"Memories of the previous hour danced across her memory like a flurry of snowflakes in a snowstorm. Images of a white and azure colored clinic and a doctor smiling assuredly while she delivered hopeful and terrifying news to her.
Pregnant? Her? She...
"I knew it. Grim coming by for a get-well visit? That's just plain sus." Cater concluded as Yuu feigned insult.
"Hey! Grim can care for others! It's just really, really, really, deep down in the depths of his heart! Besides, he gave up exactly one tuna can."
Cater snorted at Yuu's remark, offering her a cup of tea just as Grim entered the room looking for Yuu he immediately hopped up to her lap. Ace and Deuce entered behind him, standing guard at the room's doorway.
"I must admit that I found the circumstances odd as well. I've had Cater looking into it for me." Riddle remarked, offering Yuu some sugar cubes and milk, which Yuu accepted.
"And I found out that all of the victims have been talented players like Riddle and Trey." Cater quickly chimes as he makes his way over to Yuu.
"To be clear, it wasn't as if I had been pushed, or that I had tripped. But I did feel a peculiar sensation, like...my body was moving of its own volition." Riddle said as Yuu looked at him, eyes wide as she and Grim exchanged a look.
"The other victims said basically the same thing!" He cried.
"I believe we can safely surmise that potential Spelldrive tournament players are being targeted." Riddle concluded as Yuu nodded.
"This is precisely as I'd assumed! I told the headmage that there was likely foul play involved, but did he listen? Nooooo!" She stood, accidentally knocking Grim off of her lap.
Ace and Deuce moved forward, getting Yuu to stop her from rambling and they pushed her back.
"Hang on, hang on! You think someone is causin' accidents to take out threats from the tournament?" Ace asked, raising a brow as Yuu huffed, placing a hand over her stomach.
"I don't know, but if there is someone who has an ability like this..." She looked down and the room seemed to understand a part of her concern.
"The whole world will be watching." Riddle said, clearing his throat and averting his eyes, a slight guilt becoming evident in his posture. "A good performance can make a player's whole career. It's no surprise that some would resort to underhanded methods to even the odds."
"Sure, but it doesn't make much sense. I mean, you'd know if you got pushed off the stairs by a gust of wind magic or somethin', right?" Cater inquired to Riddle.
"Certainly. I felt no external force." Riddle agreed.
"And some of the other victims had accidents in the classroom! How do you explain that?"
Yuu's panic surged again as she looked at Cater. "Cater, I love you. I do, but that is not helping the nerves."
"Oh shoot! I'm sorry!" He yelped as Riddle followed after Cater's words, a slight attempt to reassure the girl in the room.
"The culprit can tell us all about it when we capture him. And we intend to help you do that." He explained rapidly, hoping to calm Yuu's nerves. "I promise you that no harm will befall you or your unborn child."
"YOU'RE gonna help us? What's your angle?" Grim meowed loudly, looking at the Heartslabyul boys suspiciously. Yuu seemed to be grateful for Riddle's words.
"You offend us, sir. One of our housemates was injured—why wouldn't we help him find justice? Besides! We gotta protect Heartslabyul's very own Nostalgie Rose." Cater purred, making Yuu smile sweetly.
"We're all house-buds here. Count us in." Ace smirked excitedly.
"He's gonna pay for what he did to Trey!" Deuce announced, standing tall.
"You two seem awfully enthusiastic about this." Riddle deadpanned, looking at his freshmen.
"Ahhh... I get it. You're running for that open spot on our team, aren't you?" Cater said with a raised eyebrow as Ace smiled shamelessly.
"That obvious, huh?"
Deuce, on the other hand, had the decency to at least deny his upperclassman's accusation. "N-no! That had nothing to do with it! I just want to avenge our housemate!
"Fine... Your performance during the investigation will be taken into account." Riddle grumbled as the boys cheered openly.
Yuu groaned, rolling her eyes. "Wow, guys. Way to ruin the moment." She teased as Deuce blushed.
Riddle cleared his throat, regaining the attention of the freshmen and Cater. "Now, if we're going to apprehend this culprit, we need to stay a step ahead of him."
"And we're gonna do that HOW, exactly...?" Grim questioned skeptically.
"By predicting which student will be targeted next and covertly following him." Riddle informed, leaving Grim just as confused as before. "Should the culprit strike, we will protect the target and then immediately pursue the attacker."
"Yes, I understand that." Yuu chimed, looking at Riddle and Cater curiously. "But how do we know who will be targeted next?"
Cater perked up, pulling his phone out excitedly. "I've got this, Yuu!" He started typing rapidly as he spoke. "I've already identified a number of potential targets from among the most promising players."
When Cater presented Yuu with his phone, she noticed a list of students, one of whose names she recognized, however, allowed him to continued speaking.
"I'll form a group on Magicam so we can coordinate our efforts and then give you access to the album."
Deuce looked over Yuu's shoulder, his eyes widening at the list. "Whoa, Cater, this is a ton of information!"
Yuu blinked. "Look guys, this idea sounds great! Just one single, itty bitty issue, though." She said, leaving the other boys confused.
"I have no phone. Or computer."
"Ah."
"What if I just send it to Hunting Season and you can see the info from them?" Cater offered.
"That would be more effective." She agreed.
"Great! Now, let's move!" Cater smiled excitedly, grabbing Yuu's hand suddenly and dragging her behind him as the others followed suit.
"Yeah! Let's nail this creep!" Grim said, sprinting behind the group.
~~~~
A/N:
Hey buys! Thanks so much for reading! Alright, so what Cater says about A2 in poker is entirely correct "Hunting Season" is one of the names that I found as well as another known as "Acey-Deucey" . Additionally, Cater calls Yuu "Heartslabyul's Nostalgie Rose." Which is one of the rarest types of Rose that I found and I wanted to share what it looks like here!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
