Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Iruma has no idea what is going on or what happened to put him into this situation in the first place. Only a moment ago, he had been sitting with Az and Clara in Professor Balam’s class, studying for the End of Terminus Exam. Now Iruma finds himself being carried over Professor Balam’s shoulder like a sack of flour while the professor is running down the hall. 

After not feeling what he had been expecting to find on a fledgling's back when he petted Iruma’s back, he panicked. Something is wrong with the child; Balam cannot feel what he should be feeling when it comes to a child’s wing roots. He needs to know what is wrong with the child. Running down the school hallway, Balam goes to the first place he thinks of to get help—the Babyls professors' common office. 

Professor Balam slams through the professor's common office, yelling for his colleagues, “Excuse me! Someone, I need help!...”

“What’s wrong?” Comes Professor Momomoki’s voice as she walks toward Balam. 

“How can we help? Why are you holding Iruma-kun?” Professor Robin asks in his bright voice. 

The professors currently in the office come around to the open area of the office, where Balam is standing with Iruma still on his shoulder, trying his best to wiggle free of the professor, but not getting anywhere. The current professors in the office are Robin, Blushenko, Momonoki, and Dali. 

“Professor Balam, just what is going on?” Professor Dali asks, chuckling at the wiggling student playfully. 

“I don’t know, I panicked when I couldn’t feel this kid’s wing roots when petting his back! Something is wrong! I didn’t know where to go, so I came to the office to get help!” Professor Balam states feeling lost. The most important part of being a Babyls professor is protecting their students, their treasures. So, when he felt the teen’s back and did not feel the obvious sensation of wing roots he was expecting, Professor Balam knew he needed help with whatever this situation was. 

At the giant professor’s words, Iruma starts to slip into a blind panic. His breathing came on sharp pants, quickly heading towards full hyperventilation. Iruma’s heart is racing, even faster than his mind, which is trying to think of any conceivable way of getting out of this situation. He is human; humans don’t have wings. He does not want to be eaten by his professor, or worse, thrown out of the Netherworld.

‘Please, just let me go! I don’t want to be eaten! No, no, no, no!’ Iruma screams internally as he tries to kick and wiggle with all his might as a full-blown panic attack kicks in. 

Professor Dali is about to playfully quip back at Professor Balam’s unnecessary panic when he really takes a look at the teen on Balam’s shoulder. The teen looks to be gasping for breath and trying with all his might to get away, the kid’s eyes flitting around him, radiating pure panic. Though before Dali can speak up about the panicking teen, Robin steps forward, and Dali cannot prevent the next few seconds from happening right in front of him. 

“Iruma-kun, just show us your back. Then we can all relax!” Professor Robin chirps.

Professor Balam is quick to set Iruma down, but keeps a firm grip on the boy so he can’t run away. Professor Robin is quick to lift the boy’s uniform so that they can all see Iruma’s back. The sight of Iruma’s uncovered back has all the adults falling silent around the room.

None of the adults could have prepared for what they were now looking at. Their student, their treasure, to find one of their students in such a state is a living nightmare for the professors. Iruma’s back is a map of horror, covered in scars of all different kinds, leaving almost no skin on his back untouched by scarring of some sort. Even worse than a fledgling with his back filled with scars is one scar in particular and the implications of it—the reason the teen was dragged to the professor’s common office in the first place. 

Directly between his shoulder blades, where his wing roots should be, is a terrifying, deep, jagged scar that is just a bit longer than his shoulder blades and about two inches wide. The scar is the only thing left where his wing roots belong.

‘Oh Devil! What happened to this poor fledgling?! Who dares to ground one of our treasures?! Pull it together, Dali! We need to calm things down!’ Professor Dali screams in his own mind, knowing that as the Head Professor, he needs to regain control of himself and the situation, or things will quickly devolve. 

“Everyone, take a few death breaths. Balam, we should let Iruma sit down,” Professor Dali says in a very calm and soft voice as he moves slowly up to Iruma, who flinches hard, but still lets Professor Dali gently extract Iruma from Professor Balam’s and Robin’s frozen grip. The two professors are frozen in shock, seeing the horror that is the fledgling’s back. 

Professor Dali is left with Iruma trembling so hard that he just picks up the boy and takes the few steps over to one of the two large soft couches in the open center of the office and gently sets the small teen on the middle couch cushion before pulling a blanket from the back of the couch and wrapping it around the shaking teen’s shoulders. 

“Professor Momonoki, I know this is distressing, but I need you to go grab Professor Marbas and bring him here. Professor Robin, I need you to bring Professor Kalego here. Iruma-kun is his student after all; he needs to be here,” Professor Dali gives out orders to his colleagues, taking charge of the situation. 

At their seniors' orders, Momonoki and Robin were able to unfreeze themselves and run from the office to retrieve the professors they had been instructed to. Professor Dali is quick to cast a spell to keep anything spoken in the office from being heard outside the door. 

“Professor Balam, can you make Iruma-kun a cup of tea, to help him calm down a bit, please?” Professor Dali asks the giant professor softly.

Balam receives the unspoken message that Dali is conveying to him. He is to make some tea with a bit of something to help the teen relax, added into it so that while they have to question the teen, the teen will be a lot less likely to slip into an evil cycle on top of everything. Balam is quick to start working on making Iruma the cup of tea ordered by Dali. 

Dali moves slowly as he kneels in front of Iruma, who is sitting shaking on the couch, still breathing in fast gasps and wheezes, “Iruma, first try to calm your breathing just a bit. We are here to protect you. You are safe here.” 

Iruma wants to believe the professors, but everything just feels like a nightmare. Why are they not eating him? Why do they look so scared and worried? What is going on? Iruma’s head feels all fuzzy and dark, scared even to move, not knowing what is going on around him. Iruma is still breathing hard even a few minutes later when Professors Momonoki and Robin bring back Professors Marbus and Kalego, who look concerned and confused, having been pulled to the office by panicked colleagues. Professor Blushenko makes sure that the office door is locked securely behind them. 

“Alright, just what is going on here? First, two of my students came back to the classroom yelling about Shichiro kidnapping their friend. Robin comes in saying there is an emergency that I need to come see in the faculty office.” Professor Kalego groans, taking in the looks around the room, and Iruma, sitting on the couch, shaking and breathing far too fast. 

“Um…the tea is ready, Professor Dali,” Balam speaks up after Kalego’s statement, as all the professors look like they are trying to get one of the others to be the one to tell the Guard Dog of Babyls what they just found out about Iruma. 

“Bring the tea over here, Professor Balam. Professor Kalego, Professor Marbas, I think it would be best for you just to take a look at Iruma’s back first. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it myself,” Professor Dali states as calmly as he can, even though he feels ready to fly into a rage at whoever dared to hurt the fledgling, especially one under their protection. 

Kalego does not feel good about how serious and careful Dali is, while all the other professors in the room look ready to fall into an evil cycle and cry their hearts out. He waits for Shichiro to set down the mug of tea he made for Iruma before backing away for Kalego to walk up to Iruma himself, with Marbas right behind him.

“Iruma-kun, will you show Professors Kalego and Marbas your back, please?” Dali asks Iruma in a soft voice, as if he is speaking to an injured animal. 

Iruma is still having a hard time slowing his breathing, but takes a few sips of tea before nodding his head, turning just enough so that Professor Dali can lift the blanket and his uniform so that Kalego and Marbas can see Iruma’s uncovered back. 

Seeing Iruma’s back is something Kalego and Marbas are unprepared for; now they understand why their colleagues look ready to flood the office with tears and slip into their evil cycles all at once. Dali had been correct; neither demon would have believed the fledgling's state or situation if they had not seen his back for themselves. So many scars, but the one where his wing roots should be is the worst by far. Marbas, a master of the torture arts, can tell just how horrifying all the scars on the teen truly are, but he knows the actual reason he was called to the office now was to confirm that this fledgling has had their wings ripped or cut out of him, leaving him grounded. 

“I can confirm that the scar is exactly what you all think it is,” Marbas says, doing his best to keep his voice from shaking with pain and rage at what he is looking at.   

Professor Dali covers Iruma's back and lets the teen start sipping on the tea more as he tries to make himself look as small as possible on the couch, unsure what has all the professors so horrified. Iruma just wants to run away and return to his friends, but he is certain that the professors would stop him if he tried. As Iruma continues to sip his tea, he starts to feel remarkably relaxed and a bit warm, though he is unsure why. 

“Alright, everyone but Dali, Balam, and Marbas, go take a break and relax in the lounge. No one needs us all falling into our evil cycles. Make sure none of you speak of this, not to other professors, not to the chairdemon or Opera-senpai. As Babyls’ Guard Dog, I will be taking over this situation as of now,” Kalego says with a growl, trying to keep his fury under wraps as he keeps Cerberon pushed down so he does not let him manifest in anger, which would only worsen the situation.

All the professors who were not asked to stay are quick to follow Kalego’s instructions and leave the room to gather themselves. Once, only the professors whom Kalego wanted to stay were gone, and the office door was securely locked behind them. 

Noticing that Iruma is starting to breathe a little calmer and relaxing into the couch, Dali pulls the other professor into a huddle just a bit away from Iruma, allowing them to talk amongst themselves. 

“I had Balam put a bit of relaxing potion into Iruma-kun’s tea so that should keep him from going into another panic attack or slipping into an evil cycle,” Dali informs Kalego and Marbas in a whisper.

“Good call, we need to ask Iruma a few hard questions right away to make sure he is safe presently. I also need to know why the hell we were not informed about Iruma being grounded. Hell, Iruma barely has any paperwork in his file now that I think about it, ugh. Who the hell hurt, tortured that brat?!” Kalego growls, speaking to the other professors. 

“Um…Excuse me…Professor Kalego, what is happening? Why does everyone look sad and angry?” Iruma asks from the couch, feeling really relaxed and warm. 

Professor Kalego wants answers himself, but he knows he needs to be more cautious than usual, given the traumatic subject they need to discuss. Kalego is beyond furious that someone dared to torture and ground one of his students, a treasure under his protection, and also because he was not informed of this at the start, he almost killed his own student. Pushing down his own feelings to deal with later on, Kalego slowly steps over until he sits down on the coffee table in front of Iruma.

“I need to ask you some questions, Iruma. Will you answer them?” Kalego asks Iruma in the softest and calmest voice he can. 

Having his usually grumpy and growly professor talk to him so softly has Iruma’s eyes widen, and his concern for the situation around him increases. Still, Iruma nods his head in agreement, knowing that when Kalego is being so nice, he is not about to refuse to answer his questions. 

Getting the nod from Iruma, Kalego continues to ask his first question, “Iruma, who dared to ground you?” 

Iruma heard what his professor asked, but did not understand the meaning. He is sure that being grounded in the human realm is not what Kalego is referring to with his question, but Iruma does not know what Kalego means. 

“What do you mean by grounded, Professor Kalego?” Iruma asks. 

The moment the professors heard the question spoken by the small teen, they all tensed, not understanding how Iruma could not know what they were talking about. Did the fledgling even know what happened to him, and just how horrid it was for him and his future? The professors can barely even think about all the challenges that a grounded fledgling will have to face to have a promising future, but not even to seem to understand what happened to him, they can’t wrap their heads around it. 

Trying to simply ask the question a different way before trying anything else. Professor Kalego asks the same question with different wording, hoping the blue-haired brat will understand this time around: “Iruma, who tortured you so badly that they even went so far as to rip out your wings, leaving you with no ability to fly with your own wings ever again?” 

This time, Iruma was able to understand Professor Kalego’s words. Still, for some reason, the words unlocked something dark and deep inside his memories, memories that his own mind could not handle and had locked away so deeply that Iruma did not remember them. A dark memory is trying to surface as Iruma sits on the couch, feeling his head go fuzzy in a scary way. 

“I don’t know, my memory is fuzzy, I don’t remember, so much pain,” Iruma says, whimpering as he grabs his head as it starts to hurt. 

Pain radiates from every inch of his body like never before. The metallic smell of blood surrounds Iruma. Chained securely to the ceiling by his wrists, of the dark basement room. Iruma can see his parents talking to another person who looks similar to them, with blue hair and everything, but this person has pointed ears, fluffy wolf-like ear-horns the same blue as the person’s hair, and a fluffy wolf tail sticking out of their clothing. Iruma can’t see the person close enough to see if they are male or female. Iruma is in way too much pain to remember anything really. So much pain that even Iruma is mainly seeing black spots and losing consciousness. 

Iruma is not sure where the memory came from or even how old he was in that memory. Iruma feels his breathing start to race again, unsure of what he is remembering, but he knows he is scared; his entire body is shaking. 

“Iruma, you need to take deep breaths. You are safe, nothing is going to happen to you on my watch,” Professor Kalego says softly, slowly taking Iruma’s hands into his own, trying to calm the fledgling who is starting to panic. 

“Professor!” Iruma cries out softly as he launches himself into Professor Kalego’s arms, which are quick to catch and wrap securely around the teen, holding the crying student protectively in his arms.

“You are safe here with us, Iruma. I will not let anyone hurt you. I am not the Guard Dog of Bablys for nothing, brat,” Professor Kalego says softly but with confidence.

Kalego is careful as he moves himself so that he is sitting on the couch with Iruma tucked into his side, curled up small, even as he hugs the professor’s side.

“It seems like Iruma-kun’s mind locked away the memories of the event because of how purely traumatizing it was for the boy. I think we should move on to a different question, asking him more about the event will only distress the student more,” Professor Marbas points out softly to Kalego and the other professors. 

“My lie-detection bloodline magic is saying that Iruma is telling the truth; he doesn’t know what happened to him,” Professor Balam states softly. 

“Iruma, are you safe with the chairdemon and Opera-senpai? Are you sure they had nothing to do with…?” Professor Kalego asked with a soft voice, knowing he had to ask the question. 

Before Professor Kalego could even finish the question about Iruma’s guardians, Iruma was already answering the question quickly with a shaky voice, knowing it was best to tell the truth at the moment, not wanting his grandpa and Opera to get in trouble for whatever happened to him, “They had nothing to do with it. Grandpa only adopted me shortly before the start of the school year. Grandpa and Opera take good care of me.”

“True,” Professor Balam states to the other professors. 

“Well, that is one less thing we have to deal with, thankfully. However, this does not explain why we were not informed of such a history and disability. Hell, that damn chairdemon does not even have adoption paperwork in Iruma’s file,” Professor Kalego groans, pinching the bridge of their nose in frustration, still hugging Iruma with their other arm.

“How should we handle this situation?” Professor Dali asks, speaking up to see if Kalego already has a plan brewing. 

“It looks like I need to talk to the chairdemon and Opera-senpai and ask why the hell the brat’s student file has almost none of the paperwork it should, especially concerning his disability and adoption paperwork, even if I have to use my powers as Babyls’ Guard Dog to get this situation handled. I know it takes time to complete paperwork correctly, but that is no excuse for not doing so. None of us were informed of the situation,” Professor Kalego groans grumpily, knowing his own workload has just gotten heavier. 

“Can one or two of you stay here with Iruma while I go talk to the idiotic chairdemon?” Kalego asks his colleagues. 

“I have a class to get to, but I know Balam and Marbas should be free for a bit,” Dali states, looking at his watch to check the time. 

“Balam and I will stay and keep Iruma-kun company, don't worry,” Marbas says as Kalego gives Iruma a soft head pat before getting up. 

“Iruma, I should be back soon. Just relax,” Kalego says as Marbas and Shichiro sit on the couch across from the one Iruma lies down in the fetal position now that Kalego has gotten up. 

Iruma watches his professor walk out of the office as he pulls the blanket tighter around himself, trying to feel better, not understanding the situation very well. Iruma feels exhausted, but also too wired to fall asleep on the comfy office couch. 

Chapter Text

Now away from Iruma, Kalego lets some of his anger and frustration show. Kalego is barely keeping his fury in check as he barges into the chairdemon’s office without knocking, closing and locking the office door behind him. 

“What is going on, Kalego-kun?” Sullivan asks in his annoyingly playful voice before Kalego locks serious and angry eyes with the elder demon.

“Lord Sullivan, you have some serious explaining to do, and your explanations better be good,” Kalego states seriously, sitting himself down in one of the chairs in front of Sullivan’s desk while rubbing his temples in frustration with the situation and his developing headache.

“Explaining what exactly, Kalego-kun?” Sullivan asks, noticing how furious Kalego is and how hard he is trying to keep himself calm. 

“So much. Though let's start with why the hell weren’t we informed about Iruma being grounded or tortured? Why did we only just find out now, because Shichiro panicked after not feeling wing roots on Iruma’s back while petting him during class? Why does the brat not seem to know what happened to him? Why were we not told about you adopting Iruma right before the school year started, and not even putting this information into Iruma’s file anywhere?” Kalego asks the elder demon, letting some of his anger slip into his voice as he questions Sullivan.

“Let’s start with the paperwork situation. I did not exactly plan to adopt Iruma so spontaneously. Still, when the opportunity to adopt him from his horrid situation presented itself, I decided to save the child and adopt him as my grandson. I barely had the time to get the minimum paperwork done to get him enrolled in the short time between his adoption and when school started,” Sullivan explained dismissively.

“Okay, fine, though that does not excuse not having done any more paperwork since then! Now, why the hell weren’t we informed about Iruma being grounded? A student not being able to fly is a huge concern!” Kalego asks with a growl in his voice. 

“Mostly because Iruma seems to be aware that he can’t fly, but seems to have blocked out the reason why. We asked when we first found out, but he shut down for a few hours, and then seemed to have no recollection of ever being asked anything. We figured things would figure themselves out once he started to feel safe and stable in his new environment,” Sullivan says with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“That is stupid! You can’t just go with the flow on everything! That still does not explain why at least I and the professors were not informed!” Kalego vents some of his rage at the far too carefree idiot of a chairdemon before continuing to speak, “You know what, forget it! As the Guard Dog of Bablys, I hereby state that Iruma will remain in my custody until you two can complete all of his paperwork. After school tomorrow, please send Iruma with supplies to last through the school break. I will teenage-sit the brat at my place during the Terminus School Break, so that you two have time to complete both your normal work and all the paperwork and such for Iruma. Before you ask, yes, you can both visit the brat occasionally, but not very often, at the most once a week, since I know all the paperwork just for the boy will take quite a bit of magic and time to complete everything.” 

“Aw, you care, Kalego-kun,” Opera says with amused flicks of his ear-horns and tail. 

“Oh shut up! Anyway, Iruma is presently in the faculty office. Shichiro gave the brat some relaxing potion, as we did not want him to fall into an evil cycle or be stressed too much. Although it only worked about halfway, Iruma still panicked a bit. Also, he does not seem to know what being grounded means,” Kalego informs the two. 

“Fine! I will get the paperwork done, but you must promise to take good care of Iruma. No, being mean and bullying him,” Sullivan says, pouting, knowing Kalego could have made things more difficult for him than he was presently, this situation definitely falls into where Babyls’ Guard Dog can take matters into his own hands.  

“I promise to take care of the brat,” Kalego says seriously, knowing how much these two fools care for the brat. Also, Kalego is not about to let anything happen to a fledgling under his protection. 

“We will make sure Iruma is ready to go to your place after school tomorrow. Also, try to explain things again,” Opera states calmly to both Sullivan and Kalego. 

With Kalego’s nod of acceptance, all three of them head back to the faculty office to find Iruma still quietly curled up on the couch. Shichiro and Marbas sit quietly, working on paperwork on the sofa across from Iruma, so they are not just staring at the small teen. 

“Aw, my poor grandson. Iruma, let's go home so you can relax for the rest of the day,” Sullivan says sweetly, picking Iruma up like he is a little kid into his arms before walking out of the office, leaving three professors a bit dazed in his wake. 

“Grandpa? What about the rest of the school day?” Iruma asks slowly, almost as if he is in a daydream, given how floaty he is feeling, as Sullivan carries him outside and then starts to fly with Iruma in his arms home. 

“You need to relax after the morning you have had. Also, the three of us need to talk about some things that we have been putting off, which has now gotten me in a bit of trouble with the professors for putting off too long,” Sullivan says softly as they fly with Iruma in their arms. 

In his very relaxed state, Iruma has a hard time keeping track of time. They are soon landing at the Sullivan manor’s front door. Opera opens the door for Sullivan and Iruma to walk into the manor ahead of them. After closing the door behind them, Opera goes to the kitchen to grab some tea and snacks, while Sullivan sits himself and Iruma down on the living room couch.

Opera only takes a few minutes before bringing them a tray of tea and snacks, before taking a seat themselves. 

“Iruma, do you remember what happened with the professors earlier today?” Sullivan asks to start. 

“The professors freaked out when they saw my back. They asked me about something called being grounded. Then things get kind of fuzzy from there, but Professor Kalego was acting nicer than his normal grumpiness,” Iruma states softly, curling into himself. 

“We want to try and explain that situation to you so that you understand why your professors were so worried. Then we have a few other things to talk about, but let's start with this, it is the most important subject we need to cover,” Sullivan says softly, trying to keep Iruma calm. 

“Iruma, can you show me your back to start with?” Opera asks with its ever-calm voice. 

Wondering why everyone is so stuck on the state of his back, Iruma just does as he is asked since it is Opera and his grandpa. Iruma turns his back to Opera, then lifts his uniform to show his bare back. Opera, using a Polaroid camera, takes a few quick pictures of Iruma’s back. Hearing the clicking sounds, Iruma turns around to see Opera shaking out the images that had been printed from the camera. 

“What? Why are you taking pictures?” Iruma asks, confused by Opera’s actions.

“I think it will be easier to explain what worried your professors so much if you can see what they are seeing, and then Master Sullivan and I explain the situation from there,” Opera replies, before continuing to say, “These pictures show the state of your back right now, Iruma.”

Still not really following the situation, Iruma takes a look at the pictures and is surprised by just how scared his back really is. He remembers some of the stories behind a portion of the scars, but most only have horrible stomach-dropping feelings connected to the sight of them. Iruma feels like his heart is racing and his breathing is picking up. 

“I only truly remember getting about a third of those scars; the rest feels like a bad nightmare that I only remember bits and pieces of. Even the bits I remember don’t make any sense and make me feel like I am falling, alone, into a dark hole in my mind,” Iruma tries to explain as his breathing comes in and out fast, only a few notches away from the start of a panic attack. 

“You are doing better than when we asked you what happened to your back after only a couple of days of living here. I think a lot of those scars come from situations so traumatic that your mind hides them from you, so that the memories wouldn’t hurt you until you can handle remembering them. Though the biggest reason your professors were worried about you is this large, deep scar right here, and what it symbolizes,” Sullivan explained before pointing to the profound and long scar that sits between Iruma’s shoulder blades. 

“I remembered a tiny bit of a memory connected to that scar when I was asked about grounding and wings, or something like that, but the memory made no sense. It was mostly just pain and being surrounded by darkness. Even that tiny bit of memory sent me into a panic attack,” Iruma admits shakily to his grandpa and Opera. 

“That is probably for the best that you don’t remember. This scaring shows that you have been grounded, or said differently, that your wings have been ripped out of your back, and you will never be able to grow your wings back,” Sullivan explains. 

“But I am human,” Iruma states, not understanding. 

“I am not so sure about that, but I am still researching your situation to confirm some things,” Sullivan says, mostly to himself. Still, Opera catches the statement and files it away with their other observations of Iruma. 

Opera knows that their master is keeping things to himself about Iruma and what the teen’s background is, but they are not sure why. Opera trusts their master even if they don’t know why he is keeping secrets from them, but they will do their job and protect their master and young charge with every drop of blood in their body.

“You not having wings and lots of scaring on your back that shows a history of torture has your professors worried, and rightly so,” Opera states calmly. 

“Though on the other hand, your professors now know you can’t fly, but Professor Kalego is angry with me for not having all your paperwork done and in your student file. Sadly, Kalego-kun is correct; thankfully, he is giving me time to get things sorted so that I can find and create all the necessary forms for you. I could also get in trouble if Border Patrol finds out I haven’t done your paperwork correctly; they will not be as kind. Kalego-kun has volunteered to take care of you, or, rather, take you under his custody starting tomorrow until I can sort out all your paperwork and other matters correctly. Sadly, that adds to Opera’s and my already packed schedule. The paperwork is not simple to do, and doing it around the other things I can’t put off as well means I probably won’t be able to have you back home until after the Terminus School Break,” Sullivan explains, pulling Iruma into a hug while pouting like a child. 

“You should be glad that Kalego-kun is willing to take care of Iruma himself and not take this situation to the Border Patrol, or you would have a hard time talking yourself out of that situation,” Opera points out bluntly, rescuing Iruma from his master’s smothering hug.

“Opera, you're being mean,” Sullivan pouts as Iruma is rescued and placed next to Opera carefully on the couch. 

“Anyway, you will be going with Kalego-kun after school tomorrow to stay at his place for a while until Master Sullivan can get things sorted with your paperwork and his normal obligations,” Opera states. 

“Okay…” Iruma states that he only sort of understands what is going on; everything has been so confusing today, and Iruma is now so exhausted that he just wants to curl up and go to sleep. 

Iruma knows he should probably be freaking out more about the information his grandpa and Opera are telling him about the scars on his back, given his current state of being grounded. Iruma can barely understand that he seems to have had wings at one point. On top of all this, he feels exhausted and no longer able to process what is going on around him at this point. 

“Come on, kit, let's tuck you into your bed for a nap. You look ready to fall asleep here on the couch,” Opera says in their ever-calm voice, carefully scooping their small charge into their arms and carrying Iruma upstairs to his room. 

Opera helps Iruma change into some pajamas before tucking the teen into bed, all snug for a much-needed nap. Opera smiles down at Iruma, who has already fallen asleep. Iruma and his background remain a mystery to them, but they do know that they see Iruma as their own kit to care for and protect. 

Knowing he has more work to do than usual now that they have to plan for Iruma to stay over with Kalego-kun, they pull themselves away from the kit and quietly leave his bedroom. Opera makes its way back to the living room to speak with its master, only to find the master making a mess and creating more work for them. 

“What do you think you are doing, master Sullivan?” Opera asks calmly, but his sharp eyes and folded-back ear-horns reveal his frustrated stance. 

Opera is staring at their master and the absolute mess they have made of a massive mountain of random, mostly useless items that Sullivan is trying to stuff into duffel bags. 

“I am just packing some things for Iruma to take with him to Kalego-kun’s place, so that my precious grandson won’t want for anything,” Sullivan states, like it should be obvious, looking up to try and give Opera their best puppy dog eyes. 

“No, you are not. Iruma does not need most of this whatsoever. I will pack some bags for Master Iruma while you work on the paperwork that is already piling up in your office. Now off you go to work, or I will drag you to your office myself. I will make sure everything is packed and ready for master Iruma to go stay with Kalego-kun after school tomorrow,” Opera states, frustrated at his ridiculous master. 

“But Opera!” Sullivan pouts, trying to argue. 

“No buts! Now off to your office with you, go do the work you are supposed to be doing,” Opera states strictly. 

Knowing that his security devil will physically drag him to his office if he does not listen, Sullivan pouts and grumbles the entire time he walks to his office to do paperwork. Opera is left with a mountain of mess in the living room; they now have to clean up before they can start working on packing bags for Iruma to take with them to stay over at Kalego-kun’s manor. 

Opera starts by sorting through the mountain of random items Sullivan had tried to pack for Iruma, only to find that a good 98% of them were useless to the boy and would only be a waste of space. Knowing that if he packed Iruma’s bags in the living room, Sullivan would somehow sneak useless items into the bags. Opera takes three black leather duffel bags into their own bedroom to pack them. 

As Opera packs the bags with items that Iruma actually needs and will use, they start to think about what they do and don’t know about Iruma. Between the pretty obvious signs that Iruma was grounded and the grumbled words from Sullivan, Opera is wondering what Iruma’s true background is. Is Iruma a half-demon or a full-demon? Who could their birth parents be since Sullivan did state that his Earth realm adoptive parents are humans? What kind of demon will Iruma grow into now that he is getting the food and mana of the Netherworld, and not being neglected or abused? 

Opera has more questions than answers about Iruma, but they do know that they will continue to care for and protect the teen who has become their kit at heart. Pulling out two leather journals from their collection on the bookshelf, they start adding notes to their current general notes journal about the situations and thoughts that have arisen today. The second journal they pulled from their shelf is a blank journal. 

Opera spends their afternoon between packing bags for Iruma, transferring notes he has taken about Iruma from their current general journal into the new blank journal to help their Kohai know how to take care of their kit, and making a list of other things they need to get done before sending Iruma off with Kalego after their school day tomorrow. 

That evening, Iruma only has the energy to wake up for dinner and spend about two hours hanging out and relaxing with his grandpa and Opera before his energy crashes again, sending Iruma back to bed for the night. Iruma had tried to fight the tired feeling hard so they could spend time with their family and studying for his exams. Though this just meant that Iruma ended up falling asleep on the couch, and an amused Opera carries them back to bed and tucks them in for the second time today. 

Chapter Text

Iruma wakes up and looks over at his alarm clock to turn it off. Seeing that he is up much earlier than usual, he has quite a bit of time before breakfast is typically served. It takes Iruma a few moments to fully process everything that happened the day before, once he is awake. 

Just thinking about what happened in the faculty office the day before has Iruma fighting to keep his panic from rising as his heart rate and breathing start to pick up. A handful of the professors have now seen his back, and not only did they not think he was human and try to eat him, but the professors told him that one of his scars meant he was grounded. His grandpa even said he was grounded, that at one point he had wings but they were ripped from his body, and that he is probably actually a demon. Iruma is unsure about everything, especially the terrifying blip of a memory that he saw after his Professor asked about his wings being removed.  

‘Am I actually a demon? Is that even possible? Why don’t I remember what happened to me to give me a majority of my scars, especially on my back? What does this all mean?’ Iruma screams these thoughts to himself in his mind as he scoots out of bed to start his day. 

Iruma has no real answers for his questions, but he figures that they will probably come as time goes on. His survival instincts were pushing him not to fixate too much on questions he can not answer at the moment. 

Much more pressing for him at the moment is how tight and painful his muscles are. He knows that if he leaves his muscles this painful already this morning, they will only get more painful throughout the day, and Iruma desperately needs the time to study for the exams. Knowing he has enough time and that his muscles need it, Iruma makes himself a nice hot bath to relax in. Iruma is soon gingerly submerging himself in the relaxing hot bath. Thankfully, Iruma can soon feel his muscles start to loosen up and no longer give him pain. He is glad that he was able to calm his muscles before they began to spasm. 

Iruma is soon starting to get ready for school, putting on his uniform and putting all his study material into his school bag before deciding to go down and spend some time studying at the dining table before school. 

“Good morning, Iruma. You are up early this morning,” Opera says, coming out of the kitchen to poke their head into the dining room. 

“Good morning, Opera. I woke up early and decided to do some studying at the dining room table,” Iruma says with a shrug.

“Then I will let you study. I will bring you your meds and tea in a minute. Breakfast will be ready in a little while,” Opera tells him.

“Thank you,” Iruma says as Opera disappears back into the kitchen. 

Iruma takes his seat with his study material out in front of him, trying his best to actually absorb the material he is reading. Iruma soon has a cup of tea placed in front of him, and when he looks up, he sees Opera holding out the pain pill that he takes every morning to help prevent his muscles from spasming with pain during the day. It does not always help, but compared to what he had been dealing with before the medication and being taken care of well by his new family, it has been a night-and-day difference. 

“Thanks, Opera,” Iruma says, taking the meds in front of Opera, who always makes sure Iruma actually takes the pill when he is handed it, before Opera goes back to continue making breakfast. 

Iruma is soon eating breakfast with his grandpa, and Opera practically feels the energy and nutrition from the food seeping into his still-healing body, which seems to want to eat everything Iruma can get his hands on after being unable to eat much at all consistently back in the human realm. He usually did not get a full single meal (normal non-Irumal portion) worth of food in a day or even multiple days at a time in the human realm, where he was practically always in danger of starving to death. 

“Iruma-chi! Iruma-chi! Ready for school?” Comes Clara’s voice from outside the manor. 

“Master Iruma, we are here to walk with you to school!” Az’s voice calls out as well. 

“Have a good day at school with your little friends, my precious grandson!” Sullivan says, giving Iruma a big hug. 

“I will see you later, Grandpa, Opera,” Iruma says as he gives Opera a warm hug before picking up his book bag and going outside to meet up with Az and Clara. 

Iruma greets both Clara and Az with hugs before they start their walk to school. 

“What happened yesterday? Why did you not return to class after Professor Balam ran away with you? Professor Kalego just said that Lord Sullivan took you home early after talking with some of the professors, but he didn’t tell us why,” Az asks. 

“Oh, it was nothing bad. Professor Balam just noticed that I was too exhausted and took me to my grandpa's to rest for the day. I slept most of the afternoon and all night yesterday, so I am all good now,” Iruma explains quickly, hating to lie, but knowing that telling his best friends the truth would only panic his closest friends. 

“Are you sure you are alright!” Clara and Az say at the same time, concerned for their friend.

“I am feeling good, don't worry. Opera and grandpa made sure I took a break and took care of myself,” Iruma tells them, happy that he does not have to lie about this part.

Finally accepting that Iruma is fine, the three walk to school happily chatting and having fun as they walk along together. 

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After doing his rounds of the school, but still with a reasonable amount of time before classes start for the day, Kalego walks into Shichiro’s private lab to spend time with his closest ally. 

“Morning, Kalego,” Shichiro says happily, looking up at his favorite demon. 

“Morning, Shichiro,” Kalego says warmly before pouring himself a cup of tea from Shichiro’s almost always-made pot of tea.

Kalego takes a seat next to Shichiro on the lab’s large couch, trying to relax. 

“How are you doing after yesterday? I have to admit I am still working on processing it all,” Kalego asks. He is still trying to process the fact that one of his most annoyingly happy and caring students is grounded and no longer able to fly. 

“Not great. I should have handled the situation better. I just panicked when I didn’t feel any wing roots,” Shichiro groans in frustration. 

“I don’t think any of us would have done any better, so don’t feel bad. To be grounded is such a taboo thing that is almost non-existent even in the darkest corners of battlefields and among criminals. None of us thought we would have a fledgling who has been tortured so deeply that someone would ground them,” Kalego growls.

“You think you can handle taking care of Iruma-kun by yourself for a while as Chairdemon Sullivan and Opera-senpai get the paperwork correctly in order?” Shichiro asks, having gotten a short explanation of Kalego’s plan the day before.

“If I am being honest, I see no problem with the protection part, but taking care of such an abused teen is not something I am used to. Iruma seems to hide his struggles too well when at school, so that does make me a bit concerned, but I am sure I can figure it out,” Kalego says with a shrug. 

“Remember that you can call me whenever you need. I will even stay at your place and stay with you while you have Iruma under your care,” Shichiro says, leaning a bit into Kalego’s side. 

“I may just take you up on that offer, Shichiro. I also have to work on making sure Iruma’s educational plans are worked around him being grounded, which only gives me more work,” Kalego states bluntly. 

“Our primary job is to educate the fledglings with as much as we can teach them to help them survive. Sometimes, that means working around disabilities. Though I think this is a first for Babyls to have a grounded student,” Shichiro says in agreement.

“Well, that is for another day. Now I need to do another round of patrol, and then classes will start. See you later, Shichiro,” Kalego says, bumping his shoulder against Shichiro’s before standing up. 

Kalego feels a bit better after spending some time with Shichiro, but he is still stressed with having Iruma’s devastating situation on top of the end of terminus exams coming up quickly; it is a lot at one time. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, knowing he needs to get ready to teach the misfit brats, while also making sure he does not treat Iruma any differently, given that would only confuse the brat, given Iruma seems to be able to handle him in his regular teaching style.

As Kalego does his last patrol route of the morning, his mind is focused on the fact that he volunteered himself to watch over Iruma in his home for at least the next few weeks. He knows that even for normal, healthy teens, being their professor and teaching them at school is very different from being a full-time guardian to a teen. This does not even get into the fact that Iruma is obviously traumatized by his life before being adopted, and not being able to fly is a huge disadvantage and downright dangerous, not even considering the lasting physical struggles being grounded can do to the body health-wise. There is a very real reason the rate of living after being grounded is so damn low. 

Shaking himself out of his stress, Kalego makes his way to the Royal One to get class started for the day. 

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  Stepping through the doors of the Royal One classroom, Iruma, Az, and Clara are greeted with a ridiculously gloomy atmosphere of a group of exhausted misfits. They find Goemon, Kamui, Elizabetta, Jazz, and Lied groaning and moaning in despair at their seats. 

“W-What’s the matter, guys?” Iruma asks his friends, wondering what happened to them.

“We’re doomed, man,” Lied groans.

“I tried cramming at the last minute…” Jazz states, frustrated. 

“But I couldn’t get anything in my head,” Goemon moaned. 

“Seriously. You’ve only been doing this for one day,” Az states in annoyance. 

The next few minutes, Az has to put up with the ridiculousness of the other dumb misfits trying to convince him to tutor them all. Az basically tells them all to forget it, saying he has already promised to help Iruma with his studying, and he can’t teach everyone at once. When the dumb misfits look at the other present smart students, they find Allocer and Sabnock, along with Kerori, who was out for the day, they realize the rest of the smart misfits are not really tutor material. 

“Sabnock, you’re so smart! Good boy!” Clara says to their giant classmate. 

“A good demon king needs to be knowledgeable after all,” Sabnock replies. 

“So, you’re an idiot too, nee-san?” Jazz asks Elizabetta. 

“Is that not good?” Elizabetta asks with a giggle and her hand on her cheek.

“Nah, it adds to your charm,” Kamui replies to Elizabetta. 

“Gah!! Our summer is ruined!!” Lied cries out in despair at the situation. 

“You guys already made plans for it…?” Iruma asks curiously. 

“Yeah! Listen here! The Netherworld is full of places to have fun! But the number one thing to do is go to Walter Park!” Lied yells with passion. 

“There’s the bloody pool! The screamfest! Or shopping at the soul-sucking pavilion!” Kamui adds.

“They have all kinds of events too! It’ll totally wear you out!” Lied continues. 

“Like a battalia’s training camp,” Jazz states.

“There are just so many things to do!” Elizabetta cheers.

“These people, they only ever get so excited when talking about what to play…Unbelievable…?” Az starts to comment in annoyance at the other misfits before turning to Iruma, who he notices looks like he has stars in his eyes. He is so excited. 

“Iruma-chi? You’re sparkling!” Clara exclaims, to which Az has to agree with Clara’s statement grudgingly.

“It just sounds like so much fun!!” Iruma says out loud to his friends, while inside he tries to keep himself from thinking about all the work he has had to do in past summers for his parents, who wanted the extra money from other people vacationing in the summer. 

“What!? You wanna go too, Iruma-kun!? Then let’s all go together!” Lied calls out. 

“Really? Can I?” Iruma asks. 

“Ya, let’s have fun all together!” Goemon calls out. 

“Ya, Okay!” Iruma agrees with a warm and fuzzy feeling blooming in his chest. 

Iruma, Lied, and Goemon start to jump around in excitement about their plans to go together during their school break. 

“There’s no point talking about it if you can't pass your exams,” Kalego states bluntly to his annoyingly excited students.

Professor Kalego’s statement has most of the misfits drop to the ground in despair. The despair only rises as Professor Kalego continues to speak, “So that you know, your examiner for the exams will be me.”

“Looks like we won’t be able to cheat this time…” Jazz states with annoyance. 

“Eh?” Iruma asks. 

“Professor Kalego always manages to catch the cheaters in the tests he guards. None of us know how he does it, though,” Jazz explains to an impressed Iruma. 

Iruma is about to continue with the conversation when he feels like he is being watched. Turning around to where he feels the eyes from, Iruma is surprised to find Professor Balam crouched down, trying to peek at them all from around the door frame. With his posture, untamed long white hair, and unsuccessful attempts at being sneaky, Professor Balam gives off a bit of a creepy vibe at that moment. 

“What!? Scary!” yelled out a majority of the misfit class students. 

“Professor Balam!?” Az asks, surprised by the giant professor’s sudden appearance in their classroom. 

“Eh? Is he gonna catch someone for his experiments, like the rumors say?” Jazz asks no one in particular.

“Who’s he aiming for!?” Kamui asks in panic. 

“Professor…” Geomon starts to state as Professor Kalego walks right past his students and straight to the giant professor. 

They watch as Professor Kalego walks straight up to Professor Balam, where the students watch in surprise as the two professors actually fist-bump right in front of the misfit students who are watching with wide eyes. 

“Shichiro,” Kalego states in what Shichiro can tell is a warm welcome voice. 

“Hey, Kalego-kun,” Balam replies. 

“Um…Do you guys know each other?” Iruma asks, figuring they are a bit closer than just colleagues, given that he has never seen his professor so amicable with the other professors. 

“Yes. We were in the same class back when we were students here at Babyls,” Professor Balam answers. 

“We’re stuck with each other,” Professor Kalego adds with no heat behind the statement, before he continues to turn to Shichiro to scold his ally very lightly, “But you shouldn’t come out of nowhere like that.”

“I guess so. I must’ve scared everyone, huh?” Professor Balam states. 

“Well, we were a little surprised…” Lied starts to comment. 

“But what’s scarier is that …Professor Kalego,” Jazz adds out loud. 

Though in the misfits' heads, they are all thinking, ‘Professor Kalego actually has friends!!’

Annoyed by the obvious thoughts of his students, Kalego roughly grabs Jazz and Lied’s heads in retaliation. This makes Lied and Jazz cry out in pain, though the pain is not bad, and they are more scared that their professor might be able to read their minds. 

A bit away from the other students, Iruma walks up to the giant professor to speak to him, “Um… Why did you come here, Professor Balam?”

“Well, I was a bit worried about what happened yesterday. But from the look of it, you’re having trouble with studying for the exams. Tell you what. I think I have a secret weapon that may just help. Give me a second,” Professor Balam says before signaling Professor Kalego over to the two of them. 

“Kalego-kun, do you mind if I borrow Iruma-kun here and show him something I think will help him study?” Shichiro asks Kalego since he is Iruma’s professor. 

“No problem, just bring him back before lunch, Shichiro,” Kalego says, waving off the two. 

Iruma, after telling Clara and Az that he will be back soon, follows Professor Balam back to the professor’s lab. Iruma is told to take a seat at the cleanest of the three work tables in the lab. He is soon joined by Professor Balam, who makes them both a cup of tea before sitting down across from Iruma. 

“I borrowed you from Kalego-kun for a few reasons, but the first is that I think I should apologize for how I handled the situation with your back yesterday. I know I panicked and made your condition a display to other professors. Even if I meant well, I still want to say I am sorry. Also, make us a bit more even, given I showed others your back without your permission,” Professor Balam says to Iruma before slowly lifting a hand to his metal mask to unclip his mask from the rest of the band that keeps it on his face. 

Iruma watches as Professor Balam slowly reveals the lower half of his face to Iruma, who is shocked for a moment, his eyes going wide for a few seconds as he registers what Professor Balam is showing him. The left side of Balam’s mouth is severely scarred, and his large fangs are on display, whereas the right side is much more covered by his lips. Balam soon clicks his metal mask back in place when Iruma speaks. 

“Eh? Why are you showing me this?” Iruma asks the giant professor, curious about the professor's frequent apologies.

“I figured this was better than just apologizing with words. My fangs are scary, aren’t they? It’s not that uncommon here, but a large portion of my jaw was peeled off in an accident a long time ago…I have a love for all living things, yet they always run from me in fear. So whenever I get the chance, I will touch them as much as I can, so much until it becomes a skin-ship habit. I am showing you because I guessed you didn’t like it when we saw your back. I was worried about how things went down, so I thought this was the best way to apologize to you,” Professor Balam says as he shyly scratches his mask with one of his fingers. 

‘I see, so Professor Balam is a bit strange, but I don’t feel scared…Actually, this professor seems very kind, just not very socially adept,’ Iruma thinks to himself before speaking out loud to the giant professor, “I was never mad at you or anything, professor. I understand that you just wanted to make sure I was alright. Professors have to make sure students are safe and not being hurt.”

“Thank you for understanding and accepting my apology, Iruma-kun,” Professor Balam says softly to the small teen. 

“Of course, I accept your apology. Also, I don’t think your scar is scary now that I know what to expect. Just a bit of a shock seeing it the first few moments,” Iruma tells the giant professor kindly, who smiles even more at the fledgling who is being so kind.

“Now I noticed that you were having some trouble studying, so I was wondering if you think these would help you?” Professor Balam asks as he gets up from his seat and pulls a few thin books from his bookshelf. 

Once set in front of him, Iruma found that the books were cute picture books that covered a few of his school subjects that he had been trying to study. Opening up the first picture book, he finds an adorable story that helps explain verbal, non-verbal, and bloodline magic in simple terms. 

“I finally understand!” Iruma cries out, feeling himself actually understand the adorable storybook’s lesson. 

“Whoa, really?” Professor Balam asks, excited to help a student learn. 

“You really made this entire book!?” Iruma asks, impressed by the professor.

“I’ve loved picture books ever since I was little, so making them became a hobby. But when I try to show them to others, they run off,” Professor Balam admits. 

Iruma feels bad for the professor who just wants to show others and help his students learn with the cute little books. 

“But, this must have been a lot of work…” Iruma starts to say. 

“What’re you saying!? I’ll have you know that knowledge of the Netherworld is vital to your survival! I’ll make you picture books that cover other subjects too, so be sure to read them!!” Professor Balam stresses to Iruma. 

‘I think he is happy someone is reading and learning from his picture books,’ Iruma thinks before speaking up, “Okay! Thank you for these!” 

As promised, Iruma returned to the Royal One classroom a bit before the lunch bell was to ring. He spent lunch with Clara, Az, and the other misfit students. After lunch, Az suggests a change in scenery and has the three of them go to the Magic Artifact Research Battler room.

The three friends sit on the floor around a small round table, with Az showing flashcards to quiz Clara and Iruma.

Holding up his next flashcard, Az asks, “Tell me the name of this plant, which can grow up to 30 meters with a single drop of water?” 

“No idea,” Iruma has to admit. 

“I know! Niginigi weed!” Clara answers cheerfully. 

“Correct, Valac!” Az admits. 

Clara cheers her correct answer, while Iruma collapses in frustration at not knowing so many answers.

“Repetition is key to memorization,” Az states, trying to lift Iruma’s spirit, knowing studying takes time. 

“There must be an easier way…” Iruma states that there is not much time until the exams. 

“Winging works Great!” Clara chirps as she starts to sing a silly song about niginigi weeds right next to them. 

“Putting that ‘song’ aside, there are songs about subjects like the stars or torture that are common mnemonic devices in the Netherworld,” Az adds, ignoring Clara’s dancing.  

Later that day, back in the Royal One classroom, Iruma asks Jazz for help with his math studying. Then Lied and Goemon show Iruma some historical event-based video games, which, while they give Iruma a scare, he finds interesting because they align with what he is learning in Netherworld history. Toward the very end of the school day, Iruma feels like he actually learned a good bit that day and feels good about his progress, even if it is only a bit. 

“Az, Clara, we won’t be able to walk back home together today. Also, for the next while, not sure how long, I will be staying over at one of the professor’s places since grandpa and Opera are going to be super busy for a while and don’t want me to have to be home alone,” Iruma explains to his two best friends. 

“Then we will just meet you every morning at the front gate of the school,” Az states in understanding, Clara giving a thumbs up to show she agrees with Az’s plan.

“Sounds good,” Iruma smiles happily at his best friend's easy understanding.

The yelling of the bell signals the end of the school day; most of the misfits run off the moment they can to go off somewhere or go home and do something fun, or at least relax for a while. 

“See you tomorrow morning, master Iruma,” Az says, leaving the classroom since Iruma had told him and Clara to head out, since he is going to his grandfather’s office before going home with the professor who will be watching over him for a while. 

“Bye, bye, Iruma-chi! See you tomorrow! Bright and early!” Clara cheers, bouncing out of the classroom not far behind Az. 

Iruma throws his book bag over his shoulder and is about to head for his grandpa's office when Kalego stops him to say, “Make sure you meet me at the gate with those guardians of yours in 30 minutes, you brat.” 

“Of course, Professor Kalego,” Iruma chirps with a bright smile before happily running out of the room to his grandpa’s office.

Chapter Text

Iruma barely has time to knock on Sullivan’s office door when the demon himself happily opens the door to grab up Iruma in a happy hug. 

“I don’t want to let my precious grandson go, Opera,” Sullivan pouts, cuddling Iruma in his arms. 

“We both will have far too much to do to give proper care and attention to the kit master Sullivan. It will be best for Kalego-kun to watch the kit for a little while. If Iruma needs any help or anything at all, he has his hell-phone and can just give us a call or send a text,” Opera says strictly, but kindly to their master before carefully rescuing the kit from Sullivan’s overbearing hugs.

“Oh, fine, but if you need anything, or just want to talk, please don’t hesitate to text or call us, my precious grandson,” Sullivan dramatically sobs out. 

“I will make sure to keep in contact, grandpa, Opera. It is just for a little bit while you get your work done,” Iruma states, patting his grandpa to try and make the elder demon feel better. 

The three chat a bit longer before Opera tells them that they have to go meet up with Kalego at the front gate. Once the three arrive at the school’s front gate, they find Kalego already standing there, waiting for them. 

“Good afternoon, Kalego-kun,” Opera says, leaning a bit too close to Kalego, who jumps back away from the cat demon. 

“Opera-senpai. Lord Sullivan. Iruma,” Kalego greets simply. 

“Kalego-kun, take good care of Iruma now. Make sure he eats lots of food. Make sure he does not work too hard; he sometimes gets too focused on something, like studying, and forgets he needs a good night's sleep too,” Sullivan says. 

“Grandpa,” Iruma whispers, a bit embarrassed. 

“I made sure the kit is all packed with what he needs to stay over,” Opera states making three medium size black leather duffle bags appear out of nowhere and sets them down by Iruma’s feet before continuing to speak stepping closer to Kalego to hold out an envelope, “Here is this week’s food allowance you will need for Iruma, along with a little extra for any little things you find the kit needs. I will send over an allowance each week you are caring for Iruma. I also took the liberty of ordering food for Iruma and have already taken it to your place and put it all away for you.”

“Fine, this once I will let that slice,” Kalego groans, pinching the bridge of their nose. He is both annoyed and thankful for the cat demon thinking ahead and stocking his place with food. He wishes Opera had not gone and actually put the food inside his house, but knows this time it is probably best to let the subject drop. 

“Next, I made this up for you to help take care of my kit. Do you understand, you will care for and protect him as if he were your own pup?” Opera asks as they hand Kalego a black leather journal with a cute red cat detail on the front. 

Kalego’s eyes go wide, seeing what he is being handed. It is one of Opera’s precious journals; anyone who knows the cat demon knows that no one touches their collection of journals. Opera takes notes and observations down in journals that all seem to have different purposes from Kalego’s observations over the years. Being handed one of Opera’s precious journals, along with Iruma, whom Opera refers to as their own kit, Kalego understands just how much trust and respect Opera is giving them. This also shows Kalego just how treasured Iruma has truly become to Opera itself.

“I promise to take good care of Iruma, I promise,” Kalego states clearly, looking straight into Opera’s eyes. 

Opera nods in understanding, knowing that Kalego takes his promises very seriously and won’t break them. 

“Alright, Iruma, it's time we get going, so Lord Sullivan can get to work,” Kalego says pointedly to the elder demon. 

“Alright, alright, I get it. We look forward to seeing you soon, Iruma. Make sure to contact us when you can and if there is anything at all you need,” Sillivan says, giving Iruma another big hug. 

Opera soon has to rescue Iruma from Sullivan’s hug before giving the kit a quick but warm hug of their own, before setting Iruma down by their bags. Kalego rolls their eyes at the ridiculous little family’s display before casting a levitation spell on Iruma and his bags, before taking to the air with his wings.

“Whoa!” Iruma squeaks as he is lifted into the air, floating not even an arm's length away from his professor. 

“What’s with the squeaking? Do Opera-senpai and Lord Sullivan not fly you around?” Kalego asks more curiously than anything at the surprised fledgling that is looking around, both worried and excited as they start their flight to his manor. 

“Every so often, but I usually choose to walk places under my own power,” Iruma states with a shrug. 

Kalego nods in reply to the teen's statement. He feels bad that the fledgling can not feel the sensations of simply letting its wings free and rocketing into the sky. To take away another demon’s ability to fly with their own wings, let alone a fledgling, is unimaginable. To fly is to have freedom, to be able to open your wings and fly away from any situation when needed. 

Kalego shakes those thoughts out of his head, knowing they are far from helpful, and within a few minutes of flying, they are within sight of his home. 

“Wow! Is that your manor professor?” Iruma asks, getting a look at the large home they are flying directly to. 

“Yes,” Kalego answers. 

Iruma is impressed by the large treehouse-manor house that is their professor’s home. It looks grand, and from how it seems to balance sturdily between the tree and a single pillar holding it in the air, Iruma knows magic has to be in use there.

Kalgo lands gracefully on the manor’s front porch before unlocking the door and walking in, before setting the fledgling down once they are inside the manor, though he keeps the duffle bags levitating next to them. 

“Welcome to my home. Now follow me, and I will show you to the bedroom you will be using while you stay here,” Kalego says before he starts walking through his entryway. 

Iruma follows after Kalego, who, while leading him to his room, points out essential rooms as they walk. First, the living room right after the entryway, then the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the workout room, before they get to the room Kalego opens before waving Iruma inside. 

“This will be your room for the moment. Just keep it tidy. Those doors are closest on the right, and a bathroom is on the left. If you need me, either yell or look for the purple paw print on my bedroom door if you need me at night. Now take some time getting settled, then come to the living room,” Kalego states, pointing around the room. 

“Thank you, Professor Kalego,” Iruma states as his bags are placed next to the bed. 

“When we are outside of school, just Kalego is fine. Now relax and get situated,” Kalego states before walking out before Iruma can say anything else. 

Leaving Iruma to settle into the guest room, Kalego had cleaned up for the boy the night before he headed to his kitchen to see just what Opera left for them. On the way, Kalego waves their hand and makes the journal Opera appear in their hand. Knowing it is best to at least skim for important information on the fledgling before doing anything else, Kalego decides to read as he walks back downstairs to the kitchen. 

Opera’s Notes:

•   Feed Iruma 7 times the amount of food you would consider that meal’s serving for the average demon. 
• Iruma is malnourished, and his body appears to be struggling to absorb all the necessary nutrients and energy. 
• Add mana supplements into the food when possible (a jug of powder supplement left on the kitchen counter)
• Meals I have been feeding Iruma include Breakfast, Morning Snack (if at school, will be provided), Lunch (eaten in the cafeteria if at school), Afterschool Snack, Dinner, and Evening Snack (usually about two hours before bedtime). 
• Unofficial Bedtime is about 10:00 pm. 
• I left a bottle of pain pills on your kitchen counter. Make sure Iruma takes (1 pill - 3 times per day).  Every day at breakfast time, within two hours of school ending, and right before bed, the pills help reduce painful back spasms and other pains. (watch him take it)
• We are still working on Iruma being able to trust us and adults in general when they need help or are in pain. Keep an eye on him, check on him every hour or two. 
• Banned From The Kitchen! It will somehow destroy everything if allowed to cook! (can help clean dishes and such. Just No Cooking!!)
• Iruma enjoys playing both indoor and outdoor games, but may need instructions on how to play them. He does not know many yet. 

• Iruma enjoys spending time with Az and Clara. 
• I packed 2 heating pads into Iruma’s bags. If he has muscle spasms, use these to help ease the pain.

Reading just the first page of Opera’s notes labeled ‘read this first’ from their journal Kalego, is already more worried for the fledgling than they already were. The only thing in the notes that truly confused Kalego is the mana supplement issue. Kalego figures that pure mana would be both easier and healthier for fledglings. If Iruma doesn’t like it, he can use the powder starting at dinner. 

From the notes, Kalego now knows that he needs to make Iruma a large snack, which he will infuse with his own mana while making it. He also needs to make sure the fledgling takes his pain pill with his afternoon snack. A fledgling of only 14 years old, and he needs pain medication 3 times a day, and he could still get painful muscle spasms. Kalego is practically itching to be able to track down who dared to harm the fluffy blue brat. 

Knowing that train of thought will get him nowhere at the moment, Kalego enters his kitchen to see what Opera stocked him up with. He quickly finds the large pill bottle and jug of supplement on the kitchen counter next to his toaster. As he opens his large refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, he finds that his stores are more than stuffed full. Given how much food Iruma eats, Kalego estimates this food will likely only get him through the next day. Kalego decides then and there that for his own sanity, so he does not have to order food continually, he will put spells on his food storage areas that night to be able to expand the insides of them with space magic so they will hold much more and Kalego will then be able to store a week’s worth of food at a time not just a day or two. 

Deciding to make something simple for the afternoon snack, Kalego makes up a stack of seven devi-peanut butter and scream jelly sandwiches on Iruma’s plate and a single sandwich on his own plate, along with a glass of milk each. Kalego ensures that he infuses his mana into each of the sandwiches, but leaves the milk untouched. Placing the food on the dining room table, Kalego also places a pain pill for Iruma on a napkin beside the plate of sandwiches. 

Hearing Iruma come down the stairs, Kalego goes out just loud enough for Iruma to hear, “I am in the dining room. I made us an afternoon snack.”

“Thank you, Kalego, it smells good,” Iruma states as he walks into the dining room to find Kalego already seated at the head of the table. 

“You're welcome. That plate is yours, but before you start to eat, take your medication first. Opera left pretty strict instructions for your pain medication,” Kalego tells Iruma, pointing to the plate stacked with sandwiches to the right of where Kalego is sitting with a plate in front of him with a single sandwich on it.

Kalego watches as Iruma makes a resigned face that he has only seen on the brat’s face when he is told he does not need to help. However, Iruma quickly pops the pain medication into his mouth and swallows it with some milk before picking up his first sandwich, only after Kalego takes his first bite of his own snack. 

The moment Iruma takes his first bite into the Netherworld’s version of a PB&J that Kalego made for him, an underlying flavor bursts on his tongue. It felt like he was tasting energizing lightning. The flavor didn't make sense, but Iruma absolutely loved it. The flavor was so great that it triggered a switch inside Iruma, making him feel like a starved animal as he could only focus on eating everything with that flavor. 

Kalego had to force his eyes away from the beast devouring the stack of sandwiches that had moments ago been a polite fledgling. 

‘I think this is why Opera told me to use supplement powder for the fledgling. Never mind, the brat seems to like it, and with everything else, it is probably for the best the brat gets as much infused mana as possible,’ Kalego thinks to himself as he tries to keep his eyes off of the horrifying sight that is Iruma’s current disturbing behavior.

Kalego decides that if this is how the fledgling acts when he is given food infused with mana, he is more traumatized than Kalgo had feared. If this is just the eating situation, Kalego did not want to think that this was the same child who is known to not call out for help when needed and not fight for his own needs. Kalego thinks a second person is needed. He figures that his ally did offer that morning, and it was better to call in reinforcements before something happened when Kalego was busy doing something else, and the brat did not want to bother him or something like that.

As Iruma finishes his last sandwich and glass of milk, Kalego sends off a text on his phone to Shichiro that reads, ‘Shichiro, I think it might be best if you come and help me with the brat for a while, pack a bag, and come over for dinner, please.’

Not even a minute later, Kalego gets a response that reads, ‘Of course, I will be there soon.’

Chapter Text

“Thank you for the snack, Kalego. That was yummy,” Iruma smiles shyly at his professor, knowing he inhaled his food faster than usual. Still, the sandwiches tasted even better than normal with that tasty, underlying, electrifying taste. 

“You're welcome, brat,” Kalego states, still traumatized by the ravenous way Iruma ate like he had never been fed before, “I will be going to relax and do some paperwork in the living room, so you can do your studying where you wish.” 

Iruma nods before he is waved off after offering to help with the dishes. Kalego simply takes their plates and places them into the dishwasher to run later, before he grabs some of his paperwork, taking it with him to the living room. Kalego turns on the TV, choosing a documentary show that shows how different things are made on low volume as background noise. Once he sets himself up in his armchair, he uses magic to adjust the side table to change its settings so that it becomes a small overlap desk to do his paperwork on. As Kalego gets started on his paperwork, he lets Cerberion out to do as the guard dog pleases.

Cerbereon takes a seat, curling up on its giant dog bed that takes up most of the back corner of the large living room so that it can relax outside of Kalego’s being. 

Iruma went back to the room he was assigned after his snack to change into pajama pants and a soft green t-shirt, leaving his shoes and socks in his room. Grabbing his book bag, Iruma makes his way to join Kalego in the living room. Stepping into the living room, Iruma is surprised for a few seconds, seeing Kalego’s Cerberus power out and about by itself, unlike normal. Iruma can tell that Cerbereon is solid, like a real giant, bright yellow dog with three heads. While Iruma will admit the Cerbereon is a bit intimidating, primarily since Kalego usually uses them to intimidate others, just being relaxed, they look pretty cute.

Iruma takes a seat on the floor so that he can put his study supplies on the coffee table in front of him. Kalego occasionally glances at Iruma as the brat studies using textbooks, notes, and even picture books that he recognizes as Shichiro’s work. Kalego lets himself smile, on the inside, knowing that his ally must be happy to have another person reading his picture books. 

Kalego now realizes that Iruma’s struggles with academics are probably connected with the brat’s past. The past that, so far, Kalego has only seen the lasting marks and symptoms of. The marks engraved onto the skin of a child, which Kalego knows, are only the surface of what happened to the boy. However, they hope to help the brat in some way at least, even if they are not sure how yet. Kalego also knows that when he learns of Iruma’s history, he will not like what he hears.

Less than an hour has passed since they ate snacks when there is a knock at the front door. Kalego stands up to get the door and notices that Iruma’s head pops up, hearing the knock as well. 

“Don’t worry, Iruma, that is probably just Shichiro. I asked him to come over,” Kalego explains vaguely to the brat as he leaves the room to go get the front door.

Opening the front door, Kalego waves in Shichiro, who has a duffel bag in one hand and a shopping bag in the other, “Welcome, Shichiro. I will send your duffle to your usual guest room.”

With a wave of his hand, Kalego sends Shichiro’s duffel bag floating off down the hall to deliver itself to the guest room that has become Shichiro’s usual guest room since Kalego got the place years ago.

“Thanks. I bought us a few treats on my way over here. The treats include wine,” Shichiro states, holding up the shopping bag. 

“We may need a nice glass of wine tonight,” Kalego admits with a sigh. 

“Did something already happen, Kalego? You have not been home for even two hours yet,” Shichiro asks as he follows Kalego to the kitchen to put away the few items he brought over. 

“I know, but I decided that I needed another trusted person after reading the notes given to me by Opera and after watching Iruma eat food that is infused with a healthy amount of pure mana. I swear that will scar me; it was like watching a starving child eating for the first time. That showed me that there is probably more that I am not prepared for, so I decided to call in reinforcements,” Kalego explains things as well as handing over the journal with Opera’s notes to show Shichiro what they are up against while looking after the brat.

“It looks like we will need to keep a closer eye on Iruma-kun than would normally be needed for the average teenager. I am glad you called me over to help. It has to be hard for Iruma to live with the aftermath of what he had to live through before being adopted by Lord Sullivan,” Shichiro says after reading the page of notes Kalego had pointed out to him. 

Kalego nods sadly as he puts the journal away safely. Neither adult wants to think about just how bad the fledgling’s life had to be just for the marks on the teen's back to exist, let alone anything else that might have happened.

Kalego and Shichiro soon walk into the living room to find a sweet, but hard-to-understand scene. Walking into the room, they are quick to notice that while Iruma is still seated on the floor, studying at the coffee table as Kalego left him, Cerbereon has now moved so that he is sitting directly behind the boy, allowing Iruma to lean his back against the giant dog's furry side. Cerbereon’s large, fluffy tail is draped over Iruma’s lap like a blanket. 

“Um…It looks like Cerbereon likes the fledgling,” Shichiro says, giggling at the scene as Iruma looks up at them shyly. 

“Sorry…Cerbereon just came over and was soft and cuddly, so…” Iruma tries to explain the current situation. 

“Well, this is new…I guess it's fine for now,” Kalego says, pinching the bridge of his nose, not understanding the situation he is seeing, but can feel that Cerbereon is happy at the moment, which is pretty rare, so he does not want to pull the guard dog from the fledgling if both are good with the situation. 

Shichiro has to take a moment to get his giggling under control before greeting the fledgling, “Good afternoon, Iruma-kun.” 

“Hi Professor Balam,” Iruma says with a little wave. 

“Just Shichiro is fine outside of school,” Shichiro says with a chuckle. 

“Shichiro it is,” Iruma replies. 

Iruma gets back to studying as Shichiro and Kalego relax, watching TV and enjoying each other's company. A little over an hour before Kalego plans for them to have dinner, he and Shichiro go to the kitchen to start working on the feast that is needed to feed the bottomless pit of a fledgling.

Though not before Kalego gives Cerbereon orders as they leave the room, “Cerbereon, watch the fledgling.” 

Shichiro and Kalego fall into easy teamwork as they work on making the feat that is needed to feed Iruma. The two are working shoulder to shoulder, sliding past each other, collaborating to create dish after dish. The two of them add a healthy amount of pure mana, from both of them, to each of the dishes. However, they leave the cookies Shichiro bought from the store for dessert without any mana infusion, given how Kalego had seen Iruma eat what had mana infused into it. 

Shichiro is unsure what to expect from Iruma’s eating situation, but he is a bit scared, given what Kalego warned him about. Though he is surprised by the amount of food the fledgling needs to eat, he is quite curious about how the petite teen actually holds that much food in his body. Though his curiosity does not last long, as Kalego is soon calling Iruna in for dinner, Shichiro helps place all the food on the table. Kalego sets the table so that Shichiro’s and his own three plates of food each, before setting the rest around Iruma’s place setting. 

“Mine and Shichiro’s three plates of food are in front of us; the rest here is for you. Now go ahead and eat,” Kalego states when all three of them sat down around the dining room table, Cerbereon going back inside of Kalego’s body. 

“Thank you so much, Kalego, Shichiro, for making all this for dinner,” Iruma thanked them even as his wide eyes were trying to inhale the food with just a look. 

The moment Kalego took the first bite of his own dinner, Iruma took that as the signal to eat, and Shichiro got a front row seat to why Kalego was so quick to call him in as reinforcement. Even forcing himself only to take glances at the boy, he finds Iruma’s desperate, ravenous way of eating to be terrifying to see, but more so the ramifications behind the behavior. It looks like the child is starving so much that he can’t control himself once he can eat again. 

Iruma does not notice that both adults occasionally glance at him as he inhales the food the professors made for him. The background flavors of the dinner make the food even more delicious than it would be on its own. He recognizes the electrifying flavor from the earlier snack, but another was added with it that was more earthy and maybe a little sweet. As he takes in dish after delicious dish of dinner, he feels like the nutrition of the food is seeping into his body as he eats. 

“Thank you, that was delicious,” Iruma says after finishing every last morsel of edible food. “Can I help clean up?”

“Sure, you can help put the dishes into the dishwasher,” Kalego answers as he pushes his terror of the boy’s way of eating, and his concern for the reason it is happening in the first place, to act normally as he follows the brat into the kitchen, levitating most of the dishes with magic.

Between the three of them, they made quick work of the dishes and soon went back to the living room. Shichiro and Kalego each have a glass of wine with them, and Shichiro makes them each a plate of three cookies for dessert. Iruma sits back down on the floor where he left his study supplies on the coffee table. 

Iruma tries to absorb as much information as possible from all the textbooks, picture books, and his own class notes. While he definitely knows he is making progress, it doesn't feel like enough, given the limited time he has until the exams. Iruma starts to feel a bit sore, and his body begins to fluctuate between feeling too hot and too cold, but he forces the feeling to the back of his mind. He thinks that it is nothing to worry about, and he needs to study for as long as he can each day until the exams. 

Iruma is so focused on his studying that he didn't notice that Kalego had gotten up and gone to the kitchen to make two large sub-sandwiches for a before-bedtime snack, accompanied by a glass of water, until Kalego set it in front of him. 

“Only two more hours before you need to head towards bed, you do need to sleep for school tomorrow,” Kalego states bluntly, giving the brat his snack that is also infused with mana. 

Iruma gives his thanks before diving into his snack, which soon disappears into the blackhole that is Iruma’s stomach. Iruma wanted to argue about the bedtime and that he needed to study more, but with a quick glance at the stern look in Kalego’s eyes, he realized that he would not budge. So, he focuses on getting as much studying done in the time he has before bed. 

Iruma continues to study despite feeling worse. On top of feeling like he is flip-flopping between feeling too hot and too cold, his muscles have gone from being sore to actually spasming. The pain is steadily creeping higher, making it harder for Iruma to focus on his studying. Iruma is in a lot of pain, so much so that he is starting to think about telling Kalego and Shichiro about the muscle spasming pain, even though he does not want to be a bother, and his nighttime pain medication should help anyway. 

It is only a few minutes later that Iruma feels the pain from his muscle spasms start to radiate through his entire body; every muscle feels like it is being tightened and stiffened. The pain is only getting stronger, and it gets to the point that Iruma drops his study material and curls into a ball on the living room floor.

Kalego hears Cerbereon whining in his head only a few seconds before a clatter comes from where Iruma has been studying at the coffee table. He and Shichiro whip their heads up at the sound and find that Iruma is abandoning his items on the coffee table and curling up stiffly on the floor. 

“Iruma? What’s wrong, brat?” Kalego asks, in an urgently caring voice, getting up from his seat on the couch. 

Shichiro stood up right next to him, quickly going to his knees next to the fledgling who was now shaking with pain. 

“I don’t know. My muscle spasms are not usually this bad. Everything hurts all at once,” Iruma tries to explain as he groans in pain, not able to hold the sound in.

“Shichiro, can you do a medical appraisal on Iruma? We need to know what is wrong so we can help,” Kalego states as he sits next to the Iruma, who he realizes is now crying in pain but trying not to make a sound, which is terrifying in its own right. 

“Of course, give me a few seconds,” Shichiro states before holding up his hands over Iruma, before mumbling words that Iruma is in too much pain to catch. 

Now able to see what is going on with Iruma’s internal systems, Shichiro can see the current problem that is contributing the most to the fledgling's pain and muscle spasms. He can see that Iruma’s mana system, which should run along next to the blood vessels in harmony, is quite damaged, which is why Iruma is feeling such intense pain. 

“I know what is wrong and how to fix it, I have just never needed to do so before now. Iruma’s mana system is damaged. This much damage has only been recorded happening in very abusive situations where a fledgling is starved of both mana and nutrition. I can fix it, but it is going to take a few minutes at least,” Shichiro says as Iruma starts to violently spasm his muscles, starting to freak out on the teen, not letting him stay still. 

“Kalego, I need you to hold the Iruma still so that I can work on healing his mana system so that he can properly process and circulate his mana through his mana system, that should fix a good amount of his health problems within a few days, once he is getting all the mana and nutrition from his food he is eating more efficiently, he should be able to start feeling better quicker?” Shichiro asks Kalego while explaining the situation. 

“Of course. Iruma, I am going to hold you still for Shichiro. Is that alright?” Kalego asks Iruma with as soft a voice as he can manage. 

Iruma looks up at Kalego with tears streaming down his face and nods, not able to talk much with so much pain. Kalego decides to use a pressure-type spell to hold Iruma down on the floor gently so that he will lie still on his back. At the same time, Kalego gently runs his fingers through Iruma’s fluffy blue hair to try to give comfort to the brat while still giving Shichiro room to work. 

Shichiro gets to work the moment Kalego places the spell to hold Iruma still. Using a few different intricate spells to heal the fledgling’s mana system veins throughout his body. At the moment, Iruma’s mana veins are shriveled and damaged, which makes it hard for his system to process the mana he is receiving, which is then causing other problems. Using the healing spells, Shichiro is slowly and steadily going through the system, healing the mana veins, so that they are no longer shriveled or damaged, allowing for better and healthier mana flow. 

Iruma has to lie still under Kalego’s spell as Shichiro is working over him, but he tries to focus only on the gentle petting of Kalego’s fingers through his hair. His body is still in a lot of pain, but the fingers running through his hair feel nice and make him feel better that his professors are helping him, that they care enough to try and comfort him.

Other than his grandpa and Opera, no one else has seen him in pain like this and then comforted him, let alone helped him. It has not been since coming to the Netherworld that he has felt cared for at all. After a few minutes of Shichiro working his magic, Iruma starts to feel just a tiny bit better, minute by minute, as the professor works on healing his system. 

It takes a while, about fifteen minutes, before Shichiro finishes the delicate work of healing Iruma’s entire mana vein system. Still, Iruma soon feels a significant difference in how he feels. Kalego slowly releases the pressure spell that has been holding Iruma still and helps the boy sit up, now that the violent muscle spasms have stopped.

“How are you feeling, brat?” Kalego asks softly, noticing that Iruma has stopped crying.

“Most of the pain has gone; it is just down to being super sore and exhausted now. Thank you, whatever you did helped a whole lot,” Iruma says softly, leaning against Kalego’s side as Shichiro pets his head gently.

“I am not surprised, even though I healed your mana vein system. Your muscles were still spasming a lot, so I am not surprised that you are so sore. I think that your pain medication, and some time with a heating pad, will help you be able to fall asleep,” Shichiro comments. 

“I will set up some heating pads. Can you go grab one of Iruma’s pills and a glass of water from the kitchen, Shichiro?” Kalego asks as he makes two of his own heating pads appear in his hand. 

Shichiro is quick to go to the kitchen, while Kalego plugs in and turns on the heating pads before helping the brat situate himself. He lies his back down on one of them and hugs the second one to his ribs and torso. Iruma tries to get the heat onto as much of his body as he can. The heating pads are thankfully quick to heat up and soon help loosen his extremely sore muscles. Shichiro is soon back with a glass of water and one of Iruma’s pain medication pills. Shichiro helps to support the tired fledgling sit up enough to take the pill and gulp down most of the water before lying back on the heating pads. 

Iruma is so exhausted from all the pain and fear of what his body had just done to him, on top of all the studying he had been trying to cram into his head. It takes about ten minutes, but with the help of both the heating pads and the medication, Iruma starts to feel the pain being soothed. Now that he is no longer freaking out about the situation, Iruma has time to process what Professor Shichiro had been telling Professor Kalego when they were helping him. That the situation had happened because his mana vein system was damaged, but that means Professor Shichiro found a mana system inside of him in the first place. Iruma is really starting to feel like he might be more of a demon the more he finds out. At the moment, he is far too exhausted to freak out about these facts, but he is leaning towards it being a good thing. It would be great not to have to worry about being eaten by those he has come to care about.

Shichiro and Kalego observe the fledgling as the stiffness in Iruma’s face smooths out, and soon he falls to sleep curled up on the floor on the heating pads. The two are finally able to take their first sigh of relief since Iruma had curled into a ball from pain. 

“Let's get this brat to bed,” Kalego states with a tired sigh, casting a levitation spell on the boy and taking the child to his guest room. 

Shichiro pulls back the comforter and sheet so that Kalego can set the fledgling down on the bed, and Shichiro tucks in the sheets and blanket around the small teen before they leave the room so Iruma can sleep. 

Now that Iruma has been put to bed and sound asleep, Kalego decides to grab Shichiro’s wrist and drag him into his own bedroom before closing the door to keep their voices from waking Iruma up. 

“I have only had the brat under my care for less than 24 hours and have already had a medical emergency,” Kalego states, slightly freaking out about what had just happened. 

“That was not what I was expecting to happen this evening when you asked me to come help you. Though I am glad I could help you both,” Shichiro states, trying to calm the worried Guard Dog. 

“We are going to need to write up a medical report on this and put it in the file and send a copy to Sullivan and Opera-senpai, ugh, why did they not get the brat a full physical when they adopted the kid?” Kalego growls in question, though Shichiro can tell the question was only half rhetorical.

“How about when we write up the medical report for Lord Sullivan and Opera-senpai, we ask if they are alright with me doing a full medical work-up on the fledgling? That way, we at least have records of where Iruma is right now,” Shichiro asks, taking a seat on Kalego’s large bed.

“That would probably be for the best. What was almost scarier than the situation itself was how far the pain went before Iruma even let us notice he was in pain. That is not okay; he should be confident enough in the adults around him to at least ask for help. It's not like we are strangers to the boy, hell, I have been his professor for months now, and he has shown he respects me, but when it comes to him being in danger or pain, he tries to push it down or handle it himself,” Kalego growls. 

Kalego softens a bit when Shichiro picks him up, and he is placed gently into Shichiro’s lap and given a warm hug. 

“I was surprised to see so much evidence in how badly that fledgling has been abused and neglected so far in his life for his mana vein system to be so bad and for Iruma to try still and push down the pain that would have most adult demons losing consciousness from the pain alone. With that much damage to his mana system, I am not surprised that the teen seems to be behind in growth, and I think he has been using a combination of magic from his own damaged system and that gluttony ring of his now that I think about it,” Shichiro says as he cuddles Kalego in his lap. 

“That brat makes me want to go and find his old guardians and torture them until there's nothing left of them. No one should be able to get away with abusing and neglecting a fledgling, let alone so severely and basically get away with it,” Kalego says as he leans his head against Shichiro’s warm chest. 

“I am right there with you; it makes all the struggles we have gone through so far seem small in comparison,” Shichiro whispers into Kalego’s hair.

“You are staying here with me tonight,” Kalego says grumpily, not making it a question, just a demand. 

Shichiro chuckles at the sweet demand from Kalego, knowing that if he really did not want to stay, Kalego would not make him, but Shichiro knows they both want to be close at the moment, and Kalego’s words were part demand and part plea for him to stay the night together.

Too comfortable to get out of Shichiro’s lap, Kalego waves his hand and uses his magic to change them both into their pajama pants and soft t-shirts to go to sleep in. With a bit of maneuvering, Shichiro and Kalego soon lay down curled into each other and fell asleep quickly in each other's arms after the exhausting day they had just had. 

Chapter Text

Morning starts earlier than planned for all three individuals in Kalego’s manor, all of them waking up quite a bit earlier than any of their alarms were set to wake them up. Kalego and Shichiro woke up a few minutes before Iruma. As the two adults wake up in each other's arms, cuddled facing the other, plastered together. Last night, they were too focused on the situation with Iruma and having to deal with his medical emergency. Though now, in the fresh thoughts of the morning, they both realize it has been a long time since they have let themselves go this far outside of what most would consider the roles of allies. 

After years of being very close allies, only growing stronger since they met in their first year at Babyls as students all those years ago, neither has shared with the other the more romantic thoughts they hold for each other. Both Shichiro and Kalego have, for a long time, been concerned that the other might not return their feelings, and if they don’t, it would ruin their relationship. That thought is terrifying to both of them: losing the other, the demon they are closest to and trust the most in the entire Netherworld. To lose the relationship with each other would break both of them.

Shichiro freezes with nerves and fear of what would happen to their relationship if he does something wrong while they are plastered together in each other's arms. He knows he wants to be able to do this and more with Kalego, but not if it would risk what he already has with him. He could never lose Kalego; it would just break him to lose his ally for a chance at something more. 

Kalego sees the look in Shichiro’s eyes and how stiff he has become after noticing that he was also awake; he sees his fears and worry mirrored in his face and body that Kalego knows is in his own mind, even if he hates to admit it, even to himself. With everything he has had to deal with in the last 48 hours, and how much the teen has been able to live through and still try for a better future, and not letting all of his obviously life-threatening history keep him from wanting better for his future, even if he is still struggling. Kalego hates to acknowledge that when it comes to the subject of him wanting more with Shichiro, hell, he wants everything with Shichiro as long as the Gargoyle wants the same. 

Kalego makes a life-changing decision that he should have had the courage to make years ago, but now knows is the right time to take the leap of faith. Kalego hopes to every power that is in the Netherworld that Shichiro feels the same way as him, but he has to take the leap if he ever wants to be able to have more with the sweetheart of a demon.

“Shichiro, I want to talk to you about something, but if you don’t feel the same, could we just totally forget this conversation ever happened? I just can’t lose you,” Kalego says quietly, just loud enough for Shichiro to hear him clearly. 

“Of course,” Shichiro is quick to agree, seeing the thoughtful expression in Kalego’s eyes after a few minutes of Kalego looking seriously into his eyes. 

“If you feel the same way, I would like for us to be able to act on romantic feelings for each other, and hopefully become mates in the near future, only if you feel the same. If you don’t, we can just forget I ever said anything…” Kalego states in a whisper, stiff in Shichiro’s arms, but Kalego is holding onto his arms like he is worried that Shichiro would push him away.

“Oh, thank devil! I thought I was the only one who wanted more. Thank you for having the courage I lacked. I was so scared to lose you,” Shichiro exclaimed as he pulled Kalego even tighter into a happy hug. 

“Thank devil,” Kalego breathes out a deep sigh of relief. He is unsure if he has ever been more thankful for anything in his life.

“Just to be clear, we are now courting, right?” Shichiro asks in a small voice. 

“Yup, that is the idea, my dear,” Kalego chuckles, looking at Shichiro with a soft smile before he gives Shichiro a quick kiss on the lips, which has Shichiro’s eyes going wide and a smile spread across his lips.

“Today is now one of the best days of my life. Thank you for taking the leap for us, for having the courage to believe our relationship was strong enough to ask,” Shichiro whispers shyly into Kalego’s soft, dark purple hair. 

“I wanted to be able to stop regretting not being able to be closer to the demon I care so much for,” Kalego grumbles in a voice that would be mistaken for annoyance by those who are not used to Kalego’s way of speaking. 

Kalego and Shichiro lay snuggled in each other's arms, happy knowing for the first time that they can now show each other affection in more than just ally-ship. Though they are soon too restless to continue lying around in bed, and soon get up to start their day, today, Shichiro is not the only one initiating little affectionate touches as they move around getting ready. This show of affection has Shichiro flying high with happiness at being able to share little moments like this in regular moments. 

They are still up earlier than when their alarms would have woken them up, when they are dressed for work and heading to the kitchen to start working on the feast they will be making for Iruma’s breakfast. 

“We should work on making that medical situation report about last night's situation, and maybe some observation reports for ourselves to put everything together in our own copy of a file for Iruma that we will keep in my records room here in my home office,” Kalego points out as he starts to pull out ingredients for them to cook the breakfast feast with. 

“Yes, then copy the medical report to give to Lord Sullivan and Opera-senpai for their records as well. Also, I had a thought between reading Opera-senpai’s notes, seeing how Iruma ate at dinner last night, and seeing how damaged Iruma’s mana system was last night, I was starting to think about how it was written down that during school days, Iruma usually eats a morning snack and lunch at school. Because every demon has different mana needs, none of the food at Bablys has added mana-infused into it, that means that Iruma is missing a large meal and large snack during the school day that Iruma probably should use to be eating mana-infused meals given his health status at the moment at least,” Shichiro points out as he uses magic to make his magically secured laptop that he uses for both work as a professor, scientist, and personal use.

“You are correct, but from what I have seen and heard, Iruma almost always eats lunch in the cafeteria with Asmodeus and Valac. We are seasoned adults and found how Iruma eats his mana-infused food disturbing, I don’t see how it would end well if we had him bring a mana-infused lunch to eat from us,” Kalego states as he starts working on preparing the ingredients most of it with magic since it is just so much food to prep and cook, especially if they were doing it entirely by hand. 

“That is a concern, but we really should not be letting Iruma miss out on eating mana-infused food for morning snack and lunch for his health. The more consistently he gets mana-infused food while he is healing from malnutrition and shoring up his mana-system, I only fixed up last night,” Shichiro points out as he starts to type away on a medical report form about what happened with Iruma the night before. 

“Do you think Iruma can eat around the misfits without all of those brats freaking out?” Kalego asks more rhetorically than seriously, knowing the misfits would immediately be worried about their leader’s behavior around food just because it is mana-infused. 

“Well, no, but it's a health situation, isn’t it?” Shichiro says, pouting a bit, not having the answer, but wanting to take care of the fledgling’s health, given they are still recovering from malnourishment.  

“Maybe we can explain it to Iruma and have him choose how he wants to handle the food situation at school himself. I don’t think he can just eat that way in the middle of the cafeteria without the entire school freaking out on him,” Kalego states as he keeps an eye on the currently cooking food. He makes his own laptop appear on the kitchen island next to Shichiro's to type up his own observational reports for his own use and Shichiro’s.

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Meanwhile, Iruma woke up suddenly not long after the adults of the house had woken up themselves. Iruma feels like he could not understand what has been going on in the last two days or so. 

“Wow, little Iru, you have had quite the last couple of days. Sorry, I couldn’t help you with the wings thing. I couldn’t think of anything before the little green professor made his move,” Ali says, slipping out of Iruma’s gluttony ring as Iruma is starting to overthink everything that has been happening.

“It’s not your fault, Ali, but things have been odd since then. I am starting to wonder what I am,” Iruma groans in answer. 

“Well, I don’t have all the answers on that, but your body has been slowly taking in more mana and processing it. With your ability to process mana and the mana system that the gargoyle professor fixed last night, you are at least half demon, if not full. Humans don’t have mana systems,” Ali points out bluntly as he lies on the pillow next to Iruma. 

“You think so, too, huh. I heard Grandpa mumbling about checking up on a hunch of his, but he didn't explain anything. But what does this all mean? Grandpa got me from my parents in the human realm, so what does all that mean? Also, if I had wings at one point, why don’t I remember that? Why do I seem not to remember what happened to my wings, other than some ominous fraction of a memory? Things are just not making sense anymore,” Iruma asks mostly rhetorically while trying to express the frustration he feels. 

“I would have to say it’s probably because of your mind's trauma response. I believe both humans and demons have minds that try to protect themselves from trauma that is too much for the person to process. No clue about your history or genetics. Maybe that grandpa of yours will soon be able to confirm whatever he thinks he knows. That is probably your best bet as of now,” Ali says, trying to be a bit more comforting to the obviously confused teenager. 

“Ugh…never mind thinking like this, it will only make me more anxious, especially since I have no answers yet. Do you know what that super mouthwatering underlying smell and taste of the food Professor Kalego and Professor Balam made yesterday? It was so good and made me feel good when I ate it, and it was like I couldn’t stop myself from devouring everything as fast as I could. It tastes so good,” Iruma asks Ali, starting to salivate just at the thought of the underlying smell and taste of the professors’ cooking. 

“That I do know. That underlying flavor that you can smell and taste is actually their pure mana that they infused into the food. That cat demon of a security devil has been giving you plain mana supplements, which are not as powerful as pure mana-infusion, which those professors did. I think the cat wanted to be slow and careful with the mana supplementation for you, but with the gargoyle’s help, healing your mana vein system is no longer a concern. Now pure mana-infused food will only help you heal from malnutrition of both food and mana,” Ali states happily. 

Iruma takes a moment to process that he has been consuming mana in different forms since coming to the Netherworld. While it is initially an odd thought, remembering just how delicious it smells and tastes in his professor's cooking, Iruma cannot help but want more. If the mana-infused food tastes excellent and is helping him heal up, that makes it better than Iruma had initially thought.

“I know it is supposed to be more for health reasons, but I just know that it tastes amazing, and my body seems to crave it,” Iruma admits to Ali as he finally gets up to start getting ready for the day. 

“I think you can just focus on studying for your exams; everything else will figure itself out eventually, little Iru,” Ali states, patting the teen's head in comfort. 

“Thanks, Ali,” Iruma says before Ali slips back into his ring to let Iruma get ready for the day ahead. 

Iruma makes sure to take a hot shower to scrub off the sweat from the night before, when he felt sick and in pain. The heating pads helped with the pain, though not with the sweating. Once all clean, Iruma is quick to spray his perfume on before getting dressed in his uniform. Even before stepping out of his guest room, Iruma starts to smell the delicious scents of breakfast being cooked in the kitchen. Grabbing his book bag with all his school items, Iruma makes his way to the dining room, since Opera had told him that, other than emergencies, he was banished from all kitchens. 

Iruma sits himself down at the dining room table and starts studying for a few minutes before Shichiro comes out of the kitchen after the gargoyle noticed the added presence in the next room while he was helping in the kitchen. 

“Good morning, Iruma, you're up early, fledgling,” Shichiro says with smiling eyes to Iruma, coming to sit across from where he is sitting and studying at the table.

“Good morning, Shichiro. Ya, I woke up earlier than I had set my alarm for. I think too much has happened in the last couple of days for my body to stay relaxed for long, apparently,” Iruma says with a shrug and a smile to the giant professor. 

“Hopefully, things will calm down for you so you can just focus on the exams for now,” Shichiro states, knowing that everything that has happened to the teen in only a couple of days has got to be hard to handle all at once. 

“Hopefully, I am trying to study everything I can to do well on this exam. I think I am doing better by the day, it is just so much to try and make sure I can remember for the exams,” Iruma says, looking down at his notes that he is currently studying.

“On a totally different topic, Kalego and I were talking, and we were wondering about the pros and cons of putting together a packed snack and lunch for you with mana-infused food for school. Given your enthusiastic response to mana-infused food, we are both concerned that others would react badly if you eat like that in the cafeteria in front of the entire school. On the other hand, it is certainly healthier to eat mana-infused food for each meal until you are no longer malnourished at least,” Shichiro tries to explain to the teen.

“So, the problem is that it's not normal to be so animalistic in inhaling my food like I do when you or Kalego infuse it right?” Iruma asks shyly, having noticed how he can’t control how he eats when the professors have infused the food.

“Yes, that is the gist of the problem. We don’t want to worry the entire school, you know, gossip is a powerful thing in Bablys. Kalego suggested we talk over the situation with you and see what you think,” Shichiro explains.

“I could just eat my lunch in the Royal One if you two really think it is important. I know Az and Clara will probably be there, but I can just explain a little bit of the situation and they will understand,” Iruma says with a shrug, figuring that is the best way he can think of himself. 

“Maybe Kalego could give a short explanation of the situation to Asmodeus and Valac before you three have lunch in the Royal One. That is probably the best option we have because from what I could see of your health when I appraised you yesterday, I think we should feed you mana-infused food with each meal at least,” Shichiro states. 

“I need to explain what to Asmodeus and Valac?” Kalego asks, pushing a rolling cart full of plates of food to the dining table. 

As both Shichiro and Iruma get up to help Kalego place all the plates onto the dining table, Shichiro explains what he and Iruma thought up as the best way to handle lunch so that they could send Iruma with a packed mana-infused lunch. 

“Fine, that sounds like the best solution for the moment. The stuff we started for the brats' lunch is cooking in the oven at the moment, and I found an enchanted bag that has a space expansion spell on it to pack Iruma’s lunch in once it’s done,” Kalego states, sitting down at the head of the table.  

Iruma puts away his notebook in the book bag and sets it aside, and waits for Kalego to start eating before he stops holding back and starts eating his own breakfast, not able to stop himself from viciously consuming the delicious mana-infused food his professors made. Kalego and Shichiro tried not to look at the boy while they all ate, knowing what they would see from the day before. 

“Given what happened last night, we just wanted to make sure you know that we care about you, especially your health and safety. When you are in pain or danger, please know we will help. We understand if you don’t trust all adults, but adults like your Babyls professors, your family, and even your little misfit friends can all help you when you need help. There is no need to wait until you are collapsing in pain to try to get help. It is not a bad idea to be cautious around strangers. Still, those you trust and respect already will most certainly not find you needing their help with a problem at all,” Shichiro states, rambling a bit, trying to get his point across after the scare Iruma gave him and Kalego the night before. 

“I don’t want to be a burden. Grandpa and Opera told me something similar after I got used to living with them,” Iruma comments with a shy shrug of his shoulders. 

“We don’t know what you have gone through before Sullivan adopted you, but adults are supposed to look after kids; that is kind of the idea. All the current professors at Bablys are trusted by Sullivan, Opera-senpai, and the two of us. That makes them trusted adults when you need them. Don’t wait for things to be dire to get help,” Kalego grumpily points out, not good at talking about these things well himself. 

“I will try to be better about getting help when I don’t feel good or in danger, but it is hard to relearn everything I have been taught for fourteen years of life. My old parents hated it when I asked for any help, even when I was so young I did not understand much of anything,” Iruma states with a shrug, not knowing how to explain the way he is.

Kalego and Shichiro learned quite a bit about just how neglectful Iruma’s old guardians, if you can even call them that, were with that one statement alone. Though the professors let the topic go for the moment, figuring they said what they wanted to say, it was up to Iruma to actually act on their words.   

While Iruma and Kalego put all the dishes into the dishwasher and start the load, Shichiro finishes packing up Iruma’s lunch in the enchanted tote bag that Kalego found earlier, before zipping it closed. The three can relax for a few minutes before needing to leave for school, as Kalego and Shichiro have to arrive early since they are professors and must be there before the students.

“Ready to go to Babyls, Iruma?” Shichiro asks as he watches the teen pick up his book bag and lunch tote.

“Yes, I am all ready,” Iruma states. 

Iruma follows Kalego and Shichiro to the treehouse manor’s porch. He squeaks in surprise when Shichiro plucks him off the floor and into the crook of one of his giant arms. Once Shichiro has the teen secure in his arms, he and Kalego release their wings and take off flying toward Babyls. Shichiro notices that Iruma is quick to wrap his arms around his neck quite tightly, but the look in Iruma’s eyes as he looks around as they fly is excitement. 

The look of excitement in Iruma’s eyes during the flight does not go unnoticed by Kalego either. The two professors can not even fathom not being able to fly, to be stuck on the ground. Deciding they had already touched on some sore spots that morning by asking Iruma to try and get help when he needs it, they decide now is not the time to ask about anything to do with flying. 

The trip to Babyls is not long, and the three are soon landing in front of the school’s front gate, and Shichiro sets Iruma gently onto the group, on his own two legs. 

“You can study or relax until your little friends arrive and classes start, just stay on campus,” Kalego grumbles to the teen as they all walk through the entrance gate.

“Okay, I will just sit at that bench and study until Az and Clara arrive,” Iruma states, pointing out a bench that sits not far from the entrance gate. 

“Have a good day, Iruma, and get in contact with one of us if you need anything,” Shichiro says before Kalego pulls him toward the school so they can start their work day, getting an answering wave and giggles from Iruma as they leave him to do his own thing. 

Iruma plants himself on the bench and pulls out his notes, knowing he needs all the study time he can get.

Chapter Text

Kalego and Shichiro were about to open the faculty office door when Kalego smelled Opera. It was not even a split second before he felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder. Kalego whips around and jumps a foot back from the cat demon. 

“Good morning, Opera-senpai,” Shichiro chuckles at Kalego’s reaction to their senpai. 

“Good morning Shichiro-kun and Kalego-kun. Let’s talk in the chairdemon’s office for a bit,” Opera states, though both Kalego and Shichiro know it is more of an order, and it would be easier to simply talk with their senpai than put it off. 

The three soon sit around the coffee table on two couches in the chairdemon’s office. Opera is the first to speak up and gets right to the point; they care most about their kohai answering. 

“How did the kit’s first night at your place go, Kalego-kun?” Opera asks bluntly.

“Firstly, Iruma is as fine as possible now, waiting outside for his little allies right now, but there was a bit of trouble we need to tell you about this morning,” Kalego groans, knowing it is best to tell his senpai the whole truth right from the start. It is not as if he wouldn't inform Opera and Sullivan once he got settled this morning. 

“What do you mean by trouble? Iruma is basically too well-behaved,” Opera asks, now a bit concerned about what may have been troubling about their kit. 

“I noticed that, but that is not what I meant. After how Iruma ate his snack that I infused with my own mana, along with just the notes from the first page of the journal from you, I decided that it would be best to get help with watching after Iruma. I am thankful for that thought because later on, not long before his bedtime, he had a medical problem that Shichiro could figure out and solve quickly,” Kalego was quick to state, knowing how protective Opera is over their charge.

“After seeing how Iruma was around mana-infused food when he first arrived, I have been using supplement powder mostly to slowly get the kit used to it, but it should not have been at all a problem to have it now, other than the way he eats pure mana-infused food. What medical problem happened?” Opera states.

“You’re correct about Iruma having built up to be able to handle mana-infused food, but the medical problem that we did not get a hint about until the fledgling fell over from the pain. After I had appraised the boy, I found that now that he was starting the healing journey, his body was trying to use its own mana system more effectively. Still, the problem was that Iruma had been so abused and neglected that his mana system was incredibly damaged, causing Iruma great pain. I could heal his veins once I knew the problem, but it took time. He should be able to handle it, but he needs even more mana-infused meals until his body is no longer malnourished. Here, Kalego and I wrote these up to give you and Lord Sullivan more specific details and for your records,” Shichiro explains, handing over the folder he had brought with the reports he and Kalego had made that morning. 

Opera’s ears-horns lay back on his head in worry as they took the file from Shichiro and read the reports inside. The two wrote about the medical situation and their observations after just half a day of caring for Iruma. Opera was quick to read the reports, taking in the details of the medical event and general observations of the teen. 

“First, thank you for helping Iruma. You’re both right about Iruma needing a full check-up. I will speak to Sullivan today about the urgency and see if he agrees as long as Shichiro acts as Iruma’s healer. Given it’s you two, I want your help protecting Iruma. Still, there seem to be things that Sullivan is keeping even from me,” Opera states much kinder than their usual emotionless or mischievous state. 

Kalego and Shichiro look at each other, both in confusion and concern. While Kalego and Opera have always had a precarious relationship, they agreed and trusted each other in certain situations. When Opera is this kind and evident in his need for the two of them, Kalego and Shichiro are not so stupid as not to agree to at least listen to what they have to say. Seeing the willingness to help, especially in things concerning Iruma in each other’s eyes, they turn to Opera to give their answers. 

“Of course, we will help protect the brat,” Kalego states, while Shichiro nods in agreement with Kalego’s words beside him.

“Thank you both. These discussions should remain confidential among the three of us, unless otherwise agreed upon. There is a lot about Iruma that others do not know about; there are things Sullivan hides from Iruma and me. I can only make some educated guesses as to why he is keeping things from me and Iruma, but I think things will only get more complicated from here, not less,” Opera explains to his two closest allies. 

“You are saying that you believe that Lord Sullivan knows information that Iruma does not even know, and he is keeping this information from you and Iruma?” Kalego asks more in confusion than in clarification.

At Opera’s nod of confirmation, Kalego pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration with the ridiculousness that has become of this situation that surrounds Iruma. 

“How could Sullivan be hiding things from Iruma if he only adopted the teen shortly before the start of the school year?” Shichiro asks, confused. 

“I will trust that you stand by your words to protect Iruma because I will tell you the whole story from the beginning, from my point of view, and I am trusting you will not hurt my kit with this information,” Opera states, earnestly looking at his two allies to check what they are thinking. He sees them both looking at him with determination before they continue to tell their side of events up to this point. 

Opera tells the story from the beginning: “Everything started only a few days before the start of the new school year. Master Sullivan was in his office in the manor, and I was assisting him with the preparations and paperwork that still needed to be completed for the start of the new school year. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared above Sullivan, transporting him out of the room. I had taken hold of his hand to pull him out of the circle, but the transportation magic ignored me, leaving me to wait almost fifteen minutes before Sullivan was transported back to the office. However, when he was transported back, he brought Iruma with him. I soon discovered that the magic circle had been a summoning circle and that Sullivan had actually been summoned to the human realm. To simplify things, Sullivan explained that humans had summoned him. When Iruma’s parents said they wanted to sell Iruma to Sullivan for a large sum, Sullivan decided to take the deal and bring Iruma back as his grandson. From what I could smell of Iruma when he first arrived, I could tell he had enough demon blood to be part of his scent, but the human scent was heavy on him. We have been covering the human scent with scent blocker perfume. Later on, when I could get a few questions answered, I learned that before he was reminded about his wings being removed, Iruma thought he was human. Sullivan says Iruma’s ex-parents were only his adopted parents and that he had rescued the poor, abused kit from where he had been working on a dangerous fishing boat. That night, I spent quite a while with a zoned Iruma, cleaning and patching him up before he fell asleep. Sullivan asked Iruma to agree to be his grandson and adopted him the next day. We have been doing our best in our own ways. Iruma has been healing since arriving here; he is doing better socially, and his human scent is slowly losing potency. In conclusion, I know that Iruma was brought to the Sullivan house from the human realm, but is at least half, if not a full, demon. Sullivan seems to be hiding something about Iruma’s past or origins that he won’t tell us, leaving Iruma to slowly realize on his own that he is at least half-demon,” Opera explains with a frustrated sigh.

Kalego and Shichiro must take a moment to physically and metaphorically pick their dropped jaws back into place. 

“Are you telling me that brat was brought here, well sold here, to the Netherworld and goes to school with a bunch of teenage demons, all while thinking he is human, which, according to mainstream historical lore, demons eat because humans are said to be delicious?” Kalego asks, growling in anger. 

“The Human realm is real?! Iruma came from there and thinks he is human?!” Shichiro asks, surprised. 

“As of a few days ago, that would be correct. I have no idea why Sullivan wants to hide things from Iruma and have him learn things on his own as they come in. I am pretty sure that Sullivan is at least pretty sure what Iruma’s origins are and is trying to confirm it, but I have not been told other than that I will learn his reasoning at some point,” Opera says with a shrug. 

“Sullivan must think that knowing his true history, or at least parts of his true history, would put Iruma in more danger than thinking he is human for the first handful of months here. Though it must be terrifying to think those around you might eat you if they find out, or at least that is what Iruma thinks,” Shichiro adds, worried for Iruma’s mind. 

“My thoughts exactly, I am just not sure why,” Opera states. 

“This whole situation is a mess,” Kalego groans, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“Um…what do we do now? Do we talk to Iruma now that he is releasing things himself? Do we tell him what we know?” Shichiro asks.

“At the moment, I say not until I can get permission from Sullivan to at least talk to Iruma about the information I just told you, even if he won’t allow us to know what he is trying to confirm,” Opera answers. 

“Sadly, that makes sense, but now that Iruma’s mana system is healed and will be able to work better to heal Iruma up faster than he has been the last few months, things are going to start changing fast, knowing just how much trouble hangs around the brat,” Kalego comments. 

“I will inform you later about what Sullivan tells me we can tell Iruma. Though now we should probably get ready for the day since we took some time up with this meeting,” Opera states. 

“Fine, we will wait for your contact. Now we must get ready for the start of the school day,” Kalego says as he and Shichiro leave Opera to their work, as the two professors do their own work before the first bell of the school day. 

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Iruma spends his time waiting for Az and Clara, reviewing his notes, and attempting to learn and memorize the material he is reading. Iruma is primarily trying to keep his mind on studying and the upcoming exam since he knows how to work hard with his friends to study and learn. Still, with everything that has happened in the last few days, including the grounding thing and the mana system damage that was healed last night, Iruma is trying to figure out how to really handle that. Thankfully, Iruma could distract himself until he heard the sound of running feet and his name being called. 

“Iruma-chi! Morning! Morning!” Clara yells as she runs over to where Iruma is sitting. 

“Master Iruma, good morning,” Az calls out, though much calmer as he runs up behind Clara.

“Good morning, Clara and Az. How are you both?” Iruma asks, smiling and greeting his bright and happy friends. 

“We are good, though it was weird not being able to walk with you to school. How about we head over and hang out in the Royal One until the class day starts?” Az says, smiling at Iruma. 

“That sounds like a plan. We can relax for a bit before class starts,” Iruma agrees, picking up his bookbag and lunch tote. 

Three happily chatted as they walked through the other students to the Royal One classroom. The morning was spent with Iruma, Az, and Clara working together after Professor Kalego completed the short review lesson at the start of the school day. They studied and chatted together, trying to keep Iruma’s spirits up as he worked hard studying as much as possible. 

“Iruma, Asmodeus, and Clara, come here for a second,” Professor Kalego calls out when there are only a few minutes before the bell is to yell to signal the time for lunch. 

Once the three brats are standing in front of his desk, Professor Kalego speaks a spell to hear what is going on in the classroom, but the other students can not listen to what he is talking to these three about. 

“Alright, some things have happened concerning Iruma over the last few days. He can tell you as little or as much as he wishes to later, but presently, I will speak to you both about a change in plans surrounding what you three normally do during lunch time…” Professor Kalego explains aspects of Iruma's life, including his eating habits, but is interrupted by Iruma’s allies. 

“Is something wrong with Iruma?” Az asked worriedly. 

“What has happened? Iruma-chi is okay, right, Eggy-sensi?” Clara asks, concerned about her best friend.

“If you two would just listen, I could finish what I was going to say,” Professor Kalego growls at the two teenagers until they shut their mouths before he continues with what he will say, “Now just listen to me, you little fools. We found that Iruma should be eating all his meals with mana infused into them, but he looks feral when he eats food infused with mana. It can be a bit concerning from the outside, so the plan is to have you three eat your lunches here in the Royal One for the time being. You two are good at not gossiping about Iruma, so I am not worried about that. I am giving you a heads-up so you are not caught off guard. Also, Shichiro is on his way with lunch for you two.” 

Az and Clara are shocked for a few moments because their grumpy professor also cares about Iruma’s situation. 

“Of course, we have no problems with eating lunch here, and neither of us would gossip, especially about Iruma,” Az states clearly to their professor.

“Ya, ya, Iruma-chi should be able to eat however he wants. Also, if Iruma-chi needs more mana-infused food, it shouldn’t be the business of the whole school,” Clara declares. 

“Good. Then stay in your seats after the bell, and Shichiro will be here soon. Then we will leave you to lunch,” Professor Kalego growls out, annoyed by this conversation. 

“Sure, and thank you for thinking ahead and getting us lunch from the cafeteria brought here,” Az states. 

“Ya, ya, just don’t make a mess here. Now go back to your seat,” Professor Kalego states, shooing away the teens back to their seats while letting the spell dissipate. 

Only a minute or so later, the yelling of the school bell has all the misfits, but Iruma, Az, and Clara are heading out of the classroom for their lunch break. Az and Clara are helping Iruma unpack a large amount of food from Iruma’s lunch tote when Professor Balam arrives with two trays levitating in front of him while he sits in the place across from where the teens are setting up Iruma’s lunch. 

“Thank you for bringing us lunch, Professor Balam,” Az politely states as Clara simply hugs the giant professor. 

The three are left alone in the room for lunch, as Professor Kalego and Professor Balam inform them that they will have lunch and work on paperwork during that time. 

“Are you both sure you are alright with me eating like a feral animal? I cannot control it with mana-infused food,” Iruma asks his two friends even as he looks at the food before him, making him almost drool.

“Of course, just eat Iruma-chi,” Clara states happily. 

Clara’s reassurance is the last thing Iruma needs before he relaxes and drives into the hypnotic call of the delicious scents of the mana-infused food packed for his lunch. Neither Az nor Clara was genuinely ready to see Iruma going after his food as if he had never been fed. The amount of violence that Iruma used to eat a large amount of food in front of him is shocking. Az is unsure whether he is more scared of how Iruma eats or concerned about why Iruma eats in this manner. Clara is more concerned than anything; his eating differs from usual because the food is mana-infused. 

After being shocked for a few moments, Az and Clara can eat their own lunches, doing their best to ignore how Iruma is currently eating his own lunch. Az and Clara are only about halfway through their normal-sized lunches when Iruma finishes violently inhaling his food. 

“Is everything alright, Master Iruma? Even Professor Kalego seems a bit concerned, and I must admit how different you eat when your food is mana-infused. It is concerning, given how different it is from your normal manners,” Az gets the courage to ask as he pauses while eating his lunch. 

“If I am being honest, I am not sure everything is alright. Many things have happened in the last few days that have made me question things, but I am just trying to focus on studying for the upcoming exam. I am getting better at studying, even if I am still slow at absorbing everything I need to learn. I am still seeing improvement. Though the things that have been happening the last few days, I have no idea how to deal with…” Iruma admits to his best friends as he carefully puts all the Tupperware back into his lunch tote.

“Can you tell us what is going on, Iruma-chi?” Clara asks this time, worried about Iruma. 

“I am not totally sure about everything that has been happening, but I guess I can try to explain a few things that have been happening. Just make sure this all stays a secret,” Iruma sighs, thinking that telling his best friends might help him understand things better, and he wants to tell his friends more about himself. 

“Of course, we will keep what you say a secret,” Az states while Clara nods enthusiastically next to him. 

“I will start with what happened last night and why Professor Kalego is concerned. Yesterday was my first night staying over at Professor Kalego’s place since Professor Kalego is punishing Grandpa for not having paperwork done and submitted correctly. So, while Grandpa has to work on that in addition to his normal end-of-term work, I am staying with Professor Kalego. However, Professor Balam will be helping Professor Kalego watch over me. Yesterday, I ate more mana-infused food than normal; Opera has been building up my system with supplements. Professor Kalego and Professor Balam were surprised by how I ate my meals when mana was infused directly into the food. Before I went to bed, my back and body started to have muscle spasms, and when Professor Balam checked my health, he found that my mana system was greatly damaged from before Grandpa adopted me. Professor Balam was able to fix it, but now he says I will need even more mana-infused food because my body is now ready to take in even more mana with my food and nutrients to heal my body quicker than it had been,” Iruma says, giving a rough description of what happened the day before.

“If your mana system was so damaged, how have you been doing magic so well in class? I am surprised to hear you were adopted, but it does make sense now that you say it. How did your mana system get so damaged? The only way I know is a birth defect and severe abuse and neglect.” Az asks, worried and impressed that Iruma has been doing so well in school, even with the tiny piece of information he and Clara were given. 

“Well, the doing magic in class part, from what Professor Kalego and Professor Balam told me, was a bit of my own magic, but also from my gluttonous feeder ring. When I got the ring originally, Grandpa told the class that the ring draws in magic to stay calm and acts as a secondary source of magic for the wearer. I have been using my and the ring’s magic to cast magic in school. From the way the professors were talking last night, it seems the more I heal, mostly through mana and nutrition consumption, the more I should be able to strengthen my mana system, and my health, in general, should improve. I am not sure what all that will mean yet, but that is what I know about the casting part. On how my mana system got so damaged, I would have to admit it was probably from how I lived before Grandpa adopted me,” Iruma shrugged, like what he had just told Az and Clara was not a big deal.

“Iruma-chi! Just what was your life like before your Grandpa adopted you! Even I know it takes extreme abuse and neglect to damage a person’s mana system!” Clara squeaks out, worried. 

“To be honest, I am only just starting to admit to even myself that my life before Grandpa was far from okay, though until recently, I was more focused on survival. Part of my survival was trying to make the best of what I had,” Iruma admits in a whisper. 

“We won’t press for answers, Iruma. Don’t feel like you need to tell us or anyone else that you don’t want to. Though know we will always be here for you when you need us, no matter how big or small you think the situation is,” Az states with care in his voice. 

“We are always here for Iruma-chi! Just like Iruma-chi is always here for us!” Clara cheers to her friends. 

“Thank you, Clara and Az; I feel the same,” Iruma says with a bright smile. 

“Um…You said a few things have happened in the last few days. Is there anything else you feel comfortable telling us? We still have quite a while to talk before anyone should be coming back to the classroom,” Az asks, noticing that Iruma has been in a forthcoming mood and needs his friends to talk through things with him. 

“I have wanted to tell you a few things for a long time now, but I still need to keep quiet about some, given I don’t think I can decide to speak about those things myself. Though there is one I am pretty sure I can tell you about as long as you keep it a secret,” Iruma starts and waits to get an agreement to keep a secret before he continues to speak, “I want you both to know, especially since a few of the professors know now, I was grounded a long time ago. That is why I walk to school; I don’t have the wings to fly.” 

At Iruma’s admission, Az and Clara were wide-eyed and slack-jawed for a few long moments as they let themselves take in the words Iruma had just spoken. Az and Clara have to take a few moments. It’s one thing to be warned about the taboo act as a fact of a horrid history that has been considered taboo for a very long time. It was considered taboo before King Derkila took the throne of the Netherworld. It is practically unheard of nowadays to have anyone tortured through grounding. Even in the Netherworld’s nightmarish history, such a low percentage of truly grounded people continued to live. So many things could end the life of a person who was grounded, whether by brutal injury or torture. The person could be killed by the pain and shock of the damage done to the wings, infection set in after the damage, and the person not being willing to continue living without their wings. 

“I am so glad you are alive. Even if you aren’t free to fly with your wings, you are still a powerful and good demon. You have already done things most normal first-year demons would not be able to handle, and you are only continuing to grow,” Az says solemnly. 

“Thank you for trusting us with such a big secret. We will guard it well. Tell us if you need any help with anything. Knowing you, you will think up something crazy to get around it in most situations. But I am sure if you just want to fly for fun, Az-Az can fly you around,” Clara says with a kind smile before running over to hug Iruma. 

“I agree with Clara. Whether flying you around for fun or when you need a hand in the air, I will always be here for you,” Az says, amused by how Clara practically smothers Iruma in hugs and care. 

“Thank you. Grandpa says it is good, but I don’t remember how I was grounded. I am glad I was so young that it did not interfere with my upbringing. I have always walked, never relying on my wings.” Iruma shrugs, not sure how to explain his feelings on the subject of being grounded. 

“That is probably for the best. I am glad that now you are getting help from Lord Sullivan and the professors. As long as you continue to eat lots of nutritious food and work steadily to get healthier, you will continue to get stronger. I just know it,” Az says with confidence. 

“It is so nice that you two finally know why I don’t fly. I didn’t like not telling you the truth,” Iruma says, finally breathing a sigh of relief even as Clara is still wrapped around him in a full-body hug. 

For the last bit of their lunch period, the three move on to much lighter topics of conversation. They discuss how they think their studying is going and whether they will be ready to perform well on the exam. Iruma is still very nervous about knowing everything he needs to know, but he is determined to keep up his studies to at least get a solid score. 

After lunch, Professor Kalego returns to the classroom along with the other misfits. Once the professor takes roll for the afternoon, he ensures that none of the students disappear during lunch. Once the professor accounts for each misfit, he grabs the lunch tote from Iruma and has it disappear into a storage space so the pup does not have to keep track of an extra bag since Iruma has eaten all the lunch packed inside. 

“Alright, now that I have taken attendance, you can either stay here to study or study in another section of the school,” Professor Kalego tells the misfits. 

After spending the morning and lunch in the Royal One, Iruma, Az, and Clara decide to change their study location to the library. The three friends spend over an hour studying together before Az hands Iruma and Clara practice tests to see how far they have come with learning.

Iruma concentrates entirely on the test before him, doing his best to remember everything he and his friends have been studying so hard to jam the information into their minds. However, while focusing on the practice test, he does not notice that a few other struggling students are peeking from behind a bookshelf at how hard Iruma is working to try and do well on the terminus exam. 

“Time,” Az calls out. 

Az takes a few minutes to grade both practice tests, but once he hands them over, Iruma beams at the score. At 55, Iruma could hardly believe he had gotten more right than wrong. The other misfits watch as Az and Clara celebrate Iruma’s significant improvement with the study material. 

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Before the end of the day, Iruma, Az, and Clara return to the Royal One to take a break for the last twenty minutes of the school day. 

“After the last bell rings, hang out with Shichiro in his lab for a little while. I have a few things I need to get done before leaving the school today,” Professor Kalego tells Iruma only a few minutes left in the day. 

“Sure, I will head straight there,” Iruma readily agrees. 

“We will walk Iruma to Professor Balam’s lab before leaving for the day ourselves!” Clara cheers happily, but Professor Kalego ignores the happy green demon girl. 

Soon, the last bell of the day yells, signaling the end of the school day. Iruma walks with Az and Clara, chatting about nothing vital as they walk through the school halls to get to Professor Balam’s private lab. Iruma knocks on the lab door unannounced, not wanting to walk into the professor’s lab. 

“Iruma and your two allies. It is nice to see you two again, Asmodeus and Valac,” Professor Balam says after opening his office door to the fledglings. 

Professor Balam quickly captures the three carefully with his vines, giving each of them a careful cuddle and pet. Asmodeus is thankful to be the first to be released from the vines, given that he was uncomfortable being cuddled and petted by the giant professor. Iruma is calm in Professor Balam’s cuddles, while Clara is actively hugging the giant professor’s back, giggling. Knowing that Iruma’s two allies must head home, Shichiro soon releases Valac, who is pulled away by Asmodeus as they happily wave goodbye to Iruma. Once the two fledglings are out of sight, Shichiro brings Iruma into his lab and sits the boy on his lab couch. 

“How was your day, Iruma?” Shichiro asks. 

“Pretty good. I studied a lot, took a practice test, got more right than wrong, and told Az and Clara about being grounded and that I had to fix my mana system last night. I kept things vague, but I wanted them to know, since a handful of the professors already know now,” Iruma tells Shichiro. 

“That makes sense; having allies you can trust is nice. How about a cup of tea?” Shichiro replies, understanding why Iruma told his friends, though he knows he must inform Kalego and Opera of what Iruma told his friends. 

“A cup of tea would be great,” Iruma replies. 

Iruma watches Shichiro make them both a cup of tea. Shichiro pulls three cute picture books from his desk and hands them to Iruma, then sits with the freshly made cups of tea. 

“Thank you. These cute books you make are so helpful,” Iruma smiles as he flips through the top book before putting the rest of the books into his book bag to read and study later. 

Shichiro chats with Iruma about light-hearted subjects as they sip their tea. After speaking about Iruma’s past with Kalego and Opera that morning, Shichiro has been spending far too much time wondering what questions he can ask about the human world once Iruma knows that they know he used to live in it. Throughout the day, Shichiro has been jotting down various questions he hopes to ask the fledgling soon. 

Shichiro and Iruma spend their time chatting as Iruma rests after studying all day, and Shichiro finishes some paperwork and packs up his bag to be ready to leave. When Kalego walks into Shichiro’s lab, he finds Shichiro and Iruma discussing the foods that small demon animals like to eat. Kalego has to admit, even if only in his mind, that watching the two talk so happily about what small demon animals eat is quite adorable.

“Good afternoon, Shichiro. If you and Iruma are ready, I have finished the paperwork I needed to do before leaving today, so that we can head back to my place now,” Kalego says with an amused roll of his eyes at the two. 

“Iruma and I are all packed up and ready to go,” Shichiro says, smiling at Kalego. 

Iruma is flown back to Kalego’s treehouse manor in Shichiro’s arms. Once inside Kalego’s place, Iruma puts his book bag away and changes into comfortable pajamas, pants, and a soft t-shirt. Shichiro and Kalego do the same, changing into casual clothing. While Iruma is still puttering around in his room, Shichiro finds Kalego starting to put together food for Iruma’s afternoon snack.

“I am going to send a text to Opera-senpai about this as well to keep them up to date, but Iruma told me after school that he told his allies Asmodeus and Valac a bit about me healing his mana system last night and that he was grounded which is why he does not fly,” Shichiro tells Kalego as we work on typing out a text message and sending to Opera.

“I am glad those two brats, actually, the misfits in general, as long as the information is about one of the other misfits, are oddly trustworthy. It makes sense that Iruma would want to tell them when some of the professors already know about him being grounded,” Kalego begrudgingly admitted.  

“They are called misfits for a reason, right?” Shichiro states, not really expecting an answer. 

Kalego shrugs in response to Shichiro’s statement about his class of idiotic misfits. Kalego is not surprised that Iruma wanted to tell Asmodeus and Valac at least some of his secrets. He is glad those two have proven trustworthy in not spreading gossip about Iruma’s oddness; that makes far more sense now that he knows a bit about the brat’s background. 

Once Iruma comes downstairs, he places his study material on the coffee table before being called to the dining room to eat his afternoon snack and pain pill. They have their own little snacks as they try not to watch the eating beast that is Iruma when it comes to mana-infused food. However, they do make sure that the fledgling takes his pain medication. 

Iruma is helping put the dishes into the dishwasher when Shichiro receives a text message from Opera, and he breathes a sigh of relief as he reads it. 

Top Cat: I spoke with Master Sullivan and got permission from him for you two to discuss what we discussed this morning with Iruma. I also got permission for you to give Iruma a medical check-up. Thank you, Shichiro. 

Gargoyle: Thanks for getting us permission. Lord Sullivan understands that some things should not be hidden from Iruma. Also, it would be nice for Iruma to add Kalego and me to the adults who know as much of the truth as Lord Sullivan will let us have. 

Top Cat: Good. Continue to keep me up to date and remind Iruma that Sullivan and I are only a call or text away.  

Gargoyle: Of course. 

“Hey Kalego, Opera just texted me saying they got Lord Sullivan’s permission to talk to Iruma about what we and Opera spoke about this morning. Also, I would like to give Iruma a medical check-up,” Shichiro says, knowing that Iruma is beside them. 

“Both the conversation and check-up are certainly overdue,” Kalego grumbles. 

“Um…what are you allowed to tell me? Also, is there a reason I need a check-up?” Iruma asks, speaking up nervously. 

Iruma is wondering if this check-up will reveal whether he is human or not, and is still trying to figure out what he wants or what to expect. He is unsure of what to expect after the last few days. Iruma would panic more if he knew what he needed to panic about. Right now, Iruma is so confused and nervous about what has happened over the last few days that he is unsure how to react. 

“You need a check, especially since you have not had a real medical check-up since being adopted by Lord Sullivan, and we do not need a repeat of what happened last night. It is best to have the least amount of medical surprises possible,” Kalego explains gruffly as the three of them relocate to the living room. 

“Well…um…... um... I am not sure what you will find…” Iruma starts to worry about what could happen if he goes through with a medical check-up. 

“Iruma, I think we know what you are worried about. Let’s start by saying that Opera had a conversation with us this morning and told us that, as of the moment, you probably still believe you are human. Still, Opera is pretty positive that you are at least half-demon,” Shichiro states, seeing how nervous Iruma is about everything. 

Kalego and Shichiro get nervous about how Iruma will react to the news they just told him, even though it is only a small part of what they and Opera discussed that morning. Still, it is probably the most shocking information to Iruma. 

Iruma is quiet for a minute as he tries to process what Shichiro admitted. While Iruma is a bit annoyed with Opera not telling him earlier that he is most likely at least half-demon, on the other hand, he remembers how closed off and anxious he was when Grandpa first brought him to the Netherworld and understands why they kept some things to themselves, even if Iruma thinks it was stupid to keep him in the dark about something so important. 

“Well, if I am at least half-demon, that means I can never be sent back to the human world, right? That is a relief,” Iruma says, looking at the positive side.

“That is a nice way of looking at shocking news, but you are correct that having demon blood makes it certain that you belong here in the Netherworld,” Shichiro states. 

“Um…Could you tell me everything Opera got permission for you to share with me?” Iruma asks nervously, unsure how much Opera and his professors know about him that he does not.

“We can tell you what we know. Opera has told us everything they currently know or have compiled through educated observations of you. Opera thinks that Sullivan is investigating some things they believe they know, but want to confirm before sharing with you or Opera. However, they are not sure what Sullivan is hiding, or exactly why he is hiding what he knows,” Shichiro states. 

“Understood, sort of. Go ahead and tell what you and Opera know so far,” Iruma states. 

“We were told that Lord Sullivan bought and adopted you from the humans that were acting as your parents, but that you actually were not their biological child. Anyway, Opera said that Sullivan rescued you from the dangerous job you were currently doing and then adopted you once you returned to the Netherworld. Opera said that when you first arrived with Sullivan, the abuse and neglect were obvious just from how you acted around them and how injured and malnourished you were. The severe abuse and neglect you faced before being adopted explains why your mana system was so damaged. Your having been grounded only adds to the horror of the abuse done to you. Opera says that while the human scent was undeniable when you arrived, you also had a strong enough demonic scent in your blood that they are positive you are at least half-demon. Though we have no idea what type of demon blood you inherit, you may grow more demon features as you heal. Now that your mana system has been fixed so that you can take in more mana and nutrition, you will probably heal even faster,” Shichiro explains what Opera told them about. 

“That is a lot, but while I am shocked, it is nice to know that my old parents weren’t really my parents. The demon and demon features thing is a bit harder to process. However, I would actually feel better if I fit in better with other demons at school, so that is still good, I think, anyway,” Iruma replies while his eyes are still wide at what Shichiro told him. 

“I think I would be more concerned if you weren’t shocked by all that,” Kalego comments. 

“Now that you know you don’t have to hide anything, do you mind if I do an appraisal check-up on you, Iruma?” Shichiro asks. 

“Since I don’t have to be worried about you finding out I am human or anything, I have no problem with you giving me a check-up,” Iruma shrugs his shoulders. It is nice to have two more people to know the truth. 

Shichiro directs Iruma to sit back on the couch and relax while he casts a medical appraisal spell on the boy. It is a similar spell to the one Shichiro performed the night before, but on a broader level, rather than pinpointing a particular problem or pain Iruma is feeling. Now, he can see an overlay of medical information and what is happening inside the fledgling in his mind’s eye. While the spell is in effect, Shichiro is quick to start typing up all of his notes on what he is seeing on his laptop to save the information for explaining to the others once the appraisal spell is done and to make a record of what his medical status is today, so they can watch Iruma’s healing journey going forward.

Iruma and Kalego keep quiet, knowing that Shichiro needs to concentrate while he has the spell activated since it only lasts for a limited time. After a few minutes, the spell deactivates, and Shichiro soon stops his note-taking. 

Turning to Kalego and Iruma, who are both looking at Shichiro with curiosity, he starts to speak up about what he found with his spell: “From my medical appraisal spell, I was able to find out a few different things. I will start by saying that Iruma’s mana system is already starting to function as it should and is circulating magic throughout his body well. Though not surprising with the little we know about Iruma’s background, it is still shocking to literally see how malnourished and stunted in growth Iruma is. Iruma is healing well; his horns, tail, and other demonic features and senses will likely be returning soon. Um…I can’t tell for certain with only an appraisal spell. I think Iruma is more than half-demon, but I can’t tell you exactly what kind of demon he inherits from. You should start feeling healthier and healthier soon, though also tell us if you feel weird or hurt because it could be your demonic features or traits growing in.” 

“That is a lot to take in,” Iruma says wide-eyed. 

“What about the damage done by whoever grounded Iruma?” Kalego asks. 

“Thankfully, besides Iruma’s wings being removed, nothing else was damaged, so as his body continues to heal, his back should be less susceptible to muscle spasms that have been causing him pain. Though I doubt it will ever stop giving him pain every so often, but hopefully, it will just get rarer and rarer,” Shichiro says. 

“It would be nice to know what type or types of demons he may have inherited traits from so that we would know what to look for, but I guess, unless Lord Sullivan tells us what he is trying to confirm, we will just have to wait and see,” Kalego grumbles. 

“This is still more answers than I had just an hour ago, and it’s nice to know what you two and Opera know,” Iruma comments, not really sure what he thinks about everything he has learned recently just yet. 

“Opera also asked me to remind you that no matter why, they and your grandfather are only a text or call away,” Shichiro reminds Iruma.

The comment about Opera and his grandpa being just a call or text away elicited a smile and nod from Iruma as the three started to relax. Iruma decided to continue studying now that he had had a break and a snack. Until dinner, Shichiro and Kalego took the time to help Iruma with his studies. As his homeroom professor, Kalego can see just how much improvement Iruma has made with the studying he has been doing. 

“You are improving quite well, brat. You are still not as good as you should be, but now that I know you only recently arrived in the Netherworld at the beginning of the school year, I can see you working hard to improve. Just keep working hard, and you will keep improving, but no slacking, brat,” Kalego states as he and Shichiro get up to make dinner. 

Iruma smiles at his grumbling professor before he is left in the living room with Cerbereon, who again cuddles up to his back once Kalego leaves. Feeling the giant magic dog at his back is nice to Iruma. Typically, Cerbereon is used to help Kalego attack, but in this case, Iruma feels like the giant dog is more protective than violent. 

The three of them have dinner together, with the adults trying to ignore how Iruma eats. They are happy that they are getting better at ignoring the kid’s way of eating mana-infused food. After dinner, the adults tell Iruma that he should relax after studying, as he had been studying since before school started that day. Admitting that Kalego and Shichiro have a point, Iruma sits on one of the two couches while watching fun television shows. 

Later that night, Iruma picked up his study materials and went to his room, telling Shichiro and Kalego goodnight. Iruma takes a shower and applies perfume afterward, then puts on his pajamas for the night. 

Sitting on his bed, he hears Ali speak, “Irum-boy, how are you doing? A lot has happened over the last few days, but it is probably good that those two professors are in on the secrets and willing to protect you.” 

“I think I am doing okay, but I am still trying to process everything. It is nice having people who know more about me. I also got to tell Az and Clara what I couldn’t before. I also have Kalego and Shichiro that I can talk to truthfully now,” Iruma states to the being of his ring. 

“You definitely needed to have others you could be real with. You are even doing better with your studying,” Ali says, sitting on one of Iruma’s pillows. 

Iruma and Ali continue to speak until Iruma falls asleep, knowing he needs to wake up for school early again the next day. Once Ali notices Iruma has fallen asleep, he smiles and gives the teen an affectionate pat before returning to the ring. 

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Once Iruma leaves the room to get ready for bed, Shichiro and Kalego are left alone in the living room as Cerbereon returns to Kalego a while ago. After a few minutes, Kalego turns off the television and grabs Shichiro’s wrist. Kalego pulls Shichiro behind until they both go into his master bedroom. 

“Um…Kalego…” Shichiro mumbles, wondering what Kalego is up to.

“I have something I wish to give you, Shichiro,” Kalego says before going to his nightstand and pulling out a small gray box the size of a four-inch cube.  

“What? Something for me?” Shichiro asks, confused, as he watches Kalego open the little box and pull out a black metal ring. 

Shichiro is still confused and surprised as Kalego approaches him and grabs his right hand. Kalego slips the black metal band-style ring onto Shichiro’s thumb, and it fits perfectly. 

“I do not wish for you to be confused by my intention to share our affections now that we have admitted to it. I wish to keep you, in the forever type of way, to become each other’s mate when we feel comfortable about that in the future,” Kalego grumbles, not good with expressing his feelings, but wanting to get his thoughts through to the demon he loved the most in the Netherworld.

“Thank you, Kalego. I love the ring; it is a beautiful pre-mating gift. I love you and want forever for you as well,” Shichiro says, quickly pulling Kalego into a hug. He is so happy with the gift that shows his love’s determined affection.

“Good,” Kalego mumbles, but is happy to stay in Shichiro’s arms. 

Kalego pulls away only to push Shichiro onto his bed before climbing into his lap and kissing Shichiro on the cheek as he unclips Shichiro’s mask. The two of them soon allow themselves to make out, even if Shichiro only has lips on half of his mouth. Kalego does not care about Shichiro’s scaring, loves the demon, and loves everything about the big lug. 

With a flick of his hand, Kalego makes sure his bedroom door is locked and spelled so they will be warned if anyone is at it. Kalego pulls back from kissing Shichiro only when he needs to breathe. 

“We don’t have much time until bedtime, but how about you join me for a bath?” Shichiro asks shyly, cuddling Kalego in his lap.

“I like your plan,” Kalego says before returning for another deep kiss. 

Kalego presses his tongue into Shichiro’s hot mouth. Shichiro lets out cute squeaking and moaning sounds as Kalego’s tongue twirls around his and explores his mouth. Kalego loves the sounds he can pull from Shichiro as he kisses him. Kalego feels Shichiro get more confident as he feels large hands moving and touching his body as they continue to kiss. One of Shichiro’s hands dips under Kalego’s t-shirt and up the bare skin on his back, which has Kalego shivering in warm pleasure. 

Shichiro has to pull his mouth away from their kiss to be able to breathe. Taking the initiative, Shichiro pulls Kalego’s t-shirt up and off with Kalego’s help, leaving his upper body bare to Shichiro’s eyes. Kalego gets a sly grin on his face, and soon, Shichiro is being pulled toward the master ensuite bathroom and stripped by Kalego, who looks ready to devour him. 

In only a few moments, hot water is pouring out of the faucet and into the large hot tub-sized bathtub, and they are soon both naked. It is not technically the first time they have seen each other naked, but it is the first time since they were students, and also the first time being able to really take the other in fully. 

Helping each other with a quick shower, they soon relax together in the tub’s hot water. Shichiro is happy to be able to pull Kalego onto his lap, both naked and wet, from the relaxing hot bath; being able to touch skin to skin is a pleasure. Shichiro and Kalego both let their hands wander over the other’s body, moaning softly at the pleasure of the contact. With relaxing hot water, beautiful company, and gentle pleasure, this bath is a great way to relieve stress and enjoy intimacy. 

After a while, the two knew they needed to go to bed or would be tired the next day. Regretfully, the two put on pajamas and unlocked the bedroom door before lying beside each other. They were taking care of Iruma, so it would not be good if they slept without clothing or if the fledgling could not get to them in the middle of the night. Soon, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms, sleeping peacefully.

Chapter Text

The next day, Iruma meets Az and Clara at Bablys’ front gate bright and early. 

How is staying at Eggy-sensies' place? Is it all spooky and scary?” Clara asks curiously. 

“No, his place is nice. The color theme is mostly purple and black. Also, he has a lot of cacti, even a whole garden outside,” Iruma says with a smile. 

Az was both surprised and unsurprised that their Professor Kalego, the Guard Dog of Bablys, had been entrusted with Iruma. Professor Kalego had the highest ranking in the school regarding protection, loyalty, and trust. Still, it was the fact that Professor Kalego was all right with a teenager staying under his roof and taking care of him. Az wonders if the taking care of part is why Professor Kalego pulled in help from Professor Balam, who seems to like taking care of small creatures.

“As the Guard Dog and Gargoyle of Bablys, two of the strongest members of Bablys and a huge part of its defense against those stupid enough to try and go against the school, they make sense for who Lord Sullivan would entrust you to,” Az states out loud, nodding thoughtfully. 

“They have both been pretty good to stay with. Professor Kalego is still a bit grumpy but calmer than he seems at school,” Iruma states. 

“Probably less stressful to only have to watch over one teenager instead of a whole school full of them, plus all of the staff here,” Az points out. 

“Definitely,” Iruma agrees with a soft laugh. 

“I can’t believe this is the last school day before the exams on Monday,” Iruma states, changing the subject as the three stroll toward the Royal One classroom. 

“Don’t worry so much, Master Iruma. You just need to keep studying, and you will do great. We already know that you should pass fairly easily now, but now you are studying to get a good grade, not just to pass. It is amazing how much you have learned so quickly,” Az gushes. 

Iruma smiles softly at Az, who cherishes his master’s caring looks. Clara is bouncing in circles around Az and Iruma, who are walking at a leisurely pace. 

“My progress is largely due to you two, Professor Balam and Professor Kalego, who have been helping me study everything,” Iruma says. 

“I am so happy that I can help you with this. You always help us when we need it, so it’s nice to help you for once,” Az says. 

The three soon turn their conversation to their hopes for what they want to do over the school break. However, after stepping into the Royal One classroom, their conversation suddenly ends at the scene they find before them. All three of their eyes go wide at seeing the dumber students of the misfit class actually sitting at their desks studying. Jazz, Lied, Goemon, Elizabetta, and Kamui are all already sitting and actually concentrating on the study materials in front of each of them.  

“Huh!? You’re actually studying!?” Iruma and Az yell out loud in surprise.   

“Well…Ya…,” Lied says, unsure how to explain his feelings. 

“It seems that we have grown used to a bit of studying…” Goemon adds in.

“It feels like it is a bit more doable…kind of?” Elizabetta tries to explain.

Az is not really sure how to handle this sudden change in the behavior of the dumb members of their class. While Iruma is not expecting such a change in his friends, he smiles happily anyway, knowing that all of them are trying to pass so they can have fun over the school break. 

“Hey! Check out these formula notes!” Jazz brags with a smirk at the other class members. 

“Let me see!” Goemon called out in desperation. 

“I’ll trade you the hints Professor Orias gave me about the exams!” Lied starts to bargain.

“How about we all pull our resources together and help each other study?” Sabnock asks with a smirk while carrying one of the long desks with one hand. 

The whole class agrees happily, and they push two of the long desk tables together, converging around it to share their notes and study materials, helping each other with what they have. Every misfit works together around the two tables or on the front chalkboard. The smarter members of the class help the rest, and the dumber students help each other with the subjects they know well. Jazz helps some of his classmates with math and such. 

That is how Professor Kalego finds his ridiculous class when he walks into the Royal One classroom. Kalego takes in the sight of his entire class of misfits working and studying together for their upcoming exams, and he even feels the tiniest bit of pride for his idiotic students, who are actually putting in the effort for their upcoming exams. Deciding to avoid messing with a good thing, Kalego does not speak up or interrupt the teenagers; he takes his work, sits at his desk in the corner, and spends some time on paperwork. It is times like these that have him wondering what these teenagers are thinking. However, Kalego is not stupid enough to actually want to read any teenager’s mind. 

Iruma finds himself actually having fun as he spends the entire morning studying and working with his friends and classmates, whom he has become close to since coming to Bablys and spending time with these demons, the rest of the school calls misfits. 

Professor Kalego waits until a few minutes before the lunch bell to speak up to his class, who have been working together and helping each other study all morning, not wanting to interrupt them, “Silence! Alright, you brats. You have about three minutes until lunch, when you should eat and relax before spending the afternoon open to ask any of your professors for help. I suggest you choose the subject in which you still feel the weakest, attend that professor’s class, and ask thoughtful questions. Unless you want to stay here and ask me questions, you don’t have to see me until Monday for your exam. Now you are dismissed for lunch. Go ahead.”

After about two minutes of hurried packing and laughing, teenagers Clara, Iruma, Az, and Kalego were the only people left in the room. 

“I will leave you three to eat in here; I am off,” the Professor says, then leaves the classroom, leaving the three teenagers alone for lunch. 

“Eggy-sensei sounded less grumpy than normal!” Clara cheered happily. 

“I think, as a professor, he was happy to see us all actually studying all morning. He even had time to do some of his own paperwork between random questions here and there from us,” Iruma stated with a happy chuckle. 

“While I don’t agree with half the class on why they are willing to study so hard for these exams, I do see the effort they are putting in,” Az points out as two trays of food levitate their way over to Clara and Az. “Professor Balam sent us our food, so we don’t have to run and get it from the cafeteria.”

“That is so nice of him!” Clara giggled. 

Clara and Az take a few minutes to help Iruma take his insanely large lunch out of his enchanted lunch tote before going to sit and eat themselves. The two must keep their eyes from drifting to the feral beast that is Iruma when he eats the mana-infused food he is packed. Both of them worry, seeing how just being able to eat mana-infused food changes their usually sweet-natured best friend. However, neither brings up their concerns because of how self-conscious Iruma is about eating mana-infused food, even when it's just the two of them. 

Iruma was the first to finish his food, as always. He viciously inhaled his mountain of nutrient—and mana-dense food in less than five minutes, leaving not even crumbles in the Tupperware containers the food had been packed in. 

“My mom says that this weekend, most of the family is going to go out and have fun in the forest, and they are even going on a picnic to help relax and have fun. Do either of you have plans for this weekend before the exam on Monday?” Clara asks between bites as Iruma puts all the empty Tupperware back into the tote. 

“Mother and David said that since I have been studying and helping the two of you so well in preparation for the exams tomorrow, we are going as a whole family on a full day of fun, as my mother calls them. We each get to choose an activity for a few hours of the day. Knowing my mother and little cousins, we will probably spend at least part of the day shopping and seeing a play, but I can pick an activity and choose the dinner location as a treat. It will be a long day, but it should be nice to spend some time with my little cousins,” Az says, even though shopping with his mother is always an adventure.

“I am not sure. If Professor Kalego or Professor Balam do something, I will probably tag along with them, but I have not been told of any plans. Though it is a bit weird staying at Professor Kalego’s place, it is normally pretty peaceful,” Iruma shrugs.

“That does make sense if it is just the three of you hanging out at Professor Kalego’s place,” Az states, nodding his head in understanding. 

“What should we do this afternoon?” Iruma asks his best friends. 

“Well, I think we should relax a bit but still be productive in studying, so I got David to help me find a couple of educational movies for us to watch this afternoon. We can go to the battler room and relax while watching the movies, which should help review some of the things we have been studying. Though I should warn you that the movies I chose are originally geared to demons a few years our junior, I think they are still helpful topic-wise,” Az explains, not wanting Iruma to feel bad that the educational movies are more geared to kids that are not yet teenagers. 

Iruma and Clara easily agree to Az’s plan for the afternoon. The three spend time relaxing and chatting throughout lunch. Once they have finished lunch, the three make their way to their battler room together. With the help of Clara and her bloodline ability, they were able to connect Az’s phone to a Devi-Tooth projector and have it project the first movie onto a pitch-black sheet they hung from the ceiling. Clara also pulled out some extra-large beanbag chairs, pillows, and blankets for the educational movie time. 

As the movie started, the three of them cuddled into the beanbags that Clara had set up, with little space between them, so when they all sat down, they were only a few inches from each other. Iruma noticed why Az had warned them ahead of time that the movie was initially intended for children, not teenagers. It was a cute cartoon in style, but the information it covered was what they had been studying, so it worked as a study aid for them. 

Clara and Iruma giggled as the cartoon movie started, and even after just a few minutes, they were already drawn in and paying attention to the movie Az had found to help them. Az found himself amused by the reactions of his two best friends to the movie. Given that the movie was a bit too childish for their liking, Az spent the time observing Iruma and Clara as they watched it. While Az is entirely devoted to his best friend and master, Iruma, he has been finding Clara less of a bother to hang out with as the three of them have gotten to know each other better and have spent a handful of months together. She is still annoying and frustrating to him, but he would also feel sad and annoyed if she were not around when he and Iruma were together. Az figures it is easier to be annoyed by her and feel warmed by her ridiculous brightness than to be annoyed by her absence; he is not sure if this stance even makes sense in his head, so he is not about to explain it to anyone anytime soon. 

Az watches his two precious friends giggle as they watch the movie. Iruma seemed to be absorbed in the movie as much as Clara until about halfway through the movie, when he started to look a little stiff to Az. Az starts to get concerned over the next handful of minutes as Iruma does not relax back as he was before, but seems to grow even stiffer and tries to curl up into himself like he is in pain. 

Iruma is unsure what is happening, but his senses seem to have been boosted, which is the best way to explain it. At first, it was just like the movie was getting a bit louder each minute, even though he could see that neither Clara nor Az had messed with the volume control. Then he noticed that he was also picking up smells more than usual. By about two-thirds of the way through the movie, his hearing was too strong. Iruma curled in on himself in pain, clamping his hands over his ears and pinching his nose closed. Everything was too loud and smelled too strong. He felt nauseous at the overwhelming and suffocating smells. His hearing felt so painful, like any normal volume noise could blow out his eardrums any minute now. Pain from his ears, nose, stomach, and head; the rest of his body was also starting to feel stiff and sore. Not able to even twitch without feeling like he will throw up his lunch, Iruma is thankful when Az suddenly pauses the movie. 

“Master Iruma/ Iruma-chi,” Az and Clara both ask with concern about their distressed friend. 

“Too loud! Everything is too loud and smells too much!” Iruma painfully whines in barely a whisper, still cringing at the sound of his own whispers.

Now, both Clara and Az are even more concerned, but unsure how to help themselves. However, it is evident from Iruma’s state and reaction that he needs help, and at least two of his senses are going haywire. 

“We will figure out how to help you; just wait a second,” Az whispers as quietly as he can. He flinches a bit, as even that causes Iruma to stiffen up more in pain. 

Seeing that any noise, even whispered words, was too much for his precious friend, he was quick to carefully grab Clara by the hand and drag her from the room. Though understanding the need for silence, she does not say a word and follows Az outside the battler room. They close the door as silently as possible before walking a hallway away from the club room, before daring to speak. 

“Something is happening to Iruma; his senses are going haywire. Professor Kalego should know what to do. I will guard the hall so no one comes this way, and you go run and explain the situation to our professor,” Az says, speaking in a whisper just in case. Az is not sure just how sensitive Iruma’s ears are now. 

“I will be as quick as I can,” Clara says, agreeing quickly to the plan. 

Clara runs off immediately, unwilling to be slow in getting her Iruma-chi the help he needs right now. It takes a few minutes, but Clara soon bursts through the doors of the Royal One to find Professor Kalego alone at his desk, and his head whips up at Clara’s reckless entrance. 

“Just what do you think…” Professor Kalego started to relax, annoyed at the chaotic energy of the demoness, when he noticed that she looked scared. 

“Eggy-sensei, something is wrong with Iruma-chi!” Clara blurts out. 

“Explain,” Kalego states sharply, immediately getting up from his chair and swiftly walking toward Clara. 

“The three of us were watching an educational movie that Az found that covered a lot of what we have been studying when Iruma, over only a handful of minutes, went from fine to curling up in pain. When we turned off the movie and tried to check on him, he flinched in pain and said we were too loud. He even flinched at his own whispering voice! He tried to tell us that everything was too loud and the smells were too strong! What do we do!?” Clara tries to explain as clearly and quickly as possible to their professor. 

Kalego takes in the words, and it does not take more than a few seconds for him to have a pretty good idea of what is most likely happening to the poor pup. It is almost exactly like what happened to him as a young pup when his demonic traits were coming in. Iruma seems to have super hearing, and super scent is also part of Iruma’s demonic traits. 

“Let’s go see what we can do for the brat. I am pretty sure what is going on, and if so, those pockets of yours will come in handy, Valac,” Kalego states, quickly jogging to the trio’s battler room.

Kalego is not surprised that Az is standing guard outside the battler room and blocking off the entire side hallway area with fire. Thankfully, this is a more out-of-the-way room, so the protective fire blockade is not really messing up anyone. Waving at the young Asmodeus, Kalego gets him to extinguish the fire blockade as we come over to join them, a reasonable distance away from the battler room door.  

“I am pretty sure I know what is going on with Iruma, and if I am right, I think we can fix him quickly. Valac, have you ever seen enchanted ear protectors and enchanted medical face masks?” Kalego asks. 

“Yup, yup,” Clara states, nodding her head vigorously. 

“Good, I need a pair of each for Iruma; I believe his senses have gotten far more powerful all of a sudden, causing the brat pain,” Kalego explains. 

Without hesitation, Clara thinks about the two objects in question and pats her pockets, pulling out the two items their professor had asked for. A pair of blue and black colored enchanted ear protection headphones and a plain white enchanted medical face mask, which she is quick to hand over to the professor. Taking the two objects with a nod of thanks, the three carefully and quietly returned to the room to find Iruma still curled up in the beanbag, twitching in pain. 

“Let me put these on you; they should help,” Kalego whispers in a voice that Asmodeus and Valac can barely hear, but has Iruma’s head lifting to look at what his professor wants from him. 

Kalego moves slowly to put the ear-protector headphones and the face mask on the pup and adjust them until they sit correctly on the boy’s ears and face. When the items are correctly situated on him, Iruma immediately feels better. His hearing has returned to normal sensitivity, and his nose is no longer overloaded with every scent. Iruma starts to relax slowly, no longer feeling the pain or the urge to throw up. 

“Thank you so much, all three of you! That was uncomfortable,” Iruma says, finally looking up at his two closest friends and professor. 

“I figured these would work. I will explain more about this situation after school, but your hearing and sense of smell have been heightened, and your body couldn't process it all at once. These enchanted items help to regulate sound and smell down to normal and slowly lower their power until you can train yourself not to be as overcome by the power of the senses,” Professor Kalego explains. 

“That makes sense, I think,” Iruma says, a bit confused.

“Don’t worry about it. There is only about an hour left in the school day, so take the time to relax. Once school is over for the day, we can talk more in-depth about this new development,” Professor Kalego states.

“Understood; thank you so much for helping me, Professor Kalego,” Iruma says, looking up at Kalego with a bright smile. Kalego feels the warmth that confuses and annoys the prickly professor. 

Clara and Az spend the last hour of the day pampering Iruma with snacks and drinks as they relax and play card games together, since Iruma is still sore and doesn’t want to move around too much. After the last bell of the day yelled, Clara and Az walked with Iruma up to Professor Balam’s lab, and after some pats from the giant professor, the two said their goodbyes to Iruma and made their way home for the day. This leaves Iruma and Professor Balam alone in the lab. Professor Balam quickly makes them both a cup of hot hell-gray tea. 

“I see from your new gear that you had a rough day,” Professor Balam says, pointing to Iruma’s new ear protectors. 

“Ya, it was not fun; thankfully, when Clara went to Professor Kalego for help, he knew what to do to help,” Iruma says with a relieved sigh. 

“Probably remembered when his super senses came in when Kalego was just a kid. You are somewhat delayed in developing your traits due to your upbringing. Still, now that you are in a better environment and getting the nutrition and mana you need, your body is developing more of your demonic traits,” Professor Balam explains as they sit down with their cups of tea. 

“I guess that's good, especially for blending in with everyone; surviving with more demonic traits and abilities will be easier. Though I could do without the freaking out they're coming in gives me,” Iruma says with a resigned chuckle. 

“I am sure they are not pleasant. Most demon fledglings acquire their traits over a longer period, between birth and about seven years old, with nine years old being the outlier. Yours are playing catch-up with you already being fourteen years old, so they are coming in with little time in between,” Balam explains. 

——————————————————————————————————————————

While Shichiro and Iruma are hanging out and relaxing in Shichiro’s lab, Kalego is on a bit of a mission before he joins them to head home for the day. Kalego is searching for some specific information. Because Iruma is grounded, it does not mean Kalego will let the brat be chained to the ground. When it comes to practicality and safety, many places in the Netherworld are dangerous or impossible to walk, and most of the time, being able to fly away from a situation will save a demon’s life. Kalego is not willing to sit on his ass and do nothing about the situation when he knows that there are ways for Iruma to fly without wings and when on his own. Leaving the situation as it is would be irresponsible, and Kalego prides himself on being a responsible individual. 

Kalego makes his way to the library but is stopped by Professor Dali the moment he enters. 

“It's rare that you come to the school’s library, Professor Kalego. What are you up to?” Professor Dali asks with a smirk.

“Just some research on a subject I know is not in my library, Professor Dali,” Kalego answers plainly, not in the mood to deal with the teasing head professor. 

“Really? What subject would you want to research that your library does not have?” Dali asks curiously now, as he knows from discussions over the years that Kalego owns quite an extensive library collection. 

“Not any of your business, Professor Dali,” Kalego sighs, hoping in vain that the older demon would let him get on with his search peacefully. 

Dali was not satisfied with Kalego’s answer and annoyingly followed him as he walked over to the enchantments section of the library. Knowing it would be more work than worth it, Kalego ignores it as Dali follows him, curious to see what Kalego could be looking for. Dali’s eyes and smile soften when he sees the book that Kalego finally pulls from the shelf and walks off with. 

Dali had seen the title of the book, How to Make Your Own Broomstick From Scratch. He was no fool; he knew exactly why Kalego would be borrowing such a book. It's times like this that Dali sees just how good a professor the Guard Dog of Bablys is and how much he cares for those in his care.

Chapter Text

Not quite an hour since the end of the school day, Kalego, Shichiro, and Iruma land on the front porch of Kalego’s mansion. 

“Everyone, go get comfortable and then meet in the living room. I will make up some snacks and meet you there. It seems we need to chat and get on the same page about Iruma’s traits coming in,” Kalego states as they step into his home, closing the door behind them. 

Shichiro and Iruma quickly agree with Kalego’s plan and head upstairs to get out of their school clothing and into something more comfortable. Iruma is glad to take off his school uniform for the day. Iruma changed into a pair of soft black sweatpants and a soft light green t-shirt, ensuring that nothing snagged on his new ear protectors or mask as he changed clothing. Iruma did not want to deal with the overwhelming noise and scents that had bombarded him earlier that afternoon. 

It was only when Iruma was leaving the room again and went to flip the lights back off that he realized that he had never turned the lights on when he entered the room. Iruma needs to figure out what is going on. Now, he can see in a close-to-pitch black room almost as well as in a fully lit room. Iruma is cautious about returning to the well-lit hallway, only to let out a relieved breath when he can still see in the light without pain. 

“Um…Iruma, what are you doing?” Shichiro’s softly curious voice asks from only a bit down the hall. 

“Well, I think I just found out that I can see in the dark far better than I could last night,” Iruma says, confused about how to word his new discovery. 

“Sounds like yet another trait of yours has come in, though, from your reaction, this one is not causing you pain, correct?” Shichiro asks as they slowly make their way to the living room together. 

“Thankfully. The hearing and smelling traits caused me a lot of trouble this afternoon,” Iruma replies. 

The two sit in the living room and only have to wait a few more minutes for Kalego to join them with a tray piled high with sandwiches. Though only a single sandwich each is for Kalego and Shichiro, the rest are for Iruma, who looks at them with hunger, so thankful that his professors are taking such good care of him. 

“Pain med first, then you can dig in, brat,” Kalego says with a gruff chuckle, seeing the hunger in the pup’s eyes.

Iruma looks annoyed at the pill before swallowing it with a gulp of water. With the pill taken, Iruma turns to the pile of sandwiches and starts eating with vigor as the adults each eat their single sandwich. Iruma, as always, finishes his pile of food before the adults finish.

“Just before coming down here, Iruma seems to have found another new trait. He can see in the dark now,” Shichiro says, speaking up. 

“At least this one does not hurt when in the light, like the others' senses are now oversensitive,” Iruma states, pointing at his new ear protectors. 

“That's another interesting trait that has come in. So far, it seems you have the traits of super-hearing, super-smell, and can see in the dark,” Kalego states out loud as he pulls out the journal he got from Opera and starts to make notes, starting from the back since the cat-demon did not fill up the entire journal. 

“If we are going off of just these traits, it looks like the fledgling is leaning towards a demon type closer to you and Opera’s types,” Shichiro adds, pointing to Kalego. 

“True, I do wonder what demon type Iruma is exactly, but we will just have to wait and see,” Kalego says, grumbling with a shrug. 

“Um…What can I do about the oversensitiveness of my hearing and nose now? What else might happen to me now that my traits are coming in?” Iruma asks shyly. 

“Well, the hearing and scent sensitivity will take a little while to train, but it happens slowly. The enchantments on the ear-protectors and face mask can be turned down by small increments so you can train your senses slowly and steadily without feeling like your head will explode,” Kalego answers. 

“Kalego and Opera can help the most with the senses training. When it comes to what else might happen to you now that your traits are coming, that depends mostly on what traits you will gain. You could gain a combination of many different traits; it's hard to tell without knowing the two bloodlines you inherited in the first place. Some of the most common examples include adult fangs emerging, ears elongating, and many demons possessing horns, tails, and claws; it all depends. Demons come in so many different forms, it's hard to tell,” Shichiro does his best to explain. 

“So I probably won’t know until the traits grow in?” Iruma asks. 

“Without knowing the two bloodlines you inherit from, that is the reality. Even those who know the bloodlines they are inheriting from sometimes get a surprise trait mixed in, so it is a wait-and-see type of thing,” Kalego states with a shrug. 

“I wonder if that is part of the reason that Lord Sullivan wanted to prove his hunch before saying anything to Iruma for sure,” Shichiro says aloud. 

“Probably it’s not like any plan about this subject was going to be an easy conversation, no matter what,” Kalego grumbles. 

“I probably would not have believed him either way until now, as my traits are coming in and making things obvious,” Iruma admits. 

Kalego and Shichiro nod in understanding at Iruma’s statement. It would be hard to believe that you are half or entirely a different species than you grew up thinking you were. It must be confusing and scary. First, thinking he was a human in a demon’s world, where humans are theorized to be delicious food and mythical creatures, then finding out that he might be less human or not human at all. It must be highly stressful. 

“Though I would say that your traits seem to be coming in fast now that you are getting more efficiently healed up, now that your system can process nutrition and mana better and faster, you probably will get the rest of your traits in within a week or two now, but that is an educated guess,” Shichiro adds. 

“I guess it's just a waiting game now, though, while it was painful coming in this afternoon, I wonder how interesting my senses will be once I can train them up,” Iruma says with a little giggle. 

“Those traits are certainly interesting. Great for tracking and picking things out at a distance, but not so great when you spend most of your days in a school filled with loud, annoying fledglings. I hear and smell more things than I have ever wanted to know,” Kalego grumbles. 

Shichiro and Iruma giggle at the put-out look on Kalego’s face. Kalego rolls his eyes at the two happy idiots in his home and takes a break to take their dishes back to the kitchen and use magic to quickly throw together multiple casseroles to cook in the oven before going back out into the living room, where a cooking show had been turned on. Shichiro looks like he wants to ask the fledgling something; he seems ready to explode.

“Ask the brat your question already. You look ready to explode with curiosity,” Kalego chuckles darkly at the squeak his words pulled from his favorite demon.

Iruma looks up at Shichiro, tilting his head in question about what the giant professor wants to ask him. Seeing the sweet little fledgling looking at him curiously, Shichiro couldn’t help but blurt out his first question. 

“Can I ask you questions about the Human Realm? Mythical Creatures is one of my primary specialties, but most of what I know comes from mythology and the few ancient texts I have access to. Though none of these resources have firsthand accounts from the Human Realm, the very few demons that can travel into the Human Realm in very strict situations are not allowed to speak about it at all. I would love to hear what you think about the realm you grew up in, and answer questions about it,” Shichiro asks, rambling. 

“Sure, ask away. I can tell you what I know about things, but remember I did not grow up normally, and I am a kid, so I don’t see things the same way an adult would in either realm,” Iruma replies. 

“Anything you can tell me will be great! Give me a second, and I'll be right back with my laptop!” Shichiro squeaks happily as he leaps from the couch and runs up the stairs.

“Well, you just made one of his dreams come true. Just know that whenever you are ready to take a break or change the subject, just tell him, or he will talk and ask you questions until you fall asleep,” Kalego warns with a roll of his eye and a chuckle. 

Iruma nods in acknowledgment, smiling with a happy giggle at the difference between his two professors. He takes Kalego’s words in but doubts he will be the one to speak up when it is time to put a pause on the conversation. Not even a full minute later, Shichiro runs back into the room with his computer in one hand and his work bag in the other, carrying his notebooks and writing utensils. 

“Before you two get into this discussion and forget everything else, I wanted your thoughts on what we should do tomorrow. I was thinking about Iruma being grounded and how that is not only a dangerous disability but also keeps him stuck to the ground unless another demon is willing to carry him. While that might not be a big deal when around us, Opera-senpai, Sullivan, or even the physically stronger members of his class, that means little if he is in danger alone. I remembered a way for him to fly through the air, even if it is not really under his own power. I figured we could help him make a broomstick tomorrow,” Kalego states, waving his hand and pulling the book he got from the Bablys Library from his storage space and setting it on the coffee table for the other two to see. 

“A broomstick is a great idea, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that either. Though they are rare, it is not unheard of to own a broomstick for long distances or when a demon is not feeling good,” Shichiro says, nodding his head happily. 

“A broomstick sounds interesting. It would be great to be able to fly when I want or need to,” Iruma says, looking at the book with a warm and fuzzy feeling growing in his chest. 

He has not been in the Netherworld for even a year yet, and already the demons he has met are taking care of him far better than any human he was in close contact with had back in the Human Realm. Between his Grandpa, Opera, Kalego, and Shichiro, none of them looked down on him for not having wings. They were mad that he could not take advantage of that ability, but they went out of their way to help him and even gave him options to get around in the air without asking for anything in return. They just wanted Iruma to have a way to work around his disability. 

Getting an idea, Iruma pulls out his hell-phone from his pocket and sends a text to Grandpa and Opera in their group text. 

Iruma: Kalego got the idea to make me a broomstick tomorrow morning. What do you think?

Opera: I will come over bright and early tomorrow morning to join you all in making your broomstick. I will also bring Sullivan’s house card to buy the ingredients. Also, Lord Sullivan, you know you must continue the work you started this afternoon, so it's no fun for you. 

Grandpa: No fair! No fair! I want to spend time with my Iruma! 

Iruma: It’s okay, Grandpa, I’m sure you will complete your work soon. 

Opera: I will take pictures and video. You have to do your work!

Grandpa: Well, I hate missing this activity, but it is a great idea to make you your own broomstick, so have fun with Opera, Kalego, and Shichiro. Be safe and have fun, my sweet grandson!!

Iruma: I will thanks Grandpa. 

Iruma shows Kalego and Shichiro the text conversation. Kalego simply grumbles in annoyance but is just glad he only has to deal with one of the two of Iruma’s guardians. 

“Thank you so much. It will be great to have a way to fly without help from others,” Iruma says with a bright smile at the two adult demons. 

Kalego grumbles something under his breath, but Shichiro smiles at the fledgling, glad he will still get to fly even if wings are not part of the flight. Being unable to fly with your wings is a huge disadvantage; hopefully, having his broomstick will reduce that disadvantage. 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Kalego finds himself listening to Shichiro and Iruma chatting about the Human Realm. Kalego is both annoyed and amused at the conversation he is observing in front of him. The conversation started with Shichiro asking about what humans look like and the similarities and differences between demons and humans. While Kalego is not particularly interested in the Human Realm himself, it is nice to see Shichiro in research mode, being able to actually interview an individual who has spent most of their life in the Human Realm. This must be close to a dream come true for Shichiro.

The conversation didn’t stay lighthearted for long. 

“What about schooling and education? What is that like in the Human Realm? What kind of schooling did you have there?” Shichiro asks. 

“Well, that is a bit of a complicated question because each nation in the Human Realm does schooling a little differently. Although I have visited a handful of nations, the place I lived in the most was Japan. Compulsory education is for students aged 5-18 years old. Different age groups attend various school levels, including elementary, middle, and high schools. There are even colleges that go beyond a compulsory education. I didn’t get to go to school anywhere near as often as I should have. My ex-parents made me work so much that I was rarely able to go to school like I was supposed to. The fact I was able to learn to read, write, do arithmetic, and a few other things well enough to continue to learn here is actually miraculous, thinking back,” Iruma replies with a shrug, unsure how to explain human education. 

“Just another reason your ex-parents were horrid guardians,” Kalego growls in anger at the thought of guardians not only being abusive, neglectful, and using the boy like a slave, but they have to deprive the child of a compulsory education as well. 

Iruma shrugs in reply, not able to say anything in defense of his ex-parents, who never cared for anything but themselves. Hell, Iruma is pretty sure that his ex-parents only liked things that brought them money and happiness, and what brought Iruma pain, at least that is how it felt.

Kalego and Shichiro, while learning more about the Human Realm, also learned that even though most of the Human Realm has laws against the abuse and neglect of children, just like the Netherworld, that still did not stop Iruma from being abused. The adults must keep their fury deep at hearing more details about just how bad the basics of Iruma’s life was like in the Human Realm. Kalego listens as the two discuss various topics, including food, drinks, different environments, and some of the animals in the Human Realm. The conversation is so animated that Kalego can continue listening even as he retreats to finish preparations for their dinner. 

“That is enough research talk for now. Come help me put all this food on the dining table, you two,” Kalego calls out once all the food for dinner is ready and only has to be put out for dinner. 

Iruma sets the table for the three of them as the two adults bring all the dishes from the kitchen to the dining room table. With all three working together, it only takes a few minutes to put everything out and take a seat at the table. Kalego and Shichiro fill their plates with what they want for dinner before leaving the rest in their serving dishes for Iruma to eat directly from. 

“Normally, I would say it’s bad manners to eat out of the cooking and serving dishes, but it would just be a waste of plates and cleaning later on to do so, so don’t worry about it. We got the food we want, so go ahead with the rest of the food how you want,” Kalego grumbles, waving a hand at Iruma to do as the pup likes with the rest. 

Kalego and Shichiro start eating their portions of dinner, having noticed that the fledgling will not eat if at least one of them has not taken their first bite of food. The two adults purposefully keep their eyes off the fledgling as the boy turns into a food demon and devours his dinner in full before the adults are done with half of their own. Once he had finished his dinner, Iruma quickly stacked all the empty serving dishes to the side so that they were out of the way. Iruma still has trouble understanding the instincts that have him eating mana-infused food like a beast, but Iruma figures it should be the least of his worries. 

“I know that neither of you had to help me and that you could have been harder on Grandpa, Kalego. I don’t understand the extent of your power as the Guard Dog of Bablys, but thank you for taking care of me and not just punishing Grandpa,” Iruma says to the two professors who are watching over him. 

“It was tempting, but it would only hurt you more and be more work and trouble for me. It definitely would not have been worth it. Additionally, I still haven't apologized to you about the flight test. I am sorry I did not stop to ask why you were hesitating and didn’t think my actions through,” Kalego says, sincerely bowing his head with his apology to the pup. 

“Don’t worry about it. Though, thank you for the apology,” Iruma says shyly. 

Kalego is glad to get that apology off his chest, knowing he owes the pup that much at a minimum to start with. Shichiro is proud of Kalego for admitting to the hatchling that he knows he made a mistake; he also knows that if Iruma were not a precious student to Kalego, he probably would not have apologized personally. There are a few people that Kalego will apologise to, even if he has made a rare mistake. Too many demons are either not worth the effort to Kalego, or the individual could see the apology as a weakness. Kalego, as the Guard Dog of Babyls, can not afford to be seen as weak at all; if anyone thought that those who protected Babyls were at all weak, they would try to take advantage of that and put the treasures of Babyls at risk. 

“Um, I have not seen anyone using a broomstick to fly around. Is it rare or something?” Iruma asks curiously, since they plan to do that the next day. 

“It is pretty rare, especially with kids still school age, who you see the most living close to Babyls or in the student dorms. Broomsticks are used in transportation when traveling long distances and do not want to expend their energy flying, which is quite rare since many with the means and skills to make one of their own are more likely to opt for a coach. Additionally, some individuals use them when they are frustrated with small/weak wings or when their wings are injured. Most demons find using their wings easiest, so most don’t use broomsticks, but if you practice with yours a lot, I am sure it will be quite helpful both in necessity and fun,” Shichiro tells Iruma. 

“Well, having a broomstick sounds like fun. If nothing else, I can stop making up weird excuses to my classmates about why I don’t fly for one reason or another,” Iruma states. 

Shichiro chuckles at the hatchling's way of looking at things. The poor teen probably hates lying to his friends and classmates about so much. Things around the hatchling are always chaotic and fascinating. That is perhaps why Iruma and the misfits give Kalego so many headaches. 

The three soon retire to the living room, relaxing while semi-watching a detective series that Shichiro likes and Kalego does not hate. Iruma does some light studying while periodically watching the show on the television. He finds it entertaining, though a bit more dramatized and violent than he would usually choose for himself. After a few episodes, the adults got bored with the show and turned on a random food show just for background noise. Shichiro and Iruma continued to teach each other things. Shichiro asked questions about the human realm, and Iruma requested clarification on exam-related topics. After another hour or so of studying, Iruma put away his study items and stored them in his guest room before coming and taking a seat on the second couch. In contrast, Kalego and Shichiro were seated on the other couch. Iruma is unsure what to do, though he knows that he needs to take some breaks from studying, as Shichiro says, or he will not have time to process and commit it to memory.

“Iruma, what do you normally do at home with Opera-senpai and Lord Sullivan?” Shichiro asks, wanting to get to know the hatchling more. 

“Well, given I never had much relaxing downtime before coming to the Netherworld, Opera and Grandpa have taught me different ways to relax and have fun. Although I must say, while it is fun to see their efforts and how much they care, only about half of Grandpa’s ideas align with mine; some of his ideas are so silly that even Opera shuts them down. I think he gets too excited and goes overboard before he knows it. So far, they have introduced me to things like reading for fun and playing all sorts of video games, though they like multi-player games, two or all three of us can play together. Opera likes to introduce me to outside activities like gardening, hide-&-shreik, catch, and Opera even said that once I get a bit healthier, they will teach me some martial arts and fighting skills to help survive here in the Netherworld,” Iruma says with a warm smile on their lips. 

“Given that Opera-senpai helped with our fighting skills training, I think it was wise of them to wait until you heal up a bit more before they start training you more,” Shichiro says as a shiver runs down his spine, knowing just how strict and ruthless Opera is with fighting and martial arts training. 

“Well, at least Opera-senpai seems to have at least some version of common sense when it comes to you,” Kalego grumbles, keeping his reaction to remembering the old days of “training” with Opera pushed down deep in their memories. 

“I have to agree. Opera is the one that helped me with the cannonball game rank test training, and I am pretty sure they were holding back. It was still tough to handle that training. Though to be fair to Oper, they were helping me untrain myself from only using my evasion skills and to actually get in front of the flying ball and catch it,” Iruma states with a shrug. 

“Well, that explains the huge jump in abilities at the execution cannonball exam. Training with Opera-senpai is both good because they have great physical abilities to teach you, bad in the sense they are not always good at toning down their training for those weaker in that area,” Kalego says with a grumble while rolling his eyes.

‘

“By the way, Shichiro, what all do you teach at Babyls? When I originally took your class, you were subbing the class for Professor Dali, so what classes and department do you normally teach?” Iruma asks the giant marshmallow of a professor. 

“I would say I do more research for both the school and Lord Sullivan than most of the other teachers, so it ends up being about 50% teaching and 50% research. I fall under both the Demonic History and Demonic Biology departments, though my specialty is Mythical Zoology. I teach mostly Demonic Biology,” Shichiro informed Iruma. 

“That sounds interesting. I am happy to help answer your questions about the human realm. There are so many similarities and differences between the two realms,” Iruma states.

Kalego watches and listens as Shichiro and Iruma carry most of the conversation, only adding a comment here and there, which is his preference, and noticed that for once, a person other than Shichiro accepted that Kalego did not want to be a leading participant in a conversation and was alright with it, and never pressed or asked about why Kalego had not spoken up. The fact that such consideration came from a bright blue teenager was astounding to him; a teenager could pick up on things that most adults, who had known him for years, had not, which made Kalego feel a bit warm and fuzzy toward the two individuals in front of him. 

The group of three continued to talk about little things on their minds until about ten o’clock that night, when Kalego spoke up to pause the conversation: “I think it is a good time for Iruma to go start winding down for the night and getting ready for bed. You have had your pain meds and snack, but even though it is the weekend, you shouldn’t stay up too late.” 

“Yeah, I will go hang out in my room and take a shower and stuff. Night, Kalego, night, Shichiro,” Iruma says, cheerfully waving at the two professors as he gets up and heads towards his room. 

With Iruma no longer downstairs, Shichiro and Kalego are left alone in the living room, with the soft sound of the TV playing at low volume in the background. 

“I don’t know how that hatchling can smile, chat, and keep moving forward in his life when so much has happened to him. The torture that has marked his back alone would defeat almost any other demon I know, including full-grown adults who consider themselves beyond strong. It is incredible to watch and heart-renching to see,” Shichiro comments once Iruma is out of hearing. 

“My childhood, along with what we went through with Opera-senpai in Babyls, I know I had a much rougher childhood than most. Still, Iruma’s life has been many times harder, and he can still smile, let alone stand up and move forward. It makes it worth it to watch the brat and see what he does next,” Kalego grumbles as he leans onto Shichiro’s shoulder. 

“I just want to smother that little hatchling in all the love and cuddles possible and protect him from everything, including his past. I know that is ridiculous and would not help in Iruma’s future, but it is hard not to see him and even know some of his past. We don’t even know everything, and what we know so far is already insane for anyone to live through, let alone a small, fledgling,” Shichiro says. 

Shichiro feels Kalego nod in agreement with his statement as the other man’s head lies on his shoulder. 

“I think it will help a good bit for Iruma to have a broomstick at least. It will be interesting to make one with the two of us, the brat, and Opera-senpai tomorrow, but it will be good to at least know that the brat will be able to fly when necessary. Nothing can replace a demon’s wings, but to still be able to fly whenever you want, with just having to pull out a broomstick, it is better than nothing; it gives the brat options to work with,” Kalego states. 

“We must be trustworthy adults who care for and protect him. That is all we really can do to help him. It is nice to help him, and his little friends Clara Valac and Alice Asmodeus are not even afraid of me. Asmodeus seems to dislike being petted a bit, but is never rude or scared of me, and Clara thinks it is fun. It is like the three of them are different compared to most of the demon teens of Babyls, even most of the Nether world,” Shichiro comments. 

The two of them continued to chat about little things at school, what they had been working on, and other topics, just to spend time together. They continued until about midnight, when they knew they needed to start heading to bed if they wanted to get up at a decent time the next morning to go out and pick up things for Iruma’s broomstick, which they were going to make. 

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Kalego and Shichiro are soon snuggled close in bed, freshly showered and calm. They are happy to be able to touch each other in such a simple way, without caring if they are showing too much affection that the other would be uncomfortable with. Now, they can lie wrapped in each other's arms, knowing that the other feels the same, and that they can show affection without it destroying anything. It is a fantastic feeling of belonging for both demons. 

As Kalego fell asleep, he felt like he was falling into a warm, comfortable cocoon of warmth that felt like a warm cloud surrounding him. He is unsure if he likes it or not, but after what seems like a few minutes, he falls through the warm cloud, feeling sensation, and landing softly in what looks like some sort of living room or sitting room with two couches, two armchairs, and a coffee table in a room with walls of royal blue and black walls. Looking around the oddly comforting room, Kalego feels like the space is between dream and reality.

“Welcome, Kalego Naberius. I hope to speak with you about some things that I think is important to both of us,” a female voice says from the side of the room as a female demon suddenly seems to stride into the room.

While Kalego notices that this female is a bit smaller than his height and has a lean, athletic build, she exudes a much stronger magic and strength aura around her, even in this weird dream space. He is unsure who this woman is, but the royal blue hair that falls a few inches down her back is pulled back from her face with a black hairband detailing it with royal blue and silver thread. She feels like family and not at the same time, which is beyond confusing. She is pale, with blue eyes, and is wearing a black suit featuring blue and silver detailing that matches her hairband. Behind the headband are her fluffy blue ear-horns that look like larger and wolfier versions of his own family’s ear-tuff style horns. Her tail seems hidden under her clothing, she has pointed ears similar to his own, and sharp purple nail-claws. Her smile seems genuine, though her aura shows her real power. Her power aura feels similar, but not the same as his own clan’s family line aura. Her smile showcases most of her front teeth, indicating that the only elongated and sharpest teeth are her canine teeth, which align with his family’s usual traits.  

What baffled Kalego was just how powerful his instincts were in registering this demoness as. It stated that she was only a bit under what Lord Sullivan is presently, in terms of power. This would make her raw power stand above most of the present 13 Crowns that rule over the Netherworld. Kalego looks at the cute but somehow elegant demon in front of him and is unsure what to make of her. 

“What a strong and caring guard dog you are. It seems you are one of the odd ones out in your family. This is beneficial for me. It is nice to meet you, Sir. Kalego Naberius, I think we have some things to talk about,” the woman says as she glides into the sitting room and takes a seat on one of the couches. 

“Who are you, and where are we?” Kalego asks grumbling, not sure what to make of the woman. He does not feel like she is trying to threaten him, but he can tell she is definitely stronger than he is.

“You can sit down, pup. I have a lot to talk to you about. This is a Sprit’s-Dreamscape. I am long dead from our Netherworld, so I can only talk to you like this in my Dreamscape. My name is Zorna Vorthos, a member of the Vorthos clan that seems to have mostly died out in this time, though I am not all-knowing, take that with a grain of hellrice. I brought you here because we have a lot to talk about,” Zorna says in introduction to the grumpy guard puppy standing to the side of the little living room area she created in her Dreamscape. 

Kalego’s eyes go wide when he hears the lady’s surname. Deciding this is going to take a while and that standing instead of sitting would not help him one bit, he takes the few steps to take a seat on the couch across from the one the spirit is sitting on. 

“I would rather you call me Kalego. I am not sure how old you are, but I still do not like being called a pup,” Kalego says, starting to give himself some time to process the little information the woman has already told him. 

To actually be pulled into a Spirit’s-Dreamscape is rare, given the demon has to be quite powerful when they were alive, talented enough with soul magic, and with enough foresight to create a space for their spirit in the spirit dimension before they died. Doing all of those and probably more is not something most demons can or want to do or deal with. To be pulled into a Dreamscape and talk to a spirit is not something to be taken lightly. That does not even touch Kalego's surprise at hearing the woman’s name, at least her surname. The surname “Vorthos” was initially created at the same time as “Naberious” and was a family clan connected by brotherhood. Basically, from what Kalego knows, the ancient demon brother hellhounds Cerberius and Orthos created demon families of their own and made them branch families of each other. The Naberious family taught that they are the main family because they were given clear roles in the Netherworld, and this has been the case since approximately before King Derkila. The Vorthos family had always had a small number of members, significantly reduced in size over the many centuries. Nowadays, no one knows if they are extinct or if a few are just not showing themselves by their family name. 

“Fine, I will call you Kalego, but in a roundabout way, I am a multi-great-aunt to you nephew. Most of the Naberious clan is still ridiculous, too strict, and willing to be far too hard on pups in the name of the family and their roles. On the other hand, you seem to hold more common sense, and while having the skills of a Naberious Guard Dog, you still care for those you protect and have a heart, even if you are still colder. That is a big reason I brought you here to talk to you, and because you are already doing a part of the job I am hoping to task you with. Us Vorthos, while protective in personality and skill, are considered to be more “guardians” than “protectors” like the Naberious family. The Naberious family also has distinct roles for which they prepare their pups, while the Vorthos family are more pack guardians and more versatile. However, the horrid, demonic, stuck-in-the-mud old and current Naberious heads and elders looked down on our family for this difference in style. Though they could never look down on our individual skills, they thought we were too soft in personality,” Zorna states, looking ready to pulverize demons when talking about the Naberious clan as a whole. Kalego is not stupid enough to want to get on their lady’s bad side.

“I have been told the strictness and harshness of the rules and training have come down in recent centuries, but it is still intense even in my own opinion,” Kalego admits gruffly. 

“This is a big reason I have chosen you to be the one I bring into this Dreamscape. I wish to give you information that must be kept secret from almost all but a few whom you and the other guardians find beyond trustworthiness. The information and task I wish to impart to you are of absolute importance to me and the Netherworld as a whole, and I believe you share this sentiment, based on what I can see of your memories. I can wipe your memory of this dream once I tell you what I want from you and why. If you can’t give me your word, do you want to hear me out, nephew?” Zorna asks simply.

“Who is this about?” Kalego asks before even saying whether he would listen or not. 

“Good question, nephew, as the most qualified member of my family, both in skill and personality. Your soul and memories show you already care deeply for the person I want you to protect and care for. I want to tell you the true origins and history of the Iruma that is currently sleeping in your home. Iruma’s birth name was originally Iruma Vorthos. I am Iruma’s mother, are you willing to listen to his story and my tasks for you nephew?” Zorna asks with a look of determination and strength, and a bit of terrifying power leaking out of her. 

It takes a moment for Kalego to process what the woman has just revealed to him. Iruma is not just some random unknown demon anymore; Iruma is of a branch family to his own Naberious, so, as Zorna states, that makes Iruma family. This revelation also starts to give Kalego an idea of what this woman wants from him. 

“Does the task you want to give me have anything to do with protecting Iruma and keeping him away from the main members of the Naberious clan?” Kalego asks, following his instincts. 

“That is a good part of what I want to ask, yes. Are you willing to listen to the entire story?” Zorna asks with a calm determination that Kalego takes note that Iruma has definitely inherited. 

“I won’t be able to give any promises to you until I hear everything you want from me, but I am willing to listen to what you have to say,” Kalego groans. Even as he admits to being willing to listen, he is annoyed that this lady already knows he cares for her damn brat. 

“Thank you. Now, let's start off with some of the things you and your allies have been trying to figure out, and the reason Sully wants to be 100% certain of Iruma’s origins before telling any of you. The secrecy and caution on Sully’s part is because he is pretty damn sure Iruma is mine, but needs to be sure because not only is Iruma my child, but his father, and my husband, even though few knew of it, is King Derkila. With even just one of our bloodlines, Iruma would have been put in jeopardy, especially with both of us unable to raise our child ourselves,” Zorna tells him, radiating anger and sorrow. Kalego figures she hates whatever happened to take Iruma from her arms. 

“Did you just say that Iruma, the little blue fluffy brat that is sleeping only a few rooms away from where I am sleeping, is the child of you, of the Vorthos clan, and King Derkila? He is the prince of King Derkila?” Kalego asks with wide eyes, trying to calculate just how ridiculous a situation Iruma’s existence has become and why Zorna is so concerned for her child even after death, “How is that even possible? King Derkila disappeared centuries ago, so how is a child of his only 14 years old now? Let alone Lord Sullivan buying him from the Human Realm.” 

“That is a long story, but in summary, our backstory goes as follows. I was a good friend of both Derkila and Sully back in the day, before Derkila ever became the demon king. As we all grew up, Sully and I became retainers of Derkila’s. When he became king, Derkila and I grew closer romantically and eventually decided to marry. The only one who knew this for sure was Sully, whom we trusted beyond any other demon in the world. Time passed, and about 700 years or so, only a few years before Derkila disappeared, I became pregnant with Iruma. When Iruma was born, only our most trusted healer and Sully were present with the two of us, and even knew of his existence. When he was born, taking Derkila’s name would have been extremely stupid. Derkila said I had done most of the work creating Iruma anyway, so we agreed to name our little bundle of joy Iruma Vorthos on his birth certificate. We made Sully his extra guardian, which is why it was so hard when poor Sully was left behind in the Netherworld when we all disappeared in different ways. Things started to go downhill only a few days after Iruma had been born. None of us knows why, but there were medical complications for me after Iruma was born, and it weakened me far more than I would like to admit. I specialized in combat and scholarly work, so being physically weakened ate at my nerves, but I would do it all over again if it brought Iruma into this world. I was gradually getting weaker, and about five weeks after Iruma was born, during a time when both Sully and Derkila would leave the castle on urgent business, only my healer ally was in our suite with Iruma when everything turned into a nightmare. 

“I did not know then that a prison break had occurred in one of the Netherworld’s highest-security prisons only hours before. A prison that happened to hold a disowned Vorthos clan member imprisoned for an extensive list of crimes years before. He was an estranged uncle of mine, and he knew I was one of the biggest reasons he was caught and thrown into prison after being able to evade capture for so long. All the prisoners, including the disowned Vorthos clan member, pulled their allies and attacked Babel Tower. While the main attack was happening, the damned uncle of mine used blood magic of some sort to find me even in my hidden suite that only three demons in the Netherworld should have known the exact location for. My uncle was the one to kill my healer ally and me. He killed her moments after entering the suite, since she ran the fastest to intercept him. If I had been healthy, I probably would have won our fight, but the complications and illnesses that came with it had me at about half the strength I usually would have been able to wield. I put up as much of a fight as I could and even though he did kill me in the end, with the last bits of my power I was able to do four things: 1) I was able to kill my uncle’s hellhound bloodline magic companion permanently, 2) I was able to finish creating a perminent soul-magic Spirit-Dreamscape, 3) connect my spirit to my Iruma, and 4) the last thing I was able to do was to cast a spell over Iruma that made him harder to kill for his first few years of life. 

“With me now dead, my uncle found Iruma and figured he would be able to torture me even in death by taking my child that I fought to the death to protect from not only his home but the Netherworld all altogether. To this day, I am fairly sure he never knew who Iruma’s father was, but he knew I loved the child, which was enough to make him hate Iruma. One of the crimes my uncle had been imprisoned for was going to the Human Realm and getting a human pregnant; thankfully for the Netherworld, at least, his child did not inherit any detectable amount of magic. We theorize that Lord Orthos was the one to make sure the child did not inherit any magic from my uncle, but that is besides the point. With magic, I still don’t understand. My uncle could take himself and Iruma directly to a portal rift that, when entered, took the two not only to the Human Realm, but to the human realm that connects to only fourteen years ago. My uncle somehow jumped forward in time and connected to a descendant of his line, which became Iruma’s despicable excuse of an adopted mother, as known in the Human Realm. That is how Iruma is only fourteen years old now. From what I can conclude, it was basically like Iruma and my uncle were inside the portal, traveling for about 700 years of Netherworld time. Still, it was like no time at all in the portal itself before landing in the Human Realm of only fourteen years ago. I have no real idea what happened to Derkila in this realm after I followed Iruma to the Human Realm, but from Sully’s memories, I know that the two of them were never the same after they found my body and that Iruma was gone from his cradle. They both searched high and low for Iruma for many years; I can only assume Derkila found some insane way to connect with Iruma, even if not in his complete form, leaving Sully alone. I am unsure how Sully knew Iruma was still alive after being fledgling-napped and taken to the Human Realm. Still, he never stopped looking, even if he had to be increasingly more careful about it in the last few centuries. 

“What my uncle never counted on was just how criminally stupid and greedy his descendant and her husband were. A few months ago not long before the beginning of this school year Iruma had been getting very sick and had recently been seriously injured and was not brining in the money those two horrid excuses for humans wanted, so they knew about the Demon Realm and decided to sell Iruma for money figuring that would make them more money than continuing to try and get Iruma jobs in the state he was in. They stole a book from my uncle's stash and summoned a demon; thankfully, the demon that showed up was Sully. When those horrid humans showed Sully a picture of Iruma, he knew in his gut that he was my Iruma; the name and looks matched. Sully quickly made a deal for Iruma and gave the horrid humans the money they wanted. What those humans did not know was that part of the deal they signed was that a tracking spell was cast on them so that they could be handdled in any way Sully deems fit at a later date, and that on the way to pick up Iruma, who had been working a dangerous job on a fishing boat, used his magic to torture and kill my uncle who dared to take such as precious treasure from Sully and those he considered his family. Then Sully picked up Iruma and has been trying to help Iruma as his adoptive grandfather ever since. He is also trying to confirm Iruma’s bloodline. Sully would love Iruma the same, but if he is truly the son of Derkila and me, that makes him the Netherworld’s prince, which is a much bigger target than even being a human grandson of one of the three greats. 

“Now, what does all this mean for you, nephew? I have deemed you trustworthy in helping care for and protecting my most precious treasure, my only child. You and Iruma are part of the same hellhound family. I have watched you since you met Iruma for the first time and used my spirit magic to look into your soul and memories, and know you have what it takes to not only help Iruma, but also to act as blood family that will keep him out of the hands of the Naberious clan. With practically no sighting of a Vorthos clan member for a few centuries now, they will try to pull rank as a connected hellhound family, saying that our families are so similar that Iruma should fall under their jurisdiction, but I will never let that happen. Iruma may hold a hellhound, “an Orthos hellhound wolf,” in his soul, but that does not mean he should be treated like you and your brother were as pups. Such harsh training is not needed even for a Cerberius, let alone an Orthos. 

“What I want you to promise me is the following: 1) you will never let my child fall into the hands of the Naberious clan, 2) you will help raise and protect my pup as if he were your own, that includes helping him train his Orthos guard dog-wolf, 3) You will keep what you have heard from me absolutly secret from all but Sully, Shichiro Balam, Opera, and Iruma, the only way you should ever tell others is if they are truelly trustworthy and you know will never betray you or Iruma, and lastly 4) I want you to be family to Iruma for both your sakes. Do you think you can do that, nephew?” Zorna finishes her long, heartbreaking story with a question, looking directly into Kalego’s eyes, her blue eyes radiating power that Kalego has only felt on par with people like his elder brother, Lord Sullivan, and some of the 13 Crown members. 

Kalego felt like his mind had been blown right out of the water when he heard Zorna Vorthos’s and Iruma’s stories. Kalego was silent for a few long moments, just trying to process everything he had been told and what this fellow hellhound guard dog of the Netherworld was asked of him. He knew Zorna’s fears for her pup were too realistic, especially given his heritage. Even those who would not want to kill or otherwise eliminate Iruma would wish to take advantage of him, even for only his Vorthos bloodline, let alone what would happen if others knew his father was King Derkila. If he accepted Zorna’s tasks and promised to help raise, protect, and train Iruma, he was putting himself in immeasurable danger. 

On the other hand, a few things made his blood boil with fury and determination. Kalego is willing to admit that over these last few months, Iruma has been slowly making his way into his cold heart, along with the misfit class as a whole, far more than any class under his protection ever has before, since he started being a professor and Guard Dog of Babyls quite a few years ago now. That was even before he found out the stupidly bright and cheerful brat had been tortured and grounded, only able to see the marks it left behind on his back and the few things Iruma has let slip since then about just how bad his life had been in the Human Realm. He and his Cerberus will admit to becoming attached and protective of the small blue brat. Now, finding out who Iruma’s parents are and how much danger that puts him in, even from extended family, Kalego and his Cerberus would not be able to walk away from the fledgling. 

Kalego does not take long to make up his mind. As both a distant relative and the prince of the Netherworld, Kalego is not about to turn his back on Iruma. 

“I promise on my name, Kalego Naberious Guard Dog of Bablys, I will protect your pup, Iruma Vorthos, help raise him, protect him, and help train his own Guard Dog Orthos when it arrives. I make this promise with the spirit of Zorna Vorthos, mother of Iruma Vorthos, prince of the Netherworld.” Kalego gives his solemn oath with his hand over his heart. 

“Thank you. I knew I had chosen the best nephew to protect my pup. We don’t have much longer tonight in this Dreamscape, and probably won’t be able to connect you through your dreams for at least a few days, so do you have any questions before this dream ends, nephew?” Zorna asks with a bright smile that reminds Kalego so much of the happy blue pup. 

“My biggest question would be, why contact me in particular? I would have to assume connecting at least a message to Lord Sullivan or King Derkila right after you were killed would have stopped a lot of heartache, or even connecting to Lord Sullivan now that Iruma has been brought back here to the Netherworld,” Kalego asks his most pressing question. 

“That is because I couldn’t and still can’t connect my spirit to Sully or Derkila. I can only use my spirit powers, which include this Dreamscape, on those possessed by the blood of the hellhounds. That leaves me with only being able to connect with Vorthos and Naberious clan members. I can’t even contact my son yet because his demonic powers have not fully come in and stabilized yet. While there are many Naberious clan members alive presently, you are the only one I am willing to trust, and the only one my pup already trusts. You are the only blood family I can entrust my pup to,” Zorna says with annoyance and certainty. 

“I will live up to your trust in me,” Kalego states with grumbled determination. 

“I only have a few seconds left in this dream before I have to recharge. I will leave you with this package to share with Iruma, Sully, Shichiro, and Opera, and only those four. You should probably tell them as soon as you wake up, even if it is still too early to wake up normally. I will contact you when I can,” Zorna says as she stands up and places a small wooden chest into his hands before fading away along with the room only a few seconds after the wooden chest was in Kalego’s hands. 

Kalego felt like he was gently falling down a dark tunnel for a few moments before he woke up with a sharp twitch and bolted straight up in bed. The first thing he noticed the moment he realized he was awake was that in his lap sat the wooden chest that the spirit of Zorna Vorthos had given him before the dream ended, and that he had woken up Shichiro, who had been sleeping peacefully next to him. 

“What's going on, Kalego? Something wrong?” Shichiro quickly asks in a sleepy voice, confused, not knowing what startled Kalego. 

“No present danger, but we need to get up. We need to call a meeting this moment with Lord Sullivan, Opera, and Iruma. I have a lot to tell all of you. I was told to tell all of you as soon as possible,” Kalego states not willing to sit on the information he had just learned or the package he had been given.

Chapter Text

“No present danger, but we need to get up. We need to call a meeting with Lord Sullivan, Opera, and Iruma. I have a lot to tell all of you. I was told to tell all of you as soon as possible,” Kalego states, unwilling to sit on the information he had just learned or the package he had been given. 

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Hearing the urgent but cautious tone in his allies' voices, Shichiro quickly awakens and looks at Kalego thoroughly. He seems shell-shocked, carefully holding a dark wooden chest with intricate engravings covering its outside. The chest is only slightly larger than the average tissue box. 

“You look shell-shocked, and when did you get that chest?” Shichiro asks worriedly. 

“I was pulled into a Spirit-Dreamscape and received information and this chest. I will explain the details to everyone immediately, but we need to call a meeting now. I don’t want to wait until morning. This information is too important to wait,” Kalego says, getting up from the bed and grabbing his hellphone from the side table on his side of the bed. 

“That sounds pressing. I will wake up Iruma and start on some early breakfast for all of us while you call Opera-senpai,” Shichiro says, rolling out of bed and changing into lounge clothing. 

Kalego quickly calls Opera, who picks up on the second ring, “Is this an emergency?”

“No present danger. I have urgent information that I was instructed to share with our group of five. I already have Shichiro getting Iruma up, and we will make some breakfast. We have things we need to discuss,” Kalego informs Opera. 

“Understood. Lord Sullivan and I will be over in about fifteen minutes,” Opera replies before hanging up. 

Kalego quickly gets dressed in lounge clothes and goes downstairs, holding the wooden chest carefully in his hands. Kalego makes his way downstairs and leaves the chest in the dining room, but only after letting Cerberon out and ordering the guard dog to watch the chest. Soon, Kalego and Shichiro set out tea on the dining table, where Iruma was sitting, wondering what was happening so early in the morning. By the time there was a knock at the front door, Kalego and Shichiro had been able to put some breakfast casseroles and a few other breakfast dishes into the oven that could cook while they talked. 

Kalego is quick to get up and open the front door. Kalego ushers Lord Sullivan and Opera into his manor and shows them directly to the dining room. Before the two could take a seat, Lord Sullivan froze when he saw the dark wooden chest sitting towards the head of the dining table. 

“Where did you get that chest, Kalego?” Lord Sullivan asks, surprised more than anything else. 

“That would be a big reason I suddenly woke everyone up to this urgent meeting so ridiculously early in the morning. I got that from a Spirit Dreamscape I was pulled into last night. We need to talk about what I learned in that dream,” Kalego says, waving the others to sit at the table so they could talk more easily. 

Lord Sullivan is still in a daze as he is led to the seat at the head of the table. Opera takes the seat to their right at Sullivan’s urging. Shichiro sits next to Opera, with Kalego taking the seat across from Opera, leaving Iruma with the seat across from Shichiro. 

Once everyone sat, Kalego spoke up again: “Given the information I am about to share, I think it might be best if you add your protection spell around this place on top of what I already have, Lord Sullivan. Nothing of what we need to speak about can be overheard.”

Lord Sullivan does not even comment. He just mumbles some words and waves his hand before turning to Kalego. “No one will be able to overhear anything inside this manor. Please tell us what happened in this Dreamscape you were pulled into.” 

“Let’s start with confirmations first. Do you know a demoness by the name of Zorna Vorthos?” Kalego asks Lord Sullivan. 

“Zorna was able to pull you into a Dreamscape? You were able to speak with Zorna?” Lord Sullivan asks shakily. 

“Yes, and she told me most of the history of Iruma. Starting with the fact that she was Iruma’s mother, and she was killed before Iruma was pup-napped to the Human Realm by a disowned uncle of hers who had a grudge against her for putting him in jail. She told me many things, along with her and King Derkila being Iruma’s birth parents,” Kalego continues to tell them a summary of all that Zorna had told him, ending with being given the chest and told to talk to those present for this meeting. 

“I always knew my human parents were adoptive, since they held that over my head, but I was born to two demons. Though I thought King Derkila disappeared about 700 years ago, how am I 14 years old if I am their kid?” Iruma asks in a daze, trying to process what he was being told. 

“Because you were smuggled through a portal that took you forward in time. It is a weird phenomenon that even the Border Patrol demons don’t understand to this day, but some portals do not connect to the same time on both ends of the portal; it’s like jumping around on a timeline,” Lord Sullivan explains. 

“I wonder what is in the chest,” Shichiro says, still trying to process everything himself. 

Reaching out carefully, Sullivan pulls the chest close and opens the clasp to open the top. Inside, he finds a few items: two gem-like stones with runes and crests on each, two letter envelopes, and a leather-bound book with what looks to be some folded paper tucked under the front cover. 

“These are the better versions of what I was trying to find or make to 100% establish Iruma’s parentage one way or the other. I would love you the same, even if you were not related to Zorna and Derkila, but if you were, I would need to put more protections around you politically than I would if you were not. These stones are special charms called paternity stones. They are permanent charms that can be used to see if a person is the child of or related to the person the charm was created for. It glows gold if the person is their child and silver if related in another way,” Lord Sullivan explains in happy surprise, holding the two roughly circular stones, about three inches across each. 

“How do they work?” Iruma asks out of curiosity about the new magic charm because he believes that having physical proof of his parents' identity would help him process more. 

“You simply put about three drops of blood on the charm’s surface, which will glow either gold, silver, or black. It glows black if you are not related at all,” Sullivan explains. 

“Can we find out now?” Iruma asks. 

“Of course, Opera. Can you prick Iruma’s finger so he can drop a few drops of blood on each charm?” Sullivan asks, but it was basically an order. 

Opera quietly gets up and rounds the table to stand next to Iruma, who now has the two charms in front of him. Iruma trustingly gives his left hand to Opera, and the other uses a small throwing knife that came out of nowhere and gives a prick to one of Iruma’s fingers. Holding his bleeding finger over the stones, he lets three drops of blood fall onto each before Shichiro grabs Iruma’s hand to do a small healing spell, making it like the prick never happened. The group only has to wait about ten seconds before both stones glow a bright gold. 

“Then it is finally confirmed that you are the child of Zorna Vorthos and King Derkila. I am so glad I was able to find you and bring you home,” Lord Sullivan states, getting up to hug Iruma before continuing to speak. “I love you no matter who your parents are; I have loved you since the moment I decided to be your grandpa.”

Iruma is happy that his grandfather loved him for who he is. Iruma is also excited to know who his birth parents were, even if they are no longer around to raise him themselves. It was good to know he was fully demon, just like all the great people he has met since coming to the Netherworld. 

Iruma notices that the letter envelopes have names on them. One is addressed to Sullivan, and the other is addressed to Iruma. Iruma and Sullivan carefully open their letters and read the letters inside. Iruma had never felt a mother's love, but somehow, the words of love, apology, and explanation of how he came to be taken from his parents. 

“This says that Mom can sense an Orthos hellhound inside me, and that she asked Kalego to help me train it when it comes. Apparently, they are similar, though not the same as the Naberious family's Cerberus. Also, to have Kalego keep me from the reach of the rest of his family. She also says once my magic traits and personal magic stabilize, she should be able to speak to me in her Dreamscape occasionally,” Iruma tells the adults around him in awe of everything he has been learning. 

“Zorna explains why she could not contact me with her Dreamscape and that she expects me to be the best grandpa for her pup. Also, to take the help of those like Opera, Shichiro, and Kalego,” Sullivan says with a soft smile on his lips, thinking of the friend he lost, but the confidence she has in him to take care of her beloved pup.

“This means Opera, Kalego, and I just became royal guards, doesn’t it?” Shichiro asks, seeming a bit shocked even as he spoke the words. 

“Congratulations,” Opera says with a smirk to his two kohais. 

Ignoring the smirking cat demon as Shichiro processes all the information they had just thrown at the guy, Kalego pulls over the last item from the chest, the leather-bound book. The book is titled “History & Knowledge of the Vorthos Clan” and has a few half-folded pages slid inside the book's cover. Slipping the papers out, he finds some general guidelines and tips on handling the traits of the Vorthos family and the Orthos hellhound Guard Dog-Wolf. 

“Well, at least Lady Zorna knows how to prepare teaching materials,” Kalego grumbles, slightly impressed by the book and paper guidelines. 

“Yup, Zorna’s specialties were combat and scholarly work. She helped me quite a bit when I first took over Babyls. You three working as the ‘Top Dogs Battler’ and later on working as staff of the school basically helped finish the work she started,” Sullivan states to the two professors and his security devil.

Before anyone else can speak up, the oven timer goes off, annoyingly beating, to signal the breakfast Shichiro and Kalego had quickly thrown into the oven before Sullivan and Opera arrived. Opera got up to help Shichiro pull out and dish up breakfast, leaving Sullivan and Kalego with Iruma at the dining table.

“Um…does any of this change things for the day-to-day stuff in my life?” Iruma asks nervously as the table is filled with plates of breakfast. 

“Not really. Other than training your guard dog with Kalego once it is able to come out, everything else, at least for a while, will be handled similarly to how it would have been handled if we did not confirm your bloodlines and you were only my grandson,” Sullivan cheerfully states. 

“That being true you need to add study time as part of a normal rutine, not everyday but at least a few days a week even during break, to work on catching yourself up academically, practice flying with the broom we are going to help you make, and working with your guard dog once they show themselves,” Shichiro pointed out the professor in him knowing that being behind in general knowledge and basic use of his bloodline magic is dangerous for the fledgling. 

Iruma dug into his breakfast the moment the first adult at the table did. His eating was uncontrollable, so all the adults were impressed that his clothing and face stayed clean. 

Once everyone had finished cleaning up from breakfast, a sobbing Sullivan was pushed out the door with strict orders from Opera to get back to work on everything that needed to be done. 

“I have never been involved in making a broomstick. What all do we need to shop for this morning?” Shichiro asks as the four of them sit back at the cleaned dining table, breakfast cleaned up, and Iruma’s new chest hidden in the back corner of his guest room closet, with some paper and the broomstick instruction book. 

“No idea, that is why I picked up the instruction book from the Babyls library,” Kalego states, opening up the instruction book. 

“Tell me what the book recommends as the best items to make the broomstick with,” Opera says, pulling out sheets of paper and a pen to write down what Kalego tells them. 

“Looks like if we want a broomstick with the overall best density, strength, and durability, we need Lignum Vitae Hell-Wood. We will need enough to create the broom’s handle and make the bristles at the end. We will need some devi-steel to securely hold the bristles to the handle. We also need enough Kevlar hell-thread to hold the bristles together. Then we need three different potions to dip the broomstick in, and then this spell is done by Iruma to enchant the broomstick to be able to be used to fly and only by him,” Kalego states at the end, showing Opera the list of potions that they will need to make for the broomstick. 

“None of these are exactly hard-to-find items, though it will take some skills to make them into parts for a broomstick. We can handle the wood and thread ourselves, although we must have the steel made into thin wire. If we work together, the potions should be easy enough for us, and everything should be ready before lunch. Then we can do the first two dips into the potions and let the broomstick dry while we have lunch, then do the last two steps after lunch,” Opera states, laying out the plan for the broomstick creation. 

“Once we get ready to go out, the shops should be opening,” Shichiro points out.

Opera offers to finish the shopping list while the others get dressed in the clothing they want to wear for the day. Once the group returns downstairs, Shichiro is in his usual outfit, Kalgo in a simple button-down and slacks, and Iruma in a t-shirt and shorts. All four are ready for their trip into town. Shichiro picks up Iruma, and they all take to the sky toward town, where the dense cluster of shops is closest to Babyls. Given that the most common shoppers in the area were students and staff of Babyls, the shops offered a greater variety than the average. 

They started at what looked to Iruma like a DIY store for the wood and metal items they needed. It took a bit of searching to find the kind of wood and metal they were looking for. Still, they found exactly what they were looking for, a thick wooden branch of Lignum Vitae-Hell Wood that Shichiro can break down into a thick wooden dowel for the broomstick's handle, and the rest he can shave into the broom bristles for the end of the broom. The group stopped at a fabric/craft store for the thick thread they needed.

The potion ingredients shop is their last stop, with the most needed items. Iruma looks around the shop with wide eyes as he takes in all the different potion ingredients and equipment. 

“This place is amazing,” Iruma comments while walking around with Opera and Shichiro, while Kalego is shopping for the ingredients they need for the potions they are making that day. 

“This is my first time in a shop like this. It must be interesting for you,” Opera states with amusement. 

“Ya, I have only been shopping with you and grandpa a few times,” Iruma replies.

“That makes sense, you have not started to learn about making potions yourself yet in school,” Shichiro comments. 

Kalego let the other three chat and look around the shop while he gathered all the ingredients they needed for the three different potions for the broomstick creation.  

It took a couple of hours to complete the shopping trip from the start until they were back in the air on their way back to Kalego’s manor with all their supplies. Inside the manor, they organized the items they bought into four different piles on the dining table—a pile for the broomstick components and the items for each of the three potions. 

They use the large dining table as a work table and start by making the broomstick itself. Iruma helps hold half of the wood they bought, Shichiro having already cut the wood in half, while Shichiro works his plant magic to shave the wood down into a wooden broomstick handle just a bit thicker than usual. Iruma carefully sanded the handle to ensure it was perfectly smooth, as Shichiro used a good portion of the rest of the wood to create thin bristles for the end of the broom. Opera helps Iruma braid and thread the thin bristles together to form the shape of the broom's end before they all lend a hand to use the thin steel wire to snugly connect the bristle end to the now smooth broom handle.

Next, they all pile into the kitchen, where Shichiro watches Iruma to ensure he doesn't try to rescue the ingredients. Opera and Kalego make the first two potions in separate pots over the stove. Once the large pots of potion are done, Iruma is the one who dips the handle of his new broomstick into one of the potions until the entire handle is soaked, which is helped by Kalego temporarily changing the size of the pot to be long and thin. The bristle part of the broom was dipped into the second pot of potion. 

“Now we will leave the broomstick out on the front porch to dry, while we all clean up and make lunch. We will help you study for about an hour after lunch, then we will make the last potion, dip the entire broom in that potion, let the broom dry for most of the rest of the day outside and should be able to try it out after dinner,” Kalego states checking the guide book and directing Iruma to take the broomstick carefully outside to dry. 

“I can’t wait, this is so exciting,” Iruma says after returning inside.

All four of them worked together, cleaning up the dining room and kitchen quickly before the adults started working on lunch, while Cerberon was let out to watch over Iruma, who relaxed in the living room. Iruma spends his time waiting, texting back those who texted him that morning while he was busy with the broomstick project. His Grandpa was the one who texted the most, so Iruma texted him back first to update him on how the broomstick was coming along, even sending a few pictures of the drying broomstick. He also replied to the few texts he is getting from the other misfits. 

Lunch is soon served, and all four eat together in the dining room. The adults do their best not to watch the food beast Iruma becomes with mana-filled food. After lunch, the adults take turns helping Iruma study what he needs to know for the upcoming Monday exam. Each adult has a different teaching style, but each is helpful for Iruma, who is just glad for the effort the adults around him are putting into helping him. 

After a while, the group creates the last potion needed for the broomstick, and Iruma, this time, dips the whole broomstick into the potion before leaving it out to dry one last time. While Shichiro has Iruma put away his study work and relax for a bit, Kalego and Opera start to prepare dinner, leaving it to cook in the oven. The rest of the time until dinner was spent relaxing in the living room, watching shows that were meant to make them laugh. 

The real fun started after dinner when Iruma read the spell instructions in the book and cast the spell over the broomstick that had dried out on the porch. The moment the words of the spell were spoken, the broomstick started to hover until it reached about hip height on Iruma. 

“Wow! The broomstick is really floating! This is so cool!” Iruma stares wide-eyed at the floating broomstick, so excited that what they helped make is working. 

“This is pretty exciting. Now, all Iruma has to do is be careful as he learns how to fly with it, and he will have a way to fly around with his friends. More importantly, in case of emergencies,” Shichiro says. 

“I have no problem with taking time to practice close to every day, but how do I even get started flying with a broomstick. Also, how do I carry it around with me?” Iruma asks, looking at the broomstick with awe. 

“Don’t worry about that, Master Iruma, Kalego-kun will put an enchantment on it so that it can shrink to about six inches or so, and I will give you a belt that has a holster to hold it at your hip no matter the time, so you can always have it on hand if you need it,” Opera explains. 

“Before that, let's get some practice in,” Kalego says. 

The next few minutes, the adults help Iruma mount the broomstick and get situated so that he can hover on it. Next, the adults let out their wings before explaining how Iruma uses a tiny amount of directed magic and intent to move the broomstick to fly around and change speed and direction. Iruma does his best to get the hang of flying with his new broomstick. 

Iruma spent the first thirty minutes mostly falling off the broomstick after going too fast or turning too sharply. Thankfully, every time Iruma found himself falling through the air towards the hard ground, one of the adults would catch him within a moment or two, never letting him anywhere near the ground, even though Shichiro had made an enormous moss landing pad on the ground of the lawn around the manor just in case. 

After thirty minutes or so, Iruma starts to get the hang of keeping the broom moving slowly, allowing him to learn how to fly around with it without falling off. By the time the sun starts to set, Iruma can stay on the broom flying around the front yard very slowly without falling off for a good five minutes at a time. Iruma is so happy, flying is so much fun, even if he is not so great at it yet. The wind in his hair and the new perspective are so exciting. 

“Alright, that is enough for today. It is starting to get dark. Let's go inside and relax,” Kalego says, catching Iruma as he falls off the broom once again. 

All in agreement, Iruma is set gently down on the porch, with Shichiro bringing the broom back and handing it to Iruma. 

“I will put the size enchantment on the broom in the morning. For now, you can just lean it near your reach,” Kalego says. 

“I will need to get back to Master Sullivan now, but I will come over for a few minutes tomorrow morning to deliver the holdster belt to you, Master Iruma. Have a good night and sleep well,” Opera states, giving Iruma a snug hug before flying back to the Sullivan Mansion. 

Iruma follows Kalego and Shichiro back into the manor to take some time to relax for the rest of the night. Iruma plops down on the couch. He can’t believe he now has a way to fly alone. Now he just has to get the hang of it. 

Chapter Text

Iruma is worn out from his first practice session with his newly created broomstick. Iruma is playing on his phone, half-paying attention to the show that the professors have put on the TV. He is mostly reading through the misfits’ group chat to see what everyone is texting about that day. Reading through his friends' texts, he is pleased to see that most of them are also sharing their relaxing day. Iruma added to the chat about how he had done a little studying earlier that day, but mostly spent the day having fun. Now, he was on strict orders to relax for the rest of the evening.

Shichiro finds the little giggles coming from Iruma, amused by the boy texting on his phone with his little allies. Kalego is simply ignoring the giggling pup. 

“Do we have any plans for tomorrow?” Shichiro asks Kalego. 

“Not really any solid plans. I figured we would just spend Sunday relaxing, a bit of studying, and practicing with Iruma on his new broomstick, unless another member of the Bablys staff needs our help at the last minute for the exams for Monday,” Kalego states. 

“Sounds good, I know both of us finished up what we could do ahead of time, done before leaving the school yesterday,” Shichiro says. 

“Yes, but it's the others that make us have more work,” Kalego grumbles in frustration.

Shichiro pats Kalego’s head to comfort him, understanding that half the time, Kalego is the one who has to rangle a majority of the other professors. 

Iruma continues to text periodically with the other misfits as his brain tries to process all that has been happening over the last few days. Everything has been so hectic that it is hard to really process it all, between learning he is a full-blooded demon, he is growing in his demonic traits, and who his birth parents were and why he was stolen from them. He is even having trouble with the happier discoveries of how well he is being taken care of, not only by his Grandpa and Opera, but now by Professor Kalego and Professor Balam, all of whom are working together to care for him. Kalego even came up with the plan to help make Iruma his own broom so that he can fly on his own when needed. Iruma found that Professor Kalego was still grumpy and grumbly with him, which was amusing given how well he took care of Iruma. 

Iruma knows just from how serious Opera, Balam, and Kalego took hearing who his birth parents were that he does not currently understand the position he is in being their child. Still, he also knows that he can’t change the circumstances at the moment, and he is happy with his life, so much better than what he lived through in the human realm. Iruma is far more focused on the next few days or even weeks. He has to pass the exams on Monday at least, and from what his professors are saying about his development, he will soon grow more demon traits and even come into his hellhound bloodline-magic. 

“Um…Kalego…My mother’s letter spoke about her choosing you to help me train my hellhound possession. What does that exactly entail?” Iruma asks, trying to understand some of the things he has been told are coming soon to his life, given his many uncertainties. 

“From what I've skimmed in your mother’s notes on your clan’s hellhounds, your training methods seem quite different from my family's. While we typically have to train ours to be obedient, it seems yours are more naturally tame, although some training will still be necessary for skills and combat,” Kalego states. 

“I remember some of the things you told me about your younger years under your clan’s rules and training, and to be honest, it sounded too cruel,” Shichiro states firmly. 

“I may be strict, but even I don’t condone that level of strictness,” Kalego states with a faraway look in his eyes. 

“So it will be like training to work together and fight together?” Iruma asks, trying to understand and get Kalego out of whatever mood he fell into for the moment.

“That seems to be the majority of it, also some more basic training just to help you and your hellhound to work well together, and it knows how to follow your directions,” Kalego states.         

“It will be nice to have a companion all my own,” Iruma says softly. 

“It is definitely a plus, and your hellhound traditionally starts much more companion-like than mine was. Your family does not have to fight your hellhounds into submission to show you are its rightful owner,” Kalego states. 

“Ya, I don’t want to fight my companion,” Iruma agrees, making a disgusted face at the very idea of fighting the hellhound that was chosen to be part of his soul. 

Seeing the disgusted look on Iruma’s face, Kalego rolls his eyes, and Shichiro bursts into giggles. The three chat a bit longer until Iruma starts to yawn. 

“We had an early morning, and you have had to deal with a lot lately. No wonder you are tired earlier than normal. How about you go to bed early today, and you can even sleep in tomorrow morning,” Shichiro states.  

“We will plan to wake up about 8:00 am ourselves, so plan on breakfast being about 9:00 am tomorrow. Also, I will have Cerberon watch over you if you wake up earlier than us tomorrow,” Kalego adds. 

“I think I will start getting ready for bed. Good night, Kalego, good night, Shichiro,” Iruma says before making his way upstairs and to his guestroom for the night.

Kalego and Shichiro are left by themselves in the living room, having heard the door to Iruma’s guest room close upstairs. 

“Today has been a long and intense day,” Shichiro comments, pulling Kalego closer, so he is cuddled into his side. 

“No kidding, learning about Iruma’s birthparents, working together to make the boomstick, and the chaos that was flying practice, that was a lot for a single day,” Kalego agrees, leaning into Shichiro’s side. 

“I figured with how much trouble seems to be around that fledgling, that his bio-parents were going to be interesting, but I would never have thought he came from not just a noble family line like the Vorthos clan, but also to be the child of Demon King Derkila is on a whole other level of being born with a target on his back,” Shichiro comments. 

“At least we got the broom made, and Iruma can stay on it for a little while. It is all down to practice now, being able to fly with his broomstick is better than not at all,” Kalego states, trying not to think about just how ridiculous Iruma’s heritage is. 

“It was fun to watch him practice today, even if he is not so good yet,” Shichiro giggles. 

“I am glad we don’t really have plans tomorrow. We both need a break,” Kalego says, giving Shichiro a little wink before standing up from the couch and pulling Shichiro up with him before continuing to pull him toward his bedroom. 

Once inside Kalego’s bedroom, Shichiro watches as Kalego closes and locks the door behind them, along with putting up a soundproofing spell on the room. “May I assume you want to do something other than go to sleep?” 

Kalego looks over at the blushing but excited-looking Shichiro before answering as he pulls the other into a warm hug, “I was thinking we could have some fun given we can actually sleep in tomorrow, and anyways, I don’t mind a few less hours of sleep if it lets us have some fun together.” 

“What types of fun are you thinking of for tonight?” Shichiro asks with excitement, though his cheeks and the tips of his ears are still flushed. 

“I was thinking we could start by making out, go from there,” Kalego says, trying to cover for the fact that he does not really have a plan other than wanting to get his hands, lips, and more onto Shichiro. 

Shichiro just giggles at the vague reply before his lips are put to better use as he is nugged into sitting on the bed so that Kalego can better reach to kiss Shichiro within an inch of his life. Kalego loves the warmth and excitement that comes just from kissing his favorite demon in the entire world. Warm plush lips, exploring tongues, and holding each other close are a great way to start their fun. Kalego’s arms are wrapped around Shichiro’s neck, and one hand is playing with his hair a bit. Shichiro has his arms around Kalego’s torso, holding the smaller man close to his body, standing between Shichiro’s slightly spread legs as he sits on the bed. Kalego and Shichiro’s chests are plastered together as they make out like teenagers.

Shichiro enjoys the feeling of Kalego’s hot tongue plundering his mouth, dancing around his own tongue and fangs, sending shivers of pleasure down the large demon's spine. After a while, Kalego moves from plundering Shichiro’s mouth to kissing down his chin and down his neck, pulling a soft moan from Shichiro’s throat, which vibrates under Kalego’s lips. Shichiro’s hands tighten a bit around Kalego’s waist. It was one thing to be able to give Kalego little touches over the years; now he was finally able to touch Kalego however he wished, his most beloved ally. Shichiro shivers in pleasure as Kalego slowly kisses down his neck, licking Shichiro’s collarbone. Taking a moment, they quickly help each other out of their shirts and pants, leaving them with only their boxers on.  

Kalego loves the different moans and squeaks he is pulling from Shichiro, and they have only just started. Kalego lets his hands wander around the beautiful gargoyle’s body, petting along the silky feathers that cover Shichiro from just under his collarbone to his knees. Shichiro lets out a soft moan as Kalego pets down his feathered chest and sides. Kalego loves the soft silkiness of Shichiro’s feathers along his torso, feeling the warmth of Shichiro’s body under his hands. On his way back up Shichiro’s torso, Kalego found one of Shichiro’s hidden nipples under his feathers and let his thumbs run over them, pulling another lovely moan from his favorite demon. Shichiro arches his back at the feeling of his nipples being played with, sending pleasure straight down his spine and to his groin. With only a glance down at Kalego’s body, the tent in his boxer’s makes him aware that he is not the only one who is hard as a rock.

“Please tell me you want to go all the way tonight, Kalego,” Shichiro groans as Kalego continues to play with his nipples.

“That was certainly my hope for tonight, so as long as you want that to as well…” Kalego states and does not even get to finish his statement before Shichiro answers. 

“Yes, definitely want that too,” Shichiro gasps out as he nuzzles and kisses Kalego’s neck.

The two demons could not get enough of each other now that they had finally admitted their feelings for many years and had some real time to have fun. Sexy fun that is. Kalego moves from Shichiro’s nipples for the moment, deciding he wants to touch much more of the larger demon now that he can without hesitation. Kalego runs his hands up Shichiro’s chest to his shoulders and down his arms. Not an inch of skin on Shichiro’s well-muscled arms is missed by Kalego’s hands. Kalego makes sure to take a moment to focus on Shichiro’s smooth, taloned hands that are actually uncovered for a change, not hidden under his almost ever-present gloves. Kalego moves on to running his hands over Shichiro’s broad back as Shichiro kisses down Kalego’s lovely pale chest, taking his time to give little licks to Kalego’s nipples as he moves at a snail's pace down Kalego’s chest. Kalego moves his hands back to the front of Shichiro, laying one over the larger demon's chest, while the other starts to slowly rub Shichiro’s stick-covered erection. 

“I am not sure how much longer I can keep from cumming this first time if you keep rubbing my dick like that,” Shichiro moans, pleasure radiating through his body, sizzling up and down his spine.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I plan on both of us cumming more than twice anyway. Though if you have any suggestions on what you want to try, I am all ears for ideas if you want to try something,” Kalego says with a sly grin, willing to hear out at least any idea Shichiro has. 

“Um…I want…you…inside…me,” Shichiro squeaks out into Kalego’s neck, hiding his flushed face from his favorite demon. 

“Oh, I love your plan, dear,” Kalego growls out excitedly. 

Kalego feels like he is in a dream, one of his longest fantasies, basically since he understood what sex and lust were, all his fantasies revolved around Shichiro. Now he is actually being invited to sink his dick into Shichiro’s ass, to bring their fantasies to life. 

“Full disclosure, you are going to have to tell me if anything hurts or doesn’t feel good, and what does. This is my first time with another demon. I know things from non-fiction and fiction books, and maybe a few videos in my youth, but no real experience,” Kalego says with a shrug, knowing he understands the mechanics. Still, just like everything else, there is a separation between theoretical knowledge of a subject and the actual real-life thing. 

“Good. I like knowing I am your first. Also, this is my first time too, so we will figure this out together,” Shichiro replies, still hiding his face in Kalego’s neck, trying to push down his blush at least a bit. 

“Good, because you are mine, just as much as I am yours,” Kalego says in a deep grumble. He will admit to being a pretty possessive demon. 

Shichiro giggles at Kalego’s possessive words, but agrees, given that he is just as possessive of Kalego. Kalego, not wanting to hurt Shichiro while stretching him out accidentally, casts the cherusil spell onto his hands to shorten and dull his claws for a short while. Shichiro feels himself grow warm and fuzzy seeing that Kalego is taking precautions against hurting him, even though it's unlikely, given how carefully Shichiro knows Kalego is with his claws. Kalego did not notice the soft-hearted look Shichiro gave him as he tried to focus on what to do next, determined to continue the night as pleasantly as it had been, even though this was something he had never done to another being before. 

“How do you want to do this, position-wise?” Kalego asks Shichiro to decide what is most comfortable for him. 

Instead of speaking the words out loud, Shichiro decides this is one of those times action is easier. It takes him a bit of maneuvering up the bed to put his head on one of the pillows and let his vines gently lift Kalego into the position he is thinking about, but in only a minute, Shichiro has them both positioned in the way he wants. The final position has Shichiro lying back in the middle of the bed with his head on a pillow and Kalego kneeling between his spread legs. Thankfully, during the maneuvering, Shichiro had his vines strip them of their last items of clothing, leaving them bare to the others' appreciation.

Kalego, who was used to being moved by vines for years, was only surprised by how smoothly Shichiro changed their positions and how beautiful the other looked lying back and on display for Kalego.

“Damn, you are beautiful,” Kalego mumbled just loud enough for Shichiro to hear and his cheeks to blush at the words spoken so clearly in their intent.

“I don’t think I will be able to wait the entire time needed to stretch me out, so don’t hold back to keep me from cumming. As you sent earlier, we both have more than enough stamina for multiple rounds of fun,” Shichiro says, flushed but not hesitant. 

Kalego understood what Shichiro was saying. He was too close already and was probably going to cum before Kalego could stretch him enough to insert himself without hurting the bigger demon, and to simply focus on the pleasure, not trying to make it last the first time they cum. Kalego has absolutely no arguments with this plan and nods merely as he is already distracted by thinking about what he wants to do to get Shichiro ready and stretched for his dick. With a few mumbled words, Kalego makes lube appear on the fingers of his right hand. 

Kalego starts by running his dry left hand up and down Shichiro’s smoothly scaled thighs, getting pasps and shivers from the other in return, deciding that the best way for Shichiro to stay relaxed is to have him drowning in pleasure. Kalego takes a deep, stabilizing breath as he focuses on Shichiro’s very proportional dick that was quite a bit bigger than his own, which is on the larger side for his body size. At the same time, Kalego was sporting an erect dick of about seven inches with a good girth, but nothing ridiculous compared to other demons; his body size was maybe over average by an inch or two. Now, Shichiro is a whole different story. Given his large body size, it should be evident that his dick is proportional, but understanding that as a passing thought and seeing the bare evidence right in front of him are very different. Shichiro’s dick has to be about two or eleven inches long at least, and a girth that Kalego approximates to be only a little thinner than a can of soda. Kalego is now glad that they are going with Shichiro bottoming first. It will take a bit of work and some succubus spells to make Shichiro topping a safe idea, even though Kalego is all for the challenge, he knows it will be both their pleasure to do the work for the reward, just not this first time. 

Leaning down, Kalego starts to lick at Shichiro’s dick, pulling gasps from him as he uses his lubed up fingers to start by swirling around Shichiro’s hole in soft little circles to start. Moans continue to escape Shichiro as he is lavished with attention to both his dick and hole. Thankfully, Kalego does not tease his hole for long and soon slips a single finger inside, pulling another moan from his throat. Kalego is finally inside Shichiro, even if only a single finger's worth so far, but it is monumental for the two demons who hid their romantic feelings for so long. Shichiro does not even try to stay quiet with his moans as both his dick is licked and Kalego’s first finger stretches his hole. 

Shichiro feels like every nerve ending in his body is pulsing in pleasure. Having Kalego play him like one of his many instruments is a divine feeling that Shichiro has longed for for many years to experience, and his fantasies pale in comparison to the real thing. Kalego adds a second finger to Shichiro’s whole, and the larger demon starts to thrust into the movements of his two fingers. Kalego just smirks as he continues to lick and kiss Shichiro’s dick while thrusting his fingers. After only a minute of having two fingers thrusting into him, Shichiro feels his body reach its limit of pleasure before release, and he can only gasp a quick warning to Kalego before his dick released cum in long spurts as his pleasure crested in warm explosions of fireworks behind his eyes. 

Seeing Shichiro cum for the first time under him with pleasure written all over his face and his name on the larger demon’s lips is enough to have Kalego reach for his own dick to hold the base in a stranglehold to keep himself from falling over the edge himself. Though his efforts were for naught when Shichiro calmed back down a bit and smirked, seeing the state Kalego was in, and reached out and gave Kalego’s dick a few quick tugs, which had Kalego cumming hard onto Shichiro’s body under him. Shichiro loves the look of pleasure on Kalego’s face as he cums, fierce and beautiful. 

“I guess we were both correct in not being able to last this first time,” Kalego says with a chuckle as he waves his hand to clean them both of cum that had splattered between them. 

“This way we will have more stamina once you're inside,” Shichiro says with a blissed-out shrug. 

Kalego can only chuckle at the blissed-out logic of Shichiro’s words as they both take a few minutes to cuddle and catch their breath. Though after a few minutes, Kalego was feeling better and only more horny, wanting to continue, knowing he had permission to be inside Shichiro tonight, is a powerful motivator. Kalego gets back to thrusting two fingers in and out of Shichiro and starts to use his other hand to give Shichiro’s only partially flaccid dick a hand-job. Kalego himself is quick to harden back up as well. By the time Kalego adds a third finger into Shichiro, both of them are as hard as rock again. A few minutes of adjusting to Kalego’s three fingers, Shichiro catches both of Kalego’s arms to get the other to look at him. 

“I’m ready, please just get in me already,” Shichiro moans, having stopped Kalego in his ministration of stretching him open.

“Music to my ears, dear,” Kalego says with a sly chuckle before mumbling some words to cast a spell to lube up his dick. 

Kalego moves forward on his knees until he is perfectly lined up with Shichiro’s hole, practically shaking in anticipation. Using one hand to direct his dick’s direction, the other is planted for balance on Shichiro’s abs. As Kalego pushes agonizingly slowly, Shichiro can feel a deep pressure a moment before Kalego’s dick pops past the ring of muscles into his channel. Shichiro feels only a minuscule amount of pain the moment he is breached, but it is quickly masked by deep pleasure radiating from his entrance up his spine.

Shichiro lets out a deep moan as Kalego continues to enter him slowly and carefully so that he can get used to Kalego’s dick being inside of him for the first time. Shichiro can barely believe he finally has Kalego inside him as close as two demons can get. Kalego is amazed by how hot and tight Shichiro’s channel is, squeezing him snug inside of Shichiro. Kalego freezes as he bottoms out inside of Shiciro as far inside of the other as he can get. 

“You feel incredible, Shichiro,” Kalego moans, giving them both time to catch their breath. 

“This feels amazing, Kalego,” Shichiro gasps as he gets used to the dick inside of him for the first time.

Only a couple of minutes passed before Shichiro started to thrust his hips a bit to test the feel of things before nodding to Kalego that he was ready. Kalego takes the permission to begin with great relief. Kalego starts with strong, slow thrusts to get them started, and neither of them could keep their moans and gasps in their throats. Neither demon was ready for the absolute bliss that actually having sex was bringing them. Pleasure sparked through their spines and warmed their bodies, building tension like before a lightning strike. 

They both soon found themselves consumed by their second orgasms of the night, only to find no need to stop in their activity. It seems both Kalego and Shichiro are ravenous and need more than two rounds. Neither of them was ready to stop until they each had two more orgasms and were basically run dry and worn out. 

Neither of them was willing to get up to get cleaned up, so Kalego simply waved his hand and used a cleaning spell to clean them of all the spilled seed and sweat they had accumulated over the last couple of hours before they curled around each other under the comforter and fell into the deepest, most restful sleep either of them had had in years.

Chapter Text

Sunday morning starts at a lazy, leisurely pace for a change in Kalego’s household. No one in the house woke up until the sun had already established itself in the sky for the morning. Long hot showers and slow breakfast making were done much less rushed than usual, and all three were at the dining table for breakfast only a few minutes after nine in the morning. 

“It is nice to sleep in every once in a while,” Shichiro states as they all start to eat breakfast. 

“We all needed it, so much has been happening just with my situation, and that does not even include your regular professor responsibilities,” Iruma states after practically inhaling his food as he sits at the table, still sipping his water and hot tea.

“I don’t know about you two, but I need to go get us a load of groceries with the allowance Opera-senpai sent me. Anything either of you want specifically at the grocery store or for me to stop for on my way back?” Kalego asks as he continues to eat his breakfast at a subdued pace.

“Iruma seems to like a little dessert after his meals or for a snack. How about you get us a few desserts for this coming week?” Shichiro suggests to Kalego.  

Iruma flushes a bit with embarrassment and happiness that Shichiro is paying attention to him enough to notice his slight sweet tooth, along with his apparent general gluttony. 

“As long as they are normal serving sizes, a few desserts are fine. Do you have any favorites, brat?” Kalego asks. 

“Not really, everything you and Opera have given me since being in the Netherworld has been yummy. I didn't get much of even normal food before, so I haven't really had enough variety to decide on a favorite. Just get what you and Shichiro like, I am sure I will like it,” Iruma mumbles, embarrassed by his lack of knowledge on something so basic.

“Then I will just pick a few desserts that Shichiro and I like,” Kalego states, doing their best not to think about a kid not having desserts before they were a teenager.

“Do you have any plans for today, Iruma?” Shichiro asks the boy. 

“Mostly studying for tomorrow, relaxing, and maybe some broom flying practice,” Iruma says with a shrug. 

“Sounds good. I will help Iruma this morning while you go shopping,” Shichiro confirms. 

“I should probably start by doing some studying and reviewing stuff for tomorrow,” Iruma says, looking nervous but determined. 

“Don’t worry so much, Iruma, you have been working really hard to get caught up, just keep going, and I am sure you will do well on the exams tomorrow,” Shichiro says softly, petting the fledgling’s fluffy hair.

Kalego just rolls his eyes and heads out of the house to run errands, leaving Shichiro and Iruma to their plans. Shichiro cleans up the dining table and kitchen, while Iruma goes up to his room to grab his school supplies. He then sets himself up on the living room floor, using the coffee table to arrange his study material. Shichiro soon joins Iruma in the living room with his laptop and work bag to handle his paperwork and other work-related tasks.  

“Oh, by the way, you have been wearing that pretty black ring on your thumb since the other day. Is it new?” Iruma asks, pointing at the ring on Shichiro’s thumb. 

“Yes, it's new, a pre-mating gift from Kalego, actually,” Shichiro says softly, his cheeks getting some extra color as he answers the fledgling. 

“That sounds sweet, and important, now that I think about it, Ameri did not know what a date was when I mentioned it off-handedly a while ago. I wonder how different romantic relationships are here with demons than in the countries I lived in the human realm?” Iruma ponders.

“I am not sure how the human realm does romantic relationships, but if you want, I do have a picture book on the basics of demon romance. Kalego keeps a copy of all my books in a little corner of his library. You can read it during one of your breaks if you want,” Shichiro states, knowing it was probably best for social knowledge to inform the teen of at least the basics, given that either he or his friends will probably start having relationships now that they are in Bablys.  

“That is definitely something I should at least know the basics of. I am now kind of curious what the differences between what I picked up on the subject from humans differ from what demons here do,” Iruma states as he watches Balam smile as he twirls the new rings around his thumb. 

“I am actually trying to think of a good gift to get Kalego in return,” Shichiro states. 

“Does the gift have any rules around it, like what you probably should give the other partner in return?” Iruma asks now, a bit invested. 

“Not really written-in-stone type rules, but there are some well-followed societal rules around the rituals and traditions most demons follow. Usually, the gift, which can be anything as long as it holds sentimental and often monetary value, is to show the effort put in by the first gifting party. Then, if you receive and accept a pre-mating gift, you traditionally have a month or two at most to come up with a gift of your own. If it is something that will take more time, plan for said gift. The gift should be of similar monetary and sentimental value, unless one side of the romantic relationship is much poorer or of lower standing and lacks the same resources. The monetary value is not as important as simply giving a gift. While Kalego comes from the noble ranking Naberius clan, he is considered an outlier because his role as the Guard Dog of Bablys is so set in stone and keeps him busy away from his family, which he is glad for. Still, Kalego, while spending a good deal of money on this, it is definitely more sentimental than monetary value to it.” Shichiro tried to explain the traditions behind these courting actions. 

“Hehe, I bet Kalego wanted to give you something you could wear almost all the time,” Iruma giggles, having noticed that his professor could definitely be possessive of what he cared about. 

“I think you are on the right track on that, Iruma. Though now I have to figure out what I want to give Kalego in return that makes him as happy as his gift made me,” Shichiro states with a soft smile, looking at his new ring. 

“Do the gifts have to be very different from what Kalego gave you?” Iruma asks. 

“Well, no. Why do you ask?” Shichiro asks, curious where the feldgling’s thoughts were going. 

“Well, I was just thinking about a tradition from the human realm that is similar to when proposing marriage to each other, which I am guessing is a similar act as mating is for demons. In many nations of the human realm, it is traditional to exchange rings during proposals and/or marriages. I figured if Kalego gave you a ring you could wear almost all the time, it would be nice if you also gave him some kind of personalized ring for him to wear as well,” Iruma explains his thoughts. 

“That’s a great idea, I can personalize a ring similar to what he gave me, just add some things that show I put a personal touch to it,” Shichiro states as he starts to type quickly on his laptop, beginning to put down some ideas for a ring he can have created for Kalego’s gift. 

Iruma giggles at how happy his giant professor is and gets back to focusing on his studying, trying his best to keep the information he has been learning and studying the last week, and really the entire school year so far, straight in his head. It is one thing to go over and try to understand all this new information from a realm he did not grow up in; it is a whole other thing to actually remember enough of it to do well on the exams, and of course, to learn for general life knowledge.  

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Kalego is flying leisurely through the sky as he heads to the bulk grocery store, whose name and address Opera provided, to buy a ridiculous amount of food Iruma eats in a week. He takes this time to reflect on the craziness that has gone down in just the last week. He can hardly believe it has only been about a week since Shichiro’s petting habit revealed the physical horrors Iruma carries on his back, and the fact that the pup was grounded. Over the last handful of days, having Iruma under his roof and the help of Shichiro asking questions about the human realm, Kalego has figured out even more so just how bad off the brat’s life had been before being sold off by his adopted-parents, if you could even call them that, to Lord Sullivan. The scars on his back and probably other places on his body are the physical marks left over, and they only shed light on a bit of his horrid history. 

Figuring now was as good a time as any, Kalego pulled out his phone and started texting Opera about setting up a time to inform the rest of the professors who did not yet know of Iruma’s grounding situation and to talk with Professor Murmur about counseling for the brat. It is obvious even to Kalego that he is in great need of it. The only reason he did not start a session the moment he found out about the kid being grounded is the fact that it would have only added to the pressure Iruma was feeling about the exams and people finding out about his scars. Let alone all that Iruma has learned about himself in the days since then. 

Guard Dog: I think it is past time we inform the rest of the professors about Iruma’s wing status. We also need to set up counseling sessions with Professor Murmur. 

Top Cat: I agree, I will talk with Master Sullivan about this. Let's do the meeting with the professors after the exams finish tomorrow or Tuesday. Also, counseling should start as soon as possible after Iruma gets through the exams, as he has been so stressed about getting decent grades.

Guard Dog: How is Lord Sullivan doing paperwork-wise, both for Bablys’ work and for Iruma?

Top Cat: He is actually working, even if a bit on the slow side, and he's not procrastinating as much as he usually does.

Guard Dog: More progress is more progress. Well, contact me when Lord Sullivan decides on a time for the professors' meeting. 

Top Cat: Of course, Kalego-kun.

Putting his phone away, Kalego soon lands at the bulk sales store with the use of some enchanted bags that are much larger on the inside than the outside and to cut the weight inside to only a fraction of what it would normaly be he was able to shop for and carry back all the groceries he would need for the next week looking after the bottomless pit of a brat. 

Once back home, he is helped by Shichiro and Iruma to put away the groceries, then decides to take a break until one of them starts on lunch. Kalego shows Shichiro the text conversation he had with Opera on his way to the store. Even before they could discuss the text conversation, both of their phones gave a ding from a text notification. They saw on Kalego’s phone that Opera was texting them in their group chat and also receiving other messages from them in the professors’ group chat. 

[Bablys Professors Group Chat]

Opera: During lunch time, after the completion of the End of Terminus Exams, all professors are required to attend a meeting in conference room A1 (unless an emergency pops up) for a provided lunch before a meeting to get all professors up to date on a secret situation that Chairdemon Sullivan finds necessary to make you aware of. We won't discuss the topic over text, so just wait until tomorrow afternoon to ask questions. 

The rest of the chat consists of the professors sending confirmations that they have read the text.

[Bablys Top Dogs Group Chat]

Top Cat: I know you got my text for all professors so that I won’t repeat it in this chat. I am coming over with the new broom holster before lunchtime to visit with Master Iruma. 

Guard Dog: Understood 

Gargoyle: I know Iruma will be happy to see you.

Top Cat: Master Sullivan said that during or after the professors’ meeting, he will talk to Professor Murmur about setting up recurring counseling sessions. He agrees that Iruma needs counseling.  

“Iruma-kun, Opera-senpai will be over here soon,” Shichiro informs Iruma, who smiles happily at the news.

“I will make lunch and prep food for dinner. You can work on the sizing enchantment on Iruma’s broom before Opera-senpai comes over,” Shichiro states, looking over at Kalego. 

Kalego just nods and has Cerberon manifest to watch over Iruma while both he and Shichiro will be busy for a bit. He rolls his eyes and ignores the giggling from Iruma as he pets the hellhound like some puppy dog, not one of the most powerful protectors of the Netherworld and particularly Bablys.

After taking a few minutes to pet Cerberion, loving the soft fur of the giant guard dog, Iruma forces himself to get back to reviewing his notes, though he keeps one hand slowly petting Cerberion. When Shichiro calls out that lunch will be ready in ten minutes, Iruma puts away his study material for the moment. 

Kalego walks back into the living room only a second before there is a knock at his front door. Setting the broomstick down by Iruma, on the coffee table, as he heads to the door. Taking a quick look through the peephole before opening the door to let Opera in. 

“Opera!” Iruma cheers, running up and giving Opera a hug, which is returned warmly by the cat-demon. 

“I am glad you’re doing well, Master Iruma,” Opera says, checking over their ward, including his ear protectors and face mask, making sure they are on correctly. 

The four gather in the dining room for lunch, with Kalego and Shichiro sitting across from Iruma and Opera, as it is easier to talk this way. 

“How has your day been so far, Master Iruma?” Opera asks after Iruma finishes his portion of lunch, while the adults are still only halfway through their own food. 

“So far, I have mostly been reviewing my notes and taking the occasional break. I figured that I can practice some more with my broom after lunch, though that's about all I have in the way of a plan for today,” Iruma says. 

The four continue chatting a bit as they finish lunch and put the dishes into the dishwasher. The group then gathers in the living room around the coffee table, where Iruma’s broom is lying. 

“I put the sizing enchantment on the broom, now when you are not using it or need it to be small all you have to do is say the words ‘broom shrink’ with intention focused on the broom to get smaller, and when you want it to go back to its’ normal size the words are ‘broom enlarge’ give it a try,” Kalego explains. 

Iruma is excited as he holds a hand over his broom and says the words, thinking about the broom getting smaller, “broom shrink.” 

It takes Iruma two tries before he can get the broom to shrink, but when he does, it shrinks down proportionally so that the broom’s length is now only about eight or nine inches. 

“It's so cute and small now,” Iruma giggles, picking up his now small broom. 

“Now that you can shrink it down, all you have to do is say ‘broom enlarge’ and think about the broom going back to the size it was originally,” Kalego instructs. 

Iruma takes a few minutes to practice the two spells until he can do the spells six times in a row correctly to get a feel for how to do the spell correctly. 

“Now that you have gotten the hang of shrinking and returning the broom to its’ normal size you can use this utility belt that I got you. For now, the utility belt has a broom holster, water bottle holder, and an enchanted pouch that is a few sizes bigger on the inside to act as an extra-large pocket for miscellaneous items,” Opera says, pulling out a leather utility belt from seemingly out of nowhere. 

“This is so cool, thanks Opera,” Iruma says excitedly, not wasting a moment in putting it around his hips and buckling it snuggly into place before sliding the shrunk broom into its new holster, where it fits perfectly and snuggly into place. 

“Now with this belt and holster, you can take your broom everywhere with you. You need to keep it on you at all times, except when you are sleeping, and then you should leave the broom in reach of your bed just in case,” Shichiro states, trying to state how important keeping the broom on him at all times is. 

“I get it, I will keep the broom on me,” Iruma says with a smile as he practices taking the broom out and putting it back into its holster to get a feel for the motion. 

Iruma smiles at the care and effort all the adults are putting into reducing some of his challenges as a result of being grounded. He is glad that they are not babying him because of his inability to fly; they are just trying to help him not be at so much of a disadvantage and not be as dangerous because of his disability.

The rest of the afternoon is spent on broom flying practice, the evening spent studying, and Opera even stays long enough to tuck Iruma into bed early before heading back home. Kalego and Shichiro go to sleep a couple of hours earlier than usual, knowing they need as much sleep as possible for the next day.