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There are three skills needed to survive the four-day Harvest Festival. Power, knowledge, and lastly, a clever scheme. Kalego and Balam were an ideal pair, as both embodied all three skills, and working together they were unstoppable. They schemed, they applied their knowledge, and they overpowered any obstacle in their way. They were ruthless, and the only line they did not cross was hurting any beasts.
But their fellow students were fair game, and they tricked and stole from them these last three days till no one was safe.
So as Kalego was swimming through the lake, with his newly gained prized item in his pocket, he was alarmed when he saw a lone figure waiting for him at the shoreline. The student had to be strong to sneak up on him and make it to the third day of the exam.
But out of all the things Kalego expected as he got close enough to see his opponent, being stared fiercely at by a random girl who was in the middle of a facial breakdown was not one of them. It didn’t help that he saw the strange fit while he was swimming through a lake, with a high valued item in his hands.
The girl continued to stare at him with slow wide blinking eyes, while her hips tilted to the right and left almost in a sway. She was smiling the entire time and as the boy stared straight at her, her large eyes never strayed from his.
After an extremely uncomfortable minute of silence, Kalego bluntly asked. “What the hell are you doing?”
The question had the swaying hips lose their rhythm and the slowly blinking eyes now glared at him. Kalego honestly thought the student might be angry, but he wasn’t too sure. The student did another weird movement by giving him a wave while giggling. “Kalego-kun, come closer.”
There was only one right way to get out of this weird situation. But since directly attacking a student was against the rules, Kalego couldn’t push the girl away from him. So he had to take an alternate approach. Once he reached the shallow part of the lake, he began to walk toward the bank at an angle so he would avoid the weird student.
“Well. Goodbye then.”
The demon watched him and the further he left, the more her face returned to normal until she was stomping her way over to him. Yelling as she got closer she pointed accusingly at him and demanded.
“Wait wait …do you not feel anything… that did nothing to you?”
Oh. She was angry. Every moment that passed with him looking at her in a mixture of annoyance and discomfort seemed to make her grow even more furious. Not knowing what to do next, Kalego thought maybe advice was the appropriate response.
“If you are under the influence of some magic or plant it’s best to withdraw and go to the medical tent. There’s no shame in putting yourself first rather repeating…whatever that was.”
The student glared at him and again she changed her expression and smiled and blinked one eye at him. Again Kalego just held his prized possession tighter and wondered if this facial fit was a distraction. But he couldn’t think too far cause once again the student was now screaming at him. “Why are you still not affected!”
“Why are you yelling at me!” He yelled back while trying to get enough space between himself and her.
“No one can resist my charm! It’s unnatural not to fall for me!” The furious scream was joined by the student grabbing his collar and pushing him onto the ground. He didn’t dare fight back, he wasn’t going to be eliminated because he broke the only rule in the exam.
The moment they were on the floor with the demon still glaring at him while blinking her eyes furiously, a devibat appeared and announced. ‘Raim, you’ve committed a foul! Withdraw at once! You’re coming with me!’
Kalego could only watch as the devibat dragged the student away, who was still screaming at him. He gave himself a moment to gather himself before he sprinted to his and Balam’s headquarters in the third block.
While returning, he heard Dali-sensei’s voice making announcements, listing the recently eliminated as well as the top scorers. He couldn’t help but smile proudly when Shichirou’s name was listed as number one.
With their current stash, Balam would easily win in a landslide, and Kalego would crash the scoreboard by entering all his items at once, causing a tie for the first time in history. It was a genius plan!
As he walked towards their hidden headquarters, he made sure to jump over every sixth stone, to avoid the quicksand. When he finally saw Balam, he announced his presence by telling about his weird encounter while handing him the new item.
“It’s the end of the third day, and there are still people refusing to withdraw. This weird girl got hit with some plant or magic, and I think it affected her facial expressions. She kept blinking at me and had this weird smile on her face.
Balam nodded showing he was listening while adding the items points to their scoreboard in the dirt. “Thank you…and wait, was she the one who just got eliminated? Are you talking about Raim?”
“I don’t know.” Kalego couldn’t keep the exhausted tone out of his answer, and he quickly sat down behind Balam. Their backs touched each other, and they sat in this position to ensure no one would sneak upon them. Getting the highly prized necklace that was rumored to be located at the bottom of the lake had been exhausting. The entire day had been spent there, treading water while going underwater and diving deep into the lake’s bed.
Kalego was beginning to get hit with not only the exhaustion but the coldness. He didn’t dare take off his clothes and let the entire school see his back scars. He didn’t think he could ever live that down if everyone, and most importantly Shichirou saw his greatest shame.
He was snapped from his quiet thoughts when Shichirou pushed against him and leaned his head back, so he was now resting on Kalego’s shoulder. It was still an odd reminder that the student was now the same height as himself.
“You’re tired huh,” Shichirou whispered. The sun was setting, and the dangers of the night could be heard getting louder and louder. But both young men knew they were safe. Not only by the traps surrounding their hideout, but they both knew the other was strong enough to defend them. Neither knew how much the feeling of trust of another demon could allow such peace of mind until this exam.
“No. I just need to rest my eyes and dry my clothes.” Kalego argued stubbornly.
Feeling the growing weight on his back, Shichirou knew the other was falling asleep as he spoke. “Come on, take a quick nap. This spot is safe, no one is going to try to make a move at night, and besides remember what Opera-senpai said. We need to keep up our strength. The last day is tomorrow. We have to be on high alert as we make our last voyage to the report counter.”
Balam was greeted with silence, and he thought for a moment that Kalego fell asleep sitting behind him. But when a familiar-sounding sigh filled the room, he heard the other answer in a firm tone. “Only for 666 minutes. You need rest too.”
Balam let himself smile and enjoy the small victory. “Okay. I’ll wake you up when the time is up.”
The two students quickly made work to go into defense mode. Kalego made his way into the back where a small made bed of different leaves and plants had been crafted by Balam. He tried not to blush when he remembered how during the first night, he and Balam had shared the space. Or how he woke up to arms wrapped around his middle, and Balam’s cold mask pressed against the nape of his neck. He had no idea Balam ran so hot, and it was no wonder he slept through the cold night. It was like sleeping next to a personal heater.
He had quickly disentangled himself, and thankfully Balam was a deep sleeper. On the second night, neither demon would ever confess how they were looking forward to sleeping in the same space again.
But that was when they didn’t have a loot full of highly valued items. So now one had to keep watch, while the other rested.
Kalego didn’t realize how exhausted he was until he undressed and laid down underneath a blanket of leaves. He would get dressed again when his clothes were dry, he wasn’t going to risk feeling under the weather by sleeping in wet clothes. He tried to quiet the thought that wished Shichirou and his hot body was next to him.
Wait, no. Stupid brain, he didn’t mean hot body like that! He meant in the temperature sense! He didn’t mean it like Balam’s growing height and the lean but muscular body he was growing into. He covered his face with his hands and cursed at himself for having such thoughts of his classmate. He tossed and turned for a solid minute before the embarrassment of his current thoughts paired with his exhaustion, finally pulled him into sleep.
666
Balam made sure to watch his surroundings as he kept watch. He knew what sounds were natural to the forest, and which ones were demon-made and were a warning of an enemy approaching. But as far as he heard, it was going to be a quiet night. It felt like everyone left was exhausted and was playing on the defensive side.
Despite him being dedicated to the watch, his eyes couldn’t help but stray every few minutes to the unconscious demon behind him. Despite the Harvest Festival being only days long, Balam felt his hidden crush on his classmate was growing louder every day.
From the moment Kalego decided to just drop into the seat next to him on the first day of school, Balam found his heart beat rapidly for the other. He always thought he was into blondes, but over the months, he found himself being attracted to stubborn, dark-haired, prideful demons instead.
The exam highlighted their strengths of them being on a team. The way they worked together, how they communicated so well, and of course, the utter delight they felt when they managed to destroy an opponent together had his heart beating furiously at times. It didn’t help that these past two nights, he had accidentally woke up to him huddled up with Kalego. He couldn’t help it, he was a cuddler by nature! But Kalego didn’t bring it up and neither was he.
He would take it to the grave if needed. Because at the end of the day, there was no way, Kalego had the same feelings he had for him. He unconsciously touched his mask and was about to let misery hit him when he saw something move.
There was no noise, but he knew what he saw. Even looking now, he saw the leaves still moving from being rustled. He bolted up and watched for his hidden opponent.
“Kalego-kun, wake up. We got company.”
The usual light sleeper stayed still. Not even a stir.
“Kalego-kun!” He couldn’t help but snap with the worry of seeing the demon so still despite him yelling feet away.
“He can’t hear you.” A new voice growled, and finally, Balam saw the enemy. There just feet away from him, camouflaged into near invisibility, was a familiar student. He was a demon with a bigger build, and the ponytail that he had on his first day was burnt off. His name was lost to Balam, but he knew this student was one of the losers that he and Kalego stole from.
The student looked deranged as his uniform was shredded in some areas, while his face was covered in a layer of dirt.
“Not even the devibats can hear us thanks to my blood ability, but I’m going to make sure everyone knows your dirty secret. I don’t care if I lose. I’m going to make sure you pay for how you embarrassed me! An eye for an eye!”
Balam moved to defend their loot but was so focused on their points, that he was taken by surprise when the student dashed towards the sleeping Kalego. He felt his heart drop, and his body reacted instantly to follow the intruder. He was right behind him snapping as anger filled him. Kalego trusted him enough to let himself be vulnerable, he couldn’t let him down. “Stop!”
He was about to summon a vine barrier between the student and the sleeping Kalego when the other stopped in his tracks and turned to Balam with a crazed smile. Balam being so close to the demon didn’t even have time to defend himself when a large hand gripped his mask with a furious grip.
“Everyone’s going to see what you’re hiding!” The student laughed as his fingers squeezed on the metal to the point of breaking before ripping the front section off entirely.
It all happened in seconds. The freezing air felt on his bare skin, on his scar, made his blood turn into ice.
His face was visible. Everyone could see. Everyone could see his scar.
Balam stumbled back and scrambled to cover his face while the student laughed in front of him. But the laugh began to fade away and instead his rapid heartbeat filled his ears as shame and embarrassment drowned him.
‘Hide, hide, hide. They’re all going to see.’
His trembling fingers covered his lower face and his eyes grew hot as he felt the air grow thinner.
He was lost in the battle of trying to find the broken pieces of his mask, and when the sound of screams filled the air, he was startled into awareness.
Turning around he was horrified to see, Kalego on top of the student. Even in the darkness of the forest, he could vaguely see Kalego. Dressed only in his trousers, pinning the student to the floor with his knee while his fists repeatedly punched him in the face. Over and over again in a speed, he never saw, and in strength, he heard as the knuckles met skin.
These punches weren’t a defense. This was raw fury. No magic, just pure fists that were pummeling the student beneath him. Over and over again. Bone meeting skin. Kalego was silent as he destroyed the student, who was still screaming in terror and pain.
A tooth hitting the floor finally nerved Balam into action as he yelled at the other.
“Kalego-kun! Kalego-kun stop!” He didn’t dare get close. He knew all too well when an animal entered a zone of fury attacks, nothing could stop them. When the screams stopped, Balam was about to interfere when a devibat and a tall figure crashed into their headquarters.
The familiar figure and devibat dashed to the duo and while the devibat dragged the unconscious student away, Kalego’s Uncle grabbed the still lunging demon by the back of the neck.
“Stand down!” The barked order in a furious tone that Balam never heard from the older demon, seemed to finally snap Kalego out of his fury. He glanced around and when he noticed his bare torso, he quickly turned his back away from the devibat. Sighing, the adult gave his coat to his nephew while snapping.
“Both of you are eliminated. Let’s go Kalego.”
It all happened so quickly and it ended just as abruptly. Balam could only watch, with a trembling hand still over his face, as the trio walked away into the darkness of the forest. With trembling fingers, he worked quickly to make a new mask covering, which wasn’t done till the morning light filtered through the tree leaves. It was only then, did it finally hit him that Kalego left the exam with zero points.
666
Kalego looked at his bandaged hands and then glanced down at the party that was held in celebration of the completed exam. He had received a severe punishment for exiting the exam with zero points from his clan’s elders. But thankfully with the help of his Uncle and Opera, the footage of his loss of control was never shown. More importantly, whatever that bastard did to Shichirou and his mask was also erased from the public eye.
He knew he was supposed to be upset over the loss, but he wasn’t. Watching from afar as Balam was crowned the winner, his heart was a mess as he clapped along with everyone else. Seeing Balam onstage as the victor just seemed right for the Harvest Festival. He was so glad the demon held strong to the very end despite the last night’s events. He had been glued to the event’s screens as he watched Balam make the voyage to the report counter. But not surprisingly, Balam completed his task, all with a new leaf-made mask, and won in a landslide.
He was happy. He would have liked to be part of Balam and Opera’s celebrations but part of his punishment from his Uncle was not being able to attend.
He just wished he could at least see Shichirou.
And just like that, the universe gave him a break.
“Why aren’t you at the party?”
Turning around, Kalego felt his face heat up and heart beat rapidly when he saw Shichirou behind him, walking forward till he sat down next to him. He tried not to think about how their knees and shoulders were touching. Despite the victory, Shichirou looked exhausted. At least his mask was fixed by one of the teachers.
Kalego didn’t want to share his punishment for fear of bringing down Shichirou’s celebration. So instead he told another part of the truth. Staring down at his bandaged hands he told him.
“If I see that student again, I can’t promise I won’t punch him.”
That seemed to be the worst thing to say because Shichirou quickly looked away and touched his mask. Nervously, he asked.
“Kalego-kun, did you see me without my mask?”
The question had Kalego sitting up straight and answering without hesitation honestly. “No. I swear. Opera-senpai messed with the cameras as well. Nobody saw, Shichirou. I give you my word.”
Balam nodded showing he understood, but a silence grew between them. Kalego recognized when the other was overthinking, but before he could say anything, Balam snapped at him. “You didn’t have to do that. You lost because of me! Why’d you have to be so stupid Kalego-kun!”
Kalego was taken aback by the scolding but when Balam got in these moods, the best thing he could do was be honest.
“I woke up when I felt your footsteps running, and by the time my vision adjusted to the darkness I saw how upset you were and the pieces of your mask on the floor. And…and I just got so furious, Shichirou. The thought of you hurt, of that demon who hurt you being in arms reach. I didn’t even think or call Cerberus. I just…acted. I was just consumed by this fury I never felt before, and the next thing I knew was that my Uncle was yelling at me.”
Kalego felt his heart sink when he heard a sniffle and a mumble. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’d do it again. And that’s why I’m not at the party.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I would. I mean it. I don’t regret a single punch. So whatever you’re overthinking about, cut it out.”
Balam looked at him for the first time since sitting down, and Kalego felt mesmerized by those gray eyes. He felt himself lean forward unconsciously, and it was because of their closed space that he was able to hear the other whisper.
“I believe you.”
Balam said those words while he lifted his hands and silently began to take apart his mask. Kalego watched for a silent moment before whispering while putting his hands on top of the others.
“Shichirou stop-“ His hands were pushed off and Shichirou interrupted him
“I trust you, I don’t see it as a secret. Just a part I kept hidden due to…not liking this part of me.”
Kalego didn’t respond and instead watched silently as the mask was taken off except for the middle front. With hunched shoulders and clenched eyes, Shichirou revealed his face to his classmate.
A moment passed in silence, and with eyes still closed, Shichirou snapped. “Say something-“
“You’re stunning.” Was the whispered response.
“Kalego-kun I haven’t showered in four days, I’m the furthest from stunning.”
Balam still didn’t dare to open his eyes, but his heart was in his throat when he realized that Kalego was telling the truth.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. I said what I said.” Kalego snapped back. He was putting everything in his words since Shichirou was still refusing to open his eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Balam covered his face now, unable to comprehend how someone as beautiful as Kalego could find him stunning. He was surprised when his hands were pulled down and he finally opened his eyes to see a flushed Kalego close to his face, and whispering with an emotion that he would later realize was devotion dripping from every word.
“I know I can’t change how you feel about yourself, but don’t try to change how I feel about you. I like how you look. A lot. And with how smart, talented, and strong you are I think you’re…..you’re amazing, you’re handsome, and you can’t change my mind about that and if you try I’ll-“
It was Shichirou who connected their lips in their first kiss but it was Kalego who leaned forward to follow and kiss him again.
Kalego exited the festival with zero points, but kissing Schichirou in the moonlight he felt at peace within himself that no victory would have ever brought onto him.
The fury had vanished and in its place was his first love.