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Suzuki Iruma. At fourteen years old, he was sold by his parents to a demon that gave him the proposition of becoming his grandson and to live with him in the Netherworld, the home of demons. Now fifteen and enrolled in the demon school of Babyls with quite the amount of memories and friendships to show from that place, he found his ambition and desire for how he’d like to go with his life in this new world. Of course, he aimed to learn as much as he could of this world that he has grown accustomed to, but his desire came to raising among the ranks, which he has been able to do swiftly as he went from rank Alef[1] to He[5] in just his first year while his ambition was to be a better fighter and keep those close to him safe. At least, those are his main goals, but for just a moment, the young student aspired for something smaller and achievable in a fairly short time…
Clenching his fist, the blueberry-haired boy pouted out his bottom lip as he declared, ‘I want to hold Ameri-san’s hand…!’
Since that night where he danced with his friend under the moonlight, Iruma couldn’t get the thought out of his head where they walked with their fingers intertwined together, comforted in each other’s silence. Recalling the imagery of his fantasy once more, he could feel himself almost splatter again into a fiery heat with his face beat red like the president’s bright eyes, which didn’t make the scenery any better. Sitting up, he crossed his legs over the other and crouched into a thinking position, his finger and thumb holding his chin as he dove deep into what he could do about this feeling.
“Hmmm… What should I do…? How could I be able to hold her hand?”
“Girl troubles, Li’l Iru?”
A voice he wasn’t surprised to hear, but shocked to get a response from, brought him out of his head, blinking into the singular eye of Ali-san’s, the creature inside his ring now his size.
“Ali-san…!” Iruma exclaimed instead of replying to the horned being.
“Which girl’s hand are you trying to get into, hm? Not like I care, but it’s better than hearing you blabber what’s on your mind all night… I mean, usually you’re out like a light, so if it’s bothering you this much, might as well go along with it.” Ali shrunk down into their second size, floating in the air in a similar position as the curly boy, their chin resting on their fist while eyeing him.
“Uh… I… I was just wondering how I would be able to hold… to hold Ameri… san’s hand…” Iruma voiced with slight embarrassment, nervously tapping his index fingers together while waiting patiently for the other’s advice.
“Oh, that tall redhead… I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“Listen, Iru boy.” Ali straightened their posture as they stood up, tugging on their suit before holding out their hand in front of the wide eyed teen, explaining simply, “If you want to, go for it and if you don’t, then don’t. Demons don’t entirely understand the feeling of love, more like lust for one another, but Ameri seems like a girl that knows. You shouldn’t contemplate on it this much… It’s just hand holding. Not like a big smooch of something.”
“A-A-Ali-san?!” Iruma broke out into another blushing fit, waving his hands in front of himself before resorting to hiding his hot-faced expression while Ali shifted themselves into a suitable outfit for the discussion, flashing their eyelash seductively in tease.
Thinking he got nowhere last night, Iruma went over what he and Ali spoke about before he fell asleep as he munched on his breakfast, running it through his head to get what they were trying to get him to understand. Ojii-chan had already headed to school, so he quickly grabbed his bag and started heading for the double doors of the mansion before a thought struck him and made him pause when his hand reached for the handle.
‘I could ask Opera-san, too…!’
“Something troubling you, Iruma-sama?”
“Opera-san, how do you-”
When he was about to speak the words on his mind, something in his throat closed up and he found it hard to suddenly ask. Because at that moment, for some reason, he understood what Ali was trying to get through his head.
“How do I what, Iruma-sama?” Opera wondered, slightly tilting their head as they held his gaze.
“U-Uh, s-sorry Opera-san, i-it’s nothing, actually…! I figured it out, thank you.” Iruma apologized for bothering them, waving out his hand before dipping his head and heading out where Asmodeus and Clara were waiting outside the gate.
This week was their last week as first years and Iruma planned that it had to be this week before they all moved up a grade. As he sat in homeroom with him and his classmates waiting for Kalego to arrive, he wondered to himself about how he should approach Ameri while his two soulmates bickered like usual. Without noticing, a few took note of his hyper-attentive expression as Asmodeus and Clara’s argument filled up the room.
“Iruma-kun looks so focused…” Lied hummed, hovering with the help of his tail.
“That’s rare. Wonder what he’s thinking of.” Jazz chuckled while standing next to the blond, Goemon placing a hand under his fuzzy chin as he nodded along in agreement.
‘I’m hungry…’ Iruma’s focus was broken at the thought of food.
Coming up with a concrete plan would only work if he could find where Ameri even was. And as it was their last couple days before the new year now, the student council was crazily busy, meaning she was also insanely busy and becoming harder to find than usual, much to his disappointment. The five days were coming to a close but on the third day, Iruma had managed to spot his curly-haired upperclassman and fastly tried to approach her until she was suddenly whisked away with an issue that had come up. His hope was draining and his spirits low until the fourth night as he laid in bed sulking to himself. His phone had chimed with a message, immediately shifting over to check the notification, finding himself brighten up from who it was from and what the message read out.
Ameri: “Iruma, come see me in the student council room tomorrow. With the end of the year wrapping up, we haven’t been able to read in a few weeks and I will find time for us tomorrow before we leave. I hope the time works.”
‘This is perfect…! I can’t wait for tomorrow!’ Iruma couldn’t stop smiling as he replied back before shutting off the device and curling up into his bed, awaiting the afternoon the next day.
“Kakeru-kun! I… I… I can’t lose you! So please…! Don’t do this!”
Closing the manga book, Iruma beamed at the gaping expression of Ameri’s, “Volume 34 done…!”
“AHHH, that was so precious…! Rin looking out for Kakeru and being the only one to notice his sudden mood drop! Why can’t they get together already…?!” Ameri squealed in her chair, shaking her fists in front of her face as if trying to hide her excitement, which Iruma fondly liked about her.
‘This is perfect… I just need to get close to her as I’m sure she’ll mention something about next year and I can thank her for all she’s done for me…’ Iruma held back his laughter while the red-haired president stood up, heading over toward him and towering over his five foot self, gulping as he breathed out, ‘She’s so tall…’
“Iruma, I’m glad to have met you that day and I can’t wait to see what the Misfit class has in store for next year. Being a rank five as a first year is a big responsibility, so make sure to not lose sight of yourself.” Ameri softly advised him, Iruma nodding along with every word while he mentally prepared himself for his next move, his hands shaking at his side.
‘Timing… Don’t hesitate and go for it…’ Iruma felt his lips quiver into an awkward smile, locking his blue gaze into her passionate red. As soon as he thought she would turn away from him, the boy quickly rushed to grab her hand with both of his, raising it up in between them while watching Ameri’s eyes widen in surprise before he exclaimed out, “A-Ameri-san…! Th… Thank you…! For helping me through this year…! I… I can’t wait to see you again next year…!”
Releasing his sweaty grip on her, Iruma dipped his head with respect and speed walked over to the door before swinging it open and just as quickly, closed it and sighed as soon as he found his breath.
‘That was so nerve-wracking…!’
Looking at his hands, he recalled the feeling of his skin touching hers and the way his heart was pounding just from her being that close to him. Iruma grinned as he thought back to it, clenching his fists before turning to walk down the hallway and back home.
‘It wasn’t how I imagined, but I did it… Maybe one day I’ll find the courage to just hold her hand naturally…!’ Iruma felt excitement of doing that again, almost skipping through the school until the realization hit him.
He forgot his bag in the room.