A New Start: The Beginning of a Beautiful Life!

Welcome to Opera's Preparations Irumi-chan!

Irumi stayed on the floor, on her knees as she gripped tightly at the fabric loosely fitting around her thighs. "My..dream..." she wobbly said in a stuttering breath. Ameri got up from the chair, checking Irumi over by squatting next to the small demon on the floor. "Feeling better..?"

"Y-yeah... it's just my entire life I've only ever allowed myself to think about what others wanted or needed me to do for them. I've never once considered..." Irumi sat up a bit, shifting the way she sat to hug her knees to her chest. "What...what I want for me..." her voice turned so small, lost as she stared blankly at the carpet beneath them.

One time she longed for family and love, she then longed for being useful in any sense that may mean. But then at some point she turned numb to her own wants and feelings. Having to suppress to survive. The life she lived had no room for her wants, no room for dreams of a future, or any sort of goals beyond 'find a job, get the job done, gather the payment, and try to find food'. Then start the process all over again as those two gained more debt which was shouldered to her.

Anxiously, Irumi began to bite at the skin of her lower lip, however it wasn't the same, since coming here the usual chapped skin was smooth and harder to tear apart during her nervous fits.

"Do it now, if you don't have one then think." Irumi paused, blinking away her gathering tears as she turned her head and looked up at Ameri.

"To fly you must first open your wings." Ameri reminded softly. Irumi's eyebrows scrunched up, pouting at how easy Ameri was trying to make this sound. "Yeah, but..." she turned silent, sitting with her ankles crossed over the other as she closed her eyes and thought for a bit, her ahonge curling into a question mark. "Hmmmm..."

She stood up, rubbing either side of her head with a sound of anguish. "Guuh!" After a bit she plopped back down, holding back tears as she tried to think what it is she wants to work for as an achievement but all she could think back to was her ideal and the horrible memories of the past.

"I got nothing..." Rumi mumbled weakly, glancing over to Ameri, depressed as she hugged her knees again.

Ameri smiled, "well, you must climb the ranks then. That is the student's primary duty here after all. So for now, why don't you make it your objective to become a beth?" she advised, beginning to stand back up now that Irumi seemed a bit better.

She blinked a bit, tilting her head. "Raising my rank...that could work," just as Irumi agreed. The doors busted off their hinges, smashed into pieces from a wrecking ball of all things barreling through it.

Irumi squeaked, rolling immediately away upon instinct as the giant thing nearly swung into her direction during its sway back into the hall. Ameri backpedaled away from the busted entryway, standing at the ready. "Who's there?!"

Asmodeus picked himself up from the floor, keeping in his groan of pain from being thrown like that. "I'm terribly sorry, Master Irumi! I wasn't trying to disturb you but at the very same moment that I happened to blink..." the pinkette winced.

Clara stomped out of the dust the rubble caused with a pout-like scowl. "Gimme back my Irumikins!!" Clara huffed out, stomping over to Irumi while glaring at Ameri then at Asmodeus as she quickly clung to Irumi's side.

Quickly, while Asmodeus and Clara were distracted by apologizing and pulling at Irumi, Ameri grabbed the books and hid them behind her back. 'Thankfully it seems we were not overheard...' Ameri thought with a sigh of relief.

"I have failed! I can not believe I blinked!!" Asmodeus yelled in anguish after yelling at Clara to quit dragging Irumi around by the uniform's collar. 'And I was never able to hear what they were talking about...' "I'm a failure..." Azz whimpered out.