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When I first arrived in the Devildom, Lord Diavolo had Lucifer explain some of my duties to the curriculum of R.A.D., one in particular the Tasks I had to complete during the course of the school year. I was floored when he went on to explain the nature of the tasks…dance battles. Not just any dance battles either, dances between demons. Considering my state of mind at the time I was told all this lovely information, I don’t remember shit. I just found myself living in Hell with fallen angels, so my mind hit the pause button at that point. Anything else I was told was more than my brain wanted to process.
Nothing really could have prepared me for the sheer amount of showmanship that went into the twice weekly dance battles between different demon teams. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is an hour after lunch to prepare, then the final two hours of the day are taken up by dance battles held in the main theater. It was a huge production, with the entire school as a general assembly to witness and cheer for the three demon team they wanted to win.
I stood in the wings of the stage watching the current battle between two teams of demons, and for the life of me, I didn’t get it.
“Hey, Mammon?”
The white haired brother was sitting on a crate next to me backstage, his face buried in his D.D.D., and he only looked up when I called his name.
“Yeah?”
Mammon looked up from his device, turning his iridescent blue eyes at me as I turned to him, walking away from the wings of the stage and further backstage where we could talk without disturbing the dancers.
“What’s the point?”
“The point of what?”
I gestured around me at the theater and dancers.
“All this. What’s the point of dance battles? Is it just to keep Diavolo amused or what?”
Mammon chuckled, the rich tone taking me by surprise over his usual surly mood when I spoke with him, the grin on his face making him even more handsome.
“That’s funny…but don’t let Lucifer hear you talk like that. He’d probably think you were dissin’ Diavolo or somethin’.” Mammon thought for a minute, and I could swear I saw smoke coming out of his ears. “How do I explain this so a human would understand it?”
“How do you expect to be able to explain something you yourself can hardly comprehend?” Lucifer’s voice rang out from slightly behind me, making me jump, my heart in my throat as I whirled around to face the Eldest demon.
“Hells, Lucifer! Don’t be sneaking up on me like that! Almost gave me a damn heart attack!”
“Hmmm..” Lucifer broke out into an evil grin, not even one ounce of apology to be seen on his ethereal face. “As for the dance battles, it is a way to peacefully resolve disputes and issues between the different demon groups and factions at R.A.D. The winner of the battle wins the dispute, but the losing team can appeal the decision by battling a team made up of student council members. Not that they ever stand a chance of winning…”
Excitement built as Lucifer explained the dance battles. While I didn’t study theater or dance in college, I was very active when it came to auditioning for plays and musicals. In my senior year, I had even put a team together for a variety show for the college. My five girl team took first place with our routine, where we recreated the video for Christina Aguilera’s Express from Burlesque. It was racy and sexy as anything, and the photography club had taken video of our performance, putting it up on the theater website. As far as I knew it was still accessible as its been less than two years since then.
“So when do I get to dance?”
The question surprised Lucifer, his eyebrow raising up in surprise.
“Have you forgotten? You don’t. Only the student council will be doing the actual dancing since you do not have any magical power of your own. You will instead help to coordinate the battles and select who will be on the team prior to the challenge. This week we will be showing you how to do just that so that next week you will take over the duty.” A little demon came up then, looking a bit nervous as he addressed Lucifer.
“My Lord, three minutes til curtain.”
Lucifer nodded, turning back to me as I tried to conceal my disappointment.
“Pardon me, Kissa. I will answer any further questions after we win this.”
I watched as Lucifer grabbed Mammon and Beel and headed out onto the main stage floor while I watched enviously from the wings. Music came up, loud and blaring, the beat almost primal in style, and making me instinctually want to move to the sound. My eyes were riveted, drinking in the movements of the dancers, the brothers in particular. They were good, very good, and I understood exactly what he meant by power the second the dance started. It felt like a pressure, almost like you feel when you are descending from flight in a plane, only there was no way to correct the feeling until it was over. I was still very disgruntled about the whole thing.
“Well, this really blows donkey dick….”
I didn’t notice, but Asmodeus was walking past at the same time as I spoke, my words making the Avatar of Lust stop in his tracks and backtrack to where I stood watching the battle.
“Who are we blowing now?” Asmo’s lips were pursed slightly as he turned over my words in his head. “Did you say donkey dick?? Kissa!” The gorgeous demon spun me around to face him, his eyes wide as he gripped my upper arms. “Kissa! Do you like Donkeys??!!”
“...”
It took me a second to register exactly what Asmodeus was implying, and I blinked stupidly for a second while my brain processed. I recoiled with a look of utter disgust as I realized exactly what the demon was implying.
“What?! Ewww! No! Damn, Asmo….what the hell you take me for?!” I pulled free of his arms, pushing him out of my personal space. “I was just bitching about not being able to be on the dance team.”
“Well damn, and here I thought I’d finally discovered one of your kinks…”
“What makes you think I have any?”
Asmo gave a wide coy grin, batting his long lashes at me.
“Oh, Darling….everyone has a couple kinks. Part of the fun is finding them out.”
He watched me closely his eyes dancing with curiosity as I turned pensively back toward the stage, still not exactly happy, but better because of the teasing banter. I became engrossed in the action on the stage again, and only realized that Asmo had still been observing me when he spoke up at my side.
“Do you dance?”
“I used to be really active in the theater in college. Got roles in a play and one of the musicals, and won first place in one of the Intercollegiate Variety Shows we did. I didn’t want to do it for a living, but it was fun.”
“Mmmm…I would so love to test your sense of rhythm as a partner. The horizontal mambo is one of my favorites….”
I gave a light chuckle, easily falling into Asmo’s teasing innuendo with a mischievous grin of my own.
“Oh? I am partial to the 90 degree greased-weasel tango myself…”
Asmo stepped closer to me, licking his lips slightly, his grin not dropping in the slightest.
“I think I can arrange a pants off, dance off….”
I held up my hand stopping him in place with the gesture.
“Sorry, Asmo….my horoscope told me not to do anything rash today…How about I pencil you in around ‘never’…” I didn’t let my smile fall, but my tone of voice held more than a little ice around the edges.
“Awww…you’re no fun…” Asmodeus’ lips pursed into a pout as he playfully gave my shoulder a limp-wristed tap.
There was a surge of power, and cheers from the audience brought my eyes back to the stage where the three brothers had transformed into their demon forms.
Oh dear Lord…kill me now and I can die happy…
Erupting from Beel’s messy orange capped head were a pair of black ridged horns, reminding me of those of a bull but wrapping around almost like a circlet. He wore an orange t-shirt covered with a black leather jacket with gold spikes on the sleeves and collar. What took me most by surprise, was the pair of dark papery wings seen behind his long legs, similar to that of a flying insect. He was a vision of strength and endurance, every step powerful on it’s own.
Oh yeah…Beelzebub was the demon traditionally known as Lord of the Flies, right?
Mammon’s bright white hair tossed about his head, a pair of thin twisted black horns pushing straight up, but they didn’t look like any horns I’d seen on animals. He also wore a black leather biker’s jacket, but it was cropped, held in place by a pair of black straps attached to skin tight leather pants, and since he wore no shirt underneath, I got my first view of the stark white tribal tattoos etched across his dark skinned chest. He was a vision in black and white, leathery black bat-like wings edged in white erupted from his lower back, and the look on his face as he danced, a mixture of bliss and concentration I had yet to see on him before.
Even with Beel standing as the tallest demon on the stage, my eyes naturally were pulled to the strongest power on the floor, Lucifer. It was the first time I saw any of the brother’s other forms, but if Lucifer’s demonic form was anything similar to the one he wore as an Angel…it was no wonder he had been considered Heaven’s Greatest Treasure.
A huge pair of thick black horns spiraled up from the sides of his head, his pitch black hair matching the single black diamond shape etched into the marble pale skin of his forehead. He wore an elegant black two-tailed jacket, lined with red silk and tailored to perfection over a black waistcoat edged in blood red, his gloves now red instead of his usual black. Two pairs of huge black feathered wings issued forth from the middle of his back, making Lucifer the epitome of Fallen Angel, his ethereally handsome face showing nothing but his trademark pride and confidence. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“What do you think of our Team?”
I answered on reflex.
“Breathtaking….”
Wait…who?
I turned to the left to see who was attached to the masculine voice I didn’t quite recognize, and was met with a pair of bright golden eyes. The proximity alone was enough to set my heart racing, but there was something about the Prince of Demons that defied logic, making me take a sudden step back.
"I'm glad that you approve of our dance battles, Miss Kitty." Diavolo 's voice was smooth as warm butter, the velvety tone bringing me away from ogling the powerful and confident Lucifer. "Our Lucifer is far more skilled at this than first expected, as are all the brothers."
My face colored a bit, not from embarrassment exactly, more from being caught off guard, which is something I needed to be more mindful of considering I was surrounded by demons. Not all the citizens of the Devildom were friendly to humans, and I need to keep that little fact in mind if I want to survive the year.
"Wait, wait, wait…." Asmo moved from his place at my right and planted himself in front of me, immediately taking up my entire field of view and blocking my sight of the stage. "Your name is really Miss Kitty??"
I stared back at him as his eyes twinkled with amusement, a surprised grin across his sinfully handsome face. With an irritated frown, I pushed the Avatar of Lust out of my personal bubble, and to the side where he was no longer blocking my marvelous vision of a gyrating Lucifer.
"As I have been told repeatedly, yes, I am fully aware that I was given the name of a porn star at birth. Kiss-a Kitty is usually how people mispronounce my name. Its actually Key-sa which is 'kitten' in Russian, so it only sounds marginally better considering my name itself, ‘Kitten Kitty’ is redundant." I sighed, realizing I wasn't going to escape the teasing here either. "I fully believe my mother was drunk when she named me."
I was startled by the honeyed bark of laughter from Diavolo, his striking red uniform catching my eyes as an instinctual sense of self preservation made it so I didn't want to look into the face of the Prince of Demons, instead looking anywhere else. My heart suddenly raced in my chest, fear creeping up in my mind as I could feel Diavolo’s eyes on me. I swallowed hard, my gaze pulled away to the stage, and I knew that Diavolo wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his vision of a united three realms but it was suddenly very difficult to breathe under his intense scrutiny.
"You are definitely a different type of human…" Diavolo's voice was a mixture of amusement and curiosity, and instinctively I knew that catching the eye of Diavolo would be hazardous to my continued health.
Be one Hell of a ride though….
I chose to flirt with danger anyway, shrugging my shoulders a bit.
"I never said I was normal…"
Asmo had been almost staring through me, and when I spoke, it was as if something suddenly clicked inside that gorgeously handsome face.
"You really are immune to me? No sudden urges?"
I raised an eyebrow, my face twisting into an expression of surprised caution, as I faced the Avatar of Lust.
"Sudden urges? Urges to do what exactly?"
"Oh, wrap your arms around me with those pretty pink lips on mine, or maybe run your fingers through my hair?"
Asmo's gaze was intense, as if just by wishing he could change the suspected outcome. Diavolo seemed very interested in my answer, and I heard the applause signaling the end of the battle.
"Nope. Sorry."
"Really?? Nothing??" The Avatar of Lust threw his arm dramatically over his eyes "To think! There is someone existing who is able to resist MY charms!"
"Oh now, THAT'S a tragedy…" I wasn’t stingy at all with the sarcasm.
I turned back toward the stage as I heard a Whoop! that sounded like it came from Mammon, and saw the brothers, back in their human forms leaving the spotlight. It was obvious by the looks on the faces of Lucifer, Beel and Mammon, that they had won the match.
"WooHoo! Kissa! Did you see that?! I was awesome, right?"
Mammon ran up to me, both palms out, and I smacked him a double high-five as he got close, my own grin as wide as his. I couldn't help it that the guy was seriously hot, not to mention his smile and energy were contagious.
"Damn straight you were!"
I ruffled his hair, and he froze for just a second, his lips turned into a goofy grin before he seemed to remember himself, knocking my hand away. Instantly, his face flooded with a deep red blush across his cheekbones.
"S-stop that! Don't treat me like a child!"
To late… I saw that.
More and more I was noticing little things about Mammon the more I was around him. Yes, he was a narcissist, and pretty much an everyday asshole…the pact between us didn’t change that. Those things were true, but it boggled my mind how he could say one thing, and his body language and tone said something completely different. It had gotten easier to understand my guardian demon once I figured out that if I took what he said and twisted it 180°, then I might be closer to the truth.
"Awww… but you're just so cute, Mammon!"
I didn't hold back with my teasing, mostly because I figured the contrary little shit liked it. Asmodeus had to make a snide comment as usual.
"As if you actually did anything to win. Kissa, dear, why do you put up with this scumbag?"
"Oi! Shut the hell up, Asmo! If I wanted to hear shit from you, I'd squeeze it out!"
“Enough! Both of you!” Lucifer came up barking at the two bickering demons before bowing apologetically to Diavolo. “Pardon my brothers, my Lord.”
Diavolo waved him off, and the urge to look at the two most powerful demons in the land was too much for me, and I turned my head to look up at them. Both were around six feet tall, Diavolo’s bright red hair and golden eyes were almost a match to the pitch black of Lucifer’s military hair cut and his dark blood red eyes, making them both a vision in black and red.
“Lucifer….were you aware of our newest student’s immunity to Asmodeus’ charm?”
Lucifer’s eyes met mine, and a small smile played around his lips. My heart rate increased 10 times, racing so fast I was sure the demons around me could hear it.
“Oh yes. She really is the perfect candidate for your exchange program.”
That little smile however, didn’t reach those blood red eyes of his, and I could almost hear the gears turning in Lucifer’s head.
Demon or human, I still confuse the hell outta men. Good to know.
-------------------------
Asmodeus couldn’t believe it. A human able to resist his charm? HIS charm?? It was impossible, and yet there she stood. She had only been in the Devildom for two days before she made a pact with Mammon, and he still thought that was just a fluke. But maybe….just maybe….
Kissa was a very beautiful example of a human female, she seemed intelligent, and had a sharp wit as well, able to keep up with his teasing easily. She was intriguing, even more so now that he knew more about her. She had the stage name of a sex worker, a body for sin, face of an angel, and not only did she meet each of his suggestive remarks with one of her own, but easily resisted any and all attempts he made to charm her.
Intrigued didn’t even start to describe his sudden interest, but if the looks on the faces of Lucifer and Diavolo were any indication, he wasn’t the only one. Asmo had thought that Mammon’s attraction to the human had just been the pact, and it might have been at first. Now? He wasn’t so sure, but the smell of excitement, fear, and satisfaction definitely had an undercurrent of Lust, and it wasn’t all coming from the human. Mammon was easy to see now, his interest in the human not just driven by order and pact, but what about Lucifer and Diavolo?
Asmodeus hadn’t dropped his grin, covertly examining the expressions of the two most powerful demons in the Devildom, both of whom were currently concentrating their attentions on the small human female.
Time to examine this more closely…
“Kissa!” Asmo grabbed her arm and her notice, looking pointedly at the elder demons as he did. “You need new clothes, darling….Can’t have you spending the next year in that stuffy old uniform now can we?”
Asmo’s grin got even wider as the pretty woman looked at him a bit confused at the current turn of events.
“Um…no?”
Diavolo put in his two cents as well.
“Excellent idea, Asmodeus!” He turned to Lucifer, whose face had gone carefully neutral as Diavolo turned to him. “Have whatever she needs billed to the palace…”
The only surprise registered by Lucifer was the slight raising of one eyebrow as he bowed to his Lord’s wishes.
“As you will.” Lucifer looked to Asmo, his eyes suddenly gone hard. “That does not mean you get carte blanche to do what you want, Asmo…”
Asmodeus tugged at the uniform sleeve of the newest student before putting his arm around her to pull her away.
“Come on, Kissa! Time to go shopping!!”
Mammon stepped up then, knocking Asmo’s arm from across the blonde’s shoulders.
“Hey! Back off you horn-dog!” Mammon protectively growled the words, making Kissa look at the white haired demon with slight surprise. “You aren’t going anywhere without THE Mammon!”
Nonplussed, Asmodeus grabbed Kissa’s hand and headed for the exit, Mammon trailing close behind them.
“See you at dinner!”
Lucifer didn’t even skip a beat.
“I expect receipts, Asmo!”