LiBERA (Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Fanfic)

3. This is friendship. (Of some sort)

"Is there anything you want for your demonic rites, Soyo? Dad will get you anything you ask for."

"You already know things I like," Soyo sighs as his Father pulls him into a side hug, planting a kiss at his temple. He squeezes his gigantic teddy bear to his chest, frowning at the computer screen. "Why bother asking?"

"Because I want you to ask for it for once! You're going to attend school in a few years. You'll have to learn how to ask for things you want, now."

Throughout his new life, Soyo has been given everything: paint tools, a room to hang his paintings, sewing machines, designer tools, games— yeah, he's spoiled.

But he never really asks for them, Father got them for him of his own accord.

The Vassago Family Bloodline Magic, the Scent Trail, allows them to gather 'information' on any individual via 'biometrics'. Quotes are necessary there because the information is selective, and the biometrics part is putting it very vaguely.

Let's take Dad for example.

With a single kiss, he is capable of identifying your current state of mind— usually in the form of a strong emotion, such as hunger or irritation, or even what you're craving or who you're thinking about.

But that's just a single, chaste kiss to the forehead.

Let's say he kisses you full on the lips like a scene right out of a homoerotic fantasy. He is capable of knowing where you've been, what you've done, and who you've talked to in the past twenty-four hours.

In other words, Dad is a sex pest, Soyo concludes.

"Soyo, I can hear you. Have you been talking to your brother recently? You remind me of exactly how he talks," Father says, mournfully. "Professionally, we work with National Security and Investigations. By your definition, I'm a police dog. See, we have the ears."

...police dogs are sex pests?! Soyo steps away, mortified.

"Come here for a second, Soyo, I want to give you a good smack on the head."

Soyo whines, attempting to escape, but he's snatched up into a lap and then he's getting drilled in the head by infuriated knuckles.

Everyone in the family is capable of gathering information via different mediums, or Trails, and the amount and detail of information you get depends on mana consumption. It's completely impossible to hide things from a Vassago in the Netherworld.

(They knew, eventually, about Soyo's past life... and well, they never attempted to hide their knowledge, because seriously, they bought him toys and tools that had everything to do with his past life's hobbies, without even asking.)

(You can't keep a secret in this family, but you apparently also don't pry into secrets.)

(That was nice.)

"Then, Papa, there's something I want," he says.

Father immediately perks up, tail straight and ears raised in very visible interest. "What is it, Soyo? Papa will get it for you, even if I have to run ten laps around the borders of the Netherworld to get it—"

"I want an air pistol."

He immediately freezes in some sort of unspeakable horror.

Soyo's got his old hobbies back, but that's the only thing left. He hasn't held an air pistol since before that incident in his past life that rendered him incapable of holding one ever again, so he missed it, very dearly.

After a while, Soyo waves his hand before his father's. His eyes are frozen in shock, that's a first. "Uhm. Hello?"

His father thaws. "Soyo..." his voice is soft, almost painfully anxious. His eyes are drooped over with a very uncharacteristically serious concern. "I know you've got a lot going on and all... but you need to know that even in the demon world, children don't casually ask for a gun as a present."