章 6: Sobu High and Service Club
After his little incident last night, Desmon took Shizuka's sofa as his temporary bed until he faces the demons that threaten the school.
If they were to ask him which couch is more comfortable, the current one or the old, beaten-up one at Dante's place, the answer is obvious.
That's why Desmon is sleeping soundly, forgetting the massive debt in his name; or rather, that was put in his name.
"Desmon."
A few hours past sunrise, Shizuka took the trouble of preparing breakfast, but her new roommate didn't seem to be getting up, so she began calling him.
"Desmon!"
"Just 5 more minutes." He said before going back to sleep.
"Get up already, or you'll miss breakfast!"
Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster for Shizuka; meeting the demon hunter she hired only to find out nothing was happening at her school was a relief. But a few minutes after leaving, she was the target of a demon's assassination attempt in the form of a dog-like creature. She saw the boy she met getting impaled, a certain death, yet he got up as if nothing happened. They were part of a chase scene that could only be from an action movie. And in the end, Desmon decided to be swallowed by the demon, only to destroy it from the inside; an audacious decision with high chances of going wrong, but he exceeded all expectations.
For all of this, Shizuka should feel a lot of respect and gratitude toward the young man who saved her, but his snobbish, arrogant, and mocking attitude tells her he doesn't deserve it.
"You shouldn't get angry; it'll only give you wrinkles."
Desmon got up, did some stretches, then headed to the dining area.
"And whose fault is that?" She complained as she returned to her seat.
On the table, there are 2 bowls of ramen. Since it's Sunday, Shizuka went the extra mile to transfer the ramen from its packaging to bowls, as the usual practice is to prepare and eat it immediately.
Desmon sat down at the table and started eating without objection; free food is free food.
"By the way, have you thought about how you'll do the surveillance at the school?"
Yesterday, Desmon mentioned he'd take care of monitoring and protecting the place, but he didn't mention the method he'd use.
"Staying close and observing, hiding on the rooftop or in empty classrooms."
"That's what a stalker does." Shizuka facepalmed in stress.
"Maybe pretend to be a new teacher?"
"Are you good at any subject?"
"Demon Hunting Class." Desmon said proudly.
"I shouldn't have relied on you for these matters." Shizuka gave up. But luckily, she thought of something overnight. "I have an idea."
"I'm listening." Desmon continued eating.
"How about enrolling as a transfer student? That way, you can be inside the school without drawing attention and monitor the whole place."
"Going back to school, huh. I'm not really interested, but if that's the only way, I guess it's our only option."
Shizuka felt somewhat sad knowing Desmon left school out of necessity; someone who couldn't enjoy their student days, though he probably couldn't care less.
-School is fun, isn't it, Desmon?
A brief memory crossed his mind, but quickly vanished.
"So it's settled, and I have the form to complete your transfer." Shizuka said.
"This was decided from the beginning, right?"
"Not at all." She replied with a smile.
For her, young people should enjoy their student life, develop relationships, and interact with peers their age.
Shizuka stood up to fetch a sheet of paper and a pen. She filled in most of the blanks, leaving a few.
"By the way, what's your last name?"
"I don't have one." He said as he finished eating. Shizuka had finished a few minutes ago.
"What do you mean you don't have one?"
-It's impossible for someone not to have a last name.
"I stopped using my mother's a long time ago, and I won't use my father's, so during this time, I've just used my name for everything."
"I don't have the right to ask you why since it's a personal matter, but not having a last name is a problem; it's too suspicious."
"If it was your idea, don't you think you should come up with something, Shizuka?"
"You're really a... Wait, I thought of something."
An idea illuminated her mind.
"What if you use my last name?"
"I'm too young to get married, so find someone else. Though I think that's impossible."
Desmon shook his hands in a gesture of refusal.
Some veins of anger appeared on Shizuka's forehead. She didn't say it with that intention, but being rejected for no reason annoyed her. It reminded her of her multiple failures in dating.
Desmon moved his hand, catching the pen that had been thrown with enough force to hurt someone.
"It's that attitude that's keeping you from having a partner.'' He said mockingly as he returned the pen to its original place.
Shizuka wanted to hit this guy, but she felt like her hand would suffer more than his face.
"I wasn't referring to that. I wouldn't be interested in you in my dreams." She coughed to calm herself after saying this. "What I meant is for you to take my last name and pretend to be a relative of mine."
"I see, a grandson."
He moved his fingers to catch the pen again but this time stopped inches from his face.
"I'm not even close to 30, so having grandchildren is impossible for me!"
Shizuka exploded. She could endure jokes about not getting a partner and nearing 30, but being called a grandmother was too much.
"What a temper! So, a nephew or cousin?"
Desmon decided not to tease her about being a grandmother.
"In this case, it's most convenient to say you're the son of a distant cousin who went abroad. What do you think?" She took a deep breath to regain her calm.
-He really knows how to get on my nerves.
"That sounds fine, as long as it makes things easy, I have no problem."
With his affirmative answer, Shizuka started filling in the remaining personal spaces, making up the rest.
"Alright, this should be enough. Tomorrow, you'll introduce yourself as a new student, but first, you'll accompany me to the teachers' room to finish the procedure."
With one thing down, Shizuka could feel relieved.
"If that's all, I'll go back to the couch."
Desmon stood up and headed back to the couch.
"I forgot to mention, you'll need a uniform." Shizuka halted him with her words.
"Isn't how I'm dressed enough?"
Desmon turned around. He wore a black leather coat, a white polo shirt that Shizuka lent him because his had a hole in the chest, and blue jeans.
"I want you to blend in, not stand out."
"Can I at least keep the coat? For some strange reason, I feel comfortable wearing it."
With no way to object, Desmon surrendered, more because Shizuka was right.
"There's another guy who wears one, so I don't see why not." She recalled a certain strange second-year student; even in summer, he always wears a coat.
"I'm fine with that."
Without further ado, Desmon returned to the couch.
"Where do you think you're going? We have to go to the mall to buy your uniform."
"How are we getting there, in your car?"
Desmon went back to sleep after saying this.
On her part, Shizuka moved behind the couch and without hesitation, gave it a strong kick, causing Desmon to fall off the couch.
"I get it, no joking about your car and that you're a grandma, duly noted."
Desmon got up.
"Let's go already, so we don't have to wait in long lines at the mall."
"You're the boss."
With this decided, both of them left the apartment. Desmon left Alastor on the couch since it would be a short trip, and he managed for many years with just his body; it wasn't a vital necessity. Although battles were easier since he rented Alastor.
Once outside the building, Desmon called Kurox, ready to head to the mall.
"Let me ask you this, since I didn't get a chance yesterday: Do you have a driver's license?"
"You don't need one to drive a devil arm." He said nonchalantly.
"Explain that to the police; we'll take the train."
"In that case, you just need to lose their trail, besides, I escaped three chases yesterday, so I'm used to it."
"I feel like if I ask more about that, I'll get a huge headache, so I'll skip the fact that you're a wanted criminal."
"The police are fast, but Kurox is faster!"
"Don't say that proudly! We're taking the train, no complaints!"
Shizuka started pushing him from behind, to which Desmon relented and made Kurox disappear.
...
Monday, 7 am.
The moment when most of Japan's working population commutes, whether by driving their own vehicles or taking the train.
While all of that was happening, in a certain apartment located in a residential complex, Desmon was still asleep. But not for much longer.
"Get up already, or we'll be late!"
Shizuka didn't hesitate to kick the couch, causing Desmon to fall to the floor, though this time he put his arms out to prevent hitting the ground.
"That's not the appropriate way to wake someone up."
Using the strength of his arms, he pushed himself to his feet.
"I called you several times, but you ignored me!"
"I'm a heavy sleeper."
"As if that's true!"
During the night, Shizuka got up to get some water, and while in the kitchen, out of curiosity, she threw an empty can at Desmon, but he caught it while 'asleep' and also told her it's bad manners to attack someone while they're sleeping.
"I like sleeping in late."
"I'll ignore that since I don't want to argue first thing in the morning. Put on your uniform; we need to have breakfast and head to school."
"You should have started with that." He responded in good spirits.
Shizuka headed to the dining area to serve breakfast while Desmon put on his school uniform.
"It feels strange to wear this thing again."
Yesterday, Shizuka bought the uniform at the mall; luckily, her friend owns a tailor shop, so they had Desmon's uniform adjusted to ensure it offered enough mobility.
With preparations complete, they spent the rest of the afternoon walking and looking at things, which also helped Shizuka become more familiar with him. They would have to live together indefinitely and maintain the aunt-nephew relationship at school, so it's normal for them to get along.
Desmon dressed in black pants, a white shirt without a tie, and his coat.
The initial plan was to not draw attention, but his appearance and clothing do the opposite.
Once ready, he headed to the dining area and proceeded to have breakfast with Shizuka. And to no one's surprise, breakfast consisted of instant ramen.
Perhaps considering her diet, Shizuka should gain weight, but before heading to school, she usually goes jogging in a nearby park, which helps her maintain her slim figure.
Desmon isn't picky about food, so he didn't say anything about eating the same thing for several days. In fact, not having to pay for it is already a great deal.
Once they finished breakfast, they got ready to leave. They still have an hour, but the train journey and completing additional paperwork at school takes time.
"Do we have to use the train again?"
Outside the apartment, Desmon didn't hesitate to complain, recalling how crowded the train was yesterday.
"It's normal. Under normal circumstances, I'd drive to school, but my insurance doesn't cover demon attacks." She sighed, remembering her poor car.
Yesterday, the police called her after finding the remains of her vehicle. It's impossible for the police to have believed her story about a demonic dog attacking her. So, she made an excuse, saying her car was stolen and she lost track of it.
"At this hour, very few people are out and about since most are either on their way to work or catching the train, right?"
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm sure it must be annoying to be in a crowded train car, so I have a better plan." Desmon manifested Kurox.
"I told you yesterday, it's very troublesome." She sighed.
"It's troublesome if you get caught. Or do you want to repeat what happened yesterday?"
As he said, yesterday was uncomfortable heading to the mall. There was a event, so everyone decided to go, making the train too crowded for their comfort.
Shizuka weighed the pros and cons. She really hates using the train to get around, which is why she got a car in the first place. She's also a bit of a fan of motorcycles.
"On one condition, I drive."
"It's better than being packed like sardines."
With everything decided, Shizuka got on Kurox first, followed by Desmon.
"Remind me that I need to buy a helmet online."
"I'm sure that even if it were a concrete wall or another vehicle, Kurox would smash right through upon impact."
"I saw it, but the police will penalize us if we don't wear a helmet.
"You really pay a lot of attention to laws." He said disinterestedly.
"You're the weird one for not following the laws!"
With their conversation over, Shizuka set Kurox in motion; or rather, Desmon let her do it, as he can control it just by thinking and doesn't need to hold the handlebars.
...
After several minutes, they reached the vicinity of Sobu High.
Shizuka managed to drive while obeying traffic laws, although Desmon kept urging her to go faster. It didn't help that Desmon would make Kurox accelerate out of nowhere.
Desmon put away Kurox as they got close to the school. It would be strange to arrive on a motorcycle and then make it disappear in front of everyone's eyes.
Inside the school, Desmon followed Shizuka to the teachers' lounge, where she introduced him to the other teachers as well as the principal.
The teachers and the principal had no trouble believing that he was a distant relative of Shizuka, given Desmon's perfect command of Japanese
With all arrangements in place, the only thing left was for Desmon to go to his assigned classroom and join the others.
"From now on, you're part of Class J, second year. It's the only section with an available seat. By the way, do you plan to go in like that?"
Shizuka pointed to Alastor, who was inside a new guitar case.
"I can deal with those things using my body, but this way is easier and quicker."
"Just try not to let others see it. Also, don't go around calling others by their first names; use their last names." She emphasized the latter point.
"Consider it done." Desmon responded without much emotion.
"Now go to your section, as I'm busy with planning for the trip to Kyoto in a few days."
And so, Desmon began his search for his classroom, fortunately not taking long to find it.
Remembering the manners Shizuka explained, he proceeded to knock on the door until the teacher gave him permission to enter.
Once inside, the teacher handed him a piece of chalk to write his name and give a brief self-introduction.
But when he was about to do so, for some reason, he had no idea how to write in Japanese.
This was because the old woman granted him the ability to speak Japanese fluently, not to comprehend it. Thus, he couldn't write it.
Extending this wouldn't make sense, so he went straight to the introduction.
"I'm Desmon Hiratsuka. My hobbies are sleeping, having fun, and passing the time doing things I like." He thought about what else to say, but nothing came to mind. "I guess that's it... Oh right, you can call me Desmon; I don't mind the use of my name."
"Hiratsuka-kun, that was quite an unusual introduction... Please take a seat."
For the teacher, it was an odd introduction, but knowing Desmon was a foreigner, he let it pass.
Already in his conveniently located seat next to the window, he proceeded to fall asleep, as he didn't understand anything the teacher explained.
...
The hours passed until lunchtime.
Desmon opened his eyes upon hearing the bell, but he also noticed that he was surrounded by several girls. 'Luckily for him', his class had more than 80% female students.
"Which country are you from?"
"Are you a relative of Hiratsuka-sensei?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"You play the guitar! Would you dedicate a song to me?"
Several girls asked in unison.
The normal reaction would be to feel pleased with so much attention, and Desmon is no exception.
"I'll leave those questions as homework for you, but right now I'm hungry and need to talk to Shizuka about something, so let's save this for another time." He said with a smile.
After saying this, he took Alastor and made his way without much difficulty.
Though his stay is temporary, not being able to write can be bothersome.
Once in Shizuka's office, he took a seat in front of her.
"What do you think of the classes?''
"I didn't understand anything." He said it in a bored tone.
"That's normal. A few review classes should be enough to help you adapt."
Shizuka is happy that Desmon is attending school again. As a teacher, she believes someone his age should be studying and not just focusing on his demon-hunting work.
"There's actually another problem: I can't write in Japanese."
"Are you kidding?"
"I told you on the day we met. An old woman granted me the ability to speak your language fluently, but not to write it."
"I thought you were joking."
Shizuka thought for a moment, but quickly came up with a solution.
"No problem with that. In fact, it doesn't interfere with what I had in mind." She nodded to herself. "Once classes are over, come and I'll explain what you'll do."
"Works for me. By the way, can you give me some money to buy something?"
Shizuka just sighed and pulled out her wallet, giving Desmon some yen. It's her responsibility, so she doesn't have much of a choice.
"Don't worry, I won't be a freeloader. In a few days, I'll start taking on jobs, and whatever's left will be for my expenses."
"So, what you said about being in debt is true?"
"It's the truth; it's difficult when they leave debts in your name." He sighed wearily.
With that, Desmon headed to some vending machines he saw along the way and went to the rooftop after getting his food.
After finishing his meal, he lay on top of the water tower, completely forgetting he had classes to return to.
...
After taking a long nap and hearing the bell signaling the end of classes, Desmon headed to Shizuka's office.
Since today was his first day, he only brought Alastor with him; Shizuka would provide him with materials in a few days. So, he didn't bother going back to his classroom.
Once in her office, he sat down while yawning.
"What do you think of your first day of classes?" Shizuka asked curiously.
"Boring, and I don't understand most of it." He was honest. While he knows the basics, much of what was taught in the first hours was completely unfamiliar to him.
"Come with me. We're going somewhere that will help you with that."
And so, Desmon followed Shizuka to a certain classroom that functions as a club.
"Yukinoshita, I'm coming in."
Without hesitation, she opened the door, entering the classroom.
Upon entering, Desmon noticed three students in the room: two girls and a boy.
Yukinoshita Yukino, the most beautiful and intelligent girl in the school; Yuigahama Yui, another of the prettiest and most cheerful girls; and lastly, Hikigaya Hachiman, self-proclaimed king of loners.
The three of them are part of the Service Club, which is dedicated to assisting students with various requests.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I told him several times to wait until I give him permission to enter."
"Well, you see, this is my nephew. He recently came from abroad." Shizuka ignored Yukinoshita's words. It's part of her routine.
Seeing that Desmon was just staring, she elbowed him, though it hurt her more.
"I'm Desmon Hiratsuka, but just call me Desmon. I hate formalities."
"As you can see, this boy is quite peculiar, which is why I'd like you to lend him a hand with his studies and learning various writing kanji." Shizuka explained.
"I see. But as you may know, we help people who want to be helped." She focused her gaze on Desmon. "Your nephew slept through the first half of classes, and he didn't show up for the other half."
As they share the same class, and this new student has the same last name as their teacher, Yukinoshita grew curious, but Desmon showed complete disinterest.
Shizuka turned her gaze back to Desmon, who just looked away while whistling a tune.
"We'll talk later!" She addressed Yukinoshita again. "That's why I want help so he can adapt."
"Yuigahama-san, Hikigaya-kun, what do you think?" Yukinoshita turned to the other two members of her club.
"If he's a relative of Hiratsuka-sensei, I think we should help him. What do you say, Hikki?" Yuigahama said with her usual enthusiasm and energy.
The gazes of Hikigaya and Desmon met, and while there was nothing out of the ordinary, something told Hikigaya that this boy wasn't normal. His jaded eyes were skilled at assessing people, and they were telling him that this boy didn't fit the category of a regular person. But lacking a basis to confirm this, he let it slide.
"If it's something Hiratsuka-sensei is asking for, I have no reason to refuse."
Shizuka nodded approvingly.
"That makes me happy. So, Yukinoshita, I'm entrusting Desmon to you." She headed toward the door. "I hope you pay attention and don't cause them trouble."
With that said, she returned to her office.
"So, Hiratsuka-kun, in which subjects do you need help?" Yukinoshita's plan would be tailored according to the subjects he needs to prepare for.
"Call me Desmon, and I guess it would be from elementary school subjects." He said in his usual tone.
Minutes later, the service club would realize that Desmon was a lost cause.
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