RESTLESS

SO THE FUNNY THING IS.. WELL, YOU HAD INITIALLY ASSUMED that Ace would come knocking on your door the night after the Overblot incident. You were, unfortunately, incredibly mistaken. Imagine your fear, when you wake up from a rather suspicious good night's rest— only for the dread to settle on your face when you realize it.

Something is missing, something incredibly important is missing, and you can feel it.

That something, or someone, is Ace Trappola. All too soon do you pinpoint exactly why you felt so unnerved: Ace didn't come knocking down on your door last night. It might've been counted as a blessing, considering the night before was one of the best sleeps you've ever had. You knew, however, that this crucial event would trigger the Heartslabyul Arc— which would lead to a domino effect across all the Dormitories. Without it... Well, you can't even wrap your head around all the chaos that could occur.

But, it seems, Ace never arrived?!?!

HUH?

Just WHAT was going on here?

Was this why Crowley failed to mention the Mines the other day? It was such an important part of the plot, the one and only fact that was mandatory for the story to progress. It would lead to Yuu and the one-brain-cell trio to go looking for a magic stone in the first place. Without it, you all would be... expelled. How could he miss such an important thing?

Did your appearance alone affect the story to this extent?

If that was the case, then you would constantly have to make sure the story would continue to flow smoothly. As much as you don't like the idea of it, your interference might just become a habitual occurrence.

But even so, how could such an important scene be cut out?!?!

Apparently, your fearful worrying had been so intense that morning that it woke Grim out of his deep slumber. He sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes and eyeing you warily all the while. "Fngaa, what a great dream, ruined. ...What are you doing now, human?"

You had been pacing circles around the floor, biting your lip in blatant unease. You glanced up at him, your worry melting away at just his face. You supposed these Twisted Wonderland just had that sort of effect on you.

"Don't worry about it, let's just get ready, yeah?" You dismiss him with a simple wave and a laugh that you hoped was convincing. It would be better to change the subject before he thought any less of you or something. "Besides, aren't you excited? Our first day at Night Raven College, am I right?"

His whole face seemed to light up. "Oh yeah, you're right! We better get ready! Hurry up then, what are we waiting for?!" He flipped off the covers and hopped off the bed in record time, proceeding to race around the room excitedly.

"I get it, I'm excited too. But slow down, will you? You might hurt yourself. There's still holes in the floor."

Your new dresser was looking painfully bare, only a couple articles of clothing laying dejected here and there. How disappointing, You lamented while eyeing the very few items you had. But at least they were better than your clothes from the other day. After wrangling with the Overblot, they looked a little worse for wear. Matted with dirt and tar, there was no way you could wear them again. Not unless you had a washing machine on hand, which you didn't.

Goodness, if you continued in this fashion, these clothes wouldn't last you more than a week.

You tried not to let the sadness seep into your expression as you changed into a rather ...sad pair of black slacks and a wrinkled shirt that used to be white but now had a brown tint to it. Both oversized so you rolled them up. Whoever these clothes belonged to, you hope they didn't mind you borrowing. If they belonged to the three ghosts, they didn't say anything when you first rummaged through the dresser. You assumed they didn't mind then.

The sneakers you had been wearing the other day were dirty and caked with tar and dirt around the sole from the Overblot incident. It had been, unfortunately, the only thing that could not be replaced. It made you apprehensive, knowing they could have possibly belonged to someone else prior.

Now that you were dressed properly (or as proper as you could get despite your situation), you supposed you didn't look too bad. Maybe like a delinquent who had no regard for NRC'S dress code, but plenty of students went around campus without a blazer on. ...But even then, at least they had a vest on. You had neither the blazer, vest, nor armband and that made you feel out of place.

After you finished changing out of your sleepwear, you quickly followed Grim downstairs. Already on edge from Ace's absence, your mood brightened up a bit when seeing Crowley standing in Ramshackle's dining room. The man didn't seem to be bothered with the amount of clutter or dust in that room in the slightest. That made you remember. You should get around to cleaning this place soon. He was holding a decent-sized cardboard box when you met him, smiling behind his crow mask.

"Ah, good morning, [name]-kun. You look well. I trust you had a good night's rest?" He didn't say a thing about your attire. You would have assumed that he would do or say something about it.

"Good morning, Headmaster," You greeted back in return, eyeing the box in his arms.

Your cat immediately voiced his thoughts, scurrying up the dining table (a rather sad one, only four chairs to be seen) to try and get a better look at its contents. "Hey, what's inside the box? Is it canned tuna? Is it for me?"

"Calm down, don't clamber over him."

It was a good thing Crowley wasn't offended by his eager words. He merely smiled, setting it down on the table for you and Grim to get a better look inside. You found that it was stacked with different kinds of snacks and portable food, things with a long shelf life and whatnot. And all good timing too, your current stash of food was beginning to run rather low.

"Congratulations to the both of you for managing to avoid expulsion! Now that you two are not handymen anymore, I realize that food must be accommodated."

You wonder if he really did come to that conclusion by himself. It would be very much like him to forget all about you... he wasn't the most responsible, after all. The man continued on, crossing his arms in a very self-satisfied manner.

"And so, I've brought you a variety of food. It should last your breakfast and dinner for the whole week!"

Grim's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he immediately started rummaging through the box. "Finally! My canned tuna, as promised, right? Gimme gimme gimme."

"Thank you, Crowley-sensei," You smile gratefully, following after your cat. Shuffling through the inside, you pull out a wrapped croissant. Good enough, you shrugged, and proceeded to take a bite.

"Yes, that reminds me." You watched him reach into the pocket of his waistcoat and pull a bundle of... what seemed to be shiny, golden slips of paper. He waved them through the air with a great flourish before setting them on the table. "Your meal tickets! Each one is eligible for one full meal at the cafeteria."

Grim nearly dropped his tuna, a grin breaking out along his face. "So what I'm hearing is... no more packaged food?!"

"And this is free?" You gaped along with him, graciously receiving the tickets from Crowley's gloved hands.

"Yes, [name]-kun, Grim-kun, this is all free." He looked very pleased with himself then. "All together, they should last you and Grim till the end of the month exactly. You know what that means— Absolutely no eating more than you should."

He sent Grim a meaningful look when he said that.

"I understand," You answer for both of you. He was already covering all of your living expenses, so you had no reason to object. You would feel bad if you did, anyway. "You're already giving us something to eat, as it is. I'll make sure we don't eat away at the school's funds."

Crowley hummed, rather pleased. "Well then, I'll be off! Good day."

After delivering that and the schedule for your classes, he bid the both of you farewell and went on his way. Where exactly, you had no idea, but he seemed to be in a very chipper mood as he left the building. You scanned the schedule briefly just to make sure you shared the same homeroom with Ace and Deuce, the correct classes and whatnot.

Good. Seemed like everything was in order. The one thing you couldn't get your mind off of though, was the fact that Ace didn't show up last night. You continued to eat with that despondent mood hanging over your shoulders, with Grim none the wiser.

He wouldn't stop singing and showing off his collar as the two of you walked to the main building. Past Main Street and past the statues of the Great Seven, whose eyes of the Queen of Hearts you tried to avoid as you walked by. It felt like she was staring you down, angry eyes still holding a grudge over being burnt. You didn't know why you had felt like that— you weren't the one who had charred her statue anyway.

Stuffing your hands in your pockets, you continued to walk.

THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL SEEMED EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW. And to you, who was so hung over just WHY the Heartslabyul Arc wasn't happening yet, time could not pass by any slower.

The first morning, Grim's jovial face immediately dropped once he had realized that the four of you shared all of your classes together. Magical Alchemy was your first period of the day, which the two of you were pretty excited about, but his ears dropped miserably once he had spotted the duo sitting at their respective seats. "Aw, come on, don't tell me I gotta spend the rest of the year with you!"

"Oh, shut up, you think you're the only one who doesn't like this?" Ace fired back with just as much enthusiasm, "Not one, but two annoyances."

"Yeah, speak for yourself. Jerk."

You couldn't be any more happy with that outcome (despite the other three's complaints). Ace and Deuce didn't say a thing when you had moved to the desk beside them, so you took that as a sign to sit down. You could only hope they didn't mind too much.

The chatter in the laboratory instantly died down when a tall and slender figure walked through the doorway. Even Ace and Grim acknowledged this new presence because they had stopped with their bickering and immediately shut their mouths. And a good thing too, because the last thing you wanted was another fight to take place. And inside the potions classroom, too. You knew that your Alchemy Teacher, Divis Crewel, had that sort of aura around him that made everyone quickly shut up. With that two-toned hair— perfectly parted too— and his very classy outfit (just look at that extravagant fur coat too, just wow), you could understand why.

His cat-like eyes scanned over the room— over Ace, Deuce, and Grim, who visibly stiffened. So they were intimidated too, you noted. When Crewel spoke, his voice projected loud and clear throughout the room. It was evident he had no trouble making himself known.

"I see we have a couple fresh new faces joining my class today." He continued slowly around the room. The man didn't mention any names, but it was obvious he was talking about you and Grim from the way his eyes lingered in your direction. Majority of the students knew this, following his gaze and staring at you. Some whispered among themselves, others started snickering.

"Enough." All noise in the room fizzled out as quickly as it arose. He continued around the room, "For those of you puppies who do not yet know me, my name is Divus Crewel. You may call me Professor or Master Crewel if you please."

You tried your best not to make eye-contact with him.

"I will repeat what I said yesterday to anyone who wasn't present the day before. I shall have your tiny brains remember hundreds of medical herbs and poisonous plants."

You attempted to push all your apprehensive thoughts to the back of your head. Alchemy intimidated you— you did have the feeling it would be nothing like you've ever experienced before. Even though the game briefly covered the topic, you knew real life wouldn't be nearly as easy. You would have to put all your effort into your studies if you wanted to keep up.

"We will learn about fungi later on in the year. I will have this litter remember them so that none of you will accidentally poison yourselves if you go out on a walk. Dogs like to eat anything they see off the ground, after all."

At this, Ace leaned over and sent a smug look at Grim. No words needed to be uttered, but his point was made very clear. It was hard not to snort. Your partner only stuck his tongue out in response. At least he knew better than to cause trouble in Crewel's classroom, of all places.

"The last thing I want to see is anyone getting a failing mark during the exams. This is a promise, your training will be strict. Now!" His whip cracked against the blackboard in a flash, causing a few students (including you) to flinch and Grim to jump out of his seat. "Turn to page sixteen of your textbooks, today we'll be covering all the different herbs that bring about nausea..."

He continued on.

You followed in suit, flipping to the directed page in the book. The herbs, their effects and uses... overwhelmed you already. Shit, Crewel wasn't lying. You had initially hoped he was just exaggerating, but it seemed that he was really going to stick to his promise.

"As if yesterday wasn't scary enough," Ace muttered beneath his breath, but opened his textbook anyways. It was a damn good thing he was out of earshot.

Deuce, who sat on your other side, turned to you. He quickly took note of your displeased expression.

"Hey. You'll catch up in no time. We only covered," He leaned over and flipped your book back a couple of pages and pointed to a specific section, remembering to keep his voice low, "this section yesterday. Don't look so scared."

You send him a grateful look. "Thanks."

Contrary to your prior belief, Magical Alchemy wasn't... too bad? Memorizing the names and effects of different plants didn't seem too difficult despite the amount you had to remember. Granted, you still had to catch up on your missing work from the day before but seeing if things continued the way they were, then you... would be okay.

Yeah, You told yourself, trying your best to lift your own mood, Yeah. Things would be okay.

Grim had been caught grumbling underneath his breath as he examined the contents of the book. "Who cares if I eat things off the ground..? Food is food, if it's grass then the only thing that matters is if it tastes good or not." You let out a stifled chuckle at this.

The bell had rung and Crewel proceeded to see the class out. His last words before he dismissed them was, "For those who have not received their lab coats, a reminder to acquire a set before next week. We'll be brewing our first potions after then."

You had been the very last person to leave the classroom when the man stopped you. His scrutinizing gaze made you feel suddenly very self-conscious. "You. Transfer student. What is your name?"

His whip flexed between his gloved fingers and you couldn't stop eyeing the thing. You fumbled around with your words and tried to not look stupid. "Ah. Ah, [name] [last name]." For added measure, you quickly blurted out, "Crewel-sensei."

The man eyed your wrinkled, watered-down button-up and didn't even try to hide the disdain for the article of clothing. "What are you wearing? That is not the uniform." Where even did you dredge that pair of wretched shoes from? The sole of it peeled off every time you took a step. They looked as though they had been dragged through the underworld and back.

"I, uh— Well, Headmaster Crowley didn't exactly give me a uniform when he assigned me to the Ramshackle Dorm..." You explained, your voice trailing off as you continued, "I, uh, had to make do with the best I had."

What.

"What?" He blinked once, twice, before his expression morphed into one of rage. You recoiled, thinking his anger had been directed at you. Crewel, however, only pinched the bridge of his nose, his wrath directed at another person.

"That bastard," He seethed after a moment of silence, "That raven bastard."

Was he allowed to say that?

"I tell him to accomodate to the new transfer student— food, personal hygiene, living quarters— but it never crossed his mind to offer clothing?!"

So he DID know about your situation. Maybe he was the one who told Crowley to send you food that morning. It was highly likely. You watched him continue, his words heavy with exasperation, "That careless, irresponsible—! How in the world will you fare in my class without the proper gear? In physical education?!"

Your face fell. PE. Shit, you hadn't thought about that one. His ranting ceased when he realized you were, in fact, still in the room with him. He coughed into his fist and quickly turned back to face you.

"I've been managing. He gave me a lot already, so I should be grateful..." You explained and shrugged, stuffing your hands in your pockets like it was no big deal.

Crewel raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at you, not convinced in the slightest.

"It's not that bad, I swear."

"Pup, that shirt is literally as old as the Ramshackle Dorm itself. And two sizes too big to boot," He sighed resignedly, massaging his temples. It wasn't like he could really blame you anyway, you were really doing the best with what you'd had at the moment.

You grimace at his blatant words. Well, if you were being honest, using some random old clothes never really sat well with you. What was the point of lying to yourself anymore? You knew it, Crewel knew it, you both knew it.

"...You're right, sensei," You admit pathetically after a few long seconds of silence. Keeping your eyes trained to the floor, you feel something akin to a peasant groveling before a king. "I'm about to run out of clothes to wear. To be honest, I have no idea if I can last the week—"

The warning bell quickly cut you off.

"Uh, that was just the second bell..."

"Scurry off then." The man sighed, satisfied with your answer. Of course, no sensible human being could live in that and have no qualms. "I will, without a doubt, talk to the Headmaster about this. Don't you worry, I will not tolerate any improperly groomed puppies in my class."

You quickly thanked him from the bottom of your heart and hurried off to your next few classes. Wow. Crewel was more considerate than you first initially thought. With your mood lifted just a tad, you continued on.

Professor Mozus Trein's Magical History class was just as boring as the game portrayed it to be. You wouldn't consider it to be anything special but since it covered information on the world of Twisted Wonderland, paying attention was crucial. At least Deuce shared your same conviction, eagerly jotting down notes, his eyes glued to the chalkboard. Such a good student. It was honestly such a cute and endearing thing to witness. Ace and Grim didn't share the same sentiment, yawning and doing literally anything but pay attention, every single period.

This class was one of the ones where time seemed to slow to a stop. You don't recall how many hours you spent in that classroom. With your wandering mind— and just how come Ace didn't eat any tarts anyway?!?!? Just thinking about it made you feel restless. —With your wandering mind, and with Trein's familiar, Lucius, always staring at you with those beady eyes, you found it rather difficult to concentrate.

Physical Education just so happened to be your very last of your classes. You supposed it all worked out in the end, since you were always hot and sweaty by the end of the day and the Ramshackle dorms only had cold water to give.

"What're you wearing, kiddo?"

The first day of school, Professor (? Was he even a professor?) Vargas had led the students to the field. But he had stopped you before you could get there, eyeing your clothes. You already felt so out of place, a speck of white in a sea of black— so calling you out on it was just adding salt to the wound.

You looked down at your ratty sneakers, very shamefully. "I'm sorry, sensei, but Headmaster Crowley never gave me a PE uniform." It felt even worse to admit the second time.

"Yeah, I know. Crewel told me beforehand. Those are yours?"

Vargas eyed your worn shoes warily. It seemed Crewel wasn't the only one who hated them. You noticed and started scuffing your shoes along the ground, trying your best to hide them. Not like that would do any good, he already saw them. "Those look like they're gonna bust any moment now."

You rubbed your neck tentatively. "I uh— I kind of noticed, sir. But they're... kind of the only shoes I have."

He crossed his arms, eyeing you thoughtfully. "Tell you what, I'll have you walk around the track. How many times, I don't care; just try not to break your shoes, kid. Don't think you're off the hook though. I'll have you work twice as hard tomorrow."

You thanked him silently but pursed your lips at the looming threat. Tomorrow? Would you even have a uniform ready by tomorrow?

The man grabbed his whistle and turned to the class, blowing it sharply. His voice boomed across the field. "Alright! As you know, excellent bodies result in excellent magic! Behold...! These muscles that I train everyday!" He flexed his biceps in a flamboyant pose and you tried to keep your face carefully still.

From somewhere in the crowd, you had sworn you heard Ace snort. "Man... I don't hate exercise, but I really can't stand guys like him."

He was really treading on thin ice here. What if Vargas had heard him?

"A magician with no stamina is nothing," The man continued, "I'll beat all of you into shape! First, 20 laps around the field! When you're done, complete 100 sit-ups!" He blew his whistle again and everyone, save for you, proceeded to run loops around the track.

It seems Professor Vargas had despised the thought of anyone half-assing things in his class so much that the next day he literally burst into homeroom— carrying a PE uniform AND new shoes and all— and scared the living shit out of everyone. Crewel had been so startled that he nearly flung his whip halfway across the room.

You've never really thought much of Vargas until that moment. Going to the extent to literally buy a set of clothes for a student... Damn, he must've really hated inactive people.

Deuce had eyed your paper bag with interest. "I guess he would rather spend money than have a slacker in his class... You know what, that actually makes sense for him to do that."

"Aww man, I actually thought it would be something important, like food."

"This IS important, Grim. You might not get it since you're a cat," You rolled your eyes, "But I actually enjoy wearing shoes that won't rip apart at any given moment."

"Daaamn," Ace whistled as he watched you pull out a brand new pair of black sneakers from inside, "You must've really been sucking up to the teachers, huh? Tell me your secrets."

"Oh, please. I haven't even done anything worth rewarding."

Needless to say, you have never replaced a pair of sneakers so fast in your life.

When you didn't have school, you roamed around the library a little and stayed on top of your schoolwork. You had time to kill after all, and you needed to establish an alibi. Because how else would you claim to have known so much about the world of Twisted Wonderland already? It was also good to keep the homework from piling up.

And when you weren't studying... you often found yourself thinking about Ace's words during the Overblot incident, those words he said out of a rage and had already apologized for. Of course, he apologized, and you should be happy with that, but... you aren't.

"So stop acting like you know me. Stop acting like I owe you something. You act like since we're all on this little field trip~, that we're all buddy-buddy here. I'm not your friend."

It hurt, for sure, but it made you wonder if you have been overstepping your boundaries here.

You... probably have. Deuce, you literally hoisted him up. Who does that to a stranger? Hell, Jack looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but near you the other afternoon. It made your stomach churn with guilt, unpleasantness clawing at your throat.

Twisted Wonderland wasn't an otome game, for fuck's sake. It was supposed to be an adventure and a fantasy game— how the Hell did you overlook that one crucial part? None of the characters here can be romanced. Yuu was never meant to make anyone fall in love with them. You were an idiot for forgetting that.

These are real people now, and now that you're here, these boys had more dimension (pun not intended) to them.

That was the key point.

You felt like you were running a scam. If Twisted Wonderland wasn't a game and these people weren't in-game characters, you probably wouldn't bat an eye when meeting them. They would be nothing but a bunch of strangers to you, as you were to them right now.

Sometimes it scared you just how fickle your admiration could be.

With such heavy thoughts weighing on your mind, it felt like the week could not inch by any slower than it already did. On the contrary, Ace, Grim and Deuce continued to stay in good spirits.

Which was concerning.

Not that you wished them harm or anything, because you didn't! Really!

It was just...

It was just that...

Ace never ate his tart. And it was really concerning.

And as the days kept on passing by, your anxiety-filled thoughts only seemed to increase and intensify.

i'm back lol

as you can tell, updates are super slow because of my hyperfixation on the other fics. anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! mostly a filler tbh but i needed to clarify [name]'s living conditions before we continued.

thanks for reading!