Fatal Frame: The Boy with Blue Flames

Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist nor Fatal Frame. They belong to the owner of their respective franchises.

A/N: Holy crap, this is my first time writing this fic based on Blue Exorcist. How I got myself in the fandom is through the recent promo of the anime's second season covering the Impure King Arc and I got hooked into the series instantly even though some of the spoilers were a bit too noticeable. Half-demon boy that is cheerful and kind-hearted, yet out to defeat the Devil that is his father, sign me up!

As for Fatal Frame, it was two years ago when I heard of the Japanese release of Fatal Frame 5: Maiden of Black Water and I got interested immediately. I never played the games but I see some playthroughs of it. The idea of not being completely defenceless against malevolent ghosts and fighting back with an antique camera intrigued me because I saw enough of the Grudge and the Ring and a few other Asian ghost films that has me grabbing my hair in frustration because of how utterly helpless people were when facing bloodthirsty spirits. The games really helped me soothe that frustration and for that, I'm a closet fan of the series.

Soon enough, I got ideas running through my head of a potential story regarding a crossover between Blue Exorcist and Fatal Frame. I mean, honestly… The idea of fighting not just ghosts but also exorcising demons with the famed 'Camera Obscura' from the Fatal Frame series and incorporate it into the Blue Exorcist universe would entertaining and funny as heck.

Even though I'm new to this fandom, I can easily imagine both the reactions of demons and exorcists in regards to a simple antique camera that has the potential to KO any supernatural creature be it a demon or a ghost. How the camera is perceived in the Blue Exorcist universe would be explained more as the story goes on.

Obviously I have to changes certain elements in order to combine both series' into one universe, the more obvious being the ghosts. Since those type of demons are supposedly the kin of the King of Spirits, Azazel, I have to mark the story as slightly AU. It helps that said demon king hasn't made its debut appearance in both the manga and anime yet so it's easier for me to take artistic liberties.

Enough already, this A/N has gone long enough. Let's dive in.

Small warning, there a slight mention of suicide and suggestiveness.

Introduction Arc One: Beginnings

Once upon a time, there were two lovers who meant the world to each other.

Her name was Kawa Ushioni, a shrine maiden with unwavering faith.

His name is Shio Harari, a folklorist who believe deeply in the 'other world'.

It is said that their bond was so deep that their spiritual love alone serves as a repellent to spirits who wished to harm them.

They cross paths that one fateful day when the two happened to be attending the blooming festival of the cherry blossom trees. Although, the more appropriate description of how they met exactly would be that Shio accidently spilled his cup of tea on Kawa's kimono while he wasn't looking, staining the poor girl's dress with a noticeable botch. Horrified, the former apologised profusely as he mentally made plans to make up for his mistake while the latter froze on spot, confused at the sudden turn of events. Kawa (whose heart is very understanding) forgave Shio for his accidental blunder and she even became flustered when he offered to buy a new kimono for her.

Eventually, the two took an interest in establishing a friendship between them and began talking earnestly to each other. As days flew by after the festival, their friendship grew stronger and genuine with each bonding moment. Months past, the pair's bond has become so deep they're practically the best of friends and understood each other so well. The one common factor that contributes so well to this beautiful friendship is that both Kawa and Shio has the 'Sixth Sight', the ability to see ghosts and demons that could not easily be seen by the naked eye.

However while Kawa's 'Sixth Sight' is naturally induced from her birth thanks to her bloodline (the Ushioni family is said to have high spirituality, in fact), Shio's one was received through a 'Spirit Wound' from a hostile demon that had once attacked him in his childhood; hence his belief in the supernatural. Since the both of them has been ostracised by others for seeing the 'unseen', the duo took comfort in the fact they can understand each other's burdens of their abilities.

Predictably, that deep friendship blossomed into a love so strong that Shio eventually proposed to Kawa and she said yes, their feelings of delight mutual.

Regrettably however, their love story has no happy ending whatsoever. In fact, no one is sure if there is an ending at all.

The very same demon that once injured Shio in the past came back with a vengeance for reasons unknown, striking the poor man down while he separated from his beloved in that one crucial moment. When Kawa heard news of his drowned body floating near the beach, the woman sank deep into the oceans of despair.

Since then, nobody knew what happened to her. It was as if she wiped herself off the map. Some say she isolated herself from society in her grief while others guessed that she couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide in silence.

Whatever the case is, the only known evidence left behind by Kawa is a mysterious antique camera that Shio used to own during his research on folklore regarding the supernatural.

The 'Camera Obscura', the (in) famous invention of Dr Kunihiko Asou which is unfortunately the laughingstock of both Assiah and Gehenna because no one has any proof of the camera's supposed ability to exorcise demons and ghosts.

It has been passed on her nearest blood relative.

Her daughter, Mizu Sugori.

…

…

…

Wait a minute.

How could Kawa have a daughter when she and Shio weren't even married! Heck, their last names are even different. And no, there was premarital sex involved nor has Kawa loved another man since her fiancé's death. So how could this happened?

The truth can only be found in their daughter's story. A tale of a teenage girl, armed with an underrated camera that could protect her from the demons of Gehenna and her life journey to become a competent and recognised exorcist alongside her friends; including a certain fiery half-demon that may or may not have the answers she was looking for.

Her parents' tale is not yet over, but has moved on to their daughter's. This is her story.

Mizu Sugori is not amused at this disgusting piece of atrocity. Not at all.

"This is so stupid!" She yelled indignantly, throwing her stupid novel across her bedroom. The book that she was reading has got to be one of the worse and most upsetting stories she had ever experienced reading.

Apparently, the plot is about a doomed romance between a hyper girl whose curiosity knows no bounds and a brooding boy whose heart has been shattered by a former ex. After 28 chapters' worth of touching relationship development between the protagonists, the last 4 chapters has said ex crawling back to the main boy and that stupid…

That utterly, stupendously stupid hypocrite thinks he made a good decision to hook up with his ex-girlfriend once more despite breaking the heart of the girl who tried so much to be a good friend (and potential lover) to him.

Frankly, Mizu is done with that trash of a plot that called itself a romance story. Whoever wrote this book must be aiming to break the hearts of romance lovers everywhere and as a dedicated fan of love itself, the honey brown long-haired girl is not amused.

Completely and one hundred percent unamused.

Soon, someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it!?" Mizu growled, not happy at the sudden interruption of her angry thoughts as furious bubble-gum pink eyes glared at her bedroom door.

"Woah! Uh, Mizu, it's me, Nina! Can I go in?" Her younger sister replied, a slight tint of confusion colouring her tone. Mizu reckoned that it's probably because Nina Sugori was wondering why her adopted older sister seemed a bit irritated.

Sighing, Mizu answered back, "Fine, come on in."

The bedroom door opened and revealed a Japanese girl 3 years younger than 15 year old Mizu, her jet black hair styled in a ponytail as her chocolate brown orbs watched her big sister in confusion. Wearing her formal school attire, she walked in wearing her school bag on her back in tow. Mizu's eyebrows rise up into her hairline in surprise. Now that her mind cleared a bit from the anger, she realise that her adorable little sister hasn't left for school yet since it's still morning. Why did Nina come into her bedroom in the first place?

"Little sis? Why aren't you at school yet?" Mizu asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Oh…Uh, umm… Mom, ask me to buy groceries when school is over but there's this special limited edition poster of Miss Marcia and the official release is right after school so I don't want to be late before the stock ran out!" Nina squealed, letting the words spill from her mouth so fast that her adopted older sister strained her ears to understand between the lines.

Mizu pinched the top of her nose as she closed her eyes and sigh in exasperation, "All this just get one poster? I know 'Miss Marcia' is that very famous 'singer/idol' of our time but this is ridiculous!"

"So can you buy the groceries instead? Pretty please? I really want it." The younger sister begged, bringing out her 'cute doll eyes' that always wrapped Mizu under her thumb and Mizu simultaneously hated yet love that adorable gaze every single time because her sister can be so cute if she wants to. Granted, the older sister could pretty much do the same thing with the added benefit of her pink eyes but she was too distracted by that endearing expression of pleading on her face.

Predictably, Mizu relented with another sigh. This time though, with amusement.

"Alright, fine. I'll go buy groceries. Now get to school already. And stay away from the dark alleys!" She exclaimed with a smile.

Nina beamed with gratitude as she hurried out of the room with a skip in her step, "I know! And thank you so much, big sis! I owe you one!"

Shaking her head with her hand on her hip at such a sight, Mizu was about step out as well when she heard a shocked gasp. Before she could comprehend what happened, Nina came running back and shoved two things onto the palms of her hands. A bundle of yen and a grocery list.

Befuddled, she stared at her younger sister apologising profusely with a panicked expression on her face.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot to give you the stuff mom gave me to buy the groceries!" Nina cried before running out of Mizu's room again and shouted, "See you after I got my poster! And buy me a carton of milk okay! Don't forget about the camera!"

Rolling her eyes, the reminder had Mizu grab out for the antique, vintage camera placed on her personal studying desk and hung the straps connected to it over her neck. Despite being a bit rusty, the 'Camera Obscura', as her adopted parents called it, has a nice shade of oak brown coated over it, has special filament tube above the view finder that shines whenever 'something' gets detected and its relatively small size makes it convenient enough to be portable to anyplace at any given time.

If Mizu wants to be honest, there are obviously much better quality cameras that is even better than hers with some of them being digital types that does not require to use film at all. However, she has no desire to get rid of it whatsoever and her entire adopted family agrees with her.

As the only memento of her birth parents that she possessed, Mizu treasured said camera very much. It helps that its traditional-like aesthetic made it pleasing to look at and it somehow contains an endless supply of Type-07 film (she has no idea how that works) so unless she replaced the film with other different types, she doesn't have to worry about having a limited supply of film.

There's also one other reason why the camera is so important to her and her family but she rather not dwell on it. It's not night time yet so other than avoiding dark alleys, she has no reason to even think about the 'reason'.

Strolling out of her room and into the living room where the main door is located, she called out to her mother cleaning the dishes in the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm going buy to the groceries!"

"What!? I thought I told your sister to get the groceries for the week, not you!" Her mother, Saya Sugori, her voice rising up in surprise.

"It's okay, mom! I need the exercise, see you at lunch!" Mizu replied, opening the main door before leaving her house and shutting it close.

Saya sighed as she wiped another cup of glass. That lazy daughter of hers, passing the responsibility to her adopted elder sister. It's no wonder why she heard her shouting about buying her milk.

Since its still morning, she should have known nothing bad could happen as long as Mizu and Nina stayed away from shadowy areas but she still hoped that her daughters remain safe. After that 'incident', she has never felt more grateful to the birth parents of Mizu in the fact that they have the decency to at least create a measure of protection for their daughter (and in extension, Nina) from the perils of the 'unseen' even in the afterlife. That camera is such a blessing…

"Finally, I'm here at last…" Mizu murmured under her breath as bubble gum pink eyes surveyed the supermarket that either she or Nina usually brought groceries from. As the building itself is quite a distance away from her family apartment, it took at least a 45 minute ride by bus to reach there and the honey brown-haired girl mourned at the fact that she has to carry a week's worth of groceries since both sisters does fancy going there every day.

In fact, she's been extremely lucky to not see 'them'.

Maybe there is an off day for those little bastards.

'I'll get you back someday, Nina…' She thought to herself, plotting vengeance on her poor little sister in mind.

Crossing her arms upon her grey sweater, Mizu walked in with hopes that that she would avoid that terrifying plump lady with butterfly clips in her bushy tangerine hair. Apparently, she was called the 'big boss' of the supermarket by the employees who worked there and she has no desire to meet her. The last time Miza crossed paths with her was when she and Nina went together to the store that day… Let's just say 'crying over spilt milk' is a literal metaphor turned into an incident and they almost got kicked out.

Fortunately, she has observed that the scary woman wasn't around the mart today and Mizu was glad that she doesn't have to face her or otherwise it would be embarrassingly awkward. The way her glasses glinted when she's pissed… Nevertheless, that lady alone added more motivation to act out her revenge against Nina for buying groceries. How she let herself get enthralled by her little sister's cutesy gaze, she has no idea. (In other words, internal denial.)

Grabbing a nearby buggy from the entrance and entered the mart, she walked aisle to aisle as she looked down at her grocery list…

Things to buy:

1. The preferred fruits and veggies

2. The usual pounds of meat

3. Several cartons of milk (Chocolate and strawberry flavours included)

4. Wholemeal bread

5. Ramen of different flavours

…..

Being completely focused on her list, Mizu did not realise that there was somebody walking right beside her and the eventual collision that followed after. Had she been more attentive, she would have noticed the slump shoulders and the look of dejection on his face.

*Bump!*

"Kya!"

"Ca-crap!"

Falling on her butt with her hand underneath to soften the impact, she yelped in pain and quickly took her sore hand and rubbed it tenderly. Mizu look up with intentions of glaring at the offending person but instead, ends up gawking when she realised who he was.

Rin Okumura.

The boy who attended the same kindergarten as she was in.

The boy who everyone in school called 'the Demon child'.

The boy who she feel regretful for ignoring him in her childhood.

Said boy has a panicked look on his face and has the decency to look shameful for what happened. Granted, it was her fault for not looking but he hasn't been attentive either.

"I'm sorry! I…Uh… Here, take my hand!"

Blinking like an owl, Mizu simply grabbed his calloused hand and a static buzz started to play in her head as foreign memories began to flow through her mind.

'I suppose I should have known… Ever since I was a little kid, I was just not normal.'

"How could a child be so ferocious?" A woman say.

"I wished he just disappear from here!" Another woman cursed.

"You would think he's a demon child…" The third woman scoffed.

She could feel what he was feeling. The deep scorn that resonated within those hurtful words.

The feelings of loneliness that made him feel so isolated...

Being called a 'demon' so much...

"But I'm not. I'm not a demon," A younger Rin growled in frustration, "No, I'm NOT!"

"…Hello?" A boyish, masculine voice asked quietly freed Mizu out of her reverie.

Guilt-ridden, bubble-gum pink eyes meet confused, electric blue orbs.

Not to mention, from the way he tilted his head and waved his hand in front of her shows that she has spaced out in front of him.

'What a wonderful way to introduce yourself to him, Mizu. Dammit Mitori…'

Biting her lips, she look down and muttered softly, "I'm sorry. I should have looked where I'm going. Please, don't be mad at me."

Mizu winced slightly at the last sentence. She did not just say that. Oh crap, he's not going to shout at her, would he? They may be in public space but the Rin she remembered from her childhood has a ferocious temper, especially with those bandages on his face that was no doubt a result from one of his fights. He scared so many of the children and adults but at the same time, it was some of the children's fault for being mean bullies and how ignorant the adults were…

To her pleasant surprise, his response was not what she expected.

If anything, Rin was the one did not expect her to be suddenly be so mortified at him at all. Judging from the way his confusion gave way to shock, her reaction was not what he had in mind.

"Wha-what do you mean, I'm mad at you? If anything, I'm the one who should be saying sorry to you! It's my fault I bumped into you so… Don't be sorry." Rin spoke quickly with guilt in his tone, shame filling his face as he hadn't meant to unnerve her.

Looking up at him with wide eyes, Mizu has not expected him to be so… Bashful, is that it? Taking a deep breath, she replied shakily, "I… Okay… I understand."

The surrounding atmosphere has become so awkward and tense that both teenagers struggled to find words to speak at all. They certainly did not expect such a turn of events. When Mizu started to really notice that Rin was wearing clothing reminiscent of a supermarket worker, the words came streaming out of her mouth once she found a topic that she hoped would change this horrible awkwardness.

"You work here, Rin?" Mizu blurted out, the surprise in her voice evident.

He gasped in amazement, "Wha-whoa! How do you know my name!?"

Panicking for a moment, her pink eyes darted around and zeroed in on his nametag on his work uniform. Oh thank god, she found a perfect excuse.

"Your nametag?" She deadpanned as she pointed her finger at said item, hoping that her half-lidded eyes made her answer more convincing.

"Oh…Hehe, I guess it should've have been obvious." Rin chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, hiding the fact he's blushing in embarrassment.

After a few moments of silence, Rin let out an anxious grin showing off his teeth and the teenaged girl could not help but be so distracted by the unusually canine-like fangs in his mouth that she almost missed his question.

"Can I help you?" He asked with a polite tone, though Mizu could detect a bit of edginess underneath it.

"Oh! Um… Yes, can you help find these stuff?" She replied with a nervous smile of her own as she lend Rin her grocery list. Since they met, she might as well ask him for help since he works in the mart.

Then a sudden thought come into her mind. As a weekly buyer at the supermarket alongside her sister, she had never seen Rin as part of the staff there before. Did he just work here recently this week?

"Oh no…" Mizu heard the teenaged boy muttered in horror and that broke her out of her mental musings, prompting her to stare at Rin in alarm.

That's when she noticed his face went blank as he pondered over the list.

"Actually, this is my first day at work and I'm not really familiar with the place. Sorry…" The boy with navy-blue hair lamented as he look down with a frown, his face etched with shame once more. His confession more or less confirmed her suspicions.

Mizu wondered if it's possible for someone her age to pull off the saddest looking face that she has ever seen, especially when his azure blue orbs turned so dull. Not even Nina could re-enact such an expression and for once in her life, Mizu felt like giving the poor boy a hug of comfort just to stop him from being depressed.

'Then how come you totally ignored him while he's crying alone on the swings when we're children, huh?' She thought in bitter self-deprecation.

Unfortunately, hugging seems like such an intimate action to do so she settled for a pat on his shoulder. This cause him to look up at her in surprise at the unexpected gesture.

"Well…" Mizu smiled gently at Rin, "Maybe we can help each other out? We both look for the groceries together. That way, I can get the groceries and you'll know your way around much better. How does that sound?"

Mizu admired the way his blue eyes brightened like stroked flames as he grinned genuinely at her suggestion, her effort in cheering him up has been a success.

"That's-that's a good idea! Let's do that!" Rin exclaimed and then noticed the nearby buggy that was totally ignored since their collision, "Oh, wait a minute. Let me help you push your buggy."

"Wa-wait a minute!? You don't have to-"

"No, its fine," He interrupted quickly, "It's my fault I bump into you. Let me make up for you."

'But it's my fault too. I wasn't looking as well…' Mizu thought to herself sadly but could not bring herself to protest out of guilt. In those few minutes of talking with the enigma that is Rin Okumura, he has been nothing but kind and sweet to her with none of his supposed 'demonic anger' directed at her. Had she attempted to be friends with him while they were younger, they could have the potential have a deep friendship that they might both appreciate.

'It's too late for that now, might as well make the best of it.' She sighed in resignation before smiling gratefully at the navy-haired boy for his offer of help.

"Thank you, Rin," Mizu beamed in gratitude before turning around with tenacity in her steps, "Now, let's go find those groceries!"

"Aye-aye, captain!" Rin replied in jest, just as eager; resulting Mizu to giggle in response as they walked around the mart while conversing to themselves in casual topics.

Unknown to the both of them however, the tubular filament above the viewfinder of the Camera Obscura has been emitting a faint blue glow ever since Mizu bumped into Rin.

"She made you do all of that? I thought this is your first day at work!" Mizu gawked as she stared incredulously at Rin who packed a few cartons of milk with different variety of flavours into the half-filled buggy, her rosy eyes widened in disbelief at the very thought of that that crazy lady that ruled the supermarket forcing the blue-eyed boy to do the impossible.

Impossible stuff like carrying a hundred or so boxes, gathering all the used up buggies into one line and etc. Mizu's left eye began to twitch at the unfairness of it all as her opinion of the plump woman lowered even further.

"Yeah, that's what she did but it kinds of also my fault since I messed up everything. I'm surprised she hasn't fired me by now," Rin scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he grimaced at the memories of all the careless mistakes he made over the course of his job, "I'm usually much more careful with my hands too. What gives…?"

Mizu gave him a sympathetic frown and gave him another pat on his shoulder, prompting surprised cobalt blue eyes to blink at gentle rosy pink eyes staring at him with compassion.

"Don't worry, Rin. I… I know I don't you that long but I know you can get through this. Don't give up." She spoked softly, hoping that her words are reassuring enough.

Normally, Mizu isn't one to give encouragement in general however, but the guilt that wrecked her mind for ignoring Rin since their childhood days at kindergarten combined with the fact that Rin acted nothing like the 'demon' that everybody made him out to be impelled her to be at least be helpful to him.

Instead of the response Mizu expected, all she saw was confused blue orbs blinking at her and she look down in embarrassment; her face flushed in grimace as awful thoughts run through her head.

'I am an absolute failure in advising. Oh my gosh, please let me dig myself a hole…'

Unbeknownst to her, Rin did understood what she was trying to say and he himself blushed at the shock of it all. This girl that he just met (or more accurately, bumped) for just half an hour tried to encourage him. A total stranger who is not his old pops nor his younger brother nor anybody back at the monastery, tried to give him words of encouragement regardless of the fact that he told her about him being an underachiever. To say that he's flattered that she believes that he could get through it is an understatement.

"Tha-thanks. I… I appreciate that." He said quietly, blue eyes staring at Mizu in awe.

The golden brown-haired girl, having heard his unexpected reply, blushed deeply and took in a deep breath so as to control her emotions better because never had she felt such immense joy at the fact that somehow, her words of encouragement are working. Working. It did not backfire at all. Maybe she should take classes for motivational speeches…

Then all of a sudden, her pink eyes become focused on what was supposed to be a mundane everyday event in an ordinary supermarket; the sight of a supermarket worker, an older woman, cooking instant fried noodles on display and handling out samples of said food. At first, Mizu initially dismissed as a typical way for food companies to promote their products. However, she couldn't help but notice just how weird the fried noodles look like. She had saw her mother cooked instant fried noodles before and they don't look that peculiar. Then again, it was a different brand…

Following her gaze, Rin noticed that her attention was fixated on his senior co-worker cooking and was rather confused on why she was so interested in such an activity. Does she like cooking? Rin soon realised that she was actually being more attentive to how the noodles were being cooked and their general appearance; eventually realising the same suspicions as Mizu.

Something is off with those fried noodles…

Being the first to take action, Mizu walked towards the display with Rin in tow and politely asked the woman cooking if she could taste a sample. Happy at the fact that somebody is willing to try the fried noodles, the woman eagerly provided a cup of noodles and Mizu took one slurp of the food with her chopsticks and…

Her face turned purple.

She felt like she wants to barf.

"Ugh… Oh my gosh, that was revolting!" Mizu gagged in disgust. What kind of fried noodles is this?

She immediately regretted her words when she saw the older woman's face fell in disappointment.

"Wait, really?" Rin asked curiously and grabbed his own chopsticks. Getting his own sample, he began to taste the noodles and his face turned purple as well.

"You're right, it's horrible!" He exclaimed in horror. Mizu had almost wanted to scold him for being a bit insensitive to his senior co-worker's plight and she could have if it hadn't for the older woman to sigh tiredly.

"You too, huh? The boss hired a huge shipment of this noodles because she had a deal with them and they're cheap. But they're not selling at all."

Mizu nodded in understanding, knowing that there are some food products that are not as desirable as others despite being in the same vein of food. Take instant fried noodles for example, there many variations from different companies and she was pretty sure this particular food product isn't exactly top-notch of its kind.

Rin pondered for a moment, staring at the noodles with an unreadable expression before asking his senior co-worker, "Listen, do you think I could give that a try?"

"Huh?" The older woman blinked.

"Rin? You want to cook?" Mizu asked in surprise. Considering that he works here, it should be as no surprise that he could take over his senior co-worker's duty if he wants to. However there's also the fact that this is his first day as well. Does he have permission to do this…?

"Yeah," He replied with confidence, "I think I know what went wrong…"

Mizu admired the way the fried noodles sizzled and the delicious smell wafting through her nostrils in such a satisfying way that leaves her mouth salivating to just taste the food. It has also become apparent that she's not the only one interested. A decent number of shoppers, most of them women, crowded around the portable stove that Rin was cooking on, all of them in awe of such magnificent looking noodles.

Since Mizu was the first in line as she technically the only customer who tasted the noodles before, she has the privilege of having Rin graciously giving her the first sample of the newly-cooked fried noodles. When she tasted it…

Mizu felt her tastebuds died and fly off to heaven.

It was wonderful…

Who would've have thought that Rin Okumura is such an awesome chef that he could turn cheap instant fried noodles into a meal worthy of the royalty?

This scene reminded her of the movie Ratatouille where the main characters chose a pleasant dish, the one that the movie named after, to an infamous critic who scathing reviews leaves gourmet chefs crying and yet; the purpose of serving the dish became a success when it impressed the critic.

"Hey, we're a new line of fried noodles here! How about it, folks!" Rin exclaimed as he continued to fry the noodles, impressing onlookers even further.

"What is this? It's delicious!" One cried out blissfully.

"Not to mention, it smells amazing!" Another exclaimed happily.

'I totally agree with them.' Mizu thought in glee as she took in another helpful of those delicious fried noodles for herself.

"The secret to its flavour lies in in these special sauce," the older woman advertised cheerfully as she held up two flavouring products, "Also, we top it with sardine flakes to give it an excellent flavour that would put the pros to shame!"

"I like to have some of that too!"

"Yeah, me too!"

Mizu has to give Rin major credit for improving the fried noodles. Taking creative liberties by adding extra sauces to the food and knowing that such flavours would complement the fried noodles, she felt quite impressed by his professional level cooking. As a matter of fact, she was surprised that Rin would even work as a store worker. Screw his current job, he should work as a chef!

While the pink-eyed girl gleefully fully nibbled a sample worth of fried noodles as she savour the heavenly flavours, she hadn't notice the approaching footsteps of a certain plump lady in charge of the supermarket until the crowd has gone way too silent.

Looking up, she nearly gagged in fear at the sight of the tangerine-haired woman seemingly glaring at both Rin and his senior co-worker.

"Boss!?" The older woman yelled in shock as Rin become stunned and stiff as stone while onlookers stared worriedly at scene. Regular buyers in the store would know from experience that the boss isn't one to be trifled with and Mizu grew worried for both Rin and the older woman. The last thing she wanted was for her shopping experience of the day is to end with someone losing their job.

Mizu was surprised when the plump lady decide to take a bite out of Rin's fried noodles and she could have sworn she saw her eyes widened like saucer plates.

Almost immediately, the boss turned around while remarking with a tone of finality, "Staff meeting starts at 8.30 every morning. No tardiness. Starting tomorrow, I want you here with guns blazing."

Flabbergasted, Rin could only say, "Huh?"

The older woman than made a friendly smack on his back with an air of satisfaction as she laughed, "She means you're hired. Congratulations, newbie!"

Soon, the dumbfounded expression on his face slowly morphed into that of amazed joy. The kind that he could not believe what was happening to him was good but what has happened was indeed real.

Mizu could not help but cheer for him in empathetic elation, "I told you! I told you can do it!"

Unfortunately, she shouted a little too loud when the plump lady heard her and came back with a vengeance.

Glasses glinting, she pointed her finger at Mizu and yelled out, "You!"

The golden brown-haired girl blanched in pure horror as she froze on the spot, all the while feeling the intensely concerned gaze from Rin on her at the side.

Is she going to get kicked out?

…No.

Nope, absolutely not!

No way, she and Rin has gathered almost every grocery she needed to buy for the week. There's no way is she giving up without a fight if that crazy woman decides to ban her from the mart. If she wants to force her out, she might as well try to push away a concrete wall that is Mizu Sugori!

'Bring it on, lady!' She thought as she held her head high in defiance.

"The next time I see you in this mart, don't ever mess with the milk again, got it?" the boss warned in a severe tone before leaving in a flash.

"…eh…?" was the only word Mizu could say as she stared at the retreating back of the plump lady, her expression thunderstruck. Honestly, she was expecting a duel of biting words.

Rin walked up to her, his azure blue orbs danced with curiosity.

"Did you and the boss have a history together?" He asked tentatively, eyebrows raised,

Biting her lips, she glanced at the navy-haired boy beside her and smiled timidly.

"It's… a long story."

"Hey, you never told me your name." Rin asked Mizu as the two stood outside the supermarket entrance, just as the golden-brown haired girl was about to leave.

Being so engrossed in the event that involved the instant fried noodles, both Mizu and Rin has absolutely forgotten about the groceries for an hour until the pink-eyed girl checked her watch and panicked. Being the nice person he was and feeling guilty for taking up her time, Rin passed on the cooking duties to his senior co-worker and willingly escorted her to the cashier to pay for the groceries while pushing the buggy along.

Mizu, who is not used to being treated so nicely by someone she barely knew personally, was very grateful for the blue-eyed boy's help. She was just about to turn and walk to the nearest bus stop with her groceries in hand for the ride home but stopped abruptly when she heard Rin's question.

Her bubble-gum pink eyes widened, she just realised just how rude she was knowing Rin's name by virtue of his name tag alone but never telling her name to him.

"Oh…" She shrugged, "My name is Mizu. Mizu Sugori." She introduced herself, smiling softly.

He smirked cheerfully in response, "Rin. Rin Okumura. Though I bet you already knew that from my name tag, huh?"

Mizu giggled in amusement before she smiled at him, her pink eyes twirled with sincerity, "I'm really glad to have met you. You're… You're awesome."

Mizu seriously thought that he is awesome and that's because he made her trip to the supermarket a very enjoyable one, with his kind-hearted and bashful attitude. Sure, he seems a bit absent-minded and insensitive at times but what right does she have to judge?

Not everyone is perfect and Rin is no exception. In fact, all those crazy rumours about him being a demon are absolute nonsense and she felt ashamed for even believing them in the first place. Being afraid of Rin? Ha, it's like being scared of an adorable puppy!

However, If he's truly is a demon, bite her then because chances are; she should be an angel. She can't ever and never would imagine such scenario realistically.

Granted, his elf-like ears and fanged teeth didn't really help his situation and she vaguely wondered how he even got those unique features in the first place. However, she knew better than to ask.

It's possible he had anger issues at that time even at a young age but whatever the case was, it seems that he must've already moved on from it.

Rin blushed at the complement before grinning happily, his blue eyes filled with appreciation, "Thanks… Are we friends then?"

'What kind of question is that? Of course we are.' The golden brown haired girl thought sadly as she pondered the unfortunate implications behind the question asked. Maybe he somewhat hasn't moved on from his friendless childhood yet…

"We are friends, Rin. And hopefully…. From now on, we'll always be." She told him with so much passion that the embarrassment hasn't sunk in until she saw his awed expression and mouth agape.

Face feeling like boiling water, she has to credit herself though for keeping her head up and eyes straight as she witnessed the poor navy-haired boy struggled at words to reply. Mizu has this feeling that she has been surprising Rin a lot for the past hour so she decided to spare him the embarrassment of being struck speechless. Hell, her own words surprised her.

Maybe she do care more about Rin then she had thought…

"Do you… Do you want to exchange phone numbers?" Mizu asked, somewhat feeling self-conscious.

She thought it would be a good idea to remain contact with Rin as he shown himself to be a very reliable friend to count on despite his limits. However, even she has to admit that asking such a question seems so intimate because she usually asks this after getting to know a friend for a while but she just befriended Rin in a short amount of time.

"Really!? Okay, sure. Why not!" He exclaimed excitedly, eagerly taking out his phone out whilst Mizu chuckled at such a jolly response as she did the same for hers.

After exchanging their phone numbers, Mizu felt a sudden feeling of disappointment dwelled within her chest as she realised that she has to leave already. She really did enjoyed her interactions with Rin Okumura and actually does consider him her friend. The fact that she couldn't spent more moments with him tugged her heartstrings but at the very least, she could still contact him with her phone. She supposed that's a plus.

"Hey, I…" Mizu sighed, "See you next time, okay?" She spoked awkwardly, not a fan of fun-leeching goodbyes.

"Ye-yeah, see you next time." He replied, a twinge of sadness colouring his voice as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Hmm… Rin?" Mizu said aloud, said navy-haired boy replied with a hum of acknowledgement as she carried her grocery bags and was about to walk off, "Thank you for helping me out."

Rin beamed in response, his blue eyes filled with gratitude, "Thank you too, for helping me to keep my job."

"Then we're even then, huh?" She laughed for a bit before taking a deep breath and letting the sombreness took over, "Bye Rin."

"Bye Mizu." He replied just as solemnly.

"Where the hell is that bus stop?" Mizu muttered vehemently as she walked on the pavement in frustration, seemingly lost on the way.

It wasn't her intention to somehow get off track of her directions to her planned destination and ended up in an entirely different part of the city, more specifically a valley of alleys littered with so much stuff she doesn't even want to bother describing.

Feeling very pissed off at the fact that she got herself lost, she continued to stride in anger until she heard something.

Something unnatural.

It's them. The constant buzzing-like noise of those accused black things.

Mizu knew her luck was way too good to be true when she didn't saw them this morning. And now, there happened to be a very large swarm of them flying around; all emerging like flies from a lone alleyway. Upon seeing the sight of those revolting creatures, Mizu instinctively dropped her groceries and held her camera up as an act of defence against the sentient spores in the air. The tubular filament that acts as a sensor for supernatural presence glowed a bright, crimson red and that means a hostile entity is nearby.

The bubble pink-eyed girl knew that such a sight can never be noticed by the naked eye unless one has experience a supernatural phenomenon that is considered dangerous and lived to tell the tale. Mizu has long accepted that she was different from others, that she could see what others could not.

It is also thanks to this ability that she knew that Rin was no demon, barring his more unusual features such as his fangs and elven-like ears.

Fortunately, she was not alone in this experience. Unlike Mizu, her younger sister Nina couldn't see the malevolent spirits until there was one incident several years ago when she and Mizu got ambushed by a ghoul at night while the sisters left from a party held by one of Nina's friends. The ghoul looked like a zombified dog that reeks so badly that despite being unable to see it at first, Nina could smell the stench of the decomposed corpse.

It was that moment when the two sisters realised the true function of the Camera Obscura. For whatever instinct she has that she could not justify in her head, she somehow has a very brilliant idea of using the camera to flash a photo of the ghoul biting her sister's leg and it actually works. When the demonic dog flinches back, she took the opportunity to keep pressing the shutter button at the ghoul while keeping it within sight of the viewfinder's glowing capture circle until the hellish creature has completely been banished.

Ever since then, the traumatising incident has also made Nina aware of the supernatural and it helps that their parents are already staunch believers of the Other side. As a result, the whole family became more cautious whenever dusk approaches. While Mizu used to carry it around as an object of sentimental value from her birth mother and got teased endlessly by her peers for having such an outdated camera, she now carried it as a form of protection and gratitude.

It has also been apparent that Mizu is the only person who could wield it and it has theorised by their father that she has the correct spiritual capacity to do so.

Their father, Reiki Sugori, dedicated some of his free time researching the origins of the blessed camera that protected his daughters from harm. Along the way, he has also found out that Mizu herself has powers of her own; which has manifested after she and her sister's encounter with ghoul.

In fact, Mizu has two supernatural abilities; namely Mitori and Zanei. To summarise, the former allows the user to read the memories of others through physical contact though according to old folklores and traditions pertaining to this ability, experienced practitioners of the gift can do this with direct eye-contact alone. Not to mention, the limits of how it works but that's a story for another time…

Mizu does not expressed much interest in practising it other than not activating it when coming in physical contact with someone because she knew memories are synonymous with privacy and she has enough incidents of accidentally prying into other people's private memories with her annoying curiosity. There are just some things she wished she could forget from these incidental memories alone. Holding Rin's hand is a good example.

As for the latter…

What will happen is a good example.

Mizu noticed something out of place on the floor and when she proceeded to find out what it was, it turns out to be a bloody bandage that has been ripped apart. She could sense remnants of deep spiritual or rather, demonic energy etched inside it. Focused on activating Zanei, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she felt the air shift around her, she opened her eyes and everything in her surroundings turns grey as silence fill the air.

In front of her is a faint coloured silhouette of a teenaged boy her age, with periwinkle hair and metal studs on his face; which seems to form a hellish sneer. From that physical analysis alone, Mizu has no doubt that the boy is a gangster of some kind. Nose wrinkled in disgust, she observed the boy's movements in what seemed to be a temper tantrum as he moved angrily to the nearby alley and the golden brown haired girl nearly jumped in shock when she witnessed an outburst of the demonic flies emerging from said alley.

As she gasped at the sight, she jolted back into reality and the buzzing noise of the black spores returned. The dread that has been spreading throughout her body turned to extreme paranoia. Mizu's breathing starts to go faster as she thought briefly about the vision she saw and she was very disturbed by it. The vivid the vision is, the more recent it has occurred.

The vision she saw was as clear as a TV screen on high definition.

'That boy. He could still be here!' Mizu thought in panic as she was about to sprint out of the area,

Whatever happened to that boy is none of her concern. Her own life is at risk of being attacked by a hostile demon and even with the camera, she rather not risk a confrontation. Besides, Mizu has a feeling that the boy isn't so friendly anyway.

Before she could get away as quick as she can (the groceries be damned) however, she could hear the noise of someone dragging their feet across the floor from the same alleyway. A deep moaning of pleasure could be heard and Mizu realised that the sound is not human. If anything, it sounds like a disturbing echo from a rusted sound speaker.

Frozen stiff to the core, Mizu could not move at the sudden wave of killer intent suffocating the air as she stared in pink eyes widened in fright at the sight of the same gangster from the same vision coming out of the alleyway. The moment their eyes meet, Mizu could not resist letting a gasp of horror as she stared in disbelief at the sight of the inhumane cruelty and insanity storming in those savage eyes. Maybe a human psychopath can have those eyes, but no human has large swarms of demonic spores spiralling around him like he's their king.

In that moment, Mizu instinctively knew that the boy is no longer human. It's a demon wearing a body of a human and whatever traces left of the gangster is completely buried under the will of the demon's possession.

'Possession. This boy is possessed. By a demon.' She thought in despair and fear, her body and hands shaking as she struggled to control her breathing.

Mizu knew what possession means. After all, she could never forget watching the English movie 'The Exorcist' when she was young. The plot is about a young girl who has gotten possessed by a malevolent demon and the intense events that followed traumatised her to the point of crying.

And now, she's facing an actual demon possessing a human in real life. One that could easily end her life in an instant if she wasn't careful.

The only hostile spirits that Mizu had ever faced that could fatally hurt her are the ghoul she and her sister encountered that night as well as several foul-hearted goblins and their lethal pranks. Nowadays, the only supernatural creatures that Mizu exorcised with her camera were the sentient fungal spirits flying in the air if they disturbed her too much.

Fighting a demon in a human body however, is way out of her league even with the Camera Obscura as the only weapon she has that could truly combat demons. From what limited knowledge she could gain from her adopted father's research, high ranked demons could not manifest themselves in a corporeal form in the human world unlike their lower-ranked counterparts. Instead, the only way they could interact with the physical realm is through possession.

The stronger the demon, the more obvious the signs of possession can be noticed by those who has the Sight. Already she could see the horns on the gangster's head, the demonic fangs in his mouth and the claws on his hand. Despite the bandages on the boy's face, Mizu can easily the mocking smirk/sneer directed at her.

"Hehehehehehehe… What do we have here?" The demon spit out with a feral grin, his voice deep and gravelly, "Already have I just arrived in Assiah and there's a poor unfortunate mortal walking nearby, unintentionally awaiting death in a few seconds."

Mizu's face paled considerably as her fingers that held the camera twitched, her mind screaming at herself to move.

To take action.

To get out of this horrible situation.

But alas, her body was too frozen by fear but not her mouth.

"Who-who are you!?" Mizu squeaked loudly, tears induced by immense fear start to flow down form her pink eyes.

"Meeeeee?" The demon replied in a mocking tone, tilting his head slowly in a creepy way, "I have many names, none of which you're worthy of even knowing them." The he shrugged, "But fine, I am in a good mood so I shall indulge you."

The demon ran so fast at her that when she blinked, he was right in her face and grabbed her neck. Eyes bulging, Mizu feebly tried to pry those demonic hands away from her throat but failed as she was no match for the demon's superior strength. Black spots start to envelop her vision as she frantically gasped for air despite her constricted throat as the demon cackled in sadistic amusement.

"I am Astoroth, the Demon King of Rot." The demon, Astoroth declared with glee before tightening his hold over her neck.

"Now… I wonder how am I going kill you, hmm?" He wondered aloud in playful manner as he moved his claw near her face, "Should I gorge your eyes out? Or maybe I should go with ripping your tongue out, hehe. It would be quite fun to see you drown under your own blood…" He licked his licks in contentment at the thought of murdering her.

Static starts to buzz in her mind and unwanted memories starts to flow…

Bloodlust.

Cruelty.

Power-hungry.

Sociopathy.

She could hear the screams of those tortured and witness their demise by the claws of the demon king.

And many more perverse memories that disgusted Mizu to the point of retching.

In a fit of desperation to stop the flow of those horrid memories, Mizu used whatever waning strength she has to bring her camera up in front of Astoroth's and clicked the shutter button as her pained and sickened mind prayed fervently for God to grant her a miracle from this monster.

Unknowst to her, she didn't saw the demon's eyes widen in recognition; as though he knew who she was.

"Yomiko?" He muttered in shock.

*FLASH*

"ARGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Astoroth screeched in pain as he let go of Mizu's neck, covering his burned face.

The moment she was freed from the Demon King's iron grip, Mizu gasped for air as much as she could. Sobbing in hysterics and relief at the fact she is free of the demon's grasp, she quickly rise up and ran as fast as she could without looking back.

"YOU BITCHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Demon King cursed her from behind, his tone enraged and insulted as his scream slowly faded away the further she ran.

She ran and ran, tears fell from her frightened pink orbs streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed in despair; heedless of whatever direction she ran.

She wants to be safe, away from that atrocious beast that nearly killed her. And those memories, oh god, those memories.

They will haunt her dreams at night, she's sure of it.

Mizu did not look where she was going until she accidentally bumped into someone. Still in panic and fear of what had just happened, she screamed and attempted to fight back; thinking that the demon has come back to kill her. It wasn't until she heard a completely human voice then did she calm down.

"Calm down! Are you okay?"

She looked up and noticed that the person was an older man wearing a pair of tinted glasses with the chain adorned with beads and a cross, a peculiar scar on his forehead and a goatee on his chin. He's also wore clothing equivalent to that a priest. When Mizu starts to really look at her surroundings, she found out that she's near a local monastery in the city. A place of holiness, of safety.

"Hello? Are you fine, young lady?" The priest asked again, kindness and concern in those crimson eyes.

Mizu doesn't know why, but the older man reminded her of Rin once more. His compassion and his look of worry. So identical...

She cried onto the man's chest and she doesn't care of how inappropriate it would be. She found someone that is the opposite of demonic, someone who would not kill her.

She took solace of the fact that she's safe. That not some demon was about to kill her. That she could still have a chance to spend time with her family.

Father Fujimoto sighed in resignation and concern as he comforted the distraught girl crying onto his chest. Looks like his time to have a peaceful and relaxing walk near the monastery would have to take a backseat for now...

A/n: And there's that. Poor girl, Mizu is surely going to be traumatized from coming so near to death. Honestly i want to add more but i realised i was writing too much so this is all i got for you guys.

SO apparently, I just watched the first episode of the Kyoto Saga and dang, was it both awesome and heartbreaking. I loved the new opening song and the animation has gotten better compared to season 1. Wished i had time and written this much earlier so that i could have my OC participate in the Kyoto Arc of this fic in conjunction to the anime series but oh well, one can't have everything.

One thing to note though, even though this is a crossover between Blue Exorcist and Fatal Frame, i would list it in Blue Exorcist fanfiction only because of two reasons.

Firstly, there will be no characters from the Fatal Frame franchise coming over and no mention of the story events canon to said franchise although water do play a role in the main plot just like FF5. That means that protagonists and antagonists from the games themselves will not appear in this fic with the exception of Dr Kunihiko Asou because of his pivotal role in the creation of the Camera Obscura. Even then, the origins of the camera will be much different then in the games. Of course, those who played the recent Fatal Frame game would know of Mitori and Zanei and how functioned because I grew to like those abilities so much I implemented them in this story. And even then, there will be slight differences because of the universe they portrayed in. I hoped that how I described the way they worked is as close to canon as I can.

Secondly, there's no such Blue Exorcist/Fatal Frame crossover or at least, none i seen so far in Fanfiction. Since this is a oneshot, I won't be continuing this story unless many of you guys wanted to see more. Then I would consider placing this in the actual crossover section and continuing this fic.

I hope you enjoy this story and place your reviews please! Criticism is also accepted but no flames please!
See yah!