A New Normal

Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.

Chapter Seven: Beloved Siblings

Sunday afternoon Izumo stepped back to survey the new paint job in the third floor lobby with satisfaction. "That should do it."

Rin nodded. "We did a good job. Once it's dry the other guys and I can start hauling up the bookshelves. Then we'll have our own library. We can unpack those boxes of rare books the junior class scored this summer and Bon can finally stop salivating over them."

Izumo frowned at the mention of Bon's name.

"Bon and Konekomaru and probably Mana-chan too, I heard she's going for Aria," Rin corrected himself. Then he stepped up behind Izumo and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling the side of her neck. "Everyone else is busy and it's been days and days," he pointed out.

"Not in here," Izumo protested, flushing. "Anyone could walk in. Besides, if the smell of the paint bothers me, it must bother you. Lets go to my room, Paku volunteered to help stage this year's Fall Festival, they have a meeting tonight so she won't be back until late."

"Your room?" Rin squeaked, his eyes went wide.

Izumo grabbed his hand, her cheeks were cherry red as she unlocked her door and pulled him inside. "It's not like we're going any further than before," she insisted. "It's just a room." She locked the door and put the chain on, just in case Paku came back early.

Rin stood in the middle of the room, hands at his sides as if he were afraid to touch anything or sit anywhere. Izumo glanced at her bed then pulled out her desk chair for him. With no place convenient to sit herself, Izumo hopped up on the desk. Rin scooted the chair closer and she leaned down to kiss him.

Sitting like that, the height difference between them forced Rin to stretch up and Izumo to bend over awkwardly. Izumo braced her forearms against Rin's chest and leaned into him. Rin's lips were chapped and slightly rough, his mouth was stained red and Izumo could faintly taste the cherry popsicle he'd eaten earlier. She scooted forward, to the edge of the desk. Rin put his hands on her hips, supporting her as she leaned into him. She edged forward a bit more, liking the way Rin's strength made her feel weightless as he steadied her precarious perch.

After a few minutes of kissing, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for Izumo to slide off the desk altogether and into Rin's lap, straddling the chair. Rin ran his hands up and down her back, urging Izumo to press herself more closely against him. Izumo pulled her legs up, tucking them alongside Rin's thighs on the edges of the chair.

Rin's hands slid down to cup her butt and Izumo gasped as it pressed her core against his growing hardness. Before he could retreat, Izumo licked at Rin's lips. She tangled her fingers in his hair as she deepened the kiss. Rin's breath came in irregular pants and huffs as he tried to control his body's reaction to Izumo pressing up against him, her scent and heat surrounding him. Izumo's fingers found their way under the collar of Rin's shirt. She traced the column of his neck until her thumbs were rubbing circles over the ridge of his collar bone. Rin's pulse raced under her fingers.

Izumo could feel herself becoming wet as Rin squirmed beneath her, she could feel him hard against her. Rin started to push her away, like he had every other time they made out. Izumo pressed herself closer to him, "I like it," she whispered, burying her face against Rin's neck so he couldn't see how red her face was. "I like feeling that I-I turn you on. That I'm not funny-looking to you or that crazy girl. It feels good that you want me."

Rin shivered and clutched Izumo against him, "How can you want me? I'm-"

Izumo claimed his mouth before Rin could repeat any of the negative things he'd been taught to believe about himself. Rin's hands slid up her back, Izumo's shirt had come untucked, they both gasped as his fingers her bared midriff.

They kissed until they were both dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Izumo sat back, staring down at Rin, his head tipped back, eyes dark with lust, mouth open, chest heaving as he panted for air. No one was going to walk in and catch them.

Once she had her breath back, Izumo kissed Rin again, her tongue darting out to taste his mouth. He groaned and pressed up against her. They continued kissing from several minutes more. Izumo felt like there needed to be some sort of conclusion. She licked her lips and reached for the button to Rin's pants.

"No," Rin said, suddenly fearful. He lifted her back on to the desk and scooted away, the chair legs screeching against the title floor.

Izumo pressed her legs together and smoothed her shirt down feeling ashamed how forward she'd been. Rin looked like he'd had a bucket of ice water dumped on him. For several moments they sat there, not looking at each other.

"I don't want to hurt you," Rin mumbled.

"What?" Izumo exclaimed.

Rin flinched.

"How would you hurt me?" Izumo demanded recovering her poise.

Staring at the wall to Izumo's left, Rin turned up his hands, as if reaching for the words he couldn't quite find. "People say bad stuff about girls who um… and I'm..."

"And guys brag about how far they go," Izumo stated. "Double standards are stupid. Don't worry about anyone but us."

"How can I?" Rin exclaimed. "The Order burned my mom for getting pregnant with me. What if they hurt you for being with me?"

Izumo flushed. "I absolutely wasn't going to do anything that could get me pregnant," she said. Then she sighed, "I should tell you."

At her tone, Rin looked at her worriedly.

Izumo slid off the desk and walked over to the window.

"I have a little sister," Izumo said, leaning her forehead against the glass. "Out there, somewhere. I'm responsible for her. I can't risk anything that would get in the way of finding her, of making sure she's okay. Tsukumo's just a baby and I let them take her away."

"Who?" Rin asked, getting up to follow her. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing," Izumo bit her lip. "I shouldn't have told you. You can't do anything and I can't tell you anything else. If they get mad, they'll hurt Tsukumo. This is my responsibility, but you should know why. I don't know what sort of stupidity the Order thinks because of who your father is, but I'll stop us from going that far because I have to put Tsukumo above everything else until she's safe and happy."

"I understand," Rin said. "You have to take care of your family, I understand that." He grimaced. "When the Order tried to burn my mom, that was the Blue Night. I ought to hate Satan for the Blue Night, everyone else does, but he was trying to rescue my mom. Even if I'm sure he was just using her, the Order was gonna burn my mom at the stake and Satan rescued her. But the Myodha weren't even a part of the Order then and he killed Konekomaru's parents and Professor Neuhaus' family. I don't know what to think."

"Does it matter?" Izumo asked. "Maybe he was using her and didn't care who got hurt to keep his plans from being upset. That he came after you all these years later sort of points to that. Or he loved her and he didn't care who got hurt saving her; you don't have to be a good person to fall in love.

For several moments Rin silently chewed on his lower lip. "No," he said. "Even if he was just trying to protect my mom that night; he's Satan, evil. Bon and I, we're going to defeat him."

They stood together silently for a long time, then Izumo whispered. "I don't know what I'm going to have to do to save Tsukumo. I don't want to hurt anyone except the people who took her." Izumo's expression twisted. "Them? If I have the chance, I'll cut their throats as they sleep," she snarled. "But if I have to, to save Tsukumo… Our mother, she was never there for us. I always looked out for Tsukumo, she was so little. I can't be like my mother. I can't let her down too. Tsukumo's my baby sister, I won't leave her with no one to depend on."

"Let me help you," Rin said. "Whatever I can, whatever you need, let me help."

Slowly, hesitantly, Izumo nodded and Rin closed the gap between them. They stood together, staring out into the night until Paku came back from her meeting and found the door latched then teased Izumo unmercifully as Rin retreated downstairs.


At four forty, on the first day of class in the new term, Rin rolled out of bed eager to start the day. He glanced over at Bon's side of the room then snickered. "Well, at least you've got the sense to read in bed instead of trying to sit up all night," he whispered as he picked up the open book resting on Bon's face and put it on the nightstand beside the other boy's alarm clock after carefully marking the page. Later, as he slipped out the door into the pre-dawn morning, it hit Rin that he'd thought about Yukio, tangentially at least, without feeling guilt or pain.

"Hi guys!" Rin called as he let himself into the Academy's kitchen and traded his school jacket for a chef's smock.

"Welcome back," Itamae shouted from deeper in the kitchen. "I hear you had a productive summer."

"It was really cool being in charge of a kitchen," Rin admitted.

"Well then, you should be ready to learn how to make a souffle," Itamae said. "Ukobach started practice a week ago."

The little demon looked up from his counter and grinned at Rin challengingly.

Rin gulped, then smiled, "Bring it on."

Several hours later, Godain stopped by to give Rin his backpack. "There's always tomorrow," he overheard Itamae console Rin in a teasing tone.

"See you in math," Godain said as he turned to go.

"Yeah. Thanks," Rin said hefting the backpack. Then he ducked his head in embarrassment, "I can't believe I forgot this."

After his half-day of standard academics Rin joined the three second year Exwires for there Demonology class. Adachi-sensei looked from the four filled seats in his classroom to the clock and frowned.

"We're it," Bon said. "Shima and Moriyama aren't looking to join the True Cross anymore. I figured you would have heard."

"Sir Pheles' notion of priority can be unique," Adachi sighed. "We spent our last staff meeting writing letters to one of the networks protesting the removal of his favorite character from one of his anime, apparently the lost of two of his students didn't rate."

Izumo rolled her eyes, Konekomaru covered his face, Bon sighed and Rin snickered. None of the Exwires were particularly shocked by Mephisto's behavior anymore.

"Well, if that's the case get out your texts," Adachi continued. "We will be continuing our studies of the so-called pagan 'gods' from last term. Review your Roman, Greek and Norse gods from last term, they will be on the final. This term we will be adding Egyptian, Slavic, and Polynesian mythologies. These are particularly important as Anubis is the current King of Rot, replacing Astaroth. Pele and Veles are also very important as they-"

The door slammed open. "Okumura! Suguro! Gather your gear and meet me at the Administration building. You have fifteen minutes," Angel ordered. He gave Adachi a perfunctory nod. "Apologies, time is of the essence."

Bon and Rin shoved their chairs back and ran.

"Suguro, any practice with rifles?" Angel called after the boys.

Bon wrinkled his nose in disgust, "I'm better with my Walther."

"Not enough range."

"I've worked a little with a Blaser," Bon admitted. "But I don't like sniper rifles."

Angel was already typing a message into his cell phone. "There will be one waiting for you." He glanced at Adachi, "I'll have them back by Wednesday morning. Let their other instructors know they are excused from class."

Adachi glanced over his remaining two students. "We'll have a study hall today," he decided.


Rin and Bon arrived at the Administration building with minutes to spare. Angel, Tamer-Adept Durov and Dragoon-Adept Oakley met them at Angel's office. "What's our mission?" Bon asked.

"Pele is under attack by Monadalkni," Angel said as he flipped through his keyring to produce a large golden key. He inserted it into the lock and opened the door onto a hallway lined with marble columns. Oakley handed each of the boys a large, heavy box to carry.

The moment the five of them walked through the doorway Rin noticed a change in the humidity and the smell of the air. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Rome," Angel said.

Rin gapped and stared around with wide-eyed wonder as Angel strode down the hall with a purposeful stride. Bon shook his head fondly and grabbed Rin's elbow, hauling him along as Rin continued trying to take in the sights.

"We are about to intervene in a battle between two so-called volcano gods in the middle of a volcano. This will require special preparation," Angel declared. Then he noticed that Rin was paying much more attention to the artwork lining the walls than to him and promptly thwacked the back of Rin's head. "This is a mission, not a sightseeing expedition!" he scolded.

Rin looked properly chastised but Bon still caught him stealing glances at their surroundings as Angel led them through St. Peter's Basilica, down innumerable flights of stairs to the catacombs then lower still. They paused for a moment to pick up lanterns then continued their descent.

The stairs terminated in a vast grotto, a cool blue glow emanating from deep, deep below the surface of the water illuminated the underground lake. Durov stepped forward. She took a small paper boat out of her coat, Rin and Bon caught a quick glimpse of the runes drawn on the paper before Durov pricked her finger with a pin and pressed the drop of blood to the paper. "Veles, brother, I am here, come to me," she entreated as she pushed the boat out into the water.

"You can set down the munitions boxes," Oakley said. "Veles will keep us waiting for a while, to remind us who he is if for no other reason.

Bon sighed with relief as he set the heavy box down. Rin easily stacked his box on top of Bon's then wandered toward the water's edge, peering curiously into the gloom, trying to see the lake's far side through the colorful stalactites hanging from the ceiling like frozen waterfalls.

"Don't touch the water," Angel warned Rin. "This is the source of the True Cross' holy water, the most potent in existence. It burns even if you're purely human; in your case it would likely sear you to the bone in an instant. Only demons of the Water Kingdom or those like Tereza, who possess a strong affinity for Water can safely come in contact with it."

Rin felt his oath to Mephisto take hold and took several steps back toward the stairs.

Angel dropped into parade rest, never quite turning his back on the underground lake, as he addressed Rin and Bon. "Two hours ago exorcists in Hawaii became aware that Pele was under attack by a second volcano god, Monadalkni of the Pacific Northwest." He tossed Bon a small booklet, "Chants from the Klamath People's shamen, they successfully resisted his incursion into Assiah during the eruption of Moy-Yaina, now known as the State of Oregon's Crater Lake."

"Monadalkni has no known oaths to Assiah, he was kept in check by Gmok'am'c, a mountain spirit," Angel continued. "If Monadalkni defeats Pele, he could conceivably cause a volcanic eruption that would obliterate the Island of Hawaii and fill the skies with enough ash to initiate a minor ice age, effecting weather patterns across the globe. He has always been regarded as an evil spirit and an enemy of mankind," The Paladin frowned. "If Pele is defeated the True Cross will need to find yet another source of Blessed Ashes, or face severe shortages."

Bon chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully as he started skimming through the book Angel had given him. The loss of the Academy's Peg Lanterns, the attack on the Myohda Salamanders, now this; it seemed like a shortage of Blessed Ashes was someone's goal not a side-effect.

"We will not be able to engage Monadalkni in direct combat due to the nature of the battlefield," Angel continued. "Ms. Annie will attempt to shift the battle in Pele's favor by sniping Monadalkni with holy water shot."

"Suguro, I checked your long range target scores while we waited," Oakley said. "Stick to chanting unless this really goes to hell. Past a hundred feet; that's around thirty meters; your aim's not good enough. Even if Pele and Monadalkni aren't in close combat you'd still be friendly-fire risk at the sort of distances we're hoping to maintain."

"Tereza and I will be intercepting any attacks directed at the party," Angel resumed. "Okumura, this is a good opportunity for you to observe and begin developing techniques for using your sword to cast your flames, turning them into a ranged attack. Also, once your demonic heart is unsealed, you should be invulnerable to normal lava, we may need to use you as a spotter for Ms. Annie if we can't get a clear line of sight on the battle. However, a stronger Flame Demon can burn you, stay clear of both Monadalkni and Pele's attacks."

Angel grimaced, "While Pele is bound to provide us with blessed ashes and considered… less evil than temperamental, even somewhat benevolent under the proper conditions, she regards us as insects and is fighting for her existence on this plane. She is not fighting as our ally and won't care if we get caught in the path of her rage."

Rin and Bon both nodded.

"Suguro, I don't know if Monadalkni's fatal verse is in that book," Angel admitted. "But the Klamath shamen's sphere of influence is limited enough that we don't have to worry about the verses effecting Pele. I've been assured that you're capable of cold reading in a foreign language. The first few pages are a pronunciation guide, you'll have roughly an hour and a half drive to use to study it before we reach the volcano site, do your best. It's a long shot, but worth trying. Also you'll be able to observe an expert Dragoon in battle."

Rin sensed a change in the atmosphere of the grotto. Durov held up a hand for silence for silence. Angel reached for his sword, but with a clear act of will, he kept himself from drawing it. The surface of the lake began to stir. The water rose. Rin backed up to the stairs, tugging Bon along with him.

A man appeared, at first glance he seemed to be walking on the surface of the water, but on closer examination one realized that he was actually part of the water. His legs ended at mid-calf, there were no feet beneath the water's surface, just a slight broadening of his legs as they merged with the water. The man looked barely older than Rin and Bon, his skin was translucently pale and his hair was a dark shade of red then Durov's but they shared remarkably similar features. "Why have you awoken me?" he asked. "My eternal rival Perun is gone and I find no amusement in quarrling with the new sun god who has replaced him. Why do you stir me from slumber?"

While the rest of the party retreated, Durov stood her ground, the water rose around her until it lapped at her thighs. "Veles, search your human heart and know me, I am Tereza, the sister of your flesh. I called you."

The man leaned down and tilted her face up to his. "You are familiar little one," he said. For a moment he looked thoughtful. "I am fond of you. I will forgive you for waking me."

"Elder brother, my friends and I go to fight a demon of Flames," Durov said. "I humbly beseech your aid. Perun is gone, that is true and those who have risen in his stead are unworthy of your rivalry. But there are those sworn to the Kingdom of Flame who do not respect the turning of the seasons and the natural cycles of the world as you and Perun did. I would do battle with them in your name, I ask your blessing on this endeavor."

Veles considered her for a long time, stroking the side of her face. "Every year I would climb from my watery underworld, up to Perun's sky castle and steal something from him. Not because I particularly wanted anything of his, but because he would come to take it back. Such glorious battles we fought, every year. But I am alone now, the last of my people…" He trailed off, blinking myopically down at Durov. "Little Tereza, when did you get so old?" he asked in confusion.

Tears trickled silently down Tereza's cheeks. "Anatoly," she whispered. "Oh, Anatoly, it didn't happen all at once you idiot." Absently he absorbed her tears into his body before they could fall.

Tereza gave herself a slight shake. "Anatoly, we need your help. I'm going to fight a volcano god; my friend over there is a dragoon. We need the strongest holy water shot imaginable."

"I can do that," Anatoly said. Tereza waded out of the lake, opened up the first box of munitions and carried back to him. He touched the open casings and water ran from his fingers to fill them. When the first box was finished Tereza handed it off to Oakley and went to get the second.

"Help me seal these," Oakley said to Bon.

Twenty minutes later, when the last of the holy water shot was sealed and ready for use, Anatoly kissed Tereza on the forehead then turned and walked back out into the grotto, sinking into the water as he walked away. Tereza knelt in the retreating water and splashed her face to remove any evidence of her tears before they started back up the many flights of stairs to the world above.