Chapter 3. Keys.

After walking in silence for a couple of minutes, Johann stopped and spun around saying, "I do apologize for the oddity of our meeting, dear; as you see, it would be silly of me to be seen perusing the halls with a pretty young student such as yourself." He pivoted on one foot continuously until he was facing the direction of which he had been walking, and then continued his stroll, twirling his pink umbrella.

Her gut sank. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't mind that—now, tell me little flower, what do you think of the University so far? How are your classes looking, is everything to your liking?" he asked, looking at the over his shoulder with sharp eyes.

In her eye was a glint of contempt while she furrowed her brow in confusion. "And what business is that of yours?" she yapped. Why on earth would he be asking such odd questions, and what did that have to do with cram school, she wondered.

He let out a sly chuckle. "Oh, it's all of my business."

She closed her lids and shook her head, locks being tossed loosely around her face. Surely this man was crazy, she scoffed to herself. Almost before she could finish her thought, the sound of his cape flapping caused her eyes to snap open, and only to see Johann looming over her figure with a look of hunger in his eye, slowly backing her up to the wall. Her back bumped into the cold, wooden surface, and once again she was unable to pull her gaze from his piercing stare. Her heart surged hard for a few seconds, and she felt a quiver begin to rise in her shins.

"It seems as if the little lamb doesn't believe me," he said lowly, exposing his sharp teeth as he sneered. "Why ever would that be?"

This is a…He's toying with me, she thought quickly, strength overcoming the weakness in her legs. Standing up straight, she squared her shoulders and scowled back at the man before her. "Who are you?"

His eyes narrowed, and he grinned wildly. "You know."

Yet again, her heartbeat was thrown into a frenzy, and almost as if he knew it, he pulled away from her, changing his demeanor once more; he tossed a hand in the air flamboyantly, threw his head back, and proudly roared: "I am Johann Faust V, proprietor of this fine establishment you are so humbly residing in," he bowed. "And I am simply doing my gentlemanly duty of escorting my most wondrous students to their ever-so-noble exorcist training classes on their first day!" Peering from the corner of his eye, he took in the character of the girl, curious if she had been properly distracted.

"P…propie… You're the headmaster?!" she shrieked, scrambling to keep a hold of her books and papers. It was no wonder she recognized his name, she thought to herself with shame overwhelming her stomach; but how could she have forgotten who the headmaster was, his name was printed clearly on the scholarship letter, inviting her to the school.

"Why, yes dear, I am. Now if you'll please—" his eyes wandered down as set a pair of gloved hands on her waist softly, and he could feel her body tense up beneath his fingers. His gaze shot up to her face for a moment, a smirk just barely tangible curling in the left corner of his mouth. "Just move off to the side here," he continued in a professional tone, stepping her to the right.

Her face was warm, and as his hands slid off of her curves she couldn't help but to think perhaps he lingered for a split second, but he abruptly turned to the wooden door she had been leaning against. She watched intently as he pulled a gold key from one of his pockets and inserted it into the lock, turning it slowly.

"This is how you will get to your classes. You can use this in any door, and it will take you to the same location." He looked over his shoulder to see the girl hovering behind him, eyes twinkling with eagerness which she tried so hard to keep under wraps. He tittered to himself.

She could barely contain herself as her mind ran rampant. Was she about to witness something that only exorcists and demons get to experience? Some sort of portal, things she had merely read about in the few obscure books she was able to scrounge up from libraries, new and definitely used books stores, and the occasional antique or oddity shop? Her knowledge of Gehenna, and the exorcist practice was spotty at best – it was hard to decipher what information in her unofficial exorcism and demonology books was the truth, and what was mere fable, or speculation at best. Many of the old texts were embellished with different religious beliefs, which often contradicted one another on specific issues, but a few hinted at phenomena such as what she was about to behold – dare she thought, magic.

The door creaked as it was pushed open, and the two of them were met by a strong, chilled draft. Inside the doorway was yet another hallway, but this one was vastly different than the halls of the University building. The tile floors were set in an odd formation, the walls and columns were painted a variety of colors over stucco and plaster. The air was thin and damp with the scent of vacancy. Johann stepped to the side and extended an arm out, motioning for the girl to walk through the entrance first. She hesitated before her foot finally made its move; the other wavered behind it, until she crossed through the frame and into the strange, dark hall. It was even bigger than the ones at the University.

"Now then," came the headmaster's voice from behind. "The key I just showed you is yours. Your class is down the hall. Give me your hand, would you?"

Distracted from her gawking, she spun around, eyes resting on his open palm. Glancing up to his face, she couldn't help a feeling of embarrassment wrapped innocently in shock come over herself; though not wanting to disobey the highest ranking authority in the school that she had received a full scholarship for, she submitted by placing her finger tips lightly atop his. Two lavender gloves engulfed the whole of her hand and stayed there for what seemed like a few minutes, and she couldn't help but to get lost in how soft the material was across her skin. The gloves shifted once more, something cold entered her palm, and the gloves guided her fingers until they closed over the object before leaving her.

Opening her hand, she looked over the foreign object: the key. Of course, she thought. How could she have forgotten already?

Wait—

"You said this key could work on any door, and it will send me right here?" She asked, meeting his gaze with unsympathetic eyes. Johann raised a brow and nodded, a question growing on his lips. "There are doors all along this hall we just walked. Why did we walk so long before you finally chose a door to walk through?"