Mother of Pearl: A Floyd Leech x OC Fanfiction [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 45

"Anyway," Jack interjected while Yuu and Ruggie tried to stop my bleeding, "we held up to our end of the contract and brought you the photo. We cleared all of your conditions."

"I mean, we already destroyed all the contracts," Grim pointed out.

Jack looked uncomfortable, "But, you know I don't like stealing. Azul, I know you are a man of your word. Do what's right and give everything back to where it belongs."

"We can all go together," Yuu offered.

"...Understood. But please, just give me the photo back so I can get rid of it," Azul bartered.

"Ha, how horrible of you," Leona scoffed.

"He's right," Jade said to Azul with a hand over his heart. "Memories are special."

Floyd bounced around his brother. "Hey. Hey, when are we going?! We're all going right?" He looked at me when he said the last part. "I'm looking forward to going to the Atlantica Museum. We haven't been there since elementary school."

I sighed. Knowing this lot, they'll drag me down there no matter what. I shuddered. Something furry brushed against my leg and I looked to see Grim sniffing the floor. "Grim? What are you doing?"

"My gourmet hunter senses are tingling..." He continued to roam the ground. "A delicious black truffle treat is somewhere around here!"

"Are you a pig?" Ace asked.

"Grim, I swear to god..." Yuu facepalmed.

"Am I missing something?" I looked around.

"Fgya! I found the black treat! Nothing can fool the nose of the Gourmet Hunter Grim!" Grim held up a black stone. It almost looked like an onyx of some sort.

"A rock?" I stared at him with confusion.

"Thanks for the food!" Grim quickly stuffed it in his face. "Mmmn...such a rich taste with a savory kick at the end."

"GRIM NO!" I yelled. I grabbed his collar and pulled him to eye level. "Spit that out right now!"

He swallowed and gave a cheeky grin, "Too late."

"Is he eating random things off the floor again?" Deuce asked.

"AGAIN?! That's a whole new level of gluttony for you," I looked Grim in his fiery blue eyes.

"There's no point in trying to stop him. Monsters might have different taste buds," Ace said in a defeated tone.

Leona looked from Grim to Yuu with a thoughtful stare. "...Does the racoon always eat black rocks off the ground?"

"Not always..." Yuu nervously responded. "He definitely has a gluttony problem though."

"Leona, is something wrong?" Jack asked.

"Not really...It's nothing," Leona shrugged it off.

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I was in my room of Ramshackle getting ready for the evening. Yuu had said they were going for a late-night stroll, while Grim knocked out the moment he got in his little bed. That left me alone with my thoughts.

Today was full of twist and turns. I can't believe I witnessed another Overblot, and so close to the last one too! That makes, what? Two? Technically, Yuu said that they dealt with one before I got here, so three all together?

I passed by my full-length mirror as I hung up my school uniform. I brought my hand up to the bandage wrapped around my head from the infirmary. I laughed at the memory of the nurse lecturing Yuu and me about protecting our heads more. My mind wondered back to when we all noticed the blood at Octavinelle.

Floyd looked worried. That was unexpected.

"Hah~" I sighed as I dropped my hand back down. "I don't know what to think with that guy..."

"With what guy?"

"Eii!" I lifted my foot in surprise as I let out the soft scream. The skinny resident ghost of Ramshackle floated through my mirror. "Goodness, you want me to join you as a ghost?"

"Kekeke, maybe. Who are you talking about?" he asked as he floated around the room.

"Floyd Leech from Octavinelle, the stinking pool noodle," I grumbled. "His mood changes so much that I don't know what to do with him. One minute he is acting like a carefree child, another he's a mafia goon. It is exhausting honestly." I plopped myself onto the side of my bed and laid back.

The ghost hovered close to the ceiling and said, "Ah, that fellow. He was lively while he was here. Made things interesting, but we couldn't prank him, so it was no fun."

"Haha, he does seem like a hard one to prank. He is a wild child for sure." I thought back to the whole "squeezing" incidents. "Definitely on the rougher side."

"I thought he was going to undo all your hard work in renovating the place."

"Oh, I would have squeezed him if that happened. I'd probably do zero damage, but that is beside the point." I closed my eyes, replaying the recent events in my mind. I sat up in a rush and slammed my hands to my temples. I yelled, "AH! I never said, 'thank you'! Ow ow ow!"

Smart one Viv...real smart.

"Huh?" the ghost floated down to my level.

"During the fight, Floyd blocked me from getting hit by Azul's crazed magic. I forgot to say thanks! Dang it! Oh, Mama would not be happy with me..." I wrapped my braids around my face like a scarf. I groaned into my hair as I fell back on my mattress again.

The ghost tilted his head to the side, "The Prefect mentioned you guys would be going back to the Coral Sea to return the photo in a few weeks. Isn't everyone going? Just tell him then."

"But I'd rather just dissociate if I have to go underwater again," I whined. A brilliant idea popped into my head. "Wait. I'm pretty sure there is a guy from Octavinelle in our class. I can just write a thank you note and ask him to hand it to Floyd! Brilliant!"

I ran to my desk. I opened the draw that held my stationary to see the contents floating away. "Hey! What the crap!?"

"If you are really thankful, you should tell him in person."

"But that requires social interaction."

"Life requires social interaction. I'm a ghost, so I am not required to talk to people anymore. You, young lady, are quite alive. So go talk to your upperclassman!"

"Fine! Yeesh, why did I miss this place?" I crossed my arms. "Can you stop levitating my stuff now, please?"

The ghost lowered my pens and paper into the drawer. The ghost phased through a wall, and a knock at my door soon followed. I sighed in relief, "Come in Yuu."

Yuu opened my door and stood in the arch. In a soft tone they asked me, "How are you doing?"

"I'm wide awake mentally but dead tired physically," I yawned. "You?"

"I saw Tsunotarou on my walk and talked with him for a bit, so I feel better mentally. He is happy we got the dorm back by the way. Physically though, I'm pretty sure my body has already fallen asleep on me, hehe."

"Heh," I laughed along with them. There was a moment of silence between us.

"If you don't want to go back to the Coral Sea, I won't force you," they spoke up. "I know how much strain it puts you through."

I pondered for a while. I exhaled strongly and said with conviction, "I'll go. I was there to take it, so I should be there to put it back. Just buy me a cream-filled bun at lunch afterwards." I smiled at them with a thumbs up.

"Alright. Well, goodnight, Viv."

"Nighty night Yuu."

They closed the door behind them. I crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling. I had seen the ghost leave, but something told me he and the other two were close by. "Night Ghosties." I brought the covers up and slipped off to sleep.