Yuno was always the sound one, and probably the only sound one in the entire team. Out of everyone in her class, she utilized her studies the best.
Her ability relied on being a Scholar, after all.
She stood atop the rooftop, in a neighbourhood about two miles away from the marketplace, studying her target in the alley below.
The little creature muddled around the dumpster. Probably searching for food. It amused Yuno in the way it behaved as though it were a normal stray. The animal fanatic in her wanted to adopt the little thing then and there, but she knew better than anyone, it would stay “little” for long.
That was the gift and curse of a Scholar; she always knew better.
Heart rate is approximately 125.9 beats per minute. Through the monocle she wrote in the world, Yuno observed the creature carefully. The monocle had the ability to magnify whatever went through its lens. It wasn’t her speciality; creating tools such as this, but she came to learn those simple tricks as anyone could.
As she scrutinised the little creature below, she used her other hand to write down and record all information she could gather from it in a notebook. Call it a bestiary. Call it a book of spells. Her notebook had all her studies since the day she first became an Author. Earlier, she tried rummaging through its pages in hope of finding a way to suppress the creature without the need for hostility. But most of her spells were summoning circles, which were not too kind to their intended target.
Unless she identified the creature’s nature, there was no current method to safely secure it. If only you weren’t from Neverland.
“What’s born in Wonderland, stays in Wonderland,” a young man spoke his mind in a mundane tone. “Or was it another saying?”
He stood across from her on the adjacent rooftop, dressed neatly in the academy’s uniform. It was Nathan Cross, the boy with no dreams.
He appeared to be standing on a long bent pipe. With a swift motion from his pen, the pipe extended further toward the rooftop, ultimately dropping on her side, before suddenly retracting back to its normal state.
“Could’ve used the stairs?” Yuno turned away, unimpressed, and focused back on studying the little creature.
“I’d rather not take the one where our little friend’s at,” Nathan walked toward her. “How’s the stakeout?”
“Other than Starry eating my lunch,” she turned to her pet owl, a hulking mass of brown feathers that was big enough to devour a lion with ease but with a face that was as dumb-looking as a dog ready for its fifth meal. It leapt to Yuno’s side at the mention of its name, lowering it just enough to reach her hand; it was plainly asking her to pet it, and so Yuno did. “So yeah, not much.”
Nathan didn’t seem too satisfied with her answer. “Figured out any proper execution method, yet?”
But Yuno quickly turned in his direction, almost dropping her jaw along with her monocle, “Huh?!”
“What. Is the ‘Icy Purist’ growing too soft?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Oh nothing,” he sighed. “Just making sure you won’t screw this up for us.”
“Me? Screw up?” Yuno was utterly bewildered she almost laughed. “Surely you’re thinking of Lloyd.”
“Well, you have been rather chummy with him lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if his stupidity had rubbed off on you.”
She grit her teeth, “What a way to badmouth your friend. No wonder Erina calls an asshat.”
“She calls everyone that.”
He straightened his tie, which reminded Yuno to straighten hers as well by nature. It bothered her. Standing next to each other, the two were practically twins, with their dark hair, neat attire, and mutual affinity of being “quiet and calculated,” and Yuno hated that.
“Listen,” Nathan cleared his throat, “I just want this to go smoothly. Not a repeat of Gatsdale or Pontemus. I’ve had enough Cs for one semester.”
“That’s your problem. I’ve been doing just fine.”
“In any case, this one’s violated the Bastion Law, so it’s more than just our scores on the line.” Nathan shared his thoughts, and Yuno could not entirely deny them. If a creature as dangerous as an infant dragooun from walked into their borders without an official license and supervision from the Wonderland Association, then what was before them was a definite recipe for disaster.
“Still, we’re not doing anything until a Paragon-Grade threat is achieved, so that’s out of the books. Am I clear?”
Yet Nathan wouldn’t take the rejection. “The academy might offer a hefty sum—”
“Am. I. Clear?” She looked Nathan dead in the eyes.
He felt threatened, “W-Who made you the boss?”
“I could say the same to you.”
And so, the two quarrelled again over who should bow to who, and the only thing that was on Yuno’s mind was: Just where the hell is he?
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