Chapter 2- In Which Behemoth Escapes
A/N: Hello! I was suddenly struck with inspiration so I decided to update again! Anyway, if you get the chance, drop a review and tell me what you think! Thanks a bunch :3 I promise the chapters will get longer once I figure out where I want this story to go, lol.
-Isis
The Earth King chewed the bubblegum candy sourly, skulking about the principal's office. In his unexplainable sleepwalk he had somehow left the door wide open, letting Behemoth escape. A week had come and gone and the demon couldn't find his pet anywhere. Plopping down onto the couch, he sulked irritably. If Behemoth got into any trouble Mephisto would take him back for sure! But, a hobgoblin on the loose was only bound to cause trouble…
The blonde exwire tended to her garden, humming lightly as she watered her plants. Dropping the hand shovel, Shiemi stood back to view her work. A whole field of sunflowers had been planted (although still seedlings) amongst the poppies and irises. Emerald eyes widened in surprise as a large shadow fell on her plants. A green blur jumped on the newly planted flowers, chewing on the stems.
"W-what? A hobgoblin? She cried, torn between saving her precious flowers and possibly being injured.
"Mr. Hobgoblin, could you please snack on something else? She stuttered out as the demon continued to munch on her garden like a salad bar.
The beast reared its head, a string of sunflowers in its maw. It snorted slightly before returning to its meal.
"P-please… Oh, I-I know, here," She scattered a couple of sunflower seeds on the grass, urging the demon to step forward. It turned back, stalking over to the offering curiously. The hobgoblin sniffed the meal once before sticking out its long tongue, swallowing a handful. It gave what could only be called a purr of happiness, devouring the snack.
"I-I'm glad to see you like it…" She laughed at the hobgoblin as it lounged lazily in the stifling heat, eyes closed in peace.
Three days later and the demon had caused as much property damage as a tornado would. Random books were scattered across the floor of her room, pages eaten and torn. Half of the potted plants in her room were eaten (minus her tulip) and her mom thought she had suddenly developed a habit of snoring like a ten ton elephant.
The blonde exwire sat tiredly at her desk, face buried in homework. Between exorcist school, homeschool, tending to her garden, and taking care of the hobgoblin (she was so glad her mom couldn't see demons), Shiemi barely had time to breath. Her eyes began to close as the door to her room slowly opened. She was sure it was her mother, probably complaining about the snoring (seeing as the demon was currently taking up residence in her home and sleeping at the foot of her bed).
He hadn't actually expected to find Behemoth in the exwire's house. He honestly just wanted to cause a bit more mischief and possibly steal a couple more flowers (the screams as he tug on the roots were surprisingly pleasant, in a morbid kind of way).
The Earth King mulled about the room, inspecting every crack and crevice. He looked at her growing wall of photos, half-eaten potted plants, armoire, and random trinkets that littered the room. Humans were so different… most (Mephisto being a huge exception) demons rarely took souvenirs from Assiah. Anything that couldn't be eaten or used was considered frivolous and other demons, regardless of rank, would laugh if you brought back 'useless junk.'
Amaimon shuffled towards the sleeping hobgoblin, pulling out the chain. Connecting the leash to the headpiece, the green-haired demon pulled at the sleeping beast. It blinked awake, giving a slight growl and digging its claws into the bed sheets.
"Come on, Behemoth." He urged, using some of his strength to rip the demon away from the sheets. Three crescent shaped rips appeared on the fabric, leaving shreds to hang off the side of the bed. He threw the beast out the (luckily) opened window, commanding it to stay in demon language.
Amaimon paused from jumping out of the window, looking back at the shredded sheets. A strange feeling bloomed in his heart; it was like when he was stuck in Gehenna and his Father forbade him from seeing Mephisto leave for Assiah but did anyway. A mixture of grief, sorrow, and a sliver of guilt. Blue eyes trained to the blanket wrapped up in the closet. He pulled out the soft fabric, draping it over the girl's small frame. Shiemi murmured something in her sleep as his long claws glided over her soft skin, exposing her neck to the demon. It would be so easy to rip through her skin and bone, to take away her life in an instance. But, somehow, the thought of her cold, lifeless body on the ground made him feel sick. To never see her emerald eyes (the one's he had lied about wanting to take for his cousin—he wanted them for himself) open again…
Shaking his head, he thought back to the task at hand. Well, he might as well explain himself if he was going to go that far. Grabbing a pencil from the cup on her desk and a sheet of paper from her binder, he wrote. Once he was satisfied with the letter he left it on the desk. He fixed the dead flower in her hair (partly because he felt the stirrings of guilt for stealing it in the first place but, also because he thought it was a kind gesture in Gehenna and surely some things had to be the same in Assiah), running his fingers through her golden hair. It reminded him of silk and he had the strange urge to just stay and run his fingers through it. But, the hobgoblin was whining just outside the window and Mephisto wanted to meet with him.
The demon jumped through the window, landing silently on his feet. He bent near a rose bush, unable to leave without taking a single flower. Tugging on the leash, Amaimon soared through the sky, pulling the (what appeared to be) crying beast away.
She stretched out her arms as she awoke, yawning loudly. She knitted her brows in confusion, wondering if her mother had placed the blanket around her in her sleep. Her elbow touched paper and she noticed the note taped to her desk. Shiemi read the note out loud, eyes widening,
"Miss Exorcist,
I wanted to thank you for taking care of Behemoth. He made quite a mess in your room and for that I apologize. Your bed sheets are torn and I noticed half of the plants were eaten. It must have been difficult taking care of him. Well, I've got to go, but I wanted to say that I really liked your garden. I've never seen happier flowers.
Until next time,
Amaimon
P.S I left your window open; you might want to close it in case of robbers. Brother said lots of humans resort to 'petty thievery' when they are too lazy to work… be careful."
She placed the letter into her bedside table, smiling. So, it was Amaimon's familiar. It did seem oddly tame for a hobgoblin and had a strange affinity for plants.
She pulled the flower from her hair, frowning. For someone who had (apparently—she had heard all of what Amaimon had done when she was brainwashed) threatened to take her eyeballs out, he was surprisingly gentle. Flowers in her hair (albeit it dead, dried ones—but it probably meant something to demons), leaving notes at her desk, escaping through her window, it sounded like some twisted version of Romeo and Juliet (except Romeo was a demon from Hell and Juliet was an exorcist-in-training).
For some reason, she hoped it wasn't the last time she saw the peculiar demon.
"Brother, are you in?" Amaimon questioned, shutting the office door behind him.
"Ah, Amaimon, there you are! I wanted to give you these!" The violet-haired demon deposited a stack of clothing into the confused man's hands.
"What are these for?"
"Why, you're going to attend exorcist school! I need an extra set of eyes to watch over Rin Okumura. But, you are not allowed to 'play' with any of the students. Understand?"
The demon nodded dully, staring down at the school uniform.
"Good! You start class tomorrow. I've already told Yukio Okumura about your transferring. Perhaps you'll learn something; I know you could use some help with taming. Anyway, you'll be living in the same building as the twins so I suggest you go over there and tell Rin the news."
Amaimon's expression didn't change as he was roughly pushed out of the office, door slamming shut behind him. He hummed lightly as he walked through the campus towards the twins' building.
It seemed he would be seeing quite a bit of Shiemi Moriyama in the near future.
(And he smiled at the thought…)
