Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuu was always aware of the house on the hill, and all the adults gave them varying reasons not to visit it. It's old. It’s decrepit. It’s too far out of town. The fellow kids had plenty of reasons, too, honestly. It’s haunted. It’s where the boogeyman lives. It’s where serial killers hide their victims. Yuu had heard every single reason not to go there.
But it seemed to call to them. They would visit outside after school and peer into the yard from the fence. They swore they saw movement in the windows, but nobody had lived there since Yuu’s very own great-great-great-grandmother passed. Maybe that’s why Yuu really liked the house.
It was one day when they noticed a grey cat they had never seen sitting on the post.
“Aw, here kitty kitty.” They said, holding out their hand.
The cat bumped his grey head into the human’s hand and turned and ran into the house’s yard without any concern for the decrepitude of the path, knocking the gate open for anyone who would wish to follow.
Yuu frowned. “Kitty, you can’t go in there. It’s dangerous.”
The kitty turned his head back, wiggled his nose, and went inside the old house.
The human stood outside for a second, looking back and forth. They would need to go home, but they didn’t want this poor feline to get hurt in this house. Where had this cat even come from?
Making their decision, they marched inside and opened the door more, trying to balance it on its single hinge.
They turned and looked down the hall to find their furry friend at the top of the stairs, which earned another frown.
“Hey! The flooring doesn’t look very stable! Come back down here!”
The cat, once again, looked at them but didn’t listen, moving on with his plan to go deeper into the house.
Yuu huffed and followed suit. This cat was going to get them killed.
They turned to the hall to find the cat staring at them again and then disappearing down a corner. Oh, how kind of him to wait.
Watching their step, they ran after him and paused when they were greeted by a loft area with an altar dedicated to a book on top of it.
For a moment, the cat was forgotten about.
“Weird.” They said aloud. “What is this…”
They picked up the book and opened it, and out fell a little note.

“To whoever they choose,” Yuu read.
Okay, weird. Who are they?
“I am sorry; I cannot be there to tell you this all in person, but since my kids have left the family business, I will have to wait for them to choose a new guardian, and I can only hope these rascals won’t be too picky…”
Seriously. Who are they?
“But there are some rules to get you started.
Rule one: no haunting after midnight.
Rule two: Everyone must be up for at least seven hours of the day. Yes, that includes all cats and undead.”
What.
“Rule three, never leave Malleus and Leona alone in a room together.
Rule four: let Riddle know if you plan on changing, adjusting, adding, or removing any rules.
Rule five, Sebek needs company. He may say he doesn’t, but he does. Even if it's just a talking picture.”
Yuu’s going to stop asking questions at this point.
“Rule six, Always check your pockets around Ruggie. He definitely has stolen something from you while you were reading this.
Rule seven: Do not give your name to Lilia. He does not truly want it, but old habits die hard, and once he has it, he will not give it back.
Rule eight: If you need tech support, ask Idia. If you need life support, call (xxx)xxx-xxxx; they aren't going to tell them.
Rule nine: Keep one room available for the rascals to destroy things. It will keep you from replacing nice things. Trust me.
Rule ten: Don’t go into the woods alone at night, and don’t let anything into the house after dark either. Not all of them are friendly. Just like humans. Pick and choose, child. Pick and choose.
Crowley will explain the rest. Thank you, child.
Signed,
Grandma Nesley.”

Yuu stared at the letter for a long moment before looking at the book. “What the heck was all that about?”
“Why them, Grim?”
The human’s head shot up at the noise.
In front of them, on the altar, was a man, tall, with dark skin, green eyes, and messy, curly brown hair with two braids coming down right into Yuu’s face. How had they not seen him? Over his eye was a nasty-looking scar.
The strangest thing about him.
Two brown striped cat ears on his head.
“Hehehe, if you were awake during the meeting, you would knowwwwww~” A high-pitched voice came from the side of them, but Yuu didn’t dare take their eyes off the man in front of them. The more they looked, the more they saw he was not human.
His eyes were feline, he had whisper-like hairs on his cheeks, and subtle stripes going up on his arms.
“I think they’d make a better snack than a keeper.” The monster said. “How’d you like that, Herbivore? Being a snack?”
He sneered a mocking smile, showing rows of canines that were fit for the mouth of a predator. Then he lunged forward slightly.
Yuu yelped, leaping back and right through the bars that were meant to stop this from happening. Stupid old house!
Yuu just heard the wind and the laughter of that cat man.
They expected a harsh impact, but someone caught them.
“Do not worry, Mon cher, I have you.”
“Wha! Monster—” Yuu tried, reaching up to grab the man’s shoulders. To warn him about the crazy cat thing upstairs.
“Non, non. It is okay.” The man said, lowering them and setting them down. He had wild hair and freckles. He wore a poet's shirt for some reason, too. “He is just…how you say, un gros connard, a fool. He means no harm. He just wanted to scare you.”
The human looked at him. “What?”
“No one in this house wants to harm you, I promise.” The blonde man told them.
“How many people are in this house?” Yuu asked, feeling their chest tighten.
“Twenty…four? Twenty-five?” The man shrugged. “But we are all very excited to finally meet you.”
“I have to go!” Yuu tried to stand but found their legs were too shaky.
“Whoa! Be careful. You must be quite in shock. You need to rest.” The blonde told them.
“Not here, I don’t, Buster,” Yuu said, trying to stand again, this time, thankfully, working. “I am not staying in a house with something like that!”
They pointed upstairs.
“He is not, uh, is the worst one, I promise!”
“I heard that!” A roar came from upstairs.
Yuu started running in a random direction.
“Wait! Mon Cher!”
“Nope! Non! Nada!” Yuu yelled back.
The human turned a corner, scowling when they seemed to walk through something that blindsided them, and then hit something hard.
“Are you okay? You ran right through me.” A gentle voice said.
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Yuu looked up to see a group of figures.
A green-haired boy with scales. A tall man with horns and a silver-haired boy who was see-through.
They screamed, grabbed the book they dropped, and ran away.
The human ran into a room and slammed the door, pressing themselves into it when they saw two hulking figures tearing apart furniture. A giant white wolf, and it was like a cat with dog ears, and it was huge.
Again, the creatures stopped and turned to them, and another scream escaped them as they opened the door and ran.
This time, they found the back door and ran out. The pool was bigger than any they’d ever seen and started deep, and Yuu made the mistake of getting curiously close.
Something grabbed their foot, pulling them into the water. They held on tightly to the book in their hands.
They felt something long and slimly wrap around their legs, so they could swim away as arms held their hands, keeping them from fighting too hard. Then something grabbed Yuu from behind and pulled them away from whatever was holding them, only to slither around them again. They felt something playing with their face, like they were examining it.
Finally, when they felt like they were going to burst from the lack of oxygen, something slimy but different—it had suction cups (a tentacle maybe?)—wrapped around Yuu’s waist and pulled them out of the water gently, setting them on the side of the pool.
Yuu coughed violently, looking up and spotting the figures in the water. Two lanky, eel-like creatures and an octopus. A giant one.
They are never swimming again.
They readjusted the grip on their book and started running for the woods with the setting sun behind them.
They ran past a group of monsters. One redhead with a hole in his back. A centaur with blue hair. A red griffon with a man who had seaweed hair was riding. They all called after the human. Asked where they were going. It was dangerous in the woods.
Yeah, right. It was dangerous in that house!
Yuu ran until it was dark, then slowed down.
“Okay… I think I’m—”
Growling. Then there was growling.
They froze, turning and looking around until they spotted glowing yellow eyes.
“H…hi…”
The werewolf charged.
Yuu screamed, running backwards into the tree.
A horse headbutted the werewolf before it got to them.
The monster’s attention turned to the horse, which neighed in response and stomped its hoof, then the wolf’s attention went back to the human. Before it could step too close, another werewolf came from the forest, a white one, guarding Yuu.
The horse didn’t seem to care. It neighed again, earning the first wolf’s attention, and stared down the monster.
The wolf seemed to freeze, then start to whimper before running away with its tail tucked in between its legs.
Yuu was in hysterics when the two creatures turned to them.
The wolf shifted down, only slightly in height; he was still outrageously tall. He had white hair and tan skin with a tan cardigan. Honestly, it looked like he was ready for bed.
The horse, which was tan with ombre legs, also shifted. Into another tall man, but much shorter. He was blonde with purple ombre. He looked like he was wearing jogging clothes.
“Are you alright, dear?” The blonde asked, kneeling to be face-to-face with Yuu, who had fallen on their rear.
“You—you’re not—”
“It’s okay.” The other man said, also lowering himself. “It’s okay. We’re not here to hurt you. It’s all confusing, I know. I’m new to this, too.”
“What…what is this?” Yuu felt tears in their eyes.
“Let’s get you somewhere warm, and we’ll explain everything.” The shorter of the two promised.
The man with the white hair nodded, then took off his cardigan, offering it to the human.
Yuu hesitated, but the warmth was calling their name, and they caved.
“I’m Jack, by the way. This is Vil.”
“Yuu.”
They held onto the edges of the cardigans and onto the book they got.
They looked down at it and frowned. Despite it going into the pool and being dragged throughout the woods, it was perfectly dry and intact. Strange.
“What are you guys?” "Yuu asked as they got in sight of the house on the hill.
“Us specifically?” Vil asked. “I’m a mare.”
“A mare?” Yuu frowned.
“I’m a werewolf,” Jack added.
“What about everyone else?” They asked. “Like collectively? I’m human. So is everyone. What about you guys?”
The two raised a brow.
“I thought it was obvious,” Jack said. “We’re monsters.”

Chapter Text

Yuu sat in the chair holding their cup of tea, not daring to take a drink. These guys were monsters! Who knew what they did to it!
“Hello, dear.” The man in the crow mask said to the human, pouring another glass of tea for himself. “You may call me Dire Crowley.”
Crowley was pale, deathly so. His eyes seemed to glow yellow from behind his mask as well. He had this uncanny valley to him, but all in all, he at least appeared to be human, maybe to the left.
“Wh, what are you?” Yuu’s voice came out weak.
“That’s quite rude to ask.” The other person in the room asked. Vil had called him Lilia, Yuu thought. And despite his words, he had an amused smile on his face.
“It’s fine, Lilia,” Crowley said, passing tea to him. “They don’t know the rules yet. They will learn soon enough.”
“What rules? What is happening? This place has been empty for years! Where did all of you come from!?” Yuu’s words got more panicked as they asked.
Crowley smiled at them. “Easy, child. All your questions will be answered. Just calm down.”
“That is very hard when monsters surround me.”
“Now that is actually rude,” Lilia spoke up again, this time with a frown, lowering his cup of tea from his mouth.
“Easy.” The taller man spoke up, raising a hand.
“But they—”
“The rules of hospitality do not apply when they are the ones who own the house,” Crowley said.
Lilia grumbled something about being rude to guests, roommates, and whatnot.
“Own the house?” Yuu asked. “I don’t own this house.”
“You do now.” Crowley nodded. “We’ve decided it would pass to you.”
“What does that mean? Why me?”
“It means you’ll be the one to protect us.” Crowley smiled like that explained everything. “Like your great-great-great-grandmother did.”
“Protect you? You? From what?”
“Other monsters. Monster hunters. The feds. The usual.” Lilia spoke up, apparently done with his grumbling.
“The feds?”
“From anything and everything.” Crowley continued. “This is one of the few safe havens for monsters in the world. You have some of the rarest monsters here that need you.”
“But why me?” Yuu asked. “I’m still in high school. I’m not qualified for this.”
“There’s a lot that you do not understand about being a keeper,” the tall, inhuman man said with a strange smile. There was something strange behind it, but Yuu couldn’t tell what. “You’ll learn why one day, but for now, just know destiny brought us together.”
Lilia looked off to the side and took a sip. “I think you’re going to be a perfect fit.”
Yuu paused for a moment. “Okay, whatever. You still didn’t answer how—” They moved their hands, trying to figure out how to ask their question. More like what question to ask. They were careful not to spill the tea they weren’t drinking.
“Were you sneaking around the house? Were you not in the house before I came in? What was the deal with that?”
“Oh!” Crowley laughed. “You see, that book you picked up—”
“Which will have details on different species of monsters and how to help or deal with them.” Lilia took another drink.
“-granted you the ability to see through the, ah… what is it called?” Crowley asked.
“Depends on the culture, deary.” The shorter male answered.
“Right. Veil, border, other side, and barrier are all Western terms. I’m unfamiliar with Eastern terms, unfortunately. For simplicity, we’ll call it the Veil. That book gave you the ability to see through the Veil. We reside mostly on the thinnest side of the Veil, where we can still interact with the material world.”
“Right… I think that makes sense…maybe.” Yuu said softly, setting their untouched tea down and standing up. “Well, this has all been lovely, but I really have to go.”
“Go?” Crowley frowned.
“You certainly didn’t think they were living here?” Lilia asked.
“The keeper always lives in the house.”
“I’m not the keeper.”
“What?” Lilia frowned.
“Yes, you are.” The tall man said. “We chose you. You have the book.”
Yuu looked at their hands. They had unconsciously picked it up.
“Well, here. Pick someone else.” They said, holding out the book. “Someone who doesn’t have a math test on Friday.”
“No. No, you’re supposed to be the keeper. You’re the only one who can do it.” Crowley said, standing up and starting to push the book gently back towards Yuu. “This is your destiny.”
Yuu shook their head. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
They set the book on the dusty couch they had been on, turned on their heels, and ran out the door.

Chapter Text

“-and that’s when the clergy—Yuu, are you even listening to me?”
They were snapped out of their thoughts, and their gaze rose to meet their friend, who stared back at the smaller individual.
“Well?” Rollo asked. “Were you listening?”
“Listening to what?”
To anyone but Yuu, Rollo looked like he was glaring, but Yuu could see worry when he gave them a glance over.
“What’s wrong with you?”
And there’s the question.
Same old song and dance whenever Rollo worried over Yuu.
Glare. Look over. Question.
He cared in his own way.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just…not been sleeping well.” Yuu said, feeling a pit in their stomach. They hated lying to Rollo. They hated lying in general. But what were they going to say? ‘Hey, I just discovered that monsters are real, and they want me to babysit them and make sure they don’t get super murdered by the fucking feds even though I’m not even old enough to pay taxes yet!’
“That—”
The school bell rang, causing both teens to look up.
Saved by the literal bell.
“I've got to get home. My mom wanted to talk to me about something, and I—” Yuu froze looking into their bag.
“Yuu?” Rollo scowled. “Yuu?”
“I’m fine!” Their voice cracked, shoving everything on top of the book. The fucking monster guide that they had left back at the house on the hill.
Rollo’s scowl deepened, and he, for whatever reason, did not seem convinced.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
You’re a day late and a dollar short, buster.
“Yuu.” He said harshly, glaring. Then giving them a look over. “What’s wrong?”
See? Same song and dance.
Yuu hesitated for a moment.
“Nothing.” They said. It was best not to be the town's crazy. “I’m fine.”

-

Yuu got home and emptied their bag on their bed, only to immediately throw the book in their room's garbage can.
That worked for two and a half seconds because when they turned back towards their bed, the book was back sitting on their pillow. They turned to their trash can.
Empty.
“Are you serious!?” Yuu cried out, stomping their foot. Yes, childish, but hey, they’re trying to avoid their destiny, and it’s not working. You’d be frustrated too.
“Yuu? Are you home?” Their mother called as the front door could be heard opening and shutting.
Great. A distraction from this mess.
“Coming, Mama!”
Yuu ran out of the room and downstairs into the arms of the mother, who smiled a bit confused. “Well, you seem huggy today.? Something happen?”
“Bad day.” They answered.
“Well, I have some good news. Let’s sit down.” Their mom led them to the couch and smiled. “Do you remember me telling you how you're related to the lady who owned the house on the hill?”
Yuu’s blood ran cold.
“Yes.” They said. “She was my great-great-great-grandma, right?”
“Well, she’s left you the house.”
“What.”
“She left you the old house on the hill.” Their mother repeated. “It’s a fixer-upper. But I think we could get it up and livable again.”
“Wait, how am I in her will? Didn’t she die before I was born?” Yuu asked.
“No, no.” The mother shook her head. “Just after.”
Yuu was feeling their head spin.
“Isn’t this great?” She asked. “You have a house!”
They forced a smile and nodded, hugging their mother.
What were they going to do now?