I leaned back against one of the beams that held up the roof. From up here, the whole monastery was in full few. One of my legs swung back and forth slowly. Rin had come in all bloody from fighting someone but he tried to cover it up. I brushed my braid over my shoulder and leaned forward a little.
The confessional conversation that Rin was having with dad, I couldn't hear. Guess that means it works, the privacy, I mean. The curtain burst open and dad screamed about a girl before lecturing Rin about fighting. He also got fired from his job. Go figure. Yukio came in from the back, telling dad that he was finished packing.
Deciding to stay in my spot for a little longer, the other clergymen made fun of Rin for not being like Yukio. It wasn't until Rin got pissed and the heater malfunctioned that I jumped down from my spot to join in on the arguing.
"Nori! What did I say about climbing up there!" Dad chastised.
With a roll of my eyes, I replied, "At least I have a job."
"Cut it out!" Rin lunged me, knocking us both to the ground. "Like I don't know what you've been doing." His eyes full of concern.
I scoffed and kneed him in the groin. Fatal hit. Rin rolled on the floor basically howling and crying. "Grow up, you big baby," I said and the clergymen laughed hard. Dad told Yukio to fix up Rin so I tagged along, like always.
Shiro Fujimoto wasn't really my dad. He took me in when I was six after my family died. Not many people knew that about it, since I took to calling Shiro dad after a while. Both Rin and Yukio were so welcoming when I came. They were only a year older than me. The first day that I went back to school, Rin beat up some kid that stole my lunch. Yukio always made sure that I kept up with my classes, even when I didn't want to. They treated me like their little sister, like I'd been there since the beginning.
Rin continued to complain about the stinging of the anti-septic that Yukio put on his hand. "Where have you been all day, Nori? I thought you were off today?" Yukio asked.
I threw Rin a "don't even" look and then shrugged. "I had some errands to run, plus I went grocery shopping."
Yukio smiled. "Looks like you're cooking tonight, Rin."
Rin nodded and looked over at the boxes. "So you're really moving out and into the dorms?"
Way to bring down the mood, Rin. My phone buzzed, calling me to a meeting. I wasn't going to go, but Rin apparently has an interview so it'll be the perfect time to sneak away. Going to my room, I slid a knife into the edge of my knee-high boots and snuck out through the window.
Growing up in the monastery, I had learned to throw a fairly decent punch from Rin. Both of us had an itch for fighting which brought us together, and then, like Yukio, I had been able to see demons since I was a kid. My job during the day was an assistant at a magazine company in town. I hated that job but dad insisted that I get a job.
The real money that I saved up came from my side job. Like I said, I enjoy a fight every now and then, so why not get paid for it. Some kid wanted me to beat up his enemy. I met up with him in my usual spot, underneath the train tracks by the canal at sunset.
He showed up late, four hours late. Normally I wouldn't have waited around but this guy was paying in cash and said that it would be worth the wait. He said his name was Reiji Shiratori. "Here's the deal, for every broken bone, I'll throw in an extra hundred."
"No deal. I don't put people in the hospital. It's bad for business. This guy got a name?" I asked, counting out the three thousand dollars in yen. One third was just for the meeting. The other for the job.
"Rin Okumura," he said like the name tasted sour coming out of his mouth.
Without thinking much, I swung my fist and decked him hard in the jaw. "What kind of idiot asks me to beat up my own brother?"
The shock on his face turned into confusion and anger. "You're Nori Asano right? I got the right chick?"
Holding back the urge to punt kick him in the crotch, I nodded. "I grew up in the monastery with Rin and Yukio. They're family to me. Threaten them, you answer to me." I dropped all the money but the meeting fee. "I'd better not catch you around again."
He gave a whistle and two guys stepped out, blocking my path. One of them held the little boy that I knew from around here. He lived with his dad. They were basically homeless so I brought them all our leftover food and then supplies when they needed them. "Back up, plan, sweetness." Shiratori's steps crunched behind me.
"You're all asking for me to beat the shit out of you. Let. Him. Go." I growled. The second boy standing with them pulled out a knife, holding it close to the boy's eye.
A train horn sounded in the distance. That meant that it was almost five A.M. I'm sure Rin's noticed my absence… especially when I didn't show up for dinner after his first day at this new job. I knew he'd cover for me.
Shiratori's hand slid up the back of my neck and into my hair before jerking my head back. "I thought seeing you go into the monastery was a mere coincidence but you're just the bait I need." His friend tossed him a pair of handcuffs. "Put these on or the kid loses an eye."
Once my hands were useless around my back, Shiratori shoved me to the ground, kicking me hard in the chest and then the side of my head. "He'll be so much angrier if you're a little roughed up. But that's what you do for a living isn't it? Shouldn't be that hard to take it once in a while." He laughed and kicked my middle, knocking the wind out of me. "Let's go pay Rin a visit."
The long walk back to the monastery made my feet hurt. Something happened to him along the way. We crossed a dark alley and then I could see it. Koltars were flying all around him. He'd been possessed. His grin grew wide when we approached. "Okumura, my friend," Shiratori yelled as we got closer. "Do you have a second?"
I couldn't see Rin because of the guys who were blocking me. "What's wrong? Did you turn chicken on us?" One asked.
"You want some incentive?" Shiratori asked, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close to him, a knife pressing against my side. "Come on, Okumura. Don't want her to get hurt…. Again."
In a secluded alleyway, Rin finally spoke. "Leave Nori out of this, you jerk!" Rin said. I'd heard that a million times. He used to bail me out of all kinds of trouble, all the time, no matter how hurt he got. He lunged at Shiratori, knocking me out of the way.
It was then that Shiratori started to transform into the demon that possessed him. I watched in shock while trying to twist around to reach the knife that still resided in my boot. The friends jumped Rin, holding him down.
I tried to work the lock as fast as I could but I wasn't having much luck. Shiratori grabbed a metal pole that was extremely hot on the end. He brought it toward Rin.
"Where should I burn you? Your nose? Your mouth? Or perhaps your eye?" he brought it close to his face. "Or maybe it'll hurt more if I burn her first?" His eyes fell on me.
Come on! Dammit! I almost had the lock picked. I felt it click when Rin screamed for him to get away and burst into blue flames. My mouth dropped open. I knew what that meant.
"Those blue flames are indeed proof that you are the true son of satan!" Shiratori said. He told Rin that his name was Asaroth.
"Rin! Don't listen to him!" I yelled, finally getting the other cuff off. I started to get up but dad came around the corner, reciting scripture. Shiratori was free of the demon in no time. Unconscious but not in any danger.
Of course, Rin wasn't concerned about himself. He asked about Shiratori before Dad told him the same story he told me about Ghenna and our world, Assiah. "Now, get up. They have learned about your awakening. Demons of all species will come after you for every kind of reason. You must hide, before that comes to pass."
Rin asked the same question that I was thinking. What was he?
Demon.
Not just any demon.
The son of satan.
"Nori, we have to go." Dad called to me as he pulled Rin up.
I didn't know how to feel about all this. Demons had taken my family from me… and now my brother was one? My first instinct was to stay away. I would be safer… but now? Rin had always protected me. My mind needed to get all this information straight, because I felt that soon, I'd have to make a choice. Rin or run?
