Amidst all of the rambling anecdotes, mismatched notes and overly glorified depictions of his father in his prime, Cobalt found Calvin Srenth's book to contain a wealth of useful information. While many of the combat names seemed to be rather theatric and sensationalised - bearing titles like "Throat Breaker", "Low Expectations" and "Bell Rings Twelve" - the actual descriptions of the movements required to pull them off were both intriguing and informative. With Mistress Viola's begrudging consent, he found himself heading down to the underschool whenever he had free time in order to practice on the old equipment that remained down in the Rowdy Boys' old hideout. A part of him felt guilty, as the exams were tenuously close and he still had a class to look over, but in all honesty, the combat drills Brass taught him were one of the few things that helped keep the burning in his gut under wraps.

He let the flames spread slow, keeping them simmering and under control until he struck the punching back, allowing their heat to aid and temper him rather than drive him to madness. The practice incited an odd tranquility in the Incubus; a sense that regardless of the outcome of the inevitable conflict, he'd face his end with a clear mind.

It was... relieving.

But Lilith was of another mind. She found the Incubus' constant ruminations on the end of his life to be disturbing, and demanded he at least spent some of his day actually looking after himself rather than practicing down in the underschool, much to his chagrin. He didn't need to go through so much effort anymore; a full night's sleep and square meals weren't going to matter much when an army of Devils were bearing down upon him. Besides, nutrition was a tenuous prospect at best. Despite the readily-available bear meat at the market, his funds weren't looking too good, and even so he found it lacking in... vivacity.

That morning, however, Lilith refused to let Cobalt out of his apartment at all. He had woken up that morning with blood all over his bedsheets; seepage from the fresh wounds all along his arms. Try as he might to play it off, she shook her head and forced a roll of bandages under his nose, demanding that he sit down and take care of himself for once.

"... I just don't see the point," Cobalt remarked, winding the bandage around his arm.

Lilith, stood by the door with her arms folded, gave him an intense look.

"I don't care. You stop looking after yourself, then you're basically writing yourself off for dead."

"But-"

"But nothing! Listen, I can sit back and let you yammer on about all your defeatist bullshit, but I'm not about to let you start rotting away just because you can't be bothered with basic self-care! I have to use your body too, you know!"

Tying the bandage off, Cobalt glared at her.

"When these Devils arrive, that's the end of the road for me, Lilith."

"How can you be so sure? Didn't your dad teach you how to get a handle on that?"

Cobalt looked down at his arms and clenched his fists. Through the gauze, he could see his veins glowing in response; his wounds shining brightest of all.

"... I can't be certain. And in all honesty, I can't afford to cling to any hope of recovery. That'll just set me back to square one."

"But-"

"Lilith."

Cobalt fixed her with a serious gaze. The Devil's gaze softened as her single, blood-red eye met his own. Time was she couldn't look at him overlong. They had both come far, and his heart twinged at the thought of all of that work being for naught. But unfortunately for him, reality was seldom fair, and he needed her to realise that as much as he did.

"I don't expect you to understand, but... this is the closest I've ever felt. To truly losing myself. One lapse in concentration and I see the roses blooming all around me. Even if - against all odds - we come out of this victorious, it's... it's still over for me. I made my peace with that, and from what you've told me, you have too," he said, remaining calm and collected even as she grew more agitated.

She shook her head.

"I've faced impossible odds before, so don't you dare lecture me on hopelessness. I told you I'd fight until the end, but that does not mean I'm going to accept you just lying down and taking it!" she snapped back, balling her fists.

"I'm not lying down. I'll take as many of them down with me as I can, should it come to it."

"And if we do win this thing?"

He didn't have an answer for that particular question. Cobalt just stared at the bandages as his blood seeped through them.

"Lilith... when the Incubi you saw devoured themselves after everything... how exactly did they-"

Storming forward, the Devil suddenly slammed her foot down onto the coffee table, knocking down the pile of trash that had accumulated there over the previous weeks. She was glared at Cobalt, her tail violently thrashing behind her.

"You even think about killing yourself, and I'll throttle you with my bare hands, you understand me?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Cobalt swallowed hard. To think, not that long ago, she could wait to be rid of him. And yet there they both were, closer than kin.

"I- I understand," he murmured, leaning back into the couch.

"Good. Because I don't need-"

Lilith's gaze suddenly flitted up, towards the curtained window.

"You've got a visitor," she said in a less-than-enthused tone.

Taking a deep breath, Cobalt nodded and slowly rose from his seat. He had a feeling this confrontation would be rearing its head sooner rather than later. But he needed to tell Karazelle to back off, away from him. No matter how much it hurt.

Reaching forward, he pulled the curtain aside just in time to see the Succubus step onto his windowsill, her hand raised and ready to knock. With a soft smile, she opened his window and knelt down to face him.

"Hey, sugar," Karazelle said in a gentle tone of voice.

Looking past him, her face fell upon noticing Lilith.

"And you too, I guess," she added in a much flintier tone.

The Devil just rolled her eye as Cobalt took a deep breath in order to steel himself.

"Karazelle-"

"Do you wanna come over to my place?"

He blinked.

"What?"

Hooking a thumb over her shoulder, she leaned back in order to gesture to the open window at the other side of the gap, its curtains flapping in the breeze.

"Of course, this invite's only good for you. Sorry," Karazelle said loudly, glaring at Lilith.

With a scowl, the Devil made a vague gesture.

"Fine, whatever. I'll hang back here. I've heard enough of your mewling for one lifetime anyways," she said, sitting down on the bed.

"... Right. What do you say, sugar? I got dinner ready. Sorta."

Glancing back at his Devilish companion, Cobalt nodded dumbly and took Karazelle's hand. She pulled him up onto the windowsill and carefully guided him across the support beam, encouraging him to keep his eyes off his feet and on her. Once at the other side, they clambered on through into Karazelle's dorm room, shutting the window behind them for good measure.

He landed on his feet, right on the mark. No more ungainly staggering and tripping about.

Cobalt didn't know what to expect with her anymore. For the longest time, he would have anticipated some manner of seductive scheme or other, but recently... he didn't quite know. Sometimes it seemed like Karazelle was the only person who understood - even without everything he had going on - and that only made what he had to say to her stick in his throat all the harder.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Here we are. Nice to get away from her for a few minutes, huh?" the Succubus suggested, cracking a smile as she walked off into the kitchenette.

He just nodded slowly and gazed around her room. There was something different about it, and yet nothing had really changed. Her posters were all in the same spots on the wall. Her bed still hid piles of clothes that she kicked under there in an effort to make the floor somewhat tidy. Her desk was still laden with study material, and her bed was as rumpled and unmade as it always was. And yet...

Cobalt sharply inhaled, and came to a realisation.

That was it, wasn't it? Karazelle's scent. The sweetness of the perfume she wore, mixed with the more natural smell of the Succubus herself. It always clung to her, drawing his attention when ever she passed, but here it had sunk into the very walls, permeating everything and plunging Cobalt into a world of Karazelle. She had only stepped away for a few moments, and yet Cobalt already felt himself yearning for her return. He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead, the saliva pooling in his mouth, his heart hammering louder and louder...

What... was this...?

Karazelle's room was always somewhere he had only ever gone out of necessity. And yet a simple invite was enough to get him to come here, when so many of her previous attempts failed. What changed? What was different here?

"So, good news and bad news, sugar. The bad news is I burnt my pizza," she called from her kitchen, dumping something into the bin.

Stepping over to her fridge, the Succubus reached in and pulled out a plate.

"Good news is I can't exactly burn raw meat, so you're set!" the Succubus laughed, presenting him with a plate of red, neatly-sliced cutlets.

She said that with such a wide smile on her face, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Cobalt just accepted and stared at his food, while his student sat down beside him on the couch.

"This whole 'raw meat only' thing actually might be good for me, come to think of it. Can't fuck up food prep if there's no prep at all, right?" she joked, in an effort to break the silence.

But her smile faded upon noticing the look in Cobalt's eyes. With a sigh, she shuffled closer and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Hey," Karazelle whispered, "you don't have to if you don't want to."

Cobalt shook his head, his growling stomach betraying his starvation.

"I- I do, I do. It's just... I don't want you to see," he replied, unsure of just what he was saying.

She suppressed a laugh.

"Without meaning to sound rude, I've seen you do worse, sugar. How many times do I have to tell you? You're not about to scare me off. Not now, not ever. So eat up, okay? You're all skin and bones."

His heart weighed heavy, but his hunger overtook any sense of modesty the Incubus had left. Abandoning the fork Karazelle gave him, he picked a slice of meat up between two claws and swallowed it whole.

Beef. Cold. Raw. Dead. Far from appetising. But he thanked her regardless and ate everything on his plate. Setting it aside, the Succubus linked her arm through his and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she said simply.

"For what?"

"For everything."

A strange sensation ran through Cobalt. Was this what it was like to be at the receiving end of such a dour apology.

"I don't understand," was all he could say.

She nodded slowly.

"Do you remember when I showed up at your windowsill on the day we met?"

He felt his cheeks burn at the memories. For so long they were an embarrassment; something he tried to forget. But when he thought about that Succubus sitting on his sill in that tenuously thin nightdress, wind-whipped by the night air..."

"I could never forget," Cobalt breathed.

"Cards on the table, I only did it for my own sake. At first, anyway."

There was regret in her voice.

"Before school started, I heard Momma talking about you over the phone. She was getting so riled up, and I thought 'hey, now there's a way I could get at her.' Couldn't even tell you what the plan was. I just wanted something - anything - to piss her off, and I almost jeopardised your job to do it. Heh... good thing I wasn't your type, huh?" she explained, giving him a little smile.

Cobalt started, physically recoiling from the last thing she said. He tried to say something, to let her know that it wasn't true, but she kept talking before he could get a word out.

"Still, I kept at it. Momma was always on your case, and if I hung around you, then I got to see that up close, y'know? I never thought I'd... well... I never thought I'd wind up getting this close to you, sugar."

She scoffed.

"'Sugar'... heh... I came up with that on the fly. I was struggling to think of something sexy to say, and that was what my mind went to. Something your mom said in one of her movies, actually; can't quite remember which one. Still... I kept calling you that, even after I stopped seeing you as a means to an end and started seeing... well... you."

"K- Karazelle..."

"It didn't take long, you know. In fact, it seemed like the moment you first opened your mouth to me, you had me. Just like that. What was it you said...?"

Straightening up, Karazelle puffed out her chest and raised a finger as she pulled an overly-stern face.

"As your core teacher, I cannot possibly condone such acts! Please, return to your room and stop this at once!" she called, mimicking her teacher's accent to a comical degree.

With a laugh, she toppled back onto the couch, draping herself across Cobalt's lap in the process. And yet he could sense no ulterior motive from her. She was totally comfortable, and more jarringly, so was he.

"Those were the days, huh? Fighting me off with a broom in the name of moral ethics?" the Succubus said, grinning up at him.

"Karazelle, I... I never meant to hurt your feelings-"

"You didn't. No matter what I did - no matter how much I overstepped or made you uncomfortable - you never did anything to make me feel bad, sugar. And that's why I'm sorry."

She reached up to touch his face.

"You're too good for us, you know that?" Karazelle said, eyes glimmering in the sunlight.

"What...?"

"Too good for me, scheming minx that I am."

"What are you saying?"

She sighed and shrugged.

"... I don't know. A lot of stuff's been put into perspective lately, what with everything that's been going on."

"The exams?"

"Those too."

Sitting back up, she returned her head to Cobalt's shoulder.

"I just want you to know that's not who I am anymore, I guess," she said, slipping her hand into his.

It felt so natural.

"That I've always stuck around for you because I like you. As a person. As a friend."

Her grip tightened, and so did his.

"You've done more for me in these last two years than anyone ever has in my life, Cobalt," Karazelle said.

"That's not-!"

"I'm serious. You saved my life. You made my actual literal dreams come true with the Phrodival trip. You supported me way more than any teacher ought to."

She swallowed hard, as though she were having trouble retaining her composure.

"... You've given me purpose," the Succubus said, her voice low and shaky.

"... What...?"

"Momma never put much stock in my interests, you know. So I spent more time trying to get her attention than actually talk to people, or learn a hobby, or... But without you, I never would have met the others, and without you, I would have been happy to drop out by now and spend the rest of my life as a freeloader."

As she heaped the needless praise on his head, Cobalt found himself growing restless. Part of him justified that this was just lip service - another ploy to get his guard lowered - but he knew for a fact that it was anything but.

"But because of you, I finally found the answer to that question you asked me back in Phrodival, at those little docks in the lake."

Turning his head, the Succubus peered deep into his eyes. Cobalt could hear his own heart pounding.

"I wanna be a teacher, just like you. I'll do whatever it takes to follow your example," she said with a smile as her hands gently cupped his cheeks.

"Wait... it's..." he guttered, barely able to speak.

"A lot of work, I know. But I'm willing to do it."

"I- I'm not a perfect teacher, Karazelle. I'm not even a good one. Just ask your mother, she-"

Her grip tightened, silencing him.

"What does she know, sugar? Does she see the smile on your face when you're teaching a class? Does she hear how lively you get when you give presentations? Does she notice the glint in your eye when someone gives the right answer? Does she laugh with us at your jokes? Does she care about you? At all?"

She was shaking, and in her little tirade, she had grown oh so close. A mere inch of space lingered between the tips of their noses, and yet Cobalt did not pull away.

"Cobalt," Karazelle breathed, her eyes full of light and lingering tears, "I don't know how to explain this without sounding insane. But on that day, down in the Punishment Chamber, you said a lot of stuff. Stuff you probably can't remember, right?"

He nodded slowly, feeling her fingers caress his cheeks.

"... Well you asked me a question. A question you outright told me you didn't have the courage to ask. A question I don't really have any right bringing up with you right now."

"K- Kara-"

"Yes. My answer is yes. In a moment, in a heartbeat, in a second; yes. Even if I have to wait a year or a decade or a century, my answer will still be yes. And I will wait, sugar. As long as it takes."

Every heartbeat blurred his vision. Every breath deafened him. At that moment in time, the only thing Cobalt could see were her eyes, bearing down upon him with a gaze that completely scrambled his thoughts.

"... What... did I ask...?" he queried as electricity tingled up his spine.

She shook her head.

"Not my place to tell you. That's something you'll have to figure out yourself."

Gently, Cobalt fell back against the armrest of the couch as Karazelle threaded her fingers through his. His hands were raised above his head and pinned in place - gently, with almost no force applied - as the Succubus pressed against him, her own breaths coming as quick and irregularly as his own. They were both running hot; he could feel it through the thin fabric of their shirts. Her face drew ever closer to his, her lips slightly parted and her breath burning against his mouth.

He had to push back. Impulses wanted for controlling; he was better than this! He was a teacher, for crying out loud! Her teacher! Never mind her indescribable pull, or the smell of her skin, or the look in her eyes, or the feeling of her tail coiling around his, or... or...

... It was all ending soon, wasn't it? Cobalt came here to let her down, to push her away, and yet... with the Succubus so close, his inhibitions all began to melt away. There was no point in pretending anymore.

Fuck.

With nothing left to hold him back, Cobalt allowed Karazelle to kiss him.

It had happened before, all those months ago at the end of his first year as a teacher. But that little peck was nothing compared to this. Karazelle kissed him deep, and she did so with passion, taking care not to push too hard or force herself on too strong. In kind, Cobalt didn't pull away, instead allowing her tongue to meet his own. The Succubus tightened her grasp on her hands and pressed her chest right up against his, her thighs clamping tightly against his waist. All the while, not a single thought ran through the Incubus' head; just the moment at hand, and all the delicious sensations it brought.

Occasionally their lips would part, allowing tiny snatches of their voices to escape before the liplock was regained. Karazelle was as gentle as she was firm, and with her at the reins, she eased Cobalt into a rhythm that set his mind adrift in a soothingly calm ocean, as purple as her skin and as sweet as her tongue. His own fingers locked around her hands, as though he were begging her to continue, to press him harder.

After what seemed like hours - days, even - they broke the kiss. Between them, there was not an ounce of dignity to be found; they were all smeared saliva and panting breaths. It took a while for either demon to regain their composure, their cheeks burning as a single realisation struck them both.

A line had been crossed that could not be undone. And yet...

... the question remained if they were to go further.