Chapter 9

"I know you're a devil."

The words left Gorou's mouth and Layla's eyes snapped open wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

Layla looked away and was about to get off the couch before she heard the same thing she heard every other time.

"Back devil! Don't come near my family!"

"Devil bitch! Do you think you deserve the kindness we gave you?!"

"Low on money huh, well if you sell your body to me, you can get money, hehehehe."

"Die in a hole freak! You're the reason your mother overdosed!"

But once Layla felt Gorou pull her back onto the couch, making her fall onto his lap and was trapped in his embrace.

"Stop, let go of me!" Layla whined, trying to squirm her way out of Gorou's grasp, though it was all futile.

Gorou could hear the cracking of Layla's voice and the cold tears that fell onto his arms.

Layla frantically shook her body, trying to escape Gorou's embrace, but in the back of her mind, she was wishing he wouldn't let go.

After a few minutes of Layla thrashing around, she calmed down and just cried, all of her sadness, all her anger, all of the trauma that she experienced throughout her life.

Gorou didn't say anything and just hugged her.

Layla had turned around and began crying into Gorou's shoulder, tightening her grip around Gorou with her draining strength.

Gorou was extremely sad and furious, the urge to bite something found its way back, and Gorou was happy to oblige, but for now, he put those feelings away and stayed stoic, being a shoulder to cry on was what he needed to be for now.

After Gorou's shoulder was drenched in tears and Layla had calmed down, Gorou lifted her off his shoulder so he could see her face, and as he did, he saw a long string of snot connecting from his shoulder to Layla's nose.

No matter how gross, Gorou ignored it, as it reminded him of when Issei came running home after getting rejected and when he got caught by the principal for serving.

Gorou saw Layla's drained face, her eyes were puffy and red, and she had snot coming out of her nose, but even in this state, her teary eyes still sparkled and her skin still shimmered in the light.

Layla refused to look Gorou in the eyes, embarrassed about the good awful state she is showing.

Glory reached for his shirt and wiped away her snot and tears, strumming her back, offering comfort.

After wiping her face clean and his shoulder, Gorou threw away the shirt and embraced Layla into a hug again, which was returned. Layla laid her head on Gorou's shoulder and they sat in a comforting silence until Gorou spoke.

"I don't have any idea of what you've been through, but I can tell you were treated like a kid for your whole life. I don't know you're story, but from what I heard from those boys-"

Layla's body tensed at the mention of her mother, Gorou just tightened his hug and so did Layla.

"- Your mother overdosed. I remember a story In a paper published a couple of years ago that discovered what happened to an old lady, they say she overdosed and left behind a child." Gorou looked down at Layla, already making the connection.

"You are 70 years old, but because of how you were treated, you are only now going through your teenage phase."

Layla began to sink into Gorou's chest as he spoke.

"I also want you to know that I will never abandon you, I will always be on your side, even if we have to fight against the devils, angels and fallen angels."

Layla began to tighten her hug and began to tear up again at Gorou's words.

"I don't expect you to reveal your past, I only want what's best for you, and I know we have only known each other for a few days, but I truly care about you-" Gorou lifted Layla's head off his shoulder and saw Layla choking up and holding back tears.

"I will protect you," Gorou said softly, soothing Layla's heart before combing a hand through her head, exposing her forehead where Gorou planted a kiss.

After the kiss, Layla hung her head before surprising Gorou by tackling him to the couch and wrapping him in a tight hug.

Though he was initially surprised, he soon chuckled that Layla was lively again before he began stroking her hair, happy and smiling at her cuteness.

"The old lady that died wasn't my mum, or related to me, she just took care of me," Layla whispered.

Gorou was a bit thrown off because her breath tickled his air, but he caught on to what she said.

"My mum is in Egypt, she is a powerful devil..." That was all Layla could say, not wanting to talk about her mum, she just didn't want Gorou to be sad thinking that she had no family.

"So who was the old lady? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Gorou said, curious, but not enough to hurt Layla's feelings.

"She was the first to take me in when I was ten and on the street, she treated me like her daughter for 10 years, but then she died, so said it was natural causes, and the officials just chalked it up to overdose, but that didn't happen." Layla started to grow sad and a bit hesitant to finish her story, but thanks to Gorou's comforting hair strokes, she continued.

"She died because of my powers. I accidentally used a family power to forcibly age her by fifty years, which instantly killed her and made her skinny, making the officials believe she was on drugs and that's how she died." Layla looked at Gorou, expecting him to be mortified, but she was left perplexed as she saw a sombre smile on his face.

In truth, Gorou was surprised to learn that, but the old lady is dead, the officials said it was an overdose, so there wasn't really a problem, just as long as Layla is okay.

"Layla, as long as you are with me, your safety and comfortability comes first, your past doesn't matter to me, I'm happy you still have a mother, but that's all I need to know until you're ready to talk more or if a related issue arises, okay."

Listening to Gorou's words, seeing his smile and the conviction in his eyes, Layla moved on impulse, darting forward and tangling her lips with Gorou's.

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Hey, I don't know if Layla's backstory made sense, but I completely wrote it on autopilot, so... Sorry if you get confused, hope you enjoyed it.

Ps: Did you know that when captain cook wrote down in his diary that he had sex with a mermaid, he was referring to a manatee? Do with that what you will.