"What, what are you doing here?" His voice was too shaky for such a casual question. The teen clumsily hid the long box behind his back. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"They were overstaffed, so they let me go early. A better question would be what are you doing here?" Maou didn't look angry, but he stared at Urushihara as if him being outside was an affront against nature.
"Who? What? Me?" Urushihara stammered. "Oh, I was bored, so I thought I'd stretch my legs. You know, fresh air."
Besides raising a single eyebrow, Maou's face didn't change. "Fresh air?"
"Y-yeah." He said, lamely.
A heavy silence hung between the two. The store jingles and beeping from the scanners were the dull knives that cut at tension. Despite the air conditioning running on high, Urushihara broke out into a cold sweat.
Maou let out a thousand years' worth of sighs and held out his hand. "Give it here."
"But–"
"Now."
The growl didn't have the same bass and power as his actual demon voice, but it was pretty damn close. Eyes glued to his shoes, Urushihara handed the carton to his master. Maou took the teens' loot, glaring down at his subordinate in disappointment. Through the curtain of his long hair, the bum noticed a small gaggle of people watching them. He flushed slightly, realizing how he probably looked like a little kid being scolded. Great. Perfect, as if he wasn't humiliated enough.
"How did you even know I was here?" The grumble was mostly to himself, but Maou heard him because he can't get away with anything apparently.
"Suzuno." Maou answered coolly. "Just as I was leaving to head home, she sent me an Idea Link reporting your suspicious behavior."
"All I did was leave the apartment!"
"Exactly."
Urushihara wasn't even able to think of a clever retort before the Demon King leaned in close to his face and whispered, "Go outside and wait for me. I don't know what you're playing at, or what you want with these but rest assured; we are going to have quite the talk when we get back home."
Urushihara almost wisecracked with whether he meant the apartment or Ente Isla but the murderous blaze in his master's eyes made the words die on his lips. Completely chastised, the teen walked to the sliding doors with the aura of a man on his way to his execution.
Mission failed.
***
When they arrived at the apartment, Urushihara prayed, for the first time in a millennium, that Ashiya was still out so he could devise another plan. His hopes were dashed when they walked through the front and the first thing his saw was the taller demons back.
"We're home." Maou announced, gruffly.
Ashiya turned around at the sound of their master's voice, elation and confusion mixed on his face. Which was quickly replaced with shock and anger when he noticed the NEET trailing in behind the Demon King.
"YOU!" Ashiya pointed dramatically, face twisted with fury. The loyal soldier stomped over to the teen and pulled him inside. "You, you little brat! " He snarled as the young man deposited the purple haired demon in front of him. Before Urushihara could even blink, the ashen blonde had him tucked underneath his arm.
"Eep! Wait! Ashiya, don't–!"
His feeble protests were silenced by a dull smack that reverberated throughout the entire room. Urushihara yelped. He wasn't even given a chance to process the pain before a series of stinging slaps rained down on his behind.
"Where have you been?!" Ashiya roared as he continued to pound the wiggling posterior.
"Ow! I-I just stepped out for a little– ah!" A particularly hard swat caught his thigh.
"I come home, and you are nowhere to be seen! Didn't even bother to leave some kind of note or inform anyone of your whereabouts!" Underneath the fury, there was a hint of concern in the demon's voice. "Not to mention, there's a huge mess on the floor! You better have a damn good explanation for this!"
Urushihara didn't answer. He couldn't. Ashiya was hitting him so hard he couldn't even breathe, let alone talk.
The merciless guardian slammed his hand down on the shut-in's right cheek. "Well?!"
"OWW! I- oof –can't really- ah –t-tell you if you keep hitting meee– like this!"
Ashiya paused in mid swing, silently contemplating those words. Urushihara sagged his body in relief that he had stopped. Gently, he was released from his prison and stood upright. The NEET discreetly wiped his eyes, tentatively rubbing his aching bottom, sniffling as quietly as he could.
"Well, Urushihara? We're waiting." The head of the household called out from behind him. Urushihara froze in horror. He had completely forgotten Maou was here. His entire face went red from embarrassment, and he turned his gaze to the ground and kept quiet. Wishing from the bottom of his heart that he had the magic to let it swallow him whole.
"...Alright, fine. I'll tell him then."
Maou began recounting his tale. Urushihara didn't even try to interject, he merely glared at the ground, which was still stained from the broken eggs, as his backside throbbed. At one point, he glanced up at Ashiya. The blonde was watching their master with rapt attention, frowning the whole time. No fair. Of course, Ashiya was going to believe Maou no matter what. Though, it probably doesn't help that what their King is saying is the truth. Angry tears took root in the corners of his eyes. This sucks. If all had gone according to plan he wouldn't be in this mess. Ugh. Why did Suzuno have to snitch on him? Why did Maou have to butt in?! This wasn't even his fault! He was just trying to help-
"Urushihara."
A familiar stern voice interrupted his wallowing. He cringed and slowly looked up to meet the ashen blonde's gaze.
"Care to explain?"
"Why?" He sniffed, crossing his arms defensively. "Maou pretty much covered everything."
"That still doesn't mean you are exempt from explaining."
Urushihara continued to stay silent for a few more moments. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I was bored. So, I left. Decided to try and pull a prank but Maou caught me. End of story."
The silence was positively suffocating, Urushihara wished it would just smother him completely. Perhaps lying wasn't the right thing to do but he really didn't want to admit that he broke the eggs and panicked. Besides, his ass was toast no matter what. Maou, once again, broke the chain of awkwardness and huffed, "Fine, if you don't want to tell us your side, then forget it. Go in the closet while Ashiya and I decide what to do with you."
Urushihara pouted as he stalked toward his safe haven, eager to get away from everyone for a little while. His journey was halted by a familiar hand on his shoulder.
"Actually, my liege." Ashiya said, bowing slightly. "I already have a solution, if you don't mind."
"Oh, really?" The surprise in the other male's voice was undeniable. "What is it?"
The stiff silence returned. If Urushihara wasn't feeling so humiliated, he would have shot their King a deadpan look. Ashiya let out a pointed cough.
"Oh." Was all Maou could say, awkwardness creeping into his tone. "Well, if you think you can handle it from here, then go ahead."
"I shall do my best."
Urushihara bit back a whine. For a few seconds nobody moved, and a new fear shot through his tiny body. Maou was probably going to watch. Wait, what was he saying? Of course, he was going to watch. There was nowhere else to go in this shitty apartment, no semblance of privacy whatsoever and there's no way loyal, devoted Alciel is going to boot their leader out his home.
For the first time since he's been here, he would much rather have his laptop or game system taken away.
"Before that, I would like to talk to you about something, my liege." Ashiya's cool voice brought him out of his swirling thoughts. "May we step into the hall?"
"Uh, sure man."
"Thank you, sire."
With that, the two men opened up the front door. Ashiya was the last one out and shot a look that warned the teen to 'stay where he was or else' before shutting the door. Pft. As if he could leave.
For a brief moment he considered eavesdropping but quickly decided it wasn't worth his time. He wasn't stupid, he knew they were talking about him. Probably having a good laugh at his expense. Maou was probably congratulating Ashiya for putting him in his place, and that blonde fool was lapping it up like the loyal hound he is. Sickening.
Oh, well. At least he was alone, finally.
Grumbling to himself, the spoiled demon went to his designated spot in front of the computer. He knew he shouldn't be messing around while he was currently in trouble, but he needed something to help take his mind off things.
The fallen angel plopped down on the floor, wincing as his sore butt made contact.
Damn you, Ashiya.
He wished the devil's castle had a full-length mirror so he could check the damage. Realistically, he knew that it was probably barely even pink, and the pain was already starting to fade, but he's supposed to be getting more! With a freaking audience no less! Urushihara pounded the keyboard with more force than necessary, a dark aura engulfing his small frame. He hated this, hated Maou and he especially hated Ashiya.
So caught in his anger that the demon failed to notice the sound of the door opening and shutting.
"Urushihara?"
The demon general looked over his shoulder, scowling deeply. His irritation was clouded with curiosity when he noticed it was only one of his roommates that was standing behind him.
Where's Maou?
Seeing the confused look on his face, Ashiya answered, "I asked Sire to step out for a little while."
Urushihara's jaw comically dropped, pure shock sketched into his face. "You...you made Maou leave ?!"
"I did not make our King do anything." Ashiya replied, sounding offended. "I simply assured him that I had everything under control and if he would be kind enough to grant us some privacy."
" Privacy?!" The long-haired teen howled, anger erupting. Without thinking, he sprang to his feet and stomped toward the taller demon. "You...you do that right in front of Maou and have the nerve to ask for privacy?!" The shut spluttered, cheeks flushing a dark red.
"You're right."
"See?! This is what I'm talking about! No one cares how I feel! You and Maou never want to admit that you're wr-" Urushihara cut off his tirade in mid-sentence. He looked up at his persnickety roommate, stunned. " What?" Urushihara said, flatly.
Ashiya looked down at him with something akin to guilt. "I said, you're right. I should've talked to our liege about leaving before disciplining you. Or at the very least let you talk." The self-appointed guardian looked to the side, conflicted. "I was, as one would say, worried about you."
Urushihara nearly fell over from shock. "Y-you were... worried about m-me?"
"Indeed." Ashiya was still as composed as ever. Urushihara's eyes wandered over the other man's face searching for any sign of deceit. "I know that is no excuse for how I treated you, but I thought something might have happened and when I saw you were unharmed, my worry transformed into anger. Once again, I apologize."
Urushihara blinked, slowly. There were a variety of ways he could react, the least of which was to snub his nose at the househusband, but he was too flustered from the sudden kindness he simply stuttered, "It-its whatever man. What's done is done, I guess."
It wasn't a traditional 'I forgive you' but Ashiya knew that was a close it was going to get.
"Very well, then perhaps we should get started? It seems you had quite the adventure."
Ashiya made his way to the small table and sat down, Urushihara followed suit, sitting on the opposite side. His righteous fury burned out and replaced with nervousness.
"Now, are you ready to tell me what really happened? Based on Sire findings and the state of the apartment, I had already pieced together what happened, but I would like to hear your side before I make my final judgment." Ashiya didn't look as mad as he thought he would. In fact, there was no discernible emotion on the taller demon's face. Urushihara didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"It," He swallowed hard. The weight of the golden eyes was crushing him. "It was an accident." He croaked.
"An accident?" Ashiya repeated, calmly. Urushihara nodded, suddenly losing his voice. "You," the scorpion demon stretched the word out, waving a hand lazily, completely baffled. "Accidentally tried to pilfer some eggs?"
"Well, no. I-I mean…" He looked back at the ground, trying to get his breathing under control. Telling the whole truth might be his only option here. Lying would serve no purpose other than landing him in more trouble. "I-I went to get something to drink and…" He twisted his hands into knots, his eyes focused squarely on a chipped edge of the table. "I wasn't paying attention and the eggs fell from the shelf and broke all over the floor."
Ah Ashiya thought as he looked at the damp floorboards. "And you thought stealing was the best course of action?"
"...No." Urushihara admitted, reluctantly. "I just really didn't want to have to tell you what happened. I... thought you'd be mad at me." The childish confession made his face burn.
"I am far more upset that you tried to pull wool over my eyes by stealing." Ashiya scolded. "Honestly, did you even think of the consequences if you had been caught? You could have been arrested; Sire could have lost his job if word got around that you live with us. Or, in the absolute worst-case scenario, we could have been discovered."
With each possibility, Urushihara winced and shrunk into himself, his shoulders hunched to ears which glowed a bright pink. Ashiya reached across the table, took his chin and tilted his head to look him in the eye.
"You are quite lucky it was Sire who found you. Never mind an officer; Emilia or even Suzuno would not have been so merciful, even over something as trite as this."
"Okay," Urushihara groaned. "You made your point. I won't do it again."
"Glad to hear, but there's still the matter of your punishment." Ashiya released him and climbed to his feet. "Let's get this over with."
"Can we not?" The smaller demon begged, shamelessly. "I get it, alright; it was a stupid thing to do. There's no need to do… that."
"The fact you knew what you did was wrong yet did it anyway, is precisely why I need to do this. It's not enough to recognize you made a mistake. One must be disciplined accordingly to learn from it."
Urushihara found he had no rebuttal to that. The teen made no move to stand up, he simply pulled his knees up to his chest, and turned away from the stern blonde, flushing.
"Stand up."
The command left no room for argument and Urushihara had no energy to try. Shoulders slumped with defeat, the teen slowly got to his feet, cursing his luck all the while.
Ashiya went to the closet/Urushihara's living space, slid open the door, and took out a large rectangular contraption. Urushihara eyed the mysterious object with trepidation.
"I picked this up in the middle of doing my errands, figured it would come in handy. I didn't think I would be using it so soon."
With that, Ashiya stuck his hand into an opening and pulled the thing apart and set it in the middle of the room. Once the two halves were discontinued, Urushihara's brain was able to make sense of what he was seeing.
It was a chair. Specifically, a metal folding one, the kind you see at schools. Urushihara's fear was replaced with bewilderment.
Ashiya shrugged. "The floors hurt my knees the last time, plus it was difficult to hold onto you."
The statement took a minute to register in the demon's head.
"Did...you seriously buy that thing with the sole purpose of making it easier to beat me?" Urushihara muttered in disbelief, utterly mortified.
"Spank you and I didn't purchase it." Ashiya clarified, ignoring the teens growing blush. "Someone was about to throw it away just as I was walking by." The pride in the demon's voice made him want to vomit.
"That's enough chit chatting for now. Time to get started." Just with that sentence, Urushihara's whole stomach disappeared.
Ashiya had his back turned, untying his apron. Urushihara looked at the chair with obvious disdain. Was Ashiya wanting him to bend over it? Groaning internally, he dragged himself over to the cheap furniture, placing both palms on the seat and jutted his backside out.
He looked ridiculous.
Feeling as though this wasn't right, he went over to the back of the chair, draping himself over the metal bar, gripping the edges of the seat. This felt more accurate, but it was an extremely uncomfortable position: sharp metal edges dug into his stomach painfully, and it was a struggle to stay balanced. He was also completely vulnerable and unable to defend himself. The sound of a drawer shutting made his anxiety spike. Was Ashiya going to hit him with something? Had he really pushed his luck so far that he needed to be punished so severely? Urushihara fought the urge to squirm, afraid that any movement would cause him to fall from the precarious position.
A shadow loomed over his bent form, and he cringed. The teen shut his eyes tightly, tensing up in preparation for the first blow.
"No, Urushihara. Not like that."
A hand, firm but gentle, grabbed his shoulder and carefully helped him to his feet. Though confused, he willingly unfolded himself. Thus, relieving the pressure on his abdomen, he winced at the ache that shot through him. Urushihara looked up at his pseudo guardian, he was relieved to see the blonde wasn't holding a weapon. Without another word, Ashiya's body filled the vacant chair, straightened up, eyes narrowed and locked on the flustered boy.
"Come here, Urushihara." The order was accompanied with a single finger motioning him to come forward.
The realization hit him harder than when he fell from grace. "No."
The thunderous look on the scorpion demon's face caused the teen to backtrack a little. "I mean, c-can't we do this another way? Someone," He gulped, suddenly all too aware of the large window behind him. "Someone could see."
"I told you, Sire is out on a leisure trip and," He interrupted when the youth opened his mouth to protest. "I had Crestia accompany him."
Urushihara blinked, his fear momentarily forgotten. "Dude, how the hell did you manage that?"
"The woman simply owed me a favor. The point is, we have ample time and privacy to do as we please."
"I don't want to do this!" The shut in went back to whining, stomping his foot. "I'm not a child, Ashiya!'
"Could have fooled me."
The teen went still and glared in response to the jab, blushing hotly.
"Look," Ashiya said, patience running thin. "You can sulk all you want but you're not getting out of this. We can do these one of two ways: either come to me yourself; proving to me that you can be mature or, I can collect you myself. Either way, you're going over my knee."
Urushihara continued to glare daggers at the taller demon, for a brief moment the househusband thought he was going to go off completely. Then, slowly, the teen deflated like a balloon, his youthful face full of misery.
"...This sucks." Were the only words out of his mouth but, nonetheless, trudged over to his roommate. After what felt like his entire lifespan, he reached the blonde and stood to the side, looking down at the, currently, vacant lap. Ashiya patted his thigh, looking at the teen expectedly.
Urushihara made a face and continued to stare. He racked his brain, trying to find a way to do this gracefully. After a few seconds of analyzing the situation, he came to the conclusion that it was impossible. The long-haired teen shot the demon general a silent, pleading look. Without hesitation, Ashiya's fingers snaked around his thin wrist and gently guided the fallen angel over his lap. The second his belly landed on the hard thighs, he started squirming, mostly out of instinct. Ashiya was not phased in the slightest; simply adjusting his charge; accordingly, the short teen dangled helplessly off his lap, neither his hands nor feet were able to reach the ground. With one hand on the wriggling teen's hip, the blonde pulled him close until his side was flushed against him, keeping the smaller demon in place. The other rested on the round, fleshy target. Feeling the warm, calloused palm on his ass made his stomach lurch nauseatingly and his struggles intensified. After a few more seconds, he realized he couldn't break from the scorpion demon's hold and went limp, huffing. To his horror, a pressure began to build behind his eyes and he blinked rapidly.
He was not going to cry before they even began.
"Just so were clear," Ashiya said from above. "You are not being punished because you broke the eggs. I'm not upset over an accident. This is for going behind our backs, attempting to steal, and then lying about it." The blonde gave the lazy bum's bum a soft tap. "Understand?"
Urushihara nodded.
Ashiya brought his hand down. He didn't swat him, but it was definitely harder than a pat. "Verbal response, young man."
Young ma–?! Oh, man, someone please strike me down, right now. "Y-yes, I understand."
Ashiya hummed in approval and removed his hand. Urushihara's whole body tensed in anticipation. For the next minute or so, nothing happened. Urushihara wondered what the demon could be doing but he didn't dare look over his shoulder to find out, too terrified what he might see. Another minute passed with no movement from his guardian and the shut-in trembled. How is the suspense more daunting than the actual spanking? Just how long was Ashiya going to make him wait–?
SMACK!
By some miracle, he didn't cry out, but he couldn't stop his hips from jerking. Ashiya allowed him a five second grace period before striking him again, a little harder. The teen gritted his teeth, and clenched his hands into tight fists, determined to stay stoic. He grunted when a swat landed on the crown of his butt. Ashiya delivered two quick smacks on his right cheek, and Urushihara bit his lip to keep quiet. He brushed a few strands of hair out of his face, it didn't really bother him, but he needed to do something with his hands besides floundering for purchase. Without warning, the scorpion demon's hand began peppering every inch of the freeloaders behind. Urushihara gasped, and fought to keep his legs still, especially when the unrelenting hand moved downward.
This wasn't like last time. While the blows aren't soft by any means, he wasn't being hit as hard as before, causing the heat in his backside to rise very slowly. It's almost as if Ashiya was warming him up before the real punishment started. The teen scowled at the dusty floor. The jerk. He was clearly dragging this out just to torture him.
"H-Hey," he hissed when that stupid hand struck both cheeks. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be here all night." Not to mention, Maou would have to come back at some point, and he really rather not still be doing this by the time he does. "S-So can we move this along?" He demanded, weakly.
He was rewarded with three crips slaps on his thighs, causing him to yip. "You do not get to dictate how you are punished," Ashiya scolded, letting his hand crash down again. "But, very well, if you insist. Let's move on."
The ashen blonde paused the painful ministrations, but Urushihara knew it wasn't safe to feel relieved. Something in his assailant's tone made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Ashiya released his hip and placed his hand on the small of his back, holding him steady. The other hand, the one that had been striking him, traveled underneath his body and fiddled with…the button of his jeans?
Wait.
The sound of the metal clasp popping off was silent but in NEET's frenzied mind he heard the noise clear as day. Equally loud, was the sound of a zipper baring his teeth. The waistband of his trousers loosened immediately.
"That's not necessary!" The short male protested, his voice an octave higher than usual.
"That's not up for you to decide, now, is it?" Ashiya stated, simply, as if he wasn't about to embarrass the teen even further. He hooked a finger into a belt loop and tugged down.
Pale, slender legs kicked out desperately, twisting his body in an attempt to roll away, all the while, begging his fellow general to stop. Other than helping him feel more emasculated, he achieved nothing. Ashiya paid the violent squirming no mind as he continued to strip his charge of his only shield against the tanning, only stopping when the thick denim was gathered around his knees. Ashiya's hand returned to his hip, gripping it firmly, and let the punishing one rest upon his brief clad seat. Urushihara moaned, piteously. The heat radiating from the palm only served to remind him how little protection he had now. A cool breeze kissed the exposed flesh and the fallen angel shivered, goosebumps forming on his skin. He glanced at the large window and was greatly comforted by the fact no one was there. He hoped it would stay that way.
Me and my big mouth.
The lazy teen was already regretting his actions but when the next slap landed on the crest of his buttocks, he utterly despised them. An ungodly shriek tore from his throat. Another swat landed on his opposite rear, and he kicked helplessly. An itchy, burning sensation was rapidly spreading all over his hind end.
" Ow! A-Ashiya. I-I-It hurts!"
Urushihara didn't think it was possible to hear someone roll their eyes. "It's supposed to hurt."
"You don't have to- ah -whip the skin off me!"
"Don't be ridiculous, you still have some left."
Asshole.
A vicious slap bit his left cheek and tears frothed at the corner of his eyes. "C-Come on, man! Isn't this enough?!"
The only reply he received was another swat on the middle of his butt, earning another squeak of pain. Two more landed in the exact same spot, when Ashiya stopped, allowing the NEET to take in a shuddering breath. He was barely given a moment of peace before he was shifted forward, his bottom perched higher. He wasn't even able to whimper out a no when Ashiya's iron hand crashed down on the crease of his thighs. Urushihara all but howled. Ashiya gave him no reprieve this time and unleashed a barrage of hits on his most sensitive areas. Skinny, weak limbs thrashed around, and he wiggled his hips to avoid the blows. The tears he had been fighting this whole time burst through the damn and trailed down his flushed cheeks.
" Noo, stop! No more! I'm sorry! " He wailed.
"Are you ever going to do something this foolish again?" Ashiya lectured, his hand not faltering.
Urushihara shook his head. He only realized his mistake after Ashiya smacked the underside of his cheeks. "No, never!"
"What will you do if you make a mistake?"
"Come to you, or, or Maou! Please stop–! "
But he didn't. The demon general continued on, unrelenting, completely deaf to the fallen angel's pleas. Urushihara went limp, all of his energy was focused on crying at this point, no longer caring how pathetic he looked or sounded. Salty water gushed from his eyes, soaking into the tatami mats. Then, just as soon as it started, it was all over. Urushihara was released from his vice and carefully lifted up to his feet. This time, he didn't wait for Ashiya to take initiative and barreled into his arms, sobbing into the cheap shirt. Ashiya stiffened in surprise but quickly reciprocated the hug, gently shushing the bawling teen.
For the next few minutes, the only sounds in the apartment were the purple haired demons muffled crying and soft words of comfort. So distraught he was, the boy didn't notice his pants were still down. Once his wails were reduced to the occasional sniffle, Urushihara felt it was safe to pull away. He rubbed his eyes, desperately trying to erase any evidence of his meltdown. "S-Sorry." He whispered. He didn't know whether he meant what happened or for getting snot all over his shirt.
"You are forgiven. Just…do be careful from now on."
"Okay." He sniffed. Silence settled between the two and he found it was difficult to want to break it.
"We still have time before dinner, why don't you rest. You look exhausted."
Urushihara wanted to protest that he didn't need a nap like some toddler, but quickly realized he didn't have the energy to do that. Practically dragging his feet over to the closet, he started to climb in. Only to stop to put on his shorts, he honestly didn't want anything near his butt right now, but Ashiya made him, ("You'll catch a cold," he nagged.)
He's not sure what made him look over at his companion but when he did, he saw the blonde looking inside the fridge with a thoughtful look on his face. They were going to use those eggs tonight. A slab of guilt crushed his insides. "I'm sorry." He said, again, referring to the eggs this time.
Ashiya waved his apology away. "Go to sleep. I'll take care of it."
Still feeling bad, Satan, he hated this feeling. Urushihara did as he was told. As he laid on his stomach, he listened to sounds of clinking dishes, their Master returning and another familiar voice.
The ache in his bottom and his heart began to recede to the darkest corner of his mind, as sleep caught him in its trap.
***
"Oh!" Maou gushed at the spread. "This looks delicious! Thanks a lot."
"Oh, no, no it's nothing Maou-san!" Chiho chirped, rosy cheeks taking on a darker hue from being complimented by her crush.
"Yeah, uh, thanks." Urushihara muttered, expressing his gratitude awkwardly. The chastised demon awoke just in time for dinner, and for once the purple haired NEET was given a place to sit at the table. A victory he would gladly revel in had he not been paddled and was forced to sit on a sore rear. In front of a guest at that. Thankfully, Ashiya had been nice enough to, discreetly, give him a pillow but it did very little to soothe the pain. So, Urushihara sat there enjoying his meal and doing his absolute best to not draw attention to himself.
"It is not nothing, Sasaki-san." Ashiya said, eyes kind. "We are truly grateful for your assistance, had you not given us those eggs we would have been left with no dinner."
"Really, Ashiya-san. It's no trouble. Though I'm really surprised that you had none. I thought you just went shopping?"
An awkward silence filled the air. Urushihara kept his head down to hide how much he was blushing.
"Ah, yes. I did, but I made a rather careless mistake." The blonde replied, his voice rather grave. "As I was putting everything away, the carton slipped out of my hand and fell onto the floor. Truly a shame that I will carry with me to my grave."
"Oh, how awful." Chiho sympathized.
"Yeah, yeah. Ashiya is a klutz, we all knew that. Can we shut up about the eggs?" He hoped he came off as bored and rude as always. He knows he's already been forgiven; the teen still feels guilty whenever the eggs are brought up. Ashiya shot him a warning look, Chiho glared and pouted at him, and Maou simply smirked in amusement. Urushihara looked away and squirmed in place.
"Don't mind him, Chiho." Maou chuckled. "He's just a little cranky right now because of the… new changes around here." If the Devil Kind noticed his subordinates glare, he didn't let it show.
"Speaking of new," Chiho said, pink doe eye's landing on something in the far corner. "What's that chair for?"
Urushihara choked on his rice, coughing severely as he struggled to reign in his emotions. Ashiya's shock was subtler, but he still stopped mid chewing, eyes slightly wide. Chiho looked at the pair, curious.
"Oh that?" Maou answered, nonchalantly. Not once pausing in stuffing his face. "It's for Urushihara."
" D-DUDE?!"
"He's been having trouble reaching the shelves without knocking over stuff." Maou continued, unaffected by his roommate's embarrassed wail. "So, we got him something that'll help him reach tall places."
"Oh, that's nice of you." Chiho said, oblivious to the horrified look on the older teens' face. "But, why a chair? Wouldn't a stool be alright?"
"This one was given to me for free by a neighbor." Ashiya said, quickly catching onto his master's plan.
"Ah, I see." Chiho said, slightly exasperated by the measures Ashiya would go to stay frugal. She looked back at the rickety metal chair. "Are you sure it's stable enough?"
"Positive. We already tested it. Well, Ashiya did anyway."
"Sire, please–"
"Can we please drop this?"
Maou laughed at his subordinate's misery, Ashiya shot their King a rare disapproving look, Urushihara buried his face in his hands, and Chiho watched the scene with the utmost confusion.
