Work Text:
Between being liked and being respected, there is a major difference. I have come to understand that the older I got, especially since I, and everyone else, found out about the feather markings.
Most people seem to like me. I am respectful to them and they treat me the same way, but there are people who will yank at my horns and tail to see if it’s a disguise, or strip me off my clothes on my upper body, just to get a good look at my back. I can’t even see it.
I’m on my way home after buying groceries when I see him. It’s the boy without horns and tail who was with the king that one time. I have learned his name since then as he has come to the café a couple of times with a green-haired girl. The girl’s name is Kayano, the boy I’m looking at now is Nagisa. He is standing in front of some of those who will normally come pull at my horns and tail.
“Come with us. We’ll take you where you belong,” one of them says, as if trying to lure Nagisa like he is a small animal or child. Of course Nagisa reacts badly to being treated that way. He pulls away from them, but he is annoyed.
The leader lashes out, grabbing a hold of Nagisa, and I can see the pain on his face then. They pull him closer and are about to head off with him. I have a feeling I know where to and I’m not about to let that happen.
“What are you doing?” I call out, setting my groceries down before I approach the group.
“Look who showed?” one of the others say, looking at me. “It’s the good kid.”
He says it like it’s an insult, but that has always felt weird to me.
“If you take him where I think you’re taking him, I have a feeling you’ll regret it,” I say, making my way up to them. I reach out and try to pry the leader’s hand off of Nagisa’s arm. He glares at me. Then one of the others tug at my tail so hard I’m pulled backwards, landing on my butt.
“You get involved and maybe we’ll consider taking you there too, Halfbreed,” he says.
Now, that’s an actual insult, although I suppose I have become as immune to that as the other. I can ignore it just fine at this point. I just get back on my feet and dust off my clothes, but it’s not long before I’m grabbed by the tail and pulled back again. While you won’t hear my complaining about it, having your tail pulled definitely does hurt. The more it’s pulled, the more painful it is. Every demon knows this.
“We’ll deal with the mortal here first and come back for you later,” the leader says, looking at me with an evil glimmer in his eyes.
“You’re not taking him anywhere,” I say.
“What’ll you do about it? You can’t curse anyone?” the one who has been pulling at my tail says.
“He can call for assistance!” a familiar voice shouts and it’s not long before another demon has made his appearance, but this one is on my side.
“Oh, Maehara?” the one with a hold of my tail and the one not holding Nagisa lose all color in their faces. I don’t blame them. If there is someone who excelled in cursing at school, it was Maehara Hiroto, my best friend. Not that being my friend earned him any benefits. He just got into a lot of fights because he lacks the ability to keep his tail to himself.
“Yuuma wants you to let that mortal go, so let that mortal go,” Hiroto says, his tail moving wildly from side to side. I take a step to the side. Most people know better than to get too close to that tail when it’s moving like that.
“I’ll let it go at the punishment grounds,” the leader says, tightening his grip on Nagisa, who is beginning to break out in sweat due to the pain.
“You’ll let go now,” Hiroto growls before he attacks, quickly placing a curse on the two others, who are frozen to the ground in fright at this point. Then he runs towards the leader who is only brave enough to at least grab his companions as he runs away with the tail between his legs. Nagisa, who has been released, falls to the ground and I quickly make my way up to him.
“If I recall, he specializes in plain pain curses,” I say before I lightly touches the spot on Nagisa’s arm that the other demon touched. Hiroto sits down beside me.
“Who is this anyway?” he asks.
“I’m not sure. I know he comes by the café sometimes, about once or twice a week, always with company.”
“So he’s a regular?” Hiroto asks.
“He is,” I say.
Nagisa’s blue eyes now open and he sits up, touching his arm where I had just touched. He looks up at me in surprise.
“This is a strange place to meet. You aren’t working?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Today is my day off,” I say.
“You’re lucky Yuuma was here,” Hiroto says. “Anyway, are you lost, miss?” he asks.
Nagisa frowns.
“I’m not lost and I’m a boy,” he says.
“Oh?” Hiroto is surprised. “Well, either way, this isn’t a good place to sit,” he says before offering Nagisa a hand to help him on his feet. Nagisa is skeptical, but does accept and I stand up with them.
“Thank you for the help,” Nagisa says. “My name is Nagisa.”
“I’m Maehara Hiroto and this is Isogai Yuuma,” Hiroto says and I bow my head slightly as he introduces me.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, still with my head lowered.
“Likewise,” Nagisa says.
I stand up after a bit and notice that he has been bowing too. I then turn to my groceries, which are lying all over the floor. It seems the bag got knocked over by those demons from earlier and this made everything get scattered everywhere. I wonder how much of it can actually be salvaged.
“Oh no,” Hiroto says, now also having noticed the mess.
“I’m sorry,” Nagisa says, sounding apologetic.
“No need to apologize,” I say. “It’s not your fault. And we can do nothing about it now.” I make my way around the street, gathering everything and sorting it. A little more than half the food I got is actually still usable. The rest I’ll have to throw out.
Hiroto collects all the things that need to be thrown away and sends me a sorrowful look. “You can eat at ours tonight,” he says.
“We couldn’t possibly,” I protest. “I’ll make due with what I have and pick up some more shifts.”
“Is it money you need?” Nagisa asks, rummaging through his pockets, still looking guilty.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” I protest. “Nagisa, where do you need to go? We can walk you there,” I suggest.
“You shouldn’t do even more for me,” Nagisa waves his hands in front of him, trying to decline.
“It’s best you’re walked home,” Hiroto says. “If you really want to be inconvenienced, come with us as Yuuma drops off the groceries,” he says.
I’m not sure if I think it’s a good idea, but Nagisa seems to think so, so we make our way down a couple of streets, until we are on the street where Hiroto and I live. I head for the smallest house, the one the furthest from the castle, and I go in there. Mom is there with my siblings. She is sowing while the little ones are trying to catch each others’ tail. I never understood the fun of that game, but so long as they are happy, I’m not saying anything.
“You’re a little late,” mom says.
“Ran into trouble. The groceries got knocked over,” I say.
Mom sighs. “I wish I could help out more,” she says, coughing.
“You’re sick,” I say. “I wish I could have gotten a better paying job.”
“That’s not your fault, Yuuma,” mom says, a sorrowful smile on her lips. “If anything, it’s because dad and I didn’t think things through.”
“Don’t say that. How would you know that things would turn out like this?” I ask.
Mom sighs and looks down. I can feel how heavy the mood is getting and decide to just head back out. “I’m going to walk a new friend home, so it’ll probably be a while before I’m home again.”
“At least bring Hiroto-kun,” mom says.
“He’s coming,” I say before I quickly head out the door, closing it behind me.
As I rejoin Hiroto and Nagisa, Nagisa sends me a weird look while Hiroto just shrugs at me. “You know, your house isn’t very soundproof,” he says.
“I know,” I say.
“It sounds like you’re not having it easy,” Nagisa says.
“Yuuma never had it easy,” Hiroto says. “I mean, his dad died while his mom was pregnant with his younger siblings and she got sick right after.”
“Sick?” Nagisa asks.
“No one knows what it is, but she keeps coughing the more she moves around, so she can’t keep a job,” I say. “I was trying to get a job as a soldier or a guard to earn enough for us to get by, but I couldn’t get in.”
“How come?” Nagisa asks and I feel the words coming out easier than usual.
“When we went through the physical exam, they discovered that I have some strange feather-like markings on my back. Apparently it means I’m half angel,” I say. “That meant I only had two options, work at the archives or work in the city, neither pay well enough that you can fully support a family of four.”
“They weren’t very nice when rejecting him either,” Hiroto says. “It’s so unfair.”
“That’s just how it is,” I say. “All things considered, it could have been worse.”
“You guys shouldn’t be forced to live like that just because your parents loved each other,” Hiroto argues again, like he has so many other times.
“Nothing can be done about it,” I say. “We have each other, and that’s all that matters, and at least I’m the only one with the markings. The others won’t have to suffer.”
We continue the old discussion while following Nagisa as he leads us to his home. It takes me a minute before I realize where exactly we’re going. I stop the argument then.
“You live at the rich part of town?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Nagisa says as a girl comes running from further up. It’s the green-haired girl, and she looks worried.
“There you are!” she exclaims as she reaches us. “I was worried when you suddenly disappeared.”
“Sorry,” Nagisa lowers his head.
Kayano shrugs. “Well, no one has found out. But where did you go?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Nagisa says, averting his gaze. He then turns to me and Hiroto. “Here is far enough,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. I understand if he doesn’t want us to see where he lives. It has to be extravagant if it’s up here, especially compared to where we live. “I hope to see you again at the café sometime.”
“Sure,” Nagisa says, smiling and we wave each other goodbye.
Hiroto and I turn around and I begin thinking on that day when we had tried to apply to become soldiers with Kataoka and Okano. The majority of the exam was done together. We had all done really well. Even if I couldn’t curse, I lived up to all the physical requirements. I knew I had also at least passed the written test. All we had left was the physical exam. Male and female applicants were separated for this part. We would line up, go through the physical exam, be told if we had passed or failed the whole entrance exam and then be sent outside. Hiroto and I were lined up together. Hiroto was ahead. He got up, got measured and weighed. Even his horns and tail were measured. Then he was told to take his shirt off and his muscles were examined. Then he was sent along to another line to wait for his exam result. It was now my turn.
“Applicant 35, Isogai Yuuma,” the man conducting the exam announced and I stepped forward. I let myself be measured, horns and tail included. Everything seemed normal. My weight was fine too and all I had left was showing them my upper body. Without a thought, I took off my shirt, and then the whole room grew so quiet you could hear a pin drop to the floor.
The doctor looked shocked too, but went on to examine my back, feeling along my shoulder blades as if tracing something.
“This pattern…,” he muttered.
“What pattern?” I asked.
“Put on your shirt,” he said, his voice cold as ice.
I did as told.
“I will say this only once,” the doctor said, his gaze as hard as his voice. “Half-breeds are not accepted among the soldiers. Especially untrustworthy halfangels. They can by no means be entrusted with the safety of anyone living down here and are best left at the bottom of society,” he told me.
“What do you mean by that?” Hiroto asked.
“Leave it be and get your result,” I said, knowing where this would go if I didn’t make Hiroto stay out of this situation. “I’ll withdraw my application and find something else to do,” I said.
“Get out now!” the doctor shouted and I rushed out, Hiroto right behind me. I could feel his anger. I could almost sense a curse coming too, but he held himself back.
We both dropped out that day while Kataoka and Okano got accepted. When they heard what had happened, they got just as angry as Hiroto, but unlike him, they had already gotten accepted and therefore couldn’t withdraw in protest. In a way, that was the best in my opinion. It hadn’t just been my dream to become a soldier. All of us had shared that dream. At least Okano and Kataoka could now go fulfill it.
Around noon a few days later, I’m working at the café like always. I have just finished serving the usual group of old ladies who prefer spending an hour or so in here at least three times a week.. This is when I see unexpected movement outside the door and soon it is opened by a girl with long blonde hair and a hint of a smirk on her face. She has an aura of confidence about her. Hiroto, however, seems far less confident than usual as he trails after her.
“Hello, welcome, how many are you?” I ask like I have been taught.
“Sorry, not here for service,” the girl says. “I was wondering, are you Isogai Yuuma?” she asks.
“I am. Who are you and what is this about?” I ask, wondering what she has come here for if not to order, and why is she with Hiroto when his body language tells me that they aren’t dating.
“Nakamura Rio,” she says. “I was sent here on behalf of the demon king. You have been summoned to the castle and have to come with me immediately.”
I send Hiroto a puzzled look, hoping he can tell me something. He only shrugs. It seems he has no clue what this is about either.
“I’m in the middle of a shift. I can’t just leave,” I protest.
My manager then comes out and sends me a strict look. “You cannot turn down a summons from the king. I will cover your shift for however long you need.”
I silently pray this doesn’t take too long as I know he will cut all the time I’m away from my paycheck. I really do need that money though.
I go out back and drop off my apron before I head back up front and thank my manager before leaving the café with Hiroto and Nakamura, who immediately leads the way towards the castle, Hiroto and I following behind her. We say nothing as we walk. I am hoping that this has nothing to do with the feather markings on my back, but it probably does, but then why was Hiroto summoned too?
We enter through the main gate and then head inside the castle, past a young man with a tail that hangs down in an abnormal way. He bows at us as a greeting while Nakamura leads us past him and into a large room that is mainly black, red and gold. The demon king is sitting on his throne in the far end and looks at us as we walk in.
“I brought the two you requested to see, Isogai Yuuma and Maehara Hiroto,” Nakamura announces.
“The papers are on the small table in the next room,” the king says. “Bring them in.”
She leaves us to do as she has been told and I barely notice as both Hiroto and I take one step closer to each other.
“Come here,” the king says, waving us over in a commanding manner while looking down on us like we are far beneath him, which we are.
I take the first step and Hiroto begins walking too, being only half a step behind me. We walk slowly until I feel like we are at a suitable distance for a proper greeting. I stop and wait until Hiroto is fully next to me before I kneel down on the floor.
“Your Majesty, You wished to see us,” I say.
“It seems I owe you something,” the king says, getting up from his seat. I can hear him slowly walking towards us, even if I’m not looking at him. I am tempted to ask what he thinks we owe him when he stops right in front of us.
“It seems you saved my bride to be the other day from getting dragged to my punishment grounds,” the king says.
I want to ask who he thinks I saved but decide to bite my tongue and think for myself. I help out people all the time, but the last time I helped someone and Hiroto was involved was… that time when I helped Nagisa. But Nagisa is a boy, he said so himself. But he is also the only one I have ever saved from getting taken to the punishment grounds.
“Are you two telling me you don’t remember?” the king asks as he begins pacing the floor in front of us.
“We did save a boy with blue hair named Nagisa from getting taken to the punishment grounds,” I say.
“That’s him,” the king confirms. “According to him, you went out of your way to do it and even walked him most of the way back here. Kayano Kaede confirms this. Apparently Nagisa wants you to be rewarded for your troubles.”
I assume he feels guilty about the groceries still. I hope it’s not the case, but he seemed to feel bad about it back then. It’s not unlikely.
“There’s no need for us to get a reward for doing what any respectable being would do,” I say. “We were only helping someone in need.”
“You’re the half-demon, are you not?” the king asks, his tail making its way under my chin and he uses it to lift up my head as I can look at him. I can feel the tip. It is so sharp it’s almost drawing blood from my neck. He looks into my eyes for a moment before he nods to himself and removes his tail. “Both of you, stand up,” he orders.
Hiroto and I both stand up and I glance at Hiroto out of the corner of my eye, seeing how tense he is now. He always gets tense when people seem to be finding out my parentage. However, the king’s attention turns away from me and to Hiroto. He produces a pile of documents and shifts through them before his eyes meet Hiroto’s.
“I was told how quickly you can place a curse,” he says. “Three within a matter of seconds. That is almost as fast as me.”
Tension rises. I can’t interpret the king’s expression. Is he annoyed or impressed or perhaps just curious? Hiroto is nervous and so am I.
“Why are you not in my army?” the king asks. “You signed up and was on track to passing the exam but you dropped out at the very last second.”
“I did not approve of the way the army treats half-devils,” Hiroto says and I can see how his gaze turns hard and he falls into a defensive stance, angling himself as he is slightly between me and the king.
The king thinks on it and looks through the papers once again. “You are both quite impressive, Maehara-kun for his cursing skills and Isogai-kun for nearly passing the army entrance exam in spite of a lack thereof.” He looks up from the papers and to me. “Were you aware that your inability to curse is due to your parentage?” he asks.
“I have been suspecting so since then, but until I learned that my father was an angel, I had no idea why. I therefore focused on learning methods to compensate for my lacking cursing ability,” I say.
“Do you know what a blessing is?” the king asks.
“It is as dangerous as a curse if placed on a demon by an angel. The demon king’s additional powers are also sometimes referred to as blessings,” I explain.
“And like a normal demon’s curse can heal a normal angel’s blessing, that goes the other way around too,” the king says. “Nagisa reports that after he got cursed with pain, again, a single touch from you was enough to make the pain subside and I checked afterwards. The curse had disappeared.”
“So rather than cursing people, you’re saying I can bless them,” I conclude. “Can I ask why this is relevant?”
“You can,” the king says, but he doesn’t answer. He turns to Hiroto instead. “What’s your current occupation?” he asks.
“I work at a grocery store,” Hiroto says.
The king nods. “The army only accepts pure-bred demons. I assume neither of you will join so long as that rule is in place,” he says.
“You’re right to assume that,” Hiroto says.
“But with another person living here and making the place dirty, my maids are getting more and more work. They could use a pair of helping hands. The fact that they have useful skills is an added bonus for me,” the king smiles with satisfaction. “Nakamura, the contracts,” he says.
Nakamura comes over, holding two sheets of paper, handing one to me and one to Hiroto. I begin looking over my paper immediately. It’s a working contract for a job as a servant at the castle with an added responsibility of being of service to the king in battle if there should ever be a need. We are expected to work 48 hours a week with one day a week off for training another day off to do whatever we want. We are required to stay at the castle on our work days as to be at the residents’ disposal at all hours of the day, but this is free and so is our meals. Then comes the pay. I have to read the number three times as it is three times as much as what I get paid at the café. I can’t even believe it.
“Yuuma?” Hiroto asks me. I can hear on his voice that he is just as surprised as I am.
“Why?” I ask, looking at the king.
“Nagisa says he wanted you to be rewarded. He also mentioned that since you seem to be struggling, he wanted to help you with that. When Nakamura and I looked over your cases, I realized how useful you could be to have around up here. I’m already working with another half-demon. She keeps the archives. So far, I have had no reason to mistrust her or any other half-breed. Additionally, I have seen you at work. I want that service up here,” he says.
I do remember that day and hearing him say that is almost making me blush. That’s too much praise. I don’t even know what to do with it. I was only doing my job.
“Are you taking the offer or are you not?” the king asks, impatiently.
“I’m only taking it if Yuuma is,” Hiroto says.
I think on it, but I don’t need much more time. The pay is good. There will no longer be a need to worry about how much money we spend on what. The everyday job is something I know how to do. I may not get to see my family as much, but I will be working with Hiroto and I will get to train with Kataoka and Okano. On top of that, there is a chance that I will get the opportunity to protect others, which was my reason for applying for the army. I hope there will not be a need, but it is a big honor, and the king is offering us this personally.
“I accept Your offer, Your Majesty,” I say, kneeling down once again. “Thank you very much, it is an honor.”
“I accept it too, Your Majesty,” Hiroto says before kneeling down too.
“Then you’re hired, effective immediately,” the king says. “Go with Nakamura and sign the contracts, then go find Nagisa and thank him. Nakamura will see to it that your families and former workplaces are informed.”
“Yes!” we both say before we stand up and follow Nakamura into the adjacent room to sign our contracts.