Ace kicked the gate a few more times, making it rattle and creak.

"Ahhhhhh.... DAMMIT! SHIT! FUCK-- I HATE that spoiled, prim-'n-proper little GINGER-HEADED MEGALOMANIAC! Who the HELL does he think he is, huh?! What-- is he ACTUALLY deluded enough to think he's LITERALLY THE FUCKIN' QUEEN OF HEARTS?! RAAAAAGH!!"

Panting, he stepped back, crossing his arms and fuming visibly.

Shaking her head, Kat turned.
"Is everybody okay?" She asked, looking around at the others with concern.

Deuce answered with a soft groan. Wandering over to the streetlight, he started bonking his forehead against it rhythmically.

"Tossed out of my own dorm for insubordination-- I can't believe it," she heard him mutter morosely between hollow, metallic thumps. "I can feel my honor student dreams slipping further and further away..."

Grim sat up, pawing weakly at the collar again for a few seconds.
"Rrrr.... Stupid collar," he grumbled. "This thing's so tight 'n heavy.... Dangit..."

Sighing, Kat wandered over, scooping him up in her arms.
"There, there," she said absently. Propping him up against her shoulder, she started patting his back, like she was burping a baby.
The collar was a little heavy-- it wasn't quite as easy as usual to carry him like this.
It was probably even worse for him, poor thing...

She realized she was still clutching the crumpled-up photo in her left hand.

Blinking, she opened her fist, and the square of paper unfolded slightly.
Riddle's startled face stared back at her, stark white in the overexposed flash.

....Why did she do that?
When she'd first run over there, she'd actually wanted to hit him...
But that look, something about it, was just....

....He'd been hit before.
And not in a normal fight, either....
By someone who had some sort of power over him, someone he knew he had no chance of resisting.

'Rules are never to be broken... it's the rulebreakers who are in the wrong....'

She felt her skin prickle and crawl slightly.

"Meow-WOW! You kids are sure rackin' up those collars, huh? Quite a spiffy collection you've got goin' there~" a singsong voice interrupted.

"Wh-- GYAH!!" Grim spluttered, going stiff in her arms.
Ace and Deuce practically jumped out of their skin, looking behind her with faces of shock and horror.

She glanced back, jumping involuntarily as well once she caught sight of it.
"Whzzt-- FUCK! What the--"

A disembodied head was hanging stationary in the air, giving them a lazy fanged grin.

Grim shrieked, clawing his way out of her arms and landing on the path with a thump.
"L-LOOK OUT!" He screeched, running behind one of the pot-topped pillars for shelter. "I-I-IT'S A GHOST HEAD!"

"Prrrm? Oh--"
The 'ghost head' glanced down, eyebrows raising as it apparently saw its lack of body for the first time.

"Oops-- oh dear, my bad," it grinned apologetically. "Seems I'm not all there today-- what was I thinking, furgetting my body like that?"

There was a sort of twinkle or shimmer in the air under it, and a body...
Well, it didn't so much 'appear' as 'unfurl', almost.
It was like shimmering ribbons of energy wove together in tight loops and coils. They materialized into a torso, arms, and legs.
Finally, with a flick and a flourish, the last ribbon spiraled into a long, fluffy purple tail.

...Oh god, it's another catboy.

"Wh-- G-GEEZ!" Deuce muttered, relaxing somewhat. "So you DO have a body-- man, don't go scaring people like that..."

He came up behind Kat, giving the newly materialized stranger a suspicious look.
"Um-- wh-who are you?"

The cat...boy? Smirked.

Lifting his chin, he placed one hand on his chest, folding the other behind his back.
"The name's Alchemiy Alchemiyevich Pinka," he announced proudly.

Sweeping them a bow, he straightened back up with another swish of that long, fluffy tail.
Greeting completed, his posture actually slumped a bit, going from theatrically courteous stiffness to an easygoing stoop.

He and-or they were slim and lanky, a little shorter than Trey, with long limbs.
They were a catboy-- or beastman, whatever. But he differed from all the others Kat had seen so far, in that his ears and tail were purple.
His tail was long and fluffy, striped with raccoon-like rings of lighter and darker shades, fading to a pale lilac at the tip. His ears were also purple, and seemed to be striped like a tabby's from what she could see.
They were also pierced, with various gold ornaments glittering along the edges.

His hair was messy and choppy, with oddly angled straight bangs similar to Lilia's.
It was the same purple as his ears and tail, with streaks of lighter purple here and there.
He had fair skin, a pointy-chinned face, and almond-shaped eyes, rimmed by a touch of bright purple eyeshadow.

Strolling forward a few steps, he tapped the side of his chin with a finger.
"Hmmm.... Whaddaya' think? Am I a cat? Or maybe a purrson? A mysterious mimsy borogove, or maybe just a fella with a peculiar magical power? Care to take a guess?"

His gold irises shimmered, slitted pupils dilating a little as he gave another smirk.
His thin lips even went up in the middle a bit, giving him a catlike pout.

Ace approached cautiously as well. "Alchem-- Alch... Wh-What?" He asked, looking the newcomer up and down. "Sorry, could you... Run that one by us again?"

The stranger chortled, tilting his head back and putting one hand on his hip.

"Most folks usually call me Che'nya, ya know," he informed them.
"Let's just say that, compared to all the other weirdos an' wackos you may have encountered, I'm so far above their level I may as well be from the other side of the looking glass!"

Raising both his hands in loosely curled fists, he did the cat's-paw pose thing, with another lazy fanged grin.

He-- Che'nya?- was dressed in jeans and an oversized button-down shirt, open halfway over a purple-striped undershirt. The button-down hung casually over his shoulders, and was only tucked in at the front. He hadn't even done up the cuff buttons...
His skinny jeans were covered in colorful patches.
There were arrows pointing every which way, cartoonish figures and disembodied grins, and nonsense words in bold, blocky letters.
He had one of those long strap belts, light purple, of course, with words woven into it in white, and purple lace-up combat or biker boots.

Purple....
Hang on.

"Ah-- it was YOU!" She shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You were up in the tree, weren't you?!"

Che'nya grinned back at her.
"Mrrp.... Yep, that was me!" He replied, making a pleased purring or tongue-rolling sound.
"Good eye, Lil' Missy.... Sorry fur startlin' ya, but usually NOOOOOBODY notices me when I'm not all there! They're all so wrapped up in their own heads that I can just float on by, no purroblem... So I got a little curious! Had to see if it was just a fluke, you know?~"

"Uh... Right," she said, nodding.
Okay-- another weirdo...
But he didn't seem malicious or anything, just... Odd.

She looked him up and down again. He wasn't wearing the Heartslabyul dorm uniform, so he probably wasn't from here...

"Sorry, but-- which dorm are you in? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Which dorm am I in, you ask?" Che'nya repeated, folding his arms and flicking an ear as he smiled again.
"Hmmm, I wonder.... Wanna take a guess?"

Grim scuttled out from behind the pillar, apparently over his terror now that Che'nya's head was on a body like it belonged.
"I GOT it!" He proclaimed, rearing up on his hind legs and pointing. "You've got animal ears, so you've gotta be in that-- in that... Sabanya-dorm, right? O-Or was it Banana-dorm?"

"Boo-BOOOON!" Che'nya replied, imitating the sound of a buzzer and giving an emphatic thumbs-down.
"Wrong answer! 'Saba' means 'mackerel'-- which swim in the sea. Bananas, meanwhile, grow on trees-- and while cats like myself may climb trees or feast on fish, they neither swim nor grow."

"Aw, WHAT?!" Grim complained, throwing his front paws up in frustration. "Dangit..."

"Besides, Grim-- Savanaclaw isn't the only dorm with beastfolk in it," Deuce interjected. "There are lots of them in the other dorms too, you know?"

"Tch... Banana, savanna, WHATEVER!" Ace interrupted.
"Listen, Arty or Chenny or whatever your name is... Look, man, that little teapot TYRANT'S totally killed my mood. I'm not up for any more insanity today. So-- buzz off, okay?"

He flapped his hands in a shooing motion, like Che'nya was an actual cat he was trying to scare off.

Instead of leaving, though, Che'nya just chuckled. He crossed his arms behind his head, strolling in a half-circle around the group.
"Riddle the Teapot Tyrant, hmmm?~" He hummed to himself, tail swishing thoughtfully. "Mmmmmweeeellll.... You might just be right about that."

Completing the circle, he hopped up onto the base of the streetlight. Holding the post with one hand, he twirled around it like that one scene in Singin' In The Rain.
"He's always been such a serious little stickler, even waaaaay back when we were only thiiiis big..."

He held up his thumb and forefinger like he was pinching something, closing one eye and squinting out at them through the gap.
"Though, of course, I don't think I was nearly as small as HIM. Heheheh--!!"

Deuce blinked, looking surprised.
"Sorry, do you... do you know something about all this?" He asked, stepping closer. "About him, I mean?"

"Hmmmmm," Che'nya purred again.
He propped his elbow up on some imaginary surface, leaning his cheek on his fist.
"If it's things that I know, then I know them..... But then again, if it's things that I don't, then I don't. Nya'know?"

"HAAH?!" Grim demanded, crossing his front legs and scowling. "That's not an answer-- which is it?!"

Che'nya ignored him, spinning around the lamppost a few more times.
Then he stopped, leaning his back against it and waggling his eyebrows.

"Hmmm... What's this, what's this?" He mused, looking between the four of them. "What, do you wanna know more about Riddle?"

"Tch... Yeah, you got THAT right!" Ace agreed, crossing his arms and scowling again. "Like, maybe what turned him into such a hopped-up little control freak, for starters!"

Che'nya gave another hissing snicker, the same one Kat had heard under the tree earlier.
"Well, in that case--"
He held up an arm and jerked a thumb back towards the rose maze, cupping his elbow with his other hand.
"IF you really want to know... You COULD always ask his four-eyed friend about that."

"Four-eyed friend..." Deuce repeated, frowning and touching his own chin. "Do you mean Clover-senpai?"

"That's the one!" Che'nya agreed, crossing his legs and flicking his tail a few more times.
"See, he's known Riddle for aaaaaages... Way back since we were all knee-high to a momerath!"

Humming, he hopped back down, landing lightly on his feet and grinning at them again.
"If I was looking to learn about Riddle, I'd start with the Four-Eyes first."

"Known each other.... So, does that mean they're childhood friends or something?" Deuce asked, frowning.
"Huh... That's odd, they don't really seem to give off that impression..."

"Mmm," Ace grumbled, giving Che'nya a suspicious look.
"I'm with Deuce here, seems kinda fishy to me. I mean, sure he babies the guy, but... It's all professional and distant, not friendly or anything..."

Che'nya just laughed, strolling back towards the dorm building with his hands behind his head.

"Oh, really...? In that case, if you're oh-so-purrceptive, why'd you even bother with askin' me?"

As he walked, the air around him started to shimmer again. His body started to fade out of existence, starting at the feet and working its way up his legs.

"Catch nya' later~" he called back, with most of his body already gone. Only his head and rapidly fading neck and shoulders remained.

"Wh-- HEY!" Deuce protested, running after him with his hand outstretched.

The mostly-disembodied Che'nya head bobbed along in a carefree manner, humming loudly.
Deuce tried to grab at the place where his body should be. With a final grin and an echoing laugh, his head disappeared too.

A tuneless humming floated through the air, seeming to come from multiple directions at once.
Finally, it faded away into silence.

Deuce looked down, opening his hand to reveal a fistful of faint purplish-pink sparkles. They fizzled out in a matter of seconds, and he shook his head, coming back over to the rest of the group.
"He's gone," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"We noticed," Ace replied flatly, shifting his weight.

Grim tugged at Kat's legging, and she scooped him back up, holding him against her chest again.
"Man, I'm tellin' nya-- nobody makes any sense around here!" He scoffed.

Then he yelped, clapping both his paws over his mouth.
"Uh-oh-- YIKES! I'm even startin' to TALK like that weirdo! D--D'ya think it's contagious or something?! Am I gonna go all wacko, too?!"

Kat gave a soft huff of laughter, stroking his head a little.
"Aw-- come on, it's kinda cute..."

"Rrrrrrrrr," Grim grumbled, slumping again. "But I don't WANNA be cute..."

Deuce shook his head again, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Anyway-- with these collars on all the time, we're not gonna be able to do much in the way of schoolwork," he muttered. "Maybe later, we can track down Clover-senpai and ask him about it, then--"

"Hold up," Ace snapped, holding up a hand to stop him. "If the next word out of your mouth is gonna be 'apologize', then SAVE it. I am NOT gonna do that. Ever."

Deuce huffed, crossing his arms. "Seriously? Is this really the hill you wanna die on, Ace? You wanna keep going to a magic school without being able to use it?"

"YES!" Ace retorted, stomping over and poking a finger into Deuce's chest. "If it means kowtowing to that shitty little dictator, I'd rather DROP OUT in a heartbeat!"

Kat looked back at the picture in her hand, then tilted her head back. She watched the fluffy white clouds in the sky, sighing.

....She didn't want to pry, she really didn't. It wasn't any of her business, but--
But...
'It's the rulebreakers who are in the wrong'.

.....How many times had he been in the wrong?
And what did being 'in the wrong' even look like to him? An accident? A simple misunderstanding?

".....HEY," she said sharply, interrupting the bickering Heartslabyul duo.
"Shut up. Let's just leave for now.... We won't get anything done standing around here all damn day."

Ace and Deuce looked around at her.
"Uh..." Deuce began, looking nervously at her.
Ace shuffled his feet, clearing his throat.
"H-Hey, Prefect--"

"...You two can stay in my dorm," she interrupted again, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not gonna kick you while you're down... Come on."

Turning with Grim still held against her chest, she stepped past the streetlight, through the rippling air, and out into the Mirror Chamber.
Ace and Deuce emerged a moment later, following behind her.

"Let's not talk for a little while," she informed them, starting to walk across the circular room. "I.... Need to think about some things for a hot sec."

"Okay," Deuce replied, hovering in the corner of her eye and nodding.
Ace gave a noncommittal grunt, and Grim grumbled, shifting in her arms and trying to find a comfortable position with the unwieldy collar.
She shook her head again, leading the ragged little group back towards the Ramshackle Dorm.
_______________________________________

Second catboy encounter: COMPLETED.

Why does everybody speak English, but know enough Japanese to know what 'saba' means?
....Don't worry about it. It's fine.
Try not to think about it too much, or it might stop working.

I like writing Che'nya more than I thought I would. He's like a lazier, slightly lower-energy version of Cater with a more eccentric vocabulary, plus I can do cat puns.

I imagine him as the type to call girls 'ojou-chan' or 'koneko-chan', so I decided on Lil' Missy as an acceptable translation for ojou-chan. Cater's already firmly in the 'koneko-chan' spot, even though I just started doing that because name puns.

I'm also walking a fine line between casual slang and fancy prim-and-proper speak, and I'm actually pretty happy with where I ended up with him.