It had been around a week since Lucifer decided to stay in Gehenna. Despite his wounds have healed, the fight happened between him and Abaddon, Baron of Destruction left him utterly exhausted.
The King of Light lied in his bedroom inside the castle. His breathing was even; one of the signs that showed his recovery process went smoothly. His chest was bare as he asleep. But soon he stirred as he felt a hand, a woman's, caressing his cheek.
"Hello, my king. It's time to wake up."
His olive green eyes slowly widen as he saw a succubus lied naked beside him. He surely didn't expect a succubus to wake him up, especially in such a perfectly bare state! But it was to be expected; every chance given, they would do everything it takes to get close to him.
"Hello Lucifer-sama. How is your sleep?", the succubus asked seductively.
He remained stoic as he replied, "My sleep is good, at least until you woke me. What are you doing here?"
"I came here to see you, my king. I thought that perhaps you would need a little help... in some things", the succubus started getting her hands closer to him under the sheets, until Lucifer grabbed them.
"You don't need to help me. I can manage myself quite fine. And I suggest you to leave. I want to prepare myself for my return to Assiah."
"Perhaps I can be of use with that. Besides, even a male like you would need a female to care for you at least once", she flirted with him as she tried to uncover the blanket that kept his lower half hidden from her hungry sight.
Lucifer wanted to growl at the succubus' insistence as he tried hard to keep his distance. This female demon definitely didn't understand that he needed some time alone. Sometimes he regretted receiving them from Satan. The god of Gehenna gave those succubi to him as a reward for his work during his duties. His brothers also received the same present from their father for their loyalty. It seemed to be a common manner among his siblings and the noble demons. These demons, which known both for being children and kin of Asmodeus were usually helpful in seduction. Sometimes the demons also used their help in leading the humans astray with their appeals.
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Actually, Lucifer rejected his father's present but Satan insisted that he take them. Satan explained that he gave them to him, in case he's interested in taking one of them as both his mate and succubi were gladly serving the King of Light, and their numbers increased with each mission he accomplished. Lucifer grew annoyed with them since he was already busy, and he didn't want to have another burden to taking care of some shameless succubi. He felt like they were trying to get into his pants. Sometimes he thought that maybe human women were better than them, no matter how unlikely that sounded. At least few of them had manners.
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Lucifer's grip on the succubus' hands got tighter as he tried to hold his anger at her. But he finally loosened his grip as he heard her moaning in pain.
"Lucifer-sama, why did you do that? I'm only trying to help you. Why did you been always so cold towards me and many of my kind that was granted to serve you?!"
He narrowed his eyes as he got closer to her face. "Let me get this straight. Actually, I never need any of you and your kind's help in this way. I'm glad you did most of your work as I said, but I don't want you to get too far into my business. You have passed your boundaries as one of those who are serving me. I don't need your help in satisfying myself, because I would never let myself close with any female from the likes of you. I would never sleep with you. Besides, I don't like women who can't keep herself modest in front of men. You must glad that I don't like hurting women, otherwise you would be dead if I give in to my anger. Get out of this room, and train yourself to act appropriately."
"You told me that you would never be close with any women. Then, what makes the girl in Assiah, that you claimed as your so-called best friend that different? I'm sure you must like her because of her innocence."
Suddenly, the room turned dark and started shaking. Right now, the only thing she could see was Lucifer's wrathful gaze. "Did you not hear me? I told you not to get into my personal matters. Get out!"
She quickly ran out of the room in fear. Even female demons knew not to enrage the King of Light. Lucifer huffed as he lied his back in bed. The room was in a mess. "Great. Now I have to clean this place again from scratch. What a great day for the preparation of my return."
Then there was someone knocking on his door. Who could it be now?, he thought as he groaned. "Come in."
It was Samael. "Hey, brother. I was just saw a succubus ran out of your room . She was crying so loud she surprised me. What happened?"
"Honestly, I don't want to talk about it. Have you prepared yourself for our return?", Lucifer changed the topic as he stood up from his bed, still in all his naked glory.
"I have. We are waiting for you. By the way, bro, please put on some clothes! It looks like that wherever you are, you always seem to be naked. No wonder so many women after you", Samael commented in his usual sarcasm as he went back to the throne room.
Lucifer rolled his eyes. He had already used with his remarks. Demons were usually bare of their clothing in Gehenna despite some of them hid their tails, and they were pretty common mostly. He quickly wore his clothes and locked his room before he went to meet his siblings.
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Meanwhile, Shizuka was in front of the door of the Demon Kings' mansion. She had pushed the button of the doorbell a couple times, but no one seemed to be answering. This was odd. Usually, when I knock, at least Mephisto or Iblis would open the door, she wondered. Maybe I should go home first. It seems that the mansion is vacant.
But just as she was about to leave, Belial, Mephisto's butler greeted her. "Hello, young lady. May I help you?"
"Oh, Belial! I'm sorry for disturbing. I actually came here to see Lucifer. I haven't heard about him in almost this whole week. I'm getting worried. Is he inside?"
"I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid he's not. Actually, Satan-sama summoned all his children last week to meet him directly."
"Okay. Do you know where they are?"
Belial seemed to think for a moment, before he answered, "All of them are in Gehenna."
Shizuka widened her eyes at his words. This was unexpected to her. Lucifer and his siblings did seem to be in a hurry to get home when they were attending the party. If Satan did call for them, then it must be urgent. But Lucifer said that they were usually in Gehenna only for a couple of days. What was going on?"I understand. I apologize for causing any inconvenience. If they return, can you tell that I was looking for Lucifer?"
"Of course. I will tell Lucifer-sama about you stop by."
"Thanks."
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In Gehenna, Satan was using his blood to create a Gehenna gate so his children can return to Assiah. Asmodeus was coming with them."All done. You can return to Assiah now. If you meet Yuri, please tell her my regards."
"Of course, father", Rin and Yukio replied.
Astaroth stood beside the King of Light as he asked, "Hey big bro, how is your vessel?"
"Don't worry. It has been healed properly. Come on, let's get back."
"So soon, Lucifer? Do you happen to have someone waiting for you?", Satan joked as he looked at him.
"It's not like what you think, father!", Lucifer quickly denied his father's assumption. He was embarrassed when the god of Gehenna read his expression. Lucifer did have a plan to return to Gehenna as soon as possible. He missed her, and he couldn't wait to see Shizuka. The pressure in Gehenna took a toll on him, and his maniacal side re-emerged during their meeting with the noble demons could be a proof for that.
"Don't sweat to deny it, Lucifer. I can read you very well. Do you forget? I used to feel the same when I'm with Yuri", Satan smirked as he looked at his other children, which they replied with their own sly smirks. Even Asmodeus tried to hide his laugh by covering his mouth with his right hand.
Gaah! Am I really that easy to read now? I hope Asmodeus don't know the truth, Lucifer thought wearily. "It's not that. I still have many things to work on in Assiah. I'll talk with you again when I have spare time, father. Now, please excuse us. Let's go, everyone."
Satan only snorted as he saw them passed the gate. Well now, perhaps I just have to wait and see what happens. But that girl is fascinating, Satan thought thoroughly of the whole event. Not every girl could make Lucifer that emotional. Perhaps Shizuka could give his oldest son what he had always been looking for. He finally returned to his throne room.
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Belial welcomed the return of the Demon Kings and the Prince of Lust. "Welcome back, Sir."
"Good work, Belial. You did your job well in keeping this house, as usual", Mephisto complimented his butler, which the demon responded by bowing before him.
"My, I think I'm going to take a nap for now. Being in Gehenna, especially after all that riot tires me. How about you?", Egyn asked his siblings. Mephisto decided to play a little game with Amaimon, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. Iblis changed her outfit, while Astaroth went out to eat for lunch.
When Lucifer was in his room, Belial knocked on his door. "Excuse me, Lucifer-sama. I hope I'm not interrupting your work, but I have an important news."The tall demon excused himself into his room. Lucifer was busy with his paperwork as usual, and right now he wore his glasses to read some documents."I would like to tell you, that there was someone looking for you two days ago, Sire."
"Really? Could you tell me who was it?", Lucifer wondered as he took off his glasses.
"It was Miss Shizuka, Sire."
Lucifer widened his eyes hearing the news. He should have known. They were always letting each other know of their activities. He suddenly felt apprehensive. Oh no. I made her worried over me again, Lucifer thought . He pulled himself together, as he questioned further, "Okay. Are you sure no one beside her came here during this week while we were gone? Perhaps those from the Order?"
"I can assure you Sire. It's just her. She got worried over you. I think you should meet her soon."
"Thank you for letting me know. You can go."
After Belial left the room, Lucifer decided to continue his paperwork later. He was ahead of his schedule, and there was someone in need of his reassurance. As he looked on the screen of his phone, he saw there were messages from Shizuka. He decided to send her a message, so he can meet her. And, the reply was quick.
Meet me in my house. I would like to talk to you. NOW.
When he teleported, he saw that Shizuka was sitting on one of the swings on the right side of her front yard. She had a worried look on her face.
"Lucifer!", she called out to him as she ran. She quickly pulled him into a tight hug as he get closer to her.
"Hey Shizuka."
"Where have you been? I'm calling you for almost a week, but you're not answering. When I came to the mansion, you and your siblings were gone."
"I'm really sorry for not telling you that time. I do have heard from Belial that you were looking for me. I have a little unexpected business", he answered softly as he patted her head.
"Belial told me that Satan called you to come to Gehenna. Is everything alright?", she asked in a worried tone.
"Well, father called me and my siblings to give an update regarding my peace mission. I got caught in a riot while dealing with some noble demons", Lucifer told her grimly. He could still remember his fight with Abaddon. The memory of it gave a bad taste in his mouth.
"But, you're okay, right? I remember you're not quite in a good condition when you left the party."
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine", he slightly laughed to hide his nervousness. This was not good. So she realized about the condition of his vessel. Maybe his body was perfect, but like any other vessels, the condition itself depend on the amount of powers and emotional strength owned by every demon that possessed it. If he didn't careful, he could risk losing his body, and that would be the last thing he need. He still wanted to see her every day. He still found it hard to admit, but he couldn't last a day without seeing her beautiful face. He would have to be careful as not to let himself got carried away.
"Please promise that you will tell me in case something happens. I can't bear the thought of losing my closest friend."
"I'm very sorry. It will not happen again", he reassured her. He held her hands while she put both of her palms on his cheeks.
He thought of her words. Friend? He had been used with that term, but he felt so much pain when she mouthed those words. He hope that everything was different on his part. He knew that his feelings for her grew even stronger, and he had such a strong urge to let her know about it; but being a Demon King was already complicated. He had so many competitors who wanted his position in Gehenna, and his nephew was still nagging him silently.
She invited him to come inside of her house. Inside, as they drank their tea, she told him all her plans in her study. Of course, she still had some difficulties in demon summoning, but she had decided to summoning the gods she worshiped instead. That explained the entity he saw when they were in Mexico. Right now, she studied vigorously to prepare herself for exorcist certification exam next year, like Izumo and Ryuji. He reassured her that she would make it in the exam, but she still had that timid attitude sometimes. Silently, he had a plan to give her one of his Seraphims to help her. Besides, he didn't mind giving her any assistance she needed.
Then they went out together. He accompanied her during their strolling in the nearby park. The place wasn't too crowded, and the weather wasn't so hot even though summer was closing in. They saw that there was no one in the playground. He saw her playing on one of the swings. He remembered how she loves it. When she was a little, he was used to push the swings as she demanded him to push stronger, so she can swing higher. He had told her to be careful, and he scolded her when she fell and cried loudly because she hurt her knees. Like every kid her age, of course she didn't always listen to him all the time. But he enjoyed seeing her that way, and her parents used to ask for his help in watching over her when they were busy. It seemed that no matter how she started to mature, she was still young at heart. Good times, he thought of their experience affectionately. He felt his heart turned warm as he looked at her happy face. He had come to conclusion; he would tell her his feelings soon.
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At the mansion, he drank his coffee as he made an odd expression. Amaimon, Iblis, and their siblings were confused seeing him.
"Hey, brother. What are you thinking about? You seemed to have an odd expression on your face this whole day. Is something happen?", Iblis inquired him. But Lucifer stayed silent as he sighed.
"Don't bother him. He won't hear you. From the looks of it, I think he's daydreaming", Astaroth told her.
"Daydreaming? From what I remember he had never done that before", Amaimon wondered about their older brother's behavior.
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Asmodeus who was passing by near them suddenly stopped. He hid behind the walls of the room as he looked at his uncle. They were right; he looked weird. He decided to stay silent and listening to the conversation further.
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"Actually, I'm thinking about someone", Lucifer finally spoke.
His words took them by surprise. They had never thought Lucifer would say those things. What the hell?, they thought as they looked at their oldest brother.
"Who are you thinking about?", Rin asked carefully, trying not to pry into his business too much.
"Shizuka. I can't stop thinking about her. This feeling makes me feel good for the first time. I feel at peace."
"And... what are you going to do about it?", Mephisto asked the King of Light as he wore his sly smirk. He could see that his older brother fell in love with the girl.
"I think I'm going to ask her out this weekend. There's something that I would like to talk to her."
"Sounds like a date to me. Are you really serious about this, Lucifer?", Yukio questioned, which he replied with his toothy smile.
His smile gave them shivers. Their oldest brother, were going to ask Shizuka on a date! Their father would surely be interested in this turn of events.
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Asmodeus thought of the things he had just heard. So this meant it would be possible for the girl to come here to the mansion. This would be interesting. He wondered how did Shizuka looks like. He left with a smirk on his face. It's time to started working on his plan.
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A few days later, that night Shizuka was in her room studying as usual. At the moment, she was studying about Anti-Demon Pharmacology. Yukio gave them handouts to study on how to cure high level mashou. There would be a little test on Monday, and she was preparing herself. She was getting sleepy after studying for 3 hours. Her phone suddenly rang.
"Hello."
"Hi Shizuka."
"Ah, Lucifer!", her sleepiness suddenly vanished as she heard his calm voice."How are you?"
"I'm fine. How about you? Am I interrupting something?"
"I'm quite bored actually. I am studying right now. I have a test next Monday."
"I'm so sorry! I'll call you later then!", he suddenly grew awkward at the phone. What a bad time.
"It's fine, relax!", she was laughing as she reassured him. "Like I said, I was bored, and a little sleepy too. It's a good thing that you called me. You are just what I need."
Lucifer was blushing. He was thinking about what he was supposed to say to her. "I'm kind of wondering. Are you busy this weekend?"
"No. I don't have any plans to go anywhere. Why?"
"I hope you don't mind if... we hang out together. Come to the mansion first, then we'll go for lunch. How is it sounded to you?"
"Sounds great! I can't wait!", she replied. Then her mother spoke to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's my mom. I have to go to sleep. See you later!"
"Okay."
Lucifer suddenly heard his siblings chuckled, and by the time he saw them stood at his door, they gave him two thumbs up. "Don't you have anything else to do than stalking everything I did? Get out of here!"
They were laughing out loud seeing his face flushed. Not every day the King of Light was interested in a girl, and even asked her out.
"Come on, Lucifer. You don't have to hide this from us. Actually we can help you. All you need to do is ask", Azazel told him.
"I have a feeling you are only doing this for your own entertainment", he replied with a bored expression.
"This time it's for real, brother. We'll help you on how to impress a beautiful lady", Mephisto smiled wickedly to his older brother. Lucifer had a feeling this would not go well.
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The day he had been waiting finally came. Actually, he could manage himself quite fine, but his siblings insisted on helping him. Lucifer wore his blue Polo shirt, with a cream jeans and black pair of shoes. For the first time, he combed his slick blonde hair backwards. He was quite anxious. Mephisto and the others sit near him comfortably. Damn his siblings! They were so obnoxious as not to let him be.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. As Belial was headed towards the door, Lucifer volunteered to open it himself. He was truly mesmerized as he saw her stood in front of him. Shizuka wore a green collared shirt with red jeans and a pair of brown sneakers. She tied her hair in a high ponytail. Her black jeans jacket was tied around her slender waist. He had been used with seeing her in androgynous outfits most of the time. She did look a little different than most girls around her, but he wouldn't trade the sight in front of him for everything. What picked his interest knowing that she wore the present he gave her during her birthday.
"Hi Lucifer. You look good", she greeted him.
"I see that you're wearing my present. It looks good on you. You look beautiful", Lucifer complimented her. Somehow, seeing her wore the choker he gave her made him feel prideful.
Mephisto and their siblings chuckled seeing their interactions. Their oldest brother was clearly taken away by her appearance.
"Let's get inside. You must be tired. I'll get you a glass of water first, then we go", Lucifer ushered her inside.
"Hi guys!", she waved her hands to his siblings, which they replied with their cheeky grin. Then they decided to leave both of them alone.
Lucifer could hear her humming while she waited for him in the kitchen. He couldn't wait to get out of the mansion. But what he didn't expect was when he heard that someone was walking down the stairs headed to his place. It was Asmodeus.
"Uncle, who's coming here? I heard that you open the door. Do we have any guest?"
Lucifer felt his body froze when he saw Asmodeus gazing on Shizuka when he was in the front room. This was getting out of his hands. How did he suppose to handle this situation now?
"Lucifer, who is this?", Shizuka questioned him.
A/N : Welcome to the new chapter! Once again we saw Lucifer's interaction with Shizuka. I hope you're not surprised with what happened to him in the start of this chapter. At least, now we know that Asmodeus is up to something, and it definitely won't be good.
That's all from me! As always, please vote and comment!