Chapter One:
Sweet and Sour
There. In plain sight was the decorative glass dish of saltwater taffy, handmade and imported from the US. Amaimon stared at the rainbow of individually wrapped candies that taunted him from just out of his reach. Mephisto had made sure to place them in an area where the younger sibling would be incapable of reaching under normal circumstances, but it neither deterred nor unenthused the Earth King from attempting to get them. Amaimon's lazy gaze shifted around the headmaster's grand office for any sign of the demon before they settled on a high bookshelf before him, his prize sitting at the very top. He quickly pounced to his feet and made his way over, climbing up the shelves one by one.
Occasionally, his hand would nudge something valuable, a priceless figma or chibi idol, and he would pause to move it back into place. Amaimon knew the price of disturbing his elder brother's prized collection of anime memorabilia and merchandise. If even one manga volume seemed out of place, Mephisto would surely have his head. Literally. Just as he managed to reach the second to last shelf, he quickly reached upwards, attempting to snatch a few of the taffies from the dish, but a split second error in judgment sent a Hatsune Miku figurine plummeting to the floor. Time almost seemed to slow down as he watched Miku tumble to her doom with wide eyes. In a sudden instant, she was lying, murdered, upon the floor in several pieces and a shiver ran through Amaimon's spine as he altogether forgot about the delicious taffy above him. He sighed, defeated, as he released his hold on the high shelf and landed cleanly on his feet before the shattered mess in front of him.
"Ah. big brother will be upset with me." He chewed plaintively on his thumbnail as he stared down the tiny group of broken ceramic bits. Here and there her neon blue hair lied, while a black bit of her torso or stray appendage poked out from around the furniture nearby. He grumbled lightly, and crouched down to gather them before his brother returned. Unable to locate all the pieces, he eventually gave up, hiding the remains of the deceased vocaloid in a nearby urn.
It was but a mere thirty minutes later when the office door opened. Bright green eyes scanned the room not once, but twice as Mephisto entered the room and he paused only briefly when he noticed his younger brother sitting quietly in the far corner of the room. The two stared at each other for a bit before Mephisto placed his umbrella before himself, leaning against it with his usual cool and calm demeanor.
"Well now," he cooed, "it looks like you've been on your best behavior today! I'll have to reward you soon with some takoyaki." Amaimon's expression maintained its usual stoic appearance though the fact that his eyes seemed to light up at those words was undeniable. His happiness soon slipped away however when he noticed his brother's eyes slowly drift from him to the space between his desk and the large shelf. Though his smile never left him, Amaimon knew all too well he had noticed the absence of the figurine.
"Though, I am curious. Surely, you must have done something while I was gone, hm, brother?" Amaimon's head twisted quickly, never taking his eyes off him.
"No, brother, I haven't done anything today."
"Is that so? Then enlighten me, Amaimon. Does anything seem…amiss to you here?"
"Amiss? What do you mean?" He continued to feign ignorance of the situation.
"There's nothing out of place? Why, you must have spotted it!" Mephisto's cool and collected smile had widened out into a vicious sharp toothed grin, his eyes having darted back towards the young Earth King. Amaimon felt himself shiver slightly at his expression and silently hoped his brother hadn't noticed it.
"Where's Hatsune Miku?!" He hissed, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as he turned to face his brother completely again.
"I-I don't know, brother. Maybe she was misplaced—"
In a flash, Mephisto's umbrella swung quickly to the side and returned, sending a tiny arm shooting out of nowhere, barreling across the oriental rug, and bouncing to a stop between them. It was a missing piece of the figurine Amaimon had missed in his quest to rid himself of the evidence.
"Bah! Don't pretend you can lie to me, Amaimon! I know you've been on my shelf! And after I expressly forbade you touch my things!"
"B-But, brother! I only wanted the can—" Amaimon froze, quickly covering his mouth with a clawed hand. Not only had he let one cat out of the bag, but another one as well. He knew he wasn't to touch Mephisto's toys without permission, but he had also been told not to eat the candy as well. Several attempts to taste test the saltwater taffy were the reasons for the glass dish being placed well out of his reach in the first place. His eyes slowly traveled down and away from his brother's darkening gaze, and his hand remained where it was, muffling his further words.
"I am absolutely ashamed of you, brother; And here I was, thinking you had managed not to cross me for once."
"But brother! It was a mistake. I didn't mean to…" Mephisto ignored his plea as he took a seat behind his desk with a sigh. He crossed one leg over the other, leaning back in his chair. His eyes closed, contemplating Amaimon's punishment.
"You owe me a new figurine, you know."
"I know, brother. I'll get another one really soon."
"I still have to punish you though. Things like this simply cannot be allowed to go unpunished!" While the thought of a punishment made Amaimon's stomach churn, the sound of his brother's voice was much less threatening than it had been before. He had regained some of his usual cheer and Amaimon allowed himself to relax slightly, hoping whatever punishment his brother chose wouldn't be too painful for him. His arm fell limply to his side as he got to his feet, turning to face his older brother.
"You'll be in the cage. For one week," he chimed, offering his brother a compassionate wink. Amaimon merely blinked at his brother's display, though internally he felt an immense relief at his final judgment.
"Any last words?"
"Sorry, big brother, it won't happen again."