The other side of a glass tank - Octavinelle (& Twisted Wonderland) X Reader

Chapter 55 - Clearing things out

The four freshmen ran after the half hyena as you and the other two students each headed in different directions, hoping to cut the road to the Savanaclaw sophomore.

You had reached the courtyard when you saw a cauldron suddenly falling a hair away from the small beastman. You could easily guess what that was about...

"Yipe! O-okay, yeah. Maybe that one was a little fur-raisin'..." When Ruggie stuttered that out and attempted to sprint away once again, you gripped your necklace and pointed your pen in his direction.

"Freeze!"

"Huh?!"

The dirty blonde boy was a moment too late to dodge and he felt his legs freezing in place, causing his body to lunge forward, then losing his balance.

You caught the shocked second year before he hit the ground and helped him straighten up, but you made sure to keep a firm grip on both his shoulders, standing behind him in case he attempted to take your pen as well.

"Finally...! Pant... What is WITH this dude?! He's crazy fast!" The red eyed freshman cheered in a frustrated tone when he saw you, panting along the other first years.

"Pant... It's not just that he runs fast... Pant... It's like no terrain even slows him down!" Deuce tried to catch his breath as Yuu's also appeared a bit shallow. Grim had straight up fallen forward on the ground the moment they stopped running.

"Myaaaaah... At least we caught him..." The beast wheezed before plopping his face down on the grass.

"Welp, compared to the backstreets of the slums, this is a cakewalk." Ruggie answered with a bit of amusement but his ears noticeably lowered when he remembered you were there, right behind him.

"Ehe ehe... this won't cause problems for my possible participation at those paid internships, yeah...?" He nervously asked with an awkward smile, glancing at you from over his shoulder.

"That's the least of your worries, Bucchi." You retorted plainly.

"... "Bucchi", huh? Not "Ruggie" anymore?" The hyena hung his head in defeat when you switched from calling him by his name to his surname.

"Now there's no more running away." The Heartslabyul boy with the spade crossed his arms and stared down at his upperclassman with sharp eyes.

"But for real, did you even think this through? Let's say you have caught me, can you even be sure that I did it?" The dirty blonde hyena raised a brow while looking at the freshmen.

"What? Of course you did it!" Deuce countered and the ginger put his hands on his hips, glaring and agreeing.

"And what about evidence? Do you have a witness who saw me casting spells?" Ruggie said in a plain tone, before his face morphed to show a cold and taunting grin.

"For that matter, did anyone snap a picture? You don't have anything like that, do you?" He further rubbed it in, almost snickering.

"Yeah, but... still!" Ace scratched the back of his head, looking troubled when faced with the factual truth.

"That's low. And cowardly." Yuu said in an unexpected cynical whisper.

"Cowardly? I take that as a compliment, honestly." The half hyena answered, sounding unbothered.

"Shyeheehee! Next time you wanna come after me, do me a favor and gather some proof first." He then huffed an amused laugh, but promptly stopped when feeling you shifting slightly behind him.

You leaned toward one of his big, fluffy ears and spoke in a quiet but firm tone. "We may not have tangible proofs... but I assure you that the headmage won't easily disregard my word. I'll make sure that an attentive eye shall be kept on you, Bucchi." You said sternly, causing the boy's ear to twitch and lower.