Mephisto Pheles was sitting alone in his office, busy with paperwork. His office was an elegant and finely decorated room, one of if not the nicest in the whole academy. Mephisto was humming the tune of Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner as he did his work. There was then a knock at his door that caused him to stop. "You may enter." He called to the person on the other side of the wooden double doors. One of them opened up and Yukio stepped into Mephisto's office. "Ah, Professor Okumura, come in, have a seat." He greeted Yukio. Yukio closed the door behind him and took a seat in one of the hand carved wooden chairs across from Mephsito. "What can I do for you?"
"Mr. Faust sir-" Yukio began.
"Please, we are alone. You may call me Mephisto." He told the young teacher.
"Mephisto, I have to ask. Why did you let Rin join True Cross and the cram school?" Yukio asked.
"Oh that, yes how was it seeing your brother again? I understand that's the first in five years that you've met, correct?" Mephisto asked with a grin.
"Yes, and I have to say it wasn't really what I expected." Yukio responded unmoved. "But why would you let Rin become an exorcist? You know about his powers and you've been hunting him for these five years. So how did you find him, and why let him join?"
"Well I didn't really find him as much as he walked into my office much the same way that you just did." Mephsito's answer caused Yukio to look a bit surprised. "He came in and told me that he wanted me to put him in the cram school and that he wanted to become an exorcist. Of course I wasn't going to just let him, I did call my men in to deal with him. But my mind changed when I saw him take down 5 trained exorcists right in front of me." Yukio looked even more surprised now.
"He took on 5 exorcists and once and won?" Yukio repeated in shock. Mephisto nodded.
"Mhmm, because of him my 5 best men are in the infirmary right now. I had to stop him from killing the last one." Yukio gasped a little in shock.
"Kill?"
"Oh yes, almost ran him through with that sword of his. He wasn't even using kurikara, he was using that other one, meaning he wasn't even using his full power. After watching his profound display of skill I decided to let him join. He showed quite some aptitude in his skills already." Yukio stared in silent awe for a moment.
"Rin... really did all that?" Yukio asked in shock.
"Yes, I was surprised too. Which is why despite him being the son of Satan I let him join the cram school in order to become an exorcist." Mephisto explained.
"Sir, are you really sure that's a good idea? I mean if someone found out about his powers..."
"Don't worry about, Rin has already assured me that no one will find out about his true nature. He has it all take care of. By the way..." Mephisto reached in one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a few sheets of paper held together with a paper clip. He threw them on the desk in front of Yukio. "I have a new job for you, it's with Ms. Moriyama at the supply store and her daughter. It seems they're having an issue and are asking for our help."
"Right, understood." Yukio replied, fixing his glasses. "Who will be my partner on this mission?"
"Oh pish posh, you won't need a partner for such an easy mission." Mephisto assured him.
"But sir, it's protocol." Yukio reminded him.
"Oh you are just no fun. Fine, if you must then take Rin with you. I'm sure he can more than handle himself and it'll be a chance for you to reconnect with your dear brother." Yukio had to think about it for a moment. Mephisto was right, this would be a chance for him to try and get closer to Rin again.
"Alright, i'll do that." Yukio answered as he stood up.
Yukio, now in the old dorm, knocked twice on the door to Rin's room. "Rin, may I come in?" He asked, opening the door just a crack.
"Seems like you already have, so might as well." Rin responded emotionlessly. Yukio opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. Rin was sitting on his bed and was reading what looked like a small piece of paper.
"Hey Rin, what's that you're reading?" Yukio asked.
"Ancient scroll." Rin responded.
"What?!" Yukio was surprised. "No way, where did you manage to find one of those? They're supposed to be super rare."
"A contact." Rin replied directly. "What did you want?"
"Well I was just given a mission and don't have a partner for it. I was wondering if you'd like to come along. It'd be a good experience and you'd get to see what a real mission is like." Yuki explained with a smile. Rin looked up at him for a second.
"Alright, let me just get my things." He roleld the scroll back up and Yukio could now see the bulk of it. Rin went over to the desk in his room, his two swords were hanging on the back of the wooden chair. Rin opened up one of the top drawers and placed the scroll inside. Yukio could see a few more similar looking ones inside.
"Wha... Rin, where did you get all those?!" Yukio asked, totally stunned.
"As I said, and contact." Rin replied, fixing his swords to his belt. He then threw on his leather jacket and closed it back up. He was now dressed in that along with black pants and black combat boots. His two swords hung from his right side in the same fashion as they were the day he entered class. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two pills that looked metallic. He put them in his mouth and promptly swallowed them. "Let's go."
A short while later, Yukio and Rin were walking on the bridge towards the small supply shop used by exorcists and the cram school. Yukio used his set of magical keys on the front door to their dorm and exited from there. Yukio decided to use this time to try and reconnect with Rin. "Hey Rin, that other sword you have. Where did you get it?" He asked.
"It's called Ginkaze*, it was forged by the demon blacksmith Aerarius." Rin told his brother.
"What? You met the demon smith? Sounds like you have some interesting stories." Yukio smiled.
"You could say that." Rin replied dully, but still trying to hold back his anger which Yukio picked up on.
"So, what were those pills you took earlier?" Yukio tried to change the subject.
"Silver supplements, they keep my demon traits down." Rin replied. "In other words I won't have pointy ears, fangs, or a tail so long as I use them."
"Really? Don't they limit your powers at all?" Yukio asked.
"No, assuming i'd even need to use them. I've trained so that my physical skills are enough for most." Rin replied.
"Wow, that's impressive." Yukio commented.
"Yes, it is." Rin replied dully, again emotionally shutting himself off from Yukio. Yukio frowned a bit as he realized this.
"We're here." He said as they reached the steps to the supply shop. "Just wait here for a bit. I'll go in and have a talk with the shopkeeper first."
"Whatever." Rin responded as he walked over to the railing across from the shop and leaned on it. Yukio headed up the stairs and inside the shop. Rin waited outside for a minute or two before he heard something. He picked up on what sounded like someone humming and decided to go check it out. There was a second set of steps next to the ones leading to the supply shop. These curved a bit and led to an area that otherwise could not been seen. That's where Rin heard the humming coming from. He headed down that path and found there was a hidden garden by the supply shop. Rin stopped outside the front gate and looked in. Inside there was all sorts of flowers and plants, arranged in a rainbow of colors. There was also a girl inside. She was around his age with shoulder length blonde hair and a smile on her face as she tended to her flowers. She was dressed in pink kimono with a purple ribbon around her. She looked so happy and content while she was in her own little world in that garden. Rin just looked at the girl solemnly. I guess there are still some things in this world that I consider beautiful. He thought to himself. Rin went to put his hands on the gate, but when he did so a barrier activated and caused to door to fall off its hinges. The metal gate door fell inwards to the garden with a loud thud, causing the girl to look over to Rin. He just stood there was a somewhat surprised expression.
"Demon!" The girl cried out as she suddenly began to scuttle backwards away from Rin. Those words caused him to revert back to his more jaded personality. He took a step inside the garden. "Stay back!"
"You know, that's not a nice thing to say to the person who's come here to help you out." Rin told her. She suddenly looked a bit surprised as he said that.
"Wait, you're an exorcist?" She asked. "I thought mama said Yukio was coming over."
"He's inside with your mother now." Rin told her, now standing over her. He noticed that she didn't stand up and run, instead crawling as if her legs would not work. He also noticed what looked like a small long bump under her skin.
"Oh, then i'm very sorry. Please forgive me." She turned herself around and bowed apologetically to him. "Umm, would you like to help me?" She offered. Rin again looked at her a bit surprised.
Back inside the shop, Yukio was sitting down with the shop owner and discussing her daughter. "Her condition's only gotten worse. She can't even walk anymore and she refuses to tell me what's wrong. She just spends all day in that garden with the plants." She finisehd explaining to him.
"I see." Yukio nodded. "Is she there now?"
"Probably." She answered, sitting up and leading Yukio out back to check on the girl.
In the garden Rin was helping the blonde girl plant a new flower. She poured a brown and green liquid into the hole Rin dug while he held the plant. "That smells disgusting." Rin commented, making a scrunched up face at it.
"It's manure!" She told him a bit enthusiastically. "I mixed it myself, my grandma taught me how to do it." Rin then put the plant in the hole and the girl moved the soil around it with her hands. "Thank you for helping me, i'm sorry I called you a demon at first. That gate is supposed to have a barrier that prevents demons from entering so that's why I thought you were one." She explained.
"I see." Rin replied a bit dully.
"But you're actually a pretty nice guy." She smiled at him.
Nice? That's something I haven't heard in awhile. Rin thought to himself. The girl then offered him her hand.
"My name's Shiemi Moriyama, it's nice to meet you." Rin just stared at her. "Huh, what's wrong?"
"You mixed poop with that hand." He reminded her.
"Oh, right." She then offered him her other clean hand. This one he shook. "So what's your name?"
"Rin Okumura." He told her.
"Okumura? Oh, are you and Yukio brothers?" Shiemi asked with a smile.
"We were." Rin responded dryly.
"Huh?" She looked at him confused.
"Well what do we have here?" Yukio asked as he and Shiemi's mother entered the garden. He was smiling at the two of them. "Looks like you two are getting along."
"Tch." Rin made a noise of irritation at Yukio, then getting back on his feet.
"Hi Yuki!" Shiemi greeted him.
"Hello Miss Moriyama." He greeted her back with a smile.
"Shiemi, I called Yuki over to take a look at your legs." Shiemi's mother told her.
"What? But i'm fine, there's nothing wrong!" She defended.
"You're lying." Rin replied dully, causing her to look at him a bit surprised. "I saw the end of the injury of your leg, looks like a protrusion. Most likely a deklap root, this garden would be the perfect place for one to hide." Yukio knelt down and took a look at her leg, gently taking hold of her ankle and lifting her kimono slightly.
"Looks like he's right." Yukio concurred. There was in fact what looked like a root growing in Shiemi's right leg. "Deklaps are usually benign, but if you've been exposed to one long enough they can start to take hold of someone." Yukio explained. "Rin's also right that it would do very well in hiding here since it usually takes the form of a plant." Yukio began to look around for anything that looked out of place.
"Alright Shiemi, where is it?" Her mother demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shiemi looked away from her mother as she tired to defend herself. "I'm fine, I just feel a little tired is all... Eep!" Rin suddenly grabbed her by the back of the collar and hoisted her into the air. Her feet were dangling a few inches off the ground as he did so. He then set her on her feet and Shiemi almost instantly collapsed.
"You can't even stand up and you think you're fine?" Rin interrogated her.
"I... i'm just a little tired from working all day." She lied. "I would never allow a demon into this garden, I love it too much." Her mother sighed.
"After he grandmother died all she does is spend time in this garden. She tries to take care of it like it's her burden and locks herself away in here." Shiemi's mother explained.
"I see..." Yukio replied. "Shiemi, why don't you and I have a talk? One on one." Yukio asked, smiling at her.
"Eh? Well I would love to but there's still so much I have to do. I still have to put the rose arbor up, I never got around to that ever since grandma died." She replied, feeling a bit sad at the memory.
"Rin can take care of that, right Rin?" Rin scowled at his brother showing his disapproval, but said nothing on the matter.
"Oh, but that's a two person job. He can't do it by himself." Shiemi countered.
"I'm sure he can handle it. Why don't you get to it Rin?" Yukio told him with a smile. Rin still scowled at him.
"Pain in my ass." He muttered under his breath, pulling out a small notepad and pencil. He began to scribble something down.
"What's that?" Shiemi asked.
"A notepad, i'm creating a summoning circle to summon a familiar." Rin explained dryly.
"Rin, you're a tamer too?" Yukio asked. "I never knew you could summon a familiar."
"I can summon ten." Rin told his brother.
10? Yukio thought to himself in surprise. Being a tamer in general is an uncommon feat, and being able to summon more than one type of familiar is rare beyond that. But he can summon 10 different types? That's incredible. Rin then put his thumb in his mouth against one of his incisors and cut his thumb. He put a dab of blood on as an offering and chanted.
"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." After he spoke that there was a circular gust of wind around Rin. It then blew outwards and there was suddenly one more body in the garden. There was what looked like a man dressed in samurai armor face down on the ground and snoring loudly. Most of them just stared awkwardly at him, except for Rin who stared kicking the back of his head. "Wake up you lazy drunk!" Rin scolded the man.
"Ow!" He cried out, rubbing the back of his head and sitting up. When he sat up everyone could see his face. It was clear at that point that this person was not human. his face was sunken in a dry with unnaturally pale white skin. His eyes were black with green iris and his eyebrows were white as snow. "I was just trying to take a small nap and you have to go and summon me." Yukio then gasped a little when he began to make out what he could of the man's face.
"Wait a minute, Rin, is that Tetsunochi Gunba? The infamous war lord from the 18th century?" Yukio asked shocked. Shiemi and her mother both seemed a little shocked too after Yukio had said that.
"Sure am!" Tetsunochi stood up and waved at Yukio. "The Fearsome Shogun Gunba, whatever I wanted I conquered. I had one of the largest armies in Japan during the era and ruled over near half of it!" He gloated. "But I died an unfortunate early death from cholera." He hung his upper half down in defeat. "Now i'm one of the familiars for this brat." He moped.
"After his death, Tetsunochi was turned into a demon as punishment for his crimes. He was denied entrance into the afterlife." Rin explained.
"But now i'm more powerful than ever!" He gloated, his eyes burning with the need to fight. "So, where are we anyway? Doesn't look like much of a battleground." He asked as he looked around the bright garden.
"We're in the garden next to the supply shop. We're going to put up a rose arbor." Rin told him, walking to the pile of wood that was the fallen arbor.
"What, are you serious?!" Tetsunochi yelled. "You summoned me to decorate a freaking garden?!"
"That's right." Rin replied in his stoic voice. Tetsunochi hung his head and sighed.
"Someone kill me. Oh wait!... i'm already dead." He commented in defeat. He followed Rin to set up the arbor in Shiemi's garden.
A short while later, Yukio and Shiemi were sitting on the steps to the back entrance of the supply shop while Rin and his familiar set up the arbor. "So Miss Moriyama, tell me more about your grandmother." Yukio asked her.
"Oh, alright. But you can call me Shiemi." She told him. "My grandma was the closest person to me in the world. I was very ill as a child and did not go to school or make friends like most people because of it. But my grandma was always there for me, always took care of me. She always loved this garden." Shiemi looked warmly over the garden that she had tried so hard to take care of. "One day she was setting up the rose arbor in the garden, but I left to go search for the Garden of Amahara."
"Garden of Amahara?"
"Mhmm." Shiemi nodded. "My grandma always talked about it. She said it was God's garden, where God gathers all the plants in the world into one marvelous garden. I've always dreamed of seeing it. But when I got back that day, she had died when the arbor fell on her." Shiemi looked down with a bit of sadness. "Ever since then, i've tried my best to take care of this garden in her place, because I feel guilty for her death."
"Shiemi, you really shouldn't blame yourself. There was no way you could have known." Yukio explained to her, trying to console her.
"I know, but I can't help but feel like I could have stopped it. Now all I want to do is take care of the garden."
"I understand, but you can't allow a demon to let you think it'll help out." Yukio let her know. "This demon is just using you to get what it wants." Shiemi was silent. "Shiemi, if your grandmother was here would she want to see you like this?" Shiemi looked a little surprised now. "I think she'd want you to take care of yourself more than this garden." Yukio told her, causing Shiemi to think deeply.
"We're done." Rin reported in, walking up to the two of them with Tetsunochi beside him. Yukio and Shiemi looked over to see the rose arbor fully set it.
"Ah, it looks great!" Shiemi complimented.
"Yeah, good job Rin." Yukio agreed and smiled at his brother.
"Yes, we set up a stupid flower arbor." Tetsunochi replied sarcastically.
"I think i've held you here long enough. You're free to go." Rin responded to his obvious disdain. He pulled out the notepad he wrote on earlier and tore the paper from the page, then tearing it in half."
"Bout time." Was the last thing Tetsunochi said before disappearing back to Gehenna.
"So what happened here?" Rin asked.
"Shiemi was just telling me more about herself. She feels guilty because she left to go find the Garden of Amahara when her grandma was putting up the rose arbor that fell on her and killed her." Yukio explained. "But it's not your fault Shiemi." He smiled reassuringly at her. Shiemi just stared at the ground in remorseful thinking.
"If it makes you feel any better, the garden is real." Rin told her. Shiemi looked up to Rin in total surprise. "I've read about it from ancient scriptures, the Garden of Amahara is in fact real."
"Really? So I still can find it?" Shiemi's eyes lit up.
"No." Rin cut down her hope with one word. Shiemi suddenly began to feel very disappointed. "The Garden of Amahara is a special place in the afterlife, on the other side of the pearly gates. So i'm sure that means your grandmother has found it now." Rin explained. Shiemi looked down as she thought about this.
"Well I think it's about time for us to be heading out." Yukio cut in, standing up from the steps. "Think about what I said Shiemi." He smiled at her.
"Ok... I will!" She looked up and smiled back. "And Rin..." He looked back at her one last time. "Thank you for that, it really means a lot." She smiled warmly at him. He looked a bit surprised again, but quickly regained himself.
"Yeah." He replied dully. Rin and Yukio both headed out the garden and back to the walk to the exit.
"That demon's still in there somewhere." Yukio told Rin on the walk back. "If only we could have found where it's hiding..."
"It's a small purple flower, about 2 meters from the center." Rin told his brother.
"What?!" Yukio asked shocked.
"I can sense demonic presence, I had that demon pegged the moment I knew there was a deklap." Rin explained.
"Well then why didn't you say something earlier?" Yukio asked angrily, feeling a bit irritated that his brother would do such a thing.
"Because if that stupid girl doesn't learn her lesson then another one is going to get in and we'll be right back to square one." Rin explained. Yukio grunted in irritation, but made no direct argument. Rin, at least in his own way, was right after all. IF they just went in and exorcised the deklap it would be entirely possible for another one to appear and start to possess Shiemi again. Yukio thought of Rin as cruel for doing it, but he did have a point on Shiemi needing to learn her lesson. He didn't say another word to Rin as they walked back to the dorm.
Later that night, Rin was on the floor of his room doing one handed push-ups. He was using his right arm to lift himself while he held his left behind his back. Part of his workout routine that he had begun during his training. Something that no doubt helped him get to where he was now. his workout was interrupted when Yukio knocked at the door again. "What is it?" Rin asked, still suspended from the ground with one hand. Yukio then entered dressed in his exorcist gear.
"Something's going on with Shiemi, we have to go back." Yukio told him.
A short while later they arrived at the garden next to the supply shop. It was late at night when they arrived, yet they found Shiemi kneeling down beside some plants and watering them. They both approached her. "Shiemi, what are you doing?" Yukio asked. "Why are you out this late I night."
"I-I have to protect this garden!" She said frantically. "My grandma wouldn't want me to neglect this garden, it's break her heart!"
Crash
Shiemi and Yukio both looked to sound of the sudden crash. What they saw was a smashed flower pot and Rin nearby. He kicked another one and broke that too.
"What are you doing?" Shiemi questioned in horror. She made her way over to him as fast as she could but not before he broke a third pot. "Please, stop! I have to protect this garden!" Rin suddenly turned around and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up so that they were face to face?
"What are you going to do to stop me? I'm bigger and stronger than you!" He spat at her fiercely, almost as if he was actually going to fight her if she did anything about it.
"I...I..." She began to tear up. Rin suddenly let go and she fell to the ground.
"Shiemi, your grandmother wouldn't want you destroying yourself like this. She loved you the way you. Believe me, if you allow yourself to continue on like this, you'll become a different person entirely. Someone your mother and grandmother wouldn't even recognize anymore." He lectured her, now back to his composed self. Shiemi looked up at him with a mix of surprise and confusion.
"I... you're right." She admitted. "Grandma would never want me to be like this, how could I be so stupid?" She began to cry, holding her hands up to cover her eyes.
"So you're going to change and not let this demon control you anymore?" Rin inquired. Shiemi nodded with her face still covered.
"I won't, i'll get better and be like I used to and move back into my house." She promised.
"Good, then there's just one thing left to do." Rin drew his Ginkaze sword. He began to walk to the flower that the demon was posing as. "I had you figured out the moment I saw that girl. It's over."
"No! I won't let you tale her!" A female demonic voice called out. Roots suddenly shot out of the ground under Shiemi and dug into her leg.
"Aiyeee!" She cried out as she was hoisted into the air and taken control of. Yukio jumped back next to Rin and pulled out one of his pistols. The dekalp took form and held Shiemi's unconscious body close to it as a shield.
"Just try to stop me!" She taunted to two boys.
"So this is the dekalp." Yukio commented. Rin pulled out his notepad and began to scribble on it again.
"From blood of crimson red, I hereby summon you back from the dead." He chanted. Rin's familiar, the warlord Tetsunochi, appeared before them once more. This time he was awake and on his feet.
"Huh, what am I doing back here?" He asked, looking around the garden.
"Look over there." Rin told him. Tetsunochi looked over to see the dekalp, along with the hostage.
"Oh boy, time to see some action." He replied, drawing his own katana.
"Now that no one else is around, it's time for me not to hold back." Rin suddenly drew kurikara with his right hand, holding ginkaze in his left and dual wielding them. His blue flames appeared around him as he drew his second sword, and he was now engulfed in them. The blue flames burned brightly around him like an aura.
"Ha ha ha, just try it!" the deklap prodded.
"Alright, we will!" Tetsunochi shot back.
"Hold on just a minute." Rin interrupted. "The deklap is using her as a shield, any direct attacking would harm the girl as well."
"So?" The familiar asked, implying that it did not matter.
"So we can't just cut it down." Rin answered anyway. There was a click as Yukio disengaged the safety on his pistol.
"Guess i'll just have to shoot it then." He replied smugly.
"What?! You wouldn't!" The flower demon responded in shock.
"Try me." Yukio grinned. He pulled the trigger and fired. The bullet flew from the gun but did not hit its mark. Rin held out his sword and cut the bullet in half, causing it to lose its velocity and fall to the ground in two pieces between them and the dekalp. Both Yukio and the deklap looked surprised at this.
"I'm impressed Yukio." Rin told his brother. He turned his head a bit to show he had a bit of a grin on his face. "I never thought you had it in you to shoot and innocent person. But how about you just stay back and let me handle this." Rin then turned his head to his familiar. "I'm going in, when I give the word I want you to finish it."
"Will do." Tetsunochi acknowledged with a salute. Rin lowered himself a bit and ran right for the demon. He stopped in front of it and began slashing furiously. His moves were to quick to be seen precisely, but the sound of swinging metal and the trail of his blades could be seen. After a few seconds he ceased his attack and sheathed both of his swords, confusing the dekalp. Then the roots holding Shiemi suddenly broke apart in hundres of finely cut peices. Shiemi fell from the monster's grip and was caught by Rin.
"What?! He cut her out?!" The dekalp could only shout in shock. "How is he so fast?" Rin jumped back away from the plant.
"Now!" He ordered. Tetsunochi ran full speed at the dekalp.
"Let's finish this!" He shouted. "Demon whirlwind!" Tetsunochi spun around so fast he appeared as a tornado like funnel with a pointed end that was aimed right for the demon. He hit it and the torque from his spin began to tear into it.
"GAAHH!" The dekalp cried out as it was struck by Tetsunochi's attack. He then shot through it and the dekalp was torn into pieces by the attack. Tetsunochi landed on the other side of it. Yukio stared in amazement at the cooperative attack that Rin and his familiar just pulled off.
"Yukio." Rin called in his apathetic voice. "While i'm surprised you were willing to shoot through an innocent person, you can't do that. Once you take a life there's no going back from that. It's a path that I can tell you that you should not go down. Believe me, you don't want to end up like that." Rin gave him a lecture now. Yukio just stared at him in awe that he would say such things like he is now. Rin then set the still unconscious Shiemi on the ground. "You're done here Tetsunochi." Rin took the page from his notepad and tore it, once more releasing his familiar back to Gehenna.
"Hey Rin." Yukio got his attention. He then released the mag from his gun and showed Rin that he was using different bullets. "That bullet I shot at her with, it was plant vitamins. It only would have stung for a little. But it's nice to see you still care." Yukio smiled at his brother. Rin looked just a bit surprised for a brief moment, before turning his head away and looking frustrated.
"Tch, whatever."
AN: *Ginkaze is supposed to translate to "Silver Wind" if this is not correct please forgive me, I do not know Japanese and used a direct translator instead.
