Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

Yuu put a hand to his head as he felt a little dizzy after hearing the heavy dripping sound for the third time.

"Yuu? Are you okay?" Ace asked him, forgetting for one second his anger. "You look pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine... I think. But I feel my head spin..."

"Really? You? Being the only one of us who doesn't have a collar!?" Grim asked indignantly.

"Maybe the fuss was too much for you," Deuce guessed. "Let's go to a clearer place. We can't go back there anyway."

They returned to the rose maze and Ace blurted out what he had been trying to hold: "Damn it! That little red tyrant! Does he think he's the Queen of Hearts!?"

"Apparently he represents her, so I guess he actually believes that," Yuu sighed.

Disappointed, Deuce shook his head with closed eyes. "Getting thrown out for disobeying the leader... I'm slowly drifting away from becoming a model student..."

Grim sat on the ground so he could bear the weight of his collar. "Ugh, this collar is heavy... and suffocating..."

"How elegant you look with those meowtching collars!" A shrill, purring voice exclaimed.

A floating head had appeared right next to Yuu, making him the first to yell and recoil in fright.

The other three did the same when they saw it too.

"Fgyaaaaa! A floating ghost head!!" Grim yelled as he hid behind Ace's legs.

"Oops, I forgot to make my body appear," he said without a hint of remorse from their shock.

The head was accompanied by the rest of his body, which gradually appeared. It was a young person taller than Ace and Deuce and looked older than the three of them. He had violet hair and a thick tail of the same color that perfectly matched his cat ears. His set of clothes consisted of a purple and lilac striped T-shirt similar to his tail, on top of him he wore a messy white shirt unbuttoned at the top. His jeans were adorned with colorful patches and his boots were purple.

Yuu had noticed that in Heartslabyul there were boys with ears and tails of rabbits, cats, and mice, so he supposed that he should be one of them. But his clothes seemed too different for him to be someone from Night Raven College.

"Wow, so you do have a body," Deuce commented, still in shock. "Who are you?"

"I'm Alchemi Alchemivich Pinka," the young boy replied, revealing two long fangs as he spoke. "I'm someone very enigmatic with magic that's both like a cat and like a purrrson."

The name sounded like a tongue twister and was difficult to understand the first time listening to it.

"Alche..." Ace tried to say in a daze, but his tongue got stuck. "Come again?"

It was clear that it wasn't the first time people reacted like that, so the cat-boy laughed with amusement.

"Heh, heh, heh. Everybody calls me Che'nya," he answered, giving a huge smile full of mischief. "At the very least, I'm of a very different level from the guys around here."

His intriguing smile and his mischievous, playful countenance gave Yuu back that feeling of familiarity, despite never having seen him in his life. Even the part where he had the print had itched again and, if with Professor Vargas he had felt disgusted, with Che'nya he felt a feeling of confusion and dizziness.

"Another weirdo..." He muttered disoriented and was startled to realize how rude he sounded. "I mean...! What dorm are you from? From here, Heartslabyul?"

However, Che'nya did not seem offended and leaned over him. "Do you think I'm weird? Well around here, this is completely normal," he said cheerfully. "And answering your question: try to guess which dorm I'm from."

That wasn't an answer at all.

"Well... you have cat ears, so if you're not from Heartslabyul... Then from Savanaclaw, maybe?"

"Booo, boooo! Incorrect!" He said playfully. "Yes, I'm a cat, but I'm not from here or there."

"He's really a weird guy..." Grim muttered in confusion.

Ace got tired of the sudden appearance of the stranger. "I'm already in a bad mood because of the absurd situation caused by that tyrant, so go now."

Che'nya gave him a curious look. "Riddle the Tyrant... Heh, heh, heh." He laughed. "Well, I guess mew're not entirely wrong. That boy has always been a strict and picky one since he was little. Heh, heh, heh."

Yuu gave a surprised gasp. "Oh! Do you know him?" He asked.

"Do you know something about it?" Deuce asked with interest.

Che'nya put his arms behind her neck and swang with his feet to pretend to be oblivious. "If you think I know, then I know. If you think I don't know, then I don't know."

"So, do you know or not? Make up your mind," Grim told him impatiently.

He glanced at them. "What? Do you really want to know about Riddle?"

"Of course, we want to! I want to know who created a small tyrant like him," Ace said.

The cat boy stood still and pointed the way to the party with his left thumb. "Then, you should ask your furrend with glasses"

"Our friend with glasses? Do you mean Clover?" Deuce asked him.

"That guy has known Riddle since they were little. If I were you and wanted to know more about Riddle, I'd go ask him," he said enigmatically.

"Are they childhood friends? It didn't seem like it at all," Deuce said.

"That's right. They seem to be more a leader and his right-hand man than two good, old friends." Yuu added.

Che'nya gave his mysterious smile again. "If that's what you think, maybe that's the way it is then. Well, very well, I suppose mew work here is done." He made his body invisible again and left only his head before saying goodbye. "See mya later."

"Hey, wait!" Deuce exclaimed. But Che'nya hummed a cheerful little tune that sounded familiar to Yuu for some reason, as his head finished disappearing.

"This guy is really weird, meow," Grim said. "Oh, I just talked like him!"

"I guess that's because of the cat genes," Yuu said jokingly.

"I've told you many times that I ain't a cat!"

"We're not going to be able to take classes properly with these suffocating collars," Deuce sighed, returning to the main topic. "Let's ask Clover about this." He looked at Ace. "Also..."

Ace knew what he was going to say and interrupted him: "If you think I'm going to apologize to have this collar off, you're wrong! I'm not going to do it!"

"I don't blame you, this first attempt didn't go well at all," Yuu said at Ace's stubborn attitude. "But how should we really talk about this with Trey? We can't just go and say: 'Hey, Trey! A boy with cat ears just told us that you know why Riddle is the way he is. Give us answers!' "

"Says someone with a sharp thong... Of course, we can! Let's ambush him to talk!" Grim exclaimed.

"Yuu's right," Deuce interrupted him. "I suppose the best way is to do it tactfully at the most opportune moment."

"Do you remember that he used a recipe book to make the tarts? He borrowed it from the library, so it's possible that he will return it later. Let's wait for him there," Ace suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Yuu confirmed. "I hope he doesn't get too offended by asking him something like that..."

Then they left Heartslabyul to attend classes on the schedule. Grim's bedroom uniforms and tie reverted to their former shape as they walked through the door.

Drip, drip, drip...

After the last period of the day, Yuu heard the heavy dripping once more, with the difference that it had become more insistent.

"Yuu? Are you getting dizzy again?" Ace asked him.

"I would also get dizzy from Trein's boring classes," Grim said.

"Do you usually get dizzy?" Deuce asked him.

"No... I don't know why this is happening to me. I also feel like something bad is going to happen..."

"Then you should go to the infirmary later. You could get worse," advised Ace.

"I didn't mean it like that... Well, it's ok, don't worry. I feel better now, but I will consider it."

That afternoon they sat in the library and waited until they saw Trey. They approached him.

"Clover," Deuce called him.

He spun around as if they pulled him out of his thoughts. Yuu was surprised to see him with that down expression, something must have happened.

"Oh, it's you guys..."

"We figured you'd come here to return the recipe book," Deuce said.

"We're still not convinced with the way the dorm leader does things," Ace insisted seriously.

Trey sighed in exhaustion. "I figured it..." He murmured.

"Tell us, what do you really think of him?" Ace asked him austerely. "Have you let him behave like this since you were children?"

Trey frowned with concern. "Who told you that?" He asked.

"From someone named Che'nya," Deuce replied.

After hearing the name, he seemed to understand the situation better.

"Che'nya? Ah, him."

"He was the one who told us to ask you about Riddle," Yuu explained. "We are sorry if we are asking you something you don't like to talk about."

"That's right," Grim said in Yuu's arms. "You're older than Riddle, right? You should be mad at him too, yanno?"

Trey took a deep breath. "Of course, I would do it if necessary. But... I can't do anything against him."

"Why?!" Ace asked indignantly.

"Wait, we should sit down," Yuu interrupted. "That way we will talk more comfortably."

They all thought of it as a good idea and sat around the nearest table. Grim sat on the surface.

"As I was saying, I can't do anything because Riddle is how you see him now because he grew up with very strict rules."

"Huh?" Deuce and Yuu asked at the same time.

"His parents are very famous magicians who were known in his city. His mother was exceptional and she wanted Riddle to be exceptional in the same way, that's why she was very strict with him and they decided every single detail for Riddle, from the moment he woke up until he went to bed, even the number of his hours to study."

Grim gulped. "Every little detail?" He asked in horror.

"What he could eat, the clothes he had to wear, even the friends he could have. She always decided everything." Yuu gave a surprised gasp and swallowed hard. "Even so, Riddle was silent and did his best to live up to his parents' expectations. When he was ten years old, he had already mastered his unique magic and from elementary school, his grades always had to be perfect. I don't even want to imagine how hard it must be."

Ace and Yuu exchanged a look, the first serious and the second sadly.

"You say that Riddle is like that because of his mother? That's horrible..." Yuu muttered as he clenched his fist.

He had unfortunately seen some mothers similar to Riddle's in his mother's daycare when he and his sister were helping her at work. What they had in common was being either very conservative or very overprotective. Her mother would not bear them, she gave them professional advice to try to make them change their attitude and she always made an effort to make the children that she cared for happy.

However, the strongest and most worrying case he had ever known was with Yukiko's second boyfriend. He was one year older than them, asked her out and she accepted, they liked each other very much and they spent time together for almost five months. But they began to struggle because of his mother, a divorced business owner who used to be very controlling with him. For some reason she didn't like Yukiko from the moment she met her and would not bother to hide it.

She finally got fed up and pressured him to break up with her. It was very hard for Yukiko, by then he hadn't seen her cry that much in years. It was also difficult for Yuu because he had become close friends with him, but after the breakup, the boyfriend distanced himself not just because of his mother's mistrust but also the awkwardness of seeing his face...

Hearing the description of Riddle's mother made him think of that horrible woman.

"Riddle thinks that being harsh and following the rules will benefit others in the long run. And that if he imposes strict rules and fear with his leadership... Everyone will become like him. So he thinks breaking the rules is completely wrong because..."

"...Because if they don't follow the rules it would be against the way he was raised, right?" Ace interrupted him.

"I understand that you see him as a tyrant," Trey continued, "and I know the way he does things is not right." He put a hand to his temple. "But despite everything, it's impossible for me to scold him."

Grim's eyes filled with tears at the sad story and Yuu patted his head.

"To think the dorm leader would have such a past..." Deuce muttered.

However, Ace hadn't changed his face for a single moment and he looked at Trey silently. "After hearing you say all that I finally understand," he said, "it's your fault that Riddle is like that."

"Huh!?" The other four exclaimed whith that unexpected, tackless comment.

"Ace!?" Yuu asked.

"Riddle couldn't choose his parents, that's a reality," he began to explain. "But you've always known that the way his mother treated him was wrong. Right, Trey?"

"Well..." Trey muttered, stunned.

"If you think the dorm leader is making the same mistakes as his mother, then tell him. Put him on the right track. What will you achieve by feeling sorry for him and letting him do whatever he wants? Are you going to watch while everyone hates him and rejects him?"

Trey stared at the table in frustration.

"Hey, Ace!" Deuce exclaimed, flustered by his harsh words to an upperclassman.

But that didn't stop Ace, who crossed his arms to hold his posture. "Or what? Are you going to keep quiet for fear of 'losing your head'? How pathetic," he said with his typical mocking smile before hitting the table with both hands and raising his voice in fury. "You are not his childhood friend! You don't even deserve to be called his friend!"

"HEY, YOUUU!" Crowley yelled suddenly behind them. "YOU ARE IN THE LIBRARY!!! KEEP QUIEEEET!!!

Yuu rubbed his ears at the volume of his voice.

"Well, you're screaming even louder than us," Grim said nonchalantly.

Crowley realized that he was right, looked around in discomfort at the stares of the students there, and cleared his throat.

"Oh, excuse me. Mind you, the library is a quiet place to study and read," he whispered. "If you are going to speak, do it in a low voice."

"Sorry," Yuu whispered. "But why are you here, headmaster?"

"Of course, I have come to investigate for some way for you, young Yuu, so you can return to your world. I have not forgotten about it, since I am very kind!" He said enthusiastically. "After all, the library is a perfect place to do research. I haven't come here to read before anyone else the new volume of a novel that I really looked forward to. Of course not. Not at all!"

Yuu arched an eyebrow at the clear admission that the headmaster wasn't going to investigate at all. But he hadn't started looking for some way to get home either, so he hid his disbelief from him.

Crowley cleared his throat again. "By the way, what are you all doing here with those long faces? Did something happen?"

They offered him a seat and explained the situation from the preparation of the tarts to the incident from that morning.

"I see. To sum up: you don't want to apologize to have your collar removed," Crowley said to Ace. "But you know it won't be easy to convince the dorm leader either."

"Yes, that's exactly it."

"I understand. In case you don't like the way the leader does things, you have the option of changing dorms. However, the Dark Mirror chose the right dorm for you based on your soul qualities, so you would have to go through a lot of tedious rituals and procedures required for the transfer."

Ace didn't need to hear the drawbacks of the option in order to not be convinced by it. "Changing dorms? It sounds like I'm running away, so I don't want to do that."

Crowley thought of another option."Then how about challenging young Rosehearts to a duel to claim the title of dorm leader?"

"Eehhhhhhh??!!" They all asked, including Trey, loudly at the unexpected proposal.

"Hey! I told you to speak in a low voice!" Crowley snapped at them in a whisper.

"It's because you just said something strange, headmaster!" Ace whispered.

"There is nothing strange about this, young one. After all, young Rosehearts himself got his position as dorm leader that way."

"That's right, how is the dorm leader position decided here at Night Raven College?" Deuce asked.

"We heard that Riddle became dorm leader a week after entering the school," Grim recalled.

"They can be chosen by the previous leader or win a duel against him. But those are not the only ways. I would say that a duel is one of the simplest forms," the headmaster reported.

"But isn't the use of magic for personal gain forbidden?" Ace asked.

"For personal gain, yes." Crowley placed a hand on his chest proudly. "However, a duel approved by the headmaster himself for official and valid reasons is another story."

"If I remember correctly," Trey said, "putting your opponent at a disadvantage before the duel is forbidden, so Riddle would have to remove your collars without your apologies. "But..."

"New students are given the right to challenge their dorm leader if they wish," Crowley concluded. "What are you going to do, young Trappola? Do you accept this challenge against young Rosehearts?"

"Okay," Ace said determinedly. "Then I'll do it."

"Me too," Deuce joined in.

"And me!" Grim exclaimed.

"Unfortunately for you, Grim, students from a different dorm can't participate in the challenge," the headmaster said.

"That makes sense," Yuu said as he patted Grim on the head to comfort him.

"Then who's gonna take my collar off?!"

"When I become the dorm leader, I'll order Riddle to take it off from you," Ace assured him cheerfully.

That didn't cheer him up at all. "Damn it... It was the perfect chance to show off my strength," he said in frustration.

Trey became concerned again when he saw that the situation was escalating. "Guys, are you serious?" He asked sternly. "Deuce, I didn't think you would agree to this."

"Really?" He asked boldly. "As a man, I'd like to be able to try." He gave one of his unusual malicious smiles. "I'll do my best for the team if we are going to challenge him."

Ace mimicked his smile. "Here comes the bad boy mode," he said proudly.

"I don't feel safe," Yuu murmured with a shudder at the sight of both of them, and shrugged on the table.

"Eh? Isn't this normal?" Deuce asked, now embarrassed.

"Yuu, you're their friend, aren't you going to say anything about this?" Trey insisted. "This could end badly."

Yuu sighed. "I'm not very convinced of this either, Trey. But I can't think of any other option if we want to stop Riddle... Besides, at this point, I don't think we can get the idea out of their minds."

"Then let me explain the rules of the duel," Crowley said.

"We'll have to make a strategy like the one at the Dwarfs' Mine," Yuu said. "But are you really going to be okay?"

"You don't have to worry so much," Ace assured him. "Well, what ideas do you have?"

"I'm sure the dorm leader will win if we use magic," Deuce said and rammed a fist into his palm confidently. "But if we go with physical strength, we'll surely have an advantage."

"It's true, he seems to be very weak!" Grim said wickedly.

"Oh, I completely forgot," Crowley interrupted. "In this duel, it is forbidden to use any other type of attack other than magic."

Deuce ran out of ideas and the headmaster laughed in amusement.

"Follow the rules and have a fun challenge! I'll finish explaining the procedures to you tomorrow, so let me know when you decide on the day of the duel. Now then, excuse me."

He got up and went to find the book he was wanting so much to read. When they lost sight of him, the trio of shackles on their necks lost their daring facade in less than a second and replaced it with one full of nerves.

"W-Well...!" Ace stuttered. "I'm not very confident if it's magic. But... we'll manage somehow!"

"T-That's right!" Deuce stated.

"My neck's on stake here, so you better give your best!" Grim said, still disappointed in not being able to fight.

"Guys..." Trey whispered, feeling a combination of bewilderment at the intention of wanting to confront the dorm leader and amazement at the determination and bond they felt for the cause.

"When I become the dorm leader, I'll make him say, 'What I did was wrong, forgive me!'" Ace swore. "And I'll stop him from enforcing those absurd rules!"

"But we should talk about it outside," Yuu said quietly. "Everybody is looking at us and they don't seem to like hearing us talk."

"Sure, sure," Ace whispered. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Look, Yuu, it's Crowley again," Grim pointed out. "He's picked up the book that he said he was going to read instead of researching. How lazy of him!"

"Look who's talking!"

"What does the headmaster have to research?" Trey asked curiously. "And what did he mean by 'returning you to your world'?"

"Ah, right. You don't know yet," Deuce said.

"Know what?"

"Make yourself comfortable," Yuu told him. "It's a long and confusing story..."

[Published on 9/9/2021]