My latest attempt at a multichap fic! Mephisto x Shura. Hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought!


The Bond

Mephisto Pheles and Kirigakure Shura are constant and bitter rivals. But magic doesn't make allowances for personal grudges, and when the feuding pair find themselves in a sticky situation they have two options. Cooperate or die.


Chapter 1

The Japanese Branch of the True Cross was a hive of activity. People swarmed in and out of True Cross Academy in a humming frenzy. The air thrummed with frantic whispers.

Have you heard?

Someone has found Pandora's Box!

The atmosphere was half excitement and half fear. After all, Pandora's Box had been forged by Satan himself. No one was eager to mess with one of his creations. The memories of the Blue Night still haunted people; even exorcists who had been born after the horror had passed. And Pandora's Box was special.

A group of young exwires looked down at the throng of exorcists by the main gates of the Academy. Shura had herded them upstairs and away from the action. Then she had threatened them, and Rin had the strangest feeling it was directed at him.

"If I catch one of ya down there I will cut yer legs off and make ya eat them!"

So now the crew had to satisfy themselves with what they could see from the window and what Rin's sharp ears could pick up. The young exwire was so excited that his face was smushed up against the glass.

"Oy! What the hell is Pandora's Box! What's going on?!"

It had taken Bon and Konekomaru a long time to explain it.

If the vague fragments of myth and rumour could be believed, and no one was sure they could, Pandora's Box was a well of extraordinary demonic power. The Box's origins were shrouded in mist, and there were many different versions, some of which conflicted. But as far as anyone could tell, the Box had been forged during the times when war wracked Feudal Japan. Demons had delighted in the brutality of battle. They danced among the dead and drank the blood of the dying. In the chaos they were their strongest, and they took the opportunity to wage their own war against the fledging Japanese Branch of the True Cross. Fear and hatred reigned supreme in the war-torn Japan, and the demons found no shortage of easy hosts to possess. Darkness stalked the land. Powerful demons fucked and slaughtered anyone they could get their hands on, not necessarily in that order, and fear was king. But the new exorcists were strong. The new branch didn't fall and more and more reinforcements arrived. Exorcists from Italy, Russia, Ireland, all over the world, came together to beat back the hordes of darkness. Satan took a keen interest in the proceedings. To him all land was his, all people were his, and this war was to take his rightful possessions. One day Satan summoned his right hand man, his most trusted general and gave him a gift. Satan took part of his power and placed it in a magic box. Whoever opened it would have Satan's strength for a short time. For a day it would seem as if Satan himself walked the earth. Well pleased, the General thanked Satan and promised to destroy the exorcists. But disaster fell. As the General entered Assiah he was ambushed by the very exorcists he had sworn to destroy. Mortally wounded, the General couldn't use Satan's power, but he was still determined to keep the Box from the exorcists. He threw the Box into a nearby river where it was carried deep underground and was lost to humanity. Until now.

Down in the front yard the air thrummed with tension. Shura shifted uneasily, wound up tight with nerves. She couldn't help worry that that moron Rin would come charging down to see what was happening. There were too many exorcists here, he'd be slaughtered. Her eyes landed on Mephisto who was standing at the front of the crowd. Her lip curled at the sight. Shura always kept an eye on Mephisto, there was something about him that put her teeth on edge. He was standing with his back to the crowd, running his hands through the air. The barrier rippled as the demon altered some parameters and the effect was eerie, adding to the tension of the afternoon. All at once the hum of panicky conversation died to nothing. They had arrived. The immense front gates of the True Cross Academy slowly opened with a mighty clang. The Box had to be held until it could be examined by the Vatican elite. Most people hoped that it was a fake and that such an atrocious power wasn't loose on the world. The Academy had been chosen to hold the Box until morning, when the Vatican could arrive, thanks to the strength of the barriers that surrounded the place. Even though the demon principle inspired nothing but distrust from the other exorcists, no one could deny the power that protected the school. The barriers were unrivalled in all of Japan. And no risks could be taken with Pandora's Box.

A group of fierce exorcists marched through the main entrance in a tight square, protecting a chest that was almost comically small. Mephisto gave the serious looking crew a lazy smile, seeming as amused as ever by the situation.

"How nice to see you all."

His sharp little smile gave the impression that it wasn't that nice at all.

"If you could all take the unholy abomination through. Kirigakure Shura will show you the way to the secure holding facility."

Once the exorcists were through Mephisto turned his back on them, focusing on stitching the barrier back together again and making it stronger than ever. Already the air outside the academy was thick with coal tar. He felt a shiver run down his spine to the tip of his tail. This was the real deal.

The guards looked around uncertainly for a moment after the demon so abruptly dismissed them, but a fierce redhead quickly stepped forward.

"A'right! Step-up! The facility is this way, and if anyone drops the damn thing I'll eat ya!"

Shura sneered at Mephisto, before slouching off. Shura ignored a nasty chuckle from the demon behind her, clearly not as focused on his task as he pretended to be. The other exorcists ignored him as well, though a couple of the younger ones flinched. They hadn't been to the Academy before and the stress of Pandora's Box was making them trigger happy. Especially around a Demon King. Even one who promised he was tame. Shura marched down one of the many dark hallways of the academy and the guards followed close behind her, Pandora's Box protected at all times by the living wall of exorcists. The ceiling arched high overhead. Gloom blurred the features of the place, darkness hung like a veil of cobwebs. This was another of the Academy's defences from the hordes of evil, its labyrinth design. Even if a demon breached the barrier, Pandora's Box would be nearly impossible to find. Shura stopped in front of a thick metal door that stood open. It was just possible to see a stand in the brooding room beyond. The containment area just screamed, 'don't even think about it.' Shura handed over a large golden key.

"This is the only one."

The redhead watched as the elected leader of the guards took the key, then gingerly picked up the chest, like he was handling a nuclear bomb.

"Get set-up! Settle in for an all night watch! I'm going to check the perimeter."

Shura barked.

The leader turned to thank her, but the woman was already gone.


The corridors were pitch black. Night had fallen and the pin-prick starlight did nothing but add dimension to the darkness. The figure was unperturbed. They glided along the cool hallway like a ghost. The dark seemed to shiver as they passed, and the air seemed colder and more sinister when they were gone. The figure finally stopped in front of the containment area. Emerald eyes flashed with amusement as the figure saw the guards all frozen comically in position. The leader was stuck in mid-yawn, and the figure had to suppress a chuckle as they delicately plucked the golden key from under the guard's nose. The figure unlocked the heavy door with a gentle click before they returned the key and slipped through to the containment area. The door shut behind them with a soft thump. With the grace of a panther the figure stalked towards the chest. They pulled a replica from nowhere and, with a flourish and a quick swap, the Box was theirs. Their eyes sparkled with greed as they unfastened the clasps of the chest. The figure pulled out a small box with the care of a mother with their newborn child. The Box was made of gold. Hideous carvings scarred the lustrous surface and in the dim light of the containment unit the monsters seemed to move. The figure put the chest aside and examined the Box carefully, slim fingers tracing the grotesque lines. Crunch! Out of nowhere a hand appeared and clamped a vice-like grip around the box.

"I knew ya'd come for it, traitor."

Mephisto's eyes blazed with green fury.

"I warned you to keep out of my way, beautiful."

Neither noticed the blood that started to seep from their palms that were clenched around the box. The thick, dark blood filled the carvings and, before Mephisto could finish reaching for Shura's slim throat, blue light exploded out of the Box.

Ahahahaha!

Satan's face hung like a moon in the dark room. He still looked like Fujimoto, eyes and nose running with thick streams of blood. Mephisto felt Shura beside him, shivering with fear, and pain, and fury.

My prodigal son! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist this prize.

His voice was like the screech of failing train brakes and as Satan's suspended face leered down at them even Mephisto felt himself quail. The King of Gehenna's presence was like a physical weight, even though he was just an apparition.

Daddy has got to punish you for being so cruel and running away from home. Ahahaha. I'd take my time, but there isn't enough power in the Box to keep me here long.

Satan's face lit up as an idea seemed to hit him. There was a sound of fingers clicking and a thick rope of purple light snapped into existence, wrapping tightly around one of Mephisto's and one of Shura's wrists.

Ahahaha! Have fun being bonded to this filthy exorcist.

Satan leered at Shura and the sight of her mentor's face so distorted made her feel physically ill. The force of his presence made her legs weak and terror made her head spin.

If you two go more than….

The demon paused dramatically, as if he was thinking. He was clearly savouring their fear.

10 metres apart, and that includes different planes, Samael, then you'll die! Ahahaaa. And if she dies, you die. If you die, she dies.

Satan obviously found something funny in the horrified look on Mephisto's face and he screeched with laughter.

But I'm not a cruel Papa, there's a way to break the bond… I'm not telling though! Come visit your dear Papa soon, Samael.

The apparition winked out of existence, and the air seemed to go with him.

It could have been seconds or it could have been hours later when Shura came too, and she was horrified to feel a rage that was not her own brushing against her mind. She shied away from the contact even as the demon in question grabbed her by the arm, hard enough to leave a mark.

"You nosy, interfering, witch." Mephisto hissed. "I'm going to kill you."

Shura could feel his intent like a bruise against her conscious. But before she could deck him, Shura heard a shout of alarm from outside.

"I heard something in there!"

The guards! A key rattled in the lock, they obviously didn't realise it was already open. Mephisto seized those few seconds and held them tight. He took a deep breath and composed himself. One hand clamped around Shura's arm and one hand clamped around the few slippery seconds they had left, Mephisto steered the unruly exorcist out of the door that had just started to swing open. Shura felt a shudder of horror as she saw the guards frozen in place as they had started running towards them. It was like a scene from a nightmare. She trembled. Satan had called him Samael.

The King of Time.

Shura had known he was royalty, but she hadn't dreamed that he was so strong. Mephisto didn't let up the pace as he dragged her down the corridor and away from the scene of the crime. Once they had rounded the corner Mephisto released his hold on time with an audible sigh of relief and fixed Shura with a glare that was all fangs.

"You have ruined everything, my lady."

Short intro chapter, but I hoped you liked it! Any thoughts, advice, etc? Let me know!