"Well, here we are!" Mephisto Pheles said cheerfully, looking at the young girl standing next to him. The girl was quite pretty in his opinion and he wondered why she wanted to become an exorcist in the first place. She had dark brown hair, brown eyes that were filled with a determination that was common in most exorcists, and her skin was a light caramel color.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I think so."
Sasuke Takima stepped into the classroom, confident and with one goal in mind: Learn to be an exorcist and kill as many demons as physically possible. After her sister and father were murdered by the damn things, she wanted to send all of them back to Gehenna. They had no right to be here in Assiah, according to her.
She paused at the door and counted her classmates to herself. Seven. She wasn't surprised to see so few people. Not everyone receives their temptaint.
The instructor looked over as he heard the door close. "Good morning, Miss Takima," he said pleasantly. His voice had a friendly tone to it, welcoming and kind.
She grunted in reply and took a seat in the back, away from everyone. A young, blond girl looked at her and smiled sweetly. Another boy with glasses waved slightly. She ignored them both.
As the instructor, Yukio Okumura, began a lecture on lower-level demons, Sasuke started taking notes and drawing accurate diagrams on the demons explained. She paid close attention to the class, and actively participated in the discussions, unlike another greyish-blue haired boy, who fell asleep halfway through the lecture. Sasuke could hear him muttering to himself about some kind of food.
When class ended, she picked up her bag and started to leave when Okumura stopped her.
"Miss Takima, can you stay behind? I'd like to ask you some questions if that's alright."
She shrugged. "No, it's okay. What do you want to know? Oh, and please just call me Sasuke. I don't really like formalities, Mr. Okumura."
He smiled. "In that case, please just call me Yukio. Since we have a few of the same classes together during the day, we can call each other by our first names. Just not during the cram school."
Sasuke nodded.
"Anyway, I want to know why you decided to come to the cram school in the first place?" Yukio asked.
"Well, I suppose it's because I wanted to avenge my father's and older sister's deaths. They were murdered by demons when I was young. But my mother and I managed to escape. She's sick now, but she asked me if I wanted to really become an exorcist. When I said yes, she told me she had ties with Mephisto, and the next thing I know, I'm in the cram school and Mephisto himself was escorting me down the hall here."
"What class are you looking for?"
"Dragoon and Tamer. I might even dabble a little bit in Aria too."
He nodded, seeming to keep that in mind. "Is there anything I should know about you?" Yukio asked.
"Like what?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Just anything you feel like telling me. Anything at all?"
Sasuke thought for a moment. "I guess...well, no actually. That's it."
Yukio nodded. "Okay. I will do everything in my power to make sure you get where you want to be, Sasuke. I promise."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Professor Okumura."
Yukio winced. "That's a name I'll never get used to."
Sasuke giggled, picked up her bag, and said her goodbyes to Yukio before leaving the classroom and heading to her dorm.
Days went by like that. Get up, go to school, eat lunch, finish the day, go to the cram school, go home. Nothing special. She didn't even try to make friends because it would only get in the way of her life goals.
About a week in, she knew names. The bluish-gray haired boy was Rin Okumura, the cute blond girl was Shiemi Moriyama, the girl with the pigtails was Izumo Kamiki. Then there were the three boys. Glasses was Konekomaru Miwa, pink haired boy was Renzo Shima, and the third one with piercings was Ryuji Suguro. Then there was the blond boy with the sock puppet, Nemu Takara.
A month after the last quiz they took was when she really started learning about everyone.
The city was being breached by low to mid-level demons, and the students were tasked with taking them out. Sasuke was ready for the job, but Rin seemed a little...too excited. He was practically jumping for joy when he found out. Shiemi looked nervous. Everyone else seemed fine to her, prepared, ready to take this on. Exwires were tough, and she couldn't wait to become one.
They went in pairs. Takara went with Shima, Konekomaru with Izumo, Shiemi with Suguro, and Sasuke with Rin. They were assigned certain points of the city, where the demons would be most commonly seen. Sasuke and Rin were assigned with a place away from the town, and Sasuke was relieved that not a lot of people would get involved. They walked, Rin equipped with nothing but his sword, and Sasuke with a revolver and a magic circle to call upon her familiar if needed.
"So, you're Sasuke Takima?" Rin asked, breaking the silence.
She nodded but said nothing.
"So...what's up?" Clearly, he was trying to make small talk.
Sasuke decided to humor him. "Why did you decide to be an exorcist?" she asked him.
"To defeat Satan," Rin replied without hesitation.
She couldn't help but smirk. "Beat Satan? You're kidding, right?" But when she looked at him, his face was completely devoid of humor.
"Yeah," he continued. "It sounds dumb, but I'm serious. I want to beat the crap out of Satan for taking my old man from me."
"You're talking about Shiro Fujimoto? The former Paladin?"
He nodded.
Sasuke went quiet.
"What about you?" Rin asked her.
She hesitated. "I want to be an exorcist because I don't think demons have a place in Assiah. They belong in Gehenna and they should have stayed there. I want to be able to be strong enough to be an exorcist to avenge my father's and sister's deaths."
"Woah, that's pretty big," he said. Then he asked, "When did you receive your temptaint?"
"When I was a little kid. About six years ago. The day before the attack."
There was a strange sound to their left, and they both stopped.
"Get behind me Sasuke," Rin whispered, starting to step in front of her.
She snorted. "No way," she whispered back. "I can take care of myself, thank you."
Another noise, closer this time, and suddenly they were swarmed by goblins and coal tar. Sasuke aimed her revolver, emptied it, then quickly reloaded while Rin took over. He smacked at the goblins with his sword sheath, but he jumped back after getting bitten and scratched by another group.
"Rin, get back! I need to treat those wounds!" Sasuke shouted over the chaos.
"I will! Just a second!" He looked back at her and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Stay back!"
He stepped forward and drew his blade. Blue flames exploded from the sword and from his body, and a long tail and pointed ears sprouted from him. Sasuke stared at him in horror. She knew those blue flames. They were a sure sign of Satan.
Rin looked back at her. "Sasuke, I'll explain later! Get up!" he cried, slashing a few goblins with the sword. Sasuke blinked and stood up, then started firing again. She fired and emptied the chamber again, then took out her magic circle and called to the sky: "By the power of the moon goddess Artemis, I beg of you, rise and answer my prayers!"
The air rippled and swirled around her, and a large timber wolf appeared. Rin jumped back, and the wolf launched an attack that sent the fleet of coal tar and goblins back to Gehenna. Then, with an exhale, it vanished.
The two sat down to catch their breath.
"That was nuts," Rin said after a pause. Sasuke had pulled out a first-aid kit and started treating the wounds Rin sustained.
"Yeah," Sasuke said.
"Ya know, you don't have to do this. I feel fine."
"I know," Sasuke nodded, then finished the last one and put her kit away. "So, you gonna tell me why you've got blue flames surrounding you?"
"Oh." Rin sheathed his sword and the blue flames died. He looked at her. "Thing is...Yukio and I are the spawn of the devil."
Sasuke blinked. "Um...what?"
Rin smirked at her. "Yeah, well...yeah. No beating around the bush about it. We're half demons. But we've gotten rid of him for now at least. Back a couple months ago. When the city was being attacked by Satan and his cronies."
"Oh. I see. Okay," Sasuke said, trying to wrap her head around it. It seemed somewhat illogical, impossible. "It seems unreal, but after seeing what I just saw, I can't deny it. And since Mr. Okumura is your twin brother, the fact cannot be avoided. You really are of Satan descent."
Rin lowered his gaze. "Yeah…"
Sasuke smiled at him. "You guys don't seem bad, though."
"We both have the same goal: Destroy Satan and all demons in Assiah."
"I know. And you both have done nothing but protect us, so I don't feel...too afraid of you."
"You shouldn't be afraid of me. I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, and Yukio couldn't hurt anything if he tried to."
Sasuke giggled. "You think so?" she asked, twirling a strand of hair in her fingers.
Rin nodded. "Well, we should get back. We're done here, I think."
"Rin, Miss Takima!" a small voice called. They turned to see Shiemi and Suguro running to them. They looked like they had recently gotten into a fight. Sasuke figured they had just finished taking out their demons.
"Hey, Shiemi! Sup, Bon?" Rin called back.
"Hello," Sasuke said politely. "You guys finished yours?"
"Yeah," Suguro replied. He sounded tired. He looked at Rin with an annoyed expression. "We saw your blue flames and came to investigate. You didn't have to let your powers out, doofus."
Rin's face flushed sheepishly. "Hehe...sorry," he muttered.
"Well, how about we all get back?" Rin asked, looking at the other three.
"Yeah, sure," Shiemi beamed.
"You handled yourselves well," Yukio told them. "Miss Takima, please stand up."
"Yes, Mr. Okumura." Sasuke stood up, a bit nervous as to why he called her out.
"You've demonstrated excellent skill in combat and in poise. You and Mr. Okumura were able to take down your group with ease. You have also demonstrated accurate doctoring when your comrade was in peril. That was your final exam, and you have successfully completed it."
Sasuke beamed. She knew what was coming.
"Congratulations, Sasuke Takima. You have officially become an exwire."
The entire class was staring at her in complete awe and she was smiling broadly. She had never felt so happy in her life. "I did it, Mom," she thought to herself. "I made it, just like I promised you!"