The Flame of Burning Greed - Chapter 1
The African-American female remained oblivious to the demonic intruder in her mansion. This had been due to the fact that she had not received the spirit wound needed to see such a beast. The creature slinked over to the female who was counting the money she had earned this month. It was obvious this woman was overcome by greed, swallowed by one of the famed deadly sins. It was a typical scene: a rich husband the woman probably didn't even love accompanied with a fancy home, and seemingly endless money deposits coming from God-knows-where. The unnoticed demon snickered, glad that it had finally found a liable host, one that would be easily taken over and had no chance of fighting back. Approaching with caution, the dragon demon brushed its tail against the human and then flung itself onto her, digging its sharpened claws into her arms. With a scream, the woman fell back and hit her head against the wall. A dent formed where her body had made contact. Taking it as its chance, the demon possessed the barely conscious body and savored the smell of slightly scorched skin as flames enveloped the new host. An immensely painful headache started as a pair of horns sprouted. A tail stretched out proudly from the victim's dress, though not unaccompanied by searing throbbing. Getting up unsteadily, the demon named Greed staggered towards the vanity mirror that was across the bed. It was time to get used to this new host. Ravaging the items in front of the mirror, the demon found a business card labeled with characters from the English alphabet. The host's head began to pound as she attempted to concentrate on the task at hand. Its vision was blurry, but she was able to make out one word for certain. "Renata…" The demon read aloud, letting the name settle on its new foreign tongue. Glancing into the mirror, the demon tied back the host's hair and relished the thought of living among humans. However something needed to be done about the demonic features. The demon muttered something in an ancient language, and slowly the crimson skin began to smooth out and disappear, leaving behind the original chocolate-colored skin. The horns and pointed ears retracted, making the host look almost entirely human. Almost. The tail remained, rebelling against the wishes of its owner. The demon hissed, but decided it would be relatively easy to conceal her tail; the only weak spot of a demon. Taking one last long look at the mirror, she nodded with satisfaction and made her way outside of the building.
"… And you are not to disobey any discussed rules we spoke about earlier, Renata. Understood?" Mephisto warned playfully, watching the female student in front of him with curious eyes.
"Yes, I understand Mr. Pheles. You don't need to repeat yourself with me." The girl addressed, Renata, replied. She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to hide her attitude around the Headmaster. Mephisto chuckled and handed the demon her school uniform. It was wrapped and bound with a frail plastic cover.
"You said you wanted to attend the Exorcist cram school, correct? I just want to verify, sweetie." Mephisto asked, his grin never faltering. Renata felt sick to her stomach hearing the endearment at the end.
"That is what I intend to do. I had what you'd call… 'a change of heart'." Renata said, lying through her teeth. Mephisto either was completely ignorant of this, or he pretended to be, as he dismissed her.
Renata knew Mephisto from Gehenna. He was intrigued greatly by humans from the start, so it seemed easy enough to lie about sharing his feelings on that. She wouldn't put it past that man if he had his own plan of action brewing in his head as he spun his chair away from her, his shoulders heaving from soft laughter.
As she left the office and was out of view, she sneered at the closed door behind her and walked down the hallway, counting the steps she took. She passed by a lively classroom and couldn't help but wonder about what school was even like. She cautiously peered in the door, telling herself not to expect much from hormonal adolescence.
They seemed to be in the middle of a discussion led by a teacher who brandished a pair of glasses and a few beauty marks. Her gaze wandered over the students but automatically stopped at a student that was asleep despite the volume in the room. She stared at him pointedly, urging him to wake up before he got chewed out. Renata would have spent more time looking at her future classmates had she not been spotted. She could feel a pair of eyes that bore into her and almost instantaneously, goose bumps sprouted over her body, and a shudder slid down her spine. Following the sudden cold feeling, she found herself staring into the eyes of a male student who bore piercings and held an overall rebellious exterior. His hair was quite different, and made him stand out from the others. He opened his mouth slightly, as if he was unsure whether or not he was actually seeing a girl at the doorway. Not wanting to linger any longer, she tore her gaze away from the other and made her way to her dorm room. Her pace quickened as she hears footsteps echo in the hallway. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Slamming the door of her dorm, she sighed in relief and took a seat on her bed. That man… How mysterious. It felt almost as though he was scrutinizing her. Maybe she had a thing for dudes like that.
She grinned deviously at the thought and slipped her current clothes off, replacing it with her new uniform. It was a perfect fit, which was a little creepy as Mephisto was not informed of her sizes. That is, not supposed to be informed. Shuddering, the demon straightened out as many wrinkles as she could. She had to make a good impression after all. It wasn't everyday a "transfer" student came along, let alone the fact that it wasn't even the beginning of the semester. Mephisto had advised waiting until tomorrow before barging in, but Renata was not one to make others wait. Standing up, she mockingly curtseyed to herself in the mirror. She wasn't a fan of skirts, but she'd have to make do. Hopefully she could find somewhere to buy leggings or tights. She opened the door and strutted down the same drab hallway, and paused before entering the classroom. She luxuriated in the moment in which everyone's eyes were on her. Silly kids, curiosity killed the cat. The teacher cleared his throat and turned to her, surprised someone was interrupting.
"I'm the new transfer student" Renata whispered, attempting a fake cotton candy smile. The other's shocked face deteriorated with realization.
"Ah yes. I thought you were to arrive tomorrow, but no matter," turning to address the class, his voice boomed, "We have a new student today. Her name is Renata Diya."
Renata intercepted, not wanting to bore the others, "I'm looking forward to a good year with you all." With that, she bowed sloppily, hoping she was following Japanese custom. Not that she really cared much for first impressions from these small-fry. They were all just a bunch of exorcist wannabes, after all.
"Call me Mr. Okumura. You may take a seat wherever you please" the spotted male offered, gesturing with his hand towards the desks. Renata grinned and walked over to where a pink-haired male was situated and took the empty seat beside him. The latter gawked, his mouth gaping big enough to fit a golf ball. There was a long awkward silence that caused Renata to shift uncomfortably.
"Hello there, milady. I'm Renzou Shima. I'm also single" the odd boy said, suddenly finding his mouth again. His voice was hushed, and timed perfectly; the teacher had his back to the two. His lips were twisted into a smile that practically screamed pervert, and yet, Renata found herself smiling back.
"What a coincidence; I'm single as well. But I don't go proclaiming it to every man I meet" Renata said, winking at newly acquainted Shima. A harsh voice intercepted, telling the two to shut up and pay attention. Looking away from Shima, her eyes met with the boy from earlier.
"Well, hello to you too, Mr. Pouty Piercings. Someone is sure in a good mood. Thanks for making me feel welcome" Renata jeered, sarcasm heavily lacing her voice.
"Get real. Just because you're new doesn't mean you can disregard this learning opportunity. Take this seriously, or get out" the man scoffed, clearly getting irritated.
Shima interrupted before the two could get off to a worse start. "This is Ryuji Suguro. He's one of my friends."
"Well then, Ryuji, we shall continue this little discussion later, preferably at lunch" she said his name with a sickening bittersweet tone.
Ryuji made a scowl that could've earned him the grouchiest person of the year. The pleading look Shima gave him was enough to keep him quiet, however. Renata didn't even bother giving her attention to the teacher; she knew all this stuff already. It was only natural as a demon to know your own weaknesses. She was told by one of her many demon minions that it was best to masquerade as a "Tamer", as she could summon an army of demons to her command, and a "Dragoon", utilizing guns to exorcise demons to fit in. She had already done all her research about the above, so Mr. Okumura's words went through one ear and out the other. Talking to Shima was the lone outlet for her boredom, but she could tell he was uncomfortable doing something that would anger his rebel-looking friend. Perhaps he was whipped? It was a funny assumption, but maybe it was assuming too much. It looked like she'd have to tough it out until lunch break.
The bell had rung loud enough to rouse the dog-tired Renata. She jumped out of her seat and took a long exaggerated stretch. Waving dismissively, much to the disappointment of Shima, she left the classroom and stopped dead in her tracks. Up ahead, about two meters away, was the most awful sight she could ever bear witness to. A certain Russian man, about 6'2" and carrying a shotgun on his back, was talking to Mr. Okumura, obviously about something to do with classes. He seemed to be a teacher here, bearing an undeniable grin that betrayed who he was. Feeding on the attention her eyes gave him, he turned to look in her direction and did a double take. His face contorted into disgust, and he raised his chin into the air, looking down on her. Yukio followed the other teacher's gaze to look at Renata.
"Blech! I can't believe this. A skirt… on you of all people?" The Russian grimaced, drawing attention to the spectacle. A few students looked at Renata with curiosity, some with jealousy. Renata grit her teeth and stormed up to the tall male. Without a word, she linked her arm in his and dragged him into her dorm room, ignoring Yukio's protests. The man however had turned his disgust into bliss, laughing his tail off. Slamming the door and making sure it was locked, she spun around to face him with disdain.
"What are you doing here, Pride?" Renata seethed, throwing her balled-up hands on her hips.
"I could ask the same of you, Greed, or should I say, cute, little, innocent schoolgirl" the other responded, his smile never leaving his face.
"I'm on a mission. Satan ordered for me to scope out this place and gain intel, and to destroy it when necessary" Renata explained, and then added, "Are you already done with the branches Lord Satan assigned you?"
"Did you expect any less of me? You really should know better, miss… what's your name?"
"It's Renata over here. What are you doing in that exorcist get-up? You're a full demon; there's no way the Vatican approved of you."
"A few little lies didn't hurt anyone, as you yourself would know. I'm known as Vladislav Vikenti, and I'm an upper-class exorcist. For all the Vatican knows, I'm a half-demon. Problem?"
Renata wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with this guy. They had a history of not being able to stand a minute in the same room without wanting to bite the other's head off. Vladislav stuck his tongue out teasingly and pushed her backward with a flick of his hand. Renata growled but rather wisely decided to play this out without violence. She walked towards the door, Vladislav cocking an eyebrow in suspicion. She unlocked the door and cleared her throat, ready for a performance.
"Teacher! This 40-year old man is violating me!" Renata shrieked, smirking at the other. Vladislav was about to retreat when Yukio entered the room. He gave a wary glance at the other teacher.
"Vladislav, may I talk to you outside?"
Vladislav winked at Renata, playfully warning her that this was not over yet, and she wouldn't win this easily. Not that she was scared or anything. Sure, he was the right-hand man of Satan, but that meant nothing, right? She never would have foreseen that their relationship would be this bad. It seemed like their personalities were conflicting constantly. How did she ever like such a guy in the past?
Greed watched the man she admired from afar, almost melting when his eyes swept over her. She was a young demon whom only recently began to rise in her ranks. She wished to be able to be seen as the other demon's equal. This demon, Pride Jr as he was known, was one of the strongest demons that was in charge of the hugest army of brute, savage, and merciless demons. He was second to only Satan, Sloth, and of course, his father Pride, or so he boasted. Pride and his son had a fierce rivalry, something to do with Pride Jr's manhood or something along the lines of that. As for Sloth, if he could actually get off his lazy ass and try to exert his strength, he'd crush Pride Jr with ease. Greed could never summon enough courage to actually approach the other. She'd heard rumors of him from the sufficient army she lead herself, but preferred not to listen to endless drabble of the weaker and probably jealous minions. If only she knew how to rightfully approach him. To catch up to his overwhelmingly high rank, she had worked hard to reach #6, which was a feat in itself. Greed slithered up towards the him, realizing how weak she was acting. Even her eternal servant, , a purple pig-formed demon, would scoff at her tactics (which would then result in a beating, but was used to it.). When she was near enough, she was acknowledged by a nod from Pride Jr, announcing that he had noticed her presence. Greed felt her blood boil, which was unusual for a Dragon-based demon such as her. Her red scales quivered with excitement, knowing that this was the moment she had been anticipating for quite some time now. Steam escaped through her nostrils as she spoke. "Greetings, Pride. Satan has ordered me to check up on you. He's worried that you're overexerting yourself" she fibbed, knowing fully well that the Demon Lord would not care for trivial matters such as comfort. Pride Jr smirked, and for once, Greed wished that she too had taken over a human host from Assiah. The being Pride Jr had taken over was awfully handsome, and made her feel ashamed to even bask in his presence. She was amazed that he had such control over the foreign body, and was able to navigate in Gehenna with it. It was the first time Greed had really noticed that human beings retained some form of beauty, even if it was all superficial. "Well then, tell him I am fine, as always. A perfect servant should not be exhausted by such little exertion of force, no?" he responded, his voice snaking into her ears. "Now what is the real reason you have approached me?" Greed would've blushed had she been in a human body. He had seen right through her ploy, not that she doubted his abilities. "I just find you absolutely…." For once, her words had failed to reach her lips. Pride Jr chuckled with that charming smile of his. "Handsome? Addictive? Wonderful? Smart?" Pride Jr offered, finally showing his true colors. Was he always this vain? "Uh sure, you could say that. Though I prefer saying that I find you… as an egotistical narcissistic arrogant piece of sh-" "Piece of hot man? That's what I thought as well. It was nice talking to you. If you will, please do continue droning on about my awesome epicness." Greed growled as flames escaped through her nostrils. This man was so dead!
Renata prowled the cafeteria, sort of confused as to where she should sit. The tables didn't seem to be segregated by any discernible form of cliques, so where was one supposed to sit? It had almost killed her on the inside when she had to spend her precious money on something so utterly human. Renata's gaze shot up when she heard her name being called over. It was the Rin Okumura kid, and he flashed such a bright cheery smile that Renata couldn't resist. How innocent of Satan's son. She took the offered seat and set her lunch tray down beside his. Rin's electric blue eyes could barely contain his excitement.
"So how'd you get in? Why are you here? Is there someone special you like yet? Made any friends?" The questions all came tumbling out of Rin's mouth in an onslaught of verbal diarrhea.
At this rate, this was going to be a long day. It almost would've made Renata's plans not worth it... Almost.