Chapter 3: Far From Home

There were many kinds of fear. The fear of death, the fear of change, and the fear of the unknown were just a few. That last one was usually what scared people the most.

Me? There were lots of things that scared me, but only a single one really shook me to my bones. Losing the one I'd call a friend- no, a brother.

My eyes snapped open in fright. Sweat rolled down my back.

Where was I?

What was going on?

Where was Iruma?

I tossed the soft blankets covering me off my chest. This bed was cool and the blankets were refreshing. And yet, they might as well have been ice against my flesh.

I jumped out of bed, eyes drinking in my surroundings. It looked like I was in someone's bedroom. This clearly wasn't Iruma's. It was too neat and had far more things in it than it should.

That boy would have been fine living in a cardboard box so long as he had a blanket.

I slowly shifted toward the door. This wasn't a dream- I could feel it in my bones. Had the "demon" really managed to just knock me out? If so, why put me up in a nice, soft bed?

This didn't make much sense, but I wasn't about to slip up here. The door was close enough to touch. I reached out, fingers brushing against the door handle.

And then it swung open.

I stood there, frozen. The person on the other side did much the same, though their eyes quickly jumped from me to the bed.

He, or at least I thought they were a he, wore a simple butler's uniform. He had bright red hair with sharp eyes to match. His hair was tied up in a small braided ponytail.

What stood out the most were his ears. He had a pair of god-damned cat ears on his head! And then there was the tail. Was this guy cosplayer or-

"You-"

I didn't give him a chance to speak and threw my fist at his face. If he had anything to do with the one who "bought" Iruma, then I didn't have anything to say to him. I'd knock his ass out and then apologize later If I was wro-

He moved like lightning and easily caught my fist.

"That wasn't very nice," he said almost monotonously. "Be a good boy and sit down or you won't be getting any breakfast."

…

What? I stared, slack-jawed at this crazy cat-man's audacity. Who the hell was he? I tried to pull my hand away, but It was as if my fist was stuck in a vice. No matter how much I tried, it didn't budge.

I was stuck and clearly, this guy wasn't going to let me go-

"Wait, breakfast?" I asked as my stomach growled in protest. "No, forget about that. Where's Iruma?!"

I hissed, eyes narrowing. It didn't matter if this guy was stronger than me.

"If you hurt him, I swear I'll be chewing on your bones after I'm done with you…" I spoke with surprising calmness. It wasn't a threat- this was a promise.

The strange cat-man rolled his eyes and then pushed my fist. I went flying through the air and landed on the bed.

Noted. He was incredibly strong too.

"Who-"

A mighty pressure crashed into my stomach. Almost all the air in my lungs was blown out in an instant. I gasped and glared at the stranger.

"Say aaaah," he spoke with that dumb look of his. Wait, was he holding out a fork-

Something was shoved into my mouth. It was sweet and full of syrup.

"Tastes good, yes?" he said as I involuntarily bit down and swallowed. Pancakes. He'd laid a tray full of pancakes on my stomach and was now feeding me.

Was I still dreaming? What the actual fuck was going on?

"Iruma is fine," the cat-man said and shovelled another bite into my mouth. "The chairman is looking after him, so it up to me to make sure you're fine."

Chairman?

My blood froze. That demon. I tried to get up but it was as if a mountain was sitting on my chest. This wasn't something a human could be capable of.

"There's nothing to worry about," the cat-man hummed. "I can see you're afraid, but he means you no harm."

"No ha-" I didn't even get to finish my sentence as he quickly shoved another forkful of pancakes into my mouth.

"What you need to worry about is filling your stomach. The both of you are all skin and bones," he said with a sigh. "We'll just have to fix that."

…

Damn it all…

————————————-

"Oh! Lee!" Iruma exclaimed as he stepped through the door. A look of pure relief on his face.

"Ah, good to see everything went ok," the cat man said and finally pulled the tray off my chest and stared straight at me. "See? I told you he was fine," he said with a sigh.

…

I shook my head and slowly got out of bed again. Iruma looked… tired.

"You ok?" I asked hesitantly. He tried to put on a brave front, but I knew better. Some wounds weren't as easy to spot as a bloodied nose or a broken bone.

He gulped, eyes falling to the ground before they rose back up. A weak, glass-like smile wormed its way onto his face.

"Yeah," he whimpered. "I-It's not so bad, you know? Mr. Sullivan said he'll let us live here and… and-"

I shut my eyes and stepped forward.

"It's fine to be angry," I whispered and pulled him closer into a hug. He was my brother in all but blood. How could I just stand there and watch him lie to himself?

A weak cry slipped from his lips and he dug his fingers into my chest.

"H-How could they do it?" he whispered. "I-I did everything for them! Why? Why, Lee?!"

Because they were greedy bastards. They were the scum of the earth who sold their own child to a literal demon. But if that was the case, then who were really the demons here?

I sucked in a breath and answered.

"Forget about them," I said softly. It wasn't something he'd be able to do easily. I knew that. Still, I wasn't the best at motivational speeches or the like. "Instead of focusing on all the pain they forced on you, focus on the fact that you don't have to deal with them any longer."

He was free.

"You can do whatever you want now, right?"

I eyed the mysterious cat-man carefully. Who was he, really? I'd thought him some crazy man with a cat fetish at first, but those ears and tails were real. Was he a demon too? Did that mean I was also one? It would explain my wings and tail.

"No matter what you decide, I'll be right with you, alright?" I finished.

Iruma blinked and pulled away, finally staring me in the eye.

"I… Lee. W-Will you really?"

Of course, I would.

I chuckled and ruffled his azure locks.

"Duh. Come on, we're like brothers, right?"

A massive, toothy grin spread across his lips. It was something so innocent and pure that I almost couldn't believe it.

"Ok. Thanks, Lee."

If we were going to face some sort of demon, then we'd do it together.

————————

"Sullivan," in a word, was terrifying. The man could switch from an affectionate bunny to a deadly hell-spawn in the blink of an eye.

"Yes, yes~" he cheered and nodded along dumbly as I repeated what Iruma had told me.

"Again, you seriously expect us to be your grandkids?"

"Of course!" he continued with that dumb look of his. "I always wanted a grandson, so consider me over the moon when I ended up grabbing two for the price of one!"

"We're not objects to be bought!" I hissed. "Do you really think we want to be here?"

The old man froze. His cheerful and bubbly smile was washed away with one full of despair.

"Oh… then I guess I'd just have to eat your flesh, break your bones, and leave nothing behind..."

He growled out in what I could only describe as a look of a man who'd just had his dreams shattered.

What the actual hell?

"N-No no!" Iruma quickly interrupted. "W-We'd love to be your grandkids!"

Like hell I would! At least that's what I wanted to say, but I knew that'd just get us back in hot water. Cat-man was this guy's servant, or so it seemed. Considering how easily he could fold me over his knee, the old man must have been a real monster.

"That's wonderful!" the crazy old man exclaimed and turned to look at me. "That's one of you, but what about your brother?"

My brow twitched. I didn't know why, but it sounded so patronizing when he said it.

"It's fine," I grumbled.

"Excellent!" he cheered and rushed to us. "I've always wanted grandkids! The two of you are a matching pair! I'll take good care of you! I'll feed you! I'll give you the best clothes and I'll make sure you're both as happy as can be!"

I wanted to throw up. This guy was so darned creepy!

"Oh! And as my grandkids, it's only fair that I give you the best possible education in our demon world!"

…

What.

Demon world? Education?

"Ah. I suppose now would be a good time to explain that," the cat-man said with a cough. "Welcome to the demon world. I'm afraid you two are far, far from home."

…

I turned to the nearby window. It was wide open, showing the landscape beyond. How had I not noticed it before? The skies were a dark red. Putrid, purple clouds rumbled in the distance.

I could have explained those as some sort of wild weather patterns, but not the giant dragons. They flew through the skies like birds. Was this real?

…

"Don't you two worry!" the old demon exclaimed with a sickeningly sweet laugh. "I'll teach you all about your new home! You'll both do great and make me the proudest grandfather of all! Oh, my friends won't be gloating about their kids anymore!"

Was this hell? Had we died?

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't. Iruma was practically trembling at the revelation. Maybe he already knew. Whatever the case, I'd be here to protect him.

School or not, I wouldn't let anyone mess with him.

Not now or ever again.

—————————————

The first few days under Sullivan's "care" was a harrowing experience. Oh, he was a monster through and through, but that wasn't what disturbed me. He showered us with affection, gifts, and his hopes.

"Let's go out for a walk!"

"Iruma~ You look so handsome in that uniform! Oh, I just know you'll show everyone how amazing you are!"

"Lee! Don't think I forgot about you! You'll be pushing the girls away with a broom~"

It was frankly annoying and a bit unnerving. How could someone go from ominously evil to that so fast? It was embarrassing! He made me cringe just seeing him try to "take care" of us.

Was this guy for real?

In the end, I decided that he was either crazy or some sort of eldritch being who I couldn't apply common sense to. Honestly, I wasn't sure which one was worse.

"H-He's not so bad," Iruma tried to convince me. "He's actually better than my-"

He never finished that sentence, but he didn't need to. I could almost laugh at the thought.

"Forget about that," I huffed and dragged him out to our "home's" front yard. The mansion was the kind of place neither of us had ever expected to ever end up living in. I'd never gone to school, but this building was probably big enough to count as one.

The grass was green and the trees were pregnant with some odd fruits that looked like apples. I wasn't going to eat them, that was for sure. Truthfully, I'd lived in worse.

"Do… do you think we'll be ok?" Iruma asked nervously. "This place… Mr. Sullivan says Demons eat humans, or at least they did in the past."

And that was something else. This "world" had been separated from ours for so long that humans were more of a myth than anything now.

I'd never eaten a person, in fact, the idea made me sick to my stomach. I guess Iruma did smell a bit sweet, but that probably had more to do with his hygiene than anything else. Did that mean I wasn't a Demon, but something else? Or maybe I was just desperately trying to cling to what little humanity I had left?

"It doesn't matter where we go," I told him with a confident nod. "I'll kick the hell out of anyone that tries to hurt you."

It was a promise. These weren't people and that meant I wouldn't have any problem tearing them limb from limb.

As long as I saw them as the demons they were, then it would be easy to kill them, right?

Right?

That was what brothers did.

"Thanks," Iruma whispered and sucked in a breath. "I don't know what I'd do If I was here alone."

I smiled softly.

"You'd be fine," I said confidently. "You're the kind of guy who could make even a demon his friend."

I was living proof of that, wasn't I?