Infernal Academia

Chapter 4 - Gale-Force Envy: Part 1

A chilly breeze blew across Cobalt's half-naked form, rousing him from his slumber in a fit of shivers.  Pulling the futon covers over himself, his eyes suddenly snapped open as he sat bolt-upright.

His room was a complete mess, nothing at all like the neat order he usually kept his things in.  His clothes had been scattered all over the floor, his wardrobe and drawers were all lying ajar, and his window looked as though it had been forced open.  Shivering, he began to panic further upon realising that his nightshirt had been torn off in his sleep.

"Wh- What the Hell...?!" the terrified Incubus gasped, hugging himself as he staggered to his feet.

Fearing that he had been robbed, Cobalt quickly sorted through the wreckage of his room, only to find that his wallet hadn't been touched.  Confused, he stumbled over to the window and planted his hands on the sill.  Upon looking closer, he could see a lot of scratches on his window lock, like something had been jammed into it.

Across the way, Karazelle's window slid open, right before the Succubus herself swung out onto the support beam.  Gingerly padding along the strut, she hunkered down and gave her teacher a sultry smile.

"Good morning, sugar.  Must say, I've certainly woken up to worse views~" she giggled, running a finger along his bare chest as she slipped into his room.

"K- Karazelle, I told you not to do this!" Cobalt chided, snatching a shirt off the floor before she could oogle him further.

The Succubus merely laughed in response, but the levity quickly drained from her face upon seeing the state that his room was in.

"Oh my.  What happened in here?" she asked, plucking a pair of his boxers off the floor.

"I don't know.  I think someone was in here last night"

"Well don't look at me; I checked your window, and it was locked tight"

Deciding to forego asking what she intended to do, Cobalt frowned and took stock of his surroundings.  Somebody had broken the lock on his window and entered his bedroom whilst he was sleeping, and yet they took nothing from him.  Strange...

"Ooh, what's this?  I think you might have a secret admirer, sugar!" Karazelle piped, pointing at the door.

There, nailed to the wood, was a stained paper envelope held shut by a worn, heart-shaped sticker.  The Succubus smiled bemusedly as she pulled it free, but upon noticing the terrified look on her teacher's face, her expression darkened.

"S- Sugar?  You okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Her words barely reached his ears.  Swallowing hard, Cobalt pulled the letter from her hands and slowly opened it.  As soon as he laid eyes on the handwriting, his blood froze solid within his veins.

YOU look so peaceful when you slumber, my love.

MUST you tease me so?  How long as it even been?

RUN all you wish; you cannot deny destiny.

"Oh no... no, not this... not again..." he gasped, swiftly screwing the note into a ball.

Karazelle tried to offer him words of comfort, but the distraught Incubus just got to his knees and began to frantically rifle through his belongings.

"What's wrong?  Who's it from?"

He shook his head.

"My tie!  Where's my tie...?!" Cobalt muttered, tossing shirts and trousers over his shoulders.