oauuughhhh

No, yeah, they just want an hour. An hour is all they ask without something happening, without the inconveniences of going to an all-boys school full of, you guessed it, teenage boys with egos while maybe going through puberty, and the chance of magical combustion possible through the means of depression/mental illness. 

Or both. Yuu leans towards both.

So, yes. Yuu lied and said they were heading straight to Ramshackle after school in order to rest. Actually, it wasn't even a lie, not entirely. Yuu did head straight to Ramshackle after school, then got ready to head down the mountain because taking a break from Night Raven as a whole is a form of rest.

Case closed, Yuu is heading down the mountain with zero regrets and their wallet in their pocket to buy themselves a proper bag.

They won't take the constant comments from everyone about how their school bag worked just fine to carry things around.

They won't have it anymore because A) it is a school bag. Yuu doesn't need to be bringing that energy everywhere they go just to carry a few things, while also having to lug the notebooks and other objects inside. And B) It's ugly. Truthfully, it is ugly. It is an old, hand-me-down that Crowley got them all the way back at the beginning of the year when they first stepped foot in the school as a proper student.

Can you blame Yuu for not wanting to carry something with NRC’s crest plastered all over it and seems like it’s going to disintegrate the moment a strong wind comes by and barely ruffles it, everywhere they go because they have no other bag to use?

Exactly. But they have to start small. Not that they carry many things at a time when they don’t have their school bag. Really, they just want something to put their ghost camera and phone in comfortably, but snug, along with a few other small items. 

So, after successfully making it to and out of the gates without being seen—they’re not sure why they’re being sneaky with it. They have permission from Crewel to leave the campus for the day. It’s just that…it feels sort of…illegal to be seen alone. Without even Grim on their shoulders, and no one around to accompany.

To others it may seem “illegal”. To Yuu? They’re having the time of their life practically skipping down the mountain towards the foot of it. It’ll take them a while to get down to the town, but they specifically chose a day when everyone who was most likely to contact Yuu at any moment, was busy with something either club or dorm related. 

The joys of not being a part of any dorm is the lack of your presence needed at dorm or club exclusive events are never ending. Yuu also thought ahead and warned everyone that they might not answer any calls or texts because they planned to spend today resting and fixing their sleep schedule. It wasn’t hard to get everyone to agree or at least be aware of it because they had all been busy preparing for their respective events.

Is it lying? Yes. 

Yuu does not regret it. 

At the moment, Grim was staying at Ramshackle on the promise that Yuu brings him something from the market in the town. It’s the closest that Yuu will get to solitude for most of the day—since they intend to be as languid as possible and take their absolute time with it. 

Will it take nearly forever to get to the market? Maybe. Is there a bridge lifted up that is technically blocking their route down? Yeah.

But they also got their permission from Crewel, who glanced around the hallway before handing them a key with a smirk and telling them to run along.

Yuu’s not questioning it.

Near the end of the hour, Yuu finally arrived at the bottom of the mountain and took the path leading into town. A quick trip, and before the thirty minute mark, Yuu was waving to familiar faces within the shops of the town. 

Now, to find a bag suitable for their ghost camera.

Without knowing where to start and not wanting to waste too much time—they might want to have as much time as alone as they can, but going back to Night Raven any later than around four in the afternoon is suspicious—they ask around to see if anyone knows of a place that sells purses or bags.

It takes a couple people before Yuu lands on one shop at the edge of town. The first thing they think of when they walk in? “Feels like the mystery shop, but…” Yuu mutters, slowly spinning around to take in the front of the shop before their gaze lands on the empty register. “...antique?”

The already small shop has shelves upon shelves of items on its walls, cluttering up the space until there’s only a distinct pathway to the register and pathways that branch off in the aisles. Yuu can barely see the walls, but they think they’re a nice yellow. The shop feels…welcoming, and comfortingly suffocating at the same time.

Yeah, this seems like the place to get a bag. 

Slowly as to not accidentally bump into anything or worse, knock it over, Yuu moves through the set path left by the clutter and looks through the aisles. Things creak as they move, and the wind chimes clink against each other even with lack of wind, filling the silence. Yuu goes through each aisle, slowly to let their hands graze each thing that catches their attention.

Not grab; Yuu doesn’t trust themself to hold anything in their hand for long in this shop. They just graze a few things with their finger tips and let their eyes do the rest. Their feet move them through the store slowly, until they get to the back wall.

By then, the sun has dimmed through the window and the rays of the golden hour are starting to seep in. The back wall might be the worst of the clutter, even without shelves. There’s just so much hanging on the wall, enough to overlap and have Yuu standing there for a long moment just to figure out where one rug began and the other ended, before joining with another rug.

there’s…so many rugs. How many does one need? Yeah, there’s a good chance these are for sale but…

Nothing in this shop feels like it’s for sale. Not really.

Yuu, out of curiosity and finally reminding themself they’re on a sort-of time limit, pulls their phone out of their pocket to check the time. Their eyes go wide at the 5:36 pm on their screen. 

They were supposed to be heading back by four.

Well.

They guess there’s no harm in sifting through the rugs now that they’re going to be late regardless. Said rugs are pretty nice.

Said rugs are hiding something behind the ones in front of Yuu.

They tilt their head and move the rugs—gently; the hooks hanging them could fall at any moment if they’re not careful—to find an indent in the wall with…

A bag…?

Exactly what they were looking for. Yuu dares themselves to grab it and hold it in both their hands to examine. Even though Yuu isn't sure if Twisted Wonderland had a place that was akin or even remotely resembled Switzerland but this bag…is definitely Swiss. Or Swiss inspired at least.

Their finger runs over the raised leather design on its front; the same three circles that hide in the pictures they take.

Returning back to the empty counter, Yuu puts the bag down to open fully—it opens exactly like the antique their grandmother had before she passed away.

She was a collector of sorts, not an expert or even that passionate about it, but some items in her garage held some interest to a nine-year old Yuu and a Swiss vintage medic bag was one of the things that caught their attention. 

And this bag…is eerily similar to that bag. Even the inside. 

Maybe it's another one of those coincidences where an object or whatever resembles something else from Yuu's world.

The pocket at the back …those shadows are too long and dark for such a small bag. Like the pocket is deeper than what the dimensions of the bag can offer. But, even though Yuu has no magic, they can still feel the general presence of it. It's harder when it's masked or weak, but even then with time, yuu can pinpoint it like another person can. Just…slower.

And this bag, which they've been around long enough to decide on this with certainty, is completely normal.

So, why…?

To be sure, Yuu puts their hand into the back pocket, feeling around. Their hand hits the bottom right around where Yuu was expecting it to and nothing seems to be wrong when they pull their hand out. 

Must be a trick of the light, then. 

Yuu closes up the bag and presses in its fasteners in place on the sides to make sure it closes correctly to stand up right. Even the leather feels authentic and good in their fingers. 

An idea pops into their head, and they're already lifting the strap to the ghost camera over their head and off of them. After some fiddling, they manage to take the strap off and place it off to the side.

Now, with no obstruction, Yuu opens the bag, making sure that the fasteners are still in place on the side, before slipping the ghost camera in the large pocket next to the circular slip for…whatever object it was designed for. Yuu remembers their grandma using it for a candy container.

It fits snugly. 

To test it, Yuu snaps the bag shut and wears it, pulling the strap over their head so it rests on their opposite shoulder. It feels empty obviously, with only the camera inside, so they go ahead and open it once more to slip in their phone and wallet into the second largest pocket, left to the pocket the camera is in. 

Snug and a very appreciated weight to the bag.

Caw!

Yuu jolts and looks towards the—bird? There, on the counter, is a crow. It watches them closely, tilting its head to the side so its left eye can examine them more closely. It caws and fluffs its wings before returning its head back to normal. 

It hops toward them, dumping what was held in its beak onto the counter—a tube of…candy?

The crow caws and features towards the bag with its beak. Slowly, Yuu opens it up and glances at the tube that rolls closer from the crow nudging it closer. With a shrug, Yuu grabs it and slips into the circular strap right to the pocket where the ghost camera is. It slides in, and like everything else that Yuu has put in so far, fits snuggly.

Caw!

“...thanks?”

The crow hops in place as Yuu closes the bag once more, hopping onto the bag and rubbing its head onto Yuu's clothes. They dare themselves to reach down and pet it with a finger, causing the crow to trill and push into their hand.

Then, it pulls away and bends down to peck the back of the bag. It looks back up at Yuu and caws lowly.

“What about it?” Yuu tilts their head and the crow copies the action, before bending down and pecking the bag again.

“Stop that!” Yuu shoos it off the bag and back onto the counter. They take off the bag, placing it on the counter and opening it to unpack their things. But, the crow stops them with a peck.

Yuu pulls their hand away and shakes it softly. “That hurt. What was that for?”

The crow pushes their things back into the pockets they were placed in, making sure they're snug before hopping onto the bag and balancing. Then, it peeks into the empty back pocket.

“There's nothing in there.”

The crow doesn't seem to care and looks back at them. It caws loudly and pecks the tube of candy until it slides out of the strap it's placed in. It takes the tube into its beak and hops off the bag in order to push it into Yuu’s hand. The crow caws and gestures to the tube, then the back pocket.

“You want me to…?” Yuu tilts their head and reaches over to slip the tube into the pocket, when yet again, the crow pecks their hand. They glare at it and go to slip it in again, and the crow pecks them again.

Yuu raises their eyebrow at the crow's behavior, inching towards the pocket with the tube in their hand one more time. Same reaction; a peck and caw from the crow.

“You…want me to…not put anything in that pocket?”

Caw!

The crow hops and caws again, seemingly much happier.

“That was it?”

The crow nods, flying up to their shoulder and nuzzling their cheek with the top of its head. Yuu pauses for a moment before nudging back. The crow gently nips them before flying off their shoulder and back onto the counter. It gets a good grip on their wallet before pulling it out of the pocket it was in with Yuu’s phone.

“Hey—!”

Yuu tries to catch it before it flies off, but fails. Just as they prepare to run after, they see where it landed.

On the shoulder of someone new in the shop. Someone cloaked, with their face hidden, and Yuu’s wallet in their hands.

“...um.”

The person doesn’t speak, only opens Yuu’s wallet faster than they can process the movement and snap it shut once more. Cash in their hand.

“You’re quite lucky. Just now I decided on lowering the price of that thing—no one would get it. ‘Oh, it’s just not my style’. ‘Oh, it doesn’t fit my vibe’. Whatever that means.” The now old woman—though Yuu still hasn’t seen her face. The shadow of the hood she wears hides it—says while counting the thaumarks in her hands.

“Um, how much was it…?” Yuu hesitantly asks. They really only brought a hundred thaumarks into town with them. They didn’t want anything that expensive, but they also know how much a good bag will cost them. At least, using the knowledge from earth and hoping it translates well to Twisted Wonderland.

“Forty five thaumarks. Quite the steal, don’t you think?” Yuu can hear the smile in the elder’s voice. The old woman hands Yuu their wallet back and watches as they place it back in the pocket with their phone.

Hesitantly and keeping an eye on the woman, Yuu swings the bag back on and fidgets with the strap that hangs on top of their chest

“So…it’s mine now?”

“Mhm!” The old lady says, moving around Yuu to take up the spot behind the counter. “Just remember what this old bird told you~.”

“...Nothing goes in the back pocket…?”

“There you go! Nothing in the back pocket; should be easy to remember. Now then, on your way!” The old lady moves quicker than Yuu can give her credit for, coming up behind Yuu with a few steps and pushing them towards the exit of the shop. The door opens without prompting—by itself. Yuu doesn’t know why they’re surprised at this point, having spent so long in Twisted Wonderland—and the old lady shoves Yuu out of it.

Yuu stumbles for a few moments, regaining their balance and dusting themselves off, before turning around to…an empty space.

No shop, only an empty building with a sign on the inside of the window that says: For Lease. 

Typical. Letting a random person in your shop while you’re not in it, giving said random person suspicious advice to avoid placing something in a specific pocket of a bag—which are made to to hold things so her advice doesn’t make any sense, but Yuu is following it because what else do they have to go off? Then, the shop keeper kicks them out and the shop disappears.

Yuu doesn’t know why they’re not used to wild shit like this yet.

By the time Yuu arrived at Night Raven’s main/front gate, the sun was starting to set. By the time they got inside the campus and gave Crewel the key he gave them, he was scolding them for staying out so late.

By the time Yuu got back to Ramshackle, they were so dead on their feet, they didn’t have the strength to keep up with Grim and just marched to their bed to flop onto it. They felt Grim’s paw pushing at their cheek and his quiet words of worry.

Yuu only rolled over and grabbed him, muttering a soft command for him to sleep, before falling asleep themselves.

“Yuu.”

“Yuu.”

“Hench! Man! Get Up!”

Yuu groaned and pushed Grim off their chest, rolling over on their side to push their face into the pillow.

“Get up! You didn’t take a shower yesterday an’ I don’t want to hear your complaints about going to school like this! An’ I definitely don’t want to have to live through your face all day! Go and take a bath!”

Did Yuu sleep in their clothes? One eye opens and Yuu gets confirmation that yes, they did sleep in their clothes from yesterday’s outing. Even the bag is still on them.

They groan again, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and plucking Grim off their chest. Yuu sits up, starting with the bag, which they take off and place next to their bed.

Why are they so tired?

“What time is it, bud?”

“Earlier than when you usually wake me up. Thought I’d be nice and give you some time to…undo all that.” He gestures with his tail to Yuu in entirety. 

“Thanks.” They deadpan, standing and grabbing today’s uniform and undergarments for today. They make sure to take out their phone from the bag and put it to charge before they leave for the bathroom. “Don’t cause any chaos until I’m fully awake, mkay?”

He huffs and leaves the room, doubling back to sniff Yuu’s new bag. There’s a beat of silence where his eyes narrow, before he shrugs and takes the strap into his mouth. He pulls it out of the room and brings it downstairs for easy access when he and Yuu leaves. 

Grim leaves the bag on the couch and rests his head on top of it while he waits for Yuu to come down from the bathroom.

After half an hour, Yuu comes down in a much better mood than before. They walk over and pet Grim’s head before taking the bag from beneath him. They put it on, securing it, before picking Grim up into their arms.

“I’m assuming you’re hungry?” Yuu deposits Grim onto ‘his’ corner of the table so he could watch them in the kitchen.

“‘Course I’m hungry! It’s too early to not be.” He sits—similar to how a cat would, not that he would take to being compared to a cat kindly—and watches them roam the kitchen for ingredients. His tail thumps against the table as Yuu begins to cook something simple for them both.

All the while, every few minutes or so, Yuu would reach down and pat the bag at their hip. Almost like reassuring themselves it’s still there. 

After eating(and checking if Grim had washed his teeth), Yuu has Grim hop on their shoulder and the duo leave for classes. Having woken up so early, and having taken a morning shower which made Yuu feel more awake than usual, the walk to where they’d meet Deuce and Ace was more of a stroll. They had the time.

In fact, they were the ones to wait for the disaster duo before the morning bell rang.

Which was a change that was most likely not going to last for the rest of the day. Much less extend to tomorrow, but Yuu will take what they can get. That’s how they got their hands on this very fine bag that even passed Vil’s scrutinizing gaze when he saw it. 

Once Yuu had noticed he was examining it, they had paused what they were doing and held it on top of their flat hands so it was stretched out in his direction. They waited for him to turn away, taking it as a sign their choice was ‘acceptable’. 

It was practically, barely noticeable at times, and barely restricted Yuu’s running ability while they were holding it close. That last part is significantly more important than the first two bullet points on Yuu’s list.

Apparently, the thing that’s more noticeable is Yuu themselves. And besides their friends, the only people who pay attention to Yuu specifically are the kind that want something, or the kind that thinks they’re an easy target because of their lack of magic to fight against anyone that may approach them. 

Leading Yuu to now. 

When lunch came, Yuu had gotten there earlier than anyone else they sat with and silently cursed over how their spot on the table they usually sit at was taken. By someone who wasn;t going to move, even when asked politely. Yuu swears they’ve seen that exact group sit across the cafeteria, and yet they’ve moved over here?

Guessing from the snickering looks, it definitely wasn’t by accident.

Grim barely notices when they pass the table, focused on trying to swipe the food from his tray, which Yuu keeps out of swiping distance. Once Yuu finds a table—a little more towards the corners of the cafeteria. It’s a tiny bit pathetic, if they think about it—and sets down his tray, he jumps off their shoulder and gets right to eating, completely ignoring how they’ve moved out of the way and are still getting glances from the group of boys who sat at their usual table.

Yuu can only ignore and wait for everyone else to arrive. So, they turn back to their tray, never giving their back to that table, and begin to eat.

Unfortunately, that’s when the boys at the table stand and make their way over to Yuu’s temporary table. To Grim’s credit, he slows down as they get near and fully stops when they arrive right in front of the temporary table.

“...do you need something?” Yuu asks drily, already getting the least likely option out of the way.

“Need something? Nah, just…why ya’ sitting by yourself, prefect?” One of the boys—second year, Yuu can tell—laces his words with faux sympathy and curiosity, making the others snicker. Yuu reaches over and plops their hand on Grim’s head, forcibly stopping the fire from seeping out of his jaws, and sliding their hand down to quell the arch that had formed on the dire beast’s back.

“People can run late.” They say back, eyes flickering to a member of the group that had broken off and tried to discreetly move forward. Caught, he clicks his tongue and steps back, where one of the others swings an arm around his shoulders and whispers something to make them both snicker under their breath.

“Really?” The one who spoke first crosses his arms, tilting his head and smirking at Yuu. “Ya sure you haven’t been ditched, prefect?”

Grim’s growl increases at the poke to their title, and Yuu presses harder down on his head to make sure no fire flares out of the confines of his jaw. 

“I have not been ditched.”

“Ya sure?” He moves closer, his hand coming down on the table beside Yuu, giving him stability to lean down into their personal space. “Because who wouldn’t ditch you?”

Yuu can’t grab Grim before he pounces, and—now that he’s been released regardless of Yuu’s non-verbal instruction—Yuu waits a moment longer than they should to peel the feline off of the boy’s face. Their lips twitch at the scratch marks on his face—nowhere near his eyes, my, they’ll have to treat Grim to something later—and laughter bubbles in their chest, which they stamp down.

“Ack—fucking control your beast!” The boy stumbles back, and by now, the cafeteria has paused and begun to watch. He’s caught by the rest of the group, and one of them performs a water spell to rid their leader’s face of the blood. He’s furious, and Yuu has to press their lips together to even resist the urge to laugh. 

“Sorry about that,” Yuu says back, even as they pet Grim’s head affectionately in silent thanks as they put him back on the table. Yuu stands and hooks their legs out of the bench, looking back at the boys. “You must’ve done something to set him off.”

“Me?! I didn’t do nothing!”

“You must’ve. He’s well behaved and generally likes people.” That last sentence has Grim puffing out his chest proudly, a purr resounding from his chest, loud in the quiet cafeteria. “Just not you, it seems.”

“You little shit—we’ll fucking—” The leader steps forward, stopped by the arm of another student beside him—Heartslabyull belonging student. They’ll be sure to tell Riddle. The boy keeps his leader back, pointing at Yuu with his other hand.

“You got a night light in your purse or something?” Some of the group predictably snickers at his words, but lean forward curiously to see what he’s talking about. “Why’s it glowing?”

Yuu looks down, seeing the faint glow from under their bag’s flap. They raise an eyebrow at it, glancing at Grim who shrugs. If he didn’t put anything that could provoke a glow inside their glow inside, and Yuu’s had it on them the whole day, then why is there a glow inside their bag?

Yuu reaches down, undoing the clasp under the gaze of the cafeteria. They bring the flap back, eyes widening at where the glow is coming from. 

The back pocket. The usual darkness is gone, replaced by a shimmery substance that ripples when Yuu’s fingers breach the surface.

Yuu pauses. They were told to not put anything inside the pocket. Then again, they have no intention of leaving their hand in there permanently, and they weren’t told to disobey the bag when it was pulling at the skin at their finger tips.

Undoubtedly curious and too far gone not to try, Yuu reaches in completely. Their hand hits nothing, even when their wrist disappears into the pocket.

“That some trick or something?” He’s promptly shushed by Yuu’s free pointer finger, Yuu themselves more focused on whatever object their hand has wrapped around. A simple tug isn’t enough to dislodge it, so Yuu pulls and pulls and pulls until the handle peeks out of the pocket. 

The blade comes out next, until Yuu is left with a sword longer than their arm in their hand.

(Later, they’ll take it out in the privacy of their room and recall the swords the Silver Owls used within Lilia’s dream and wonder how did it end up in a purse?)

Yuu glances at the group before flicking the sword’s tip to one of the cafeteria’s exits, a silent order to scram, please.

another from my drafts that i forgot about.