THE NEXT MORNING...

The big day had finally arrived. Balin was going back to Holy Water Primary School.

But to start the day off, Loona walked into his room as the sun rose in the Hellish sky outside his window to see he was fast asleep.

"He really is cute when he's sleeping, isn't he, Loona." she smiled to herself.

She watched as the kid slept peacefully, cuddling his stuffed bear and chicken closer to him as he dreamt.

Sadly though, Loona knew she couldn't let him sleep like a puppy for the entire semester. He had to wake up this morning, one time or another, and in today's case, he wanted it to be 6:00am.

So gently and with a smile, she walked up to his bed, turned off the alarm clock, and crouched down to tickle his backside awake with her claws.

"Balin...? Balin...?" she sang. "It's time to wake up now."

And with that, Balin yawned and groggily opened his blurry eyes. His vision was restored when he looked to his left side to see his hellhound friend smiling down at him.

"W'sup, meal? You sleepyhead." she chuckled. "Looks like today's the biggie."

Hearing that made the excited Balin feel a little more tired. Normally, he'd be up and at 'em by the time it was 6, but since coming to Hell, staying up on some late nights was new to him.

"You wanna sleep some more, don't ya?" she grinned. "Want some back-to-school cuddles?"

Balin then looked at her and nodded in a flush at the thought, which made her chuckle a little bit.

"Fine. Maybe a few minutes won't hurt." she smiled warmly. "Make some room, kid."

Slowly, Loona lifted the blanket and laid down on one side of the bed. The two wrapped their arms around each other for the cuddle session, but little did Balin know, this was another way Loona tried to wake him up.

So after a couple minutes of snuggles, she started giving the boy little licks from cheek to cheek, repeatedly until he woke up giggling.

"Hehehehehe, okay, I'm awake now, Loona." he laughed as he wiped his face.

...

A few moments later...

Balin soon got ready for the big day as he showered up and got changed into his school clothes in the bathroom.

Whilst he did that, Loona made his packed lunch, including one of the Vegemite sandwiches she kept in the freezer, a packet of crisps, string cheese, and a banana. She also put about 20 dollars into the lunch bag from her work allowance in case he decided to make a tuck-shop order.

Soon, she heard a knock on the door and sighed knowing who that was.

"Oh, shit..." she grumbled before opening the door to see the three imps. "And I thought today was gonna be emotional."

"Oh, calm the fuck down, Loona." Moxxie shot back at her as she snarled lightly. "There's always tomorrow, or any day you're around him."

"Don't tell my daughter to calm the fuck down, Moxx!" gasped Blitzø in defence. "Need I remind you I made you employee of the month once?"

"Alright you three, knock the language off." Millie interfered with a calm seethe. "Now where's the little pre-schooler, Loona?"

"Just gettin' changed." she flatly replied, before knocking on the bathroom door. "Yo, Balin? You nearly ready?" she called.

"I'm ready!" the boy called back in response.

Loona then moved out of the way so Balin could come out. Soon, he walked out of the bathroom dressed up in a light blue t-shirt with the Holy Water Primary logo on the top right where his nipple was, golden-brown and snug tracksuit pants, and some sparkling black shoes.

The imps awed at his little school uniform, and Millie was already in happy tears.

"Awww, my baby boy! You're so cute, I could just eat you all up in that uni..." she soon paused sensing his nerves from hearing that. "It's okay, sweetie-pie, I'd never do that to you." she then crouched down and gave him a soft hug.

"I concur completely!" agreed Blitzø. "You look rocking in that outfit! So what do you think, Loona?"

The hound looked at him feeling happy to witness this moment, demon to human, but still had her dignity with the guys.

"Yeah, he does look pretty cool. And cute." she shrugged.

"What are you guys doing here?" Balin asked the imps in surprise.

"We came here to wish you luck, of course." replied Moxxie. "Your aunty Millie here insisted on it really, but I'm super happy for you too."

"...And admittedly," Loona then knelt down to him as well. "I am as well, kiddo."

"Thank you, Loona." the boy then hugged her with one arm, as a way of keeping it cool for her.

"Don't mention it." she smiled softly. "Before we go, something's gotta be done about that hair of yours. Hold still..."

Loona gently held his shoulders and began licking the boy's hair, as a little extra brushing, until it was all flat and tidy.

"There we go." she grinned softly.

"Loona!" Balin giggled, rustling his own hair again. "I have a hairbrush."

The three imps then giggled softly at the sight as well, before Blitzø grabbed out the crystal and opened a portal to where no-one could see them.

Balin then wrapped his backpack around his shoulder blades, Loona put in his packed lunch and stationary items (pens/pencils / textbooks), and the imps put on their fake human disguises before walking through the portal.

NO-NAME TOWN...

The five then landed into a troubled street right next to the school, making Balin hold onto Loona's leg as she shifted into her human form.

"Alright sport, which way?" asked Blitzø.

The kid had a thought of it since he hadn't been along this side of the school zone before. But before long, he pointed the demons to the right direction, and they began walking with Loona and Millie holding his little hands.

...

HOLY WATER SCHOOL...

The gang soon made it all the way up to the boy's school at just the right time. They arrived just around 8:41am, which gave Balin enough time to say his goodbyes and his hellos to everyone else in the courtyard.

"Holy Water..." Moxxie read the sign out loud.

"Huh. A Catholic school, eh?" Millie read it as well, then shrugged with a supportive smile. "I'm cool with that."

"Now remember kid, we can't be seen." Blitzø told him importantly. "Which means we also can't be heard of either, so whatever you do..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Blitzø. I won't tell anyone about you." Balin interrupted him politely. "It's the least I can do."

"Good man." the eccentric imp gave Balin a gentle pat on the back.

As he stepped a couple of paces towards the school, the boy took a couple of deep breaths in and out.

"You nervous, kiddo?" Loona asked him, having noticed it.

"A little bit" he replied softly. "But I'm ready. At least, this time."

"This time?" Moxxie then tilted his head in curiosity.

"I remember the first time I was here." Balin cringed in embarrassment remembering his first school experience. "I was dropped off at my classroom and I kept running to my parents' car, over and over again, until eventually, they left."

The three imps then laughed as Balin flushed telling that story. Even though Loona rolled her eyes at their childishness, she giggled a little too.

"My. And look where you are now." she said, before choking a little feeling some water in her eyes.

"Loona?" Balin asked her sincerely. "Are you okay?"

"I am." she sniffled a little. "I just feel... will you be okay here?"

Loona then felt Balin slowly but quickly wipe the tears about to come out of her eyes, to help her play it cool once more, but also to show how much he cared for her.

"Yes, Loona. I will." he smiled before hugging her. "I'm okay that you're okay."

The hound then slowly wrapped her arms around Balin, not caring that she was doing this in front of the others and everyone else, or that she was emotional in general.

When they let go, Loona said to him: "I'll be here to pick you up at 3:15, sweetheart." before gently kissing his forehead.

Balin then replied to her: "And I'll be waiting for you here." He said that as he placed his hand at a certain part of her chest, making Loona flush with more tears building in her eyes.

"Alright, stop, you'll make me all mushy." she pouted with a chuckle.

The little boy then hugged the three imps, starting with Moxxie and then Millie as Blitzø ruffled his head.

"Now go have an adventure!" the boss cheered him on.

"Have fun on your first day." Millie waved goodbye to him as he ran off.

"I will Millie!" he called back to them. "I love you guys!"

As the imps soon left waving goodbye to him, Loona stayed back for a bit and watched as he took one last breath walking down to the crowd full of kids, trying to find one in particular.

Along the way, the other kids saw him and gasped having seen him for the first time since his tragedy. Until...

"Balin? Is that you?"

"Matt? Is that you?"

Balin then turned to his right to see Matt Sanders sitting on the bench in the shade of the courtyard. Both kids had speechless looks on their faces like they were about to cry.

Running towards each other from the crowd, the two embraced each other with their backpacks still on their shoulders.

"I missed you so much!" Matt said emotionally.

"I know. I'm here." replied Balin soothingly. "Just like I said I would be."

Loona watched with her keen hellhound sight under her disguise as the display unfolded.

"So that's Matt, huh?" she thought to herself wholeheartedly. "Mmm, kid looks like a good little guy too."

As the two hugged, the school homeroom bell rang.

"Come with me mate, I'll show you where OUR homeroom is." smiled Matt, as the two walked alongside each other.

Loona smiled softly as the two left before opening another portal with the Grimoire and returning to her apartment in Hell.

As they walked into the gates of the school, two slightly older kids watched as they walked in and grinned at each other, ...quite evilly.

"So... where've you been these days?" the boy's BFF asked him.

"It's a long story." replied Balin. "I'll tell you later."

The boys put their bags on the coat racks and made their way to homeroom. Surprisingly, it was the same classroom Balin hid in when he met Loona, and luckily, he wasn't too traumatised about it.

Soon, as all the kids took their seats, the teacher danced into the room wearing reading glasses and carrying a notebook in one hand and a cup of cocoa in another.

"Good morning, class!" she sang.

"Good morning, Mrs. Briggs." everyone, except Balin, replied.

"Now, I'd like to say before we start, that it is wonderful to see one of our own has returned to us after a short leave of absence." she continued. "Let's give Balin Johnson a round of applause, children!"

The kids in the classroom took turns exclaiming "Welcome back, Balin!" as they clapped for him, even Matthew, while the boy just smiled warmly even though he was a little nervous.

As the clapping dialled down, Mrs. Briggs began speaking again.

"Now kids, you should all know that Balin here's been through a lot over these last few weeks, from being separated from his family to going missing out on the streets." she said. "So while we thank the Lord and Jesus that he's safe with us, let's all be friends. Kind and mindful of space. Poor sweetie must still be recovering, aren't you?"

The boy just nodded as she started checking the roster, being the teacher she was to this wonderful class.

"Margaret Addison?" she called out their names.
"PRESENT!"

"Barney Ammerol?"
"HERE, MISS!"

"Orion Ballard?"
"HERE!"

"Ugh... *louder voice* Buzz Caster." she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Took ya long enough." said one of the kids from earlier, a school bully as he sat next to his twin sister.

"And his sister..." Matt whispered to Balin, before they finished their sentence along with Mrs. Briggs. "Leni Caster."

"Here, blonde, and fabulous as F." the girl boasted even ruder.

"Just try to watch your mouth this time." groaned Mrs. Briggs as she continued.

Matt soon inhaled a whiff of Balin's hair and became curious.

"Um, Balin? If you don't mind me saying, your hair... kinda smells weird." he said.

Balin widened his eyes at the question, not wanting to reveal the fact he was living in Hell for the last month with demons, and a dog-like demon who took care of him as his caretaker. One that licked him nearly every couple of days as a way of therapy almost.

So keeping his promise to Blitzø in mind, he decided to keep it secret for his best friend too.

"Oh, my caretaker has this dog and it just wanted to, you know, brush my hair for today." he replied in a lie. "She just knows how to celebrate."

"Mm, fair enough." shrugged Matt. "I mean, if my dog can't resist either, what other dog does?"

The two boys chuckled as Mrs. Briggs called their names next.

"Balin Johnson?"
"HERE, MRS... BRIGGS?"

"That's right, sweetheart." she replied with a smile, as she continued.

Balin then noticed the twin terrors, now known as Buzz and Leni Caster, all looked at him with curious expressions before they looked at each other with grim and evil-like ones. He heard stories of their troublemaking since he came to this school the first time and never met them up close, until now. If they weren't a scary first brush in this classroom, he didn't know else other than Loona.

But as nervous as he was, he was still looking forward to the rest of the day and the support from the other kids solidified it.

A/N: See y'all in the next chapter.