I Had A Sort Of Angsty Idea This Morning So I Must Inflict It Upon Other People.

I had a sort of angsty idea this morning so I must inflict it upon other people.

I call it ‘reverse Iruma AU’. instead of a human that was kidnapped to the demon world, it’s a demon that was kidnapped to the human world.

In this, Iruma is Sullivan’s grandchild, related to him by blood. Sully gained custody of him after both his parents died. So he is Sully’s world, doted on and loved.

There was an old, outdated tradition of demons spending time in the human world to understand it better(esp demon king candidates). Sully thinks this is a great idea and decides it’s just what little Iruma needs (and it’ll put him somewhere reasonably safe for a time since the demon world is in turmoil and he wants to keep him safe).

So he brings him to meet the Suzuki’s, a family he trusts as he spent time with them when he was a boy (unfortunately what he didn’t know and had no way of knowing was that while the Suzuki’s he knew were good people, their current descendants, suck). They seem nice and kind and promise to look after him, and Sullivan promises to come back after one years time.

And he does, one year later he returns. Except. The Suzuki’s and Iruma, are gone. The house is long abandoned and the neighbours are just like ‘idk, they moved away several months ago and didn’t leave a forwarding address’.

Sullivan is, understandably, beside himself. Iruma is his family, the only family he has left, and now he’s gone. Stolen by people Sullivan trusted to care for him! So he searches and searches, constantly coming back to the human world despite the protests of Demon Border Patrol to please stop! All the time off is causing him to neglect his duties to the Netherworld. Eventually, after years of searching and pestering from DBP, he finally has to stop and accept he may never see his grandson again. But just cause he can’t go to the human world to search for Iruma, doesn’t mean the search won’t continue. He just, sends someone else.

All anyone not in the know knows is that Iruma just vanished one day and Sullivan became depressed and withdrawn, so everyone kind of assumes the worst happened.

On the Iruma side of things, things were good at first, they were nice. Then they all left on a “trip” (in reality they were bailing on the house to go elsewhere).

Slowly, Iruma was, basically gaslighted into thinking none of it was real. When he asked about seeing his grandpa they just said they couldn’t anymore cause he’d passed away (that was why they’d moved after all, the place was to full of sad memories. And when he brought up things like flying they were just ‘oh what an imagination’. And since Iruma was young he just, began to believe it after a while (also, since he was staying on earth his horns and wings and demonic features were hidden with glamour). He still has hazy memories of his grandpa and things like magic and flying, but as he grows just assumes he had a very active imagination as a child.

He also ends up with a deep aversion to mirrors that he can’t explain. when he looks in them what he sees just feels, wrong somehow. He can’t put his finger on why, so he just straight up avoids looking in a mirror.

But then one day, when he’s around, ~14, a black cat follows him home.

It’s adorable and clingy and his parents are just like ‘yeah sure ig you can keep it, but you have to look after it’ when he asks about keeping it. He decides to name it 'Opera’ (he doesn’t know why, cause it’s such a weird name but it just, felt right). Iruma’s also the only person it seems to like, it’s indifferent to everyone else and hates his parents.

The cat occasionally vanishes for days at a time but always comes back. until one day it doesn’t. but a strange man with horns and wings does appear and spirits him away. He’s scared at first, but as they’re flying through this strange world, he feels this overwhelming sense of nostalgia. He knows this place. Knows this man, he’s sure of it.

Obviously enough, the cat /was/ Opera, tasked with finding Iruma by Sully years ago. The only reason Opera didn’t just, eviscerate Iruma’s parents on the spot (and oh boy did they want to) was cause they didn’t want to cause the boy any more trauma. They did get a few good swipes in tho and did draw blood on more than one occasion. which was cathartic enough. Opera figured out Iruma was the boy he was looking for b/c Iruma called him Opera but also b/c of the things Iruma would talk to them about (his hazy memories from his time in the netherworld, memories of Sullivan etc)

Only a handful of people in the Netherworld actually know the details of what happened to Iruma. All most people know is, Sullivan had a grandson that he doted and loved. Then one day the boy was just, gone, and Sullivan grew depressed and distracted and just, was not himself. So like, they all kind of assumed the worst.

Then like a decade later a boy shows up at Babyls that Sullivan insists is in fact his grandson.

Sully would, absolutely be a massive helicopter parent and never want to let Iruma out of his sight ever again. Iruma has, his own issues. His wings are stunted in their growth and atrophied from lack of use. He wants to fly so badly but he just, can’t. Wings too small and weak. also the first time he sees himself in a mirror after the glamour comes off, and he sees his horns he just about cries. not from fear but just cause, he looks right. That’s him in the mirror, not that weird imposter. He also has some mad separation anxiety, getting terrified anytime someone leaves him alone.

side note but Kalego was very baffled (and maybe, maybe a touch worried) when Opera just, fucking vanished for several years (the time they spent searching for Iruma). Like, Sullivan was always accompanied by Opera and then one day the cat butler was just, fucking gone. He swears he wasn’t worried but he sure did find himself feeling better when Opera did reappear.