[46.5] Astra POV: Unlikely Companions

I exited his headspace and watched as he writhed on the ground, crying in pain.

He looked at me in aggrievement, "You… Why did you make me your slave!? That wasn't part of the deal!!"

I shrugged unsympathetically, "You should have asked the price. Did you really think I would help you for free?"

He pursed his lips in frustration, "But I don't see why I have to be a slave! I would already protect you as part of the deal!"

I scoffed, "There's no way I would trust a human. I know you humans like to trick demons so you can steal their power and kill them. I needed a guarantee to make sure you wouldn't do that. Now if you try to reveal my identity as a demon, you'll die. If you don't protect me, you'll die."

He pressed his lips together, but he didn't even try to argue.

Since the beginning of time, humans and demons were always at odds. Neither side trusted the other.

It was only natural.

He rubbed his forehead which had a black rune on it, "So then the immortality was all a lie."

I shook my head and led him to a glass that showed our reflections.

He gasped at the sight of the black rune, "W-What is that!?"

"What do you think?" I rolled my eyes, "The curse of immortality."

"Curse!? You cursed me?!? How could you do that!?"

I pointed to my horn, "Duh. I'm a demon. We are evil."

He stomped his feet, "Nuhuh! Not all of you! I met a spider demon who was really nice!"

My eyes widened, "You've met my sister?"

He paused, "That… Lene was your sister?!"

He even knows her name!?

His eyes lit up, "Can you bring me to her? She was super cool. I have a lot more questions I want to ask her that I never got to the first time!"

I felt a strange twinge in my chest that made me frown.

Why am I feeling jealous all of a sudden!?

He's just a kid!

Still, I couldn't help but shout, "No!"

He flinched, "Why not?"

I crossed my arms with a huff, "Because I don't want to. Now take me home! I'm hungry."

His face twitched, "Haaah!? I'm not going to just take you home and-"

He suddenly crumpled and screamed out in pain holding his forehead.

I smirked, "Did you forget the slave contract? You have to do what I say."

He shouted over his pain, "OKAY! OKAY!"

The pain immediately disappeared and he aggrievedly showed me back to his dorm.

I put my hood back on and looked around anxiously as I followed him.

However, I was surprised to see everyone avoiding him and not even looking in his direction.

I whispered to him, "Why is everyone avoiding you so obviously?"

He spoke without caring, "Eh, probably 'cause they are scared of me. I buried my brother one time and now I get avoided. Tsk. How lame."

I felt an odd sense of relief.

Looks like I chose the perfect human-

Wait…

Did he just say-

My face suddenly tightened, "Huh?! You buried your brother!?"

"One time! It was only one time!!!"

"That's your rebuttal!?!"

He shoved me into his dorm room and pointed at his bed, "Just stay in here. I will be right back."

I sat down and watched as he shut the door and walked away.

I looked around the room and found it was severely cramped. There was only a small space for a bed and it was pushed against a wall. In the corner was a small, broken-down desk. He had no kitchen or sitting area, but luckily he had a small bathroom.

I went inside to check it out and frowned.

The bathroom was clearly not renovated and was covered in cracks.

Who would force a child to live like this!?

He came back into the room and shoved a plate of food into my hands, "Here. I managed to swipe this from the kitchen."

I sat down on his bed to eat it, "Why are you forced to live like this!? I thought the Academy was full of rich kids and geniuses and you're clearly not a genius, so you must be rich. Why aren't you in a better room?"

He plopped down on his desk chair and shrugged nonchalantly, "That only applies if your parents actually care. My parents pretty much just shoved me in here after I nearly killed my brother and haven't seen me since. I probably could have a better room if my family wanted me to, but they didn't."

"Oh… That's rough… I'm sorry."

"It's fine. The law wanted to put me in a juvenile prison, but my family paid them off. I had no other choice but to be sent here to be supervised by teachers and staff who can properly watch me. At least my family cared enough to put me here." He mumbled to himself, "Although that's where their love for me ended."

I would feel bad for him, but he doesn't seem too remorseful for his actions.

"So why'd you bury your brother?"

"It was an accident!!! I can't control my mana sometimes and it just happened. I quickly unburied him before he died!!!"

I felt a bit of sympathy.

So it wasn't necessarily his fault.

I shook my head, "I can't believe your family would just abandon you. It's clear that it *yaawn* was just a…. Just a…"

I fell forward off his bed, collapsing on the floor in a deep sleep.

He jumped in surprise and poked me, "Hey. Hey. Are you dead? Does that mean I'm free?"

Seeing me not reply, he snickered, "Maybe I should bury you- OW OW OW!"

He held his head in pain and shouted, "It was a joke! A joke! Geez…"

A pair of orange eyes opened in the shadows and watched as the small boy dragged me back onto the bed.

The boy clicked his tongue and placed the blanket over me, "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. They say a man has to protect a woman and that's what makes a noble, noble… Plus, if I can show my parents I'm capable of getting and taking care of a familiar, maybe then they'll forgive me and talk to me again."

Listening to the boy rambling on to himself, the pair of eyes seemed satisfied the fox was safe and disappeared back into the shadows.

__…__

I woke back up from my deep sleep to find the boy staring at me as I slept.

He didn't look ashamed that I caught him and refused to look away.

His serious expression made me nervous, "...What?"

Out of nowhere, he suddenly shoved something onto my head. The material covered my eyes so I raised it slowly, "What's this?"

He grinned, "I made you a hat."

I looked in the mirror and checked it out unimpressed by its poor quality.

He spoke proudly, "I made it to cover your horn!!! And look-"

He put on a similar hat and puffed out his chest, "I made one to match with yours!!! And it also hides the curse mark that you so kindly gave me."

I looked at the hat feeling conflicted, "My horn still pokes through the material…"

He thought for a moment then shrugged, "Well I tried. At least there are holes for your ears."

He reached out to scratch him.

Just as he did, a strange feeling shot through my body like electricity.

I pushed him off, "Don't touch my ears!!! They are sensitive!"

He pouted, "But they are so soft…"

I let out a sigh, "Okay, you can touch my tail, just not my ears."

His face lit up, "Really?!"

I nodded, "Yeah. As thanks for the hat, you can pet my tail."

He cheered and ran his hand over my tail, "Good girl!"

I don't like it.

He treats me like a pet.

Well…

I guess I can put up with it for now.

It's better to endure this than sleep in a cemetery.

And I get to have tasty food!

A spider crawled along the floor and his demeanor suddenly changed as he eyed it. His entire body focused on the spider completely forgetting about the fluffy tail.

In the blink of an eye, he reached out to grab it and place it in his mouth.

I quickly intercepted his hand, "Stop eating my sister's spiders."

His expression paled, "L-Lene's spiders!?"

"That's right."

"She gives birth to spiders!?"

"..."

I let out a groan and pinched my eyebrows, "No. She is just friends with them."

He frowned, "You can be friends with spiders?"

I nodded, "She can talk to them. So stop eating them."

"Okay, okay. I will."

"Why are you even trying to eat it? It's not tasty."

"Haven't you ever had a thought that pops up and consumes your mind!? Most of the time I can fight it, but occasionally my body just follows through and I can't stop. Haven't you ever had those thoughts?"

My face twitched, "I haven't."

"Oh…"

"...So you're good now?"

"I am."

I let him go and he dived for the spider again.

I had to tackle him and put him in a stranglehold just to prevent him from getting the spider.

He screamed, "JUST LET ME EAT IT!"