❝DÉVOUEMENT❞ ; twst.

✦ chapter seventeen.

ೃ༄ "he wants...to be my friend?"
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it's finally time for a break. f/n and jack sat together with yuu in the cafeteria, while he three anemones are seated with them as well. f/n was silently consuming her meal while listening to the conversation. grim groaned, "i'm already so tired of being azul's lackey, yanno?" ace nodded and added more to grim's statement, "he made us clean the dorm, made us wait tables in the lounge, and he even made us buy stuff from the store..." deuce sighed, "i was called at 6 in the morning today, you know?" ace rested his cheek on his hand as he twirled his pasta, "and we'll be helping at mostro lounge today, too..." 

f/n eyed the pitiful first years as she chewed on her meal. she had a bored look on her face as if she had felt no sympathy for these idiots. ace noticed the way she was looking at them and frowned, "we've learned our lesson~ 'swear!" f/n was dully looking back at ace before grabbing her drink and sipping on it. "what did rosehearts say about this?" asked f/n. "...he said, 'you signed a contract with azul? you're better off without your head!', then lectured us and made us write a reflection paper..." replied deuce. 

"and this anemone on my head makes me look so lame, yanno..." vented grim before all three of them sighed heavily. "hmph, you reap what you sow." enounced jack as he continued nibbling on his food. yuu grabbed his drink as he looked at the three, "looks like you all can't handle manual labor, huh." before any of them could respond, another voice spoke. "oh my, what's the matter? you're making such long faces." another voice replied, "ahahaha~ if it isn't the school of anemones~" the six first years turned to look at the source of the sound. the three anemones shrieked as soon as they landed their eyes on the speaker.

"you again! the shady twins!" exclaimed grim. the twins ignored his comment as jade spoke, "it seems to me like you are deeply troubled by something..." ace scoffed, "of course we are~ after being used as servants by a certain someone." floyd giggled as he spoke, "aha~ the anemone that violated the contract is saying something~" his face suddenly turned dark as his voice deepened, "you're not in any position to complain. keep quiet." 

'the duality of this man...' thought f/n before sipping on her drink, looking unbothered. grim shrieked as he hid behind yuu, "am i gonna get strangled again...?" jade turned his head to look at yuu with that smile on his face, "i am not talking to the anemones, but with him. ramshackle dorm's prefect, yuu-san." yuu's eyes widened as he stuttered, "a-am i gonna get strangled too?!" f/n shook her head and interfered, "they know better than pick a fight with me around. don't lay a finger on yuu, stay away from him." jade had a fake frown on his face as he spoke, "you wound us, my lady. we come with no ill intentions, please relax." 

"look at him getting startled and backing away like a shrimp," spoke floyd, "shrimp... ah~ you're tiny, so i'll call you little shrimp!" deuce leaned sideward towards ace as he whispered, "i think most of the students here look tiny compared to those two..." ace whispered back, "hearing them say that sounds so threatening, huh..." jade looked back at yuu and continued, "i remember that you were playing spy with riddle-san the other day, so i believe we have already acquainted, but... let us introduce ourselves once again. i am jade leech, and this is my twin brother, floyd." 

floyd had a smile on his face as he said, "hello, i'm floyd~ nice to meet you, little shrimp~ oh! the lady student too, you're lionfish now!" f/n raised a brow as she replied, "lionfish? i'm not leona." floyd was still smiling as he responded to her, "i wasn't talking about sleepy sea lion! you're scary and dangerous, but you're pretty like a lionfish!" f/n was annoyed, but decided not to make a scene. she let out a sigh, "whatever you say." jade cleared his throat as he continued, " now then, let us go back to our main topic. could it be that what's troubling you is... connected to these rather dumb anemones here?" 

"pretty rich coming from a guy who's grinning ear to ear about it," replied jack. "who are you? you're so spiky like a sea urchin," said floyd. "wha-?! i'm not an urchin. i'm a wolf!" angrily replied jack. "if the source of your troubles is related to the anemones, it is best to consult azul directly about the matter. azul is a very compassionate person much like the sea witch of the great seven. i am sure that he will listen to your worries," grinned jade.

"yup~ azul can solve any problems. for example... you can even wish for him to set those anemones free." added floyd, earning a shocked reaction from the rest. "of course, you must understand that it does not come for free," replied jade. "that's the problem. these guys are trying to get yuu to sign a contract too," spoke jack. f/n clicked her tongue as she glared at the twins, "stop it. you're not making yuu sign the contract. go away." yuu would've told her to calm down if he wasn't so scared from the deadly aura emitting from the lady. 

"you do not have to be so quick to bare your fangs, land dwellers sure are violent, aren't they?" spoke jade. "we're only telling you out of the kindness of our hearts. right, jade~?" said floyd. "yes, floyd. we simply cannot leave people who are in need, after all." the twins let out a sinister chuckle before jade continued, "if this suggestion interests you, please feel free to visit mostro lounge at 9 pm tonight. we will be awaiting you with delicious tea." 

"we will be waiting, little shrimp~ lionfish should come too," said floyd. "no way in hell am i going to meet with that boss of yours," replied f/n. "my, lady l/n... azul wishes to have a talk with you, to fix this rocky relationship and be friends... come now, will you reject him after he has been so kind as to offer an apology?" remarked jade with a sympathetic smile on his face. "you're lying, go away..." mumbled f/n. the twins chuckled before bidding goodbye to the first years and left their table. 

"um, in other words..." trailed deuce. "if you make a contract with azul and win..." said grim. "does that mean we can be free?!" finished ace. f/n glared at the three of them, making them silent. "don't even." the three frowned as they tried to brush off their fear caused by f/n's intimidating aura and looks. "you're always so protective of yuu, but never of us!" stated grim. "he's right! please, just this once?" asked ace. "please, f/n? we've already learned our lesson! we won't do it again!" f/n rolled her eyes as she glanced at yuu, "so? what will you do?" 

"um... this might be our chance," replied yuu, "i'm sorry for breaking the promise, f/n." f/n shook her head as she stood up, "don't bother. i'll help you win against them, but i'm not going with you. jack, i'm sure you'll accompany yuuken, right?" jack nodded as he said, "yes. he seems like the type of guy who likes jumping into danger." f/n nodded and left the table before anyone else could speak to her. "did we anger her?" asked ace. "no... i don't know... she's pretty hard to read..." replied yuu, "but she said she'll help so... i guess not?"

...

later tonight, f/n was sitting on the dorm lounge while staring at the floor, occupied by her own thoughts. 'azul wants to apologize and fix our rocky relationship? he wants... to be my friend? no way, jade is lying... but why do i kind of want it to be true? tsk, bothersome.' the four diasomnia students glanced at each other before eyeing the occupied first year. lilia then asked, "are you alright, beastie? you seem like something's on your mind." f/n tore her stare from the floor and looked at lilia, "i'm fine. just hungry, i guess." 

lilia nodded before standing up, "is that so? then, i'm off to the kitchen! i'll cook for you all!" before anyone could protest, lilia rushed to the kitchen and started grabbing a pot and some ingredients. "...trey's unique magic could come in handy whenever lilia cooks our meals," commented f/n. silver looked at the girl as he said, "trey? i suppose so. maybe there's a similar spell that we can use, i want to save my stomach this week." f/n sighed as her eyes travelled to the clock seated on top of the fireplace.

9:00 pm

'they're in mostro lounge... should i go? no, nevermind. jade must be lying,' thought f/n before grabbing a chocolate bar on the table. silver spoke as she bit on her chocolate bar, "if there's anything on your mind, n/n, we're here to listen." f/n nodded and smiled a bit at the three, "thanks. it's nothing, really. i'm just worried, yuu and jack are in mostro lounge to have a talk with azul." malleus hummed as he replied, "mm, i see. so, that's why you seem occupied. don't worry, they'll be okay." f/n crumpled the chocolate bar's wrapper and threw it in the trash before grabbing a bottle of water, "i swear if that octopus is next to overblot, i'm losing my mind."