a/n: I can't remember how far out Mephisto's barrier goes, but we're going to say the boys are chillin somewhere out of its range? Probably. I can't bring myself to care about such a small detail, lol. As always, thank you for reading! :D

Fictober Day 9: "There's a certain taste to it."

Konekomaru stared at Rin in something akin to horror. "I can't believe you actually ate it."

Shima looked equally stunned. "Me, neither."

"I can," Bon said with a shrug, and when the other boys looked at him in shock, he said in defense, "What? He's Okumura. Just when ya think you've figured him out, he pulls a stunt like this."

Okumura-kun, however, didn't seem to hear their comments (or, perhaps, pleasantly ignored them) as he licked his lips, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's not actually that bad. There's... a certain taste to it, but it's not really as bad as you think it is."

"Okumura-kun," Konekomaru said slowly, swallowing thickly. "That drink was made by a demon. Are you sure you trust it?"

"I mean," Rin began with a shrug, "I'm a demon, and you all eat my cooking."

Konekomaru opened his mouth and closed it. That was true. But it's different, he wanted to say, but no sound came out. You're—

He was... what? He was the son of Satan, the most powerful demon of all. He was also their friend. But it wasn't like the demon in front of Okumura-kun had done anything wrong. Konekomaru frowned. Not a hint of resentment lingered in Okumura-kun's words; in fact, he said them casually, like they had asked him what he had for breakfast this morning. His eyes were gentle as he looked back at the demon—it was a small implike creature, about the size of Kamiki-san's familiars—who looked very excited to hear Okumura-kun praise.

"Besides," he went on, oblivious to Konekomaru's sudden inner turmoil, "Ukobach is a demon. And he's such a good cook. In fact, this little guy reminds me of him."

"I guess you're right," Shima said abruptly with a sheepish expression. "We shouldn't have been so quick to judge, huh?"

Konekomaru looked down in shame. Shima was right.

"Nah," Rin said, patting the demon's head affectionately, and it chirped excitedly in response. "He says no hard feelings."

"I'm gonna try it," Bon said with an affirmative nod. "Give it here."

Another series of chirps. Okumura-kun's grin expanded a fraction. "Yeah?"

"Why the hell not," Bon said. "It didn't kill Okumura."

Okumura-kun was beaming, holding up the cup for Bon to take. Bon did, and Konekomaru held his breath despite himself as his friend took a sip.

And promptly choked.

Konekomaru's eyes popped in surprise. Bon spiraled into a coughing fit, and even the demon looked concerned when he pounded his fist against his chest as if that would help get the liquid out of his lungs.

"Whoa, Bon, you ok?" Shima asked.

"F-fine," he stammered, although the cough that followed his words left Konekomaru unconvinced. "Your definition is of 'not bad' is way different than mine, Okumura."

The demon looked incredibly heartbroken. Okumura-kun looked down at it with a frown, eyes shining with an emotion that Konekomaru couldn't read.

"Hey," Okumura-kun said gently. "It's alright. The one thing about cooking is that you can keep improving if you practice. Don't look so down."

The encouragement was seemingly what the demon needed because its eyes brightened considerably upon hearing Okumura-kun's words. Then it hopped out of his lap, scampering off deeper into the forest they were in. It was only fitting, because there was no way it could follow them back on campus. Not with the headmaster's protective barrier in place that warded off all demons.

Okumura-kun watched it go fondly, and Bon raised his brows. "You've got a stomach of steel, Okumura."

"Hmm?" His gaze found Bon. "Oh. C'mon, Suguro, it wasn't awful."

"It tasted like ass."

Surprisingly, that only coaxed Okumura-kun's smile to widen. "I'm sure the first meal I cooked tasted like ass, too. My old man ate every single bite."

Konekomaru's eyes softened a little. It was obvious Okumura-kun wasn't talking about the king of all demons. He didn't know much about Okumura-kun's adoptive father except the basic knowledge that he was the former paladin.

"Really?" Konekomaru asked quietly.

"Yeah," Okumura-kun answered. "Nobody else would touch it. But he ate it like it was the best thing he ever tasted."

There was such warmth in his words, and his eyes suddenly became distant, like he reliving an old memory. It made Konekomaru smile. Demon or human, Okumura-kun treated everyone like they were worth fighting for. Like their very life was a gift to him, and everything they did mattered.

People like that were really rare.