The first weekend after the resuming of school had come quick with word of Riku's party spreading like wildfire across the school. The group of friends had decided to hold off on taking any requests during the first week so they could get back into rhythm of school, as well as be available for Riku's party. It was Friday night, the night before the party, where Shizuo, Keita, and Riku sat around Riku's room, passing the time together as they often did. Keita leaned over the kitchen counter as Riku and Shizuo lounged around the center of the room, where Riku sat playing a game while Shizuo watched.
"I couldn't help but notice the copious amounts of alcohol in your freezer, Riku." Keita rummaged through said freezer, a series of clinks indicating his search.
Riku, who was caught up in his online game, just shrugged off Keita's comment. Shizuo, who was more open to conversation, looked back to Keita and waved a hand.
"Don't worry about it, man. I'll do my best to make sure none of the underage students get their hands on it. Besides, we're technically legal now since the drinking age is only sixteen here," he added. Shizuo understood the dangers of alcohol and didn't plan on indulging it too much, but wasn't opposed to a few drinks to loosen up.
Keita took out a bottle of clear liquor, opened it, and was immediately able to smell it from a distance. His strong sense of smell was off-put by the sudden wave of its stinging scent. Unfamiliar with this particular brand of alcohol, he took a swig of it and downed it with no hesitation. The affects of alcohol were weakened to his demonic physiology, but enough of it would be able to cast an effect, if he so desired. The drink was not appealing to the demon as he promptly returned it to its place in the freezer. Shizuo, who had witnessed Keita's exploration, chuckled as he got up from his seat to join his friend in the kitchen.
"Oh man, you're doing it wrong Keita!" Shizuo exclaimed as he opened the fridge and freezer, to which Keita had stepped to the side. "You don't mind if I open up the Rosé, do you, Riku?"
"Huh? Yeah, it's good man."
"Sweet. Mind passing me a cup?" Shizuo asked Keita as he took out the drink from earlier and another bottle from the fridge, whose sleek, black case was decorated with a single pink rose on its front. "You're supposed to mix it with this. And while I don't often play bartender, this one's a good one..."
Shizuo poured a mixture of the two drinks into the cup Keita had retrieved for him and offered it up to him. The second drink Shizuo had pulled out had a much more appealing scent to it, reminiscent of a strawberry creme, the traces of the original being mixed in to a more tolerable level. With a careful sip of the new concoction, Keita hummed with approval, going in for a fuller gulp of it.
"Now this... I like," he mulled contently. After drinking to the halfway point, Keita extended the drink to Shizuo. "Since I've had my taste, would you like to finish it, Shizuo?"
Shizuo, who had since put away the bottles, waved dismissively to Keita. "I'll pass. 'Preciate the offer though. I'll save it for tomorrow if I decide to actually drink."
Keita gave his friend a short nod before downing the rest of his drink in a single go. After washing out his cup, he followed after Shizuo and into the rest of the room. In the time that had passed, Riku had finished up his match with a victory and had turned his attention to his friends, a wicked grin on his face.
"How was it, Keita? Shizuo showed me that one over summer," the redhead asked excitedly.
"Hold up, I only told you that because you were doing it wrong! It's not like I spent the break partying like you," Shizuo explained with a hearty laugh.
Keita, who floated behind his friends on the couch "cross-cross-apple-sauce," flashed a small smirk. "It was enjoyable. Maybe I will partake in its consumption tomorrow..."
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it! I know you like the fruity stuff," Riku teased, much to Keita's disapproval, but was quickly dismissed as usual.
Shizuo got up from his seat and checked his watch, which indicated that eleven o'clock was nearing. "I'm going to head out, guys. Faith wanted to do some last minute shopping before the party and insisted I treated her to it."
Riku rolled his eyes back and looked up at Keita, "Girlfriends, am I right?"
Keita returned Riku's glance, "I could care less for romance at the moment. I have larger priorities to attend to."
Riku shifted his body to face Keita and Shizuo better, "Oh yeah, about that. You going to finally let us in on it? You know we're here for you, man."
Shizuo, who had just slipped his shoes back on, stepped besides Keita and leaned against the couch, "What he said, Keita. Whatever you're going through isn't your fight alone."
Keita unfolded his legs from his mid-air seat and leaned back against the kitchen counter, taking a few steps away from the two. "But it is... I don't need your guys' help with this. I'm more than capable to accomplish my goal now, it's just the timing that's the matter."
"Sick, then let us tag along at least!" Riku added with a bright smile. Shizuo, who couldn't help but admire his friend's constant optimism, smiled along with him.
"I agree, we don't get to see your side of things all-too often. You've already met our parents and, I know it's a stretch, but I think it'd be cool to meet your mom one of these days."
Keita clenched his jaw and looked down to his side, "Maybe... Though we've progressed, Hell still isn't safest place for humans."
Shizuo couldn't help but chuckle, raising his arms out to his side, "You make it sound like we can't hold our own! How many times have I put you in your place now??"
Keita glared up at Shizuo with his piercing, electric blue eyes, a hint of hostility in them, "I refuse to unleash my True Demon State for you. I've warned you before that it might end poorly... for you, that is."
Shizuo laughed and mockingly whistled a light tune, "All I hear is excuses, but that's alright, I guess I can't handle a few monsters here and there in Hell then!"
Riku, who enjoyed the exchange between his friends, saw that there was slight tension rising. Keita always tended to bring these situations about with his approach, but he knew nothing serious ever came out of it.
"Alright Shizuo, I think it's time for you to head out. Seems like Faith's going to work you hard tomorrow and I want you alive for the party!" a laugh followed his interjection, after which he learned across his couch and shoved Shizuo towards the door. Shizuo joined his friend in his laugh and held his hand up in mock surrender.
"You got me there! I'll catch you guys tomorrow then!"
Shizuo pocketed his left hand and waved "bye" with his other, making his leave from Riku's dorm. As he strolled down the hall he passed by Keita's, which sat right besides Riku's. The two had dorms located in the "L" shape of the first floor of the boy's dorms. On the other side of Riku's room sat the laundry room, making it that his only neighbor was Keita. The selection of that specific room was strategic on Riku's end so that he could be as loud as he wanted with little disruption to his neighbors, as he knew Keita wouldn't care if he knew ahead of time.
And there it was, again... Shizuo thought to himself, referencing Keita's deflection of their help in whatever he was going through. While Keita was always short when it came to talking about the situation at his kingdom in Ventus, Shizuo was able to piece together over the years that he had plans to reclaim his throne. If what Keita said about timing was true, then Shizuo assumed what what he was to do next would be drastic and highly dangerous. While others would see extending a helping hand as a one time courtesy, Shizuo knew that he and Riku sincerely wanted to help with this, especially with all that was at stake.
Shizuo swung open the door to his room and exhaled slowly. Normally talks with Keita didn't weigh on him so heavily, but this last exchange hit differently. He didn't want to miss out on whatever Keita was planning, which was soon from what it sounded like. As he began to change out of his clothes, he spotted a recently missed call from Faith. Turning the lights off, he hopped into bed and returned her call.
"Hey babe..."
____________________
Shizuo had left the party for a brief moment to retrieve the pizzas he ordered with Keita at his side to help. With Keita's ability to Fold, meeting the delivery man was easy, however, coming back was done by foot, as there was no way for Keita to Fold the two of them back without having to make an awkward amount of contact for it to work.
The brisk air of the evening made the short walk back into the school passed well between the friends as they engaged in small talk.
"Enjoying the party so far?" Shizuo asked the silver-haired demon as they both carried large stacks of pizza.
Keita gave a nod, "I am. The scents of alcohol and smoke outweigh those of the people, so I am less bothered."
Shizuo let out a chuckle as they came to to the entrance of the school, which Keita had opened by manipulating the wind to pull it ajar and subsequently open it fully.
"That's good to hear. Thanks for letting us use your room again, the extra space was definitely needed."
"I don't mind, it's not like I need the sleep," Keita had thrown in a hint of sarcasm, which was rare of him. The tone caused a small smirk to play across Shizuo's face as they entered the building.
"Ooook. If you say so haha!"
The walk back to Keita's room was silent, but not awkwardly so. With a knock on the door with his foot, Shizuo made way as the door was opened shortly after by a dark red haired, Mexican girl.
"Reina!" Shizuo exclaimed as he pushed past her into the crowded room.
Reina Lucero was one of the Shizuo's mentees that he had picked up and had invited to the party. She was a freshman, but already standing out as a "popular" girl. With the ability to control fire as well, she fit naturally under Shizuo's metaphorical wing, though she could easily fit under his literal ones as well.
"Shizuo!!" Reina turned to the counter where some of her freshmen friends sat and shooed them to make way for the pizza, which Shizuo and Keita began to lay out with her assistance.
"Wowww, you guys got so much!" she shouted over the loud music that was playing and conversation filling the room. With the pizza set down, she pulled Shizuo into a hug, even though they had already met earlier at the party, and turned to her friends.
"Let me introduce you to my friends! This is..." as Reina went on, Shizuo did his best to give his attention to her, but with all commotion going on, he knew he would be unable to commit to memory any of their names. Instead of focusing on her friends, Shizuo was more glad to see that Reina was having a good time and appreciated the sentiment of wanting to introduce him. He generically greeted her friends with a genuine smile and engaged in some small talk before making his way back into Riku's room, where the majority of his friends were. Though unintentional, the party had more or less been split into two separate ones, with the underclassmen hanging out in Keita's room and the upperclassmen, Riku's. Riku's dorm having the alcohol may have played a factor in it, but that didn't stop some underclassmen from bringing their share of it into the other room. Shizuo initially warned the firsts that tried to, but quickly stopped himself after deciding to not be a buzzkill. There would still be a day to recover if they ended up getting carried away.
Shizuo was greeted by friends and acquaintances as he made his way to the back of the room, where the rest of his close friends were. Riku and Keita had moved their beds, drawers, and the such out of the room and into Shizuo's, with the help of Keita's Folding, and had been replaced with more couches and chairs. At the back of the room were two couches facing each other with chairs on either side. Shizuo found Faith where she was last and jumped into her lap with a playful laugh. Faith pretended to struggle at first, but quickly turned it into a tickle war against her boyfriend's sides, which was lethally effective. Shizuo was quick to his feet and turned around, grabbing her hands aggressively and mock staring her down, getting into her face.
"You stop that now OR ELSE!" he snapped. Faith pouted playfully and cocked her head to the side.
"Or else what?" she winked. Shizuo smirked maliciously as he pressed down into her and landed in a kiss. He let go of Faith's hands, to which she used to wrap around Shizuo's head and pull him down further into her.
"Oh c'mon you two, not right next to me!!!" Iris shouted through a laugh shared by the group, leaning away from them and against Kane's strong torso. Kane placed a palm on Iris' head and lightly pushed her away.
"I have a girlfriend." he said shortly.
"Oh shush, you! I know that dumbass, she's my sister!" Iris punched Kane's stomach playfully and looked up across to the the other couch where Falen sat between Opal and Keita. Falen was mid-conversation with Opal while Keita had occupied himself with a non-alcoholic drink he had brought to party himself, a special smoothie made with bananas imported from Hell that he only made for special occasions.
"Speaking of which," Iris continued, "Where's your boyfriend, Falen?"
Falen, who had heard Iris' question, wrapped up the conversation quickly with Opal before answering her, "He said he'd come, but it's already been two hours and at this point, I honestly don't care if he does. What I want is seeming to become less and less of a priority, but that's nothing new for me."
Opal, who was a little more than tipsy with the amount of alcohol she had consumed, shook Falen, "What did I tell you girl?? He's sooo weird and I don't get how you two are together! You're like a coool cat and he's like... like..."
While Opal got lost in finding a description for Mizu, Iris had replied to Falen, "Awh, girly... I'm sorry to hear, but Opal's kinda right. Even though she is a bit... weird herself right now!"
"Weird!" Opal exclaimed, "He's weird! Wait, I said that already didn't I?..."
Falen scrunched her nose and looked to the side, in Keita's direction, "Like I said, it's whatever now. Besides, I'm having fun here with you all. Hey Keita, can I have some more of that smoothie? I miss the Hell bananas and I'm getting kinda thirsty."
Keita, who had silently been observing the group, nodded his head, "Have at it, Falen. Sounds like you could use it. Would you like me to get you a drink if you're thirsty?"
Falen took the smoothie and downed a few gulps of it before handing it back to the fellow demon, "I'll be fine. Thank you though. I'll get something later."
By then, Shizuo and Faith had finished their smooching session and returned to the group, repositioning themselves so that Faith sat in Shizuo's lap. Riku was away from the group, having been working the rooms, and stumbled in with a drink and his Juul in hand. Clearly intoxicated, his spirits were as high as ever and brought back to the group a sense of lightheartedness.
"Why are you guys still sitting around?? Grab a drink and loosen up yooo!" he howled, turning back around to hopefully lead some of his friends further into the room. Opal and Iris shot up to join Riku with Kane slow to follow. The girls would go on to take shots together before dancing in the main room while Kane joined his girlfriend, Cry, at the counter, enjoying some shots and drinks of his own at her insistence.
Shizuo and Faith rose as well shortly after their friends left, but they left to their other room to get some food and non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy together. Faith had her share in drinks already, but wasn't too far gone yet. With just Falen and Keita left at the couches, things were a bit quieter on that end of the room. Some male seniors had decided to take the place of their departed friends on the couch across from them, initially friendly and open to conversation, but the nature of the two demons made it clear they weren't as interested. Not necessarily out hostility, but rather, simple unfamiliarity. With a few moments passing silently between them, Falen spoke up, pointing to the bar.
"I think I'm going to get that drink now. I'll be right back..." she said, taking her small black bag along with her. Keita gave a simple acknowledging nod and watched her walk off.
A fourth friend of the seniors that had replaced his friends sat on the opposite end of the three-person couch that he sat on as well, but he continued to stick to himself. The scent of alcohol strengthened as the new group had found their way to his corner of the room. He was disinterested in the conversation they were having about the girls in the school, but when he heard his name mentioned, he had no choice but to respond.
"Hey, Keita, right?" an orange hair male had reached out to him. Given his seat between two of his friends and him being the biggest driver of the conversation, Keita could only assume he was the "leader" of their group.
"Yes," Keita mused lowly.
"What do you think, man? Who do you think the hottest girl in the school is??" the senior pressed. Keita clenched his jaws, fighting the instinct to just walk off on his own right then and there.
"I don't bother myself with such perverse thoughts," he spat back. While he wasn't actually irritated, this sort of mindless conversation was something he didn't care for.
"BRO! You GOTTA think some of these girls are hot. Shit man, what about that cat chick that was just here? She's pretty fucking fine. I know there's something there bro!" the senior insisted harder.
At this point, Keita felt insulted. Though not for himself, rather that this delinquent would talk about Falen, one of the few people that could understand his trials as a fellow demon, in such a way. He thought of the many ways he could answer to this moronic student, but instead, he went with his first instinct to simply leave the area. Without anywhere to go in particular, not wanting to bother his friends, he went straight into the unoccupied bathroom. The music was lessened in the secure room and the scents less whelming. Setting his hands down on either side of the sink, his breathing was eased as he had experienced a moment of peace away from the commotion. He stared into the electric blue eyes that glared back at him in the mirror.
"And here I was trying to have a good time..." he muttered to himself.
Though the scent of alcohol was profuse, a new aroma rose that caught the demon's attention. One of... catnip? Thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for its sudden appearance, but few of which he could conclude were tame. Keita felt a call to action and exited his retreat to witness exactly what he had suspected.
Falen was playing with the tie of a male whose scent was vaguely familiar to him, but unrecognizable as an individual. On the counter besides the two was an open bottle of finished wine, from which he could identify as the source of catnip. Seeing no catnip present, he was right to assume that the wine had been somehow infused with it. The male whose tie Falen was playing with was faced away from him, but given his scent, he did not know exactly who it was. The male student grabbed Falen's hands with his own and rubbed them sensually. It was apparent to Keita that Falen had been the consumer of the catnip infused wine and was quick to feel its effects, and to such a length as well. The behavior displayed by her was uncharacteristic in every way.
Falen pulled away sluggishly from the male and waved to Keita cheerily, "Hey Keita! I'm having soo much fun!!"
She turned to the rest of the room and stumbled into Opal and Iris, uttering some jumbled words to them. As the male turned to follow the cat demon, a malicious smirk was caught by Keita and he immediately knew his intentions were lustful. Looking back to Falen, Opal and Iris seemed to express some concern, but Falen's jubilant air dismissed them as she spun away from them and back to the devious male.
The student took Falen by the hand and led them towards the exit of the dorm, pausing briefly as Shizuo and Faith stopped Falen, her hand falling from the male's. It was clear that he too expressed concern for Falen's wellbeing, but once again, she deflected it and carried on with the stranger. Stranger to Keita, at least. As the cat demon and student left the room, Keita followed behind, stopping at Shizuo and Faith.
"I can't believe..." Shizuo had finished saying to his girlfriend before Keita approached them.
"I'm going to make sure she is fine. Something isn't right," he cautioned.
Shizuo, relieved to hear Keita's words, squeezed Faith's hand that he held, "Thank you, Keita. Be safe."
Keita clenched his jaws and fixated his eyes on the door, "It's not me you should be worried about."
With that, Keita stormed out of the room and picked up the faint trail of scents from Falen and the mysterious student, which had made its way to the stairwell across the hall. Entering it, it was apparent that the two had exited on the third floor. As he stepped out onto the third floor, he caught a glimpse of a door closing a few rooms down and the sound of an electronic click, which signaled the door's locking. Sure that that was the room Falen was taken to, he swiftly approached it and tried opening the door, to which it did not give. Luckily for Falen, he knew of other ways around locked doors.
Folding past the door and into the room, Keita walked into a scene he wish could have otherwise avoided.
Falen was bent over a bed, reaching out to and playing with a ball of yarn. The yarn seemed to have been drenched in the wine, as a similar scent was given off from it. The male student, who was unaware of Keita's arrival, grabbed onto Falen's tail.
"Falen."
Falen's ears perked up, recognizing Keita's voice, as she playfully rolled over and held up the ball of yarn in his direction.
"Keita! I got yarn!!"
The student looked back at Keita and was met with cold, electric blue eyes staring right at him. Seeing as he was found, he stepped off to the side and averted his gaze from the noble demon.
"Falen, please come with me," Keita insisted, stepping up and grabbing one of Falen's wrists.
Falen gasped, "Where are we going, Keita? Is it fun??"
Keita wordless brought Falen to her feet and opened the door, glaring back at the lone student in the room.
"Consider this a warning. Next time... no, there will be no next time."
The male student clenched his jaws and hung his head, his eyes a mixture of hate and dismay that he was found.
Keita brought Falen out of the dorm and into the empty hallway. His immediate instinct was to Fold them to Falen's dorm, but to any other than himself, there is usually a side affect of slight dizziness. Given Falen's current state, he didn't want to do anything to discomfort her, so he decided to walk her back to her room. As he began to lead her back to the stairs, Falen continued to play with the ball of yarn with her free hand. Keita wrenched the ball away from Falen and tossed it to the side, to which Falen made a move for, but was halted by a strong hand on her shoulder by Keita.
"My yaaarn!!" she fake pouted.
"I think you need to go to your dorm and rest," Keita said firmly, yet kindly.
"Why Keita? This is much better..." the cat demon trailed.
Keita closed his eyes and sighed, refraining from explaining the situation she had found herself in, as the less words exchanged here, the better.
"It is in your best interest."
Falen attempted to argue with Keita, but he picked her up around her midsection and carried her like a limp sack at his side, paying no attention to her complaints. The walk back to her dorm wasn't long, but dragged on as the occasional whine from Falen wearied Keita. As Keita approached Falen's room, he set her back on her feet and extended a hand.
"Your key?" Keita stared into Falen's crimson eyes, which had glazed over in her intoxicated state.
Falen giggled a bit and hiccuped, opening her purse and fumbling her hand around inside of it. At some point, she had stopping looking inside and instead, looked up at Keita and aimlessly wiggled her hand inside her bag.
"Yeah, I have them. But where did they gooo?" she said, slurring her words a bit.
Keita's unamused expression was enough for Falen to take her search a bit more seriously as she found and took out said key card, holding it up to Keita proudly.
"Here they are! Those silly keys are sneaky!" she babbled.
Keita reached out to grab the card from Falen, but she pulled it back quickly with another giggle, "You'll have to be quicker than that!"
Keita closed his eyes again as Falen put the key card in between her teeth and stuck it out to him. Through stifled words she spoke intoxicatingly.
"Come and geeet it!"
Without hesitation, Keita plucked the card from between her teeth and swiped it against the reader of her dorm, opening it and gesturing her inside, to which she luckily complied. He set her key on the counter and herded her towards her bed.
"I'm leaving this here. Get some rest now," he insisted once more. Falen made her way halfway into the room before twirling around.
"What about my pjs?!"
"I... you can take care of that yourself," he stated, ushering forward again towards her bed.
"Fiiine..." she pouted one last time before climbing into bed.
"Good night, Keita!"
Keita wordless turned face and approached her door, pausing as he gripped its handle. Without another word, he exited the room and slowly closed the door behind him, though he continued to grasp the handle. Slowly, he let go, leaned against the door, and slid down until he sat against it. He knew it would be unlikely that the unknown student would return to Falen's dorm, but a part of him felt it right to stand watch just in case. The noble demon closed his eyes and waited patiently. After a few hours, he could sense bodies of female students passing by and whisper in hushed tones, no doubt about his presence there, but he disregarded them. Words he could handle, but there were actions he could not forgive.