Chapter Text
She hadn’t planned on starting school again once she finished her degree. Though, she doubts she’d be able to stop this whole situation from happening, considering that this was a matter beyond both Earth and regular people with regular lifespans.
She was brought to the Devildom as part of this haphazard student exchange program that she knows she wasn’t notified of (she knows she has a hard time remembering things when she drinks, but she would definitely remember being sent a form from another dimension) and will be living, studying and trying to keep her head intact for one whole year in the realm of demons.
To top it all off, due to her mortality she’s stuck living with seven brothers that run the student council and happen to be the most powerful demons aside from the future ruler of Devildom, Lord Diavolo.
It’s something out of a B-list manga, but it’s her reality.
Still, she’s come to terms with her current predicament quite smoothly for the dangers that come with it. While she may have too much anxiety for Lucifer’s anger, she’ll at least do her best to keep her head above the metaphorical waters of having her life constantly threatened and the onslaught of new subjects to learn. She can manage that on top of being happy easily.
“Can’t believe I’m stuck babysitting the fuckin’ exchange student,” Mammon grumbles as he kicks at a stray rock angrily. “Who the fuck do they think they are, huh? This is insulting, is what this is!”
She sighs as she tries to ignore the blatant shit-talking going on next to her as the both of them make their way to R.A.D. She doesn’t know who she’s fooling; she couldn’t manage to stay happy in the human world three out of the twelve months of the year, so why was she expecting anything remotely positive when she’s in Hell. She loves lying to herself.
“I’m The Great Mammon, ya hear? I don’t have time to look after some weak human,” He sneers, causing her to flinch and take a cautionary step away from him. It’s been like this for the past two days ever since Lucifer appointed Mammon to take care of her to make sure that she isn’t eaten by any demons (if their little brother doesn’t get to her first) and stays in one piece.
She really didn’t ask to be weak, or to be human in fact. She’s spent more time fantasizing about being reborn as a fucking owl than being thankful that she’s human, so she knows that the species she was born into isn’t her favorite.
“You don’t have to look after me,” She tries again, offering him freedom of responsibilities, “I can manage by myself.” The first time she offered he left her alone for the entire day, happy to not have to watch over her anymore.
She was shoved and talked down to the whole time by other demons, but she never told any of the brothers since it was none of their business. Luckily it never went farther than that because one of the professors managed to see her being harassed and threatened the other demons to leave her alone. Still, judging by the way he looked at her, she knows he probably wanted to join in but had to follow protocol. The only reason Mammon was caught was because Lucifer found him walking home without her.
“I wasn’t talking to ya, dipshit,” He spits before shoving his hands into the pockets of his uniform. She frowns and just knows that tonight will be spent studying intently to distract herself from their words. She was as human as it could get, but she still had functioning ears. But in fear of what he may do to her, she keeps quiet and bites the inside of her cheek.
At least in the comfort of her classes she can put her focus into something that won’t get her in trouble and prove her life valuable to the student council. College was a bitch and a half to go through, but it’s nothing she can’t do twice.
She figures that as long as her grades meet Lucifer’s satisfaction, then she’ll at least be cleared of one demon’s scrutiny, and really that’s her main goal— to stay out of their way. Their youngest brother, Beelzebub, has insatiable hunger but as long as there’s an alternative meal then she should be fine. Satan doesn’t seem like someone who would willingly talk to her in the first place, and Asmodeus has better fish to catch.
She vaguely remembers another brother that’s younger than Mammon, but she has yet to run into him, which is probably for the best.
She sighs quietly to herself as she continues to take notes while Mammon naps on the desk next to her. Forget keeping her head afloat, she’s two days in and already sinking to the very bottom.
The Devildom has a surprisingly large amount of demons who don’t desire to consume the other human exchange student as well as each other (she could only squeak when Lucifer explained that cannibalism in the Devildom was more common than she thought). As she’s recently learned, the higher up on the power hierarchy amongst demons, the more control they have over their desires and appetite for human flesh. She supposes it makes sense, but finds it rather unfortunate for her that Beelzebub fails to follow the trend. Despite knowing this new skill that demons develop as they become more powerful, it doesn’t explain how that applies to everything but her.
Mammon was one of the first to point it out, since he spends the most time with her. When a succubus had accidentally revealed that she wanted to devour her not only sexually but also literally, Mammon had to begrudgingly grab her by the collar of her uniform and toss her out the cafeteria.
“You’re so annoying,” The demon grumbled when he got back from threatening the succubus outside. “Even higher level demons wanna take a bite outta you, and they’re s’pposed to have better control over themselves. I oughtta auction you off or somethin’; you’re pretty and smell nice enough to make me some good money.”
Realistically, she should’ve expected human trafficking to be something to look out for, but as much as she wants to believe she’s adjusting well, her mind is too far behind on trying to normalizing her new home that a few dangers might have slipped her mind. Perhaps all those bad habits she’s been so closely acquainted with while she was in the human world has truly rotted her brain more than she thought, because despite her brain panicking at the idea of Mammon selling her off to some random demon, it quickly decides that the best course of action is to shut off and spew the first words that come to mind—
“You think I’m pretty?”
—Which happens to be the one thing she’d rather not focus on.
Mammon pauses in the middle of rubbing his eye tiredly to peek one eye out at her. “What the fuck?” There’s a disgusted and annoyed furrow in his brow, but his ears burn red against his tanned skin. She doesn’t know what to think. Instead she just murmurs a gentle apology and flinches when he gets more irritated, promptly threatening her into speaking up.
The walk back to the House of Lamentation is never easy, even when exiting R.A.D. there are still unwavering taunts of demons who attempt to garner her attention and time so that they can nab a piece of her skin or hair. They must know that Mammon is only looking out for her because he doesn’t want to get in trouble with Lucifer and Lord Diavolo, because when they hear him chuckle under his breath at some of their provocations, they inch closer and whisper more vile things in her ear. Things about her scent, her unmarked skin, the fear in her eyes.
Surely she could’ve just stayed at Purgatory Hall, where there is another one of her kind and angels that would treat her better than this.
She locks herself in her room and scratches at her skin, where their eyes lingered longer than necessary. Homework. She has so much homework to do.
She opens all of her notebooks for each class she took notes on and the corresponding papers that she needs to complete before tomorrow. There will be a potions quiz for her third class and anatomy for different Devildom creatures that she must memorize. There is going to be a practical lesson that uses so much of the material from today’s lecture, so she will need to review and expand on her notes if possible. Flashcards to create, curses to recite, runes to re-write until they’re of second nature, Devildom history that must not be forgotten. Yes, there is much to get done. Much to prove.
The workload has done its job well to keep her from thinking too much about the demons, for she jumps when there is a fast and harsh knock at her door. “Get out; we’re having dinner.”
Her hand tightens around her pen. It’s Mammon’s voice.
She quickly opens the door in fear of keeping him from waiting too long, and holds her breath when she sees him leaning just outside her door that she quietly shuts behind her. He doesn’t bother to see if she catches up with him and starts walking to the dining room. Softly, she trails behind him.
“What’re you even doing in there?” He twists his head to make eye contact with her briefly before he faces straight again. “I don’t hear shit coming from your room.”
“Doing homework.” She weakly replies. He scoffs and mutters an insult that she can’t hear. It seems that no matter what she does, he’ll still find something to be annoyed by. Her stomach twists at the thought.
The aroma as they pass by the kitchen is unfamiliar, but not necessarily bad. It smells intense and tickles her nose the deeper she inhales as it tries to adjust to Devildom cuisine. It’s been a couple of days so it’s no longer as foreign, but it still rings as odd.
The rest of the brothers are all seated, but haven’t started eating yet, save for Beelzebub, who looks like he’s on his third serving. There are two seats left empty that have been empty for every meal she’s had, but she’s not particularly interested in asking. There are two other brothers she hasn’t met yet, so they must be for them.
“Working hard, I presume?” Lucifer asks curtly as she takes her seat.
Her fingers twitch. “Yes. The workload keeps me busy.”
He hums as he reaches for his fork. “Lord Diavolo will be pleased.”
The rest of the brothers reach for their utensils as soon as Lucifer does, a form of table etiquette she noticed the first night she spent and has been following ever since. Her food looks inedible at best with a sauce that’s suspiciously fluorescent and meat of a purple hue that rings all sorts of alarms in her brain, but she still attempts to nibble at her meal until she makes an acceptable dent. It doesn’t taste bad, but her body is still attempting to reject it, and she’s not keen on pushing its boundaries.
“Have you tried to bring Levi out of his room?” Lucifer looks tired, as if he’s asked this question too many times. Must be one of the other brothers she hasn’t seen.
“He’s binging again, so he won’t show up tonight. He should come by tomorrow though,” Satan replies as he flicks off a piece of food that landed on him from Beelzebub’s enthusiastic munching. Asmodeus whines about his brother’s skin turning rough from the lack of sleep he must be missing out on, before promptly turning to her and looking for her agreement. Her voice crinkles a little at how closely she’s being inspected, but it’s the answer the Avatar of Lust is looking for, so he must not mind.
Her plate ends up being cleared by the gluttonous brother, who asks if she’ll finish her food. She blinks down at the half eaten meal and pushes it towards him silently in confirmation. His eyes light up, which warms her fingertips at his boyish grin, but his sharp teeth that break the bone in the meat frighten her back to reason. Satan glances as her plate is currently being consumed by his brother, before those eyes flicker back to her, and—oddly enough— down to her body. The gaze feels judgemental and has her curling inwards unintentionally. It burns, wherever his eyes go. Her stomach clenches in discomfort, but she manages to finish her drink before the queasiness keeps her from swallowing anything else.
“Thank you for the meal,” She attempts to smile as she begins to get up from her seat.
“Where ya going?” Mammon cuts in brashly. His voice kicks at her as she flinches. There’s always fear when hearing them talk. Her knee knocks against the chair and creates a grating noise against the floor. The ugly sound has them all looking at her, and she doesn’t like it. It’s awful, it scares her and she can’t stop being afraid even in this safety. It’s not real. Her safety doesn’t exist—
“Are you alright?” Asmodeus asks as he leans his chin on his palm. His voice is less harsh, but it still creates the cold tremble of fear in her hands. Their voices will always instill fear. They can all kill her so easily, probably by accident even.
“My apologies, I got a muscle cramp,” She lies as she scoots in the chair correctly. “I was just going back to my room to finish up my work. There is still much to do.” Her back is sweating as her chest is tight the longer they look at her. It eases up when Beelzebub looks away to lick his plate clean, but not by much.
“You are free to go. Mammon could learn a thing or two from you; that scumbag never does his work.” Lucifer sighs. His brother shouts in protest as the others gang up on him, laughing at his expense or poking fun at how stupid he is. She leaves in the midst of their bullying and briefly admires their relationship. Well, perhaps admire isn’t the word to use. She’s just surprised that he’s comfortable being told those things, because she thinks she would have a very strained relationship with her siblings if they spoke to her like that.
The nights in the Devildom are unsettling. She works late into it to help her heart calm down from the scene in the dining room. Realistically, it’s not much to worry about, but even with this knowledge she fails to relax until her eyes are too heavy to continue working. The shower is a little too hot and has her shying away from the water, slowly moving her way in and hissing when her spine arches away from the heat. Her bed is soft at least. Way more plush than her bed back home, but even if it may be better, it’s still not something she can comfortably call “home.” Granted, her home is full of dirty clothes, smeared mirrors and scattered furniture, but it’s the familiar. Her eyes well up hotly if she thinks about it too much.
Her dreams frighten her.