NGL I have extremely minimal interaction with babies/toddlers, so I'm guessing on how to deal with baby speech/talk. I refuse to trigger search engines, since I have gone extremely out of my way to not trigger ads for myself.

Anime Only: Kalego's brother is mentioned. Merize is brought in- even Manga readers know very, VERY little about her, other than being somehow involved with Henri's past. I just chose to RUN with it.
-There is also a reference to an incident with Opera's Clan as well as related family members that were introduced in Lost and Found that are (re)introduced..
TW: Blood, Underdeveloped wing imagery.

xXx-xXx-acclimate-xXx-xXx

"Azazel-sama, I believe something isn't quite right with Iruma-kun. He hardly ever makes noise."

Henri ruminated on that statement from the nanny as he held the youngling for his nightly grooming. He had already taken care of Ameri, so now it was Iruma's turn and offered the boy his Mana.

Iruma latched onto his Magic and made a soft hum-purr sound as he smiled up at him. Henri smiled back and turned him around to begin running a soft small brush through his hair. It was getting just long enough to consider cutting it, but Henri never thought much about doing so. Iruma didn't seem to have trouble with the length, and he was used to having long hair himself.

Henri felt a tug and looked down, before Iruma's Magic sent a tumble of feelings through their link. HappyProtectedLoveYou

Henri blinked before sending a wave back, JoyCareAffection

Iruma hummed, nodding to himself, before relaxing into the motions of Henri's brush.

And then it struck Henri what might be wrong-

Iruma primarily communicated through his Mana. He frowned before glancing at Ameri. "Hun?"

Ameri looked up to him, "Huh?"

Henri hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you and Iruma talk?"

Ameri blinked before shaking her head in the negative, "Nuh uh." She perked up, "Bu' he holds my hand and taps agains' my Magic t' let him in, before he lets me know what he's thinkin' about or feeling. He doesn' like our Nanny much and keeps quiet."

Henri frowned deeply in concern at that, "Is she mean to him or something?" The issue of Iruma communicating with Ameri with his Mana was a different problem to address later.

Ameri pondered for a moment before shrugging, "He jus' thinks she's scary."

Henri blinked before turning back to Iruma. The youngling looked up at him with a sad gaze.

Henri took in a deep breath from his nose and sighed softly, "I'll have to ask her about it-"

Iruma straightened and shook his head vehemently as tears built up in his eyes. He didn't want to get their Nanny in trouble!

Henri frowned at the child before pressing, DislikeWhy?

Iruma shifted uncomfortably with a small whine in the back of his throat before pushing back. ScentNoLike NotBadPerson

Henri exhaled tiredly, "..Can you please use your words, Iruma?"

Iruma stiffened in a way he never had before in his lap. He inhaled sharply, breathed a few short sniffles, before cry-speaking, "Don' like. Stwong smell huwt."

Henri's horns twitched at the boy's voice. Strong smell? "You don't like her perfume?" Now that he thought about it, the house did carry a lingering scent for a long while.

Iruma shrugged, "Yea?"

And then it struck him- how soft Iruma's voice was.

The inflections and tones present in their voices- it was missing from Iruma's words entirely!

"...Iruma, do you try not to talk because you don't sound like Ameri and I?"

Iruma relaxed slightly before nodding, "It weiwd- Nanny doesn' like soft. Need gwow and feaw t'be stwon'."

Henri should have realized this fact much sooner. He sighed lightly to himself, "I'll talk to her, so please try and talk around her so she's not worried."

Iruma clenched his pants and tilted his head slightly, "Wowwy?"

Henri nodded, "Your Nanny is worried about your development, that's all. She wants to make sure you're healthy, and not using your voice is concerning."

Iruma hummed before slowly relaxing at that logic and nodding, "Kay."

xXx-xXx-acclimate-xXx-xXx

Henri wasn't prepared for the nanny to call him sobbing, "Azazel-sama, his wings aren't right, and he started screaming and there's blood- I just didn't understand why-!"

Henri cut her off, "Stop- I'll come home as quickly as possible. Keep calm."

The nanny sniffled, "Yessir." And the line ended.

Henri stood from his desk to make a short report as to why he was stepping out, and swiftly returned home. Thankfully, in the year that he'd had Iruma, incidents were particularly-

A year?

Henri nearly faltered at that thought before continuing his rush home.

It was October fourth, Iruma's Birthday. How could he forget? He hadn't even thought of making Iruma's favorite for dinner!

Of course, demons didn't really celebrate such a thing on a yearly basis, but the child was half human, and… well.

His mother was still under their care. At the very least, he could let the child know he cared about him dearly with his favorite dinner.

And… it was such a strange thing, too. He hadn't wanted to grow attached to the child, but with each day and week that passed, he found himself more and more grateful for the boy's presence in his home. He helped keep Ameri from feeling lonely during his long working hours, and somehow, he found that the boy had a strange penchant for being absurdly tidy despite still being an infant-toddler.

Ameri was always messy, but one wobbling look from Iruma while he put away his toys made her fall in line and clean up with him.

Sometimes they even sang little nonsense songs together as they cleaned up.

Henri shook his head as his house came into view. He inhaled sharply as his ears honed in on the sound of Iruma's sobbing. For one so quiet he was absolutely wailing in a way that was positively heart wrenching.

He landed and pushed open the screen door closest to the sound, where the nanny was doing her best to hide her tears and calm down the distressed imp.

Iruma snapped his head towards the sound of Henri's entrance and abruptly stopped wailing, before taking short gasping sniffling breaths in distress.

Henri startled at the abrupt absence of noise before coming close and extending his Mana towards the child as he took in the boy's translucent wings.

They were a terrifyingly underdeveloped light blue, the webbing between bones so thin they'd partially split and tore in spots merely from releasing, while bone was visible within the shafts.

He swallowed his fear and pressed reassurances to the distressed youngling before gently prying him from the nanny's arms. He motioned for her to take Ameri away, and she did so despite Ameri's protests.

He brushed away Iruma's tears and ran his claws through the boy's hair. Iruma sniffled and did his best to keep from crying. Henri would have to ask what happened later- for now, he had to help heal the boy's wings and help him retract them.

Henri shifted into a more comfortable position, and adjusted his voice as much as he was capable as he spoke softly, in a similar range as Iruma. "Iruma." The youngling looked up to him with hope and pain. "You'll be okay. I'll make it all better."

Iruma blinked away tears before sniffling, "Y'will?"

Henri nodded.

"C'n you make th' other pain goway?"

Henri tilted his head as he ran his Magic over Iruma, before something seemingly slapped him away.

Henri blinked as Iruma buried his face into his shirt, "Back huwts."

"...Your wings just came out, so that's understandable-"

Iruma shook his head vehemently. "No' dere."

Henri frowned and pressed his fingers lightly against his back, "Here?" Iruma shook his head, and he slowly went down until Iruma hissed and flinched from his touch.

Henri's eyes widened as he pulled his hand away. "Iruma, can you lay down on your tummy so I can look at your back?"

Iruma nodded and crawled off of his lap before laying down on one of the blankets in the nursery.

Carefully, Henri pulled up Iruma's shirt, and paused.

The three claw marks on his back were a deep burgundy.

Henri pulled Iruma's shirt back down and swallowed harshly as he realized what might be wrong.

Henri closed his eyes in pain, as he understood something he should have thought of sooner-

Naberius Kalego had Marked the boy as His to Protect.

He opened his eyes and helped Iruma off of his stomach. The toddler was lethargic from his crying and the pain, and Henri did the only thing he could as he wrapped Iruma up in his Mana and pulled him back into his lap.

Romantist was activated, his finger split open, and his flowing blood pressed into the boy's mouth with the command to Take.

He locked his eyes with Iruma's and breathed a commanding prayer, "Live and be Strong, Pup."

Iruma swallowed.

xXx-xXx-formulate-xXx-xXx

Opera awoke for the third time in…

Oh. It'd been five months… and now…

It was the first year since they'd given birth.

They took in a deep breath as that slowly familiarized weight pressed upon their chest. They exhaled out tiredly while shifting their gaze to the ceiling above them.

Opera felt out the state of their Mana, circulated it cautiously throughout their body, and pressed against the tattered remnants of their Bond with Kalego.

MissYou

It faded tiredly, even within the containment of their own weary flesh as their bones sang from inaction.

Twice they had been forced back under. They would do their best to keep themself awake this third time by not causing a commotion.

…They hoped it would give them time to think, instead of losing time to the unnatural emptiness of sleep.

There were no dreams. No brushes of anyone else's Magic. Just… absolute Nothing.

They had lost an entire year to that Nothingness. They refused to lose more.

Opera shifted their eyes towards the window, where steady light filtered through.

The door clicked, and they didn't have time to close their eyes and feign sleep before their Master breathed softly in growing hope, "Opera?"

They carefully met Sullivan's shocked gaze and made a small noise in greeting while giving a weak two-fingered sign that was a habit of their Clan.

Sullivan closed the door behind him and moved to their side before running a warm hand over their cooler skin as he gently spoke. "Deities Opera. It's been a year since I've last seen you awake."

Opera swallowed dryly, "S'ry, s'r."

Sullivan huffed lightly as he went ahead and fetched them some water. "No need to apologize. You were injured in a particularly severe accident. It's a miracle you even survived."

Opera swallowed back the immediate desire to scream denial at his face. He'slyingHe'sLyingHE'SLYING-

They gave their Master an empty miniscule smile as they accepted his help and swallowed the burning fury in their throat and croaked, "Oh."

Sullivan ran a careful hand over their back as they greedily drank water slowly through a straw, "You are under Border Patrol's care. If you're cooperative with them, hopefully they can get you out in a reasonable amount of time with rehabilitation."

Opera paused and glanced up at him, "Border Patrol?"

Sullivan gave them a sad pitying look, "Ah… You suffered amnesia due to some head trauma related to a case, unfortunately."

That was ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT but they would SWALLOW IT for now. They had to.

"...Understood, sir."

Sullivan helped lay them back down and placed his hand against their forehead in a caring manner.

They met his eyes and saw deep rooted pain, hidden behind his fatherly care.

They swallowed their rage, and exhaled defeat.

Se…i? pressed back in hollow distance in return through their Bond.

Opera closed their eyes tiredly, "I will cooperate and recover as quickly as possible, sir."

Sullivan hummed softly with a nod, "The house simply isn't the same without you."

Opera smiled minutely and nodded.

xXx-xXx-acclimate-xXx-xXx

Henri began writing a personal report about Iruma's growth.

The ways he was developing properly, any oddities he could think of, and of course, how he wasn't developing.

Because, as he had learned, it was out of concern for his wing's growth that the nanny had managed to carefully coax out Iruma's wings, only for them to shred at their release.

Wings were a demon's lifeline.

Henri was familiar enough with under-developed wings. It was an unfortunate trait the Catshie Clan still struggled with despite the years and centuries since the last of their blood-

Henri paused at that thought, and turned to the base file of importance. He pulled it out, and observed the original reports he'd filed over Opera's incident. He gleaned through them, only to settle on his damage report relating to Naberius Narnia.

Henri frowned as he re-read his own notes and realized how poorly he'd dealt with that situation. He'd felt blindsided himself by the ordeal, and hadn't been allowed to do much beyond the minimal damage control he already had.

Henri set his report aside and pulled out the first document- the Contract that started this whole mess.

It was burned, and had new writing singed into the Human's side. He had been none-too-pleased to find out a micro-fire had erupted and gone out in his own study barely two months after he'd acquired Iruma.

But now, thinking about it, perhaps he should have revisited this file sooner?

He hummed lowly before looking over the first side, and then flipping it over to the back.

Absolute nonsense was how the document read. Varying word formations and typings- he'd think someone delirious had written it, with what little of Merize's mother-tongue he knew. Despite how nonsensical it was he picked out what little he could understand, before seeing some sort of time limit and stipulation.

He supposed it had something to do with it catching fire, but…

Henri sighed and leaned back in his seat before rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

It would be foolish, but perhaps he should take a short trip to the Human Realm with Iruma? Introduce the child to the other half of his heritage?

And speaking of Heritage, perhaps he should reach out to the Catshie Clan and give a more appropriate apology and listen to their grievances before asking for help.

…Because, slowly, Henri realized that Iruma was still his parent's child.

He had a Charm, and Henri had no idea of how to tame it.

To be honest, it was moreso, now that he had taken a moment to write out Iruma's developmental traits, that he ran into a concerning issue.

The child could not say No. He never denied any request made of him, and he had slowly noticed the boy becoming tense anytime Please was used.

Which only made Henri's chest ache as he realized-

Iruma was just as affected by some level of Curses as Opera had been.

xXx-xXx-protector-xXx-xXx

Kalego sat in his chair, staring at the papers he needed to grade as the other teachers went about their business around him. He was leaning back with his legs crossed while resting his chin on his knuckle, absorbed in his thoughts.

For the past year he had done nothing but curse Opera for the mess they dragged them into, before going into dour moods of missing them so desperately, that he reached out to the nothingness between them in the depths of night.

He missed them, and he hated it.

He never allowed it to affect his lessons or his abilities as a teacher, but Dali would sometimes drop by with a steaming cup of something and open eyes, and Kalego knew the man was more than letting him know he was letting whatever was bothering him show.

He was intensely private, but he was mourning.

Shichirou could only do so much to abate the agony that accompanied the lack of anything from Opera's Claim.

He was never more grateful that Opera hadn't Claimed Shichirou yet. He never would have mentally survived the sundering of his Mark.

Today, however, he wasn't ruminating on the Nothingness, but on the flicker that had slivered through the remains.

M..s..u

A feeling so brief and fleeting, he'd nearly startled in the middle of his lesson. Thankfully he'd been able to swallow his emotions in that moment, but he had buried the incident too deeply after pressing back in response, that it had finally returned to roost in the forefront of his mind.

Kalego circulated his Mana towards Opera's Claim, and merely pressed an inquisitive emotion towards them.

The response straightened his posture as garbled static tickled and numbed through the remnants-

A-no-ed

Kalego blinked at the frustrated feeling that slithered and fizzled through the Bond. Yet slowly he leaned back with a growing smirk as he returned to lounging- not in brooding contemplation, but in mischievous revenge.

He would reforge his Claim and win them Back.

xXx-xXx-rekindle-xXx-xXx

Soprano held the cloth over her head close to her chest as she gnawed on her lip. Her white hair was frazzled as she glanced out the window towards where her daughter Re'mi was enthusiastically training with one of their strongest fighters.

She shifted egyptian blue eyes to the ground, away from the direct sunlight and the bustle of outdoors.

The Silence was all she had. No sounds reached her deaf ears, merely vibrations of the tones lost to her.

A brush of cautious Mana pressed against her senses before she glanced up towards her bedroom door where her Mate, Alto stood.

There was an undertone of annoyance, but Glass was quick to appear in his shadow and shove him in with what could only be a teasing tone as her Mates made their way to her side.

Glass, his gray hair pulled into a low ponytail towards the front and green eyes shimmered in what little light she let in, while Alto stood stiffly before her, his black hair and ruby red eyes watching over her in protective concern.

Alto revealed an open letter and made to hand it to her while keeping his emotions guarded.

Glass took it and removed a single page, placing it in her hands with a brush of belovedamusedcomfort.

Soprano tilted her head at his feelings over the letter before pressing the folds open to read whatever was hidden within.

To the Head of the Catshie Clan and those whom this may concern,

I have no words to express nor write that can even begin to undo the harm my subordinate brought upon your Clan last year without my prior knowledge. The long term effects of his acts are known to me, and I shall not try to cover up or belittle the torment he inflicted upon you and yours.

However, I am in need of your Clan's aid in raising one of your own.

The whelp is just over a year old and has begun to show the Charm traits of your Clan. I believe it to be imperative, concerning the confidential circumstances of his birth, that while I cannot explain his origin, that I raise him as his present Guardian to the utmost of his developmental care.

If you can find it within yourselves to send someone to aid me in raising this stray Catshie in place of his parent, I would be most grateful. This is not a Command of my position, but a request as a Foster parent.

May the Deities eradicate the flesh and bones of those who oppose you,
Azazel Henri of the Thirteen Crowns, and Security Chief of Border Patrol

Soprano stared at and reread the letter three or four times before looking between her Mates.

Both brushed Intrigue against her Magic, and she could only wonder where a stray kit of their Clan could have originated-

And then it struck her.

Opera?

Glass shrugged, but as she met Alto's eyes, his gaze melted into her's with grief.

DoNotTrust OurKitWhere

Soprano inhaled sharply as she reached out to him, and Alto took her hand and squeezed it firmly, his horns drooping low in a silent defeat. She had no idea that she seemed more alive in that moment than she had in one year as she pressed her Mana against him.

Guilt that Bastard and Raise our Kit.

Alto startled at her clear feelings as he understood her Desire. Soprano would let him go, and pull herself together from the tattered tapestry of her anxiety and meet him there. Once more she pressed her feelings against his Magic.

Go and be Gentle

Alto blinked in confusion, before Glass butted inbetween them.

So stiff

Alto seemingly sniffed in indignation at that, before folding his arms and lifting his head with a haughty tilt.

Glass pressed against them both, WillProtect, LearnInvestigate

Alto sagged slightly before nodding, as Soprano echoed Glass' sentiment.

Alto left them with the rest of the letter, as he took that one page and wrote his response.

xXx-xXx-acclimate-xXx-xXx

Henri was being, notably, insane in his actions within a very short amount of time. However, it was only at his realization that he was taking Iruma's development far too lightly, that he finally got his ass in gear on what it was he should be doing.

He'd like to think he was a good father, with how well he was raising Ameri. However, he was being far too lackadaisical about Iruma's upbringing, just because he was…

Well. At the root of it, a purchase.

Henri resisted the urge to rub at his face tiredly as he stood before a familiar portal. Then, with Iruma prepped for the trip over, he stepped through to the Human Realm (with barely obtained permission!) to see what sort of aid he could acquire in raising his half-human…

Henri scrunched his nose.

It felt too strange to him, even now, to call Iruma his… son. He wasn't related to either himself nor his Mate, and demons weren't particularly open to taking on the children of other Clans, outside of ensuring the continuation of bloodlines through marriage.

Which was certainly off the table for either Ameri or Iruma at their age.

Henri sighed at the stark loss of Mana in the Human World as he began his usual trip towards a particular shop where he picked up his Mate's manga, Hatsukoi Memories. He'd adjusted his appearance to not only be more human, but he even had his Babyls rival Alum Raim change his hair for him, so that he wouldn't have to rely on Magic. She'd been confused about the request for blue, but had shrugged it off and gone with it.

It would be simple to undo when he returned, but he was grateful that she was able to help him out.

Henri glanced down at Iruma, who was strapped against his chest. The toddler was looking around in wonder, lifting his nose to take in scents, and being generally… energetic.

He pressed his Mana against him, ComfortableAlright?

Iruma hum-purred with a trill before nodding. InterestingVibrantNew

…Well, at least that's how Henri interpreted his responding feelings.

He was glad though, that the Human Realm didn't seem to be an issue for one so young, and thus, began his usual trek through town.

He got some looks (he was quite tall), and some even approached while waiting at crossroads for lights to change to interact with his kit. He felt slightly uneasy about it, since demons weren't overtly prone to approaching another's child, but humans were quite different about such things. So long as someone didn't have dark intentions, he was fine with them interacting with him to some extent.

Iruma smiled and giggled at these times, making sounds that surely, to them, simply seemed like baby talk.

However, it seemed at some point he realized they had no idea he that was actually trying to talk, and sulked about it.

Henri chuffed a small laugh to himself at that, and entered his usual shop.

It was busier than normal, but he went to the cashier and made to pick up his long-standing order from his tab, when someone tripped into him partially from behind. He startled, ensuring Iruma wouldn't get hurt while also partially turning to see the individual in question.

He froze as their eyes met and choked-

"Here's your order, Henri-sama!"

Henri deftly helped the woman regain her balance while nodding at the employee. "My thanks." He swiftly slipped out of the store, his heart racing as the scent of his Mate lingered in the back of his throat as he made to gain as much distance as possible.

He wasn't supposed to meet her again- it shouldn't be so easy- his Mark ached in longing- he held back the urge to reach out- Humans didn't have Mana- WhyWhyWHY-

Iruma's Magic bit his and forced him to stop as he realized his wrist was being pulled behind him along with some weight-

"-Nri!"

Henri blinked as he cautiously turned to the one attached to him.

She looked up to him, pale and confused, but so full of agonizing recognition. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were glossy, but it was Her-

Merize

She squeezed his wrist with a sniff as she righted herself from trying to slow him down. "...It really is you, isn't it? Henri?"

Henri swallowed thickly. He shouldn't-

Iruma made a purr-chirping noise as he held out his arms towards the young woman, "'Enri!"

Henri felt his resolve crumble as the curls of his hair slumped along with his mood. He turned his gaze away from her and nodded minutely.

Merize was quiet for almost too long, before Iruma's Mana once more began to bite him like a rambunctious puppy with new sharp teeth, causing him to flinch as he turned to the imp strapped to himself with a frown. "What is it, Iruma?"

Iruma purr-growled low in the back of his throat up at him, before reaching for Merize again.

He raised an eyebrow before looking at his confused Mate (who shouldn't even be capable of recognizing him-), "It would seem Iruma-kun wants you to hold him."

Merize blinked before tilting her head. She hummed before nodding, "Is that alright?"

He didn't know, but he would indulge Iruma the whims he could not for himself. "Yes."

Henri carefully unstrapped Iruma from his hold as Merize cautiously pulled the little imp into her hold. Iruma clung onto her happily, purring up a storm and brushing bursts of HappyPleased against the both of them.

Not that Merize would understand-

Merize sniffled as she buried her face into his little head with a small chuckle, "You really like being held by me, Iruma-kun?"

Iruma tilted his head at the question, before nuzzling against her collar.

Merize laughed wetly, while wiping away an errant tear as she cuddled him.

It broke Henri's heart and filled it all at once.

Merize sighed softly, sniffed, and then met his protective gaze warmly, "Shall we talk?"

He shouldn't, but his Selfish Desires would always outweigh his Logic when it came to his Mate. "...Yes."

She tilted her head and began walking, with Henri trailing behind her.

xXx-xXx-refresh-xXx-xXx

A/N: This chapter was difficult for me to write and took three days. I honestly don't plan to keep Iruma in his infant/1-year old state for very long.

I also hadn't planned to reintroduce Merize until Iruma was a little older. I also hadn't planned to bring in the Catshie Clan so early, but the characters changed those plans.

Please leave a comment/review to let me know if you enjoyed it! I'd greatly appreciate it!