Expectations When Expecting

Book 2, Chapter 29

Grim paused for a moment, recalling his deal with the Headmage.

"Hey, Headmage! We caught your guy! You know what that means..." He scrambled up to Crowley's shoulder. "Time to cough up the reward you promised!"

"Deal? What-" Crowley froze, and Yuu could practically see the gears turning in his head before his lips formed the shape of an o and he recalled the deal that he'd deemed unimportant.

"...I did promise you that, didn't I?" Crowley laughed awkwardly. Yuu narrowed her eyes.

"Crowley..." She said in warning.

"A-ah! But it's far too late." He scrambled. "The tournament brackets have already been announced. What to do...?"

Grim's face contorted in outrage. "WHAT?! You wretched, backstabbin' swindler!" He hopped off Crowley, stomping his paws as Yuu noticed the smoke curling from the little monster's mouth.

"I am gonna make it rain fire, you liar!" He growled, inhaling as he prepared to launch a fireball at Crowley. A very bad idea, considering the fact that Crowley had not yet put Yuu down.

"Grim! No!"

"But that jerk lied to me! I'm gonna barbecue him!" Grim hissed, throwing a warning fireball at Crowley's feet, who scrambled backward with an undignified squawk.

"Stop, please! Restrain yourself for a moment! I will...come up with something. Uh..." Crowley smiled nervously, placing Yuu back on the ground.

His face brightened rather quickly as he thought of a solution. "Ah! I've got it! What would you say to playing in a special exhibition match?"

Yuu tilted her head, dusting herself off. "An exhibition match?"

"Precisely!" Crowley chirped, ruffling Yuu's hair. "If it were held before the tournament itself, it wouldn't interfere with anything. And the eyes of the world would be squarely on you!"

Grim's sapphire eyes widened before he looked down, resting his paw on his chin as he considered Crowley's words. "... On me?"

Crowley crowed beside Yuu, slightly cowering behind her. "B-but of course!" He nervously reassured the fire-breathing cat monster.

Grim examined Crowley for a moment before shrugging. "Well, so long as I'm the center of attention, I guess that will do." He walked over to Yuu, holding up his arms to have her pick him up. "This'll be great! After the scouts see me kickin' tail on TV, they'll be swarmin' all over me!"

Yuu nodded at Grim with a smile before pausing and looking over her shoulder at Crowley. "Alright, but... How do you plan to fill out our team?"

"The other players..." Crowley thought. "Ah, right. And we'll need an opposing team as well. Perhaps we could cobble one together out of faculty members..."

From Yuu's arms, Grim yelped in shock.

"You haven't given this any thought at all!" He yowled, turning to the Headmage.

"Hey, so, couldn't help overhearing..." Yuu's youngest ginger friend spoke up, walking over to the pregnant woman and her cat. Yuu rolled her eyes as she recognized that look on Ace's face.

"You wanna join, don't you?" She asked, her eyes sparkling slightly in amusement.

Beside Ace, Deuce walked, a little less obvious. "If you need some teammates, we could help you out." He offered.

Riddle looked at the first years incredulously. "What are you doing? You're members of Heartslabyul!" He yelped, looking at Yuu in hopes that she'd intervene.