Hello once again!

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It was great to hear some feedback and encouragement!

Starting now, I will be updating once a week. It will be on Saturday or Sunday, depending on when I get a chance to edit the chapter.

I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 2

Picking Up Speed

Rin was late to dinner. The dinner that was a joint celebration of his being hired and Yukio's send off. It became concerning to the point that Kazuki stopped thinking about the sukiyaki she wasn't eating and instead on her brother that wasn't present.

She and Yukio found him in a park close to the monastery they used to frequent at as kids.

"I thought we'd find you here," Yukio said as they approached the swing set Rin was slumped on.

"I'm missing sukiyaki for you," Kazuki told him flatly.

Yukio shot her a glare before turning to smiled at their brother. "C'mon, let's go home."

Rin didn't move. "I can't face anybody at home."

Yukio frowned. "Why not?"

Rin wilted even further on the swing. "I got fired." Kazuki closed her eyes in sympathy for her brother. "She said she didn't want a violent thug like me working at her store."

Yukio looked devastated, and after seeing him so happy for his big brother earlier in the day, this new development made it all the worse. He stared at his brother in shock before his face screwed up in anger. "What happened?" he demanded in an accusing tone.

Kazuki shot her younger brother a glare and then looked to Rin.

Blue eyes met blue and Kazuki saw a small little gremlin creature that she knows shouldn't exist but it was right before her eyes anyways, and suddenly it was leading a small child towards a disaster and she had to act quick or else the little girl would get hurt.

Heart pounding, she tore her eyes away from her bothers'. Catching her breath, she looked back into Rin's sad and pleading eyes. He was begging her to understand what he had saw, begging her to tell him he wasn't crazy, that it had been real. But she didn't know what it was he had seen and wasn't too convinced she wasn't going crazy as well.

"Oh, come on! Don't give me that crap!" Yukio snapped to whatever reply Rin had made during his exchange with her. "Everyone was so happy you finally found a job, Rin! So how could you?"

"Yukio!" she snapped. "Shut up!"

"No! I'm tired of listening to this. It happens every time and you always defend him. Why do you keep doing this, Rin?"

"Maybe I can't explain why!" Rin shot back angrily. "Maybe there are somethings you can't understand with that big brain of yours!"

Yukio looked shocked to be on the receiving end of their brother's anger and Rin deflated again. "Sorry," the elder murmured.

Kazuki glared at her younger brother until he looked properly shamed. "Sorry."

Not at all impressed with the exchange, she strode forward and pushed Rin off the swing, making him stumble to his feet. She then slapped Yukio on the back of the head with a moderate amount of force. "C'mon, let's go home," she order.

Sukiyaki was at stake, after all.

An uncomfortable meeting with the little girl Rin had saved at the super market and her father brought to light the little gremlin that Rin had seen. The tense way her dad held himself afterwards clearly showed that this information meant something to him. No amount of sukiyaki and laughter over Rin's grounding could dispel this from her mind.

Her dad knew something about what was going on.

When everyone had retired to their rooms for the evening, Kazuki sought out her father. She knocked lightly on his office door, knowing he was still awake since the light was still on.

"Come in."

Her father looked surprised to see her. "Is something wrong, Kazuki?"

She shut the door behind her and wouldn't meet his eyes. "Rin saw something today, kind of like the things I've been seeing out of the corner of my eye." Her dad stiffened and she honed in on it. "You know what it is, don't you?"

"How do you know what Rin saw today?" her dad asked.

He showed me. He looked into my eyes and showed me. Like he has been for a few weeks now. "He told me after dinner."

Her father sighed, suddenly looking very old. This was a look he wore after overseeing funerals or when a well-liked family at the church suffered a tragedy.

"Dad?" she whispered desperately, because she suddenly understood that whatever this was, it was real and it was bad. "Am I going crazy?"

The strain on her father's face relaxed a bit and he opened his arms wide for her. She ran into his hug and trembled as he wrapped his arms around her. She hadn't sought comfort from him in such a way in years, not since she was little and would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares of blue fire. His arms were just as comforting now as they had been all those years ago.

"No, my dear daughter, you are not crazy," he told her soothingly. "You're just… growing up."

"Something tells me this is different from the talk about boys and periods."

She could literally feel the face he pulled at this. He let out an obliging chuckle and patted her back. "I can't explain it to you yet. But I will soon." He pulled away and looked down at her. "Can you trust your old man until that time comes?"

She nodded, taking one more moment of comfort from the hug before backing away.

But before she could leave… "Is everything going to be okay?"

She didn't miss the strain on her dad's face. "I will always protect you," he promised her.

Reassured, Kazuki wished her dad good-night, knowing that he would tell her everything soon. Her dad never lied, so she knew she was safe.

The peace of the chapel that night was broken by the entrance of Fujimoto Shiro. The sound of wood moving over wood was heard as he opened the secret door beneath the tabernacle. His steps echoed as he descended into its hidden depths, a candle held aloft before him.

His journey ended with a key and a locked chest. With steady hands he turned the lock.

Inside the chest were twin katanas, one blue and one red. Though they were sheathed, smoke slowly curled from each, a result of the slow burning talismans that held their power in check.

It would seem they could be held no longer.

Kazuki awoke with a start, the memory of blue flames in her mind.

Shuddering lightly, she sat in her bed for a few moments to calm her beating heart. The conversation she had with her dad the night before must have rattled her more than she thought, causing her old nightmares to rear their ugly heads.

Shaking her head in disgust, she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to shower. It was stupidly early, having woken before even her alarm clock, but she wasn't getting back to sleep any time soon. Might as well just head to the shop early.

Yukio was awake and eating breakfast in the kitchen when she wondered down.

"Good morning," he greeted her.

She grunted at him, disgusted at his morning habits.

She finally found the energy to speak halfway through her bowl of rice.

"When are you leaving?" she asked him, trying to make it sound innocent, but even she could hear the dread in her voice.

Yukio gave her a tight smile. "As soon as I'm done with breakfast. The boxes I sent over yesterday will be arriving this morning."

She nodded, continuing to eat her rice. She suddenly noticed the absence of the little white bird that she usually shared her meal with. "Do you know where Asuka is?" she asked her brother. Her little bird was not one to miss a meal.

"Oh yeah, she's with Dad." He stood and placed his empty dishes in the sink. "They seemed to be having a very serious discussion together."

And wasn't that just weird. Kazuki would be the first to tell you that Asuka was a ferociously intelligent bird, but sometimes her dad would talk to the little tit like it could actually understand everything he was saying. Long, drawn out, one-sided conversations that Asuka impressively listened to like she was taking in every word. Kazuki stopped questioning this weird practice a long time ago and just chalked it up to her dad's particular brand of crazy.

"Crazy old man," Kazuki muttered under her breath. She shoved the rest of her rice into her mouth before removing her dishes to the sink. "Guess this is it, lil' bro." She clapped a hand on Yukio's shoulder.

He gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kazuki looked away from him as her lips wobbled and her eyes stung. She was stronger than this, damn it! She was could get through this without breaking down….

"Oh, come here!" she cried, roughly pulling him into a hug. It didn't matter how tall the four-eyed idiot got, Yukio would always be her little brother. "You go show them who's boss at the prissy academy of yours, okay?" she told him. "If anyone picks on you just call me up and I'll kick their asses." Goddammit, a wad of rice must have gotten stuck in her throat. She tried swallowing it down without success.

Yukio's arms tightened around her and he nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Good." She shoved him away from her, sniffling lightly and glaring at him in an effort to keep him from noticing the tears in her eyes. "It'll be nice to finally get a chance to breathe around here without your nerd ass crowding this place up."

Yukio gave her a dry look. She smirked at him, though it lacked her usual luster.

"Be good while I'm gone, Kazuki," he told her. "Don't make Dad worry. And watch out for Rin."

She waved him off. "Stop trying to be a big brother, Four-Eyes. I've got a good grip on things here; you don't have to worry."

Seemingly resigned to the fact that he will forever be taunted by his older sister, Yukio just gave her a bland smile.

She grabbed the pack that held her work uniform and Yukio walked her to the door. They paused at the threshold. This was it. Yukio would leave for True Cross Academy while she was at work and who knew when he would be back. Secretly, Kazuki hoped he would never come back. Yukio was made for better places than a monastery in a rough part of town, surrounded by his no-good brother and sister.

He waited for her to open the door, but she hesitated. "Yukio." He looked up at his name and she gave him a sad but serious smile. "You work hard at the Academy. Dad said you're first in your class." She ruffled his hair affectionately, drawing a smile out of him. "That's awesome. Rin and I are really proud of you. I know we pick on you a lot, but that's just who we are."

Damn, that lump of rice was back. When she saw the stunned look on his face she gave him a light shove. "Don't act like you don't know. I love you, lil' bro."

Oh good, it seemed Yukio also had a wad of rice stuck in his throat. "I…" he swallowed, his eyes a little bright. "Thanks, sis. I love you, too."

She clapped him on the shoulder. "You were always the best of us," she told him honestly. "Don't waste it."

Yukio blinked at her in disbelief. "I-I won't," he promised.

Enough touchy-feely to last her a lifetime, Kazuki immediately smirked at him. "'Course you won't, Four-Eyes. Cuz if you did then you'd have to deal with me!"

Laughing at his unimpressed face, she opened the door and took a step outside, where her laughter immediately died in her throat.

Floating around in the air like a bunch of tiny little balloons were hundreds of cat-like creatures.

"What the…" she looked around her in horror, terrified at what she was seeing.

"Kazuki? What's wrong?"

Yukio's voice brought her back to herself. She glanced back at where he was standing in the doorway, his face concerned, but not horrified. So he couldn't see the little bug-like creatures that floated around them. Her dad's voice came back to her, promising to protect her and tell her everything when the time was right. She trusted him. He would never steer her wrong.

She gave Yukio an abashed smile. "N-nothing! It's just," she gestured at the sun rising above the buildings, "the sun is so pretty. I bet the Academy can't beat that."

Yukio's concern melted easily into a fond smile. "Yeah, I bet you're right."

She made herself put a hand on her hip and give him a sassy look she wasn't feeling. "I'm always right."

Yukio rolled his eyes. "Bye Kazuki."

"Bye Yukio." As soon as the door was closed, she slowly turned back to look at the swarm around her. "Shiiiiiiiiiit," she moaned.

She hated bugs.

Where the hell was Asuka?

The little bird had accompanied her to work every day for weeks now, and on today of all days, Kazuki needed the little tit's calming presence the most.

The bugs were everywhere, particular in the shadier parts of town. It was a good thing she woke up early, because she skittered about so much in an effort to avoid the cat-bugs she almost arrived late.

At least the cat-bugs stayed outside.

Unfortunately, the little green creatures she had been seeing out of the corner of her eyes for the past week were walking around inside the shop. They cooed at each other and climbed all over the flowers, sometimes even going so far as to climb on her. The first time this had happened, she shrieked, sending the tiny green thing in her hair flying into a bucket of moss. It had let out a burst of laughter, apparently enjoying the ride.

By the time the work day ended, Kazuki was one good scare away from a breakdown that would undoubtedly leave something broken. She needed to talk to her dad.

On her way home she ran into Rin.

She heard his shouting from under the overpass and came running. He was being held down by three guys. "Rin!" she shouted, immediately running into the fray.

"Oh look, the Okumura bitch decided to join us boys. Get her!"

Kazuki looked for the face that had dared to call her a bitch and immediately felt her blood run cold. Shiratori, the boy Rin had beaten up the day before, was standing over her brother. He had grown rams horns and fangs and the cat-bug were amassing around him like a demonic swarm. "What the fuck?" she shrieked in horror.

Her surprise caused her to be caught off guard when more of Shiratori's goons jumped out of the woodwork and pulled her to the ground beside Rin. She struggled without success, wondering why the boys holding her down weren't screaming in fear. Why weren't they reacting to their friend's distorted appearance? Could they not see it?

Her eyes frantically looked for her brother's. His fear told her what she needed to know. He could see it, too. What was happening?

"I'm going to give you back twice the pain that you caused me!" Shiratori declared, grabbing a burning crow bar and approaching her brother. "And when I'm done, I'm going to have some fun with your sister."

Rin struggled against his captors as Shiratori waved the glowing crow bar in his face.

Heart in her throat, Kazuki tried to throw off the boys that were holding her down. "Rin!" she yelled, as the crow bar moved closer to her brother. "Rin!"

"Shut up!" Shiratori yelled at her, kicking her in the face, causing her head to snap back and blood to fill her mouth. "Your turn will come, bitch." He looked back at her brother. "Now, where should I start? Your nose? Your mouth? Maybe your eyes?"

A hand over her mouth kept Kazuki from screaming out. She bit harshly down on it, ignoring the curse and the slap she got in return, and instead focused on trying to get to her brother. Despite her struggles she couldn't get free. And the glowing crow bar was getting closer and closer. All she could do was watch as…

"NO!"

"GET AWAY!"

A flash of blue light and the boys that were piled on top of her were suddenly gone, an unfamiliar warmth replacing them. Kazuki opened her eyes to find her entire body wreathed in blue flames.

"It's burning," she heard Rin whisper. She looked over and found her brother surround in the same blue flames.

"They're warm," she murmured, trying to comprehend why she wasn't a crispy human chip. She vaguely heard Shiratori's goons screaming as they ran away in the background.

"Those blue flames are indeed proof that you are the true scions of Satan." The unfamiliar deep voice caused both of them to look up. Kazuki was shocked to find that this new voice was coming from the monster Shiratori had become. The thing laughed. "I was right after all." He crouched in front of them, a feral grin on his face. "My name is Astaroth. Come with me my young prince and princess. Lord Satan has long awaited the two of you."

"Satan?" Rin asked, shocked dumb.

"What the hell?" Kazuki breathed out, terrified.

"Evil is in their hearts." Kazuki whipped around to see the familiar figure of their dad approaching them.

"Dad," she breathed a sigh of relief.

Their father began to recite something, a bible verse that she had undoubtedly heard before but had never bothered memorizing. The creature leaped at him, causing Kazuki to lurch to her feet but her dad didn't need her help. He avoided the creature with practiced skill, all the while continuing his chanting. As his words built, Kazuki could feel the air around them become charged with power until whatever had possessed Shiratori was banished with a lingering scream.

"Damn you Exorcist!"

Kazuki stared at the limp body at her father's feet and slowly sank to her knees in shock.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at her dad's question, and then quickly looked back down at herself noticing that the blue flames that had covered her moments ago were also gone. A quick glance to her side showed the same held true for Rin.

She nodded to her dad as Rin asked after Shiratori.

Her dad looked down at the boy. "I exorcised the demon who had possessed him. He'll come to in a moment."

"Demon?" she repeated.

"You two can see them now, can't you?" their dad asked, turning to blow at a cat-bug that had wondered too close to his face.

"That's what these are?" her brother exclaimed, swatting at the ones that flew around him.

"They're called Coal Tars," their dad informed them. "This world has two dimensions that are joined as one. Kind of like a mirror. There is the material world that we live in called Assiah. The other is Gehenna, an empty realm inhabited by demons." His gaze hardened. "Now stand up, both of you! Thanks to this uproar they have learned of your awakening. Demons of all species will come after you. You must hide."

"Awakening?"

"Demons?"

Their dad seemed to barely be tolerating their queries and looked ready to shout at them, but he faltered when Rin asked the crucial question. "What are we?"

Their dad let out a heavy sigh. "You are not human beings." Those words hit Kazuki like knives, stealing her breath and twisting deeper with every word. "You are the children of a demon born by a human woman." Their dad yanked them both to their feet, refusing to meet their eyes as he delivered his last damning words.

"And not just any demon. You are the offspring of Satan."

I always thought Fujimoto could have handled this scene a little better. I mean, I get that Rin can be a hella dumbass at times, but could you blame a kid who had just burst into flames for freaking out a little? He almost seems angry. Although, I guess this is your exact definition of a BAD DAY. Oh, well. I decided not to change too much because I do need Rin and Kazuki getting angry with their father later. This is a real good way to do it.

I have big plans for this story! The more I read the manga, the more excited I get. For the beginning I'm going to be sticking pretty close to cannon (a mix between the anime and the manga). But expect larger changes as I go!

Someone asked for me to exclude a Rin/Shiemi relationship. Since I still haven't finished the manga, I don't really have a concrete answer for you yet. I won't lie, I'm not a huge fan of the two of them. I would also like to point out that Rin is not the main character of this story, so whatever do I decide will be mentioned in passing only.

Please let me know what you think in a review! It helps me keep writing!

X Cheerfully Blue