Just to point out, this story will dip briefly (Like one chapter) into the kyoto arc of the manga before returning and following the anime storyline. Simple reason was I wanted to start getting across the changes Astarte is beginning to go through after starting to train Rin. Hope you guys enjoy
She sat, pouting as they travelled to Kyoto. Amaimon sat, trying to look her in the eye but she kept looking away. "How long do you plan to sit pouting?" He asked. She glared at him before looking away and giving him the cold shoulder. He frowned then leant forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. She responded by punching him in the face. His head snapped back then forward as he stared at her, his face emotionless but shock passing briefly through his eyes. "What was that for?" He asked. "You're pissing me off!" She snarled back. She turned away from him, only to have a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her onto Mephisto's lap. She squirmed but he held her in place. "Enough my angel, getting angry won't help." He whispered in her ear. "I'm not angry." She mumbled. "So, you punched Amaimon in the face because you were happy?" She looked down. "I don't know."
When they arrived in Kyoto, Amaimon pulled her off to one side. "Is something wrong?" He asked. "I don't know. I feel….weird." She answered. He tilted his head to one side before offering her a lollipop. "Maybe it's the silver?" He suggested. "Yeah, probably." She smiled. But deep down she knew it was something different. As they headed to the home of Naamah, Astarte's mind drifted to thoughts of what could be wrong with her. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and limped onwards. She heard a sigh and felt arms encircle her waist when she was lifted onto Amaimon's back. "We'll never get there if you are limping." He said. As they walked, she leant close to his ear. "Gomen nasai, my earth king. I never meant to punch you." She whispered. He chuckled and coiled his tail around hers to show all was forgiven. They both stared at the small wooden hut that housed Naamah as they approached.
The knock on the wooden door resounded through the mountain air. Footsteps sounded on the other side and the door opened to reveal one of the oldest looking women the students had ever seen. She took one look at Astarte and sighed. "Back again huh?" She asked. "Trust me, the feeling of loathing towards being back here is indescribable." Astarte retorted. The demoness sighed again and led them inside. "Come on, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can leave me be." They all walked in and the demoness closed the door. "So what is it this time? No wait, don't tell me. Holy silver right?" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Honestly, if it weren't for that angel blood you'd be in the Garden by now." She pointed to a side door. "Go through there and I'll examine the wound. Then we'll deal with it." Astarte stood and limped through, Naamah following silently. "You'll need to remove your stocking to let me examine the wound." She said as she walked over to a cabinet containing her herbs for medicine.
Astarte grimaced as she bent slightly to roll her stocking down. She bit back a yelp as the material brushed against her wound. "Sit up on the table and stay still while I examine it." Astarte sat and watched the old demoness examine the injury. "Hmm, you're not going to like my opinion." Naamah murmured. "What is it?" Naamah sighed. "The silver has to be removed from the wound or it won't heal. I need to solidify it and remove it by hand." Astarte knew exactly what it meant. "Are you ready?" Naamah stood and held a jar of powder above the wound. A nod was soon followed by a grimace. The powder hissed when it came into contact with the silver. Small wisps of smoke rose from the injury, which looked angry and irritated. "Now comes the worse part." Naamah murmured. She walked to the door and opened it. "Could I borrow some of you for a moment?" She asked. "This next part is pretty painful and I need someone to hold her down whilst I work." Amaimon and Mephisto both walked through followed by Rin, Yukio, Bon and Shima. "Right, two of you hold her legs, two her arms, one her tail and one stay near her head and try to keep her attention elsewhere."
As they took their places, Rin watched as Amaimon took her head in his claws and forced her to stay looking at him whilst Mephisto placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on her elbow. He mimicked this on the arm he held whilst Bon and Yukio held onto her hips and her knees and Shima gripped her tail. "Ok, I'll remove the first portion of silver now." Naamah said. She slid her claw into the wound and dragged it along, collecting the silver particles and caused an unearthly shriek to emerge from Astarte. Her body thrashed, the tuft of her tail battering Shima around his head. Amaimon murmured sweet nothings to try to distract her as more of the silver was removed. "Nearly done, there's only a small portion left." Naamah said as she dragged her claw through the wound one final time. A small series of whimpers passed Astarte's lips as the wound healed itself. "You should be fully healed in the morning but for now, try to keep the pressure off of it. Now is there anything else wrong? Tell me now so then I can sort it and you don't have to come back." Naamah snapped. "Well, there is one thing." Mephisto began. "No there isn't Aniue." Astarte growled.
"She's had mood-swings the past few days." "Are they bad?" "Yes" "NO!" Mephisto turned to look at Astarte then back at the demonic healer. "She punched Amaimon in the face for no reason." Naamah looked at Astarte who glared back. "Hmm, Amaimon would you and Mephisto follow me for a moment? I need to speak with you both privately." The two older demons followed the old demoness out of the room. "I don't know what's causing her mood swings. It could be anything but I would recommend you keep an eye on her." They both looked at her. "What do you mean?" Naamah sighed. "Her body is being fought over." They both looked at her in confusion. "Her other sides want control and she needs something to help ensure she keeps fighting them off." She turned and walked back into the room. "You need to keep the weight off of that leg for today but you should be back to normal tomorrow." She said to Astarte. Amaimon walked in and picked his promised one up bridal style, surprising her greatly.
"Due to the fact we need to ensure Astarte keeps the weight off of her leg, I have informed the inn of our arrival." Mephisto said as they walked from the demonic healer's home. They travelled in silence for a while, the exwires becoming uncomfortable from the lack of conversation. "By the way Rin, don't think that just because my leg is injured you are free from training. As soon as we get to the inn, your training will resume." Astarte said. Rin glanced at the demonic princess. But she never looked at him. She was distracted by Amaimon nuzzling her softly. "What's wrong with you?" She whispered softly. "Can I not show you some affection my princess?" He asked quietly in response. "You never usually show me this much?" "Do you not appreciate it?" She smiled softly. "I have to say I like it." She murmured. "My angel, may I make a request of you?" Mephisto asked. "Yes, my Aniue." "This silence is rather stifling, would you get rid of it by using that angelic voice you were graced with?" Astarte smiled. "Any requests?" "Surprise us."
You're so hypnotising, could you be the devil? Could you be an angel? Your touch magnetising, feels like I am floating, leaves my body glowing. They say, be afraid. You're not like the others, futuristic lover. Different DNA, they don't understand you. You're from a whole other world, a different dimension. You opened my eyes. I'm ready to go lead me into the light. Kiss me, k-k-kiss me. Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison. Take me, t-t-take me. Wanna be a victim, ready for abduction. Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign. It's supernatural, extra-terrestrial. You're so supersonic, wanna feel your power stun me with your lasers. Your kiss is cosmic, every move is magic.
You're from a whole other world, a different dimension. You opened my eyes. I'm ready to go lead me into the light. Kiss me, k-k-kiss me. Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison. Take me, t-t-take me. Wanna be a victim, ready for abduction. Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign. It's supernatural, extra-terrestrial.
The exwires stared at Astarte as she stopped singing. The inn stood in front of them. "Hmm, not much to look at is it?" Bon had frozen. They headed inside where those working in the inn stopped and stared at them. "Is that Bon? Bon's back?" The inn-keeper walked out and froze at the sight of them. Amaimon tightened his grip on Astarte slightly despite being at the back of the group. "Bon" The woman murmured. Suddenly her face changed rapidly and she looked extremely angry. "I thought you said you were never coming back?! And what did you do to your hair?! You trying to be a chicken?!" She snapped. "It's a symbol of my commitment to my training!" Bon yelled. "You used to be so handsome before!" Suddenly she spotted the rest of them and changed again. "Sorry about this. I'm Bon's mother and the owner of this inn." She bowed to them, smiling sweetly. It was at that very moment that Kitsune appeared in the middle of the room.