Having half of you sealed away into a book was...quite an experience. And it was even moreso, as it had caused the half with the body to pass out.
When he awoke...the Book of Sealing was long gone.
He was frantic.
He searched around...but with no luck. It wasn't anywhere near where the other half of him had actually been sealed.
It...wasn't anywhere that he knew of.
Soon, he left the area, and began looking anyplace that had books that he could think of. Stores, libraries mostly...
What would he do if it was somewhere not available to the public? He couldn't just...break in and enter. That was a bad.
Yet he had no leads...
...though...
Libraries did put him at ease.
All of those books, all the time in the world to read...
...ahhh, how could he say for sure the one he needed wasn't here? Clearly, he'd have to search through and read them all very carefully...
...
"...hey there, whatcha reading~?"
"-hm?" He paused, looking up.
It had been...quite a while since he started. Though the goal of finding his other half remained, he had gotten pretty badly distracted by all the books.
Libraries were practically his home, though he wasn't allowed to sleep in them.
The woman that had approached him wasn't...too notable in his opinion.
She had pale brown hair, blue eyes. Her breasts were small, and her figure a bit chubby.
He'd describe her as cute, but...what sort of demon would he be then?
"...um..."
She squinted at the cover of the book. "...'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'?"
"-gh!" His face flushed red. "I-I just, u-uhhh..."
"Like the illustrations?" She offered, giggling, before pointing at the spot next to him. "This spot taken?"
"Well, it's the floor, so-"
"Great~!" And she sat right down next to him, holding a book of her own on her lap.
...he sighed.
Well, couldn't shoo her away now, exactly, could he?
"What're you reading?"
"Magic theory or something like that..." She sighed, flipping the book over and shaking it in frustration. "Look how thick it is! I'm supposed to read all of this and write about it for my lessons but...aughh...
Wanna trade~?"
"...yea alright." And the books were switched, allowing him to feel the real weight of...apparently assigned reading.
It had been a while since he tried such a large book. But then, he had also been trying to read the entire kids' section lately, so maybe it was to be expected of him...
"You a student?" He asked, cracking it open and starting from the introduction, like any good reader would.
"Yup, last year.
You a bum~?" The woman giggled some more.
"-hey! Where'd that come from?"
She shrugged, still smiling brightly. "I've seen you here every time I visit for the past while, and the librarian says you're here every day."
"..." He shifted, pouting. "I like to read..."
"Mmm, big, intricate books, right?
'On tuesday night, he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.'" She read aloud.
"Shhhhh...
Don't make fun of me." He warned. "...or the caterpillar."
"Oh? Why not the caterpillar?"
"The caterpillar's doing more work than you right now."
"-pfff, how dare." She lightly whapped him over the head with the book. "Eating's a lot of work, huh?"
"It is if you want to be a chrysallis." He nodded, allowing the whap. For now.
"Heh, right.
And butterflies come after that, huh?"
"Of course they do...usually."
"Usually?"
"Yea. I mean, if someone careless knocks into or crushes the pupa, or there's parasites or predators involved..."
She looked skeptical. "Bugs have parasites? I thought bugs were parasites."
...which...caused him to launch into a whole tangent about what kind of parasites bugs had to deal with, and how devastating they could be. And how they were not all insects.
The woman, despite being lectured angrily, gave him her full attention the whole time.
Eventually, the tirade grew longer and longer, until it wasn't really about what he started with anymore. Somehow, he wound up finishing with, "And that's the difference between a dragonfly and antlion." But even so, he was quite satisfied, and very proud of himself.
"Huh..." She leaned back, stretching her legs out a bit. "I never knew...
Aaaahhh, pins and needles..."
"Mmh? Was I talking for too long?"
"Nah. I enjoyed it~" She assured, grinning. "In fact...
Maybe you could read that big ol' book for me~!"
"Sure. Why don't I do all your classes too?"
"-noooo...I mean, maybe you could read it to me! You're fun to listen to, but that book's not fun for me to read..."
"I-I..." He blushed again. "S-seriously...?"
"Pleeeeeeease?" She gave him the best puppy-dog eyes she could manage.
...There was no way to say no to that face.
"Mmmmnnnnhhhhhh...alright...
But I expect you to take notes. And get a good grade."
"Yes sir~!"
They met up every day in the library after that. He'd read a couple of chapters, then try to review them with her.
It sort of amazed him just how...sloppy her notes were. He couldn't really tell if she wasn't totally listening, if that was her handwriting, or if she was just totally fucking with him on purpose. But she could read it all herself and more or less still have the gist of everything, so he chose to let it slide.
"I'd like to see you write something, what with those big huge arms of yours~" She teased the first time, playfully jabbing him.
"Ack...
You're on!"
And what the woman wound up getting was...a giant, fancy "introduction letter", complete with some very simple bug doodles. If there was anything he wasn't, it was probably an artist. Though, at least, she seemed to think they were cute.
"...Mmm...Beelzebub huh?" She squinted at the paper. "...Half of him...? What?
What kind of book can do that?"
He shrugged. "A sealing one, apparently..."
"Huh...
Half of Beelzebub...wouldn't that just be Beel? Beelz?"
"I suppose?"
"...Beetle!" She nodded, grinning again.
She certainly seemed to smile a lot. He wasn't sure he was used to that yet.
"Your name's Beetle now~"
"I-it is?"
"Yes~!"
"W-why? What's wrong with Beelzebub?"
"You can go back to that when you find your other half. At least this way, no one who knows who that is will laugh at you for getting partially sealed in a book~"
...She had a point, he had to admit.
And he did like the name...
"Alright, alright, Beetle it is..."
"Great!
I'm Hannah by the way." She held a hand out. "It's very nice to meet you~!"
He carefully shook it, not wanting to crush her at this point. "The pleasure's all mine, Hannah.
Now, that's enough distractions. Let's get back to work shall we?"
"Awwwwwww...!" Hannah pretend-pouted. "You're no fun..."
"Work's not supposed to be fun until you get to choose what it is."
"Hah? First time I've heard that one..." She paused.
"...Alright, but promise me something, Beetle~?"
Hesitation. "...Depends. What is it?"
"If I get a perfect on this...you'll go hang out somewhere else with me~?"
"...What do you have in mind, exactly?"
"It's a surprise~!" She smirked
"..." Beetle sighed. Did he have much of a choice...? "Well, if it'll motivate you to do better..."
"Yay~!
You won't be disappointed, I promise~"
"...I hope so..."
Well, she said she'd do it, and, lo and behold, she did!
Why did he expect anything else?
In celebration of the grade, Hannah took Beetle and dragged him out of the library into broad daylight. It was blinding and warm, but since she was holding on tightly to his arm, he couldn't retreat away from it.
Not that it would have made that big of a difference. It was what he had agreed to, after all.
She made him go get something called "ice cream" (chocolate for him, mint for her), and they found a good spot at the edge of town to sit in. It was quiet at first, both content as they lapped up the sweet treats, then...
"Hey, Beetle, do you have any friends?"
"I..." He scratched his head. "I mean, no one that I really talk to anymore besides you..."
"Oh? That's too bad...
I could totally introduce you to my friends, if you want."
"I mean, I wouldn't stop you...but why?"
She shrugged. "Why not?"
...Good enough argument for him, he supposed.
So, that's how, the next day, Hannah proceeded to show up with two other women by her side; Brenna and Dakota.
The duo were pretty excited to finally meet 'the bug man', and Hannah had to fess up to telling them about him before. Namely after reciting all the bug facts he had given her, which she still remembered for the most part.
...There...weren't words to describe how flattered and happy he was to hear that. It seemed he really had struck a cord with her somehow.
They talked and chatted. It wasn't the greatest thing ever, as they didn't share many interests, but he was used to that. They didn't seem to mind either, themselves.
After some prompting, Beetle went into another bug tangent. This time, it ended on a full-on rant about how horrible spiders are.
He wasn't sure if anyone actually agreed with him on this, but they did admit that spiders were pretty freaky more often than not.
And once again, Hannah was listening so attentively...
Eventually, the group parted ways for the day, and he returned to the library to spend what time he had left in the day reading.
Years passed.
Hannah and Beetle grew closer every day.
Brenna...turned out to be not so great a friend. Apparently, she was one of the ones that hated demons, and, after finding out Beetle was one, frequently spoke badly about him behind his back. Then about Hannah as well...and fully severing herself from the group when Dakota was added to the rumors.
Dakota herself was quite a sweetie. Though she was by no means timid or weak-willed, she was quite polite, as well as non-judgmental. She wasn't as playful as Hannah, having thicker boundaries where, if crossed, she'd put her foot down and admit she was uncomfortable, but she was a joy to talk to.
Yet, she couldn't quite match up to how much he loved spending time with Hannah herself.
At some point, the duo had begun dating. Neither were sure when it started, but it didn't really matter. They enjoyed each other's company, being around one another...as best friends or lovers.
They shared stories, facts, trivia...
Beetle got Hannah to sing for him a couple of times. She had such a sweet voice, he told her she put crickets to shame. She had laughed in response, jokingly asking if she should stop so the crickets don't feel bad. "No, don't!" He said. "Inspire them to sing better!"
"Fine then, I will~"
After some time, Dakota had moved away to someplace far to continue training herself. Hannah was already satisfied with her own level of magic, so chose not to go with, but they still tried to keep in touch through letters. Beetle even doodled on one, which earned them back quite a lovely drawing of a butterfly, which he tried to insist they frame.
Hannah insisted they didn't have a nice enough frame to match, so he'd have to make one first.
Challenge accepted...except, then, they never wound up getting it framed after all. There was nothing that would satisfy both of them this time.
Of course, there were a few real spats here and there. Mostly involving Beetle's shut-in habits, and Hannah's desire to meet Beetle's family, which he adamantly refused. However, they never got out of hand, and neither felt truly hurt.
Beetle did, though, eventually cave, and let Hannah take him around town and even outside of it sometimes. It was fun in its own right. Fun enough that he could never say he regretted it.
Eventually, as it would be when two partners grew so close...the subject of becoming husband and wife popped up, though the conversation went a little different than most.
"You know, when humans want to be together for the rest of their lives...they give each other rings, and go through this huge ceremony..."
Beetle chuckled. "Really? That's weird...
When a demon's picked their mate, they bite down on that mate, leaving a mark and claiming them as their own."
"Pfff, now that's weird~" Hannah playfully hit his side.
There was a brief pause between them, then...
"...I'll let you bite me if I can put a ring on you."
"Deal."
They didn't wind up doing much of a ceremony, nor really an announcement. There were only a few relatives on Hannah's side, and Dakota couldn't make it, while Beetle didn't feel all that comfortable getting his family in on it, himself.
The honeymoon, however...was much funner, in every possible way.
On the other hand, the after-sex talk...somehow, Beetle found a way to bring bugs into it again.
"You know, the soapberry bug, when the male finds a mate...he stays inside her until she's actually ready to lay eggs." He nodded to himself. "Keeps other males out."
"Pfff, nice time to bring that up, mister bug fanatic~
You threatening to do that to me~?"
"Is it a threat?"
"mmmm...Nah~"
He chuckled. "You want to lay eggs, Hannah?"
"Sure! About a half a dozen of them!
And we can name them all right now!"
"Right now?"
"Yesss~!" She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. "The first girl can be...Sky. Does that sounds good?"
Beetle snuggled up to her, running his fingers through her hair. "It sounds perfect~
...for a boy...I think...I like the name Sig."
"Awww, that sounds adorable~!
Sig and Sky~"
They continued discussing names for a while.
Shin, Sage...they wanted to keep in theme. They came up with a few names...but the only ones they were really serious about were the first two. And it didn't take long for both of them to realize they really wanted a child - at least one.
So, once they had gotten back and settled comfortably...they immediately started trying for one.
It was fun to go through, but always so disappointing in the end, when their efforts failed to bear fruit. But the duo were stubborn, persistent.
...and trying to make babies really was a lot of fun~
They refused to be discouraged regardless.
Then, one morning...
Hannah woke up rather late the next morning, though she didn't have work that day so it wasn't like it mattered. Yet, she couldn't help wondering why Beetle hadn't woken her up, like he usually did...
Yawning, she rolled over to pull him close.
"Morning, my little lovebug~"
"...Beetle?"
She tried to shake him awake.
When that didn't work, she shook harder.
When that also failed, she wound up shoving him out of bed.
But he still didn't respond.
Panicking, she got dressed in the quickest way she could and ran out to get help.
Eventually...she only wound up getting it confirmed that, sometime after he had fallen asleep the night before, he had died.
Hannah was a wreck after that. She didn't cry at first, but when she had to spend her first night in a long time alone, the tears began to flow.
And the moment she found out she had actually gotten pregnant this time...she spent a good while sobbing.
She was still determined to have the child. She wanted to raise them, and love them, and protect them...she just...felt so horrible that Beetle wouldn't be by her side like they had thought.
She tried to remember his first picks for the baby names. She was determined to have his presence somewhere.
Yet...that didn't stop her from getting rid of all the pictures they had taken together. The letter with the butterfly that Beetle loved so much. And a lot of what they shared together...it hurt too much.
By the time she had gotten rid of everything...the house was quite bare.
Nearly the entire place reminded her of him. It practically was him. But trying to do any further...that was too far, and she didn't have the heart for it.
When the baby was finally born, she dubbed him Sig.
He was so small and so squishy...
He had his father's hair, but her eyes. And his own squishy, squishy cheeks.
Sig didn't cry. He barely whined. He didn't really struggle or fuss, and there were a few terrifying moments where she thought he had died, only to realize he was merely being a very quiet baby.
But when she gently poked his cute little cheeks or hugged him close, he smiled, like that was the greatest thing in the world to him.
And somehow, watching the infant seem so happy with just her...it set her heart at ease.
Sig stayed about the same as he grew. He wasn't really the most expressive sort, and he moved quite sluggishly. He never complained, never cried, never got mad, and still wasn't picky or fussy. Whatever his mother decided was for him was very much definitely for him and he wouldn't question it, which made him quite easy to feed.
Yet, when she hugged him or kissed his nose or patted his head, Sig got the smallest of smiles, and she knew he was thrilled.
It was difficult for others to understand, but she grew to know that he was the affectionate, loving sort. He adored being praised or cuddled or vice versa. He also always wanted to help out...
Mother's little trooper ant, it seemed~
Soon, she decided it was time to try to enroll him in school, if she could. Even if he was alright taking care of himself at times and learning things from her...she really would have liked it if someone more qualified could teach him more...
Around this time, Dakota's letters had stopped for some reason, so Hannah couldn't ask her. Perhaps something had come up, or something happened...there was just no way to know. Without any other good options, she decided the best thing to try was to get him into the resident school in Primp Town.
That'd be nice anyway, wouldn't it? Sig could go meet other children his age and make friends...
That settled it for her.
She'd put him in school, put herself back to work as hard as possible...and they'd be alright.
She wasn't sure where they'd go from there. It was a bridge to cross when they got to that point.
...however...
Yet again, the universe...couldn't let such happy things to pass.
As they were preparing, Hannah was struck with a terrible illness...
Sig did everything in his power to help her. He brought home food, medicine, herbs, and showered her in as much love and affection he could muster, but nothing worked. Her condition only steadily worsened...
Her heart broke as she watched him struggle. For once in her life, she actually saw him cry.
He begged and plead no one in particular for her to get better. He'd never wish for something else for dinner in his head, he'd go to school without a complaint, he'd be on his bestest behavior ever...
...that was what made her cry as well.
She held him close when she heard that, assuring him that he was already the greatest son she could have ever asked for. She was gifted to have him...
Then came the day right before school would start...
By then, Hannah had become completely bedridden. She couldn't stand, she could barely move...she couldn't even keep any food down. And worst of all, though she wouldn't tell Sig, she could feel her life slipping away...
She called him into the room.
He climbed onto the bed, and she hugged him close, as well as her weak limbs would allow.
She told him that she loved him with all her heart. His father would have loved him as well. And she wanted him to go to school, and have as much fun as he could.
Keep a lookout for Aunt Dakota's letters. Be sure to write her back.
Be nice to his teacher. Make lots of friends...
And before he could question it, she began to sing for him. It was something she had done all his life, when he had trouble sleeping at night...
...Sig couldn't do anything but be quiet and lean against her, closing his eyes and trying not to cry as he listened to her weak, cracking voice as she sang.
...
Before too long...
The song stopped.
Her arms were limp...
"...mama...?" He looked up at her. But she wasn't looking at him anymore.
She was laying back, her eyes closed...
She looked like she was fast asleep.
However...he couldn't shake the pang of fear.
"Mama? Mama, wake up..." He shook her. "Please, finish your song...!
Mama...?
Mama...!"