Chapter Text
Beep beep
Kokichi Ouma quickly silenced his alarm clock on his phone before yawning and stretching to get ready for the day. His back cracked a bit before he slumped back down on the bed, trying to fight his own body from closing his eyes once more and going back to dreamland. As much as he wanted to doze for another hour or two, he had to get up for work. He sighed as he used all his mental strength to sit up.
The plum haired boy groaned as he swung his legs off the bed, 'Why does work have to be so early. No respect for us night owls. Granted I'm doing a later shift today but it's still outrageous.'
He slowly staggered towards the kitchen, avoiding empty bottles and wrappers on the floor as he opened his eyes more. He reached the cupboard, flinging the door open to grab a bowl and some cereal. As he poured he double checked his calendar, sighing a little.
'Shit, the rent is due soon and if my maths is right I'm barely gonna make it. I might have to cut down my food budget or pick up more hours.' the boy thought as he added the milk to his cheap knock of brand cereal and sat down.
He knew that he could ask people for help if needed, but he really didn't want to bother D.I.C.E if he could help it. He didn't want to be a terrible leader and mooch off his followers, especially since he knew they were only just slightly better off than him in terms of money. Some of them had moved out like him to go to university, but they still visited. He did however think about his big sister, Takane, and the fact she had offered to help him a lot recently. He wanted to work and earn himself and not rely on his big sister to come save him.
‘I know she means well, but I need to make my own way. I won’t let her do this. I just need to work more shifts at Make-A-Ted if I have to, or get an evening job too.’ Kokichi pondered as he scarfed his food down in record speed before putting his bowl to soak.
He quickly changed into his uniform before picking up his bag and putting his jacket on, soon heading out the door, kicking some rubbish out of the way as he did. He yawned once more as he just walked to work, already exhausted.
Kokichi really did enjoy his job, despite everything. He enjoyed stuffing different animals and interacting with the kids. He always enjoyed making them laugh, like he was a clown performing for them and making their days better. Although that attitude did also get him in trouble when he went against the parents’ wishes and got what the children wanted. The number of parents that tried to force kids to get a certain outfit when they wanted something else that was the same price, he hated those parents. He listened to what the kids wanted (within reason) and did his best to make the experience good for them, waving mothers off when they threatened not to pay.
He also made sure to sew up the backs of the toys extra tight so the parents couldn’t remove the sound boxes later. Yes he knew some sounds were annoying, but if the kids were happy, that was what was important. He wasn’t going to let anyone ruin their fun.
He yawned to himself before getting back to work, his shift almost over. He got the sound box ready before smiling at the kid, “Right, now then do we have an idea for this guy's name?”
The small kid giggled at the bear about to be filled with fluff, “Kuma!”
Kokichi smiled as he put on a funny voice, “Well hello there! I’m Kuma and I’m soon gonna be ready to take home! I’m beary excited!”
The child laughed as Kokichi got the bear on the nozzle and pressed his pedal to start stuffing. Kokichi loved this part, making the bear come to life, it really made a kids day. He looked around for a second and smiled, “Psst, kid, want to press the pedal?”
The joy in their eyes as they quickly came over and pressed the pedal with their foot, Kokichi was reminded of his family, especially his younger siblings when he gave them a gift. He smiled but then saw his manager out of the corner of his eye.
Sakura was an amazing manager, but he still didn’t want to get told off, “Okay, I gotta take back over now.”
The kid nodded as they took their foot away. Kokichi quickly finished up the process and sewed the bear up before taking the child and parent to the till, “Okay, with the outfit and bear that’s four thousand and thirty yen today!”
“Are you serious! That much for a toy?!” The mother stated as soon as Kokichi finished.
‘Oh boy, one of these customers. I feel bad for the kid.’
The child looked embarrassed but Kokichi kept smiling, “I’m sorry, but those are the prices set by the head office. I just did what you asked and stuffed the bear that you chose. It’s pretty cheap actually since you asked for a voice box as well.”
The parent just glared, “I could get the same bear much cheaper anywhere else!”
The tired teddy bear maker just let a tiny bit of venom seep into his voice, “With all due respect, you pay for the experience here. Please don’t ruin your child’s day by yelling. They were very happy.”
Just as the parent was about to yell what Kokichi expected to be colourful swear words, Sakura walked over, a look of concern on her face, “Is there an issue ma’am?”
The mother’s voice died in her throat as she looked up. Whatever was going to be said just ran for the hills as she closed her mouth, “Oh, n-nothing at all.”
The mother quickly paid as Kokichi packed the teddy bear up. He couldn’t help it as sarcasm leaked into his words, a smile of pure joy on his face, “I hope you have a good rest of the day~!”
After they were gone Kokichi looked up at his manager, “That went well! Nishishi!”
Sakura however did frown at him, “You know you’re not allowed to be passive aggressive to customers. We’ve talked about this before, Ouma-kun.”
Kokichi frowned with a sigh, “I know. But they started it. I just didn’t want to upset the kid. Stupid entitled parents.”
“I know, I’ve seen many and watched those reddit videos my friends send me.” The large woman softly added, “but you still have to not do that.”
Kokichi just sighed as she patted his shoulder, “You’re not in trouble. You made the kid happy, but do be careful. I don’t want anyone to complain and have you fired. You're a good worker here.”
The small male looked at Sakura before smiling, “Got it boss lady! I’ll do better next time! Or is that a lie.”
Sakura was used to this and just nodded, before going to help other guests with their purchases. Kokichi had to admit he had some respect for the woman. While she was strong, she never used her strength to hurt anyone. She may have fought in many fighting tournaments, but just like him, she was somewhat of a pacifist and was always kind to everyone, using her words rather than her fists to end arguments. He’d never admit it out loud, but still, it was hard to earn his respect.
A few more hours and soon Kokichi was done for the day. He helped clean the store before heading home after locking up. It had been a long shift and he was ready to go home, eat and sleep. Rinse and repeat, every day.
As he walked back, he did have a small smile. There had been a few entitled kids but none of them were as bad as that one parent. With the kids he at least could handle them calmly, the parents should know better. Still, he’d helped people with gifts for loved ones and that was one thing he loved about the job. He’d never survive an office job and this was the best thing he could get and still be happy. Most other things would be too boring and he despised boring.
Still, like any work it was incredibly tiring.
Kokichi soon got in and turned the light on, throwing his bag down vaguely by the door. He went straight to the kettle and boiled up some water for some instant noodles, he didn’t have the energy to do anything fancier that evening. He just turned on the TV to watch some anime for a bit while he ate. The noodles weren’t anything special and soon he just got out his laptop and started a video call with D.I.C.E.
Within two rings, his younger sister with pigtails, Arisa, answered. She waved to the camera energetically as soon as she saw Kokichi, “Boss! It’s great to hear from you!”
Before Kokichi could even say hello back the girl yelled off camera, “GUYS! BOSS IS CALLING! GET IN HERE!”
The leader couldn’t help but laugh as soon nine faces tried to crowd around the screen, all bickering to try and get more room as well as angle the camera in such a way that both the taller and shorter people fit into the frame.
Shuu grinned and gave a thumbs up to the camera, “Boss! How’s it going? Are you still terrorising the neighbours?”
Kokichi just laughed, “Oh I wish, I’m being more careful now as they almost got the landlord to kick me out. You have to pick your battles after all. As much as I love the prankster lifestyle I still need a roof over my head.”
“Oh boss, want me to send you some more cake? I’ve been practicing for the bakery.” Tori, the green haired boy added.
“I’m good for now. Plus I don’t want someone to steal it while I’m out. I do work a lot after all.” The plum haired boy answered soberly before going all dramatic, “Oh woe is me! I don’t get to have my follower's amazing baked treats. It was the worst to move out.”
Yuuhi, the brunette girl, folded her arms and pouted, “You should have just stayed.”
“Now now Yuuhi, you know I moved out because we were all getting busy with school and jobs. I still come to visit, but having some independence is good. Besides, aren’t you visiting from university? You moved out too.” The boy pointed out.
The grumpy girl still frowned, “Humph!”
Buroda, the roundest member, just laughed, “It’s okay Yuuhi, we all miss him, but he’s right.”
Takane, the one who had been dubbed mum of the group much to her own annoyance, then aimed the camera at herself, “Remember Ko, we’re happy to help out if you need it. If you need money for better food we’d gladly pitch in to help. We’re family after all.”
Kokichi quickly moved the instant noodle pot out of frame and laughed, “I’m okay, really, but thank you. I just wanted to make sure you were all okay. You know I like to check in with my followers!”
The older woman sighed but smiled softly at her brother, “You know you can’t lie to us. But just know that option is there if you need it.”
Haru, the one with the big red afro, nodded next to her, “Yeah! Family looks out for each other.”
Zensho, the black haired boy, nodded in agreement, not feeling the need to add anything else.
Yamato brushed his fringe before waving, “Well, I hope your day was okay today. Any annoying Karens?”
Kokichi put on a sly grin, “Oh, the usual. There was one but I made her remember that no Karen annoys Kokichi Ouma!”
Shuu laughed, “Heck yeah! Our boss knows how to put lesser demons in their place!”
“Are you calling me a demon? That’s so mean Shuu, I’m -sniff- not like.... WAAAAAHHHHHHH!” The crocodile tears burst from his eyes in a matter of seconds. He didn’t care that he might get a noise complaint as he continued his act.
Shuu rolled his eyes, “Really? You’ve called yourself a demon many times boss.”
The tears then instantly dried up, “Well of course I have, I was lying about being upset! Nishishi! I’m the king of demons after all!”
D.I.C.E laughed before Kokichi waved, “Anyway, I gotta sleep. I got another shift at work tomorrow. It was nice chatting to you guys!”
They all yelled goodnight to him as he ended the call stretching a little and getting up. He just left his empty noodle cup on the table without washing it out before heading off to his bedroom to get dressed and get some sleep.
As he laid down he sighed. Yes, he was a skilled liar, but he still had trouble lying to himself. He was working himself to death just to afford his crappy flat. He needed more money to support himself, but he wasn’t going to just accept handouts. He just wished he had more money. A roommate was out of the question too as he didn’t trust anyone to not mess up his things.
‘I don’t want to have to move back home. I want to be independent. I want to show the world that Kokichi Ouma can survive and isn’t just some waste of space and breath. I want to live and not just scrape by.’
Soon Kokichi went off to sleep, fatigue racking his boy even though he hadn’t been awake that long.
Waking up was always difficult, it was no different for Shuichi Saihara. He had an important meeting today however and had to wake up and go, no matter how much his body complained. He just had to get through the meeting and then he could come home and read. Keep his head down and just be invisible.
Shuichi stretched before slowly getting out of his bed rest, slithering down from the tree branches, ‘I got to be at the demon meeting as I’m under Bishop's jurisdiction. I have to just listen to the lord’s new orders and then go back to gathering knowledge. That’s my job anyway.’
The snake demon flicked his forked tongue out before picking up an apple for breakfast. He inspected it carefully before taking a bite. With just one bite he felt more awake and alive, well as alive as a demon could be. He paused to crack his neck a little and move his scaled arms. His tail felt stiff too, but he knew it would feel better after he started moving around more. He just flexed the muscles, slowly moving his long tail out from his tree bed and yawning once more.
Just as he was about to finish the apple, he heard the door open as a girl with bat wings entered, “Saihara-kun, I’ve come to pick you up! Are you ready to go?”
Shuichi finished the whole apple, core and all as he turned, “Yeah, I think ssso. Thank you, Akamatsssu-sssan.”
Kaede smiled as she walked over, almost tripping over but catching herself before she did. Shuichi quickly stretched his tail to her and helped guide her, “I got you.”
The bat demon laughed, “It’s okay, I may be partially blind but I’m not weak! Put me in front of a human or misbehaving demon and I’ll use my sonar to confuse them!”
Shuichi chuckled weakly before gulping, “Okay, let’sss go.”
The two demons opened the front door of Shuichi’s house before heading off to the town square. All the demons in the area were making their way there as this was official business today. Many demons hated that they had to follow rules, but on this particular day they didn’t want to anger the demon lord, lest they get punished or at worst, destroyed for their disobedience.
Shuichi sighed, causing Kaede to face him, “What’s up Saihara-kun?”
The bluenette just shook his head, “Ah, nothing. I jussst-” He paused to find the right words to express himself, “... I jussst, I know I’m going to be told the sssame old thing. 'Ssshuichi Sssaihara, knowledge demon, read more booksss and exsspand your knowledge for the good of demon kind'. I like doing that, but I really hate that I have to come out here to hear that. The other demonsss look down on me and laugh at how weak I am. I’m not a ssstrong fighter or a sssoul tempter. I enjoy reading but I jussst hate thessse meetingsss.”
Kaede could see the sadness in her friend’s face. It was that obvious to even her partially blind eyes. She just rubbed Shuichi’s reptilian arm in comfort, “Hey, don’t listen to them okay? You are so amazing at what you do! You have the longest tail of any knowledge demon in the area! That shows how amazing you are! Look at all the writing on your scales! You play a vital role here and don’t you forget it!”
Shuichi looked at his long tail, seeing little pieces of writing all over his scales, proof that Shuichi had learned information he would never forget. A living archive of information. His tail had to grow to contain all the information he’d ever learned, so Kaede was right. He had helped many demons when they needed his services, it was true, however, that didn’t stop regular demons taking the piss out of him because he wasn’t your stereotypical hot headed demon.
The snake demon took in a breath and relaxed, “You’re right. Ssstill, I want to get thisss over with ssso I can go back to reading and eating apples.”
His friend nodded, “Okay! I’ll stay next to you the whole time!”
Shuichi smiled and flicked his tongue out happily as they arrived. It was a little boisterous to start off with, but the crowd fell silent when the demon lord’s general appeared, a scroll of information in their hand as they started to call out names. It was the usual meeting considering. Demon names were called out along with the target they needed to get the soul of for hell, then receiving a file of basic information about the human they needed to capture the soul of. Other demons were tasked with disguising themselves in positions of power to corrupt politicians, although they were doing a pretty good job of that themselves without the demons helping.
As Shuichi stood there, listening to the meeting, he could hear giggling from around him. He turned and saw different demons looking at him and smirking and whispering. They pointed at him as they chuckled and that made Shuichi feel nervous. He quickly shifted his gaze away, the eyes on him making him self conscious. He then felt a stamp on his tail and made a small yelp, trying not to make too much noise because the general would scream at him if he disturbed official business. He did however see Kaede look at him before glaring at someone and opening her mouth to make a noise he assumed was so high pitched he couldn’t hear. The stomping didn’t happen again after that and Kaede looked proud of herself. He was thankful for his friend’s help.
The general then got to Shuichi’s name, “Shuichi Saihara.”
Shuichi looked up and was ready for the usual information.
The general's eyes went wide for a second however as he read his notes before speaking with a confused tone, “You are hereby instructed to claim the soul of Kokichi Ouma.”
The whole crowd burst into whispers and hushed exclamations.
“Wait, he’s got to get a soul?”
“Is this a mistake?”
“Trust that snake with a soul? What is the lord thinking!”
Shuichi himself looked like he was about to pass out as he spoke up, “Wait! A-are you sssure that’sss right? I’m jussst a knowledge demon! I-”
“It is no mistake! Those are Bishop’s orders. You have been assigned the soul of a prankster. This should be child’s play. What? Did you forget that your kind can tempt humans with your apples? Get the human to eat three and he’ll be your mind slave and you can do as you wish with him. His soul will be yours. And I thought you were smart~” The general stated with a smirk, causing other demons to laugh at Shuichi.
The snake demon wanted to hide in his coils, to get away from the laughs and the eyes on him, but he stood his ground, “C-can’t another demon do it?”
The general's eyes narrowed, “DO NOT DISOBEY THE LORD! GET IT DONE!”
Shuichi slunk back, gulping as he nodded, “Y-yesss sssir.”
Kaede however smiled as she spoke softly next to him, “You can do it! I believe in you!”
“Well someone has to!” A random demon yelled causing more laughter.
Shuichi really couldn’t take it, sweating and scared of what was happening, ‘I, this has to be a mistake! Me in charge of getting a soul? What is Lord Bishop thinking?! I have to go and have an audience with him and find out why.’
Shuichi was then thrown a file which he caught with the very end of his tail. He inspected it for a second before putting the palm of his hand on the file cover. The second he did, the contents of the file all rushed into his brain. All the information that was gathered about this Kokichi Ouma was now his. The information then appeared on his scales, looking as if it had just been freshly written on him.
‘Kokichi Ouma, 23 years old, lives alone and works at Make-A-Ted. Height is five feet and one inch. Hair colour is plum and has violet coloured eyes. Formally part of a prank group but still likes to pull pranks and cause chaos. Reason for moving is unknown. Target is said to be not that dangerous. Soul collection difficulty is three out of ten. Hmmm, I wonder why they’ve been marked by hell?’ Shuichi thought as he mulled over all the information he’d been given. He still opened the file to see a picture of his target. As the file said, the plum hair was an accurate description. He also looked pretty young looking, quite baby faced in Shuichi’s opinion.
While the file said the soul would be easy to collect, Shuichi still felt nervous. He wanted to know why all of a sudden he needed to collect a soul.
As Kaede and Shuichi headed back to his hollowed out tree home, the bat demon was trying to calm her friend’s anxiety, “Hey, it’s okay. He’s just one stressed out human, this should be a cinch for you!”
“Y-yeah.” Shuichi mumbled as he used his tail to once again guide her. He was still fidgeting a little and Kaede could feel that as the muscles flexed nervously in her grip.
As they arrived back Shuichi put the file down, no longer needing it as all the information was now in his head so he couldn’t forget. He was still stressed however as he started to slither back and forth, “I never go to the human world though. I don’t want to do thisss Akamatsssu-sssan, I just wanted the regular missssion of reading and acquiring knowledge for Hell’sss archivesss. I can hardly talk to other demonsss, how am I going to be able to tempt a human! Even if my applesss can take over hisss mind, I ssstill have to make him eat one.”
Kaede saw her serpent friend was starting to panic and grabbed his shoulders, “Breathe. Saihara-kun, you will be able to do this. The danger is low and you are wicked smart. You can outwit this human with ease and claim that soul. He’s just some low prankster, he’s probably as dumb as a lowly chaos demon. You will succeed! Don’t listen to what the others say, prove them wrong!”
The door then burst open as someone walked in, high heeled boots clacking on the wooden floor, “So, Suckhara got given a mission to claim a soul!”
Shuichi looked up to see Miu Iruma, his other demon friend. The girl's tail slithered behind her as she walked towards Shuichi, small wings flapping, “Well I never thought I’d see the day. Now it’s time for me to teach ya all the moves I know for claiming souls! This genius girl is in double digits when it comes to claiming them after all!”
Kaede rolled her eyes, “I don't think Saihara-kun is going to claim the soul by sleeping with his target. He’s not a succubus or incubus, unlike you Iruma-san.”
Miu rolled her eyes right back, “My knowledge can still help him! He’s a knowledge demon! Lusts 'a good way to catch a man! Go in through the pants!”
Shuichi sweated, “I don’t want to use lussst with thisss misssion. That’sss not my forte Iruma-sssan.”
Miu just waved her hand, “Details, you still should know! Here’s what you do! You wave an apple around them but don’t give it to them until after they buy you dinner. Humans do have the desire to eat your fruit when they see them after all.”
Shuichi seemed to perk up a little, “Oh, that doesssn’t sssound that ba-”
“And then you take them to the bathroom and show them those two fat wangs of yours and-”
“Okay! Thank you Iruma-san!” Kaede yelled as she quickly covered the succubus’ mouth before she said anything more vulgar.
The damage was done though as Shuichi was already hiding his face and torso in his large coils, disappearing under a pile of snake scales, “I’m going to fail. There’sss no way. Even if he eatsss an apple because of my powersss, I’m ssstill going to sssomehow fail and make Bishop mad. Why do I need to get thisss sssoul, anyone elssse is a better choice.”
Kaede looked at Miu and the two girls nodded before slowly unburying Shuichi from his own tail. The bat demon spoke softly, “You just need a confidence boost.”
Miu nodded, “What pancake tits said! You’ve helped me many times when I’ve needed it. You’ve helped me invent stuff by giving me a knowledge apple for a boost. You’re the smartest knowledge demon I know. Not as smart as me but still!”
Shuichi carefully sat back up and sighed, “I’m the only knowledge demon you know.”
“Not the point, Saihara-kun.” Kaede added, grabbing Shuichi by his slightly pointed ear and pouting, “Listen hear and listen well. I’m your friend and I’m telling you to go out there and get this soul! Prove everyone wrong and do your mission or so help me I’ll kick you into the human world myself!”
Shuichi yelped before Kaede let go. He then quickly nodded, knowing she meant well, “R-right! I’ll ssstart forming a plan now!”
Kaede then grinned, “Good! Now then, I’ll give you a tail massage to calm down while you think. You got this, I believe in you!”
Miu grinned as well, “I’ll help too! And jerk you off if you want to help release some tension.”
“No thank you.” Shuichi added, “But thanks.”
The two girls then helped Shuichi come up with a plan of action, all the while the snake demon thought about how he’d confront his demon lord to try and get the assignment given to someone else.
He had no idea that this one mission would change his life forever,
But the question was if it was for better or worse.