Heyo! Third chapter time, guys!

Thank you so much for some awesome reviews1 *tail flicks in happiness*

So here's where we stop doing so much cushy scenes and do some action, finally! *blue flame horns sprout from head*

Here's three! Read and review please, but no flames. That's what Rin is for ;)


Chapter 3: Water Over The Bridge

The next morning was cold and hazy with the air full of swirling white mist. I stepped out of the tent I was sharing with Yukio and stretched, yawning as I did so. All I had on was a fleecy pair of pajama pants and a thin white shirt. My bare feet began to go numb when I walked over the wet sand towards the water's edge, it's small waves gently lapping at the beach. I cupped some inky black watering splashed my face to try and wake up with no avail. Sighing as I sat back on the balls of my feet, I blinked at my reflection in the water. My reflection stared back as another figure appeared on the mirror-like surface.

"Gah! Mephisto?" I yelped, whirling around to see my mentor and guardian standing behind me, staring out over the water's calm surface. He was without his robe and top hat, making him look calm and relaxed. The vision of the diving rock from yesterday flashed in my mind, and the clown looked the same now as he did then; a serene air surrounded him as though he was in one of his time pockets and untroubled by what went on around him. I stared at the director, who in-turn gazed out across the water. The only way to tell if he wasn't a statue was the shallow rise of his chest, his Knights of the True Cross pin catching the rising sun's light. Without taking his emerald eyes off the horizon, he spoke, his voice so soft that a normal person would have trouble hearing it. One of the benefits of being the half-breed child of Satan was that you had no problem hearing quiet noises.

"Do you ever just stop and stare at the world in moments like this, brother Okumura?" I was surprised he referred to me as his brother; something that he rarely ever did. I blinked and looked out over the water. I could just barely make out a spec in the far distance that must've been the migration we were supposed to control.

"I used to, when I was younger. I remember when me and Yukio were maybe seven or eight dad once took us up to the monastery roof to watch a sunset. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen," I said, remembering the moment fondly. The hues of red and purple tinged with the fading blue of daylight was beautiful, and it was something I won't ever forget.

I then sat criss-crossed on the sand, my tail curling around my legs as if to keep me warm. I was quiet as I absentmindedly played with the tuft of fur on the end of my tail. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mephisto take a deep sip from a teacup levitating near him. I hadn't seen it before, so he must've just summoned it while I had been talking.

My older brother–just saying it was weird–took a deep inhale of a air before slowly exhaling, still not looking at me. "Being a demon king away from Assiah has been a thrilling and entertaining experience. But," he paused, leaving me to wonder why he was telling me this before continuing, "I miss our family, Rin. I know you think of them as monsters, but if you met them I believe that you would like them."

I sat there, shocked that Mephisto would say something like that. And in front of me, of all people! Or demons, whatever.

My guardian sighed, regaining his composure. "What am I saying? All these sleepless nights here in Assiah are taking their toll on me. Maybe I should go back to Gehenna for a good rest, even if just for a day," he muttered to himself, appearing as though he forgot I was there.

Mephisto finally shifted his gaze to me, his slitted emerald eyes boring into my rounded fiery blue ones. I saw that his hands were gloveless, showing his purple-black painted claws as he took another sip of his tea.

"One day you'll understand, Rin. Maybe sooner rather than later, but you'll understand what being a son of Satan really means. You'll meet the rest of the family and..." the demon trailed off, and I just could see his tail fidgeting in agitation under his clothes.

I wondered why Mephisto was acting so weird when it hit me. I felt strange as well, like something huge was coming, and yesterday Kuro had said something about how the air felt "supercharged". I cast a glance at the demon king standing next to me, who was now staring back out across the water.

"Hey, Mephisto, uh," I suddenly had a flash of Amaimon's voice calling the clown something, even though I swore I had never heard it before. "Uh, big brother?" Saying it was like speaking a foreign language for the first time; it didn't really click. It felt so wrong, yet so right to call the powerful demon next to me "big brother", even though I had never felt a brotherly link between us.

I saw the king of time cast a startled look at me, making me feel like a small child. Which I guess I kinda was compared to him. I hesitated before continuing, choosing my words carefully.

"Kuro had said something about feeling on the edge, like the air was 'charged' or something. He also said you knew something about it. Is anything gonna happen?" I asked faintly, the both of us back to staring out at the water's surface as the sun began to rise in the sky. I heard the rustle of fabric and before I knew it, Mephisto was sited cross-legged next to me on the sand.

"Your familiar is right. There is something coming up. But best not to worry about it right now, Rin," he said quietly. He reached out a hand and awkwardly scuffed my messy hair. I felt my body go rigid with shock from the action; it was something that no one had done to me since the old man had died. It was actually one of the last normal things the old man had done before he died.

I felt tears well up in my eyes when I thought of my dad, but I brushed them away with the back of my hand. "Yeah, you're right," I mumbled as I stood up, Mephisto following suit.

"I'm gonna, uh, go get dressed in actual clothes. Thanks for that, um," I hesitated, thinking of what title to finish that sentence with. I was still confused from the demon king's uncharacteristic actions, and unsure of what to say.

Mephisto clasped a cold hand on my shoulder. Usually, I'd shiver away from his chilly touch, but it didn't seem to bug me anymore.

"Of course. But let's keep us between us, okay little brother?" He asked, his usual façade returning. I nodded and headed back to my tent, wondering if I could still catch a few hours of sleep. I turned around when I reached the entrance to the tent to watch Mephisto. My eyes widened when I saw a very dark purple tail tipped with a tuft of lighter colored fur being tucked under his shirt, out of sight of others, of non-demons. But not before I caught a glimpse of it.


A few hours later, we were preparing for the migration. And I was going through my own personal hell.

"A little more over to the left, Okumura," Mephisto called teasingly from his floating plush chair. I growled some of the things that, once upon a time, my old man would flood my mouth with soap for and moved the lantern over to the left.

"Now the right."

"A tad more."

"Too far! Too far! Too far will ruin the control of the migration!"

"Back a little bit."

"Perfect! Stop there! Right there is fine!"

By the time Mephisto had found the perfect spot, I was extremely hot and a little sweaty and all-around not in a good mood. I dropped the lantern with disgust and glared daggers at the demon king smirking at me. He had regained his usual attitude and whatever brotherly empathy from before was completely gone, replaced with his old, aggravating self.

I clenched my fists and used every ounce of self-control I had to try and keep my blue flames from spewing around me. Wouldn't that would make a good show for the director of the Academy.

I turned around to find that most of the barriers and seals to keep the migration on its path were set up. Shiemi and Izumo had summoned their familiars, and the guys were prepared to recite verses to drive the demons off. I gripped the handle of the Koma sword tightly, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

Us Exwires had been instructed not to kill any demons unless they purposely attacked, and were instead supposed to redirect any wanderers back on their migration path. The Exorcists were on standby in case anything got out of control or became too much for us to handle.

The first demons came into sight, some above the water, while others were below. Waves crashed in the migration's wake as tails and fins, dripping with foamy water, disturbed the water's once calm surface.

"Get ready!" Bon shouted, his hands clasped together, ready to begin chanting the barrier sutra. Konekomaru copied his movement as Shima raised his Kirek, at the oncoming demonic fleet. "Now!"

Three things happened at once; Shiemi and Izumo had their familiars begin to creat waves in an attempt to buffet the demons in the right direction, I drew Kurikara and lit the lantern, and the guys started chanting and setting up the barrier between the migration and the beach.

Everything was going smoothly until someone yelled, "Sea Serpent!" and the sands erupted into panic. Suddenly, more voices flooded the air to help enforce the barrier, and two more familiars were summoned to help with the waves.

"Kuro, can you help them?" I called and the demon streaked past me.

"'Course I can, Rin!" He said determinedly as he became more demonic. Wading into the waves, he began pounding his tails against the water and splashing his paws down, creating larger waves. I smiled proudly on the inside as I watched him. That's my Kuro for you; an always happy-to-help, high-class demon guardian.

"Rin!" I turned around to see Yukio jogging towards me, one hand holding one of his guns and the other waving me over. I ran to him, my flames still flickering around me.

"What's up, bro?" I asked as my tail flicked restlessly. I could tell Yukio's was having trouble staying calm under his shirt; I kept seeing the fabric twitch all of a sudden, as if the furry tuft beneath it was extremely nervous about something. I'd only seen this once before, and it was when my brother was mad at me for not studying for a math test. He was so angry that his brown–almost black–tail actually came out from under his shirt and whipped back and forth furiously. I remember seeing it and wondering "Is that what I look like when I'm mad?" He'd acknowledged it a second later, staring at his own tail like it was some foreign object. I had sighed, telling him about how your tail showed your emotions.

"A large Sea Serpent has appeared. It's obviously the leader of the migration, and it's heading straight for us. Sir Pheles is trying to redirect it, but he hasn't been able to get it off our scent. They wanted me to tell you to be on guard; either to exorcise it or be prepared to run."

"Run? Why?" I asked, puzzled and angry at the same time. There was no way in hell I'd run away from a fight. Especially one my friends were fighting hard in as well.

"It may be after you," my twin replied simply, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

"Us, man," I corrected him. He growled, a noise that came very easily to the two of us, and pointed towards where I had been standing before.

"Just go."

I held up my hands in a submissive gesture and returned to the spot I'd been standing in. From there I could now see a long, serpentine neck stretched out of the water with jagged fins arcing from its head and under the ocean to where the rest of its body was. Whistling appreciatively, I realized that Yukio hadn't been kidding around. That thing was massive!

As the Sea Serpent approached, a wailing screech echoed across the beach. A second of still silence followed, before the humongous demon reared out of the water. It's once gray-green scales now shone blue from the Satanic flames enveloping it as it charged us, it's hellfire eyes fixated on our group.

"Move!" Someone screamed, and that made my body shudder into action. Racing towards the demon, I jumped and slashed downwards with my sword. It had created a much stronger blast then I'd thought as it cut straight through the rampaging serpent, sending demon blood everywhere. I landed on the balls of my feet in the shallows, smiling from ear-to-pointed-ear as I sheathed Kurikara.

I heard relieved cheers until Yukio shouted, "Everyone! Evacuate now!"

Why? I had beaten the thing.

Before I could say anything a huge blob of blood landed on the sand in front of me and I realized why Yukio sounded so panicked. Satan had possessed the Sea Serpent, therefore that wasn't just any demon' blood. It was...

Oops.

As if on cue, a huge rumble that could probably be felt all the way in Gehenna shook the beach, causing people to lose their footing. The sickening red substance bubbled and gurgled, then began to hysterically shriek as puddles of it thickly ran together. And I was standing right at the center of it.

"Rin, run!" Yukio shouted at me, doubling back to help me before the Gehenna Gate fully formed. I dashed for his hand as small blobby faces started emerging from the pool of blood.

I had almost reached Yukio when the ground rumbled again. My friends, who had followed my stupid little brother to help grab me before the Gate took hold, wobbled and fell to the ground as the shaking intensified. The Gehenna Gate suddenly lurched and surged outwards.

"No!" I heard my voice scream, but it sounded far away. Looking down with dread, I saw my legs knee-deep in black goop. I couldn't draw my sword since it was stuck to my back, and before I could see what happened to my friends black tendrils wrapped around my face, arms, and stomach.

"Just give up, son. Everything will be alright," I heard Satan's voice whisper gently in my ear, but I was to far gone to really notice. The last thing I remembered before I was pulled down to Gehenna was the look of terror on my friends' faces and knowing that I'd caused it.


MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA cliff hanger *does hobgoblin dance*

Does anyone else think hobgoblins are totally adorable? 'Cause I do!

So how do y'all like so far? Review, please! *says desperately!*

If anyone has any ideas, then just review or PM. And to SnakeGirl101 (boss username by the way), yeah, there's gonna be some Rin/Yuki bonding time. No, it's not gonna be Yaoi, sorry.

Yours in spirit, soul, and blue flames,

VictoryScythefang