It had been an unusually calm day in Hell, which should have been a red flag in itself. Kikidori lounged in his usual spot on the infernal couch, flipping through some random scrolls Ere'ana had been nagging him to look at. Ere'ana, on the other hand, was busy tending to Kael, who was currently attempting to color a picture with molten crayon sticks.
Yumi, however, had been suspiciously quiet all day, which was even more concerning than Hell being calm. Usually, she was either blasting music from her room, yelling on a phone call, or making some kind of mischief. But today, there was nothing.
When Yumi finally entered the room, Kikidori barely looked up. "You didn't cause a catastrophe today? Impressive. We should mark this on the calendar."
Yumi rolled her eyes but said nothing. Ere'ana, sensing something off, raised an eyebrow. "Yumi? Is everything alright?"
Yumi shifted on her feet, looking unusually nervous. She bit her lip, and for a moment, Kikidori and Ere'ana exchanged a glance. That look only came out when Yumi had something *big* to say.
"Okay, so," Yumi started, her voice unusually soft, "I have something to tell you guys."
Kikidori leaned back in his chair, already bracing himself. "This should be good. Let me guess, you're starting your own chaos faction, or you're moving to Earth to run a nightclub?"
Yumi shot him a glare. "No, Dad. It's nothing like that."
"Then spit it out," Kikidori said, waving his hand lazily.
Ere'ana placed a hand on Kikidori's shoulder, silencing him. "Go on, Yumi. We're listening."
Taking a deep breath, Yumi held up her left hand. On her ring finger was a small but undeniably stunning black diamond ring, shimmering like a void in the light of the infernal flames.
"I'm engaged," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.
The room fell silent. The only sound was the faint crackling of Hellfire in the distance and Kael babbling something unintelligible from the floor.
Kikidori blinked. Then he blinked again. "Wait… what?"
Ere'ana's eyes widened, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. "Yumi! Engaged? To Akuma?!"
Yumi nodded, her face breaking into a small, nervous smile. "Yeah… he proposed last night, and I said yes."
Kikidori's jaw dropped. For once, the usually unflappable demon was genuinely speechless. He stared at Yumi, then at the ring, then back at Yumi.
Ere'ana, however, quickly broke out of her shock and rushed over to her daughter, pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh, Yumi! That's… that's wonderful news!"
Kikidori finally found his voice. "Wait a damn minute. *Engaged?!* You've been dating for, what, five minutes?!"
"Dad, it's been over a year," Yumi said, rolling her eyes.
"And you're barely twenty! What the fuck are you thinking?!" Kikidori snapped, standing up now and pacing the room.
"Dad, chill," Yumi said, crossing her arms. "It's not like I'm getting married tomorrow."
"That's not the point!" Kikidori threw his hands in the air. "You're too young for this shit!"
Ere'ana placed a hand on Kikidori's chest, pushing him back down into his chair. "Kikidori, stop. This is her choice, and if she's happy, we should support her."
Kikidori huffed, slumping back in his seat. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when this blows up in your face."
Yumi rolled her eyes again but didn't say anything.
Kael, meanwhile, had crawled over to Yumi and was tugging on her pants. "What's 'gaged' mean?" he asked, looking up at her with wide, curious eyes.
Yumi knelt down and smiled at her little brother. "It means I'm going to get married, Kael."
Kael frowned, clearly not understanding the concept. "What's 'married' mean?"
Kikidori snorted. "It means she's making a huge mistake, kid."
Ere'ana shot Kikidori another glare. "Ignore your father, Kael. It means Yumi is going to have a special person to share her life with."
Kael tilted his head. "Oh. Okay." Then he went back to his crayons, seemingly satisfied with that answer.
Yumi sighed, sitting down on the couch across from her parents. "Look, I know this is sudden, but Akuma makes me happy. He's… different. And I love him."
Kikidori groaned, rubbing his temples. "Alright, fine. But if he fucks this up, I'm dragging his ass to the deepest pit of Hell, got it?"
Yumi smirked. "Got it, Dad."
Ere'ana smiled softly, placing a hand on Yumi's. "I'm happy for you, Yumi. Truly."
For the rest of the evening, the family tried to digest the news. Kikidori grumbled under his breath every now and then, but Ere'ana made it clear that he wasn't to ruin Yumi's happiness. Kael, oblivious to the weight of the announcement, continued coloring, occasionally babbling random words.
As Yumi went back to her room that night, she couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. She loved Akuma, but she knew this was just the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life—one that would come with its own challenges, especially with a father like Kikidori.
The End of Chapter 28