Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist.
Ding.
Ding.
Dong.
It was Sunday.
Sunday morning. Shiemi dreaded Sundays, fully and painfully aware that the weekly Mass brought crowds and lots of noise. She only remained calm because she knew mass was held in a separate building. Far away from her.
'I think I'll just wait until it's over...' Shiemi thought as she hid under the brightly patterned covers of her bed.
Only to have the covers pulled out from above her by a blonde man with spiky hair.
"Rin! Shiemi! Up now!" the man, Izumi, demanded.
"Father Fujimoto said you have to play outside today. Every week you wreck the house. And you're not allowed to sleep in."
"Rin! Get up!"
Izumi shook Shiemi's older brother Rin again, who was sleeping on the top bunk. Rin didn't wake up, instead he continued snoring as he clung to his pillow. Rin was a deep sleeper, so all of Izumi's yelling and the church bells wouldn't wake him up. But today Izumi was prepared to use extreme methods. He readied a black iron skillet and a metal ladle, positioning them directly over Rin's head.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.
"Ngh! Ughhhh! Dark Sukiyaki Vader, nooo-agh!" Rin covered his ears, and flailed around in the bed, the noise sending him into a knee-jerk reaction. He knocked the pan out of Izumi's hands and sent it flying into the wall. It made another loud clang and fell to the floor, hidden behind a crevice of the bed. Izumi withdrew and shook his hands, as if he were in quite a bit of pain.
Rin stared around, trying to understand where he was. Only after several minutes did he realize he was in his room.
"Rin." Izumi said.
"I wanna go back to sleep." he whined.
"No."
"Buuuuuuut."
"Once you're awake you won't want to go back to sleep anymore. Let's go eat breakfast, OK?"
Contrary to what Izumi said, Rin was still tired and didn't feel as rambunctious as normal today. So instead of being active, which Rin usually wanted to do, both of the dark haired siblings were playing with chalk on the sidewalk in front of the monastary's patio. The five year old Shiemi set down her chalk and looked curiously and apprehensively at the figure staring at her from behind the tree. She made out the shape of something black, an oozing thing eminating an otherworldly, smoky substance. She shook and took a step back.
"Glork...Glork..." the thing responded. It moved out of the shade, responding aggressively to her blatant expressions of fear.
Shiemi backed off, got up, and took off running up the concrete stairs. Izumi, watching them from a metal chair, raised an eyebrow. Then, as he realized what she was running from, he got up and readied himself to defend the kids.
"Shiemi? What are ya' runnin' away from, there's nothing there!" her older twin brother Rin yelled as he also put down his chalk and ran after her. Izumi stayed behind, and began chanting an aria to kill the demon.
Shiemi reached up, and turned the doorknob far above her height, and rushed in to hide under the table in the dining room.
She liked the table. It was nice and quiet in here when all of the priests were out. Plus, it was home. She knelt and covered her eyes.
Rin poked his head under the table again. "Are ya' playing pretend again?"
"Ee!" she screeched lightly, putting her hands down only before realizing it was just Rin.
"Ah..." She nodded. "Hmm, yeah! Sorry, I ruined everything. I wanted to draw some more. But I think I heard someone. Can we draw inside, Nii-chan?"
Rin smiled. "Eh? You didn't ruin anything, don't apologize!" he poked her forehead. She scrunched her eyes and found herself letting out a small squeak before falling backwards. Rin laughed. Shiemi stiffened up and blushed, embarrassed.
"Dad's gonna get mad if we stay inside though."
Shiemi frowned. Rin was right. "But I don't want to go back outside!"
"Cuz of the thing?"
Shiemi nodded.
"Next time, tell me where it is, and big brother will beat it up for you!"
"Ah, well…" Shiemi fiddled with her fingers. "That's not what I wanted...but..."
"How are you going to beat something you can't see?" Izumi appeared behind them and rubbed Rin's head.
"I dunno...'cuz?" Rin responded.
"You can't think of a way, can ya?" Izumi rubbed his head harder.
Izumi knelt down in front of Shiemi. "Don't worry about your dad. I'll let you play inside today, okay? And I'll talk to Father Fujimoto for you about today and your ...invisible monster." He said with a hint of seriousness.
Shiemi immediately realized something was unusual about the tone he was using, the expression he was making. Izumi had his grown-up-talk face on. Nevertheless, it made her happy that she didn't have to deal with the stranger in the yard.
"Yay! Let's go play Science!" Rin said.
He grabbed Shiemi's arm and pulled her out from under the table.
"No, you are not playing Science!" 'Science' consisted of the two of them taking all of the shampoo, shaving cream, soaps, and various herbs from outside and inside the bathroom and throwing it on every surface they could find, trashing the entire room for the adults to clean up. Father Fujimoto had told them time and time again they were NOT allowed to play that game. Rin never listened.
Izumi caught up with the two of them, telling them "You're going to draw some more. I'll get the crayons, OK?"
"Okaaaaaaaaay" Rin really didn't care what they played.
Shiemi simply nodded. As long as she could stay inside, she was happy.
Izumi watched them draw quietly until mass was over. Soon after the other monks came in and there was bustling in the living room, dining room, and throughout the house.
"Hehe, oh wow! You guys managed to play indoors without destroying the house!" Shiro Fujimoto laughed loudly and clapped. "Congratulations! Especially you, Rin."
Rin smiled.
"Hey, what's going on? I thought they were playing outside today?" Fujimoto whispered to Izumi.
"Shiemi can see demons. She attracted the attention of one outside earlier. She ran away and wanted to play inside. I thought it would be safest for everyone if I listened."
"What did you say?!" he said quietly. "I test her every day! She isn't..."
"Have you tested her today?"
"...No" Fujimoto grimaced.
He looked away from Izumi and beckoned to Shiemi.
"Shiemi, come here. We're going to have your medical test now."
Shiemi heard a curt tone in his voice. Was she was in trouble? Was it because of today? He sounded angry. She looked down and sulked.
Shiemi rose to her feet and followed her foster father, unable to even look up at the back of his hair.
When they were in the hallway, she spoke up.
"...Um."
"What?" Fujimoto responded, foregoing the playful tone he normally used with her.
"Ummmmm. I'm sorry. Are you mad, daddy? I'm sorry. "
"...No. I'm not mad."
Shiemi slowed her pace and slinked back.
"Listen. Shiemi. What happened earlier today? Izumi said you're the one who went inside."
Shiemi gulped. "...I saw a stranger in the garden."
"Hm, a 'stranger'? Was it something that Rin couldn't see?"
"Y...Yes."
"And is this your first time seeing such a thing?"
"...No." Shiemi shook her head and Fujimoto looked back at her in surprise. Shiemi stopped walking and froze as he looked back at her.
Fujimoto hesitated, before saying "Listen, Shiemi. After your test today daddy needs to talk to you. Understand?"
Shiemi fidgeted, afraid of what would happen. "Y-yes..."
The two of them entered a worn down testing room in the back of the monastery and sat down. Fujimoto drew blood with a small device from her extended finger. Then he took the needle into another room.
"Remember, this room's off limits." he said shortly before closing the door.
Shiemi nodded and waited, hands on her knees, feeling anxious. She didn't know exactly what her father was testing for, but she had always been weak and sickly since she was born. Every day in recent memory, Father took her to this room and tested her blood, to "make sure she wasn't falling ill." Even though her health was improving, her father said she still needed the tests. He said she'd always need the tests. But he never told her why.
In the other room, surrounded by beakers and medical devices, Fujimoto apprehensively waited for the lab results to show up. He loosened up once he saw the results. Everything was clear. So, even if Shiemi could see demons, she wasn't "awakening."
He went back out and sat down in front of Shiemi, putting on a bright smile because he noticed she looked depressed.
"You're all clear! Healthy as ever!"
Shiemi began to get up.
Fujimoto's smile faded. "Wait. Don't leave yet. Sit back down."
Shiemi looked scared, obediently sitting back down and looking at her knees.
"I want you to know that you haven't done something bad...but how long have you been able to see things that others can't?"
"How...long?" Shiemi was confused. "I've ...always seen them. But Nii-chan says they're just pretend! And so do the other kids at school..."
"You talk to other kids? You're usually so shy you fak-" Fujimoto coughed. "You're sick often, so I didn't know you spoke to other kids."
Well, Shiemi wasn't friends with the other kids. Whenever Rin wasn't around, they always bullied her. They bullied Rin too, calling him things like 'demon' and 'monster'. She wished she could make them understand that both she and Rin were good people. But she was so scared of being around people, that it was hard to express that.
"In any case, what you're seeing is real, and from now on you need to be careful. They're what we call 'demons'. After being infected with something called 'mashou', you can see them for the rest of your life. I can see them too, and so can everyone who lives here. Except for Rin."
Shiemi widened her eyes, and nodded.
'Everyone here can see them? Even dad?'
"You're going to have to keep this a secret from Rin. Do -not- tell him, no matter what."
"Why...?"
Shiro hesitated. Five was too young for her to know the truth.
"I'll tell you when you're older. For now, just listen to me, OK?"