Disclaimer: Blu Rose doesn't own the Blue Exorcist series. She only owns this fic.
Chapter Summary: Rin is determined to protect his family, but while his wife is willing to open up to him, his son is another story. And there may be more of a problem than one mere demon.
Warning: There are mentions of mature themes like rape, suicide, and some other things in this story.
X-X-X
Die Happy
#4: A Slow Burn
"You understand why I'm doing this, right? I'm not a nice person. I hate most of my family for things they can't control. I ignore people I see on the streets who are tormented by demons. I was raised to not pick fights or hurt people, but I…like the thought of hurting people. The life of someone like me, no matter what anyone says, isn't important. But Mom's life is. Even with the lies and secrets, she's still a better person than me…and she doesn't deserve to die of lung cancer in a hospital. You do understand, don't you…Puppy?"
Kazuki continued looking up at the inugami that, in his consciousness, looked far different. No longer a small Shiba Inu, but a giant, scrawny black dog that had him pinned under its paw, staring down at the teen with blank red eyes. The boy didn't seem fazed by it all, though. It wasn't like his soul was being mauled.
"That's right. You understand why…"
X-X-X
She was an awful person. Nice people don't lie for years to their spouses. Or suddenly dump a family curse on their children. Or worry their family when they decide not to get medical treatment. Before, she liked to think she had a good reason for doing all that, but there wasn't. It was fear, pure and simple. Fear of how upset Rin would be with her. Fear of how much Kazuki would hate her now. Fear of surgery and fear of having to live with them after the truth would come out.
"At least they won't have to deal with me anymore." The sickly woman muttered as she stared up at the ceiling. "It's only a matter of time until I die."
The door was flung open, banging against the wall loudly. "Do not despair! An angel has come to you in your time of need!"
Being surprised by the entrance not only made Satori jump, but she started coughing. Once she calmed down, she stared at the redheaded demon in confusion. "Who are you?"
"I suppose you can't recognize me. Then again, this body's relatively new and actually has a dick this time," said the fake Avnas as he entered the room, followed by the possessed Kazuki, who closed the door behind him.
"…Avnas?" The dark-haired woman fell silent for a few seconds before forcing a smile on her face. "I guess you're here for my soul, aren't you?" She then noticed her son as he immediately rushed over to her bedside and began nuzzling his head against her face. "K-kazuki?! Why are you here?!" When her possessed son licked her on the cheek and she noticed the pair of dog ears on his head, she put it together. "Oh, my god…! Bad dog! Bad dog! Get out of his body now!" Satori hissed, pushing Puppy away. Puppy grabbed Satori's head and forced her to look at him. The possessed boy's mouth opened and black smoke wafted out before entering through Satori's open mouth and nostrils. As the black dog ears disappeared off of Kazuki's head, they appeared on Satori's. It only lasted for a few seconds before the smoke left the same way it entered, forming into the inugami on the floor.
"Feeling better, Tori?" The redheaded demon asked as the dark-haired woman held onto her chest and took deep breaths.
"…What did you do?"
"It's not what I did, it's what your son did." Satori looked at Kazuki, who was also regaining his sense of self, as the fake continued, "Such a wonderful child he is, wanting to save his mother no matter the cost."
The mother looked at her son. "Kazuki, what did you do?"
"I…Puppy made you better."
That was all he was able to say before the door slammed open revealing a furious-looking Rin. "There you are, you faking bastard!"
The imposter scoffed at the half-demon, though he still backed away from the door until he came against the foot of Satori's bed. "Faking? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Rin! What are you doing? I asked you not to do anything stupid!" Satori pleaded while Kazuki stared at his father grabbing his sword. "I made a deal! I don't need or want you to get involved!"
"Yeah? Well, you shouldn't make deals with demons who don't tell you their real names!"
"…What?"
"When I summoned Avnas, what I got wasn't an angel, it was a djinni. He doesn't grant wishes in exchange for souls because he's a good demon, and he hasn't been active in Assiah regarding humans for years. Do you get it, Satori? You made a deal with an imposter who was pretending to be a faker! If you want proof, I'll fucking summon 'em right now so you can see with your own eyes!" Rin looked at the imposter, who was now twitching, before continuing, "So, now that your secret's out, you've got two options: you leave my wife and anyone else you made deals with alone, or I beat the shit outta you."
The redheaded imposter muttered under his breath, "If it isn't one spawn of Satan, it's another. Why do you always do this? What do you have against me?" The temperature in the room began to rise a bit as heat waves rose off of the demon. As he spoke, his nose and eyes began to bleed, but he seemed oblivious to his vessel's troubles. "Why do you ALWAYS DO THIS?!" When the volume of the imposter's voice rose, his entire body became engulfed in flames. To an ordinary person, it would've been a terrifying sight: blood trailing down his face, flames burning in his eye sockets and mouth in a way that made him resemble a Jack-o-lantern, the fiery aura around him burning away his clothes and starting to do the same with his skin. "FUCK YOU!" And then, he literally exploded. A wave of flames threatened to consume the room, sending everything in it up in smoke.
…Or so it would've, if Kurikara hadn't been drawn in that moment. A wave of blue flames also went forth, consuming the ordinary fire before it could do much damage so there was nothing left but Rin's flames. In that brief moment, Kazuki could see his father's figure amongst the blue flames. This was the first time he'd seen his father in his awakened state, and just like how the sight of Avnas burning had frightened him, so had the sight of his father like this.
And then it was over the moment Kurikara was sheathed and the flames died down. Rin sucked his teeth in annoyance as he stared at a scorch mark on the floor where Avnas's imposter once stood. He then remembered his family and began checking them for injuries. "Are you alright? You haven't been injured, have you?"
"We're fine, Rin," Satori spoke flatly.
"You're sure? Your condition isn't get riled up or—?"
"I'm better, Rin." The half-demon stared at his wife in confusion as she continued, "Kazuki cured me." The teenager took note that his mother sounded less than thrilled about her recovery. "With Ouji."
"Ouji?" Both Rin and Kazuki asked. The inugami, which had been hiding under the bed when the room nearly caught on fire, poked its head out and barked. It phased through the bed until it was on top next to Satori, whom it began to paw.
"So…Puppy's name is Ouji?" Kazuki asked. Of course the generations-old demon wouldn't be named something as stupid as Puppy. It's amazing that the ghostly dog didn't react violently to the childish name.
"Oh. Right. Inugami can remove health problems from their hosts if they will it," Rin mumbled. He looked at his son suspiciously. "How'd you know that? Where did you even find that thing?"
"I told Avnas—I mean, that demon guy that I wanted to save Mom. He liked how I was willing to give up my soul to save her despite all the secrets, so he told me Puppy—I mean, Ouji could make her better." He had no idea why he said that or why it felt kind of good to see his mother look down in shame.
He didn't have time enjoy it, though, because his father grabbed him by the shoulder and glared down into his eyes. "You…did…what?!" Rin shouted. For a brief moment, Kazuki thought back to the little show his father put on a while ago and wondered if he'd get angry enough to burn him to ashes. "What the hell were you thinking?! Your soul's not something you just give away! Do you even know what sorts of things demons do with souls? Anything you can think of is a hundred times better than what actually happens, I'm sure!"
"I don't care about my soul. I'm less important than Mom, anyway." The brief moment of silence and the way his parents were staring at him was unsettling, so Kazuki added, "Besides, he blew himself up. Problem solved."
Rin let go of his son and looked back at the scorch marks on the floor. "There's a chance that he didn't and that was just a very drastic means of getting out of here. You and your mom could still be in danger."
"Rin, why couldn't you couldn't just leave this alone?" Satori muttered.
"Leave this al— I was trying to save your life!" Rin exclaimed. "If you told me about it sooner, like when we met—!"
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want your help!"
"Why wouldn't you want my help?! FREEZE!" Rin grabbed Kazuki's shoulder as he tried to walk past him. "Where do you think you're going?! You're still in trouble!"
"For what?! I saved Mom's life!" The boy wanted to say he managed to do more than his father did, but he didn't get to.
"You were supposed to stay at home and you disobeyed me! Even worse, you made a deal with a demon! You're grounded!"
"What?!"
"Oh, trust me, you should be grateful I'm not gonna throttle the life outta you!"
In the midst of all the family hostility, Ouji laid down on the bed and tried to hide his eyes behind his paws, whimpering.
X-X-X
In an empty room of an abandoned building, a ball of fire appeared, floating in midair. The fire then grew and took on a humanoid shape. It looked like a young man, dressed in what appeared to be a school uniform from the waist up. Below the waist, instead of legs, he had a long, wispy tail. His entire body—if it could be called that—was tinged with an orange hue, and his whole body flickered like fire.
"I can't believe it…! Why? Why is my luck so SHITTY?!" As he shouted, his whole body flared like a fire out of control. Flames danced in his eye sockets and mouth as he hunched over, twitching from anger. "Stupid Satan-spawn! They're all awful! I was so close, but because of him—!"
"What was that about being awful?"
The flames around the non-human entity stopped and he returned to normal. His expression of anger became one of fear as he turned around. "AH! F-f-forgive me!"
Standing behind the entity was a man who appeared to be middle-aged. He had short, wavy black hair and a goatee and was wearing a dark red dress suit with black dress shoes. He had a pair of pointed ears that more than hinted the obvious about what he was. "Forgive me who?"
"Forgive me, Lord Azazel! I didn't mean to offend you!"
"Offend me you did, Makoto," Azazel spoke as he stepped forward, holding his black-gloved hands together behind his back. "But not because of your words. It's because of your actions."
Makoto became flustered. "I-I'm sorry for…destroying my last body. I know how much you hate when I do that."
"On the contrary, I would much prefer you to see the joys of being a spirit. One pro is that you don't burn through five bodies in less than a month," Azazel emphasized as he held up five fingers.
"I wouldn't have burned through them if I weren't a freaking flaming ghost!" It wasn't his fault that he became some walking—so to speak—campfire upon death.
"Watch your tongue. Do you forget who you're talking to? I'm the one who felt generous enough to allow you a second chance at life. And also, you would be able to keep a body for longer if you could control your emotions." The red-clad demon began to smirk. "What's the matter? Is your envy of the living turning to hate?"
"No," Makoto said with a frown. "I just hate that Satan guy! He's been getting in the way from the moment he came and saved Satori from the incubus I got to help me—and it was really hard to get it to do that!"
"So, you're quitting?"
"No, I'm not quitting! I'm just giving up on Satori!"
Azazel frowned. "Excuse me? I told you to bring me the soul of Satori Okumura when she died a happy death."
"It isn't my fault! She started making herself unhappy the moment she decided to spill about me to her family!"
"Then just make her happy. You didn't have to cure her of her illness!" The demon growled. If the person in front of him was corporeal, he might have grabbed him.
Makoto slumped over as he snorted. "That husband of hers would've just convinced her to take the treatments and get better, anyway. He always convinces her to do what I don't want her to do somehow! I couldn't even get her to abort the damn kid in the womb when she told me she didn't want kids while she was still in college! I HATE HIM!" The ghost began to burn intensely once again. He then looked at Azazel, baring his teeth, "This is all your fault! If you didn't put up all those rules and restrictions, I would've been able to really become human years ago!"
"A new life shouldn't be something you're just given. You have to earn it. Or in your case, pay." the red-clad demon spoke as he held up a closed fist. "And I do so want to have a happy spirit... But since I doubt you'll be able to make Mrs. Okumura happy as a result of all that's happened, our deal is canceled."
"Wait, wait, wait! I-I may not be able to get Satori's soul, but I can get her son's!" Makoto pleaded as he held his hands together. "He doesn't care about his soul! He was so willing to give it to me!"
Azazel arched an eyebrow. "The son of the bastard child?" He held his chin thoughtfully as he stared up at the ceiling. "To have the soul of someone who is technically part of the royal family of Gehenna by blood… That's something I've never considered." The demon fell silent for a moment. "Ah, but then there's him… He wouldn't care, would he? The boy is surely more human than demon—no one worth missing. Maybe…" The red-clad demon smirked at the ghost. "Tell you what: if you can actually bring me his soul, I'll accept it as payment." Makoto's expression brightened. "However, this is your last chance."
The flaming ghost gulped. "Last chance…?"
"I've had enough of the failures and have no more time to waste watching them. You're not very entertaining anymore. So, you must give me the soul of Kazuki Okumura. If you fail, forget about exorcists—I'll purge you from Assiah."
"And…I can just take it? No 'die happy' crap? I can just kill him?"
Azazel held back a laugh. "…Tell me what my title is."
"The…demon king of spirits?"
"Precisely! I am a king!" The red-clad demon exclaimed as he held out his arms with a flourish. "If you wish to offer a soul to me, it must be done properly. So, no. You can't just kill him. He must be sacrificed."
"I…don't understand. Isn't that the same?" Makoto asked, sounding confused.
"And here I thought you were a well-educated person in life... I want you to perform a ritual killing. There are preparations to be made. Most of which require you to have a body. Get it?" The flaming spirit's expression became one of realization as Azazel smirked. "Now, here's what you'll need…"
X-X-X
With the chaos that occurred at the hospital and how unbelievable it sounded, the medical staff refused to believe Satori no longer had lung cancer and almost didn't let her to come home with them until they tested her. They also refused to believe Rin's lie that the fire caused had been a result of faulty wiring until he caused a nearby outlet to catch fire. Not his proudest moment, but it did the trick. Rin remembered that the ride home had been just as unnervingly quiet as the ride to the hospital earlier that day, and the moment they got into the house, both Satori and Kazuki retreated into their rooms with barely a word.
The entire day was basically the makings of one large migraine for Rin, and it wasn't even over yet.
"Satori?" Rin knocked on the door of the bedroom they shared. "Come on, this is ridiculous! We need to stay together!" No response came from inside. The half-demon sighed and stared at the door, wondering if it would reflect poorly on him if he just kicked it down? He stared at their bedroom door and grabbed the doorknob. Surprisingly, he found it to be unlocked. "You're kidding! She had the door unlocked this whole time? Goddamn it…!" He opened the door and poked his head inside. Satori was lying down on the bed, staring at the black dog plushie she'd picked up seconds before they found an upset Kuro locked in the closet.
"What do you want?" His wife asked as he walked inside.
"I really need you and Kazuki to stay in my sight. I can't protect you if you run off like that."
"Do you think that maybe I don't want your protection?"
"Why not? Why don't you want me to help you? Do you honestly wanna die?" Rin should've sounded more upset as he spoke, but he couldn't help but be depressed at the thought.
Satori didn't look at her husband, nor did she answer his question. She just said, "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted everyone to be happy when I died."
"How? How the hell could you expect me to be happy?!"
"I wanted us to spend my last days reminiscing about the happy times…until I decided that I didn't want to die without telling my secrets." The dark-haired woman laughed bitterly, "That was a mistake. It just made everything worse."
"…You could've gotten better at any time," Rin pointed out as he approached the bed.
"I didn't want to get better. I was dying at the point of my life that I was the happiest." Satori looked up at the ceiling. "It was the least I could do for the person responsible for that happiness. Besides, maybe I deserve it for the things I've done." She felt her husband's hands grab her head before he made her face him. The sight of his angry expression just made her feel worse.
"That person was a demon who lied to you for years and was willing to take your son's soul! He just wanted your soul! He didn't really care about your happiness or your life! I do!" Rin wrapped his arms around Satori and held her tightly. "I promised I would make you happy and keep you safe because I love you, Satori. I don't want anything to happen to any part of you, body or soul. You don't deserve that."
He heard Satori sniffle. "I don't think so. It's all my fault this is happening…and why Kazuki…!" She sounded on the brink of tears as Rin stroked her head. "I'm an awful person!" The dark-haired woman sobbed.
"No, you're not. You just got taken advantage of in a moment of weakness. Demons do that to a lot of people. But don't worry: I'll protect you and Kazuki."
"Riiiiin!"
"There, there. Let it all out…"
Out in the hallway, Kazuki had heard it all. He could only bear standing out there for a few more seconds before going back into his room. Kuro and Ouji, who had glaring at each other as they sat on the floor, looked up at the teenager as he entered. The boy collapsed onto his bed, groaning into a pillow. "I can't believe it… I go through all the trouble of saving her, selling my soul in the process, and she's ungrateful for it… He doesn't do a damn thing to contribute and she's crying into his arms…!" Kazuki groaned again before rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling sadly. Kuro jumped onto the bed and began to rub up against the dark-haired boy's face to make him feel better. As he alternated between pushing Kuro away and petting him, Kazuki tried to see the brighter side of things: she was better now. She wasn't going to die any time soon. Whether or not she would thank him wasn't important, just like his soul.
Then again, what about him was important?
"Kazuki," he heard Rin speak. "I—"
"I know what you're gonna lecture me about, and I don't wanna hear about it." In seconds, the boy was picked up off the bed by his father and made to sit down next to him. "…I hate when you do that."
"Look, I…I understand why you felt like you had to do what you did." Kazuki snorted and glared at the wall as Rin quickly added, "That doesn't make it right, of course! Your soul's not something you should just give away to demons! Most of the time, the only thing they do with souls they get their hands on is torture them and keep them from moving on. And sometimes they eat them!"
"Don't all demons do one or the other to people?" The boy asked flatly.
Rin narrowed his eyes. "Regardless! I don't want you to go through something like that."
"Hmph! I don't care… Mom's better and her life's more important than mine anyway, so crying over my soul is pointless."
"I dunno why you say that kind of stuff, but that's far from the truth." The half-demon raised an arm and hooked it around his son's shoulders to pull the teen in closer. His attempts to get free, of course, were in vain. "Your life is very important to me and your mom, despite what you might think."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Suddenly, Rin had Kazuki in a chokehold. "Don't just brush it off! I'm being honest!" After of few seconds of having his son struggle in his inhuman hold, Rin let go and patted him on the head. "Seriously. We'd really be devastated if something bad happened to you." The half-demon then grabbed onto the teen's arm and stood up. "Now come down into the living room where I can keep an eye on you and your mother." He smiled. "If it's a little weird to you, think of it as family bonding time! I'll even make a great dinner for us to eat together!"
Kazuki continued to look disinterested. From the floor, Kuro and Ouji's eyes lit up. "Dinner!" The cat sídhe cheered before he looked at the inugami they resumed glaring at each other once again as the father and son left the room.
X-X-X
Later that evening in the living room, Kazuki was sitting on the couch while Kuro slept on the head of the couch and Ouji laid down on the floor. Although the television was on, the teen's attention was focused on the kitchen. His parents were in the other room, both wearing aprons with their hair put up.
"Go into the living room. I'll handle the cooking," said his father, trying to shoo off his mother with a gesture.
"But I wanna help," his mother spoke. "It'd go quicker if we both did the work."
"The doctor said that you should spend the first couple of weeks home relaxing until you regain your strength."
"But you've been doing all the work while I was gone! This is the least I could do after everything's that happened."
"I'd rather not push you so soon. Go sit down."
"It's not pushing. I want to help!"
Rin sighed and scratched his head. "Man, you're stubborn! Are you trying to put yourself in the hospital again?"
Satori folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "You're just being paranoid! I wanna help with dinner, not run a marathon!"
The husband and wife glared at each other silently for a few seconds until the former grumbled, "Fine. You can help a little. But I'll tell you what to do, and if you start to feel tired, I want you to sit down, no questions asked."
"Alright. Tell me what to do then."
"Uh, wash the vegetables while I boil the rice."
Kazuki continued watching them in mild surprise. After everything that had happened and was still going on, instead of arguing or getting upset over the situation, they were concerned with making dinner. It seemed ridiculous, but typical at the same time. Somehow it figured that his unusual family, having been used to such things, would be able to quickly adjust to a normal state.
But they weren't normal. None of this was normal. And he didn't want to get used to things like this happening over the rest of his life…
X-X-X
"Almost done. Go tell the guys that dinner'll be ready in a couple of minutes," Rin told Satori as he bent over to check inside the oven.
"Sure." The dark-haired woman picked up some plates and left the kitchen. "Kazuki~! Dinner's almost ready!" She announced. She looked to the couch and only saw Kuro napping. She assumed he was upstairs, so she went up to find him and Ouji.
Several minutes later, Rin stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a pair of plates with food. The moment he set them down on the table, Kuro woke up with a start and was immediately sitting in front of the half-demon, both his tails wagging in anticipation. "Here you go, Kuro!" Rin set down a plate of fish in front of the cat sídhe.
"Mmm…! Thank you, Rin!" The cat demon watched as he put down another plate. "Is that for me, too?" Kuro assumed that it must've been his apology for the babysitting fiasco.
"Actually, it's for Ouji."
"You mean the dog?!" Kuro's fur bristled as he gave a low growl.
"Calm down. He's as much a part of the family as you are." And the whole 'feed or pay' curse connected to the inugami counted towards him as well, so Rin thought he may as well make a good impression. Kuro continued to frown before he began eating from his plate. Rin went back and forth between the kitchen and the table, bringing out plates of food. When he was done, he looked over everything happily. It felt like ages since they'd been able to have a family dinner altogether. Despite the current situation, it was nice.
"RIIIIIN!" And then the sound of Satori screaming brought Rin out of his reverie. His wife barreled into him as she sobbed, "He's gone! He's gone! I can't find Kazuki anywhere!"
"Don't panic! Kazuki's probably just in the bathroom. He's not stupid enough to go out knowing how dangerous it could be!" That assurance faded when Satori shook her head and continued sobbing, causing a combination of emotions in Rin: heart-dropping fear and blood-boiling anger.
X-X-X
It was stupid and dangerous to wander about True Cross Town at night. You didn't know what sort of creeps—human or demon—you could come across. But Kazuki wasn't exactly in a proper state of mind for a moment. All he cared about was finding the demon he had a deal with. If he came across some serial killer or man-eating demon, well, that was a risk he had to take…
…And maybe a risk he didn't mind coming across anymore...
After several minutes, though, it was starting to feel pointless. Kazuki knew that 'Avnas' or whatever-his-name-was wasn't dumb enough to come to their house—not with his dad there ready to purge him from Assiah. But it wasn't like he knew how to just summon a demon out of thin air. Just as he was contemplating going back home, someone bumped into him. "Excuse me," the teen muttered as he made to walk around the person, only to be suddenly enveloped in a hug.
"There you are, Kazuki!" The person—a woman—slurred as she held Kazuki tightly. She was taller than him, so he couldn't get a good look at her face, but her slurring and the scent of alcohol that managed to reach his nostrils was enough to hint that she was drunk.
"How…do you know my name?" Did he have a stalker now? That was just what he needed in his life right now: a creepy cougar who didn't mind pedophilia.
"I knew ya couldn't stay away! 'Cuz…'cuz you an' I are alike!" The possible drunken stalker held him even tighter in a way that reminded him of his father. Her body felt hot to the point of feeling uncomfortable despite it being a cool night. "Don't…don't despair…! An angel…has come to rescue you~! Ahahaha!"
Kazuki's eyes widened in realization, but before he could voice his thoughts, he was struck hard in the back of the head and blacked out.
X-X-X
Side note: Azazel is associated with goats in Judaism. He is said to have ruled over goat demons (Se'rim), and goats who served as "scapegoats" for people's sins were sent out into the desert to him, then he would send them back.