Hey guy's. So this is a repost of CHAPTERS 1+2 of APPRENTICE OF THE VATICAN.
Yukio Okumura, a Middle 1st class exorcist and a first year teacher of the cram school at True Cross Academy, entered his classroom on the first day of the new school year. The classroom was currently empty at the moment but he knew that soon the students will enter the room in about an hour or so, as classes will start at that time. And he decided to use this time to prepare his new classroom. He was currently 15 as his birth day was fifteen days ago as today's date is January 11, 2016, and is considered a prodigy as he is the youngest exorcist up till now. Ever since his father's, Father Fujimoto's death a little more than five years ago, a month before his tenth birthday, he had only improved his skilled as a exorcist. He put his brown leather satchel on his black granite desktop and started going through his things.
He brought with him both of his AMT Automag V's, his main weapons as a mix of Dragoon and Doctor. He used those pistols effectively against demons like Hobgoblins and others while healing other exorcist around him. His guns were loaded with blessed 9mm silver bullets. The perfect round to take any demon head on. He put them in the holsters under his arms that were hidden by his black trench coat. To others who don't have a trained eye sight, I would look like he wasn't wearing any weapons. Yukio got all his teaching supplies, pens, pencils, binders, etc., out and placed them in a neat order on his desktop.
It was then he felt something at the bottom of the satchel, he reached in and grabbed what felt like a picture frame. He pulled out the frame with a photo. It was a photo taken five years ago with him, Shiro, the monks, and...Rin sitting at the dinner table laughing at the joke Rin said. It was the last photo they all took together before it all went to shit two days later. Tear's of sorrow started flowing down his face as he thought back to his last few days with his father, and with the brother he wronged, Rin.
Flashback to November 18, 2010
Father Shiro Fujimoto, priest of the Monastery of the Southern Cross and the Paladin of the Order of the True Cross, stood at the doorway to the monastery with an angry expression written all on his face. At the door was a nine year old Rin, who at the moment was being held by the arm by a police officer. He just got into another fight, this time however the police officer saw the whole thing and pulled him off the boy. This wasn't the first time Rin has done this type of thing and decided to escort him home. Shiro stared at Rin with disappointment, then looked at the officer with a smile, "Thank you for bringing Rin home Gorou, I'll make sure he learns his lesson." Gorou looked at Rin with a slight smile, handed him to Shiro, and left. Shiro closed the door and gave Rin another angry look.
"Alright what was it this time?" He demanded.
"That guy deserved it, he was shooting birds for fun!"Rin shouted, defending himself.
"So you just had to beat the kid to a pulp?" Shiro scolded the boy in front of him.
"Yeah, someone had to do something!"
"Did that someone have to be you Rin?" He asked.
"Well, why not?" Rin asked back, calming down from the adrenalin rush that came from fighting.
"The officer was close enough to see you throw the first punch. You could have went to him or find the kids parents and tell them what was going on." Rin didn't respond to that as he didn't think of it. Instead he chose not to look at Shiro and stay quiet."Rin..." Shiro knelt down and placed his hand on his shoulder, "...your heart is in the right place, but you mustn't take it upon yourself to take on every situation by yourself. The world has a lot of problems, and it is to much for any one person to take on alone."
"Well, I can still help whenever I can right!" He then gave Shiro a look of intensity and determination. "You will see, one day I'll become stronger and I'll help out the whole world!" Shiro gave Rin a hearty laugh.
"The whole world huh, is that right?"
"Yeah!" Rin replied without hesitation, his mind was made up. Shiro gave another laugh.
"We'll see about that. But if you're going to bulk up and get strong you need to eat. It's time for dinner so eat up, everyone's already inside." Run smiled with delight at the mention of food. He ran into the dining room, with Shiro following behind him. Rin took his place next to his brother, Yukio, who was currently head deep in 'Of Mice and Men'. Shiro took his seat at the head of the table and dinner officially began. "Sorry we're late." Shiro apologized.
"Did Rin get into another fight again?" Yukio asked, still staring down at the book in his hands.
"Heh, it wasn't a fight it was a bloodbath. The cops had to come pull me off that guy." Rin said cockyly.
"You say that like it was a good thing." Yukio responded, looking over to his brother.
"Now Rin tells me that he's going to save the whole world." Shiro told the others.
"Oh is that so?" One of the priest living at the monastery commented.
"You bet!" Rin shouted in confidence. I'm going to get really strong and protect the whole world!
"Well then you better eat a hearty dinner. Gotta get big and strong." Another priest said onto him with a bright smile.
"Hey, maybe you could become a priest and run the monastery someday." Shiro commented to Rin. "That'd help a lot of people."
"It would?" Rin asked.
"Of course, plenty of people come here everyday for help in all sorts of things." Shiro explained as if he said it before. "We help out the whole community around the city. Even your brother, Yukio, is studying to become a priest one day."
"Wait, I thought Yukio was going to be a doctor?" Rin asked confused as to why his brother lied to him.
"I am. But I'm going to be a doctor wherever and whenever they need be to be one. So I'll be at some monastery somewhere too, hopefully this one." Yukio clarified to his lost brother. "I'm studying everything from religious text from the Bible, to modern medicine, to the art of exorcism."
"Exorcism?" Rin repeated in confusion.
"Yes, exorcism, as in fighting demonic beings." Rin's face lit up like a light when Yukio put it that way. "Plenty of people rely on exorcist for supernatural matters."
"Really? Well then I'm going to become an exorcist, too!" Rin declared in excitement. Everyone in the room stopped eating and gave him a surprised stare, as if this was unheard of from the boy. Rin faced his shocked brother with confidence. 'One day, let's both become the best exorcist we can be and help out as many people as our hearts contend." Yukio, still surprised by his brother's outburst, was, again, taken back by this for a moment. He then smiled back.
"Agreed." He then grabbed Rin's now outstretch hand and shook it, sealing their deal. Rin grinned with glee and went back to eating his meal. That was the last time they had dinner together as a family.
Two days later, Rin was standing by Shiro's grave in the nearby cemetery. The night prior was when everything went to wrong. Rin had run into the boy from the other day, only something was different. The other boy began to suddenly change into a non-human shape, his teeth started to grow and sharpen, he grew ram horns that wrapped around his ears, and he grew a tail. Rin would have had his eye burned out with a metal rod too if Shiro hadn't shown up. He tossed the boy to the ground and exorcised him right on the spot. Shiro then explained Rin's origin, that Rin was a half-demon, and a son of Satan. Shiro led Rin back to the church but they were followed by Astaroth, one of Satan's Demonic Kings, the King of Decay.
After a brief skirmish, Rin came back and scolded Shiro for abandoning him. Shiro had become weaker in that moment and then became possessed by Satan. Satan had opened a portal to Gehenna in the floor and attempted to drag Rin. He was stopped when Shiro momentarily regained control and sacrificed himself to save his son. Rin stopped the Gehenna Gate and saved himself and Shiro's now lifeless body. Now Rin could only pay his respects in the rain.
He was currently dressed in a black suit, looking down at the grave, his sad expression covered only by his hair. He had the Koma sword, Kirikara, holstered on his back, held there by a sling. The rain only worsened the already dreary mood. His father, who adopted him at a very young age, was now dead because he sacificed himself in order to save Rin. Rin couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty as he stood there lost in his thoughts.
He didn't even hear anyone approaching until they were right next to him. Whe Rin noticed he wasn't alone, he looked over to his right side to see Yukio there. Yukio was dressed black trench coat, and although Rin didn't know it at the time, that was the attire for most exorcist. Yukio had an unmoved look on his face, almost like a statue. There were flowers in his hand, a small bouquet of Alstroemeria flowers.
"Yukio, where have been?" Rin asked. Yukio didn't respond and looked like he didn't even hear the question that his brother said. He, instead, bent down and placed the bouquet at the foot of the grave. "I haven't seen you since yesterday before dad died. What happened Yukio? Where were you?" Again, Yukio did not respond. "What's wrong? Why aren't you answering me? Say something Yu-" Rin stopped when Yukio suddenly pointed an AMT Automag V aimed right at Rin's forehead, his finger on the trigger. "What...What is the big idea?" Rin asked, both confused and scared shitless.
"I know everything Rin." Yukio finally said in a tone that read 'if you move, I will shoot with no hesitation'. "I've known all along about you, and about you powers."
"What…you knew and you didn't tell me?" Rin asked started to learn the truth, and mad that his own brother didn't tell him.
"For as long as I can remember, I've been able to see Demons. Father helped me, taught me to not be afraid anymore. Ever since that, I've tried devoting my life to becoming an exorcist, just like him. Something else I know, is that there is no one Satan would want to possess more than dad. But dad was too strong willed to allow that, he would never let Satan in that easily. So something must have triggered him. You said or did something, didn't you?"
Rin thought back to that night, how he yelled and berated Shiro for lying to him all those years. After calling him a pretend father, Shiro slapped the boy for saying such a thing. Rin held his head down and began to choke out sobs. He then looked up tearfully to Shiro and begged.
"Please, you're supposed to take care of me. You can't just abandon me." That must have been it. Rin thought. At that moment Shiro felt heartbroken, and Satan managed to get to him. When Yukio explained it, it made sense to Rin. It was his fault, their father was dead because of him.
"So you're going to shoot me then, is that it?" Rin asked, livid now. Yukio glared at Rin from the other side of his gun.
"No…if I killed you, father would have died in vain." Yukio lowered his semi-auto pistol. "But I want you to leave. Don't ever come back to the monastery or let me see you again. Because if you do, then I will shoot you." Yukio turned his back on rin.
"What? Yukio, you can't be serious." Rin fought back.
"Did I not sound serious?" Yukio asked, his voice, dull and lifeless.
"You can't do this, you can't abandon me like this. You're my brother!" Rin pleaded.
"I have no brother!" Yukio shouted back in anger. Rin gasped in horror at what he just heard, staring wide eyed as Yukio faced away from him. "Now…get out of my sight." Yukio then began to walk away. Rin just stood there in the rain and hung his head, his hair covering is eyes that were treading in tears. He had just lost his family and his home. He was all alone now. The next day, exorcist came to the monastery looking for the son of Satan in order to get rid of him. But it was too late. Rin had vanished, no one knew where he was. There was a brief search that lasted a few months but nothing came up. The case went cold, and soon faded from everyone's memory. But eventually it would return to Yukio years later.
Flashback end
Back in the present, Yukio was beginning to cry. He silently began cursing himself for being such an idiot. Three years after the incident passed, Yukio began to regret what he said to Rin, his brother, that regretted telling Rin that they were not brothers anymore, and for abandoning Rin like he did. He hadn't seen him since that day either.
No one who knew Rin Okumura had any idea what happened to him. It was as if vanished from the face of the entire planet. Yukio wasn't sure if Rin was still alive or not, and the thought scared him. He would never forgive himself if Rin was found dismembered somewhere.
There was a rasping on the open door. "Knock, knock." Professor Tsubaki, the P.E. teacher at the cram school, was at the doorway to Yukio's classroom. "Just coming to check on you on your first day…" He cut himself short when he saw the tears in Yukio's eyes. "Is everything alright?" He asked, sounding rather concerned for his fellow teacher.
"Yes, I'm fine." Yukio answered, wiping the still soaking tears from his face. Tsubaki came over to make sure he was really ok. It was at that point he noticed the picture in Yukio's hands.
"Hmm, who is that?" He asked, pointing to Rin. "With you and Fujimoto."
"Oh, that's Rin. He's my brother." Yukio told him, now smiling, albeit sadly.
"Brother? I didn't know you had a brother."
"Yeah, a few years ago we got into a fight when our father died. I told him I never wanted to see him again and that he wasn't brother, I got my wish." Yukio explained, now shedding tears again.
"Oh my, I'm sorry to hear that, but I do think you acted a bit rationally at that time, but everyone has their faults." Tsubaki first showed his sympathy, then a fatherly side, then went serious. "Back on topic…What happened to him?"
"I don't know. He ran away after that. I haven't seen him since." Yukio explained.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear about that. It must be hard, along with the guilt that comes with that."
"It's fine, I just hope he's alright and alive." Yukio stared back at the last photo he had with his family. Tsubaki stared down at him with a saddened expression on his face.
"Well I should probably let you get back to it, the ceremony will be over soon and students will be arriving soon." Tsubaki reminded his fellow professor.
"Ah, right." Yukio replied a bit blankly. Tsubaki then exited the classroom and Yukio started to put the books that his classroom would use on the student's desktops. After about a half an hour, students began to enter the classroom. "Welcome to your first day of cram school." Yukio greeted the first three that entered. "Names please."
"Ryyuji Suguro, sir!" The boy in the middle with the 'black, yellow, black' hair color scheme and piercings reported.
"I'm Konekomaru Miwa, sir." The short boy to the left said.
"And my name's Renzo Shima." The last one with reddish-pinkish hair introduced himself last. Yukio nodded and marked them as present, then the three boys took their seats at the back left of the class with Suguro and Shima in the fourth row and Miwa in the fifth. The next student walked into class a few moments later. He was a rather mysterious man who wore a dark grey cloak concealing part of his face with shadows.
"Name?" Yukio asked.
"Yamada." Was all the man said to introduce himself. He took a seat at the very back right on the fifth row. Two more students came in not to long after that. Two girls, one with purple hair tied in twin tails behind each shoulder blade. The other had short brown hair in a bob cut style and grass green eyes. They both went up to Yukio's desk to report in.
"Izumo Kamaki." The girl with the purple twin tails told the teacher.
"I'm Noriko Paku, sir." Noriko introduced herself a bit more shyly. Yukio nodded and smiled to them, marking the as present.
"Well it seems like we're just waiting on one more person." Yukio commented aloud. Then, as if on cue, there were footsteps as the last student entered the classroom. "Speak of the devil, name please?" Yukio asked and looked up. Then his heart skipped a few beat, almost to the point that he had a heart failure. Now standing before him was a 15 year old Rin.
Rin looked different than he had over five years ago. He was, not only taller, but his body looked like he had been training everyday. His hair was no longer the navy blue color it was before, but was dark brown, darker than his own, and a bit longer. His expression also changed. He kept part of the look of determination, but now he looked to more serious and business like.
He was wearing what looked like a pure white leather jacket that had a vertical black line between the zipper and arm piece on both sides that looked to be an inch thick. The zipper was open and it showed a red shirt underneath. He was wearing black cargo pants, though Yukio could swear that they have leather padding for reinforcement.
He also carried two swords at his sides. They went over his shoulder blades and crossed down making an X shape, meeting at the middle of his back. One of the swords was sheath in a white scabbard and had a pearly white handle with a silver hand guard. The other one was one that he never seen before. He thought Rin was supposed to keep Kirikara on him at all times but it seems he broke that rule and got a new sword. This one was sheath in a black scabbard, had a golden handle with pure white markings on both the scabbard and handle.
Rin gave Yukio a stone faced look as they met each other for the first time in five years. "Rin Okumura." He responded as if he was a normal student who had never met Yukio before. Yukio nodded, still surprised by the change that had happen to Rin. Rin then went to the middle of the class, middle column, and third row. The other students, except for Yamada, were thrown off by Yukio's sudden reaction to Rin. Yukio then stood up from his desk.
"All right, welcome to your first day of training to become exorcist." He greeted the class, now collecting himself. "I will be you teacher, Professor Okumura." Some of the confused students from before now began to wonder if he and Rin had some sort of connection. Rin just sat there as if he was just a normal student.
"As you know, our world consist of two inter-dimensional planes: Assiah-the material world, and Gehenna-the spirit world. The realm we live in is Assiah, while Gehenna is the twisted place of reality where all demons come from. While most can not enter our world some manage to get over, and it is our job as exorcist to remove these demons. Now, before we begin does anyone not have their machou*?" Both Paku and Miwa raised their hands. "Alright, come to the front of the class and allow me to give you your machou."
The two walk to the front of the class, feeling a bit nervous. Yukio pulled a small vial of a deep red liquid out from his bag. "This is goblin's blood. If it makes contact with your skin it will summon a few harmless goblins as well as give you your machou's. Now, give me your arms." Miwa and Paku both held out their right hands, with the palms up. Yukio rolled up their sleeves and uncapped the top of the vial. He gave them each a drop of blood on their arms. The blood fizzled for a few seconds and then became steam on their arms.
Then out of nowhere, a few goblins appeared in the air around the class and began to float around. Some of the students stared at them, this being their first time seeing the creature.
"These are goblins. They are low level that are pretty harmless. They can't do much on their own besides cause mischief." Yukio was about to regret those last few words as after he finished one goblin bumped into the hand he was holding the open vial with. The vial fell from his grip and crashed against the ground. The smell of rotten eggs and milk filled the room making all, but Rin, cover their noses.
"Ugh, what the fuck is that? It stinks." Suguro commented.
"It smells like rotten eggs." Miwa remarked in a nasally voice as he covered his nose.
This isn't good. Yukio thought to himself. At this rate this much blood will… He suddenly heard something appear behind him. He turned around to see three rather large goblins appear in the classroom. Miwa and Paku both backed a few feet in fear.
"W-w-what is that?" Paku asked scared for her life.
"Crap, it is a hobgoblin!" Yukio shouted. The large goblins opened their maws and began moving forward towards the class. "Everyone stay back, I'll…" Suddenly there was a swift wind and a brief flash. Rin was suddenly on the other side of the hobgoblin in the middle with both his swords out looking like he sliced them in an X formation. Rin's white sword was also silver on the inside, and Yukio then noticed it is the same as the metal from his bullets, it also had gems in it. Rin's gold and white sword, however, had a pure black blade that looked jagged (look up Kenshiri broadsword and imagine that the marks on it are white).
Rin sheath his swords, Yukio saw that he then pulled out one of two guns that he saw: a Serbu Super-Shorty, and a 92 FS Beretta. When he pulled the 92 FS out first and fired a few quick burst into one hobgoblin before flipping his arm that way he was shooting backwards and fired a long burst into the last hobgoblin. All three hobgoblins and the other goblins then left after that and Rin then put his 92 FS away and said, "Apologies, sensei." Rin begged pardon. "The angle of my cuts was off by a few degrees and as a result the blades dulled, and the mark of impact from my gun was off by a few millimeters from the center. I'll do better next time."
"That's…fine. You did good Mr. Okumura." Yukio told him.
"Damn, this guy sliced through a demon and expertly shoots two like that and apologized for it?" Suguro stated quietly to Shima. Shima nodded with his chin still dropped. Yukio then walked back to his desk and said, "Alright, now that that is over, let us continue on with class."
Time Skip a few hours
The rest of the day was as normal as it can get for an exorcist-in-training, or even an exorcist for that matter. Rin went through the rest of his classes as scheduled and then he went to the old male dormitory that was set aside for him by Johann Faust, or Mephisto. The dorm was no longer in use as the facility changed over the years. And the best part is that he would have it all to himself, save for the occasional special visitors, his mentors.
Rin looked up and stared at the old building with a partial stoic face but couldn't help but to grin when he saw two of his five mentors staring at him from the roof. He entered the five floor building and took a look around to get a feel for the building he will be staying in for a while before going through a door that led to the roof his mentors were on at the moment.
"So, how are you liking the school so far?" asked Rin's mentor, he currently was wearing a hood and his voice sounded like he was the type of person that was serious. He was tall, around 6ft4 and had a lean body like a person that goes to the gym for 5 hours a day. "Good, besides the fact that my first teacher is you-know-who." Rin said with a shrug. He then looked to the other person who looked like Yamada, "Besides Angel, Shura was in the class incase of an accident. You could have asked her for the report."
The man now known as Angel, looked to Shura who said, "It was an order from the Grigori, to make sure he keeps his cool while here. Also he will have the entire dorm to himself, so…" she got caught off by someone opening the front door to the dorm and they all looked down to see that it was Yukio who opened the door and walked in. "Crap, Rin go pick a random room and wait there. If he goes in and says he is bunking with you, agree then say this 'but I'm having my own room.'" Angel said with a voice of finality. Rin bowed to both of them individually and left the roof.
He stayed on the fifth floor and went to the east wing of the floor. He went to the last room on the side and picked the room he will stay in already. He threw the bag with his things down by one of the beds in his false room. While this place wasn't his home, it was good enough. He heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway by his door. He knew it was Yukio's as his mentor's footsteps are barely noticeable.
He heard Yukio reach the doorknob turn and the door creak open. In the case it wasn't Yukio, he had his grip on Howaito, my white sword. When the door opened up, he saw that it was Yukio. They both stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Yukio decided to break it. "There you are. I'm going to be your roommate during you stay at True Cross." He explained with a small smile. Rin, however, was still silent, but his hand off the handle of Howaito.
"Very well." He replied in a jaded tone. He then picked up his bag and walked towards the door, walking past a currently confused Yukio. "But I will be having my own room during the stay here." He wasn't going to have him ruin the visits from his mentors. No way in hell would he allow that. For all he could care, Yukio was dead to him. Yukio would need to gain back his trust in him. If he succeeds in that, then maybe he would introduce him to his mentors.
Yukio watched as he went to the room on the side closer to the exit. Rin is…different, but at least he is alive. Finally after all these years, he had Rin back, and he could begin to fix what he did five years ago.
Rin entered the room that he claimed as his. The room looked like his back at his home with his mentors, before he changed it to his design. It was 12x10x12 (width x length x height) room size with white wall paper and blue carpet. It had a normal sized bed on the far left corner of the room with a desk by it. On the walls, hooks were there to place items like a calendar, a backpack, etc.
He then place his bag on the desk before putting his sword sheaths on two of the hooks. He look to his two swords and grabbed a whetstone and began to sharpen Kenshiri, my black sword. After sharpening for three minutes, the blade looked deadlier then before. He then began to sharpen Howaito. After the first cleaning swipe, the door opened slowly. I saw that it was Angel.
"Don't be angry, but Yukio left because he is getting a mission from Mephisto. He will, most likely, not get a partner for the mission as it is easy. But since it is required, you might go." Angel said in an apologetic tone like it hurt him to say that. Rin looked at him and said, "I will go but only to show him that he is not the only one who can do stuff, plus I will consider it like it is my day training session." He made sure that his voice was unwavering. He knew that Yukio was going to try to 'reconnect' with him, but it won't be easy. And Yukio knew it.
Johann Faust, who is also Mephisto Pheles, was sitting alone in his office, busy with paperwork. His office was as elegant and finely decorated as a ballroom, one of if not the finest in the whole academy. Mephisto was currently listening and humming to 'Beyond the Seven Hills' by Michael Sweeney, as he did the work on his desk. Then there was a knock on his door that caused him to stop all music in the room. "You may enter." He called to the person on the other side of the birch wood double doors.
One of the doors opened up and Yukio stepped into his office. "Ah, Professor Okumura, come in, have a seat. You are just in time." He greeted Yukio. Yukio closed the door behind him and took a seat in one of the hand carved wooden chairs across from Mephisto. "I assume you are wondering why I called you here?" Mephisto pondered Yukio.
"That can wait Mr. Faust…" Yukio started before getting cut off by Mephisto.
"Please, we are alone. You may call me Mephisto." He told the teacher.
"Mephisto, I just have to know. Why did you let Rin join True Cross and the cram school?" Yukio asked the Headmaster of the school.
"Oh that, well he came with…some people who I can't deny. Any who, how was it seeing your brother again? I understand that was the first in five years that you have met, correct?" Mephisto asked with a mischievous grin.
"What people? Yes, and I have to say it wasn't really what I had expected." Yukio responded, moved a bit by the first part. "I can't say as they told me not to." Mephisto replied to Yukio's question. "Anyway, but why would you let Rin become an exorcist? You know about his powers and you've been hunting him for these five years. So who are these people that made you let him join?"
"Alright, I'll tell you. But you can't tell anyone, even Rin as he will most likely kill me, what I tell you. Got it?" Mephisto said with a bit of warning in his tone. Yukio nodded and Mephisto continued, "The new Paladin, Arthur Auguste Angel, and the Grigori escorted him in to this room and said this, 'This boy will join the cram school.' exactly like that. I was at first confused as to why they wanted me to enroll him and said that he was a son of Satan, but they then told me that he was their 'apprentice' I was shocked that they claimed the son of Satan as their apprentice, they then asked me to summon my 5 best trained exorcist for him to fight. I summoned them and ordered them to attack him, but as they reached him, he took them all down without even drawing the weapons he had on him. He just flips them and breaks their arms and left leg. That was all that it took for me to let him join. Happy?" Mephisto finished, taking a breath after his amount of talking.
Yukio nodded, surprised that Rin was with the Grigori at the Vatican all these years. He would have thought that Rin was hunted by the Vatican, not at it training. He wasn't even surprised that he took down 5 trained exorcist almost at once. "Anyways…" Mephisto continued to the reason he called Yukio there, "I have a new job for you, it's with Ms. Moriyama at the supply store and her daughter. It seem they're having an issue and are asking for our help."
"Right, understood." Yukio replied, adjusting his glasses. "Who will be my partner on this assignment?"
"Oh pish, posh, you won't need a partner for such an easy mission." Mephisto assured him.
"But sir, its protocol." Yukio reminded him.
"Oh, you are just no fun. Fine, if you must then take Rin with you. He is, as I feel, the most qualified and can handle himself. It also is a chance for you to reconnect with your dear brother." Yukio had to think for a minute. Mephisto was right, Rin was the most qualified, though possibly unofficial, exorcist at the academy. He, most likely, went on many missions already. It also was the chance for him to try to get closer to Rin, again.
"Alright, I'll do it." Yukio answered as he stood up.
Yukio, now in the old dorm, knocked twice on the door to Rin's room. "Rin, may I come in?" he asked opening the door just a crack.
"Seems like you already have, so might as well." Rin responded. He was so glad that his hearing increased so he can tell his masters, all of them this time, to get out for a while.
Yukio opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. Rin was on the ground, shirt off showing his 8-pack, doing what looks like push-ups. He then got up, took a small scroll from a small stack of them, off his desk, sat on his bed, unrolled it and began reading.
"Hey Rin, what's that your reading?" Yukio asked after seeing the scrolls on the desk.
"An ancient scroll I just got." Rin replied.
"What?!" Yukio acted surprised, it was obvious that the Grigori or the Paladin gave it to him. "What are its contents?" Yukio was in for a shock.
"A healing spell. It allows the caster to cover their arm with healing magic so powerful, it heals entire limbs. An example is that if you cut off your own arm and you have a doctor in your group, and said doctor knows the spell, he can use it to heal the missing limb. I don't know if it can reduce the damage done by Satan to people who are still alive though." He said, the last sounded like he was sad about it. "Anyway, what do you want?"
"Well, I was just given a mission and don't have a partner for it. I was wondering if you'd like to come along. It'd be a good experience and you'd get to see what a real mission is like." Yukio told a half-truth, he didn't have a partner, but he wasn't sure if Rin actually went on missions before. Rin looked at him for a second.
"Fine, let me get my things." He rolled up the scroll and put it back on the stack. He then walked towards his closet and pulled out a navy blue shirt, his jacket, a pair of black combat boots, his sword sheaths, and a box. He put on the shirt and boots first, then the jacket. He strapped on the sheaths and put his swords, Howaito and Kenshiri, in the sheaths. He opened the box and pulled out his 92 FS Beretta and Serbu Super-Shorty. He also grabbed two 3'' cartridges and 3 19mm Parabellum cartridges. He put one cartridge in each and put the others in different pockets. He then put the safety on the guns and holstered them to the holsters on his sides. "Let's go."
A short while later, Yukio and Rin were walking on the bridge towards the small supply shop used by exorcist and the cram school. Yukio used his set of magical keys on the front door to their and exited from there. Yukio decided to use this time try and reconnect with Rin. "Hey Rin, those swords you have, where did you get them and where's Kirikara?" he asked.
"Oh these? I forged them after meeting the demon blacksmith Akumasumisu with a friend and he taught me how to forge. The metals to forge them however were a bitch to find. As for Kirikara, I hid it where no one, but a select few, can find it." Rin told Yukio, shocking him that Rin was trained by Akumasumisu. He wondered who this friend was, but it was probably one of the Grigori or the Paladin.
"What? You met the demon smith? Sound like you have some interesting stories." Yukio told Rin, wondering what he has been learning these past few years. He already suspected that his brother was learned in the meisters of Knight, Dragoon, and Doctor, but he wondered if he was an Aria and/or Tamer too.
"Wait…what are your swords names?" he asked Rin, forgetting that he didn't ask that. "Howaito and Kenshiri. Both named for the metals that I had to get. The metal for Howaito was in a cavern under the sea and was hard to find. Kenshiri's metal was at the base of a volcano, inside it. I'm so lucky that the volcano no longer had lava as it has dried over the centuries, so it was easier to get." Rin informed Yukio how he got the metals, though Yukio wasn't going to ask for a while as they reached the shop.
"We're here." He said as they reached the steps to the supply shop. "I'll go in and have a talk with the shopkeeper first. You can have a look around if you want."
"Whatever." Rin responded as he walked over to the railing across from the shop and sat on it. Yukio headed up the stairs and looked back Rin for a second before heading inside. Rin sat there for a while before heard something, which sounded a lot like humming, and decided to check it out. There were a second set of steps that led down a path by the supply shop. These curved a bit and led to an area that otherwise could not be seen by the untrained eye.
He headed down that path and saw a garden by the supply shop, guarded by steel gates. He stopped outside the front gate and took a look inside. Inside, there were all sorts of flowers and plants, arranged in a rainbow of colors. There was also a girl inside (I'm changing Shiemi's look a bit as I can't stand her short hair for some reason). She was around his age with blonde hair that ran between her shoulders and middle back, and had a smile on her face as she tended to some of the Poppies in front of her. She was dressed in a red-pink mix kimono with a blue ribbon around her. She look so happy and at peace while she was in her own little world in that garden. Rin just looked at the girl with a sad, yet happy smile. There are some in this world, oblivious to the horror that this world has. This is one of the reasons that the exorcist have to fight, to protect this from that evil. He thought to himself.
Rin went to put his right hand on the gat, but as he did so a barrier activated and caused the door to fall off its hinges. The gate door fell inwards to the garden with a loud thud, causing the girl to look over to Rin. He just stood there with a somewhat surprised expression.
"Demon!" the girl cried out as she suddenly began to scuttle backwards away from Rin. Those words caused him to revert to his jadded personality, the one he will use in class or around Yukio. He took a step inside the garden. "Stay back!" she yelled at him.
"You know, that's not a very nice thing to say to the person who's come here to help you out." Rin told her. She suddenly looked a bit surprised as he said.
"Wait, you're an exorcist?" she asked. "I thought mama said Yukio was coming over."
"He's inside with your mother now." Rin told her, now standing over her. He noticed that she didn't stand up and run, instead crawling as if her legs would not work. He also noticed what looked like a small long bump under her skin, a protrusion from a deklap from the looks of it. He used his demon senses and found where the deklap was. It was a meter from the center of the garden.
"Oh, then I'm very sorry. Please forgive me." She turned herself around and bowed apologetically to him. "Umm, would you like to help me?" she offered. Rin again looked at her a bit surprised.
Back inside the shop, Yukio was sitting down with the shop owner and discussing her daughter. "Her condition's only gotten worse. She can't even walk anymore and she refuses to tell me what's wrong. She just spends all day in that garden with the plants." Mr. Moriyama explained to Yukio.
"I see." Yukio nodded. "Is she there now?"
"Probably." She answered, sitting up and leading Yukio out back to check on the girl.
In the garden, Rin was helping the blonde girl plant a new flower. She poured a brown and green liquid into the hole Rin dug while he held Alstroemeria flowers. "That smells like poop." Rin stated when the smell hit his nose, causing his face to scrunch up.
"Its manure!" she told him a bit enthusiastically. "I mixed it myself, my grandma taught me how to do it." Rin then put the plant in the hole and the girl moved the soil around it with her hands. "Thank you for helping me, I'm sorry I called you a demon at first. That gate is supposed to have a barrier that prevents demons from entering so that's why I thought you were one." She explain to Rin.
"I see." Rin replied in understanding.
"But you're actually a pretty nice guy." She smiled at him.
Nice? Rin thought to himself. The girl then offered him her hand.
"My name's Shiemi Moriyama, it's nice to meet you." Rin just stared at her. "Huh, what's wrong?"
"You mixed poop with that hand." He reminded her, disgusted with the fact that she forgot.
"Oh, right." Shiemi then offered him her other, clean, hand. This one he shook with a small smile. "So, what is your name?"
"Rin Okumura." He told her with a slight tone of disgust when he said his last name.
"Okumura? Oh, are you and Yukio brothers?" Shiemi asked.
"We were. But not now." He responded dryly.
"Huh?" She look at him confused. Do they no longer view each other as such? She thought to herself.
"Well, what do we have here?" Yukio asked as he and Shiemi's mother entered the garden. He was smiling at the two of them. "Looks like you two are getting along."
"Tch." Rin made a noise of irritation at the fact Yukio interrupted an interesting conversation, then got back on his feet.
"Hi Yuki!" Shiemi greeted Yukio.
"Hello Miss Moriyama." He greeted her back with a smile.
"Shiemi, I called Yuki over to take a look at your legs." Shiemi's mother told her.
"What? But I'm fine, there's nothing wrong!" She defended.
"You're lying." Rin replied, a bit annoyed that she is lying to her own mother, causing her to look at him a bit surprised. "I saw the end of the injury of your leg, looks like a protrusion done by a deklap root. This garden is the perfect place for one to hide." Yukio knelt down and took a look at her leg, gently taking hold of her ankle and lifting her kimono slightly.
"Looks like he is right." Yukio concurred. There was in fact what looked like a root growing in Shiemi's right leg. "Deklaps are usually benign, but if you're been exposed to one long enough it can take hold of someone." Yukio informed Shiemi. "Rin's also right by the fact it would do very well in hiding here since it usually takes the form of a plant." Yukio began to look for anything out of place.
"Alright Shiemi, where is it?" Her mother demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Shiemi looked away from her mother as she tried to defend herself. "I'm fine, I just feel a little tired that is a-EEEPPPP!" Rin suddenly grabbed her by the back of the collar and hoisted her into the air. Her feet were dangling a few inches off the ground as he did so. He then set her on her feet but still held on so she doesn't instantly collapse.
"You shouldn't lie to your own mother." Rin said in a deathly calm voice, his hair hiding the dark look his eyes. He was remembering when he was like that, lying to the people he called family. He promised himself long ago he will never go down that path again unless need be. He doesn't want anyone else down that path, it would only bring heartbreak and sorrow. He let go of her kimono and she fell.
"You can't even stand up for Gods sake. And you say that you're fine? Rin then started to make her question her choices carefully.
"I…I'm just a little tired from working all day." She lied again. She herself was wondering if it was alright, for her safety, to lie in front of Rin. 'He seems like he doesn't like it when people lie, as if it gave him a bad experience.' "I would never allow a demon into this garden. I love it to much." Her mother sighed at this statement.
"After her grandmother died, all she would do is spend time in this garden. She tries to take care of it like it's her burden and locks herself away in here." Shiemi's mother explained.
"I see…" Yukio replied. "Shiemi, why don't you and I have a talk? One on one." Yukio asked, smiling at her.
"Eh? Well I would love to but…" she then looked away. "…there is still much I have to do. I still have to put the rose arbor up, I never got around to that ever since grandma died." She replied, using that as an excuse to not talk.
"Rin can take care of that, right Rin?" Rin scowled at his brother, but nevertheless said nothing on the matter.
"Oh, but that's a two person job. He can't do it by himself." She countered.
"I'm sure he can handle it. Why don't you get to it Rin?" Yukio told him with a smile. This was the perfect opportunity to call upon a familiar, so he would see if Rin has Tamer skill. Rin pulled out a notepad and a pencil and began to scribble something down.
"A notepad, I'm creating a summoning circle to summon a familiar." He explained dryly. 'I knew it.' Yukio yelled in his head as he said this, "Rin you're a Tamer too? I never knew you could summon a familiar."
"I can summon ten." Rin informed his brother.
'10?' Yukio thought to himself. 'I didn't think he was that powerful of a Tamer.' Rin then put his thumb in his mouth against one of his canines and cut his thumb. He put a drop of blood on the paper as an offering and chanted.
"From the mountains of inner peace to the blood of war, I hereby summon you back to assist me." After he spoke that, there was a circular gust of wind around Rin. It then blew outwards and there was suddenly one more body in the garden. There was a man in what looks like a warrior monks clothing sitting on his knees in a pose, breathing lightly. Most of them were just staring awkwardly at him, except for Rin who taped him on the shoulder. This caught the man's attention.
"Ah Rin." The man greeted him. "Mister Tsutsui." Rin bowed before the man in respect. "Why have you called me here Rin?" the man pondered his master. "One moment, let's tell our guest who you are. This is Tsutsui no Jōmyō Meishū, a warrior monk, or sōhei, from Mii-dera, who fought alongside Minamoto no Yorimasa and his fellow monks at the Battle of Uji in 1180, defending the Byōdō-in and Prince Mochihito from the Taira clan(got it from the wiki, he is a real person!)"
"While he did get into the afterlife, he is still able to be summoned as a familiar." Rin added after his little information brokage.
"Where are we anyways? Doesn't look much like a monastery." Tsutsui asked as he looked around the beautiful and colorful garden.
"We're in the garden next to the supply shop. We're going to help this girl a bit by putting up a rose arbor for her." Rin told him, walking to the pile of wood that was the fallen arbor.
"Ok. But how do you put one up?" Tsutsui asked. "Here's how to go about it:
1. Layout and dig holes to support the arbor.
2. Line the holes with concrete forms, such as Quik-Tube forms from Quikrete, to contain the concrete and keep it from drying out too fast.
3. Install treated 4" x 4" support posts inside the hollow legs using screws.
4. Mix up enough concrete to fill the holes.
5. Fill the holes about two thirds full.
6. Install and level the garden arbor in the holes.
7. Fill the holes to the top with concrete.
8. Allow the concrete to harden before adding plants to your garden arbor.
Got it?" Rin informed his familiar, confusing the rest of them until they remembered that the arbor was a few centuries after his death. Tsutsui nodded and followed him to the arbor.
A few minutes later, Yukio and Shiemi were both sitting in the main foyer of the shop across from each other. Yukio was the first to speak. "Miss Moriyama, please, tell me about your grandmother." Yukio asked her.
"Oh, alright. But you can call me Shiemi." She told him. "My grandma, while old, was the closest thing to a friend I had it this world. I was very ill as a child so I never went to a school and make friends with people my age like most people because of it. My grandma was always there for me, always took care of me. She always loved this garden." She looked warmly over the garden that she had tried so hard to take care of. She also saw that Rin and Tsutsui had finished and Tsutsui was gone with Rin walking towards the shop. "One day she was setting up the rose arbor in the garden, but I left to go search for the Garden of Amahara."
"Garden of Amahara?"
"Ah, the Garden of Amahara, huh? While I'll say it is real, it is a place nobody can reach." Rin, who just walked through the door and heard what the last Shiemi's sentence inferred, informed them both. Shiemi looked shocked, "What do you mean 'it is a place nobody can reach'? My grandma always talked about it. She said it was God's garden, where God gathers all the plants in the world into one marvelous garden. I've always dreamed of seeing it. But what did you mean about it being unreachable?" Shiemi asked Rin.
"I mean, while it is real, nobody wants to go to the Garden because of it being destroyed after World War II when America bombed Yokohama and the surrounding area. That's why it is forever unreachable and why a bunch of crap happened back at America (America did bomb Yokohama but not the surrounding area where I placed Amahara)." Rin gave another history lesson. "But please, continue your story." Rin smiled a bit at Shiemi.
"Anyways, when I got back that day, she died when the arbor fell on her." She looked down with sadness in her crystalline blue eyes. "Ever since then, I've tried my best to take care of this garden in her place, because I felt, and still feel, guilty for her death."
"Shiemi, you really shouldn't blame yourself. There was no way you could have known." Yukio explained to her, trying to get her out of the funk she put herself in.
"I know, but I can't help but feel like I could have stopped it. Now all I want to do is take care of the garden."
"Shiemi, what were grandmother's last words to you?" Rin asked out of the blue. "She told me to go and have good luck with finding Amahara. But to be back before sunset. Why?" Shiemi replied, curious to see where this will lead. "No reason. Just curious." He replied. It really wasn't for any reason, he needed to find out more, and it can lead him to the solution. Next step is the trap, to lure the demon out.
"Shiemi, you can't allow a demon to let you think it'll help out." Rin let her know. "This demon is just using you to get what it wants." Shiemi was silent. "If your grandmother was here, would she want to see like this?" Yukio told her, causing her to look a little surprised now. "I think she'd want you to take care of yourself more than this garden." Yukio told her. He then took a look at his watch and saw the time as '18:25'.
"Well I think it is time for us to be heading out." Yukio cut in, standing up from his seat. "Thank you for your time, Miss Moriyama. And think about what we both said." He smiled at her.
"Ok… I will!" she looked up and smiled back. "And Rin…" he looked back at her one last time. "Thank you for that, it really means a lot." She smiled warmly at him. He smiled back at her, then turned back to a professional look and followed Yukio outside.
"That demon is still in there somewhere." Yukio told Rin when they were alone. "If only we could have found where it was hiding…"
"It's a small purple flower, about 1 meter from the center." Rin told his brother.
"What?!" Yukio asked shocked.
"I can sense demonic presence, I had that demon pegged the moment I saw the roots on her legs." Rin explained.
"Well then why didn't you say something earlier?" Yukio asked a bit pissed of that his brother would do such a thing.
"Because what good will it do? If she doesn't learn her lesson from all this, another one will get in and we'll have to start over from scratch. And I have a plan to help her learn that lesson and draw out the demon at the same time." Rin explained. Yukio grunted in irritation, but that turned to curiosity at the last part. "Ok, what is this plan of yours?"
"First we will have to wait for Shiemi's mother to call us if anything goes wrong. Then we convince Shiemi to stop protecting that garden, I will take care of that part. After that we will draw out the demon by me going to the deklap and 'pretend' to stab it. It will use Shiemi as its shield. You will fire a blank bullet from one gun and as it drops her, I will attack it while you take Shiemi to safety. If she wakes up, then tell her to sit back, then you will start to fire at the deklap. Remember, as long as it is touching ground, it can and will heal. So I will need you to 'cut off' that connection. That is all I got at this point." Rin told Yukio his plan, which while not fool proof, has a 65% chance of success.
Yukio was shocked that Rin came up with an elaborate plan that wasn't finished. He didn't say anything on the way back to the dorm.
Later that night, Rin was making extra summoning circles, at the ready anytime he needs them. This was interrupted when Yukio knocked on the door again. "Let me guess. Shiemi?" Rin guessed, knowing it had something to do with her. Yukio walked in, dressed in his exorcist gear, nodding his head. Rin grabbed something and tossed it to Yukio. He caught it with his right hand and saw it was a blank. He load it into his gun as the first and only shot, so he can change cartridges after he gets Shiemi to safety. The both nodded and headed to Shiemi's home.
A short while later, they arrived at the garden next to the supply shop. It was late at night when they arrived, yet they found Shiemi kneeling down beside some plants and watering them. They both approached her. "Shiemi, what are you doing?" Yukio asked, though he knew this was the time to put Rin's plan into action. "Why are you out this late at night?"
"I-I have to protect this garden!" She said frantically. "My grandma wouldn't want me to neglect this garden, it will break her heart!"
'Crash'
Shiemi and Yukio both looked at the sound of the sudden crash. What they saw was a smashed flower pot and Rin nearby. He kicked another one and broke that too.
"What are you doing?" Shiemi questioned in horror. She made her way over to him as fast as she could, but not before he broke a third pot. "Please, stop! I have to protect this garden!" Shiemi screamed. Rin looked at her and asked, "Remember what you told me and Yukio just three hours ago?" he looked calm as he questioned her. She suddenly looked very confused, wondering what this had to do with that. She nodded and Rin continued, "Would she like to see you wither away in this garden, not knowing that she would have wanted you to live your life, instead of destroying it?" 'So that was Rin's plan to help her learn her lesson! Getting her to realize that there is more to life then protecting something that has no more meaning.' Yukio realized. Shiemi looked like she was about to cry as she realized the same thing as Yukio.
"Shiemi, your grandmother wouldn't want you destroying yourself like this. To me, I think that what you're doing is destroying her heart. She loved you the way you are." He lectured her, knowing that he completed the easy part of his plan. Now onto the hard part.
"I…you're right." She admitted. "Grandma would never want me to be like this, how could I be so stupid?" She began to cry, holding her hands to cover her eyes as she sobbed.
"So, you're going to change and not let this demon control you?" Rin inquired. Shiemi nodded with her hair covering her eyes.
"I won't, I'll get better and be like I used to and move back into my house." She promised.
"Good, then there is one thing left to do." Rin drew both of his swords and began walking to the flower that the demon was posing as. Yukio held the gun and checked to see if it was the one with the single bullet. It was. "I had you figured out the moment I saw the injury. Game over." Rin informed the deklap.
"No! I won't let you take her!" a female, demonic voice, called out. Roots suddenly shot out of the ground under Shiemi and dug into her legs, the right one had a much thicker root than the left.
"Aiyeee!" she cried out as she was hoisted into the air and taken control of. Yukio jumped back next to Rin and pulled out the gun. The deklap took form and held a conscious Shiemi close to it as a shield.
"Just try to stop me!" She taunted the two boys.
Yukio remembered that on the way here that Rin said that the bullet that he gave him, is like a smoke bomb. They both can look through it if they are far enough away as to not get gassed. He is to grab Shiemi after Rin cuts her out of the deklaps grasps.
"Please don't do it!" Shiemi screamed at Yukio, seeing his gun pointed at her. Yukio just smiled at her and fired, gassing both her and the deklap. Rin then rushed in and starting slashing so fast, Yukio was seeing blurs. After a few seconds he ceased his assault and Yukio rushed forward, grabbing a stunned Shiemi and jumped back as to allow Rin to continue his assault of the dumbfounded deklap. After making sure she didn't have any cuts, Yukio joined in, using his other gun while reloading the empty one.
Both of them together caused the deklap to lose its health pretty fast and soon it burst into black smoke, signaling that it is dead. "Hey Rin." Yukio got his attention. "That plan of yours worked perfectly." He grinned.
Shiemi looked at both of them confused and asked, "That was part of a plan?" Rin and Yukio looked at her and nodded and Rin said, "I knew it was going to use you as its sheild, so I gave Yukio a bullet that will smoke both you and the deklap. I would get in close and cut you out while Yukio waits to take you to safety."
Shiemi nodded and watched as they both left.