Chapter Text
Iruma had always known there were differences between himself and his friends. They were demons after all, they had wings, tails, and horns, obvious things he noticed immediately upon being brought to the netherworld. He had never thought too much on those differences until he learned about evil cycles. And promptly had one himself, due to Ali-sans' magic.
After his evil cycle he did feel like he understood demons a bit better, but he also began to notice smaller things that set him apart. His rounded ears, lack of fangs, and, what was bothering him most at the moment, his blunt nails. He was laying on his back, staring up at his hands, surrounded by huge blankets and pillows that his grandpa had bought for him.
He never cared about how he looked before, he was always too busy working or surviving to care. But right now, he couldn't help how his human traits reminded him that he didn't belong here. The only human in the netherworld. But... even though he wasn't a demon like the others, he still wanted to be with them.
He turned to his side, looking at a frammed photo of himself and his two closest friends. They were standing on either side of him, each with a big grin and an arm around his side. Even if he felt like he didn't belong in the netherworld, he did feel like he belonged with his classmates, with his friends, and with his grandpa. Although, the more that he thought about it, the more Iruma was curious about them. He had never gotten a close look at a demons' claws before. He wanted to. He also had never seen their fangs or ears up close before, but he felt it would be far too weird to ask anyone about. Asking to see someones' claws was weird enough of a request in his mind.
Just like after learning about evil cycles, Iruma found himself realizing there was a lot he still didn't understand about demons. He needed to learn more. Right now, that meant exploring their claws. But who could he ask? And could he think of an excuse to make his request less odd?
He didn't want to ask his grandpa, because he was afraid he'd make it into a huge deal. Opera seemed like a good option, but he didn't know how to explain his curiosity if they asked why he wanted to see their claws. Not to mention they didn't seem particularly fond of touch. Balam-sensei would no doubt let him see his claws, but that would likely result in Iruma having to explain all of his human traits, and he didn't want to think about that right now. That left the misfit class. 'It's probably weird to ask your classmates if you can look at their hands though, right?' He sighed, feeling at a loss.
Azz and Clara would grant him any request without question. He felt too awkward to take advantage of that fact. Unless he could think of a totally normal reason to hold someones hand and touch their nails. Touch their claws. Did they feel the same as human nails?
He focused on his hands again, tracing over his nails for a moment, before glancing back at the photo. This time, he noticed Azzs' hand. His claws were painted. It would't be too odd if Iruma asked to paint his friends' nails! At least, he really hoped not. That was a normal friend activity, right? He was still relatively new to friendship. Maybe he was overthinking it.
Feeling better now that he had a somewhat solid plan, he finally got ready for bed and feel asleep. The next day was a weekend, so he would try to get some nail polish before school next week.
~~~~~~~~
Iruma woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start putting his plan into motion. He got ready for the day and walked to the dining room where his Grandpa and Opera were expecting him. The table already had mountains of food on it.
"Good morning, my precious Iruma~!"
"Good morning, Iruma-sama."
Iruma smiled at the warm greetings, moving to take his seat at the table. "Goodmorning, Grandpa, Opera-san. I was wondering if we could go shopping today? There's something I want to try." Iruma asked hopefully.
"That sounds like a splendid idea! Opera, prepare the carriage at once!" Sullivan didn't hesitate to appease his grandsons' request.
Opera bowed dutifully before leaving the room to prepare for the outting.
As soon as They were done with breakfast, Iruma, Sullivan, and Opera rode the carriage to Magical street. Iruma and Sullivan both wore detection-warding glasses to avoid being swarmed. They entered a few shops, looking at clothing, books, candy, and everything in between. Opera carried a few shopping bags as they entered a beauty shop that Iruma believed would have what he was looking for.
He passively noted some horn accessories before finding a section of the store that had shelves filled with dozens of kinds of polish, in every color imaginable.
"Is this what you wanted to get, Iruma-sama?" Opera guaged Irumas' interest in the items.
"Uh, yeah." Iruma replied, scratching the back of his neck, "I wanted to get some for Azz and Clara too, if that's okay?"
"Awww, my adorable grandson would look so cute in nail polish! Let's buy their whole stock!!"
"Wait, grandpa, that's too much, I only need a few!" Iruma waved his hands defensively, trying to convince his grandpa not to buy out yet another store for him.
"Nothing is too much for my darling grandson~"
Iruma simply went back to looking at the polish. He considered which colors would suit his friends best, and thought about some for himself too. He picked out 3 colors that matched his and his friends' eyes. He seemed pleased with their shopping trip, so Opera left to get the carriage while Sullivan and Iruma sat on a bench and waited for them to return.
"Did you have fun today, Iruma-kun? You got everything you needed?" Sullivan asked.
Iruma smiled up at his grandpa, "Yes, thank you, grandpa! I had a lot of fun."
Sullivan dove to hug his grandson, "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that!! Tell me if you need anything else, I'm happy to buy the whole shopping district for you!"
Iruma returned the hug but was quick to assure him that wouldn't be necessary, "That's alright grandpa, really! I've already got everything I need!"
"Very well." He relented, "Opera is back, are you ready to go home?"
Iruma nodded and they boarded the carriage, returning to the Sullivan mansion with their purchases. He put all of his new belongings away, including three bottles of pink, green, and blue nail polish. Step one of Irumas' plan was a success.
Iruma texted his friends asking if they could come walk with him to school earlier than usual that monday. They both eagerly agreed, no questions asked. He also informed Sullivan and Opera that he wished to leave for school early that day.
~~~~~~~~
Monday morning, Iruma got ready for school before grabbing the pink and green nail polish to put in his pocket. Opera had made breakfast early, and the three ate together as always. Iruma thanked them and ran out the door, finding Asmodeus and Clara walking up to the gate.
Iruma grinned at his friends, opening the gate and closing it behind him. "Good morning guys, thanks for coming so early!"
"Of course, Iruma-sama! Is there any particular reason you summoned us this early?" Azz questioned as they began walking to school.
"Yeah, whattcha planning, Iruma-chi?!"
"Well, actually..." Iruma started, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea, but he was too far to back out now. "I was wondering if I could maybe paint your nails?" He finished, stopping to look at the ground between them, fidgeting with his hands.
Azz and Clara both stopped with him, supprised at the unexpected question.
Clara was the first to break the short silence. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sounds fun, Iruma-chi!!" Her tail wagged excitedly.
"It would be an honor to have my claws be painted by you, Iruma-sama." Azz tried to hide his excitement by bowing, holding an open palm to his chest.
Iruma was suddenly much less nervous, hearing his request be accepted so readily. He started walking again, a bit faster towards the school. "Let's go find a good place then!"
The two were led to a quiet, secluded part of the school yard, under a large tree. Clara pulled a large blanket from her pocket and layed it on the ground for them to sit on. They all got comfortable and Iruma grabbed the polish from his pocket. The three were sitting in a close circle, all facing each other.
"Me first!!" Clara shouted, scooting closer to Iruma.
"What?! I should have the honor of being first! After all, I was Iruma-samas' friend first!" Azz protested, gently shoving Clara away from Iruma.
Iruma was used to them bickering, but he didn't expect that they'd be excited enough to argue over who went first. He supposed he should have.
"That's no fair!" Clara fought back. "Oh, I got an idea, let's flip a coin on it! I'm heads!" She pulled a coin from her pocket.
"How do I know you didn't rig that?!" Azz accused. He pulled out his own coin. "We'll use this one."
"Fine!" Clara pouts. Iruma can't help but be entertained at their antics. He can't believe he was worried about this before.
The coin lands tails.
Azz beams with delight while Clara cries for "Best two of three!"
"Nope, I win! You'll have to wait your turn, stupid Clara." He grinned triumphantly while Clara struck her toungue out at him.
Iruma stiffled a laugh as he moved the pink nail polish closer to them. The shade was a perfect match to Azzs' eyes. Iruma scooted himself to be directly in front of Azz, while Clara layed on her belly with her head resting on her arms to watch them. Azz held one of his hands out to Iruma, who took it in his own hand.
Iruma forgot what he was supposed to be doing for a moment, and simply took in the sight of Azzs' claws. They were much different from Irumas' own nails, which were short and blunt. Azzs' claws were long, slightly curved, and came to a very sharp point. They looked professionally manicured. Iruma subconsciously reached his other hand over and lightly ran a finger along one of Azzs' claws. It felt similar to Irumas' nails, although especially smooth and strong and Iruma couldn't help but think that they were very 'beautiful'.
"I-Iruma-sama?" Azz spoke, trying not to blush and failing miserably.
Upon being snapped back to reality Iruma realized two things. First, that he had said that last part outloud, and second, that he had been basically caressing his friends' hand for the past minute. He flushed red and promptly released Azzs' hand. "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to, I just-" He began, unable to think of any acceptable excuse for his actions.
"No, no, it's fine! You just supprised me, is all!" Azz was quick to assure him he did nothing wrong.
"Hurry up and paint so I can have my turn!" Clara pouted impatiently.
Iruma picked up the nail polish, and began painting his friends claws. He held Azzs' hand still with one hand and painted with the other. He took his time and enjoyed examining and admiring the demons' claws.
~~~~~~~~
Azz was excited at the thought of Iruma painting his claws. He never expected him to ask, and he was thrilled. Not to mention how much thought his master put into this, the colors clearly chosen especially for them.
And after defeating Clara in the coin toss, he got to go first! He proudly presented his hand to Iruma, but was confused when his master took his hand and simply stared at it, seemingly forgetting the polish entirely. He was even further lost, and thoroughly flustered when Iruma started caressing one of his claws. What was happening? He didn't have any clue what his friend was thinking, that is, until he heard Iruma whisper, "beautiful" under his breath. That made his face flush brighter than the polish.
Azz was about to ask if Iruma was alright, but he immediatly started appolgizing. Not that there was really anything to appologize for, and Azz would not let Iruma think that there was.
Clara was less than pleased at how long they were taking, yelling at them to hurry up.
Now that Iruma was calmly painting Azzs' nails, Azz took a moment to think. He took note of the way his master was captivated by his claws, like a child discovering something new for the first time. He had never seen anyone so fascinated by claws before.
He'd noticed Iruma had blunt nails before, although he never really thought much about it before now.
Actually, he should take this chance to examine Irumas' nails, now that he thought about it. He'd never gotten to see them this close before. His friends' nails were much different than his own. They were not long or sharp, and they were mostly flat. They were quite unique, not really true claws. They looked delicate, harmless, and... cute. Azz thought they really suited him.
Iruma finished with one hand and shifted to paint the other. Azz offered his other hand and took note of the way Iruma went to hold his hand. He curled his fingertips inward, not cautious of his nails because they weren't sharp enough to accidentally scratch skin. Azz was always cautious of his claws around his friends. He wanted to ask if he could touch his nails the same way Iruma had touched his claws. He was afraid the question would make his master uncomfortable.
~~~~~~~~
Clara couldn't have been happier to have her claws painted by her bestest friend! She used toy-toy to make a blanket so they could sit on the ground more comfortably, before fighting with Azz over who got to go first.
She thought she had won when she made a trick coin with two heads, but Azz guessed her plan and won. She layed down to watch Iruma-chi paint Azz-azzs' claws while she waited her turn.
Then Iruma started acting weird and petting Azz-azzs' claws, which she found very amusing due to Azzs' reaction of trying not to spontaneously combust. She wouldn't admit to being jealous of the attention Azz was getting. She knew she would have her turn soon. But not if Iruma didn't start painting soon!
She complained about it and they began painting a moment after.
She watched them both staring at the others nails, oblivious to each other. She kicked her legs in the air and hummed a cheerful tune while she waited. They were fun to watch.
~~~~~~~~
It only took a few minutes for all of Azzs' claws to be a brilliant shade of pink, and Iruma was satisfied with his work. Azz looked similarly thrilled with his newly pink claws.
Iruma capped the pink polish while Clara sat up and shoved a hand in Azzs' face to scoot him out of the way. "My turn, my turn!! Iruma-chi, time to paint my claws now~!!" She sung.
"Yes, Clara, it's your turn!" Iruma replied happily to his friend.
He went to pick up the green polish before Clara added, "You can pet my claws too, like you did with Azz-azz!"
"Clara!" Azz cried indignantly.
Iruma paused for a second, he had been hoping that no one would comment on that, but at the same time... "really?" Wait, no, why did he say that, that was weird, right? He was being weird. Didn't he make Azz-kun uncomfortable? Even though Azz would never admit to Iruma doing any wrong.
"Here ya go, Iruma-chi!" She held out her hand to him.
Iruma supposed it was fine if Clara insisted. And she was the one offering. This was what he wanted to ask originally anyways, before he thought of the less-awkward nail-painting strategy. It's not like he could turn this down, especially when Clara looked so sincere.
He reached out to take Claras' hand in his, and trace over her claws with his over hand. A smile crept over his face. Her claws were shorter than Azzs', but more curved and slightly less sharp. They also felt smooth and strong. He allowed himself to trace along the edges, and feel how sharp they were, before turning her hand over to see the underside of her claws, and turning them back around to run his finger along them again. He really appreciated her letting him do this. He knew it was probably weird and he probably looked stupid. It took a few minutes for him to be satisfied, and Clara didn't seen to mind one bit. Azz stayed quiet for the moment, just letting him explore Claras' claws without comment.
He looked down at the blanket they were all still sitting on. A quiet, "Thank you." was all he could manage through his embarrassment.
"Any time, Iruma-chi! Now nail painting time!"
"Ah, right, of course!" Iruma grabbed the polish and started painting Claras' claws the same way he had done with Azz. This time, he was much more focused on his task. He got all of his claw examining out of his system for now.
"Y'know, Iruma-sama..." Azz started remembering how happy and content Iruma looked the minute before. "You could also touch my claws whenever you want. You have only to ask." He was looking to the side with a nervous hand placed over his neck.
Iruma paused for a moment. "Are- are you sure? I thought I made you uncomfortable earier. I really didn't mean to-"
Azz looked at Iruma, determined to clear up the misunderstanding, "No, no! You didn't! I just wasn't expecting it is all, you didn't do anything wrong!"
Iruma let out a sigh of relief and continued painting Claras' nails, "Thank you, Azz-kun." He didn't know what else to say. He briefly considered asking to see his fangs or touch his ears, or his wings, but that all seemed a bit more awkward to him. Not to mention he might have to explain himself, and he can't just say that he wants to understand more about demons, because he's human and humans don't have claws or fangs or wings or horns or tails. Besides, he was content with seeing their claws for now. Especially with how Clara let him caress her claws for several minutes.
He finished painting Claras' claws quicker than he had Azzs', then he capped the green polish. He looked proud of his work while Clara turned her hands around to admire her newly green claws. "Yay, Iruma-chi nails!!" she cried, posing her hands dramatically.
"haha, I'm glad you like them!" Iruma laughed, enjoying having his friends by his side. "We should do this more often." He ventured, hoping he could do this again.
"Of course, Iruma-sama! I would love to do this again, any time!" Azz wasted no time in agreeing with his master, and he meant every word.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! This was super devi fun!"
Azz checked his hellphone for the time. "We still have a little while before class starts" He stated. Then, hoping he wasn't overstepping, "Iruma-sama, if you would allow us, could we paint your nails as well?" He immedietly regretted the question when he saw Iruma tense up, ever so slightly.
"Um..." Iruma started. He was feeling a little self conscious about his nails - his human nails - recently. And he just saw how different his nails really are from demon claws, but. He did want to match them, and. They had to have noticed that his nails are different from theirs by this point. Especially after he accidentally made a big deal about touching their claws not five minutes ago. It would be fine to let them see his nails. They didn't care what he looked like. He relaxed and smiled at them. "Sure. I only brought the two colors with me, though."
"No problem! Clara said as she pulled out 20 more colors from her pocket, some with glitter, some iridescent, all glossy, and in every color possible. "Which color do you want, Iruma-chi?"
He considered them for a moment before deciding, "I'll let you guys pick, since I got to pick for you."
Azz was still worried he upset Iruma somehow, but he let it go as Iruma seemed fine now. "Well, considering that you matched our eye colors, I feel we should match yours too!" Azz declaired, grabbing a blue bottle that perfectly matched Irumas' eyes.
"Yeah, good idea, Azz-azz!" Clara began putting the rest of the bottles back inside her pocket and grabbing a second bottle of the blue Azz picked out.
Iruma nodded in agreement of their choice and offered his hands to his friends. They each eagerly took one of his hands. Iruma was a little nervous about them seeing his nails so clearly, but he knew they wouldn't care.
"Can I touch your nails, Iruma-chi?"
"Clara!?" Azz was afraid she had offended his Iruma-sama, but he can't deny wanting to ask the same thing.
Iruma couldn't have said no if he tried, not after she let him do the same. And, he really didn't mind if it was them. "Yeah, that's alright."
Clara wasted no time in tracing her finger over Irumas' nails, the same way he did with her. He let out a satisfied hum. This felt really nice, he noted. It was relaxing, comforting. Iruma felt so relaxed under his friends' touch that he forgot all his earlier worries and self-conscious feelings. He silently hoped this could continue until classes started. Maybe they could skip class and just play with each others' hands all day.
Iruma noticed Azz watching them. "Azz-kun, I really don't mind."
Azz took that as permission, ensured his bottle was properly capped, beforr gently pressing his finger against Irumas' nail to see how sharp it was. It was even more dull than he expected from looking at them. Iruma-samas' nails were kind and gentle, just like him. He mirrored the way Iruma had pet his claw earlier, noting how flat they felt in comparison. He wasn't being as touchy as Iruma had been with Clara, or as Clara was with Iruma now, but he was committing every part of his masters' hand to memory.
Clara thought Irumas' nails were cute and small. She worried he might not be able to defend himself with them. She pushed back that thought with the knowledge that Iruma-chi is strong enough to defend himself, even without claws. She liked how round they were at the tips, it was fun to run her finger across.
A couple minutes later, Azz spoke up, still stroking one of Irumas' nails, "If we don't start painting Iruma-samas' nails soon we won't have time before class starts."
This gets Irumas' attention. "Oh! Right, I do really want to match you guys." He was greatful they didn't comment on his blunt nails.
Clara grabbed her bottle, the lid still ajar. "Matchies!"
Azz noticed what Iruma said. That he wanted to match them. There was something in the way he said it that bothered him, but he couldn't quite place it. He chose not to mention it. Instead he moved to finally paint Irumas' nails.
A couple minutes later and all three of them had colored nails and claws. Iruma was a bit sad to lose the touch. They waited a few more minutes for the paint to dry before packing up their things and walking the short distance to the royal one. They barely made it in time for Kalego not to yell at them.
Throughout the day, Iruma looked at his painted nails and smiled. He may not have demon claws, but it made him happy knowing he could still match with his best friends, even just a little.