Legend:
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"
Character Translation: "abc"

Chapter 11:
Accidental Love

A couple hours pass. Kenta is more than happy to see his sister is better, and even happier she can walk around on her own. Everyone else is just as elated to see she is doing well. When Seiya pulls out her cell phone wanting to contact Mephisto, her brother suddenly angrily rips it from her hand and shoves it in his pocket. Without a word he leaves the room. Seiya follows him, eventually getting him to stop in another hallway.

She starts in a demanding tone, "Kenta, just what was that back there? Return my phone, now!"

Kenta gives her a stern look almost staring daggers, "Not unless you delete his number first."

"What? Kenta, have you lost it?"

"No I haven't! I don't want you seeing him! Ever since you were badly poisoned, I lost all respect for him! I forbid you to see that creep anymore!"

"You really have lost it! He was just as worried as everyone else, if not more-so! And you can't forbid me from seeing anyone I like; I'm five years your senior!"

"Are you saying you actually like that pedophile?"

"…"

Seiya takes a moment to think. Did she just admit she likes Mephisto?

When she doesn't respond, Kenta turns his back to her saying, "Just as I thought."

He walks away. Seiya lowers her head, gently grabbing her left arm with her right hand. Ukobach appears from behind, seeing that the girl is hurt and lost in thought. He tugs at her pants getting her to look at him. Trying to smile, she gets down on her knees to talk to the Familiar.

"Is something wrong, Seiya-chan? You look a lot better than you did yesterday." Ukobach asks.

She takes a moment before answering, "It's my brother… He really hates Mephisto for some reason."

"What else is new?"

"I'm serious, Ukobach. He's really furious. I don't get it. But what's worse….I admitted that I like your master."

"Pfft, I knew you liked him when I helped you make dinner that night. And, I saw you two hugging as well, until Mizu broke ya guys up."

"…Ukobach, how do I keep my brother and Mephisto?"

"Hmm, there's only one way to do this. We need to get them in the same room together without Kenta's knowing. I know Mephisto, so we can let him in on it."

"In that case, we better hurry. This foolishness needs to end. C'mon, to Mephy's-ahhh, I mean, uh…"

"Oh yeah, you got it bad."

"Be quiet, you!"

Walking around the campus, hands in his pockets, Kenta takes out his sister's cell phone. He looks through her contacts, finding him, Rin, Yukio, Bon, Renzo, Emi, and Mephisto. He selects Mephisto's number and deletes it himself. Exiting out of the contacts, he goes for the texts, ready to delete the ones between her and the king of time, but not before reading through them out of curiosity. Reading each one, Kenta discovers the texts are nothing more than regular conversations, mostly about how their days have progressed. There are no flirtatious texts to be found at all from either side, though they could have easily been deleted by Seiya, afraid someone might try to look at her phone.

Regardless, it takes several minutes for him to fully delete all the texts. He then looks at his phone; he has done this already. Satisfied, he shoves both phones into each pocket. The boy looks ahead and spots Hayato talking to another one of their friends. Quickly coming from behind them is Emi with her Saluki Familiar. The amber-eyed girl spots Kenta and waves.

They meet up with Hayato asking, "Hey Kenta. How's your sister doing? I heard about what happened with the exam."

The third friend excuses himself and heads off when his phone rings, and Kenta answers, "She's just about completely better."

"Then why do you look so angry? You know they say if you hold a look on your face, it freezes that way." Emi asks getting in his face.

Kenta responds, "…My sister likes the director…"

Hayato claps his hands together with a kitty-faced smirk saying, "Hohoho, we got romance blossoming on campus~!"

"I'm forbidding her from seeing him." Kenta quickly growls.

Gazeru responds shocked, "Kenta, you can't do that! You have no right getting between them like this! Especially if the feeling is mutual between them."

Kenta shouts, "I DON'T CARE! I don't like him, I never have, and I know for a fact he's just trying to get into her pants and just leave!"

Emi, Hayato, and Gazeru all look at each other, Hayato saying, "Um, Kenta, I saw those two hugging in the hallway until that strange Familiar sprayed water all over them. They're feelings look mutual. Plus, I know Mephisto myself; he isn't like that."

"Oh yeah? Do you have a sister, Hayato? Last I checked, the only sibling you had moved away after they failed classes here!" Kenta fires back.

"Kenta, you're not thinking about something…" Emi says. "Don't you want your sister to be happy?"

"Y-yeah I do, but, I don't want that creep dating her! If she's gonna date anybody, then they need my blessing first, and Mephisto doesn't have it, and never will get it!" the boy replies.

Gazeru sees something far in back of Kenta. It's Mephisto, Seiya, Ukobach on her shoulder, and Rin. The hellhound-looking Familiar tells Kenta to turn around and simply watch. The four are talking about something, but only Gazeru can hear them. Refusing to reveal what they're saying, Kenta watches carefully. Seiya looks upset about something, expressing her worry to the headmaster. Rin appears to be helping her explain something. Mephisto facepalms, but looks like he's agreeing to whatever it is they're talking about. That's when Rin looks over and spots the trio just out of hearing range.

Rin is first to walk over being followed by the headmaster, Seiya stays behind. As if exchanging groups, Hayato and Emi walk over to Seiya, Gazeru staying behind to make sure Kenta goes nowhere.

Going by Hayato quietly warns the director, "Be careful, Mephisto. His guns are blazing like it's a zombie apocalypse."

Mephisto gives a subtle nod. Once both groups have switched over, Hayato and Emi try to distract Seiya with a different topic, although Ukobach keeps a close watch on the event. The sound of a sword being drawn catches everyone's attention; Kenta has drawn his blade and has it pointed at Mephisto's throat.

"My, my, Hayato said your guns were blazing, but instead you pull out your sword." Mephisto tries to joke.

"Shove it, pervert!" Kenta growls. "I don't like you, and I don't like the fact you're suddenly so close with Seiya. The hell is your goal with her, huh? 'Cause if you're after what I know you're after, I'll just kill you here and now!"

"Kenta, you're being completely irrational!" Rin shouts swatting the sword away. "Look, I can understand how you feel; you're trying to protect your only sister. But you're not getting the fact that Seiya is not only an adult and can make her own decisions, but you're not keeping her happiness in mind."

Kenta grabs Rin by the collar of his shirt saying, "I don't care if she's 50! I'm not letting her fall for someone that looks at her like she's some kind of sex toy!"

Mephisto asks, "Is that what this is about? You think I'm looking at her in that disgraceful way?"

Kenta lets go of Rin and yells, "Why else would I be so defensive? This isn't a bout of jealousy. I've seen how you've looked at her five years ago, and I see how you look at her now. You were just waiting for her to reach the age of consent, weren't you?!"

SMACK!

"Oh!" Gazeru winces.

Hayato says, "Damn, a back-handed bitchslap. That's gonna leave a mark."

"The kid needed sense slapped into him. I never expected Mephisto to be pushed that far..." Ukobach says having flinched.

A red mark begins to appear on Kenta's left cheek. Mephisto regains his composure with a serious look and says, "I've never had to lay a hand on a student before. But you, Kenta Takenaka, have pushed me over the edge."

Gazeru speaks, "Kenta, if I were you, I'd just listen."

Mephisto goes on, "You couldn't be more wrong about how I feel about your sister. I'm not aiming to get into her pants, and I definitely do not see her as some kind of 'sex toy'. Five years ago, I saw Seiya as a strong young lady with a lot of potential to be an Exorcist. Even now, I still see her as an intelligent, beautiful, strong woman. My feelings for her, however, yes, you could call it crush."

Hearing this, Seiya asks, "A…crush?"

Gazeru keeps Kenta from speaking by placing a paw over his mouth. Rin asks, "Wait, how long have you had this crush on her?"

"To be honest, our interactions were slim while they were being educated privately. Getting to my office was difficult because it was Seiya's wish that she didn't want her or Kenta being seen. But, I thought about it, and concluded there was something she did after she graduated that ignited this confusing fire…" Mephisto responds.

"Something…I did?" Seiya asks till she remembers, "…Oh I think I know what it was."

"Yeah?" Emi asks growing a curious face, "What did you do?"

Rewind back two years.

The graduation ceremony goes flawlessly, producing a mass amount of graduates from True Cross Academy. Seiya wanted to be a part of it, but revealing she's been here the whole time could raise eyebrows, and Kenta still has yet to fully control his powers reflecting his emotions. He still can't keep his tail hidden for long. Another problem, she has no family to watch the special moment.

Despite all these fears, Mephisto had pulled a few strings, and got her to be a part without raising any suspicion. Early that morning, he had proudly handed Seiya her diploma, and got her a spot within the waiting rows of students.

Amazingly, during the ceremony, no one had noticed her. Mephisto is able to give a speech congratulating all the grads, going on to say that all their hard work and efforts did not go to waste. After a few final words, the grads throw their hats in the air, celebrating one of their greatest moments. Everyone flocks to their families, receiving congratulatory gifts. Seiya, however, has made her way out of the growing crowd, and watches from a distance.

The girl sighs. "{If only… This is supposed to be one of the happiest moments of a person's life. Yet, here I am, no home to return to, no one to show my diploma to and gloat about. It'd be better if my brother could've come but…he just isn't in full control of his powers yet. One really is a lonely number.}"

She then hears a voice, "What's with the glum look, Young Seiya? You should be excited."

Seiya turns around finding Mephisto without his hat; his excuse being it got lost in the crowd after he too tossed it into the air.

"Believe me, Mr. Faust, I really am excited. It's just… They all have families to gloat about their success to. I really don't." Seiya responds.

"Are you forgetting about your brother?" Mephisto asks.

"No, but I'm sure he'd be happier if he was a part of the crowd."

"Well, what about me?"

"…"

Seiya looks up at the smiling director. As she tries to process what he said, he stretches out his hand to her. The message is clear. She takes his hand, but motions him to bend down to her level. When he does, she quickly kisses him on the cheek and hurries off, taking advantage of his confusion.

Back to the present.

Emi gives Seiya a flirtatious look saying, "Oh Seiya, you sly fox!"

"So wait, you kissed him as a thanks, but he saw it as something else?" Hayato asks trying to make sense of it all.

Seiya lowers her head, her bangs shadowing her eyes as she blushes replying, "Well, my feelings were mixed so…it was kinda more than a thanks…"

"So you did like him then?" Ukobah asks in surprise.

Seiya scratches the back of her head, "It wasn't until a week later when he surprised me with a rather late graduation gift."

"Which was?" Hayato questions.

Seiya pulls out a necklace Mephisto had gotten her two years ago. The lace itself is a simple gold chain with a small glass spherical pendant filled in to look like a starry night sky. It wasn't the most expensive item, but at that time, Seiya didn't care; it was the thought that mattered. She only kept it hidden so Kenta wouldn't find out; if he planned on continuing his education, seeing the gift would've enraged him, making him lose control of his flames.

"No way in hell was that inexpensive. It looks like it costed a lot." Ukobach argues.

"Actually when I was looking around online for something to read, I came across a site to a store that carried these." Seiya answers. "I don't care though, I'm not looking for pampering."

Kenta is shocked that all of this happened right behind his back. "So, this all started because she kissed you?"

Mephisto shrugs saying, "Call it accidental. It's just been a slow progress, that's all."

Rin asks, "So then, what did she do for two years to keep you two from getting together?"

"You're looking at the reason." Mephisto replies pointing to Kenta. "She was busy trying to help him get through the rest of his classes; apparently the teachers that were assigned were rougher than expected. She was also getting him to learn to control his flames when his emotions became too strong, and be able to use his sword without his powers activating."

Rin responds, "Yeah, that would interfere in a way, huh?"

Gazeru asks, "Kenta, can see why now? Their relationship barely got started because Seiya had to devote her time to you. That's quite a sacrifice if you ask me. Any other guy would have left her in a heartbeat. This man standing before you actually has all the patience in the world to wait, as well as understand the situation."

Kenta finally comes to terms with what's going on, and lowers his head in disgrace and guilt. He pulls out his sister's cell phone, telling Mephisto that he deleted his number out of rage, along with the texts. Not really caring about the texts knowing he's kept them on his phone, he isn't happy about his number being deleted from her phone.

Mephisto tells the boy, "Listen Kenta. If I was in your shoes, I'd do similar things. I can assure you though, I intend on protecting her to the very best of my abilities, I always have. Yes, being an Exorcist means getting injured and all that, but you two have come very far since I got you in. And Seiya has shown incredible growth ever since she started cram school. She can take care of herself. You need to start trusting your sister more."

"Y-you're right." Kenta admits. "I can't even begin to apologize for all this."

Rin says, "You can start by apologizing to your sister."

Kenta looks up, looking right at Seiya. Mephisto looks behind and spots the necklace he gave her two years ago; he is surprised she's still wearing it after all this time. Seiya makes the first move and walks towards her brother, Ukobach jumping down from her shoulder. Kenta walks out towards his sister, the two meeting in the middle. Without warning he quickly embraces her tightly. As she returns the embrace, he begins to lightly sob.

"Seiya, I'm sorry!" he starts. "I didn't know!"

"It's alright, little brother, I forgive you." Seiya responds.

Later that day, the class gathers in one of the dorm rooms. Mephisto appears with everyone eager to hear if they passed the Exwire Authorization Exam. After his recent episode, Kenta worries the most, afraid if the king of time may have failed him because of his behavior. Mizu and Masami are present for the occasion.

"Eins! Zwei! Drei!" Mephiso counts before Maneki Neko and Daruma dolls pop out from behind, "You all passed! Congratulations, you are all Exwires!"

Breathing a sigh of relief and feeling the rush of excitement, everyone is elated to hear the news.

Mephisto goes on, "As a reward, I'm treating you all to a feast!"

This gets the guys more riled up than anything.

"Who's hungry for monja?" Mephisto says.

Bon goes, "M-monja?"

Rin says, "Barbecue's way better…"

Seiya shakes her head, "{That's Mephisto for you. Always goes for the cheaper option. Well, at least Ukobach gets a break.}"

"Aw man c'mon, why monja?" Kenta grunts.

A bit later at a monjayaki restaurant, a few different batters are poured onto the grill. Sadly, Mizu and Masami had to stay behind at the dorm. Away from the group as they cook the food, Yukio and Mephisto – dressed in a yukata half blue and half white with said colored stars – discuss the matter about Neuhaus.

"Really, Seiya tried coming to the rescue, huh?" Mephisto asks.

"Yeah, she did. But still, I don't like what happened either way. If he wanted, he could've killed the both of them had I not destroyed the circle." Yukio responds.

"I do apologize for what happened in Rin's case. However, I won't forgive the fact he went after the both of them. I'll make sure that won't happen again. He's as good as gone starting tomorrow."

"…Good."

Renzo calls after a moment of silence, "Hey, Mr. Okumura, you want some lemonade?"

As Yukio rejoins the group, Mephisto takes out his cell and is about to call Amaimon when a thought crosses his mind. He wants his brother to test Rin, but at the same time doesn't want to endanger Seiya. Thinking about it, he finally does call Amaimon, but keeps quiet about Seiya. However when he tells his brother to come to the academy, the green-haired demon says in a mocking tone that he thought his older brother banished him for going after his woman. A silence ensues, and Mephisto hangs up in response.

Meanwhile somewhere in Gehenna, sitting atop a giant recently killed demon, Amaimon smirks thinking he was right about his brother's feelings towards Seiya. But then, he begins to think about Rin, recalling how the boy couldn't stand up to him trying to protect the girl. He hopes this time though, that Rin will be able to cure his boredom…and be much more of a challenge.