Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure (Part 1)

(51) TRotW: Conflicted Outsider!

"Thanks for the hard work today, Leona~" Leona opened his eyes Ruggie pushed the door open with one hand because he was carrying a tray on his other. "I brought you your dinner. Oh, and that other job is going really well."

The corner of Leona's mouth curled up. "You're really sensible, huh, Ruggie."

Ruggie grinned. "Of course, I am~ Anything's doable if it's for you, Leona!"

"Hah, listen to yourself. You're doing this for your own good, aren't you?"

Ruggie put the tray on Leona's nightstand. The prefect didn't make any move to eat, which was a usual sight. "Aw, don't be like that, Leona~! This is for our sakes." Ruggie walked toward the balcony, looking at the light bellow. "We agree about overturning this world. Even the hyenas served the King of Beasts to overturn the situation they were in. I'm just doing the same thing."

"Hmph, then do your 'hunting' properly. Don't leave any evidence."

Ruggie snickered. "Of course~ Not leaving any trace of their prey is a hyena's specialty, after all, ~" He turned around, leaning against the stone railing. "By the way, Leona. Which player from what dorm should we target next?"

"Let's see..." Leona closed his eyes for a moment, humming as he thinks. "How about a wolf who stands and eavesdrops on people's conversations?"

"Eh!?" Ruggie frowned. What is he talking about?

Leona glared at his room door. "You're there, aren't ya, first-year brat? It's kinda rude of you to listen in on people's conversations like that."

There were a few seconds of silence before Ruggie could pick up the sounds of footsteps from behind the door.

A familiar wolf-boy walking in, looking rather angry.

Leona smirked at him. "What are you doing here late at night? Are you so homesick that you need someone to sing you a lullaby?"

Ruggie snickered, deciding to join in the fun. "Should I sing for you~?"

Jack didn't look amused. He had the same pissed-off expression he had that afternoon. "I want to know the reason why you're doing this."

Leona huffed. "I see now. You want to hear a bedtime story, huh. Fine, I'll tell you." He sat upon his bed, one knee up and an arm resting on it. "For two years in a row now, we've always lost at the first match against Diasomnia and Malleus. Eliminated in the first round, constantly."

Leona's voice sounded lower and lower that you could hear the growl behind it. "They're consecutive winners. Ever since we went against them, our dorm, which was known for making opponents tremble, looks like weak kittens now. And our pathetic plays were broadcast to the entire world. What do you think happened afterward?" He clenched his fist. "The Prefect was deemed incompetent and all the professional league offers for Savanaclaw dwindled to zero."

Jack frowned. "That's... It's because you simply needed to do more..."

"It's as you say." Leona scoffed. "Until last year, we weren't living up to our true potentials at all. Only an idiot would think he'd stand a chance against those monsters. We knew we'd lose already, but it's not like we have no plans. I doubt that the foundation of our dorm, the King of Beasts, would stand for us being pathetic."

"Even so! Doing something as low as cheating is wrong!"

"Wrong?"

Leona slowly stood up from the bed and moved so he and Jack were standing face-to-face. Despite seeing both of the prefect hands in his pants pocket, Ruggie could feel the anger and annoyance slowly emitting from Leona.

"Jack..." Leona sighed. "I'm doing this because I'm concerned about the students' futures, you know?"

Jack blinked in surprise, but Leona just continued with a smug smile on his face. "If the whole world sees us defeat Malleus, all those offers will come back to Savanaclaw together with our dignity. Malleus will be inducted to the Hall of Fame next year, so we have to win this year. And you're saying that you'll ruin this chance because of your blind justice? Are you planning on ruining your seniors' futures?"

Jack pulled back a step. "Th-that's...!"

Leona took this opportunity to step forward. "Using any means necessary to win in life is a given. It doesn't matter if it's cheating or not."

"This school is a dogs-eat-dogs world," Ruggie said as he walked back from the balcony. He stood next to Leona, pulling up his signature grin. "Being a goody-two-shoes will just kill you."

Jack's fist clenched tighter. "I'm sure you can take Malleus on if you play with your full potential, Prefect!" He looked down at his shoes. "I still remember the way you played three years ago. I...!"

"Don't speak as if you know anything about me!" Leona snapped, making Jack look up at him again. "Play with all I've got? How stupid. No matter how much effort I put in, nothing will change."

Ruggie saw Leona reached for his pocket where his Magical Pen was resting. He didn't take it out, just giving it a light tap, a warning for jack. "Get out now if you still want to see the light of day," the prefect growled.

Jack was silent for a moment and Ruggie could see the looks of disappointment painting his face. With an angry sigh, Jack turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Ruggie pulled his arm back, folding it behind his head. "That guy's gonna be a problem." He glanced at Leona. "Should I do him next?"

"No, don't." Leona pulled his arm back. "Even if he tells Crowley about it, he doesn't have any proof." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It would be difficult for us without his skills. Just watch what he'll do closely for now."

Ruggie gave him a salute. "Yes, Sir."

With nothing to do there, Ruggie walked out of the room, ready to head and flopped into his own bed. Before he closed the door though, he could hear the faint sigh from Leona, followed up by a whisper.

"Tch... That first-year brat talks like Farena..."