hi! I have more notes at the bottom, but first I'd like to address something that I forgot in the last chapter. I'm not fluent in French, so what Yuu and Rook said might've been/might be off. don't be afraid to correct me if that is the case!

anyways, please enjoy this chapter! I worked hard for it! >:)

GRIM, FOR WHATEVER REASON, WAS COMPLETELY ENAMORED WITH "MAGIFT" the moment he discovered what it was. After Crowley roped him, Yuu, Ace, and Deuce into another meeting regarding the sport and the upcoming tournament, the feline would not stop talking about it. More importantly, he would not stop moping about how he could not play because he was not a human.

He'd go on and on about that for the next few days until the ghosts of Ramshackle (who were excellent players back in their prime) offered to play with him. The five of them would end up roping Yuu and the rest of her team into their little unofficial tournament, where Grim would find out the hard way that Audino and Fletchinder had quite the competitive streak.

That's where Headmaster Crowley would find them laughing and hooting as they passed a spinning disk to each other on the lawn. Mamoswine was considered an overpowered asset to either team he was placed on, so he reserved himself to the sidelines. His large stature could even be seen from the very front gates of the dorm.

"Oh, Headmaster Crowley," Yuu waved upon seeing the well-dressed man, "What brings you around today?"

"Hello, Yuu-kun and company," He acknowledged, offering a greeting to each Pokémon in her team. It pleased her that he took the time to remember each of their names. "It seems you're in good spirits. Playing Magical Shift, I see?"

"Gah, it's you!"

"Ah, and I could never forget Grim. You're getting along quite well with the dorm ghosts and the team. Splendid, splendid!"

"Yeah right, gettin' along— Who says we're gettin' along?" Meowth stammered.

"Don't mind them, sir," she dismissed. Now that she thought about it, it was strange that the Headmaster would show up before them of his own volition. "Did you need something from us, actually?"

She could see that his face twisted into one of anxiousness since she asked. "Yes, I do have a request to make of you." He eyed the ghosts and said, "It's not just simple chit-chat, so let's make our way inside, shall we?"

"We see! You want us to scram, is that it? Well then, haunt you later, hee hee hee!"

Mamoswine opted to rest outside, but the rest of her critter entourage tailed after. Yuu shrugged and let Crowley follow her inside the Ramshackle building. The lounge had certainly been in better condition since the last time he visited.

"What's this about a request?" Grim snapped once they were all situated, "We aren't your handymen anymore, so what do you want?"

"You of all people needn't worry," He told the cat, earning an offended gasp from him, "Besides, the task I have for Yuu and Audino is nothing you can help with anyway."

"What? I can help! Who do you think I am? I'm the Great Grim, I'm super helpful!"

At the mention of their names, Yuu raised an eyebrow. "What's this about me? Oh, no... don't tell me there's a Wild Pokémon on the loose?"

"No, no, worse! You are the only two I can turn to, Yuu-kun, Audino-kun!" He cried, seizing her by the shoulders. It was the same maneuver he always used to get people to follow along with his whims. Judging by the look on his face though, it wasn't trivial this time around.

"Fletch—Chinder!" Hey, let her go!

"H-Headmaster Crowley!" She shrieked, slightly disoriented from the hurried jostling, "Before I— No, if I accept, will you please let me down and tell me what is going on?"

He let go of her, like he always would, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Oh, you wouldn't believe it! Recently, there have been an increasingly large number of students injured in suspicious incidents!"

"Injuries?"

"Yes, Meowth-kun. It's terrible, I tell you! Tripping down the stairs, burned by boiling water," Crowley continued quickly, "The cases vary but in the past several days, the number of patients in the infirmary has dramatically increased. Including the boy who fell down the stairs yesterday, that makes ten people injured in total. Why, our only doctor on duty has been swamped in work all day!"

"That is terrible," she winced, remembering the single doctor-ghost she had met on the first day of school, "By telling me all this, are you asking me— asking us to lend a hand?"

He nodded profusely. "There is no one else more suited for this situation than you, I'm sure of it."

"Well— Well, I suppose I'll have to agree." Stammering, Yuu turned to Audino, who merely shrugged. "Okay. If she doesn't have any problems with it, then I don't have any either."

"Wait! Stop! Don't tell me you're gonna give him all that for free?!" Grim hissed, jumping in between the two of them, "I'm still not over the fact that I can't join the Magift Tournament, hmph."

"Right, right!" Meowth nodded along, tugging at her pant sleeve, "Hey. This is the part where you ask him, What's in it for me?"

"Goodness me, spoken like a true NRC student. Your two cats have actually turned out to be rather heartless, Yuu-kun."

"Fngaaa! We're looking out for her 'cause she doesn't know any better! You're dead wrong if you think we're gonna let her do all this for you without pay!"

"Good thing I'm not like them, Headmaster. Aren't you glad?" She told him despite their protests, grinning, "Though I must ask, have you investigated these matters? It doesn't seem like just a coincidence."

"I agree," he nodded somberly, "There are just too many students getting hurt if you compare this year to the previous ones. On top of that, those that were injured also happened to be running for their dorm's starting team."

"Sand... Sandslash, san?" So you're saying these weren't really accidents, after all?

The man nearly screamed when Sandslash came up behind him. "Great Sevens, you scared the daylights out of me! For a three-foot pangolin, you are alarmingly silent."

When Meowth translated Sandslash's words, Crowley nodded and said, "Very nice deduction. However, I have no real evidence to prove anything was foul play." He placed a finger on his chin. "Or perhaps a Pokémon is behind this once more... That is highly likely."

"Don't tell me you want us to figure that out for you too..."

"Of course not, Grim-kun! I'm too gracious to let all this work befall on your shoulders," He smiled widely, patting her shoulder, "That's what your two jolly friends at Heartslabyul are for."

Yuu blinked at him. "What? You mean Ace and Deuce?"

"Yes, Trappola and Spade. You see, I've asked them to identify the culprit— after all, don't they have so much experience with such things?" Crowley chuckled to himself, "I told them to think of it as a little bit of community service in return for withholding precious information from me."

"Ah, so if I ever declined your offer," she concluded warily, "You would have held that bargaining chip above my head."

"Noibat, noi." That's mean.

"You're a very smart individual!" Every single student at Night Raven College must have been as shrewd and calculating as their Headmaster. "Don't you worry your little head! All you need to do is take care of the patients at the infirmary and we'll take care of the rest."

"Wait, what's this about playing Magift?!" Grim screamed, "Hey, hold on— I want a cut of whatever's going on!"

"Gotten a sudden change of heart, have you now?"

WHEN THE HEADMASTER SAID IT WAS "TERRIBLE," YUU DIDN'T IMAGINE IT WOULD BE... this terrible. A part of her wondered if he was just exaggerating about the ten bodies just to garner a little bit of her pity. Now that she laid eyes on the state of the infirmary, it was apparent that she was dead wrong.

It was just like Crowley described. The room was packed with students from various Dormitories, all with various injuries ranging from sprains to cuts to burns. Nothing serious, like he said, but debilitating enough to keep them out of the Magift Tournament. It would stay like that for a couple of days— students coming in but never being discharged fast enough to keep up with the influx.

Overcrowding was one thing, but dealing with the actual patients was another. The morale of the room was the lowest she had ever seen— of course, being told you couldn't play in one of the most important events of the year was extremely disheartening. It made you snappy, cranky, and mean.

Grim, who couldn't bear the atmosphere much longer, quickly jumped ship and joined Ace and Deuce in their shenanigans. Surely it would have been much more exciting to catch the culprit rather than deal with the aftermath of their crimes.

First of all, it was hard enough to explain Audino's mere existence. If that wasn't enough, she had to explain how this supposed "exotic creature from the Afterglow Savanna" was medically trained. Dealing with cranky patients did not make the experience much nicer.

(What even was the Afterglow Savanna? Crowley told her to use that excuse, but she had no idea.)

She has never met such ungrateful, miserable little patients in her entire life. It was sort of understandable, given what they were going through, but a part of her wondered if they were just dragging her mood down to their level just to be spiteful.

On the third day of work, a Pomefiore student grumbled about how insulting it was to be treated by a scrawny magicless kid and his little pink Care Bear. This one Scarabia boy kept ordering her to serve him drinks every waking moment he had.

Yuu wasn't a saint. They wanted to get out of there, and in all honesty, she wanted them out too.

"Audino, use Heal Pulse."

She didn't know if the move would even work on humans. It was a gamble, but it was one she was willing to take. "M-My leg... It's all better?! Hey, dude, what the hell?!"

"What, you've never seen a monster use magic before? Good news for you, you're finally discharged. Next patient, please!"

Before long, the infirmary could finally keep up with the number of patients it was receiving.

If there were people she found pleasant, they had to be the Heartslabyul students. Perhaps it was because she was close with their Dorm Leader, but they didn't give her any trouble. It didn't hurt that they'd met Audino during the infamous Unbirthday Parties (and many other instances), and were well-accustomed to her existence.

"And... there! I think that should do it."

The patient in question, a brunette in Heartslabyul, moved his bandaged wrist, gasping miraculously when it did not hurt. "Thank the Sevens. Transfer, you're like some sort of godsend or something!"

"Well, you're welcome." It was nice to see her efforts appreciated.

"All thanks to you and your little friends, of course." He laughed and gave Audino a pat on the head. "Us students here at 'Labyul have a lot to thank you for, you know? First with Prefect Rosehearts', ah, Blot— and the doppelganger incident too!"

Yuu's face turned bashful. She didn't know that Heartslabyul regarded her so highly. "Oh, come on. That was a long time ago. I'm just glad to help."

"What, are you kidding me? He completely turned over a new leaf because of you," He insisted, "You literally have no idea how grateful we are that— Holy crap! Dorm Leader R-Rosehearts?!"

She didn't know what exactly the brunette was looking at, but it was probably very bad because his face was as pale as a ghost.

"Oh, not another one— Riddle-senpai?!" She swiveled around; he was in the infirmary's doorway, slumped over another trembling Heartslabyul student. They looked like they were both dragged through Hell and back. "Oh my Arceus, what happened?!"

"P.E. accident," was all Riddle could heave out, face twisted up in pain.

"I am so sorry, Dorm Leader, I don't know what came over me!" The other Heartslabyul student panicked, looking more in agony than the Prefect in his arms. "I wasn't paying attention—"

"Listen, we're not here to point fingers, okay? Set him on the bed, quickly! What happened?"

"I think I'm gonna p-pass out. First the— the Overblot happened to him, and now t-this?"

"We were riding broomsticks today in P.E.— And I don't know how it happened, suddenly I was barreling into the Dorm Leader and sent him falling," the trembling student wailed while Yuu gingerly lifted up Riddle's sleeve to assess the severity of it. The shoulder was swollen and red, thankfully not severe, but still one of the worst cases she had seen since working in the infirmary.

"Hi, Yuu." It seemed to her like Riddle was chuckling in an attempt to distract himself from the agony of a dislocated shoulder.

"Hi, yourself."

He was gripping the sheets so hard his knuckles were turning white. "How, ah— How bad is the damage?"

"It's not bad." That was the worst lie she ever told. "Audino, get me an ice pack and five milliliters of anesthetic, quickly!"

The brunette Heartslabyul looked on the verge of tears. "Oh, Great Sevens— I can't believe it! He's going to be cut from this year's lineup for sure..."

Before long, Riddle was laid on the bed and the other two Heartslabyul students were sent away. His entire left arm and shoulder were swathed in Audino's Heal Pulse, a pink and fluffy-looking glow. They watched as the bone gradually morphed itself back into place, with large, disbelieving eyes.

"I had no idea that Pokémon could even do that! It's— Why, it's nothing short of a miracle."

At the end of it all, Riddle raised his arm experimentally, his eyes blown wide. He wore the most blatant, dumbstruck look on his face. "Oh, my goodness. That was the most potent healing spell I've ever seen. Are you one-hundred-percent sure that I'm allowed to leave after this?"

"As long as you don't exert yourself too much, Riddle-senpai," Yuu said, finding amusement in how shocked he was.

"Naturally. I'm in your debt," He chuckled once the excitement wore off, patting Audino's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to see such a sight. It was... unbecoming of a Dorm Leader."

"Auuudino."

"No, don't say that, it wasn't even your fault anyway. We're just glad you're not hurt anymore." She really did mean it. "You feel better now, don't you?"

"Definitely. Thank you for the sentiment, I appreciate it." He groaned and rubbed his sore shoulder. "...It was dislocated, wasn't it?"

"It was, actually. How'd you know?"

"My parents," he winced, either from the pain or the mention of his parents, was hard to tell, "wanted me to become a doctor. It's not difficult to self-diagnose, really."

"I see." She felt crummy for asking.

From one medically trained person to another, there wasn't much more she could tell him. Instead, she said, "I hope you won't pin the blame on the Heartslabyul student, though. And please, take it easy, with the surge in accidents and all."

"Don't worry, I will— Take it easy, I mean. Again, thank you for everything," Riddle smiled. As if remembering something, he snapped his head up to look at her. "What did you say the name of that spell— Ah, that move was again?"

She told him it was Heal Pulse.

He merely nodded and lay there in silence. For the rest of the period, Yuu kept him there to give his shoulder more time to heal. When she finally discharged him, he was muttering something about medical breakthroughs and how he needed to learn a thing or two from her pink and fluffy friend.

Shortly after he left, Ace, Deuce, and Grim came barreling through the door, panting and out of breath. Because Audino was tired and resting in her ball, Yuu was kind of lonely, so she welcomed them warmly.

"You guys! How are you? Oh, don't tell me you're hurt." She hovered over the bed they were slumped over. "Crowley told me you three would be investigating the accidents happening lately. Let me guess... no luck?"

Deuce didn't move from where he lay, groaning. "Not a single lead."

She winced. "That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea," Ace sneered, sitting up instantly, "Why does every Pomefiore bastard always want to fight us before they tell us anything? My Greats, they're almost worse than the Savanaclaws."

"Right!" Grim agreed viciously, sprawled about, "Always telling us to pick up the glove, thinking we're insulting them! What's with that, anyway?"

"Tell you what," Yuu decided, "How about I lend you a Pokémon during school hours? I'm pretty confident that they'll help you win battles faster, maybe find more leads."

"Really?! You mean we can finally do that Thing you and Trey-senpai do?"

She looked at Deuce incredulously, a smile on her lips. "What? That Thing Trey-senpai and I do? What are you talking about?"

"You know..." He waggled his fingers funnily grasped at the air, like whatever invisible thing there would help him describe it. "That... that Thing. Like... telling people what to do. And they listen to you really easily?"

"Thing? There's no Thing," she laughed, "Milcery listens to Trey-senpai because she trusts him. My team listens to me because they trust me. Like you three, right, you trust me?"

Grim huffed. "I guess."

"You know what? Coming from you, I'll take it."

"Wait! Yuu, you're serious, right? You really want to loan us a Pokémon?" After she nodded, Ace's grin turned mischievous. "Let's scare the hell out of them with Mamoswine!"

"—Fletchinder will do," Deuce cut in, earning a salty look from the other two. She popped the Pokéball into his hands and he looked at it like it was some sort of prized relic. "Thank you so much for trusting us with her."

"Really. We'll be super careful."

"Don't make me regret it, you two. Remember, this is all for the sake of catching the culprit. I don't want to witness another statue burn," she grinned, taking a seat on the bed adjacent to theirs.

"Is there anything else you were able to find?"

"Not much," Grim waved, "Everyone we asked said... Well, they said it was almost like their bodies kind of moved on their own."

"Everyone I've met has been saying that too," Yuu pursed her lips, "Ah, but if you're looking for more leads, you should probably ask Riddle-senpai. He scared me half to death when he came in with a dislocated shoulder."

"WHAT."

"Is he alright? Where is he now?!"

"Are you serious?!"

"And you— oh, I don't know— didn't think to tell us sooner?!"

"Arceus, guys, sit down! I was planning to tell you everything anyway," Yuu exclaimed. Once they quelled down, she continued, "This afternoon, he came in from an apparent P.E. accident."

"Ah, that's right. Professor Vargas was making us practice riding broomsticks today."

"It was bad. Not like surgery-needed bad, but still really bad." She frowned just from thinking about it. "From what I heard, another Heartslabyul student rammed into him and sent him flying off the broom."

"Oh, Great Sevens," Ace whispered, "With Riddle out of the picture, Heartslabyul's gonna look like absolute fools at the Tournament..."

"Wait, stop looking like the world is ending tomorrow. He's fully recovered."

All three of them looked at her with wide eyes.

"WHAT? How?!"

"I was going to tell you— I'm serious! Audino has a healing move called Heal Pulse," Yuu said, like it was the simplest thing in the world, "It's like your standard healing spell. Back where we come from, her species are known for that sort of thing. That's why she knows how to use it."

Ace looked at her like she was crazy. "There's no such thing as a standard healing spell. Yuu, those are crazy high-level. Even most of our teachers can't cast that sort of stuff."

"Really?" You learn something new every day, she supposed.

"It's true!" Deuce exclaimed. His face quickly became contemplative, and then a wicked, uncharacteristic grin formed on his lips. "Nice. That means Heartslabyul's lineup can't be cut from the Tournament no matter what happens to us."

The two boys shared a high-five, cheering.

"I didn't say that. Sure, Heal Pulse is a safety net for injuries, but that doesn't mean you can become reckless. I better not see you around here any time soon!"

"If Trey's like my brother, you're like my mom," Ace remarked, snickering.

"I'm just looking out for you three," she sighed, "Anyways, the important thing is that Riddle-senpai is better. I just don't know who would try to do this. You should interview the student who crashed into him."

"It can wait! I'm so tired," Grim pouted, climbing onto her head. "I still think everyone's just clumsy even after investigating it for three days straight, yanno."

"Right, right! Crowley's been making us do all this," The redhead moved off his bed onto hers, draping himself over her in the same manner that Grim did. "We haven't seen you in so long."

"We have class together, Ace," is what Yuu said, but she found herself smiling anyways. "And Grim, I live with you."

"Yeah, but you've been up here all week," the boy whined. It was a rather strange experience to her because she had never seen him act that way before. "If it's not the infirmary, it's the Science Club. After that meeting with the Dorm Heads, you've been so busy."

She patted his shoulder. "I'll make time, don't worry. You know you're welcome at Ramshackle whenever."

Grinning, he poked her forehead. "Good!"

"Cater has been asking where you've been," Deuce admitted fondly, "You should stop by our dorm soon— Riddle-senpai is hosting another tea party on Friday."

She would never think of declining; he would be disappointed if she did, anyway. They all would. "Of course! We'll be there, so please save us a seat."

"Damn straight!" The cat atop her shoulders cheered, "Trey's tarts are the best."

YUU FOUND HERSELF TO BE QUITE A POPULAR INDIVIDUAL. This much was evident throughout the week, and it was quite baffling how often people would stop by... for no apparent reason. A couple of days later after her friends stopped by, Kalim and Jamil decided to pay her a visit.

"Yoohoo! Anyone here?" The former's head popped through the doorway. Yuu could recognize that fluffy head of hair and the sound of those dangly earrings anywhere.

"Ah, Kalim-senpai, Jamil-senpai! Welcome— you can close the door behind you. Is everything alright?" She hoped they weren't injured. What kind of monster would try and maim Kalim, anyway?

"Ah, no, that's not it," He laughed good-naturedly, looking sheepish, "I was actually wondering if Fletchinder was around! I haven't talked to her in a while, so if it's okay with you, could I see her?"

"Kalim, no," His friend chastised, crossing his arms and wearing a small frown, "We shouldn't be stopping by while he's working." Seems like word got out that she was helping in the infirmary.

"But she's super cool and looks a lot like you, so I think you two would make great friends! Did I also mention she was sorted into Scarabia?"

"You couldn't stop talking about her for three days, actually."

"I'm not busy right now," she commented idly, "Oh, but I can't take Fletchinder out right now, sorry. Can't risk anyone seeing something they're not supposed to." Not to mention, she wasn't even with Yuu at the moment.

"Aww, man..." He seemed to deflate for a moment before springing back to life again. Like a bouncy castle. "Next time, then! Definitely next time."

"See," Jamil sighed in a what-did-I-tell-you tone. "Let's stop bothering him any longer."

"Don't worry, you guys aren't bothering anyone! It's nice to have people around. Besides, there's not much work to be done, anyways." One quick look around the empty room proved her statement.

"Yay!"

"You must be very competent in what you do, then," Jamil observed. "I heard just a couple of days ago that the infirmary was packed."

"I'm just trying to help around. Besides," she laughed, "We have someone else to thank. She's the real miracle worker around here— if you want to meet a Pokémon, here she is. Audino, come here for a second?"

The two boys glanced at each other. They stayed silent as a little pink round head popped around the corner. "Audinooo?"

"You're here! Audino, I have two people I want you to meet. This is Kalim and Jamil."

Kalim gasped and clung to his friend like a lifeline, carrying the same enthusiasm he did during the Dorm Leader Meeting. "Oh, my Sevens. That is the fluffiest, cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. And she's so small I wanna poke her! I had no idea you had this Pokémon— You called her Audino, right? Is that her name?"

His smile was infectious. "Yes, that's her. Back where I come from, Pokémon of her species are popular for their healing capabilities and gentle nature. Crowley thought it would be good to situate her and me here."

"So I bet she's good with kids! Man, all my sisters and brothers would totally love her," he sighed dreamily. His eyes seemed to light up. "Say, do you think I can pat her?"

"I don't see why not. If she doesn't like it, she'll definitely let you know."

He cheered and immediately set his hand on Audino's head. Once he did, the boy froze. "Jamil," he said in a barely restrained type of way. If she listened close enough, his voice sounded shaky, probably from excitement. "This is the softest thing I've ever felt."

"Oh, come on. Don't be childish."

"Come on, Jamil, just one pat! You have to touch!"

"I'm not touching anything."

He gave in and ended up patting her anyway. That's how the first visit went— although unexpected, the two of them weren't unwelcome. When they left, Audino was still smoothing out the fur on her head. The Pokémon seemed to like them well enough.

"You're surprisingly docile today. Are you just in a good mood, or have you taken a liking to those two?"

The creature shrugged. "Audino, Dino, Audin." Politeness, cheerfulness, good intentions. It's rare to find these things in Night Raven College. It's a nice change, is all.

Yuu silently agreed.

Of course, those two weren't the only duo she saw while on duty. What's with that, anyway? The duos. Ace and Deuce (and Grim), Kalim and Jamil. And now...

She was in the middle of applying salve to a Diasomnia student's burn when Leona and... his Poochyena friend came upon her. Immediately when the student noticed the two, he packed up his belongings and left, stammering his hurried thanks down the hall.

"We meet again, Herbivore."

Yuu sighed through her nose and swiveled around in her stool. There, they stood in the doorway of the room, watching with amused expressions.

"Please tell me you're not injured— Ah, Leona-senpai... and uh, company." She squinted at the other boy, the sandy-haired one she saw in the botanical gardens all those weeks ago. "I'm sorry, I— this is so embarrassing— I forgot your name."

If it was one thing she remembered, it was that laugh of his. "Shishishi! It's Ruggie Bucchi, don't you forget it."

"Ah, Bucchi-senpai. Nice to officially meet you."

"You don't need the formalities," He waved casually, "Ruggie's fine. Everyone calls me that anyway— Feels weird if you're the only one using my last name."

"Ah, okay! Ruggie-senpai it is, then." She looked at the two of them curiously. "Is there a reason why you're both here? You don't seem hurt."

"Just stopping by to say hi," the hyena-like boy smiled, "You know how it is."

She actually... didn't?

Leona's eyes flicked around the room. "Heard that Al-Asim and Viper were at it, so why can't we?"

"Oh, you heard about them?" Yuu blinked, "I don't see how those two visiting me would be anything worth hearing about... I think they were just trying to make friends— or Kalim-senpai, at least."

"Then let's say we want to make friends." He placed a hand on his hip and smirked so she could see his shining canines. Really, she shouldn't even be surprised at their length anymore. "Word around says a kid and his gummy bear have been making miracles happen in the infirmary. It's... interesting, right?"

"Right, Leona-san! Shishishi."

Audino, who had been watching the conversation intently, snarled at him.

"Audino, play nice. Sorry, I didn't even know she could do that."

He stared back, not the slightest bit fazed. "I don't think she likes me. Hm. When we were in the gardens, was she the one you wanted to fight me with?" Leona looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Audinooo."

"What?" Ruggie blanched, glancing between his friend and the pink creature— who were engaging some sort of silent battle, "Leona-san, you can't just beat up little bunny rabbits in your free time."

"But trying to battle the transfer student is an okay thing to do," Yuu muttered, "Audino isn't even a bunny rabbit anyways."

"Speaking of which, what even is she?" The boy asked, peering down at her, "She talks...? —But only with her name. Huh. I've never seen a monster like this."

Shit. What excuse did Crowley tell her to say if someone questioned Audino's authenticity again? "She's... uh, she's an exotic and rare species from the Afterglow Savanna."

"Really? That's weird." Immediately, his face turned into one of suspicion. And her blood ran cold. "We're from the Savanna ourselves, but I've never seen a monster like her in my entire life."

Beside her, Audino stiffened. How was she going to weasel her way out of this one? "Well, you see..."

"No, they're there."

Yuu looked up at Leona, who had decided to humor her big fat lie. Although Ruggie couldn't see it, his eyes glimmered with amusement. "There's some in the palace. Our royal doctor keeps one— they're known for their healing properties."

"Huh?? Are you sure?"

Oh, that's right. He was royalty. She forgot she knew that. Even more surprising, however, was how he chose to feed into her lies. Knowing him, she assumed Leona would watch her carefully constructed masquerade fall apart.

She wiped the dumbfounded look off her face before anyone could see it. "Yes! That's exactly why Crowley decided to hire one."

"Of course. That's why I've never seen any, your family hogs them all..." Ruggie nodded understandingly. He glared dryly at the man in question— but by then, his face had fallen back to its usual nonchalant expression.

Yuu forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat.

ACE WAS RIGHT— IF IT WASN'T THE INFIRMARY SHE WAS AT, IT WAS THE SCIENCE CLUB. Yuu's schedule was getting busier like that. Out of class, these two were eating up more and more of her time... Much to Ace and Deuce's chagrin.

Science Club... could it still even be called that? When Rook said it should be renamed Pokémon Club, he wasn't necessarily wrong, even if it was a joke.

The blond fit in rather nicely with their rag-tag group of individuals, this mismatched selection of students that Headmaster Crowley had put together haphazardly. She had introduced him to her team, who could tolerate him well enough despite his— as Trey said— eccentricities.

Zoroark, their resident Fox Pokémon, did not share the same sentiment. Rook held a fascination for the creature, as he did for all Pokémon, really. He often stopped by the clubroom to pry out any details he could— asking these burning questions about the lives of the people he impersonated while at Heartslabyul, useful secrets and details and such.

He's... creepy, Zoroark told her and Trey on one occasion, shuddering, Green Brother, you know him, right? Please just take the weird Kalosian guy away so I can sleep at night.

"I'll, uh, I'll see what I can do. Rook's just Rook, you know?" He laughed sheepishly, "I'll tell him to let you catch a break."

Oh, thank Arceus.

"Hm. Maybe we should ask Shroud-senpai to procure some Pokéballs, if that's even possible," Yuu suggested, "If I give him one of mine, perhaps he could replicate it." The privacy, portability, and discreetness of the Pokéball made the proposal all the more desirable.

"Now, that's an idea. Means Milcery won't have to wander around in a bowl anymore," Trey laughed, "Clever, clever."

"Why thank you, senpai. Now, If I could just get ahold of him sometime..."

"Hm. Maybe you should ask Cater— If I'm correct, he's in the same class as the guy himself."

"Ooh. Maybe I should! Who's the clever one now?"

Idia, the person in question, made himself scarce. She had yet to see his real appearance other than that tablet that floated around in his place. It was a shame he didn't turn up to the club room. For a person who seemed so invested in the topic of Pokémon, he really didn't want to interact with any.

If he and Zoroark shared one thing, it was their blatant discomfort for Rook— this was probably what kept the former away from the club. Yuu didn't really understand it. Genuinely, she liked Pomefiore's Vice Dorm Leader; perhaps it was the nostalgia for Kalos in her that was speaking, but she found him charming and kind.

He often stopped by the infirmary when she was working, just to say hello or ask how her day was. Yuu greatly appreciated the sentiment— whenever Audino was resting (Healing Pulse was such a taxing move, they lamented) it could get quite bare.

And, of course, it was always nice to speak the Second Tongue and get a brief taste of her home country.

"Saviez-vous, Yuu? Aujourd'hui, j'ai vu cherí Fletchinder."Je crois qu'elle était assise sur l'épaule de votre ami Heartslabyul. Monsieur Heart, n'est-ce pas?" Did you know, Yuu? Today, I saw darling Fletchinder. I believe she was sitting on the shoulder of your Heartslabyul friend. Mister Heart, was it?

His eyes shone with mirth as he spoke, his chin resting in his palm.

"Oui, Rook!" Yuu was sorting through the cabinet, organizing the first-aid kit. He sat on one of the cots, watching idly. "Je pensais que mes amis auraient aimé sa compagnie." I thought my friends would've liked her company."

"Ah, c'est logique! Je pense qu'ils l'ont fait, car ils ne m'ont pas remarqué quand je suis venu les saluer." Ah, that makes sense! I think they did, because the three of them did not notice me when I came to greet them.

"Oh, c'est donc ça?" Oh, is that so? She should have realized that having Ace and Deuce parade around with Fletchinder on their shoulders would garner some sort of attention. Well, Grim was also a monster— this sort of attention should be harmless.

"Oui, et quel spectacle c'était! Je pense que je leur ai peut-être fait peur, cependant." Yes, and what a sight it was! I think I might have scared them, however.

The two of them shared a laugh as Rook recalled that day's earlier events. That was exactly when Cater came upon them.

"Yuu-chan. I haven't seen you in so long," He said, dragging each last word out with a whine. Looking at him, she could tell that he just came from P.E. Cater glanced between the two of them, contemplative. "Ah, and Rook-kun too. Hope I'm not interrupting anything, right~?"

"Bonjour, Monsieur Magicam! Of course not." Yuu quietly snorted at Rook's use of nickname. "I was just making small talk to help our étudiant transféré pass the time."

"It's nice to see you, Cater-senpai." she turned around to face him, grinning, "You know, that's exactly what Ace said to me the other day when he and Deuce paid me a visit."

"Hmph," he huffed, petulant, "They don't get to talk. They have class with you. And Trey-kun's in the Science Club with you— hey, even Riddle got to see you this week! Cay-kun's kind of jealous, you know."

"Well, Cay-kun," she laughed, "you're here now. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hm." Rook placed a finger on his chin. "You don't appear to be injured, monsieur."

"That's true, I'm not," Cater admitted, winking, "You see, Yuu-chan here, promised us he'd attend the tea party today— it's kinda important! Riddle sent me to pick him up, so that's why I'm here. You know how he gets."

"Ooh, but of course! Heartslabyul's infamous tea parties!"

Yuu winced. "Ah, that's right! I'm so sorry, I nearly forgot."

"Ah, this guy... Well, why do you think I'm here? Can't have you missing out on the party, you know how mad Riddle would be." He came over and easily slung an arm over her shoulder, "Ah, I guess this means I'll be stealing him back from you, Rook-kun! No hard feelings."

"None at all! I hope you two enjoy yourselves," Rook waved, watching as he led Yuu out of the room, "Perhaps you can tell me a bit about it sometime later, mon ami? I would love to hear all about it."

"Bien sur," she promised, "Je te verrai une autre fois. Au revoir!" Of course. I'll see you some other time.

"Au revoir, my friend."

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave!" Cater watched the entire display, the whole time his arm never leaving her shoulders. They bid farewell to Rook and left for the Hall of Mirrors, in which the auburn-haired boy immediately began to poke and prod.

He was waggling his eyebrows and grinning funnily. "Hey, what was that?"

Yuu looked at him incredulously. "What was what?"

"Oh, come on, you know what I'm talking about! I had no idea you could speak the Second Language that well." He must have heard the rest of their conversation, then. Pouting childishly, he said, "Now I know why you've been spending so much time at the Science Club."

"It's really nothing," she told him, "Rook-senpai is just really good company to be around, is all! I mean... he speaks the same language where I come from, so how could I not enjoy it?"

If he noticed the wistful look that crossed her face, Cater didn't comment on it (to which she was very grateful). Instead, he hummed thoughtfully, "If that's the case, maybe I should pick up some Second in my free time~"

"How sweet of you, Cater-senpai. Ah, but let's get going— We can't keep Riddle-senpai waiting."

"No, we couldn't." Chuckling, he said, "Definitely not."

"WELCOME, YUU. I'M GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT." Everything Riddle did, he managed to make look so elegant. He always did, even if it was something as trivial as sitting in a chair. It was such a relief to see him fully recover from his injuries.

"I'm glad, too. Sorry that I'm late— and that you had Cater-senpai fetch me," Yuu smiled apologetically and took her seat at the table beside Deuce and Trey. Heartslabyul always took great care in hosting any of their parties; no expense was spared in their decorating and she always found herself admiring their handiwork.

The desserts Trey prepared, as he always did, were untouched. How touching. Were they waiting for her?

"Nonsense. It's a given, after all. How could we start without you?"

"Took you long enough," Ace laughed (who sat next to Deuce) dropping a Pokéball into her hand. "Hey, here's Fletchinder back. You have no idea how much of a help she was."

"Mhm, did wonders for our win rate."

"Aha! I knew she'd be a great help." Yuu let Fletchinder out, who promptly joined Grim and the rest of her Pokémon out on the grass. She smiled, idly watching them squabble about.

"Whoa, Yuu-chan lent her Pokémon to Acey and Deucey?" Cater leaned forward across the table, his chin resting in his palm. "Hm, care to share why?"

"We... uh, with the recent increase in accidents across campus, the Headmaster assigned Ace and Deuce to investigate them. They told me a lot of interviewees were being uncooperative, and with Riddle-senpai, who was just targeted that day—" Even though the sun was shining outside, the temperature seemed to drop. "—I thought it'd be all the more important to catch the culprit."

"I see... That's what the Headmaster thinks," Riddle said, his expression carefully calm. "So you two and Grim have been sent to take care of the accidents."

"He told us about that." Trey was smiling. But more than anything it was a troubled kind of smile, the one with tight lips and gritted teeth. "Hah... I thought so. No matter how we look at it, hasn't Riddle become a target? This kind of thing can't be coincidental."

"Definitely not. A dislocated shoulder, for Great Sevens' sake," Cater frowned deeply, "If it weren't for Audino-chan— Well, I don't even wanna think about it."

"Absolute lifesaver. I can't even believe she helped him recover from it in only two days. I should make her a tart sometime."

Yuu offered Trey her thanks with a smile. "You don't have to trouble yourself, though I bet she'd like that."

"I knew something was strange, so I asked Cater to gather information," Riddle continued, "The student who rammed into me is usually a careful and mindful boy, not to mention he kept on apologizing and swearing up and down that his body moved on its own."

Deuce gasped. "That's what everyone we interrogated was saying!"

"I did go around," Cater hummed, "It was getting pretty obvious that all the people getting injured were in the lineup for their Dorm Teams, like Riddle-kun."

"So, I think it's safe to say someone is intentionally targeting the Magift candidates," the boy in question said, narrowing his eyes. "It's just that we don't know who."

"Or what," Ace added, chewing thoughtfully on an éclair, "What if it's another Pokémon? Oh, Greats, what if it's another repeat of the doppelganger incident?"

The air was silent.

"Sevens, I hope not." Trey furrowed his brow. "I can't see that happening, though. After all, why would a Pokémon want to target Magift players specifically? I don't think it would have anything against us."

"I'm... not sure. Crowley told us there was a high possibility for a Pokémon to appear— After all, Zoroark didn't have anything against Heartslabyul entirely, either," Deuce muttered. It still seems the paranoia from the doppelganger incident still didn't wear off on them.

"Right," Yuu agreed with him, swaying her fork around, "I mean, everything we have is only circumstantial, so what can we do?"

"Hm... Ne, Yuu-chan, are there any Pokémon Moves that can disorient people? You know," Cater waved, "like hypnotizing people or confusing them enough to hurt themselves?"

She gave it a thought. "Well... There are the usual Psychic-type moves, Confusion and Hypnosis, which are pretty self-explanatory. Ah, but Hypnosis puts people to sleep, and no one's ever come into the infirmary unconscious— it can't be that, then. Then we have Confuse Ray, a Ghost-type move, which also confuses the target."

Trey shook his head. "It can't be any of those. The Confusion status lasts for a long time, but I've heard from Cater that none of the victims are ever disoriented for that long."

"You've been taking notes, I see! ...Yeah, but no. I haven't seen anybody in that state. The only other move I can think of is Psychic, which surrounds the target in a sort of... telekinetic force. You're basically playing puppeteer with them at that point— Ah, but that can't be it either. Not unless the victims have been seen surrounded in a glowing blue light?"

"Definitely not," Ace commented, sighing, "I mean, I wish it was. At least by then, we'd be able to narrow down our search."

"That's why we'll help you," Riddle revealed, "Whoever it is, human or Pokémon, we'll have the culprit spill everything when we catch them."

"Whoa, seriously? You're gonna help? I didn't expect that!" Grim chirped, seemingly popping into Yuu's lap from out of nowhere. He must have been listening in to their conversation. "Maybe from Trey, but Riddle and Cater have nothing to do with Pokémon! What's your angle, huh?"

"Hmph. You have a lot of nerve, boldly saying that to someone who is assisting you."

"Wow, come on! Rude. I mean, when your Prefect's been targeted, this is the least we can do. Have faith in me, won't you?"

"So, what do you propose, Riddle-senpai?"

"Hm. If we're going to catch them, we should anticipate their next attack," He said, which honestly made sense. Nothing better than catching the culprit in the act, taught by none other than Zoroark. "I think the best course of action is to mark students who are likely to be targeted. When something happens, we get the student to Yuu and Audino. Then, we hunt down the culprit in the immediate area."

"The stakeout strategy," Yuu nodded along, "That sounds good to me."

"Zoroark taught us well. We'll be prepared, I'm sure of it."

"That's perfect, Riddle-kun!" Cater grinned, waving his phone for show. "Actually, among the candidates, I've got my eye on a bunch of guys that seem like they'd be possible targets. Take a look at the group chat when you have time, okay?"

Deuce's mouth hung open when he checked his phone, whatever it must have been. "S-Senpai, this is a lot of information. And, ah, very detailed."

"I know, I know~ Don't get too overwhelmed, 'kay? —Ah! Yuu-chan, don't look too down! I'll write you a list soon, I promise."

Oh, bless. "Thank you, Cater-senpai. I don't know how much I can contribute with the investigation, since I'll be cooped up in the infirmary, but I'll try my best to try to keep a lookout for anything."

"Don't sweat it," Trey said, patting her head, "It's already enough that you and Audino have been helping out. I mean, that's the reason why Riddle's here and not in a gurney, isn't he?"

"If the Headmaster's gonna rope you into all this, the least he could do is get you a phone, jeez."

"I... I feel like there's more I should do, though. Hm. If it's a wild Pokémon we're talking about, should the Science Club get involved?"

"We are already involved, Yuu."

"Not all of us! There's this member, my friend," she told them, excitedly, "and you know him too, Trey-senpai— He's Rook Hunt, and apparently, he's really good at tracking—"

"Wait a minute," Ace cut in, staring at her with wide eyes. Looking at Deuce and Grim, she could tell they wore the same expression. "When you say Rook Hunt, you don't mean this tall blond guy with a big hat, do you?" He motioned his hands above his head to trace the outline of a hat and a feather.

She was pretty sure there was only one student like that in the entirety of Night Raven College. "I am, actually."

"What?! No way!" Grim snapped his head around to face her, equal parts appalled and alarmed. He screeched, gripping the fabric of her uniform, "He's your friend? But why?!"

"What— Don't say that, Grim. It's impolite. What did Rook-senpai even do to you, anyway?"

"Everything." Okay, he was just exaggerating now.

"Well, not everything," Deuce began, "He just shocked us when he crept up on us like that. I-I mean, I didn't expect it, but Fletchinder seemed to like him well enough. ...Maybe it's because he kept on complimenting her. "

"Oh, that's it? He told me about that."

They all shared a look. "He... told you?"

She shrugged, cracking a smile at the memory. "As I said, we're friends. He and I know each other since we're both a part of the Science Club."

"Okay, okay, look—" Ace waved both his hands, obviously freaked out, "So he did tell you that he met us. But did he say how he scared us all to death? I'm telling you, a guy that big shouldn't have silent frickin' footsteps."

"Fngaa! He totally came out of nowhere, yanno?! Still gives me the chills..."

"Oh, please. Well, Trey-senpai did tell me he's good at tracking... I guess that's probably why," Yuu said, indifferently. Honestly, she didn't even know why those three were sharing the perturbed look.

"He's just... Well, he's... —Ah, just forget about it."

"But he speaks Kalosian," She gushed, clasping her hands together, "I didn't realize how much I missed hearing it until I heard him speak it. Can you believe that? Someone here at NRC speaks Kalosian."

The other six stayed uncharacteristically silent.

Trey blinked with quick realization, "Oh, the Second Language. Yuu told me it was the language of her country of origin, right?"

Cater smiled, an enigmatic and inscrutable thing, "That's right! Ah, that reminds me~ I got to see the coolest thing today. Those two, they had a whole conversation in Second— and it caught me off guard, 'cause I was like, wow, I forgot she could do that."

Deuce leaned forward with intrigue. "They did that?"

"I think we should meet with him, if Yuu's taken such a liking to him," Riddle proposed. His words were crisp and wintry. He cut his lemon tart meticulously, silently into four perfect quarters. "Yes. It's always good to be making new friends."

"We should definitely do that," Ace and Grim agreed at an instant.

"We're gonna move on from this topic," she declared, stuffing a piece of éclair into her mouth. She eyed them funnily. "You six are... being wildly inquisitive today. Rook-senpai's just... Well, he's just Rook-senpai."

"Now Cay-kun knows why you've been so busy lately~ Are you forgetting all about us or what?"

"Yeah, can you blame us? I didn't even know you had friends outside of Heartslabyul and your Pokémon."

She was torn between smacking them or bursting into laughter. "Moving on!"

"Not quite. Seems like Hunt is on Cater's list of potential victims," Riddle countered. During their banter, he was scrolling through something on his phone, and after a few seconds it was evident that he was navigating up and down the group chat. "We'll pay him a visit tomorrow and make sure he's not a target."

Trey, who came to her rescue, shook his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, come on, you guys, give her a break." He was, alas, met with mild irritation from the other four members (and Grim, if he counted).

"Hmph! Very composed, coming from the guy that introduced them in the first place...!"

"Oh my Arceus... Don't tell me you guys are— ...uh, never mind." Never mind indeed.

UNEDITED, 8464 words

Heal Pulse — A non-offensive Pokémon move that heals health points to the target. This is a Psychic-type move used by Audino.

Poochyena — The Bite Pokémon. This is a Dark-type Pokémon that was introduced in Generation III, with resemblance to a hyena. Yuu uses this Pokémon to describe Ruggie in this episode.

whoo hoo! rather than a whole three weeks, I've boiled down to just two. hopefully I can keep up with this schedule... I don't have anything in my drafts, but hopefully I can stop spending time on genshin and actually write.

but on the other hand, I've stuffed so many interactions in one update. everyone from Heartslabyul made an appearance, what?!?! Heartslabyul stans, rejoice. I know it felt like this chapter was a filler, but I promise you it's not! every interaction here I've written has a definite purpose 🤭 some are more important than others, but they're all mandatory, I swear.

(the last scene was written originally to be put in the next chapter, but I felt bad about like... lowkey disregarding Riddle's injury like that. obviously, the boys will want to retaliate!!)

on another note this fic got up to 15k hits, no way! currently screaming, crying, sobbing, rolling on the floor, etc. thank you so much for the publicity and support, from the bottom of my heart.

AND ALSO TWISTED WONDERLAND IS MAKING ITS ENG. DEBUT IN ONLY 15 DAYS! that's about two weeks. are y'all ready?? because i'm not. i still haven't gotten over the hype. geek out in the comments with me!

ONE LAST THING! I did some editing and totally wiped the prologue from the first chapter. it originally showed Yuu's backstory before she came to TWST, but I scrapped it while editing because it didn't fit the narrative I want to create in the next chapter. so if you remember it... you don't anymore. 🤩

(next scheduled update should be on the 20th, just in time for the debut, but is still subject to change. hope to see you there!)