Work Text:
Iruma had found himself thirty feet above the ground in a demonic pine tree, reaching for the string of a kite. His feet were shaky and he grabbed out, missing, He grabbed again. It was just out of reach despite how much he had managed to climb.
It wasn't his first time up in a tree. When he was younger, he climbed one for the first time when he was being pursued after getting mixed up with the wrong people. He scrambled up so fast they had no idea where he went. It didn't change the fact that it was scary.
He was scared, that at any second he could fall. It was the constant fear he had in these situations that kept him alert and prepared for anything.
A few hours before he found himself high above the ground, his trio was in their MagiApp battler room. Clara had insisted on flying kites because of the nice weather and wind. However, it wasn't enough to just use her ability. She wanted it to be unique.
Clara patted her pockets and drew out a huge blank kite and some paint. "Let's put our faces on here!"
"What? Why?" Azz asked. "It'll get dark outside if we take the time to paint it."
Clara looked at him like he was an idiot. "Woah, do you hate the love trio? Obviously, it's the best so it should be on the kite. Or... we could fly a plain boring kite with no pizazz. I wanna see our faces go whooosh in the sky!"
"It'll be fun," Iruma added, and Alice caved. They managed to keep the paint mostly on their hands... and Azz.
"Hey!" Azz yelled as Clara wiped her hands on his coat yet again.
She laughed. "It's white like the kite, sorry! I mixed them up." But it wasn't an accident, and Asmodeus wiped some back. Iruma barely managed to prevent a paint fight. Going home splotched in colors was not something he wanted to do... again.
They managed to finish it. The three odd-looking blobs on the front somewhat resembled the three of them and 'love trio' was written across one side.
They spent the next hour flying it, all three of them at the same time. It was hard and kept getting yanked around, but taking turns caused more arguments about who went first, so they shared.
Soon, it had indeed gotten later, and the sky was just barely starting to dim.
"We better go," Iruma said. "I have to go grab something so you two can go ahead without me."
Both started pouting, insisting they wait. Iruma was going to grab a new picture book Balam had made for him, but he had no idea how long that would take if his teacher wanted to chat. "Really, it's okay. Plus it's getting late, you better get home." With his insistent remark, they hesitantly left without him.
He reeled in the large kite. The wind had picked up and in a large gust, it blew their kite from his hands.
"Agh! No!" He started to chase after it, they had worked so hard on it. It was one of a kind, and his friends would be disappointed if he managed to lose it five seconds after they left. Finally, it crashed towards the top of a tree and stuck. Looking up the giant tree, he took a breath and started to climb.
That was how he found himself up there as the wind shook the branches around him. Just another little step and he could reach it. He put his foot on a knot sticking out of the tree and stepped up.
His hand wrapped around the string, "Yes!" He exclaimed.
His foot slipped. Iruma's body lost balance and his face slammed into the tree trunk. He fell back, breaking several branches as he fell before instincts reached out his hands.
They scrapped against the bark of the tree with nothing to grab before he landed on a branch on his stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of him. It bounced from his weight but held. His heart was beating like a drum and he adjusted his grip trying to find a foothold to pull himself up, grimacing as his skinned hands grasped the branch. Below him was a 15ft drop to the ground.
He was scared. Really scared, but he had to act. No one was going to help him. He knew that from experience.
Thinking fast he shimmied down the branch, seeing one that was close enough to grab. He would have to use only one hand, and they burned from where he scraped them.
He held his breath and reached out. Iruma's hand slipped and he fell through the branches. Leaves did little to cushion him before he landed on his feet and stumbled back from the drop.
He took a sharp breath and just lay there for a few seconds. His ankle hurt. A lot. But his hands hurt even more. They burned and he lifted them to see they were full of sap and dirt. The kite had been knocked out and it fluttered down beside him.
It was broken. Maybe they could fit it? Oddly his mind was more focused on that than himself.
He sat up with a silent grimace. His stomach was already sore. His head hurt. Something felt wet on his face and he put up a hand. The bridge of his nose had been cut open, he hadn't even noticed. This was pretty bad.
The boy didn't have his phone, it was in his backpack. His friends were gone. It was after school so everyone else was gone too. He was out far from the school where no one would easily find him.
He took a choked breath. Iruma was on his own. He didn't want to yell out for help and inconvenience someone, he could do this on his own. Leaning on the tree he stood on his good leg, putting light weight on the other one. Pain. So, that wasn't going to work. He put the kite under his arm, trying to keep dirt off it.
Hopping on one foot, he started to make slow progress towards the school. If he was being honest, he was embarrassed. He knew his friends and family would worry. But any normal demon would have flown, not climbed the tree. How do you manage to get so injured over a kite?
Iruma paused to catch his breath. He was panting from the strain of moving his injured body. Tears threatened to wash out some of the dirt he had gotten in his eyes, but he held them back. It wouldn't do any good besides making him look even more pathetic.
He just had to get back to his bag, then he could call Opera or Grandpa.
The Royal One was only thirty feet away now and he stumbled towards it eagerly, almost losing balance. His eyes squeezed shut tightly as he accidentally brushed weight onto his bad foot. Was it sprained? Broken? Twisted?
Another shaky breath.
"Iruma?"
His head snapped around. It was Kalego. What was he still doing here?
The teacher's eyes fell over the visible injuries of the boy and he rushed over. Iruma promptly lost balance again and clung to the man's uniform to steady himself, looking down.
"Sorry, I'm just trying to get my bag. I... uh... fell." It was embarrassing to admit.
Kalego didn't believe him, not unless he had a very bad fall. "What happened?" He snapped.
Iruma stuttered for answers. Without another word, the teacher scooped him up and carried him the short distance into the Royal one.
"Huh!" Iruma exclaimed in surprise. "You really don't have to! I'm fine." He insisted, but his pained expression said otherwise.
Kalego set him down in a chair and disappeared, reappearing with a first aid kit by the looks of it. The Royal one did have a room for everything.
"What happened, brat?" He asked, bending down. Kalego's glaring expression seemed to lift just a little... in concern?
Iruma felt tears coming back. "... I fell."
The teacher sighed. "Where are you hurt?" He moved on quickly.
Iruma's voice was shaky. "I-I think I twisted my ankle," was all he said. Perhaps all he could get out.
Kalego knew something had clearly happened. Blood was running down his face and he had twigs in his hair, dirt all over his uniform. Iruma was always getting into trouble, but this looked pretty bad. Nothing like usual, and neither demons of his usual entourage were with him.
The teacher slipped off his student's shoe and found his ankle slightly swollen and red. Iruma grimaced.
He worked efficiently and started wrapping it tightly in a bandage.
"What really happened?" He asked, not looking up. The demanding tone of before was gone.
Iruma still felt guilty about troubling Kalego even though he trusted his teacher. He looked away and took a deep breath as the bandage tightened.
"Azz, Clara, and I were... flying a kite. They left first and I was putting it up when it blew from my hands into a tree. And I... went up to get it." He said vaguely. If he said 'climbed', he was sure his teacher would ask why he didn't fly. And he didn't have an answer for that.
Kalego was silent as if encouraging the boy to go on and he did. "I was up in the tree... and I accidentally fell down it."
"How high up were you?"
"...near the top?"
His teacher looked back up and then back down to the finished bandage. That wasn't explanation enough and the silence was so heavy Iruma felt pressured to keep going.
"I-I... tried to grab for something and hit my head and I ended up scraping my hands. I landed on my stomach on a branch, but then I fell again... landing on my foot."
Iruma hadn't mentioned the other injuries at all.
"How did you manage to fall? Why not just fly again?" Kalego asked as he placed an icepack on his foot, and moved on to his face. He wasn't stern about it, more concerned. Iruma expected him to think he was... weak for getting injured and making a huge deal about the injuries.
Iruma paused. "I smacked my face pretty hard and I guess I lost sense of where I was."
Kalego could see why. The whole bridge of his nose was bloody, dripping down his face. He dabbed off the blood and placed a bandage over it. The stern man was face to face with the boy. "You're always rushing into danger. Why is that? Why are you so prone to danger? It's like you don't ever think about it or the consequences."
Kalego had asked himself those questions several times. Again and again, Iruma was repeating the same things, despite his warnings. What was the cause for it? Why did he have to push himself the way he did?
Memories flooded back to Iruma, of surviving on his own. Spending days on end by himself, fighting for his survival, and being independent despite his young age. His face curled into something sorrowful.
Kalego didn't expect this kind of reaction.
"I... I'm used to it." Iruma said softly.
The teacher moved on to his hands, which hurt the most. The entire first layer of skin was in tatters, revealing the layer underneath. Just bending his hands burned and he couldn't feel any of his other injuries. Progress was slow, picking out all of the debris that had been wedged under his skin.
"Ow!" He pulled his hand back.
"Sorry, I'm not done." Kalego pulled it back softly. "Why are you used to danger?" He asked, drilling for more information.
Iruma didn't really want to talk about it. Actually, he had never really talked about it with anyone. "Growing up I had a tough childhood," He mumbled irritably.
"I'm serious. Why are you-"
"Because it's always been like that!" Iruma snapped. He held his head down and tears finally dripped from his chin. "I've... always been on my own. I was... was always alone! Surviving what they put me through. I-I just... got... used to it." His breathing picked up, faster and faster.
His heart was pounding even though the adrenaline wore off. Iruma shut down. Memories of all those terrible situations came back and he froze. As if all his anxiety had him in an iron grip, it was getting harder to breathe.
"Iruma? Iruma!" But the boy didn't seem to hear Kalego. He was drawing into a ball. The teacher had never seen him like this. He was Sullivan's grandson, when would he have been in danger? Why would he be all alone?
He placed anti-bacterial ointment on the boy's hands, still held out in his own.
Kalego blew air across Iruma's palms in long steady breaths.
The burning in his hands cooled and he focused on the sensation fading from them. The worst pain was gone. The boy managed to look up, wiping his tears on his shoulder, but they were simply replaced by new ones.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm troubling you. I'm... fine. I can finish this on my own." A cold look filled his eyes, one of despair.
"No." Iruma's head went up again. "I'm not going anywhere," Kalego said.
He finished bandagin Iruma's hands. "You said you fell on your stomach. Can you lift your shirt?"
Iruma slowly pulled it up to reveal a long yelled bruise, already forming purple spots.
"Here," He handed him an icepack. Iruma held it there, his hands also enveloped in the cold. It was silent in the Royal one. A buzzing was heard from Iruma's bag. He started to move.
"No. I'll get it." Kalego reached down and drew out the phone, answering it.
Iruma-sama? Iruma is that you?
"He's alright." The voice on the other end recognized Kalego's voice.
What happened? Where is he?
"He... fell down and got injured. I've treated him but you should come get-"
The phone hung up. Opera was probably already on the way.
Iruma looked pale and tired.
"Don't worry. Opera will be here soon." It didn't seem to comfort him at all.
"I'm really sorry." He said again.
"You have nothing to be sorry for! If anything... I should be sorry that you couldn't even trust me." Kalego mumbled looking conflicted.
"What? Of course, I trust you."
"Then why didn't you ask someone for help? I saw you stumbling, all alone. You didn't call out for help."
"I'm used to-"
"Well, you shouldn't be!" Kalego said. "It's not normal."
Iruma looked like he might cry again. He stopped himself from apologizing again.
"Who made you think that was okay?" The teacher asked. "Iruma?" He seemed to be ignoring the question.
The boy turned away from his teacher solemnly. "It was my parents." He said in a huff. "My parents... " His eyes grew watery again. "My parents... did it."
It felt like a reminder that Iruma wasn't the perfect honor student everyone thought he was. Sure, he came from the Sullivan household, but his life wasn't perfect. Kalego knew nothing about his parents. No demon knew why he lived with his grandfather and not his parents.
"How did your parents... " Kalego wasn't sure how to ask.
Iruma sighed, a little relieved to tell someone. To come to the realization of where it all came from.
"My parents were incredibly greedy. They wanted money without having to work. So, they made me do it. Since as early as I can remember I've been through all their hellish schemes to get money." Kalego listened in silence. A sort of empty look filled the boy's eyes, and he looked incredibly heartbreaking.
"I went through dangerous situations on the daily. Working dangerous jobs, breaking the law, and putting myself in danger. If I didn't adapt I wouldn't have survived. I'm lucky to be here right now. They made me who I am today. That's why I guess I rush into danger. It's like I said, I'm just used to it. And sure, I'm afraid, but it's not worse than what I've already been through."
Iruma didn't want to put all of this onto his teacher. He kept his other thoughts in his mind. What kind of parents do that to a kid? Did they really love him? Probably not if they sold his soul to a demon. Great, now he was going to cry in front his teacher again. Tears dripped down his face.
Kalego leaned forward wordlessly and held Iruma's head to his chest in an embrace. "I'm sorry that you have such shitty parents. You don't have to deal with them anymore, do you?" The boy shook his head. The teacher went on in a calm, solemn voice. "Just because that's what you're used to, doesn't make it okay. You can get injured and put others in danger as well. It makes others... worry about you." He paused. "I worry about you."
Iruma had every right to hate his parents, but he barely had the courage to blame them. And even then, he seemed to just accept everything without complaint.
Kalego let go. Iruma continued to rest his head there, he found comfort in it. In a single demon who didn't leave him alone, despite how he tried to make him go.
"Thank you." It was muffled.
"You don't have to thank me," Kalego said, placing a hand on Iruma's head. "Just please, remember that you can rely on others. You aren't alone, even if you think you are. I mean, you're surrounded by your classmates at all times and you always find yourself surrounded by a cacophony of demons. Everyone is here for you, even if you don't know it."
Iruma sat up with a small smile. His eyes were red. His teacher found just the right words.
Opera burst into the door. "Iruma-sama!"
"Opera," his usual energy didn't find its way to his voice. They saw his injuries and sped over.
"What happened?" They said demandingly, inspecting every inch of Iruma.
The boy chuckled, resisting the 'I'm fine' that came to his lips. "I fell out of a tree and got scraped up pretty bad, but Kalego-sensei helped me."
Opera continued to fuss over him.
His stomach rumbled, loudly. The cat seemed to snap back to reality.
"I have dinner prepared at home." They gingerly picked him up. "Thank you, Kalego." They didn't glance back, but he knew they really meant it.
"It's not like I have a choice when my idiot student shows up all bloody and bruised. Iruma!" The boy jumped, waiting to be chewed out. "Take care, alright?"
He smiled again, "Alright, I'll remember what you said Sensei." And then Opera was gone, flying off in the distance.
Kalego felt like he knew a lot more about Iruma now. About why his student always seemed so reckless. But hopefully, now, his student had realized he had plenty of demons he could rely on.
The teacher sighed, it was already late and he hadn't even gotten started on his work. But his mind wouldn't stop going back over what happened, seeing his student so frantic but calm at the same time.
Iruma wasn't the highest-ranked misfit for nothing. He was a lot stronger than he realized.
Kalego turned back to this stack on his desk and sat down. This would be a long night. Longer than it had already been.