I had the brainwave that Henri and Raim are from the same year at Babyls, as he was the Young King of his year, and Raim lost to "that man/guy." (I don't recall the exact quote.) Combined with a post-deviculum extra and the latest few chapters, the puzzle pieces came together and I was like. O_O?!

TW: Iruma swears while angry. Trauma dumping. Grief.

xXx-xXx-culmination-xXx-xXx

After the Music Festival, it was up to the first years to take half of the day to clean up the school, and the second half of the day for classes. Things were starting to return to normal, except…

Well.

Iruma wasn't really sure of what was going on, but Asmodeus had been rather tense since meeting up that morning.

Though, 'tense' wasn't really the right word.

Possessive? Paranoid? Iruma had no idea, but he was certainly fired up over something.

Literally.

Iruma had his ear clips in his pocket, but with the fire Asmodeus kept up around him, he didn't even need them. His ears were so low that they simply made it appear as if he had a little more bedhead than usual.

Iruma took in a deep breath, his tail hidden as usual under his jacket, as he gripped the bottom of his uniform. It was sort of awkward walking around school while Asmodeus kept up his flame barrier, to the point that no one could approach them. (Not even Clara, who should have been seen as 'safe.')

They made it to class, and he noted everyone's concern (and the potential of harm), so he finally spoke up and glanced at Asmodeus, "Azz-kun, what's wrong..?"

Asmodeus held a hand to his chest reverently, "Iruma-sama, as your friend, I just… want to be able to protect you!" His spirit fired up as he spoke passionately, "You never know when you might be tormented by a gentle looking guy with glasses and a weird accent! It's dangerous!"

Iruma couldn't help but sweat as he gave him a puzzled look, "That's oddly specific…" Kirio-senpai..?

What did he have to do with Azz's behavior..?

Asmodeus towered over him, "You can count on me!"

Iruma lifted his hands to try and pacify his friend, "And I do! I really, really, do, Azz-kun!"

Asmodeus huffed with a nod before settling beside him again. The fire hadn't turned down at all, and Iruma wondered if he was going to start cooking and smell delicious.

…How long can a scent blocker last while being around severe heat and sweat..?

Iruma's stomach turned with anxiety. It would have to last.

Throughout their classes Asmodeus stayed glued to his side with his flame barrier, and all Iruma could do was endure it, because… well. He just didn't know how to reassure his friend.

Lunch was already prepared and waiting for them in the lunchroom, as Asmodeus had clearly planned ahead and had his butler, David, present. Iruma gripped Asmodeus's wrist hard part way through eating, "Azz-kun, I can't eat anymore."

Asmodeus paused in preparation to have David bring another serving, "Huh?"

Iruma took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling through his nose, "My relationship with food is changing. I'm full right now." The heat Asmodeus was producing wasn't helping his appetite, either. It was starting to remind him of the summer months when he just couldn't do anything other than work and sleep when it got bad enough.

Asmodeus pondered that for a moment before nodding, "My apologies for not noticing, Iruma-sama."

Iruma shook his head tiredly, "No, it's okay. It's kind of new for me, too."

Asmodeus was silent for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Does this have something to do with what happened a few weeks ago..?"

Iruma nodded, and Asmodeus let it go.

After lunch, they returned to Royal One, where the Misfits observed the ongoing scene Asmodeus was making of them, while noting how his fire hadn't died down at all.

Iruma was slowly reaching his heat limit and ready to snap, which rarely happened, so he was feeling even more guilty and anxious, when Asmodeus's phone dinged with a message.

Asmodeus picked it up with a slight frown, before jolting up in surprise. "I apologize Iruma-sama, but I must go to see Balam-sensei at once!" Iruma nodded as he rushed to leave the classroom while leaving behind a flame barrier. "Don't worry! I'll return immediately, so don't leave that spot!"

Iruma waved on autopilot, bewildered, before the flames finally died down enough for him to breathe as he mumbled to himself, "Azz-kun's been acting really strange lately…"

A net slammed over Iruma's whole body, and he didn't even have the chance to be startled as Clara cheered, "Aawwee yeeeaaahh! Iruma-chi's mine!"

Iruma didn't know how to deal with the knowledge that he'd been netted, and was currently being carted off by his other closest friend. Surprise and confusion won out swiftly, "Huh!? Clara?! CLAAARRAAA?!" He did not like being captured like this!

Iruma tried to make himself slightly more comfortable as Clara ran outside, jostling him roughly the whole way as she made her way into the surrounding foliage. It didn't take any longer than a minute of running by the time Clara set him down in one of their usual clearings, but he was still…

Clara double checked the area, "Phew! No one'll find us here!"

Iruma swallowed his anxiety and confusion and pulled himself up out of the net, "Uhm, Clara… just what..?"

Clara turned to him, and with a stalk in her step, she crept closer to him with wide eyes before plopping into his lap unexpectedly, "Iruma-chi refill!" Iruma didn't even have the chance to get comfortable with her laying on his lap before she sharply turned and pounced on him. She glommed to his front, her arms and legs wrapped around his middle, as she rolled the two over them around on the grass. "Ge~ez, AzzAzz keeps putting up that hotty-hot barrier! I can stick to you now!" She finally had her fill of rolling them around, before slumping into his lap, "Haa~ Inner peace."

Iruma couldn't help the swell of love and affection that bloomed in his chest as he happily ran a hand through her hair while she continued to voice her complaints. "We were in different groups during practice too! I can never get enough Iruma-chi these days!"

"Eeeh~? Heheh." Iruma couldn't help but feel happy, knowing how much his mere presence meant to Clara.

Clara then surprised him by popping up to present him with a certificate for a job well done. However, he was just as proud of her, and passed it back. The two of them kept complimenting one another, pushing it back and forth between the two of them, until Clara shoved her hands into his hair and started to pet him affectionately. Not one to be outdone, he ran his hands over her head and hair with just as much vigor as they laughed at themselves.

It took some time, but once their reward pet-fest was done, Clara flopped down into the grass and clung onto his wrist. She couldn't help but cheer over their performance. "Azz-kun was amazing! He was so sparkly! And so cool!"

Iruma chuckled lightly, agreeing with her, before his mood fell and he wondered aloud, "I wonder if something happened..? He seems fine, but… do you think he's got something on his mind..? Is he alright..?"

Clara's mood turned neutral, before she switched to pouting. Clara sat up sharply, before she draped herself against Iruma's back and hugged him with her face buried into his collar, "Iruma-chi… Y'know, I… love you."

Iruma's breath caught in his throat as he glanced towards her with a small amount of anxiety. "Eh…" How should he respo-

"And! I also love AzzAzz!" Iruma's brain froze as he mentally slammed into a 404 error message as she continued, "And AzzAzz loves you," Her tail was wapping energetically on the ground, "And me, right?" She pointed towards him with one right finger and two left as she continued. "And then, you also love both AzzAzz and me, don't you?"

He hadn't thought that hard about it- "Y-yeah!"

Clara kept plowing forward with her tangent as she declared, "We three are the love trio!"

Iruma took in a deep breath of air and paused as he brought his hand to his chin in thought. 'Love trio!?' Clara was causing him to process a rollercoaster's worth of emotion at bullet-train speed.

Clara hopped up onto her feet as she continued ranting, "As the love trio, if one've us is feeling down, the other two will cheer them up!" She balled her hands and held them against her hips as she huffed, "T'be honest, I kinda thought it was unfair how AzzAzz got to hog you all day, but…" She leaned towards him in slight annoyance, "As the big sister of the love trio, I'll let it slide this time! So the two of you should play together as long as you want!"

Iruma's eyebrows rose in surprise, "!"

Clara plopped down again as she held her arms crossed in front of her while she grumbled with a pout. "Why you ask!? Because I'm sure if you two hang out, AzzAzz will cheer right up!"

Iruma was surprised by her words, until he really thought about it.

He and Asmodeus hadn't really had any one-on-one time together. Someone else was always there with them.

Iruma bowed his head in thought, '...There's something… I want to talk to him about, too...'

There was almost too much that he wanted to talk to him about, to the point of choking on his words.

Iruma met Clara's eyes, "Alright! I'll… invite him out! Thank you Clara!" Clara grinned at him before he slumped, "But I don't know what we should do…" Ameri had planned their own one-on-one outings, and the Netherworld was still a mostly unknown place to him…

Clara moved over to plop down into his lap again as she exclaimed, "Leave it to the funtime genius Clara! And then each of you will play one-on-one with me!"

"O-oh?! How clever!"

"Rii~iight?"

So they took their time throwing ideas back and forth, while Clara wrote down all of her ideas.

Slowly and surely they went through her initial list and crossed off all of the ideas he wasn't sure he was prepared for, while Clara doodled along the margins of the Top Secret Totally Funtime Plan in Magical Street notebook.

xXx-xXx-culmination-xXx-xXx

Iruma was surprised to return to Royal One and find that Asmodeus still hadn't returned from earlier. He frowned, before scenting the air a little. He was familiar with trying to track animals, along with the occasional lost child, that it wasn't too hard for him to pick out Asmodeus's scent.

He never really took the time to study his friend's scents, as he felt that was rude, but the intricacies and depth of their scents were rather fascinating to him, now that he had to put in the effort.

The scent of campfire and burning leaves, crisp cold air and pine, and an undertone of the sugary sweetness of marshmallows. That's what Asmodeus's scent reminded him of. Clara's was bright citrus, sunlight and grass, and sugar candy.

He liked both of their scents very, very much.

He wishes he knew what he smelled like to everyone, since the scent blocker always came off as confusing to him. Iruma was using a newer one that Balam-sensei had created so he didn't have to nearly swim in it, but it had a nice scent to it as far as he could tell.

Iruma hummed to himself in thought as he left Royal One and headed towards the main campus. He knows Asmodeus had gone to see Balam-sensei, but since he'd been gone so long, he could be elsewhere on campus.

Iruma takes a moment to pause and hide the funtime notebook, before lifting his head. There.

Up a few halls, and down two more, Asmodeus's scent becomes stronger. He lightly jogs partway down the hall before he turns the corner, brightening as he notices his friend, "Azz-kun!" He waves enthusiastically as he makes his way over.

Asmodeus panics, "Iruma-sama!" He hovers around him while looking around frantically, "I told you to wait in the.. Did anything happen on the way here!?"

Iruma chirped, "Nope! Sorry, but there's something I wanted to ask you as soon as I could!"

Asmodeus blinked at him in confusion, "Ask..?"

Iruma plows ahead before he loses his nerve, "Azz-kun are you free this weekend? Let's go someplace together!"

Asmodeus unconsciously pulls back in wide-eyed surprise, "Sure..?" He has no idea why the three of them going out together is so important that Iruma-sama had to ask him directly, but he'll gladly go out to visit with his Master.

Iruma grins, "Awesome! I'll send you the details later, okay?!"

Asmodeus nods, and suddenly he feels just… a little bit calmer, seeing Iruma so happy.

Iruma takes in a breath to say something, until he pauses, makes a weird face, and pulls out his phone. Iruma tilts his head slightly as he reads the message, before he frowns.

Asmodeus tilts his head, "Is something the matter, Iruma-sama..?"

Iruma purses his lips in thought for a moment, his stomach slowly dropping as he re-reads the message a few times. "Uhm… I'm not sure."

Azazel Henri is here and needs to speak with you about his investigation. Please come to Lord Sullivan's office.

Iruma can't help but feel uneasy, but he looks up at his friend and tries to smile, "It looks like I have some business to attend to."

Asmodeus nods, "Would you like me to accompany you?"

Iruma doesn't want to be alone. He absolutely shouldn't take Asmodeus with him. He wants Purson- he already knows everything.

What did they need him for..?

Iruma swallows a building lump of anxiety, "I, uhm…" He takes in a sharp breath and texts Purson. "I don't know."

It's a weak answer, which only makes Asmodeus concerned.

Iruma's ears droop low as his tail slips out listlessly from his jacket. He bows his head as he holds his phone like a lifeline, "I think something related to… my past, it's uhm… I think it's being looked into."

Asmodeus's eyes widen, "Your past?" One of Iruma's ears flick, and Asmodeus raises his hands in pacification, "I'm not-! I'm not asking, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to-"

Iruma lifts his head with wide eyes that are far too scared and Asmodeus hates it. "-It's not that! I! I want to tell you about myself, about the things that have happened to me! But I can't! Not-!" He lowers his head to hide his building tears, "Not yet."

It's silent between them for a few minutes, before Iruma feels a soft tug on the back of his jacket.

Iruma takes in a deep breath and exhales. "...What do you think I should do..?"

Asmodeus tilts his head in confusion, before Purson melts into their sight, "Am I really the one you should ask?"

Iruma gnaws on his cheek before turning to him with wet soulful eyes filled with indecision. Purson sighs softly as he pulls out a handkerchief and wipes at his tears, "You, Asmodeus, and Clara have been linked by the horns since the beginning of the school year. It's super bizarre that I know more than they do. Well, and that's only because I snuck around behind your back while using my bloodline ability to make sure you were okay."

Iruma sniffs before clutching Purson's hand to press his forehead against the other's knuckle. He breaths for a moment to ground himself while pocketing his phone. "Help me."

Purson frowns. He's not sure what to say but… he looks between Iruma and Asmodeus for a long moment. "...You go ahead. I'll follow."

Iruma glances between Purson and Asmodeus, before he gives them a short bow and turns towards his grandfather's office. He doesn't look back, and he focuses on the sounds in front him, rather than behind him.

Purson stares at Asmodeus for a long and hard moment, and just as Iruma turns the corner, he snatches his hand and pulls him along. Asmodeus's breath catches- he should object, but he fumbles a pair of detection warding glasses out of his pocket and puts them on. Purson's colors fade, and Asmodeus feels like the world grows more muted.

Purson's voice barely reaches his ears, "I've never tried to take anyone with me. Stay quiet and still when we get there."

Asmodeus nods in affirmation when Purson glances back at him.

The world feels muted and strange, as if he is surrounded by snowfall that dampens and absorbs the sounds around him.

Purson's hold on his hand is tense.

Asmodeus takes a deep silent breath before exhaling slowly.

His heart swells with nervousness and trepidation with only one person on his mind.

Iruma-sama

xXx-xXx-culmination-xXx-xXx

Iruma grips the bottom of his jacket with white knuckles as he takes in a deep breath. He's only there for a moment when he feels his mother's Mana brush against his, and he responds shakily with his own. The door opens, and Opera's ears are low despite their cool demeanor. "Thank you for coming."

Iruma nods as he steps into the room. He almost feels like he's in trouble for something, but as he makes eye contact with the warm gaze of his grandfather, he knows that is not the case.

Kalego, Balam, Soprano, and Scáthach are there, along with Henri.

It's a difficult number of adults for him to deal with, but Opera doesn't come to follow or close the door until a moment later.

Henri's eyes are all business as they make eye contact with one another, which only adds to Iruma's nervousness. Opera gently places their hand against his back to guide him, "Please sit down, Iruma."

Iruma follows their instruction, however, Opera stays standing near him. They have too much energy to sit still, and they, too, are disquieted by the present situation.

Henri pulls back with a breath, and Iruma feels Purson's reassuring hand squeeze his shoulder gently before disappearing. "Nothing spoken in this room may leave these walls in regards to this investigation, in accordance with the same laws and bylaws of secrecy related to the existence of other Realms. Understood?" Everyone nods, and he picks up his suitcase and places it onto the table between himself and the couch Iruma is seated on. "This is an ongoing investigation, of which I hope you will be cooperative for, Iruma-kun." Iruma nods as he pulls out a piece of old paper, yellowed with age and filled to the brim with Magic. There are burned areas, and there is a scent to it that makes Iruma's hair stand on end.

Opera pulls back with a small gasp before hissing, their hackles rising in response to the evil, vile piece of paper Henri places onto the table and slides towards him. "Despite our best efforts, and my own knowledge combined, there is simply too much Magic infused into this contract for us to decipher-"

Opera takes a step away from the paper, stiff, as they bare their teeth with more gold then red in their eyes as they seethe, "How dare you, you bastard!" They feel like they want to throw up, they know their breathing too much too fast as their claws pierce their flesh with how tightly balled their fists are. "How DARE you expose him to that cursed piece of paper!"

Sullivan's voice is uncharacteristically cold, "OPERA."

They flinch and turn their face as if they've been slapped. They take a few more steps back, away from that horrible piece of paper that they'd been forced to sign with their blood and grip their arms tightly.

Iruma turns his focus from his mother to Henri. He feels ill, and the piece of paper…

It smells and feels absolutely, positively, evil. It's tainted in a way that makes his skin crawl, and his fur stand on end. There is danger and pain interwoven into it, and he can barely breathe. "...What do you want from me?"

His voice betrays his fear, and Henri's eyes soften for only a moment before he sighs, "A few months ago this parchment set itself on fire as new text appeared. I can only assume the contract was broken by one of the parties, and it is imperative we know what the repercussions were for it."

Iruma frowns, "And translation Magic doesn't work..?"

Henri shakes his head, "I can read a smattering of it for reasons of my own, but it's all gibberish. There's simply too much Magic interwoven into the ink and paper for any other Magics to work."

Iruma glances down at it, but is left confused. Even at a glance he can tell that there's a mix of Hiragana, Katakana, Romaji, Kanji, and even a few words in English. It's bizarre, and as he looks up at Henri, he realizes there's another problem. He puzzles at the paper again, at the burned in script that has muddled part of the contract, so he points at that area, "What language is that in?"

Henri looks down at the seared in words that he actually can read, as it's in Common. "That's in regular demon, why?"

Iruma takes in a deep breath before exhaling, "...That's not how it appears to me." Before Henri can ask him what he means, Iruma turns to Sullivan, "Grandpa… Is it possible for you to, I don't know, temporarily turn off your translation Magic?"

Sullivan blinks in confusion before straightening. "If I do that, you won't be able to understand us, and vice versa."

Iruma nods, "I know-"

Sullivan tears up, "But isn't that scary? I know I sounded scary to you, before I Cast that Magic on you!"

Iruma grips his knees and shrugs jerkily, "It's what has to be done."

Sullivan hesitates, before something strikes Iruma as he turns to Henri, "Wait, you can read some of the language on this?"

Henri furrows his brows, "For my own reasons and curiosity, yes."

Iruma squints at him, "You're… oddly confident about my ability to read this document."

Henri nods slightly, "I suppose so. Since you are Opera's child, and due to the circumstances surrounding your birth, it landed on me to bring you to the Human World and deliver you to your parents-"

Iruma's fist cracked through Henri's glasses before he even knew what he was doing. His senses stretched out to every miniscule movement in the air around him as the chair Henri sat in tumbled with them both as he bared his fangs at the man as horrible ugly feelings built in his chest and poured out of his mouth. Iruma couldn't help but to scream at him while deathgripping his collar, "So YOU'RE the asshole who abandoned me to those FUCKING PEOPLE!?" He takes in a sharp painful breath as tears of rage sprung into his eyes, "Do you have ANY IDEA what they did to me?! How they ABANDONED ME at EVERY CHANCE THEY HAD, FORCING ME TO WORK IN PLACES NOT MEANT FOR CHILDREN?! And MAYBE it wouldn't be such a dangerous thing, except that I'm a fucking HALF-DEMON who could have fallen into a WICKED PHASE from the LACK OF LOVE OR CARE OR FUN in my life, as I CONSTANTLY struggled to feed myself with GRASS and DIRT and WHATEVER ELSE I COULD FORAGE! Do you have ANY IDEA how FRAGILE humans are!? How HARD I had to work to not ACCIDENTALLY BREAK their WEAK FUCKING BONES JUST BY HOLDING SOMEONE'S HAND!?"

Iruma's throat hurt as he gasped brokenly, "WHAT the FUCK was WRONG with you!? DID YOU EVER EVEN THINK TO LOOK FOR ME!?"

Iruma's rage bled out of him as fast as it came as he half collapsed on the man beneath him, while sobbing angrily, "What if I'd hurt someone, or even killed them? Would you have come for me then, only to drag me back here and torture me for harming you precious fucking balance of ignorance between humans and demons? Because I'm a total freak? What rights do Half-human-demons even have here, in the Netherworld..?"

Iruma wept tiredly, "My parents were so horrible, I was always working, I barely went to school, they punished me when I didn't bring in enough money, and they left me to live outside most of the year! No one at school ever tried to help me, and even if a teacher tried to care, it took no time at all for them to hate me because I was always absent! The only reason I continued up a grade is because no one wanted to deal with me! I was a total disappointment, and I know that the people I pretended were my friends never actually cared about me! I was the kid parents never wanted around their children! And who would?! I worked in sex hotels more than once! I was hired out to criminals and dangerous people all the time!"

Iruma took in a weary breath, "How could you just abandon me there and never check in to make sure I was okay..?"

His voice tapered off into a stiff and terrible silence, before Keroberos carefully picked him up off of Henri and sat him back down in his seat. Iruma sniffed wetly as he buried his face into his knees, and cried softly into his arms while bowing into himself.

Henri picked himself up along with his chair, and carefully felt along his nose. It wasn't broken, but he could feel the chance of having a bloody nose coming on as he removed the broken pieces of his glasses and put on a new pair.

He was the Head of Demon Patrol. He had his job, no matter how cold he may seem to these people.

However, he conceded to Iruma's point.

Leaving a Half-Demon in the Human World, without attempting to look for him personally, even once, was foolish.

He could have bothered himself to try.

He hadn't, and now Iruma had made his way back here, to the Netherworld, where he belonged.

(But Narnia would state otherwise. In fact, he'd rather cull the boy-)

Henri took in a deep breath through his mouth, "I will not waste time trying to justify my actions, nor the nature of my work." He notably tapped the table before him, "Are you, or are you not willing to assist us in deciphering this soul-binding contract?"

Iruma shrunk into himself for a moment, before exhaling tiredly. He sniffled wetly, and wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve before looking at that horrible piece of paper. "I will."

Henri nodded as Balam handed Iruma a tissue box. Iruma gratefully took it and blew his nose, and cleaned his face and sleeve, before shifting to the floor, on his knees, in front of the paper.

He didn't want to touch it as much as possible, so he had to sit closer to be able to read it well.

Iruma turned to Sullivan, "...Okay." He paused, "Oh, can I have a piece of paper and pen?"

Sullivan nodded, and Opera swiftly gave him a few pages along with the pen he asked for. He set them down and with Iruma's nod, Sullivan snapped his fingers, releasing the translation Magic that had been an unconscious comfort since his arrival here.

He took in a deep breath, and finally read the paper.

Iruma was immediately struck by the names printed on the parchment.

He'd never known his parent's names.

They… neither of them had the last name Suzuki.

Why did he have the last name Suzuki, if it wasn't their family name!?

He tore his eyes away from that revelation and continued reading as his palms became warm with sweat. He stopped, and had to go back, before tilting his head at the writing. He wrote the words off to the side, to see if he'd misremembered the more complex parts of his previous tongue, breaking them down into simpler versions before realizing he hadn't been wrong about the wording.

There were times the words simply didn't make sense! It was as if… as if…

It was as if it was created with the "idea" of what legal jargon was.

Iruma settled back at that. Of course. His parents were far too impatient for legalities. They were the sort who never read the fine print.

He sighed gustily, and plowed forward through the paper.

It sort of made sense, what it was laying out. It turned his stomach to know his suspicions hadn't been wrong. He'd been born for the specific purpose of being exploited. He was born to work. It was no wonder he'd never been given affection, no matter how much he'd desperately wished for it. He was born to serve, and that's all he'd ever been good for in his parent's eyes.

Iruma can't help but grip his chest for a moment, to breathe, and to try and make the ache in his chest stop.

That part of him that had always hoped his parents would praise him for his hard work.

It was something that no matter how hard he'd worked, he never would have received.

Balam couldn't help but try to check on him, "Iruma-kun?"

Iruma flinched at the sound of his name- he could understand it well enough, but there was that horrible growl of fearharmterrordeath that was that undertone of the Common Tongue. He knew it was missing from his voice, or else he never would have made it in the Human World.

Did Grandpa add that into his voice so he could blend in..?

"(Please don't distract me.)"

The adults shuffled awkwardly at the realization of how soft Iruma's voice was compared to theirs.

Henri's resolve wavered a little, as he carefully adjusted his voice to sound less harsh to Iruma's ears, "(Are you alright?)"

Iruma paused to look up at him. His ears flicked back and forth at the sound and tone of his voice, and despite the bitterness he felt in the moment, he knew it wouldn't last. Henri was just doing his job.

He was also a little impressed that he had a handle of his precious home's language. "(...Yes.)" He turned back to the paper and continued.

He read, and read, and read, to the point that he thought he might throw up from having to sit so close to such an evil document.

This contract was why he was born, and Opera had to suffer.

He swallowed thickly and paused. He stared at the line, went back, re-read a few sentences before it, until running into the truth of the matter.

He plowed onwards, to finish the document, as scrambled and headache inducing as it was.

Iruma gasped as he finished the page. Went back, and felt his stomach drop. "(Oh…)"

Tears welled up in his eyes as a new onslaught of emotion hit him.

He should be happy. Glad, really, that they could never take him away from the happiness he'd found.

Yet, a new wave of tears came to him as he covered his mouth in horror at the paper, at that line.

If the contractee comes into contact with another Demon and makes a new contract regarding this matter, they shall forfeit their memories of this originating transaction, and perish within six weeks, six days, and six hours afterwards as punishment.

His human parents were dead, and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that that moment had been when Opera had screamed that fateful night after he'd returned home from the Battler Party presentation.

And here he'd been fretting about being sent back to them, when they were long dead and buried.

His parents, who hadn't even hit the age of thirty five.

He'd never get an apology from them.

Iruma gagged and curled into himself, while Henri flinched in alarm and pulled the paper away from him, abruptly fearful that he might be affected by the lingering Magic.

They boy's being, perhaps even his Soul, was bound to that paper, just as much as his birth parent.

Opera, meanwhile, was beside themself. They didn't know what to do! Not because they weren't strong enough, but because being around that page made them want to commit violence. The moment all of this madness started was too fresh in their mind as they felt bile in the back of their throat.

How cold everything had been. The blue haired people's sneering smiles of disgust and mockery.

If they could remember the other who'd approached them, the one that made their head spin if they remembered yellow too hard, they would rip him to shreds!

Soprano gently placed her hand on their arm and brushed her Mana against them in comfort. Opera looked at her helplessly, as they warred with their inner rage for what had been done to them, and the parental urge to pull their child into their chest to hide them from the world and comfort them.

Soprano squeezed their forearm, before moving over to where Iruma was balled up.

She sat down onto the couch near him, his pain radiating through his Mana in her silent world.

She hummed softly, recalling the gentleness of her ancestor, and how much more vibrant that feeling was in her grandson.

She matched his softness with the vibration of her voice and pitch.

Slowly, Iruma uncurled a bit, just enough for her to gently press her Mana against his, soft as a feather.

He reached back, and she carefully pulled him off of the floor into her chest as she continued humming. He buried himself into her bosom as she continued to try and soothe his frayed emotions. He'd been stretched too thin at the seams, and he was close to falling apart.

He was more like Opera than either of them realized. The way his Magic snapped with his feelings- Opera had mastered control over themself by the time they'd been ten years old.

Iruma's ironclad control had been dismantled so abruptly, that he was reeling from the effects of it.

He was one step away from a Wicked Phase, and they couldn't allow that to happen. She knows this, because although her mixed blood ancestors were very different from their full-blooded counterparts, their ability to recover from their Wicked Phases, once they'd been stressed enough to fall into one, was absolute hell for them to figure out and recover from.

Eventually, Iruma's tears subsided, and Soprano felt a familiar Magic return to Iruma's skin.

Iruma slowly pulled back from her, and sleepily Signed 'Thank you.'

She smiled with a nod, feeling his gratitude through his Mana. "You're welcome."

Iruma met her eyes with a small listless smile, before pulling away to settle back onto the couch beside her.

Iruma took a few more tissues to clean himself up, while Scáthach decided to speak.

"Henri, fifteen years ago my son tortured Soprano, and all you did was give her a flimsy apology about it. Do you have any idea why in the world Narnia would have stormed the Catshie Clan's home to torment her specifically?"

Henri frowned as he observed the Naberius Matriarch. "That is a matter that only a few select in Border Patrol may know-"

Scáthach bared her fangs, "It occurred after Opera gave birth, you insolent fox! There is a connection there, between why a Catshie was chosen, and not some other random demoness off the streets! There's plenty of fertile individuals in the Lust Group, so why choose Opera!?"

Henri pursed his lips. The woman knows more than he does, and is trying to make him connect the dots.

He pulls off his glasses and rubs at his eyes tiredly.

Someone had him pull Sullivan away from Babyls. If he hadn't left Border Patrol when he had, his daughter would have been slain along with the rest of the student body- including Kalego.

Someone knew Opera, Sullivan's Security Devil, would be capable of having a hybrid child, and they were the easiest to target due to their loner status, which meant…

Someone knew that the Catshie had been a Clan that had been closest to Humankind before the Borders were closed off.

The few within that pool were himself, Narnia, and…

Henri sighed heavily, "I will re-evaluate my investigation and response to that situation."

Scáthach clicked her tongue, "I hope you bother yourself with giving a written apology to Soprano for your subordinate's behavior, for all the damage it's caused the Catshie Clan! You do understand that she's Deaf, right?!"

Henri startled as he looked towards Scáthach in shock, before turning to Soprano in surprise.

He had completely fucked up.

Henri slumped back, "I see." He rubbed his face carefully before putting his glasses back on. "I'll keep that in mind."

Scáthach sniffed derisively, "As you should."

Sullivan allowed a moment of quiet before asking gently, "If you don't mind me asking, Iruma-kun, what was written that hurt you?"

Henri's ears lifted to attention, while Iruma took in a deep breath and monotoned. "They're dead."

Henri's stomach dropped, "What do you mean?"

Iruma shrugged jerkily, "The people who raised me sold me to Lord Sullivan. They broke their contract, and six weeks, six days, and six hours later, perished."

Henri's head spun at that revelation.

In his investigative pursuit, the victim's had been harmed repeatedly by his negligence.

Henri now knew getting punched in the face was the least of his worries. Damage control. He had to immediately begin damage control and reparations, or he'd have several high level Demons and an entire Clan at his throat. "I see, thank you for your assistance in this manner, and I apologize for the damage done to you for your participation. It would be in your best interest to remove yourself from our presence."

Iruma stared at him confused, before he felt a new wave of emotion exhaustion hit him. "I-yeah. I'll… do that."

Iruma looked up to his Grandmother, and with a comforting brush of his Mana, he pulled himself away from her presence.

He bowed to the rest of the adults, and after a few moments, Opera placed their hand against his back and led him to the door, before exiting with him.

They were silent for a moment, as the door slowly closed behind them.

The moment the latch clicked, Opera exhaled with a notable shake and nearly crushed him into their chest in their urgency to hide him from the world. Iruma wrapped his arms around them, and felt their Mana envelop his own just as tightly. There was a shared pain between them that made even his fangs ache at its intensity. His eyes hurt from crying, and Opera's desperate need to protect him made him almost start up again.

He gasped loudly, "Hahaue-"

Opera shook their head and shushed them shortly.

Their breathing was wrong, and Iruma worried they might pass out. "Hahaue- Mom! Breathe!"

Opera inhaled sharply and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly. Iruma rubbed their back, "Mom- Opera, just- breathe. It's okay. I'm okay."

Opera shook their head, "It is not okay, Iruma."

…They weren't wrong.

Iruma sighed, "I know it's not."

Opera sniffed lightly, "Then why delude yourself otherwise?"

Iruma was silent for a moment, before bluntly stating, "Because that's how I've survived this long and not fallen apart."

Opera sighed, "It's not healthy."

"Neither is eating grass, but I managed."

Opera is quiet before snorting softly, "And you shall never have to do so again."

Iruma hummed, "The Harvest Festival was kinda fun, though? And Clara lives off of her surrounding forest." Accidently eating dirt had kinda been nostalgic.

Opera pulled back as they rubbed at their eyes, "Iruma-sama…"

Iruma smiled weakly as they curled their hands into Opera's vest pockets, "Can I stay with you, tonight..?"

Opera blinked, before their gaze turned warm, "Certainly." They could dote on him and care for him to their heart's content.

Iruma nodded and slowly pulled away, "Then I'll see you at dinner."

Opera nodded and waved him off, and Iruma took the chance and ran away from that horrible room and his horrible feelings.

Opera waited until he'd turned the corner, out of sight, and the scent of Purson, Asmodeus, and one other followed and faded away, that they allowed themselves to nearly collapse as they melted into a crouch and hugged their knees.

They wouldn't cry, but they needed a moment to grieve.

xXx-xXx-culmination-xXx-xXx

It took me two days to write this as it fought with me. The placement of this idea has been rough, as it was originally before the Music Festival, but I felt like that was too much. So then figuring out where to place Henri's interaction with Iruma became more difficult.

Anyways, please let me know if you enjoyed it by leaving a review!