Hey, how's everyone? Thank you for your reviews for the previous chapter! Here are some answers to some of your questions:

1. Yes, I include a mephistoxoc pairing in this story. But this would be more evident in the later chapters, due to the flow of the story. :D

2. Most of you probably noticed about the OC's age- yes, she's much older than Rin. She is about 300 years old (due her being half demon), which is equivalent to a human age 17-20 ish. :)

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2

"Her?! You mean SHE'S the one who killed Paladin Fujimoto…?!"

"Rumor has it that the Paladin was possessed by Satan."

"Wait how is it even possible in the first place?! There's no way the Paladin could be possessed."

"I'm telling you the truth! Makoto told me he saw the blue flames!"

"So she killed him with her bare hands, and then what—

"But to think she could stand up against Satan. She must be a demon herself."

The noisy bickering from the group of exorcists stopped as I slammed my fists on the bar counter, glaring at them. Their faces immediately grew pale. Slowly one by one left the table, like frightened mice.

As I watched them leave, I cursed under my breath. "Seriously. It's been weeks now and they're still talking about it?"

The bartender narrowed his eyes at me. "Gonna scare off more of my customers, are ya'?" He asked, as he shook his head.

I narrowed my eyes at him and placed my hands on my hips.

"I'll take up more requests tonight to make it up to you." I said. A long sigh escaped my lips as I stared at the blood red wine in my glass. I could see my own tired reflection on the surface—there were dark circles under my eyes and my lips were paler than usual.

"There aren't any requests tonight, at least none which might interest you."

"Just give me anything. Like seriously….I don't mind going for the small fish. I just need to do something to get my mind off what happened."

"It's still bothering you, huh? How long are you going to mope around like this? What's done is done. There's no changing the past."

"I know….I know…Everybody tells me that."

"And god knows it's not your fault. You did what you have to do, so stop blaming yourself for everything. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you."

"I'm not blaming myself." I said, downing down the whole glass of wine.

"But you certainly act like you are." A new voice piped in. Before I could turn around to retort, my whole face was slammed onto the table, by a hand on the back of my head.

"What have you gotten yourself into now, brat?"

The glass slid off my fingers to the ground, where it shattered into dozen of pieces.

I grasped my assaulter's wrist.

"Let go." I ordered.

"Whaaaatttt...? I can't hear you~" She said in a sing-song voice.

With all my strength, I pulled her wrist forward. She gasped, falling forward and her head collided with the counter top.

Finally, she released me and I got up to glare at her. Red hair and giant breasts greeted my sight immediately.

Well, well….why am I not surprised?

"Owwww…..you're so rough, Kaira. There's going to be a bump on my head now." Shura said, rubbing her now sore forehead.

"Says you. You're the one who started this," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"You deserved it."

"Huhhh…?!" I hissed at her, ready to slam her onto the table again.

"Yeah…quit being so depressed already. I heard you've been on a killing streak ever since Fujimoto died. Bartender-san here has told me about everything…Girl, you should stop being so bloodthirsty."

I glared at the old bartender who gave me an amused smirk. "Mind you. Miss Shura here is one of my best regulars."

"Yeah…because she drinks her ass off till dawn every day." I snorted.

The red head's reaction was immediate. There was a sharp tug on my hair as she leaned her face close to mine. "What did you say?!" She shouted in my ear.

"You heard me. You're a drunk ass."

I got a painful flick on the forehead in response.

"Owww….That seriously hurt, woman!"

"Seriously. You have to take care of yourself more, Kaira. You have to accept that Fujimoto's gone now and that you've made the right choice."

"The right choice?! I killed him, Shura. I-I killed our mentor…..The Paladin. I killed R-Rin and Yukio's dad….!"

Shiro Fujimoto had meant so much to me. Not only was he my superior, he also used to be Shura's and my mentor. He was the reason I even became an exorcist in the first place. He accepted me for being a half-demon and gave me reason to live on.

"Pull yourself together!" She shouted at me, as she held my wrists. "Look. Your hands are shaking. You're scared aren't ya'?"

Indeed my hands were shaking. In fact, my whole body was trembling.

The memory of my blood stained hands were etched in my head. My claw had driven itself into
Fujimoto's chest, piercing through his heart. Blood spurted everywhere—it was on my arms, my clothes and even my face. My whole body was dyed crimson. I remember seeing Rin's face morphing into one of horror. I remember seeing him go down to his knees, crying and morning for his dead father. All I could do was stare—stare at his dying form, unable to do anything. I was a failure as his student—a failure as an exorcist.

Just then, a rough push on my shoulder jolted me out of my train of memories. Shura led me out of the bar to a deserted alleyway nearby. When we were both alone, she turned to face me. Hands flew up to my shoulders as she started to speak.

"Kaira. Look at me. Fujimoto's death could not have been avoided and you know this. You should know the state of his body when he was possessed. The strain in his body would have killed him. No exorcist could survive being a vessel for a demon as strong as Satan."

Tear welled up in my eyes. I felt her hand pat my back, trying to comfort me.

"But you know….if it wasn't for you. Rin wouldn't be here with us right now. Have you thought of that?" She said, with a small sad smile.

Only silence left my lips.

"He's really worried about you, you know? So is Yukio. They both know that this isn't your fault. So don't be so hard on yourself."

"I don't think I can ever face them ever again."

Shura sighed. "You have to. At least try. You remember what we promised Fujimoto, right?"

My head was clearing up once again. A memory was starting form before my eyes.

Flashback

"You…..! Kaira…..! Both of you are in on this?!" Shura's voice bounced off the stone walls. "You have got to be kidding me."

"It's true. I've sealed his demon heart into Kurikara. It's the same sword which defeated the Impure King over a hundred years ago. Till now, Rin has lived a normal life as a human but one day, the sword will lose its ability to contain its power," Fujimoto said, crossing his arms.

"I can't believe this! And the Vatican knows nothing of this?! You've been hiding Satan's son all this while?!"

"Yes. I know it's difficult to understand. But please…I know is selfish of me to request of this. But…if I were to die, I want you two to teach him how to control his powers. You're the only people who I can count on. Kaira, with your demonic bloodline, you're the only one who could relate to Rin. I want you to teach him how to control his flames when the time comes and to be his guardian in my place.….." There was a pause. "And Shura. I want you to guide him and teach him how to wield Kurikara. No one knows as much about Demon Swords as you."

Shura's reaction was immediate, "Don't be ridiculous! You're going to throw your life away for the Son of Satan?!"

"…"

"What a bunch of bullshit!" With that, she stormed away, fuming. Before she left, she threw a glare at me. "And you…! I can't believe you're going to go along with this plan!"

Fujimoto let out a heavy sigh as he watched her form disappear from sight. He then turned towards me and ruffled my hair.

"You're pretty quiet, Kaira. Are you shocked?"

"A little. But I understand. I will teach him how to control his demon side and I'll protect him with my life." I said, trying to avoid eye contact.

If one day, Father Fujimoto does die. What will I do then?

Will I be strong enough to protect Rin?

He seemed taken aback by my words. A small smile soon crept up to his face. "You love Rin, don't you?"

My eyes widened at his words. I could only stare at him quizzically.

"I—love Rin?"

"I can tell. You really care a lot about him."

Those words echoed in my head. I was brought back to reality when Shura brushed her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah I remember." I said, my voice sounding a little brittle.

"Rin still needs you. You're the only one who can help him. You're his guardian now."

I began to sob as I buried my face in her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around me. Patting my back lightly, she tried to sooth me.

"Hey heyyy…..calm down…..I haven't seen you cry like this in a long time."

"That's because you're never here. Where have you been for the past few years?" I asked, trying to hold back the tears, but no avail.

"Since it's you, I'll tell ya'. I'm actually here as an Inspector for the Vatican."

"You're working with the Vatican?!" I gasped, about to pull away before she stopped me.

"Don't worry. You're secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone about it."

Relief flooded through me. She gave me a little scare when I thought the Vatican knew about my existence. Considering that I'm a half demon, I had to keep my bloodline a secret from the Order as well as the Vatican. They'll execute me if they ever found out.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

She merely smirked at me. "How about I tell you this another time? I'm getting reaaaallll sleepy now. Let's go home."

The side of my lips twitched. "Now you're making me curious."

"Seriously, it's no big deal. I'm just here to investigate some 'stuff'."

"Right…."

"We're going in from the back. Once we get close enough, we can ambush the demons. Dragoons, you act as a decoy to lure them in one place—

"We don't need a decoy! We can just attack all at once. There aren't that many of them." One of the male exorcists piped up.

"I agree. We don't need a decoy." Another male said.

"These beasts aren't as weak as they look. Trust me, it'll take much more than a few shots to kill them." I said.

"Seriously. Don't be such a worry wart. Let's go and kill them already." This time it was a girl.

"Worry wart? I'm your captain for goodness sake. What I'm doing is for all of your safety!" I reprimanded them, crossing my arms.

"To be honest, you don't deserve to be our captain. You don't deserve to be an exorcist after what you done to our Paladin! You're nothing but a murderer!"

"W—What?" Almost immediately, I felt the blood drain from my face.

A murderer…..

"Killing demons is no big deal for you. So I suppose that killing a human is no different, huh?"

"We all know you enjoy butchering demons. You kill them every night, don't you?"

"I guess you're finally showing your true colors. You're just no better than a blood thirsty demon."

Words were caught in my throat as my teammates continued to berate me. I knew I was at fault. I understood completely why they hated me—and it is not just for this single reason.

They knew I wasn't completely human.

It was natural for humans to fear and hate people—beings different from them. At least, that is what I learned after living for centuries. Well, for approximately 300 years, even though I probably look no older than twenty. In the early years of my life, I've been shunned by the people around me and often, casted out from villages or towns. My body was of a child back then and I didn't have the strength to defend myself from the beatings the villagers have given me. Though my wounds heal quickly, they still hurt like hell.

I didn't choose to be born this way—I didn't chose to become a demon….

But of course, the humans never understood that.

…..and I don't think they ever will…

"Maika, Sonjou, Akira, Rika, let's go. I'll lead the team from now on." My arrogant teammate said. With that, everyone agreed and left me behind. As I watched their fleeting forms, I fisted my hands, trying to stop them from trembling.

I guess this is how things are going to be from now on…

I wonder how much of this I could take…..?

For centuries I have been condemned by humans for my blood….so I should be used to this kind of treatment, right?

…but why does my chest still hurt?