Chapter Text
Eiko leaned against the cold stone of the main building of the Babyls school campus, one hand pressed to her chest. Her heart felt like it was trying to slam its way free of her ribs. That, she felt sure, wouldn’t be healthy.
“Oh my gosh, Eiko, are you okay?” Gaako’s voice cut through the ringing in her ears, and a friendly pressure on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie. Eiko blinked and looked over at her friend. The concern on that green face helped her calm down a little, but only a little.
“That was so scary,” Gaako continued, looking around as though she expected to see another fire demon charging at them, sword in hand.
When word had gotten around that the representative of the first years was challenging the school president’s grandson in the school courtyard, it had seemed like a bit of fun. And while seeing Azmodeus in all his power had been a beautiful sight, it was also kinda funny to see the growing bafflement and rage on his face as Iruma avoided attack after attack after attack. Eiko had to admit she’d been getting really into it.
Until she saw that fire sword heading straight for her face.
She’d had one crystal clear moment that seemed to stretch on and on. It gave her enough time to think this is it. I’m going to die here, before even my first day of classes. I never got to go to that Beeber concert. I never went on a real date. I never even got to find out what my familiar is. It’s too soon to die! Too soon-
And then, faster than her mind could comprehend, the sword was gone and Azmodeus lay on the ground, out cold. And the one who’d done it?
Iruma.
The whole thing had ended so suddenly. In a flash, Iruma was taking Azmodeus to the nurse, and the people were all scattering and going back to their business, but Eiko, still caught up in her panic, couldn’t get the hammering of her heart to stop after that fright. She’d fled here, to a quiet interior corridor, hoping that getting some space would help. But her heart was still going way too fast. What was wrong? Had all that magic in the courtyard somehow affected her?
“It was pretty cool of that Iruma guy to stop Azmodeus though, wasn’t it?” Gaako asked. She smiled hopefully at Eiko. She’s trying to distract me to calm me down, Eiko realized with a flood of gratitude. “I mean, until then he’d pretty much kept his distance. But then he saw the danger and stepped in, like some sort of hero from a book.”
“Y.. yeah, you’re right,” Eiko agreed in shaky tones. “It was pretty cool.” Even now, she could see the look of alarm that had crossed his face, just before he’d stepped in, ahd put himself in harm’s way…
To save her.
Maybe, she realized, my heart’s not beating because I was scared.
____________
After school that night, Eiko lay on the floor in her room, staring at a blank notebook, pen in one hand.
She hadn’t been able to catch up to Iruma after all the madness of the afternoon, but her mind just wouldn’t shut up. It kept imagining the scenario, but adding variables. Changing the scene. If she didn’t do something about this she was going to go wicked. And her mother had often encouraged her to write things down in order to think them through. So here, in the safety of her room, she twirled her pen and opened to the first page.
It was the first day of school and Beeko stopped in the entrance hall to look around. All around were other students, and they were cute or smart or mean or wild, but from the moment she had stepped onto campus, there was one who captured her attention like a hook.
Irudo.
He was a slender young man with azure orbs that flashed with compassion and humor. His sapphire hair was perfectly styled into place to give him a mature and sophisticated look. He wore only the finest clothing from Saks 666th Avenue. Today he wore a closely tailored silver suit with intricate embroidery up the sides of the legs, highlighting how slender yet strong those appendages were. His vest was cut perfectly to accentuate-
“Eiko?”
The rattle of her door opening drew Eiko out of the scene. Face reddening, she tried on impulse to scoop the notebook out of sight, but it caught on the ember-bear rug and stopped within arm’s reach as her mother came into the room.
“Mom!” she said, scandalized by this invasion at a vulnerable moment.
Her mother paused at the tone, then looked at the notebook. A wicked smile spread across her face. “Ahh. Starting a diary?” she asked.
Scrambling to a sitting position, Eiko grabbed the notebook and flipped it shut. “No, it’s not like that,” she said, feeling the heat rise in her face. “I just wanted to take some notes about the day. That’s all.”
The grin deepened. “Notes about a boy maybe?”
“Mom!”
Her mother laughed. “Fine, fine. I just wanted to let you know dinner’s ready in about thirty minutes. Try to finish up your notes by then.”
The door closed. Eiko watched it for a while, half expecting it to open again and her mother’s prying eyes to peer once more into the room. But when nothing happened, she sighed and settled back into the story. But … shoot, she’d lost the mental picture of the rest of that description. Ah well. It didn’t matter.
He was walking around to greet every one of his new classmates when a noise drew everyone’s attention to the ceiling. There was a huge chandelier overhead that was swaying back and forth wildly like someone had given it a kick. It was going to fall!
“Oh no!” shouted some of the students.
“Run!”
“Aah!”
“It’s going to fall!”
But Beeko could only watch it swing, and then fall, because she was so scared that her legs were shaking and would not let her take a step. “Oh no!” she shouted. “I need a hero! Someone save me!”
CRASH!
Beeko felt warm arms around her instead of a heavy light fixture on top of her. She opened her eyes and saw that someone had saved her. Those azure orbs looked into her eyes, probing for an honest answer as he asked in his masculine voice, “Are you all right?”
“I am now that you saved me,” she replied, still not quite daring to believe that she was in his strong arms. He had saved her! On the first day of class. Overcome with relief and wanted to give her rescuer a reward, she leaned over toward him, tilting her face as she got closer. A kiss would be his reward! At first he looked surprised, then he smiled at her and leaned in too and-
A loud knocking made her scratch a fat line of ink across the rest of that line and onto the carpet. “Eiko?” her mother called through the door.
She looked up, heart hammering, “What?
“Dinner!”
Eiko looked back at the story. Up at the door. Back to the story. “Be down in a minute!” she said, scooping the book and rushing to stuff it under her pillow. It had been a really cool day. But she didn’t think she could stand her mother reading this.
That story was for her alone.