"This is a piece of cake if you compare it to all the weird stuff you've made us clean up before." Grim said with a wide confident smile.
"Isn't it?" Crowley said with a wide smile, "This is what makes me ever so gracious."
"I almost forgot." Crowley added upon remembering, "Since I'll be gone for the duration of the break, I want to give you this."
"Ah, it's a smartphone." Ace said in surprise, "Call me immediately with this if there's ever an emergency while I'm gone. This is for emergency use only. Refrain from using it to eat up data by scrolling through magicam!"
Crowley stated firmly indicating the seriousness, then he continued calmly again, "I have to get back to my very important duty of sending the students home so I'll leave the two of you. Ah, that's right. Before I leave for I need to take a look at the sightseeing brochure. I'm just so so busy..."
"Nyaha!" Grim cheered with a wide smile, "Now we're guaranteed a big ol' feast over the holiday!"
"Looks to me like he really knows how to work you over..." Ace said with a wry smile, "Well, as long as you guys are okay with it, then it's fine."
"Hey, hey! No standing in the middle of the road. Move, move!"
"Bucchi-sen-!" Deuce turned around to the sound of Ruggie's voice before his eyes widen in bewilderment, "Why do you have so much stuff?! You've got a backpack and three duffle bags plus a giant cooler."
"You mean all this?" Ruggie said with a snicker, "Shishishi. I got all the food that was about to expire from the cafeteria and school store. Right before long breaks like this I can get it all for free."
"What?" Ace stared at the hyena that looked more liked ready to crumble under the weight of the luggage, "There's no way you can go through all that."
"What are you talking about?" Ruggie smirked, "Once I get home and pass this out to all the neighborhood street rats, it'll be gone in no time. I've gotta make sure my grandma can eat her fill over the holidays."
"That's nice." Lotus nodded with a wide smile before she hummed, "You should hurry though. Whatever is in one of those dufflebag is looking like it'll start leaking, Ruggie-senpai."
Ruggie looked over in surprise, "Oops! The frozen stuff's gonna melt! See ya' all next time!"
With that, he lept through the mirror.
"There he goes..." Deuce muttered in bewilderment, "I wonder what he meant by 'neighborhood street rats'..."
"There are many families stuck in poverty in Ruggie's hometown." Jack spoke up towering from behind them, "So, during these long holidays, he brings back as much food as he can so the neighborhood kids can eat."
"Jack..." Ace said as they stared at him in bewilderment, "Why are your hands full of potted plants? Are you gonna become a gardener?"
In his hands were many potted plants in his arms. All of which were cacti ranging from small to medium.
"These are the cacti I grow for fun. They'd wilt if nobody watered them over the break." Jack explained but suddenly tutted in embarrassment, "...Nevermind me!"
Lotus looked at the small group of cacti and smiled wide at the sight of the small potted plants, "They're thriving very healthily I see. You even know the proper amount of water for these little ones. Normally, people would think they'd either need no water at all or too much water and end up killing them."
"Y-Yeah?" Jack smirked with a slight blush, "I did some research before I got these guys."
Lotus laughed, "I'll tell you this, but, by the end of winter, they'll be sprouting flowers."
"I never expected Ruggie to be the type to share his food with others. He's a pretty good guy!" Grim spoke up with a wide smile of approval as he tried to redirect the conversation to something else that everyone can talk about.
"Hyenas are the sort to share prey with the weak or sick without discrimination." Jack explained easily after seeing that they didn't talk about his plants anymore, "I'm sure Ruggie was raised like that too."
"Hmph! Just thinking about handing out food to a bunch of brats makes my skin crawl. Just one is more than annoying."
"Oh, Leona..." Jack called to the lion guy walking in, "Are you not going home?"
"If only." Leona groaned in irritation, "But if I don't, I'll never hear the end of it so I'm going home."
He heaved a sigh and continued, "What a pain..."
"But, you're not bringing anything..." Jack said in confusion.
"Huh?" Leona looked to them with slight confusion and boredom on his face, "I'm fine with just my wallet and smartphone. I've got plenty of clothes at home."
"This guy is the other extreme." Grim muttered with a dead panned look on his face.
"He's not even bringing his homework with him..." Ace grumbled with a sigh of dismay.
Lotus laughed and chided with amusement, "Now, let's not nag at him. After all, it's not like he was pulled back a year from grades."
"Homework can be done right as the holiday ends. My job over break is to rest." Leona flicked his tail in dismissal before walking through the mirror with his hands in his pockets with a smirk on his face, "See ya, herbivores."
"He could do anything he wanted if he actually applied himself so why does he always laze about..." Jack shook his head and sighed in disappointment, "Mine will be done perfectly, so don't you guys slack off. Bye!"
As they watched Jack leave through the mirror, Ace smirked, "There's our Mister Serious. Yeah, yeah, see you next year."
"Kingscholar..." Deuce muttered curiously, "When he says it, I actually want to believe him."
"Hey now. freshman. You shouldn't follow that bad upperclassman's example."
They looked back and saw Cater and Trey walk over as Cater said that.
"Anyone in our dorm that doesn't turn in their homework will lose their head to Riddle." Trey explained.
"Trey. Cater." Ace smiled in greeting at the arrival of the two.
Cater sighed, "Going home makes me kinda depressed too. My sisters will be home too, so I'll be worked to death even though it's a holiday. I wanna do a homestay at your place, Trey."
"I don't mind, but you'll get worked to death here, too." Trey smirked, "Winter is the busiest time for cake shops."
"Oh yeah." Cater said upon realization and whined, "Your family runs a cake shop. No escape for me. Boohoohoo."
As they talked, Lotus noticed a small red hair figure behind Deuce as she looked over and saw that it was indeed Riddle who remained silent and rather gloomy as he didn't bother to speak up.
"Riddle-senpai, are you all right?" Lotus asked him in confusion.
"Ah, Dorm Head Rosehearts!" Deuce jumped up in bewilderment and quickly moved aside with a formal bow, "My apologies for standing in the middle of the hallway."
"Hm? Oh, it's you guys." Riddle looked up the moment he heard Deuce's voice, "If you plan to keep talking then please move over by the wall."
"Huh?" Grim noted curiously, "That guy seems down in the dumps..."
"Oh, that's right." Ace muttered with a sigh, "The dorm head has his higher mom waiting for him at home. That's bound to bring anyone down."
"...Riddle." Trey spoke up with a small wry smile of encouragement, "I'm forbidden from stepping foot in your house, so I can't bring cake or anything, but you're welcome at the shop anytime. I'm sure Che'nya will shop up too."
"That's right." Riddle nodded with a sigh, "I think I need to... have a good talk with my mother."
He pouted slightly discouraged as he thought with a frown hesitatingly, "...I don't know if she has the ears to listen though..."
"...I see." Trey frowned worryingly as thoughts ran through his mind, "Good luck."
"What's wrong, Goldfishie? You don't wanna go home? Then, just don't. We aren't going home either, so you should just stay at school with us. Ahhah!"
Riddle jumped back a good feet with eyes wide in surprise at the tall figure.
"Ah, Floyd. Hey!" Lotus waved with a small smile.
"Ah, Angler fish! Hi!" Floyd said with a wide smile.
"What do you want out of the blue?" Riddle demanded with a scowl on his face, "Could you not barge into things you know nothing about? It's unpleasant."
"He's right." Jade spoke up as he caught up to his twin followed by Azul, "You shouldn't go sticking your neck into other's business."
"Why?" Floyd grumbled rather upset, "Jade, I'm bored of the same ol' faces we get stuck with over the holiday. I'm sure Azul would let me keep Goldfishie since he's so tiny."
"Care to repeat what you just said?" Riddle threatened him with a scowl, "You sure have some nerve to say that about the head of Heartslabyul... I'll have your head!!!"