It was only when Cobalt opened his fridge after his morning shower that he came to the horrible conclusion that he had completely forgotten to buy himself any food. Staring bleary-eyed at the empty compartments, he sighed and kicked it shut, his stomach twinging painfully. Back when he attended university, he had spent many's a night running off little more than granola bars and apple juice, but never before had he skipped breakfast. This was going to be a difficult day.

Not only that, but he had slept awfully. The dormitory futons were uncomfortable at the best of times, and his thoughts had been plagued by visions of the encounter with Karazelle the previous night. For a while, he had kidded himself into believing that he had simply dreamt the whole ordeal, but Cobalt was eventually forced to reason that it had definitely happened, considering that Lust demons could only have lucid dreams.

"Not the best of starts..." he murmured, lashing his tie around his neck.

Out of the meagre collection of outfits the Incubus possessed, the weathered tie that hung around his neck had to be his favourite. Apparently it was a part of the old B.I.D. uniform before they transitioned to a navy colour scheme, being made from dark grey fabric and decorated with thin red stripes. It was a little worn in places, but Cobalt considered it to be a lucky charm, and had worn it since his mother gave it to him on his sixteenth birthday.

A knock on his door suddenly startled him, prompting the Incubus to nearly choke himself with his own tie. Pulling the door open, he was confused to see the Imp from yesterday standing with his hands on his hips.

"Aw man, rumours were going around that you were staying at the dorms, and here you are on my floor! How's it going, man?" Arnn Srenth asked cheerfully.

He didn't give Cobalt a chance to answer, as he quickly barged past the Incubus and took stock of the room. Noticing the window, the minute demon gasped.

"Dammit, you got one of the best rooms, too!" he exclaimed, stomping his foot.

"Erm, how so?" asked Cobalt, scratching the back of his head.

With a yellow-toothed grin, Arnn pushed his glasses up his nose and jabbed a thumb at the steel beams connecting the buildings together.

"Easy access, amirite?"

Images of Karazelle's visit flashed accross the Incubus' mind, causing him to shake his head and snatch up his satchel.

"I- I don't appreciate such crass talk, even outside of a classroom, Arnn. Now come on; out of my room, please."

The Imp rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright. Class doesn't start for like an hour, anyway," he sighed, jamming his hands into his pockets as he stomped out of the room.

"So what shall you do until homeroom?" asked Cobalt, locking the door behind him as the pair stepped out into the hallway.

"Dunno. Hang around, I guess."

The two made idle small talk as they made their way down to the ground floor, but Cobalt's heart wasn't in the conversation. He was too distracted by all the stares he was getting from the other students lingering about the dormitory. Even amongst the entire male population of the student body, he couldn't spot a single other Incubus.

Steering clear of the common room, he and Arnn instead stepped out into the small plaza out front, and were greeted by a blast of chilly wind. Students lounged about on the benches, some checking their homework over, but most simply swiping through their phones. Over on the grass, a trio of Fallen were playing a game of catch, and by a small fountain, two Succubi were-

"Oh, okay, that's a little much for so early in the morning," the Incubus murmured, turning his gaze away as Arnn oogled on.

His eyes were drawn to the space in-between the two dormitory buildings; a shaded alley of sorts. A small selection of vending machines had been set up by the walls, one of which was being operated by a dumpy Glutton girl. Her stumpy green tail wagged behind her as she pushed coins into the slot, but as the bag of jellybeans she was purchasing thunked to the bottom, another individual stepped out from the shadows.

"Gimme those," a tall Oni growled, snatching the sweets out of her hands.

"B- B- But they're mine!" she whined in return, her voice bearing a curious accent.

Now that she was in full view, he realised that he recognised her. Her mousey-brown hair had been done up in a pair of plaits, and a spatter of freckles lay beneath a pair of large hazel eyes, each already wet with tears. Though he struggled to put names to faces on the rollcall list, he quite clearly remembered her being called something foreign. A human name, if memory served.

"Yeah, like you need 'em, pigface!" the orange demon retorted, jabbing her in the stomach.

Cobalt clenched his fists, but as he made to intervene, Arnn lashed forward and grabbed his arm.

"Best not to, sir," he sighed, looking deadly serious for once.

"Why? I can't just-"

The Imp sighed.

"Look, it's hard to explain. Folks aren't nice to Jelli, and that's just the way it is, alright. You're better off not getting involved; not unless you want half the class beating on you as well."

But despite his mounting nerves, Cobalt shook his head and pulled himself free from Arnn's grasp. Marching across the rain-slicked slabs underfoot, the Incubus placed himself between the Glutton and Oni. Folding his arms, he put on the sternest face he could muster.

"That's enough," he commanded, but his voice shook slightly.

The Glutton cowered behind her teacher as her bully cracked his knuckles.

"Didn't figure white knights would come running to save pigs these days. You looking for a bruising, 'sir'?" he spat mockingly.

Though his legs wanted to buckle, by some miracle, Cobalt stood his ground.

"I won't tolerate such things being said amongst my students. I'll give you this one chance to apologise and walk away, otherwise I'll be forced to take disciplinary- AGH!"

With all the might of a professional shot-putter, the belligerent Oni swiftly hurled the bag of jellybeans at Cobalt's face. They struck him with such force that he was immediately thrown onto his back, whereupon the Oni stepped over him and shot the terrified Glutton a threatening grin.

"Seeya at lunch, pigface," he hissed, before marching out of the alley.

Groaning in pain, Cobalt rolled onto his side and pulled the confectionary away, only for a thin stream of blood to start flowing from each nostril.

"Ah! M- Mr. Trayer, your nose...!" cried his student, fumbling with her skirt pockets.

Producing a handkerchief, she handed it to the Incubus, who gratefully accepted.

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"Ah, thank you, miss...?"

"A- Adeline Pharmine, s- sir... B- But most people call me Jelli... i- if that's okay..."

Hauling himself to his feet, Cobalt pressed the handkerchief to his nose and gave her a slightly blood-flecked smile.

"I must have words with his core teacher, later on. Here, I believe these are yours."

Wiping the bag of sweets clean, the Incubus handed them to Jelli, who tenderly accepted them with a pair of soft hands.

"Th- Thank you, s- sir..." Jelli stammered, her chubby cheeks burning red.

"Think nothing of it. I must say, you have a lovely accent, Jelli. European, I take it?"

Her eyes widened before she looked away bashfully.

"Y- Yes, that's right... Deut- um, German. I grew up in, um... in Frankfurt."

Cobalt nodded slowly and tipped his head forward, pinching his nose as he slowly stained the handkerchief red.

"Germany, huh? I've always wanted to visit, but could never amass the funds," he sighed, stepping out of the alley alongside his nervous student.

She nodded absentmindedly and kept her eyes firmly glued on the jellybeans in her hands. All around them, Cobalt could just about hear the hushed murmurs and stifled snickers of the students all around them. It appeared that this problem involved more than just one black-hearted Oni...

"Well, I think the bleeding's stopped for now. I'll, uh... I'll give this back once I've washed it," the Incubus laughed weakly, wringing the handkerchief and gingerly slipping it into his pocket.

"I- I- It's okay, I have more! I mean, um, you don't have to... K- Keep it! As a gift!"

"You sure?"

Stuffing a handful of sweets into her mouth, Jelli squeezed her eyes shut and nodded ferverently before checking her watch.

"I- I have to go now, Mr. Trayer! Thank you for, um...y- yeah, thank you...!"

Before he could consider a reply, the flustered Glutton turned on her heel and jogged off down the gravel pathway, her tail shaking back and forth with every step. The stares of the nearby onlookers must have scared her off.

With a sighed, Cobalt decided to follow her into the main school building, but was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a painful hunger pang.

"Ugh... this is going to be a long day..."

------

The students of B.I.D. just didn't seem to appreciate the sciences, Cobalt reasoned miserably as he packed up his belongings after another unsuccessful lesson. Try as he might, he just simply couldn't get them interested in even some of the more exciting points of chemistry. Spurred on by the lunchbell, hordes of pupils barged past the Incubus in the hallways, not caring in the slightest for how many times they nearly knocked him clean onto the floor. Exhausted and half-crippled with hunger, he turned to enter the staffroom, only to realise that he hadn't packed himself any lunch.

"Damn it all..." he swore, balling a fist.

There was still the canteen, but upon thinking on it, Cobalt realised that it wasn't such an appealing option. The place was bound to be full to bursting, and a teacher eating amongst the students was unheard of; he'd be laughed clean out of there.

"Agh... Might as well get some air... Try and photosynthesise, I guess..."

With that dour thought, the Incubus turned down a few empty corridors and made his way out into one of the academy's larger courtyards. There were a good few students there, eating their lunches or playing ball, but the weather was pleasant, and there were plenty of free benches to choose from.

As he sat down at one of them, however, Cobalt heard a polite cough from beside him. Startled, he wheeled around to see none other than Jelli standing there, clutching a pink lunchbox in her shaking hands.

"U- Um... may I? I- I mean, if it's okay... sorry..." she murmured, eyes darting around at anything other than her teacher's face.

Despite his crippling hunger pains, Cobalt forced a smile and slid over on the bench.

"Of course, be my guest."

"Ah, danke! I- I, um, thank you, Mr. Trayer... I meant... ja..."

Plonking herself down on the bench beside him, Jelli began to go about unclasping the lid of her lunchbox. For the entire day, he had wondered just what she had done to deserve the treatment she recieved at the hands of her fellow students, but Cobalt just couldn't fathom a reason. She was nothing but polite to anybody she spoke to, and was one of the few of his core pupils that was diligent in her studies. A quick peek at the previous years' reports showed that Adeline Pharmine was an exemplary student with nothing but straight As, and yet she seemed to have no friends to speak of. It was heartbreaking.

Cobalt stomach suddenly growled painfully, earning a worried glance from his student.

"A- Are you okay?!" she gasped, eyes wet with fear.

He forced a smile.

"I'm alright, Jelli, really. I was just forced to skip breakfast this morning, that's all,"

She gasped loudly, a reaction he definitely was not expecting.

"B- But that's the most important meal of the day! You must be starving! Here!"

Plunging a spoon into her lunchbox, she shoved it into Cobalt's hands. The entire thing was filled to the brim with ice-cream, freshly scooped by the looks of it. Covered in sprinkles, marshmallows and other such sweet teats, he felt far too taken aback to refuse.

"Well, uh... thank you, Jelli. I'd be delighted to,"

It was... sweet. Very sweet. Overbearingly sweet, even. But he was a man of principle, and a - hopefully - polite one at that. Choking down a few mouthfuls of the creamy, sugary mess, he gave Jelli an affirmative smile and handed the box back to her.

"It wouldn't do for me to eat all of your lunch, now, would it?" he stated, handing the spoon to the Glutton.

She shook her head.

"I- It's fine, really. It's not like I need it, anyway..."

Cobalt sighed.

"How about we share then?"

Jelli seemed surprised by his suggestion; her large eyes widening upon hearing it. But after a moment of consideration, a little smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she dipped the spoon into the ice-cream.

"O- Okay... M- Mahlzeit..."

As she raised the spoon to her lips, a large leatherbound football suddenly smashed into the Glutton's stomach, throwing her to the ground and spilling her ice-cream all over the bench. Cobalt dove to her assistance, whereupon a collective of chortles rang out through the courtyard. Accross the way, the Oni from earlier stood with his hands on his hips, surrounded by a trio of equally insidious lackeys.

"Butterfingers," he hissed, grinning mercilessly.

Jelli kept quiet, but the tears were flowing thick and fast. Getting to his feet, Cobalt marched up to the Oni.

"I told you this morning to stop harassing Jel- Miss Pharmine immediately!" he chided, folding his arms in what he hoped was a display of authority.

But it was clear that what little authority the Incubus had was a long way from a respectable amount. Grabbing the front of his shirt, the Oni hoisted him into the air.

"What you gonna do? You gonna jump in and fight for her, 'sir'? Hoping to win a smooch from a pig, huh?" he spat, baring his teeth.

Cobalt struggled and kicked his legs, but the student's grip was ironclad.

"S- Stop this right now!" he choked.

"Or what?!"

"Or you'll answer to me, limpdick!" called a loud, familiar voice.

A purple blur rushed in from the school hallway, right before a stockinged leg lashed forward and kicked the Oni right in the teeth. He howled in pain, recoiling as he dropped Cobalt to the ground. Dazed and confused, he blearily righted himself just in time to see Karazelle dodge a furious punch from the belligerent bully. She winked his way and swiftly hurled the entire contents of her canteen tray directly into the Oni's face. With a final pirouette, the Succubus swiftly smashed it directly over his head, scattering bits of shattered wood all over the courtyard.

Covered in woodchips and rice pudding, the Oni hurled a few insults before staggering off with his friends, leaving the courtyard in stunned silence. Sighing in a satisfied manner, Karazelle flipped her hair over her shoulder and offered Cobalt a hand.

"As much as I like seeing you squirm beneath me, sugar, you really ought to get on your feet," she joked, pulling him up.

He let her bawdy joke slide, as at that moment, the Incubus was too stunned to speak. Twice now, Karazelle had rushed to his aid and asked nothing in return. For a while, he thought her to be little more than a girl with dubious intentions, but clearly she had a good head on her shoulders.

"Thank you, Karazelle," he gasped, wiping the dust off his trousers.

She grinned, but it swiftly faded as her gaze drifted past her teacher.

"Oh, honey..." breathed the Succubus, stepping past her teacher.

She pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket and began to clean the ice-cream off of Jelli's uniform. Halfway through, however, she gave up and just embraced the poor Glutton, gently stroking the girl's hair as she burst into a fit of racking sobs. At that moment, she looked like a mother consoling a child, only confusing Cobalt further.

"I know, honey, I know... I know it's not fair..." she whispered, holding Jelli close.

With a sympathetic glance at Cobalt, Karazelle slowly helped her to her feet.

"Here, let's get you back to the dorms. I got a few spare uniforms you can use. Just don't mind the wing holes."

As the pair walked over to the hallway, the Succubus glanced back at Cobalt.

"Things have been rough for her. Thank you for being kind." she sighed, eyes glimmering thankfully.

Swallowing hard, he nodded in reply.

"Yes... Karazelle?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you maybe keep an eye on her? I- I think she needs a friend like you around." Cobalt asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Hugging Jelli close, she smiled a beautiful smile and nodded.

"Of course, sugar. On my honour, I'll keep her close."

With that, the pair began to make their way back towards the dormitories, leaving Cobalt alone in the courtyard. His stomach still protested his lack of a decent meal, but that wasn't the predominant thing on his mind.

Karazelle had a surprisingly kindly side to her. She rushed to their aid without a thought, and even fought for him and Jelli. Perhaps he had her pegged all wrong...

Sighing, he glanced up at the sky.

"I hope Jelli's alright... Though I'd say she's in good hands..."