Chapter 1
A Devilish Grin
"Do you want to take a gamble?"
"On what?"
"Hmm. Anything."
"Anything? Why would I make a gamble with you, Mephisto? You always win."
"Because you always enjoy the consequences of a loss…"
Amaimon was her master, which was something altogether difficult to forget. He kept a tight hold on her presence, using and abusing her as he wished. He gave her orders that contradicted each other, leaving her to sort out the mess as he searched for something to ease his boredom. There were many rumors about him, and she knew every one. She also knew which were true, and which were false. At times, it was important to know the details. At other times, publically knowing such secrets could threaten her life. Therefore, she did as most familiars did and kept her mouth shut while she simply did everything she was tasked to do. Power was the chain of command in Gahenna, and under the rule of Amaimon, she was relatively safe.
At least, until his odd order had come through.
It was quite a surprise to hear that Mephisto Pheles split his name into two, taking on a role in the Order of the True Cross as a turncoat demon set on destroying Gahenna whilst creating his place in Assiah. At the time, Asmo was quite young at being nearly a century old. She was pulled away from the children of Satan, as those demons did not hold earthly connections like her breed of demon did. Where they were created from the blue flames, she was of a soul bound to Earth. As it was such, she found no difficulty in traveling between Assiah and Gahenna, as her soul was anchored to both.
Amaimon took her to Assiah, along with Behemoth most of the time. Behemoth was fine, assuming she stayed out of that chain's reach. She generally wandered away from him, keeping close enough to sense when she was being summoned and to hear what was going on. Otherwise, she was unneeded. On one of these visits, she met the demon in question who had taken to the human world. It was Amaimon's elder brother, and the oldest son of Satan. Naturally, Asmo was quite uninterested at first. Until they spoke, she held no interest in the mischievous demon at all.
The first words exchanged were a curt greeting. If Amaimon noticed, he didn't say anything about how rude Mephisto was being. It was almost as if he was submitting to the older demon, which intrigued her, as she had never seen the demon prince shrink from anyone else before. Ever. She had been serving him for almost two centuries now, and was unable to fathom how much power this demon must have.
"Amaimon, I have found the most amazing gamble, which I held with the current Paladin for the True Cross," Mephisto mused, leaning back in his chair and looking out the window, over the city. Mortals went about their lives, many unaware of just how close Gahenna was, or even if Gahenna existed. Asmo never quite understood just how ignorant they could be toward demons, and as she watched monsters creep among their ranks, she marveled at just how defenseless they were. "Our younger brother, Rin Okumura, has been taken in by Shiro Fujimoto, the current Paladin. We made a small wager about him…You see, in the case that he can live a human life without incident, he will live that life. However, in the case that his powers awaken, I am able to retrieve his life as mine to do with as I please," he said, the corners of his lips curving with malice. Amaimon blinked at him.
"Rin?" the droopy-eyed demon questioned, quite unaware that his father had produced another son.
"Indeed. Father has mated with a human, which resulted in twin sons. One was born with the blue flames of our father, and the other was born much more human. Their names are Rin and Yukio. Rin-kun seems most likely to fail…but I shall wait. The show is much more entertaining with a bit of suspense and patience," the man said, tapping his gloved fingers on the table. Finally, his green eyes flickered to Asmo. The black kitsune shrank back. She was the odd one, the only kitsune without a white or golden coat. She used black fox fire, her eyes glowed red, and she used a darker prank magic that only seemed to inflict pain.
The demon stared at her for a long time, and Asmo was growing increasingly nervous. Finally, he looked at Amaimon. "This is the one that's been following you. Another of your familiars?" he said, his voice only slightly curving upwards to voice that he was questioning. Amaimon nodded sluggishly, not even sparing Asmo a second glance. "She's an odd one. I don't think I've seen many kitsune, and those I do see are white." As opposed to saying anything, Asmo stayed silent, which caused Mephisto to pout. Only for a moment. He looked at Amaimon again, and decided to continue his conversation. "Is she fun~?" he asked, a playful singing tone in his voice.
"I've grown bored of her," the demon commented dryly, voice holding none of the frivolous inflection in his elder brother's tone. Mephisto chuckled darkly, though Asmo didn't quite pay attention to him, as she knew what happened to the boring ones.
"If you don't want her, then, I'll take her~!" the demon-turned-exorcist said, and Asmo looked at him with a bit of shock. She was surprised that he was saving her, be it directly or not. It was unfortunate in either circumstance, unfortunately, but if she had to pick, it would be life. She swallowed as Amaimon began to contemplate it, staring at his brother and offhandedly at Asmo with his debate.
"Can I just kill her?"
"Amaimon, you can't just kill anything that bores you," Mephisto said gruffly, seeming quite annoyed at the demon. Did he want another toy that much or was there an underlying reason? Maybe he just wanted to spite his younger brother. Amaimon shrugged.
"I have no use for her. Take her," he finally said. Immediately, Asmo seemed to relax. At least until Mephisto got up and walked over to her. Her fur bristled and she shrank back. However, the demon plucked her up by the scruff of the neck, causing an embarrassing little yip to escape her.
"Aww," Mephisto cooed as he carried her to his desk, sitting back and plopping her on the wood. "I didn't think my little brother would carry around something so cute~! You're so tiny and fluffy~!" he sang with praise, and Asmo shrank back again. His aura was of power, and yet he reduced himself to this childishness. It was rather disconcerting. He sighed with a grin, as she wasn't replying. His hand found her head and he rubbed it. She was very small in size, very calm right now. He smirked at his brother. "Go home. I will tell you more of him at a later date, when I know how our little brother acts." Amaimon nodded and retreated.
When her former master had gone and they were alone, Mephisto returned his attention to the kitsune in front of him. She had six tails, showing that she had survived for at least six centuries. She seemed to be at least a little bit capable if she could survive. Her skill set was minimal, but her trickery excelled, and that was just enough to let her keep going. "Tell me your name," he said, grinning.
The fox thought for a moment, and she finally sat as opposed to standing, her tails swaying behind her. "Although I am Japanese, my name is Asmo. Asmo Deus. My name was given to me by Satan himself when Amaimon took me to display as his formal familiar at the time, and I have long since forgotten my birth name." The demon at least appeared fascinated by her, and he folded his arms on the desk, leaning forward so he was inches from her. His lips curled up, displaying his sharp teeth in a malicious, devilish grin.
"I want you to go home to Gahenna. When I want you, I'll call for you," he said, sliding a black box in front of her. He tilted his head at her, and she slowly pulled it toward her with one paw, confused. He took out a pink box that looked the same, and slid a long, sharp claw between a fold in it. It flipped up to reveal a screen and buttons. "When my name appears, press the green button, and we'll talk." He looked at her, and she realized just how stupid the tiny fox would look carrying it. She sighed, black smoke surrounding her.
Poof!
Mephisto stared with an expression of mild surprise as a woman sat on his desk where the fox was just moments ago. She picked up the phone and tucked it into a pocket on the inside of her white kosode, the blue hakama suiting her quite strangely. He didn't bother looking any lower, as his eyes caught her devious red eyes, which were half-open. Atop her head were black ears that suited her black hair well, and there was a tie at each ear with blue bells that let off faint low tones whenever she moved. It was calming to her. Behind her, six black tails swayed, as they had when she was a fox, and as she opened her mouth to speak, elongated, sharp canines made their presence known. "Wakarimashita."
Mephisto chuckled at her. "Go home to Gahenna, now, Asmo Deus." His smirk made Asmo shudder, and had she not known better, she would think this demon was Satan himself.
I am actually revamping this from another account. I just found this again, and saw several reviews asking for this to be continued, so…here it is! I'm working on the second chapter now. Until then~!