Infernal Academia

Chapter 45 - The D- D- Date: Part 3

The Brimstone Baths consisted of three main swimming pools, each suited for a different purpose.  The smallest and shallowest was reserved almost exclusively for very small children, where babies and toddlers were given the opportunity to splash around under the supervision of matronly Succubi lifeguards, which made sense, considering Lust demons were incredibly maternal and fiercely protective of both their own and others' children.  The second pool was the longest, and played host to people swimming laps, as well as swimming lessons for older children and teens, headed by surlier-looking lifeguards.  The largest and final pool was set aside for the rest of the swimmers, and was currently where Cobalt was trying to convince his petrified student to get in.

Wherever he looked, Cobalt could see demons laughing and yelling as they splashed about in the pool. Several Nymphs were racing each other in one of the lanes while the water around an Oni father slowly began to bubble as he grew more furious at his rambunctious son.

He winced as the grip on his arm tightened. In sharp contrast, Jelli clung to him like a nervous child, gazing at the sight before her with wide, terrified eyes.

"Don't worry, it's my first time here too," he said, looking down at the Glutton by his side.

She just whimpered and clung ever tighter. Sighing, he led her over to the ladder. Sliding into the cool waters, he looked up to see Jelli nervously teetering on the edge.

"Come on Jelli, it's not deep, see?" said Cobalt, pointing to the rather shallow water.

She nodded at him, but her gaze quickly came to rest on the Incubus' swimming trunks. Her knees began to shake as her face reddened. Before she could right herself, the Glutton suddenly screamed and toppled forward into the water, right on top of her teacher. She screeched and grabbed on to him as he struggled to return to the surface.

"Jelli! Calm down!" cried Cobalt, once he finally got his head above the water.

"No! No! I'll drown! S- Save me! I don't w- wanna die yet!" she screamed, wrapping her legs around Cobalt's waist.

He frowned as several people stopped what they were doing to gawk at the pair.  This was exactly the kind of attention he was trying to avoid...!

"What are they doing? This is a family pool!"

"As expected of an Incubus..."

"Kids these days..."

Cobalt sighed and gently grabbed her cheek. Turning her face to his, he gazed deep into her eyes.  Wiping the water away, he then carefully maneuvered her goggles over them.

"Jelli, as long as I'm here, I won't let you drown. Just hold my hand and you'll be fine."

She gasped sharply as her blush intensified.

"Y- Y- Your hand?! B- But isn't that only something-?! B- But I'm not your-?! Why would you even want to- wha?!" breathed Jelli, causing a few bystanders to snicker.

"Well, if you don't want to, then you can just-"

"I- I'LL HOLD IT!" she cried as she violently grabbed his hand.

It took a while, but finally, Cobalt was ready to begin teaching her how to swim. Holding the Glutton's hands, he began to slowly walk backwards as she kicked her legs. Her tail flailed uselessly about, but with a few words of encouragement, he managed to convince her to use it as a rudder of sorts.  For a good twenty minutes, the Incubus circled the shallow end of the pool, watching as Jelli slowly grew more and more confident in her ability to propel herself through the water.  Right as his thoughts began to wander, however, he heard her clear her throat.