"So she attacked you? Just like that?" asked Karazelle from the windowsill, idly tossing grapes into her mouth.

Cobalt sighed and set his pen down. Keeping the Succubus out of his room was becoming a fool's errand, and seeing as the housekeeper considered his broken window lock to be his fault, he wasn't able to afford to get it fixed. He briefly considered asking Quinn to perhaps install a new lock for him, before remembering that not only would she also charge him, but would likely sell a skeleton key to Karazelle, leaving him back where he started.

It was scary how that Imp's mind worked sometimes, and scarier still how he could predict her.

"Well, you know what Izzbelle is like..." he murmured in reply, grading yet another failed Language test.

"Yeah, but... unprovoked? Usually she'll try to find something to get pissed about, no matter how deep out of her ass she pulls it."

"She did give a reason, of sorts. Something about leaving our, um... confrontation unfinished."

Raising an eyebrow, a grape bounced off Karazelle's forehead as she leaned forward, intrigued.

"Oho? Elaborate on that, sugar," she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

He groaned.

"She... saw me practicing in the gymnasium."

"Practicing?"

"Psychomancy. Martial psychomancy to be precise. Apparently, Izzbelle got it into her head that I was holding back on her, and I think that must have hurt her pride in some way."

"So... she tried to go for round two?"

"Indeed she did, insisting that she'd split me in two if I didn't use some of it on her... Absolute nightmare..."

Getting off his couch, Cobalt stepped into his kitchenette, wincing as his stomach growled. Elya's "contribution" had managed to sustain him so far, but at the rate he was going, food was starting to become a real problem. As it stood, all he had in his fridge was a few chicken fillets and half a bowl of cold soup.

Swinging her legs into the room, Karazelle slipped down onto the couch and stretched out languidly.

"Seems she's had you on the brain lately, sugar. Momma always said girls like to bully the guys they like~!" she laughed.

"F- First of all, that's a wildly inaccurate generalisation! Second, Izzbelle is my student, and your classmate besides! It's hardly polite to speak of her like this!"

Rolling off the couch, the Succubus flicked another grape into her mouth and grinned.

"Did I touch a nerve~? Are you catching feelings for the big bad Oni, sugar~?" she teased, fluttering her wings.

Pulling the chicken fillets from the fridge, Cobalt frowned and slowly opened the packaging.

"Karazelle...!" he growled from between his teeth, gripping it tighter.

"I don't blame you, honestly. Being blessed with beauty, brains and bisexuality, I for one can say that you've definitely made a good choice. Ooh, who wouldn't want to be held in those big, strong, muscular arms of hers..."

"Karazelle, please!" Cobalt suddenly cried, whirling around.

Turning far too quickly on his heel, the packet of chicken fillets slipped from the Incubus' grasp and toppled to the floor, where they landed facedown. Swallowing hard, he slumped his shoulders and trudged over to where he kept his dustpan.

"O- Oh... Sorry, sugar..." stammered his student, hands raised.

He waved her apology away and sighed.

"It's fine, it's fine... Accidents happen..."

As he cleaned up the mess he had made, Karazelle awkwardly plucked at her grapes and slowly circled around Cobalt's room, looking for another topic of conversation.

"Still, about Izzbelle-"

"Please drop this."

"- I saw her the other day, and she looked pretty upset. Did you wind up winning your little fight, or...?"

Dumping the tainted chicken into the bin, Cobalt returned to his fridge and grimaced at the sight of the covered bowl that lay within. It was a poorly-blended vegetable soup, and one that was a few days old at that...

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose," he said, lifting the lid and taking a sniff of the liquid within.

But it was obvious that it had long-since gone off. With a shuddering sigh, he tipped it into the bin and dumped the bowl into the sink.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Gripping the kitchen counter, the Incubus winced as his stomach panged.

"I tried to pacify her by using an abbreviated version of a Dire Kiss, transferring the psychomantic payload to my hand in order to avoid lip contact. I stuck my fingers out too far, and they kind of... slipped..." Cobalt admitted, massaging his temples.

Karazelle's eyes widened.

"You mean... your fingers ended up in her-?"

"Don't say it out loud!"

Nodding slowly, the Succubus set her fruit down on the coffee table and slowly seated herself on the couch, hands clasped in front of her.

"Huh... guess the big bad Oni's more of a maiden at heart than I thought..." she murmured thoughtfully, sounding strangely serious.

Cobalt turned to face her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe Izzbelle's never had a first kiss? If so, something like that happening - even accidentally - must be pretty shocking," Karazelle reasoned.

Her teacher frowned. He wasn't terribly well-versed in matters of the heart, but she made a fair point. It would seem that he owed Izzbelle a sincere apology...

"Still, the fact that she didn't flat-out kick your ass is interesting. No offense, sugar, but she is more than capable of putting you clean through a wall."

"Thanks, Karazelle. That really does wonders for my self-estee- Agh!"

An almighty groan erupted from Cobalt's stomach, tearing through the relative peace of the dorm room. Eyes wide, the Succubus crept over to him and placed a concerned hand on his shoulder, only to notice the ajar door of the fridge. Nudging it open with his foot, she cocked her head.

"Sugar... why is your fridge empty?" queried Karazelle, turning back to face him.

He shook his head dismissively.

"I- It's nothing, just money problems. Nothing you need concern yourself about..."

She frowned and glanced around his room.

"Your dorm's pretty spartan, you wear the same clothes every day, and you certainly don't have any kind of poker face to get into gambling, so I don't see what else you could be using all your money for."

"Miss Terna, ple-"

Grabbing the grapes off the table, she thrust them into his hands, looking deadly serious.

"Come on. Eat. I'll go grab some stuff for you," his student suddenly said, turning sharply and darting for the window.

"W- Wait! K- Karazelle, don't-!"

Zipping across the support beam, she stopped halfway and turned around, snapping her fingers.

"In fact, meet me on the roof of the girls dorms tomorrow night!"

"What?!"

"Don't worry, everybody knows by now that you're not a threat, herbivorous as you are! Just be there before midnight, yeah?" she called, before she swung herself into her room.

Grabbing the windowsill, Cobalt sighed and shook his head.

"Herbivorous? What does that even mean...?"

-----

"Okay, ready? One, two, three... Pull!"

A deafening gunshot suddenly rang out through the night, followed swiftly by the sound of a dozen ceramic shards crashing against the roof of the girls dormitory building, much to Cobalt's alarm. Heart hammering in his chest, the Incubus pounded up the last flight of stairs and crashed through the roof access door, frantically looking around for the disturbance.

What he found, however, was none other than Lottie Deyeyr and Quinn Redtile. The dynamic duo were standing in the centre of the rooftop, surrounded by shattered crockery. The Imp gave her teacher a cheeky grin as she thumbed fresh cartridges into her Lead Revolver, whilst the Golem excitedly jumped up and down on the spot, carrying an armful of dishes that had been stolen from the school canteen.

The Incubus frowned.

"Do I even need to ask?" he sighed, picking his way across the roof.

"What? Helps to keep my aim sharp," Quinn replied nonchalantly, spinning the pistol around on her finger.

"You're going to disturb the rest of the dorms with this racket."

"Their problem, not mine. Pull!"

On her command, Lottie tittered excitedly and suddenly lobbed a plate high into the air, whereupon Quinn whirled around and fired her gun into the air. The shot connected perfectly, obliterating the dish in an instant.

"Quinn, cut that out!" Cobalt cried, shielding his head as shards of cheap porcelain rained down all around him.

"You need to lighten up, mate. We're only killing time."

"Quinn!"

Rolling her eyes overdramatically, Quinn nodded to her companion.

"Alright, alright. Drop the plates, Lottie."

"Okay!"

With that, she opened her arms out wide, causing each and every item of dishware she was holding to unceremoniously crash to the ground, creating the most horrendous cacophony that Cobalt had ever heard in his life.

Quinn snorted.

"Maybe I was a bit to literal for you, love."

Lottie cocked her head, her cowlick shaking in the night wind.

"What's a liberal?" she asked, completely oblivious to the mess at her feet.

"Pretty sure we are."

With a drawn-out sigh, Cobalt shivered in the cold and made his way over to the parapet, deigning to deal with the all the smashed plates at a later date. For now, he had an appointment to keep with Karazelle, though for what reason, he had no idea. Sometimes he thought it best just to not question the Succubus.

Noticing the look in his eye, Quinn scooted over to her teacher and took a seat on the low wall separating them from a several-storey fall onto the dorm lawns.

"I'm guessing Kara called you out here, huh?" she said, gently dissuading Lottie from joining her on the parapet with a nudge of her foot.

"She wanted you to meet you too?" Cobalt replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Before midnight, and bring something good. Told me nowt else."

"Bring something good...?"

Before he could pursue that line of enquiry, however, the doors to the stairwell were booted open as Whitney Brode presented herself, carrying a plastic shopping bag under each arm. Upon noticing her teacher, she unleashed an unholy screech, staggering back with shock and almost toppling backwards down the stairwell.

"S- S- Sir! Nobody said you'd be up here!" cried the Nymph, dropping the bags and covering her face.

"Whitney? Are you alright?" the Incubus asked, concerned.

"Y- Yeah! Just, like... stay over there!"

Beside him, Quinn was beside herself with laughter.

"Calm yourself, Whitters! I don't think he's even noticed!"

Cobalt raised an eyebrow.

"Noticed what?"

"See?"

"Don't you dare tell him!"

Grinning slyly, the Imp shuffled closer and craned her neck to whisper into her teacher's ear.

"Looks like we caught her without her makeup on. Take a look at her brows."

Confused, he couldn't help but direct his gaze towards the one eye that wasn't covered by Whitney's electric blue fringe. Sure enough, though he swore she had them before, Cobalt saw that the Nymph was missing her eyebrows. Upon noticing his gaze, her cheeks went red and puffed up.

"QUINN, YOU BITCH~!" she shrieked, her voice loud enough to almost knock the Imp off the edge of the rooftop, if it weren't for Lottie clinging to her legs.

Sensing an oncoming spat, Cobalt quickly placed himself between the two demons and raised his hands defensively.

"O- Okay, that's enough teasing. Quinn, it's not polite to make fun of someone's appearance," he chided sternly.

"I wasn't making fun of her! She looks fine; she's just overthinking it!"

Ears fluttering with embarrassment, Whitney blinked the tears out of her eyes and shot a vitriolic glare at the Imp.

"You know I'm self-conscious about them!"

"Why? You told me you shaved them off yourself so you could draw them on better!"

"IT'S NOT LIKE I ACTUALLY WANTED TO!"

Sensing the air around the Nymph grow more and more electrically charged, Cobalt quickly stepped in and cleared his throat loudly.

"Quinn! Enough teasing, please!" he cried, pointing at the Imp.

He turned to face Whitney, growing a little nervous as the hairs on his arms began to prickle. Being outdoors when a Nymph got flustered was risky, especially so high up...

"Whitney, you look fine, really. Azul shaved her eyebrows off when she was in school too, and they grew back just fine."

"Really?"

"Yes. I had to colour them in for her, though..."

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat and nodded to the bags that she had just dropped.

"A- Anyway, I'll go out on a limb here and assume that you're bending to Karazelle's summons too. What's in the bags?" Cobalt asked.

Dropping to her knees, Whitney scrambled for her dropped bags. Hauling them into her arms, she laughed nervously.

"Y- Yeah, well... she came to my room and was, like, totally being for me to meet her on the roof."

"Dream on, Butterskin!"

From the dormitory stairwell, the Succubus in question suddenly presented herself, booting the door open as she carried a massive stack of frozen pizzas out onto the rooftop. Kicking the pile of shattered dinnerware aside, she dropped them onto the floor and proudly planted her foot atop them like a triumphant hunter.

"You eavesdropped on me talking to Jelli and demanded I let you in on this," she sighed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"N- N- No I didn't!" She's lying!"

As she stammered and stuttered, Lottie toddled over to the Nymph and gently embraced her, muffling her indignant whines. Over on the parapet, Quinn folded her arms and cocked her head.

"Where is Jel, anyway? It's nearly midnight," she remarked, glancing at her watch.

"I got her to try and drag you-know-who along. She just can't say no to those big gooey eyes of hers," sighed Karazelle, taking her foot off the stack of pizzas.

Noticing the bewildered look on her teacher's face, that all-too-familiar mischievous smile appeared on the Succubus' face as she danced to his side.

"Taken a guess as to why I've called you all up here yet?" she asked in a husky tone, leaning in close.

"To be honest, Karazelle, I've long since given up on trying to understand your way of thinking."

She grinned.

"Alright! I guess the rooftop orgy is on!"

"The what?!"

She burst out laughing at the sight of his reddening cheeks, bent over double as she tried and failed to calm herself down. Scowling at the Succubus' antics, Whitney freed herself from Lottie, stepped over to Cobalt and gently placed the shopping bags into his arms.

"Here you go, sir. I hope this helps."

Eyebrow raised, he took a peek inside. Both bags were filled with all kinds of alternative meat products, the kind made for Nymphs on account of their inability to digest meat. Tofu, mycoproteins, paneer... all looked to have been taken directly from Whitney's fridge.

Having calmed down, Karazelle returned to the Incubus' side and put an arm around his shoulder.

"You don't have to put such a brave face on all the time, sugar. If you're struggling, we're always willing to help you out," she told him in a more serious tone, giving him a reassuring smile as he looked up from the bags.

His eyes widened.

"This is for me...?" he breathed.

"Yeah. I asked around to see if anybody had any leftovers or stuff they didn't want, and the girls here all decided to pitch in. Wasn't counting on Butterskin bringer her weird rabbit food, though..." the Succubus replied, turning her nose up at the vegetarian ingredients.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with this stuff!" Whitney snapped.

Grinning maliciously, Karazelle pulled the bags from Cobalt's arms and carried them over to the stack of pizza boxes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure there isn't. But hey, in case you don't feel like eating greens and fungus, I grabbed some frozen pizzas. They're just plain, but they're guaranteed to last."

Cobalt blinked a few times, unsure of what to say. On the one hand, having his financial problems laid out in the open like this was a little embarrassing, but on the other...

He was pretty hungry, and was thankful for his students' kindness.

"My turn! My turn!" Quinn suddenly roared, leaping off the parapet and rushing over to the stack of supplies.

With a triumphant guffaw, she whipped a huge bag of frozen chips from her satchel and precariously placed them atop Karazelle's pizzas.

"Potato's a superfood, innit?"

The Incubus approached the amassed supplies. It was nothing fancy, and certainly nothing expensive, but to receive such a gesture from his students

Well, at this point, they were something more akin to best friends.

"So they say... Thank you, QUinn. Really, this is all... thank you. All of you."

"Wait for me~!"

Not one to be forgotten, Lottie barged into the group, carrying two large cartons of semi-skimmed milk, which she unceremoniously dropped at Cobalt's feet. Karazelle snickered.

"Good stuff, Lottie! Is this all homemade?" she asked, prodding a carton with her foot.

The Golem cocked her head.

"But I can't make milk."

"Could have fooled me..."

As Cobalt made to reprimand Karazelle on her inappropriate remarks, however, everybody was suddenly thrown off by the sound of heavy, thunderous footsteps echoing from the stairwell.

"Here she comes..." Whitney murmured, taking a step back.

They grew closer and closer, to the point where Cobalt could feel the vibrations in the concrete underfoot. When he turned to face the roof access door, however, he was surprised to see Jelli trot outside, panting for breath as she carried a large box in her arms.

"H- Hello!" she gasped, smiling nervously despite the sweat pouring down her forehead.

"Jel! Where've you been?!" Quinn called.

Placing the box next to the rest of the foot, the Glutton wiped her forehead and took a deep breath, her tail quivering in the cold.

"So sorry! I- I was just, um... Izzbelle wasn't really... She took some convincing..."

Noticing Cobalt, she gave a small yelp of surprise, before quickly recomposing herself. The Glutton leaned down and pulled the lid off the box, revealing an assortment of baked goods, from cookies to brownies.

"I- I didn't know what you liked, so... um... I- Ich habe sie alle gemacht..."

Though Cobalt didn't consider himself to be particularly sweet-toothed, he was amazed by the selection of treats that lay before him. Each and every one had been baked with care, and despite how many different kinds there were, they all looked absolutely delicious.

"J- Jelli... This is wonderful..." Cobalt breathed.

Nodding enthusiastically, Karazelle plucked a sugar cookie from the box and took a bite.

"Mm! My oh my, Jelli! You've got the makings of an excellent housewife in you!" she exclaimed, licking the crumbs off her lips.

"W- What? I- I don't know how- Um, I- I- I-!" the Glutton stammered, face going bright red as she struggled to collect herself.

"Stop confusing the poor girl, Whoretits!" Whitney growled, hugging the Glutton protectively.

"Ooh, I hope I hope I'm giving her the good kind of 'confusion'!" retorted the Succubus, watching on with glee as Jelli more or less imploded.

However, the air of friendly banter was suddenly shattered by the sound of the stairwell door being slammed open.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOIN' TO HER?!"

Izzbelle Suyas stood in the doorway; one hand balled into a fist, the other clutching a brown paper bag. She was glaring at the group, already shaking with rage.

"A- Ah, Izzbelle, it's okay! They were just joking!" Jelli cried, slipping out of Whitney's arms and trotting over to the Oni.

She stomped forward, teeth bared.

"Just jokin', huh? A joke at your fuckin' expense! I'll fuckin'-!"

"I- I- Izzbelle, please!"

Noting the pleading tone in the Glutton's voice, she gave a heaving sigh and slumped her shoulders. With a grunt, she allowed Jelli to guide her over to the group, limply clutching the paper bag. She was purposefully avoiding Cobalt's gaze, and he honestly didn't blame her. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened the last time they met...

"Brought this," Izzbelle said gruffly, pulling a bottle of whiskey from the bag.

"A- Ah, thank you," Cobalt replied.

She scoffed.

"Like I give a shit whether you want it or not, dumbass. I'm only here for her," retorted the Oni, planting a protective hand on Jelli's shoulder.

"I- I see."

"The fuck do you mean by 'I see', huh?!"

Cobalt raised his hands.

"Izzbelle, I-"

"Do you wanna go again?! Then let's fuckin' go! Arm yourself, dumbass; this ends now!"

Just before she could summon her Bronze Axe and launch herself into another violent frenzy, Karazelle suddenly stepped between the two demons, arms raised.

"Now now, kiddies, that's enough fighting!" she announced in a high-pitched voice, serving only to anger the Oni further.

"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

The Succubus gave her a wink.

"Calm yourself, tiger. It's about time you two made up."

She gestured to Cobalt.

"Izzbelle, Cobalt here is very sorry that your previous encounter resulted in him stealing your oral virginity via the use of his fingers. Accidentally of course," she announced.

Both the Incubus and the Oni went very, very red.

"I- I didn't-!" "The fuck did you just-?!"

Always quick to take advantage of the confusion she's caused, Karazelle quickly took their hands and joined them together.

"Cobalt, Izzbelle is also sorry for constantly blowing her lid and trying to kill you with an axe. She likes you more than she lets on."

Letting go of Cobalt's hand, Izzbelle swung a fist at her, only to miss as Karazelle nimbly twisted out of the way.

"THE FUCK I DO, YOU BITCH!" she roared furiously.

"Keep denying your feelings like that, and you're gonna give yourself a coronary, tiger."

Clucking her tongue, the Succubus stood in front of the pile of food and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Now, with that out of the way..."

Clearing her throat, she checked her watch before silently counting down from five.

"... Happy first of December, everybody."

Right on her cue, the clouded sky gave a low rumble. Slowly, snowflakes began to fall, drifting down like powdered sugar. Cobalt's students all oohed with awe as this spectacle unfolded, save for Lottie, who immedietely began trying to catch them on her tongue.

The Incubus himself remained silent, deigning to keep his surprise to himself.

Of course, how could he forget? Every year in Hell - like clockwork - it would begin to snow on the first day of December, and would not relent until the new year. It was a meteorological phenomenon that seemingly had no explanation, and had just become an accepted fact of life.

But with the oncoming of the December snows, the Incubus dimly realised that he had survived a full three months as a teacher. Eyes widening, he looked on as the girls all marveled at the snow. Even Izzbelle watched on in relative silence, her anger forgotten in the magic of the moment.

This bunch of rowdy second-years... Someway, somehow, they managed to land themselves a special place in Cobalt's heart, and he couldn't be prouder to call himself their teacher. Smiling at the food they had so generously bought him, the Incubus cleared his throat, drawing all attention to himself.

With a deep breath, he bowed.

"Thank you. All of you," he announced, raising his head.

The Incubus smiled, causing them to return the gesture. Izzbelle tried to hide it by turning away, but he could tell that the Oni no longer bore any resentment.

"You really are the greatest students I could ask for."