Nathair1: Thanks. Yeah, the most she'll get is friendship from Iruma. She's obsessed with the series. Yeah, I was going to do that too. It really does.
Konder: ...alright?
Enjoy the next chapter.
The bell screamed throughout the halls as the students stood up and walked out of their classrooms and headed towards the cafeteria. Turning the corner, the three friends fell onto the ground. The trio groaned as they looked up to see a blonde demoness staring intently at Iruma. Clara looked over to her bond mate and narrowed her eyes slightly, "Iruma-kins? Do you know her?"
"No idea...can we help you?"
"Iruma, my name is Eiko Oni and I wanted to let you know that I have reached the rank of Bet and I wanted to thank you for saving me during the opening ceremony an-"
"I saved you?" Eiko's face fell slightly as the four of them stood up. Noticing Iruma's badge on his collar, Eiko hung her head, "I mean, you're welcome, but I truly didn't know I saved someone that day...also congratulations on reaching Bet,"
"I will reach the track of Gimmel next and we'll be the same rank again and-"
"Why do you want to be the same rank as my Iruma-kins?"
Eiko stared at the green-haired demoness as Alice sighed and shook his head, "Valac you twit, I doubt Master Iruma wanted others to know about-" he stopped as Iruma glared at him before he cleared his throat, "My apologies, sir, I didn't mean to offend your bond mate,"
"It doesn't matter if others know, Azz, and don't call Clara a twit again," Iruma looked at Eiko and sighed as he shook his head, "I don't know why you want to share the same rank as me, but I can probably take a wild guess, but I'm sorry, but as Azz pointed out, Clara and I are bonded with one another, meaning we're married,"
"Oh,"
Eiko frowned as she hung her head and her tail began to inhaled slowly as he walked over to her and patted the top of her head, getting her attention, "I don't know you very well, but pushing up the ranks is what a demon does, so if you make it to Gimmel or past it, that'll show you have determination," Eiko frowned and slowly nodded as Iruma turned and walked away with Clara and Alice following him.
XXX
The trio stepped into the cafeteria and collected their food before walking towards a table. Sitting down, Iruma stared at his ring while his friends ate and he narrowed his eyes slightly, "Sir?" he looked up, seeing Clara and Alice looking at him with concerning looks crossing their faces, "Is everything alright master Iruma?"
"Yeah, everything is fine, Azz,"
Iruma sighed and Clara frowned, 'What's wrong, Iruma-kins?'
'I've been thinking about what Ali said about expanding my lifespan,' Clara frowned as Iruma shook his head and continued, 'If we wait for my body to get used to being down here is the safest bet, but we have no idea how long it'll take and it might not even happen until the end of my life, and if I got out looking for the other Rings, it'd asking for trouble, but also will ensure my lifespan will grow...and I'm thinking about doing that,'
"What!" Clara slammed her hands on the surface of the table as she shouted and everyone locked their eyes on her before she grabbed Iruma's arm and began pulling him away, "Sorry everyone, me and Iruma-kins needs to talk alone," she pulled Iruma out of the cafeteria as everyone continued to watch them.
XXX
The two walked down the hall in silence before stepping out into the courtyard and sat down on a bench. Clara looked at Iruma and frowned as she shook her head, "Why Iruma-kins? Ali said that could be dangerous and we don't know where the other rings are,"
"I know, Clara...but...like I said, if we wait for the other option, we might be waiting forever, so this is the fastest route to take," the pair looked down at the ring around Iruma's middle finger, "So I'm going to go out searching and hopefully will find at least one more and that'll help in a way an-"
"Then I'm going too," Iruma looked at the green-haired demoness in disbelief as Clara stood up and stretched, "We're married, Iruma-kins, and mommy and daddy said that demons who are married are a team and should do stuff together...so I'll go with you,"
"Clara, I don't think that that's a good-" Clara looked back with her eyes slightly narrowed and Iruma stood up and sighed, "I'm not going to win this one, am I?" Clara hummed and shook her head, "Even if I say you'll be safer staying at the mansion with everyone else?" Clara shook her head again and Iruma inhaled deeply, "Hey Ali, any word of advice here?"
"If you're going to go look for the other Rings, and Clara wants to go with you and...you see what happens when a demon is determined, Iru-boy...so either let her go with you or completely forget about this and wait for your body to adapt to the Netherworld, but like you said, we have no idea how long that'll take and it might be too late,"
Iruma looked back and forth between his bond mate and the specter tethered to his ring before sighing and ran his fingers through his hair, "No matter what I decide to do, I'm standing at a loss...we'll look around the Netherworld a little after school," Clara smiled as she jumped up and tightly hugged Iruma and Ali faded back into the ring.
Okay this chapter was a major pain to write, and it wasn't due to writer's block. Every time I saved it, the file would get corrupted in some way and I'd have to start from scratch. I eventually got annoyed, did a quick scan on my computer and found there was only one virus and it was messing with the file. Once I took care of it, it was no longer a problem.
Anyway, please enjoy.