Mairimashita! Iruma-kun: Shadows of the Past, part 34
Deep in Kalego's dreams, Victoria was venting her rage over Nene's meddling. She was furious that the curse affecting his heart had been nullified. He had to be reminded that he would never be free. She'd plagued him with various nightmares for years, but this one was especially vivid. She wouldn't let him slip from her fingers so easily.
It was the past. Kalego stared in horror at Persephone's dead body. Her throat had been slit while he was busy with his morning routine. He shivered at the sight, sickened with himself that he'd let it happen. He never even noticed an intruder. How could he have been so careless?
Her blood had thoroughly drained across their bed and Victoria's crest had been carved into her flesh. He was reliving his greatest failure, letting his guard down where Victoria was involved. Thus she had taken away the demon nearest his heart in a fit of simmering jealousy, only this time, the knife was in his hand.
Dropping it in disgust and shock, he hurried to save Persephone with the power of her familiar. He performed the emergency ritual as she had instructed, but nothing happened. He stared at her pallid body with his finger pierced into her lifeless heart. Why hadn't it worked? His mind began to crumble at the thought of losing her permanently. What had he done wrong? Was he simply too late?
Clutching her close, he pleaded with the universe to make her phoenix appear as he pulsed his mana into her, trying to force a miracle, yet nothing happened. No beast materialized; No one answered his prayers. In the midst of breakdown, he loosened his grip to look one last time into her pale face. Her eye suddenly opened, completely devoid of it's natural red hue or any semblance of consciousness.
"You did this. Why did you kill me?", she asked in a frigid tone. As he struggled to cope with those accusing words, everything went hazy as if time was fast forwarding. When it stopped again, it was the present.
Kalego stood on the lawn of Sullivan's estate. His students stared at him in absolute horror, disgust, and anger. "Sensei...How could you?", uttered Iruma, distraught. Following the boy's line of sight, Kalego glanced down. Supported in his left arm was Persephone's limp body. Her heart had been viciously ripped out and was still twitching in his right hand. He was utterly covered in her blood.
In complete shock, he fell to his knees, staring at what he had done. Desperate, he tried to replace her heart, hoping her familiar would materialize, but it did not. There was no magic. Instead of relief from the sight of the bird's flames, all that he experienced was the sickening feeling of his fingers reaching into the chest cavity he had created.
"Unhand her this instant! Have you no shame, you vile worm?!", cried Vincente, aggressively coming forward from the teens. He looked completely unhinged as if his grip on sanity had been jarred loose by the sight of his beloved Lamya-sama's violent death. Beside him, Opera scowled angrily at Kalego, their cat ears flattened in disappointment. "What have you done?", they asked accusingly.
Trying to process everything, Kalego glanced back toward his class. The crowd parted as Shichiro and Pandora came running forward. She looked utterly destroyed at the sight, barely able to stand. "How could you?", she asked in a broken voice. "She trusted you...She loved you!", she screamed, her voice full of the stinging agony of loss and betrayal. Tears flooded her tormented eyes.
Balam barely caught her as she finally collapsed in grief. He sent his old friend a dark, disbelieving look, as if he were questioning if Kalego had actually killed Persephone.
"Kalego-kun?", he uttered meekly, holding Pandora near as she wailed. He didn't want to think it was possible, but Kalego was clearly soaked in her blood. His coat was heavy with it and his hands were stained, even some splattered across his face.
That was the part that terrified the misfits - the twisted look on their sensei's face when he murdered her. It looked like he was enjoying himself during the brief violence.
At a complete loss, Kalego stared pleadingly at his oldest friend, knowing that if anyone would defend his innocence, it would be Balam. "Shichiro, you know me. I could never - ". His words cut off as he looked at the overwhelming evidence. So many witnesses were there and he was literally caught red handed as the remaining blood oozed from her severed heart clutched in his hand when the scene had started.
How did the two of them get there? How did it happen? He couldn't remember, but his guilt was clear. Somehow, he had ended the precious existence of the only woman he had ever truly let into his life. She had fully accepted all of his jagged edges and dark secrets...Yet this was how he had repaid her love and kindness?
As he glanced around for an answer, Victoria caught his eye in the distance. She stood behind his students with a smug grin. Winking, she blew him a kiss. He froze as he realized she had made him do it, but how? Down to one curse, he should have been strong enough to defy her now.
"Shichiro, Victoria did this. Somehow, she made this happen", he said, his voice full of emotion. He was so desperate to be proven innocent. He couldn't stomach the thought of actually having murdered Persephone, let alone after they had finally patched things up following so many years of being forced apart.
Balam looked at him in disbelief. His stare was almost cold. Kalego was obviously her killer. "That doesn't make any sense. You resisted her with two powerful curses for years and now you only have one", sobbed Pandora, wiping her face. She was so angry and heartbroken that she couldn't even stand to look at him. She stared into the dirt instead.
"Pandora…", he trailed, shaken. Coming to his senses, Kalego argued, "I can still save her! We have to summon her familiar!". His students looked utterly terrified by the thought of whatever necromancy he was planning. They didn't understand his words were, in fact, not the mumbling of a madman.
"Just leave her in peace, you fiend! Haven't you already done enough?!", shouted Valiant. Ignoring him, Kalego bit open his thumb to draw the summoning circle. However, as he reached toward Persephone's body, Vincente punched him hard as the student generals used the momentum of his fall to tackle him to the ground. They pleaded with him to stop, convinced he'd lost his mind.
Irritated by the misunderstanding, Kalego tried to hurriedly explain the phoenix, but he was running out of time and, for some strange reason, those who knew about the resurrection ritual said nothing, simply staring at him in pity. Why wasn't Pandora saying anything? Even Shichiro strangely held his silence.
Kalego scrambled to break free from his captors, but they were stronger than he remembered and very angry at what he had done. A wicked aura approached, drawing his attention. Sullivan glared at him in silent rage as Sabnock pinned him to the ground with a massive created axe. Asmodeus knelt beside him, glaring, with flames upon the tips of his fingers, daring him to move.
As Kalego desperately reached toward his slain lover, trying to finish the summoning, her face turned toward him and said, "You can't save me; This is destined to happen. You're going to kill me very soon."
The principal stared him in the eye as their students reluctantly let go at a dismissing gesture from his hand. Kalego went to move toward Persephone's body, but suddenly coughed as his blood spilled from his lips at the sensation of cold steel piercing his heart.
His eyes quivered in shock as Nene leaned her full weight into her sword through his back. Despite the sadness it caused her to do so, she would not let Persephone go unavenged. Whispering into his ear as he blacked out, she said, "I will never forgive you."
In the physical world, Kalego gasped as he sat up, suddenly jolted into wakefulness. "I'll never forgive you", echoed in his ears, but now it sounded like Persephone's voice. Drenched in a cold sweat, he glanced over toward its source to see her staring at him near tears. The echo he thought he had heard was her saying, "Please wake up! If you die now, I'll never forgive you!"
Her plea had somehow reached his psyche, jarring him from his horrid vision. She observed him closely as he slowly registered that he was finally awake again. "Thank goodness", she uttered breathlessly, hugging him tightly in relief. He'd never seen her look so scared.
"Persephone? What happened?", he asked hazily. He was thankful to now be conscious beside her, where he could easily confirm she was unharmed. Slowly letting go, she felt his face for fever and quickly felt his pulse along his neck. His heart rate was through the roof, but he was back in the real world and his pulse was steadily slowing as he caught his breath.
"You tell me. It looked like you were having some kind of severe seizure. You started twitching, getting worse and worse until you went into full blown convulsions, and I couldn't get you to answer me. Your eyes were rolled back into your head...You scared me."
Withdrawing her hand from his neck, she showed him the black blood upon her fingers. His curse mark was oozing Victoria's dark mana. He grit his teeth in irritation at the sight. It was the same black blood he'd seen from Robin before.
Putting it together, she uttered, "Don't tell me that was one of Ai's nightmares." She watched him closely with deep concern. Looking himself over, he realized his hands were still shaking.
Taking a deep breath, he wiped the chilled sweat from his face. "They're usually not that intense", he mumbled. Feeling her stare, he met her worried gaze. "Usually? You mean you've had others like that?...I thought you were dying", she said.
A faint, self deprecating smirk crossed his lips. "I'll be fine... It's you I'm worried about", he admitted. Persephone surprised him by grabbing his shoulders tightly and forcing him to face her. Her aura was rather intimidating as she stared into his eyes.
"We have to remove that last mark. Please let me try. I can't watch you go through that again", she pleaded. His eyes widened briefly at her suggestion. "You can't", was all he managed to utter in surprise.
Determined, she wasn't backing down. "Mum's taught me a lot since I last tried. That was years ago. I can do this. Let me help you", she argued. It slowly dawned on him what her plan really was. A little more forcefully than intended, he pulled her into a close embrace. The swift motion left her in shock.
Taking a calming breath, he said, "I know you want to help, but I won't let you take my place. If you try to copy Nene, you'll only manage to absorb my curse. You can't break them down like she can... I won't let Victoria have you."
She sat breathlessly in his arms, still shaken. Even then, he was thinking of her safety. Carefully holding onto him, she tried one more time. "Please." Her tone was heart wrenching, but he couldn't give in. "No", he said firmly. Feeling her tears finally hit his skin, he cradled her close, unable to bear the expression she undoubtedly wore. "You can't."
She was so upset by what she had witnessed that she latched her arms firmly around his neck in a stiff hug for a few minutes. She hated feeling helpless; It was so foreign to her. After a moment to calm down, she meekly uttered, "I hate how stubborn you can be."
Grinning at the irony, he softly said, "I know." They stayed in that embrace for quite some time, each worried about the other and irritated that their lover wasn't more concerned for themselves although the same time.
Once both had thoroughly calmed and his heart rate returned to normal, she asked him what he had dreamed of. Reluctantly, he told her down to the last detail, knowing she wouldn't accept anything less. After all, she was just as stubborn as he was. They would discuss it several more times in the near future, but for that moment, they bonded over the shared trauma.
A few hours later, Balam's phone chirped as his alarm went off. Calmly silencing it, Pandora smiled serenely over him. He had come to bed in the early hours of the day after his supervisory shift had ended and he'd given up his room for one of the boys' groups, so she was happy to share. Having him so close was especially comforting, knowing they had an unnamed traitor in the midst.
She'd cradled his head into her lap and lovingly hummed, stroking his hair, until he fell asleep when he'd come back. She had seen just how hard he and the others were working to prepare the abnormal class for the final fight against Victoria. She wondered if keeping the teens in the dark was really the best course of action, but she knew Kalego well and understood his pride was on the line.
Shichiro hazily opened his eyes. He grinned to himself as he realized she was cradling his face close just like she had in their school days. She was so warm and soft beneath his ear and her gentle affection was very soothing. She was so dear to him now that he wondered how he'd gotten through those twenty years without her.
Just the thought of not seeing her again was stifling. Her supposed death nearly destroyed him back then. The only thing that kept him grounded at the time was Kalego. Remembering Nene's purge of his curse made his sense of calm deepen. His friend was finally close to being free of Ai's fangs.
Pandora grinned at his happy, yet sleepy face. "Were you having good dreams?", she asked. Sitting up, he bashfully averted his gaze as he recalled them. He had been dreaming of her. He nodded despite his pink cheeks. Guessing his thoughts, she chuckled as he hugged him. "I love you, too", she beamed.
She knew reality was just outside her door and that anything awful could potentially happen any time Victoria wanted, but being able to sleep and wake up beside her beloved was more than she had hoped for, for a very long time.
Returning her embrace, he verbally confirmed their shared feelings. Pushed by his subconscious, there were things he coyly wanted to discuss, but they would have to wait. His duty as a teacher came before his own selfish desires. Thankfully, Pandora understood and respected that. She was so proud of what the shy demon she fell in love with so long ago had become. She looked forward to the day when Victoria would be a mere memory. Only then would they all truly be free and she could finally take his name.
A little later, Kalego and Persephone walked the hall toward their morning meeting. He had resumed his usual calm, yet dour attitude, but she was still tense. They had talked for a long time about his state of mind after such a vivid nightmare. It had to mean something. He looked fine now, but she was still worried. Such trauma, even the mental or emotional kind, would surely take its toll on his body.
After the third furtive glance, he sighed in annoyance. "What?", he grumbled, already knowing the answer. Pausing their stride, she stared at him as she looked closely for any lingering signs of distress.
"I've seen war traumatized rookie soldiers have night terrors and I've never seen anything like what you went through. Are you sure you're okay?", she said with worry. Glancing aside, he wanted to say he was used to it, but that wasn't entirely true. Besides, she'd never accept such a dismissal.
She reflexively stepped backwards against the wall as he leaned near her. The infamous wall slap move had put them at an intriguing angle for young, prying eyes.
"We agreed not to talk about this in the open", he said tensely. Unphased by his irritation, she evenly held his gaze. "Fine, but you are going to answer all of my questions later", she conceded.
A sound nearby made both of them glare toward the corner of its source. Just out of sight, Lied, Jazz, and Camui anxiously covered their mouths in hopes of silencing themselves as they flattened their bodies against the wall. They had just seen a new side to their sensei and drill master. It was both surprising and expected at the same time, given their personalities.
Both demons had intense auras. Projecting that aura, Kalego grinned wickedly, knowing they were there. "It would be a shame if something happened to any of our precious students who would then miss practice today", he said loudly in warning. The trio hurried away in fear of his wrath.
With a satisfied smirk, he looked back to the woman pinned between himself and the wall. "Are you done yet?", she asked flatly, clearly unimpressed by his show of bravado. Stepping back, he gave her room to move. "After you", he said, gesturing.
The sudden pinch of her nails digging sharply into his pointed ears drew out a mildly shocked eye twitch in pain. Refusing to give her the satisfaction of hearing him say, "ow", he impatiently waited to be released. As she let go, she crossed her arms. This time, it was her turn for a smug grin.
"Try that so-called power move on me again and I'll personally knee your devildom back into the recesses of your body from whence they came", she stated with an icy smile. Kalego stiffened visibly, fully aware she wasn't one to dish out idle threats. Clearing his throat, he averted his gaze with a muttered, "Right."
Accepting the psuedo apology, she started walking forward again. "Are you coming?", she teased, pleased her warning had gotten through to him. While it was true that she cared deeply for him and was currently worried for his mental health, that didn't mean she wasn't willing to give him a much needed reality check. Grinning faintly in appreciation, he resumed his place at her side.
An hour later, the morning meeting was over. The adults had a new plan to put into motion in regards to finding the identity of their traitor. Team Vincente would play a vital role. Now, Persephone sat in Sullivan's office, writing furtively.
A polite knock on the door distracted her from her journal. "Come in", she called, unsure who it would be. She glanced up in interest as Iruma shyly opened the door. Noting her expression, he promptly made his way to her desk. She wasn't one to mince words or waste time.
"Are you unwell?", she asked, returning to her notes. "No, I'm fine. I just haven't really gotten a chance to speak with you yet", he uttered, unnerved by her ominous presence. It felt like subdued annoyance, a familiar prospect indeed. He didn't know its cause yet, but he would find out soon once the misfits gathered for training.
"Can it wait?", she asked, furtively scrawling into her journal. She was worriedly logging her observations from Kalego's early morning spell. Sensing his unease, she set down her pen and met his curious gaze. Under her scrutiny, Iruma started to crack. Why did she have to be so intimidating?
With a light smile to calm the lad, she motioned for him to have a seat. "You have questions", she observed. Iruma tensed, but he needed answers. "I wanted to ask you about your healing magic. You and Nene-sama are very skilled. Is it your bloodline ability?", he uttered, politely sitting across from her.
"No, I just happened to have the talent for it... Now what is it you really want to ask?", she replied. He blushed at her intuition. Fighting his nerves, he voiced the thoughts that had prompted his visit.
"Pandora-san's wings… Can't they be healed?", he inquired meekly. Her piercing gaze seemed to soften in sympathy for her cousin. Resuming a calm demeanor, Persephone answered honestly.
"They cannot. You ask if it can be done when you mean to ask why I haven't done it. Say what you mean, boy. Contradicting yourself only makes you look like a fool."
Iruma swallowed hard. She'd read him like a book. He had gotten used to Kalego's threatening aura, but hers was still off-putting. Perhaps it was because he didn't know her very well just yet or perhaps it was part of her feminine charm.
"My magic is limited, Iruma. It's the same reason I haven't replaced my eye or mended Shichiro's face. I don't possess the ability. To put it simply, I can only mend what is torn; I can't replace what has been taken away", explained Persephone.
She slowly closed her journal, trying to help him understand. "Perhaps a more familiar example will help… Balam-kun's scar is very old, but it's part of who he is. While I could potentially graft skin to the site, I am not so callous as to assume that's what he wants."
Iruma thought hard about that. He was pretty sure his sensei wanted to look like everyone else, at ease with his students unafraid of what lay behind his mask. Then again, Persephone had a valid point. If he had never suffered the repercussions of what happened when he was young, Balam's personality might be completely different. It dawned on Iruma that was what she had meant. She wouldn't presume to tell anyone who they were.
Pleased with the thought process evident in his expression, she continued. "As for Pan-chan… Victoria so thoroughly shredded her wings upon her capture, that it's a similar story. So much tissue has been removed, it just isn't feasible to attempt repairing them. You saw it yourself. More than just skin is missing. She's lost muscle and bone, as well."
Glancing aside, she sounded so somber. The fact that Pandora would never fly again weighed heavily on her mind. Iruma dropped his eyes to his lap as he accepted that Pandora was permanently grounded. He was glad he hadn't asked her directly. It undoubtedly left more than physical scars.
As he looked up again, he was surprised to see a slight grin on Persephone's lips. "And this", she said, pointing to her eye patch, "It's completely gone. It happened a long time ago... I was tending to a wounded demon who had managed to get injured during the craze of his wicked cycle. I was there to help him, but between pain and malice, he couldn't see that. When he attacked, it caught me off guard. I froze in shock as his claws reached into my eye socket. To add insult to injury, he happily ate my eye."
Iruma's stomach turned, imagining the scene. It seemed like Persephone had been through just as much as the others. He swallowed hard, unsure what she would say next.
"As a healer, I'm not meant to harm a patient, but that day I did in self defense. It was easy enough to take him down. I just had to adjust quickly for my lack of depth perception during the scuffle. He took my eye, but I made sure he'd never walk again."
A faint grin appeared with her last sentence. She seemed proud of her retribution. Returning to a professionally neutral expression, she said, "I was angry for a few years, but I worked through it."
Iruma wondered about that. Something about her oppressive aura was very familiar. It made sense why she and Kalego got along so well. He recalled their previous conversations. He was still curious, but knew better than to ask.
Politely thanking her for her time, he excused himself to prepare for the day with his friends. Undoubtedly, the teachers had some hard-core activity planned. He'd need to conserve his energy if was going to survive hand to hand combat practice.
To be continued...