Hello again! I keep getting Sakaya's last name wrong in the previous chapters and just wanted to clarify that her last name is Yamaguchi (this is more of a note to myself though, haha). Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! ^^ I noticed that there was a lot of watches and favorites for this stories, but not a lot of reviews. D; So if you can take a few moments to review this chapter, it would seriously make my day! -miiika
P.S. There's still a lot of things behind Sakaya's flames, but I can assure you that she is not a demon and there is limitations with her 'power' which I hope to reveal in future chapters!
[C H A P T E R FOUR]; "the perfect world"
"With all due respect, it's impossible for demons to enter school grounds by merely infiltrating it." Yuukio sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he sat in front of the headmaster of True Cross Academy. Mephisto clicked his tongue as he waved a finger towards the younger Exorcist.
"Nothing is impossible, my dear Yuki-chan!" Mephisto exclaimed flamboyantly, stretching his arms in the air. Yuukio stared at him with a sweat drop running down his forehead as the headmaster continued. "There are times when pesky demons manage to slip through a crack of the barrier, but nothing major escalates!"
"Anyways, I would like you and Rin-kun to find the demon for me." Yuukio widened his eyes and leaped to his feet. "It should be relatively easy to find since it likes to roam on the outskirts of the campus."
"But, Nii-san fell asleep during his mission yesterday!" Yuukio protested. For some reason, Yuukio had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Don't you think its unnecessary to send an Esquire on a simple mission?"
Mephisto waved away Yuukio's suggestion with a casual flick of his wrist, "It will be good experience for him!" The headmaster then sighed dramatically as he leaned forward and rested his chin on his palms. "Besides, Rin-kun has been bothering me lately asking for a new mission, you know?"
"If you're with him, I'm sure he won't mess up!" Mephisto concluded cheerfully, smiling at the perplexed Exorcist. Yuukio sighed, knowing that he had lost the argument and picked up his coat from the back of his chair.
"Very well then," Yuukio said reluctantly as he turned towards the headmaster. "Nii-san and I will go find this demon later tonight." Mephisto nodded merrily as Yuukio bowed and left the room.
Once Yuukio left the room, the cheerful smile of the headmaster's lips turned towards as he frowned. "Haah. How troublesome." Mephisto exhaled, turning his chair to face the large window behind him. "The demons are beginning to make a ruckus after she began to show her powers again."
"So, what are you going to do Aniki?" Mephisto glanced to the side and smirked when he saw his younger brother staring back blankly at him. Amaimon rolled the lollipop in his mouth as he continued. "Should we just kill her now?"
Mephisto shook his head, "Now now, you know very well we can't touch one of the members of the Order." A dark look grew of Mephisto's visage as the smirk on his lips widened. "We'll just watch over her for now."
"Now, would you care for some tea?"
"Huh? Another mission?" Rin turned his chair to face his younger brother who had just entered the room. Yuukio noted that his older brother looked a bit distracted and the tone of his voice suggested that his thoughts were on something else besides the mission.
Never less, Yuukio opened the closet door to slip on his Exorcist gear and nodded. "Mephisto said it would be a good experience for you."
Rin sighed and leaned back into his chair as he stretched. He could never understand the headmaster's intentions, but if it was a mission, Rin wouldn't step down from it. Successfully completing the mission today would redeem his error from yesterday and get him one step closer to becoming Paladin. Plus, he was in a particularly foul mood after his Day classes because Sakaya had skipped out on the last three periods, so he didn't have time to question her about the blue flames. Rin stared at his brother's back, tempted to ask him about the blue flames, but decided against it.
'There's no point in getting Yuukio stressed out,' Rin thought dully as he imagined his brother freaking out about the existence of another person who could use blue flames. 'But it's not like I'm handling the situation any better. .'
Rin turned to stare out the window as he waited for Yuukio to gather his belongings. Nodding to himself, Rin half-listened to his brother as he stared at the dark night sky. Suddenly, the night sky was brightened by the sudden appearance of blue flames.
Rin widened his eyes as he leaped to his feet. There was no doubt that the flames belonged to Sakaya. As the flames began to die away, Rin immediately located the source to be the same place as last night. Grabbing his sword, Rin dashed out of the room, ignoring Yuukio shouting his name.
'I'm definitely going to get to the bottom of this tonight!'
Once Rin reached his destination, he wildly searched for any signs of life. The flames had long died by the time he reached the woods, but he could faintly pick up the scent of burning flesh. "SAKAYA-SAN! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Rin roared, tightening the grip on his sword as he waited for the said girl to respond.
Rin's pointed ears twitched when he heard the sound of light footsteps and whipped his head towards the direction of the sound. Yamaguchi Sakaya stepped out from the shadows with a calm smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side. "You called, Okumura-san?" She asked casually, unfazed by the blood on her cheek.
Rin frowned as he took a step forward. Immediately, he covered his nose in disgust as he noticed the charred bodies of some of his classmates on the ground. Some of the bodies were still covered with the faint hue of the flame as it steadily burned through their flesh. "W-What. ." Rin's eyes widened in horror as he took a hesitant step backwards.
"What the hell happened here?" Rin shouted once he regained his voice.
Sakaya's answer came immediately, "I killed them." She smiled cruelly, kicking one of the corpses that were still burning. Immediately, the body gave way and turned into dust.
Rin watched in horror as the bodies turned into ash one by one. "Disgusting creatures they are really," Sakaya continued, wiping the blood off of her cheek. "To think that one of them had the audacity to hit me earlier today. ." Her lips curled in disgust as she brushed her shoulder.
Rin's pupils dilated as he recalled the girl who had slapped Sakaya's shoulder playfully in class earlier that day. "WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU?" Rin shouted, lifting the girl in the air by her collar. "Wasn't she your friend?"
Sakaya stared down coldly at Rin, "No." She answered simply, placing her hand on Rin's wrist. Rin winced as Sakaya tightened her grip on his wrist. Rin froze as her right hand became engulfed in flames and shot out.
He heard an inhumane cry of a demon in pain and shakily turned his head to see a small demon being swallowed in flames. "Burn in hell," Sakaya said icily to the demon who shrieked out in obvious pain.
"HOW. .HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WA-" The demon's words were cut off as the flames intensified and the demon disappeared. Feeling his legs give out on him, Rin released Sakaya and dropped to his knees. "Who. .No. .What the hell are you?"
Sakaya ignored his question as she straightened her collar. "The students that were possessed by the demon committed various crimes around the city," She sighed tiredly, flicking her hair across her shoulder. "It's only fair that the students get what they deserved, don't you think?" She concluded with an eerily happy smile.
"Not only that, but they served as a portal for the demons in Genna." Sakaya added after a long thoughtful pause.
Rin shivered. How could she be so casual about killing her former classmates? "Why didn't you just exorcise the demon?" Sakaya turned to look at Rin, an evident frown of disappointment was on her lips.
"Honestly, Okumura-san. I thought you would know better." Sakaya said, her voice dripping with boredom as she spoke. "Once you are possessed by a demon, you become an easier target for others demons."
She leaned down to whisper into Rin's ear, "It's only fitting to get rid of the trash before it starts to stink up. Don't you agree, Okumura-san?" Sakaya stepped to the side as Rin released his sword from the sheath.
"You. .You piece of shit!" Rin growled as he lunged forward. Sakaya shook her head lightly as a deep frown marred her usual pleasant visage. "How can you just end a life so carelessly?" He yelled, barring his fangs as he brought his sword forward.
His father had taught him to cherish life and even though the demon had caused them to do bad deeds, it didn't necessarily mean they were bad people in the first place. "Okumura-san. Do you know why people become possessed by demons?" Sakaya asked, dodging Rin's attack with ease. "It is because they allow themselves to succumb by their own darkness."
"Just like that girl who adore so much. .Shiemi-san, was it?" Rin froze, his feral eyes looked at her dangerously as the flames around him intensified. Sakaya barely flinched as the blue flames began to lick her arm.
"What gives you the right to judge what's right and wrong?" Rin demanded as he lunged forward to attack her. Sakaya ducked and watched with interest as Rin's blue flames made contact with the ground.
"Ah, you asked me what I was before." She smiled, disregarding his question once again. "I am nobody, Okumura-san." Her expression suddenly turned flat as she quickly grabbed his sword and placed it back in the sheath. The flames around Rin died as his features became more human.
Taking advantage of his sudden vulnerability, Sakaya's hand shot out and she grabbed Rin's face, throwing him to the ground. Rin stared at her hollowly as she gave him a condensing look. "Because I am nobody, Okumura-san," She spoke softly, engulfing her right hand in blue flames once again. "That gives me the right to judge."
"Die, Okumura Rin." She said coldly, shooting her hand out towards Rin's face. A sudden rush of adrenaline hit him as Rin fumbled on the ground, barely escaping her attack. His mind vaguely registered the burning of the grass behind him as he scrambled onto his feet.
'She's. .she's really trying to kill me!' Rin panicked as he saw his brother emerge from the forest. Yuukio saw his brother look at him in terror and pulled out his gun as a precaution. "G-Get away!" Rin warned, his voice hoarse with raw fear.
Rin froze as he felt Sakaya grabbed his arm and closed his eyes as he waited for the flames to burn him. Instead, he felt nothing but the night's cool breeze brush across his sky. Sakaya's voice came later, but this time, her tone was more light and casual. "Just kidding!"
Rin opened his eyes and turned to stare at her in bewilderment. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago, Okumura-san." Sakaya continued with a friendly smile on her face as she tossed Rin's sword back to him.
The boy opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when his brother finally reached the pair. "Nii-san? What's going on here?" Yuukio asked curiously, lowering his gun when he saw that there was no present danger in the forest.
Sakaya immediately rushed towards Yuukio's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing much, Okumura-san! I was just taking a walk through the woods and I thought I heard something strange. ." Yuukio nodded slowly, not quite believing her story.
"Ah. .I see. Are you okay, Nii-san?" Yuukio asked, directing his attention towards his battered brother.
Rin opened his mouth to tell Yuukio about the girl's strange flames, but cut himself off when he realized that her hand was still on Yuukio's shoulder. The look in Sakaya's eyes told him everything. If he told his brother about her flames, then he would suffer the same fate as the others.
Clenching his fists, Rin gritted his teeth. "Yeah, everything is fine!" He lied, mirroring the same smile Sakaya wore earlier.
Yuukio sighed in relief, "Well, that's good. It seems like the demon suddenly disappeared, so the mission is called off for tonight." Yuukio directed his attention back to Sakaya, who stood innocently beside him. "You should probably head back to your dorms, Yamaguchi-san. It's dangerous here at night."
Sakaya nodded, slipping back into her innocent school girl façade with ease. "Right! I'll see you later then, Okumura-san!" Although she didn't specify which brother she was talking to, Rin flinched when she turned to gaze towards him.
With a smile on her lips, she waved at the two brothers before heading back towards her dorms. "We should head back too, Nii-san. It's been a long day." Yuukio said after a long pause. Rin nodded, turning to glance behind his shoulder as he agreed with his brother.
Rin's eyes narrowed as he noticed that the previous destroyed landscape was no longer damaged and the charred bodies were disposed of properly. It was as if the events that had just transpired had not happened at all.
Yes, Rin thought darkly as he followed his brother back to their dorms, it had been a rather long day.