[Book 2] °It Was Never Meant To Be° •Twisted Wonderland X Reader•

💀Gather At Ramshackle: Part 3💀

Y/n's POV
It was a few days after Grim's capture. Everything seemed to be back to normal but Ramshackle has never felt so.... Empty. Quiet even. Never knew how much Grim's annoyance made my life more lively.

I'm here standing in Ramshackle's Lounge. Vil contacted everyone who performed and gathered everyone here. The air around the room didn't shift at all.

"The festival is over, it's time for the NRC team to disband." Jamil was the first to speak after everyone gathered here.

"Non, Vil did not say we will disband, he just said we won't perform together again." Rook said, shaking his head lightly.

"It's the same meaning with different words. Anyways...." Jamil trailed off a little.

"I was really surprised when you suddenly told us to gather at the Ramshackle Dorm after school." Kalim said, raising his hand up. "What happened, Vil?" We all turned our attention to Vil. This just be really important if Vil's the one who contacted us. He's one of the more 'Serious' Dorm Leaders here.

"Thank you for coming today. Even though Grim is not here...." I saw Vil made eye contact with me as I gave a weak smile and nod for him to continue. There's nothing else I can do now anyway. "We have to leave him out for now." Ace and Deuce went limp for a second when Vil mentioned Grim. "I have something important to tell you.... Firstly, I wanted to talk about the incident that happened on the day of 'Vocal and Dance Championship'. Please allow me to apologize for betraying your trust."

"Huh.....?" We all stood there frozen. Is Vil still blaming himself for what happened?

"I tried to curse my rival after I realized I can't win against him anymore, it is the most ugly behavior in this world. I'm terribly sorry." Vil closed his eyes and bowed apologetic.

"Am I seeing this right? Vil-San is lowering his head..." Epel muttered out. Epel haven't seen this side of Vil at all. In fact, non of us have.

"But it all ends before you get to poison him." Jamil said to Vil.

"Yeah, you never hurt Neige." Kalim added.

".... That's because Rook and you came to stop me.... Along with the others." Vil mumbled out. He's not making eye contact with us. "But yet, I ended up attacking you guys after I Overblot. We might have lost our lives that day." I glanced at Rook. Even he's a bit on edge. "After the intense battle, we have to get on the stage with our exhausted bodies. No matter how powerful the performance is, we didn't show them the best stage we did during our rehearsal."

"That's not true! It was the best stage for me!" Epel stepped up, reassuringly Vil.

"I agree! We have done our best!" Deuce nodded.

"...... That's just our opinion, isn't it?" Ace mumbled out.

"Huh!? Why can you say that....!?" Deuce glared at Ace.

"Care to explain, Ace?" Hooty hooted out.

"We overcome a life or death battle. Luckily Malleus-Senpai came to the spot and he helped us fix the stage." Ace started. "We dance with our strength until the end. It was really amazing, it is the best stage for me. But..." Ace trailed off, trying to find the right words to say next.

"It doesn't mean the audience would feel the same way as us." Jamil added.

"U-Uhh..." Epel stuttered. They made a compelling argument.

"They are right about that." Vil gave a nod. "I've watched the video of our performance again and again. We failed to show our true abilities to the audience. We stood in the wrong position, we didn't lift our legs, and our hands were shaking all the time....
I expected that. After all we just went through a tough battle. I also caught hints of this before Y/n's own performance. Even before our performance, she didn't feel good and fatigue took over her body. We did our best, but we are not in the perfect condition. I didn't get to take you guys to the stage with me in a perfect condition. It is my fault we lost the VDC Battle. I'm a failed leader." Everyone fell silent. The air got even denser than before. It's almost choking.

3rd POV
"Chin up, Vil!" Y/n spoke up. Her voice suddenly cut through the tension of the room. Everyone looked at Y/n who went flush from the attention. Jamil took a deep breath in before speaking.

".... I understand what you're trying to say here." Jamil mumbled out. Everyone turned to Jamil momentarily. "But there is one thing, we have talked about this during the rehearsal of VDC before. Neige is a popular celebrity that has fans all around the world even before he participated in this contest. With that in mind, it would be impossible for us to go all out in our performance no matter how much we practiced. And even if we did put our whole effort in it, that doesn't mean we could change the result. It's hard to win against someone who already has a huge popularity."

"I agree! You don't have to out all the blame on yourself, Vil!" Kalim added with a smile.

"And if you mention anything about our life or death situation with your Overblot, look at Y/n. She's survived the most Overblots than any of us." Hooty said to Vil, plopping down on his shoulder.

"Trust me, I have no idea how I'm still alive until this day." Y/n gave an unsure look. Vil gave a soft chuckle.

"You're right... But that doesn't mean they don't have their own hardships and efforts." Vil muttered out. Everyone was stunned. "Even though I criticized their performance out of anger before... Neige's team focuses on bringing back nostalgia for the audience, while us focused on overwhelming the audience. Both of them are efforts. We did our best in a different way. You guys would never understand what kind of effort he makes anyway."

"Eh? What do you mean....?" Epel muttered out.

"The first time we started in a movie together..... He would always leave early during our rehearsal with the reason he had to do house chores. That's what pissed me off. I thought he is a lazy person that relies on his talent only. It was until one day. I realized he is living with the dwarfs that perform with him at the VDC stages." Vil explained, leaving everyone speechless. "Ever since they were kids, they were living together, supporting each other until now."

"No way, they have been together since little?" Deuce blinked in surprise. "Y/n, did you know about this?"

"No. He never mentioned them, even when we were together before he moved away." Y/n answered, shaking her head lightly.

"Yes, but I don't really know much about them." Vil hummed out. "He has to do housework while taking part in our rehearsal, and someone he will practice by himself to cover up all the lessons he missed. This is just like a continuous loop to him. But he never gave up, he would always greet us with a cheerful and bright voice. I don't understand how tough it is, because I never experienced it before."

"Uhh, that's really..." Epel muttered softly.

"Neige never tells the media anything about his back story. Rook.... You must have known about this story." Vil turned to the Huntsman. (A/n: it's Rook. Of course he knows.)

"..... Yes. The most attractive feature on Neige is his lovely smile." Rook nodded softly. ".... However, his smile hides a lot of story. Which is why people are attracted to his smile. And he would always donate his salary to volunteer organizations. I even recognize a few similarities between Neige and Y/n's childhood. Of course, minus certain parts."

'And that 'Certain Parts' are called Trauma.' Y/n thought to herself with a sigh.

"...... How did you know that? Most celebrities prefer to keep it private." Vil sighed out.

"It's a famous story among hardcore fans." Rook said to Vil.

"I see... From what I heard, the rewards of this contest are collected from donations. The donors are promising young children from all around the world." Vil muttered out.

"I didn't know they had a backstory like that...." Kalim huffed out.

".................... Haa. Look, if you guys know about his past before you take part in VDC......." Vil sighed out. "Will you be able to vote for yourself? Can you rate their performance without feeling sympathy?"

"..... Apart from all the members, I'm sure Kalim couldn't do that." Jamil mumbled out.

"No, that's not true.... I guess? Uhh, I don't know..." Kalim sighed out, shaking his head defeated.

"I voted for our team without hesitation." Ace said, raising his hand. "VDC is a competition that judges performance quality, not tragic backgrounds."

"Yes, you understand very well." Vil nodded.

"Eh?" Ace blinked.

To Be Continued~