Chapter Text
“Hey! Did you hear that Kalego-sensei turned into Iruma’s familiar?” a student asked another student as Kalego walked past them.
Kalego said nothing and gritted his teeth upon coincidently hearing that.
”So what?” a part of Kalego wanted to walk up to the two students and retort. What if Kalego was Iruma’s familiar? What was the matter? What was wrong with that?
Contrary, Kalego took a deep breath in, calming himself down as he maintained a calm composure before walking off to the Teachers’ Lounge. The fire in him would not stop, the fear of being vulnerable would not stop there either.
The deep breaths he took in were what Balam-sensei would do to calm himself down if he was really angry at times.
He even recommended it to Kalego a few times and said, “It’s a really good way to calm yourself down, Kalego-kun! You should try it if you need to, Kalego-kun!”.
”Alright, I’ll see if I need it, Shinchiro. Thanks.” Kalego replied. That time, Balam and Kalego talked about how to calm themselves down if necessary. Sometimes, Kalego would find their talks meaningful.
“You know, Kalego-sensei is so strict! I don’t like him!” a student whispered to another student beside her.
”Me too.” the other student replied.
Unfortunately for them, it was just loud enough for Kalego-sensei to hear.
“Tch.” he thought to himself. But soon after hearing many students gossip about him, not to mention, a horrible and tiring day of having to deal with troublesome students, he was beginning to doubt himself.
Was he really that strict? A part of him wanted to say, “No. You’re only strict for their good.” but then, another part doubted himself.
“Maybe I was really too strict. Perhaps if they got another teacher to be the guard dog of Babyls, things would be more different.” He thought to himself, lips curling into a frown.
Was he really that strict? He asked himself as more negative thoughts and opinions filled his mind. He could not take it anymore.
Just the thought of it, formed tears in Kalego’s eyes, thick tears pricked at the corner of Kalego’s eyes, threatening to spill right there and then.
“Everything is going to be alright. Don't cry. You aren't supposed to cry. You must not cry.” Kalego reassured himself, trying to prevent the tears from falling. The heart of a Naberius shattered. He hated this. He did not know if he hated himself or his character, which led him to cry even harder.
None of his assuring words were enough to stop his tears from falling as more tears formed in his eyes and they simply would not stop. The tears would not stop neither would his negative thoughts.
"Stop crying, damn it. You’re… You’re... being a disgrace to the Naberius family..." Kalego thought to himself, as he wiped his tears away but his tears kept falling onto Royal One's golden floor.
The pressure of maintaining his status as the guard dog of Babyls was finally getting to him. But, he believed that telling anyone, including his colleagues, was a sign of vulnerability. A sign of being weak. A weakness.
The Naberius clan would probably say. He had no right to cry. Crying was a waste of time, it showed how vulnerable he was. How helpless and foolish he was.
The “golden rule” of the Naberius clan that he had broken. “Don’t cry.” They said.
But, he could not help it. He covered his tear-filled face with his hands as his uncontrollable tears came down like a waterfall.
He sat down on one of the chairs in Royal One, with his hands on his lap.
He teared up even more as he thought, "That's right. No one is going to pity you. You shouldn't either.".
His loud sobs filled the quiet and silent Royal One.
Suddenly, there were two knocks on the door before someone entered the room.
Kalego desperately tried to wipe away his tears but his red eyes from all the crying had said it all without even using words at all.
"... K-Kalego-sensei? Are you alright?" Iruma asked, feeling concerned.
"... Do you need something, Iruma?" Kalego replied, trying to act normal.
"I-I left something behind and I came back to get it. But, most importantly, are you okay?" Iruma asked, clearly concerned for his teacher.
"... Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Kalego sniffed as he desperately wiped his tears using his arm to cover himself from Iruma.
"... Are you crying, sensei?" Iruma asked, yet again too observant for his own good, noticing his teacher's tone. It seemed sad.
There was no response from Kalego himself, just utter silence from the other, unwilling to admit that he was crying.
"Hey! What are you..." Kalego got cut off by Iruma pulling him into a tight hug.
"Hey, Kalego-sensei," Iruma started, burying his face in Kalego’s shirt.
"… What is it?" Kalego responded, still in tears but held back his tears for the time being.
"... You know, everyone has their weakness and limits. It's okay not to be okay, Kalego-sensei. It's alright now, you can cry. You can let all your frustrations out. I’m here for you, sensei." Iruma flashed a gentle smile, as he gently patted Kalego on the back.
A serene face that Iruma had which Kalego felt calm and at ease seeing. Kalego swears that this troublesome student is going to be the death of him.
“You said it. Don’t regret it, idiot.” Kalego said as he then cried. Tears he would have not expected flowed down his cheeks.
”I wouldn’t. Even if my life depended on it, sensei.” Iruma responded, giving Kalego a sincere and faint smile.
He tightened both arms around Iruma, not wanting to let go. Afraid that Iruma would push him, someone so vulnerable away.
"It's okay, Kalego-sensei. I'm not going anywhere." Iruma reassured him while hugging him back.
Kalego continued to cry as Iruma continued patting him on the head and hugging him like a parent would do with their crying child.
Iruma would be there for Kalego even though no one was there for him when he needed them simply because he was too kind. Lifting everyone up while no one lifted Iruma up.
But being there for someone was more than enough for Iruma to be happy. That was because it filled the gap Iruma once had in his heart. The fear of being alone. But now, with Kalego-sensei, he is no longer alone.