Life continued as usual in the Devildom. Hours turned to days, days to weeks, and weeks to months. It all flew by so fast that I soon lost track of ust how long I had been living in the circle of hell I had come to call home. There were good days, bad days, and just normal, average days that simply blended into one another. Then… on one fateful morning, everything changed.

It began like every other morning since things had settled down from the early drama. Levi came down to breakfast late, having stayed up far too late playing video games again. He was so tired he nearly fell asleep in his plate, which was empty thanks to the ever ravenous Beel. Asmo ranted to Levi about how lack of sleep would ruin his skin, and Satan warned him about repeating the year for the umpteenth time this week alone. When Belphie eventually came stumbling in, he plopped himself into the chair right next to me, leaning on me like he intended to take a nap right there. This led Mammon into a tirade about the youngest brother "hogging" me all the time, to which I just laughed as I munched on my breakfast, mentally going through my schedule for the day.

Eventually, I managed to untangle myself from the brothers, snagging my messenger bag before heading for the door. I opened it, and nearly ran head- first into Lucifer. He caught me, gently pushing me back a step and safely onto my feet.

"Ah, Belle," he greeted, gently adjusting the cape of my uniform. "I'm glad I caught you."

"Morning Lucifer," I greeted right back.

"Morning!" the other six brothers called from the table, Beel's voice muffled due to the sheer amount of food stuffed in his mouth.

"Whatcha need?" I asked, adjusting my hold on my bag.

"We need to talk about next week," he explained. "You and I are going to see Diavolo tomorrow to discuss it. Put that on your schedule."

I already had my D.D.D. out, opening my Tasks app to add in the appointment.

"Alright, got it," I declared, powering off the device once I was done. "What's so special about next week anyway?"

Lucifer's face became incredulous and his eyes narrowed.

"Are you telling me you've forgotten?"

Hearing his tone, the brothers at the table all stopped their bickering. They came over towards us, gathering behind me with curious and somewhat worried expressions.

"What's going on?" Levi asked. "What's happening next week?"

"It must be important if Lucifer's this serious," Asmo mused.

"It is," Lucifer nodded. "Next week marks the end of Belle's stay as an exchange student."

A stunned silence filled the dining hall. Even Beel stopped eating from pure shock. I turned back to my D.D.D, opening my tasks so I could check the date. Sure enough, next week was the year anniversary of when I was brought to the Devildom… and the end of my year long exchange program.

"It's… almost over," I whispered, voice shaking with disbelief.

"So… next week," Asmo let out, looking like he was ready to cry, "Belle's… going back home."

"Has it really been a year already?" Satan questioned. "It went by so fast..."

"But-" Levi stammered, "but Belle and I still haven't managed to finish our playthrough of Mononoke Land..."

Beel set down his plate, his food only half finished.

"I've lost my appetite..." he said softly.

"...well," Belphie chimed in, sounding just as miserable as the others "all of you should feel lucky. You've gotten to spend way more time with Belle than I have. Compared to the rest of you, I've barely spent any time with her at all."

Mammon was just silent, fiddling with his pact bracelet as he refused to make eye contact with anyone. Lucifer surveyed us all, then just gave a nod.

"In any case, now you know," he declared.

Remaining silent, Mammon returned to the table, grabbing his backpack and walking out of the dining hall. Seeing him go, Levi quickly scrambled to grab his own before taking off after his brother.

"Hey… Mammon wait," he called out. "I'm going with you."

"Mammon..." I let out, seeing a streak of tears down the side of his face as he disappeared from sight.

"Poor guy," Asmo let out, shaking his head in a rare show of sympathy for his scummy elder brother. "Just look at the state he's in..."

I could only nod in agreement, at a complete loss for words. Out of all the brothers, my imminent departure seemed to be hitting him hard. His greedy nature no doubt wanted me to stay forever, and knowing that I was leaving, most likely for good, was just too much to handle. I ran my thumb over his golden charm, wishing I knew what to say to make him feel better about me leaving.

"Unfortunately, we can't afford to dwell on this for very long," Satan pointed out, clearing his throat and straightening his back. "We're going to be late, so we should get moving."

"Right," Asmo nodded, pulling out a compact to check his make-up, no doubt making sure he hadn't cried and ruined his mascara.

Belphie snagged Beel's half eaten breakfast, sliding it into a tupperware box.

"Here," he insisted, handing the box to his twin. "Eat this on the way so you don't get hungry in class. The teacher will get mad if you eat all your pens again."

"All of you go on ahead," Lucifer insisted. "I need to talk to Belle for a bit."

Satan hesitated, but just nodded at that, I stepped out of the door, where I had been standing frozen since the news had been broken. The others slipped out of the dining room one by one, all of them giving me strange, sad looks as they did before disappearing behind the closed doors.

"What do you need?" I asked, all earlier excitement erased from my voice.

"I don't need anything, really," Lucifer corrected me, his voice softening as he gently ran a hand over my hair. "But, there is something I wanted to let you know. None of the others want to admit it, but they're all sad that you're leaving."

"I could tell..." I said softly, leaning into his hand. "Truthfully, so am I..."

"Then my request shouldn't be a burden at all," Lucifer said, a thumb caressing my cheek. "Please, spend as much time with them as you can during your remaining days here in the Devildom."

"What about you?" I asked, looking up at him. "Do you want to spend time with me?"

Lucifer seemed surprised by my question, his hand withdrawing from my cheek. I'll admit, a small whine escaped me from the lack of contact, which seemed to get a chuckle out of Lucifer.

"What exactly are you hoping I'll say?" he joked before ushering me to the door. "Don't get carried away. Instead, you better hurry up, or you'll be late."

I let myself be ushered out, then began my walk to RAD. I only had a little time left to spend with everyone, and even if Lucifer hadn't requested me to do so, I planned on spending as much time with the brothers as I could muster.

…

The day went by in a haze, and I could barely pay attention in my classes. Thankfully, it was apparently the end of the semester, so not much was happening either way. I felt like a zombie, just shuffling through the halls. I didn't even realize the day had ended until I ended up shuffling into the House of Lamentation. Once I was there, Mammon caught my arm, pulling me out of my funk.

"Hey!" he insisted as I blinked and returned to reality. "Yeah, you. I've been calling your name for the past five minutes. What're you doing just walking around with that creepy look on your face."

"Right, sorry," I let out, shaking my head as he let me go. "Guess I'm a bit out of it."

"You don't have anything going on right now, do ya? You're free?"

"Uh, yeah," I replied, giving a nod. "I'm free."

"Sweet, I knew you would be," Mammon grinned. "You almost never have anything going on these days. Anyway, it just so happens that I'm free right now, and so are you..." he was beginning to blush, no doubt trying to suppress his tsundere urges. "Which means you should hang out with me. And we'll… um..."

"Mammon..." Levi growled, materializing behind his brother.

"Gyah!" Mammon shrieked, jumping in the air before diving behind me. "Levi! You scared me! Quit sneaking up on me like that, will ya?!"

"Give me my money back," Levi demanded, holding out his hand.

"Wait, money?" I questioned before groaning and rolling my eyes. "Ugh, this again?"

"Listen Levi," Mammon insisted, still hiding behind me, "I ain't got time for this right-"

"You took money out of my wallet during lunch break today, didn't you?" Levi accused.

"Mammon!" I exclaimed, dislodging myself from his grasp. "Seriously?! When will you learn?!"

"Wha?!" Mammon cried out, throwing his hands into the air in feigned innocence. "I-I dunno what you're talkin' about!"

"It's no use playing dumb," Levi warned, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother. "I always make sure to polish my wallet until it shines just in case you try something like this."

"And let me guess, after lunch, it was covered in Mammon prints?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Yep," Levi nodded, sticking out his hand again as Mammon swallowed hard. "What's worse is that there's a limited edition figurine in a rare outfit, but it's part of this new store promotion starting today, where you have to draw a winning ticket out of a box. You can only draw tickets if you buy stuff, so I have to do it now, otherwise I might miss out…" He took a breath. "So...Give me back my money. NOW!"

"Uh oh..." Mammon let out before lashing out and grabbing my wrist. "Time to go!"

"Whoa, hey!" I shouted as I was dragged up the stairs. "What the hell?!"

"I'm not letting you get away, Mammon!" Levi exclaimed, taking off after us.

"Hurry!" Mammon said, laughing a bit as he dragged me along.

I don't know why, but my anger towards Mammon seemed to melt when I saw the smile on his face. His shameless grip on my hand and how quick he was to bring me along, a stark contrast from the first time we'd been in this situation, brought a smile to my face as well. We ducked down in the portrait hall, hiding for a moment to catch our breath.

"Damnit," Mammon gasped while trying to stabilize his breathing. "We can't stay here for long. Levi will find us any minute. We need a better place to hide!"

"We?" I panted, still laughing slightly. "I'm not the one he wants to skin!"

"Just think of something, quick!" Mammon insisted. "You're the smart one here, why do ya think I grabbed ya?!"

Okay, I may have blushed a bit at Mammon's compliment, sue me. He was a dumbass, yes, but he was definitely my dumbass.

"Alright, alright," I told him, waving him down. "Let's get to your room. Knowing you, you have at least half a dozen bolt holes and hiding spots."

"My room?!" Mammon exclaimed. "We can't do that, that's the first place he'll go to-"

"Exactly," I cut him off. "No one would be dumb enough to hide in their own room. Not even you."

"HEY!"

"Which means Levi won't think to look there, and if he does, I return to my previous statement about bolt holes and hiding spots."

"That's… That's brilliant!" Mammon grabbed me, twirling me in a hug before putting me back on the ground and grabbing my hand. "Come on, let's get to my room on the double!"

…

One frantic trip through the halls later, we were safely in Mammon's room. He leaned against the door, horribly out of breath, which was surprising, given how often he was running from his brothers. Granted, I wasn't much better, but my stamina was shit to begin with, and I was a mere human. As such, I was hunched over the side of one of Mammon's couches, my lungs burning and my side aching.

"Man, I can't stand Levi!" Mammon exclaimed. "Always gettin' on my case about small stuff like this… I mean, who cares?!"

"Apparently… he does..." I replied, in between hard gasps for air.

"He'll never stop chasin' me!" Mammon went on, sliding down to the ground as he threw his hands in the air. "Never! What am I gonna do…?"

"I'd suggest... not stealing from him... but that's like... telling Asmo... to stop flirting." My breathing was slowly regulating and I was able to push myself back onto my feet. Once I was stable, I ran my fingers through my hair and turned towards the second brother. "For now though, we should probably hide."

"R-right," Mammon nodded, getting back on his feet. "Levi may still check in here, so we can't just assume we're safe."

Approaching footsteps alerted us to Levi closing in on us. Mammon yelped at the noise and I jolted where I stood. Before I even had a chance to regain my senses, Levi knocked hard on Mammon's door.

"Mammon?" he called out angrily. "Are you in there? You are, aren't you?"

Mammon's face was a mask of fright as he began scanning the room desperately. After a second or two of more angry knocking, his eyes finally fell on the car in his room. After asking him about it some time ago, he'd told me it was his favorite car, a Demonio 666 Lexura. Apparently, it was the first thing he ever bought with the money from his modeling paychecks before ending up swimming in endless debt.

I had just enough time to think about this as Mammon hoisted me over his shoulder, bolting up the fifteen steps to the balcony the car was on. He yanked the trunk open, dropping me in before climbing in himself. He just managed to close the trunk as the door to his room was thrown open. I almost let out a yelp once I realized exactly what was going on, but Mammon quickly covered my mouth. In the light of the glow-in-the-dark, emergency release hatch, I could see him with a finger to his lips, shushing me silently.

"Oh Mammon!" Levi called out in a sing-song voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

Both Mammon and I remained as still as possible in the trunk, trying not to alert Levi to our presence. We could hear him searching just below us for a bit before sighing in annoyance.

"Damnit, they're not in here..." he let out. "I could have sworn I smelled them through the door."

"What is he, a bloodhound?" Mammon mouthed, to which I just shrugged.

"Well, if they're not in here, then he's probably dragged Belle off somewhere." Levi seemed to curse, and I think he kicked something, probably some of the laundry scattered across Mammon's floor. "If I don't hurry, I'll miss my chance to get that figurine. All the winning tickets will end up getting claimed. Just the thought of Ruri-chan dressed as a succubus… hehe..."

Mammon and I stayed silent, listening to see if Levi was still in the room. After a minute of so, we heard what sounded like a door closing.

"Is he gone?" Mammon whispered, finally removing his hand from my mouth.

"I think so," I whispered back.

Mammon pulled the latch and the trunk opened. He peeked through the crack, and when he saw Levi was gone, he pushed it open all the way.

"Phew, that was close," he said in relief, climbing out before offering me a hand. "I thought we were done for when he came inside. Heh, stupid Levi."

"I'm still mad at you for stealing from Levi again," I told him, causing him to wince before I took his offered hand. "But, I have to admit, that was kinda fun."

He pulled me out of the trunk and I steadied myself, smoothing out my uniform as Mammon closed the trunk behind us.

"Fun or not, we can't go thinkin' we're safe now, okay?" Mammon insisted. "Levi's one persistent bastard, he won't give up that easily. He may come back again, so it's time to change hiding spots. How about outside?"

"Works for me." I stuck my hand out. "Lead the way."

With a big grin, Mammon grabbed my arm and we resumed our earlier running.

…

I lost track of how long we were running, but we made it a ways away from the House of Lamentation. We ended up on a large cliff overlooking the Devildom, where the entire city could be seen. Both of us were exhausted at this point, my legs giving out as they felt like jello. Mammon was no better, laying on his back in the grass as he gasped almost as hard as I was.

"Alright..." he wheezed. "I think… we're far enough… away..."

"Considering… we're halfway… across the Devildom…." I gasped, "I'd hope so..."

Both of us remained there on the grass, just trying to regain our breath. Then, for some reason, Mammon just started laughing. I was no better, because I started laughing within five seconds. He remained on his back and I ended up falling forward, rolling onto my side as endless laughter poured from both of us.

"Man, did you see Levi's face when he saw us bolting from the second story window?" Mammon snickered, his laughter redoubling.

"I thought he was gonna jump through the window after us!" I exclaimed.

We both remained on the ground for a while, just trying to give our bodies a chance to relax. Mammon rolled onto his side so he was facing me, his smiling becoming softer and warmer.

"Y'know what? I've gotta say, I really have a lot of fun when I'm with you. When we're together, it's like I'm always smilin' always laughin."

"I'll admit, when you're not being a scumbag, you're pretty fun to have around," I told him.

Mammon took the compliment without complaining, reaching out a hand for mine, taking it in his.

"Listen Belle… Why doncha stay here from now on? Who needs the human world? Don't go back there. I want you right here in the Devildom. I want you here with me all the time."

I sat up and he did the same, an unusually series expression on his face. After a second, I reached out and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me without a moment of hesitation, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"I wish I could stay," I told him, "but I have family waiting for me back in the Human World. My parents, my sister… I want to stay, I really do… but I can't."

"I know..." Mammon mumbled, his grip on my back tightening. "I just-"

"There you are!"

Both Mammon and I froze, slowly letting go of one another to see Levi coming up the hill towards us.

"Mammon! Give me back my money!"

With a yelp, Mammon jumped to his feet, vaulting over the edge of the cliff before disappearing. I let out a noise of my own, rushing to the edge to try and find him.

"MAMMON!" I screamed.

"Relax," Levi snorted, leaning against the railing surrounding the edge of the cliff. "No way a fall like that will hurt him, no matter how much I wish it would… I'm just glad he didn't drag you with him again. Damn scumbag..."

"You're not gonna go after him?" I asked, until I noticed just how pale and sweaty the poor otaku was.

"You kidding?" he wheezed. "No way a shut-in like me can catch a professional debt dodger like him. If I try vaulting off this cliff, I'll be a greasy spot on the pavement, demon strength or no..."

"Fair," I allowed, gently easing him off the railing and onto the grass. "Here, sit down and catch your breath."

He sat down next to me as I rubbed his back, waiting for him to regain his senses. Once he was visibly better, he wiped his brow before turning to me.

"Listen," he said, "I'm a little wound up right now, so I might say something I normally wouldn't, but… I don't want you to leave, Belle." Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as he grabbed my free hand. "I don't want to lose you..."

"Levi..." I let out, pulling him into a hug of his own. "You won't lose me… No matter where I am, we'll always be friends. Besides, I'm sure we can find some way to keep in touch. There's no way I'd ever forget this place, or any of you..."

"You mean that…?" Levi asked, trembling hands reaching up to hold me. "You're not just saying what I want to hear?"

"Of course I mean that," I insisted, making him face me while I kept a grip on his arms. "We're family after all, remember?"

Levi sniffed, then just started crying, burying his face in my chest as he sobbed. I held him, rocking him gently as I did. In that moment, I think it finally sank in for me that I was leaving soon. My life in the Devildom was coming to an end, and I would have to say goodbye to all of the friends I'd made… and the family I didn't even know I had. A few tears dripped down my face, plopping down on Levi's navy hair as we both just sat there for a while, crying and letting our emotions out.

…

The day after my mini meltdown on the cliff, I went with Lucifer to attend the meeting about my departure from the Devildom. I didn't really pay attention that much, just giving one worded answers when I was called upon to do so. I think Lucifer noticed, because he seemed to be taking extra detailed notes for me. Either that, or that's just what he usually did and I was reading too much into it.

"Well then," Barbatos declared, bringing my attention back to the present, "that takes care of all the formalities related to the end of your term on the exchange program. Your paper has been submitted, and you've successfully made it through your year here."

I'd almost forgotten about the paper I'd been told to write at the beginning of this entire thing, but thankfully, Lucifer had been reminding me of it for the past month. Thus, I'd gotten it done, and I think I'd done an alright job, especially after going through at least seven drafts that were utterly butchered with Lucifer's red pen.

"I can't believe it's really been a year," I said quietly to myself.

"Yes, you certainly seemed to enjoy yourself," Barbatos nodded, "and as they say in the Human Realm, 'time flies when you're having fun'."

"Boy does it..." I replied softly.

"I'd expect nothing less from the human fortunate enough to spend her year surrounded by those seven brothers," Diavolo mused.

Lucifer cleared his throat, stowing his pen before closing his notebook.

"Are you forgetting that one of those seven brothers is here right now, and he can hear everything you say?"

Diavolo laughed, giving Lucifer a disarming smirk.

"Ah, now that you mention it, it must have slipped my mind."

Lucifer sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm happy you've at least remembered I'm in the room now."

"Oh, while we're on the subject of Lucifer," Diavolo turned back to me, his face growing serious. "...he seems quite distraught over the fact that you're leaving, Belle. It made me feel really bad to see him cry like that?"

I turned to Lucifer, genuinely stunned.

"You… you were crying… about me?"

Lucifer remained tight lipped, standing up and gathering his things. After all this time, I knew this was his way of avoiding answering a question that would damage his pride. It also was all the answer I needed, and it made my heart beat a little harder. He'd cried over me… and I hadn't seen him cry since the day the truth about Lilith came to light. To think I meant so much to the demon that once only saw me as an obligation to his Lord… Still, to save him some face, I gave a shrug.

"Who am I kidding," I said, shaking my head. "Me leaving is nothing for Lucifer to get sad over, much less cry about."

Lucifer turned back to me, but he was at an angle that I couldn't quite see his face. Diavolo, however, seemed genuinely surprised.

"Belle doesn't seem to believe you'd get sad over this sort of thing, Lucifer. Tell me, is that correct? I'm curious..."

"I don't feel strongly about it one way or the other," Lucifer answered tactfully.

"Well, I for one am sad to see you're going, Belle," Diavolo assured me. "When I think about you leaving us… it's so upsetting. I really am going to miss you."

Lucifer remained silent as he took his leave of the room. He paused for a brief moment to spare me a glance, but left almost the instant we made eye contact. I gathered my things to head out as well.