Chapter 4- Dealings With the Devil

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"...Please tell me you're joking."

The principal gave a chuckle. "You caught me~!"

"Really?!"

"...Nope." He flashed a fanged grin, ushering me down the immaculate hall towards the nearest door. I followed obediently, all the way wondering if all of the demon kings had such horrible dispositions.

Heh, what did you expect? We're children of Satan, after all. It's in our nature to lie. Astaroth spoke in my head.

Hey, I was giving the rest of the kings a chance. I knew you were an asshole, but I thought maybe it was just because you're the King of Rot.

Watch your tongue. I could give you the plague if I wanted to.

I returned my attention to the door which Mephisto opened, revealing it to be a regular classroom. "I thought we were going to your office-"

We are; it's a few flight of stairs away, however, and I've had enough of a chat with my brother to know how dangerous that would be for you~!" He teased, fishing out a golden key from his pocket. I watched with interest as he closed the door and then opened it with the key.

I gasped. It was an entirely different room. I stood at the threshold in shock until Mephisto sighed, sitting at his desk.

"Surely Astaroth has told you my domain. I'm the king of Space and Time."

Oh, right. I managed to shake myself from my stupor, closing the door behind me before taking a seat on one of the plush office chairs.

"So... about the whole killing me thing... could you not?" I questioned, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. It didn't hurt to ask, right?

For some reason my words struck a funny bone or something in the demon king as he chuckled, clutching at his stomach. I frowned at him until he stopped, wiping a tear from his eyes.

"My apologies, Icarus. I had heard you were... blunt with your words. But my goodness~!" He laughed again and I was almost tempted to walk out of the room, ya know, except that he was a demon king and all.

"Just how much does Astaroth talk about me...?" I muttered, wondering how the principal could just spout out 'facts' about me. I guess my face was pretty readable because Mephisto suddenly moved forward, resting his hands on the desk between us.

"Oh, he's told me quite a lot. What I'm really curious about, however, is your apparent immortality. What Astaroth did should have only brought you back to life; it's a fairly simple spell that high-ranking demons can do. While it's not used often, since we aren't exactly privy to resurrecting humans, nothing like this has occurred before."

I furrowed my brows. "Wait, so I was just supposed to come back to life? No weird undead-ness or demonic traits?"

He nodded. At that moment his grin widened, eyes narrowing. "While I'd love to test the parameters of your new ability, we have more pressing concerns to take care of."

Thank god. "Like what?"

"Technically, you'd be classified as a demon eater, which is very illegal. The Vatican would want me to report of any suspicions and, ultimately, you'd most likely be killed. Somehow. Or at least locked away and tortured for an indefinite amount of time.

I gulped. And here I thought the Vatican was just a group of old, peace-keeping people. "Can we pretend that we did and then not?" God, I really had to learn to keep my mouth shut.

"My, my, your humor is refreshing! Well, you see, there is one other option—"

"I'll do it." I interrupted. I wasn't ready to die just yet. Or be stuck in a prison cell for an eternity.

"Such wonderful tenacity~! It must be great being so young! But, is your decision the right one? You don't even know what I want." He clapped, amused by my words.

"Well, you said it was my only other option. I'll make the deal, Mephisto. I just hope I don't have to give away my soul or something." I joked, trying to interject some humor.

His peridot eyes narrowed. "Oh, but you already have." He finished cryptically, handing me a manila folder.

"Good luck with your first assignment."

I looked down at the folder. To the right it read in big red letters, 'To the Vatican's Dog.'

What have I gotten myself into now?!


After the opening ceremony, where I indirectly glowered at Yukio Okumura for beating my chances at being our year's representative, I found myself indefinitely lost. Swept in the crowd, I tried to find some land marker, anything that could point me in the direction of the girl's dormitory. Imagine my surprise when I bumped into a certain young prince. He had been gawking at a stature of a woman holding a key similar to the one Mephisto used when I was jostled into him.

"Sorry…" I muttered before getting a look at him.

It was definitely the boy from before, but his ears were pointier now, and when he spoke I could see the glimmer of sharp canines. He seemed so… childish. He laughed off our collision and said it was no problem before he started walking up the stairs to where classes were held.

"W-wait!" I blurted out, not even thinking.

He turned around curiously, a look of apprehension in his face. What? Did he think I was going to kick him or something? Because he looked almost sullen, as if he expected me to suddenly yell at him or do something as equally cruel. I smiled.

"I just wanted to say my name is Haruko Ikari. But most call me Icarus." I held out my hand in a friendly gesture. To my surprise, his eyes lightened immediately as he shook it, giving a warm, lopsided grin.

"I'm Rin Okumura."

Oh. That's a nice name— wait, Okumura!?

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to be related to Yukio Okumura, would you?"

He nodded, somewhat confused. " Yah, that's my younger brother. Do you know him?"

I shook my head wildly. "N-no nothing like that! It's just… he kind of beat me to being the class representative. His scores were a bit better than mine." Inwardly, I was in shock. So there are two of them? Well, I guess Yukio doesn't count as much since he didn't inherit the blue flames…

The blue-haired boy laughed, a calm, cheery laugh that really had me wondering how he could possibly be a son of Satan. "Hah, I'll have to let him know that I met you, then. It was nice talkin' and all, but I'm gonna go look for my class. See ya." He finished, giving a final wave before running up the stairs.

I turned back to my map, frowning. Surely this kid didn't deserve being dragged to Gehenna? I suddenly felt guilty that I had even helped Astaroth (as indirectly as it had happened) find him in the first place. If only he had been a jerk, at least then I wouldn't have mind seeing him light up like a Christmas tree and thrown into Gehenna (however that worked— I really needed to do a Q&A with Astaroth when I got the chance).

Eventually, I gave up and asked one of the older students where the dorms were. She pointed me in the right direction, thankfully, and I soon found myself at the façade of a building made of marble, held up by an intricate maze of columns. I gulped. Wealthy or not, this was still breathtaking, even for me. I couldn't believe that no one was stopping to look at it or, at the very least, take a picture.

Shaking my head, I ambled into the beautifully designed building, quickly following the numbers on the door until I found my own. Room seven-hundred and seven, completely identical to all the others, I realized, upon opening the door. Or, I wished I could say that. Because lounged out on the plush armchair was Astaroth, feet hanging off the side of the chair.

"Geeze, did you fall into the fountain outside or something? I've been waiting here forever."

I glared, setting my briefcase on the bed. Everything else was being shipped to the room. Slipping off my shoes, I retorted back angrily, "Did you slip into a dumpster? You smell like trash."

He ignored my comment, and well, ignored me. He grabbed the manila folder from my bed and read through it, much to my chagrin.

"H-hey!" I tried to take it back but he held the papers just above my reach. Annoyed and slightly tired, I did something I wouldn't have done if I wasn't in such a bad mood: I kicked him in the shin, hard.

He didn't even flinch. He just stared at me with his usual bored expression, a smirk playing on his lips. "That's it? You really are weak."

"Shut up…" I muttered, relenting from my attack. I sat on the bed as he skimmed over the file, a cackle escaping his lips.

I hesitated in asking. I didn't get the chance to read the file and Astaroth's reaction spelled trouble in big, bold letters.

"They're sending you on suicide missions! Your first mission is to look for survivors in a small town in Romania. Apparently it was attacked by demons but the Vatican has it cornered off, pretending that there had been a nuclear plant explosion. This is fucking great!" He laughed some more while I panicked, running a nervous hand through my hair.

No fucking way. I have no clue on how to even kill demons! What do they want, me to just shield the survivors with my body?

"Probably~!" The king of Rot chirped, handing me back the papers. I swear I've never seen him happier.

At a loss, I looked down at the papers glumly. It was true; there was no way I could save anyone now, with how weak I was. In a last ditch effort, I even asked Astaroth for help.

"Hell no! I'm not becoming the Vatican's pet, too!"

Well, that was it. I would officially become lost in Romania, where I would be killed, come back to life, and killed again for centuries, or until the demons got tired of the novelty.

Just as I was weighing the options of either running away or turning myself into the Vatican, I heard pawing at my door. There was a whine that sounded suspiciously like someone pretending to be an animal and as I opened the door, a white dog bolted inside my dorm room.

"W-what the hell?" I screamed, jumping onto the bed. Sure, he looked cute and fluffy, but from experience I learned to not trust things that looked innocent.

Astaroth laughed at my reaction. "Are you afraid of dogs?"

"Just get it out!" I yelled, still somewhat unnerved. Cats were fine, but a childhood incident with our neighbor's Rottweiler left me with some unfortunate memories and a faint scar at my collarbone.

"Sorry, can't do that." The silver-haired man grinned, shutting the door. I gulped, eyeing the dog with tired eyes. They were a familiar emerald and for a second I almost entertained the thought that I had seen the animal somewhere before.

"Why not?" I snapped.

"Because he's not strong enough~!" The dog suddenly spoke, causing me to let out a belligerent scream. What was going on? Did I hit my head or something?

A puff of white smoke enveloped the room as I coughed, straining to see through the haze. Where the dog had been the principal emerged, tipping his hat to me. "Sorry for the scare, Icarus. I just wanted to tell you that you'd be getting some training before heading off!"

Well, that didn't sound too bad.

"What does this 'training' entail?"

"Well, you'll be taking an advanced course in demon studies, of course! One of our youngest teachers has promised to take an extra hour from his day for your lessons. Congratulations! Tomorrow will be your first day as an exorcist!"

"And if I refuse?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Well, I hope you enjoy being ripped to shreds my demons." He finished nonchalantly, whistling a little tune.

"Fine…" I muttered, folding my arms.

"Hmm? What was that, I didn't hear you~!"

"I'll freaking go to exorcist school, you damn clown!"

He nodded, handing me a key. "Good, I'll show you the way to the room tomorrow. Oh, did I mention your final test before your mission will be to fight Astaroth? Anyway, I hope you have a pleasant afternoon." He grinned, snapping his fingers. Instantly, Mephisto was a little white dog again, looking towards Astaroth expectantly. The white-haired man opened the door, nodding to the animal.

"Goodbye, Icarus, Astaroth!" He said in his dog form (which was still really creepy) before walking out of the room.

I groaned, falling back on the bed. My first day at this stupid school and I've already been threatened, met the son of Satan, gotten lost, and now ordered to become an exorcist. It looked like my life wasn't going to be getting normal anytime soon.


A/N: Yep, still on a roll XD I hope this chapter was enjoyable! Next time we'll see the rest of the cram school students and hopefully, more interesting matters will come to light!

Review?

-Isis