LUCIFER: The Intimidating

*Y/N's POV*

A fine day in the Devildom began in the dining room after my complete departure from the human world which filled the brothers with shock after Solomon summoned ourselves, not even giving me a chance to properly pack my things left in my apartment. Thankfully, Diavolo and Barbatos volunteered to help me gather all of my stuff to be transferred to the mansion. My parents were really mad at me for my decision of staying with the demons, since they are... you know... god-fearing. I mean, their belief was not a huge deal for me as long as they wouldn't hurt me for being agnostic. Anyhow, enough with the drama, I was taking my breakfast with everyone before heading to R.A.D., looking insanely joyful after being freed from the stress created by my entire family back there. This is my family now, and this new home where I'll grow old will be filled with timeless memories that no one can forget.

"Dang! Lucifer's signature breakfast pancakes are the best. I kinda want to learn how to make them though. I only know how to scramble eggs like Gordon Ramsay", I exclaimed with my eyes glittering in delight, chuckling in every bite of the food I partake.

With a slight smile of endearment, Lucifer assured, "I'm glad that you liked it, Y/N. You may come with me in the kitchen on my next cooking duty."

"Who the hell is Gordon Ramsay?", Mammon, who's sitting across me muttered with an unexplainable confusion right on his face. Well, even if I explain it, he's an idiot anyway.

"W-T-F, Lololol Mammon's really a normie ugh! Gordon Ramsay is the god-tier chef in Hell Kitchen", Levi said sassily at the platinum white-haired demon beside him, his hands glued to his D.D.D. with his fingers clicking on the screen at an inhumanly fast pace.

"I dimt knw any Gormdom Wamfwey at Helf's Ktchem", Beel said this while gobbling up the pile of syrup-bathed pancakes from his massive plate. My little ears could not even hear his breathing other than his constant chewing of food. I smiled at the adorable scene made by the softie big guy.

Leviathan's eye rolling caught my attention as he responded to Beel's input. I memorized his lines long before I ended my exchange student program with the R.A.D.. Expectedly, he would probably say, 'Ugh! You all really are a bunch of normies!'

"Ugh! You all really are a bunch of normies!", making the absolute guess, Levi's words came out as exactly as I thought. "I mean the Hell Kitchen at the huma-- GAH! Nevermind."

Beel wouldn't even give a slight care about his response at all, as long as he could satisfy his big tummy. I laughed slightly at the cute scenario I was in, my right hand on top of my lips to hide the possible wide grin under it.

"Don't worry Levi, I get what you mean. We're best friends after all."

I gave him a wink and expected him to fluster which he did, because he literally hid his face with the back of his left hand, kept his head low for us to not notice his tomato cheeks.

A sharp but a formal tone of voice cut us by and caught our minds' attention. The leader of the pack, Lucifer, stood up from his seat as a signal for us to all leave the mansion and head to the university. The way he spoke was something that no one could oppose; thus, intimidating. You could literally feel your hands and feet trembling and cold, and your lips shivering, and your heart banging at the walls of your chest as you follow.

"Hurry up, we're going to leave now."

We nodded and stood up in chorus that brought us excitement to begin the day's hard work. Each of us grabbed our bags with sheer smiles then proceeded to our way to R.A.D..

...

My schedule for this day was Arts, which gave me a heads up returning to studying. In contrast to humans' method of learning, I would prefer Devildom on this sort; everyone wasn't pressured nor stressed and that you could still have a personal time inside the campus afterwards. The teachers were outgoing and fun to be with, it's as if you're at home with your family. Everyone became so kind to me after they found out that I made the brothers reunite with each other again. I had a ton of demons to deal with; not because they're fond of my soul but because they wanted to be friends with me. Worries weren't there anymore by the time things shifted. I don't even deserve love and care from anyone, yet they're all willing enough to keep me here.

"Pleasant morning to everyone. As I've instructed in our last meeting, we are going to paint the person sitting on your right side as your reference. As always, lightly sketch your base and prepare your color palettes before proceeding with the coloring. Am I understood?"

The professor spoke which made me startled, and I was not even aware of all the lectures from the past months I was gone. I could have even been more late to everything that's happened here since a month in the human realm is three times quicker in Devildom. I turned my gaze on to Lucifer's with eyebrows meeting in cluelessness. He noticed it quickly and giggled softly, shaking his head.

What made me startle a lot more was his sudden closeness to my face. I could feel his warm breath tickling on the side of my neck as he whispered into my ear. Our cheeks sticking to each other's warmth that I could feel my heart beating uncontrollably fast.

"Don't worry about it. You just need to paint a beautiful picture of me. You have your own rules."

Thankfully, I was good at hiding my emotions, no one could notice that I'm literally freaking out inside. I got used to it when my parents got tired of my--

My thoughts were cut when Satan, at my left, poked my cheeks to face him. Ah, so he's gonna be the one to paint a picture of me. His long fingers caressed his very chin as he pointed his HB pencil vertically to figure out the proportions of my face. His left eye was on a wink as he began measuring my face at the back of his mind. I blissfully smiled at him, like a bright beam illuminating the calm waters in the sea. He began averting his gaze after this then proceeding on sketching his base on a big blank canvas.

"Don't you want to look at me first before beginning?"

Lucifer's words widened my doll-ish eyes and this time, I stuttered in an obvious manner, "Y-yes... Thank you", then tied my hair up so as to not let it bother me with my work.

Not even a minute of looking at him, I started sketching his facial features and I heard a sigh of disappointment from him.

"I see, you aren't into staring", he said in a low manner then began sketching on his own too.

"If you only knew that I find you everyday in the mansion just to take a peek at you", I said out loud without even caring that he heard every single thing. I still continued on mixing the oil pigments that I needed to fill the empty white space with life.

"You know how glad I am to hear that."

My head took a quick turn in a split-second after I realized how careless I was. I looked at him deadly, with a devilish grin ready to split someone into half.

"You heard nothing, okay?"

I only heard him giggle beside me as I tried not to avert my sight towards him again. Not a jiffy longer my mind calmed down out of my constant stroking of the paintbrush against the surface of my canvas. My mind while making art was in utopia, floating in tranquility, helping me to focus on every detail of my ongoing masterpiece.

...

*Lucifer's POV*

Her reactions satisfy me every single time, believe me I do. I was grateful enough to have trained myself not to show any hints of emotions nor weaknesses in front of other people. Why am I even an avatar of pride if it weren't for that?

I was about to call her name for no reason at all, although I noticed her eyes in a glimmer affixed to the painting that she was working on. I would have to admit it, knowing that she's going to make an artwork out of me filled me with sheer bliss. Her little hands held the paintbrush lightly to the point that her every movement was way too relaxing. Her messy bun (side-pinned hair if it's short) compliments her round eyeglasses sitting on her nose bridge. Too bad she was not the one I'm supposed to draw but it doesn't really matter anyway. Her painting me was already a good thing to hear about.

...

Few hours passed and I felt pain in my neck because of a prolonged bad posture just to finish up the details of my painting. I still need to stay inside the student council headquarters with Diavolo to grant his 'out-of-this-world' errands. Diavolo's someone who is unpredictable though.

Y/N was about to head out for lunch with her female friends because my brothers and I were all asked to come to the meeting for today before having a meal. I hadn't got a chance to see her finished product since she's too fast to cover her painting before anyone could see it. I'm still going to see it anyway, I made a professional alibi just to see what she did.

--

"Ah, Lucifer. What brings you here?", the professor said to me with a surprised look on her face as I walked in the classroom alone an hour before the class would start.

"I just got a memorandum from Lord Diavolo to monitor Y/N's output in your class. I would need to claim her artwork after classes as a requirement for the phase two of the exchange student program", I responded formally, keeping a posture proper and straight as to convince the person in front of me.

"Oh, is that so? I'll have your seats arranged then, you can sit at her right", before she could speak another word, she let out a sigh of calmness and mere glee. "You know, Y/N has a potential to hold her own exhibit because of her excellency in expressing herself."

"I see... I haven't seen them before but I have to agree with you. She's indeed bright herself."

You see, what I told the professor was not entirely a lie; there's a half truth about it at all. Diavolo did ask me to fetch Y/N's output but he wasn't going to be the one to examine and make reports for it. That means, I would be taking her painting back home and hang it in my hidden study room.

--

Before leaving the art room, her hands and face were stained with paint as well as her favourite F/C hoodie was stained as well. Oh, how careless this girl was.

"Y/N... Please clean up after yourself before eating your lunch. Your clothes are badly stained with the paint you used", I told her in a straightforward manner but I heard my tone with a little worry in it.

She just smiled back at me with a bit of laughter surrounding her lips, "My hoodie is okay! I love it this way. I'd only clean my hands and face instead." Her head tilted sideways a bit before finishing the second part of her sentence and said with poses in a delusional child-like manner, "This hoodie's my special! Invincible! And a powerful wizard's cloak of creativity!"

Not going to lie, she clearly reminded me of Levi with his constant gibberish. But... I liked it when she did it. I sighed to clear out my thoughts and told myself, 'this is crazy'.

Afterwards, she left with everyone for lunchtime and I came to the professor to fetch her painting. As soon as I did what was needed, I finally had a good look at her work inside the student council office. Diavolo and I were the only ones inside to see the awaited moment. It left us astounded and hanging with our own words.

Everything in her painting was amazingly detailed and well thought of. Diavolo himself clapped at the painting of myself as Y/N's basis. Right there I was sleeping at the tree's foot under the Devildom's shining moonlight being reflected by the alive waters from the stream near my bare feet. I wore the most comfortable looking pajamas with my hair being slightly swept by the wind. It was too good to look at as if it was moving.

"It'll not be a waste to take this home with you, right?", the man beside me chuckled as we both stared at the beauty in front of us.

...

*Y/N's POV*

I was at the rooftop with Sia and Unique accompanying me to lunch. They knew how I preferred the rooftop since it was really quiet and the students coming here were just three or two. Right in the middle of our fun conversation about my ideal guy when my phone I bought from the human world rang. Diavolo's IT crew helped me to modify and link my phone to my D.D.D. just so I could still call important people I left there. The only one I always wanted to get in touch with was my younger brother and my squad, nothing more.

It was... my mom who was calling. I excused myself to the two as I picked it up and left towards the corner of the rooftop where no one could hear me except myself and the person I would talk to. I clicked on the answer and let my ears hear what the other line would say. I clung on to my chest as I did this, then I heard her speaking.

"Y/N, I'm glad you answered. We just wanted to talk to you."

"Ah, mom. What is it that you need to talk about?" I answered coldly, already felt rage inside me burning. My mind's like 'ah shit, here we go again'. 

"I'm sorry for what your dad had told you two days ago. We just don't want you to be led astray by those demons. They are still demons and they are bound to hurt you. I just don't understand why it's hard for you to understand our point", she told me in a way of blaming me for being like this; suffering rather. 

Honestly, there was no one to blame at all, although they kept on pushing me as if this different world's lacking a single spec of goodness. I only experienced being accepted as I am here in Devildom than in the human world. Right there I suffered from constant pain and judgement for everything I do. And now that I am free, why would they hinder me from being happy myself?

"Are you saying that it's my fault that our family is messed up? You kept on telling me that my brother and I would be the ones who could fix our rotten family but nothing ever really happened", I spat out the words I held on for years. There's nothing I was feeling right now but pain and anguish. No one right there comforted me when I needed them then now they're asking me to mend what was already destroyed. "I took all of the opportunity just to mend our relationship. But why are you putting all the blame on me?"

"It's not that.. But if only you did something to get his attention, he wouldn't have chosen to have an affair with another woman. You aren't the only one who's hurting here, Y/N. The one who's hurt the most is me, because I'm the mother!"

I just felt my tears explode from my tear ducts, continuously streaming down my face. I kept my composure and control with my voice as I speak, as if I don't give a fuck about everything she would say. Honestly, I was constantly hurt too as her daughter, seeing my mother crying over the man she thought who would complete her. And even though I'd try to do something about it, they were the root of the problem and not us.

"I already told you to just move out with [brother's name]! Please, I don't want to hear you constantly forgiving that asshole who only cares about himself. You're too submissive to him, it's making me sick. I'm tired of it, mom. You keep on ranting those on repeat, but you really aren't doing anything yourself to be free."

She answered, "Then why'd you leave us here if you want us to be free? You're just running away! No wonder you're physically frail because of-"

I cut her, had enough of her words that blurred my vision and mind, "Enough. I'm the self-centered one here, right? I'm sorry but none of you even thought if I am okay at all. Instead, you place all of your burdens onto mine. It's always the other way around and never have I got any chance to have a peaceful life away from this madness we're in. Mom, please... I'm so tired. Just leave me alone."

I dropped the call and wiped off my tears; made sure that no one would notice that I cried. Good thing I'm always ready with these instances. And so it went on, I hurried back to the two that I left faking a smile, unobvious enough for them to not notice.

'I want to be alone', I thought to myself before excusing myself to leave them. I grabbed my bag and closed my lunchbox at a quick pace and told them, "I'm sorry if I have to leave early. Diavolo summons me to the office of shame! Ciao!"

This brought back bad memories and I sure had that urge to torture myself again. Maybe she's right, I'm no good daughter and never was exerting enough effort to save my family back again.

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