Chapter twoooooo. I tried to make my oc unquie and avoid cliché stuff but meh. I also really like Bon hes my favorite. Thanks for readinggggg xoxo


Yukio caught his first glimpse of her when he rounded the corner to the hallway where first year classes were held. From a distance, she looked like a normal girl with outlandishly long, white hair; but, as he approached, her cross-breed characteristics became obvious.

What he originally thought to be hair was actually a massive collection of long feathers of varying widths, (some were as thin as a pencil while others were thicker than her arm.) Her real hair ended just above her shoulders and melded seamlessly into plumage that fell all the way to the floor. Two of the largest feathers, (one on either side of her spine), had a beautiful, circular pattern on the ends consisting of various red and yellow hues. The surrounding feathers were decorated with similar splashes of color, though none were as extravagant.

She wore the Academy's uniform, but had decided to go with the long-sleeved sweater girls normally wore in the winter months rather than the cooler, shorter blouse. She had heavy, black leggings under her pink skirt and a sheer turtleneck under her sweater, completely concealing her throat and neck.

Her outfit was utterly inappropriate for the warm weather.

But it wasn't Yukio's place to criticize a girl's sense of fashion. He stopped short of her and cleared his throat to get her attention.

Startled by the sound, she jumped and whirled around to face him. She pressed her hands tightly to her chest, as if she feared her heart would burst.

Yukio recoiled slightly at the sight of her face.

Her skin was covered with strange patches of gray fur. Horizontal lines of it trailed from the top of her cheekbones, down the sides of her face, and along the length of her neck, eventually disappearing into her turtleneck. Both of her ears were long, pointed, and furry, (though the right seemed to have more fur than the left.) She even had two thin feathers extending from the ends of her gray eyebrows. They were a few inches longer than her face and stuck out from under her bangs. Tiny, black feathers outlined her eyes, accentuating the animalistic yellow of her irises.

She stood a little over five feet four inches in height and had a frame that could only be described as...well, flat. She was very unfeminine for a teenaged girl, lacking curves or any definite shape to her body. Even her face had some boyish characteristics.

She lowered her head, embarrassed by her reaction. Yukio, feeling guilty, immediately snapped out of his daze and regained his composure. "I'm sorry. You're Sachiko Evelyn, correct?" She nodded once without looking up. "I'm Yukio Okumura—your demon pharmaceuticals teacher. Welcome to True Cross Academy." He held out his hand for her to shake.

Sachiko reached a hand out to him on impulse, but then hesitated. Yukio could see small patches of fur covering her palm and fingers with no distinct pattern. So that was why she wore so much clothing.

Instead of shaking his hand, Sachiko stepped back and curtsied. "Thank you for accepting me," she said with practiced sweetness, sounding far calmer than she appeared.

Yukio relaxed and smiled at her, relieved to discover Mephisto was correct about her being well-mannered. "Let's introduce you." He opened the door and gestured for her to follow.

She took a cautious step forward, but froze when she heard voices.

"Argh! Yukio, help! He's got me in a choke hold!"

"I thought you were supposed to be studying."

"Uh... I-I was! But then Bon called me lazy!"

"Because you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Rin, that's enough."

"Wha... Me!? He started it!"

"Just sit down."

"But—"

"Sit."

Sachiko's heart raced uncontrollably as the room fell into a steady silence. She pressed her hands to her chest and fidgeted, her uneven, labored breaths making her lightheaded.

Was she really prepared for this? Could she face a room full of strangers knowing they would be horrified by every little thing about her? Could she handle all the ridicule? The embarrassment? Her hands trembled and her mouth was painfully dry.

Maybe things wouldn't turn out like that. Maybe they wouldn't care. She would be ignored, become the quiet girl at the back of the class who no one remembered. Or...maybe she would finally make some friends. Just one good friend would be enough for her.

No, she told herself, it was stupid to think like that. Who would want to be friends with a disgusting creature like her? Not only was she a cross-breed, but—

Well...

School was about more than making friends and having fun. She didn't need friends to learn how to exorcise demons. She could do everything by herself. After all, she's been alone her entire life, so why change now?

Sachiko tried to take comfort in these thoughts, but, deep down, the harsh sting of loneliness was not something she wanted to be familiar with.

"Miss Evelyn?" She flinched. Yukio was calling her into the room. It was now or never.

She realized she couldn't do it. She wasn't ready yet.

Sachiko picked up her bag and turned to leave. She lingered there, back to the classroom door, struggling to decide what she wanted to do.

If she walked away now, she could try again next year. But...what if she still wasn't ready by then? Would she wait again for the next year? Or the year after that?

"Miss Evelyn? Is everything alright?"

She steeled her nerves and forced herself to relax. She had to do this today. Next year would never come for her. If she left, she would carry this regret and fear for the rest of her life.

It was time to stop running away.

"Y-yes." She turned back to Yukio and curtsied in apology. "I...thought I forgot something."

"Do you need to go get it?"

"No. It's not important."

"Alright." Yukio smiled politely. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone." This time, she followed without hesitation. "This is Sachiko Evelyn. She will be joining us for the remainder of the year."

Sachiko stood at the front of the class and bowed slightly, hands clasped firmly to keep them from trembling. Here, she felt exposed and frightened, as if the eyes of the strangers that stared at her could bore into her flesh and see the cowardice that lied underneath. She swallowed hard, and reminded herself that she was brave, but it was a difficult thing to do under such relentless scrutiny.

Izumo was the first to react. "What's wrong with her face!?"

Rin flashed her one of his signature smiles. "I think it looks cool!" Sachiko immediately lost all her resolve and looked down, her face a bright red.

A tense, awkward atmosphere quickly filled the room. "Miss Evelyn is a cross-breed," Yukio explained. "The headmaster has decided to add her to our roster since everyone has grown accustomed to being with Rin in spite of his heritage."

"But aren't cross-breeds only found in poor countries?" Everyone turned to stare at Bon, who hadn't realized what he said was offensive. "What?"

Bon was, to an extent, correct. Cross-breeds were primarily found in areas too poor to afford exorcist protection, but it wasn't impossible to find one or two in a heavily populated city. Although the low-level demon needed to create Sachiko shouldn't be able to bridge a well-placed seal, accidents still happened. After all, exorcists couldn't protect everyone.

Yukio glanced at Sachiko. Her head was bowed low and she fidgeted nervously with the hem of her skirt. She looked up, shyly meeting his gaze, and suddenly he felt guilty for opening her to ridicule.

"We know less about cross-breeds than we do half-breeds," Yukio said firmly, bringing the room's attention back to him. "Cross-breeds won't be on the Exorcist Exam, so I'd like everyone to keep discussion on the matter out of class." He gave Sachiko a sympathetic smile. "Please take a seat at the middle table, Miss Evelyn." He pointed to the empty desk behind Rin and Shiemi.

Izumo cringed away as she passed to get to her seat. "You better not be contagious."

Rin turned around and smiled gently at the poor girl. "I like your hair! It's pretty!"

Sachiko's blush deepened and her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She was unused to such positive attention, even fleetingly, and was steadily beginning to realize how much she enjoyed it. "T-thank you."

The tension in the room grew weaker, and soon the students were consumed by their lessons. Sachiko did her best to keep up, but it was a constant and futile struggle. It was almost as if the teachers were speaking an entirely different language. She scribbled down whatever sounded important to her, but she didn't actually know what any of it meant. And, naturally, she was too embarrassed to interrupt class and ask.

After an eternity, (or what seemed like one), their lessons ended for the day. Sachiko sat back, relieved, and flexed her cramped hand. All the muscles in her right arm felt like they would explode if she dared to write another sentence.

She tilted her head back slightly and weaved a hand through her hair, attempting to massage away a headache as she did.

This was going to be a long, tiresome year.


A few uneventful days later, Sachiko found herself standing in front of the exorcist shop, a hastily written list of plants necessary for doctor training clutched tightly in her hands. This was the first time she would be shopping alone, and the thought of doing something foolish seemed to turn her legs to stone. But, regardless, she had to do it. She promised herself she wouldn't run from her fears anymore. She took a deep breath, gathered what little courage she had, and gently pushed the door open. A small bell rang as she entered.

Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the garden windows, bathing the shop in a nostalgic, summer warmth. The earthy scent of dried leaves and fresh flowers permeated the air. These comforts, enjoyable under any other circumstances, did little to ease the apprehension pounding in her chest. Rows upon rows of boxed herbs lined either side of the small building, and a long table of incense and potted plants sat in the center. Sachiko glanced at the tiny list she held: aloe vera, mint, and sage. She didn't know what to do, (she barely knew what mint tasted like), and so stood dumbfounded by the door, quietly glancing around at the shelves and desperately hoping she would recognize something.

"Welcome!" Shiemi, a classmate, emerged from a room behind the counter, carrying a steaming pot of tea. "Oh, hi Sachiko! Here to get your things for Yuki's class tomorrow?" She set the kettle down on its tabletop stand. "Let me know if you need any help."

Sachiko nodded once and quickly averted her gaze, too embarrassed to admit she didn't know any of the plants she was searching for. Shiemi watched her with a wistful frown. Seeing Sachiko wander the shop lost and confused reminded her too much of how she felt when she first joined True Cross—alone, useless, weak, afraid...

She didn't want anyone to feel like that.

"Hey, Sachiko." She stood and walked over to her. "What do you have on your list?"

Sachiko was surprised to see that Shiemi was interested. "Um...a-aloe vera."

"Okay! Here." Shiemi removed a box from the shelf and opened it. Inside were leaves neatly arranged in plastic packages. "Aloe vera leaves have little spines on their edges. See?"

She took a closer look. "Oh, you're right!"

"What's next?"

Sachiko felt herself relax under Shiemi's bright smile. "Mint."

She led her to the other side of the shop and selected another box. "You can recognize mint from the smell. It's very strong." She opened it and, almost instantly, the sharp scent of mint filled the shop.

"It smells refreshing."

"And it's great in tea!"

"Last is sage."

"That one is a little harder." She paused and pulled another box from one of the higher shelves. "The leaves have a gray tint and feel a little scratchy. Most of the plants also have long, purple flowers."

Sachiko tentatively accepted the bundle of dried leaves. "I wish I was as smart as you, Moriyama."

Her smile softened. "Don't give up. You'll get there one day, Sachi."

"S-Sachi?" She blushed deeply; no one had ever given her a nickname before.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Do you mind if I call you Sachi?"

She shook her head repeatedly. "No, no! Not at all!"

"Great! And you can call me Shiemi!" The two walked over to the counter and Shiemi quickly took inventory of her purchase.

"How much is it?" Sachiko fumbled around in her bag for her coin purse.

"Don't worry about it."

Her head snapped up in surprise. "What? B-but...if I don't pay then it will feel like I'm stealing."

She smiled. "Then you can pay me by joining me for tea!" She gestured to the still steaming pot of tea.

"T-tea?"

"Do you not like tea?"

Sachiko shook her head, snapping herself out of her stupor. "N-no, I love tea!"

"Perfect!" Shiemi patted the empty cushion beside her and Sachiko eagerly sat down. "I can help you with your doctor classes if you'd like. Yukio is a great teacher, but sometimes he has trouble simplifying things." She poured Sachiko a cup of oolong tea.

"Thank you, Shiemi."

"Of course! It's what friends do!"

"F-friends?" Shiemi nodded, a sincere smile brightening her features. "Right, friends!" Sachiko's face lit up with joy. That someone as kind as Shiemi could look at her and see something more than a beast was incomprehensible to her.

"Have you spoken to Rin yet? He's a bit of a goof, but I'm sure he'd love to be your friend too!"

"No, not yet."

"I'll introduce you tomorrow."

Maybe this year wouldn't be so hard after all.


By the end of the week, Sachiko felt more comfortable with her new life at True Cross than she could have ever hoped possible. The exorcist lessons were still a pain, and she still struggled to keep up with the rest of the class, but the time she got to spend with her two new friends, (Shiemi and, to a lesser extent, Rin), more than made up for the unforgiving embarrassment that plagued her at the sight of her failing grades.

Sachiko quietly entered the room, balancing a stack of books in one hand. She was half an hour early for class, and was hoping to use the extra time to go over previous chapters in a futile (and frustrating) attempt to decipher them. But, to her surprise, she wasn't the only one who had arrived early today. Izumo sat in her assigned seat, flipping through one of their more complex textbooks. Sachiko smiled nervously at her when she glanced up, but the other girl simply rolled her eyes in exasperation and returned to her studying.

She sat down at the center table and tried to ignore Izumo's overbearing presence. As Sachiko struggled to read, something glittered on the edges of her vision. It continued to distract her until, finally, she gave into her curiosity and looked up.

Izumo had decorated her high ponytail with a beautiful, silver hairpin. It sparkled dazzlingly in the light as she moved her head. Sachiko couldn't help but marvel at it. It was such a small, simple thing, but it made her all the more eye-catching.

Her words were already out by the time she realized she was speaking. "Oh, Kamiki? I, um—"

The glare she sent Sachiko was so livid it cut her off before she could say more. "What?" Izumo raised a brow at her silence.

A sharp spike of panic and apprehension made her hesitate. She was never good at speaking to people when they appeared angry. Regardless, she smothered her anxiety and continued. "I really like your hairpin," she said, managing to keep her voice steady. "It's very...elegant. And I think it accentuates how pretty you are." She mentally smacked herself. What kind of person said stupid stuff like that?

But Izumo didn't think it sounded stupid. She blushed brightly, all the irritation gone from her expression, and turned away. "I-I know that!" she stuttered, keeping up with her annoyed facade. "T-that's why I'm wearing it!"

"O-oh...okay."

No one had ever complimented Izumo's hairpins before despite her collecting and wearing a wide variety. Sachiko's words, strangely, made her feel more confident about her already flawless appearance. She glanced back at her, but she was already back to her book.

"You know..." Sachiko looked up at the sound of her voice. "You're not so bad." She smirked. "A hairpin might look good on you, too." She dug a small, plastic barrette out of her purse. "Here, try this."

"O-okay!" Sachiko accepted it with an eager smile. "Um, like this?" She pinned it randomly to her hair.

Izumo made a sour face. "No, not like that." She removed the hairpin and replaced it, using it to hold her bangs off to the side. "There." She stepped back and smiled approvingly. "You look cuter already."

Cute? Sachiko felt her face heat up. "Thank you so much, Kamiki!"

"Of course." She huffed triumphantly. "I have a perfect sense of style, after all." They shared a smile, but it ended quickly as the other students began to arrive.

"So...what were you lovely ladies doing?" Shima wiggled his brows at them.

Izumo glared in response. "N-none of your business!"


Shura handed Sachiko's test back with a sympathetic smile. "Try harder next time, okay?"

Her expression darkened when she noticed her pitiable score—a twelve. "Ahh..." She sat back down and buried her face in her hands. Even Rin had scored higher than her.

Shiemi patted her affectionately on the arm. "Don't give up, Sachi!"

"Thanks..." Her friend's confidence in her lifted her spirits slightly, but she wasn't convinced she could do any better. Sachiko was just too stupid to excel.

Maybe the library had something that could help...

All exwires had access to the exorcist's library. It wasn't very big, but it contained a plethora of material unavailable to the general public.

Sachiko selected a book that went into further detail about demonic sigils and took a seat at an empty table. About forty minutes into her reading, someone pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

"Hey." Bon placed his bag on the floor and dug out a couple notebooks. She watched him with wide eyes, confused (and surprised) to see that he was willing to spend time with her. "You, uh...got the only Magic Seals and Circles book in the library."

"Oh!" She blushed, feeling silly for thinking Bon wanted anything other than the book she had. "I-I'm sorry!" She decided to leave. He would get more use out of it than her; besides, she could barely read it.

Bon stopped her before she could pack up. "S'okay," he said. "We're studying the same thing, so..." His voice trailed off and he glanced away, almost as if there was more he wanted to say.

"O-okay." Nervous, Sachiko settled back into her chair.

A long while passed before Bon spoke up again. "Look, uh, about the other day," he began, fidgeting with one of the studs in his ear. "I'm sorry. I have a nasty habit of blurting out whatever I'm thinking...but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have said what I did." Sachiko tilted her head, unable to remember anything he said that might have upset her. "I'm sorry for saying cross-breeds only come from poor countries. That was...really shitty of me."

"Oh, that?" She laughed lightly. "But I am from a poor village! We barely have a dozen buildings."

"It doesn't make what I said right!" he snapped, irritated by her non-confrontational response.

"You've been dwelling on that all this time?" She only laughed harder. "You're such a sweetheart, Suguro!"

His face immediately turned a vibrant shade of red. "I-I am not!" He turned away to hide his blush.

Another quiet moment passed between them, and, by then, Sachiko had returned to studying, her brow knit together in deep concentration.

"Listen," Bon faced her again. "You can call me Bon. All my friends do."

Her face lit up with excitement. "Then you can call me Sachi!"

He smiled. "Deal." His eyes finally fell to the book, and he quickly noticed the pile of unorganized papers in front of her. "Are you having trouble?" he asked, skimming over her notes.

"I-is it that obvious?" She sighed. "I wish studying would somehow make me smarter, but I can't even understand this." She gestured weakly to the textbook.

"Weren't you home schooled before this?"

She frowned deeply. "No. I just put that on my application to make it look better."

He sat back, surprised. "You mean... You've never had any type of education?"

She hesitated, staring sadly at the pen in her hand. "My mentor taught me how to read and write, and he would sometimes sneak me books and newspapers, but that's it. I was to live my entire life in the temple, so, apparently, it didn't matter if I knew how to add or subtract."

"You're a shrine maiden? Shouldn't you know about seals?"

Her smile returned, softer now. "The head priest didn't think I was fit for any of the purification rituals because of my lineage. My only role was to clean and...pour tea."

He nodded solemnly and opened one of his notebooks. "There's a trick to it," he said, flipping to a blank page. "If you start at the center, the rest of the seal is easier to line up." He copied the sigil from their open textbook as an example.

"Wow!" Her eyes widened as she watched. "It's perfect!"

"Think about them in layers and shapes—they're easier to memorize that way. All seals have a base that is built on, and that base dictates what kind of seal you'll have. So, if you want to create a protection seal..." Bon delved into the book, describing each sigil in the simplest way he could. Sachiko scooted closer and listened with increasing intensity. She didn't feel ashamed to ask him questions and he didn't seem to mind repeatedly going over specific parts.

Bon was indeed a sweetheart.


"Not bad, girlie." Shura handed her quiz back with a smile. "Good job."

Sachiko's face brightened at the sight of her score. Eighty-two! "I-I passed!" She bounced slightly with excitement.

"You, on the other hand." Shura slammed Rin's quiz down in front of him. A thirty. "You could learn something from your peers."

Rin frowned and grumbled in disappointment. "Hey, Sachi—how'd you get so good at Magic Seals all of a sudden?" Did she cheat? Maybe she had some tips she could share...

She looked up from her animated conversation with Shiemi. "Bon went over a few of the lessons with me! He's really smart!"

Bon chuckled modestly. "Well...I do know a lot about seals..."

Rin jumped to his feet and dashed over to Bon's table. "Can you help me too!?"

He growled. "No."

"Please?" he whined, accentuating his plea with a slight pout.

But that only seemed to make Bon angrier. "No!"

He puffed up his cheeks in annoyance. "You only helped her because she's a girl!"

"What!?" Bon was understandably offended. "What kind of person do you think I am!? I helped her because she needed it!"

"Then help me!"

"You've been taking classes here longer than her! You should know how to do seals by now!" Damn. Rin couldn't argue with that.

"Aww man..." Utterly defeated, he wandered back to his seat and placed his head on his desk. "Yukio is gonna be so mad..." Shiemi reached over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"By the way, Sachi, do you like cake?" Shiemi asked, her hand lingering on Rin's arm.

"Cake?"

"There's a new bakery that just opened up down the street. I heard they have great cakes! I was going to go by myself, but... Would you like to go together?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Hey!" Rin pointed to himself, feeling left out. "I like cake too! Aren't you going to invite me!?"

"Sorry, Rin—girls only." Shiemi and Sachiko shared a small laugh at his exaggerated, childish pout.