with a fur coat walked in, his steps echoing through the room. He had a very black and white color scheme, with his clothes and hair primarily being those colors. He reminded Yuusuki of a Dalmatian.

 

Following right after the man were seven new cloaked figures.

 

The first one Yuusuki saw was a tall and strong looking boy. His hair was short and black and his eyes were a dark brown. He had a sort of calm, yet curious, demeanor. He kept glancing around the area, not really out of nervousness but to analyze the situation.

 

The next one was a tall girl. Once again, she had short black hair. She was extremely pretty and had a sort of composure that also practically radiated strength. Was she some sort of sports model? Whatever she was, Yuusuki felt like a pebble compared to her.

 

The third one was a shorter and chubbier boy. Yuusuki noticed the pattern of short black hair as this boy once again had that quality. He looked cute and sweet. He was whispering to the next cloaked figure.

 

That one was another girl, one who looked significantly different from the people previous from her. Her skin was darker and her hair was a bleached blonde. Once again, she was literally so pretty and energetic.

 

Were all these people literal actors?

 

The next guy was also severely different. His brown hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a bit and his face had acne all over. He was cute, but his overall vibe just felt filthy. Yuusuki didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

 

The sixth one was once again a tall girl. No, not even just a girl. A literal goddess was what she was. Her hair was dyed a light blonde, almost white, and was pulled up into a clip with one side of her bangs falling out. Her eyes were a light brown and sharp. The makeup, which everyone else seemed to be wearing too, made her look like she just stepped out of a magazine. She had on glasses that just added on to her elegance.

 

There was one more, but they had their face hidden behind the hood of their cloak.

 

The Headmage clapped his hands together. “Wonderful! You bunch are lucky that I, the generous master of this school, found you guys before something bad happened. Thank you, Crewel. You may be dismissed to fix up your classroom once more.”

 

So “lucky.”

 

Suddenly, Crowley focused his attention onto Yuusuki. He placed a hand onto her back and guided her towards the middle of the huge chamber. “You guys must be assigned a dorm. You first, little problem child! Ah, don’t worry. I’ll keep your little termite safe.”

 

The Great Grim growled.

 

Crowley placed Yuusuki right onto the ground in front of a… familiar mirror floating in the air.

 

Seriously?

 

Yuusuki looked up at Crowley, trying to understand what he was doing. In response, he placed his one of his hands on her face and angled her head towards the mirror. Okay.

 

In the reflection, she once again saw herself. But this time, she looked off. She was wearing makeup, the same as the other cloaked people. She never worn makeup before. She didn’t even own makeup. How did she get makeup? The makeup predicament suddenly became the least of Yuusuki’s worries when she saw a thick streak of gray in her hair.

 

Yuusuki reached up to touch her hair, her black eyes wide. When did she get gray hair? How did she get gray hair? Abruptly, the reflection changed. There was green fire behind her now and she quickly looked behind her only to see nothing but cloaked figures.

 

Crowley placed his free hand back onto her head and moved it once again, this time with more aggression. “Look at the mirror, lovely problem child,” he said, a slip of annoyance in his voice.

 

Yuusuki focused back onto the mirror. Nothing more happened for a bit until a mask appeared in the mirror. The sight caused her to flinch, her heartbeat increasing, but she quickly composed herself. You’ve been killed, chased around by a weasel, and kidnapped by a crow man. A mask is not something to be fearful of.

 

“State your name.”

 

A talking mask is not something to be fearful of.

 

“Yuusuki Shinu…”

 

Behind her, she heard the energetic blonde girl whisper to the tall black haired girl. “She’s another one. Do you think she’s like us?”

 

The black haired girl just shrugged in response.

 

“Yuusuki Shinu,” the mask repeated. It frowned and narrowed its empty eyes at Yuusuki.

 

“The nature of your soul, all of your souls…”

 

The mask went quiet. The room was thick with anticipation and Yuusuki could practically feel the question everyone was thinking. What would the mirror decide for the mysterious student that apparently opened eight gates on her own?

 

“…is unclear to me.”

 

Yuusuki’s heart dropped and she didn’t know why. She didn’t know what this meant. Not one bit. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel worried for what this implied.

 

“Could you repeat that?” Crowley said, his lips twitching into a frown.

 

“I sense no magical energy from any of these incompetents. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant.

 

“Therefore,” the mask continued. “None of the dorms are suitable for these students.”

 

The orientation room suddenly became a little louder, the whispers filling the room once again.

 

“Seriously, what a bunch of disappointments.”

 

“How did they even get into the school?”

 

“We worked so hard on our magic just to have a bunch of weaklings be enrolled alongside us? How pathetic!”

 

Crowley’s frown deepened. “Are you suggesting that the black carriage received eight—not one but eight—average people?”

 

A snicker came from the crowd.

 

“That is absolutely absurd! The student selection process never erred once in its entire existence!” Crowley looked down at his free hand, looking defeated. “How could this have happened?”

 

A couple groans came from The Great Grim before the “tough love” on his face flew off. He gasped for air. “ME! ME! ME!” he yelled like an excited child. “Let ME take their spots at this school.”

 

Crowley’s yellow orb eyes narrowed as he held up The Great Grim by the scruff of his neck. “Silence, you hyperactive weasel!” he demanded, throwing The Great Grim onto the ground.

 

The Great Grim did not in fact “silence.”

 

“Unlike those useless humans-“ Why does everyone here like discriminating others? “-I can use magic! Let me be a student!

 

“Look, look! I’ll show you. My spells’re the cat’s meow!” The Great Grim took a deep breath, his eyes closing.

 

Yuusuki knew something was wrong. Spells? Was the blue fire that appeared around the weasel thing a spell that he had cast? Did that mean…

 

“Everyone, get down!”

 

“MYAAAAHHHHH!”

 

Suddenly, fire came out of The Great Grim’s mouth. Not again! Yuusuki jumped up, backing towards the mirror.

 

The blue flames filled the room, causing most of the students to either scream and run or stand still like they were hoping no one would read their search histories after they died. One boy—that poor guy—had a spark of fire on his robe and he was running around like that would put it out.

 

“Someone catch that blasted beast before it sets the entire school on fire!” Crowley commanded. To the side, Yuusuki could see about five dudes (maybe one was a girl, she couldn’t tell since they were both feminine and masculine looking) who refused to run away with the others, the red head included with them.

 

One rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Can I go now, or must I stay around during this sad display of magic?”

 

Wait a moment, does that dude have lion ears…?

 

The one that Yuusuki couldn’t tell the gender of smirked at the one who rolled his eyes. “Oh?” they said, their voice full of challenge. “I thought you fancied yourself a hunter? Why don’t you go and help yourself to that plump little morsel?”

 

The guy with lion ears glared at the other one. “Do it yourself.”

 

A boy with glasses and silver hair stepped up (what is up with all these unnatural hair colors?) with a smile on his face. Yuusuki knew that kind of smile. It was the same one Mrs. Hamasaki would wear whenever she was scamming making a deal with someone. “Allow me to handle this minor issue, Headmage Crowley.” The boy gave the others a prideful gaze. “If none of you are up to the task of catching a pest, I shall accept the responsibility.”

 

“WTG Azul. Racking up those participation points.” Was that a talking and floating TABLET?

 

The boy with the flame on his robe—bless his heart—cried out. “Hey, um, my robe is still on fire here! Could someone maybe put this out?!”

 

“Boys!” The Headmage said, crossing his arms. “Were my instructions unclear?”

 

The lion boy, clearly unfazed by literally everything, just lazily looked over to the Headmage. He looked him up and down before shrugging. “Preeetty sure you can handle catching a mangy weasel all on your own, Headmage.”

 

The Great Grim growled, his eyes narrowing and the flames growing slightly bigger. “How many times do I have to say it?” he said, his voice full of anger and frustration. “I’m GRIM, not a weasel!” He glared over at Yuusuki as if she was the one that started the whole weasel thing (she definitely was but still-).

 

Azul smirked down at Grim. “Well, aren’t you a little spunky fellow.” He bent down as if he were talking to a toddler. Then, he looked over to the red headed boy. “Riddle, would you be so kind…?”

 

Riddle narrowed his eyes, pulling a… pen out of his pocket. He pointed the pen towards Grim as if that was the most threatening thing he could’ve done. “Furry miscreant, I will abide no rule-breaking. You will be judged by my hand.”

 

How scary.

 

Grim scoffed. “What are you going to do, boss baby?” he teased, that evil grin on his face appearing once more. He blew a couple more fireballs to make a point that he wasn’t afraid of Riddle.

 

Suddenly, a spark of something came from Riddle’s pen and it aimed to hit at Grim’s feet. Grim jumped back, his eyes wide. “Woah!” he said, clearly taken aback. Then, the smile returned to his face. “That’s all you can do?”

 

Grim took a deep breath, ready to blow another fireball. This time, he was prepared to hurt someone. At the same time, two cloaked figures joined the scene. One tackled Riddle to the ground, the other kicked Grim in the side, causing his flame to be thrown to the ceiling instead of Riddle.

 

“MYAHHHH!” Grim yelled, crashing to the ground. Riddle had gasped as he also fell down.

 

The tall, muscular boy that had been with Crewel was the one that tackled Riddle. The girl with the white hair was the one who kicked Grim. “I’ve been waiting to do that since it opened its mouth,” Yuusuki heard the girl say.

 

“Are you alright, kid?” the boy asked Riddle. For a moment, Riddle looked up at him, completely shocked. Then his face contorted into an ugly expression.

 

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!” Riddle exclaimed, his face becoming red. He shoved the boy off of him and quickly got up. With no hesitation, he pointed the pen towards Grim and “very calmly” yelled, “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD.”

 

A light shined around Grim’s neck. Once the light disappeared, a heart shaped collar took its place. Yuusuki tilted her head in confusion. “Myah! What are you doing?!” Grim asked, the shock apparent on his face.

 

Riddle dusted off his cloak before he started to slowly walk towards Grim, his arms crossed. “The Queen of Hearts’s Rule 23: ‘One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.’” He glanced over at Yuusuki, narrowing his eyes at her. She threw up her hands. Not mine! He’s not mine!

 

“Your very presence here is a violation of order. You will vacate the area immediately.”

 

Grim puffed out his cheeks. “But I ain’t no cat either! Don’t even try to collar me. I’ll burn it right off!” He took a deep breath and blew. Yuusuki had braced herself for more fire, but all that came was smoke and a sad noise from Grim. “Huh…? W-what gives? Why ain’t my fire working?”

 

A dangerous glint appeared in Riddle’s gray eyes. “Until I deign to remove that collar, your magic will not work. You’re naught but a pet cat now.”

 

“I ain’t your pet-NOTHING!”

 

Riddle frowned. “Oh, you have nothing to worry about there. I wouldn’t want a pet like you anyways.”

 

Dang.

 

“The collar will be removed once you leave campus,” Riddle added, putting his hands on his hips. Yuusuki stared at him for a moment. How did he just detain Grim like that? It took her a literal sprint in order to stop him and all Riddle had to do was just say a couple of words!

 

A laugh came from Azul as he walked over to Riddle, clapping. “Good show as always, Riddle. Your signature spell locks down any magic. It’s quite handy.

 

“I’ve just GOT to have it—ah, I mean, I’ve just got to have respect for it.”

 

Yuusuki looked over to the white haired girl, trying to see if she understood anything that was happening. Her gaze was on Azul and Riddle, her eyes narrowed. Then, as if feeling Yuusuki’s stare, she looked over to her with the same intensity she was giving the two boys. Yuusuki quickly looked away.

 

A hand was placed on Yuusuki’s shoulder and she turned around to see Crowley glaring down at her. “Little problem child, did I not make myself clear when I told you to take responsibility for your familiar? Now discipline it or—“

 

“He’s not mine!” Yuusuki said before she could stop herself.

 

“What? It’s not?” Crowley responded, his yellow dots wide.

 

I’ve already told you that before!

 

“Oh… Well, then I shall have it expelled from campus. I even will spare it from becoming dinner! Aren’t I so kind?” He gestured disappointedly. “Someone… take it away or something.”

 

A couple of the students that had actually stayed behind in the orientation room had grabbed Grim. They carried him out through the door. “Nooooo! Let me goooooo!” he howled as they dragged him away. It almost made Yuusuki feel bad for him. Almost.

 

“Remember my name! I will go down in the annals of history. Just you wait!” Then he was gone.

 

Sucks for him.

 

“Well, that was quite the unexpected surprise,” Crowley said. “I hereby declare this orientation over!”

 

Crowley raised his hand up to his mouth as if he were thinking of something. “Where is Housewarden Draconia?” he mumbled, his gaze searching the few students in the room.

 

The guy with lion ears rolled his eyes. “What’s so surprising? That lizard never comes to these types of things.”

 

“Wait, did anyone even invite him?” the boy whose butt was on fire had asked.

 

“If you really care that much, you could’ve invited him yourself,” the unknown gender person said.

 

The boy shrugged. “I would’ve but I don’t really know him that well…”

 

Suddenly, the students remaining started whispering.

 

“THE Draconia? Like the all powerful one?”

 

“So the rumors were true? He does actually go to school here?”

 

“Yikes…”

 

“Ah, just as I thought,” a new voice said. It had just appeared out of nowhere, causing Yuusuki to jump. A short guy walked into the room, a frown on his face. His hair was black and pink and his eyes were a vibrant color. “I figured I’d come down here to make sure Malleus arrived. But once again, it seems he wasn’t informed of these meeting at all.”

 

Aw, poor guy.

 

Then again, he probably wouldn’t had wanted to come to THIS meeting…

 

Azul bowed his head slightly. “You have my sincere apologies. I assure you, this oversight was not intentional.”

 

“Then again, you must admit that Malleus is not the easiest person to talk to,” Riddle added.

 

The guy with the black and pink hair sighed. “It’s quite alright. I just hope he doesn’t throw a fit about this…” He held his hand up, waving. “Anyone who is still in here and is in Diasomnia, please follow me!”

 

One by one, everyone was called and exited the room. Everyone except for Yuusuki and the seven other people who were practically deemed “soulless.”

 

Crowley sighed. “Well, you eight, this is the most unfortunate turn of events. I’m afraid that you will not be attending Night Raven College. I’m sure you guys understand, right?”

 

“Then what will happen to us?” the chubby boy asked.

 

“Yeah, do we just… walk home?” the one with the brown, dirty hair added.

 

The goddess girl crossed her arms, giving the brown haired boy a glare. “That’s stupid. We don’t even know where we are.”

 

The guy threw his hands up. “Alright, you don’t have to be so harsh! I’m just trying to help us here.”

 

Crowley snapped his fingers to get the group’s attention back. “Enough! The Dark Mirror shall send you home.” He signaled towards the mirror that had the mask in it. “Now, stare into the mirror and visualize where you came from.”

 

Yuusuki looked over to the others. The only one that met her gaze was the blonde one, who shrugged at her with a nervous smile on her face.

 

All of them walked in front of the mirror. It was surprisingly big enough to see all their reflections in it. “You’re going to have to pull down the hood in order to look at the mirror,” Crowley said. Yuusuki turned to look at who he was talking to.

 

The seventh one, the one Yuusuki hadn’t seen the face of, still had their hood pulled down to hide their face. They sighed before pulling it back. Gosh, it almost felt like one of those face reveals on YouTube. The person was another boy, this time with platinum blonde hair. It wasn’t light enough to be the same white as the goddess girl’s but also not vibrant enough to be like the blonde girl. He had bangs that fell over his eyes and the rest of his hair was pulled back into a low, short ponytail.

 

“O’ Dark Mirror! Return these souls to where they belong!” Crowley said, holding out his arms.

 

The mirror didn’t do anything.

 

Crowley coughed awkwardly. Dang, today is just not this guy’s day.

 

“L-let us, er… try this again,” he continued. He took a deep breath, getting ready to repeat his words. “O’ Dark Mirror-“

 

“There are no such places,” the mask interrupted.

 

Crowley’s mouth fell open.

 

“What?”

 

“There are no places where these souls belong. None.”

 

Crowley looked down at his palms, looking slightly panicked. “But how can that be? My, today has been a veritable cavalcade of impossible phenomena!

 

“Tell me, where do you guys hail from?”

 

“Nihon!”

 

Nihon. We all said Nihon. It made sense. Well, no it didn’t, but Yuusuki didn’t feel like figuring out the implications of them all coming from the same place.

 

Crowley shook his head. “I’m afraid that I’ve never heard of that place. Is it in the Shaftlands or perhaps the Queendom of Roses?”

 

“You’ve never heard of Nihon before?” Yuusuki asked.

 

The guy who tackled down Riddle earlier spoke up. “How about Japan?”

 

Ah, right. Some countries called it Japan instead of Nihon. Crowley must’ve not known that they’re the same thing.

 

“No,” Crowley said. “This is deeply troubling. I am intimately familiar with each and every place my students come from, yet your homeland eludes me. Shall we go to the library and search for any information on it?”

Notes:

Ah! By the way, Yuusuki will most definitely think some offensive things about your favorite character. Remember, while she doesn’t have magic, she’s still a NRC kid. They’re very mean and so is she! This also applies to the other Yuus (more specifically the white haired one).