Chapter 2

After taking a shower to thoroughly wash off the four days plus worth of grime on her body Luna sat in a hot bath. With the shower curtain closed the tub was dimly lit making the beige colored porcelain look brown. She splashes her face with the water trying to wash away the tears that stained her face. Each salty tear that escaped her eyes seared her skin, her nose was raw and her heart burned. She tried to morn in silence but every so often she would call out her brother's names in between sobs.

"Wendall… Alfred…" She splashed her face again and grasped at her nose begging it to stop running.

There is a knock at the door. "Luna, Honey?" Regina calls out on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yes?" Luna tries to keep her voice calm as she cleans her hand in the water.

"I brought you some clothes to change into when you are ready. Along with some other supplies. Can I come in and set them by the sink for you?"

"Okay." Luna pulls her knees up to her chest and rests her head on the top of them as the water sloshes around her.

The door opens and closes as Regina comes in. Her footsteps lead up to the sink where she stops for a moment putting down the items she brought Luna. "Is there anything else you need Luna?" Regina says stepping up next to the tub.

"No, I'm fine. I'll try not to be too much longer." Luna says putting her hands around her legs now.

"Nonsense Honey you take your time. That was quite the ordeal you just went through. I wouldn't be taking it near as well as you are."

There was a kind of honesty in her voice that Luna appreciated. "Thank you Ms. Beal."

"You're welcome Honey." She puts her hand up onto the curtain and Luna can see the silhouette of it. "Just let me know if you do find that you need something. Okay?"

Luna nods, "Yes ma'am."

Luna hears Regina's feet by the door and as she opens it she then hears her speak. "Come now Master Suguro. She'll be fine." The door closes and her muffled voice is incoherent to Luna.

'Ryuji must think I'm a real spaz. He's probably regretting talking me into coming back to the cram school now. Thinking to himself she's not fit to be an exorcist. What is she doing here?'

Just then Luna's inner monolog got angry. 'I'll tell you what I'm doing here! I'm righting the wrongs of my mother. Yeah!' She hears her inner voice say. 'I'm helping those less fortunate than me. Yeah!' She starts speaking out loud. "And I'm here to prove that just because I'm a monster that doesn't mean I do monstrous things! I'm going to stand up for The Order no matter what opposition comes my way, and I'm going to help defeat Satan!" She stands up out of the bath raising up her arm at those last words and water splashes the floor. "Oops!" She leans her head on the curtain and looks at the water that was glistening on the tile floor.

"Luna? Are you okay?" She hears Suguro's voice outside the door. "I thought I heard you fall."

"Ryuji?" She calls out.

"Yeah?"

"You don't think I'm a monster, do you?"

"What kind of question is that? I know you're not."

Luna opens the curtain and grabs a towel. Patting herself dry she quickly wraps it around herself and leans against the bathroom door. "Can I be part of your ambition to defeat Satan?"

She hears him dispense a heavy sigh. "I've been thinking that it's childish for me to say I'm going to defeat Satan. I mean…"

Luna gasps and leans the front of her body on the wall next to the door. "How can you say that? What are we studying to be exorcists for if not to beat back demons from doing harm to those who inhabit Assiah and to defeat Satan?"

She hears Suguro's head hit the door. "The reason I wanted to defeat Satan was because he tore my family apart. I wanted to bring Myoda back together, but too much time has passed by now."

"Ryuji… I don't understand how you can say that. Satan is pulling families apart every day. Perhaps not in the violent ways that you and I have experienced it but…" She takes a deep breath and reflects on what she wants to say. "Think of it this way Ryuji. Anytime you say a Sutra, I say a prayer or we repeat Holy Scripture we are beating him back! Maybe we can't defeat him all at once, but I believe that every little thing we do as exorcists weakens Satan's hold on Assiah. We have to soldier on like St. Ignatius of Loyola. We can't let one blow defeat us. Satan will throw all he has at us to make us doubt ourselves. That's why I want to be a part of your ambition to defeat Satan and I'm asking you if you will allow me to fight with you, Suguro Ryuji!"

Luna hears nothing but silence on the other side of the door.

"Ryuji, are you still there?" She opens the door and Suguro stumbles into the bathroom nearly wiping out.

His face tints and he turns away from Luna. "Sorry! Ever since that encounter with the zombies and Shima I've…" He trails off.

It hurt Luna to hear Suguro have so much doubt about something that he used to be so passionate about. She walks up behind him and hugs his back. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed your friends most. I should have stayed in the cram school and helped you cope with Shima being a spy. Your ambition is not childish, and I would never laugh at it." She releases him and turns away bashfully. "It's actually one of the reasons I look up to you so much."

"Really?" He says looking over his shoulder at her.

Luna nods. "Mm-hm."

He looks down at the ground and grins. "Hm… Thank you that means a lot to me. I'll let you get dressed now." He grabs the handle and closes the door as he exits.

Luna walks over to the tub and lets the water out. She could have sworn it was mostly salt water from all her tears dispensed in it. Shaking off the urge to cry again she walks over to the sink. Regina had thought of everything. A box of tampons, deodorant, tooth brush, tooth paste, hairbrush, underwear, tights, and a cute little long sleeve black dress for Luna to wear. Luna takes her towel and starts to dry her hair with it. She then quickly gets dressed and looks at her face. The skin around her eyes was still purple from her encounter with James's boot but she didn't have anything to cover it up. She sighs, "I guess that's good enough." She says looking at herself. She then opens the door and goes out into the main living room/breezeway.

Sitting on a couch Lightening sifted through paperwork, Regina sat next to him talking and pointing out similarities in cases that she had seen prior as Suguro stood behind and listened.

Luna clears her throat. "Sorry I took so long." She taps her foot on the carpet.

Suguro looks at her and smiles.

Regina stands. "It's a woman's prerogative Dear, and I hear that you just became a woman turning sixteen four days ago. To celebrate where do you want to go eat?"

Luna shrugs her shoulders putting her hands behind her back and shifts back and forth.

"Come on this is your home town isn't it? Or at least a suburb of it. What place do you miss that you'd like to eat at?"

"Um… There is this great little Ethiopian Restaurant in Ferndale that my parents used to take me to, or we could go down to Greek town…" Luna fidgets with her hair. "What sounds good to everyone?"

"I've never had Ethiopian food before." Suguro says. "That gets my vote." He looks at Lightening.

"Any chance I could get a burger there?" Lightening says looking through his shaggy bangs.

"Come on Lewin, expand your palate a bit." Regina shakes her head at him. "Ethiopian sounds good to me. Let's get going I'm ready to eat."

Luna's stomach grumbles. "Me too. I haven't eaten in several days."

Regina looks at her and shakes her head. "Why didn't you say something Dear? I could have made you something to hold you over."

Luna lowers her head. "I don't know. I suppose I didn't want to be a burden on you anymore than I already was."

"Oh, come now Sweetie. You would never be a burden." She walks up to Luna and takes her hand.

Luna looks up at her with a little bow. "Thank you."

"You're Welcome Honey." She lets out a little laugh. "You've been in Japan studying for how long?"

"Um…Since August."

"And you already have their mannerisms down."

"What do you mean?"

"You bow every time you thank me."

Luna looks down at her hand which Regina was still holding. "I do it to reflect my honesty in thanking you."

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. In fact I would love to see it done here in the States. I just couldn't help but notice it." She pats Luna's hand again and releasing it turns to the guys. "Alright let's go. I'll drive so Lewin you get to navigate."