Like every human and possibly every demon, Izumi wanted to be liked. She craved affection, though she rarely got it, and yet it was not quite a necessity. She had grown without much of the softer touches and affirmations that most have grown up with. And while she was…okay without it she had not ever liked being yelled at. Just like everyone else. She found that as much as she didn't like it on a regular basis, she hated being yelled at in front of her packmates.
It felt like an extra layer of humiliation was added on to her that even the dark haired demon's nice voice did not take the sting out of. Unlike his venting of last time, this time felt very personal and exactly aimed to harm her. Asmodeus was livid at the insult and was ready to launch himself after the insulting teacher. He only stopped because a small calloused hand slipped into his own, throwing off his train of thought allowing the teacher to escape.
The words should not have bothered her the way they did. Who was Kalego to her anyways? He was just a teacher. She had supervisors dislike her before so she couldn't understand what made his hatred different. And she knew it had to be hatred because one did not simply target another because it was 'an amusement', not like this.
Perhaps he simply hated her for her heritage, or maybe the summoning ceremony was the final nail in the metaphorical coffin. She hadn't wanted to summon him in the first place. They were merely connected by chance. She was just as much a victim in this as he was. And yet all of his anger was directed at her. What did he think she would do? Summon him to do petty little things. She sighed the best thing now would be to ignore him and hope that he chose to keep his distance from her.
If she saw the male again in her lifetime it would be too soon in her opinion.
"Mistress." Az began but trailed off as her face turned slightly to him. She was frowning more now than ever. The pink haired demon in the time he had known her, granted that time was far too short in his opinion, had gotten used to her tiny smiles or neutral face that seemed to give nothing away. Impressive as that particular feat was the fact that this frown was etched so deep into his mate's face made him want to track down the abhorrent teacher and throw down the gauntlet. "I can rectify the situation if it will please you, My mistress."
"Izu." She cut him off. "Call me Izu. We are mates now. Both of you."
"Then you should call me Alice." Azmodeus smiled extremely pleased with the newest development. She had allowed him to call her by a nickname, a sure sign that she was accepting him into her pack. For demons it was never as simple as 'because a light flashed, they would be together forever.' No, demons didn't treasure anything freely given. So they made courtships that made demons work for their place in the pack.
As there were far fewer female demons they were often the ones courted. It only made sense to wait and not to do the work if you were the hot commodity.
As the heir to the House of Lust, Asmodeus knew his courtship must be flawlessly executed, especially when he knew there were six others in the pack that had the potential to steal Izumi from him. He wanted to be her preferred mate and while he hated it, his mother had given him all the lessons and techniques to achieve his goals.
The Asmodeus house was the House of Lust. They produced the finest and best Succubi and Incubi. The pink haired demon had wanted to shed the stereotypes that had gone into the house's titles and make his way in the world under his own power. However, he had also not wanted a mate at all until he met Izumi. One of the first lessons his mother had ever taught him was to 'keep your mate happy.' No demon who was unhappy wanted to reciprocate any emotion other than the negative ones. How to do that though? Before he could fully come up with a plan Valac spoke up.
"Iru-chi!" She sang looking up happily from her place in the female's arms. She had enjoyed the human's absentminded petting. "Do you wanna play? It'll make that frowny sad face turn upside down." Clara might be hyperactive and a bit dense but she was very observant. The teen had to be living in the forest around her house. She could see that the words from earlier had soured her blue haired mate's good mood. It had made her a little mad at Edgy-teach.
They had a lot of fun with Masked-Teach. He had summoned vines for her to play on and for Azz-Azz to chase her around. She had even gotten pats and sits from him as they snacked. She liked the older male. Hopefully, he would be a regular playmate as it made Izumi smile softly to see the three talking and playing. She liked that smile and wanted to see it again. Though to Clara even her other faces were better than her sad one.
"Sure Clara."
Balam followed Kalego silently for a while. He was in a very foul mood thanks to the situation that had just occurred. So He let the dog demon storm through the halls keeping a sedate pace behind him. When he got like this there was little the larger demon could do besides let him ride it out for a while. He could scold the demon for his previous actions with the blue haired girl but that would be useless at the current moment. Anything that was said to the irate demon would not be taken as 'helpful' or 'kind, instead he would take them as an attack on his character. So the gargoyle waited patiently as the other threw open the door to his office.
The door hit the wall, wobbling ominously as it vibrated from the force. Still he said nothing as he moved to make Kalego a tea to calm his frazzled nerves. Balam had no intention of letting the conversation go. It would need to be dealt with accordingly. The dark haired demon snatched up the cup that Balam offered him after a few minutes of his silent tea making.
"Out with it." He growled gesturing for his white haired mate to speak.
"I agreed with you that Izumi might be better without knowing you were her mate until she is out of school as well as any other mate who is in school." He began looking into dark purple eyes. "I do not agree with the method you are taking." Balam did not often put his foot down. In fact, he was strangely tolerant for a demon as not many things bothered the man. However, if someone did intend to make him angry, upsetting his mates was the surefire way.
"I am…" Kalego was silenced with the stern look that his oldest and dearest friend leveled at him.
"You are on the path to being rejected." Balam warned him. The tone and volume were very level and yet it was like he was slapped. "She is new to this school and by all means seems to have been through something that has taken her childhood. You acting like an utter Flame Slug will do little in your favor." Balam didn't have to look hard to see it. The way she sedately watched her friends and the surprise when she was offered to play as if she had never been asked to do such a thing before. He had observed much on their little outing, not just about his two newest mates but also the blue haired girl.
She was very expressive if you looked for her tells. Luckily, his bloodline ability aided in finding a person's lies and misleads. Even half the truth is half a lie and that showed up too.
"Is that your goal?" He asked. "Do you want her to reject you?"
Kalego was silent before turning his head away from Balam's steady and unyielding gaze. "I don't know." He said with little thought. Having Sullivan's grandchild as a mate did a lot to his emotions. "No, I don't want her to reject me." He finally admitted.
Being rejected by a mate was the worst thing a demon could go through. While it was true that packmates shared a bond forever, the state of the bond could differ radically between different demons. Through a fully formed bond one could feel the state of the other's emotion and send reassurances to the other. It was the way of the bond. However, this still held true of a rejected bond in a way. Even with the rejection the bond still remained. However it doesn't serve any purpose. It becomes a hollow emptiness where your mind and heart know that something is supposed to be there and it isn't. It was the absence of an integral part of you and other mates could see this as a flaw or warning and stay away. A demon rejected was a demon who could lose everyone.
"You have not had a positive encounter with her since you two have met. I don't want to see you getting hurt because you can't put your grievances against the chairdemon aside." Balam warned softly. "You don't need to love her, but you do need to be there for her."
"I will." He sighed. Despite his dislike of the situation, he didn't utterly dislike the girl. She seemed to be a calm person which was better than he could have hoped for when dealing with Sullivan's progeny. "We should go to the staff meeting. Tomorrow's our first day with our new classes. Time to find out who will be teaching what class."
Later that dayIzumi laid in bed just thinking about the day. It had been both according to plan and wildly off. The other two had welcomed Balam as much as they could without knowing that he was one of the pack. For some unfathomable reason, she wanted the last three of her pack mates as soon as possible. The thought of having soulmates had been overwhelming at first but gradually it was something she had craved.
She wasn't going to go out and find them right this instant and she didn't need them to fall head over heels for her. She just wanted the group to be able to lean on one another. She was sure that everyone in her pack would be able to do that. Maybe it was the years alone that had her feeling like this.
Far away from the girl drifting off to sleep. A darker storm brewed. Demons of all shapes and breeds were waiting for their leader. They were antsy to do something to further their cause. After all, a demon should be a demon. They were made for tearing, ripping, and destroying. The original demons were how they were meant to be and 'civilizing' them was only turning them from fanged hunters to toothless pets.
After all, the strong should dictate the weak. One's ambition should be realized by crushing others. None believed that more than the turquoise haired boy that waited for his 'older brother' alongside the rest of the demons. His goal wasn't very grand but it was that goal that made him a demon. To see the despair on someone's face, especially someone who trusted him. It was all he wanted in life.
Soon though, as soon as he could finish his device. All of devildom would know despair. His part in the grand machinations of this world would be to kick start the return to origins for all demons. Those who fought against instinct would lose, as fighting the nature of yourself was the hardest war of all.