Work Text:
Kalego knew his life would be a difficult one.
He knew this, not because he was a member of the Naberius Clan, and was given unrealistic standards to live up to the moment he was born. It also wasn’t because his supervisor and boss were the most annoying demons he’s ever met.
No, he knew his life would be difficult because a fortune-teller told him so when he was just a child.
He met her one summer night when his Uncle kidnapped him and Narnia, from the Naberius base and took them to a celebration that is the brightest spectacle the children have ever seen. Kalego had held Narnia’s hand the entire time, both children completely awestruck at the festivities and rows of booths of entertainment. With their Uncle’s insistence, they played odd games, ate strange food, and wore odd masks. Their faces were hidden behind the masks, and the children allowed themselves to play a bit more freely. Away from the watchful eye of the Naberius elders, the brothers finally relaxed.
It wasn't till the end of the night when Kalego, found himself finally letting go of his brother’s hand. Like a siren’s call, he walked mesmerized to the end of the last row, where a lone woman sat in a bare stall.
He felt drawn toward her and when he approached her, he silently gave her all the pocket money his Uncle had given him. He was supposed to buy a toy with it, but deep down he knew this is what he was supposed to spend it on. The woman took the coins from his hand but instead of letting go, she turned his hand and stared at his palm. He hears Narnia and his Uncle laughing at where he spent his money, but they stop when the loose grip the woman had on him, tightens. Her eyes express fear and worry as she traced the four lines that cross his palm.
She whispered so quietly that only he can hear when she says with dread dripping from every word “Kalego, Kalego, Kalego, you are in terrible danger.”
She presses down on his palm and the four lines, “You will be haunted by four beasts. Four! Don’t forget it.”
Before he could utter a word, his Uncle stepped forward and removed the grip the woman had on him. He’s ushered away and doesn’t fuss about being too old to be carried when Narnia picked him up and the trio leaves to the nearest hostel for the night.
Despite their best efforts in having him talk, Kalego refused and instead hid by tucking his face into his brother’s jacket. Later lying in the bed between his Uncle and brother, Kalego looks at his palm and wonders if there are really beasts out there who want to hurt them.
He doesn’t have to wait long, till he meets the first beast. A vague silhouette of a small bundle of energy in the corner of his eye begins to follow him around the Naberius base. It haunts his every move. The grim warning echoes in his mind the first time Ceberus attacks him, pins him down, and bares his fangs at him. The first beast lives in his blood and no matter how much is splattered on the floor and on his clothes, Kalego can’t get rid of him.
He meets the second beast, years later when he battles a mysterious strong, yet annoying demon on the rooftop and ends up as their “kohai”. Opera is strong, there’s no argument about that, despite the demon not having a public rank. Every time they fight, Opera always, almost possessively, leaves marks on him. Bruises on every limb, that ache down to the marrow in his bones. The second beast haunts his body as with every movement he makes, he is reminded of his senpai and the fact he is not stronger than them.
He officially meets the third beast when Shichiro asks to meet him outside, in a secluded area. Just the two of them. Despite being fond of each other since the first moment they met, Kalego can’t deny the looks between them have changed this third year. He’s always cared for the other but the way Shichiro stands in front of him some days, blocking others’ gazes with his new body that towers his, he knows the shift of the relationship isn’t one-sided. Shichiro constantly gets his feathers ruffled when someone interrupts their time alone in class. Bothering either of one them gets a death glare and sarcastic comments until they finally leave. Kalego saw an annoyed Shichiro, many times. But this demon in front of him. This demon is looking down at him, arms barricading him in on either side, straining as he unintentionally breaks the brick wall with how hard he’s holding himself back, Kalego cannot help but hear the woman’s warning as he looks at the third beast. When Shichiro confesses his feelings to him and a promise to never stop loving him till his last breath, Kalego realizes this beast will haunt his heart till its last beat.
After years and years of waiting for the fourth beast to appear, and yet nothing, he thought for the first time that maybe the woman that night at the festival was wrong.
Maybe he was actually fine.
But then he meets the absolute beastly grandson of his boss who manages to make him into a familiar the first day they meet. This beast can summon him and transform him into some abominable creature, ripping away any objections he could make. One year. One whole year of knowing this beast can overpower his willpower and his objections, to summon him at any time, devastates him.
This beast haunts his mind as he wonders when he will be summoned next. He’d never heard of a demon summoning another. Much less a demon ranked so highly as him?!
But what did that matter? For the next year, despite any fighting on his end, he was at the mercy of this beast. Lying there in his bed, unable to even move after the ceremony and meeting with Sullivan, he stares at his palm and wonders how is it, that he is surprised that this is his life.
And why now with the fourth beast now present, did he actually feel that he was in terrible danger.