Izuku and the Magical Apparatus ran into the large hall doors of his mansion, huffing with exhaustion and torn clothing. "Third time … TODAY … we've been mobbed."
"It's reaching a level that's beyond Rookie Hunt. And that was violent." Azz spoke, looking like he'd seen a ghost. A ghost did actually try to get his autograph, but the metaphor was still there.
"Games … starting ...to be too much." Even Clara was losing steam fast.
"I love Izu, and I love sharing him, but only with people I'm comfortable with!" Eiko was rubbing against his arm very possessively. Between her and Clara, it was a wonder his arms were still able to pump blood through them. "This is why I'm stopping at a three-way!"
"Three-what?"
"Don't worry about it, more importantly, how are we going to get these guys to back off?" Gaako asked. With literally nothing offensive or defensive, and being the only Aleph(1), Gaako's only option was to skim the crowd. She also occasionally bit some arms and legs, but nothing too savage...that he chose to not notice.
"I don't think that's going to be an option for us. Our best bet is to just stay hidden in our own homes." Izuku sighed.
"You live in a giant mansion in a popular forest Izuku, that's not a valid option at this point." Azz pointed out. Damn it, he was right. How was he going to avoid this mess?
"My house is hidden in the forest of confusing steps." Clara spoke out as they all turned. "Why not come there?"
"And nobody ever comes to my house, you can come there." Eiko spoke, pulling him closer. "The rest can hide in a closet or something. Ooh, maybe we'll invite Ameri-chan too!"
"My home is rather well known already, but our defenses are second to none." Azz cleared up. "Though it's difficult to stay there on its own with my mother home all the time now. She wants 'quality family time', ha, as if." He would really be more concerned if he hadn't met the woman. According to his mom even during the 'mother meets' the lady still made passes.
"And if you ignore my entire family, it's perfectly fine at my place." She shrugged. "They should be out the entire day mushroom stomping in their airship." And that was a thought he was going to shove down and deal with later.
"Well I don't know guys, I wouldn't want to trouble you. Plus I wouldn't be able to get bags for-" Opera walked in with a cart full of bags.
"... I really don't like commanding those I'm in charge of, young master … but I'm having trouble getting groceries into the building." They spoke. Their hair was frazzled and there was a bit of a dark shadow under their eyes. Geez, it's even too much for them now.
"Well, seeing as we have little to no options, let's just go. Now let's see." He turned to all his friends. "Enee, meanie, miney, you. Eiko, we're heading to your house first." Eiko clutched his arm tightly in affection
"Why are we heading to Eistrings house first!? Don't tell me she seduced you already!?"
"Because she apparently, according to Gaako, has the most normal family. And we can all start with a breather for a change." Seriously, they really needed something calm.
"Oh devi, I almost forgot about my family! They're gonna be the worst!"
"I made a cake!" Shouted Aunt Peach from the kitchen, the gang just watching some tv shows with her little brother. She had a weird habit of baking overly big cakes almost every week. Something to do with her ex or something. "Please, enjoy yourselves!"
"Thank you very much, Mrs Peach." Izu smiled and sat down in one of the chairs. "This is the most relaxed I've been in ages. This home is so small it reminds me of just sitting on the couch with mom. Man, haven't done that in months."
"No, please, we're all friends here, just Peach will do."
"I thought you called them by the first name-whatever. I must say, the cake is quite good." Azz spoke as he took a few bites.
"Thank you. I've had plenty of practice. My boyfriend was always getting in trouble with Lord Koopa, some childhood rivalry that's been around since they were babies. They competed in everything."
"Super cool! You bake cakes and your boyfriend fights dragons! You're like an ultra aunt, going around and being awesome!" Clara clapped.
"Nono, that life left me far too stressed. It's why I've settled down with Eiko and Eita while their parents are on a business trip." She hunched over. "I can't tell you how many times we planned a party with all of our friends only for ghosts, lava, and the sun itself ending up trying to kill us. Egh, those goombas still give me nightmares."
"... Goombas huh?" Izu seemed oddly concerned about that.
"They're a bunch of militaristic morons." Gaako spoke. "Just ignore it, focus on cake, then we can get to the board games."
"I've got wordagedon." Her Aunt laid a bunch of tiles onto the table.
"Oh, we called that Mahjong where I'm from."
"Again, the cultural difference between your home and here still astonishes me." Azz rolled his eyes. "It's practically impossible to tell what's similar and different."
"Oh it's not that hard to comprehend." Peach spoke sympathetically. "The mushroom kingdom has plenty of cultural differences that may seem strange from the rest of the netherworld. I can't even begin to tell you about all the fire flowers and the leaves that give you tanuki suits for some reason."
"Are you a princess?" Clara asked with wide eyes.
"Was, ditched the crown onto the first lady I found when I decided to quit and jumped down a sewer pipe. Last I heard it's burning to the ground, but jokes on them, I'm finally free!" She let out a laugh that for some reason set most of the gang on edge, but honestly she found it boring. Would have been so much cooler for a princess' aunt to show off to Izu.
Asmodeus took extra precautions to this day, asking Lily and Violet to get rid of as much food as possible. Then when he got there first, convince his mother that she should make a 'wonderful feast' for his companions, and that she should hand-pick the ingredients for herself. This bought him and the gang a solid three whole hours. It was amazing when a plan came together.
"Alright, the cost is clear. Mother's out of our hair and my cousins are doing their own chores around the house. We'll be fine for a while." Azz grinned and waved his hand. "You may admire the beauty that is my humble abode."
"It kind of just looks like my house, except a whole lot whiter." Izuku looked all over, barely impressed.
"White is the color of purity, the hottest a flame can ever reach. Besides pink, it's the color the Asmodeus family likes."
"Boo, the rainbow is the best color! I'll fix your house for you!" Clara brought out two buckets of paint. "I'll have the whole house done in an hour!"
"... Well at the very least mother might just attack you instead of embarrassing me, so knock yourself out." More time avoiding her showing off baby pictures and talking about his nonexistent love-life, the better.
"I'm pretty sure you'll regret that in some form later, but we'll be gone by then, so knock yourself out." Eiko carelessly shrugged. "It amazes me that I have two rich friends I hang out with. To think Aunt Peach left behind a whole world like this."
It was a surprise Eiko was related to royalty in all honesty. Maybe he should research … "What was your last name?"
"Oni." The Oni family. Find anything special about them.
"Wait, your last name is Oni?" Izuku looked stumped. "How has that never come up in any conversation?"
"I don't know, how has you being a furry never come up before Lizzy came around." A fair retort.
"Truly a mystery wouldn't you say?" Great, almost forgot about the houseguest stuck to his friend's finger. "I mean, I get it. You looked so plain looking that you imagined yourself being something else, something truly outrageous and it stands out that you became more and more fascinated with mutations and…"
"Okay, okay, I am not a furry! I want to make that clear to everyone!" Izuku blushed. "My lack of imagination just simplified my image of All Might, that's all."
"So you don't find animal traits attractive?" Gaako wondered.
"I...well, I never said that." Izuku tried to turn away. "I mean, I like horns, but that's on every demon, how cute they look, and…" Both Eiko and Clara were writing something down in their own notebooks. "Don't judge me!"
"Hey Azz, mind showing me the bathroom?" Gaako asked. An obvious way to avoid a touchy topic, but he'd allow it.
"This way." He spoke as they avoided Clara and Eiko ranting about, silently looking along the walls and avoiding looking at the dragon as they walked down the halls. She noticed a large set of doors.
"Your room?" She asked with curiosity.
"Yes, I'll show it off to you all when we head to bed." Asmdoeus spoke as they went near it. He was about to pass it until he was grabbed, the girl opening the door and pulling him inside. "You wanted to go to the bathroom, right? There's still another left to go and-"
"You know how it'll be right?" Gaako's question made him pause. "All the judging from kids and family, teasing from parents and friends. All of it just kinda adds up." She locked the doors as a weird feeling entered his chest.
"Um, what are you referring to exactly-"
"Our relationship." She cut him off, shoving the boy towards the bed. "When we're around others, we both pretend nothing is going on so nobody says anything to the other." She fully got him on, now climbing onto the sheets herself, crawling to him with the wave of her hips. "When in private …"
Instinctively, Asmodeus' right arm cradled the lower side of her back as he used his left to grab a hold of her face, pushing his lips forward on her mouth as that sweet tongue forced itself into his own. The passion, that fire she had from that day at Walter Park was still there, and he wanted more and more of it. "..I don't know why this feels right, but it does."
"Oh it feels all kinds of right." She leaned into his ear. "Now let me show you some of what I learned in the class. of. Seduction." She spoke, licking his ear with warm breath, a growl forming in both their throats. Oh he was never going to let her go.
"And over there is where we keep the cannons, and over there is where the servants quarters are." Gaako pointed at place after place as the gang was gobsmacked, most of which was Izuku for some reason. Must be hard to find someone even richer than Sullivan. But that's what you get when your dad is a retired tyrant.
"And your dad has entire armies of Mushroom Demons and turtles at his beck and call? Am I right to assume that some of them fly on clouds and some of them have wings as well?" Izuku kept guessing about her father's entire...everything.
"What are you talking about? All demons have wings." She was confused about how he seemed to forget something that basic.
"Right, sorry, my brain's been practically in a blender ever since One For All. But am I right in saying all the turtles are either Green Shelled, Red Shelled, or skeletons, the Red Shells being stronger and smarter while the Skeletons just keep reviving?"
"Yep, why do you keep asking this kinda stuff yet seem to know it already? Did you do research or something?" She asked him, confused.
"Something, it's just … well I think someone is copywriting your empire."
"THEY'RE WHAT!" Shit, she turned and saw her little brother in his floatation device. "WHO'RE THE SHITHEADS THAT ARE COPYING THE PROUD KOOPA LEGACY!?"
"Junior, I thought you were hanging with dad today!?"
"I am, he just had to grab his tennis racket. He's coming back soon." No, he was here!?
"Alright, code beta, Azz, start running-"
"MY BABY GIRL BROUGHT HOME HER SUBORDINATES!" … Dang it. "HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TELL YOUR OLD MAN!"
"We were only planning on staying for a minute! Well, it's been a minute, so see ya!"
"NONSENSE, I'LL PREPARE US THE FINEST FEEST AND GET THEM FOUR SERVANT QUARTERS." The giant paused, sniffing the air. "... THREE SERVANT QUARTERS?" AAAAAAAAHHHHH! "WHO AMONG YOU HAS TAKEN MY DAUGHTER PURITY?!"
"Wait, so Dragon Lady was seducing Azz-Azz earlier? He really does have a thing for dragons."
"We did not go that far! We simply.." Her dad was already towering over him. "..did innocent things?"
"INNOCENT! I TRAINED YOU BETTER THAN THAT! HAVE YOU NOT PEGGED HIM YET!?" Okay, fuck that bullshit! She didn't even want this empire!
"This was a stupid idea, we're heading to my room, later."
"COME BACK HERE YOUNG LADY! HAVE YOU EVER ATTEMPTED A KIDNAPPING? NO EVIL PLANS WHATSOEVER!?"
"Oh, so this is why Aunt Peach never dated him."
"WAIT, SHE TALKS ABOUT ME? IS THERE ANY NICE COMMENTS OF NOSTALGIA? HOW IS SHE DOING? ARE HER CAKES STILL THE BEST!?" Parents are the worst.
"Yeah, still as moist as ever! She only brings you up whenever talking crap about her ex though."
"SO SHE STILL THINKS ABOUT ME! FUCK YEAH, I FEEL INSPIRED! GATHER UP THE CANNONS BOYS, WE'RE GOING PRINCESS HUNTING TONIGHT!" The men cheered loudly.
"BUT DADDY! YOU PROMISED WE'D PLAY TENNIS!" Junior complained, missing the horror of their group.
"OH, SORRY BOYS, BELLAY THAT TO TOMORROW!"
"IT'S ALWAYS TOMORROW WITH YOU! WE NEVER GET TO DO ANYTHING!"
"Did we just simultaneously ruin a father son relationship and start an international war at the same time?" Izuku asked, looking down on his hands in an existential crisis.
"You can't ruin what's already broken, Izuku." Gaako purposely didn't mention the war, it wasn't like he'd succeed anyway.
"STOW AWAY THAT ATTITUDE, OR I WON'T TAKE YOU TO THE OLYMPICS THIS YEAR!"
"I'm more surprised you guys call it the Olympics than anything else." Izuku muttered once again.
"How would you even have different Olympics?" Azz asked him.
"Oh, back home Bloodline development and heroism have taken precedence over everything else, so instead of Olympics, we have Sports Festivals, which put's the hero course students against each other in a series of challenges and battles in order to highlight strength and media attention."
"THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE MOST VIOLENT, MALEVOLENT, AND DIABOLICAL THING I'VE EVER HEARD OF." Her father spoke. "WHY DIDN'T YOU PEG HIM?" She hated her family.
They all rested next to her snoring family. "They really do just pass out super easy when it's night, don't they?" Dragon lady asked her.
"Yeah. Even my family knows you can't spend the entire day playing. We need to gain our energy somehow." Eistring, Azz-Azz, and Izuku-kins were pretty worn out from the day as well, barely keeping their eyes awake.
"S-sorry Clara, I wish we could've played with you more, being at your house and all, but.." Izuku-kins head was resting on her lap, probably too tired to freak out about it.
"Shh, it's alright, Izuku-kins. Sleep tight, nighty night." She rubbed his head, his fluffy, cute head.
"How do you deal with this insanity on the daily …" Azz-azz asked, in her other lap, super tired as well for his usual insults.
"Must be genetic, adaption." Dragon lady said from her shoulder. "How ya doing Eiko? About to pass out too?"
Eistring didn't respond, her head firmly nuzzled on Izuku-kins shoulder, hugging him from behind as she slept. "My-my Izu. My hero. My babies."
"I'll use the wake up hammer on her in the morning." Best not to let her suffer now. Right now they could both share sleeping Izuku-kins. When he was awake, that would be a different story. "So you and Azz-Azz are in love now?"
"I-ah..I don't know." Dragon Lady said as Azz-Azz started fading into dreamland. "Like I said, it was spur of the moment kissing him, but it wasn't something I wanted to be one time. I don't know….love is stupid anyway." She pushed away a hair covering Azz-Azz's face. "I just find myself caring for this idiot."
"Yeah, sounds complicated. All I know is that I love Izuku-kins." Clara gently rubbed the boy's face. "I was alone, and even though he talked with Azz-Azz back then, he was just as alone. I thought he would be like everyone else, just someone I had to bribe to hang around me, but he never asked for anything, hardly ever does now either."
"Sounds like you got something special."
"What about you and Eistring?" Clara asked.
"We just hung around as kids, crazy life stories I don't want to talk about, but we found each other fun and inseparable. I just took it upon myself to make sure the girl doesn't get into any trouble."
"Ha, Izuku-kins tries the same, but he gets into just as much trouble even when he doesn't try to." She laughed. "He says meddling and being a hero are the same thing, so maybe I should give it a shot."
Dragon Lady snorted at that. "You pull off being a sister pretty well, maybe focus on that before you try anything else." Hm, being everyone's big sister? Sounds like fun! "How did Eiko get the name Eistring anyway?" Dragon lady asked. Oh, story time!
"I pulled on a string and her clothes fell off." Eistring's face somehow got redder than Izuku-kins that day! "She fainted with Izuku-kins and me and Azz-Azz had to drag both of them to an empty room."
"You..you pulled her clothes off in front of Izuku?" When Dragon Lady said it like that, it suddenly sounded a whole lot less funny thinking back on it. "Wow, I..heh, wow, no wonder she didn't want to tell me." Alright, she wouldn't use the wake up hammer tomorrow, she felt bad now.
"Want me to sing you a lullaby?" She asked Dragon Lady.
"Nah, I'm fine. Just gonna use you guys like a warm blanket." She said, leaning into them. It was a nice warm pile … she had to make sure to protect it.
Not just Izuku-kins. Izuku-kins got sad when one was sad, so she had to make sure everyone was happy.
