Chapter Text
“This is bad! This is really, really bad!”
Was the one and only thought that raced through the mind of Schenell Eligos, 3rd year student at the prestigious school Babyls, the beloved senpai of the young first years of the Magitools Research Battler, up and coming friend to the great Lord Sullivan’s grandson and…future charred and flattened corpse.
All because he was an absolute idiot.
You see, to understand this situation we will have to rewind to an hour ago.
“Yes! I’ve done it!” Cheered Schenell, spinning around in his desk chair.
He quickly stopped himself by grabbing the edge of his desk and scooting his chair back up to the, admittedly warm, tabletop.
Why was it warm? Well that’s easy! It was because of the small oven he had found in an, admittedly shady, appliance shop on Magical Street while looking for magical apparati. It honestly looked like a toy, something to just make little cakes and cookies inside, but according to the seller it was a powerful tool that will “let you experience the innocence of a child again”.
After asking some more minor questions he happily took it off the strange demon's hands and brought it to the school.
Originally he wanted to test it out with his precious Kouhai but then…curiosity killed the Devil Cat after all…
So he had read over the instruction manual that had been placed neatly inside the oven and found that it was full of recipes for various sweets. He had looked through each one carefully and found one that he knew his Kouhai’s would love.
So, with a happy skip to his step, he had gone to the school kitchen and borrowed the needed ingredients or, well, most of them. He had to visit Camu Camu for the chocolate bars and a drink…what? He was thirsty.
Anyways, he took everything back to the battler room and got to mixing!
He mixed and mixed and poured and happily placed the little tin on the inner wire rack. With a curious hum, he closed the little glass door and looked for the ‘ON’ switch. But…where was it?
He looked on the sides, the top, even the bottom!
But it was nowhere to be found.
“How do I…?” He mumbled as he carefully placed it down on his desk.
That’s when he finally noticed the light blue knobs that he had originally thought were decoration. But then he saw the faint but still there numbers that must’ve been the degrees.
He smiled and twisted it to 400℉. His heart lurched into his throat when the little oven suddenly jumped once, twice than settled…but didn’t heat up.
Looking at the other knob he frowned when he saw that the numbers were completely gone on that one. Shrugging slightly he just twisted it all the way to the bottom. If it was the timer then it had to only go up to fifteen minutes!
Suddenly the little oven heated up right away and a soft ticking resounded from the machine.
“Yes! It’s working!” He cried out happily.
He had been so excited to bake the tasty treats that he hadn’t read the warning on the manual.
Right on the beginning page, in bright red letters, were the words: PRESS TOP KNOB INWARDS TO TURN ON, DO NOT TURN BOTTOM KNOB!
But he, of course, didn't see it until it was WAY too late.
So he had cleaned some of the other apparatus, watered the battler plants and even did some homework while he waited for the delicious treats to be finished.
Oh how the room quickly started to smell of sweet, sweet chocolate! It had honestly started to make him hungry!
But he’d hold back! After all, these were for his underclassmen who had warmed up to him considerably and he to them.
Alice-kun would share his knowledge on fire magic with him from time to time while also teaching him about how to properly care for a snake familiar so he could teach his cousin that was attending Jackapo.
Clara-san really didn’t like him at first but warmed up to him pretty fast after he showed her a game his family invented. She absolutely loved it and started to share her family games with him as well! She’d also randomly give him candy and sugary drinks from her pockets whenever they had to stay late to count the Apparatius. He always appreciated it and gave her head pats and played whatever game she wanted!
And then there was his kindest, sweetest Kouhai! Iruma-kun!
The youngest member of their battler would often come visit him after school to help him repair some of the new items he’d bring in, often with drinks and snacks in case they got hungry! He even stayed the night at school with him when he…admittedly didn’t want to go home. They had watched the stars, ate some food that Opera-san delivered to them and even studied together before heading to bed. It was the most fun he had had in a long while.
He honestly didn’t get why Iruma cared so much about him after what he had done to Ameri, one of his friends that he obviously cared a lot about.
It was so confusing but…but he didn’t mind. Not many people at this school liked him very much, calling him creepy and a freak.
But Iruma never did.
The few times he accidentally exploded from some of his experiments Iruma would rush to check on him and even patch him up if he had gotten hurt! He’d always lightly scold him but still make sure he was able to move everything completely and even help him clean up his mess.
Then there were the few times he had gotten so invested with a magitool that he would skip lunch so he’d be starving by the time it was time to go home. And every time he had run into Iruma during those instances the younger teen would happily give him some of his snacks or buy something for him from Camu Camu’s shop before he closed for the day.
He was truly the best Kouhai he could ever ask for!
Which brings us back to now! When the sweet, sweet chocolate muffins were finally done baking!
Schenell was absolutely excited to give them to his precious underclassmen. All he had to do was-!
“Schenell-senpai!”
Jumping in slight fright, he turned in his chair to see who had entered the Battler room. He grinned when he saw that it was Iruma himself!
Oh! And he had a new jar of tea!
“Ah! Iruma-kun!” Schenell cheered, rushing over to his…uh…ah! To his friend! “Welcome back! Is that a new tea blend?”
“Yep! Professor Balam made it for us!” The blue haired boy smiled. “It’s Hell Gray Tea but made with a bit of dried fruit to make it sweeter!”
“That sounds absolutely perfect!” The smokey haired teen grins, rushing to the little oven.
He carefully pulled out…huh…? That’s strange. The muffins just finished and looked completely done but…why didn't the pan feel hot? Huh…oh well. He’ll test that out later.
“I made these for you and our friends!” He states while carefully pulling the muffins out of the pan. Placing one on a white tea plate he hums happily and carries it over to Iruma. “Tada! Chocolate muffins!”
“Wow! This looks amazing Schenell-kun!” Iruma gasped while gently accepting the plate. “How did you make this? Did you borrow the school's Home Ec rooms?”
“Nope! I found a new apparatus at a little shop on Magical Street that seems to just be a cute little oven! Come, come! Take a look!” Laughed the upperclassmen, rushing to stand by the desk again. But in doing so he accidentally spilled his Scream Cola all over the desk. “Whoops! Give me one moment!”
He quickly grabbed a nearby towel, the same one he usually cleans his hands on, and started to mop up the spilled drink.
Unfortunately while he was cleaning up his drink he hadn’t noticed that Iruma had taken a big bite out of his muffin.
“This is delicious…Sch-Schenell…” The sound of something hitting the ground made Schenell freeze.
Slowly looking over his shoulder he felt his eyes grow wide at the sight of Iruma falling to his knees. “I-Iruma-kun!” He cried as he ran towards his friend.
He dropped the towel and quickly shot his arms out to catch him. Luckily he made it in time to catch the other's body, his head smacking against his shoulder. “Iruma! IRUMA!” He cried, his eyes watering as panic set in.
Why? Why was this happening?!
Gently rolling him onto his back he shook his chest but it didn’t work.
So he tried to gently pat his cheek but again, nothing.
His hands were starting to shake as he lifted Iruma again. “Please, please wake up!” He cried.
But Iruma didn’t. His eyes didn’t even flutter nor did he even breathe.
Which brings us to now.
“Please! Hurry!” Schenell screamed, dragging Professor Blushenko Buer behind him.
“Mr. Eligos, what is happening?! What is the meaning of you interrupting my class and now dragging me through the halls?!” The teacher screamed.
“I-It’s my Kouhai! He-He ate something I made in a n-new magitool and-and-!” Throwing open the door to the pathway to the Battler room he cried out when he nearly ran directly into the shocked forms of Professors Kalego and Robin.
He cried out and fell back, accidentally knocking over the teacher he had been dragging along. Both groaned and sat up slowly.
“What the hell is happening? Why are you running in the halls?!” Kalego scolds.
“Hey, hey are you two okay?” Robin asks as he helps the two stand up.
“We’re fine, we’re fine.” Blushenko frowns, dusting his teachers' robes of dirt and small pebbles. “This fool was dragging me somewhere and forced me to run.”
Schenell pants softly, feeling his lungs give a painful twitch. Once he caught his breath he tried to grab for the health teacher but he pulled his arm away from his grasp. “That is enough! What are you dragging me for?!” The teacher huffed. “If you have an issue with any of your Magitools then get Professor Marbas! This is his area of expertise, not mine!”
“Grrrr! You-I just told you that my Kouhai ate something from a Magitool!” Schenell shouts, grabbing Buer’s hand. “He passed out and isn’t breathing! I! NEED! HELP!”
“Wh-What?! Why would you leave him alone?!” Blushenko yelled.
“I NEEDED HELP!” Schenell screamed. “HE COULD BE DYING!”
This seemed to kick the teacher into gear as he moved his grip up to the students wrist. The healer quickly pulled Schenell along and ran straight towards the Magitools Battler at top speed.
“Who is it? Which of your underclassmen is it?!” Buer yelled.
“Iruma! I-I made them all muffins but he came to have tea with me so I gave him his! I spilled a drink so I was cleaning it and then I-I heard his tea plate hit the ground so I looked back and then he fainted!” Schenell cried, his panic setting in deeper. “I caught him and tried to-to wake him up but he wouldn’t open his eyes and he even stopped breathing!”
From how close they were, the 3rd year could hear the soft curse that left his teacher.
Hearing extra footsteps behind them, he glanced over his shoulder to see Professor Robin and Kalego not too far behind them. He was going to say something but when they stopped in front of the door to the battler room he froze when he saw that the door was closed.
Closed.
Closed.
“I left that open…”
Quickly opening the door he ran in, panic filling his heart. “Iruma! Iruma!” He screamed as he ran to…to…to the pile of clothes that rested right where the teen was supposed to be.
Falling to his knees he slowly picked up the clothes that belonged to his precious Kouhai with shaking hands.
“Mr. Eligos, where is Iruma?!” Blushenko shouts as he stops behind him with the other two teachers. “We need to get him medical…ar-are those…?”
Slowly looking up, Schenell suddenly felt severely lightheaded.
“H-He’s gone…”
In a darkened room with strange metal tools hanging from the walls, a strange object in the corner with large metal spikes, metal hooks hanging from the ceiling and rolling metal trays strewed here and there that held small surgical tools such as scalpels of various sizes, scissors, tweezers and strange tubing.
Among all these tools was a man with chin-length straight black hair and two black horns standing in front of a gently boiling pot that rested on an electric hot plate. The man was humming softly as he opened a bottle with small flowers printed all around it.
Picking up a ladle with a small spout off to the side he chuckles at the sound of soft babbles that filled the air from just behind him. “Yes, yes…” He hummed, scooping up some of the liquid then pouring it into the bottle. “It’s all done!”
With a soft hum of victory he reached over to a metal container and scooped out some cream colored powder. He tapped it off to make sure to not use too much before pouring it into the bottle. Screwing the top back on he gives the bottle a firm couple of shakes as he turns off the hot plate.
Humming softly he walks over to the middle of the room and right to a beige foam mat that held one occupant.
Laying on his back was a tiny baby boy with soft blue hair that had a small ahoge coming from the middle of his head. His little, chubby baby hands were happily reaching for the hooks that hung from the room's ceiling as an excited giggle left him mixed with his constant babbling.
“My, you certainly have a lot to say.” The man chuckled as he got to his knees beside the baby. Gently lifting him he tucked him safely into his elbow. “But now's not the time to talk, it’s time for nuu nuu.”
The man placed the nipple of the bottle against the baby's mouth and chuckled warmly when the little one in his arm immediately latched on. “My! You certainly were hungry huh?” He smiled when half the bottle was almost immediately downed. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where this came from.”
Chuckling happily, the man nuzzled the baby boy's head. “I’m sorry it’s not a proper meal but I unfortunately can’t make any milk as of yet!” He sighed as he pulled back. “I’ll need to find a way to make some until we can find your parents.”
“Bah…grr!” The baby gurgled around his bottle.
“...oh, who am I kidding? I’m definitely keeping you.” The man cooed, kissing the baby's forehead. “Anyone who could leave their precious little Denlette all alone in a dangerous room like the Magitools Battler deserves to no longer be called parents! What if you had gotten hurt in there?!”
“Grrr…!” The baby gurgled, kicking his little legs.
The young demon laughed softly as he watched the baby tug on his shirt with a firm and strong grip. Humming softly, he gently rocked the baby side to side. Oh how he wished this peaceful moment could last forever.
A knock on his door startled the man enough to flinch and for his long hidden away tail to pop into existence. Looking towards the door he hummed and stood up from the pad. Gently laying the baby down he took the now empty bottle and walked over to the table he had his hotplate set up. Setting down the bottle he snapped his fingers to make his tail disappear.
Another knock made him huff. “Yes, yes! I’m coming!” He called out, heading for the door.
After pulling his privacy curtain down, he opens the door to see Professor Dali happily smiling while holding a delivery bag in his right hand. “Heya Marbas-kun! You got a Devil’s Dine delivery!” The supervisor smiled as he held out the reusable bag. “I was by the gate so I grabbed it for ya!”
“Oh! Well thank you so much Dali-sensei!” The man, Marbas March, happily smiled and took the hefty bag. “I almost forgot I placed a delivery with them. I’m still getting used to using the other functions besides the text and call feature on that crazy thing.”
Dali chuckled at that. “Suzy is still trying to teach me that strange app all the kids like nowadays…I think it's called Devi Devi? No…Devi Tok?” He frowned in thought. “Yeah…yeah, Devi Tok sounds right! Ya know, I actually accidentally posted the videos I made of the school yard kitties all because I thought I was liking the video, not posting them.”
Marbas laughed at the mental image of Dali posting those silly videos he sends to the Teacher Group Chat of him baby talking and feeding the kitties that sneak onto school grounds. “How did you manage that?”
“I honestly don’t know! So many of my family members have been teasing me about it too.” Groaned the older demon. “Have you ever gotten bullied in an elegant manner?! It’s an experience I'll tell ya…”
“Your mother?” The torture arts teacher chuckles.
“Yeah…” He sighed, sagging a bit. “She likes to call me just to tease me about the kitties…she even sent me cans of kitty food for them.”
“Did they like them?”
“Devoured them in seconds…nearly lost my hand.”
The two men were quiet for a few moments before breaking into laughter. Eventually they settled down and went to depart when a voice in their heads startled them both.
“This is Professor Kalego Naberius. We have an emergency regarding one of our students, namely Iruma Sullivan.”
“Iruma…?” Both teachers frowned.
“The fool ate something made in a magitool with no known purpose besides that it ‘let’s you experience the innocence of a child again’ and experienced a medical emergency so urgent that his Senpai ran out in search for a teacher but while he was gone, Iruma seemingly disappeared.” The voice came again. “The only thing that was found was his school uniform, undergarments, socks and shoes. Myself, Robin Bars, Blushenko Buer and the Student Council are all searching for him but we need all hands on deck. So get off your asses and start looking for him!”
Both teachers gave each other a shocked look. “Fuck…” Dali whispered before running off.
Marbas, suddenly having a sinking feeling, quickly ran back into his room and straight to the baby. Dropping the bag he sat beside the baby and tilted his little head up to look the little guy in the eyes.
Egyptian Blue eyes…check.
Smoothing a hand over the little guy's head and over his ahoge he felt his hand shake in fear.
Soft, Blueberry Blue hair…check.
The baby giggles happily and reaches up towards Marbas with his tiny and chubby hands.
Cute as a button…check.
“Oh dear Satan…” He whispers as he gently lifts the baby and holds him in a Face to Face hold.
Staring down at the baby he couldn’t help but make connections between him and Iruma.
Iruma.
The misfit classes king, the little troublemaker that has won the hearts of every demon he’s ever met, the Chairdemons grandson that said Chairdemon and his child love so very much.
And he basically kidnapped him.
He was sooo very dead.
Hanging his head he pulled the little guy into a cradle hold and stared him in the eyes.
“You’re not…Iruma, are you?” He tries.
The baby just simply put his little fist in his mouth and wiggled to get comfortable. Once he was comfy he gave a gummy smile and a squeal of happiness.
“...I’m so dead.”