Abriel’s fingers tapped away at the pommel of his sword, the nervous habit he’d never been able to throw. Perhaps it wasn’t nerves, though- it could have been irritation, or impatience, or even anticipation, that had his fingers dancing against the metal.
You’re going to make your fingers numb, idiot.
Abriel looked down at Mace with a frown, but his fingers stilled, wrapping around the sword’s hilt and staying put. “I can make my fingers numb if I want to,” he said petulantly, even though he’d listened, knowing he wouldn’t be able to properly control his sword when running it through the new student if his fingers were numb. He certainly didn’t want to die twice in the same day- that would entirely ruin his reputation, and remove the five points he’d earned from catching up lonesome students trying to make it to class.
Why are you so stubborn? Mace’s tone was as clear as someone rolling their eyes would have been- he was tired of Abriel’s recalcitrance.
Abriel grinned down at his familiar, revealing a pair of canines that were slightly sharper, just a bit longer, than they should have been. “I’m sorry, Mace, am I annoying you?”
Mace hissed at him, the hair on his back rising slightly. Fed up with his master, Mace bounded ahead, reaching the classroom long before Abriel. The demon shook his head, laughing softly- but forcing back up his cold, aloof expression as he opened the door.
It slipped away immediately, becoming a cold rage as he saw a head of silvery white hair he remembered. The new student had made it there before him, no surprise since Abriel had been out for a full three hours thanks to him. The boy looked up as the door opened, and his brown eyes sparkled as he smiled confidently at Abriel. Abriel’s fingers twitched where they rested on the hilt of his sword, but there was nothing he could do, because they were in a safe zone. That was the only rule Abriel wouldn’t break, because it could mean a true and final death.
Abriel calmed himself, returning the new student’s gaze with cold blue eyes. The other demon’s smile only widened, and he was laughing as he turned back to who he’d been sitting with. Their heads were close together, strands of silver mixed with shocking bright red, and Abriel’s lip curled.
It figured the new kid would choose to partner up with the demon Abriel hated most at the Institute. Cormac felt Abriel’s glare on his back and looked up; a small, playful smile revealed his sharp teeth, and his green eyes were bright. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite ice prince,” he purred, standing up and prowling close to Abriel. Grinning, he walked his middle and pointer fingers up Abriel’s chest until he could grab the dark-haired demon’s collar. “We missed you while you were dead.”
Abriel’s finger tightened around the hilt of his sword, and he was a half second away from slicing the insolent demon’s head off when a dainty, pointed cough interrupted them. “Cormac, Abriel, that’s enough.” The teacher, a busty woman with wild blonde waves, glared at them both over the half moons of her useless glasses.
“Ah, Abriel, so that’s your name. I’ve heard a lot about you already,” the new student leaned back in his chair, the front legs coming up off the floor. He had to tip his head back to see Abriel, and they could both hear the indrawn breaths from anybody nearby with a pulse as the new student flashed a heart melting smile. “Too bad you didn’t live up to your reputation. Killing you was easy.”
Abriel’s eyes went dark and dangerous; though students nearby shifted uneasily away from the trio, the new student didn’t seem the least bit impressed. “Shut up,” Abriel snarled. Mace, who’d been sitting at his feet, hissed with his master, hackles raised as he bared lethally sharp teeth.
Another hiss sounded, and Abriel looked at its source with surprise. A small white kitten leapt down from its perch on the new student’s lap. Its pretty blue eyes and tiny teeth were cute, but as its fur bristled and it unsheathed its claws, it became clear what the kitten was: a familiar, a very powerful one at that, and it was protecting its master.
“Chill, Kissa,” the new student said calmly. The kitten blinked its eyes- her eyes, judging by the name- and her fur settled back down. She looked at Mace with a sort of contempt, as if daring him to try and hurt her master. After licking her paw and taking the time to clean her ear, showing she wasn’t afraid of the larger black cat, Kissa reclaimed her position on the new student’s lap, and began purring when he ran his fingers through her fur.
Abriel was stunned. Kissa had to be a familiar of the highest class to have stood up to his so brazenly. And the new student had taken him out easily on the first day of school. There had to be something about the new demon to merit the familiar, to explain the skills- he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“There’s no need to be jealous,” the new student said, making a face at him.
Abriel stiffened, eyes widening as he saw how the boy’s unfocused eyes were trained on a spot just barely past his head. The boy was looking at his aura, and Abriel was right- there was something very different about this boy, who effortlessly saw auras but didn’t even have the pointed ears of an omega. Grinning shamelessly, the boy reached up to push some of his silvery hair out of those dark eyes, and Abriel’s shock turned into blistering rage when he saw the numbers on the other demon’s wrist. The kid was already at thirty-seven. In three hours. Even as skilled as Abriel was, it had taken him two days to get up to thirty-seven, though it was always slow going after that because the demons learned to be afraid.
“Ooh, it just got darker…” the new student mused, his eyes still on Abriel’s aura. “Sorry, Abby, I’m afraid you’re just not on my level.”
“What did you just call me?” Abriel’s voice was low and dangerous; next to him, Cormac was trying to contain his laughter, and failing badly.
The new student cocked his head, giving Abriel an innocent expression that would have fooled anybody but him. “Don’t you like it? I think it suits you… Abby.”
That pushed Abriel past his limit. He had drawn his sword and levelled it at the new student’s throat before he heard the first scream. Cormac leapt back, his eyes wide and his hand on his throat as he stared at Abriel. Abriel could see, reflected in the new student’s eyes, the blue hellfire that was always summoned when he lost his temper, and his control of his power along with it. It blazed along the edges of his sword, lit the end of his tail, flamed on his head where the horns would be if the idiot humans were close to right about demons.
Despite all that, the hellfire and the rage in Abriel’s eyes and the threatening growl of his familiar, the new kid remained calm. In fact, a strange smile was pulling at his lips. “You know,” he said softly, “Your aura is blacker than sin. You almost can’t see the blue and yellow of your fear, or that murky green of your jealousy. Don’t hide behind your hatred, Abriel.”
Abriel’s mouth tightened into a thin line of outrage. How dare that boy talk like he knows me at all? he thought. His resolve hardened, and he swung his sword.
Abriel, stop! Mace’s cry came too late- Abriel’s sword swung in a glittering arc, his arm true and the edge lining up perfectly with the new student’s neck. The student did nothing to stop him, closing his eyes and tipping his head back to provide a better target.
The kid was willing to die, even if his familiar was digging her claws into him in an attempt to get him to react.
Abriel’s grip faltered, and the sword’s path slowed ever so slightly. It was enough of an opening that Cormac could stop him; yanking the barrett out of his hair, he shook it out into an impressive scythe, his aura appearing momentarily as a shimmering gold as an effect of the magic. Wielding his weapon with skilled hands, he blocked Abriel’s sword, grimacing when the impact shook his arms, numbing them slightly.
Abriel met Cormac’s eyes, and angry sparks flew between them. Testing, Abriel pushed his sword forward. Cormac wasn’t strong enough; he yielded inch after slow inch, desperation coming into his eyes as the sword came inexorably closer to bringing the new student’s death, all the other students frozen with fear and shock and unable to do anything to help.
“Abriel.” A familiar, threatening voice pulled Abriel back from the brink of making a disastrous decision. Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his sword. Cormac staggered forward, unprepared for the sudden loss of opposition.
“Miss Megumu, thank you for calling me,” Rahil bowed in the direction of the teacher. She nodded, her face tight- she wasn’t happy with the interruption, or with the rules that required she call Rahil rather than deal with it herself if Abriel misbehaved. “Abriel, come with me. Students, I am very sorry for the interruption. Please continue.””
Rahil grabbed Abriel’s arm, fingers digging into flesh, and wrenched the sword away. Abriel felt the acute pain of its loss, but didn’t protest as Rahil dragged the shamed demon out of the room, leaving the rest of the student murmuring rumors as Miss Megumu tried to regain control of her class.
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