"Ngh..." Jamil groaned, slowly getting conscious. "Where am I?"

"Good. You've regained your senses" Azul smiled before his smile quickly turned to a threatening one. "If you would. Get. Off. My. Angelfish. Please?"

"Huh...?" Jamil looked up to realize who was on top of Y/n, who had a dizzy expression on her face. "Eh? Jasmine! Are you alright?" Jamil asked, quickly getting off of Y/n.

"Yes....I'm good~" Y/n said, still having a @ expression on her face. Jamil helped her stand up, "Ugh...thank you, male nure-onna..."

"huh?" everyone questioned what the hell she was saying.

"Mrah....That monster is gonna be hauntin' me in my dream" Grim shuddered.

"J...Jahbeel...." Kalim started to tear up. "WAAAAH!" he jumped onto Jamil and started sobbing on his shoulder.

"Somebody get Sea Otter a tissue already" Floyd sighed. "Guy's equal parts snot and regret"

Yuuna walked up to Y/n, also having a teary expression. "[nickname]...WAAAAAH! I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried as well, jumping onto Y/n like a koala on a tree.

Y/n sweatdropped a bit as she wasn't dizzy anyone. "Sorry for worrying you, Yuu-chan" she hugged Yuuna, patting her head in a calming manner.

"I suspect all that talk about punching him has gone out the window as well" Jade grinned.

"I-'m so glad you're alive..." Kalim sniffed. "Sho glad..."

"Must you always be so dramatic?" Jamil asked, letting out a sigh.

"I..." Kalim began to talk in between his sobs. "I never knew how miserable you were all this time. A-all this time..." he sniffed. "I never knew" then he hiccuped. "Just how much I put you through..."

"Which led to this spectacular betrayal," Azul said, huffing in annoyance when Yuuna basically buried her face in Y/n's chest, crying, and when the girl got off of his angelfish, Azul immediately pulled Y/n into his chest. "Just look at her neck!" he whined.

"Eh?" Y/n and Jamil both questioned. Jamil looked at Y/n's neck and his eyes widen at the number of hickeys he put on her. "I did that?!" he blushed madly. "I'm so sorry, my Jasmine flower!" he apologized when the memory of his actions after Y/n sang.

Y/n's face was looking like a tomato due to how red it was, as she hide her face in Azul's coat, causing himself to blush.

"Yuuup." Floyd grinned. "Sea Snake's been mocking Sea Otter beneath his breath for pretty much their whole lives!"

"Geez, and you guys say I'M blunt" grumbled Grim.

"Y-yes, you're... kind of a jerk," Kalim said. "But you're still the guy who's helped me all of my life"

"Kalim..." Jamil muttered.

"So let's just stop" Kalim suddenly said. "We can stop holding back on account of our social status"

"...Uh, what?" Jamil questioned.

"Start today, we can be rivals that compete in earnest for the spot of number one" Kalim began. "I was us to be equals...and I want us to be friends, Jamil"

"Equals? And friends?" Jamil repeated. "Heh...Why am I not surprised that's what you got out of this, Kalim? Then let me say this as on equal to another...NOT! ON! YOUR! LIFE!" he shouted, his deadpanned stare quickly turned into a sharp glare.

"Uh?" Kalim's eyes widen.

"The heck?!" Yuuna and Grim yelped in surprise.

"You thoughtless, sloppy, idiotic, clumsy, ludicrously oblivious, arrogant, indelicate, pampered little rich boy!" Jamil said, spitting out a lot of insults. "Who in their right mind would ever voluntarily be your friend?!" finally, he was releasing all his anger. "What's in it for me now?! Nothing! And that's what I want- nothing to do with you!"

"Wh...Whaaat?!" Kalim's jaw dropped. "How can you say that?!"

"Yeesh. He must be feelin' better, 'cause he sure ain't pullin' any punches" Grim said in shock

"This is his real personality?" Yuuna asked.

"And what's wrong with that?" Azul asked. "I like authentic Jamil much more, as a matter of fact" he grinned.

Y/n looked up at Azul as Jamil did the same. "Ugh" Jamil snapped. "Your ingratiating smile is grossing (creeping) me out," Jamil and Y/n said in unison.

Azul huffed a bit, puffing his cheeks when his soulmate insulted him along with Jamil, "I'll admit, I've been curious about you ever since we were freshmen"

"You don't say..." Jamil deadpanned

"You did a bit too good of a job avoiding the spotlight. It backfired and piqued my interest" Azul started off. "See, you never got any outstanding marks, whether in the classroom or in practical studies. But at the same time...You never got a negative mark in any class. Ever"

Y/n sighed as she got out of Azul's as Jamil crossed his arms, waiting for Azul to get to his point. "It came across like you mere maintaining a consistent five out of ten across the board. There was no way it could be unintentional. I've always had an inkling there was more to it. And it finally clicked for me when I heard Yuuna, Grim, and my angelfish's story"

"That makes sense. Azul is close to the top of his whole class year in Potionology..." Jade started. "But you'd find his marks in Flight class closer to the bottom of the charts"

"That's kinda extreme in its own way, y'know" Grim said.

Azul chose to ignore Jade's remark about his flight class grades. "My suspicions were confirmed when I joined you for that Mancala game the other night. You maintained a perfectly balanced win/lose ratio to keep from throwing Floyd into a rage"

"Whoa, for real?" Floyd asked. "You can do that?"

"If you throw too much, it becomes obvious. And if you win by too much, it sours the opponent's mood" Azul explained.

"There's an art to feigning defeat, you see" Y/n added. "You have to tune it just right. It requires considerable skill and mental fortitude to full off"

"Meanwhile, you wiped the floor with me and didn't even try to go easy, Azul!" Grim complained.

"Heh" Azul laughed. "I knew I had to sussed, Jamil. Your true capabilities are nothing short of astounding!"

"I know, right? Jamil really is something special!" Kalim beamed.

"You know, I think you'd get along far better with someone like me than with Kalim" Azul pointed out. "How about it? Care to transfer to Octavinelle? You could join forces with me and make a name for yourself,"

"Not on your life" Jamil immediately declined as he pulled Y/n closer, hugging her from behind. "And where do you get off, monologuing at me out of nowhere? You couldn't sound shadier if you tried! I will be perfectly content never being friends with you, Azul. Even if we will be marrying the same person in the future"

"Goodness," Jade smiled. "That's a rather stinging rebuke" he teased.

"Heh heh heh...I don't mind" Azul chuckled darkly, getting closer to Y/n, and sandwiched her between Jamil as well. "I've added a new truth to my secret collection today, so I'll call it even"

"Your secret collection of other people's weaknesses, you mean" Floyd corrected.

"Hmph. You can't call it a weakness when it's already been aired to the whole world" Jamil scowled. "...There will be no more holding back for me. Not against Kalim, or the rest of you, or anyone. I've never throwing another competition again"

"Good!" Kalim smiled. "But I won't lose, either!"

Later that night, Grim had snuck out of the bedroom and into the lounge. He immediately went sniffing the floor. "Black stone...I smell a black stone in this room...Aha!" he finally found the black stone he was searching for.

"There it is...There is it!" Grim cheered. "Heh heh heh..." then he went full-on chuckling before eating the black rock.

"Ooh...Spicy, but with a mellow, rich flavor" Grim said. "Maan...I scarfed that down way too fast. I'm still hungry...I want more black stone..."

"Hee hee..."

Two days later...

"All right. Jamil's back in the action, and we're done with our winter break assignments!" Kalim beamed. "You know what that means: let's all throw a grand holiday party!"

"Have you considered NOT throwing a party every other day?" Jamil asked, getting annoyed already.

"Oh, what's the harm, Jamil?" Y/n chuckled, patting his head with her wing.

"What could be nicer than a little celebration to commemorate the season?" Azul added.

"The camels are all loaded up with food and drinks" Jade informed Kalim.

"And I've got my swimsuit!" Floyd said. "Can't wait to dive right into that oasis"

"Then it's time for a parade!" Kalim announced. "Bring on the elephants and peacocks, too!"

"Yeah!" Grim cheered. "To the oasis we go!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone started marching to the Eastern Oasis as Y/n road the elephant with the big shade as Kalim decided to walk instead.

"Are you feeling better now, Jamil?" Kalim asked, turning to his friend. "Let me know right away if you need a break?"

"Enough, I told you that I'm fine now" Jamil scoffed.

"Let's hurry to the oasis and get this party started!" Grim shouted. "Woo hoo!

"I'll teach you two how to swim" Floyd added.

"Ha ha. I can hardly wait" Jade chuckled.

"Fufufu" Y/n giggled along with Yuuna.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Jamil" Azul said, "You may lean on me if you need to"

"I'll pass, thank you. I'd rather not be indebted to you in any way" Jamil snapped. "You should be more concerned about not shriveling to nothing in the desert heat. My Jasmine flower wouldn't want one of her soulmates be in bad shape" he teased. Azul let out a low growl.

"Aha ha ha!" Kalim laughed. "You're all such good friends now!"

"That didn't sound friendly to me at all!" Grim and Yuuna shouted.

"I can see the oasis!" Y/n informed them, sitting comfy on the pillows.

"Myah! I can't wait to stuff my face!" Grim cheered.

"Yeah, this is gonna be the best party ever. We're gonna go all-out!" Kalim cheered. "Let's race! Last one to the oasis is a rotten egg!" he announced as Kalim and Grim took off running.

"I swear..." Jamil sighed. "Where do they find all that energy?

"Okay, that should take care of everything" Kalim smiled. "Go on, everyone! Eat, dance, and sing the bad times away!" he announced. "Come on, Jamil. Let's dance!"

"I-I good, really..." Jamil had just helped Y/n off the elephant as he was dragged by Kalim to dance, causing Y/n to chuckle.

"They're both quite limber" Jade chuckled. "Have you considered taking dancing lessons from them, Azul?"

"I think now. Some things are too tall of an order for merfolk" Azul answered.

"Come on, my little octopus" Y/n smirked, teasingly. "I wouldn't mind giving you some private lessons"

Azul immediately thought of something dirty and blushed a bright red.

"Eh? Do you have a fever?" Y/n asked, confused on why Azul's face was so red. "Did the heat get to you?"

"N-No! I'm good!" Azul squeaked.

Floyd laughed. "Let me in on the fun, guys!" he shouted, running to the water with Yuuna to his arms, jumping and shifting to his merform, swimming with Yuuna as she shrieks.

"...eeeyyy!" a distant voice called out. "Heyyy..."

Yuuna was out of the water, eating ice cream with Y/n while sitting on beach chairs. Y/n heard the distance shouting along with Grim.

"Who's that runnin' up from across the desert?" asked Grim, his ears perked up as he squinted in the direction.

"eh? It's that heart and spade boy?" Y/n questioned.

"Heyyy! Y/n! Yuuna! Grim!" Ace shouted, running towards the oasis with Deuce.

"Are you guys okay?!" Deuce shouted as well.

"Ace and Deuce?!" Yuuna and Grim yelped.

The two boys stopped running when they reached the oasis, panting like crazy.

"Sheesh, this place is HOT. Feels like summer over here!" Ace panted.

"How do you survive in this place, prefect?" asked Deuce.

"Lot's of ice cream and ice baths. That's basically my diet here" Y/n admitted.

"What's wrong guys? I thought you went home for the holidays" Yuuna asked.

"Uh, I'M the one who should be asking that!" Ace shouted.

"We did. But we came rushing back when you sent that SOS" Deuce added.

"Your text say, 'trapped in Scarabia!'" Deuce said. "Then we couldn't get through to you..."

"Oh yeah" Grim turned to Yuuna who had a confused expression on her face. "I guess I did tell you to contact them. I knew you guys wouldn't be much help, and here you are, showin' up after everything's already solved. Unlike Y/n who showed up later"

"What?!" Ace looked annoyed. "The mirror gate wasn't open, so we couldn't warp back with magic! We had to take public transportation all the way back to campus! How did you get here so quickly, Y/n?!"

"Well, I took a pegasus carriage" Y/n answered.

"Oh.."

"I'm kinda lost here" Deuce pulled Yuuna into a hug. "You guys seem like you're having a good time. I'm not seeing any emergencies"

"Who's this?" Kalim asked, walking up to Yuuna and Y/n. "Friends of yours?"

"Heya, Crabby" Floyd waved. "Are you here to hang out?"

"Crabby...?" Yuuna and Deuce asked.

"Yeah, I'm in the Basketball Club with Floyd, Jamil's in the same club as us too, actually" Ace informed them

"Ooh! Well, then! Any friend of Jamil's is a friend of me" Kalim said while having a smile.

"Again, I am NOT your friend-" Jamil let out a sigh. "You're not listening, are you?" he asked, Y/n placed a comforting wing on his shoulder since uh, her arms are too short.

"Anyway, you came all the way here, so by all means, join in the festivities!" Kalim said.

"We have pizza and pasta over here" Azul called out.

"What would you like to drink?" asked Jade.

"Geh!" Ace yelped. "The Octavinelle boys!"

"What are you doing with them?" Deuce whispered to Yuuna. Y/n and Grim obviously heard him.

"We were in a whooole heap 'o trouble while you guys were off schmoozing with your families, y'know" Grim said. "Sit down and I'll tell you all about the Great Grim's exploits!"

"Mhm. It's a good thing I finished my work before coming here" Y/n sighed as Grim told the two brain cells all about what happened.

"What ARE you rambling about?" Ace asked. "Oh well. I guess as long as you're okay..."

"Yeesh. It's one false alarm after another with you guys" Deuce smiled.

"Aw. You really were worried about us" Y/n teased.

"Thank you both for coming for us" Yuuna thanked, kissing Deuce and Ace's cheeks

"Meh, no big deal" Ace said with pride, having a blush on his face. "There wasn't much to do at home other than play video games anyway"

"And it's be a real jerk move to ignore you after we told you to message us if anything came up...at least Y/n was there" Deuce also blushed.

"You guys just gotta keep up that image, huh?" Grim and Y/n asked in unison.

"Okay, back to partying!" Kalim shoued. "Bring on the food and crank up the music! This is going to be the best holiday ever!"

"YEAAAH!" everyone cheered.

"I am surrounded by simpletons" Jamil huffed before having a small smile.

Y/n chuckled