"So you see… I don't remember a thing." Thea shrugged innocently, completely oblivious to her lost memories from the times when she had been visiting the elementary school. "So that's why you don't remember? Because they hypnotized you at the asylum or something?" Bon wondered, trying to process his classmate's surprising revelation. "...Yeah… they did that too, I think…" the blonde scratched her head in thought, trying to be as earnest as possible. "I only know that I have started seeing demons since I was about nine years old. Most of it is quite blurry, because of all the medicine I was forced to take. They put me through some therapies, hypnosis – and well, that kind of stuff really does things to your memory. I honestly can't believe I managed to finish elementary school..." she giggled, trying to lighten up the mood, but for some reason, her classmates seemed to grow even sadder at that remark. Strange, at this moment, she found it quite… funny?
"There were many kinds of 'treatments', really, but that's not the point. The point is… I understand my parents' decision. I really do… When you think about it, it was completely rational, after all. But I couldn't just live like that! Confined in a solitary room - seriously, who would want a life like that?" she asked, her hands forming a prison-like globe in demonstration. "As soon as I understood that the doctors would not change their mind about my mental state, I started lying." she grinned mischievously and began whispering. "You see, I tricked the bunch of them, claiming that I could no longer see ghosts and demons. Quite funny if you consider that some demons were sometimes strolling about the asylum, flying around me just as I was saying it… Occasionally, the demons were even disguised as the doctors themselves. Must have been a gold mine for them, to feed on the emotions and life force of all those poor, suffering people. And in case anybody could see them, they were completely covered - after all, who would ever believe mentally ill people, right?" she threw up her hands, trying to get her point across. "But that's terrible… I mean, that must have been so hard on you." Konekomaru said in a solemn voice. "Are you kidding me? It was perfect!" Bon's eyes bulged and he started coughing out pieces of fish - just what was wrong with her? "What? I could practice my newly-found powers there and nobody would blink an eye on my strange behavior." "Yeah, except that you are behaving reeeealy strange right now…" Bon thought, the whole situation completely… well, crazy. "Aaanyways, I had to change that in order to trick the doctors. I acted like a perfect child, and so, I was discharged." Thea explained victoriously. And why not? It was, in a way, a victory. A way to her freedom she had earned herself! That was enough of a reason to be happy with the course of her life, right?
"And your parents? Did you trick them, too, Thea?" Shiemi asked with a soft, sad voice, earning herself a jovial smile from the blonde. It did not make sense. "Yes… at first. I knew they would not have accepted it. Why, they would have sent me back to the asylum before I could finish the sentence! I knew that they… they couldn't bear having a mentally ill daughter… You see, they were both veeery important people. They couldn't afford their reputation and image to suffer. No, no… So! When I finished elementary school, I told them. And then, I made a deal with my father." Thea lifted her finger meaningfully. "I promised to disappear from their lives in exchange for a new start in a country of my choice. Can you believe it? I was fifteen and I could travel just anywhere in the whole world! How great is that?" The only answer to her cheerful exclamation were sets of completely confused, bulged eyes and gaping mouths here and there. Why were they gaping at her like that? They looked just so hilarious! Thea could hardly keep herself from laughing at their grumpy expressions. Finally, Yukio broke the absurd atmosphere. "So that's how you ended up in Japan?" he exclaimed in awe and suddenly, there was one less set of confused eyes remaining. "Yeaaah, that's right! I didn't think twice about it - Japan looked just like the perfect place for me. And not just because of the completely thrilling culture. No, no. You see, you have sushi and onigiri, too! I mean, I do miss Pretzel and even Currywurst, but all in all..."
"Whoa, whoa… Thea… what's going on? Forget about stupid sushi… What about your parents and… where did you live?" Rin tried to re-rail the conversation back because he knew that once Thea started on food, they would never hear the end of the story. "How dare you! You take that back right now - sushi is not stupid! Not only does it look cute and delicious, it is also fresh and moist, and it just melts in your mouth… So how could I possibly forget about sushi?!" Thea stood up and put her hands to her hips accusingly, staring murder at the half-demon. Rin started to sweat. "Is it just me or has Thea just… kind of… snapped?" he thought, taking in the uncomfortable looks of his classmates. "Is it because we made her speak about her past? Oh snap, this is really bad..." he gulped nervously, casting meaningful looks at Yukio, but without success. "I am waitiiing." the blonde arched an eyebrow. "Ah, right… yeah, well, sushi is not stupid. Not at all… Just what was I thinking, right? But Thea, … all the talk about the past and your parents, maybe you should…" Rin started nervously, hoping for Yukio to finally step in, but the teacher just sat on his log with a look of utmost focus on his face.
"Oh right, my parents! Well, if you must know, my father used to travel here for business, so he dropped by every time he was here. Well, more like sometimes, then rarely, until the visits stopped completely… I haven't seen him for almost… uff… seven years? Oh, and he never took me back to Germany again. My parents still keep sending some little money to support my studies, but well, the prices sure changed from the time we had made that agreement… It barely covers my rent - and I share the apartment with a schoolmate… But! I have the best grandma in the world! One who always believed in me. She's the one I am grateful for my sanity, really." she giggled, completely forgetting the 'righteous rage' she had felt when sushi had been insulted just moments ago. Again, her carefree giggles caused her friends to shuffle in their seats uncomfortably. "Riiiight… sanity..." Konekomaru whispered to himself, also turning his attention towards their teacher, who seemed to be completely absorbed by Thea's story. "The teacher is concentrating so much… he is not even blinking - must be devising a plan to handle Thea somehow… What a relief…" Konekomaru thought while the blonde inclined her head in confusion - Why would her friends look so nervous? She had just told them how great her grandma was. Maybe it was not convincing enough… "And my grandma is just great, even though she herself is already in a nursing home. Really, she is the best! I mean, she is already around eighty years old and has Alzheimer's too, but she is the most lovable member of my family. Now, that tells you a lot about the rest of my family, too…" she said, slapping her knees laughing. "But she's great! I am telling you!"
"It's fine, Thea. We believe you." Shiemi waved with her hands defensively in front of her. "But Thea, are you… uhm… are you feeling well?" she managed to squeal in her soft voice. "Are you kidding me?! She's obviously lost it!" Izumo exclaimed, throwing her heads up, then shot a dangerous look towards Bon, daring him to pull her at one of her tails. This time though, the aspiring Aria certainly couldn't muster enough concentration to even consider such a thing. His mind was completely preoccupied by the strange, no, crazy behavior of their classmate. "Lost what?" Thea asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "You've got to be kidding me..." Izumo gaped at the blonde. "It's nothing, Thea. Just sit down and…" Rin stood up, reaching for the girl. "Silence!" came a serious order from the young teacher and the lot turned towards him in expectation, holding their breaths. "You are all forgetting one crucial thing. A piece of information Thea has not shared yet. Thea, you must tell us, and you must be completely honest. Which one do you prefer - sushi or onigiri?"
"What?!" came an almost collective, dumb-founded cry, while the golden-haired member with chocolate-brown eyes smiled widely. Thea immediately calmed down, sat near the fire, exhaled, and brought herself to focus. Then, with a deadly serious look in her eyes, she started explaining. "That's a really good question, teach'! You see, sushi is great because you always know what you can be looking forward to - you see aaall the tasty ingredients at the first glance, not to mention… to mention… you know… how beautifully they are arranged… The onigiri on the other hand… they are just like… ehm… like Kinder Überraschung! You know, the surprise awaits inside!" "What is Uebe… ahm, how was it again?" Yukio scratched his head in serious thought while his students were gaping at him. "Oh right, it's a chocolate egg. It looks like a normal egg, but it is made of chocolate. And inside, there's a surprise! Kids in Europe just love it!" "You don't say… remarkable! You must tell me more about these eggs." the teacher kept nodding excitedly, waiting for more. "Well, the surprise is really surprising. Like a… a big surprise. So big that it was banned in the US! Guess the American's cannot handle surprises very well…" Thea giggled. She just felt so happy, enthusiastic, and alive - this night was a good idea after all! "But what is the surprise?" Yukio demanded. "Are you serious?! It's just Kinder eggs, you know these..." Rin grabbed Yukio at his shirt, shaking him. "Don't encourage her, man! We need to do something, so stop babbling about surprises and food!"
"You are absolutely right, Rin!" the young teacher looked at his brother in awe. "We should stop talking about food and make some instead. What do you say, Thea?" he eyed the blonde and she immediately brightened. "OMG, yes! I am starving. Rin, where's the rest of the fish?" The half-demon turned his head to Thea, then to Yukio and back to Thea again. "All right, what the hell is going on, you two? If this is a joke, it ain't funny! You're creeping me out." The blonde folded her hands again and a deadly serious expression settled on her face. "I never joke about food, Rin. Now, where are the fish?" "Huh? There's no more fish, Thea. We have barely any food left, but that's not the point. Guys come on; would you help me out?" Rin urged his friends who sat on the logs around the fire with an air of pure disbelief. "NO MORE FOOD?!" came Yukio's and Thea's freaked out voices. "No, that's impossible. Rin, tell me you've got some more! You have to!" the chocolate-eyed girl started shaking him pleadingly. Suddenly, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder - having summoned up enough courage to approach her creepy-growing classmate, Shiemi decided to step in. "T-Thea… Rin is telling the truth, we only brought some sweets and snacks and well… we ate them all while waiting for Rin to prepare the fish, remember?" she smiled nervously. "Nooooooo! No more food!" Thea sunk to her knees, leaning on the palms of her hands and shook her head. "We are all gonna dieee…" Yukio knelt beside the girl swiftly, taking her hands into his. "No Thea, don't say that! I know the situation seems really bad now, but I promise, I… I will find a solution! As is my responsibility as a teacher!"
"I think we should call someone for help…" Konekomaru gulped as he regarded the teacher, who has obviously completely lost it, too. "Hell no!" Izumo bellowed. "We are going to be exorcists, for God's sake! We purify evil and fight against demons - we can handle two crazy people, too! So, any ideas what might be going on?" she looked at the sanely-behaving people in the group in expectation. Shaking his head, Bon shared the results of his swift check. "I have already casted a few spells to see if they are possessed, but… nothing. Apart from Rin, there's no demonic energy whatsoever. Maybe they are just… you know, drunk?" he cast an eye on Thea, who was still sitting on the ground, chanting 'so hungry, so hungry, so hungry…'. "No-no, I made sure to bring only non-alcoholic beer… at least after the teacher had decided to show up in the end…" Konekomaru grinned innocently and Bon just shrugged. "Well, what does it matter? They are not doing anything dangerous… Maybe we should just sit and relax and let them have some fun." A frown was all he got from Izumo, but the twin-tailed girl nodded slowly. "I guess… But as soon as things get out of hand, we are pacifying them."
"I've got it!" The teacher suddenly exclaimed and scrambled up to Shiemi. "Shiemi, you are the one who can save us!" "Wha… wait, what are you saying, Yuki?" the girl stuttered while her cheeks took on a dark-red shade. "It's obvious, isn't it? Your familiar is a Greenman. Well then, summon him and make him sprout some vegetables for Rin to prepare." "What? Vegetables? But Yuki… I don't think…" "Hurry up, there's no time!" he ran his fingers through his hair, then pointed at Thea who was still slumped on the ground, the prospect of doom written all over her face. "Don't listen to him, Shiemi. We need to do something about them and quickly." Rin walked off towards Izumo and the others, as he heard them already speaking about possible plans of action. Or rather, he tried to walk off, but Yukio snatched him at his arm. "And where do you think you are going, big brother?" he fixed Rin with a firm, uncompromising stare. "Who do you think is going to cook?" "Let go of me you four-eyed moron!" To Rin's surprise, Thea caught his other arm and pleaded. "Rin, please, please, cook for us." "H-hey… let go, you two! Guys… I would really appreciate some help over here!" the half-demon turned towards his friends sitting around the firepit. "Oh shush, just cook for them already." Izumo brushed him off and turned towards the fire to finally finish her fish. "Oh yeah? From what? Tsk…" Rin untangled himself from their grip and started running towards Shura's weekend house - maybe there was still some rice left. "Nooooo! Yukio, our chef is running away!" Thea cried out in a desperate voice.
Rin's body abruptly spasmed and he dropped to the ground, as a strong surge of electric energy shot through him. Everybody gasped. Then, the lot started laughing like crazy. "Yu-Yukio, you just… you shocked everybody… hahaha… with, with one taser! Oh man… look how s-shocked… everyone is!" Bon was rolling on the ground, holding his stomach. "Nothing dangerous, huh?" Izumo arched an eyebrow at Bon, pulling at his earring, but couldn't help to keep her own chuckles under control. "Rin!" Shiemi - the only merciful person - ran towards the boy on the ground quickly, checking for any injuries. "What the hell?!" the half-demon shot a deadly look towards Yukio, who was just putting his taser back to the holster. "Did you just… did you tase me?!" "Oh, don't make such a fuss about it… you know very well that your body is much stronger. Besides…" the teacher said a little sluggishly "we can't… can't risk you leaving. Stop being so goddamn selfish! If you leave now, Thea is going to die from hunger! Is that what you want?! Have you even thought about it?!" he said, emphasizing every word very carefully while waving with his hands in exaggeration. "Y-you are crazy! I am tired of this shit! Whatever is wrong with you, you two need help. Professional help!" Rin pointed a finger at 'those two' accusingly, trying to stand up with Shiemi's help.
"Thea, now!" Yukio shouted and bright runes started forming around Rin, closing into a demon-binding circle. "Yey! I got him, I got him! Did you see, teacher?" Thea cheered, jumping, then rushed towards them. "Well, I am impressed, Miss… ahm, Miss Heilbrunn. Have you been practicing?" "You bet! Now Rin, please, please cook for us." For a moment there, Rin truly panicked - when did she learn to cast those nasty things so fast? She didn't even use an incantation. However, the initial panic disappeared as soon as he realized that he actually could move around freely. And so, he stepped out of the binding circle and walked towards the surprised blonde. "Sheesh, you freaked me out for a moment there… What were you thinking? I am the good guy, remember?!" Rin stomped and poked the stunned girl in the chest. "B-but how? My binding circleee!" she gaped, burying her fingers in her hair in frustration. "Well, Miss Heiru.. Hei… Thea, the spell has to be stronger than the demon… and my big brother happens to be quite a strong one…" Yukio patted her at the back, then turned towards Rin. "But are you reeealy a good guy here, Rin? Because a good guy, a reeeally good guy would not let us all starve to death!" he said pointedly, and Rin only gawked. In the meantime, Thea still tried to collect herself from the fact that Rin had been able to leave her trap. "But it worked on Sir Pheles! I trapped him in my circle and then..." she protested but was cut off by Izumo who rolled her eyes at that statement. "Riiiigt, and I took down the Leviathan." she said sarcastically. "You did?!" Thea put her palms to her cheeks while Izumo's eye twitched and Konekomaru almost choked on his coke. "Woooow, that is sooo coool!" Thea kept on marveling.
"Oh, forget it. We have to do something about those two." Rin waved his hands in the air. "Shiemi, do you think you could help me out here? I think they won't let me off the hook until I cook for them…" She nodded, determined to fix the situation and be useful for a change. "I'll do my best, Rin. Let us cook together. I am sure that you will be able to turn just anything to a delicious meal." she smiled encouragingly, and the half-demon's heart skipped a beat. "I am going to cook with Shiemi. And she thinks I am a cooking genius! Hell yeah! Alright, pull yourself together, man! You'd better nail this." "You guys… you're the best! You really do care…" Thea suddenly hugged them both. "Yeah, yeah, now shoo, we need some space." Rin waved her off, getting to work.
OoO
Thea and Yukio were pacing around, not leaving their sight from all the vegetables Shiemi's familiar managed to summon. The lot was so incredibly hungry that they ate every last bit of food they had managed to find, including the last package of sesame-chocolate bars and all marshmallows. Rin sulked "Those marshmallows were supposed to be used for s'mores! Oh maaaan…" "Is it ready?" Yukio kept asking and Rin had to push him away from the small table. "No, it's not. Give it a break, already!" "And now?" Thea asked, leaning in from the other side, trying to put a finger into the sauce he's been preparing. "Hey! Put that hand away! Do you want to burn yourself?" he tried to brush Thea off. "It's fine, I will starve to death before I burn to death. And teeeach' here is a doctor!" she giggled, completely unconcerned, but Rin caught her hand before she could do any damage. "All right, quit it!" Izumo thundered, pulling Thea and Yukio away. "Everyone is already cooking, so do us a favor and get out of the way. Don't you have anything better to do?" she threatened with a huge cucumber Shiemi's familiar had just produced. "Oh, that's right… we are camping, after all. We should be doing some camping activities… I know! A proper camping requires singing by the campfire! Oh, Izumooo, you are a genius!" Thea started jumping around happily, hugging everyone in sight. "H-hey, careful there around that firepit! And besides, there's no way I am gonna sing." her cheeks puffed up and Bon grinned. "So, Miss Perfect cannot sing?" he poked her with a spoon and could see those puffed-up cheeks go almost purple from embarrassment. "Tsk… of course I can sing. I just don't like singing and karaoke and all that nonsense…"
"Hey, Yukiooo, let's sing!" Thea pulled him at his hand enthusiastically and Rin burst out with laughter. "Pfff… as if that uptight smart-ass would sing. I mean, he is acting weird tonight, but there are just some boundaries he…" "Yeaaaaaaaaah! Let's sing, Theaaaa!" the teacher cut Rin off, rushing towards Thea, whose face was now beaming. "Yey! OK, let's do this, peopleee! Aaand: ~Neunundneunzig Luftballons, auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont~" The classmates turned towards her. "Oh, that's right… I almost forgot she's German…" Konekomaru giggled, waiting for their teacher's reaction. "Thea! Thea, that was sooo melodious and… beautiful! Please, you have to teach me that song!" he bowed, then adjusted his glasses in concentration. "Aber natüüüürlich, teacher! It goes like this…" Thea started her song again and Yukio joined in. "~Ha-stu e-twaa tse-tuu fuu mi-huu~" "No, no, like this: ~Hast du etwas Zeit für mich? Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich~" the blonde corrected, and Yukio tried again. "Hmm… I think I know what the problem is, teach'." she tapped her lips in serious thought, then grabbed a spoon out of the table and handed it to Yukio. "You forgot your microphone! You know you cannot sing without a microphone..." "Of course! How could I have missed that? Thank you, Thea. Now, let's try again…"
The group of students just gaped, then Izumo burst into laughter. "Alright, this is hilarious!" Izumo clutched her stomach and she had to brush tears out of her eyes. Soon, the rest of the cooking squad joined in - both the laughter and the singing, because as a certain half-demon put it "Oh, why the hell not?". Whatever was going on with Thea, she proved unexpectedly eager and competent in instructing everyone in the correct pronunciation and meaning of the lyrics. Shiemi was quite surprised how easily she could remember those strange, long words, while Konekomaru just chuckled. "You know, I always thought that when the Germans speak, they sound kinda… terrifying." "You mean like they were planning another invasion?" Bon arched an eyebrow, amusement playing in his eyes, and Konekomaru nodded through the chuckles. "Yeaaah, kinda… but the songs are actually quite catchy. As long as they are about Luftballons and not Luftwaffe, that is…" he grinned.
"Boy, those two are absolutely unstoppable. That's just crazy…" Izumo shook her head while looking at the dancing and singing Yukio and Thea. A wide smile was gracing her lips - she still couldn't believe the classmates managed to persuade her into singing. "Damn right, it is. That's why we're gonna make sure we can throw it in their faces later on." Rin grinned devilishly and pulled out his cell phone. Soon, dozens of photos of the singing duo were filling its memory, not to mention videos. In the first one, they started dancing together. The second one captured that memorable moment when the crazy duo attempted the lift-move from Dirty Dancing, and surprisingly, Thea proved strong enough to lift him in the air. Not to mention that Yukio managed to look quite graceful just hanging there… Then, another splendid idea came to his mind - the group of them made a selfie with the two oblivious, dancing idiots in the background.
"Oh boy, this is gonna be fun." Rin smirked and sent the juicy material to Shura - she always shared the hobby of teasing Yukio with him, so he figured that she would appreciate such splendid material. The rest will be used for some serious negotiating, bribing or outright blackmailing. "Gee, Okumura, you are really scaring me." Bon chuckled, but could not get the smile out of his face. "I'm glad that they are happy, but man, Thea just…" Konekomaru shook his head, unable to finish the sentence. Fortunately, the old, blunt Izumo was there to save the moment. "Yeah, she's a terrible singer. Seriously… do all future doctors think that they excel at everything or is it just her?" "Oh, you haven't seen half of it yet. She also thinks she can draw." Rin grinned, remembering that picture of him and his aura which Thea had produced a few weeks ago.
OoO
Shura was flipping through the endless pile of papers on the desk. The 'evening meeting' of the investigation group was obviously going to end up as an all-nighter. She wished there was a way to escape this bureaucratic torture. "Just how did Yukio manage to wriggle his way out of this? Oh man..." she pouted. A cup of coffee appeared on her desk and Angeline, the plump teacher of holy scripture recitation, smiled at the red-haired colleague. "Here you go, dear. It looks like we are going to stay here for a while." she said and sat down to her own stack. Shura frowned but gulped down the coffee in one go. "Great, just great… I should be drinking sake at some nice, fun, lively place in the city. Or at home… in the bathtub… I don't care anymore…" she sulked, massaging her temples. "I can't believe we still haven't found any clue. There just seems to be no connection between the students. Even the school years do not match. Something fishy is going on. And this time, it actually seems like Mephisto truly doesn't have his claws in it. Or maybe that is the exact thing he wishes us to believe… Insufferable demon!" Her musings were interrupted as her cell phone was seized by a series of vibrations. "Heh, sorry…" Shura apologized as she felt the piercing gazes of her irritated colleagues. "I'd better take this outside." The outburst of laughter which sounded from the hall was so loud that Angeline dropped the stack of papers she had been trying to move. "What on Earth?!" she exclaimed. Little did she know that Shura's night had just gone from terribly boring to unbelievably amusing. "Oh, Yukio, you four-eyed chicken! Who would have thought you had it in you? You're never gonna hear the end of this!" the Exorcist held her stomach, trying to catch a breath, as she viewed the video of Yukio with a little carrot behind his ear, explaining the combat potential of kinder eggs into a big wooden spoon the Heilbrunn girl was holding out for him. Seriously… was the guy drunk?
OoO
After the Lord of Time had shifted back to Tokyo, he slumped down to his cushioned chair and exhaled. "What a day…" he put down the glasses and massaged his temples, trying to regain some peace of mind. He almost wished he had not managed to acquire Thea's medical records from the mental asylum. Having seen all the 'medicine' and special procedures the girl had been put through, the demon found it a small miracle she had turned out the way she had. "No wonder she tried to keep a low profile and avoided me at the beginning… Not to mention why she was so thankful to be admitted to my Academy..." he ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. Despite his tiredness, he was pleased with the results of his investigation. True, the search did not answer all of his questions, but it certainly helped shed a light on the girl's past. "I wonder how she is…" he thought, his mind slowly slipping to the so-needed nap, only to be interrupted by his beeping cell phone. "Oh, verdammt! I just can't catch a break today." Mephisto shot a sour look at the device, then checked the messages from Shura. He expected to hear about the details of the investigation, but the series of images which flooded his phone proved him wrong. In a few seconds, a sonorous laugh filled his office. "Dear Lord, Thea sure knows how to party. To think she was able to persuade young Okumura into singing, too…" he chuckled, as his mood brightened instantly. "Enjoy the camping, dear." the Lord of Time smiled fondly and slipped to a peaceful slumber.
OoO
"The stars are so pretty tonight." Shiemi sighed, looking at Rin while preparing the vegetables her Greenman had produced. "They sure are. But not as pretty as y…" the half-demon tried to compliment his crush but was rudely interrupted by the idiot-duo laying on the ground at the campfire. "Oh my God, that one star fell! Did you see, Thea?" Yukio started laughing and the blonde sat up swiftly. "I saw it, too! But… what if it got hurt, teach'? We gotta help! It fell from such a height!" "Nah, it's just clumsy, that's all… See? It's already up again." he pointed to the sky and the girl followed his index finger. After a good five minutes of silent and intense search of the night sky, Thea inclined her head "Oh, you're right…" she said, then lay down into the grass again. "They are sooo bright…" Yukio marveled, suddenly feeling one with the universe. "Yeah… sooo shinyyy… white, almost blue… just like the little flame in your eye…" Thea sighed.
"Just what on Earth are those two babbling about?" Izumo scratched her head in confusion, looking at Bon questioningly. However, her friend knew better than to keep trying to understand Thea and Yukio that night. "Dunno… I told you, maybe they are just drunk or something. Might be food-poisoning, too." Bon shrugged and Konekomaru gulped nervously when he heard Bon's theory - eating Thea's 'vegetable curry' proved, after all, quite dangerous. "You might be right, Bon… Those two did not eat the curry, but they are the only ones who ate the cookies Thea made. Teacher is one brave fool… and they were not as lucky as to throw it up." Konekomaru tried to find a reason behind that crazy behavior, then sulked. "Oh man, I know I threw up almost all of the food, but still… Are these my last moments of sanity?" he clasped his hands around his torso in panic. "Could be, could be." Bon nodded, unaware of the wave of nervousness which hit his friend after that statement. "Tsk… who knows what kind of a crazy mixture she managed to create?" Bon continued, as he threw the rest of the cookies into the pond - better safe than sorry. "Whatever it was, I hope Rin's food will fix it." Izumo frowned, then turned to slice the rest of the sweet potatoes.
OoO
"The stars…. are sooo prettyyy…" "Dammit, Yukio! Focus already! Where-did-Thea-go?" Rin pronounced every word with great care while he held his brother at his shirt, shaking him profoundly. He has finally finished cooking, only to learn that one of his hungry friends had gone missing. "I am so sorry, Rin. It's all my fault. I…" came a soft apology full of regret from Shiemi, but before she could add any more to her guilt, Izumo cut her off. "Oh, stop it already. It's not your fault - we never should have left those two idiots alone." Konekomaru nodded and tried to move the conversation to a more practical course. "OK, what do we know… They went to Miss Kirigakure's cottage because Thea was cold and wanted to fetch her sweatshirt. Then what?" "I… well… Thea couldn't find her bag in there, so Yukio asked me to see if it was outside at the campfire… and I went!" Shiemi covered her face with both hands in embarrassment. "I had one job, one…" she shook her head. "Did she take anything with her?" Izumo checked. "No, she left everything here, even her cell phone." Bon frowned.
"Yukio! Where is she? Why did she go away?" Rin continued his interrogation and something akin to a sobriety sparked in Yukio's eyes for a brief moment. "Oh, yes… she left… because she's more than eighteen." The classmates gaped, then a smack sounded as Bon facepalmed himself. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" the half-demon kept shaking the teacher, until he tried to explain again. "S-she left because she… she is older than me, and 'cause she was useless… and also, 'cause she was not useless…" "You're the useless one, you idiot!" Rin pouted, the frustration overcoming his better judgement. "This whole interrogation is useless, Okumura - we need to search the area. Someone in her state should not be running around freely." Bon urged and Izumo nodded, for once agreeing with her classmate. "All right, let's split into groups and check the forest. She couldn't have gone too far." Konekomaru suggested. "OK, meet-up back here in thirty minutes. If anyone finds her, let us know - if you manage to catch any signal on your cell phones, that is." "Rin… Rin, the staaars! The stars are sooo pretty…" Yukio continued babbling another nonsense, only to be interrupted by the completely annoyed, almost deathly glare of his brother. "And you are going with me."
OoO
"Found her yet?" Izumo asked Bon and Konekomaru, who were already sitting at the campfire as agreed. "Nah, nothing… We looked everywhere, but we haven't seen her." "We haven't found her either." Shiemi said, trying not to sound too panicked, then Izumo added. "I had my familiars help with the search - they caught her trail, but it got mixed with the scents of some other campers, then it turned out that they just had cinnamon rolls for dinner..." "Wait, how does that have anything to do with her trail?" Konekomaru wondered. "Because apparently, Thea smells like honey and cinnamon… Or so Mike and Uke kept saying. Anyways, that's not the point…"
"Come on man, move it! Everyone is waiting for us!" came Rin's voice from the forest - he was pulling Yukio at his arm, trying to keep him at his side, while the teacher kept pointing at everything that gave off light. "Well, you haven't found her either, I see…" Izumo casted a disappointed look at the half-demon. "With this dead-weight? I was glad the moron did not trip himself to death… That reminds me!" Rin reached for the strange makeshift bag on his back he had produced out of his jacket. "We'd better keep these away from him for now." a heavy weight crashed to the ground as Rin put down the jacket with all Yukio's guns and other equipment. "Well, I'm surprised, Okumura. That's one of the smartest things you ever came up with." Bon grinned and took the little armory to hide it someplace safe, silently wondering just where the teacher managed to hide all of it. Surprisingly, the teacher did not seem too concerned for his confiscated weapons. Instead, his full concentration was turned towards the sky and its shiny stars. "We need to think about our next course of action. This is getting out of hand…" Konekomaru folded his arms in thought and Shiemi just nodded. "Damn! We really screwed up here…" Rin sat down at one of the logs, then buried his head into his hands. "I can already see her… out there in the dark, crying somewhere, scared, maybe even…"
A sudden sound of approaching music accompanied by a set of lights interrupted Rin's grim-growing thoughts. Every member of the camping group - apart from the one who was rendered completely useless that night - was at the ready, breath held in anticipation. Abruptly, a ridiculously pink limousine emerged from the forest and stopped in the middle of the clearing, right in front of the stunned group of students. "What in the world…" Izumo gaped at the monstrosity of a car. "Wait a minute… I know that one!" Rin said as realization hit him. "That's Mephisto's limo!" "Oh no… this is bad... What if the headmaster learns that Thea…" Shiemi cringed, but before she could finish her sentence, the darkened window at the driver's seat slid down, revealing the very person they had been searching for.
"Heeeey! That's my singing budyyyy!" Yukio called out, waving to Thea. "Hey theeere, fellas!" the blonde waved back while 'the fellas' were staring at her in disbelief. She was wearing Mephisto's hat that she must have found somewhere in the limo - it barely managed to hold on her small head and was kept in place only by her unruly locks. She also had his long jacket over her shoulders. However, their headmaster was not there with her. "Hey, where is Sir Pheles? Wait... Don't tell me she… she stole his limousine?!" Bon pulled at his hair in utter disbelief. "T-Thea… what happened? How…? Where did you go? And why did you leave in the first place?! Do you have any idea how worried we were, you idiot?!" Rin yelled, trying to outvoice the sound of music, though he was silently happy that Thea seemed to be just fine. "Because I am oooolder than youuuu, of course!" she started waving her finger in explanation. Or maybe she was just counting out her age? She was not sure anymore… In any case, her friends gawked at her again. They did that a lot that night… "And 'cause I am not useless! See? See?" she kept waving her hands, pointing at her person.
"Ha! Told yaaa~" Yukio started laughing, then walked towards the limo and opened the door for Thea in a flamboyant gesture, helping her out. "Aaaaw, thanks teach'. You know guys… you are just all so smaaart and coooool! And young! Man, you are so young... The teach' is sixteeeeen, and he's a teach', for God's sake! And he's got the guns and aaall that dangerous stuff…" the blonde started gesturing wildly, pointing at every member of the camping squad. "You are just all sooo cool with your fire-swords, fatal verses and cuuute, super-powerful familiars... But! There is one thing… one thing I can do that you can't!" she patted the roof of the pink car. "I am older than eighteeeen. So Iiiii can drive! Ha! Take that, teenagers, ahaha!" the girl started laughing almost devilishly, Mephisto's attire only helping to emphasize the crazy, unpredictable atmosphere. "Well, the fact that you can does not mean you should." Izumo humped, looking at the blonde pointedly. "I can and I will." Thea folded her hands and lifted her chin, grinning dangerously, daring Izumo to object any further. "Oh crap… that smile makes my skin crawl…" Bon rubbed his shoulders as if he were cold. "Tell me about it… we need to pacify her somehow, but I kind of… don't feel up to it..." Konekomaru gulped.
"But heeey, don't get all jealous, now. After all, I brought this beautieee to take you for a ride~" Thea tried to outline the car's curves with her hands. "No way in hell am I getting into that pink thing with you on the steering wheel." Izumo scolded her friend. "Why not? It's just sooo looong and big… Sweet Jesus, it's bigger than my dorm-room!" Thea gaped as if she had just realized that fact. "And it's got more food, too! There's an actual bar with like a ton of sweets in the back. I swear, I checked! Sooo, whaddaya say?" "But Thea… what about the food? Right? You were so hungry, remember?" Shiemi suggested, trying to redirect Thea's thoughts from dangerous to positively safe. "Good thinking, Shiemi." Rin whispered and showed her thumbs up, then he opened the pot cover to reveal a delicious-smelling vegetable mix. "Foooooooood!" The blonde exclaimed suddenly and rushed off towards the pots and plates, Yukio trailing right behind her - they descended upon Rin's culinary creations like a swarm of locusts. "H-hey you! Don't just gulp it down like some barbarians! I put my soul into it, you know?!" the half-demon chastised and pouted. "You did? Oh God… ooooooh God, Rin… Did I… Did I eat your soul?!" Thea clasped her hands to her cheeks, her eyes wide in terror. Rin's eyes also went wide, but for completely different reasons. "Of course not, Thea, it's a figure of speech… Joking, I was joking!" the teenage boy tried to explain to the confused-looking friend. Suddenly, Thea exhaled. "Boy, you scared me! Don't just go joking about food, Rin!" the blonde shook her head, then kept eating, while Yukio kept chanting "Must eat, must eat, must eat!"
Once the two hungry caterpillars finished everything Rin had prepared, Thea asked for seconds. "B-but Thea… you can't possibly want more… I mean, do you have any idea how much of it you already ate?!" Rin questioned, disbelief written all over his face. "Seconds." the blonde insisted stubbornly. "We don't have any seconds, Thea… You ate them all! Together with the 'thirds' and 'fourths'" the half-demon gestured, emphasizing the fact that she just ate a portion that would have kept a football team at full strength. "N-no seconds? Nooooooo… What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Yukio started panicking as he heard that, his hands buried in his hair in despair. "Don't worry, teach'. This time, I will… I will save the situation! Let's gooooo!" Thea ordered and started towards the limo. "Eeeveryone! We can do this! For the foooood!" she turned in what was supposed to be a theatrical pirouette but ended up on the ground instead. "Thea!" Shiemi cried out, rushing to help. Fortunately, Yukio was already at her side, picking her up. "Thea, are you OK? Oh my, hang on, I am going to fetch something to clean that…" Shiemi said as soon as she saw the small trail of blood rushing down her thigh and knee. "Naaah, don't worry, the stain will wash off. I've got a veeeery good laundry agent." "Theaaa! That's not funny. You are hurt." the girl pulled her hands to her chest in worry. "Huh? Oh that…" Thea eyed that scratch she managed to get herself. "Shiemi, that is no problem at all! I will take care of Thea. I am the… you know… I am trained for this kind of situation, because I am… ehm… the guy, after all." Yukio tried to explain to the confused lot.
"Now, what teach' here is trying to say is that we both are the... oh geez, how do you… you know, we are the guys in white…" Thea attempted to interpret, but her brain felt like jelly, unable to find the right words. Yukio's brows furrowed in thought. "Hmm, guys in white you say… like Ku-Klux-Klan?" Thea looked at him in confusion. "Huh? Nooo… not them… Aaall white, they give you the shots… and… you know, sometimes they miss, too..." "Ooooh, you mean Storm Troopers?" Yukio guessed again and Thea just started laughing. "You are not very good at this, are you teach'?" "Miss Heil… Heilru… oh screw it! Thea, you should reeealy work on your espla… esplanation skills, you know?" the teacher chastised with an outstretched finger, until Rin completely exploded. "Oh my God, the word you are looking for is doctor, for Heaven's sake!" "Ah, that I am! But enough chit-chat, we have to clean that smudge..." Yukio lifted Thea up and started towards the cottage, carrying her bride-style, while she was waving at the group enthusiastically. "Oh, no, no, no! No way in hell are you going to try to treat her in your state. You are dangerous for yourself and…" Rin stopped in his trails as he heard a strange music. "Oh crap! That's Yukio's cell phone. We gotta find it or..." "So? Just let it ring, they'll call later." Bon shrugged, but Izumo stepped in. "No, it's not that easy. It might be an emergency - he's a teacher, they often get these calls with new missions. Why, the Academy might be in trouble." "Well yes, but even if that turned out to be true, what is he supposed to do in such a state?" Konekomaru tried to argue. The phone stopped ringing and the students exhaled for a moment. Then it started ringing again. "Oh crap, that seems to be serious. OK, everybody, stay cool! We've got a nice boring camping, nothing crazy going on, at all!"
OoO
"OK, Thea, we need to… you know… deee-sin-fect… pfff…" Yukio started laughing, clutching his stomach. "You know... clean that wound. Just give me a sec, Shura sure has some bottles around here." Yukio started searching the cupboards and indeed, there was no shortage of liquor in Shura's stock. "Yeaaah, good old Shura. You can aaaalways count on her…" the teacher reached for a bottle, then brought it up to Thea. "Oh, thanks, teach'." the blonde said, then opened the bottle and took a sip. "Thea… what are you doing?" he inclined his head in confusion, but the girl just looked at him in a matter-of-factly way. "You are the doc, you brought me medicine, riiigt? But - I am also a future-doc, I study medicine, you know?! Aaand I know veeeery well how to use this one… So, I'm disinfecting." she said knowingly. "Oh, riiiight… Thea, that's brilliant! I completely forgot that alcohol is usually taken inter… intra… oh man… disinfects the inside, too…" "Yeah… you forgot, yet you are the doc and I'm not… Life really sucks sometimes..." she took three swigs straight from the bottle, then handed it to Yukio. "You'd better take a dose, too." "Oh, nooo, Thea… I have no need to be disinfected." "What are you talking about, teach'? A doc must aaaalways disinfect when they treat a patient. My, my, basics, teach'!" Thea shook her head disappointedly. "Gee Thea, you are riiiight." "Sure I'm right. Aaand, if you prescribe it… " Yukio's eyes sparkled, he smiled widely and soon, they both were laughing, emptying the bottle.
"Oh… dear Lord… that's just sooo terrible, Thea… How can Shura, how can s-she possibly drink this disgustiiing stuff?!" Yukio grimaced as he took another gulp. "I have noooo idea… Ayami does that a lot, too… I s-still don't get it… But that doesn't matter, teach'. We have to be strong and… and you know… dis-disen… we have to clean eeeverything properly." the blonde encouraged then helped herself to another sip. "That's truuuue. I will not be a disgrace to my fellow doc's, no-no!" Yukio adjusted his glasses professionally, then drank again. "Hihi… Teach'! Teach'! Do you know what t-that bottle and youuu have in common? You… you both are getting, you know, getting drunk… ahaha… " Thea started laughing all over. "I-I think I don't get it… hahaha…" the teacher joined, clapping Thea at her back.
OoO
"Yeah, yeah, everything's just fine, Shura. You can make fun of that four-eyed moron some other time. But right now, I've reeeealy gotta go, because the… uh, the s'mores are almost ready. See ya!" Rin swiftly hung up, exhaling. "So?" Bon lifted an eyebrow and the half-demon just showed him thumbs up. "All good. Shura just wanted to tease my brother, 'cause he managed to find a way out of some boring paperwork and ended up here with…" "Eeeverybody on boaaard!" came Thea's excited voice from the driver's seat of the limo. "Thaaaat's right folks, we're leeeaving!" Yukio ordered again, waving from the roof window. "Oh no… we left them alone… again!" Shiemi put her hands to her lips as the realization dawned on her - they were just so absorbed in handling the call with Shura as inconspicuous as possible, showing her how normally they were behaving, that they had completely forgotten about those two. "You've got to be kidding me!" Izumo gawked and Rin joined her "Whoa there, Thea, wait, you can't drive…" "I believe we already had that conversation, Rin. I can drive and I will. Now then, let's gooo! I am not waiting for aaanybody, so you'd better hop in." she grinned, honking, and blasting the crazy German song that went ~Eins, zwei, Polizei - Drei, vier, Grenadier~. Rin grimaced, completely annoyed. "Dammit, how is it possible that I can't remember one measly fatal verse against hog-goblins, yet that idiotic song is already stuck in my head?! Aaaargh!"
"Oh, what the hell…" the half-demon ran his fingers through his hair and jumped into the spacious, luxurious car as it was starting to move already. "Wait, Rin, you can't be serious about this…" Shiemi's eyes widened. "Come on, or they will really leave us in here!" he called out and the students rushed into the limo that was already picking up speed, barely making it in time. When inside, Izumo just shook her head. "This is crazy." "And what do you expect me to do? When I try to stop them, they are gonna tase me or trap me in a binding circle - maybe for real this time - and then run off… Or Thea will crash that car and kill us all, for all I know! And if the crash doesn't kill us, Mephisto will for sure! Dammit, I'd better tag along and make sure they make it out alive tonight." Rin explained through heavy breaths, but Izumo just shook her head again and started giggling, no longer able to contain all that excitement. "No, I meant… This is crazy, but also kind of… fun." she grinned and Konekomaru burst out with laughter - to think that the ever-so-serious classmate would enjoy this madness seemed just so alien to him. Soon, the whole backseat-section was full of laughter. "By the way, Thea, where are we going?" Bon knocked on the little window separating the driver's section from the passenger one. The window soon slid down, revealing their grinning friend. "To survive, we must seeeeek the king!" she said seriously, then sped up the limo.
OoO
"Two large King frieees, two Crispy chicken burgers, one Cheeseburger,... oh, and one Suuuuper strawberry shake!" Thea ordered after nearly crashing the car at the Burger King, then inclined her head to her friends and asked "And what will you have, guys?" she smiled, completely oblivious to the stunned shop-assistant at the counter. "Oh man, when she said she wanted to see the king, I did not see this one coming." Bon grinned, then cheerfully ordered Double Colorado and some mineral water. He could not quite believe it, but Thea sure knew how to drive - even such a monstrosity as the principal's limousine, not to mention in that… peculiar state of hers. Rin did not look half as unconcerned as he claimed to be. "Boy, this is getting really exhausting." Rin sat down at the table, gulping down the cup of ice-coffee, wishing his energy reserve was as endless as Thea's. At least Yukio had finally passed out in the limo, where they left him. Apparently, he had drunk some alcohol before and the bottle of water he had brought from Shura's cottage was everything, but water. Well… too late for that. At least their driver was not drunk… The alcohol they smelled on Thea was just the disinfection, right?
"I am glad we at least managed to get the girls back home." Bon tried to cheer Rin up, clapping him at the back, then munched at the huge burger. "Yeah, Konekomaru just texted me, Shiemi is fine and he's now also on his way home." "Speaking about getting the girls back home, what about Thea?" Bon asked, glancing towards the blonde. "I'll take care of her… We are actually quite close to her dorms, I think. But she'd better not be driving again…" the half-demon turned towards the blonde who was sipping her strawberry shake happily. "Well… I'd love to see you try and stop her." the future Aria chuckled and took another bite. "Tsk… watch and learn - Hey Thea, want a piece of my chocolate cake?" The blonde's eyes suddenly sparkled, and she put her hands to her cheeks. "You've got a cake? B-but hooow? The lady… she told me that there was no cake left this late in the night... Was she lying, Rin? Is it because I don't deserve a cake? 'Cause I'm oooold? Is that it, Riiiin?" the blonde whimpered, tears at the brink of falling. "N-no, nooo, of course not, Thea." the half-demon tried to calm her down. "It's just that I have the last piece." "Oh, you doooo?" she started looking at the cake admiringly. "Would you like to have it?" "Of course! I'll do anything, Rin!" "Then give me the car keys." he smirked at the girl and held out the palm of his hand. "Deal! Hahaha, got youuu. That's not really my car, ahaha." Thea burst into laughter and handed over the keys, leaving the boys completely stunned - well, they could not really argue with that logic. "Ooooh, you demons really dooo make the best deals." she grinned enthusiastically while Rin finally collected himself. "Right, now let's hope Mephisto won't be too angry when he finds out…"
"Whyyyy would he be angry?" Thea blinked, confused. "Well, you stole his limo… and well… you know… that's pretty much it. But don't worry, I'll talk to him." Rin assured, but did not expect Thea's affronted reaction. "Ooooh, no, noooo. I did not steal it! I borrowed it for camping! 'Cause.. 'Twas a matter of life and death… 'cause we had no seconds…. you took waaaay too loooong cooking. A-and we needed food! It's all your fault!" Bon almost choked on his burger and while Rin was breaking his head about how to answer that insane accusation, Thea wrestled with Mephisto's hat which kept sliding from her head. "Boy, I wish I had the cloak tooooo. It just doesn't have the same flashy effect. I-I've got twooo of them and I just had to leave them boooth at home… oooh, verflucht!" "What on Earth is she talking about… God, Mephisto's going to kill me, I just know it…" the half-demon started banging his head on the table in frustration. "Are you sure you are going to be fine taking her home on your own?" Bon raised an eyebrow at Rin. "Yeah, yeah. Just finish your burger and go home." Rin waved him off, then suddenly, Thea was at his side, patting him at the back. "Relaaax, Mephisto's not gonna be angry - he also got a cake. Nooobody with a cake can get angry… that is, if the cake is good… and mine waaaasn't... you guys s-said so… Mephisto, you liaaaar!" Thea started sobbing, then ran off to the restroom. "Yeah, I am a dead man…" Rin nodded to himself, biting in what he expected to be his last meal on Earth.
OoO
"Thea! How… W-What happened?" Ayami managed to shout in a whisper, as Thea appeared in the door, leaning on some strange teenage boy. "Ayamiiii! Ooooh, I missed you sooo much! Yukio might be my singing buddy, but don't worry… don't worry… you are aaaalways gonna be my dancing buddyyyy!" Thea hugged her surprised friend tightly, squeezing the breath out of her. "Thea… don't tell me… are you drunk?!" Ayami's eyes almost popped out. "Naaah, I'm dis… desi… disinfected! Doctor teacher prescribed it so." the blonde grinned while Rin just facepalmed himself. "I am sorry - Ayami, right?" Rin asked carefully, hoping that this time, Thea had not made fun of him and knocked on the correct door - they had already woken up two other, completely confused students, thank you very much. "Ah, yes, I'm Ayami. And you?" "I'm Rin, from the Tr… ah, I mean, from Thea's study group." he scratched his head nervously, remembering Thea's cover-story. "We went camping tonight and well, it ehm… turned out a little wilder than we expected. But she's fine, I promise! No harm done… well, apart from that knee, but that's nothing serious, really. I am very sorry to wake you, but…" he kept rambling, trying to smooth out the awkward situation.
Surprisingly, the raven-haired girl started to laugh while the half-demon just stood in the door, stupefied - was it just him or were all university students kinda… nuts? "Oh God, I can't believe it! You actually managed to get her drunk! I always called her to our parties, if only to see her drunk, but she was always sooo controlled and… I hope you took some photos! Please say you took some!" Ayami chirped, looking at Rin in expectation. "Oh, sure…" "Aaaaa, you have to share some, pretty please, pretty please! I am in a desperate need of some incriminating footage of her. You see, she always makes fun of me for coming back from parties looking like this and that… Now it is my turn to have the high ground! Morally speaking…" she started laughing all over, and Thea joined her for some reason, hugging her even more. Rin grinned widely and pulled out his cell phone. "I like the way you think, Ayami. OK, let me see, I can spare a few minutes..."
OoO
"Ayamiii, let's go danciiing! You promised! Y-you said we would go danciiiing…" Thea pleaded while Ayami tried to get her to her room. "Of course, we are gonna dancing, stupid. I just need to change to something nice and sexy. Now, why don't you wait here. Come, lie down here and hold onto Mr. Wooly for me for a while, OK?" Ayami said as she gave Thea the big plush sheep she always slept with. "Aaaah… OK, OK, I will do just that…" Thea nodded slowly, then lay down while Ayami ran off to the kitchenette swiftly, hoping to bring the bowl in time before Thea could… "Ayamiii? Ayami… The room's shaking… Oh, oooh my, I… I think I'm dying… I..." before she could finish the sentence, her roommate was at her side, pulling her hair out of the way of Thea's dinner. "It's fine, Thea, it's OK." she patted her at the back gently, in a thorough understanding of the blonde's current state. Maybe she understood it way too well… "Geez, no wonder she's always so upset with me when I get back from the club… If I look half the wreck she is now… You really are such a silly, little… absolutely great friend…" Ayami shook her head and braced herself for a busy day, actually cherishing that the roles were reversed for once. After all, it was about four in the morning already. She would let Thea sleep, for now, but then… "Well, let's just say that it's been a pleasure meeting Rin with that remarkable photo library of his…" she thought mischievously.
OoO
The Lord of Time was getting a tad nervous - the young Okumura was supposed to report on the situation at the camping site two hours ago. He always sent regular messages, so why not now? The demon paced nervously, trying to keep his calm. He would not barge in to interrupt his students' party, even though having seen the photos full of the merry atmosphere, he kinda wanted to. Besides, he trusted the teacher's judgement. Maybe there was simply not a good enough opportunity to send the report in secrecy. And so, he went to check on the investigation group - now that should make the waiting more bearable…
When Mephisto returned back to his office, he finally found… a missed call? And a voice message? The demon played it eagerly, but instead of Yukio's formal voice, he could hear Thea's strangely trembling one, as she was speaking in angry German. "Youuu big liar! Whyyyyy…. Why did you s-say you liked my cake?! I know the truth… it was in… inedi… oh man… it was baaaad… As was the rest of my food. We had to… had to throw it all awayyyy." the blonde sniffled and Mephisto's eyes widened, then a wide grin appeared on his face - yes, she sounded positively drunk. "Is that why you… why you did not wanna kiss me again? 'Cause I… I burnt both you and the… the cake? I knew it... I… I am such a failure…" Thea kept sulking and Mephisto couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Oh my, only your head can come up with such a silly conclusion… Of course I did not kiss you, you little fool… I was barely able to keep myself in control… " the demon shook his head, listening on. "A-and here I thought… you promised! You promised the other day, t-that you will answer aaaall of my qeust-questions. Thoroughly! A-and you… kissed me on my hand and then… nothing? You… you demon! You… " Mephisto leaned on one of the huge windows of his office, blushing profoundly, another set of quite new emotions stirring inside of him. "That silly girl…"
"Thea! Thea, please come out, we have to go…" the headmaster could hear Rin's voice from the background. "N-no, I'm … I'm still not done sssspeaking to that head-idiot-master-demon! He didn't even … take me to a proper date, yet he k-keeps stealing kisses! That's not faaair… that's not how it should be done!" Mephisto covered his face with one hand, then banged his forehead on the window. His emotions were a mixture of amusement, silliness and perhaps a grain of… embarrassment? "Just why can't I do anything right with this girl? Some gentleman I am..." he scolded himself inwardly for such an oversight. "What? You are calling with Mephisto?! Nooo, Thea, hang up right now or he's gonna kill me!" "Sssssh… it's fiiiiine… he's not killing anybodyyy. I told you I just borrowed his limo… I s-swear… so we can, we can see the king in the town... " the blonde giggled and Mephisto's eyes widened in a sudden rush of adrenaline - they were not at the campsite and Yukio did not report it. "Thea, no! Get back here!" Rin exclaimed and then, after a series of muffled sounds, the voice message was interrupted.
"Not killing anybody, huh? Oh dear, there are several individuals on my list I would like to get my hands on right now…" Mephisto clasped his phone and appeared at Shura's cottage in a flash of white. His breath got caught in his throat as he spotted the mess, not to mention the marks of car-wheels on the ground. And… was that Thea's blood he could smell on the ground? "No, no jumping to conclusions. Not when it concerns her." the demon remained himself and exhaled, trying to push all the dangerous scenarios out of his head. "She is fine, she has just left me a message, after all." His self-imposed calmness resolved like a mist when he realized that the weekend house was completely empty and a bag full of guns was left behind… Another set of completely new emotions flooded the demon's mind, and this time, he did not like them at all.
OoO
"Oh God… so bright… hnnnn... Riiin, Rin the curtains… " Yukio kicked his brother lamely while covering his face with one hand, trying to avoid the sudden brightness. "Well, good morning, Mr. Okumura." a cold, grating voice came from outside, making Yukio's skin crawl so much it actually woke him from his slumber. Rin had returned back to the limo to keep an eye on both his brother and the ridiculous car, just as Mephisto started waking up Yukio. "I hope you have slept well?" the cold, grating voice inquired further. "Huh? What… oh my head! Listen bro… leaaaave me sleep, got it? I'm kind of… oh, oh God, Sir Pheles!" the young teacher jumped up, only to hit his head on the roof of… a car? "What… what the hell is going on?" he scratched the bump on his head. "I… I mean…" "That is precisely what I would like to know, Mr. Okumura. And think well before you answer, for I am already deeply disappointed with your actions tonight." "More like furious…" Yukio gulped at that sight - never in his life had he seen the headmaster with such a terrible, doom-promising look on his face. "Well? Is there any reason you left your gear behind, smell of alcohol and why Mr. Miwa and Miss Heilbrunn remained unprotected tonight?"
"Please wait, Mephisto! It's not Yukio's fault!" Rin jumped in, trying to save the situation. "He's been acting crazy long before that!" Yukio tried to focus his eyes on his brother, then remarked dryly. "Why, thank you, Rin! That sure helped…" "Hey, stop scolding me, I'm trying to save your ass, here, you moron!" "Well, way to go, then!" "Enough. Report, Mr. Okumura." Mephisto ordered, interrupting the foolish squabble. "I… I am… Sir Pheles…" Yukio bowed, trying to squeeze some reasonable words out of the confused gray mass representing his brain at the moment. "I went to the campsite, a-and… I do not know what happened after that, sir." the young teacher gulped. "Oh, truly? Then let me shed some light on tonight's events for you." the demon fixed him with a piercing gaze, then pulled out his cell phone, listing through pictures and showing them to the increasingly red-faced Yukio. There was he - being lifted by Thea as in some crazy dancing. In another one, he was apparently chasing a squirrel, trying to follow it to the treetops. In the next picture, he could see himself waving out of the roof-window of the principal's limousine with his tie fastened around his head and shirt tied around his neck in an imitation of a cloak, which was trailing behind him. In yet another picture, he was carrying Thea bride-style while she was dressed all in white - headmaster's white, that is… The demon seemed to rain thunderbolts at him for that particular one. Mephisto himself was very well aware of that - after all, the pictures of Thea in that attire filled a separate folder in his cell phone memory; and the fact that the young teacher was able to see it live was simply grating on him.
Yukio just gulped, and he could feel the beads of sweat running down his temples as the memories were slowly returning. "I… I am so terribly sorry, I… can't remember much, I only ate a little… maybe it's food poisoning." "Food poisoning?" Mephisto lifted his eyebrow, obviously unconvinced. "Thea was supposed to bring home-made curry a-and some cakes… oh, I knew I shouldn't have eaten that stuff." he clutched his ringing head. "How does Miss Heilbrunn's cooking have anything to do with your current state?' the demon pierced him with an almost affronted gaze, while Rin started explaining in his brother's sake. "I am not sure if it was her cooking, but he's telling the truth Mephisto. Thea brought curry that was completely inedible, it made Konekomaru puke all over the place! She was really sad about it, so Yukio tried one of the cookies she made. It did not make him puke, but no one else was stupid enough to try it… only the two of them. And they went all crazy soon afterwards. Blasted matcha-muffins! I knew there was something wrong with that green color… must have been spoilt or something. I'm telling you, Thea is too dangerous to be let into the kitchen!" Rin kept on explaining while his brother sulked and bowed in utmost shame.
"Now, wait a moment… greenish muffins? Those were not from Thea, I was the one who gave them to her… But they were not spoilt, Djoeke would not give me anything of poor quality. Oh… Djoeke… my acquaintance from… from the Netherlands…" Mephisto swiftly stopped the time, then put down his hat and ran his fingers through his hair as his mind was racing" 'These are Holland's best - you will just love them! They taste the best when you share… You know, it's more fun that way, if you know what I mean.' - That's what Djoeke said… Oh, verdammt! I was too busy to pay attention to the remark about the nature of said muffins… " Soon, the palm of his hand found his forehead with a loud smack. "I am such a Vollidiot! Rendering useless my own bodyguard…" he shook his head, feeling the night's tension finally leaving him. He had been searching for his students during the early morning hours to make sure every one of them was safe and sound. He had been prepared to rain thunderbolts on the teacher for his incompetence, only to learn that he was the one who had unknowingly caused all this commotion. The Lord of Time chuckled, then started laughing. "Dear Lord, I only wanted to give her something in exchange for the delicious cake she gave me - as a proper demon should. I… wanted her to have something sweet and enjoy the night… Well, she probably did… Just why is it that every time she is involved, the events take such an unexpected direction? Ah, I'd better fix this, before things get any worse... " the demon concluded, then let the time flow again.
"Very well, Mr. Okumura." Mephisto folded his hands and smiled. Pleasantly! "Huh?!" both Okumura brothers regarded him in disbelief, completely dumb founded. "Here is a little something for that nasty headache of yours…" the demon snapped his fingers and produced a bar of Aspirin pills and a bottle of mineral water, then handed them over to Yukio. "Now, why don't you take a day off to get yourself together, hmm? You know what? Make it three days. My chauffeur will be here in a moment and take you back to the True Cross Academy. Until next time~" he winked and after his trademark ein~zwei~drei, the demon disappeared into the thin air. "What… what the hell was that about?!" Rin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I don't know anymore… I… bleawch!" Yukio bent over, unable to keep the dinner in his stomach. "Not in the car, you idiot!"
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Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.
Author's note: The last chapter of my holiday present is here :) This one was absolutely hilarious and fun to write, and I really hope you enjoyed the reading at least as much as I did the writing :D. I must admit that I probably have a very peculiar inclination to put Mephisto to situations where, despite all his careful planning, the events just take an unexpected turn 3:D.
Also, I would like to thank my dear husband, a.k.a the most awesome beta-reader, who is just so supportive and patient with me and my unusual hobby :) 3
P.S. I am looking forward to your thoughts and impressions ^^