Chapter Text
The boy had only just returned from helping out someone his parents had told him to go work for to get them money. As he opened the door he found himself getting hit on the back of the head, the smack causing his vision to blur, body involuntarily giving up despite it only being the first hit. With the two talking in the background he let the dark unconscious take him, he'd probably end up with bruises one way or another and it's not like they could do much without getting caught.
So Iruma, the boy who couldn't say no to a request, fell unconscious. His 'parents' tying his hands and feet before dragging him out to the familiar forest nearby. Somewhere they had often ditched the boy when he became too much of a hassle or had people over they didn't want to see him. As the two worked on creating something circular, Iruma dizzily awoke, finding his 'mother' turning to him with a smile.
"Oh, Iruma! Good timing! Would you be a dear and let us sell you to a demon for some money?"
He was in shock, staring at her as she continued to ramble on about how they were just 'so tight no money this week'. He felt his mind go blank, for the first time, he wanted to yell and cry and let out everything he had kept locked up. He somehow set himself up, the expression on his face unchanging, leading to the sickly sweet smile of his . . . of the woman before him to fall into a frown, her outward demeanor shifting to its true nature.
Immediately panic seized his chest and he looked downwards, praying she wasn't mad. With no more words, she turned to her husband, who had just finished the circle. The two chatting as they tested each word to see if they could pronounce them correctly. Iruma let his head continue to hang, the fear from earlier only growing. Demons were a myth, but if anyone would be able to summon one for anything, it would be those two for these very reasons.
"Alright! We're all ready now hubby!"
"You're right, darling."
The pure joy in their voices made him sick to his stomach, the same whispers returning to his mind even after he had worked so hard to prove himself. 'You're just a mistake . . . you aren't helping, why do you try . . . you're the reason they're suffering, they're truly the victims here . . . why are you still here?'
Kalego was walking down the hall with his friend, despite many believing he had none. Quite frankly, he wasn't quite sure how he had befriended Balam or why he stuck with him even after all the years of him just complaining and being rude. Hey, he knew what he was like best, and he quite frankly didn't care. Although, he did tend to go softer on the big softie, trying to make him more comfortable when he could.
"I just recently finished another one of my books, but none of the students will read them . . . are they really that bad?"
Listening to his friend's rambles always calmed him down, no matter how noisy they could get. Putting a hand on the other's arm he shook his head, trying to find some words to make the other feel better. He didn't get the chance before Balam was already pulling out the picture book, turning to show his friend. With a sigh, he did reach for it, shifting the pages when a green light surrounded him, surprising both of them as the smaller disappeared with a poof.
Papers fluttered to the ground around him as he quickly looked around, realizing he wasn't quite anywhere in the demon realm. Looking towards the two who were staring at him, he frowned. They were clearly humans. It was odd, seeing something his friend was so invested in, almost to the point where Kalego swore he would adopt any human child he saw. He looked downwards, seeing his papers now a mess on the floor.
Leaning down and picking up the papers from the ground, he watched the two's movements. They were whispering to one another. It was easy to tell from their appearance alone they were harmless to him, although he wasn't sure what secrets he may not know about. The only knowledge he really had to go off of was Balam's stories and theories.
"Hello, Mr. Demon. We want to make a deal with you!"
He looked at her through the corner of his eyes, straightening his coat and fixing the papers before turning to them. Looking them up and down. 'They're stupid as well. Most demons would just eat them upon seeing them. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes, turning away to look at the circle on the floor. Not only was it old-fashioned, but poorly done. It almost made him sick how easily it could have failed. What was he to expect from humans though?
"Look, whatever it is, I don't care, I'm leaving."
"Wait wait wait! Hubby stop him!"
"Hey hey, you demons like souls right? We have one for you! We just want some money in return."
His eyes twitched at the statement. Not only did they assume he would like to eat a human, which he could very easily do right now if he wanted to, but the way they phrased it sit ill with him. He turned to look at them, a glare now on his phase as he opened his mouth to argue as well as scold them. That was until he watched the woman turn, grabbing something, or someone behind the two roughly.
Quickly dropping the papers as a boy was thrown in his direction. Upon first glance, Kalego was furious. He may not know much about humans, but he knew for a fact they had similar families to demons. A quick glance at the boy showed he was severely underweight as well as terrified, and not just of the demon currently holding him. The boy looked up at him, the fear in his eyes only barely starting to conceal the dullness to them.
Iruma watched as the demon caught him, his expression darkening the longer he looked at the boy. He could have sworn he was going to kill him right then and there when he was suddenly moved behind the demon, an arm almost . . . protecting him? He couldn't get his head around what was happening, was, was the demon helping him? He had never been the one getting help from another before, let alone a demon. He stared in shock at the arm across him.
"Are you two truly that stupid!? Do you think a demon would simply agree to take one human, give you wealth and return? No! Any demon other than me and you would have been killed without a peep out of either of you!!!!"
The two backed down some, fear replacing their smiles as the demon seemingly got bigger. Large wings unfurled from the demon's back, careful to avoid injuring the boy behind him. He was hard to truly workup, but the two humans before him had succeeded and more in a matter of minutes.
"Here's the deal, you two leave and I take the boy, or you stay and we'll see how terrifying demons can be."
Sparks snapped in the air as the figure of a three-headed dog formed, growling. Iruma watched in awe, the fear leaving him for some reason upon the man's words and aura. For some reason, he really did feel safe. He kind of wanted to laugh at himself, feeling safe with a demon over his . . . over his . . . He couldn't even bring himself to think of them as anything other than those who had taught him the true meaning of despair.
As the two fled quickly from the scene, leaving their son to 'die'. Kalego huffed, the lightning disappearing as he looked down at the boy, a frown upon his face. Iruma tensed at the looked, unable to move due to the ties however. Unsure of what to do, he turned, grabbing the boy as gently as he could before teleporting the two to his home. As they teleported Kalego almost snorted at the amazed expression upon the boy's face.
Landing in a dimly lit living room, Iruma looked around to see the large building they had just appeared in. Seeing the demon move, he violently flinched backward, landing on his butt, not sure what was going to happen to him. He didn't feel afraid of the man himself, but . . . he was still afraid of getting hit, or worse, eaten. Kalego frowned, pausing before crouching down and slowly reaching forward to the boy, putting a hand upon his head as he closed his eyes tightly.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
He hated how soft his voice had become, but he knew well enough that harsh tones would only make it worse. The boy peeked open an eye, looking at the demon, relaxing slowly as he saw he was fine. With a snap, the ropes around him slowly fell off, hitting the floor before turning to ash. It made him shiver how easy it would be for the man before him to simply kill him. Kalego lifted his hand, holding it out instead to help the boy up.
"Come, you can sit on the couch while I . . . While I figure out what to do."
Iruma nodded slowly, the question in his mind pushing its way forth whether he really wanted to know the answer or not.
"Are you . . . are you going to eat me?"
His voice was so shakey and fearful it made Kalego even madder at the humans, who he assumed were the boy's parents. With a sighed he shook his head, pulling the boy up gently and guiding him to the couch as he spoke.
"No, I'm not going to eat you. But there are many demons who would. So you can't just run around all over the place outside of this house."
Iruma slowly nodded, relaxing some into the sofa, his guarded walls cracking ever so slightly at the care he was being shown. Kalego face softened before he turned, thinking of what to do. The opening day for the school was tomorrow, and now he had a human child in his care. Even if he wanted to get the child back to the human realm, he highly doubted the boy would get a better life than before.
He pondered what to do, trying to deny the one thing his instinct told him to do. However, it was pointless as he sighed, pulling out his phone and dialing the one he had accidentally been swept away from. As the phone rang he looked aside to the boy, Iruma he believed the name was, who was looking around the room with curiosity.
"Hello?! Kalego!!! What happened?! Where did yo-"
"Shh, shh, I'm fine, I just got . . . well how do I put this. I got teleported."
A breath of relief was heard from the line, Iruma having looked over at the loud man being able to be heard from even the distance he was.
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright. Where did you get teleported, and how? It's unus-"
"The human realm."
A silence.
"WHAT?!"
"I got teleported to the human realm. And, well, I kind of have a child now. A human child."
A loud racket was heard through the line, worrying Iruma while only making the other demon sigh. Balam was most likely tripping and stumbling over his office as he both tried to calm himself as well as collect things to come over as soon as possible.
"Sicirue, please be careful one your way here. AND DON'T BREAK MY-"
It was too late as a beep signified the end of the call, making him hold the bridge of his nose in a lighthearted frustration. Iruma had tensed up at the conversation and uncertain man now on his way here. He couldn't help but worry that he was in danger. I mean, he had always been in danger and was currently with a demon, that meant he was definitely in danger. Right?
Kalego turned to the boy seeing the uncertain expression he frowned, only making the boy look away. With a sigh he snapped his fingers, a first aid kit floating beside him suddenly as he walked over and gently to the boys arm, pausing when he flinched to show him that he wasn't going to do anything. The two remained silent, watching as he cleaned and wrapped the numerous injuries he had. Kalego frowned, seeing how shakey the boys hands were.
As he was wrapping Iruma's neck, there was a loud crash as the door came flying off it's hinges and falling to the floor, the culprit looking down sheepishly at the loud thud. Iruma had pulled away from Kalego at the noise, accidentally pulling on the bandage and making him gasp in pain. The elder looked quickly from the loud entrance to the other when he heard the gasp, seeing both how far he had pulled away from him as well as the glossy look and heavy breathing that had begun.
"Oh shit . . ."
Balam blinked, looking from the floor to the two, briefly letting his excitement get the better of him before the panicked breathing he heard worried him deeply. Kalego was more approachable than he was in situations like this, but Balam new exactly what to do, but was unsure if he could do it for the terrified boy before him. Shaking his head lightly and moving over, he hesitantly put a hand on the boys head, worrying even more as he flinched.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, neither it Kalego-kun . . ."
His voice was the softest Iruma had ever heard, shocking him slightly out of his panic as he looked up to the terrifying man that was oh so gently petting his head like one would pet the head of a kitten. He watched as Balam slowly moved his hand to the metal mask upon his face, seeming to almost contemplate something as he repeated reassuring words to the boy. Kalego watched, gently rubbing circles into Iruma's back as his friend took control of the situation.
"Here, I feel bad for scarying you and I probably made you very uncomfortable, so I'll share something I usually hide so you don't have to be scared alone."
Iruma blinked as the other took off the mask, revealing the man's fangs, or more so the severe damage that lead to them constantly being exposed if not for the mask. Seeing the other try to show him that he wasn't gonna hurt him and reveal something he normally hid calmed Iruma down. Reaching up as the other spoke, nervously fiddling with the mask, he touched the area around the burn gently, a simply curiosity showing on his face.
Kalego relaxed some seeing the two instantly get along, whether that was better or worse. Balam smiled softly at the touch after he saw the boys expression, shifting the subject to talk about how he got it, to try and redirect Iruma's panic and change it into even more curiosity. Watching the two, Kalego couldn't help but smile, something that didn't go unnoticed by either of the others, but neither seemed to realize how little most demons saw it, if at all.