I squirmed under Mephisto's scary and slightly-stalkerish gaze. "What's this about?" I demanded, wanting to get out of his office as soon as possible. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, no, my dear!" Mephisto cried. "You're not in trouble at all! I just called you up here to talk to you about your chosen career as an Exorcist."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "So this isn't about putting the itching powder in the boys' locker room?"

Mephisto chuckled. "Heavens, no! That was the best show I've ever witnessed! All those boys hopping around, trying ever so hard not to scratch themselves…" He seemed to kind of wander off in his mind, dreaming about the guys after I'd put itching powder literally everywhere in the boys' gym locker room. That had been rich, watching them resisting the urge to scratch and failing when we'd had to run from the Leapers again…Shaking myself, I said, "Look, can I go now? I've got a class right now, you know."

Mephisto shook himself and said, "Hold on. I called you up here to talk about your career choice." He pulled my paper out from a cabinet in his desk and looked it over. "I see you've put 'Rogue' as you choice for your Meister. You are aware that there hasn't been a Rogue in at least two hundred years, correct?"

I gulped and nodded. "Yes, sir," I said, squirming some more. My skin was burning a little and itching some more, but I wasn't sure why. Could it have been Mephisto? I still didn't think he was human. "I still want to be a Rogue, though."

"Hmm," the principal said. "I see. And you're sure you'd rather not try for a different field? Mr. Neuhaus tells me you got a knack for summoning demons. Why not be a Tamer?"

"Well, you see," I said, tugging at my collar. The burning was freaking seriously annoying me. "I want Rogue as my first Meister and Tamer as my second. I'd rather not just send my demons into a fight without being by their side. I can't pass up a good fight. I…I feel like I need to protect my friends and brothers, and how can I do that when I'm just sending in demons to do my dirty work? It just doesn't sit right with me. I want to get in there and do damage myself, like Rin does."

"Rogues had a high fatality rate, you know," Mephisto pointed out. "You'd probably die."

I gave him a steady look. "You and I both know just who I am, so cut the crap, Mephisto. You know I'd live through my battles, demon by my side or no."

"And you're sure you wouldn't rather just be a Tamer?" Mephisto cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, sir."

"Well then!" Mephisto clapped his hands. "Good idea! Let's get down to business, then." My jaw dropped as he lifted a computer from his lap and opened it. "Now, first of all, we need to get you a pair of knives…"

"Wait, wait!" I cried, leaping across the desk and slamming the computer shut. "You're just going to go along with this? I thought you were going to try to talk me out of it!"

"Silly girl!" Mephisto laughed, shaking his head. "Of course I won't! I just wanted to know your motives for being a Rogue to see if you'd actually stick with it. Now, get off my laptop so we can choose a set of knives for you. You'll buy them yourself, of course…"

"Of course," I grumbled. "I have an account of eBay, if you want to start searching there…"

"No, no! Don't you know anything? Rogues used reinforced silver daggers that had demons concealed in them, one from each type! Fire, water, earth, air, and rot! You can't find anything like that of good quality on eBay! Of course, we'll be infusing your flames into them, much like how we did with Rin's sword, so we'll start with the knives that don't have demons in them. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of those types out on the market…" Mephisto turned the laptop screen to me so I could look over the knives. "There, there are four different sets. Take your pick, and we'll order them."

"There's a website called Be An Exorcist Dot Com?" I asked, studying the website. "And I thought that Exorcists were like a hidden society!"

"Oh, we are," Mephisto assured me. "But even we need a market for items we use. This website is blocked from anyone outside this academy or computers used within the True Cross Order. Now, please pick the daggers you want. We haven't got all day."

A certain pair caught my eye. They were bluish silver, with sapphires in the hilt and an intricately designed cross-guard. The blades were each eight inches long and the hilt was about three and a half, not including the studs at the end. The hilt was wrapped in wire instead of leather for better grip. They came with their own silver sheaths that you could strap to your belt. I checked the price.

"¥24,000?" I yelped. "That's way too much!"

"I never said they were cheap, did I?" Mephisto said, looking at my choice. "Ah, and these are relatively cheap for such a fine pair." Cheap? I didn't want to know how much a pair with demons infused in them cost, then. "I will order them for you, since I'm the one who has an account on this website, and you will reimburse me, along with the shipping and handling costs." He looked up at my blue face and said, "Scurry along, now. You have a class to go to." I gathered up my things and slammed the door on my way out, fuming that he'd made me spend so much on a pair of freaking daggers.


"Sorry I'm late!" I cried, bursting into my next class that I'd already missed half of. "I had to go to the principal's office…um…" I felt my face turn red as everybody looked at me. "Zat iz alvright, Mademoiselle Okumura," the teacher, who was part French, said. "You 'ave not mizzed much. Pleaze, take your zeat and Mousier Suguro will continue vith 'is recitation. Mousier Suguro, from zee top again, pleaze."

"Yes," Suguro said as I sat down and looked back at him. He took a deep breath and began, "Every day we thank Thee. And we praise Thy name forever, yea, forever and ever. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee. O Lord, in Thee I have hoped; let me never be put to shame."

"Zat was le perfect!" the teacher cried as everybody started clapping. I was impressed. I knew he was good at memorizing, but this…this was just…mind-blowing.

"Amazing!" Shiemi told him once the bell rang. "I was so surprised!"

"That was absolutely fantastic, Bon!" I cried.

"Be careful not to fall for me now," he said, smirking at us. He gave me a wink. I was a little taken aback, but I recovered quickly; I'd been hit on by guys before and knew how to completely knock them off their high horse. "So do you want your reward kiss now or later?" I teased.

He gave me a startled look, then, smirking again and thinking he was calling a bluff, said, "Now would be good, if you're not too scared." He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"Alright," I said standing up. He looked a little surprised as I made the short walk from my desk to his, but he stayed where he was and didn't protest. I leaned down, hands on my hips, so I was in his face, forcing him to lock eyes with me. His lips parted a little, like he was anticipating for one on the lips, and I grinned. I gave him my own smirk and leaned closer in, giving him a quick kiss on the nose. He jumped in surprise and stared at me as I leaned back and said, "There you go, Ryuji-chan. If you're good, maybe you'll get a little…more." Winking, I went to gather up my bags, making sure my ass was sticking up in the air, facing him, before I straightened and walked out the door, doing my sexiest walk. "Later, Ryuji-chan," I said, my voice like silk.

I shut the door softly and waited on the other side to hear what the others would say. I could hear Renzo, Rin, and even Konekomaru laughing hysterically. "Damn, Bon," Renzo puffed between his laughs, "why didn't you smack that? I'd tap that, for sure! She even offered!"

"Jeez, Bon," Konekomaru, of all people, giggled, "you've been rendered completely helpless!"

"Yeah, was it that good?" Rin snickered. "I didn't know nose-kisses could be so enticing!"

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Ryuji screamed, finally remembering himself.

"I don't see why you're all making a big fuss," I heard Izumo, the resident queen bitch, say. "It was just a kiss on the nose, and for his memorization. Memorization isn't that great a skill."

"Huh? Did you say something?" Ryuji asked.

"Bon…" Konekomaru said, trying to head off the storm that was brewing.

Ryuji gave a small laugh. "I don't want to hear that from someone who can't even remember four lines!" he mocked. I opened the door a crack to see what was going on.

Izumo jumped up. "It's not that I can't!" she protested weakly. "I just chose not to remember!" I rolled my eyes and quietly reentered the room. "Arias are totally defenseless while chanting, so they need to be protected by their team!" Izumo was continuing. "They're just luggage!"

"What?" Ryuji snapped, leaping up and walking to the front of the room as Izumo made her way in front of Rin and Shiemi's desk. "We're aiming for Aria, you know!"

"Bon…" Renzo and Konekomaru said.

"So scary," Izumo said sarcastically. She placed a hand on her hip. "If you want to hit me, go on!"

"I really can't stand you. Don't laugh at other peoples' dreams!" he snarled. He slammed his hand down on the desk, making Rin finally look up from his book.

"Ah, that you'll defeat Satan?" she mocked. "Are you telling me not to laugh at such a joke?"

I ground my teeth together. Looking at Ryuji, I could tell she'd struck a nerve. "All right, both of you cool it!" I snapped, stepping between them and holding out my arms. "You," I snapped, glaring at Ryuji, "need to seriously quit picking a fight with everyone who looks at you the wrong way." He took a step back, a bit of shock on his face. "And you," I said, rounding on Izumo, "need to quit acting like a royal bitch who thinks she can rule the world. You're both getting on my nerves, so just fucking stop it before I kick both your asses!"

Izumo snarled and said, "Well, you need to stay out of other people's business!" She grabbed me by my shoulders and shoved me back onto the desk I'd been sitting at. I hit my head against the sharp edge and I felt a small bit of blood well up underneath my raven hair. Momentarily dazed, my vision swam as Ryuji demanded, "What about you? Why do you want to be an Exorcist?"

"I…" she hesitated. "I've never told anyone why I want to be an Exorcist, unlike show-offs like you."

My vision cleared just as Ryuji snapped, "You little bitch!" and grabbed Izumo by her collar.

"Ryuji, no!" I cried, diving forward and hitting his knees. He stumbled as Izumo tried to smack him. Instead, she hit Rin across the face, who was standing up, about to break up the fight.

"Ouch," Rin muttered, and then he glared at the two warring students. "If you want to fight, do it somewhere else!" he yelled.

"That's enough!" a familiar voice called. We all turned to see Yukio enter the room. He gave us a mischievous smile, which was way more frightening than if he would've frowned at us. Eyebrows twitching, he asked, "How about you behave yourselves?" He gathered us all up and led us to a room that had a bunch of stones sitting along one wall. He made us all sit and put a rock in each of our laps.

"What's with this stone?" Rin asked, his face turning blue. "It's getting heavier!"

"It's a low level demon," Konekomaru strained.

"Yeah, they're called Bariyons," I mumbled, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. "The longer you hold them, the heavier they get. They used to be used for punishment back in the Middle Ages. Condemned criminals would lie on their backs and have one placed on their chests, slowly suffocating them until they died. Now, apparently, they're used for school torture programs."

"This sucks!" Rin cried.

"You don't even know about Ghost Stones? Pathetic," Ryuji criticized Rin.

"Shut up!" Rin snapped. "It's because you had to pick a fight…!"

"It's called collective responsibility," Yukio interrupted. "There's another purpose to this camp besides studying, and that's strengthening your bonds with each other."

"Yeah, because that's going so well," I said sarcastically.

"I don't want to have bonds with these people," Izumo said in her prissy way, giving me a pointed look. I leaned past Ryuji and Rin and snarled at her, earning a smack from Yukio.

"You have to get along with each other!" Yukio snapped. "An Exorcist cannot fight alone!" He looked us over as we all stayed silent. We knew he was right. "Support each other's abilities and cover weaknesses," Yukio continued in a calmer voice. "Everyone fights in teams of at least two. In battles, a quarrel in the team can lead to death! Think about that." He pulled back his sleeve and checked the time. "Now, I'll be gone for three hours on a mission. Due to the incident with the ghoul yesterday, I'll lock every entrance to the dormitory and put up strong barriers around it."

"Lock the entrances?" Ryuji asked. "Then how can we get out?"

"There's no need for you to go out," Yukio said dismissively. "In the three hours I'll be gone, you will all get on well and cool your heads." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" I yelped. "What if we have to go to the bathroom?"

He gave me a steady look so I'd know he wasn't joking. "You'll just have to hold it for three hours." He left and locked the door.

"Three hours…" Renzo moaned. "He's the demon here!"

"I can't take it anymore," Ryuji grunted. "Are you three really related?"

"Sometimes I wonder…" I muttered.

"He's a really nice guy," Rin said unconvincingly, looking down at his rock. "Somewhere deep within…"

I snorted. "Key word, 'somewhere'."

Ryuji glared at Izumo for a second and looked away. "We're in this nice situation because of a certain someone," he muttered loudly to me.

"Says the one who grabbed me by my collar!" Izumo snapped.

"And who started the fight to begin with?" he snapped, looking over Rin's head at her.

"Don't fight with me in the middle!" Rin snarled at them. They ignored him.

"You really are an annoying woman!" Ryuji said, leaning forward to look at her.

Izumo smirked. "Tell me something new. So what?"

"You'll just scare everyone away like that!"

"Ok, enough!" I yelled, smacking Ryuji across the back of his head and glaring at Izumo. "Will you guys just quit it already? I don't want to listen to you guys bicker for three hours! I'd rather sleep with Renzo!"

"Hey, it wouldn't be that bad!" said pink-haired boy protested. We ignored him.

"I thought I told you to keep your nose out of other people's business!" Izumo snarled at me.

"And I thought I told you to quit being such a bitch!"

"Do you wanna fight me?"

"Any day, any place, any freaking time, Queen of the Sluts. I'll fight you right now!"

"Stupid! You can't even reach me, you've got a rock on your lap and so do I!"

"Wanna bet?" I reached past Ryuji and Rin, trying to grab her, Izumo reaching for me to slap me. We stared clawing at each other and snarling and hissing like two cats, with poor Rin and Ryuji right between us.

Without warning, the lights clicked off. "What?" Rin yelled as Shiemi let out a shriek. We all jumped up, somehow able to push the rocks off our laps. "Yeow!" Rin yelled. "The stone landed on my foot!"

As Rin moaned and nursed his foot, Ryuji asked, "What's going on? Did he turn off the lights too?"

"That can't be it!" Konekomaru cried, afraid all of the sudden.

"Then is it a blackout?" Izumo asked, momentarily forgetting our fight.

"No, look. There are lights outside," Renzo said, pointing to the windows.

"I don't like this," I said. "I feel like we're in a horror movie. Now all we need is for the zombies to bust down the door and eat us."

Konekomaru yelped. "Don't say that!" he cried.

"Is this building the only one without power?" Rin asked, looking up from his foot.

"Let's go outside," Renzo proclaimed, standing up.

"Renzo, be careful!" Konekomaru said. "You might let in the zombies!"

I rolled my eyes. "There are no zombies, idiot," I said. "I just said that to creep someone out; we're not actually in a horror film." Konekomaru whimpered but didn't say anything.

Renzo chuckled. "Events like this always get me excited," he said.

"Why, because if any of the girls get scared, you'll be free to hold them?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, that," he said, grabbing the doorknob. "It's also a real test of courage."

"Let me guess: another way for you to show off for girls?"

He grinned a perverted grin at me. I rolled my eyes. "Somebody kill me now," I muttered.

He laughed and opened the door, not looking. We all froze, waiting to see if there actually was anything. He frowned and looked through the door. He shut it and rubbed his eyes. "I guess I haven't slept enough," he said. He turned and looked at us, smiling. "I just…"

A rotting arm slammed through the door right in front of Renzo. Yelping, he ducked under it and ran back to us, cowering behind Rin. The ghoul from yesterday shoved its heads through the door, moaning.

"Rin," I gasped.

"That's…" he said.

We all jumped up to our feet as the ghoul lurched through the doorway, its nasty stench wafting towards us. "That's the ghoul from yesterday!" Izumo cried.

"Didn't he put up barriers?" Konekomaru wailed, inching closer to me, for some reason.

We all watched as the ghoul's second head swelled like a zit about to pop, its stitching coming undone. The head burst, spraying us all with some kind of pus-like liquid.

"Ew," I complained.

"What is this?" Rin asked.

"Ugh, it's its miasma!" Izumo moaned.

The ghoul stumbled toward us, a long, pointed tongue stretching for us from its new mouth.

"Ni-chan!" Shiemi said. Her Greenman suddenly appeared and landed in her cupped hands. "Can you give me eely-billy?"

"Ni!" The tiny demon jumped up, crying, "Nininininini!" as tree roots sprang from its little body, forcing the ghoul back to the other side of the room, blocking it from coming towards us.

"Whoa…" we all awed. "Amazing!"

"Thank you Ni-chan!" Shiemi cried, rubbing Ni against her face.

"Ni!"

"You saved us Shiemi," Rin said, walking up to a small opening in the roots. "Thanks to you…" Something drew his attention into the roots. He gasped.

"What is it, Nii-san?" I asked, hurrying over.

"Stay back!" he commanded, stopping me. "It just split apart into two ghouls!"

Something began banging against the roots on the other side of the room. "It's coming!" Renzo shouted above the racket the demon was making.

"It's lively for a corpse," Rin groused.

"Ghouls get really active when it's dark," Ryuji said.

I spared a glance at Shiemi. She started coughing, falling to her knees. "Shiemi, what's wrong?" I asked, kneeling beside the girl, rubbing her back.

"I feel dizzy," she said faintly.

Suddenly everybody but Rin and I started coughing. "Ryuji! Renzo! Guys, what's wrong?" I asked, frantic.

"It got so hot suddenly!" Ryuji cried, tugging at his collar.

"What's wrong with you?" Rin asked, as confused as I was.

"It's because of the ghoul's miasma," Izumo explained between coughs. "Doesn't it bother the two of you?" Before we had time to answer, she fell into a violent coughing fit.

"Damn, Yukio, where'd you go?" Rin muttered, dialing our brother's number on his phone.

"If Shiemi's strength runs out, the barricade will be gone," Ryuji said. "Then we'll be done for."

"Tell us something we don't know," I snapped.

"Ergh! He's not picking up his phone," Rin growled, shoving his phone in his pocket. "Then…"

"Rin!" I yelped as my brother made his way to the hole. "You're not actually going to…you're not seriously thinking…?"

He gazed at me steadily. "Protect them," he commanded.

"What are you doing?" Ryuji asked.

"I'll go out there and lure it away," Rin said, hopping up into the branches. "If they both follow me, you guys run away. Safaia will help protect you guys if one stays back."

"What are you talking about?" Ryuji snapped.

"Don't worry about me," Rin reassured. "I'm stronger than I look." He looked back to me. "Safaia…try not to…"

"I know," I snapped. "If you're going, then go!" He nodded and weaved his way through the branches.

"You idi—hey! Come back, Okumura!" Ryuji called.

"Okumura!" Konekomaru yelled.

"Stop!" Renzo howled.

Ryuji cast an accusing look at me. "You're actually letting him go and do that?"

I shrugged. "One of us had to," I stated. "One of us needed to stay back with you guys incase both ghouls didn't chase the other. Rin's the best candidate for the first job."

There was a crashing sound and I flinched. "Come and get me!" I heard Rin taunt, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Now if only I had my knives…

"What a guy…" Ryuji said, shaking his head.

"Anyway, let's just get out of here!" Renzo said. "Shiemi, you can lower the barricade."

"No, wait!" I yelped, spotting movement. My skin was starting to burn a little. "The other ghoul's still here!" We all stared through the branches.

Without warning, the second ghoul's head appeared right where we were staring, a little too close for comfort. The boys jumped. "You're kidding me," Konekomaru wailed.

The ghoul started smashing branches out of its way. Ryuji crouched next to me. "I can't just sit and wait until it gets through," he told me.

I shook my head. "Me either," I said. I looked at him. "Like in the forest?" I quizzed.

He nodded. "Like in the forest," he said. He stood up. "Let's kill it with chants," he announced.

"Bon, that's fine, but do you know its Fatal Verse?" Konekomaru asked as they all looked at him.

"I don't, but ghoul type demons usually have their Fatal Verses from the Gospel of John," he said. "I memorized all of it already, so if I just recite it, I'll hit the right one somewhere."

"All of it?" Renzo exclaimed. "But that's more than twenty chapters!"

"Twenty-one, that is," Konekomaru said. "I've memorized one through ten. Let me help."

"Sure, let's do this, Konekomaru," Ryuji said.

"Wait a second!" Izumo screamed. "If you start chanting, it'll attack you!"

"Duh," I said, breaking off a part of the tree limbs. I wielded my new weapon like a mace, a sense of déjà vu passing over me. I shrugged it off. "That's why I'm going to keep the demon's attention." I gave Ryuji a grin and he gave me a crooked one in return.

"Besides, that girl is protecting us all alone!" Ryuji pointed to Shiemi, who was in a praying position, holding onto Ni for what seemed dear life. "A guy just can't sit back and wait!"

"Bon, you're a real man," Renzo said, giving us his trademark mischievous smile. He pulled something out from under his shirt. He clanked three metal parts together, revealing a staff-like weapon with rings on one end. "I haven't memorized it at all," he said, twisting one part on tight.

"You had that with you?" Ryuji asked.

"I'll help Safaia-chan distract it," Renzo said, giving me a smile.

"You're stupid!" Izumo butted in.

"What? You had such a big mouth earlier," Ryuji said, "but now that things get real, you wet yourself. Stand back if you're not going to fight!"

Ryuji turned. "Konekomaru, you do it from the first chapter, I'll start from the eleventh." He turned to me and Renzo. "Don't let it get through."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you always do this?" I asked innocently.

"What, take charge?"

"No, I meant state the obvious."

I watched with satisfaction as he puffed up, ready to deliver a snarky comment, and was slightly disappointed as he wound down and growled, "Shut up and fight the demon. Summon Koinu, if you have to."

"Good idea." I pulled out my paper and said, "Hellhound, I am your mistress! Obey my every whim!" Koinu materialized before me, triple the size of a normal Cocker Spaniel. "Hey, boy! We need your help. See that ghoul?" I pointed at said demon and Koinu snarled at it. "Yeah, you remember him, don't you? You ready for a rematch?" Koinu woofed happily, his tail wagging above our heads. Ryuji and Renzo had to duck so they wouldn't be decapitated by my hellhound's overexcited tail.

Ryuji and Konekomaru sat down, cross-legged, with their fingers intertwined the right way so they could chant. "Let's do this!" Ryuji commanded, and he and Konekomaru began to chant as Renzo and I readied our weapons and Koinu howled.

"This is going to be one helluva fight," I said.


A/N Thank you, all of you who have reviewed my story! It really means a lot to me.

Yes, JHO14, I was referring to Fruits Basket, as you saw! (If any of you haven't read it, I recommend it; it's such a cute manga, even though I haven't read all that much of it. I'm hoping to catch up with it soon.)

wahs96, I realize that now, and thank you so much for pointing it out! I am planning on having something a little different from the normal manga/anime that we all know and love come soon, but it's kinda hard deciding where to put it since Blue Exorcist is a newer thing, but hopefull the Demon Sleep will come soon! Oh, wait, did I just give something away? Damn spoilers!

Anyway, TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE READ AND REVIEWED THIS, AND A BIG THANKS TO ANYONE JUST READING IT! Chapter 8 will be up soon!