Hey! Oh look, you're back. How nice of you to stop by once again. In this chapter we meet Mephisto, and because I love it, I'll use his outfit from his flashback in that one episode near the end of the anime. It's just too cute! XD
-ON WITH THE STORY!-
"WHAT?! I didn't do that!"
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say now can be used against you in a court of law."
Rin bit his lip. That basically meant 'shut up you little brat, I'm gonna use your words against you in court if you don't'. So Rin took the so-called advice and stayed still. He didn't want to be scratched down for resisting arrest too.
As the man put him in the police car, he was able to get a good look at the police officer who was catching him. He had long blonde hair in a ponytail, which made Rin a little confused, but he decided to to mention it, because he'd seen the stories on the news of police brutality. He didn't want to become another victim, no no no. Though you technically couldn't call him a victim, since he was guilty of all the charges, except the last one.
The ride to the police station was long and agonising. He knew that once there they'd question him. Then he'd demand a lawyer, at which point he'd be able to call Brain, and they'd know he was caught. Perfect plan.
Except, when he was sitting across from the ponytail guy in the interrogation room, all confidence vanished.
"I'm Detective and Police Officer Arthur A. Angel, and I'm interrogating.. the gang leader known as Demon." The ponytail guy said after starting his tape recorder. He paused when he realised he didn't know Rin's name, which gave him a little more confidence, but he knew if he asked to call his lawyer, it'd come out as a squeak.
"First, state your full name."
"D-do I have to answer that?"
"Yes, you do. Again, state your full name."
"...Rin Okumura."
"Thank you. Next question, Rin. Where were you last Sunday night at 10 o'clock?" Rin's name sounded so wrong coming from his mouth...
"I was... uh.." Rin was confused. He'd thought Shura was there specifically for the murder, but she'd arrived months before last Sunday, which he assumed was when Neuhaus had died otherwise they wouldn't be questioning him about it, so why was she there in the first place?
"Yes?"
"Um- I believe I have the right to have either a lawyer or a parent present, s-sir!" Rin squeaked. He felt like such a girl, he was so nervous.
"Damnit, he realised..." He heard Angel mutter, which made him suddenly angry. "This interview will be resumed once a lawyer or relative of Okumara's is present." He said, before pausing the tape recorder.
"There's a phone in the hall. I'll escort you." Angel dragged him out, and Rin suddenly felt all too much like a criminal with the cuffs around his wrists.
"It's.." Rin told Angel his home phone number- his plans had been foiled at the fact that Angel was right there, so he decide he might as well get Shiro there, to save his ass from inevitable prison rape if he got convicted because of his stupid mouth...
"There." Angel gave him the phone. Rin heard Shiro ask on the other side,
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Dad, it's me." Rin's voice was back, full of confidence at the mere sound of his role model's voice. Angel raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of temperament, but didn't comment.
"Rin? Why aren't you using your cellphone? You didn't lose it again, did you?"
"No. I'm just.. in a pickle at the moment."
"What'dya do this time?"
"What do you mean 'what'd you this time'? I didn't do anything! Well, I did do something, except they're blaming me for something completely different which I didn't do."
"And what didn't you do?"
"Well, apparently this woman, Michelle Neuhaus, got murdered, and they think I did it."
"...Where are you?"
"At the police station."
"I'll be there in 5. Seeya, Rin."
"Seeya, Dad." With that, the call ended, and Rin gave the phone back to Angel.
"You're very different on the phone." Angel commented.
"Well-I-Uh-" Rin felt too intimidated to speak, at the sight of the scary man. All his courage from his father just washed away.
"Well, let's wait in the interrogation room. Follow me."
The wait was unbearable. All Rin could do during those short five minutes was sit and look around. And trust me, interrogation rooms never seem so interesting until you're sitting there, a quite intimidating man with a ponytail in his hair watching your every move, as you count the seconds until your adopted father shows up and you have to explain the things you actually did do wrong, before he can understand the stuff you didn't.
Thankfully, it seemed Shiro had been driving extra-fast, and he burst into the room with such gusto that even the dense Angel found it surprising after the long(and awkward) silence beforehand.
"Rin!" Before he knew it, Rin was enveloped in a big hug while he could almost hear his adopted father grinning smugly at Angel, and low and behold, when he turned around to sit, Angel was frowning deeply.
"I assume you're Mr Okumura?"
"Nope. Shiro Fujimoto, ex policeman. I'm sure you've heard of me. Youngsters these days, you always get it wrong. Rin's my adopted son. Seriously, are you blind? Do you see a resemblance?"
"I'm not blind. Well, now that a parent is present, can we continue?" All Rin could think was how dense Angel must be for him not to hear the obvious insult Shiro had just thrown.
"Detective and Police Officer, resuming the interrogation with Rin Okumura. His quardian, Shiro Fujimoto, is present. Let's get right back in. Where were you, on Sunday night, at 10 o'clock?"
"I was with my... friends. We were hanging out."
"So if we asked them if they were with Rin Okumura at the time, would then say yes?"
"Well, in our friend group, we all have... nicknames for each other, and I'm the only one who knows their real names, since I'm like the leader, and they really just know me as 'Demon' because it's my nickname."
"And who would these friends be, so the can ask if they were with 'Demon' at that point in time?"
"I don't think they'd like me to give their names to you." Rin said defiantly.
"Hmm. I disagree with what I said earlier, Okumura, you aren't more confident on the phone. You're just more confident when he's here."
"I don't like being spoken about in the third person, thank you very much." Shiro interjected. "I'd like to know why Rin's even a suspect at all."
"Well, as he is affiliated to the street gang Blue Exorcists, and-"
"I don't see how this equates, whether or not it's true." Shiro gave Rin a pointed look which said 'we're gonna talk about this later' to which he just looked away.
"Well, at the scene of the crime, there was a fresh spray-paint of the symbol of the gang."
"And why is Rin specifically here?"
"Because he's the leader of Blue Exorcists."
Shiro gave Rin a look like 'is this true?' Rin sighed and nodded, not meeting Shiro's eyes.
"Fair enough. Can this interrogation be ended then?" Shiro asked, boredly.
"Yes. Here is a warrant from the judge, with the date of the court hearing. I assume Rin's pleading not guilty?"
"None of your business." Rin growled.
"So here ends the interrogation." Angel stopped the audio recorder. "As much as I hate to do this.." He leaned forward and unlocked Rin's handcuffs. "..You're free to go."
Rin rubbed his wrists and followed Shiro out. The walk to the car was silent. The drive home was not.
"Really, Rin?! Leader of a gang?"
"I had my own reasons, okay?! Just please, dad, there're more important things to worry about..."
"Such as you being framed for a murder." Shiro sighed. He passed Rin the paper Angel had given him. "When does it say the court hearing is?"
Rin skipped over the little details until he found the date.
"It says... Wednesday the 13th- that's a week away, right? I mean, once I'm proven not guilty, I'll be fine."
"Rin, that's probably just the first of many court hearings. And plus, there'll be a totally separate one for all the things you've done with your gang..."
"I'm sorry, dad, I just-"
"I don't care. Tell me later. What matters right now is that you understand the gravity of the situation. First of all, it's a murder. This kind of thing makes national news, depending on the situation. Worse? Michelle Neuhaus was the wife of a police officer. I'm sure they all want someone to blame right now. But even so, court with so little evidence? He had to be hiding something, and something big."
"Well, what does that mean?"
"You need a lawyer."
"What? No!" Rin scoffed. Shiro ignored him.
"And luckily - or unluckily - I know just the guy."
"Who?"
"Oh, you'll meet him soon. By the time we're hoe he'll already be there, knowing him." Rin saw Shiro give a smile that could only be of nostalgia.
"But you didn't even call him!"
"No, I didn't, but he has a very strange way of knowing everything." Shiro grinned, driving into the lot, and seeing a pink limo already there. "There he is."
"A pink limo? Pink? Limo?" Rin was absolutely confused by both the concept that Shiro knew someone rich enough to have a limo, and also the concept that Shiro knew a man who had a pink limo. Very confusing.
"Come on, let's go in. You're lucky Yukio's out with Moriama, he'd go ballistic of he found out you were the leader of the legendary street gang Blue Exorcists..."
"'legendary'? We aren't really. There's only 7- I mean, 6 of us." Rin said, after realising Hoodie was no longer a member. It made him feel so stupid that he'd been fI oolish enough for her to trick him.
"Does that mean there used to be 7? What happened to the seventh?"
"She was a spy for the police."
"And who was she?"
"Uh.. I think she said she was Shura something..." Rin had been more panicked at that point, really.
"Oh, I remember Shura! She was an intern when I was starting out as a police officer, and by the time I was ending my career, she was a full-fledged Detective. I wonder if she knew who you were?"
They were at the door already, and Rin felt like time had passed too quick. He didn't want to meet this lawyer, really. When Shiro opened the door, he was surprised to see the lights in the house on and the smell of pot noodle wafting from the kitchen. He swore they'd run out of pot noodles just the other day...
"He's probably in there. He's very strange, really," Shiro said, leading Rin into the kitchen.
The sight before him was very confusing. There was a man, with purple hair and a little purple beard. What was weirdest was what he wore. It seemed kind of tudor or elizabethan, really. There was a turquoise-and-rose ruff like some kind of medieval lord or duke, and he had on a purple-and-yellow tudor top which matched his poofy shorts. Under the shorts were turquoise and white polka-dot tights. Lastly, he had a tiny hat-thing with two long purple feathers billowing out, one on each side, and to top it off he was wearing a white-and-purple cape. He was stirring a pot noodle, and beside him a green hamster was eating a slice of apple on the breadboard.
"Hey! Get that rodent off the breadboard! I don't care who you are, people make food there!" Rin cried, snatching the hamster and holding it in the air while its legs dangled.
"I don't think Amaimon likes that." The purple-haired man commented in a strangely off-handed manner.
"He can eat on the floor or something. Stupid rodent.." Rin put the hamster down. He looked up at the man. "...Who are you anyway?!"
"Rin, this is Mephisto Pheles. He's a friend. Mephisto, this is Rin, I've told you about him before." Shiro introduced them.
"Ah! I remember! He's a lot more irritable than I imagined, quite frankly. But he's interesting." Mephisto remarked.
"If anyone's irritable it's-"
"Now, lets get down to business, shall we? I know why you need me."