Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 2

Chapter 21: Plan Synchronizing

"Ehhhhh," Ace mused, smirking a little as he folded his arms.
"I see, I see... Not bad, actually!"

"Well, yeah-- but I guess that's Housewarden Rosehearts for you," Deuce agreed.

"Yep, yep-- but don't forget Prefect-chan here, either!" Cater added, nodding at Kat with a grin.
"That was a killer idea you had... How'd you come up with that, Kitty-Kat?"

"Oh! Uh..."
Giving an awkward laugh, Kat brushed some hair back behind her ear.

"W-Well... It's a little embarrassing, but there's this anime... It's kind of a long story, but I guess... I mean, how Ruggie managed to, like, pickpocket you guys without anybody noticing, it... Reminded me of one of my favorite characters from it? My brain works in weird ways sometimes, so it just kinda..."

She waved a hand vaguely in a circle near the side of her head.
"...Kept going from there? I mean- guess I was a little primed for it already, with all this detective work..."

Spotting the blank looks she was getting, she shook her head.
"Look-- n-nevermind. I know, I know, I'm a weeb... You don't gotta tell me twice, I already know."

"No kidding? Whew..."
Shaking his head, Cater raised his eyebrows, whistling.
"Guess we can't say watching anime's never helped anybody... But!"

Clapping briskly, he stepped back, pulling his phone out of his pocket again.
"Looks like I've got a lotta' prep work to do before the big day... I'll get started on that ASAP, 'kay?"

"Yes, please do," Riddle agreed, folding his arms. "I'll leave it up to you then, Cater... But take care not to raise any suspicions."

"Right!" Cater agreed, nodding again. "Don't worry, don't worry-- leave it to Cay-kun here!"
Then he turned to the only full-sized person who hadn't said anything yet-- Jack.

"Well? Now that you've heard what Riddle had to say, Jack-kun, whaddya' think? You in?"

Shifting his weight, the boy crossed his arms, ears swiveling a little.

"M-Mmm," he grumbled, avoiding everyone's gazes.
"Well- there's-- nothin' TOO underhanded about it, at least... An' it's not cowardly- I'll give you that."

Shaking his head, he cleared his throat, stepping back.
"Just this once-- I guess teamin' up with you guys wouldn't be too bad... For now."

Kat thought she saw him blush a little bit, and his tail swished briefly.
She put the side of her fist to her mouth, turning away to conceal her smile.
Looks like we've got another tsundere on our hands...

On her shoulder, Grim grumbled, crossing his front legs and huffing.
"Man-- this guy," he muttered. "He's really gotta complain over every little thing..."

"Yeah, okay, okay... Good work an' whatever," Ace interjected, rolling his shoulders and wincing.
"But how 'bout we call it a day and head back to the dorms? I'm freakin' tired from all that..."

"Yeah, an' I'm HUNGRY!" Grim added, jumping down off her shoulder and landing on the grass.
He trailed after Ace, who had turned and started to wander in a general 'out of the courtyard' direction.

"Ah-- yes, that reminds me," Riddle's voice interrupted, with a faint but icy note. "You there... First-years."

Everybody- Jack included- froze, looking guilty.

"Since it yielded helpful information," Riddle continued. "I am willing to overlook your blatant violation of rule number 6: 'There is to be no fighting on a school campus'. However..."