The doors slammed into the walls as Mephisto stormed into the room. "Where is she?" He growled. The exorcists present cowered away from him. None had ever seen him this angry before. It was rare to see him act serious, so this was a new experience for all. "We…we don't know, Sir." One of them said eventually. A nearby desk burst into flames in response. "How could you not know?" He demanded. It had been two days since Astarte had fought with Rin. But due to Rin being taken by the Paladin to be question by the Grigori, no-one had been able to actually visit the last place Astarte had been seen until nightfall and by then she was gone. They had searched the surrounding area but found no trace of the demonic princess. "Find her." Mephisto said. "I don't care how long it takes, or how many of you have to search. You will find her and bring her back to me safe and well." He growled. The exorcists all nodded, their instincts telling them not to annoy this version of Mephisto.
As they left, Amaimon entered. He had been searching for the past two days with no luck. He had members of his kin searching everywhere but still no sign of her. "What if she's gone back to Gehenna?" He asked. Mephisto had wondered the same thing. "Talk to one of our brothers, see if they know anything." He said. Amaimon nodded and bit his thumb before squeezing a few drops of blood onto the table in the centre of the room. The blood fizzled and hissed as it formed a window. A dark haired boy, only a few years older than Amaimon and Astarte, sat with his back to them along with a white haired man and one with dark blue hair. "Beelzebub." Mephisto said. None of the males responded. "OI!" The three males jumped, the dark haired boy falling from his perch on the ceiling, and spun to see the window. "What's this?" One of them asked. "Our brother Mephisto finally contacting us since he left Gehenna. And to what do we owe this honour?" Another mocked.
"Is Astarte with you?" The three males froze. Despite the fact that, like many other demon siblings, the children of Satan struggled to get along without beating each other up, they all cared about their only sister. "Isn't she trapped with you due to a heart bind?" The white haired man asked. "The heart bind was temporarily released for reasons you do not need to know Azazel." Mephisto responded. "So, she would be able to return should she want to?" The dark-haired boy asked. "That's why we want to know if she's with any of you, Beelzebub." Amaimon stated. "We haven't seen her since she last contacted me on how to turn you back from a hamster." The blue haired male said. "And that was the last time any of you had contact with her, Egyn?" A nod. "We could send a message out to our kin to keep an eye out for her." Beelzebub said. "That way, we're bound to find something sooner or later." Amaimon and Mephisto both nodded in agreement. The window faded and closed. As Amaimon turned to go continue his search, Mephisto noticed he looked paler, weaker than he had before. Because he and Astarte were promised to each other, their time apart if they had being together for so long could kill them. To separate two promised demons was like separating a man from his food source. He could survive for a while, but eventually, the hunger would kill him. Amaimon's soul cried out for Astarte's and the fact she did not respond was killing him.
Astarte herself saw lights beyond her eyelids. Slowly, her eyes flickered open to reveal a light blue room. She slowly sat up, grimacing as her body complained with each tiny movement. She spotted her clothes on a nearby chair and looked down to see herself wearing a pale purple yukata. She looked around for some idea as to where she was when she heard a voice from outside of the room. She pushed the white cotton sheets off and headed towards the door, coiling her tail around her midriff under the yukata to keep it hidden. The voice was clearer now, and it was singing softly. She opened the door and saw a corridor leading to a set of stairs down to another floor. Slowly, her feet padding on the carpeted ground, she followed the voice down to a different room. She glanced around to see photographs, a television that was much smaller than the one Mephisto had, multiple seating arrangements and several small tables. The voice suddenly sounded up again from a room on the other side of the only other door in the room. Timidly, Astarte walked towards it and opened the door.
The smell of baking made her mouth water and her stomach growl. "Ah, you're finally awake are you?" A woman's voice dragged her from her distraction and she turned to see an older woman standing near a kitchen counter, an apron on and flour coating most of her skin. "You had me so worried when I found you passed out in the streets. Many people just walked past you, but I couldn't just leave you there. You looked awful." The woman said, dusting her hands on the apron, leaving white hand prints on it. "So, I got you to your feet and helped you here. You've been out of it ever since." Astarte just seemed confused. "And this was…?" "Hmm? Oh, about two days ago." The woman answered. Astarte blinked, stunned. Two days? She'd been unconscious for two whole days? That wasn't possible. How could she…? She then remembered, the fight with Rin, the Paladin, two bottles of holy water being rammed down her throat.
At the memory of that, pain throbbed through her head. She leant back against the door frame, holding her head in her claws. "Right, come here and we'll sit you down." The woman gently took her arm and guided her to a wooden chair beside a table at one end of the kitchen. "Now, why don't we introduce ourselves?" The woman asked. "I'm Emiko Ryuujin and you are?" "Alessa Faust." Emiko smiled. "That's such a nice name. Now Alessa, would you like something to eat? You must be starving. That and you look like you haven't eaten in days." Emiko smiled softly and went back to the kitchen counter. Astarte watched her, confused as to why she was doing all this. "Why did you help me?" She asked. Emiko turned. "Oh, it's in my nature." She said. "But you know nothing about me. I could be dangerous for all you know." Astarte said. "But you were at death's door when I found you. If I hadn't have helped you, you wouldn't have survived." Emiko retorted.
Astarte hung her head. "Some people may think that would have been better." She mumbled. Emiko suddenly appeared in front of her. "Why would anyone think that?" She asked. "My appearance is rather deceiving." Astarte muttered. Emiko grabbed her face and made her look her in the eye. "I saved you because when I saw you, I felt my heart be pained by the sight of you. You were so weak and in pain I knew I had to save you. I felt like you had to be saved." She said. Astarte stared at her. "You actually believe I had to be saved." She asked. Emiko smiled. "I looked at your face and…" She paused and laughed. "What?" She shook her head. "When I looked at your face, I saw in you the child I never had. I saw the daughter I always dreamed of, who I could laugh with and enjoy female secrets with. I've only got my son so you were like a gift from heaven in my eyes." She said. Astarte stared at her. The last time someone said she was a gift from heaven was back in Gehenna. "Now, do you want one of these cakes?" She asked.
Astarte smiled and nodded. "Hai!" She said, her hair bouncing around her head. Emiko laughed and went to get the plate of cakes she had just made. She laughed more when she saw the young demoness dive on the plate and devour the cakes. "You were hungry eh?" She asked. Astarte nodded, her stomach feeling much better now it was full. Emiko came and sat opposite her. "So, what happened to you?" She asked. Astarte froze and looked down, her claws toying with the belt of the yukata. "I…I don't really want to talk about it." She said. Emiko nodded. "Alright. We'll talk about it when you're ready." She said. Astarte kept looking down. Her mind drifted back, beyond the recent attack and into her past. To a time when she was beaten up back in Gehenna. Where she had suffered so badly, she was unable to move from her chambers for weeks. Her body shuddered as she fought not to remember. Movement made her look up just as Emiko embraced her. "You needn't worry anymore." Emiko's voice was nothing more than a whisper. "You're safe now" Those three words triggered something deep within her memory. A memory of another time when someone else said those three words to her when she was just a baby. It triggered a memory of a woman, whose gentle embrace and singing voice guided her through her nightmares as a child, despite the woman never being around. Astarte realised that the memory triggered was of her mother. It was at that moment that the demonic princess began to cry once more for the loss of her mother.
Emiko shushed the sobbing demon softly. In her heart, she felt this poor person had been through hell and back, had fought to be recognised and in the end was overwhelmed by it all. She felt arms wrap around her as the girl she held continued sobbing. A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain. Softly blows over Lullaby bay. She started to sing softly. Astarte's sobs began to die down as Emiko sang to her. It fills the sails of boats that are waiting. Waiting to sail your worries away.
It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain. And your boat waits down by the key. The winds of night, so softly are sighing. Soon they will fly your troubles to sea. The sobbing was silent now as Astarte listened to the lullaby, feeling her tears begin to dry as the sadness appeared to fade from her with each word sang. So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain. Wave goodbye to cares of the day. And watch your boat, from Hushabye Mountain. Sail far away, from lullaby bay. She looked up at Emiko who smiled softly and mouthed two silent words. Thank you
Yes, Astarte did survive the attack. Mainly due to her angel blood. So don't worry, my dear readers, our favourite demonic princess won't be taken out so easily. So until the next chapter, sayonara from the psychotic author.