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Lied used to be normal. Relatively, at least. His parents weren't high ranked, but they weren’t particularly low ranked either. They weren’t rich, but they weren’t poor. Their bloodline ability was just sort of fine, at least in Lied’s opinion. They lived around a lot of other demons like them, just a tree in a forest, those who weren’t special flocking together. He was just another average demon, living an average life.
The only thing exciting about Lied was his love of games. Tricky puzzles and thrilling challenges that made his heart pound and adrenaline flood his veins. He really couldn’t get enough of it. It got him into trouble sometimes, but he didn’t mind. It was worth it to him, to keep playing his games the way he wanted to. His family kept reminding him that games weren’t a future, and he should shift his focus, but he didn’t care.
His games were the reason he had applied to Babyls, actually. It wasn’t the pressure to do something with his life that had motivated him, it was the knowledge of Babyls’s Games Battler. That place sounded like something out of a dream to him. The sort of games that would be available to him there… he was sure it would be amazing. Of course, that didn’t stop everyone from being super proud of him when he passed the entrance exam. Being honest he’d been a little surprised he’d managed it. He’d been so ready to add “Student at Babyls” to his very short list of notable traits, but, well…
He’d gotten a little over excited. He’d found people willing to game with him, and things had gotten out of hand. It wasn’t his fault they were hospitalized! Really! He just got blamed because he was the instigator, which… yeah, no, that was fair. He felt bad, he really did! But… he’d had fun, so. Honestly he couldn’t regret it that much.
It was after that that he’d added a third thing to his list of notable traits: somehow, he’d managed to end up in Babyls’s new “Abnormal Class”, where they put all the problem children. Uh, whoops. Oh well. Honestly that kind of street cred was almost cool- he’d never had a reputation like this before. Some of it sucked, but most of it was fine.
Then, things had snowballed really quickly. Lied’s list of notable traits grew exponentially. After having exactly one his whole life, it was a lot. Moving into Royal One, participating in saving Walter Park, winning the freaking Harvest Festival, reaching Rank Dalet before his second year, and then his class winning the music festival? On top of all that? He could barely believe it.
Lied could no longer call himself normal. No, he couldn’t even call himself special. Looking at his recent accomplishments, and listening to the things people said about him, it wouldn’t be incorrect to call himself extraordinary. He was sure some of that was him getting a big head, but when one could list facts to back up such a claim there wasn’t much anyone could really say.
Still, after that, after all that, Lied’s next ‘accomplishment’ had taken him completely by surprise. Of all the things that he had done, and could have expected to do in the future, this was not one of them.
“Hey Iruma-kun,” Lied said, blinking as he stared at the mirror in front of him. The image he was seeing didn’t change. “Are we… actually doing this?”
“Hm?” Iruma looked over at him, distracted from his current task. “Well, we did kind of make a promise-”
“You made a promise.”
“-and Keroli-chan really does need the help, so… yes, I guess we are,” Iruma shrugged, sending him a small, sheepish smile. “Sorry about the promise, again, I wasn’t thinking about it, or how it would affect you too.”
‘Apology accepted, again,” Lied rolled his eyes, returning the smile with a grin, before he turned his attention once again to his own reflection.
He was staring into a mirror, he was sure, but he barely recognized the figure staring back. She was a girl, for one, impossible to mistake for anything else. She had mid-length wavy hair, perfectly done, with covered buns hiding her horns. She was petite, and dressed in a very eyecatching, colorful outfit, fluffy and frilly. It was a very particular style, one he recognized well. The girl in the mirror was an akudol. The akudol in the mirror was Lied.
Keroli-chan, who was apparently also Kuromu-chan, had roped both him and Iruma-kun into helping her out with something. That something? The Akudol Games, otherwise known as one of the biggest akudol events of the year, that any akudol fan, no matter their oshi, would be watching. It was an event for professional akudols. Lied would be participating… as one of those akudols.
What.
He closed his eyes, blocking out the incongruous image, and took a deep breath. They were currently in the dressing room in Royal One, getting ready to head over to the soundproof dance studio Royal One also had, for some reason. Keroli-Kuromu-chan was waiting for them there, so they could practice important akudol stuff before the event. No one else was there, they’d made sure, even though it was evening already.
Lied hadn’t even left Royal One, really. He’d spent a bit doing his homework before Keroli-chan had arrived, and then he’d gone to the dressing room. Iruma-kun had been a bit late, since he actually had stuff to do, which is why he was still working on the details of his hair and outfit, despite actually being faster at it than Lied was. He was also a lot more nonchalant than Lied was, though, he often reacted to things strangely.
“Iruma-kun,” Lied spoke up again, without even really thinking about it. Iruma once again gave him his attention- though it looked like he was just about done with his hair- which was significantly longer than Lied’s was. He walked over beside Lied, and suddenly there were two akudols in the mirror.
“What’s up?” Iruma-kun asked, looking at him through long, mascara covered lashes.
“Do you… know how big of a deal this is?” Lied asked, examining Iruma-kun’s expression. Makeup had worked wonders, and now even though he knew who was underneath, it was sort of hard to recognize him. Though, he would have believed anyone who said that this person was Iruma-kun’s sister, at least.
“Hmmm…” Iruma-kun hummed, leaning back and crossing his arms. “I mean- I’m trying, I guess, but… I probably don’t get it the way you do,” he sighed, letting his arms drop to his sides. “Kuromu-chan says it’s important to her at the very least, so that’s how I’ve been looking at it.”
“Of course that’s how you think of it,” Lied chuckled, putting his hands on his hips, and marveling into the mirror at just how feminine the simple gesture looked combined with his current outfit. He hadn’t considered how much stuff like that affected it. “Azz Azz does keep saying how sheltered you are, so I figured it was something like that.”
“Hm? Ah-” Iruma-kun bit back a small laugh of his own. “Right, yeah.”
“It’s like- a really big deal, though,” Lied sighed, examining his own makeup- which was a bit messy. He was sure Kuromu-chan would get after him for it, and fix it. She’d probably teach him how to fix it, and then he would know how to properly do women’s makeup- which was a skill he had never considered acquiring.
“Explain it to me, maybe?” Iruma-kun blinked at him again. “I want to understand these things,” a flicker of fire entered his eyes with those words, and Lied couldn’t help but grin.
“Okay okay, let Lied-sensei enlighten you!” He said, turning away from the mirror to properly face his lovely student. “Okay, so you know how wild the media got after Walter Park? How many eyes were on us?”
“Yeah,” Iruma-kun nodded seriously. “It was… kind of a nightmare, if I’m being honest.”
“It was bad enough for me- I can’t imagine how it must have been for you,” Lied shook his head. “You were The Hero, afterall.”
“Ah- yeah,” Iruma-kun bit back a smile, a blush rising to his cheeks. “I just… yeah,” he probably wanted to downplay his efforts, but the class had thoroughly lectured that habit out of him; or tried, at least. It was nice to see some of their instruction sticking.
“Well… it’s gonna be worse than that,” Lied said, and Iruma-kun’s eyes widened. “Like- more eyes, ‘n stuff. There’s a good number of demons who just kinda don’t watch the news, or only heard about that through word of mouth, but the Akudol Games? It’s one of the most popular TV programs of the year. Any real akudol fan is either gonna be watching it live, or watch the recording. Plus, people watch it with their families, and other demons they’re close to. I cannot overstate how huge this is.”
“I… uh, yeah I didn’t realize…” Iruma-kun trailed off, his face going slightly pale. Lied almost felt bad, but Iruma-kun had said himself that he wanted to understand.
“On top of that,” Lied sighed, rubbing his temples. “The only demons who participate in the event are professional akudols, often like, the most popular ones agencies have to offer, or their most athletic. Both if they can.”
“Yeah, that’s what Kuromu-chan said,” Iruma-kun nodded. “It’s why she needs us.”
“Well, yeah,” Lied huffed. “But it’s also why this is crazy. Iruma-kun, we’re not professional akudols! We’re just like… her classmates! And we’re going to be in the Akudol Games! I still can’t believe this…” he crossed his arms, slouching a bit. Iruma-kun looked slightly taken aback, like he was really getting it.
“Does… does participating make us professional akudols? Like, Kuromu-chan’s agency has already said it’s okay, and being with an agency counts right?” he said, and Lied’s brain sort of stalled.
“But… we’re not akudols, though.”
“...I kinda am, at this point,” Iruma-kun blinked, and Lied considered that. Yeah, that was sort of true. It wasn’t like he hadn’t asked Irumi-chan for her autograph when he’d found out. “And even at that point I was just helping her out, like what we’re doing now.”
“Did you get paid for that, though?” Lied challenged, taking a half-step back. “Can’t be pro if you’re not paid.”
“I was, actually,” Iruma-kun shrugged, and Lied blinked at him with wide eyes.
“Wha- you were??” he almost choked. He was glad Keroli-Kuromu-chan hadn’t made him wear high heels.
“Yeah! Mar-san, Kuromu-chan’s manager, was really grateful for what we did, and made sure to compensate us. Kuromu-chan herself insisted on it as well, saying that we did perform on a real stage, afterall,” Iruma-kun elaborated, having the audacity to shrug while he did so. “We haven’t talked about it directly, but we’re probably getting paid for this as well.”
“...We’re gonna be professional akudols. We’re professional akudols,” Lied said, as if saying it aloud would make it feel more normal, or real.
“I guess so!” Iruma laughed, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly- making his long hair sway.
“Of all the things I thought I would do with my life,” Lied groaned, burying his head in his hands. He leaned back against the mirror, sliding down to the floor. Iruma-kun joined him a moment later, in a significantly less dramatic way.
“I think it’s kinda neat,” Iruma-kun said, a moment later. “I mean, I wouldn’t have chosen this on purpose or anything! But like, it’s a good experience, I guess. A weird one, but a good one. It was kinda super nerve wracking and embarrassing last time, but I still had fun.”
“That bodes well, I guess,” Lied sighed, looking up at the dressing room around them, filled with various strange costumes. What Delkira-sama needed all this for, he was sure he would never know. “It’s still just… crazy.”
“Yeah,” Iruma-kun nodded. “That’s an accurate word for it.”
Just then, there was a pounding at the door. Both boys jumped, heads snapping to the sound in an instant. They were supposed to be alone, no one else could see them like-
“Are you done yet? I’ve been waiting forever!” Ah, nevermind. It was just Keroli-Kuromu-chan, coming to scold them. They should have expected that.
“Ah! We’re so sorry Keroli-chan!” Iruma-kun got to his feet immediately, sprinting to open the door. It was Kuromu-chan who was behind it, actually- with her colorful wig on and glasses nowhere in sight. She was pouting slightly, which was adorable. Those glasses worked wonders, because Lied still couldn’t believe this wonder of nature was actually his mild mannered classmate. She brightened up a moment later as her eyes fell on Lied.
“You’re so cute!” She exclaimed, running over to him, unconsciously mirroring his thoughts about her. He stood up as quickly as he could, his back still pressed against the mirror as she examined him from head to toe. “I knew I made a good choice scouting you!” Scouting. Yeah, that was a term alright. “Though, we’ll have to work on your makeup.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that,” Lied sighed, relaxing somewhat.
“Now c’mon!” She said, taking a strong stance and gesturing towards the door. “We have plenty to work on before you two are akudols fit for the stage!”
“R-right!” Iruma-kun nodded emphatically, before obediently exiting the room, presumably headed towards the dance studio. Lied just sighed.
“This is insane, all of it,” He said, leveling Kuromu-chan with a flat look.
“Yep!” She chirped, unfazed. “Now go, Irumi-chan is already ahead of you in terms of posing and fanservice. I’ve gotta get you guys up to the same level.”
“I got it, I got it,” Lied pushed himself away from the mirror, walking towards the exit.
Despite himself, he was grinning.