The day before had been such a rollercoaster that Izumi didn't wake up until a light rap on her door startled her awake.
"Izumi~" The voice of her grandfather sounded through the door. "Are you awake?"
"Just barely." She said, rubbing sleep from her eyes. The door was thrown open revealing her grandfather and Opera who had a steaming cup of hell grey tea (this world's version of coffee.) "Oh Opera. My hero." She held her hands out for the pick me up. While she didn't mind the mornings, nothing beat a good cup of caffeine to wake her up.
The cat demon gave a happy ear twitch as she took the tea from their hands.
"What about me? I stayed up all night preparing everything for today." Grandpa made a grand gesture and a pile of items appeared in a stack that measured higher than herself. She wasn't sure what most of them even were or even why she would need them. "Opera and I even stayed up to hand embroider your uniforms." The tall demon showed her his bandaged fingers.
"Old man." She sighed, taking his hand in hers. "I appreciate the thought and time you both put into this but I don't want you to lose sleep and get hurt for these things." She turned his hand over in hers, remembering that he said he hadn't slept last night either. She held her hand out to the cat and waited for them to put their hand into hers. With a quick look over their hands she found that the cat had no wounds of their own. She then looked back up at her grandfather. "Does it hurt?"
"Oh, it only stings a little." He waved off her concern. "Besides, I enjoyed doing it for you. It brought me joy to know that my work was something you could show off."
The girl wasn't sure what expression to make. She could feel her lips twitching as she pressed them together. It made her happy that they cared but the gesture also made her chest tight. "I.. um…T-thank you grandpa." The words were spoken through a tight throat and came out a bit croaked. She had never been given a gift before, let alone something somebody had made because they cared. Izumi wasn't stupid. She knew that this demon had some bigger plan for her. He had been too prepared and thought too far ahead for her to be just 'sold by her parents.' But for this feeling that she got. To feel cared for and to feel the affection they so willingly gave her. She found that she would go along with it, whatever it was. "You too, Opera."
It was taking a lot of effort to hold back the moisture collecting at the edge of her eyes. For the girl everyone wanted to use, she felt so lucky.
"Oh my sweet Izumi!" The chair demon ended the moment by picking up the girl and hugging her tightly. "I'll make you 66, no, 666 embroidered shirts, okay?"
"No, old man. I don't need that many." She chuckled, heart warm and feeling lighter than a few minutes ago.
"Actually," Opera piped up as their tail flicked mischievously. "If you keep picking fights, you may need that many."
Izumi gaped at the demon. "I didn't start that fight though." She choked out.
"You did take that boy's spot, for shame." They teased having no mercy for the girl. "You also ended that fight rather abruptly and sent him to the nurse's office."
"Opera!" She cried out while her face turned the same shade as the demon's hair.
Here and now. This was her family. She wasn't sure what Opera was to her yet. They said not all pack members are romantic but she wasn't sure how to differentiate between what was and what wasn't romantic. All she knew is that despite the embarrassment, she wanted to be here with these people. These demons.
The aforementioned demons parted briefly with the girl so she could ready herself for school and by the time she was finished, breakfast had been laid out for her. She was shoveling food into her mouth when a thought brought her up short.
"Opera." The girl called, gathering their attention. "Do you know our newest mate? I said that correct, right?"
"Yes, you did. And yes, I do. He was actually my kohai."
"Your underclass man right? Who is he and what's he like?" The wild man mystery was exciting her as the security demon placed a hand under their chin in mock thought.
"His name is Shichiro Balam. He is a very loyal and affectionate mate though he is a bit overly fond of skinship."
"What's skinship?"
"Ah, a demon term. Demons are creatures that derive their value for the most part on their strength. However, in close knit groups, they allow skin to skin contact to show affection. Shichiro doesn't get this often as many demons fear him because of his fearsome looks."
"But he is kind of adorable." She spoke the words under her breath not thinking that either of the other occupants of the room could hear.
Out of her sight, Opera's tail flicked happily at her easy acceptance. "That is the way he is seen. As such he has gotten into the habit of giving skinship whenever he can. Even if the other party is not willing."
She chewed her breakfast thoughtfully. "I mean. I'm a pretty big fan of cuddling. I think."
"I am sure that it would please him greatly to hear."
The girl waved to her family as she left them at the gate of the mansion. It had taken her a good ten minutes to convince the older demon to let her walk by herself to the school. She was taking the path she had taken with the two demons the day before. The path was still long and it was less exciting without someone to talk to.
She had made it to the entrance listening to the demons who were singing that horrible yet catchy tune when her eyes caught sight of a familiar white clad figure. He was standing in the middle of the gate's opening, with his arms by his side and his eyes roving from sky to ground as if looking for something. That something seemed to be her as they locked eyes.
"Master Izumi!" The pink haired teen's face lit up with happiness and he raced over to her like a puppy whose owner just came home. Which wasn't too far off the mark with his next words. "Welcome back. I, Asmodeus Alice, you faithful servant, have been waiting to welcome you here. I woke early and made it here by the witching hour." He said so proudly it made her mind buffer for a brief moment
Then it caught up with the words he had spoken. The witching hour was midnight right? But that was six hours ago. "Wait, you've been here that whole time?" She was almost afraid of his answer and rightfully so.
"Of course. As your ever faithful servant, I didn't know how early you would come so I had to be ready."
A horrified look over took her face. "You…you really don't need to do that." She stammered. "You'll get so tired from lack of sleep." Really she knew from first hand experience having to work two jobs with very little to no sleep.
"Are you sure Master Izumi?" He looked a little crestfallen then almost immediately perked up. "I see, you must want me to be in peak condition to help you vanquish those who oppose you."
'That's a bit extreme.' She thought to herself. The boy, no all the demons she had currently had the pleasure of knowing were much kinder and more real than the majority of the humans she knew. They gave her experiences and feelings she had rarely gotten the opportunity to feel and do. "Just please don't stay here waiting for me that early." She didn't really think she would ever have to tell someone 'don't wait six hours for me.' But here she was. Telling a literal stranger, who was a demon, not to be unreasonable.
"Very well, if this is when you get here, I shall get here before now." He said cheerily. "We are doing our familiar summoning ritual today. I have already checked the groupings. You and I are assigned for the same time. Allow me to show you the way."
Izumi nodded and followed the overly pleased boy to the outskirts of the school. "So what should I expect from this Familiar Summoning Ritual?"
"So from what I've gathered. We will receive a sigil that we'll use to summon our familiars, who are beasts that we use and dictate to do our bidding. We are graded based on the level of monster we summon."
"I see." The girl hummed. They were waiting outside large doors for their turn in the lines. "That's a bit nerve racking."
"Well, it is to be expected. We get our classes by the results of this event. Plus the test overseer is supposed to be this very famous teacher. His clan has been teaching in Babyls since it was originally created.
"That's pretty outstanding." She muttered. She wasn't sure how long Babyls had been open but if it had been multiple generations of demons who lived like her grandfather that was a long time. Though she didn't have much more time to think about it as the doors to the hall slammed open.
"Be Silent." The room fell into an almost instant hush. "Group 2 may now enter." She looked to Asmodeus who nodded and led her way to the room. The man at the front of the room was one she instantly recognized as the purple haired facility demon from the first day. He had glared holes in the back of her head at the entrance ceremony and he was glaring at her now. "My name is Kalego Naberius. I am in charge of conducting this event. The school authorities have always entrusted me with this ritual because I can sift through you and find who is trash and who is able to be recycled trash." He stepped closer to her with each word until he was right in front of her. The girl tried her best to hold her ground as he lowered his face until it was a mere centimeter from hers. "Like trash that relies on their grandfather's position and chants asinine forbidden spells in the auditorium without permission. Then that said trash picks a fight with other trash the very same day. Trash like that should be expelled from this school immediately."
Izumi knew only two things at that moment. One Kalego Naberius absolutely hated everything about her and two she desperately hoped that the feeling in her chest didn't mean she just developed a degradation kink. Because despite the embarrassment she felt it wasn't the only emotion that she got.
"Wow look at that Izumi guy! Stone cold! He's not affected in the slightest even with the Naberius guy threatening him!"
Wrong, she was very much affected. The man was intimidating, angry, and looked ready to throw her to the curb with the first mistake she made. That was not something she wanted.
The man turned on his heel and stalked back to the front while speaking over his shoulder. "In short, students who can't make the cut will be forcibly withdrawn from school." An immediate protest echoed from the students. "Silence." The words weren't really yelled but they echoed through the room. "Now pay attention."
He pulled out a poster/tablet that had a little video thing playing on it. The narrator was a heart that seemed to be on crack as it shook sporadically explaining the rather simple process of summoning a familiar. As far as she could see, even she would be able to do it. She might not get a good one but she could probably do it. The second the guide's last words ended Kalego slammed the thing into the table, a crack appearing on the back.
A snort left her lips at the over the top action and the teacher looked at her with fury. She tried her best to stare forward without meeting his eyes afraid that he would single her out more than he already had. He continued to look at her for a few extra seconds before continuing his explanation. "Now each of you will be given a sigil with my seal upon it. Anyone using one that does not have my seal will be immediately expelled."
"Professor, are familiars dangerous."
"What an absurd question." The purple haired teacher chuckled. "Familiars are servants to the summoners. That means if any familiar were to dare try and lay so much as a wing tip on their summoner with intent to cause harm…" He picked up the pink tablet on the table. She wasn't sure what happened but a bright electric explosion engulfed the tablet. "Punishment will be heavily exacted. So take heed." The demon had his index finger through a large and burn gaping hole that now existed in the once instruction manual. "Now shut up and form a line."
The woman's face was a bit pale as the demon passed her. She had to do a little something on this test or else this demon was gonna fry her up. The summon took very little time, less than a minute for each demon. It really was just prick your finger, make a blood circle and burn the paper. It was so simple she could do it.
She watched each person get their little pets. They came in all shapes and sizes. Some of them didn't look very threatening, well most of them didn't. She watched the line in front of her get shorter until Asmodeus was up next. Before he stepped up, she took his sleeve and gave it a light tug. "Good luck," She smiled up at the much taller teen. "I believe you'll do really well."
She watched him wobble slightly to the spell circle feeling like he might be nervous even though she had just encouraged him. He did say it was only natural to feel nervous on such a big test. However she was unable to see his face of absolute bliss having been praised by his newly gotten master. His master believed in him so he couldn't prove him wrong.
Izumi watched as the demon followed the same moves as the others before him and placed the paper in the fire. A long loop of smoke slithered out wrapping a few times around the pink demon before solidifying into a large horned snake with little wings and a flame on its tail.
"Oh, wow." She breathed rushing over to him. "He's so big. Amazing Az." She shortened his name by habit but this didn't seem to bother him as he placed a hand over his chest with a short bow. "Can I touch him?"
That brought the demon up short. "Of course." She reached out a hand and gently rubbed the upper eye ridge of the snake. She wasn't too afraid of snakes or bugs, mostly because she had to live outdoors, in the summers so such things were commonly found in her tent. But to see such a large, yet calm snake, she couldn't help but want to pet it.
Asmodeus was moved to tears that his master not only approved his familiar but actively liked it. He did amazing in summoning the perfect familiar and surely it would help out in the future. Indeed he would show it off every chance he got.
"Izumi Suzuki. Quit stalling and complete the Ritual." The angry teacher sneered.
"How rude. If you would like Master, I will take on that foolish teacher and show him to respect you." The demon was so ready to launch himself across the hall for her honor, but she placed a hand on his forearm as if she could even hold him back.
"It's my turn now." She was nervous. She wasn't sure what familiar she was going to get and she was unaware that this was a test of her magical powers, of which she currently possessed none. All she knew was she had to prick her finger, draw a circle of blood, and burn it. Her eyes watched as the paper went up in flames. She wasn't sure how familiars were chosen but she just wanted something with claws and wings. Her mind repeated those features as the smoke began to rise.
A bright light lit up the spell circle at her feet. "What's happening?"
Opera looked out of the window in the Principal's office. Their mind drifted to the girl who had recently become their mate. A human in the netherworld did not make a safe human. She likely would be scared, she probably wanted to flee this place as fast as possible.
So far her allies were mighty. She had her grandfather, themself, and now Shichiro and the Asmodeus boy. She was still going to need more if she was to excel here and she needed to grow stronger.
"Worrying?" The chairdemon asked to place another paper to the side. "I wouldn't, I've already arranged for her to have a hell of a good dog to protect her."
The cat demon looked over at his master. They were sure that he meant Kalego but they weren't sure how they would accomplish that.
"Well, he is overseeing her familiar summoning ritual today. It was the most optimal way to ensure that she would be tied to him." Though the hero of the netherworld was often cheery and upbeat, he was still a conniving demon.
Opera chuckled softly, they had been looking forward to the reaction he would have when he found out they were mates. This was much more exciting. Kalego needed a few surprises in his highly controlled life.