๋⊹ ˚ Hoshi Yumeno ๋⊹ ˚

Just another writer in the Twst fandom (mainly characterxreader). You can read more about me in my Twst intro!

˖˳· ִֶָ ⋆ Twisted Wonderland ٠࣪⭑ Hypnosis Mic ٠࣪⭑ VOCALOID ٠࣪⭑ Project Sekai ٠࣪⭑ Overwatch ٠࣪⭑ Cult of The Lamb ٠࣪⭑ Red Dead Redemption ٠࣪⭑ Others ⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖

Waking up early was never one of my greatest virtues. Every morning, my eyes would open heavily, drowned out by the insistent sound of the alarm on my nightstand. While I brushed my teeth with slow, mechanical movements, I wondered if there was really any human being capable of enjoying a torture called work.

My reflection, distorted by the mirror stained with the marks of weeks of neglected showers, reminded me how pitiful my life had become. I was trapped in an endless loop, struggling to keep up the facade of a responsible adult, even when everything inside me was falling apart, leaving behind ruins that only I seemed able to see.

That morning, in particular, my body felt more exhausted than usual.

Having slept barely a couple of hours after leaving pending work at C&A was not, strictly speaking, anything out of the ordinary. In a company where the workload seemed endless, between mountains of documents and never-ending lists of errors to correct, rest was a luxury reserved for others. We all carried an absurd amount of tasks that seemed to multiply every day, as if the company had declared war on the very concept of mental health.

However, that wasn’t the reason my mind felt so unsettled.

What really kept looping in my head was the conversation I had had with Mike the night before.

I couldn’t say it had been anything suspicious. After all, we had barely exchanged a few words when we first ended up working together as a team. Back then, he still retained that characteristic eccentricity he never bothered to hide in front of others.

Mike Dobby was different. You only had to see him to notice. I understood that from when I was just a rookie.

He was the kind of person you could spend hours joking with about any nonsense. He used to make absurd IT jokes that rarely made sense to anyone outside the office, but he never missed the chance to explain them with the same enthusiasm with which he told them.

And yet, there had always been something strange about him.

It was as if he had a hidden switch. One moment he could be the most sociable man in the office, leaning by the water cooler while making everyone laugh with terrible jokes; the next, without any apparent reason, he would let out sharp comments disguised as innocent observations. He didn’t raise his voice or lose his composure. He simply smiled while his words found the exact point where they hurt.

Most of them pretended not to care. They laughed with a certain awkwardness or changed the subject, as if ignoring it were enough to make that uneasy feeling it left in the room disappear. I did the same for a long time.

Until the conversation from the night before.

He seemed determined to keep as far away from me as possible while finishing whatever he was doing on Grant’s computer. With a discreet movement, he slipped the black floppy disk into his pants pocket, carefully hiding the scene of the crime.

What could possibly be on Grant’s computer that was so important to Mike?

My clumsy steps, the result of getting lost in my own thoughts while I finished my morning routine almost on autopilot, pulled me out of the bubble I had been trapped in. Reality snapped back when I was about to trip on the step at the main entrance of the beige prison I called a full-time job.

Wake up, [Y/n]. You’re a software engineer, not a detective in a novel. You don’t need to invent a case where there probably isn’t one, nor keep obsessing over a man who, as far as you knew, simply seemed to hate life.

I absentmindedly greeted the people I passed on my way to my cubicle, not stopping to exchange more than a polite gesture.

The smell of dust and humidity lingered in the air. All the offices I had worked in, even part-time ones, shared that same scent: an almost tangible mix of reheated coffee, exhaustion, and desperation, the kind of smell that could only exist when a deadline was approaching and a client couldn’t stop requesting last-minute changes.

The coffee machines barely managed to stand out among the morning sounds. Their gurgling was drowned beneath the relentless clacking of mechanical keyboards that seemed to know no rest, while the constant hum of computers wrapped the office in a routine as familiar as it was exhausting.

My little oasis greeted me at my cubicle. Beside the large desktop computer sat several tiny potted plants, perfectly aligned, the only splash of color in the office’s monotonous gray. On the opposite corner, chaos reigned instead: a wall of sticky notes covered part of the monitor with reminders of code changes, pending bugs, and annotations I had been collecting throughout the last project. Some of them no longer made any sense, but they were still there, as if removing them would mean admitting I had never finished them.

With automatic movements, I set my bag down and pressed the power button. The internal fan came to life with a familiar hum while the screen stayed black for a few seconds. Finally, the same usual welcome message appeared, accompanied by the bland corporate background that decorated every company computer. I had seen it so many times that I could recognize it even before the system finished loading.

On one of the flower pots, a small white ceramic one where a lavender flower grew with surprising stubbornness despite the lack of sunlight, rested a tiny plastic bee—a gift from Destiny. It had remained clinging to the edge of the pot for months, immobile and smiling. It was a ridiculously simple decoration, but for some reason, it always managed to give me a small sense of calm before starting another endless workday.

Bees had always seemed like fascinating creatures to me. They spent practically their entire lives working together, protecting one another to ensure the survival of the hive. None of them could build a hive alone; it was the result of the collective effort of hundreds of tiny insects that, on their own, seemed insignificant.

Sometimes I wondered if humans didn’t try to convince themselves that we functioned the same way. That teamwork always led to something good. But it only took a week in that office to understand that some hives existed only to drain those who lived inside them.

Maybe that was why I envied them.

“Daydreaming?”

The gentle pat on my back made me jolt slightly. I turned toward the voice calling me and found Grant, holding a coffee mug decorated with the image of a Hercules beetle. He took a long sip before giving me a smile that seemed to come to him completely naturally.

My only response was a shake of my head.

Grant was there, unaware of the strange incident that had taken place in his own workspace the night before. If he had known that Mike had been snooping around on his computer, he would probably be sitting in front of Human Resources instead of walking through the office handing out good mornings with that characteristic calm, while accompanying his wife to his own cubicle.

“Good morning…”

The smile on his face widened just slightly.

“You look lost. Didn’t your project finish compiling?”

I shook my head again, though this time the gesture wasn’t as immediate. I hesitated about telling Grant about my small discovery from the night before. I could have simply said “everything’s fine,” gone back to my normal life, continued the dull routine my job demanded, forgotten what had happened, and just carried on as always, pushing problems aside the way I often did.

But there was an obvious bug that, as a software tester, I couldn’t ignore. One of those errors that doesn’t just affect the code, but forces you to stop even when everything else is telling you to move on. Something that, if left alone, would eventually break in a much worse way.

And yet, I hesitated.

Much more so after the man’s last words.

“—Don’t get involved—”

It was enough to push me, not backward like Mike would have wanted, but forward. As if that warning had ignited something I had been trying to ignore for a while: an uncomfortable mix of courage and curiosity that demanded to be shut down immediately.

“Grant!”

My voice came out louder than I expected. The man, who had just taken another sip of his coffee, nearly spat it out in surprise.

I quickly apologized awkwardly while opening a drawer and blindly searching for a forgotten napkin from the day before, probably from my last lunch.

“I… yesterday…” I started, not really knowing where to go or how to begin. How do you tell someone something like that? “Hey, someone got into your computer and probably pulled information from it,” without sounding like an accusation or like I had waited too long to speak.

I swallowed. Maybe this hadn’t been my best idea, but I was already here.

I took a breath.

“Yesterday I stayed after work hours,” I began.

My hands started fidgeting without me noticing, and with every word I spoke, they grew more restless. I licked my lips occasionally, trying to keep them from drying out.

“[Y/n], I told you several times yesterday: you were only supposed to find the small file error and you should’ve gone home to rest…”

Grant spoke with that constant tone of concern, like a first-time father worried his child had slept a couple of hours less than recommended.

“Did you sleep at least? If you keep this up you’re going to…”

I didn’t let him finish.

There were more important things at stake than a simple scolding disguised as concern.

“Yesterday I saw Mike,” I blurted out.

The air between us shifted, as if someone had turned the volume of the world down.

For a second, Grant said nothing. He didn’t even blink right away. He just looked at me, with his usual calm expression… although something in his posture tightened slightly, almost imperceptibly. Even his smile faded just enough.

“Mike?” he repeated, slower this time, as if confirming he had heard correctly.

I nodded, already unable to stop myself.

“He was on your computer. He was going through it… or doing something. I don’t know exactly what, but it wasn’t normal. I barely saw anything, the terminal was open and it looked like he was copying something he then stored in a black floppy disk in his pocket, like he didn’t want anyone to see it.”

The words came out in a rush, as if I needed to get them out before I could change my mind.

My eyes closed automatically, waiting for an angry shout I knew I wouldn’t get from Grant. Maybe a few questions, or a mild reprimand for not stopping it in time. There was probably sensitive work information on that computer, and I had let a complete stranger move freely without stopping him.

But the reproaches never came.

“I see…” Grant exhaled softly through his nose. I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye. He ran a hand over the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze, as if carefully choosing what to say.

“Did you… ask him for help with something?” I asked then, noticing the news hadn’t surprised him. At least not the way it had surprised me.

“No, it’s not…” he began.

The words tangled as they came out, unusual for a man with years of programming experience. Grant wasn’t someone who hesitated when speaking, especially not about work.

He cleared his throat, looking away toward some random point on his desk, as if the corporate wallpaper on his monitor had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he added after a pause too long to be natural. “There are just… things you don’t need to carry. It’s not your responsibility.”

He looked at me again, but only for a second, as if it was difficult for him to hold the thought.

“Just… ignore it, okay? That never happened.”

The man with glasses began walking toward the exit of my office with a carefully measured calm, as if every step had been designed not to invite more questions or suspicion from anyone. I was about to get lost in my own thoughts again when his voice returned, this time from the doorway.

“By the way, the meeting started ten minutes ago,” Grant added without stopping. “Mike is furious at you for not showing up. He came looking for you.”

His footsteps didn’t fully stop, but I could see him turn his head slightly, as if hesitating for a second before continuing.

“—Even though I told him not to involve anyone else…” he murmured, almost to himself.

The sentence hung in the air for a fraction of a second, as if it hadn’t really been meant for me.

And then, he simply left.

The sound of his steps faded into the constant hum of computers and the distant clacking of the rest of the office. He didn’t even shut the door firmly; he just left it slightly ajar, as if his departure didn’t deserve attention.

I stayed still.

I don’t know how much time passed. Seconds. Maybe less. But my gaze didn’t move from the empty space where Grant had been, as if he might reappear at any moment and clarify what he had just said.

The office air, which until moments ago had only felt heavy, shifted in a subtle but unsettling way. It was no longer just accumulated office exhaustion. It was something else. Denser. More suffocating. As if the walls themselves had overheard something I still didn’t fully understand.

Something wasn’t right.

And whatever was happening at C&A… Grant knew it.

Having to move to another city to enroll in one of central Tokyo's most prestigious universities had never really been a problem. You adapted quickly to your part-time job at the ramen shop, where the kind owner also offered you a roof over your head. Before you even realized it, you found yourself sharing your days with a black cat who revealed the power tied to your soul.

Being a Persona user had brought both misfortune and precious moments into your life. Through it, you met other students burdened with the same fate, sharing the weight of your mistakes and the consequences of every decision together.

You had lived too much.

Well... in truth, you'd been given the chance to start over after a black carriage struck you one night while you were heading to a nearby laundromat, your laundry basket overflowing with clothes that needed washing.

Arriving in Twisted Wonderland wasn't all that different from your life in Tokyo. Once again, you had a talking cat by your side—one who caused far more trouble than he ever solved; an old man—considerably less trustworthy than the last one—who gave you a damp, dust-covered room to sleep in; and, of course, a group of friends who were just as troublesome as they were dear to you, whom you met only a few days after arriving in that strange new world.

Oh, and there were the Overblots, though they never truly frightened you. After your first battle against a monster in that long-abandoned mine, you discovered that the power still remained within you—and that you could still summon it, even in a world completely different from your own.

And naturally, the dorm leader fighting beside you noticed the majestic entity rising behind your back, nearly as massive as the Phantom looming behind the Overblot you were trying to stop. Yet despite its overwhelming presence, your expression remained perfectly calm.

Riddle

♡ The crimson leader was utterly astonished. While everyone else chose to run away and hide, selfishly protecting themselves, you stood your ground before the Overblot—one notoriously taller and far more dangerous than your small frame.

♡ He had faint, blurry memories of that very same expression you wore now before the Ink Lion: your narrowed gaze fixed unwaveringly on the target you were determined to stop. You were so resolute that not even Leona's deafening roar made you flinch.

♡ With the same determination, he took his place beside you, gripping his staff tightly, ready to fight at your side.

♡ Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice how tightly you clutched the weapon you carried everywhere around the school under the excuse of it being for self-defense—and how your hands still trembled around the trigger. Riddle trusted that you would never hurt anyone with it.

♡ What he never expected was to see you raise it directly to your own head without the slightest hesitation after shouting, "Persona!"

♡ He barely had time to react, fear gripping him over whatever might happen next. His surprise only grew when blue flames burst forth, forcing him backward and halting his movements.

♡ His eyes lit up as an entity nearly as massive as Leona's Phantom emerged behind you, obeying every one of your commands without hesitation. He noticed how lost you seemed within yourself, yet even then, you never stopped worrying about the people around you.

♡ The moment the battle ended with you standing victorious, Riddle hurried to catch you in his arms before you could collapse to the ground. You had exhausted far too much energy, and your anxiety had consumed you beyond what your body could endure.

♡ Without a doubt, once you had fully recovered, the two of you would have a very long conversation about that "magic" you seemed to wield—and how deeply it was intertwined with your very soul.

Leona

♡ The lion had never been one to look after others. Yet, a part of himself quietly urged him to do just that. So when Azul's Overblot spiraled out of control, Leona was the one who chose to remain on the front lines and stop the prideful octopus.

♡ He never expected a mere herbivore—someone he barely knew and who was already causing him more trouble than he cared to deal with—to flatly refuse his order to leave. And while he wasn't about to turn down an extra pair of hands, what truly caught him off guard was the moment you drew the weapon that always rested at your right hip.

♡ What happened next was almost impossible to believe. Without the slightest hesitation, you raised the weapon, pulled the trigger with conviction, and shouted, "Persona!"

♡ Leona held his ground for as long as he could, keeping his eyes on you as blue flames engulfed your body, leaving only your glowing eyes visible. All he could hope was that, whatever this turned out to be, it wouldn't become a problem on the same scale as the Overblot.

♡ When he was finally able to look up, he found a grotesque-looking entity standing behind you. Despite its terrifying appearance, it seemed to acknowledge only your voice, obeying every command you gave without question as it mercilessly attacked the Overblot before it.

♡ His muscles tensed as he watched you issue each command with unwavering confidence and calm precision. You moved as though this was far from your first time doing something like this—a detail that certainly didn't escape the dorm leader's notice.

♡ Once everything had settled, Leona pulled you aside to a secluded spot so the two of you could talk about what he had just witnessed. Had you lied to them about who—or what—you really were?

♡ That was when you told him the story of your life before arriving in this world: how you had constantly fought to stop disasters caused by others, risking yourself to protect people while never expecting anything in return. Leona found himself at a loss for words. Even for someone who had grown up surrounded by magic, what you described sounded utterly unbelievable.

♡ Even so, he chose to stay by your side and help however he could. From what he had come to understand, the path you walked was one filled with danger—and he wasn't about to let you face it alone.

Azul

♡ The heart-wrenching scream that tore from your throat snapped him out of his thoughts. Azul had been so absorbed by the Overblot before him—and by the plan he was already devising—that he had barely noticed your presence behind him.

♡ The moment his eyes landed on you, he had to shield his face from the intense wave of scorching air radiating from your body. Through narrowed eyes, he watched as your school uniform transformed, changing before his very eyes while the blue flames surrounding you slowly faded away.

♡ He didn't even have the chance to speak before his pupils shrank. Without realizing it, he instinctively took a step back at the sight of the figure that had appeared behind you—an imposing entity that seemed to mirror your every movement.

♡ He remembered very little of what happened afterward; the memories were frustratingly blurred. But one thing he was absolutely certain of was that the graceful fighter before him was the very same prefect from another world.

♡ For weeks afterward, Azul couldn't get those events out of his mind, even after everyone else had stopped talking about them. As far as he understood, you didn't possess even a trace of magic. So then... how had you—

♡ After conducting an extensive investigation through methods that were... ethically questionable, yet remarkably effective, he finally decided to pay a visit to the abandoned dormitory. He had been fully prepared to strike any kind of contract if that was what it took to learn the truth behind what had happened that day.

♡ As it turned out, there was no need. The moment he arrived and asked his question, you simply invited him inside, and before he knew it, he was sitting in the dorm's lounge, quietly listening as you told him your story.

♡ He hadn't known you could speak so well with black cats, too. Though yours seemed considerably grumpier than Lucius.

Kalim

♡ Before anything else, Scarabia's sun thought only of protecting you from Jamil's Overblot—the very one he had unknowingly caused. Kalim knew you could take care of yourself, but what kind of person would he be if, once again, he let others bear the consequences of his own mistakes?

♡ Although he felt proud to hear you refuse to leave him to fight alone against the monster his right-hand man had become, worry gripped him once more as he watched you step forward to claim your place on the battlefield against the boy blinded by blot.

♡ He tried to pull you back and create some distance to keep you out of danger, but a powerful gust of wind erupted from your direction, pushing him back several feet. The force was so strong that he instinctively shielded his face and squeezed his eyes shut.

♡ When he finally opened them again, the world had been bathed in an eerie blue glow from the flames pouring out of your body. He noticed that your school uniform had changed, and that you were holding a mask tightly in your hand before slowly placing it over your face.

♡ What followed was a battle unlike anything he had ever witnessed, not even in the most fantastical movies. The entity standing behind you mirrored your every movement with unwavering precision, obeying each of your commands without the slightest hesitation. Kalim could only stare in stunned amazement, his mouth hanging open at the unbelievable sight unfolding before his eyes.

♡ And of course, once everything had finally settled down, Kalim wasted no time visiting your dorm to ask what had happened and what all of that had been. If you were Overblotting as well, then you needed to tell him as soon as possible so he could find you help before you ended up like the others.

♡ A few weeks later, when things had finally calmed down, Kalim couldn't help telling everyone just how incredible you had been in battle—while doing his best to keep your secret safe.

Vil

♡ The leader of Pomefiore had heard about your achievements against the previous Overblots that had occurred at the school, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand how a human with no trace of magic could possess enough strength to stand against the black blot.

♡ It wasn't until he was personally caught up in the battle against Idia that he finally realized why. You never backed down—instead, you rushed headfirst into the fight without a hint of fear.

♡ Vil didn't stop you when you hurried to fight alongside him, though his curiosity wasn't enough to let him allow you to put yourself in more danger than you could handle. His wand remained at the ready, prepared to strike the moment it became necessary.

♡ The deafening crash, accompanied by your piercing scream, was what finally made him react.

♡ You looked like something straight out of a movie scene. No special effects could ever compare to how magnificent the blue flames looked as they engulfed you.

♡ And then he understood your power when he saw the entity standing behind you. It resembled the Phantoms he had only ever read about in ancient magic books, yet it also seemed far more subdued and sorrowful than any of them.

♡ Some time later, once peace had returned, the dorm leader summoned you to the library. You found him waiting beside a small stack of books, all of them about the Phantoms of his world, eager to learn more about the being that seemed so deeply connected to you.

♡ Everything finally made sense once you explained that it was tied to your soul and the way your mind worked.

♡ So that was why your Persona seemed so melancholic...

Idia

♡ For the love of the Great Seven, you had almost given him a heart attack. Right in the middle of the battle against Malleus's Overblot, he caught you pressing a gun to your temple—one he hadn't even realized you'd been carrying beneath your uniform vest this whole time.

♡ His fingers flew across his keyboard with the same speed he used to snag limited-edition merch online, desperately trying to stop whatever you were about to do. But your movements were faster.

♡ He barely had time to react when you shouted, "Persona!" An entity that looked like the final boss of a turn-based RPG materialized behind you, standing tall without a hint of fear.

♡ The battle ended before he could even process what had just happened. By the time he'd finally started piecing everything together, the Overblot had already vanished. Once life returned to something resembling normal, he asked to speak with you in private about what seemed to be something only he had noticed—everyone else was convinced that Idia himself had somehow programmed the Phantom.

♡ Wait... seriously? Everything you were telling him was actually real? This was a goldmine. Your story could become an entire RPG franchise. Hold on a second—he needed to grab his tablet before you continued so he could write down every single idea and anecdote you had.

♡ After the biggest scare of his life had finally worn off, the explanation you gave him about how every Phantom you could summon was tied to a different facet of your psyche completely captured his attention. It felt just like one of those games where you had to collect dozens of rare and unique companions to complete the entire roster.

♡ Oh, and of course, he was absolutely fascinated when you explained how the switching system between them actually worked.

♡ ...Are you absolutely sure he couldn't have one? You know... without having to risk his life every time he tried to summon it?

Malleus

♡ The dragon had encountered countless warriors who never feared battle, each possessing the courage that a seasoned fighter needed to keep under control in order to continue fighting with honor. But you... You were merely a human who refused to run from trouble, choosing instead to face it head-on without asking anyone for help.

♡ Needless to say, you had done more than simply catch his attention—you had awakened a deep curiosity within him. You were as fragile as any magicless human, and yet you hadn't taken even a single step back when the Overblot erupted right before your eyes.

♡ From your hip, you drew a weapon. Malleus watched with quiet anticipation, waiting to see what you would do next. For the first time in a long while, the serious expression he always wore faltered when you suddenly pressed the weapon against the side of your head and shouted, "Persona!" with a strength he had never heard from you before.

♡ What followed was seeing you engulfed in flames, much like the fire that surrounded him whenever he appeared somewhere. But your flames were warm, shimmering in shades of blue as they completely enveloped you before revealing your face once more. Behind you, an imposing figure rose into view.

♡ Malleus hadn't realized that this was how human weapons worked... He would have to ask Lilia about it later.

♡ And a few days later, while recounting the incident to Lilia, he watched in confusion as the older fae let out a startled cry, his face turning pale with horror. It was then that Malleus realized this was probably not something normal after all.

♡ That very night, he appeared in the garden outside your dormitory window, still full of questions. Lilia had practically forced him to go and make sure that his Child of Man was still alive.

♡ You couldn't help but laugh at Malleus's innocence. Sometimes, his lack of understanding when it came to human matters was almost unbelievable. Even so, you patiently explained everything that had happened.

♡ He listened attentively, asking question after question whenever something confused him. By the end of your explanation, he fully understood that your Persona was deeply connected to both your mind and your soul. Though he never voiced it aloud, he had noticed that the beings who appeared alongside you carried an unmistakable air of melancholy... and, quietly, he resolved to find a way to help you bear that burden.

[Y/n] never believed in fairy tales.

Even as a child, [Y/n] had understood what many adults refused to accept: the reality that surrounded her. In a world as gray as her homeland, it wasn't difficult to realize where you stood. War, violence, selfishness, and human nature were things she witnessed every single day—truths that could not simply be denied beneath fairy dust and stories of princes rescuing innocent girls trapped in towering castles guarded by dragons.

Throughout her life, she had kept both feet firmly planted on the ground, rejecting time and time again the stories her mother told with boundless imagination and that her childhood best friend adored with unwavering devotion. So much so that said friend wore pink dresses identical to those of the princesses that sparkled within illustrated storybooks.

[Y/n] would only roll her eyes and scoff, never giving it much thought. To her, it was all complete nonsense.

She lived most of her life that way, clinging to reality, until one night, after a heated argument with the friend she loved like an older sister, she found herself walking alone through the darkness. Then, before she even had time to react, a black carriage struck her mercilessly, marking the beginning of something she never would have believed possible.

She awoke beneath floating coffins hanging over her head, surrounded by beasts that would have been dismissed as myths in her world and spells her human mind could barely comprehend. Bound now to a small gray demon, she found herself living under the roof of a magic school because of the very creature responsible for keeping her alive.

There were days when her mind simply couldn't take any more, leaving her with no choice but to wander the grounds of the institution while drowning in nostalgic thoughts of the life that had been taken from her without warning.

Perhaps she had lived incorrectly, selfishly and without regret since a young age. Or perhaps God had simply reached His limit of second chances and, through some inexplicable act of mercy, had allowed her to be reborn into a new reality—one where the existence of things beyond her understanding could no longer be denied.

The very thing she had always rejected.

The thing that made reality easier to bear.

Something magical.

After months of trying to cope with the life that now belonged to her, understanding her surroundings, and getting to know the two idiots she was forced to deal with every day (well, three, considering the little demon barely gave her a moment to breathe), the girl began her path toward redemption among books of Alchemy and Magical Transformations—subjects she had once thought too ridiculous even for children's stories.

And yet, there was a part of her heart she stubbornly refused to acknowledge, one that filled her with longing.

She missed hearing her mother's scoldings, urging her to smile a little more. She longed for the warmth of her best friend's embrace at her side or even the simple lick of her little puppy against her cheek.

She couldn't deny that the friendships she had formed—strengthened by the countless troubles they had endured together—had become a lifeline whenever everything seemed to sink into a darker shade of gray. Even less could she deny what she felt for the green-haired boy who had stolen her heart and seemed willing to offer her half of his soul, one that did not belong to his engagement with nobility.

She sighed aloud, planting her feet firmly against the rough carpet—rough thanks to the years it had spent abandoned on the floor of that dormitory. With the sluggishness that only midnight could bring, the room's window was opened for the first time in years.

A mountain of dust spilled down into the garden below.

[Y/n] rested both forearms on the small balcony that only Ramshackle possessed in that room. The mahogany creaked beneath the pressure of her weight as the wind whistled softly, gently stirring the loose strands of hair belonging to the dorm's now-appointed prefect.

Her eyes shimmered as she lifted her chin, admiring the moonlight bathing the island in silver, illuminating the few souls still awake beneath its celestial mantle.

The moon had always been her mother's greatest confidante—the silent witness to the woman's desperate cries for comfort. And now, even from another distant world, it gazed upon [Y/n] the way a mother looked lovingly upon her children.

She sighed.

She remembered every story that spoke of the moon and how her mother, even at her age, continued to pray faithfully to that cosmic being. And in a desperate attempt to obtain what she desired most, she finally surrendered to it after years of denial.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to do this..."

Embarrassment colored her cheeks as she glanced over her shoulder, finding a sleepy Grim and the peace left behind by the fireflies drifting endlessly through the garden. Her gaze returned to what had become her only salvation, and with enough determination to wrinkle her nose, she closed her eyes. Both hands pressed against her chest, joining together in a silent prayer.

"Can you? Can you? Can you?"

The silent calm of the night was her only companion at that moment. After opening her eyes with the desperate longing to return home—as though the magic contained within the island would somehow place her back in her old bedroom—she found nothing had changed.

With pessimism weighing heavily on her chest, she slowly released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding since making her wish.

She looked up at the moon hanging in the clear sky. Now it seemed to be mocking her for believing in a foolish childhood story.

"I'm selfish, asking for something impossible when I spent years making fun of you... You must be laughing at me right now."

Lamenting her own foolishness, she rested her face on her crossed arms atop the small wooden balcony railing. Warm tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, struggling to break free with a force she desperately wished they would.

Until the croak of a frog pulled her from her thoughts.

Her slightly clouded gaze lifted, meeting the image—distorted by her tears—of a small green amphibian staring back at her with large amber eyes.

"How funny..."

Having lost all hope, she lazily propped her elbow against the railing and rested her cheek on her hand, taking a better look at the slimy little creature beside her. A melancholic smile tugged at her lips as she remembered her childhood best friend's favorite fairy tale, one she had heard millions of times.

"What? Do you want me to kiss you now?"

"That would be very kind of you, Human."

The unexpected response caused her to stumble backward in panic, tripping over the scattered school shoes lying around the dorm room and crashing into the wardrobe behind her, accompanied by a very mature high-pitched scream.

"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU!"

With a small leap, the amphibian landed beside her, walking on two legs while she stared at it in a mixture of equal parts horror and disgust.

The frog attempted to help her up from the floor, but at his current size he barely reached above the height of [Y/n]'s foot.

He regretted trying almost immediately.

"You are a gentleman of the Draconia family, Sebek. You cannot go around frightening ladies, especially not the one you love."

His self-directed scolding was abruptly interrupted by another shriek from the girl.

"Se—SEBEK?!"

The frog froze upon hearing his name, glancing sideways at the girl who had occupied every one of his dreams since they had begun dating.

Taking a dramatic breath, he turned toward her and attempted to appear as composed as possible, accompanied by an awkward smile.

"H-Hey..."

[Y/n] slowly lifted one of her school shoes, aiming it directly at the amphibian with every intention of turning him into a green stain on her carpet.

"STOP! YOU LOVED ME YESTERDAY!"

"YESTERDAY YOU WEREN'T AN UGLY FROG!"

Her words seemed to wound the frog's feelings. One hand flew to his chest as though he could physically contain the damage.

[Y/n] lowered her shoe.

"So that's how you greet your boyfriend when he comes to ask for your help? You wound me, Human."

After all the chaos, the girl managed to sit down on the floor carefully, her hair thoroughly disheveled from the ordeal. She glanced toward her bed to make sure her little demon was still asleep, apparently oblivious to everything currently happening.

"Help?"

Sebek nodded.

He began explaining everything that had happened earlier that night in the Alchemy classroom. While attempting to recreate an advanced potion from one of his textbooks, he had somehow managed to transform himself into the very animal currently staring back at him through the reflection of the girl's phone lying on the floor beside them.

"And now I need you, [Y/n]."

Before he could continue, the girl shook her head twice.

"No, no, no, you've got the wrong person, Sebs," she said desperately. "I told you when we first met—I don't have any magic."

"I don't need you to cast a spell."

That statement immediately caught her attention.

How in the world was she supposed to help return him to normal if she didn't possess even the slightest trace of magic in this world? On the power scale, she ranked below practically everyone.

Yet her curiosity compelled her to let him continue.

"I need a..." He cleared his throat. [Y/n] wasn't sure whether it was the late hour or if she was simply hallucinating, but she could have sworn she saw a blush on the frog's cheeks.

She shuddered internally.

"A... a kiss..." He hesitated. "A true love's kiss..."

The girl from another world narrowed her eyes, trying to process what she had just heard. She blinked automatically while giving the Diasomnia student her full attention.

If this was a joke, it was an incredibly bad one.

"You've got to be kidding me, Sebek."

"LANGUAGE!" he snapped, hopping indignantly.

"IT'S THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!"

"Do you really think I would lie in a situation this serious?"

[Y/n] swallowed a childish whine that threatened to escape her throat, stubbornly refusing to accept that this was the only possible way to help the boy she was hopelessly in love with, while remaining sensible enough not to kiss a frog.

"I would never lie to you, [Y/n]. You know that."

Sebek didn't lie. She knew him well enough to recognize just how terrible he was at it, and how serious he became whenever a situation truly mattered.

Like right now.

"Yeah, Sebs, but... isn't it a little ridiculous? Just a little?"

The amphibian shook his head.

"It's not ridiculous at all. It's what the spellbook says."

The moment she heard there was a book involved, [Y/n] felt a spark of hope.

Maybe if they studied it carefully, they could find another solution—one significantly less disgusting than kissing him.

With desperate determination, she asked the frog to fetch the book from wherever he had left it.

The newly transformed Sebek hopped toward the balcony and disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a book nearly the size of his entire body and probably three times his weight.

The book looked ancient. Its dark green hardcover made the golden letters on the front stand out even more, accompanied by a drawing of a frog beneath the title.

Sebek dropped it onto the girl's study desk, nearly crushing her desk lamp beneath it.

The moment [Y/n] stepped closer to examine its contents, her hope shattered.

"It's..." she stammered in disbelief. "A children's storybook... with illustrations..."

Defeated, she accepted that her hopes had completely evaporated.

"Lilia..."

"Of course it was Lilia," she interrupted.

"[Y/n], please."

"No, Sebek. This is ridiculous." The disbelief in her voice was impossible to miss. He had brought her a damn children's fairy tale to solve his problem. "What comes next? Turns out I'm actually a princess and all that crap, right?"

"You've always been as beautiful as a princess. I wouldn't be surprised if you were one."

The girl from another world glared at him, unable to completely hide the pink blush spreading across her cheeks.

She pointed a finger at him.

Sebek recognized that gesture immediately. He had learned long ago to be extremely careful with his next words whenever she did that if he wanted to avoid being launched through a window.

"But no. In the worst-case scenario, you'll turn into a frog too. Though the chances of that happening are very low."

"You're really not helping..."

She wanted to refuse his request.

She truly did.

But she couldn't stop the guilt creeping into her chest.

Sebek had always done his best for others, even when helping them solve their own problems. And now she felt selfish for refusing to help him with his.

Sebek had been her first salvation...

And now she was turning her back on him.

She would be lying if she said his earlier words hadn't shaken her heart.

With a resigned sigh, she gave in.

Damn it.

"S-So... just one little kiss, right?"

"Unless you beg for more."

Instantly, [Y/n] grabbed the children's book with both hands and pointed it directly at the frog, prepared to use it as a blunt weapon if necessary.

"I WAS JOKING! BY THE SEVEN, WHAT A TEMPER..."

Sebek whimpered, raising his tiny front legs like a shield to protect himself from becoming a decorative stain on the back cover of the book.

The frog remained motionless for several seconds, reevaluating every decision that had led him to this moment.

From brewing an advanced potion without supervision...

To entrusting his fate to an illustrated children's fairy tale.

"You know what's the worst part?" he muttered.

"What?"

"That I still think asking you for help was the best idea I've had all night."

[Y/n] let out a long sigh.

Curse her conscience.

And curse Sebek for somehow managing to make those abandoned-puppy eyes even after turning into a frog.

"You're an idiot..."

"Your idiot."

Sometimes, [Y/n] forgot just how romantic her boyfriend could be.

At least romantic enough to convince her to kiss a frog.

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs completely until her cheeks puffed out like a ripe peach.

She tried.

She really tried.

Gathering every last ounce of courage she had left, she slowly leaned toward Sebek, determined to press her lips against his just as she had done countless times before.

But the moment her eyes landed on that tiny green, damp mouth, all her determination shattered.

She froze.

A shiver ran down her spine.

The breath she'd been holding escaped all at once as a grimace of disgust twisted her features. A strangled sound of revulsion left her throat, and she immediately recoiled, covering her mouth with one hand to suppress the gag reflex triggered by the very idea.

She couldn't do it.

For all the heavens above, she loved him.

But he was still a frog.

A GREEN AND REVOLTING ONE.

"OH, SEBEK, YOU'RE JUST SO GROSS!"

"NOW I GROSS YOU OUT?!" the frog croaked indignantly.

[Y/n] shook her head, trying to convince herself of her own words before saying them aloud.

"THAT'S NOT IT!" she protested. "But you're greener than usual and... look at you! You're covered in slime!"

"Actually, it's mucus, Human."

"THAT IS NOT HELPING! UGH! UGH! UGH!"

She frantically waved her hands at him as though physically pushing the image away, while the expression of disgust never once left her face.

Sebek crossed his arms and waited, watching his girlfriend dramatically spin in circles while expressing her horror in the most exaggerated way possible.

"AND HOW DO I KNOW I WON'T CATCH SOME WEIRD DISEASE OR START SEEING COLORFUL LIGHTS IF I PUT MY LIPS ON THA—?!"

The frog shot her a reproachful look.

"Watch your words, [Y/n]."

"Those unpleasant reptile lips!"

She corrected herself immediately, earning a weary sigh from her boyfriend.

"Amphibian, [Y/n]. I'm an amphibian."

His voice sounded tired.

[Y/n] couldn't ignore it.

She knew exactly when Sebek was reaching the limits of his patience, and right now he was dangerously close.

And honestly, she understood.

She would be desperate too if she had been transformed into a frog while her partner did nothing but complain about helping.

Embarrassed, she sighed and surrendered once more.

"Sorry. I'll try again."

Sebek held her gaze.

There wasn't a hint of blame in his eyes.

If anything, he looked proud of her.

Proud of the girl who always wanted to help people in need, even at the expense of her own comfort and happiness.

That was why he had loved her from the very beginning.

She understood sacrifice just as much as he did.

"It's alright. I'd wait an eternity for you."

Damn it.

He was far too good to be real.

"Sebek Zigvolt, if you don't get tired of me after this kiss, I'll make sure all of Twisted Wonderland hears about this," she muttered in defeat before pointing an accusatory finger at him. "AND LILIA DOESN'T APPROVE OF MEN WHO DON'T KEEP THEIR PROMISES!"

The girl inhaled deeply once more, gathering every bit of strength she had left.

In her mind, she counted to three.

Then she turned around and kissed him without giving herself time to think.

A brilliant golden light exploded throughout the dormitory—

And beyond its walls.

Shimmering sparks drifted through the air like stardust, wrapping around the room as the spell activated.

The warmth of magic spread through her body as though something ancient was rewriting every part of it.

The glow intensified until it became nearly blinding, forcing her to close her eyes.

The silence that followed felt heavy.

Wrong.

When the light finally began to fade, the air itself seemed different...

As though the room had stopped holding magic altogether.

And then...

My eyes remained fixed on the monochrome command terminal in front of me, stubbornly tracking the slow progress of the loading bar. Every tiny increment seemed to take an eternity, accompanied only by the steady blinking of the cursor at the end of the last line of code.

I had already spent two extra hours trapped in my cubicle. The blinds covering the small window to my left no longer let in the day's final rays of sunlight, and the office had settled into that artificial stillness that only appears once the workday is over. It was well past nine o'clock at night, and everyone seemed to have abandoned their responsibilities for the day.

Everyone except me.

I was still waiting for the terminal to finish processing the latest changes to a partner corporation's project so I could return to the only comfort that truly mattered to me: home. A place where I could waste hours watching dull late-night television, enduring endless infomercials before finally finding something worth watching.

The cup of coffee beside my keyboard had gone cold long ago. To pass the time, I spun a small plastic bee between my fingers, its stem planted in a pot of artificial lavender decorating my desk. As absurd as it sounded, that motionless little bee seemed to enjoy more freedom than I did at that very moment, trapped within the four walls of my cubicle.

When boredom finally got the better of me, I decided to take a walk through C&A's empty offices. The company had perfected the art of squeezing every last ounce of productivity from its employees without provoking open rebellion, compensating for it with annual bonuses so generous they bordered on the absurd.

Even so, there were things money couldn't buy.

Peace of mind was one of them.

Three years working for that company had taught me more than how to deal with unbearable clients and mediocre projects. It had also forced me to understand humanity a little better and recognize just how troublesome it could be.

And it wasn't exactly a lesson I had wanted to learn.

Despite being part of the testing and bug-fixing team—a job that, in theory, consisted of finding problems and solving them—I was often given more orders to conceal issues than to fix them.

It was an irony that was hard to ignore.

To the outside world, C&A presented itself as just another technology company: an incubator of innovative ideas that helped other businesses develop software capable of turning their most ambitious projects into reality.

A flawless façade.

The problem arose when those ideas grew beyond the control of the people who had imagined them.

Because dreams rarely remain innocent once money enters the equation.

And there was far too much money flowing through C&A for anything to stay innocent.

More than once, I had been assigned to review projects that should never have made it beyond a conference room. Data collection systems disguised as analytics tools. Algorithms designed to manipulate consumer habits. Programs capable of predicting human behavior with unsettling accuracy.

Nothing illegal.

At least, not explicitly...

But there was a vast difference between what was legal and what was right.

A difference the company seemed determined to ignore.

My thoughts about the company that had hired me with remarkably few questions and even fewer formalities faded when a sharp metallic noise echoed from the offices at the far end of the floor. That area was reserved for the leaders of the artificial intelligence projects, and the sound was quickly followed by a barely audible curse.

My steps came to a halt.

I turned my gaze toward the only office that still had its lights on.

In a software company like this one, it wasn't unusual to find coworkers so absorbed in their work that they lost all sense of time, completely forgetting what it meant to return to the comfort of home. Still, all it took was reading the name engraved beside the office door for an uneasy feeling to settle in my chest.

Grant Best.

It wasn't that the bespectacled man wasn't a world-class workaholic. But ever since I'd met him, I'd come to understand the kind of man he was—and why Destiny, an elegant woman with an almost regal presence who worked in the same department as I did, had married him the moment she had the chance.

He was the sort of man who seemed born to have a family.

I realized that during the week Destiny, pregnant with their second daughter, could barely move comfortably. Grant constantly appeared around her workspace to help with even the smallest tasks, paying attention to every detail as though nothing in the world mattered more than her.

I also remembered the frantic phone call I received one morning. His wife was about to give birth, and he asked me to cover for them during a meeting with an important client. And, of course, there was that other time when he practically ran out of the office the moment his shift ended so he could make it to his eldest daughter's first recital.

Grant was definitely not the type of person who stayed at work late into the night. It wasn't hard to tell where his priorities lay.

And yet, the light in his office was still on.

The relentless tapping of a keyboard echoed clearly through the near-funeral silence of the building, setting a monotonous rhythm that accompanied every step I took as I approached.

I hesitated for a moment with my hand resting on the doorknob. Every office in the building seemed to have been designed according to the exact same impersonal blueprint, yet this one gave me the strange sensation that I was about to intrude on something private.

I silently counted to three before gathering enough courage to open the door.

The moment I peeked inside, my eyes automatically swept across the familiar objects I'd seen countless times while dropping off reports and project notes: the chessboard abandoned in the middle of what looked like an endless game, the mountains of paperwork piled across the desk, and the assortment of office supplies that had never seemed particularly noteworthy.

What immediately caught my attention, however, was the figure of a man hunched over Grant's computer.

"Mike?"

My voice seemed to yank him out of whatever he had been doing.

The man jumped so violently that several folders slipped from his arms and scattered across the floor. He cursed under his breath.

He had no reason to be there.

His office was located at the opposite end of the hallway, far from even the water cooler where most of the company's gossip tended to gather—a location he had personally chosen precisely because it kept him away from everyone else.

And yet, there he was.

He shot me a guilty look, the kind that screamed I can explain before anyone had even asked a question, while awkwardly crouching down to collect the fallen folders.

"[Y/N]?" he stammered, instinctively positioning himself in front of the monitor as though he could hide the screen with his own body. "I thought you'd left hours ago."

"That was the plan," I replied calmly, kneeling to help him gather the mess, "until my boss asked me to take one more look at the project you complained about in your email."

Mike froze for a second.

His lips parted, but whatever words he intended to say died before they could escape. He looked as though he had completely forgotten I existed.

"Right..." he muttered to himself.

And from the way he said it, I realized he genuinely had.

"Is there something wrong with Grant's computer?"

I shifted just enough to catch a glimpse of the screen. The terminal was still open, filled with commands I couldn't quite make out, accompanied by a small pop-up window. It looked similar to the ones that appeared when files were being copied onto a disk.

The question seemed to make him tense.

He wasn't exactly the most sociable person at C&A. In fact, most conversations with him tended to end before they truly began. Even so, I knew enough about his personality to recognize when something was bothering him.

And this time, it was obvious.

He looked away from the monitor and clutched the folders tightly against his chest.

"No," he answered far too quickly. "I was just looking for some documents related to the new project."

I frowned skeptically.

The company operated in a fairly simple way: a client arrived with a revolutionary idea, management promised impossible results, and the rest of us were left to deal with the consequences. Overtime, ridiculous deadlines, and alarming amounts of coffee were all standard parts of the process.

I couldn't complain too much. My salary was twice what many of my former classmates earned as junior developers at other companies. Still, there was a reason I'd ended up specializing in testing and bug fixing rather than development.

I liked finding cracks.

And at that moment, Mike looked like a walking crack.

His explanation sounded unconvincing, especially since he was still blocking my view of the screen as though he were hiding something important.

I opened my mouth to press the issue, but I was abruptly cut off the instant my lips parted.

"It's late. You should go home."

His sudden concern for my sleep schedule only deepened my suspicions. Mike had never been particularly considerate of anyone in the company, certainly not enough to start worrying about my well-being at that hour. It wasn't genuine concern.

He wanted me out of the way before I started asking more questions, so he could get back to whatever required such secrecy.

The question I was about to ask—why he was still there so late—died awkwardly in my throat.

I watched the man, now well into his thirties, pull the floppy disk from the computer's drive with a swift motion and slip it carelessly into the pocket of his beige slacks. The monitor immediately darkened, one window after another closing until only the familiar system shutdown message remained.

"Grab your things and go. We need you in the conference room early tomorrow."

The folders, now slightly crumpled from the tension of the past few moments, were dropped onto the other man's faux-wood desk with little care.

"Excuse me?"

Mike let out a sigh. It was the same resigned tone he used whenever he had to explain something obvious to a particularly slow client.

He was already standing by the door when he answered.

"You're on the team. Starting tomorrow, you'll be working with us."

I blinked in disbelief.

For several seconds, I simply stared at him, convinced I had misheard.

I hadn't worked with Mike in over a year.

Not since he had decided to distance himself from everyone without offering any explanation. Little by little, he stopped attending unnecessary meetings, stopped participating in casual conversations, and eventually secluded himself in that office far from the rest of the department. No one ever really understood what had happened, but eventually we all accepted it.

Which was exactly why hearing that I was being assigned to his team came as such a surprise.

"Sorry?"

"You'll get the details tomorrow."

That answer only made me more curious.

Something didn't add up.

It wasn't just the mysterious project or the fact that I'd been assigned to it without any warning. It was Mike. His attitude. His nervousness. The way he had dodged every single one of my questions.

Mike stepped past me to leave the office.

"Oh, and [Y/N]."

I looked up to meet his gaze.

The dim light the office could offer at that hour barely allowed me to make out his features. Even so, the cold expression he fixed me with said far more than any explanation could have.

"Stay out of it."

A chill crawled down my spine.

"What do you mean by—"

But it was already too late.

He disappeared around the corner of the hallway without bothering to look back.

I remained alone in the corridor, staring at the empty space where he had been only seconds before.

I had more questions than when I'd first entered Grant's office, and an increasingly uncomfortable feeling that trouble was about to come knocking at my door.

Humans are unpredictable.

They can speak the kindest words you've ever heard and still drive a knife into your back when you least expect it. The social rules and conventions they strive to follow day after day rarely stop them from acting in their own self-interest.

They are warm-hearted beings who shy away from the people who genuinely love them, yet beg for the approval of those who barely spare them a glance.

They are indecent, contradictory, and, for that very reason, profoundly human.

Maybe that's why I find them repulsive.

Problems come in many forms: dysfunctional families, romantic idealization, toxic relationships, infidelity. Conflicts of our own making, ones we eventually drown in, driven by that absurd humanity that compels us to lose ourselves within them.

Humanity creates problems.

Machines solve them.

They need nothing more than a simple request to complete a task. They are satisfied by the mere act of helping those who created them, because that is their purpose.

Machines follow instructions, accept what is asked of them, and work with it. Unlike us humans, who seem desperately determined to oppose everything and everyone simply to prove our individuality.

Machines require no purpose beyond the one they were designed for.

Humans, on the other hand, seem to need one in order to survive.

"Alright [Y/n], this is your moment. You can go up to him and ask for his help to finally confess once and for all." The prefect hid behind one of the classroom walls, waiting for the right moment to approach the boy who could help her the most with her secret crush.

It took her a while to gather enough courage to finally walk up to him, and after mentally counting to three, she planted herself right in front of the boy. He simply stared at her. It was strange to see the young woman not causing trouble and staying quiet for so long.

"[Y/n]?"

Without letting him continue, she shouted for his help.

"I NEED YOU TO HELP ME MAKE SOMEONE FALL IN LOVE WITH ME!"

The moment she realized all the other students in the classroom were staring at them, she blushed deeply, instantly regretting the stupidity she had just committed. She was fully prepared to run back to her dorm, hide under her blanket, and cry from the embarrassment of this day if it weren't for the masculine voice willing to offer his help.

"Who is it?"

"It's someone you actually know really well because..." The girl started fidgeting with the hem of her uniform out of nervousness at the question. Now she was starting to doubt whether asking for his help had really been a good idea, but they were already here and she had already told him her secret. Now she had to say things properly and directly. She took a deep breath and stood up straight to finally finish her sentence.

"I like your brother..."

Jade

♡ Jade would keep your secret, even if Floyd ended up angry at him for hiding something like this. Still, he'd be willing to take the risk just to help you.

♡ He signed you up for the basketball club, bought several books under your name about topics Floyd likes, and even made you an entire playlist on your Magicfy* with songs his brother enjoys so the two of you could grow closer.

♡ Oh yes, he did all of that without your consent, but in a way, he was helping you.

♡ He would "casually" invite you to the Mostro Lounge so you could help serve the tables Floyd was assigned to, meaning the two of you constantly ran into each other. Azul never complained. It was basically free labor from an employee who was almost always there helping out anyway, so he always allowed it.

♡ Whenever his brother was in a bad mood, he would let you know and give you advice on how you could improve his day. Or whether it would be better to stay away.

♡ He even asked Azul for help creating a love potion, though if you didn't accept it, the idea was always still on the table.

♡ None of this is free, you know that, right? So prepare yourself to constantly go on mountain expeditions and carry armfuls of mushroom samples. The things people do for love.

Floyd

♡ "Huh? Shrimpy fell in love with Jade?"

♡ It was more than obvious he was going to tell his brother before anyone else, so well... your secret crush stopped being a secret that very same day.

♡ If Jade found the idea entertaining —or if he actually liked you back— he'd tell Floyd to help you. If not, you can kiss your only hope goodbye.

♡ Honestly, Floyd was involved in this whole mess simply because he found it really funny watching you try to impress Jade. Besides, gossip comes first.

♡ Believe it or not, the guy actually is trying to help... in his own way.

♡ He'd take you up to the rooftops so you could get a better view of his brother's daily routines, and whenever his work got boring, he'd call you in as a substitute. Once again, Azul didn't object. Free labor is free labor.

♡ Whenever Jade invited him on a mushroom-hunting expedition, he'd suggest you as a better companion, though he mostly did that to avoid going to those boring mountains himself.

♡ He was the one who helped you sign up for the abandoned club his twin runs, so the two of you could spend more time alone and stop bothering everyone else.

Ortho

♡ Oh gods, Ortho could not be happier right now. SOMEONE FINALLY NOTICED HIS BROTHER... AND THEY ACTUALLY EXIST!

♡ It didn't take long for him to throw himself at the girl to hug her and thank her for falling in love with his older brother. Even if she didn't fully understand what he meant, she hugged him back. And thus, Project "Make the Introvert Fall in Love" officially began!

♡ The little android was a huge help when it came to getting closer to the introverted boy. Anytime Idia needed someone to lend a hand with his creations, Ortho would call you over, so you were often by his side.

♡ Sometimes he would start conversations that ended with the two of you talking to each other so naturally that neither of you realized the first-year had quietly left the room.

♡ Once he found out you also enjoyed anime, he started inviting you to sleepovers, conveniently seating you right next to Idia.

♡ He always managed to line up your class schedules so you could spend more time together. It's not like he hacked into the school's system to make your breaks happen at the same time and place you in the same classes or anything. No, of course not.

♡ Honestly, Ortho is probably the safest and best option, considering he'd do absolutely anything to see his older brother happy.

Leona

♡ Ever since the day you met Faraena, you couldn't stop thinking about the King, even if your love was forbidden and he already had a family.

♡ The actual plan here was to make you stop bothering him about his brother and accept that Faraena would never fall in love with you. But that sounded like way too much effort for Leona, so instead he just enjoyed the show.

♡ "For the tenth time today, I'm NOT introducing you to my brother!"

♡ Still, Leona benefited from all the chaos you caused because every time Cheka ended up at Night Raven College, you were the one taking care of the little cub just to leave a good impression on his father.

♡ Even so, Faraena always saw you as a kind companion to his younger brother.

♡ Watching you fail over and over again made Leona laugh, and oh damn, what a pretty smile he had. Well... guess you fell for him instead.

♡ "Because if it's not gonna be your brother, it'll be you. Either way, I'M STAYING IN THE FAMILY!"

♡ Good luck dealing with that one, Leona.

Notes:

*My poor attempt at adding Spotify.

“Rabu... ta...” Both eyes blinked at the mention of the brown-haired boy standing in front of her, noticing the familiar bright aura that barely hid the true nature of the one who had carved himself deep into her soul and now clung to her warmth with everything he had. She blinked a couple of times before looking back at that low-quality brown-haired Shibuya leader who smiled and bounced around the room alongside the other two copies of Gentaro and Dice.

“Damn it, now there are two of them,” she heard an albino grumble loudly beside her. At least she could agree with Samatoki on something after all this time... considering they were now standing in front of the other divisions with three people identical to Fling Posse right before their eyes.

And why would they need another Ramuda when they already had the original one, who still hadn’t wiped that displeased expression off his face—the one only she seemed to notice?

“At least they could help with the investigation.” That was when Mad Trigger Crew’s third member spoke up with the composed temperament only a sergeant could possess, catching everyone’s attention. The only girl there nodded, because there was nothing to gain from arguing with the albino, and they needed crucial information right now with all the chaos looming over them.

“Rabuta... do you know anything about TBH?” Her voice was just as velvety and calm as when she spoke to anyone else, something that earned a quiet growl from Ramuda.

The girl glanced sideways at him then, noticing the candy between his teeth crack apart.

She didn’t understand it. They had only known each other for a couple of years... and had only recently started dating, so honestly, she couldn’t understand why she was suddenly caught in the middle of a jealous scene.

She had to look away again. She couldn’t exactly argue with her boyfriend right now when they had something far more important at hand. She turned back to Rabuta.

“Don’t force yourself, it’s okay if you don’t know him...” Once again, that same soft tone left her lips while speaking to another man, making the fashion designer’s throat rumble irritably.

But to everyone’s surprise—not just hers—Rabuta had more important information than all the teams combined had managed to gather. Jyuto wasted no time writing down the crucial details while [Y/n] kept talking to the freckled boy with a sweet smile, gathering more information.

She even managed to take his pale hands into hers, making the pink-haired fan grin brightly at her with perfect white teeth.

And that only irritated Shibuya’s leader more, leaving him visibly displeased for the rest of the afternoon, both toward the boys and his beloved.

That same dawn, inside the hotel room where all of Fling Posse and [Y/n] were staying, the slight weight beside the girl shifted restlessly, followed seconds later by a startled scream that, at this point in their relationship, wasn’t new to anyone anymore. [Y/n] had learned to recognize every ghost haunting Amemura, chasing them away whenever the stars alone witnessed their encounters and the moon served as their only confidant.

In the darkness of the night, her bright eyes managed to focus thanks to the faint bluish moonlight filtering through the hotel window, landing on the thin figure in pink pajamas standing before the glass. He stared outside through the curtains, accompanied by the strong smell of tobacco that clawed at her throat before slipping into her lungs and waking her fully.

“Amemura?” she called softly to the only one awake in the room just moments ago. His name sounded so delicate coming from her pink lips, but it seemed he alone had realized that—and hated the thought of anyone else hearing it, filling him with disgust. Because even if it didn’t seem like it, the shorter man was one of the most overprotective and jealous people when it came to those he loved deeply.

“I hate him...” His voice echoed through the room, dropping into that rough octave she’d always heard from him in private—not the charming prince-like tone all of Shibuya adored and affectionately called “Ramuchan,” but Ramuda Amemura himself speaking now. “He’s...”

“Too much like you?” The delicate body shifted on the mattress, wrinkling the white sheets that had already been messed up by the boy tossing around from nightmares and intrusive thoughts. That was when she noticed they were the only ones awake in the darkness, while the other two members of the group had completely passed out after spending the day going from retro-themed cafés to sketchy pachinko parlors in Osaka, making [Y/n] let out a quiet giggle as she looked around the room.

“Why is Dice sleeping on the couch?” she asked sweetly, pointing at the messy-haired gambler curled up awkwardly on the side sofa, snoring with his lips parted while drool slid down his jaw, before turning back to the shining sapphires staring at her warily. She sighed. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re jealous of Rabu...”

“Don’t say that name.” His voice came out flatly, wiping the smile from her soft lips. His gaze shifted away, clumsily revealing his feelings. That was something [Y/n] had managed to accomplish over time, with the Posse’s help too. The pink-haired man had become more open about the emotions they taught him were normal to feel and show—the ones hidden deep in his heart and constantly echoing through his mind. And so he continued speaking.

“It’s disgusting.”

“Oh, that’s exactly what I thought about you the first time we met.” The girl blinked with fake innocence before smiling again. With graceful movements and without making a sound, she rose like a dancer, letting the sheets fall to the floor without caring if they got dirty.

Walking on tiptoe, she reached his side. She hid her face between Amemura’s shoulder and neck, wrapping her arms around his waist until their fingers intertwined over the leader’s stomach, letting out a sigh against his soft skin.

She could smell his vanilla perfume mixed with the menthol scent of cigarettes slipping into her nose, making her wrinkle it against his pajama shirt.

“You’re just jealous, aren’t you?” She lifted her gaze to meet his sapphires, only for him to look away awkwardly. All it managed to do was make the girl whine softly as she cuddled deeper into the crook of his neck, whispering a childish “Meanie,” before hearing him speak again.

“I don’t like it...” Ramuda’s voice had never sounded more serious before—not even inside Chuuoku. His face, illuminated by the blue glow of the moon, turned toward the window, revealing his perfect profile and reminding [Y/n] once again why he was one of the most desired boys in Shibuya. “His smile...”

The woman arched a brow, shifting her face just enough to look at him again without pulling away from his shoulder or breaking the embrace.

“His... smile?” she asked, unable to understand what the designer—who had begun awakening feelings in her lost soul—meant. “You’re acting like this over... a smile?”

She sighed, trying to pull away a little. Maybe he was even more childish than she’d thought after all.

But the moment she took a single step back, the pale hand that had been holding the cigarette earlier grabbed her firmly.

“Ramuda?” Her delicate voice called softly before she was pulled against the chest hidden beneath the soft pajamas the designer wore, covered in pink stripes that could only have been one of his own creations. Her eyes met his blue ones, lips slightly parted. “Are you oka—?”

“He smiles... the way I do...” [Y/n] heard him whisper in the middle of the lonely darkness while hidden inside his warm arms. “His eyes... shined so brightly when he saw you...”

He barely managed to finish the sentence without looking away toward the four walls, wondering if dropping the cigarette earlier had been a mistake or if he should pick it back up now that he truly needed a drag.

[Y/n] sighed softly. She wouldn’t mention how much she adored the soft pink tint spreading across his cheeks—a discovery she had recently made. Much less how sweet and adorable he looked even while revealing his true nature, sometimes even more than the cheerful designer persona he showed everyone else.

“He was surprised when he saw you and the whole Posse... even Samatoki... and, God, it’s Samatoki,” [Y/n] joked in a velvety whisper.

But no smile appeared on Ramuda’s face after hearing her. If anything, it only made him sulk more, his nose wrinkling along with his lips.

“It’s not that kind of surprise...” He spoke the last word with clear disgust, rolling his eyes at the sigh that escaped him before continuing. “What I mean is—”

His arms held her more carefully now, as if she would disappear the moment he held her too tightly. One hand, carrying a kind of fear she never would’ve expected from him, slowly moved from her waist to her shoulder, tracing every inch of her neck until it reached her jaw and gently tilted her face upward.

Making her look at him the way he wished she would every single day.

“He looks at you...” he whispered, swallowing hard enough for the sound to echo through the silent room like thunder before he inhaled again to speak. “The same way I do...”

The girl blinked a few more times before tilting her head in confusion like a kitten unable to understand what was happening. The messy strand of hair sticking up from her head swayed along with the movement.

“With hatred?” And just like always, she never sugarcoated anything, speaking nothing but the truth. Their relationship hadn’t started surrounded by roses and hearts like some teenage romance movie. They had learned to grow together and, somewhere along the way, learned how to love each other exactly as they were.

Only managing to make the only awake man in the room sigh.

His slightly rough hands tangled beneath her hair, pulling her back against his chest once more, where [Y/n] quickly found her hiding place.

“No...” A few seconds passed in silence, both listening as their hearts began beating with the same intensity while the blood in their hands ran cold. “Not anymore...”

And even though neither of them said it aloud, their closeness made it painfully obvious what they meant.

The feeling of lips pressed against her forehead caught the woman by surprise, making her blush.

Giving the designer in front of her a smile while still wrapped in his arms.

“You know better than anyone that you’re the only person I love...” [Y/n] murmured with her eyes closed, accompanied by that clumsy smile on her lips and the pink tint on her cheeks. “And having you acknowledge that is enough for me...”

With the same gentleness he had used to kiss her forehead, she returned the gesture against his cheek. Lifting herself slightly to reach him before curling back into his shoulder once she finished.

“Let’s go back to sleep, okay?” she asked softly, pulling away just enough to take one of his hands. “We have a lot to do together tomorrow.”

The smile on Ramuda’s face finally appeared softly then, nodding with his usual sweetness.

“Together...”

Holding her hand delicately, they returned to the sheets they shared that night while the other two boys remained lost in the world of dreams.

Keeping their feelings hidden between the two of them, just as they always had.

If someone asked him about the dream he had the most, without a doubt he would answer that it was the one where he stood in a green field surrounded by thousands of flowers, dandelions dancing through the air and drifting alongside tiny yellow butterflies that landed on his nose. Butterflies that seemed to follow the melody of a lullaby.

As he watched the grass gently tousled by the wind, he could feel a soft hand running through his hair in calm and tender strokes. And when he looked up to find its owner, he realized it was a beautiful blonde woman adorned with two ears similar to his own and two bright blue eyes that reflected him perfectly. And in none of those dreams did he ever need to ask her name, age, or nationality to know exactly who she was.

That beautiful woman always appeared in his dreams during the heaviest days of his life, making him forget the darkness surrounding his home along with those fears only he knew. The one he had always loved, yet never truly met.

“Mom...”

No matter if he slept early or woke up late, the dream always ended the same way. She would cradle him in her arms, whispering an “I love you,” before disappearing into reality.

Today it happened again. After telling her everything he could and waking up in his bed, he headed to the large field the school offered to gather the same flowers that appeared in his dreams.

Once he had collected an entire bouquet, he placed it on top of a makeshift paper airplane and, with a little magic, sent it flying into the sky. Maybe this way it would reach her.

“I love you too.”

The sky that morning looked unusually clear. Sunlight brushed the face of the girl lying on the school’s green lawn with a tenderness only Mother Nature could show her children. Her hair swayed with a gust of wind that lifted the few freshly fallen leaves from the ground, sending them drifting across the blue sky.

It was a peaceful morning, like the ones she used to have in her own world—where she was just [Y/n], not the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm. No responsibilities that others had placed on her shoulders only to abandon at the first chance, leaving her to deal with everything on her own.

A world without magic, without problems to face.

A sigh slipped past her lips as she closed her eyes, her thoughts echoing her longing. She missed those moments when she was just a normal child—running around the small yard of her home, hoping her mother wouldn’t notice the latest mischief she’d painted onto the last clean white wall.

Slowly, she drifted through memories only a young child could have: mornings spent lifting oddly shaped stones, nights counting stars… and afternoons where she would spend hours watching the little bubbles she used to blow into the air, letting the wind play with them.

Because [Y/n] didn’t remember anyone ever playing beside her in those childhood memories. It was always just her and her small gray plush cat that she carried everywhere—until it mysteriously disappeared. She remembered the bubbles, trembling and perfectly round, laughing at the distorted reflections dancing across them—the pink and blue colors blending together, swirling inside a tiny sphere before popping.

And just like in her memories, the feeling of a bubble bursting landed on her nose. Damp, with a faint soapy scent that stung her eyes just a little, but not enough to hurt.

Her eyes opened, noticing a line of bubbles of different sizes wobbling in front of her, as if greeting her before popping with a soft poof.

The prefect sat up from her nap, hands pressing into the grass as she tried to find the source of those tiny floating spheres— which soon led her straight to their creator.

The younger Shroud brother.

Ortho seemed completely absorbed in his own world: blowing bubbles, watching them rise in front of him, jotting something down in a bluish notebook, and then repeating the process exactly the same way.

It quickly caught [Y/n]’s curiosity, and she didn’t hesitate to approach.

“Ortho?” she called softly. The android turned to her at once.

“[Y/n]-san!” The cheer in his voice sounded more human than it had a few days ago, and his sharp teeth showed as he smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“I was sleeping…” she murmured, a bit embarrassed, pointing back to where she had been lying just moments ago, lost in thought about her life and the past.

The small android glanced over and nodded, as if storing the new information.

“And a bubble woke me up… I think one escaped,” she added with a small laugh, making Shroud blink.

“My apologies,” Ortho said quickly. “I came out here so I wouldn’t bother anyone… It seems this wasn’t the best spot.”

His last words softened into a quiet whisper, prompting the prefect to wave her hand dismissively.

“It’s okay, really.” With a simple motion, she crossed her legs and sat down on the grass beside the first-year. “You didn’t bother me.”

Something like a sigh came from Ortho—at least he hadn’t gotten into trouble.

Meanwhile, the girl glanced at his notebook, noticing the neat, almost perfectly measured handwriting, along with little drawings of the bubbles he created.

“Are you doing an experiment?” [Y/n] asked, catching his attention once again. His eyes lit up as he eagerly leaned closer to show her his notes.

“I’m observing the differences between each bubble!” he said excitedly, going on and on about how each one was the same, yet completely different.

“Even though they’re all alike… I don’t understand why they’re so interesting,” Ortho added, looking at his drawings before glancing at the container his older brother had made with a 3D printer—just to hold the bubble solution he had created for him.

“Because they’re fun…” she replied quickly, lowering the notebook from his line of sight. “And you can try to pop them midair… or dance with them… maybe even try to jump over them!”

With that, she sprang to her feet.

“I’ll show you—blow some bubbles for me!” [Y/n] said, placing her hands on her hips. She noticed the sparkle in his amber eyes and received an eager nod in return.

The bubbles began to float through the air like a small shower of stars—one after another, some clinging together, some smaller than the rest… there was even a chubby one that seemed too heavy to fly.

And the android watched them with wide eyes, filled with the kind of excitement only a child could feel over something as simple as bubbles.

“They’re dancing!” he exclaimed, bouncing up to his feet beside her. She raised her arms, trying to reach them.

That afternoon at Night Raven College, students watched with all kinds of expressions as tiny bubbles drifted across the sky—accompanied by two unlikely performers dancing beneath them in the center of the main garden.

In the middle of the usual Alchemy class, a loud explosion echoed through the classroom, causing a thick magenta cloud of smoke to rise into the air.

All the students ran out of the room—some coughing as they tried to breathe fresh air, while others rubbed their eyes because of the smoke.

[Y/n], one of the last to leave, was—much to everyone’s surprise—the one responsible for the accident this time. She ran while holding her small demon in her arms, covering its little nose so it wouldn’t inhale the smoke.

Once everyone was outside, the professor in charge of Alchemy class counted his students, quickly realizing that one was missing—the very student who would cause him the most trouble if anything bad happened. So, in an act of bravery—and to avoid another lawsuit for the school—he went back into the classroom filled with magical smoke.

Professor Divus returned shortly after entering again, carrying what looked like his coat wrapped around a small being. Without saying much, but showing everything through his frown, he approached the only student there and handed her his large coat.

“It’s your responsibility until you find a solution,” his voice came out as cold as ever when he scolded one of his students. [Y/n] simply nodded, swallowing nervously. Taking what he handed her, she could feel the weight in her arms, and the coat shifted softly before falling to the ground.

A pair of familiar little eyes peeked out, looking at her curiously.

“Mom?” the high-pitched voice came out, so different from usual. In her arms was the classmate who had been most affected by the reaction after standing closest to the cauldron.

The boy had turned into a child of about four years old, and the prefect was now his caretaker until the effects of the mistake wore off.

How did the girl from another world handle it?

Riddle

Everyone in the Queen of Hearts dorm was stunned by what they were seeing—to the point that some students had to rub their eyes and open them again. Trey even pinched his arm, unable to believe what was happening.

The little tyrant who ruled over them all had returned… much smaller than usual.

[Y/n] stood in front of everyone holding the small prefect in her arms. He was biting what should have been his scepter—the one that made him look imposing—even while wearing that large crown over his thin red hair.

“So… I guess I’ll be his babysitter until further notice,” the girl said while rocking the child, who looked at everyone with curious gray eyes. He lifted his little arms, asking to be held, and [Y/n] cuddled him against her chest, patting his back. “That’s why I came—I’ll take care of him in his room until the effect wears off… and I’ll probably end up getting scolded.”

The girl lamented with fake tears, looking dramatically to the side. She knew the dorm leader would reprimand her for causing such a huge problem, and everyone in Heartslabyul was already mourning her fate.

After words of comfort and condolences, the girl disappeared into the largest room, carrying the child in her arms. She placed him on the bed, where the small boy—who had been sitting—fell backward, lifting his little feet into the air.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, picking him up again and sitting this time with him on the large bed.

“You were really cute as a kid…” she murmured without fear, gently squishing his cheeks. “What happened to you?”

As if he understood, the child scrunched his nose and puffed his cheeks in annoyance, making [Y/n] laugh again.

Maybe taking care of him wouldn’t be so bad.

Leona

The lion didn’t change at all, even as a cub. He had been purring on [Y/n]’s chest once they arrived at the botanical garden at his request. For someone so small, he was surprisingly formal when speaking—but that didn’t mean polite. He had already called her a “herbivore” from the very first moment.

“At least try to be nice,” she huffed, lying on the green grass with the child sleeping on top of her like a cat. She received a small huff in response.

His tail wrapped around the girl’s wrist as she stroked his back to help him sleep, keeping the motion even while he was drifting in dreams.

A leaf fell from the tree above them, landing on the lion cub’s ears. The one who once looked intimidating now seemed like an adorable kitten. The girl couldn’t help but stifle a squeal of happiness at how cute he looked, regretting not being able to move enough to grab her phone and take a picture.

She whimpered softly as his ears twitched.

“Oi,” the child called in Leona’s usual passive-aggressive tone. “Take that trash off.”

The prefect sighed once again. Had no one taught this prince any manners?

Without another word, she moved her free hand to remove the leaf and toss it aside. But his ears twitched again, and instinctively, she began to pet him like a small kitten.

She would probably die once he returned to normal—but for now, he seemed to enjoy it as he purred. She’d worry about her funeral later.

Azul

A small merman with chubby cheeks hid in the girl’s arms, frightened of all the Octavinelle students who wanted to hug him after seeing how cute and huggable he was.

Seeing how the small prefect seemed terrified of everyone, [Y/n] decided to carry him to his office in the Mostro Lounge. At least there they would have privacy and wouldn’t risk a certain eel trying to take a bite out of him. The octopus snuggled closer, hiding his eyes in the girl’s neck, embarrassed to be so close to her chest, allowing himself to be carried the whole way.

When they reached the quiet room, the child seemed to relax a little. He was so introverted that he could barely look the girl caring for him in the eyes—while she, on the other hand, was dying to squish those rosy cheeks of his.

Even as a child, he climbed onto the large desk to continue writing and signing contracts—a businessman from birth. [Y/n] simply sat on the large sofa while, ironically, the child worked in silence.

She closed her eyes for a few minutes to rest, knowing Azul wouldn’t get into trouble on his own.

A few minutes passed until the tug of a small hand woke her from her light sleep. She opened her eyes groggily, trying to regain her composure, and saw silver hair in front of her.

“Hungry,” he murmured softly while fidgeting with his sweaty hands. “There are too many people… outside.”

Then she understood—Azul had been a very lonely and introverted child who couldn’t talk to others because of social anxiety. She nodded and went out to the restaurant, returning shortly after with a plate of sea-animal-shaped nuggets, perfect for a child.

He stretched out his little hands with sparkling eyes, bouncing slightly as he asked for the plate—but the girl shook her head.

“We need to wash your hands first.”

Like lightning, the child ran to the bathroom to wash up, returning just as fast and sitting on the sofa, licking his lips. [Y/n] sat him properly and placed a napkin like a bib before giving him the first fried nugget.

“Alright, say ahh,” she said sweetly, bringing the nugget to his mouth. With flushed cheeks and a small twitch in his brow, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

She had to take advantage—Azul wouldn’t allow this very often, even as a child. Go get the camera, quickly.

Jade

Surprisingly, he was just as calm even as a child. [Y/n] only had to take him to the garden for him to start watching the small flowers and insects living there.

They had managed to get a small jar from a jam pot that Grim quickly finished, cleaning it out to show the little Jade how to make a terrarium.

The girl and the small boy were lying on the green grass. The eel had found a small caterpillar eating a leaf from a flower growing in the school’s central garden.

[Y/n] picked up the little caterpillar and placed it on her hand, bringing it closer to the boy.

“It’s chubby…” he said, looking at it with his heterochromatic eyes. He poked it with his index finger and flinched at the touch. “And soft,” he added, making the girl laugh.

“I guess it’s better to set it free. It could become a beautiful butterfly someday,” she said, placing the little caterpillar back where it was. She looked at Jade, who had already turned his attention to some nearby stones he was collecting for his terrarium.

“Or a bird might eat it,” the boy said bluntly, still looking at the new stones in the jam jar, moving closer to show her.

[Y/n] simply sighed, stroking the boy’s hair. Even as a child, he was still just as realistic.

Floyd

If she could barely handle the eel as an adult, what made Professor Divus think she would survive a nearly four-year-old version of him jumping around the school?

“Floyd!” [Y/n] didn’t even know when it happened—she only realized the eel had disappeared and was now on the school rooftops practicing parkour… because he was bored. “Get down from there right now!”

The boy with turquoise hair only laughed from above, giving the girl mini heart attacks with every jump.

“Heyyy big shrimp, look!” the little eel shouted as he leapt from one school window to a nearby roof, laughing while [Y/n] prayed to every god that he had cat instincts and would land on his feet if he slipped.

“Floyd!” she shouted again. She had already sent her pocket demon to get help—anyone who could fly to get him off the roof. “Please come down, I’ll buy takoyaki if you want!”

The girl’s begging only made the boy laugh harder as he bounced off walls like a spider, paying no attention to the prefect, who was five seconds away from throwing up out of fear of him turning into eel soup.

A few minutes later, Grim returned with Ace, who was the first person he found. [Y/n] desperately explained that Floyd was on the roof playing—which, to no one’s surprise—was not surprising at all—and asked the redhead for help getting him down.

But it wasn’t needed. Just as they were about to take off, the little merman was already on the ground, yawning.

“Hey, big shrimp, I’m sleepy,” he said, rubbing one eye.

The prefect almost dropped him when she hugged him tightly, overwhelmed with relief. She would scold him later—with Jade’s help.

Kalim

The sunshine of Scalding Sands surprisingly hadn’t changed much. He was still the same cheerful, playful boy who hated studying. So, as expected, the small child immediately called his trusted flying carpet with a whistle the moment he arrived at his dorm and jumped onto it.

Far too agile for a preschooler, if you asked [Y/n], who was currently gasping for air after chasing him around the large garden. The heat didn’t help her nonexistent physical condition, while Kalim continued spinning in the sky on his carpet.

“If he dies, it’s your problem,” Jamil had been watching the whole situation unfold. He seemed to enjoy the girl struggling to keep up with the boy, happy to have free time without being the main caretaker for once. His eyes almost looked devilish, according to her. “Remember, his family is important. They could erase your last strand of hair if anything happens to their heir…”

Leaving the girl both scared and heartbroken, Jamil walked away smiling. She blinked a few times before looking back at the boy still floating in the blue sky.

“Kalim Al-Asim, come down right now!” she shouted with all her lungs, waving her arms desperately.

The carpet descended a few seconds later, with Kalim crying his eyes out, apparently thinking he was being scolded. His ruby eyes filled with tears.

The prefect’s heart shattered. Unable to stop herself, she pulled him into her arms and wiped his tears with her thumbs. [Y/n] started crying along with him.

“No, my baby, I wasn’t yelling at you—I just couldn’t hear you from that far away!” she tried to explain as tiny caramel-colored hands clung to her uniform blouse.

They both ended up crying and comforting each other far longer than expected, while the vice leader watched from the balcony. They were both dramatic.

Vil

Both of them ended up in the dorm leader’s room, where he didn’t hesitate for a second before heading straight to his wardrobe and locking himself inside without saying a word to [Y/n]. She ended up sitting on the edge of Vil’s bed, waiting for the boy to… Was she supposed to wait for the child she was taking care of to get himself ready?

She sighed, having no other option, staring blankly into space while killing time until the wardrobe opened again.

Minutes passed—probably hours—during which the girl had already started playing on her phone, until the closet door opened once more, revealing little Vil wearing a suit that was, eventually, too big for him, and heels that doubled the size of his tiny feet.

[Y/n] didn’t hesitate and quickly took a silent photo, she was going to treasure that image for the rest of her life.

Dragging the oversized shoes, he walked over to his vanity where his makeup and daily treatments were waiting. His amethyst eyes glanced at the girl behind him, as if asking for something she should already know.

“Do you need something?” she asked uncertainly at the small face looking at her, which pointed at the tall chair where he usually sat to get ready every day. The girl understood perfectly. “Oh, I see… but how do you say it?”

She spoke softly, as if talking to a child, crouching down to his level.

Vil only sighed and lifted his little arms.

“Please,” he asked in a delicate tone as he was picked up. [Y/n] sat on the chair, placing the blonde boy on her lap so he could see better. Without waiting for instructions, she grabbed a comb and began brushing his long hair, while he watched attentively.

“For now, you’re not allowed to wear makeup. You’re small, and it can damage your skin,” she explained like a mother, gently stroking his head. He simply nodded without saying anything more. The girl was right—he needed to take care of his skin—so he let her continue brushing his hair as he slowly started to doze off.

Idia

[Y/n] had never seen a child so happy to be locked in his room. Both of them ended up staying inside Idia’s bedroom, since the boy refused to leave Professor Divus’s large coat if there were people around.

He was still the same introvert she met on her first day at school.

And so, they ended up sitting together playing a simple video game any child would enjoy: Magic Kart.

The boy’s amber eyes sparkled with every item he got, and he jumped with joy after winning his first cup without the girl’s help.

“Did you see that?!” he almost shouted, spinning in place while holding the controller in his tiny hands. “The great Idia just won a cup without help, hehe!”

Well, his laugh didn’t sound as creepy as usual anymore, but he was still just as self-centered as ever. The prefect nodded and clapped.

“You’re amazing,” she fed the child’s ego, making him smile happily. She could swear the tips of his flaming hair turned slightly pink. It had taken him several hours just to talk to her like that. Knowing she couldn’t just hug him to congratulate him, she simply held out her hand.

He looked at it, and with a small laugh, gave her a high five. Taking care of Idia as a child didn’t seem so difficult after all.

Malleus

The little dragon hatchling had been standing for over ten minutes in front of the large gargoyle hidden in the dark room of Diasomnia’s dorm leader.

He pointed at the stone and said softly, “Gargoyle.”

[Y/n] simply shook her head and replied, “No, it’s a grotesque.”

She earned a curious look from the horned boy, who tilted his head slightly to the right.

“Grotesque?” he asked in the same tone as before, waiting for a clearer explanation from the human. “What is the difference, child of man?”

Even if he was a child—or looked like one—he was likely still older than her in human years, so she didn’t correct his usual nickname for her. Instead, she felt honored; she could finally use the knowledge about gargoyles that the dragon had once taught her when they first met.

The prefect cleared her throat and searched for the right words.

“A grotesque is a little demon that plays tag and can’t move until another grotesque touches it,” she tried to explain in a child-friendly way. “A gargoyle, when it collects too much rainwater, spits it out through its mouth and nose.”

Malleus looked at her for a few seconds, then turned back to the stone in front of him.

“Gargoyles function as water drainage and do not damage the structure of the building. Grotesques are merely decoration. I understand,” he said without hesitation, focusing on the stone. “Thank you for explaining.”

[Y/n] blinked twice before sighing and gently patting the dragon boy’s hair.

“It’s nothing, Tsunotaro.”