Chapter 9

Books and Bonds

Kurt froze at the woman before him. How did his mother get here? Why did he only just remember her at all? Did she see him? Does she remember? Is she going to extract revenge? What about the bad man? Was he here too?

BAMF!

Had Kurt been able to see the hall as he teleported, he would be relieved that only Balan and the Headmaster seemed to notice, the later immediately sending a Keeper the news. However, Kurt had only managed to teleport outside the entrance hall since he hadn't seen where he was going. He gripped his head and tried to breathe.

Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!

Suddenly, a voice broke into his panic.

^Kurt, what happened?^ It was his father.

Still, Kurt couldn't answer, he was too busy trying to breathe.

^Kurt? Kurt!?^ Azazel's impatience and worry resonated strongly in Kurt's mind. Suddenly, they had connected psyches and the blue elf could vaguely make out some officials debating over a map. Additionally, Azazel could see into Kurt's memory of the red headed woman.

^Calm down, Kurt, that is not your mother.^ At that, Kurt's panic attack immediately ceased.

^She is a member of the Medusa Clan. She will grow snakes from her hair eventually. She can't shape shift at all. Relax, and carry on with school.^

^^Ja, sorry I panicked^^

^…. It's ok. Next time, ask the keeper boy.^

As Kurt felt The Dark Lord's mind separate, Balan touched his shoulder.

"Hey, I figured you were upset, but did you run off to talk to your girlfriend because Nina got to you?" Balan grinned.

"Huh?" Kurt was genuinely confused. A girlfriend?

"Well, I know you mind linked with someone, you obviously haven't learnt how to hide it. Plus, everyone thinks Nina is hot so don't worry if she makes you go crazy!"

The two boys exchanged awkward smiles. Kurt didn't feel up to explaining to Balan just yet. Suddenly, the doors burst open and students began to fill the courtyard. None of Kurt's new friends made any fuss about his mysterious disappearance, well, Kalti was huffing but that equally could have been due to the fact Mania hadn't let anyone get a word in edgeways.

"So Kurt" Kalti finally managed "What is your timetable for today?"

"Umm, I don't know." He admitted with a purple blush. Balan laughed loudly.

"Oh yeah. I've been carrying your stuff the whole time without realising!" Pressing his belt buckle, a small portal opened. Kurt copied the action as Balan piled a load of books, a bag which was possibly a P.E (Gym?) kit and a pencil case into this strange new portal. The two tapped their "bags" shut and Balan held out some paper to Kurt.

"Monday: Maths, Ancient History, Latin, Magic 2, Art, Philosophy, Chemistry." Kurt read out. He hadn't picked any choices but the other gave similar results.

"I'm in Maths, Latin and chemistry with you" Balan grinned.

"We have ancient history today, Kurt." Mania grinned, wider than Balan, jumping for joy.

"Looks like you have Murmur and I in Art and I chemistry as well." Kali remarked.

"So, philosophy and Magic I'm alone zen." Kurt finalised.

"Well, you are in Magic 2. Very few demons get into that group at all." Balan explained.

"Whats the numbers mean?"

"Ugh" Kali sighed. "Magic 1: Telepathy, telekinesis and divinity. Magic 2: Teleportation and Dimension manipulation. Magic 3: Healing and Restoration. Magic 4: Elemental. Everyone learns 4, 3 and 1. Only those who can prove they can teleport get into magic 2. However, you are a Bluey so it's expected really."

"A Bluey? You mean my colour?" Kurt questioned. The rest of the group fell silent.

Murmur, oddly, explained over the silence. "The colour of a demon often determines their magical power as certain colours originate from different clans. Blueys are the most magically adept, with very few over coloured demons mastering teleportation. Your colour is very rare, and it proves you have royal blood. The next-"

"-But hey," Balan's usual cheerful disposition was slipping as he struggled to change the conversation "Colour doesn't really matter, and it's kind of a sensitive topic. Plus, next lesson is only a few minutes away and we all haven't changed!"

"Changed?"

"Kurt, you act like you live between the suns!" Mania giggled. "We are in ceremony clothing! We only wear it during official events and then we wear our usual uniforms again!"

Still trying to grasp the oddities of his first day of school, Balan took him to a changing room. They ended up in uniforms resembling Japanese schoolboys- t-shirt, black jacket with gold trim- black bottoms. The girls ended up with black sailor tops with gold neckties but kept their loincloth skirts. Everyone kept their belts of course. Kurt had to admit the ceremony uniforms were grander, and these uniforms were more comfy for everyday wear. Walking down the hallway, Kurt felt an odd sense of normality. Like he belonged. He could swish his tail back and forth, walk around without his image inducer on and even laugh properly to Balan's bad jokes because no one here would find his fangs weird.

First lesson maths was as normal as any school on earth; Balan teamed up with Kurt and they went through some algebra. Second lesson with Mania proved to be surprisingly quiet as the girl was cheerful but hardworking. Kurt managed to learn a lot about the origins of the green demons, with more detail on what seemed a simple village life surprisingly on earth. Third Lesson Latin, Kurt surprised everyone as he fluently held a conversation with the teacher. Lunch, of course, was the most fun, Kurt and his friends spread under the trees with various snacks from the canteen.

Then came the lesson Kurt had been feeling nervous about. He found the class easy enough, Murmur following him most of the way, before entering a fairly unusual room. Most of the demon classrooms had a chalkboard, a wall of books sometimes at the back, various class displays between windows and oak benches similar to a university lecture hall. However, each class only had around twelve students maximum, which Kurt found was the main reason everyone learnt better. This classroom was a bit different. There was still the bookshelf wall and a smaller chalkboard but there was one round table in the middle of the room with five chairs around it. Two of these were occupied already by two blue skinned boys. Both had the same shoulder black hair and fringe and violet eyes. Obviously twins, the only way to tell the difference was their right ears. One had a small yellow stud whilst his twin sported an orange. Kurt left a seat between them before awkwardly sitting down. They had smiled at him briefly, before continuing to read their textbooks. The teacher appeared to be late so Kurt copied. Then she came into the room.

Nina.

Kurt couldn't help but feel uneasy in her presence. Even though he now knew she wasn't his mother, the girl had a strange aura that upset Kurt. It oddly reminded him of Kitty a fair bit. She gave him a shy smile and copied the class. Kurt tried to stay focused on his book and managed to read a few pages on what portals/dimensions were. As if no one knew. After 10 minutes, a blue skinned male entered the room. He wore the Keeper uniform and looked extremely familiar to Kurt.

"I am Professor Leviathan." The man began. "You are the only blue skinned students currently in your year and have been automatically enrolled into Magic class 2. If any other student shows the ability to join the class, despite their colour, they shall. Additionally, any of you who has not produced some form of dimensional manipulation after a month you will no longer be enrolled in this class. However, it is extremely rare to develop dimensional manipulation, only a few Blueys have managed. Tests have shown you should all have higher magical qualities than usual due to your background. The hope is that you will come to master the art of teleportation and be able to adeptly move between our realm and the human's in order for our race to prosper in both dimensions. However, not having this ability is normal and by no means a failure. However, spies, couriers and teachers all rely on the information that is brought back from teleporters in order to keep our realm sustainable. Now, dimensions, or portals…" The man began to relay the first section of the book.

Kurt stole a glance at Nina. Her red hair was slightly wavier than it had first appeared, with the ends of her hair sticking together to form scales. She had since brought them into two bunches and Kurt remembered her hair was destined to become snakes. She was only another student, Kurt reassured himself.

Professor Leviathan continued the lecture for around 20 minutes before dismissing the class. The rest of the time was supposedly spent training individually. As the boys began to put away their books, Nina stood.

"You should all know now, I am probably going to beat you all. Then the Dark Lord will make me his Wing and you will all have to work for me." Her statement would have been hilarious if it wasn't for the determination in her eyes. The twins glared at Nina and slowly rose in unison.

"But you don't have wings." Kurt blurted out. The twins immediately relaxed and held their smirks. Nina's face turned a deep shade of purple.

"How dumb can you be? A teleporter can "fly" to the next dimension and aid the Dark Lord. What the hell did you think they would be called?"

"I think teleporters would have been fine." Kurt retorted. "Besides, can you actually teleport yet?"

"Can you?" Nina snapped. Kurt paled slightly, faintly remembering his mother's rage. This second of fear was enough for his body to automatically teleport outside.

BAMF!

Kurt found he had landed nearby to the class; he could still see Nina's shock at his demonstration. Before he could revel in his success however, Kurt heard a muffled scream from round the back of the building. Porting onto the roof of the small two story building, Kurt peered into an alleyway between the two structures. He saw two green skinned boys grinning whilst a third was creeping his arm and tail up a schoolgirl's top. His other hand was firmly gripped over her mouth and by Kurt's perception of her drooping eyes, she was about ready to faint. He teleported down. All three boys then found themselves hanging off the old flag posts.

"Oi, what are you doing, Bluey?" The perverted boy shouted.

"Keeping your lecherous hands off an innocent lady who doesn't want you."

"She deserves it- that violet bitch should be happy we have the time of day for her." The left one spat. Kurt ignored them and picked up the girl coughing in the alleyway still.

"I-can-walk." She struggled.

"Still, I can get you to the Nurse's office quicker." Kurt reassured.

As they walked out of the shadow, the girl spoke. "Thanks, Kurt." Before he could ask how she knew his name, lavender skin and a long black plait jerked his memory. Suddenly, the three boys propelled themselves upward and off of the flag poles, landing perfectly on the ground.

"Kalti, you whore! Come back here and please me like a violet bitch should!" The perverted one glared, resulting in Kali shaking.

"I bet your father's on his knees as we speak, pleasing the scum of the town because no one else would buy him!"

"Why are you being so mean?!" Kurt yelled, fury rising. "What's wrong with her skin colour?"

The trio laughed loudly.

"You're a Bluey kid, the highest class. Yet if you defend IT then you might as well paint yourself purple! She's scum!"

BAMF! Kalti was propped against a wall, Kurt's jacket round her shoulders.

BAMF! Kurt's fist connected with the perverted boy's face. The second boy swung for Kurt but he dodged. The third; however, gripped Kurt in a headlock. The second stamped on his tail, gaining a whimper from Kurt. Worse than a kick to his groin. The second did that anyway, earning a manlier grunt and a kick from Kurt. The first then slammed his fists together, engulfing his hands in flames.

Fire. Kurt's worst nightmare and greatest fear. For the first time in the fight, Kurt felt genuine terror.

Yet, just as the boy went to punch Kurt, several swords pointed to his face. Five Keepers had surrounded the boys, all with a menacing glare. This included Balan, who was also pointing a sword with the Keepers but still in his school uniform. The three boys stood to attention, one hand behind their back and one in front. Only Brima lowered her sword.

"Names." She snapped.

"Zapan von Schmit." The perverted boy.

"Zeper De Lapan." The second brute.

"Veper Von Darkwood." The third.

"Why are you attacking, this is a no magic zone outside of lessons." Brima showed no sign of caring for their family names, but the three were actually sons of extremely influential nobles.

"Didn't you just hear me? I am a Von Schmit!" Zapan retorted.

"A soon to be dead Von Schmit. I don't care about your name, I want to know why you attacked."

The boy paled; obviously his name had been his trump card in the past. "The violet girl was giving me and my friends' trouble, and then the blue boy attacked us on a misunderstanding. So naturally I fought back because we didn't know if he'd listen to reason or not."

"And, what is your side of the story?" Brima's voice had significantly softened when addressing Kurt.

Suddenly, everyone saw Kurt's face. He was still in shock from the fire. Everyone was confused as to why Kurt was paralysed. Brima placed her hand onto Kurt's shoulder. He didn't notice a thing.

"Milord? Kurt, what's wrong?" Brima was too focused to notice everyone's shock at how she addressed Kurt as her Lord. Azazel had warned her Kurt would be extremely unstable.

"Kurt, please answer me. What do you see?"

"Oh Brima…" Kurt said slowly, softly almost. "You should run now." No emotion.

"Why is that?"

"They are coming for me."

"Who is coming Kurt?" Brima grew even more concerned.

"The villagers. They have torches and pitchforks and rocks. They hurt Mutti and they are going to cut off my tail." Kurt shock, his eyes staring into nothingness. Brima's own tail throbbed at the imagery.

"There not here anymore Kurt." Brima tried.

"But the fire. Brima they burn us at the steak! When it burns it's so hot, but the rest of you feels so cold."

Brima paled, Kurt really went through something so traumatic? It sounded like her childhood horror stories, of humans who burnt and drowned demons and witches. Suddenly, blue flames encircled the party.

"See, they got us." Kurt said. "Try and ignore the smell. Bubbling flesh smells the worst, worse than when Vatti hasn't washed after working."

"Milord, please, you are making the flames." The flames dimmed slightly.

"I know, it's my fault. I'm just a demon, I should die. Still, I'm so evil because I don't want to die. I'm sorry."

"No, Kurt, it's just your magik. Please calm down. You are at school, please relax." Brima couldn't risk another magical outburst from the boy. Fire seemed to trigger his seals and the magic that constantly fought them.

"Umm, he's a bit weird." Veper dared to comment.

"You wouldn't even last a tenth of what this child has been through!" a Keeper snapped.

"Why didn't he use a vessel swap if it was so bad?" Zeper asked.

"Oh believe me he's trying to." A new voice growled. Everyone's jaws dropped as their ultimate leader appeared. His tail was swishing frantically and blood streamed from multiple holes on his face.

"It's the Dark Lord?!" the three boys gasped.

"You three are the cause, I presume? Yare Yare, he never even lasted a day without using magic. Balan, the girl over there will need assistance."

"Thank you, sire." Balan ran towards the unconscious Kalti, who he had been hoping to get to for some time.

"And you brats will be severely punished." Azazel growled. He leant down and pulled Kurt into his lap.

"Brima" Azazel said.

"Yes Milord?" Brima stood to attention. "These three will need their memories of this episode removed."

"Ah, but they are very high rank. Their family mages may detect it."

"I will write to their families personally" He reassured the Keeper. "More importantly, leaving this place will be hard. I'm at the edge of a forced vessel swap, Kurt's seals are going haywire and he is possibly going to turn into a living bomb capable of blowing us all the way to the next dimension. Knocking him out will only make him more uncontrollable. Brimastonne , I will leave you to it."

"Yes Milord." Brima nodded.

Azazel teleported as far as he could, which impressively was the woods next to his back courtyard. Kurt began to thrash at the result of teleporting. Wrapping their tails together, Azazel rocked Kurt in his arms the same way he calmed all of his children. Kurt's eyes drooped.

"Come on little one, I can't Drain you again." Azazel figured now was the time to test if Kurt's soother would work or not.

"No harm will come to you. I am with you. Calm down." Azazel tried.

For a moment it seemed like nothing had happened, then Kurt's eyes flickered and his dull yellow eyes brightened to a soft gold again.

"Why am I here?" Kurt paled. "Is Kalti ok?"

"Your friend is fine. You on the other hand nearly blew yourself up once a boy tried to use fire." Both could feel Kurt flinch at the memory of fire.

"I can send you back to school if you wish, but personally, I think you should stay home."

"Nein, I want to get through a day." Kurt huffed. The effort of regaining his will shone through like a beacon, no matter how hard he tried to stop it. Azazel frowned, the boy was nearly a man by human standards and most demon children became independent around the age of 20 anyways. Still, this was a prince who was severely wounded and probably going to blow himself up whenever he saw fire. He had been wrong to send Kurt to school so soon. Azazel had naïvely thought school would help regulate him and that starting on the same day as the rest of the school would have made Kurt adjust better.

"What subjects are left?" Azazel asked.

"Umm, art, philosophy and chemistry." Kurt recalled.

"Right, you can go to the first two. If you tell your teacher about your issues with fire, you can go to chemistry. You can come home any time Kurt, believe me I'm serious when I say that. It would save the entire population if you did."

"Ja, I promise, if it's too much."

"You were only supposed to teleport once today, so since going over your limit is a possible factor, I'm going to have to port you over."

They teleported outside of the Headmaster's office and Azazel made sure to call Balan before teleporting home. Kurt had a strange feeling. His Germany parents were nice, and he defiantly loved them but Azazel was different. His love was almost instinctual, his protectiveness stemming from the weak bond they had begun to build on. It was almost like making up for lost times. Feeling their tails intertwined and ending up in his father's arms made Kurt feel like a child again, receiving comfort he wasn't really used to. His Germany parents had let him know early on that he was adopted and he received comforting pats and hugs but never an embrace like Azazel had given him. Maybe it was because he was so weak at the moment.

Balan entered the room looking flushed.

"Hey buddy" he smiled.

"Hey" Kurt replied. He knew Balan knew about him now.

"For a first day, you sure do cause some dramas!" Balan smiled. "But now you know my secret and I know yours, my prince. I'd prefer it if we kept it quiet though."

"That's fine Balan, it was kind of embarrassing for me earlier too." Kurt admitted. "How is Kalti?"

"Ah" Balan blushed. "Thank for saving her earlier. Kalti will be fine. I just feel bad it wasn't me to rescue her."

"You like her?" Kurt smiled.

"Y-Yeah. That's another secret Kurt! She's a childhood friend, so I doubt she even notices."

The two boys grinned and Balan left Kurt in the art room. "I have Human studies now, so I'll be in the next block. Promise you'll still look macho if you need my help." Balan reassured.

"Is this because you're a Keeper?" Kurt asked.

"It's because we are friends" Balan smiled. "This morning I was told I had to wait for a teleporting blue foreigner; that was all I knew when we became buddies."

"Ok then." Kurt smiled, somehow he really trusted Balan. "Catch you later."

Entering the room, Kurt found a few sofas, easels, tables and a small sink. Most of the students were already working, a few were sat on the sofas talking or relaxing which the teacher didn't mind at all.

"You must be Kurt, my last student." A green skinned teacher with black swirls along his face smiled down at him. His hair had been left a natural shade of black but his cream ram horns were also featuring some strange make-up.

"Hello" was all Kurt could think to say.

"As I said earlier, by the end of the week you have to create one piece of art around our buzz word: bonds. I don't mind how you spend your lessons here; you can even skip if you can prove you can do the work. Here is a sketchbook; they help most students with initial ideas."

Kurt took the sketchbook and headed to the sofa area. Kalti was still in the infirmary but Murmur was sat near an empty sofa, moving a ruler around his sketchbook. Kurt sat on the sofa and began with a mind map. He put down his families: his Germany family, his circus family, his x-men family and Azazel. He couldn't really think of anything else so he flipped to the next page and started to doodle. The class was pretty relaxing and Murmur ended up giving him a few ideas towards the end. Kurt decided this was one of his favourite classes.

Philosophy was next, which Kurt found easily as it was taken in the courtyard central to the school. Despite the school blocks surrounding it, the area of trees and rocks and benches was rather serene. Each of them was given a book of a different theorist and told to read it. At the end of the week, they would have a class debate. Again, although not particularly eventful, Kurt enjoyed his lesson. However, what had transpired had left him weak so in the end he left halfway through the lesson to go to the infirmary. Neither the teacher not any of the students seemed to mind. The Professor even gave Kurt some condensed notes on the first section of his book.

Once in the Infirmary, Kurt was taken to a selection of 6 beds and a nurse brought him a glass and a pitcher of water.

"We were informed of what happened Sera. You are simply exhausted so you just need to rest. We will wake you at the end of the day." The nurse bowed and left.

"Sera?" Kurt questioned.

"It's an old term, just a way of addressing you because she didn't know your name. Usually at the first Sera people give their names. A bow is pretty normal here as well, as I figure you don't know much about politeness in this land."

"Thank you, Kalti." Kurt smiled.

"I should be thanking you really. I don't remember much, but I still have your jacket." The white curtain next to Kurt suddenly rustled, and he took his school jacket from the lavender hand.

"Kalti, can I ask why those boys were so...?" Kurt dared.

Kalti sighed deeply. "Because of my skin colour. My mother is a Bluey, just like you, and she is very well respected as a powerful demon. However, my father is a true violet, which is the lowest rank. He was originally a slave until my mother brought him. Most slaves and servants are purple skinned because they have little to no magic. I myself am a pretty high level magic user, but people still hate me for the colour of my skin."

"That's horrible." Kurt was about to talk of humanity's diversity but remembered the slave trades and the fact mentioning he was half human could be awkward for Kalti to understand.

"Wait." Kurt paled. "You have slaves here? How does the Dark Lord allow that?"

"Because he has a lot of nobles who enjoy slaves. Additionally, he is not a Bluey, but red-skinned which is rather confusing."

"Is he the only red-skinned demon then?" Kurt wondered.

"No, but it is extremely rare, and can come from any background. The only colour you can't really be here is purple. Most purple skinned girls are sold off to men, so those boys figured that I'd be happy to submit to them. Luckilly, my mother will be able to sue their families."

"Oh." Kurt couldn't say anything else really.

"Don't worry; since the Dark Lord discovered slavery, a lot of laws have been put in place. Like, girls must be at least 25 before being sold for pleasure and if only one parent is purple skinned they have a right to freedom."

"Still slavery is wrong." Kurt stated.

"Don't worry Kurt. I'm going to be the first lavender skinned official in the Dark Lord's court. The last Dark Lord was a selfish Bluey so there was no hope. At least now we have a Lord who wants to change his people for the better."

"That's a nice dream, Kalti, I hope you make it." Kurt said lazily, soon slipping into his own.


A/N:

Hello guys ^^ a super long chapter for you all because I couldn't find anywhere good to stop.

And Kurt's friends may have gotten a bit muddled last chapter so here are their profiles:

Name/ Skin/ Hair colour/ Eye colour/ appendages

Balan/ green/ black with red tips/ purple/ red horns

Kalti/ lavender/ bluey black/ black/ purple wings

Mania/ green/ orange/yellow/ none

Murmur/ green/ blue/blue/ blue horns over ears

I have them all drawn so hopefully no more mistakes ;) Additionally, I will post them on my DA account so you guys can see them :3 ( ~Hikarumangaluv )

PS. I'm going to start trying to add dimension to the demon society and I think I will introduce a couple new OCs but they are really begining to pile up, ne? so just two more girls! ;) Also, I might add a mini-fic of Kurt looking into Azazel's memories at a later date or have a few more Azazel-centric chapters, how does that sound? ;) Please tell me what you guys think! ^_^

It's really late now, so goodnight ;) Keep up the Kurti loving guys ^_^ And I love all of your reviews so thank you x