Ace stares in horror at a very annoyed and stern Riddle, and all your Pokémon look at Riddle with varying expressions of confusion or concern.

Cater laughs nervously, looking a bit clammy. "Hey, Riddle! What's shakin' pal? You're lookin' adorbs, as always!"

Damn, even Cater's scared of him... however, you- having no magic- have nothing to worry about.

Riddle folds his arms with an annoyed expression. "Hmph. Cater, keep running your mouth and you'll lose it, along with the rest of your head."

"Sorry, sorry! My bad..." Cater raises his arms defensively, looking worried.

"Myah!" Grim stands up and slams his paws on the table, before climbing onto your shoulder to glower at Riddle. "You're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony!"

Riddle merely glances at Grim before rolling his eyes and resuming glaring at a panicking Ace. "And you're the new students who were nearly expelled yesterday. I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a stupid collar. The headmage's habit of tolerating rule breakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day. Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception."

"Dude, seriously?" Ace mutters to himself, but not quietly so everyone hears him. "This guy looks like a wimp, but talks like a monster!"

The headmage may have forgiven you, but if you break any further rules, I assure you I will not."

"So, uh, listen, housewarden, sir..." Ace nervously scratched the back of his head, his other hand on his collar. "Any chance I could get you to remove this collar?"

"I had intended to remove it once you'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon your crimes. But I've not detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard you spout today. So I think I'll let you keep that for a while." Riddle calmly responds with a cold expression.

Ace looks frustrated and deflated, and you raise an eyebrow at Riddle.

"Don't worry." Riddle responds coldly at Ace's reaction. "The freshman curriculum is more focused on magical theory than practice. And your inability to use magic will help prevent incidents along the lines of what happened yesterday. Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: One must leave the table within fifteen minutes of completing their lunch. You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers, I trust?"

Ace groans, looking frustrated. "More insane rules..."

Riddle quirks an eyebrow and tilts his head, frowning in annoyance. "I believe you mean to say, "Yes, Housewarden"!"

All the students wearing red-and-black ribbons around their right arms immediately straighten their postures and say, "Yes Housewarden!"

Riddle makes a curt nod of approval at the other nervous students. "Very well then."

Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Trey says while adjusting his glasses. He seems to be the least nervous out of anyone in Heartslabyul, outside of Riddle himself.

"Hmm. As vice housewarden, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation." Riddle looks satisfied when Trey nods at his words.  "Now, as per rule 339: The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes. Thus, I must go to acquire my sugar cubes. Farewell. Don't even get me started on their violation of running out of sugar cubes!"

And with that, Riddle turns on his heel and leaves the cafeteria. You notice every single Heartslabyul student relax when he leaves.

"Yeesh! That was terrifying..." Cater sighs as he plays with a strand of his hair.

Grim nods with an uncomfortable expression. "That guy... has some serious issues."

Deuce glares at the cat-monster. "Hey, don't disrespect him!"

You sigh with a shake of your head. "Grim, be nice..."

You glance over at the other Heartslabyul students chatting amongst eachother.

"Is the Housewarden gone?"

"I totally just broke rule 186, never eat a hamburger on Tuesday. I don't know what I would've done if he caught me!"

"I wish he wouldn't come here so we could at least eat lunch in peace."

You note Cater and Trey frowning at the students, and you give the students who wish Riddle didn't come to lunch the best death glares you can muster. It works, the students going quiet at your glare.

"Riddle managed to secure the housewarden title before the end of his very first week at school." Trey adds, with a slight smile as a form of comforting. "I know he can come off a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm." 

Grim tilts his head and crosses his arms. "Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?"

You ignore the cat and raise an eyebrow. "What's this about a "Signature Spell"? It sounds like a Signature Move..."

"Hm? You're curious about Riddle's signature spell?" Trey asks.

"That means, like... It's a spell that only he can cast, right?" Deuce questions.

"I doubt he's the only person in the whole world..." Trey says. "But yes, a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user. You'll learn about them in class soon enough."

Carter nods. "Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily seal away the magic of another. The spell is named "Off With Your Head"."

Grim shudders. "Even the spells name is complete psycho!"

A mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head completely. "Carter continues. "Which is why all of us at Heartslabyul House try hard not to violate Riddle's rules."

"And as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary." Trey explains.

You nod, recalling how Riddle was relatively polite to you at the ceremony. He seemed nice, but... now he seems slightly insane.

Speaking of which," Ace throws a glance at Carter. "are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?"

"Don't at me, but... yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied. Also, Riddle always looks forward to having the first slice of a tart. So if you want him to forgive you, you had better bring a whole tart!" Carter explains.

"What happened to 'We're all from the same dorm, let's try to get along?' Throw me a bone here!" Ace waved an arm at Carter.

Carter shrugs in response. "That's one thing. This is another."

Deuce put a hand to his chin. "A whole tart has gotta be pretty expensive."

Ace throws his hands in the air. "Seriously? I don't have that much money!"

"Then why not make one yourself?" Carter gestures to Trey. "Trey made those three tarts by hand, after all."

"Oh, really? That's neat! I've never made a tart before... though I can make plenty of food! Of course, not as great as Arven's, but still fairly good!" You say with a smile at Trey.

Arven taught you how to cook. He is honestly the best chef you've ever met, and you're happy he's one of your best friends. The trauma of dead parents sucks though.

"Heh, I have no idea who that is, but that's interesting." Trey says with a smile, before directing his attention back to the boys at the table. "We do have most of the stuff you'd need, but... I'm afraid I'll need something from you in return."

"You're going to charge me to make it?" Ace asks in horror before pressing a hand to his forehead. "What kinda racket is that?"

"Nah, I wouldn't take money from a freshman." Trey says with a shake of his head. "But Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm going to need you to gather a ton of chestnuts."

What in the Distortion World is a 'chestnut'..?

Like that's any less of a hassle. But..." Ace sighs with a shake of his head. "Fine. How many do you need?"

"Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so... Probably two or three hundred?" Trey tilts his head, thinking.

"Three hundred!" Deuce and Grim both say in a mix of shock and horror.

"And they're all gonna need to be boiled, shelled, and pureed." Trey finishes with a nod.

You raise a hand slightly. "Oh, cool, cool... one question, what in the name of Arceus itself is a "chestnut"?"

Everyone- except your Pokémon, who also don't know what 'chestnuts' are and are just as confused as you- gives you silent looks. Grim sighs and hops up. "'Aight, I'm gonna head out."

You grab the cat-monster by the cat to stop him, huffing a bit. "No Grim."

"Aw, c'mon!" He groans in annoyance. "You don't even know what a chestnut is, human! How is this going to work? I don't see how this is our problem."

"I'm leaving too." Deuce says as he stands up, giving you an apologetic look for a moment.

Ace glares at the two. "You heartless cowards!"

You sigh and look annoyed. "Don't worry Ace. I'll help out, and I'm sure my Pokémon will too. Who's with me to help Ace?"

All your Pokémon raise their hands/talons/claws/nubs/paws in sync. You grin at them and then at Ace, who seems startled by your willingness to help.

"Hold up!" Carter calls to Deuce and Grim- who popped out of your grasp to leave with Deuce- as the two start walking away a bit. "Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends? This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!"

Speaking of making a big splash... weren't you planning on telling Toto to not post anything?

Yeah, you were! Fuck, you totally forgot with how busy you were... eh, worthy sacrifice to make the Rotom happy. You sacrifice a lot for your friends, especially your Pokémon.

As... much as it hurts. You do what's best for them. No matter what...

"Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out of the oven." Trey informs them, snapping you out of your sullen thoughts. "And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it."

That gets Grim's attention. The cat-monster immediately pauses and whirls around, his ears perked up. "Well, when you put in that way... C'mon humans, let's do this!"

"That... was a swift change of tune, pequeño gato de fuego." You chuckle in mild amusement. "Anyways, where can we even find these "chestnuts"?"

I heard there's a whole bunch of chestnut trees in the woods behind the campus's botanical garden." Trey explains.

Okay, they grow on trees... good to know.

Ace nods. "Cool. Plan made. Let's meet at the botanical garden after last period."

Okay, that's around four in the afternoon. Plenty of time to figure out where the botanical garden is and search what 'chestnuts' are...

Grim rubs his paws together excitedly. "We're gonna be up to our ears in chestnuts!"

"That's not saying much considering your height, pequeño gato de fuego..." You sigh in response.

--------

You: Pardon me, Headmage?

Crowley🤍: Yes dear?

You: If I were to plant some special plants I have from my world

You: Would that count as a favor to the school, forgiving me of one incident that may occur?

Crowley🤍: Depends on the plants do

Crowley🤍: Mind elaborating on what they are capable of?

You: Well, they're called Herba Mystica. They come in five flavors.

You: Sweet Herba Mystica is good for gut health such as aiding in digestion, curing stomachaches, and stimulating one's appetite.

You: Bitter Herba Mystica is good for one's blood circulation and helps warm up the body, even boosting the immune system.

You: Salty Herba Mystica is good for alleviating aching hands and feet. It also aids in healing neuropathy injuries such as numbness and muscle weakness.

You: Sour Herba Mystica is full of nutrients to help heal people who are tired, specifically those who are physically or mentally exhausted.

You: And Spicy Herba Mystica helps boost metabolism and circulation in order to help flush out both toxins and sweat.

You: They're incredibly rare in my world, but I have some sprouts I could grow since I learned you have a botanical garden here

Crowley🤍: Hmm

Crowley🤍: Well, sure then dear!

Crowley🤍: Though I would like access to these plants

You: Of course sir! ((o(^∇^)o))

Crowley🤍: Hm?

Crowley🤍: What is the little face thing there?

You: It's an emoticon... (゜ロ゜)

Crowley🤍: Oh!

Crowley🤍: Interesting!

Crowley🤍: One moment, I must go

You: Headmage?

You: ( ;'･ω･')

---

You look up blankly from Toto from where you sit on Koraidon's back as they carry you, Grim, Deuce, and Ace towards the woods behind the botanical garden.

"So... he responded?" Deuce asks. "What did you even text the Headmage."

"He said yes to my gardening plan, but he doesn't know what emoticons are. This place is confusing..." You sigh, shrugging a bit.

Grim sits on Ko's head, eagerly looking around. One he spots trees with little brown Chesto Berry-like shapes surrounded by little spines, and a ton on the ground around the trees.

"Woah!" Grim hops off Ko's head and darts over to what seem to be 'chestnuts'. "There really are a ton of chestnuts lying around here! I'm gonna be livin' on large chestnut tarts! Mmm! Let's get grabbi- YEOWCH!" Grim reels back, pulling his paws away from the chestnuts and pulling them to his chest with wide eyes.

You step off Ko as they still and Grim scampers up to you with tears in his eyes. "Myah! The chestnut spines pricked my paws!"

"Oh no..." You sigh as you pick up the cat-monster, and he scampers onto your shoulder to curl up. Moonstone- on your other shoulder- facepalms at Grim.

"I don't think we can do this with our bare hands." Deuce says as he follows you off Ko, Ace following behind him as the blue-haired boy keeps talking. "And we need something to put them in too."

"Maybe we can find some supplies in the botanical garden?" Ace suggests.

Deuce nods. "Let's take a look."

You also nod with a smile. "Yeah. And I can plant the Herba Mystica for the Headmage and then have him owe me a reasonable favor. Win, win."

---

You and the others step into the botanical garden. It's a ginormous, domed glass building filled with hundreds of different plants, and soon to have five more planted inside of it. The moment you step inside, the humidity hits you like a High Jump Kick. The tan path leads a bit into the garden, before splitting into three directions.

You know the Herba Mystica is going to love growing here (not that it's sentient), so you're looking forward to planting it.

Koraidon sits peacefully outside of the garden, and Poni looks around excitedly. Earlier, she heard you were going to plant the Herba Mystica and wanted to help. Naturally, you said yes.

Ace lets out a low whistle as he looks around. "Woah... I didn't realize this place was so huge."

"If it's this large, it's got to have a groundskeeper." Deuce suggests. "Let's split up and look."

"Sure. Dibs on the right side." Before anyone can do or say anything, Ace heads down the right path.

"Then how about I go left, while you and Grim go straight ahead?" Deuce offers as he turns to you.

You nod a bit, setting down an excited Grim, and head your separate ways with Poni and the monster-cat,  Moonstone on your shoulders.

Your little group strolls down the path, admiring the foliage and flora on either side of you.

"Pon?"

Your attention is directed to Poni, who pulls her foot off a strange fuzzy root she stepped on. You walk up to her and crouch down, observing the root.

It's slender, brownish yellow in color with a strange dark brown tuft on the end. You run a hand along it gently, before standing up, gently picking up Poni, and resuming walking after Grim.

You don't notice the 'root' flick after you start walking away. You also don't notice the annoyed beastman sit up and glower at you as you walk away.

You smile at Grim as he excitedly sniffs the fruit he finds. "Hey! Come look at this! There's a ton of fruit growin' here! Smells like they're ripe, too!"

Grim excitedly picks up a strawberry and bites into it, excitedly purring. Poni scampers over and picks a strawberry to eat herself.

"Hey!" An annoyed voice calls from behind you.

You and Moonstone look behind you to see an annoyed tall man with brown Luxray-like ears walking up to you. You vaguely recognize him from orientation, and you note a few leaves in his hair. Most likely from a bush. Why was he in a bush? You don't want to know...

He has thick dark brown hair that goes below his shoulders, with long parted bangs that fall over his eyes. Framing his face on either side are two braids and tied down with yellow hands. His emerald green eyes are narrowed, and you notice a small scar over his left eye that goes from his eyebrow to his cheek. You notice he's not wearing the uniform jacket, but is wearing the white long-sleeved undershirt rolled up to his elbows. He also has his yellow vest on and black gloves. Then you realize he has a Luxray-like tail, that looks exactly like the... 'root'... Oh no-

"You've got some nerve just steppin' on, pettin' my tail, and just walkin' away..." He says as he glares at you.

"I'm so sorry-" You start, but Grim hops over and cuts you off.

"Are you the groundskeeper? Not sure you oughta be talkin' to students that way, pal." The cat-monster huffs out with crossed arms.

The Luxray-eared man scoffs. "Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a good nap and havin' some jerk mess around with my tail."

You step in front of Grim and Poni, holding up two hands to try to descalate the situation. "Woah, woah... as I was saying, I am deepy sorry. I didn't realize that was your tail, and thought it was some strange root as I am unfamiliar with many things here..."

"You... I know you." He takes a step toward you and you step back. Poni and Grim hop out of the way as he keeps walking to you until you bump back into a tree. "You're that herbivore from orientation who couldn't use magic and had the strange familars."

He leans forward and sniffs you, and you try to lean away from the weird person. Poni looks ready to maul this guy, but you cautiously place a hand on her head to stop her.

After a moment, he leans back with an unamused expression. "Huh, it's true. You don't smell like magic at all, except for the little dog-looking thing on your shoulder. Well, I can't say it'd be fun to hurt someone so helpless..."

Oh no. That doesn't sound good...

"Hey, hey... we don't need to fight." You say as you hold you hands up. "It was an accident..."

"No one gets to screw around with my tail and just walk away without payin' the price. I'm in a bad mood on account of bein' woken up from my nap, too. That's gonna cost you a tooth." He responds, placing a palm against the tree to trap you in.

"Only if you don't ask any questions." You respond as a look of confusion flashes on the man's face. Then you pull out your small bags of Bruxish Teeth and Deep Sea Teeth from you bag and offer them to the man. "Take your pick."

"...what?" The man says with a raised eyebrow and startled expression.

"These are teeth from Bruxish and Huntail, Pokémon from my world. If you want a tooth, feel free to take one." You respond casually, ignoring Grim's startled look and the man's confusion and slight concern.

"...I meant- nevermind..." The man shakes his head slightly, his ears flicking as he has a faint sly smirk. "Your a weird one, you know that herbivore? A weird, calm one..."

"I have been told that, yes." You say as you put the teeth away. "But still... I feel terrible about accidentally messing around with your tail. So... I'll do something to make it up to you."

The Luxray-eared man lets out a dark and amused chuckle, like he's impressed with your audacity or similar to that, and leans closer to your face. You notice his longer, fang-like canines in his mouth as his emerald eyes glint in a silent, 'oh, she should not have said that'. You figure you may have fucked up a bit.

"You don't want to be in debt with me, little herbivore... but since you insisted..." He purrs out, and you hope he doesn't make you hide a body or something.

"Leona, there you are!" A new, and more chipper voice, calls out.

The Luxray-eared man huffs and takes a step back from you, and you let out a shaky breath you didn't realize you were even holding. Your eyes trail over to look at the new person.

He's slightly shorter than you and noticably shorter than- who you assume- is Leona. He's got oddly-petable, short, sandy-blonde hair that fluffs up at the ends and mid-length, messy bangs. His blue-ish gray eyes glitter in a mixture of amusement and hidden-annoyance, and his mouth is curled up in a cheeky grin, with short fangs in his canines. You note the small Mightyena-like ears on his head that are curled at the end, that are brown in color. He also has a skimpy Mightyena-like tail. Immediately, you sense his unaddressed trauma and need for someone to be kind to him, and his face looks both incredibly punchable and his head looks incredibly petable.

What a silly fella who needs someone who clearly cares about him as a friend. Will you be that person? Why in the Distortion World itself not?

You'll be this world's unpaid therapist- despite needing one yourself- because you're bored and want to help people.

"I'd knew I'd find you here!" The new boy says with his grin never faltering. "We got after-school classes today, remember?"

Leona rolls his eyes and glances at you. "Ugh... and now I've got this guy on my tail." He says, obviously referring to the new boy.

Said new boy places his hands on his hips with a slightly ticked expression, though keeps smiling. "Leona, you already had to repeat one year. If you get held back again, we'll be in the same grade!"

Wow... You never been held back. In fact, you skipped your first years at Pomelo Academy. Since the Academy's students range from twelve to eighteen, and you joined when you were fourteen, you naturally skipped the first two years thanks to attending Trainer's School and homeschooling. Then you skipped the grade for the fourteen year-olds due to just being a smart little fella, and went into classes for the fifteen year olds. Which you can suppose is a good thing, considering all your friends at Pomelo are at least fifteen. Only Kieran is your friend who's your age, being sixteen now.

Oh wait, focus on the situation and don't get sad about not seeing your friends and them maybe freaking out about you being missing.

"Oh, put a sock in it already." Leona crosses his arms and rolls his eyes again. "I'm tired of all yer yappin', Ruggie."

Ruggie- which you can figure his name is- glowers in annoyance at Leona. Immediately, you figure these two are sort-of friends, or at least on good terms. "Look, you think I always like being on your case? C'mon man."

You step away from Leona and Ruggie, pick up Grim and Poni, and slowly start backing away down the path, hearing everything.

"You act like it'd be hard for you," Ruggie continues, "You could skate through life if you just try. Come on! Let's go already!"

Leona makes an annoyed sigh and looks over to glare at you. Then he realizes you moved away and gives you an annoyed and tired expression, which you blink innocently at in response. "...Next time you stink up my territory, there's gonna be a price to pay herbivores!"

Leona storms past Ruggie, and you and the Mightyena-eared boy share a look of, 'first time? First time.' And wave at eachother, before you turn around and keep walking.

"Myah!" Grim huffs as he pouts on your shoulder. "I don't like the sound of that! What's up with that nutso?"

You sigh. "I think it's fair to assume that wasn't the groundskeeper..."

You look around and notice a little blank plot. You scan for any signs of reservations and make a satisfied nod when you see none. You set down Grim and your Pokémon, as well as your bag, and crouch down.

Not having any gardening tools really, you just use your hands to dig five small holes in the dirt. You grab some slender metal poles used to wrap vines around set to the side and insert them just behind the holes, before planting the Herba Mystica and wrapping the sprouts around the poles to control where the plants grow.

Grim and Poni waddle over to help pad dirt around the Herba Mystica plants, and you smile. "Ah... Mudball would've loved this..."

Grim gives you an inquisitive and annoyed look. "Myah? Who's Mudball? You made me meet all your Pokémon-things and I never met a Mudball!"

You smile sadly. "Long story... I'll tell you tonight, just remind me. Okay?"

Grim nods a bit, and you three finish patting in the dirt and stand back up. Moonstone and Grim hop onto your shoulders as you wipe your hands off. "That should be good. Just need to water them..."

You pull out your beloved Wailmer Pail and pour your water bottle's contents into it, before pouring the water on the plants.

"Myah? What's that?" Grim asks, looking curious.

"Limited-edition Wailmer Pail. I use it to help water berry plants I come across on occasion." You grin a bit, amused and proud of your beloved Wailmer Pail Meg was awesome enough to give to you.

Meg, best known as Omega. One of your best friends, an amazing seamstress, and a member of the Eternal Eevelutions. You haven't seen him in a month or two now, and you can't believe you forgot his name for a bit like the doofus you are, but you two are good friends.

You also played Enamerous and got him and his boyfriend Wally together. Actually, all the Eevelutions did. You think most of the Eevelutions are in relationships now, except you of course.

You are still figuring out your sexuality after all. All you know is that you're pansexual and demisexual. You've felt love for multiple people at once before, and are unsure exactly what you are.

You also don't usually think about sex. Or at least unless it's with people you're romantically interested in. You've never really been in a romantic relationship, nor have you tried sex.

Eh, you still have plenty of time to figure out your sexuality. No worries.

"Yo, guys!" You look up from watering the Herba Mystica to see Ace and Deuce happily trotting towards your little group, holding tongs and a couple baskets.

"We found baskets and tongs!" Ace finishes his statement as he waves the tongs.

"I like your watering-can!" Deuce says with a smile as he holds the baskets in his arms.

"Aw, thank you! I like your face!" You respond back with a smile, willfully ignoring Deuce furiously blushing as you continue speaking. "My friend Omega got this for me back home. It's limited-edition, and I love it."

"Oh? Friends?" Ace grins a bit, obviously implying you and Meg are dating or some Tarous-shit like that. "Is that all?"

"...yeah." You say, letting your annoyance slip through. "Omega's gay and has a boyfriend."

"..." Everyone goes quiet for a moment, before you speak up.

"So I kinda just got threatened." You say casually, like that's normal to say.

"What!?" Deuce and Ace yelp out in sync.