Author's Note: Just so you guys know, this fanfic will be updated weekly. So be sure to check back ;)
Hey guys! Things have strangely gotten hectic here. With my friend's Wedding quickly coming up on Sept 20th, and my dad having lost his job, everything just went to hell in a hand basket quicker than I thought. So these chapters might come out biweekly until things settle down. Please bare with me. End Note.
Legend:
Character Thoughts: "{abc}"
Character Translation: "abc"
Demon Telepathy: "{abc}"
Demon Thoughts: "{[abc]}"
Chapter 25:
Avoidance Game
"Mmmm~… 'Morning, Mephy." Seiya greets as she slowly begins to wake up, and gently kisses Mephisto on the cheek.
He chuckles softly and responds, "Good morning, my dear Seiya~." and kisses her forehead.
As the two begin to cuddle, Seiya's eyes shoot open wide, "Wait, morning?!"
"What's wr—" Mephisto goes to ask before realizing, his eyes opening wide, "OH CRAP!"
It's the next morning. Seiya and Mephisto had easily lost track of time, and she was never able to pack her suitcase for the trip to Kyoto. Luckily, the king of time already knows several tricks, and is able to aid her in the situation. The only problem is, Seiya will be running late and might not make the train. As she decides to take a quick shower, Mephisto has no choice but to make sure his brother is up and ready as well.
At the train station, Rin and Shura are already there, waiting for the train to arrive. Kuro has decided to go with his master and is excited about heading for Kyoto. As Rin reads through a booklet, Shura contacts Yukio asking about the tracking situation. His team is using one of her Snake Familiars who is able to point the group in the right direction. As she's filled in on their progress, Amaimon arrives just as the train starts to show up. Shura hangs up and demands to know where Seiya is, her attitude stronger than usual.
"Um, I'm probably going to be killed for this but, what crawled up your ass and died?" Amaimon asks, a bit taken aback by the attitude.
Shura growls, "It's early in the morning, and I feel like I'm gonna puke!"
"She's clearly not a morning person…" Behemoth says.
Everyone hears a call, "HEY GUYS! UP HERE!"
The group looks up to find Seiya flying in using Mephisto's transformed umbrella, a suitcase in her other hand, and Ukobach on her shoulder. She lands on the platform, and by counting to three in German, Seiya is able to return the umbrella to its original form.
"Keh, well, someone made an entrance!" Rin jokes. "But, how'd you do that?"
"Oh, this guy? Well, Mephisto made it so I can transform it by counting to three and I'll be able to fly. Plus…" she responds opening it up, "It makes a great parasol~!"
"What happened to Masami?" Shura asks.
Seiya answers, "She had to go find her cousin in another town yesterday. I'm hoping our bond will allow her to find me again. But, I'm not completely alone; Ukobach's joining me!"
The little Satyr demon makes himself known by jumping down from her shoulder and greeting the two. Kuro appears happy to see him and jumps down from Rin's shoulder to greet him. Shura then has to interrupt the fun saying they need to board the train. With that, the Familiars jump up onto their respective masters' shoulder and they all board the train. Shura leads them to Car 4, though it has filled up quickly with a large number of Exorcists, all with concerned faces at the sight of Rin. As he sits down in front, Seiya decides to sit next to him. Amaimon sits just across from them, and without a word pulls out his DS.
At that moment, the other Exwires begin to board the train, Mizu having followed Shiemi due to him staying at the garden last night. A bit excited to see so many people, Mizu happily rushes up to one of the Exorcists and, like a puppy, starts to beg for attention. However, when Shiemi spots Rin, she can't help but keep her distance, her nerves getting to her. Bon, Shima, and Koneko pass her, coming out of Car 3 from getting their precautionary injections, and also look at Rin. Seiya happily waves to them and signals for one of them to sit in the available seat next to her. Although Shima wouldn't mind considering Seiya is in the middle, Bon nods acknowledging her before looking over at Amaimon. The king of earth is well distracted with his game and doesn't even bat an eye.
With a sigh, Bon takes a seat behind Rin and Seiya, Koneko close behind not even bothering to look at either. Shima looks at the two and shrugs shaking his head before sitting behind them. Seiya has an idea why Bon doesn't want to sit with them, and she could tell Shima wanted to. But for Koneko to not even bat an eye, even at Amaimon, it has her bothered. Shima then hangs over her seat and taps her shoulder.
"Oh Seiya, I'm not sure if you know, but in Car 3, they're giving precautionary injections to the Exwires. You might want to go get yours." Shima says.
Seiya reveals the small bandage on her right arm saying, "I actually got mine yesterday from Yukio. He wanted to test something with a skin sample, so he gave it to me then."
"A skin sample?" he asks. This gains Rin and Bon's attention; although he isn't showing it, Koneko is listening.
Seiya responds, "Yeah. He wanted to see how I'd react to the two different miasma types now that my powers revealed themselves. While the liquid gives burns and more minor things, like with what happened during the exams, the gas will…well, it could kill me with pure ease. The boils, rashes, burns, a fever, possible coma…if the Impure King is revived, I have no choice but to run or that's it."
"{…Wait…S-Seiya could…die? Just like that?}" Koneko thinks, shocked by the news.
"Wait, Impure King? Is that a demon?" Shima asks.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling that'll be explained soon." Seiya says, trying to smile.
"{That's not good! But, if that's true, why would they send her anyway?}" Bon thinks.
Rin asks, "So then, what does this mean for your future as an Exorcist?"
Seiya responds with confidence, "For one, I'm not letting it get in my way. I plan on becoming an Exorcist! Not to mention, I have you guys and my brother; I know you'll always be there for me regardless."
Amaimon looks over, pulling a lollipop from his pocket, "{Oy Seiya, you're really trying to ignore your fears, aren't you? Although, I can't tell if you're ignoring them, or you're simply trying to hide them behind those smiles.}"
At that moment, Kenta and Izumo enter the car. They look around and find everyone on the left side. The Takenaka Siblings spot each other, and Seiya immediately stands up and steps into the aisle as Kenta marches towards her. They embrace each other in a tight hug, clearly missing each other from being separated so suddenly. Shima then suggests Izumo sit across from him, but she decides to sit in the spare seat near Rin. When Shura appears and asks is everyone is accounted for, the Takenaka Siblings quickly take their seats, Kenta sitting right in front of his sister. Kyou eventually pops out of his coat and greets everyone.
As the train starts to leave the station, Shura introduces herself, saying she was "forced against her will" to be the captain of the reinforcement squad. She then asks an Exorcist from the Intelligence Division to explain the situation. He goes over the issue of the Left Eye being stolen, saying that it was indeed Toudou Saburouta that had taken it, though they still don't know any accomplices or his true intentions. Shura continues that at the same time, the branch in Kyoto was attacked, though this time the crime was thwarted, they know that Toudou is aiming for the Right Eye of the Impure King.
Izumo expresses that they never learned of the Impure King, asking what it is. Shura states that while the demon isn't considered a major one, the stories of it don't exactly make it sound tame. So she has Adachi, another Exorcist part of the squad, explain the Impure King. He explains that within the last years of the Edo Period, but within the 5th year of the Ansei Era, the Impure King was an upper class demon said to spread disease on an epidemic level, and believed to be the root cause of 40,000 deaths. It is said that a monk by the name of Fukaku, confronted the demon and had somehow removed the Right and Left Eyes, suppressing the demon. However, despite the fact they are just eyes, they still give off strong miasma, making it very dangerous.
While Rin doesn't seem impressed with Fukaka thinking the guy was showing off, Shura continues that while the intentions of the enemy are still unclear, they do know that the enemy plans on restoring an evil entity. One of the reasons the squad was created was to prevent the Right Eye from being stolen. The other is that they are to help nurse those injured and reinforcing the now-weakened security of the Kyoto Branch. She finishes off saying for everyone to work together.
After that, some time passes, and Shura has fallen asleep. Amaimon now reads a Hellsing manga to try and pass the time as Behemoth keeps track of Mizu, who continues to greet each Exorcist on board. Seiya has been texting Mephisto ever since, wanting nothing more than to be back at the academy with him, now nervous about the Impure King. Kenta wonders why Emi and Hayato aren't within this squad, though he figures they may be part of another one, and focuses in his Pokemon team. Kuro sleeps on Rin's bag with Kyou somewhat wrapped around him, and Ukobach happily reads through a recipe book, already trying to think of a dish he can put together for the injured.
Nervous, Rin finally asks Izumo is she's scared of him or the Siblings, since no one else would sit close to them. She responds by saying that she isn't scared or anything of the three. It's actually common knowledge that humans can be related to demons by blood, with most of them being Exorcists. The only issue with the three is that one is the son of Satan leaving the Order unsure of what to really do; Seiya's problem is needing to learn to control her powers; and Kenta is really the only odd-man out that the Order isn't as wary on, but supports what she's saying. When she concludes that there's no point in making such a huge deal out of it, Rin thanks her for being on their side.
However, Izumo once more starts up another fire, by saying she hates cowards who say one thing, but end up running away at the most crucial of moments after spouting pretty words, referring to the fact that the others are avoiding them because of what occurred. Bon immediately takes offense to her statement, and Izumo responds with her usual attitude.
Within minutes, everyone is in an empty car being given the collective Baryon Punishment, similar to what Yukio had done; even Amaimon is being given the punishment as well. Only this time, instead of just it being due to the quarrel between Izumo and Bon, the other reason is waking Shura, whose anger is more than clear as she storms back into the other car; the group is to remain this way until they reach Kyoto. Of course, Seiya doesn't last long at all and passes out with swirls for eyes.
Shima comments how it's like déjà vu, the quarrel being the cause and Seiya passing out. Amaimon sighs, takes the Baryon, and does some weight lifting with it, seeing it as a challenge considering the demon only gets heavier as time passes. Koneko suddenly lets his fear known, questioning why Shura left Rin like this, commenting if anything happens, things would become dangerous. Kenta growls that if anything did happen, Seiya would be able to counter, not to mention the fact he and Amaimon are with them, so counter measures can be taken. The Baryon on Koneko's lap all of a sudden springs to life, rocketing into the air before slamming down on Shiemi, pinning her to the floor.
With this emergency, the others manage to push off their Baryons. Bon and Shima try to lift it off, but it's already gained too much weight. Koneko says they should get Shura, but Bon restates that they shouldn't wake her. As Shima puts together the Kri'k, he says that the only way to shatter these demons is to incinerate them at high heat. So he tries to heat it up by rubbing the staff on it, but can't make a dent. Amaimon, being the strongest, tries to lift the Baryon off himself. Surprisingly, it won't budge. Seiya finally recovers and wakes up, seeing the scene. Amaimon rubs the back of his head thinking of letting someone else handle this when Seiya tells him that something powerful is within the Baryon, which is the only reason why it's acting like this.
An interesting dare, Amaimon doesn't bother thinking twice, deciding to reveal more of his true form. A serpent-like tail appears from his backside, his arms become much more muscular, his ears become longer, and two horns grow on his head; all of these (save the ears) are green with red markings. Before he does anything, Kenta gets on the other side, and together the two attempt to lift the Baryon. Seiya tries firing small fireballs at it, thinking maybe it'll weaken enough to become lighter at the very least. Despite this combination, the Baryon refuses to move a centimeter. Rin decides it's his turn. Kenta moves back and sits on the floor saying if even Amaimon at his full strength can't lift the Baryon, then neither can Rin.
Rin brushes that off, and together with the earth king tries to lift the rock demon. Seiya once more shoots more fireballs, but even this combo still has no effect. Amaimon starts calling bullshit on the situation when Rin starts flaring up, determined to remove the Baryon. To Shiemi's surprise, it isn't hot like fire would be, but instead is only warm. Bon tries to stop Rin, grabbing his arm, but this results in the Baryon flying off somewhere, and the seats lighting on fire. Shima starts to panic thinking they should get the Exorcists as Seiya tries to counter the flames with hers, but Shiemi steps up saying they shouldn't make a big fuss out of everything, since Rin didn't go beserk. That means they can be put out with holy water.
Thinking quickly, Izumo summons one of her fox spirits, Uchimochi. The Byakko asks what she called him for, and she responds needing the sacred wine to put out the flames; even if it isn't holy water, it's worth a shot. Responding to her chant, Uchimochi does as requested, and the wine is poured on the seats, effectively putting out the flames.
"Dayum…" Kenta starts, "They've been burned to cinders! Well, either way, at least the crisis is averted, right?"
"For now, but where'd the Baryons go? They just disappeared." Seiya responds. "Oh, and Amaimon, you should return to your human form before one of the Exorcists see you."
"Yeah, I guess I should." Amaimon agrees, reverting back.
At that point Rin confronts Bon, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt yelling, "Why'd you get in the way like that? Everything was under control!"
"What do you mean 'under control'?" Bon shoots back.
Seiya facepalms, dragging her hand down the length of her face, "{Oh boy, here we go…}"
Rin barks to have faith in him. But Bon responds saying why should he have faith, when people from his temple died in those blue flames sixteen years ago. He goes on that his grandfather, Shima's grandfather and oldest brother, and Koneko's father all died that night. Adamant about his blue flames killing people, the followers of the temple were like family to him. And after all the things that happened, how could he have faith in Rin? Pushing his anger, Rin feels bad that such awful things had happened, but comes back arguing they had nothing to do with him.
Bon then comes to the realization, that Rin too said he wanted to defeat Satan too. Rin's goal is still the same, and he begins to grow a flame on his head as he warns him not to lump him together with Satan. At that moment, Koneko grabs Rin's sleeve, begging the two to stop. He goes on to say that if anything happens to Bon, he and Shima wouldn't be able to show their faces at the temple again.
Seiya takes a breath saying, "Phew, looks like my words haven't gotten through to you two, huh?"
Koneko looks at her, terror in his face, "W-what do you mean?"
"Koneko, did you ever really read the note I gave you with those 'get well' gifts?" Seiya asks crossing her arms.
"Hey yeah, there was something in there, Koneko!" Shima recalls. "I even read it to you. And I told you what she told me."
Koneko isn't sure what to say. He simply lowers his head and looks away. "…Koneko…does this mean you fear me too?" Seiya asks.
Before he could attempt to respond, Shima spots the Baryon about to slam down on Bon. Amaimon is about to smash it himself, but he's cut off by Shura coming to the rescue, breaking it into pieces with her sword in midair. She lands on the seats and looks at the group.
"Dammit Shura, I was gonna do that!" Amaimon nearly whines.
Shura responds, "You be quiet." She looks at the group, sighs, and says, "You guys can't even take on a small fry like that? What will you do when the real deal comes along? Are you just gonna hamper each other like that? Do that, and you'll die."
The Exwires fall silent. By now, they should know that disorder like this will only lead to failure, but for a few, it doesn't seem to have settled in yet. Shura tells them to take their seats as they'll be arriving in Kyoto soon. Without words, the group heads back to the other car, returning to their seats. Unbeknownst to them, someone has been keeping close watch in next car.
They soon arrive within Kyoto, exiting the train station there. An errand boy from the Kyoto Branch waits there to meet them, and before long leads them to a bus that's been waiting. The Exwires know this would be one long bus ride, as no one is speaking to each other at the moment, all gathered in an even smaller space. Shima isn't liking how heavy the atmosphere has become within the group. Even Mizu shows his discomfort by the worried look on his face. Ukobach, Behemoth, and Kuro are more absorbed in taking in the sights along the way to the temple. Seiya on the other hand, sends continuous updates via texts.
Seiya: Mephisto: Seiya: Mephisto: Seiya:
I don't like where this is going, Mephisto. All the kids seems to be at pure odds with each other all because of this ongoing bull.
Unfortunately my dear, there isn't a whole lot I can do. Don't try to be a constant diffuser of the group; you might get caught on fire yourself, and I don't mean by your flames.
But someone's got to put up the shield and drop the sword.
Like I said, Schatz. They'll have to deal with it themselves. You can bring a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.
…I guess you're right.
After a little time, the bus arrives at the temple. The group is shown inside where Bon is the one receiving a warm welcome by the followers there. Save for Koneko and Shima who appear to be in better spirits being back, the rest of the group is left a little confused. Wanting all the attention as he is getting cranky, Mizu jumps out in front of the group trying to be playful with the people around. Seiya and Ukobach, who is riding on her shoulder, can only facepalm at this.