.

"While it may seem small, the ripple effects of small things is extraordinary."

Matt Bevin

._..._.

._.

"I'm not sure what to be more concerned over," said Arthur D Angel, hands folded beneath his chin. "That you disregarded protocol and led an exwire into territory approved for lower first class exorcists without my approval."

"Or," he continued, leaning forward, "how the son of Satan was allowed to play adventurer and unearth what could have been the bowels of Gehenna."

Shura's face remained neutral.

He set his hands down, determined to crack that arrogantly cool facade of hers. "I don't see for the life of me why Shiro left that half-breed to you. Only a selfish mentor throws their responsibilities onto their student. However, I never expected you of all people to be obedient to that man's"

"I took Rin as my student because he earned the right to be," Shura interjected. She maintained an impressive air of indifference despite her words. "I didn't like the idea of raising Satan's son any more than you do now. Everyone's got a little bit o' demon in them; it's all a matter of who trains them the best. That's what Shiro told me the day he asked me to look after Rin, and that's what I told Rin the day I found him worthy to be my pupil."

Arthur chuckled. "After all these years, the first apprentice Shura Kirigakure accepts has more fire than herself."

"Enough to finally singe off those annoying eyebrows of yours."

"Less than six months to accomplish that."

And finally, he achieved his goal. Her facade cracked with a heated glare, but it couldn't hide how she really felt: worried.

Good.

Arthur straightened. "Shura. You violated the Order's trust by allowing that exwire" the word sounded like dirt on his tongue "into a level 3 quarantine zone. Before we consider the fact you were instructed not to let the boy out of your sight, let's discuss how, exactly, he stumbled into a buried ruin."

"Everything's in the report."

"I'd much rather hear it from you, without your sloppy caligraphy getting in the way."

"You'll have to deal with my smart mouth then."

"If you know what's good for you, then no, I don't think I'll have to."

Shura didn't know when her fists had tightened, but it took an immense amount of concentration to regain her calm and loosen them. Seeing no way to refuse, she began to relay the evening.

._..._.

._.

The preserved trail wound up the mountain.

"He never learns," Shura quipped, bouncing the rifle on her shoulders. She took one last amused look at the trail before plowing after the exwire.

Shortly after, his panicked voice came through the walkie-talkie. After a bizarre round of questions, Shura frowned.

"You sure yer alright? Ya sound spooked kiddo."

"It was nothin'. I think I finally know what you mean by feeling the world."

"Well, ya still haven't picked me out."

Static rendered his response incoherent.

"Rin, what did you say?"

The line was quiet. She tried again. Quiet still.

"Shit."

It was just interference―they were on a mountain, for Assiah's sakebut what about Rin's behavior? He was a shitty liar. Something had gotten under his skin, and while usually, the teen was passionate and outgoing when confronted, he seemed oddly subdued and stressed. Perhaps he met trouble along the way? The park had demons, yes, but nothing dangerous. That didn't guarantee one wouldn't show up, and Rin never balked at the opportunity of a fight.

Not liking where her thoughts drifted, Shura pushed into a full sprint. This wasn't a time for normal tracking, she decided. She pulled a small charm from her jacket. Who'd have thought it would be used on her own pupil?

"What I desire, what I seek; with blood giv'n prior, lend your mystique!"

The charm smoked, grew hot. A winged serpent no bigger than her arm sizzled to life. Liquid black scales contrasted sharply against dusty white wings as violet, intelligent eyes narrowed questioningly at their contractor.

"The one I seek is on this mountain. Find him." Shura filled herself with thoughts of Rin and pulled back a sleeve.

The snake looked at her disdainfully.

"I don't have any o' his," she snapped.

It flicked its tongue. Perhaps offended. Too bad.

Sharp fangs sank into her exposed golden flesh. It was a bright cold pain compared to the heat in her muscles. Adrenaline wouldn't let her register the familiar take three mouthfuls of bloodequivalent to the difficulty of the taskand release her. It lifted its head, maw now tinted rich red. Turning in the direction Shura ran, its wings unfurled and launched forward.

Shura clamped down on her arm and hauled ass after it. The black serpent was easy to follow, but the shadows of night were quickly stealing that advantage. Only a few minutes passed before the serpent double-backed. To her surprise, it curled around her contract arm. She lifted it questioningly, watching as the snake rested its head in her palm and fizzled out into burnt paper.

Seconds passed. The paper fluttered.

If the serpent left without finishing its mission, that meant one thing. Her fists crushed the remains. She growled and charged through the forest. There was no way.

The forest spat her onto the mountainside. Chest heaving, she scanned the snowscape for the dark-haired teen. Or worse, signs of a struggle.

There was neither.

"Rin!"

No response. Shura ground her teeth and charged on.

Think! What was Rin doing? He complained of odd sounds but didn't explain. Said he knew what she meant by feeling the world.

Shura stopped. She calmed herself and closed her eyes. The landscape reappeared not as defined shapes, but conglomerates of energy behind her eyelids. She sifted through them like a weaver before a full loom of strings, searching for Rin's unique signature. The strain made itself known quickly: her head pounded, her hands grew clammy, and acid swirled in her stomach. When she withdrew, gasping and sweating, her pupil was still missing. But the search was not in vain.

Her eyes were raw from being shut for so long, but she fixed them on a rock formation with strange energy. The two slabs met in a tent-like structure. She approached and found a freshly made hole inside.

"Rin!"

._..._.

._.

"And that's how you found him? Alone at the bottom of the cavern?"

Shura flexed her bandaged arm, drawing his eyes to it. "He fell through the ice while fending off a demon. Most likely a high-level lygus(1)."

"There was no demon in your official report."

"No visible signs by the time I got there."

She knew what was coming next.

"So he could be lying."

"No." Rin's pale face, tensed shoulders, the helpless disbelief plainly written in his eyes."He's not lying."

Arthur eyed her suspiciously. "That's a lot of trust to place in an akuma."

"He's a person, Arthur," she said, finally through with hiding her pent-up anger. "Stop forcin' your bullshit prejudice on my pupil and get over it. I'm done with this report."

Arthur quieted but a storm brewed behind his golden eyes. He was the paladin; no one dismissed him like that, not even the Grigori. How strange it was to stand across him like this, she thought. Stiff and silent, awaiting the thunder. This man, who was once an easily frightened, teary-eyed pretty boy using every chance to fight her; who hated mushrooms, squawked like a parrot when caught unawares, watched the exorcists with glowing eyes, insisted on becoming the "loyalest knight."

People mistook him for the easygoing, laughing Angel he played himself off to be. No one knew the calculating, cold statue underneath, one that bore no resemblance to the naive boy he once was.

As if reading her frame of mind, Arthur closed his eyes. When they reopened, the maelstrom had lessened. In a gruff voice, he asked, "Years ago, when we were kidsdo you remember Endovier's Gauntlets?"

Shura blinked, then narrowed her eyes. He never brought up their shared past. "Ya gonna lecture me like the Sister?"

"Please. It goes through one ear and out the other."

"I listen to the important stuff."

"You barely follow orders."

"I listen to the important stuff."

The ghost of a smile passed over his flat lips. An odd expression for a statue. "You haven't changed. Back then, you ignored me and stole the Order's heirloom."

"Borrowed," she corrected. "I liked the colorred 'n shiny. Not as fashionable in practice."

"Too bad for Dave. You realized that after smashing his nose in."

"He should'a seen it coming." She had no pity for the tall, sneering asshole. "His blood made em sparkle more."

Arthur laced his hands together, unperturbed by the violent detail. "Seems the Sister didn't lecture you enough."

"Don't get yer briefs in a bunch. What's life without some mischief here n' there?"

"Long, noble, less painful."

She let out a dramatic gasp. "No wonder yer so grim and grey."

His scowl was priceless.

She snickered and crossed her arms, relaxing a fraction.

"Well, the grim and grey know plenty of ideas for punishments."

Ah, right. All business. She stiffened back into formality.

Almost.

"Alright, Bossy-brow, whaddya have for me?"

It was his turn to smile wickedly.

._..._.

._.

It was warm today. A rare occurrence for the frozen mountain. Quiet blanketed the mountain as heavy as the snow on the ground. Even the wind refused a single whisper.

The owl shook its feathers, a soft shhh in the calm air. With a silence matching that of the forest, it left its perch and glided through the trees.

Keen, golden eyes scanned the environment. Prey was scarce. The owl barely caught enough for itself. Without enough food to care for a mate, it remained unpaired, nesting alone on the higher peaks.

It was an odd behavior, to say the least. A smart bird flew south for the temperate woodlands ripe with lemmings. Hence, the mountain was as scarce of birds as it was rodents.

Yet this one remained.

The owl turned mid-flight and landed unseen in a tall aspen. Something startled it.

On the sparse forest floor, the quiet morning of the Brooks Mountain Range was interrupted by a group of men crunching through the snow. Their breaths clouded the air, voices traveling far over the flat land. A few pulled large sleds.

The owl bobbled its head, focusing on the figures. Voices drifted up into the tree.

"uits. Though they stuck close to the seas. Perhaps this is a brand new culture!"

"Don't get too excited, Takumi."

"What do you mean?"

"We've had this land over a hundred years. Then that bastard's son waltzes in and stumbles on a new ruin?" A grunt. "Reeks of trouble."

"What're ye doing here if ye don' like it?"

"You misjudge meI'd cross the depths of Gehenna if that's where my trade took me. However it happened, this 'lost temple' has surfaced from the depths of time. Would you pass an opportunity like this?"

There was a brief silence.

"Didn't think so. I'm only saying this as a warning. What we find may not be an innocent group of people making their livelihoods in the mountains."

Uncertainty combined with their heavy gear weighed down any further conversation.

The owl watched the group as they traveled. The higher up the mountain they went, the more agitated it became. Its beak twittered. It followed the humans until the barren mountainside appeared within sight.

"Ou! Check the coordinates! Me-thinks this is the area."

A man flipped through some papers. "Nn! It matches the description." The proximity invigorated.

From high above, the owl's irises narrowed.

Clouds began gathering in the distance.