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July 14, 2009

Shiro watched as the pairs of students split off to their designated areas of the mall. Their mission was to clear the place from an imp infestation so that its construction could be completed without any further incidents. When Shiro first heard of the mission, he'd immediately sanctioned it off for an exwire mission and packed the kids up as soon as he could. Imps were easy to deal with and just the level that his students were at. He was sure they'd be able to handle it.

It was why he decided that today, he would also take on a personal mission. Shiro had had easier classes than this one and it wasn't because of his son. The kids that he seemed to have collected in the span of a single year were… a unique bunch. In previous years, he'd gotten one or two students he'd classify as "odd," but it seemed like every student this time around had their own little oddities. He would find the time to tackle each student's issues one at a time. For now, he decided to go for the easiest first.

"Let's go, Yamada-kun." Shiro smiled at the hooded student that was standing next to him. "We're this way."

Yamada gave a faint nod and as Shiro led the way, he followed from behind at a leisured pace, one hand stuffed inside the front pocket of his hoodie and the other aimlessly pointing the infrared thermometer he'd received for this mission. The two didn't speak as they made their way down the long, empty corridor in the east wing of the mall. Shiro kept an eye on their surroundings for the imps they were rooting out, peering through the bare rooms that would soon be stores, but as they walked past the hallway that would lead them into the food court, his pace began to slow down. He then stopped, gave a deep sigh, and turned around.

"Something wrong, sensei?"

Shiro met his student's indifferent tone with a frown.

"Take the hood off, Shura. We need to talk."

The hooded figure's only reaction was to tilt their head.

"I'm not in the mood to play games." Shiro crossed his arms. "Hood off or I take it off."

There was a deliberate silence.

"Why now?" The question was voiced in a low, quiet voice. Yamada's voice. The hooded figure made no move to unveil themselves, merely pocketing the thermometer away.

"Because I didn't have reason before," Shiro replied. "I wanted to see what you would do, and frankly I'm not impressed. So now I have a few questions and you're going to answer them."

"Heh." A snort escaped the normally reserved student. The voice that spoke next sounded nothing like Yamada's. "And here I was beginnin' to think ye'd lost yer touch. It's about time. Fine. I've gotten tired of lookin' like this anyway."

The hoodie came off and when it did, a feminine face surrounded by a mane of red hair was revealed. Shura dropped her hoodie carelessly on the ground and when she finished unraveling the bandages wrapped around her chest, she placed her hand on her bare hips and stared up at Shiro with a cocky smirk.

"Ya said ye've got questions, huh? Funny ya should say that 'cause I've got plenty o' questions for ya too, and I ain't lettin' ya go anywhere until I get some answers."

Shiro matched her smirk immediately. "Good, good. I was worried I'd have to keep you from running away."

"Me? Ha! I ain't the one that's got somethin' to hide, Shiro."

"Oh? Says the one who's been hiding under a hoodie as 'Yamada-kun.'" Shiro lifted a hand and curled two fingers in time with the fake name.

Shura rolled her eyes. "Spare me the act, Shiro." A scowl emerged on her lips and her demeanor shifted alongside it. The light-hearted humor that lurked in her eyes was hidden behind the blonde tips of her bangs as she bowed her head. "Ya oughta know very well why I'm here. Quit messin' around."

Shiro frowned, staring at the woman standing before him. "Why don't you tell me what exactly you think I'm hiding?"

"Tch. That's the way yer gonna play it, huh?" Shura's scowl deepened. When she looked up again, the warmth that always lingered in her face when she was with Shiro was gone. Her gaze was as cold and as hard as an uncut amethyst. It was an unfamiliar expression on the young woman's face, and more so were the words that followed. "I'm disappointed in you, Shiro."

That raised an eyebrow. Shiro suddenly felt a twang of familiarity and realized that Shura was switching the tables. He frowned and crossed his arms, meeting the gaze that had changed so much since the last time they had spoken. "Are you? Care to explain what I've done to disappoint you this time?"

The corner of Shura's lips twitched before she let the bitter smirk settle into place. "You want the whole list?" She couldn't help the dig. "Not sure we've got that sorta time today, ya know." In a different time, a different place, the words could have been taken in jest. But Shura's voice remained as cold as her eyes.

"I am here on behalf of the Vatican. I have been asked to perform a follow up investigation regarding the possession of Shiratori Reiji. Do you have any guesses as to why that may be the case, Shiro?"

"Not a one," he replied, not budging in his stance but his eyes narrowed slightly, a twitch of an expression that didn't escape Shura's attention.

"Really," she said, unimpressed. "Then I hope you don't mind filling in some gaps about what happened that day." The redhead's hand rose until it was level with the thin tattoo etched on her bare stomach. Shiro tensed as he heard her mutter under her breath. In the next second, Shura's stomach was glowing brightly, and from it, a thick folder emerged.

"When I got this mission," Shura began conversationally, "my first thought was that this was some bureaucratic joke in the makin' and that they were danglin' me right in the middle of it. I thought, what the hell did that jerk do to piss them off this time?" She began to leaf through the pages within the folder, slowly, more to make a show of it than because she was reading through the pages. "But then I began to do my job. I met the kid, did the questionin' bit. Asked around and met the witnesses. And boy, that's when things got real interestin'." She chuckled humorlessly, gave a brief glance up again, but Shiro's face remained impassive at her words.

"Minoru Jiro," she said with rising irritation before flipping the page. "Sen Hagakure." Another flip. "Naomasa Ken. Kisame Asui." She glanced up from the folder then and stared straight and Shiro. "Do these names sound familiar?"

It wasn't until the third name that it registered what she was talking about. Shiro's jaw tensed as he schooled his expression the best he could. Shura was interrogating him about a dangerous issue and he felt more angry than guilty. Angry at the Vatican, for tossing her into the mud like they used to do to him, angry at Mephisto for not covering their tracks well enough, and angry at himself for letting her run around as she pleased because he didn't want to deal with her just yet.

There she was, standing in front of him, a grown woman with enough contempt, determination, and worse of all, information sensitive enough to put them both in a shitty situation. His anger flared and he had to physically stop himself from stepping forward. He wanted nothing more than to snatch the file out of her hand and to burn it to ashes. Shura didn't belong wherever she was sticking her nose. But he didn't reach out. Shiro could see echoes of anger in her eyes, the kind he taught her. Neither of them would back down and a full-on fight wasn't a good idea. Not here, not today.

"No," he finally replied, forcing his jaw to part so as not to speak through clenched teeth.

Shura sneered at the blatant lie. "Oh, please. Try a little harder than that at least," she snapped. The folder closed shut just as sharply. "Are ya gonna play dumb about this? Make me spell out everythin' I already know? Make this easy for yerself, Shiro. I'm givin' ya the choice to come clean, and I suggest ya use it."

"Why are you here, Shura?" Shiro clipped her sentence short, not waiting for a single beat of silence. "Apparently, you have everything you need. Are you trying to make me confess to whatever crime you think I committed? Your job was investigation, wasn't it? Or are you interrogator as well? Maybe the judge and the jury. Wow, they're really putting a lot on your shoulders." The snarl took the lightheartedness out of the banter and he shook his head. "You read the report I gave and it's the truth. Shiratori was possessed and he attacked several people under that possession. I exorcised and cleaned up because that's my job. What the hell do you want from me?"

"How about the truth for once?" The redhead hissed. She took a step forward, and then another, the distance between them growing as short as their tempers. The folder disappeared in another flash, leave her hands free to clench at her sides. "Just, for once in yer life, can ya, ya know, actually trust me? Tell me the shit I oughta know rather than the self-servin' bullshit ya tend to give me? Just how many times, Shiro," she continued, her voice rising, echoing across the empty corridor, "have ya fed me the same shit, the same non-answers. "You don't need to know, Shura. Just do as I say, Shura." How many times do ya think I'm just gonna accept yer excuses just 'cause yer flashin' a pretty smile my way?"

Shiro exhaled a laugh of exasperation. He shook his head. What could he do? What could he say? He couldn't just walk away from her. He couldn't convince her to back down. It'd result in more butting heads and they would never get anywhere.

So the Vatican was suspicious of him and they sent Shura of all people on his tail. It was a low blow kind of move but Shiro didn't have the time to stew. "You don't need to know, Shura. This has nothing to do with whether or not I trust you. You just have to accept the fact that you're out of your depth. You're looking for answers to questions you're making up. There was an issue and I dealt with it." His voice was pitched low and stern. "That's the truth."

It was that word, coming from Shiro's own lips, that caused Shura lose the last of her composure.

"The truth, ya goddamn liar, is that these people are dead. All four of them unrelated cases of spontaneous human combustion. And when was the last time we've heard of somethin' like that, hmm?" In a flash, her hand was clenched around the fabric of Shiro's collar. She glared up at him, and with a hissed cursed under her breath she demanded, "Why didn't ya report this? How the hell are ya involved in all of this? And don't even try to tell me that ya know nothin' about this. Yer guilty as sin, Shiro. You, Mephisto—hell, I'm beginnin' to think the whole damn monastery is on it."

Shiro allowed Shura to jerk him closer by the collar and frowned. "I'm guilty? What, you think I summoned Satan to attack those people?" His lips twisted into a smirk and he snorted. "Shura, please. You're in over your head. You're not making any sense."

"Bull. Shit." Shura growled. "An innocent man wouldn't've actively tried to hide these deaths from the Order. And that is what you did, Shiro. I have witnesses that can claim you were in the right place, at the right time—you went to see Naomasa Ken only hours after his death. Why?"

The question was rhetorical. Without breaking her gaze, Shura's thin fingers slowly loosened their grip on his collar and slid down the length of Shiro's chest. "Is it really such a stretch of the imagination then, to think that ya know nothin' of the other three? You'd think an incident like that—four different people, in four different places, dyin' of the same strange cause on the same day—you'd think somethin' like that would've hit the news at least. Instead, there's only a handful of people around willin' to speak of the subject. But of course," she continued flatly, "you have nothing to say to that either, do ya?"

When he didn't reply, she shook her head from side to side, the motion entirely mirthless. "I didn't think so." Her eyes closed briefly, but not fast enough to hide the flash of pain that lurked behind her cold anger. The soft curves of her mouth slowly began to stretch into a tight smile. She rose on her tiptoes and leaned close to murmur into his ear. Shiro froze as he felt the warmth of her palm pressed into the small of his back. "The innocent man that you claim to be wouldn't have somethin' like this etched onto his back. Isn't that right?"

Like iron, he clasped on to her elbows and held her a few inches away from him. His fingertips were white as they dug into his skin and he tried to force his jaw to slack again. "How did-?"

"Purple!"

The walkie talkie on Shiro's belt burst into life.

"What was that noise?! Are you two alright!?" Yunokawa's sudden voice caused Shura to nearly jump. Shiro frowned. Purple. That was Yukio and Ryuuji's team.

"Team Purple! Do you copy?!"

Shiro's attention was shifted immediately. He waited, barely breathing in the silence until Yukio's voice finally responded.

"Yes. This is Okumura. We copy. The imps have been cleared out of the purple section. Suguro-kun and I are about to perform a final sweep."

"Are either of you hurt?"

"No. We are both perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern."

A small exhale. He worked his fingers to loosen their grip and he released Shura from his vise-like grasp. He flexed them, working the tense muscles back to fluidity.

"I covered it up, but it wasn't for me. It was for someone else." The words came out with little waver. The anger was mostly gone from his face, leaving only irritated worry. Shiro looked at her and shook his head. "There were five victims. I was the one who survived. And if you know anything about the mark on my back, you know why I can't say much else."

"Someone else?" Shura latched on to the word, ready to dig deeper, but it was hard to find satisfaction in her little victory. Her attention lapsed as the full impact of Shiro's statement sank in. "You… What? W-What do ya mean survived?!" she spluttered before giving him an irrational onceover. "Are ya an idiot? Is that what yer tellin' me? Do you want to die? How could ya not report this?!" The last thing she had expected to hear from the older man was that he had been a victim of possession—that he had been at death's door only a few months ago and she had known nothing of it. The knowledge caused her pulse to quicken; her stomach gave a nauseating lurch.

And just as suddenly, the last piece of it all clicked into place. "So that's why…" she whispered to herself as her eyes roved over her former mentor's face. The words left her mouth before she could think better of it. "I thought that it was just your guilty conscience keepin' you up, but… yer afraid to sleep, aren't ya?"

"You-!" Shiro sputtered as he realized the apparent circumstances behind the statement. "You've been watching me sleep?!" He crossed his arms over his chest, more as if shielding himself rather than taking an angry stance. "What the fuck, Shura! I thought we were over that little phase of yours!"

A dust of pink colored the skin of Shura's cheekbones, but the accusation did little else to faze her. "Oh?" Her lips quirked into a leering smirk. "Were we now? I'm afraid I didn't get that memo," she purred, content in the knowledge that she had unnerved him.

Shiro growled, tilting his body away from her slightly. "Jeez, Shura. Even now you're insufferable." He reached out and pressed a finger to her forehead with enough force to make her step back. "How the hell did you even manage that, huh?"

Shura's nose twitched in displeasure at his gesture. She let out a small harrumph. "Oh, come on, don't you know better than to ask me that? A girl's gotta have her secrets, ya know," she told him, her smirk widening with each word. There was a beat, a small moment where the two basked in the familiar banter that they had fallen into despite the gravity of their conversation. But in the next second, Shura's friendly tone had quelled. She wasn't ready to let her prey go just yet.

"This isn't funny, yanno," she said, her voice low and serious. "Somethin' like this… I don't know how that clown managed to convince ya to keep quiet, but it was the wrong move. You've gotta report this. For your own sake."

Shiro shook his head, his arms loosening on his chest in a more natural stance. "I told you, Shura. This isn't about me. Stop prodding for more information without answering my questions." He ran a hand through his hair and allowed his arm to fall limply at his side. "This isn't how I expected this to go, you know? You have a way of turning things around." He looked at her. "Always did."

"Ugh. Quit tryin' to butter me up. It ain't workin'." The redhead scowled and crossed her arms under her chest, annoyance lined along the length of her body. "Jus' what do I gotta say to get through to ya?" she asked, exasperated. A part of her wasn't that surprised by his reticence. Shiro, for all his faults, had always been a principled man. He took care of others before he took care of himself. She knew the only way she was going to get him to see reason was by tackling the first obstacle that stood in her way. Finding out who Shiro was trying to protect—and why.

"Ya really wanna know how I've been keepin' tabs on ya?" Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated her options. "Well a fair trade's a fair trade... I'll tell ya mine if you tell me yours. Just who're ya tryin' to protect, Shiro?"

Shiro clicked his tongue. The anger had long since fizzled away. The worry over his son and the frustration had caused the fire in his chest to snuff into embers. How could he tell her? Shiro could still remember the pain in his chest, his heartbeat hammering into his skull, the feeling of flames consuming him, and the maddening laughter that filled his senses. He managed to fight it off, not quite as easily as he had the first time around. But although he had managed to push Satan away, keeping his sanity, the others had not been so lucky. How could he tell her that Satan was trying to get to Rin? How could he reveal to her who Rin really was?

"Shura…"

"What was that? Team Brown, is everything alright?!"

Rin. Shiro's eyes widened and looked down at the walkie talkie. It was just imps, how much trouble could they be having? Rin couldn't have opened the sword, could he? He would know better, right?

"Team Brown! Do you need assistance? Please respond!" Yunokawa's voice insisted.

"This is Okumura from Purple. We're done with our section so we'll head over there to check on things."

"…Well? What's it going to be?" Shura prodded once the walkie talkie fell silent.

Shiro opened his mouth but before he could speak, the garbled mechanical voices started up again. He growled with slight frustration.

"Hey. Want an extra hand, Yuki-chan? We're almost done over here."

"We're almost done too!"

The voices of Renzou and Shiemi called out through the walkie talkie and, this time, Shiro grabbed it from his belt.

"Team Purple will go aid Team Brown. All other teams will report to the central area and meet with Yunokawa-sensei to await further instructions," Shiro said into the device.

"Yes, sir…"

"Y-Yes!"

Shiro exhaled and put the walkie talkie back on his belt. If there really was a problem, then more people would be an issue.

"This isn't something I can just tell you, Shura." He clipped the device back to his belt and looked at her with a stern frown.

She matched his expression, pursing her lips. She wasn't happy with the conclusion they were coming to. She'd barely gotten any answers, merely some confirmations and a hell of a lot more questions.

"Then where does that leave us, Shiro?" she said. Her keen eyes studied the lines of his face, the wrinkles narrowing his brow, the tiredness lingering in his eyes. The question hung in the silence, filling the air like a thick fog.

Izumo's voice struggled through the walkie talkie on Shiro's hip.

"Second floor… Amaimon… is here…"

Time jolted forward. It felt as though they had stood there for hours, reeling from the statement they just heard. The impasse between them seemed small in the face of the threat that loomed over them. Amaimon? Surely he wasn't…

"Shit…" Shiro grabbed the walkie talkie. "All teams meet with Yunokawa-sensei and evacuate the mall immediately!" he barked into the device.

"Suguro-kun and I are close. Kamiki-san sounds hurt. We're going to go get her."

"Dude, are ya kiddin' me?" Renzou's garbled voice followed straight after Yukio's. Shura paid little attention to it as she tried to process the gravity of their situation.

"What... the hell?" She shook her head in disbelief, her ponytail bouncing behind her from side to side. "What's a big fish like Amaimon doin' here?"

Shiro looked at her for a moment before he pressed the button on the walkie talkie again. "Yukio, get Kamiki and get out. I'm heading over to look for Rin." He put it back on his belt as Yukio replied.

"Understood."

Shiro swiveled, his coat billowing behind him, but but stopped in his tracks for a brief moment and looked over his shoulder. He eyed Shura's face, her furrowed brow and wrinkled nose.

She's gotten so big. The thought floated unbidden through his mind. How often had he looked behind him and found her there? With an adoring expression or a frustrated one, it didn't matter. She had always been there, whenever she could. Now, even as an adult, she was chasing him still. How many years did she have left? How old was she now? Where would she be if he had died? Better off or worse? He couldn't know. She had always been behind him.

"Do you still trust me?"

The question took Shura off-guard. She watched as Shiro stepped back, his side facing her as the words echoed across the unfurnished walls. "Because I could really use your help right now."

Shura's eyes widened and she looked away briefly to hide her expression. "…Idiot." The word escaped her lips with a soft sigh. She took a step forward, then another, and another until she was standing by his side. She didn't look at him. "Do ya really gotta ask?"

That was all it took to get the two of them moving. They sprinted towards the danger that lay ahead of them, but not without Shura attempting to have the last word.

"But don't think this is over, Shiro!" she warned.

Shiro grinned fiercely. "It's never over with you!"

Shura spared him a quick glance, and it was easy this time to allow her lips to widen, her smirk sharp and promising. "An' don't ya fuckin' forget about it!"

"Never," he swore as they turned a corner.

Shiro had been leading them to the stairs, following his mental map of the place, but he skidded to a halt as they came face to face with a stairwell packed with rubble. Above them, a loud rumble crashed the ceiling and trails of dusts spilled from the cracks forming on it.

"Great. That ain't a good sign." Shura cursed under her breath and grimaced. "He's already started going wild."

"We'll have to go back and use the other stairs," Shiro growled and turned around. "Come on. No time to waste."

The two of them sped down the long corridor that led to the courtyard, leaving behind the blocked stairway even as they heard a loud crash—walls breaking, probably—somewhere above food court. Trails of dust continued to pour from the ceiling. The urgency of the situation made them push past their limits and they picked up their speed as they turned the corner that led to the last stretch of floor before the courtyard.

Something felt off the moment they set a foot in that clearing. The instinct born out of years of training, years of missions, put them on the alert. A quiet tittering reached their ears just as dozens and dozens of imps dived from the ledges on the second and third floors and landed in front of them in tandem, acting like an organized mob. A large thump drew Shiro and Shura's attention away from them, and there, standing in front of the fountain, between the two exorcists and their desired destination, was a demon Shiro had only met once before.

A behemoth wearing a tacky metal crown. Amaimon's behemoth.

"Shit. Cover me." Shiro pulled his revolver out of his coat and grabbed the pendant around his neck. In the same movement, Shura began muttering quietly under her breath. She grabbed the hilt of a sword as it was emerging from the glowing tattoo on her chest, just in time too; the first wave of imps was lunging towards them, bearing their vicious fangs and slobbering mouths.

"Why the hell are there so many of these things left?! What were yer kids doin' this whole time?!" Shura exclaimed as she stopped the little buggers with her blade, slicing through the ones closest to her.

Shiro didn't answer. Instead, he began chanting which caught the attention of the imps immediately. "O Lord my God, I have cried to you for-"

He had to swallow his next word as the behemoth leapt at him with a roar. It was glaring at Shiro with his beady little eyes, glowering with about three-parts-malice and one-part-spite. A large paw with nails the color of decay swiped at Shiro's face.

BLAM!

Shiro pointed his revolver and shot, knocking the behemoth back, but left his chant interrupted. He didn't waste time in trying again. "O Lord my God, I have cried to you for help—!"

It felt like the imps were multiplying. More and more kept coming and Shura kept hacking away at them, pushing the rest back with sharp gusts of air made by her sword. Cries of pain escaped the ones that were hit. The ones that weren't ducked and hid and picked up debris off the ground to throw at them. Shiro ducked away from one that had been aimed at his face, but this gave another the chance to get him from the back with what felt like a sturdy stick. He turned his arm quickly to shoot it and it dispersed. The Kurikara's scabbard clattered to the floor. Shiro stared at it for a moment, confused. Another roar had his body reacting before his brain caught up with him.

"Serpent Fang!" Shura snarled and another gust of air sliced across the room, shoving the behemoth back once more. A bullet whizzed right past where the demon had been.

"Either get rid of these things or cover me!" the redhead demanded.

"I'm trying!" Shiro huffed out as he grabbed an imp from the back of his shoulder and threw it. He shot it before it hit the ground. This time, he was determined not to stop. "O Lord my God, I have cried to you for help," he called, feeling a couple more imps jump on his back as Shura defended his front. He quickly spat out the last words. "And you have healed me!"

Every single imp in the clearing seized and let out agonized piercing shrieks as they disintegrated in the span of a second. The air took just as long to be clear of the remaining black particles their bodies left behind.

Shura lowered her sword. "About time!" she said, lush with energy, ponytail swinging behind her. "Now all that's left is that little pest."

Said little pest was snarling angrily, baring his fangs and digging his green, scaly paws into the floor as it glowered at them. Amaimon's pet looked furious and it wasn't looking so little anymore.

Shiro looked up at the large behemoth now more than twice their height as it pounded the ground and huffed angrily out of flared nostrils.

"Shura. What have I told you about taunting things bigger than you?" Shiro pulled back the hammer on his revolver.

"If your head can fit into its mouth, don't open yours,'" Shura recited promptly, in the drone of someone who had heard this question in multiple occasions. "That ain't usually a problem for me, yanno," she added, glancing at Shiro with a crude smirk as she readied her sword.

"Sh-Shura-san!?" The shocked voice came from the other side of the behemoth. Yukio stood there wide-eyed and with an unconscious Izumo in his arms, wrapped in his exorcist coat. "What are you doing here?!" Despite his questions, he was keeping an eye on the large demon, moving more towards the exit and keeping his distance. The behemoth slammed one of his paws into the floor, causing it to shake.

"Why, if it isn't Yukio~!" Shura's voice took on cooing lilt. "Long time no see, ya little runt!"

Yukio gave an affronted glare as he wrinkled his nose, but before he could open his mouth again, Shiro spoke.

"Tender reunion later, kids!" He looked at Yukio who still backing away. "Where's Ryuuji-kun?"

"... Looking for Nii-san," he responded with a glance upwards.

"Shit." Shiro gripped his gun and returned his focus to the behemoth. It was taking a running leap in their direction. "Get her out of here, Yukio!"

"Yes, sir!" Yukio turned and ran with Izumo cradled securely in his arms.

Shiro and Shura ran too, ducking out of the way in opposite directions. The behemoth landed in the spot they had been standing, leaving a large indentation under its massive weight.

"Booooy, this thing's a real pain." Shura whistled. Knowing they had to take care of this quickly—there was still Amaimon left to deal with after all—she bit off the skin of her thumb without hesitation and swiped her blood across her blade. "Kirigakure Demon Sword Technique: Snake Lance!"

Her sword transformed, growing in both width and length. The metal rippled and curved as it split in the middle to form a mouth-like opening, from which a hiss emerged.

"Take this, ya ugly brute!"

She dodged the tail that tried to snap her legs, jumping over it, and rammed her sword into the demon's side. The behemoth roared in pain and, tried to shake her off. Its tail swung heavily as it thrashed and it slammed into the fountain, smashing it to pieces.

Shiro winced and stared at the crumbling fountain in dismay for a few moments before letting out a frustrated groan. "That's gonna come out of my paycheck, dammit!" he growled before shooting the behemoth twice, pulling the hammer back each time.

The first bullet grazed one of the demon's flailing arms, but the other one made a hit, piercing through the behemoth's scaly, yellow skin, right under one of its eyes. The demon wailed and swept its arm in a violent arc, smacking against a pile of rubble that scattered in Shiro's direction. He lifted his arms, grunting as he protected his head from chunks of concrete. Meanwhile, Shura let out a curse as she was finally thrown off the demon's back.

"Goddammit!"

She landed with one knee on the floor and her sword in front of her. The behemoth's thick tail lashed out at her again and, this time, she had no time to get out of the way.

"GYAA—KK!"

"Shura!"

Shura let out a grunt as her body slammed into one of the four pillars surrounding the courtyard. The hit to her head caused her vision to spark white with stars, but she didn't let this keep her down. She tightened her grip on her sword and forced herself up to her feet, gritting her teeth.

"You are goin' down," she muttered promisingly as she lay her eyes on the beast. She took off with a running leap, grinned toothily as she heard the familiar sound of a gun covering her, and then her sword was coming down in a smooth swing. It cut straight through the behemoth's flesh, splitting the base of its tail from its body.

A piercing screech seemed to rattle the very air and suddenly, the demon disappeared. Well, that's what Shiro thought at first. But as the tacky crown clattered down into the linoleum flooring, he saw the truth. The exorcist stepped closer to the tiny, whimpering, tail-less behemoth, raised a brow and smirked. It looked up at him with a squeak.

"Go on. Shoo." Shiro pulled back his foot and kicked the small demon like a soccer ball. It bounced before scrabbling on the floor and running off, yelping in fear.

Shura snickered. "Aww, look at it go."

Shiro whistled, putting a hand over his eyes like a visor. "The tinier it is, the faster it runs!"

The two turned to look at each other and shared a simultaneous, breathless grin. They stood, side by side in the echoes of their victory; but before they could call it a job well done, trouble came crashing through again, quite literally.

A burst of blue flames fell from the second floor like a meteor. It was only when it crashed into the rubble that Shiro was able to make out the second body on top of his son. The Kurikara came clattering down as well as Ryuuji and Rin groaned from the impact of the fall. The moment didn't last long as there was a figure chasing them down. A very familiar one.

Rin shoved Ryuuji aside and Amaimon took his place within seconds, pinning his son down as he thrust his claws towards his throat. Shiro felt his heart stop for a second, but Rin stopped the Demon King just in time, gripping his wrist before those nails reached their target. The relief Shiro felt was drowned out by the rage and familiar hatred that bubbled up as he climbed the pile of rubble and shoved the barrel of his revolver down against Amaimon's skull.

"Off." The snarl was venomous and angry. Shiro's finger was resting on the trigger.

He watched as Amaimon's eyes slowly moved and their gazes locked. "It's you," he stated quietly in that bland, aggravating voice of his.

He wasn't getting off. Shiro's jaw tensed and his thumb caught the hammer of the revolver and pulled it back. The weapon clicked threateningly.

Amaimon flashed him a menacingly hungry look, but it was gone before Shiro could exhale. Then he jumped and he followed him with the barrel of his gun. Amaimon landed on the ledge above and gave them all a look of indifference.

"Ah, screw it. I guess I'll stop here." Amaimon's gaze fell on Rin. "I'll come see you again, so until then…" And he was gone.

"Amaimon!" Shiro snapped. His fingers tightened around his revolver as his mind recalculated from the lack of the fight he'd been expecting. He looked down at Rin who was sprawled across the rubble, panting with slight relief. He had to protect him. No matter what. No demon would take his son, King or not.

He stormed over to the sword and grabbed the scabbard as well, but before he sheathed the weapon, he saw a familiar glint of black metal. Yukio's gun was sitting nearby from where the two teens had fallen. Shiro closed his eyes for a moment before picking it up and tucking it into his coat. A second later, the Kurikara was returned to its scabbard. He heard the soft whoosh of the flames finally extinguishing and he walked back over, crouching down beside Rin.

"Can you stand?" Shiro asked quietly. He was still angry. He didn't know if he should talk to Mephisto about this but for right now, his son and his students were his first priorities. Rin nodded and turned over to push himself up onto his elbows. He looked tired. But of course he would be. Not many people went toe to toe with Amaimon and lived.

"Rin..." Ryuuji's quiet voice drew their attention. The teen was standing at the base of the fountain's remains, staring at Rin with a relieved expression as he absently rubbed his left shoulder. It had been carefully bandaged since Shiro had last seen him. Yukio's handiwork, he thought.

"Ryuuji, are you okay?" Rin pushed himself to his feet and took the Kurikara from Shiro's hand before stepping carefully down the pile.

Ryuuji immediately stepped closer, meeting him halfway. "Are you okay?" he shot back, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"I can heal way faster than you can." Shiro felt relief at his son's huffy tone of voice as he began scolding the taller teen. "Why didn't you run when I told you, huh? You could've gotten really hurt!"

Ryuuji visibly stiffened at Rin's words, but before he could open his mouth to defend himself, another voice cut in, speaking over him.

"Yer shittin' me," Shura said flatly. She was staring at the two teens as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The look she shot Shiro next was an incredulous one. "Ye've completely gone off yer rocket. Shiro, what the hell?"

Shiro frowned and stepped down from the pile of rubble. Amaimon was gone and he had hoped he'd taken the fight with him.

"Wh-Who the hell are you?!" Rin shouted out in shock, having just noticed her.

"This is Shura," Shiro said as he stood on even ground. "Kirigakure Shura. She's my apprentice."

"Huh?!" Rin looked between the two of them. "R-Really?!"

"Shura." Shiro looked at her and held out a hand towards the boys. "This is Okumura Rin, Yukio's brother and my son. His friend is Suguro Ryuuji-kun. They're both students of mine in the cram school."

"I know damn well who they are," Shura snapped, throwing Shiro an irritated glare. He lifted his hands in a mock defense. She moved to look at Rin again, at the sword in his hand, and then, for a brief moment, closed her eyes. She'd never once in her life prayed to god for anything, but she was beginning to contemplate asking for some patience.

She let out a heaving sigh.

"Well. Can't say I was expectin' this. Ye've really gotten yerself involved with some shit this time, haven't ya, Shiro?"

"It's had its ups and downs." Shiro put his revolver into the harness under his coat.

Shura shot Shiro a warning glare. His dismissive tone was already grating on her nerves.

"This is givin' me a headache," she muttered. The hit she'd gotten earlier throbbed painfully. She gingerly examined the injury with her fingers, watching idly as Shiro summoned Tamiko and sent her off to retrieve the jacket Shura had left behind. Once the cat sith was out of sight, she followed Shiro's lead, and within seconds her sword was back to its normal size and sealed away inside her body. The movement drew the kids' attention to her. Rin latched onto Ryuuji's sleeve tugging him close as he stared at Shura.

"Did you see that?!"

Ryuuji nodded, looking equally as awed. "How…?"

Shura stared at the two teens curiously, eyeing Rin with special consideration. Barely a minute ago, the kid had been bathed in a sea of blue flames. She still couldn't quite process the implications behind that. And that tail… in all the time she had spent spying on the rundown dorm, she had never once caught a glimpse of it. They really had been keeping this little secret tightly under wraps.

She couldn't help but be grudgingly impressed.

"Alright. This day's been gettin' more and more insane by the second. Shiro, this ain't somethin' I can just let ya can wave away easily, so ya better start explainin' what's goin' on. Now."

Shiro frowned and glanced towards Rin. The two boys were staring at him expectantly as if they were just waiting for him to solve the problem with a snap of his fingers. He groaned inwardly as he turned away from them to face Shura.

"The sword," he gestured towards the Kurikara in Rin's hand, "used to have a seal on it. I'm pretty sure you know by now what he is. We were doing a pretty good job of keeping his demon side under wraps but on March 31st, Ryuuji-kun came over and the two of them were attacked. The seal was broken and Satan was finally able to zero in on us. That was when he tried to possess me."

"What?!" Rin cried out, looking at him in shock. Beside him, Ryuuji stiffened with alarm.

Shura looked grim. She nodded slowly, beginning to see the clear picture of what must have happened that day. "And that's why he…"

"Yes," Shiro quickly cut in. He met Shura's eyes, hoping she would let the subject settle. He didn't want the kids to know about the deaths that had followed behind them on that day. Especially not Rin. He knew that boy would find some way to put it on his shoulders.

His silent gaze did not have the intended effect.

"How do I know yer not jus' tryin' to protect the kid?" Shura said, unable to withhold her skepticism. She would be a fool if she didn't at least consider the possibility.

"Shura." Shiro couldn't help the growl that underlined his tone. "It wasn't him. He was with Ryuuji-kun the entire time and after that, he was on campus." He glanced towards the two of them. "I'll answer questions as much as I can but I can't tell you everything. You're just going to have to trust me."

Shura's expression turned incredulous at his words. "So we're going with that line again, are we? You could afford to be a little bit more original, yanno..." She scoffed, crossing her arms under her chest.

Shiro lifted his arms and let them drop again in a gesture of helplessness. "What do you want me to say, Shura? I'm telling you the truth and you don't want to believe me!" He pointed towards the confused teens staring between them as if they were watching a tennis game. "Do you really think that they- that he is capable of that?"

"Dad, what-" Rin began but Shiro opened his hand, halting his son mid-sentence. He couldn't do two explanations at once. To be honest, he'd rather not explain it to Rin at all.

Shura's lips pursed in thought. It wasn't as if she really thought Rin had it in him to do that sort of harm. She'd observed him for long enough to know he was a good kid; way more well-adjusted than his brother at least, although that was not a particularly high bar to pass. But it was one thing to trust the kid's human nature—the demon in him was another matter entirely, especially considering who he really was. "So yer tellin' me this was all just, what? Satan poppin' by for a fatherly visit? After all these years? Why wait 'til now? How do I really know ya ain't lyin' to me again?"

"But... he's tellin' the truth!" Ryuuji spoke up, glancing between them with a hesitant expression. "Rin and I were in Sir Pheles' office that day. We—"

"Now, now, the adults are talkin'. Kiddies should just stay quiet," Shura said, her eyes steady on Shiro as she spoke over the teen.

"Hey!"

Oh no… Shiro stiffened and looked towards his son who was glaring at Shura. "Rin..." he muttered in a warning tone.

"No! Shut up, old man!" Rin shouted before pointing towards Shura. "You should listen when people are trying to talk, yanno?! Don't tie me up with Satan just because I'm his son! I'm not him, you hear?! And I'll kick his ass the next time I lay my eyes on him!"

"Oh?" Shura followed Shiro's gaze and she couldn't resist smirking at the look on the boy's face. "Yer talkin' pretty big for a kid who has no clue about what's goin' on." That bristling glare she received was a nostalgic sight. She had seen that look Yukio's face more times that she could possibly count. "I would've thought ye'd be more keen to shut yer traps and listen in. It looks to me like this old coot has barely kept ya in the loop either."

"You're right! I don't know what's going on!" Rin replied. The loud confidence in his voice made Shura's eyebrows to rise. Shiro sighed. "But I know the truth! Ryuuji and the old man aren't lying! I didn't hurt anyone and I'll prove it any way I can!"

Shura stared at the kid. Saying that she had been shocked into silence wouldn't have been entirely incorrect. She pressed her lips together, caught Shiro's eye, and communicated one silent query by raising her eyebrow. Is he for real?

The kid looked so serious... Shura could hardly stop herself from snickering aloud.

"Oooh, boy. Ya were right, Shiro. This kid's a real laugh." She grinned, finding amusement in being at the receiving end of the Son of Satan's sheer simplicity. "Don't get so ahead of yerself, kiddo," she told him as she struggled half-heartedly to quit laughing. "There's a lot more goin' on here than ya realize. Yer dad has a lot to answer for, yanno." Her arms uncrossed as she moved to run a hand through her top of her hair, and while she tried to steer the conversation back on track, the tension had considerably lessened. "He might not be lyin' about this, but he has been keepin' an awful lotta secrets. Care to share with the class, Shiro?"

Shiro glared at her, stepping forward. "This…" He closed his eyes, exhaling out a slow breath. He flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to clench them. He closed the distance between them and grabbed lightly at Shura's arm, pulling her close to him and whispering in her ear. "This is not a conversation we should be having in front of them. If you want to talk with me, we're doing it later."

"Oh, please. As if yer not plannin' to run to Mephisto the moment I take my eyes off ya," she hissed back.

"As if you're going to take your eyes off me. You still haven't told me how you're watching me anyway."

She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Now who needs to share with the class?" Shiro huffed out an exasperated breath.

"Hey! What are you talking about?!" Rin shouted at them. Shiro ignored him.

"Look. We'll talk. You and me. I'll tell you everything I can but not here." Shiro loosened his grip on her arm and caught her gaze with his. Shura's breath hitched slightly, the gesture briefly taking her back to another place, another time. She willed herself to focus on Shiro's words.

"I'm not leaving without my kids and they're not going anywhere. You've got me in a barrel with nowhere to go. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

Shura remained silent for a long moment. When she finally spoke, her hand rose to cover Shiro's own briefly. His hand was much smaller than she remembered. "Fine," she said, frowning. "I'll hold ya to it then. But don't ya dare try and run away from me," she warned.

He nodded. "You have my word." He smirked, then. "And my neck."

"Stop leaving us out of it!" Rin growled in frustration. "What's going on?!"

"Relax, Rin." Shiro spoke in a calm tone as he stepped out of Shura's space, slipping his hand out of hers. "It's just Vatican business."

"Vatican business?" Rin repeated, looking back and forth from Shura to Shiro. "Is everything gonna be alright?"

"I think so." Shiro looked towards Shura as he ruffled Rin's hair. "What do you think? Is everything gonna be alright?"

Shura quietly observed Rin struggle to escape of Shiro's grip and she let out a long sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. We're good." She waved him off. "I'll take care of things on my end without raisin' any flags. For now."

"Sounds like a plan," Shiro said.

Rin finally ducked under his arm, and Shiro let him, reaching for the walkie talkie on his belt instead. "Yunokawa," he said, speaking into the device, "the mall is clear and Okumura-kun and Suguro-kun are safe. We'll be heading towards you now."

"Ah, Fujimoto! Thank God. I was beginning to worry. We'll be waiting for you."

Shiro lowered the walkie talkie and looked between Rin, Ryuuji, and Shura. The boys looked tired. Rin was hanging onto to Ryuuji's sleeve now, while his other hand was firmly clutched around the Kurikara. There were traces of dried blood lingering on his skin, though his injuries had fully healed. Ryuuji looked a little more battered, but his eyes were still alert. He was sneaking worried glances at him and Shura. Especially Shura.

But she was standing there, staring at him with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips. Shiro felt a wave of something that could only be nostalgic dread. He had never had a good experience when she was staring at him that intently. And yet, despite himself, the corner of his lips twitched upwards.

"Let's go," he said finally before leading the way out of the mall.

A/N: And yes... there will be a brand new Sincerely chapter next week!