Chapter 9. A Stroll in the Woods.

Warning: Mildly Suggestive content.

Waving good-bye to Rin and Yukio for the day, the girl prepared to walk to Shiemi's house, since she had stayed home that day. The two girls had a bit of a girls' day planned, especially since every time they wished to talk they were interrupted by one if not both of the boys, and clearly she could not interrogate Shiemi with either standing right next to them. A relaxing day was desperately needed, to get a break from all the hard studying she had been doing after classes and cram school with Yukio. The weather was warm and sunny, and Shiemi's shop was peaceful on such days.

As she was walking through the emptying University halls, her phone chimed with a text from Shiemi to make sure she was indeed on the way; she promptly replied to let her friend know that she was leaving. After sending the message, she noticed she had one unread text. It was from Rin. The time stamp led her to believe he must have sent it as class was getting out, and she hadn't checked her phone yet. Opening the message, she had to let out a laugh: he was asking her what she was doing that day. He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately; any free time he had aside from badgering his twin brother about field work, he was trying with all his might to be around Shiemi, or the girl. She deviously typed out, 'Going to have a girls day with Shiemi, maybe sunbathe a bit,' ending the text with a winky tongue-out emoticon. "That ought to give him a stir," she chuckled to herself as she envisioned him groaning in hypothetical pain. It's just like young boys to bounce back and forth between women, she thought to herself with a roll of her eye.

As she went to open the entrance doors and begin her trek outdoors through the wooded section of town to Shiemi's, a familiar voice called out her name. Her insides twisted in a loose knot as she turned around, eyes landing on the slender figure of Johann, trotting down the main stair case in a tailored, pin striped suit. She eyed him as nonchalantly as possibly, taking in his new ensemble with a hint of delight; he must have been in meetings today, she figured, as he looked unusually professional. She couldn't help but to find it to be a rather good look on him. Snapping out of her fish-eye lens view, she waved coyly.

"How funny running into you here," he said with a wink as he approached. "What are we up to on such a fine day, little flower?" He swooped in and pushed the door open for her, without skipping a beat, and invited himself to walk alongside the young girl through the square.

"I'm going to Shiemi's supply shop," she replied bashfully, trying to keep her gaze in front of her.

Turning abruptly, he stopped within her line of travel, causing her to come to a halt. "Would you mind if I tag along, then?" he asked casually with a spark in his green eyes. Sensing the girls' hesitation, he continued rather dramatically. "You see, I've been sitting in that dreadful office working all day, and with a day like today, it would be a shame not to be outside for a bit – especially if that time was spent with such a lovely lady, such as yourself," he finished with a sultry tone, pinching her chin between his gloved finger and thumb ever so lightly. His emerald green eyes flowed down over the angles of her face, only to land upon her lips; as ample and delicate as a blush rose.

She quickly pursed her lips, biting down on one carelessly, and pulled her gaze away from him before their eyes could meet. She could feel herself begin to blush; what if someone saw them and got the wrong idea? She tossed her head to the side, releasing it from the trivial caress, and nodded slightly.

The two walked in silence for minutes before he began with his usual ice breakers. He asked how classes were going. As always, they were good, it was just a lot of work to keep up with. He asked if she was enjoying her stay at the university. And of course, she absolutely was; she was so grateful for the opportunity to attend and for his hospitality he continued to show her. He asked her if she was getting by alright financially. She was toying around with the idea of getting a part time job in the city to earn some extra money; the school lunches were far too expensive – she preferred a home cooked meal anyways, but it still didn't leave her with much extra spending money. He only kind of grunted at the idea of her getting a job, but then began casually asking what sorts of things she would bring for lunches, if she made them herself, and what sorts of foods she liked to eat and drink. They exchanged in that type of conversation for a while as they hiked the wooded path, until the topic of foods, drinks, cooking, and restaurants was exhausted.

He then asked how the cram school program was going.

She had to think on it for a moment. There was nothing necessarily wrong. Again, she was so happy and thankful for the opportunity and excited to be an exorcist-prospect. But it was getting increasingly harder to keep up with the materials, pass the tests, all while attending regular university courses. "It's well, but it's been putting quite a bit of stress of me for not yet receiving a temptaint."

There was a pause.

The birds fluttered in the tree canopy above.

Finally, he asked something he had yet to ask before.

"Why do you want to become an exorcist?" his demeanor was very different than it had ever been. He peered over at her through just his peripherals, with sullen eyes.

The girl was caught off guard by this, and indeed she had yet to really open up to anyone about her own motives, much less her own headmaster. It was clear to everyone in the program that she wanted it; however she chose to keep her motivations to herself for the most part.

She turned her attention to some birds in the distance, peacefully cleaning themselves up in the trees. "It sounds silly," she began. "But I've just always kind of had a feeling that there was more to this world than meets the eye. My mom thought I just had a vivid imagination – I think eventually she began to worry about me. But part of me can almost….feel them. And most don't seem hostile."

His expression lightened, turning to almost wonder.

"In all honesty, I just wish we could all live in harmony. I feel there's so much we could all learn from one another if we just opened our eyes and hearts…" her voice trailed off as she watched the birds fly away. "I'm probably just being naive and hopeful is all though," she deflected with a defeated giggle.

It took him a minute to collect his thoughts while she looked into the trees, the golden sun poking through gaps in the leaves, shining brightly upon her.

"Not necessarily," he said, taking a step forward until she began to walk with him.

"Well I'm glad you don't think so," she replied, watching her feet with the same trodden smile, as if doubtful of her own thoughts.

"So you don't just automatically hate all demons then?"

"No!" she gasped. "I know we're kind of supposed too, but I mean, how could I hate something that's never done anything wrong to me?" she asked rhetorically, looking up at the tall man, eyes meeting. Within her gaze was something that was never often seen; something guarded, that finally cracked open, even if just the tiniest bit. He couldn't help but to smile at her; a real, genuine smile. Perhaps he thought her ways of looking at the world too naive and innocent, or perhaps he found her opening her heart so hopefully to the world inspiring. She had no idea. Letting her eyes drop back down to the cobblestone path before her, she quietly said: "Can I ask you something, Sir Faust? What made you decide to become an exorcist?"

Stopping, he slid his fingers down her arm and pulled her around by her hand until she was facing him. He cupped her hand in his palm and wrapped an arm behind the small of her back before she could even blink. "Like you, I too wanted nothing but peace and love between the worlds of Assiah and Gehenna."

Her stomach began to dance as he drew in closer, and as his nose brushed against her own, her eyes habitually closed. Her chest grew heavy and labored as if he was drawing the breath from her very lungs, but before anything more could happen, she tucked her chin ever so slightly.

Sensing her hesitancy, he released his pull around her back, and gripped her hip ad he pressed his forehead against hers moderately. Skimming his lips towards her cheek, he whispered, "Which is why I think it's a beautiful notion," into her ear.

Eyes wide in surprise, she pulled away to look him in the face, as if to check his expression and see if he was jesting. Instead, she found him to appear purely sentimental as his dark green orbs moved over her face. His gaze then wandered down to the hand resting along her hip bone, and as he did so, he slipped his other hand from her palm to her ribs, just below her breast. He placed his fingertips upon her so gingerly that they nearly hovered over her skin; her body tensed and released with expectation, beginning to turn warm. As he slid his hand down towards her hip, the contact with her body steadily increased until he was gripping her rather firmly with both hands, his intense eyes transfixed on her curves. "A beautiful mind to match a beautiful girl," he spoke with a slight heave in his voice.

The tips of her ears seared to hear him say that in such a way, her muscles turning stiff as she began to realize exactly what was happening. Just over her shoulder at the edge of the path was Shiemi's house—so close, but so far. In that exact spot the two of them were completely alone, shielded by the thick trees and vegetation, and the path that winded through them.

Skimming one of his hands back up her arm, he grasped her by the wrist and encouraged her to loosen her locked muscles and joints; as she complied, he draped her arm around his neck, and repeated the motion with her other limb. He then proceeded to slither both of his hands down her sides simultaneously, taking her in. Her body shuddered beneath him and her fingers burrowed themselves into the hair on the back of his head; all she could manage to do in response was let out a feeble, nervous laugh. His piercing eyes snapped back up to hers as a devious smirk spread across his lips.

Thoughts began streaming into her mind at rapid speeds. All of this had happened so suddenly, and she wasn't sure how to respond, if she should respond or just let it happen, or if she necessarily wanted this to be happening at that moment in time. Maybe, she thought, she wanted this to happen at some point, but who's to say she wanted it to be there of all places?

His hands slipped down past her hips, over her skirt.

As if almost saved by the bell, the girl's cell phone rang.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, and bolted from his grasp without meaning. Her heart raced as she dropped to her bag and scrambled to retrieve her phone, all the while, her very own administrator was enticing her to return to his clutches. "I-it's Shiemi," she stuttered anxiously. "She's probably wondering what's taking so long!"

Answering the phone, she quickly enlightened her friend that she was just around the corner and would be right there. Johann studied her adoringly as she struggled to steady her shaky hands and press the end call button, and tucked her hair behind her ear. She explained to him that she needed to get going, while her heart was beating so fast she could barely catch her breath through jumbled words.

Understanding, he nodded. As she turned away to put things back into her bag that she had hurriedly tossed aside, he reached down by some bushes. When she came back to face him, she found him bowing slightly with a hand outstretched, palm up.

Unsure, she gently placed her hand in his.

He then pulled a small bouquet of wild flowers which he had obviously just snatched up, from where he was holding them behind his back and presented them to the girl. "For you, my lovely little flower," he spoke, the flowers brushing up against his own face. Then with a wink, he bit down on a single bloom, and placed them into her hand.

As he walked back down the curve of the beaten path, and was swallowed into the woods, her face turned beat red thinking about what had just occurred. Was she imagining things, or did the owner of True Cross University just come on to her?

Her eyes withered down to the flowers in her hand, resting upon the one missing a few petals.