"Hey! {Y/N}, we're gonna be late to Potionology!"

"Coming!"

You, Ace, and Deuce had accidentally overstayed at lunch talking to each other and were now running towards Professor Crewel's class. Grim, who was with you, hung onto your shoulder as you pushed past dozens of students in an effort to make it to class on time. You brushed hair out your face as Deuce grabbed your hand to pull you along faster.

"H-hurry! I can already hear Crewel-sensei chewing us out in a lecture!" Grim shouted.

"Would be nice if you could run too!" you protested.

"Five, four, three, two...!"

"ONE!"

DING! DING! DING!

You, Ace, Deuce, and Grim tripped over one another into the classroom just as the bell rang. Crewel and the other students turned their attention towards you four.

"Made it..." you all sighed.

"Trappola! Spade! {L/N}! Grim! You were almost late! Don't let it happen again!" Crewel barked. "Now sit, puppies! Crewel-sama's lecture will begin shortly."

Ace and Deuce sat on each side of you and grabbed their goggles. "Thank God we made it, otherwise it's off with our heads," Deuce said.

"For real. I don't even wanna imagine what the house warden would do if he found out," Ace whispered.

"Yea... good thing I'm not in Heartslabyul," you said. A part of you was heavily relieved; despite Riddle finally changing his incredibly strict nature after the first unbirthday party for the freshmen, he seemed a bit more lax. However, he wouldn't hesitate to punish those who broke any of the 810 rules that the Queen of Hearts created.

"810 rules... that's insane," you mumbled. You strapped your goggles to your face and looked forward to Crewel.

~

DING! DING! DING!

"Alright puppies! Go home, and don't forget that your homework is to write me a 2-page paper explaining the benefits of the medicinal herbs we covered today in class. If it's not done by tomorrow, you'll be spending the rest of your afternoon cleaning the lab!"

"Yeesh, a whole damn essay? One three herbs? This sucks," Ace said. He crumpled a piece of paper and chucked it in the trash. You held Grim in your arms as the three of you began making your way down the hall.

"Honestly... but if I'm gonna be an honor student, I better do this," Deuce muttered.

"And if you don't, Riddle's gonna flip his lid," you added. "Off with your head!" you mimicked him, pointing your pencil at them. Deuce and Ace laughed. Grim gave them a smirk.

"Queen of Hearts rule blah, blah, blah! One must NEVER address me as dude or bro!" Grim mocked. The two boys began laughing even harder. You couldn't help but laugh too. These two were your closest friends; you did a lot of things together, like homework, movie nights, hanging out, eating lunch. They were some of the only people who accepted you for who you were, regardless if you had magic or not. Even if they acted like idiots, they were your idiots, and you loved them for it.

"Ace-chan! Deuce-chan! Grimmy! {Y/N}-chan! What's up?"

Cater and Trey walked towards you four to greet you just before you headed back to your dorms.

"Cater-senpai, Trey-senpai! Nice seeing you!" you said.

"We were just about to go finish painting the roses; you wanna come?" Trey asked.

"Only if we get tart afterwards!" Ace said.

Trey laughed. "Sure then. But we gotta hurry or Riddle's going to be mad."

"{Y/N}! Grimmy! TTYL, then!" Cater said, waving.

"Guess we gotta bounce. See ya, {Y/N}," Ace said.

"Stay safe," Deuce said.

"Same to you guys. Later!" You and Grim waved, then made your way through the halls.

~

You stopped just outside Ramshackle and placed Grim on the floor. You unlocked the door and let him head inside.

"{Y/N}, you're not coming?" Grim asked.

You looked out to the distance and then at him. "In a minute. I wanna see someone."

Grim squinted in suspicion, but shrugged this off and padded inside the dorm. You turned back towards the woods and squinted.

Is he coming soon...? I really wanna see him.

~

"Child of man..."

A familiar presence overcame you as a bright green light flashed before your eyes. The silhouette of Tsunotaro stood before you. His green eyes shined like evil jewels, his black hair waving in the gentle breeze. His regal black horns glistened in the fading sunlight. You looked up at him and smiled.

"Tsunotaro! I missed you; how have you been?" you asked.

Tsunotaro gave you a gentle smile and took your hand. "I have been alright. I miss seeing you during the day. Have you been eating well? Humans are often ignoring their health simply because of selfishness and laziness."

"I'm ok," you said. You looked down and shuffled a bit. What should you say next? Should you invite him? Maybe you should prepare something for him.

"Something is troubling you. Explain, child of man."

You looked up to see Tsunotaro looking down at you with concern. You shook your head and blushed.

"Tsunotaro, do you wanna hang out with me this weekend?"

"Hang... out?"

"Yeah! Kinda like spending time together. We could watch a movie, or get ice cream... whatever you wanna do!"

Tsunortaro paused for a minute before laughing. "Fufu... ahahahaha! It would seem you truly have no fear, child of man. Very well, I shall join you this weekend. Do prepare your finest entertainment."

You nodded and said, "Thank you, Tsunotaro! See you Saturday!"

He gave you a smile and disappeared into a bunch of little green lights. You smiled and turned back towards Ramshackle. Grabbing the keys, you unlocked the door again and entered. The familiar smell of dust and leather entered your mind as you took your shoes off and prepared to go upstairs.

"Hey, {Y/N}! Let's go; I want my tuna!" Grim shouted.

"Coming!" You called back. You grabbed the railing to the stairs and began ascending.

Just as you went to pick up a tuna can off the counter, you felt something sprinkle down from above.

"What the heck?" You looked up to see a small green liquid dripping down onto you. You tilted your head in confusion and reached for the can opener.

"Urk- augh!"

A sharp pain flashed through your body. You grabbed your head and fell to your knees. "What the hell?!"

Grim turned his attention towards you and widened his eyes. "{Y/N}?!"

You screamed again, and a flash of green covered your body. In the blink of an eye, you suddenly disappeared.