"My brothers are hooked on another strange game," Lucifer wrote into his group chat. The one for demons who conducted themselves like proper adults. "Watch that they don't drag you into it as well."
"Sounds like fun," Barbatos responded. Watching those six and their antics could be rather amusing, as long as they weren't a nuisance.
Diavolo's thought process was much the same. He meant it when he said, "I can't wait!"
The palace duo could hear Lucifer's deep sigh through their phone screens as he typed, "Don't encourage them."
It took a few hours for you to find Diavolo that day. People tend to be busy when they have a school named after them. He was walking down a corridor of RAD. Unaccompanied, alone, humming a jaunty tune to himself.
You signaled to your posse ā Mammon, Leviathan, and Beelzebub. They smirked, gave a thumbs up, and nodded. The four of you peered around the corner at the lone prince, your heads stacked in a row like really bad cartoon spies.
"On my signal," you whispered, holding your hand steady to keep the demons at bay. You doubted you could catch Diavolo by surprise, but it was best to stay optimistic.
You jumped out, stumbling a little over Mammon's foot, and sprinted at full force down the hallway. Three pairs of footsteps thudded behind you, alerting the target that something was definitely happening. He glanced up with a jovial smile and began to wave.
"Get down, Mr. President!" you shouted, flinging yourself onto Diavolo.
He's a tall guy. You did your best to grab hold of his shoulders and basically cling to his front like a cicada. You didn't have the demonic strength necessary to push him down, but that's why the brothers were piling on after you.
Diavolo didn't flinch when Mammon arced through the air and landed on his arm. He didn't blink when Leviathan dove at his legs and put his knees in a chokehold. You wondered if he could even feel Beelzebub tackle his back like a charging elephant.
Diavolo asked so casually, like he was asking if his tie was on straight. The same tie you were tugging at in a fruitless attempt to make him fall over as you repeated, "Mr. President! You're in danger!"
"We'll save you!" Leviathan shouted, pulling at the crown prince's knees in a way that would make Mephistopheles faint.
"Get down, man!" Mammon had shifted into his demon form. His wings beat rough buffets of wind over your whole ensemble as he pushed his weight against Diavolo.
Beelzebub, with his arms around Diavolo's shoulders and his knees bumping against yours, said something. For some reason the words were obscured by a mouthful of collar.
The gears in Diavolo's brain were turning, and after a second of chaos he blurted out, "Oh! This must be the game Lucifer told me about. How do I play?"
He was answered by a flurry of "Mr. President!" "Get down!" "Mrhrh Prshidhnt!" "We'll protect you!"
"I see." Diavolo would have rubbed his chin thoughtfully if you weren't in the way, glued to his front like a koala with separation anxiety. "I'm Mr. President. I just need to get down, then?"
Two arms enveloped you. Diavolo embraced you warmly, shielding your head in particular as he stepped back and brought everyone crashing to the ground. There was shouting and a loud snap. The marble floor was hard. You hoped Beelzebub survived.
Leviathan was noiselessly screaming, his mouth stuck open in shock as he crawled out from between Diavolo's legs. His brain was still calculating the pain.
Mammon was tenderly nursing his shoulder and rolled away from the target. He didn't know if this was considered a success or a failure, and looked to you for confirmation. You were busying looking at Beelzebub, who was mostly buried under Diavolo's body aside from his orange hair. There was a gap by the prince's neck where a chunk of uniform was ripped off by strong molars. Barbatos was not going to be pleased.
Diavolo was unscathed. As were you, thanks to his protection. You could feel his heart racing with excitement under the weight of your own chest. He was in no rush to let you go, and was in fact laughing heartily at the entire situation. Thankfully, he was a much better sport than Lucifer had been first thing in the morning.
"Okay," he gasped between fits of laughter. "I'm down. What do we do next?"
