Demon Love
Prologue – The Starry Sky Child
The night Aiko Hoshizora (星空愛子, "Love Child of the Starry Sky") was born, the city of Tokyo glittered with stars so bright that even the neon lights seemed to dim in respect. Her father often told the story with a theatrical wave of his hands, as if the heavens themselves had paused their endless spinning just to peek at his daughter.
"Even the moon bowed that night," he would say proudly, puffing his chest. "You cried so loud the gods must've thought a new celestial being had arrived."
Aiko, at seven years old, would usually roll her eyes. "Dad, I was a baby. Babies cry. I wasn't some goddess."
Her mother would chuckle softly, tapping Aiko's nose. "But you are our little ten no ko (天の子, child of the heavens)."
From the very beginning, Aiko was… different. Not in the tragic, cursed way of storybook heroines, but in the odd, almost comedic way that made neighbors shake their heads in fond exasperation. She had an imagination far too big for her small body. While other kids played house, Aiko was staging elaborate "exorcisms" in the backyard using crayons for talismans and juice boxes as holy water.
At age six, she solemnly declared to her parents:
"Don't worry, Mama, Papa. If a demon attacks us, I'll protect you."
Then she slipped on a futon sheet she had tied around her shoulders like a shrine maiden's robe and fell flat on her face.
Her parents weren't worried about demons. They were more worried about how their daughter might break her nose one day.
As Aiko grew, so too did her curiosity for the unseen. She devoured books about yokai (妖怪, supernatural beings/monsters) and demons, scribbled half-baked summoning circles in her notebooks, and sometimes whispered "spells" she saw in anime under her breath before tests. Her teachers thought she was eccentric. Her classmates thought she was entertaining. And Aiko herself? She thought she was preparing for the day destiny would drop something extraordinary into her very ordinary Tokyo life.
"Maybe," she told her best friend Mika once, "a handsome vampire will come to school and fall in love with me."
Mika rolled her eyes so hard she nearly sprained something. "Or maybe you'll just marry some boring salaryman and live in Shinjuku. Be realistic, Ai-chan (愛ちゃん, little Ai)."
But Aiko refused to be realistic.
By middle school, her interests expanded to music. She wasn't the best singer at first—her voice cracked, and she sometimes sang so loudly in the shower that neighbors knocked on the door to complain—but she loved it. To her, music was magic in its purest form. When she sang, the world listened, even if it was just the family cat glaring at her from the windowsill.
Her friends teased her often, but they supported her.
Haruto, the group's clown, liked to imitate her singing by howling like a dying wolf until Aiko chased him with her shoe.
Sayuri, the blunt one, once told her, "You sound like a drunk shrine priestess… but, like, in a charming way."
It wasn't easy growing up "average rich." Her family had enough money for good clothes and lessons, but not enough to keep up with Tokyo's elite kids. Aiko was never the prettiest, nor the smartest, nor the richest girl in her classes. But she was always… noticeable. Like a flicker of candlelight in the corner of your eye—small, but impossible to ignore.
And then came high school.
At sixteen, Aiko was caught in the whirlwind of teenage life:
A beauty contest she never expected to join but somehow got dragged into. Music classes she adored, plus a looming schoolwide music contest. Three best friends who kept her grounded with constant banter. And a boyfriend—Renji—who turned out to be less "Romeo" and more "trash who flirts with your class rival behind the gym."
When she caught Renji's betrayal, she didn't cry right away. She stared at him, deadpan, then said,
"Wow. You couldn't even cheat creatively? Behind the gym? Really? At least rent a love hotel, you cheap jerk."
Her friends applauded her savagery, but Aiko's heart still stung.
That night, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling plaster glow stars she'd stuck there as a child. Maybe Mika's right, she thought. Maybe I'll end up boring and ordinary. Maybe demons don't exist, and destiny is a lie.
But then, almost stubbornly, she smiled to herself.
"…Or maybe my real boyfriend is just late to the party. He's probably a dark, dangerous guy with wings. Totally normal."
Aiko laughed at her own ridiculousness and drifted off to sleep, never knowing that in a few nights, walking home with groceries in her hands, she would meet him—
The one with wings black as midnight.
The one who carried a sword with blades at both ends.
The one whose name made even demons tremble.
Zael Akuma (災厄の魔王ザエル, Zael the Calamity Demon King).
And he was about to turn her very ordinary Tokyo life upside down.
Chapter One – School Days and Shattered Hearts
The day had barely started, and Aiko Hoshizora (星空愛子, Love Child of the Starry Sky) already wanted to crawl back into bed.
Her alarm clock had betrayed her that morning, ringing ten minutes late. She had burned her toast. The family cat, Tama, had swiped the last piece of fried fish from her plate. And her mom, ever cheerful, had chirped, "Ganbatte ne! (頑張ってね, Do your best!), Ai-chan!" as if the universe wasn't already conspiring against her.
By the time she got to school, her hair was slightly frizzy from the Tokyo humidity, and her mood was somewhere between murderous and hungry.
Then she saw Renji.
There he was—her oh-so-charming boyfriend—leaning close to Yukino, the girl who wore her skirt two inches shorter than regulation and had eyelashes so long they probably interfered with satellites.
Yukino laughed, tossing her hair. Renji smirked. Aiko's blood pressure skyrocketed.
"Sayuri," Aiko said, her voice low and dangerous, "please confirm what I am seeing. My eyes might be broken."
Sayuri pushed up her glasses and answered with zero hesitation. "Your boyfriend is trash."
Haruto leaned over, grinning like a hyena. "Want me to 'accidentally' dump my lunch on him later? I've been practicing my innocent face."
"You don't have an innocent face," Aiko muttered.
"Exactly. Which makes it even funnier."
Mika popped a piece of melon bread into her mouth and shrugged. "Honestly, Ai-chan, I warned you. Renji's the type who'd cheat on a math test and still fail."
Aiko snorted despite herself. That was true.
She could have marched up to Renji right then, but no—Aiko Hoshizora had pride. She would not make a scene. Not in front of Yukino, not in front of the whole class.
Instead, she turned and announced dramatically to her friends, "Fine. If he wants cheap drama, let him have it. I'll just live my best life and outshine them all. Shō ga nai (しょうがない, it can't be helped)."
Mika clapped. "That's my girl! Queen energy!"
Haruto whispered loudly, "Translation: She's going to plot revenge in the form of karaoke."
Later in music class, Aiko's voice carried through the room. It wasn't flawless—her high notes wobbled a little—but it was full of passion. She loved singing. It made her feel alive.
Her friends clapped like maniacs. The teacher frowned. "Please control yourselves."
Renji didn't even look up. His eyes were glued to his phone.
The pain was sharp, sudden, and humiliating. But Aiko swallowed it down. If tears came, they would wait until she was alone.
Haruto whistled. "Encore! Encore!"
Sayuri said, "Improvement noted. Still, your vibrato needs wor—"
"Shut up, Sayu!" Mika snapped. "She was great."
Aiko laughed. Her friends were ridiculous. But they were hers.
Then came the dreaded announcement:
"All students interested in this year's beauty and talent contest, please submit your forms by Friday."
The room buzzed. Girls whispered excitedly. Boys groaned. Yukino smirked like the crown was already on her head.
Aiko slumped in her seat. "Not this again."
Haruto elbowed her. "Come on, Ai-chan! Imagine: your name in lights! Hoshizora Aiko, the girl who dethroned Yukino the Terrible!"
Mika joined in. "Yes! You'll destroy Renji and Yukino with one glittery victory!"
Sayuri, practical as always, adjusted her glasses. "If you want revenge, statistics show public humiliation is the most effective."
All three stared at her.
"Why is it always me?!" Aiko groaned.
That evening, she walked home carrying two heavy grocery bags. Tokyo's neon lights flickered in the distance. Her mother had asked her to buy soy sauce, milk, and snacks, but somehow the list had multiplied into half the store.
"Beauty contest, music contest, trash boyfriend contest," Aiko muttered. "I should summon a demon to eat Renji. Problem solved."
She laughed at her own joke. "Imagine—big scary demon guy shows up, all fangs and claws, saying, 'Watashi wa anata no kareshi da' (私はあなたの彼氏だ, I am your boyfriend). Totally normal."
Her laughter echoed in the empty street.
But the shadows listened. And they stirred.
Chapter Two – The Night Encounter
The alley was painted in blood.
The robber's body hit the ground with a sickening thud, lifeless eyes staring at nothing. The girl he had been hurting scrambled away, crying, but Aiko couldn't move.
Her breath came shallow, her chest rising and falling as though she had run a marathon.
The creature turned toward her. No—not a creature. A man. A demon.
He was tall, his shoulders broad. Waist down, his form looked human: strong legs clad in dark trousers, boots slick with blood. But his tail curled behind him like a whip, the scales faintly glowing with red veins of power. Above, his torso was sculpted, pale, and marked with faint crimson lines that pulsed like living tattoos. His wings, vast and black as an eagle's, shifted with a whisper of feathers and shadow.
And his face—handsome, sharp, far too beautiful to belong to something so deadly. His eyes glowed like molten gold rimmed in crimson. When he spoke, his fangs flashed.
"You shouldn't be here, onna (女, girl)."
Aiko's knees trembled. "I-I… groceries. I live… here—" she stammered, pointing vaguely at the street. Her voice cracked like bad karaoke.
He tilted his head, his gaze narrowing. "You saw too much."
Her mind screamed: Run! Her legs screamed: Nope. Instead, her mouth betrayed her.
"Arigatō (ありがとう, thank you)," she blurted out.
The demon blinked, clearly caught off guard. "What?"
"For saving her," Aiko rushed, gesturing at the crying girl who had fled. "You… you ate him. I mean, killed him. But still. Arigatō…?"
A silence stretched between them. The demon's lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. It was too sharp, too dangerous. "You thank the devil for drinking blood?"
Aiko swallowed hard. "W-well, I mean, technically you did stop the crime…"
He laughed. A low, chilling sound that slid down her spine like ice. His wings shifted, feathers rustling like knives. "Interesting girl."
Her grocery bag was still on the ground. Without thinking, she bent down and picked it up. One orange rolled toward him, bumping against his boot.
Aiko froze.
The demon crouched, lifting the orange with clawed fingers. For a terrifying moment, she thought he might crush it. Instead, he held it out to her.
"Here," he said, almost mockingly. "Your fruit."
She took it with a shaking hand. "Um… arigatō?"
His golden eyes gleamed. "You are not afraid enough."
"Oh, believe me," Aiko said quickly, "I am terrified. I'm just… processing. This feels like an anime. Except with more blood."
He stared at her as if she were some strange puzzle. Then, without another word, he spread his wings. A rush of wind blasted through the alley as he took off, vanishing into the night sky.
Aiko collapsed against the wall, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might explode. She looked at the orange still in her hand and laughed nervously.
"What the hell just happened?"
Chapter Three – The New Transfer Student
The next morning, Aiko was late again. Not because of her alarm—but because she had spent half the night wide awake, replaying the alley scene in her mind.
He was real. A demon. With wings. And fangs. And a tail.
And he gave me back an orange like some kind of evil grocery boy.
She had just convinced herself it was a dream when she walked into class and nearly dropped dead.
Because standing at the front, introducing himself to the teacher, was him.
Not in demon form—no wings, no claws, no tail. Instead, he looked human. Too human. His hair was dark and slightly messy, his eyes now a deep charcoal instead of glowing gold. But Aiko recognized the sharp lines of his face. The same lips that had smirked at her in the alley.
"I am Zael," he said smoothly, bowing slightly. His Japanese was accented, low and rich. "Zael Kurayami (暗闇ザエル, Darkness Zael). I transferred here recently."
Half the girls in class were already sighing. Haruto whispered loudly, "Holy crap, who is this bishōnen (美少年, pretty boy)?"
Aiko, meanwhile, was frozen in her seat. Her brain screamed: IT'S HIM!
Zael's eyes scanned the room… and landed on her. Just for a second. His lips twitched, as though he recognized her too.
Aiko immediately ducked behind her notebook. "Nope. Nope nope nope. Not today, Satan."
Mika elbowed her. "What's wrong with you? He's gorgeous."
Sayuri adjusted her glasses. "Statistically speaking, transfer students who look like that are either rich heirs or hiding dark secrets."
"You don't know how right you are," Aiko muttered.
The teacher clapped. "Zael-kun, please sit… ah, next to Hoshizora-san."
Aiko's soul left her body.
Zael walked over, his presence like a quiet storm. He slid into the seat beside her, his movement smooth, predatory, graceful. He didn't look at her—not directly—but she could feel his awareness of her like a shadow on her skin.
"Nice to meet you," he murmured under his breath, so soft only she could hear.
Aiko gulped. "Y-yeah. Totally. Nice. Super nice."
Mika, watching from behind them, grinned like a cat. "Ai-chan, you're blushing."
Aiko nearly slammed her head on the desk.
Chapter Four – Beauty Contest & Shadows
The day had barely started, and Aiko was already regretting every life choice that had led her here.
"Smile, Ai-chan!" Mika chirped, holding a sparkling dress up against Aiko's body. "This beauty contest is your chance to shine!"
"I already shine," Aiko grumbled, flopping onto the practice room chair. "Like a sweaty disco ball. Why did I agree to this?"
"Because you lost the bet," Sayuri reminded her, scrolling on her tablet. "Also, because you're pretty. You just don't believe it."
Haruto, lounging with a snack, added, "Besides, you're our only hope against the student council princess brigade. If you win, you'll finally prove normal people can triumph."
Aiko groaned. "Normal? Yesterday I watched a demon eat a guy and then hand me an orange."
"What?" the trio said in unison.
"Nothing! I said… um… ramen!"
Before they could press, the door slid open. Zael stepped in.
Every girl in the room gasped. He wasn't even part of the contest, but his aura made the air shift. Dressed casually in the school's track jacket, he looked more like a model who had lost his way into the mortal realm.
"Sorry. Wrong room," Zael said smoothly. His gaze flicked briefly to Aiko before he turned to leave.
"W-wait!" Mika blurted, stars in her eyes. "Zael-kun, you should be a judge for the contest!"
Sayuri pushed up her glasses, dead serious. "Scientifically speaking, his symmetrical bone structure qualifies him to determine beauty."
Aiko nearly fell out of her chair. "No no no no—he doesn't need to—"
But Zael's lips curled faintly. "I wouldn't mind watching."
The way he said it made Aiko's stomach twist. Watching what? Her?
That evening, Aiko walked home alone, still fuming over Mika's matchmaking schemes. The streets were quiet, lamps flickering. Too quiet.
A shadow flickered across the rooftop.
She froze. "...Zael?"
A whisper of wings answered. Aiko spun around, and her heart dropped.
Not Zael.
Three hooded figures emerged from the darkness—eyes glowing red, fangs flashing. Lesser demons.
One hissed. "The scent of him clings to you. Where is the Warlord?"
Aiko's grocery bag (again full of oranges, why always oranges?!) slipped from her hand. "Uh… wrong girl?"
They lunged.
Suddenly, the sky cracked open with black feathers. Zael dropped between them like a thunderbolt, twin-blade sword spinning with terrifying grace. One sweep—slash!—and the first demon fell in two pieces.
The others shrieked. "My Lord—!"
Zael's eyes burned crimson-gold. His voice was cold as iron. "You dare touch what is mine?"
He cut them down in a blur, wings spread wide, his sword dripping with blood and shadow. The alley reeked of death in seconds.
Aiko stood frozen, her pulse thundering in her ears.
Zael turned, his demon form radiant and terrible. His claws still dripped crimson as he reached out—not to harm her, but to brush a lock of hair from her face.
"Baka onna (バカ女, foolish girl)," he murmured softly. "Walking alone at night."
Her legs gave out, and she dropped to the ground. "You—you can't just—slice things in front of me—like a horror movie—!"
Zael tilted his head, almost amused. "You thanked me before. No thank you this time?"
"I'm filing a restraining order!" she squeaked.
He chuckled darkly. "Kawaii (可愛い, cute)." His wings folded in, and within seconds, his form shimmered back into his human disguise. He held out his hand. "Come. I will walk you home."
Aiko hesitated, then took it—because what else could she do? Her palm against his was warm. Too warm.
As they walked, she whispered, "Why me?"
Zael's gaze remained forward, unreadable. "Because you looked at me… and said arigatō."