Poisoned Strawberry

Lucifer:

Lucifer genuinely feels like he’s Fallen all over again. He didn’t just jeopardize the Exchange Program’s future, he also caused MC an incredible amount of pain when all they’d done is try to please him and take care of those around them. As the others start organizing efforts to find MC, Lucifer just sits in his chair thinking through every horrible thing he’d ever said to them, every achievement he’d dismissed, every threat he’d made, every flaw he’d criticized.

His pride won’t let him join the search or spam their D.D.D., but it will let him hole himself up in his room to wallow in his own guilt. He swears to himself that he’ll make this up to them, whatever it takes. If he has to, he’ll swallow his pride for a public apology. This man will not be able to sleep or work until MC is located. When he does leave his room, it’s in rumpled clothes and messy hair as he wanders the House of Lamentation, dark shadows prominent under troubled eyes.

Mammon:

Mammon feels like he’s about to throw up. The panic hasn’t left his body since he found MC’s room empty that morning, a note placed on the perfectly made bed explaining how they’ve been feeling and why they’re leaving. He hasn’t let anyone take the note, crumpled and stained with his tears, from him, not even Diavolo. This was the first person who ever treated him like he had any value and stood up to his brothers on his behalf, and in return, he treated them like dirt. The memories of every gift or word of praise they’d ever given him is simultaneously a million times more precious than the best of his possessions and enough to make him retch.

He’s the first to set out looking for MC, wandering the streets of Devildom while constantly calling their D.D.D. Every time he reaches voicemail and hears their voice on the greeting, his hearts sinks a little further as he leaves a rambling message asking where they are and begging them to call him back. He’d give all his treasures just to have them back, and he promises himself that once MC is found he’s going to spend the rest of MC’s life telling them everything he’s wishing he’d told them, even after they leave Devildom. He’ll never let them protect him from Lucifer’s punishments again.

Leviathan:

Leviathan initially allows himself to wallow in self-deprecation. Of course MC left, he’s a gross Otaku that messes everything up. However, as he listens to the others talk about how they treated MC, he realizes that this isn’t the time to make things about him. That’s when the guilt starts to set in. Once he realizes that all of MC’s attempts at friendship were genuine, it feels like his heart has been ripped out of his chest. All they’d ever tried to do was be kind to him. If he’d just trusted it, he could have had a friend to watch anime and play video games with. He had someone who actually sought out his company and he treated them like a thief.

He’s not one of the boys who will initially start the hunt for MC. At first, he sits alone in his room sending message after message to MC, willing the “sent” to turn into a “read” so he at least knows he’s reaching them. Then he’ll take to the internet, trying to find any traces of them. Finally, he’ll join the search in the 3D world for the first normie who he’d ever considered a friend. He just hopes he isn’t too late to tell them that.

Satan:

Satan is livid. It takes three of his brothers, including Beel, to restrain him from physically attacking Lucifer. Instead, he berates his brother for everything Lucifer put the exchange student through, eventually doing the same to each person present. When his brothers finally release him, he stalks out of the room to return to his own. After all, the only person left to be angry at is himself. He knew what was happening and didn’t do enough to stop it–maybe he even made it worse by giving them tips on how to please his selfish brothers.

He’ll join Mammon as soon as he hears there’s a search for MC. Not even cats are enough to distract him from the task at hand. He’ll send the occasional message, hoping like Levi for “read” to appear under one of the messages so he knows MC is at least receiving them. However, most of his messages are directed to those who stayed at the house in case MC came back, just in case they’d come home since he asked 30 seconds ago. Satan promises himself that if MC comes back, he’ll protect them better from his brothers. Nobody is ever going to make them hate themself this much as long as he has any say in the matter.

Asmodeus:

Asmodeus is absolutely inconsolable. He can’t believe that his darling devoted MC was going through this much and never told anyone. It takes him through the first day to figure out what the emotion gripping his heart is–guilt. He feels guilty for taking MC for granted, for not giving them the praise they so obviously deserved. He should have told them they were beautiful, how much he appreciated them, and that he loved them. He’d never had to charm them for their affection–they’d chosen to give it to him freely. Now he’s afraid he’s lost that for good.

He’s going to be one who waits to see if MC gets home, posting updates on social media asking people to send in any potential leads. Every new comment makes his heart leap, but for the first time in his life, he’s disappointed by ones that just contain empty praise. Like Mammon, he’s blowing up their phone with calls that always end in tearful voicemails. He promises himself that he’s going to shower them with the praise and pleasures MC deserves if they ever come home.

Beelzebub:

Beelzebub is heartbroken. This gentle giant never wanted to hurt MC, and he actually loses his appetite when he realizes they were going hungry to keep him fed. His head is full of MC’s smile and kind words as he listens to Satan’s angry words, absorbing and accepting every single one. He feels repulsed by his sin and how it clouded his judgement, never letting him see how much MC was sacrificing for him and the others.

You’d think he’d be one to join the search. However, his guilt manifests in a different form–Beel starts cooking in anticipation for MC’s return. No matter how much his stomach rumbles, he won’t touch anything he’s made, opting to eat leftovers out of the fridge. These dishes are for MC when they get back, and he’s going to keep cooking until they’re here to eat. He’s dedicating himself to making sure MC never goes hungry again, especially not for his sake. While he cooks, he keeps his D.D.D. handy, checking obsessively for news.

Belphegor:

Belphegor is about to realize he doesn’t hate one human as much as he thought he did. This is reinforced by the guilt and grief he can feel from Beel that mixes with and highlights his own. When he tries to go sleep it off, he realizes he can’t. All those times he faked not being able to sleep unless MC was with him have unfortunately made that a reality. He confines himself to the attic to sulk, tossing and turning restlessly in bed as he thinks over his mistreatment of MC. Belphie wonders how much of their life he disrupted for his selfish games as the pit in his stomach steadily grows.

Belphie absolutely wants to go search for MC, but the sheer exhaustion from lack of sleep makes him more of a liability than a help. Instead, he stumbles between the kitchen, where he makes sure Beel remembers to eat occasionally, and MC’s room. He lies on their bed, burying his head in the pillows that smell like them in hopes that it’ll be enough for him to go to sleep. He wants to text and call them like everyone else, but genuinely doesn’t believe he has the right to after all he put MC through. He decides that if they ever come back, he’s going to actually put in the effort to befriend them and remind them of how much he and his brothers care for them.

Diavolo:

Diavolo is furious with himself–it’s the only reason Satan gets away with his beratement. This human was his responsibility, he should have realized they were in pain and done better. Now they’re gone and could be in danger. He was so selfish, so blind. When he and Barbatos are alone again, he has to ask if the butler knew, if his order to not interfere with the future is what let things get to this point. Barbatos doesn’t have to answer–Diavolo already knows the answer.

If any of Devildom’s inhabitants choose to look outside their windows over the next few days, they’ll most likely be met with the sight of their prince in civilian clothes, mud and litter clinging to his shoes as he searches his kingdom, D.D.D. in hand. His work is abandoned on his desk at R.A.D. as Diavolo dedicates himself completely to finding MC. He practices in his head what he’ll say when he finds them, how sorry he is, how important they are to him and everyone else, and how that will never change.

Barbatos:

Barbatos seems indifferent, but on the inside he’s frantic. He’s picking through every possible future where they find MC, trying to piece together where they might be. Every time he runs across one where they never find MC or, even worse, find them dead, his blood runs cold. For the first time in his long, long life, he resents Diavolo’s orders to not use his powers, wishing he could put an end to all this and bring MC home.

Though he knows he shouldn’t, Barbatos nudges search efforts towards the places he sees most often in the future paths. He stays at the castle–just in case MC decides to go there–and takes a similar approach to Beel. He prepares food, tea, and a guest room, trying to check his D.D.D. as infrequently as possible. It’s almost always bad news, one of the spots he suggested coming up empty, but at least it isn’t the worst news. Still, every time the damn device beeps, Barbatos’s heart stops.

Simeon:

Simeon feels numb. He knew something was wrong and he didn’t try hard enough to fix it. The angel occupies himself by taking care of Luke, but the younger angel falls asleep eventually, leaving Simeon alone with his guilt. He finds himself in the sitting room of Purgatory Hall, a place where he and MC had often shared tea and chatted together, thinking about them. Are they somewhere safe? It looked like it was about to rain last time he looked outside, did they bring a jacket with them?

He wants to be out searching, but he knows if he went then Luke would want to go to and the smaller angel might slow the others down. Instead, he texts the rest of the search party regularly requesting updates and suggesting supplies to bring with them for all of the possible scenarios MC might be stuck in–food, water, blankets, fresh clothes, medical supplies, anything. If he can’t be there when they find MC, he’s definitely going to make sure all of them are prepared for any of MC’s potential needs.

Luke:

Luke feels like his world is crashing down around him. He was supposed to be MC’s guardian angel, but all along he was hurting them! He’s no better than the demons. Luke ends up sobbing in Simeon’s lap until he falls asleep. However, even in his dreams, he sees MC’s face. These dreams slowly turn into nightmares where he can see MC, sad and alone, but can do nothing about it. After hours of him crying in his sleep, Solomon is finally enlisted to charm him into a dreamless state so he can recover.

He desperately wants to go search for MC, arguing fiercely with Simeon when the older angel denies his request. Finally, he gives up and heads to the kitchen to bake. He bakes everything he remembers MC liking, pushing away the lingering worry that they only pretended to like it to make him happy. He won’t make them eat any of it, it’s just the thought that counts. Still, he decides when they get back he’s going to sit down with MC and ask them about their interests, likes, and dislikes. He’s going to be a better Guardian Angel from now on.

Solomon:

At first, Solomon thinks this is a sick joke, all part of MC’s master plan. Unfortunately, as the story starts to come out, he comes to the unfortunate realization that there was never any master plan, only a human desperate to prove themself and be of use. He should have treated them better, shouldn’t have made them do all of his chores, should have tried to be their friend. He let jealousy blind him, and now he’s paying the price. He can feel how distressed Asmo and Barbatos are, so he tries to tell himself any distress he feels is just from them. He’s wrong.

His job is to head to the Mortal Realm on the off chance that MC managed to make it back there. His only guide is the folder about them from the beginning of the Exchange Program, which gives a vague idea of their background and where they’re from. He walks the streets of their hometown, wondering how homesick MC must have been–nobody in Devildom had treated them with any sort of kindness, especially him. He occasionally texts MC using his D.D.D., begging them to tell him where they are, telling them how sorry he is, and promising that if they come back safe he’ll do all of their chores for the rest of the exchange program.