A/N: I...I typed a lot...I don't know how but I did.
Updated A/N: I know how, in the power of utter fury. My day is NOT a good one. SO enjoy the next 9,000 words ^-^
WARNING: Cursing and toward the end may be triggering -child abuse and hinted sexual- it is once Rumi goes to bed so you got like idk 7-8,000 words that are safe?
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Chapter 38;
The Netherworld- the realm where all demons live. And the Monarch who rules is- The Demon King! However, the Demon King's throne has sat empty for ages. Only the most worthy will inherit this seat of sovereignty. But who will it be?
A young girl who goes by Rumi whose physical age is 14; with the rank Gimel. One day she found herself the granddaughter of a demon named Sullivan. Sullivan loves and spoils Irumi and is even sending her to the most prestigious school in the land. But there are a few problems. 1. The school she is attending just so happens to be the demon school known as Babyls. 2. She is still very much human in her capabilities, knowledge, and mindset. 3. Should they find out the part of her being human- they'd take advantage of her. And 4. Her connection to her mother will be a cause to many new obstacles that very well may put her life in danger! Will this pitiful girl who was finally found by her Grandpa make a better life for herself and actually manage to thrive in the Netherworld? One way to find out!
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Rumi's grip tightened momentarily on his throat, causing the demon beneath her to gurgle up a choking sound- blood slipping past his lips.
The girl turned paler, 'did I kill him?!' She thought in horror, the fear that was curling in her stomach was strengthening as she tossed herself off his chest, crawling a bit back away from his body. She looked down at her own hands, tears coming to her eyes. "What-what have I done...?"
In front of her, the demon slowly sat up, spitting up more blood. "You really scared me just then, I thought I might have just died," he chuckled out.
Rumi gawked, spotting the blood spilling down his mouth, dripping off his chin. "Blood-there's...blood!" She squeaked, mortified as she pointed to his chin.
"Oh, I have a naturally weak body! I'm fine, this happens to me a lot!" He laughed again, waving his hand dismissively. "But...is-are you really okay...?" Rumi questioned, stressed by this situation and so very confused.
Why did her locket heat up? Why did her ring shine and then drag her like a limp doll around the halls? And just why was this upperclassman giving her such a strange feeling that caused her instincts churn in fear? Is it because she landed on top of him like that which had got her nerves so shot?
She lifted her right hand up, about to push back some loose strands of hair that fell out of the just-fixed braid Clara had done. Noting to herself that the hairstyle was completely undone with the green hair tie barely hanging on to the ends of her hair.
"Ah?!" The other teen suddenly gasped, leaning closer into her personal space and pointing at her ring. "That ring! It must have been attracted to my collar! After all, a gluttonous feeder ring is made of the same rare metal! That must be it!" He exclaimed, moving his shirt to the side to show the little collar on his neck. "O-oh- May-maybe?" She agreed hesitantly, looking away from his bare chest with a blush; that sounded most probable-maybe it had a magnetized property? Looking down she fiddled with the hair-tie, tying it on her wrist till she could give it back to Clara.
"There are many other magical apparatuses like this too...so-Woah!" The upperclassmen looked down, eyes going a little wide at finally taking note of the mess. Rumi's eyes followed, turning pale as a sheet all over again noticing the same.
He knelt down, closer to his bag; idly picking up a broken device with tears in his eyes. "Ah, they're all smashed up..." the older teen sighed like he was used to this.
Rumi began feeling horrible- pushing away the anxious feeling to get closer- this was her fault after all!
"I-I'm so sorry! It's my fault so let me clean this up!" She offered, kneeling next to the teal-haired male, still keeping a bit of a distance from him as she hesitantly picked up a few broken bits of what looked to be figurines.
"Oh no, I couldn't ask you that!" The teen denied, beginning to pick up his bag that still had some stuff falling out of it. "Please, I insist!" She urged, feeling worse as she handed over the figurine she picked up.
"W-well if you insist-" he began to say when a first-year student shouted a bit away.
"Woah! Why's there a bunch of stuff blocking the hall?!" The first-year complained, kicking one of the many apparatuses scattered on the floor. "You! Clean this up immediately!" The one who kicked the apparatus ordered as another came over to him worriedly, "Hey, that's an upperclassman!" He warned his companion, pointing out the uniform.
"Huh?! Oops!" Just as the first year was going to apologize, he paused, spotting the rank on the upperclassmen's badge- Beth. "Wait! He's only a rank two, Beth! I was worried for nothing!" The student groused, kicking a different apparatus this time which bounced off the upperclassman's head.
The older teen coughed up another bit of blood, as Rumi rushed closer to his side while the two other students walked off, helping pick up a few things on her way over to his downed form. "Are- are you okay?" She asked again, hugging the broken parts to her torso.
Looking back, she frowned worriedly, glancing at the backs of the two boys that left, laughing heartily as they went. "Why're they so disrespectful to a senior?" she mumbled out in confusion-was this about ranks again like with those four girls from earlier?
The older teen smiled in gratitude towards the petite blue-haired demoness, sitting back up and brushing off the dirt from his uniform while casually wiping away the blood along his lips. "It's natural due to my low rank despite being a third-year. My magical power is quite weak, hence the reason for my collar." He closed his eyes, a wistful expression coming to his face as he cupped the little purple charm. "So I use it to store up my magical energy. I hope to someday...create a magical tool that even demons without much magical power can use, so that one day, this power and rank gap could be less divided..."
Irumi paused, setting the broken items down while blinking at the upperclassman. Completely astonished with another bright red blush came to her face. Her hands slowly wrapped around the silver locket as she looked down, her long ears twitching.
"Well," he picked himself up, laughing at himself and his own words as if they were silly, grabbing the last few things and settling the oversized backpack back onto his shoulders. "I'm off! Thank you for the help!" The third-year waved, walking only about halfway down the hall before accidentally bumping into another demon which resulted in him apologizing continuously.
Irumi found herself smiling slightly at witnessing this interaction, managing to push away the unsettled feeling towards him completely. 'He...he is a little like me, huh...' she thought with a smile pulling at her lips, feeling a little warm from that interesting bump-in with the taller upperclassmen. "A demon with barely to no magical energy...and a world with less of this divide..."
"Master Irumi!" "Rumichi! Rumichi!!!" She paused, stiffening momentarily hearing Asmodeus and Clara's voice shout out. Rumi turned, smiling shyly at her two friends who rushed down the halls. "You 'woosh'-ed all the way here!" Clara cheered, glomping on Irumi immediately, sending them both crashing to the floor. "Get off Master, you insane lime!!" Azz yelped, tugging at Clara trying to get a good grip on the bizarrely strong girl's shoulders to heave her off Irumi.
Irumi giggled at her two friends, sprawled on the floor, and gazed up at the two of them happily for a moment. After a second, Irumi reached up to pet the top of Clara's head while cupping the top of Azz's hand to calm them both. The soft-touch brought the two of them to pause, looking down at Irumi and her flushed face with wide eyes.
"Let's head on to class, neh?" She giggled out, gaining a blush and a few nods from the two who were still stiff seeing their Rumi laid out like this. For once the two could agree-they both quite liked that soft rosy color on the blue-haired demoness's cheeks and the way her unbound hair splayed out when she laid on her back.
In the Abnormal class, Kalego waited till the end of class to notify the bunch of misfits of the situation regarding the battlers. Leaning against his desk, arms crossed and glaring at nothing. But to the students, it looked a lot more...forced than usual. Like he was masking another emotion with that irritation he usually showcased-was he restless?
"Listen up you brats, the deadline is three days. By that time you are required to sign up into a Battler. This is an important selection that can lead to gaining a rank promotion if you show merit. Only those that deserve will be promoted of course, but I urge you lot to begin taking your ranking and education seriously, now. Rather than later." He sighed, rubbing his forehead, accidentally showing a scratch mark on the side of his neck as he tilted his head.
Measly scratches, after all, are the consequences of getting dog-drool on a succubus's 'precious hair', regardless of the difference in ranking and power.
"Now then, get out and start your tour to choose your preferred Battler! This is a list of the available battlers while these are the papers you'll need to fill out and hand in when you sign up. Take the trial runs before you sign up!" He groused, scowling as he got careless replies back from his students, watching them all rush out with their two stacks of papers in hand that they grabbed from the stacks he left by the door. "Irumi," he called out, halting the demoness from leaving the room with her little followers.
Irumi paused, moving over to his desk. "Yes, sir?" She peered up at him curiously, eyes momentarily going to the scratch on his neck-obviously made by sharp nails before back to his narrowed gaze.
He breathed out a sigh that sounded closer to a huff. In truth, he had a lot he wanted to speak about to the little oddity in front of him.
The fact he couldn't get anything from the mansion workers besides annoying giggling and 'oh, you know!'. Left him curious if she perhaps knew anything that could shine a light on why the elderly, professional workers of his family's household were acting like giddy teenagers.
Then there was earlier this afternoon with the whole succubus fiasco- which he still adamantly refuses in allowing that to happen- he could already imagine the hell that would befall the halls of this prized institution if that women and those students try to corrupt this little trouble-magnet with any sort of lewd concept- ideology and whatever succubi teach each other in which he does not want to know.
Kalego could care less of Irumi's 'heightened sexual and natural erotic' capabilities; it's a damn no and will stay as a no as long as he has breath in his lungs. It took too damn long, and too much damn effort on his part in serving- aiding Opera in beating- guiding the school to have a far more ideal system regarding the student's day-to-day.
He was already struggling stomping out and tearing into morons who began to notice the particular sweet scents that waft off this clueless brat. So Kalego wasn't about to let Raim dump succubus perfumes on her; which from what he smelled earlier was a very dangerous combination.
"Sir?" Irumi spoke up again, blinking up at him with those big blue eyes. Kalego sighed again, his shoulders slouching briefly- showing just how exhausted this entire thing was beginning to make him feel. "Stay away from Raim and the succubus battler in all. On a different note, tutoring will be held at the Principal's throughout the week while during weekends it'll be held at my manor until Opera finishes those projects so it can only be at that house of horrors." He handed her the list of battlers and three battler application sheets, knowing that these particular three hooligans would be joining the same Battler regardless of anything. "Go now," flicking his wrist dismissively, standing up fully, going behind the desk to look over some papers.
Irumi hugged the papers to her chest, nodding while wishing him a good day; quickly looking away from him as he got his reading glasses on. She turned on her heel, rushing to the door which Azz waited at with Clara.
"Shall we go to the Battler tower once more?" Azz questioned, holding in his question about what Kalego needed to say to her- having not heard due to the insistently loud demoness next to him doing jumping jacks in front of the doorway. "Mhm! I got the list of battlers! We should look at the classrooms that really pique our interest!" Rumi chirped out, showing him the stack of paper in one hand while pulling out a pen from her book bag.
"Certainly!" He agreed, smiling, blissfully enjoying that lovely expression on his master's face.
"First up! First up! Let's go get snacks!~" Clara sang, hopping a few times to stop her momentum. Irumi giggled, nodding along, "let's go see Camu-Camu for that then. Perhaps we can help him restock his shelves too!" She agreed, letting Azz take the papers and pen from her grasp while they left the Misfit cavern.
After a half-hour detour of snacks and helping the kiosk owner with his supplies- along with picking up a few summoning seal stickers as a sort of 'just-in-case'. They were now traveling to the outside of the battler tower, heading into the Magical Diabotany battler that Miss Suzie led.
"Welcome to our Battler!" Suzie chirped out, the battler room much like the Diabotany tower which was basically a large greenhouse. "Thank you for having us!" Rumi greeted back politely, smiling at one of her favorite teachers as Suzie beckoned her closer to look at some of the flowering plants she was in the midst of setting out on the tables to get watered.
"In this Battler, we nurture and study all sorts of plants! These ones here have leaves we can make into healing salves and some are even perfect for brewing tea!" The teacher continued to explain while pointing out each plant. She then brought Irumi and Azz over to a different table with many flowering blossoms that reminded Irumi of the scent of roses in the Human world.
"They look great don't they?" Suzie asked, softly petting one of the petals of the bloom. Irumi smiled brightly, nodding along. "Yeah! Hey come check these out cla-" Irumi paused, looking behind her and choking on her own words as her eyes were drawn to what Clara had been up to while she and Azz were being toured around. "Clara?!" She yelped in horror, seeing the green-haired girl in some sort of carnivorous pitcher plant.
"Clara, get down from there, please!!" She rushed away from the pretty blossoms, staring up in horror as the pitcher plant swayed, looking like it was trying to swallow down on the Gremlin of a demoness. "You idiot! Why can't we take you anywhere without you causing these embarrassing scenes?!" Azz yelled out, rushing behind Irumi and immediately climbed up the vines to get the crazy Valac out of the plant- now that he thought about it- what was up with this girl and getting into carnivorous plant life?!
"Oh my, it must be his dinner time!" Suzie giggled, watching the adorable interaction between these three interesting first-years and one of her many sweet babies.
As they left the greenhouse shortly after getting Clara out of the plant- and profusely apologizing to the amused teacher, they entered the Battler tower, heading into the first room that interested Irumi- the Library Battler.
When they entered, there was a demoness standing to the side ready to show them around. She not only stiffened but had a slight blush coming to her face looking at Irumi as she cleared her throat, walking closer. "Welcome! Let me show you around our battler!"
Irumi smiled back at the girl, nodding as she walked forward to follow, Azz trailing a step behind Irumi to look around them and the towering books while Clara touched every book with half-hearted pokes.
"There are many kinds of books here, from Demon World history to comedy genres and even our mythology shrouded in mystery!" The upperclassman explained, pointing out some books and beamed at Irumi's interested gaze. "We even go out hunting for rare books! Having them come in by school connections or even going out ourselves and buying them! When we bring these texts back, we work hard to translate them and learn all we can!" She explained, turning on her heel to face away from the group of three.
"Oh wow, that's amazing and it's pretty quiet here..." Rumi mused, not noticing Clara grab and start to eat one of the many books on the shelves. "Indeed," Azz agreed, continuing to peer up, his eyes landing on a few cook books he wondered if he could look through to get an idea of what to make Irumi.
"It really has a nice atmosph-" Irumi paused, blinking as she watched the after-effects of some sort of explosion. Seeing three demons scuttling back in a panic- one of them in an obvious daze.
"This is bad! He was cursed by a spell in the book which turned him into an idiot!!!" The one that was holding up the dazed demon exclaimed. "You idiot! How many times do we have to say you have to be at least five feet from any new books when opening?!" The other yelled, beginning to rush around to go grab the teacher in charge of this division. The chaotic scene was quickly cut off by the demoness in front of them tugging at the curtain closed. Smiling sweetly at all of them in hopes that didn't scare off the cutie-potential recruits. "Let's see the next part, Hm?" She offered gently.
As that tour came to an end, Irumi sighed a little way down the hall. "Who knew books could be so tasty?!" Clara chirped, causing Azz and Rumi to pause, their eyes widening as they quickly looked at the shortest of their group in horror. "What?!" Irumi yelped out.
Clara's cheeky grin widened, "knowledge is yummy!" Asmodeus twitched, not sure how to feel while staring at the Valac. "...you seriously have something wrong with you..." he blandly stated, an argument rising between the two as Rumi looked away, her vision catching sight of Sabro.
Her ears perked up a little higher for a moment, watching him slam open the door. "I'm comin' in!!!" The tall blonde thundered out, stomping into the battler room. "Hm?" Irumi moved away from her two friends, peeking into the room from the side of the doorway, her ears continuing to twitch and flicker in her rising curiosity.
"Demon King Battler!!! As the most suitable next Demon King, I challenge you! Come at me with all you got!! And I shall defeat you all!" Sabro exclaimed with conviction.
Irumi blinked, looking at him and then to his audience- the Demon King battler was similar to the Library Battler in a way- with many shelves full of books. But it also had multiple rows of desks laid out that the members were sitting at and combing through some type of papers- writing something down with vigor and didn't bother to look up at Sabro.
After a moment, Sabnock slowly moved his way to the desks, sitting at one of the many tables with an air of confusion. "So you'd like to join?" A member questioned, fixing his large round glasses that completely obscured his eyes. "The Demon King Battler is a division in which we collect and examine everything related to the Demon King. We have one of the largest collections of documents and books regarding the past kings." The upperclassmen explained pointing out the floor to ceiling bookshelves.
Off in the corner sat three of the Demon King Battler members speaking to each other, wondering if they'd like to theorize the next Demon King again.
"Wh...! I...?!" Sabnock sputtered, momentarily unable to speak. Irumi glanced back at him, her head peeking further in at her growing curiosity of how he was going to react as Azz and Clara who finally finished their argument began to walk over to her to see what she was watching with such rapt interest.
"So interesting!!!" Sabro exclaimed, moving towards the bookshelves immediately to pull out some books to begin reading. "To think I could find a collection better than mine! The Kings of the past were so amazing!!!" He continued to yell, sitting on the floor, and began to read avidly everything and anything he had never seen before. "One of us!" The members began to chant, coming closer to the obviously happy demon to discuss more with him.
Irumi smiled, giggling at the scene before moving away from the door, turning to look up at Azz as he glanced into the room to see. He had immediately twitched with a scowl seeing it was the brute she was watching but quickly corrected his expression to look down at his master. "Where to next?" Irumi chirped out, a pleasant smile on her face that made Azz's heart twist- jealous it was Sabnock that brought out that adorable smile without even knowing.
"Follow me!" Clara chirped, holding up the list of battlers over her head as she grinned at them. The two followed the green-haired demoness with a slight hesitancy to their steps wondering if the Gremlin was going to try for the succubus battler again.
That wasn't quite the case as they ended up in a darkly lit room. A cauldron atop an ominous green fire, its members around it in a circle chanting something. Irumi blinked, reminded of the cult she helped when she was little for some easy money.
Clara's leg suddenly splashed out of the weird mixture, swimming around while chanting nonsense, gaining three '6' scores from the members who clapped. Irumi paled, not knowing when Clara went into that mixture. "I swear..." Azz sighed, rubbing his forehead. "C-Clara that- being in there is not a good idea!" Rumi yelped in concern.
It took nearly an entire half-hour to escape that particular battler. Irumi sighed, rubbing her face in exhaustion as she caught her breath. When Azz and her managed to grab Clara they bolted down a random hallway so she wasn't even sure where they were in the tower. She looked up, a sweet scent tickling her nose- perhaps they were near a cooking battler of some sort?
Irumi stood up straight, peering down either side of the hall, her nose scrunching up slightly. "No...this smells more like perfume...?" She muttered. Clara pouted, rubbing her ears while grumbling under her breath- Azz, was finally finished with his scolding about how to behave in public- a speech Clara could nearly recite perfectly.
"Hm? What's that pretty smell?" She questioned out loud, turning to the left and immediately skipping forward, grabbing Irumi by the wrist as she passed by. "Come on Rumikins! Let's check it out!!"
"Smell...?" Asmodeus frowned, sniffing the air before paling. "Wait a minute this is-!?" He gasped, horror coming to his face as he remembered what happened earlier that day and greatly wanted to avoid a repeat. He quickly ran forward, hoping to stop Valac from taking Irumi into that infernal battler.
"Stop Valac!" Azz yelled through gritted teeth, nearly getting to the two girls but was a second too late as Clara flung open the door to the Battler that let out that intoxicating scent.
Irumi paled, remembering what Kalego said before she left the classroom as she stared at the smokey room, girls clad in close to nothing were lounging around, languidly laying on top of each other and giggling. Her face began to turn red, looking away from all the bare skin to Raim who was standing at the door with a victorious smirk on her lips. "Oh my!~ the cuties are back!~" the teacher purred, grabbing onto Irumi and Clara immediately. Irumi yelped, reaching out and grabbing the side of the door, her nails digging into the molding that lined the doorway.
"W-wait!" Rumi squeaked, turning a brighter red when she felt another pair of hands grasp her backside. She stiffened, shuddering, and sputtered- trying to form some sort of words, as Azz grabbed hold of her elbow trying to pull her out of the grip.
"Oh my!~" Irumi heard Elizabetta giggle out deeper in the room, having looked up from the fashion magazine she had started to read with the older girls. "Rumi-Chan? Clara-Chan?" Their classmate questioned, standing behind a few of the girls that had started to help Raim to try to get Irumi to let go of the door frame. "H-hi Elizabetta-chan!" Irumi yelped out, pulling herself closer to the wall, just managing to hook a leg to further anchor herself- she began feeling like the house cats they had at the manor every time she and Opera tried to give those two- Luci and Binx a bath.
"See! You have another one of those 'friends' of yours already joined! Come on and join! Please, darling girl!! Let me cultivate that beautiful Eros!" "N-no thank you!" Rumi yelled back, managing to slap a summoning seal onto her right hand and flung her arm up just as her grip began slipping.
A plume of smoke submerged the already foggy room as Irumi and Azz, along with many girls trying to get Irumi, had fallen to the floor.
Irumi groaned, vision spinning as she felt a weight on top of her. Azz had fallen forward, landing directly on top of her, head nestled just under her growing chest. He was greatly dazed, head spinning from suddenly being thrown forward like that as he slowly sat up, holding his head tenderly with a wince.
"What the fuck is going on here?!" Everyone heard Kalego's voice demand, but due to the pink haze couldn't quite see him as the teacher-turned little fluffy familiar could see them. Irumi merely groaned again, unable to even pick herself up due to her arms being held down by Raim while Azz was still sitting on her legs.
Kalego twitched in rising fury, seeing the brat- Asmodeus heir straddling his trouble-maker nearly sent all his carefully cultivated self-control down the drain as dark growls rumbled out of his throat causing his black beak to rumble. It didn't help that Irumi's scent was quite easily mixing with all the succubus brand incense and perfumes being used in this room- and it was causing him to become all the more livid.
"You have five seconds- no more than five seconds to let my master go! Do I make myself clear Raim?!" Kalego snarled out, Cerberion flickering into existence behind him in glowing yellow cackles of electricity.
Finally out of his daze, Azz looked down, turning red seeing his position on Irumi- and feeling a rise of arousal flood his veins, however, the second he realized what it was, he threw himself off of her while stuttering apologies. Quickly crawling back out of the room and immediately knelt, crying in shame as his mind cleared up more and more with no longer inhaling the scents tangled in that damnable room.
Irumi felt the grip on her arms immediately be removed, rolling to the side once nothing was holding her down. She tilted her head up, still dazed- starting to think she accidentally hit her head when she let go of the doorway. "...Kalego...sir?" She spoke out drowsily, her voice low and deeply seeded in confusion. "Right here you moron," he groused, flying in front of her in the adorable form, somewhat relieved that this form kept him from acting on any of the rising urges that were boiling within him from the sinful scents mingling in the air- however, he did have to put some semblance of effort in ignoring how many students had begun kissing one another in the haze of scents affecting their senses.
"Now that you are unpinned, grab the lime and get out of here." He ordered, spotting Clara still dazed and mumbling something about books being yummy. Irumi stumbled to her feet, staggering a bit but managed to get her footing. Kalego watched over the girl, keeping a warning glare directed at Raim who was pouting, a blush on the succubus's face at having to let the cutie who was causing the lovely erotic scenes that were swelling so naturally in her Battler leave .
Rumi managed to grab Clara, picking her friend up by the waist, and walked out of the room, sitting on her knees just outside of the room as Kalego slammed the door closed and gave another huff, trying to get those scents out of his system.
"Master! I'm so sorry! I don't deserve to continue to be at your side for this amount of disrespect I've shown you!!" Asmodeus sobbed, first he couldn't tell her gender nor could he protect her from the crazy succubus teacher, and now this?! The pinkette felt like burying himself alive at this point if it meant getting away from this shame and embarrassment.
Kalego scoffed, mentally agreeing with that- how dare he sit on Irumi like that?
"It was an accident, Azz-kun, it's fine." Rumi tried to soothe him, rubbing at her throbbing skull while glancing up at Kalego with an embarrassed blush. "Thank you sir for helping with that and I'm sorry for summoning you," she lowered her head to him, causing him to grumble curses under his breath, looking away from the damn Asmodeus Heir back to the trouble-magnet.
"What did I say about apologies?" Kalego growled out, "if you are as apologetic as you say you are, get away from this room and undo this accursed summoning." He shifted, feathers ruffling in his agitation, reaching his limit concerning this insanity.
"Y-yes!" Irumi had squeaked out, clapping her hands and undoing the summoning, partially worried about how her tutoring later today was going to turn out- probably with a lot of those dreadful posture exercises...
Irumi sighed, slouching a bit against the wall as Clara was finally coming to; while Azz continued to choke up on his sobs.
It was quite a while till everything calmed to normal, Irumi was completely exhausted as they called it a day from looking at battlers after seeing Caim trying to gain members for his made up 'Female body appreciation' battler. She made her way to the Principal's office in the main building of the school, pushing the door open, and immediately went to her chair to plop on it with a groan.
"Tiring day, pumpkin?" Sullivan chuckled, glancing away from the paperwork to smile at his grandchild. She merely groaned again, turning to lay on her side. "Yeah..." Rumi sighed, looking up at him from where she lay. "'M ready for a bath...and bed..."
He chuckled, smiling at her as he got up, "Then let's get home, I'm done with everything I had to do today." Sullivan explained while reaching down, scooping her up into his arms to cradle her close. Irumi stayed limp, tilting her head to his shoulder while nodding with a sigh. "So many things are complicated..." she mumbled out, hiding her face against his coat.
"Such is life, dear." The elder mused gently, grabbing their bags before unfolding his wings- taking flight to leave Babyls.
When they got home, Irumi kissed her grandfather's cheek in thanks before jumping out of his arms, immediately going to her room for a bath- her skin felt like it had bugs crawling all over her since that run-in with the upperclassman and she couldn't stand to hide her discomfort for another moment.
"I'm going to soak for a while if that's alright, Opera?" Irumi looked at Opera who had their sleeves rolled up while they managed the temperature of the water coming out of the faucet. "Of course, Umi-sama, just call for me if you need anything." They agreed, flicking the water off their hands as they stood up, walking around the two house cats who have recently become attached to Irumi's presence.
Reaching out, Opera patted the top of her head before exiting the bathroom with a polite bow, "I'll have tea and a snack prepared for once you are out," they stated as Irumi thanked them while climbing into the steamy water. A sigh left her as she settled back, head tilted back before looking at one of the cats seated at the edge of her tub, the other on their hind legs peering up at her.
"I had to take a page out of your book earlier you know," she mused out, reaching forward and petting the one on the ledge. "It was hard work and I gotta say you two are amazing with the fact you succeed in pulling it off while I fell," she laughed at herself slightly, gaining a few mewls from the two pets looking at her in concern- after all, why was she willingly in the steamy waters and laughing as she is?
Hours passed by, Kalego had kept it a fairly short lesson- and as she expected it was all on those horrible posture exercises that left her feet sore, back in pain, and neck horribly stiff.
She rubbed her head, having changed into her purple nightgown, momentarily staring at her ring as she got up from the dining table having finished her plates of dinner. "Oh! That reminds me, grandpa? Could you feed the ring again? It acted weird earlier today..." she explained, holding her right hand out for him to see.
"Oh? Certainly sweetheart," he reached out, "as this is the third feeding perhaps I can now do a tune-up...?" The elder mumbled to himself, his magic coming forth to his fingertips as he poured it into the ring.
The golden accessory glowed momentarily, altering in appearance, with four symbols carved around it. "There we go! Alright, it's set to the lowest setting, let's try it out shall we?" He mused. "Try it out?" Irumi questioned, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced from the ring to him.
"Some spells!" He chirped excitedly, a camera already in hand as he gushed. "No worries, it'll be fine, trust me! Now, let's try ' Rafire'!"
Irumi bit at her upper lip, holding out her pointer as he did, "R-Rafire?" She called out her stomach, locket, and ring feeling warm as it usually did when she used magic. The magic flame started out small, perhaps around two feet tall but manageable. She blinked, staring at the blue coloration that began to seep into the purple flames.
"My how interesting," Sullivan mused, fascinated seeing how her unique magic affected the spells she performed, he wondered if it had anything to do with her creation having been blessed by the Aether of the Netherworld? After all, The Demon King is the Netherworld in its whole, and he knew for a fact that past Kings were unable to conceive heirs once they took the throne hence why it became 'the Strongest rules all'.
"That is the 'devil' mode, the setting above it is demon, and the last mode you can turn to is ifrit." He explained, studying the little gift that is his grandchild while reaching out, shifting the ring into Ifrit mode which boosted the flames to reach the dining room's ceiling, leaving a soot spot on the ceiling tile. Irumi stared up at the flames with wide eyes, looking from the fire to her grandfather in awe of his power.
The elder chuckled at that fascinated expression, switching it back to devil mode. "Because things can get dangerous in Infrit mode while you are simply practicing at school, let's keep it down to devil or demon mode at most while your own magic continues to grow."
"Okay, thank you, grandpa!" Irumi chirped out hugging him around the waist in her gratitude.
"No problem, pumpkin, however, just in case of emergencies, I set up a mode that will release all the magic locked into the ring. To change into that mode, the mantra is 'Pandora'," Sullivan explained, softly running his hands through her hair, his fingers pulling out the hair ties that kept it tied down into two low pigtails.
"...pan-?" He quickly covered her mouth, stopping her from repeating it. "It only needs you to say that word and the result would be immediate so please be careful sweetpea." Sullivan quickly advised, slowly moving his hand away from her mouth to go back to her hair. "O-oh! Okay, I understand, grandpa!" She exclaimed, sending him a sleepy smile. Her eyes closed slightly as she leaned into his touch, becoming lulled at how he brushed his fingers through her hair.
"You seem quite sleepy now, my little Ru," Sullivan hummed out as he observed her, noting how his grandchild was already swaying on her feet. "Let's get you tucked in now," he bent down, picking her up. Irumi nodded along, complying with what he said. She was exhausted from how the day was- a part of her still tense since earlier this afternoon which unsettled her. Hopefully, she'll be able to sleep just fine...
Irumi's eyes closed, falling asleep on her grandfather's shoulder long before she even reached her bed.
The elder smiled, gingerly tucking his granddaughter into her bed, pulling the red sheets up to tuck her in before leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, little gift." He whispered gently before leaving the bedroom, turning off the lights as he walked out and gently closed the door. He breathed out, leaning against the door for a moment before heading off to his office. He should probably finish a bit more work before getting ready for bed himself...
Irumi began to toss and turn, not long after falling into the clutches of sleep, that horrible feeling twisting her gut all the more as her hip ached. She turned, whining into her pillows as tears began to gather behind closed eyes.
Within her imprisonment, the demoness tugged at her own bedding worriedly. Her body tense at the horrible feelings rippling through her.
This is what Kalego arrived at once he fell asleep, the mysterious demoness trembling, tears in her eyes as she anxiously reached out for something unseeable to him. "...are you...?" He voiced out in concern the rising feeling churning within him, causing his heart to squeeze uncomfortably seeing tears in those glowing blue eyes that he found himself getting lost in at a constant nowadays.
The succubus looked at him from that bed, those tears slipping down her flushed cheeks as she took in a shuddered breath. The woman paused, taking in another one as she shook her head, swallowing hard. "It's- I...I am merely remembering a...horrible memory is all, Kalego...it's-it's nothing..." she held up her hand pressing the palm against her left eye as she looked down.
That discomfort strengthened with her denial and those eyes looking away from him. It was almost startling seeing this powerful entity showing weakness for the first time in the last month he has known her. "Obviously," he said dryly, walking closer to the bed, sitting at the end of the mattress, and crossing his arms, looking away from the demoness.
"Cacti," he breathed out, almost reluctantly. The woman blinked, caught off guard. "W-what?" She questioned, the way her voice shook- obvious holding down a sob leaving him all the more uncomfortable. "The conversation we left off yesterday...something I enjoy as a hobby...I like collecting different cacti..." Kalego glanced down, glaring at the silk pajama set he fell asleep in.
That gathered a small laugh from the beauty in front of him, "are you trying to distract me?" She mused, voice cracking slightly as she wiped away a tear. "Of course not, I'm merely trying to continue that conversation seeing as I'm stuck here till I wake..."
The succubus laughed again at the obvious excuse, reaching out to hug him. He tensed as her arms wrapped around his torso, her face nuzzling against his neck-being careful of the positioning of her horns. "Mmm, thank you my puppy," she whispered into his skin.
Kalego looked away, his skin heating up a bit in the growing flustered state she put him in. How was it she always seemed to make him feel like an adolescent who held no control of his own body's reactions?
The sense of touch was already different in this plane of existence- wherever this was. It was muted compared to the outside world, with the sense of smell completely nonexistent- taste was probably equally nonexistent here.
He stiffened, being pulled down to lay, blinking as he stared up at the ominous silver chains that dangled overhead as the woman cuddled closer to his side, lowering herself a bit as to lay her head upon the top of his shoulder. Kalego felt her slim fingertips play with a button on his black sleep shirt. "Could...I stay like this for a bit...?" She asked, her tone of voice low and wavering.
Kalego breathed out a sigh, not knowing how to handle this version of the overbearing woman as he cupped her back with one arm. "Does it look like I can escape?" He muttered, looking down at her before closing his eyes, easing against the bedding. "Do as you wish..."
He felt her lips pull into a small smile against his shoulder before that expression twisted into pain. Immediately she hid her face against his shirt, taking in a trembling gasp-like breath as if that memory had overwhelmed her reality like it was before he arrived.
The area was dimly lit, and the smell of alcohol and blood was overwhelmingly putrid with glass and ripped clothing scattered around the room.
Irumi was stuck where she was, unable to move as she stared down at the figure on the floor, eyes glazed with tears. She took in a stuttering gasp, old wounds stinging along her body as she looked at the person who was the first to truly care- the one that was going to take her away, the one planning to adopt her away from her parents- her big sister- her Cana.
Her eyes closed tightly, looking away from the mess of magenta hair. Slowly she lifted her arms, hugging herself as she let out a choked up sob, not daring to look at the man who did it as he stood up fully from the woman who tried to protect her.
It was all her fault, why did she say no? Why couldn't she have just agreed despite her fears of the terrifying customer? Would any of this happen if she closed her eyes and let him? He got what he wanted in the end but it cost so much more...
Her five-year-old body sunk to the splintered floorboards, crawling on the alcohol-soaked flooring to her big sister, wanting to be closer to the woman before the last bit of light fled those brown eyes that used to look so warmly at her. "Don't- don't go!" She struggled out, reaching out for that bruised and cut-up face that was once so pretty.
Rumi didn't know when he left the horrible-smelling room but when he came back, he had that broken and bent fire poker in hand, the end glowing yellow and orange.
She nearly reached the woman when he grabbed her short, greasy hair; tossing her back to the ground away from the glassy-eyed woman. Pain shuttered through, landing atop the glass bottle her Cana had used a while ago to try to get this man away from her. The broken glass dug past her oversized shirt into her back.
Irumi let out a pained whimper, her throat aching from all her screaming to let anything more out. His foot firmly planted itself on her ribs, the toes of his shoes digging against her throat as he reached down, tearing off a bit of her shirt away to expose her stomach.
"Perhaps you need one more reminder about never saying 'no', brat?" He leaned further down, her eyes squeezing shut at the scent of alcohol and cigarettes laced in his breath getting so close to her face. Trying to shrink away when his free hand which had something weirdly slimy on it rubbed her face and into her hair.
She gave a small sob, flinching feeling the broken poker's tip begin digging into the skin at her hip. "Ple-n-!" Irumi choked up, gasping in pain as he put more weight on her chest and throat, constricting her breath.
He stood back up fully, scowling down at her as he dug the item further into her skin. "Geez, you really are forcing my hand! Did you just try to say no again?! Perhaps this won't be enough! Shall we try a design?" The man smirked down at the little brat he learned was actually a little girl earlier that same day, watching the small blue-haired thing scream as the smell of burning flesh mixed with the other scents of the room.
Irumi's voice faltered, choking as her hands wound around his ankle, eyes blurred with tears- how did she still have tears after everything?
He moved the poker, humming in dissatisfaction when it wasn't nearly hot enough anymore to pierce the smooth skin beneath him like a hot knife in butter. "Sta--!!" The little girl choked up, unable to form actual words. He moved the metal tip to press against her chin, forcing the child to tilt her head back as he watched the sharp tip drag against her skin, watching the blotchy red marks of small burns following its trail. "Now now brat, have you learned your lesson about saying the word no? Come on sweetie, nod."
But she couldn't, the poker dug into the skin under her chin when she tried. She looked up at him in absolute fear when he clicked his tongue in disappointment, tossing the poker to the side. "That's too bad, perhaps you need another lesson," he mused out, hands trailing to his pants again as he stepped off her chest and onto her leg to make sure she couldn't crawl away.
Kalego felt the woman jolt and shudder against him, mumbling something under her breath. He stiffened, beginning to feel her tears soak through his shirt- seemingly on the verge of a panic attack. He opened his mouth, pausing in realization he still didn't know her name. His mind went through what he could possibly say to distract the demoness, his hand pressing closer against her bare back as his thumb subconsciously traced along the lower section of her wing root.
"I've realized you have been asking all the questions till now...could I ask a few?" He spoke up, looking away from her blue hair back to the chains dangling above. She was stiff against him, a strained nod against his shoulder was all the answer he got.
"What interests you so much about all the fashions and social constructs of the Netherworld?" He asked, closing his eyes as he patiently waited for her to get her breathing under control. "It...intrigued me...it's a bit different from all I heard in that...other place. But it is also so similar..." she mumbled lowly, repositioning her head slightly to lay on his numb bicep instead of his shoulder.
Kalego hummed, "what has been your favorite piece of information so far?" He glanced down at her, her face so red from all those tears as she had to think, mind moving away from whatever memory more and more. "I find it amusing the way you don't have similar relationship constructs here compared to there...over in that place you would hear it all the time how certain things were 'wrong'." The demoness turned her head, looking up at him, those blue eyes glittering in gratitude. He reached out before he could stop himself, his thumb wiping away a stray tear from her face. "What do I call you? What's your name...?" He breathed out, why did she always look so familiar?
The woman gave him the most breathtaking smile as she swallowed past her pain, the amusement lighting back up in those eyes. He felt like he saw that stunning blue shade elsewhere- but who could have had the same shade of this being in front of him?
"Miyumi," she had answered him, cutting his thoughts about her eyes short as she reached up, hands going into his hair. Kalego's eyes closed immediately, his body becoming relaxed; he couldn't believe himself-to think he enjoyed this like some common dog.
Soft lips pressed against the side of his jaw and could barely hear her murmur a soft 'thank you' as her hands trailed away. He took in a deep breath, opening his eyes, wanting to refuse her movement away, but he was no longer in that space but in his bedroom, alone. He glanced to the side, sighing at the time the clock showed, laying back down on his pillow with a groan.
Within Sullivan's manor, Irumi jolted awake with a slight sob, bile creeping up her throat as she staggered out of bed, slamming her bathroom door open as she stumbled to what was closest- the tub. The small demoness fell to her knees, throwing up as the memories- no no it's just a nightmare- played on repeat in her mind.
Curling close to the clawfoot tub, Irumi began to cry, pressing her face against the ledge as her trembling hands pressed against her hip. Why did she have to dream that horrible dream? Why won't this sickened, terrifying feeling leave? For a brief second, she felt some sort of comfort in that dreadful nightmare, it's what got her to wake up before the worst scene could play out.
"Why? Why? Why...?" she whimpered out, her hands digging into her hair. She felt so gross. So weak, and she hated it.
Sullivan woke up with a start in his bedroom; awoken by the sound of something slamming. He got up quickly, his glasses barely on his face by the time he got to his door. He rushed down the hallway to Irumi's bedroom, his first priority was to see if she was alright -if she was safe. "Ru..?" he questioned upon entering her bedroom. His blood ran cold momentarily seeing her bed empty. "Ru?!" he called out, noticing her bathroom door was halfway open, and heard some sort of whimpers from deeper within.
He rushed forward, pushing the door open further, and breathed out in some sense of relief seeing his granddaughter there. Sullivan cautiously walked towards her curled up form, noting the mess in the tub as he went to his knees, getting as close as he could without accidentally touching her by accident. "Rumi..." Sullivan breathed out, trying to coax her to look at him.
The elder saw her entire frame stiffen, her ears twitching, seeming to finally hear him. With a slight tilt of her head, he assumed she noticed his presence as the small girl tried to regulate her breathing. "Hey..." he breathed out, reaching out for her, offering his arms for her.
Her glowing blue eyes regarded him cautiously, tears still trailing down the sides of her face as her trembling hands moved away from the tub and her hip. She crawled towards him. Once she was in reach he pulled her up into his lap, hugging her to his chest while kissing the top of her head, rocking slightly as she cried against his torso. "'Is my fault! All my fault!" Irumi stuttered out, pressing closer as her shoulders trembled.
"Nothing has ever been your fault," he denied gently, looking to the side at the doorway where Opera now stood, panting with their hair undone- probably having gotten the same scare he received when seeing Irumi wasn't in her bed. Silently, Sullivan gestured for Opera to make some tea, while he magically summoned the demon-bunny plush over off Irumi's bed. "It-it was though! If- If I had only just- just never said no in the beginning!" Irumi shouted the grip she held on his shirt tightening.
Sullivan turned stiff, so it was that memory that has her like this currently. "Irumi, look at me..." he requested, his voice shaking at what he remembered seeing from that memory. She didn't, keeping her head down.
Fury began to bubble within him, cupping the back of her head, running his fingers through the soft blue strands to try to calm himself- he can't show his anger- not right now, not to his broken granddaughter.
"Irumi," he said again, "please, please, look at me." Sullivan urged, feeling desperate to see her eyes. Irumi stiffened, sniffling for a moment- two before slowly raising her head, looking him in the eyes. "You are not to blame, never to blame, especially for that." He said, looking into those blue eyes, thankful they weren't dull and lifeless like the ones he witnessed in those memories. Shakily, he held out Cinnamon, letting her take the stuffy before kissing her forehead. The elder closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold down the tears as he cupped the top of her, pulling her closer as he kissed her forehead. "Never blame yourself for that, please..."
"...I'm sorry..." he heard his broken grandchild mumble. "No, no, it isn't your fault...you don't need to apologize. Opera is making some tea right now, how about we get off this cold floor back to your warm blankets, hm?" Sullivan offered gently, keeping his hold on her. When she nodded, albeit slow and hesitant. He got up, keeping her firmly in his arms as he carried her back to bed, setting her down by the pillows, and set himself to her side. She immediately laid against his side, the stuffed animal firmly against her chest as she laid there, staring blankly at her darkly lit bedroom. Both were well aware that sleep will not be coming back to any of them at four in the morning.