I have no idea what I wrote...Seriously. I have no idea. That scene at the bottom, I have no idea how it got there. Ya see, I write my chapter notes in bullet form. I had 11 bullet points. Trust me, this is not 11 bullets. This isn't anything, I don't know what I wrote. This is my first fanfic, and I always have this sort of weird style of writing that doesn't flow like it's supposed too. I have no idea. Anywho, if you feel like reading a crap story, then look no further. This is a pretty shitty prologue.
Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist, if I did, the anime would have followed the manga, whether it was finished or not.
Chapter I: The Thief
A legal thief, a bloodless murderer, A fiend incarnate, a false usurer.~ Joseph Hall
Rin stared glumly at the red ceiling, his legs hanging off the arm of the couch he was laying on. He swung his feet to and fro, hands clasped on his stomach, his chest falling slowly. His black hair framed his face, highlighting his vibrant blue eyes. Those very eyes spoke of a deathly boredom, one that could consume a lively soul at its very touch.
'God, I'm bored. Or maybe I should say Satan…' He thought forlornly. He found it amusingly ironic that there were many phrases using the word god, which if he could remember correctly, that was against the Ten Whatevers… What were they called? Commandments? 'Yeah, that's it.'
The bored demon prince was born not too long ago, exceling in Combat and Strategies. He did just as well in Linguistics, Demon Studies, and Demon Pharmeuceuticals. That wasn't even the tip of the iceberg however, Rin had passed everything and anything that was taught or to be soon taught to him. He was a prodigy, every one of his brothers, including his father, knew he would be stronger than them. Perhaps even greater, they estimated as they saw him grow into his skin.
He was far from perfect however, for all his achievemants, praise, and insurmountable intelligence, they would still glare. They would jeer, taunt, and ridicule him relentlessly. Coincedently, he was also known for his cruelty, as it seemed to run in the family. It seemed to show its twisted face whenever someone would ridicule him. No one ever knew what happened to them… They just dissappeaered, and no one dared to question it.
It didn't stop them, even if he cut out their tongues, he knew they would try to gawk with or without his consent. The reason for it was obvious, it was not hard to find someone who didn't know of his situation.
Rin, intelligent, and cruel was a bastard child. No one knew from whom he was borne, but they knew it was not legitimate, not planned, and for all their stupidity, they were…right. Rin felt the taste of copper in his mouth, as he recoiled at the taste, but made no action to eject it. Instead, he swallowed it, much like he had to swallow down the ridicule he received from his own family. They too, for all their awe, and respect, could not fake the slight amount of disgust whenever he was near.
Rin would not speak of it, he knew his place. He might be exceptional, but he had yet to compare to his brothers. As the seventh, he was under them in strength, and just about everything else. While it was true that he would grow up into something fearsome, that time was not now. He was actually born recently, thirty years ago.
Rin, King of Flame and the Cruel. He had not one, but two titles. The second one was his crowning glory, the one thing that his brothers could never match, or have as much fun with. Some even said, that he actually had power over those that were just like him, but no one dared ask.
'Those stupid morons will believe anything you tell them.' He smirked at this thought, he knew what gullible creature's demons were. He still had a long way to go, he needed them to cower when they heard his name. Not gossip and jeer at his lineage.
He sighed, and closed his eyes. He lay there, contemplating, trying to lull himself into a different reality. A black wave washed over him, and he fell into the abyss.
"Hurry! Stop the demon before he gets away!" Rin's eyes snapped open, and he leapt to his feet. He swung the door open, and saw the demons under his father's service running frantically through the hallways. They seemed to be in some mass hysteria, the panic evident on their faces.
He saw his friend Thanatos run past him with such speed, all he saw was a flash of blue. Rin ran after him, and called out his friend's name.
"Thanatos, what's happened?!" He yelled, right on his friend's heels. They swerved through several hallways, and it didn't take Rin long to realize where they were headed.
His eyes widened, it was difficult to get past the security, but into Tartarus? He threw his hand out, and caught his friend by the collar, LITERALY. His arm felt like it would rip, and his friend lurched forward, his neck following, and was stopped full in his tracks.
"Tell. Me. Now." Rin wasn't into being ignored, especially when he knew something was going on.
"A demon just broke into Tartarus. We're trying to capture him now, but it's kind of hard to do, if you're holding ON TO ME!" The blue haired demon seemed impatient, and was rightfully so. Tartarus was anything, and everything bad. It was there that the wicked were punished, but they weren't the only thing that lay there. Objects of power and destruction lay there. If anyone were to get their hands on them…
Thanatos was a powerful demon, not much older than Rin, he was 37. He was neck in neck with the sixth demon king on power, but just like his companion, had a long way to go before becoming anything close to his full potential. The boy looked like a teen, and had the personality to match. He stood at 5' 7', with a lean but muscular frame. His hair was the color of the sky, but if asked, he would say, "Rin's flames." It reached past his ears, stopping at the nape of his neck, tousled, his bangs reached his eyebrows. A black collar from what Rin assumed was leather, was wrapped around his throat, a chain link hanging from it. He had the skin complexion of a ghost, his snow white skin matching his stormy gray eyes. He wore a sleeveless white and black striped tee, black pants tucked into a pair of brown boots made of…Leather? He usually wore a silver ring on his ring finger, an obstructer of his power, but it was absent at the moment.
The ring was made to keep him in line, it made it impossible for him to raise a hand against any demon. The ring could only be taken off by someone of royal blood, only in emergencies, or when his strength was needed. He didn't have it on now, which meant that whatever was in the household, was powerful. He shrugged Rin's hand off, and continued down the hallway, breaking into a full sprint, as Rin bounded after him.
"I know there's a big situation going on, but it doesn't give you the permission to act like a smart ass!" Rin retorted.
They ran until they turned a corner, and Rin saw something that he had ever seen before. The black pillars of alabaster held up the ceiling, the floor made of the same stone. The demon was on the balcony surrounded by Satan, and all the other demon kings. They ran towards them, a lake of fire below.
He pushed past them, and was face to face with the intruder. He had green hair, a green spike protruding from the top of his head. He was dressed in a punk sort of way, in the color brown, and had a pair of matching gold eyes. He had a stoic expression on his face, but transformed into a smirk when he laid his eyes upon Rin. In his hand were a pair of black dice, they didn't seem special, but Rin knew better. They were God's Dice, an object of misery.
The green demon was in fight or flight mode, his weight on the balls of his feet, hunched over. He looked around him, and sighing, he simply stood up, and spoke.
"Did you miss me? I know there's only supposed to be seven of us, but as soon as you got an eighth, you forgot all about me, Amaimon King of Earth." A wave of confusion spread throughout the others, but they stared rigidly at him, not forgetting their original motive.
"That's okay. I'm happy to have a younger brother." The demon turned his head to Rin when he said this, his grin faltering. "Even if he is a bastard child."
Rin lunged forward in a blind rage, his arms out stretched, and his blue flames enveloping him. He managed to touch the boy's collar with his fingertips, but a wave of hot steam pushed him away, burning his skin.
"Aaah!" He quickly covered his eyes with his arms, the skin horribly singed. The steam quickly disappeared, but by the time Rin managed to open his eyes, the demon was gone.
His skin was still badly burned, but not as much as his pride was. The demon named Amaimon, had insulted him! Him! 'He'll pay for that, no one has ever gotten away with that, and it won't happen now.'
Rin's fists clenched at his side, his nails drawing blood. Everyone was moving around, running to see if they could somehow catch up to the thief. Rin knew better, he knew they would never catch up to "Amaimon".
So did Satan, but it didn't stop him from sending the six kings after the demon thief. Rin still stood there next to Thanatos, still enraged by what happened. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and snapped his head towards their direction, giving them a look that could kill. It was only Thanatos, so fortunately (More or Less) no one was killed.
"Your father has ordered me to take you back to your room, and dress your wounds." Rin was about to retort with a sarcastic comeback, but saw the worry on his companion's face. The burning had still not healed, the flesh was black and peeling, blood dripping down both his forearms, and onto the black floor.
He didn't object, but his anger was still present. He followed him down the black and red hallways, looking at the floor. When they came upon Rin's room, Thanatos sighed, and opened the door, allowing Rin to enter first.
He braced himself for what was coming next, his silver ring shining on his hand. The ring was cleverly built, allowing him to have the endurance, and pain tolerance that he had as a demon when not restrained, but if he were to lay a hand on any demon, he would have the strength of a human, and nothing more.
The design allowed him to bear pain and abuse, and make him powerless. It was a horrifying thing to have-any demon to have, and it was never going to leave him. Not unless someone of royalty let him.
Unfortunately Rin wasn't in his right mind at the moment, so he grit his teeth and planted his feet on the ground. Rin let out a frustrated cry, and in one swift motion, clocked Thanatos in his temple. He stumbled back from the impact, his back connecting roughly with the floor.
He didn't have any time to prepare himself for the next hit, Rin was already straddling him, his left hand on his throat. He could feel the blood from Rin run on his neck, Rin's fingertips nearly touching his windpipe. He could hardly breathe, but it wasn't the first time Rin had touched him like this. (Ha Ha Ha, very funny.) Rin punched him in the face several times, hearing the sickening crunch and pop of the bone. He could feel Rin sliding down his body, knowing what was going to happen next.
"Ah!" He screamed out in pain. CRACK! His ribs were being crushed one by one, Rin's hands caressing his ribcage, slowly. CRACK! He cried out with tears of pain in his eyes, but before he could blink them away, Rin delivered an especially hard blow in his right eye, his left hand still on his ribcage. His right hand went back to his chest, this time, both hands slipping under his shirt. The skin was feverishly warm, Rin could feel the bones even better like this.
Thanatos was surprised, Rin never did that, which meant he was more pissed than usual. 'He must hate himself right about now, for letting the thief get away. ' He felt Rin gently slide his fingers over the fractured, and broken bones, then he didn't know. He didn't know where he was anymore. The pain took over every sense, his tears dried up, and his voice gone.
It didn't stop the pain from continuing, however- it seemed as if every scream and moan emitted from his lips fueled Rin's wrath, even further. He lasted another hour, his nails gone, throat raw, clothes bloody, right eye completely closed, nose out of place, and virtually every bone in his body broken three times over. He could feel his bones slowly start to mend, his bloody and torn up lips, (If they could even be called lips), were one of the most damaged parts of his face.
He knew it would come back at him later, knew it would be a thousand times more painful if he was going to go through with what he was about to do…he did it anyway. He focused all his remaining energy into healing his lips, and did one thing before passing out completely.
He opened his left eye as wide as he could, and looked Rin in his cold, blue eyes. Rin noticed the movement, and stared back, contemplating whether or not he should punch his friend's only remaining good eye. He raised his hand, but stopped when he saw what Thanatos was doing. He was smiling. Smiling at him. It was a small smile, a twitch of his lips, but Rin knew. His friend was forgiving him. Saying he understood why he did what he did, saying it was alright, that it didn't hurt as much as it did, and he forgave him, still cared for him just as much as he did before. He knew it hurt, every bone in his face broken three times over, and if he had just healed his lips… he's in pain.
'Willingly, all because I decided to release my frustration on somebody else. It's always been him…'
'He didn't have to…put himself in anymore pain. But…he did.'
Thanatos was in agony, but he knew it was worth it. He still loved his friend, and he would never stop. "Help me…Please." Thanatos wasn't sure who spoke the words, Rin, or him, maybe it was the both of them… Thanatos managed to piece one thought together before he blacked out, he might have said it, but it wouldn't matter. Neither one would remember it tomorrow.
"The things I do for love."
~Gods Dice~
He woke up some time later,his bones healed, body in pain. He sat up, bones cracking, pain shooting up his spine. He was laying in Rin's bed, the black sheets fitting the color of the red room. It was bare, except with a desk and chair in the upper right corner, covered with books and papers. Rin was at said desk, deep in study, an oil lamp next to him was the only source of light in the room. He saw that Rin's arms were bandaged, someone else must have mended them.
Thanatos wanted to say something, but knew better of himself. They might be friends, but Thanatos was not of royalty. He was at the royal palace, against all odds, and happened to be a slave there. Nothing less, nothing more. His friendship with Rin meant nothing to the others, if he broke, they would get a replacement. He shouldn't be talking to the demon prince, much less in his bed. The only reason he wasn't executed for associating on such a level was because Rin did the punishing himself. Everyone knew what Rin was, what he did when he got mad, and they had made the mistake of trying to stop Rin when he had first done it to Thanatos. They had walked in on Rin beating him within an inch of his life, he wasn't even a body anymore. Just a mass of bones, and twisted limbs. He didn't even have all of them at that time, his left arm and right leg were strewn about the room-most of the ligaments on the walls. They weren't always red, in fact, they just decided to save themselves the trouble of cleaning them by painting them with blood.
His blood.
'I guess they thought it would help if they had a matching set.'
When they saw Rin's masterpiece, they figured no one could punish Thanatos better than Rin himself. As a result, he was left alone, however, it didn't mean he was off the hook. Satan actually took the time to punish Thanatos, something he never did to anyone else. Rin's brother's punished him the same way, Samael being the only exception. When asked why he didn't take part on punishing Thanatos for being too close to Rin, he answered, "I'm not interested in little boys who don't take care of their toys." Rin didn't know, and Rin would never find out. Or at least he hoped, then again, he was related to those molesters. One day, he might get curious himself.
'And if he does, he'll know'.
Thanatos knew he couldn't stay here for long, beatings or no beatings, he knew he couldn't stay for long. He swung his legs over the bed, his bare feet touching the floor. His shoes were next to them, and he bended over to put and tie them on. He had tied the laces tight, and realized he was dressed in clean clothes, a white V-neck and blue jeans. They were his- which meant Rin went to his quarters and dressed him. He was happier than usual that Rin beat him, he never changed him out of his bloody clothes. He was usually happy because he knew Rin would be a better person for it, but this was a little…much?
When he had finished tying his shoes, he slid off the bed, and made his way to the door. A voice spoke behind him.
"Where are you going?" Rin looked up from an impossibly thick book, his eyes accusing and filled with curiosity.
Thanatos bit his lip, - he didn't want to make Rin any more aggravated than he already was. "I have to do a couple tasks for your brother's and father." It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the truth either. He hoped Rin wouldn't notice.
"No need." Rin answered sharply, turning his attentions back to the book he was reading.
Thanatos was surprised, after Rin beat him, he usually didn't talk to him, much less look at him. "What did you do?" Thanatos' palms started to get sweaty, he felt like he had swallowed a large stone.
"I signed us up for a mission." Rin turned a page of his book, his eyes flitting over the text.
"What?!" Thanatos knew he shouldn't have raised his voice, but he was utterly confused. Rin was never allowed to go on missions. When one said they were going on a "mission", they were going to Assiah. The realm of humans. Rin had experience in Gehenna, but in Assiah? He would probably kill everyone who said "Hi," to him.
Rin kept his eyes glued in his book. He turned a page. "I convinced father in letting me track down the thief, and getting God's Dice back." He continued scanning the book, as if he was looking for something.
"So, your saying we have to track down a demon who injured your arms with steam, and get God's dice back?"
"Father was going to have Samael do it, but I convinced him in it letting me do it." Rin turned his head to Thanatos, whose hand was no longer on the doorknob.
"I hate you."
"Does this mean we're not best friends anymore?
~Gods Dice~
