Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist.
Rin yawned, propping his face in his hand. The class was boring; he wouldn't need to know any of the stuff he was learning later in life. He blinked as he saw a shadow-looking demon pass through the wall. That was odd, the barriers around the school were supposed to keep those out. Maybe it was just too low-level to be detected. Whatever the case, it was far more interesting that the instructor.
He followed it with his eyes and a sudden motion from another one of the students caught his attention. The boy was cringing away from the demon as it passed. Rin didn't recognize him from the cram school, though, so his mashou must have been more recent. And where would he have gotten it? The only demons aggressive enough to give mashou were high enough level to be blocked by the barrier.
Should he talk to the kid? If he went around talking about demons and that, he could prove detrimental to any missions they would have to take... and he'd be able to properly see anything exorcist-related, which could also be detrimental. So yes, he would talk to him after class.
Lucky there was only a short time before the end – he'd dozed through most of it – so when the bell rang he stuffed the blank notebook back into his bookbag and walked up to the kid.
"Hey – just don't look 'em in the eyes," he said, sticking his hand on the guy's shoulder. "Ignore them, and they'll ignore you." He turned to leave, but the kid called after him.
"You can see them too?" He sounded desperate. Rin sighed. The kid would probably follow him until he talked to him for real.
"Yes, I can see them, I help get rid of them if they're too much of a problem." He thought a moment. "When did you start seeing them? Did anything weird happen?"
The boy stopped short. "Well, yeah, now that I think about it – I was walking through the portrait hall – it's one of the seven mysteries of the school, you know – and I don't remember the rest of what happened that night but when I woke up the next day I could see these – these things, and I just – I thought I was losing my mind until you said you could see them too. And if there's a way I can stop seeing them..."
Rin nodded. The seven mysteries, huh? He'd have to find out what those were. And maybe talk to Mephisto about this kid.
"What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Godain."
"All right then. I'll talk to somebody about it, maybe get you something that will stop your seeing demons. Later."
And this time when he walked off, the kid didn't follow. One more class, and he was off to cram school.
"Man, there's been an upswing in demonic activity lately, don't you think, Konekomaru?" Rin heard as he walked into the school, heading towards his shoe locker. The small boy looked thoughtful.
"There has, hasn't there? I've noticed that the exorcists have been a lot busier recently..."
Rin yawned and opened his locker to get his slippers – but there was a letter in his locker.
"Hey, what's that?" Shima asked, looking over his shoulder. "Rin's got a love letter!"
"A love letter? What do you mean?" Shima looked horrified.
"What's a love letter? Where have you been living, under a rock?"
Rin raised an eyebrow, and Shima looked embarrassed.
"Right... but anyways, a love letter is when a girl writes you a note to confess! You have to open it, see who it's from! Here, I'll get it - " and Shima reached into his locker and took the envelope. Rin didn't really care; if whoever it was had to send him a note to confess he either didn't know them well enough or didn't care about them enough to talk to them face-to-face. So he watched as Shima turned the envelope over and promptly turned green.
"Who's it from?" Rin asked, now curious. By this time Suguro and Miwa had seen it too, and the both of them looked faintly disgusted. Shima held out the envelope to him.
"From Mephisto." Oh. Rin opened the letter and paraphrased it aloud. "To Rin – your execution has been suspended, please join me for dinner tonight to celebrate." His lip curled, why did Samael have to put such disgusting ornamentation on the envelope and his writing? It was just distasteful.
Whatever. He'd get through classes, and then go to Cram School, then go to Samael to see what he wanted to talk to him about. Except then Cram School was canceled. So he got some homework done, and then went to see Samael.
"Ah, welcome, I've been waiting for you!" Samael said, looking entirely too comfortable in a light kimono, popsicle in hand. Not for the first time, Rin wondered about his brother's sanity. "Please, sit."
And thankfully, the popsicle disappeared and Samael's attire changed from a kimono to a more proper dinner suit. Rin sniffed; whatever Samael's servant was cooking smelled amazing. He looked down at the table and saw an open bowl of... it was spicy miso ramen; the instant kind. He raised an eyebrow. That was remarkably cheap for a dinner invitation.
"Let's spiff you up as well, shall we?" Samael snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden Rin was wearing a suit; crisp white shirt, neatly knotted tie, combed hair and all. He had to admit, he'd kind of missed the formalwear. Especially since the suit he was in was obviously such high quality; the nicer fabrics and cuts could be very comfortable.
The instant ramen was still confusing, though.
"What did you want to see me about, Samael?" Rin asked. While it was true that he felt more comfortable around Samael than most of his other brothers, he was still a full demon, and there was an ulterior motive in the meeting. And Rin would be on edge until he found out what it was.
Samael gave him a disarming grin. "Oh, just two little things. First of all, there's the small matter of what Lucifer's been up to."
Rin immediately tensed. "He's finally made a move?"
"Yes, he has," Samael answered gravely. "We've found an artificial Gehenna Gate in northern Russia. We suspect the Gate has been active for the past couple of months at least, which coincides with the increase in demonic activity. I've contained it for now, but something is going to happen soon now that Lucifer has finally shown his tail."
There was a ding from somewhere in the room, and Rin looked at Samael in confusion. "It's time for noodles!"
Rin chuckled. Sometimes his Samael's eccentricities were more amusing than annoying. And despite the cheapness, the ramen was surprisingly delicious. It was really spicy, enough to even make Rin's mouth burn. And he'd eaten a lot of spicy food – spices were about the only thing that undercut the flavor of the food they served in Gehenna.
"Speaking of showing tails," Samael said between slurps, "We need to have a chat about you flaunting your heart as you do."
Rin scowled, setting his chopsticks down. "Believe me, Samael, I hate having to do it as much as you do. But, unfortunately, I haven't found another compatible sword, and this is one that I always have with me – I can't exactly just leave it somewhere. I don't want to use it so often, but I don't have another choice."
Rin frowned as another thought occurred to him. "I don't even have my knives with me. Those got taken when I was unconscious and I don't know where they went."
Samael coughed awkwardly. "Well, yes, knives, I see. I may have a solution to both your problems, actually."
Rin raised an eyebrow and looked at Samael suspiciously. "You do? Because unless you have a pair of knives and a sword that just appeared out of nowhere..."
"Well, yes. Maybe. Every branch of the Exorcist Order keeps an armory, which includes any weaponry that is found on captured demons. Your weapons are probably there – the Shima brothers must have dropped them off before they brought you to me; I'm too busy to personally see to every captured weapon."
Rin was gaping. "By the flames, Samael, why didn't you mention this earlier? It would have saved me so much trouble! Gah!"
Samael shrugged. "Once you finish your noodles, we'll head down there, how does that sound?"
Rin sighed. Anything to get his weapons back; Thaziel and Iblis had gifted him with those on his fifteenth birthday, Thaziel giving him the knives and Iblis the sword. He knew how much effort had been spent making them; it wasn't just every metal that could channel his flames. They must have cost a fortune.
So he slurped his noodles down with as much decorum as he could muster (Samael had invited him, and it would be insulting to eat with anything less than his best manners). Still, he ate quickly, and he was done with his ramen just before Samael.
They headed to the door, which Samael opened, and because of his power opened it into the hallway to the armory. That was a very useful trick. Not for the last time, Rin despaired of inheriting his flames rather than a cooler power like Samael's. Not that his flames weren't cool, but they certainly didn't do anything like Samael could.
While strolling down the hallway, Samael brought up his solution to the second problem Rin had voiced, the problem with having to carry Kurikara around with him everywhere he went.
"Do you remember how Kirigakure-san stores her sword?" He asked. Rin got excited; he could see where this was going and could see the benefits presented by applying the same system to his situation.
"You can create a seal for me? In which I can store Kurikara?"
"Yes, I can, and I will." Samael grimaced. "It is partially my fault, for not notifying you about the weapons storage earlier. Consider it restitution, if you will."
"In that case, I gladly accept. When will – aargh!" Rin yelled and clutched at his chest. A burning pain had suddenly appeared there, and he assumed that Samael had created the seal for his sword. "A little warning might be nice," he grunted.
"Oh, Rin, don't you know that a little pain builds character? And besides, it should already be gone now." And sure enough, the pain had faded to a small ache. "Besides, we're here."
Samael gestured to a door, this time actually using a key to unlock it, and opened it. The lights came on; it seemed they were automatic. Cool. Upon actually entering the room, Rin surveyed his surroundings. Rows upon rows of weapons – swords, staffs, even a good number of guns – were displayed, and the room went on for quite a ways. It would take a good amount of time to find them, unless Samael knew the organizational pattern.
Which, of course, he didn't, citing his position as Director to imply that he was too busy. Whatever. It would take how long it was going to take, and it was totally worth it. First he went for his sword; he placed Kurikara into the seal (it felt good to have his heart back safe), but that left him practically defenseless against other weapons and a sword was better, in this case, than his knives would be. He already had a sword sleeve on him, and it would be suspicious if he suddenly stopped carrying it around. So the sword was his first priority.
But first, he had to find it.
As he walked along, he noticed tags under each weapon. He looked closer at one placed under a rifle. It read, M-200 Intervention. Obtained 6.3.11. The weapon next to the rifle was some sort of staff – and the date on that was a few weeks later. If he followed the dates, then, he would be able to find his own weapons! He hurried down the row; stopping every few meters to check the dates. Closer, closer – yes! It was the same year! It was only a few more steps and he was standing in front of his original sword, and both his knives were right next to it – in their sheaths, too!
He pulled his sword off the wall and slid it into the now-empty sleeve. It was a relief to have the familiar weight back on his shoulder. The knives were next, one strapped onto his forearm and the other onto his thigh. He sighed, feeling much more secure than he had before. His heart was safe, he had his sword and knives back – what else could he want?
"Oh, by the way, here's a key to your room. I expect it back in a couple days when you see me. Ja ne!" Samael poofed out of the room, leaving a small cloud of perfume in his wake. Rin coughed; the perfume was really strong. He shrugged and went back to the door, inserting the key and leaving back to his room.
"So, you've all heard of the Seven Mysteries of the school, right?" Yukio asked. The class was outside on one of the paths, listening to the instructions of their new assignment. "Well, those are actually all cases of low-level demons. We're going to be taking care of them throughout the rest of the week."
Just as Rin suspected. After talking to Godain, he wondered why Samael hadn't done anything. But now his question was answered. There were two reasons that Samael would have them do it: first, it was good experience; and second, he was probably just being lazy. Rin didn't mind, though; after getting his weapons back he was in a very good mood.
"The first one we're doing tonight," Yukio continued. "Several people have reported seeing a white kimono – the bride of a ghost on her wedding night. She attacks boys but stays away from girls."
"Look!" Izumo interrupted. She was pointing to one of the higher paths, on which a figure in a white kimono could be seen. Huh.
"All right then, start your mission!" Yukio exclaimed. There were a few exclamations of dismay, but Rin paid them no mind. He was watching the ghost, assessing the situation.
As a ghost, physical attacks wouldn't work on it, which pretty much ruled him out. Sure, his flames could harm a ghost, but in order for that to happen the ghost would have to stay semi-corporeal, which he couldn't picture it doing. And there was something off about it, too, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Okumura, do you mind distracting him?" Suguro asked, and Rin nodded. Even if he couldn't hurt the ghost, the ghost wouldn't be able to hurt him. He'd be fine as bait.
He jumped up to the higher level, walking slowly toward the ghost, who was standing on the edge. "Excuse me, ma'am," he said, and the ghost turned. Rin paused. He had not been expecting that. But he just had to stall until Suguro, Miwa, and Shima finished their chants. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Ooh, you're cute," he? she? said. "Can I kiss you?"
Now. There were several things Rin had resolved never to do in his short life. First: never annoy Egin. Second: do not agree to any of Astaroth or Beelzebub's invitations to visit. Third: do not lie to Thaziel. Fourth: do not bring okonomiyaki to Gehenna and eat it several days later. Fifth: do not get involved with any female demon. Ever. (The last one he had decided after watching Iblis).
There were a couple more, but the list had just grown by one: Do not ever kiss a transvestite ghost. Not even when acting as bait. Fortunately, however, watching Iblis's misfortunes with female demons had shown him that flirting was a good way to stall. And it wasn't like the ghost would do anything; it would be exorcised before Rin would stop talking him/her - he'd just go with 'him' – down.
"I'm sorry," Rin said in an honest a tone that he could manage. "I can't kiss someone that I just met."
The ghost looked crestfallen, but Rin had a plan. "Maybe if I got to know you a little more, well – I guess we wouldn't be strangers then, would we?"
Success. The ghost looked happier, and was starting to act all bashful. Quite honestly, it was more than a bit unsettling. "Oh, well, what do you want to know?"
What were common things that humans knew about each other? Favorite things, right? And what did humans like? He didn't think they'd have favorite ways to see another human killed...
"Uhh... do you have a favorite food?" That was a safe question right? Except then the ghost sniffed and looked like he was about to cry.
"So insensitive! I can't eat food anymore, thanks for the reminder!"
Crap. "I'm sorry – you just looked so beautiful I couldn't believe you weren't still alive! How about a favorite color?"
Apology and redirection. That should work. Good, the ghost looked happy again.
"My favorite color? It's a nice light blue, like the sky. Oh, or your eyes! You have such pretty eyes, your eyelashes are so long! I'm jealous~"
It was starting to get weird. He heard Yukio snicker behind him but kept a smile pasted on his face, wishing that Suguro and Miwa and Shima would hurry up.
"How about... what is your favorite... activity?" Rin asked. He couldn't think of anything else, really; and activity was a general enough question that it could apply to being dead.
"Well, ever since I died I've really enjoyed being able to be myself! My favorite thing was to look for boys! Until you came along, of course..."
Okay. That was enough. And Shima was snickering too, now, so he had to be done with his chant.
"Are you guys done yet?" Rin yelled at them. Miwa chanted a few more words, then nodded. Shima was done, of course, but surprisingly so was Suguro. Rin looked back at the ghost – he looked angry. Apparently he'd caught on to the whole 'exorcising' bit. ''
"We've finished the chants but the ghost isn't disappearing!" Suguro yelled.
"I can see that, thanks!" Rin yelled back. What a pain. So how were they - "Hey, Izumo! How did you get rid of that ghost in the park?"
Izumo looked startled. "I just chased him around and he said 'Thanks for playing with me', then he disappeared."
Rin glanced back at the ghost. What this ghost wanted more than anything else was to – oh. Absolutely not. No way. How about, instead -
"Excuse me, uh – there's a boy over there who hasn't had his first kiss yet, the one with the pink hair. I'm sure he'd love a kiss from you." Well, Rin had no idea whether Shima had his first kiss or not, but he really didn't care. It served him right for laughing at him.
The ghost looked thoughtful. "Well, he is pretty cute – not as cute as you, of course, but still. And he looks like he would be nicer than you would – I'll do it!"
Rin watched in horrified fascination as the ghost proceeded to kiss Shima, who fell down in a stupor afterwards. Maybe that was a bit overkill; that looked awful.
But the ghost still hadn't disappeared! What was with this guy? The whole plan was falling apart!
"Summon, fashion doll: Mika's Friends Series, Jean Groom version!"
Rin looked on in amazement as Takara summoned a puppet familiar from the mouth of his rabbit puppet. The ghost stopped short, said something that he couldn't make out, and then disappeared.
Well then. One mystery down, six more to go.
"Oh, you're here this morning. Want some food?" Rin asked, seeing his brother sit at one of the tables in their cafeteria.
"Yeah, thanks," Yukio said, stifling a yawn.
"You know, it would be easier for me if you answered your messages, because then I could make breakfast for both of us at the same time."
"Okay, Mom, I'll remember that."
"Uh huh."
"Hey, I've been really busy, I'll have you know. Between minding the consultation counter and missions, I've had practically no free time."
Rin raised an eyebrow. That sounded... fun. But there was something about Yukio's explanation that was bugging him. He sounded really tense, worried about something. And he didn't think it was work-related, as Yuki was always calm in a professional setting. No, it had to be something personal.
"There's something you're not telling me." It was a statement. That way, Yukio would know that he knew something, and would be far more likely to actually tell him. Eventually.
The day passed quickly, and it was time for the exorcism. Yukio sent the girls off to the bathroom, and then turned to them.
"In the case that Kamikia and Moriyama aren't successful, we need to be prepared as backup. And this means dressing up as girls."
No way. Not after the fiasco with the ghost the night before. Dressing up as a girl was over the limit.
"I'm out." Rin announced. "There is no way you are getting me to do that."
Yukio sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that even though he technically outranked Rin, he wouldn't be able to make him cooperate, and Rin knew that he knew it. The other exwires, however, weren't so lucky.
Soon enough there were five rather masculine-looking girls standing in front of Rin. He snapped a quick shot discreetly while they were inspecting each other's makeup. Makeup!
They made their way to the bathroom, where they were met by a startled Kamiki and Shiemi. After a long, awkward moment, the two girls were in hysterics and the rest of the boys were looking rather disgruntled. Rin himself felt rather smug; he had refused to dress up and they hadn't needed him to do anything anyways. There was nothing like not making a fool of yourself.
"Tonight's mission is to exorcist the second of the mysteries – the moving statue of Johann Faust that moves in the middle of the night. And I'd like you to do it quickly – if you get it done in a timely manner, we can move on the fifth of the mysteries, 'The Unmanned Tram'."
Yukio looked odd, Rin thought, as if he were relieved and concerned at the same time. Something was bothering his brother, and he didn't like it.
"Rin, watch it!"
There was a faint swoosh from overhead, and Rin tucked and rolled automatically. And immediately yelled a Thanks!, as whoever had yelled had done so just in time for him to dodge the statue. A second later and he would have had at least a couple of ribs which were, while not crippling, extremely painful.
Rin unsheathed his sword – the statue was a mite big for his knives – and cleaved the statue in two. A small amount of flames channeled along the edge of his sword – even with the Koumaken sheathed, he still had some flames available to him – took care of the possession. He checked his blade immediately after for any signs of chipping, but his flames had strengthened it so it was fine.
"Nice job, Rin," Shima said. Rin nodded and sheathed his sword.
"Yes, well done," Yukio added. "Let's go to the tram station, shall we?"
The station was a short distance away, thankfully, so it was only about a twenty-minute walk.
The tram, however, wasn't due for another thirteen minutes, according to Yukio.
Rin sat down. There was no use in getting impatient, so he'd just wait.
"Here it comes," Yukio warned a few minutes later. Rin stood and stretched, looking around – the others were preparing too.
The tram turned the corner, careening wildly but it slowed slightly as it approached the station – just enough for Suguro to catch hold of it and climb on. What an idiot; what was he hoping to accomplish with that?
Rin sighed before gathering his energy and sprinting after the tram. He caught up quickly, then swung his sword to derail it. Suguro yelled – but it was his fault for getting on it in the first place. Besides, he was smart enough not to get himself seriously injured. With the tram derailed, though, it was much easier to properly exorcise – a wash of flames took care of the spirit; the front of the tram had stopped its chewing-like motion.
But there was still the matter of the tram car being, quite frankly, destroyed. One side had a huge gash just above the wheels, and the windows had all shattered from the heat of his flames – which had also melted parts of the frame into twisted globs of metal and practically incinerated the seats.
Samael could take care of it. It was his fault for not preventing it in the first place.
"Good work, everybody," Yukio announced. It seemed he was of a similar mind regarding Samael's culpability. "Tomorrow we'll be handling the Hall of Portraits, so get some rest."
Excellent.
"Yukio's late," Rin said flatly. This was unusual; Yukio took his work seriously. If something was causing him to be late, that probably wasn't a good thing.
"A puppy!" Kamiki exclaimed in a near-squeal. Rin was surprised; he hadn't known she could make a noise like that. And the he saw the 'puppy' she mentioned.
"Ah – Kamiki – that's not - " but by then she had already picked Samael up. And then he poofed into his usual self.
"GYAAAH!"
Well, he'd tried.
"Er – ser Pheles," Kamiki said awkwardly, "Why are you here...?"
Posing theatrically, Samael gave his answer with a wink. "Okumura-sensei received an urgent summons from the Vatican, so I'll be standing in for the last of the seven mysteries!"
Ugh. And what happened to the other two mysteries?"
"Wait, um, there's still supposed to be three mysteries left..." Miwa pointed out. Samael looked thoughtful.
"Oh, well – the one about the mansion – that's actually the exorcist supply shop." There was a smattering of surprised expressions.
"And the Wunderkammar – that's actually a valued part of my prank – " at this point he pretended to cough - "Collection. So, really, this is the only one left to be investigated. It's titled 'The Family Portrait, and it also used to be part of my prank - " the stupid fake coughing again - "Collection, but after it started traumatizing students, well, now we're forced to exorcise it."
What was with the we? There was no way Samael was going to help them. And true to form, he went up to the stairs railing and started to play a video game. Rin scowled.
"It's this one, right?" Kamiki asked. Rin squinted at it – it certainly looked evil. And if it wasn't, oh well, Samael would have to get new paintings. So he went and cut it.
Bad idea.
A huge formless black mass burst out of the split frame as soon as it touched the ground, turning everything in the room to shadow. Everyone else had disappeared. If Rin had been by himself, he would have lit up and pushed his flames out to incinerate the whole hallway of portraits, but that wouldn't do him any good now; he could still smell the others and that meant they were still close by. Accidentally killing them wouldn't help his situation in the slightest.
He turned around and suddenly he could see the others again; but they weren't the others. For one, they were looking at him as if they were terrified of him; and secondly, Godain was with them – and Rin didn't smell him. What was this demon?
He blinked, and suddenly Miwa was right in front of him, some sort of weapon stabbed through a miniature of the mass that had burst out of the portrait. His glasses were down around his chin and Rin knew it was actually him.
"Get inside the barrier!" He said urgently, pulling him along. "And don't look at them!"
Once inside the circle, Miwa addressed the group of them. "I don't know what you all saw, but you have to stay calm. The demon possessing the painting was a shapeshifter – I took my glasses off when Okumura drew his sword, just in case – that's how I was able to avoid it."
"Good thinking, Konekomaru," Bon said. "I know all the five lethal verses for shapeshifters, so if I chant them all I might - "
"Bon!" Miwa exclaimed in an uncharacteristic show of... was that annoyance?
"What?" Bon asked, taken aback.
"The barrier won't hold much longer, so listen what I have to say! Bon – you are too confident in your Aria skills, so you don't try anything else – that's a major weakness of yours. And Shima – why are you trying to become an Aria? You'd be a much better Knight! Kamiki! You need to not distance yourself from us so much – we need to work together! Moriyama, you need more confidence!"
"What about me?" Rin asked.
"We rely on you too much," Miwa told him earnestly. "So you have to become our trump card, so we can become stronger as well. Having you here will make us all more confident, so just stay back."
Rin nodded. It was nice to see that they were starting to stand up on their own.
"Okay then," Miwa said. "Shiemi – please make us a plant from the barberry family, and Bon, you do a chant – this should protect us from the shapeshifter's effects. And please, if you can, Shiemi, form a protective barrier around Bon. We'll need his skills."
Rin laughed. "I guess you're the princess again, Suguro!"
Suguro glared at him, but was too busy chanting to protest.
"Kamiki-san, please perform the soul purification prayer!" Miwa ordered, and Kamiki started to chant as well. Her two foxes went after the shapeshifter, but their attack had no visible effect.
"What? Why didn't it work?"
That wasn't good. An attack that size should have defeated it, even if it did have a regnerative ability. Unless it was only a part of it...!
"Miwa! It's grouped!" Rin yelled.
"I know!" Miwa yelled back. "Kamiki, Okumura, Shima, I need you three to attack the following targets all at the same time. Kamiki – the frame second from the top and the seventh from the top above that chair – please take those down! Shima – take the long, thin one above the left exit! And Okumura, you go after the main body. Ready, GO!"
The three of them attacked simultaneously, and the demon burst, splattering them all with a sticky black liquid. It smelled.
"Good job!" Samael said, swinging his parasol around and resting it on his shoulder. "I'd like that key back, Rin."
Oh yeah. Rin dug around in his pockets, eventually fishing it out of his pants pocket. He tossed it at Samael, who caught it in his hat, which he then stuck back on his head.
"Ta ta for now!"
Rin stuck his hands in his pockets. "See you all later, I'm going to bed."
A/N: Sorry, it's later than I was planning. But it is a bit longer, so that's good, right?
Also: The kitten is growing some claws! Yay for character development!