With Angel's Love
Part XII: The Exorcists
"Well…" the young woman commanded fiercely, "Which one of you is the vampire called Arthas?" Arthas stood, scowling sharply. "You and your friends are going to regret even thinking you could kill me, witch," he hissed, struggling to his feet. But Azrael set Selene down, and quickly stood, looking at the bodies of the demons that were slain by these people. But his eyes quickly shot back to their leader, the woman he had called Rin.
"Stand, down, Arthas. I'll take care of this…" he growled. Arthas eyed him strangely, as did Gina, Vaul, and Sesshomaru. "He must have some kind of history together…" Vaul muttered. Sesshomaru nodded slightly. "Yes…but how would he know anyone in this time? He is from seventeen years from the future. And she doesn't seem to be anything but a mortal with exorsistic powers," he said. Sesshomaru sniffed at the young woman's scent, and then gaped. "No…it can't be her…can it?" Gina's eyes widened. "Sesshomaru…do you know her?" she asked. He smirked a little. "I believe I do…"
"But…" Azrael started shakily, "Rin…why are you here? Why are you in this time? Or in Japan, even…" The other exorcists looked at her strangely. "Sister Maria…do these creatures know you somehow?" he asked. The woman, who was being called both Rin and Maria, furrowed her brow. And yet…she was wincing a little. Why them…? she thought, why are they with that vampire that we hunt…No! I can't think like this! I won't be branded as a heretic! I must hunt that creature!!
"No, Brother Dominic," she said, "I do not know them, and they certainly do not know me…" The young woman of different names raised a golden staff, a silver cross at the top. "Prepare, vampire. Your spree of killing will end before it even begins!" she growled. "Why are you doing this, Rin…?" Azrael whispered to himself. "I know you have some kind of connection to that woman, but as the one they want to kill, I have the responsibility to fight them," Arthas said, joggling Azrael from his thoughts.
Arthas took a step forward, cracking his knuckles. "Hurt the woman," Azrael growled, near a whisper, "And it'll be you I kill." Arthas smirked. "Whatever you say, angel-boy," he replied sarcastically. With this said, Arthas leapt forward and attacked, striking another a blonde exorcist in this face. "Brother Isaac!" the brown haired, blue eyed Brother Dominic exclaimed, pulling out a staff identical to their leader Rin's. "Beast! You will harm no more innocents!" he yelled. Dominic slashed his staff in Arthas's direction, a wave of holy energy resulting. But the vampire dodged, and then kicked the exorcist in the gut with such force that it threw him back, slamming him against a tree so that he was knocked unconscious.
Rin gasped. "Brother Dominic! Brother Isaac! Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. Neither of the men gave a reply. Rin let out a low growl, discarding her sacred staff for her blessed sword. "You monster, you'll pay for hurting my friends!" she shouted. Her other two companions leapt at the vampire, and as Rin tried to follow, Azrael quickly got in front of her, pointing his glimmering blade at her. "Don't move, Rin. I'm doing this for your own good," he growled.
Sesshomaru looked down at Gina, who sat with Selene's barely-conscious form in her lap. "Do you really think that that's our little Rin?" she asked, tears in her eyes. Gina thought of Rin as her daughter. She couldn't stand to see her being paraded around as some exorcist named Maria, and then acting upon her duties, even if it now meant fighting against the young man who should've been like a brother. Gina glanced back at Sesshomaru. "Are you completely sure?" she asked again. Seeing her expression, the demon lord wished he didn't have to answer. But after a moment of hesitating, he gave a grim nod. "Their scents are identical. There is no denying that they are one in the same," he said deeply.
"Tell me, Selene," Gina demanded almost silently, "Tell me how Rin became this way!" Selene struggled to sit up. "Five years in the past in our future, ten years from now, we were traveling through Asia, near what was once the great Roman Empire. Some man attacked Rin, but before he could do anything….Rin used some kind of dark power…something that had been buried within her. Over some time…even you could not help her control her power," Selene replied solemnly, "Some Christian priest…I can't even remember his name, agreed to train her as a woman of his god so that she would no longer use her power…and after a few days, she begged us to leave her there so she could continue with her learning…"
At this point, a few tears were running down Selene's face as well. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him…he and the rest of the followers of that god of gods transformed our Rin into this! She barely even recognizes her own family…!" As Selene began to leave consciousness again, Gina held her close. Azrael…please, we've got to help Rin…you have to stop her rampage!!
As Arthas blocked the exorcists' holy attacks, he watched Azrael facing off with their leader. "What is he doing over there?" he growled, dodging another attack. "I've heard that Sister Maria was from these evil-soaked lands," one of them said, as if her weren't in battle at all. The other smirked a little. "As did I…but I never thought that it could be true…bah! Now, vampire, prepare to be destroyed! HYAA!!" The young priest threw a powerful holy attack, but a bolt of lightning unexpectedly negated it. Another struck the priest, killing him. Arthas glanced over to Selene, who then fell to her knees. Why does she waster her strength on saving me? he thought, growling.
"Rin…" Azrael started in a low growl, "You're making a mistake! Why would you travel seventeen years into the past and come to Japan just to slay a vampire! I'd hate to say this…but Arthas isn't evil. He just saved Selene from some soul-stealing demon!" he yelled. Rin flinched momentarily, but then directed her own sword at him. "You…a creature of Satan and a false god…and you dare to speak to me as if you know me?!" she demanded ferociously, "And then you dare tell me that a vampire is not evil…while your friends kill my own fellow exorcists! For that I'll kill you!"
Rin leapt forward, her sword in hand. Azrael didn't even flinch. He looked simply too betrayed to care. The half-angel threw down his blade, and a second later, Rin heartlessly stabbed him in the gut. But when he gave no reaction, such as growling, screaming, or even fighting back, she looked. There he stood, sternly looking down at her. "Rin…" he started, "Don't you even remember me?" She flinched at the tenderness in his voice. She had stabbed him through and through, yet he didn't even seem to care. "What…w-what type of beast are you?!" she demanded, drawing out her blade.
Azrael simply looked down at her, his eyes full of sympathy. "Why you…" Rin scowled. She held her bloody sword at him. "In the name of the Almighty…I whilst smite thee, beast!" Rin drove her sword at him again, but Azrael punched her in the stomach before she could, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to her knees. "I'm sorry," Azrael started blandly, "But I had to do that." As he said this, a few feet away, the priest that had been called Brother Dominic regained consciousness. "You…monster!! What did you do to Sister Maria!?"
Dominic charged at Azrael, his blade readied, but at the speed of light, Azrael picked up his blade and impaled the monk, all in one swoop. He let both his blade and the dieing monk fall to the ground, and with his claws and fists stopped the attack of the other three remaining monks. As Arthas sank to his knees in exhaustion, Azrael turned to look at Rin once again. "Please…" he whispered gently, "Please Rin…you have to remember…"