"Yuu-Yuu hurt." Part 12
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The mad scientist is dragged away by magical officers and the boys are brought to the police station, where they give their statements. Now that they're safe and Yuu is being seen by capable adults, the adrenaline tapers off and exhaustion seeps in. Most of them fall asleep as soon as they sit down in the waiting room.
Those who are still awake don't say anything to each other or whoever enters the waiting room. They instead look out the window, noticing the still dark skies, or impatiently glance at the clock, wanting the shuttle bus to arrive already so he could sleep and put the whole damn night behind him. It's still unbelievable what had happened, and the sleep-deprived haze makes it seem like a wild nightmare.
The entrance slides open. In walks Sebek, Ortho, Grim, and the teddy bear. Epel roughly shakes Deuce and Ace awake as the Diasomnia trio quickly approach Sebek. "Has there been any issue?" Malleus asks.
"No. Yuu was brought safely to the mages."
The tension in the room lessens. "That is excellent news. Thank you all for your efforts."
Sebek, despite his exhaustion, beams while Ortho says that it wasn't a problem. They are all ushered to a chair or waved over to an empty spot. Grim plops into a seat beside Ace and the teddy bear sits next to him. Before the First Years can ask Grim and the teddy bear for details, the two suddenly collapse against each other and free fall into sleep.
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He and the others are in the warehouse-like room.
Yuu and the ink monster are screaming. It leaps towards some classmates to his left. He moves away, readying a spell and shooting it.
COUGH COUGH
Yuu is doubled over, a hand covering their mouth as the other hand grips their knee. Ink seeps between their fingers, and when they take a trembling breath and raise their head, it leaks from their eyes like tears. Somehow, despite the distance, he hears them exhale. . . and then their eyes roll back and they fall to the floor.
The ink that trickles out of their mouth seems to have a red shine. He doesn't have time to yell for them because in a moment, the ink monster is above them and its body is falling apart, much like a rapidly melting candle. He raises his wand with a spell on his tongue--
An ink stained hand grips his wrist. He turns and his breath leaves his lungs. A familiar face grins back at him. Garbled words echo in his ears that bring with them unbearable discomfort and nausea.
"They must become one of us, or else they don't belong."
He yells something back while wrenching his hand away, either a "No they don't" or "Shut up!" The familiar face only cackles and points behind him.
Half of Yuu's body is inside the broken glass head of the ink monster. Pupiless eyes bore into his own. "No."
The rest of the body is sucked further in. He thinks he hears a raspy groan, but it's overcome by a loud, disgusting slushing sound like worms writhing.
He wants to hurl.
He wants to cry.
He feels so useless.
"YUU!!!"
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Ace's eyes snap open, heart racing like when he and the others had fled from the ink monster in the mines from a long time ago. His eyes land on a mini basketball hoop hanging high against a red and black irregularly striped wall. Right beside his head and slightly obscured by a scarlet cotton curtain, is an armoire so goofily curved it's like it came straight out of a whimsical tale. He's back in his bedroom; he remembers trudging to the Mirror Chamber after getting off the shuttle bus, bumping into someone or a chair or something, and then nothing.
Something moves against his chest. He realizes his arms are crossed and holding onto a soft but firm thing. He looks down and meets the beady black eyes of Yuu's sentient teddy bear. "Ace okay?" it asks.
His mind flashes back to a conversation from last night.
"I've been thinking about this for a while," Ortho said, pulling all attention to him. "I'm sure most of us know this by now, but for those who don't: Yuu's teddy bear has an unusual ability that lets it know when Yuu gets injured and where they are. Yuu has been held captive for three weeks, and during that time, the teddy bear was acutely aware that they were injured and hidden in that forest."
"I can't imagine what it would be like to be it during those weeks, knowing that someone it deeply cares about is so close but out of reach. I'm afraid of trying to run a simulation."
The teddy bear nuzzled closer to Grim, who hugged it tighter. "I must confess, it's impressive it didn't have a breakdown during those weeks," Jade said. "It's made me wonder what it would have done if none of us had tried searching for Yuu ourselves."
"Yeah, I'm okay." Before Ace realizes it, he's petting the teddy bear's head. It accepts the affection and leans into his hand.
He hears some muttering behind him. Holding the teddy bear more securely to his chest, he rolls over. He lets out a scoff; Grim had somehow ended up upside down and his tail was in Deuce's face. He starts to laugh when Grim's tail flicks and hits the Spade student, but quickly stops when Grim mutters almost tearfully, "Yuu, don't die!"
Ace then notices the damp fur around Grim's eyes and how hard Deuce was grinding his teeth (he was actually afraid Deuce was going to chip a tooth this time). He gets out of bed and feels dull soreness in his joints and muscles. Any open wounds had been small and treated at the police station; simple bruises were left alone. He trudges to the other side of the room with the teddy bear in one arm. "Deuce. Deuce! Grim! Wake up!"
As expected, nothing. He suddenly remembers the other roommates and glances over, but finds the beds empty. Come to think of it, what time was it?
Putting the teddy bear on the bed, Ace places a hand on Grim's tummy and reaches over to grab Deuce's shoulder. He yells their names and shakes them, which manages to startle them awake. "Phew. About time."
Deuce blearily looks around as Grim slowly sits up. He sighs, relieved. "It was only a dream."
"Let me guess, dreaming about last night?"
"Yeah. You were too, right?"
"How could I not? It was more stressful than dealing with the other Overblots."
"It was." Deuce sighs again, but then squints at Ace. ". . . Were you crying?"
"Huh?!" He touches his cheek. Tears had dried on his face, mixing with red makeup when they were still fresh. Deuce was the same, having black makeup smudged down his cheek. Grim is touching his own face and seems surprised that he too had cried in his sleep. "Guess I was."
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Notices were sent to the boys' phones: once the school day had ended, all of them needed to report to the auditorium in person. Ace was dreading the lecture he and the others were sure to be getting, but the dread worsened upon seeing all the homeroom teachers standing beside a seriously stern headmaster. For the next however many minutes--which felt more likes hours--the headmaster scolded the students for being so reckless and other things. With how much anger and exasperation was behind the headmaster's words, it brought Ace back to the time he and Grim got yelled at for scorching the Queen of Hearts statue. The homeroom teachers' disapproving glares, combined with sitting in the front row, made Ace sweat and try to look anywhere but the front.
"I'm especially appalled by the dorm leaders and the vice dorm leaders," Crowley said, and the underclassmen were a little relieved that they weren't targeted anymore. "The fourteen of you--especially the dorm leaders and those with upstanding social positions--should have known better than to partake in such a highly consequential folly! Whatever you or anyone has to say on this matter will not excuse the danger you have allowed yourselves and others under your care to be in."
There was a moment of tense, suffocating silence. Crowley huffed. "That said, I can't say I'm not proud of you all."
"HUH?!"
It was like a switch had flipped: Crowley was smiling at the students now and exuding joy. "You all banded together to search and rescue one of your peers. Not only did you do just that successfully, but you also saved the other kidnap victims and kept them safe while there was an Overblot incident. You all showed such capability during a dangerous situation and so much care for one of your own--it brings tears to my eyes!"
"I know you said there was no excuse for what we just did, but we really couldn't sit around waiting for something to happen," Kalim said.
"And of course, we couldn't turn down the plead of their dear teddy bear to find them, not when they mean so much to it," Azul said, a palm to his chest to express "sincerity".
Glances were cast towards the teddy bear. It was silently staring out the window.
Crowley put his hands on his hips. "Al-Asim, Ashengrotto, I trust you both won't make the same lapse in judgment during your time as students?"
"Ah, well--"
"If you make the same decision as the one you took for rescuing Yuu next time, it could end terribly. It goes the same for all of you. No matter what happens, do not run blindly into danger. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," the students choired.
"Headmaster, could I ask you something?" Ace asks. "Have you made any progress at all in finding Yuu a way back home?"
The headmaster clearly wasn't expecting the question--the lights in his eyes seemed to widen and his mouth parted in surprise. The homeroom teachers turn to look at him; it seems they were curious to hear his answer too. In a moment, he was collected, but there was a sort of shaky undertone that undermined it. "Well, to be quite honest, I've been unable to make as much progress as I wanted given the hectic events this school year. I did offer them some pointers on where to look for possible answers, but their circumstance is unique. It would be an arduous and long process finding anything useful."
"Of course it would be! They don't know a lick about magic," Grim argues. "And you haven't made any progress at all because you were busy goofing off."
The lights in Crowley's mask narrow and grow brighter. "I beg your pardon? Is that any way to speak to your headmaster, who works diligently to ensure this school runs well and maintains its prestigious reputation? This sort of work is no easy feat, especially since there are so many misbehaving and reckless students to watch over."
"When winter break came around, you were ready to go vacationing and forgot all about finding Yuu a way home," Grim says.
"Headmaster Crowley, is that true?" Professor Trein asks, fixing him with a stern glare.
When Crowley started to seem shifty, Professor Trein snapped at him and a low growl came from Lucius. "Did you leave alone two students on campus with no means to get food for themselves and no supervision? I advised you numerous times to have them placed in an inn at the foot of the hill. What if something happened to them?"
"I've also been wondering, what did you find in your research of returning Yuu back to their world?" Professor Crewel asks.
"It's as I said before: not as much progress as I wanted."
"So basically, you found jack shit," Floyd says, which causes many heads to snap his way and Crowley to make an offended sound. The headmaster doesn't manage to get a word in when someone speaks up.
"If you're having trouble with searching, you could always ask for help," Kalim suggests.
"I'm sure finding information about crossing universes is by no means an easy task, but surely you could have been transparent about your progress?" Azul points out.
"Ah, that. . ." For the next hour or two, Crowley was in an uncomfortable position.
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