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Chapter 7

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"I'm sorry I'm so late!" a voice said as Rin sat with his other classmates. All except three. Shima, Konekomaru, Suguro, and Rin looked up to see Kamiki and Shiemi. Shiemi's chest that is.

"Sh – Shiemi, what's going on? Where's your kimono?" Rin asked, almost jumping out of his seat at the feet of a Mephisto statue.

"I asked the director to issue me a uniform because kimonos aren't the best thing to wear on missions. Oh, and also because miss Kamiki was teaching me how to wear it right," Shiemi said.

"Like that's my job?" Kamiki spat. Shiemi blushed.

"It doesn't look funny on me, does it?" the blonde asked.

"Wow, you sure look cute Moriyama," Shima gave her a thumbs up and Suguro nodded.

"Thank you," Shiemi said. A sudden tch was heard from behind Kamiki and Shiemi. The boys looked past Shiemi to see Miyuki with her nose in a book and a sucker in her mouth. She closed her book and sighed.

"Put this on," she slipped out of her black coat and handed it to Shiemi. The blonde was confused but put it on anyway.

"Since when do you wear a school uniform?!" Shima gasped. Miyuki held the sucker stick in her hand as she looked to the idiot in front of her.

"I've always worn one under my coat," she shrugged. While her eyes trailed down to find the place she had just finished reading in her book, she noticed Rin staring at her. She looked at him then narrowed her eyes, giving him a violent glare.

"Okumura," She said in a deadly tone. Rin flinched before laughing it off awkwardly.

"H –Hi, Miyuki," he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. Miyuki scoffed.

"Did you just get caught staring?" Shima nudged his classmate with his elbow. Rin's sweat fell from his brow.

"Ok, now that you're all here, let's get started," Yukio cleared his throat after hitting Rin in the head with a clipboard. "You'll be teaming up in groups of two for today, with the exception of one group which will consist of three."

"Uh, Konekomaru and Takara...Yamada and Suguro, Kamiki and Shima..."

"Okumura, Moriyama, and Hayami," Yukio voiced the last group and Miyuki sighed, shutting her book once again. She noticed Shima and Kamiki look to her then to Rin as the class got into a group in front of Yukio and the other professor, Tsubaki.

"As you may already know, this is Mepphyland and the reason we're here is in response to reports regarding a mischievous ghost. Today, you are going to be the ones tracking it down. We've sealed the park off from the public so you have the whole day to find the ghost. Once you've found it, call either mister Tsubaki or me," Yukio explained. Tsubaki cleared his throat.

"Now what is the definition of a ghost? Miss Kamiki," he nodded, calling on Kamiki to answer.

"Yes, sir. A ghost is a demon that possesses the volatile emissions from the corpse of either a human or an animal. It assumes and expresses the emotions its host had before death," the purple-haired girl answered.

"Mm. Very good," Tsubaki praised.

"Um, exactly how many ghosts are we looking for?" Konekomaru asked.

"There have been sightings all over the park but according to our intel, it's just the one ghost. It always appears in the form of a small boy, and so far, its mischief has been limited to arm-pulling and skirt-flipping," Yukio reread the information on his clipboard. Miyuki looked towards the lower half of her body than that of the other girls. She let out a hefty sigh.

"Of course..." she grumbled before going back to her book.

"The pranks will only get more dangerous, so it's imperative we find the ghost quickly," Yukio demanded.

"If we spread out across the park, we'll find it in no time," Suguro nodded sharply.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Yukio asked, signalling to them that his briefing was done. "Alright. Good luck."

Rin, Miyuki, and Shiemi were walking down a paved path. The Yuki-Onna had her attention focused on her novel as Rin talked with Shiemi. When the other two turned down another path, Miyuki looked up from her book. She quietly shut it as she blankly gazed at the two, a tired sigh escaping her lips.

"M'Lady!"

Miyuki would recognize that voice anywhere. She turned around, looking on the roof of one of the buildings behind her. Her eyes widened at the sight of a familiar spunky imp. She looked back at Shiemi and Rin for a second, making sure they weren't watching. When the coast was clear, she used a cool blast of air to shoot herself up onto the roof.

"Liz, what are you doing in here?" she hissed in a hushed voice. Aliza narrowed their solid white eyes.

"I apologize, M'lady, but I have a bit of information I think you should know," they explained. Miyuki paused, jaw falling ever so slightly. For Aliza to travel all the way to Assiah to find her, it had to be important.

"Make it quick," she eyed Rin and Shiemi, who had not yet noticed their ebony-haired classmate's disappearance.

"Amaimon is on his way here. He's going to test Satan's son," they put simply. Miyuki's jaw shut tight as her muscles tensed up. She was livid.

"What do you mean test?" she snapped. Aliza shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I just heard him say that he's going to have a little fun with him," they apologized. Miyuki ran a hand through her hair and groaned. Of course, Amaimon would pull something like this.

"Why does this not surprise me...?" she grumbled under her breath. Aliza let out a thoughtful hum that sounded more like a raspy purr. "Liz, do you mind sticking around a bit until Amaimon gets here? I need to make sure he doesn't jeopardize my mission."

"As you wish," the imp bowed deeply. The two of them jumped down from the roof and wnt to catch up with Rin and Shiemi. When they found the pair, Shiemi had run off into a funhouse to chase the ghost, leaving Rin alone. Miyuki scanned the area until Aliza jumped up onto her shoulder and pointed. "M'Lady, look!"

"Who are you supposed to be? Give that back!" Rin yelled, looking up at Amaimon, who sat atop a statue of Mephisto.

"Who am I? Oh, right. My name is Amaimon, I'm a Demon King, you could say I'm an older brother of yours. Nice to meet 'ya. Oh, and I'm not giving this back," the green-haired freak rolled a sucker around in his mouth. Miyuki grumbled swears under her breath. She watched as Amaimon threw the bag that once held Rin's sword back at him.

"You're a demon?" Rin asked aloud but he already knew the answer.

"Aha...This is the Koma sword," Amaimon said, gazing at the sword.

"Hey! Give it back!" A provoked Rin yelled.

"Neat. Let's take it out for a spin and see what happens," Amaimon said as he unsheathed the sword, summoning the blue flames trapped inside. Rin's body became engulfed with the blue light. Miyuki frowned as Amaimon kept sheathing and unsheathing the sword, causing Rin's flames to fizzle out then reappear.

"Cut it out!" Satan's son yelled, getting pissed off.

"I get it. The blade of the sword acts like a small entrance leading to Gehenna. And the scabbard here acts as kind of a doorway to it. If I sheath the blade, the entrance is closed. When I draw it out, it's opened," Amaimon concluded.

"Damn it, would you make up your mind!" Rin yelled, nearly bursting a blood vessel. Amaimon paused.

"Alright, I'll keep it open," he shrugged. Rin's body was immersed with the flames once more. "Huh, so your flames and your power lie in Gehenna while your body is here in Assiah." The half-breed let out a primal growl.

"Yeah, whatever," he spat as he jumped up to kick Amaimon, but the demon leapt to a support beam. Instead, he knocked off the head of Mephisto's statue.

"Good riddance," Aliza spat from their perch on Miyuki's shoulder

"Uh, oh! You broke my brothers head," Amaimon taunted as Mephisto's statue's head fell to the ground, Rin standing on top.

"Just tell me what the hell you're after, damn it!" Rin yelled.

"Oh, nothing. I was bored so I just came over to play," his demonic opponent stated matter-of-factly. He spat his sucker out and snapped his fingers. "Since we're in an amusement park, we should amuse ourselves as much as possible." Miyuki's sweat rolled off her brow as she watched multiple figurines of Mephisto move around in the buildings around her.

"I'm getting really tired of this shit," she snapped with her arms crossed as she turned her attention back to Amaimon. When she did so, the green-haired demon king flicked Rin in the forehead, sending him flying down to the ground and crashing through everything in his path. Miyuki looked off into the distance, a look of worry in her scarlet eyes.

"The others might be around soon..." She mumbled.

"I can cause some distractions around the park and buy you some time if you can manage to stop this twisted game," Aliza offered. Miyuki nodded curtly.

"Thank you, Liz." She didn't take her eyes off Amaimon as he repeatedly punched Rin in the face. Once Aliza left her shoulder, she felt the need to intervene.

"I don't understand it. Why would my father and big brother be so obsessed with the two of them?" Amaimon asked no one in particular as Rin hit the ground, creating a crater. Amaimon slammed into him landing blow after blow into the teen's face.

"This is so disappointing. Here I was hoping you'd kill my boredom-!"

Before the demon could even react, Miyuki tackled him. They rolled away from Rin, who stared in shock. He watched Miyuki pin his attacker down with a snarl on her face.

"What are you doing here?!" she hissed in a low voice so that only Amaimon could hear.

"Did you really think I would let you have all the fun?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He managed to bring his leg up and kick Miyuki off of him. She quickly jumped to her feet and summoned sharp ice needles.

"And did you think I would let you get away with that?" she snarled menacingly, allowing the needles to shoot towards Amaimon. He dodged all but one of them, which knicked his cheek.

"I don't have time to play with you, Yuki-Onna," Amaimon grumbled as he slammed his fist into the ground, shaking the earth beneath them. Miyuki lowered her body to the ground in order to balance herself.

A loud scream was heard as Miyuki and Rin's attention focused on Shiemi. The earthquake Amaimon caused made more support beams fall from the rollercoaster above and fall onto a balloon. Inside the balloon was a ball pit with Shiemi and the ghost boy.

"Shiemi!" Both Miyuki and Rin yelled in unison as they got up to run at her. Wondering if they would make it in time, the two half-breeds charged towards the scared blonde.

Thankfully, Nee appeared and made a wooden barrier over her as both Rin and Miyuki attacked the falling metal above her. They shot in unison, the blue flames from the Koma sword and frigid ice attacks shooting at the beams.

Miyuki was left with laboured breaths as Rin looked at her worriedly. She saw his eyes widen before falling to his knees. She tried to run towards him but she was too exhausted. She struggled to breathe, lungs working as hard as they could while she watched Amaimon put his foot on Rin's back.

"Is that it? Are you done with your show?" he inquired. "My brother didn't want me to do this, but the fun's over so I guess I can break this now," he bent the Koma sword, almost breaking it. Miyuki was about to yell at him but someone else beat her to it.

"Devour the Eight Princesses," a hooded figure said before pulling out a sword and attacking Amaimon. "Slay the serpent!" The female voice yelled as the demon jumped back.

"Ooh, and who might you be?" Amaimon asked the figure who pushed Rin aside.

"You're Amaimon, king of Earth, aren't you?" the stranger held out her purple and green sword. "I wonder how a big shot demon like you got into the academy. What, did Mephisto summon you?"

"I wish you'd get out of my way," Amaimon grumbled, clearly uninterested. Miyuki struggled to get to her feet, having used most of her energy to make that last shot.

"I wish you'd get out of my way," the figure stated before raising its sword. Amaimon tapped Rin's sword against his shoulder, pondering for a minute.

"Hmm...Oh, well, I changed my mind," the demon king sheathed Rin's sword then threw it to him, the flames dying out

"Hey! Get back here!" the hooded figure yelled, attempting to chase him. Miyuki stumbled over towards Rin, still a little dizzy.

"R-Rin, are you-" she fell down before she could get to him and landed at the hooded figure's feet.

"The others will be here soon, hide the tail will, ya?" they looked to both kids. Miyuki slowly moves her gaze to her tail, realizing it had come out from under her shirt. The mystery woman ran off, leaving Miyuki and Rin alone.

"That could have gone better," Miyuki mumbled, closing her eyes. She heard footsteps approaching as Shiemi ran over to Rin. Choosing to sneak away while she had the chance, she got up. If she was lucky, she could yell at Amaimon some before he left.

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"I knew you were watching so I put on my best show," Amaimon shrugged in a carefree manner. Miyuki growled.

She had found the green-haired demon on the outskirts of Mephisto's theme park. Aliza managed to catch up to them as well and was currently sitting on Miyuki's shoulder, trying their best not to tear out Amaimon's heart.

"That doesn't mean you can beat him that badly! You might have killed him and innocents if you broke his sword!" the Yuki-Onna was beyond livid.

"You should be thanking me. I only came here to make sure this was a job you could handle," Amaimon crossed his arms across his chest.

"So, you're saying this is my fault now?" Miyuki put a hand in her waist and raised her eyebrow.

"Exactly. Your job is to aid in his capture. I don't see why your upset," Amaimon narrowed his dreary eyes. Miyuki's face hardened. She was supposed to be capturing Rin, this she knew. However, she had been so caught up in trying to keep him from killing himself that she had gone a bit of course.

"My business is none of your concern," she hissed and narrowed her blood-coloured eyes.

"But it always has been. Since you found your powers. Who helped you find your way around Gehenna? Who trained with you?" Amaimon asked with a blank stare on his face.

Miyuki paused. It was true that Aliza and Stolas had constantly been by her side but somehow Amaimon was always there, too. He had been her nanny, basically.

"I'm just your toy..." Miyuki realized. "You've been toying with me this whole time! Earlier when you said you didn't understand why Mephisto and Satan were so interested in them...you meant us. Me and Rin," she didn't notice the crack in her voice. Aliza growled and snapped at Amaimon wildly, Miyuki's anger affecting her own.

"Congratulations. You seemed to have finally figured it out," Amaimon sated simply before allowing himself to fall into the Gehenna gate. Miyuki's shadowed eyes stared at the portal.

"Damn you, Amaimon."