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Iruma had woken up once again in his (comfy) bed. The sky was cloudy, the monsters were screeching, the plants were writhing, and his alarm clock was blaring; signaling the start of another wonderful day!
Iruma hummed as he got out of bed, already anticipating all the fun that was in store. He had decided to spend as much time as possible with Asmodeus and Clara after the harvest festival.
(Seeing his parents in that illusion really took a toll on him. It was shocking, being violently reminded of how precious his current life really was. How easily it could leave him.
He resolved himself, vowing to cherish everything he had with all his might.)
I wonder how their trainings went? He mused, he hadn’t gotten to ask because of their lack of meetings before the festival. And once they were able to meet they didn’t have much time to talk before the competition began. So he was excited to finally be able to hear all the details!
Clara’s new skill was really interesting, and Azz-kun looked really cool when he fought Orobus Coco. He reminisced, thinking back to the scene of a wave of fire stopping Orobus as he stalked towards him. Seeing Asmodeus’s familiar back protecting him as he casually swirled the flame in an arc.
Azz-kun’s fire is always so pretty! He praised the boy in his heart, casually spitting out a flower petal as he got out of bed and walked towards his closet.
Hmm I noticed it was getting a bit colder during the festival, maybe I should wear a scarf today…
Wait.
His body stiffened as he slowly turned back towards his bed; spotting a single, small pink flower petal laying on top of his covers.
Iruma walked over to it (slowly, so as to not spook it just in case it was somehow sentient) and picked the petal up.
It was just a petal. And, although faintly smelling a bit metallic, didn’t seem to have any super special properties.
So then... why did it… come out of my mouth???
Suzuki Iruma, in all his age 14 glory, had never been faced with such a problem.
He was confuzzled.
This must be some kind of demon-thing. He concluded, as most of the things that had confused him recently had been such things. I’m sure Opera-san or gramps will know what’s happening.
Inhaling deeply, he steeled himself to go and ask-
...Eh?
He inhaled again to make sure his nose wasn’t playing tricks on him.
Then again for good measure.
T-this!!
He looked down at the petal in his hand as if an epiphany had struck him, lifting it his nose to confirm his suspicions.
This… is the most delicious thing I’ve ever smelled!
Iruma’s mouth had already started drooling from the aroma. Hand shaking from the force of keeping it from propping the petal right into his mouth.
I-I have to show it to gramps and Opera-san! He tried to reason with himself. I-it could be dangerous!
B-but…
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm-!!!
He gave in.
As he popped the petal into his mouth, his eyes involuntarily fell closed.
Yummy! He blissfully thought, completely forgetting his earlier dilemma. Oh I want more! Ah, but I only coughed up the one…
He searched through his covers, hoping to maybe find another stray petal he glanced over before. But alas, there were none. Disheartened, he was forced to move on with his day. Getting dressed, eating breakfast, meeting up with Clara and Asmodeus...
He simply couldn’t forget about the taste.
If I ever find another one, I have to eat it right away! Iruma swore to himself, not knowing the repercussions it would have.
---
It was at lunch when it happened again.
He was just eating, normally, listening to Clara and Asmodeus argue about who had a better scarf (they had all coincidentally worn scarfs that day). Clara was saying hers was the best, since it “Was full of floofie doofies Azz-azz!”; but Asmodeus was arguing that Iruma’s was better because “Anything Iruma-sama touches is of the highest quality and blessed by his magnificent touch!”
Iruma had long since learned that Asmodeus had a tendency to over exaggerate some things, and had learned to mostly tune the excessive compliments out (to an extent, of course. He couldn’t ignore his friends!), but lately… He’s been soaking them in more.
Azz-kun always has such a high opinion of me…
He didn’t know if that made him feel good, flustered, or… worried.
Azz-kun’s over exaggerating, he’s much more powerful than me, and has even been ranked Daleth since the start of the year! Compared to me… he’s much more amazing!
He spat out a handful of petals.
Overjoyed, he merrily picked them up. Popping one in his mouth and chewing it like a piece of gum. Too busy savoring the flavor to realize that the entire cafeteria had fallen into horrified silence as a terrifying conclusion hit them all.
Iruma(-sama,-chi,-kun,-san) has hanahaki!
Hanahaki, a deadly demonic disease that worked similar to a parasitic spore. Named after it’s source (the Hanahaki flower), if the spore is inhaled by a demon with a great amount of lovesickness it’ll take root in the lungs. Feeding off their feelings and blood until the blooms grow big enough to suffocate the host, after which they would explode into more spores.
Some thought the disease itself was some kind of myth, as many demons simply didn’t have the capacity to house the amount of love it would take to make hanahaki take root.
But the damning evidence was in front of them, as the headmaster’s grandson ate his own hanahaki petals (what the actual fuck??????).
The only way to cure a hanahaki patient is for them to either get rid of their feelings (practically impossible with demons due to the intense feelings necessary for a demon to come down with lovesickness), or for them to confess and have their love be requited.
However even confession has its own risks, for if the patient gets struck down, the intense despair would cause the blooms to instantly burst. Instantly filling the lungs with spores, which would latch on as well; continuously blooming and bursting in a cycle so fast the patient dies in under a minute.
Truly, it was the most deadly disease known to demonkind.
And the sight of Iruma, a renown demon within Babyls, eating petals that had come from his own mouth… It was absolutely haunting.
No one knew how to break the silence.
“...Hey Irumachi.”
“Mmhmm?”
“...Are those yummy?”
“Clara! You shouldn’t ask Iruma-sama something like-”
“Yeah! Do you want one?”
Slowly, Clara grabbed a petal.
She ate it.
…
“YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!!!”
“I know right!?”
“CLARA!!! IT’S IMPROPER TO-”
Sadly, Asmodeus was silenced by Clara shoving a petal into his mouth too.
“Try it Azz-azz!”
He swallowed it, accidentally, like one might a piece of half-chewed food.
“Ah.”
Now, it might be a good time to remind you that hanahaki flowers are watered with the blood of it’s host. Meaning that the petals, coupled with their natural flavors, were also infused with Iruma’s blood.
His human blood.
Needless to say, it was the most delicious thing any demon could likely eat in a lifetime.
But, at that moment, Asmodeus had something more important than its taste on his mind. Biting back his natural desire to seek more, he quickly snatched up Iruma.
“A-Azz-kun?!” Iruma exclaimed, as more petals fell from his mouth.
“Don’t worry Iruma-sama!” Asmodeus shouted as he ignored the rules to run in the halls, “No one can resist your greatness! Your disease shall only be a fleeting moment when you look back on it in the future!”
“Disease?!?!”
It was then that they reached the doors of the infirmary. Asmodeus kicked down the insolent doors in the way between him, Iruma, and the school doctor. In doing so, he startled Blushenko-sensei and Balam-sensei.
“Asmodeus-kun? Iruma-kun? What’s wrong?”
“Senseis! Iruma-sama has caught hanahaki!”
.
.
.
“WHAT?!!!!!”
---
“-and that is what hanahaki is.” Opera concluded, swiftly putting away the slideshow presentation to turn their attention to Iruma.
Iruma who… was still eating the hanahaki petals as the principal was busy soaking his left half in tears.
“Iruma-sama.” Opera said, threateningly.
Iruma shivered. “Yes?”
“Please, stop eating the petals. You can give them to Balam-kun instead.”
“Okay…” Iruma agreed, his ahoge wilting in sadness.
“Now.” Opera started, zooming across the room to smush Iruma’s cheek with all the intensity of someone about to fight the demon king, “Who is your crush, Iruma-sama?”
“...”
“Don’t worry Iruma-kun, you can tell us!!” The principal tried to reassure him.
“...I… don’t know?”
A pause.
“What?”
---
Meanwhile, back when Asmodeus was spiriting Iruma away from the cafeteria…
“Hey, there’s some petals left on the floor!”
“Dare you to pick one up.”
“I dare you to eat one!”
“Bro what the fuck?! That’d kill me!”
“Nom.”
“Dude, did you just…”
“Holy shit.”
“You're a dead man.”
“I-it…”
“Huh? It what?”
“It was worth it.”
“Huh?!?!?!?”
“Try it!”
“What!? No wa-aklndlnglangdl”
“It’s good right???”
“Fuck man.”
“I know!”
“Eh? What’re those people doing?”
“I don’t know, but I want to try one!”
“Oh shit-”
“That guy’s trying to sweep 'em’ into his pocket!”
“OH NO HE AIN’T!”
“SHOVE OVER I WANT SOME TOO!!”
“Y’ALL THERE’S A TRAIL OF THEM IN THE HALLWAY!”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Rumor’s of how Iruma(-sama, -san, -kun)’s hanahaki petals tasted spread quickly afterwards, creating a high demand for the illusive petals (that were in short supply).
One demon ground them into powder, in hopes of disguising it as something else in case the teachers got suspicious (they already knew of the petal-ring and were trying to stop it).
The other demons followed suit.
Within a day, an entire petal-powder underworld was set up within the school. Great demand paired with low supply made it so that the few sellers of the powder could get away with almost anything, bringing chaos and disorder unlike anything the school had seen for decades.
And it was up to the student council to stop it.
“Do we have everything prepared?” Ameri asked.
“Yes, the information first year Eiko delivered has proven accurate.”
Said student had burst in a few hours before school started, looking like she hadn’t slept in ten years. She dropped a stack of documents labeled “Locations/Dealers of Iruma-sama’s Petal-Powders” onto the table, mumbling something about ‘being of help to Iruma-sama even if he can’t be mine.’ Before she bowed deeply at Ameri and ran away with a red face (Smoke thought she saw tears rolling down her face, but couldn’t make it out for sure. They made a note to send her a muffin basket for her efforts).
Ameri nodded, “Then we shall head out-”
“Hold on!” A shout came from the doorway.
Standing there was one(1) determined looking Asmodeus Alice, along with a begrudging Sabnock Sabro he had dragged along for the ride.
“We would like to join you in your expedition!”
“Really?” Ameri asked, surprised, “How come?”
“I, as Iruma-sama’s pledged sword, must do everything in my power to assist him! That is why I feel in my soul the need to help eradicate the scoundrels selling products made from Iruma-sama’s illness!” Asmodeus passionately explained.
“Very good!” Ameri praised, “Spoken with the passion of a true demon! And what about you, Sabnock Sabro?”
“I was dragged along as extra firepower, also to stop this idiot when he starts rampaging.”
“Rampaging?” Ameri tilted her head, leveling Asmodeus with a side-stare.
“Why of course! I have to go all out to destroy the morons who dare slander Iruma-sama’s name!”
“A fine reason! I am sure that you’ll be a great asset to this team!”
“Thank you very much! I look forward to working with you!”
“Likewise!”
And at that moment, they leveled each other with an understanding stare.
Ah, Iruma(-sama, -kun) chose his lover well! They thought at the same time.
One of them wasn’t understanding shit.
---
“Iruma’s gotta love Nee-san!” Lied passionately exclaimed.
The girls had gone off to have a ‘girls only meeting,’ leaving the boys (minus Asmodeus, Sabnock, and Iruma himself) to have their own meeting. And with the rumor mill being what it is, the topic of conversation obviously turned to who Iruma’s secret crush was.
“Wrong, it’s totally Clara. Do you not remember his wicked phase?” Allocer rebutted.
“What about Crocell? She’s a fine woman in her own right!” Caim raised.
“They barely even interact.” Agares drawled, “Now can you be quiet? I’m trying to sleeeeeep.”
“Agares-kun is right!” Gaap agreed, “If we’re talking about love it must be someone he interacts with quite often, yes?”
“Ah, like the student council president!” Jazz exclaimed.
“Or Clara!” Allocer argued, “They’re together every day!”
“Yeah but we all know Clara is more like a little sister! It’s gotta be Ameri!”
“Nee-san all the way!”
“It’s obviously Asmodeus.” A dull voice rose.
They all froze, turning to look at the unfamiliar face among them.
“Who… WHO ARE YOU?!”
“I’m Purson Soi. I’m in your class.”
“Eh? But we never???? See you?????? Ever????????????????”
“Yeah, I don’t really like being noticed very much. It’s just who I am, my ability is being unnoticed and I like that. All of you staring right at me right now is kind of concerning, can you all please look away? This is why I didn’t want to reveal myself, too much pressure. Haaa. But this isn’t about me, this is about Iruma-kun. I only spoke up because you all were going in the wrong direction and ignoring the obviously correct answer. Asmodeus-kun and Iruma-kun have been together since the first day of school, and clearly care about each other a lot. Asmodeus-kun is very vocal about his feelings for Iruma-kun and has done a lot of things for him, so obviously Iruma-kun would develop some form of intensely positive feelings for him. Iruma-kun also doesn’t strike me as one to care about gender. So that’s why Asmodeus-kun is the obvious answer.” Purson said.
At that moment Iruma walked in and Lied, who was slightly shell shocked from Purson’s speech, blurted out, “Do you like Asmodeus-kun?”
Iruma also froze, as if his brain needed a moment to reboot, before his face turned a light pink. “Eh?”
It was at that moment that Asmodeus bursted in, “Iruma-sama! There you are!” He exclaimed, running up to said boy at breakneck speed. If you looked closely, you could see a trail of smoke rising from his path.
Asmodeus was eager to share his work with Iruma, taking the boy’s hands in his as he began, “I have just finished dealing with those petal-powder dealers! You no longer have to worry about them ruining your illustrious reputations with their-”
“I like you, Azz-kun.” A dazed Iruma muttered, as if coming to a life changing revelation. When he came back to his senses he looked around to see that everyone had frozen, looking up to see that Asmodeus’s face had become heavily flushed. Blood pooled into his cheeks as he realized what had happened.
“Um- Azz-kun I-”
“Say no more.” Asmodeus reverently sighed, dropping so heavily to one knee that for a second everyone was convinced the floor was cracked. “If those are your feelings for me then… allow me the honor of accepting them! And to please, let me stay by your side. This time, as your b-boyfriend!”
Tears filled Iruma’s eyes as he, too, knelt down. Lowering himself until he was on his knees, as he pressed his forehead against Asmodeus’s. “Yes. Of course yes!”
And as they embraced, blooms upon blooms fell from his mouth. Dispersing into showers of light before they could even hit the floor.