Curate, connect, and discover
The 3rd part is here! For the sake of this fic, we'll pretend Episode/Book 2 either never happened or happens later lol
Hope you enjoy! No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)
PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 [!] | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | END
SUMMARY: To get Ace and Deuce to complete the favor, you must engage in cafeteria warfare to secure deluxe menchi katsu sandwiches! You also meet a mischievous beastman.
Would you really do this much just to get Ace and Deuce to watch Grim? Well, you admit your ulterior motive to agreeing to this was to try out the deluxe menchi katsu sandwich.
You really doubt you'll get the chance to try out some new foods ever again. Not until the far, far future in which you finally earn some madol. You'd been living off of Crowley's free lunch pass this whole time. You really have to bring up pay at some point with him.
"Go!" You shout as you race forward, holding a tray above your head. Ace and Deuce had gone around throwing a few pieces of food or messing with people's trays and had already incited this chaos.
Of course, nobody knew it was them specifically with so many people around. They had started an all-out food fight.
Grim incinerates any food that comes near you with a small puff of blue flames. You catch him also swallowing the incoming food sometimes. He balances precariously on your shoulders. You slip through the disrupted line and finally, you make your way to the front of the queue while everyone is distracted.
There, you secure a few deluxe menchi katsu sandwiches with the money Ace and Deuce loaned together. You also get an egg salad sandwich.
You hold them close to your chest, hiding them in your blazer. You're sure if you get caught with these, you were going to get jumped by several people.
You carefully slip through the crowd until you're near the exit. There you spot familiar green hair and glasses. "Trey! Thanks for the chocolates! Happy Valentines!" You wave at him. Trey notices you for sure and waves back.
"[Name], are you alright?" He asks, looking a bit concerned. "Yep, Grim's been protecting me." You nodded. "Nyahahaha, I'll eat everything they throw at me dazo!" Grim smirks.
"Oh? And where's Ace and Deuce? Did they start this?" Trey smiles, looking amused. "What? No, I was with them when it started. But then I lost them in the crowd after everything uh, happened." You lie casually.
You can feel him scrutinizing you briefly but he relents in the end. You let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Do be careful. Have a happy Valentines day, [Name]." Trey nods with a smile. "You too!" You yell, "Grim!"
"Nyahaha! Leave this to me dazo!" He hops onto the top of the tray you're holding, now above the crowd, he begins blasting fire to stop the incoming food from hitting you. You open the door and quickly flee the chaos. That should've been the signal for Ace and Deuce to leave as well.
You get out of there and lean against a wall, taking a break. "Uwah, I can smell it from here dazo! Gimme!" Grim grins, he paws at your blazer where the sandwiches are. "Here you go." You pass him the packaged sandwich.
"Ah crap. I completely missed the lunch time free-for-all. The deluxe menchi katsu sandwich Leona wanted is already sold out." A beastman with dark blonde hair and large animal ears walks out the cafeteria with a sigh. You squint at him, he looked…had you met him before?
There was no way, you really don't remember meeting any guy with adorable, fluffy ears! Plus, his face was cute. Okay, sue you for liking guys with cute animal ears and maybe a tail. You don't spot a tail on this guy though. If you think about it, they were just like catboys.
You stop that thought before it can go further. If you want to survive, you can't just approach danger like this! The above average guys here were the worst.
Your friends were definitely attractive in your world's standards. However, in Twisted Wonderland, this seemed to be the norm. Your friends also happen to all be troublemakers, even though some are less obvious.
Therefore, it was best you steered clear of this guy completely. You get up and begin walking away. Grim is too busy munching on the sandwich to question you, he only follows after you, sandwich in hand, "Nyahaha! The taste of victory, I'll take my time savoring it!"
"Hey, you. Is that a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich?" The boy approaches, spotting you two. Grim, why! You panic. "No, what's that?" You turn around with a curious expression. If you ran, you'd end up looking suspicious and you doubt you could outrun a beastman.
He sniffs the air. Oh god, he could smell them on you. The beastman stares at your chest. "Hey, my eyes are up here." You glare at him. He raises an eyebrow. "Shishi, I didn't mean to! Not that there's anything to see here." He smiles at you with a mock cheerfulness.
You deadpan at him as he laughs. You watch as his gaze turns to Grim. "The deluxe menchi katsu sandwich is the sandwich your familiar is holding right now." He gestures toward him, staring at you with an amused look. "Hey! Who are you calling their familiar dazo?!" Grim snarls. You don't like this.
"That's pretty great, y'know? You got your hands on a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich, huh." He grins at Grim. "Huh? What's it to you?" He shot him a wary look.
"I have to get that sandwich no matter what, but they sold out right in front of me. So, I have a proposition." The beastman pouts, his ears tilting downwards, "Could you trade me that deluxe menchi katsu sandwich for my mini bean paste bread?"
You clench your fists, you must stay strong and resist. "Huh!? No way in hell dazo!" Grim scowls, "We fought for those!"
You've never been so thankful for this stupid cat. "Now, now, don't say that." He smiles, "...Here you are."
It's as if some will comes over you, your hand reaches into your blazer and you pull out a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich as he does the same, pulling out a mini bean paste bread.
"Fgyaa!? Henchman, don't give it to him dazo!" Grim gapes, looking betrayed. "My arms and legs are moving on their own! I'm not doing this!" You shout, trying to stop your limbs as you walk closer to him.
You switch items with him, horrified to see the mini bean paste bread in your traitorous hands.
"[Name]! What are you doing!?" You can't even turn your head but you can see Ace and Deuce racing toward you in your peripheral. "Negotiations complete. Shishishi! Thanks for being kind enough to trade me! That mini bean paste bread is just as good." He begins backing away as you test your fingers.
"It being tiny is a defect. Thanks and bye-bye!" He waves and runs off with a smirk. "No!" You cry after him, chasing him. He's too fast as you expected though you chase him down a few hallways before he jumps out a literal open window.
You bitterly hope he broke his legs or something down there. "Wh-Why in the great sevens would you give away the sandwich?!" Ace pants, running after you. You're all in a random classroom now. You slump against the wall, defeated.
"I didn't! He must have some sort of magic that takes over your body or something!" You yell, frustratedly waving your hands around. "F-F-Fgyaaa! My deluxe menchi katsu sandwich!" Grim whines. "It could be his unique magic but still…ugh!" Deuce growls, he looks like he's about to punch the wall and you can't say you don't feel the same.
"Oh I see, you just kinda went along with it. That happens sometimes." Ace hums in understanding. "No, that's not it all! I can't explain your stupid magic stuff!" You glare at him. "Geez, no need to get mad at me. I'm not the one who gave away the sandwich." He rolls his eyes.
You rip a bite from the mini bean paste bread with a scowl, "It should be totally illegal to have magic that overrides free will!"
"I don't think there's any rule against that."
"Seriously?!"
You completely forget about the letter and card as you all sulk in the empty classroom.
-
"Leona, I'm back with lunch." Ruggie calls out, dangling the packaged sandwich in one hand and holding an ice tea in the other. He nudges aside branches and leaves as he makes his way through the botanical garden.
"Hnh, already afternoon?" In a small clearing lies a handsome beastman with brown locks and braids. His tail with a tassel at the end sways lazily as his animal ears twitch under the warm sun.
"Were you by chance sleeping here all morning? You're gonna fail another class." Ruggie sighs, handing off the sandwich and ice tea to Leona. He peeks inside the package and shakes it around a little.
"Seems like you got what I…" Leona pauses suddenly with a frown as he sniffs again, "Where did you get this?"
"Ughh, Leona, you always want the stuff that's the most competitive. It was already sold out when I got there so I 'negotiated' with a random student." Ruggie explains, exasperated.
"Which student? What dorm did they belong to?"
He raises an eyebrow. He really wasn't sure why the usually apathetic Leona cared so much. Still, he racks his brain to recall.
"Oh, it's the student you kept getting me to secretly deliver stuff to and to find out where they sat, I think!" Ruggie snaps in realization. He suddenly stares at Leona, a look of surprise and confusion painted clearly.
"Ah, wait…it's because you have a…um, on them, right?"
Ao3: HERE
If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.