A/N: This chapter exists basically because I couldn't leave Shiro on the balcony with no follow-up. As always happens when I think "I'll just put it here for form's sake", my muse drops a surprise on me. Usually in the shape of an eccentrically dressed demon principal. So no real plot elements, just... playing with the concept and throwing a few bones to the fangirls. ;3
I do not own or profit from any of what Kazue Kato has created.
Shiro woke slowly to the feeling of being on fire. Well, wouldn't that be extraordinarily stupid? Why would he set himself on fire…?
The sheets had a crisp feeling to them that he didn't recognise. And the bed was hard. That ruled out his own bed and Mephisto's. He cracked open one eye, but without glasses it was pretty useless. His surroundings were very white, that much he could tell. Hang on… Shiro sniffed, only to find his nose completely blocked. He tried breathing in instead, to taste the air that way, but started coughing. His whole ribcage seemed to creak in protest. Suffice to say, you don't sleep out on a balcony in February without catching pneumonia.
He slept most of the time in the infirmary. Once when he woke up there was a get-well card from Ryuuji; he assumed the little wooden donkey was from Shizuku, though he didn't get the point until he noticed the tiny cigarette and the glasses made of wire.
Next time he woke, it was because Shizuku dropped the huge Comprehensive Demonology from the stack of course books.
"Thought you might wanna do something while ye're in here", he said, disengaging the books on a chair. "Midori-chan and Sen-chan's been over, too." He nodded at the chocolate box on the bedside table. "How ye holdin' up?"
"Could've been worse, I guess." He was feeling perkier every time he woke up, but that might have been for catching up on sleep. He still coughed all the time, and it still hurt awfully. His ribcage felt somebody had pummelled it with a sledgehammer. "Wish they would give me less ugly nurses, though", he said, quirking a smile at Shizuku.
"Tch, ye're fine alright", he chuckled. "This is for sanitary reasons." He tugged the elastic string on his surgical mask and let it snap back. "They wouldn't let me in with my face."
"Leave it at the door."
"Ye seem the same as ever, so I'll bother ye some more: would ya solve the mystery of why a lady in the middle o' True Cross Town calls school an' says she's found one of its students on 'er balcony? Huh…?" Shizuku bent down again, picking up something from the floor. "The hell's this?" He turned the lone paper this way and that. "Hate to break it to ya, but I could'a drawn better with both thumbs cut off."
"That's not me." Shiro grinned through a fit of coughing as Shizuku put Mephisto's drawing of him to rest against the chocolate box. "It's from a little kid I used to know at the orphanage."
"I didn't take ye for the type ta be good with kids. Now, about that balcony…?"
"I was possessed. When I came to I was on a balcony somewhere. Still had the bastard in me, so I blessed a watering can and dunked myself in holy water."
"Wow. Came to, while the demon was still in ye?" That was genuine admiration on Shizuku's face, if Shiro's wasn't hallucinating from fever. "How d'ya do that?"
"Sen-chan taught me a few tricks", he smiled. "Gotta thank her when I see her next."
"I rather think ye pissed the demon off so much it left", Shizuku chuckled. "Anyway, good ta see ye're doing alright."
Sanitary procedure didn't only discriminate Shizuku's face, but Shiro's steadily increasing need for nicotine. Going out to smoke, the nurses informed him, was absolutely out of question in his state.
The nurse had left, and Shiro had picked up a book on the history of seals and wards to kill some time, when the next guest dropped in.
"Guten Tag." A chair swooshed over from the wall to assist him. "I heard you were awake – quite the commotion you've caused, but I suppose that's in your nature." Mephisto folded one leg over the other and sat, at safe distance from the vicious microorganisms. He cocked his head, gazing intently at Shiro. "You smell of demon. I did suspect it, when a handful of wards around the dorms were taken down…" He stroked his goatee, brow furrowing. "But the smell is faint. It was exorcised. By who?"
"By me." Shiro didn't see any need to hide his smugness around the smuggest bastard alive.
"You retained control of your body during possession? Interesting~" Thoughts raced across the demon's face like a flock of crows at dusk. "Can I assume little miss Futotsuki has part in this?"
"Yep."
"Tsk tsk, your casual tone doesn't do justice to the weight of your words. You must have made a good impression on her, and on your teacher. The Futotsuki don't share such things with just anyone."
"Go figure – they were hunted like animals for the things they did." Shiro closed his book and held it up for Mephisto to read the title. It was about seals and wards, but it was not course literature. "A clan of demon worshippers, originally: until they were invited to teach at the recently founded True Cross Academy. And the Moriyamas were cursed and driven into the woods before the same offer was given them. You've collected quite the staff for this place."
"Can't run a school without teachers", he said, spreading his hands with a pleasant smile.
"Pretty odd teachers to select, though. Why them, specifically?"
"I was in no position to pick and choose, you know. Few ordinary teachers would work for a demon back when this school was built", he said in smooth tones. "The Futotsuki were eager to help: and the Moriyamas… have you figured it out yet~?"
It was on his tongue to say that Mephisto probably fancied having his own harem: then he changed his mind and tried to think up a good way of implying that being the patron of lonely women would make a good cover for his other inclinations. Perhaps it was the delay from the clash of ideas, or perhaps he was actually learning to watch his tongue:
"I can't see any other connection than their curse", he coughed into the crook of his arm.
"Not a curse, Shiro-kun." Mephisto wagged a gloved finger. "A bloodline that only births women – fine women, I should say~ – and whose members have the gift of making everything that grows thrive?" He cocked an eyebrow with a smile that said Shiro really ought to make better use of his brain – maybe rent the vacant space to hibernating caterpillars? "They are descendants of long gone forest spirits. Once upon a time, a male Moriyama in all likelihood got lost and met a beautiful woman of the woods, who promised to lead him out in exchange for his company. Humans like the Moriyamas are the living legacy of the spirits of ancient Japan; how could I not want them for my school~?"
The door in the adjacent room creaked, followed by the soft padding of slippered feet. Mephisto disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke.
"Too bad, he was talking for on-" Shiro almost jumped out of the bed. The sudden motion tightened his windpipe and triggered a coughing fit. "What…? What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed at the stumpy tail that just disappeared under his bedcovers. The footsteps came closer.
"People would start wondering if I paid such unusual attention to one of my students", came the whispered reply. "And pets aren't allowed."
"Then get under the bed!"
But no: the little furry body snuggled closer to his side until it was almost undetectable beneath the covers.
"I'm your principal, not some common mutt", the bump hissed indignantly.
Shiro put the book on him to hide what little bump was visible. The nurse made for his bed with a nursey smile. The kind that comes with the work description.
"How are you feeling, Fujimoto-kun? Do you want something for the fever?"
"It's okay for now. Are you sure I can't get my smokes back? There's no one but me in this whole section."
She poured an excusing look into her smile and shook her head.
"I can't let you smoke with pneumonia, Fujimoto-kun. Even when you are fit to leave the infirmary, you should wait a few days. Can I get you something else?"
"No, I'm fine."
When the soft steps were out of earshot, Mephisto crawled out. He sat down next to him on the bed, giving him that look dogs make when they want you to read their mind and do what you're supposed to do.
Shiro was not particularly good at mindreading.
"…well? She's gone: get out of my bed."
"My bow is ruined", the dog complained, his little nose crinkling. "Some assistance, if you would…?"
"Oh for the love of…"
Shiro put his book on the bed table and lifted him up in his lap to redo the miserable bow. He wouldn't confess it on his deathbed, but the little dog was rather cute. Despite the shaggy look, the fur he'd felt under the covers was soft and silky; and those funny, bushy little eyebrows… didn't change the fact that it was Mephisto. And that he had snuggled up against Shiro just minutes ago.
"You're turning back and getting out of here the moment I'm d-"
Shiro just gave the bow a final tightening tug, and Mephisto turned back. On his lap. With Shiro's hands twined into his cravat.
The sole movement in the whole world was the one twitch Shiro's left eyebrow made.
"…you're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"
"You asked me to turn back before leaving your bed", he said in honey tones.
Shiro pulled the cravat taut around his throat and yanked Mephisto's face level with his own.
"I meant before you leave the infirmary, you pervert", he said in brimstone tones. "Now get off me."
"I like a man who plays it rough~" He tugged the polka-dotted garment looser with a smirk that could make the blind blush. "Pity you're just a boy. Werde bald gesund~"
Mephisto disappeared, leaving Shiro to a different kind of fever and a boiling desire to smash something to pieces.
"Shameless bastard", he muttered. "Should've coughed on him…"
A/N: If you've come this far: thank you for sticking with me. I think it's about time I say that. =P
Thank you wildkurofang, for being my first-ever reviewer with sweet feedback and lots of inspiration.
Thank you XxAlysxX, for giving Shiro (and me) the motivation to keep going despite everything I put him through, and for inspiring extra-material. ;)
Thank you Mimi MC, for noticing the small things and confirming that it's worth the extra time to research, and to expand the story outside the confines of canon (just a little, just enough).
Thank you Pheles-chan, for thinking (and saying!) it's awesome, and (I have an odd feeling) sort of predicting where I intend to go with the story... 0.o
Thank you xHobgoblinXMashoux, for giving me compliments I hope I'll one day earn a right to. ^_^'
Thank you Cat-Tastic-Luv, though I don't know you much, but I hope you'll stick around for future chapters too.
Thank you Shelk - and keep running, even if you hit obstacles along the way.
Thank you tmmdeathwishraven, for virtually making my head spin with pride.
Thank you Shadethedemon, for being such a nice penpal and asking many questions.
Thank you Sebbyfuzz, for liking the fic even though I sound crazy. =P
Thank you everyone, for writing to me and asking funny questions and just... telling me what you think. It means a lot, truly. =^.^=
"Will Shiro and Mephisto get together?" is the most common question I get. =P Unfortunately, it's the question I find most difficult to answer. ^_^' Yes, Shiro and Mephisto are my #1 OTP. But there's an endless spectrum to define "romance", and what you think of when you ask might be something very different from what I think of when I reply. You can write a pairing many different ways, you know? (And I'm not talking who's seme and who's uke =P)
In 73.6 cases out of 92, I don't even like romance. I find it... dull. =X That said, there are a few cases that I like. I can, and will, write romance-ish scenes, but it will be "my" kind of romance.
Trying to define that... =P Since I'm trying to keep this as canon as possible, a lovey-dovey giving-you-breakfast-on-the-bed-and-kissing-before-leaving-for-work romance is out of question. Mephisto is a game master who never shows his cards, and Shiro is the kind of guy who can't even tell his own son he loves him without making it a backhanded, teasing remark. They will stay that way. The aim of this fic was never to center around romance, and that's how it will be in future chapters too. Those who aren't fond of yaoi can just read it as playful teasing between friends, and those who do like yaoi can read whatever they want into it.
You will understand what I mean (I hope) if you go and take a look at the cover picture. I made 4+ drafts or so, searching for the perfect angles - not that I ever found them, but I got close enough to feel that that glance they share between each other summarizes what I want to describe with this fic. The link is on my profile page. =)