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“Do you have a soulmate, eggie-teach?”
“Huh?”
Clara Valac, one of the many trouble makers of the misfit class, had diverged from her conversation with her other two equally troublesome classmates, Asmodeus Alice and iruma suzuki, to ask their professor, Naberius Kalego, the utterly dumbfounded question.
“What on earth are you blabbering on about now?”
Kalego backed away from the overly obnoxious demoness who had gotten far too close into his personal space for his comfort. Sighing begrudgingly, he pulled a hand up to rub at the brink of his nose. Annoyance showing clear across his stern face at the utterly moronic question, questions with which he's come to expect from Valac.
“Stupid Clara, of course he doesn't! For only we are blessed with the title of soulmate so graciously bestowed upon us by master Iruma!! Only two can hold that title!!”
Asmodeus turned, shouting and grabbing the green haired girl's arm and tugging her back from Kalego's desk, much to her protest.
“Well no- everyone can have soulmates!! It's not a limited thing.”
Iruma laughed sheepishly, as he set himself between his bickering friends.
“I'm sure even professor Kalego has someone he cherishes that much.”
“Hm. I don't often doubt you Master Iruma, but I must in this regard.” Asmodeus released his grip on Clara (who was now chewing on the side of his arm) and brought a hand to rub at his chin “I don't think professor Kalego has any friends, let alone soulmates.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Kalego still didn't quite understand the meaning of ‘friend’ and frankly he tended to avoid using Iruma's made up words as to not encourage the group into concocting more, much to his utter failure with the rise of ‘soulmate’ , still he did not like the implication of him not having any of these so called ‘friends’, coming from those three it is most definitely an insult of some kind. (Damn brats)
“Aw come on azz that isn't true! There's professor Balam, remember?”
As if being summoned, or by the more likely option, pure consequence, a faint knock was heard from the royal one’s entrance, cutting the three's conversation short.
“Finally, you can come in.”
Kalego averted his attention from the three headaches in front of him, and spoke towards the figure standing just within the classroom's threshold.
“I'm not interrupting anything, am I?”
Balam Shichiro, another teacher of Babyls, was standing nervously, a stack of papers resting in his gloved claws.
“Not at all.” Kalego spoke, beckoning the taller demon over to his desk. Once there the papers were sat neatly in a cleared space, Shichiro gave a quick greeting to Kalego, as well as a nod to Iruma and the others, before turning to leave.
Only to be met with the face of Clara, who had scaled his back unknowingly and was now hanging her face in front of his while seated on his shoulders.
“What about you blam blam teach? Do you have a soulmate!?”
Clara bounded, her wide toothy smile and loud voice startled Balam for a moment. He quickly calmed himself, laughing off the interaction as he picked her up off his back and set her down in front of him.
“Soulmate huh?”
He brought a hand to scratch idly at the metal mask adorning his face, his eyes flicked upward in thought.
“Oh right! I remember Iruma telling me about this…” balam spoke, unconsciously patting Clara's head who now stood at his side. “Hm, that's a tricky question… but I suppose…”
He brought his hands up from Clara's head, resting the fist of one hand against the flat palm of the other, his eyes sharp as he turned to the group.
“Out of everyone, I would consider Kalego to be my soulmate.”
The group all seemed to glow at the announcement, their eyes sparkling. Kalego too reacted, though the look on his face was harder to place.
“Shichiro-!? Don't play along with them!!?”
“Hm? Do you not want to be my soulmate Kalego?” Balam knitted his brows and scrunched his face up into an obnoxious display of faked sadness, tapping his fingertips together as he pouted.
“No- that's not-!” Kalego grit his teeth, eyes darting between the gargoyle and the other three demons (?) before him. An irritated grumble left his lips as he rubbed his right pointer finger against his temple.
“Of course I do…” he sighed, his pale complexion tinged with the faintest pink at the confession.
“But still-! We don't need some ludicrous new word to define our relationship, and neither is our personal life any of these nitwits business to begin with!”
A deep scowl was flashed towards the three, Asmodeus and Valac meeting him with equally grumpy expressions, and Iruma looking as stupidly apologetic for his allies' actions as always.
Balam placed a hand on Kalego's shoulder, a subtle chuckle resonating from his chest.
“Of course.”
Although it couldn't be seen beneath the iron clad that hugged Balam's jaw, Kalego could tell by the gentle wrinkling of his eyes that Balam was smiling at him. A warm feeling rose into the otherwise gloom and doom filled teacher's heart, before being shoved back down as he turned away from his… soulmate.
“Alright- enough foolishness!” Kalego coughed, turning to his desk to sift through the papers brought to him. “if you'll excuse me, I should get started on these.”
“Ah yes, right! I should be going as well.” Balam gave another, final wave to the class, and made sure to double check his back for any stragglers, before making his exit.
“Oh wait!”
He stopped just at the door, turning around to, quite loudly and quite publicly, ask Kalego one last question.
“We're still on for tea this evening, right?”
Kalego pulled his face into a grimace, grumbling at how Shichiro plainly announced their personal plans to the entirety of his rather nosy class.
“Yes of course Shichiro, I'll see you then.”
Balam gave one last nod, before finally exiting.
Kalego sighed, turning down to continue his work. Although, now a sudden and prolonged uncharacteristic silence filled his class, causing him to lift his eyes back up from the sheets, only to be met with 13 sparkling expressions, whom by the look of it, have gravely misinterpreted the previous exchange.
“What the hell are you all looking at?” He shouted “If I recall correctly you all have an assignment due by the end of class?” Kalego turned his head towards the round wall clock, the hands ticking forward rhythmically.
“And it seems your time is almost up, I'd highly suggest you all finish, lest you all wish for a doubling of homework. For all of you.”
The flashes of panic as the members of the misfit class quickly turned back to scrabbling at their assignments caused the corners of Kalego's mouth to twitch into a, rather characteristic, sadistic smirk.
He chuckled to himself as he returned to busing himself with his own work, motivated by duty and the subtle anticipation of his earlier stated evening plans.
A smile crept to his face again, but this time, instead of a sadistic grin, it was one of glee.