It had been a few weeks since Riddle's overblot episode. Word had even gotten around that the two were on better terms with each other.

Right now the main 5 students of Heartslabyul and the Ramshackle students arrived at the cafeteria and the girls noticed that the students seemed to be riled up for something.

And that something was the Magical Shift Tournament!

Or Magift.

"So what is this tournament about?" Becky asked since neither the girls or Grim ever played it.

"You don't know about Magift!?" Ace asked astonished.

"Well, they are from another dimension, remember?~" Cater said.
"It's a world-famous sport. They have a professional league and even world competitions." Deuce added before Ace continued.

"Magical Shift... A.K.A. Magift, is a sport played by two teams made up of seven players.
To put it simply, you try to take a disc from each other and try to shoot it at the goal positioned in the opponent's territory. The team who scores the most points is the winner." Ace explained.

"Oh, it's kinda like football?" Justine asked.

"Football? Is that a sport from your hometown?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, except there's no magic involved." Kate said.

"Alright then... But I think it'd be difficult to have you guys appear in a Magift tournament."
"Why?" Grim asked.
"Magical Shift is a sport that uses magic. You carry the disc with magic, and all attacks and defenses used require magic as well." Deuce explained.
"Part of the player's appeal is when they exhibit super flashy magic, too~♪" Ace added.
"That is why Night Raven College is a world renowned powerhouse when it comes to Magical Shift!" Deuce explained, adding his input. "A lot of the school's alumni play in professional leagues now! Even more, Magical Shift is a sport that tests not only physical skills but also one's magical skills. Professional teams will be observing our school's intra-dorm Magift Tournament. A lot of renowned magicians around the world will come to watch. There will be a lot of shops lined up during the tournament as well, and they will be exhibiting products from all over the world. It is a very important and exciting event that's broadcast via television worldwide."

"It's televised!? Wow, its a huge contrast compared to football in that sense." Laura thought.

"People around the world will be watching!? Then, if I win that tournament, everyone in the world will know about me!?" Grim said in excitement.
"Of course, players who do exceptional and win in the tournament are invited to join professional teams, so it is a given that it comes with popularity, too." Riddle smirked.
"In Grim's case, people will be surprised to see that a monster is participating in the tournament." Trey added.

"Ah, but sadly, Grim can't participate~" Cater said in mock sadness.
Eh?
"It's an intra-dorm competition, and you need about seven people to enter.
Although your dorm has seven people, not all of them can use magic, although they have other powers. That is why you can't participate." Trey pointed out.
"WHAT?! No way....!!" Grim said in dismay.
"There are a lot of other things you can do during the tournament, you know? There's handing out drinks and helping prepare the grounds." Cater said trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm fine with that." Becky said with the other girls nodding. "Besides, I think Grim should at least see how the whole game is played before trying to participate once we do have enough experience."

"Sides, we are already too busy with studies and training to be superheroes.
"I suppose so..." Grim grumbled.

"Yeah... You can't do anything about it since you don't have enough people. You can only hope that more magic people join Ramshackle Dorm next year, but for now you have to give up on it." Trey said.

-----------------------------------

Later that day, the girls were practicing their powers when they were visited by Crowley.

Ladies. It appears Crowley has paid a visit.

"Thanks CAL. Let him in." Becky said as Crowley had a surprised look at the place. 

"Wow! You ladies really modified the place. And what was that voice earlier?" 

"Oh, that was CAL, my AI, and robotic butler of this dorm. Say hi CAL." Becky said.

Indeed.

"Headmaster, what brings you here?" Stella asked, knowing something was up. "Is something suspicious happening again?"

"I can't pull a wall over your eyes, huh?" Crowsley chuckled before gaining a serious expression. "I came here to ask you for a favor. Talking outside won't do, so let us head in."

Stella just nodded and told the others to go to the lounge for a meeting. 

[LOCATION: Ramshackle Dorm – Lounge]

"So what's the problem this time?" Grim grumbled as he sat on Hazel's lap.

"Ahem. Then, let me start from the beginning. There has been an increasingly concerning amount of people being injured in accidents around the school." Crowley said getting to the point.

"People getting injured?" Grim raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed. Falling down from stairs, getting scalded by boiling water, etc..." Crowley sighed."The reasons vary, but the fact that more people keep visiting the infirmary due to accidents still stands. I smelled a rat at work because of an incident by the staircase yesterday. That makes him the 10th victim. The problem is that when it happens, there were very few witnesses..."
"Aren't they just being clumsy?" Grim asked out loud
"The Magical Shift Tournament is nearing and it's true that students are getting restless. But, the amount of accidents compared to last year's is too much. What makes it more suspicious, all the people that were injured were students who were the top candidates for the Magical Shift Tournament." Crowley explained and Grim gained a frown on his face along with the girls.

"In other words, it's not a simple accident? You think it's being done on purpose." Minerva concluded.

"Excellent deduction, Minerva. However, we have no evidence to suggest otherwise.
All the accidents happened with at least one witness. And all those who fall victim all say the same thing. None of the ones injured were acting differently before." Crowley explained further.
"Then, that means they were just being clumsy. Alright, solved~" Grim said crossing his arms.

"But what if that's what the culprit is counting on Grim?" Stella countered. "And Crowley, I'm agreeing to help out of kindness since the boys are training for it too. I'm helping cause it may involve them. I have no interest in participating, so Ramshackle will be a neutral ref for the tournament if we help."

"Ah, well, I was hoping a place in the tournament itself would draw you in, but a guess being a ref team is fine too. Deal." Crowley sighed, at least happy that Hazel and Grim would help.

[LOCATION: School Infirmary]

"I heard that the injured people are all here. Pardon the intrusion!" Grim said.
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: "Who're you guys?"
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT B: "Oh! They're from Ramshackle Dorm. Remember, they were at the Unbirthday Party?"
"Oh~! Looks like we're plenty famous, with them." Grim smiled.

"Don't let it get to your head, Grim." Kate tapped the cat on his head. "Boys, do you mind if we ask what exactly happened during your accidents? It's an urgent order."

HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: I don't really get what happened either. I was walking while talking with this guy... And before I noticed it, I fell down the stairs.
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT B: Yeah... It's kinda different from him just tripping or slipping...
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: It's like my body just floated and moved on its own... I can't really explain it well...

"....From the sound of that...no that can't be...could it...?" Hazel wondered out loud, making Grim look at her weirdly.

[LOCATION: Classroom]

GRIM: "Hey, you got injured the other day, right? Tell us what happened." Grim asked a Pomefiore student.
POMEFIORE STUDENT A: Who in the world are you guys?
POMEFIORE STUDENT B: His feelings are hurt right now because he trained so hard for the Tournament but now he can't even participate!

"I understand, but I was asked by the headmaster himself to investigate this because he suspects foul play since too many students are getting hurt for it to be normal." Stella said getting their attention. "So, if you could tell us what exactly happened, we'd be grateful."

POMEFIORE STUDENT A: O-of course Prefect Rodgers. We'll tell you what happened.
POMEFIORE STUDENT B: It happened in the laboratory. The cauldron he was using to prepare some potions suddenly slipped from his hands and it caused an uproar in the classroom!
To top it off, the potion spilled all over that even the desk was so soaked! I was so surprised, goodness...!
POMEFIORE STUDENT A: Are you going to narrate everything!?

"Thank you. Please take care and hope you get better." Anisha nodded.

[LOCATION: Ramshackle Dorm – Foyer]

"Yanno... For some reason, they all just sound like they're clumsy. Maybe we're overthinking the situation, yanno?" Grim wondered. Before any of the girls could say anything, there was a knock at the door.
GRIM: "Hm? Who's that?"

It was Ace.

"Heya! Oh, Grim's feeling better?"
"Oh, it's just you. I'm busy right now, so I have no time to play with you." Grim grumbled.
"Busy? You're not done with your homework yet?" Ace asked.

Stella sighed. "We actually got it done earlier on my insistence. But that's not it. You see..."

[LOCATION: Mortishackle Dorm – Lounge]

"Oh... Investigating all those accidents, huh." Ace said shaking his head.
"But while we were asking them questions, all I could think of was that they were being clumsy or they weren't paying attention." Grim said.

But then Deuce ran though the door, all in a panic.

"Ace, there's a problem! Clover-senpai fell down the stairs and was injured...!" Deuce said out of breath.
GRIM & ACE: "Eh!?"
"Don't tell me...! Even that lanky glasses Trey was hurt!?" Grim shouted in disbelief.

"I don't think he was being clumsy. It's hard to imagine him being careless." Justine countered.

"True... Trey-senpai doesn't give off that vibe..." Ace said.
"Let's go ask him what happened!" Grim insisted, with the girls all nodding, happy that Grim was finally getting the picture.

----------------------------------

[LOCATION: Trey's Room]

"Pardon the intrusion." Ace announced as the group came into the room
"Clover-senpai, are you okay?" Deuce asked looking worried.
"Hey, Glasses! We came here to check on you!" Grim stated.
"Oh, it's the A-Deuce combi~ You even brought Grim and the ladies with you~" Cater said.
"Hello~ Wait, what's with the "A-Deuce" thing, Cater-senpai?" Ace asked.
"Eh? You both have "-ce" at the end of your names, so I just combined them~"
"Please call us by our complete names!" Deuce asked.
"More importantly, what exactly happened to Trey-senpai?" Laura interjected.
"Ah, I missed a step on the stairs. I tried to be cautious during the fall, but my right leg ended up getting the worse of it. I'll have to be in crutches for a while." Trey explained.
"Eh-!? Isn't that kind of bad?" Deuce exclaimed.
"It looks like I won't be able to participate in this year's Magift Tournament." Trey sighed.
"I thought of letting it slide if it was just a small injury, but... Here, have some canned tuna as a get-well present." Grim said holding out some canned tuna. "Get better soon, 'kay, Glasses?"
"Haha, thank you."

"Geez, give me a break. It's already tough without our star player Trey, and now we've gotta re-do the player selection." Cater lamented.
DEUCE & ACE: "Oh!? Player selection!?"

(knocking on door)

"Really, now. What are you all doing gathered in an injured person's room?" The redhead asked.
Ah-!! It's the irritable Riddle!" Grim said.

"Irritable, you say? I won't get mad if you don't break the rules." Riddle raised an eyebrow before turning to Justine.

"We heard about Trey and came over as quick as possible." Justine told Riddle, earning a nod.
"Thank you for your concern. Trey, how's your condition? Is there something you want to drink or eat?"
"You don't have to be so worried. I told you, I'm feeling okay."
"But... You got injured because of me and..." Riddle said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Minerva wondered.
"I had to go to the 3rd years' classroom because I had business with them. But then..." As he recalled what happened.

---Flashback----

[LOCATION: Stairway]

RIDDLE: "I'll be a little late, but go on ahead and practice for the Magical Shift Tournament." Riddle told Trey as he was departing, but then...

RIDDLE: " Wh-whoa-!!"
TREY: "Riddle, watch out!"

----End Flashback---

"He covered for me when I fell down the stairs and he got injured himself..." Riddle finished.

"I think you'll have been able to break your fall, you know? I covered for you on my own, so don't worry about it." Trey smiled.
"Still..."

ACE: "(whispering) Stella, this is like..."

"I know." Stella nodded.

"Come on, Riddle-kun~ No need to be so gloomy!" Cater said trying to lighten up the mood. "I feel bad about Trey-kun's injury, but we just have to do his best in his place~"
"Y-yeah, you're right."
"Come on, let's give the injured person a chance to rest. Disperse, disperse~" Cater said having the group leave.

[LOCATION: Heartslabyul Dorm - Lounge]

"So, Cater. There's something you couldn't say in front of Trey, isn't there?" Riddle asked getting to the point.
"As expected. You're quick on the uptake, Riddle-kun~" then he turned to the girls. "You know something about why Trey-kun got injured, don't you?"

"Excactly. You see.." Laura began to explain.

[LOCATION: Heartslabyul Dorm - Lounge]

"I see... The Headmaster asked that from you, huh..." Riddle thought.
"See? I knew that Grimmy won't be visiting without a reason." Cater smiled.
"Actually, I thought that something was amiss, too, so I asked Cater to gather some information."
"And then we found out that the only targeted people are the top players like Riddle-kun or Trey-kun." Cater said seriously.
"It is true that I hadn't slipped nor had someone pushed me from behind that day. However... I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like my body just moved around on its own." Riddle explained.
"The other guys who got hurt said the same thing, too." Kate added.
"I think it would be a good idea to narrow our list down to the tournament players." Riddle suggested.
"You mean to say that they're injuring strong players so that they'll have fewer rivals for the Magical Shift Tournament?" Ace wondered.
"It's a competition that will be viewed worldwide. The tournament is connected to a guaranteed way to secure one's future, so it's not unthinkable that people will use any means necessary to win." Riddle explained.

CATER: Hm... Still, it's very strange. It's not like you were pushed by some kind of wind magic, right?"
RIDDLE: I didn't feel any sort of impact at all."
CATER: It seems like there were some who got injured during lessons, too. I wonder what's going on..."

"Only one thing to do. We'll have to survey any possible targets or suspects. Narrowing down the list would help as well." Stella recommended.

"Well, obviously Hearslabyul was targeted. A Pomefiore student was recently targeted too, so that rules them out." Becky pointed out.

"I also found out that some students that were targeted were those of Scarabia, and Ignihyde couldn't be any less interested in this tournament, so I don't think we'll have to worry about them." Anisha added.

"So that would leave Diasomnia, Octavinelle, and Savanaclaw." Laura concluded.

At least there was something to start with.

-----------------------------------

Here's another part, and sorry but the girls won't be competing in the tournament, but let's be honest. If they did, with their power, the game would be over before anyone knew it, and the boys would have their backsides kicked.

I'm also considering a scene where Riddle and Justine go on a ride with her webs.

Plz comment and stay safe!