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Chapter 2: The American Devil Arrives.
They all silently stared at this American for a moment. Not out of amazement, or anything as dramatic as that. More out of a combination of curiosity and a total loss for what to say next. He didn't exactly look strange, just different. He was Caucasian, tall, thin, and overall pretty averagely built. His hair was cropped short, and on his head were a pair of cheap sunglasses. His eyes were a very bright green, but the deep dark circles underneath them seemed much more prominent at the time. He wore a smile, but the strain in his face gave the impression that it was taking a considerable amount of his remaining energy to sustain it. All he had on was a white T-shirt and some wrinkled blue jeans, along with some grass and mud-stained sneakers.
Yukio grunted to get everyone's attention, which broke the moment of awkward silence. "Everybody, this is..."
"Ronny Ferus." He cut Yukio off. "Sorry, but I couldn't run the risk of you calling me 'Ronald.' That would just be to much." He said. He took another step into the cafeteria, and then paused. He lifted his nose slightly and sniffed the air. Then he scanned the room quickly, his eyes momentarily falling on everyone of the second-year cram school students. There were a few of the students he paused and looked at for a considerably longer moment; Yukio, KoneKomaru, Shiemi, and Rin... He gave Rin a rather long, puzzling glance. Then he started forward again. "You must be Yukio." He said, holding out his hand.
Yukio took it. "Yes, it's nice to finally meet you. These are my classmates." He said, gesturing to the surrounding teenagers. "Izumo, Shiemi, Bon..." He said as he pointed out each of them. "Konekomaru, Renzo, and this is my twin brother, Rin." He said, pointing at his brother.
Ronny studied Rin's face for a second. "Seriously, twins? No offense, but I don't see it."
Yukio laughed. "Well thank God." He said. The rest of them laughed along with him, except Rin, of course. Normally he would have reacted in some way, probably negatively, but while everyone else was laughing, he just kind of stared off into space, thinking about how this American had looked at him a minute ago, it sent a chill up his spine. "Well, Why don't you sit down, Ronny." Yukio said.
"Sure." Ronny said. There were plenty of open chairs, but Ron didn't even take time to consider them all before he made a bee-line for the one right next to Rin. Rin kept his unblinking gaze on Ronny the entire time, and was still staring after Ronny had set all of his luggage down and dropped into the seat. "Well, first of all, Let me say that I love your campus." He said, totally oblivious to Rin's gaze, or choosing to ignore it . "My school back in the States was designed by a guy who did prisons and penitentiaries for a living. It's just a brick box with no windows and one door. You guys practically got a whole city here."
"Yeah, I've been here a year and I still get lost sometimes." Renzo said, braking the ice. So to speak.
"Well that's because you spend all of your time aimlessly fallowing every pretty girl that crosses your path, with total disregard for where she is leading you." Bon said.
"Ha! Yeah, I got that problem, too." Ronny said.
"So, Ron, where in the United States are you from, a big city, right?" Yukio said to get everyone back on track.
"Yeah, big city on the east coast..."
"What's it like living there?" Shieme said before Ron had time to elaborate.
Ron shrugged. "What's it like living anywhere else? I don't get out of the city much, so I don't have a lot to compare it to."
"But I bet you have some pretty crazy stories!" Shiemi said, practically jumping up and down in her seat with excitement.
Ron chuckled. "Yes, that I do. I could share one or two, if we have the time."
"Go right ahead." Yukio said, and the rest of the students nodded in agreement.
"Okay well, I don't know how 'cool' or 'crazy' this story is, but it made me laugh at the time." Ronny shifted nervously in his seat and cleared his throat. "So I knew this kid in freshman year - that's what we call the first year of high school in most of America – Who had this ferret; this furry rat-snake thing was like his best friend in the world, the dude even took this thing school. One day he goes to brush it's hair or whatever it is he was gonna do, and it's dead. Just dead, perfectly healthy ferret just dead on floor, and at the time he couldn't figure out the reason why..."
Izumo leaned over close to Shiemi's ear. "God, I knew this guy was going to be boring." She whispered.
"... And so it turns out this ferret got into like an ounce of cocaine he had hidden under his floorboards." Ron said, totally nonchalant.
All of the cram school students just about fell out of their chairs. They weren't laughing of course, just kind of shocked. Lets face it, out of all of them, only the Okumura brothers had grown up in an urban environment, and even they had been raised in a monastery. The mere mention of a highly illegal drug was enough to throw them off balance, not to mention some that had been stashed, and probably bought by a high-school kid.
"Um..." Konkomaru said when he came to his senses. "You never..." He trailed off.
Ronny raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, sure. I brought a whole brick of it over in my back pack. You want to try some?" He said sarcastically. Then he shook his head. "No, I've never done cocaine. I have a few neighbors that have permanently scared me away from all of that stuff."
"What, like police officers?" Renzo asked.
Ronny looked at Renzo like he was mentally ill. "No, crackheads." He said.
Yukio cleared his throat rather loudly. "Alright, changing the subject. Um, what are your hobbies, Ron, what do you do for fun?" He asked.
"Well, just about the only thing my old-man left me was his collection of firearms, so I do a lot of shooting, and I enjoy that a lot. It's funny, how when I go out to the country to compete in shooting tournaments and stuff, all of the farm and suburban kids just don't get how a city guy like me could be so good with a gun. Make's them really mad." Then he turned and looked right at Rin. "I never really got into swords, though. In America we call that 'compensation.' But to each his own."
Rin froze completely, like time had stopped. Sure, he had his sword leaning up against his chair, but it was in it's bag, how could this American know it was a sword? "How did you know it was sword?" Rin asked.
"Well because..." Ron trailed off for a second. "Oh, it doesn't matter." He said
Now that caught Yukio off guard, he was expecting the American to say that he just took a shot in the dark and guessed that it was a sword. But the fact that he avoided Rin's question was puzzling. Yukio looked around, the rest of the cram school students seemed not to have taken any notice that something was out-of-place.
"Well, I hate to cut this short, but the jet lag is killing me, I think I'm gonna hit the sack." Ron said.
Yukio instantly forgot about the sword, and remembered that he had to give Ron his schedule. "Wait." Yukio said as Ron was walking out of the room. "Here is your class schedule and a full map of the campus." He said as he handed the folded pieces of paper to Ron. "Oh, and you have tomorrow off to settle in and adjust to the timezone. Also, you can pick up your school uniform at the administrator's office tomorrow."
"Thanks." He said. Then he gave a quick wave to all of the cram school students before heading out of the room, suit case in tow.
Yukio turned around and looked at his students. "Well, this will be interesting." He said.
…
Yukio looked at his watch, he was going to be late, but even in spite of that, he smiled. He had decided long ago that his brother's cooking was good enough to miss an entire class period for, if it came to that, and this morning he was actually relatively early. He sat at one of the cafeteria tables as his brother finished up the bacon and eggs in the kitchen. The smell of the food was intoxicating, but in a good way, if that's even possible. It made Yukio's mouth water. His mind drifted briefly back to former night when the American first arrived. But he pushed these thoughts from his mind, he had class to focus on and, more importantly, breakfast.
"Hey." Ron said. Yukio turned his attention to the cafeteria entrance. Ron stood there, his hair was a complete mess, and the imprint of his pillow shown pretty clearly on the right side of his face. But he was smiling, so at least he had that going for him. He took a step into the room, but paused when he noticed Rin's sword on the kitchen counter. After a second he continued forward.
"Hey, your up!" Yukio said.
"Yeah well, I think I slept for damn near twelve hours, and I couldn't resist the smell of food." He said as he hobbled over to Yukio's table and plopped down across from him. "So you guys have no supervision here, whatsoever right?" He asked.
Yukio was a little taken aback by the question. "Yeah, so what?" He said.
"It just amazes me, you guys get a whole dorm complex to yourselves, not even a school official or a hall monitor to watch over you. At my school there's always at least one liaison officer on each floor, usually more."
Yukio raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need that?" He said.
"That's what's kind of funny about it, 'cause if me or anyone else knew the answer to that question than we probably wouldn't need them in the first place." Ron said.
Yukio nodded, but was hesitant. He didn't peg this American for someone who was that... deep. He pondered what Ron had said for a moment.
"Alright, breakfast is served!" Rin called out. He carried a big platter of eggs and bacon out of the kitchen with him. "Oh, good morning Ron." Rin said, noticing the American for the first time.
"Yeah, good morning." Ron returned the gesture with a smile.
"Well, it looks like my brother made a little bit extra." Yukio said as he stared at the huge stack of bacon and the mountain of scrambled eggs. "So help yourself."
"Don't mind if I do." Ron said.
Rin walked back to kitchen and took off his apron, hanging it up in the back. Then he grabbed his sword off the counter top and jogged back to where Yukio and Ron were sitting. He sat down next to his brother, but eyed the American before digging into the food.
"Wow, you made this yourself?" Ron asked in between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.
"Yeah. It's just scrambled eggs, though." Rin said with a raised eyebrow.
Ron chuckled. "You obviously haven't seen the school food where I come from. For me, this is fine dining."
Yukio and Rin just looked at each other like they had discovered a creature from another planet. A planet where cocain was more abundant than a good plate of scrambled eggs.
"Me and Rin have to get to class." Yukio said when his plate was cleared.
"Well, don't be late on account of me." Ron said.
"We already are. But don't worry, there's nothing unusual about that."
As Yukio stood up, Ron saw a the glisten of metal from inside his jacket, his eyes just confirming what he already knew. Rin kept his eyes on Ron while he stood, not wanting miss any move the American might make. Rin realized the absurdity of what he was doing. He decided he needed to stop being so paranoid, this American was a little strange, but it didn't mean he was dangerous.
"Hey, Yukio." Ron said when the Okumura brothers were about half way to the door.
"Yeah, what is it Ron?" Yukio said, turning around to face him.
"I just realized that your school clothes are different from the others I've seen. Is it like something for honor students only?"
Yukio looked down at his exorcist uniform. "Uh, Yeah."
"Hmm. I think I've seen something like it before, back in the States. Is it an international-program?"
"I don't know, maybe." Yukio said with a shrug.
"Okay." Ron nodded his approval of Yukio's response. "So I guess I will see you guys when you get back from your classes."
"Yes, we will be back here at around four-thirty. Maybe then Rin here can give you a more in-depth tour of the campus." Yukio said, looking back at his brother. Rin shot him look and the words Oh dear God don't make me echoed in his mind. It wasn't demon telepathy, just twin telepathy.
"Sounds good." Ron said.
Rin didn't feel it was safe to speak again until they were out the front door and good a hundred feet from the dorm.
"Do I really have to show that guy around? He weirds me out!" Rin said.
"Ha! Coming from the son of Lucifer." Yukio chuckled at Rin's paranoia.
"Hey! Your on that boat too, now." Rin said, grabbing his brother by one of his unnaturally pointy ears.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me, I damn near forgot!" Yukio said with a tone of sarcasm.
"That's what I'm here for, four-eyes."
Ron stood looking out from the third story window, watching the brothers. For once in his life he wanted something mundane and normal, he didn't want to admit that there was something off about the brothers, and he really didn't want to admit that he didn't trust them. But his nose didn't lie, and he knew from experience that things do not end well when there are teenagers with guns involved.
When he was satisfied that they weren't coming back, he turned and headed straight toward their room. He opened the door, but before he went inside, he just stood at the threshold and sniffed the air. His eyes locked on Yukio's desk. He quickly covered the short distance and knelt in front of it. He sniffed at it. The smell was stronger now, and from this distance he could tell it was coming from the lowest drawer. Ron was surprised to find that it wasn't locked. Now, it is important to know that Ron wasn't a nosy person, at least not in the proverbial sense. He kept to his business as long as other people kept to theirs. But when you find several-dozen 45 Caliber Total-Metal-Jacket bullets in the desk of an honor student, you can't help but get curious. Ron held one such bullet between his index finger and his thumb. He examined it more closely and saw a small cross and some strange writing printed on the side of the brass. "That's weird. Ceremonial markings maybe?" He held it to his nose and took in a deep breath, savoring the smell. It didn't smell a whole lot different than a normal forty-five, but there something different about it's scent. "Intent." He said. "That's what is strange. What where you made for, what is your purpose?" He asked the bullet as he placed it back in it's row, and was about to close the drawer when he noticed how shallow it seemed from the inside. He pulled it back out and ran his fingers along the edge of it. Sure enough, the bullets had been sitting on a removable tray, that he lifted to reveal another layer to the drawer. This one was filled with empty spare magazines. They were just kind of in a pile, not the neat rows and columns that the bullets were organized into. He picked on up to get a better look. But after a few seconds he could tell it wasn't from a piece he recognized. Definitely pistol mags, but that's about all he could tell. "Used, but not on people, and not on an animal." He said after taking a few sniffs of the mags. He reached both hands down into the drawer and, after some jiggling, managed to pull out the layer that the mags had been sitting on. He set it down on the floor next to the bullets. What he found in the bottom layer gave him a bit of shock. "Hand Grenades?" He said. At this point, it wasn't so surprising that Yukio had the grenades. What was strange was that he had not smelled them before, as they should have given off an even greater stench than the bullets. He picked one up and held it to his nose, sure enough, it barely had a scent at all, there was some lingering smells from all of the people that had come in contact with it, but the grenade itself did not produce a scent. "How strange. What were you made for?" He asked. He held it to his ear and shook it around. From within it he could hear a sloshing noise. "A liquid?" He turned the grenade upside down to reveal an access cap on the bottom of it. He popped the cap off, and brought the opening to his nose. Whatever was in it smelled so strong that he actually lost his balance. The bitterness of it was intoxicating, and he started to choke on the smell. In desperation, he grabbed for a bullet from the tray, knocking several others off. He held the bullet to his nose and filled his nostrils with it's scent, clearing out the smell of the grenade's ghastly liquid.
It took him a minute to catch his breath. He leaned against Yukio's bed frame and faced the bed on the opposite side of the room, where he assumed Rin slept. No, he knew that's where he slept, the unmistakable scent of that sword lingered here. "God this is strange." He said. "One brother with led and the other with steal. What could they possibly be used for? They live on campus, don't they? What could possibly be more sheltered and safe than the grounds of a private Catholic school, what the hell do they need those weapons for?" What got to him the most was that sword, though. It was practically radioactive, he had sniffed it out the moment he had walked through the front gate. Even stranger was that there seemed to be hot-spots, where the scent got considerably stronger, dotted all through out the campus. Were these places where the sword had been drawn?
He sighed. "Answers will come in time." He shook his head. "But right now I have to clean this up." He said, looking at the mess he had made.
It didn't take him long to get Yukio's drawer back in order, and clean up all other incriminating evidence. He decided a shower was in order. The hot water would help clear his mind, and his sinuses.
"Yukio and Rin are different from the other people I've met since I got here." He said, thinking out loud as he walked to the bath room. "It's like they're scared of something nobody else is even aware of. Always looking over their shoulders for... what, a boogeyman? And it's not just them, it's that whole class of people that were there to greet me last night." Ron shook his head. "It just doesn't make any sense. None of it!"
He was only a couple steps away from the bathrooms when he just froze. "That smell. How did I not smell that before?" He said, dropping his towel, and making a made dash for the door to the girls bathroom. "The sword! The scent of the sword must masked it." He answered his own question as he busted through the door. The girls bathroom was empty of course, which shocked him. "How can the scent be that strong if there's nobody here." He gave it a couple more sniffs. Finally he smelled the staleness of it. "It is almost a year old, but yet it lingers with such intensity?"
There were two scents for two different people. Ron knelt by the first, which was near the floor behind some lockers and right next to the bathroom entrance. "A girl hid behind these lockers, here. She was scared, but not for herself. For someone else?" He said, looking up, past the rows of lockers to the back of the bathroom, near the tub. He stood and walked over to the spot were the other scent was most strong. As he knelt, he noticed that some of the tiles were scuffed. "Hmm. This looks like an acidic burn." He said, running his finger over the tiles. "The other girl fell here. The scent is so strong that I could trace her exact outline." He said, tracing her with his finger. "She was scared. But she wasn't scared for her life, she was past that. Acceptance had settled in, and she was simply scared about what the next life had in store for her." He shook his head. "What scared you so badly?" He asked to no one. "What could possibly..." Then he looked up, past the tub, to the ceiling above it. There was a whole in the ceiling, big enough for three men. It wasn't pretty, either. It looked like someone, or something had clawed it's way through the wall. "So, Yukio, have I found your boogeyman?"
Then it hit him. In one big wave it hit him. It knocked him off his balance and he tumbled backward onto his ass. He pinched his nose. The smell was overpoweringly rich. Then Ron realized, it was pure.
Pure Fear.
