After having a short meeting in the teachers' office (at around 6 o'clock)
Allumi POV:
For the love of Derkila, why did the they needed 4 whole hours just to put all students in class?! I thought I could help out with the café, but I guess Aoi's already done with the customers.
Seeing Aoi still in the café preparing to close the store, I decided to go visit her a while and also to help her out.
'Aoi-chan~~~' I called out to her, waving my hand furiously. She quickly turned her head towards me and was practically beaming brighter than the sun.
'ALLUMI-SAN!!!! How was it? Did you see anyone interesting? What about beating any delinquents? TELL ME EVERY SINGLE DETAILLL!!!!!'
'Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there!' I lightly hugged her and sat down on a chair and started explaining my exhausting day while Aoi was listening attentively.
30 minutes later... (cuz' Aoi kept asking lots of questions and stopped Allumi from talking *cough* at least 50 times *cough* RIP Allumi)
'Oh! Oh! Did you see my nephew?' Aoi suddenly asked.
'You had a nephew..?'
'Oh right! I haven't told you yet! Purson Soi-'
'Freshman student of the Misfit's class, Bloodline Magic: Anti-recognition, his family has a strict rule to not stand out, played the trumpet in the school at around 5pm today. Personality: a very sophisticated demon and has a lot of knowledge of words, often talks to himself, and-' I started blabbing out facts about him from the students' profile while Aoi stared blankly at me.
'Okay! Okay! I guess I really underestimated your hard work in studying the regulations book yesterday...'
'Oh! By the way, the Purson's family has a nature of not standing out, right? Then why are you working here as a waitress? Starlight Coffee is already very famous now.' I raised my eyebrow in confusion as I stared at Aoi, trying to read her expression.
'W-Well... The thing is... I ran away from my home and had to live on my own ever since then.'
'And how long have you been doing this..?'
I watched closely as her shoulders stiffened and turned her gaze at the ground.
'I ran way when I was 9, so this year would be the 10th year...'
According to the demon laws, no demons are allowed to live alone until they are 18 years old...
'Then aren't you-'
'Violating the law? Yes... S-So p-please don't tell a-anyone!!!' I saw her gripped onto her waitress dress even more tightly, her knuckles turning white as she tried not to let her tears fall.
I sighed as I walked over to her seat and placing my hand on her shoulder, making her flinch slightly.
'What kind of boss would I be if I fired my best worker when she's in trouble? Hm?'
'I just asked Lord Sullivan for a raise, remember? Therefore, your salary will be increased by 80%! I will always welcome you with open hands, Aoi-chan!' I smiled at her, holding both of her shoulders now.
I stared at Aoi as she let her tears fall and her lips slightly quivered, leaving tear stains on her cheeks and red puffy eyes.
'E-EH?! Don't cry! I-I'm sorry! Please tell me what I did wrong!!!!'
'N-No... I-I'm just very happy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!' She muttered as she kept bowing her head with tears in her eyes.
I didn't know how to react seeing her still muttering 'thank you's non-stop, so I simply used the technique I had used to calm Iruma down before. I hugged her tightly with one hand placing on her head and the other on her back. I felt her raising both of her hands, still shivering a bit and hugged me back.
My shoulder was wet from her tears still streaming down her face, but I stayed quiet and allowed her to let out her feelings for the time being.
So she also has been suffering like me... Living in Netherworld without anyone's support, pretending everything's fine during hardships, seeking for love and care...
They say all sorts of things 'Fate is decided from the moment you are born.'
'You can only dream of being a high-rank only in a high-ranked family.'
That's what she's been living through all those years in her 'home' Judging from her so desperate to leave her 'home', she must have also been under all these pressure to be the demon her family wanted her to be.
In my eyes, she was a demon without wings in her household.
But knowing the demonic society, the world is only crueler to her after leaving. Going to the orphanage means no freedom, but living in the streets means slim chance of living.
How do I know all this? Simple.
Netherworld is a cruel world, but so is the human world. No matter where you go, or how different both worlds are, in the end, all of them are still the same.
We both silently hugged each other, as I comforted her by slowly rubbing her back. The two of us sitting in the café under the sunset. How ironic, with us both having witnessed the dark side of Netherworld, and yet still can't help but feel amazed by the wonderful sight of the sunset.
She slowly let go of me once she calmed down and showed me her brightest toothy smile on her face, 'ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!! (thank you very much) You won't regret this, Boss!'
I hope you'll finally be free from your past, Aoi Purson.
A/N: Okay, I hope you all enjoyed the 'emotional' scene, though I'm not good at writing those. BUT! I'm sure you'll like the next chapter cuz' it'll be my favorite even if I haven't written it yet :)
I think you can guess what it is but be prepared! It'll be full of angst! :D
Next Chapter: ERROR ( no spoilers >:D just wait patiently).
Words: 969