[ I've attached a piece of music up (Gymnopédie by Erik Satie if you're interested) - I'd recommend playing this after the line 'the sound of a piano echoed softly in the background', just after Aytsa's section. Of course you don't have to but it really works so I thought why not haha xD ]

Sat atop the bay horse, [Y/n] listened as wind whipped around her, whistling through the trees and forming a full musical score. Birds hurried to their nests as the purple night drew in and the wind picked up. Rain began to fall, but not usual rain. It felt soft and comforting. It was of a light teal colour, dying everything it touched. Soon, as [Y/n] looked down at herself, she was no longer the [h/c] haired, [s/c] skinned, [e/c] eyed girl she knew. Everything was that same teal colour. Then, as she saw her reflection in a teal puddle, she began to burn. First burning, then melting. The teal horse she sat atop began to melt into the puddle as well. Her feet touched the teal puddle and her skin began to peel before another person was revealed in the teal reflection - someone not dyed. They were the same height as her and had strawberry blonde hair that reached down to their knees. Their eyes were a soft lilac and their skin was of an olive tone. Across her stomach she had the word 'cheater' engraved in jagged letters.

Sitting up with a start, [Y/n] placed her hand against her head and shut her eyes again for a moment. The girl in her dream was engraved into her mind. The dreams felt so real that [Y/n] couldn't help but wonder whether they were trying to warn her about something. Then, a sound interrupted her thoughts. The soft sound of violin, followed by an awkward squeak as an incorrect note was hit. The sound was distant but [Y/n] could definitely hear it. She stood up and (after quickly changing into some clothes) walked over to her door, opening it and stepping out into the corridor.

As though she was in a trance, [Y/n] walked down the corridor in the direction the sound was coming from, eventually stopping outside Mitzu's door. She heard the notes he played clear as day, suddenly recognising the tune.

G, D, A, G, F D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, A, F, G. G, D, A, G, C A, Bb, C, D, Eb, D, C, A, G.

She pushed the door open quietly. The silver haired male was facing the other direction, the both he and the instrument swaying together to the tune. [Y/n] noticed the violin wasn't the only instrument in the room: a key-weighted keyboard (complete with stand and sustain pedal) sat against one of the bare walls of his room. On the floor beside it sat a small box, and in it she noted three black cases. She presumed cornet, flute and something else that she couldn't figure out.

A polished electric-acoustic guitar sat next to an amp and perfectly coiled lead. Then [Y/n]'s eyes flicked to a gorgeous harp. How on earth all this appeared was beyond her level of understanding but she figured Nyais had something to do with it - he seemed to be a part of everything that ever happened in this place. Her eyes returning to Mitzu, she noticed him playing the same tune over and over, adding improvised ornamentals that gave it a more full feeling. He finally lowered the violin, wondering what instrument he should try next. He froze when his peripheral vision caught sight of [Y/n], who seemed just as surprised as he was. His surprised expression quickly faded to anger.

"Why the hell are you in here?!" he snapped. "Don't you know how to knock?"

[Y/n]'s first thought was 'ah, crap, I made him mad', her second was 'how the hell did he learn to play like that overnight?' and her last was 'Jesus Christ he's tall'.

"That was nice," she said simply, unable to decide on a thought to voice. Mitzu seemed to be somewhere in between pissed off and grateful for her compliment as a grimace crossed his countenance, along with the faint hint of a blush.

"T-thanks," he stuttered, staring at her and then the violin. "B-but you wrote the piece s-so—"

"My grandma wrote it," [Y/n] corrected with a small (slightly awkward) smile. Mitzu paused before slowly nodding. He walked around the room before beckoning her over to the harp. She, a little confused, approached it. He pulled out the stool by the piano and set it in front of the top end of the harp, giving [Y/n]'s shoulders a little push to sit her down at it. [Y/n] stared at it, her brows knitting together, a perplexed look clouding her gaze as stared up at him. "Uhh, you do know I don't know how to play this, right?" she laughed awkwardly.

"Yes. But learning it would suit you," he hummed, "it's a beautiful instrument." [Y/n] didn't know whether that was Mitzu's way of telling her that she was beautiful but decided not to ask any questions. He then took her hands in his (which felt weird to [Y/n] as they were now much larger and longer than hers) and showed her the correct hand position. "Like this," he huffed, a little irritated when she got it wrong immediately.

"This...?" she responded, one hand on each side of the harp, her fingers splayed out delicately as they hovered over the strings. He nodded with a small smile that [Y/n] could see brimmed with pride. Then, [Y/n] plucked a pair of strings one after the other. The sound was horrible as [Y/n] quickly realised neither of them went together. Mitzu let out a small laugh, moving himself so he shared the stool, sitting just behind her so her back was pressed against his chest.

"Try these two," he said, moving her hands to allow her fingers to play a different pair of notes - an E and a G. She did so, noting the slightly sad tone the two left behind. "Pretty, eh?"

"It's a bit sad," she responded with a small smile, "but it does sound beautiful." Mitzu stared at her for a while. It hadn't seemed strange at first but it slowly began to feel more intrusive as she thought on the position they were in - their closeness. He then let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "W-What?" she questioned.

"You're like a doll..." he trailed off. "Perfectly positioned, perfectly shaped... perfect skin, perfect smile. Everything about you... you're flawless." [Y/n] stared at him for a moment, utterly confused. "Anything would suit you. I could give you any instrument, tell you how to hold it, and you'd look like you were born to play it."

"T-thank you?" [Y/n] mumbled quietly, a little lost for words. Mitzu then seemed to return to his senses and a small blush covered his face. He nervously looked away, sighing. "H-hey, how did you manage to learn all this overnight?" she asked quietly.

"Uh, well, you know how we learn in our sleep?" he began, tilting his head. She nodded. "It works the same way. We'll also learn hobbies, skills and combat niches in our sleep. Last night should've been our hobbies and skills," he shrugged. [Y/n] nodded slowly. "I take it now I've told you that you're gonna leave...?"

It was odd because [Y/n] knew it was true, but she hadn't expected the huge amount of guilt that would accompany leaving the boy on his lonesome. "I... I can stay a bit longer if you'd like...?"

"No. Go," he huffed, staring at the floor, his attitude changing as quick as British weather. [Y/n] was about to speak again but he cut her off. "Go on. Get out," he muttered harshly. Now feeling a little intimidated, the girl nodded her head and walked over to the door. Mitzu watched her with careful eyes and an angry glare, which she returned with a sorrowful expression as she opened the door and slipped out of the room, softly shutting it behind her. She let out a sigh and spotted Aytsa walking down the corridor. He looked like he'd just been to see either Seishin or Kori. Upon spotting her, he quickly ran over to her with a bright smile.

"[Y/n]! [Y/n], come with me, I want to show you something!" he said excitedly, grabbing the girl's wrist and pulling her along in the direction of his room. He eagerly shoved his door open and pushed her inside, only releasing her to shut the door again. The room was so dark that [Y/n] couldn't see for a while - a neon blue lava lamp on Aytsa's beside table was the only thing illuminating the room. Eventually [Y/n]'s eyes adapted and she caught sight of what Aytsa was telling her about.

Many sketches were strewn across Aytsa's metal workbench in the corner of his room. They all seemed to be of the same thing but from different angles. [Y/n] picked one up, holding it in front of her for a moment before placing it down and looking at the project they were put towards. In the middle of the table many different clocks had been torn apart for their pieces, and the bits he needed were put into a gorgeous clockwork bumblebee. Cogs made up its body and two small hands of a wristwatch made the antennae. For the wings, many larger hands were welded together. Then, Aytsa picked it up.

"Watch this," he giggled excitedly, turning something in the base of the bumblebee. The cogs began to spin and the wings slowly began to move up and down at the same pace as a soft melody that the bee emitted. [Y/n] could just make out the music-box core of the bumblebee through the clockwork. Aytsa placed it in her hands and she watched it flap its wings up and down as though about to use them for the first time.

"It's for you," Aytsa said gently, a small smile on his face, "to say sorry for what I did the other day..."

His smile faded a little. The pair were practically equal height now, however [Y/n] remained slightly taller than him. He was clearly one of the shortest of the boys. [Y/n] bent her knees a little so they'd be on the same level and gave him a smile.

"Aytsa, I told you it was okay," she said softly, "but thank you very much. It's beautiful..."

Silence followed as the click clack of the cogs and the gentle chime of the music box faded, the wings stopping their movement. Only now did [Y/n] realise the faint oily smell in the room - she supposed that was only natural as Aytsa had been using clocks and welding tools but it really hit the back of her throat. She coughed a couple of times, a little surprised. Aytsa looked at her worriedly.

"Oh, is it the oil? Or the dust? I-I'm sorry! You... um... go do whatever you were going to do. I'll get this smell out of my room," he said with a bright smile, placing his hands over hers so she enveloped the clockwork bumblebee. "I'll see you later then!" With that, he ushered the girl out of the room, his green eyes glowing. It seemed to [Y/n] that he had many more things he intended to create; this brought a smile to her face as his door shut behind her. A little dazed by the quick-paced nature Aytsa seemed to have taken on, [Y/n] made steps towards her room.

The sound of a piano echoed softly in the background and, unknowingly, [Y/n] began walking to the exact largo pace the music was played at. She opened her door and walked over to her right bedside table, placing the bumblebee down. She smiled softly, turning around and intending to find out what the other boys had learnt overnight. Once again, however, she was cut short by someone standing in the doorframe.

"Oh, good morning Laion," [Y/n] said softly, slowly, in time with the music that still echoed relaxingly in the background. Laion was just a bit over her height now - his blonde, curly locks were longer and his magenta eyes were filled with something [Y/n] couldn't quite understand, but a small smile on his lips gave her hope that it wasn't bad. Wordlessly, he beckoned for [Y/n] to follow him. She did so, her head tilting to one side as she tried to work out what he was going to show her.

Walking down the corridor, he, too, moved in perfect time to the music. He held the door to his room open, beckoning [Y/n] inside the plant-filled space. Then, he stepped closer to her. [Y/n] blushed slightly as he took her hand and pulled her close to him. "L-Laion, what are you doing...?"

"The music is pretty, isn't it?" he chuckled softly, holding her close to him, before he began to move. His steps were perfectly coordinated and encouraged [Y/n] to flow with them. "Mitzu did a good job with all those instruments... I must say, I'm rather jealous."

Overnight, Laion seemed to have transformed from a jubilant little flower boy to a dashing gentleman.

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.

The pair moved in time to the distant music as though they had done it time and time again. Their eyes met and they were entirely absorbed in one another - or, perhaps it was a little more one-sided, but [Y/n] did manage to get lost in the moment as well. As the music began to slow and fade, [Y/n] broke out of the trance she'd been put in, taking a few steps away from him.

"[Y/n]...?" Laion watched her move away, his eyes reflecting a little sadness. This made [Y/n] feel suddenly guilty.

"Ah, I'm sorry Laion. I-it's just, it doesn't feel overly right is all! I mean, I'm 19, a-and, well, you're technically only 15 days—"

"I'm 15," he interrupted, the upset expression fading now to one of no emotion at all. [Y/n] didn't know whether to feel relieved or more worried, especially seeing as she thought Laion was likely the most emotional of all the boys.

"Y-Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still not right," she said softly.

"It was a dance," Laion responded.

"Y-yes, b-but—"

"Don't worry yourself, [Y/n]," Laion interrupted again, sighing. A small smile made its way onto his features again and he let out a gentle laugh. "I'll be old enough in a few days. Will you let me dance with you then?" Seeing Laion come out of his shell again was enough to make [Y/n] immediately respond 'of course', which - [Y/n] could see quite clearly - elated the blonde.

"S-so, is dancing the skill you learnt?" she asked softly.

"Dance and chess," he responded. [Y/n]'s eyes widened a little - she didn't realise they could learn two skills. Then again, it made sense. Technically Mitzu had learned more than one skill being able to play almost every instrument under the sun. "Nothing amazing. Oh, I managed to change form last night, too," he hummed.

"Change form?" [Y/n] echoed.

"Yeah. Draka was the only one who was able to do it but now I can too." He then seemed to realise that [Y/n] didn't know what he was talking about as he clarified: "you know, shapeshifting."

"Ohhhh," [Y/n] hummed, remembering the little bat Draka had shifted into a few days ago. She hadn't realised he was the only one who could do it - she wondered why they had different developmental ages if everything else was the same.

"I believe shifting age is determined by physical strength," Laion explained, "so, if I'm right, that would mean Draka is by far the strongest out of all of us," he hummed. "Annoyingly, Seishin learnt just before me. I never would've thought he would be considered 'strong'. He looks like a leaf!" [Y/n] laughed lightly at the annoyance in Laion's tone at being revealed weaker than Seishin. "I expect Mitzu will probably be next, followed by Kori, then Aytsa," he mused.

"You think Mitzu will be stronger than Kori?" Though [Y/n] didn't disagree with Laion's point on Aytsa being the weakest, she would've reversed her prediction of Mitzu and Kori. Though Kori seemed frailer, he had a lot more physical strength than he let on - she could see that in the way he walked and held himself.

"Kori and Aytsa will probably be long distance fighters. I'm the fastest of all of us so I'll be a close range fighter. Draka is the strongest so he will also be a close range. Mitzu will be stronger than Kori because he's in a place to switch between long range and short range - the only problem is, I expect he'll think weapons are for cowards and only ever fight short range, with his fists. He may be stronger but he'll be less successful in fights." [Y/n] nodded slowly, taking this in.

"What about Seishin?" she asked.

"Seishin has the brains to know how to combine long range and short range weapons. I hate to admit it but I expect he'll be the most formidable fighter out of all of us. He also knows how and when to strike," he shrugged. [Y/n] absorbed this information like a sponge - she had a feeling all of this might be important to her one day.

"What makes you so sure about all of this?" she asked, her head tilting. Laion shrugged, looking away.

"Instinct I guess. I expect Seishin and Kori have worked all of this out, too," he hummed. [Y/n] nodded, looking over at the door. Laion followed her gaze, sighing. "Hey, before you go... could I have another dance?" She turned to look at him, her expression unsure. "Actually no... sorry, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. We can dance when I'm older, okay?" he said, a slightly sad smile on his face. [Y/n] forced a smile in response, giving him a nod, however the whole thing felt slightly wrong. She felt like both a motherly figure and a friend to the boys. Their sudden emotional attachment to her was a little troubling to say the least.

She walked over to his door, slipping out of his room, the wisteria brushing against her hair as she left. A couple of strands were tugged by the plant but she pushed it away with her hand, shutting the door behind her. [Y/n] then wandered back in the direction of the boys' rooms. She made her way down to Seishin's room and knocked on the door. It opened quite quickly and [Y/n] had to step back so it didn't hit her.

"[Y/n]," Seishin said, a look of surprise on his face, "why are you here?"

"I was just wondering whether you... uh, developed any skills overnight?" She realised how weird the question sounded and it appeared Seishin picked up on her awkwardness as a small smirk spread across his face.

"Skills?" he echoed. "You're going to have to elaborate. I'm not sure I know what you mean," he chuckled, bending his knees a little so he was closer to her height. [Y/n] could tell this was mockery - of course Seishin knew what she was talking about - but she figured it would be better just to play along.

"Uhh... like, umm..." [Y/n] rubbed the back of her neck, "special traits, I think? Hobbies, or... uhh.."

Seishin began to snicker slightly but held his door open for her, beckoning for her to come inside. She hesitated before doing so. There didn't seem to be anything new in his room so she wondered whether it was a physical skill like Laion's. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, staring into her eyes. His sudden closeness caused a small blush to appear on [Y/n]'s cheeks and she quickly tried to move away. His hand then gripped her shoulder and held her in place.

"Do you want to see what I learnt or not?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing. [Y/n] slowly nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Look at me." She slowly turned her head to face him - his blue eyes bore into her [e/c] ones. "Think of something. Anything." Confused, [Y/n]'s brain was blank for a while, before - for a reason unknown to her - a polar bear popped into her mind. He watched her for a moment before his brow furrowed. "Out of everything I could've learnt about you just now, you give me that?" he sighed.

"What?" [Y/n] said, confused. "Wait... did you just read my mind?!" she exclaimed, her eyes growing big. "B-but I thought you learnt combat stuff at a later age! That's what Laion was saying... how—?"

"Mind reading has nothing to do with combat. It's a skill. It just so happens that I didn't learn a useless hobby but some bizarre party trick instead."

"It's not bizarre," [Y/n] said softly, "it's really cool! Just... uh, don't use it on me when I'm not expecting it, please?" she chuckled, a nervous smile on her lips. He shrugged before another smirk played on his features.

"No promises, but there are some conditions that have to be met for me to use it - physical contact, for example," he chuckled. [Y/n] crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, have you read the books I gave you yet?"

"It's only been a day!" [Y/n] responded indignantly, a small huff escaping her, "they're all around 500 pages!"

"Your point is?" Seishin sighed. "Oh, yeah, I forgot you were an idiot," he frowned, rubbing his temple. "For a moment there you started to seem a little bit smarter." [Y/n] didn't know whether this was Seishin's attempt at complimenting her but she decided it'd be best to not react at all. He looked over at his bookshelf-wardrobe and then at the wall that separated his room from Kori's.

"You still have Kori and Draka to see," he observed. She nodded, her eyes narrowing as to how he knew who she'd seen and who she hadn't. He looked thoughtful. "Kori's in the middle of writing something. Last time I went in his room he threw this at me," he laughed, pointing at the kitchen knife on his desk. "Thank god his aim was horrible." [Y/n] stared at it for a while, her eyes big and worried. "Anyways, though I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing you, he's in a strange mood today. I wouldn't go in there unless you want to be drained of your blood. But, if that's the case, then you could just stay in here with me—"

"Yeah, thanks but I think I'm good," [Y/n] responded with a nervous smile, already well on her way to the door. She pushed it open and gave Seishin a small wave before shutting it behind her.

'They're vampires. This is normal. Vampires. Get over yourself, [Y/n]!' she thought, placing her hand on her forehead. She figured she should go and see Draka so she made her way down the corridor in the direction of his room. Knocking softly on his door, the [h/c] haired female let out a sigh; all this social interaction certainly grew wearing after a while. The brunette opened the door a few seconds later, his eyes looking drained.

"Hiya Draka," [Y/n] smiled, though it was slightly unsure as his expression remained unchanging.

"[Y/n]," he responded dully. Dark circles rimmed his droopy eyes and the usually jubilant boy couldn't seem to muster a smile. [Y/n] tilted her head to one side, stepping a little closer to him with a look of concern. She placed her hand on his arm.

"What's up?" she asked softly.

"You should go," he responded, looking over his shoulder and into his room. [Y/n]'s expression changed from a concerned one to an apologetic one; this seemed to cause Draka a bit of discomfort as he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry [Y/n]. Don't look like that... it's just— well," he raised his head to look at her but [Y/n] could tell the simple action was a blow on his pride. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"What do you mean?" [Y/n] asked gently, looking up at him with sad eyes.

"I'm... I, uh," he stumbled over his words nervously. "I didn't get anything. I can't draw or make things like Aytsa can. I can't dance or play chess, I can't read minds, I can't play instruments, I can't write stories. I can't... I just can't. I haven't got a skill. I'm useless." Just as [Y/n] opened her mouth to console him, he cut her off. "Don't waste your breath on me. I'm not worth your time." And with that, his door slammed shut. [Y/n] knew Draka was a prideful boy - she understood that this must've been a massive slap in the face. She knocked on his door again.

"Draka, please talk to me," she called, her hand flat against the wood of the door, the rough texture scratching against her palm slightly. There was no response. She pushed down on the handle, intending to reason with the boy, but she soon noticed the door was locked.

Turning around, she stared down the corridor. From here she could see all the way to the door that led to whatever surrounded this strange place.

She felt like she was missing something.



heya y'all, so it turned out this chapter was over 4000 words and I actually had an entire other section to add to this book but decided it'd be better to put it in the next chapter (or something like it) because it makes more sense. So yEah This marks the end of the happy, cutesy, kids-growing-up chapters. From next chapter onwards, things are gonna begin to fall apart. Thank you so much for getting this far - I hope you continue to enjoy the book~ ^^

Next chapter: Day 16 and A Little Overpowered