Expectations When Expecting

Book 1, Chapter 18

Yuu woke up to a nice, cold, very sudden Ice bath.

"Holy-! What the FUCK!" She yelped, shooting up and shivering. The culprit, Ace, scrambled backward.

"Dumb bitch! How could you pass out mid battle like that!" Ace scolded. "We made it out mostly unscathed, but..."

Ace released an angry growl, kicking a nearby tree. "Rrrgh! I hate that little ginger megalomaniac! Does he think HE's the Queen of Hearts?"

"Banished by the housewarden from my own dorm... My dream of becoming an honor student is slipping further and further away..." Deuce sulked.

Yuu shot Deuce an apologetic look, shifting herself into a sitting position as she struggled to balance her head correctly. Right. I've been collared. She felt a sudden contrast to her freezing body, making her look down to see a familiar cat with flaming ears.

"Stupid collar! It's so tight!" He grumbled as he settled in her lap. She stroked his fur in an attempt to both warm herself and comfort him. She looked to her abdomen, hoping that the baby was okay. Please, be okay. I don't wanna lose you too...

"Jeez! You're really racking up those collars. Quite an impressive collection." A whimsical voice from up in a tree echoed.

Yuu didn't really think much of it, having her back facing the owner of the voice. She saw Grim look up before he stood up with a spooked hiss.

"A ghost head!" He yowled, pointing and enabling Yuu to turn to see a very strange looking fellow.

He looked down with a playful grin. "Oh dear. It seems I'm not all here."

"What? Er, so you do have a body, then?" Deuce stuttered. "Who are you?"

The very floaty boy twirled slightly, hopping up to a tree and revealing the rest of his body. "The name's Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker."

Yuu furrowed her brows, completely speechless and way too exhausted to actually react properly.

"Am I a cat? Am I a purrrson? A mimsy borogrove, perhaps? A mome rath with a knack for magic?" He hung upside down from the branch, his tail swishing playfully. Currently, this boy reminded her of what happens when you give a cat some catnip.

"Uh, look, Ar... Arte..." Ace began, completely butchering the boy's name. "Wow, okay. Run the name by me again?"

"People usually just call me Che'nya." He purred with a laugh. "Let's just say I'm not from the other side of the looking glass."

What a strange boy... Yuu thought before asking, "Which dorm are you in?"

The boy, Chechnya, turned to her with a playful grin before he paused. The playful glint in his eyes seemed to be replaced by one of temporary confusion, then realization, and completed by a more gentle excitement.

He disappeared, popping up in front of Yuu, whose eyes widened in surprise at the sudden closeness.

"Why don't mew try to guess?" He offered her a hand to allow her to stand. She gratefully took the hand, pulling herself up.

"I'd say Heartslabyul, but from what you said, that's probably not it." She said, finding the boy's nature to be contagious.

"Oh, I know! He's got animal ears, so he's gotta be from... uh... Bananaclaw, was it?" Grim suggested, making Yuu chuckle slightly as she lifted Grim.

"Bzzzzzt! Incorrect. Bananas grow on trees, do they not? I, on the other hand, am a cat." Yuu laughed slightly.

"And besides, other dorms have students with animal ears, too." Deuce reasoned, making Grim pout.

"Quite the charming tomcat, aren't you?" She smiled, making Chenya's smile grow wider as he hopped over her, floating just behind.

"Guilty! Mew're real special, aren't myah?" Yuu paused, looking at his floating head.

Ah. He's a cat... Does that mean...?

"After the insanity that teapot tyrant put me through, I'm not in the mood for whatever this is. Just leave me alone." Ace cut in, grumbling.

Chenya turned away from her, keeping his hand on a stand of hair as he turned toward the ginger. "Riddle the teapot tyrant..." He considered the thought before laughing. "Well, I can't dismiss that perspective as wrong. He's always been quite strict." He informed the group, curling his tail over Yuu's abdomen slightly as he released her, returning to the tree-tops.

"Do you know something about him?" Deuce questioned.

"Perhaps there are things that I know, and perhaps there are things that I don't." He giggled, balancing on the branch as his body disappeared, leaving only his head and swishing tail.

"That's not an answer!" Grim hissed, hopping up to Yuu's arms. For a moment, Yuu could have sworn that Grim was ever-so-slightly jealous. She gently placed a hand on his head in reassurance.

"Is there something you wish to know about Riddle?" The cat-boy chirped.

"Yeah, what created such a control freak?" Ace demanded, making the cat boy smile, albeit, a little bit more tense.

"I believe his four-eyed friend may have the answer."

"Four-eyed friend? You mean Trey?" Deuce asked.

"He's known Riddle since we were all little boys." Chenya hopped down from the tree, stretching slightly. "If you want to know more about Riddle, I would begin my quest there."

Deuce paused, terribly confused by the recently acquired information. "They're childhood friends? I didn't really get that impression.

"No, no..." Yuu muttered. "I noticed how he was a little more lenient toward Trey compared to the rest of us..."

"My, my! If you're so perceptive, then what are you asking me for?" Chenya giggled, his entire body beginning to fade. "Buh-bye!"

"Wha... H-hey!" Deuce yelped, attempting to grab onto part of Chenya's clothing to keep him from leaving.

Chenya's laughter echoed in the air and Yuu felt a warm breath nearby as she heard his voice whisper in her ear. "Be careful with your kitten!"

Grim leaned a bit closer to Yuu's touch, glaring at the last place he'd seen Chenya. "I tell ya, no one makes any sense around here." He grumbled.

"Well, we're not going to be able to do much in the way of schoolwork with these collars on." Deuce muttered helplessly. "So let's go see what Trey has to say, and then..."

"If you're gonna say 'apologize to Riddle,' you can forget it!" Ace snapped, still irritated.

Yuu pursed her lips into a thin line. "I think... Maybe we need to set up a little ambush." She suggested grimly.