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It’s Sunday morning; the last day Kalego can laze about after completing his work. Okay, maybe not idle around. He can spend the rest of his day making up assignments for his class, in case they get on his nerves again and deserves work twofold.
'Better start completing it now, lest some shit-head comes looking for trouble. Acting Chairdemon this, Acting Chairdemon that. There should be more references in the school library'
He got up, got dressed and attempted to unlock his door. Attempted, because just as he inched the door open, gifts of different shapes and sizes tumbled onto his face. Kalego froze in shock, before annoyance shot up through him as he nursed his bleeding nose.
'What the... These weren't here before'
Of course they weren't. He never left his dorm since he came back after school on Friday evening. Little did he know there were students who left them by his doorstep on both days that he holed himself in his dorm. However, Kalego was shaken from his shock when he heard multiple feminine shrieks, with his doorknob rattling and soon enough, breaking off. Absolutely terrified, he conjures up his Barrier Spell on his front door before a sea of sickly sweet perfumes permeates the air around him.
"Kalego-sensei!"
"Kalego-san!"
"Acting Chairdemon!"
"Eggy-sensei! Happy birthday!"
"Clara! No!"
"Don't stop me Azz-Azz!"
...
Huh?
He glances over to the nearest gift that landed by his feet, reading the tag:
Happy Birthday Kalego-sensei ♡,
From the hottest demon in Babyls
As barely tolerant as he is, he immediately pulled a face in disgust at such a provocative message and from the shape of the wrapped item. It was praiseworthy, and concerning however, to have such a student in school where things should be kept professional. Oh well, nothing is professional here in this school with that scatter-brained principal of theirs. Speaking of which...
‘If Clarin and Asmodeus is here, where is that third troublemaker?’
”Alright guys! We’re almost finished with the birthday surprise and Demonic Rites for Familiar-sensei... Oi Iruma, where are your two buddies at?” Sabnock narrowed his eyes at the smaller blue haired boy that was previously focused on completing his own task of decorations.
Finally realising that his two best friends are no longer by his side bickering about who should take over when he got tired, he stilled his tangled hands and blanched. Clara was already a blabbermouth, and with Azz-kun with her, no secret would be safe. He may or may not have let out a squeak before leaving his post to Lied who had already entangled himself in the strands of paper.
‘Oh god, I have to find them now before anything spills!’
‘What if he already knows about it?’
‘We’d planned this for weeks, it can’t crash and burn now!’
‘Wha-‘
Iruma’s thoughts were racing miles per hour when he bumped into a much taller demon and muttered apologies absent-mindedly, not realising it was his Grandfather and Opera. His thoughts skidded to halt when two firm hands gripped him on his shoulders, causing him to look up in alarm.
“Iruma-kun~ Where are you going to in such a hurry? Can I come~?” His forever doting guardian and his trusted butler both peered at him curiously.
“Ah, well, you see, I’m searching for both Clara and Azz-kun because we have a surprise for Kalego-sensei-“
“A surprise for Kalego-kun? Count us in.” Opera said immediately, ears perked up, tail swishing up a storm and eyes sparkling with mischief.
“We’re going to have to find both of them first, though.” Iruma said with a wry smile, knowing damn well the party’s only going to be a little more fun with both of them present.
“Let’s split up, then. You take the dorms, Opera can take the library and I the faculty building” his grandfather insisted.
He wasn’t too sure about the Teacher’s dorms, so he asked Amelie for the directions, which she gave with slight hesitation. Making his way the fastest he could as he was only human after all, he turned the corner to Kalego-sensei’s dorm hallway, only to smack headfirst into some demon’s bum.
“Ack. Oh, yo, Iruma-kun. What brings you here today?” The towering and slouching figure of Balam turned, hiding something behind him while his large winged eyes crinkled in the form of the smile.
Iruma gave back an awkward grin, looking behind the fidgeting demon before him to see Asmodeus pulling Clara by her legs as she waved wildly to someone beyond the doorway as the other demons around her struggled to get into the dorm blocked by presents.
"Get him out of the room! He's been in there all this time!" Called out a tiny, green haired demon.
And no he wasn't talking about Clara.
A loud crashing was heard in the chamber, something that sounded disturbingly similar to glass scattering onto the floor.
"He's flying off! And with the speed he's going at, we won't be able to catch up in time!" A wave of groans were heard among the demons that were scattered all over.
"Robin-sensei! What's with all the commotion?"
"Kalego-kun refuses to get out of his room, and socialise, even though its his birthday. Typical of him to do that." A soft smile graced Balam's lips behind the metal mask, quickly dissipating when Iruma turned to face him, a plan already forming in his mind.
Wait..
"Well if he's going to disappear just like that on his birthday, then let's complete the party's preparation until he gets back. Come on guys! Azz-Azz, Clara!"
A mischievous grin appeared on Lied's face.
Nevermind, everyone has it.
"So we're just going to have to finish up our tasks and you'll summon him here huh?" Jazz snickered, watching in amusement as Iruma waved the summoning sticker around.
"We get to see him as his fluffy familiar! Oh my, I can't wait!" One of the teachers, Momonoki sighed, lost in her own world.
Balam shifted a little, scuffling his taloned feet along the floors of Royal One, careful to not damage such a relic of the school. As if sensing his discomfort, Iruma sidled over, beaming up at him as he returned it with an awkward smile.
Not that he could see it.
"I've asked everyone about their presents for Kalego-sensei, and you're the only one I haven't asked, sensei! Most of them got tea blends and stationery. So what's yours?"
"Promise me you won't laugh?"
Balam reached into a summoned cooler, and took out a delicately wrapped present, foreign letters gracing the surface.
Chocolates?
His pale face reddened as he bashfully put it away, cooler and all.
It can't be.
"Balam-sensei! Chocolates for him? On his birthday? Surely you can't be-!"
"Shhhh! Not so loud! I know, and it has to do something about this day too." If it was possible, Balam wished he could turn himself invisible. Oh to have Purson's ability.
February 14th? Febr-
Iruma let out a loud gasp, pulling everyone's attention to him. He quickly clamped his hand over his mouth, and beckoned his teacher out the door.
Once outside, shutting the door as closely as he could, Iruma started to squeal, fanning himself as the large demon in front of him hid his face in his hands, muttering.
After catching his breath, he asked, his voice quivering with excitement.
"How long? I know both of you have been friends for a long time."
"Don't you have another present to give him for the rites?"
Just as Balam was about to answer, the large door heaved open just a crack, small enough for Lied to poke his head through.
"Iruma, the preparations are ready! O-oh hi sensei! What are you two doing out here? Come on! Let's put on our costumes!"
Slowly, Balam heaved the door open, letting his students enter before he does. Iruma turned, giving him a thumbs up.
Good luck, sensei.
He was just about to finish photocopying the last page in the library when a familiar bright flash and feeling came over him.
Oh no. Not again.
As soon as he could see again, he immediately called out for that troublemaker when he realised his small body was bound to a chair.
"Alright everybody! All together now!'
Melodious droning was heard all over the chapel, the unholy water being lit one by one as each of the demons present approached and poured it into the large tub.
Almost everyone from Babyls was present, the presents ranging from big to small. Not many were given though, as majority were scattered at his doorstep. Finally, it was Balam's turn.
Iruma watched attentively as the large demon hunkered down, bearing a well-wrapped notebook and whispered his gratitude as his eyes scrunched with his usual smile. Pale red dusted his face.
"Okay! Time to go back to Royal One for the actual party!"
Everybody cheered.
"Hey sensei? Why didn't you just give the chocolate to him just now?" Iruma craned his neck towards the demon who offered to fly him there.
"Well, knowing Kalego, he'll just throw it somewhere into the pile of presents he has," both of them laughed.
Babyls was getting closer, and so was his long awaited confession. Balam gulped nervously, the dread of rejection pooling in his chest.
Everyone was helping themselves to the food and drinks, music and conversations blasting though Royal One. For some reason Evidols Kuromu, Lindy, Melie, Irumi and her friends are here, the DeviMuse fans screaming and crying out for them as they performed on the platform of the first floor.
Unable to withstand the noise, Kalego slipped out of Royal One, heaving a deep sigh when he made it out of the classroom. Iruma nodded and watched as he cheered Balam on from the stage, said demon sheepishly following the birthday demon.
Deciding to bask in the setting sun's last rays, Kalego flew up to the large tree that Iruma had sprouted that day, landing on its thick roots with little difficulty. He balanced himself on the uneven surface, barely making it to the trunk before sliding down, and closing his eyes as he took in the faint smell of sweetness and music in the distance.
There was another set of wings batting, before the familiar sound of talons against wood landed near him. It took a while, but the demon finally got to find a spot near him and settled down. Silence comfortably washed over them, the other demon patiently waiting for Kalego to open his eyes to initiate their conversation.
When he did, the sun was more than halfway sunken into the horizon, Balam fiddling with his fingers, deep in thought.
"Sicirue, what is it that you need?" His head shot up, eyes wide in alarm before softening into his usual stare.
Balam shifted and brought out another delicately wrapped present, and moved to place it into Kalego's already waiting hands.
"Chocolate? Sicirue, you know I don't really like them, don't you?"
"I made them a little special for you. I managed to infuse tea flavours into chocolates in my other invention, so I tried it with your favourite one. Hopefully it suits your taste, that took me a while to figure out" Balam refused to make eye contact with him.
Unwrapping the box and opening it, he was unsurprised to see that most of it were in perfect heart shapes, the rest in questionable shapes (why is there one that looks like a duck?)
"A-ah. The only molds I had were heart molds so..." He trailed off, causing Kalego to snicker before popping one into his mouth, and hummed at the taste.
The blend was powerful, but not enough to absolutely cancel out the melty sweetness of the chocolate, its cocoa dark and bitter. It was perfect.
"Not bad, Sicirue, not bad. Remind me to ask you for more the next time you plan to make more of these" he stood up, closing the box and tucking it into his elbow, approaching the larger demon.
Kalego bent down, and took a small wrapped bar from his pocket and pressed it flat against his chest as he reached up and placed a small kiss against the cold metal of Balam's mask. A smirk was etched into his usually thunderous expression when he pulled away, satisfaction spreading in his chest as Balam stared, wide-eyed with his pale face a deep red.
"N-Naberius.."
"I'm not that stupid Sicirue, happy Valentine's to you too"
With a wink, he leaned backwards and disappeared from sight only to reappear a few feet away, flying towards his dorm.
Balam looked down at his hand that clutched at the present given, before looking back at the retreating figure.
Heat warmed his face.
Oh.