Mephisto took a really long time pouring the boiling water from a kettle into a cup of instant ramen and securing his special timer around the lid. Rin and Daphne and Akiyama sat on the opposite side of the desk in the director's office, waiting in silence. Eventually, Mephisto looked up and smiled.

"So. What seems to be the issue?"

"These…people broke into our lab," Akiyama sputtered. "They aren't supposed to be let into the office at all on a Sunday, and on top of that, they destroyed our only security measure!"

Daphne snorted. "Not very secure if all you've got is a lock on the door."

Akiyama glared at her. "So you admit guilt."

"I admit nothing," Daphne replied.

"So, the handle on the door to the lab was broken, and Miss Lux and Mister Okumura were given admittance to the building on a Sunday." Mephisto raised his eyebrows at Akiyama.

"They were the only people in the office," she said.

"Was anything in the lab…damaged or tampered with?"

"No."

"Was anything removed?"

"Not as far as we can tell, no." Akiyama sank a little into her seat, looking sheepish.

"I believe you said on the phone this was a matter of the utmost importance." Mephisto got this look in his eye that Rin suspected was familiar to Akiyama given the way it made her squirm. "Why have I been brought out here?"

"Because as far as I can tell, the only person responsible for these—these rogues is you, Lord Pheles." Akiyama nearly threw her hands into the air, but resisted. "Whatever they're meant to be doing here, it lies outside the normal chain of command."

"Mm-hm."

"And—and they're married."

"Yes?"

"And you allow them to work in the same office? Nay, as partners?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't that create a conflict of interest? A liability?"

Mephisto leaned forward, his eyes glinting, lacing his fingers together to prop his chin on them and smile. "Have you seen them fight together?"

Akiyama glanced in Rin and Daphne's direction. "I have not."

"That's a shame." Mephisto sat back. "Anyway, Director, if you have a formal complaint to file, please feel free to do so through the proper channels, and I will see that it is ignored in the proper fashion."

Akiyama opened her mouth, but the timer on Mephisto's cup noodle lid dinged and completely monopolized his attention. Rin glanced at Daphne, raising his eyebrows. She shook her head, so Rin nodded and kept his mouth shut. It was possible something would come out of this visit that they wouldn't have to reveal any of their cards to get.

Mephisto slurped his noodles into his mouth, then sighed, a satisfied smile spreading out on his face. "Was there something in the lab you were worried about Miss Lux and Mr. Okumura encountering?" he asked.

"No," Akiyama replied. "Of course not."

Hovering over the noodles to breathe in the steam, Mephisto glanced up at the three of them. "Miss Lux. Mr. Okumura. Was there something in the lab you wanted to find?"

"Who said we were the ones who broke in?" Daphne countered.

Mephisto grinned at her. "Not I, Miss Lux."

"This is a farce," Akiyama said, rising from her seat. "An absolute farce. We know it was them. They've been here for a week poking around in our files, asking for admittance to our offices, doing god knows what…" From her vantage point above them, Akiyama seemed to come to a realization. Her eyes flicked to Mephisto. "Why are they here, Lord Pheles?"

"To continue collaboration work on the murder of your nine exorcists, Director."

"Why are they here?"

"My, my. That almost sounded like a demand." His expression darkened and he took a second slurp of noodles. "Bold."

Akiyama swallowed.

"Tell me, what have your researchers been working on as of late in that lab of yours?"

"Not much, sir," Akiyama said, taking her seat. "Just…just demon pharmaceuticals."

"Demon pharmaceuticals. Hm. Miss Lux. Mr. Okumura. Do either of you have an interest in demon pharmaceuticals?"

Rin shook his head. Daphne shrugged. "I never studied for a Doctor meister," she said.

"So, Director, why would two exorcists, neither of whom hold any vested interest in pharmaceuticals break into a lab where pharmaceutical research was being conducted? Unless there was something going on that fell outside of a Doctor's scope? And why would the woman in charge of that office react so extremely as summoning the head of the Japan Branch of the Knights of the True Cross to her godforsaken outpost unless she had something to hide?"

Akiyama's face was pale. Her fists were clenched. She looked down at her lap for a long, long time, breathing in and out pretty deeply.

"With all due respect, sir," she said, still facing her lap, "I have nothing to hide."

"Then perhaps you would be so good as to let Miss Lux and Mr. Okumura take a look around your lab for you. Perhaps they'll be able to find something you missed."

"Perhaps, sir."

Mephisto looked to Rin and Daphne. "I believe the director has just given her permission for the two of you to help her investigate the break-in at her lab. Would you be so kind?"

"Uh…sure." Rin got up and waited for Daphne to follow, but surprisingly, Mephisto got to his feet first.

"Lead the way, Mr. Okumura. Let us see what it is that this lab has to offer. After all, the director was very insistent I myself be present."

He gestured to the door. Daphne stood up. She exchanged surprised expressions with Rin and followed him out of the room. Behind them, apparently Akiyama tried to join in, but Mephisto shut her down with a pleasant, but deadly, "No, no, Director. I think it would be best if you stayed here." Then he swept out into the hall, shut the door, and tapped the doorknob with the point of his umbrella.

"Now then," he said. "Show me what you found."

Loyalty was a rare show from Mephisto. Daphne was so caught off-guard that by the time they reached the door to the lab, she hadn't fully processed what it was they should be showing him. Rin, thankfully, had his wits about him, and took the demon king straight to the emergency eye wash station. Even then, Daphne still couldn't stop puzzling over the fact that he hadn't sold them out.

"This is all we found," Rin said, pushing the handle to get the water running. "After that we left and went to the murder site."

"And?"

"Water there does this same thing."

"Hm." Mephisto tried the handle for himself when Rin let go, his eyes locked on the shape of the five-pointed star.

"Best we can figure is that it's some kind of after-effect. Every time that demon we told you about shows up, this happens. In some form." Rin shrugged.

"I assume by now you are familiar with the kind of research Director Akiyama was engaged in before she was reassigned out here," Mephisto said. He straightened up from the bowl and glanced at the open door to the lab. A flick of his wrist and the door swung softly shut. He tapped the tip of his umbrella twice against the linoleum, sending out some kind of shimmering pink wave that glossed the room. "Speak freely."

"We're not super familiar," Rin replied. "We read the only article she's got in the database."

"Yes, well. That is damning enough." Mephisto leaned against one of the lab tables. "I had thought that her punishment would have been sufficient to discourage her from continuing her experiments, but evidently that is not the case."

"But the lab only does pharmaceuticals," Rin said. "None of her researchers have published findings in any of their fields in years, and she hasn't even published anything."

"The no damages reports," Daphne said.

"Precisely, Miss Lux."

It fit. If Akiyama wanted to conduct research on the sly, she would still have to account for the use of personnel and resources, and it was a better ruse to file those uses away under a completely different category not related to research at all. If the exorcists had gone out, done whatever it was they'd wanted to do, and returned—a simple exorcism report would suffice to explain their whereabouts. Except there hadn't been any exorcisms, so there hadn't been any reported damages. It was perfect. Except that Mephisto had ferreted out the information.

"Why did she call you?" Daphne asked.

Mephisto settled his hands over the handle of his umbrella. "Because she is a fool."

"She couldn't have known you had picked up on the reports," Daphne replied. They were too small, too insignificant. "How did you pick up on them?"

"Let us say that I was given a tip to keep my eyes open."

"From whom?"

He chuckled. "Miss Lux. It is the business of demons."

In answer, Daphne just gestured at Rin.

This time, Mephisto laughed outright. "Touché. Very well then, if you must know."

"I insist on knowing." Daphne folded her arms while Mephisto cleared his throat.

"There are certain rules and workings in Gehenna which I would not expect either of you to understand," he began. "Demon kings do exercise some control over the fates and lives of their kin, and occasionally measures are taken on their behalf." He glanced between Rin and Daphne. "An intelligence has long existed in Gehenna. A spirit. Kin of Azazel, which he has kept imprisoned."

Rin's eyebrows drew together. "Why?"

"For the protection of us all, baby brother," Mephisto replied. "She is a demon who possesses demons."

The color drained from Rin's face. "The ghouls," he said. "And the goblins…"

"Mm. Rather than risk learning or furthering her power, Azazel locked her up. Recently, there have been some efforts or attempts or what-have-you to free her. As soon as she disappeared from Gehenna, he asked me to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity."

"Why didn't you just tell us this in the first place?" Daphne asked, grinding her teeth.

"Because yours was not the only case I'd decided to look into," Mephisto replied. "I've had hundreds of agents investigating various occurrences for weeks on end. I couldn't disclose this information to everyone on a whim."

"And our investigation just happened to be the one that didn't wind up in a dead end?" Daphne narrowed her eyes.

"If you like."

Growling, Daphne stepped toward him, but Rin caught her wrist and pulled her to a stop. Mephisto put up his hands in mock supplication.

"Believe as you please, Miss Lux, but this demon is real and I am certain you have found her," he said. "The evidence collected in your journal of encounters and recent manifestations have convinced me of that."

"How does Akiyama figure into all of this?" Rin asked.

Mephisto smiled. "That, dear brother, is where your investigation continues."