Chapter Text
Ugh. It’s so hot.
Urushihara groaned for the umpteenth time in the last hour. He stared at the white screen, sweat sliding down his face. He wiped away the salty liquid, glaring half-heartedly at the mini fan occupying the corner of the closet he resides in. While it was able to provide a slight breeze every now and then, it did nothing to clear the stale, hot air and cool him completely.
The whir from the fan and random music from his computer were the only sounds in the apartment. Ashiya stepped out an hour ago for his many daily errands, leaving Urushihara hot, bored, and alone. A rather dangerous combination.
His eyes went back to his computer. For a single second, he considered purchasing an air conditioner on Jungle but he swatted that thought away like a fly almost almost immediately. Ever since...the trash bag debacle, as the fallen dubbed it, Urushihara has been doing his best to stay out of trouble. He did his chores as he was told, he stayed away from online shopping. He’s been kind, respectful, and obedient.
For a week.
Once the coast was clear and Ashiya was no longer holding corporeal punishment over his head, he dropped the goody two shoes act. While he wasn’t stupid to slip into in his old habits completely, he still gave nothing but barbed words and attitude when Ashiya demanded he pull his around the house. Though, try as he might to return to his old self, that incident left quite an impression on him. Any obnoxious whining and outright defiance was rewarded with a glare and a promise of... that. Thankfully, he hasn’t done anything to warrant any proper chastisement from his housemate, and he would rather keep it that way.
The teen sighed, his throat felt scratchy. He suddenly realized he was very parched, and the stuffiness of the closet was not was not helping matters. Looks like he’ll have to keep cool another way He pulled back the closet door, wincing at the assault from the natural light. He breathed in the fresh air and stepped down from the closet shelf and trudged toward the kitchen area. He tugged at his shirt, cringing at how sweaty he was.
The young man opened up the fridge door, shivering in delight at the sudden chill, his visible eye scanning the limited contents. Urushihara perked up as his eye landed on his target.
He lazily reached for the barley tea bottle, mind solely focused on quenching his thirst, paying no mind to the bluish-grey colored obstacle in his way.
That is, until it fell from the shelf of the ice box.
Crap.
It took half a second for Urushihara's mind to register the falling object but it took several for him to start moving towards it. Time seemed to slow down. He desperately tried to grab the carton but his fingers barely grazed the cardboard container and he could only watch in absolute horror as it slowly plummeted to the floor.
A loud, sickening crack echoed through the apartment. The force of the fall opened the long box and all it’s delicate contents fell out. A feeling Urushihara could only describe as despair froze his core as the sticky yolk and egg white pooled around his feet.
Shit.
The teen stood still in shock, his boyish face twisted in fear, disgust, and dread. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he bent down and with a trembling hand he picked up the crumpled box. Sending a silent prayer to any benevolent deities that might be listening that there was at least one egg remaining.
Whatever was left of his soul splintered off as he saw nothing but the gooey yellow substance that was dripping out of the corner of the carton.
Fuck.
Urushihara swallowed thickly. His throat was completely dry and not from dehydration. His heart beat against his chest like a drum, and he couldn’t stop shaking. He tried to will himself not panic but it was impossible. Ashiya could be back any minute, and once he sees not only a huge mess but all the eggs are destroyed, Urushihara was going to wish his insides would be splattered on the floor.
The fallen angel shuddered. He looked at the giant puddle of goopy, gel-like substance, feeling utterly defeated. Maybe, maybe if he hides the evide-clean up, Ashiya will at least take pity on him and deliver a swift, painless death. Still quivering, he grabbed a sponge and went down on his hands and knees and tried to erase his mistake. It took a lot more work than he thought. The sponge wouldn’t soak up the yolk as easily as he thought it would, instead spreading around the floor, creating a bigger mess than he intended. He tried to pick up the egg whites and shells with his hands but the liquid seeped through the cracks of his fingers. Urushihara huffed, tears of frustration frothed at the corner of his eyes. Humiliating. He hated how emotional he was getting over this. He scrubbed his eyes, growling softly at realizing he smeared eggs all over his face, and continued to clean.
After a good twenty minutes of this, Urushihara picked himself up off the floor, palms and knees aching, and examined the results of his hard work. The cracked shells were gone and thrown away but the floor was wet and slippery, soap suds visible, and some yolk remained and the smell of eggs permeated the air. He scowled and threw the sponge down in the sink with a wet splat . Ugh, whatever. This is hopeless. Really, the mess is the least of his problems. The lack of eggs in the fridge was his main concern. The youth ran his fingers through his long hair, bit his bottom lip, and racked his brain trying to figure a way out of this.
As it stands he has three options.
1.)Lie, and feign ignorance about the whole thing.
2.) Buy more eggs before Ashiya gets back.
3.) Use what little magic he had to rid the world of eggs. Leaving everyone, including Ashiya, to question whether or not they existed in the first place.
Number 1 was the easiest and obvious, but with the soapy floor the charade will last about as long as the fried chicken fetuses. He was quite partial to three but he doesn’t have nearly enough power. So, the second option is really his only solution. But, he didn’t have a single yen to his name. Hell, he didn’t know how much a carton of eggs costs! From the way Ashiya talked about grocery shopping, Urushihara wouldn’t be surprised if there came a day when the former demon returned, missing an arm and a leg. Speaking of which, he remembered Maou telling them to make do with what they have until his next check, so they had no more money between the three of them. Not counting the lack of finance, there was a glaring problem with this plan.
He would have to venture outside.
He cringed at the notion. It was hot, he had a vague idea where the store was, and he didn’t have much experience in socializing. Oh, and there is also the small issue of him being wanted for a series of robberies. Though enough time had passed that he was pretty sure the police weren’t even bothering to look for him anymore, it was a risk he still didn’t want to take. Especially not for something this stupid. Of course, this meant his only choice was to wait for Ashiya to come back and explain what had happened.
He looked at the clock. Ashiya never stays gone for more than two hours and it’s been an hour and a half. So, he has roughly 30 minutes until the house husband returns. Should he wait and face the music, or try to fix this and cover his tracks?
Urushihara looked back down at the floor, stomach twisting in knots at how soaked it was and the remaining slivers of yolk staining the wood. He groaned audibly and walked over to the doorway and put on his shoes. He slipped through the door with as much stealth as he could and shut it with a soft click , and tiptoed down the hallway to the stairs.
He failed to notice a shadowy figure watching him as he left the building.
***
Though he spends a majority of his time indoors, Ashiya has more than once dragged him out of the apartment to help him at the supermarket. So, Urushihara knew the way there. After ten minutes of silent wandering, he arrived at the automatic doors of the grocery store. When he took his first steps inside, he nearly melted into a puddle of bliss from the cool air. He quickly regained his composure when he noticed people were looking at him. He flushed and ducked his head, his face concealed by an unassuming gray cap, carefully avoiding eye contact with any strangers. The wayward teen lifted his head just enough to look at his surroundings. His eyes roamed around looking at the signs above, detailing each aisle. He let out a small sound when he found the dairy sign. Quietly and subtly he walked down the aisle. He shivered from the cold emitting from the many refrigerators. When he found his target, opened the frosted door and gently picked up one of the many, many boxes. So far, so good. Now, here comes the hard part.
He breathed through his nose, and casually walked out of the aisle. Taking special care to not move too fast or too slow, looking around at the different items to give the impression he was thinking of picking up something else. Nervous energy flooded him. It’s funny, of all the things he’s stolen when he first came to this realm. None of them filled him with such fear, guilt and shame. And, over something so insignificant.
Not to mention, he feels like he’s being watched.
He looked up briefly, very few people were even paying attention to him. Yet, someone’s gaze was burning a hole in him. Perhaps they knew what he was doing or what he had already done and were judging him for it. Was he actually looking guilty?
He cradled the carton to his chest, squeezing the box tightly in anticipation. The automatic doors to freedom were just a few feet away. Almost there, just don’t draw attention to yourself, and you’ll be home free. He’ll get to the apartment, put the eggs away, and Ashiya will never know what transpired. The long haired teen smirked in victory, his pace quickening. He couldn’t believe his luck. They had eggs, and he will be getting off scot free. Guess humans were wrong, he can have his cake and eat it too!
Just as he stepped on the large black pad to operate the sliding doors, something firmly gripped his shoulder and jerked him back.
“What do you think you're doing?”
Urushihara let out a loud yelp, and nearly dropped the precious cargo a second time. His heart was in his throat and his legs turned into jelly. The voice behind him was calm but menacing, and very, very familiar.
No, no, please no. Why him?!
He slowly turned around to face his captor, smiling in pure fear and shaking like a leaf. He swallowed, and squeaked out,
“H-Hey, Maou.”