Expectations When Expecting

Book 2, Chapter 6

Yuu cradled her cat, sighing as she tried her best to calm the cat. She gestured for the boys to help her get the door, which Deuce did rapidly, much to Ace's dismay as he bickered with Deuce.

Once the group made it out of the Headmage's office, Yuu gave a low growl of annoyance.

"I swear with that man! Building up hope only to send it toppling down like a poorly balanced Jenga tower." She growled, her own tears building up as she recalled the Headmage's hastiness in leaving and changing the topic of her going home.

"Woah! Hey, don't cry!" Ace yelped as soon as he saw her face red and teary. She sniffed and swallowed back her frustration.

"Ugh. Fine, let's go. I'm gonna go cook something at Ramshackle since Crowley finally turned on the gas." She said, balancing a sobbing Grim on her hip, trying her best to not be bothered by the mucus stain on her uniform.

The two boys watched as she stormed away, hastily following behind her, completely hesitant at her very angry mood.

.

.

.

While storming to Ramshackle, Yuu bumped face-first into a very sturdy chest yelping loudly as she almost fell back, only to be caught last minute.

"Ooh la la! Madame Trickster!" Came the familiar boisterous tone, snapping Yuu out of her mood.

"Rook?" She said, opening her eyes and spotting the vibrant green of a certain hunter. She sighed, smiling politely as he helped her regain her balance.

"You seem to be in quite a rush, non?" He chirped, fixing her uniform's tie slightly and patting her head.

From behind her, Yuu heard the calls of her friends as they ran toward her.

"Yuu! Wait up!"

"Dude, don't run!"

Yuu sighed, feeling the anger she'd felt previously leave her body as the boys approached. The two seemed to cower back slightly as their eyes met with the tall blonde that towered over Yuu slightly, his holding her wrist.

Ace, trying to play it cool as he tried to deescalate whatever he believed he was seeing, cleared his throat, shakily speaking. "Is.. Is this guy bothering you?"

Yuu stared at Ace incredulously for a moment before her bell-like laughter began to bubble up, ringing loudly as she smiled.

"Wow, okay. There's no need to worry!" Yuu giggled for a moment longer, Ace's cheeks burning red. "He's a friend of mine."

Rook, from behind her, smiled charmingly as he bowed, tipping his hat as he introduced himself. "I am Rook Hunt of Pomefiore! Enchanté de vous rencontrer."

Ace and Deuce blinked slightly, surprised before awkwardly responding with their own names.

"Ace."

"My name is Deuce."

Yuu smiled, readjusting a now asleep Grim in her arms. "And this is my troublemaker cat. His name is Grim."

She suddenly remembered something that she'd been hanging on to for a while, prying Grim off of her shirt (who had literally buried his claws in the fabric), gently shoving him into Deuce's arms, who fumbled for a moment, but didn't drop the sleeping monster.

She reached into her bag, pulling out a familiar purple handkerchief as she handed it to Rook, placing a small bag of milk candies in his hand.

"I needed to give it back!"

The taller of the group accepted it, smiling. "Merci!"

He took one of the candies out and popped it into his mouth, before dramatically throwing his hand up. "Perfect! One Hundred Percent!"

Yuu smiled. "Glad you liked it cause it took me an hour to get the milk to that consistency." She sighed, rubbing her wrist. "I can still feel the cramps."

Ace and Deuce, who finally seemed to register what Rook had called her butt into the conversation.

"Wait, hold on!" Deuce yelped. "You called Yuu a madame..."

"... You know?!" Ace continued.

Yuu turned to them, pressing her hands against her ears at the loudness of the outbursts.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that you guys were definitely not the first to find out." Yuu said nonchalantly, making Ace and Deuce inevitably cry out in shock!

"Wha... How?!"

"He overheard the conversation I had with the Headmage."

"Ah."

Ace and Deuce looked to have shrunk a bit, likely their pride having been slightly trampled by the revelation of the fact that they had not been the first to know.

Yuu sighed, though no longer annoyed, rather amused at the dramatics.

"Maybe cooking with me will make you feel a bit better. Crowley's grocery gift can't go to waste, so I might as well put the remaining food to good use." She remarked as Ace and Deuce relaxed.

"Fine, but I better get a say on my portion size." Ace said with a playful pout. Yuu nodded, turning to Rook.

"Would you also like to come with us? You can take some leftovers with you." The pregnant woman offered. The green-eyed huntsman smiled.

"Non! I must meet with my Roi du Poison after the housewarden meeting! I thank you for the invitation, however!" He denied as Yuu chuckled at his flamboyant movement.

"Alright, Rook! Take care!" She bid the huntsman farewell as she walked alongside Ace and Deuce, still balancing her sleeping cat on her hip.

.

.

.

Not far from where Yuu had left, two Heartslabyul boys walked down the stairs, chattering away excitedly as they moved.

"The Spelldrive tournament rosters should be final any day now." One said, walking beside the second boy.

"Have you come up with any flashy new spells?" He asked his companion, keeping his hand on the stair's handrail.

"You know it! I already showed one to Professor Crewel and he seemed pretty impressed." The first chirped, eyes shining. "I can't wait to show it to Housewar—"

The boy let out a horrified yelp as he appeared to have lost his balance, he stumbled for a moment of sickening silence as his body collided with the stairs. The boy cried out in pain, clutching at his pants. He grazed his hand over his ankle, hissing as he recoiled.

"Gah! That hurts!"

His friend quickly made his way down the stairway, his eyes trained on his companion, voice filled with intense worry.

"Hey! What just happened?! Why'd you tumble down the stairs like that?!" He demanded.

The first student, in turn, whimpered as he looked up pathetically. "My ankle... It hurts!"

"Oh no! We gotta get you to the nurse!" The other cried as he did his best to pull his friend up, wrapping the other's arm around his shoulders.

They limped away to the nurse's office, enticing the attention of a very amused boy who cowered in the shadows.

A very quiet hissed laugh was heard for a brief moment, before it eventually went silent.