Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist, nor do I own any recognisable material throughout this story.

Prologue: Scarlet Bound

She was running away from something. She didn't know what, but her mother was chasing her as well. She saw an open gate and crossed into what looked like an open courtyard. When she looked up, the spire had something hanging from it.

"Akira!" her mother shouted as she was scooped up into her arms. Mayu Himura turned around and started heading back toward the sidewalk. "Why did you run out of the store? When we get home, your grandmother is going to have a-"

"Excuse me. Is there something I can help you with?" a man asked. Akira looked beyond her mother and saw a man in all black with a cross around his neck. He had a pin that matched her mother's attached to his shirt. Her mother turned to face him.

"My apologies, Paladin Fujimoto. I didn't realize this was your monestary." Her mother bowed her head.

"Mayu Yoshida? Is that really you?" Her mother looked at the man. "Ma, come in. You must meet my boys. They're lovely. Rin's a bit of a handful, but Yukio is so quiet sometimes it's almost like only having one child." Akira's eared perked up. She was friends with a Yukio who had a brother named Rin before they moved to London a few years ago.

"I can't, Shiro." Akira didn't understand why her mother was being so cold to this man. "I have to get Akira home. It's not s-" a loud screeching cut off her mother. A large scarlet bird started to swoop down onto the monastery only to be unable to get passed the gates. It was at least the size of a toddler. Her mother put her down quickly. "Kira, go inside." Her mother was calm.

"But, mummy, that bird is my favorite color! I want to get a better look at it!" The bird swooped again. It seemed to be bouncing off of an invisible barrier.

"Little Akira, why don't you go inside and find my son, Yukio? He was coloring when I left him. Maybe you can draw the pretty red bird for your mummy, hm?"

"Oh, really? That sounds lovely! What room is he in?"

"Well, I think it would be a little complicated to tell you, so why don't you go find one of my fellow priests to help you." Shiro looked at her sheepishly like he didn't really know where his son was, but Akira didn't care. She was already running to the closest door.

"Yukio!" she called as she tore through the door just as something shattered like glass. The screeching happened again, but Akira already had the door closing behind her. Another man dressed like Paladin Fujimoto emerged and saw her bright face.

"Hello, may I help you?" It was quiet in the Sanctuary otherwise. Akira could just make out something going on outside.

"Mister Fujimoto told me to come in here to color with Yukio. Do you know where he is? I want to draw the pretty red bird my mummy wouldn't let me play with." The man's face shifted into terror only to mask it quickly.

"Why, yes. He's through that open door, down the hall, and in the playroom on the right." He smiled at her and she bowed in thanks, knowing that's how her mother's home country showed respect. She turned quickly on her heel and ran down the hall giggling. In the playroom was a boy with glasses. His dark hair falling over his eyes slightly as he scribbled over a page. It had to be the boy she knew while living here.

"Yukio?" fell quietly from her lips, not as confident now that she recognized him. It had been three years. His head shot up to look at her. His eyes were the same behind those glasses; but just barely.

"Miss. Akira?" His head tilted to the side. "What are you doing here?"

"Your father sent me here to play with you. There was an angry red bird outside, but mummy wouldn't let me stay to watch it." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Was it bigger than an eagle?" Akira nodded. "The color of a scab?" She went to nod, then stopped.

"Actually, it was lighter than that. It was more like blood when you cut yourself."

"When did you become so articulate?" he laughed and suddenly he was the Yukio she remembered.

"Kio!" she cried as she raced around the table to tackle him. "You haven't changed! Thank goodness!" He giggled.

"I see you haven't forgotten that name."

"Nevah! It's a name only I-" A shrill sound tore though the air. Akira sighed wistfully. "I think it's sad." She sat on her legs. "I'm going to go make it feel better!" she exclaimed just before the wall broke. The bird squawked and went to go to her.

"No! Leave her alone!" Yukio was suddenly standing in front of her. He was bigger than her now. They used to be the same size. She felt tiny, but didn't let that stop her from wanting to befriend the scarlet bird.

"Kio, it's just a bird. Even when they are aggressive, it can't do that much damage to us." Akira got off the floor to step in front of him. The bird calmed and sat still until Akira reached out to pet it. It's head touched her hand and it's feather's changed color to a deeper red. "Oh," she whispered. Yukio just stared at her.

"Akira, get away from that demon!" Her mother cried.

"Demon?" Akira asked. The bird started shrinking until it was small enough to perch on her head. As it grew smaller still, it moved to her shoulder where it tried to hide in her hair. This didn't work too well for it color wise since her hair was a pale shade of blue and pretty short, barely falling to her shoulders.

"Well, I'll be. It connected with your daughter." Shiro looked at the creature. It was much calmer now. "It's why it was able to break my spells. I imagine it will grow with her now." Mayu started muttering in Italian. "You've spent too much time at the vatican."

"Hush, Fujimoto. Now I have to teach her how to protect herself."

"Ah, so that's your problem." Shiro nodded and then looked at the hole in his wall. He sighed. "I guess it's a good thing that I've already started training Yukio. They can train together, though he'll be ahead of her by a year and a half."

"Good. She'll have someone to talk to about our world." She bent to pick up Akira. She locked eyes with Shiro and nodded once. "I need to get her home now. There's a lot I need to tell her before she starts training." She pulled her close, mindful of the bird on her shoulder. The girl protested.

"No! I want to stay and play with Yukio. We didn't get to play." Akira pouted. Her mother sighed.

"Fine. But when we get home, you will pay attention to what I have to say."

AH

Three hours later, Akira sat with her mother and her grandmother in their living room sipping tea. Yasu Yoshida was a small woman with great strength. Akira looked up to both her and her mother. At the age of nearly 9, she knew that she had to be more focused, especially while she was in this country.

"Now, Kira, why don't you introduce me to your new friend. He seems quite lovely."

"It's a girl, grandmama. She told me and Yukio-"

"Yukio and I," her mother automatically corrected her.

"Yukio and I," Akira continued as if her mother hadn't interrupted her. "That her parents and brother had died recently. She sensed that I was like them and wanted to be my friend. She's young, she tells me, for her species. She's only sixty years. Can you imagine being sixty and that being young!" Akira laughed and shook her head. "Anyways, she told me that her name is Yua. She's the kind of demon that binds to other forms to protect them. I'm still not sure about all this demon nonsense, but she's sweet. Can I keep her?" Her grandmother chuckled as she set down her tea.

"Of course, child. Would you like to know why Yua wishes to protect you?"

"Please!"

"Alright, but you must keep what I'm about to tell you just between the four of us until it's safe for you. Can you do that?"

"I can try. I'm only eight, grandmama." Mayu laughed at her daughter, who scowled. She was trying to be honest.

"When I was much younger, I met man: your grandfather," Yasu started. "It took quite some time for me to warm to him though. My gut told me to run from him, even though he was handsome and incredibly intelligent. Two years after I met him, we married and we eventually had your mother, and your uncle, Daiki.

It wasn't until your uncle was five that your grandfather told me his truth. He was a demon, but his downfall was loving humans. This is unusual for demons, bright one. He told me of his mother and father. His father was a human his mother had tricked. This is why we believe he was closer to being human. He wouldn't have told me any of this had Daiki stayed more human. He wasn't as sweet as your mother. He wasn't like the other little boys in his class. His eyes had started to shift from a brown to a dull red, which meant that he would always be a little devilish, so to speak. He wouldn't have any powers or anything, but your grandfather wanted me to know of these things just in case he was wrong."

"What does this have to do with Yua though?"

"She can tell that you are descendant from a demon, but the blood is weak. It's just strong enough for other demons to sense you, but not strong enough for you to protect yourself against them. It's the reason your mother became an exorcist." Her mother touched her grandmother's arm.

"Mom, let me take it from here."

"Very well. I shall make us fresh tea." Yasu left her kin to speak. She knew all of this anyways.

"Now," Mayu started as she picked up her daughter and put her on her lap. "An exorcist is someone who protects people from demons, and destroys them if need be. When I heard my father talking about the world he barely knew, I wanted to protect the human world. I was a little older than you at that time. I started researching and found out that I could learn how to protect the world.

As I was going into highschool, I was accepted into the cram school at True Cross Academy. I learned how to destroy demons that were hurting people and how to protect my loved ones. When I went to Italy to further my learning, I met your father. His father and mother were exorcists. He was visiting them when I started at the vatican. He is not an exorcist, but he respects that it's something I chose to do with my life. It's why we made the choice to only have you, bright one." Mayu kissed the top of Akira's head and they were silent even when Yasu came back into the room.

"I want to be an exorcist. I want to protect people and I want to protect myself if demons are going to come after me."

"I'm glad you want to do that, because I want the same for you, my child. You will start lessons with Yukio tomorrow after school. And Rin Okumura can not know that you are training with Yukio. Not until after you, too, are at True Cross Academy."

"Okay, mother." That was the moment they decided they were moving back to Japan.

===== About Six Years Later=====

Chapter 1: Starting at True Cross Academy

"Was that really Rin, Kio?" She had seen him in the courtyard with Shiro. Her heart fluttered lightly thinking about it. He had a few scrapes, which she knew Yukio had patched up, but his hair was falling over his eyes and he was wearing a suit. When had he changed so much? "What happened to the sweet boy I literally ran into a few years ago?" Akira Himura asked her best friend, Yukio Okumura. She was sitting on his striped down bed. She hadn't seen his brother in probably five years or so. Okay, so maybe it had been longer than a few years. The Rin she knew was obviously not this person. Even though he was violent when they were in preschool together, she never remembered him actually getting into fights with the kids. That didn't mean people didn't get hurt. He just never purposefully injured people.

"Yeah, that was him. The past couple of years he's been...struggling." Yukio didn't seem to know what to tell her. He sat down next to her and flopped back onto his bed.

"Are you going to introduce me to him before we leave? We start school next week. He can know about our training now." She smiled down at him. He gave her a lopsided grin back.

"Maybe. I'm not sure he's ready to know though." Her face fell. "He doesn't see the demons and so he's just going to think that I'm following in dad's footsteps." She'd been best friends with Yukio for so long she thought he would be eager to introduce her to Rin. It kind of hurt.

"Alright, then we wait." Akira got up and stretched. "In the meantime, I need to go over to the shop to grab some things for school, then eat dinner with my family. I was hoping that tonight we would be celebrating together, but with your brother..." She shook her thoughts away. They would do her no good. "Anyways," Yukio sat up. "I'm staying with the family until Friday. I'll see you at school, Kio." She kissed the top of his head and then left. On her way out, she ran into Shiro Fujimoto. She bowed, per usual.

"Evening, Paladin Shiro." he chuckled, but bowed to her as well. She was the only one that called him that.

"Evening, Lady Himura." His own personal nickname for her. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "I thought you were going to stay for dinner tonight. Yukio had planned on telling Rin about all of this before you went off to academy. He seemed excited to do so." That wasn't the vibe she had gotten a few minutes ago, but she didn't feel like questioning it.

"I let it be Yukio's choice. Since Rin's been acting out, and doesn't believe in the demons, we're just going to wait."

"A wise decision." He nodded. "Let me walk you out."

"Of course, sir." This wasn't unusual when he wanted to speak with her, especially when it involved her best friend. When they got to the gate, Akira bowed and was about to walk off of the property when Shiro's hand held her in place.

"I need you to take care of Yukio while you are both at school. I know he's teaching, but I don't want him spreading himself thin. I worry about him. Even though he started training so he could protect Rin, sometimes, my youngest needs looking after as well."

"Of course I'll watch Yukio's back." Akira smiled as Shiro let go of her shoulder. "I'll stop by here before I leave on Friday to say goodbye to everyone."

"Of course. See you Friday, Akira." Shiro smiled and watched as she went down the block and turned out of sight. He always did.

===AH===

Akira was relaxing with her parents and grandmother before she was supposed to leave this weekend. Her grandmother was beating her father at chess for the third time. Her mother was trying to crochet a blanket, while they talked and her toes were drying. Key word about that blanket? Trying. She fought a laugh at the wad of yarn her mother was getting frustrated with. Her phone beeped twice. She flipped it open. 'Maybe I shouldn't have taken on teaching this year on top of school.' It was Yukio.

'You'll be fine. This isn't your first year teaching,' she replied. Just was she was closing the screen, her phone rang that special ring tone that meant terrible things were happening. The Paladin never called unless she was needed.

"Himura."

"Akira, I need you at the monastery. It's Rin." Her stomach dropped. Yukio had been at the school for a few hours. What could his brother possibly have gotten into in that time? "He was attacked by a demon. I'll explain more when you get here." The phone line died.

"So much for being home tonight. Sorry, mum." Mayu just shook her head and set her craft aside.

"I'm coming with you. Something big is happening. I can feel it. Yukio's at school, and there's no one to have your back." Akira was about to argue, but her mother beat her to it. "Just go get dressed. It sounded urgent." Akira sighed, but listened to her mother. She was ready in less than ten minutes, daggers on her thighs, weapons belt around her hips, hair in a tight bun on top of her head. She had a medical pack on her back.

By the time they got to the monastery, there was a fight waging. "Go cover Shiro, mum. I'm going to find Rin and help him." Akira took off before her mom could respond, chanting as she walked into the building. Yua was circling above. Akira called for her and as she flew down to protect her mistress, she grew bigger than she was years ago. "Yua, help fight off the other demons. Mum's going to fight. I'm going to try to take care of Rin."

'Of course, miss.' Yua cawed before taking off into the smoke. By the time she reached Rin, he seemed fine. All the demons had just been destroyed. Just as she was about to call out to Rin and Shiro, she became witness to the beginning of the end. He was talking back to Shiro like Yukio often told her about. Rin started going on about how Shiro wasn't his dad, and she started running to stop him from saying something he would regret. A piece of building was falling and she missed what he said, but she saw Shiro smack Rin for the first time. She knew from Yukio that he never hit the boys, even when Rin was being the worst child ever. Shiro was a patient man. Both were in shock, but Rin was going to pack so they could get him to safety. Blue flames erupted and started taking over Shiro's body.

"No!" she screamed. Her knees gave out, but she was determined to get to Rin to help him. He would be no match for Satan, especially with the Gehenna Gate open. But Shiro pushed through and saved Rin. When he drew the sword Shiro had shown her and Yukio last year, he was engulfed in blue flames. All she could think before she passed out was that Yukio would be devastated.

===AH===

The funeral was held three days later. The rain was fitting. Her two-toned hair was hidden by her large brimmed hat. She was by Yukio's side. Rin had barely spoken. She felt like screaming, but the request of Shiro rang through her head. 'My youngest needs looking after as well.' She had to be strong. When Yukio went to walk away from the headstone, she followed, but they both stopped and looked back at Rin at the same time. She ached all over, but her heart ached the most for her best friend's twin. To watch the only father you ever knew be killed by Satan so you could survive had to be the hardest thing he'd ever experienced. She knew his acting out would only get worse.

"Kio, will he be alright?" Yukio pulled her along, but said nothing. She knew he was mourning, so she left it alone for now. She was going to True Cross Academy today. She was leaving him behind so he could look after Rin tonight. She would have stayed, but she needed to get her bearings before the start of school on Monday. 'That's the day after tomorrow. Where did the days go?' she wondered

The last text she got before going to bed several hours later was from Yukio. 'Rin's coming to True Cross. Just found out.' She smiled. Things might just work out.

===AH===

At the freshman class ceremony the next morning, she sat next to Yukio. They were in the front row. Her stocking clad legs were crossed at the ankles kicked up on the railing in front of her. When they called his name, she bent her head to hide her smile. He beat her by one point, the bastard. But she hated speaking in public and he looked so at home in front of the crowd. She overheard some of the girls talking about her best friend and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She let him be surrounded after Mephisto had ended the assembly, chuckling to herself as Yukio looked so uncomfortable with the attention.

"Why, hello," a pink haired boy greeted as he came to stand next to her. She could just see the color passed her the edge of her headpiece. "I really dig that hat. It adds an air of mystery to you." Two other boys were not far behind him, obviously friends.

"Thank you." She tilted her head just enough to look at him properly.

"Renzo Shima." He stuck out a hand. She shook it firmly. He waved his friends over. One came forward quickly. "This is Konekomaru Miwa." The boy in question was so small compared to his friends, she stood at the same height as him. She blinked, surprised a boy so small was her age. Shima pointed at the other boy. "That's Ryuji Suguro. Sorry he's all broady. He had a stick lodged up his ass a few years ago that got stuck." Akira tried, and failed, to hold back laughter. Then she processed his last name.

"Oh! You're going to cram school, right? I'm so glad I get to meet someone before I go classes later. I'm Akira Himura." Shima sputtered. Konekomaru stared. Ryuji came closer.

"The Akira Himura? Daughter of Mayu Himura? Granddaughter of the best exorcist team the vatican has seen? That Akira Himura?" She bit her lip nervously. Ryuji was kind of scary for a human.

"Ki!" Yukio called to her. She waved him off for a moment.

"The one and only." She curtsied. " Gotta go. Later, boys!" She offered them a smile before she skipped over to Yukio. "Where's Rin?"

"He's freaking out about the size of the school." Akira chuckled. They started walking to find a door to use to get to cram school. "Apparently he never paid attention when I talked about it."

"Rin doesn't pay attention to anything, according to you." Yukio shrugged one shoulder. She couldn't hold her excitement anymore. "I can't believe we're really here, Kio. And you're going to be teaching again this year! Isn't that exciting? Though, maybe I'll actually stay ahead of you in classes this year."

"Doubtful, though I was hoping to go over our time table and my teaching schedule to set up study blocks with you."

"And combat training. Don't forget about that, Mr. Athlete." She pushed his shoulder. He chuckled at her playfulness. She was only like this when she was hyper. It didn't happen as often as they got older. She attributed it to long exposure to her home country.

"You can't keep up with me for any of that," he scoffed. Her smile disappeared. Determination set on her face.

"Oh, yeah?" He nodded as he unlocked the door to the cram school. "Well, do you think you'd be willing to get up nearly an hour earlier so we can go running? Because that's how I'm going to work up my physical abilities this year." She was well ahead of people their age when it came to being in shape, but she could never beat Yukio in a race, or anything like that.

"I can commit to twice a week for morning runs. Though, if I remember correctly, you are a terrible morning person."

"Thought I'd try something new to give me an edge." He chuckled again. "Speaking of which, did you tell your brother your side of things yet?"

"He's going to find out about my training in class today. As for the rest, I'll leave that to you." Akira sighed.

"Fair enough." They walked in silence until they were at the entrance of the cram school's library. The room was so large she couldn't see to the end or sides well. She could just barely make out windows, which filled the room with multicolored light. There was apparently some intricate stained class. Akira started spazzing out. "Oh, Kio, look at how many shelves there are! Imagine all the things we could learn!" She took off down an aisle, her hat flying off of her head. Yukio picked it up and followed her. "They have the ENTIRE collection for all the countries' research on demons. No wonder there are so many shelves! And the atlas of demon populations! There's multiple copies. It's only two volumes." And then she took off down another aisle. Yukio followed until she stopped again. "Oh, look! A perfect reading and studying area! Two tables with chairs, and-" she sat in an oversized armchair, the bag she was carrying fell to the floor "why couldn't we have these at the public library? It would have made things way comfier!"

"Ki, stop spazzing out." Yukio put her hat on one of the tables. She checked her watch.

"I have Beyond Basic Shooting after lunch. Want to meet up?" Yukio fell into a chair matching hers. "Are you busy this afternoon?"

"You're right about the chairs." She raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he being stubborn about things? He was never this evasive. "I have the freshman class before lunch, so depending on how much of a disaster that it, yes." She rested her head back and relaxed for a few moments before she set out to find something to read until class. Yukio left before she came back to the space. Only when she heard a commotion outside of the library did she venture out. And she had been reading the most fascinating journey of the first known exorcist! She groaned, put the book in her pack, grabbed her hat, and then followed the noise. Shima and his friends were standing outside a classroom. She didn't wait. She opened the door, closing it quickly to protect the other kids should something dangerous be inside. She was not expecting to see her best friend with a gun trained on his twin. She didn't understand what would make him act that way toward Rin.

"Yukio!"

"Ki, I have this under control." Yukio lowered his gun, but did not put it away. She stormed away before they could get any further. Her best friend was turning into a monster. What was she to do? This was not the start of school she had expected.

===AH===

I had this idea for a girl that trained with Yukio and it wouldn't go away. ~Tori