Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tsunotaro is up to something.

That’s the first thought that crosses your mind when you meet up with Malleus and Sebek, having been invited by the former to spend your day off with the pair, checking out a local used book fair event that’s happening at Foothill Town.

Because of your love of books, you were quick to accept the invitation, especially since you always love spending time with Malleus and Sebek, although it seems that Malleus extended such an invitation for other reasons than just wanting to spend time with you.

To most people, the fae prince probably looks the same as he always does since there’s not really anything that’s particularly out of the ordinary about his current expression.

However, you are a different story, because you know Malleus so well after having spent so much time with him since the start of the school year.

As a result, you can see the little mischievous twinkle in his eye, and there’s just something about him that makes you think he’s in on some kind of secret that you’re not privy to.

If he were anyone else, you’d be wary, considering how most Night Raven College students are, but you know Malleus would never purposely do anything that would cause you any serious trouble, so you immediately know that he’s not up to no good, like what would be the case for a lot of your friends.

For that reason, you don’t try to back out of going to the used book fair and still accompany Malleus and Sebek, along with Grim, who insisted that he come along despite you telling him multiple times that he wouldn’t have any fun visiting a book fair since there wouldn’t be any food there.

Thankfully, just as you had expected, you find out that your decision to trust Malleus was the correct one within minutes after you all start heading for Foothill Town.

Much to your amusement, after you all leave NRC, Malleus gives Sebek the important job of escorting you since that’s what any proper gentleman would do under these circumstances, and of course, Sebek obediently obliges.

Upon seeing how pleased Malleus appears whenever he looks at you and Sebek walking closely together, you quickly realize what he’s secretly plotting. Oh man, I can’t believe it. Tsunotaro is acting as Sebek’s wingman. This has to Lilia-senpai’s doing.

There’s really no other explanation for Malleus’s current behavior since, while Malleus has never done something like this before, he has always been the one who supported Lilia’s usual matchmaking efforts, so you could easily see him agreeing if Lilia asked him to covertly play the role of Sebek’s wingman during today’s outing.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. Tsunotaro looks like he’s having fun. I guess it’s ‘cause he never got to be a wingman before, and ‘cause from his POV, he’s doing something nice for Sebek, whom he obviously cares a lot about. What an adorable sweetheart.

Obviously, the only thing you can do under these current circumstances is make sure Malleus’s matchmaking efforts go off without a hitch, so he can have good news to report back to Lilia since you know how happy that would make your dear friend.

This is probably exactly why Lilia-senpai asked Tsunotaro to do something like this. You wryly muse. After all, he knows there’s not much I wouldn’t do for Tsunotaro and that I wouldn’t discourage Tsunotaro’s matchmaking efforts like I would when Lilia-senpai plays matchmaker.

What a cunning and incredibly brilliant mastermind Diasomnia’s vice dorm leader is.

Chuckling at that thought, you snuggle closer to Sebek, whose arm you’re currently hugging, so the two of you will look even more like a couple, making your son blush.

When Sebek gives you a chiding look, all the while failing to hide his cute pout, because you’re embarrassing him in front of his beloved liege, you just blow a kiss at him, causing his adorable blush to darken further.

Thankfully, despite his dislike of looking anything less than his absolute best in front of Malleus, Sebek doesn’t make any complaints about your actions, partially because he doesn’t want to disappoint his liege, who asked him to take good care of you during the escorting process, but mostly because he, deep down, actually likes having you so close.

Although he’d be too embarrassed to ever admit it out loud under these current circumstances, you know that Sebek likes having you within arm’s reach, so if any trouble should arise, he can easily pull you to safety and protect you and Malleus simultaneously.

Because you’re someone whom Sebek loves, which makes you someone whom he always wants to keep safe.

Coincidentally, just after you think that, you stumble thanks to Grim, who bumped into your legs whilst he was trying to swat away an annoying bug that has been bothering him for the last several seconds.

Before you can even think to steady yourself by making use of your grip on Sebek’s arm, Sebek swiftly pulls you into his arms, successfully preventing you from falling.

After quickly checking to make sure you’re unharmed, Sebek scowls at Grim. “Be more mindful of your surroundings, you fool! You almost knocked her over!”

His ire only increases when Grim ignores him in favor of going after the pesky bug that’s still circling around his head. “Mrah! Buzz off already!”

Fortunately for Grim, rather than get mad at him like your other son, you focus on thanking Sebek for coming to your rescue, successfully distracting the angry retainer.

“Thank you, Sebek~” You happily return his embrace and nuzzle his chest. “You’re the best~”

In an instant, Sebek’s ire turns into embarrassment. “T-There is no need to thank me. Just be more mindful of your surroundings, you clumsy human…”

As the half-fae cutely blushes, a noticeably pleased Malleus smiles, “Heh, very nicely done, Sebek. I’d expect nothing less from a capable escort such as yourself.”

Sebek’s face lights up, just as it always does whenever his beloved liege praises him. “Thank you, Malleus-sama! I am unworthy of such generous praise!”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest when you see his broad, delighted smile. Ah~, I just love that smile.

With all your heart.

Upon finally reaching the used book fair event that’s being held at Foothill Town, you take in the sight of a large crowd of people, all of whom are obviously here to check out the large selection of books that are available.

As expected, Sebek is on high alert since anything could happen to his beloved liege when there are so many people around, but in the end, he has nothing to worry about, because, shortly after your group arrives on the scene, everyone in the surrounding area promptly flees once they take notice of Malleus.

“Hm? For some reason, the surrounding crowd suddenly cleared the path.” Sebek blinks, appearing surprised, before smiling, “Now, they will not trouble my liege. What luck!”

Luck had nothing to do with it. You dryly think to yourself, obviously the only one to realize everyone left because of Malleus.

Malleus curiously takes in his surroundings. “So there is a used book fair here? It's quite crowded with people of the island.”

He smiles, “Excellent work finding out about this event, Sebek.”

Sebek beams, “Yes! I noticed the usual bookshop was hosting this event.”

Smiling, you excitedly eye all the different booths around you that are full of all kinds of different books. “I’m glad you did since I would’ve hated to miss out on an event like this, considering how many books are here. I can’t wait to see what kinds of books I’ll find.”

After directing your smile at Malleus, you add, “Thank you again for inviting me, Tsunotaro. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day off.”

“Heh, I am glad to hear that.” Malleus replies, appearing pleased. “I’m sure our time spent here will be extra enjoyable with you here. Isn’t that right, Sebek?”

Amused, you watch as Sebek becomes flustered when his liege asks how he feels about you being here with them. “O-Of course, Young Master!”

Cooing, you reach up to kiss your son's rosy cheek. “I’m happy to be here with you too, Sebek, ‘cause being with you always makes me so happy.”

His blush becomes noticeably darker. “C-Cease such improper behavior whilst in the presence of my liege, human!”

An impish grin rises to your lips. “So it’s okay just as long as Tsunotaro’s not watching?”

“N-No!” Sebek unconvincingly denies, looking like a red neon sign due to how hard he’s now blushing.

While Malleus chuckles, obviously enjoying this turn of events, Grim frowns, “I was hopin’ there'd be some snack stands or somethin’ here since you said we’d be goin’ to a fair, but all I see are books, books, and more books! Where’s the food?!”

You roll your eyes as you pull away from Sebek. “As I’ve told you multiple times already, Grim, this is a BOOK fair, meaning all that’s here are books. Of course, they wouldn’t keep anything involving refreshments around here since they could potentially ruin the books if people aren’t careful.”

“I kept telling you that you wouldn’t be interested in coming here, so you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” You huff, “So you’re not allowed to do any complaining.”

Your eyes narrow threateningly. “If you ruin my day off by constantly complaining about being hungry, there will be serious consequences, understand?”

Because he can tell that you're being completely serious when you make that threat, Grim nervously gulps. “U-Understood…”

Satisfied with his response, you lean down to pet his head. “If you’re a good boy, we’ll grab something to eat in town once I’ve had my fill of looking around, so how long it takes for you to get some food all depends on how well you behave.”

While your partner incoherently grumbles, Sebek smirks, “Heh, the annoyance has finally been silenced. I can only hope this silence will last.”

Upon seeing the scowl that appears on Grim’s face, you give Sebek a chiding look for riling up your partner before looking for a way to distract Grim.

“There sure are a lot of people here.” You point out, “It’s like a good chunk of Sage’s Island’s population came here, hoping to find some good books to buy.”

Sebek nods. “It's been running here periodically for a long time, apparently, so it’s rather popular with the island residents.”

“Sage's Island has a lot of students.” He adds, “The supply and demand for old books are both high.”

Frowning, Sebek turns to look at Malleus. “Although, whether there will be books to sate the erudite Malleus-sama is quite another question.”

“Huh? Yuu-san? Grim-kun? Sebek-kun?”

Upon hearing a familiar voice, you turn to see Epel, who’s now approaching your group along with Vil. “Oh, hey, Epel, Vil-senpai. I wasn’t expecting to run into you two here.”

“You were all hard to miss, because there’s such a large empty space around Malleus.” Vil dryly points out before asking. “Are you shopping as well?”

When you nod, Epel grins, “I really should’ve expected that, considering how much you love reading, Yuu-san. This is obviously your kind of place to visit on a day off.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “Absolutely. I could easily spend a whole day here and never get bored.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me we really gotta stay that long.” Grim groans, much to Epel’s amusement.

As you shush your partner, Malleus gives the Pomefiore duo a curious look. “Did you both come to do some shopping as well?”

Vil nods. “Yes. We came looking for old alchemy texts.”

“The books Vil-san has lent me have been really instructive, but they're out of print so I can't get them.” Epel explains, “But we were talking about how this used book fair might have some.”

Sebek raises an eyebrow. “Hoh? I see you're being surprisingly passionate about your studies.”

Epel frowns, “Surprisingly? I do study too, you know?”

With a smirk, Sebek replies, “Really now? From what I recall, you’re the type who procrastinates and gets easily distracted from your studies, like Ace and Deuce, which is why you always appear to be struggling scholastically. The only real studying you do is the kind that’s related to muscle training.”

Grim snickers, “Yeah, yeah! Nya ha ha!”

Quickly, before they can react, you give the laughing monster’s nose a hard flick before reaching up to pull on Sebek’s ear, making them both wince. “That’s enough of that.”

“Sebek, don’t tease Epel. He’s a far better student than you give him credit for.” You frown, “And, Grim, you are the last person who should ever criticize someone about how well they do in school since your grades are the worst out of all my sons.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Epel chimes in, mockingly repeating Grim’s earlier words with a smirk.

Before Sebek or Grim can complain like they obviously want to do, a new, familiar voice pipes up. “Heh, as expected of Yuu. She handles her sons well. Perhaps we should have her put her skills to use later today after she finishes her shopping.”

Immediately, everyone turns to see the approach of Riddle and Trey, both of whom obviously took notice of the large empty space surrounding Malleus and decided to take a moment to speak with your group.

Just as you’re about to question Riddle’s last sentence, Malleus says, “If it isn't Rosehearts and Clover. Are you here for the used book fair as well?”

Trey nods. “Yeah. Riddle invited me to help pick out books that the first years need.”

Sebek eyes the two Heartslabyul students with interest, quickly forgetting about his earlier ire. “Are there books for first years that you would recommend?”

For some reason, upon hearing Sebek’s question, Trey winces, “No, uh…”

Riddle crosses his arms. “They're books on manners.”

He frowns, “Our youngest card soldiers need a good read on how to act with dignity.”

Trey weakly chuckles, “There was kind of a big fight at the dorm yesterday.”

Even though this is your first time hearing about it, you quickly realize who was involved in that fight since there are only two first-year students in that dorm who would cause such a commotion at their dorm.

Appearing apologetic, you bow your head. “I’m very sorry for the trouble my sons have caused you. I promise I’ll have a word with them later, and I’ll try to do better about their poor manners.”

“Now, now, there's no need for you to apologize.” Trey pats your head. “When they’re at our dorm, Ace and Deuce are our responsibility, so you shouldn’t blame yourself for whatever trouble they get into, Yuu.”

“Indeed.” Riddle agrees, “While I would encourage that you have a word with Ace and Deuce, I still intend to be the one who gives them the proper discipline they need, so you don’t need to worry, Yuu.”

After you thank the two upperclassmen for being so understanding, Sebek smirks, “To think, Ace and Deuce are so hopeless that they require a book on etiquette. They’re truly the bottom of the barrel!”

“I think you need one as well.” Vil dryly states.

As Sebek gapes, appearing genuinely shocked, Riddle nods. “Exactly. Sebek, I'll have you participate in the reading group as well.”

Trey awkwardly smiles as he rubs the back of his neck. “Ah... it's going to be a lively time.”

You give him a sympathetic look. Guess I better join that reading group too since my sons are involved and I feel bad for Trey-senpai and Riddle-senpai. Plus, I wouldn’t be opposed to Grim learning some manners, although I won’t get my hopes up.

Honestly, considering how your sons are, you doubt the reading group will be too successful, although you know Deuce, at least, will make a strong effort to work on his manners.

All you can do is sigh. My sons are such a handful.

And that’s something that won’t ever change.

While Sebek tries to deny the need of attending the Heartslabyul-hosted reading group, Riddle, who has opted to ignore him, thoughtfully grabs his chin. “Now, which book should we use?”

“Oya? Are you looking for something?”

Once again, you all get distracted by a familiar voice joining the fray, making you wonder just how many of your friends have decided to come to the book fair today.

When all eyes focus on him, Jade, who apparently came here with Azul, politely smiles as he rests a hand over his chest. “You can leave that to us. We can acquire anything you wish.”

While you huff in amusement upon hearing the fish mafia trying to once again get people to enlist their services, Trey remarks, “Ah, Jade. And Azul, too. So you've come here as well.”

Your amusement grows when Riddle’s expression instantly becomes wary after he sees the two Octavinelle students. “...does that mean…?”

Jade chuckles, “So sorry to disappoint. Floyd is running the Mostro Lounge.”

The tension in Riddle’s frame immediately eases as his face relaxes. “That's good news. Truly fine.”

As you snort, Azul gives everyone his trademark professional smile. “We heard about this event in the lounge and hurried out to take a look. I'm extremely interested in the sale of old books.”

“Considering it's you, I'm sure you're looking for some kind of business book, right?” Sebek asks.

Shaking his head, Azul sighs, “Sebek-san, business books are in style. There's no need to search for outdated ones here.”

Sebek scowls, “Don't act as if you Octavinelle students are always so right!”

After giving your son a look, you raise an eyebrow at the Octavinelle students. “Lemme guess. You guys aren’t looking for anything in particular but instead are hoping to find some valuable books that are getting sold for cheap, either so you can resell them at a higher price or keep them and save money since anywhere else such books would be a lot more expensive.”

Matching sly smiles appear on the Octavinelle students’ faces as Azul cheerfully replies, “As expected of you, Yuu-san, you understand what a potential treasure trove an event like this is. Considering how long this fair has been around, I have no doubt that coming here will be a worthy investment of our time.”

While the majority of your friends either sigh or shake their heads at Azul’s typical antics, you just chuckle, “It’s a good thing there are so many books here, considering what everyone’s looking for covers a broad range.”

It’s at that moment you realize you never asked Malleus if he decided to come here for anything specific. “Oh yeah, I just realized I never asked, but what about you, Tsunotaro? Were you just wanting to browse through everything like me, or are you here for something in particular like everyone else?”

Malleus thoughtfully frowns, “Hmm. Let's see. Considering there’s such a large range of books available, I think I'd like to see something that I normally couldn't read.”

“Normally, Malleus-sama reads profound texts and lofty history books...Moving away from that means a lighter kind of book.” Sebek pauses to consider his options before continuing, “Essays or poems... or perhaps novels?”

“Or maybe manga, I guess?” Epel suggests before pointing toward a booth. “There's a booth over that way that's full of nothing but manga.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea, Epel.” You grin, “That’s definitely something that would be new to Tsunotaro, and considering all the different types of manga there are, I’m sure we could find one that Tsunotaro would like.”

“Manga, hm. I'm certainly not familiar with that, and if Yuu says it’s something worth checking out, it does pique my interest.” Malleus replies, eyeing the manga booth with obvious intrigue.

Sebek grins, “Well done, Epel! Then, Malleus-sama, let's go take a look. That booth is... hm?”

Much to your surprise and amusement, when you all turn to look at the manga booth again, you catch sight of Idia, who makes a startled sound before promptly disappearing from view by venturing further into the booth.

As his brow furrows, Sebek comments, “I thought I saw a pale man standing over there, but... was I imagining things?”

Azul shakes his head with a sigh. “No, I do think I saw Idia-san…”

“That was definitely Idia-senpai.” You confirm with a giggle.

“Leave it alone.” Vil advises, “There's not a single good thing that could come out of talking to that one.”

You give him a chiding look. “Vil-senpai, don’t be mean. Besides, Idia-senpai actually is the perfect person to talk to for manga recommendations, although, if Tsunotaro were to approach him, Idia-senpai would probably just flee, considering how he is.”

“That’s why I’ll go over there on my own and talk to him.” You add, “Grim, be good while I’m gone, or else, no food for you for the foreseeable future.”

While Grim childishly whines and starts making a loud fuss, resulting in him getting lectured by Riddle for his poor manners and being told that he also has to participate in the upcoming reading group that Riddle will be hosting, much to Grim's dismay, you start moving toward the manga booth.

Much to your surprise, during this time, you hear Jamil’s panicked voice calling out for Kalim, making you realize that the latter obviously wandered off while the former wasn’t looking.

Poor Jamil…

Just as you’re about to offer to help Scarabia’s vice dorm leader find his dorm leader, you hear Azul and Jade mention that they saw Kalim talking with other students from the Scarabia dorm, meaning Kalim is likely safe and just having too much fun to pay attention to his phone, which is why poor Jamil can’t find him.

Since you doubt that Kalim is in danger at this current point in time, you continue with your quest to ask for some manga recommendations, figuring you can help Jamil find Kalim as soon as you finish having a quick chat with Idia.

Upon reaching the manga booth, you begin looking around to see if you can find wherever Idia decided to hide. Fortunately, a few minutes later, you find him in a corner, sifting through a mountain of comics. “Ah, there you are, Idia-senpai.”

“Geh!” Idia makes a startled sound before scowling at you. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“I’m sorry.” You apologize, “I really didn’t mean to startle you.”

After you finish apologizing, you curiously ask, “So what are you doing here, Idia-senpai? Does this place actually have manga you like that you don’t already own?”

Idia returns to digging through the mountain of comics that’s before him. “I’m hunting for the first press of my fave classic manga. So far, I haven’t found what I’m looking for, but I’m still hopeful since they got a lot of first press manga here. I just gotta keep looking.”

“While you’re doing that, could you please provide some good manga recommendations for Tsunotaro?” You request, “He’s here to read something he’s never read before, and since manga definitely isn’t something he’s ever tried, we thought we’d see if we could find something here for him.”

For a moment, Idia just stares at you incredulously before finally replying, “Definitely wasn’t expecting THAT kind of side quest to pop up while I was here…”

While you snort, Idia pauses to consider your request before sighing, “Oh, fine. I GUESS I can help since I really don’t want Malleus-shi coming after me if I don’t, so just take notes while I start reeling off whatever I can think of.”

Nodding, you quickly pull out your cell phone and open the notes app, so you can type out all of the different manga titles that Idia proceeds to rapidly reel off.

Much to your amusement, rather than just provide manga titles, Idia gives you proper summaries of every manga he lists off, and at times, he lets himself get sidetracked when he starts gushing about his favorite characters.

Naturally, you just let Idia say whatever he wants since you enjoy seeing him get so excited about his interests. Plus, he really is doing you a big favor by providing these recommendations.

After several minutes pass like this, Idia finally realizes that he had let himself get caught up in his excitement and promptly gets flustered. “Alright, that’s all you’ll get outta me, so let me hunt for manga in peace.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Will do. Thank you for your help, Idia-senpai. You’re the best.”

Red colors his cheeks, but he quickly tries to hide that by turning to face the pile of manga before him. Unfortunately, there’s nothing he can do to hide the fact that the tips of his hair are now bright pink. “W-Whatever.”

Giggling, you take your leave after wishing him good luck with his manga hunt, so you can regroup with Malleus and the others.

Much to your surprise, after you exit the manga booth, you notice that Leona is now with the rest of your friends, making you assume that he crossed paths with the others by chance while you were talking to Idia and that he likely came to the used book fair to relax and find something to read since you could see Leona enjoying an event like this as long as no one bothered him.

What’s even more surprising is the fact that all of your friends are currently looking at Grim, who’s sitting on the ground, holding a book - a book that looks strangely familiar once you start approaching him and the rest of your friends and get a better look at it.

For a moment, you wonder why that book, which has a mirror on its cover, looks so familiar, and then, a previously forgotten memory suddenly resurfaces from the deepest recesses of your mind, causing realization to hit you like a bolt of lightning.

Your eyes grow large. I remember now! That’s the book that we got sucked into that one time! The book that led to us meeting Stitch!

Upon remembering how dangerous that book is and that it’s currently in the worst possible hands, you immediately start sprinting toward Grim, who looks like he’s about to open the book he’s holding. “GRIM! Don’t you dare open that book!”

All of your friends jolt at the sound of your scream, and their surprise only grows when they see your panicked figure running toward Grim.

Immediately, Sebek, Epel, and Jamil try to grab the book since they know something serious is about to happen if you’re looking that panicked.

“Hand that book over right this instant, you foolish direbeast!”

“Grim-kun, stop!”

“Grim!”

Regrettably, everyone’s efforts were in vain.

After scampering away with the book to move himself out of reach, Grim, who obviously doesn’t recognize the book he’s holding, making you think he never regained that particular memory, like you just did, loudly harrumphs, “You’re not the boss of me, Henchman!”

Most likely rebelling to get back at you for previously threatening to prolong his next meal, Grim unrepentantly opens the book before anyone can grab it. “I can do whatever I want!”

A scowl rises to your lips. “You little-!”

Seconds later, a bright light fills the area, just like what happened the last time Grim opened that crazy book.

Grim makes an alarmed sound. “Fnagh!? What's this light!?”

Malleus sighs, “Ah. I told you not to open it…”

“Grim, you great big idiot!” Sebek yells.

Soon after, everyone’s screams fill the air as your surroundings begin to shift, and you feel your body being pulled toward the direction of the book Grim opened.

Just like what happened last time, darkness begins to encroach your vision, signaling that you’re about to lose consciousness. During this time, one thought crosses your mind.

So much for having a relaxing day off…

And then, everything fades to black.

When you finally regain consciousness, it’s to the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling out to you.

“Hello..? Hello, my dear? Lovely lady sleeping in my arms?”

Upon hearing that voice, your groggy mind immediately focuses on the incredibly warm, gentle tone the unknown speaker uses when addressing you, which you’re unaccustomed to hearing thanks to the kind of upbringing you had and the kind of people you currently go to school with.

Seconds after that voice pierces through the haze that’s currently clouding your mind, you finally register the fact that someone is holding you in their arms, keeping you safely and comfortably secure against their chest.

“Can you hear my voice?”

Once again, the unfamiliar voice addresses you, and at the same time, you feel a long, slender gloved finger brush against your cheek with a tenderness that surprises you.

Just who is this person?

And why do they sound so genuinely concerned on your behalf? Why is everything about them so gentle?

“Hey, my dear, please, open your eyes for me…”

Upon hearing that request, you finally pry your heavy eyelids apart, so you can finally get some answers to the questions currently swirling around your groggy mind.

After blinking several times to clear your blurry vision, you take in the sight of a handsome, white-haired boy, who appears to be around your age, judging from his young face.

Just after your eyes open, the mysterious stranger beams, “Thank goodness, you’re awake!”

For a moment, all you can do is stare at that charming, gap-toothed smile, which looks genuine from your perspective. That and the obvious relief in his voice, which doesn’t in any way sound forced, make you think that he really has been worried about you.

After taking a moment to scrutinize the sincerity of that smile, your eyes drift upwards and focus on the boy’s glasses, whose dark, circular lenses are completely hiding his eyes from view.

You have to fight the urge to click your tongue in annoyance upon seeing those glasses since his eyes being hidden will make it difficult for you to properly read his expression, which is why you never liked dealing with the people in Japan’s underworld who wore this type of eyewear specifically because they wanted to make themselves hard to read.

Ironically enough, just after the topic of his eyes occupies your thoughts, the still smiling stranger brings his face dangerously close to yours, making you think he really has no concept of personal space, considering he’s doing something like this and had no qualms about holding you while you were unconscious.

“Oh my, what dazzling eyes you have, my dear. They are just as lovely as you are. I am overjoyed to finally be able to see them at long last.”

Strangely enough, rather than feel an immediate impulse to hit him, like what would normally happen under circumstances like these, you find yourself feeling only amused, perhaps because this boy reminds you a lot of Rook, whose eccentricities you’ve grown quite accustomed to these last several months.

Of course, it also helps that your instincts are telling you that this person isn’t a threat to you, and you’re always inclined to believe them since they’ve never lied to you before.

That’s why, rather than push this stranger away, you decide to take advantage of this perfect opportunity that he just unintentionally provided you.

Faster than he can react, you grab his glasses and move them upwards, allowing you a clear view of his wide, reddish orange eyes, whose pupils have a cool, concentric pattern.

A smirk rises to your lips. “If you’re gonna check out my eyes, then it’s only fair that you let me do the same.”

After moving his glasses to rest on the top of his head, you find yourself pausing after your eyes focus on the diamond-shaped patches of black hair that are now located directly beneath the glasses.

It kinda looks like a face…a very familiar face at that. You note. Although, I can’t remember why it looks so familiar to me…

Since there are more important matters that you need to attend to right now, you quickly shelve those thoughts, with the intention of going back to them later.

Quickly, you refocus your gaze on the face of the stranger, whose arms you woke up in, and firmly take hold of his chin, so you can keep him from moving his face away from yours since this close proximity will make it easier for you to read his expression.

Your earlier smirk returns when the mysterious boy becomes noticeably flustered, making you believe he’s not used to getting a taste of his own medicine. “Now, let’s have a little Q & A, Mr. Up Close And Personal, so I can decide what to do with you.”

Giving the befuddled boy no chance to refuse, you continue, “Alright, the first and most important question is: Why did you decide to pull an unconscious girl into your lap? Sure, I can get wanting to wake me after finding me in such a state, but was that all really necessary?”

Rather than appear apprehensive upon being on the receiving end of your piercing, judgmental stare, the mysterious stranger, who appears genuinely surprised by your question, frowns, “Obviously, I could not allow a lovely lady such as yourself to remain on the cold, hard ground! I wouldn’t be able to call myself a gentleman otherwise!”

Because you can tell that he’s not lying thanks to the obvious sincerity in his eyes and voice, some of the tension in your frame eases as your gaze somewhat softens. “Heh, good answer. While not every girl would accept it, considering the circumstances, I will since I can tell you had good intentions, although I would still advise not trying something like this with any other girls since most girls would understandably hit first and ask questions later.”

Judging from his puzzled expression, this boy truly has no idea why a girl would react in such a manner, giving you the impression that he can be rather oblivious when it comes to the effects his actions have on others.

Rather than try to explain things to him, you move onto your next two questions. “Second and third questions: Who are you, and how did you end up here with me?”

Much to your amusement, rather than appear bothered by your interrogation, the white-haired boy, who’s once again smiling and has seemingly forgotten his earlier embarrassment, cheerfully answers, “My name is Skully J. Graves. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“As to how I ended up here with you, I stumbled upon your unconscious form by chance after I woke up in this unfamiliar place, wearing these equally unfamiliar clothes.” He continues, “Unfortunately, I haven’t the faintest idea about how I ended up here.”

His brow furrows as he adopts a pensive expression. “The last thing I can recall is taking a look at the used book fair in Foothill Town. I believe I found a mysterious book and opened it, and after that, my memories come to an abrupt end for some reason.”

You raise an eyebrow. Sounds like he’s in the same predicament as me. I guess he must have found and opened the book before Grim got his paws on it and got sucked into the book first.

Just after that thought crosses your mind, you come to a realization that makes you pause. Wait a minute. I just realized, now that my initial grogginess has worn off, I can remember exactly how I got here. This is completely different from the last time I got sucked into this damn book. Why are my memories fully intact this time?

Before you can ponder this puzzling matter further, you get distracted by Skully who exclaims, “Oh, yes, I almost forgot! How careless of me!”

His concerned eyes peer into yours. “How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere, my dear?”

Upon seeing that he’s genuinely concerned about you, your expression softens. While I still don’t know much about this guy, I can tell he’s not a bad person. A bad person wouldn’t be so kind and gentle toward me, especially not while I’m interrogating them.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean Skully can be trusted, you can at least give him the benefit of the doubt and be open to the idea of eventually trusting him after getting to know him better.

I would still like to get some more info outta him, but it’d probably be better if I space out my questions rather than bombard him with them all at once. You muse. While he’s been pretty accommodating thus far, that might change if I start asking questions that make him uncomfortable, and I’d rather avoid causing any kind of conflict right now when I’ve got other more important things to worry about.

Rather than continue interrogating him, it’d be better to just wait and ask more questions later on once Skully has become more comfortable with you, or even better, if you bide your time, you may glean new information from him that he willingly provides without you even needing to ask since he seems like a talkative kind of guy.

That’s why you finally release your hold on his chin, surprising him, since it’s really for the best that you quit giving him the third-degree, especially when the boy hasn’t even technically done anything wrong yet. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking, er…”

Realizing you don’t know if Skully is someone you need to be more formal with like your upperclassmen or if he’s the same age as you, you ask, “How old are you? I can’t tell if you’re older than me or not, so I’m not sure how I should address you. I’m sixteen, by the way.”

Appearing noticeably pleased, Skully eagerly replies, “I am also sixteen! How wonderful to make a new friend who is the same age as me!”

“And you may address me however you please!” He adds, “I will be overjoyed regardless because such a lovely lady is calling me by name!”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards at his cute response. “You’re quite the charmer, huh? I like that. It’s rather refreshing, considering how most guys my age act.”

“Alright, considering you have no preference, I’ll just call you Skully and not worry about any formalities, like what I do with my other friends our age.” You add.

Your smile grows. “Since I’ve gotten enough info to satisfy myself for the time being, I’ll put an end to my little interrogation and introduce myself. My name is Yuu. It’s nice to meet you, Skully.”

Skully beams, “What a lovely name! I am truly delighted to make your acquaintance, Yuu-san!”

Catching you by surprise, Skully gently takes hold of your hand and tenderly kisses your knuckles. “I thank you for this wonderful encounter.”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression becomes amused. He did call himself a gentleman earlier, so I guess I should’ve seen this coming, especially with his formal, old-fashioned way of speaking. He’s just like the gentlemen characters you see on TV.

Luckily for him, you’ve always been fond of those types of characters, so you think the two of you will get along just fine.

Plus, it’s not everyday you meet someone this sweet and gentlemanly thanks to the kind of people you normally hang out with, so you want to make the most of this opportunity to get along with this somewhat odd yet still quite endearing boy.

A grin rises to your lips. Most importantly, when a boy acts this cute, it makes me wanna spend more time with him and look for opportunities to tease him to see if he’ll give me some equally adorable reactions.

That's why you decide to have a little fun by shifting your hand that’s currently still being held, so you can gently grab Skully’s hand, surprising him.

Giving him no chance to react, you bring his hand close to your mouth and tenderly kiss his knuckles, mirroring his previous actions, all the while channeling the princely charm Cater always has you show off for your fans on Magicam. “Likewise, handsome.”

Much to your delight, Skully instantly becomes incredibly flustered because of your actions - to the point his blush covers the majority of his face, making you think this is the first time someone has ever done something like this to him.

Even better, after you release your hold on his hand, Skully, who has apparently been rendered speechless, considering how quiet he now is, uses both of his hands to cup his incredibly flushed cheeks, making him look even more adorable.

Your grin grows at the incredibly endearing sight. Looks like he's the type who gets super flustered when flirted with, like Deuce and Sebek. How adorable. I’m definitely gonna have some fun with this boy. Hehe~

Regrettably, you don’t get to enjoy this moment for very long, because, seconds after you recall how Deuce and Sebek usually react to your playful flirting, you finally realize that something is missing here.

Or rather, some people.

Wide-eyed, you immediately turn to look around and realize that the only people in the surrounding area, which consists of a barren forest that stretches out as far as the eye can see, are you and Skully. “Wait a minute! Where are my friends?!”

I can’t believe I let myself get so distracted that I totally forgot about the others! You internally scream. I’m a horrible mother! Where are my sons?!

As you panickily try to climb out of Skully’s lap so you can start a search for Grim and the others, the white-haired boy catches you off guard when he suddenly rises to his feet and takes you along for the ride.

Once on his feet, Skully gently sets you down, so you can stand on your own. “There you are, Yuu-san. Now, what was that about ‘friends’? Did you not come here alone like myself?”

Rather than answer his question, all you can do is stare at this boy who’s now towering over you like a lanky giant. Holy shit. He’s tall. I had figured he would be a tall boy just from how he was hunched over me earlier, but I was not expecting him to be taller than Sebek. He may even be around the same height as Jack!

Skully curiously tilts his head when you fail to answer his question. “Yuu-san? Are you alright?”

Realizing this is not the time for you to be gaping like an idiot, you give yourself a quick mental shake before replying, “Yeah, sorry. I was just surprised by how tall you are. I have two friends our age who are really tall, but I’m pretty sure you’re taller than one of them, maybe even both of them, which seriously amazes me.”

“Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I should have some friends with me here since they were all with me right before I ended up in this weird place.” You continue, “While it’s possible I’m the only one who ended up in this crazy predicament, I find it unlikely, considering how close some of them were to me when I got enveloped by the weird magic that brought me here.”

Much to your amusement, mere seconds after those words leave your mouth, you hear some incoherent screaming coming from the distance, and you immediately recognize that voice as belonging to Sebek since you'd know that booming voice anywhere.

Thankfully, the screaming you hear isn’t the kind that indicates Sebek is scared or in trouble, so more than likely, he’s just freaking out about his current circumstances and/or your absence.

Your shoulders slump with relief when you hear your son’s voice. “Speaking of my giant friends, that voice belongs to one of them. Thank goodness. At least, now, I know where I need to go.”

“Would you like to go with me, Skully?” You ask, “I’d hate to leave you on your own, and we’ll have a higher chance of getting out of this mess we’re in if we work together.”

Skully beams, “I would be more than happy to accompany you! Thank you for your kind invitation!”

With that settled, you turn to face the direction that Sebek’s screaming came from, but before you can start walking, Skully surprises you when he quickly moves to stand in front of you.

Before you can question his actions, Skully gracefully bows before offering you a hand, smiling all the while. “Please allow me to be your escort.”

Since you see no harm in it and it would be nice to have a hand to hold onto while you’re walking through this somewhat creepy forest, which is like something out of a horror movie, especially since this fictional world you're now trapped inside has a very desaturated color scheme, which makes everything look extra dreary, for some reason, you reach out and take his proffered hand. “Alright, thank you. Do you know your way around this forest, Skully?”

He shakes his head. “No, unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with this forest, like you.”

Grinning, Skully asks, “But don’t you think it’s a wonderful experience to wander hand-in-hand in a mysterious forest?”

His question makes you giggle. What a romantic. Skully just keeps getting more and more entertaining the longer I talk to him.

After you rein in your amusement, you warmly smile, “Holding hands definitely would make this situation better, so I’m fine with walking like this.”

Plus, someone, who’s as touch-starved as you, would never turn down the opportunity to hold hands with someone, just as long as you know that person isn’t dangerous, of course.

You squeeze Skully’s hand. And I can’t turn down a request from someone who seems to be as touch-starved as me, considering his past actions remind me a lot of how I typically act around my friends, not when I know hand-holding will make both of us equally happy.

For a moment, Skully just stares at you in surprise, or at least, you’re assuming he’s surprised since you can no longer see his eyes thanks to his glasses, which he returned to their rightful place after he helped you to your feet earlier.

His reaction further convinces you that your hunch about him being touch-starved is right since he seems very unaccustomed to someone willingly accepting his touch.

Just like how you were before you came to NRC…

Once he overcomes his surprise, Skully’s earlier cheerfulness returns with a vengeance as he happily replies, “Let us be off then! I look forward to meeting all of your companions, whom I’m sure are just as lovely as you!”

Unfortunately, I doubt they’ll be excited to meet you when we find them, and they see you holding my hand. You wryly think to yourself.

And, of course, you were exactly right.

Once you and Skully start moving, you decide to finally take a moment to examine the new wardrobes that you both received thanks to the book you're both trapped inside, which, like last time, wanted the two of you to have the kind of outfits that would make you both blend in with the setting of this particular story, which is obviously quite different from the beach setting of the story you last got sucked into, judging from the noticeable lack of bright colors here and the clothes that you and Skully are wearing.

For some reason, Skully’s outfit consists of a mostly black suit that has several stitch markings all throughout, making it look as if it was a suit that had to be repaired multiple times.

It’s a rather curious design since you’ve never seen stitch markings used for decorative purposes on clothes, except for ones used as Halloween costumes.

Speaking of Halloween, the labels of his coat resemble bat wings, further convincing you that this story must have some kind of Halloween-esque story since you can’t think of any other reason for why the book would give Skully such an outfit, and that, in turn, makes you wonder if the book you’re now in is different from the one Grim found in NRC’s library since it’s hard for you to imagine a book that contains separate stories with beach and Halloween settings.

Because you don’t want Skully to catch you staring at him since it’s obviously impolite, you don’t look too closely at his attire and instead, after a few seconds of staring, quickly direct your attention to your clothes.

Like Skully, your outfit has a dark and spooky theme going on since the dress you’re now wearing is mostly black and gray. There’s also a golden skull over your chest area, and around your neck, you see a necklace that looks like a spider’s web.

For some reason, there’s a tattered veil that’s attached to the back of the wide brim hat that’s on your head, which further increases the spooky factor of this ensemble.

What really catches your attention, however, is the patchwork design of the leggings you’re now wearing and the inner part of your hat, because it looks strangely familiar.

However, you don’t focus on that for too long since you soon get distracted by the fact that your hair is noticeably longer than it normally is and now goes way past your shoulders, which you hadn’t noticed up until this point due to being distracted by everything else that had happened since you woke up in the world of this strange story.

Woah, this book is crazy. You think to yourself. I can understand changing my outfit, so I fit the story’s theme, but long hair really isn’t that necessary, is it?

Your brow furrows. Just what kind of story is this anyway? And why is it so different from the last one I got sucked into, even though the books from this time and last time looked identical? Is it possible there are multiple, completely different stories in that one book, or are there actually multiple copies of that book and each have their own separate story?

If it’s the latter, then your luck really is the worst since you managed to come into contact with two of those books within such a short timespan.

Damn you, Grim. You scowl. I’ll definitely get back at you for forcing me into this kinda annoying situation AGAIN.

“Are you alright, Yuu-san? You seem rather upset about something.”

It’s the sound of Skully’s concerned voice that draws you away from your thoughts about punishing Grim and reminds you that you’re not alone. “Oh, sorry. I was just remembering that I’m in this strange mess in the first place ‘cause one of my friends stupidly touched something he shouldn’t have.”

Since you’d rather wait until you meet up with your friends to explain the current situation at hand to Skully, who appears understandably puzzled by your words, you decide to distract him by asking, “Anyway, I was wondering, were you allowed to keep whatever you had on hand before you ended up here? I wasn’t so lucky ‘cause this outfit sadly doesn’t come with pockets.”

Aside from wanting to distract Skully, you pose this question, because you’re hoping this will lead to you gleaning some new information from him since you can learn a lot about a person just from looking at what they regularly carry around.

Skully blinks. “Ah, now that you mention it, I don’t believe I ever checked my pockets since I never thought to do so.”

Using his free hand that’s not holding yours, Skully checks his pant’s pockets. “Hmm. I think all that I have on hand are my handkerchief and my student ID, and that sounds about right since I don’t believe I brought anything else along to the used book fair, because I had intended to merely browse the available selection rather than buy anything right away.”

You nod in understanding before remarking, “It’s a surprise to hear you didn’t bring your cell phone with you, but I can understand not wanting to bring it along if you wanted to focus on the books rather than worry about potentially getting disturbed by any texts or calls.”

“Cell…phone…?” Skully parrots, sounding noticeably confused. “What may I ask is that? I’m afraid I am unfamiliar with such a term.”

All you can do is stare at him with wide eyes. “Huh?”

Oi, oi, oi, what the hell does he mean he doesn’t know what a cell phone is?! You incredulously think to yourself. Even Tsunotaro knows what that is!

Just as you once again start wondering what kind of person Skully is, many familiar faces, who obviously came looking for you, suddenly arrive on the scene, with Grim leading the pack, making you wonder if they used his sharp sense of smell to find you.

“Yuu (-san) (-shi)!”

Immediately, you direct your attention to all of your friends who had been at the used book fair before Grim opened that damn book and discover that they’re all wearing dark, spooky outfits like you and Skully, even Grim, whose outfit looks very familiar to you, for some reason.

Completely forgetting about your latest exchange with Skully due to your excitement upon seeing your friends, you perk up. “Guys! I’m so glad you’re all alright!”

Your good mood quickly fades when a wide-eyed Grim points at you and declares, “Yuu looks like a girl! This place is even weirder than I thought!”

Fortunately for Grim, before you can go after him, Epel does so for you by promptly smacking him upside the head.

At the same time, Riddle scowls at the monster. “Does your rudeness have no end?! I’m going to prepare an especially thorough etiquette lesson for you once we get back to school!”

“Noooo!” Grim whines as he tenderly cradles his head.

While the majority of your friends sigh and shake their heads, Leona, who has taken notice of the fact that you’re holding Skully’s hand, raises an unimpressed brow at you. “Oi, Herbivore, haven’t you been told to not go around picking up strays?”

Leona's words prompt the rest of your friends to immediately focus their attention on Skully, and most of them quickly narrow their eyes when they see that he’s holding your hand.

Without hesitation, you move in front of a surprised Skully, as if to shield him, all the while still holding onto his hand. “I won’t allow any of you to bully Skully, so don’t even think about it. He’s a good boy, who’s not in any way a threat to us. My instincts told me so, and I always trust my instincts.”

Upon hearing that, your friends begin to settle down, because they’re all well aware of the fact that your instincts are always accurate.

Jade slyly smiles, “For the two of you to be holding hands, you’ve obviously become quite close during our time apart. Your ability to make friends is nothing short of astounding, Yuu-san.”

Knowing he’s just saying that to rile up your overprotective friends, you give him a look before huffing, “Skully offered to escort me before we started heading in the direction we heard Sebek’s earlier screaming coming from ‘cause unlike SOME people I could name he’s a true gentleman, and I’m quite fond of boys with good manners.”

Much to your amusement, in response to your words, Riddle nods whilst simultaneously giving Grim and Sebek pointed looks, much to their annoyance.

While Skully, who has wisely been quiet since the arrival of your friends, beams upon hearing you praise him, an obviously jealous Sebek loudly harrumphs, “Hmph! You’re being much too careless, human! Even if this human you’ve found is, in fact, not a threat like your instincts have led you to believe, that does not necessarily mean he can be trusted! After all, for all you know, he could be the reason we’re in this mess in the first place!”

You give your son a look as if he’s said something incredibly strange. “Uh, there’s no way he’s at fault for our current predicament. The only one at fault here is that idiot Grim for opening that damn book despite me explicitly telling him not to.”

As you glare at Grim, who promptly tries to hide behind Epel’s legs, Azul raises an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure that your new acquaintance is not in any way involved in our current predicament, Yuu-san?”

For a moment, all you can do is stare, and then, realization slowly dawns on your features. “You guys…don’t know where we are, do you?”

Judging from the surprised expressions all of your friends are now sporting, the answer to your question is obviously “No”, which is surprising since all of them seem to remember the fact that Grim opened a strange book at the book fair, considering they didn't appear confused when you previously mentioned what Grim did, and they're all aware of the last crazy book adventure you went on. Hell, Grim, Azul, and Riddle were actually there for it.

Even if they can't clearly remember what happened prior to coming here, like what was the case for everyone who went on that book adventure with Stitch, you had expected everyone to connect the dots and figure out where they are based on what happened the first time you and your friends got temporarily trapped inside a book, but obviously, that was not the case.

As you're wondering why no one, aside from you, seems to know where you all are, a possible explanation for their confusion suddenly comes to mind, causing your eyes to grow large. “You guys don’t have any memories about that crazy book adventure some of us went on with Stitch, do you? Did you lose them like how we temporarily lost our memories after we got back to the school library following us leaving the book we got sucked into?”

Realization instantly dawns on Riddle’s, Azul’s, and Grim’s faces, which briefly adopt pained looks, like what happened the last time they had regained memories they had lost, and you quickly realize that you bringing up the book adventure with Stitch is helping them recall the memories they had once again temporarily forgotten.

In a blink, a now visibly irate Riddle aims his magic-pen at Grim. “GRIM! How dare you make me go through this nonsense again?! Off With Your Head!”

As a familiar collar appears around Grim’s neck, making him yelp, a scowling Azul starts threateningly looming over your partner. “Grim-san, I sure hope you’re ready to compensate me for these troublesome circumstances you’ve once again forced me to endure.”

“It’s not my fault!” Grim fearfully starts to tremble. “It’s the dumb book’s fault for messin’ with my awesome memories the last time this happened! If I had remembered what it had looked like, I wouldn’t’ve opened it again, I swear!”

When the two dorm leaders’ wrath shows no sign of abating, Grim focuses his tearful gaze on you and pleads, “Yuu, help! Riddle and Azul have gotten really scary!”

“Sorry, I’m pissed at you too since this could’ve all been avoided if you had listened to me and not acted like a total brat, so I’m not saving you this time.” You huff, “You’re on your own, kid.”

“Noooo!” Grim whines as Riddle starts berating him while Azul simultaneously ties him up using his magic.

Since everyone else’s feelings are much like yours, no one tries to save Grim, not even Idia, although Idia does give the monster a pitying look since a cat lover like himself can’t help but feel bad for Grim.

Feeling a tug on your hand, which is still being held by Skully, you turn to look at him and see that he appears understandably confused by this turn of events. “Yuu-san, I’m sorry, but could you please explain our current situation in greater detail? Unlike everyone else here, who appears to understand the situation at hand, I’m afraid I’m still quite confused.”

Nodding, you smile, “Of course, sorry for keeping you in the dark all this time. I had just wanted to wait until we met up with my friends before we started talking about this since we’d have to discuss it anyway once we all started brainstorming about how to get home.”

“For starters, just like you, everyone here went to the book fair at Foothill Town.” You continue, “And the last thing that happened before we ended up in this strange place is Grim opening a magic book.”

You jab a thumb at Grim, who’s still getting punished by Riddle and Azul. “You see, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me and those three over there. Back in March, we encountered a book that looked identical to the one we saw at the book fair, and when Grim opened it, the book sucked us into its pages and made us characters in its story.”

Skully loudly gasps, “Oh my! So you are saying that is what has happened to us? We are inside the mysterious book we all happened to stumble upon?”

When you nod, he tilts his head. “And, if I’m understanding correctly, your lovely companions over there temporarily forgot that surreal adventure they went on with you back in March?”

“We all did.” Trey pipes up. “For some reason, I completely forgot about everything I heard about that book adventure, and it wasn’t until Yuu brought it up that I suddenly recalled those memories.”

Jamil thoughtfully grabs his chin. “Perhaps that was the book’s attempt of making it so we wouldn’t immediately realize where we were? Although, I fail to see why that would matter since that shouldn’t interfere with us completing the story like what Yuu’s group did the last time they had to escape the book.”

“I’m more curious about how Yuu-shi kept her memories.” Idia comments, “Is it just ‘cause of her shounen manga protag powers, or what?”

“It’s possible that the book’s memory erasure magic simply no longer has an effect on Yuu.” Malleus replies, “There have been times in the past when certain magic has affected her differently as compared to others, yes?”

“That is true.” Vil agrees, “Perhaps the memory erasure magic can work on her once, but that’s all.”

Sebek beams, “As expected of my liege, no mystery is too great for his superior intellect to unravel!”

While several of your friends roll their eyes or shake their heads at your son’s words, you thoughtfully hum, “So the memory erasure magic just doesn’t work on me anymore. That does explain why I can remember everything so clearly. How lucky for me.”

“It is most fortunate.” Jade agrees before commenting, “Another question about our current situation that I would like to pose is why the setting of this story is so different from the one Yuu-san and the others were first trapped inside.”

“Oh yeah, the first story Yuu-san and the others got sucked into involved them being stranded on a deserted island, but this setting is some weird, creepy forest.” Epel remarks, “There’s nothing even remotely similar between the two stories.”

Leona sighs as he tiredly rubs his forehead. “Which makes me think there are multiple books that look identical but have completely different stories, although that begs the question of how these books that are capable of sucking people into their pages came to be in the first place.”

There’s a long pause as everyone just looks at each other, obviously unable to come up with any reasonable theories due to the lack of information you all have at your disposal.

Deciding there’s no point in worrying about this matter since you all obviously won’t be able to find the answers to your questions anytime soon, you say, “Alright, let’s just save this matter for after we get out of this damn book since we have too little info to work with right now.”

After everyone nods in agreement, you continue, “Now, let’s take care of introductions, so everyone knows each other’s names. We need to get that outta the way before we do anything else.”

Figuring you should start with Skully, you gesture toward him as you reel off his full name since, up until this point, you’ve only said his first name. “This is Skully J. Graves. He fell victim to the book before Grim foolishly opened it.”

Skully cheerfully waves using his free hand that’s not still holding onto yours. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you wonderful people!”

At the same time, Sebek’s brow furrows as he mutters to himself. “Skully J. Graves…That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before…?”

Meanwhile, Idia cringes, “Ugh. An extrovert. Like we need another one of those in this awful party roster.”

Giving him a look, you point at Idia, making him flinch. “That guy over there who’s got a pretty face and hair but a bad personality is Idia Shroud-senpai.”

While the rest of your friends titter, Idia looks as if he can’t decide if he should be embarrassed or offended. “Oi!”

You smirk at him before moving to point your finger at Vil. “And this guy, who will always be the most beautiful person in the room, is Vil Schoenheit-senpai.”

“Heh.” Vil smirks, “A satisfactory introduction.”

Your hand then moves to gesture at Jade and Trey. “The really handsome guys with mismatched eyes and glasses are Jade Leech-senpai and Trey Clover-senpai respectively.”

Appearing slightly embarrassed, Trey awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “You really didn’t need to add ‘really handsome’ in there.”

Jade chuckles, “Fufu. Yuu-san is always so generous with her praise. I’m most appreciative.”

Continuing with the introductions, you inform, “The gorgeous guy with the eyepatch is Leona Kingscholar-senpai, and the guy with long, beautiful hair that makes him the envy of girls everywhere is Jamil Viper-senpai.”

While Leona smirks, Jamil gets flustered as he complains, “Can’t you just do the introductions normally?”

You giggle, “Where’s the fun in that?”

Once you rein in your amusement, you gesture toward an amused Malleus and say, “This handsome fellow, who’s got cool horns and a lovely smile to boot, is Malleus Draconia-senpai. I call him Tsunotaro, though, ‘cause we’re such good buddies.”

Just as it looks like Sebek intends to complain about your introduction for his beloved liege, which you’re sure doesn’t meet his incredibly high standards, Malleus chuckles, “Indeed, we are. Thank you for the charming introduction, Child of Man.”

Around that time, Riddle and Azul rejoin the group, having finally finished disciplining Grim, who’s now sprawled out on the ground, making lots of pitiful sounds.

This prompts you to point at the two dorm leaders. “The dapper redhead with impeccable manners is Riddle Rosehearts-senpai, and the one with a beautiful face and glasses is Azul Ashengrotto-senpai.”

While Riddle proudly puffs up his chest, Azul gets flustered, obviously not having been paying attention to all the other introductions you’ve given thus far.

As Jade starts teasing Azul for his own amusement, you comment, “And last but certainly not least are my three sons, who are all first-year students like me, so they're the closest in age to you and me.”

“Er, well, we actually don’t know how old Grim is, but let’s not sweat the details.” You add as an afterthought.

“I’m not your son, you delusional human!” Sebek interjects, scowling all the while.

“Now, Sebek, it’s rude to interrupt.” Malleus gently chides, “Allow Yuu to finish her introductions.”

In an instant, Sebek settles down, although you can tell he really doesn’t want to. “Y-Yes sir.”

Chuckling at that exchange, you look over at Skully and see his understandably puzzled expression, which prompts you to explain, “They’re not my biological sons. I adopted them along with four other boys ‘cause they’re cute, and they need someone to look after them. They’re the type who’ll get into trouble if you leave them unattended for too long.”

As the upperclassmen all titter, all of your sons, including Grim who has pushed himself into a seated position, simultaneously exclaim,

“Don’t call me cute!”

“I do NOT need you to look after me, you insolent human!”

“You got that backwards, Henchman! I’m the one who’s always lookin’ after ya! And I ain’t cute!”

Choosing to ignore them, you point at Grim. “That’s Grim. Don’t let his cute face fool you. He’s a glutton for food and trouble.”

While several people snort and Grim loudly gasps in outrage, you gesture toward Epel and Sebek. “And this is Epel Felmier and Sebek Zigvolt. They’re two of my more well-behaved sons, although I still always try not to leave them to their own devices for too long.”

“Hey! The upperclassmen got way better introductions than we did!” Epel complains.

“Perhaps that should tell you something.” Vil quips, without missing a beat, making Epel pout and some of the other upperclassmen laugh.

“You have a lot of nerve, human!” Sebek angrily marches over toward where you’re standing. “I won’t take you making a fool of me in front of Malleus-sama lying down!”

His scowl deepens. “And will you stop holding that other human’s hand already?! You’re obviously no longer in need of an escort!”

An impish grin rises to your lips. “Aw, Sebek, are you jealous?”

Instantly, his face becomes incredibly flustered. “O-Of course not!”

"You do seem rather jealous from my perspective.” Malleus calmly points out, much to Sebek’s dismay.

Jamil smirks, “What a coincidence. I was just about to say the same thing.”

“Heh, so was I.” Riddle chimes in, wearing a similar expression.

Poor Sebek, now he looks as if he could combust at any given moment because almost everyone is wearing the same kind of teasing expression, and because of Malleus, he can’t deny being jealous since that would mean saying that his beloved liege is wrong.

Taking pity on your flustered son, you give Skully a quick look that silently asks if he won’t mind you suddenly releasing his hand since you’re sure he’s been taking comfort from it all this time during this surreal and somewhat stressful situation you've all ended up in, and after seeing him give you a nod and smile, you let go of his hand.

You then quickly put yourself in between Sebek and everyone’s teasing looks. “Alright, that’s enough teasing Sebek. It’s fine when I do it, but if you all jump on the bandwagon, then it becomes less fun.”

Fortunately, everyone heeds your orders since they all know that you don’t take messing with your sons lightly

Once you see that no one intends to tease Sebek further, you turn to face him. “I’m sorry, Sebek. During the remaining time we’re stuck in this book, I’ll try to only tease you when we don’t have an audience, so the others won’t get involved.”

He scowls, “Just don’t do it period!”

With a wink, you grin, “No can do. That’s my special privilege, and I won’t ever give it up.”

No matter what.

Once you’ve saved Sebek from further teasing, you turn to look at Skully and say, “For the record, I love all my sons very much, and I think they’re all wonderful guys, whom I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I was just teasing them earlier with their intros ‘cause I like to mess with them.”

While Sebek and Epel become a mixture of embarrassed and pleased, Grim puffs up his chest after rising to his feet. “Heh, that’s much better! The Great Grim deserves nothing but praise!”

Riddle harrumphs, “Hmph. You are the only one who feels that way, especially after recent events.”

Meanwhile, Skully broadly smiles, “Yes, yes, I can tell even without you saying as much that you harbor a great deal of affection for your sons, Yuu-san. They’re obviously people who are just as wonderful as you! I’m so grateful for this serendipitous meeting!”

Just after he says that, Skully catches everyone off guard when he proceeds to kiss the hands of all your sons, or in the case of Grim, one of his paws. “It’s so nice to meet you, Grim-san, Epel-san, Sebek-san.”

Epel makes a disgusted sound as he backpedals away from Skully. “Eugh!”

Sebek scowls, “Bastard! Do not kiss my hand without permission!”

Grim releases a scandalized gasp. “You! Layin' one on my fine coat of fur!”

Much to your immense amusement, a smiling Skully, who's completely unfazed by your sons' reactions, quickly turns to look at all of your upperclassmen, who all visibly stiffen and start inching backwards, all the while wearing comical, wary expressions.

Without hesitation, you latch onto Skully in order to hold him back, all the while trying and failing to suppress your urge to laugh. “Skully! I know you’re just trying to be polite, but for guys like these, you shouldn’t kiss them without permission, especially when they hardly know you!”

When Skully looks down at you, who’s now hugging his waist whilst shaking thanks to your laughter, you continue, “I don’t know if this is a cultural thing or if this is just how you prefer to greet people, but you gotta be respectful of other people’s personal space. That’s what a proper gentleman would do under these circumstances.”

Upon hearing that, a now thoughtful Skully stops trying to approach your upperclassmen. “Hmm. I do wish to always be a proper gentleman, although it pains me to not be able to fully express my delight over meeting such lovely people.”

“If you’re ever overcome with the urge to kiss someone, I’ll volunteer my hand since, unlike these guys, I don’t mind, especially since it’s obvious you have only pure intentions.” You chuckle, “So, while I’d like for you to refrain from kissing the others, you can still treat me as you’ve been doing.”

Before a delighted Skully can respond, Sebek, who looks displeased like the majority of your friends, interjects, “As he’s been doing?! You bastard! You’ve been kissing her too?!”

“But of course.” Skully cheerfully answers, not looking the least bit fazed by Sebek’s anger. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t offer a kiss to a lady as lovely as Yuu-san?”

“Grrr!” Sebek growls, “Your impudence knows no end, I see! Malleus-sama, please give me the order to dispose of this miscreant!”

Much to everyone’s surprise, rather than respond to his retainer’s request, Malleus frowns, “Oh dear, this isn’t good. Lilia will not be pleased when he finds out Sebek has a new love rival, and for said love rival to appear while I was in charge of supervising Sebek's date will no doubt reflect quite poorly on me, even though I had been doing so well up until Grim opened that book.”

“Aha!” You quickly release your hold on Skully, so you can point at Malleus, grinning all the while. “I knew Lilia-senpai had asked you to be Sebek’s wingman! Today’s whole outing really was meant to be a date for me and Sebek!”

Sebek’s expression instantly turns mortified. “WHAT?!”

At the same time, all of your other friends, sans Malleus, simultaneously shout, “What?!”

Completely unfazed by the others' reactions, Malleus smiles at you. “Heh, you’re as observant as always, Child of Man. Truly, nothing gets past you when your sons are concerned.”

Simultaneously, Leona, Vil, and Trey, the upperclassmen who always express their disapproval over Lilia’s typical matchmaking antics, either glare or give Malleus exasperated looks. “Malleus.”

“First, Malleus-shi is looking for manga and now, he’s acting as a wingman.” Iida mutters, “This day really just keeps getting weirder and weirder. It’s like I entered the Twilight Zone…”

Jade chuckles, “My, my, to think, THE Malleus Draconia would be willing to act as someone else’s wingman; it just proves how much he wishes to support Yuu-san and Sebek-kun. How utterly heartwarming.”

“Being supportive is all well and good, but I cannot approve of such sly actions!” Riddle frowns, “Yuu and Sebek were forced on a date and weren’t even made aware of the circumstances! Such deceitfulness is unbecoming of a dorm leader!”

“Well, Sebek-san wasn’t aware at least since Yuu-san figured out what was going on.” Azul pipes up, giving Sebek a sympathetic look.

Sebek, who still looks incredibly embarrassed, twitches. “Ugh.”

“Hang in there, Sebek-kun.” Epel says as he sympathetically pats his back.

Meanwhile, Malleus tilts his head. “Yes, I did not explicitly say that our outing to the used book fair was meant to be a date for them, but it’s not as if I made Yuu and Sebek do something they disliked. They both were quite excited about visiting the book fair, and I was also eager to look around with them. I never once lied to them.”

“And I had no intention to do anything extreme, like Lilia would’ve done if he were in my shoes.” He continues, “I merely intended to watch over them and encourage any opportunities for them to grow closer. All I wished for was their happiness.”

In an instant, Sebek’s expression shifts from being mortified to touched as tears fill his eyes. “Oh, Malleus-sama! Your magnanimity truly knows no bounds! I am unworthy!”

“And just like that, after hearing something nice from Malleus, he recovers.” Grim shakes his head. “Typical Sebek.”

While you giggle, Skully claps his hands. “Oh, how utterly heartwarming! I can clearly see how much Malleus-san loves Yuu-san and Sebek-san! Love truly is such a beautiful thing!”

Leona’s nose scrunches as he makes a disgusted face. “As if the lizard’s motives are really that pure. He’s obviously got a hidden agenda for getting involved like this. Probably has something to gain from Sebek ending up with Yuu.”

As you and several of your friends raise an eyebrow, Sebek scowls, “How dare you make such an audacious accusation! I-”

“Hm. Well, I suppose it would be a lie if I claimed there was nothing for me to gain from Sebek and Yuu becoming a couple.” Malleus comments, cutting his retainer off.

In complete sync, everyone, sans Leona, exclaims, “Huh?!”

The corners of Malleus’s lips curve upwards. “After all, if Sebek and Yuu were to wed, that would lead to her coming to live in Briar Valley, yes? Then, I would be able to see her everyday. I get excited just thinking about such a delightful outcome. Heh.”

Your heart melts upon hearing his incredibly adorable reason for wanting you and Sebek to become a couple. “Aww! Tsunotaro!”

At the same time, the majority of your upperclassmen, who now appear annoyed, shout, “So you’re really just thinking about yourself!”

While Malleus deals with all the complaints that the other upperclassmen start throwing at him, you playfully nudge a visibly flustered Sebek and teasingly grin, “Guess marriage is something we may need to consider in the future if it’ll make Tsunotaro that happy, huh, Sebek?”

Sebek covers his furiously blushing face with his hands before weakly retorting, “Not another word.”

All you can do is giggle. There’s truly never a dull moment with the Diasomnia boys.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter Text

After you finish teasing Sebek, you decide to get everyone back on track by loudly clapping your hands to earn everyone else’s attention. “Alright, let’s get back to the current situation at hand. You guys can discuss my and Sebek’s potential future romance at another time.”

While Sebek makes a choked sound and Epel snorts, you continue, “Before we start discussing what our next plan of action should be, I thought we could do one last little test to further confirm our suspicions that we really are inside the book that Grim opened. Plus, this test will also help us know the general area that we’re supposed to stay inside.”

As the majority of the guys eye you curiously, you focus your gaze on Malleus and ask, “Tsunotaro, does anything feel odd about the magic of this place? To be more specific, is there anywhere that feels as if magic can’t be used?”

Realization instantly dawns on Azul’s and Riddle’s faces as the latter exclaims, “Oh, yes, that’s right! In the last story we were trapped in, the deserted island we had ended up stranded on had a magical barrier of sorts around it that prevented the use of magic once anyone got a certain distance away from the island.”

Azul nods. “If something along those lines is here, then there’d be no doubt that we are indeed trapped inside the book that Grim-san foolishly opened.”

While Grim pouts, Malleus rubs his chin. “Ah, now that you mention it, Lilia did mention something along those lines when he told us all about his time in that mysterious book.”

“Let me see what I can find.” He adds before he closes his eyes, so he can focus all of his attention on his surroundings.

A few seconds later, Malleus opens his eyes and adopts an intrigued expression. “Hm, I do detect an odd sensation, which very well could be what you all encountered during that first time you all were trapped inside a book. I will confirm it, so wait here for a moment.”

Giving no one a chance to respond, Malleus proceeds to fly off, so he can investigate the odd sensation he detected.

Naturally, Sebek isn’t too thrilled about this turn of events. “Ah, Malleus-sama! If anything were to happen to you...!”

Before Sebek can try to run after his beloved liege, you latch onto him along with Jamil who says, “You intend to go after Malleus-senpai without a broom? You'd only drag him down. Just wait here.”

Thankfully, Sebek settles down upon hearing that since he knows Jamil is right, although he’s obviously still not happy about Malleus going off on his own. That’s why you quickly assure him that Malleus will be fine since the chances of this book having anything inside its pages that's powerful enough to hurt Malleus are slim to none.

Meanwhile, an amazed Skully remarks, “In but a moment he flew out of sight...Malleus-san must be an amazing mage.”

You raise an incredulous eyebrow. Skully doesn’t know who Tsunotaro is? I know he didn’t really react when I introduced Tsunotaro earlier, but I just figured Skully’s the type who doesn’t make a big deal about meeting famous people since he didn’t react to Vil-senpai’s name either.

Skully also didn’t react to Leona-senpai’s and Idia-senpai’s last names, even though they’re pretty well-known in Twisted Wonderland. You muse. Does he just not keep up with that kinda thing?

But is it even possible for someone in Twisted Wonderland to not know about the Malleus Draconia, one of the most powerful mages in the world?

It’s at that moment you remember something else strange you learned about Skully, right before you reunited with your friends. Not only does he not know who Tsunotaro is, he also doesn’t know what a cell phone is. Just where did Skully come from? A village that’s even more remote than Harveston? Is that even possible?

Just as you open your mouth so you can try to get some information about Skully’s origins, Malleus returns, obviously having finished his investigation. “I'm back.”

Sebek beams, “Welcome back, Young Master! I am glad to see you safe.”

After you echo Sebek’s words, Malleus reveals, “I confirmed our surroundings; the forest spreads as far as I could go on all sides, and the sensation was as I thought. There's a border after which magic breaks.”

“Just as Lilia had described to me, if you go a certain distance from here, the space cuts off, and if you go there, you suddenly cannot use magic.” Malleus adds.

“Guess that confirms it then.” Epel comments, “We’re definitely stuck inside the book Grim-kun opened, like what happened to Yuu-san and the others last time.”

Leona tauntingly smirks, “Looks like the lizard was able to make himself useful to us. Glad he could at least contribute something of note, considering his ‘impressive magic’ can’t do anything to actually get us out of this annoying situation.”

While Malleus frowns, Sebek scowls, “This man, he keeps saying rude things to Malleus-sama and doesn't seem apologetic in the slightest!”

Your son pulls out his magic-pen. “Malleus-sama! Please allow me to punish this insolent fool!”

“Calm down, Sebek! Put away your magical pen!” You latch onto him to keep him from attacking Leona. “And, Leona-senpai, please don’t purposely do stuff that'll piss off my son. I know you like messing with Tsunotaro, but this isn’t the time or place for that.”

While Leona just shrugs, not looking the least bit repentant, Skully curiously parrots, “‘Magical pen’?”

Immediately, your attention focuses on Skully. He doesn’t know what magical pens are either? I thought that everyone on Sage’s Island would be familiar with them, even those who don’t attend NRC…

Meanwhile, Trey asks, “Are you not familiar with them, Skully? They're tools that make using magic easier.”

“Speaking of magic…” Epel eyes Skully curiously. “Is Skully-kun a mage like us?”

“He’s got the smell of a mage, so I’d say so.” Leona comments, “He’s about the same level as Epel, which makes sense, considering they’re the same age.”

Skully smiles, appearing impressed. “You can even figure that out? What a wise one you are.”

“It is as you say. I am a petty mage.” He adds, “I currently attend school as such.”

His attention returns to Sebek’s magic-pen. “And these writing implements have magic stones attached. If I recall correctly, the colors of the magic stones on Riddle-san’s and Azul-san’s magical pens were different from Sebek-san’s and each other’s. Is there a reason for that?”

“At our school, there are multiple dorms, and each dorm has a signature color associated with it.” Jade helpfully informs, “As a result, everyone from the same dorm has matching magical pens.”

“Oooh! How fascinating!” Skully grins, “So it's not about the quality of the stones, but that you are all able to do the same base level of magic. What fantastic concern for equality.”

“Is your school different?” Riddle curiously asks.

For some reason, Skully’s earlier good mood immediately vanishes in response to Riddle’s question. “It certainly is…”

“I do apologize, but could we abstain from any further conversation about school?” Skully requests, “I do not like that place. Everyone there is an empty-headed fool. There's no value in speaking of it.”

He frowns deeply. “Not a single one of them can understand my agony…”

The corners of your lips dip downward. Poor Skully, he looks really lonely…

Unable to help yourself since seeing him in such a state reminds you of all the years you spent alone, you quickly approach Skully and take hold of one of his hands, which you gently squeeze. “We won’t make you talk about anything you don’t wanna talk about, Skully.”

His posture instantly relaxes as his frown morphs into a grateful smile. “Thank you very much.”

After you return his smile, you, as you're releasing your hold on Skully's hand, catch sight of Leona and Jamil whispering amongst themselves, all the while subtly eyeing Skully. No doubt they must be wondering who exactly Skully is since he doesn’t know what a magical pen is, nor does he know who Malleus is.

Skully says he attends a magic school, but the only magic schools on Sage’s Island are NRC and RSA. You think to yourself. Considering no one here recognizes Skully, it’s unlikely that he’s from NRC, but it’s hard for me to imagine that he’s from RSA since those students should know all about their rivals, including NRC’s magic-pens.

I still can’t get over him not knowing what a cell phone is. You scratch your head. After all, pretty much every kid our age on Sage’s Island has one.

It’s at that moment, as you’re recalling that past conversation you had with Skully, you remember something important that he mentioned having on his person right before you found out that he doesn’t know what a cell phone is. Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot!

Realizing this is a perfect way to learn more about Skully without having to make him talk about his school, you ask, “Hey, Skully, I have no intention to make you talk about your school, but would you mind letting me see your school ID that you mentioned having earlier? I’m curious to see how different it is from the one our school uses, considering how different our schools seem to be.”

Which technically isn’t a lie since Skully’s school obviously is quite different from yours, so you can’t help but wonder in what all other ways it differs from NRC.

When you mention Skully’s school ID, you immediately earn Leona’s and Jamil’s undivided attention since they obviously realize this is a perfect way to gain more information about the mysterious boy.

For a moment, Skully just stares, appearing surprised, before smiling, “Of course. I could never refuse a request from a lady as lovely as yourself.”

While you perk up, Skully digs his hand into his pant’s pocket, so he can pull out his student ID. At the same time, Leona and Jamil subtly inch closer to you, no doubt so they can also get a good look at Skully’s school ID.

Filled to the brim with curiosity, you watch as Skully pulls out his student ID, which is hidden from view due to the way he grabbed it and the fact that his hands are so large. As a result, you don’t get to actually see what it looks like until he finally places it in your outstretched palm.

Much to your surprise, the first thing you notice is that Skully’s student ID isn’t made of some form of plastic, like what is typically used for student IDs, such as the one you were given after you began attending NRC.

Instead, it’s made out of some form of paper that looks rather new, confirming that Skully really is a first-year student since he obviously hasn’t had this ID for more than a year.

Your surprise only grows when you see the words “Night Raven College” as well as the school’s trademark stamp, the kind of which Crowley once told you only belongs to him and can’t ever be replicated, meaning this can’t be a fake ID.

Before you can even begin wondering how in the world this can be possible since no one here recognizes Skully and NRC, as far as you know, doesn’t make student IDs like this, your gaze focuses on the date that’s printed in the corner of the card, which indicates when Skully enrolled as a student.

Which is why your eyes are now as wide as saucers and why you soon find yourself gaping in disbelief. “No…way…”

The reason for your dumbfounded reaction is because the date isn’t the same as the one that’s on your own student ID despite you and Skully being the same age. The two dates are completely different.

By hundreds of years…

“This…can’t be real…can it?” Jamil incredulously whispers, having brought his head close to yours so he could get a close look at the student ID you’re holding.

Leona, who did the same thing as Jamil, just stares at the ID, appearing just as dumbfounded as you and Jamil. “It’s real alright. I once read a book about NRC’s history, and it happened to include a picture of what student IDs looked like back then. This is the spitting image of what I saw, and there’s no way he could’ve replicated it since only NRC’s Headmage can use the official stamp that’s on this ID.”

“Holy shit. This crazy book is capable of time travel.” You murmur, still unable to stop yourself from gaping. “What the actual hell?! Why is such a powerful book completely unsupervised?!”

“That’s what I wanna know.” Leona and Jamil simultaneously reply, with matching dry tones.

As the three of you are whispering amongst yourselves, Skully, who looks just as puzzled as everyone else, asks, “Is everything alright, Yuu-san? You, Leona-san, and Jamil-san look most astonished by my student ID.”

Rather than immediately respond to Skully’s question, you turn to Jamil and ask, “Do you have your student ID on you? I’ve got nothing ‘cause my outfit didn’t come with pockets.”

Realizing where you’re going with this, Jamil quickly nods and pulls out his student ID, which he then hands over to you.

After thanking him, you return your attention to Skully. “Skully, I’ve got some very shocking news for you. You’re likely gonna have a very hard time believing me, but I can assure you that Jamil-senpai’s student ID is just as legitimate as yours.”

You then proceed to hold up both student IDs that are currently in your possession. “Look at Jamil-senpai’s ID as compared to yours. When you see the dates, you’ll understand why we were so shocked when we saw your ID.”

Curious, Skully focuses his attention on Jamil’s student ID. At the same time, due to their own curiosity, all of your friends, who are in the dark like Skully, quickly draw closer, so they can also compare the two IDs.

Within seconds, the eyes of everyone, who's now looking at the two IDs, grow large with disbelief.

“What the-?!” Grim gapes, “What’s the deal with Skully’s ID?! That’s one helluva misprint!”

“It’s not a misprint.” Skully quietly replies, his voice sounding just as stunned as everyone else feels. “That truly is the date I began attending Night Raven College.”

“Which means…all of you lovely people are from…the future…?” He asks, sounding understandably dumbfounded.

“OMG! This really is like a real-life isekai!” Idia exclaims, “I can’t believe it!”

“Idia-san, this is not the time for that.” Azul gives him an exasperated look before returning his attention to the school IDs you’re still holding. “Even though I find it incredibly hard to believe, there’s no denying the evidence right before our eyes, so it would seem this book is a lot more powerful than we initially thought.”

“To think, it would even be capable of bringing people from completely different times together.” Riddle frowns, “Now, I’m filled with even more regret that we didn’t find the book that appeared in our school’s library. Such a dangerous book should not be left unsupervised!”

“I would have to agree.” Malleus nods. “A book that has the power to not only do that but also keep me confined inside its pages is a most dangerous one indeed.”

“But how did something like this even happen?” Epel’s brow furrows. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s hard to say for sure since there’s really no logical explanation for something like this.” Leona answers, “All I can assume is that the two separate instances when the furball and badger opened the book somehow became connected, allowing us to be here at the same time.”

As your friends all begin talking amongst themselves about this surreal turn of events, you return Jamil’s student ID to him before drawing closer to Skully, who has gone silent, so you can return his ID and also check on him since you dropped quite the bombshell on him just now.

“Are you alright, Skully?” You ask, “I know this is all pretty crazy, so I wouldn’t blame you if you’re feeling overwhelmed.”

“If you’re concerned about how you’ll get back to the time you came from, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to.” You assure him. “Last time this happened, time didn’t pass while we were inside the book, and after we completed the story, we were sent right back to where we were when Grim first opened the damn thing, so that’s likely what will happen to you.”

“And you won’t have to do this all alone since we’re all in this together.” You add, “We’ll make sure that all of us get back to where we belong.”

For a moment, Skully just stares, appearing surprised, making you wonder if he wasn’t expecting anyone to offer him words of comfort when he clearly needed them most.

Soon after, his previously stiff posture begins to relax as he smiles, “You are just as kind as you are lovely, Yuu-san. I greatly appreciate you showing such concern on my behalf. Hearing your sweet words has completely soothed my troubled heart. Thank you very much.”

He gently takes hold of your hand, after reclaiming his student ID, so he can press a tender kiss against your knuckles. “I am truly fortunate to have met such a wonderful person during my time here inside this mysterious book.”

After he kisses your hand, Skully’s beaming face, which thankfully no longer looks as anxious as it did earlier, ends up dangerously close to yours. “Perhaps it was destiny that brought us together. When I think like that, I can’t help but feel grateful for this serendipitous turn of events since I, otherwise, would not have experienced the joy of meeting someone as enchanting as yourself.”

Warmth envelops your chest upon hearing such sweet words. “Awww.”

Unfortunately, you don’t get to enjoy this endearing moment for very long, because, within seconds, Sebek pulls you away from the other boy and inserts himself between the two of you. “You are too close! Get back, you insolent human!”

Before you can try to stop Sebek, who’s obviously overreacting, Jamil suddenly appears at your side and begins using disinfectant wipes on your hand that Skully just kissed, much to your exasperation.

“Oh, c’mon, I’m wearing gloves!” You exclaim before rolling your eyes. “Aren’t you too old to be worrying about cooties, Jamil-senpai?”

After giving you a look, Jamil finishes cleaning your hand and proceeds to start harshly scrubbing your face with a new disinfectant wipe. “You should be thanking me for being willing to share my limited amount of wet wipes with you, not getting cheeky with me.”

“He didn’t even kiss my face!” You complain as you futilely try to escape getting your face disinfected.

Meanwhile, as you’re trying to fight off Jamil, Epel, Trey, and Riddle are all trying to hold Sebek back to keep him from attacking Skully while Grim yells at Skully for getting too close to his henchman.

At the same time, Malleus tries to provide helpful advice to his retainer regarding how to compete with his new love rival, much to the exasperation of Leona, Vil, Azul, and Idia.

In the background, you can hear Jade’s telltale snickering, proving that he’s enjoying all the ongoing chaos, not that you’re surprised, of course.

All in all, it’s just another typical moment in the life of the Ramshackle Prefect since chaos always ends up unfolding around you despite all your best attempts to avoid it.

Unfortunately for you.

Once Jamil has finally finished disinfecting you and everyone else has calmed down, you decide to get everyone back on track. “Alright, so now we know this book is even more powerful than we thought since we’ve got an upperclassman, who’s from hundreds of years ago, here among us.”

“I’m honored to be the upperclassman of such wonderful people!” Skully cheerfully pipes up. “Ah, but please don’t feel as if you need to be formal toward me, considering I am still technically only sixteen years old.”

“Uh, is this really alright?” Epel nervously asks, “According to some shows I’ve watched on TV, time-travel can lead to serious stuff like time paradoxes, right?”

“Under normal circumstances, that is something we would have to worry about.” You reply, “But considering it’s very likely that this book will do another memory wipe after we get outta here, we should be fine.”

“We should still be cautious, however, just in case.” Jamil advises, “So refrain from talking too in-depth about the future around Skully.”

Leona nods in agreement. “As long as we do that, we should be fine. More importantly…”

“Let’s focus on getting outta this damn book.” He huffs, “We need to complete this story, right?”

“That’s how we returned to our world last time.” Riddle thoughtfully grabs his chin. “Which means we will need to find out who the protagonist of this story is and offer them our assistance, like what we did with Stitch.”

“I wonder where we will find this protagonist, considering we have yet to encounter anyone who appears to be a part of this fictional world.” Jade comments, “After all, according to Malleus-san’s earlier report, all there is here is this forest, which doesn’t appear to have any signs of life.”

“As I was looking around, I did keep an eye out for other people.” Malleus informs, “However, I did not see anyone, so I believe we are the only ones in this forest.”

“What?!” Grim gapes, “Then, how the hell are we supposed to get outta here?!”

“And, more importantly, how long do I gotta wear this damn collar?!” He adds with a whine as he miserably gestures toward the collar he’s still wearing thanks to Riddle’s Unique Magic.

You roll your eyes. “Considering you still have yet to actually apologize for getting us into this mess, I highly doubt that Riddle-senpai is gonna be removing that collar anytime soon.”

“Naturally.” Riddle crosses his arms. “If you can’t even do that much, you deserve to remain collared.”

As a grumbling Grim begins waging an internal war against his pride since, while he obviously wants to be free of his collar, he just as much doesn’t want to have to apologize, you tune him out and focus your thoughts on the situation at hand. If there’s no one around right now, does that mean someone will show up eventually like what happened with Stitch, or are we just in the wrong place right now?

The former seems more likely since Malleus made it seem like there’s no other place to go in this story aside from this forest since these barren trees were all he could see, no matter where he looked.

Your gaze focuses on your surroundings. I wonder…is this story related to a Disney movie too, like the last one? That would explain why this forest seems somewhat familiar to me.

That reminds me. When I first saw it, I also thought Grim’s outfit seemed familiar. You recall. I wonder if I can get some clues if I take a moment to really look at everyone’s new outfits. Maybe the clues can help me figure out what movie this world is connected to, and that, in turn, might tell me what we need to do.

Figuring that’s really the only option you have at this point, you let your gaze roam across your friends who are all either talking amongst themselves or entertaining themselves by watching Grim struggle to apologize.

The first thing that jumps out at me is we’ve all got a spooky theme going on here. You think to yourself. Most of the guys look like they’re dressed to go to a funeral, for some reason.

Soon after that, you finally notice the fact that, unlike you, all of the guys, Skully included, are wearing the same metal badge that has a picture of a spiral hill on it.

A very familiar-looking spiral hill.

As recognition dawns on your features, you quickly look back at Grim’s outfit, and then, you look at Jamil and Sebek, who are both wearing hats that have a skeleton's face on them.

A skeleton's face that also looks very familiar.

Your eyes widen. No way. The Nightmare Before Christmas?! Does that mean we’re gonna meet Jack Skellington?!

It seems pretty likely, considering Jack Skellington is the main character of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Plus, Grim is wearing an outfit that looks much like what Jack wears in the movie, and Jack’s face is even on Jamil’s and Sebek’s hats.

Surely, the book wouldn’t give your friends outfits like that for no reason, right?

You thoughtfully frown. If this story is based on The Nightmare Before Christmas, then this has to be the forest that contains the holiday doors that Jack finds at the beginning of the movie.

Your eyes light up with realization. Which means we need to find those doors and head for Halloween Town! Jack won’t come to us. We gotta go to him!

Now, you just have to figure out how to convey this to your friends since they won’t just follow your lead without you providing an explanation first.

After you take a moment to ponder how to go about this, you remember the fact that it’s likely that your friends won’t remember the events of this book adventure. Normally, I’m always reluctant to bring up the Disney movies from my world since I never wanna risk them asking too many questions, but maybe it’ll be alright this one time since they won’t even remember once this is all said and done?

Considering it’d be way easier for you to just tell the truth, you would prefer to go that route since you don’t want to lie, nor do you want to have to think of a more complicated plan that will allow you to avoid ever having to actually tell a lie.

Another thing that you would like to avoid is having to come up with a way to dance around the topic of you being from another world whilst talking with Skully when it would be so much easier for you to just be honest about that too.

Normally, you would never tell someone you just met about your origins since you only want people whom you know for sure that you can trust to know that personal information, but considering Skully will likely lose his memories of his time inside the book, you don't mind sharing your secret with him. Besides, even if he does remember this information, it won't really matter in the end, because he's from the past and he won't be able to use that information against you once he returns to the time period he's from.

Once you've decided that you’ll just be completely honest with Skully and the others, you open your mouth to share your recent discovery with the members of your group, who are all still talking amongst themselves, but soon pause before you can say anything. Wait. Before I do that, there’s something else I’ve been meaning to do, and now’s the perfect time to do it since everyone else is currently preoccupied.

Quickly, you look around for a tree that’s large enough to hide behind, and once you find one, you begin heading in that direction, intending to take care of a matter related to your outfit that’s been bugging you for a while now while everyone else is distracted.

Or, at least, that was your intention before your plans get ruined by Jade, who will never pass up an opportunity to have fun at your expense.

“Oya? Are you going somewhere on your own, Yuu-san?”

Immediately, upon hearing Jade's question, all ongoing conversations come to an abrupt halt as the rest of your group quickly focuses their attention on you, making you internally curse.

While you scowl at the shamelessly smiling eel-mer, Skully quickly approaches you. “If there is somewhere you would like to go, please allow me to escort you, Yuu-san! I would hate for anything to happen to you, after all!”

“She doesn’t need YOU escorting her!” Sebek quickly retorts as he tries to get in between you and Skully.

“Yes, if anyone should escort her, it should be Sebek.” Malleus adds, making Sebek blush.

Vil sighs, “We’re going to have to deal with this nonsense the entire time that we’re stuck inside this infernal book, aren’t we?”

Trey weakly chuckles, “Probably…”

Idia groans, “Ugh. I wanna go home. I don’t wanna be stuck in a real-life shoujo manga. I wasn’t built for this…”

Meanwhile, Jamil raises an eyebrow at you. “Yuu, was there a reason for why you tried to walk off while everyone else was talking? You do realize we’re better off sticking together, don’t you?”

“I wasn’t even going that far.” You huff as you gesture toward the tree you were heading toward. “I just wanted to go behind that tree, so I could check out a part of my outfit that’s been bugging me.”

Upon hearing that, everyone else freezes, and you can practically feel the awkwardness that’s now in the air thanks to you bringing up a topic that most teenage boys wouldn’t want to discuss with a girl their age, much to your amusement.

One of the only people who appears unfazed by your words is Vil who draws closer to you as he gives you a once-over. “What’s the issue with it? Nothing appears out of place from my point-of-view. Did the book do a poor job with putting on your leggings?”

“Nah, they’re fine.” You shake your head. “I’m not in any kind of discomfort. I just wanna know what the hell I’ve got strapped to my thigh.”

You tap your right thigh, creating a sound that immediately tells everyone that there’s definitely something there hidden underneath your dress. “See? There’s something there, and I’ve been wanting to see what it is for a while now, but I’ve been putting it off since it requires pulling up my dress, which I obviously can’t do while you guys are around.”

“Or I guess, I COULD if you guys are that worried about me being on my own.” You wryly add.

Much to your amusement, Sebek’s, Skully’s, Riddle’s, Trey’s, Azul’s, and Idia’s faces all instantly become noticeably flustered as they all simultaneously make choked sounds in response to your words.

Naturally, Jade wastes no time in having fun messing with them. At the same time, Leona smirks, “Heh, won’t bother me if you do.”

While a frowning Jamil narrows his eyes at the lion Beastman, both Trey and Vil give Leona sharp looks. “Leona.”

Meanwhile, Malleus surprises you when he says, “Ah, so that’s what’s behind the unfamiliar magic I’ve been detecting on Yuu’s person.”

“‘Unfamiliar magic’?” Epel and Grim curiously parrot.

“Since we found Yuu, I’ve been detecting magic on her person that’s different from the magic that was used to create our clothes.” Malleus explains, “I had intended to eventually question her about it since it seems to be a protective magic of sorts, which has made me rather curious about it.”

You blink in surprise. “Now, I’m even more curious about it if it involves protective magic.”

Eager to see what the source of that protective magic your friend sensed is, you resume heading for the closest tree that’s large enough for you to completely hide yourself behind. “Just gimme a sec to check. I’ll be real quick.”

Thankfully, this time, nobody tries to stop you for obvious reasons, so you’re able to hide yourself behind the tree without having to deal with any further interruptions.

Once you’re sure that you’re completely hidden from view, you pull up your dress enough that you can finally look at what’s strapped to your right thigh.

And when you finally get a good look at the mysterious object that you're so curious about, your jaw promptly drops. “Holy shit!”

Grinning, you quickly pull the item that was securely wrapped around the holster on your thigh, and after releasing your hold on your dress and smoothing it out, you hurriedly come out from behind the tree.

All the while, you excitedly hold up the item that’s now in your hands. “I got a WHIP!”

Much to your amusement, almost all of your friends look at the whip in horror. “Why?!”

Cackling, you gleefully crack the whip. “This is awesome! Way better than the beach umbrella I got last time!”

“This is awful!” Idia exclaims as he moves to hide behind Azul. “As if Yuu-shi wasn’t already scary enough! The last thing we needed was for this place to unlock her inner sadist! We’re so screwed!”

Meanwhile, you, without thinking, use your awesome new whip to wrap around a nearby tree branch and proceed to successfully swing yourself from your current location to a spot that's a few yards away, like what you’ve seen people on TV do. “Oooh! I think the book also gave me the skills to use the whip! Nice!”

“Fascinating.” Malleus grabs his chin as he looks at your whip with intrigue. “So the book provided Yuu with a weapon and the proficiency to use it. Perhaps to make up for her lack of magic?”

“Eh?!” Skully exclaims, “Yuu-san doesn’t have magic?!”

“Oh yeah, that never got mentioned, did it?” Trey replies, “Even though she attends NRC like the rest of us, Yuu is actually magicless. That’s why she and Grim are a set and treated like two halves of a whole student since they each make up for what the other lacks.”

“The Great Grim lacks nothin’!” Grim interjects with a huff. “I just decided to make Yuu my henchman ‘cause I was feelin’ generous!”

While several of your friends roll their eyes at Grim’s response, Skully excitedly claps his hands together. “A two-in-one student. How wonderful! I can see the future is full of many exciting things!”

“More importantly!” Grim directs his attention to you. “Henchman, lemme have a turn! The Great Grim wants to try usin’ a whip! I bet I’d look really cool with it!”

“Ooh, I wanna try it too!” Epel grins, “I’ve always wanted to see what it’s like after having seen them get used in the movies!”

The corners of your lips dip downward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You guys could end up accidentally hurting yourselves since I doubt the book gave anyone else the ability to proficiently use a whip.”

With a wince, you add, “And I don’t wanna deal with Vil-senpai’s wrath if anything should ever happen to Epel’s beautiful face…”

“No, you don’t.” Vil agrees, wearing a stern frown. “Now, put away that whip before these foolish spudlings do something they shouldn’t.”

“Aw, man…” Epel and Grim simultaneously pout, looking equally disappointed.

After giving them both an apologetic look, you quickly return to the tree you hid behind earlier and return the whip to its holster.

Once that’s all taken care of, you rejoin your friends and decide it’s time to finally get the ball rolling. “Now that my curiosity has been satisfied, I want to start exploring the forest. There’s something I’m looking for that will likely lead to us getting closer to our goal of completing this book’s story.”

Surprise immediately dawns on everyone else’s features in response to your words before Leona drawls, “I had noticed you were doing a lot of deep thinking earlier. By the looks of it, you know something that we don’t, so why don’t you fill us in first?”

“I’d rather wait until I find what I’m looking for before I go into detail about my theories since that will confirm my suspicions about what kinda story this is.” You reply, “After all, right now, all I’ve got are my own assumptions, and I don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up if it turns out I’m wrong.”

As several of your friends exchange looks, Azul raises an eyebrow. “And what exactly are you looking for?”

A grin rises to your lips. “Trees with doors. Seven of them, in fact. If we find trees with painted doors on them, then that will confirm my suspicions that we’re inside a story that’s based on a movie from my world.”

In complete sync, all of the now visibly shocked boys exclaim, “EH?!”

Once he overcomes his initial shock, Idia grins, “Duuuude! This is like a whole other level of isekai! Ortho’s never gonna believe this!”

“Oho?” Malleus smiles, also appearing excited. “If this book is somehow connected to Yuu’s world, then I’m now even more interested in it.”

“B-But how?!” Riddle asks, as he looks at you with wide, incredulous eyes. “How could something like this even be possible?!”

All you can do is shrug. “Beats me. I’m just as surprised as you, but I can’t deny that the possibility of me being right is pretty high since this place is somewhat familiar to me.”

You jab a thumb at a surprised Grim. “Plus, Grim’s outfit is a lot like the outfit the main character from the movie I’m thinking of wears, which makes it hard for me to believe it’s merely a coincidence.”

Grim grins, “Guess the book could tell that I’m the main character of this group! Myehehe!”

“Hardly.” Sebek scoffs, “You were only given those clothes because no one else would wish to wear such ridiculous attire.”

“What was that?!” Grim scowls, “You wanna piece of me?!”

Thankfully, before a fight can break out between your two sons, Skully successfully distracts everyone by asking, “I’m sorry, but did you say ‘your world’ earlier, Yuu-san? As if to imply that you’re from a different world from the rest of us here?”

Upon hearing Skully's question, all of your sons adopt panicked looks, obviously because they know how you prefer to keep your origins a secret. Your upperclassmen, however, remain calm since they all know that you wouldn't have mentioned the fact that you were from another world unless you were fine with Skully knowing that information, and they likely understand why it's not a big deal for Skully to know this information.

Before your sons can say anything, you give them all a reassuring look, which silently tells them that they have nothing to worry about, and as your sons are calming down, Jamil subtly approaches them and starts whispering to them, no doubt explaining why it's okay for Skully to learn about your origins.

While Jamil handles that for you, you return your attention to Skully. "Oh, right, sorry, I didn’t mention that yet, did I? Yes, I’m actually from a completely different world than Twisted Wonderland. I ended up at NRC due to the Dark Mirror summoning me, and I’ve just been there ever since.”

“Oh my!” Skully dramatically cups his cheeks. “I did not realize that other worlds actually existed! Amazing! The future is truly full of many wonderous surprises!”

After that exchange, Jade decides to get everyone back on track by asking, “So, for us to make any progress with this story, we must search for trees that have doors?”

“Yep!” You nod. “They’ll all be together too, so they should easily stand out if they really are here.”

“I have no idea where exactly they’ll be, so we’ll just need to pick a direction and just hope we’ll get lucky.” You add before you promptly start walking toward a part of the forest you haven’t yet been in, figuring that’s as good a direction as any to start with.

Much to your amusement, just like what happened earlier when the two of you were alone together, Skully quickly moves ahead of you, so he can offer you his hand. “Please allow me to escort you.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Thank you.”

Since you personally don’t mind being escorted and honestly think Skully’s gentlemanly mannerisms are cute, you go along with his request and accept his hand, much to Skully's delight and Sebek’s annoyance.

“Skully is such a gentleman.” Riddle remarks before determinedly declaring, “I won’t lose!”

Trey just shakes his head. “Is this really something to get competitive about?”

Fortunately, in the end, everyone decides to follow your lead since it’s not like anyone else has any better ideas for how to get out of this crazy book.

As a result, you all soon start exploring the forest, choosing to stay together rather than split up since your upperclassmen still want to err on the side of caution, just in case.

During this time, Sebek hovers by your side that’s not occupied by Skully, whom he’s clearly not fond of due to him allowing his jealousy to get the better of him.

Of course, it doesn’t help that Malleus has been encouraging Sebek’s ongoing antics since he doesn’t want his retainer to lose to his new love rival, much to the exasperation of the other upperclassmen.

Since Sebek mostly just glares and grumbles, you leave him be since Skully appears to be completely oblivious to the fact that he’s the current target of Sebek’s ire.

It’s Skully’s apparent obliviousness that makes you think about Jack Skellington since it reminds you of how oblivious Jack was to Sally’s romantic feelings for him throughout the majority of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

That, in turn, makes you notice the fact that Skully’s glasses remind you a lot of how Jack’s eyes look, which you doubt is just a coincidence.

Realization soon dawns on your features. When I placed his sunglasses on his head earlier, it was Jack’s face I was reminded of ‘cause those dark patches of his hair look like Jack’s mouth.

I wonder…could Jack Skellington be the Disney character that Skully resembles, like how Jamil-senpai and the dorm leaders that are present resemble the members of the Great Seven that their dorms represent? You muse. That would explain why he’s such a gentleman and why these Halloween-themed clothes suit him so well.

Before you can ponder the matter further, you get distracted when Grim exclaims, “I see ‘em! The doors that Yuu was talkin’ about!”

Immediately, you focus your gaze on the area that Grim is pointing toward, and just as he said, up ahead, there’s a circle of seven trees, all of which have painted doors on them.

Upon seeing the trees that have doors, everyone in your group increases their pace, so you can all hurry toward the doors. As a result, it doesn't take long for your group to reach its destination.

“Wow! Yuu-san was right!” Epel gapes, staring at the doors with wide, amazed eyes. “There really are doors here! We really must be in a story based on a movie from her world!”

“How fascinating.” Jade examines the doors with noticeable intrigue, grinning all the while. “To think, I would get to learn more about Yuu-san’s intriguing world in such a unique manner. I am beside myself with excitement. Fufu.”

“Alright, we’re here now, so start talking, Herbivore.” Leona orders, “Tell us what we need to know, so we can get outta here.”

Humming thoughtfully, you release your hold on Skully’s hand after giving it a quick squeeze before turning, so you can face everyone. “Hmmm. Where to begin? I could tell you guys about the plot of the movie, but maybe that wouldn’t be necessary if this story covers a plot that’s completely independent of the movie.”

“First off, let’s address the matter of these doors, and we’ll work from there.” Jamil advises, “What are they for, and why did you feel it was necessary to bring us to them?”

“Oh, that’s because we won’t find our story’s protagonist until we use one of these doors.” You answer, “You see, these are the holiday doors - doors that will magically transport us to towns that are all about seven holidays that are celebrated in my world, although not all of the countries in my world actually celebrate all of them.”

“Out of the seven holidays here, the only ones you guys would recognize are Valentine’s Day and Halloween.” You add.

“Did you just say Halloween?!”

Catching everyone off guard, Skully makes that loud exclamation that causes you and several others to jolt in surprise.

In a blink, Skully’s trembling hands are tightly clutching your shoulders, and his broad grin is hovering right above your face. “You know about Halloween, Yuu-san?!”

Upon seeing Skully’s trembling figure and broad grin, all you can do is stare. “Uh, yes?”

Before anything else can be said, Sebek pulls Skully away from you. “You’re too close, human! Do you have any respect for other people’s personal space?!”

“Ah, my apologies.” Skully quickly tries to compose himself. “I just got so excited at the mention of my beloved Halloween that I could not help myself. It’s not often I hear anyone mention it, you see.”

Realization quickly dawns on your features. “Could it be that Halloween wasn't very well-known back during your time period, Skully?”

He sadly frowns, “That’s right. I believe only the people of my hometown, a small village at the bottom of a foggy valley, celebrate it.”

“Seriously?” Idia raises an eyebrow. “I know holidays don’t all necessarily start off super popular, but I never heard of Halloween being on such a small scale.”

“It’s a first for me as well.” Riddle grabs his chin. “Although, I must confess I’ve never tried to research Halloween’s origins, so if Skully says that it wasn’t popular back in his time period, I feel inclined to believe him since he obviously knows his own time period better than the rest of us do.”

“Hmmm.” Malleus thoughtfully frowns, “I suppose I never gave much thought to what led to Halloween becoming such a well-known holiday either. Obviously, a lot of change occurred between Graves’ time period and our own.”

“Does that mean everyone here is familiar with Halloween?” Skully asks, looking noticeably excited. “Could it be that in the future everyone will come to know my beloved Halloween?!”

“That’s right.” Trey nods. “Nowadays, it’d be stranger to encounter someone who doesn’t know about Halloween ‘cause it’s so popular.”

With an excited gasp, Skully happily cups his cheeks. “Oh, marvelous! Simply marvelous! It’s like a dream come true!”

An amused smile rises to your lips. “You really love Halloween, huh, Skully?”

“Oh, yes, with all my heart!” Skully beams, “I love it more than anything else in the world!”

Well, that confirms it. Jack Skellington is definitely the Disney character that Skully resembles. You chuckle. He’s too similar to Jack to not be connected to him.

Hearing a loud sigh, you direct your attention to Leona who asks, “Going back to more important things, we gotta go through one of these doors to find this story’s protagonist, right?”

“Exactly.” You nod before jabbing a finger at the pumpkin door. “The Halloween door to be exact, because the movie from my world that this story is based on is focused on Jack Skellington, the-”

Before you can finish your sentence, you, once again, get cut off by Skully who loudly gasps, “Did you just say Jack Skellington?!”

While the majority of your friends either give Skully annoyed looks or just sigh and shake their heads, Sebek scowls, “Will you quit interrupting her?! At this rate, we’ll never get out of this infernal book!”

As you place a hand on Sebek’s arm to calm him down, you focus your surprised gaze on Skully. “You know Jack Skellington, Skully? Does that mean he actually exists in Twisted Wonderland?”

“He does!” Skully eagerly nods. “He is the one who created the legend of my beloved Halloween! He is Twisted Wonderland’s very own King of Halloween!”

Much to your surprise, all of your friends give Skully surprised looks. “Eh?!”

You raise an eyebrow. “Judging from those reactions, it seems like the legend of Jack Skellington isn’t a very well-known one.”

“Oh, how tragic.” Skully sadly shakes his head. “This was not uncommon in my time, but I had hoped that, since Halloween had become more well-known in the future, the same could be said about Jack-sama. It would seem the future is not as bright as I had first thought…”

While you draw closer to Skully so you can consolingly pat his shoulder, Malleus remarks, “This is rather surprising. To think, there’s a founder of a holiday as well-known as Halloween, and I’ve never once even heard of him. I wonder if Lilia has, considering how much traveling he has done in the past.”

“It is rather surprising.” Vil agrees, “You’d think such an important person would be in our history books.”

Riddle frowns, “How vexing! I dislike the idea of being uninformed about any particular subject! I must do some thorough research on Halloween when we return to school!”

“Even if you do, you still might not find anything on this Jack Skellington person if the only people who ever knew about him were those who lived in Skully’s hometown, which is what I’m currently assuming.” Jamil replies.

“Sadly, it is as Jamil-san says.” Skully confirms, “Jack-sama's legend is one that has been passed down in just one tiny little area - my hometown.”

“That’s too tiny!” Grim complains.

Ignoring Grim, Skully continues, “Because most people outside of my village have never heard of Halloween, no one will listen, no matter how much I try to talk about Jack-sama and Halloween at school…”

He heavily sighs, “They really are worthless. They just get angry with me.”

Trey nods in understanding. “So that's why you were acting that way about school earlier.”

Meanwhile, you find yourself lost in your thoughts. I’m starting to get a better idea of what kinda guy Skully is. The reason he seems so unused to being around other people is ‘cause, outside of his village, he has no one who understands him and his avid love of Halloween. As a result, he’s probably just used to being alone.

It doesn’t help matters that Skully’s love of Halloween seems extreme enough that he probably unintentionally comes across as overbearing to other people. You muse. Considering he has a tendency to be oblivious, like Jack Skellington, he probably doesn’t realize that he’s also partially at fault for his schoolmates’ anger, especially if his tendency to invade people’s personal space is also involved in those angry exchanges.

And, considering how Skully’s love for Jack Skellington seems similar to Sebek’s love for Malleus, you could see that resulting in Skully rubbing plenty of people the wrong way, like what has often happened with Sebek.

Like how you’ve helped your son make friends, you wish you could do the same for Skully, so he can experience the joy of having friends at school since you hate the thought of him spending the remainder of his school life all alone.

Unfortunately, considering the current circumstances at hand, it seems likely that whatever you do here inside this book will be forgotten by Skully and the others as soon as you all return to your respective time periods.

Just after you think that, you remember how you and your friends, who went on that book adventure with Stitch, regained your previously forgotten memories of your time in the book thanks to the wish you made. Unless I wish for Skully to remember what he learns during his time with me…

Well, the wishes I made the last time I was stuck inside a book got granted. Who’s to say that won’t happen again? You think to yourself. Plus, even if Skully doesn’t completely remember everything that happens, he may remember just enough that he can improve his circumstances back at school.

The corners of your lips curve upwards as you cross your fingers. Here’s to hoping for the best.

“Yuu-san, I sincerely apologize for so rudely interrupting you earlier. Please continue with your previous explanation. I promise I will not interrupt you again.”

Upon hearing Skully’s apologetic voice, you’re successfully pulled away from your thoughts about him.

When you see his sincere, guilty expression, you reassuringly smile, “It’s alright. Considering how much you love Halloween and Jack Skellington, I can’t blame you for reacting like that.”

Your smile grows. “Today must be your lucky day, Skully, since we’ll need to meet that idol of yours in order to get through this story. Even better, we’ll probably end up teaming up with him for the sake of this story’s plot, so you’ll get the opportunity to spend lots of time with him.”

Much to your amusement, Skully starts trembling with excitement. “I can’t believe I’ll actually get to meet THE Jack Skellington! This is the best day of my life!”

“Do you have any clue as to what we’ll be expected to do after we find this Jack Skellington gentleman, Yuu-san?” Azul asks, “It would be good if we had an idea of what to expect before we proceed further.”

“It’s hard to say since, for all I know, this story could take place before or after the events of the movie from my world.” You shrug. “Or it could even take place during the movie, although I’m hoping that’s not the case since I really don’t wanna have to personally deal with the whole Santa Claus kidnapping fiasco.”

“‘Kidnapping fiasco’?!” Everyone else parrots, appearing noticeably alarmed and incredulous.

“Yeah, it’s a long story, but don’t worry, Jack Skellington is a nice guy.” You assure them. “He only kidnapped Santa Claus ‘cause he wanted to give Christmas, which is a holiday from my world, a Halloween twist and give Santa, who's the guy in charge of Christmas, a day off, so he didn’t have any bad intentions.”

While Skully begins gushing over how kind Jack is to help out Santa in such a fashion, Jamil draws closer to you, so Skully won’t overhear him before dryly muttering, “Let me guess. He did all that before asking for Santa’s input, and that’s where everything goes wrong in the movie.”

“Bingo.” You quietly reply, “Jack Skellington is a very ‘my pace’ kinda guy and has a tendency to be oblivious, which is why things eventually got outta hand, although he still saved the day, so to speak, in the end.”

“He sounds like a real delight.” Jamil sarcastically replies, making you snort.

After you take a moment to rein in your amusement, you get yourself back on track and resume addressing all of your friends. “More than likely, the plot of the story will involve helping Jack Skellington with Halloween, considering our outfits are all Halloween-themed, although this kinda attire is appropriate year round in Halloween Town, which is the place where he and all the other characters from the movie live.”

“So, for now, let’s go in with the expectation that we’ll be asked to help out with preparing for Halloween.” You suggest, “And, if that’s really what happens, then we’ll likely remain in this book until Halloween arrives, so we can ensure it goes off without a hitch and earn ourselves the happy ending we’re looking for.”

Skully excitedly claps his hands. “Oh, how wonderful! I would love nothing more than to spend Halloween with Jack-sama and all the other lovely residents of Halloween Town!”

“This does sound like it will be a most exciting story.” Jade chuckles, “I look forward to meeting this Jack Skellington gentleman we've heard so much about, considering he’s someone from both our world and Yuu-san’s. It’s not everyday such a fascinating coincidence occurs, after all.”

You chuckle. If he only knew…

With a shake of your head, you draw closer to the tree that has a pumpkin door and proceed to open it, revealing the tree’s dark, seemingly empty interior. “Alright, now that we know where we need to go and have an idea of what we need to do, let’s head for Halloween Town.”

“Once we find Jack Skellington, we can just play things by ear, and if such info ever ends up becoming useful, I’ll share more about the movie whenever the movie characters aren’t around to overhear.” You add.

“Yeah, good call.” Idia nods. “Wouldn’t wanna risk any potential fourth wall breaking or give ‘em an existential crisis.”

All you can do is snort. “Right.”

Just as you’re about to enter the now open door, Skully stops you. “Wait! Please allow me to go first, Yuu-san. Considering we can’t see the bottom from here, we might end up taking quite the plunge, and I would hate to risk you suffering any damage in the fall.”

Once you overcome your surprise, you smile, “Aw, you’re so sweet and thoughtful, Skully. Thank you.”

“But are you sure?” You ask, “I’d hate for you to get hurt in my stead.”

He puffs up his chest. “Do not worry about me! If it’s for the sake of protecting a lovely lady such as yourself, a gentleman can handle anything that comes his way!”

Your heart melts upon hearing such a cute response. “You are so cute. I’m liking you more and more by the minute, Skully.”

While Skully starts cutely blushing, Riddle sighs, “If only my card soldiers could have such impeccable manners…Then, I wouldn’t even be here in the first place…”

Trey chuckles, “Can’t argue with you there.”

Meanwhile, Malleus turns to look at Sebek, who’s once again glaring and scowling at Skully. “You truly have a formidable rival, Sebek, the kind of which I’ve only seen in Lilia’s TV dramas. We’ll need to get serious from here on out.”

While Sebek gets incredibly flustered by his liege’s words, Vil sighs, “Oh, just stop already. I’ve long since gotten tired of this nonsense.”

After saying that, he proceeds to head for the door to Halloween Town. “I’ll go first, just so I can get a temporary break from you all.”

Without further ado, Vil proceeds to jump through the door, much to your amusement, and Skully is quick to follow after him, having recovered from his earlier embarrassment.

“That’s probably the best idea Vil has ever had.” Leona drawls before he also passes through the Halloween Town door, making you snort.

Just as it looks like Grim intends to go next, you grab him. “Hold on, Grim. Before you can go any further, you gotta give Riddle-senpai a proper apology, so he’ll remove your collar. Considering we have no idea what this book will throw at us, I want you to be able to use your magic going forward.”

“But I did apologize!” Grim pouts.

Riddle scoffs, “What I heard earlier was hardly a proper apology. In the end, all you did was grudgingly say the word ‘sorry’ under your breath, which is, by no means, sufficient.”

While Grim starts grumbling, you set him down in front of Riddle before returning to the door. “Alright, Grim, I’m going on ahead of you to have fun while you waste time due to your pride. See you later.”

“You’re horrible, Henchman!” Grim complains, “How dare you treat your boss like this!”

“Don’t forget, we wouldn’t be here in the first place if it wasn’t for you.” You dryly reply, “So you’re getting your just desserts.”

With that, you proceed to swing your legs over the bottom of the pumpkin-shaped doorway, one at a time, before coming to sit on top of it. Before you can move any further, Jamil surprises you when he comes up from behind and grabs your shoulders.

“Will you really be fine?” Jamil whispers into your ear. “A place called Halloween Town isn’t exactly a go-to destination for someone with a horror phobia.”

Upon realizing that he’s concerned about you, you turn to give him a smile. “Don’t worry, Jamil-senpai, I’ll be fine. While I can’t promise I won’t get spooked, I think I’ll be more excited than anything since I’m visiting a setting from a beloved movie from my childhood - the only movie with this kinda setting that never actually scared me.”

Your smile grows. “Besides, I’ve got you guys with me, don’t I? I’ll be just fine.”

For a moment, Jamil carefully scrutinizes you, obviously looking for any signs that you're not being completely honest about your feelings, before finally nodding. “Alright, if you say so. Just don’t overdo it.”

You playfully salute him. “Yes sir!”

After that exchange, Jamil finally releases your shoulders, prompting you to push yourself off of your seat, so you can follow after Skully and the others.

All the while, you broadly grin, “Halloween Town, here I come!”

Chapter Text

After you pass through the door that leads to Halloween Town, you find yourself falling through a sea of pure darkness for a brief moment before your surroundings abruptly change.

In a blink, that sea of darkness turns into a starless night sky, which is illuminated by a large, beautiful full moon.

It’s thanks to that captivating moon that you’re able to keep from panicking like you would under normal circumstances upon realizing that you’re falling from a great height and heading straight toward the hard ground below.

Of course, what also helps is that you trust someone will catch you before you hit the ground, so despite the horrible past experiences you’ve had these last several months that involved you falling from the sky at a great height, you’re able to keep calm, well for the most part anyway.

Fortunately, whatever anxiety you did feel instantly vanishes when you eventually fall into the open arms of Leona since his reassuring presence always does a good job of putting your heart at ease.

After Leona sets you down, you thank him for catching you before remarking, “I’m surprised you were the one who caught me, Leona-senpai. I thought Skully was gonna do that.”

He huffs, “With his scrawny arms, he would’ve just ended up falling to the ground along with you, so I told him I’d take care of it.”

Leona jabs a thumb over at Skully, who’s currently looking in the direction of the spiral hill from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which currently has the full moon as its backdrop. “While he was disappointed at first, he quickly got over it once he saw that weird hill over there, which he has been fawning over ever since he laid eyes on it.”

All you can do is snort. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Spiral Hill is a pretty iconic landmark in the movie this story is based on, so I imagine it’s much the same in the stories told in his hometown.”

After that exchange, you look around and take in the scenery of the cemetery you remember seeing in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Fortunately, despite how much you hate everything that has to do with horror, you’re able to remain relatively calm as you observe your spooky surroundings since, rather than be flooded with memories of Mumei’s past abuse, which is what typically happens whenever you’re exposed to anything related to horror, all you can think about is The Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie from your childhood, which you’ve always loved.

You release a quiet sigh of relief. Oh, good. Looks like I really will be alright, after all. Despite what I said to Jamil-senpai earlier, I had been a little nervous about how I’d react to such a spooky environment, but it looks like my fondness for The Nightmare Before Christmas surpasses my fear of Mumei. What a relief.

Now, that’s not to say this whole adventure will be completely smooth sailing for you since you’re sure that you’ll end up falling victim to plenty of jump-scares during your time in this book, but you think that overall you should be fine, just as long as you avoid remaining by yourself for long periods of time since that could lead to you thinking about memories you’re better off permanently forgetting.

The corners of your lips curve upward when you subtly glance down at your right wrist and see Leona’s tail, which has been loosely wrapped around your wrist since you started checking out your surroundings. I’ll especially be alright as long as I’ve got Leona-senpai with me. No bad memories will be able to hurt me as long as he’s around.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one is currently looking at you and Leona, you subtly draw closer to him, so you can brush your side against his, all the while softly stroking his tail’s tuft.

Because you know that actions speak louder to Leona than words in moments like this and that he’s not one for sappy exchanges, you convey your gratitude in this manner since you know that’s what he’d prefer over a normal thank you.

In response, Leona, whose gaze has been fixed on the moon this whole time, tightens his tail’s hold on your wrist and makes no complaint about you being so close to him, like he would if anyone else tried to invade his personal space like this.

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his reaction, causing your smile to grow. I’ll be just fine.

You’re sure of it.

Once everyone has successfully arrived at the cemetery, including a grumpy Grim who has finally been freed from Riddle’s Unique Magic, you let everyone know that these current surroundings are straight out of the movie from your world, much to their amazement.

“Man, I’m so jealous.” Idia pouts, “I wish I could visit the worlds of my favorite anime. Yuu-shi is living every otaku’s dream…”

Azul sighs, “Don’t forget the fact that we’re stuck inside this ‘dream’ until we successfully complete the story. It’s hardly an ideal arrangement when you’re at the mercy of a strange book.”

“But it does make things rather exciting.” Jade chuckles, “Considering how Floyd described his book adventure, I find myself rather looking forward to seeing what this story has in store for us.”

Jamil shakes his head. “You’re the only one who feels that way…”

“Well, maybe not the only one.” Jamil quickly corrects himself when he looks over at Skully, who’s still excitedly looking around, looking like a kid in a candy store.

“Oh my, I can’t believe I’m seeing the swirled hill from the legends with my own two eyes!” Skully happily exclaims, “And that I’ll soon get to see the Halloween Town of my dreams and spend Halloween with Jack-sama! Oh, this is indeed a most glorious day!”

Sebek scowls, “Seeing him all cheerful is annoying. Halloween, Halloween, he keeps saying. Like he's really got nothing but Halloween in his head.”

You give him a look. “Sebek, you really have no room to talk, considering how you get when Tsunotaro is involved.”

While the majority of your friends either snort or nod in agreement, Sebek gasps in offense. “How dare you compare my devotion to my liege to that miscreant’s irksome behavior! We are nothing alike.”

“Yeah, ya are.” Grim dryly replies, “He talks about that Jack Skellington guy just like how ya talk about Tsunotaro.”

As Sebek glares at your partner, Malleus smiles in amusement. “How amusing. To think, Sebek would have something else besides his love for Yuu in common with his love rival. Our current circumstances are becoming more and more like an episode from one of Lilia’s TV dramas.”

While you snort, Sebek looks at his liege in dismay. “Don’t listen to them, Malleus-sama! Those fools don’t know what they’re talking about! They-!”

“Oya oya? There are some visitors here that I don't recognize, Zero.”

In an instant, everyone goes quiet, and Sebek quickly moves into a new position to guard Malleus.

“Who's there!?” Jamil calls out to the owner of the voice that just spoke up, which is unfamiliar to everyone except for you, as everyone, aside from you, Grim, and Skully, gets into defensive positions.

Much to your and Skully’s amazement and delight, an incredibly tall, well-dressed skeleton walks out of the nearby shadows into the moonlight, allowing everyone to get a good look at him.

With an excited gasp, Skully giddily cups his cheeks. “It’s him!”

A broad grin much like the one Skully is now sporting quickly rises to your lips when you see the familiar, beloved figure from your childhood. “Boy, do I love it when I’m right.”

Meanwhile, the well-dressed skeleton responds to Jamil’s earlier question. “Who am I? I'm a master of fright. The ruler!”

He holds up his arms and does a scary pose. “I'll scare you right out of your pants, the Pumpkin King.”

“Because I am…” The skeleton grins, “Jack Skellington!”

For a moment, there’s nothing but silence, and then, Grim screams, “Fnaaaagh! The skeleton's talkin’!”

Looking the most alarmed you’ve ever seen him look, Leona asks, “W-What's with this guy?!”

Jamil stares at Jack with wide eyes. “Skeleton? Ghost? No, fae?!”

“As if there is a fae like this!?” Sebek retorts, “He's clearly a monster!”

As you’re amusedly watching all your friends, whom you just realized you never actually gave a description of Jack Skellington to, start freaking out upon seeing Jack, you hear a familiar barking sound.

When you look at its source, you see Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas and promptly coo, “Awww!”

Riddle gapes at the ghost dog. “That's... a dog with a glowing nose?!”

“Dog?! This is a dog?!” Azul incredulously asks, wearing a flabbergasted expression much like the redhead.

Jade stares at Zero with wide eyes. “I think it’s a dog because it has ears and cries ‘yip’!”

Getting flashbacks to how Azul and Floyd had a similar conversation when they first met Stitch, you start giggling. I can’t believe this is happening again. This is so damn funny.

Meanwhile, a shocked Vil points out, “Looking closely, its nose is a pumpkin... and it doesn't have legs!”

“He doesn’t have any legs ‘cause he’s a ghost dog.” You explain once you rein in your laughter. “I have no explanation for the glowing nose, though, but it sure is cute.”

As Skully proceeds to start fawning over Jack and introduces himself to his idol, you do a little whistle to earn Zero’s attention. “Here, boy!”

With a cheerful bark, Zero flies over to you, prompting the guys around you to back away, much to your amusement.

“Aww, aren’t you a cutie?” You coo as you gently pat the dog’s head, or at least, make an attempt to since the dog is intangible. “What a good boy!”

Upon seeing the ghost dog happily accept your attention, Idia, who had previously been freaking out just like everyone else, quickly settles down due to his soft spot for animals. “D’awww.”

In complete contrast, Grim sulkily crosses his arms. “Oh, great. It’s like what happened with Stitch all over again. Dogs are such a pain.”

Epel chuckles, “My condolences.”

As that exchange is transpiring, Zero surprises you when he flies up to your face and licks your cheek. “Woof! Woof!”

A startled squeal escapes you when the dog’s super cold tongue somehow makes contact with your skin despite his ghostly status. “So cold! Ahaha!”

“Hey! Don’t go lickin’ my henchman without my permission!” Grim shouts as he angrily shakes his paw at Zero. “That’s where I draw the line!”

Unfortunately for Grim, his yelling results in him becoming the next recipient of Zero’s affections since the dog takes an immediate shine to him for some reason.

While Grim is whining about the dog chasing and licking him, much to the amusement of everyone else, Idia releases a content sigh. “Ah~, nothing soothes the heart more than the cuteness of animals.”

You grin, “I couldn’t agree more.”

Around the time you come to Grim’s rescue and get Zero to settle down, you tune back into what’s going on with Jack Skellington and find out that Leona and Jamil have taken care of explaining to the Pumpkin King that you’re all from another world and are looking for a way home.

Much to your amusement, after your group’s situation is explained and everyone introduces themselves to Jack, Skully tries to get everyone to be more formal when addressing his idol after hearing Jack get called a skeleton by Epel, just like how Sebek always does with Malleus. “Everyone, please... if you would please call this one Jack-sama.”

However, Jack quickly assures his fanboy that that’s not necessary. “No, no, just Jack is fine. That's what everyone in town calls me.”

When Jack mentions his town, you perk up. “Oh, so there’s a town nearby? Would you be willing to take us there? Unfortunately, since we’re new to these parts, we’re in a bit of a bind as to where to go, considering this is a completely different world from ours.”

“Ah, yes, I’m sure you poor fellows are.” Jack nods in understanding. “Very well. I’ll guide you to my town.”

Skully beams, “Oh, you are so generous, Jack-sama! Thank you so much!”

“No need to thank me.” Jack smiles, “After all, everyone in town likes having fun, so I'm sure they'll all be happy to have you guys pay us a visit.”

His expression becomes contemplative as he crosses his arms. “And...you may be the answer to the worries I've been carrying lately.”

Upon hearing that, almost everyone spares a look at you, and you, in turn, nod, confirming everyone’s immediate assumption that, in order to complete this story, you’ll all need to help Jack with whatever is worrying him.

Jack starts walking and motions for everyone to follow after him. “Come, this way! I'll guide you. Let’s go, Zero!”

Zero, who had been hanging around you and Grim while you were all talking, cheerfully barks before flying after his owner, and, of course, Skully also follows suit without waiting to see what everyone else does since all that’s on his mind right now is his idol.

After those three leave, Riddle remarks, “Well, that worked out rather nicely. Thankfully, it seems Jack-san will be a lot easier to work with than Stitch.”

You chuckle, “Yeah, we shouldn’t have a difficult time getting along with this particular protag.”

“At the very least, you guys won’t have to worry about him biting any of you on the ass like what Stitch did to Ace.” You wryly add, making several of your friends snort.

Epel snickers, “I’ll definitely take dealing with a talking skeleton over that any day.”

“Likewise.” Trey agrees, wearing an amused smile.

“We better start moving, so we don’t get left behind.” Jamil advises, “It’ll be hard enough to keep up as it is, considering how much distance Jack-san can cover with his extremely long legs.”

Just as you’re about to agree with Jamil, your Quirk suddenly activates, causing a vision to overtake your senses.

In a blink, your surroundings abruptly change, and you quickly find yourself in what appears to be Halloween Town’s Town Hall, much to your surprise.

Your surprise only grows when you see your future self and everyone else from NRC on the Town Hall stage along with Jack, who’s behind the podium, announcing that you and the others are here to help Halloween Town have the best Halloween ever.

It’s as I thought. You think to yourself. Jack is gonna ask us for help with Halloween, probably ‘cause he’s looking for something new, like in the movie. Obviously, we need to complete that task in order to get out of this crazy book.

Unfortunately, your vision soon shows you that such a task will be more difficult than you had originally expected, because Skully’s version of a “best Halloween” is a lot different from what your friends would consider a “best Halloween”.

Apparently, to Skully, an ideal Halloween is one that focuses on three words: quiet, simple, and economical.

According to Skully, Halloween must be a quiet affair. The quiet should be so pervasive that you can hear your own heartbeat; such a quiet bestows true fright. In that stillness one can solemnly enjoy solitude and fright.

In regards to simplicity, Skully believes that extraneous costumes and such are beyond tasteless for Halloween. They're entirely unnecessary.

Not only that, he believes that all decorations should be cleared out and that an entire room must be in just black to emulate night. Inside the room, one pumpkin may remain, and inside its hollowed shell will be put a flame, standing alone against the darkness. In that way, one can experience the creeping fright.

Lastly, as far as the word “economical" is concerned, Skully believes a modest Halloween is best. He thinks that drinking and singing and causing a fuss is not fitting for a day where everyone remembers the other side.

On the contrary, Skully believes that everyone should imbibe even smaller portions than normal to sharpen their nerves, because it’s “a day to remember that someday you too will become a ghost.”

Needless to say, this is not what you were expecting, although you had assumed that Skully’s Halloween would be a little different from everyone else’s due to him being from hundreds of years in the past - from the time period when his village was the only place where this holiday was celebrated.

This kinda makes sense, though, since this is Halloween before it becomes mainstream in Twisted Wonderland. You muse. Back in my world, Halloween was also quite different in the beginning, although it wasn’t exactly like how Skully’s hometown celebrates it.

Regrettably, you’re the only one who’s understanding of Skully’s ideal Halloween since all of your friends shoot down every idea he proposes and also insult his ideas by calling them boring. Naturally, you’re not at all pleased with this since they’re all being so rude and disrespectful of the culture of Skully’s hometown.

Yes, Skully isn’t helping matters by acting like his Halloween is the only right one, proving that he’s rather close-minded when it comes to this topic, but that doesn’t give your friends the right to treat him so poorly, especially when, by the looks of it, at the start, everyone had all agreed to leave writing out all the Halloween planning and presenting it to the citizens of Halloween Town to Skully.

Obviously, your friends had just assumed that Skully would want to celebrate Halloween like they do, making you wonder if they all somehow just suddenly forgot what time period he came from, unlike your future self who keeps giving your friends disapproving looks every time they're disrespectful of Skully's culture. This makes you think that your future self had incorrectly assumed your friends would all be more understanding of Skully's ideas due to being familiar with his circumstances since you know you wouldn't have allowed things to turn out like this if you had known your friends would react in such a rude manner.

To make matters worse, when the subject of how ghosts are treated in Skully’s ideal Halloween gets brought up, all of your friends get angry and call him a brute when he says that all the evil ghosts that cause trouble during Halloween would get erased via magic.

Because Halloween is supposed to be all about honoring ghosts since they’re Halloween’s guests of honor, you can understand why your friends got so upset, but they really have no right to criticize Skully so harshly, considering how they acted last October when Malleus created an endless Halloween for the sake of some ghosts who had wanted to spend Halloween with everyone at Night Raven College.

Needless to say, by the time this vision finally ends with the last thing you see being your future self finally losing her temper after seeing your friends’ hypocritical behavior, you are one pissed off girl.

And all of your friends know it too since, when your sight returns to normal, you see all of them sporting expressions that range from being wary to nervous to downright terrified.

Idia, who falls into the final category, fearfully hides behind Azul. “W-Who screwed up?!”

Before you can stop yourself, you growl, “ALL of you did.”

In complete sync, everyone wisely takes a few steps away from you, obviously recognizing that giving you space is the right idea.

Because you know it’s not fair to lash out at them when they technically haven’t done anything wrong yet, you close your eyes and try to calm yourself down, muttering all the while.

“Oh, shit.” Idia whimpers, “She’s doing that thing where she tries to bring down her rage gauge by muttering all the curse words she knows under her breath, isn’t she?”

“Yep.” Leona tiredly pinches the bridge of his nose. “She’s trying to be quiet about it, but I can hear her clear as day.”

Frowning, Riddle tries to draw closer to you, but Epel and Sebek quickly latch onto him to stop him from trying to talk to you.

“Don’t do it!” Epel whisper-shouts, appearing panicked. “When Yuu-san is this mad, nobody’s safe, not even the upperclassmen she respects!”

“He’s right.” Sebek agrees, “It’s best to give her time to calm down. Trying to talk to her prematurely will only worsen the situation.”

Riddle just stares at you with wide eyes. “What in the world did she see in that vision?”

“I’m afraid to find out.” Trey weakly replies as he nervously fiddles with his glasses.

Vil sighs, “I suppose we should be grateful she had a vision of whatever happened since this means we can prevent whatever has made her so upset, although we’ll still have to hear exactly how she feels about whatever it is that our future counterparts did when we hear about her vision.”

Jamil tiredly massages his temple. “And Yuu will definitely let us have it too, considering how she is. This will NOT be a fun conversation.”

Malleus frowns, “It’s unusual for Yuu to get this angry, so our future counterparts really must have acted inappropriately.”

As Sebek quickly assures his beloved liege that there’s no way Malleus would ever do such a thing, Jade turns to teasingly smile at Azul. “It would seem we’re soon going to see something along the lines of what happened after the first semester final exams, Azul. Fufu.”

Azul’s eyebrow twitches. “I wish you would drop that already.”

Around that time, you finally manage to rein in your anger and open your eyes, earning everyone else’s attention.

After taking some satisfaction from the fearful and apprehensive expressions you’re now looking at, you cross your arms. “Since you guys technically haven’t done anything wrong yet, I have no intention to yell at you or inflict any kind of physical punishment for the unacceptable behavior I just witnessed in my vision.”

Unbeknownst to you, you begin unconsciously emitting blood lust as you threateningly narrow your eyes. “However, if you guys still end up doing a repeat of the events from my vision after hearing everything I’m about to tell you, I WILL be bringing out my new whip and having you guys help me see what all it's capable of. Understand?”

Simultaneously, the majority of your friends quickly reply, “Yes ma’am!”

After that exchange, you finally let yourself relax and quit glaring at your friends. “I’m glad we could all come to an understanding.”

But definitely not more glad than your friends, considering how so many of them visibly relax when you stop glaring and filling the air with pure blood lust.

Just goes to show that the powers of intimidation really are a girl’s best friend, especially for a girl who attends a school like NRC.

And that’s a fact.

After you finish threatening everyone, you finally realize that you don’t see Grim. “Uh, where’s Grim?”

“Oh, no need to worry about him.” Jade smiles, “Last time I checked, he was running after Jack-san and Skully-kun whilst being chased by Jack-san’s dog, who had come back for him, presumably due to having such a strong affection toward Grim-san.”

You give him a deadpan look before sighing, “Oh well, I’m sure he’ll be fine since Zero won’t hurt him.”

Knowing you can’t afford to waste any more time, you decide to get the ball rolling. “Alright, moving on. Since we don’t wanna keep Jack-san waiting on us, I’ll try to be as quick as I can. For starters, just as I had guessed, he’s gonna ask us to help with the planning of this year’s Halloween.”

“Also, it’s not just you guys that were at fault for the events of my vision.” You continue, “Skully was also at fault since all of you boys were being rather close-minded about Halloween due to you all having your own preferences for the holiday, which you all believe are the best ways to celebrate it.”

“But you guys were definitely acting more like jerks than he was.” You dryly add, “That’s why the majority of my anger ended up focused on you.”

“Lucky us.” Idia mutters.

“So, essentially, you’re telling us that, in your vision, we clashed with Skully when we were proposing ideas for how to celebrate Halloween?” Jamil asks.

Nodding, you proceed to explain to everyone what Skully’s ideal Halloween would be, and as expected, when they hear about it, everyone looks noticeably unimpressed, with the exception of Idia, whose expression is mostly neutral, probably because he's the only person here who would prefer to spend Halloween in solitude.

“But that sounds so boring!” Epel complains, “Who would wanna celebrate a Halloween that has no costumes, colorful decorations, music, or candy?!”

“Agreed!” Sebek chimes in. “By the sounds of it, our future counterparts were completely in the right for objecting to all of that foolish human’s boring ideas!”

Both of your sons promptly freeze when you start glaring at them. “Epel, Sebek, I really expected better from the two of you, considering how highly you both view your hometowns. I can’t believe you would treat another person’s culture with such utter disrespect like that.”

“How would you guys feel if someone told you that the way your hometowns traditionally celebrated a holiday was wrong and boring, huh?” You ask, “I bet you wouldn’t like it, now would you?”

At that, Epel and Sebek immediately grow quiet, and shame quickly dawns on their expressions.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see some of your other friends, who had looked like they had intended to agree with Epel and Sebek before you spoke up, wearing similar expressions, obviously having finally realized why your vision made you so upset.

Epel guiltily lowers his gaze. “I wouldn’t like that at all…Sorry, Yuu-san, you’re right. No matter how I feel about somebody else’s ideas, it’s not right to disrespect someone else’s culture…”

“I…agree.” Sebek quietly remarks, “I’m sorry as well, Yuu.”

Your expression relaxes once you hear their genuine apologies. “I forgive you since I can tell that you guys never intended to be disrespectful in that way.”

As you let your gaze sweep across your whole group of friends, you continue, “I know that none of you were thinking about the fact that Skully came from a time period where only his hometown celebrated Halloween. You all didn’t mean to look down on his hometown’s culture. You just couldn’t help but disagree with everything he said that clashed so drastically with the Halloween you all know and love.”

“That’s why it wasn’t that part of my vision that got me so pissed off.” You wryly add.

Azul winces, “Oh, dear. It gets even worse?”

“Of course, it does.” Leona sighs, “Alright, out with it already, Herbivore.”

You cross your arms. “At one point in my vision, the topic of ghosts came up, and Skully revealed that, if evil ghosts were to show up to cause trouble during Halloween, his response would be to erase them using magic.”

In complete sync, all of your friends incredulously exclaim, “Erase them?!”

Sebek scowls, “For him to not show Halloween’s guests of honor hospitality but instead erase them...How utterly undignified!”

“It’s rather surprising.” Malleus frowns, “I didn’t expect Graves to be capable of such brutish behavior.”

As several of the others make similar comments, you scowl, “This is why I was so pissed off! You guys are such hypocrites!”

“Well, everyone except for Tsunotaro, that is.” You add as an afterthought.

While several of your friends give you offended looks, Jamil raises an eyebrow. “Why is Malleus-senpai the only one excluded?”

You hold up two fingers. “Two words: Endless Halloween.”

Upon hearing that, realization instantly dawns on everyone else's features, and within seconds, all of your friends, with the exception of Malleus, are avoiding looking at you.

Meanwhile, Malleus nods in understanding. “Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten about that. Considering all the poor ghosts that got attacked by everyone here last Halloween, I can understand why you consider them to be hypocrites.”

“We wouldn’t have attacked them if it wasn’t for you!” All of the other dorm leaders promptly retort, earning themselves some glares from Sebek, who obviously doesn’t appreciate such disrespect being shown toward his liege.

After that exchange, Trey sighs, “Alright, now, I completely get Yuu’s earlier anger. We really messed up in that vision. Her ire was warranted.”

Nodding, you huff, “What made it all even worse was that you guys got all indignant when Skully said he wanted to erase the ‘evil’ ghosts, and you didn’t even think to consider the possibility that the ghosts that hung around his hometown were horrible enough to warrant being attacked. You just acted like all ghosts are good and worthy of the utmost respect on Halloween, regardless of what they do.”

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda cringey to me.” You grimace, “‘Cause you guys were acting like RSA students, with all your talk about being kind to all ghosts, no matter what they do, ‘cause you guys love your guests of honor so much.”

Much to your amusement, just as you had expected, everyone gives you some incredibly offended looks upon hearing you compare them to RSA students, and several of your friends even release scandalized gasps.

“Y-You take that back!” Idia demands as he points a shaking finger at you. “Being compared to those goody-two-shoes is literally the worst insult ever!”

“I mean, it’s true, though.” You shrug. “After all, not only were you guys sticking up for all ghost kind like a bunch of goody-two-shoes, you guys basically said that the best Halloween involves singing songs together and making children happy with candy.”

A teasing smile rises to your lips. “I didn’t realize you guys cared that much about protecting the smiles of ghosts and children alike. You all are such NICE guys. What a bunch of sweethearts~”

In complete sync, all of the guys grimace when you call them nice guys. Idia, in particular, gets hit by your words the hardest since he looks so disgusted - to the point that he looks like he could lose his lunch at any given moment, much to your immense amusement.

After you have your fun messing with your friends, you comment, “To clarify, you all decided that the best Halloween would be one that has music, colorful decorations, and candy since those are all important aspects of Halloween to you guys.”

“While your ideas weren’t bad, I thought they were rather boring.” You bluntly state, “That’s why I didn’t think you guys had any reason to criticize Skully for being boring ‘cause you were no better.”

As the majority of your friends make displeased faces in response to your words, Epel pouts, “How’s that boring? That sounds like a fun Halloween to me!”

“That’s the thing. This isn’t a Halloween for you or for any of us for that matter.” You look around and meet everyone’s gazes one at a time. “This is a Halloween for the residents of Halloween Town. Making THEM happy is our top priority if we wanna get out of this book.”

You place your hands on your hips. “And no way would they be satisfied with a Halloween that has absolutely zero thrills and chills! It’s not Halloween without that! Take that away, and you guys are just describing a child’s birthday party!”

“Hm. I suppose you do make a good point.” Malleus agrees, “Lilia always says that Halloween is never a success until he pulls off a good, satisfying scare.”

While Sebek makes a face, no doubt recalling all the times during his childhood when Lilia scared him and Silver on Halloween, you nod. “That’s especially the case for the people of Halloween Town. These guys are all about scaring people for fun. To them, that’s the highlight of Halloween.”

“They don’t care nearly as much about music, candy, and decorations as they do about scaring.” You add, “So, more than anything, we need to provide them the opportunity to have as much fun as they want via scaring people.”

“I have no idea if I mentioned that prior to the events of my vision.” You frown, “But I probably didn’t think to do that, so I’ll take responsibility for not helping you guys better understand the kind of people we’re supposed to be helping. That’s why I don’t blame you for not going the super scary route.”

“But man, I sure was surprised by the sheer lack of horror elements in the best Halloween idea you guys suggested.” You remark, “I thought for sure that you guys would wanna do at least a little scaring since I thought most of you would enjoy that kinda thing. Apparently, I was wrong.”

Upon hearing that, the guys all exchange looks, each of them looking as if they’re also surprised that no one thought to include anything involving scaring into their best Halloween, before Vil huffs, “More than likely, no one said anything because we were all too busy reacting to Skully’s outrageous ideas.”

“Probably.” Leona agrees, “In my case, I probably just didn’t want to do any more work than necessary to get out of this damn book.”

As you snort and several of your upperclassmen give Leona exasperated looks, Malleus comments, "It is also entirely possible that none of us wanted to suggest any ideas that would make you uncomfortable, Child of Man, considering you personally are not fond of anything related to horror and the like."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Epel nods. "I would hate for Yuu-san to have to deal with what she hates most the entire time we're stuck here, after all."

When the majority of the group shows that they feel similarly, surprise briefly crosses your features before your expression softens. "Aw, thanks, guys. Hearing that makes me really happy."

"But there's no need to hold back on my account; after all, Halloween just isn't Halloween if it doesn't haves some chills and thrills." You add.

It’s at that moment you notice that Idia is currently eyeing you suspiciously, prompting you to raise an eyebrow at him. “What? Why are you looking at me like that, Idia-senpai?”

“‘Cause you’re not acting like the Yuu-shi I know, duh.” Idia frowns, “Are you some kinda shapeshifter who took her place while she was separated from us earlier and copied her Quirk’s ability? ‘Cause the real Yuu-shi would NOT be asking us for more horror.”

All you can do is roll your eyes. “Were you not listening to me? I’m only asking for chills and thrills for the sake of the Halloween Town residents since I wanna do everything I can to ensure we give them a Halloween that will satisfy them and give us the happy ending we need. It’s not like I WANT to spend a whole day dealing with people constantly scaring the crap outta me.”

“Even so, your behavior is still rather surprising.” Jade remarks, “While I can completely understand wanting to do everything in your power to ensure we escape this book, I still would have thought you’d be willing to take a risk by supporting an idea that has no horror elements due to your strong aversion toward horror.”

“After all, even if we don’t provide the Halloween Town residents with their ideal Halloween, I think we still have a strong chance of reaching a happy ending just as long as we provide a Halloween that they can enjoy.” He adds.

Just as you’re about to retort that you’re not the type to half-ass things, you find yourself pausing since, now that you think about it, it is rather strange for you to want to go the extra mile, considering your horror phobia, especially when, as Jade said, it’s likely that you all could provide a satisfactory Halloween for Halloween Town even without doing anything super scary.

That’s why you go quiet and take a moment to think this matter over and consider why you feel that you need to give Halloween Town the best Halloween possible.

Soon after you do that, a flood of past memories involving all the times you watched The Nightmare Before Christmas back in your world abruptly invade your mind.

And just like that, everything becomes crystal clear to you.

A small, soft smile rises to your lips. “After giving it some thought, I think the main reason I’m wanting to go the extra mile for Halloween Town is simply ‘cause I want to do something nice for everyone there as an expression of gratitude.”

“‘Gratitude’?” Jamil parrots, wearing a frown whilst looking at you with concern, making you wonder if he can tell you’re thinking about your past - a skill he’s developed since becoming friends with you.

Nodding, you elaborate, “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fond of these fictional characters, and I watched the movie they starred in more times than I can count, ‘cause, for some reason, it always brought me a lot of comfort.”

“I can’t really explain it since I can’t even remember when I first watched the movie or why I’ve always liked it, but whenever I watched the movie, especially the first song in it, I didn’t feel like I was alone.” You quietly continue, “That’s why I always watched that movie whenever I was lonely or hurting ‘cause, without fail, it would always make me feel better.”

When your eyes begin to grow misty, you quickly blink away the tears before adding, “Since those characters were there for me when I needed help the most, I, without thinking, found myself wanting to return the favor, ‘cause they did so much for me, and I’m just so grateful for them.”

“Yuu (-san) (-shi)....”

As the majority of your friends quietly call out your name, all the while giving you looks that are a mixture of sad and surprised, your expression grows sheepish. “Heh, now that I’ve said it all out loud, it sounds pretty silly, huh?”

“It doesn’t.” Sebek immediately denies, catching you by surprise. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to repay a debt, even if the other party is completely oblivious to it.”

“Yeah!” Epel grins, “I mean, when you think about it, this is actually a really lucky turn of events since the book gave you the opportunity to thank the guys who gave you all the help you needed back in your world, so you should take full advantage, Yuu-san!”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression softens. “Sebek…Epel…”

“Perhaps this is exactly why the story we’re in is based on a movie from Yuu’s world.”

Upon hearing Riddle’s words, everyone turns to look at the redhead who continues, “Considering how the last time this happened the strange book granted the wishes that Yuu made, it wouldn’t be too strange to think it has done something along those lines again by bringing her to a world where she can repay these characters she feels so indebted to.”

All you can do is stare. “Huh, I never considered that possibility before…”

Could it be that I met Stitch in that last book adventure ‘cause he was someone I’ve always wanted to meet? You wonder. Was that another wish that got granted by the book?

You’re soon pulled away from your thoughts when a smiling Trey says, “In that case, it makes perfect sense for Yuu to want to go all out for the residents of Halloween Town. After all, it seems like a waste not to, considering the circumstances.”

“I guess Yuu-shi’s not an imposter, after all.” Idia remarks, “She’s just dedicated to her oshi, like a normal otaku.”

Vil gives him a look. “Don’t lump her together with you.”

“Yes, that’s an insult to Yuu-san.” Azul agrees, making Idia scowl and you snort.

Before you can try to come to Idia’s defense, Leona surprises you when he says, “Alright, so from here on out, we’ll follow Yuu’s lead. Since it’s her debt that’s gotta get paid, it only makes sense that we do things her way.”

“Yes, I agree.” Malleus smiles, “Child of Man, please do as you see fit, and I shall endeavor to help you in any way I can since I too would like to do something for these characters who are so important to you.”

Warmth envelops your chest in response to their words. “Leona-senpai…Tsunotaro..”

“You can count on me too, Yuu-san!” Epel eagerly pipes up. “Let’s give Halloween Town the best Halloween they’ve ever seen!”

“I will gladly offer my assistance as well.” Jade smiles, “After all, Yuu-san always comes up with such interesting ideas.”

Azul gives you his professional businessman smile. “Naturally, I shall do so as well. I would hate for one of my dear employees to continue harboring an unpaid debt, after all.”

Jamil eyes him warily for a moment before returning his gaze to you. “I don’t mind helping, just as long as you don’t come up with anything too outrageous.”

“Same.” Idia chimes in. “I can totally get wanting to repay fictional characters for the emotional support they provide, so I’m fine with going along with this, just as long as you don’t expect too much outta me.”

Vil just shakes his head at Idia’s words before commenting, “I also don’t mind helping since I personally dislike doing things half-heartedly; I’d much rather give my best effort for this Halloween rather than do something half-baked. After all, anything connected to the name Vil Schoenheit needs to be high quality.”

Riddle smiles, “I also don’t want to do things half-heartedly, so I will gladly lend my assistance in creating the best possible Halloween that everyone in Halloween Town can readily enjoy.”

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll do what I can.” Trey comments, “Don’t wanna be the only upperclassman not contributing, after all.”

The pleasant warmth inside your chest intensifies when you hear their kind words and see their expressions that tell you they all just want to help you, simply because they care about you. “Guys…thank you. That really means a lot to me, more than words can even begin to describe.”

Catching you by surprise, Sebek suddenly pulls you into a bridal carry and starts running toward the direction that Jack and the others headed with you in tow. “You can’t repay that debt if we stick around here, so we must hurry and catch up with that skeleton! Considering your attire is not fit for running, I will graciously carry you! Be grateful, human!”

As everyone moves to follow after you and Sebek, Malleus grins, “Heh, well done, Sebek.”

Meanwhile, you chuckle, “I am very grateful. Thank you, Sebek.”

Sebek once again surprises you when he brings his mouth close to your ear and murmurs, “I’ll do everything in my power to help you repay your debt to these characters, who helped you during the period of your life when I could not. I’ll treat it as if it’s a debt I myself am harboring, because whatever is important to you is also important to me.”

His lips purposely brush against your ear. “I also wish to express my gratitude to these people who aided the one who is so dear to me and are likely partially responsible for why I am currently able to hold you in my arms like this.”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression softens as your eyes grow misty. “Oh, Sebek…”

Feeling so happy you could burst, you smile as you look into his soft, adoring gaze and warmly whisper, “Thank you. I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am right now ‘cause of you. I’m so grateful to have someone as amazing as you in my life.”

“I love you so much.” You quietly add, pouring all the love you feel into those five words - the love that you feel so compelled to convey right this very minute.

The corners of his lips curve upwards as he hugs you tighter. “I love you too.”

Upon hearing those affection-filled words that are said quietly enough that only you can hear them, you beam as you affectionately rub your cheek against his shoulder. “Oh, I wanna kiss you so bad, but I won’t since I don’t want you to get teased by the others.”

An adorable blush colors his cheeks. “J-Just save that for later when there’s no audience…”

Realizing that means he’s asking for a raincheck, you grin, “With pleasure~”

Taking full advantage of the fact that you don’t have to run to catch up with Jack’s group like the rest of your friends, thanks to Sebek carrying you, you use this moment of free time to brainstorm about potential ways you all can celebrate Halloween with the residents of Halloween Town, all the while absentmindedly fiddling with the stole Sebek is wearing.

Regrettably, coming up with these types of ideas isn't as easy for you as it would be for most people, because you don’t have a lot of experience in this area since you’ve never actually gotten the chance to properly celebrate Halloween.

Back in your world, all you did during that time of the year was participate in cage-fights where you’d have to either wear a mask or a complete costume, so that was sadly the full extent of your Halloween experience for the last ten-plus years.

Unfortunately, despite you being at NRC this last Halloween, you still were unable to celebrate the holiday, because it had occurred less than a week after Leona’s overblot.

Because of the poor state you were in following that overblot battle due to your recklessness during that fight, you had been ordered to remain in the infirmary for the next several days, so as a result, you couldn’t attend the big Halloween party that NRC hosts every year.

Now that I think about it, that’s probably another reason why I want things to go so well with the Halloween we’ll be celebrating inside this book. You muse. This will technically be my first Halloween, so I want to have as much fun with it as I can and that entails making sure the NBC characters, who were always offering me support when I was a child, have the best Halloween ever.

Naturally, you also want to ensure your friends have a great time, so you want to keep their feelings in mind as you think over what you all can do for Halloween.

I also want Skully to have fun since he loves Halloween so much. You frown. But I wonder if he’d be willing to accept a Halloween that’s not exactly like how it’s celebrated in his hometown, considering how he acted in my vision. From what I gathered, he’s the “my way or the highway” type of guy when it comes to Halloween.

Which had really surprised you, considering how congenial he has been since you first met him. You had really thought he’d be more of an open-minded kind of person.

But he is a NRC student. You wryly remind yourself. Of course, there had to be a catch somewhere with his personality since the only one-hundred-percent good boys at our school are Kalim-senpai and Silver-senpai, and I have a feeling NRC hasn’t had too many students like them since it was first founded.

That said, you don’t think it’d be impossible to reason with someone like Skully since, despite how he talked about spending Halloween in complete solitude in your vision, you know that he doesn’t truly like being alone.

On the contrary, you’re sure that, deep down, Skully wants to have friends. That’s why he’s been so friendly all this time and why he seemed so happy whenever you were considerate toward him and reached out to him.

Because nobody who looks as elated as Skully does whenever you hold his hand would ever truly want to be alone.

No matter how much he may say otherwise, Skully doesn’t want to remain in the dark, all alone, on Halloween. You think to yourself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made the effort to talk to his schoolmates about his beloved holiday. He would’ve just been content celebrating it on his own while at school.

Your expression becomes pensive. His words and actions basically contradict themselves. That makes me wonder if, maybe, spending Halloween alone is a part of his hometown’s traditions but not necessarily something he truly wants to do.

Obviously, this is all pure speculation on your part, but your instincts are telling you that you’re on the right track. At the very least, you can tell for sure that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to how Skully feels about his hometown’s Halloween traditions.

You’ll definitely need to investigate this matter since you’re just too much of a busybody to leave this be. Most importantly, you just can’t stand the idea of Skully always being alone on his favorite holiday.

Like how you always were during every holiday back in your world.

Skully is just too much like me for me to ignore. You internally sigh. Even though this will likely put a lot of extra work on my shoulders, I can’t turn a blind eye to him, especially when he’s such a good boy at his core.

Soon after you think that, you’re convinced that your decision to help Skully is the right one when your group finally catches up with Jack’s group.

“Oh, there you all are!” Jack cheerfully waves. “Skully-kun said you all might’ve gotten caught up in admiring the scenery, so we decided to chat to pass the time since we didn’t want to rush you.”

Surprise briefly dawns on your features as Sebek carefully sets you down, but that surprise quickly turns into realization when Skully pulls down his sunglasses and gives you a wink while Jack isn’t looking at him.

The corners of your lips curve upwards. I guess Skully must have assumed something came up on our end, so he took the job of keeping Jack preoccupied long enough for us to catch up.

As you mouth a silent thank you to Skully, Jade politely smiles at Jack. “We apologize for keeping you waiting. We did get a little distracted along the way, so we greatly appreciate your patience.”

“Yuu~!” Grim, who’s currently being licked by Zero, whines, “Hurry up and get this dog off me~!”

Chuckling, you pat your knees before whistling to beckon the dog over. “Here, boy!”

With an excited bark, Zero quickly flies over to you and begins licking your face, making you giggle.

“It seems Zero-sama is quite attached to both Grim-san and Yuu-san.” Skully smiles, “I’m most envious.”

“There’s nothing to be envious about!” Grim retorts as he scrubs at the areas of his face that got licked with his paws.

Meanwhile, Jack gestures toward the gate behind him. “Welcome, everyone, to Halloween Town!”

With that, Jack enters the gate and motions for everyone to follow after him, which you all do, with Azul and Idia taking the rear due to them still huffing and puffing thanks to all the earlier running they had to do.

Soon after you pass through the gate, you find yourself standing at the center of Halloween Town, and all you can do is marvel at your surroundings that look exactly as they did in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Skully loudly gasps as he takes in his surroundings. “T-this is...the Halloween Town I've only ever dreamed of…”

“This stillness. This desolateness. This majesty. Ah... how beautiful.” He clasps his hands over his heart. “It's just as I'd imagined it, the ideal town!”

Much to your amusement, in direct contrast to you and Skully who are admiring this new scenery, your friends look noticeably unsettled by their surroundings.

“Dark!” Riddle exclaims, without thinking.

“Scary!” Idia pipes up as he hides behind Trey, making you snort.

A wide-eyed Trey remarks, “Yeah! That reaction actually fits, right?!”

Looking unimpressed, Vil comments, “Yes... it's quite the tasteless square. Incredibly brutal.”

“There are all these weird tools I don't recognize strewn about…” Epel fearfully looks around. “It’s got worse vibes than the Pomefiore basement!”

While Vil gives your son a sharp look, you huff in amusement. “I don’t know why you guys are surprised. It’s called Halloween Town. Of course, it’s gonna have this kinda spooky vibe.”

“Indeed. It has an entirely frightening atmosphere, just as you’d expect from a town with such a name.” Jade chuckles, “It reminds me of how Ramshackle dorm once was. Fufu.”

“And yet someone, for reasons beyond me, still thought it’d be a good idea to gain ownership of it and turn it into a restaurant.” You dryly reply, without missing a beat, making Azul twitch and Jade grin.

Never one to pass up a chance to have fun at Azul’s expense, Leona smirks, “There sure are some foolish people in this world, aren’t there?”

Azul scowls at him, but before he can do anything else, you all get distracted when you all hear a voice that doesn’t belong to anyone from your group. “Jack, I was looking for you. Where did you go?”

“Hm?” Jack turns toward the direction the voice came from and smiles, “Ah, Sally!”

A quiet, delighted gasp escapes you when the ragdoll, Sally, from The Nightmare Before Christmas walks onto the scene. There she is! Halloween Town’s best girl!

Jack gestures toward you and the rest of your group. “I found some visitors. We just arrived.”

Sally eyes all of you curiously. “Visitors?”

“Fnagh!” Grim yelps, “Another scary thing's appeared!!”

Without hesitation, you lean down and pinch his ear, making him wince, before whispering, “She is not a thing. Do NOT be rude to her, or else, you’re gonna catch these hands.”

You give the rest of your friends a look. “That goes for all of you, although I’m not worried about Leona-senpai since he’s been drinking his respect women juice since he started bottle-feeding.”

While Leona snorts, everyone else gives you incredulous looks to which you raise an eyebrow in response. “Don’t tell me that you guys didn’t notice Leona-senpai treats me a whole lot better than he treats the rest of you. I thought that was obvious.”

“Of course, it’s obvious.” Azul huffs, “I just did not realize that was one of the reasons for why he treats you so favorably.”

“To think Leona-san was such an upstanding gentleman.” Jade smiles, “How admirable.”

“And here I thought this was all old news to everyone.” Leona smugly replies, “After all, unlike certain other dorm leaders I could name, I can say with complete confidence that girls always get treated with the utmost respect by everyone at MY dorm, without any contracts involved, I might add. Heh.”

Leave it to Leona to start throwing shade as soon as an opportunity presents itself. He really just cannot resist proving his superiority.

As the other dorm leaders’ expressions sour, Idia, who’s the only dorm leader Leona’s words don’t actually apply to, shuffles closer to you and whispers, “So that ragdoll is your oshi, right? That’s why you’re willing to pull out your whip on us if we treat her with any kind of disrespect?”

“Yep.” You nod. “She's the only one with any real common sense in the movie and is like the voice of reason.”

“Kinda like my role at NRC.” You dryly add.

While Idia rolls his eyes, you all get distracted when Skully approaches Sally and excitedly asks, “Are you possibly... Sally-sama?!”

“Yes. That's right, but…” Sally tilts her head. “You know about me?”

“But of course!” Skully beams, “Sally-sama is known for guiding Halloween Town with her wisdom, and your strong feelings for Jack-sama left an impression on many people. You're incredibly adored in my village.”

Huh, so it’s not just Jack Skellington who’s famous in his village. You blink in surprise before smiling. Good. Sally’s awesome, so she deserves all the positive attention she can get.

Meanwhile, Sally gets embarrassed by Skully’s words. “Strong feelings? No…”

Your smile grows. It’s cute seeing her try to deny her feelings, although I can’t blame her for getting embarrassed, considering Jack is right there and so many other people are around.

Considering Sally is trying to deny her feelings for Jack, this obviously means the events of the movie haven’t taken place yet, and since Jack intends to ask you and the other NRC students for help with this year’s Halloween, you think it’s safe to assume he won’t be trying to kidnap Santa Claus anytime soon.

Thank goodness. You sigh in relief. That’s one less thing I’ve got to worry about.

You’re soon pulled away from your thoughts when Sally decides to quickly change topics by drawing closer to you and the others. “So you're all Jack's visitors. Welcome to Halloween Town. It’s nice to meet you.”

Catch you by surprise, a smiling Sally offers her hand to you first to shake, and after you quickly overcome your surprise, you reach out to take hold of her hand, making sure to do so gently since the last thing you want to do is accidentally cause any of her stitches to come loose.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Sally-san.” You warmly smile as you shake her hand. “I hope we can get along.”

Her smile grows. “You're a kind person. I can tell from the way you shake hands.”

Once again, you’re caught off guard since you really weren’t expecting to hear such kind words from your favorite NBC character right after meeting her.

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest as you beam, “I can say the same about you.”

“Aw, Yuu-shi’s having a moment™ with her oshi.” Idia whispers, wearing a small grin, “She’s really living the otaku dream.”

Epel grins, “Yuu-san looks really happy.”

“Indeed.” Malleus smiles, “I’m glad she is enjoying herself, especially considering how she normally reacts to anything related to horror and the like.”

Jamil nods in agreement. “Even though she said she would be fine, I’m still impressed that nothing here has fazed her so far. She obviously has seen everything here enough times that it’s nothing new to her.”

As your friends are all quietly talking amongst themselves, you release Sally’s hand and approach Jack while Skully resumes happily talking to Sally.

Figuring you need to get the ball rolling for the sake of the story’s plot, you decide to remind Jack about you and the other NRC students all being stuck in this world with no way to get home since you have a strong feeling that Jack will agree to help in exchange for you all helping him, like what happened with Stitch.

“Thank you again for allowing us to come here, Jack-san.” You remark, “We were really at a loss when we found ourselves in this new world without anywhere to go.”

“Do you think we might be able to find any clues about how to get home if we stick around here?” You ask.

“Hmm. It’s possible.” Jack thoughtfully frowns as he crosses his arms. “Unfortunately, although I do very much want to help you get home, you’ve come at a time when we're all really busy.”

“You see, there are only three days left until Halloween.” Jack explains, making your and all of your friends' eyes widen.

Only three days?! You internally shout. Considering you intend on asking us for help, does that mean we only have three days to get ready?! Seriously?! Why did you put your Halloween preparations off this late?!

At the same time, a surprised Skully, who overhears your conversation with Jack, exclaims, “Eh?! I-It's going to be Halloween here that soon?!”

“What’s with this hard mode mission?!” Idia whisper-shouts, after looking at the other NRC students. “Does the book have it out for us or what?!”

Vil sighs, “I suppose it wouldn’t be much of a story if things were too easy for us.”

Leona clicks his tongue. “What a pain in the ass.”

While your friends are whispering amongst themselves, Jack responds to Skully’s question. “Yes! And yet we haven't figured out how to make this year's Halloween exciting.”

He frowns, “I don't just want to keep repeating the same thing every year anymore…”

I’m not surprised by that, considering that’s how he feels in the movie. You think to yourself. I’m just surprised he still hasn’t come up with an idea yet. Sounds like the Pumpkin King is in a creative slump.

As if to confirm your assumption, Jack sighs, “I've been worrying since last Halloween ended about how to make this year's Halloween extra exciting, and I still have yet to come up with an idea I’m satisfied with.”

“You've been worrying about it all year?” Grim asks, appearing surprised. “Huh, that seems hard.”

While you nod in agreement, Jack suddenly perks up. “Yes, that’s it!”

With a grin, he outstretches his arms and gestures toward you and all the other NRC students. “You all will help us celebrate Halloween this year!”

“Since you all came from somewhere outside of Halloween Town, I bet you know some interesting things that I do not.” He cheerfully continues, “I'm really curious and fascinated. I would love for you all to give us ideas on what kind of Halloween to have this year.”

“And, once Halloween is over, I will help you look for a way home.” Jack promises.

Much to your amusement and to the exasperation of your friends, rather than wait for you all to accept his proposition, a noticeably happy Jack acts like it's already a done deal. “How wonderful! This year's Halloween is sure to be amazing.”

He turns to look at Sally and grins, “I’m looking forward to it. Right, Sally?”

“R-Right.” Sally agrees before sighing, “..ah, there goes Jack and his bad habit again…”

While you chuckle, several of your friends make comments about Jack amongst themselves, expressing their not so positive opinions of him thanks to his impulsiveness rubbing them the wrong way.

Meanwhile, Skully happily rests his hands over his heart. “Spending Halloween in Halloween Town, and miraculously having it center around me...This is a dream come true. I am so glad I opened that book!”

He eagerly draws closer to Jack. “Jack-sama, it would, of course, be a joy to help you out!”

Skully then focuses his attention on you and your friends and smiles, “I’m so excited! Let's work together to make this a most wonderful Halloween!”

Immediately, all of your friends', sans Grim's, gazes fall on you, and you know without them saying anything that they’re thinking of your most recent vision, which showed that a collaboration between them and Skully won’t be nearly as exciting as he thinks it will be.

I’ll need to have a talk with Skully before that town meeting, or else, things will just turn out like they did in my vision since he’ll stubbornly try to have things go his way. You think to yourself. We all need to be on the same page here.

As those thoughts are running through your head, you return Skully's smile. “I agree. I’m looking forward to us all collaborating and spending this Halloween together. I’m sure it’s gonna be a Halloween that we won’t ever forget.”

Little did you know just how right you were.

Chapter Text

After everyone from Night Raven College agrees to help the residents of Halloween Town with their upcoming Halloween, Jack grins, “Everyone, my thanks for your help!”

“Now that that’s all settled, I'll have to introduce you to the rest of the town.” He cheerfully adds.

Just after Jack says that, the town’s mayor, another prominent character from The Nightmare Before Christmas, rushes onto the scene. “Jack! We were looking for you!”

“Hmm?” Jack blinks in surprise before smiling when he turns and notices that it was the mayor who just addressed him. “Why, if it isn't the mayor!”

The mayor releases a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, I'm so glad we found you. I wasn't sure what we would do without you.”

Much to your amusement, while the two Halloween Town residents are talking, your friends are reacting to the mayor’s unusual appearance.

Grim gapes, “Now, there's some triangle dude wearing a weird hat...!”

“Another strange person!” Sebek exclaims, looking just as shocked by the mayor's appearance as the majority of your friends.

Jamil just sighs and shakes his head. “I'm not even surprised anymore.”

Completely oblivious to your friends’ reactions to his appearance, Halloween Town’s mayor remarks, “We have to talk about Halloween, Jack! Now that the date has changed, it's only three days away! Oh, what if we can't get ready in time…?!”

Jack reaches over to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Well, you came at just the right time. Call a town meeting, and I'll tell everyone all about it.”

As his face shifts to the one he uses when he’s angry or upset, catching all of the NRC boys off guard, the two-faced mayor asks, “When?”

“Immediately!” Jack replies, instantly making you remember an exchange that was just like this in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Amused, you watch as the mayor hurries to the car he drives in the movie, so he can start driving around town and deliver the news that Jack wants everyone to come to Town Hall for a town meeting.

Because you let your friends know ahead of time that things would turn out like this when you had explained what happened in your last vision, none of them are surprised by this turn of events, aside from Grim, although it’s obvious some of them don’t understand why a town meeting involving every town resident is necessary.

Shaking his head, Leona sighs, “Holding an idiotic meeting with the whole town about ‘the best Halloween’...just what are Skellington and the mayor thinking?”

“It's nothing strange.” Sally reveals, “We have these kinds of meetings all the time in Halloween Town.”

She smiles, “So everyone in town can hear important things from Jack.”

While you smile at Sally’s cute response, Idia huffs, “Gathering for every little thing, what a terrible town. Can't Jack-shi just decide and then send whatever out as an email!?”

“Emails are definitely not a thing here.” You dryly reply as you roll your eyes.

Meanwhile, Malleus comments, “If he can simply order the townsfolk, then Skellington is indeed a ruler.”

“Jack always has the best ideas.” Sally remarks as her smile grows. “He's... fufu. He's really so wonderful.”

Awww. You internally coo. She’s so cute when she’s talking so happily about Jack.

Regrettably, both your and Sally’s smiles don’t last for long thanks to the next Halloween Town resident who arrives on the scene. “Sally! So this is where you've been!”

Panic immediately dawns on Sally’s features. “Ah! That voice…!”

All eyes quickly fall on Dr. Finkelstein, the scientist from The Nightmare Before Christmas who created Sally.

The doctor doesn’t look too pleased. You note as you watch Dr. Finkelstein approach Sally. I bet Sally slipped him some deadly nightshade, so she could sneak out like she does in the movie.

Your suspicions are confirmed when Dr. Finkelstein scowls, “You slipped out again... I've been looking for you.”

Sally nervously takes a step backwards. “D-Doctor...!”

Just as he did at the beginning of the movie, following the performance of “This is Halloween”, the doctor grabs one of Sally’s hands before he starts moving his motorized wheelchair in the direction he just came from. “You're not ready for so much excitement. You're coming with me!”

She tries to pull her arm free. “No! Let me go!”

Unable to just sit by and watch, you quickly move and position yourself directly in Dr. Finkelstein’s path, forcing him to come to a stop. “Please wait! Jack-san is calling for an emergency town meeting to discuss what to do for Halloween, and he wants everyone to be there, both you and Sally-san included!”

Deciding to use the doctor’s ego to your advantage, you add, “Considering you seem like a very intelligent fellow, I’m sure your assistance will be indispensable to this year’s Halloween, so for Jack-san’s sake, please stick around.”

Thankfully, just as you had expected, Dr. Finkelstein, who originally appeared annoyed by your interference, immediately cheers up when you praise his intellect. “Heh, you’ve got good eyes. Just as you guessed, I'm the most knowledgeable person in town, and there are indeed times when Jack will ask for my help when he's troubled.”

A frown quickly replaces his previous grin. “However, while I am not opposed to attending the town meeting myself, I don’t think Sally should. Too much excitement isn’t good for her. She’d be better off at home.”

“That’s not true!” Sally immediately denies as she continues to try to pull herself free from his grip. “I can handle a town meeting just fine!”

After sparing a glance at Epel and Sebek, who both look as if they want to get involved and help out Sally like what you’re obviously trying to do, to let them know they should leave this matter to you, you return your attention to the doctor.

“I agree that Sally-san’s well-being is very important, so it’s very kind of you to look after her like this.” You remark, “However, considering she appears to be in good health now, perhaps she could handle this one particular town meeting?”

Before Dr. Finkelstein can refute your words, you continue, “After all, this is a very important town meeting. The success of this year’s Halloween is dependent on it, so I think everyone who is able to attend the meeting should, especially since I’m sure Jack-san is going to need everyone in town’s help in order to get everything ready in time, considering there are only three days left until Halloween.”

Upon hearing your completely rational reason for wanting Sally to attend the town meeting, the doctor pauses to consider your words. During this time, he briefly unhinges the top of his skull, so he can scratch his brain, just as he occasionally did in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Much to your amusement, upon seeing this, the majority of your friends start gaping, and they all immediately take a few steps away from Dr. Finkelstein.

“Hmm…” Dr. Finkelstein purses his lips. “I suppose you do make a good point…”

“She does!” Sally eagerly agrees, “Everyone has to work together for Halloween, Doctor! Jack will be counting on all of us! We can’t let him down!”

As expected, Dr. Finkelstein does not like the idea of potentially letting Jack down since every resident of Halloween Town holds the Pumpkin King in such high regard.

Speaking of the Pumpkin King…

“Oh, hello there, Dr. Finkelstein!” Jack, who had been previously talking to other Halloween Town residents who had started showing up and heading for the town hall building, cheerfully waves as he approaches your current location. “I’m so glad you could come to today’s town meeting!”

He gives the doctor a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I know what a busy man you are, so I really appreciate you taking the time to come. I just know you’ll be a big help to us for this year’s Halloween!”

“And, of course, I know you’ll be a big help too, Sally!” Jack adds, obviously not wanting to leave the ragdoll out. “With all of us working together, this will be our best Halloween yet!”

Yes! Perfect timing, Jack Skellington! You internally cheer as you watch the remaining resistance in Dr. Finkelstein’s face immediately vanish in response to Jack’s words. You’re the man!

As you’re thinking that, Sally dreamily smiles, appearing as if she’s on cloud nine. “Oh, Jack…”

Meanwhile, Dr. Finkelstein proudly straightens his posture and puffs out his chest. “Of course, my boy! I’ll do whatever I can to make sure this year’s Halloween is a rousing success like all the others!”

He then promptly redirects his wheelchair and starts heading for Town Hall, all the while still holding onto Sally’s hand. “Alright, come along, Sally. Since it’s for Jack, we’ll both attend the meeting, but I intend to keep a close eye on you the whole time, so you don’t overdo it.”

Although she doesn’t appear too thrilled about the doctor’s close monitoring, Sally makes no complaint and obediently follows after him since she’s obviously just grateful that she can attend the town meeting like everyone else. “Yes, Doctor.”

Much to your surprise, as she’s leaving, Sally turns to look at you and warmly smiles, “Thank you! I look forward to hearing your ideas at the meeting!”

Happy that you could be of assistance to your favorite NBC character, you beam, “You’re welcome!”

Just after those words leave your mouth, you remember that you still haven’t decided what you should suggest that the Halloween Town residents do for this year’s Halloween.

Not only that, you still haven’t talked to Skully, who, while you weren’t looking, somehow acquired some kind of parchment and a quill and has been eagerly writing on it for the last several minutes, no doubt filling it with all of the ideas he proposed in your vision.

Since your friends know that you would prefer them to leave handling Skully to you, because there's a chance they could end up butting heads with him like what happened in your last vision, none of them have said anything to him, which means you need to hurry if you want to get this matter resolved before the town meeting starts.

As you begin to approach Skully’s current position, you cross your fingers. Here’s to hoping for the best.

While Jack returns to greeting all of the Halloween Town residents, who start pouring into Town Hall whilst your friends stare at their surreal appearances with wide eyes, and getting ready for the upcoming town meeting, you come to a stop in front of Skully, who has been hard at work, making a project plan for this year’s Halloween.

Upon seeing just how excited Skully is and how much he has already written down in such a short amount of time, you can’t help but feel bad since you’re about to burst his bubble, although you have every intention to mitigate the damage as much as possible since you really want to avoid him going through what he did in your most recent vision.

Unfortunately, your upcoming conversation with Skully can’t be avoided, not if you want to ensure you give Halloween Town a Halloween that’s satisfying enough to ensure you all will fulfill the book’s happy ending requirement, so you can all return to Twisted Wonderland.

That’s why, after giving yourself a quick, internal pep-talk, you gently take hold of Skully’s elbow to gain his attention since his hands are currently occupied. “Skully, can we talk for a minute? I’m sorry for interrupting your fun, but I really need to talk to you about the plans for Halloween before the town meeting.”

Thankfully, Skully picks up on the urgency in your tone and gives you his undivided attention. “But, of course, Yuu-san. I will gladly listen to your lovely voice and give you my undivided attention for as long as you wish. I am your willingly captive audience.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards in response to his unique way of speaking that’s just so Skully that you can’t help but smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Quickly, you guide Skully over to a spot that’s out of the way, near an empty alley, since you don’t want to risk any of the locals overhearing this conversation.

Along the way, you exchange looks with Jamil and gesture over at Grim in hopes that he’ll take care of explaining what happened earlier at the cemetery while your partner was getting chased by Zero since you can see Grim giving you a confused look, obviously because he has no idea why you need to take Skully somewhere more private.

Thankfully, Jamil gives you a nod before he approaches Grim, so you know you can count on him to handle things on that end.

Once you’ve found a good spot to talk and have made sure the coast is clear, you say, “Okay, first off, I have a secret I need to share. It’s related to the fact that I’m from another world.”

“In my world, magic doesn’t exist, but superpowers called Quirks do." You continue, "They’re essentially what Unique Magic is to mages since everyone who has a Quirk has one special ability, such as being able to make themselves grow until they’re as large as a building or grow extra appendages. The possibilities for what Quirks can do are truly endless.”

Skully excitedly gasps as he cups his cheeks. “Oh my! What a fantastical world! Truly amazing!”

Since you don’t want to risk getting off track, you just give him a smile upon hearing his reaction to your revelation about Quirks before explaining, “The reason I’m bringing this up now is ‘cause I wanted to tell you about my Quirk, Prophecy, which allows me to see into the future via visions that I have at random.”

As the taller boy stares at you with astonishment that’s obvious despite his shaded glasses, you remark, “The reason we all took so long in meeting up with you and Jack-san earlier was ‘cause I had a vision - a vision about the upcoming town meeting to be exact.”

A worried frown appears on his face. “Oh dear. Should I take this to mean the meeting will not go well, considering how long you all spent discussing it and your earlier urgent tone?”

You grimace, “Well, it wasn’t exactly the worst possible outcome if that’s what you’re thinking, but it wasn’t really an ideal turn of events either.”

Before Skully can try to question you further, you quickly push his glasses onto the top of his head, surprising him, so you can firmly look into his eyes for the remaining duration of this discussion. “Skully, what I’m about to tell you may end up upsetting you, but I want you to keep calm and just hear me out, alright?”

“And I want you to know that your thoughts and feelings about Halloween are completely valid.” You add, “I never want you to believe that I or anyone else here thinks you’re wrong for how you feel.”

For a moment, Skully just stares at you with wide eyes, and then, a myriad of emotions flit across his face too fast for you to catch.

After a long pause, Skully slowly nods, all the while looking like he’s expecting to hear the worst possible news, probably because of how his thoughts on Halloween were received back at school.

That’s why you take hold of his hands and give them a squeeze. “I’m not going to criticize you, Skully. Please believe me on this. I’m only having this conversation with you, because I think it’s necessary for the sake of getting out of this book and because Jack-san needs more than just an idea for how to celebrate this year’s Halloween, if we’re gonna help him out of the predicament he’s in, which is a little more complicated than you think.”

Just as you had hoped, upon mentioning that his idol is in trouble, Skully’s gloomy expression quickly becomes alarmed. “What?! Are you implying Jack-sama is suffering in other ways that I have negligently not noticed?!”

You give his hands a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, Jack-san will be just fine as long as we all work together and get on the same page, so just take a deep breath, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

Thankfully, Skully follows your request and takes several deep breaths. Once he has settled down, you say, “Regarding Jack-san’s situation, by the looks of it, he appears to be in a creative slump, so if we don’t get him out of it, then it’s likely he’ll have trouble with future Halloweens, which is why we can’t just focus on the idea of making this particular Halloween the best one ever. We gotta ensure this is a Halloween that will positively affect all future Halloweens, so Halloween Town won’t find themselves in a predicament like this again.”

“Even though this story will likely end after this one particular Halloween, I still think helping Jack-san get out of his creative slump is important ‘cause that was also part of the plot of the movie from my world, making me think that to complete this story we need to help him overcome his creative slump.” You add.

“What exactly is a creative slump?” Skully curiously asks, obviously unfamiliar with the phrase.

“A creative slump is a period of a person’s life when they feel uninspired, have doubts, and struggle with what they normally create without issue on a daily basis.” You explain, “For example, sometimes artists find themselves unable to draw or paint something they’re satisfied with, and writers sometimes get writer’s block and can’t write, no matter how hard they try.”

“The reason I think it’s very likely that this is what Jack-san is currently going through is ‘cause he literally spent almost an entire year thinking about Halloween and never came up with any ideas that he was satisfied with.” You add.

Skully stares at you with noticeable horror. “Jack-sama has a condition that’s that serious?! That’s horrible, absolutely dreadful! Whatever shall we do?!”

Once again, you give his hands a strong squeeze to calm him down. “Don’t worry, creative slumps are always temporary, and while Jack-san’s has definitely lasted longer than a normal human’s creative slump would’ve, I’m sure we can help him overcome it if we give him a Halloween that really inspires him and gets the creative cogs in his head turning.”

“That’s essentially what Jack-san is trying to do by asking us for help.” You continue, “He wants to see something new, because a lot of times new experiences are what help people get out of their creative slumps since those experiences get them thinking in ways they’ve never tried before.”

As Skully’s posture begins to relax upon hearing that his idol’s situation isn’t as severe as he had originally feared, you hold his gaze. “This is the reason why I don’t think the quiet, simple, and economical Halloween you normally celebrate will work here since the chances are high that Jack-san has celebrated Halloween like that in the past, considering how long he’s been around celebrating Halloween.”

“Meaning it won’t help him overcome his creative slump…” Skully sadly says, wearing a sorrowful frown.

Your expression softens. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t incorporate elements of the Halloween you celebrate in your time period, Skully, because I personally thought you did a great job on the instilling fright part of Halloween when you were talking about your ideal Halloween in my vision. You definitely know what you're doing when it comes to being scary, and I think that skill will be very useful to us. I just need you to also be open to trying new, unfamiliar things.”

“You see, that was the problem with the meeting I saw in my vision.” You reveal, “You and all the other NRC boys were all being stubbornly close-minded 'cause you and my friends all have the types of Halloweens you grew up with, which each party thinks is the superior version because those are the kinds of Halloweens you all are the most familiar with.”

“But that line of thinking is wrong.” You continue, “Because Halloween isn’t something that can be contained in a metaphorical box. It can’t be limited by rules that dictate what is and isn’t right for it.”

A grin rises to your lips. “Because Halloween is so much bigger than that. It’s a powerful force that can’t be contained, just like our imaginations, ‘cause this is the time of year when people let their imaginations run wild and do the kind of crazy, extraordinary things that you can only get away with under a mystical full moon.”

As Skully stares at you with wide, awed eyes, you say, “I’m not asking you to change how you view Halloween or to disregard the traditions you so highly regard, Skully. All I ask is that you be willing to give a new version of Halloween a try this one time for Jack-san’s sake since we’ll all be able to accomplish a lot more if we work together rather than butt heads.”

Your grin softens as you squeeze his hands. “That said, I do hope that you’ll make yourself open to the idea of enjoying a new version of Halloween, not for the sake of replacing the old Halloween you know and love but for the sake of just coming to appreciate a new aspect of your beloved holiday since I think that will help you come to love it even more.”

For several seconds, Skully just continues to stare at you with wide eyes, all the while wearing an expression you can’t read, and then, he finally pulls himself out of his stunned stupor.

Faster than you can blink, Skully has his arms tightly wrapped around you and begins twirling you around, catching you off guard. “Oh, Yuu-san! You indeed are just as lovely a person as I’ve always thought you were! To think, you harbor such a profound love for Halloween, just like me! We truly are kindred spirits destined to meet!”

“The passion in your voice just now was absolutely captivating!” He gushes, “With every love-filled word I heard, the more I, in turn, fell in love! Ah~! How should I express the joy I am feeling?! I could just kiss you right now!”

“Don’t even think about it!”

In a flash, an irritated Sebek pulls Skully away from you after grabbing him by the collar. At the same time, a scowling Leona grabs hold of you and sets you down beside Jamil, who, once again, has his wet wipes out.

As you insist that the wet wipes are unnecessary since it’s not like you got kissed this time, the rest of your friends all congregate around you and Skully, with the majority of them appearing exasperated with Skully.

Jade, of course, just looks thoroughly amused by this turn of events. “It would seem Yuu-san and Skully-kun are becoming even closer friends. Fufu.”

“Yes, this is rather worrying.” Malleus frowns, “Sebek will need to be more careful henceforth to ensure his love rival doesn’t gain any more of an advantage.”

After giving the fae an exasperated look, Vil directs his attention to you. “So? Should we take the enthusiastic reaction Skully had just now to mean he’s in favor of celebrating a Halloween that’s contrary to his usual, traditional Halloween?”

Before you can answer that question, Skully, who is miraculously unfazed by Sebek’s rough manhandling and glaring, pipes up. “While I am greatly saddened by the idea of not celebrating the traditional kind of Halloween I know and love, I am willing to try a different avenue if that is what it will take to help Jack-sama overcome his dreadful creative slump since helping him and all future Halloweens to come is my highest priority.”

A warm smile rises to his chapped lips. “Also, I believe this is the best way for me to express my appreciation toward Yuu-san, who, this whole time, has been so considerate of my feelings.”

“That’s why I will go along with whatever she feels is best, because I know her consideration and her love of Halloween is real.” He adds, “That passionate love will surely lead to us finding the happy ending that we’re all so desperately seeking.”

All you can do is stare at him with surprise for a moment before your face softens and a smile forms on your lips. “Skully…thank you. I really appreciate your willingness to cooperate and you putting your trust in me. I promise I won’t make you regret your decision.”

“I could never regret any decision that causes you to smile so beautifully!” Skully cheerfully replies, making you coo at his cuteness.

“That’s enough of that!” Grim scowls, “Nobody can flirt with my henchman without my permission! Ya got that?!”

At the same time, Sebek glowers at Skully. “Grr! This insolent human truly never fails to irritate!”

Epel quickly tries to placate them. “Calm down, you two. If you mess with Skully-kun too much, you’re just going to make Yuu-san mad.”

Just as you open your mouth to agree with Epel’s words, you find yourself abruptly freezing in place due to suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on you.

A chill runs down your spine once the feeling of eyes boring into you registers, because the kind of stare that’s focused on you is a hungry one, not unlike all the piercing stares you were forced to endure back in Japan’s underworld.

Covertly, you look in the direction of the nearby alley since that’s where the hungry gaze that’s transfixed on you is coming from, even though, the whole time you, who had been keeping a close eye on your surroundings, were talking to Skully, you never once noticed the approach of anyone.

That’s why you’re not surprised when you see that the dark alley is completely empty, although you are confused. What’s going on? I know I never sensed anyone enter the alley, but the hungry gaze that’s on me is definitely coming from that alley. Does this town have an invisible resident who just doesn’t get mentioned in the movie, or is this a completely new character that only appears in this story?

Seconds after those thoughts cross your mind, Leona purposely inserts himself in between you and the alley, successfully hiding you from the hungry eyes that had previously been boring holes into you.

At the same time, Jamil, who’s still right beside you, takes a firm hold of your elbow, as if feeling the necessity to get a hold on you, just in case.

“What is it?” Jamil murmurs, just loud enough for you and Leona to hear.

“No idea.” You nervously whisper, “I felt a hungry gaze on me just now that came from the alley, but I don't see anyone.”

While Jamil’s grip on you tightens, Leona quietly growls, “I don’t smell or hear anything that’s out of the ordinary, but something feels off about that alley, like you’ll get swallowed if you go too far into the shadows.”

His words make you shiver. “Well, I will definitely NOT be doing that.”

Jamil gently urges you to move away from the alley. “Let’s just put some distance between you and the alley. If Leona-senpai says it’s dangerous, we should do our best to avoid it.”

“Is this normal for this place?” Leona asks as he continues to use his body as a barrier, so whatever’s in the alley can’t look at you as you're walking away.

You shake your head. “No, while there are plenty of scary-looking people here who love to scare for fun, all of the town residents are nice people. None of them would ever look at me in the same way those eyes from earlier did.”

“And there wasn’t anyone in the movie who was like whatever is in that alley.” You add, “Nobody can completely erase their presence or manipulate darkness or anything like that, as far as I’m aware anyway.”

“Perhaps it’s something that only appears in this particular story?” Jamil suggests, all the while wearing a deep frown.

“It’s possible.” You shrug. “After all, anything can happen in a world of fiction, especially if this book wants to throw plenty of obstacles our way to keep things exciting for the story.”

Leona clicks his tongue. “Tch. What a pain in the ass. You better avoid entering any alleys on your own from here on out, Herbivore. Don’t give this damn book any openings to exploit.”

All you can do is wearily sigh. “I’ll do my best.”

Little did you know that your best sadly wouldn’t be enough.

After putting some distance between you and the alley, you discover that Leona and Jamil were the only guys who took notice of what happened by the alley since everyone else had been distracted by Sebek and Grim, who had gone after Skully, because your jealous sons obviously don’t like having a rival for your attention. This is probably for the best since, while the others will need to be told about what just happened eventually, you'd rather save that for later and keep everyone focused on preparing for Halloween.

Fortunately for Skully, Epel, along with Trey and Riddle, was able to keep your irate sons under control, so Skully was saved from facing the full brunt of Sebek's and Grim’s anger and jealousy.

Amazingly enough, Skully doesn’t appear to mind Sebek’s and Grim’s rough treatment of him. Instead, he just continuously praises their devotion to you, which just further irritates them, much to your amusement.

“Alright, enough.” Leona calls out to the boisterous first years after you, he, and Jamil are a safe distance away from the alley and closer to where everyone else had ended up after your jealous sons had started going after Skully. “Don’t forget we’ve got that stupid meeting coming up, and considering how many people have already shown up, it’s only a matter of time before Skellington calls for us.”

“Ah, yes, Leona-san is right.” Azul nods. “We should discuss what will be said during the meeting to ensure we’re all on the same page right from the start.”

“Considering we don’t have much time left, I sure hope Yuu-san has a plan.” Jade wryly smiles, “After all, it would be rather embarrassing if we had nothing to present despite us knowing in advance what to expect thanks to her vision, now wouldn’t it?”

While Jamil and Riddle give the eel-mer some exasperated looks, you huff, “I get it. I’m the one who said I’d come up with a plan, so I can’t drop the ball now, especially now that we’re all willing to cooperate.”

“For the record, it’s not like I don’t have any ideas.” You dryly inform, “It’s just hard for me to decide what would be enough to help Jack-san get out of his creative slump since I think that’s the key to getting the happy ending we want.”

You scratch your head. “Even though the kinda Halloween that’s normally celebrated in Twisted Wonderland, which entails colorful decorations, lively music, and lots of candy, would technically be new to Jack, I don’t know if it’d have the kind of strong impact that would give him the inspiration he needs since it really wouldn’t be THAT different overall from how Halloween is celebrated here ‘cause they have decorations, music, and candy here. It’s just not as colorful and animated as what we’re used to.”

“I really wanna give Jack-san something that strays from what he normally does.” You continue, “I wanna go outside the Halloween box.”

“In that case, is there any kind of Halloween tradition from your world that would meet that requirement?” Malleus inquires, “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard how Halloween is celebrated in your world.”

Skully brightly smiles, “Oh, how exciting! I would love to hear about how Halloween is celebrated in Yuu-san’s world!”

As expected, Jade also takes a shine to the idea of learning more about your world. “I feel the same way. I would be more than delighted to experience a Halloween from another world.”

“At this point, I’m willing to go along with any idea, just as long as we can keep progressing through this story.” Idia sighs, “I just wanna get outta here…”

Trey chuckles, “I’m fine with anything since I did agree to follow Yuu’s lead earlier, and I think it’s a good idea to take inspiration from the traditions of her world since they’re what she’s most familiar with.”

“I’m sorry to burst everyone’s bubble, but for the most part, in my world, Halloween is celebrated the same way it's celebrated in modern day Twisted Wonderland.” You reveal, “While not all countries in my world celebrate it the same way, wearing costumes and enjoying lots of candy is done in most places.”

“But…” You thoughtfully rub your chin. “That said, I feel like you guys are onto something since I’m suddenly getting the feeling that I’m forgetting something that could be useful here.”

That’s why you take a moment to ruminate about the Halloween traditions from your world. Eventually, you find yourself focusing on Japanese Halloween traditions in particular, because you’re obviously the most familiar with how things are done in the country where you were born and raised, although everything you know is from research you’ve done on the holiday and what you’ve seen on TV rather than from personal experiences.

After spending several minutes lost in thought, it finally hits you - an idea that involves something done in Japan that’s not technically connected to Halloween but is still something that can absolutely be used under these current circumstances.

A broad grin rises to your lips. “I got it! I know exactly what we need to do!”

When everyone’s intrigued and curious gazes focus on you, you continue, “We’re gonna turn the tables on the Pumpkin King. This Halloween, it won’t be him who does all the scaring.”

Your grin grows. “This year, it’s HIS turn to get scared.”

Just as you had hoped, when you throw down the challenge of trying to scare the King of Halloween - a feat that obviously wouldn’t be feasible for most people, your friends all get a certain, competitive gleam in their eyes that you know means they’re up for the challenge.

Because NRC students never run away from a challenge; their pride won’t allow it.

Skully’s face is the only one you can’t completely read, because he’s back to wearing his shaded glasses. However, he thankfully doesn’t appear to outright dislike your idea.

“Scare Jack-sama…?” Skully murmurs, his astonishment obvious in his voice. “Is such an incredible feat even possible?”

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?" You ask, "After all, this is the only time you’ll ever get such a chance.”

“And it’ll also be a good way to show him just how passionate you are about Halloween since scaring is such a big part of Halloween to him.” You add, “If you wanna show him what you’re made of, this is the way to do it.”

Upon hearing that, Skully briefly grows quiet before he determinedly clenches his fists. “You’re right! If I want Jack-sama to see how much I love Halloween and how much I appreciate everything he’s done to create this wondrous day, then this is the only way to do it! It’s what he would want!”

“So?” Leona props his arm on top of your hat-covered head, so he can use you as an armrest, earning himself some exasperated looks from some of your other upperclassmen. “What exactly did you have in mind, so we can give that annoying skeleton a good scare?”

With a grin, you motion for everyone to gather closer together before you start quietly going over the details of the plan you just concocted.

By the time you finish going over your plan, pretty much everyone is sporting a grin like your own, proving that all of the guys are on board with this idea, just as you had hoped would happen.

Your grin grows in response to their positive reactions. This Halloween is gonna be awesome.

You’re sure of it.

After you and the other NRC students finish discussing your big plan for Halloween and going over all the details, Jack has you all come into Town Hall, which is now packed with Halloween Town residents, and brings your group onto the stage, obviously intending for you all to directly address everyone in the audience.

Naturally, you’re not too thrilled about this arrangement since you hate being stared at and being the center of attention, but you’ll just have to deal with it this one time since there’s really nothing that can be done about this arrangement.

On the bright side, Leona and Jamil stick close to you and somewhat partially hide you from view. Whether it’s because of your aversion to being the center of attention or because they’re still slightly on edge thanks to that incident at the alley, you’re not sure, but regardless, you’re very grateful for their protective actions.

Meanwhile, Jack, who’s standing behind the sole podium on the stage, addresses the audience and gets them all to quiet down. “Listen, everyone!”

Much to your amusement, he proceeds to reel off what he says in The Nightmare Before Christmas during the scene when he presents his Christmas findings to the town. “Things so peculiar, they were not to be believed! Things to tantalize my brain.”

Jack grins, “From a world unlike any you have ever seen, we have some visitors.”

“A world unlike any we've ever seen?” One of the vampires in the crowd curiously parrots.

“Yes.” Jack nods. “One called... Twisted Wonderland!”

“Twisted Wonderland? What's that?” The clown with a tear-away face asks.

One of the local witches exclaims, “Surely everything that lives there has a bent and crooked body!”

“They might just have squished faces.” The man, who looks like he’s melting, remarks.

“No, they might be really evil at heart.” One of the monsters, who has three black and red fronds on his head, grins, “I'm thrilled!”

As you’re quietly chuckling over hearing the Halloween Town residents get so excited after hearing about Twisted Wonderland, Idia gapes, “These ridiculous misunderstandings about our world just keep spreading...!”

“Really? I don't know that I'd exactly say they're wrong.” Leona replies, making you snort.

Meanwhile, Jack gestures toward everyone from NRC. “Let me introduce them. These are the folks from Twisted Wonderland!”

In a flash, a bright spotlight starts beaming down on the area of the stage where you and the other NRC students are standing, instantly blinding your group and making you all groan.

“Ugh!” Jamil grimaces. “Bright...!”

As several of your other friends also complain about the spotlight, a kid who looks like a corpse asks, “Those are the things from Twisted Wonderland?”

All at once, all eyes fixate on everyone from Twisted Wonderland, and for once, you’re not the only who freezes upon having several people staring at you.

“T-they're like... really staring at us!!” Grim exclaims, appearing unnerved like the majority of you, before quickly moving to hide behind you. “They've all got bad vibes, so it's kinda scary…”

While you reach down to comfortingly stroke your partner’s head, Jade nods. “Indeed. We've come from another world, but will we be able to meet Halloween Town's expectations?”

At the same time, Skully gracefully bows toward the audience. “It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Skully J. Graves…”

Much to your exasperation, before Skully can say anything else, Sebek rudely interrupts him. “Skeleton! Other monsters!”

Once he has everyone’s attention, your boisterous son continues, “As said, we are from Twisted Wonderland. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Now... those far should listen, and those close should witness.” Sebek reverently gestures toward Malleus. “This one here is Malleus Draconia-sama!”

“Normally, such lowly people would have to beg for an audience before his venerable self.” He informs, “You should be crying and kneeling and worshiping your good luck at being allowed such a presentation!”

The monster, who has three black and red fronds on his head, gleefully laughs, “Look, just like I said. He's making an evil face! Heeheehee!”

As several other people in the audience cheer and laugh, Epel sighs, “What... is what I want to say, but…”

Riddle shakes his head. “Such rude behavior is about what I expected.”

Jade chuckles, “Sebek-kun, at least, has lived up to the expectations.”

Skully smiles, “Sebek-san is such an enthusiastic one, isn't he? I can't help but feel an affinity with that.”

You, who didn’t see this happen in your vision because it didn’t cover the introductions portion of this meeting, face-palm. “Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t see this coming, considering how Sebek is. I really need to work on his bad manners.”

Appearing pleased over how positively his friends have reacted to the members of your group, Jack addresses the audience. “These people are surely going to teach us about a Halloween the likes of which we've never seen. So to make this year's Halloween more exciting, let's listen to their ideas!”

Jack turns to look at you and the others on stage. “So, Twisted Wonderland folks, let's hear it. What kind of Halloween do you think would be the ‘best Halloween’?”

Taking that as your cue since it makes the most sense for you to present the idea that you came up with, you take a quick, deep breath to settle your nerves before moving toward the front of the stage.

Much to your surprise, Grim follows suit and comes to stand right beside you. “Y’all better listen closely to my henchman! She did a lot of thinkin’ when she was tryin’ to figure out how to help y’all, so y’all better appreciate her!”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression softens as you warmly smile, “Thank you, Grim.”

After giving him a quick pat on his head, you, who’s feeling better thanks to your partner’s support, turn to look at Jack. “Before I share my idea, I wanted to ask you a quick question, Jack-san, if you don’t mind.”

He blinks in surprise before smiling, “Sure! Ask away!”

“I’ve been wondering this ever since you mentioned how you spent the last year thinking about what to do for this year’s Halloween.” You remark, “Are you currently in a creative slump?”

Much to your amusement, Jack, along with everyone in the audience, curiously parrots, “‘Creative slump’?”

Realizing the NBC characters are in the same boat as Skully, you proceed to provide the same explanation you gave Skully earlier, so they’ll all understand what you’re talking about.

Once you do that, Jack slams his hands against the podium. “So that’s what it’s called! Yes, that’s exactly what I’m in! A creative slump!”

In direct contrast to Jack, who appears relieved to finally have a name for what he’s been dealing with for the last year, all of the other Halloween Town residents are horrified.

“Oh no, poor Jack!”

“What are we gonna do?!”

“Is there a cure?!”

“Please save our Jack, Bent Girl!”

“Otherwise, Halloween is doomed!”

That last exclamation comes from the mayor who releases a loud wail from his position behind the spotlight before almost falling off the elevated area where the spotlight is located, like what happened in the movie.

Thankfully, the mayor gets saved by an exasperated Leona who covertly uses his magic to return the distraught elected official to his previous spot behind the spotlight.

After sparing Leona a grateful look, you hold up your hands in a placating manner. “Everyone, please calm down. A creative slump isn’t anything like an incurable disease. It can easily be overcome if Jack-san gets hit with the inspiration he’s been lacking.”

“That’s why Jack-san is looking for something new for Halloween.” You explain, “Even though he didn’t actually know he was in a creative slump, he unconsciously knew he needed to experience new things to give himself the spark of inspiration he was looking for that was needed to get the metaphorical cogs in his brain turning.”

“This is typically what people dealing with creative slumps do.” You add, “They seek out new things to give them a fresh new perspective on whatever they’re working on, and that, in turn, helps them come up with new ideas.”

Jack excitedly claps his hands. “Yes, yes! That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do! I’m so glad you understand, Yuu-kun!”

Much to your amusement, almost everyone in the audience follows his lead and starts clapping and praising you for being capable of understanding someone as amazing as their king.

“These guys are really easy to impress.” Epel mutters, eliciting nods from several of your other friends.

Vil sighs, “I suppose this works to our favor since Yuu has made a very positive first impression as a result.”

Jamil nods. “As long as she maintains this momentum, there shouldn’t be any issue with getting everyone here to go along with her plan for Halloween.”

Smiling, Skully rests his hands over his heart. “I am sure that everything will work out just fine once everyone sees Yuu-san’s passion for Halloween firsthand. It’s that beautiful love that will unite us.”

You hope that he’s right since, if the residents of Halloween Town don’t like your plan, it’ll be back to the drawing board for you.

Internally crossing your fingers, you begin sharing your idea for this year’s Halloween. “In order to give Jack-san that something new he’s looking for so he can get some much needed inspiration, I propose that, for this year’s Halloween, we do a Halloween that’s unlike anything you all have ever done before.”

As Jack and everyone else from his town eagerly lean forward, you grin, “I propose that we do a test of courage!”

“‘A test of courage’?” Everyone from Halloween Town curiously parrots.

Before anyone can start throwing questions your way, you elaborate, “Let me explain. A test of courage is essentially an event that entails people walking through a particular assigned area, like say from one end of a cemetery to the other, and during this walk, they’re faced with all sorts of scary and horrible encounters that they must overcome in order to reach the end goal, which is usually where an item, like a lantern, is held and must be retrieved in order to prove that you passed the test.”

“That’s why it’s a test of courage, because only the bravest of souls can complete the challenge.” You add.

As Jack and several people in the audience ooh and aah, your grin grows. “But this test of courage will be like none that anyone has ever seen! That’s because the main goal here won’t be to just frighten any normal person who loves a good scare. No, the goal will be much grander than that.”

With great flourish, you gesture toward a surprised Jack. “The goal will be to scare none other than the Pumpkin King and Master of Fright himself!”

“EH?!” Everyone in the audience exclaims.

Jack blinks in surprise before grinning, “Now, that IS new! How exciting! Normally, I’m the one doing the majority of the scaring!”

“Exactly!” You point at him. “That’s why this is the perfect way to flip the script and give you the inspiration you need.”

Your gaze returns to the audience, who look as if they don’t know how they should feel about your idea. “I understand scaring someone of Jack-san’s caliber is quite the daunting task, but I know if anyone can do it it’s the residents of Halloween Town who know their king the best.”

Since you can still sense some uncertainty from the crowd, you say, “I know that you all respect and admire Jack-san very much. Even though I haven’t been here for very long, the fact that your king is well-loved is obvious to me just from spending a short amount of time in this town.”

“And because you all love Jack-san so much, I want to ask for your help in giving him the inspiration he needs.” You continue, “I want you all to show your king what all you’re capable of and let him see everything that you’ve learned from watching him over the years. Give him the kind of fright he’s never experienced before.”

“After all, what better way can you show your appreciation for your king than by giving him the biggest fright of his life?” You ask, wearing a broad grin.

Much to your immense relief, within seconds after you say that, everyone in the audience is out of their seats, wildly clapping and cheering.

“Let’s do it!”

“Yeah! Let’s help Jack!”

“You can count on me, Jack!”

“I’ll give you the scariest Halloween you’ve ever seen!”

“I’ll use everything you’ve taught me!”

“I won’t let you down, Jack!”

One by one, all of the townsfolk declare their desire to help Jack and their willingness to go along with your plan. When he sees their reactions, Jack brightly smiles, “Thank you, everyone! I just know this Halloween will be our best one yet!”

Upon seeing all of the smiles on the Halloween Town residents’ faces as well as all the pleased expressions on the NRC boys’ faces, a matching smile rises to your lips. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Once everyone in the audience settles down, you proceed to go into detail about your idea for this year’s Halloween, starting first with providing a more in-depth description of what's typically done in a test of courage.

After doing that, you tell everyone that you think there should be two separate tests of courage, because there are so many residents in Halloween Town. That way, there won’t be any worry of overcrowding a certain area.

“I also think it will be more fun if we have two teams who are competing against each other to have the scariest test of courage.” You remark, “After all, nothing gets people more fired up than a little healthy competition.”

“And, if we have two tests of courage, that means everyone in town will get the chance to get scared since, while the main goal is to scare Jack-san, it’d be more fun if everyone is also able to experience going through a test of courage.” You add.

Jack eagerly nods. “Yes! Everyone should get a chance to scare and be scared! It’ll be much more fun that way!”

As everyone in the audience cheers in agreement, Jack smiles, “And I do like the competition idea. It’ll ensure that everyone gets an equal opportunity to shine during Halloween and make things even more exciting!”

Upon hearing this, Skully starts gushing about how kind and generous his idol is, earning himself an annoyed look from Sebek.

This irony will never cease to amuse you.

Nodding along with Jack’s words, you reply, “Obviously, you’ll be the one to decide which test of courage was the scariest of all, if one, in fact, does better than the other, and I also think it would be fitting if you were the one to present a reward to the winning team since I can’t think of anything that would make everyone happier than a reward prepared by Jack Skellington himself.”

While Skully and everyone in the audience excitedly gasp, Jack grins, “Alright, leave the reward to me! It’s the least I can do to thank everyone who’s working so hard for my sake.”

With that decided, you move on with the discussion about this year’s Halloween. “I think the teams should be decided by lot. That way things are fair. It’d be great if we could set it all up at the exit, so when this meeting concludes, everyone can get in a line to find out what their team assignment will be.”

“Once everyone has their teams, they can gather together outside and choose where they want their test of courage to be, what kinda theme they wanna go for, etc.” You add, “And they can write up a quick project plan of sorts and turn it into the mayor, so we have an idea of what to expect from both teams.”

“Mayor, do you think you could get enough lots set up in time before our meeting ends?” Jack asks after focusing his gaze on the area where the spotlight is.

“Of course, Jack!” The mayor quickly answers, “Just leave it to me!”

With that, the elected official scurries down a nearby ladder and heads out the door, so he can gather the supplies he’ll need from his car.

Meanwhile, you gesture toward yourself and everyone else from NRC. “In regards to us, rather than drawing lots, I think what would be better is to have each of us assigned to a team based on what team would benefit most from the skills we all individually bring to the table.”

Plus, this way, I can ensure that certain people don’t get put on the same team. You dryly think to yourself. After all, the last thing anyone needs is for Leona-senpai and Tsunotaro to be on the same team.

Thankfully, Jack has no qualms about going along with your idea of avoiding lots for the members of your group, much to the relief of all your friends who want to avoid being on the same team as the people they don’t get along with.

Or, at least, that appears to be the case since Jack nods along with your suggestion, even though, judging from his pensive expression, you can’t tell if he’s actually listening to you right now, considering how deep in thought he appears to be.

That’s why you’re not particularly surprised when Jack abruptly exclaims, “Eureka! I’ve got a great idea!”

Before anyone can question him, the skeleton continues, “I was just thinking about what Yuu-kun said earlier about submitting project plans to the mayor. Normally, both he and I would be the ones who look over those plans since we always oversee each Halloween.”

“But I can’t do that this Halloween since that will ruin all of the surprises everyone will be planning for me!” Jack frowns, “Obviously, I don’t want that, but I also don’t want to put too much work on the mayor’s shoulders, nor do I want to put the townsfolk in a position where they’re not getting the kind of support they would normally get from me.”

Just as you’re about to tell him that you had intended to have everyone from NRC play that role of support, Jack catches you off guard when he suddenly points at you, grinning all the while. “That’s why I say we have Yuu-kun be the temporary Pumpkin King, er, Queen until Halloween!”

In complete sync, everyone else shouts, “EH?!”

“Isn’t it a great idea?” Jack proudly puffs up his chest. “After all, this is Yuu-kun’s brilliant idea, so it only seems right to put her in charge. And this way I can ensure that nobody’s surprises will get ruined!”

He nods to himself. “Yep. This is perfect. Now, I won’t have anything to worry about!”

“Oi, oi, he’s just going ahead and making this huge decision without even asking for Yuu-shi’s input.” Idia mutters, giving Jack a less than impressed look.

Riddle frowns, “Even though it was Yuu’s intention from the start to end up in such a role along with the rest of us, I can’t say I approve of Jack-san’s handling of this matter.”

Trey shakes his head. “Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anything we can do here since all the townspeople appear to be in favor of the idea.”

Indeed. While everyone in the audience had been shocked at first, it doesn’t take them long to voice their support, but that’s not really surprising since you think they’d all go along with pretty much any idea that Jack proposes.

Meanwhile, all you can do is stare. Definitely did not see that coming. I didn’t even consider the possibility of Jack-san picking someone to be his temporary replacement since I didn’t know he could do that.

Your expression becomes thoughtful. But maybe this would be better than my original idea of having our whole group in that role since these people are more accustomed to just relying on Jack-san, and having too many people in his role might just end up making things unnecessarily complicated for them.

Still, that said, Jack Skellington has some big shoes to fill, so you don’t know if it’d be wise to just leave that job entirely to you.

That’s why you suggest, “I’d be happy to be the temporary Pumpkin Queen to ensure nobody’s surprises get ruined, but considering I’m a novice in this area, why don’t you also appoint Skully to share your position with me, Jack-san?”

All of your friends give you shocked looks. “What?!”

Meanwhile, Skully, who had become unusually quiet after hearing his idol name you as his temporary replacement, starts gaping as he cups his face. “Me?!”

Nodding, you smile at him. “Since nobody in our group loves Halloween more than you, I think you’d be perfect for the job, especially since you’re so knowledgeable about Jack-san and Halloween Town in general. I think you’d be a great help to someone inexperienced like me.”

Plus, my instincts are telling me that I shouldn’t leave you alone. You internally add. Even though you agreed to work together with everyone, I’m sure all this change will still be hard on you, so I wanna keep an eye on you, just in case, ‘cause I’ve become fond of you and don’t wanna see you look as sad as you did when Jack-san asked me to be his temporary replacement.

“Yuu-san…” Skully replies, sounding incredibly touched, making you wonder if there are tears in his eyes now that just can’t be seen thanks to his glasses.

“Hmmm. Yuu-kun does make a good point.” Jack thoughtfully rubs his jaw. “I’d hate to put too much stress on a lady’s shoulders, so having Skully-kun work together with her would be a good way to avoid that.”

Soon after, he smiles, “Alright, let’s do that! Skully-kun and Yuu-kun will be Halloween Town’s temporary Pumpkin King and Queen!”

As everyone in the audience begins to cheer, a noticeably overjoyed Skully clasps his hands together. “Oh, Jack-sama! To think, you would bestow such a high honor upon my unworthy shoulders! It’s a dream come true!”

“I won’t let you down!” Skully declares before making a hand pose that makes his fingers resemble Jack’s collar. “I’ll ensure we have the best Halloween ever, so you'll get all the inspiration you need!”

Still smiling, Jack walks over to him and pats his shoulder. “I’ll be counting on you, Skully-kun.”

“Jack-sama!” Skully emotionally exclaims, as he trembles with emotion, much to your amusement.

Your amusement doesn’t last for long, however, when your gaze falls on the rest of your group, and you see how much the majority of your friends are disliking this turn of events.

“What’s the big idea, Henchman?” Grim pouts, “You’re supposed to be MY partner and MY partner only!”

After quickly shushing him so he won’t make a scene and draw attention to himself, you pat his head. “Calm down, Grim. I’m not replacing you. I just thought Skully was best suited for the kinda work Jack-san does.”

Letting your gaze roam across the rest of your friends, you explain, “I know my original plan was to have all of us in this sorta position, but after giving it some more thought, I figured it’ll be less confusing for the townspeople who are so accustomed to just relying on Jack-san if they only have to report to me or Skully when they have a problem.”

“I suppose you do make a good point.” Jamil nods in understanding. “While it’s always good to have a lot of helping hands, that can also be a bad thing if the people are left confused about who they should talk to when they have a problem.”

“Having just one or two people in charge of overseeing will make the whole process much simpler.” Azul agrees, “So I am perfectly fine with this new arrangement.”

Jade amusedly smiles, “The only issue here I believe is that some of us may not approve of Skully-kun being chosen to work alongside Yuu-san.”

When he then focuses his amused gaze on Sebek, who’s been scowling all this time, your son’s scowl deepens. “Of course, I don’t approve! If anyone should be chosen as king, it should be Malleus-sama! He is far more qualified than anyone!”

“Ah, and here I thought you were upset because she chose Skully-kun over you.” Jade teasingly replies, “I suppose I was mistaken.”

“You most certainly were!” Sebek retorts, not convincing anyone since his embarrassment and jealousy are apparent in his current expression that's now visibly flustered thanks to Jade's teasing.

“While I have no issue with myself not being chosen, it is a shame that Sebek won’t be working alongside Yuu.” Malleus frowns, “Truly a missed opportunity.”

As Sebek becomes even more flustered, Jade tries to hide his snickering behind his hand while Vil, Trey, and Leona all give Malleus some exasperated looks.

Wanting to get this conversation back on track, Epel quickly says, “I’m fine with Yuu-san’s idea since Skully-kun does have a lot of knowledge about this place, and there’s no denying how much he loves Halloween. I can understand why she picked him for the job.”

“I feel the same way.” Trey chimes in. “So it’s fine with me as well.”

“If this means Yuu-shi will be the one responsible for that exhausting extrovert so I won’t have to deal with him, then I’m all for it.” Idia comments, making you snort.

Fortunately, despite the reservations most of your friends have when Skully is concerned, everyone, in the end, shows their support for the idea of you working together with him, with Grim and Sebek being the only exceptions, although those two do thankfully eventually stop complaining, much to your relief.

Once Grim and Sebek finally settle down, your thoughts end up focusing on the latter. I gotta say, I’ve been surprised by Sebek’s recent behavior. Normally, only Ace and Grim get this worked up and let their jealousy get the better of them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sebek act like this before.

Now, that’s not to say you’ve never seen Sebek get jealous over you giving someone more attention than him, because there have been times when he has gotten jealous of Silver, because Silver is someone you compliment regularly due to you having such a high opinion of the sweet upperclassman.

And, of course, Sebek expressed some jealousy when his tsum visited NRC since you gave his adorable counterpart a lot of attention and affection.

However, Sebek has never gotten this worked up before. Normally, he just sulks until you shower him with enough love to make him forget he was ever jealous in the first place.

Obviously, that is not what’s happening here, and you’re not sure why. Is it because Skully is a person he’s unfamiliar with, and it upsets him to see you becoming closer to someone new?

Maybe Sebek’s going through what Grim and Ace did when I began adopting more sons. You muse. After all, Sebek, Ortho, and Epel basically all got adopted around the same time, and by that point, I had also met all the guys I’m now good friends with, so this will essentially be Sebek’s first time going through the process of me making a new friend.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. Guess I’ll need to make sure that I give Sebek even more love than usual while we’re inside this book since I can’t allow one of my boys to feel neglected.

Plus, while Sebek’s jealousy is a little exasperating, you can’t deny finding his behavior to be endearing as well since it just proves how much he loves you and doesn’t want to lose you.

Your expression softens. Not that he has anything to worry about. I love my sons way too much to ever allow anything to come between us.

And that’s something that won’t ever change.

Chapter Text

Once you all finish going over all of the details for this year’s Halloween, Jack officially calls an end to the town meeting.

Thankfully, by the time the meeting ends, the mayor is all set up by the exit, so everyone can draw lots on their way out and meet up with their team members outside where they’ll have plenty of space and privacy.

Much to your amusement, as the townsfolk are leaving, they address you and the rest of your friends, making comments about how this year’s Halloween will be a great one and how they’re looking forward to working with you all, and you hear some of them refer to your friends as “bent boys”, obviously making a reference to the “twisted” part of Twisted Wonderland.

Your amusement eventually turns into surprise when, after all the townsfolk, sans Jack, exit the building, Skully suddenly approaches you and takes hold of your hand. “Yuu-san~!”

Wearing the kind of charming smile that would surely make him a hit with the ladies on Magicam, Skully says, “Please allow me to properly thank you for bestowing upon me the honor of working alongside you as Jack-sama’s temporary replacement.”

He tenderly kisses your knuckles. “A kiss for you, lovely lady. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise to work hard to meet your high expectations.”

Your heart melts in response to his charming actions. “Aw, you’re welcome, but there’s really no need to thank me. You really were the natural choice for the job, considering a person with a passionate love for Halloween really is needed for this kinda work.”

While Sebek and Grim glare at Skully because of his affectionate actions and the positive attention you're giving him, Jack cheerfully moves to pat both your and Skully’s shoulders. “That’s right! You can’t be the Pumpkin King if you don’t have a strong love for Halloween! That’s why I’m confident that you two will both do a great job!”

You chuckle, “Thank you. While I don’t think I can compete with the likes of you two in that regard, I’ll still do my best, so I won’t disappoint.”

“Nonsense, Yuu-san!” Skully replies, “Your love for Halloween is just as beautiful and passionate! That’s why you were able to touch everyone’s hearts earlier and why everyone was so quick to agree with Jack-sama’s idea to make you his temporary replacement!”

“Exactly!” Jack nods. “I can tell you’ve got a lot of love for Halloween in you, Yuu-kun, and so can everyone else! Your passion for our beloved Halloween is undeniable!”

“Which is pretty ironic, considerin’ Yuu technically hasn’t even actually ever properly celebrated Halloween.”

Upon hearing Grim’s casual remark, everyone on the town hall stage promptly freezes before slowly moving to fix their wide-eyed gazes on your partner.

At the same time, you look at him with obvious horror in your eyes as you hiss, “Grim!”

Completely oblivious to the fact that what he just said was the equivalent of unlocking Pandora’s box, Grim blinks. “What?”

It’s at that moment, after everyone else’s initial shock wears off, all hell breaks loose.

“WHAT?!”

Faster than you can blink, Jack and Skully, who are both now visibly distressed, start bodily shaking you like you’re a maraca, causing your hat to fall off your head.

“Is that true, Yuu-kun?!”

“Have you truly never celebrated Halloween before, Yuu-san?! Please say it isn’t so!”

Regrettably, you are unable to answer their questions right now because of how hard they’re shaking you since you’re more preoccupied with trying to fight off the extreme dizziness you’re now feeling. “Ugh.”

“Yuu (-san)!”

“Oi, Skellington, knock it off!”

“Unhand her, you fools!”

“Calm down, Jack-san, Skully! At this rate, you’re going to make Yuu sick!”

“Or worse, you’ll KO her, and then, we’ll have to somehow complete this ridiculous event without her! Do you understand how hard this kinda work will be without the protag?!”

Thankfully, while you’re unable to free yourself from Jack’s and Skully’s tight holds, Leona and Sebek are quickly able to respectively latch onto the two, who had been shaking you, and pull them away from you, with the help of Malleus, Trey, Epel, and Vil, who also moved to grab onto the distressed pair.

Because you’re so dizzy, your legs immediately give out once the shaking finally stops, but thankfully, Jamil and Azul come up from behind to catch you and gently lower you to the stage’s floor.

While the majority of your friends are yelling at Jack and Skully as well as at a confused Grim since it’s his fault this turn of events happened in the first place, Jamil uses his magic to wet his handkerchief before using the handkerchief to gently dab at your pale face. “Just close your eyes and wait for the dizziness to pass. Once you feel a little better, we can see about getting you something to drink since I have some medicine on me that should help.”

Of course, he does. Jamil truly is the most prepared man in all of Twisted Wonderland.

As you close your eyes, like he advised, you mutter, “Thank you, but I think I’ll be fine without the medicine. I just need to wait until the world stops spinning.”

Just after those words pass your lips, you feel a cool, pleasant breeze hit your face, making you release a content sigh.

Since it came from Azul’s direction, you’re quick to assume he used his magic in hopes that a fresh breeze will help you feel better. “Thank you, Azul-senpai. That feels really nice.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Yuu-san.” Azul replies, “I am simply taking care of one of my most valuable employees.”

“The clear embarrassment in your expression right now tells a different story, Azul. Fufu.”

“Nobody asked for your opinion, Jade!”

As expected, Jade wastes no time in taking advantage of an opportunity to tease Azul, who’s obviously not thrilled about being exposed.

Meanwhile, Jamil exasperatedly sighs, “If the two of you are going to start squabbling, go somewhere else and do it. Yuu will recover faster if she doesn’t have to listen to your nonsense.”

“Yes, you shouldn’t raise your voice while you’re positioned so closely to Yuu-san, Azul.” Jade chides, “You should be more considerate of her weakened condition.”

“I wouldn’t have raised my voice in the first place if it wasn’t for you.” Azul retorts, making sure to keep his volume low for your sake.

Chuckling, you reopen your eyes since your earlier dizziness has started to abate thanks to your friends’ help. “No need to worry about me. I’m already feeling better.”

“Of course, you would say that, considering how you are.” Jamil huffs, “Regardless of how you THINK you feel, you better remain seated while you give us an explanation for Grim’s earlier, poorly timed words.”

Since you had expected him to say that, you go along with his order to remain seated to appease him and because you don’t really feel like standing right now anyway. “Yes sir.”

After that exchange, you release a loud, shrill whistle to gain everyone else’s attention, successfully stopping all the yelling that had been going on while you were recovering.

“Good.” You remark once everyone goes quiet. “Let’s stop with all the yelling since Skully and Jack-san really didn’t have any bad intentions when they were shaking me, and their reactions were understandable, considering how much they both love Halloween.”

“Of course, that said, I would like to ask that no more shaking of my person happens from here on out since that wasn’t a very pleasant experience.” You dryly add, making Jade chuckle.

Skully frowns guiltily. “I apologize, Yuu-san. To think, I would let my emotions get the better of me and treat a lady in such a brutish manner. I am ashamed of myself.”

Wearing a similar expression, Jack apologizes, “I’m sorry too. Are you alright, Yuu-kun?”

“I’m alright.” You assure them. “And apologies accepted.”

After that exchange, you decide to address the bombshell that Grim had dropped earlier since, while it’s not exactly a topic you’re excited to talk about, you’d rather talk about that than have to keep assuring people that you’re fine since not everyone seems convinced.

That’s why you quickly say, “Moving on, let me provide an explanation for the bombshell that Grim dropped earlier.”

After briefly sparing your partner an annoyed look, to which he responds by hiding behind Epel’s legs, you continue, “To answer your earlier questions, while I am very familiar with Halloween and think highly of it, I have technically never actually celebrated the holiday before.”

“Not because I didn’t want to, of course.” You add, “I just never got the chance growing up ‘cause I was always busy with whatever was going on in my life at the time like schoolwork, chores, part-time work, etc. On every October 31st for as long as I can remember, I always had a very busy schedule.”

Which technically isn’t a lie since Japan’s underworld always hosted an underground cage-fight tournament on Halloween since the people in charge were apparently of the opinion that holidays were the perfect time to go all out when they entertained people with mindless violence and bloodshed.

And, because Mumei always expected a stellar performance from you, you always did a lot of extra training up until the day of the tournament, so that, along with all the other responsibilities you had, kept your schedule quite full.

Upon hearing your explanation for why you’ve never celebrated Halloween before, Jack and Skully simultaneously cup their faces as their now identical expressions become noticeably distraught.

At the same time, a lot of your friends look at you with noticeable pity, with Trey being the most blatant, no doubt because of Riddle, who’s the only one not really affected by how you spent Halloween in the past since the redhead likely spent all of his past Halloweens in a similar manner.

The only ones who don’t express any pity are Jamil, Sebek, and Leona, the latter two of whom look noticeably irate while the former just purses his lips and tightens his grip on his handkerchief that he has yet to put away.

Eventually, the awkward silence that had filled the air gets broken by a frowning Epel. “But, Yuu-san, what about last Halloween? You were with us at NRC, weren’t you?”

In complete sync, Riddle, Trey, and Sebek all grimace at Epel’s question while Azul, Jade, and Malleus start frowning.

At the same time, Leona’s posture abruptly stiffens, and you know their reactions are because those seven guys are the only ones here, aside from Grim, who know the answer to Epel’s question.

You worriedly glance over at Leona, who’s pointedly avoiding looking at you, before returning your gaze to Epel. “Yes, I was at NRC, but at the time, I was in the infirmary, under orders not to leave my bed until I was given a complete clean bill of health. That’s why I couldn’t participate in NRC's Halloween festivities last October.”

“Ace had tried to get her to sneak out, so she could go to the big party with the rest of us, but she wouldn’t do it.” Grim huffs, “I still don’t get that, considerin’ she had pretty much fully recovered by that point. Everyone who kept tellin’ her to stay in bed was just bein’ overly paranoid.”

“I caused everyone a lot of worry with my reckless actions back then.” You reply, “I wasn’t gonna cause any more trouble by disobeying the orders of the nurses who took such good care of me, so I did my best to be a model patient since it was the least I could do.”

“Ah, I understand now.” Jamil remarks, instantly earning everyone else’s attention. “This last year, Halloween took place the week following the Interdorm Spelldrive Tournament."

Immediately, realization dawns on the faces of your other friends who didn’t know how you spent last Halloween before the majority of your friends’ gazes focus on Leona, who just crosses his arms and closes his visible eye.

Jack and Skully are, of course, understandably confused by this turn of events, but thankfully, despite their shared penchant for being oblivious, they manage to successfully read the room and refrain from commenting on what’s obviously a very sensitive topic.

Regrettably, while he does refrain from bringing up the subject of Leona’s overblot, Jade has no reservations about stirring the pot once an opportunity presents itself. “Poor Yuu-san. To think, while the rest of us were completely unaware and enjoying ourselves at the Halloween party, she was left all by her lonesome in the infirmary. What a tragic way to spend Halloween. If only Azul, Floyd, and I had found out sooner rather than after the fact, then we could’ve visited her that day and kept her company.”

“Tragic?” Skully murmurs, so quietly that no one hears him.

Meanwhile, as Malleus’s frown deepens, both Riddle and Trey simultaneously flinch at the eel-mer’s words while Leona quietly growls under his breath.

Realizing Jade is taking shots at the people, whom you had become friends with by that point in the school year, you give him an annoyed look. “Knock it off, Jade-senpai. While it’s true I was confined to the infirmary, I still had a perfectly fine Halloween.”

While Skully perks up, Sebek, who had also looked upset because of Jade’s words despite the fact that the two of you hadn’t become friends yet by that point in the school year, raises an incredulous brow. “You did?”

“Yep.” You nod. “Throughout the day, all my friends from Heartslabyul and Savanaclaw paid me a visit, and so did Silver-senpai and Lilia-senpai. Trey-senpai even baked me a huge assortment of delicious treats, so I didn’t miss out on the treats aspect of Halloween.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “And, while the party was going on that night, Leona-senpai visited me, and we ended up playing chess together for hours. It was a lot of fun.”

When several people shoot him some incredulous looks, Leona, who has reopened his visible eye, dryly remarks, “Unlike SOME people I could name, I didn’t forget there was a girl in the infirmary while all the celebrating was going on - a girl who had a clear window view of all the ghosts that had ended up showing up for that party.”

Despite yourself, you wince when you recall, thanks to Leona, all the ghosts you had seen on Halloween night when you had looked out the closest window to check out the ongoing festivities, prompting Jamil to take hold of your hand and give it a comforting squeeze.

Meanwhile, realization dawns on Riddle’s and Trey’s horrified expressions, which quickly become guilty, because the position you were in that night really wasn’t ideal for someone who has a ghost phobia. That's also the reason why Malleus is now sporting a deep, remorseful frown.

Upon seeing their reactions, you give Leona a chiding look. “Leona-senpai…”

In response, Leona just clicks his tongue, obviously having received your unspoken message about you not liking his attack on the people here, whom you had been friends with by the point in the school year when the Halloween party had occurred.

After that exchange, you decide to pick up where you left off earlier when you were talking about your last Halloween. “As I said earlier, I had a lot of fun during last year’s Halloween, because, even though I didn’t get to spend the whole day with them, I still got to have some fun with my friends, which I had never gotten to do before. That’s why last year’s Halloween was the best one I’ve ever had.”

A warm smile rises to your lips. “Because, to me, the ‘best Halloween’ is one where I’m with friends and not alone.”

“Yuu (-san) (-shi)...”

When you share your ideal Halloween with everyone, several of your friends quietly call out your name while the majority of them don somber expressions, with Riddle’s and Trey’s being especially poignant. Epel and Sebek even have tears in their eyes, making you regret saying something that made your sons look so sad.

“I completely agree, Yuu-kun!”

Catching everyone else off guard, Jack makes that declaration before he draws closer to you and kneels down in front of you. “There's no meaning in a Halloween spent alone.”

Skully, who, unbeknownst to you, has been silently staring at you with wide eyes since you shared your ideal Halloween, jolts as if he’s been slapped. “Eh? No…meaning…?”

You internally cringe in response to Skully’s words. Damn. Jack just said the worst possible thing in front of the guy who has spent all of his past Halloweens alone. If I had known this was how things would’ve played out, I would’ve just kept my mouth shut.

Completely oblivious to what’s going on with Skully, Jack reaches over to pat your shoulder. “Everyone’s screams coming together is what makes Halloween. It'd be boring otherwise.”

“Halloween is something everyone does together, not something you do alone.” He smiles, “Everyone scares, everyone screams, everyone spends Halloween together. That’s how it always should be.”

As the majority of your friends either give Jack exasperated looks or give Skully, who has gone completely still and is now noticeably pale, concerned and wary looks, the oblivious skeleton’s smile grows. “And Halloween will be even more fun this year because you all will be there to spend it with us! That’s why I’m looking forward to it so much!”

In a blink, Jack springs to his feet. “Especially since this will be your first proper Halloween! That’s going to make it extra special!”

He starts heading toward the edge of the stage. “I better share this important news with the rest of the town, so they’ll know they need to pull out all the stops for Yuu-kun’s sake! Halloween Town can’t have someone’s first Halloween be anything less than the absolute best, after all!”

“Don’t worry, Yuu-kun, we’ll make sure that your first Halloween is as dreadful and terrifying as possible!” Jack cheerfully adds.

Regrettably, even though it was Jack’s intention to assure you, you don’t feel the least bit comforted by his words, because the kind of Halloween Jack is talking about is the last thing a person with a horror phobia wants.

Your expression blanches. Oh, shit. I am so screwed…

Thankfully, before Jack can get too far, Sebek, Epel, Trey, and Riddle, who had taken notice of your pale features along with the rest of your friends, all panickily rush to grab onto the startled skeleton, preventing him from leaving the stage.

Jack blinks in surprise as he looks down at everyone who latched onto him. “Is something wrong?”

The four, who grabbed Jack, exchange looks, no doubt trying to figure out how to explain how a terrifying Halloween is a horrible idea for someone like you who has a horror phobia without actually bringing up said phobia since explaining your phobia would surely become a complicated discussion with the Master of Fright.

Thankfully, Vil comes to the rescue. “It’s all well and good that you want to make Yuu’s first Halloween the best it can possibly be, Jack-san, but you shouldn’t immediately jump to conclusions about what would be best for her without even asking for her input.”

“Y-Yeah!” Idia quickly chimes in. “People like me and Yuu-shi hate being in the spotlight, so you normies only cause us trouble when you suddenly force us to be the center of attention, all the while assuming it’s what we want!”

“Oh yeah, Yuu hates being in the spotlight, unlike yours truly.” Grim agrees, “So, if the whole town focused on her like they plan on doing with Jack, she probably won’t have much fun.”

“Yuu-san definitely won’t have any fun.” Azul huffs, correcting your partner’s last sentence.

“She’ll be lucky if she survives until the end of Halloween.” Jamil mutters, knowing full well that your heart would surely give out if you had to spend the whole holiday being scared by a whole town’s worth of people.

Having overheard Jamil, Jade chuckles as he gently pats your head. “It would be an unforgettable Halloween without question, but it wouldn’t be the good kind of unforgettable, unfortunately.”

Jack frowns, “Oh dear, we can’t have that! I want Yuu-kun to have lots of fun along with the rest of us!”

As he and the others, who had grabbed Jack earlier, finally release their holds on the Pumpkin King, Riddle replies, “Then, I suggest you refrain from telling everyone in town about Yuu never having celebrated Halloween before, so they won’t give her any special attention.”

“She’ll already get plenty of attention just by being your replacement, so we really shouldn’t take any chances by putting any extra stress on her shoulders.” Trey adds as he adjusts his glasses.

Leona gives Jack a sharp, warning look as his visible eye narrows. “So keep your mouth shut.”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to the words and actions of your friends, who were all so quick to come to your aid. I have the best friends ever.

“If that’s what Yuu-kun would prefer, then I promise I won’t tell everyone about this being her first Halloween.” Jack says, successfully pulling you away from your thoughts.

He frowns, “But I hate the thought of not doing something special for her. After all, you only get your first Halloween once.”

The warmth inside your chest grows stronger when you see how much Jack wants to make your first Halloween special. “Jack-san…”

It really means a lot to you that Jack feels that way despite having just met you since The Nightmare Before Christmas and its characters have always been so dear to you for as long as you can remember, although you understand that Jack is acting like this because he’s a kind person, who wants the best for everyone when it comes to celebrating Halloween.

Even though you personally don’t think anything special needs to be done for you since you’re sure to have an amazing first Halloween, just because you’ll be spending it with so many of your friends and the characters of a beloved movie from your childhood, you can understand Jack’s feelings since Halloween is so important to him.

That’s why, while you don’t want to be the center of attention, you’re not completely against Jack doing something special to celebrate your first Halloween, just as long as you can avoid spending the whole day getting scared.

Scaring is a big part of Halloween to Jack, though, so I have no idea what else we could do that would manage to satisfy him. You think to yourself. I’m sure that, no matter what ideas are suggested to him, Jack will find a way to make them scary, like what the town did to Christmas in the movie.

Still, I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad if Jack was the only one giving me that kinda special attention since I’d rather have only one person trying to terrify me rather than a whole town. You muse. Even though he’s the Master of Fright, I think I’d be able to survive just as long as everyone makes sure he doesn’t make things TOO scary…

It’s at that moment realization suddenly strikes you like a lightning bolt. Wait a minute. I just realized…the idea I proposed for how to celebrate this year's Halloween involves everyone BUT Jack getting to do some scaring. Since I made him everyone’s target, Jack won’t get the opportunity to do what he does best.

Upon realizing that, you feel the urge to smack yourself. I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I left out the Pumpkin King himself. No matter how important getting him out of his creative slump is, I can’t just deprive him of the thing he loves doing most every Halloween, even if he is being a good sport about it.

Thankfully, recent events have provided just what you need to take care of the major fault in your Halloween plans.

Quickly, you, after returning your hat to your head, hold up a hand to Jade, silently asking for him to help you stand, and thankfully, the eel-mer kindly obliges.

At the same time, Jamil and Azul immediately rise out of their crouched positions and hover nearby, as if expecting you to lose your balance, even though you really are fine now.

After thanking Jade and giving those two a reassuring smile, you focus your gaze on Jack. “Jack-san, since you’ve temporarily given me your title, how about you temporarily take mine in exchange?”

In complete sync, everyone on the town hall stage replies, “Huh?”

Chuckling, you explain, “Back at our school, I’m called the Ramshackle Prefect. I’m essentially in charge of keeping the peace at school and making sure everyone gets along.”

Jabbing a thumb at Grim, you wryly add, “I’m also in charge of keeping Grim under control since, when left to his own devices, there’s no telling what kind of mischief he’ll get into. He needs constant monitoring.”

Grim releases a loud, offended gasp. “I do not!”

“Yes, you do.” All of your other friends dryly reply simultaneously, making you snort and Grim scowl.

A grin rises to your lips. “Since, from here on out, I’ll be busy helping the citizens of Halloween Town, I wanna put you in charge of looking after all my friends, AND…”

Your grin grows. “I want you to be in charge of my first Halloween celebration, which I would like to be a surprise, just as the tests of courage will be a surprise for you.”

“Oh!” Jack’s face lights up. “I see! While you’re helping all my friends with our town’s Halloween preparations, I can plan a special Halloween surprise for you with the help of your friends! What a splendid idea!”

He excitedly claps his hands. “I’m sure to learn all sorts of new, fun things about Halloween if I work together with people from another world! How exciting!”

“I’m glad you like the idea.” You reply, “It just came to me after I realized that my big plans for Halloween don’t give you the opportunity to do much scaring, so I figured this would be a great way for you to have your fun while everyone else is making their preparations to surprise you.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, since everyone will be aiming to scare Skellington in hopes of inspiring him, there isn’t much room for him to do any scaring himself.” Malleus nods in understanding. “It would be unfortunate if he can’t partake in an activity he enjoys on his favorite holiday, so I agree it’s a good idea to give him something he can work on while everyone else is preoccupied.”

“As Malleus-sama so wisely pointed out, it’s important that everyone in Halloween Town has an enjoyable Halloween, so I also think Yuu’s idea is a good one.” Sebek comments before giving you a concerned look. “Although…”

“Although that means Yuu-shi is literally making herself the sacrificial lamb.” Idia bluntly finishes your son’s sentence. “Typical shounen protag…”

Before a puzzled Jack can question Idia’s words, you quickly say, “I have complete faith that, as long as you guys work together, you’ll be able to put together an awesome surprise.”

“An awesome surprise that I will be able to wholeheartedly enjoy.” You add, as you give all of your friends a pointed look, hoping that they’ll get the implied message that they’re in charge of keeping Jack under control so he won’t go too far with his scaring efforts.

Thankfully, judging from the looks on their faces, it seems they’ve received your unspoken request since most of them give you a nod.

“R-Right!” Epel grins, “Just leave it to us, Yuu-san! Together with Jack-san, we’ll come up with the best Halloween surprise ever!”

Jamil pats your shoulder. “We’ll make it work out, and we’ll also use the information we’ll gather from the tests of courage to ensure we do something completely new and original since it wouldn’t be much fun if we just end up copying what everyone else is doing.”

In other words, Jamil intends to keep Jack from doing anything as frightening as the residents of Halloween Town intend to do during the tests of courage by using the excuse that they can’t copy the townsfolk.

While you give Jamil a grateful look, Jack grins, “Agreed! I definitely don’t want to copy the others, and I want to take full advantage of this opportunity to put together something special for Halloween, the likes of which this town has never seen!”

“Because there’s nothing more fun than doing something completely new!” He cheerfully adds.

Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way. You think to yourself as you look over at Skully, who has been completely silent for a while now, ever since his idol said that a Halloween spent alone is completely meaningless.

Up until this point, Skully’s gloomy demeanor has gone unaddressed, because the rest of you had gotten completely wrapped up in addressing the matter of what to do for your first Halloween.

Plus, most of your friends aren’t the type of people to get involved in other peoples’ personal matters or show concern on the behalf of someone they hardly know, so the guys, who took notice of Skully’s current state, probably decided to leave this matter to you since dealing with this kind of thing is more of your specialty.

At first, you had thought it would be better to leave Skully be for the time being since you didn’t want to risk bringing any unnecessary attention to him by approaching him while the others are around, but you're now reconsidering that decision since it’s really worrying you how quiet Skully has been all this time, especially considering how pale he now looks.

Fortunately, an opportunity to check on Skully presents itself soon after you find yourself wanting to approach him.

In the most unexpected way possible.

“Ja~ck!”

Much to everyone’s surprise, just as you’re considering approaching Skully to check to see how he’s doing, three unexpected voices suddenly call out to Jack simultaneously.

Your surprise quickly turns into apprehension, because you instantly recognize those voices. Oh no, not them…

As you turn to look at where the voices came from, internally groaning all the while, three masked children, who seemingly came out of nowhere, scamper over to the stage where you and everyone else are still standing.

Two of the children are boys, one of whom is wearing a devil costume while the other is dressed like a skeleton, and the sole girl of the group is dressed like a witch.

“Lock, Shock, and Barrel!” Jack exclaims, looking noticeably surprised. “What are you three doing here? You guys don’t normally attend our town meetings.”

“‘Cause they’re normally super boring.” Lock, the boy dressed like a devil, bluntly replies, “But we had nothing better to do, so when we heard the mayor call for a town meeting, we came to see if you would talk about something fun.”

“And you did!” Barrel, the boy dressed like a skeleton, cheerfully pipes up. “Getting to scare you with these bent guys sounds like a lotta fun! Ooheehee!”

“We can join the fun, right, Jack?” Shock asks, “We promise we won’t cause any trouble this year, and we’ll be really helpful with getting ready for Halloween!”

Upon seeing how Shock has her hand behind her back, your eyes narrow. She’s definitely crossing her fingers behind her back, like the kids did in the movie. They must be up to something.

Judging from the wary expressions the majority of your friends are wearing, they obviously feel similarly since Lock, Shock, and Barrel aren’t very good at lying.

Regrettably, the same can’t be said for Jack, who, after thoughtfully eyeing the children and crossing his arms for a moment, nods. “We are going to need as many helping hands as we can get in order to be ready in time for Halloween, so I’ll allow you kids to be a part of the Halloween preparations.”

He smiles, “And we can’t just leave you guys out of all the fun we’re going to have since you’re all a part of Halloween Town too.”

“Yay!” The children cheer, “Thanks, Jack!”

As several of your friends sigh, you do the same before realizing that this is the perfect chance to approach Skully since everyone else’s, sans his, attention is now completely focused on Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

Covertly, you make your way over to Skully’s current position, moving slowly so your movements won’t earn you the attention of anyone, and you’re mostly successful in this endeavor since the only ones who look your way are Jamil and Leona, which is to be expected, considering nothing gets past those two.

Since you’re sure they can tell what you’re up to, you don’t bother trying to explain your actions to them and instead focus your full attention on Skully, whom you’re now standing in front of.

Proving just how out of sorts he is, Skully doesn’t react to your approach, making you think he’s completely lost in thought right now.

After briefly debating how to approach this situation, you reach out to take hold of one of Skully’s hands and give it a gentle squeeze.

Unsurprisingly, Skully jolts in response to your actions before finally focusing his attention on you. Within seconds, he plasters on the fakest smile you’ve ever seen. “My apologies, Yuu-san. I was so lost in thought that I failed to give your wonderful presence the acknowledgement it deserves.”

Not liking the sight of that fake smile, you frown, “Skully, please don’t force yourself to smile. I know you’re upset ‘cause of everything Jack-san said earlier about Halloween, and I don’t want you to think you have to hide that, especially when you’re hurting to such a great degree.”

His smile briefly falters before he quickly composes himself. “You are most kind, Yuu-san, but please do not worry yourself on my account. I am alright.”

Your frown deepens. “You’re not, and don’t you dare try to convince me otherwise. I’m not blind or dumb, Skully.”

This time, his smile completely falls, but that’s the only kind of response you get from Skully, who obviously doesn’t know what he should say now.

You give his hand a strong squeeze. “This isn’t the time or place for a heart-to-heart, so I’m not gonna push you to talk to me, and even if we were alone, I wouldn’t force you to talk about anything that you don’t want to talk about.”

Looking into his shaded eyes, you earnestly continue, “I just want you to know that I’m here for you, and I have no intention to leave you alone.”

As his breath catches, you softly add, “And I want to remind you that, regardless of what you’ve recently heard, your feelings are still perfectly valid. There’s nothing wrong with the way you feel, Skully.”

When the hand you’re holding begins to tremble, you sandwich it between both of your hands and smile, “Regardless of everyone’s separate views on Halloween, I still want to celebrate my first Halloween with you, Skully. I want to work together with you to make it the best Halloween ever.”

Your warm smile softens. “That’s why I’ll support you with all I’ve got and ask that you do the same for me.”

With a quiet sniffle, an obviously emotional Skully shakily whispers, “T-Thank you…”

Thankfully, much to your relief, it seems that your words managed to successfully reach Skully and pull him out of the emotional bog he had been slowly but steadily sinking into.

Of course, you know you’re not out of the woods just yet since nothing really has been resolved. You’ve only succeeded in showing Skully that he’s not alone and temporarily distracting him from all his worries.

Still, you’ve made progress, which is always something to celebrate, and now, Skully looks as if he’ll be able to participate in future conversations with everyone and won’t sink further into himself.

Regrettably, you’re unable to relax for long, because, within seconds after you make progress with Skully, a loud peal of thunder suddenly fills the air, making you and Skully both jolt.

It’s the sound of thunder that finally draws your attention away from Skully and makes you finally take notice of what’s currently going on with everyone else.

“Ahahahahaha!”

“Fnagh! Let go of my tail!”

Much to your dismay, while you were completely focused on Skully, Lock managed to grab a hold of Grim’s tail and is now using his grip on Grim’s tail to swing your poor partner around.

Unfortunately, Lock isn’t the only one causing trouble since Barrel is chasing after Riddle and Trey, trying to offer them a lollipop that he obviously had already licked on, much to their noticeable disgust.

However, the worst troublemaker of all is, without question, Shock, who somehow ended up on Malleus’s shoulders and is currently tugging on your friend’s horns, because she wants some of her own.

Needless to say, it takes no time at all for you to figure out that Malleus is the source of the thunder you just heard, because his expression is absolutely livid.

To make matters even worse, Jamil is passed out on the floor for some reason, making you wonder if the kids showed him a bug, considering only his bug phobia could result in an outcome like this.

All you can do is stare. How did utter hell break loose when I couldn’t have been distracted for more than five minutes?!

Upon seeing how close Malleus is to smiting Shock, you quickly pull yourself away from your thoughts, because you need to take action in order to stop your friend since Jack isn’t having much luck in getting the kids to behave themselves since the skeleton thinks he’s to blame for current events, because he was the one who agreed to allow the children to stick around.

Quickly, you release a shrill whistle that’s loud enough to make everyone freeze in place.

“That’s enough!” You point at the children as you scowl, “Didn’t you guys just promise Jack-san that you wouldn’t cause any trouble? If you don’t wanna be accused of breaking that promise, you better behave yourselves, or else, you’re going to get the most boring Halloween preparation jobs we can find! Like grave digging!”

Jack grins, “Oh, an excellent idea! There’s always a need for grave digging on Halloween!”

As all of your friends give the skeleton incredulous looks, Lock, Shock, and Barrel all dramatically gasp in dismay. “Anything but that!”

In a blink, the children stop terrorizing your friends, much to everyone’s relief, and even better, Malleus also starts to calm down.

You sigh in relief. “Crisis averted.”

At least, that's what you thought until the bad kid trio rushes toward you and latches onto your hands and one of your legs.

Glaring, Sebek scowls, “You impudent hellions! Release Yuu at once!”

“But I wanna play with her!” Shock tugs on your hand. “Let’s play, Yuu!”

“Yeah, you seem way less boring than these other guys.” Lock pipes up as he pulls on your other hand. “Let’s have some fun together!”

“Pretty please?” Barrel, who has his arms and legs wrapped around your right leg, asks, giving you some puppy dog eyes.

You eye him suspiciously. I don’t trust those eyes. You kids are definitely up to something, as per usual.

“Huh, now, that’s a surprise.” Jack comments, “I’ve never seen those three be that friendly with someone before. They’ve really taken a shine to Yuu-kun.”

His reaction makes you further convinced that the bad kid trio is up to no good since they’re acting so uncharacteristically.

Just what are these kids plotting?

As you’re trying to figure out the children’s hidden agenda, Leona scowls, “Don’t just stand there like a damn Halloween decoration, Skellington. Get those damn brats under control. Don’t let them just do as they please.”

“Agreed.” Vil frowns, “Regardless of how the children feel about Yuu, they’re clearly invading her personal space without giving any regards to her own feelings.”

“Ugh. These kids really are the worst.” Idia grimaces, “An introvert's worst nightmare…”

“Hmm. I suppose you’re all right.” Jack nods before focusing his attention back on the kids. “Lock, Shock, Barrel, it’s good that you three like Yuu-kun so much, but you shouldn’t trouble her, so please release her.”

“But, Jack, we just wanna help!” Shock replies, “If we wanna show her all the fun places around Halloween Town, we gotta guide her by hand, right?”

Lock quickly nods. “Right! And since Yuu’s new here, she needs a guide, so she can do a good job at being your replacement.”

“And we’re excellent guides!” Barrel chimes in. “We’ll take Yuu everywhere she needs to go! We’ll even show her where our awesome tree house is, so when we're not around, she’ll know where to find us if she ever needs our help!”

Upon hearing the word “treehouse”, your face blanches, because all you can think about is who lives under that treehouse.

The Boogeyman… Your eyes widen with dread. Oh, shit. Are these kids targeting me ‘cause Oogie Boogie is in need of a new meal and he likes women?

Because why else would Barrel bring up the treehouse? Obviously, the children want to encourage you to visit it.

After all, hunting for Oogie’s next meal will be a whole lot easier if their prey comes to them.

You’re soon pulled away from your horror-filled thoughts when Jack remarks, “Oh, that’s surprisingly thoughtful of you kids. You’re right that Yuu-kun needs a guide, so maybe it would be for the best to leave that important job to you three.”

Pure panic washes over you like a tidal wave when you hear Jack’s response since the last thing you want is to have Oogie’s henchmen acting as your guides.

That’s why you quickly open your mouth to protest, just like several of your friends, who all take notice of how visibly uncomfortable you are with the idea of being stuck with Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

However, much to everyone’s surprise, the first person to respond to Jack’s remark isn’t you or any of them.

“Actually, Jack-sama, Yuu-san will not be in need of a guide.”

Immediately, all eyes fall on Skully, who is thankfully back to his old self, for the time being anyway.

“Huh?” Lock, Shock, and Barrel all reply simultaneously.

At the same time, Jack blinks in surprise. “Really?”

Nodding, Skully smiles, “You see, Yuu-san, like myself, prefers to explore new areas without maps or guides, because we both enjoy the adventure of solving the many wonderful mysteries we encounter as we tread along paths unknown.”

His smile grows. “And that would especially be the case for a dream-like place such as Halloween Town, which I’m sure is filled with more wonderful surprises than we can count.”

“So please do not concern yourself with this matter, Jack-sama.” He continues, “I can assure you that Yuu-san and myself will be able to acclimate to our new environment without any trouble.”

A matching smile appears on Jack’s face. “What a coincidence! That’s exactly how I feel when it comes to exploring new places.”

“Alright, I’d hate for you and Yuu-kun to miss out on all the fun of exploring our wonderful town, so I won’t worry about assigning guides to the two of you.” He adds, “Instead, the kids can guide the rest of you Twisted Wonderland folks around town.”

Much to your amusement, in complete sync, all of your friends retort, “No, thanks!”

Meanwhile, Skully directs his attention to Lock, Shock, and Barrel. “Now that that matter is all settled, please release Yuu-san, Lock-sama, Shock-sama, Barrel-sama. If you continue to cling to her, you will only further trouble her.”

Rather than heed his request, the children all adamantly shake their heads as they tighten their grips on you, proving just how determined they are to get their way.

“Even if Yuu doesn’t need a guide, we still wanna play with her!” Shock declares as she uses her whole body to cling onto your arm, just like what Lock is now doing.

“Yeah!” Lock and Barrel agree, “Let’s play!”

To the great annoyance of pretty much everyone present, the bad kid trio proceeds to loudly chant the phrase “Let’s play!” over and over again, obviously thinking that doing this enough times will eventually lead to you getting so worn out that you’ll give into their demands just to get them to shut up.

Your eyebrow rapidly twitches. These brats are lucky that I always go easy on children, regardless of how they act. Otherwise, I would’ve lost my temper by now.

Because of all the children you failed to save back in Japan’s underworld, you’ve become the kind of person who always fights to protect kids and can’t ever be rough with them.

That’s the reason why you’ve allowed the kids to continue to cling onto you this whole time despite their irritating behavior and the fact that you want nothing to do with Oogie Boogie’s loyal henchmen.

However, even your patience has its limits, so you obviously need to do something about these children before you finally snap.

As you futilely begin trying to pry the stubborn children off of you, chiding them for their bad manners all the while, Riddle frowns, “Such unruly, ill-mannered children. Perhaps losing their heads will help them learn how to behave themselves.”

When his childhood friend reaches for his magic-pen, Trey holds up his hands placatingly. “Now, now, Riddle. Let’s not be hasty here. It’s true we need to do something about these kids, but I don’t think using your Unique Magic on them is the way to go.”

“Magic will not be necessary!” Sebek stomps over to where you’re standing. “I will simply remove these hellions by force!”

“I’ll help too!” Epel chimes in as he follows after Sebek.

Growling, Grim scurries over to where you’re standing. “Let go of my henchman, you brats!”

Unfortunately, despite your sons’ best efforts, they’re unable to pry Lock, Shock, and Barrel off of you, which is rather surprising, considering how physically strong Sebek is.

As all of your sons start scowling and complaining about the kids, who blow raspberries at them despite wearing masks, all of the dorm leaders and Jamil direct their own ire at an apologetic Jack for being unable to control the residents of his town. All the while, an amused Jade just watches the proceedings, seemingly enjoying all of the ongoing chaos.

After several seconds pass like this, Skully frowns, “I did not want to be so rude to anyone from Halloween Town, but…as you are causing such trouble for Yuu-san and Jack-sama and also making such an unpleasant racket, it can't be helped.”

Upon hearing those words, you turn to look at Skully, and your eyes promptly widen when you see that he’s building up his magic and getting ready to use it. “Skully?”

“Light the lantern.” Skully grins as he uses his hands to do the pose that makes them resemble Jack’s collar. “Scary Night.”

In a blink, it happens. One second, you have three unruly children clinging onto you, and in the next, you’re finally free from their clutches, because they completely disappear from view after being swallowed by a cloud of smoke, which came out of nowhere. When the smoke eventually clears, you see three jack-o-lanterns, which are now on the floor before you.

For a moment, the room is completely silent, and then, everyone, the jack-o-lanterns included, finally reacts.

“EH?!”

After everyone shouts in surprise, Jack exclaims, “T-The three of them...turned into jack-o-lanterns!”

Leona scrutinizes Skully and the jack-o-lanterns. “Is that Skully's Unique Magic..?”

“What's with this?!” Lock shouts, once again demonstrating that the kids can talk while in their current forms. “What happened to us?!”

“You idiots turned into pumpkins!” Shock says, stating the obvious.

“So did you!” Barrel points out.

Grim stares at them with amazement. “The pumpkins are talkin’...!”

“I don't wanna stay like this forever!” Shock whines, obviously having had enough of her new look.

“Me either!” Lock and Barrel simultaneously agree.

In complete sync, the jack-o-lanterns loudly demand, “Turn us back!”

Smiling, Skully thoughtfully rubs his chin. “Hmm. In exchange, will you promise me that you'll stay quiet and not cause any further trouble for Yuu-san and Jack-sama?”

Without hesitation, the children answer, “We will, we will! We'll be quiet and won’t cause any more trouble!”

Appearing satisfied, Skully nods. “Very well then. It’s a promise.”

Seconds later, the jack-o-lanterns disappear from sight after getting enveloped by a cloud of smoke, and in their place, once the smoke clears, you see Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who are all back to normal.

Jack smiles, “Oh, they're back to normal.”

With a smile, you turn to face Skully and take hold of his hand, so you can give it a squeeze. “Thank you, Skully. You were a huge help just now. I really appreciate you intervening before things could get further outta hand.”

Your smile grows. “Being able to turn people into jack-o-lanterns must be your Unique Magic, right? That’s really impressive, and it perfectly suits a Halloween lover like yourself. What a cool Unique Magic.”

Flushing, Skully bashfully smiles, “To receive such kind words from someone as wonderful yourself is an honor. Thank you. It brings me great joy to hear my Unique Magic receive such generous praise.”

Unbeknownst to you since your full attention is on Skully, an obviously jealous Sebek starts glaring at Skully. “Grrr..!”

Meanwhile, Lock earns everyone’s attention when he remarks, “That surprised me. The stupid faces you two made were the best, though.”

Shock grins, “Never though the day'd come where I'd be a pumpkin.”

Barrel laughs, “Funny! Do it again!”

As you and several others give the kids incredulous looks, Trey shakes his head. “They seem to be having fun...somehow…”

Azul tilts his head. “...oya? Skully-san, are you not going to get mad at them for being noisy again? I thought there was no doubt that you would simply change Lock-san and the others back into jack-o-lanterns again.”

Skully frowns, “Actually... I'm still not very skilled with my Unique Magic...After I use it once, I can't do it again for some time.”

He cups his cheeks as he shakes his head. “It is... an embarrassing limitation.”

“That's nothing to be embarrassed about.” Riddle replies, “After all, your Unique Magic involves full human transmutation magic.”

Vil nods in agreement. “Transforming yourself with potions or magic is already difficult, but ‘forcefully changing a person's shape’ magic is even more so. Even doing it once is a very high-level thing.”

“Yeah.” Leona agrees, “I don't know if you'd be able to use it on someone with powerful magic, but as a surprise, it's a good trick.”

“Agreed.” Trey smiles, “And, Skully, you're still a first year. There's a distinct possibility that with some practice you'd be able to do it even more often.”

“I thought you were just a Halloween idiot, but you might be an herbivore with more to you than I expected.” Leona comments.

A grin rises to your lips. “If all these skilled upperclassmen are saying as much, you really are just as impressive as I thought, Skully. After all, these guys wouldn’t say stuff like this unless they meant it.”

Skully’s blush darkens as he continues to cup his cheeks. “Oh my. I am but a humble, ordinary person, but to have all you lovelies compliment me so is an honor.”

Unfortunately, this tender moment doesn’t last for long thanks to a jealous Sebek who has obviously hit his limit. “I am far more impressive than that human!”

Almost everyone flinches at the sound of Sebek’s yell, which reverberates throughout the whole building.

Leona scowls at him. “Yelling like that out of nowhere, my ears hurt.”

You give your son an exasperated look. “Sebek, this isn’t a competition. There’s no need to get so worked up, just ‘cause Skully’s Unique Magic is getting praised.”

“I am not competing!” Sebek unconvincingly denies, “I am just informing you of my superiority over him!”

While you tiredly sigh, Leona rolls his eyes. “That is competing, isn't it?”

Meanwhile, Malleus, who was the only one completely unaffected by his retainer’s shouting, continues to study Skully with interest, just as he’s been doing for the last several minutes. “Hoh. It is still rough, but it is interesting magic.”

Sebek looks at him with dismay. “Even M-Malleus-sama...!”

Desperate for a topic change since you really don’t want your son to get any more worked up than he already is, you decide to address something that’s been bothering you for a while now. “ANYWAY…how about we move on and do something about poor Jamil-senpai, who appears to still be unconscious? I’m getting worried about him.”

“Oh, I am sure that he is fine. More than likely, he has remained unconscious, because he still has the bug that Lock-kun gave him earlier in his hand.” Jade casually informs.

Surprise briefly crosses your features before anger quickly takes its place. “If you knew that was the problem, then get rid of the bug for him, you jerk!”

Quickly, you approach Jamil’s prone position, and after crouching down beside him, you grab the green bug in his hand, which looks just like the one that got boiled by Lock in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Without hesitation, you throw the bug at a chuckling Jade, who smoothly dodges it, resulting in the bug landing on Azul, who was right behind him, causing the octo-mer to release a startled cry, much to the eel-mer’s delight.

After giving Azul a quick apology, you start gently shaking Jamil’s shoulders. “Jamil-senpai, I got rid of the bug for you. Please wake up before any of the bugs living in this building can crawl out of the floorboards and go after you.”

Much to your amusement, at your mention of the possibility of more bugs coming after him, Jamil abruptly wakes up with a panicked gasp and shoots straight up into a seated position.

As you sigh in relief and begin assuring Jamil that he’s safe now, Jack turns to look at Lock, Shock, and Barrel. “Alright, you three, if you really wanna help with the Halloween preparations, go see the mayor and draw some lots, so you can get put on a team.”

He wags a finger at them. “And, remember, no more causing trouble.”

Just as they did in the movie, Lock, Shock, and Barrel all simultaneously move one of their hands behind their backs, no doubt so they can cross their fingers, before replying, “Yes, Jack~!”

Thankfully, even though it’s obvious that they’re up to no good, the bad kid trio doesn’t try to cause any further trouble and instead obediently heads outside, so they can search for the mayor.

While that’s transpiring, Leona approaches you as you help Jamil rise to his feet. Keeping his voice low so Jack won’t overhear him, Leona asks, “What’s the deal with those three brats? You wouldn’t be so nervous around a bunch of kids if they weren’t dangerous in some way.”

Not at all surprised by Leona’s desire to find out the reason why you had been panicking earlier, you grimace, “The children themselves aren't really dangerous, which is why I didn't bring them up earlier at the alley, although I wouldn’t say they’re harmless either. It’s their boss that we need to worry about.”

Because he’s close enough to hear both you and Leona, Jamil narrows his eyes. “Their boss?”

Seeing that Jack has just finished seeing off Lock, Shock, and Barrel and is now turning to face the rest of you, you quickly whisper, “I’ll explain everything the next time everyone from NRC is alone together. For now, just make sure no one goes anywhere with those kids unless they have backup, and no matter what, do NOT let anyone go near their treehouse, which is just outside of town, since that's where their boss is 'cause Jack-san banished him and forbid him from ever coming back into Halloween Town. That's why I didn't bring him up earlier at the alley 'cause he's not technically a citizen of this town anymore.”

Before Leona or Jamil, both of whom you can tell would prefer to get answers to all of their questions now rather than later, can respond, Jack loudly claps his hands, instantly earning everyone’s attention. “Sorry, everyone. We got a little off track thanks to those kids.”

“A little is an understatement.” Idia mutters, giving the skeleton an unimpressed look.

Completely oblivious to the not-so-positive looks most of your upperclassmen are giving him because of how poorly he handled the bad kid trio, Jack continues, “Going back to the subject of preparing for Halloween, I say we move forward with the idea of us all working together to create a special surprise for Yuu-kun as well as for everyone in Halloween Town since it’ll be a perfect way to reward everyone for all their hard work!”

“And while we’re working on that, Yuu-kun and Skully-kun will be in charge of overseeing the preparations for everyone’s tests of courage.” He adds, “Considering we don’t have much time to get all this work done, I’m sure those two will be kept fairly busy these next three days, so the rest of us should be able to put together a surprise for Yuu-kun without worry of the surprise getting spoiled.”

As if to support Jack’s words, the mayor suddenly sticks his head into the building after partially opening the front door. “Yuu-kun, Skully-kun, our teams have been decided! Both teams want your help with making their project plans!”

You chuckle, “Guess that’s our cue.”

“Alright, Skully and I are off to work.” You smile at your friends. “I’ll see you guys later, probably once we figure out what test of courage teams you all should be on.”

“Hopefully, by that point, you guys will have a plan for my surprise, so we’ll be able to easily figure out how to best divide your time equally between your assigned tasks.” You add.

“Grim, be on your best behavior for Jack-san.” You give your partner a look. “If you don’t…”

“You’ll be on tonight’s menu.” Leona smirks, picking up where you left off, making Grim tremble with fear.

“I-I’ll be good!” Grim nervously replies, “I promise!”

Pleased, you nod. “Very good.”

Your gaze then focuses on Sebek and Epel. “You boys be good too. If you need any parental support or advice and can’t find me, rely on your upperclassmen or ask if Jack-san is willing to do the job.”

As the majority of your upperclassmen titter, much to the embarrassment of your two sons, Sebek scowls, “That will NOT be necessary!”

Epel pouts, “Yeah, we’ll be fine, so go ahead and go to work already!”

With a laugh, you move to exit the stage and head for the exit. “Alright, I’m off to work. Let’s go, Skully.”

After giving everyone a quick, polite bow, Skully hurries after you. “Yes! Let us go and work hard for the sake of Jack-sama and all the other wonderful people of Halloween Town, so we can give them the best Halloween!”

Your earlier good mood quickly dampens when you hear the forced cheer in Skully’s voice. Obviously, he’s putting up a strong front since he doesn’t want to make anyone worry, and he doesn’t want anyone to realize just how deeply affected he had been about his idol rejecting all of the lonely Halloweens he has had.

I really need to have a proper talk with him. You frown. But now’s not the time for that. Either I’ll have to wait for us to have a free moment together during the course of the day, or I’ll have to talk to him at the end of the day.

No matter what, you will definitely talk to Skully since you can’t just stand by and let him suffer in silence, because it’s just too painful for you to watch.

Even though we’ve only just met, I like Skully. You think to yourself. I can tell he’s a good boy at heart. That’s why he’s always so kind and gentle toward me and why he was quick to come to my aid when Lock, Shock, and Barrel were bothering me.

Skully is someone you want to become friends with, even though doing that will, in turn, make parting with him harder on you when it finally comes time for the two of you to return to your respective time periods.

Despite knowing that, you still intend to befriend him, because you want Skully to be able to enjoy the wonderful experience of having a friend.

You want him to have the same kinds of great experiences you’ve had since coming to Night Raven College and meeting all of the amazing guys you now call friends.

More than anything, however, you just don’t want this sweet boy to be alone anymore.

Your expression softens. Even though Skully says he likes spending Halloween in solitude, I know he doesn’t want to be alone all the time. He wouldn’t look so happy whilst being surrounded by people otherwise.

Unlike Idia, who’s always looking for a way to escape being around people, Skully always goes toward people, never away from them, because he wants to talk to them - to form a connection with them.

This boy is desperate for those kinds of emotional connections, and that, in turn, is probably why he’s so devastated by the fact that his idol doesn’t support his Halloween ideals - that his idol isn’t whom Skully expected him to be.

Because it means that Skully has essentially lost the one connection he had thought he had to the one person he had thought would be able to understand him due to their mutual, avid love of Halloween.

As a result, Skully is like a ship adrift at sea - a ship that has nothing to keep itself anchored when the storms start rolling in.

And when those tidal waves of negative emotions start crashing against him, Skully will have nothing to hang onto, so sinking will be inevitable, just like what happened earlier before you had reached out to him.

That’s why you need to continue reaching out to him; you need to give him something to cling onto, so he won’t drown - so he won’t end up in a place so deep that your hands will be unable to reach him.

So he won’t end up in a situation similar to what all of your friends, who have overblotted, experienced.

You bite your lip. Considering overblots only happen to powerful mages, Skully should be safe from that kinda horrible outcome, but I’m still worried about him regardless since his behavior reminds me of how Leona-senpai and the others acted prior to their overblots.

For that reason, you’re determined to not leave Skully alone. You weren’t able to prevent your friends’ overblots, but you will make sure to keep him safe.

Because this is one battle that you refuse to lose.

Chapter Text

Much to your surprise, when you and Skully exit Town Hall, you find yourself wincing and squinting due to the sunlight that hits your face immediately after you walk outside. Ugh. That’s bright. ‘Cause the town hall building’s windows are all covered with thick, dark curtains, I didn’t know the sun had come up while we were having that town meeting. Wish someone would’ve given me a warning…

This makes you wonder just what time it was when you and your friends arrived at Halloween Town and why everyone was awake at such an early hour, although you suppose you can understand the locals being unable to sleep when Halloween is only three days away, especially since, prior to your group’s arrival, they had no plans for how to celebrate Halloween this year.

You’re soon pulled out of your musings by the mayor, who quickly has you and Skully split up, so you each can be in charge of helping one of the test of courage teams with their project plans.

Much to your amusement, it’s during this time that you find out the team you’ll be helping has chosen “Team Terror” as its team name while the team Skully has been assigned to is calling itself “Team Horror”.

Obviously, coming up with innovative nicknames isn’t in any of the locals’ repertoire.

Naturally, you keep such thoughts to yourself, especially since it’s not like you’re an expert at naming things, and instead focus on helping Team Terror as much as you can, all the while feeling grateful for the fact that you don’t have to be the one who’s in charge of putting everything down on paper since they want to include drawings on their project plan, which is not something you’re at all good at doing due to your lack of art skills.

However, what you’re most grateful for is the fact that only Barrel ended up on Team Terror since you don’t know what you would’ve done if you had to worry about dealing with two or more of Oogie’s henchmen.

Plus, out of the three kids, you would consider Barrel the least dangerous since it’s always Lock and Shock, who do the majority of the scheming, although you have no intention to let your guard down around him since you know all of the children are bad news.

For that reason, you make sure to always keep Barrel in your line of sight as you answer all of the questions that the Halloween Town residents throw at you to the best of your ability.

Thankfully, the whole time you’re helping with the project plan, Barrel actually behaves himself since he just spends the whole time licking his lollipop, much to your immense relief.

Of course, you still have every intention to keep your guard up, because you know that Oogie’s henchmen are still up to no good. The fact that you haven’t seen any signs of Lock since you came outside is proof of that.

Maybe he had to go and give a report to Oogie Boogie about everything that happened during the town meeting. You think to yourself. It’s a one-man job, so I could see him slipping away to do that while Shock and Barrel remain behind to keep an eye on things in town.

You internally grimace. Ugh. The last thing I want is for Oogie to find out about me, but sadly, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure the kids are under orders to always tell him about whatever girls they encounter since he seems to really like them, considering how he reacted to seeing Sally’s leg in the movie when she tried to distract him so she could save Santa Claus.

It would be just my luck to run into Oogie’s henchmen the first day I’m here. You release an inaudible sigh. Considering how rarely they come into town, I didn’t even think to consider what to do if I ran into them since I just automatically assumed I wouldn’t see them, at least not until much later, but of course, I could never be that lucky.

Obviously, this damn book you’re stuck in has it out for you. That’s the only explanation you can think of for you encountering Lock, Shock, and Barrel so soon after getting trapped inside its pages.

Just as things were a little off in Stitch’s story, as far as Gantu’s role in it was concerned, some adjustments were made here, so Oogie Boogie, who is very likely going to play the role of the antagonist of this story, or at least one of them since the alley incident that happened before the town meeting proved that there's also something dangerous inside of Halloween Town, not just outside, would find out that you’re in town and get a chance to have some fun at your expense.

Because things just can’t ever be easy for you, now can they?

Thankfully, much to your great relief, despite Shock and Barrel being present, no trouble arises while you and Skully are helping Teams Terror and Horror with their project plans, so the planning process proceeds smoothly for the most part.

The only real issue that comes up is that everyone has so many different ideas, so it takes a while for each team to come up with a plan that’s completely cohesive.

Fortunately, unlike the guys at your school, all of the Halloween Town residents are team-players and aren’t the type of people to insist that things should be done their way, so they’re all open to the suggestions that you and Skully make and are satisfied with the end result that comes about after you all work together to create project plans that will make everyone happy.

Even better, Skully manages to impress several of the locals with his scaring tactics; they give him a lot of compliments when he shares ideas about different ways they can try scaring Jack, which seemingly helps improve Skully’s mood, because his ideas are finally getting validated and aren’t getting called boring, much to your relief.

Once the two teams’ project plans have finally been completed, the teams submit them to the mayor before dispersing, so they can get to work on preparing for their tests of courage.

Much to your relief, Shock and Barrel also take their leave rather than try to pester you like they did inside Town Hall, although you have a feeling that they’re only leaving because they need to meet up with Lock rather than because they intend to help their respective teams since you still haven't seen any signs of Lock, and both Shock and Barrel didn’t appear too interested in working on the tests of courage.

After everyone else leaves, the mayor, who’s currently wearing his happy face, turns to look at you and Skully and exclaims, “That was a splendid planning session! You both did an excellent job in helping the teams put their ideas together to form cohesive project plans. We’re sure to have an especially horrifying Halloween this year thanks to you two. As expected of the people appointed by Jack!”

Smiling, Skully rests a hand over his heart as he elegantly bows. “I am honored by your praise. Thank you very much. I can only hope that I will continue to live up to your high expectations.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Things worked out so smoothly ‘cause everyone here is so nice, and they’re all team-players. They were all so respectful of each other’s ideas and just wanted to do whatever they could to make this Halloween the best ever, so it wasn’t difficult at all for my team to put a project plan together.”

While Skully cheerfully nods in agreement, you tilt your head curiously. “So, now that the project plans have been made, what should we do next, mayor? Is there anything pressing that needs to be addressed right away, or should we work on assigning my friends to the test of courage teams?”

“I say you should take care of your friends’ roles in the tests of courage next.” The mayor replies, “And after that, I think the two of you should make yourselves available to Teams Horror and Terror since I’m sure they will want to seek out your advice just like they normally do with Jack.”

“In the meantime, I will head back inside Town Hall to see if Jack needs me to do anything else.” He adds, “I’m also curious about what he and your friends are all doing in there since they have yet to leave the building despite how much time has passed.”

You internally grimace. Considering how my friends are, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re still inside ‘cause they started arguing about what to do for my surprise since I know that getting them to make a project plan wouldn’t be nearly as easy as it was for the Halloween Town residents.

All you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best since those stubborn, uncooperative boys are Jack’s responsibility now, not yours.

Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to get involved eventually since not many people possess the ability to get NRC boys to behave, like I do. You dryly think to yourself.

Right after you think that, you’re pulled away from your thoughts when the mayor says that he’ll see you and Skully later when he comes to periodically check in with the two of you before he makes his way over to Town Hall.

As soon as the mayor is out of earshot, you reach over to pat Skully’s back. “You really did a great job earlier, Skully. I know all the ideas thrown your way didn’t really fit the kind of ideal Halloween you prefer, but you didn’t let your personal feelings get in the way and instead provided your team the help they needed.”

“And all of your scaring ideas were great, just as I had expected they’d be.” You add, “The locals were very impressed.”

Skully twitches in response to your words before, once again, trying to force a fake smile onto his lips. Before he can say anything, you surprise him when you reach up to pinch his cheek. “None of that fake smiling business, mister. I only wanna see your real smiles, which you do a great disservice to by trying to give me those fake ones.”

After you finish pinching his cheek, Skully hangs his head. “I apologize…”

Your expression softens. “You haven’t done anything that warrants an apology, Skully. I don’t blame you at all for being upset since Halloween is so important to you, and you love Jack-san so much. Of course, everything he said earlier would hurt you since it completely goes against how you’ve always celebrated your favorite holiday.”

While a now trembling Skully bites his lip, you continue, “There’s nothing wrong with feeling the way you do, and I also can’t blame you for wanting to hide it since most boys your age wanna always act tough in moments like this.”

You gently grab his chin, so you can make his gaze meet yours. “I just don’t want you to feel like you need to put up a strong front when you’re with me. I want you to just be yourself, negative emotions and all, when we’re together since, if we’re gonna be friends, I want us to be honest with each other.”

“And I just don’t like seeing that fake smile on your face since it makes me really sad.” You quietly add as you gently stroke his skin with your thumb.

“Yuu-san…” Skully murmurs, with noticeable emotion in his voice, as his trembling hand reaches out to you before pausing mid-air a moment later.

Softly smiling, you release your hold on his chin and use that hand to grab his outstretched hand, whose fingers you intertwine with yours. “I’m right here, Skully. We’re in this together, so you can rely on me as much as you want.”

Giving his hand a strong squeeze, you kindly whisper, “You’re not alone.”

His trembling becomes more pronounced as his breath hitches. Using his free hand that’s not tightly clutching yours, Skully pushes up his glasses, so he can scrub at his teary eyes. “T-Thank you very much…”

“Anytime, Skully, anytime.” You gently reply, all the while comfortingly squeezing his hand.

After he eventually finishes scrubbing away his tears, Skully brings your hand to his mouth and tenderly kisses your knuckles. “I promise I will refrain from showing you insincere smiles henceforth. A lady, who’s as lovely as you, inside and out, deserves only the best smiles I can offer, after all.”

Upon hearing that he won't give you any more fake smiles, which fills you with immense relief, you warmly smile, “I'm very happy to hear that. Thank you, for your promise and for being such a sweet and charming boy.”

Much to your delight, Skully starts cutely blushing when you compliment him, making you internally coo at how cute the precious boy is.

Even though you’d love nothing more than to have a proper talk with Skully so you can provide this sweet boy with even more support, you know this isn’t the time or place for it, especially when you have no way of knowing when the mayor will return, so you refrain from trying to get him to talk about everything that’s currently weighing on his mind.

Instead, you say, “For now, let’s focus on doing what we can as Jack-san’s temporary replacements. I’d hate to be caught slacking on the job.”

“Oh yes, I wouldn’t be able to face Jack-sama ever again if I was caught in such an embarrassing position.” Skully immediately replies, making you chuckle.

With that decided, you collect some parchment and a writing quill from the mayor’s car, both of which you pass off to Skully since he’s used to using the latter, unlike you, and his penmanship is so much nicer than yours.

Thankfully, Skully has no issue with being the one in charge of doing all the writing, because he’s a sweet boy, and you think he enjoys showing off his perfect calligraphy.

“Alright, so here’s the deal, Skully.” You say, once Skully is ready to start writing. “Despite what I said in the meeting earlier, deciding which NRC boy goes on which team isn’t gonna have anything to do with whose skills will contribute the best to whatever team they’re assigned to since I honestly think they each have enough skills that they can positively contribute no matter what team they’re on.”

He tilts his head curiously. “Then…what factors will be considered when making these team assignments?”

Looking him dead in the eye, you deadpan, “Whom they each can place nice with the best.”

There’s a long pause before a befuddled Skully replies, “Pardon?”

An amused huff escapes you. “I have no idea what NRC was like back in your day, but in the future, it becomes a school full of arrogant, self-centered, uncooperative boys. Unlike most normal people, these guys don’t play nice with others, not unless there’s something in it for them.”

“That’s why the Headmage enrolled me as a student.” You dryly reveal, “He had hoped that I’d be able to keep the peace on campus by using the beast-taming abilities he claimed I had.”

With a shrug, you add, “For the most part, he wasn’t wrong since I have been able to miraculously get these guys to work together on occasion, and my friends are always willing to hear me out, but at the end of the day, the guys are still prone to butting heads, especially when I’m not around.”

Much to your amusement, after another long pause, Skully worriedly asks, “Will Jack-sama be alright?”

All you can do is snort. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. While my friends are a handful, they’re not so bad that they’re impossible to work with. He’ll probably struggle a little at first, but I’m sure Jack-san will find a way to get everyone to work together. After all, he is the Pumpkin King - a person who can’t be daunted for too long.”

Skully perks up. “You’re right! No task is too great for Jack-sama! He can do anything!”

It won’t be easy for him, though, considering how my friends are. You wryly think to yourself. I’m sure Jack has never had to deal with people like them before, so he’s got quite the undertaking ahead of him. I wish him all the luck and then some ‘cause he’s definitely gonna need it.

And, of course, you were exactly right.

Deciding to get things back on track, you say, “Going back to the current task at hand, let’s decide who will be a part of Team Terror with me and Team Horror with you.”

After Skully nods, you continue, “I wanna first start off with Leona-senpai ‘cause he’s one of the guys who only gets along well with a small group of people, so essentially, he needs to be on one team while the people he can’t stand the most will all be put on the other team.”

“I think Leona-senpai should be on Team Terror since I’m the one he likes the most, and I will have the best chance of getting him to agree to do stuff that he might not wanna do otherwise.” You dryly add, “Which means Tsunotaro, Azul-senpai, and Jade-senpai automatically go on Team Horror, and I also feel inclined to include Vil-senpai on your team for good measure.”

“Is there a reason Leona-san does not get along well with those four in particular?” Skully curiously asks as he begins writing down the names you’ve reeled off thus far.

You idly twirl a strand of your hair around your finger. “When it comes to Leona-senpai’s dynamic with Tsunotaro and Vil-senpai, I’d say their personalities all just rub each other the wrong way, although there’s definitely more to it than just that.”

With a shrug, you add, “It’s hard to really put it into words, especially since you just met them. That’s why I’d recommend observing them since their typical exchanges will likely provide a better explanation than my words ever could.”

“As far as Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai are concerned, they and Jade-senpai’s twin brother, Floyd-senpai, are just not very popular amongst the masses.” You wryly explain, “They’re all about making deals that, in the end, will benefit themselves way more than the people they’re supposedly trying to help, although they never actually break any rules so they’re seemingly shady dealings are all above board.”

An amused huff escapes you. “That’s why they’re so vexing to a lot of people ‘cause they’re smart enough to do things in a way that they can’t be condemned for since they refrain from doing anything that’s technically against the rules.”

It’s at that moment you remember something important, which prompts you to quickly say, "Skully, if Azul-senpai or Jade-senpai try to offer you their ‘services’, just politely decline them, and whatever you do, do NOT sign any contracts that they try to offer you.”

Skully just stares. “....understood.”

After internally giving yourself a pat on the back for taking action to ensure Skully will be safe from the fish mafia, you decide to resume working on the team assignments for your friends who have yet to be assigned to a team. “Alright, going back to the team assignments, I say we place Epel on Team Terror ‘cause Leona-senpai likes him due to them being in the same club and ‘cause my son is a good, honest boy, who's nothing like the shady Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai.”

“Plus, I’m sure Epel will enjoy not being on the same team as Vil-senpai since it means he won’t have to worry about Vil-senpai hovering over his shoulder and keeping a close eye on him all the time.” You mutter underneath your breath.

Before Skully can try to ask you to repeat yourself since he obviously didn’t hear your muttered comment, you remark, “My other son, Grim, should also be on Team Terror, so I’ll be able to monitor him during the times when Jack-san can’t since obviously Jack-san can’t be present when we’re all working on the tests of courage.”

“Sebek, however, should be on Team Horror ‘cause, despite how much he obviously loves me, he adores Tsunotaro even more and would want to be on the same team as his beloved liege, whom he has sworn to protect at all times.” You add.

“Ah, yes, I can understand that feeling quite well.” Skully smiles, “If given the opportunity, I would love nothing more than to be on the same team as Jack-sama!”

Thankfully, those words sound sincere, so it doesn’t seem like recent events have made him completely lose his love for Jack. You note. I’m glad since Jack has obviously been a very important figure in his life for a while, and I don’t want him to lose that ‘cause his idol didn’t turn out to be exactly how he had expected him to be.

As you smile at that thought, you move onto the next team assignment. “I think Jamil-senpai should be on Team Terror ‘cause he’s someone who can get along with Leona-senpai when the situation calls for it, and most importantly, he can avoid being on the same team as Azul-senpai, whom he’s not particularly fond of.”

You thoughtfully rub your chin. “Which leaves us with Riddle-senpai, Trey-senpai, and Idia-senpai. I feel like those three can go anywhere since there aren’t any particular people whom they don’t get along with in either team.”

“Regardless of what team he’s put on, Idia-senpai’s gonna complain ‘cause he’s an antisocial introvert, so nothing's gonna really make this situation more acceptable to him.” You dryly add.

After taking a long moment to consider your options, you decide, “I say put Trey-senpai on Team Horror while Riddle-senpai and Idia-senpai go to Team Terror.”

Skully quickly writes those three names down in the team categories they were just assigned before remarking, “I’m surprised. I would have thought you would put Riddle-san and Trey-san in the same team since they get along so well, and they’re in the same dorm, if I recall correctly.”

“They are.” You nod. “While I had considered doing that, in the end, I decided to separate them ‘cause I want us fourteen NRC students to be equally divided amongst the two teams and Team Horror was in need of a peacekeeper like Trey-senpai, who is as good at keeping everyone from getting violent with each other as I am.”

“I feel a little bad for Trey-senpai since I’ve given him a tough job, but I’d be a fool to not make full use of his impressive ability to de-escalate worrisome situations.” You wryly add.

Skully beams, “I can see you have a lot of faith in Trey-san’s abilities. For you to respect him so much, he must be even more of a wonderful person than I first thought. I am glad to have such a lovely person on my team.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards in response to his cute remark. “Trey-senpai really is a wonderful guy and super dependable, so I’m sure you’ll get along well with him.”

“And I’m sure things will work out just fine with the rest of the guys on your team as well.” You continue, “Although, Sebek will probably be more prickly toward you than anyone else ‘cause he’s been jealous of all the attention you’ve been receiving from me as of late.”

“I don’t think Sebek will ever go overboard with his jealousy since he knows how to be professional when the situation calls for it, but if he lets that childish side of him get the better of him when he’s around you, just let me know, and I’ll have a word with him.” You add, all the while hoping that your son will behave himself and not cause Skully any trouble.

Skully chuckles, “Sebek-san’s love for you is most admirable. I can tell you’re someone who’s incredibly precious to him, so I will endeavor to make it plain that I have no intention to steal your lovely self away from him.”

You giggle, “I’d appreciate that. Thank you for your understanding.”

“I’m so glad you’re such a mature guy, Skully.” You grin, “You’re like a breath of fresh air as compared to the majority of the NRC student body. If only all guys could be as sweet and well-mannered as you.”

A cute blush colors his cheeks, which he quickly cups with his hands. “Oh my, you are too kind, Yuu-san. I am undeserving of such lavish praise when I am only acting as any proper gentleman should, but your kind words are most appreciated.”

As you chuckle at his cute reaction, you decide to ask a question that’s been on your mind for a while now. “Is it because you admire Jack-san so much that you strive to be such a perfect gentleman?”

Predictably, Skully’s face brightens at the mention of his idol. “Yes! Because I respect and admire Jack-sama with all my heart and soul, I want to be just like him since there is truly no better role model.”

“That’s how everyone in my village also feels.” He adds, “Because we all love Jack-sama so dearly, we all strive to be like him since we believe that there is no better way to showcase our admiration.”

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” You nod in understanding. “So I’m really not the least bit surprised.”

What does surprise you, however, is when Skully’s earlier cheer suddenly diminishes as he mutters, “Although, my motives behind deciding to imitate Jack-sama weren’t as pure as I wish they had been. Perhaps that’s why things turned out the way they did today; I am being punished for my selfishness…”

Your chest tightly clenches when you hear those words that you’re sure weren’t meant for your ears. "Skully…"

Before you can try to offer some comfort to the now noticeably glum boy, Skully quickly grabs the parchment he had been writing on earlier whilst using the hood of the mayor’s car as a makeshift desk, and starts heading for Town Hall. “Now that everyone from Night Raven College has been assigned to a team, we need to deliver these team rosters to the mayor. Since we can’t risk the surprises Jack-sama is preparing for you to be ruined, I shall take care of this delivery, so please wait here for a moment, Yuu-san. I promise I will not take long.”

Giving you no time to respond, Skully quickly heads inside Town Hall, no doubt wanting to escape so he won’t have to answer any of your questions since it was obvious that you had overheard his earlier remark.

Figuring you should give him some space, you refrain from chasing after Skully, especially since he’s right about you needing to avoid going inside Town Hall when everyone, who’s planning a surprise for you, is still in there.

You bite your lip. I wonder what Skully meant when he said he didn’t have completely pure motives for wanting to imitate Jack. What other motives could he possibly have had that would be considered impure in his eyes?

Considering what you know about Skully, you doubt he had any ulterior motives that you personally would consider impure since he’s much nicer than the average NRC student, and you’ve never once gotten the impression that he was faking his kindness like what some NRC students do to further their hidden agendas.

That said, it’s true that you don’t know Skully very well since you’ve only just recently met him, so you can’t make any conclusive assumptions about him at this point in time, even though you trust your instincts that are currently telling you that he’s not a dishonest person.

My instincts have never once been wrong about a person, and I doubt they’re gonna start being wrong now. You muse. However, I will still do my best to not make any assumptions at this point in time since I really do need to spend more time with Skully in order to get a better understanding of him.

Not long after you make that decision, Skully exits the town hall building, wearing a noticeable, concerned frown. Once he draws closer to your current location, you wryly ask, “Let me guess, the reason you’re frowning right now is ‘cause the guys inside haven’t made any real progress ‘cause all of my friends keep butting heads?”

Skully nods. “You know your friends very well, Yuu-san.”

“That I do.” You dryly reply before sighing, “Is it so bad that I should go inside and do damage control?”

Much to your amusement, Skully answers, “I had actually asked if I should retrieve you, so you could offer your assistance, but Jack-sama and all of your friends were quick to decline my offer.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.” You huff in amusement. “Jack-san obviously wouldn’t want to put any extra work on my shoulders or risk my Halloween surprise getting ruined, and I’m sure my friends just don’t want to deal with me giving them a hard time for being so childish, especially so soon after I stopped supervising them.”

“For Jack-san’s sake, I’ll refrain from getting involved so early in the game, especially when it’s possible that he’ll have a breakthrough in the near future.” You continue, “So, rather than worry about those troublesome boys, I’ll just focus on the tasks we’ve been assigned.”

“Understood.” Skully replies, “I shall trust your judgment on this matter, Yuu-san.”

With a smile, he offers you his hand. “Shall we have our first patrol of the morning, my dear?”

When you tilt your head curiously, Skully explains, “After giving the matter some thought, I thought this would be a splendid way to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings whilst also checking on the wonderful people who are currently hard at work for Jack-sama’s sake.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards as you accept his proffered hand. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Good thinking, Skully.”

Your smile grows when you see how pleased the taller boy is to once again have the opportunity to hold your hand and how excited he is to look around the town he so greatly reveres with you. This boy is seriously way too cute. If he keeps this up, I’m gonna start worrying about him potentially making my heart explode from cuteness overload.

Not that you’d mind, of course.

Hand-in-hand, you and Skully begin exploring Halloween Town, so the two of you can familiarize yourselves with the lay of the land.

Thankfully, just as Skully had told Jack earlier when he was helping you get out of having to deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel acting as your “guides”, you and he have no trouble getting around thanks to the combined information you both have on this town, making you feel very grateful for the fact that you watched The Nightmare Before Christmas so many times when you were a child.

No doubt it's because you watched that movie so much in the past that you can comfortably walk around the town despite your horror phobia. Of course, it also helps that Skully holds your hand the whole time, and he also keeps you distracted with all of his endearing, excited reactions to everything he sees as the two of you are looking around.

The two of you don’t end up sightseeing for very long, however, since Halloween Town residents soon start approaching you and Skully, asking for your and his help with various matters, which eventually results in you and him splitting up in order to cover more ground.

And that’s how you get your first real taste of what it means to be the Pumpkin King’s temporary replacement.

For the next several hours, you find yourself moving all around the town’s pumpkin patch since that’s the location that Team Terror chose for their test of courage, accompanied by various Halloween Town citizens who need your advice for one thing or another as they get to work on decorating the pumpkin patch.

A lot of the requests that come your way are for small matters, such as to ask what’s the best way to arrange the Halloween decorations they’ll be using for your team’s test of courage or to get your opinion on the pumpkin carvings they’re doing.

Several locals also ask for your opinion on their scaring techniques and their ideas that they want to implement during your team’s test of courage. Naturally, those were the requests you were the least enthusiastic about fulfilling.

Fortunately, despite your horror phobia, you’re able to survive all the scaring methods you have to witness and provide proper feedback to everyone seeking your advice.

Of course, what helps your situation is that you’re at the pumpkin patch when you’re judging the locals’ scaring methods rather than the local cemetery, which is the area Team Horror chose to base their test of courage, meaning that’s where Skully ends up spending a lot of his time.

Now, that’s not to say there’s nothing scary about the pumpkin patch since that would be a lie. It’s a rather creepy area, although it's not as bad in the daytime as you're sure it is at night, but that’s to be expected, considering it’s a part of The Nightmare Before Christmas setting.

However, despite its creepiness, you still prefer the pumpkin patch over the cemetery since at least at the pumpkin patch you don’t have to worry about being surrounded by graves and tombstones, which is not an ideal scenery for a scaredy-cat like you, even though you did handle yourself rather well the last time you were at the cemetery.

Another key factor that helps make your situation better, which comes into play around an hour or so after you arrive at the pumpkin patch, is the arrival of Leona, who shows up at the pumpkin patch and begins lending a hand with the test of courage preparations.

Even though you don’t really get the opportunity to talk to him, because your job as Jack’s temporary replacement keeps you so busy, you’re still very grateful to have Leona around since just knowing that you have someone, whom you know you can rely on when you’re in trouble, does wonders for your mental state.

However, Leona does more for you than just remain in your near vicinity. The entire time he’s with you, he keeps a close eye on you. He does it subtly, of course, because that’s just how he is, but you always know whenever he’s looking at you since you can feel his reassuring gaze on you.

While you’re sure he does this because of your horror phobia, you think the main reason Leona has been keeping such a close eye on you is because of what happened in front of the alley near Town Hall right before the town meeting.

No doubt Leona thinks something dangerous is afoot, so he has no intention to let himself be caught unawares, not when your safety is potentially at risk, and you couldn’t be more grateful for his actions, especially since it means you also don’t have to worry about Oogie Boogie’s henchmen as long as Leona’s around.

Regrettably, even though only Barrel was assigned to Team Terror, you end up seeing all three members of the bad kid trio as the morning passes, and they all make an attempt to interact with you.

Each time, Leona gets involved by finding some work for Barrel to do and ordering Lock and Shock to return to the cemetery so they can help their team, so as a result, they’re unable to make any progress with their hidden agenda, much to their noticeable frustration and your immense relief.

After getting rid of the kids, who had started pestering you after you got your first break of the day, for the umpteenth time, Leona growls, “Damn brats are getting on my last nerve. They couldn’t be more obvious if they tried.”

“They are kids, after all.” You point out, “While they’re quite clever for their age and have plenty of skills up their sleeves, they’re still children at the end of the day, so subterfuge really is not their strong point, not in this kinda setting anyway.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Eventually, they’ll give up on just trying to talk me into doing whatever they want and start getting creative with their methods to achieve whatever their end goal is, and THAT’S what really concerns me.”

Leona frowns, “How far do you think they’d be willing to go to get what they want?”

Your stomach begins to churn uneasily in response to his question. “Failure isn’t an option for those three ‘cause of the kind of boss they have, so I think they’ll do whatever it takes to complete whatever mission he assigned to them.”

Feeling his tail wrap around your waist, you look up at your upperclassman who steadily meets your gaze. “They won’t succeed. I won’t let them do as they please, so just focus on preparing for Halloween so we can get out of this damn book as soon as possible.”

In an instant, your unease fades, and in its place a pleasant warmth appears and slowly envelops you, all thanks to that reassuring gaze of his that never fails to put your heart at ease.

Smiling, you take advantage of the fact that no one is currently looking in your direction and press your side against Leona’s, so you can somewhat lean against him. “I know. I have complete faith in you, Leona-senpai. Thank you.”

“I really appreciate you looking out for me all this time.” You quietly add, “Having you here with me this whole time has been very reassuring.”

Just as you had expected, Leona makes no move to push you away since you’re one of the few people who’s allowed to invade his personal space. “Naturally.”

While you chuckle at his instantaneous, smug response, Leona continues, “It’s not the most fun job, but it beats having to deal with Skellington and the others, and at least, out here, I can get a quick nap in whenever I want.”

Even though he says that, you know Leona hasn’t done any napping since he came to the pumpkin patch a few hours ago, and as long as you’re here, you doubt he’ll do any sleeping since your safety is obviously his highest priority right now.

Rather than say as much, you just briefly take hold of his gloved hand and give it a strong squeeze before releasing it, knowing just that simple physical sign of affection would be enough to convey your feelings to him.

Since you know that sappy conversations aren’t his thing, you refrain from further voicing your gratitude and appreciation and instead change topics by asking, “So how exactly did you end up with this job that allows you to stay here with me and not have to help Jack-san and the others? From what I’ve seen, you’re the only NRC boy on our team, who’s come to the pumpkin patch, making me assume that everyone else is still with Jack-san.”

Leona yawns into his hand. “I just told Skellington that someone needs to keep an eye on you to ensure you never accidentally head into an area where your big surprise is getting worked on and that I was the perfect choice for that all important job since I'm on your team and I possess superior senses that never miss anything. Plus, because I'm just that skilled, I, while I'm keeping an eye on you, can also simultaneously lend my amazing services to the members of our test of courage team.”

Surprise briefly crosses your features before you chuckle, “Of course, I should’ve known.”

Because nobody is better at getting out of doing annoying tasks than Leona Kingscholar. He’s a real professional when it comes to finding ways to turn a situation to his favor, so he can do as little work as possible.

However, in this case, Leona really isn’t slacking off, like he would under normal circumstances, since he has been diligently looking after you this whole time, although he is getting out of having to work with Jack and the others, which was probably the main thing he had wanted to avoid having to do.

After you find out how Leona ended up with his current job, you consider asking him if everyone had stopped arguing and had come to an agreement about what to do for your Halloween surprise by the time he left or if one of the reasons he came up with the idea of him watching over you in the first place was so he could get out of having to brainstorm with everyone else since he was tired of putting up with all the arguing.

Considering how NRC students usually are, you’re more willing to believe the latter is what happened, especially since you have seen no signs of the mayor, who had said he would check in with you and Skully periodically, not since he entered Town Hall, and that makes you think he’s currently stuck there, because he’s been unsuccessfully trying to help Jack get your friends under control.

However, you’re really hoping that that’s not the case and that the mayor is just busy with other matters since you’re going to feel really bad for him and Jack if your friends really are still arguing despite how much time has passed since Skully first told you about how your friends had been butting heads.

Even though you really want to know what’s going on with the rest of your friends, you, in the end, decide to refrain from voicing your question, because you know Leona would never admit that things went to hell after you officially began your work as Jack’s temporary replacement, and you’re sure the same could be said about the rest of your friends.

Because their pride would never allow it.

That’s why, if you want to gain any information on this matter, you need to stick to gathering it from Skully and the citizens of Halloween Town, although you could probably get the information you’re seeking from Grim, just as long as no one else is around to keep him quiet when you question him, since he’s not the best at keeping secrets.

Another reason you don’t want to question Leona about what happened while you were gone is you don’t want to risk souring his mood since he’s been so good to you this morning, and you know the last thing he wants to think about is how much the others get on his nerves.

For that reason, you instead just give him a smile and say, “Well, I’m glad someone as awesome and reliable as you was given that super important job. I know I’m in capable hands with you on the job.”

“Naturally.” Leona smirks, repeating what he said earlier. “There’s no one who can be trusted more with this kinda work.”

Even though you also trust your other friends, you don’t say as much since this moment is all about you expressing your heartfelt appreciation for Leona, and you can’t deny that he’s someone who is especially skilled at putting your heart at ease in worrisome situations like this.

Much to your surprise, just after he proclaims his superiority, Leona suddenly reaches toward you and moves his outstretched hand toward your hair.

Rather than try to take hold of it, Leona has his hand go under your long locks and lifts his hand upwards toward his face, so he can get a closer look at the many strands now gently entangled with his fingers.

Leona hums as he softly strokes your hair with his thumb. “Been meaning to ask about this for a while now, but I never got the chance ‘cause of all the other nonsense going on. Is there an actual reason for why you need long hair in this pain-in-the-ass story, or is the book just making you look like Sally ‘cause she’s your favorite?”

Your eyes widen as you gasp, “I didn’t even consider the fact that my hair is just like Sally-san’s! But that has to be the reason why my hair is like this since my stockings and hat have the same kinda patchwork pattern as her outfit!”

“Plus, there is no way that this long hair is actually plot relevant.” You dryly add, “After all, having long hair will not in any way help with this whole creating the best Halloween situation.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “While I had originally thought having long hair was rather inconvenient, I don’t mind it now that I know it’s meant to make me resemble Sally-san. It’s kinda like I’m cosplaying in a way. Idia-senpai will get a kick outta that.”

“So you’ve never been interested in sporting long hair?” Leona curiously asks, “Short hair is your definite preference?”

“I wouldn’t go that far since it’s not like I hate having long hair per se.” You shrug. “I’m just so accustomed to having short hair, and it’s easier to maintain, so I feel like I’m probably better off avoiding ever having my hair this long since I really don’t wanna have to do the kinda advance hair care that Jamil-senpai always has to do to keep his hair always looking so gorgeous.”

You wince, “I also really don’t wanna deal with the fallout if Vil-senpai finds out I’m not properly taking care of my hair. I’m just barely getting by with my short hair as it is.”

“And I especially don’t wanna find out what happens when you mix long hair and Grim’s tendency to catch things on fire, considering what’s happened in the past with my hair at its normal length.” You wryly add, making Leona snort.

“Having short hair really is what’s best for me since long hair will just get in my way whenever I get involved in fights.” You comment, “Besides, I don’t think this look really suits me anyway.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Leona replies, catching you off guard. “Personally, I think you look good both ways.”

Not having expected that uncharacteristically honest compliment from him, all you can do is stare at him in surprise.

Meanwhile, Leona smirks, “That’s why I had no issue with taking the job of keeping an eye on you since it meant I would have something nice I could look at the whole day.”

His handsome face with its teasing expression moves closer to yours as he plays with your hair. “You’ve been an excellent motivator, Yuu. Because of you, I’ve just been so~ productive this morning ‘cause seeing something that’s so easy on the eyes puts a guy in a good mood. So thanks for that, heh.”

Even though you’re not normally the type who gets easily flustered, you feel your face grow warm in response to his words, just as it always does whenever Leona actually puts forth the effort to fluster you, because the genius, Leona Kingscholar, truly is good at just about anything he sets his mind to, flirting including.

Plus, it doesn’t help that his flirting always catches you off guard since he always likes to do it whenever you’re least expecting it, and you’re more prone to becoming embarrassed by compliments and words of affection when you don’t see them coming, which Leona knows very well.

And his flirting is always especially potent whenever he calls you by name rather than use the herbivore nickname he typically calls you by, which is something he has started doing more frequently as of late, no doubt because he enjoys seeing how you react to hearing him say your name.

You find your flustered reaction to him calling you by your actual name highly ironic since, at the beginning of the school year, you often tried to get him to drop the herbivore nickname that he uses for the majority of the people he interacts with since you had thought he was looking down on you and lumping you together with all the other students he considered to be weak herbivores, which had naturally greatly annoyed you.

However, you eventually came to accept the nickname once you realized that the more you made a fuss about the nickname, the more Leona wanted to use it.

Because he’s a cheeky bastard.

You also became more accepting of the nickname after Ruggie secretly told you that Leona referred to you as a herbivore not because he’s looking down on you but because he wanted everyone else, who hears him use that nickname, to underestimate you as a result, because most people hearing it would be quick to assume that the nickname means Leona considers you to be weak like a herbivore.

Apparently, Leona thought it’d be amusing if everyone at NRC made the mistake of underestimating you, so he’s been doing his part to encourage such misunderstandings.

Aside from wanting to entertain himself, you think Leona also decided to continue calling you by such a misleading nickname for your benefit since there’s nothing easier to deal with than an opponent, who has let their guard down, because they’re going into the fight thinking they have already won due to having underestimated your strength.

Amusingly enough, Leona’s scheme was actually very successful since, during the first semester of this school year, plenty of guys challenged you to a fight, thinking you stood no chance after finding out that you’re someone whom Leona calls a herbivore more than anyone else at NRC.

Needless to say, they quickly came to regret that very foolish decision.

Once you found out that Leona had no negative intentions whenever he called you a herbivore, you warmed up to the nickname, especially during the times when you could detect the subtle fondness in his voice that he failed to completely mask.

That’s why you had been fine with the idea of being forever called by that nickname since it really doesn’t matter to you what you’re called by your friends as long as the nicknames they give you aren’t negative in nature, but as of late, Leona has decided to shake things up for his own amusement since he’s always looking for new ways to entertain himself at your expense.

Regrettably, you can’t ever bring yourself to complain about these types of sneak attacks since you can’t deny feeling happy each time you hear Leona’s affection-filled words - the kinds of words you know he wouldn’t say to just anyone.

This kind of affectionate teasing is only for people Leona truly cares about, so you’re more elated than embarrassed since you know what a big deal it is for Leona to act like this around you.

Still, you can’t just let him do as he pleases without fighting back at least a little. That’s why you quickly throw your arms around him and bury your face against his broad chest.

“I can’t imagine you’re getting as much outta this as I am, considering how good you look in this suit, but I’m glad my current look is making your oh so stressful workload more bearable.” You finally reply, your voice muffled due to you keeping your face pressed against his chest.

His chest rumbles as he chuckles at your response. “You’re definitely getting the better end of the deal, but I’m getting enough outta this that I can’t complain.”

Taking full advantage of the fact that you chose to take your break in a spot that is mostly hidden from view thanks to the large nearby pumpkin, Leona returns your embrace - something that he’d only ever do when there are no witnesses.

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest when he gives you a strong squeeze that makes you melt further into his arms. “I’m glad.”

You happily nuzzle his chest. Really, really glad.

For several seconds, you remain in Leona’s arms, enjoying the comfort of his warm, strong embrace, before you finally pull away since you know that your upperclassman won’t be pleased if someone happens to walk by and catches the two of you in this kind of compromising position.

After all, he does have a reputation to uphold.

Much to your surprise, after you pull away from him, Leona lightly pinches your cheek with a huff. “If you had said you never celebrated Halloween before, I wouldn’t have let you stay in the infirmary the whole day.”

Realizing he’s talking about what happened back in October, your expression softens. “I know. It was specifically ‘cause I didn’t want anyone going out of their way for me that I refrained from mentioning that I had never celebrated Halloween before.”

“It was for the best that I remained in the infirmary anyway ‘cause I dangerously overexerted myself.” You add, “I was paying the price for my reckless actions, so you have no reason to feel guilty, Leona-senpai.”

Of course, you know Leona is still going to feel guilty regardless of what you tell him, because you wouldn’t have recklessly overexerted yourself in the first place if he hadn’t overblotted, although it was obviously not something he did on purpose.

Due to how he typically acts, most people would assume Leona doesn’t feel guilty when people are negatively affected by his actions, but that isn’t the case, at least not when the people affected by his actions are people he actually likes or cares about.

That’s why you’re not surprised by the fact that Leona feels guilty, especially considering how he reacted when this topic first came up at Town Hall.

It’s also why you’re not surprised when Leona doesn’t try to deny feeling guilty and just remains silent as he stares at you, wearing the kind of expression that you know means that your reassurances are falling on deaf ears.

Obviously, you’ll need to go about this a different way since your words of reassurance aren’t enough to help your friend feel better.

Smiling, you take hold of one of Leona’s hands and give it a strong squeeze. “You can make it up to me by making sure this upcoming Halloween is the best one ever. Make it so that, in the future, whenever I think of Halloween, I always automatically think of what happened here rather than what happened last October.”

Your smile morphs into a mischievous grin. “Unless you think that’s too much of a challenge for you?”

As expected, Leona’s visible eye gets that gleam you always see whenever he’s being challenged - that gleam that tells you his competitive spirit is making an appearance.

“Heh.” Leona smirks, “Like anything’s a real challenge for someone like me.”

Using his free hand, Leona gently takes hold of your chin and brings his smug face closer to yours. “You want a memorable Halloween? So be it. I’ll make sure this Halloween is one for the record books.”

His smirk grows. “Just don’t think you can get away with doing nothing the whole time I’m hard at work, Herbivore. Your job will be to ensure I’m always provided with plenty of motivation, understand?”

Since his flirtatious actions don’t catch you off guard this time, you’re able to maintain your composure, although it also helps that you’re too happy to feel embarrassed.

The reason for your happiness is the unmistakable warmth and fondness in Leona’s visible eye and the fact that he seems so content and comfortable right now.

It’s the kind of sight that seemed so foreign at the beginning of the school year due to how hopeless Leona, who had completely given up on obtaining happiness, felt.

Thankfully, ever since the Fairy Gala incident, this kind of heartwarming expression has progressively become more normal for Leona, because he has decided to not give up - to keep on trying.

With you by his side, of course.

Beaming, you throw your arms around his neck and kiss his cheek, pouring all your love for him into the gesture. “Of course! I’ll gladly give you all the motivation you need and then some!”

Because, if receiving this kind of motivation from you will provide him the happiness he deserves, you’ll gladly shower him with as much love and attention as he wants.

And enjoy every single second of it.

Regrettably, right after that exchange, your very enjoyable break comes to an abrupt end when some of the Halloween Town residents, who are on Team Terror, start calling out your name, indicating that they are looking for you so they can ask for your advice and assistance like they’ve been doing for the last several hours.

After giving Leona a smile and a strong squeeze, you quickly pull away from him and hurry toward the direction the voices calling for you are coming from, so you can resume your Pumpkin Queen duties.

Meanwhile, Leona gets back to overseeing all the work being done in the pumpkin patch and offering his advice whenever someone approaches him since he ends up becoming as popular as you in that regard due to him always having such great ideas.

All the while, Leona continues to watch over you, making sure that no one with impure motives ever gets too close to you.

And you couldn’t be more grateful.

Around an hour after your break with Leona comes to an end, you, who had spent most of the morning working on Team Terror’s test of courage in the pumpkin patch, get to enjoy a change of scenery thanks to the local witches, Helgamine and Zeldaborne, who want to use their magic for Team Terror’s test of courage and would like to hear your feedback on their ideas.

That’s why they bring you to the shop they run, which, amusingly enough, is called the Witches’ Shop, since that’s where they’ve been working on all the surprises they have in store for Jack.

Regrettably, Leona isn’t with you, because, when the witches approached you, he had been busy helping all of the Halloween Town residents, who had surrounded him, so they could ask for his advice on their personal contributions to Team Terror's test of courage.

Naturally, Leona wasn’t a fan of the idea of you leaving the pumpkin patch since that meant he couldn’t continue to keep an eye on you, but you assured him that you would be fine during the time it took him to finish helping everyone who needed his advice.

After all, you’ll be with Helgamine and Zeldaborne, so it’s not like you’ll be on your own during the time you and Leona will be apart. Plus, you’ll be helping the witches inside their shop - an area that you think Lock, Shock, and Barrel would be reluctant to cause trouble inside since you can tell the two sisters are the type of people, who wouldn’t allow such mischief inside their place of business, because there’s a chance their valuable merchandise could get broken or ruined.

While Leona was still noticeably displeased about this turn of events, he didn’t make any further protests and instead just said that he’d head over to the Witches’ Shop once he finished his work at the pumpkin patch.

Leona is obviously taking his job of acting as your protector very seriously, proving just how much of a threat he considers whatever had been in that alley near Town Hall this morning to be.

Since it’s unusual for Leona to be this overprotective of you, you’re obviously just as concerned about whatever had its eye on you earlier, because anything that puts Leona on his guard this much is obviously something really dangerous.

That’s why you’re grateful that Leona will be reuniting with you as soon as his work is done since it really does make you feel better to have him close by.

“Oh, we truly are kindred spirits! It’s so wonderful to meet such a lovely person who values a traditional Halloween like myself!”

Upon hearing a familiar, enthusiastic voice, you’re promptly pulled away from your thoughts about Leona and brought back to reality. Because you recognize that voice as belonging to Skully, you, who was just about to follow Helgamine and Zeldaborne into their shop, pause in the shop’s doorway and immediately begin looking around to see if you can spot him.

A few seconds later, you find Skully, whose back is turned to you. By the looks of it, he’s animatedly talking to someone, whom you can’t see due to Skully’s great height.

Because of what happened this morning, a worried frown automatically rises to your lips when you realize that Skully is facing an alley as he’s talking, but you quickly dismiss those worries since you know it’s ridiculous for you to act like all alleys are dangerous, especially when those kinds of spooky locations are ideal hangout spots and dwellings for the people who live in Halloween Town.

Just ‘cause I had a bad experience with an alley doesn’t mean they’re all dangerous. You think to yourself. The fact that Skully is having fun right now is proof of that. There’s nothing to worry about here.

Little did you know just how wrong you were.

Chapter Text

Since you don’t want to ruin Skully’s fun, you leave him to his own devices and enter the Witches’ Shop, so you can check out everything that Helgamine and Zeldaborne have put together so far for your team’s test of courage.

The next half hour passes with you watching the witches use their magic to make things levitate, because, when Jack passes through the area of the pumpkin patch where they’ll be stationed, they want to levitate several skulls and shrunken heads, which they intend to surround the Pumpkin King with.

They also intend to use a cauldron to create an eerie mist that will make their surroundings spookier, similar to how Sally created a fog in The Nightmare Before Christmas when she tried to stop Jack’s plan to temporarily replace Santa Claus.

Overall, you think they have the makings of a good scare tactic. However, considering Jack isn’t the easy ruffled type, like you are, you suggest that the sisters add onto this idea by including scary sound effects and other additional elements, because their demonstration didn’t scare you enough that you think it would have an effect on Jack.

Getting an idea, you grin, “How about you ladies team up with Grim, the cat-like monster in my group, to create some will-o’-the-wisps? I bet that would make for an excellent addition to the test of courage.”

“Will-o’-the-wisps?” Helgamine and Zeldaborne curiously parrot.

“It’s a term used in the world I came from for ghosts that look like eerie, floating blue flames.” You explain, “In a lot of stories, they are known for luring travelers from safe paths, so I think that would be very fitting for a test of courage, whose path you need to stay on if you wish to make it to the end.”

“Grim’s specialty is using magic to create blue-colored flames, so you’d be able to create some great will-o’-the-wisps with his help.” You add.

Helgamine grins, “Oooh, that sounds positively dreadful!”

Zeldaborne giddily claps her hands. “Oh, yes! Let’s do it! I’m sure Jack would be oh so pleased!”

When you see how receptive they are to your idea, your grin grows. “And feel free to rely on any of the other NRC guys on our team if you need help with more additional special effects since I’m sure they could come up with other ways to use their magic to really amp up the scare factor.”

Remembering that you still haven’t seen any signs of your friends, sans Leona, you quickly add, “Although, I think right now they’re all talking to Jack-san about Halloween, but once they’re done, they’ll be happy to help.”

Ironically, just after those words pass your lips, a panicked Sally suddenly bursts into the shop, followed by Leona and Skully, the former of whom looks exasperated while the latter is worriedly frowning. “Yuu-chan, Jack needs your help!”

Immediately, you realize that the rest of your friends must still be arguing back at Town Hall since that’s the only reason you can think of that would explain why Jack could need your help, considering he had been so dead-set on not relying on you to ensure your Halloween surprise didn’t get ruined.

Obviously, Sally must have recently gone to check on Jack and your friends, no doubt because she’s always wanting to help Jack, and upon seeing the predicament the object of her affections was in, she hurried to find the person who would be able to help him.

As expected of Halloween Town’s best girl.

I had hoped I wouldn’t have to get involved, but obviously, I wasn’t so lucky. You dryly think to yourself. Of course, I’m not surprised.

After all, since when do things ever work out so smoothly for you?

Doing your best to not let your exasperation show in your expression, you wryly ask, “Am I right to assume that my friends are giving Jack-san trouble because most of them aren’t good at playing nice with others? Skully had told me earlier that they had all been arguing when he last visited Town Hall.”

With a click of his tongue, Leona mutters, “Had a feeling he’d snitch. Knew we should’ve done something about the damn badger…”

Meanwhile, Sally quickly nods. “Yes! That’s right! They’ve been arguing all morning and haven’t shown any signs of stopping! Poor Jack is at a loss for what to do.”

“He told me that he didn’t want to get you involved since he wanted to work on a special Halloween surprise for everyone with the help of your friends while you and Skully-kun were helping with the tests of courage.” She adds, “I can understand him not wanting to risk ruining the surprise for you, but I really think he needs your help.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “And I think you’re right to feel that way, considering how stubborn my friends are. Unlike me, Jack-san doesn’t have much experience dealing with guys like them, so I can understand why he’s struggling.”

After turning to look at Helgamine and Zeldaborne, you say, “Sorry, ladies, it looks like I’m needed elsewhere, but feel free to reach out to me again if you need further help later on.”

“No worries!” Helgamine replies, “We need to take some time to think of new ideas for how to further improve what we’ll do for the test of courage anyway!”

“We’ll make sure to come up with something really horrifying!” Zeldaborne promises, “Look forward to it!”

All you can do is weakly chuckle. “Can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that any of the Halloween Town residents picked up on your lack of enthusiasm about getting scared since the witches and Sally are now all smiling at you.

Meanwhile, Leona and Skully, the latter of whom found out about you not being good with horror earlier today before the town meeting when you and your friends were all discussing your big plan for Halloween since Grim had brought it up due to him being so surprised about you actually wanting to make Halloween as scary as possible, appear sympathetic, Skully especially, since Leona is wearing his typical, aloof expression, so you can only tell his true feelings by looking into his eyes, which have always been easier for you to read than his expressions.

You give both of the guys a reassuring look to let them know that you’re alright before focusing your gaze on Sally. “Alright, Sally-san, let’s go help out, Jack-san. We can’t allow my friends to waste any more precious time when Halloween is less than three days away.”

Sally beams, “Yes!”

With that, you, Sally, Leona, and Skully leave the Witches’ Shop after exchanging partings with the witches and begin heading to Town Hall, which is where Jack and all your friends still are despite the whole morning having passed, much to your exasperation.

During the walk, you find out that Sally, Leona, and Skully had all coincidentally run into each other just outside of the Witches’ Shop, and after Sally had explained the situation at hand to them, the guys had joined her search for you, although Leona obviously would’ve come after you regardless since he’s supposed to be keeping an eye on you.

Speaking of Leona’s recently acquired job…

Keeping your voice low so Sally and Skully won’t hear you, you ask, “One of your motivations for convincing Jack-san to give you the job of keeping an eye on me was you just wanted to get out of having to deal with all the nonsense that’s currently still going on at Town Hall, wasn’t it?”

Leona just shamelessly shrugs. “They were all getting on my nerves, so I did the smart thing and got outta there.”

He smirks, “As a result, I’ve accomplished so~ much work, unlike those idiots, so don’t you think my wise actions are worthy of a lot of praise?’

His cheeky response makes you snort. “I guess I can’t argue with you there. You ditching the others and helping the locals is definitely better than what the others have been doing with their time. That’s why I won’t criticize you.”

Knowing what he wants to hear most right now, you smile, “Thank you for all your hard work, Leona-senpai. Your efforts have been greatly appreciated.”

Just as you had expected, Leona’s smirk grows in response to your words, and his eyes now have a satisfied gleam.

Because, while he’ll never say as much out loud, there’s nothing that pleases Leona more than having his efforts recognized and receiving the praise he deserves.

Fortunately for him, you’ll always be more than willing to do that for him. You’ll never allow him to feel unappreciated while you’re around; he’ll always get the love and attention he deserves.

You’ll make sure of it.

Much to your exasperation, when your group arrives at Town Hall, you find all of your friends, sans Grim, who’s curled up in a corner, napping, arguing about what’s the best thing to do for your special Halloween surprise.

All the while, Jack and the mayor wearily watch the proceedings, looking as if they’ve completely run out of ideas for how to handle your troublesome friends.

“To think, they’re still arguing despite how much time has passed.” Skully mutters, appearing astonished. “Everyone is so passionate about their ideas…”

“There’s no need to be nice about it, Skully.” You huff, “You can say they’re all stubborn knuckleheads who are worse than five-year-olds when it comes to playing nice with others since it’s the truth.”

While Leona snorts, you instruct, “Everyone, please cover your ears, so you can protect them. I’m about to get really loud.”

Because he knows you so well, Leona immediately heeds your advice, not needing to ask what you intend to do. Meanwhile, Skully and Sally exchange curious looks before following Leona’s example.

Once all three of them have covered their ears, you proceed to release the loudest, shrillest whistle you can muster, instantly causing all of your friends, who had been arguing, to go quiet and cover their ears.

At the same time, Grim jolts awake with a yelp. “Myah?!”

Both Jack and the mayor also jolt in surprise before turning to look in your direction, just like everyone else in the room.

“Yuu-kun?!” Jack exclaims, “And Sally, Leona-kun, and Skully-kun too! What are you all doing here?!”

As you head toward the stage, along with the rest of your group, you answer, “Sally-san told me that my friends have been causing you nothing but trouble this whole morning, and since we’re on a time crunch with Halloween less than three days away, we felt it best that I get involved so this arguing doesn’t last until the sun sets.”

Your exasperated gaze focuses on your aforementioned friends, who are all now pointedly avoiding looking at you. “I can’t believe you guys spent the whole damn morning arguing; it's already past noon! I know you guys hate playing nice and anything that’s even remotely like a teamwork exercise, but c’mon! Just pretend that you like each other long enough to come up with a damn plan!”

“I didn’t do nothin’ wrong!” Grim quickly pipes up. “It was everyone else who was arguin’ like a bunch of idiots! Right, Jack?!”

While the majority of your friends glare and scowl at your partner, Jack nods. “Oh, yes, that’s right! Grim-kun has been on his best behavior the whole time, just like Yuu-kun requested, and has been keeping Zero company.”

As if to support Jack’s claim, Zero cheerfully barks before giving Grim a playful lick, making your partner grimace.

For a moment, all you can do is stare at Grim and Jack incredulously before slowly turning to focus your unimpressed gaze on the rest of your friends, who are standing on the stage.

Jamil narrows his eyes. “DON’T say it, Yuu.”

Rather than heed his request, you remark, “I can’t believe it. You guys have been so bad that Grim was the most well-behaved NRC student while I was gone.”

“GRIM.” You repeat, with extra emphasis, all the while giving your friends the most judgmental look you can muster.

Simultaneously, all of your friends adopt expressions that are a mixture of annoyed and mortified. At the same time, Grim makes an offended noise, and you immediately apologize to him since, for once, he hasn’t done anything wrong before praising him for being so much better than everyone else, causing his expression to instantly become smug while the majority of your friends' faces become noticeably disgruntled.

As you're praising Grim, you eventually get interrupted by Azul, who looks physically pained by you pointing out the fact that he’s been behaving worse than Grim, NRC’s most notorious troublemaker. “Please say no more, Yuu-san.”

Riddle grimaces, “Ugh. How embarrassing.”

“To think, I would allow myself to end up in such a mortifying position.” Vil clicks his tongue. “The fact that I also have to deal with Leona tauntingly smirking at us makes this all the more irksome.”

While Leona’s smirk grows in response to Vil’s words, Trey awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “I guess we really did let things get out of hand. I didn’t realize that so much time had passed since the windows in this building are all covered with thick, dark curtains.”

“Yes, I had merely thought no more than an hour or so had passed.” Malleus agrees, “Although, I will confess that I have a penchant for losing track of time when I am preoccupied with something.”

“Grrr!” Sebek scowls, “To think, there would actually come a day when I would be called more ill-mannered than Grim and in front of my liege, no less! How humiliating!”

“Yeah, this really sucks.” Epel grumbles, “I hope Ace-kun and the others don’t find out about this, or we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Floyd would surely be most amused if he found out.” Jade chuckles, “He would definitely enjoy Azul’s current, mortified expression. Fufu.”

“Of course, you’re as unfazed as ever.” Jamil huffs, “Meanwhile, the rest of us are feeling enough shame to last us a lifetime since there can’t be anything more humiliating than being told we’re worse than Grim.”

“Personally, I don’t really mind since all the shade Yuu-shi threw at us finally got everyone to shut up.” Idia mutters, “At this point, I don’t even care what happens next since I just wanna escape being surrounded by all these normies, so I welcome Yuu-shi working her magic on everyone with open arms.”

Meanwhile, as your friends are all talking amongst themselves, all the while ignoring Grim, who unsurprisingly doesn’t appreciate all the rude comments they’re making about him, Jack frowns, “I’m sorry you had to take time out of your busy schedule to help us, Yuu-kun. After hearing from the mayor about how well you had been doing as my replacement, I had really wanted to do my part as your replacement, but it seems I failed.”

“Oh, Jack…” Sally sadly murmurs, obviously not happy to see the man she loves looking so upset.

Skully woefully rests his hands over his heart. “Jack-sama…”

After the mayor also glumly says Jack’s name and Zero sadly whines, you give Jack a reassuring smile. “You don’t need to apologize, Jack-san. I know just how hard my usual job is, so it’s perfectly understandable why you had so much trouble, especially since all the citizens of your wonderful town are so sweet and get along so well, meaning you have no experience dealing with guys like my friends.”

You give your friends on stage, sans Grim, a pointed look, prompting the majority of them to avert their gazes, before returning your gaze to Jack. “That’s why I’m partially responsible for everything getting so out of hand since I didn’t provide you with some helpful pointers on how to get these guys to play nice with each other, which I really should have done.”

“To make up for my negligence, I’ll help you get the ball rolling.” You continue, “Once a plan for the Halloween surprise has been decided, then you can take care of the rest.”

“But…” Jack’s frown grows. “That would mean the surprise would be ruined for you, and I don’t want that…”

Your smile grows in response to his words. “Don’t worry, we’ll avoid going over all the explicit details of the surprise. I’m just gonna help you guys set up the basic outline for the plan.”

Leona, who’s been spending the last several minutes silently taunting Vil and the other dorm leaders, chooses that moment to join the current discussion. “As long as everyone is vague about what they wanna do, then there won’t be an issue. For example, if you say you wanna have a party, that in itself won’t ruin the fun for her just as long as you don’t say what all will happen at the party.”

Jack quickly perks up. “Oh! I see! In that case, I am in full support of Yuu-kun’s idea!”

As Sally, Zero, and the mayor also cheer up upon seeing Jack in higher spirits, Skully smiles, “Ah~ Jack-sama’s smile is truly a lovely sight to behold~”

While Leona rolls his eyes and Sally happily nods in agreement, you chuckle, “Alright, now that that’s decided, let’s move forward, so we can finally make some progress.”

“First off, I wanna ask: Was there anything that everyone agreed on before the arguing started?” You ask, “Before I throw any ideas out there, I wanna see what has already been said.”

“Ah, yes, actually.” Jack nods. “You see, because I really wanted to learn even more about how Halloween is celebrated in Twisted Wonderland, I thought it’d be fun if our surprise involved incorporating other things from the fascinating world you all came from.”

“And that led to everyone talkin’ about how Halloween is all colorful, full of great music, and even greater food in our world.” Grim pipes up, thankfully having calmed down from his earlier ire caused by the other NRC students’ rude remarks about him.

In other words, what happened in my last vision happened while I was gone, just minus them butting heads with Skully. You think to yourself. Makes sense since those are key features to the kind of Halloween that my friends and I are the most familiar with.

Plus, despite the complaints you had made following that vision, you would prefer the kind of Halloween they had all wanted to pursue in that vision as far as your Halloween surprise is concerned since it’s free of any major horror elements, which is no doubt exactly why your friends decided to go that route.

Your brow furrows. “How did that lead to all the arguing? Surely, these guys aren’t THAT opinionated about decorations, music, and food since it’s not like there are a lot of variations in either of those categories as far as Halloween is concerned.”

For some reason, all of the NRC students, who had spent the whole morning arguing, now look a mixture of panicked and flustered, which just makes this situation all the more confusing to you.

“You see…” Jack begins to answer, only to get cut off by several of your friends.

“Wait!”

“Don’t say any more!”

“Or else I’ll die from embarrassment!”

“Do NOT answer that question, Bones!”

Unfortunately for your protesting friends, while a puzzled Jack does pause at their insistence, a smirking Grim, who’s obviously out for some revenge, has no problem with ignoring their demands. “They weren’t arguin’ about any of that stuff, Henchman.”

“Grim (-san) (-kun) (-shi)!”

Ignoring how the majority of your friends’ hiss at him, Grim’s smirk broadens. “They were all arguin’ about who knew how to make ya the happiest. They were all so confident that they understood ya and your tastes the best that they each felt they should be the leader and that everyone else should follow their orders.”

“Obviously, I’m the one who really knows ya the best, but since I didn’t feel like arguin’ with these guys, who are too dumb to notice the obvious, I just stood back and let them go after each other ‘cause I knew it’d only be a matter of time before ya showed up and got pissed about all the arguin’.” He smugly adds, “If these guys really knew ya as well as they claimed they did, they would’ve known that and followed my amazin’ example. Myehehe.”

Immediately, the majority of the other NRC students on the stage, who had previously looked incredibly embarrassed by Grim exposing them, start glaring at your partner, most of them appearing seconds away from committing an act of violence.

Meanwhile, Leona starts laughing, “I can’t believe you all let yourselves get so horribly one-upped by the furball, of all people. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Ahahaha!”

Naturally, Leona’s mocking laughter results in several people’s glares focusing on him, not that he actually cares.

In direct contrast, Skully appears apprehensive when he sees how irate the majority of your friends currently are. “Oh my, such passionate gazes…The fact that Leona-san is completely unperturbed by them is most impressive…”

While a nervous Sally nods in agreement, you, who had ended up in a stunned stupor after hearing what your friends had been arguing about all morning, finally come to your senses.

Soon after, you release a loud squeal. “Awwww! You guys are sooooo sweet! I can’t believe you guys were arguing over who could make me the happiest! That’s soooo adorable!”

“I could just give you all a big kiss on the cheek for being so precious.” You coo, “How about it?”

In complete sync, as the majority of them start blushing, all of your friends on stage, sans Grim, Malleus, and Jade, retort, “Absolutely not!”

“Oh my. What a strong reaction.” Jade remarks, wearing a mock-surprised expression. “I’m surprised everyone is so against receiving a kiss from Yuu-san. I had thought everyone enjoyed being on the receiving end of her affections.”

“Yes, it is rather surprising.” Malleus agrees, “I can’t help but feel bad for Yuu who has to be on the receiving end of such a harsh rejection.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Malleus-san.” Jade nods. “It’s most disappointing to see our fellow schoolmates treat a lady so unkindly.”

“Oh, will you stop?” Azul scowls at his vice dorm leader. “If you think anyone is buying into your charade, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“You too, Malleus.” Vil gives the fae an unimpressed look. “Honestly, this is no time for your jokes.”

Appearing puzzled, Malleus tilts his head. “I wasn’t joking, though? Whatever gave you that impression, Schoenheit?”

“Yes, I must ask the same of you, Azul.” Jade, who definitely isn’t nowhere near as sincere as Malleus, chimes in. “I can assure you I was being completely serious just now.”

Knowing it’s better to get involved now before another argument can break out, you quickly intervene. “Alright, guys, let’s save that for later. Don’t forget we’re on a time crunch.”

“That’s right!” The mayor pipes up. “There are less than sixty hours until Halloween! We mustn’t dally anymore!”

Jack nods before asking, “So what do you think we should do, Yuu-kun? How can we create a plan that would satisfy everyone when all of your friends want to take the lead for this surprise and don’t want to work as a team?”

“Before I say anything else, let me say this.” You focus your gaze on your friends, who had spent the whole morning arguing, and smile. “I know it sounded like I was teasing you earlier, but I really do appreciate you all thinking of me so much. Hearing that made me really happy. Thank you.”

While the majority of your friends either avert their gazes or become visibly flustered, with the exception of Malleus and Jade, who just smile, you dryly continue, “Unfortunately, you guys are gonna have to suck it up and work together in teams. Nobody’s gonna be ordering anyone around.”

Before anyone can complain, you add, “Because I want all of your ideas for this Halloween surprise to get a chance to shine.”

Your smile grows. “What would make me happiest is a surprise where I can see a little bit of all of you in it, because I know you’re all capable of coming up with amazing things, and I know, if given the opportunity to shine, none of you would ever disappoint.”

Thankfully, upon hearing that, all of your friends, who had looked like they had wanted to protest, settle down, much to your relief.

“Very well, Child of Man.” Malleus smiles, “If that is what you wish for, then I shall oblige since one of our main goals with this surprise endeavor is to provide something that you will wholeheartedly enjoy.”

“Indeed.” Jade nods. “It would be rather selfish of us to ignore a direct request from the person we are preparing this surprise for, after all.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Riddle agrees, “I wouldn’t be able to call myself a gentleman if I ignored a lady’s feelings.”

“Yeah, in a situation like this, we gotta put Yuu’s feelings first.” Trey smiles, “We shouldn’t let ourselves get too caught up in our own thoughts and opinions that we forget why we’re doing all this in the first place.”

Epel grins, “Yeah! What matters most is that Yuu-san has an unforgettable Halloween, so I’ll do whatever’s necessary to make that happen!”

After briefly making eye contact with you, Sebek’s features soften. “Agreed. Accomplishing that all important task is really all that matters.”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his and the others’ words, and it only grows stronger when the rest of your friends start chiming in.

“This is a very special Halloween, so I want it to be a complete success.” Vil remarks, “If that means working together with a bunch of unpolished spudlings, then so be it.”

“I suppose it cannot be helped.” Jamil comments, “I’d also hate for such a special Halloween to end in failure, so I shall do my part to ensure our surprise is a success.”

“And I shall as well!” Azul cheerfully replies, “I can’t allow my compatriots to be the only ones who contribute to this noble cause, after all.”

“It’s not like I’ve got any other choice but to pitch in.” Idia mumbles, “So I’ll do my part too to keep everyone else off my back…”

“But the one who’ll contribute the most is me!” Grim grins, “‘Cause nobody can make my henchman as happy as I can!”

Leona props his arm on top of your hat-covered head. “And I already said I’ll graciously lend my services, so it looks like we’re all on the same page now, Herbivore.”

Feeling so happy you can burst since your friends are making it so obvious how much they care about you and how much they want your first Halloween to be a success, all you can do is beam as you clench your eyes shut to fight back the joyful tears that cloud your vision. “Thank you, everyone!”

Unbeknownst to you, as this is all transpiring, Skully, who’s now wearing a lonely expression, murmurs, “She really is the opposite of me. How enviable…”

Meanwhile, you’re preoccupied with keeping your tears reined in since this really isn’t the time for crying. I’m so lucky. I have the best friends ever.

And that’s a fact.

Once you take a moment to rein in your emotions, you decide to get back on track, so this Halloween planning meeting can finally make some progress. “Okay, now that everyone’s in agreement, let’s move forward with this Halloween planning meeting.”

“I personally think the idea of a surprise incorporating the elements of a typical Twisted Wonderland Halloween is a good one since it’ll provide Jack-san even more inspiration to help him overcome his creative slump.” You continue, “Plus, it makes sense to have this group work on a plan that involves Halloween elements that all of my friends are the most familiar with.”

“So I suggest that we split this group up into teams.” You add, “That way each team can focus on one of the three elements that had been brought up earlier, and more progress will be made if all the aspects of the surprise are worked on simultaneously rather than one at a time.”

Nodding, Jack smiles, “Yes, I agree that would be the wisest choice of action. Should we use lots to decide the teams like we did for the test of courage teams, so we won’t have to worry about everyone arguing about the team assignments?”

Catching him by surprise, you shake your head. “I think it’d be better if I decide the teams ‘cause, if we’re really unlucky, the lots will result in the people who can’t get along with each other at all being put on the same team, which I really wanna avoid.”

“Plus, I’d rather each of my friends get put on a team where their skills can shine the most.” You add.

“Oh, of course!” Jack exclaims, “I would like that as well, so I shall leave this important decision to you, Yuu-kun.”

“And you guys are fine with that as well, right?” You ask, after focusing your gaze on your friends, who are standing on the stage.

Thankfully, while none of them appear too enthusiastic about having to work with each other, all of your friends nod since they know this is necessary to ensure their plan to surprise you succeeds.

“If the team assignments are along the lines of what you did for the test of courage team assignments, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” Jamil remarks, clearly speaking on everyone’s behalf. “So I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Once you've made sure your friends are fine with you handling the team assignments, you return your attention to Jack. “Before I proceed with those team assignments, I wanted to suggest that you ask a few other Halloween Town locals to help you, Jack-san. After all, you’re only one guy, so supervising several teams at once would be impossible for you.”

He rubs his chin. “Yes, you do make an excellent point. While I want to surprise all of my friends who are working so hard for my sake on the tests of courage, I do think I will be in need of some assistance…”

Predictably, Sally wastes no time in offering to help Jack. “Oh, I’ll help the food preparations team! I cook all the time, so please leave it to me, Jack.”

Jack smiles, “Thank you, Sally. You really would be perfect for the job, so I’ll leave that to you.”

While Sally beams, Jack turns to look at the mayor. “For the team in charge of music, can I ask you to supervise, mayor? I'm sure a well-connected mayor like yourself can reach out to all the performers in town.”

Nodding, the mayor smiles, “Of course, Jack. Leave it to me.”

“For the decorations team, perhaps we could ask Dr. Finkelstein to supervise since he’s so knowledgeable.” Jack comments, “If he’s not already too busy assisting the test of courage team he was assigned to, of course.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help you, Jack.” Sally assures him. “I’ll let him know of your request after the team assignments are decided.”

After thanking her, Jack remarks, “Aside from those three teams, I think we also need someone to rotate and keep an eye on everything, so I'll take that job.”

“Grim-kun can join me and Zero on our team since we all get along so well together, and it is my job as the temporary Ramshackle Prefect to watch over him.” He cheerfully adds.

While Zero happily barks, Grim grumbles, “I don’t wanna be stuck in the same team as the ghost dog…”

Although you don’t hear Grim’s quiet response, you can tell that your partner isn’t too pleased about his team assignment just from looking at him. Fortunately, he doesn’t loudly make his feelings known like he normally would since he has decided to behave himself, just as you had requested.

Even though you feel bad for Grim, you agree with Jack’s idea, so you go along with that particular team assignment. “Good idea, Jack-san. I'll leave Grim to you.”

“Alright, now that we have team supervisors and have decided on Grim's team, I’ll decide what teams everyone else should be on.” You comment, “For the food preparations team…”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “It’s gotta have Trey-senpai and Jamil-senpai ‘cause those are our best cooks here. There’s no better place for those two.”

“Heh, I’ll do my best to live up to your high expectations.” Trey humbly replies, wearing a small smile.

Jamil huffs in amusement. “Yes, we can’t afford to disappoint, now can we?”

As expected, the two expert cooks are perfectly fine with their team assignments. Of course, that could all change if you don’t pick their teammates wisely.

After thoughtfully looking over all of your friends, you let your gaze fall on Epel before saying, “Epel, I’ll have you be on the food preparations team too since you also have some cooking experience, and you’re great at following instructions in the kitchen, but most importantly, you’ll be a big help when it comes to harvesting ingredients.”

He grins, “Alright, leave it to me! I’ll bring that Harveston charm to whatever I help make!”

You chuckle, “Very good. I have high expectations for you.”

After that exchange, you remark, “I’d like for there to be four people on the food preparations team to ensure it gets all the help it’ll need, so I’ll have you be the final member of that team, Leona-senpai.”

Much to your amusement, almost all of your friends incredulously reply, “Leona (-san) (-senpai) (-shi)?!”

Leona, who’s no longer using your head as an arm rest, raises an eyebrow. “Got a problem, herbivores?”

“Of course not.” Jamil quickly responds, “I was merely caught off guard.”

“Y-Yes, it was a rather surprising choice.” Riddle agrees, obviously wanting to avoid being rude to an upperclassman, like Jamil.

“Could it be that Leona-san actually has an interest in cooking?” Jade asks, “I had assumed he preferred eating over cooking, but perhaps my data on him was incorrect?”

His words make you snort. “No, you’re right. Leona-senpai doesn’t having an interest in cooking. That’s not why I want him on that team.”

Vil raises an eyebrow. “Then, why do you want him on that particular team? Is it because that insufferable sloth will be a hindrance regardless of what team he’s on, because he refuses to do any real work?”

When Leona starts growling, you reach over to gently pat his back before giving Vil a chiding look. “Vil-senpai, don’t be mean, especially when Leona-senpai spent the whole morning helping out everyone in Team Terror. He worked hard all morning.”

“Unlike SOME people I could name.” You wryly add, as you give everyone, who spent the whole morning arguing, a pointed look.

“He did WHAT?!” All of your friends on stage incredulously exclaim.

“I actually did some work, unlike you assholes.” Leona huffs, “Because I know better than to waste my time with pointless arguments.”

“Ugh.” Azul twitches. “First, it was Grim-san, and now, it’s Leona-san. To be looked down upon by people like them is beyond mortifying.”

While an annoyed Grim makes a noise of protest, Malleus frowns, “This is a rather unpleasant feeling.”

“Grrr! It’s unforgivable that I allowed such a disgrace to happen to my liege and myself.” Sebek scowls, “I must redeem myself!”

“This day just keeps getting worse by the minute.” Idia complains, “What did I do to deserve this Bad End treatment?!”

As all of your friends on stage grumble amongst themselves, earning themselves plenty of glares from Leona, you gently brush your side against Leona’s and murmur, “You really were amazing this morning, Leona-senpai. I know the work was annoying for you, but you did it flawlessly. I’m super proud of you for being such an excellent leader and super grateful to you for all the help you provided me. You made my job a whole lot easier.”

Upon hearing your words, Leona’s stiff posture slowly relaxes, and the irritation in his expression fades.

Soon after, his trademark smirk rises to his lips. “Buttering me up, so you can continue making use of my services, are you? Heh, guess I can’t blame you since, unlike those idiots over there, I'm actually useful to you.”

Unsurprisingly, rather than just take your compliment for what it is, Leona has to act like he doesn’t know you’re just praising him because he deserves it.

This man just cannot take a genuine, heartfelt compliment.

Amusingly enough, despite his verbal response, Leona’s tail moves to affectionately caress your leg - a move that you know means that he’s silently expressing his pleasure and gratitude for your praise.

What a cute guy your dishonest upperclassman is.

A warm smile forms on your lips as you meet Leona’s gaze that’s noticeably more soft than his typical smug gaze. “That’s right. Because you’re so dependable, I can’t help but wanna rely on you as much as possible since having you around always makes everything better for me.”

His smirk grows as his tail briefly wraps around your calf and gives your leg a comforting squeeze. “Naturally.”

Happy to see Leona in a better mood, you beam at him. Unbeknownst to you, during this time, Sally watches your exchange with Leona with sparkly eyes, all the while hiding her smile behind her hand.

Once Leona is in better spirits, you return your attention to the current task at hand and clear your throat to gain the attention of all your friends, who had been grumbling to each other and themselves. “In regards to why I want Leona-senpai on the food preparations team, the reason is simple. He’s the person I trust the most to always be respectful toward women, so I know I can count on him to be a perfect gentleman around Sally-san. He’ll definitely be super helpful to her.”

As the majority of your friends give you disbelieving looks and Sally blinks in surprise, you continue, “Also, Leona-senpai is the kind of person who can do pretty much anything when he’s properly motivated, so I think he’d be an asset on any of the teams, just as long as he’s on a team of people who don’t get on his nerves.”

“Fortunately, Trey-senpai, Jamil-senpai, and Epel are all people that Leona-senpai can get along with for the most part, so that’s really the best team for him.” You add.

“And there you have it.” Leona smugly remarks, “Because I’m just so impressive, I can thrive on any team, so it really doesn’t matter what team I’m on. Heh.”

Vil scowls, “Of course, you just conveniently ignore the part where Yuu mentioned she has to accommodate your inability to get along with most people. This is what makes you so insufferable.”

“That’s what makes getting criticized by Leona-shi, of all people, so annoying since he’s no better than the rest of us.” Idia chimes in, looking just as annoyed as Vil.

Judging from the expressions the majority of the rest of your friends are wearing, you’re sure they all feel similarly, but before they can say as much, you quickly interject, “ANYWAY! Let’s move onto the music team! I think Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai should be on that team.”

As everyone’s gazes focus on you, you continue, “I think that team should be smaller than the food and decoration teams and only have two members since, when it comes to music, I feel like the more people that are involved, the more likely that disagreements will happen since everyone has their own tastes in music, and music just seems like a topic that people would be more likely to argue about as compared to food and decorations.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Azul thoughtfully grabs his chin. “And the music team can also ask for the assistance of the local musicians, so it would be wiser to have more members on the food and decoration teams.”

Jade smiles, “I am perfectly fine with this arrangement, although I am rather curious about what led you to the decision of choosing Azul and myself for this team. Is it because we’re accustomed to working together, and we also have experience choosing music to play at the Mostro Lounge?”

You nod. “That and you two were in a band during middle school, so out of everyone here, I think that you guys are the ones with the most experience with music.”

“Also…” Your expression turns wry. “I really do NOT want to leave you unsupervised since literally any form of chaos could unfold as a result, and it’s Azul-senpai’s job to keep you and Floyd-senpai from unleashing mayhem upon the innocent masses, so I want you and Azul-senpai to be on the same team.”

Azul wearily sighs, “I sadly cannot fault that logic…”

Jade just chuckles, “Oh, Yuu-san, you always tell the most amusing jokes. This is why being with you is never boring. Fufu.”

Jamil rolls his eyes. “Don’t try to play innocent. We all know Yuu’s worries are perfectly valid.”

“Yes, it was a wise decision on her part to keep you and Azul together.” Riddle huffs, “I’m very grateful for Yuu’s great foresight.”

While Jade immediately slaps on a mock-innocent expression that nobody is buying for a single second, Malleus asks, “So that means the members of the decorations team will be myself, Sebek, Rosehearts, Schoenheit, and Shroud, correct?”

“Yes!” Sebek cheers, “I am on the same team as Malleus-sama!”

As Riddle shakes his head and Idia pitifully groans, Vil sighs, “What an exhausting team this will be…”

“For the record, you guys aren’t on the same team simply because you’re the last guys left.” You inform, “From the start, I wanted Vil-senpai on the decorations team ‘cause no one is better at making something aesthetically pleasing than him. He’s the best suited for this team.”

A smirk rises to Vil’s lips. “Naturally. It goes without question that I’d be on the team that’s in charge of presentation.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “And I want Tsunotaro on that team ‘cause, with his impressive magic, he can pull off all kinds of amazing special effects, so I think the combination of his magic and Vil-senpai’s eye for beauty would result in some really awesome decorations.”

Appearing pleased, Malleus smiles, “Heh, in that case, I shall endeavor to create the most splendid of decorations to meet your high expectations.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” You cheerfully reply before focusing your gaze on Riddle. “Regarding Riddle-senpai, I figure this is where all his experience with unbirthday parties will come in handy since the party venue is always perfectly decorated for each party, and I think someone as meticulous as him would be a perfect choice for designing decorations.”

As he rests his hand on his chest, Riddle proudly smiles, “Of course. I will ensure that not a single decoration is ever out of place and that our final display is just as spectacular as my dorm’s unbirthday parties.”

Feeling eyes on you, you turn to look at Sebek, who's looking at you expectantly, no doubt wanting you to provide a good reason for why he belongs on the decorations team.

While you internally coo when you see Sebek’s cute, expectant expression, you fondly smile at your adorable son. “Obviously, wherever Tsunotaro goes, his loyal knight should as well, but I also want Sebek on the decorations team ‘cause his impressive strength will be a great asset with carrying materials and finished decorations.”

“Plus, I’m sure he’ll be able to come up with plenty of great decoration ideas since he’s such a clever boy, and I bet his impressive observation skills will come in real handy too.” You add.

A very pleased Sebek proudly puffs up his chest. “Of course! For Malleus-sama’s sake, there is nothing I cannot do! I will do everything in my power to ensure we create the best possible decorations!”

You giggle, “Of that, I have no doubt.”

After that exchange, you focus your gaze on Idia who cringes. “Please just skip me. I don’t need a protag pep-talk, and I really don’t want my very own manga panel of spotlight. I’m much better suited to being a faceless NPC who never has any dialogue options…”

While all of your friends either give Idia puzzled or exasperated looks, you huff in amusement. “With a pretty face like yours, you’re totally main character material, Idia-senpai. You really need to stop selling yourself short all the time.”

As Idia makes a choked sound, you continue, “But I will refrain from praising you further since I know how you are. Instead, I wanted to make a proposition.”

Once his hair, which had temporarily turned pink due to his embarrassment, turns back to blue, Idia warily asks, “What kind of proposition?”

A grin rises to your lips. “Rather than spend the next two and a half days only working as a team with Tsunotaro, Sebek, Riddle-senpai, and Vil-senpai, why don’t you also do some solo work?”

“Huh?!” Idia, along with everyone else, exclaims.

Vil gives you an exasperated look. “Potato, this isn’t you trying to go out of your way to accommodate Idia like you always do, is it?”

“You really spoil Idia-san too much, Yuu-san.” Azul shakes his head. “It won’t kill him to work with others for a few days, no matter how much he insists otherwise.”

While Idia scowls at them, you chuckle, “Nah, that’s not it. I made that proposition mostly for selfish reasons, not just to accommodate Idia-senpai.”

“‘Selfish reasons’?” Epel and Grim curiously parrot.

Focusing your gaze on a surprised Idia, you smile, “I really admire how brilliant and creative you are, Idia-senpai. You always make the coolest things; you really are a genius.”

As Idia once again becomes visibly flustered, you continue, “I know you don’t have your usual materials to work with, but I still think you could create a lot of amazing things if given the freedom to act as you typically do when you’re inventing.”

Smiling fondly, you explain, “That's why I want to give you the opportunity to prepare something for this Halloween 'cause I just think Halloween would be extra special if I got to see your creative genius at work.”

“Yuu-shi…” Idia mumbles, looking extremely embarrassed yet also noticeably pleased by your heartfelt words.

“Ah, but I would still want you to help Tsunotaro and the others whenever they need your genius or an extra hand.” You quickly say, “And I’d hate for you to feel pressured to do something on your own, so if you want, you could always work with Dr. Finkelstein since I bet two geniuses like you guys could make something really awesome if you teamed up.”

“Oooh, that does sound exciting!” Jack exclaims, as he claps his hands together.

Sally giggles, “Yes, it does. I’m sure the doctor would also be pleased to work together with Idia-kun who loves creating impressive inventions like him.”

“Geez…” Idia begins nervously fiddling with his pink-hued ponytail. “Talk about putting pressure on a guy…”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, Idia-senpai.” You assure him. “I just wanted to share my idea since I know you like working on your own, so I thought you might be interested in an idea that would give you that opportunity.”

“Of course, he’ll do it.” Leona smirks, “Radish Sprout couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ after hearing all that praise you just threw at him.”

Wearing a similar expression, Azul agrees, “Oh yes. Idia-san would never turn down such a heartfelt request from Yuu-san at the risk of disappointing her.”

Jade slyly smiles, “Agreed. Idia-san is too much of a gentleman to do such a cruel thing.”

“Especially when Yuu is always going out of her way to accommodate him.” Jamil adds, wearing an impish grin. “I’m sure Idia-senpai is grateful for the opportunity to finally repay her for all her kind efforts.”

With a matching grin, Trey adjusts his glasses. “While he’s trying to play it cool, I’m sure Idia’s actually all too eager to do something special for Yuu. He just can’t bring himself to admit it.”

“Heh, it is true that Idia-senpai isn’t very honest, especially when it comes to matters involving Yuu, so I’m sure you’re right.” Riddle replies with a chuckle.

Malleus smiles in amusement. “If you’re worried about the rest of us on the decorations team, you needn’t do so any longer, Shroud. Feel free to focus the majority of your attention on creating something special for Yuu that will make her happy.”

“And make sure it’s something that won’t make the other decorations we’ll create look bad.” Vil smirks, “I won’t allow you to present anything short of extraordinary.”

“That’s right!” Sebek frowns, “And we’ll be expecting you to work just as hard as the rest of us! Slacking will not be tolerated, Idia-senpai!”

“Yeah! We’re gonna be expecting a lot from you, Idia-san!” Epel chimes in, wearing a grin.

Smirking, Grim pipes up. “Yeah, yeah! Don’t disappoint us, Idia!”

“Oh, will you all stop?!” Idia exclaims, looking simultaneously embarrassed and irate. “You guys are seriously the worst, ganging up on me like this! And you wonder why no one ever wants to work in teams with you!”

While you snort, Idia scowls at the rest of your friends, who naturally pretend to be innocent, before eventually bringing his attention back to you.

After a brief pause, Idia sighs, “Oh, fine. I’ll put something together for Halloween. Just keep in mind that, even with my genius brain, I can only do so much with less than three days on the clock.”

You beam, “Even so, I know you’ll still produce something amazing ‘cause you never disappoint, Idia-senpai.”

Your expression becomes fond when Idia starts cutely blushing. “And I know that you never will.”

Once everyone’s team assignments have been decided, you all quickly put together a shift schedule, so your friends can smoothly take turns between helping their test of courage teams and working on their Halloween surprise for you and the residents of Halloween Town.

After that’s all taken care of and you’ve also taken the time to give Jack some helpful tips about how to handle your friends whenever they’re being uncooperative, the meeting finally concludes, and everyone promptly splits up to take care of their assigned work, although Grim only leaves with Jack and Zero after you take some time to dote on him and praise him for being so good while you were gone this morning.

That’s how you soon find yourself alone with Skully since you had told Leona that he should help the food preparations team, because he had spent the whole morning helping out at the pumpkin patch.

Plus, you didn’t want Leona to spend too much of his time keeping an eye on you when he has so much other work to do as well, especially since now there will always be at least one of your friends at the pumpkin patch, meaning there will always be someone to come to your aid if Lock, Shock, and Barrel try to cause trouble again.

Thankfully, Leona agreed to take a break from guarding you without a fuss, although you could tell that he’d rather do that than help out in the kitchen, which naturally warmed your heart.

Even though you really enjoyed having Leona always nearby, you’re glad that he’s not with you right now since it’ll be easier to talk to Skully if it’s just the two of you.

The reason you want to talk to Skully is the fact that he has been strangely quiet for a while now. He hardly said anything during the Halloween surprise planning meeting and instead just wore a pensive expression, making you wonder what has been on his mind.

Knowing that your time with him is limited since you never know when someone will approach the two of you, asking for help, you address this matter shortly after you and Skully leave Town Hall and begin patrolling the town.

“Are you alright, Skully?” You quietly ask, “You’ve been really quiet for a while now and have looked really pensive, so I couldn’t help but feel worried.”

Skully jolts, obviously not having expected you to question his worrisome behavior, before quickly giving you a sheepish smile. “To think, I would cause such a wonderful lady such worry. How shameful of me. I apologize for my unbecoming behavior.”

You shake your head. “You haven’t done anything that requires an apology, Skully. There’s nothing wrong with not always being okay. Nobody’s perfect, so it’s ridiculous to expect someone to look happy and put together twenty-four-seven.”

“I just wanted to make sure that you’re not silently suffering when I can possibly do something to help.” You softly add, “Because I just can’t look the other way when I see someone I like in trouble of any kind.”

“Yuu-san…” Skully murmurs, sounding noticeably touched.

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “As I’ve said previously, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. I just want you to know I’m available if you need someone to talk to, and that offer will always be open.”

A long silence follows those words, making you assume that whatever is on Skully’s mind is something that he doesn’t want to divulge.

That’s why you’re surprised when Skully’s quiet voice eventually breaks the silence. “The reason for my earlier silence was that I had found myself completely lost in thought as I thought about you and your wonderful relationships with all your lovely friends after watching everyone so beautifully display how deeply they care about you.”

“So you needn’t worry about me.” He assures you. “I truly am alright. I was simply so moved that I found myself temporarily unable to speak.”

Even though he says that, there’s no mistaking the underlying melancholy and loneliness in his voice, proving that he's not as alright as he claims to be.

Your expression softens. So that’s why he’s been looking so lonely. Seeing me getting along so well with my friends must’ve reminded him of the fact that he doesn’t have any friends at school.

You can understand that feeling well since you can clearly remember feeling envious and lonely back in your world whenever you saw kids your age hanging out, having fun together, while you were out taking care of all the errands Mumei forced upon you.

It’s because you’re so familiar with what Skully’s currently going through that you know just what to do now that you know what’s bothering him.

Giving his hand, which has been holding yours ever since the two of you began patrolling, a strong squeeze, you reveal, “You know, before coming to NRC, I didn’t have any friends. I was always alone.”

In a flash, Skully turns to look at you in surprise. “R-Really?”

“Mmhm.” You nod. “Things were pretty rough back in my world, so I couldn’t enjoy the kind of normal life that kids our age would typically have, so I never got the opportunity to make friends despite how much I always wanted one.”

A warm smile rises to your lips. “That’s why I’m really grateful for the fact that I was able to come to NRC and meet so many wonderful people. Even though my friends are a real handful, I still love them regardless since they were the people who saved me from my loneliness and helped me learn how to love and be loved in return.”

Once he overcomes his surprise, a small, soft smile forms on Skully’s lips. “How wonderful. I am also glad that you were able to experience such a serendipitous turn of events.”

You give his hand another squeeze. “I would like for you to also experience the kind of good fortune I did, Skully, because you deserve to have people in your life who recognize what a wonderful guy you are and will give you the love you deserve.”

While Skully’s posture stiffens, you continue, “I know you haven’t had much luck making friends at NRC so far, but please don’t lose hope. I’m sure there are people there whom you can connect to just as long as you don’t give up and keep reaching out to others like you’ve been doing.”

He purses his lips. “I’d rather not befriend the likes of those fools, Yuu-san. I don’t want to associate with people who can’t appreciate my beloved Halloween.”

“I understand not wanting to be friends with people who won’t give the holiday you love the respect it deserves, but I’m sure not everyone at your school is like that.” You reply, “Surely, there must be at least one person whom you haven’t gotten the chance to talk to."

“And if not, perhaps that person will come later after your first year at NRC.” You add, “You never know.”

“But I will say this.” You look into his shaded eyes. “You won’t make any friends if you force your feelings onto others and keep things completely one-sided. You gotta be willing to compromise and hear the other party out; friendships are a two-way street.”

Skully frowns, “That…was never my intention…”

Your expression softens. “I know. You’re like Sebek in that regard.”

“Like Sebek-san?” Skully curiously asks.

With an amused smile, you explain, “You’ve seen him in action. Sebek loves Tsunotaro a great deal, and as a result, he wants everyone to always treat Tsunotaro with the utmost respect. He also never wastes an opportunity to talk about all of Tsunotaro’s amazing qualities and great exploits. He can talk for hours on end about Tsunotaro if you let him.”

Much to your amusement, Skully solemnly remarks, “I understand that feeling quite well. We truly are kindred spirits.”

“Right?” You chuckle, “You guys are two peas in a pod when it comes to your love for your idols.”

“Anyway, going back to what we were discussing earlier, Sebek’s love for Tsunotaro isn’t always well-received by his peers, partially because of his poor volume control but mostly ‘cause, once he gets going, he’ll dominate the conversation and not let anyone else get a word in edgewise.” You reveal, “For most people, he tends to come on a little too strong when it comes to anything related to Tsunotaro.”

“Of course, it doesn’t help that Sebek is rather prideful and doesn’t really play well with others.” You wryly add, “That's why he doesn’t have too many friends at school, although he’ll always say that he has no interest in making friends ‘cause his job of guarding Tsunotaro is far more important to him.”

“Considering how similar you and Sebek are, I’m assuming you’ve been having difficulty making friends for the same reasons as him, with the exception of being too prideful and unable to play nice with others, of course.” You comment, “After all, you’re just as passionate about Jack-san and Halloween as Sebek is about Tsunotaro.”

When Skully frowns, you quickly say, “Now, that’s not to say I think you’re completely at fault, because, considering how NRC students are in my time, I’m sure that, even if they weren’t as bad in the past as they are now, they were still the kinds of guys who aren’t easy to befriend.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you’ve dealt with your fair share of assholes ‘cause NRC has likely been full of them since the school first began accepting students.” You wryly continue, “So I know those guys are partially at fault for you having such a difficult time at school, considering what a sweet boy you are.”

Upon seeing the way Skully cutely flushes, you grin, “You’re a great guy, Skully, so I’m sure you could find a way to befriend those troublesome guys at your school, like what I managed to do, as long as you’re patient, open-minded, and willing to put forth the effort to dial back your enthusiasm enough that you don’t immediately overwhelm whomever you’re talking to as soon as the conversation starts.”

There’s a slight pause before Skully sheepishly admits, “Now that you mention it, I suppose there have been a few occasions when I’ve overwhelmed my peers due to getting so caught up in my excitement…”

You giggle. “I’m glad you’re willing to acknowledge and accept that rather than remain in denial, like what most of my friends would do instead of admitting their faults since they’re not as mature as you. That’s a good step in the right direction.”

“Whenever we have some free time together, I’d be happy to provide more pointers if you’d like more advice about making friends.” You offer before giving him a wink. "After all, when it comes to befriending NRC boys, you won’t find anyone better to consult than me - the girl who managed to become friends with the guys who are considered the hardest to befriend at my school. I’m basically an expert in this field.”

There’s a slight pause before a small, genuine smile appears on Skully’s face. “My, how reassuring. In that case, I would be a fool not to consult you.”

He lifts your hand that he's still holding to his face, so he can tenderly kiss your knuckles. “After all, only a complete fool would pass up an opportunity to spend time with a lady as lovely as yourself.”

His actions make you grin. “Such a smooth gentleman. I love it.”

Unable to help yourself, once Skully finishes kissing your hand, you proceed to bring his hand to your lips, so you can return the favor. Just like the last time you kissed his knuckles, Skully becomes incredibly flustered, and you can’t help but coo at the adorable sight.

Your grin grows as you use your free hand to cup one of his incredibly warm cheeks. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with you as well, Skully.”

Eyes twinkling, you continue, “‘Cause it’ll give me the chance to put all my friendship-making skills to good use, so I can add another NRC boy’s name to my list of friends.”

“After all, there’s no better way for you to learn than through personal experience, right?” You playfully ask after teasingly bringing his face closer to yours.

Much to your delight, Skully’s blush darkens even further and spreads until it encompasses his whole face in response to your teasing, reminding you of Deuce and how your best friend always acts whenever you tease him.

However, Skully doesn’t try to shy away from you, like what Deuce used to do before he got used to your teasing. Instead, Skully gives you one of the cutest shy smiles you’ve ever seen as he rests his free hand over your hand that’s cupping his face. “I will be in your expert care, my lovely teacher.”

Your heart melts in response to his adorable reaction. Oh, he is too cute, just like my sons.

If it weren’t for the fact that Skully is from a completely different time period and that Grim and the rest of your sons would surely riot, you’d adopt Skully right here and now, because he’s just so precious, although the rational part of your brain knows that you really don’t need more than seven sons.

Fortunately for your sons, they won’t have to worry about any new additions to your family since your heart wouldn’t be able to handle your eventual parting with Skully if you did adopt him since your family is so important to you, regardless of how long you’ve known them, so no matter how cute Skully acts, you won’t try to adopt him.

However, that doesn’t mean you won’t dote on him since you’re not confident that you’ll always be strong enough to resist that urge when Skully is being this cute.

Because you are incredibly weak when it comes to cute, precious boys whom you feel don’t get all the love that they deserve.

That’s why it seems very likely that, for the remainder of your time in Halloween Town, you’ll find yourself in plenty of situations where you’ll end up showering Skully with lots of love and attention.

At that thought, your cheeks begin to hurt because of how hard you're now grinning. “Heh, I’ll take goo~d care of you, Skully.”

That’s a promise.

Chapter Text

Unfortunately for you, even though you would very much like to dote on Skully when he’s looking so adorable, you’re unable to since, shortly after he accepts your offer to advise him on how to make friends back at school, the two of you hear your names being called by some of the Halloween Town residents, just like what happened the last time you and Skully went on a patrol together.

Also, like last time, you and Skully end up having to split up to help all of the locals, who are in need of advice. As a result, just like what happened this morning, you end up spending the afternoon offering advice on how to decorate the pumpkin patch for Team Terror’s test of courage and giving feedback on some of the locals’ scaring techniques.

Regrettably, you also eventually end up having to deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who have finally given up on trying to verbally convince you to go along with their demands, just as you had expected would eventually happen.

Much to your great annoyance, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who are taking full advantage of the fact that Leona isn’t around to protect you, attempt to sneak up on you from behind, a large sack in hand, no doubt with the intention of kidnapping you, much like what they did to poor Santa Claus in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Unfortunately for them, because you knew it was only a matter of time before the bad kid trio pulled a stunt like this, you immediately take notice of what they’re up to due to you remaining on high alert, so you’re able to avoid their attempt to capture you, much to their great frustration.

Of course, no one is more frustrated and annoyed than you, although you'd be lying if you said you weren't also very apprehensive since it's obviously frightening to be a cannibal's target. However, you don't let your fear show since you don't want Lock, Shock, and Barrel to realize that you're fully aware of what they're plotting; you only let your irritation be apparent as you turn to face those brats, so you can give them a piece of your mind and hopefully scare them off since you know you can be quite intimidating when you're angry.

Before you can actually say anything, however, an exasperated Riddle suddenly runs onto the scene, obviously because he had noticed what the children had just tried to do. “Lock, Shock, and Barrel! Cease and desist at once! If you continue causing trouble and bothering Yuu with your pranks, it will be off with your heads!”

Ah, right, since he doesn’t know about Oogie Boogie, the kids just look like they’re trying to prank me rather than send me to my doom. You dryly think to yourself. He’s probably just assuming the kids wanna take me somewhere fun to play rather than to the hideout of their cannibal boss.

Meanwhile, Lock, Shock, Barrel, who are completely unbothered by Riddle’s obvious ire, exchange looks before Barrel asks, “What does he mean by ‘off with your heads’?”

“Maybe he can remove heads like what Jack does with his head?” Lock guesses.

Shock eagerly claps her hands. “Oooh, sounds like fun! I thought he was a bit of a nag, but he has some interesting things to say!”

While Riddle stares at the children incredulously, your earlier anger begins to fade thanks to this amusing conversation, which makes you snort. “Sorry, kids. He wasn’t talking about decapitation, so no one will have their heads physically removed.”

Your amusement grows as you watch as Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who had started to get excited, lower their heads in disappointment. “Awww...”

Riddle wearily massages his temple. “Being with these children is giving me a headache…”

“Tell me about it.” You wryly reply as you watch the kids decide to change tactics and quickly resume clinging onto you and pestering you, like they did this morning, no doubt because they don’t want Riddle to catch onto the fact that they want to kidnap you and take you to their boss.

“Let’s play, Yuu!” Shock requests, “You’ve been working all day!”

“Yeah!” Barrel chimes in. “You look like you could use a break!”

“We’re really good at relaxing and having fun, so come hang out with us!” Lock adds.

Your eyebrow rapidly twitches as you try to free yourself from the kids' tight grips. “As I keep telling you kids, I can’t afford to play right now when there are less than three days until Halloween. I want this year’s Halloween to be a success, so I can’t afford to slack off.”

“Aww, but a short break won’t hurt!” Shock replies, “Breaks are important!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Lock and Barrel agree, “Super important!”

“That’s enough!” Riddle scowls, “You three are clearly bothering Yuu and getting in the way of her duties, which is a clear violation of the Queen of Hearts’ Rule #657: When a lady is hard at work, handling important duties, you must not disturb her under any circumstances!”

“And you’re also breaking the promise you made this morning to behave yourselves!” He adds, acting like the kids have committed the ultimate crime, because, to him, they have.

Ah, yes, Rule #657, the rule that has gotten Ace, Grim, and plenty of other Heartslabyul students collared multiple times. You wryly think to yourself. My favorite rule.

It’s also Ace’s least favorite rule, because his usual teasing and tomfoolery can often be considered a breach of that rule if Ace is bothering you while you’re doing homework, helping Trey in the kitchen, or doing any other kind of important work.

Unfortunately for Ace, while Riddle has become more lax since the start of the school year when it comes to enforcing the rules, his strictness doesn’t wane when it comes to that particular rule.

According to Cater, it’s because Riddle is so protective of you, which you find incredibly endearing, although you’re sure that Cater just said that to tease Riddle.

You’re pulled away from your thoughts when the bad kid trio rudely respond to Riddle’s accusation.

“I don’t care about no stupid rule that I’ve never even heard of.”

“Promise? What promise?”

“You really are a nag, shortie. Can’t you just leave us alone, so we can have fun with Yuu?”

Your eyes widen when you hear Shock’s remark about Riddle’s height. Uh oh…this isn’t gonna end well…

As expected, when you turn to look at Riddle, who’s now glaring daggers at the children, you see that his face is now as red as his hair, and there’s metaphorical steam coming out of his ears.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Riddle makes a large sweeping gesture with his hand. “OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!”

In a blink, three familiar collars appear around the kids’ necks, catching Lock, Shock, and Barrel by surprise.

“Saw that coming.” You dryly mutter to yourself.

“Wha-?” Lock grabs his new metal collar. “A collar?! Where’d this come from?!”

“I can’t get it off!” Barrel exclaims as he tries and fails to remove his collar.

“I don’t like this!” Shock complains, “It’s worse than being a pumpkin! Take it off!”

Having thankfully simmered down, Riddle crosses his arms with a huff. “Hmph. Those collars won’t be going anywhere as long as you three continue to misbehave, so I recommend that you all apologize for your rude behavior and leave Yuu alone.”

He smirks, “Otherwise, those collars will be a part of your costumes for this year’s Halloween. Heh.”

“Noooo!” The children collectively whine, “Don’t want that!”

Pleased to see the troublemaking kids getting their just desserts, you chuckle, “Then, I’d recommend doing as Riddle-senpai says and not causing any trouble while he’s around. As you now can clearly see, he doesn’t tolerate troublemaking of any kind.”

Since they really do not want to remain collared for the next two and a half days, Lock, Shock, and Barrel quickly apologize for misbehaving before running off, probably thinking that, if they put some distance between themselves and Riddle, his Unique Magic will wear off.

Unfortunately for them, getting rid of Riddle’s collars won’t be that easy. Thanks to Riddle’s perfect control of his Unique Magic, those collars won’t be going anywhere unless he wills it, so you don’t see Oogie’s henchmen getting rid of their collars anytime soon.

Once Lock, Shock, and Barrel have left the scene, you turn to give Riddle a grateful smile. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Riddle-senpai. Those three are a real handful since they’re so persistent and don’t let up no matter how many times I tell them ‘no’, so your help is greatly appreciated, especially now that they’re doing more than just clinging onto me and whining.”

“There is no need for thanks since I only did what is to be expected of me since those troublemakers were bothering an honorary member of my dorm.” Riddle matter-of-factly replies, “I could not allow their rule-breaking to continue.”

He frowns, “Have they been bothering you all day?”

You grimace, “Unfortunately. Thankfully, Leona-senpai fended them off the whole morning, so they never stuck around for long before getting chased off.”

“Considering all the positive remarks I have heard about him from the locals, Leona-senpai truly was hard at work this morning.” Riddle’s frown deepens. “It makes my behavior this morning all the more disgraceful. I apologize for the trouble I caused you.”

Smiling, you reach over to pat his shoulder. “It’s alright, Senpai. I know you weren’t purposely trying to cause trouble like those kids. You just wanted to ensure I had the best possible Halloween, which I really appreciated.”

Regrettably, your assurances don’t seem to appease Riddle since he still looks rather upset.

Before you can try to say anything else, Riddle, who has clenched his hands into fists, abruptly bows his head, catching you off guard. “I also wish to apologize for my negligence last October. Even though I didn’t know it was your first Halloween, that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t take the necessary measures to ensure you had an enjoyable Halloween like the rest of my dorm members. I failed you.”

Surprise briefly crosses your features before your expression softens. “You don’t need to apologize, Riddle-senpai, so please lift your head.”

When he reluctantly obliges, you continue, “As I said before, no one was under any responsibility to worry about me while the party was ongoing, because you all should’ve been focusing on our school’s guests and your own personal enjoyment.”

“Especially since you and all my other friends from Heartslabyul took such great care of me during the day.” You add, “I had a very enjoyable day thanks to you guys visiting me and bringing me treats. You guys are the reason I can look back fondly on that day.”

Riddle purses his lips. “Even so, I deeply regret not visiting you that night, like Leona-senpai did. I’m ashamed of myself for not considering the kind of position you would be in by being confined to the infirmary the whole night.”

His expression suddenly becomes determined. “I failed you last Halloween, but I will not make that mistake again.”

Placing a hand over his heart, Riddle passionately declares, “I swear on the name of the Queen of Hearts herself that I will make this Halloween a total success! It will be the best Halloween anyone has ever seen!”

For a moment, all you can do is stare at him in surprise. “Riddle-senpai…”

Soon after, a pleasant warmth takes root inside your chest. “I have complete faith in you, Senpai. I know my first Halloween is in capable hands.”

You beam, “That’s why I’m looking forward to the special surprise you and the others are preparing for me.”

With all your heart.

After declaring that he’ll make your first Halloween a total success, Riddle decides that he’ll take over for Leona and be responsible for keeping an eye on you, just in case Lock, Shock, and Barrel return, although the chances of that happening seem low, thanks to Riddle’s Unique Magic.

As a result, when you resume helping with Team Terror’s test of courage preparations and advising the Halloween Town residents, Riddle decides to patrol the pumpkin patch in addition to helping with the test of courage preparations, more specifically the areas where you’re working, to ensure no one causes you any trouble.

Fortunately, as the hours pass, you see no signs of Oogie’s henchmen, so you think they’ve given up on trying to take you to their boss, for today, at least, since now their top priority is presumably getting rid of Riddle’s collars.

You’re beyond relieved since it means you’re able to relax and do your work in peace, or at least, you’re able to relax whenever you’re not subjected to anyone’s scare tactics.

Another reason you’re able to enjoy your afternoon is the fact that, whenever you’re not helping one of the locals, you get to chat with Riddle who, thanks to loosening up over the course of the school year, doesn’t mind engaging in friendly chatter while working.

Amazingly enough, it was Riddle who first initiated a conversation with you, because he wanted to hear more of your thoughts about Halloween since he had thought that was important information that he needed to know, considering he’s aiming to make your first Halloween the best Halloween ever.

Naturally, you were all too happy to chat with Riddle since the fact that he was going to such lengths for your sake really warmed your heart.

That’s why you tell him all about how you’ve always liked Halloween, despite your horror phobia, since trick-or-treating always looked fun to you, and you were always impressed by the costumes you saw on TV, although you, of course, weren’t very fond of the really realistic scary costumes.

Despite the scary aspects of Halloween, you could never bring yourself to dislike the holiday, and you’re sure The Nightmare Before Christmas is to thank for that since you love that movie so much.

It’s because of those beloved characters that you were able to see through the scariness of Halloween and find all the good parts about it since The Nightmare Before Christmas taught you that Halloween is so much more than just scaring people, and it also taught you that the act of scaring isn’t always done with malicious purposes since the Halloween Town residents were all such sweet people.

“Even though I know scaring others during Halloween is all in good fun, I still wouldn’t go out of my way to do it, even though I personally have no issue with doing the scaring.” You reveal, during one of your chats with Riddle. “I just don’t wanna have to worry about someone wanting to scare me to get back at me. That’s why I’ve never really made an effort to scare others, even for a harmless prank, so that part of Halloween really isn’t my thing.”

As Riddle nods in understanding, you continue, “Since I love sweets, I guess that would be a major Halloween highlight for me, especially after having tasted all the delicious treats that Trey-senpai made for me last Halloween.”

“However, that said, back in my world, I didn’t really have a huge interest in the sweets aspect of Halloween ‘cause I didn’t get the opportunity to indulge in sweets back then.” You add.

“Ah, yes, I was the same way.” Riddle replies, “It wasn’t until I started attending Night Raven College that I came to greatly appreciate the treats made for Halloween since that was my first time properly celebrating the holiday.”

Just as you had expected. Of course, Riddle’s super strict mother wouldn’t let him have anything to do with the holiday that involves eating lots of candy, considering she thinks sweets are poison, which is why she forbade him from ever eating them.

Your eyebrow subtly twitches when you think of Riddle’s mother, but you quickly collect yourself, so your less than positive feelings toward her don’t show on your expression.

Once you’ve schooled your features, you give him a warm smile. “I’m glad you got to properly celebrate Halloween once you were at NRC. Every kid should get the opportunity to enjoy such a wonderful holiday.”

Nodding, Riddle smiles in return. “Which is why we must succeed with our current Halloween preparations, so you can have a proper first Halloween.”

“And, of course, I fully intend for your next Halloween at NRC to be a total success.” He adds, “You will get to experience everything you missed out on last Halloween and then some. I’ll make sure of it.”

Warmth envelops your chest as your smile softens. “Thank you very much. I’m already looking forward to it.”

Riddle proudly puffs up his chest. “As you should, because I won’t accept anything less than absolute perfection.”

Sounds like Riddle-senpai will be working his card soldiers extra hard next Halloween. You amusedly think to yourself. I feel a little bad for Ace and Deuce since it’s all for my sake. Maybe I’ll offer to lend a hand since I am an honorary member of the dorm, and with Trey-senpai being a fourth-year by that point, they’re gonna need someone to take his place in the kitchen.

Before you can make that offer, Riddle says, “And in order to accomplish these important goals, I require more information. Please tell me what about Halloween you find most appealing, Yuu. You haven’t yet disclosed what your favorite aspects of it are, aside from the treats, which is what I want to know most.”

Your expression becomes thoughtful. “My favorite aspects…hmmm…”

It’s at that moment you suddenly recall an online video you once watched back in your world that showed a Halloween-themed parade that was held at Disney World.

Even though you had never been a fan of Disney villains, who were essentially the stars of the parade, you had been completely enraptured by the lovely parade floats, the lights, and the music, and you enjoyed seeing the Disney villains dancing, singing, and waving at everyone in the audience.

In that moment, despite the holiday they were celebrating, they didn’t look at all scary to you; they looked just like any other Disney character since they were out and about, enjoying a holiday, just like everyone else.

Just like how all of your friends, despite their resemblances to those Disney villains, are just normal, teenage boys.

Upon remembering that, a soft, fond smile rises to your lips. “When I was little, I once watched a video of a Halloween parade online. It really had an impact on me ‘cause everyone looked like they were having so much fun, considering so many of the people in the parade were dancing and singing.”

“The parade floats all looked so amazing.” You continue, “There had even been one that looked like a dragon that actually breathed fire.”

As Riddle’s eyes widen with wonder, your smile grows. “When I remember that parade and how much I enjoyed it, I think what I enjoy most about Halloween is just the aspect of being together with everyone and having fun. I love the whimsical nature of the holiday, which gives everyone the opportunity to let loose and act in a way they may not normally behave on a regular day.”

After you say that, you nod to yourself. “Yeah, that’s it. More than anything, I just love the whimsy of Halloween, probably ‘cause my life before coming to Twisted Wonderland was devoid of whimsy and the like.”

A sad frown forms on Riddle's lips as he softly replies, “I understand what you mean. I think I too am rather enchanted by that aspect of Halloween.”

You reach over to take hold of one of his hands and give it a squeeze before releasing it. “You know, back in my world, a lot of people love Halloween because it gives them the opportunity to be themselves without having to worry about being judged since the holiday is all about encouraging quirkiness and eccentricity.”

“For example, people who really love gothic-style clothing and people who just love scary things in general.” You elaborate, “During the month of Halloween, they can celebrate their interests and not be considered weird because of them.”

“After I found out about that while I was researching Halloween and how it’s viewed overseas, I became even more fond of the holiday since I like the idea of a holiday that allows everyone to be free to be themselves without judgment.” You add.

In response to your words, Riddle loses his earlier frown and starts smiling, “Yes, I rather like that myself. While I believe everyone should have that kind of freedom all year round, the idea of a holiday having such a positive theme is a very nice thought.”

He eyes you curiously. “You said you gained this information through researching, correct? May I ask what led to you researching the topic of Halloween? I’m rather curious.”

“I had a feeling you would be, considering how you are.” You giggle, “To answer your question, I once wrote a report on Halloween for a school assignment.”

“My teacher had wanted me to experience researching a topic that entailed me learning more about cultures of other countries, so I could compare and contrast how things were done in my country and the rest of the world.” You continue, “So I chose Halloween as my topic since it was something I had always been curious about, and I knew it was a popular holiday celebrated in several countries.”

Riddle’s eyes light up with interest. “Really now? That sounds like quite the interesting assignment. I think I would enjoy working on a report like that, especially after learning about how Halloween was celebrated during the time period Skully came from.”

Your smile grows. “I definitely enjoyed working on it, so I’m sure you would too. It was fun looking into the roots of the holiday, seeing where it all began, and learning what led to the holiday becoming like it is in current time.”

“Back in my world, Halloween was once essentially like how Skully celebrates it, although it wasn’t quite as serious as what he’s accustomed to since they would still host big gatherings and feasts.” You inform, “The main similarity was that, while the holiday was still about respecting the dead, the living weren’t looking to party and have fun with ghosts like what’s done in Twisted Wonderland.”

“While they provided food and drink as offerings in hopes that the people and livestock would survive the upcoming winter, they’d dress up in hopes of warding off evil spirits and would keep iron or salt on hand, just in case.” You add.

Since Riddle appears noticeably intrigued, you proceed to go into more detail about everything you learned about Samhain, a Gaelic festival that many of your world's Halloween’s current traditions are based on.

You also tell him about how those traditions spread to other countries and how they got heavily commercialized in the west, which is how modern day Halloween came to be.

“Nowadays, most people celebrate Halloween like you’d expect, but trick-or-treating isn’t a thing everywhere, or at least, it’s only celebrated in select areas of certain countries rather than nationwide.” You reveal, “In my country, trick-or-treating is done in certain areas, but everyone mostly celebrates by wearing costumes and having parties.”

“How fascinating.” Riddle comments, “I would’ve never imagined that Halloween could be so different from what I’m accustomed to, and it’s truly amazing how much it changed and grew in your world due to all the different cultures in the west.”

The corners of his lips curve upwards. “It makes me really want to do my own research once we return to school. I want to see for myself how Halloween first began in my world and what led to it becoming how it is in modern times.”

Upon seeing the excited gleam in his eyes, you smile in return. “I’m pretty curious myself, so I’d be happy to research with you. I’d love to learn more about Twisted Wonderland.”

His smile grows. “An excellent idea. I’m sure the experience will be even more enjoyable if we work together.”

Soon after, an adorable blush colors his cheeks. “B-Because we’ll be able to cover more ground and do more research with two people as compared to one, of course.”

Judging from his obvious embarrassment, Riddle obviously wasn’t thinking of productivity when he said that working with you would make the Halloween research more enjoyable.

Fortunately for him, you don’t say as much, although the urge to tease him is strong, because he was a big help to you earlier when Lock, Shock, and Barrel were going after you.

Instead, you just nod along with his words, wearing a noticeably fond expression all the while. “Of course.”

Much to your surprise, not long after you and Riddle finish making future plans to research Halloween, an unexpected voice addresses you.

“Ah, there you are, Yuu-san. I’ve finally found you. I was worried I wouldn’t, considering how vast this pumpkin patch is.”

Surprised, you turn to see the approach of Jade, who appears to be by himself rather than with Azul, even though the two had decided to spend this afternoon working on the music for your Halloween surprise. “This is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you this afternoon, Jade-senpai, since I had assumed you and Azul-senpai would be busy the whole afternoon 'cause putting together a musical composition takes time. Were you guys just hit with a burst of musical inspiration or something?”

Jade chuckles, “Unfortunately not. Despite Azul and I having similar tastes in Halloween music, we haven’t been able to come up with anything satisfactory despite having the local musicians perform a large variety of songs for us.”

“Although, I wouldn’t say I haven’t been struck by any inspiration at all since it was a stroke of inspiration that brought me to you.” He adds, wearing an enigmatic smile.

While you raise an eyebrow, a frowning Riddle asks, “Surely, you don’t intend to ask Yuu for her help in composing a song? This is meant to be a surprise for her, or have you somehow forgotten that important fact?”

“I assure you I have not forgotten.” Jade replies, “I have no intention to ruin Yuu-san’s highly anticipated surprise.”

His smile grows. “On the contrary, I, like everyone else, wish to do everything in my power to ensure the surprise is a roaring success.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards in response to his words. “Jade-senpai…”

Your touched expression quickly turns into a surprised one when Jade cheerfully reveals, “That is why I want Yuu-san to play the music from the movie this book’s story is based on. After all, surely, no music would greater excite her than music inspired by a movie that’s so dear to her.”

Riddle rubs his chin. “I see. You do make an excellent point, but what exactly do you mean when you say you want her to ‘play’ the music?”

“Fufu. Why don’t you see for yourself rather than have me explain it?” Jade asks, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Upon seeing the clear mischief in Jade’s expression, you quickly put two and two together since there’s really only one thing Jade could mean when he says he wants you to “play” music for him.

Your eyes narrow. “Jade-senpai, you better hope Azul-senpai doesn’t keep his memories of this. If I have to deal with him constantly trying to get me to perform at the Mostro Lounge after we get back to school, you’re gonna have to find someone else to go hiking with for the foreseeable future.”

“Oh, Yuu-san, please don’t say such sorrowful things.” Jade fake-sniffles. “I know I promised to keep quiet, but I only had the best of intentions when I divulged your secret to Azul, I assure you.”

Yeah, right. You dryly think to yourself. I bet you just wanted to finally rub it in Azul-senpai’s face that you knew something he didn’t, and you’re probably looking forward to him pestering me about doing future piano recitals while we’re stuck in this book.

This must be Jade-senpai’s way of getting back at me for ensuring he can’t cause mayhem by sticking him with Azul-senpai. You wryly muse. If he can’t mess with the innocent masses, he’ll just go after me instead.

Wonderful, just wonderful.

With a sigh, you ask, “I’m assuming you already have everything ready for me, so where do I need to go, Jade-senpai?”

Much to your surprise, Jade offers his arm to you. “I shall show you the way. Please allow me to escort you. This way I can ensure you don’t trip on along the way. I’d hate for you to fall and risk ruining your lovely dress, after all.”

Since you can tell Jade has no ulterior motives, you accept his proffered arm, although you do wonder what brought about his current behavior.

As if reading your mind, Jade smiles, “After seeing so many of my peers acting like such fine gentlemen today, I was inspired to improve my own performance as a gentleman. After all, we at the Mostro Lounge always strive to be perfect gentlemen.”

“So you always say.” Riddle mutters, “But Floyd’s usual behavior makes me believe otherwise.”

Meanwhile, you raise an amused brow. Wasn’t expecting Jade-senpai to get competitive over something like this, although I know he takes pride in being a “perfect gentleman” since that gentlemanly persona he’s made for himself is what helps him get away with most of his typical brand chaos. Guess he feels the need to prove that he won’t be beaten in his “field of expertise”.

Either that, or Jade is just hoping that him being extra gentlemanly will cause you to let your guard down, providing him an opening to exploit.

Because Jade Leech is always looking for openings to exploit.

Unfortunately for him, you have no intention to provide him such an opening since you do not want to provide him an opportunity to have fun at your expense.

That’s why you don’t let your guard down as you allow Jade to escort you, although your demeanor remains calm since, despite his propensity for mischief, you still trust the eel-mer and know he’s not a serious threat to you, at least not at this present time when you haven’t done anything to seriously piss him off, which is something you intend to avoid doing at all costs.

Because Jade Leech is the last person whom you’d ever want to make an enemy out of.

You’re soon pulled away from your thoughts when one of the Halloween Town citizens, who looks like a mummy, approaches you, asking for you to watch him implement the new idea he just came up with to scare Jack and give him your feedback.

Before you can respond to the mummy’s request, Riddle beats you to the punch, catching you by surprise. “Yuu is needed for another matter at this present time and has people waiting for her, so allow me to take her place for the time being.”

“An excellent idea, Riddle-san.” Jade nods. “Once you’re done, please reconvene with us behind the largest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.”

Fortunately, the mummy is perfectly fine with accepting Riddle’s help, which doesn’t surprise you since everyone in Halloween Town is so nice and accommodating, which means that’s one less scaring session you have to take part in. What a relief.

No doubt that was the main reason Riddle intervened, because he knows that’s your least favorite part of your new job.

After giving Riddle a grateful look, to which he smiles in response, you resume heading toward the largest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, along with Jade, who continues to escort you.

Shortly after you part ways with Riddle, you raise an eyebrow at the eel-mer. “Did you seriously bring an actual piano to the pumpkin patch? You couldn’t just take me to wherever the piano was originally?”

Jade chuckles, “We simply didn’t want to in any way inconvenience you by asking you to leave the pumpkin patch, considering this is the area where you’ve been doing the majority of your work. Besides, we thought you might like having a spot inside the pumpkin patch where you could relax whenever you’re taking a break.”

Considering how Jade is, he probably just thought it’d be amusing to bring an actual piano to a pumpkin patch and have a recital in such an unusual location. The eel-mer probably also enjoyed making Azul have to take part in the process of moving the piano since you could easily see Jade making Azul do the task, which the octo-mer would no doubt find exasperating since it would be more practical to bring you to the piano rather than vice-versa.

Rather than say as much, you just wryly say, “How very considerate of you. Thank you.”

After that exchange, silence briefly envelops the two of you, so you pass the time checking out the progress of everyone’s work on Team Terror’s test of courage.

Thankfully, things are going well so far. Because everyone is so eager to give Jack a real scare, they’ve been working really hard to make the pumpkin patch as frightening as possible.

Considering the pace they’re all currently working at, you think that everything will be ready in time for Halloween, just as long as no major hiccups occur along the way.

“Team Terror has been doing a splendid job with their test of courage preparations. It’s hard to believe they’ve only been working since this morning, considering how many decorations they already have set up.”

As if reading your mind, Jade comments on all the progress Team Terror has been making, and you can’t help but feel proud when you hear his praise since it’s the team that you’re overseeing.

Regrettably, you don’t get to enjoy that pleasant feeling for very long thanks to Jade's next remark. “Ah, yes, that reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to ask you, Yuu-san. Will you be accompanying Jack-san when he journeys through the two tests of courage, or do you intend to go through them both on your own?”

Feeling as if you’ve been doused with ice cold water, your whole body stiffens as you turn to look at Jade, who’s now wearing quite the large, gleeful grin. “Or perhaps you were hoping to enjoy the tests of courage with one of your close companions? If so, I’d be happy to volunteer myself for your journey through your team’s test of courage since I am sure I would enjoy myself a great deal if I had you there alongside me. Fufu.”

Of that, I have no doubt. You dryly think to yourself. You would absolutely love watching me get scared outta my damn mind. You’d be more interested in watching me react to my team’s test of courage than the test of courage itself, you damn menace.

You internally groan. Dammit. I forgot to consider the possibility of me being asked to go through the tests of courage. I had just assumed I’d be one of the scarers in Team Terror’s test of courage and that I’d support Team Horror from the sidelines, but considering how much Jack wants me to enjoy my first Halloween and how important scaring and getting scared is to him, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to avoid having to go through those tests of courage, at least definitely not the one Team Horror will make.

Talking about shooting yourself in the foot. You’ve really doomed yourself with this bright idea you came up with to help Jack overcome his creative slump.

“Oh, Yuu-san, whatever is the matter?” Jade asks, trying and failing to sound innocent. “You look rather pale. Are you feeling under the weather?”

After giving him an unimpressed look, you huff, “I’m fine, and to answer your earlier question, I will NOT be going through a test of courage with you, because I’d rather not be accompanied by someone who will take pleasure in my suffering.”

He dramatically gasps, “Why, Yuu-san, that’s such a cruel accusation. I can assure you that I would never take pleasure in your torment.”

Now, you’re just lying through your teeth. You wryly think to yourself. You can’t fool me, you menace.

Upon seeing your unconvinced expression, Jade theatrically sniffles. “Oh, woe is me. I can’t believe you think so lowly of me, Yuu-san. It truly breaks my heart.”

While you roll your eyes at his awful acting, he continues, “And here I was, greatly looking forward to experiencing my first ever test of courage with you. I was practically shaking with anticipation when I imagined all of the potential excitement we could experience together.”

“Such as hordes of ghosts popping up at random, bone-chilling screams suddenly filling the air, the sensation of being watched but being unable to find the source, skeletal hands piercing through the dirt at our feet so they can reach out to grab us, etc.” He adds, doing his best to sound casual and completely failing, because there’s no mistaking the mischief underlying everything that he says.

Even though you know exactly what Jade is trying to do, you’re unable to stop the chill that runs down your spine when your traitorous mind begins to imagine the mental picture that Jade’s words are creating.

Despite yourself, you begin to tremble when your brain starts concocting scary image after scary image, and your breathing begins to grow unsteady when said images are eventually followed by the sound of Mumei’s haunting laughter, which always filled the air whenever he forced you to watch countless horror movies as a form of punishment.

“Well, this won’t do.”

Much to your surprise, you’re eventually pulled away from your harrowing thoughts when a gentle hand abruptly cups your cheek.

When you’re brought back to the present, you find yourself staring at Jade’s handsome face, which is now right in front of yours, catching you off guard. You’re unable to bring yourself to question the eel-mer's actions, because you quickly find yourself entranced when you look into his mismatched eyes.

For some reason, this occasionally happens whenever you lock gazes with the Leech brothers. There are just these moments when their eyes seem utterly bewitching, and every time, all you can bring yourself to do is stare.

Thankfully, Floyd and Jade have never seemed to mind. On the contrary, they find it rather amusing and somewhat entertaining, probably because it gives them a bit of an ego boost to be on the receiving end of your admiring gaze.

This time, however, Jade doesn’t look amused and is instead sporting an unusually serious expression.

“It would seem I underestimated the severity of your horror phobia.” Jade murmurs, “How careless of me.”

His thumb softly caresses your cheek. “My sincerest apologies, Yuu-san. This was not the end result I had wanted, not in the slightest.”

It’s thanks to Jade’s unusually gentle actions that you’re able to finally calm down. Thanks to him grounding you, you’re eventually able to fully bring yourself back to the present and banish all of your unpleasant thoughts and memories to the furthest recesses of your mind where they belong.

Once you’ve regained your composure, you rest a hand over the one that’s cupping your cheek. “It’s okay. I’m alright now, Jade-senpai.”

Rather than immediately take you at your word, Jade spends several seconds silently scrutinizing you before he finally pulls away from you with a nod. “I am relieved to hear that. I apologize again for my insensitive actions.”

Since you can tell he’s being completely sincere, you accept his apology. “Apology accepted. Just please go easy on me from here on out when it comes to anything related to horror. A little teasing is fine since I know you never have any truly bad intentions, but sadly, that’s about all I can handle with the kinda phobia I have.”

“Rest assured, I will not make the same mistake again.” Jade promises, “While I highly value my own personal entertainment, it is not more important than your mental well-being.”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest as your expression softens. “Jade-senpai…”

And this is why, despite what menaces they can be, you’re friends with the Leech twins, because, despite the chaos and mayhem they love to cause, the two aren’t bad people at heart.

At the very least, they aren’t when you’re concerned since both Floyd and Jade would never do anything that would result in any kind of serious harm, physical or mental, befalling you.

Because, despite all the trouble they like to cause you for their own amusement, they do sincerely care about you.

That’s why you love Floyd and Jade so much and why you’re willing to forgive their typical mischief. Of course, that’s not to say you just simply forgive and forget whenever the twins cause you trouble.

After all, you’re not that nice.

With a smirk, you take advantage of the fact that Jade has let his guard down and quickly reach over to grab his tie, catching him by surprise.

Copying what you’ve seen done countless times on TV, you use your grip on Jade’s tie to pull his face toward yours, and once he’s close enough, you kiss his forehead, which is currently fully exposed thanks to the upswept hairstyle the book gave him.

Your smirk grows when you witness Jade’s expression shift from being dumbfounded to embarrassed since it’s not often you get to see the eel-mer flustered. “That’s my payback. Fortunately for you, I delivered it when there were no witnesses. However, I can’t promise that will be the case if there’s a next time.”

Much to your amusement, unlike how the majority of your friends act when you fluster them with physical affection, Jade doesn’t retreat into himself or start making a fuss.

Instead, he bats his pretty little eyes at you and brings his face even closer to yours, all the while wearing a grin that shows off all those sharp, pointy teeth of his. “Oya, oya. Is that a promise, Yuu-san? If so, I must admit, that makes me feel more inclined to cause more mischief rather than abstain from it. Fufu.”

All you can do is laugh. “Why am I not surprised?”

Unable to help yourself, you kiss his cheek. “In that case, I guess I better only use kisses as rewards for good behavior. I don’t wanna encourage any mischief, after all.”

Unlike last time, Jade doesn’t get embarrassed by the second kiss you give him since he had been prepared this time and instead seems pleased, which is typically how both he and Floyd react whenever they receive any kind of physical affection from you. “What a pity. For a moment there, I was quite excited.”

With a snort, you finally release your hold on Jade’s tie and pull away from him. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Catching you by surprise, Jade gently takes hold of your hand that had previously grabbed his tie. “Oh, you could never disappoint me, Yuu-san.”

Just as Skully has done several times since you first met him, Jade brings your hand to his mouth and tenderly kisses your knuckles, smiling all the while. “That’s why it’s never boring whenever I’m with you.”

Upon seeing Jade’s smile that’s a mixture of mischievous and genuinely fond and how his bewitching eyes are sparkling with mirth, you find yourself completely captivated since you don’t think you’ve ever seen Jade look as charming as he does right now.

This is why having pretty boys as friends is so dangerous. They just keep getting more and more captivating as time passes, and it’s seriously bad for your heart, especially when they’re looking so gorgeous whilst treating you so tenderly.

Thankfully, you miraculously manage to keep yourself from turning into a flustered mess through sheer willpower since you know Jade wouldn’t hesitate to start teasing you for his own amusement.

Of course, you’re sure that Jade still noticed the effect his recent actions had on you, judging from the impish grin that’s now resting on his lips.

That’s why you’re quick to change subjects. “Alright, that’s good. Now, let’s get to that piano already. If you guys wanna make progress on the music before we run outta daylight, we can’t afford to waste any more time.”

“Yes, of course.” Jade chuckles, “Let us be off then.”

Just like last time, the eel-mer politely offers you his arm, and you accept it, so he can resume escorting you to the area where the piano was stationed.

Naturally, you don’t think this means you’ve successfully avoided having to deal with Jade’s teasing. You’ve only temporarily put it off, because Jade never forgets anything he deems entertaining.

Unfortunately for you.

As you had expected, during the remainder of the trip to the area where the piano was stationed, Jade has fun playfully teasing you since he really can’t help himself. Naturally, you return fire by bringing up how he reacted when you kissed his forehead, so the battle doesn’t remain one-sided for long.

Thankfully, things finally settle down when you and Jade reach the largest pumpkin of the pumpkin patch - a pumpkin so huge that it could easily become a person’s house if it was possible to keep it from rotting.

Because of its impressive size, this large pumpkin will be a big part of Team Terror’s test of courage, because it has already been carved to look like a jack-o-lantern, making it the ultimate Halloween decoration.

Since this large jack-o-lantern is so far back into the pumpkin patch, it was decided that the test of courage would end here, so everyone wants to make this spot as scary as possible since they want their test of courage to have the best possible finale.

However, so far, this area hasn’t been worked on by anyone yet since the members of Team Terror have been focusing on the areas of the pumpkin patch where they’ll each be individually stationed since, right now, everyone’s working on figuring out how they want to scare Jack.

You had told everyone to work like this, because you had thought it would take more time for everyone to decide on what they would individually do to scare Jack than to decorate this area, and you want everyone to have enough time to prepare, so they can give Jack their best possible individual performances.

It’s a good thing you suggested that strategy since it means you won’t have to worry about disturbing anyone with your piano-playing since no Halloween Town residents are in this area right now.

The only people currently here are you, Jade, Azul, and…Jamil?

As surprise dawns on your features upon catching sight of Jamil, who is standing in the area behind the giant pumpkin, along with Azul, Jade, who’s equally as surprised, remarks, “Oya? I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Jamil-san. Were you keeping Azul company while I was away? How kind of you.”

Just as a smiling Azul opens his mouth, no doubt to confirm Jade’s suspicions, Jamil makes a face. “That is definitely NOT the reason I’m here. I only approached this area, because I saw you and Azul bringing a piano, of all things, here, and I wanted to find out what you two were up to.”

Azul dramatically sighs, “Your lack of trust in us truly wounds me, Jamil-san. If only I could find a way to convince you that I only have the purest of motives in everything that I do.”

“Biggest lie I’ve ever heard.” Jamil deadpans, without missing a beat, making you snort.

While Azul theatrically gasps, Jade sadly frowns, “Oh, Jamil-san, you truly have the wrong idea about us. It saddens me that you think we’re only capable of misdeeds despite our dorm being known for its great benevolence.”

Rather than bother deigning the eel-mer with a response, Jamil focuses his gaze on you and raises an eyebrow. “According to Azul, you know how to play the piano. Is this true?”

Your eyes narrow. “If I say ‘yes,’, you’re not gonna say such a skill doesn’t suit a delinquent tomboy like me, like Grim, Sebek, Jade-senpai, and Idia-senpai did when they found out about it during our trip to Harveston, are you?”

Upon hearing what Jade did in the past, a scowling Azul turns to glare at Jade. “Jade!”

Jade feigns innocence. “I don’t know what you mean, Yuu-san. I can’t recall ever saying such an unkind thing.”

“Because you technically didn’t.” You wryly reply, “You just nodded along like the others after Grim said it.”

While Azul begins reprimanding his vice dorm leader since he won’t accept any kind of behavior that could be considered harassment since that would put the NDA you signed at risk, Jamil huffs in amusement. “I was going to express my surprise, but I had no intention of being rude about it, I assure you.”

“I was simply going to ask why this is my first time hearing about this particular skill of yours.” He adds, “Although, it’s true that I’ve never thought to actually ask you if you knew how to play an instrument.”

You hold up three fingers. “Three words: Pop Music Club.”

Jamil winces, “Right. Enough said. I can’t blame you for not wanting to take any risks of them finding out since they would be relentless with their scouting.”

Having finished scolding Jade, Azul gives you his best, professional businessman smile. “Rest assured, Yuu-san, I will not allow your secret to reach the ears of the Pop Music Club. It is safe with me.”

“But, Azul, weren’t you previously discussing having Yuu-san perform at the Mostro Lounge?” Jade asks, doing his best to sound innocent and completely failing. “If Yuu-san were to do that, it wouldn’t be long before everyone at school found out about Yuu-san’s ability to play the piano.”

While Azul resumes glaring at the eel-mer and hisses his name, Jamil turns to heatedly glare at the octo-mer. “Don’t even think about it, Azul. You know Yuu hates anything that involves putting her in the spotlight. She will not be doing any kind of performance for your monetary gain.”

As a warm smile rises to your lips in response to Jamil’s protectiveness, you decide to get involved to ensure no fighting ensues. “As Jamil-senpai said, I dislike being in the spotlight, so I’m really not interested in putting on any kind of performance at school, especially when the chances are high that the Pop Music Club will get wind of it.”

“I also just prefer to only play the piano for my friends.” You continue, “I’m not used to playing for others, so it’d be uncomfortable for me to play in front of a large group of people I don’t really know.”

“Especially considering most of the people in the audience wouldn’t wanna listen to me play anyway, considering how unpopular I am with the majority of the NRC student body.” You dryly add.

When you mention your lack of popularity with the NRC student body, Jamil’s and Azul’s postures stiffen while Jade’s eyes slightly narrow. As always, this topic is never well-received by your friends for obvious reasons.

While Jamil quickly returns to threateningly glaring at Azul, the octo-mer keeps his full attention focused on you. “If that is how you feel, Yuu-san, then I will not press the matter since I never want to do anything that will make you uncomfortable.”

He slightly bows his head. “I apologize for my lack of consideration. I should’ve given more thought to how you’d feel about performing for the kind of audience the Mostro Lounge would provide.”

“Yes, you should have.” Jamil snidely remarks, making Azul twitch and Jade snicker.

You chuckle, “It’s alright, Azul-senpai. I understand why you didn’t consider my lack of popularity, because only the really dumb students would actually dare to cause trouble at the lounge, so it’s very unlikely that anything bad would actually happen while I perform.”

“So I wasn’t really worried about that happening. I just didn’t wanna share my piano-playing with those assholes.” You wryly add.

“Perfectly understandable.” Jade mirthfully replies, “Your lovely piano-playing would be wasted on the likes of those scoundrels.”

Upon hearing Jade sincerely compliment your piano-playing skills, Jamil’s and Azul’s expressions become intrigued, obviously because they know Jade isn’t the type who gives out genuine praise lightly.

Just as you’re about to offer to play the piano for them, Riddle chooses that moment to arrive on the scene, and as expected, he’s rather shocked when he sees an actual piano behind the giant jack ‘o lantern. “What in the world?! A piano?!”

Jamil huffs in amusement. “That was my reaction when I first saw Azul and Jade bringing it here.”

Giggling, you draw closer to the piano, which is a spinet piano that has definitely been around for a while, considering how old the wood looks and the fact that there are remnants of spider webs on it - spider webs that had likely been removed by Azul and Jade before they transported it. “An understandable response.”

Like the piano, the bench before it also looks rather old, so you move lightly and carefully when you take a seat on it, all the while hoping that it won’t break underneath your weight.

“Yuu, you know how to play the piano?” Riddle asks, his eyes wide with awe, as he approaches the piano like the rest of your friends.

“Yep.” You nod. “I’m no expert or anything, though. I just took a lot of lessons during the last ten years for my music class credits back when I was homeschooled.”

As all the boys, sans Jade, stare at you in surprise when they hear how long you’ve been playing the piano, the eel-mer smiles, “You’re so humble, Yuu-san. Most people would be quick to brag if they possessed the skills that you have.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “I really don’t think I’m being humble, but thank you. That’s very nice of you to say.”

After you thank him, you reach to pull up the piano’s fallboard, so you can take a look at the keys, but pause, just after your hand touches the fallboard.

Upon remembering what kind of setting you’re in, you nervously ask, “Uh, someone looked at the keys ahead of time, right? This won’t be the first time the fallboard has been moved?”

As the majority of your friends raise their eyebrows, Azul answers, “I examined the keys earlier before we brought the piano here. Why?”

“Because, in this kinda spooky setting, I would expect something to pop out, like a spider or a bat, after I uncover the keys.” You dryly reply, “That would be just my luck, after all.”

While Jamil’s expression pales at the mention of possibly seeing a spider, Jade chuckles, “Oh, yes, now that you mention, we did see a rather large spider when Azul first checked the keys. He made the most amusing sound when he saw it. Fufu.”

“Jade!” Azul hisses, appearing embarrassed.

As Riddle quietly laughs at Azul’s expense, Jamil warily eyes the piano after taking a few steps away from it. “Have you made sure there are no other pests in there?”

“We did remove the majority of the cobwebs that had been sticking to it.” Jade answers, “Since the local musicians prefer instruments that they can easily carry around, they don’t use this piano very often, so it took us a while to clean all of the dust, grime, and cobwebs that had previously covered it.”

Both Jamil and Riddle grimace at that unpleasant mental image. Meanwhile, Azul says, “We did our best to make it presentable since we didn’t think Yuu-san would be willing to play the piano in its previous state.”

“And you thought right.” You wryly agree, “Thank you for giving the piano a much needed cleanup.”

With a teasing smirk, Azul turns to look at Jamil. “Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that there are no more spiders in the piano, so please do be careful, Jamil-san.”

Seeing the way Jamil’s eyebrow rapidly twitches, you request, “Please don’t set the piano on fire if you see a bug, Jamil-senpai. I promise I’ll take care of any bugs I see, so refrain from committing any acts of arson since I really don’t want this pumpkin patch going up in flames.”

“You better act quickly, because I can’t make any promises.” Jamil deadpans, causing Jade to quickly cover his mouth with his hand in order to muffle his laughter.

Riddle sighs, “I suppose I should remain on my guard, just in case, since I don’t want all of Team Terror’s efforts to literally go up in flames.”

“Good idea.” You dryly reply as you lift up the fallboard and take in the sight of piano keys that are thankfully devoid of bugs, eliciting a sigh of relief from both you and Jamil.

Just as you always do before playing, you begin stretching your fingers and lightly tap the keys to see if everything is in tune.

During this time, Azul reveals that, after he and Jade cleaned the piano, they took the time to make sure it was properly tuned, so as a result, you find no issues while you’re looking over the instrument.

Once you finish warming up, you remark, “Alright, so while I was asked to play the music from the movie this story is based on, I don’t think I should cover all the songs since not all of them have a Halloween theme ‘cause the movie is about Jack-san trying to take over Christmas.”

“Honestly, I think the only song that would be a particularly helpful reference is ‘This Is Halloween’, the song that’s sung by the residents of Halloween Town right at the very start of the movie.” You add, “That song perfectly captures the setting of the town and explains so much about the characters, within just a few minutes, which is why it’s so great.”

After providing that explanation, you proceed to play “This Is Halloween”, which you thankfully know by heart, because it’s your favorite song from the movie and one that you played rather often on the piano back in your world.

Smiling, you close your eyes and completely lose yourself in the music. Instantly, all of the scenes from The Nightmare Before Christmas that occur while this song is playing fly to the forefront of your mind, all of which you clearly remember as if you just watched the movie yesterday, due to how much you watched that movie over the years.

Unbeknownst to you, while you’re caught up in your memories, your friends are aptly watching you, completely captivated by the music you’re playing. As a result, for the entirety of the song, nothing can be heard but the piano due to everyone being so focused on the music.

When the song finally ends, you’re brought back to reality with a jolt after the sound of applause reaches your ears. Caught off guard, you open your eyes and stare in surprise when you see the smiling faces of your friends who are all clapping.

“That was a wonderful performance, Yuu!” Riddle praises, “I can see now why Jade thinks so highly of your piano-playing. It’s obvious that you’ve put in a lot of practice to hone your skills.”

“I was pleasantly surprised.” Jamil smiles, “I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was a splendid performance. Well done, Yuu.”

“Yes, I agree wholeheartedly.” Azul cheerfully chimes in. “Your skills are most impressive, Yuu-san, and that song was absolutely exquisite. Immediately, I found myself wanting to sing along with it despite not knowing any of the words!”

Smiling, Jade nods. “Yes, it was quite catchy. I could easily see such a song becoming popular if it debuted in any movie from our world. It truly is the perfect reference for us since the melody embodies the Halloween spirit perfectly.”

Once you overcome your surprise, a pleasant warmth takes root inside your chest. “Thank you very much. I’m really flattered that you guys think so highly of my piano-playing.”

“And I’m really happy you like the song.” You beam, “It’s my favorite song in the movie, so I’m glad I was able to do it justice.”

“You most certainly did.” Azul smiles, “I could clearly hear your fondness for the song in every note, which is no doubt one of the reasons why your performance was such a success.”

He draws closer to the piano bench where you’re sitting. “Just as you had said, I think this song alone would be a perfect reference for us, although I must confess you now have me awfully curious about the rest of the movie’s soundtrack, because that first song was so enjoyable.”

“Of course, that discussion would need to happen at a later time when our busy schedules would allow it since we currently have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.” Azul adds.

“Just don’t get any ideas, Azul.” Jamil warns, “I could easily see you trying to make a profit off the music from Yuu’s world, after all.”

Azul theatrically gasps, “Why, Jamil-san, I can assure you that was not my intention in the slightest.”

His eyes gain a certain gleam that always means Azul is up to something. “Although, now that you’ve said that, I can’t deny that your idea has a lot of promise.”

“Oh, great.” Riddle sighs, “Now, you’ve done it, Jamil.”

“Don’t blame me.” Jamil huffs, “He was already plotting before I even said something. That’s just how Azul works, and you know it.”

While Jade chuckles, Riddle tiredly massages his temple. “Unfortunately.”

An amused huff escapes you. “Save your business schemes for another time, Azul-senpai. We’ve got a Halloween to prepare for.”

“Considering you didn’t bring any of the local musicians to hear me play, am I right to assume that you intended to play for them after learning the music from me, or are you gonna bring them here later?” You ask, after giving Azul, whom you know played the piano back in middle school, a curious look.

“I had intended to do the former since I know how busy your schedule has been, although, since Jade had insisted on bringing the piano here, I suppose the latter is now more feasible, just as long as we bring the musicians by whenever you’re not busy.” Azul answers.

You shrug. “Either option is fine with me, so I’ll do whatever.”

“For now, I would like to learn how to play ‘This Is Halloween’.” Azul comments, “That way the music team will always have someone who can play the song available, and we won’t have to worry about your schedule.”

Since that makes the most sense, you nod. “Alright. Makes sense.”

“So how do you wanna do this?” You ask, “If this was a normal piano bench, I’d say we could sit together, but I dunno if this old bench can hold two people since I think it’s just barely holding me.”

“With magic, I should be able to keep the bench stable.” Azul answers, before promptly waving his magic-pen over the piano bench, causing it to glow.

After he does that, Azul takes a seat beside you on the piano bench, which thankfully doesn’t break thanks to his magic. “Very good. We shouldn’t have any issues with the bench, just as long as my magic remains active.”

Even though the piano bench can now hold two people’s weight thanks to Azul’s magic, it’s clear that it wasn’t built for more than one person to use at a time, because you and Azul have to sit very close together in order to both fit on it.

Upon seeing you and Azul so closely pressed together, Jamil’s eyebrow twitches. “I don’t like this.”

“I can’t say that I do either.” Riddle frowns, “Sadly, I can’t refute the fact that the piano lesson is likely to go more smoothly with them seated together like that.”

A sly smile rises to Jade’s lips. “Most importantly, the lesson will be far more entertaining this way. Fufu.”

“Only you feel that way.” Jamil and Riddle simultaneously deadpan.

Meanwhile, thanks to the comments made by the other second-year students, Azul has started to become self-conscious about how close he is to you, or at least, that’s what you’re assuming is the reason behind the blush now coloring his cheeks.

As always, you find the sight of Azul’s blushing expression to be quite adorable, although you don’t say as much for his sake.

Instead, you just give him a warm smile. “I’ve never played the piano with someone before, so I’m looking forward to our lesson, Azul-senpai. I’ll do my best to be a good teacher.”

Azul awkwardly clears his throat before giving you a smile that likely isn’t nearly as suave as he’s wanting it to be. “I am sure you will be, Yuu-san. I have complete confidence in you.”

After that exchange, the piano lesson begins since you didn’t want to risk saying anything that might make Azul too flustered to play the piano with you.

Fortunately, despite your lack of experience with teaching, the lesson ends up going well since Azul is such a quick study and already has plenty of piano-playing experience underneath his belt.

Consequently, you really don’t need to do anything other than play “This Is Halloween” a few times and allow Azul to closely watch you, because that’s really all he needs in order to get a good grasp of the song.

As a result, it’s not long before Azul is playing the song along with you, although it’s obvious that he’s new to the song since his playing indicates he’s still getting used to the music, which is perfectly understandable, considering he hasn’t known the song for very long.

Plus, Azul is still feeling a little awkward due to his close proximity to you, which is affecting his playing, and it doesn’t help matters that Jade teases his dorm leader every chance he gets, much to Azul’s annoyance.

Still, despite Azul’s embarrassment, he’s been making great progress, and you’re sure he’ll only continue to improve, because he’s the type of person who only wants people to see him at his very best. He won’t allow himself to put on a performance that he considers to be substandard.

That’s why you’re not worried about the music preparations for the big surprise all of your friends and Jack are working on. They’ll be in good hands with Azul on the job.

Smiling at that thought, you say, “I’m really glad I put you on the music team, Azul-senpai. Considering there’s pretty much nothing you can’t do when you set your mind to it, I know that you and Jade-senpai are gonna come up with something great for Halloween.”

Your smile grows. “That’s why I’m really looking forward to seeing the end result of the music team’s hard work.”

Azul proudly puffs up his chest as he smugly smiles, “As you should. After all, we at the Mostro Lounge only provide the highest quality services.”

While Jamil and Riddle both roll their eyes, a smiling Jade nods in agreement. “Indeed. We can’t allow ourselves to do anything that would bring shame to the lounge’s name, after all. We have a reputation to uphold.”

“Not a good one.” Jamil deadpans, eliciting a snort from you and a nod from Riddle.

Naturally, this leads to Azul and Jade being their typical theatrical selves as they take great offense to Jamil’s brutally honest words and Riddle’s support of Jamil.

And, before you know it, the second-year students begin their usual bickering, because these boys can only be civil around each other for so long before things turn out like this.

Rather than try to stop them like you normally would do, you just amusedly watch your upperclassmen’s typical antics. NRC students really can't go long without butting heads, no matter what kind of circumstances they're in.

And that’s something that won’t ever change.

Chapter Text

After you eventually get the second-year students to stop fighting, you resume your duties as Jack’s temporary replacement since some of the locals had come looking for you to ask for your advice about decorations and other matters related to Team Terror’s test of courage.

And that’s how the rest of the day passes, with you helping out at the pumpkin patch while your friends, who are on your team, take turns looking out for you until the mayor shows up to fetch you since he had wanted to talk with you and Skully to get a status update on how both teams’ tests of courage are faring.

Fortunately, both you and Skully have positive reports for the mayor, who had been wearing his nervous face at the start of the impromptu meeting, which gets held right outside of the mayor's house, because everyone has been working really hard and has made a lot of progress with their Halloween preparations as a result.

When you both confidently tell the mayor that the tests of courage will be ready in time for Halloween, just as long as everyone keeps this momentum going, his face immediately shifts to his happy one. “Oh, what a relief! It looks like Halloween will be saved, after all! Thank you both for all your hard work, and please keep up the good work!”

Skully gives him a gentlemanly bow as he presses a hand against his chest. “With pleasure. I will do everything in my power to ensure this Halloween is a complete success.”

“Same here.” You smile, “You can count on us, mayor. We won’t let you down.”

After he once again profusely thanks you and Skully, the mayor says, “Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Jack wanted me to tell you that you Twisted Wonderland folks will be sleeping at Town Hall during your stay with us, and dinner should be ready by the time you two meet up with the rest of your group.”

“Oh, you are all most hospitable.” Skully beams, “Thank you ever so kindly for your generosity.”

Once you also express your gratitude, the mayor takes his leave and heads for his house, with a noticeable pep in his step, no doubt because the Halloween preparations are going so well so far.

As soon as the cheerful mayor has entered his house and is out of earshot, you turn to look at Skully and say, “Hey, Skully, I’ve just realized something. Despite us being here the whole day, it wasn’t until just recently that I started actually feeling hungry, which is weird since I ate three meals a day like I normally do when I last got trapped inside a book. What about you?”

He thoughtfully grabs his chin. “Ah, now that you mention it, that is also the case for me. I had been so caught up in our Halloween preparations that I had forgotten the fact that we haven’t eaten since we got here.”

Makes us sound like Jack, considering he was the same way in the movie. You dryly think to yourself. That’s why Sally had to bring food to him, although we never actually saw him eat what she made for him.

I had always been curious about the diet of the people here since I think the only times I ever saw someone eat in The Nightmare Before Christmas was when Dr. Finkelstein got knocked out by Sally’s cooking, when Barrel licked on his lollipop, and when Jack tried a bite of snow when he first visited Christmas Town. You muse. The movie didn’t really tell us much on that end, not that it was particularly necessary for the plot.

It’s at that moment realization dawns on your features. Wait a minute. I wonder…

“Skully, have you seen anyone eat anything since we got here?” You ask, “Besides candy?”

Wearing a thoughtful frown, Skully ponders your question for a moment before eventually answering, “Not that I can recall, which is most strange now that you bring it up…”

Having somewhat expected that response due to the theory now coming together in your mind, you remark, “In the movie these characters star in, I didn’t see much eating happening either, so that got me to wondering: What if the people here don’t actually require three meals a day, and instead, the majority of them, if not all of them, just eat like one?”

“Oh, I see!” Skully exclaims, “Because they’re not human like ourselves, it’s entirely possible that they do not require as much food to survive as we do, so it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that they may only need one meal a day. It would also explain why food has never been brought up by our gracious hosts until now since I know such wonderful people would never intentionally let their guests go hungry.”

“Do you think that, in turn, is somehow affecting us?” Skully asks, “Because this is a fictional world?”

“It’s the only explanation I can think of.” You nod. “Perhaps, while we still technically have the same bodies we've always had, they’ve been slightly biologically altered to make us better fit in here.”

Upon remembering the kinds of ingredients Sally used in her cooking in The Nightmare Before Christmas, you grimace, “Or maybe, the book is having mercy on us ‘cause of the kind of food that’s normally available here…”

When Skully tilts his head in response to your words, you explain, “The cooking ingredients I saw get used in the movie this story is based on didn’t seem all that appetizing, like frog’s breath for example, so I don’t really have a lot of high expectations for the food unless Trey-senpai or Jamil-senpai is doing the cooking.”

“Don’t tell Sally-san I said that.” You quickly add, “I don’t wanna hurt her feelings, so if she hands me something, I’m gonna eat it, no matter how it looks.”

Once he overcomes his surprise, Skully chuckles, “Such a kind lady you are, Yuu-san. Not to worry, I won’t speak a word.”

After saying that, he offers his hand to you. “Rather than speculate about what our dinner will be like, why don’t we go see for ourselves? I’d hate to keep everyone waiting, Sebek-san especially. I know he’s very eager to see your lovely face.”

With a smile, you take his proffered hand, so he can escort you, like he’s been doing all day every time the two of you are together. “Good idea.”

Right after the two of you start walking toward the direction of Town Hall, you wryly ask, “Considering you mentioned Sebek just now, am I right to assume he was giving you a hard time while the two of you were working together at the cemetery?”

“Oh no.” Skully quickly denies, “Sebek-san caused me no such trouble. On the contrary, he kindly reminded me that, while preparing for Halloween is extremely important, so is the job of supporting you, so I must give both duties my all since that is what is expected of me.”

“I feel honored to have such high expectations placed upon my shoulders.” He beams, “I must ensure that I do not let down such a wonderful person like Sebek-san, who’s a perfect example for me to follow, considering what a splendid job he did acting as Malleus-san’s support throughout the day.”

Your expression becomes amused. Somehow, I get the feeling that Skully is seeing Sebek through rose-colored glasses ‘cause he’s so sweet and oblivious, considering how he’s been acting in response to Sebek’s jealousy all this time.

Now, that’s not to say that you can’t believe that Sebek had been kind to Skully since you know your son is, in fact, a very sweet boy.

However, Sebek doesn’t show that sweet side of his to just anyone, so it’s hard for you to imagine him doing that with Skully, who’s been getting on his nerves pretty much since they first met.

Rather than tell Skully that he has high expectations for him, Sebek probably said something like nobody is capable of supporting me as well as him, so Skully better give it his all if he wants to even hope to compare. You dryly muse. Wouldn’t be surprised if he also threatened to go after Skully if anything happened to me while I was with him, considering how protective he can be.

Unfortunately for Sebek, the ever oblivious Skully completely misinterpreted his words, which ended up having the kind of effect that was the exact opposite of what Sebek had intended.

Since I don’t know for sure what Sebek said and Skully clearly was positively affected regardless, I won’t get involved despite being pretty confident about Sebek’s true intentions. You internally chuckle. I’ll just leave those two be and only get involved if Sebek really loses his temper.

You’re pulled away from your thoughts when Skully says, “Sebek-san mentioned you numerous times during our many exchanges this afternoon. That’s why I’m confident that he’s eagerly waiting for you.”

Your heart melts in response to his words. “Awww, that’s adorable. I’ll have to give my son lots of attention this evening to make up for him having to go the majority of the day without seeing me.”

Skully cheerfully nods. “I am sure he would be most pleased if you did.”

Smiling, you give his hand a squeeze. “Thank you for letting me know that Sebek had been missing me, Skully. I’m glad my son had someone so sweet and reliable looking out for him.”

Much to your delight, a cute blush colors his cheeks in response to your compliment. “There is no need to thank me, Yuu-san. I had simply wanted to lend my assistance since both you and Sebek-san are such wonderful people.”

“And I had hoped that my efforts would result in me once again getting to see your lovely smile, which is more radiant than the sun, moon, and stars combined.” Skully smoothly adds, smiling all the while.

“Awww!” You grin, “You are such a sweetheart, Skully. I really love that about you. If only all NRC boys could be as sweet and charming as you.”

His blush darkens as he lifts your hand to his mouth, so he can kiss your knuckles. “As always, you are too kind, my dear.”

“SHE IS NOT YOUR DEAR, YOU INSOLENT HUMAN!”

Just after Skully kisses your knuckles, a familiar booming voice fills the air, making you and Skully wince due to its powerful volume.

Much to your surprise and exasperation, when you turn toward the direction the loud voice came from, you see a scowling Sebek running toward you.

Because you’re worried about what your son might try to do to Skully, considering how irate he looks, you quickly pull your hand out of Skully’s hold and move to protectively stand in front of him. “Sebek Zigvolt, you calm down right this instant. I know none of my sons like to see other guys flirting with me, but I won’t allow you to go after Skully, who has been a perfect gentleman since we met.”

“I am not your son!” Sebek automatically retorts as he comes to a stop in front of you.

When he grumpily glares at you, you sternly stare right back at your son, daring him to give you any lip, ready and willing to show him some tough love if he doesn’t behave himself.

Fortunately, unlike Grim and Ace, who are typically your only sons who foolishly don’t immediately back down when they should in situations like this, Sebek quickly begins to settle down, because he knows you’re more than willing to use physical discipline if the situation calls for it, and he’s not foolish enough to pick a fight with you under these kinds of circumstances.

Once his earlier ire bleeds out of his expression, Sebek sulkily averts his gaze with a harrumph. “Hmph. Everyone is waiting for the two of you, so we can have dinner. Do not keep Malleus-sama waiting any longer, you foolish humans.”

And, of course, rather than apologize for his surly behavior, Sebek just decides to act like he wasn’t getting ready to fight Skully for kissing your hand a few seconds ago.

While you’re tempted to chide him, you decide against it since Sebek technically didn’t do anything bad in the end, and when you look at him, you quickly find yourself recalling how Skully mentioned that your son had been missing you, resulting in you being unable to remain exasperated.

Shaking your head, you reach up to cup Sebek’s face, so you can gently pinch his cheeks, making him scowl. Before he can swipe your hands away, you release his face and resume moving toward the direction of Town Hall, after motioning for the two boys to follow. “Alright, let’s get going then. I don’t wanna keep everyone waiting on us any longer.”

That’s how you soon find yourself walking with Sebek and Skully on either side of you, like when you were all exploring the forest that had the holiday trees, and just like what happened back then, Sebek gives Skully plenty of not-so-friendly looks, even though you’re not even holding Skully’s hand this time.

Yep, Sebek’s feelings about Skully definitely haven’t changed. You dryly think to yourself.

Since you really need to do something about Sebek’s obvious grumpiness, you take hold of his hand after sparing Skully a covert wink. “Alright, Sebek, since Skully escorted me during the first half of the trek to Town Hall, you take the second half, so Skully doesn’t have to do all the escorting and can take a break. He did have a very busy day, after all.”

Thankfully, Skully, despite his usual obliviousness, quickly catches onto what you’re trying to do and goes along with your plan. “Ah, yes, today was very eventful indeed, so Sebek-san’s assistance would be most appreciated, if he doesn’t mind.”

Just as you had expected, Sebek’s whole demeanor visibly improves in response to your and Skully’s words.

Within a matter of seconds, Sebek is sporting his typical haughty expression. “Heh, you humans are so feeble, getting tired so easily, even though today’s activities were hardly strenuous. I could easily continue working for another twenty-four hours without issue!”

He tightly grips your hand as he puffs up his chest. “I suppose I’ll have no other choice but to escort Yuu since she’s a magnet for trouble, and I can’t allow any misfortune to befall her while she’s under my protection.”

After sharing a smile with Skully, you reply, “Glad to hear it. I know I’ll have nothing to worry about with you by my side, Sebek.”

Sebek smirks, “Naturally! You will find no finer escort than myself - a proud retainer of the Great Lord Malleus Draconia! As long as I am here, your safety is guaranteed!”

Your smile grows as you give his hand a strong squeeze. “And I couldn’t be more grateful.”

For the remainder of the trip to Town Hall, you chat with Sebek and Skully about how each of you spent the afternoon, and thankfully, the whole time, you’re able to keep things peaceful by ensuring Sebek gets plenty of attention so he won’t get jealous.

During this time, you learn from Sebek that Jack had brought some coffins into the town hall building, so everyone in your group would have a place to rest their heads.

Apparently, Jack had offered some empty graves initially, but unsurprisingly, that suggestion was quickly shot down. That's how your group instead ended up staying at Town Hall with coffins as potential beds, although you're sure all of your friends would much rather just use the town hall building's wooden benches for their makeshift beds.

Sebek also reveals that Trey and Jamil prepared dinner. Apparently, Sally had offered to do it, but the two upperclassmen had insisted that they do it because she had already worked so hard today and it didn’t feel right for them to place even more work on her shoulders, especially after all the trouble your friends had caused this morning.

Considering how desperate Jamil and Trey had been to take the reins for tonight’s dinner, you think your concerns about this world’s food were warranted.

Since those two were put on the food preparations team, they obviously got to experience the local cuisine firsthand. You dryly think to yourself. And now, they’re determined to avoid leaving Sally in charge of our meals.

As you’re internally thanking Jamil and Trey for saving you all from having to eat the local cuisine, Sebek tells you and Skully that, while everyone had been waiting for the two of you, everyone had discussed the topic of you all only feeling hunger at the end of the day, which had led to Leona and Jamil coming up with a theory that was along the same lines of yours since they had also took notice of the fact that they never saw anyone eating anything other than Halloween candy throughout the day, further convincing you that you were on the right track since you trust those two’s opinions.

Around the time the three of you finish discussing the strangeness of only feeling hungry once a day, which is incredibly surreal to Sebek, who’s always hungry like Grim, your group finally reaches its destination.

Immediately after you enter the building, along with Sebek and Skully, Grim exclaims, “It’s about time y’all got here! I’m dyin’ from hunger over here, but Riddle wouldn’t let anyone eat ‘til everyone showed up!”

Riddle huffs, “Hmph. It’s called basic manners - something I fully intend to ingrain into your thick skull once we return to NRC.”

While Grim groans, Trey chuckles, “Well, now that everyone is here, we can start passing out the soup Jamil and I made. Hopefully, you’ll all enjoy it.”

“Considering how great it smells, I know I will!” Epel grins, “Especially after hearing all the bragging Ace-kun and Deuce-kun do about your cooking!”

“I’m flattered.” Trey modestly replies as he begins handing out bowls of soup to everyone with Jamil assisting him.

As you move to sit down in the area where the rest of your friends are and take off your hat, which gets set off to the side, you ask, “Have all the locals headed home? It looks like only those of us from NRC are here.”

“Yes, while Jack-san had been with us earlier, he took his leave shortly before you arrived.” Azul answers, “He said he didn’t want to stick around and eat with us at the risk of ruining any surprises about the tests of courage since the topic could come up while we’re eating.”

While Skully forlornly sighs when he hears that he just missed seeing his beloved idol, you nod in understanding. “That probably is for the best.”

“And now that he’s gone, we can start talking about the important stuff, like why the hell those three brats have you so on edge.”

After hearing him make that remark, all eyes immediately fall on Leona, whose piercing gaze is currently fixed on you, which, in turn, prompts everyone else to turn to look at you curiously.

Just as you open your mouth to provide the explanation that Leona has been waiting all day to hear, your gaze falls on Jamil, who just handed you a bowl of soup and a cup of tea.

Immediately, you recall Jamil’s severe bug phobia, which will no doubt make the conversation about Oogie Boogie extremely unpleasant for him.

Upon realizing that, you grimace, “Let’s save that for after we eat since I don’t wanna risk ruining anyone’s appetite.”

Being the observant guy that he is, Jamil quickly catches onto the fact that he somehow played a role in you wanting to save the conversation about Oogie and his henchmen for after dinner, prompting him to raise an unimpressed eyebrow. “Surely, you’re not actually concerned about me, of all people. I’ve seen plenty of things that would make a normal person’s stomach turn without flinching. I can handle whatever you want to say and still be able to eat just fine.”

You hold his gaze. “Jamil-senpai, trust me on this. You do NOT wanna have this conversation right now. Honestly, you’re probably gonna regret being a part of it once it finally happens, but this is information everyone needs to know, so I have no other choice but to tell you, even though I really don’t want to be the bearer of bad news.”

For a moment, Jamil just silently scrutinizes you with his narrowed eyes before finally sighing, “Fine. If you’re that insistent that we save this discussion for after dinner, I will go along with that decision and give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“Thank you.” You smile, “I promise you will understand once I tell you guys about Lock, Shock, and Barrel’s big, bad boss.”

“Guess that means the kids are the underlings of this story’s villain.” Idia quickly deduces, “Kinda disappointing ngl since they’re just a bunch of brats and not at all scary. Good henchmen are obviously hard to come by in this story.”

While several people shake their heads in response to his words, you snort, “I guess you could say that since all the characters in this story, aside from those kids and their boss, is so nice, but the fact that the villain was forcibly put on lockdown by Jack-san is also another reason why he’s short-staffed. Can’t really recruit if you can’t leave your evil villain lair.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Idia nods in understanding. “Especially since wi-fi is sadly non-existent in this miserable world.”

“‘Wi-fi’?” Skully parrots, sounding understandably puzzled.

“It’s a future thing.” You and Idia simultaneously explain, earning a nod of understanding from Skully, who thankfully doesn’t try to press for more details.

After that exchange, you finally begin eating your soup like everyone else is doing now, since, while you didn’t mind sharing a little information about Oogie Boogie, you want to refrain from saying anything else until after everyone has finished eating.

Since you love Jamil’s and Trey’s cooking, you’re excited to try the soup they prepared, especially considering how happy everyone has been looking as they’ve been eating.

Sadly, your excitement immediately disappears once you finally try a spoonful of your soup.

So spicy! You internally scream as your eyes begin to water. I didn’t even know it was possible to make a soup this spicy!

Quickly, you grab the cup of tea that had been given to you along with your soup, so you can bring some relief to your poor taste-buds, which are now screaming in pain due to the extreme spiciness of the soup.

During this time, you covertly examine everyone in the room, all the while maintaining a strong poker face since the last thing you want is for Trey or Jamil to think you dislike the soup they worked so hard to make. Everyone else is eating the soup without any issue. I haven’t heard anyone complain about it being too spicy, and everyone’s faces are perfectly relaxed. I’m definitely the only one suffering here, which means…

You internally grimace. It’s only spicy to me ‘cause I’m so weak when it comes to spicy food. Dammit. Curse my too sensitive taste-buds!

Aside from cursing your taste-buds, you also internally curse Mumei who’s the reason they’ve become so sensitive to spice.

For as long as you can remember, you’ve always not been particularly fond of spicy food, but in the past, you were capable of eating it for the most part.

That all changed, however, when Mumei began forcing you to eat ridiculously spicy food as a form of punishment after discovering that you didn’t like spicy food.

Thanks to all his crazy punishments, eating spicy food has become a literal nightmare for you, because, rather than grow more tolerant of spice like what you’ve heard usually happens to people who eat a lot of spicy food, your weakness toward spicy food only got progressively worse, because that’s just your luck.

While eating such food isn’t exactly impossible, it’s quite arduous since you’re unable to stop yourself from crying, and your tongue will start screaming in pain once it reaches its limit, which regrettably doesn’t take long due to its spice tolerance having such a low threshold.

Of course, it doesn’t help matters that, whenever you eat spicy food, you always end up recalling Mumei's past punishments and his haunting laughter that always filled the air whenever he watched you suffer from his abuse.

That’s why you typically avoid spicy food like the plague. Under normal circumstances, you would never eat it willingly since you obviously don’t want to eat a dish that will only make you suffer.

Regrettably, that’s not an option here since this spicy soup is the only edible thing available, and you can’t just skip this meal, not when it’s the first meal you’ve had since you got trapped inside this book.

I could ask Trey-senpai to use his Unique Magic to change the taste of the soup, but that would mean I’d have to actually admit to him that I can’t eat the soup he worked so hard to prepare with Jamil-senpai. You frown. I hate the thought of being so selfish, especially when the person at fault here is me for being such a wuss, and it’s also embarrassing to admit that I can’t eat something that the majority of the people here don’t even consider to be actually spicy.

More than anything, you’d hate to make Trey use his Unique Magic after he had such a long and busy day. While his magic reserves are likely fine since he probably didn’t need to use his magic much today, you’re sure he’s mentally exhausted, like you, because so many crazy things happened today.

Your frown deepens. I shouldn’t make a fuss just because my taste-buds are overly sensitive. I just need to suck it up. After all, it’s not like eating spicy food will kill me. Besides, I’ve always wanted to work on this embarrassing weakness of mine and overcome it, and this is the perfect opportunity to try to do that.

Even though eating a lot of spicy food made things worse for you back in your world rather than make you more tolerant of it, a part of you thinks it was due to Mumei’s influence and the psychological damage you sustained at his hands, so you can’t help but wonder if things could improve for you now that you’re free from Mumei’s clutches, although you’re rational enough to not get your hopes up, considering your usual luck.

More than anything, you’d love to overcome this weakness and once again prove to yourself that Mumei’s influence can no longer hold you back or hurt you.

For that reason, after taking a moment to give yourself a mental pep-talk, you set down your cup of tea and resume eating your spicy soup, internally cringing all the while.

As expected, it doesn’t take long for more tears to obscure your vision, but you valiantly fight them off since it’d be incredibly embarrassing if you were to start crying simply because you’re a wuss when it comes to spicy food. Plus, you’re sure that such a reaction would upset Trey and Jamil, which is the last thing you want.

Unfortunately, you forgot to take into consideration the fact that there’s someone in this room who has incredibly keen senses - the same person who’s been keeping a close eye on you for the majority of the day.

“Oi, Herbivore, what’s going on with you? You’ve been fighting back tears almost the whole time you’ve been eating. It’s like that soup’s actually somehow causing you pain.”

As you wince at Leona’s blunt and completely accurate observation, everyone immediately pauses their eating and whatever conversations they had been having amongst themselves, so they can turn to look at you.

“Yuu?” Trey worriedly frowns, “Is something wrong with the soup?”

After giving you a brief once-over, Jamil clicks his tongue. “Idiot. If there is a problem, you need to say something. You’re way too considerate of other people’s feelings.”

You shake your head. “It’s fine, really. The soup is just a little too spicy for my overly sensitive taste-buds, that’s all. I didn’t make a big deal about it since, obviously, the issue is just with me, and it’s not like we’ve got a lot of food options here.”

For some reason, everyone looks at you as if you’re strange as they all simultaneously parrot, “‘Too spicy’?”

“You find this spicy, Child of Man?” Malleus asks, appearing surprised. “While you had mentioned your dislike of spicy food in the past, I hadn’t realized your taste-buds were that sensitive since there are hardly any spices in this soup, definitely not enough to register on my palate.”

“That’s because we didn’t have many at our disposal.” Jamil says, all the while looking at you like something’s wrong. “There is some spice in the soup but not nearly enough for it to ever be considered spicy.”

“Not even by Yuu.” He adds, surprising you.

Before you can respond, Jamil deeply frowns as he holds your gaze. “Yuu, I have seen you eat dishes that had more spice than this soup just fine. If those dishes didn’t bother you, this soup most certainly shouldn’t.”

All you can do is stare. “Huh? But then why-?”

“Shit!”

At that exclamation, which cuts you off before you can finish your question, everyone turns to look at Trey in surprise since it’s not like him to curse or raise his voice like that.

Just as Riddle opens his mouth to question his childhood friend’s unusual behavior, a noticeably panicked Trey quickly sets aside his bowl of soup and hurries over to you, catching everyone off guard.

Your surprise only grows when Trey firmly cups your cheeks and orders, “Yuu, open your mouth.”

Without thinking, you heed his order, because the bespectacled boy looks so genuinely concerned about you as well as slightly panicked, which naturally, in turn, makes you feel as if you should start panicking since Trey isn’t the type to get this worked up over nothing.

Ignoring Riddle and everyone else who tries to question his actions, Trey carefully examines the inside of your mouth. “Neither your mouth or tongue look swollen or particularly red. Your throat looks fine too…”

One of his warm hands moves to rest against your forehead. “No fever either…”

“Does anything hurt or feel itchy?” Trey asks, “Are you having any difficulty breathing or feeling any dizziness or lethargy?

“Um…no...?” You confusedly answer, wondering what has gotten into Trey, who’s acting like you’re seriously ill for some reason. “My tongue just feels like it always does whenever I eat spicy food.”

“I really am fine, Trey-senpai.” You assure him. “I’m not sick. I-”

“Yuu, as Jamil said, the soup isn’t at all spicy.” Trey cuts you off. “There is no reason for a mild soup like that to be able to cause you pain.”

His serious gaze holds yours. “Which means something’s wrong, and it’s because of something in that soup that only affects you. And I can only think of one reason for why you’d be the odd one out.”

For a moment, you just stare at him, but then, realization finally strikes you like a lightning bolt, causing your eyes to grow large. What separates me from everyone else is the fact that I’m an alien - an alien who doesn’t always react the same way to things as everyone else does…

Instantly, you realize why Trey is so rattled. It’s because of the incident that happened back in February on the day you had participated in a club meeting with the Science Club at Crewel’s recommendation since he had thought it would be a good, educational experience for you, who has a knack for Alchemy, and he had also hoped that, by pairing you up with Rook, the blond would focus his complete attention on you rather than do his usual wild experiments that often made his clubmates run for the hills.

In the end, the experience was rather educational since, after having been accidentally exposed to a deadly poison due to the mislabeling of a potion ingredient, which had caused a chemical explosion, you had discovered that you were immune to the lethal effects of the poison.

For some reason, rather than get poisoned when you inhaled the poisonous fumes created after adding the mislabeled ingredient to the cauldron you and Rook were using, like what happened to Rook, who thankfully had enough poison immunity that he could survive long enough to get treated at NRC’s infirmary, you became incredibly exhausted - to the point you could hardly keep your eyes open.

In addition to your extreme lethargy, you ended up with a bad cough, swollen eyes, and an inability to stop sneezing, because, much to the amazement of everyone involved, you were actually allergic to the poison; your body reacted to it like how most bodies would react to pollen or animal hair.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious allergic reaction and was something that could easily be cured once you got the right medical treatment at the school’s infirmary.

Of course, there was no way for your upperclassmen to know that, following the explosion that took place in the school's laboratory. As a result, Trey had understandably freaked out and rushed to take both you and his clubmate to the infirmary after Rook had discovered that a lethal poison had been mistakenly added to the potion you and he had been working on due to its canister being mislabeled by the seller the school had procured it from.

The whole time, Trey had told you to remain awake, because your difficulty with remaining awake had greatly concerned him, and he just didn’t want to take the chance of your condition somehow worsening if you fell asleep before getting properly examined since, considering how strangely you had been reacting to the poison, for all he knew, you might not wake up again if you fell asleep.

Aside from the day when Riddle had overblotted, you had never seen the bespectacled upperclassman look so scared - so frantic, because he had understandably feared the worst was going to happen to you.

And now, something similar is taking place, which is why Trey’s eyes are once again filled with the same kind of worry and panic that made you unable to refuse his orders to stay awake after you got exposed to that deadly poison since you just couldn’t bear to cause him any further pain.

Before you can try to reassure Trey that what’s happening right now is not like what happened in the past, Jamil abruptly appears in front of you and crouches down by the third-year student, frowning worriedly all the while.

“Trey-senpai, do you think Yuu is allergic to one of the ingredients we used that are only native to this world?” Jamil asks, “Those are the only ingredients that I’ve never seen her eat.”

“What?!” Your sons and Skully exclaim as they all turn to look at you with concerned gazes.

“But she has no symptoms of an allergic reaction.” Riddle, who has suddenly appeared at Trey’s other side, points out, “That can’t be it. Otherwise, Yuu’s condition would be worsening as we speak.”

“Unless allergic reactions are different for aliens like Yuu.” Jamil counters, “It’s not as if we have any prior experience dealing with people from other worlds, after all.”

Although, Trey-senpai does have some experience with this thanks to the poison incident. You muse. He just can’t talk about it ‘cause the Headmage ordered us not to since it will obviously make the school look bad if word got out that a student accidentally got exposed to a deadly poison, especially while a teacher wasn’t present since Crewel-sensei had stepped out for a little bit right before everything went to hell.

While you obviously couldn’t care less about Crowley having to deal with the fallout if the truth came to light, you heeded his orders since you didn’t want to tell any of your friends the truth about what happened and worry them, and you also didn’t want to risk the truth getting out to people outside of your friend group since you being immune to the lethal effects of a deadly poison would definitely earn you a lot of unwanted attention.

Since both Trey and Rook, who were the only people present at the time of the explosion, are the type to follow orders and they likely wanted to respect your privacy, they also kept quiet about what had happened, especially since they both felt responsible for what had happened since they blamed themselves for not making sure you were making a gas mask, which are available to use during the Science Club's meetings but just weren't used by you and Rook during that incident because the two of you hadn't been working on a potion that you both thought required the use of them.

Naturally, you had tried many times to convince your upperclassmen that they weren’t to blame for the accident, but unfortunately, your reassurances always fell on deaf ears.

“It is Yuu’s alien biology that has me worried." Trey admits, successfully drawing you away from your thoughts. "Even if she technically doesn’t have an allergy per se, there’s still the possibility that she can be negatively affected by things that aren’t from her world, simply because she’s interacting with something that, back in her world, she would never encounter.”

“Ah, I’ve seen that happen in plenty of isekai light novels!” Idia suddenly pipes up, making Azul, who’s sitting nearby, wince because of his loud volume. “Something that’s completely harmless to everyone else ends up being seriously harmful to the protag or the protag ends up with an illness that doesn’t get noticed right away ‘cause their symptoms are so different from what’s that world’s norm!”

“Oh, dear, that is most worrying.” Jade deeply frowns, “I sure hope this does not mean that poor Yuu-san has been suffering from a serious and potentially life-threatening illness all this time and the symptoms are only just now becoming apparent.”

“WHAT?!” Your sons and Skully once again shout, this time looking even more distraught.

Before you can reprimand the eel-mer, who’s obviously once again messing around at everyone’s expense, Grim tearfully scurries into your lap and clings onto you. “Don’t die, Yuu! You’re not allowed to die until I give you permission ‘cause I’m the boss!”

After briefly heatedly glaring at Jade, who gets smacked by a scowling Azul and gets glared at by the majority of your upperclassmen, you set aside your soup and pull your son into your arms. “Aw, it’s okay, Grim. Don’t listen to that asshole over there. I’m not dying. I’m perfectly fine.”

You give Epel, Sebek, and Skully a reassuring look since they’re just as worried as Grim. “I promise I’m gonna be fine. While I can see now that something is amiss here, I do not think it’s something incredibly serious since, regardless of how different an allergic reaction can possibly be for an alien like myself, I highly doubt that I’m ill when the only form of discomfort I’ve felt is my tongue being in pain, like what normally happens when I eat spicy food.”

As Skully and your sons begin to settle down, Leona, who’s been scrutinizing you all this time, says, “Nothing about Yuu’s scent has changed in any way to indicate something has changed about her overall health. I’m always able to tell via scent if she’s ever unwell, so while something weird is happening here, I don’t think her health is in any danger.”

All at once, nearly everyone in the room simultaneously sighs in relief, and a pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to those reactions, which show just how much your friends care about you.

“If I were to make a guess…” Leona eyes you thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, “I’d say that her alien taste-buds just register the taste of one of the ingredients in the soup as being spicy rather than whatever flavor it is for us.”

“While I’ve never personally witnessed something like this happening with her before, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were dishes that tasted differently for her than they do for everyone else, considering her taste-buds are different from ours.” He adds, “For example, something that’s sweet for us could be sour for her and vice versa.”

“And something that’s mild in flavor to us is incredibly spicy to her, which is what happened here.” Azul picks up where Leona left off before he starts rubbing his chin. “Now that I think about it, I believe there were a few times in the past when Yuu-san’s descriptions of flavors for things she has tried in our world didn’t quite match up with what I’ve tasted, but the differences were so minor that I didn’t give them much thought in the end.”

As you blink in surprise, Epel suddenly shouts, “AH! I get it now! That must be why Yuu-san can handle that one really strong-smelling mud mask Vil-san puts on us sometimes! It’s ‘cause she’s an alien!”

Vil raises an eyebrow at him. “What are you talking about, Epel?”

“‘Strong-smelling mud mask’?” You parrot confusedly. “I don’t remember putting on anything like that before. I’ve only put on that one kind of mud mask that slightly smells like flowers, but the scent is so light I barely smell it.”

Much to your surprise, Vil’s now surprised gaze quickly moves to focus on you. “Eh?”

“See! I knew it!” Epel exclaims, “The reason Yuu-san never flinches is ‘cause the scent is different to her alien nose! To the rest of us, it’s got a strong scent that makes your eyes water, but to her, it’s hardly got a scent at all!”

“And here I thought she was simply mature enough to know not to make a fuss about the strong smell, unlike a certain someone.” Vil dryly replies, making Epel pout.

“This is SO fascinating.” Jade comments, his eyes sparkling with interest. “To think, both her sense of taste AND smell can occasionally differ from ours.”

His eyes gain a particular gleam that you know means nothing good for you. “This matter will require further research. Fufu~”

Without hesitation, Azul gives the eel-mer a harsh jab to his side, making Jade wince, before hissing, “Don’t even think about it! I will NOT allow you to endanger Yuu-san’s NDA!”

“Oh, Azul, your lack of faith wounds me.” Jade theatrically places a hand over his heart. “I would never do anything that would cause such trouble for you.”

“Liar.” You and Azul retort in complete sync, making Jade pout.

Upon remembering that you still need to get back at the eel-mer for scaring your sons and Skully earlier, you quickly set Grim, who thankfully is no longer in tears, down and rise to your feet. “Azul-senpai, if you’d be so kind.”

Azul smirks, “Why, it would be my utmost pleasure, Yuu-san.”

Faster than Jade can react, Azul grabs a hold of his vice dorm leader and uses his impressive strength to hold the eel-mer in place and ensure he can’t escape.

Because he’s a smart boy, Jade begins to grow nervous. “Now, Azul, Yuu-san, there’s no need to do anything drastic.”

“That’s what YOU think.” You and Azul simultaneously reply, wearing matching smirks.

“Heh, this should be good.” Leona grins, appearing amused.

“It is nice to have a show to watch whilst one eats.” Malleus agrees, grinning all the while.

“RIP, Jade-shi.” Idia snickers, “If we had wi-fi, you’d get the biggest F in the chat.”

“Doubtful.” Jamil snidely replies, “After all, I can’t think of anyone who would want to pay any respects to him.”

Riddle chuckles, “Very true.”

“Oh my, everyone is being especially cruel to me.” Jade notes, appearing increasingly nervous as you draw closer to him, although he does his best to act calm. “That saddens my heart greatly.”

As you come to a stop in front of the visibly sweating eel-mer, you start menacingly cracking your knuckles. “It’s as the saying goes, Jade-senpai.”

Your smirk grows. “You reap what you sow.”

After you spend around ten minutes or so practicing all the wrestling moves you’ve learned from Azul on an unwilling Jade, with the octo-mer acting as your wrestling coach, you decide to put an end to the eel-mer’s punishment since there are more important matters that you need to attend to.

Much to your amusement, after you finally release Jade, you get a round of applause from everyone in the room, who had enjoyed your wrestling match with the now pouting eel-mer, to which you give them all a dramatic bow as thanks for their applause and the cheering that they did while you were going after Jade.

Once you finish thanking your supportive audience, you say, “Alright, so as y’all can clearly see, I am perfectly healthy since I was able to wrestle with Jade-senpai without any issue, so I’m not allergic to whatever’s in that soup Trey-senpai and Jamil-senpai made.”

“More than likely, Leona-senpai’s theory about my taste-buds just registering the soup’s flavor differently than everyone else’s taste-buds is correct since I can’t think of any other reason for why the soup had no negative effect on my health and instead just hurt my tongue like what happens when I eat something that’s too spicy.” You add.

With a sheepish smile, Trey awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “Looks like I made a fuss over nothing. Sorry about all that. I shouldn’t have been so quick to panic.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “There’s no need for you to apologize, Trey-senpai. I don’t blame you for getting worried, considering an allergic reaction was a perfectly reasonable assumption, especially with the kind of unpredictable alien biology I have.”

Your smile grows. “I really appreciated that you got so worried about me and were so quick to act on my behalf, so thank you for that.”

And I’m sorry for scaring the hell out of you. Again. You internally apologize, hoping your silent message will reach Trey. I had really hoped to avoid another situation like this for your sake.

Judging from the way Trey’s expression softens, you think your silent apology reached him, especially since he waves his hand, as if to dismiss the unspoken apology. “No need for thanks. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“I believe it’s too soon to say that since Yuu clearly can’t eat the dinner we prepared.” Jamil pipes up. “Regrettably, due to the limited options we had, we didn’t make anything else, and while we could possibly dilute the spiciness of her soup with water, it's hard to say if that will work since we're working with otherworldly ingredients we're unfamiliar with, not to mention the fact that we don't know how Yuu's taste-buds will react if we try to make changes to the soup.”

Trey pulls out his magic-pen. “I’ll just use my Unique Magic on it. Since the problem with the soup appears to be just the taste of it, I can just make it taste like how it tastes for everyone else.”

“Unfortunately for Yuu-san, that’s no longer an option.” Epel dryly states, instantly earning everyone else’s attention. “‘Cause Grim-kun ate all of Yuu-san’s soup while we were all distracted by Yuu-san's wrestling match with Jade-san.”

Immediately, everyone turns to look at Grim who has two empty bowls beside him, one of which must be yours since the bowl you had been eating from earlier is no longer in the spot where you had previously set it down.

In complete sync, you and the majority of your friends reprovingly shout, “Grim!”

Grim quickly averts his gaze as he crosses his arms. “I-I was just doin’ my henchman a favor! Since that soup was too spicy for her, I ate it, so she wouldn’t have to!”

“And now, she has nothing to eat since you ate so many servings of the soup Jamil-senpai and Trey-senpai prepared in addition to Yuu's portion!” Sebek scowls, “You shameless, gluttonous feline!”

“I ain’t a cat!” Grim retorts as he exchanges glares with Sebek. "And ya have no right to complain since you got seconds just as many times as I did before we found out that Yuu couldn't eat her soup, so you're just as much to blame as I am for us havin' no more soup!"

While you try to calm your sons down, Skully frowns, “Oh dear…What should we do? I’ve sadly already finished my soup, so I cannot offer to share it with Yuu-san, like I so dearly wish I could…”

“That seems to be the case for everyone here.” Riddle comments, appearing equally as displeased. “And I suppose making more food is out of the question since we can’t simply invite ourselves over to another person’s kitchen at this late hour…”

Before you can say that you ate enough of the soup that you should be fine since you really don’t want anyone to worry on your account, Trey surprises everyone when he says, “Looks like it’s time to bring out the surprise I had prepared.”

“‘Surprise’?” You, along with almost everyone else in the room, curiously parrot.

With a smile, Trey draws closer to you, and with a wave of his magic-pen, summons a large bag of incredibly delicious-looking cookies, which he hands over to you. “Since we caused you a lot of trouble this morning, resulting in even more work being added onto your plate, I thought making this for you would be a good way to apologize.”

“It’s not the kind of dinner I would approve of normally, but I’ll have to let it slide this one time, considering the circumstances.” He adds.

Immediately, your eyes begin to excitedly sparkle, just as they always do whenever you find yourself in possession of any kind of dessert made by Trey. “Best surprise ever! Thank you, Trey-senpai!”

When you beam at him, Trey’s smile softens as he reaches over to ruffle your hair. “You’re welcome. Thankfully, I only used ingredients that I’m familiar with for those cookies, so you shouldn’t have any adverse reactions to them.”

Eagerly, you pull out one of the cookies he made and take a bite, causing your expression to further brighten. “The center is so soft and chewy while the edges are so pleasantly crunchy. The perfect cookie texture. As expected of you, Trey-senpai!”

He chuckles, “As always, you flatter me. Thanks.”

“Hey, what about the rest of us?!” Grim exclaims, “I want some cookies too!”

“Sorry, Grim, the only ones I made today are in the bag I gave Yuu, who obviously needs them the most.” Trey replies, “So you’ll just have to settle for only having soup tonight.”

While Grim whines, earning himself some exasperated looks from several of your friends, Jamil comments, “I had wondered what you were planning when you made so many cookies while we were preparing dinner, Trey-senpai. I wasn’t expecting them to all be for Yuu, considering just how many you made.”

Trey sheepishly scratches his cheek. “Yeah, I guess I went a little overboard.”

“You did well, Trey.” Riddle praises, looking proud. “As expected of my vice dorm leader. You did Heartslabyul proud by properly compensating Yuu for the trouble we had caused her.”

With a slight pout, he adds, “Although, I wish you had said something, so I could have also lent my assistance. I dislike the idea of being shown up by my vice dorm leader when it comes to displaying proper manners.

“You’re right. I should’ve said something to you.” Trey chuckles, “Sorry, Riddle.”

Meanwhile, a frowning Vil approaches the area where you and Trey are currently standing. “You shouldn’t praise Trey TOO much, Riddle, considering the high caloric content of his present for Yuu.”

He gives Trey, whose expression once again grows sheepish, a disapproving look. “Honestly…you spoil her way too much, Trey. I swear, you are completely ignorant to what a normal person’s portion size is whenever you give Yuu any of your desserts since you take so much joy in seeing her enjoy the sweets you make.”

“You and Ruggie are the reasons why I always have to worry about abrupt changes in her measurements since she always has to do extra exercise to burn off the numerous calories she consumes whenever you two pamper her.” Vil wryly adds.

His eyes narrow. “There’s a thing called ‘moderation’. You would do well to learn about it.”

While Trey winces and all of the other third-year students snicker at his expense, you, who had been silently munching on your delicious cookies, quickly swallow, so you can come to Trey’s defense.

Before you can say anything, however, Vil turns to focus his narrowed gaze on you, making you freeze. “You will NOT be eating all of those cookies in one sitting, Potato. Do you understand? As I’ve said many times before, excessive sugar intake can cause much harm to your skin, and I will not allow that to happen on my watch.”

Even though you know Vil is right and that nothing good can come from eating too many cookies, you can’t stop yourself from feeling disappointed since you love Trey’s desserts so much, and after the long day you had, you can’t help but want to indulge.

Still, you have every intention to follow Vil’s orders since you know he only has your best interests at heart, and it’s not like he plans on taking your beloved cookies away from you. He just wants you to eat them in moderation since that’ll be better for your health.

At least, that was your intention before your other friends suddenly decided to get involved.

Catching you off guard, Leona suddenly gets in between you and Vil in order to hide you from view. “Quit your nagging, Vil. Your voice is grating on my ears, which are rather sensitive, you know.”

When Leona tauntingly smirks at him, Vil’s eyebrow subtly twitches. “The only one who’s grating is you, Leona. Why don’t you do us all a favor and find a corner to nap in so we won’t have to bother with you for a while?”

As sparks begin to fly between the two dorm leaders, you wonder why Leona suddenly got involved since, while he does enjoy picking fights with Vil, this happened rather randomly, and you have no idea why he’d be bothered by Vil trying to moderate your cookie consumption.

Just as you’re thinking you should intervene before things can get really heated between Leona and Vil, hands suddenly grab your shoulders from behind and begin dragging you away from the two dorm leaders.

Much to your surprise, when you turn to look at who grabbed you, you discover that the person is none other than Idia. “Idia-senpai?”

As if that wasn’t surprising enough, you quickly take notice of how all of your other upperclassmen have quickly moved over to the area where Vil, Leona, and Trey are standing.

It doesn’t escape your notice that Vil is now surrounded on all sides, making it so that he can’t get a clear look at you being dragged away from your previous position.

Much to your amusement, Idia ends up bringing you to the spot where Skully and your sons are, and he quickly makes Skully and Sebek, the two tallest boys, stand directly behind you, as if to hide you from view.

“Alright, Mission: Rescue Yuu-shi was a success.” Idia grins as he releases your shoulders. “Now, we just gotta hope the Vil-shi Distraction Team can hold out until the cookies are gone.”

“I can help with that!” Grim grins, “Just give ‘em to me, and they’ll be gone in no time!”

When Grim eagerly jumps toward you, with his hands outstretched toward the bag of cookies in your arms, Sebek swiftly intervenes and grabs the monster by the scruff of his neck. “Those are NOT for you, you shameless glutton.”

Ignoring Grim’s complaints, Sebek quickly deposits the struggling feline into Idia’s arms, much to Grim’s dismay and Idia’s utter delight. “Idia-senpai, you are responsible for keeping Grim under control. I trust that you can handle this irksome task?”

“Leave it to me!” Idia gleefully replies, “Whee hee hee!”

As Grim whines, you raise an amused eyebrow. “Did everyone seriously spring into action just so I can eat these cookies? It’s not like Vil-senpai was doing anything wrong. He really had my best interests at heart.”

“Be that as it may, my liege still wished for you to enjoy your cookies to your heart’s content, so when he gave me the signal, I acted as ordered like a proper retainer.” Sebek replies, “So, for Malleus-sama’s sake, I will not let anything deter you from eating the cookies you received from Trey-senpai.”

“While it was most kind indeed for Vil-san to worry on your behalf, surely one night of overindulgence won’t hurt.” Skully smiles, “Besides, it would put my heart at ease to see you eat your fill since you being unable to eat most of your dinner has left me rather concerned about your well-being.”

Epel grins, “And don’t forget, it’s almost Halloween. Overindulging on sweets is what the holiday is all about, so why not get an early start since this is your first Halloween?”

“Right, right.” Iida chimes in. “Besides, we’re inside a book, so whatever calories we consume here won’t have any effect on us in the long run, so Vil-shi’s got nothing to worry about.”

Upon realizing everyone’s going out of their way for your sake, because they just want you to be happy, a pleasant warmth envelops your chest and steadily grows stronger with each passing second thanks to the wonderful people you call friends. I really am the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing friends.

You beam, “Thanks, guys. You’re the best.”

Much to your amusement, both Skully and Idia become visibly flustered at the sight of your warm smile while your sons all just appear happy to see you looking so happy.

It’s at that moment you come up with an awesome idea that will make eating Trey’s cookies even more enjoyable.

Grinning, you quickly pull out a cookie and eat it. “One for me.”

Catching everyone else in your group by surprise, you then offer a cookie to a delighted Grim, who wastes no time in opening his mouth so you can hand-feed him. “One for Grim.”

“Delicious!” Grim happily exclaims, as he cups his cheeks with his paws.

“One for me.” You repeat after eating another cookie before offering a cookie to Idia. “And one for Idia-senpai.”

When a flustered Idia tries to protest, you quickly shove the cookie into his open mouth, giving him no other choice but to eat it.

While initially Idia appears annoyed, his expression quickly brightens once the taste of the cookie registers on his taste-buds. “Ooh, that is nice. As expected of Trey-shi, the master baker with maxed out baking stats.”

“Right?” You grin, “Trey-senpai’s cookies are the best.”

After enjoying another cookie, you offer one to Sebek. “One for me, and one for Sebek.”

Despite appearing embarrassed, Sebek allows you to feed him, no doubt because he can’t resist this opportunity to have some of Trey’s delicious baking.

“Thank you.” Sebek mutters, keeping his gaze averted in a futile effort to hide his embarrassment.

You giggle at the sight of his expression, which is both incredibly pleased and also noticeably flustered. “You’re welcome.”

Once Sebek has been fed, you proceed to give Skully and Epel the same treatment, each time enjoying a cookie before sharing one, much to their delight.

Before either of them can express how much they enjoyed their cookies, Vil’s cool, wry voice fills the air. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here. I can recognize an obvious diversion when I see one. It seems everyone here is just as bad as Trey when Yuu is concerned. How exasperating.”

“He’s onto us!” Idia whisper-shouts, appearing panicked. “Eat faster, Yuu-shi!”

“If I do, I’ll choke.” You dryly reply after eating another cookie. “And I really don’t wanna do that.”

“Just lemme eat ‘em!” Grim insists, “You don’t need all of those delicious cookies, Henchman!”

Epel and Sebek give him matching, exasperated looks. “Grim!”

You briefly consider Grim’s words before nodding. “Grim’s not wrong, though. While there’s nothing wrong with a little overindulging every now and then, I really can’t eat all of the cookies Trey-senpai made, no matter how much I’d like to, since my stomach can only hold so much.”

“Since I’m starting to feel full, I think it’d be best to just share the rest of my cookies with everyone.” You smile, “After all, everyone worked really hard today, so I think you guys deserve a sweet treat just as much as I do.”

Much to your amusement, in a flash, Malleus appears at your side, making Idia yelp in fear. “In that case, I too would like to try the cookies that Clover prepared since they do look rather delicious.”

All you can do is laugh. “Sure thing, Tsunotaro.”

After you hand over a few cookies to a visibly pleased Malleus, you proceed to pass out cookies to the rest of your upperclassmen who want some before giving more to those who’ve already had some and want more.

Amazingly enough, Vil actually accepts the single cookie you offer him and only briefly pinches your cheek for going along with the others’ diversion strategy, making you think this is his own way of spoiling you since you know he could’ve really let you have it if he had really wanted to reprimand you.

Once all of the cookies have been distributed amongst your friends and you eat what’s leftover, you give Trey a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Trey-senpai, as much as I had wanted to eat all the cookies you made with me in mind, I just couldn’t do it in the end.”

“It’s alright.” Trey smiles as he ruffles your hair. “I know I went overboard, so I’d much rather you share than eat too much and make yourself sick.”

“For the record, it wasn’t an easy decision.” You inform, “‘Cause I love your desserts so much and always wanna just keep them all to myself. They are my favorite food, after all.”

He chuckles, “Heh, I’m flattered.”

“Oh yeah, Ortho did once say that, according to his data, Yuu-shi’s favorite food is Trey-shi’s desserts in general rather than any one dish in particular.” Idia, who had previously been sulking about Grim escaping his hold, comments, “Caught me by surprise since I've never heard of someone liking another person’s food THAT much.”

“For Yuu-san to favor Trey-san’s baking to that degree, he must truly be a skilled chef.” Skully smiles, “I can easily believe it after eating the soup and cookies he so kindly prepared. He truly is an amazing person.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.” Trey modestly replies, just as he always does. “Besides, Jamil helped out with the soup too, so I wasn’t the sole reason it turned out as well as it did.”

“There’s no need to be so humble, Trey.” Riddle shakes his head. “In times like this, you should hold up your head high with pride since your skills in the kitchen are more than worthy of the praise you so often receive.”

“That’s right!” You fervently agree, “The food you make is always amazing and super delicious, Trey-senpai.”

A grin rises to your lips. “It’s because your desserts in particular are so awesome that I have such a big sweet-tooth now since, prior to eating your desserts, I really didn’t have much of an interest in sweets.”

In complete sync, almost everyone in the room incredulously exclaims, “Seriously?!”

While you jolt in surprise, not having expected so many people to start shouting all at once, Skully tilts his head. “Are Yuu-san’s words really that surprising?”

“They are indeed.” Jade confirms, “After all, Yuu-san’s sweet-tooth is well-known amongst those she associates with. It’s often made use of when she needs to be bribed, I mean, persuaded.”

As Azul gives his vice dorm leader an exasperated look because of the suspicious looks he and Jade are now receiving from Jamil and the other dorm leaders, Epel says, “I had no idea you only started liking sweets after coming to NRC, Yuu-san. This is my first time hearing of this!”

“Really?” You blink. “Huh, guess I just never brought the subject up.”

“So Trey really is the source of my grievances when Yuu is concerned.” Vil dryly states, as he aims an exasperated look at Trey, who winces.

Meanwhile, Grim draws closer to you and curiously asks, “So Trey’s sweets were just so good that you started cravin’ sweets after that? Is that how it works with humans?”

His question makes you snort. “Not quite, although I guess I can’t speak for all humans when it comes to how their individual eating preferences develop.”

Catching Grim, Trey, and Riddle off guard, you continue, “The reason I got so attached to Trey-senpai’s desserts and ended up with a sweet-tooth as a result was ‘cause of that day when we all made chestnut tarts together at the start of the school year.”

You warmly smile, “‘Cause that was the first time I ever really enjoyed a meal from the bottom of my heart.”

Everyone stares at you with obvious surprise. “Eh?”

“You see, back in my world, I never really enjoyed eating.” You explain, “That is to say, I didn’t feel the kind of joy people normally feel when they eat something they think is super tasty.”

“I didn’t hate eating, of course, so I didn’t skip meals or anything.” You quickly add, “I just saw eating as an obligation ‘cause your body needs food to function rather than something to look forward to.”

While Jamil, Sebek, and Leona either clench their fists or scowl, Trey, who’s now looking sad like a lot of your other friends, murmurs, “Yuu…”

Meanwhile, after you finish mentioning that, despite never particularly enjoying eating, you've always enjoyed cooking and baking, you reveal, “But that all changed after I ate the chestnut tart Trey-senpai and I made with Grim, Ace, and Deuce’s help.”

“It wasn’t just the tart itself that changed my perspective, though.” You continue, “I think what also played a pivotal role was the fact that I was eating the tart with everyone who played a role in making it and Cater-senpai.”

Your smile grows. “‘Cause that my first time eating in such a warm, fun atmosphere whilst surrounded by friendly faces. It was a very memorable experience that I’ll always look fondly back on.”

Unbeknownst to you and everyone else, Skully, whose expression has grown pensive, lets his gaze roam across all the faces in the room before murmuring, "Yes, I think I understand that feeling quite well..."

Meanwhile, after a brief period of silence fills the air following your words, a frowning Riddle suddenly says, “I apologize, Yuu. Because of my actions at your first unbirthday party, the tart that meant so much to you and all the efforts you put into it were wasted…”

Surprise briefly crosses your features before you quickly shake your head. “You don’t need to apologize for what happened back then when you’ve already done so, Riddle-senpai. Besides, the tart didn’t go to waste since I snuck it out while you weren’t looking and gave it to Grim after the party.”

As Riddle blinks in surprise, Grim grins, “That’s right! We’d never let such a tasty tart go to waste!”

Once he overcomes his surprise, Riddle chuckles, “I see. I’m glad to hear it.”

After that exchange, Trey, who had covertly scrubbed at his eyes while his dorm leader had kept you distracted, places a gentle hand on your shoulder, instantly earning your attention.

With an especially warm smile, Trey suggests, “Let’s make some chestnut tarts after we get back to school. It’s been a while, after all, and this way Riddle can finally enjoy some.”

“An excellent idea.” Riddle approvingly smiles, making Grim cheer.

Warmth envelops your chest when you see their smiles, making you beam. “I love that idea!”

With all your heart.

After you agree to Trey’s idea of making chestnut tarts once you all return to NRC, Leona decides to get everyone back on track by reminding you of something important you still haven’t done. “Alright, now that you’ve been fed, it’s time you finally explain what the deal is with those three brats and their boss, Herbivore. You’ve kept us waiting long enough.”

Realizing he’s right, you nod. “Right. Sorry for the delay. It’s amazing how easily you can lose track of time when you’re wrestling with a mafioso and stuffing your face with delicious cookies.”

While the majority of the people in the room snort, you usher for everyone to return to their seats. Rather than do the same, you take a seat beside Jamil, who raises an eyebrow at you in response. “Is this really necessary?”

“Yes, it is.” You reply, “You’re gonna thank me for being so considerate later.”

As Jamil rolls his eyes, you decide to finally get the ball rolling by revealing, “The villain of the movie this story is based on, who's the boss of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, is Oogie Boogie, aka the Boogeyman.”

Almost everyone in the room gives you an incredulous look in response to your words. Meanwhile, Grim tilts his head. “Who’s the Boogeyman?”

“If I recall correctly, it’s an imaginary monster that land-dwellers came up with.” Azul answers, “I believe there are some parents who use him as a warning toward their children when they misbehave since he supposedly targets misbehaving children while in a lot of cases he’s simply a monster the likes of which you’d see portrayed in horror movies.”

After curiously mouthing the phrase 'horror movies', which is obviously not something from his time period, Skully informs, "Even back in my time, there were scary stories about the Boogeyman, so they've existed for quite some time. However, this is my first time ever hearing of the Boogeyman ever being associated with Jack-sama, so I am unfortunately not as knowledgeable about him as I am the wonderful residents of Halloween Town."

Interesting. You muse. I wonder if this means Oogie has his own legend in Twisted Wonderland, but he's not known as the Boogeyman and is instead a public figure with a more positive reputation, like the Great Seven, considering Disney villains all get the revered idol treatment in Twisted Wonderland.

Before you can ponder this matter further, Idia states, “There are plenty of stories centered around the name ‘Boogeyman’, so it’s basically up to interpretation, but he’s always used as some kinda symbol of fear regardless of what story is told.”

He raises an eyebrow at you. “I can’t believe THAT’S the villain we’re dealing with here. Do we seriously have to go up against such a kiddie-level boss? I can’t even LOL about that.”

Jamil narrows his eyes as he frowns at you. “Please don’t tell me you actually thought I’d be one of the foolish few who are actually afraid of such a ridiculous imaginary creature.”

“Of course not.” You huff, “So calm down. Everything will make sense in a minute.”

Once Jamil settles down, you inform, “I know his name doesn’t make him sound dangerous, but Oogie isn’t someone you should underestimate. While Jack-san has defeated him more than once, that doesn’t mean Oogie is weak.”

“However, he is limited in what he can do ‘cause, after Jack-san had defeated him prior to the events of the movie that I’ve told you guys about, Oogie was banished to his lair, which is located under the treehouse outside of town where Lock, Shock, and Barrel live, and ordered never to leave it.” You continue, “And because Oogie fears Jack-san, he has his henchmen do his work for him rather than ever try to leave his lair.”

“That’s why I don’t think we’ll actually see him just as long as we avoid his lair.” You add, “At least, that’s what happened in the movie since Oogie was in his lair the whole movie since the kids brought Santa Claus to him after they kidnapped him under Jack-san's orders and got told by Jack-san to bring him somewhere comfortable.”

You sigh, “Even though Oogie’s lair was the last place Jack-san wanted Santa to go ‘cause he obviously doesn’t trust Oogie and knows he’s nothing but bad news, the kids brought Santa there anyway ‘cause that place was comfortable to them, and they knew it would please their boss.”

“Man, that’s kinda lame.” Epel frowns, appearing unimpressed like the majority of your friends. “I thought villains were supposed to have more guts than that, not be so scared of their hero rival that they need to rely on actual children to do their work for them.”

“Yes, I must admit this is rather disappointing.” Jade agrees, “I expected more from the actual Boogeyman.”

Leona carefully scrutinizes you. “What are you not telling us, Herbivore? You wouldn’t have been so scared about the brats targeting you if this was all there was to the Boogeyman, so you obviously got more to share.”

“And why exactly are you so concerned about me?” Jamil asks, “That’s something else you have yet to explain.”

All you can do is grimace. “There are two things left that I feel I need to share, and they’ll answer your questions. I was putting them off for obvious reasons, although I had every intention to get to them eventually.”

Knowing you can’t stall anymore, you turn to meet Jamil’s eyes. “Alright, Jamil-senpai, the reason I’ve been worried about you is ‘cause Oogie Boogie isn’t the kinda monster you might be expecting. He’s essentially a walking, talking burlap sack with eyes and a mouth.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jamil opens his mouth to ask why that would bother him, but before he can say anything, you bluntly reveal, “He’s full of bugs, Jamil-senpai.”

Instantly, Jamil freezes as pure horror dawns on his now ashen features. “What.”

You give him a sympathetic look. “He’s a bug man. When he loses the sack, all that’s left is a huge pile of bugs that can stand at a height that’s probably at least six feet, and he can also control bugs and make them do his bidding.”

“According to the online research I did so that I could learn just how Oogie ended up under the treehouse since the movie never explained, prior to the events of the movie, Oogie got banished after trying to take over Halloween Town with his bug army.” You inform, “He wanted to change Halloween into Crawloween, a holiday dedicated to bugs.”

Trembling, a horrified Jamil quickly covers his mouth with his hand. “My worst nightmare come to life…”

Feeling bad for the poor guy, you take hold of his free hand and give it a comforting squeeze. “On the bright side, Oogie’s easy to avoid just as long as you stay away from the treehouse.”

“I’m never going anywhere near the dwelling of that living nightmare.” Jamil quickly replies, without hesitation, all the while tightly squeezing your hand to the point you have to fight the urge to wince.

“You know, anytime a protag says something like that, they always end up going to the place they wanna avoid.” Idia points out, “It’s basically like a jinx.”

While Jamil flinches, you give Idia a warning look as you scowl, “Idia-senpai.”

This time, it’s Idia’s turn to flinch since he knows you mean business when you take that serious tone with him, and of course, Azul wastes no time in poking fun at his clubmate. “I’d be careful if I were you, Idia-san, or else, you’ll end up in the same unfortunate predicament Jade was in earlier. Heh.”

“Anything but that!” Idia yelps as his pale skin somehow becomes even paler due to his fear.

Meanwhile, you work on comforting Jamil and helping him calm down since, while you can tell from the way eyes are boring into your back that Leona is still waiting for you to drop your final bombshell, you don’t want to do anything until Jamil is feeling better.

Plus, you can’t help but want to put off revealing what has you so scared by the fact that Oogie and his henchmen are targeting you, because you know no one will take the news well.

Still, you have to bite the bullet eventually. That’s why you don’t try to come up with any more stalling tactics once you’re sure that Jamil will be okay, not that Leona would allow you to anyway, considering he’s been slowly but surely losing his patience.

With a sigh, you turn to look at Leona. “Alright, now, it’s time for what you’ve been waiting for: the reason why Oogie is a threat despite him not sounding too impressive up until this point.”

For a moment, you wonder just how you should word your upcoming explanation before deciding that there’s no sugarcoating the truth, meaning the only way to share it is by being blunt, like how you handled the bombshell you dropped on Jamil earlier.

You squarely meet Leona’s eyes. “He eats people, Leona-senpai, more specifically the people that Lock, Shock, and Barrel bring to him since he can't leave his lair, and he seems especially fond of women, judging from one particular scene from the movie when he gives Sally-san’s leg a lot of attention when she tries to distract him with it so she can save Santa Claus.”

As Leona’s eyes widen, everyone else, whose eyes also grow large, shouts, “WHAT?!”

Seconds later, realization dawns on a horrified Riddle’s features. “THAT’S why Lock, Shock, and Barrel tried to capture you with a large sack earlier this afternoon?! They were under orders to bring you to their cannibal boss?!”

At that moment, a loud crack of thunder fills the air, making almost everyone in the building jolt. Immediately, you turn to look at Malleus, who is sporting quite the scary expression right now.

“You said the Boogeyman lives under the treehouse outside of town, yes?” Malleus icily inquires, using a tone that gives you and several others goosebumps.

Rather than wait for an answer, the fae prince continues, “I will take care of him. I will be back shortly.”

Faster than anyone can react, Malleus disappears from sight and leaves a cloud of firefly-like lights in his wake, eliciting a worried cry from Sebek. “Malleus-sama?!”

Meanwhile, after having overcome your initial shock, your face promptly blanches. “Oh shit! Tsunotaro’s gone after Oogie!”

Maybe you should’ve kept your mouth shut, after all…

Chapter Text

Upon realizing that Malleus is now on the warpath, you quickly rise to your feet. “We gotta stop Tsunotaro!”

Grim frowns, “Why? If we let Tsunotaro deal with the Boogeyman, we won’t have to worry about him targetin’ ya anymore! He deserves what’s comin’ to him for darin’ to try to put my henchman on his menu!”

“I agree, but this crazy book we're trapped inside may not feel the same way!” You reply, your panic obvious in your voice and expression. “We gotta play by the book’s rules if we wanna get outta here, and I highly doubt the book will want us attacking the story’s villain when he technically hasn’t even done anything wrong yet!”

“This has Bad End written all over it!” You add with a wince.

“Oh, shit, she’s right.” Idia gasps, as his eyes grow large with dread. “We are SO screwed.”

You hurry toward the door. “Not if we stop Tsunotaro in time.”

Much to your surprise, before you can reach the door, you suddenly start floating, and you can only assume this is the result of someone using their magic to stop you from moving since, rather than become completely weightless and float to the ceiling, like what would happen if gravity suddenly stopped existing for whatever reason, you just remain suspended in midair a few feet above the floor.

“You’re not going anywhere, Herbivore.”

When Leona comes to a stop before you, you open your mouth to question him, but before you can say anything, he gives you an exasperated look. “If you’re the villain’s target, the last thing we need to do is bring you into his territory.”

“That’s why you’re staying HERE.” He continues, “Meanwhile, us dorm leaders will go after the stupid lizard and stop him before he can ruin everything.”

Unsurprisingly, Sebek isn’t pleased when he hears his beloved liege get insulted, not to mention the fact that he’s expected to remain behind when he obviously wants to go after Malleus like Leona and the other dorm leaders. “How dare you! I cannot trust the safety of my liege to someone so impudent! I will also go to where Malleus-sama is!”

Leona scowls at him. “It’s not the lizard who needs you most right now, you idiot, or did you forget whom the villain of this story is actually targeting?”

At that, Sebek freezes and quickly adopts a conflicted expression. “I…”

Before you can say that you don’t mind if your son goes after Malleus, since you know just how important his liege is to him, Leona says, “Even if the Boogeyman doesn’t leave his lair, that doesn’t automatically mean Yuu’s safe, just as long as she stays away from his lair. This is a fictional world, after all, so anything goes. That’s why we can’t ever leave her unattended; what happened this morning proves that.”

As your and Jamil's eyes widen in realization since you both know exactly what Leona is talking about, everyone else appears confused by Leona's last sentence, which is why Epel asks, "'What happened this morning'? What do you mean by that, Leona-san?"

“Earlier today, before the town meeting, Yuu got the feeling that someone was watching her from a seemingly empty alley.” Leona answers, catching everyone but you and Jamil by surprise. “She described the gaze as being ‘hungry’, so it wouldn’t be strange to assume that there’s a connection to whatever was lurking in the shadows and the Boogeyman.”

“What?!” Everyone else, sans you, Jamil, and Skully, shout simultaneously.

“Why didn’t you mention something so important sooner?!” Riddle asks, looking noticeably displeased. “This is not information that should’ve been kept private!”

“Agreed.” Vil frowns, “While I can understand not wanting to say anything while the locals are around, you should’ve spoken to us about this sooner, Leona.”

“This explains why Leona-san was so quick to ask for the job of watching over Yuu-san this morning.” Azul comments, “I had wondered what had brought on his unusual behavior, but now, it all makes perfect sense.”

One by one, all of your friends, who didn’t know about this morning’s incident, voice their complaints, with the exception of Skully, whose focus is on something completely different.

“Lurking in the shadows…?” Skully murmurs, as his eyes grow wide behind his shaded lenses. “It couldn’t be…”

Meanwhile, you, once you overcome the surprise you felt upon hearing Leona connect the alley incident to Oogie Boogie, say, “All this time, I’ve been treating Oogie and whatever was in that alley as two separate entities ‘cause he normally can’t leave his lair, and it’s entirely possible that this book could create a completely new villain to make our lives more difficult.”

“However, it is true that anything could happen in a fictional world.” You admit, “So I guess I can’t rule out the possibility that Oogie is somehow connected to the alley incident, although I have no idea how he could’ve been in that alley when I didn’t sense a presence and Leona-senpai couldn’t smell or hear anyone.”

“I can’t think of a reasonable explanation either.” Jamil pipes up, looking slightly pale, no doubt because there’s a possibility that Oogie is able to leave his lair in this story. “Unless Oogie has a special ability that we’re unaware of.”

“You herbivores can brainstorm about it while the dorm leaders go after the horned bastard.” Leona, who’s been ignoring everyone else’s complaints, remarks as he finally stops using his magic on you and allows your feet to return to the ground. “Herbivore, stay here. That’s an order.”

When he gives you a look that brooks no argument, all you can do is sigh. “Alright, fine, but in exchange, you better not pick a fight with Tsunotaro. If the two of you go at it, you guys might unintentionally give us another kinda Bad End by causing too much property damage.”

Leona smirks, “Don’t worry, if I’m gonna cause any damage, it’s not gonna be to my surroundings.”

Before you can tell him that his words are not in any way reassuring, Leona quickly takes his leave, and the rest of the dorm leaders follow suit, albeit unwillingly in Idia’s case since, as he’s being dragged away by Azul, Idia makes it loud and clear that he’d rather be on the team that’s in charge of guarding you than on the one that has to deal with the angry, ridiculously overpowered fae prince.

Despite his obvious desire to be wherever his liege is, Sebek doesn’t follow after the dorm leaders, no doubt because of Leona’s earlier words about you being the one who’s currently the most in danger.

In hopes of helping your son feel better, you draw closer to Sebek and place a reassuring hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, Sebek. Tsunotaro will be fine. Because of how strong he is, he’s the last person we need to worry about.”

“Yes, if anyone is in danger, it would be everyone in our group aside from Malleus-san.” Jade casually comments, “It’s highly unlikely that this mysterious book can do anything to him, unlike the rest of us who likely won’t be as fortunate.”

“What’s gonna happen to us?!” Grim nervously asks, after quickly moving to cling onto your leg.

After giving the amused eel-mer an annoyed look for purposely scaring your son, you reassuringly pet your partner’s head. “We’ll be alright, Grim. I highly doubt this book will actually hurt us.”

“Instead, I’m more worried that we’ll end up stuck here for more than just a few days.” You grimace, “By that, I mean, if Tsunotaro’s actions end up negatively affecting our plans for this Halloween, we may have to stay here until next year's Halloween since helping Halloween Town have a successful Halloween is the requirement for completing this story.”

“What?!” Your sons all exclaim, appearing equally dismayed.

Having finally been drawn away from his thoughts thanks to the mention of his beloved Halloween, Skully frowns, “Oh dear, that would be quite the predicament. On one hand, I do so love the idea of spending a whole year in this wonderful place with Jack-sama and the rest of you lovely people, but on the other hand, I hate the thought of anything going wrong with this year’s Halloween.”

Jamil sighs, “Of course, your worries are strictly related to Halloween rather than about being stuck inside this book for a whole year…”

Trey just shakes his head before suggesting, “While we wait for Riddle and the others to return, let’s follow Leona’s advice and brainstorm about the situation with Oogie.”

Since that would be the best way to make use of everyone’s time while you all wait for the dorm leaders to return, everyone decides to go along with Trey’s suggestion, although there is some hesitancy on Sebek’s end, no doubt because of his still present worry for Malleus, considering the uncertain look he aims at the building's entrance.

In the end, however, Sebek sits down, like everyone else, when you take hold of his hand and give it a strong, comforting squeeze.

After taking a seat beside you and tightening his grip on your hand in order to keep you from pulling your hand away from his, Sebek gives you an exasperated look. “You really should’ve said something sooner about what happened this morning, Yuu, and I wish you hadn’t waited so long to tell us about the Boogeyman wanting you to be his next meal.”

Unsurprisingly, Epel and Grim are quick to agree with Sebek since they’re just as upset about these recent bombshells that got dropped on them as Sebek is.

When you see how worried all of your sons are about you, you give them all an apologetic look, all the while feeling guilty about worrying your sons so much. “I’m sorry. I know the truth about Oogie was something you’d all wanna know ASAP, but I really wanted to have this discussion when we were all together and none of the characters from the book were around to overhear.”

“But the alley incident was something I could have and should have brought up sooner so everyone would know that someone dangerous has their eye on me.” You add. “I shouldn’t have let myself get so caught up in everything else that was going on that I put off telling you guys about something so important. I'm sorry for leaving you guys in the dark and causing you so much worry.”

“I’m also partially to blame since I had been with Yuu and Leona-senpai when the alley incident occurred.” Jamil reveals, “Leona-senpai and I had decided to refrain from immediately saying anything to the rest of our group, because there was already so much going on at the time, and we had so little information to go on about that incident.”

With a sigh, Jamil runs a hand through his hair, which is completely free of braids for once thanks to the book letting his hair completely down. “I had hoped that, before we brought this matter to everyone's attention, I could uncover more information about whatever was inside the alley while I was interacting with the locals this afternoon, but regrettably, I was unable to collect any useful information.”

He frowns, “There are plenty of locals who hang out in the alleys, according to what I learned, but none of those people, whom I was able to personally meet, seemed the least bit dangerous, nor did any of them have the kind of ability to completely erase their presence.”

“Honestly, just as Yuu had told me previously, I don’t get the impression that any of the townsfolk could be capable of causing us any serious harm, so I think the Boogeyman is the only one who could be responsible for the alley incident, unless this book did indeed create a new villain like Yuu had thought.” Jamil adds.

Using your free hand, you wearily massage your temple. “Honestly, anything is possible. For all I know, Oogie has more underlings here than he does in the movie from my world 'cause he needs a lot of extra helping hands for whatever scheme he's concocting for this story.”

“Rather than focus on what we are unsure of, let’s direct our attention to what we know for certain.” Jade remarks, “For example, what all is the villain, Oogie Boogie, capable of?”

“Hmmm. Yuu-san said he can control bugs.” Epel frowns thoughtfully. “I don’t think she mentioned anything else he can do.”

“Well, aside from being able to eat people.” He adds, with a grimace.

While everyone else, sans Jade, makes a face, you inform, “As far as what Oogie could do in the movie, the only thing I haven’t mentioned is he can inhale so powerfully and fast that his mouth becomes like a vacuum that can suck up whatever he targets.”

Grim’s eyes widen in horror. “That’s scary!”

“Yes, indeed!” Skully cups his cheeks, appearing alarmed. “What a frightening individual!”

A now trembling Jamil becomes noticeably paler. “What a horrifying mental image…”

No doubt the poor boy is imagining getting sucked into Oogie’s burlap sack filled with bugs. That truly is the ultimate nightmare scenario for someone with a serious bug phobia like him.

As you’re giving Jamil a sympathetic look, Sebek tightens his grip on your hand. “Whatever that fiend is capable of, I will make short work of him if he ever shows his cowardly face! I will not allow him to do as he pleases!”

Smiling, you squeeze his hand in return as you lean against his side. “I have complete faith in you, Sebek. I know Oogie won’t be a match for your superior strength and intellect.”

He smirks as he smugly puffs up his chest. “Naturally!”

“I won’t lose to that coward either!” Epel declares as he determinedly holds up his clenched fists. “If he tries to crawl outta his lair, I’ll just send him right back to where he came from!”

“Yeah!” Grim, who has quickly recovered from his earlier fear due to him being unable to allow the rest of your sons to look better than him, exclaims, “I’ll incinerate all those bugs in an instant!”

“Yes, fire is the way to go.” Jamil mutters, “The more we throw at him, the better…”

Trey weakly chuckles, “Let’s just not go overboard with the fire magic, alright? I’d hate for anything other than Oogie to catch on fire…”

Rather than respond to Trey’s words, Jamil just continues to mumble to himself, making you think he’s not paying attention to anything other than all the plans he’s formulating to protect himself against Oogie and his bugs, much to your amusement.

“Yuu-san, is there any possibility that this story will require us to venture into the Boogeyman’s lair?” Jade inquires, successfully earning everyone’s attention. “So far, we’ve discussed how to combat him if he should venture outside of his usual dwelling, but considering Jack-san went to his lair in the movie from your world, it is possible we could find ourselves in a similar situation, correct?”

“Oh, please no.” Jamil weakly groans as he drops his face into his hands.

Once again, you give the Scarabia student a sympathetic look before focusing your gaze on Jade, who appears amused by Jamil’s suffering, making you think it's entirely likely that he brought up the possibility of you all having to visit Oogie's lair mostly because he had wanted to see Jamil's reaction. That's why you give the eel-mer a disapproving look before answering, “It is entirely possible. After all, anything can happen while we’re in this fictional world.”

“If that does happen, we need to be careful since Oogie’s lair is rigged with booby traps.” You continue, “That was what he used against Jack-san when Jack-san came at the end of the movie to rescue Santa and Sally-san, the latter of whom got caught after she failed to save Santa.”

“Oogie really loves gambling, so his lair and booby traps have a casino theme.” You add, “For example, giant playing cards will suddenly shoot up out of the ground and swing the swords they’re carrying at you if you get too close to them.”

“Yikes!” Epel and Grim, whose eyes widen like Sebek's and Trey's, exclaim in complete sync.

Nodding, you go over everything else that you remember about Oogie’s lair before recalling something else that may end up being useful down the line. “Oh yeah, ironically enough, despite how much he likes gambling, Oogie actually sucks at it. Every time he rolls his dice, he always gets snake eyes.”

“Oh?” Jade’s eyes light up with interest. “How interesting. We could potentially use that to our advantage.”

Jamil, who is now thankfully looking better than he did earlier, grabs his chin. “Yes, depending on the circumstances, we could have one group distract him by appealing to his competitive side while the other strikes him when his guard is down.”

As Jade and Jamil, the two schemers of the group, discuss all the ways they could use Oogie’s weakness to their advantage while Trey, Skully, and Grim pose the occasional question, Sebek and Epel make faces, no doubt because they’re the type who prefer to take things head-on and not rely on underhanded tactics, but rather than protest, the two just briefly look at you before closing their previously opened mouths.

Knowing they’re staying quiet for your benefit, because their top priority is ensuring Oogie can’t hurt you, you smile gratefully at them, all the while basking in the pleasant warmth that had enveloped your chest in response to their actions. My family is the best.

And that’s a fact.

Once you and your friends finish discussing all of Oogie’s strengths and weaknesses, along with strategies for how to handle them, you all spend a while trying to figure out how Oogie or an unknown underling of his could’ve pulled off remaining undetected during this morning’s alley incident, if said incident really does have a connection to the Boogeyman.

Regrettably, no matter how much you all rack your brains, no one can come up with a reasonable theory that can explain what happened at the alley or how Oogie, if it was him in that alley, ended up there in the first place since you highly doubt the Boogeyman goes anywhere near Halloween Town due to his fear of Jack, especially when he can always just send Lock, Shock, and Barrel there if he ever needs anything from town.

If Oogie Boogie or one of his underlings really was in that alley, why was he or his underling in town? And was it just a coincidence that he or his underling just so happened to be there at the same time as the NRC group’s arrival?

Or is this all the book’s doing, because this is all a part of whatever plot it has in store for you and your friends?

Considering your luck, it’s likely the latter since, even though the last book you got sucked into granted your wishes, it still allowed you to get kidnapped for the sake of the plot despite that obviously being something you would never have wished for.

Your eyebrow twitches. If this damn book tries to turn me into a damsel in distress, like the last one did, so help me, I WILL get violent, and if I see this book after we get set free, I WILL have Grim incinerate it. I don’t care how valuable such a powerful book may be.

You're soon pulled away from your violent thoughts when Jade asks, “Since I believe we’ve done enough strategizing for the time being, why don’t I brush your hair for you, Yuu-san? It’s a little untidy at the moment, and due to all my past experiences of fixing your hair, I find this hard to ignore, even though this one particular time Floyd isn’t the reason your hair is untidy. I’m afraid it’s become a new habit of mine.”

All you can do is snort when you see Jade smoothly pull out the comb he always uses whenever he fixes your hair. “Sure thing. Your help will be especially appreciated now that I have so much hair to deal with. Thank you, Jade-senpai.”

“Ah, yes, that reminds me.” Jamil suddenly uses his magic to summon a small jar. “I had asked Sally-san earlier today if she had anything we could use to help keep our hair looking healthy and to prevent it from getting tangled, so let me apply this to your hair while it’s on my mind, Yuu.”

As expected of Jamil, he’s always thinking several steps ahead. He never fails to impress.

After you thank Jamil, he, along with Jade, get to work on your hair, and you couldn’t be more grateful for their help since you’re so inexperienced with taking care of long hair.

“Oh yeah, speakin’ of Yuu’s hair, how come it’s so long?” Grim asks, tilting his head. “I was really surprised when I first saw it!”

“Do you mean to say that Yuu-san’s lovely hair isn’t always that length?” Skully replies, sounding surprised.

Epel nods. “Yeah, Yuu-san’s hair is normally short like mine, so it really caught me off guard when I first saw her with all that hair.”

Trey chuckles, “It was really surprising, especially since, at that point, we didn’t know we were inside a book.”

“I was just as surprised.” You remark, “After all, it’s not like giving me long hair is gonna do anything for the plot.”

“This morning, Leona-senpai and I talked about this since he had also been curious.” You reveal, “It was thanks to him that I realized it’s pretty likely I have long hair ‘cause it makes me resemble Sally-san, along with these leggings that match her dress.”

“Ah, I see.” Jamil nods in understanding. “So the book just provided you an opportunity to look more like your favorite character. Considering you had previously told me that the attire you wore in the last story you were a part of changed colors, allowing you to match with Grim and Stitch, it’s easy for me to believe that this book would have you match with Sally-san.”

“Yes, that does sound like a very plausible theory.” Jade agrees before chuckling, “It’s a shame Floyd isn’t here. I’m sure he would be most disappointed if he were to find out that he missed out on this chance to see what Yuu-san looks like with long hair.”

Judging from the mischievous tone of his voice, you doubt Jade feels bad for his brother. On the contrary, you’re sure he wants nothing more than to brag about all the fun he’s having while Floyd is stuck at NRC, like what Floyd did to him after the adventure with Stitch.

Unfortunately for Jade-senpai, there’s no guarantee that he’ll keep his memories since we all got lucky last time. You dryly think to yourself. Although, if any of the guys could hang onto their memories, I would place my money on Jade-senpai, solely because he would never allow an opportunity to have fun at his brother’s expense go to waste.

Because that’s just how the Leech brothers are.

“A Yuu-san with short hair…” Skully comments, successfully drawing you away from your thoughts. “I would like to see that.”

When you focus your curious gaze on him, Skully smiles, “After all, I’m sure you look just as lovely with short hair as you do with long hair, because beauty like yours could never diminish no matter what kind of hairstyle you choose to have.”

Your heart melts in response to his words. “Awww! Skully, you are such a sweetheart! Thank you!”

Unsurprisingly, Sebek, whose grip on your hand tightens, is quick to get jealous when he sees Skully getting positive attention from you. “Such a brazen human! He never fails to irritate!”

Epel just shakes his head. “Can’t believe Skully-kun can say stuff like that without any hesitation. He’s just like Rook-san…”

“I’d have to agree.” Trey awkwardly smiles, “Those two would get along really well. Ahaha…”

“I’m so glad Kalim isn’t here.” Jamil mutters, “He would also get along well with Skully, TOO well. I don’t even want to imagine such an exhausting duo…”

While Jade quietly snickers, you giggle, “Lilia-senpai and Cater-senpai would probably get along well with Skully too. I’m sure all of those extroverts will be disappointed when they find out they missed out on all the fun.”

“Yes, fun. That’s exactly what we’re having here.” Jamil sarcastically replies, making you snort whilst Jade’s laughter slightly increases in volume.

Since Sebek is still glaring at Skully, who’s still completely oblivious to Sebek’s not-so-positive feelings about him, although he has a good reason this time because his focus is on all the unfamiliar names you and the others just brought up, which he is quick to inquire about, you quickly rein in your amusement, so you can do something about your jealous son.

In the end, you discover that won’t be necessary, because, before you can try to get Sebek’s attention, the building’s front door opens, announcing the return of Malleus and the other dorm leaders.

Faster than you can blink, Sebek releases your hand and rises to his feet. “Young Master! Are you unharmed?!”

While Sebek hurries to the side of an obviously sulking Malleus, Vil huffs, “He’s fine. He’s just sulking; he has been for a while now.”

“It was crazy how quickly he shifted from apocalyptic mode to sulking mode.” Idia comments, “It’s like he did a total character change.”

“Fortunately for us.” Azul sighs, “I don’t know what we would’ve done if he had continued hurling lightning everywhere…”

As Riddle wearily nods, Leona casually strolls further into the building, thankfully not looking like he just got out of a fight, making you feel hopeful that he and Malleus didn’t fight while they were gone. “Alright, now that the horned bastard is back, let’s get back to discussing the Boogeyman as well as what happened on our end while we were dealing with the lizard’s rampage.”

After giving you an approving look, a smirking Leona adds, “Nice hair, by the way, Herbivore. You didn’t need to get all dolled up on my account, but I appreciate the gesture.”

Knowing he’s just messing around, you playfully blow him a kiss. “Anything for you, Leona-senpai.”

While Leona’s smirk grows, Vil sighs as he draws closer to you. “Do NOT humor him, Potato. His ego is too big as it is, and you only make it worse.”

Ignoring Leona’s glare, Vil begins looking over your hair, which Jade and Jamil just finished tending to, after coming to a stop before you. “Hmm.”

There’s a brief pause before Vil nods approvingly. “Very good. Well done, Jade, Jamil. Her hair looks much better than it did before I left.”

After Jade and Jamil politely thank the third-year student for his praise, the supermodel unsurprisingly begins asking what all was done to your hair, leading to Jamil sharing what he got from Sally.

Unfortunately for Vil, Sally didn’t have any skincare products, which he was naturally quick to ask Jamil about, so he’ll have to come up with something on his own.

Meanwhile, as Vil is muttering about potential ingredients he could use to create beauty products to replace his usual ones that he currently doesn’t have access to and Trey is explaining why you have long hair in the first place to a curious Riddle who took this opportunity to finally ask about it, you turn to look at an exasperated Leona and ask, “So what happened when you guys went after Tsunotaro? Before we get back to talking about Oogie, I wanna know if the book did anything when Tsunotaro tried to go off-script.”

“Oh, it did something alright.” Idia drawls, “Something that could only be possible inside a fictional world where you can get away with breaking the laws of reality.”

When you, along with Jamil, raise an eyebrow, Leona elaborates, “The book placed a huge barrier over the treehouse where the brats live and the surrounding area - a barrier that remained standing no matter how much magic Malleus threw at it.”

In complete sync, you, along with the majority of the people who stayed behind, gape in disbelief. “WHAT?!”

“T-That’s impossible!” Sebek exclaims, appearing incredulous. “No barrier is powerful enough to stand up against Malleus-sama!”

“That’s why the book nerfed Malleus-shi.” Idia explains, “Or, at least, that’s what we think since Malleus-shi said he was unable to bring out his full power against the barrier.”

While Skully curiously mouths the word "nerfed", a frowning Malleus nods. “For some reason, no matter how hard I tried, I could not summon the high level of magic that I had wanted to use, which I could easily do without a second thought back in our world. It was quite strange since it was not as if I suddenly had difficulty using my magic, and my magic did not feel in any way different from how it is normally. My spells would just suddenly lose their power mere seconds after they were cast and sent hurtling at the barrier.”

All you can do is stare. “Damn. This book is insane if it can nerf someone as powerful as Tsunotaro. Obviously, as long as we’re stuck inside its pages, it has complete control here and can do anything, which makes sense, since this is its world and we’re just living in it ‘til it finally lets us go.”

“For it to go through the trouble of summoning a barrier and nerfing Tsunotaro, that proves the book REALLY does not want us going after Oogie prematurely, so that strategy is unfortunately just not an option for us.” You add.

Jamil nods along with your words before asking, “Did anything else happen aside from the barrier appearing and Malleus-senpai’s powers becoming restricted? Did the book actually retaliate as a form of punishment for us trying to go off-script?”

“Thankfully, no.” Riddle shakes his head. “Although, I think there’s a strong chance that it did something to the inhabitants of the tree house since, despite all of Malleus-senpai’s raging at their front door, none of them ever showed their faces.”

“Seriously?!” Epel gapes, “Don’t tell me they all slept through all the lightning and thunder Malleus-san created!”

“The book could’ve put them in a deep sleep, or that barrier just kept out attacks AND sound.” Idia theorizes, “The book could’ve also made it so that whoever was inside the barrier couldn’t see what was going on outside of the barrier by putting up a projection of sorts on the barrier that made it look like nothing was going on.”

Leona nods. “Either way, the book definitely got involved to stop the lizard and ensure that Oogie and the brats didn’t know what was going on outside.”

“Which means, like Yuu had said earlier, we can’t go after Oogie before he has actually done something.” He huffs, “More than likely, considering how stories go, that confrontation will happen once we're close to the end of this story, so either on the night before Halloween or on the day of.”

While you and Idia nod, Malleus’s frown deepens. “It’s most irritating. While I did not originally mind being temporarily trapped inside this strange book’s pages since it’s such a novel experience, I do not approve of having my actions limited, especially when that means I cannot smite those who deserve to be punished.”

Smiling, you rise to your feet and take hold of Malleus’s hand after drawing closer to him, so you can give it a reassuring squeeze. “I appreciate you getting so upset on my behalf, Tsunotaro. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, while we can’t do anything to Oogie now, we’ll make sure that he gets what he deserves as soon as the opportunity presents itself.” You assure him.

Your smile morphs into a smirk. “We’ll make him rue the day he decided to pick a fight with the students of Night Raven College.”

Within seconds, smirks of all sizes appear on all of your friends’ faces, all of whom simultaneously reply, “Naturally.”

Your smirk broadens. “The Boogeyman’s days are numbered.”

You’ll all make sure of that.

Once Malleus’s mood has improved, you ask if anything else of interest happened on the dorm leaders’ end, aside from the barrier showing up and Malleus getting nerfed, since they had been gone for a while.

That’s how you learn that the dorm leaders were only gone for so long because, once Leona and the others had realized that the book wasn’t going to retaliate, they just stood there and watched Malleus have his “temper tantrum” against the indestructible barrier since they all collectively agreed that they didn’t want to get near the fae while he was rampaging.

Apparently, it took a while for Malleus to collect himself, and it was only once he finally settled down that the dorm leaders approached him and convinced him to come back to Town Hall since there was clearly nothing that could be done about Oogie Boogie for the time being.

After the dorm leaders finish covering everything that happened on their end, everyone from that group, who had wanted a chance to scold you for not bringing up the fact that a cannibal has his eye on you, gets to say their piece like your sons did earlier. Since everyone’s feelings are perfectly valid, all you can do is apologize and let them reprimand you without complaining, because you feel bad for making them worry.

Fortunately, this doesn’t last for too long since Leona wants to move things along and finally hear what your group had previously discussed about Oogie Boogie while he and the other dorm leaders were gone.

Once your group finishes sharing what you all talked about during his group’s absence, Leona frowns, “So we still have no idea about how Oogie pulled off the alley stunt if that was him and not just an underling we know nothing about. Makes me wonder just how many tricks he has up his sleeve that we’re unaware of.”

You grimace, “Probably enough to make him an actual threat. After all, if the book makes things too easy for us, it won’t make for a very entertaining story.”

“It’s possible that the book gave Oogie additional powers and underlings specifically because Yuu is so familiar with this story’s setting and characters.” Riddle theorizes, “Perhaps it didn’t want us to have too much of an advantage.”

“Honestly, considering the kinds of things we saw in the last book, I wouldn’t find that at all hard to believe.” Azul sighs, “These mysterious books are all so troublesome…”

As everyone nods in agreement, Grim releases a loud yawn. “So tired…Can’t we save the rest of this for tomorrow? I can hardly keep my eyes open…”

“We do need to get some sleep since we have a busy day ahead of us.” Trey agrees before wryly adding, “Although, I don’t know how much sleep we’ll actually be able to get here…”

Simultaneously, everyone looks in the direction of the other side of the room, which has several open coffins, obviously the ones that Sebek had told you and Skully about earlier.

Vil distastefully eyes the coffins. “I am NOT sleeping in one of those. For all we know, they could’ve been pulled straight out of the ground, considering the kind of setting we’re in.”

While Jamil's face grows ashen, no doubt because he’s thinking about the creatures that he loathes, which live in the ground and could possibly get inside a coffin, Idia makes a face. “Yeah, they definitely look as if they’ve been used before, which I’ve been doing my best NOT to think about…”

Judging from all the displeased faces almost everyone is wearing, it looks like no one is too fond of the idea of sleeping inside a coffin, just as you had expected, although, now that you’ve gotten to see the coffins for yourself, you’re a little surprised no one wants to try using one, considering the coffins are all padded and not the kind of old wooden coffins you had been expecting, meaning they’d be more comfortable than the building’s hard, wooden benches.

“I do not mind using one of the coffins.” Skully kindly volunteers, “That way there will be one more bench that’s available for you lovelies to sleep on.”

“What a gentleman you are, Skully-kun.” Jade praises, “You would fit right in at the Mostro Lounge.”

“That’s the last place someone as well-behaved as Skully should be placed.” Riddle huffs, “He’s fortunate that he doesn’t have to deal with you lot due to him being from the past.”

Predictably, both Jade and Azul don their typical, theatrical offended expressions in response to the redhead’s critical words, especially when they see so many of your friends nod in agreement, much to your amusement.

Before the merfolk can try to defend themselves, Grim pipes up. “I don’t mind sleepin’ in a coffin either. I’m so tired I can sleep anywhere!”

As if to prove his point, your partner quickly approaches one of the empty coffins and promptly falls asleep after he makes himself comfortable inside it, much to the amazement of several of your friends.

You chuckle, “I don’t mind sleeping in a coffin either since, thanks to them having padded interiors, it looks like they’d be more comfortable than those hard benches.”

I’ll just try not to think about where those coffins came from. You dryly think to yourself.

Much to your surprise, you’re soon drawn away from your thoughts when something warm is draped over your shoulders, and your surprise grows when you see that the “something” that was draped over you is Leona’s coat.

When you focus your surprised gaze on him, Leona yawns into his hand. “It’ll just get in my way while I sleep, so you keep it. You’ll probably get more use out of it than me.”

Upon realizing that Leona is trying to be a gentleman here by offering you something you can use to make your temporary bed more comfortable, a pleasant warmth envelops your chest, making you beam. “Thank you very much!”

Appearing pleased, Leona ruffles your hair before heading for one of the empty coffins. “Alright, for once, the furball has the right idea, so I’m going to sleep. The rest of you can do whatever you want, but if you wake me, know that there WILL be consequences.”

Amused, you watch as Leona quickly makes himself comfortable inside one of the coffins, and like Grim, he falls asleep within a matter of seconds. Maybe it’s a cat thing.

While you giggle at that thought, a frowning Malleus turns to look at Sebek, who has been glaring at Leona ever since the lion Beastman gave you his coat. “It would seem Kingscholar was one step ahead of you this time, Sebek. Obviously, Graves isn’t the only person you need to worry about. We will need to be more vigilant from now on, so your rivals won’t get any further ahead of you.”

In an instant, Sebek’s jealous expression becomes incredibly embarrassed. “Y-Young Master!”

At the same time, both Trey and Vil give Malleus an exasperated look. “Malleus!”

Before Trey and Vil can chide Malleus about his matchmaking efforts that they obviously don’t approve of, you quickly approach Sebek and wrap your arms around him, laughing all the while. “Oh, don’t worry, Tsunotaro. You know how much I love Sebek. He doesn’t need to do anything special to win my affections when I already absolutely adore him.”

Sebek starts furiously blushing. “Yuu!”

“Heh.” Malleus smiles, “That is true, but Lilia and I still think Sebek should be more proactive with his courting, because you deserve to be courted in a way where you’ll be lavished with all of the love and care that you deserve.”

Your heart melts in response to his words. “Awww, Tsunotaro! You’re the sweetest!”

Quickly, you change hugging targets and wrap your arms around an amused Malleus, who, of course, has no issue with this since he always enjoys being on the receiving end of your hugs.

When Sebek begins to pout, because he’s now no longer the center of your attention and because you’re now receiving all of his beloved liege’s attention, Jade chuckles, “If Malleus-san wasn’t such a dedicated matchmaker, I would think he too is one of Sebek-kun’s rivals. Fufu.”

“That does sound like it would be rather fun.” Malleus amusedly remarks, eliciting a choked sound from his dismayed retainer, much to your amusement.

“Alright, enough of that.” Trey exasperatedly pipes up. “Let’s give poor Sebek a break and turn in for the night.”

Thankfully, everyone goes along with his suggestion without a fuss, because you’re all so exhausted after having such a long, eventful day.

In the end, most of your friends decide to head for the benches, intending to use them for beds. The only person aside from you and Skully that decides to use a coffin like Grim and Leona is Epel, who had wanted to give it a try and be as cool as Leona who, unsurprisingly, is sleeping like a log, completely unaffected by his surroundings.

Before you can reach your coffin, however, you get stopped by Sebek, who abruptly offers you his coat, which had previously been resting on his shoulders. “Here. I will not need this coat, so you may have it for the night.”

Once you overcome your initial surprise, you accept the coat with a smile. “Thank you, Sebek. That’s very sweet of you.”

Eyes twinkling, you playfully whisper, “It’ll be nice to have something that smells like you with me while I sleep. I’m sure it’ll give me lots of nice dreams.”

An adorable blush colors his cheeks in response to his words, making you coo. “I-I see…”

Unable to help yourself, you give your son a hug and kiss his cheek, causing his blush to darken. “Good night, Sebek. Sweet dreams.”

It’s at that moment you remember your earlier talk with Skully, who had let you know that Sebek had been missing you, and realize that you didn’t get the chance to properly dote on your son due to so much happening this evening.

After making a mental note to try to make up for that tomorrow, you do what you can tonight by warmly adding, “I missed you today. Hopefully, I’ll get to see more of your handsome face tomorrow.”

Sebek, who had looked like he was just about to complain about your affectionate actions, quickly closes his mouth upon hearing you say that you had missed him, and soon after, his face becomes even more flustered. However, despite his embarrassment, you can tell that Sebek is quite pleased, proving that he really did miss you today.

Much to your delight, after a brief pause, Sebek actually admits as much but only after lowering his voice to a whisper. “I missed you too…”

Upon seeing his adoring, slightly shy expression, which is so adorable that your heart can barely handle it, you beam, all the while feeling as if your heart will explode at any given moment. “I really do just keep falling more and more in love with you. You’re such a danger to a girl’s heart, Sebek.”

Not that you mind, of course.

After you finish showering Sebek with as much love and attention as you can in the short amount of time you have available, you resume heading over to the closest, empty coffin, taking along the coats you received from both Leona and Sebek.

Much to your amusement, Sebek didn’t seem too thrilled about the fact that you still intend to use Leona’s coat when you now have his, but he didn’t say as much, probably because he knew you’d tease him about it.

Unfortunately for Sebek, you want to make full use of both coats that you were given since you’ll need all the help you can get to make your temporary bed more comfortable.

However, for your son’s sake, you opt to use his coat as a blanket rather than as an added layer of cushion since you could easily see Sebek thinking the blanket position is far more superior since the coat being used as a blanket will be the one wrapped around you while you sleep.

That’s why, after doing what you can to tidy up your new coffin bed, you lay Leona’s coat down over the coffin’s padded interior before finally climbing into the coffin.

It’s only once you lie down that you realize just how narrow the coffin is. Thankfully, there’s still enough room for you to comfortably lie down on your back; you just can’t do much turning, which is fine, since you don’t typically do a lot of moving around in your sleep anyway.

Much to your relief, thanks to the coffin’s interior being padded and the addition of Leona’s coat, you think you won’t have too much difficulty falling asleep since your temporary bed really isn’t all that uncomfortable, surprisingly enough.

Once you’re lying down, you cover yourself with Sebek’s large coat and release a content sigh when his comforting scent invades your senses.

Soon after that, thanks to how comfortable you feel due to being wrapped up in Sebek’s coat, a wave of exhaustion washes over you, prompting you to close your eyes so you can give into sleep’s enticing pull.

Fortunately, thanks to Leona’s and Sebek’s efforts, you’re able to enter a peaceful, comfortable slumber despite your less than desirable sleeping situation.

Regrettably, your slumber only remains peaceful for around two hours thanks to your Quirk suddenly activating.

In a flash, you, who had previously been dreaming about all your favorite scenes from The Nightmare Before Christmas, abruptly find yourself on Spiral Hill, looking at Skully, who’s sitting down with his knees hugged to his chest, looking forlorn.

And very lonely.

As your chest clenches at the sight, you listen to Skully mumble about how different the Halloween he celebrates is from everyone else’s. He wonders how and why things changed so much in the future and if this means the way he has always celebrated Halloween is wrong.

What really captures your attention, however, is what Skully says after his thoughts drift to how Halloween is celebrated in his hometown.

“I wonder…is this actually how everyone else in the village celebrates and I was just left in the dark? If so, that makes me feel even more unbearably lonely…”

Upon hearing the pure sorrow in Skully’s voice, the pain inside your chest intensifies. Skully…

The sadness you feel on Skully’s behalf quickly turns into pure dismay when you happen to catch sight of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who are sneakily making their way over to an oblivious Skully, who is an easy target in his current, vulnerable state, all the while looking like they’re up to no good.

It’s at that moment your vision ends, causing Skully and the surrounding scenery to disappear from view, meaning you unfortunately don’t get to see what the bad kid trio intends to do to poor Skully.

At the same time, you wake with a start, having been completely pulled from the realm of dreams thanks to your Quirk.

Although you typically remain asleep whenever you have a vision while you’re sleeping, there are times when you wake up, usually whenever you have worrisome visions that weigh on your heart and make it impossible for you to return to a peaceful slumber.

That’s why you’re not surprised by this turn of events and are also quite grateful for the fact that you woke up since it’s entirely possible that the events of your vision could happen tonight, if they aren’t already underway.

Quickly, you pull yourself into a seated position and look over at the coffin that Skully had chosen for himself. Upon seeing that his coffin is empty and that he’s nowhere in sight, you’re immediately filled with panic, but you do your best to remain calm since panicking never solves anything.

You quickly but quietly climb out of the coffin you had been sleeping in after setting aside Sebek’s coat. I need to hurry, or else, Lock, Shock, and Barrel might try to make poor Skully into Oogie’s next meal!

Which you refuse to allow to happen on your watch.

For a moment, you wonder how you should go about this since, obviously, you shouldn’t run off on your own, yet at the same time, you don’t want to wake everyone else up, for the sake of Skully, who’s currently in a very vulnerable position right now and would surely not want everyone to see him in such a position.

Plus, you really want to take advantage of this opportunity to finally have a proper talk with Skully, because you don’t want him to suffer on his own anymore, and you know it’ll be easier for you to get him to talk if you approach him on your own.

That’s why, for this upcoming mission, you need someone who can take care of Lock, Shock, and Barrel for you stealthily, so Skully won’t notice, and that person also needs to be willing to leave Skully to you and give you the space you need to have a private chat with him.

Immediately, one person’s name comes to mind, and that’s why you tiptoe over to the bench where the person you have in mind is supposed to be sleeping, although you won’t be surprised if you find him awake since he’s been trained to be hyper-aware of his surroundings at all times since a young age.

As expected, when you quietly peer over the bench you later come to a stop behind, you see Jamil, who’s lying on his back, raising an eyebrow as he looks up at you, giving you a look that silently asks what you’re doing.

Relieved that you don’t have to wake him up, you motion toward the front door in a silent request for him to follow you before you promptly start heading for the building’s exit, all the while still doing your best not to wake anyone else up.

Thankfully, Jamil obliges since he obviously can’t just leave you alone, because that’s just the kind of person he is, especially considering you have a target on your back.

As soon as the two of you are outside and have closed the town hall building’s front door behind you, you grab a surprised Jamil’s hand and proceed to start running toward the cemetery, forcing him to come along for the ride. “We gotta hurry, Jamil-senpai! Skully needs our help!”

Fortunately, rather than complain, Jamil calmly assesses the situation before asking, “Considering it wasn’t that long ago that Skully left the building, I take it that you had a vision about him while you were sleeping?”

Upon seeing the surprised look you give him, he dryly explains, “I’ve been awake this whole time since those benches are so uncomfortable. That’s why I noticed when Skully left.”

After nodding in understanding, you finally answer his earlier question. “Yes, I had a vision that showed Skully on his own at Spiral Hill. He went there ‘cause his feelings about his preferred Halloween being so different from everyone else’s ideal Halloween have been heavily weighing on him.”

The corners of your lips dip downward. “Right before my vision ended, I saw Lock, Shock, and Barrel approaching him while he was distracted, so I’m worried that they’re gonna try to take advantage of his moment of weakness.”

Jamil narrows his eyes. “So it’s not just you Oogie is after. I suppose that makes sense if he’s desperate enough for his next meal, especially if he hasn’t eaten anything satisfying in a while.”

“Alright, I believe I understand what I need to do.” He continues, “You want me to deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel while you talk to Skully, correct? You correctly assumed I was the best person for the job since I can handle those three on my own with my magic, and I don’t mind giving you some time to talk to Skully alone since, obviously, something needs to be done about him so this type of situation won’t keep happening while we’re here.”

Happy that Jamil is always so quick on the uptake, you smile, “Exactly. I’m glad you understand me so well, and I appreciate your cooperation.”

“It’s not like I have much choice since I obviously cannot allow you to go to the cemetery on your own, which I know you wouldn’t hesitate to do if necessary.” Jamil wryly replies.

He smirks, “Besides, this will be a perfect opportunity for me to get some revenge on those ill-mannered children. I’ll make sure to give them the fright of their life, heh.”

A matching smirk rises to your lips. “An excellent idea. I knew I could leave things to you, Jamil-senpai.”

Shortly after that exchange, you and Jamil go quiet since the two of you want to focus more on paying attention to your surroundings than talking to ensure neither of you trip over anything or potentially come across anything dangerous.

During this time, you eventually find yourself thinking about the vision you had while you were sleeping, more specifically what Skully had said near the end of your vision.

Why did Skully make it seem as if he didn’t know what the rest of his village does to celebrate Halloween? You wonder. Up until this point, I had thought the people of his village were all just like him, but is that not the case? If so, then how did that difference come to be?

And more importantly, how does Skully not know for sure what everyone else in his hometown has been doing all this time during his favorite time of the year?

When you think about Skully and his hometown, your stomach begins to uneasily churn. I have a feeling I’m not gonna like what I hear if Skully ever tells me his story…

Little did you know just how right you were.

Just as you had foreseen, when Spiral Hill finally comes into view, you and Jamil find Skully sitting at the top of the hill, looking just as gloomy as he did in your most recent vision.

After exchanging nods, you head over to Spiral Hill while Jamil starts his search for Lock, Shock, and Barrel, so he can get his revenge and make sure they don’t bother you and Skully.

Upon reaching the base of the hill, you call out to Skully. “Skully!”

With a jolt, Skully turns to look at you with surprise. “Yuu-san? What are you doing here?”

After climbing the hill, you sit down beside the taller boy and answer, “I had a vision about you being here on your own while I was sleeping. When I woke up and saw you weren’t around, I got worried, so I decided to go look for you.”

For several seconds, Skully just silently opens and closes his mouth, making him resemble a fish, before he finally replies, “You’re here…for me…?”

Your expression softens. “I am. Even though we haven’t known each other for very long, I’ve quickly come to like you. That’s why I couldn’t stay still when I knew you were here suffering on your own.”

His large frame begins to tremble as he sniffles. “T-Thank you…very much…”

“I-I’m sorry…” Skully weakly apologizes, “You likely heard a lot of my earlier complaints. Your lovely ears shouldn’t have to hear such pathetic whining, especially when you’ve been working so hard for Jack-sama’s and everyone else’s sake…”

Without hesitation, you pull the surprised boy into a hug. “You don’t need to apologize, Skully. If anything, I should apologize for unintentionally eavesdropping on words you obviously didn’t want anyone else to hear since you’re such a sweet, considerate boy.”

“It’s alright that you’re not completely comfortable with the way everyone else celebrates Halloween.” You gently stroke his hair. “Your feelings and opinions are valid, just like everyone else’s. You’re allowed to have your own preferences, so if valuing time-honored traditions is how you think Halloween should be celebrated, then stick to what you believe in.”

“We’re not asking you to change, Skully.” You softly continue, “We just need to do things differently from what you’re used to for the sake of getting out of this book, not because your ways are inferior but simply because they’re not the best tool for this particular problem.”

Skully continues to sniffle as he returns your embrace. “Yuu-san…”

You give him a comforting squeeze. “That said, I still think Halloween is best enjoyed when you’re with others, simply because everything, in my opinion, is better enjoyed when you’re not alone.”

“Take tonight’s dinner for example.” You smile, “It was pretty chaotic, but it was still far better than eating a meal in total silence with no one for company, right?”

There’s a slight pause before Skully, who has buried his face against your shoulder, nods. “It was. That was the most enjoyable meal I had ever partaken in. I…I had never eaten with so many people before…”

“For as long as I can remember, I have always preferred silence.” He reveals, “I’ve always hated it whenever people make a lot of unnecessary noise, so I thought I was better off on my own whenever I ate, yet…”

His voice grows quiet. “Strangely enough, I was never bothered by the noise that filled the air during tonight’s dinner and throughout the rest of tonight’s tumultuous events. I never found myself wishing for the silence I normally always prefer.”

“Was it like that for you as well?” Skully asks, “When you became accustomed to eating with friends?”

“Uh huh.” You nod. “Back in my world, I grew up accustomed to silent meals, so it took some time to get used to the kinda lively meals that are now per the norm for me.”

Briefly, you think back to all the lonely meals you had by yourself back in your world when Mumei and Tokumei weren’t around as well as the meals you had whenever the twins were present, which were always incredibly tense, because you were always worried that they’d disapprove of the food that you made, although, unlike his brother, Tokumei wasn’t the type to angrily lash out if things weren’t up to his standards.

That was another reason why you didn’t have much interest in eating back then, because so many meals were fraught with fear and tension - to the point you couldn’t really taste anything that went into your mouth at the time.

Doing your best not to think about those unpleasant meals, you focus your thoughts on all your meals spent alone since those are the kinds of meals that Skully is familiar with, and you want to use your past experiences to help him if possible.

“When I was younger, I did prefer the meals I had when I was alone, but that was only because I never had any people in my life whom I actually wanted to be with.” You reveal, “I’ve never liked being alone.”

Your voice grows quiet. “People aren’t meant to live alone. People need other people. Otherwise, life will only be miserable in the long run.”

You can say that with complete confidence, because that’s how your life was like back in your world. You learned firsthand just how painful loneliness is and how miserable life can be when you have no one to share your joys and sorrows with.

And you’re sure Skully is the same way. He’s just coming up with reasons and excuses to protect himself - to make it seem as if he’s actually okay with being alone.

But you know the truth. You know that Skully doesn’t want to be alone - that his loneliness hurts him.

Which is why you’re going to do everything in your power to help him, because you refuse to allow him to continue suffering, like you did back in your world.

Because a sweet boy like Skully deserves so much better, and you’ll be damned if he doesn’t get what he deserves.

“Yes, I think you’re right.” Skully remarks, successfully drawing you away from your thoughts. “Life is much more colorful and brighter when it’s lived with others rather than in solitude. There are many wonderful things you can only experience when you’re with others.”

After he draws away from you so he can see your face, he warmly smiles, “I’ve learned that during all the precious time I’ve spent with you.”

Surprise briefly crosses your features before you return his smile. “I’m glad.”

“And that’s only just the beginning.” You cheerfully add, “I’m gonna teach you lots and lots about making friends - so much that you’ll have too many memories for the book to erase. That way there will be something you can take home with you.”

Faster than he can react, you grab Skully’s shaded glasses and move them to the top of his head, so you can squarely meet his gaze. “I won’t let you be lonely anymore, Skully, not while you’re here with me and not when you’re back in your own time period, because you deserve to find the same kinda happiness I did.”

His reddish orange eyes grow impossibly large before quickly welling with tears. “Yuu-san…!”

Chuckling, you gently cup his cheeks and stroke his skin with your thumbs. “You’re easily prone to tears, huh? That’s another thing you have in common with Sebek. How cute.”

Skully cutely pouts as he rests his gloved hands over yours. “Please do not tease me…”

Grinning, you bring his face closer to yours, so you can kiss his nose, causing an adorable blush to cover his entire face. “While I won’t give you a hard time about crying, I can’t make any promises about not teasing you in general.”

Your grin grows. “Because I really just can’t help myself around cute boys. Hehe~”

And that’s something that won’t ever change.

For several minutes, you have fun playfully teasing Skully, because his reactions are just so cute. Plus, your teasing has helped him relax and made him look much better than he did prior to your arrival.

Once Skully is looking better and is no longer on the verge of tears, you finally stop teasing him since you want to resume talking to him about Halloween, because this is something that’s really important to him, and you want to make sure you’ve done everything you can to help him with this matter.

“Considering you couldn’t sleep and came all the way out here to think about Halloween, this matter must be really weighing on you.” You note before asking, “Is there anything I can do to help? If you have any questions related to what Halloween is like in the future, I’ll answer them to the best of my ability, or if you just need to vent, I’d be happy to listen.”

Before he can tell you that you don’t need to worry about him, like you’re sure he intends to, considering how he has acted all day, you quickly add, “You’re not in any way bothering me if that’s what you’re worried about, and I’m not gonna stop worrying about you if you tell me you’re fine ‘cause I know you’re not.”

With a wince, Skully lowers his head and begins fiddling with his fingers. “I really am alright. I just have a lot on my mind thanks to all these new experiences I’ve had today.”

“I…” He briefly hesitates before continuing, “I just can’t stop myself from wondering about what Halloween is and why it is so different for me as compared to everyone else.”

Skully bites his lip. “I understand that I am from the past, and I know that things change with time. Hardly anything stays the same forever, but I would have thought the Halloween I know and love would be more similar to the one that’s celebrated by my future underclassmen.”

“After all, since my hometown is the only place that I know of that celebrates my beloved Halloween, would it not be reasonable to assume that the rest of the world somehow learned about the beloved day from there?” He asks.

“It makes perfect sense to me.” You nod. “The traditions of Halloween had to come from somewhere, and since it seems like your hometown is the only place that celebrates it, that means someone from there at some point between your time period and mine obviously got the word out to the rest of the world.”

The corners of his lips dip downward. “Then, why are things so different? Everything I’ve heard about Halloween from yourself, your friends, and Jack-sama is nothing like the Halloween I’ve known all my life. I just don’t understand…”

“I can only assume some outside factors came into play that led to the changes.” You reply, “Like what happened to Halloween in my world.”

When Skully gives you a surprised look, you explain, “Halloween in my world wasn’t always like how it’s celebrated in Twisted Wonderland nowadays. It’s only the way it is now ‘cause it became heavily commercialized over the years and more child friendly.”

Like what you did with Riddle earlier today, you tell Skully all about what you learned when you wrote a report about your world's Halloween, including how there were religious and pagan roots and how the way it was celebrated really just depended on the country back in the olden days.

After you finish sharing everything you learned to an amazed Skully, you comment, “So it’s entirely possible that Halloween in Twisted Wonderland went through something similar. Maybe all the different countries of Twisted Wonderland heard about Halloween from your hometown and put their own spin on it, and along the way, they all ended up celebrating it the same way.”

“It’s either that, or your hometown will end up changing how it celebrates Halloween at some point, and everyone closely follows what they learned from your hometown.” You add as an afterthought.

Upon seeing Skully flinch, you remember the worrisome comment he had made in your most recent vision and immediately want to smack yourself for saying the last thing he needed to hear.

In your defense, you had said it without thinking, because you had briefly forgotten about your vision due to being caught up in your thoughts about Halloween.

Of course, you still apologize since you feel horrible about what you just thoughtlessly said. “I’m sorry, Skully. Are you alright?”

He quickly shakes his head. “You have nothing to apologize for, Yuu-san, and there is no need to worry about me. I am alright.”

“No, the apology is warranted.” You guiltily frown, “Because, while I had temporarily forgotten about it, I had heard you make a comment about how you were unsure about how your village celebrates Halloween in the vision I had about you.”

Seeing the way his posture stiffens, you quickly say, “I won’t force you to talk about it if you don’t want to, Skully. All I want to do is provide whatever support you need. I know I shouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

For a moment, you go quiet before eventually adding, “But, if you do want to talk, I’ll always be willing to be a listening ear. It might help you to talk to someone about it, especially if it’s really bothering you.”

Skully opens his mouth, no doubt with the intention to tell you that that won’t be necessary, considering he seems to dislike the idea of doing anything that he thinks might trouble you regardless of what you tell him, but before he can actually say anything, he quickly closes his mouth.

There’s a long pause during which Skully seemingly wages an internal war with himself before he finally mutters, “I…I have no memories of seeing how the people of my hometown celebrate Halloween. Everything I know about Halloween is through word of mouth - through what my parents and the leader of our village told me. I’ve never actually seen it put into practice by anyone other than them and myself.”

As your eyes grow large, he bites his lip. “Despite having lived there my whole life, I haven’t actually been in my village too many times and have barely interacted with the villagers, or at least, not since my magic first manifested, which happened when I was quite young. As a result, my memories of how I spent my time prior to acquiring my magic are rather hazy.”

“Ever since my magic first manifested, I spent all my time at my house that’s on the outskirts of town, because that’s what I had been told to do.” Skully adds.

A deep frown forms on your lips. “Why? By whom?”

“By my parents and our village’s leader.” Skully answers, “They told me it was for my own good - that someone of my status should remain indoors where it’s safe.”

When your brow furrows, he explains, “You see, I was the first mage to ever be born in my hometown. Prior to my birth, the only experience the villagers ever had with magic was via traveling magicians, who happened upon our village, and ghosts, the latter of whom were seen far more than the former.”

“Although I truly am nothing special, merely a humble magician, everyone in my village felt differently.” Skully frowns, “They considered my birth a miracle; they believed that I would grow up to become someone great whose magic could be used to help our small village thrive.”

“I believe their feelings are partially because there were tales that implied Jack-sama could use magic.” He remarks, “And, because everyone in my hometown reveres Jack-sama, they thought that I too would become someone worthy of their great admiration.”

Skully sighs, “They were even more convinced of that fact when I first used my Unique Magic. Because of its undeniable correlation to Halloween, they felt it was a sign that I truly was connected to Jack-sama, a second coming, if you will.”

All you can do is stare at him with wide eyes. “Holy shit, Skully. Your hometown sounds like a cult…”

When he winces, you quickly apologize, “Oh, shit, sorry! I shouldn’t have said that out loud!”

“No, no, it’s alright, my dear.” Skully assures you. “I take no offense to your words since, according to a book about cults that I had found and read after coming to Night Raven College due to the word 'cult' getting brought up several times by my peers whenever they interacted with me, my village does indeed bear a strong resemblance to the ones I’ve read about.”

As your posture relaxes upon hearing that you didn’t offend him, you comment, “I gotta say, I’m really impressed with you, Skully. Normally, people who grow up under the kinda circumstances you did would just blindly believe everything they’re told since that’s all they’ve ever known, but by the sounds of it, you never did.”

“I think if I didn’t have such a healthy respect and admiration for Jack-sama I might have ended up like that.” Skully honestly admits, “Because I revered him so greatly, I just couldn’t see myself ever comparing to such a wonderful person. The two of us are simply too different.”

His voice grows quiet. “Although, I must confess I have always tried to be like him, both for the villagers’ sake and my own, because I did not want to disappoint anyone and because I truly did want to become someone as beloved as Jack-sama.”

“Ah, but I truly have no interest in being revered or anything of the like.” He quickly adds, “I just…”

When Skully's voice trails off, you consider everything you’ve learned about him since you met him, including how earlier today he had admitted to having impure motives for emulating his idol, before making an educated guess about why he tries so hard to be like his idol.

“Because you thought being so beloved would mean you wouldn’t be alone?” You pick up where Skully left off, making sure to keep your voice gentle and completely judgment free.

Lowering his gaze, Skully slowly nods. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be with other people who love Halloween as much as me - to make friends who would accept me and my ideals and share my passion. Because I was sure that someone as wonderful as Jack-sama had an ample amount of friends, who shared his ideals and passion, I had thought that I too could be in such an enviable position if I emulated him well enough.”

“That’s why, for years, I practiced being a proper gentleman and read every piece of literature I could find that would help me in that endeavor.” He explains, “I did everything that I could to be like Jack-sama, and my parents and the village leader gladly supported me, which only further motivated me.”

The corners of his lips dip downward. “Deep down, though, I know I can’t call myself a true gentleman since I acted with such impure motives, which is something Jack-sama would never do. He was always so wonderful and kind, because that simply is his nature.”

“That’s why I’ve always known that I could never come close to reaching his level; I could never be like him.” Skully sadly murmurs, “And I am even more convinced of that fact after having met him and realizing that the Jack-sama I always so highly revered isn’t the same as the one we met today.”

“It makes me wonder if the Jack-sama my parents and the village leader taught me about really is the same Jack-sama that we’re now helping.” His voice steadily decreases in volume. “Perhaps the Jack-sama I’ve adored all my life and the Jack-sama revered by everyone in my hometown are actually completely different, because a Jack-sama who wishes to always be surrounded by others during Halloween would’ve made me long even more for the world outside of my home’s walls…”

A sharp pang resounds inside your chest in response to his words. “Oh, Skully…”

All this time, you had simply thought that the stories about Jack Skellington in Twisted Wonderland had just gotten lost in translation over the years, like what you believe was the case with the Great Seven. You had just assumed things got twisted since the Jack Skellington you know would never want to spend a Halloween alone.

Instead, thanks to Skully’s words, you realize that, while Jack’s story did get twisted, it wasn’t completely unintentional.

On the contrary, there’s now a very strong chance that the adults in Skully’s life intentionally made Jack to be someone who preferred the kind of lonely Halloween that Skully has spent his whole life celebrating, so Skully would never question their orders to stay inside and would instead willingly remain in seclusion.

And you couldn’t be more horrified.

Without hesitation, you pull a startled Skully into a hug and squeeze him as tightly as you can without actually hurting him.

When you begin trembling, Skully worriedly calls out to you as he returns your embrace. “Yuu-san? Are you alright?”

“I’m furious.” You hiss through clenched teeth. “I can’t believe all the adults in your life failed you so horribly and essentially locked you away in a damn cage. You didn’t deserve that, Skully. You deserved SO much better than that.”

“Yuu-san…” Skully whispers, sounding touched, before gently rubbing your back. “Thank you. To get so angry on my behalf, you truly are a kind and wonderful person.”

“So are you.” You reply, catching him by surprise. “I know you think of yourself as a fake gentleman ‘cause you had ulterior motives for becoming one, but I disagree, because, regardless of your motives, your kindness has always been completely genuine.”

You pull enough away from him, so you can look into his eyes and grin, “It’s strictly because you’re so sincere that I was able to warm up to you so quickly and also give you the benefit of the doubt, which I wouldn’t do for just any stranger. If anyone else had done the kinda stuff you did when we first met, I likely would’ve sent them flying with my fist after waking up.”

As his eyes comically widen, making you chuckle, you continue, “You’re a good guy, Skully, just like Jack-san. You can trust me on that since I’m an expert at detecting when someone’s a fake, and you are definitely not one.”

Your grin grows. “Your smile and kindness are one-hundred-percent authentic. That’s why you’re the perfect gentleman in my book.”

Once he overcomes his shock, Skully’s eyes grow misty. “T-Thank you very much. Hearing that from you truly means a lot…”

Upon seeing his tearful expression, you pull him back in for another hug and just hold him like that, because he clearly could use the comfort, fully intending to stay like this for as long as necessary.

All the while, you think back on everything you’ve learned about Skully. Now, everything makes sense. The reason Skully has such a difficult time making friends is ‘cause he grew up in isolation, and the reason he acted the way he did in that vision I had about the town meeting was probably ‘cause the adults in his life ingrained it into his head that his way was always the right way - that anything they taught him was right and that everyone else was always wrong, although Skully probably also found himself wanting to reject anything that could make him potentially realize that everything he’s been taught all his life was a lie.

Perhaps the adults in his life had enforced the idea that Skully was always right partially because they didn’t want anyone convincing Skully that he should come out of isolation since they had clearly wanted to keep him in the metaphorical cage they had created for him for as long as possible.

Unfortunately for them, the adults in Skully’s life lost their influence once he came to NRC - a place outside of their control, just like what was the case for Riddle, who finally experienced what life could be like without his mother’s strict rules once he came to NRC.

No doubt the village leader and Skully’s parents hadn’t wanted Skully to go somewhere so far away, but considering NRC was the perfect place for Skully to become a strong mage, it makes sense that they would’ve allowed him to go to school in the end since it would’ve been to the benefit of their village.

And because he had never completely fallen under the influence of his village’s cult brainwashing, Skully had tried hard to socialize with the people at NRC despite being told to avoid interacting with others, so he could find other people who shared his love of Halloween, unfortunately without any success.

His background is kinda similar to Jack’s. You note. Just as everyone in Halloween Town puts Jack on a pedestal and essentially isolates him as a result, Skully’s hometown does the same to him.

It’s so not fair. You scowl. If only Skully wasn’t from the past, then I could support him, so he doesn’t have to deal with all that cult nonsense on his own. He doesn’t deserve to be alone like this. He deserves a friend.

Seconds after you think that, realization dawns on your features. I wonder…did all this nonsense with the book we’re trapped inside partially happen ‘cause it had wanted to grant Skully’s wish for friends, like what happened the last time I got sucked into a book? Could Skully have mentioned wanting friends around the time he opened the book, and that, in turn, led to the book bringing us all together like this?

It’s a crazy theory but not implausible, especially considering you had ended up meeting Stitch after wishing for a vacation. Plus, you doubt that you or any of your friends had been wishing for anything related to Halloween when Grim opened the book, so it’s entirely possible that the book showed itself for the sake of granting Skully’s wish for friends.

Honestly, at this point, you’re inclined to believe anything, just because crazy things happening is per the norm for you due to how crazy your life has become since ending up in Twisted Wonderland.

Your expression becomes thoughtful. Maybe the book is giving Skully a chance to hang out with people he can get along and make friends with while it’s giving me a chance to repay the beloved movie characters from my childhood. A two-in-one deal.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. If that’s really the case, then I can’t complain about my current circumstances despite how exasperating the crazy book’s actions are since it’s thanks to the book that I got the chance to meet Skully, not to mention Jack and the other Halloween Town residents.

You huff in amusement. Guess I won’t be burning that damn book, after all…

For a while, you and Skully remain in each other’s arms since he was clearly taking a lot of comfort from the embrace, and you had wanted to do whatever you could for the poor boy.

Once the two of you finally pull apart, you take hold of Skully’s hands to maintain that physical contact and meet his surprised gaze, grinning all the while. “Alright, Skully, here’s the plan. For the remainder of our time here, you’re not allowed to think about anything related to your hometown. All you’re gonna think about is the here and now - about this super awesome Halloween we’re gonna have with THE Jack Skellington in the one and only Halloween Town.”

“I want you to make yourself a completely blank slate and just take everything in as if you’ve never experienced Halloween before.” You continue, “Treat this all as a learning experience, like you’re learning everything for the first time.”

As Skully stares at you with wide eyes, your grin grows. “And, once you’ve experienced what this new Halloween has to offer, THEN you can compare and contrast the new and the old, decide what you do and don’t like, and choose for yourself what YOU think is the best Halloween. How does that sound?”

For several seconds, Skully just stares, looking at you as if you’ve just spoken a completely foreign language - one that has never graced his ears until today.

Soon after, his expression becomes thoughtful, implying that he’s taking the time to give your idea some serious thought. After several minutes pass like this, a small smile rises to his lips. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

His eyes gain a determined glint. “At my current age, I cannot simply continue believing everything I’m told and taking it as fact. I need to learn how to decide for myself what is and isn’t right, and this is the best time to start since this will be my only chance to be with Jack-sama and see what he’s truly like. I can’t waste this miraculous once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“I’m sure it will not be easy.” He quietly adds, “Just the thought of confirming my fears about what I’ve been taught all my life fills me with unbridled anxiety, but I can’t continue like this, not when it’s possible that I’ve been unintentionally doing a huge disservice to my beloved Halloween and Jack-sama all this time by only following the versions of them that my parents and the village leader taught me.”

Skully tightly clutches your hands as he frowns, “I love Jack-sama and Halloween too much to do such a horrible thing to them. I must find out the truth, so I can ensure that the rest of my life isn’t spent committing such a dreadful crime.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “And I’ll be with you all the way, giving you my full support, so you can find all those answers you're seeking.”

It’s at that moment a question comes to mind, prompting you to ask, “Speaking of your love of Halloween and Jack-san, what led to you becoming so passionate about them? Is it simply because everyone in your village loves Jack-san and Halloween so much?”

He frowns thoughtfully. “I believe what first garnered my interest in Halloween was indeed everyone else’s avid love for it. Both because I was curious and because I had wanted to be just like everyone else, I paid close attention to everything about Halloween that was verbally taught to me and read all of the available written materials that were given to me.”

His frown morphs into a smile. “However, my love for the holiday soon became completely pure when I realized just how wonderful Halloween was. I truly admired how noble and elegant the solemn, solitary Halloween that I was taught about was - how, unlike other holidays, there wasn’t a lot of commotion and focus on unnecessary things.”

“Instead, all there was to focus on was the true terror of Halloween - of the fear that we too shall one day join all of the ghosts that roam the land on this special day when the line between our world and theirs becomes blurred.” He grins, “I simply just adore the chill that courses through me when you experience such pure fright. It’s so thrilling!”

Your expression becomes amused. In other words, in complete contrast to me, this is a dude who loves horror. If he lived in our time, I bet he’d be a total horror movie buff. He’d be a perfect addition to the horror movie nights my sons have.

You’re soon drawn away from your thoughts when Skully says, “As far as my love for Jack-sama is concerned, I naturally loved him for being the reason Halloween exists in Twisted Wonderland. That alone makes him worthy of my utmost admiration and respect.”

“However, I also came to love him simply because, in all the stories about him, he had sounded like such a wonderful person who would accept any and all people who shared his love for Halloween.” He adds.

His grin falls. “And because I had thought that Jack-sama would be the one person who would truly understand me. I had thought that, maybe, despite being revered by countless people, Jack-sama too might have experienced the loneliness I felt, perhaps before he became such a highly revered figure.”

Your expression softens. “And you were right. Jack-san knows exactly how you feel, Skully, so if you ever wanna confide in him, I think you should. It’d likely do you a lot of good.”

Upon noticing Skully’s obvious surprise, you explain, “I don’t know what the Jack Skellington of Twisted Wonderland was like, but the one from the movie this story is based on definitely has experienced loneliness, because everyone here loves him so much and essentially puts him on a pedestal.”

“As a result, in the movie, Jack-san didn’t feel as if he could confide in anyone when he was feeling dissatisfied with how Halloween seemed to be the same year after year.” You continue, “There was no one whom he could rely on and just be himself around ‘cause he always had to be the amazing Pumpkin King, who always had his life together, for everyone.”

Skully’s eyes well with tears. “Oh, Jack-sama…you DO understand…”

When he begins to sniffle, you give his hands a strong squeeze. “He does, so while he may be different from what you were expecting overall, he still possesses the qualities that you admire most about him. He’s still someone who will accept you for who you are and will happily share your love of Halloween.”

“R-Right!” Skully emotionally replies, as he does his best to fight back his tears. “J-Jack-sama is still Jack-sama! A-And that’s what matters most!”

You warmly smile, “Exactly.”

The next few minutes pass with Skully working on reining in his tears. Meanwhile, you just silently smile and squeeze Skully’s hands as a way to show support.

It’s during this time that you realize there’s an important question that you’ve never actually asked Skully - a question that really should be said outright rather than implied, especially now that you know his background.

That’s why, once Skully has collected himself, you ask, “Hey, Skully, I just realized I never actually asked this, but do you wanna be friends with me?”

For a moment, Skully just stares at you with wide eyes, and then, he promptly bursts into tears again. “Yes!”

Cooing, you pull him into another embrace. “Aw, don’t cry. C’mere, sweetheart.”

Maybe I should’ve saved that question for later since he’s already had such an emotional night. You muse. Although, something tells me that he would’ve still started crying even if I had waited since I think crying is his automatic response when he’s really happy.

Still, considering how it doesn’t sound like his crying will be ending anytime soon, you probably did pick a poor time for such a question. Obviously, the poor boy has hit his limit.

You gently stroke his hair, careful not to knock off his glasses, which are still right where you left them. It’s hard for me to feel too much regret, though, since I can tell he’s really happy right now, and I think he really needs this opportunity to have a good cry. He probably doesn’t allow himself such an opportunity very often since he’s always trying to make it seem like he’s alright, probably because he never wants to worry anyone.

That’s why you remain silent and don’t make any move to pull away from Skully or try to stop his tears. Instead, you let him cry as much as he wants, because it’s obviously what he needs.

After all, that’s what friends are for.

Much to your surprise, when Skully’s tears finally wane, it’s because the poor boy cried himself to sleep, although you suppose you shouldn’t be too surprised, considering how late it is, especially when there’s a strong chance that Skully didn't get any sleep prior to him coming to Spiral Hill due to having so much stuff on his mind.

Well, I definitely didn’t see this turn of events coming. You think to yourself. It’s a good thing I brought Jamil-senpai with me, although I think I could carry Skully since, despite his height, he doesn’t look like he’d be particularly heavy.

Ironically, just after you think that, Skully begins magically floating thanks to Jamil who chooses that moment to walk onto the scene. “While I’m sure you are fully capable of carrying him, I’ll save you the trouble since I doubt physically carrying someone his size would be much fun.”

As you chuckle, you take hold of the hand that Jamil offers you, so he can pull you to your feet. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

Rather than release your hand once you’re standing, Jamil keeps a firm hold on it as the two of you begin heading back to Halloween Town since neither of you obviously have any interest in sticking around the cemetery at this late hour, especially you, who is not at all thrilled about your spooky surroundings, which you’re doing your best not to pay any attention to, just as you’ve been doing since you first got here.

Shortly after the two of you, along with a floating Skully, who’s following right behind you, leave Spiral Hill and begin walking through the cemetery, you ask, “So how did things go with Lock, Shock, and Barrel? Obviously, you succeeded in keeping them away from Spiral Hill, but that’s about all I know since I never heard a peep from them or you.”

Jamil smirks, “Everything went swimmingly. Once I found them in a different part of the cemetery, I hid and used my magic to frighten them. It was a great warmup for our team’s upcoming test of courage.”

His smirk grows. “By the time I was done with them, those children were all too happy to run away, back to the treehouse where they came from, so whatever mission they were assigned tonight was a complete failure, heh.”

Grinning, you give his hand a strong squeeze and hug his arm. “As expected of you, Jamil-senpai. Thank you for all your hard work. And I’m glad you got the chance to get some revenge on those brats. You deserve it.”

He squeezes your hand in return. “I owe you some gratitude as well for providing me the opportunity to get that revenge. That was a far more preferable way to spend my night as compared to lying on a hard bench, staring at the ceiling.”

You giggle, “I’m happy I could help make your night a little better.”

Not long after that exchange, Jamil spares a glance at a sleeping Skully, who’s still floating behind the two of you, before focusing his amused gaze on you. “So will Skully be number eight, or will you refrain from adopting him because he’s from a different time period?”

An amused huff escapes you. “The latter. As much as I like Skully, who meets all of the requirements for what I look for in a son, I don’t wanna deal with the heartache of adopting a new son, only to have to part ways with him a few days later.”

“Besides, Grim and the rest of my sons would riot if I adopted any more sons.” You dryly add, “Even though they’ve all finally reached the point where they can tolerate each other and accept the fact that they gotta share my love and attention with one another, that’s only the case when there are only seven of them. If I try to add to their numbers, they will definitely make a huge fuss, Grim especially.”

Jamil snorts, “That sounds about right. You’d really be tempting fate if you tried to assimilate anyone else into your little family, considering how possessive the sons you already have are.”

You nod. “Yeah, that’s why I won’t give Skully the son label. I’ll probably still dote on him, though, ‘cause he’s so cute.”

“Right, of course.” Jamil dryly replies.

After that exchange, silence briefly envelops the two of you. During this time, you notice that Jamil is eyeing you in a way that you know means he has something else that he wants to ask but isn’t completely sure if he should or not.

Usually, this happens when Jamil wants to ask about something involving your past since he knows it’s not always a welcome topic for you.

Since you’re curious about what could be on his mind, you briefly check to make sure that Skully is still fast asleep before deciding to give Jamil the go ahead. “What’s on your mind, Jamil-senpai?”

Once you let him know that you won’t mind him asking a personal question, Jamil asks, “Do you have any idea why you’re so attached to the movie that Jack-san and the other Halloween Town residents are from? I know you told everyone earlier that you weren’t sure, but I didn’t know if you had said that because you truly didn’t know or if you just wanted to keep the reason a secret.”

Once you overcome your initial surprise, you answer, “I truly have no memory of what led me to liking that movie so much. That makes me think that I came to love it prior to meeting Mumei and Tokumei since Tokumei erased all the memories of the first few years of my life.”

As Jamil’s grip on your hand tightens at the mention of the twins, you squeeze his hand in return before continuing, “This is just a guess, but I think some of the memories Tokumei erased were happy memories revolving around that movie. Perhaps I used to watch it with someone whom I had cared about back before I met the twins? That would explain why I always felt less lonely whenever I watched it.”

Jamil slowly nods in understanding. “Maybe it was a favorite movie of someone you had once been close to, and that, in turn, made it a movie you loved, because watching it made that person happy. I can easily imagine that, considering how you are.”

A wistful smile rises to your lips. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I probably took so much comfort from watching the movie ‘cause of all those good times I spent with that person, who could no longer be with me. They must have been really important to me.”

Your eyes grow misty. “I really hope that’s the case. It’d be nice to think that, for at least a little while, I wasn’t completely alone in that world.”

Nodding, Jamil gives your hand a comforting squeeze but otherwise remains silent, obviously knowing words aren’t necessary in moments like this.

The next several minutes pass like this, with the two of you silently walking hand-in-hand as you think about your past and take the time to collect yourself.

Eventually, the silence is broken when Jamil asks, “Since it will take us a little while to get back to town, would you like to pass the time teaching me the lyrics of ‘This Is Halloween’? Since it’s such an important song to you, I’d like to learn it and also hear you sing it, if you’re willing.”

Briefly, you just stare at him with surprise since that random request came out of nowhere before your whole face lights up, because how can you not be happy after hearing such a sweet request?

“Sure!” You beam, “I’d love to!”

Without further ado, you start quietly singing and teaching the lyrics of “This Is Halloween” to an attentive Jamil, having completely forgotten about all of your earlier somber thoughts.

Because all you can focus on now is how elated you feel to be able to share something that means so much to you with your friend, who sincerely wants to learn the song simply because he knows how much it means to you.

And your joy only increases when Jamil, who’s always such a quick learner, eventually begins singing along with you since this really is a song that's meant to be sung by multiple people.

That’s why you soon find yourself smiling so hard that your cheeks hurt. Everything really is better when you’re not alone.

It really, really is.

Chapter Text

The whole trip back to Halloween Town is spent with you and Jamil singing, “This Is Halloween”, because, after learning the lyrics, your upperclassman had taken a strong liking to the song, although he unsurprisingly wasn’t too fond of the one lyric that mentions a monster having spiders in their hair, much to your amusement.

You had honestly been rather surprised by how much Jamil had ended up liking the song, despite the fact that he had liked the melody of the song, just as much as Azul, Jade, and Riddle had, when you had played it on the piano earlier today, since you really didn’t see this as the kind of song that he’d be into.

If he was anyone else, you’d think Jamil was just pretending to like the song in order to avoid hurting your feelings, but you know Jamil would never do that since he’s always honest with you, meaning he truly does like “This Is Halloween”.

Which makes you happier than words could ever even begin to describe.

Thankfully, despite being so excited about getting to share your love of a beloved song from your world with your friend, you’re able to keep yourself from being too loud since the last thing you want to do is wake Skully, who fortunately remains fast asleep throughout the whole trek back to Halloween Town.

Since you both want to also refrain from waking anyone else up at this late hour, you and Jamil bring the singing session to an end once your group finally makes it back to Halloween Town. Plus, you don’t want to risk having to deal with the locals asking you questions about the lyrics of “This Is Halloween” for obvious reasons.

Because you’re both eager to get some sleep, you and Jamil hurry back to Town Hall, all the while remaining silent since the two of you don’t want to risk drawing any attention to yourselves or waking Skully or anyone else who's currently fast asleep.

However, once your group returns to Town Hall, you decide to break your silence since there’s something you need to say to Jamil, and you think it’s better to say it outside so you won’t risk waking any of your friends who are sleeping inside Town Hall.

Catching Jamil by surprise, you release his hand, which you had been holding all this time, so you can throw your arms around him and give him a tight hug. “Thank you, Jamil-senpai, for all your help and for giving me a precious memory that I’ll treasure forever. It really meant a lot to me that you had wanted to learn the lyrics of a song that is so important to me.”

Because you know him so well, you can tell that Jamil, who slowly returns your embrace, is embarrassed when he mutters, “No need for thanks. You were just fortunate that I had nothing better to do thanks to me being unable to sleep on that uncomfortable bench and that I had wanted a way to pass the time as we headed back into town.”

Knowing he’s not being honest since he rarely is in moments like this, you kindly don’t call him out for his dishonesty and instead just chuckle, “Even so, I’m still really grateful for you.”

“I always am.” You warmly add.

Despite knowing how much it’ll embarrass him, you take this opportunity to tell Jamil how much you appreciate him since, ever since the two of you became friends, you swore to yourself that you would always make sure that Jamil feels appreciated and that you would never let him feel as if he’s being taken for granted.

Like he has felt for the majority of his life.

“I’m really, really glad I have someone as amazing as you in my life.” You whisper, pouring as much gratitude in your words as you can. “I’m very fortunate to have someone who cares this much about me and who looks out for me like you do. These crazy last few months would’ve been a lot harder for me if I didn’t have you. You’ve gotten me through so much.”

“So thank you.” You smile as you give him a strong squeeze. “Thank you for everything, Jamil-senpai.”

Because the two of you are so close, you’re able to notice how his breathing quietly hitches in response to your words, and of course, you don’t miss how his grip on you tightens.

Unsurprisingly, Jamil, who is practically radiating heat right now, proving just how flustered he currently is, gives you a typical NRC boy response rather than just be honest about his feelings. “Either you’ve somehow done something you know I won’t be happy about without my knowledge, or you’re trying to butter me up…”

Obviously, you can’t let that slide, because, regardless of how bad NRC students are at being honest about their feelings, you won’t always give your friends a free pass, especially in moments like this when they should make more of an effort to be honest.

Deciding a little “punishment” is in order, you quickly pull back enough so that you can kiss Jamil’s cheek, which is noticeably hot to the touch.

While Jamil makes a choked sound, you, after pulling your face away from his so you can meet his gaze, smirk, “You wound me, Jamil-senpai. I was just trying to honestly express my appreciation, and you make those unkind assumptions about me.”

Your smirk grows. “For you to doubt me like that, it must mean I haven’t been as thorough as I had thought with expressing my love for you, so obviously, I need to do something about that~”

When you once again try to eliminate the distance between your face and his, the incredibly flustered boy swiftly moves his hand, so he can pinch your cheek, both to retaliate and to ensure you can’t bring your face any closer to his. “I should’ve stayed inside.”

Eyes twinkling with mirth, you sing-song, “But you didn’t~ ‘Cause you loooove me~”

His eyebrow twitches. “You’re more insufferable than Kalim, and that’s saying something.”

Despite his best attempt to appear annoyed, you know that Jamil isn’t truly upset - that he didn’t mean what he just said, because there’s no real heat behind his words.

Like what is so often the case with Jamil, his words always tell a completely different story than his actions, the latter of which are always much more honest.

That’s why you don’t pay much attention to his words and instead focus on his hand on your cheek, which isn’t pinching you particularly hard, and his other arm, which has tightly wrapped around your waist, using the kind of grip that you imagine snakes use to ensure their prey never escapes.

Another clear indicator that Jamil isn’t truly mad is the fact that there are zero signs of irritation in his eyes, which you have an up-close view of in your current position.

On the contrary, his beautiful charcoal gray eyes seem quite pleased, almost smug, despite his obvious embarrassment, and you know it’s because everything you said earlier made him happy.

Jamil is also likely pleased, because, despite his upbringing making him actively avoid the spotlight and being the center of attention, he likes having eyes on him when they’re full of admiration, respect, and all the other things he felt he was deprived of because of his position as Kalim’s servant.

He likes receiving the recognition he deserves, just as much as you like giving it to him.

Even though you had intended to tease him more as payback for his dishonesty, you quickly lose your motivation upon seeing that look in his eyes that always gives you a warm feeling inside your chest.

Having sensed this, Jamil stops his half-hearted pinching and instead just lets his hand rest against your cheek, gently cupping it.

Amusingly enough, after you stop trying to move your face closer to his, Jamil decides to copy your earlier actions and eliminates some of the distance between his face and yours, all the while keeping his hypnotic gaze locked on yours.

“That was new.” He murmurs, “You’ve never done that before.”

Knowing he’s referring to the kiss you gave him earlier, you explain, “Not because I never wanted to. I’ve always just gotten the impression that kisses weren’t your preference. That’s why I've always stuck with hugs and hand-holding since I knew for sure you were comfortable with that, just as long as we were always alone and I didn’t overdo it, of course.”

“While I like to tease you whenever the opportunity presents itself, I never want to do anything that will make you unhappy.” You add, all the while idly playing with his long, gorgeous hair.

Because you’re one of the few people Jamil doesn’t mind touching his hair, which you know is a clear sign of trust on his part, he allows you to do as you please as he comments, “I had wondered if that might be the case since you are normally quite generous with your kisses and are willing to share them with everyone whom you consider to be a close friend.”

Grinning, you playfully ask, “Do I detect a hint of envy? Perhaps I was completely mistaken about your view on kisses?”

Rather than get embarrassed by your words like you had expected, Jamil just quietly hums as he brings his face even closer to yours, close enough that his forehead and nose brush against yours, surprising you since it’s very unlike him to initiate this kind of intimate contact.

Even though you can tell there are no romantic intentions behind his actions, your heart still skips a beat anyway, because it’s impossible for your heart to not react when you have such a gorgeous face right in front of yours.

That’s especially the case when you take note of how unusually soft Jamil’s eyes are right now, causing his beautiful face to become even more mesmerizing.

Obviously fully aware of how captivated you now are since there’s absolutely no way for you to hide it, Jamil grins, appearing pleased, and that, in turn, makes him look even more enthralling because his grin is completely genuine.

Because he’s always so guarded, Jamil typically hides his true emotions behind a mask - a mask that’s not easy to crack. He only allows these types of sincere expressions to grace his features when he’s with someone he’s comfortable with; you learned this as you progressively became closer to him during the course of the school year and watched Jamil gradually let his walls down when he was alone with you.

And you couldn’t be more grateful for that honor since you love Jamil’s genuine smile and laughter more than anything.

“If it’s from you, I don’t mind.” Jamil fondly murmurs, as his thumb tenderly strokes your cheek, which is definitely warmer to the touch than it was earlier thanks to him.

For a moment, you feel confused, because you temporarily forgot what the two of you were even talking about thanks to his unfairly gorgeous looks making your brain short-circuit, much to his amusement, but thankfully, it doesn’t take your brain too long to recall that very recent memory.

Upon realizing that Jamil just admitted that he doesn’t mind receiving kisses if they come from you, you stare at him with wide eyes for several seconds before your shock turns into pure elation.

Beaming, you gently rub your nose against his. “You may come to regret that later, Jamil-senpai, especially if you guys end up permanently losing your memories of your time here.”

“Probably.” He wryly agrees, “And, if you try to tell me about this exchange, there’s a very strong chance I will deny it ever happened and refuse to believe you, but…”

As you once again get lost in his warm entrancing gaze, Jamil says, with complete certainty, “I won’t ever reject you.”

Warmth envelops your chest as you hug him tighter. “I know. You never have, and I know you never will.”

Jamil neither confirms nor denies your words, but you know that’s a confirmation in itself since he would’ve refuted your words otherwise.

Grinning, you take full advantage of this fortuitous turn of events and kiss Jamil’s cheek again since you’re never one to pass up a chance to dole out kisses to your loved ones. In response to your actions, Jamil's grip on your waist tightens as he pulls you impossibly closer until there's hardly any space between the two of you. All the while, he remains surprisingly calm and stares at you with those beautiful, hypnotic eyes of his that appear to be a mixture of pleased and smug.

His cute reaction causes the pleasant warmth inside your chest to intensify. “I don’t know if you’re taking advantage of the fact that you’ll likely lose your memories, so you can say things you normally wouldn’t say ‘cause you find it too embarrassing or if you’re just in a very indulgent mood tonight, but regardless, I am very grateful for such a fortunate turn of events.”

Unsurprisingly, rather than give you a clear-cut answer, Jamil just huffs in amusement. “I bet you are.”

At that moment, you get an idea, causing your grin to grow. “I just had a great idea. How about I offer you my lap pillow for a little bit, so you can get some sleep? Considering it has a one-hundred-percent success rate, it should put you to sleep in no time despite how uncomfortable those benches are and will likely allow you to sleep throughout the rest of the night.”

Eyes twinkling, you add, “I figured in your current mood you wouldn’t mind doing something that you would normally find embarrassing.”

This time, Jamil’s expression does become embarrassed in response to your playful words, although he still doesn’t get as flustered as he would on any normal given day.

As he lightly tugs on your cheek in retaliation, Jamil considers your words before sighing, “I suppose that is my best shot of actually getting any sleep tonight, and I’ll likely only have to keep these memories until we get out of this book we're trapped in…”

He gives your cheek one last tug before finally completely pulling away from you. “Alright, let’s give it a shot. Just make sure you’re quiet, so we don’t wake anyone.”

“And keep this all to yourself.” Jamil gives you a warning look. “Tell anyone, and there WILL be consequences.”

You giggle, “My lips are sealed~”

With that decided, you and Jamil, with a still sleeping Skully in tow, finally enter the town hall building.

Fortunately, much to your and his relief, the rest of your friends appear to still be asleep, like they were when you left, meaning no one noticed your group’s absence.

Quietly, you and Jamil tiptoe over to the coffin Skully chose for himself earlier when you all had turned in for the night, so your upperclassman can gently deposit the sleeping boy into his temporary bed.

Once you make sure Skully is comfortably situated, set aside his shaded glasses, which had been resting on his head all this time, and take a moment to clean his tear-stained face with the handkerchief that Jamil kindly provided, you and Jamil head over to the bench that your upperclassman had claimed for himself.

Carefully, so as to avoid making the bench creak under your weight, you take a seat at the very edge of the bench before gleefully motioning for Jamil to lie down and place his head on your lap.

Unsurprisingly, Jamil hesitates for a moment due to his embarrassment, but in the end, he finally lies down after removing his hat, all the while looking like he’s regretting all of his life choices, much to your amusement.

Doing your best to not laugh since you don’t want to risk waking anyone, you grin as you gently stroke Jamil’s head. Even though you’d love nothing more than to tease him, you remain silent for the sake of everyone, who's sleeping, which you’re sure is a huge relief to Jamil, and just focus on helping your upperclassman relax.

Thankfully, despite him being tense initially due to his embarrassment, it’s not long before the sleep-inducing effects of your lap pillow finally start to take effect, causing Jamil’s posture to go lax. Soon after that, Jamil’s breathing evens out, signaling that he has fallen asleep.

Your grin grows. And my success streak continues. No one can resist the effects of my lap pillow.

As you internally celebrate your success, you spend a few extra minutes in this position to ensure Jamil is in a deep enough slumber that he won’t wake when you move his head out of your lap.

Once you’re sure it’s okay to move, you gingerly hold up his head, so you can rise to your feet before gently setting his head down on the bench.

After that’s done, you stroke his head once last time before leaning down to kiss his forehead. Sweet dreams, Jamil-senpai.

Much to your delight, the corners of Jamil’s lips curve slightly upwards in response to your actions.

Grinning, you quietly tiptoe over to the coffin that has become your temporary bed. Guess I have another reason to be grateful for the book that trapped us in its pages since I doubt Jamil-senpai would’ve been so honest about his feelings about kisses otherwise.

When you later reach your temporary bed, you grab Sebek’s coat, which you had left hanging over the side of the coffin, before climbing into the coffin and then use the coat as a blanket, just as you had done when you had been sleeping earlier.

All the while, the grin on your lips remains permanently fixed in place, and it doesn’t fade even after you eventually fall asleep, because you have nothing but pleasant dreams throughout the rest of the night.

Just like Jamil.

Regrettably, despite the eventful night you had, you still end up waking up at an early hour thanks to your internal alarm clock, just as you always do.

On the bright side, when you wake up, you don’t feel as bad as you had half-expected you’d feel because you had to sleep in a narrow coffin, all thanks to Leona’s and Sebek’s coats keeping you warm and comfortable.

With a yawn, you groggily pull yourself into a seated position and begin stretching your arms above your head in hopes of alleviating some of the stiffness in your body.

Since you clearly can’t do your usual morning workout routine thanks to your current attire, you, after you climb out of your coffin once you’re more awake, decide to pass the time as you wait for your friends to wake up by doing some additional stretches, figuring your body could benefit from that after sleeping in such a cramped space.

Because everyone else is still fast asleep, with the exception of Sebek, who obviously woke up to his internal alarm clock like you, you quietly head outside, so you can stretch without risking waking anyone.

That’s where you find Sebek, who is in the process of doing his own early morning workout, just as you had expected since you know your hardworking son would never slack on his training no matter the circumstances.

Just as you open your mouth to greet your son, who hasn’t yet noticed your presence due to his back facing you as he sits on the ground and stretches, you decide to take advantage of the fact that he’s completely engrossed in his training and have some fun at his expense.

Stealthily, you tiptoe over to Sebek’s current location, and as soon as he’s within reach, you lunge toward him and wrap your arms around his neck, eliciting a startled sound from him. “Good morning, Sebek!”

Within seconds, you’re flipped over his shoulder and pulled into his arms - a turn of events that you had fully expected, because, of course, you wouldn’t get away with sneaking up on a specially trained retainer who serves the heir to Briar Valley’s royal throne.

Even though Sebek’s actions were completely instinctual, thanks to all the training he has received over the years, he still manages to refrain from being too rough with you, no doubt because he unconsciously registered you as a non-threat, which is also likely how you were able to sneak up on him in the first place.

As a result, Sebek’s manhandling of you is completely pain free, just as you had expected it would be, because you know your son would never hurt you, no matter what.

Grinning, you, after you end up in his lap, once more wrap your arms around your son’s neck, ignoring the irritated expression he’s now sporting because of your sneak attack, and kiss his cheek. “Thank you again for lending me your coat, sweetheart. I slept really well thanks to you.”

His annoyed expression quickly shifts and becomes a mixture of embarrassed and pleased in response to your words. “I’m glad it was of use to you.”

After quickly composing himself, Sebek gives you a disapproving look. “You should know better than to try to sneak up on a retainer of the Great Lord Malleus Draconia, Yuu. I could’ve very easily hurt you just now.”

You affectionately nuzzle his cheek, making him flush. “You would never hurt me, Sebek. That’s why I knew I’d be fine, because I trust you completely.”

Looking as if he can’t decide if he should be exasperated or happy, Sebek lightly knocks his forehead against yours. “Such a troublesome human…”

“YOUR troublesome human.” You cheekily reply as you look into his warm, noticeably fond gaze.

“That you are.” Sebek murmurs, his voice unusually soft, as he cups your cheek with one of his hands and gently strokes your skin with his thumb.

Remembering his jealous behavior from yesterday, you, as you affectionately nuzzle his hand, say, “And I always will be, because I love you so~ much. You’re my precious Sebek, whom I cherish more than anything. No one could ever take your place.”

Surprise briefly crosses his features before his expression becomes a mixture of pleased and smug. “Naturally.”

He brings his face closer to yours, so he can tenderly kiss your cheek. “As if I’d allow anyone else to replace me. When it comes to cherishing you, I won’t lose to anyone.”

Feeling so happy you could burst, you hug him tighter, all the while fighting the urge to squeal since you don’t want to risk being too loud at this early hour since you and Sebek are likely two of the only people in town who have risen before the sun has.

You beam, “That’s right. That’s why I’m the luckiest girl in the world since I’m loved by someone as amazing and wonderful as you.”

Regrettably, just after those words leave your mouth, your happiness quickly turns into dread thanks to your Quirk choosing that moment to activate. In a blink, your surroundings change thanks to a vision overtaking your senses, and you quickly find yourself at the pumpkin patch.

Much to your dismay, soon after the vision begins, you see many of the Halloween Town residents fall victim to some skillfully placed booby traps that are unfortunately not as tame as the ones you had used during Beanfest.

One second, the melting man gets his foot caught in a bear trap, which thankfully doesn’t really hurt him due to his unusual biology, and in the next, you see the werewolf getting chased by bees after a trap he triggered dropped a beehive onto the ground right in front of him.

All around the pumpkin patch, you see these kinds of cruel booby traps go off, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, when the scenery before your eyes abruptly changes, you see similar events happening at the cemetery too, meaning both of the test of courage sites have been sabotaged.

And considering how you see Lock, Shock, and Barrel laughing in your vision, you have a feeling you know exactly who’s to blame for this unfortunate turn of events, and you now also realize why they had been up and about at such a late hour last night before Jamil scared them off.

To say you’re annoyed would be a complete understatement.

Those damn brats… You scowl. I won’t let them get away with this…

That’s a promise.

Shortly after you see Oogie Boogie’s henchmen celebrating the success of their booby traps, your vision comes to an end, causing your eyesight to return to normal.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing you see, after your vision ends, is Sebek’s concerned face, no doubt because you’ve been making some worrisome expressions while you were watching the events of your most recent vision unfold.

Before he can ask what your vision was about, you quickly say, “We gotta wake everyone up ASAP, Sebek! It’s an emergency!”

Knowing there’s no time to waste, you swiftly pull away from Sebek and rise to your feet, so you can head back into Town Hall, with your son hot on your heels.

Immediately after you open the front door and enter the building, you shout, “Everyone, wake up! It’s an emergency!”

“Malleus-sama! Others!” Sebek loudly chimes in. “Please WAKE UP!”

As expected, everyone in the room immediately jolts awake when Sebek’s booming voice fills the room. Some, like Idia and Azul, get so startled that they end up falling off the benches they had been previously sleeping on.

Even Leona wakes up, although you think it’s more so because of the noticeable urgency in your voice since you know the man can sleep through pretty much anything, even Sebek’s yelling.

“Myah?!” Grim cries out in surprise as he shoots straight up into a seated position, like Epel and Skully. “W-What’s going on?!”

Once you see that everyone is awake, you answer, “The test of courage sites have been booby-trapped!”

In complete sync, everyone else, with equal shock and dismay in their voices, shouts, “WHAT?!”

All at once, everyone, who had just woken up, is up on their feet, looking noticeably distressed since obviously the last thing any of you need is for anything to happen that could potentially ruin Halloween and your group's chances of escaping this book you're all trapped inside.

“I just had a vision.” You explain, “In it, many of the locals kept falling victim to booby traps that were laid out at the pumpkin patch and the cemetery, and they’re the bad kind, like I’m talking bear traps, active beehives, and projectile knives kinda bad.”

As everyone's eyes widen, Skully loudly gasps as he cups his cheeks in dismay. “Oh, how positively dreadful! Who would do such a horrible thing to my beloved Halloween?!”

“Who else?” Leona scowls, “This has Oogie’s brats’ names written all over it.”

A matching scowl appears on your face. “It was definitely their work since I saw them laughing in my vision before it ended.”

Plus, they had been at the cemetery last night, but I can’t say that out loud since I don’t wanna have to tell everyone about what happened with Skully for his sake. You internally add, as you share a knowing look with Jamil, who quickly jumps to the same conclusion as you and gives you a subtle nod.

In an instant, everyone’s distress turns into total ire, with Malleus being the most noticeably irate.

As thunder echoes outside, he darkly says, “Those children truly wish to test my patience. I will not allow them to get away with their transgressions.”

“That’s right!” Sebek pipes up, looking just as upset. “How dare they try to sabotage the test of courage my liege has been working so hard on?! They will be severely punished for their insolence!”

“Hold on now.” Trey holds up his hands placatingly. “I agree that the kids shouldn’t be allowed to get away with their crimes, but we can’t go overboard, considering they’re just children. The last thing we need is to get in trouble with Jack-san and the other locals by letting our tempers flare and going too far as a result.”

“Plus, for all we know, we could risk getting a Bad End if the book doesn’t approve of violence against children.” Idia dryly adds.

"At the very least, it had no problem with me using my Unique Magic on them yesterday.” Riddle reveals before narrowing his eyes. “I freed them from their collars at the end of the day since they had refrained from causing Yuu and everyone else any further trouble, but next time, I won’t be so generous.”

“Considering they were so quick to return to their usual mischief, I doubt your collars will be enough to get them under control.” Vil points out, “We need to try a different approach to ensure they can’t further sabotage our Halloween preparations.”

“And we need to keep them away from Yuu-san!” Epel exclaims, “Considering how much they went after her yesterday, I doubt they’re gonna give up so easily!”

“Agreed.” Jade nods. “More than likely, they’re hoping to use the chaos caused by the traps, so they can approach her without having to worry about anyone getting in their way. After all, Yuu-san’s absence will be harder to notice when such a commotion is transpiring.”

Both Grim and Sebek growl in response to his words while you grimace, “Yeah, I could definitely see that being their new strategy since they made zero progress yesterday thanks to Leona-senpai and Riddle-senpai fending them off.”

“Unfortunately for them, they severely underestimated us, and as a result, provided us exactly what we need to keep them contained.”

Upon hearing Jamil’s noticeably pleased voice, everyone turns to look at the smirking Scarabia student, who continues, “Thanks to their recent misdeeds, we now have physical evidence that shows they’ve committed a serious offense - evidence that can easily be traced back to them since I highly doubt they considered the possibility of their unique, individual scents giving them away when they were covering their tracks.”

Your and several others’ expressions brighten in response to his words as you exclaim, “That’s right! With Grim and Leona-senpai on our side, we can easily prove that Lock, Shock, and Barrel were responsible for the traps, and if we present that evidence to Jack-san, we’ll be able to get him to agree to taking action to ensure the kids can’t cause any further trouble!”

“But I wonder if Jack-san would provide a satisfactory punishment for those children.” Azul frowns, “Considering how he acted yesterday, I feel as if he’s more inclined to go easy on them, especially if they make a big show of promising to turn over a new leaf, which I’m sure they would attempt to do in order to get away with their crimes.”

“Yes, Jack-sama is most compassionate indeed.” Skully agrees, “It seems unlikely that he will be too harsh with the children, although I’m sure he would at least give them a good scare.”

“That’s why we won’t leave it to him.” Leona smirks, “While we’ll tell him what’s going on, we’ll be the ones in charge of punishing the brats. After all, until Halloween arrives, it’s not Skellington who’s in charge of everything, remember?”

“Exactly.” Jamil nods. “We’ll tell Jack-san that we have everything under control, so he has no reason to worry about anything other than his own Halloween preparations.”

Grim grins, “Alright! Sounds good to me! So what are we gonna do to those brats? Tie ‘em up and hang ‘em from the highest tree branch or rooftop we can find?”

When you see how several people seem receptive to Grim’s idea, you quickly say, “We can’t do anything that they could possibly cry to Jack-san about later. Plus, for all we know, those kids might actually enjoy that kinda punishment since they’re not exactly normal kids.”

“Good point. They did seem to like being turned into pumpkins, after all.” Epel wryly replies.

“Fufu.” Jade’s eyes twinkle mischievously. “In that case, we should direct our efforts to a punishment that is more psychological than physical, yes?”

“Like locking them in the same room as Jade-shi.” Idia mutters, “That would inflict a critical hit on anyone, especially children. They’d be KO-ed in no time…”

Having overheard his clubmate, Azul smirks, “Why, Idia-san, that’s an excellent idea. Jade would indeed be the perfect person to ‘look after’ those children. I’m sure we’ll have some very ‘fruitful’ results if we take that route. Heh.”

When both Azul and Jade start creepily laughing, making a scared Idia quickly move away from them, Trey, after nervously eyeing the two merfolk, suggests, “Maybe we should make them do something they’d consider boring for the whole day? From my experience, there’s nothing worse for a child than being stuck bored with nothing fun to do for an extended period of time.”

“In that case, we should leave ‘em with Riddle and make ‘em listen to his borin’ lectures all day.” Grim foolishly pipes up, instantly earning himself a sharp glare from the aforementioned redhead.

Quickly, for the sake of your son’s well-being, you interject, “Rather than do one specific thing, we can just let whoever gets put in charge of monitoring the kids do as they please, within reason, of course. We can make it a job that’s done in shifts, so no one has to deal with those kids the whole day and can still have time to do their assigned work for Halloween.”

Thankfully, after briefly considering your idea, everyone agrees to go along with your suggestion.

“Alright, everyone, aside from Yuu and Skully, will have shifts.” Leona decides, “We’ll work out those shifts once we take care of those damn booby traps, which we need to get rid of before the locals start heading for the test of courage sites.”

“Everyone will head to their respective teams’ test of courage sites, except for me since Team Horror needs someone with a good sense of smell.” He continues, “So, while Yuu and her furball lead the search for Team Terror, I’ll take the lead for the other team.”

It’s at that moment a frowning Sebek raises his hand, instantly earning everyone’s attention. “I just realized, thanks to her Quirk’s drawback, won’t removing the booby traps result in Yuu taking all the pain of the injuries that we’ll prevent? I understand that we can’t leave things as they are, but I also can’t approve of endangering her well-being.”

“Eh?!” Skully gasps, looking noticeably dismayed. “Will such a horrible thing truly happen?!”

As a pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his and Sebek's obvious concern on your behalf as well as the worry you see appear on the majority of your other friends’ faces, you answer, “Yes, I do have a drawback that makes it so I take the pain of injuries that I prevent since the future isn’t something that’s meant to be tampered with.”

“However, that drawback doesn’t kick into gear every time I prevent an injury; it only does for serious injuries.” You continue, “Thankfully, despite all the dangerous traps I saw in my vision, I didn’t see anyone come to serious harm, so I don’t think I’ll have to worry about my drawback.”

You give everyone a reassuring smile. “So, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Definitely more fine than I’d be if I had to spend the day walking around a booby-trapped pumpkin patch.” You wryly add.

As several people snort, Jamil nods. “It’s more dangerous to leave the booby traps as they are, so we’ll just need to take a chance with Yuu’s drawback since, otherwise, we stand the risk of remaining inside this book if we allow Oogie and his henchmen to hinder our progress.”

“I’ll keep a close eye on her, just in case, since we’re on the same team.” He offers, “So, if things do go awry on that end, I’ll make sure she gets whatever medical attention she may need.”

“Naturally, I shall do the same.” Riddle chimes in. “I’ll make full use of my extensive medical knowledge.”

When Epel and Grim also quickly declare that they’ll look out for you as well, you give your teammates a grateful smile. “Thanks, guys.”

“Now that that matter has been handled, shall we head for the test of courage sites?” Malleus inquires, “I am quite eager to ruin all of the efforts of those impudent children.”

“Heh, for once, we’re actually in agreement.” Leona smirks, “Just don’t destroy everything since we’ll need that incriminating evidence to ensure the brats don’t get away scot-free.”

A matching smirk appears on Malleus’s face. “Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to ensure that does not happen since I am quite looking forward to having a turn ‘monitoring’ them. Heh.”

Smirks appear on almost all of your friends’ faces as Leona replies, “Aren’t we all?”

Fortunately, thanks to Grim’s and Leona’s keen senses of smell and your ability to completely recount everything that happens in your visions, you and your friends are able to find all of the booby straps that Oogie’s henchmen set up in the pumpkin patch and the cemetery.

It was quite the time consuming process due to the sheer amount of booby traps, but thankfully, you all were able to complete the task by the time the residents of Halloween Town started showing up at the test of courage sites.

And, during this time, much to everyone’s relief, your drawback never kicked into gear, confirming your suspicions that no serious injuries would've been sustained because of those booby traps, although there’s also a chance that your drawback didn’t activate, because you had wished that it wouldn’t as you were helping your team get rid of all the booby traps in the pumpkin patch; you had figured you might as well make the wish, just in case the book would be kind to you like the other book had been when it had granted all of the wishes you had made during that adventure with Stitch.

Once all of the booby traps have been found and destroyed, aside from the ones that were chosen to be used as evidence against Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and a schedule for monitoring the kids has been decided, everyone splits up, so you can all get to work on today’s Halloween preparations and take care of rounding up Oogie’s henchmen to ensure they can’t cause any more trouble today.

At his insistence, Malleus gets the fun job of capturing the bad kid trio and bringing them to a suitable spot in town where they can be monitored, and naturally, Sebek accompanies him.

While there had been some reservations about this arrangement, considering how Malleus had acted last night, you all agreed in the end to let Malleus deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel once he promised that he wouldn’t lose his temper.

Briefly, you had considered accompanying Malleus and Sebek to make sure everything goes smoothly on their end, but you had decided against it in the end since you think it’s for the best that you stay away from Lock, Shock, and Barrel as long as Oogie has a target on your back.

Instead, you, along with Skully, Grim, and Leona, the latter of whom is back on guard duty, take the job of finding Jack and telling him about the booby traps that Lock, Shock, and Barrel had planted at the test of courage sites as your group presents the evidence you all had collected to him.

And, as expected, when the four of you deliver the horrible news to Jack, he is not pleased.

“They did WHAT?!”

Catching everyone, aside from you, off guard, Jack roars with noticeable fury as his countenance becomes downright terrifying, instantly reminding everyone that this man is called the Master of Fright for a reason.

“Myah!” Grim yelps before he quickly moves to hide behind your legs. “That’s one scary skeleton!”

Sounding like the fangirl characters you’ve seen in anime, Skully excitedly gasps as he rests his clasped hands against his heart. “Ah, the way my heart trembles! As expected of Jack-sama, the King of Halloween! I am honored to bear witness to his fearsome visage firsthand!”

“Guess he’s not just all talk.” Leona drawls, “Could’ve fooled me with how he acted yesterday.”

Having expected this sort of reaction from Jack, whose reaction to the Easter Bunny getting mistakenly kidnapped in The Nightmare Before Christmas you will always be able to clearly remember for obvious reasons, you remain mostly unfazed by Jack’s anger and just chuckle upon hearing Leona’s remark. “While he has a sweet, gentlemanly demeanor, there’s a reason why he’s the top dog in the town that’s all about thrills and chills.”

After making that remark, you return your attention to Jack, whom your group had just finished telling about the situation at hand, having told him everything aside from the fact that you had a vision since you all had decided to keep your Quirk a secret from the locals for now since the last thing you want is for the wrong people to accidentally find out about it.

Instead of saying you had a vision about the booby traps, Leona had lied and said you all just headed to the pumpkin patch and the cemetery early and ended up discovering the booby traps by chance.

“Regrettably, the kids went too far with their mischief.” You say after meeting Jack's gaze. “Thankfully, we were able to find all the booby traps, because Grim and Leona-senpai have such great senses of smell. The kids didn’t think that they’d leave a scent trail, so we were able to use that to our advantage.”

“I can’t believe those kids!” Jack deeply frowns as he crosses his arms. “There’s nothing wrong with a little mischief on Halloween, but they indeed went too far! I cannot allow them to get away with this, especially since someone could’ve gotten hurt and missed out on celebrating Halloween with the rest of us, which is the worst possible crime you can commit!”

“Absolutely!” Skully vigorously nods in agreement. “It’s exactly as you say, Jack-sama!”

While Leona rolls his eyes and Grim shakes his head, you smile, “Don’t worry, Jack-san. We’ve got things all under control. Tsunotaro and Sebek volunteered to find Lock, Shock, and Barrel, so they won’t get into any more mischief. And my friends plan on taking turns supervising the kids to ensure they remain on their best behavior.”

“And we’ll take care of disciplining the brats.” Leona grins, “Out of the goodness of our hearts, we wanted to handle this matter for you since you’re already quite busy getting ready for the big Halloween surprise you're preparing for Yuu and the townsfolk.”

Jack blinks in surprise before smiling, “Why, that’s most kind of you guys! It is true that I have much to do today, so it would make things easier for me if I relied on you Twisted Wonderland folks to handle Lock, Shock, and Barrel, although I hate troubling you guys when you’re already doing so much to help me and the rest of the town out.”

“It is no trouble at all, Jack-sama!” Skully quickly assures him. “We are more than happy to do whatever we can to be of assistance to you and ease your burdens!”

“Yeah, right. What he said.” Grim dryly agrees, making you giggle.

“Just leave it to us, Jack-san.” You remark, “We’ll make sure those kids stay outta trouble and learn their lesson.”

“Ah, but we do need your help with one matter.” You add, “We were wondering where we could take the kids, so we could give them a proper lecture without having to worry about disturbing anyone.”

“Oh, in that case, feel free to use my house!” Jack offers as he gestures toward the building right behind him. “I intend to be out and about all day, along with Zero, so it’ll be available to use all day.”

While Zero, who has been hovering beside the skeleton all this time, cheerfully barks, Skully cups his face with a gasp. “Eh?! Jack-sama’s very own personal abode?! But-!”

Before he can say something along the lines of you all not being worthy of the honor of using such a venerable place, Leona cuts him off. “Perfect. Thanks, Skellington. We’ll be sure to keep the brats on a tight leash, so they don’t make a mess.”

“If that happens, it’s totally fine.” Jack waves his hand dismissively. “I’ve been meaning to tidy up the place anyway. We should do that after Halloween’s over, huh, Zero?”

While the ghost dog barks in agreement, you chuckle, “We’ll be sure to pass that along to the others. Thank you for allowing us to use your home, Jack-san.”

“And thank you all for your hard work!” Jack cheerfully replies, “Thanks to you guys, our Halloween preparations are still right on track, and I’m sure we’ll make even more progress today because you guys are such hard workers!”

With a cheerful bark, Zero flies over to you, so he can lick your cheek, making you giggle.

Jack laughs, “Zero thinks so too!”

“Hey, what’d I say about gettin’ too friendly with my henchman?!” Grim scowls as he shakes his clenched paw at Zero.

Completely unfazed by Grim’s ire, Zero quickly approaches your partner and begins eagerly licking him, much to his annoyance. “Oi! Knock it off!”

“Looks like Zero and Grim-kun are getting along as well as ever.” Jack grins, “I’m glad!”

While Zero barks in agreement, Grim vehemently disagrees, “No, we ain’t! Ya need to get your eye sockets checked!”

Both you and Leona snort at Grim’s response while Skully remarks, “Ah, it truly is enviable how much Zero-sama likes Grim-san. Yes, truly enviable...”

It’s at that moment you get a great idea that you think everyone will benefit a lot from, Skully especially. “Hey, Jack-san, if you’re not too busy right now, do you think you and Zero could give Skully and Grim a quick tour of your home, so one person from each test of courage team can learn where everything is and pass along that info to their teammates?”

“Since the day has only just begun, I think Team Horror's test of courage will be fine without Skully's supervision, but just in case, I'll ask Vil-senpai, whom I had promised to meet up with after this, to keep an eye on things until Skully can return to his Pumpkin King duties.” You add.

“EH?!” Skully uncharacteristically raises his voice to a shout. “A tour of Jack-sama’s home?!”

Upon realizing what he just did, he awkwardly coughs as he quickly collects himself. “Ah, pardon me.”

Completely unfazed by Skully’s outburst, Jack smiles, “Sure, we don’t mind! Right, Zero?”

Barking happily, Zero finally stops licking a relieved Grim and flies over to the skeleton, who turns to head toward his house.

“Follow me, Grim-kun, Skully-kun!” Jack exclaims, “We’ll give you the grand tour!”

Skully once again cups his cheeks as he excitedly squeals, “A tour of Jack-sama’s home! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!”

As expected, the fanboy wastes no time in following after his idol. Meanwhile, Grim, who unsurprisingly doesn't look the least bit enthusiastic about this turn of events, gives you a look. “I better get a lotta candy for this.”

“I’ll put in a request.” You amusedly promise as you reach down to pat his head. “Just do your best today, Grim, and thank you in advance for your cooperation.”

After that exchange, your grumpy partner grudgingly follows after Skully, so he can take part in Jack’s house tour.

Soon after that, you find yourself alone with Leona, who raises an eyebrow at you, prompting you to explain, “I just wanted to do something nice for Skully since he loves Jack-san so much. Plus, it really is for the best that you guys learn the layout of the building from Jack-san, just in case there’s like a secret exit that the kids could use to their advantage.”

“Also, earlier, after we had finished dealing with the booby traps, I had noticed Skully had been doing some sulking, although he was quick to deny my observation.” You add, “That’s why I wanted to do something that would help cheer him up.”

Much to your surprise, Leona drawls, “The badger was sulking ‘cause he and that loudmouth crocodile had gotten into a stupid argument about who was better: Skellington or the horned bastard. They were butting heads almost the entire time we were removing the booby traps. Got on my damn nerves.”

Once you overcome your surprise, you snort, “That would be the one of the only things that would get Skully worked up enough to get into an argument with someone, especially considering how Sebek gets when Tsunotaro is concerned. Now, I feel bad for the Team Horror guys since they have to put up with those two when they get worked up about their idols.”

Leona smirks, “I don’t.”

You roll your eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

Right after that exchange, the two of you begin heading to Dr. Finkelstein and Sally’s home, because Vil had ordered you to meet him there once your business with Jack was done, so he could take care of your hair and overall appearance for you and make you presentable, because he obviously couldn’t allow you to make NRC look bad by walking around looking unkempt.

After the next few minutes pass in silence, Leona eventually breaks the silence when he asks, “What do you think the Boogeyman will do now that his henchmen are unavailable? Do you think he’ll lay low in his lair for the day or finally do his own dirty work?”

The corners of your lips dip downwards. “Honestly, I don’t know. I really think he fears Jack-san too much to risk coming into town and facing him, but at the same time, I can’t see him just sitting back and doing nothing.”

You consider Oogie’s options for a moment before remarking, “If whoever was behind the alley incident was an underling of his that the book created for him, then it’s likely he’ll use them again, but if he doesn’t have any other henchmen, the only thing I can think of that he could do without leaving his lair and coming out of the shadows is sending his bugs after us since that’s something that can be done indiscreetly just as long as he doesn’t just unleash a whole horde of them on us, and I think he’d prefer that over having to fight anyone face-to-face since he’s not really built for that kinda combat.”

Upon realizing what that means for Jamil, you grimace, “I should tell Jamil-senpai to spend the whole day in the kitchen with Sally-san, just in case. Otherwise, there’s a strong chance the pumpkin patch will get enveloped by a sea of flames since fire magic is his go-to when he panics at the sight of a bug.”

“Good idea.” Leona dryly replies, “Don’t want that idiot making things even more complicated for us.”

Ignoring the disapproving look you give him when he insults Jamil, he continues, “So, for the time being, we’ll all keep an eye out for any suspicious bugs but still be on our guard for any other new tricks he has that we’re just unaware of, like whatever he used yesterday in that alley, if that was, in fact, him and not just a new underling the book gave him.”

Upon remembering that chilling, leering gaze from yesterday, you involuntarily shiver. “Right. No matter what, we can’t let our guard down since anything’s possible in this fictional world we’re trapped in.”

Thankfully, your unease quickly fades thanks to Leona, whose tail comfortingly wraps around your wrist as he replies, “We won’t.”

At least, or so you both thought.

After getting your hair taken care of by Vil, who had also treated your skin using a lotion he put together using the ingredients Dr. Finkelstein and Sally had at their disposal, which was the reason why he had headed over to their house in the first place, you ask him to watch over Team Horror's test of courage preparations until Skully arrives to take over before advising Jamil, who had decided to start off the day by working in the kitchen with Sally, to just stay indoors today. Once that's all taken care of, you head to the pumpkin patch along with Leona.

As expected, once you reach the pumpkin patch, it’s not long before you find yourself with plenty of work to do, because, just like yesterday, the locals are quick to seek you out whenever they need help or advice.

That’s how the whole morning passes, with you constantly on the move, helping out as many people as you can with Team Terror’s test of courage preparations, just like yesterday.

Thankfully, however, there is one difference from yesterday - a very wonderful difference:

You don’t have to be on the receiving end of anyone’s scaring attempts.

All thanks to Leona, Epel, and Riddle, who, whenever they see you get put into that kind of position, quickly intervene and volunteer to take your place, much to your immense relief.

As a result, you’re able to have an enjoyable morning since, while you are constantly kept busy, you have a fun time working on your team’s test of courage, which has been making some great progress - so great that the mayor was all smiles when he came by to briefly check on how things were progressing.

Of course, what makes this morning especially awesome is the fact that you haven’t had to deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel bothering you, because Malleus and Sebek were successful in apprehending them and keeping them detained at Jack’s house.

Even better, according to Riddle, who was one of the first people who got to monitor the kids, Lock, Shock, and Barrel have been successfully cowed, largely thanks to Malleus, who, along with Sebek, naturally got the first supervising shift.

Although the children hadn’t been afraid of Malleus yesterday and were even willing to grab his horns, in Shock’s case, that quickly changed, because, although he was keeping his temper in check, Malleus was still noticeably irate because of what happened last night and this morning - so irate that not even those seemingly fearless kids could remain unfazed.

Because an angry Malleus Draconia is not someone anyone should ever mess with, not if they want a long life, that is.

Under normal circumstances, you’d feel bad for Lock, Shock, and Barrel, but you can’t bring yourself to feel much pity after this morning’s events since those booby traps were a pain to deal with.

And, of course, more than anything, it angers you just to think of all the people who could’ve gotten hurt by those booby traps if the worst case scenario had happened.

To you, there’s no greater offense than potentially putting your friends, especially your sons, in danger, so those kids definitely are reaping what they sowed.

That’s why you’re able to enjoy today, with your mind completely guilt free, just like the rest of your friends, two of whom call out to you around the middle of the day, just after you finish advising one of the local vampires.

“Hey, Yuu-san, why don’t you take a break? You’ve been working hard all morning!”

“Yes, Epel is right, Yuu. It is admirable that you’re so dedicated to your work, but you need to take breaks whenever you can. Otherwise, you’ll experience burnout.”

Upon hearing Epel’s and Riddle’s voices, you turn toward the direction they came from and notice your friends’ approach.

Since the redhead makes a good point and it is true that you’ve been working several hours now without a break, you nod. “Alright, I’ll do that. The last thing I wanna do is experience burnout and worry everyone, and I especially don’t wanna risk hindering all our great progress.”

“I promised Leona-senpai I wouldn’t leave the pumpkin patch without an escort, so until he gets back from his shift with Lock, Shock, and Barrel, I’ll just hang out at the piano Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai brought over here.” You continue, “Playing the piano sounds like a good way to relax.”

Riddle smiles approvingly. “Not only that, it will also allow us to know where you are even when we are preoccupied with our work, so I think that’s an excellent idea.”

Nodding, Epel grins, “It’ll definitely bring up the mood around here too if we get some great music to listen to while we’re working!”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “In that case, I’ll do my best to put on a good show for everyone since I’d hate to disappoint.”

After that exchange, you head toward the back of the pumpkin patch. Meanwhile, Riddle and Epel resume their work on Team Terror’s test of courage preparations.

Fortunately, during the trek to the area where the piano is, no one calls out to you, asking for help, so you’re able to reach your destination without getting distracted along the way, much to your relief.

Upon reaching the piano, you gingerly sit down on the small, old piano bench and begin stretching your fingers.

Once you finish your usual warm-up routine, you start playing whatever Halloween-related tunes you can think of on the piano, although you refrain from playing anything from The Nightmare Before Christmas since “This Is Halloween” is being used as a reference for the music that will be played during Jack’s big surprise for you and the other Halloween Town residents, and you obviously don't want to risk spoiling that surprise.

As far as the other songs from the movie are concerned, you just don’t want to risk any of the locals asking too many questions that you won’t know how to answer.

Because there are only so many actual Halloween songs, you also just play any kind of music you’re familiar with that has a spooky vibe or anything that you think will be well-received by the residents of Halloween Town and your friends since you’d really like to be able to amp them up with your music, if you can.

Thankfully, it seems your efforts were successful since several of the locals come by to praise your piano-playing skills and thank you for the music, and you also hear similar remarks from people who raise their voices so that they’ll be heard from whatever part of the pumpkin patch they’re currently working in.

Naturally, such a positive reception just further motivates you, so you start playing the piano with even more gusto since you don’t want to disappoint your audience.

Plus, just as you had hoped, playing the piano really does end up helping you relax, so the more you play, the better you feel, making you glad that you decided to spend your break like this.

The corners of your lips curve upwards. I’m really glad that Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai brought this piano over here. Getting to have fun playing music and listen to everyone’s kind feedback really is the perfect way to take a break. By the time my break’s over, I’ll be completely re-energized and ready to take on the rest of the day.

And, of course, just after you think that, everything promptly goes to hell.

Because that would be just your luck, now wouldn’t it?

It happens in an instant.

One moment, you’re having fun playing the piano, and in the next, your joy turns into pure terror.

Because you feel a pair of leering eyes on your back - the same eyes that had been hungrily boring into you yesterday morning.

As if that wasn’t already bad enough, you feel an all-encompassing pressure suddenly come down upon you with a force that makes you gasp due to how intense it is.

Immediately, you find yourself struggling to breathe, because it now feels as if you’ve got a huge anvil on your chest despite your upright position. As the seconds pass, it progressively becomes more difficult for you to breathe thanks to the mysterious pressure, which makes it feel as gravity itself is boring down on you, weighing so heavily on you.

Not only that, your whole body begins to shake, because your body temperature drastically lowers just as abruptly as your breathing troubles start.

However, that isn’t the only reason you’re furiously trembling.

Scared. I’m so scared. Your eyes well with tears. I haven’t felt this kind of fear since I left my world. I didn’t think anyone could ever scare me as much as Mumei, but obviously, I was wrong.

For some reason, out of nowhere, a tidal wave of pure, unbridled terror washes over you, making you feel absolutely petrified - to the point you find it incredibly difficult to collect your thoughts and think about anything other than how scared you are.

I’m in danger. You realize with dread. I’m gonna get eaten…

Because Oogie Boogie has to be responsible for this, considering those hungry, leering eyes that are boring into you can’t belong to anyone other than him.

After all, considering he is the Boogeyman, it would make perfect sense if he had the ability to make his victims suddenly feel the intense level of fear that’s currently consuming you. If anyone could have such a terrifying ability, it would be him, meaning he must have somehow been in the alley yesterday.

More than anything, you want to scream - to run for help, but unfortunately, you can’t thanks to the oppressive pressure in the air, which makes you unable to move away from the piano.

And you also can’t speak, because it currently feels like an invisible hand made of pure ice is clutching your throat, which is another reason why you’re having such a difficult time breathing. Right now, all you are able to do is play the piano, something that your body feels compelled to keep doing.

Whether you’re currently playing the piano because Oogie is somehow willing you to do it to ensure no one comes to check on you or you are unconsciously making yourself do it because you instinctively know that you’ll be in danger if you stop, you’re not sure, but regardless, you know that everything is going according to Oogie’s wishes.

And you hate it. You hate how, despite everyone being on their guard and being so careful, Oogie was still able to get the drop on you in the end. You hate that you have no idea how you’re going to get out of this dangerous situation you’ve found yourself in.

Regrettably, the more you think about how hopeless your situation is, the more fear you feel and the more difficult it becomes for you to breathe. Despite all your best attempts to remain focused - to think of a plan, you can’t stop yourself from becoming completely consumed by your fear.

Fortunately for you, just when you feel like you’re about to pass out due to hyperventilating, you’re abruptly pulled out of your petrified headspace by the sound of a familiar voice.

“Eeek!”

Upon hearing a startled shriek that you instantly recognize as belonging to Idia as well as the sound of children’s laughter, you quickly realize that some of the kids on Team Terror must have decided to have some fun at Idia’s expense by scaring him.

Thanks to Idia, who must have just recently arrived at the pumpkin patch since you hadn’t seen him all morning, distracting you, some of your fear partially abates due to your focus moving elsewhere. Taking advantage of this, you quickly try to figure out how to get out of the mess you’re in before your fear regains its previous hold on you.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think there’s any way for me to save myself with just my own power. You think to yourself. I need help. I just don’t know how to get it since I can’t speak or do anything other than play the piano.

You bite your lip. While I could try stopping my piano-playing to see if that will earn anyone’s attention, I’m worried about what Oogie may do as a result since there’s a chance that that’s the moment he’s waiting for to strike, considering he hasn’t tried to approach me yet and just seems to be playing with me from a distance in the shadows, probably ‘cause he’s the type who plays with his food.

Obviously, the last thing you want to do is play into the Boogeyman’s hands, so you need to think about what else you can do.

If only there was a song I could play that would be like a secret SOS message. You muse, all the while trying to fight against the fear that wants to once again completely consume you. Then, I could call for help without arousing Oogie's suspicion.

Seconds after that thought crosses your mind, an idea suddenly comes to mind, causing your eyes to go wide. That’s it!

Quickly, you finish up the song you had previously been playing and begin playing “Souls of the Damned”, a song sung by Idia’s beloved idol group, Precipice Moirai.

You pick that song, because it has the kind of beat that’s similar to all the songs you’ve played thus far, meaning it won’t make Oogie suspicious, but most importantly, because Idia knows it by heart.

However, you don’t play the song exactly as how it’s always played whenever Premo performs it. You make slight alterations to the song here and there as you play - alterations so small that only the most dedicated Premo fan would notice.

Please notice, Idia-senpai! You internally plead. Just like Ivy did when Victor used his piano-playing to secretly tell her that he was in trouble in that one episode of Super Sleuth!

Super Sleuth is an anime that you got into thanks to the Shroud brothers, which you often watch with them when you all have the time. The show is about a police detective named Ivy who, despite being human, has incredibly sharp senses, like a Beastman, which she uses to solve the crime cases that get assigned to her.

Victor is her little brother, who appears in every episode due to him living with Ivy rather than their parents due to her apartment being closer to the prestigious music college he attends thanks to a special scholarship.

Amazingly enough, in one episode of that series, Victor ends up in a predicament similar to your own, except, rather than get targeted by the Boogeyman, Victor gets targeted by a guy around his age named Axel, who had pretended to share Victor’s love of music just so he could get close to Victor, all because he had wanted to use Victor to get revenge against Ivy who had played a role in Axel’s father’s arrest in a past episode.

After winning Victor’s trust enough that he got invited over to the apartment where Ivy and Victor live, Axel pulled out his gun, revealing that he had intended to use Victor as his hostage so he could get his revenge on Ivy.

Thinking it would cause Ivy to let her guard down, Axel forced Victor to play his keyboard piano, because he had thought that, when she came home, Ivy would immediately assume upon hearing the music that her brother is perfectly safe and would proceed to walk into Victor’s room with her guard down, which is when Axel would make his move.

Unfortunately for Axel, Victor had no intention to allow his sister to come to harm’s way, especially not because of a mistake he had made. That’s why, the whole time he was playing, he played songs that Ivy was incredibly familiar with but played them with just enough of a difference that only someone with keen hearing like her would notice.

Because of Victor’s quick thinking, Ivy immediately knew something was wrong as soon as she returned home and heard his piano-playing, so as a result, she was able to call for backup and get the drop on Axel, resulting in Victor getting saved and Axel getting put behind bars.

Since that strategy worked out so well for Victor, you’re hoping that you’ll also be so fortunate. You’re hoping that Idia will not only recognize that you’re playing a Premo song a little differently than usual but also realize you’re doing this as a cry for help.

Tears cloud your vision once again as you futilely try to fight off the effects of the unbridled fear that’s progressively regaining its previous hold on you. Please save me, Idia-senpai!

Seconds after you internally cry out for your upperclassman to save you, two things happen simultaneously:

The oppressive pressure that’s been weighing so heavily on you all this time abruptly vanishes.

A familiar, concerned voice calls out to you.

“Yuu-shi!”

Like a puppet that has gotten its strings cut, you suddenly fall forward, no longer able to remain upright once the oppressive pressure disappears, and collapse against the piano, causing a cacophonous sound to fill the air due to you unintentionally smashing so many keys.

“Yuu-shi!”

Once again, Idia calls out your name, this time sounding even more worried and panicked, but you’re unable to respond, because you promptly black out.

Fortunately, you only lose consciousness for a moment, or at least, you’re assuming not much time has passed since, when you later regain consciousness, you find yourself in the arms of Idia, who’s currently crouched down beside the piano you had previously been collapsed against.

Appearing understandably freaked out, Idia asks, “What the hell is going on?! I got your Premo-themed SOS, so I figured your SSS-rank bad luck caused you to trigger a dangerous side event, but this is way worse than I was imagining! What did that ridiculously named final boss do?! And how did he do it without anyone noticing him?!”

“Your skin feels like you got hit by a damn freeze status ailment, and you’ve been having trouble breathing since I got here!” He continues, his voice increasing in volume and speed due to his panic. “What happened?! And why the hell are you alone?! Why am I the only one smart enough to know you don’t leave the heroine alone in high stakes events like this?!”

Under normal circumstances, you would be quick to try to get Idia to calm down and explain what’s going on, and of course, you would waste no time in thanking him for saving you and apologizing for worrying him. You would also insist on tracking down Oogie, who somehow managed to escape before Idia arrived, considering you don't see any signs of the Boogeyman or hear him, which you definitely would if Idia had caught the villain in the act since you know Idia, who's strong enough to face off against someone like the Boogeyman, wouldn't have allowed Oogie escape if he had seen the villain.

Unfortunately for Idia, you do none of those things, because your current circumstances are anything but normal. Much to Iida’s great dismay, you, upon realizing that you’re safe now that he’s here, promptly burst into tears.

Your tears are partially a side-effect of the traumatic experience you just endured but mostly just you non-verbally expressing your immense relief and happiness over the fact that Idia came for you when you needed him most.

“Eh?!” Idia yelps as his eyes grow as wide as saucers. “W-Why are you suddenly crying?! D-Did I pick the wrong dialogue option?!”

Unable to find your voice, most likely due to the remnants of Oogie’s fear-inducing ability affecting you, you just shake your head before quickly wrapping your arms, which feel noticeably heavy due to the exhaustion now heavily weighing on you because of Oogie, around Idia’s neck, eliciting a startled sound from your now incredibly flustered upperclassman.

You hug him as tightly as your tired arms will allow and bury your face against his neck that feels great on your cool skin due to it being so warm thanks to Idia’s embarrassment.

Fortunately, rather than complain, Idia, who predictably panics because of your tears and because you suddenly cling onto him with all your might, just helplessly flails for several seconds before slowly moving to return your embrace.

As the time passes with you being unable to do anything other than cry and tremble in his arms, Idia’s grip on you progressively gets tighter.

At the same time, the air around you becomes noticeably warmer because of his hair, which is now a mixture of red, orange, and yellow, a clear indicator of his current mood.

That’s why you’re not surprised when, after Idia eventually breaks his silence, he darkly growls, “The Boogeyman is gonna be a DEAD man by the time this event ends.”

He’ll make sure of it.

Chapter Text

After giving you a few minutes to cry and let out all of your pent-up emotions, Idia, who has calmed down by this point and is no longer fuming, mutters, “Uh, I know you’re not the type to cry unless you really need to, but do you think you can pause that for long enough that we can do something about whatever status ailment you’ve got that’s got you sounding like you’re on the verge of hyperventilating? If this keeps up, you’re gonna pass out again, and I’d really rather you NOT do that…”

Since he makes an excellent point, you pull your face away from Idia's neck and try to rein in your tears since all this crying you’ve been doing has just been making breathing even more difficult for you, although you had still continued to do it this whole time anyway, because you were unable to contain your tears.

While you scrub the tears away from your eyes, you try to calm your breathing down by taking slow, deep breaths.

Regrettably, you’re not too successful with that endeavor, because, even though you can no longer feel Oogie’s eyes on you, it still feels as if there’s an invisible hand squeezing your throat, which is the reason why you’ve been struggling to breathe all this time despite the fact that there’s no longer a heavy pressure on your chest.

Much to your surprise, as you’re working on composing yourself and regulating your breathing, Idia abruptly moves to stand and simultaneously pulls you into a bridal carry.

As you’re wondering if Idia is actually stronger than you had originally thought or if he’s using magic to help him carry you, he says, “While you work on that annoying status ailment, I’m getting us outta here since this area is making my skin crawl, probably an aftereffect of whatever ridiculously OP move only the final boss can do.”

When Idia starts moving, you quickly realize he’s heading away from where all the people in the pumpkin patch are, obviously intending to leave the area via an exit that will allow him to avoid dealing with anyone.

Upon remembering Riddle and Epel, who should still be somewhere in the pumpkin patch and who, for some reason, haven’t shown up yet despite your piano-playing coming to an abrupt halt, you start tugging on Idia's clothes to gain his attention.

Since you’re still unable to speak thanks to whatever Oogie did to you, you gesture toward the part of the pumpkin patch where everyone else is and try to silently convey that you don’t want to worry your other friends by disappearing without any warning.

Thankfully, because he’s so smart, it doesn’t take long for Idia to figure out what you’re trying to tell him. “I’m guessing you don’t like the idea of leaving without telling any of the other NRC guys on our team since only you would worry about that despite the kinda state you’re in.”

When you nod, Idia surprises you when he scowls, “So there WERE other NRC students here with you. I had wondered if you had been dumb enough to stick around here on your own while everyone else worked on their other projects, considering I haven't seen anyone else from NRC since I got here, but it looks like the ones to blame are the idiots who were supposed to keep an eye on you.”

His scowl deepens as the tips of his hair turn red, yellow, and orange. “Didn’t they realize that they were practically begging the final boss to make a move by leaving you in such a vulnerable position? It’s like I’m surrounded by brainless fools!”

All you can do is stare at him with wide eyes. Riddle-senpai and Epel aren’t at the pumpkin patch anymore? But there’s no way they would’ve left without telling me. Unless…

The corners of your lips dip downward. Unless Oogie Boogie managed to distract them to keep them from interfering…

Because you trust Riddle and Epel, you know they wouldn’t have purposely left you on your own, especially not without telling you. Obviously, something happened that has kept them completely distracted, and considering the timing, it seems highly likely that Oogie is responsible for your friends being unable to come to your aid.

Considering Oogie’s actions are pretty limited when there are so many potential witnesses around, you’re confident that Riddle and Epel aren’t in any danger, especially considering how strong the redhead is. No doubt Oogie would want to keep his distance from Riddle after finding out about his Unique Magic from Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

That makes you think that Oogie just created some kind of distraction to keep your two friends preoccupied long enough that they wouldn’t come check up on you while Oogie was going after you.

Quickly, you try to non-verbally express your thoughts to Idia, who has once again resumed trying to leave the area, and like last time, Idia is able to figure out what you’re saying without much difficulty.

He frowns, “I don’t care if they likely got distracted by the final boss. That just further proves that they’re idiots. They shouldn’t have let themselves get so easily manipulated!”

Realizing that there’s nothing you can do to stop Idia from being upset with Riddle and Epel, you instead decide to take a different approach since you really don’t want to leave without any warning and worry your other friends.

That’s why you pull out your puppy dog eyes and start pouting, causing Idia to start twitching after he makes direct eye contact with you.

Knowing how weak Idia is to this move thanks to Ortho, whose puppy dog eyes are downright lethal, you make yourself look as pitiful as possible and are very successful with that endeavor since you already look pretty pitiful as it is thanks to what Oogie put you through.

Which is why Idia ends up surrendering even sooner than you had originally expected. “Oh, fine! I’ll let the idiots know you’re with me, so knock it off already!”

As you internally cheer, Idia grumbles under his breath as he uses his magic to create his trademark blue fire, which he then magically moves toward the piano and has it hover above it like a will o’ the wisp.

When you tilt your head curiously in response to his actions, Idia explains, “I don’t feel like looking for anyone, so I’ll just leave that for anyone who comes looking for you to find. No one, aside from probably your sons, should have trouble recognizing my magic, so when they see that, they’ll know you’re with me.”

He gives you an exasperated look. “Satisfied? NOW, can we go?”

Nodding, you reach up to gently pat his cheek as a show of thanks, smiling all the while, causing him to avert his now embarrassed gaze.

“Quit worrying about those stupid normies and get back to focusing on your breathing.” Idia orders as he hurries to leave the pumpkin patch. “It’s not as bad as earlier, but it’s obviously still not in good shape, considering you can’t even talk.”

Regrettably, you don’t think that’s the only reason why you can’t talk, considering you’re currently unable to make any noise whatsoever, which should be possible despite you having such a difficult time breathing.

For some reason, no matter how hard you try, you’re unable to make any kind of sound, not even when you simply try to groan or grunt. You’ve become completely mute.

You grimace. I sure hope this is just temporary since not having a voice is gonna make acting as Jack’s temporary replacement a whole lot more difficult.

Upon remembering your job as Jack’s temporary replacement, you internally groan. So much for just taking a short break. Considering the current state I’m in, I doubt I’ll be able to do any work anytime soon, especially once all my friends find out what happened.

Which is honestly for the best since, while you hate the thought of slacking, you can’t deny the fact that you’re not in any condition to supervise Team Terror’s test of courage preparations, and you doubt your recovery will be a swift one, considering your luck.

I’ll just have to ask Leona-senpai to take over for me since he’s so good at handling whatever the locals throw at him. You think to yourself. I think he’d be willing to do it if I promise to rest and take it easy in the meantime.

After you make that decision, you notice that you and Idia have finally left the pumpkin patch, having successfully avoided running into anyone in the process. You’re not the least bit surprised by this since the introvert is an expert at avoiding social interactions.

Of course, Idia-senpai has already planned and memorized an escape route when he needs to leave the pumpkin patch unnoticed. You dryly muse. I bet he’s already mapped out escape routes for Halloween Town as well since he’s always prepared for that sorta thing.

By the looks of your surroundings, it seems likely that Idia is heading back to Halloween Town, which is for the best since Oogie will be less likely to make a scene there due to Jack’s presence.

However, you’re not sure where exactly you and Idia should go upon reaching the town since, during the day, Town Hall is being used by the team that’s in charge of making decorations for your special Halloween surprise.

Since you obviously don’t want to go there at the risk of possibly seeing everything that Sebek and the others have been working on, you’ll need to find another location to recuperate.

You’re sure Idia is thinking similarly, but regrettably, you can’t ask him about what you both should do since you’re still unable to find your voice, even after thankfully making some progress with regulating your breathing.

Much to your immense relief, after Idia took you away from the area where you were attacked, you started to have a much less difficult time breathing, so it was obviously a smart move on his part to change locations.

A frown forms on your lips. It’s become easier to breathe now, but I still can’t make a sound. I wonder why…

For a while, you become lost in thought as you ponder this perplexing, worrisome matter - to the point you lose track of your surroundings since you’re so focused on figuring out what’s going on with you.

That’s why you’re surprised when Idia suddenly sits down with you in his lap on a bench that appears to be on the outskirts of town in a secluded corner, which you assume the locals use whenever they want a quiet moment to themselves where they can peacefully look at the sky and the pumpkin patch that’s off in the distance.

“Whew.” Idia, who appears noticeably tired and out of breath thanks to all the exercise he just did, releases a sigh of relief. “Mission clear. GJ, me.”

As you give him an amused look, he huffs, “It wasn’t easy, though. I’m really not cut out for rescue missions, even with magic helping me. Can’t believe how easy shounen protags make it look whenever they’re carrying people to safety. Otakus really aren’t built for that sorta thing.”

Looks like Idia did use his magic to help him carry you to safety. That definitely makes a lot more sense than him doing it without any help, considering his lack of athleticism and muscles.

Smiling, you reach up to gently pat his head, hoping your actions will properly convey your gratitude since you still can’t verbally thank him for coming to your rescue.

In response to your actions, Idia frowns, “Why are you still so silent even after getting your breathing under control? Isn’t this the part when shounen protags like you give a big speech about how proud you are of me and the powers of friendship and all that other nonsense?”

Your smile falls as you proceed to open and close your mouth repeatedly, all the while still failing to make a sound despite all your best efforts thanks to the phantom feeling of an ice-cold hand still clutching your throat.

Soon after, realization slowly dawns on your now horrified upperclassman’s face. “Yuu-shi…can you…not talk…at all…?”

When you sadly shake your head, Idia quickly moves to rest one of his hands against your throat and promptly hisses, “Your neck is FREEZING! It’s like touching the sub zero water at Harveston! Why the hell is it so cold?! Not even the rest of you feels that cold!”

You blink in surprise. Really? I hadn’t noticed since every part of me feels cold right now.

Your expression becomes thoughtful. Does that mean Oogie did something to my throat in particular? Did he purposely make it so I couldn’t talk even if I got rescued since he knew that would make my job as Jack’s temporary replacement more difficult?

Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, although that begs the question of what exactly Oogie did and how you can undo the effects of whatever strange power that was used on you.

As if reading your mind, Idia, whose narrowed eyes are now carefully examining your throat, mutters, “Did the final boss freeze your vocal chords somehow with whatever broken boss ability he has? Was it just to keep you from asking for help earlier, or was he playing the long game and had interfering with our Halloween preparations in mind as well?”

Obviously talking to himself more than to you since he doesn’t wait for you to give him any kind of response, Idia murmurs, “I wonder…is this like a frozen status ailment that can be treated? I don’t have any kind of healing potions, but maybe I could thaw her out using fire magic, although that would come with its own dangers if I’m not careful...”

Although Idia says more after that, you don’t catch what he says since he’s now just mumbling to himself as he tries to come up with the best solution to help you in a way that won’t in any way be dangerous for you.

The earlier apprehension you felt about your lack of a voice quickly fades when you see how hard Idia is thinking on your behalf and just how concerned he is about your well-being, because you know your friend is willing to do whatever it takes to help you and won’t take failure as an option.

Thanks to his actions, a pleasant warmth envelops your chest - a warmth that’s strong enough to chase away the chill that had enveloped you ever since Oogie laid eyes on you earlier.

While your body temperature is still unfortunately lower than you’d prefer, you definitely feel better now just because Idia has made you so happy.

I really wanna give him a big kiss to express my happiness and gratitude since I can’t tell him verbally. You think to yourself. But I know I shouldn’t since it’ll just make him scream and get him super flustered, although I do so love watching his hair turn pink since he looks so cute…

At that moment, just after your gaze falls on Idia’s gorgeous hair, it hits you - an absolutely brilliant idea that you think will be able to save or at least partially thaw out your vocal chords.

An idea that Idia is definitely not going to be a fan of - at all.

A broad smirk rises to your lips. As the saying goes, ‘It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.’ Hehe~

Upon noticing the smirk that's now resting on your lips, Idia immediately freezes and adopts an understandably wary expression. “I don’t like the look of that smirk. What kinda evil scheme are you plotting this time?”

Giving him no time to react, you swiftly loop your arms around his neck and bring your face closer to his, causing him to release a startled squeak as a dark blush instantly colors his whole face.

Quickly, you grab the ponytail that Idia’s hair got put into thanks to the makeover the book gave him, which is warm to the touch thanks to his embarrassment, and wrap it around your neck. At the same time, you kiss his cheek, causing him to start blushing furiously while his hair turns dark pink.

Within seconds, Idia shrieks, just as he always does whenever he gets super embarrassed, and you thankfully manage to cover your ears just in time to protect them from the shrill sound that’s definitely powerful enough to do some damage at this close range.

All the while, you bask in the warmth of Idia’s hair, which feels absolutely heavenly on your frigid skin, and, much to your immense relief, also causes the phantom feeling of having a hand made of ice squeezing your throat to finally disappear, proving that Idia was right about it being possible to undo the effects of the special power that Oogie had used on you.

With a happy sigh, you, once Idia finally stops screaming, stop covering your ears and bury your face in his hair, which only becomes warmer to the touch thanks to Idia’s mounting embarrassment.

“I-I can’t believe you!” Idia exclaims, looking as if he could pass out from embarrassment at any minute whilst simultaneously sporting a comically betrayed expression. “A-After everything I’ve done for you, you attack me when my defenses are down and turn me into your own personal scarf! Y-You’re the worst! This is why I hate normies!”

Covering his flustered face with his hands, Idia continues to make complaints and spout insults, all of which don’t have their usual potency because he’s so flustered.

While a part of you feels bad for the poor guy, you can’t deny finding him adorable in his current, flustered state. There’s just something so endearing about Idia when he gets like this; that’s why you think that, if he were an otome game love interest, he’d definitely be the kind that the heroine and player would want to lovingly bully because his reactions are always so cute.

Still, you do think an apology is in order, considering everything Idia has done for you. This is definitely not the time for teasing him.

That’s why you open your mouth and try to make use of your vocal chords. “........pai.”

Much to your immense relief, this time, when you try to use your voice, you’re able to produce a sound, although you weren’t able to completely say what you had wanted to say or speak at an easy to hear volume.

However, you are nothing if not determined, so you continue trying to get your voice back in working order. “.....en…pai…”

“....sen..pai…senpai…” You keep trying, thankfully each time making some progress. “....dia-senpai…”

Following your fifth attempt to say his name, Idia promptly freezes and goes quiet. In a blink, his hands move away from his face and gently cup your cheeks.

“Yuu-shi?” Idia murmurs, looking as if he wants to hope for the best but at the same time doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

After leaning into his touch, you take a deep breath before warmly smiling, “Idia-senpai…”

Pure relief hits you like a tidal wave when you finally say his name. Even though your voice still isn’t at full strength, you don’t care since you’re just so glad to have it back - to know you won’t have to be without it until something is done about Oogie Boogie.

Appearing just as relieved as you feel, Idia releases a huge sigh of relief and slumps back against the bench after releasing his hold on your face. “Thank the Seven…”

Feeling bad for all the worry you caused him yet still incredibly happy since it means a lot that he cares so much about you, you quietly apologize, “I’m sorry, Idia-senpai…”

With a huff, Idia waves his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’m already over it. You did what you had to, so you could get your voice back, which is what I had wanted anyway since I didn’t wanna have to play charades the whole time to figure out what the hell happened back there.”

Although that apology was also for the trouble you had caused him, you don’t say as much since you know that’s not the kind of apology Idia would want to hear, especially when he doesn’t hold you responsible for what happened with Oogie.

Instead, you just smile in relief once you hear that he has already forgiven you for your earlier actions. “Thank you for saving me…”

Meeting his gaze, you pour all the gratitude you feel as you repeat, “Thank you.”

Thankfully, it seems your feelings reached him since Idia’s expression softens in response to your words. At the same time, one of his hands moves to stroke the top of your head, which you’re only just now realizing isn’t covered by the hat the book gave you, making you wonder if it fell off earlier at the pumpkin patch since you never personally removed it.

“It’s all thanks to you making use of what happened in that one episode of Super Sleuth. You pretty much saved yourself with that move.” Idia remarks, successfully pulling you away from your thoughts. “Pretty impressive, considering the kinda situation you were in, which obviously didn’t give you a lotta options.”

“Although, it only worked ‘cause I was around.” He adds, “No way any of those normies would’ve picked up on your SOS.”

You softly chuckle, “I specifically used that kind of SOS ‘cause I knew you were around, all thanks to you screaming ‘cause the local kids scared you.”

When Idia grimaces at the mention of what happened with the local kids earlier, obviously because he’s embarrassed, you quickly add, “While I’m sorry they went after you, I was very grateful for that moment since your scream helped distract me from whatever Oogie was doing to me. ‘Cause of you, I was able to think clearly for long enough to come up with that plan to send you a SOS.”

As Idia blinks in surprise, you unconsciously clutch the front of his suit with one of your hands as you look into his eyes. “Because of Oogie’s powers, I had been terrified out of my mind - to the point of hyperventilating. Everything had seemed so bleak to me ‘cause I couldn’t move aside from playing the piano or speak, and it felt like I could pass out at any moment, which I knew was when he’d finally stop playing with his food and go in for the kill.”

“Yuu-shi…” Idia murmurs when you begin to tremble, prompting him to cautiously wrap his arms around you.

You bury your face against his shoulder and close your eyes to keep yourself from crying. “I was so relieved when I heard your voice calling out to me and realized that you had really come to rescue me, like I had been begging you to do in my head the whole time I was playing that Premo song. I was so, so relieved…”

“That’s why I’m so grateful to you since, regardless of my role in my rescue, you still were the one who heard my call for help and came running.” You whisper as you hug him tightly. “You were the one who was the hero of this story - my hero.”

As Idia’s breath hitches at your usage of the word “hero” just as you had expected it would, you sniffle. “Thank you so much for saving me, Idia-senpai. Thank you.”

No matter how many times you thank Idia, it just doesn’t feel like enough, because words truly cannot even begin to express how grateful you are for Idia, who became your very own hero today.

Meanwhile, Idia, whose posture became completely stiff in response to your words, remains silent for a while before the tension in his frame finally begins to ease.

Soon after, one of his hands begins stroking your hair. “The thanks is a little premature, dontcha think? I haven’t even slayed the final boss yet. You’re totally skipping the final boss battle, so you can get to the sappy post final battle scene you always like so much. Typical Yuu-shi move.”

Unable to help yourself, you laugh at his remark, which was likely Idia’s intention when he made that comment since his posture further relaxes upon hearing that particular sound.

Once you manage to rein in your amusement, you reply, “I guess so, but I see nothing wrong with thanking you before and after the final boss battle. You deserve all the gratitude I can throw at you.”

Idia’s hair, which is still snugly wrapped around your neck like a scarf, once again turns pink in response to your words, prompting you to return to burying your face in his delightfully warm locks. “W-Whatever...”

“A-Anyway!” Idia awkwardly clears his throat. “Why don’t you finally tell me what the hell happened earlier? While I don’t mind playing blind for most of my games, that is absolutely not the case for this nightmare of an event.”

“And give me my hair back already.” He exasperatedly orders, his embarrassment evident in his face and voice. “Are you trying to make me reach an early Game Over?”

Wearing a teasing smile, you ask, “Do you want me to climb out of your lap too, or is that your reward for completing your last successful mission?”

“I don’t mind staying for as long as you want since you do deserve something special for all your hard efforts.” You playfully add.

His blush darkens as he shouts, “A-Absolutely not!”

Upon hearing the way his voice cracks due to his embarrassment, you giggle, unable to help yourself, because his flustered reactions are always so hilarious.

“I love you so much, Idia-senpai.” You say in between your giggles as you give him a strong squeeze, making him cutely squeak. “You’re the best, and I truly mean that with all my heart.”

With a groan, your flustered upperclassman tries to hide his face in your hair, taking advantage of the fact that you haven’t moved your head away from his shoulder yet. “Never thought a day would come when I’d pray to be the victim of that annoying amnesia trope that’s rarely, if ever, done right in any kind of fictional media, yet here I am…”

Naturally, hearing that just makes you laugh harder, even though you know you really should give the poor guy a break already.

Thankfully, despite everything, Idia never once tries to push you away or says anything harsh, even though he has every reason to under these circumstances.

Instead, just as he’s been doing this whole time, he continues to indulge you, albeit with some whining, and lets you do as you please, because you went through such a traumatic experience earlier.

And perhaps his indulgent behavior is for his own sake as well, considering just how utterly panicked he had been after you had briefly blacked out and the fact that he sat down on this bench with you in his lap unprompted.

Perhaps, being the negative boy that he is, Idia couldn’t stop himself from assuming the worst when your skin was so cold and pale - when you had such a difficult time breathing.

Perhaps this “King of the Underworld” had thought you had looked like someone who was prematurely heading into his domain.

Obviously, this is all pure speculation on your part. The only one who knows what has been going through Idia’s mind all this time is Idia himself, so you could easily be overthinking things.

Regardless, it’s a fact that Idia had been sincerely worried on your behalf - that you put him through a very scary situation, albeit unintentionally.

For that reason, you decide to take advantage of his currently indulgent behavior and take your sweet time in pulling away from him, because, despite how he normally feels about people invading his personal space, you’re currently getting the impression that Idia wouldn’t mind it if it took you a little while to finally stop hugging him and remove yourself from his comforting embrace.

As if to prove that you made the right decision, Idia doesn’t complain about your inaction and instead quietly asks, “Y-You…are alright now…right? T-There’s not gonna be an unwelcome cliffhanger in the future ‘cause you stupidly kept a serious status ailment to yourself, only for your secret to be exposed when you finally lose all your strength and dramatically pass out…right?”

The corners of your lips curve upwards, forming a fond smile. “I’m alright, I promise. I’m not keeping any ailments a secret from you, and I have every intention to tell you everything that happened earlier.”

“I’m okay now.” You assure him as you gently stroke his back. “All thanks to you.”

“All thanks to you.” You softly repeat, pouring all your love and gratitude into those four words.

Because it’s what your hero deserves.

Once Idia has hit his limit of how much skinship he can receive in one sitting, you finally pull away from the flustered boy and remove his hair from your neck, although you do the latter with great reluctance since you had really loved how nice his hair felt against your skin when it was all warm and toasty.

After you take a seat beside him on the two-seater bench, you focus your gaze on Idia who’s now fiddling with his currently dark pink ponytail, doing his best not to self-combust, much to your amusement.

Rather than tease him for being so adorable, like you so desperately want to do, you instead say, “Alright, I’ll take it from the top since it’s always best to just start at the beginning.”

“Just don’t talk TOO much.” Idia advises, surprising you. “While you’re able to speak now, your voice still isn’t back at full strength and kinda sounds like you have or recently had laryngitis.”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression softens as you warmly smile, “I’ll be careful. Thank you, Idia-senpai.”

While Idia quickly tries to hide his flustered face behind his hands, you kindly redirect your gaze to the pumpkin patch off in the distance, so he can get a break from being stared at, which you know he could really use right now. “The reason I was by myself at the piano was ‘cause I hadn’t taken a break all morning, and Riddle-senpai and Epel had understandably wanted me to take one.”

“Since I had promised Leona-senpai that I wouldn’t leave the pumpkin patch on my own while he was with Lock, Shock, and Barrel, I decided to just take a break by playing the piano since I thought it’d be fun and relaxing.” You add.

“That explains why Leona-shi was MIA.” Idia mutters, “Which means Riddle-shi and Epel-shi must’ve allowed themselves to get distracted by the Boogeyman since I didn’t see either of them while I was at the pumpkin patch.”

He clicks his tongue to express his annoyance. “I’m surrounded by idiots, and that includes Leona-shi since we haven’t seen any signs of him despite all the time that has passed since Oogie made his move. What kinda bodyguard is he? He should get fired!”

“It is strange that we haven’t seen him since he wasn’t planning on being with the kids for that long, and he said he’d come right back to the pumpkin patch after he was done.” You frown, “Considering how strong and smart he is, I can’t see Oogie being able to get the better of him, so maybe the locals got a hold of him? They all think quite highly of him and seek out his advice often, so I could easily see that happening.”

Idia huffs, “Don’t make excuses for him. He still dropped the ball big time. He should’ve known what a bad idea it was to leave a heroine like you, whose luck stat is in the triple negatives, unattended for an extended period of time.”

Your frown deepens. “I know Leona-senpai wouldn’t have allowed this all to happen if he could’ve helped it, so I’m sure he was put in a situation that he couldn’t get out of, no matter how hard he tried.”

“That’s exactly what happened, all thanks to that damn Skellington, whose grip is a lot stronger than you’d expect from a bag of bones.”

Both you and Idia jolt at the sound of an annoyed growl before turning to see the approach of Leona, who doesn’t appear to be in a very good mood, probably because of whatever happened with Jack and because he overheard Idia speaking poorly of him just now.

After coming to a stop in front of the bench where you and Idia are seated, Leona explains, “After I finished my shift with the brats, Skellington came outta nowhere and grabbed me, insisting that I help him with his Halloween preparations ‘cause he apparently heard the locals speaking highly of me. It took forever for me to find someone to push him onto, so I could finally ditch him.”

While Idia still appears unimpressed with Leona, who gives him a similar sharp look in return, you hold up your hands placatingly. “Let’s all just get along. Leona-senpai obviously had a perfectly understandable reason for taking so long to get back to me, so we shouldn’t throw any blame at him.”

Rather than give you a verbal response, Idia just averts his gaze with a harrumph, proving that he’s still not ready to forgive Leona for the unintentional role he played in what happened to you at the pumpkin patch.

Fortunately, rather than get upset with the other dorm leader, Leona, who has just finished giving you a once-over, frowns, “What happened while I was gone? You’re really pale, and you look exhausted.”

His eyes narrow. “And your eyes are red; you’ve been crying.”

“Her skin's also cold to the touch.” Idia informs, thankfully not so annoyed with Leona that he’d avoid talking to him. “Although, she’s thankfully not as cold as she was earlier.”

Immediately, Leona removes one of his gloves and brushes his delightfully warm fingers against your cheek. Upon feeling for himself how cool to the touch your skin is, he quietly curses as he quickly puts his glove back on.

Catching you and Idia completely off guard, Leona promptly picks you up and takes your spot on the two-seater bench before setting you down in his lap. At the same time, he uses his magic to remove his jacket and promptly wraps it around you.

Once you overcome your surprise, you release a content sigh as you hug his jacket close and snuggle up against the lion Beastman, who has a naturally high body temperature that feels like heaven to you in your current state. “So warm~ Thank you~”

Rather than give you a verbal response upon hearing your thanks, Leona just gives you a comforting squeeze as he protectively tucks your head underneath his chin.

Once you’re both comfortably situated, Leona repeats his earlier question, with a noticeable growl in his voice. “What happened?”

Quickly, you give Leona a recap of what you’ve already told Idia thus far, so he can be brought up to speed. During this time, you also mention that, while you had been alone, Riddle and Epel were paying attention to your piano-playing, so if anything were to happen to make you stop playing, they would come check on you.

Unsurprisingly, Idia just scoffs when you mention the plan you, Riddle, and Epel had come up with since it obviously didn’t work out well for you in the end. Thankfully, Leona doesn’t give you a hard time, probably because Idia has that part covered.

After you finish explaining everything that happened prior to Oogie’s arrival, you finally get to the part of the story your friends are wanting to hear the most. “After I had spent a while playing the piano, I suddenly felt eyes on me - the same hungry eyes that bore into me yesterday morning when we were by that alley.”

As Leona’s posture stiffens and his grip on you tightens, you wrap your arms around him, wanting to take as much comfort as you can from him while you recount the ordeal Oogie put you through. “I never actually saw Oogie or anyone for that matter, because there was no one in my line of sight at the time and I couldn’t move to look around. I couldn’t move period aside from being able to play the piano.”

“Within seconds after I felt those eyes on me, I felt this intense pressure suddenly crash down on me; it was like gravity itself was boring down on me.” You recall, “All at once, I suddenly found it hard to breathe, and I was completely chilled to the bone.”

“But that wasn’t the worst part.” You continue as you shiver. “During that time, I was completely consumed by pure fear, and it wasn’t the kind of apprehension I feel when I meet someone who's really strong. It was just raw terror that came at me like an actual attack.”

“That’s when I realized those eyes had to belong to Oogie himself rather than an underling ‘cause only the Boogeyman could inflict that kinda unbridled fear on someone.” You add.

Your trembling becomes more pronounced when you remember just how petrified you were during that traumatic moment. “I was absolutely terrified to the point I could hardly think or breathe. It felt like I was gonna pass out at any second, but I couldn’t, because that was what Oogie was waiting for.”

A scowl forms on your lips. “All that time, he was just messing with me, just playing with his food. He was waiting for me to finally give up. I think that’s why I was still able to play the piano, not just ‘cause it would keep anyone from finding out I was in trouble but because he wanted to win his little game by forcing me to reach a state where I couldn’t fight back anymore.”

Idia scowls in return. “He’s just begging for a No Mercy Run.”

Leona hugs you tighter, growling all the while. “He’ll be getting a lot of things from me, but mercy ain’t one of them.”

Upon seeing them both so angry on your behalf and feeling Leona’s comforting warmth, your trembling quickly abates.

Because there’s nothing to fear when you have Leona and Idia with you.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Oogie does die at the end of the movie from my world, so it’s entirely possible that’ll be his fate in this story too.”

In complete sync, the dorm leaders darkly reply, “It better be.”

As you giggle at their identical responses, both Leona and Idia lose some of the tension in their frames upon hearing your laughter, which is a welcome sound to them after having heard your earlier anxious voice as you spoke about what you went through because of Oogie.

Once you rein in your amusement, you get back to your storytelling and explain to Leona how you took inspiration from an anime episode you and Idia had watched in the past to send a secret SOS to Idia, who quickly came to your rescue, which, in turn, led to the two of you ending up here away from the pumpkin patch.

Idia also chimes in to state that he never once saw Oogie Boogie or anything that remotely resembled him, confirming your suspicions that the villain somehow managed to escape before Idia could catch him in the act.

After you and Idia finish explaining everything that happened, Leona clicks his tongue. “Tch. We underestimated the bastard. Can’t believe he was able to get the better of both Epel and Riddle.”

“And it looks like he may have even taken advantage of the fact that we have his brats under house arrest since he made his move while I was with them.” He adds, sounding annoyed.

Idia groans, “I hate when the final boss actually has a brain and knows how to strategize…”

“Me too.” You sigh, “Oogie’s a coward, but he’s not a dumb one, unfortunately.”

“And that special boss move of his is seriously broken!” Idia scowls, “How are we supposed to deal with such an OP attack?!”

“By not giving him the opportunity to use it.” Leona replies as he narrows his eyes. “Yuu won’t be left on her own anymore; we’re not playing into his hands again.”

“That’s a type of attack that’s best used when you have the element of surprise.” He continues, “While I won’t say he can’t use it in a normal head-to-head battle, I doubt it’ll work as effectively for him, especially if he’s facing people who are too pissed to feel fear.”

“Ah, the tried and true overcome fear with pure rage trope.” Idia sagely nods. “That has been effective for many protags, so I don’t see why it can’t work for us, especially when I feel like I could be ready at any time to set the bastard on fire and throw him into the Underworld.”

While you snort, Leona drawls, “You’ll have to beat me to him ‘cause if I get to him first his ass is sand.”

Unable to contain your amusement, you start snickering, “Personally, I think both options sound great, so I’ll be happy no matter who gets a hold of Oogie first.”

“I’d love to kick his ass myself and turn him into a punching bag, but considering he’s a bag full of bugs, I REALLY don’t wanna be anywhere near him when that bag breaks.” You wryly add, causing Idia to make a face at that mental image.

“We’ll take care of him, so you steer clear of him.” Leona moves his head, so he can firmly meet your gaze. “And never go anywhere without taking someone from our group with you, regardless of what you’re doing, even if it means telling Skellington to fuck off.”

Judging from the clear irritation in Leona’s words when he makes that comment about Jack, it’s clear he holds the skeleton partially responsible for what happened to you at the pumpkin patch, because he unintentionally prevented Leona from coming to your aid.

Feeling bad for Jack, whom Leona definitely won’t be too friendly toward for at least the rest of the day, you wince, “I’m sure I won’t need to say anything like that to Jack-san.”

“But I will do whatever’s necessary to ensure I don’t get dragged anywhere when I don’t have any of you guys with me.” You add, “I’ll make sure to avoid being alone.”

“The last thing I want is a repeat of what happened earlier.” You grimace, “So I have no problem with going along with the plan of always having an escort.”

Appearing satisfied with your response, Leona nods. “You’re also taking a break from being Skellington’s replacement. You won’t do anyone any good in your current state. You need a break - a REAL break.”

“Will you take my place, so the locals will have someone to advise them?” You ask, “It’s true that I need to rest, but I’d feel bad for our team if they didn’t have a leader to rely on when they need guidance.”

Much to your surprise, Leona smirks, “I have something better in mind.”

You curiously tilt your head. Now, what could he mean by that?

Once you, Leona, and Idia finish discussing what happened at the pumpkin patch and what you all should do to ensure nothing like that ever happens again, Leona has the group head for Sally and Dr. Finkelstein’s home, because he intends to ask Sally to be your temporary replacement.

Even though he himself doesn’t mind taking the job, Leona wants to ask Sally to be your replacement instead, because he’s hoping to use her home as a place for you to recover since Town Hall is currently being used by the team in charge of decorations, and he wants to get Sally away from the building to ensure she doesn’t see you in your current state since that’s what you want and he and Idia both agreed it’d be better to avoid letting the locals find out what Oogie is up to until you all get some actual concrete evidence that can be used against the Boogeyman.

Plus, you all can’t help but worry about what the book might do if you and your friends try to rush the story by pointing fingers at Oogie now when the final confrontation with him is obviously something better saved for the finale since that would make for a more entertaining story.

Another reason Leona wants Sally, who thankfully is a member of Team Terror, to head to the pumpkin patch is because this arrangement will take her away from the kitchen, meaning, for the time she’s busy helping with the test of courage, they won’t have to worry about her cooking the kind of dishes he saw yesterday, which he’d rather not see be served during Halloween, if he can help it, although Leona would still eat Sally’s cooking since he’s not the type to turn away food that was painstakingly made by a lady thanks to his upbringing.

While he doesn’t say as much, you’re sure Leona was mostly looking out for you when he decided he wanted to try to get Sally away from the kitchen since he obviously wants you to be able to enjoy all the food that will be served during your first Halloween, and you’re naturally very grateful for his consideration since you indeed would like to avoid eating the local cuisine, although you’re willing to try it for the sake of avoiding hurting Sally’s feelings.

For that reason and since you really don’t want to make her worry about you, you quickly agree to go along with Leona’s plan to enlist Sally’s help with temporarily taking over your job, so you can get her away from her home for a few hours.

Idia also goes along with the idea since, after hearing about Sally’s cooking, he unsurprisingly wants nothing to do with it, and he thinks the building that contains Dr. Finkelstein’s lab, which he has been visiting since yesterday to work on his Halloween decoration preparations, is a good, secure place for you to recuperate.

Even better, that building isn’t too far from the bench you had all been sitting on earlier, so within a few minutes, your group is able to reach its destination, much to the relief of your tired body.

Upon arriving at Sally and Dr. Finkelstein’s home, Leona says, “I’ll go inside and talk to Sally since we don’t need her seeing Yuu in her current state. Keep outta sight and wait for Sally to leave the building. If enough time passes without you seeing her, assume that she doesn’t wanna take Yuu’s job and wait for me, so we can come up with a different plan, although I have a feeling that won’t be necessary.”

Nodding, you, along with Idia, quickly move to a spot near the building that’s out of view, so the two of you can hide there and won’t get spotted by Sally when she leaves the building.

Meanwhile, Leona heads into the building, so he can talk to Sally as well as Jamil and Trey, the latter two of whom should be inside taking care of the food preparations for Halloween, although it’s possible Trey is helping with his team’s test of courage preparations right now if he hasn’t yet done that today.

Shortly after Leona leaves, you turn to give Idia a grateful smile. “Thank you for sticking around ‘til things get all sorted out on my end, Idia-senpai, despite you having so much other work on your plate. Thanks to you staying with me, Leona-senpai can talk to Sally-san without me needing to go inside or be left alone. Your presence is a huge help.”

Idia averts his embarrassed gaze. “I’m just seeing this side quest through to the end since I can’t say I one-hundred-percent cleared it otherwise; you know, I’m a hardcore completionist.”

Although you can tell that’s not the only reason he has dutifully remained by your side all this time, you don’t say as much since you don’t want to further embarrass him, especially when he’s being so good to you.

Instead, you just warmly reply, “And I’m very grateful for that since having you here with me is very reassuring.”

A cute blush colors his cheeks and the tips of his hair in response to your words. “K-Knock it off already. I-I don’t have any rare bonus items I can give you if you sweet-talk me enough.”

Despite you telling yourself not to tease him, you find yourself unable to stop yourself from playfully whispering, “Because I’ve already maxed out your social link and your affection meter?”

In an instant, his face starts furiously blushing as his now dark pink hair flares and crackles. “S-Stoooop!”

When Idia quickly ducks his head and hides his incredibly flustered face behind his hands, you internally laugh as you gently rub his back. “I’m sorry, Idia-senpai, that came out before I could stop myself. I really didn’t intend to tease you after you’ve been so good to me today.”

“Yeah, right. Like I could really trust an SSS rank sadist like you.” Idia grumbles, keeping his face hidden from view. “This is why I shouldn’t ever let my guard down.”

“Ortho, save me!” He pitifully whines, “I wanna get outta this crazy event that was made for extroverts and go back to my room…!”

Poor Idia, he really has hit his limit now, thanks to you. You really need to work on having better self-control when it comes to flirting with him since his weak heart can only handle so much.

That’s why, for the next several minutes, you just continue to sincerely apologize to your upperclassman, who moans and groans the whole time you do so.

Fortunately, despite all this, Idia never once tries to run or push you away, proving how much he cares about you, despite what you put him through with your teasing.

Upon noticing this, your expression softens as you, without thinking, fondly murmur, “You really are too good to me, Idia-senpai, despite everything I put you through, and I’m so grateful for that. I don’t deserve you.”

Because you didn’t realize you had said those words loud enough for him to overhear, you’re surprised when Idia abruptly stops complaining and goes incredibly still.

And your surprise only grows when, after a long pause, Idia mutters, “Why does that dialogue option even exist for you when it should only be available to me?”

For a moment, you just stare at him with wide eyes, and then, a surge of warmth washes over you, hitting you like a tidal wave.

Beaming, you lower your head since Idia is still hunched over, so you can warmly look into Idia’s eyes, which are thankfully no longer being completely covered by his hands. “I guess ‘cause our views of each other are pretty similar, and we’re both good at taking care of the people who are important to us.”

He stares at you with wide eyes for several seconds before quickly averting his gaze due to his embarrassment. “You’re really trying to kill me with cringe overload today. At this rate, I won’t survive long enough to clear this damn event.”

You giggle, “Don’t worry, I’ll work on improving my self-control since the last thing I want is for you to get a Game Over, especially ‘cause of me.”

“And I want you to be there for my first Halloween.” You sweetly add, “I’ll be sad if you’re not there.”

As his hair flares and turns a darker shade of pink, Idia abruptly grabs your cheeks and begins pulling on them. “Ugh! Quit that! Where’s your mute button?!”

Since he’s not pulling on your cheeks as hard as he could since he doesn’t want to hurt you, you find yourself laughing at Idia’s amusing actions, unable to help yourself.

Unsurprisingly, your laughter just makes Idia even more annoyed, yet despite this, he still doesn’t seriously lash out at you and instead just continues his comical antics, proving that he’s still in an indulgent mood thanks to recent events.

However, this amusing situation only lasts for a short while due to a loud, crashing sound suddenly filling the air. In a blink, you find yourself pulled into a protective embrace by Idia, catching you by surprise.

Upon feeling how tense Idia’s posture is, you wonder if he saw something that put him on edge since you don’t think he’d pull you into his arms otherwise, and that quickly puts the unwanted mental image of Oogie spying on you into your head, making you feel anxious, despite the fact that you don’t feel anyone’s eyes on you right now.

Thankfully, soon after that scary thought crosses your mind, Idia’s posture quickly relaxes as he sighs, “Was just a cat knocking over a trash can. Geez. Jump-scares like that are seriously bad for my heart…”

Feeling the way you relax in his arms in response to his words, Idia, who likely noticed how you had briefly started trembling due to you letting your fear get the better of you, awkwardly clears his throat as he pats your head. “S-Sorry for the false alarm. I should’ve handled that better.”

You shake your head as you keep your face buried against his chest and wrap your arms tightly around him. “You did nothing you need to apologize for. Your first impulse was to protect me, and I can’t blame you after recent events.”

“Thank you for protecting me, Idia-senpai.” You whisper, all the while doing your best to keep your emotions in check and compose yourself.

As his grip on you tightens, Idia goes quiet for several seconds before muttering, “Anytime.”

His voice softens as he comfortingly strokes the top of your head. “Anytime.”

Not long after the scare with the stray cat, Sally finally exits Dr. Finkelstein’s lab and quickly heads in the direction of the pumpkin patch, making you assume that Leona was successful with his efforts to get the older woman to agree to be your temporary replacement, much to your relief.

Fortunately, because you both hid yourselves, you and Idia are able to avoid being seen by Sally, which is a relief because you really don’t want her or any of the other locals to see you in your current state since that would surely make them worry.

Now that Sally has left, your goal of avoiding being seen will be a lot easier to accomplish since the only other Halloween Town resident you’re likely to run into here at your current location is Dr. Finkelstein, and even then, your chances of remaining unseen are good since he will be spending half of his time today at Town Hall, because he was appointed to help the decorations team.

While Dr. Finkelstein is likely at Town Hall right now, Leona had said he’d give you a clear warning if the doctor ended up being in his lab, so since you haven’t heard anything from him, that makes you think the coast is now clear.

After sharing a look with Idia, the two of you quickly head for the building’s entrance after making sure that Sally is out of view and go inside.

“Yuu!”

Within seconds after you and Idia walk through the front door, Jamil and Trey quickly approach you, appearing noticeably concerned.

Much to your amusement, the two vice dorm leaders waste no time in fussing over you, with Jamil taking care of checking your temperature while Trey once again has your mouth open so he can look at your throat and probably also your teeth, considering how he is.

All the while, the two ask rapid-fire questions, one after another, about your health, because, while Leona had told them about what happened at the pumpkin patch, they want more details about how you’re feeling directly from you.

Meanwhile, Idia hurriedly moves away from you because Jamil and Trey are crowding around you and draws closer to where an amused Leona is watching the ongoing proceedings. “Is this another reason why you wanted to bring Yuu-shi here? ‘Cause you were expecting the only guys who can out mom her to be here?”

“Heh, pretty much.” Leona grins, “It’s moments like these when those two are most useful, after all.”

Upon overhearing Leona, you feel compelled to complain since it would’ve been nice if he had given you a little warning, but you refrain since you really should’ve seen this coming, considering how both Jamil and Trey are when you’re concerned.

That’s why, rather than complain, you just accept your fate and answer all of Jamil’s and Trey’s questions since they’re clearly worried about you, and you need to do what you can to put their worries at ease.

“Thanks to Leona-senpai and Idia-senpai, I’m feeling a lot better as compared to earlier.” You say after Trey finally stops examining your mouth. “I’m no longer having any breathing difficulties or feel like an ice cube, although my body temperature is still lower than usual.”

“While my throat doesn’t hurt, my voice hasn’t quite regained its full strength yet, but I think it will after I give it some more time.” You add, “So, really, the main aftereffect I’m dealing with is feeling completely exhausted, which is why Leona-senpai wanted me to come here to rest.”

Frowning, Jamil quickly pulls a chair over to you using his magic and makes you sit down. After doing that, he pulls out his handkerchief and uses his magic to get it damp before tilting your head back and placing the handkerchief over your eyes.

“Keep this over your eyes.” He orders, “That should help prevent any swelling. In the meantime, I’ll make some tea for you, which should further warm you up and hopefully help with your voice.”

After you thank him, Jamil hurries toward the direction of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Trey gently places a plate, which he must have summoned using his magic, into your hands.

“Even though we don’t really need to eat a lot in this world, I thought eating some candy might help you feel better.” Trey explains, “I just finished making this batch, so you can be my taste-tester if you’d like.”

You beam, “I’m always willing to be your taste-tester, Trey-senpai. Thank you.”

Trey gently pats your head. “Glad to hear it.”

After that exchange, you begin eating the candy that Trey had made, and of course, it’s just as delicious as you had expected it to be.

And the candy only becomes even more enjoyable when its flavor abruptly starts changing to that of desserts like chestnut tarts, chocolate cake, cookie dough ice cream, and strawberry shortcake.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Trey-senpai, you really didn’t need to use your Unique Magic when the candy you made was already delicious, but thank you. There truly is nothing better than getting to taste a plethora of desserts without having to worry about all those calories.”

While Trey chuckles, you remember who else is in the room and remark, “Oh, Leona-senpai, Idia-senpai, you should try the candy too. Thanks to Trey-senpai’s Unique Magic, it can taste like whatever food you love most. It’s amazing!”

“Hmm.” Leona hums as he draws closer to you, which you can tell due to hearing his footsteps approaching you. “If Trey can make it taste like a nice piece of meat, I’m open to trying it.”

Sounding intrigued, Idia follows Leona’s example. “I could go for something sweet after recent events. Can it taste like a chocolate soufflé? I’ve always wanted to try one after seeing it get made in a cooking anime I like.”

“I can do both.” Trey informs, with noticeable amusement in his voice. “So go ahead and give it a try, you two.”

When you hold up the plate in your hands, both Leona and Idia take a piece of candy before placing the candy in their mouths.

Because you don’t want to miss seeing their reactions, you partially remove the handkerchief covering your eyes, and you’re glad you did since it’s not often you see Leona and Idia sporting such amazed expressions, although Leona quickly schools his features.

“Woah, it really does taste like I’m eating something other than a piece of candy.” Idia comments, sounding impressed. “So this is what a chocolate soufflé tastes like. No wonder everyone enjoyed it so much in that one episode of Battle of the Chefs.”

“Heh, not bad, Trey.” Leona smirks, “Looks like you’ll be even more useful than I originally thought when it comes to the food for our upcoming Halloween celebration. We’ll be counting on you to make sure everything tastes delicious regardless of who makes it.”

Trey weakly laughs, “Talk about pressure…Well, I promise to do my best since I want this celebration to go off without a hitch.”

Upon seeing how Trey’s now noticeably soft gaze moves to focus on you, you quickly realize that you’re one of the reasons why he wants this upcoming Halloween to be a success, and considering how the expression he’s now wearing is similar to the one he wore when he found out about the circumstances of your first Halloween at NRC, you’re sure he wants to make up for not being able to make that special occasion more memorable, like Riddle.

Obviously, it makes you happy that he wants to make Halloween a success for your sake, but you hate that he feels guilty when he really did nothing wrong.

Before you can say as much, Jamil finally returns, carrying a cup of tea, and upon seeing that you partially removed the handkerchief he placed over your eyes, he gives you a look, prompting you to quickly re-cover your eyes with a sheepish smile.

With a huff, Jamil places the cup of tea he prepared into one of your hands. “Earlier, Sally-san and I picked some thistles since there were so many blooming in her garden, so I decided to make tea using those thistle roots.”

“If it’s not to your tastes, say so immediately, Yuu.” He adds, “I don’t want a repeat of what happened last night.”

“Yes sir. Thank you.” You reply before trying the tea that has a nice, slightly sweet aroma, all the while doing your best to ignore the feeling of having everyone’s eyes on you.

Thankfully, unlike what happened last night, nothing unpleasant happens when you try something that’s new to your alien taste-buds.

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “Ooh, that’s nice. It has a slightly sweet taste with some floral and earthy undertones. I like that.”

Almost everyone releases a sigh of relief in response to your words before Jamil replies, “Good. Looks like your taste-buds are like ours when it comes to this particular drink, so there should be nothing to worry about on that end.”

As you nod along with his words, Jamil asks, “So what’s the plan for how we should handle the rest of the day? Knowing how Yuu is, I’m sure she’ll get right back to work once she has gotten the chance to rest.”

“Of course.” You huff, “I’m not gonna throw in the towel just ‘cause Oogie scared the hell outta me earlier. That would be just what that bastard would want me to do.”

Seconds after those words leave your mouth, you freeze as realization strikes you like a lightning bolt. “Wait a minute. Is that the real reason why he was just playing around earlier? Up until now, I had thought he was just playing with his food and trying to make things difficult for me as I acted as Jack-san’s temporary replacement, but was his main goal actually to scare me enough that I couldn’t help with the Halloween preparations at all? Did he think this would make me give up?”

There’s a short, thoughtful pause before Leona answers, “It’s possible. While I’m sure he was hoping to acquire his target, his main goal was likely to ensure you can’t help Skellington since, otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the risk of someone getting in his way earlier.”

“Maybe that’s one of the reasons why the Boogeyman took an interest in Yuu-shi in the first place.” Idia theorizes, “‘Cause she’s his hated rival's temporary replacement, and he can hurt Jack-shi without having to face him by hurting her.”

Just as you’re about to agree with Idia’s theory since it makes a lot of sense, you, after remembering who else almost ended up in the Boogeyman’s clutches last night, come to a scary realization that makes your expression grow pale. “But I’m not the only one who’s Jack-san’s temporary replacement…”

When you partially uncover your eyes to look at your friends, you witness how realization dawns on all of their features within seconds.

“Shit.” Leona curses, “Oogie could be taking advantage of us focusing all of our attention on Yuu to go after Skully, who’ll be a way easier target than Yuu since he’s so oblivious. There’s no way there’s not a target on his back, especially considering what his Unique Magic can do.”

“I agree.” Jamil frowns, “Especially considering what happened last night.”

When the third-year students all raise their eyebrows, you and Jamil explain what happened with Skully and the bad kid trio last night, which you both had previously kept secret for Skully’s sake.

“At the time, I had merely thought Lock, Shock, and Barrel only targeted Skully because he had made himself such an easy target, especially since it seemed likely that they had only been at the cemetery in the first place to set up those booby traps.” Jamil remarks, “However, now, I’m wondering if Skully has always been a target, because he’s one of Jack-san’s temporary replacements and has a dangerous Unique Magic.”

Feeling immensely worried about Skully, you try to rise to your feet. “I need to find Skully. I-”

Before you can say anything else, Trey cuts you off as he rests a comforting hand on your shoulder to keep you in your seat. “I’ll go look for Skully. I need to do a shift at the cemetery anyway, and I’ll make sure someone’s always keeping an eye on him.”

“While Trey-senpai heads toward the direction of the cemetery, I’ll cover the other part of town and the pumpkin patch.” Jamil volunteers, “Someone needs to alert the others about what happened with Yuu and what could happen to Skully if we’re not careful, and I also need to do my share of the work for my team’s test of courage.”

“I also want to find out what happened with Epel and Riddle.” He adds, “While I’m sure they’re fine since Oogie clearly has more of an interest in Yuu and Skully, it would be wise to check in with them.”

While you definitely approve of someone checking on Epel and Riddle since, while you’re also confident that Oogie couldn’t get away with hurting those two without them making a big scene, considering how they are, you’re still worried about them, you’re not a big fan of Jamil being that person. “But, Jamil-senpai…”

Jamil waves his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine. I can’t shirk my duties simply because there’s a possibility that Oogie’s bugs will make an appearance. I’ll just proceed with extra caution to ensure I’m not caught unawares.”

“I-I’ll, uh, help Jamil-shi.” Idia meekly offers, “I-I still have some time before I need to do my shift with the final boss's henchmen, so I might as well go with him.”

“And I might get the chance to get the first shot at that final boss if he's dumb enough to show his face again.” He darkly mutters underneath his breath, so quietly that only an amused Leona overhears him.

“Alright, it’s decided.” Leona remarks, “I’ll stay here with Yuu to guard her and make sure she rests, and you three will update everyone else on the situation at hand.”

As he says that, Leona meets your gaze and gives you a look that brooks no argument, obviously because he knows how much you hate the idea of doing nothing in a serious situation like this.

Knowing this is a battle you can’t win, you sigh, “Alright, I’ll stay here.”

“But only for a little while!” You quickly add, “Once I’m not so exhausted, I’m going back out there to do my job and give Oogie the biggest ‘fuck you’ I can.”

In complete sync, all of your upperclassmen snort at your response before Leona ruffles your hair. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

After you complain about Leona messing up your hair, Jamil tilts his head. “I just realized you’re not wearing the hat the book gave you. Did you get tired of it, Yuu?”

You shake your head. “No, I think it fell off at the pumpkin patch thanks to everything that happened with Oogie. That’s the only explanation I can think of since I had been wearing it before he showed up, and once everything calmed down, I realized I wasn’t wearing it anymore.”

“Huh?” Idia makes a confused noise. “You weren’t wearing your hat when I found you at the piano, and I didn’t see it anywhere on the ground either. That’s why I had just assumed you left it somewhere else for whatever reason.”

For several seconds, you just stare at him in confusion before an idea suddenly comes to mind that makes you incredulously ask, “Did Oogie take my hat? Like as some kinda sick trophy?”

Simultaneously, all of your friends’ expressions darken while Leona growls, proving just how they feel about that theory.

“Either that, or he may try to use it as bait for a trap.” Leona scowls, “While the hat’s not important to you, someone like the badger would approach it if they happened to see it, thinking you lost it, so we’ll need to tell everyone to be on their guards.”

You nod. “And feel free to incinerate the thing if you do see it since I have no interest in wearing a hat that Oogie has touched since there’s no telling what kind of bugs have gotten into it.”

Now looking noticeably paler, Jamil grimaces, “Duly noted.”

After sparing the other vice dorm leader a sympathetic look, Trey remarks, “I think we should head out now since I’m worried about Skully and what all else Oogie could be planning, considering there’s still plenty of time left in the day for him to cause trouble for us.”

Since they’re in agreement, Jamil and Idia nod along with Trey’s suggestion before moving to head for the front door.

As they’re leaving, Jamil and Trey tell you to get plenty of rest while Idia asks you to stay out of trouble for the rest of the day, even though he knows what a difficult request that is for a trouble magnet like you.

Ignoring Idia’s gibe, you see them all off with a smile as you promise to get lots of rest and thank them for all their help.

Once it’s just you and Leona in the room, he says, “Alright, finish off the rest of your tea and candy, so we can head upstairs and rest. Sally said we can use the bed in her room, which she showed me before she left.”

An amused smile rises to your lips. “‘We’, huh? Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you wanna take advantage of this opportunity to take a nap.”

“You’re not the only one who’s tired.” Leona yawns into his hand. “It’s exhausting having to take care of all you troublesome herbivores, so this is my much deserved reward.”

All you can do is chuckle. “Of course.”

After that exchange, you quickly polish off the rest of your tea and candy, so you won’t have to make your upperclassman wait on you. You also remove Jamil’s handkerchief since your eyes are feeling better thanks to his efforts.

The two of you then head upstairs after Leona uses his magic to send your empty cup and plate to the kitchen; he also does this with Jamil’s handkerchief, which he knows Jamil can easily summon using magic if he ever needs it, meaning it doesn’t really matter where he leaves it.

Unsurprisingly, Leona ends up bringing you to the room that Dr. Finkelstein had locked Sally inside after she put some deadly nightshade in his soup to put him to sleep during that very memorable scene from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

When you see that the room has an actual, normal bed, you sigh in relief. “Never thought I’d be so happy to see a normal bed…”

Leona snorts, “While I can sleep anywhere, I definitely prefer this over the sleeping arrangements we were given last night.”

“One bright side of the incident with the Boogeyman is that it gave me the opportunity to do something about those terrible sleeping arrangements.” Leona reveals, “I told Sally that you needed a break, because you didn’t sleep as well as you would’ve liked last night, and considering how she is, I’m sure she’ll share that info with Skellington and get some proper bedding for us.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Good thinking. As expected of you, Leona-senpai.”

With a yawn, Leona heads over to Sally’s bed and makes himself comfortable. “Now, let’s sleep.”

Upon seeing how Leona takes up pretty much the whole bed since it’s obviously a bed made for one person, you raise an amused brow. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that when that bed clearly wasn’t made for two people?”

Catching you by surprise, Leona swiftly reaches out to take hold of your wrist and promptly pulls you toward him, with enough strength that you end up falling on top of him.

Before you can complain, Leona arranges the two of you, so that he essentially becomes your bed before finally replying, “Like this.”

He smirks as he draws his face closer to yours, eliminating the small amount of distance that had been between the two of you. “You’re in luck, Herbivore. Not just anyone can get the honor of using me as a bed. You better be grateful for this special privilege.”

Fondly rolling your eyes, you cup one of his cheeks with your hand before kissing his other cheek. “I am very grateful. Thank you, Leona-senpai.”

Holding his noticeably tender gaze, you warmly add, “For everything. I’m really glad that I have you here with me. This whole mess we’re in would’ve been a whole lot more difficult if you weren’t here.”

His eyes glow with obvious pleasure in a way that makes you feel so happy that you could burst since it’s always such a delight to see Leona genuinely happy like this. You wish such a wonderful expression could always be on his beautiful face.

“Naturally.” Leona replies, using a tone that’s not nearly as smug as it normally would be because of his obvious good mood.

Around that time, the exhaustion that has been heavily weighing on you all this time finally starts to get the better of you since you’re now in a position where you no longer need to fight against it.

After yawning into your hand, you affectionately nuzzle Leona’s chest. “I love you a whole lot, you know. A whooooole lot.”

Chuckling, Leona begins carding his fingers through your hair, causing you to further relax against him. “I’m well aware.”

“Whether that’s because you have horrible or excellent taste has yet to be decided.” He wryly adds, losing his earlier smugness due to his true feelings getting the better of him.

As always, you hate when Leona’s negative side makes an appearance; you hate that he truly views himself in such a poor light, all because of the horrible treatment he endured in the past.

You hate that he doesn’t love himself as much as you do - that he doesn’t think he’s worthy of all of the love you’re always so happy to shower him with.

Fortunately, during the course of the school year, Leona has been changing for the better when it comes to this matter, so you have hope that a day will come when he will no longer harbor any doubts about how worthy he is of your love - of love in general.

In the meantime, you’ll continue to do your part by constantly reminding Leona how much you care about him.

“I have excellent taste, thank you very much.” You huff, “Only those who are worthy can receive my kisses.”

He huffs in amusement. “I’m honored.”

“As you should be.” You reply as you nuzzle his chest. “I wouldn’t do this sorta thing with just anyone. I’m only ever this close to the people whom I trust and love with all my heart - the people who mean everything to me.”

Your half-mast gaze meets his. “If I give you my love, that means you deserve it. If I say you’re worthy, you are, plain and simple.”

For several seconds, Leona just stares at you, wearing an expression you can’t read, before his visible eye softens.

“Guess it really is that simple.” Leona mutters, as he hugs you tighter and continues running his fingers through your hair.

“Mmhm.” You sleepily make a noise of agreement before yawning. “When it comes to my feelings, I make the rules. What I say goes.”

As your eyes drift shut because you’re unable to keep your eyes open due to how heavy your eyelids have gotten, Leona chuckles, “Can’t argue with that.”

Just as you’re about to finally drift off, because you’re too exhausted to stay awake, even though you want to talk to Leona more, you feel him nuzzle your forehead, a rare show of physical affection that you know you’re only receiving because you’re about to fall asleep since he does have a reputation to uphold.

“Sleep well, Yuu.” Leona murmurs, sounding noticeably fond.

And, of course, that’s exactly what you do.

Chapter Text

Thanks to Leona, you end up having an excellent nap that is completely nightmare-free despite the nightmarish ordeal Oogie put you through, and it lasts for around two hours.

When you finally rouse from your nap, the first thing that you see once your sleep-addled vision clears is Leona’s gorgeous sleeping face, which is incredibly close to yours, because, at some point while you were sleeping, your head had ended up resting against his shoulder, and his head came to rest against yours.

This catches you by surprise since, while you’ve napped with Leona plenty of times in the past, this is the first time you’ve ever woken up in this sort of position.

Normally, you’d spend the whole nap with your face buried against his chest, which is what you had expected this time since you remember falling asleep in that sort of position.

Considering you don’t usually move around in your sleep, it seems very likely that Leona is the reason you had ended up in this new position, although you have no idea why he would’ve wanted to move you.

And that’s not the only thing Leona did while you were asleep. He also removed his jacket, so he could use it as a makeshift blanket to cover you.

Thanks to that and Leona’s arms that are firmly wrapped around you, you’re all warm and cozy. Not only that, you’ve been completely enveloped by Leona’s comforting scent, which you’re sure played a big role in you sleeping so well.

Smiling, you fondly stare at the face of your sleeping upperclassman. Leona-senpai always takes such good care of me. I’m so lucky to have someone as wonderful as him in my life.

It’s all thanks to him that I’m feeling so much better now. You think to yourself. My body temperature is finally back to normal thanks to napping with him and his above normal body temperature, and I’m no longer exhausted because his presence ensured I had nothing but good dreams.

Because you’re so grateful to Leona for everything he has done for your sake, you would love for him to be able to sleep as much as he wants since it’s what he deserves.

Sadly, that’s not an option since you really need to get back to work, because you don’t want Sally to be forced to do your job for the rest of the day, and you especially don’t want Oogie Boogie to think that you’re hiding from him.

And leaving Leona behind is obviously out of the question thanks to what happened the last time he took his eyes off of you, not to mention the fact that you highly doubt you could escape his tight hold without waking him.

That’s why the only option you have is to wake him, because there’s still plenty of work to be done, and you want to see how Skully and everyone else is doing.

However, you can, at least, give Leona the kind of wake-up call he deserves since you feel compelled to do something nice for this wonderful man.

Which is why, rather than try to wake him up by shaking him or calling out his name, you tenderly kiss his cheek before you begin gently stroking his hair and face, pouring as much affection as you possibly can into your tender actions.

Even though you’d love nothing more than to pet his tantalizing ears, you refrain since it’s your policy to always ask for permission before doing such a thing when Leona’s concerned since he’s not as casual about this particular matter as Ruggie and Jack are.

As you’re pampering Leona, who leans into your touch and rumbles with pleasure, you quietly hum since your Beastmen friends always seem to enjoy whenever you do that while you’re around them.

Several minutes pass like this before Leona finally opens his uncovered eye, although you’re sure he’s been awake since you first started doting on him, considering he’s not the type to sleep through such ministrations.

After releasing a yawn, Leona smirks, “Not a bad wake-up call, Herbivore. Much better than Ruggie’s. I should let you take over after we get back to school.”

Giggling, you nuzzle his hand that’s now cupping your cheek and gently stroking your skin. “I wouldn’t be opposed, just as long as you don’t get too greedy and make me late for class as a result.”

His smirk grows as he brings your face even closer to his. “Me? Greedy? Don’t you have that backwards?”

You fondly roll your eyes, not at all fazed by his tempt to fluster you with his typical teasing. “It’s true that I enjoy doting on you a whole lot, but that enjoyment is definitely not one-sided, and I won’t let you claim otherwise.”

“Such a cheeky little herbivore.” Leona replies, his eyes glowing with amusement. “Sounds like you’ve become so comfortable in the lion’s den that you think you can just do as you please. Don’t get too cocky.”

Appearing just as amused, because you know Leona is just messing around, you ask, “Or else what? You’ll gobble me up?”

“Hmm.” Leona hums, wearing a grin that shows off all of his sharp teeth. “Not a bad idea, although I wonder if you’ll taste any good.”

When you dramatically gasp in mock-offense, he laughs, “Fortunately for you, I’m not interested in finding out anytime soon since Ruggie and Jack will be even more annoying than usual if I take away their favorite little herbivore, so you’re free to frolic around my dorm as per usual, just as long as you keep yourself in check.”

“Thank you. You’re too kind.” You dryly reply.

“Aren’t I?” Leona’s grin grows. “That’s why you’re such a lucky little herbivore. You won’t find any carnivores as accommodating as me.”

With an amused huff, you wrap your arms around him and hug him tightly. “I am indeed very lucky to have you. That’s why I intend to never take you for granted; I’ll always treasure your presence in my life.”

As you bury your face against his neck and affectionately nuzzle it, Leona goes quiet as he tightens his grip on you.

Eventually, Leona breaks his silence when he brings his mouth close to your ear and murmurs, “If you make promises like that, I’m gonna expect you to keep them. I don’t take words like those lightly, you know.”

You hug him tighter. “I know. That’s why I have every intention to keep every single promise I’ve ever made to you. I won’t ever betray your trust, no matter what, and I’ll prove it with every promise that I keep.”

“Heh, good answer.” Leona replies, his voice sounding noticeably fond, betraying his attempt to appear nonchalant. “See that you do.”

Smiling, you give him another strong squeeze before pulling your face away from his neck, so you can look into his gaze, which is as tender as you had been expecting it to be. “Anything for you, Leona-senpai.”

You kiss his cheek, all the while enjoying how he hugs you tighter and keeps you as close to himself as possible. “Anything for you.”

Now that Leona is awake and has gotten the pampering he deserved, you insist on getting out of bed and going back to work, and of course, it takes a little while to get Leona to agree since he’d much rather sleep the afternoon away with you in his arms since he can enjoy his favorite pastime and keep you safe simultaneously, which is obviously the ideal arrangement for him.

Thankfully, in the end, you manage to convince Leona to leave the bed after pointing out that the two of you need to make sure nothing serious happened while you both were sleeping since, if Oogie caused more trouble during that time, it’s possible that enough damage was caused that Halloween Town will need every available set of helping hands to get ready in time for Halloween.

Obviously, Leona doesn’t want to take any chances when there's the possibility that your group will have to stay until next year to get out of the crazy book you’re all trapped inside if things go wrong with this year's Halloween, so he grudgingly agrees to go check on how things are going outside despite him wanting nothing more than to remain in Sally’s room where it’s quiet and comfortable.

After you and Leona finally get out of bed, you take a moment to smooth out your dress and make yourself look presentable while a yawning Leona simply returns his jacket to his shoulders.

Once you’re satisfied with your appearance, you exit Sally’s room along with Leona and head down the large staircase that wraps around the interior of the building, which is built like a tower.

“Yuu-san!”

Much to your surprise, shortly after you reach the ground floor, Epel, the sight of whom fills you with immense relief since, while you were sure that he was okay, it still relieves you to have your assumption confirmed, rushes toward you, having come from the direction of the kitchen, making you assume he had been working on food preparations on his own up until he heard you and Leona coming down the stairs.

Upon seeing his extended arms, you do the same with your arms, so you can smoothly accept the tight embrace he gives you as soon as you’re within reach.

“I’m so sorry!” Epel tearfully apologizes as he tightly squeezes you. “It’s because of me that that Boogeyman was able to go after you! I had promised to protect you, and I completely failed!”

Your expression softens as you gently stroke his trembling back. “You don’t need to apologize, Epel. Even without knowing the whole story, I know what happened wasn’t the result of any negligence on your part ‘cause I know you would never purposely break a promise.”

His grip on you tightens as he sniffles. “You’re way too nice, Yuu-san! I really am at fault ‘cause I allowed that bastard to distract me! You should get angry at me! It’s what I deserve!”

Leona sighs, “You know she won’t ‘cause that’s just how she is with her cubs, so don’t bother wasting your time trying to ease your guilt that way. Instead, how about you tell us what happened that led to you and Riddle being MIA while Oogie went after her?”

While you give Leona a look, Epel pulls away from you and scrubs at his teary eyes. “Before he went after Yuu-san, the Boogeyman had his bugs steal some of the decorations that had been made for our team’s test of courage, and Riddle-san ran after them to get the decorations back and ensure that they didn’t get destroyed since they had taken a lotta time to make.”

“I had volunteered to do it myself, but since there was a chance the Boogeyman was trying to set up an ambush, Riddle-san insisted that he go instead ‘cause he felt that he was the best person to deal with that bastard.” He adds, "He told me to stay at the pumpkin patch while he chased after those bugs 'cause someone needed to keep an eye on things there and look out for Yuu-san."

“After he ran off, I remained on my guard since I knew there was a chance that Oogie could try to do more damage or try to hurt Yuu-san.” Epel continues, “Because Yuu-san was still playing the piano, I didn’t think she was in danger yet, but I still wanted to go check on her, just in case, since, in situations like that, you can’t be too careful.”

He frowns, “But, before I could get too far, one of the vampires suddenly starting making a fuss ‘cause some bugs had eaten through the parasol he had been using to protect himself from the sun, and since I was the closest person to him, I ran to help him since I knew it’d be bad to leave him as he was.”

His frown morphs into a furious scowl. “That bug-controlling bastard endangered the vampire to keep me away from Yuu-san, and I completely fell for his diversion! I won’t ever forgive myself for that, and I definitely won’t forgive that bastard, whom I’m gonna make pay for what he did!”

You take hold of his clenched fists with both of your hands and give them a gentle squeeze. “You did nothing wrong, Epel. You made the right call helping that poor vampire since he would’ve been in trouble if you hadn’t. Plus, since I was still playing the piano, you had no reason to believe I was in danger at the time, so your actions were perfectly reasonable.”

“Even so, that still doesn't make me feel any better, considering how close he got to getting his hands on you.” Epel mutters, “I shouldn’t have listened to that vampire who insisted on me taking him to the outskirts of the pumpkin patch after he turned into a bat because that was the most shaded part of the pumpkin patch; that's why helping him took so long.”

That explains why Idia didn’t see Epel when he first arrived at the pumpkin patch. Obviously, he must have shown up shortly after Epel ran off to help the poor vampire that Oogie had targeted.

“No, it’s good that you listened to him since he would know which places are safest for him to be during the day.” You reply, “It would’ve been bad if you left him somewhere where he’d be at risk due to your haste, so I’m glad you didn’t do that since I would’ve hated for that poor guy to suffer just ‘cause he was Oogie’s unlucky victim.”

Epel rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t want that either, but-”

“But nothing.” You cut him off. “You did everything you could, Epel, and you did it the right way, because I raised you right.”

While Leona snorts, you give Epel’s hands a strong squeeze. “That’s why I’m very proud of you for coming to that vampire’s rescue. You did a great job, Epel. Thanks to you, the vampire’s safe, and Halloween can still be wholeheartedly enjoyed by everyone since obviously the locals wouldn’t have had a good time if something serious had happened to one of their own.”

“She’s right.” Leona agrees, “While there’s obviously room for improvement, you took the right course of action under those circumstances.”

He tousles your son’s hair. “So quit moping already, or else, your mom won’t be able to enjoy her first Halloween.”

You smile, “That’s right. If you focus too much on the past, you won’t be able to enjoy the future we’re all working so hard for.”

Briefly, Epel pouts as he tidies up his now messy hair before sighing, “You’re right. Nothing good will come from me dwelling on what I can’t change. What’s done is done.”

His eyes gain a noticeable fiery look of determination as he declares, “Instead, I’ll just focus on how I’ll get my revenge once that bug bastard finally shows his face!”

Leona smirks, “Heh, your plans for revenge better include how to outpace your competition since you’re not the only one who wants first dibs on him.”

With a giggle, you nod. “That’s right. It’s gonna be a total free-for-all once it finally comes time to face Oogie head-on.”

Epel grins, “Just the way I like it! I won’t lose to anyone!”

You grin in return. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Once Epel is in better spirits, you and Leona ask him if anything had happened while you both were sleeping and if Skully is alright since you can’t help but worry about your new friend, even though you trust Trey and the rest of your friends to keep him safe.

Thankfully, up until Epel came to work on the Halloween food preparations, which Jamil had asked him to do since the rest of the food preparations team was busy, nothing of note had happened, although it’s possible something could have occurred in the last thirty or so minutes since he arrived at Sally and Dr. Finkelstein’s home.

Skully is thankfully safe since everyone has been keeping tabs on him, and he was ordered to avoid going anywhere alone where he could potentially get ambushed by Oogie Boogie.

Naturally, you’re very relieved to hear that nothing bad happened while you were resting, but at the same time, you can’t help but be on edge since surely Oogie wouldn’t just call it a day after targeting you, especially when he could easily use his bugs to cause more trouble for everyone.

Of course, it’s totally possible that Oogie is afraid of drawing Jack’s suspicion since, if the locals saw his bugs causing a lot of trouble, you’re sure they’d put two and two together and tell Jack, who would be quick to go after the Boogeyman to ensure he doesn’t ruin Halloween for everyone.

Apparently, the diversions Oogie created earlier to keep Riddle and Epel from coming to your rescue didn’t earn a lot of attention from the locals since no one else was around when those decorations got swiped and no one but Epel actually saw the bugs that ruined the vampire’s parasol.

This means that Oogie so far has managed to avoid getting on the radar of anyone from Halloween Town, and more than likely, he will continue to act in such a way since he doesn’t want to face Jack’s wrath.

Which is rather unfortunate since you’d love nothing more than to see Jack go after Oogie and watch the Boogeyman get his just desserts.

Unfortunately, you have to play by the rules of the book you’re stuck in, meaning you have to be patient and let the story play out as it’s supposed to and not rush things, like you and everyone else in your group so badly want to do.

So, until Oogie Boogie makes a mistake and leaves crucial evidence that incriminates himself or just outright reveals himself, you and your friends can’t say anything, much to your immense annoyance and frustration.

You’re soon pulled away from your frustrated thoughts when Epel remarks, “While nothing bad happened, something did happen that we all have pretty mixed feelings about.”

While you tilt your head, Leona raises an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“Because we’re short on hands, Jack-san ordered the brats we had under house arrest to make beds for us after hearing from Sally-san that we had a hard time sleeping last night since he thought the physical labor would be a good way to punish them.” Epel answers, “So now they’re out of confinement.”

When Leona scowls, you wearily sigh, "Well, at least, now we’ll get some beds, and I’m sure Lock, Shock, and Barrel will hate doing that kind of boring work, so they’ll still be getting punished. We’ll just need to be extra vigilant since they’re no longer in a space that we have complete control over.”

Epel nods. “That’s why we all had mixed feelings. None of us wanted them outside, but we also didn’t wanna pass up a chance to get some actual beds to sleep in.”

“Where exactly are they building the beds?” Leona asks, “Skellington better not have put them anywhere near the test of courage sites.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Epel assures him. “We made sure they were stationed in the center of town by the creepy looking fountain since we wanted them out in the open and nowhere near the test of courage sites.”

“Malleus-san even set up a barrier to ensure they couldn’t run off.” He adds, “He made the barrier so strong that only the other dorm leaders and Jamil-senpai can get through it.”

An impish grin rises to his lips. “I got a real kick out of watching those brats banging on the barrier after they tried to run off. Their faces were hilarious.”

Grins quickly appear on both your and Leona’s faces as you reply, “I bet. I hate that I missed that.”

“Guess the lizard was actually able to make himself useful, after all.” Leona comments, “It’s unlikely that those brats or their boss will be able to bypass a barrier made by the lizard, so the chances of those brats escaping are slim to none.”

His eyes narrow. “Which means, if the Boogeyman wants to cause any more trouble today, he won’t be able to rely on them; he’ll have to once again do something himself.”

You nod. “That’s why we’ll have to be extra vigilant, and I’ll make sure that I always have someone with me at all times.”

Epel frowns, “I really wish I could go with you to protect you, Yuu-san, but since I was working at the pumpkin patch all morning, Jamil-san wants me to help Sally-san with harvesting ingredients once she gets back and keep her from making anything scary while he and Trey-san are busy with their test of courage preparations.”

“Technically, you are protecting me by keeping Sally-san from making anything that could be too dangerous for us to eat.” You wryly reply, making Leona and Epel both snort.

Smiling, you pat your son’s shoulder. “So, for now, you can protect me that way, and later, you can protect me your preferred way when you get your next chance to work at the pumpkin patch.”

Just after that thought crosses your mind, you remember that Leona, who’s also on the food preparations team, hasn’t gotten to do any work for it today, which prompts you to look at him and ask, “Oh yeah, you haven’t gotten the chance to help with the food preparations today, have you, Leona-senpai? Are you gonna stick with me for the rest of the day, or are you gonna come back here once you find someone who can be my bodyguard while you’re busy?”

“Considering your sharp senses and excellent hunting skills, you’d be a big help with finding ingredients, so you might wanna come back with Sally-san once we relieve her of her duties.” You add.

Leona shrugs. “I’ll think about it. It all depends on how things are outside and if there’s someone available to take my position while I’m gone.”

“Well, if Riddle-san is still at the pumpkin patch, you won’t have to worry about anything there since he was patrolling the place and going over everything with a fine-toothed comb the last time I was there.” Epel informs, “He was wearing quite the scary expression the whole time too, which led to a lot of the locals complimenting him for really getting into the Halloween spirit.”

Both you and Leona snort at your son’s words since it’s so easy to imagine the mental image he just described. Obviously, Riddle did not take the fact that he got manipulated by Oogie Boogie well, so now, he’s on the warpath.

“If Oogie’s smart, he’ll stay away from the pumpkin patch or wherever Riddle-senpai is right now, or else, he’ll come to regret it.” You dryly remark.

Not that you would mind such a satisfying turn of events, of course.

After Epel finishes filling you and Leona in on what the two of you missed out on while you both were napping, your son returns to the kitchen while you and Leona head for the front door.

As you’re leaving, you call out to Epel and ask him to save some candy for Grim, because you just remembered that you owe your partner a reward for being a good sport about going through a tour of Jack’s house this morning, and you know you won’t hear the end of it from Grim if you fail to deliver.

Much to your surprise, just after you and Leona exit the building, following you making that request of Epel, you hear a familiar booming voice call out your name. “Yuu!”

As you jolt in surprise and Leona grimaces, you turn to see the approach of Sebek, who’s currently sprinting straight toward you while an annoyed Grim tries to catch up to him.

Faster than you can react, Sebek, once you’re within arm’s reach, pulls you right off your feet and into a tight embrace that’s just shy of being painful.

“You foolish girl, always getting into trouble when I am not around to protect you.” Sebek grumbles as he buries his face against your shoulder. “What am I going to do with you?”

Not used to Sebek being so openly affectionate and honest about his feelings when others are around, you briefly stare at him with surprise as you return his embrace before your expression softens. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Sebek, and for putting you through something so scary.”

Before Sebek can respond, an annoyed Grim interjects, “You’ve got a lotta nerve cuttin’ in front of me, Sebek! I’m the boss around here, so I’m supposed to get first dibs on checkin’ on my henchman!”

Much to your amusement, Grim proceeds to climb up Sebek’s body, like it’s a tree, making Sebek grimace, before forcibly inserting himself in between you and your other son, so he can cling onto your chest.

After returning your feet to the ground, Sebek pulls away from you just enough so that he can scowl at the currently smirking monster. “You irksome direbeast, is there no end to your shamelessness?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” You wryly reply, making Leona snort and Grim pout.

Just as Grim looks as if he intends to complain, you wrap one of your arms around him and kiss his nose before giving your other son a kiss on the cheek, causing Grim’s mood to visibly improve while Sebek’s expression grows flustered.

Smiling, you tightly hug both of your sons as you say, “Thank you both for coming to see me. That makes me really happy. While I was already feeling great thanks to the awesome nap I had, I’m doing even better now since I got to see all of my sons so soon after I woke up.”

Your smile grows when you see how their eyes light up in response to your words. “So you don’t need to worry about me now. I’m in perfect condition thanks to you wonderful boys.”

“Myehehe!” Grim smugly grins, “Of course, ya are! This is exactly why I came to see ya ‘cause I knew you’d recover instantly if I allowed ya to bask in my amazin’ presence!”

While Sebek rolls his eyes, you giggle as you rub your nose against your partner’s nose. “You’re such a great boss. Thank you, Grim.”

After giving your noticeably pleased partner’s forehead a kiss, you direct your attention to Sebek who huffs, “You spoil him far too much, Yuu.”

“I spoil all my boys.” You give the taller boy another kiss on the cheek. “And that includes you ‘cause I love you all so~ much.”

Rather than complain like he normally would do when you get affectionate with him while others are present, Sebek just blushes as he hugs you tighter, perhaps because he can’t bring himself to be his usual tsundere self after everything you went through today.

Because your Sebek is one of the sweetest boys in all of Twisted Wonderland; at least, he definitely is as far as you’re concerned.

Unable to help yourself, because your sons really are the cutest, you spend a few minutes doting on them since it’s really the least you can do, considering all the worry you caused them, and neither of the two try to stop you despite the fact that an amused Leona is present, which, under normal circumstances, would make Sebek want to keep you at arm’s length for the sake of his pride.

Once you’re satisfied, you wrap up this doting session since you really need to head for the pumpkin patch and relieve Sally of her current duties since you’re sure the poor woman could use a break, considering being Jack’s replacement is not an easy job.

“Leona-senpai and I were just about to head to the pumpkin patch, so we can relieve Sally-san of her duties as my temporary replacement.” You tell your sons. “Do you two wanna come with us, or do you need to get back to whatever work you were doing prior to coming to see me?”

“I’m comin’ with y’all!” Grim immediately answers, “I need a break from Jack and his annoyin’ dog. Besides, I gotta protect ya from that Boogeyman!”

Sebek scoffs, “As if you could offer any real means of protection.”

While Grim glares at him and you give him a disapproving look, Sebek ignores those looks in favor of answering your earlier question. “I need to return to my liege’s side since I told Malleus-sama that I would only be gone long enough to check on your current status. However, I can escort you to the pumpkin patch since I am sure that is what Malleus-sama would ask me to do if he were here.”

“Which means I gotta deal with two annoying loudmouths in the meantime.” Leona drawls, “Great.”

As your sons give the upperclassman matching offended looks, you snort, “Please be nice, Leona-senpai. I wanna be able to enjoy the rest of today and not deal with any of my friends butting heads, so let’s all get along.”

Rather than give you a proper response, Leona just shrugs, so you have no idea if he’ll heed your request or not.

After shaking your head at his non-committal response, you decide not to press the matter and instead just start heading toward the direction of the pumpkin patch, with Grim still comfortably resting in your arms.

Predictably, Sebek walks alongside you, making sure to stay close, just as he does whenever he’s guarding Malleus. Meanwhile, Leona hangs back and trails behind you and your sons, probably because he wants to put some distance between him and your sons, although it’s also possible that he thinks he’ll do a better job of guarding you if he watches over you from behind since he is the type to consider all the angles of matters like this.

As you’re all walking, you chat with your sons about what’s been going on with their Halloween preparations, although you obviously avoid asking any questions that could lead to any surprises they have planned for you being spoiled. Naturally, you also ask if Jack knows where Grim is and make sure that your partner didn’t just run off on Jack while the skeleton was distracted.

Thankfully, your worries are soon put to rest when Sebek says that he ran into Jack and Grim earlier while he was on his way to visit you, and upon finding out where Sebek was headed, Grim immediately joined up with your other son after telling Jack that he’d meet back up with him later.

Jack was perfectly fine with the arrangement, according to both of your sons, so obviously, he hadn’t been working on anything important that required Grim’s assistance at the time, which is a relief, since you would’ve felt bad for the poor guy if your partner had abandoned him when there was still plenty of work to be done.

You’re also relieved when your sons tell you that Oogie hasn’t caused any trouble since Epel began his work for the food preparations team, although you’re still on edge since you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Fortunately, Grim and Sebek provide nothing but good news as they report on all the positive progress that has been made with the tests of courage and the preparations they’re doing for your Halloween surprise.

Or, at least, that was the case until you asked your sons about how Skully was doing since you had wanted to see if anything had changed on that end since Epel last saw him.

“Overall, I would say that irksome human is doing fine, although he has been acting strangely ever since we heard about what happened to you earlier today.” Sebek reveals, “His cheerfulness at times now feels forced, and I often see him staring off into space, wearing a pensive expression.”

“I think he’s scared of that Boogeyman.” Grim chimes in. “That’s why he’s been lookin’ so nervous, like he thinks the guy is gonna jump outta nowhere and try to eat him.”

Sebek nods. “His expression did become even paler than usual after he found out what happened to Yuu, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was scared, considering he is also the Boogeyman's target; such a reaction would be normal for a frail human like him.”

Your brow furrows. That doesn’t sound right, though, considering how much Skully seems to like horror. I mean, I can totally get being anxious about being the target of a cannibal, but I can’t see him acting so rattled when Oogie still hasn’t tried to purposely target him yet, as far as he’s aware anyway, since Trey-senpai and the others agreed to not bring up the fact that they know about last night’s events to him. I honestly would’ve expected Skully to have nerves of steel, like what’d you expect from most horror movie buffs.

Just after that thought crosses your mind, Grim comments, “Skully ain’t just afraid for his own sake, though. He had been really worried about Yuu too. That’s why he enlisted my help and asked me to check on her for him while she was restin’ despite us bein’ told that she had Leona with her.”

When you and Sebek look down at him in surprise, Grim proudly puffs up his chest. “Myehehe! Unlike me, who’s a master at everything, Skully wasn’t confident in his sneakin’ skills, so he asked me to go up to the room where Yuu and Leona were sleepin’ and listen at the door to make sure they really were in there, safe and sound.”

“Since he gave me some candy and I was curious about how Yuu was holdin’ up, I snuck up there, using my amazin’ stealth skills, and without needin’ to open the door, I was able to pick up on the sounds of their breathin’.” Grim proudly shares, “And I did it all without wakin’ anyone up. Ain’t I the coolest?”

“So you are actually capable of being quiet.” Leona dryly remarks, “Guess there’s a first time for everything.”

As Grim complains about Leona's response, you once again find yourself lost in thought. For Skully to go through all that trouble, he really must have been worried about me. I wonder if he’s been so anxious this afternoon, not because he’s worried about himself but because he’s strictly worried about me.

The corners of your lips dip downward. Considering he’s not used to having a friend, he may just be scared of anything happening to me ‘cause he doesn’t want to lose his first friend - a feeling that I can completely understand since I would definitely feel the same way if I was in his shoes.

If that’s the case, you’ll need to provide Skully as much reassurance as possible the next time you see him, so you can put his poor heart at ease.

Little did you know that such a task would be a lot easier said than done.

Not long after you and your sons finish talking about Skully's recent behavior, your group safely reaches the pumpkin patch, having thankfully gone without seeing any signs of Oogie Boogie, although you honestly weren’t expecting him to pull anything while you all were walking together since a coward like him wouldn’t try to attack you when you were so well-guarded, especially with someone as strong as Leona around.

Upon reaching your destination, you finally set Grim down on the ground before giving Sebek a hug as thanks for escorting you. “Thank you for escorting me, Sebek. You’re the best. Please let Tsunotaro and the others know that I’m doing fine now, so they don’t need to worry about me.”

After firmly returning your embrace, Sebek quietly huffs, “As if quelling everyone’s worry would be that easy…”

“Be careful.” He adds, using an unusually soft voice, after bringing his mouth to your ear. “Please.”

A sharp pang resounds inside your chest when you hear his quiet plea - the kind of plea that you know the prideful boy would only make when he’s truly worried about you.

“I will, I promise.” You softly reply as you give him a strong squeeze. “I won’t go anywhere on my own or provide any openings that Oogie could potentially exploit. I won’t let that bastard get the drop on me again.”

As his posture relaxes, Sebek squeezes you in return before pulling away from you. “And don’t try to pick a fight with that villain on your own, regardless of how much you wish to seek vengeance against him. You are not the only one who wishes to challenge him to a duel.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “I know. I won’t be greedy, I promise.”

“Ya better not be!” Grim pipes up. “‘Cause nobody wants a piece of that bug bastard more than the Great Grim! He’ll be nothin’ but ashes by the time I’m done with him!”

“Hmph.” Sebek harrumphs, “As if you could get to him before my liege and myself. It will be OUR hands who vanquish that nefarious villain, not yours.”

Before Grim can disagree, like he so obviously wants to do, Leona smugly interjects, “It’s cute that you little cubs, whose eyes are barely even open at this point, think you actually stand a chance. While the lizard may provide a little competition for me, you two will be left in my dust before your little, barely developed brains can even begin to comprehend what’s happening. Heh.”

Unsurprisingly, your sons don’t take kindly to his words, considering the loud offended gasps you just heard come out of their mouths.

Quickly, before a fight can break out, you say, “Alright, that’s enough of that. We’ve got work to do, so go on back to Tsunotaro, Sebek. I’ll see you later at dinner.”

At the same time, you start heading into the pumpkin patch, because you know Leona and Grim would rather go after you than stick around and squabble. Thankfully, just as you had hoped, Leona and Grim follow after you, and that, in turn, prompts a grumbling Sebek to take his leave.

A few minutes later, you spot Sally who’s kindly allowing some of the kids on Team Terror to practice their scare tactics on her, so they can get some feedback.

Since Sally is obviously far more cut out for that kind of work, you refrain from approaching her until she finishes helping the children, who promptly run off, so they can use the advice she gave them to further improve their scaring skills.

Upon noticing your approach, Sally’s face lights up. “Oh, Yuu-chan, I’m so glad to see you! How are you feeling? I’m terribly sorry about your poor sleeping conditions last night. We were such poor hosts to you, even though you’ve all been so kind and helpful to us.”

Just as it looks like Grim intends to agree with Sally, Leona flicks your partner hard with his tail, knocking the monster off his feet, much to your amusement.

At the same time, you smile, “There’s no need to apologize, Sally-san. None of us really gave much thought to our sleeping situation ‘cause we were all so focused on our Halloween preparations yesterday, and our arrival was also very sudden, so it’s perfectly understandable how things turned out the way they did. Honestly, we were just grateful to have a roof over our heads.”

“And thanks to you so generously offering your room, I was able to take a great nap.” Your smile grows. “So I’m feeling great now; I’m in tip-top shape and ready to get back to work.”

Sally’s expression becomes relieved as she rests her hands over her chest. “Oh, what a relief. Jack and I had been so worried; I know he’ll also be very relieved to hear that you’re doing better.”

Getting an idea, you remark, “Oh, that reminds me. I haven’t seen Jack-san since I woke up, so I haven’t been able to tell him that I’m all better now since I immediately headed over here after I left your house so you could take a break. If you happen to see him after you return to town, would you mind passing along the good news to him for me?”

As expected, Sally’s expression becomes a mixture of embarrassed and delighted since you just provided her a good excuse to seek out the man she’s in love with. “O-Oh, of course! I would hate for Jack to worry any longer, so I’ll go tell him the good news right away!”

With that, Sally quickly starts heading toward the direction of Halloween Town, appearing noticeably eager.

Ignoring Grim, who’s been complaining to him about getting knocked over for the last few minutes, an amused Leona, after watching Sally leave, focuses his gaze on you and asks, “Playing matchmaker, are we?”

Eyes twinkling, you reply, “Just wanted to do something nice for Sally-san who was kind enough to help me out while I was taking a break, that’s all.”

He huffs in amusement. “Right.”

Appearing confused, Grim, who has lost his earlier ire, asks, “What are y’all talkin’ about?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Leona answers, making you snort, because his response made him sound like he’s Grim’s father.

Unsurprisingly, Grim isn’t too pleased with Leona's patronizing response, but before he can say as much, Jamil and Idia arrive on the scene, obviously having noticed your group from afar.

Much to your amusement, rather than react to your obvious recovery, Idia immediately directs his full focus to Grim and grins, “At last, our team’s cute, fluffy mascot has arrived! I’m so glad I came back here after I finished babysitting those brats despite not wanting to be anywhere near this place that’s completely infested with scary, cheerful extroverts!”

“Don’t call me cute!” Grim retorts, as he angrily shakes his clenched paw at Idia, who predictably remains unfazed by Grim’s anger and instead looks completely endeared by it.

Meanwhile, Jamil shakes his head at their antics before focusing his attention on you. “You look much better, Yuu. That break was obviously exactly what you needed. Were there any delayed side-effects of whatever power Oogie used on you, or have you fully recovered?”

Smiling, you give him a thumbs-up. “I’m perfectly fine now. Since I woke up from my nap, I’ve been feeling just as I did prior to encountering Oogie, so it doesn’t look like his power can cause any other kinds of ailments aside from the ones I dealt with before my nap.”

“That’s good.” Idia comments, finally taking his attention away from Grim and focusing it on you. “Looks like the final boss’s super move isn’t as broken as it could’ve been. Lucky for us.”

You nod in agreement. “It makes sense, though, since the book can’t make Oogie a super OP villain since, otherwise, he would’ve already beaten Jack-san and taken over Halloween Town by now. That’s why, while he’s definitely powerful, there has to be limits to his powers, especially since he’s likely someone we need to defeat in order to complete the story.”

Jamil grabs his chin. “Jack-san really must be quite powerful for Oogie to fear him so greatly despite the impressive powers he has at his disposal. I suppose I should expect nothing less from the man who’s considered the most important person in town, the Pumpkin King.”

“Hmph.” Leona crosses his arms. “I still haven’t seen anything that would explain WHY a dense guy like Skellington would be given the title of king. He’s always just doing as he pleases regardless of how that affects the people around him.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” Idia agrees, “But maybe the qualifications for king are different here? Maybe you just gotta be obsessed with Halloween and be good at scaring to be king since Jack-shi definitely has that all covered.”

“Yeah, that skeleton is really scary when he’s pissed.” Grim shivers. “He had Lock, Shock, and Barrel shakin’ in their boots when he warned them not to cause any more trouble after orderin’ ‘em to make beds for us.”

“Hmm.” Jamil considers everyone’s remarks for a moment before eyeing you curiously. “Was it ever said how exactly Jack-san ended up as the Pumpkin King, or was that title already established prior to the events of the movie from your world, Yuu?”

“The latter.” You reply, “That’s why I had tried to research it online, but I had no luck finding any canonical material that confirmed how he became king. If I were to make a guess, I’d say it’s a combination of him being so charismatic and the fact that he’s the person who loves Halloween the most and the person who’s the best at scaring since you can’t rule a place like Halloween Town and not be good at scaring people.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “Personally, I think Jack-san makes a fine king, ‘cause he always puts the people of his town first, and he’s always striving to improve himself for the sake of everyone’s beloved Halloween.”

“Yes, his methods might not always be the most efficient, and they can often get out of hand when he lets himself get carried away.” You continue, “But, no matter what, he’ll never betray his people’s trust; he’ll always be on their side.”

Your smile grows as you meet the gaze of Leona, who’s been staring intently at you the whole time you’ve been sharing your thoughts about Jack. “That’s the kinda king I admire the most since I don’t care about things like if a king has a lot of power and prestige or if he’s what everyone else thinks is a perfect king. I’d only want a king who genuinely cares about the people he’s supposed to protect and always makes his decisions with the happiness and well-being of his country and its people at the forefront of his mind.”

It’s why I also admire you, Leona-senpai. You silently convey this message in your heart to him, hoping the observant man will see it in your eyes. Because I know how much you care about your country despite how aloof you try to act. I know that, despite everything all those callous people during your childhood put you through, you’ll still do everything you can for the sake of helping your country, even if you never get the recognition and praise you want and deserve.

That’s why you swore to help Leona achieve his goals - to remain by his side after you graduate and support him in every way that you can.

Because he’s the king you want to follow - the king most worthy of your complete loyalty.

Thankfully, it appears that your message was received since, after briefly wearing an expression that you can’t read, Leona smirks as he reaches over to ruffle your hair. “Heh, guess I can’t argue with that. At the end of the day, what matters most is if the king does right by the people who need and adore him, so if that idiot Skellington does that for the residents of Halloween Town, who all view him as their king, then he really is a king.”

Upon hearing him agree with you, a pleasant warmth takes root inside your chest and steadily grows stronger until it fully encompasses you, making you feel as if you could burst from happiness at any minute.

The reason you’re so happy is because Leona’s sincere response gives you hope that he will soon come to recognize that he too is a king - to you and all the people at his dorm who respect and admire him just as much as the people of Halloween Town adore Jack.

Considering how negative he can be, you know it will take some time for Leona to fully accept that truth, but the gentleness of his touch and the warmth currently in his eyes makes you think that he, at least, has taken another step toward accepting your feelings, which makes you happier than words could ever even begin to describe.

You beam, “Exactly!”

Shortly after you and your friends finish talking about Jack and his kingly status, several of the locals approach your group, all of them eager to get help from you, Leona, and Jamil, the latter of whom has apparently become just as popular as Leona, no doubt because Jamil is so good at coming up with ideas and keeping people organized, like Leona.

Meanwhile, Idia naturally hurries toward a spot in the pumpkin patch that’s not crowded since it’s always his default response to avoid crowds, and Grim tries to get everyone to seek out his advice since your partner thinks that everyone should rely on someone as amazing and talented as him.

This is how the rest of the afternoon passes, with you, Leona, and Jamil guiding the locals while Grim tries to get into the spotlight and Idia avoids it like the plague.

However, Leona doesn’t stay the whole time since he does leave for around an hour or so before returning to the pumpkin patch, so he can help Epel and Sally with their ingredient harvesting since he had decided that it would be safe to take a temporary break from his bodyguard duties, because both Jamil and Idia were here.

The whole time you’re at the pumpkin patch, you never see Riddle, making you think he must be preoccupied with his other Halloween preparations. It makes you glad that you asked Sebek to pass along the message that you’re now alright to everyone else since you’d hate for anyone to spend the whole afternoon worrying about you.

Of course, just as Sebek had said earlier, you know that it’d be impossible to make your friends completely stop worrying about you, considering the circumstances currently at hand, especially since even Jamil and Idia, neither of whom are the type to dwell on matters like this, are still on edge despite all the time they’ve spent with you, which is why Idia is still here despite him preferring the comforting solitude of Dr. Finkelstein’s laboratory.

The only way everyone will be completely at ease is by defeating Oogie Boogie once and for all; sadly, that likely won’t be happening in the near future since you’re sure the book intends to save that final boss battle for either the night before Halloween or the day of Halloween, because it will be more exciting that way, which means you and your friends will have to deal with being on edge for at least another full workday, much to your annoyance.

That thought crosses your mind as you watch the sun begin to set, signaling the end of another busy day of Halloween preparations, making you sigh. Two days down and only one more to go. I can only hope tomorrow won’t be as anxiety-inducing as I’m expecting it to be.

Seconds after you think that, some of the local children frantically rush toward you and your friends, who had all just gathered together, because you all had planned to leave the pumpkin patch as a group. “Yuu! Yuu!”

Getting a bad feeling, you turn to face the children, but before you can say anything, one of them says, “Come quick! Something bad has happened to the big pumpkin!”

Dread instantly washes over you when you hear that whatever trouble that is afoot has to deal with the centerpiece of your team’s test of courage’s finale. “Oh no…”

Without hesitation, you, along with your friends, quickly follow after the children, who lead you to the largest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, the one you haven’t gone anywhere near since the incident with Oogie.

And you immediately find yourself regretting the fact that you’ve been avoiding this particular area when you reach your destination and see all the ruined decorations, which have been torn to shreds, surrounding the giant pumpkin, whose carved face is now marred, making it look like a jack-o-lantern that just got out of a fight.

Dammit. Oogie got the better of us again. You internally curse upon seeing the damage done to this part of the pumpkin patch. He took full advantage of the fact that I was keeping my distance from this area and that my friends were too ‘cause they refused to leave my general vicinity.

Even though all of the Halloween Town residents keep making remarks about wild animals being responsible for the damage done, which is honestly a perfectly reasonable assumption, considering you do see some visible claw marks on the pumpkin, you know that the Boogeyman is behind all this

Because it’s way too much of a coincidence that a group of wild animals suddenly invaded the pumpkin patch and specifically only targeted an area that you and your friends were avoiding - an area that contains your team’s big showstopper.

How Oogie managed to pull this off and make it seem as if wild animals did all this damage, you have no idea, nor can you figure out how he could’ve done this much damage in a short amount of time since you know the big pumpkin wouldn’t have been left unattended for too long due to everyone having finally started working on decorating this area this afternoon.

Of course, none of that is really important right now since what matters most is how you deal with the damage that has been done.

Quickly, you look down at Grim and request, “Grim, since you’re the fastest in our group, I need you to be in charge of finding and retrieving Tsunotaro. We’re gonna need his magic if we’re gonna reverse the damage that was done here. Can I count on you?”

Grim smugly grins, “Obviously! It’s the boss’s job to save the day when his henchmen are in trouble, so leave it to the Great Grim!”

Without further ado, the monster takes off into a sprint, so he can take care of the important task you’ve assigned him.

Meanwhile, Leona huffs, “As much as I hate relying on the horned bastard, his magic is the best way to fix the damage done since it means we won’t have to waste any time remaking the decorations and trying to fix the pumpkin.”

“I’m all for being efficient and using the ultimate cheat code that is Malleus-shi, so this plan has my full support.” Idia chimes in. "Especially since it's unlikely that the book will nerf Malleus-shi again when we're only trying to use his broken powers to ensure Halloween is a success, which is the event mission with the highest priority since we can't escape this book we're trapped in unless we clear it."

As the two third-year students are talking, you and Jamil take care of calming down the locals and assuring them that the damage caused by Oogie can be fixed with magic, so they don’t need to worry about Halloween potentially being ruined.

Thankfully, because they’re nothing like NRC students, all of the Halloween Town residents are very trusting people, so upon hearing your and Jamil’s reassurances, they all immediately calm down and regain their typical cheery demeanors, much to the amazement of your upperclassmen.

After you finish reassuring everyone, you tell all of the locals that they’re free to call it a day since you want to ensure that everyone gets enough rest, so they’ll be full of energy for the last day of preparing for Halloween, which is obviously the most important.

Although there were some people who had wanted to stick around and see how magic will fix the giant pumpkin, in the end, all of the Halloween Town residents agree to leave the pumpkin patch since they all want to be in tip-top shape for tomorrow.

Once everyone leaves and you’re sure that no one else besides your friends is within earshot, you remark, “So this totally has Oogie’s name written all over it. I’m not the only one thinking that, right?”

“Nope.” Leona, Jamil, and Idia all simultaneously reply, with matching dry tones.

“It would be too much of a coincidence if anything other than Oogie was responsible for the extensive damage done to our test of courage.” Jamil comments, “However, it’s hard for me to grasp just how he pulled off all this damage with the kind of skills we know he possesses.”

“If this damage was all done by bugs, those are some seriously OP bugs.” Idia mutters, “Can they defy reality simply ‘cause this is a fictional world, or does this place just have bugs that are that scary?”

While an ashen-faced Jamil grimaces and shudders, prompting you to comfortingly pat his back, Leona examines all of the damage done by Oogie with narrowed eyes. “I don’t think all of this was done by bugs. This has to be the work of another ability that he didn’t have in the movie from Yuu’s world, like what he used earlier today and yesterday in the alley.”

Before you can agree with him since you also find it unlikely that just bugs were used to create this kind of damage, you happen to catch sight of something near the large pumpkin that appears out of place, which makes you pause.

Curious, you draw closer to the object that garnered your attention and quickly realize that it’s a gray handkerchief - a rather fancy looking one at that.

After picking up the handkerchief, which has cute little jack-o-lanterns embroidered on it, you closely examine it. This doesn’t belong to anyone that I know of. Could one of the locals have dropped it?

“Now, that’s interesting.”

Upon hearing Leona’s voice, you jolt in surprise, not having noticed that he and the rest of your upperclassmen had moved closer to you, so they could look at the object in your hands.

Once his words fully register in your mind, you raise an eyebrow. “Why is a handkerchief interesting?”

“Because that’s not just any old handkerchief.” Leona answers, his gaze calculative. “That handkerchief belongs to the badger; it’s got his scent all over it.”

For a moment, you just stare at him, unable to wrap your brain around his words since they don’t make sense. After all, you haven’t seen Skully since this morning, and no one has ever made a comment about him visiting the pumpkin patch either, meaning there was no opportunity for him to lose his handkerchief here.

And that’s when it finally hits you.

“That sonuva-!” You fiercely scowl, “Oogie’s trying to frame Skully and make him the fall guy!”

“Looks like it.” Leona agrees, “And it’s not a bad move on his part if his intention was to make us suspicious of Skully ‘cause we all know the badger prefers his traditional Halloween over what we ended up deciding on doing.”

“Depending on how long he was in that alley yesterday, he could have overheard Yuu talking to Skully about his views on Halloween and how we couldn’t go along with them if we wanted to escape this book.” Jamil thoughtfully grabs his chin as his eyes narrow. “Of course, that begs the question of how much he actually heard and if he’s aware of Yuu’s Quirk and the fact that this is all a fictional setting.”

“I find it unlikely that the book would allow its characters to find out a huge spoiler like that.” Idia pipes up. “After all, I doubt it’d wanna deal with any potential existential crises and everything that comes with them, which would obviously cause trouble for the plot.”

“The chances of him knowing about my Quirk, though, are probably rather high now that I think about it, especially if he saw us take care of all those booby traps his henchmen set up before anyone could actually trip them.” You grimace, “Which I’m definitely not thrilled about, although I don’t regret handling that situation the way we did.”

Leona clicks his tongue. “Obviously, we’ll need to be more careful about what we say from now on since the bastard likely will keep spying on us until he finally shows his face.”

Ironically, just after those words leave his mouth, it happens:

You feel a pair of hungry eyes suddenly start boring into you.

Thankfully, unlike last time, you don’t suddenly find it hard to breathe or find yourself unable to move. Nothing happens following feeling those eyes on you, making this moment just like the one that happened at the alley yesterday.

Of course, you still find yourself freezing in place, and you can’t stop your breath from hitching since the memories of your last encounter with Oogie are still too fresh on your mind.

Instantly, Leona, Jamil, and Idia pick up on the fact that something is wrong since their gazes immediately focus on you when your body abruptly stiffens.

Fortunately, because they’re all so smart and observant, they’re quickly able to figure out what’s going on, even without you saying anything, especially since Leona and Jamil had seen you act like this yesterday.

Without hesitation, Jamil draws closer to you and takes hold of one of your hands, all the while subtly surveying his surroundings.

Before either of you can say anything, the two of you get caught off guard when a smirking Leona says, “But y’know, I gotta say, this is all rather underwhelming. After what happened earlier this afternoon, I was expecting a little more outta the Boogeyman that Skellington warned us about after we got here. You’d think someone with his kinda reputation would be capable of more than just destroying some decorations and planting evidence to make someone else take the fall. How disappointing.”

Leona’s mention of Jack initially confuses you, but you quickly realize that was a lie he came up with so Oogie won’t find out the real reason why you and your friends know about him.

After exchanging meaningful glances with Leona, Idia also starts smirking, “I know, right? I mean, yeah, it’s a common trope for villains to cause internal conflict amongst the heroes and make them fight each other, but that’s usually done when they’ve run out of all other possible alternatives! That’s why I wasn’t expecting the big bad Boogeyman to do it this early in the game!”

“Guess he couldn’t think of any better ideas, huh?” His smirk grows. “How lame! He’s so much of a joke I can't even LOL about it!”

Meanwhile, as this is all transpiring, you quickly realize what the two dorm leaders are trying to do, which is why you hurriedly start to leave the area and take Jamil along with you.

Thankfully, Jamil also quickly catches onto what’s going on and does not hesitate to follow your lead since the spot where Leona and Idia currently are standing is now officially the last place he wants to be.

Because only one kind of outcome can occur when you piss off a man made out of bugs.

Upon hearing the sudden sound of countless insects hurriedly heading toward the direction of Leona and Idia, you instantly increase your pace as you shout, “Don’t look back, Jamil-senpai! Whatever you do, don’t look back!”

“I never had any intention to!” Jamil retorts, his apprehension obvious in his voice, all the while clutching your hand with a vice-like grip.

All the while, you hear Idia’s cackle like a madman while Leona continues to taunt Oogie as they deal with the horde of insects that attack them for daring to insult the Boogeyman.

I can’t believe those guys intentionally pissed off the man made outta bugs when we have a guy with a bug phobia with us. You groan. I know they’re pissed and want a piece of Oogie, but they should’ve given us a warning first! Now, I gotta make sure Jamil-senpai stays calm and doesn’t burn down the whole pumpkin patch!

Just after you think that, you hear a loud clap of thunder and see all the dark clouds now in the sky, hovering over the area where you once were before you and Jamil made a hasty retreat, announcing the arrival of Malleus, who must’ve teleported to the scene of the crime after Grim enlisted his help.

Another much louder groan passes your lips in response to this turn of events. And now, I gotta worry about Tsunotaro going on the warpath! When will this long, exhausting day finally end?!

Obviously, not anytime soon, unfortunately for you.

Because you could never be so lucky.

Chapter Text

Even though you greatly dislike the idea of leaving a rampaging Malleus unattended, especially when he's in the company of Leona and Idia, who are more interested in going after Oogie than they are anything else, you continue running away from that group's current location for Jamil’s sake since keeping him away from Oogie’s bugs is currently your top priority.

Fortunately, despite how bad your luck is today, you are given some mercy in the form of Jamil being able to keep himself from having a panic attack and subsequently using any fire magic.

Of course, Jamil is still noticeably rattled when the two of you finally come to a stop at the part of the pumpkin patch that’s on the end opposite of the giant pumpkin where your other friends are since, even though he technically never saw any bugs, he still heard them, which is more than enough to put him on edge.

That’s why you don’t hesitate to hug him, knowing he won’t mind the affectionate gesture since the two of you don’t currently have an audience, and gently rub his back. “It’s alright. The coast is clear. We’re safe from bugs as long as Leona-senpai and the others have Oogie’s full attention.”

Rather than say anything, Jamil just silently returns your hug and tiredly drops his head against your shoulder. Feeling nothing but sympathetic since phobias truly are the worst, you softly hum, making yourself sound as soothing as possible, while you continue comfortingly rubbing his back.

It’s thanks to your tender ministrations that Jamil eventually begins to settle down and the tension in his frame starts to ease, although you know it won’t completely disappear as long as he’s outside where bugs can come out of hiding at any given moment.

“Thank you.” Jamil mutters, sounding weary and somewhat embarrassed.

Knowing he’s thanking you for both getting him away from the bugs and for offering him the comfort he needed, you smile as you pat his back. “Anytime. I’m glad I could finally return the favor; you’ve helped me deal with my horror phobia plenty of times while we've been working on our team's test of courage, so it’s only fair that I do the same.”

Much to your great dismay, within seconds after you mention your horror phobia, you promptly get triggered by the arrival of several ghosts that abruptly pop into view, having come out of nowhere, making you yelp.

In an instant, Jamil releases his hold on you and moves to protectively stand in front of you, all the while holding his magic-pen, which he was quick to pull out and keep fixed on the ghosts, who have completely surrounded the two of you. “I would suggest you take your leave now, ghosts. Even if you’re here for some simple mischief, I am NOT in the mood for it right now.”

Catching you and Jamil by surprise, rather than heed his warning, the ghosts all maliciously smile as they begin circling around the two of you, like a ghost tornado, releasing eerie moans and laughter all the while.

Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the ghosts periodically extend their hands toward your direction as they circle around you, prompting you to fearfully cling onto Jamil’s back.

However, none of those hands ever actually touch you thanks to an irritated Jamil, who doesn’t hesitate to use his magic on the ghosts, obviously having decided that, while Halloween is supposed to be about honoring ghosts, he can’t allow them to do as they please if they mean you harm.

Thankfully, much to your immense relief, after being dealt a few magical blows, the ghosts eventually disperse and fly off into the horizon, never once saying a word or providing an explanation for their frightening actions. Instead, all they do is eerily laugh as they take their leave, which naturally only further unsettles you.

Once all of the ghosts are out of sight and he’s sure they won’t return, Jamil quickly puts away his magic-pen and pulls you into his arms, giving you the same treatment you gave him earlier. “It’s alright now. They’re gone.”

With a groan, you tiredly drop your head onto his shoulder as you hug him tightly. “What the hell was that all about? Does life just hate me that much, or is there an actual logical explanation for whatever the hell just happened?”

“It’s hard for me to say when I don’t have much information on the ghosts of this world.” Jamil replies, “Did the ghosts ever act like that in the movie from your world?”

“No.” You shake your head. “Although, there weren’t really a lot of ghost-focused scenes in the movie, so I honestly don’t know what the norm is for them. While everyone in Halloween Town is nice, I don’t know if the ghosts fall into that category since I’m not sure if they’re actually citizens or if they just come by for Halloween or just haunt the local cemetery.”

“Hmm.” Jamil thoughtfully frowns, “While ghosts have been known to play pranks and cause mischief in Twisted Wonderland, I’ve never seen them act like the ones from just now did, so I’m unaccustomed to dealing with malicious ghosts. Perhaps those types of ghosts do exist here?”

His frown deepens. “Although, I find it hard to believe that them suddenly attacking us right after Oogie made his presence known was a mere coincidence, especially when there have been no reports of ghosts causing anyone trouble since we arrived.”

“Yeah, I agree.” You nod. “Maybe, in this book, Oogie has some ghost henchmen, or he was given some by the book once we made it so he could no longer use Lock, Shock, and Barrel, his go-to henchmen.”

“Which means he’ll always have underlings at his beck and call, regardless of what we do with those children.” Jamil sighs, “Obviously, we’ll need to take this new information into account when we make any future plans for how to deal with him.”

“Because I highly doubt that we’ll be so lucky as to get the opportunity to take him out of the picture today.” He continues, “More than likely, all Leona-senpai and the others will ever see are Oogie’s methods of attack rather than the Boogeyman himself.”

“He definitely wouldn’t have stuck around once Tsunotaro showed up.” You wryly reply, “He’s not that dumb; if he was, we wouldn’t have had to worry about him all this time.”

After Jamil makes a noise of agreement, you release a heavy sigh, keeping your face buried against his shoulder. “Jamil-senpai, the two of us are pretty screwed, aren’t we?”

“While I would prefer not to jinx ourselves, I can’t deny that the odds are not in our favor, considering our respective phobias put us both at a total disadvantage against an opponent like Oogie.” Jamil dryly answers, “It’s the worst possible matchup.”

“Can’t really be jinxed when my bad luck is already as horrible as it gets.” You groan, “And it’s bad enough to affect the people around me as well. Sorry, Jamil-senpai.”

Jamil comfortingly pats your back. “It’s fine. I have no intention to blame you for something that’s completely out of your control.”

“Although, I am once again entertaining the idea of roasting Grim on a spit for Leona-senpai like I had considered doing when we first woke up in this accursed book.” He dryly adds.

With a snort, you finally pull away from your upperclassman. “While your feelings are perfectly understandable, please don’t make my son Leona-senpai’s next meal, Jamil-senpai. Despite everything, I still love the little menace.”

Much to your amusement, Jamil wryly replies, “I’ll keep your feelings under consideration.”

Knowing that your friend won’t actually do any serious harm to Grim, you don’t try to press the matter and instead let the subject drop, so you can move onto a new one.

“Since the weather has cleared up, I’m assuming that Tsunotaro has calmed down.” You comment, after taking note of the improved weather. “I’d like to go see for myself and make sure he repairs all the damage done to the pumpkin patch, but we probably shouldn't go back over there since there’s a chance that Oogie’s little ‘friends’ are still there.”

“Agreed.” Jamil grimaces, “Let’s just wait for them here and have them come to us, considering we had to evacuate due to their actions.”

Upon being reminded of Leona's and Idia's exasperating actions, you release an irritated huff. “I’m definitely gonna have some words with Leona-senpai and Idia-senpai for the stunt they pulled, which caused both of our phobias to get triggered. I can understand them wanting to fight Oogie, but that was NOT the way to go about it.”

Nodding, Jamil tiredly pinches the bridge of his nose. “At the very least, they should’ve given us more of a warning.”

“I’m half-tempted to just leave them here and go back to town without them, but I don’t want them thinking I possibly got kidnapped or something.” You remark, “So I’m gonna be the nice one and wait.”

As an afterthought, you add, “Unless I see more ghosts. If any more pop up, I’m outta here.”

Jamil snorts, “Fair enough. Honestly, as long as I accompany you, I doubt Leona-senpai will complain too much about being left behind, but it probably is for the best to wait for our upperclassmen.”

“We can also run for the hills if we see any bugs.” You kindly offer, “I won’t mind.”

“Good since I had already intended to grab you and run if that happened anyway.” Jamil deadpans, making you giggle.

Grinning, you take hold of his hand and give it a squeeze. “While our situation is far from ideal, I think we’ll be just fine as long as we stick together, so I’ll take care of any bugs we may end up facing while you take care of the ghosts. Deal?”

The corners of his lips quirk upwards, forming that genuine smile of his that always makes your heart melt. “Heh, deal.”

Your grin grows. We’ll be just fine.

At least, or so you both thought.

Just as you had said you’d do, you give both Leona and Idia a piece of your mind when they and Malleus finally meet up with you and Jamil, which is how they find out about the ghosts that had targeted you earlier.

Needless to say, none of the dorm leaders are too pleased when they find out what had happened to you, Malleus especially, since the sound of thunder once again started to fill the air once he got the bad news.

“So the Boogeyman also has ghosts at his beck and call.” Leona remarks, once you finish scolding him and Idia, both of whom at least had the decency to look somewhat apologetic when they found out what happened to you after you and Jamil ran off. “That’s gonna make things even more annoying for us, especially if they're strong enough in this world to cause the kind of damage that had been done to the giant jack-o-lantern.”

Your face blanches at the thought of ghosts being responsible for everything that happened to the area containing the largest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, prompting Jamil to comfortingly pat your back. "I hadn't even considered the possibility that the ghosts were the ones who had caused all that damage to the big pumpkin, but that would explain how so much damage was done without anyone noticing since ghosts would be good at slipping under everyone's radar...."

Idia nods. "It was probably a tag-team effort between the ghosts and the final boss's bug army since, with the help of that many minions, it makes sense how so much damage was dealt in such a short amount of time."

He releases an irritated huff. "It’s not particularly surprising that the final boss has additional minions, especially since we confined the only ones we knew about, but it sure is annoying. Of course, the book just can't let us have an easy win; that wouldn’t make for a great story at all, although I really don’t give a damn about how good this story is since all I want is to clear this event and get the hell outta here.”

After taking a moment to collect himself, causing the weather to thankfully clear up, Malleus asks, “Does this mean there is no point in trying to capture and confine Lock, Shock, and Barrel tomorrow, considering we now know their boss has replacements?”

Leona narrows his eyes. “What do you mean ‘capture and confine them tomorrow’? Are you saying they’re running free now?”

“Unfortunately.” Malleus nods. “When the sun had begun to set, Skellington told the children, who had begged for their freedom, that they could return to their treehouse since he was pleased with the work that they did on the beds he requested of them.”

He frowns, “I wasn’t too keen on the idea of dismissing my barrier, but since Skellington is our host and Rosehearts said that the book might not approve of us going against the wishes of the protagonist of this story, I agreed to set the children free at his request.”

Leona angrily clicks his tongue. “Tch. Damn skeleton, always making things more difficult for us.”

“Now, now, let’s not put the full blame on Jack-san.” You hold up your hands placatingly. “After all, it’s entirely possible that the book wouldn’t approve of us permanently keeping the children confined since they may play an important role in the story later.”

“Yeah, as perpetual thorns in our sides.” Idia dryly replies, “Despite everything that was thrown at them today, I’m sure they’ll go right back to serving their boss and obeying his every order, like good little henchmen.”

Jamil sighs, “Unfortunately. However, as Yuu said, we need to follow the script to the best of our ability and not do anything that might potentially ruin the story, so it probably is for the best that Lock, Shock, and Barrel are free now.”

In hopes of changing the current mood for the better since it’s better not to dwell on the negatives, you focus your gaze on Malleus and ask, “So were you able to undo all the damage done to the pumpkin patch, like how you fixed the coliseum following Vil-senpai’s overblot, Tsunotaro?”

Malleus smiles, “But of course. Compared to how the coliseum once looked, the damage caused by the Boogeyman was positively minor, so I had no difficulty repairing it.”

Both you and Jamil sigh in relief before you reply, “Thank you, Tsunotaro. You really helped us out big time. I’m so glad we won’t have to waste time remaking decorations and figuring out how to make do with the damage that had been done to our huge jack-o-lantern.”

“I was more than happy to lend my assistance.” His smile morphs into a smirk. “After all, nothing brings me greater joy than foiling the efforts of that cowardly Boogeyman. Heh.”

While you giggle and the rest of the guys snort, Jamil asks, “And what exactly happened with Oogie after he was so easily provoked?”

“Nothing much, unfortunately.” Leona huffs, “In the end, all he did was send a colony of wasps after us. We never heard so much as a peep outta the guy himself, nor did we see anything resembling the description of him that Yuu gave us.”

“Pretty sure he ran off once Malleus-shi suddenly showed up like a shonen manga protag, who was wanting revenge against his mortal enemy.” Idia adds, “Although, it’s possible he left after he sicced his bugs on us since Leona-shi immediately headed toward the direction they came from in hopes that they’d lead him to their source.”

“I had a feeling that was why Leona-senpai decided to provoke Oogie.” You nod in understanding. “Unfortunately, a coward like Oogie, who’s good at running away, won’t be so easily smoked out.”

With a sigh, you suggest, “Let’s head back into town. I’m sure everyone’s waiting on us, and the longer I stay out here, the greater my chances are of seeing more ghosts, which I’d like to avoid.”

Fortunately, everyone goes along with your suggestion, so the five of you immediately start heading for Halloween Town, with you at the center of the pack for obvious reasons.

It’s during this time that you find out from Malleus that he had told Sebek to remain behind in town, because, when Grim had found the fae prince, the decorations team had been wrapping up the work they had been doing on some of the decorations they were making for your big Halloween surprise, which Malleus had wanted to complete today to ensure they didn’t get behind schedule.

Malleus had also asked Grim to stay with Sebek and lend a hand with the decorations since your partner didn’t need to return to the pumpkin patch, and this way, Sebek and Riddle, the latter of whom had been working with them for the last several hours, could have some extra help if they needed it, although Sebek had predictably denied needing Grim’s help.

That, of course, led to the two arguing, which was the last thing Malleus saw before he used his magic to teleport to the pumpkin patch.

Naturally, that makes you worried, because there’s a chance that, when you reunite with your sons, you’ll find them both collared since you know how Riddle gets when he loses his patience with people, although he does try to go easy on your sons for your sake when they haven’t caused him a large amount of trouble.

With a wince, you cross your fingers. Here’s to hoping for the best…

Fortunately, the trip back to town passes peacefully, making you think Oogie has decided to back off for the time being since Malleus and the other dorm leaders really aren’t people he should try to mess with.

Shortly after you all make it back to Halloween Town, Jamil parts ways with the rest of the group, because he’s worried about dinner and whether or not Trey and Epel will be able to convince Sally not to cook for you and your friends, and you naturally wish him good luck with his all important quest.

Soon after that, your group encounters the mayor, who’s sporting his panicked face, because he had heard from the locals on Team Terror about what had happened to the pumpkin patch.

Even though they had told him that, according to you, the damage could be fixed with magic, the mayor still couldn’t help but worry, which is why he sought you out to find out the current status of the pumpkin patch.

Thankfully, the mayor’s happy face quickly makes an appearance once you assure him that Malleus fixed all the damage that had been done to the pumpkin patch, meaning that Halloween is not on the cusp of ruin, like he had so feared.

During this time, you also report all of the progress that has been made with Team Terror’s test of courage and tell the mayor that everything is going according to plan and no one is behind schedule, meaning the test of courage should be ready in time for Halloween.

As a result, by the time you finish talking to the mayor, he’s as happy as a lark. He even starts humming after he finishes thanking everyone for their hard work and takes his leave, much to your amusement.

After that exchange, your group starts heading for Town Hall since that’s where everyone will be having dinner, just like last night.

Much to your relief, when you and your friends later reach your destination, you quickly take note of the fact that Grim and Sebek aren’t wearing collars, meaning they had managed to avoid incurring Riddle’s wrath.

Your relief quickly turns into surprise when you discover that Jack and Zero are also at Town Hall since you weren’t expecting to see them here at this hour. However, you quickly realize why they haven’t yet headed home for the day when you overhear Jack eagerly asking your friends to tell him stories about what Halloween is like in Twisted Wonderland.

As expected of Jack-san, he’s always eager to learn new things. You chuckle. He’s gonna get as much info about our Halloween customs as he can while we’re here since that’s just the kinda guy he is.

“Ah, Malleus-sama!” Sebek exclaims, having quickly noticed your group’s arrival. “Welcome back!”

Unsurprisingly, your son’s loud voice successfully puts an end to all the other ongoing conversations happening in the room due to it completely overpowering everyone else’s voices.

While Leona clicks his tongue in annoyance and Idia grimaces at Sebek’s loud volume, Malleus smiles, “I have returned, Sebek. Were you able to finish working on our decorations during my absence?”

“But of course!” Sebek eagerly replies as he hurries to his beloved liege’s side. “Despite the distractions posed by that irksome direbeast, I made sure everything was completed, so we wouldn’t fall behind schedule!”

“Because I stopped the two of you from arguing.” Riddle dryly points out, “Otherwise, I highly doubt we would’ve been so successful.”

As Sebek twitches, Malleus chuckles. “Heh, you have my thanks, Rosehearts, and thank you as well for your hard work, Sebek.”

Before a now beaming Sebek can reply, an annoyed Grim interjects, “Hey, what about me?! I helped too, ya know! Sebek was just tryin’ to make me look bad ‘cause he’s a jerk!”

Just as it looks like your two sons are about to start fighting, you intervene. “Alright, enough of that. If you two start fighting, you might end up with a very scary dinner, and you don’t want that, right?”

Because Jack is in the room, you don’t say outright that you’ll make your sons eat Sally’s cooking, but thankfully, those two are smart enough to understand what you’re trying to tell them. That’s why Sebek and Grim are both quick to shut up, much to your and everyone else’s amusement.

After that exchange, Jack, along with Zero, quickly approaches you. “Ah, Yuu-kun, it’s so good to see you in such good health! I had been quite worried about you when Sally gave me the news that you were unable to get a lot of sleep last night.”

“I truly am sorry about that.” He politely bows his head. “I regret not giving more thought to your group’s sleeping arrangements, especially after you’ve all been such a great help to me and everyone else in Halloween Town.”

Mirroring his partner, Zero also bows his head, releasing a sad whine as he does so, simultaneously making you internally coo at his cuteness and feel bad for the unintentional role you played in making the poor ghost sad.

Like you did with Sally when she gave you a similar apology, you assure Jack and Zero that they don't need to apologize since no one in your group gave any thought to where you’d all be sleeping until the end of the day yesterday.

Once you finish reassuring Jack and Zero, both of whom thankfully no longer look guilty, the skeleton cheerfully says, “Thankfully, you guys won’t have to worry about your sleeping arrangements any more since Lock, Shock, and Barrel were able to make some really nice beds, which should ensure you all get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

While Zero happily barks in agreement as Jack gestures toward the corner of the room where the newly made beds, which have taken the place of the coffins that were used last night, are, you take notice of something important almost instantly.

Just as you’re wondering if you should comment on what you took notice of or remain quiet since you don’t want to be rude, an annoyed Leona bluntly asks, “Oi, Skellington, why are there only seven beds when there are fourteen of us in all?”

Jack crosses his arms. “Oh, yes, about that. You see, because my request for the beds came at the last minute, the kids weren’t able to make fourteen by the time the sun set, so unfortunately, seven is all we can offer you tonight.”

He grins, “But that shouldn’t be too much of an issue, right? After all, the beds are big enough that two people can fit in one each!”

In complete sync, all of the NRC students in the room, aside from you and Skully, retort, “Absolutely not!”

“Huh?” Jack blinks, appearing genuinely puzzled. “Why not?”

Quickly, before your friends, sans Skully, can say anything else, you reply, “Oh, don’t worry about them, Jack-san. They’re just being typical teenage boys, so you can just ignore them.”

“We are all very grateful for the beds that you so kindly arranged to be made for us and will happily use them tonight.” You add.

Your sharp, glaring eyes focus on all of your friends, sans Skully, as you scarily smile, “Isn’t that right, boys?”

Thankfully, because they’re smart, no one tries to argue with you, because they know the smile you’re currently sporting promises a serious amount of pain to anyone who dares to try.

That’s why, while Idia and your sons are the only ones who are quick to nod in agreement, no one tries to protest further, because they know disrespectful, childish behavior will not be tolerated.

Not on your watch.

Fortunately for your friends, they get a much needed reprieve after you finish reassuring Jack about the bed situation, because the oblivious skeleton takes you at your word before eagerly resuming asking questions about what Halloween is like in Twisted Wonderland.

Grim, Riddle, Azul, and Jade are all quick to answer Jack’s questions since, by doing so, they’re able to get you to stop glaring at them, much to your amusement.

Meanwhile, Leona just heads for one of the beds and makes himself comfortable. He then promptly falls asleep after ordering you to wake him up for dinner, much to Vil’s exasperation.

After shaking his head at Leona’s typical antics, Vil, who has chosen not to get involved in the ongoing Halloween discussion, approaches you and raises an unimpressed brow. “Please do not tell me that you’ve been walking around with your hair looking like a total mess the whole afternoon.”

Upon being on the receiving end of his disapproving stare, you wince, “Uh, well…it looked fine when I left Sally-san’s room, so if my hair’s messy, it’s probably ‘cause of what happened shortly before we left the pumpkin patch.”

While Vil’s eyebrow raises higher, Skully, who had amazingly enough also approached you rather than join his beloved idol in discussing their favorite holiday, worriedly frowns, “Oh dear, I had heard from Grim-san about what had happened to your team’s decorations and the giant jack-o-lantern, but did some other form of misfortune also befall you, Yuu-san?”

“Kingscholar and Shroud provoked the Boogeyman after Yuu sensed his presence, and that resulted in a colony of wasps attacking them.” Malleus informs, after making sure Jack is completely distracted so the skeleton won’t overhear him talking about Oogie. “Because of Viper’s insect phobia, Yuu quickly had them both evacuate the area while Kingscholar and Shroud dealt with the wasps.”

“Not long after that happened, some ghosts went after me and Jamil-senpai, although they only really tried to go after me.” You grimace, “My hair probably got messy ‘cause the ghosts rapidly flew around us like a tornado.”

Immediately, Vil and Sebek, the latter of whom had unsurprisingly opted to remain by his liege’s side rather than join the others in talking to Jack, start glaring at Idia, who makes a fearful noise before quickly using you as a human shield in a futile attempt to hide himself from view.

Quickly, before either of them can start reprimanding Idia, you say, “I’ve already scolded Idia-senpai and Leona-senpai, so they’ve learned their lesson.”

“And they really only had the best intentions since they had just wanted to smoke out Oogie, which would’ve made our situation a helluva lot easier for us if they had succeeded.” You add, “Unfortunately, ‘cause he’s not an idiot, Oogie ran off before anyone could get their hands on him.”

“Yes, it was most unfortunate.” Malleus frowns, “When I had arrived and saw the vast amount of insects, I had thought the time had finally come to give that Boogeyman the punishment he deserves, but sadly, it was not.”

“Grrr!” Sebek scowls, “How dare that coward flee from Malleus-sama’s righteous judgment! Unforgivable!”

“Does he really think anyone would just sit there and take a punishment from the likes of Malleus-shi?” Idia incredulously mutters, making you, the only one who hears his question, snort.

Meanwhile, Vil just sighs and shakes his head. “If you’ve already said your piece, Potato, I won’t press the matter since I’d rather not waste my breath on the likes of Idia anyway.”

While Idia mockingly parrots Vil’s words underneath his breath, the supermodel continues, “Besides, doing something about your hair is far more important, so take a seat on one of the benches.”

Just as you’re about to follow his order since you’d never go against Vil when it comes to matters like this, your gaze happens to fall on Skully who’s standing beside Pomefiore’s dorm leader.

It’s at that moment you finally remember the fact that you have yet to return Skully’s handkerchief to him, which you obviously should do now before you forget about it again.

“I will do that, Vil-senpai, but first, let me take care of something before I forget.” You reply before turning to look at Idia, who’s currently carrying Skully’s handkerchief, because you don’t have any pockets and Jamil, who had been carrying it for you since the two of you ran away from Oogie’s bugs, handed it over to Idia before heading over to Sally and Dr. Finkelstein’s home.

After you ask Idia for Skully’s handkerchief, which he quickly pulls out and hands over to you, much to the surprise of the rest of your friends, who are present, sans Malleus who had heard about how Oogie had tried to frame Skully while you all were heading into town, you proceed to hold it out to Skully. “This is your handkerchief, right, Skully? Leona-senpai said it had your scent on it.”

Immediately, Skully searches his pockets, as if to confirm that they’re no longer holding his handkerchief, before reaching out to accept the proffered handkerchief. “Why, yes, it is. I hadn’t even realized that it was no longer in my pocket. Thank you ever so much for returning it to me, Yuu-san, Idia-san. I apologize for the trouble caused by my negligence.”

Frowning, you shake your head. “You don’t need to apologize, Skully. The reason we found your handkerchief at the pumpkin patch wasn’t ‘cause you carelessly lost it; it was ‘cause Oogie or possibly one of his underlings stole it so he could plant it at the scene of the crime and blame you for the damage he caused to our test of courage.”

“Eh?!” Skully exclaims, sounding noticeably shocked and dismayed.

At the same time, Sebek scowls, “What?! That fiend! His disgracefulness truly knows no end! He’s even more of a coward than I had originally thought!”

“Indeed.” Vil frowns, “He’s as cowardly as he is clever, although he severely underestimated us by thinking we’d fall for such an obvious setup. I’m honestly insulted.”

“As am I.” Malleus’s eyes narrow. “I will not forgive the Boogeyman for this slight.”

“Right?” Idia nods in agreement, wearing an annoyed scowl. “I had already thought he deserved a No Mercy Run, but this just completely seals the deal.”

Skully looks at everyone with obvious surprise. “All of you wonderful people…don’t doubt my innocence in the slightest…?”

“Of course not.” You assure him with a smile. “While it’s true that you have your own view of Halloween, you would never do something as horrible as ruining other people’s hard work, especially hard work that was all done for Jack-san’s sake. We all know that you want to help Jack-san overcome his creative slump more than anyone.”

“Yes, the damage done to the pumpkin patch was much too crude for someone like you, Graves.” Malleus nods. “And it was also obvious that whoever caused the damage was a person who harbored no love for Halloween, meaning you would be the first person I would cross off the list of possible suspects.”

“Skully-shi would’ve probably cried if he had seen how messed up the big jack-o-lantern had looked before it got fixed.” Idia snickers, “He’d have those exaggerated anime tears and everything. LOL.”

Much to your amusement, within seconds after Iida makes that comment, Skully starts sniffling. “Everyone…thank you so much…I am truly so fortunate to be surrounded by such kind people.”

“Hmph.” Sebek crosses his arms. “You should be grateful! To be on the receiving end of Malleus-sama’s kindness is the highest honor one could ever receive!”

While Idia and Vil both roll their eyes, you reach up to pat Skully’s shoulder. “There’s no need to thank us, Skully. We were just stating facts.”

Your smile grows. “Although, it’s true that I also had faith in you simply ‘cause you’re my friend since it’ll take a lot more than some planted evidence to make my trust in my friends waver.”

“Uwaaah! Yuu-san!” Skully cries as he throws his arms around you. “You truly are my very own angel! Thank you!”

With a giggle, you return his embrace and begin comfortingly patting his back. “Aw, there, there.”

As this is happening, Idia, who has moved away from you because of Skully, drawls, “Welp, she’s completely tamed that one. As expected of the protag who wields the powers of friendship like no other. Can’t decide if I should be impressed or just cringe at this development.”

“Heh, I find it rather impressive, personally.” Malleus smiles, appearing amused. “Yuu truly has a way with people, especially those around her age.”

Upon seeing how Sebek is now jealously glaring at Skully, Vil huffs, “It’s because her sons are all so childish; they’re a perfect match for her motherly personality.”

Sebek gasps in offense. “I am not childish!”

“Somebody’s in denial.” Idia points out before laughing at Sebek’s expense, much to your son’s annoyance.

Malleus chuckles, “Now, now, Sebek, there’s nothing wrong with you acting your age. After all, your life has only just begun, so you should be free to give into your desires that you won’t always be able to act upon once you’re an adult.”

Appearing at a loss for words, your embarrassed son weakly protests, “Malleus-sama…!”

Fortunately, around that time, Skully finally composes himself and pulls away from you, all the while bashfully apologizing for making a scene, and you naturally wave off his apologies, because he did nothing that warrants an apology.

After that exchange, just as you’re about to chide your upperclassmen for teasing Sebek while you were preoccupied, Vil says, “Alright, now that your business with Skully is done, it’s time to take care of your hair. Move along now, Potato.”

When he gives you a look that brooks no argument, you quickly nod your head and start moving away from Idia and the others. “Yes sir!”

Soon after that, you remember something you’ve been meaning to ask Vil. “Oh yeah, Vil-senpai, you didn’t happen to make any lotion that could help with bug bites when you were making stuff for yourself this morning, did you? The back of my neck has been itching for the last few hours, so I think a mosquito snuck up on me while I was busy working.”

Instantly, Skully grows pale in response to your words, but you fail to notice this because your back is currently to him. At the same time, Vil, who’s walking alongside you, narrows his eyes. “You didn’t scratch the mosquito bite, did you?”

You vigorously shake your head. “No sir! Never sir!”

Nodding in approval, Vil pats your head. “Good girl. I would’ve had some words with you if you had.”

“Fortunately, I did make something that will help with bug bites, just in case, since one can never be too prepared.” He adds, “So I’ll apply the lotion before I start working on your hair.”

After you thank him, you take a seat on the nearest bench whilst Vil moves to stand behind said bench. Once you’re seated, Vil uses his magic to summon the lotion he had made earlier today and applies it to the back of your neck after using his magic to lift up your long locks, making you release a sigh of relief since it immediately quells the itchiness you had been dealing with all this time.

He tuts, “I see multiple mosquito bites. Today was not your lucky day, Potato.”

“Tell me about it.” You dryly reply, “It was just one thing after another this afternoon…”

“I heard about what happened with Oogie while you were alone earlier today.” Vil remarks, his displeasure obvious in his voice, as he begins brushing your hair, using the same brush he acquired this morning so he could make sure you looked presentable today. “He truly is quite the shameless coward.”

“Fortunately, it looks as though you have fully recovered from his attack, just as the cucumber had said.” He adds, “Unless you were keeping something from him due to your dislike of worrying your sons?”

Knowing this is his way of checking to make sure you really are alright, you smile, “No, I wasn’t keeping anything from Sebek. I really did feel much better after taking a nap, and I still feel good now despite how things turned out at the end of the day.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Vil replies, sounding more relaxed as compared to before. “If that wasn’t the case and you were still suffering from the effects of Oogie’s attack, Malleus’s punishment would be the least of his concerns. Of course, I still intend to make him suffer plenty anyway for ruining all the hard work I did to ensure you looked your best today.”

Warmth envelops your chest in response to his words, and it only grows stronger a few minutes later after Vil finishes brushing your hair and you turn to look at him.

Right after you turn to face him, Vil affectionately pats your cheek as the corners of his lips curve slightly upward. “I cannot allow anyone to get away with daring to target someone who’s under my care, after all.”

You beam, “Right!”

Shortly after Vil finishes tending to your hair and mosquito bites, Trey, Jamil, and Epel enter the building, carrying dinner, which thankfully Sally did not have a role in making, because she had been frequently told that they didn’t want to cause her any further trouble after she did so much to help you today by acting as your temporary replacement.

Even better, Trey made sure to avoid using the ingredients that he thought caused yesterday’s soup to be spicy to your taste-buds, giving you hope that you’ll be able to enjoy tonight’s meal to the fullest.

Not wanting to disturb everyone’s mealtime, Jack, who had thankfully remained completely oblivious to all the conversations about Oogie Boogie that had transpired while he was in the building due to him being so focused on talking to Riddle and the others about Halloween, takes his leave along with Zero after thanking everyone who had kindly told him lots of interesting stories about Halloween, all of which he had greatly enjoyed hearing.

It’s as Jack is leaving that your attention ends up focusing on Skully, because he doesn’t react to Jack’s departure like you had expected him to do. Much to your surprise, rather than express his disappointment over the fact that his idol has to leave, Skully instead remains unusually silent.

Considering his rather pensive expression, you think he may not have even noticed that Jack left, although it’s hard for you to believe that when you know his love for his idol is just as great as Sebek’s love for Malleus.

Another thing you’ve noticed is that Skully has been not-so-subtly looking in your direction every few minutes, acting as if he expects you to suddenly disappear if he doesn’t keep checking on you.

Immediately, you find yourself recalling everything that Grim and Sebek had said about Skully earlier today after you had woken up from your nap, causing a sad frown to form on your lips.

Poor Skully must have been really rattled by today’s events. You think to yourself. I really wanna talk to him, but I don’t wanna put him on the spot, so I can’t just bring this subject up while everyone is having dinner.

Plus, you highly doubt Skully will be completely honest with you if there’s an audience. That’s why you need to bring this matter up privately.

Since you really want to talk to Skully sooner rather than later, you rack your brain for a solution after you and your friends all sit down and begin enjoying the delicious, thankfully not spicy meal that was prepared for your group, the ingredients of which you don’t try to think too hard about for the sake of your mental well-being.

Thankfully, an idea does eventually come to mind after you spend a while pondering this matter. Oh! I can use my and Skully’s status as Jack’s temporary replacements to my advantage by pulling him to the side after dinner and asking for him to give me a report of how things are going with his team since, while I did talk with Sebek a little about this earlier today, it’s still important to hear what my fellow leader has to say.

Ideally, you’d like to go outside and chat with Skully in private, but you know that’s not doable when Oogie could strike at any given moment, and the last thing you want is to provide that villain an opening he can exploit.

Instead, the best thing to do would be for the two of you to just sit somewhere inside that’s far enough away from everyone else that you both can get some semblance of privacy, and that probably won’t be too difficult since you know you’re not the only one who has noticed Skully’s worrisome behavior.

Just after you come to that decision, you tune back into the discussion that started after everyone finished eating, which you had been only half-listening to simply because it had started off with Leona and Jamil recounting everything that happened this afternoon, although they refrain from mentioning the realization that you and Jamil had come to about Skully being one of Oogie’s targets due to last night’s events for the sake of Skully’s privacy.

Fortunately, by the time you fully devote your attention to the ongoing discussion, everyone has been completely brought up to speed, without you needing to give your own testimony, much to your relief, which was likely done on purpose for your sake.

It’s around this time that Riddle, who appears noticeably guilty, addresses you, so he can finally talk to you about the incident when Oogie targeted you while you and the redhead were both working at the pumpkin patch. “I truly am sorry, Yuu. Because I allowed myself to be manipulated by that dastardly Boogeyman, you were put in serious danger. My negligence was beyond shameful.”

Naturally, you are quick to reassure Riddle, just as you did with Epel after your afternoon nap, because you don’t blame either of them for what happened with Oogie Boogie.

Unsurprisingly, Riddle doesn’t appear too appeased by your reassurances, but he thankfully doesn’t dwell on this matter since he is not the type to wallow in his guilt.

Instead, Riddle lets his guilt get replaced by his anger, which no doubt far exceeds his guilt right now, considering his short temper. “Grr! How dare that villain target an honorary member of my dorm and inflict damage upon my team’s test of courage while I was away! I WILL have his head for this!”

“But he don’t have a head, right?” Grim asks, after taking a brief break from eating the candy that Epel had brought him at your request. “Ain’t he just a sack of bugs?”

While Trey quickly shushes your partner so Riddle won’t direct his ire at Grim, Azul frowns, “This is a most troublesome development indeed. While I’m not surprised about the fact that the Boogeyman targeted the pumpkin patch, considering this morning’s events, I was not expecting him to have anyone other than the three children serving him.”

“However, it does make sense, considering it wouldn’t be much of a story if the Boogeyman remained in his lair and did nothing due to us keeping his henchmen confined.” Jade comments, “I had wondered how things would turn out since we were able to confine the children with little to no trouble, and I now realize it was because their boss did not necessarily need them to further his agenda.”

Epel scowls, “Now, it feels like there’s no point in keeping those brats locked up, because Oogie can just have his ghosts do his bidding. In the end, all we’re really hurting is ourselves by confining the brats, because we gotta waste our time keeping an eye on them.”

“Which he took full advantage of today.” Vil clicks his tongue. “It makes me wonder if he had wanted us to keep our focus on those children, because we would lower our guards, thinking his actions would be limited as long as we kept them confined.”

“It’s entirely possible.” Leona replies, “If he really does know about Yuu’s Quirk, he may have had the brats booby-trap the test of courage sites specifically because he was hoping she’d have a vision about it and go after the brats as a result.”

“Oh my.” Skully dramatically cups his face. “If that is true, he is truly a most fearsome villain indeed.”

You shrug. “Honestly, I have no idea since Oogie didn’t particularly strike me as being THAT ingenious in the movie he’s from, but it’s possible that the book made him like that so he’d be more of a challenge for our group, which has an advantage due to all my movie knowledge.”

Idia groans, “First, this damn book complicates things by nerfing Malleus-shi, so we can’t eradicate the final boss right at the start, and then, it makes the final boss ridiculously OP in pretty much every possible way. Can’t this damn event get any worse?”

“Please don’t say that.” You weakly beg as you drop your face into your hands. “Not while I’m right here.”

“Oh, shit, you’re right.” Idia winces, “Now, we really are doomed thanks to Yuu-shi’s SSS level bad luck. Not even the rarest of all luck-boosting support items could save us now.”

As you pitifully groan, prompting the majority of your friends to give Idia disapproving looks, Trey suggests, “Rather than dwell on the negatives, let’s just focus on doing whatever we can to make it to the end of this crazy story.”

Jamil nods in agreement. “Fortunately, we’re almost to the end since Halloween is a little over twenty-four hours away. Oogie is sure to make his move soon, although it’s hard to tell if he will try to interfere with our preparations again or simply try to ruin Halloween by attacking on the day of.”

While Skully makes a pitiful noise at just the thought of his beloved Halloween being ruined, Malleus frowns, “I greatly dislike the fact that we must wait for our opponent to make a move. It’s most vexing.”

“It’s exactly as you say, Young Master!” Sebek wholeheartedly agrees, “To think, this book would dare to force the Great Lord Malleus Draconia to wait and follow its foolish script! Its impudence truly knows no bounds!”

As several people wince at your son’s loud volume, you drag a hand down your face with a sigh. “We just need to grit our teeth and get through this damn story since we can’t afford to take a chance of possibly pissing off the book that has us trapped.”

“But I do think we should try to exhaust all of our possible options rather than wait for the other shoe to finally drop.” You continue, “There’s gotta be something we can do aside from never letting our guards down and making sure Skully and I are never left alone.”

“We can try to gather some intelligence via spying.” Leona remarks, instantly earning everyone’s attention. “If the bug bastard’s gonna spy on us, we should return the favor and see what’s going on in that treehouse of his.”

With a smirk, he looks directly at Azul and Jade. “We could leave that job to the sneakiest guys here. After all, gathering information is all a part of their ‘business’, right?”

“True.” Idia nods. “Can’t blackmail people ‘til you got blackmail material, which requires plenty of spying, so Azul-shi and Jade-shi would be perfect for the job.”

When several of your friends nod in agreement, both Azul and Jade pretend to look offended by being so rightfully called out.

“To think, everyone would have such an unfavorable opinion of our business, even though, day after day, we pour nothing but honest blood, sweat, and tears into it.” Azul sadly frowns as he shakes his head. “This truly breaks my poor heart.”

“Indeed, Azul.” Jade fake-sniffles. “Even though all we ever want to do is help our fellow students, like the benevolent Sea Witch, this is how we’re so cruelly treated. I’m just glad Floyd isn’t here to hear such heartbreaking words…”

Vil gives them both an unimpressed look. “I can see now why Yuu says the two of you are such poor actors. This is honestly painful to watch.”

Much to your amusement, this time, the two merfolk don genuinely offended expressions, because they both truly think very highly of their acting skills.

Before they can try to defend themselves, however, Malleus volunteers, “If Ashengrotto and Leech do not wish to have the job of gathering intelligence, Sebek and I can do it.”

He smirks, “I would be most pleased to have another opportunity to visit that treehouse, heh.”

Your amusement grows when all of your other upperclassmen, sans Jade, who appears amused like you, instantly reply, “Absolutely not!”

“If Malleus-san were to let loose again, there is no telling what kind of misfortune may befall us.” Azul says, appearing noticeably panicked. “To avoid that sort of unwanted outcome, Jade and I shall take the job of learning more about the enemy forces.”

As Malleus pouts and Sebek glares at everyone, who’s responsible for his liege’s obvious disappointment, Epel decides to change topics by asking, “I was wondering, should we do something like patrolling the pumpkin patch and cemetery during the night? If we do it in shifts, we can ensure nothing like what happened this morning happens again.”

Immediately, Malleus perks up. “An excellent idea, Felmier. I am in full support of it.”

“If Malleus-sama supports it, then so shall I!” Sebek predictably chimes in.

“Tch.” Leona clicks his tongue. “The lizard’s only supporting it ‘cause he’s hoping the Boogeyman or his henchmen will show up since he’s raring to fight.”

“Malleus-shi is seriously scary.” Idia mumbles, “Even more so than the actual Boogeyman…”

Trey weakly chuckles, “Well, regardless of Malleus’s motivations, I do think Epel’s idea is a good one since I would like to avoid a repeat of this morning’s events or what happened at the pumpkin patch at the end of the day.”

“But, if either of those areas get damaged, Tsunotaro can just fix ‘em with his magic, right?” Grim asks, “I’d rather go that route than give up sleep to keep watch.”

Before Sebek can yell at your partner for daring to treat his liege like some kind of magic fix-it tool, you quickly answer, “It’s true that Tsunotaro was able to fix the damage done today, but there’s no guarantee that we’ll be as fortunate tomorrow. Remember, whatever the book wants to happen is what’s gonna happen, so if it suddenly decides it wants to nerf Tsunotaro again, that’s how things are gonna play out.”

“Truly vexing.” Malleus mutters, his expression now noticeably irritated. “I do not like this book one bit.”

Jamil sighs, “Yuu’s right. We really can’t afford to take any chances when it seems this book is in full support of making our jobs as difficult as possible, so I also think we should go along with Epel’s plan.”

“I do as well.” Riddle nods. “That’s why I will be more than willing to take the first shift or even multiple shifts if need be since I believe this should be expected of a dorm leader.”

While Idia grimaces, no doubt because he doesn’t agree with the redhead, Leona says, “Each shift should always include at least one dorm or vice dorm leader since they’ll be the quickest to react if something does happen, and we don’t need to leave any froshes unattended.”

Unsurprisingly, both Epel and Sebek make faces at his words, but before they can say anything, the lion Beastman continues, “And Yuu and Skully will NOT be doing any patrolling period since they’re our opponent’s targets, and I’d rather not just hand them over on a damn silver platter.”

“Saw that coming.” You reply, “But yeah, I agree with that, so you won’t hear any complaints from me, especially since walking through a creepy pumpkin patch or a cemetery at night is not something I’d ever wanna willingly do anyway.”

Skully nods in agreement. “I do so hate the thought of not contributing to everyone’s hard efforts, but I understand that it would be unwise to go out when there is a target on my back, and the last thing I’d ever wish for is to cause trouble for you lovely people.”

Grim huffs, “These patrols sound like a huge pain, but if we gotta do ‘em to get outta here, I’ll do it since I know y’all would be lost without me.”

“But will we gotta do ‘em durin’ the day tomorrow too?” He asks, “We’ve already got a lot goin’ on as it is, so that’d make things even harder, especially since Jack don’t even know that the Boogeyman is tryin’ to cause trouble.”

“Perhaps we should play tomorrow by ear?” Jade suggests, “We can decide what to do tomorrow based on how tonight goes.”

After taking a moment to consider his words, everyone nods in agreement since that really does sound like the best choice of action.

It’s times like this that really make me wish my Quirk was more reliable. You muse. If only I could foresee when Oogie will make his move, although, for all I know, the book is also able to nerf me, so I can’t have such convenient visions.

Man, this book is way more of a pain in the ass as compared to the last one. You internally complain. Although, I understand it’s likely ‘cause this team roster is ridiculously OP, what with it including six dorm leaders and three vice dorm leaders. The book has no other choice but to nerf us, especially when I know all about the setting of this story and its characters.

Of course, that doesn’t make things any less annoying, which is why you’re once again considering the idea of inflicting vengeance upon the exasperating book once you’re finally free from its pages, although, considering what happened after your adventure with Stitch, you doubt you’ll get that opportunity.

You quietly sigh. Oh well, a girl can dream…

After you and your friends spend a while putting together patrol teams and considering all other possible ideas you all can think of to help circumvent whatever Oogie has planned, you all decide it’s time to bring the strategy meeting to an end since it’s late, and everyone who’s not on the first two patrol teams needs to get some sleep, especially those who will be patrolling later on.

Which means it’s finally time to address the elephant in the room - the topic that no one aside from you and Skully wanted to broach.

With a grin, you declare, “Alright, boys, it’s time for us to decide on our bedmates! I hope y’all are excited as I am!”

“We’re not.” Everyone, sans Skully, simultaneously deadpans.

“Oh, dear.” Skully frowns, “Everyone seems most displeased about having to share a bed with each other. Having never done so before, I find myself wondering if it’s truly as awful an experience as they’re implying.”

“It’s not.” You assure him before giving everyone else an exasperated look. “Alright, quit acting like a bunch of grade-schoolers. It won’t kill you guys to act like you actually like each other for a night.”

“That’s what you think.” Idia snarks, earning himself a sharp look from you that makes him flinch.

Jade raises his hand. “Is it really necessary for us all to share a bed with someone? Wouldn’t it be better for us to fight for the beds, and whoever loses sleeps on the floor or the benches?”

Much to your exasperation, the rest of your friends, sans Skully, all appear to be in favor of that idea, but you’re not surprised since that’s just how NRC boys are.

“Absolutely not.” You cross your arms. “No one is sleeping on a cold, hard surface tonight, because we all need our sleep, especially since for all we know the final boss battle we’re expecting will be tomorrow. I want everyone to be in prime condition for that battle.”

A scary grin rises to your lips as you unknowingly begin to exude palpable bloodlust. “But, if you guys insist on fighting, I’ll happily be your opponent. After all, I’ve been itching to break in my new whip. Hehe~”

Unbeknownst to you, a chill runs down the spine of almost everyone present thanks to your words and the bloodlust that's now ominously filling the air, eliciting a terrified yelp from Idia and Grim.

Soon after, everyone begins exchanging looks, none of them looking too pleased, but despite this, no one tries to take you up on your offer, because they all know better.

Leona sighs, “Guess there’s no other choice when she’s being this stubborn. Such a pain…”

Trey scratches his cheek. “Well, Yuu did make a good point about us all needing our rest, so it really does seem childish to put up a fuss when it’s not like sharing a bed with someone for a night will actually be THAT bad.”

Vil purses his lips. “It all depends on WHOM you’re sharing a bed with, because I can think of several people who make the floor sound far more appealing…”

“Don’t worry!” You cheerfully reply, now no longer emanating bloodlust because everyone has grudgingly accepted their fate. “I’ll be assigning everyone’s bedmates to ensure no one tries to kill each other during the course of the night!”

“Eh?! Kill each other?!” Skully fearfully exclaims, “Isn’t that a little too extreme?!”

“With this group, not really.” Jamil wryly answers, “I wouldn’t put it past most of the guys here, so it’s for the best to follow Yuu’s lead since she knows which pairings to avoid and which ones will work best.”

Nodding, you use your hands to point at the two beds that are the farthest apart. “Alright, for starters, the end beds will be given to Leona-senpai and Tsunotaro ‘cause we don’t want them anywhere near each other.”

“At least, we’re off to a good start.” Leona drawls before raising an eyebrow. “So who am I gonna be stuck with?”

Catching your son by surprise, you gesture toward Epel. “Epel will be with you, because he’s one of the few people here you can tolerate, and I trust that you know severe consequences will await you if you dare to kick my son off the bed during the middle of the night while he’s sleeping, which I know you wouldn't hesitate to do to the majority of the people in this room.”

As several people snort, Leona considers your words for a moment before shrugging. “Alright, Epel’s the lesser of all evils, so I’ll allow it. Unlike most of these guys, I can trust him to keep to himself and not do anything that’ll piss me off.”

Epel weakly laughs, “I’ll, uh, do my best...”

Getting an idea, you draw closer to Epel and whisper, “Maybe this way you’ll be able to discover the secret to Leona-senpai’s manliness, or even better, you can absorb some of his coolness via osmosis or something.”

While Leona, who overhears you, snorts, Epel’s eyes immediately light up. “You think so?!”

“It’s totally possible.” You grin, “So you might as well give it a shot.”

Upon noticing how eager the other Pomefiore student now looks, Vil gives you a look. “Don’t fill his head with anything unnecessary, Potato.”

With an exaggerated gasp, you pat Epel’s head. “I would never. I only put the best things in my son’s precious head.”

This earns you an eye roll from Vil, who obviously does not agree with you but can’t be bothered to say as much.

Wanting to move on with the bed assignments, you pull away from Epel and say, “Alright, so coincidentally, I think one of my other sons should be Tsunotaro’s bedmate, ‘cause he also knows better than to kick a son of mine onto the cold, hard floor.”

Just as Sebek opens his mouth, obviously to say that it goes without saying that he, as Malleus’s loyal retainer, would be chosen to share a bed with his liege, you continue, “That’s why you’re with Tsunotaro tonight, Grim.”

In complete sync, Grim and Sebek gape in disbelief. “WHAT?!”

As several people wince at his high volume, Sebek asks, “Why are you assigning that shameless feline to be my liege's bedmate?! While no one is worthy of such a high honor, I am far more qualified for that prestigious role than him!”

“I ain’t a cat!” Grim angrily retorts, “And there’s no way you’re better than me!”

Quickly, before your sons can start arguing, you dryly ask, “Sebek, sweetheart, I want you to give those beds another look. Do you really think one of those beds can fit two people of your AND Tsunotaro’s size?”

“Ah, so that’s the reasoning behind your decision.” Malleus nods in understanding. “Myself alone would take up the majority of the small bed, so it makes sense to pair me with the smallest member of our group.”

Grim pouts, “Don’t call me small! You’re just huge!”

Choosing to ignore your partner, Malleus continues, “If we all really must share a bed with someone, I suppose Grim is the best option since sleeping would be uncomfortable for me, otherwise, due to the size of the beds.”

Sebek looks at him with dismay, obviously not thrilled that he’s not going to get the honor of being his beloved liege’s bedmate. “Malleus-sama…!”

Meanwhile, you grin at Malleus. “Think of it this way, Tsunotaro. If you take care of Grim for me, I’ll take care of Sebek since, if you agreed to share a bed with Grim, I had intended on making my remaining son be my bedmate since someone my size can fit on one of those beds with him.”

Plus, I’m one of the only people in this room that would be willing to share a bed with my boisterous son. You wryly think to yourself.

Just as you had hoped, Wingman Malleus perks up in response to your words. “In that case, I will gladly accept Grim as my bedmate. After all, according to Lilia’s TV dramas, sharing a bed almost always leads to many positive developments in romantic relationships.”

Instantly, Sebek’s dismay turns into pure mortification. “Malleus-sama…!”

At the same time, Leona, Vil, and Trey give Malleus sharp looks. “Malleus!”

Completely unperturbed by their responses, Malleus chuckles, “Heh, Lilia will be most pleased indeed. I am certain this is what he would have done if he were here.”

Unlike the majority of your friends, who appear exasperated, you’re nothing but amused by Malleus’s dedication to matchmaking. “Oh, definitely.”

Upon seeing that Grim doesn’t seem too thrilled about this development, probably because you’re his preferred bedmate, you draw closer to him and pet his head. “Sorry, Grim. I know we’re normally a set, but for the sake of making sure we all sleep comfortably, we need you to pair up with Tsunotaro. Please be a good sport about it.”

When you give him your puppy dog eyes, Grim twitches before heavily sighing, “Oh, fine. Tsunotaro is definitely a better option than most of these guys, so I’ll do it.”

“Awww.” Idia pouts, “Malleus-shi is so lucky to get the best possible bedmate. I’m so jealous.”

Chuckling, you affectionately rub your partner’s head. “Tsunotaro is indeed very lucky. I can vouch for that.”

Predictably, Grim perks up when you compliment him. “Myehehe! That’s right! Nobody’s better than the Great Grim!”

“You are a tough guy to compete with.” You agree, “But I’m no slouch either. I’m quite confident in my cuddling skills.”

With a grin, you turn to look at Sebek. “That’s why Sebek is just as lucky as his liege, because, thanks to me, he’ll have nothing but great dreams tonight.”

Your grin grows as you watch Sebek blush and sputter. “I’ll make sure of it.”

After you have some fun teasing Sebek, you return to assigning everyone’s bedmates. “Alright, for the next two beds, I’m going with the dorm leader/vice dorm leader theme, so Riddle-senpai and Trey-senpai will be in one bed while Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai will be in another one.”

While both Riddle and Trey simultaneously release a sigh of relief since they obviously have nothing to worry about with this arrangement, Azul releases a sigh of his own, but it sounds more weary than anything.

Meanwhile, Jade pouts, “Aw, that’s rather disappointing. If I really had to share a bed with someone, I had been hoping my bedmate would be someone I don’t normally get the chance to spend time with, so we could become better acquainted…”

“We all know that’s not what you would’ve tried to get out of a situation like that.” You wryly reply, “You would’ve definitely gotten into some kind of mischief for the sake of your own entertainment ‘cause that’s just the kind of person you are.”

“That’s exactly why I paired Azul-senpai with you, because, like I said yesterday, it’s his job to keep you from terrorizing the masses.” You add, making Jade’s pout deepen.

Azul tiredly massages his forehead. “Somehow, I knew that would be Yuu-san’s line of reasoning…”

Not wanting to give Jade any further opportunity to complain, you quickly direct your attention to the remaining four guys who haven’t been assigned a bedmate yet. “For the remaining two beds, I think Jamil-senpai and Idia-senpai should be paired together, making Skully and Vil-senpai the final pair.”

“Out of the remaining options, I think Jamil-senpai is the least likely to unintentionally give Idia-senpai an anxiety attack. That’s why I went that route.” You explain, figuring you should share your line of reasoning just in case anyone might be curious.

“This whole situation is anxiety-inducing no matter who I get stuck with.” Idia grumbles, “But I guess Jamil-shi is the lesser of all evils.”

“I'm honored.” Jamil deadpans, making you snort.

After that exchange, Vil huffs, “Well, I definitely wouldn’t want to be paired with Idia either, so I’m fine with the arrangements that Yuu chose. At least, Skully has manners.”

“Oh, it is an honor to be paired with someone as lovely as you, Vil-san!” Skully exclaims, “I will endeavor to remain as still as possible to avoid disturbing your beautiful slumber!”

“Heh, a good response.” Vil smiles, appearing pleased. “It’s so refreshing to speak with a well-mannered first year. Epel could learn a lot from you, Skully.”

“Geh.” Epel grimaces in response to his dorm leader’s verbal jab, earning himself a sympathetic look from you.

Meanwhile, Leona releases a loud yawn, instantly earning everyone’s attention. “Alright, now that bed assignments have been made, it’s time for everyone on patrol duty to head out while the rest of us get some sleep.”

Since Leona’s yawn ends up setting off a chain reaction with the majority of the people in the room, everyone agrees to go along with his suggestion.

As a result, it’s not long before Riddle and Epel, who are in charge of patrolling the pumpkin patch, and Malleus and Sebek, who will head for the cemetery, take their leave.

Much to your amusement, Leona and Grim waste no time in making themselves comfortable in their assigned beds, which they get to have all to themselves until Epel and Malleus return, and fall asleep within seconds.

Everyone else soon follows their example, except for you and Skully, the latter of whom is once again lost in thought, sporting a pensive expression like he’s been doing for most of the evening.

Not wanting to waste this perfect opportunity, you draw closer to Skully and gently tug on his arm to get his attention, causing him to jolt in surprise.

“Oh, my apologies, Yuu-san.” Skully quickly apologizes, keeping his voice quiet for the sake of everyone else in the room. “I was lost in thought.”

Rather than ask what he was thinking about, which is what you really want to do because you’re worried about him, you smile, “It’s alright. I just wanted to ask if, before we head to bed, you wanted to chat a little about how things went with our teams’ test of courage preparations.”

“While Sebek told me about how things were going with your team earlier today, I still wanted to talk to you and hear your thoughts.” You add.

Your smile grows. “I also just wanted to hear how your day was since we haven’t gotten the chance to really talk due to how busy we were today, which I had been really disappointed about.”

Surprise briefly crosses his features before a small, happy smile rises to his lips. “I would like that very much.”

Skully gently takes hold of your hand and tenderly kisses your knuckles. “Thank you very much for this most wonderful invitation. A kiss to you, my dear.”

Happy to see your friend in a more cheerful mood, which really suits him far more than the anxious state he’s been in all evening, you giggle, “And thank you for accepting my invitation.”

After that exchange, you and Skully head for the stage that's at the back of the room since the farther away you both are from the others, the less of a chance that you’ll disturb them.

Plus, the one lantern in the room that is always kept lit is located on the stage, because everyone had agreed it was best to always have one lantern lit while everyone’s sleeping to ensure no one would ever have trouble moving around if they should happen to need to move for whatever reason while everyone else is sleeping.

Upon reaching the stage, you and Skully move toward the backmost area of the stage for the sake of everyone sleeping and because you’re hoping that the surrounding curtains will help to not only muffle your and Skully’s voices but also partially hide you both from view and give you two some semblance of privacy.

Once you and Skully take a seat in that secluded area of the stage, which Skully kindly dusted off with his handkerchief, and make yourselves comfortable, Skully surprises you when he apologizes, “I apologize for my improper actions last night, Yuu-san. I cannot believe I fell asleep and forced upon you the cumbersome job of bringing me back here, especially after you went out of your way to offer me comfort and put yourself at risk of encountering the Boogeyman.”

He guiltily frowns, “The Boogeyman could have easily targeted you during that time; if you had gotten hurt, it would have been all my fault, and I would have never been able to forgive myself. Just thinking of such a dreadful outcome fills my heart with indescribable pain.”

As a pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his heartfelt words, you reveal, “While it had looked like I had come alone, I actually brought Jamil-senpai along since my vision had shown Lock, Shock, and Barrel, looking like they were going to target you, so while the two of us were talking, Jamil-senpai took care of them.”

“And after you fell asleep, he made sure we got back to town safely.” You add, “So you don’t need to apologize, Skully. I was perfectly safe the whole time, and you didn’t cause me any trouble.”

Skully briefly stares at you with surprise before releasing a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I am so glad that Jamil-san accompanied you, although I hate that he was also inconvenienced by my actions. I will need to apologize to him in the morning.”

He smiles, “I also owe you both my heartfelt thanks for coming to my rescue since I could have ended up in a very dangerous situation if the two of you hadn’t intervened and stopped Lock-sama, Shock-sama, and Barrel-sama, considering the target on my back, which I now realize was made apparent to you due to last night's events. No wonder you were so certain that I was also the Boogeyman's target.”

His smile softens. "I am also very grateful for the fact that you both refrained from telling everyone about my embarrassing actions last night, although I would not have blamed you if you had. Your kindness and consideration truly are boundless."

The taller boy takes hold of your hand and tenderly kisses your knuckles. “Thank you for saving me, my lovely angel.”

As the pleasant warmth inside your chest intensifies, you warmly smile, “You’re welcome. I’m so glad I had that vision since I would’ve hated it if anything had happened to you, Skully.”

Much to your amusement, in response to your words, Skully, who now sounds like he’s on the verge of tears because he’s so touched by how much you care about him, cups his face as he quietly exclaims, “Yuu-san…!”

Since you don’t want a repeat of last night’s events, you quickly change topics in hopes of preventing Skully from crying and ask him to share how things are going with his team’s test of courage and to just tell you how his day in general went, including how his tour of Jack’s house turned out.

As expected, Skully is all too happy to talk about his visit to his beloved idol’s house and goes into great detail about everything he saw and learned about Jack.

All the while, you just fondly smile as you watch your friend quietly gush about what he declares was one of the best moments of his life, which he profusely thanks you for allowing him the privilege of experiencing.

However, what really makes you happy is when Skully starts talking about the progress Team Horror made with their test of courage today, because he sounds genuinely excited the whole time he’s talking, giving you the impression that he was able to actually have fun today, despite his reservations about having a Halloween so different from the kind he celebrated all his life.

It gives you hope that Skully is capable of becoming more open-minded about Halloween now that he has experienced how much fun Halloween can be when he’s able to celebrate it with others - that Skully, once he returns to his time period, won’t spend the rest of his life in that lonely cage he grew up in, because, like you, he has gotten a taste of what a life filled with freedom and companionship is like.

A taste that he’ll never be able to forget, not even if the book you’re all trapped inside does completely erase his memories, because, once a person experiences it for the first time, it will remain in their heart forever.

Because the desire for freedom - for love and companionship can never be erased once it firmly takes root inside a person, not even by the strongest magic that Twisted Wonderland has to offer.

That’s why you’ll continue to nurture that desire inside Skully, which is currently the equivalent of a small flame, until it becomes a roaring inferno, just like what all of your friends did for you after you came to NRC.

For that reason, when Skully begins talking about the fun he had throughout the day when he was chatting with the rest of your friends and expresses a sincere desire to become closer to them, you don’t hesitate to provide him all the friend-making advice you promised him yesterday.

All the while, your smile remains firmly in place. I guess this is what people call ‘paying it forward’, huh? Never thought I’d ever get the opportunity to do something like this, but I’m glad, though.

Your expression softens when you see how attentively Skully listens to all of the advice that you give him. Really, really glad.

Chapter Text

After several minutes pass with you amicably chatting with Skully about each other’s days and sharing friend-making advice with him, you decide it’s finally time to talk to him about his recent anxious behavior, even though you really don’t want to put a damper on this current, happy atmosphere, because this is something that you feel you shouldn’t let go unaddressed.

That’s why, as soon as you and Skully reach a lull in your current conversation, you ask, “I can tell you had a very good and productive day, but how are you feeling about everything related to Oogie, Skully? I had been told by Grim and Sebek that you had been looking really anxious today ever since you found out about what happened to me. Grim also mentioned that you had even asked him to check up on me while I was napping.”

Instantly, Skully’s earlier cheer vanishes as his posture becomes incredibly stiff, proving that your sons were right about him being anxious since, otherwise, he wouldn’t have that kind of reaction.

There’s a brief pause before he releases a shaky sigh. “I suppose there is no point in denying it, and I would hate to lie to such a wonderful lady…”

“Yes, it is true that I have been feeling quite anxious ever since I heard about what great misfortune befell you earlier today, and that feeling only grew after learning about what happened at the pumpkin patch at the end of the day.” Skully admits, “I’ve been doing my best to maintain my composure, like a proper gentleman, but it seems I was not very successful in that endeavor.”

Your expression softens. “It’s okay if you can’t always be composed, Skully; nobody can accomplish a feat like that since nobody’s perfect. Everyone has something that can rattle them enough that they can’t keep their true feelings to themselves.”

You reach out to gently take hold of his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “I think such a feat was especially hard for you ‘cause you were more worried for my sake than your own. Am I right to assume that?”

He nods as he tightly squeezes your hand in return. “Yes, that’s right. Despite knowing that I am also a target, I am not particularly worried about myself; I’m much more worried about you since you’re clearly the one whom Jack-sama’s nemesis has fixated on.”

Skully bites his lip. “And that terrifies me a great deal. I do not want any harm to befall you, Yuu-san, because you’re such a kind, lovely person and also my first friend.”

His grip on your hand becomes painfully tight as his whole body begins to tremble. “I want nothing more than to vanquish that villain and keep you safe, but I don’t know how.”

“I don’t know how to beat such a fearsome opponent, who seems to currently have the upper hand, and that makes me feel completely helpless and petrified.” Skully remarks before, after briefly pausing, whispering, “I don’t know what to do…”

Caught completely off guard by the raw anguish in his voice, you stare at him with wide eyes. “Skully…”

Once you overcome your surprise, you reach over to gently move your friend’s shaded glasses to the top of his head, so you can make direct eye contact with him, surprising him.

After you do that, you use your hand that’s not currently holding his hand to cup his cheek, both to offer extra comfort with your touch and to ensure that he doesn’t try to look away. “Skully, I know you’re used to fighting the battles you face on your own, but you don’t have to do that here. You can rely on me and everyone else; you can trust us, I promise.”

“Speaking from personal experience, I know it won’t be easy since, even now, I can still be stubbornly independent and have a difficult time depending on my friends when I should.” You continue, “I still have that strong desire to protect these precious friends I’ve made with my own two hands whilst keeping them away from danger since I couldn’t bear for anything to ever happen to them.”

“Eventually, though, my friends finally got it through my thick skull that they didn’t want to be protected like that, especially if it was at my own expense.” You add, “They wanted to fight alongside me ‘cause they wanted to protect me just as much as I had wanted to protect them.”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. “That’s why I can say with complete certainty that it’ll be worth all the effort in the end once you finally reach out to someone and discover just how much easier life can be when you don’t have to do everything on your own.”

His wide eyes well with tears. “Yuu-san…”

Your smile grows fond. “I do appreciate you so strongly wanting to protect me, though. It makes me really happy that you care so much about me despite our short time together. Thank you, Skully. You’re a wonderful friend.”

Skully starts quietly crying. “I-I don’t feel like one. After all, unlike everyone who so kindly supported you today, I haven’t been able to do anything for you; I am unable to think of anything that I can do…”

“Oh, Skully…” You murmur as your chest clenches upon seeing his distraught expression.

Without hesitation, you pull him into a tight hug and begin stroking his hair and back. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, especially when, thanks to our jobs, we went the majority of the day without seeing each other. If I had been with you when Oogie made his move, I know you would’ve done everything in your power to protect me.”

“Rather than focus on what you couldn’t do today, you should instead focus on what you can do tomorrow.” You advise, “After all, considering it’s the day before Halloween, I’m sure a lot will happen, and your help will definitely be needed to ensure we get through whatever Oogie has in store for us.”

“It’s too early to give into your anxiety and despair, Skully.” You remark, “Because this story isn’t over yet; there’s still plenty that you can do, so you just gotta figure out what it is that only Skully J. Graves can do.”

“What only I can do…” Skully whispers as he tightly clings onto you with all his strength.

After a long pause, the taller boy finally pulls away from you, allowing you to see his now tear-free, determined gaze. “You’re absolutely right, Yuu-san. It is much too soon for me to give up; I can still take action and help my dear, beloved friend.”

Catching you by surprise, Skully gently cups your cheeks before bringing his face closer to yours, giving you an up-close view of his mesmerizing reddish orange-colored eyes, which are the most passionate you’ve ever seen them look.

“No matter what happens, I will protect you from the Boogeyman.” He swears, “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and ensure you have the best possible first Halloween that you deserve. You have my word.”

Your heart skips a beat when you hear those solemn words and see his current, fervent expression, the latter of which has you completely captivated due to how handsome he looks whilst looking so serious and intense.

Even though you’ve seen firsthand how passionate and serious Skully is about Halloween, this is something entirely different; you’ve never seen this kind of breathtaking expression on his face before.

That’s why, for several seconds, you find yourself unable to do anything but stare before you finally manage to compose yourself.

Smiling, because Skully is so openly displaying how much he cares about you, you lean into his touch. “I know you will. I have complete faith in you, Skully. Thank you.”

As his posture relaxes, Skully releases his hold on your face and rests a hand over his heart before politely bowing his head. “I will do my best to meet your high expectations.”

“Because I will never be able to forgive myself if I should fail, considering everything that’s at stake.” He mutters under his breath, so quietly that you don’t hear him.

Before you can ask your friend to repeat himself, Skully gently takes hold of one of your hands and kisses your knuckles. “Thank you very much, Yuu-san, for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy your wonderful company and for taking the time to kindly offer me your support. You truly are my very own angel.”

You chuckle, “I don’t know if I’d go that far since I was just trying to be a good friend, but you’re welcome. I’m just glad I was able to talk to you and help you get everything off your chest since it’s not good to keep negative stuff like that to yourself for too long, especially when it can just accumulate over time.”

Right after you say that, Skully covers his mouth as he does his best to muffle a yawn, and you, in turn, soon also find yourself yawning.

“How about we turn in for the night?” You suggest, “We’re gonna need all the rest we can get for tomorrow, so we should avoid staying up too late.”

As he uses his handkerchief to clean his tear-stained face, Skully nods in agreement. “Yes, you are right. I do not wish to bring shame upon Jack-sama’s name, so I must do everything in my power to ensure I perform my duties as perfectly as possible.”

Upon hearing him mention Jack, you remember a question that you had wanted to ask but didn’t get the chance to earlier since you, at the time, didn’t want to interrupt him while he was gushing about his visit to Jack’s house. “Oh yeah, speaking of Jack-san, were you ever able to get the chance to learn more about him and his thoughts on Halloween? I had hoped your visit to his house would give you the opportunity to get to know him better and see what this world’s Jack Skellington is like.”

Surprise briefly crosses his features before his face relaxes. “Yes, I was able to speak with Jack-sama thanks to you so kindly providing me that opportunity, which I had been most grateful for. After gathering up my courage, I shared with him my personal thoughts about Halloween, because I had wanted his insight.”

“Truthfully, I was expecting the worst, considering the past comments he had made about spending Halloween alone and his love of new things.” Skully admits, “I had thought he’d react similarly to how everyone back at school always did whenever I brought up my ideal Halloween.”

A warm smile rises to his lips. “But he didn’t. Instead, rather than condemn me for being too boring and traditional, Jack-sama praised me for having so much zeal for Halloween. Even though our ways of celebrating the holiday are so different, he never disparaged my traditional Halloween, because he said that there’s no wrong way to celebrate it, not as long as you possess the kind of love and passion for Halloween that we both share.”

“Of course, Jack-sama still stood by his belief that Halloween is not meant to be celebrated alone and kindly went into detail explaining his feelings to me, so I could better understand them.” He adds.

His smile becomes melancholic. “After hearing his precious thoughts and feelings about our beloved Halloween, I’m now completely convinced that the kind of Halloween I’ve known all my life was created to keep me isolated rather than what the King of Halloween actually promoted back in Twisted Wonderland.”

Your expression, which had lit up upon hearing how well things went with Jack, quickly becomes sad after hearing that last remark. “Skully…”

“Please, do not worry. I will be alright.” Skully softly replies, “While this is a lot to take in and accept, I am glad to know the truth, not to mention very grateful. I am glad that I got the opportunity to meet Jack-sama and find out what Halloween is truly meant to be like.”

As his smile regains its earlier warmth, he adds, “But, more than anything, I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet you, who accepted me without judgment and helped me to broaden my horizons whilst simultaneously being so incredibly considerate of my feelings.”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his words. “And I’m just as grateful to have met you, Skully. I’m really glad that we could become friends.”

Your expression softens. Really, really glad.

Shortly after you and Skully express your mutual gratitude for getting the chance to meet and become friends, the two of you finally leave the stage and head back over to the other side of the room where the beds are since you both really need to get some sleep.

After quietly wishing each other a good night, the two of you proceed to head toward your assigned beds, so you can both get some much needed sleep.

As you release an internal sigh of relief over getting to sleep in an actual bed rather than a coffin, you climb onto the bed after taking off your shoes and make yourself comfortable underneath the blanket that came with the bed.

Out of consideration for Sebek, you do your best to take up as little space as possible, because your son is a big boy and you obviously don’t want him to be cramped in this bed that definitely wasn’t made with tall, muscular boys like him in mind.

Proving just how exhausted you are because of the long day you had, you fall asleep almost immediately after you close your eyes and enter a peaceful slumber.

Or, at least, it was a peaceful slumber until your traitorous mind decided you were due for some nightmares thanks to your most recent traumatic experience.

Fortunately, these nightmares about what could’ve happened to you if Idia hadn’t saved you from the Boogeyman don’t last for as long as they could have thanks to your knight in shining armor coming to your rescue.

“You’re safe now, Yuu. I’m here.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you; I will protect you, I swear it.”

“Please be at ease; I cannot bear to see your face filled with so much fear and anguish.”

Upon hearing those heartfelt reassurances whispered into your ear, you’re finally set free from the nightmares that had been plaguing you and end up rousing as a result. When you wake up, you find yourself wrapped up tightly in Sebek’s arms, held as closely to him as possible.

All at once, the anxiety and distress you always feel after having a nightmare completely disappear upon realizing that you’re now within the safe confines of Sebek’s strong embrace, and in their place you feel a comforting warmth that fully encompasses you.

After blinking several times to clear your sleep-addled, slightly teary vision, you direct your gaze upwards, away from Sebek’s broad chest, and meet his concerned gaze.

“My apologies.” He murmurs, with genuine regret in his voice. “I had not intended to wake you. I had simply wanted to put an end to your nightmare and make your slumber more peaceful.”

Your expression softens. “You don’t need to apologize, sweetheart. You did nothing wrong.”

Smiling, you reach up to cup his cheek and gently bring his face closer to yours, so you can kiss his other cheek. “I’m very grateful that you helped me escape my nightmare and woke me up since no dream can possibly provide me more comfort than you. Thank you for protecting me, my precious knight in shining armor.”

The tension in his frame eases before he moves to kiss your cheek in return. “There is no need to thank me when it is only natural to protect the people I love. It comes as naturally to me as breathing, and you don’t thank others for something like that, now do you?”

Quietly chuckling, you affectionately rub your nose against his. “Maybe I should since I’m so grateful for your existence. Just you being alive and a part of my life is worth all the thanks I can offer and then some.”

“That should be my line.” Sebek whispers after resting his forehead against yours, allowing you an up-close look of his gorgeous eyes that are filled with so much blatant adoration that you feel as if you could burst from happiness at any moment.

Unable to help yourself, you quickly begin peppering his face with kisses after taking a moment to pull the blanket over your and his heads in an attempt to muffle any sound you both might make, because you simply must express just how much you adore this precious boy, and because you can’t afford to make much noise at the risk of waking up the rest of your friends, this option is better than verbally expressing your affection.

Even though the bed Malleus and Grim are using is close by since Sebek had insisted on using the bed closest to his beloved liege, your son makes no effort to protest your actions, even though there’s a chance of disturbing Malleus’s slumber, like you had half-expected him to do.

On the contrary, Sebek hugs you impossibly closer and kisses your face with equal fervor every opportunity he gets, all the while wearing an adoring grin that just makes your heart melt.

Obviously, you are delighted by the fact that he’s so receptive to your affections tonight, although there is the downside that you’ll have a difficult time eventually stopping this doting session so the two of you can sleep, just like what always happens whenever Sebek acts like this.

As a result, despite the two of you clearly needing sleep, you both end up exchanging kisses for a while, because sleep is obviously not your or his top priority at the moment.

Eventually, however, your exhaustion does get the better of you, and the same also happens to him, causing this doting session to finally come to an end.

Once the kiss exchange finally ceases, you find yourself staring into Sebek’s beautiful half-mast eyes, with your forehead resting against his, fully content to just remain like this until you give into sleep’s enticing pull.

“I love you.” You murmur, pouring as much love as you possibly can into those three special words.

He hugs you tighter as he quietly replies, “I love you too with every fiber of my being.”

“That’s why I…” Sebek pauses, stopping himself from completing that sentence.

Unused to seeing your son look so hesitant, you frown as you move to gently stroke his cheek. “Sebek?”

After spending a few seconds silently staring at your face, wearing a conflicted expression, his face suddenly hardens with resolve, and his eyes gain a determined glint.

He tenderly kisses the palm of your hand that’s cupping his cheek before meeting your gaze. “I would like to remain by your side tomorrow as your bodyguard. Will you allow it?”

Your eyes widen. “Eh? But what about Tsunotaro? I couldn’t ask you to-”

“During our patrol, Malleus-sama graciously told me that, if I so desired, I could spend tomorrow guarding you rather than him since you are the one who is in danger.” Sebek cuts you off. “He said it would make him feel better knowing that I was with you, but he would leave the decision as to what I would do up to me rather than give me an actual order.”

As you stare at him with obvious surprise, all the while feeling touched by Malleus’s consideration, Sebek continues, “Since that exchange, I’ve thought long and hard about my liege’s words, because, while it is true that he is unlikely to face any serious danger in this world, it is still my sworn duty to remain by his side and guard him.”

“However…” His expression becomes pained. “Despite that, I simply cannot bear the thought of anything happening to you. After today’s events, I fear what could happen next if I am not there to protect you.”

Your expression softens. “Oh, Sebek…”

“Although it is my duty to serve and protect Malleus-sama, you too are someone whom I consider to be under my protection.” Sebek nuzzles your hand. “You’re so precious to me that I cannot bear to allow anything to happen to you; I want to protect you, because I love and cherish you with all my heart and soul.”

When tears fill your eyes, Sebek tenderly kisses the corners of your eyes, preventing any tears from escaping. “I wish to become a knight who is strong enough to protect everyone who is important to him, not just my liege whom I’ve pledged my loyalty to, because how could I ever consider myself a truly strong and capable knight if I cannot accomplish something as simple as that?”

“No matter what happens because of the vile villain, who has dared to threaten your well-being, I will not allow you or Malleus-sama to be put in harm's way.” He quietly declares, “I will keep both of the people who are most precious to me safe, I swear it.”

Feeling so happy you could burst, you tearfully beam, “I know you will, because you’re going to become one of the best knights the world has ever seen.”

Grinning, Sebek kisses your cheek. “Absolutely, because you and Malleus-sama deserve nothing less.”

Fighting the urge to squeal since you obviously don’t want to wake the rest of your friends, you give his handsome face several well-deserved kisses. “Oh, I just love you SO much~”

He chuckles, “The feeling is completely mutual.”

Naturally, hearing that just makes you want to dote on him even more, but you refrain since you still haven’t properly responded to Sebek’s question about guarding you tomorrow.

That’s why, after you finally pull your face away from his, you say, “Obviously, there’s nothing I love more than being with you, so I would be more than happy to have you by my side tomorrow, but logically, I don’t see how that can work, considering we’re on separate teams and you also have your work as a member of the decorations team that you need to do.”

“While protecting me is important, so is the work you need to do for our Halloween preparations.” You continue, “Even if you could just help with things on my end, I’d feel bad for your teams that will be shorthanded ‘cause you’ll be with me the whole day.”

“Especially since my wonderful and dependable Sebek is so indispensable.” You fondly add, “There would obviously be serious repercussions if any team should lose an asset that’s as invaluable as you.”

Much to your amusement, Sebek adopts an adorable, smug expression in response to your words, just as you knew he would since he just loves whenever you make comments about how amazing he is.

“It is as you say.” Sebek agrees, “That is another reason why I had been reluctant to propose the idea of me acting as your bodyguard, because I’ve never been one to shirk my duties, and I would hate more than anything for my absence to cause undue burdens to be put upon Malleus-sama due to the incompetence of everyone else he has to work with.”

“That’s why I had considered acting as your bodyguard either for the full duration of the morning or the afternoon.” He adds, “That way I can protect you for at least half the day and also fulfill my responsibilities.”

Smiling, you nod along with his idea. “I think that’s a great idea, and I’m sure Leona-senpai would especially like it if we make it so that you’re with me during the time when he needs to help the food preparations team.”

“Hmph.” Sebek huffs, “I could not care less about pleasing someone who so readily goads my liege, but I suppose I must give him some credit for being so dedicated to his job as your bodyguard, although his dedication pales in comparison to mine, of course.”

With a giggle, you kiss his nose. “Of course.”

After that exchange, a quiet yawn escapes you, and soon after, Sebek also starts yawning, reminding the two of you of the late hour.

“Let’s get some sleep, my dear knight.” You kiss his cheek. “We can talk more in the morning about your bodyguard schedule.”

He kisses your cheek in return. “Sleep well, Yuu. I promise to remain on guard even whilst I sleep to ensure you have nothing but pleasant dreams.”

Beaming, you snuggle up closer to him. “Is that why I only have the best dreams whenever I get to sleep with you by my side?”

Nuzzling your cheek, Sebek grins, “But of course.”

“Then, thank you for your service.” You give him another kiss on the cheek. “I’m once again in your capable hands.”

And you couldn’t be more grateful.

As expected, thanks to Sebek, you’re able to sleep through the rest of the night without having to worry about nightmares and have a very peaceful slumber that leaves you feeling well-rested and refreshed when you eventually wake up.

Like yesterday morning, you wake up early, just as you always do; however, rather than wake up after Sebek, you both end up waking up around the same time, because your son seems to have a more difficult time waking up when he’s got you in his arms due to him unconsciously not wanting to leave this blissful, comfortable position.

To help him overcome his uncharacteristic grogginess, you give Sebek lots of kisses, because he’s just so adorable and deserves all the love you can throw at him and then some.

Predictably, Sebek really enjoys your affection in his half-asleep state but gets incredibly flustered once he finally fully wakes up. However, despite this, he doesn’t complain about your embarrassing actions, like he has done in the past.

Instead, the adorably blushing boy tenderly kisses your forehead. “Good morning, Yuu. Did you sleep well?”

“I sure did.” You beam, “All thanks to you. Thank you, Sebek.”

After you give him another kiss on the cheek, you ask, “How about you? Did you sleep well?”

Appearing noticeably fond, a smiling Sebek murmurs, “I did, because you were here, I’m sure.”

Cooing, you affectionately rub your nose against his. “Oh, you just know all the right things to say to make me happy, don’t you?”

His smile grows. “Heh, that is always my goal whenever we’re together.”

Fighting the urge to squeal, you give him several more kisses. “You need to stop being so irresistible, or else, I’m not gonna let you leave this bed to do your morning training.”

Chuckling, Sebek gladly leans into your touch and accepts your affections. “Hmm. What a dilemma. I do not wish to skip my morning training, but I also do not want to be apart from you. What to do?”

Soon after, his beautiful yellow-green eyes gain a mischievous glint as he grins, “I think I shall take option three.”

Catching you off guard, Sebek quickly pulls himself out of the bed and onto his feet within a matter of seconds, taking you along for the ride.

Having expected you to make a startled sound in response to his actions, Sebek, who now has you in a bridal-carry, presses your face against his chest, causing the surprised noise you make to come out muffled.

After quickly putting on his shoes and using his magic to grab yours, your son hurries toward the front door, all the while moving quietly so as to not disturb everyone who is still fast asleep.

Once you’re both outside and the door has closed behind him, Sebek allows you to pull your face away from his chest and smugly grins when he sees your befuddled expression. “Let us train together, shall we? We did not get the chance to do so yesterday morning.”

Before you can respond, he leans down to tenderly kiss your head and quietly adds, “Allow me to have you all to myself for a little while longer.”

Your heart melts in response to his request. “Oh, Sebek…”

Without hesitation, you throw your arms around his neck and kiss his cheek. “I would be more than happy to spend more time with you; there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

And that’s a fact.

For the next hour or so, you and Sebek stretch and do warm-up exercises, although you don’t do as much of the latter as him due to the dress you’re wearing. Instead, you just either sit on his back while he does push-ups or hold his ankles while he does sit-ups.

When the local rooster crows signaling the start of the day, you and your son wrap things up and head back inside, so you can wake anyone who hasn’t yet started to rouse.

Fortunately, thanks to everyone getting an actual good night’s sleep, most of them are in the process of rousing by the time that you and Sebek enter Town Hall, with Grim and Idia being the only ones still asleep, because the former always takes a while to wake up while the latter is just unaccustomed to waking up so early due to his usual bad sleeping habits that usually lead to him sleeping until lunchtime.

However, it doesn’t take you long to wake Grim and Idia, both of whom you volunteer to take responsibility for since you really didn’t want Sebek going after the poor guys, especially after they had to spend multiple hours patrolling last night.

Once everyone is finally awake, Riddle comments, “I see that both teams that had the final patrol shifts are absent. Azul and Jade I can understand since they had wanted to head over to the treehouse after their patrol concluded, but where are Leona-senpai and Jamil?”

Vil huffs, “Leona likely fell asleep somewhere, so as a result, Jamil is stuck having to lug him back here.”

Epel frowns, “But Leona-san hasn’t been taking his usual naps lately ‘cause he’s been watching over Yuu-san. I think yesterday was the first time he had a nap since we got stuck here.”

“It’s true.” You confirm, “Despite how much Leona-senpai hates giving up precious sleeping time, he wouldn’t sleep on the job when someone as dangerous as Oogie is at large.”

“Oh dear, I hope nothing happened.” Skully frowns worriedly. “Should we go search for them?”

“Do we have to?” Idia whines, “I don’t wanna deal with such a pain-in-the-ass side quest first thing in the morning.”

Appearing exasperated, Trey sighs, “Idia, we can’t just do nothing when it’s possible Oogie made his move while those two were patrolling, especially if there’s a chance that something could’ve gone wrong on Azul and Jade’s end as well.”

“Eh?! So does that mean all our patrol guys for the final shift of the night might’ve gotten taken out?!” Grim exclaims, appearing nervous.

Malleus narrows his eyes. “If that is the case, I WILL be paying a visit to that treehouse. I cannot allow that Boogeyman’s brazenness to go unpunished.”

“I will accompany you, Young Master!” Sebek declares, “I agree wholeheartedly that a punishment must be dealt to that impudent villain!”

The corners of your lips dip downward. “While I find it hard to believe that Oogie could get the drop on two dorm and vice dorm leaders, I do agree that, before we do anything else, we need to find out what their current status is.”

Just after those words leave your mouth, the front door opens, revealing Jamil who appears a mixture of exasperated and weary.

“Jamil (-senpai) (-san) (-shi)!”

Upon hearing the majority of the people in the room call out his name in relief, Jamil jolts in surprise before replying, “Ah, right, I’m sure you all must have been worried about my team’s delayed arrival. I apologize.”

Riddle raises an eyebrow. “I sure hope you have a good explanation for your tardiness, Jamil, and for Leona-senpai’s absence. Surely, you did not lose him at some point during your patrol.”

“No, despite his reputation, Leona-senpai never gave me any problems during the patrol.” Jamil shakes his head. “I only parted ways with him a short while ago as we were making our way back here.”

With a heavy sigh, Jamil tiredly massages his forehead. “Before we could get back to Town Hall, Jack-san spotted us, and with great glee, he grabbed ahold of Leona-senpai and proceeded to drag him off to some unspoken location. All I could gather before they disappeared from sight was that Jack-san had some new exciting ideas for Halloween, and he wanted Leona-senpai’s help with them.”

“Naturally, Leona-senpai had tried to resist, but Jack-san is a lot stronger than he looks.” Jamil adds, “So I’m afraid Leona-senpai won’t be joining us anytime soon.”

There’s a brief pause following Jamil's explanation for Leona's absence before Idia bluntly states, “Better him than me.”

In complete sync, all of your other friends, sans Skully, reply, “Agreed.”

You roll your eyes. “You guys are horrible, and you wonder why Leona-senpai can’t stand most of you.”

Unsurprisingly, the majority of your friends appear unfazed by your words and just shrug their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Skully cutely pouts, “Oh, how envious I am of Leona-san! If only I could be so lucky as to get the honor of being whisked away by Jack-sama!”

As you snort at Skully’s words, which make several people shake their heads, Vil says, “Considering nothing went awry at the pumpkin patch, I think it is safe to assume Azul and Jade are absent, because they truly are at the treehouse, rather than because of something Oogie did.”

“Leona-senpai and I spoke with those two prior to my team’s encounter with Jack-san since our teams had wanted to discuss the results of our uneventful patrols with each other before Azul and Jade headed for the treehouse.” Jamil informs, “So I can confirm that nothing happened on their end.”

“Which would imply that the Boogeyman did not, in fact, take any action throughout the course of the night, would it not, considering nothing happened while my or Rosehearts’ teams were patrolling?” Malleus asks, “Unless something happened with Schoenheit’s or Shroud’s teams?”

“Idia and I didn’t see diddly squat at the pumpkin patch.” Grim smirks, “So obviously the Great Grim’s fearsome presence was enough to keep the bad guy away.”

While Idia nods in agreement, Trey comments, “Nothing was amiss on my and Vil's end either, so I think it’s safe to assume that Oogie didn’t try to pull anything last night.”

Skully sighs in relief. “What a relief. I am so glad no great misfortune befell our Halloween preparations.”

“It is a relief, but at the same time, this really just puts me on edge more than anything.” You admit, “After all, if he didn’t strike at night, that means he’s just waiting to do something today or tonight if he has enough patience.”

“Agreed.” Jamil nods. “We’ll need to proceed with even more caution than usual since, until Azul’s group can provide us some worthwhile information, we have no way of knowing when Oogie will make his next move.”

Once everyone expresses their agreement, Epel asks, “So, uh, what are we supposed to do about Leona-san’s open bodyguard position since Jack-san’s got him? Should one person take his spot, or do we just have everyone on Team Terror watch out for Yuu-san?”

Catching the majority of your friends off guard, Sebek declares, “I shall take Leona-senpai’s position as Yuu’s bodyguard, because only someone who has trained to serve and protect the Great Lord Malleus Draconia could fill that important position in these dire times.”

Appearing noticeably pleased, Malleus smiles, “Well said, Sebek. Since Yuu is in far more danger than myself, I agree that your excellent bodyguard services would be better utilized if you remain with her until Kingscholar is able to resume his duties.”

Sebek beams, obviously delighted by his beloved liege’s praise. “Please leave it all to me, Young Master! I will not let you down!”

With a giggle, you turn to look at everyone else and say, “So, until Leona-senpai is able to get away from Jack-san, Sebek will be with me. More than likely, he’ll probably stay with me for most of the morning, so Sebek will attend to his other responsibilities in the afternoon if that’s alright with the rest of you.”

Thankfully, no one has an issue with this arrangement, probably because they all know that, if Sebek is with you, that means he’ll be less likely to do his usual shouting, because you’re always good at making sure he’s more considerate of everyone else’s eardrums whenever the two of you are together.

Once that has been decided, everyone briefly discusses whether or not patrol teams will be necessary throughout the course of today before eventually coming to the conclusion that the test of courage of sites should be fine just as long as there are always NRC students present, and said students don’t necessarily have to patrol just as long as they remain on their guard and keep a close eye on things.

After that matter is addressed, you all decide to head out and begin working on today’s Halloween preparations, after, of course, Vil finishes tending to your hair and skin to ensure you’re looking your best and are protected against mosquito bites, which he had started doing while you all had been talking about today's plans.

As you’re all moving to exit the building, you ask Grim and Skully to search for Jack since the former is supposed to be assisting Jack, and you want them to let Leona know that you’ve got Sebek acting as your bodyguard while he’s busy.

While Grim isn’t too thrilled about having to go wherever Zero will likely be, he goes along with your request since he wants to go mess with Leona, and Skully naturally accepts your request since he’ll never turn down an opportunity to go wherever his beloved idol is.

Malleus also volunteers to accompany them, so Skully will have someone to watch over him when he later heads to the cemetery to work on Team Horror’s test of courage, which leads to Skully enthusiastically thanking him and praising his boundless kindness, and that, in turn, gets Sebek all competitive since he soon starts singing his liege’s praises and tries to make it clear that no one is better at praising Malleus than him, much to your amusement and everyone else’s exasperation.

Meanwhile, everyone else refrains from pointing out that Malleus is obviously not helping Skully, simply because he’s kind; it’s clear to the rest of you that the fae prince’s main motivation is that he’s hoping that he’ll encounter Oogie Boogie if he sticks with Skully, one of the Boogeyman’s main targets.

Once you eventually get both Skully and Sebek to settle down, everyone splits up to take care of their assigned work, and you head to the pumpkin patch along with Sebek, Epel, and Jamil, because Riddle had decided that, since Sebek would be preoccupied this morning, he would focus on doing work for the decorations team along with Vil.

In the case of Idia, because he had ended up spending so much time at the pumpkin patch yesterday, he intends to spend most of today working with Dr. Finkelstein, so his own special Halloween surprise will be ready in time for tomorrow.

Much to your amusement, before you had parted ways with him, Idia had ordered you to take a break from being a SSS-level trouble magnet since it’s bad for his nerves, and he won’t be able to finish his Halloween preparations if you make him have a heart attack.

As you always do, you promised to do your best to stay out of trouble since you can never guarantee anything thanks to your typical bad luck.

I hope I can keep that promise. You think to yourself, shortly after you part ways with Idia. But, with the kind of track record I have, I know better than to get my hopes up. After all, there’s no way I’ll be lucky enough to have a completely peaceful day, considering the current situation at hand.

And, of course, you were exactly right.

Just like the last two days, the Halloween Town residents, who are a part of Team Terror, are quick to approach you once your team resumes its work on its test of courage.

However, rather than just to ask for your help, plenty of people just drop by to thank you for finding a way to undo all the damage that had been done to the giant jack-o-lantern yesterday, because that’s just the kind of people the Halloween Town residents are.

Naturally, such kind remarks make you happy, even though you really didn’t do anything worthy of their thanks, but later on, you discover that being so highly-regarded isn’t always such a good thing, especially for someone with luck as bad as yours.

“Yuu! Yuu!”

“We got you some flowers!”

Much to your surprise, a few hours after you start working at the pumpkin patch, some of the local children eagerly approach you, just after you finish advising one of the vampire brothers.

One of the children, the boy from The Nightmare Before Christmas who resembles a corpse, offers you a bouquet of black flowers that resemble the ones you saw Sally pick the petals off of in the movie. “For you!”

“It’s to thank you for all your help!” One of the other kids, who looks like a mummified cyclops, cheerfully explains, “We all worked together to pick them for you!”

Once you overcome your surprise, you warmly smile as you accept the hand-made bouquet. “Aw, that’s so sweet of you. Thank you all so much. I love them.”

Upon seeing you smile and sniff the flowers, which have an aroma that smells strangely like incense, the children all happily reply, “You’re welcome!”

Soon after that, the kids all scamper off, so they can resume working on your team’s test of courage, which they’ve all been having a lot of fun with since the day the preparations first began.

It’s a good thing that they leave the area so quickly since, within seconds after they depart, you soon find yourself sneezing uncontrollably.

“Yuu?” Sebek, who’s been faithfully sticking close to you all this time, frowns worriedly in response to your abrupt sneezing fit. “Are you alright?”

Unfortunately, you’re the exact opposite of alright. Not only can you not stop sneezing, your eyes keep watering and have become incredibly itchy.

Because you can only think of one thing that could have resulted in you ending up in such a state, you quickly shove the bouquet you were just kindly given into your son’s hands and take a few steps away from him in hopes that putting some distance between you and the flowers will alleviate what appear to be allergy symptoms.

At the same time, Jamil and Epel arrive on the scene, having decided to check on you after hearing all the sneezing you had started doing. As expected, Jamil is quick to put two and two together when he sees your current state and witnesses you handing the flowers over to Sebek.

With a sigh, Jamil quickly approaches you and offers you his handkerchief. “Of course, you would discover you have an allergy at a time like this. Honestly…”

“Eh?!” Sebek and Epel simultaneously exclaim, both of them looking equally concerned.

Quickly, Jamil waves his magic-pen in the direction of Sebek, causing the flower bouquet to disappear from sight. “Yuu must be allergic to those flowers in particular since I’ve never seen her react negatively to any other kind of flower before, although I suppose it’s possible that she’s allergic to the kind of flower pollen produced in this world, if it’s nothing like the pollen from our world.”

“Will she be alright?!” Epel worriedly asks, “It’s not like a super serious allergy, right?!”

Rather than immediately answer, Jamil begins checking you over as you, who have finally stopped sneezing, use his handkerchief to tend to your runny nose.

After he finishes his brief examination, the upperclassman answers, “It doesn’t appear to be a severe allergic reaction since I’m not detecting any signs of swelling in her throat, and she’s not having any difficulty breathing.”

As your sons both sigh in relief, Jamil continues, “But, that said, we can’t leave Yuu in her current state, considering all the unknown factors of her alien biology and the fact that anything could happen today. She needs to return to town and take some medicine to treat her current symptoms before her condition can potentially worsen.”

He gives you a look. “And that is not a suggestion. You’re not allowed to do any work until you take something for your allergies.”

Even though you feel better now that the flowers are gone and you dislike the idea of missing work over something you consider trivial, you know Jamil is right; it would be reckless to ignore your current state when you really have no idea about what the rest of the day has in store for you.

That’s why you nod along with his words as you sigh, “Alright, I’ll go look for some allergy medicine.”

Jamil nods approvingly. “I would suggest speaking with Sally-san first since, if she can’t make some medicine herself, I’m sure she’d know whom to send you to.”

“The Witches’ Shop might have medicine since they’ve got a lot of different types of potion bottles there.” You comment, “But I do think starting with Sally-san is the way to go.”

After saying that, you ask, “What happened to the flowers? While I know I can’t keep them, I’d hate for them to just be thrown away when those kids went through all the trouble of picking them for me.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Jamil huffs, “That’s why I sent them to Jack-san’s house since that seemed like the best place to keep them until we could figure out a better place for them.”

Your eyes begin to sparkle. Ooh, maybe I could somehow get Jack to give those flowers to Sally. I bet she’d love that. I could tell him that it’s a bouquet you pass along to someone you know whose hard work you wanna show appreciation to.

You’re soon pulled away from your matchmaking musings when Sebek abruptly pulls you into a bridal-carry. “No more dawdling, human! We must get you treated at once!”

Giving you no chance to respond, Sebek promptly starts running toward the direction of Halloween Town, with you in tow.

Knowing there’s no stopping Sebek when he’s like this, you look over his shoulder and yell, “If Leona-senpai comes by while I’m gone, please explain things to him for me! And please take care of advising everyone while I’m gone!”

While Jamil just nods as he uses his magic to clean his handkerchief that you had accidentally dropped during the process of Sebek whisking you away, Epel grins, “Sure thing! Leave it to us! Hope you feel better soon!”

Before you can thank them, you’re out of earshot thanks to Sebek moving at breakneck speed due to being so concerned about your well-being.

In hopes of helping your son feel better, you hug his neck. “I’ll be alright, Sebek. It’s just a mild allergy; I’ll recover before you know it once I take some medicine.”

He hugs you tighter. “Even so, I do not want to take any chances, because you are so dear to me. I must do everything in my power to ensure your condition never worsens and instead improves as quickly as possible.”

Your expression softens as you rest your head against his shoulder. “And you will absolutely accomplish that goal, because there’s nothing my Sebek can’t do when he’s this determined.”

Sebek kisses your forehead. “But of course.”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his tender words and actions. It’s moments like this that remind me that my luck really isn’t as bad as I always make it out to be. After all, if I were truly unlucky, I wouldn’t have someone as wonderful as Sebek in my life.

If I’ve gotta experience bad luck to counteract all the good luck I receive just from having Sebek in my life, then it’s definitely worth the price. You fondly think to yourself.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. Definitely.

Thanks to Sebek, you both reach Sally’s and Dr. Finkelstein’s home in record time, and even better, you’re able to stop him from shouting at the top of his lungs to ask for medical assistance after you both enter the building since the last thing you want is for him to give whoever’s in the building a heart attack.

After quickly covering your irritated son’s mouth with both of your hands to stop him from yelling, you say, “Sebek, sweetie, I love you, and I know you only have my best interests at heart, but no using your outdoor voice indoors. We’ve discussed this many times.”

When he begins to pout, you finally uncover his mouth and give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you, though. I really do appreciate the sentiment.”

Fortunately, just as you had hoped, Sebek quickly stops sulking due to his embarrassment.

Giggling, you have the flustered boy set you down since you’re not in such bad shape that you can’t stand or walk before you begin your search for Sally. “Sally-san? Are you here?”

Soon after you call out her name, Sally walks into view, having come from the direction of the kitchen. “I’m here! Hello, Yuu-chan, Sebek-kun. How can I help you two?”

“We are in need of medicine!” Sebek declares, “Earlier, some children gave Yuu a bouquet of flowers, which she soon learned she was allergic to, so we came here in hopes that you can be of assistance to us.”

Sally covers her mouth with her hands as she gasps, “Oh no! Poor Yuu-chan! Yes, of course, I’ll help! We can’t have her sick on the day before Halloween!”

Meanwhile, you’re anxiously looking in the direction that Sally just came from, because, unless he has left to work on his team’s test of courage preparations, there should be someone in the kitchen, who will not react favorably to Sebek’s and Sally’s remarks, which were not as quiet as you wish they had been.

That’s why you’re not surprised in the slightest when the sound of hurried footsteps fills the air a few seconds after Sally reacts to you feeling unwell due to your allergies.

“Yuu!”

In a blink, a panicked Trey enters the room, having obviously sprinted from the kitchen, and he immediately heads toward you.

“Are you alright?!” Trey worriedly asks, ironically doing so right before opening your mouth so he can begin examining it.

Sebek gives him an exasperated look. “What was the point in asking her a question if she cannot respond?! And what is with your immediate impulse to open her mouth when something is wrong?! That is not normal!”

It is for Trey-senpai who cares as much about dental hygiene as Riddle-senpai cares about rules. You wryly think to yourself, all the while letting Trey do as he pleases since he’s only like this because you traumatized the poor guy, who really didn’t need any more trauma in his life after what he went through thanks to Riddle’s mother.

In response to Sebek’s words, a sheepish Trey releases your face and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry, force of habit…”

“What kind of habit is that?!” Sebek retorts, looking at Trey as if he’s the alien, not you.

Quickly, you try to get everything back on track by asking, “Sally-san, do you have any medicine that can treat flower pollen allergies or know how to make some? If not, do you know where I could get some?”

“Neither the doctor nor I have any allergies, so we don’t have any medicine on hand.” Sally answers, “And I’ve never tried making any either, so rather than rely on a novice like me, I would recommend getting some medicine from the witches at their shop.”

“Normally, our town’s currency is needed to purchase anything at the shop, but the witches won’t charge you, considering you’re Jack’s temporary replacement and tomorrow’s Halloween.” She adds, “I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to give you some medicine for free since you’ve been so helpful to us, and you won’t be able to enjoy Halloween if you’re unwell.”

Having thankfully lost interest in criticizing Trey, Sebek remarks, “Understood! In that case, I shall retrieve the necessary medicine while Yuu remains here and rests.”

Before you can say that you really don’t need to rest here, Trey replies, “That’s a good idea. I can make some tea for Yuu to drink while she’s waiting. That should help her feel better.”

Upon seeing Trey quickly return to the kitchen, you realize that you now have no other choice but to wait here since you obviously can’t let his efforts go to waste, and it would probably be better if Trey was present when you drank the medicine, so he could see for himself that you got proper treatment.

Even though all I’m dealing with right now is a mild allergy, poor Trey-senpai probably can’t stop thinking about worst case scenarios since anything could happen thanks to my alien biology being such a huge unknown factor. You frown. I need to do what I can to put him at ease since I hate making him worry.

After you think that, you turn to give your son a look. “Alright, I’ll stay here, but in exchange, you gotta be on your best behavior when you visit the witches, Sebek. Don’t be rude and immediately start making demands. Politely ask for medicine after explaining my situation to them.”

He pouts, “What kind of person do you take me for?”

“A person who often lets his emotions get the better of him when the people he cares about most are involved.” You fondly reply, “A wonderful person, albeit one who doesn’t always mind his manners.”

Sebek blushes as he quickly turns to leave. “I will be back shortly. Do not go anywhere until I return!”

You chuckle, “Yes sir.”

Soon after that, Sebek exits the building, leaving you alone with Sally, who’s quick to bring you to a table where you can sit while you wait for your son.

Because she doesn’t want to leave you alone while you’re unwell and you’re quick to assure her that you wouldn’t mind at all if she joined you, Sally takes a seat across from you at the table.

“Sebek-kun and Trey-kun are such kind boys.” Sally remarks, shortly after you both take a seat. “I can tell they both care a great deal about you, Yuu-chan.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “Yeah, while Sebek can come across as being a rude and arrogant boy to a lot of people who don’t know him well, he’s a big sweetheart when it comes to how he treats the people he cares about, and Trey-senpai is a natural born big brother towards his underclassmen. I’m very fortunate to have such wonderful friends.”

“Leona-kun is also very kind - a perfect gentleman.” Sally comments, surprising you since you weren’t expecting Leona to suddenly get brought up. “He’s always so helpful when he’s here doing his work for the food preparations team.”

She broadly smiles, “But he’s even more helpful to you since the two of you have such a close relationship, yes? I think it’s so charming how he’s always looking after you, making sure you always have support whenever you need it and that you’re never overburdened. I feel like I myself could learn a lot from his example.”

For a moment, you just stare at her before realization dawns on your features. Oh man, does Sally think Leona-senpai and I are a couple? Or does she just ship us like we’re her new OTP?

Either way, it’s a rather amusing turn of events - one that all of your friends, sans Leona, would hate, which, in turn, would make it all the more entertaining for Leona since he loves to mess with your other friends like that.

Of course, you still need to clear up this misunderstanding since the last thing you need is for her to tell Jack and for Jack to do something outrageous like start planning for a Halloween wedding since you honestly would not put it past the guy.

That’s why you reply, “Leona-senpai is indeed a wonderful guy. Not everyone knows how kind he can be, though, ‘cause he’s got his cool guy image to maintain, but he always treats me well and looks out for me ‘cause he sees me as a friend that he can truly trust and rely on since I’m always willing to support him whenever he needs it.”

Much to your amusement, Sally, who now looks disappointed, slightly pouts, “Just a friend?”

“Just a friend.” You confirm with a chuckle. “There’s nothing romantic going on between me and Leona-senpai; our feelings are strictly platonic.”

“Honestly, I don’t think Leona-senpai is currently interested in looking for a partner at this point in time, and neither am I.” You continue, “Right now, I’m more than content with all the wonderful friendships that I have.”

“So, unfortunately, while I’d love nothing more than to have some girl-talk with you, my love-life is non-existent, despite the fact that I have so many male friends, whom I get along really well with.” You add.

“I see.” Sally nods in understanding. “It seems I completely misunderstood, because you and Leona-kun are so close. I apologize.”

After waving off her apology, you grin, “But, you know, despite my lack of romantic experience, I’d be more than happy to be a listening ear if you have anything love-related going on in your life that you wanna talk about, Sally-san.”

Much to your amusement, Sally’s expression instantly becomes flustered. “H-Huh?! M-Me?! O-Oh no, I don’t have any special feelings toward Jack!”

Your grin grows. “I never said anything about Jack-san, Sally-san.”

Even though you know you shouldn’t tease the poor, sweet woman, you can’t help yourself since her current, flustered behavior is so cute.

However, you also have more pure motives in mind since you’re hoping that you could provide some advice for Sally since you’d really like to help her if possible.

Unfortunately, it seems that helping Sally won’t be an easy feat since the older woman promptly flees the scene, taking advantage of the fact that Trey just entered the room, food tray in hand.

“Trey-kun, you’ve been working so hard this morning, so please take a break.” Sally remarks as she hurries toward the kitchen. “I’ll take care of the cleanup while you keep Yuu-chan company!”

In a flash, the older woman is gone, but that doesn’t stop you from calling out to her. “If you ever need any advice, I’m always willing to talk! Sometimes, it really helps just to have someone to listen to!”

Unsurprisingly, you don’t get a response, and that just makes Trey, who had been caught off guard by Sally’s abrupt departure, even more confused.

“Uh…what just happened?” Trey asks as he raises an eyebrow at you.

You giggle, “Just a little girl-talk, that’s all.”

“Then, I definitely won’t pry further.” Trey wryly replies as he sets the tray that’s carrying tea and cookies onto the table. “If I’ve learned anything from having a little sister, it’s that girls never want guys butting into their business.”

More laughter escapes you at his response. “Well said.”

Even though he had been worried about leaving Sally alone in the kitchen, Trey decides to join you at the table after you tell him that it’d be better to let the older woman have some time to herself.

Plus, this is the perfect opportunity to have a private discussion with your upperclassman - a discussion you’ve been wanting to have with him since your first night in Halloween Town that you couldn’t have while anyone else was around since Crowley had ordered you, Trey, and Rook to keep quiet about the Alchemy lab incident that happened back in February.

Rather than beat around the bush, you just decide to be upfront with him. “Trey-senpai, I’m sorry. It looks like I traumatized you back in February thanks to that Alchemy lab incident where I got exposed to that deadly poison that got mislabeled by the supplier.”

At your mention of the incident, Trey subtly flinches before weakly chuckling, “I wouldn’t go that far…Besides, you did nothing wrong, so you have no reason to apologize, Yuu. Rook and I were the ones at fault for not making you wear a mask; even though it was supposed to be a simple experiment that came with no risks, we should’ve known better, considering how Rook’s experiments typically turn out.”

Just as you had expected, Trey tries to downplay his trauma since that’s just his instinctual response due to him never wanting to make a big deal out of things or bring extra attention to himself.

After taking a sip of your tea, you frown, “Neither you nor Rook-senpai were at fault. Neither of you could’ve expected that a lab ingredient would be mislabeled in the worst possible way; I keep telling you this.”

“No one was at fault, including me.” You add, “I was just apologizing ‘cause now I’m constantly making you worry about me due to my alien biology, which has become such a worrisome unknown factor in your eyes thanks to that incident.”

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “You still don’t need to apologize. I’m the one at fault for overreacting. I shouldn’t be so quick to let myself panic, just because of what happened in the past.”

“Honestly…” You huff, “You shouldn’t downplay what you went through during that incident; your fear back then was totally understandable and absolutely not something a normal person can just simply get over. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that if the roles had been reversed.”

You wag the cookie you’re now holding at him. “Just accept the fact that you’ve been traumatized already and that your feelings and reactions are perfectly valid, you stubborn upperclassman. Acceptance is a very important step of the whole healing process that will likely take a while, considering how prone you are to panicking whenever something negatively affects my physical health.”

“I didn’t realize I had sat down for a therapy session.” Trey wryly comments, appearing slightly amused.

“A lot of my conversations with my friends are therapy sessions.” You shrug. “Sometimes it’s planned; most of the time it’s not. You just never know what’s gonna happen with you NRC boys.”

With a quiet laugh, Trey props his elbow on the table and rests his chin in his hand. “Guess that’s just one of the many things you do for us guys; you’re a girl of many talents.”

“That I am.” You solemnly agree, without an ounce of humility. “You guys would be so lost without me.”

He chuckles as he looks at you with a soft, noticeably fond gaze. “We definitely would be.”

The combination of his warm expression and affectionate words makes you beam, and that, in turn, causes his expression to soften further.

His free hand moves to ruffle your hair, carefully so as to not mess it up since he wouldn’t want to get in trouble with Vil. “You really don’t need to apologize for anything since you haven’t been at fault for what has happened to you as of late, but I appreciate the fact that you’re worried about me and don’t like the idea of upsetting me.”

“I’ll try to follow your advice and work on this, so neither of us will have to deal with any unnecessary worry.” Trey adds, “And I hope you’ll do your best to stay safe in the meantime.”

You happily lean into his touch. “Of course! I’ll be extra careful, I promise!”

Little did you know that all of your efforts would end up being in vain.

For around forty or so minutes, you and Trey chat over tea and cookies before Sebek finally returns, looking noticeably exasperated.

“Welcome back, Sebek.” You greet before giving him a concerned look. “Is everything alright? You were gone longer than I had expected.”

Sebek scowls, “I took so long because those witches had to make the medicine you need from scratch since it wasn’t something that they already had pre-made. Not only that, they made me retrieve all of the ingredients that they needed that they didn’t already have on hand, so I had to run to several different areas to fulfill their demands!”

He huffs, “Honestly! I should hope they don’t give such brazen treatment to all of their customers!”

You chuckle, “Well, considering they didn’t ask for any money, I think it was a fair trade, although I do feel bad that you had to do all that for my sake.”

“As long as Yuu gets the medicine she needs, that’s all that matters, right?” Trey asks, trying to get your son to think more positively.

“Yes, I suppose.” Sebek reluctantly agrees, thankfully having started to settle down.

Much to your surprise, after he calms down, your son places a small green vial on the table along with a small pouch that can be worn around a person’s neck.

Before you can question him, Sebek explains, “According to the witches, just drinking one vial of their allergy medicine will be enough to cure what ails you. However, they decided to also prepare a special brew that can cure all of the most common ailments people experience when sick, so that, if you should happen to fall ill again but not necessarily because of your allergies, you can drink it to ensure you’ll be well for Halloween, no matter what comes your way.”

“They also provided this pouch, which is currently carrying that special brew, so that you can always carry this medicine with you around your neck since I let them know you do not have any pockets.” He adds.

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “Aw, that was really sweet of them. I’ll be sure to thank them for their consideration.”

“And thank you for all your hard work, Sebek.” You warmly add, “I’m sure this medicine will be extra effective ‘cause you played a role in its creation.”

Sebek smugly puffs up his chest. “Heh, naturally! I picked the best looking ingredients, after all!”

While Trey chuckles, you giggle at your son’s cute response before grabbing the vial on the table, so you can finally take the medicine for your allergies, which thankfully haven’t been seriously bothering you since you left the pumpkin patch.

When you pull out the cork of the vial, a strong medicinal smell reaches your nose, making you grimace. “I sure hope the medicine in this town isn’t as scary as the food. Oh well…”

Knowing there’s no point in complaining, you proceed to knock back the medicine since the sooner you take it, the better. Much to your surprise, rather than the kind of unpleasant taste you were expecting, all your tongue registers is the taste of milk chocolate.

Naturally, it doesn’t take you long to realize what happened, especially when you see that Trey is holding his magic-pen.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards after you swallow the medicine. “Thank you, Trey-senpai. Chocolate-flavored medicine is every girl’s dream come true.”

With an amused grin, Trey returns his magic-pen to his pocket. “You’re welcome. I feel like that’s most people’s dream come true, considering how bad medicine can taste.”

Just as you’re about to agree with him, you pause because you get distracted by a pleasant warmth that suddenly envelops you.

A few seconds later, all of your lingering allergy symptoms abruptly vanish, causing you to release a sigh of relief. “Those witches definitely know what they’re doing. That medicine did the trick almost instantly.”

“I’m honestly impressed since Tsunotaro had once mentioned that the witches don’t have much magic as compared to you guys.” You add, “So I wasn’t sure if the potions would be anything like what I’ve seen in Twisted Wonderland, so this was a very pleasant surprise.”

Both Sebek and Trey instantly relax in response to your words before the former asks, “So all of your symptoms have been alleviated? You have fully recovered?”

“Yep!” You warmly smile, “All thanks to your and the witches’ hard work. I’m all better now.”

The corners of your son’s lips curve upwards. “I am glad to hear that.”

Unfortunately, his smile doesn’t last for long; within a matter of seconds, it gets replaced with a deep frown. “Now that I’ve heard that, I suppose it’s time to deliver the vexing news I received while I was away.”

Once he sees that he has your and Trey’s undivided attention, Sebek reveals, “I ran into Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai while I was gone. They had returned from their mission to spy on the enemy to share the information they had gathered with the rest of us.”

As both you and Trey stiffen since whatever Azul and Jade discovered can’t be good for you and your friends, considering how your son is acting, Sebek continues, “According to them, they never once caught sight of that infernal Boogeyman or even heard his voice despite doing an extensive search of the area. All they ever saw were those pesky children who heed his beck and call, even when they went under the treehouse where the Boogeyman is supposed to dwell.”

“After enough time had passed where they failed to gather anything pertinent simply by observing the children and eavesdropping on their conversations, Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai decided to capture one of them after the children split up, so they could use Jade-senpai’s Unique Magic to learn about the Boogeyman’s plans, just as we had all discussed last night.” He adds.

His eyebrow twitches as he crosses his arms. “Unfortunately, they quickly discovered that the Boogeyman didn’t tell his minions anything that would explain why he wasn't in his lair, nor did he share any details about his plans with them. Instead, all he told them was that, if they wished to find out all about the ‘big bad scary’ plans he had, they had to prove themselves worthy by capturing Yuu and Skully.”

“Apparently, the Boogeyman had lost his trust in the children following their easy capture yesterday.” Sebek explains, “That is why he didn’t make them privy to his plans, because he had felt that they needed to earn the right to hear them.”

With a groan, you tiredly drag a hand down your face. “I really should’ve seen that coming. Of course, Oogie would be reluctant to trust the kids with the details of his big master plan after they’ve been doing nothing but failing him. If he ever tells them anything that’s actually useful, it’ll likely be right before everything goes to hell.”

"And I really shouldn't be surprised that Oogie finally left his lair now that Halloween is less than a day away." You sigh, "Either Oogie is so confident in his master plan that he doesn't fear getting spotted by Jack-san, or the book has made him a lot braver than his movie counterpart so this story's villain will actually show himself and not just hide away like a coward the whole time."

Looking just as weary as you feel, Trey releases a sigh of his own. “So much for getting the upper hand by gathering intelligence…”

“Do Azul and Jade intend to keep watching the kids, or is someone keeping an eye on them now?” He asks, after turning to look at Sebek.

Surprising both you and Trey, Sebek smirks, “After they had failed to get any useful information from the children, Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai captured all three of them and brought them to Jack Skellington, with the claim that the kids were eager to help the skeleton with making more beds and anything else we needed. He was all too happy to accept their help.”

Matching smirks quickly appear on both your and Trey’s faces as you reply, “As expected of the fish mafia. If those kids are stuck under Jack-san’s watchful eye, they can’t risk doing anything that’ll piss him off.”

“There’s still a chance of them running off when Jack-san’s back is turned, though, but as long as we all keep a watchful eye out for them, we should be able to prevent them from causing any trouble for us.” Trey remarks, “Anytime we find them out on their own, we just need to apprehend them and bring them back to Jack-san.”

Your smirk grows. “Exactly, although, as long as Leona-senpai is with Jack-san, those kids ain’t going anywhere, ‘cause Leona-senpai never lets his prey escape.”

Looks like Leona getting whisked away by Jack wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

Chapter Text

After you all finish discussing the situation with Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Trey decides to head back into the kitchen, so he can return to work and make sure Sally isn't making any scary-looking dishes.

The upperclassman leaves the tray of tea and cookies behind, because you had wanted to give Sebek a chance to have a short break before you both head back to the pumpkin patch. Your son deserves it, after all, for working so hard to get those ingredients for your allergy medicine.

Unsurprisingly, Sebek is quick to go along with your idea since, despite you and your friends not feeling hunger more than once a day in this fictional world, he loves sweets, and he knows nobody’s sweets are better than Trey’s.

Because your sweet son worked so hard, you let him have all of the remaining cookies, because he deserves them, and you just love watching him happily enjoy food that he likes.

Shortly after Sebek begins eating the cookies, Sally makes a reappearance. “I heard from Trey-kun that you were able to get some medicine from the witches, Yuu-chan. How are you feeling?”

“Great!” You give her a thumbs-up. “I’ve completely recovered thanks to their super effective medicine. Thank you for pointing us in the right direction, Sally-san.”

She smiles in relief as she rests her hands over her heart. “I’m so glad. Everyone, Jack especially, would’ve hated for you to be ill during Halloween, considering you’ve been working so hard for our town’s sake.”

Her relieved expression quickly becomes embarrassed. “Speaking of Jack, will you please not tell him about what we discussed earlier, Yuu-chan?”

Since you weren’t expecting her to willingly bring that topic up, especially not with Sebek present, you blink in surprise before giving her a reassuring smile. “Oh, of course. Your feelings are for you to express alone. While I’m more than willing to help if you ever need it, I won’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong since I want to be considerate of your feelings.”

Sally releases a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you very much…”

After watching this exchange, Sebek surprises Sally when he asks, “Am I right to assume you’re both talking about Sally’s romantic feelings for Jack?”

As Sally releases a cute, embarrassed squeak, your son continues, “Were you getting tired of watching Sally’s indirect tactics, Yuu? I can’t say that I blame you; if you hadn’t said something, I likely would have since one can only remain silent for so long after seeing something so exasperating.”

While you chide Sebek for his bad manners and order him to speak more respectfully to Sally, the older woman meekly asks, “H-How…?”

Sebek rolls his eyes. “If you thought you were being subtle, you thought wrong; the rest of us aren’t as oblivious as that extremely dense skeleton, who will never pick up on your feelings unless you tell him directly.”

“Since we first came to Halloween Town, I’ve witnessed you bringing treats to Jack several times while he was working, and he acted as if you did that simply because you were a ‘kind person’.” He explains, “While I won’t deny that you are one, I know that’s not the only reason for your actions, because I haven’t seen you give anyone else the same kind of special treatment you give him.”

“It was also plainly obvious that you had wished to lend your assistance to Jack’s efforts to prepare a special Halloween surprise for everyone simply because you had wanted to support him in any way you could.” Sebek adds, “So many of the actions I’ve seen you take all appeared to be motivated by your desire to support him.”

As Sally bashfully averts her eyes and fiddles with her fingers, Sebek remarks, “The first day we came into town, it seemed that you and Dr. Finkelstein were at odds with each other, because he had wanted you to remain at home while you had wanted to help Jack prepare for Halloween.”

“If Yuu and Jack had not gotten involved, it’s likely that you would have ended up locked up in your room like what has happened to you in the past whenever you were grounded, which I had learned about from the doctor who had once shared this information while he was supervising the decorations team.” He continues, “He also mentioned how you’ve escaped before by jumping through your bedroom window and that you've done such a ridiculous act more than once.”

After quickly polishing off a cookie, Sebek says, “Even though I have never visited your quarters, I know your room is on one of the upper floors - high enough that you would risk seriously harming yourself by jumping out of your bedroom window to escape.”

“Oh, it doesn’t hurt. I might lose a limb or two, but it never takes time for me to sew them back together.” Sally calmly assures him, much to your amusement.

Sebek gives her an exasperated look. “Regardless, it does not change the fact that you acted in desperation, doing things that most people would be too afraid to even attempt, just for the sake of seeing Jack.”

“That’s whom I assume you always went to see after making your escapes, considering I sincerely doubt that you would take such drastic actions for just anyone, and the doctor had said that whenever he went looking for you, following your past escapes, he’d almost always find you with Jack.” He adds.

Not having expected your son to find out all of this information about Sally that you already knew thanks to having watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, you briefly stare at Sebek in surprise, like Sally, before grinning, “My Sebek is so smart, just like a detective. You make your mother proud.”

“I am NOT your son.” Sebek automatically retorts before sighing, “Honestly, anyone could’ve easily come to the same conclusion I did just as long as they weren’t ignorant like Jack.”

He shakes his head before returning his gaze to Sally. “If you keep acting in a roundabout way, you’ll never be able to get your true feelings across to Jack, so I highly recommend that you try a more direct method.”

There’s a brief pause before Sally weakly smiles, “Thank you, Sebek-kun. You’re saying all that because you care, aren’t you? You’re very kind, just like Yuu-chan.”

“No, it’s just all so frustrating to watch!” Sebek huffs, “Both your reticent demeanor and his lack of sensitivity are beyond exasperating, and I hate how your devotion is entirely wasted.”

While you give your son a reproving look for his rudeness, Sally sadly frowns, “Well, it is nice when efforts get rewarded, but I could never tell him how I feel.”

“Jack is an idol to everyone in town, the Pumpkin King who makes others tremble with fear.” She continues, “How could I possibly stand alongside him as his partner? I’m hardly fit to take that spot.”

Before you can try to reassure her, your son heavily sighs, “Watching you truly is maddening.”

“I shall impart a word of advice. It involves a story that may be of use.” He offers, catching you and Sally by surprise.

“There’s a piece of classical literature in my world called Omero and Lietuj.” Sebek informs, “Lovers, whose families oppose their union, make plans to run away and elope, but after many turbulent twists, their plan ends in failure. They each get taken back to their respective families and live the rest of their lives tearfully lamenting the paramour they’ll never see again.”

Your eyes widen. I was not expecting to hear that Twisted Wonderland has its own version of Romeo and Juliet. I wonder if that means that world has its own Shakespeare…

I’ll have to check that story out when we get back to school since I’m very curious to see in what other ways it differs from my world’s version since, in Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers die at the end, and they got secretly married before they tried to run away. You muse. Wonder if the Twisted Wonderland version of Mercutio actually survives. I always felt bad for that dude, so it’d be nice if he got a better ending.

Meanwhile, Sally sorrowfully murmurs, “It sounds like a very sad story.”

Sebek nods in agreement. “Mmhm. However, it’s more than that. It teaches the reader a valuable lesson.”

Sally curiously tilts her head. “What lesson is that?”

“The lovers in the story gave up on persuading their families.” Sebek answers, “They chose to run away and leave everything behind.”

There’s another difference from the story I’m familiar with. You note. Romeo and Juliet really had no other choice but to leave their families behind ‘cause Romeo had been exiled from Verona ‘cause of the incident with Tybalt and Mercutio. Plus, Juliet’s parents wouldn’t listen to her pleas to delay Juliet’s marriage with Paris that had been arranged without her permission. It’s not like they had wanted to run away, although it is true that neither Romeo nor Juliet ever tried to tell their families about their secret marriage which could’ve possibly helped them to avoid their tragic end.

“Without going into the particulars of how their efforts failed, the real reason the tale ends in tragedy is the protagonists never conveyed their thoughts and feelings in the form of words.” Sebek says, successfully pulling you away from your thoughts.

The corners of his lips dip downward. “If they had shared the details of their plan with one another and checked the veracity of the rumors with the people involved, I could envision a happier outcome for them.”

You raise an eyebrow. Rumors? Now, I’m really intrigued since I don’t remember rumors playing a role in Romeo and Juliet. However, it is true that everything went wrong when Romeo failed to get the news of Juliet’s fake death, but that really wasn’t Juliet’s fault. She had no idea that the message for Romeo would never reach him, although I will admit it was really reckless of her to go through with such a crazy plan on such short notice without considering the possibility of Romeo not getting the message about the plan in time.

“And if I were to speculate further, I think the author wanted the story to highlight the emptiness of resignation and the importance of verbal communication.” Sebek theorizes, once again reclaiming your attention, before smiling, “The story undoubtedly has as many interpretations as it does readers, but that is mine.”

“Without thoughts and feelings one wants to convey to someone, there can be no story.” He remarks, “I wonder if the author wrote from experience. Perhaps they gave up on something, never conveyed their feelings verbally, and came to regret it.”

“I’ve read many books.” Sebek continues, “There are veritable mountains of tales where a failure to convey feelings verbally gives rise to misunderstandings and discord.”

“Agreed.” You nod. “The miscommunication trope is hugely popular in all forms of fiction - to the point it can drive you crazy since nothing is worse than seeing people coming to countless misunderstandings simply because they refuse to talk to one another.”

“Plus, there are plenty of times when the trope is just poorly executed and makes everyone look like a bunch of idiots.” You dryly add, earning a nod from your son.

Sally giggles, “I see you’re both avid readers. That’s another thing you both have in common.”

After briefly pausing, she asks, “If I don’t give up… If I put my feelings into words…Could I be rewarded someday?”

Before you can give her an affirmative response, Sebek bluntly replies, “How would I know?! However, you should still have faith and put that into practice regardless.”

Naturally, you don’t hesitate to extend your leg underneath the table, so you can kick his leg for that tactless response since, while there’s nothing wrong with being honest, he could’ve gone about it in a much nicer way.

As Sebek winces before directing a scowl at you, an oblivious Sally comments, “My, how reassuring. You have a reason for believing that, don’t you, Sebek-kun?”

Once he finishes glaring at you, to which you glare at him in return as a warning so he won’t continue to be so gruff toward Sally, Sebek returns his attention to the older woman. “My maternal grandfather opposed my parents’ union, but my mother pressed on regardless and married my father.”

“My mother worked tirelessly after that to get her father to accept her chosen partner.” He continues, “She’d write frequent letters and enclose photos of the two of them and of our whole family.”

“She’d visit him on the weekends with me and my siblings and invite him to eat with us on special occasions. I’m sure she did a great many other things behind the scenes as well, beyond what I know about.” Sebek adds.

He takes a sip of his tea. “My grandfather still does not view their marriage favorably, but my mother has faith.”

His expression softens. “If she continues using words to convey that she married the man she loves, built a family, and is living quite happily, she believes one day my grandfather will come to understand and that he’ll give them his heartfelt blessings.”

“And she’s made quite a bit of progress.” Sebek smiles, “I’m told my father was turned away when he would try to visit my grandfather at the start of their marriage.”

“But lately, they’ve started seeing each other more often.” He informs as his smile fades. “Barely once a year, mind you…”

“And my grandfather refuses to make direct eye contact with my father and just glowers the whole time.” Sebek shakes his head before donning another smile. “But I believe that still counts as progress my mother made by verbalizing to my grandfather how happy she was.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “I think so too. Considering your grandpa is just as stubborn as you, he wouldn’t just change his mind on his own; it happened because your mom, who also has those stubborn Zigvolt genes, never gave up and did everything that she could to get through to her dad.”

As Sebek scowls at your usage of the phrase “stubborn Zigvolt genes”, your smile grows. “Heh, I never get tired of hearing about your family, Sebek. I really wish your mom would write a book about her and your dad; that’s one love story I would LOVE to hear all about. I bet it’d be a huge hit, considering how cute their love story sounds.”

His eyebrow twitches. “I pray that day never comes, because that is information I do NOT want ever to be in book format. Just thinking of such an idea fills me with pure mortification.”

“That’s just ‘cause you're a teenage boy who doesn’t wanna hear about his parents being all lovey-dovey.” You giggle, “Meanwhile, I’m sure plenty of girls would love to read such a romantic tale, just like me.”

Sally nods in agreement. “Yes, it sounds like it would be a wonderful, heartwarming story. I’m sure I would also enjoy reading it.”

As Sebek makes a face, making you laugh, Sally continues, “I’m sure I could learn a lot from reading about Sebek-kun’s mother, who is able to clearly state her feelings, like Sebek-kun, although I don’t know if I could ever do that…”

A frown forms on your lips upon hearing her despondent words. “Sally-san…”

Sebek gives her an exasperated look. “You’re still balking?!”

Just as you’re able to chide your son again, his exasperation abruptly fades. “Well, to be fair…I can understand the anxiety and agitation you must be feeling.”

Sally blinks in surprise. “You can?”

As you eye your son curiously, he nods. “Malleus-sama, the man I adore and respect above all others, is the next in line to rule over the land where I was born. Not only was he born into a noble title, he is also one of the world’s greatest mages whose name resounds throughout the land, and he is a man of magnificent character, worthy of genuine respect.”

Sebek frowns, “Every time I learn yet another thing that makes him so great, I’m reminded how inexperienced I am in comparison. No matter how much I learn or how hard I train, I can’t reach the level of my fellow pupil, much less my liege.”

“There have been many times where I’ve questioned if I’m truly fit to serve such a great man.” He quietly adds.

Your chest clenches at his words. “Sebek…”

Meanwhile, Sally sadly nods in understanding. “Yes… I know just what you mean. It makes my heart ache.”

Catching her by surprise, Sebek says, “However, even if you are inexperienced or imperfect, that is no reason to distance yourself from the one you admire.”

As Sally’s eyes grow large, Sebek remarks, “I volunteered to serve Malleus-sama, the liege I adore and respect, and my liege permitted me to stay by his side as a guard.”

“Of course, I am still in training. I must acquire much more knowledge, skill, and experience to be recognized as a guard officially.” He continues, “However, if I let reservations and insecurities dictate my behavior, I would get nowhere.”

“Instead, I continue striving while sharing his company, working to become someone that is worthy of serving him.” He adds.

“But more to the point, I cannot stand timidness and indolence!” Sebek declares before meeting Sally’s gaze. “You keep striving as well, Sally-san. If you wish to stand at the Pumpkin King’s side, express it in your actions and words!”

A warm smile rises to your lips as you proudly watch your son, who thankfully remembered to use an honorific when addressing Sally this time, although he likely only did it because he doesn't want you to kick him again. “Well said.”

For several seconds, Sally just stares at him with wide eyes before murmuring, “As long as I don’t give up, keep at it, and put my feelings into words, they might be rewarded one day…”

She slowly nods to show her understanding before smiling. “Yes, that makes sense. I doubt I could do that right away, but I will make an effort to express my feelings to Jack.”

Not wanting Sebek to do all the hard work, you decide to throw your own two cents in and make use of your knowledge about Jack for Sally’s sake. “And, you know, Sally-san, while it’s true that Jack-san is an amazing guy, at the end of the day, he’s just like you and me.”

When the older woman turns to look at you in surprise, you explain, “Jack-san feels happiness, sadness, and loneliness like we do; he’s a person who has all the same basic wants and needs as the rest of us.”

“But, because he’s the Pumpkin King, Jack-san can’t so easily show his weaknesses, like us normal folk can.” You smile, “That’s why what he needs most isn’t someone who’s just as powerful and prestigious as him. He needs someone who can acknowledge and accept his weaknesses - who can be there for him in his lowest points and offer him the comfort he needs.”

As you hope that Sebek too will take inspiration from your words since you also believe that what Malleus needs most is someone who will understand and fully accept him, your smile grows. “And that’s definitely a position you could fill because there’s no one in all of Halloween Town who pays more attention to Jack-san - who cares about him to such a great degree not simply because he’s the Pumpkin King but because he’s Jack Skellington.”

Jabbing a thumb at Sebek, catching him by surprise, you add, “And that’s also the case for Sebek, who loves Tsunotaro more than anyone in a~ll of Twisted Wonderland. His dedication is second to none, just like yours.”

Once he overcomes his surprise, Sebek smirks, “Heh, naturally! When it comes to being devoted to Malleus-sama, I will lose to no one!”

“What about you, Sally-san?” You ask, with a twinkle in your eye. “Do you think you could say the same about your devotion to Jack-san?”

There’s a long pause before Sally adopts a determined expression. “Yes, I can! When it comes to that, I won’t lose to anyone!”

A broad, pleased grin rises to your lips, similar to the one your son is now sporting. “That’s the spirit.”

Mission accomplished.

After you and Sebek finish encouraging Sally, your son polishes off the rest of the refreshments, meaning it’s time to get back to work.

Even though you’d love nothing more than to continue chatting with Sally, you know you can’t keep slacking, especially when Halloween is tomorrow, so you don’t try to prolong your break, although you do try to take the empty food tray back to the kitchen.

Before you can get far with the tray, however, Sally takes it from you, saying that it’s the least that she can do to express her gratitude for all the kind, helpful advice you and Sebek provided.

Once she has the tray in hand, the older woman generously thanks you and Sebek for all your help before heading for the kitchen, so she can resume helping Trey with the food preparations.

After Sally leaves, you quickly move to wrap your arms around your son, catching him off guard, and give him a strong squeeze as you nuzzle his chest. “You were awesome, Sebek. Thank you. I really appreciate you helping Sally-san out.”

“Although, there’s still room for improvement when your manners toward everyone other than Tsunotaro and Lilia-senpai are concerned.” You dryly add.

Giving him no chance to complain, you bring his face closer to yours after cupping his cheek and kiss his other cheek. “You really were wonderful, though. My Sebek really is the best.”

His expression becomes a mixture of pleased and embarrassed in response to your words. “Always doing as you please…”

With an impish grin, you give him another kiss. “You know, you love it.”

“I suppose…” Sebek reluctantly mutters, unable to stop himself from leaning into your touch and hugging you close.

Honestly, this boy is just too cute. If you didn’t have work to do, you’d lose your self-restraint and just start doting on him with the intention of doing so for as long as possible.

Fortunately, you’re too responsible to do something like that; that’s why you instead just give him a few more kisses before finally pulling away from him. “Alright, let’s get back to work.”

In high spirits thanks to how things turned out with Sally and because of your son’s cuteness, you proceed to head for the exit, along with Sebek, with a noticeable pep in your step.

Quietly humming, you walk outside and start moving toward the direction of the pumpkin patch. The next several minutes pass like this, with the only sound filling the air being your humming.

Right after you and Sebek pass through the gate that leads you out of town and toward the pumpkin patch, you finally stop humming and remark, “You know, I wasn’t expecting you to play the role of matchmaker, Sebek, although I know that wasn’t your real intention. I gotta say, you did rather well at it since you’re such a smart, observant boy, who’s got a wealth of knowledge thanks to all the books you’ve read.”

“Maybe you should be the one I go to for love advice if I ever find myself needing a helping hand like Sally-san.” You jokingly add.

Much to your immense surprise, seconds after you say that, Sebek shouts, “Absolutely not!”

Because you hadn't expected him to suddenly raise his voice like that, you simultaneously wince and jolt at his exclamation.

Before you can chide your son for his poor volume control, Sebek declares, “I will not allow you to get romantically involved with someone who’s as ignorant as that dense skeleton! Such fools are beneath you!”

Once you overcome your surprise, you chuckle, “I didn’t mean to say that I’d find myself in the exact same situation as Sally-san, Sebek. After all, I don’t see myself being shy about my affections like her since I’m way more of a direct person, so I’d be more likely to ask for other types of love advice, like, for example, how to win the person I like over if my usual methods aren't successful and I need to try something new.”

Sebek scowls, “You shouldn’t need to ask for any type of love advice, because you should only romantically pursue someone who is worthy of your affections, and such a person should, as a bare minimum, be fully versed in proper courting methods! HE should be the one courting YOU and trying to win YOU over, not the other way around, because that is what you deserve!”

Your heart melts in response to his words. “Aww, you’re such a sweetheart, Sebek. Hearing that makes me really happy; thank you.”

With an amused smile, you add, “Unfortunately, most guys our age don’t know anything about proper courting since that’s not really done nowadays, so the likelihood of me encountering a guy like that is pretty low. That’s why it’d be more reasonable for me to instead keep an eye out for guys who have really good manners rather than knowledge of proper courting etiquette.”

“Nonsense!” Sebek vehemently disagrees, “Just good manners is not enough! You must have higher standards than that, Yuu! I insist!”

“And there are other requirements that must be met if someone wishes to become your partner!” He continues, “Aside from knowing proper courting etiquette, your potential suitor must also have a strong mind and body; I will not accept anyone who cannot best me in a one-on-one duel, because he needs to be at least that strong to be able to protect you!”

You raise an amused brow. “If the guy has to be strong enough to defeat you, then it sounds like I’m gonna stay single ‘cause not many guys our age could accomplish a feat like that, especially since you’re just gonna keep getting stronger as we grow older.”

“It’s very sweet of you to want the best for me, Sebek, but I think we’re gonna need to be a little more realistic about this.” You add.

His scowl deepens as he angrily stomps his foot. “Grrr! Why are you being so stubbornly pessimistic about something so important?! I thought all women had high expectations for their future partners, like my sister!”

Giving you no chance to respond, Sebek continues, “All of the requirements I’ve mentioned thus far are perfectly reasonable, and they’re by no means something that is too difficult for someone to accomplish if that person truly harbored strong feelings for you. If a man truly loves you, he’d be willing to do that and so much more to earn the honor of becoming your partner!”

A pleasant warmth envelops your chest in response to his words. “Sebek…”

He crosses his arms. “That’s why I won’t allow anyone that honor unless they can fulfill those requirements and earn my approval!”

Just as you’re about to say that Sebek is sounding like his grandpa now, you suddenly come to a realization that makes you grin. “Sebek, is this all your roundabout way of saying that no one but you could ever be worthy of my love? After all, by the sounds of it, the only one who can meet your high standards is you.”

In an instant, Sebek starts furiously blushing as he uncharacteristically stutters, “I-I..!”

Your grin grows. “It IS. Looks like you had no right to criticize Sally-san for her indirect methods since you use them as well.”

For a moment, Sebek looks like he intends to protest, just as you’d expect from the tsundere, but much to your surprise, before a single word can escape his mouth, your son suddenly goes silent and adopts a pensive expression.

Your surprise only grows when, after a long pause, Sebek finally breaks his silence by saying, “You’re right. While it wasn’t a conscious effort on my part, that was exactly what I was doing.”

As you stare at him with wide eyes because you weren't expecting him to be so honest about his feelings, Sebek determinedly frowns, “It’s true that, despite the fact that my feelings for you are purely platonic, I don’t think anyone could ever come to love and cherish you as much as I do; when it comes to making you happy, I’m fully confident that I would lose to no one, no matter whom I face.”

The warmth that had enveloped your chest earlier returns with a vengeance in response to his words. “Sebek…”

He draws closer to you and takes hold of your hands, passionately staring into your eyes all the while. “No one cares about your happiness more than me; that’s why I will do everything in my power to ensure you get the kind of blissful life you deserve.”

“And if that means becoming the one who’s always faithfully by your side, providing you all the love you ask for and then some, because no one else is found worthy of that role, I will gladly do so.” Sebek adds.

With a surprisingly suave smile, Sebek brings one of your hands to his lips and kisses your knuckles. “Because, while I’ve pledged my whole body and soul to my liege, this love that’s currently overflowing from my heart is all for you alone.”

Feeling so happy that you could burst, you, without hesitation, promptly throw yourself into his arms and squeal, “Oh, Sebek! You are seriously the sweetest! I love you SO much!”

Taking full advantage of the fact that no one else is around, you wrap your arms around Sebek’s neck and begin peppering his face with kisses, because how can you not after hearing such heart-melting words?

In response, Sebek just hugs you close and leans into your touch, chuckling all the while.

After a few minutes pass like this, you finally rein yourself in since you know you both need to get back to work, even though that’s really the last thing you want to do thanks to Sebek being so irresistibly adorable.

“Thank you, Sebek.” You fondly murmur as you stroke his cheek. “I’m truly the luckiest girl in the world to be loved by you, and I’m glad that, no matter what the future has in store for us, I’ll always have you.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Sebek replies before kissing the palm of your hand.

“Still…” You pout, catching him off guard. “I wish you would’ve saved saying all this for when we’re out of this book we're trapped in ‘cause you’re likely just gonna forget everything that happened here.”

“Even if I do forget this conversation, my feelings will remain unchanged, because I possessed them prior to arriving in this strange world.” Sebek confidently replies, “My desire to be the one who protects your happiness will be as strong as ever.”

Grinning, Sebek tenderly kisses your cheek. “The only thing that would really change is the fact that it will take me a little longer to begin the courting process.”

All you can do is stare. “The courting process?”

His grin grows. “Don’t you remember? The only person who has the right to stay by your side is someone who can properly court you, so I intend to prove to everyone that I am more than qualified for that position.”

Appearing smug, he adds, “I will also let this be a warning to those who dare to take a romantic interest in you, so they will see just what they are up against. That, in turn, will keep all of the riff-raff away since they will know right away that they stand no chance, heh.”

Your surprise quickly turns into amusement. “The rest of my sons will have a lot of words with you if you do something like that.”

“Hmph, like I care.” Sebek harrumphs, “They can do their worst.”

“And what about Tsunotaro and Lilia-senpai?” You ask, “Your actions are only gonna encourage their matchmaking efforts since they’re gonna assume that they’ve finally gotten through to you.”

Sebek cutely flushes. “I will make it clear that my feelings for you are purely platonic and explain why I have officially begun platonically courting you.”

Catching you by surprise, he adds, “And I will also thank them for everything they have done for us thus far since I can see now that their efforts were all for the sake of our happiness and that they were right in the end, because it is undeniable that you bring me more joy than words could ever even begin to describe.”

Feeling your heart melt, you squeal, “You are seriously too cute! You gotta stop! My poor heart can only take so much, you know!”

Looking a mixture of smug and amused, Sebek smiles, “You only have yourself to blame for captivating me like this to such a strong degree.”

Resting his forehead against yours, he adoringly looks into your eyes. “In other words, I am simply returning the favor by making you experience what all you’ve already put my own heart through countless times.”

Despite yourself, you can’t help but swoon in response to his suave words, because he’s being so irresistibly charming.

“I just keep falling more and more in love with you.” You fondly murmur as you gently stroke his cheek. “I’m guessing that’s your intention too?”

His gaze becomes noticeably pleased as he grins, “Naturally.”

With a giggle, you affectionately rub your nose against his. “I really don’t stand a chance against you, Sebek.”

Not that you really mind, of course.

Once you and Sebek finally manage to pull away from each other, albeit reluctantly since you really just want to spend the whole rest of the day doting on that sweet boy, the two of you hurry to the pumpkin patch, so you can finally get back to work.

Thankfully, much to your relief, upon reaching the pumpkin patch, you discover that everything looks like it’s all running smoothly, and none of the test of courage preparations appear to be behind schedule, meaning everything should be finished by the end of the day, like planned, just as long as everyone keeps up this pace.

One of the reasons things are going so well is the fact that Leona is now here, overseeing everything, obviously having finally escaped from Jack.

Naturally, once you catch sight of him, you’re quick to approach the lion Beastman, along with Sebek. “Leona-senpai!”

Immediately, Leona turns toward your direction and gives you a once-over, no doubt because he heard from Jamil and Epel about what had happened to you earlier this morning.

Even though he doesn’t say anything, you can tell Leona is relieved to see that you’re doing alright now, just from seeing how his expression relaxes after he finishes looking you over.

“I’m sorry that you had such a rough morning, what with Jack-san abducting you and then coming here to find out that I suddenly discovered a new allergy and all.” You give him an apologetic look. “Thankfully, I was able to get some medicine from the witches that fixed me right up, so I’m feeling great now.”

You pat your chest, which is where the pouch the witches made for you is now resting underneath your clothes. “And they also made me something I can drink if my allergies act up again or if I end up with any other pesky symptoms, so I’m now fully prepared!”

Leona huffs in amusement. “Good. With the kind of luck you have, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

“You ended up having good timing since I showed up here not long before you did.” He adds before clicking his tongue. “It took forever to get that bastard Skellington off my back.”

While Sebek eyes him sympathetically, you weakly chuckle, “Just goes to show how much he likes you and how highly he values your opinion…”

It’s at that moment you remember who else Leona was temporarily stuck with, which prompts you to ask, “How did things go with Lock, Shock, and Barrel? We heard that Azul-senpai and Jade-senpai dropped them off with Jack-san after learning that the kids knew nothing about Oogie’s plans.”

Leona’s eyebrow twitches. “They were even more annoying than Skellington, but they didn’t cause any trouble since they clearly didn’t wanna piss him off. They were still with him and the furball when I left.”

Around that time, Jamil and Epel arrive on the scene, obviously having taken notice of your arrival, and you quickly tell them that you’ve completely recovered, much to their relief.

After that exchange, Jamil and Epel update you on everything you missed while you were gone and confirm that everything is moving according to schedule, much to your relief.

“We haven’t seen any signs of Oogie or anyone associated with him.” Jamil comments, “Which is honestly just as worrying as it is relieving.”

Epel frowns, “It’s too bad Azul-san and Jade-san weren’t able to get anything out of those brats. We still don’t know anything aside from the fact that the Boogeyman is targeting Yuu-san and Skully-kun.”

Leona crosses his arms. “We also know that he wants Halloween to fail since he hates Skellington, and nothing would hurt Skellington more than that. Taking that and the fact that he hasn’t done anything yet into consideration, it seems pretty likely that he’ll make his move right when all of the Halloween Town residents let their guard down and think they’re in the clear.”

Sebek’s eyes widen in realization. “Ergo when all of the Halloween preparations are complete…”

“Exactly.” Leona nods. “Nothing will hurt Skellington more than to think the best Halloween ever is all ready to go, only for the rug to be pulled right out from underneath him at the very last minute.”

You wince, “That sounds like something Oogie would do, considering that’s the best way to get revenge against the person who banished him.”

“It’s a very likely possibility.” Jamil agrees, “Of course, we still need to remain on our guard since there’s no guarantee that Oogie and his minions won’t try something before then.”

“The Boogeyman can try, but he will fail, because I won’t allow him to continue to do as he pleases.”

Catching everyone off guard, Malleus abruptly appears before your group, having seemingly come out of nowhere.

As you, Epel, and Jamil all jolt in surprise while Leona scowls in annoyance, a delighted Sebek cries out, “Malleus-sama!”

“Heh, hello, Sebek, I am glad to see you in as high spirits as always.” Malleus smiles, “I can see Yuu is also doing well thanks to your excellent bodyguard services.”

Sebek’s eyes grow teary. “I am unworthy of such high praise!”

While Leona and Jamil both roll their eyes and Epel just shakes his head, you chuckle, “Sebek has indeed been an amazing bodyguard. I'm very grateful to you for allowing me to borrow him this morning since he's been such a great help."

"So what brings you here, Tsunotaro?" You ask, "Did you come by to pick up Sebek so he could return to his regular guard duties after hearing that Leona-senpai escaped Jack-san, or did you have other business?”

Catching you by surprise, Malleus answers, “I came here to see you, actually. I was hoping to hear more of your thoughts and preferences when it comes to Halloween, which I would like to potentially add to our surprise decorations if I am able.”

Once you overcome your surprise, you grin, “Aw, it’s sweet you wanna add that personal touch to your decorations for my Halloween surprise, Tsunotaro. Thank you.”

His smile grows. “There is no need for thanks. After all, it’s only natural to have the decorations personally cater to you when this surprise is all for the sake of ensuring you have the best possible first Halloween.”

“It would be rather arrogant of us to simply make our decorations without asking for any input from you.” Malleus adds, “That is why, now that much of our preparations have been completed, I decided to ask you some questions about Halloween in hopes that I can come to better see it from your perspective.”

“As expected of Malleus-sama!” Sebek exclaims, “His thoughtfulness truly knows no bounds!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Leona dismissively waves his hand before walking away from the group. “Since I’m not needed for the lizard’s Q & A, I’ll be elsewhere. Come find me when you’re done, Herbivore.”

After you promise Leona that you will seek him out once you finish answering Malleus’s questions, he walks out of sight, and Jamil and Epel soon follow his example since they have work that they need to do as well.

Once you’re alone with the Diasomnia students, you ask, “Alright, Tsunotaro, what do you wanna know? I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability.”

“I would like to know more about what an ideal Halloween would be for you.” Malleus reveals, “While I know Rosehearts had asked you a similar question previously, I still wish to learn more, so I can get a clearer view of Halloween from your perspective.”

You rub your chin thoughtfully. “Hmmm. Well, obviously, my ideal Halloween is one that doesn’t scare the hell outta me, but I’m fine with there being some thrills and chills since it wouldn’t be Halloween without them, and that’s what the locals love. I’ll be satisfied just as long as no one jump-scares me or sends ghosts after me.”

"Are there any types of thrills and chills that you would be able to actually wholeheartedly enjoy despite your horror phobia?" Malleus curiously asks.

Since you haven't really give much thought about what thrills and chills you'd actually enjoy before, you have take a moment to really think about his question. After several minutes of rumination, an idea comes to mind that makes you smile. “Oh! I know. If we're talking about thrills, I love the kind of experience you'd get on a thrill ride, so I think my ideal Halloween would be one that’s like a roller coaster since that sounds like it’d be a lotta fun.”

“‘A roller coaster’?” Malleus and Sebek curiously parrot.

“I don’t know if you guys have ever been on one, but a roller coaster is the kind of amusement park ride that involves you riding on a cart that races along a track at an incredible speed and does things like loop-de-loops, going high up before doing a deep plunge, going backwards, etc.” You explain.

With a wry smile, you reveal, “I’ve never actually been on one, but I know what it feels like thanks to the times I've visited the Coral Sea with the Leech brothers. In their mer-forms, those two can move SUPER fast in the water, so when they take me along for the ride, I end up moving at breakneck speed.”

Your eyes begin to sparkle. “I’m a total adrenaline junkie, so I LOVE stuff like that. While plenty of people find it scary, I love the rush you experience when you're moving at such a fast speed, especially when you’re not simply moving in a straight line. It’s so much fun!”

Appearing intrigued, Malleus smiles, “So that is your preferred type of thrills and chills. That’s what you’re saying, correct?”

“Yeah!” You eagerly nod. “While I don’t really have anything in particular in mind for the types of Halloween decorations I wanna see ‘cause I know I’ll love whatever you guys make since it’ll all be made for my sake, which means more to me than you’ll ever know, I’d love to experience a Halloween that keeps my adrenaline pumping and makes my heart race with excitement and anticipation.”

As an afterthought, you sheepishly add, “Ah, but I guess that’s something I shouldn’t be saying the day before Halloween, huh? I should’ve come up with this idea way sooner. Sorry…”

“Heh, there is no need to apologize.” Malleus assures you. “After all, I am the one who waited until the last day to ask for your thoughts.”

“Originally, I had thought we had enough information, just based on everyone’s shared knowledge about you as well as what Rosehearts had learned from you the other day.” He continues, “However, after giving the matter some more thought today, I found myself wanting to hear directly from you, which is why this conversation is so last minute.”

A pleased smile rises to his lips. “And I am glad that I did since I have gained something very valuable from this discussion.”

His smile grows. “If you’re wishing for an exciting Halloween that’s filled with anticipation, I shall grant that wish, so your first Halloween will be as enjoyable and memorable as possible.”

With a noticeable fondness in his eyes, Malleus adds, “You have given me much, Yuu, so in return, I want to at least do this much, because it is what you deserve. And I also wish to celebrate the fact that I get to be a part of this very special occasion.”

“Tsunotaro…” You murmur, feeling touched by his words.

At the same time, Sebek stares at his liege with teary eyes. “Malleus-sama…”

Feeling so happy you could burst, you quickly move to hug Malleus, ignoring Sebek’s protests. “Thank you, Tsunotaro! You’re the best! I’m glad you get to be a part of my first Halloween too!”

Chuckling, Malleus returns your hug and gently pats your head. “There is no need for thanks. I am simply fulfilling my role as your friend since that is what friends are for, isn’t that right?”

Looking up at him, you beam, “Right!”

And you couldn’t be more grateful.

After you finish chatting with Malleus and Sebek about your ideal Halloween, they both take their leave, so the fae prince can begin work on the ideas that he now has thanks to having spent some time hearing your thoughts.

Despite the fact that Leona is now able to resume being your bodyguard, Sebek briefly hesitated when his liege asked him if he wished to remain with you, but after you assured him that you’d be fine and told him that you wanted him to help Malleus with his new ideas, your son agreed to leave your side.

Once you finish seeing those two off, you quickly reunite with Leona before promptly returning to your usual duties of providing support and advice to the locals whilst also doing whatever you can to help with the remaining preparations for the test of courage.

The rest of the day passes like this, with you working hard at the pumpkin patch along with Epel, Riddle, who had showed up shortly after the Diasomnia students had left, and Leona, who had opted to stick with you rather than do any work with the food preparations team today since, at this point, all that team is doing is cooking, which means the majority of the work is being done by Trey and Jamil, the latter of whom left the pumpkin patch after Riddle had showed up, although Epel did join those two for a little while to help wherever he could before returning to the pumpkin patch to help with keeping an eye on things.

During this time, the whole test of courage preparation process goes by smoothly, without anything major happening to risk putting your team’s progress behind schedule.

On one hand, you’re very pleased with how well things are going, but on the other hand, you just keep feeling progressively more anxious the more time passes without you seeing any signs of Oogie or his minions.

Obviously, just as Leona had guessed, it seems that Oogie is going to make his move after all of the Halloween preparations are done, because there’s no way that he’ll actually remain docile the whole day, not after all the trouble he and his henchmen caused the last two days.

What really cements the fact that the other shoe will soon finally drop is the fact that, when Grim finally comes to the pumpkin patch to work around the middle of the afternoon, he reveals that Lock, Shock, and Barrel got Jack to agree to let them return to their treehouse, so they could “get some special tools” to help with the Halloween decorations.

Naturally, Grim didn’t believe that lie for a second, but Jack did, despite Grim telling him not to, so as a result, the kids were finally able to run off and escape being constantly supervised.

Unfortunately, none of the other NRC students were around when that happened, and it didn’t look like Lock, Shock, and Barrel were heading for the pumpkin patch or the cemetery when they left, so it seems likely that they’ll be able to escape getting recaptured by your friends, much to your immense frustration.

While you’re obviously glad that Oogie’s henchmen didn’t come your way once they finally regained their freedom, you can’t help but feel nervous about them running free since you highly doubt that the kids are simply going to return to the treehouse and behave themselves for the rest of the day.

After all, even though Lock, Shock, and Barrel didn’t have anything nefarious planned when Jade used his Unique Magic on Barrel this morning, that doesn’t mean you’re safe from them since it’s very likely that the kids just hadn’t come up with a satisfactory plan by the time Azul and Jade had made their move.

And, of course, you were exactly right.

When the workday finally comes to an end, you and your friends are all on edge, waiting for the other shoe to finally drop, because Oogie and his henchman still have yet to make their move.

In direct contrast, Jack and all the other Halloween Town residents, who have gathered at the center of town along with you and your friends, are in high spirits, because all of the Halloween Town preparations have been successfully completed, meaning everything is ready for Halloween.

More than anything, you wish you could share their enthusiasm, but alas, that just isn’t an option when you know Oogie won’t allow this celebration to continue for much longer.

And, of course, just after you think that, your Quirk with its always perfect timing chooses that moment to activate, causing a vision to overtake your senses.

In a blink, the scenery before your eyes changes, and you find yourself at the pumpkin patch, watching with great dismay as a horde of ghosts wreak total havoc and try to cause as much damage as possible. Regrettably, when the scenery changes to that of the cemetery, you discover that the same type of situation is also unfolding there.

Thankfully, because you and your friends had predicted that something like this would happen as soon as everyone left the test of courage sites since a coward like Oogie wouldn’t waste an opportunity to strike while no one else was around, you all decided to leave behind some guards, who hid themselves to ensure Oogie and his minions wouldn’t immediately realize they were there.

As a result, in this vision, you see Riddle, Grim, and Epel protecting the pumpkin patch while Malleus, Sebek, and Jade do the same for the cemetery. Of course, it’s hard for you to feel too relieved since you highly doubt that this is all that Oogie plans to do, especially when your friends are doing such a great job of fighting off the ghosts.

Unfortunately, despite your internal pleas for more insight about what Oogie is planning, your vision ends shortly after you see your friends fighting the ghosts, meaning your Quirk fails to show you anything else, much to your exasperation.

Your exasperation only grows when, almost immediately after your vision ends, Lock, Shock, and Barrel rush onto the scene, each of them appearing panicked, as they hurry over to where you and Skully are standing.

“Yuu! Skully!”

“Some ghosts are attacking our treehouse and making a huge mess of things! And they said they were gonna do the same to the pumpkin patch and cemetery too!”

“You guys are still the boss, right?! You gotta stop ‘em before they can ruin Halloween!”

Before either you or Skully can respond, the kids start tugging on your and Skully’s hands as Shock says, “The ghost that's in charge of all the other ghosts is at our treehouse, and we think, if you scare him real good, all the other ghosts will stop causing trouble!”

“Yeah!” Barrel chimes in. “Give ‘em a good scare and make ‘em scream!”

“We couldn’t do it on our own, but if you guys help us, we can pull it off!” Lock exclaims, “So let’s show those ghosts not to mess with us!”

Naturally, it does not take you or the rest of your friends long to realize what is going on here since the children really aren’t being very subtle.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.” Idia incredulously mutters, “THIS is the best they could come up with? As if we would fall for such an obvious lie.”

As Leona forces Lock, Shock, and Barrel to back off and give you and Skully space, you move closer to your other friends and quietly reply, “Part of it at least isn’t a lie. I just had a vision that showed ghosts attacking the cemetery and pumpkin patch. Thankfully, our guards were able to fend them off.”

“Then, is it possible that they are also telling the truth about their treehouse coming under attack?” Skully asks, “Although, I fail to understand why ghosts under the Boogeyman’s control would do such a thing.”

“It’s unlikely that there really is trouble afoot at the treehouse.” Vil answers, “This is all just a trap that they set up to capture Yuu and yourself.”

“Agreed.” Azul nods. “Which means we’ll need to have someone else volunteer to go to the treehouse since we don’t have any concrete evidence that proves that the children are lying, and it won’t look good on us if we refuse to help them in front of all these witnesses.”

Catching everyone else by surprise, just after Azul makes that comment, Jack, who had naturally not reacted positively to the news of the ghosts’ attack, just like the rest of the locals, declares, “I’ll head for the treehouse right away! After all, now that our Halloween preparations are complete, I am now back to being the Pumpkin King, and when it comes to giving someone a good scare, the Master of Fright is the man for the job!”

“What?!” Lock, Shock, and Barrel exclaim, not looking too pleased by the fact that Jack is the one offering to help them rather than you and Skully, proving that they really had set a trap for the two of you.

Meanwhile, as the other Halloween Town residents begin cheering, Sally worriedly frowns, “Oh, Jack…”

Before she can say anything else, Jack proceeds to run off toward the direction of the treehouse while Zero follows after him. After sharing a panicked look, Lock, Shock, and Barrel hurry after the skeleton.

However, Zero and Oogie’s henchmen aren’t the only ones who decide to chase after the Pumpkin King.

With a click of his tongue, Jamil starts running after Jack. “Regardless of how strong this town’s king is, we can’t just leave him on his own, not when so much is on the line, so I’ll go with Jack-san to ensure he escapes whatever trap Lock, Shock, and Barrel set up!”

As he watches Jamil leave, Trey worriedly asks, “Should one of us go with Jamil, just in case?”

“No, he’ll be enough to keep Skellington safe.” Leona answers, “His bug phobia is a concern, but Oogie likely won’t show his face with Skellington around, not unless he’s finally ready to stop running and fight.”

“I agree with Leona-san.” Azul chimes in. “Since Jade and I found no signs of the Boogeyman when we thoroughly searched the treehouse and the area underneath it, it seems very likely that he has found a new lair for himself, because he somehow found out his previous one’s location had been exposed.”

“Which means there’s no telling where that bastard is right now.” Leona scowls, “So, rather than chase after that idiot skeleton, we need to focus on keeping everyone in town and away from the pumpkin patch and cemetery since they’ll only get in the way of our guards.”

Just after Leona says that, the mayor worriedly approaches your group, causing you all to quickly put an end to the private discussion you had been having amongst yourselves about the current situation at hand. “What should we do about the pumpkin patch and the cemetery?! So much damage could be caused before Jack reaches the treehouse, and then, Halloween will be ruined!”

“Don’t worry, mayor.” You quickly assure him. “The guys from our group who aren’t here are still at the pumpkin patch and the cemetery, so they can keep everything safe from the ghosts.”

“So everyone here needs to stay where they are, so they won’t get in the way.” Leona remarks, raising his voice so everyone can hear him. “Just leave fighting off the ghosts to the guys with magic.”

Immediately, the large crowd of Halloween Town residents start cheering and praising the members of your group.

Meanwhile, the mayor’s panicked face quickly shifts to his happy one. “Oh, thank goodness! We really lucked out that not everyone returned to town before those ghosts started to cause so much mischief!”

The mayor turns to face the crowd of Halloween Town residents and exclaims, “Halloween is saved!”

At least, or so he thought.

Much to everyone’s great surprise and dismay, within seconds after the mayor makes that declaration, a large horde of flying insects, most of which appear to be locusts, suddenly floods town square, having come from all sides, resulting in the whole surrounding area becoming filled with bugs - to the point you can hardly see anything around you except for the insects.

And, as if that wasn’t already bad enough, the smell of smoke soon fills the air, and you quickly find out why when one of the locals shouts, “There’s a fire! Town Hall’s roof is on fire!”

Cursing, Leona shouts, “The bug bastard’s finally made his move!”

“Trey, take care of the fire!” He orders, “The rest of us will focus on the bugs! Yuu, Skully, stay where you are! Don’t move!”

Because the locusts are practically swarming you in particular, you are unable to respond to his order since you half-fear that the bugs will fly into your mouth if you open it, and you can only assume that’s also the case for Skully since he also doesn’t say anything.

Instead, all you can do is swat at the bugs and try to spot one of your friends. Regrettably, you’re not very successful with the latter, because there are so many insects that it’s like they’ve created a physical barrier to separate you from your friends.

Briefly, you consider pulling out the whip that the book gave you, but you decide against the idea in the end since you don’t want to risk accidentally hitting someone with it.

Dammit. There must be something I can do. You internally curse. I know Leona-senpai and the others are doing the best they can to get rid of the bugs, but I don’t want to just stand here.

However, at the same time, you also don’t want to do anything stupid that could potentially endanger yourself and your friends. That’s why you refrain from moving, just as Leona had ordered you to do, since you’re sure he’s currently trying to get to you.

Unfortunately, while Leona had been nearby earlier, that all changed when the insects had poured into the area, causing everyone to get separated. Even worse, by the sounds of things, the Halloween Town residents have started panicking, because you can hear a lot of shouting and frantic footsteps, meaning it's entirely possible that Leona, as well as the rest of your friends, has been forcibly moved even further away from your current location due to all the locals who are frantically running around.

Your suspicions are confirmed when you eventually hear Leona, who definitely doesn't sound like he's as close to your current location as you'd like for him to be, yelling at the locals, ordering them to stop moving recklessly around to no avail since the sounds of panicked shouting and footsteps never falter, making you think calming everyone down will be impossible as long as these bugs have got you all completely surrounded.

As you start wondering what you could do to get the citizens of Halloween Town to stop panicking, it happens:

A tidal wave of pure terror abruptly washes over you, causing your breath to hitch as you freeze in place.

Your eyes widen in horror. This is just like what happened yesterday, which means…

The Boogeyman has arrived.

Within seconds after you come to the dreadful realization that Oogie Boogie is nearby, something abruptly grabs you from behind, and you release a silent scream, sadly unable to do anything else with your voice due to your vocal chords once again becoming frozen.

Thankfully, while you're unable to move the majority of your body, like what happened last time, you can still move your head for some reason, so you quickly look behind you to see what grabbed you. Much to your great confusion, when you do that, you see what looks like a rope made out of darkness wrapped around your waist, which is stretching out from a source you can’t discern thanks to the swarm of locusts hindering your view

Before you can question this strange turn of events, you feel yourself suddenly get lifted off the ground due to you being pulled backwards by the “rope” that’s wrapped around you.

At the same time this happens, you hear Skully worriedly calling out to you. “Yuu-san!”

Much to your surprise, as you’re flying backwards, Skully suddenly appears out of nowhere, having somehow repelled enough of the locusts to create an open path from him to you, and begins frantically chasing after you.

Unable to yell at him, you vigorously shake your head in an attempt to tell him to stay away since he’s also one of Oogie’s targets, but your efforts are futile since Skully never ceases his pursuit.

A few seconds later, you find yourself at the well near Town Hall that always has a strange-looking cage hanging over it for some reason, the inside of which appears to be the source of the “rope” made of darkness, and you realize that whatever just grabbed you intends to pull you into the well, much to your dismay.

It’s at that moment two things happen simultaneously:

The “rope” made out of darkness abruptly vanishes after pulling you into the well at a fast enough speed that you’re unable to grab onto the cage hanging over the well in an effort to save yourself.

Skully dives right in after you.

In a blink, you find yourself wrapped up in Skully’s arms, and despite yourself, you can’t help but feel relieved, even though the last thing you want is for anything to happen to him.

“Please hold on tight!” Skully requests, “I’ll use my magic to break our fall!”

As you move to wrap your arms around him, you look toward the bottom of the well and realize that there is no water in this well. Instead, it appears to be bottomless, making you wonder where exactly it leads.

After several seconds of falling, your question gets answered when you and Skully end up in an underground cavern when your descent finally ends.

Thanks to Skully using his magic and his body to break your fall, you’re able to avoid sustaining any injuries, although you still find yourself groaning at the rough landing.

Soon after, pure relief washes over you, because the fact that you were able to make a sound just now means that your vocal chords are no longer frozen, meaning the effects of the technique Oogie used on you weren’t as strong this time as they were last time for whatever reason.

Regrettably, your relief quickly vanishes when sinister laughter suddenly fills the air - sinister laughter that sounds very familiar to you.

In an instant, you roll off of Skully, who quickly sits up and wraps a protective arm around you.

Simultaneously, the two of you look toward the source of the laughter and watch with dread as Oogie Boogie walks out of the surrounding shadows into full view.

“Why, hello there!” Oogie gleefully greets, “So nice of you both to DROP in!”

As you and Skully quickly rise to your feet and turn to fully face the villain, Oogie laughs, causing his whole burlap-sack-shaped body to shake with mirth. “Oh, this is just too funny! I’m about to bust a seam over here!”

“You kids really thought you could take on old Oogie.” He chortles, “Well, the jokes on you! ‘Cause I got the last laugh! Ahahaha!”

Faster than you can react, Skully moves to stand in front of you and begins gathering up his magic. “Light the lantern! Scary Night!”

Much to your surprise, Skully uses his Unique Magic and targets the Boogeyman while his guard is down, reminding you of the fact that, while he may be a gentleman, he’s still a NRC student.

Your surprise soon turns into dismay when, rather than turn into a pumpkin, Oogie just laughs even more boisterously. “What?!”

“H-How?!” Skully incredulously asks, “I’ve never met anyone whom my Unique Magic doesn’t work on!”

Having finally stopped laughing, Oogie tauntingly grins as he wags his version of a hand at your friend. “It’s simple, really. This isn’t the real talk, dark, and handsome Oogie Boogie. This is my shadow!”

“Your shadow?!” You and Skully cry out in sync, watching in disbelief as the "Oogie Boogie" before your eyes suddenly changes its appearance and starts looking like a shadow that has the same outline as the Boogeyman.

It’s at that moment you suddenly recall some of the lyrics from the song, “This Is Halloween”, more specifically the part that Oogie sings.

Realization dawns on your features. “I am the shadow on the moonlit night.” That wasn’t just something the movie writers came up with to include Oogie in the song?! That was his actual shadow?!

And just like that, all of the puzzle pieces finally fall into place. You finally understand why Oogie has been able to cause so much trouble without being spotted.

“All this time, it has been your shadow that’s been causing trouble in town.” You realize. “The presence I felt in the alley on our first day here was your shadow, and yesterday’s incidents at the pumpkin patch where I also felt your presence were also your shadow’s doing.”

“That’s why there was never a scent trail that Leona-senpai could follow.” You continue, “Why there wasn’t any kind of trail to follow ‘cause a shadow wouldn’t leave one.”

Upon remembering how you ended up here with the Boogeyman in the first place, you add, "And that's what grabbed me and pulled me into the well just now 'cause your shadow is capable of manipulating its shape and can appear just about anywhere without drawing attention to itself."

“That’s riiiiight!” Oogie’s shadow, who’s obviously being used as a conduit of sorts so Oogie can communicate with you and Skully without being present, confirms, looking mighty pleased with itself. “You guys really didn’t stand a chance against old Oogie! Wahaha!”

Quickly, you begin taking in your surroundings to see if there’s a way out of this underground cavern since, before you decide what to do, you need to familiarize yourself with your surroundings.

That’s how you discover that the underground cavern you fell into isn’t particularly large, making it a not very ideal place to have a battle since it will keep your and Skully’s movements limited.

Another worrisome aspect of this place is the fact that you see several holes carved into the walls - holes that have barred doors, making you believe they’re meant to be like prison cells.

Obviously, the last thing you want is to end up locked up in one of those cells, so it would be in your and Skully’s best interest to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Regrettably, the only exit you can find, aside from the one in the ceiling that you and Skully initially came through, appears to be the open doorway that’s directly behind Oogie’s shadow, meaning a fight with it is unavoidable.

Just as you begin wondering what kind of strategy you should implement to get you and Skully to safety, you’re abruptly drawn out of your thoughts when Oogie’s shadow theatrically sighs, “You know, Skully, I’m mighty disappointed in you. I had really thought we had a good thing going on between the two of us…”

As Skully’s posture stiffens, your eyes widen. “What?”

Having heard your surprised response, Oogie’s shadow grins, “Oh? Did he not tell you? Oh, for shame, Skully boy! You shouldn’t keep secrets from your friends!”

Your surprise only grows when Skully uncharacteristically snaps, “Shut up! I only kept quiet because you said you were always watching me! I was afraid of what you’d do to Yuu-san if I said anything! YOU were the one who told me not to talk to anyone, or don’t you remember?!”

“Did I say that?” Oogie’s shadow scratches its head. “I can’t say that I recall…”

Skully growls, “How dare you! You-!”

Just as it looks like he intends to move closer to the villain, you latch onto the back of his suit. “Calm down, Skully. Don’t let him rile you up; you’ll only play into his hands.”

When Skully turns to look at you, appearing noticeably upset, your face softens. “Don’t worry, I won’t ever believe Oogie over you, so if you say you kept a secret from me ‘cause you were afraid he would hurt me if you broke your silence, I believe you.”

“Yuu-san…” Skully whispers, sounding noticeably relieved and on the verge of tears.

While Oogie makes a sound of disgust, which you choose to ignore, you ask, “What happened, Skully? Did Oogie try to recruit you or something?”

Lowering his head, he nods. “Yes, on the first day we were here, he approached me, although I never saw his actual appearance or heard his name. He just said he was one of the residents of Halloween Town, who lived in the alleys and kept to himself due to being shy around others. That was the excuse he provided to explain why he wouldn’t reveal himself to me.”

“At the time, I wasn’t the least bit suspicious since he had only approached me to talk about Halloween.” Skully continues, “I quite enjoyed our discussion because he had said that he too liked a more traditional Halloween; it made me happy to meet someone whose views on Halloween were much like my own.”

Your eyes widen with realization. So that’s who Skully was talking to when I first visited the Witches’ Shop. Damn, now I really regret not approaching him back then since I could’ve saved him from a lot of suffering.

You’re drawn away from your thoughts when Skully adds, “However, after I had heard about the alley incident you had experienced that morning, I began to wonder if perhaps the stranger, whose name I never learned, was connected to the incident, although I had hoped that wasn’t the case.”

As Oogie’s shadow grins, Skully scowls, “The next day, during our second encounter, I realized that he had nothing but impure motives when he first approached me after he revealed that those traps at the test of courage sites that we dismantled were all his idea. He even had the gall to ask me to work together with him.”

“Hey, I thought it was a pretty nice deal!” Oogie’s shadow casually replies, “You weren’t satisfied with how Halloween was being run, and I wanted to ruin things for Jack and put Crawloween on the calendar.”

“Yet you got sooooo upset when I told ya that I set up all those nice traps for ya, so ya could get your shot at the Halloween ya wanted.” It shakes its head with a huff. “Way to be ungrateful.”

“I never asked for that!” Skully retorts, “Yes, I expressed to you my misgivings about a type of Halloween that I had never celebrated before, but I would never want to do anything that would bring suffering to Jack-sama, Yuu-san, and the others! If I had known that was what you were plotting from the start, I would never have exchanged words with you in the first place!”

You gently pat his back in hopes of offering your friend comfort before glaring at Oogie’s shadow. “You tried to act like you were doing Skully a favor, but everything you did was what you would’ve done regardless of his feelings about our Halloween plans. You just tried to guilt-trip him in hopes that that would lead to you being able to manipulate him into working for you.”

A scowl forms on your lips. “You even stole his handkerchief and planted it to make it look like he was already working for you, so we would turn against him and put him in a position where he’d have no other choice but to turn to you.”

Just after you say that, realization dawns on your features. “And that’s likely what you would’ve done if Lock, Shock, and Barrel had gotten a hold of him that first night we were here. If you had successfully captured him then, you could’ve painted him to be the culprit who sabotaged the test of courage sites.”

Catching you and Skully by surprise, Oogie’s shadow reveals, “Those three had actually been at the cemetery specifically ‘cause I knew Skully was there, and I wanted them to grab him for me. Unfortunately, they completely dropped the ball despite me giving them such a simple assignment.”

He sighs, “Good help is so hard to find these days…”

“Which is good for us.” You smirk, “What also worked in our favor was the fact that your ploy to incriminate Skully yesterday was so painfully obvious that only an idiot would fall for it and the fact that Skully was smart enough to recognize that he wasn’t at fault for what you did. As a result, all of your efforts were for naught. Your attempt to recruit him was a total failure.”

“Not so fast!” Oogie’s shadow grins, “I’ve still got an ace up my sleeve! Heh heh!”

His grin grows. “Surely, you haven’t forgotten THAT? Right, Skully, my boy?”

Seeing the way Skully stiffens, you feel a sense of foreboding wash over you. “Skully? What is he talking about?”

There’s a brief pause before Skully quietly answers, “When he threatened me to ensure I kept silent, he said that, if I said or did anything that he would disapprove of, he would kill you using one of his venomous bugs.”

As your face blanches, he quickly adds, “But I won’t let that happen! I will protect you, just as I had promised! That’s why, earlier today, I asked the local witches for their assistance to make what they called smoke bombs that are capable of repelling insects! They worked on the insects from earlier, and I’m confident they will work against whatever bugs are sent after you!”

So that’s how he cleared a path earlier. You think to yourself. Now that I think about it, I did pick up a strong herbal scent on him earlier while we were falling, but I was just too busy panicking to really give it much thought.

Your expression softens. Now, I understand why he was so desperate to protect me with his own power. It wasn’t that it was difficult for him to rely on anyone else; he just couldn’t, not without risking my life.

You’re quickly pulled out of your thoughts when Oogie’s shadow dramatically exclaims, “Oh, I’m soooo scared! Just whatever will I do?!”

Hearing the mocking tone in Oogie’s voice, your posture tenses since you know that means he’s not the least bit concerned about Skully’s insect-repellent smoke bombs.

“Oh, I know!” Oogie’s shadow sinisterly grins, “Why don’t I just use the bug I planted on Yuu yesterday?”

Pure dread hits both you and Skully like a freight train as you both shakily reply, “W-What?”

Oogie’s evil laughter echoes throughout the cavern as he gleefully enjoys the fear on your and Skully’s faces. “What? You didn’t think that I only went after her yesterday to scare her and take her nice hat, did you?”

At his mention of your hat, you suddenly feel a sharp sting on your scalp, and you instantly realize what that means.

Your eyes widen in horror. “You took my hat, so it’d be easier to plant a bug on my scalp. It’s been there ever since…”

“Bingo!” Oogie’s shadow cheers, “Give the girl a cigar! Mwahaha!”

Much to your dismay, within seconds after you get bit by Oogie’s bug, your head begins to throb and a chill runs down your spine, making you shiver. Suddenly feeling unsteady, you begin to stagger, but thankfully, Skully quickly reaches out to steady you.

“Yuu-san!” Skully worriedly calls out your name, looking absolutely petrified. “Oh no! Have you been bitten?!”

When you give him a shaky nod, his face grows impossibly paler as the panic begins to set in. “No no no no!”

“I’ll get us back to town as swiftly as possible, so you can receive medical assistance!” Skully quickly pulls you into his arms. “So please just hang on, Yuu-san!”

Oogie’s shadow guffaws, “Unfortunately for you, even if you somehow did make it back to town, no one would be able to help her. Why? Because the only one who knows how to make an antidote for that special, one-of-a-kind venom that’s now coursing through your friend’s veins is ME! Mwahaha!”

“NO!” Skully tightens his grip on you. “You’re lying! You have to be!”

“Skully…” You weakly whisper, unfortunately unable to do anything else thanks to the venom in your bloodstream that is already taking its toll on your body despite not much time having passed since you got bit, proving just how potent it is, although it's entirely possible that your condition has deteriorated so quickly because you're in a fictional world and this story will become more dramatic and exciting if your health rapidly takes a serious turn for the worse.

More than anything, you want to tell him to just ignore Oogie’s shadow and make a run for it since the longer he listens to Oogie, the greater his chances are of getting manipulated, because Oogie knows Skully’s weakness.

You.

“Of course, I’m not lying!” Oogie’s shadow replies, “Use your head, boy! How could anyone other than me know how to make an antidote for a venom I specially cooked up, huh?”

Skully begins to shake, sounding on the verge of tears. “T-That’s…”

“Ahaha! This is too good!” Oogie’s shadow boisterously laughs as it clutches its belly. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you make that face! That face of pure terror and anguish! I can’t get enough of it!”

“It feels reeeeeally good to see that face on the brat who idolizes the guy I hate more than anything.” Oogie’s shadow scarily grins, “Especially when you even look like Jack ‘cause of those stupid glasses of yours. That’s why I’ve had my eye on you from the start.”

His grin grows. “But I ain’t satisfied just yet, and I won’t be until I use you to knock Jack off the throne that belongs to ME.”

Knowing what that means, you try to tell Skully to not listen to Oogie - to not do what he says just because your life is seemingly in the Boogeyman’s hands, but sadly, you’re unable to thanks to the wave of exhaustion that washes over you.

At the same time, darkness begins to encroach your vision - a clear sign that you’re on the verge of losing consciousness.

Because the last thing Skully needs is for you to pass out, you valiantly struggle to remain awake, so he won’t be left alone with Oogie’s shadow. Unfortunately for you, it’s a losing battle.

Just as you’re about to lose consciousness, Skully, who now sounds noticeably defeated, weakly asks, “If…If I do as you say, will you give me the antidote she needs?”

And then, everything fades to black.

Chapter Text

Your Quirk truly has the worst timing.

While that’s not always the case since there are times when you get a vision right when you need it, you usually aren’t so fortunate.

Normally, you have a vision right before something bad is about to happen, meaning you have no time to prepare, or you have one while you’re asleep, the latter of which is typically always very inconvenient, because it’s often difficult to differentiate between dreams and visions.

Thankfully, that isn’t the case when your Quirk decides to show you a vision of the future after you fall unconscious thanks to Oogie Boogie siccing his venomous bug on you aka during the worst possible moment.

That’s because, under circumstances like these, your dreams would normally consist of nightmares, which thankfully isn’t what you see when your Quirk activates.

Instead, you see Malleus using a barrier that he had created to protect Town Hall from Oogie’s bugs and ghost minions whilst Azul, Epel, and Vil fight off the bugs and ghosts as they escort all of the Halloween Town residents, who had ended up spread out all across town thanks to Oogie’s initial attack, to Town Hall.

By the looks of it, because the book has limited his powers once again for plot purposes, Malleus is only able to create a complete barrier around an area as big as Town Hall, so it was decided that all of the locals would be brought there so they can be kept safe from the bugs and ghosts invading their town.

Considering Epel and Malleus are present, that leads you to assume that Oogie has focused his attack on Halloween Town, making you think he cares more about taking over the town than he does ruining the test of courage sites since, otherwise, those two would still be guarding the pumpkin patch and cemetery respectively.

Just as you’re wondering where the rest of your friends are, the scenery before your eyes abruptly changes, and you see Riddle and Jade in a different part of town working together to stop Lock, who, along with Shock and Barrel, was given orders to cause as much mischief and mayhem as possible, much to the children’s delight.

Following that, you see Leona and Trey dealing with Shock while Idia and Sebek handle Barrel after more scene shifts occur.

Much to your dismay, right after you see Idia and Sebek successfully defeat and tie up Barrel, Skully appears on the scene, carrying a protesting pumpkin that sounds just like Grim, making you assume that your poor partner got hit by Skully’s Unique Magic.

Obviously, you are not pleased about what Skully did to Grim, but you can’t bring yourself to get angry at him, because you know Skully only did that because of you - because he doesn’t want you to die from Oogie’s specially made venom, making you feel guilty for putting Skully in such an awful position, even though this was all completely out of your control.

Sebek, of course, is a completely different story, because he doesn’t have all the facts. He wastes no time in yelling out accusations and demanding that Skully explain himself since it’s clear that Skully is currently working for Oogie.

Rather than tell Sebek the truth, Skully, after he finishes tying a cloth around pumpkin Grim’s mouth in order to silence your partner, just says that he’s doing what he must to have his ideal Halloween and makes it seem as if he’s willingly working for Oogie.

Now, that does make you incredibly angry, because you can tell Skully is forcing himself to lie, no doubt because Oogie is forcing him to play the role of a willing accomplice, just because Oogie’s a bastard who enjoys making your poor friend suffer.

Thankfully, Idia doesn’t fall for Skully’s lie; instead, he sees right through him and accurately guesses that Skully is being made to work for Oogie, because that’s just the kind of trope that a villain like Oogie would throw into this crazy story.

Much to your amusement, when a shaken Skully tries to deny Idia’s claim, the upperclassman just scoffs and says there’s no point in trying to fool him when it’s so obvious that you had one-hundred-percent tamed Skully, meaning there’s no way Skully would ever do anything that would upset you.

After saying that, a now serious-looking Iida says that the fact that you’re still MIA makes him think that you’re in a really bad situation right now, and Skully is being forced to do the Boogeyman’s bidding to ensure your well-being since taking a hostage is a classic villain move.

Upon seeing how noticeably pale Skully has gotten and how he has started shaking, Sebek, who quickly realizes Idia must be right, asks what happened after you and Skully had gotten separated from Leona and the others.

When Skully fails to answer, making you think Oogie has threatened to never give you an antidote if Skully should ever reveal the truth to your other friends since that's the only reason you can think of that would explain why Skully would remain silent in circumstances like these, Sebek, who’s unable to keep calm because someone he loves is in danger, demands to know where you are.

Catching you and the rest of your friends off guard, Skully tearfully screams, “That’s what I want to know!”

After that exclamation, Skully promptly runs off after calling for some ghosts to deal with Sebek and Idia, the former of whom futilely yells at the retreating boy to stop.

Once again, another scene shift occurs, right after Idia tells Sebek to go after Skully while he deals with the ghosts, and much to your dismay, you find yourself in the underground cavern where you passed out.

The reason for your dismay is the fact that Jack is in one of the room’s cells, fast asleep by the looks of it, and a gleeful Oogie is right outside Jack’s cell, gloating and taunting his sleeping rival.

This particular part of your vision ends up being the most informative thanks to Oogie having a penchant for monologuing, like what is so often the case for villains.

From him, you learn that he was forcibly able to separate you from Skully after your friend agreed to work for him to get an antidote for you, using his vacuum-like inhaling ability, and instead of putting you in one of the cells, he hid you away in an entirely different underground room that your friend won’t be able to find to ensure Skully doesn’t try to run away with you at any given point in time.

Oogie then gleefully reveals that he has no intention to allow you to live, because he wants to make you a part of his next batch of stew since ladies are apparently especially delicious to him, making them his favorite.

He’s also hoping that, by eating you, he’ll somehow just magically obtain your ability to see into the future, confirming that he knows about your Quirk.

Thankfully, before you can dwell too much on this sickening revelation, Oogie proceeds to tell his sleeping rival all about how he gave Skully a sleeping potion that he had made using deadly nightshade, which turns into a knock-out gas as soon as the bottle containing it is smashed, and ordered him to use it on Jack so Skully could bring Jack to him.

Because of Skully’s obvious admiration of Jack, Oogie knew it would be easy for him to get Jack to let his guard down, and obviously, he was right.

More than anything, you wish you could punch that bastard in the face for causing poor Skully to go through the ordeal of having to betray his beloved idol, which was surely excruciating for him.

And your anger only grows when Oogie brags about how Jamil also got captured thanks to him having plenty of his bugs on standby at the treehouse, which were quick to go after the bug-phobic boy.

However, for some reason, Jamil isn’t anywhere to be seen in this vision; the only cell that has an occupant is the one containing Jack, making you wonder where your upperclassman is.

As if to respond to your unspoken question, Oogie cheerfully reveals that he put Jamil in a place that, according to him, is Jamil’s worst nightmare, which naturally makes you assume he’s in some kind of room that’s filled with bugs since that would be a worst case scenario for poor Jamil.

Much to your great surprise, Oogie says that it was Skully’s idea to not place Jamil in a cell like Jack. Since Skully had made a good point about how these cells wouldn’t be able to contain a powerful mage like Jamil, Oogie decided to place him somewhere that Jamil couldn’t easily escape from instead.

Naturally, you immediately think Oogie must be lying, but then, you realize that doesn’t make sense since Oogie has no reason to lie when he’s essentially talking to himself.

But that can’t be right. Why would Skully willingly help Oogie like that when it would’ve been more beneficial to him as well as to you and the rest of your friends to put Jamil in a position where he could have an easier time escaping?

Why would someone as kind as Skully suggest an idea that would lead to Jamil’s suffering unprompted?

And that’s when it hits you - a plausible explanation for Skully’s confusing actions.

What if Skully made that suggestion because he thought that either Oogie or his shadow would always be in the cavern with the cells, monitoring his prisoners? You wonder. What if he wanted Jamil-senpai to be placed somewhere that Jamil-senpai would be able to potentially escape undetected?

What if Skully had hoped that Jamil would be sent to wherever Oogie hid you?

This is all pure speculation, but this seems like the most likely explanation for Skully’s actions since I refuse to believe that he willingly put Jamil-senpai in such a horrible situation without a good reason. You think to yourself. I trust Skully.

You trust that sweet boy who suffered in silence for your sake - who was so genuinely distraught about what Oogie did to you; you trust your friend who was even willing to betray his beloved idol for your sake.

A fierce heat ignites inside your chest and steadily grows stronger, like a raging inferno, when you think about all of the suffering Skully has had to endure because of Oogie Boogie. You won’t get away with this, you bastard. One way or another, I’ll make sure you pay for what you’ve done.

That’s a promise.

When you eventually regain consciousness, the first thing that registers in your groggy mind is the fact that you’re hot, incredibly so, making you believe you have a worryingly high fever.

The combination of your fever and the grogginess caused by just waking up leaves you in a disorientated state.

As a result, for an indeterminable amount of time, you just blankly stare at the ceiling with your blurry vision, unable to properly register anything aside from the fact that your face is hot and the rest of your body is freezing.

Fortunately, you’re eventually able to become cognizant enough that you’re able to remember why you’re in such a miserable state, unable to move due to your body feeling as heavy as lead.

I was bit by a venomous bug thanks to that bastard, Oogie… You recall. And I’m still underground, considering the ceiling appears to be made outta rock…

Feeling your head throb, you grimace. This isn’t good. Obviously, the venom has spread, likely through most of my body, considering how awful I feel. There’s no telling how much time I have left since I have no idea how long I was unconscious.

And there’s nothing you can do about it, as much as it pains you to admit it, because you’ll only make things worse for yourself if you try to move since movement can accelerate the spread of the bug’s venom if it hasn’t already completely spread throughout your whole body by this point, which is very likely, considering the injection site of the venom was so close to your brain.

Of course, staying still isn’t going to do you any favors either, especially if no one will be able to come to your rescue anytime soon, and you have a feeling that’s going to be the case, considering how busy all of your friends were in that vision your Quirk showed you while you were asleep.

Which means you’re in quite the serious predicament right now; it’s one of the worst ones you’ve ever faced, in fact, since you can’t think of a single way to save yourself, like you would normally be able to do.

Around that time, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washes over you despite the fact that you just woke up, and you find yourself fighting the urge to go back to sleep and escape your miserable reality.

Regrettably, your eyelids are just too heavy; you can’t keep your eyes open despite how much the small voice in the back of your head is yelling about how you can’t afford to go back to sleep - how you’ll likely never open your eyes ever again if you close them now.

And that’s when it happens.

“YUU! STAY AWAKE! DON’T GO TO SLEEP!”

Seconds after your eyes drift shut, you suddenly hear Trey’s panicked voice shouting at you, and you immediately jolt awake.

Without thinking, you shoot straight up into a seated position with a gasp. “I’m awake, Trey-senpai! I didn’t break my promise, I swear!”

Much to your surprise and confusion, when you try to look for Trey, you discover that you’re the only person in this small cavern you were placed inside. “Huh? Trey-senpai…?”

Because of your fever, which is causing your brain to move at a snail’s pace, you just confusedly stare at the empty room you’re in for several seconds before realization finally dawns on your features. Oh yeah, Trey-senpai can’t be here. He’s back at Halloween Town with Leona-senpai.

Your brow furrows. But I definitely heard his voice just now. Why…?

As you’re pondering that matter, you absentmindedly lift your hand to wipe away the sweat clinging to your brow.

Just after you do that, your whole body freezes as your eyes widen in horror. Oh, shit! I was so focused on Trey-senpai’s voice that I forgot about the venom! I’m such an idiot!

Doing your best to not panic, you try to keep as still as possible as you give yourself a once-over to see what kind of damage has been done thanks to your earlier careless movements, and that’s how you eventually come to a very unexpected discovery.

This is strange. My body isn’t in nearly as bad a shape as I was expecting it to be. You give yourself a confused look. The only part of me that really hurts is my head, and I’m not having any trouble breathing, which is a common side-effect of venomous bites, according to what I’ve learned from watching TV…

Not only that, you also realize that, despite how heavy your body felt earlier, it was surprisingly easy for you to move just now. Rather than because of the effects of the venom in your body, it was as if your body had only previously felt heavy because of how exhausted you were, but you were able to overcome that lethargy thanks to the burst of adrenaline that coursed through you after you heard Trey’s panicked voice.

It’s at that moment, as you’re going over everything that happened earlier, you find yourself thinking of what you had said, without thinking, in response to Trey’s voice.

“I’m awake, Trey-senpai! I didn’t break my promise, I swear!”

Naturally, you’re very confused by that automatic response, but eventually, once you realize it sounds rather familiar, you finally remember the last time you had said something along those lines.

Your eyes widen in realization. I get it now. I responded that way because of the incident with the mislabeled poison. Because it had been so hard for me to stay awake back then, Trey-senpai made me promise to stay awake. That’s why I was able to avoid falling asleep until he got me and Rook-senpai to the infirmary since I hate breaking promises that I've made with my friends.

Earlier, you had mistakenly thought Trey was in the room with you, but what had really happened was your brain had replayed his words from that past incident - words that played a pivotal role in you remaining awake long enough for you to get examined at the infirmary.

Whether it’s because my brain was doing whatever it could to keep me awake for self-preservation purposes or because this damn book I’m trapped inside worked its magic to keep me awake for the sake of the plot, I’m not sure, but regardless, I’m really grateful. You think to yourself. I’m hoping it’s the latter, though, since that would imply the book intends to keep me alive.

Just after you think that, realization strikes you like a lightning bolt. That’s right! I’m inside a book - a book that would prefer to have all of its guest stars remain alive! Just like the book that ensured I survived everything that happened during that adventure with Stitch!

Is that why you’re not exhibiting all of the symptoms one would see in a person, who has been bitten by a venomous creature? Is the book protecting you by weakening the effects of the venom?

Right after that possibility crosses your mind, another theory suddenly begins to form as a result of you realizing that there’s another commonality between what you’re currently going through and the incident with the Science Club - the incident, which is the reason why you were able to overcome your earlier exhaustion. Or…maybe another factor is at play here, like say…

Your eyes grow impossibly large. My alien biology…

Immediately, hope ignites inside your chest. Maybe, just maybe, my body is partially immune to Oogie’s venom, like it was to that lethal poisonous gas I inhaled during that lab accident. Maybe, like how I had an allergic reaction to that poison, this venom causes me to feel all of the symptoms I’m currently exhibiting, but that’s all it’s capable of doing.

The more you think of that possibility, the more your hope grows, because, as you take more time to examine yourself, you realize that your current symptoms aren’t really any worse than what you go through after you overuse your Quirk and overexert your body, which you hadn’t noticed sooner due to your panic and your brain being so focused on the fact that you had clearly been envenomed.

Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that you’re not in a good position right now since, while you thankfully are no longer worried about dying in the near future, you’re still clearly in no condition to move around or defend yourself.

You bite your lip as you once again wipe sweat away from your forehead. As much as I wanna reunite with my friends, I know it would be too reckless to try to move when my fever is this high, especially when the chances of being able to avoid a fight are so low. Even if Oogie’s venom can’t kill me, I could still die if I’m not careful.

Since you’d like to think you’re not the same reckless girl that you used to be, you don’t immediately force yourself to stand and head toward the room’s exit, which, astonishingly enough, appears to be unguarded, making you think Oogie got cocky and assumed you wouldn’t need to be watched because he believed that you were at death’s door thanks to his bug’s venom.

Instead, you let your gaze roam around the cavern where Oogie left your unconscious body in hopes of being able to find something that will be able to help your situation.

When you fail to find anything useful in this cavern that’s completely empty, save for yourself, you sigh. Of course, I wouldn’t just magically find something that can help me. This isn’t a video game where you can stumble upon hidden chests that contain magic healing potions…

There’s a long pause following that thought before your eyes abruptly grow comically large. Wait a minute! I already have one!

Quickly, you pull out the pouch containing the special brew the witches made for you, which is thankfully still hidden underneath your clothes where you last left it. I can’t believe I forgot about this. I blame it on my fever making my brain not work at full capacity.

After you take the potion bottle out of the pouch, you grin. According to Sebek, this medicine should be capable of healing all the symptoms a person would have with a normal sickness, so considering there’s a high chance I’m not actually approaching death’s door, this should be able to heal what’s currently ailing me.

Knowing there’s only one way to find out for sure if that’s the case, you internally cross your fingers as you remove the cork from the bottle and swiftly drain the bottle of all of its contents.

Regrettably, unlike last time when you had Trey and his Unique Magic to protect your taste-buds, you find yourself grimacing at the potion’s taste, which is absolutely awful, although thankfully not nearly as bad as that one potion Lilia had made for you following Vil’s overblot that made you pass out within seconds.

Fortunately, your grimace doesn’t last for long, because, within a matter of seconds, a pleasant warmth encompasses you, causing all of your ailments to abruptly disappear.

After giving yourself a quick once-over and confirming that you no longer have a fever and aren’t experiencing any kind of pain or exhaustion, you swiftly jump to your feet with a silent cheer. YES! I’m fully healed! Thank you, witches! I seriously owe you one!

Knowing there’s no time to waste, you quickly put the empty bottle back in the pouch and return the pouch to its previous position underneath your clothes, figuring you might as well keep it with you just in case the bottle may be useful to you later, before hurrying toward the room’s sole exit.

I need to hurry and find Jamil-senpai as soon as possible. You frown. Considering he’s not with me, he must’ve gotten put inside a room filled with bugs, and it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to escape such a nightmarish situation on his own.

Saving Jamil is your top priority since you’re worried about him and his mental state. Plus, you’re sure that you’re going to need his help to save Jack, who is likely being closely monitored either by Oogie or his shadow at all times.

Right now, under the current circumstances you’re in, saving Jamil and Jack is what you need to focus on, even though, more than anything, you want to find Skully so he won’t have to continue being Oogie’s unwilling servant and reunite with Sebek and the others so they can be assured that you’re alright.

Unfortunately, finding Skully and reuniting with the rest of your friends will have to wait since you’re the only person who’s in the position to save Jamil and Jack, so those rescues take precedence.

Just after you make that decision, you finally exit the cavern you woke up in, doing so after carefully checking to make sure no one’s outside of the cavern, hanging around the open doorway.

Despite the urgency of the current situation at hand, you find yourself freezing shortly after you leave the cavern where Oogie left you due to the surreal sight that’s now before your eyes.

Your jaw drops. What the hell?! This wasn’t in The Nightmare Before Christmas!

By “this”, you mean the gigantic underground cavern that’s stretched out before you - the cavern that’s filled with countless booby traps all along the many floors you see as your gaze travels upwards.

However, it’s not the booby traps that have left you feeling so dumbfounded.

Why the hell is there actual magma in here?! You internally scream. I thought I was trapped inside a book, not a video game!

Much to your immense disbelief, at the bottom of the cavern is a large pool of actual magma that has covered the majority of the floor, and there’s even magma pouring down from above, making you wonder just how far underground you actually are.

Once you finally overcome your shock, you pitifully groan into your hands. I hate this damn book.

You really, really do.

After you finish having your little pity party, you compose yourself since you know you can’t afford to waste any more time. Obviously, the book just can’t ever make things easy for me; it’ll allow me to live, but I gotta put up with all this ridiculous nonsense in exchange, just so it’ll have an exciting story.

With a sigh, you begin moving forward along the only available path since the small cavern you had been left in was at a dead end.

Regrettably, the path doesn’t go very far before it comes to an abrupt end, which is how you end up facing the sea of magma that’s surrounding you on all sides.

Just up ahead, you can see another path, but unfortunately, there’s too large of a gap between it and the path you’re currently on, so you can’t just jump over there when there’s the risk of falling into the magma.

Wondering how you’re supposed to proceed, you carefully examine your surroundings in hopes that you can either find a different path to take or a way to get to the path that’s up ahead.

This leads to you eventually catching sight of a swirled hook that’s a few yards up ahead, above your head, attached to the bottom of the rock that is being used as a path for the next floor of this crazy dungeon, which looks out of place since it doesn’t seem like the hook is there for any particular purpose.

You eye the hook curiously. In a video game, if I saw something that looks out of place like this, I’d immediately assume it’s important to some degree. At the very least, I can’t imagine anything in this evil dungeon of doom being here without a reason.

Since the only thing in your immediate area that catches your attention is the hook, you’re even more convinced that it’s somehow important, and your suspicions are soon proven true when you finally remember something very important.

My whip! Your eyes grow large in realization. I can use that to swing over to the path up ahead by wrapping it around the hook!

Just after that idea comes to mind, your eyes abruptly narrow. Wait a minute…Could that possibly mean…?

Quickly, you begin carefully examining this crazy dungeon you’ve found yourself in, and after a few minutes pass like this, you take notice of the fact that you can catch glimpses of what appear to be hooks that look just like the one near your current location, which are scattered all around the many floors in very convenient locations.

Once you make that discovery, a dark scowl forms on your lips. Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me! Is this the reason I was given a whip in the first place?! ‘Cause the damn book intended for me to come here right from the very start and I needed the whip to get through the dungeon?! Sonuva-!

For several seconds, you internally scream all the curse words you know, all the while pulling out your whip, which thankfully is still in its holster, probably because Oogie has no idea that you even have it because you haven’t used it since you first discovered it.

During this time, you also take out your aggression on your dress by ripping off strips of it, because you won’t be able to run or move freely if you continue moving around while your dress remains at its current length.

Thankfully, the book doesn’t try to stop you from tearing up the outfit it gave you, so you’re able to remove enough of the dress that the bottom of it comes to rest right above your knees.

Sorry, Vil-senpai. You internally apologize once you’ve calmed down. I know this is a crime against fashion, but I need to be able to run and fight if I hope to survive this crazy situation I’m in.

Since you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to let things go to waste, especially when you’re in a situation where anything could happen, you decide against simply tossing aside the torn fabric of your dress and instead tie the strips of fabric to your whip’s holster, just in case they may somehow prove to be useful to you later.

Once that’s done, you promptly use your whip and make it wrap around the nearby hook, and after you confirm that your whip won’t come loose, you back up as far as you can before rushing forward, running as fast as you can.

Upon reaching the dead end before you, you do a bold leap and proceed to swing forward, straight toward the path ahead of you.

All the while, your heart pounds frantically inside your chest since one wrong move will result in you falling into the sea of magma below, which you obviously do not want to do.

Fortunately, that does not happen. Instead, you manage to safely cross over the sea of magma and land on the path you had been aiming for, much to your immense relief.

Releasing a sigh of relief, you return your whip to its holster before hurrying forward down the new path that you’re now on. Alright, now that I got an idea of how I’m supposed to get through this crazy dungeon, it’s time to find Jamil-senpai who’s gotta be somewhere in this area.

All throughout the floors of this spacious underground area, you see holes in the walls that look as if they could be like the room you woke up in, so you’re sure that Jamil is located in one of them since he’s not in the room where Jack is.

I’d like to call out for him to see if he’d respond, but I don’t wanna draw any attention to myself. You frown. I don’t know if Oogie is keeping his dungeon closely monitored or not, but if he isn’t, that means I have the element of surprise, which I will definitely need to stand a chance of saving Jamil-senpai and Jack.

That’s why you keep as quiet as possible as you continue running forward, all the while closely examining your surroundings and keeping an ear out for any out of the ordinary sounds.

Upon taking notice of how quiet the area is, you come to a realization that causes your frown to deepen. I don’t hear any screaming; that makes me assume that Jamil-senpai is unconscious wherever he is since, if he was awake right now, surrounded by bugs, I’d be able to hear him, regardless of the distance between the two of us. So it’d be pointless to try calling out to him anyway.

Ironically, just after you take note of the fact that you can’t hear Jamil screaming, you yourself start screaming thanks to a group of ghosts that suddenly comes out of nowhere and scares the hell out of you.

Without thinking, you swiftly pull out your whip and lash out at the ghosts, because your fight or flight instincts have kicked into high gear, and running away is unfortunately not an option for you.

This ends up being a good thing, because, to your great surprise, you discover that your whip is capable of actually hurting the ghosts since they quickly fly off once you hit them enough times with your whip that’s somehow able to touch the incorporeal creatures.

For several seconds, you just dumbly stare at your whip once the ghosts retreat before realization dawns on your features. Oh, that’s right! This isn’t a normal whip! Tsunotaro said he sensed protective magic from it, so it’s a magical weapon, meaning I can use it against supernatural creatures like ghosts!

Because of everything that’s been going on, you had completely forgotten about what Malleus had said about your whip, which you now realize is going to be even more useful to you than you had first thought.

After tightening your grip on your whip, which you decide to hold onto rather than return to its holster so you’ll be ready at a moment’s notice to defend yourself, you resume running down the path before you. As long as I have this whip, I’ll be fine; I won’t lose to Oogie’s ghost minions.

Fighting said ghosts won’t be easy, of course, thanks to your horror phobia, but you’re determined to persevere; you won’t allow yourself to lose to your fear, not when so much is at stake.

Saving Jamil and Jack is something only you can do, and you will accomplish this all important mission. You won’t fail your upperclassman, who has been a constant source of support for the last several months and has done so much for your sake, or the beloved fictional character from your childhood, who gave you so much peace and brought light into your very dark life.

You refuse to be that weak, pathetic coward, who was unable to save the people who had reached out to you for help, that you used to be.

Because the people who are important to you deserve far better than that.

Right after you make that internal vow, you notice that you’re approaching another dead end, and once again, you see a conspicuous hook that you know you’re meant to use to get through this new hurdle.

Unlike last time, however, there isn’t a path straight ahead that you can simply swing over toward. Instead, the new path is not only several yards away but also a few yards above your head, making you wonder how Oogie came up with such a crazy layout for his evil dungeon of doom.

Your brow furrows as you look at the hook above your head that’s attached to the floor that’s above the path that you need to get to before focusing your gaze on the aforementioned path. By the looks of it, I’m now supposed to swing upwards to the next floor rather than simply across, but is that even doable? I know the book has given me the ability to use a whip competently but still…

Regrettably, it doesn’t look like you have any other choice since there are no other paths or hooks available. Naturally, you can’t help but feel nervous about this new task before you since the last thing you want to do is end up falling into the magma.

However, you’re able to encourage yourself when you remember your vow to save Jamil and Jack, both of whom are counting on you. Making full use of your newfound determination, you move back as far as you can before you use your whip on the only visible hook, and once the whip is secure, you dash forward before eventually making a broad leap.

Much to your amazement, the whip in your hand starts glowing a bright green after you jump, and within seconds after that happens, you feel yourself flying straight toward the path on the next floor that you need to land on, as if by magic.

As a result, despite how impossible it had first seemed, you are successfully able to reach your destination, although you do end up stumbling after landing.

Once you steady yourself, you look down at your whip, which is no longer glowing, with awe. I have no idea what just happened, but I don’t even care. I’m just so glad I have this SSS class weapon at my disposal.

And you only feel even more grateful for the whip when you finally take a look at what’s up ahead.

Your eyebrow twitches. Looks like I’ve come across the first section of booby traps. Oh, lucky me…

Feeling more exasperated than anything, you start walking forward, all the while examining the booby traps up ahead.

Hanging on the walls, you see what look like simple paintings that resemble playing cards, but after enough time passes, it’s clear they’re not just ordinary paintings since arms will abruptly pop out of the “paintings” and swing sharp swords, just like the life-sized playing cards that Oogie used in his final battle against Jack in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

As if that wasn’t already bad enough, when you look further up ahead, you see, in some areas between the deadly playing cards, bursts of fire that suddenly shoot out across the path at certain intervals and large rocks that come out of holes that suddenly appear in the wall, making you wonder if they’re being shot out of hidden cannons.

You tiredly massage your forehead. This is becoming more and more like a damn video game. It’s like the book took inspiration from the Nightmare Before Christmas video games that exist in my world, even though I never played video games back then and all I read about those particular games were short plot summaries I found online, none of which mentioned this evil dungeon of doom.

With a shake of your head, you bring your attention back to the task at hand. I can only go forward, which means I need to get past these traps. Thankfully, they’re not all constantly active, so as long as I’m careful and don’t rush, I should be fine.

Nodding to yourself, you come to a stop a few feet away from the first life-sized playing card, which is currently swinging its swords at the small area in front of it since it thankfully can’t stretch its arms past a certain length.

Once the sword-swinging arms finally go still and the hidden cannon just beyond it goes off, you rush past the life-sized playing card and the area where the cannon just went off.

Because you’re now approaching a large gap in the floor since, of course, this path has to include opportunities for you to fall into the sea of magma below, you quickly ready your whip and use it on the hook up ahead but only after you see that the next life-sized playing card, which you’ll end up landing in front of, has stopped swinging its swords.

Quickly, you swing across the gap in the floor and proceed to do a tuck and roll, so you can smoothly clear the area where the playing card is before its swords can start swinging again.

Just after you successfully clear that goal, fire suddenly streaks across the path in front of you, which you thankfully managed to avoid by coming to a stop a few inches away from it.

After waiting for the fire to die down, you rush forward past the flamethrower as well as the life-sized playing card beside it before using your whip once again on a hook to clear another large gap in the path.

The next few minutes pass like this, with you dodging back-to-back booby traps before you finally reach an area that’s completely free of Oogie’s pesky traps.

You release a huge sigh of relief as you wipe the sweat from your brow. Mission cleared. Idia-senpai and Ortho would be so proud.

As you chuckle at the thought of how the Shroud brothers would react to you traversing through a booby-trapped dungeon that has a magma pit, a type of scenario that would only be found in a video game, you start walking, all the while remaining on high alert since you never know when more trouble could arise.

Fortunately, the next several minutes pass without you having to face any ghosts or booby traps, and you also don’t have to worry about having to use your whip in order to progress further into the dungeon.

Instead, when the path you’re on eventually comes to an end, you discover a large open entryway in the wall to your left at the end of the path, which connects to a passageway that you can only hope will help bring you closer to finding Jamil and Jack.

Hoping for the best, you enter the passageway that thankfully has some lit torches on the walls, meaning you don’t have to move around in the dark, and head for wherever this passageway will take you.

After a few minutes of walking, you end up in another spacious cavern that’s thankfully well-lit and soon find yourself freezing in dismay.

Because there are ghosts in this cavern - a lot of ghosts.

In complete sync, the horde of ghosts, all of whom were apparently just hanging out together, turn to look at you, just after you enter the room.

Upon being on the receiving end of so many spectral gazes, you can only do one thing once you overcome your fear-induced paralysis.

You scream.

“FUCK YOU, OOGIE! FUCK YOU!”

For an indeterminable amount of time, you scream profanities as you use your whip to fight the horde of ghosts that gleefully attacks you, because, in moments like this, you have to let your anger take over in order to prevent your fear from getting the better of you.

Thankfully, giving into your rage works out well for you since you’re eventually able to defeat all of the ghosts, who realize that picking a fight with you when you’re this pissed off is not a good idea.

That’s how you soon find yourself alone in the large cavern, because the ghosts all flew away in fear - a sight that was very satisfying to witness.

Panting, because of all the screaming you did while you were fighting the ghosts and because you had been simultaneously fighting off a panic attack the whole time, you blink several times to clear your teary vision and move your hand to wipe away the sweat clinging to your brow. Well, that royally sucked. This is not the kinda thrills and chills I wanna have to put up with for Halloween…

“Jamil-senpai…” You pitifully whine, “Where are you? I don’t wanna have to do this all by myself…”

Thinking you’re entitled to a little whining, you let yourself have a moment to complain before you finally start walking toward the exit that will take you out of this room and hopefully bring you closer to wherever Jamil is.

After leaving the large cavern, you find yourself in another passageway that eventually leads you back to the area where you had previously been that has the magma pit, just on a different floor.

And, of course, you find more booby traps that you need to get past if you want to proceed further into the dungeon, much to your exasperation.

However, that isn’t all that you find, thankfully. In addition to the booby traps, you see three entryways spread out between the booby traps - entryways that might lead to the kind of room you were left in, meaning you may be close to finally finding Jamil.

You cross your fingers. Please let Jamil-senpai be nearby. Please let Jamil-senpai be nearby…

As you internally repeat that chant multiple times, you proceed down the booby trap-laden path before you. Fortunately, just like the previous traps, you’re able to get past the ones that are in between you and the closest entryway without any trouble once you get the timing of the traps down.

Upon clearing the traps and reaching the first entryway, you cautiously peek inside the room, figuring you should first scope things out before trying to walk inside, and you are so glad that you did that since, rather than Jamil, all you see inside the small cavern are ghosts and large bugs.

After slapping a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from making a dismayed noise since you thankfully haven’t been noticed yet, you swiftly examine the room to make sure Jamil isn’t there before hurriedly moving toward the next set of booby traps, so you can put as much space between you and that room as possible.

It’s only once you clear the next round of booby traps that you finally take a moment to collect yourself.

I hate this place! You internally scream. This is my and Jamil-senpai’s worst nightmares come to life! I want outta here!

Regrettably, you know you won’t get your wish anytime soon, considering there’s still so much of the dungeon that you have yet to cover, but despite that, you can’t stop yourself from complaining.

Now even more cautious, you slowly approach the second entryway, doing your best to be as quiet as possible so your presence will go unnoticed when you peek inside.

Unfortunately, you don’t get as lucky as you did last time, because, at the same moment you peer inside, the sole occupant of the room - a ghost, who’s insanely large for some reason, making you wonder if it was a giant when it was alive, just so happens to look at the doorway and spots you.

And proceeds to rush straight toward you, cackling with glee all the while.

Screaming, you do a tuck and roll to avoid the ghost and bring yourself into the small room where you found it, because you’ll have an easier time fighting here than on the narrow path you had previously been on.

Although fighting this ghost is the last thing you want to do, you know you have to since it would be too dangerous to try to run away since you’d have to worry about dodging the ghost’s attacks and the booby traps, all while avoiding falling into the sea of magma below.

Just like your last ghost battle, you channel every bit of anger you feel toward Oogie Boogie once you rise to your feet and proceed to unleash it all on the giant ghost, screaming all the while.

Regrettably, this particular ghost is a lot sturdier than the ones you’ve faced before, and you can only assume its large size is the reason. As a result, your whip isn’t able to inflict as much damage onto it as you would’ve liked.

Of course, that doesn’t deter you in the slightest since, if you falter, you’ll only leave an opening for your fear to exploit. That’s why you don’t stop swinging your whip.

Instead, you just start swinging harder and faster, pushing yourself to your limits, because that’s really all you can do since you can’t hurt a ghost with your bare hands.

All the while, you constantly move around the room to dodge the ghost’s attacks and to ensure it can’t ever get too close to you.

The next several minutes pass like this since, while you’re able to inflict damage onto your opponent, it’s still not enough to send the giant ghost running for the hills, much to your annoyance.

Grrrr. You growl. This is such a pain-in-the-ass minor boss fight! Why must this stupid ghost’s HP bar be so ridiculously huge?! Just die already, asshole! I’ve got better things to do!

Just after you make that video game reference, you recall the fact that you’re inside a world where the laws of reality don’t apply - a world where you could easily experience the same kinds of events that would only be possible inside a video game.

Figuring it’s worth a shot, you begin wishing for a power-up, the kind of which you’d see in a video game, so you can finally inflict some serious damage onto your opponent.

Scowling, you lash out at the ghost with your whip, pouring as much strength as you can into your attack. Just gimme my power-up already! I’m due for one right about now, don’t you think?!

Thankfully, much to your relief, your strategy ends up working since, within seconds after you internally demand a power-up, your whip suddenly turns green and starts glowing, like what happened earlier.

Your relief quickly turns into amazement when the end of your whip abruptly enlarges and gains a sharp, blade-like edge that looks like it can deal some serious damage.

Seconds later, the end of your whip makes contact with the giant ghost, who releases a pained shriek when the edge of your whip slashes through its body.

Grinning, you waste no time in unleashing several more attacks on your opponent, who begins backing away once it realizes you now have a means to really hurt it. “Take that, asshole!”

After taking three more hits, the giant ghost finally retreats by moving upwards until it disappears into the ceiling, causing you to release a huge sigh of relief.

Panting, you wipe the sweat from your brow. Thank goodness. I’m glad that’s finally over. While I can last for a while in a normal fight thanks to my high stamina, I was near my limit mentally since I was fighting a ghost.

For that reason, you take a moment to collect yourself and recover since, considering how things turned out for you when you checked out the first two entryways you found, you’re not feeling too optimistic about the third one.

At least, there are no visible booby traps in the area that’s on the other side of that final entryway. You think to yourself. Which means I should get a little break once I find out what’s in that last room.

Of course, you’re not going to get your hopes up since you know just how bad your luck is, so no matter what, you’re going to remain on your guard, just in case.

Your gaze focuses on your whip, which has regained its original appearance. I guess this is its default look, and its appearance only changes when it’s in use. Several fictional weapons are like that, so I’m not too surprised.

The corners of your lips quirk upwards. I’m just glad this weapon has the ability to become more powerful since I’ll need all the help I can get to clear this pain-in-the-ass dungeon.

It’d be nice if I could get a power-up in other ways, but I won’t get my hopes up, considering the book doesn’t want us to become too overpowered. You dryly think to yourself. So I’ll just take what I can get.

Not long after you think that, you decide to exit the room since you’re feeling better now and approach the last set of visible booby traps, all of which you proceed to clear without any difficulty, much to your relief.

Upon seeing the third and final entryway, you cautiously approach it, doing your best to be as quiet as possible.

Fortunately, unlike last time, no one spots you as soon as you peek into the room, and you’re so grateful for that fact, because inside the room is the largest spider you have ever seen.

Your eyes grow large with horror as you internally scream. How is it so huge?! It’s bigger than Tsunotaro! Damn you, Oogie!

Even though your first impulse is to run upon seeing such a large, scary spider, which you think would frighten anyone, regardless of how a person normally feels about spiders, you stand your ground since you need to confirm that Jamil isn’t in the room.

This leads to your gaze focusing on the large spider web at the back of the cavern since it takes up so much of the room, and it’s impossible not to stare at it. Seconds after you do that, you notice that, in the center of the web, there’s a cocoon.

A cocoon that looks as if it’s large enough to contain a human.

Your heart skips a beat after you make that observation. Oh no…No no no no no…

Not wanting to jump to conclusions too soon, especially when that cocoon is so eerily still and silent, you quickly look around the rest of the room, hoping you’ll find evidence that will somehow tell you that Jamil isn’t the unlucky occupant of that cocoon.

Regrettably, your hopes were in vain.

Much to your immense horror and dismay, after you spend several seconds examining the cavern, your gaze focuses on the area of the ground that’s near where the giant spider is currently standing, because you can tell that there’s something there.

Once you realize what exactly that something is, your breath catches, because, on the ground, you see a very familiar-looking bowler hat and a magic-pen.

A magic-pen with a crimson-colored magestone that’s reflecting the light of the sole torch in the room.

Your face blanches as you cover your mouth with your hand, all the while fighting back the sudden urge to cry.

Jamil-senpai…

Miraculously, you manage to keep yourself from both bursting into tears and storming into the room where that bastard, Oogie, left Jamil at the mercy of the world’s largest spider.

Instead, you shakily move away from the entryway and take a moment to regain your composure since you won’t be able to accomplish anything in your current distressed state.

Calm down! You harshly smack your cheeks. He’s not dead! He can’t be dead! The book wouldn’t let one of us die so easily! This isn’t that kinda story!

You clench your trembling hands into tight fists. Jamil-senpai is alive. He’s just unconscious, like what happened after Lock placed a bug in his hand the other day. He’s just escaping reality by remaining asleep ‘cause he can’t bear to face the giant ass spider in the room.

Multiple times, you reassure yourself that Jamil is alive before you finally succeed in getting your breathing to calm down and your trembling to stop.

After scrubbing away the tears from your eyes, you take a deep breath and slowly release it. Everything’s gonna be okay. I just need to do something about that damn spider, and then, I can finally rescue Jamil-senpai.

Of course, that’s easier said than done since fighting a spider that’s larger than Malleus is not going to be as easy as fighting incorporeal ghosts, not that fighting ghosts is ever easy for you.

I need a plan. You frown. I can’t just run in there and start swinging my whip, especially if there’s a chance that Jamil-senpai could get caught in the crossfire.

Ideally, you’d like to get the spider away from Jamil since you think moving Jamil would be too difficult for you as long as that spider is around to interfere.

Appearing contemplative, you turn to look at what’s up ahead on the path you’ve been following. I could try to lead the spider out here, but this really isn’t an ideal place to fight either. Is there an open space up ahead that I could make use of?

Quickly, you head down the path to see where it leads, all the while hoping that you won’t have to deal with more annoying booby traps.

Thankfully, your wish actually gets granted this time since you don’t encounter any more booby traps when you venture further down this path and explore this area that wasn’t visible from your previous location. However, you unfortunately don’t find a large space where you can safely fight the giant spider.

Instead, you find another dead end when you reach the end of the path, although it’s thankfully not like the other dead ends you’ve had to deal with up until this point.

Much to your surprise, there’s a small, moving platform, which ironically has a spider web design, that slowly moves in between the path you’re currently on and another path that’s at a height and distance that you can’t reach it without using the moving platform.

Oogie obviously had way too much free time on his hands when he made this crazy dungeon. You internally deadpan. Guess this is what banishment does to a gambling addict with nothing better to do with his life.

Shaking your head, you force yourself to focus on the current situation at hand. I need to come up with a new strategy since I don’t see any areas on this path or the one up ahead that’s big enough to allow me to safely fight that spider, and I really don’t want to do anything that will risk me falling into the magma.

Just after you think that, realization strikes you like a lightning bolt. But making that spider fall into the magma is an entirely different story…

Realizing that’s your best shot at defeating the spider, because nothing can stand a chance against actual magma, you decide to make that your new strategy.

I need to get it to leave that room and chase after me, so I can lead it toward this edge. You muse. I bet I could pull that off if I piss it off enough.

Remembering the glass bottle you still have on your person, you smirk. I bet it’d get really pissed if I threw that right in its face, especially if the glass shatters on impact, like it should. That will also be beneficial to me if I’m able to use the glass shards to impair its vision.

You thoughtfully rub your chin. If I impair its vision enough and make it super mad, I wonder if I can get it to run straight off this edge.

That’s the ideal outcome of your strategy, but you know that’s not the only kind of outcome that could happen.

If the spider is able to keep its cool and is able to still see even after I throw that bottle at it, it’ll just stop on the edge and wait to use the moving platform like I intend to do, if it doesn’t just make itself a spider web bridge. You frown. If that happens, I’ll be in trouble.

Which means you need to ensure that you succeed in your endeavor to impair the spider’s vision and make it mad enough that it lets its anger get the better of it.

At that moment, you, who had been carefully examining your surroundings to see what all you can take advantage of for the sake of defeating the giant spider, catch sight of a familiar-looking hook that’s several yards above where the moving platform is.

That’ll be useful to me if the floating platform isn’t close to this side when I come running after riling up the spider. You think to yourself. It’ll mean I won’t have to slow down, which, in turn, means I won’t provide the spider a chance to stop since, as long as I’m running, I’m sure it’ll do the same.

Considering how far up the hook is, it’s obviously meant for one of the upper floors, but since you’ve got a magic whip on your side, it’s very likely that you can still use it from your current position.

To confirm your suspicions, you proceed to aim for the hook with your whip, all the while imagining it growing long enough to reach the hook.

And when the whip does exactly just that, you grin. Perfect. The plan is coming together.

Now, you just need to make sure that you succeed in your endeavor to greatly impair the giant spider’s eyesight since that, in turn, should surely make it incredibly angry.

Not wanting to just rely on the glass bottle you have, you, after retracting your whip, search the ground for small rocks that you can use.

Once you gather enough rocks, you use the torn fabric of your dress that you kept with you, just in case, to make little rock-filled bags, which you intend to throw at the giant spider, like the glass bottle.

After you use up all of your extra fabric, you decide you have enough weapons in your arsenal and proceed to head back to the cavern where Jamil and the giant spider are.

Upon reaching the cavern, your heart starts to rapidly pound, because you’re about to willingly piss off a giant spider to get it to chase you, creating the kind of terrifying scenario that typically only exists in people’s nightmares.

You take a deep breath and slowly release it to calm your nerves. This is all for the sake of Jamil-senpai - for my friend. Nothing’s too scary or difficult if it’s being done for the people I love.

Your expression quickly becomes determined. I can do this! I won’t let anything take away what’s important to me, no matter what!

Emboldened by your desire to save your friend, you step into the entryway, just enough to make yourself visible, before releasing a loud whistle to earn the spider’s attention. “Hey! Big and ugly! Over here!”

Immediately, the giant spider turns toward you and focuses all of its large, beady eyes on you, just as you had hoped it would.

Seconds after it does that, the glass bottle that you had thrown, using your whip, after you saw the spider begin to turn to face you, hits the arachnid straight in the face and promptly shatters.

Cackling at the way the giant spider shrieks in pain because of the many glass shards in its eyes, you quickly use your whip to throw your mini bags of rocks at the spider’s face, one after another, taking full advantage of the fact that the arachnid is too focused on its pain to pay attention to your continued onslaught. “Unfortunately for you, I’m just getting started!”

Much to your immense satisfaction, all of your attacks hit their mark thanks to the book giving you a complete mastery of your whip, which entails you having perfect aim when using it, and as a result, you’re able to severely damage the spider’s eyes - to the point that you wouldn’t be surprised if it can barely see now.

Unfortunately, your good mood instantly vanishes when, after releasing an angry shriek, the giant spider proceeds to spew a torrent of what you’re assuming is venom or some kind of acid in your direction, eliciting a loud yelp from you as you quickly move away from the entryway.

Fortunately, thanks to your quick reflexes, you’re able to dodge the spider’s attack, but you know it’s too early to celebrate because you can hear its rapid approach.

Realizing you’ve successfully enraged the arachnid to the point that it’s willing to leave the cavern and chase you, you take off into a sprint toward the direction of the moving platform and promptly activate your Quirk, so you can predict your opponent’s movements since the last thing you want is to get hit by an attack while your back is facing the spider.

It was a very wise move on your part to use your Quirk since, once it has left the cavern and begins chasing you, the spider repeatedly tries to attack you, taking turns between using its silk in an attempt ensnare you and its venom to liquify you like what spiders normally do to their captured prey.

And each time it tries to attack you, you use your whip on its legs and cause it to stumble right before it uses its silk and venom, resulting in all of its attacks missing their mark.

Of course, it also helps that the spider’s aim isn’t at its best due to its severely impaired eyesight, although, in the end, that doesn’t affect it too much simply because, like most spiders, it can sense vibrations and sound thanks to the sensitive hairs on its body, which is why it’s able to so easily pursue you, although you are unaware of this due to you not being that knowledgeable about spiders.

As a result, the next several seconds pass with you continuously knocking all of the arachnid’s attacks off course, all the while running as fast as you can, resulting in the creature becoming increasingly more irate, which you couldn’t be happier about.

Consequently, by the time the moving platform comes into view, the giant spider is absolutely furious, looking as if it can’t wait to sink its super sharp-looking fangs into you.

Unfortunately for it, you have no intention to become its next meal.

With a grin, you begin imagining the length of your whip growing as you focus your attention on the hook up ahead, which you intend to make use of since the floating platform has just started moving away from the path that you’re currently on.

Upon seeing how your whip has started glowing a bright green, you waste no time in aiming it at the hook, which it seamlessly wraps around, just like what happened last time, before promptly increasing your speed.

Meanwhile, the giant spider prepares to make another attempt to ensnare you with its silk, but it once again fails to hit its mark, because, at the same time that happens, you make a bold leap and swing toward the moving platform.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the clear, because, rather than just hit the ground like you would’ve preferred, the silk ends up sailing through the air and hitting the moving platform, which you successfully manage to land on.

Thanks to your Quirk, you foresee the arachnid using its silk to swing after you, meaning your plan to make it simply run off the path into the magma pit was a failure.

However, not all hope is lost. After all, there’s more than one way to kill a spider.

Quickly, as the spider makes its move to follow after you, you deactivate your Quirk, causing your head to throb because you always get a headache after you use your Quirk to predict other people’s movements for an extended period of time, and proceed to imagine your whip gaining the same appearance it had when you fought the giant ghost from earlier, and thankfully, the tip of your whip once again becomes sharp like a blade.

As soon as your opponent leaps off the path you had previously been on, so it can begin swinging toward the direction of the moving platform that’s almost to the other path now, you swiftly use your whip to cut the silk thread that the spider is hanging on and also attack the spider itself to ensure it never gets the opportunity to create more silk to catch itself.

Mercilessly, you attack the giant spider as many times as you can during the short time frame where it’s near the moving platform. “This is for trying to eat my friend, asshole! Enjoy your magma bath!”

All the while, the spider just shrieks in pain as it begins to plummet toward the magma pit below, unable to save itself thanks to your brutal onslaught of attacks.

Thanks to all the damage you inflicted upon it, the spider ends up falling right into the magma, unable to save itself even after it finally falls out of your whip’s range because of its weakened condition.

With a cheer, you throw your hands into the air. “Serves you right! Nobody messes with me and my friends and gets away with it!”

Around that time, the moving platform you’re on comes to a stop, signaling that it’s reached the path that you have yet to traverse.

This draws you out of your elation and reminds you that you have more important things to be doing than celebrating your victory against the giant spider. I gotta hurry back to Jamil-senpai!

Not willing to wait for the moving platform, you quickly use the hook, like you did earlier, and smoothly swing back over to the path below that you had previously been on before breaking out into a sprint.

Soon after that, you arrive back at the cavern where Jamil is and hurry toward the spider web where the cocoon keeping him captive is still stationed.

After once again willing your whip to gain a sharp, bladed edge, you grab the whip by that end and use that sharp edge to carefully cut open the cocoon, not wanting to take any chances of accidentally hurting Jamil by using your whip the way you normally use it.

Thankfully, while the silk is rather sturdy, you’re able to cut open the cocoon without too much difficulty, and as soon as you do, Jamil’s body, which you’re hoping is just unconscious, promptly falls out of it.

Dropping your whip, you immediately reach out to catch your upperclassman. “Jamil-senpai!”

As you fall to your knees, taking along Jamil, whom you keep securely held against you, the Scarabia student groans, causing an intense wave of relief to wash over you.

Eyes stinging due to the tears of relief that cloud your vision, you hug your thankfully very much alive friend close and bury your face against his shoulder. “Thank goodness…”

A few seconds later, Jamil finally begins to stir, releasing another groan as he does so. “Ugh…”

Soon after, his posture stiffens, probably because he’s now registering the fact that he’s currently being held in someone’s arms, but considering how he relaxes a moment later, it obviously didn’t take him long to figure out that you’re the one hugging him.

“Yuu?” Jamil murmurs as he wraps his arms around you and gently strokes your trembling back. “What happened?”

“A lot, that’s what.” You weakly chuckle, “It’s about time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Considering how his grip on you tightens, Jamil must have picked up on the fact that you’re on the verge of tears. “It would seem I somehow ended up in a position where you were required to come to my aid and given quite the scare. I apologize.”

“And thank you.” He quietly adds as he tenderly strokes your head.

Knowing his words are completely genuine, you hug him tighter as you sniffle. “Just don’t let it happen again. My heart can only take so much, you know, especially after everything else this damn book is making me endure.”

“I won’t.” Jamil replies as he comfortingly rubs your back. “I promise.”

Bringing his mouth close to your ear, he reassuringly whispers, “I have no intention of dying anytime soon, not when I still have so many things I want to do. I’m not going anywhere, Yuu.”

“After all, who else is going to look after you and keep you out of trouble?” Jamil asks, his voice sounding more fond than anything.

The tension in your frame eases in response to his words, which were exactly what you needed to hear. “Glad to hear it.”

Really, really glad.