Chapter 5: A Mami's love

Shiro's fingers itched to hold a cigarette as he sat in Mephisto's office, despite his last cigarette being over fifteen years ago.

"This really is quite the unusual case." Mephisto said as he stirred his teacup, the set floating in the air next to him. "Children being taken by a demon to feed on them, said demon turning out to have been behind little Rin's disappearance. And little Rin having not aged a day since his disappearance."

"From what the children have told us, they were trapped in a collective dreamworld that took the form of a ruined city full of monsters, one of the demons who took them taking the form of an older girl named Mami, who 'protected' them in this city, and they were kept alive in the real world by those pods they were found in. The children would eventually be 'taken' by the monsters in the dream world and killed and devoured in their pods in reality." Shiro explained.

"Rather strange." Mephisto hummed. "Two entirely different and unknown demons working together, the children being kept in a dreamworld rather than being immediately devoured or kept in a coma state until they were, and there's the matter of little Rin surviving being trapped by those demons for seven years."

It was clear that Mephisto already had a solid theory as to why Rin was still alive, the boy being the son of Satan.

"How is little Rin, by the way." Mephisto asked. "I've already heard about the other children that were found being reunited with their families and sent home."

"Rin is staying in the hospital for slightly longer than the other children. Since he's been trapped in that dream world for so long, it's taking him a while to regain his motor skills enough to be brought home." Shiro reported.

"And I expect that you've already had Rin's hospital room warded since you can't take him back to the protection of your monastery?"

"As the demon who abducted the children is still on the loose, Rin's room was already being warded before I needed to ask. As are the homes of all the other children."

"It is undoubtable that this demon will return for the children. But there's only so much you're going to be able to do to even protect the children, let alone fight it, without knowing exactly what kind of demon it is."

"We already have a few people going through the archives to see if they can find any lesser-known demons that match what this 'Mami' was."

Mephisto suddenly laughed.

"What's so funny?" Shiro frowned at him.

"I just got her name." Mephisto grinned. "How better to instil being a mother in the eyes of the children than calling herself their 'Mami'?"

Shiro understood what he meant but didn't laugh.

Mephisto them hummed.

"I know a young Exorcist who specialises in demons who target children." He said. "Given her knowledge, she might be able to identify our demon for us."

"Considering our current situation, I'd be willing to work with whoever you brought in if it means bringing an end to that demon." Shiro said.

"Gut." Mephisto said in German. "I'll contact her and see when she can fly over."

"So, you're training to become a doctor right now?" Rin asked Yukio.

Rin was sitting up in his hospital bed while Yukio sat beside him, the younger boy absentmindedly scribbling on some paper to help build up his motor skills again as per his doctor's orders.

"That's right, I managed to get a scholarship into a really high-profile school too." Yukio told him.

"That's great!" Rin smiled. "You always said you were going to be a doctor."

Yukio smiled at his, technically, younger brother, relieved that Rin did remember him despite their seven years apart, though the smaller boy had taken some time to fully recognise Yukio as the boy he used to protect from bullies.

"Mami always said that once we got out of the city, she could see me becoming a police officer or a fireman, because I'm so strong and protect the others when she's gone." Rin said.

Yukio frowned sadly. "Rin…"

"Oh, right." Rin said, remembering.

He looked down and played with his fingers. "I still can't really accept it. I saw her become something else, but Mami was still the one to protect us, she loved us. I just can't believe that she's the reason we were in that city to begin with."

Yukio reached over and pulled Rin into his arms, stroking the younger boy's back as he began to cry.

It had broken Yukio's heart to tell Rin that Mami had been the one to trap and kill them, but they couldn't afford to not tell the children the truth, lest Mami come for them again and they go with her because they don't know any better. He also knew that it was the worst for Rin out of all of the children, since the others had been captive for around a year at the most while Rin had spent seven years with Mami, nearly as long as he'd been with Yukio and their dad.

"I want Mami." Rin quietly sobbed into Yukio's chest.

Yukio felt as if those words were a knife going through him.

"I know, it's alright." He forced himself to say.

Rin's sobs eventually petered off. Looking down, Yukio realised that Rin had fallen asleep, his emotional stress no doubt draining him in his current state.

"Don't worry, Rin." Yukio said as he gently tucked his brother back into the hospital bed. "I'll fix this. Everything will be alright soon." He promised.

"We'll fix this." A voice corrected him.

Yukio turned to see Shiro enter the room.

"We already doing everything we can to find and kill that demon, you don't need to worry about it." Shiro said as he walked over to his older son.

"But-" Yukio began to protest, standing up to meet his dad.

"You already have enough to worry about." Shiro silenced him. "You've got your studies, students of your own to teach, and you have to be there for Rin."

Yukio frowned, clenching his fists.

Shiro placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know you want to be part of this, and you would make a great part of the team. But don't forget that you're still a child yourself, and with having to deal with so much already, being part of this case may be too much." Shiro told him.

"I…understand." Yukio breathed. "I don't like it, but I know you're right."

"There's my responsible boy." Shiro smiled. "Don't worry, I'll keep you in the loop despite this, you'll know everything we'll know."

Yukio managed a smile. "Thanks, dad." He said.

Shiro nodded.

"You'll want to spend as much time with Rin as possible, anyway." He said, walking around Rin's bed to sit on the boy's other side while Yukio sat back down. "He'll be allowed back home in a couple of days, but you'll be leaving in a week."

Yukio looked down as his sleeping brother.

"It feels wrong to still leave, I feel like I'd be abandoning Rin again." He admitted quietly.

"You won't be." Shiro promised. "You can phone home at any time and talk to Rin for as long as you want."

Yukio nodded. "And I'll try to come back as often as possible." He added.

"Good." Shiro nodded.

They both turned back to Rin as they heard him groaning, the boy slowly waking up.

"Hey there, how are you feeling." Shiro asked his younger son.

"Tired." Rin mumbled.

"I'll bet you are." Shiro laughed softly.

Rin weakly dug his hands out from under the covers and held them towards Shiro.

Getting the message, Shiro picked his child up and sat him on his lap, wrapping Rin back up in his blanket and allowing him to lean against his chest.

"Is that better." Shiro asked.

Rin nodded shyly.

"Will the monsters get in?" Rin asked quietly.

"No, they won't get in." Shiro promised. "We'll look after you."

It was a question Shiro and Yukio were already used to answering, as Rin still feared the monsters of Mami's dreamworld.

"Okay." Rin said as he once again succumbed to sleep.

It was honestly a relief that Rin as sleeping, the first couple of days he had been unable to sleep comfortably, insisting that he needed 'Mami's song'. Thankfully, that need had past, but he still required physical contact, an assurance that he was protected, to sleep.

Yukio frowned as he looked at Rin, uncomfortable with how much his memories of his brother didn't match up with the current version.

'That demon will pay." He silently vowed.

"I want Mami!"

"Daisuke, you can't see her anymore. Remember what you were told, she's dangerous, the one who took you from us."

"I don't care, Mami loves me! I need to be with Mami!" Daisuke continued to cry.

Daisuke's parents were at their wits-end. Ever since being returned to them, Daisuke had spoke about nothing else other than his desire to be reunited with the very demon that had kidnapped him, and no amount of reasoning could make him stop.

The only thing keeping Daisuke's mother from breaking down completely was the knowledge that her son was under a spell. The exorcist explaining that demon who took him most likely had a strong hold over him from his time with her, as all the children had loved Mami unconditionally in the dreamworld she had cooked up.

It still didn't make it hurt any less for their son to cry out the name of his kidnapper and would-be murderer though.

"I can't deal with this." Daisuke's father said, leaving the room.

Daisuke didn't say anything, just crossing his arms and looking out the window with bag-heavy eyes.

Daisuke's mother picked her son up and placed him in his bed.

"Try to get some sleep." She said gently.

Daisuke remained silent.

His mother sighed left his room, stopping to switch on the nightlight she'd dug out of some old boxes for him before switching off the main light and closing his door slightly.

Daisuke didn't bother closing his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep without Mami there to make sure none of the monsters got in or singer her lullaby.

"Daisuke…" It took a few seconds for him to register the voice, his brain refusing to function properly from the lack of sleep.

Slowly, Daisuke sat up in his bed, looking around.

"Daisuke…"

"Mami?" He asked, looking around for the girl.

"Come to the window, Daisuke…"

Daisuke pushed himself out of bed and slowly made his way over to his window, his muscles not allowing him to move very fast. He eventually made it to his window and looked out, searching for Mami.

"Down here…"

Daisuke searched through the dark outside, ignoring the exorcist that was patrolling, until he saw something in between the trees.

"Mami." Daisuke smiled excitedly when he recognised who it was.

"It's time to come home, Daisuke…" Mami's voice was as clear as if she were right next to him, despite not moving her lips. "You know you're not meant to be out alone without me or the others…"

"I'm sorry." Daisuke apologised. "But I'm with my parents now."

"It's too dangerous to stay with them Daisuke…" Mami told him. "We escaped the city, but so did the creatures…They're out there, waiting to find us again…"

"No." Daisuke gasped, terrified, looking around as if they'd suddenly pop up.

"Yes…And I'm the only one who can protect you, the only one who loves you enough to keep them away…"

That was right, Mami always protected them from the creatures back in the city. While she was there, in the hideout with the fire burning brightly, the creatures couldn't even come near.

"You need to come with me Daisuke, come outside and I can take you away to safety…"

"I don't know if I can." Daisuke doubted. "I'm really tired and I can move that well."

"I can't enter the house, poppet…The adults, they don't understand, they'd just hurt me…You don't want them to hurt me, do you…?"

Daisuke vehemently shook his head, no, he definitely didn't want Mami to be hurt.

"Then you need to come outside on your own, I believe in you, poppet…"

Daisuke nodded shakily and turned away from the window, walking slowly towards his bedroom door, which was still ajar.

The door creaked slightly as he opened it wider, causing Daisuke to wince, but after a few seconds his parents showed no sign of coming to investigate. He crept across the landing to the stairs, stepping as carefully as he could to avoid the floorboard giving him away. He took each step at a time until he reached the bottom, leaving him with the challenge of the front door.

He could hear his parents in the next room, they would certainly hear him if he opened the door, the latch was too loud. But the back door had a doggy door that he could use instead.

Peaking into the room his parents were in, he found that they were thankfully facing away from the doorway, allowing him to sneak past without being seen. The kitchen was tiled, meaning that he didn't have to worry about creaky floorboards as he made his way to the backdoor, unlatching the doggy door and pushing it open.

Once he sure that the exorcist on watch wasn't there, he began to climb through the doggy door. It was a tight squeeze as their dog was smaller than him, but he managed to push his upper body through, wiggling his legs after him, but just as he pulled his feet though, they knocked into something.

Daisuke tensed as he heard the broom clatter to the floor inside.

"Daisuke?" His mother's voice came.

"Run to me…" Mami appeared in the treeline before him.

Daisuke quickly climbed to his feet and ran towards Mami, his atrophied muscles suddenly no longer an issue in her presence.

"Hey, kid, stop!" The exorcise appeared around the corner of the house.

Daisuke kept running, straight into the tender embrace of Mami.

"Let him go, demon!" The exorcist ordered, running over with a gun.

"You won't take him away from me again!" Mami shrieked.

Long legs burst from her back as her skin cracked, shifting into her demon form.

This didn't bother Daisuke one bit, he still saw the same Mami who took care of him back in the city.

The exorcist shot at Mami but her true form made her much quicker as she ran away with Daisuke still in her arms.

The exorcist tried to give chase, but Mami proved too quick and disappeared along with the child.

"This is not good." The exorcist said to himself.

He reluctantly headed back to the family to tell them that their son had been taken from them again.