A New Normal
Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Notes: Chemo got little boy's tumor enough away from his blood vessels that doctors were able to go in and remove 95% of it surgically. He's recovering well from surgery and while there are still several big treatments left it seems like the emphasis has moved to doing everything possible to ensure that the cancer doesn't come back. So a big milestone passed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Before Review
Angel opened the door to the Old Dorm the day after the Exorcist Exam. The windows in the main lobby had been covered, casting the room in shadows. A projector, most likely acquired from one of the Academy's classrooms was hooked up to a laptop and playing movies on screen made from a bedsheet tacked to the wall. In the glow of explosions from the screen, Angel was able to make out several couples scattered across the lobby's couches.
The Paladin turned on the light switch by the door and cleared his throat loudly. He pointedly ignored the various couples jumping apart, blushing and quickly trying to straighten their clothes. "Okumura, the Grigori has summoned you. They've finished scoring your Exam."
Rin gulped. "Already? Did I…"
"I have been ordered not to relate your score," Angel said. Then he suggested, "You have time to make yourself presentable. Your Academy uniform would be appropriate."
"Should we come too?" Bon asked as he, Izumo and Konekomaru stood. After a moment Godain and Mana joined them.
"No, you will not come," Angel stated flatly. Then seeing the rebellious expressions on the teens' faces he sighed. "Sir Pheles asked me to relay a message: 'Last year's tactics will have grown stale.' Will you consider doing as I have ordered, since it also has the Trickster's backing?"
Bon and Izumo exchanged a wary look then nodded, with their endorsement the other three Exwires backed down as well.
Rin came back downstairs several minutes later. Angel took a moment to adjust Kurikara's strap so it didn't wrinkle Rin's collar then he used a gate-key to open a door directly to the hall outside the Grigori's audience chamber. Mesphisto was waiting for them in front of the double doors.
Mephisto tugged at Rin's bangs where they fell into his eyes, "Very untidy," he scolded. "I had hoped you would pick-up Sir Lightning's good habits, spending time with him, not his bad ones." And with a snap of his fingers Rin's hair was neatly gelled back out of his face.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me if I passed?" Rin asked hopefully.
"How could I when your test is still in progress," Mephisto declared grandly. Then his expression gentled, "Trust us, Rin."
The oversized doors to the courtroom swung open. As before the Grigori sat on their high thrones and stared down at Rin like he was a bug crawling before them. Angel put a hand between Rin's shoulder-blades and gave him a slight push forward.
"So how does everyone else get their test results?" Rin asked Mephisto out of the corner of his mouth as he stepped forward.
"A letter," Mephisto replied drily. "With a very official seal. Real wax and everything."
Rin snorted softly.
"Come, enough dallying," Angel said.
"If I failed, you think they'll want you to kill me on the spot?" Rin asked glancing back at Angel. Angel's mouth thinned. The three of them walked in and stood before the Grigori. Mephisto stepped away once they were in the courtroom, but Angel remained at Rin's side.
"Okumura Rin," Baltazar stated in an ominous voice. "You have failed the Exorcist Exam, despite being allowed eighteen months rather than the initial six which was agreed upon. By the terms of our arrangement your life is forfeit."
Rin started to argue, but Angel laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Is the Grigori dissatisfied by my service?" he asked.
"Paladin, what bearing does this have on the matter at hand?" Gaspar asked.
"Is my service to the Order of the True Cross unsatisfactory?" Angel repeated.
"You have been an exemplary servant to this council," Melchior replied. "Your student's failing will not reflect poorly on you."
"Thank you, but that was not my point," Angel said. "I took the Exorcist Exam three times before passing, as well as missing an opportunity to take the Exam due to personal reasons. Does the council feel that allowing me to continue to pursue my studies after I had failed the Exam a second time was a waste of the True Cross' resources? Does it truly seem just to you that you would execute Okumura for being incapable of accomplishing what your chosen Paladin failed to accomplish?"
Rin turned and stared at Angel. For a moment his mouth hung open in shock, then his eyes filled with amazed gratitude.
"Based on Okumura's practical exam I would rank him among the True Cross' top twenty knights, and that is without drawing his demon sword," Angel asserted. "He failed the Aria segment of the Exam. I failed the Pharmacology segment repeatedly and still don't hold a Doctor's Meister because I lack talent in that area. But this council saw fit to make me Paladin. Was that a mistake?"
Despite their concealing headdresses, Angel could feel the Grigori's disapproving frowns. He raised his chin stubbornly. "I attest to Okumura's good character and his dedication to Assiah. He is already a skilled knight. Ordering his execution because his rote memorization skills are poor… Excuse me if I am being dense, my grades as an Exwire clearly show that thinking is not my forte. But I cannot see what Okumura has done that his life should be forfeit."
Mephisto glanced around the gallery, a cold, hard smile on his face. Then he turned to the Grigori, his face tipped down lost in shadows except for the gleam of his teeth. "It seems, for once, the Paladin and I are in alignment," he said. "You were going to give Rin-kun another chance anyway, but we will not allow you to claim it is from a sense of mercy or the goodness of your hearts. You will give him another chance because the requirement you have placed on him is unfair and he's done nothing to deserve being treated thus… Or shall we examine the True Cross' records and kick out any who failed to pass the Exorcist Exam within their first two opportunities to take it? Or at the very least, publicize the names of all those hypocrites who were unable to meet the standard they are holding Rin to before you execute him?" He tipped his hat back and stared pointedly at Gaspar.
The bearded Grigori coughed uncomfortably. "Ah, yes, perhaps another extension should be made," he said.
Mephisto bowed with a sarcastic flourish of his cape, "You are wise," he said then turned and gestured for Rin to proceed him out of the courtroom.
Once the doors closed behind them Rin asked, "Did I really failed? Or was it just that jerk Snow? Or- or them wanting me to fail?"
"68% on the written verses and 65% in the oral recitation segment, you needed at least 70% in both to pass." Mephisto waved his hands dismissively, "But Sir Angel's failures were also entirely real."
Angel sighed and put a hand on Rin's shoulder. "I do empathize with your academic difficulties," he admitted.
Mephisto leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, "And forty years ago I remember being quite impressed by our current Gaspar's perseverance as an Exwire... if not by his skill at drawing Summoning Seals. It took him fiveattempts to pass the Exam and his hand is so unsteady he's never even attempted to test as a Dragoon or a Knight." He straightened and concluded in a normal voice, "However, it is also politics, you were supposed to fail, they would have granted another extension but would continue to hold the threat of execution over your head in an attempt to ensure your obedience. Sadly, our current Grigori is much more at home with sticks than carrots."
Once the decision was made with regards to Rin's exam Angel left for Kyoto. Yaozo met him at the branch office and the pair walked to the Shima family home without exchanging a word.
"I'll tell Renzo you're here," Yaozo said and left Angel standing outside the door. After a few minutes the Paladin heard Yaozo's voice drift from an open window. "I meant what I said, if you don't want to leave you don't have to."
Tsuzo came out the door then shut it behind her. "Renzo's packing," she informed the Paladin.
"Delphi is the best option for him," Angel stated. After several minutes of awkward silence he asked, "How have you been since leaving the Brigade?"
Tsuzo shrugged, "The dorm-chaperone thing wasn't a bad way to spend my disciplinary suspension. I had something to do and I got housing and meals included even if the salary Sir Pheles offered was a pittance. I'm coming off suspension in another couple of weeks and you've done pretty well by Ryuji-kun and Rin-kun. Would there be any point in my reapplying for the Brigade?"
Angel thought for a moment, "I do acknowledge my handling of the situation caused the escalation and you had a duty to Suguro that superceded your duty to me as your commanding officer. However, we would have realized that Okumura Yukio had faked his brother's suicide days sooner if no one had interfered in my assigned mission."
"I'll take that to mean 'send the application'," Tsuzo replied.
Renzo came out with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm ready," he said.
Tsuzo pulled him into a quick hug then ruffled his hair. "Take care kid and pick up the damn phone when we call you this time!"
"Who knows, I might even call you once and awhile," Renzo replied with a grin.
"I'll hold you to that!" Tsuzo called after him.
Renzo and Angel gated from the Kyoto Branch office back to Tokyo then from Tokyo to Rome and from Rome to a massive cathedral Renzo had never seen before. The air was chilly and damp. "This isn't Greece," Renzo exclaimed. "Where the hell are you taking me?" He dropped his duffle bag and reached for his staff fearfully. Dark flames wrapped around him.
"You are making a scene," Angel told him.
Renzo brought up his staff to attack Angel and practically before he registered what was happening a sharp blow to his shoulder numbed his arm. The staff clattered to the ground as Renzo's fingers sprung open. A second blow buckled his knee and then the strap of his duffle bag had been wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. Yamantaka's black flames could burn a man's soul to nothing, but against luggage, against anything material, they were nothing more than a light show.
Renzo stared up at Angel, his heart pounding wildly. He was a better fighter than he'd ever allowed Bon or Konekomaru to see but he hadn't stood the slightest chance against the sheer speed of the Paladin's response, hadn't even been able to force him to draw his sword. "Are you going to kill me?" Renzo asked.
Angel sighed. "If I had orders to kill you I simply would have done it. I loathe subterfuge and believing in accepting responsibility for my actions… There would be many consequences if I were to kill you," he told Renzo, who looked anything but reassured. "I promised that I would return you to the Lady Gaia and I keep my word. However there is someone I believe you should meet before I bring you to Greece. This is Canterbury."
"England?!" Renzo exclaimed, his expression dubious. "Who'd care about me in England?"
"Your mother," Angel replied.
Renzo's flames flickered and went out. Without protest he allowed Angel to pull him back to his feet and guide him out of the cathedral to a waiting car. Renzo remained staring out the window in a state of shock until Angel turned down a long private drive. At the sight of the manor waiting at the end of the drive Renzo blinked in disbelief. It was stately, not quite a castle but with the weight of many years on the stone. "My mom lives here?" he asked.
"Yes," Angel replied. "After your birth she felt there was nothing left for her in Japan. She remained in Rome for several years after you were returned to Kyoto. Eventually she was convinced to build a new life for herself here."
Renzo turned to Angel in a sudden panic. "I don't even know her name! How do I talk to her?"
"Her name is Koizumi Sachiko, but people here found it a bit of a mouthful. She goes by Sally," Angel informed him.
He parked the car in the drive where they were met by a servant. "Sir, Lady Sally and Master Harold are practicing in the ballroom," the man said. He glanced at Renzo. "I shall put your guest's bags in the green room?"
"That will do," Angel replied gesturing for Renzo to hand over his duffle bag. Then Angel started off, presumably to the ballroom. Renzo trailed after Angel, his expression said he was trying very hard find a way that two plus two didn't add up to four.
As they turned down a long hallway dominated by a pair of stately double doors the ringing sound of steel on steel filled the air. Angel didn't look surprised or worried so Renzo didn't question it. At the last minute Angel turned aside from the double doors and led Renzo down a small side passage to a servant's entrance and they slipped inside quietly. For a few seconds neither of the sparring pair noticed that they had gained an audience. A slight Japanese woman, her hair pulled back into a simple bun and a boy, ten or eleven years old, his bright gold braid contrasting sharply with the oriental cast to his features lunged back and forth across the polished floor, their blades ringing loudly as steel met steel over and over again. Angel made no move to announce himself or Renzo, he simply observed the spar.
The swordswoman was fast on her feet and precise in her strikes. The boy was very good for his age, but the over-sized sword he wielded slowed him down, forced him to stay on the defensive, still the heavy blade added power to his blows. The spar ended in a moment; their swords locked, the woman twisted her blade sharply and the boy's sword flew out of his hand. He lowered his head in surrender.
"You've improved," Angel remarked.
"Father!" the boy exclaimed, he stiffened notably.
"Arthur, we weren't expecting you," the woman said sounding reserved.
"We'll be leaving in the morning," Angel replied drawing the woman's attention to Renzo. She staggered, paling dramatically as she got first real look at him. Angel frowned in confusion as he caught her elbow to steady her. "It occurred to me that there was no reason for you not to speak to him any longer. Was I mistaken in thinking you wished to meet him?"
The woman took a second look, "Renzo?" she asked. "For a moment I thought- The last time I spoke to a Shima they told me Take was dead, and I thought- But it's you, you're my Renzo?"
Renzo swallowed and nodded, all doubts about who she had to be flying away.
"Harold, show me what you've learned since I was last here," Angel ordered guiding the boy away, allowing Rezo and his mother to speak in private.
For a long time they just stared at each other. Sachiko was a head shorter than Renzo, she wore loose pants that gave the impression of being a skirt. "You look so much like your father," she said then smiled. "Not that I should be surprised, I've seen pictures of your uncles and your grandfather and his brothers."
"Just in case I'm totally misinterpreting things: You're with the Paladin?" Renzo asked with a grimace.
"I waited," Sachiko replied defensively. "For years I fantasized about Take finishing school then taking you away from your grandparents and coming to back for me so we could be a real family. Even after he called and told me he was engaged, that she was a nice girl who understood about you, I still told myself he wouldn't go through with marrying her. Instead your great uncle came and told me that Take was dead and it would be better if I didn't come to the funeral."
"But, Arthur Auguste Angel?" Renzo asked.
Sachiko's lips quirked, "He's a bit stuffy but underneath it he's a good man. I joined the True Cross just to avoid going back to Japan and studied to be a knight. Take and I were the top competitors in our high school's kendo club, that was how we met. I didn't really believe in demons, even though I started seeing them shortly after I got pregnant, but joining the True Cross and studying to become an Exorcist gave me a reason to stay. Arthur had only just qualified as an Exorcist, but he was already a brilliant swordsman, they had him assisting with the better would-be knights. When I stopped coming to class he was conscientious enough to check on me. I'm sure he regretted it terribly when he found me a sobbing wreck sitting in the ruins of my castle of dreams. He was terribly awkward but he tried and he kept showing up until I started going to class again. No one else did anything like that for me after Take died," she finished bitterly
"So you're a knight?" Renzo asked uncomfortably.
Sachiko shrugged. "I flunked out, never passed the Exwire Exam."
"Seriously?"
"One of the most promising swordswomen in years and I freeze when faced with a demon," Sachiko explained ruefully. "There's this voice inside my head that starts screaming 'this can't be real' every single time. Eventually my swordsmanship wasn't good enough for the True Cross to keep wasting resources on me."
"So, um, you're not Myodha, or from an Exorcist family," Renzo sumized. "I mean I guessed that much but…You really couldn't pass the Exwire Exam? Izumo-chan's familiars rebelled against her at the start of the exam and she wasn't any help at all but she still passed.
Sachiko shook her head. "My father was a medical doctor, very modern, very scientific," she said. "The Head Priest's son asked for his help to find a treatment for the Myodha Plague, and Father accepted his invitation." Sachiko grimaced, "But when he went to the temple Father… Well, his bedside manner was nothing to be proud of. He basically marched and informed everyone that there was no such thing as demons and they were a bunch of superstitious yokels. The Head Priest literally threw Father out of the temple, dislocated his shoulder in the process. After that Dad started calling the Myodha a cult, asking if the city government should step in. And there I was, in school with Shima Takezo, whose father served as one of the Myodha high council. At the time, we both considered the whole 'forbidden love' aspect very exciting. Then I got pregnant and my father insisted I get an abortion or else never come home again. When I told him that the Myodha weren't crazy, that I was seeing demons too, I thought he was going to throw me in an asylum. I just didn't have any choices after that but the Myodha didn't want me either. They wanted Takezo and they wanted you, but not me."
"Oh," Renzo said softly.
"So I went through with your grandparents' plan, it seemed like the only thing we could do at the time. Then I waited four years for Take to come back for me. Studying to be an Exorcist was just a way of marking time, something to do to keep myself until I had my family, but Take never came back. A little less than a year after - after I was told he'd died, it became obvious that I wasn't cut out to be an Exorcist. Arthur and I were friends by then. His family was harassing him about producing an heir, he had no interest in romance and I had no plans, few skills beyond swordsmanship and no where to go. Arthur proposed as a solution to both of our problems. I'd more than had my fill of Romeo and Juliet so I said yes. It works for us."
That night Renzo stared at the ceiling in the ornately appointed guestroom he'd been given listening to ancient building's creaking, wishing it was his brother's snoring and the associated security of knowing Kinzo would wake him from any nightmares he might have. With a grimace Renzo silently castrated himself for only knowing what he wanted once he'd given it up.
The night interminable night stretched on and on. Renzo tossed and turned until he finally gave up on sleep. Wrapping himself in blankets he pulled an armchair over to the window and stared out at the night thinking about the father he couldn't remember and a mother he'd never known, until finally dawn broke. Around about the same time a folded sheet of paper was slid under the door.
Renzo disentangled himself from his cocoon of blankets and picked it up. "Renzo, breakfast is at seven. I know this will undoubtedly sound a little odd, but all meals are a formal affair here. You'll probably be most comfortable in your True Cross uniform. -Sachiko."
Remembering Angel's stiff interactions around his son- 'My half-brother,' Renzo thought shaking his head- he didn't doubt that Sachiko was right. 'Angel's more relaxed around Rin and Bon than his own family and that's considering his issues with demons. That's messed up.' Renzo dug through his bag for his Academy uniform. He was pretty sure his refusal to take the Exorcist Exam had served to withdraw him from the Academy but it was the only formal clothing he had with him.
Five minutes before the hour Renzo poked his head out of his room. He found Harold waiting in the hall.
The younger boy was dressed in a school uniform as well. "Mother asked me to escort you to the dining room," he said. The boy stared at Renzo with frank curiosity. "Father said you're fairly good with a K'rik. Sometimes the Arc Knights spar with me when Father brings them here," he hinted.
"We can ask your dad if there's time for a spar," Renzo replied agreeably. "I'm not sure what sort of schedule we're on."
"Father almost never brings anyone here unless they're going to stay a couple of nights in England," Harold informed Renzo as he led the older boy toward through the mannor. He stopped and stared at Renzo again, "But you're not one of Father's subordinates, you're the one Mom hangs ema at the temple for aren't you."
Renzo looked startled. "Why do you think that?" he asked after a moment, finding it hard to believe he could have been in his mother's thoughts all these years.
"Mother keeps an ihai and a picture of a guy who looks like you in her Butsudan." Harold paused for a moment, "Grandmother calls the shrine heathenism, but Father told her not to touch it. And he almost never disagrees with Grandmother."
Renzo rolled his eyes, 'Grandmother' sounded like a real doctrinairian.
"How much demon blood do you have?" Harold asked after a short pause. "Your horns are pretty cool. Mr. Lightning's something like an eighth, he says his mom's side of the family had more than one full-demon in the bloodline so it's not exact. He only has funny eyes."
Renzo ran his hand through his hair, fluffing up his bangs a little, "You noticed? I was trying to be discrete, figured it was the better part of valor given your dad."
Harold shrugged, "Your tail wiggles under your shirt sometimes and you've got horns. You didn't say how much demon blood you have."
"Well, I didn't actually get it from my birth parents," Renzo prevaricated. "I'm not sure how you count it."
"Oh," Harold replied frowning. From experience with his younger sister, Renzo knew the topic wasn't closed, but it was apparently put on hold as the boy opened the door to a cavernous dining room.
An old woman wearing a high-collared, starched white shirt and an ankle-length dark skirt sat at the head of the long table, Renzo assumed that she must be 'Grandmother'. Angel sat at her right in his normal all-white attire with Sachiko beside him in clothing similar to the old woman's.
The old woman looked Renzo up and down critically, "Well this one apparently can dress itself," she said to Angel. "I suppose that's an improvement over that Light-creature you insist on bringing here."
Sachiko's mouth dropped. She stared at Renzo with shock and worry in her eyes.
Harold took the seat across from his father, pointing Renzo to the seat across from Sachiko.
"Lightning has told me that he has every intention of doing things to aggravate you, above and beyond simply existing and being the best and only second I will ever accept, so long as you keep calling him a 'creature'," Angel reported dutifully, without the slightest hope of initiating change.
"He is what he is, why should I pretend I don't see it? Just like this one," the old woman sniffed. Then she turned to Sachiko, "And you didn't notice he reeks of Gehenna. The rocks in the garden are more observant."
"Well, since everyone apparently knows," Renzo remarked, untucking his shirt. "Keeping my tail hidden like that is driving me up the wall. I don't know how Rin managed it for a whole term."
"It's going to be Lightning all over again, isn't it?" Angel sighed to himself. His mother looked outraged. Harold stared at Renzo's tail with blatant fascination until his grandmother scowled fiercely at him, then he spooned some scrambled eggs on to his plate and pretended to be absorbed in his breakfast. After a few bites his stomach rumbled and he dug in for real.
Sachiko made several false starts before finding her voice then exclaimed, "Renzo, what happened to you?"
"Shima Takezo's familiar merged with him," Angel said, repeating the story Mephisto had told to the True Cross. "It had parental feelings toward him causing his personality to survive the merger intact."
Renzo shrugged, "What he said. Yamantaka's looked out for me ever since Take died. When the Illuminati captured me, it was the only he could do to save me, even though it cost him his life."
Sachiko's shoulders hunched, for a moment she squeezed her eyes shut and Renzo was afraid she was going to start crying. Not knowing what else to do, he sat down and followed Harold's example, digging into breakfast like there was no tomorrow. The sound of cutlery against plates echoed loudly through silence only occasionally broken by muted requests to pass a dish.
"We'll leave for Thebes at nine," Angel told Renzo. "There's a helicopter scheduled to pick up a few of the remaining diplomats from Delphi, you can get a ride with them."
Renzo nodded in agreement. After breakfast ended he went upstairs to pack. Once he was done he found Sachiko lingering uncertainly at the foot of the stairs. "What's your email?" he asked her impulsively as he pull out his phone.
"It's SAngel at btinternet dot uk."
"'Kay," Renzo typed quickly, "now you have my cellphone number and my email. We were already pretty good at keeping our smartphones working at Delphi so you and I'll be able to stay in touch, um, get to know each other."
Sachiko smiled brittle, little smile. "I'd like that," she said offering him her hand.
Renzo bypassed the offered handshake and hugged her briefly. "Stop looking so guilty," he muttered, his face flushing red. "I'm okay."
Sachiko returned the hug with all her strength. "I never wanted to give you up," she told him.