AN: Sorry this took so long. Also, just to clarify Yukio is still the son of Shiro, and Shiro is still the Paladin at this time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist
(Rin's POV)
My vision was nothing but darkness as I moved between worlds. The pitch black emptiness didn't give me much time to think before it disappeared. But I still had some questions. Father's message had not sounded patient, it sounded urgent. Why had he decided to summon me to him and why now. I looked around to see where I was.
The first thing I saw was the navy blue ocean. The ocean in Gehenna is darker, deeper and much more vicious than any Asian ocean. Beneath my feet was red sand and behind me was a crystallized forest. I was more than likely on the shores of the Crystalline Forests, but I didn't have time to be looking at scenery. I cocked my head upwards, to get my bearings. I wasn't too far from my father's castle, close enough to just shadow jump there. I walked into the crystalized trees, covered in the canopy's shadow. I closed my eyes and pictured my father's castle. Once I had my destination I let myself sink into the darkness.
I could feel my body shifting through the shadows across Gehenna in a path to the castle. I felt my body reforming and prepared to stop. Once my body had settled I opened my eyes to see I was in the castle's courtyard, buried underneath a tree's shadow. I began to walk towards the castle's solid gold doors directly in front of me.
They automatically opened, the Gatekeeper bowed as I passed him. Anyone not directly related to Father would be stopped by him and would pay the price for it.
I walked into the castle, the hallway was lit by hundreds if not thousands of candles. Its walls and floors were obsidian black, and portraits of prominent demons lined the walls. I ignored the decor, I had more important places to be and things to do. If I was late then Father would be angry, and I did not want to go through that again, my mood was foul enough as it was. My shadows leaked behind me, extinguishing candles as I strode down the halls.
I made it to the doors of the throne room and stopped for a second. I took a deep breath to calm myself as I pushed the doors open.
My father's throne room was an abyss of space, at times the corners were so dark, you would forget there were walls at all. Columns and bowls of blue firelined a space leading to his throne, two statues glowed at the base of the dias.
Satan's throne was a thing of fear and amazement; its very creation demanded obedience, even without its master. The back had a 3-dimensional look to it, with curved and yet still jagged edges and points erupting from it. Some of them curved toward the front and others stood straight out. It was made of a Gehennan element that I didn't know. It was a bottomless navy blue that crushed hope. The throne sat on a higher level, with two sets of stairs leading up the sides.
Father sat on his throne, a wall of blue fire between us, leaving him shadowed behind it. He looked calm, one leg crossed on the other. Evanor stood at the front of the stairs, holding a staff stiffly.
My brothers were here, except Samael, and kneeling in front of Father in order of age. This was proper procedure to show respect and obedience.
When I opened the doors everybody looked at me, but none of them said a word. I silently walked over to the far left side of the row and kneeled down next to Astroth. He looked annoyed by my presence but stayed quiet.
There was a moment of silence, and then my father began to speak.
"Let us begin. As you all know the Angels have been on the move lately." Our silence was answer enough for him to continue, "Samael has told Rin of their numbers in the first attack." I jerked my head up in surprise, I hadn't told father yet.
"Of course I heard what Samael told you. Please repeat the information for the court, Rin." His voice was a command.
I took on a voice similar, calming my thoughts and speaking strategically, "Samael said that they will first arrive with a force of 1000 angels led by 2 of their archangels."
He smirked at me and then continued.
"Based on Samael's information, however trustworthy it may be, and Evanor's investigations I have estimated that the Angels will attack in 8 months, sometime in December." The room stiffened in anticipation, it seemed all of us were surprised by the speed of the attack.
"In wake of this, I have decided that we must begin the attack on Assiah. We must already have the footholds necessary for the upcoming war." He motioned to Evanor, "Evanor, show them the map."
"Yes, your Majesty," she answered cooly. She tapped the bottom of the staff she was holding against the floor. The staff was made of smooth ebony that looked like it latched onto the pulsing purple skull at the top. For a split second, I could feel incredible demonic power oozing out of the staff. The staff surged and projected an an image in front of us.
"Rise and listen to her instructions, my sons." Father spoke.
"Yes, father." The response was a chorus of mine and my brother's voices in practiced strategic monotone as we stood from our places.
The image was a map of all Assiah, but dozens of red dots were scattered across the map. We lurked around the edges, inspecting the details.
Evanor spoke. "This is a map of Assiah, a perfect visual replica showing our red dots that you see now are the key places that we must control if we wish to have a fighting chance against those wretched angels." Her voice snapped the end of the sentence.
"How would you like us to acquire these places, Father?" Ilbis asked first.
"We must use all of our resources to force the humans into submission. Each of you will command the demons under your power to fight with coordinated attacks. Demons will no longer be allowed to just go about with whatever they want. You will be my generals, command your men to capture, command them to establishment your power over Assiah. Failure is not an option."
"Yes Sir." We answered.
"You are dismissed to begin your plans."
We nodded in synchronization, before filing out of the throne room. Evanor stayed in the room with Father. I stepped out behind my brothers and the door shut behind me. The moment the door sealed itself shut, we began talking.
Lucifer spoke first, his hands were clenched into tight fists, "Those damned angels will die beneath our feet, after watching each and every one of the precious humans burn. We will kill every last one of them."
Azrael nodded and answered him, "But we must be smart about this. If we know they're coming then it's a good chance that they know what we're doing. It wouldn't surprise me if Samael had somehow told them about our plans, just to serve as his own twisted entertainments."
"Indeed, that would be something that Samael would do. That means we cannot just blindly rush in with just rage. This much be well planned.." Egyn chimed in as well.
"I don't really care about all these strategies and stuff. As long as I get to fight, Assiah and those angels will not matter." Stated Amaimon.
"You say that. However, this is a war. We can't just do what we want." Replied Beelzebub.
Astaroth snorted, "Funny coming from you big boy."
"What do you mean, I'm always mature." Beelzebub asked with mock curiosity.
I smiled slightly at his joke.
"As- mature as I'm sure you all are, " Ilbis' words were laced with sarcasm, "We need to be prepared for anything." he leaned against the wall. We all nodded. "As such, I must be taking my leave, and so should the rest of you." Iblis disappeared in a burst of flames. Lucifer disappeared in a blanket of blinding light, leaving to Egyn who dissolve into a puddle, Amaimon to melt into the ground, and Astroth turned into black smoke as they disappeared.
The only ones left were Beelzebub who was probably just going to slack off for a while, and Azazel. Azazel was leaning on the walls with his eyes closed, deep in thought. Beelzebub walked over to Azazel, "Why did you stay?." Azazel said nothing, not even reacting to Beelzebub's voice. Beelzebub sighed and walked away, his body disappearing beneath a swarm of insects. Azazel had always been the most mysterious of my brothers. He rarely talked, and I've never seen him fight. I still remember a story Iblis once told me about Azazel.
(500 years ago)
"Hey Iblis! Have I gotten any stronger yet?" I asked as I practiced creating two fireballs of blue flames in my hands, throwing them at targets.
"You've gotten much stronger Rin. " Iblis responded. He stood next to me, teaching me to control my flames.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Azazel walking past a window.
"Iblis, do you think I am strong enough to beat Azazel?"
"No."
"What, why not?"
"Why do you want to fight him?"
"Because he looks pretty weak, and I never see him do anything. You can beat him can't you?"
"I can't. When I was younger I thought the same thing as you, and I challenged Azazel to a duel. I thought had it in the bag. When the time came, he beat me without ever leaving his starting point, or letting me touch him once. I was at his mercy the entire time."
"What? But besides Father, I thought you were the strongest."
"Not even close. Father, Lucifer, Samael, and Azazel are all stronger than me. One day, you will will be too. Then you might be able to challenge Azazel."
"If he's strong, then why doesn't Azazel fight?"
"He doesn't enjoy it. He fights when he needs to fight, not to dominate others. And when he needs to fight-, satan help the one who challenges him."
(Back to the Present)
I brought my mind out of the flashback and looked at Azazel again. His eye closest to me was slightly opened, looking at me. I paused to ponder the gesture for a moment. I let out a sigh and turned on my heels to walk away. Azazel disappeared silently behind me.
I walked down the hall until I found an open window. I stepped onto the windowsill and leaned out. Outside this window was a direct line to the shadow land that I command. I slightly squinted my eyes, and could see my own castle hundreds and hundreds of miles away. I jumped from the sill and unfurled my wings from my back once again.
I flew through the air at incredible speeds. Usually I would rather use my Shadow Jump but there's nothing wrong with adding a bit of variety. After just a minute of being in the air I could already see my castle.
The castle of shadows was a gift from my Father and brothers when I discovered my own element. I flew in front of the outer wall and landed directly in front of the great doors; my wings disappeared, leaving a smoky remnant of them behind.
The guards along the entrance bowed to me. The doors parted in front of me, revealing two of my personal servants bowing to me. I stepped through the doors, striding past them as they hurried after me.
My personal handmaiden, or handvampire, Joanne and my head butler Malkova, also a vampire, followed the appropriate distance behind me.
Malkova wore a jet black suit with a long tail and white gloves. He had a big poofy mustache and slicked back silver hair. Based on what the humans say he would be classified as an A rank demon.
"My lord, I am surprised to see you back so soon." Joanne said, though it was also a question for why.
"Indeed, you are normally gone for much longer. But it matters not, the castle's activities have been smooth even without you. I shall prepare a small party for your return."
"No time," I said impatiently.
"What do you mean, sire?" Asked Joanne
"Gather all my commanders and demons with influence over our forces. Prepare to have the Royal Shadow Court convene in a war meeting. The time has come for us to prepare for war."
My servants stopped in their tracks behind me, sparing a nervous to each other. "Sire? All of them?"
"Yes, and have my royal suit brought out, its important to show our control over the next events." I answered over my shoulder as I strode into the castle further.
"Yes-s S-sire." I heard the distant response the doors closed behind me. I had war plans to make.
(Unknown POV)
"Master! Master! I bring horrible news!" Afriel yelled as he flew through the roof into my chambers.
"What is it, Afriel?" I asked with disinterest.
"The demons, they have realized our plans to return to Assiah."
"Mhm. That is quite bad news. I would have liked for our forces to have the element of surprise, but it seems we have lost that. What are the demons doing?" I questioned. If we were to fight back we must be vigilant.
"They seem to be readying their forces in Gehenna. Based on what we can see already, they will more than likely launch a full-scale war on Assiah."
"How long?" I asked.
"Sire?" He didn't understand my question.
"How long, Afriel?" I was getting aggravated.
"They could be ready within a month, and with a 5 month lead against us. they will control the war."
"Doubtful. If it was that easy to conquer Assiah Satan would have already done it. He would never admit this, but he knows that the humans can be a real threat to demons, and they will fight back with everything they have. However, I doubt they will be able to fare well against all of Gehenna for too long. So the question is: how can we help them without actually being there." There was a moment of silence as a million different thoughts ran through my head.
"I may know how we can assist them, sire."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Instead of being there in physical form, we could use our astral forms to communicate with them."
"That could work, but only one angel has the powers to continuously use their astral form."
"I don't understand. Can't most angels accomplish an astral form?"
"Yes, but they can only use it to get to Assiah with the permission and grace of God. He only allows it when absolutely necessary, and I doubt he will now. The only other one who can do this is my sister."
"Which one?"
"Chamuel. The 5th archangel. Her powers will allow us to easily send an astral form to help the humans. Summon her immediately Afriel."
"As you wish." I expected him to fly off immediately, but he stayed.
"Is there something else, Afriel?"
"There is another issue that requires your immediate attention."
"And what is that?"
"There have been rumors of a 9th son to Satan,-" Afriel started to talk, cut off by my burst of laughter.
"What do we care if that demon has sired another son? They will fall under our will nonetheless." Truly, I knew that the demon kings were strong but they were nothing compared to an army of angels.
"The rumors say this son possesses Satan's blue flames."
"IMPOSSIBLE! The blue flames cannot be inherited!" I was beyond furious, this son could not exist! If this son fought on the side Gehenna, it could turn the tides of war. "If they were then the demon would have the potential to surpass even Satan." I paused, this could truly be disastrous. I turned back to Afriel, "I want you to look into the rumor. If you find anything credible then report back here immediately. I will decide our course of action from that." This was an order, and it was dire.
"Yes, sir." Afriel spread his 4 wings and flew out of my chambers.
I rubbed my forehead in stress, thinking about the repercussions if there was another demon who could use the blue flames. I could never understand why God created those flames in the first place.
(Shiemi POV)
When Rin left so abruptly, I was left bored and alone. After finally reaching my dorm and finishing my homework, I started cleaning. It took most of the remaining afternoon, but it was a good distraction to keep me from thinking about what was wrong with Rin.
Then I had to get groceries to fill at least some of the cabinets in the kitchen. As I was walking down the street with my groceries, I stopped in front of a clothing store that caught my eye.
I walked in, browsing dresses and t-shirts that I liked, even deciding to get a few of them. As I was about to go to the cashier, I passed the men's section. I remembered that Rin only had pajamas this morning and a school uniform, but probably nothing else. Do demons even wear clothes like we do, in Gehenna? Even so, I'm his tamer and he's in Assiah now, I could get him some Assian clothes to help him fit in.
I walked into the section to look to see if there was anything that would work for Rin. I got him a couple outfits and a hoodie. Even some socks and underwear were stuffed in the pile of new clothes. I took my stuff and his stuff up to the register.
"This is a lot of clothes honey. Are they for anyone special?" Asked the cashier.
"Um. kind of. He's like my partner, so I wanted to do something nice for him."
"Well, that's very sweet. I hope he likes them."
"Thank you," I said as I paid for everything. I left the store and went back to the dorms. Once back I put away all the clothes. Mine in my room, and Rin's in another room, I hoped he liked them.
But now that that was done, I had nothing to do anymore. Usually, I could just work in my garden, and I think I still can. I pulled out the key to my mother's shop, sticking it in my bedroom door. I stepped onto the stone bridge. As I walked towards the shop, all I could think about was Rin. He sounded so urgent, and there was so much intensity in his eyes. I let out a sigh of frustration and quickened my pace. I reached the shop and went around the side to my garden and got to work on it. I planted a few more plants, then watered and fertilized everything. My mother arrived sometime in the middle of my work and came into the garden to talk to me.
"Shiemi welcome back."
"Thank you, mom."
"We haven't been able to talk much lately, how has school been going?"
"It's going well. The normal school is going pretty well."
"That's good honey, and what about cram school?"
"Oh, well I'm still working on making new friends, but everybody seems nice. I have Yukio, and I guess you already know I'm a summoner."
"Yes, Sir Pheles told me, and he also said that you summoned a very high-level demon. One that looks like a human,"
"Yeah, his name is Rin. I don't really know how I feel about him."
"Well I wouldn't try to be too emotionally connected to him, he is a demon. Why isn't he with you?."
"He asked me to send him back to Gehenna. I think some kind of emergency came up."
"Mhm," She hummed, "Are you sure you can trust him, Shiemi?"
"I think I can, and everyone keeps telling me I shouldn't trust him. I know I don't know him well, but I just don't get the feeling that he wants to hurt me."
"Alright. Well I trust your judgment, just be careful dear.."
"Thanks, mom." I said as we both embraced each other in a hug.
(Yukio's POV)
After cram school let out, I quickly walked out of the building and began heading towards the dorms. Before school, I had lived with my father, and since he was the Paladin he wasn't really home much so I could more or less take care of myself. I did still love my father, but moving out to live in the dorms didn't really affect me. I shared a dorm with another exorcist-in training named Shima. Maybe I would visit Dad before heading back, if only to spare me from a conversation with that pink-haired pervert.
My walk to the office was abstract, I was thinking about something else entirely. That demon. Shiemi's demon.
He was practically flaunting his weakness in the class, as if proving he was in control and we couldn't do anything to him. I could tell that he was looking down on us the whole time.
And Shiemi didn't do anything! Worse than that, she was acting as if he was her friend.
The problem was that Shiemi was blinded to what he really was.
She didn't understand that demons were not their summoners friends.
She didn't understand that he was going to hurt her.
She didn't understand that I was right. That I was her friend. That I would protect her from him.
Demons were the summoner's tools. It made my blood boil just thinking about that demon even laying one of his filthy hands on Shiemi. I was going to protect her, and when that demon finally shows himself; I'll be the one to put him down.
I felt a sharp pain in my jaw and realized I'd been clenching my mouth so tightly it hurt. I opened my mouth, rubbing at the dull pain in my cheek. I looked up the building in front of me.
The main office building of True Cross. This was where my father worked. He's the Paladin and is by far the most powerful living exorcist around. I really am proud of him.
I stepped onto the stairs by the door, when all of a sudden the door to the building blew open and people came rushing out.
Not just people. Exorcists.
A lot of them, enough for a basic army of exorcists. I was pushed to the side and fell down as they passed me. They were all running in a panic, heading in one direction like a stampede. Towards the courthouse where the Grigori meet. I sat there in shock until I heard a voice
"What the hell are you waiting for, sitting on the ground like that?"
I quickly turned around to see my father Paladin Fujimoto standing there looking down at me.
"Father what's going on."
He let out a sigh, " I guess you haven't heard." He put his hand out for me, and I used it to stand up.
"Heard what?" He definitely made me curious.
"We just got a call that a strange being has appeared in the courthouse."
"But that's one of the most secure buildings in all of True Cross. Almost no demon should be able to enter the courthouse."
"Yes, but if I'm right, this isn't a demon." He pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "They're saying that this being could be an angel."
To be continued.
Thanks for reading, and I will see you guys next time.