Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

52. Revelations in Ramshackle

Yukiko broke the silence with a sharp laugh. "Sorry, Deuce. I don't think I quite understood what you said. Could you please repeat that?"

She wore a forced smile that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who saw it. With that, the aforementioned Heartslabyul boy paled as he realized the mistake he'd just made. "Er... I..."

"I'm asking because I thought I heard something really stupid. Something as stupid as 'girls aren't interested in magical wheels,' as if you were implying it's something just for boys."

"No...! I didn't mean it like that..."

Yukiko interrupted him, speaking with more energy and indignation. "And now that I think about it, you've been giving me weird looks every time I started talking about magical wheels or motorcycles. I thought you were just being shy as usual, but it turned out it was because you thought it was strange that I was interested in machines, huh?"

"That's not it! It's just that most of the people they're interested in are guys, but that doesn't mean that girls are never interested."

The others hadn't said or done anything yet, watching the start of the argument with discomfort or concern until Ace finally decided to intervene to prevent the atmosphere from getting sour.

"Come on, Yuki! You know Deuce is really dense and doesn't think before he speaks; I'm sure he didn't mean that or intend to insult you," he added, trying to calm the situation at Deuce's expense.

"Look who's talking, another one who doesn't think before he speaks, yanno?" Grim criticized under his breath.

"Look who's talking..." Yuu thought as he watched the little monster with a raised eyebrow.

Yukiko wasn't convinced by any of those arguments. "No, no, no. This is the last straw," she announced, her smile fading as she finally became visibly angry at Deuce. Not only are you spouting this stupid nonsense, but it's like you don't really know me after all this time!"

Grim swallowed hard at her reaction, and Jack couldn't help but agree with that last part: "Honestly, the fact that she's in Savanaclaw out of all dorms says a lot about her..." he whispered before turning to Deuce. "I understand you might assume some things when you're not used to others, but what you said was out of line. If Leona were here, he would also hate hearing that."

Yuu also decided to intervene in the escalating argument, but, for once, without intending to stop it. "You've known Yuki for a while now, Deuce; you should have the idea that the things you like might interest her too," he said, supporting his twin sister and also showing his disagreement with defining one's interests by gender. "And if you have any doubts or aren't sure of it, it won't hurt to ask."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, pointing at her brother as if to show Deuce how easy it would have been to avoid the situation. Far from calming down, she kept going: "It's one thing to have trouble talking to girls—it happens to a lot of guys. It's another thing to not look me in the eye when we talk—a little irritating, but okay; I don't blame you either for worrying so much seeing me with other guys from Savanaclaw—anyone would be... But this?! Not even in Savanaclaw has anyone ever thought of saying something like this to me! What's next, telling me you didn't want me to go to Octavinelle after all because I'm a girl?"

Jack gave her a disbelieving look and began to question whether he should still take her seriously. "Are you still going on about that? He already apologized," he muttered.

"And now that she's remembered, she'll be going on about it again for a while," Yuu whispered, knowing her better than anyone.

Deuce flinched at that statement. "No, of course not! That time I was only worried about Azul and your magic, I swear!"